Wenger Says Yes To Gotze. Song Steals The Show as god RVP Shoots Down BVB.

Group winners with one game to spare, who would have thought that was possible seeing as we were ‘in crisis’ at the beginning of the season and the stalemate against Marseille threatened another episode of last season’s drama where we had to qualify as runners up on the last day.

No such thing this time as Robin Van Persie as always came to the rescue infront of the Emirates faithful which had gunners legend Henry & tennis legend Roger Federer amongst them, but despite bagging both goals, Alex Song was the obvious man of the match.

Arsene named the same squad for the first time in almost a year but had Diaby back in the team(on the bench) as the only plus. The game itself was a lull at the beginning and the earliest chances fell to the away team but they were tame chances which Chezzer dealt with very well. At the other end, Weidenfeller had to be alert to claim a wicked cross from Walcott which was aimed at RVP.

Wunderkid & reported Arsenal target was having an off game as he carried an injury along but a collision with Vermaelen from Lars Bender saw the latter go off with a broken jaw. He got Verminated if you ask me. Gotze was to follow suit almost immediately as he couldn’t continue. All this in the first half alone. You’d think we would have it easy but Dortmund continued to frustrate and it ended level going into the break.

Second Half

It started way better than the first ended and Gervinho continued to cause chaos with his speed and dribbling but no end product. The first goal came and my dear was it a joy to watch, receiving a pass from Ramsey, Alex Song took the ball to the by line, cut in between two markers, faced with three more, with a fast feet move, bamboozled them before sending a cross for RVP who nodded home gladly.

For a second the whole stadium wondered if ‘Black Messi’ was the one who just pulled off that magnificent move. Gervinho was next to follow, sent through on goal with just the goalkeeper by Ramsey, he fluffed his lines and Hummels got back in time to clear the danger. For all his hardwork and ease at going past players, Gervinho finishes worse than a girl. The strikers in the Arsenal ladies team finish better.

The second goal which was inevitable, came through the unlikeliest of routines. Arteta fashioned a near-post corner for TV5 to flick into RVP’s path. Robin was never going to miss from there. 2 nil and we were cruising! We were 2 goals ahead and definitely through to the next stage.

An almost perfect night, which would have been perfect had Song and Djourou not contrived to gift the visitors a goal. Song tried to waste time on the ball, but he should have been doing that at the opposite end of the pitch, not so close to his goalkeeper. The ball was stolen from him as he tried to pass to Djourou, a cross was sent into the area and somehow we conceded. Vermaelen’s reaction to the goal tells a story!

Notwithstanding, we got 3 points, top the group and get to avoid the likes of Real Madrid and Barcelona. Our last group game away to Olympiakos is a mere formality now and it gives us an opportunity to rotate. Considering how we got into the group stages in the first place, this feels too good to be true!

After giving Dortmund the respect of not unsettling their star player before a game between both sides, Arsene confirmed the club’s interest in Mario Gotze. In his post match interview, Le Boss asserted his eagerness to bring the little magician to North London. Said He,

“For me, Mario Gotze is a player for the future, he is very talented, has a great attitude. It’s no surprise to me that all big European clubs show interest in him, as we do also.”

It remains to be seen if he does not end up on the list of “players we almost signed”.

That’s all from me today, we have weathered the storm and are finally on our way back. There is still a lot of room for improvement though. If you take into account that Man United, Chelsea and City still have to play the last game to ensure qualification, it’s really not a bad time to be a gooner.

We play Fulham on Saturday, it wouldn’t be selfish to ask for more of the same, would it? And this means 3 points, good football and more goals for the Dutch master!

Have a wonderful day wherever this post meets you! Do leave us with your thoughts and comments!

Cheers!

Van Persie with Another Double : Arsenal vs Dortmund Player Ratings

Remember last and upper week when I said I’m going to run out of words for Van Persie, well I have, now I think he needs to take a break or I need to learn Dutch adjectives synonymous with brilliant and on fire. Two goals in the second half won the game for us.

Arsene stuck with the same line up for the first time since January 2010. Below are the player ratings.

RATINGS

Szczesny- 7
Passenger the entire match. Djourou had to come on and ruin the clean sheet for him.

Jenkinson 7
With 3 interceptions, you’d think he was born a right back. Has settled into the role although his presence there limits our attacking play on that wing.

