More Ruthlessness Required

Hello Gooners.This is my first blog post in a really long time.In fact this is the first one since the defeat to Barcelona.Apologies for the lack of blogging.Work had really gotten intense in the middle and free time was very rare to come by and that combined with a 2 week interlull meant that a sabbatical was in order.

A lot has happened since I last blogged.We crashed out of the FA cup at the hands of Manchester United,witnessed the second coming of Jens Lehmann and were treated to a few draws in the premier league which will have a very bad effect on our title challenge.

My apologies if I miss out on something in the blog because I did not watch the match properly yesterday due to India being involved in the Cricket World Cup final.First congratulations are in order for the India National team.Winning the cricket world cup on home soil for the first time since 1983 was really special and everyone could see the raw emotions on the faces of the players after winning.I was watching the cricket with my parents and best mate and despite their protests I watched a bit of the first half of the Arsenal game and after the cricket got over,managed to catch most of the second half.However I was reading tweets and have a rough idea of how the parts I missed went.

We lined up pretty strongly with Song and Walcott coming back into the team and Van Persie shaking off the knock he had picked up on international duty.Fabregas,Bendtner and Chamakh were present on the bench for extra firepower.From what I gathered from twitter,Arshavin was the standout performer of the game and many were disappointed to see him substituted.Also Almunia had a couple of horror moments which in true Arsene Wenger style,”I did not see it”.All I can remember is us camped deep in their half and them having 10 men behind the ball.Typical.Towards the end of the match we got more and more close with Van Persie and Bendtner all getting their chances but nothing came off it.

So it was another dull draw where 3 points were absolutely necessary.Does his mean that our chance is now completely over?It looks very difficult but it is possible.All we can do is keep getting behind the team and hope for the best.Even if we dont win this season,the least that should happen,as said by YoungGuns Blog(I paraphrase),is that we should figure out how many players are genuinely ready for the fight and how many are being carried by us.I know some of the players that fall in the latter category but right now I am doing the “getting behind the team” thing.

After the match,despite India winning the world cup,I was devastated(yes Arsenal,this is what you do to me).I was absolutely clueless since these type of matches had already happened more often than required so I decided to get an outsiders perspective and talked to my aforementioned best mate.Now this guy follows a bit of a lot of sports and while watching the football,was really admiring Arsenal’s skills and play but described it as “All foreplay and no orgasm”.He told me about the way Russia play ice hockey and described them as “completely ruthless”.Teams who used to try to play defensively against them used to be destroyed.Infact,according to him,the only way to beat them is to attack them.

Now this really got me thinking.There will always be teams like Blackburn who try to choke us up but that does not mean we should be like in limp dick in an orgy when that happens.During the invincibles time,we had all the skills required but the likes of Vieira,Henry and Bergkamp were monsters.No one tried messing with us and teams who used to try were either left on the ground by Vieira or were left 10 miles behind by Henry.Thats the kind of stuff we need in the team.I know I am really risking sounding like Shebby Singh here but for all his unbelievable skill,Van Persie should cause defenders to shit their pants when they see him coming.

Lord Wenger has taken these babies and turned them into men.Time to take these men now and turn them into monsters.I do not subscribe at all to the view that “Arsene has taken these players as far as he can”.The players are horribly letting him down.It pains me a lot to say this but Man United knew they needed a win and despite going 2 goals down,got a win.We have the players,we have more than 428934 times the skill required.Now feed these players something that turns them into beasts when teams try to mess with us and we should be cool.

VICTORIA CONCORDIA CRESCIT

Disgrace

Greetings Gooners.Yes,it happened again.No I am not talking about a repeat of last years 4-1 mauling at Camp New.I am talking about every single game this season which we have lost/dropped points in thanks to an inept referee.Now before any fool decides to comment “Oh but Barca outplayed Arsenal and definitely deserved to go through”,if the team that outplays the other team should win then just hand us the Premier League trophy.

So we lined up with pretty much our first team with 3 key decisions having to be made.Those were who would start in place of Song and Theo and whether Van Persie would start.Van Persie did manage to make a miraculous recovery and started and showed no ill effects of a gamble.Diaby was played alongside Wilshere in Song’s role and Rosicky started on the wing where Theo would have played.We knew what we were in for with Barcelona needing a goal but very rarely are Arsenal so overwhelmingly dominated in possession.Infact in the first 5 mins I dont remember us having any of the ball and there was a constant onslaught on our goal.If Silvestre had played today this match would have ended 10-1.The number of vital interceptions and last-ditch tackles made by the likes of Koscielny,Djouououourou and Jacky is unreal.

Of course none of this was helped by Barcelona diving/fouling whenever we had the ball.In fact in our very first attack,a promising run by Nasri in the 5th or so minute resulted in a blatant pull back on Nasri.Did we get a free kick? #DoMeAFavorLove.Cuntness started right in the first minute as an attempt by Clichy to win the ball on the touch-line resulted in a dive by DNAboi who was not even touched by Clichy.

There was tons of domination/attack by Barcelona and on the 17th minute a free kick by Fanny Alves produced a save by Szczlegend but a massive price was paid.Szczlegend dislocated his finger and had to be replaced by Manuel Almunia just like that night in Paris.This is when we thought the match was over because frankly Almunia is not Mr. Popular and for good reason.He has a tendency to cock-up bigtime but when your first choice keeper gets injured and your second choice keeper is  out for the season,Almunia is the best any club can bring on.I really wish he stays on as third choice keeper but it looks increasingly likely he will leave at the end of the season.

Again more of the same Barca domination was served till the 32nd minute where we were lucky not to have conceded a penalty.Diaby being the lazy fucker that he is,fouled Messi on the edge of the box and we were let out of jail.However that would be the first and last act of kindness towards us by the referee.Before the half time there was a brawl where this happened:

CHOKE-SLAM YEAH!!!!!!

This also happened:

WWF!!!!!!

How six officials did not notice these 2 incidents,I have no idea(corruption/stupidity/blindness are my guess).I think it must be blindness because see where the referee is standing in the second pic.When the game restarted,a push by Van Persie on Fanny Alves resulted in a car crash reaction from him and a yellow card for RVP.

Of course the Szczlegend injury double-fucked us as it led to 4 minutes of first half stoppage time.In the dying moments of the stoppage time something unthinkable happened.A silly backheel from our captain gifted the ball to a Barca player who gave it to Messi who finished it.1-0 at half time.

When the game restarted,we needed a goal soon.That is exactly what we got.A corner taken by Nasri in the 53rd minute was deflected by Biscuits into his own net.1-1 and we would have progressed.However the referee was so pissed at the own goal,he decided to even things out 3 minutes later.A through ball by Fabregas found Robin van Persie.van Persie was clear on goal and he decided to take a shot.Now I am ready to bet both my guitars that there is a whole chapter in the “Striker Essentials” book that when you are clear on goal,you first take a shot and then check if you are offside or not.The whistle has been blown and Van Persie was accused of not hearing the whistle in a stadium full of cunts who were whistling throughout the game.The referee decided that was the right time to prove his worth to his employers(Barcelona) and that he was Mes Que Un Referee and decided to give Van Persie a second yellow.SERIOUSLY????A SECOND YELLOW IN SUCH A CRUCIAL MATCH FOR THAT?YOU FUCKING TURD.

If anyone tells me that was not the turning point in a match where the score was 1-1,we had scored 3 minutes back and were in the ascendancy then I would suggest you look up some good mental hospitals.

So it was 12 on 10 from that point.Barca needed one more goal to send it to extra time and 2 goals to progress.We needed to score one more to make it tougher for them.Of course we needed to do so without arguably one of the most in-form strikers in the world.Touche Mr. Busacca!!

We held on for 12 minutes before the sucker punch was delivered.The last Barca player any Gooner would have wanted to score,scored.DNAboi got through on goal and a brave diving block by the very solid Bacary Sagna was rewarded by a shot deflecting off his thigh and into the goal.Almunia and Szczlegend together could not have saved that.Absolutely the worst thing possible.Or so we thought.

2 minutes later a stupid foul by the otherwise brilliant K-OS brought down Pedro and that cunt stepped forward to take the penalty.Almunia thought he was going to fire straight but Messi fired to the keepers left and the score was 3-1.