Vermaelen 7
Another solid performance form the Belgian, the defence seems better when he’s there. Claimed the assist for the second goal that all but sealed the win

Mertesacker – 6.5
Just like Vermaelen, rarely had much defensive work to do as the threat of one frontman was easily nullified

Santos – 7
The pace at which the brazilian is endearing himself to the Emirates faithful is lovely to see. He was rarely troubled and at times had more attacking to do than defending.

Song – 9
YES!!! He deserves every mark. An absolute beast in the middle of the park and a Messi-esque run from him to set up the opener for his 5th assist this season. Defensive midfielder you say? Don’t think so

Arteta – 7
Near flawless performance from the Spaniard, he reminds me of Petit-Gilberto, battles hard in the midfield, plays the simple and easy passes and never puts us in trouble.

Ramsey – 7
Not for poor finishing from the likes of Theo & Gervinho, he would have claimed 2 assists on the night. He continues to grow with every match.

Walcott – 6.5
Should have done better with the chances provided in both halves. He defended superbly well which is good to see.

Gervinho – 6
This guy right here, is on course to be the worst finisher in Arsenal’s history. He stammers each time he’s put through and I’ve seen females that finish better. Needs a goal quick.

Van Persie – 8.5
god!!!!!! is the new word I came up with for Van Persie, looked like it was going to be a barren night and from no where Boom!! 2 goals. Owes the first to Song’s brilliant run and the other to Vermaelen’s flick.

SUBSTITUTES

Benayoun – 5

Djourou – 3
Gave away the ball that led to Dortmund’s goal even though he was played into trouble by Song.

Diaby – N/A

Another double for RVP and another 3 points that has sealed our qualification to the next round and has probably earned him rest for the last group match. Do have a lovely night.

Escobar

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Dutch Delight As Robin Brace Downs Norwich : The Player Ratings

RED HOT ROBIN!!!!, CAPTAIN FANTASTIC!!! , one day I’ll get tired and start repeating superlatives in describing Robin Van Persie. The Dutchman is scoring goals like its out of fashion and proved match winner again today. 31 goals in 2011, 13th on the Arsenal all time scorers list and looking likely to bag the player of the month again.

Arsene was forced to make a change as Jenkinson was ruled out through injury. Mertesacker came in and Kozzer moved to RB. We conceded the first goal due to stupid defending from the flagpole German but RVP hit back with two goals in each half to seal all 3 points. Below are the ratings.

PLAYER RATINGS

Szczesny- 7
Seems to never have anything serious to do in the game but continues to have his copybook blotted by silly defending. Composed & confident throughout

Kozzer 6
Playing at RB and looked confident, had a lot of interceptions and cleared his lines well. Tried to play a lot of ambitious passes. Cut that out son.

Mertesacker 4.5
Tempted to give him a lower rating, just because you’re slow doesn’t mean you have to be sluggish. Poor for the opening goal for someone of his status.

Vermaelen – 8
If RVP had a twin that played at CB and was on fire like him, its Thomas Vermaelen, another excellent game and he rescued Mertesacker over and over again. Brilliant man.

Santos – 6.5
Probably his best defensive showing since joining us. Marauding performance going forward and good at the back. Had an easy game in the second 45.

Arteta – 5.5
After receiving such high praise in the previous week he comes up with a very lackluster performance. Was good in the first half but very sad to watch in the second half.

Song – 7
Had a contrasting game to Arteta, gave away passes in the first half and lost almost all his tackles but came out roaring in the second half and laid the aassist for the winner

Ramsey – 6
Playing for Wales midweek must have dulled his game but still was hardworking throughout, always available for passes and willing to attack.

Walcott – 8
All he lacked today was a goal. Absolutely barnstorming game from the English man. Assisted the first goal, saw a shot cleared off line and saw another bounce off the upright.

Gervinho – 6
This man right here continues to remind me that we miss Nasri at times with his poor finishing. Twice he was free on goal and fluffed his lines. Every other aspect of his game is faultless

Van Persie – 9
Looked like he was heading for a frustrating afternoon after spurning 3 clear chances. But he stuck to it and was rewarded with two goals.

SUBSTITUTES
Benayoun – N/A

MAN OF THE MATCH : Van Persie

Honorable Mention : Theo Walcott

Another win, another dutch brilliance on show, it can only get better as we slowly but surely continue to climb up the table. See you in the comments.

Escobar

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Arsenal 3 – 0 West Brom : Player Ratings

WHO NEEDS BATMAN WHEN YOU’VE GOT ROBIN read the banner at the emirates. And they were right. One goal one assist means the in-form dutchman continues his red hot form. I might have to get a ‘Van Persie’ tattoo so everyone knows my love for him is real.