Of course  we only needed a goal to progress on the away goals rule.After all our plan was to let them tire in the first half and then hit them in the second half like we had done in the first leg.This time though we had only 10 men whereas they had 12.Substitutions were made with Rosicky and Fabregas coming off for Arshavin and “Big Game”(???) Bendtner.Bendtner has a fantastic chance on the 88th minute too as some brilliant work by Wilshere found Bendtner whose first touch let him down and the chance to gain immortality was spurned.So much for best striker in the world. The players maybe did not realize the need for a goal and were walking on the pitch as Almunia was shouting at everyone to get forward.However nothing happened in the 4 minutes of stoppage time and Barcelona and the referee won.

Now I am not saying that the referee was corrupt.This stat is saying that:

Spanish teams do well when Busacca is in charge: P30 W23 D7 L0.

Now I know what Drogba felt like a couple of years back.#BahHumbug.Before I get on to the player ratings,here’s what RVP had to say after the match:

Now I can understand why he said that but I doubt his words are going to do anything more than getting him a 5 match ban.#PredictableUEFA

PLAYER RATINGS

• Szczlegend : 8 : Didnt do anything wrong while he was on the pitch and will be absolutely gutted to be injured.His injury could be anything from a few days to the rest of the season.Doesnt look too good though.#FML
  
• Sagna : 8 : Was very impressive defensively.Did not contribute to the attack as much as he would have like to.Very unlucky to deflect the 2nd goal in.
  
• Koscielny : 7 : Was as impressive as he was in that first leg with many vital intercaptions.Spoiled some of his good work by conceding a penalty.
• Djourou : 8 : Played very impressively like his fellow centre back.Vermaelen has a lot of work to do when he comes back.
• Clichy : 8 : Good defensive work but would have wanted to help Nasri out more in attack.
• Diaby :4 : All I am going to say is that if you are a holding midfielder and the opposing team has so much possession in your half then clearly you have not done your job.
• Jacky : 8.5 : Joint Man Of The Match : Never stopped working in midfield.Would have gotten the match winning assist if Bendtner did not have the first touch of a wrecking ball.
• Fabregas : 6 : Guilty for the first goal and was not his best.Was playing with an injury.Was eventually substituted and all Gooners will hope that he is available ASAP.
• Rosicky : 6 : Really needs to start repaying the managers faith.
• Nasri : One of the few bright performers for us even though he had to play like a second full back for most of the match.Got an assist for our goal.
• Robin Van Persie : 7.5 : Shook off his injury and started.His sending off happened because of one of the worst piece of refereeing ever.

Substitutes

• Almunia : 8.5 : Joint Man Of The Match : Lots of gooners(myself included) started shitting bricks when he came on but he had one of the best games of his career.I dont think his shot-stopping abilities were ever in doubt and luckily that’s all he had to do last night.If Szczlegend is injured then this could be the time for Almunia to save his Arsenal career.
• Bendtner : 3 : Best striker in the world my Arse!Was sent on to the pitch to do one thing and only one thing i.e. score.Hardly had a touch of the ball before wasting that glorious opportunity.
• Arshavin : 7 : Offered a lot of attacking threat when he came on and maybe the super sub role suits him well.

So that’s where we stand now.Out of 2 competitions in the space of 2 weeks but still have 2 very winnable competitions.Must show real intent on Saturday against Manchester United.Lets just hope that Fabregas is not injured again and that Walcott,Song and Verminator(remember him?) make quick recoveries.

All was not doom and gloom yesterday though as our promising on loan striker Benik Afobe who Barca had poached unsuccessfully a couple of seasons ago,scored in a 2-1 win for Huddersfield town and picked up the man of the match award.#HeHasArsenalDNA.Shaktar also destroyed Roma and Eduardo scored again for Shaktar.#SignHimUpArsene.I hope Shaktar do a Porto this season.Till next time gooners.

KEEP THE FAITH.VICTORIA CONCORDIA CRESCIT.

Barca Raid-Part Deux

Greetings Gooners.Here we are.Part 2 of our revenge mission against Barcelona.

Credits to IvyArchive for the above pic.

So after yesterday’s blog post where I went on about how RVP cannot be relied upon,Wenger decided to reveal his ultimate mind game and include RVP in the squad to face Barca.#WOW.Now I dont know about every other Gooner but this was my reaction after reading the news.

FUCK YEAH ROBIN VAN PERSIE

I hope Lord Wenger knows what he is doing here.I know that this could be a mind game like everyone thinks it is but I hope no risks are being taken on RVP here.There is every chance this could be a gamble on RVP just like the ones on Gallas and Arshavin last season,and they didn’t end nicely.Unlike what many gooners think,this is not the Champions League final.We still have 2 more very winnable competitions in the form of the FA cup and the premier league.And even if we risk RVP and se scores a goal and gets injured again,there is no guarantee we will win the Champions League.

However if  RVP is 100% fit and this is actually a mind game then Barca must be shitting themselves now.A defense of Biscuits and Abidal vs RVP is something we will all like.This would also mean that 2/3 of our Thong Van Nasregashire lineup would be available.Although Thong(Theo and Song) would be unavailable and everyone knows how hard it is to be sexy without Thong.

With every good news there must be bad news and it was finally confirmed that Song was definitely out.Now we will see Denilson/Diaby alongside Jack and frankly this scares the bejesus out of me.I honestly think that had Song been present for our 2nd leg tie against Barca last season we would not have lost the way we did.As I said in yesterday’s blog post,I would rather have Diaby in than Denilson.Reason?Diaby is less likely to have a shocker than Denilson and Diabys strength might come in handy in the midfield.

So that leaves the lineup like this:

Szczlegend

Consistenagna   Djououououourou    K-OS     Clichy

Diaby     ARSENAL-DNA

Nasri    (Hands Off)Cesc Fabregas     Arshhhhhhhhhhhhhavin

Robin/Bendtner

Now if Robin truly is fit then I dont see any reason why he should not start.However if he is not fit then Bendtner should be starting and Robin will come off the bench in the final 20-30 minutes.I think it is very crucial and very possible that we will score the first goal tonight.Barca will be attacking from the first minute and will leave a lot of space behind.If Cesc can find that over the top killer pass that he so often does and is RVP starts then that will be a goal and they will need 3 goals to progress or 2 to take it to extra time.However if we dont keep it tight at the back then we could really be screwed.The defense will have to be tighter than it was in the first leg.The offside trap cannot be broken the way it was for the David Villa goal.

There is also the small matter of the bench.If RVP does start/is on the bench then one person will have to be removed from the squad as we have named a 19 person squad.My choice would be either Gibbs or Rosicky.The reason for selecting Gibbs is that Eboue can play left back if needed and unless Lord Wenger plans on using Gibbs in midfield at the end of the game to shore things up,Gibbs could be excluded.However if Gibbs cannot be excluded then the only other option is TR7.Simply because if we need goals towards the end,Lord Wenger might bring in Bendtner/RVP/Chamakh instead of TR7. #ToughChoice

The news that RVP is in the squad finally caused Guardiola to snap.He said this about Wilshere:

“He can be great player for Arsenal and England, but we have many types of player like him in the second team.He’s lucky, as Arsenal have time. There is not the pressure to win titles as quickly as possible. We have second-team players like him.”

Cnut.Imagine what a #MassiveDonkeyShit he is going to look like when Wilshere wins the Ballon d’Or a couple of years later.However Fabregas wanted to bitch slap Guardiola so he added:

“I have trained with him and seen he’s a very special player. All I can say is that if there are really many players like him around then the future of football looks very good.”

WIN

Let me also finally address this stupid “Pep Guardiola to succeed Wenger” debate.I have two main reasons why he should stay as far away from Arsenal as possible.Firstly he is very wasteful in the transfer market.Imagine if he traded RVP and 40 million for Ibrahimovic.#Scary.His other purchase during that summer was Dynamo Chygrynasdfafohsky who cost him 25 million.For a year Chygrynsky was made to sit on the bench and was sold for 12 million.So thats 2 useless players for 65 million and one vital player sold.Thats doing business Barca style.Secondly he repaid Henry’s vital contribution in the sextuple winning era by making him sit on the bench and replacing him with Pedro.#StayAway

Finally let me end the blog with my prediction for tonight.I predict a 1-1 draw.Villa will score in the 60th minute and then Barca will keep the ball for the next 33 minutes and will not give it away at all.Finally in the 94th minute,Jacky will steal the ball away from Messi in our corner,will dodge the entire Barca team while running the whole length of the pitch with the ball and will strike a fierce shot which will take Valdes into the net making the score 1-1.Jacky will then yell “I HAVE ARSENAL DNA” at every Barca player and fan while Cesc will celebrate in the stands by peeing on Pique while shouting “OOOOOOO MOC MOC!!”.#ItsPossible.

Till tomorrow then Gooners.All the best.

VICTORIA CONCORDIA CRESCIT

Two Points Dropped,One Point Gained

Greetings Gooners.Apologies for the lack of blogging all these days but all the fatigue finally got to me and I needed some time to get back into shape but the recovery should be complete now.

What a crazy title race it has been.This one is really going to go down to the last day.As it stands,thanks to Chelsea,Liverpool and Anthony Taylor(Cnut) the gap between us and ManUSA is now 3 points with us having played a game less. #Thriller.Speaking of Anthony Taylor,how can this even be a contender for best league in the world?In a week where a player has elbowed another player on the pitch,a player has shot someone on the training ground and a title contender has been denied 3 points because of some of the worst refereeing ever,the guys sitting upstairs have considered it fit to ban Snoods.Are you fucking kidding me?

That was the story of our match against Sunderland.Now I could only watch on a dodgy TV screen because I was not at home so I cannot comment on the individual performances of our players.However from what I saw there was never a lack of effort from any of our players.Any gooner insulting Arshavin should be castrated.Arshavin did all he could and he was denied a clear penalty and a goal.Now I can go on and on about the referee but the experts at Untold Arsenal have already written a brilliant referee review.Must read.

So for Sunday the Liverpool fan base was doubled as every Gooner turned into a honourary scouser for a day.We needed ManIOU to drop points and we needed Liverpool to do us a favor and they did just that.My prediction before the match was 3-1 to Liverpool and that was exactly what happened.Although no one could have predicted the way it happened.Suarez has turned out to be a massive signing for Liverpool.He had a say in two of the 3 Dirk Kuyt goals(Excellent).The first one was the result of a brilliant Nasri-esque run from Suarez beating 3-4 Manure players leaving Kuyt to tap into an open net.The third goal from Kuyt displayed excellent predatory instincts as a thunderous free kick was not saved cleanly by Van der Starr(not a typo) and the rebound was immediately pounced on.If the first and third goal were brilliant,the second one was hilarious.Suarez(who else) sent in a cross which was brilliantly planted on Kuyts head by assist-king Nani and Kuyt did not reject the gift.There was a lot of mayhem at the end of the second half.Carragher went in with a bad tackle on Nani.Nani got up immediately and went to argue with the ref but fell shortly and appeared to be in pain.He was replaced by Chicharito who scored a consolation late on for ManUSA but the game was dead by then.After the game Alex Ferguson,being the sport that he is,decided to chill at home and not speak to the media.Not even ManUTV.

True Dat

So moving on to our game with Bacraloan.Injuries have hit us hard as usual but we should still have a stronger squad than the one which travelled to Camp New last year.Our strongest back 5 is fit with Szczlegend,Sagna,Koscielny,Djourou and Clichy.There were doubts over Jackys fitness but he said that he will be fine on twitter and “he will face Barca if put in the squad”.Such modesty from one of our most important players this season.#VeryNice.Alongside Jack the presence of Song will most likely be missed though.This is a real blow.Someone like Song is really needed to break up the Barca attacks and exert some authority in midfield.In his absence we might see Diaby/Denilson alongside Jack.I really hope it is the former.I for one am not convinced at all by Denilson and as long as Diaby doesn’t do anything stupid we should be fine.However Cesc looks like he will make the game so at least half of Theo Van Nasregas will be fit.Theo and RVP are out and we really needed the pace of the former to trouble Maxwell.The impact of RVP’s presence/absence cannot be overstated but hopefully Bendtner/Chamakh will step up.However they have some injuries with Pique/Puyol missing in defense,Pique through suspension and Puyol through injury.Valdes and DNAboy however are available.More on the lineups in tomorrows preview.

There was some good news on the loanees though.Kyle Bartley scored his first goal for Rangers which was enough to win them their match against St Mirren.Vito Mannone also made his comeback from injury and kept another vital clean sheet for Hull as they won 1-0 away at Nottingham Forest.Most of the other loaned players got some valuable game time but one situation that really confuses me is the curious case of Carlos Vela.He got 2 points for Uncle Woy in 2 games in a space of 8 minutes each and still did not feature in their 3-1 thrashing of Birmingham,which brings me to the striker debate.

Now it cannot be argued that when Van Persie is fit we have one of the best attacks in the world.Theo Van Nasregas combine very well and we score bucketloads of goals.However Van Persie is injured for at least 4-5 months every campaign and his absence every time leads  to us dropping points.Now I am not one who thinks we should sell Van Persie right away.He is a soldier who is ready to die for the Arsenal cause and his presence in the dressing room is must as he is also our Vice Captain.Lets talk about our other strikers namely Bendtner,Chamakh and Vela.Now Chamakh is a very valuable member of the squad but was never intended to be our number one striker.Bendtner can definitely make it as our first choice striker when Van Persie is fit but his attitude really needs some changing and he also needs to be more consistent.The Curious Case of Carlos Vela is one of the greatest mysteries we have ever seen.The guy has undeniable talent but he is definitely not right in the head.He seems to be happy where he is and if only he shows more ambition he might even displace RVP as our first choice striker.YEAH HES THAT GOOD.However ifs and buts aside we really do need a striker who can step in when Van Persie is injured.Unfortunately we cannot rely on RVP to be fit throughout the season and we should consider the 4-5 months that he does play as “GOD MODE” where we sweep opponents aside and can beat absolutely anyone but in the absence of RVP we should not be left without any killer instinct.#ThatsAllIAmSaying

Let me end the blog on a “HAHAHA” note by adding that SPURS DREW 3-3 against Wolves yesterday.St. Totteringhams day just gets closer everyday.Till tomorrow folks.

VICTORIA CONCORDIA CRESCIT

UPDATE: Arsenal have confirmed that Song is indeed out and Jack is fit.Cesc is rated at 90% in so he should be starting.Well time to step up Diaby/Denilson. *Writing my will*

Bendt Back Into Shape

Greetings Gooners.You couldnt have(realistically) asked anything more from last night,could you?There were loads of positives from last nights game.This game might even be much more beneficial to our season than any narrow 1-0 victory we might have got over Leyton last time.Lets start with the lineup.

I am pretty sure no Gooner had correctly predicted the lineup.Rozza was the only survivor of the game against Birmingham(AAAAAAAAAAAARGH) and literally none of our strongest lineup of Wojbacarlichy Thong Van Nasregashire started.The back 5 was pretty much was predicted with Almunia in-goal and Gibbs,Skillaci(not a typo),Miquel and Eboueboue filling up the defensive positions.Denilson played alongside Diaby in the holding roles and Rosicky,Conor Henderson,Chammay and Bendy starting in the Theo van Nasregas positions.Conor Henderson who you ask?

Me,bitch

Now we had first heard of this guy a little less than a year ago in April 2010 when he made the bench for the trip to Wigan(AAAAAAAAAAAARGH).As I said in yesterday’s blog post,we had one space empty on the bench which would be filled by someone from the reserves but we had no idea we would see a new face in the starting lineup.As Jamie from Young Guns Blog tweeted yesterday before the match:

“Henderson is not a star player, but he works hard, gets stuck in and is a massive Arsenal fan. Delighted to see him start. Good luck, Hendo!”

#GoodStuff.Hardworking players who really care about the club are very much appreciated.More on his performance in the player ratings later.