Wenger made just one change to the team that played against Marseille and that was RVP for Park. He rewarded that with the first goal, then went on to lay an assist for his vice captain The Verminator and for Arteta later in the second half to win the game. Below are the player ratings.:

PLAYER RATINGS

Szczesny- 7
Wasn’t really troubled by the West Brom frontline. Was called to action a couple of times but held his ground. Good outing.

Jenkinson 7
The young right back was highly impressive as he provided some good balls into the area going forward

Vermaelen 8
The Verminator is back Ladies and Gentlemen. Excellent outing for our assistant captain with a goal Vaan Persie would have been proud of.. Was also on hand with a delicate tackle against Tchoyi. Good game. Let’s hope he stays injury free

Koscielny – 7
The Frenchman wasnt really troubled as his combination with TV5 was amazing. I think this is the start of aa wonderful relationship. Maybe we can use Mertesacker for Champs league duty

Santos – 7
Probably his best defensive showing, not that he did anything note worthy. The brazilian claims his second clean sheet in succession

Arteta – 7
Started the game a bit slow with his side passes and two-dimensional game play. Was able to get a goal after a lovely lay-off from RvP. Really needs to step up his overall game play

Song – 8
Another good game for Song. Brilliant in coordinating the midfield & defense. Good news for Arsene as we won’t be losing him in Jaanuary

Ramsey – 7
Matured performance, without doing anything wrong, had a lot of delightful passes for Walcott in the first 45 mins. Grows with every game

Walcott – 6.5
A better game than the one against Marseille, needs to improve his jekyll and hyde finishing. I think he needs a breather.

Gervinho – 7
The Ivorian seems to be enjoying himself with every passing game, no longer staggers on the ball he’ll be missed in January but till then, let’s enjoy him.

Van Persie – 9
I’m sorry, I’ve run out of adjectives and superlatives to describe RVP, unless of course I use Yorùbá which is my native language but I’ll hold back on that. Super Super player.

SUBSTITUTES

Benayoun 5
Helped in starting the move that led to the third and final goal.

Rosicky N/A

Arshavin N/A

Another win, another clean sheet. Happy times at the Emirates again.

Faf

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Arsenal vs Marseille : Post Match Thoughts + Ratings

For only the third game this season, Arsenal shot blanks and failed to find the back of the net. The scoreline did not reflect the nature of the game as we could have won by at least 3 goals with poor finishing & lack of sharpness to blame.

Arsene Wenger chose to rest RVP and Koscielny for Vermaelen & Park with Jenkinson also coming in for Djourou, those were the only changes. The game started off slowly, we kept giving away possession and Marseille spent the better part of the first 10 minutes in our half with nothing to show.

We gained a foothold just after that, with Ramsey and Gervinho posing serious threats with their pace & passing. Ramsey had the chance to put us ahead but held back on the pass to Park and ended up wasting it. Walcott was also set free by Gervinho and Marseille had the goalkeeper to thank after turning it round the post. The half time whistle came and just before that, Gervinho shot at the goalkeeper.

For all of the speed carried by the oppositions attackers they couldn’t make it count. Santos was having a mixed game, poor at the back, excellent going forward. Gervinho full of energy, Arteta ever so careful. The back four rarely untroubled and Vermaelen looked solid, Jenko too. Despite making changes and introducing RVP, Rosicky & Arshavin, we still lacked sharpness but credit to Marseille, they got what they came for.

On the plus side, coming away with the draw meant we still top the group and are on course to qualify and the unbeaten run is still on.

Positives
Good to see Vermaelen back, he did not look out of place, won his tackles, defended well and organized the defence.

•Jenkinson defended well and Song had a solid game. Gervinho is beginning to settle well and improving his range of passing.

•Walcott might be on-and-off offensively, but in the past few games, his defensive input has been solid, the highlight was when Santos lost the ball on the left and Marseille broke with speed, Theo sped back all of 70yards to cover for him. Great stuff.

RATINGS

Szczesny- 6

Jenkinson 6.5

Mertesacker 6.5

Vermaelen – 7

Santos – 6

Arteta – 6

Song – 7

Ramsey – 6.5

Walcott – 6

Gervinho – 7

Park – 4

SUBSTITUTES

RVP – 5

Rosicky – 5

Arshavin – 5

Do have a great day. Cheers

Escobar

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Vermaelen Fit To Tackle Chelsea As Jenkinson Faces Late Test + Notes From The AGM

After coming through 80+ minutes in the Carling Cup on tuesday and coming off with small cramp, The Verminator has been passed fit to take on Chelsea. Although Wenger is yet to confirm if he’ll start, he’s in the squad and that in itself is a welcome boost to the squad ahead of the trip to the neighbors.