So we started off pretty strongly.After just 7 minutes some very good work by Rozza led to a nice lay off for Chamakh who finished a nice tap in…..you know the kind we always miss.It was also his first goal for the club since scoring the third goal at Villa Park in a 4-2 win over Aston Villa(who were beaten 3-0 by ManDubai last night BTW).What a monkey to get off the back!!Chamakh was low in fitness and confidence since that goal at Villa Park and that opening goal was just what the doctor ordered.His celebrations showed how relieved he was.Now I am a big fan of ChamAttack.If we had signed him last year,we would definitely have finished much closer to the title than we did.This guy literally carried us at the start of the season when RVP was RVP’d and Bendy was suffering from groin problems as a result of the “celebration of love” that he was having with his Danish baroness.We really have this guy to be thankful for still being in the title race.Moving on with the rest of the match.

Leyton had a chance 5 minutes later but nothing came off it.On the 30th minute a superb cross Gibbs found Bendy and he scored with a brilliant looping header which would have been difficult to keep out for any keeper in the world.So in the first half an hour both of our strikers had scored.#GoodStuff.Leyton were still playing with a lot of spirit but they got bitch slapped again when after 12 minutes,Rozza stole the ball and prodded it to Bendy who after some good work to find some space scored a proper wormfucker.So we went into the halftime 3-0 up and once again we had to battle our complacecny.Thankfully this time the players showed no sign of that old devil.However Orient never lost their spirit and had a good spell in the second half where they threw in some quality crosses.Nevertheless,Almunia(ya that’s right) who was having a good game(apart from one time where he came off the line in the first half) looked pretty assured in dealing with any aerial threat and collected any crosses thrown at him.Then on the 62nd minute,Gibbs was fouled in the penalty area and a penalty was rightly awarded.Bendy stepped forward to take the penalty and calmly buried it to get his well deserved hat-trick.#VeryNice.Nasri was subbed in for Rozza who had a good game providing two assists.Rozza had picked up a blow on the head and was looking very dazed after being substituted but Lord Wenger said in the post match interview that there was no cause of concern.4 minutes later Le Boss made some interesting changes with Diaby and Bendy coming off for Clichy and Jacky.This was to have some more awesomeness in midfield in the form of Jacky and to give Gibbs some time as a left winger.Diaby had a good game after returning from injury.

On the 75th minute something mind-blowing happened.Eboueboue crossed to Clichy and the left back scored only his second goal for the club.So if I am not mistaken,from the first team everyone except for Eboue,Denilson,Gibbs and Vermaelen have scored this season?#NICE!!

Credit must be given to Leyton and its fans.The players were attacking even in the 92nd minute and the fans were always behind the team.Speaking of fans,where were ours?The PA announced an attendance of 59000+ but I have never seen so many empty seats in the Emirates.I hope you enjoyed sitting at home you mugs because you missed something truly rare.A Bendtner hat-trick combined with a Clichy goal and a clean sheet involving Skillaci and Almunia may never happen again.

PLAYER RATINGS

• Almunia : 7.5 : Had a pretty comfortable afternoon and dealt with any aerial threat well.Made one cock-up when he went to collect a ball on the left which did not come to him but the defense sorted the situation out.
• Gibbs : 7 : The left back got some much needed game time.Delivered a brilliant cross for Bendys first goal and even got some time on the wing when Clichy came on.
• Skillaci : 7.5 : Gave another assuring performance at centre-back and dealt with any threat the Os offered effectively.
• Miquel : 7.5 : Was pretty solid like his partner and there could have been a couple of moments of concern where the Os were countering but he dealt with it without any hiccups.
• Eboue : 7 : Contributed well in attack and in defense.Was guilty of leaving some space on the right in the second half but was generally convincing.
• Denilson : 7 : Typical performance from the Brazillian.Broke down some of the Os attacks in midfield well but was also guilty of giving the ball away on a couple of occassions.Has to put a real shift in if he wants to be considered as first choice though.
• Diaby : 8 : The Frenchman had a welcome return from injury and made some of his trademark gliding runs from midfield.Had one very good chance to score but didnt.Replaced on 66 minutes.
• Tomas Rozza : 8 : Had a good game and contributed with two assists.Was substituted due to a knock on the head but it was just precautionary and nothing is wrong according to Le Boss’ post-match interview.
• Conor Henderson : 7.5 : Could not have asked for a better game to make his debut.Was always hungry for the ball and created some good attacks.Also provided a real threat from set pieces.
• ChamakhAttack : 8 : The Moroccan will be glad to finally get over his mini-drought and linked up well with the midfield.Hopefuly he will have the same impact now that he had at the beginning of the season.
• Bendtner : 9 : Man of the match : Stepped up to the plate in spectacular fashion with three very well taken goals.He is a crucial player now and this form should be continued.

Substitutes

• Clichy : 8 : Was introduced in the 66th minute to give some time to Gibbs to play on the left wing.Took his goal brilliantly.
• Nasri : 7 : Was given 28 minutes and kept the attack moving with his mazy runs.
• Wilshere : 6.5 : Was brought on for Diaby.Was his usual solid self.

So a 5-0 win after the horror of last Sunday with both of our strikers netting and ManUSA dropping points at Stamford Bitch is exactly what we needed to pick ourselves up.Really crucial games up ahead with a trip to Camp New after a must win game against Sunderland at home.After that we travel to Old Trafford to take on ManUSA in the FA cup.

COME ON YOU GUNNERS

Time to Repl(a)y

Greetings gooners.A lot has transpired in terms of the title race since I last wrote a blog post.Let me start with the inevitable.We finally thought this was the season.How naive of us.It might never ever happen.We cannot escape the injury curse.As a result of scoring that brilliant goal against Birmingham(AAAAAAAARGH),our Flying Dutchman appeared to be in pain and was limping/lying down.Shortly though he got up and got on with the game.Could it have been possible?Had Robin finally gotten over his injury curse?#DoMeAFavorLove.Lord Wenger revealed that Van Persie would be out for “a minimum of” 3 weeks and would miss the trip to Barceloan.As if that was not bad enough,reliable sources on twitter(the same ones that said Vermaelen would be out for more than half of the year when he got injured) are saying that Van Persie is going to take 6 weeks to recover.

I might need a new keyboard

Apparently Koscielny and SONG!! had also picked up a couple of knocks and would miss a couple of games but they should be back for Barca.Le Boss also killed off many-a-gooners souls when he said that he would be giving Almunia a start and would give Szczlegend a rest.Apart from that Diaby will also be given a start.He did give some good news though by saying that Fabregas who was supposed to be injured only for one or two games is now “possible” for the Barca game.So here is what I think our squad will look like for tonight:

Almunia

Eboue     Squillaci      Miquel/Djourou       Gibbs

Diaby        Denilson

Chamakh        Rosicky        Arshavin

Bendtner

Bench:Szczlegend,Clichy,Djourou/Miquel,Sagna,Jack,Nasri,????

And that’s it.Thats our whole squad.Even after including one youth player(Miquel) we have one place empty on the bench.Unfortunately Ramsey will not be able to play today since he did not play in the first match.Even so,if this squad is not enough to beat Leyton Orient at the Emirates,I dont know what to make of our remaining season.

And carrying all this bad news with us we sat in front of our TVs to watch the first match of ManUSA’s “tough run in” vs the Chavs at Stamford Bitch.Although Chavs did us a favor,I had a very terrifying time.Every time the ball was on the feet of someone wearing blue I was actually cheering.#Shudder.The match started pretty brightly for the Chavs with Le Sulk combining well with El Nano.However Chelsea then faded away.Finally at the 30th minute the man who should not have even been on the pitch,Wayne Money,scored a goal.The Chelsea defenders were just watching and allowed him to shoot from more than his usual tap-ins distance and Petr Cech got beaten at his near post.At that point of time I was wondering how Chelsea had ever won the title.As second half started,within 10 minutes David Luiz made himself every gooners favorite “Non-Arsenal player” by scoring a truly fantastic goal.He struck a perfectly weighted volley right into the corner of the net.#SignHimUpArsene .Luiz though was guilty of body checking loads of ManUSA players and got a yellow card.He was replaced towards the end to prevent a second yellow seeing how “Ronaldolically” all the ManUSA players were diving around him.The game carried on and Chelsea were definitely looking like the stronger side.On the 79th minute Yuri Zhirkov(hehe) went down under a challenge from Small(th)ing in the penalty box and surprisingly got a penalty.Lampard made no mistake and buried it.2-1 to Chelsea.However the good news was not yet over.

4 additional minutes of stoppage time were added but this time ManUSA would be the ones to suffer in “Fergie Time”.Vidic who was clearly frustrated was making challenge after challenge(perfect captain?) on every Chav and was given his marching orders.So Vidic maintained his trend of getting sent off an opposition that included Torres in it but changed another trend by getting sent off before a Liverpool game than getting sent of during it.So ManUSA now have an injured Rio Ferdinand,an injured Johnny Evens and a suspended V-dick for their trip to Anfield.So it will be Wes Brown/Darren Fucker/John OShit partnering Small(th)ing in defense vs Suarez,Carroll,Gerrard,Merieles etc.Also every Gooners public enemy #1 Patrice Evra limped off during the match so we may see the Da Silvas in the full back positions. #GoodStuff

So now its all up to us.ManUSA are going to play us once,Chavs once and liverpool once.We cannot drop anymore points.If we want the Premier League it is ours.Its that simple.Lord Wenger has rightly said that every game is a must win now.

Lets start with tonight.This guy should be utterly humiliated by the end of the night.In football terms of course.

VICTORIA CONCORDIA CRESCIT

Grace Under Pressure

Greetings gooners.Apologies for the absence of a blog post yesterday.So Sunday night did not go quite as planned,did it?Lets start up with the build up to the match.Of course we were super favorites before the match.That is exactly the kind of situation that has come back to bite us in the backside before.Unfortunately I could not make the trip to Wembley to watch the match so I did the next best thing.The good people from the Arsenal Mumbai Supporters Club were screening the match.They have held such screenings in the past but Sunday night was the first time I attended such a screening.It goes without saying that this was the first of many screenings that I will attend.Despite the result,I had a very good time with fellow Gooners and (few)Goonerettes there.The atmosphere was nothing short of electric.

Thats me in the bottom left corner apparently praying to someone.Who was I even praying to,Lord Bergkamp?

We lined up pretty much as I had predicted except for one change.One VERY BIG change.See I had predicted that Nasri will start in the “Cesc-y” position and Bendtner will provide support on the right.Instead Rosicky was started where Nasri should have been and Nasri was providing support from the right.Now I like Tomas.He is a hard worker,can keep the ball moving around,is a fellow guitarist,fellow Metallica fan etc. but it was a mistake to start him in that position according to me.For all his ball retention,he is not able to create that killer pass that Cesc can and is unable to dribble into the opponents 6 yard box like Nasri can.Rosicky can shoot though and he did shoot but he was denied by Foster superbly(more on that later).

So the match started and we were let off the hook in the first few minutes.Within two minutes,Lee Bowyer had a clear run on goal and was taken down by Szczlegend(he still is).That was a stonewall penalty and a red card as Szczlegend got none of the ball.However the linesman wrongly put the flag up and we were given another life.We were not playing too brightly throughout the match and we paid the price for that on 28 minutes.Nikola Zigic(who else) headed the ball(what else) above Szczlegend into the goal and we were 1-0 down.Very soon we got out of jail again thanks to a legendary point-blank save of a Zigic effort by Szczlegend.We desperately needed a goal back and RVP then scored a fantastic goal.Wilshere had a fantastic shot bounce off the crossbar six minutes from time.The rebound fell to Arshaviiiiiiiiiiiin who wriggled past his marker(s) and laid the ball for Van Persie.Now there was a defender in front of RVP but he somehow wrapped his leg around the defender and superbly volleyed the ball into the goal.One of the most brilliant goals you will ever see and if it had been Wooney scoring that goal(yeah right!) the media would have been praising him for the next 435973240 years about it.More on Wooney later.Van Persie went down after the goal but he got up soon and started playing.There were 4 minutes of additional time at the end of the first half,4 minutes of complete Arsenal domination.We had a couple of shots saved by Foster and both the teams went into the break with nothing between them.

The second half started and was pretty standard with us having our chances but not capitalising.We really have to be thankful that Brum didn’t score another on the 58th minute.Thanks to a defensive cock-up from Djooooooooorou(what the fuck was wrong with our players?)  Beausejour won the ball and had his first chance blocked.The rebound fell to him and he (luckily for us)struck his effort on the crossbar.Szczlegend had no chance of saving that and we needed to capitalize on this gift.We almost did just that as Ben Foster superbly saved so many shots from our players that I was reminded of that scene from Shaolin Soccer where the keeper gives the ball to the opposition players and challenges them to shoot.We had all the momentum towards the end of the half and any gooner would have happily taken extra time seeing how strong we were looking then.Unfortunately we could not even get that as a clash between Szczlegend and Kosceilny on the 89th minute from a nothing long ball by Foster laid the ball on perfectly for Obafemi Martins who did as he had to and killed off our cup dream.Now I dont know who was at fault for the goal and I dont even want to know.There are many theories blaming Koscielny/Szczlegend/both but I really dont care.We had 4 minutes to get into extra time.Unfortunately it did not happen and Birmingham won the cup.

PLAYER RATINGS:

• Szczlegend : 6 : What an unfortunate time for the young keeper for making his first mistake(s).I have no doubt he is not going to let this affect his meteoric rise.
• Clichy : 6 : Was bullied by Zigic throughout the match but made some vital interceptions and tackles otherwise.
• Djoooooooourou : 7 : Was solid throughout the match except for that cock-up which almost cost us.Headed a lot of the crosses which were destined to reach Zigic’s head throughout the match.
• Koscielny : 6 : If it weren’t for that mistake he would have had a brilliant game.Unfortunately that happened and he needs to forget about it.
• Sagna : 6.5 : Was a bit less than his usual solid self but was still one of our better performers.
• Song : 6 : Whenever Song has a bad game or does not play,we lose.Unfortunately thats what happened on Sunday.
• Wilshere : 8 : Undoubtedly my Man Of The Match.Always wanting to win the ball back and keep the attack moving.Future captain without a doubt.
• Rosicky : 5.5 : Unconvincing in the role he was played.Kept the ball well and tested Foster to the limit with some of his brilliant shots but did not create as many chances as the “midfield engine” of our team is expected to make.
• Nasri : 6.5 : Would have been more effective if played in the middle but should still have been more influential than he was.
• Arshavin : 7 : Had a good game and created the goal for RVP.His subbing off is a mystery for me.
• Robin van Persie : 7.5 : Scored a goal that would have deserved to win any game.Started playing after he was injured but was finally subbed off.Every gooner will hope that he is at least fit to play against Bankruptalona.

Substitutes

• Bendtner : 6.5 : His subbing on definitely made us more lethal.He will get 90 minutes against Leyton in his preferred position and should make an impact.
• Chamakh : 6 : Typical of his performances in recent times.Needs to get back into the form that he was in at beginning of the season ASAP.

Congratulations to Birmingham.They did not play their usual brand of hoof it/kick them and kept the ball moving in the midfield.Well congratulations to Birmingham except for that cunt Barry Ferguson who preferred to slap Koscielny while he was down instead of celebrating with his team.Also congratulations to all Birmingham fans except for jackasses like these.Small team/small fans/small mentalities……Bah.

So news after the match was that RVP might not make the trip to the New Camp.However this is by the Daily Fail.I dont trust anything they say since the day I heard that they said this about Rock and Roll on 5th September 1956….

“[Rock music] is deplorable. It is tribal. And it is from America. It follows ragtime, blues, jazz, hot cha-cha and the boogie-woogie, which surely originated in the jungle. We sometimes wonder whether this is the negro’s revenge.”

A couple of more rounds of congratulations are in order.Happy Birthday and congratulations to Carlos Vela who is making quite the impact on loan at WBA.For the second game in succession he was brought on as a 80th+ minute substitute and for the second game in a row he salvaged a point for WBA by scoring at the last-minute.This time however it was much sweeter since it was against Tony Pubis’ Joke Shitty and it was offside.As expected Tony Pubis was moaning after the match.He should take his own advice and “keep his opinions”.