Not only that, Carl Jenkinson is facing a race to be fit for the game and would need to pass a late fitness test. The young Finnish-English lad hasn’t played since going off against Marseille two weeks ago.

Finally, the injuries are beginning to ease on us and in no time, we’ll have all our players fit with the exception of Jack Wilshere who is ruled out till the new year and what better time for that to happen than when the team is on the ascendancy. Diaby & Gibbs are still out, with no set date placed on the return of the latter, but we should see them soon.

The Annual General meeting held yesterday at the club and due to different obstacles I couldn’t make it in person to attend and apparently someone asked for PHW to step down and bring David Dein back to the club. To read on all that went down, (open the link in blue) check out Le Grove I also heard Wenger gave a rousing speech. Good man.

That’s all for now, I’ll be here to give you the match preview early tomorrow morning. Don’t miss it. Do have a swell day.

Escobar

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Vermaelen set to make comeback as Arsenal Welcome Bolton.

We play Bolton at The Emirates later today in a Carling Cup 5th Round encounter. This game comes off the back of a good weekend for us, a successful weekend in all ramifications.

L’pool drawing at home to Norwich was good news, getting all 3 points against Stoke was great, United getting thumped at home (even though it was by another of our rivals) was even sweeter, then Chelski losing at QPR put the cherry on the cake.

We seem to have built some momentum now, and having 1-6 [I just had to -;)] in 7 games, we are currently 4th on the form table, ahead of Man United, Chelsea and L’pool! Not bad considering we are “a club in crisis”.

Tonight’s game brings good news! The Verminator who has been training with the lads for some time now (his twitter account, @T_Vermalaen05 says so) is expected to make a return to the team. This is the biggest boost we’ve had since the start of the season. And with our defence improving steadily, Vermaelen’s return will only make us stronger.

He’ll most likely partner Mert4, with Kos getting pushed to RB. It will however be interesting to see how we line up when Sagna returns. Were I Arsene, I’d play Verm-Kos against fluid, “football-playing” teams, and play Verm-Mert4 against the physical sides. Makes a lot of sense to me, but what do I know?

The likes of Miquel, Benayoun, Fabianski, Oxo-Chamb, and Ju Yong Park will get a chance to lay claim to starting berths.
Park in particular will show how bad he is that Wenger has refused to give him even one minute of EPL action! Oxo will like to make his case for a slot on the right wing ahead of Theo, while Fabianski will be eager to show Wenger why he should start instead of Sz13.

It’s the Carling Cup, we are on a good run, the fans are happier, and the tickets are cheaper, so I expect an almost full house. Bolton is the opposition and as such I do not envisage an easy game. A win, and I mean any win that will take us into the quarter finals will do just fine!

If had to put my allowance on the line though, I’d go for a 2-1 win…to the Arsenal of course!

As usual, let us know what you think concerning tonight’s game.

Have fun wherever this post meets you!

Cheers!

EXCLUSIVE : Vermaelen Back In TEN Days As Jenkinson Is Out For Three Weeks.

Its give-and-take season at Arsenal as great news always seems to come with some misfortune, but this is one piece of news I and gooners worldwide would appreciate. THE VERMINATOR IS BACK!!!!!!!!. For those that don’t know, that’s Thomas Vermaelen, our best defender and most prolific goalscoring one in years. Arsene Wenger had this to say about him:

He’ll be back in full training on friday(today), it would be 10 days to two weeks for him.

The great news did not stop there as he also touched on Abou Diaby and Kieran Gibbs:

“He(Diaby) is getting better but is not ready to play yet. He’s probably back in two weeks, just a fraction behind Vermaelen. While Gibbs is nothing serious and should be back in a week or two”

.

The only downside is Jenkinson who despite his great game at the Stade Veladrome on Wednesday picked up a knew injury which could see him ruled out for three weeks. With Vermaelen returning soon it might not be a huge loss as Djourou & Kozzer have been earmarked as possible replacements and the former having played there already.