Alan Davies had asked Arsene Wenger why Tony Pubis always wears a cap.I think he wears a different cap every match as in the previous match he removes his cap and gives it to the man of the match from his team(the one who injured the most players) and that’s the only way any of his players can ever get a cap.

The other round of congratulations that are in order go to HandsOffEPL for getting featured on Goal.com India.We can make a difference and we have made a difference.We also reached 1000 signatures on the online petition.Thanks a lot to each and every football fan who has signed regardless of whichever team they support.This shows that fans still care more about the game than about petty rivalries.Top stuff guys.

Now lets talk about what the effect of the loss against Birmingham might have on our season.A lot was said by a lot of people(including yours truly) that the loss may kill off our season.What our players need to remember is that we are still very strongly in all the remaining 3 competitions.Our players need courage now.What kind of courage you ask?Well let me answer that using an Ernest Hemingway quote:

“Courage is grace under pressure.”

We need to ignore the comments by the media.We need to ignore the jokes and celebrations of the opposition fans.We need to support our team now more than ever.We need the team to just focus on every single match one at a time knowing how crucial each match is.Heres why I think we can still win each and every match we are in:

• PREMIER LEAGUE : After the game against Stoke we were considered as having a very good chance to win the EPL.Now everyone is writing us off.The points difference was 4 back then and it is still 4 now.All we can do is play our remaining matches like our lives depend on it and wait for ManUSA to drop points.We all know that Torres has not scored for Chelsea till now because he wants to score his first goal against his bitch,Vidic.
• FA CUP : This is the cup that I think we are definitely going to win.Why?Because we have been very unconvincing throughout this FA cup campaign and if there is anything that ManUSA has taught us is that you cannot win a title by not being unconvincing.
• CHAMPIONS LEAGUE : Now just by reading this many pessimistic gooners and fans of other teams will start laughing.”How can a team who fucks up like that beat Barceloan”,you ask?Well what chance did you give us of beating Bankruptalona after our second half performance against Newcastle United?

We also need to see this video:

At the end of the video the crowd shouts “We still believe in love so fuck you”.To all the doubters I say,

“We still believe in this team so fuck you”

Many gooners also fear that the mistake at the end of the match may ruin the career(s) of  Szczlegend/Koscielny.I have no doubt in my mind that they will bounce back stronger from this.In fact if I remember correctly,just after the cock-up,all of our players were attacking and one of their players countered and Szczlegend was out of his box and made a brilliant save using his chest.

In other news,the FA(Fergies Acolytes,Footballs Assholes,etc.) have decided not to punish McCarthy for headbutting Wooney’s elbow.In a normal world Wooney would have been sent off for that and would have missed the matches against Chelsea,Liverpool and a possible match against us in the FA cup.Untold Arsenal had written a brilliant ref review for that match.I pity anyone who genuinely believes that ManUSA do ont have something going on with the refs.

Lets end this post with some good news.He has said this before and he is saying it again.King Henry wants to come back.I see no reason why he could not come back as a striker coach and help the likes of Walcott and Bendtner.SIGN HIM UP ARSENE!!!

So that’s it for today.Be sure to check in tomorrow for the preview for the replay against Leyton Orient.All the best to Chelsea for tonight!!

The Key to Greatness

So it’s finally here.Just one more day to go before our Carling Cup final match against Birmingham City.

There are a lot of people who have been calling us hypocrites for taking a trophy which we have dismissed as “not important” in the previous seasons,so seriously this season.Well here’s why we have such a different attitude towards the Carling Cup this season.In the past,Mr. Wenger has used the Carling Cup as an opportunity to give players like Fabregas,Bendtner,Song etc. some very valuable first team game time.Even though we might not have won the Carling Cup recently,its contribution to the rapid development of our players has been unquestionable.This season though,our injury jinx has not been as bad as recent seasons(at least till now).This has resulted in very talented players like Bendtner,Denilson,Arshavin,Eboue etc. not getting any game time.All these players have played in the Carling Cup this season.We have not changed our approach of not risking the Premier League or the Champions League by playing our first teamers in the Carling Cup.Our first teamers were always present on the bench during the games to help out in case things did not go according to plan.Heres how the road to the final looks like:

• We knew right away that the Carling Cup was going to be special this season when we started the campaign by inflicting a humiliating 4-1 defeat on “those guys” at Shite Hart Lane.Henri Lansbury scored his first goal for The Gunners.His celebration was a sight to see and we all knew instantly what scoring against the Spuds meant to him.However all signs of “this might be one of those nights” appeared when Robbie Keane equalized for the Scum.The game went into extra time but the extra time was nothing more than a slaughter of the Spuds.Samir Nasri fantastically converted two penalties in quick succession to assure our progress to the next round.Arshaviiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiin killed them off with a superb 4th goal. Score : Tottenham 1 – 4 Arsenal
• For the next round we were handed a tricky away draw against Newcastle United at St. James’ Park.This game was also the debut of Szczlegend.Newcastle were playing really well till the end of the first half till an own goal from their keeper Tim Krul gave us the lead.The second half consisted of a brace from Theo Walcott and a goal from Nicklas Bendtner. Score : Newcastle 0 – 4 Arsenal
• Our reward for beating Spuds and Newcastle was an “easy” home tie against Wigan Athletic.I was pretty confident about the match till I saw the starting lineup.This was the first time I had seen Arsene use a 4-2-4 formation with Carlos Vela,RVP(captain),Theo Walcott and Nicklas Bendtner in the front 4, Denilson as the holding midfielder and Jacky being the only one providing creativity in the midfield.So many strikers and only one midfield man to pull the strings?Luckily we went through thanks to an Alcaraz own goal and another Bendtner goal. Score : Arsenal 2-0 Wigan Athletic
• Now we were in the semi finals with Ipswich Town,Birmingham and West Ham.We were also handed the favorable draw against Ipswich with us playing the first leg away.Ipswich had just sacked their manager,Roy Keane(remember him?) and had lost 7-0 to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.A cricket score was predicted in our favor.However football is rarely that straight forward.The first leg consisted of some of the worst football I have seen us play under Arsene Wenger.They won 1-0 thanks to a offside goal.Nevertheless it could not be said that they did not deserve the victory. Score : Ipswich Town 1 – 0 Arsenal
• So we went into the second leg realising that winning this would actually need some work.Arsenal did their best to give us another heart attack by keeping the score to 0-0 till the 61st minute.However in the 61st minute Bendtner scored a goal that would make even Thierry proud.1-0 was quickly changed to 2-0 with Koscielny scoring 3 minutes later.El Capitan scored in the 77th minute to confirm the trip to Wembley. Score : Arsenal 3 – 0 Ipswich Town

Ps: Point to be noted:We have only conceded two goals in the entire campaign with both of them being offside.

And that brings us to right now…..FINAL TIME.Winning the Carling Cup would make us Champions(duhhhh) and would finally indicate that this team has grown up and is ready to do much more.I cant see any reason why holding that trophy above their heads on Sunday wouldn’t make our players hungrier for more glory.However the consequences of a loss could be devastating.Getting so close to glory and then watching it slip away could be too much for some of our players.Tomorrows match truly is THE KEY TO GREATNESS.

Also lets not forget who we are playing against and what tomorrow is.We are playing against Birmingscum who ruthlessly and effectively destroyed Dudu’s career in England.I say England because he is doing very well for Shaktar Donetsk now and he is the only player who has scored in the Emirates for 3 different teams.Class truly is permanent.Tomorrow will also be one year to the day when Aaron Ramsey’s magnificent and promising rise in the first team was cut short by a certain good boy named Ryan Shawcross.Im sure hes not that type of player though.When we played the Stokies,it was exactly 3 years since Eduardo was injured.If there ever was a time to show that we have grown up and we cannot be bullied,This Is It.

No pressure lads….