One can only pray we continue to get good news as we’re slowly getting back on our feet. Again great credit to the defensive play on wednesday, very solid and matured. Cheers

Escobar

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EXCLUSIVE : Arsenal Heading For A FreeFall As Wenger Says Forget Title & Injuries Pile Up

Seven games into the new season and 12 points off the top of the table leaves us languishing in 15th place. Normally you’d hear, oh the season is still young and its too early to decide as you can always turn your season around, just ask Kenny Dalglish and the Liverpool team.

But this is a special case as this team in particular has not only lost its best players to other clubs and long term injuries making the task look all the more daunting, it also has to contend with a stubborn manager that lost the plot a long time ago and won’t change his ways or see fault in them, let alone change or bring in new personnel to help a sinking ship.

Arsenal is doomed. Arsenal won’t make Top 8. Arsenal this, Arsenal that. The media continues to have field days every weekend with our Jekyll & Hyde form. “Two steps forward and one step backwards” is what Arsene Wenger called it, the way I see it, its a steady slide backwards. This team has no self-belief, zero coordination, poor coaching and management for which everyone involved must take blame for it, with Arsene Wenger and the Board as main culprits.

We lost a game in which we dominated to an average team and our stand out players had to be 19 year old Coquelin & 21 year old wonder Szczesny who did not deserve to be on the losing side. Losing your best players can’t be used as excuses as the club had the whole of the summer to make the necessary purchases but went for mediocre and average signings with Mertesacker the only one to stand out so far, Arteta is still adjusting and hasn’t set Emirates on fire yet, AOC is better than Walcott as some have said yet he was dropped for the unfit Englishman who had a horror game.

“Arsene Knows Best” should become Arsene Is Lost/Deranged/Stupid & Stubborn. When he joined the club the question was Arsene WHO??, now its become Arsene WHEN??. When will he leave? When will he win something or change his ways? Questions upon questions and with Silent Stan or daft Stan keeping mum and giving him the vote of confidence, we’re heading for a downfall on the sporting front.

Bacary Sagna adds to the growing list of injuries as he successfully completed surgery yesterday and is going to be ruled out for three months, add to that Koscielny, Djourou, Wilshere(4months), Diaby(no one knows), Vermaelen(setback waiting to happen), even Szczesny has a back problem.Oh, to be a Gooner. One can only pray things get better, for now let’s just focus on getting a string of good performances together and look to climb up the table with every game that passes. 12points off the top might not be as bad as it looks.

Hardly any positives on this post as there isn’t any, so if you’re offended then take it out on the club. We gooners have been silent for too long and majority are still. Have a good day wherever you are

Escobar

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TEAM NEWS : Arteta & Mertesacker To Start Tomorrow As Gibbs Returns

Le Boss gave an interview to Arsenal.com this morning and revealed team news ahead of Swansea’s visit to the Emirates and we can say most if not all are good news.

Vermaelen & Wilshere
He said Vermaelen’s surgery was a success and that he should be back within a month. The injury this time is on his left ankle and has nothing to do with his achilles tendon.
Wilshere on the other hand is expected to be out for much longer as he’ll be in a cast in about a month and on the pitch in two. Aren’t you glad we got Mertesacker & Arteta now? I am

New Signings
Of all the new signings that were brought in during the last few days of the summer window, only the duo of Arteta & Mertesacker are in line to start and make their club debuts and what better place to make that than at the Emirates. Arteta would fit in nicely I’m sure and so too the giant German (ignore all press report that blamed him for Germany conceding two goals against poland, the same german team conceded two goals against Austria in his absence)

Returning Players & Suspension
There’s further good news as perennial absentee Gibbs is back in the squad and is fit to start meaning a place on the bench for Andre Santos. Le Boss said the brazilian is not match fit as the last game he played was at the Copa America. No problem, he’ll play soon enough.
Theo Walcott has given us extra boost as the slight injury that kept him out of the England-Wales game is not serious and should start.

Tomas Rosickyis carrying a knock and would be assessed before tomorrow and Korean captain Park Chu Young should make the bench but don’t count on seeing him start.
Emmanuel Frimpong, fresh off deciding to play for Ghana over England is back after completing his one match ban and goes straight into the starting XI but there’s no place yet for Gervinho & Song who serve the last games of their suspension.

There you have it, almost everyone is back bar TV5 & JW who are long term absentees. Its time to get our season back on track and what better way to do that than against Swansea. Surely we can beat them and I mean no disrespect to the opposition. Punkenstein would bring you the match preview early tomorrow, don’t miss it. Cheers

Escobar

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