In other news,Fabregas has finally decided to listen to my suggestion and sit out tomorrow’s match.However there is news that if we win,Fabregas might be the one to lift the trophy after all.Mr. Wenger also confirmed that RVP will be the captain in tomorrow’s match.Heres why I said it would be between him and Nasri in yesterday’s blog post:

• Lets start with Nasri first.Nasri’s importance in this tournament cannot be overstated.Lets take a look at what had happened in the game before the one against Tottenham where he scored those two penalty kicks.We were held to a 1-1 draw at Sunderland with Cesc being injured courtesy of a freak goal and Darren Bent(yes,I know) scoring with the last kick of the match(yes,I know).In that match Sami was fouled in the box with 17 minutes to go and a penalty was awarded.Nasri did not want to take the penalty as he was the one who was fouled(I never understood that logic) and Rosicky ended up missing the penalty.In the game against Shitspurs too,Nasri was one who was fouled for the first penalty.This time though he knew he had to take the responsibility.Both the penalties were converted.This is the stuff of captains.There has been news that he has finally signed a new contract for 5 years worth more than 100,000 pounds per week.I am not saying that he does not deserve it but it seems strange considering our wage structure and the loss we might be reporting.
• There is not enough that can be said about RVP’s loyalty towards this team.Lets face it,despite his injury record,he is world-class and he deserves much more than he has won with us.However he did not even think of abandoning us when clubs like InterMilan,Juventus,Chelsea and Man City came calling.If there is one person in the team who takes real pride in being a Gooner,its him.Therefore it is fit that he will be the one who will bring our team into the field of battle.

So this is how I think we will lineup on Sunday given Cesc and Theo’s absence:

Szczlegend

Clichy    Koscielny    Djourou    Mr. Consistencagna

SONG!!!!!             Jackie

Arshaviiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiin           Nasri              Bendy

RVP(Captain)

All these players need to realize that this might be the defining game of their career.If we win tomorrow and go on to achieve much more glory,we will always look back at tomorrows game and say,”That was THE KEY TO GREATNESS“.

So thats it for the preview.Lets hope the team gives 100% and that should be enough to get us the win regardless of who the referee is going to be.

As a parting note I would like to tell all the Gooners who are making the trip to Wem-ber-ley that I will be watching the match with the Official Arsenal Mumbai Supporters Club and not for one minute will I stop singing and shouting out the teams’ and players’ names/songs.I wish that you guys would do the same at Wembley and that the atmosphere at tomorrows game would bring the atmosphere for the game against Bacra to shame.

GO GUNNERS!!!!!!!!!!!

Injury News,Catalan Hypocirsy and The Great Midfield Debate

Hello Gooners.Two days before the Carling Cup final.A lot has been said in the press about how important this match is considering what the effects of a win/loss would mean for the rest of our season.More on that in the preview to the final tomorrow.Lets get on to some injury news.

So our worse fears were confirmed when Mr. Wenger reported that Cesc and Walcott would be out of the final.However there was some good news with The Flying Dutchman,Kos Kos and Diaby all returning from injury.Now firstly with Diaby,we have seen a trend this season that when he comes back from injury he gets put straight into the starting lineup.Now I know the man has incredible talent but I hope that he does not start in such an important match especially considering who we are playing against.

Cesc’s personal trainer has said that El Capitan could play on Sunday since his injury is not serious and he really wants to play and lift his first trophy as captain.Now while I really admire Cesc’s determination,let us consider how fragile his hamstring is right now.In fact in recent times it has been as reliable as Robin’s ankle.He has been risked many times in the recent past most notably the game against Barfa last season and in the group stages of the Champions League this season.Both those risks did not pay off and Cesc had to be substituted in the match and was out for more than a couple of matches.

I can understand how much lifting the Carling Cup on Sunday must mean to him,but Cesc should consider this……take 10 days off,tame that hamstring,get into the godlike form we all know he is capable off and then power the team throughout the rest of the season.So the choices for Cesc would be:

• Play in the Carling Cup against his managers wishes,put that hammy in a very risky situation and have a good chance of getting injured and losing 4-5 weeks more and being sidelined for that return leg at Camp New which we all know he would love to play in…..

OR

• Get that hammy back into shape,murder those Catalan bastards at Camp New,(if we beat Leyton)beat Invincibles-lite at Old Trafford,play like a possessed man throughout the season,win the Champions league and lift THAT at Wembley.

Make your choice Cesc,make your choice……

You do make a good point

There was also a massive debate going on Twitter last night about whether Nasri would be able to step into Cesc’s shoes.As I said in yesterday’s blog post:

“Cesc missed 18Sept-19Oct: Nasri scored 5 in 5. Cesc missed 23 Nov-13 Dec: Nasri scored 4 in 4. Nasri has only scored 5 in 20 with Cesc in team”

Now if I remember correctly,the last time this debate had cropped up was when Cesc was injured for the 2nd leg of last season’s Champions League round of 16 match vs Porto at the Emirates in which we were trailing 2-1 due to some shambolic defending and keeping in the first leg.The feelings before the 2nd leg of every gooner were the same as they are now.In that 2nd leg,though Bendtner scored a fantastic hat-trick and though Arshavin played brilliantly,in my opinion Nasri was the standout performer.He effortlessly pulled the strings in midfield and when we were leading 2-0 made an important goal line clearance.

Of course after that he did this…

Now picture this,if Nasri had not made that clearance and had not scored that goal,the score would be 2-1.And that would have been a very risky position.Also Nasri has played as a CAM for his old club and is playing as a CAM for his national team.In any case if we can’t win a match against Birmingham without Cesc then perhaps we don’t even deserve to be champions.

There is also a small debate as to who will be the captain for tomorrow.My pick would be either Nasri or RVP.More on that in tomorrow’s preview.

Now lets talk about our new signing,John Miquel Toral.He is a 16-year-old from Bacra’s acadmy.I can try to explain what his style is but that has been very brilliantly done in this article.(MUST READ).

He seems very promising and it seems like a couple of years later we might have to chant HANDS OFF JOHN MIQUEL TORAL.

Of course BacraLoan have done everything they can to further sour relations by calling us immoral.You have made a little spelling mistake Barca,we are not immoral,we are IMMORTAL.

Jamie Sanderson,the excellent author of the excellent Young Guns blog has described Barcelona’s hypocrisy very well here.So we sign 16-year-old Fabregas and Toral who WANT to come to Arsenal,while they tap up Chuks Aneke and Benik Afobe who don’t wanna go anywhere and we are immoral?#DoMeAFavorLove.

So that’s it for today folks.I hope you enjoyed the post and be sure to join me tomorrow for the Carling Cup final.Cheers.

PS:Anyone wondering why I keep calling Barcelona Bacra?Well in Hindi,Bacra means goat and fools are called Bacras.

ONE NIIIIIIIIIL TO THE FOOTBALL

Greetings readers.Last night went pretty much as expected didn’t it?Before I get into the report of the match here’s a look at the Champions League matches that were played last night:

• In the replay of last years final,Inter Milan faced Bayern Munich at the San Siro.Mario Gomez scored in the 89th minute to give Bayern Munich a 1-0 victory and a precious away goal.Arjen Robben shot at the keeper and Julio Cesar saved it but the save was not very clean and Mario Gomez was the first to pounce at it.So both the Italian clubs(AC Milan and Inter Milan) trail 1-0 after having played the first leg at San Siro.
• The other match saw Marseille play against Man United and the match ended in a 0-0 draw.I cannot comment much about this match since I was busy watching the football vs rugby game.

So now coming to our match with Joke Shitty.The “Stokies” lined up pretty much as expected with former Gunner Jermaine Pennant starting on the wings.The major surprise of the “Stokies” lineup was the absence of Ricardo Fuller who has a very good record against us(4 goals in 5 matches was the stat by the commentator).We lined up just as I had predicted(WIN) with our usual 4-2-3-1 formation with The Man in the Number 18(more coming up on him) coming in for Kozzer and Niklas “best striker in the world” Bendtner coming in for RVP.

We started very brightly with Walcott hitting the inside of the bar in less than a couple of minutes.Speedy Gonzalescott can consider himself very unlucky not to have scored then and as soon as the ball bounced off the bar and into Begovic’s hands we knew that this was not going to be easy. The next few minutes consisted of us being mostly camped in their half and creating many chances.All of our pressure finally paid off when we scored from a set piece in the 8th minute(HAR HAR).Jack’s corner was neatly controlled by Bendy and nicely given to Squillaci who made no mistake.THE MAN  IN THE NUMBER 18…..WHAT DID I FUCKIN TELL YOU!!!!

Just dont play us together!!!!

It was a pretty solid performance from Squizzer after that,nothing flashy but nothing that would raise your blood pressure as well.More of the same Squizzer.

Our joy at the goal soon turned into sorrow as El Capitan was substituted in the next couple of minutes for Arshhhhhhhhavin.The commentators said it might be precautionary but reliable sources on twitter say that it might be a couple of weeks.

Nothing a group hug can't cure

After the match Cesc tweeted:

“I don’t know if ill make sunday or no, but all I know is that from this moment to sunday 16’30 I wont sleep if its necessary. I’ve waited too long to captain a final for arsenal and i wont give up till the last second.”

WOW!!I hope you are listening to this Xavi.Every gooner wishes he will be fit for Sunday but lets not forget that Sunday is not the end of the season and we need him for the game against BarceLoan at Camp New.

The game continued with Arshhhhhhavin on for Cesc.Arshavin looked rusty in the first 10-15 mins of his arrival which is understandable as he was called onto the pitch very suddenly with very little warmup but after that he fitted into the attack well with Nasri playing in Cesc’s position and Arshavin playing on the left where Nasri was playing.

Our tempo dropped a little with the substitution and while we were still attacking most of the time,John Carew,the Aston Villa loanee created something very spectacular.He stuck a powerful half volley goalwards and controlled it brilliantly and got it on target.At that point every gooner went “UH-OH…not again” but even that could not get past Szczlegend.Wojo was my man of the match without a doubt,very commanding and got to all stoke crosses and long throw-ins except for one which was lucky headed over the bar.

We had another good chance a few minutes before the break with a free kick very close to the goal which was taken by Nasri.As soon as Nasri stepped up to take the kick “NANANANANANANANANA SAMIR NASRI…NASRI….SAMIR NASRI!!!” was all that could be heard.Unfortunately Nasri should have done better with the chance and half time rolled on.So one-nil up at the half with a few chances going Stokes way…..every gooner desperately wanted that second goal.

At half time every gooner was wondering why Stoke had not stuck to their usual plan of kicking and fouling every time we had the ball.There were no prizes for guessing what Tony Pulis’ half time talk was because as soon as the second half started,Stoke were back to their rugby-best with a bad foul every minute from the 45th min to the 52-53rd min.There was a challenge by Gael Clichy on one of their players with Clichy getting a yellow card.Off the ball challenges by their players were uncarded by the ref.Are we whining? #DoMeAFavorLove .

The next 25 mins were pretty standard with Arsenal threatening Begovic’s goal regularly and Szczlegend bitch-slapping all their throw-ins and corners.Then at the 70th minute what we all had feared throughout the match happend.Dean Nohead subjected Walcott to another reckless and clumsy(im sure he’s not that type of player) challenge.Walcott had to be stretchered off with Denilson replacing him.

Bugger

The initial diagnosis is that he will miss the final on Sunday…..AAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH.

Later on in the match,Jermaine Pennant shot a free kick from the edge of the box just wide of the post but Szczegend had it pretty well covered.We started to play out the match with Chamakh coming in for Bendy.Pretty decent night for Bendy with an assist.Nasri and Arshavin almost combined for a second in the 94th or so minute of stoppage time.The last chance came to Joke with a long throw in the 95th minute.Any other day we might have thrown this away but not today.3 points were secured and the gap was closed down on Manure to one point with them playing away at Wigan on Saturday.

Arsenal Player Ratings:

Szczegend : 9 : My man of the match without a doubt.Commanded the penalty area like he has been living there since the last two decades.Got to every cross and every throw in except for that one which was headed over the bar.One point has been deducted for that.Apart from that there is not anything else you can ask for from a keeper.

Clichy : 7.5 : Very calm performance from the left back who is really re-stating his authority on that position after a bit of a shit spell in the beginning of the season.Made one reckless challenge on a “Stokie” and was rightly yellow carded.

SQUILLACI : 8 : I knew this guy was not as hopeless as his performances in recent times have suggested.Koscielny and him are both very able defenders but pair them together and they both turn into shit.A solid performance by the french defender with a well taken header to claim his first goal in the premier league.The curse of the number 18 looks to be finally breaking(#ReverseJinx).

Djoooooourou : 8.5  : Oh Djourou what would we ever do without you?This guy improves the performance of every centre back he plays with.Cannot wait to see him and Verminator in the heart of the defense.

Bacary Sagna : 7.5 : A typical Sagna-performance.Always willing to attack and never left the defense exposed.

Song : 7.5 : Played a very crucial part in the game by battling against Stoke’s physical challenge.Tried to orchestrate a few attacks as well,some came off,some didn’t.

Jack Wilshere : 8.5 : This stat by Eboue_Eboue says that he completed 25% more passes than all of Stoke’s central midfielders combined.Thats Arsenal DNA for you Xavi.

Cesc Fabregas : 7.5 : Set up a wonderful ball for Walcott in the second minute which hit the bar.Had to be substituted due to a recurrence of his hamstring problem and his coming off immediately saw the tempo of the match drop.Needs to be fit against BarceLoan.

Samir Nasri : 7 : Rustiness was still a but evident from his latest spell on the sidelines.Fitted into the center after Cesc was substituted and he will be one of the key players in the coming matches with Cesc and/or Walcott out(#ReverseJinx).

Theo Walcott : 8 : What a lively performance from Theo and what a disappointing end to his night.His absence will be felt against Birmingscum.

Nicklas Bendtner : 7.5 : Finally got some game time in his favored position but did not do enough to threaten RVP’s grip on it.Laid the ball perfectly for Squillaci for the opener.Substituted for Chamakh.

SUBS:

Denilson : 6 : This stat by Eboue_Eboue tells you everything you need to know.

“In 19 mins of action, Denilson gave the ball away thrice (twice in own half), lost 3 of 4 tackles, made no blocks and had no shots. Grrrr!”

Must do better Deni…..Must do better….

Chamakh : 6.5 : The Moroccan international was given some time to get back into the form in which he was at the beginning of the season.It will take some time but he will definitely get there.

Arshavin : 7.5 : Got onto the field much earlier than he had anticipated and showed enough quality to be included in the starting lineup in the absence of Theo/Cesc.

After the match a lot of gooners were worrying about how we might lineup without Theo and/or Cesc in crucial games such as the one against Barcelona.Heres how I think the attacking 3 will look like in their absence:

Without Theo and with Fabregas

Arshavin   Cesc    Nasri

Without Fabregas and with Theo

Arshavin Nasri Theo

Without both Fabregas and Theo

Arshavin Nasri Bendtner

It is evident here that both Arshavin and Nasri are very important in the coming weeks and they have to be fit and on form.We even have more cover in the form of TR7,Diaby,even Ramsey if needed.Anyone who worries that Nasri wont be able to do the “Cesc-y Job” should read this tweet from David at BBC Sport :

“Cesc missed 18Sept-19Oct: Nasri scored 5 in 5. Cesc missed 23 Nov-13 Dec: Nasri scored 4 in 4. Nasri has only scored 5 in 20 with Cesc in team”

Dont worry guys,Nasri definitely knows how to step up to the plate.

It would be wrong to end today’s blog post without a special mention to all the “special” Stoke fans.Yesterday somehow my blog made it to one of the stoke forums.As you would imagine,all the “special” stoke fans were frustrated that I was insulting their club so they decided to come here and make their awesome thoughts known.Unfortunately for them,I have a job and a life and I decided not to entertain their thoughts.Seriously guys,trolling on an Arsenal blog on a Wednesday afternoon?Jobless much?So after all of that drama,this humble blog got 10 times the number of visits that it had gotten on the previous day(which was also its first day of existence).Now dear reader,I am not one who “fishes for hits” but having your name on the “blogs of the day” list definitely felt good and got me over any “mental breakdowns” that the “stokies” claimed I had.Thank you Stoke fans,I wish I could return this favor to you in kind but unlike you all I actually have a job and a life.But you guys rule!!

And before I sign out,here’s another fine example of what the Man in the Number 18 is capable of :

 

I refuse to even face your goal while I score,Begovic.