Posts filed under '2004-2011'
February 6th, 2008
Mathieu Flamini picked up an injury playing for France in an ‘A team’ International against the Congo. To say I’m annoyed is an understatement. Fortunately the crocking appears to be minor, but after already losing Robin van Persie for much of the season during an International game, my patience is wearing thin.
Theo Walcott did rather better out of the International scene, netting a stylish third in the England U21s victory over Ireland. There aren’t any videos of it floating around as I type this, but keep your eyes on the ever reliable 101greatgoals.com. The match made Arsenal fans proud, with the club’s youth system represented by the following graduates: Walcott, Fabrice Muamba, Anthony Stokes, and Joe O’Cearuill. O’Cearuill has suffered a rather spectacular fall from grace since leaving Arsenal in the Summer, going via Barnet to St. Patrick’s Athletic.
Gilberto has spoken about his frustration at no longer being first-choice. I can only commend the Brazilian for his loyalty and outstanding attitude. Many expected him to leave in January, but he’s a fighter. Perhaps an injury to Flamini could present the Brazilian with the opportunity he craves…
February 5th, 2008
Despite his nervous performances in an Arsenal shirt, Theo Walcott tends to excel in the white of the England U-21s. Tonight, in a game I believe is being televised on Sky Sports, Walcott will take to the field against the Republic of Ireland, with a chance to impress not only Stuart Pearce and Arsene Wenger, but also Fabio Capello.
Pearce has moved to back Arsene’s decision not to send Walcott out on loan. He says:
“There’s one man who will know what’s best for Theo and that’s Arsene. On top of that he’s started quite a few games for Arsenal, so I think it’s all part of his development. I know full well if you take Theo out of Arsenal and put him in a lesser side somewhere he’ll start every week. But he’s playing for one of the top sides in the world, so he’s not going to start every week.”
When you watch Walcott with the U-21s, you realise that whilst he might not be up to regular Premier League football yet, he’s still way ahead of most of his age group. With our Carling Cuprun over, and Emmanuel Eboue soon to return from the African Nations Cup, it’s going to get harder and harder for Theo to get games – his performances with England could be his best chance to show he deserves inclusion in the Arsenal first-team.
After Saturday’s game against Man City, a few neurotic fans accused Emmanuel Adebayor of not celebrating with his usual enthusiasm. Well, here is the explanation.
Arsene’s talent-spotting ability extends beyond Arsenal – Steve Bruce has admitted he took Wilson Palacios to Birmingham and then Wigan on Arsene’s recommendation. As revealed by Gunnerblog this Summer, Palacios had an impressive trial with us before Arsene decided to go with Emmanuel Eboue as his new right-winger.
AC Milan’s impressive striker Alexandre Pato could be out of the first leg of our Champions League Second Round tie. Even if he is fit, we shouldn’t panic: you can guarantee they’ll be worrying about Adebayor even more.
Till tomorrow.
February 4th, 2008
Since he arrived at Arsenal, Emmanuel Adebayor’s lanky form and African origins have seen him relentlessly compared to the mercurial Kanu. In recent weeks, the goalscoring run that has brought him eleven goals in his past eight games has seen him compared to Thierry Henry. But in truth, neither of these comparisons is particularly realistic.
Adebayor is very much his own player. Whilst Kanu had a similar tendency to drop off and take the ball with his back to goal, he lacked Adebayor’s explosive pace – the Togolese is the second fastest short distance sprinter at the club. Henry has pace to match, but nowhere near the aerial threat that Adebayor provides.
Whilst Ade is probably not as good a ‘footballer’ as either Henry or Kanu, the combination of attributes that God handed him, and that he has expanded upon with a significant degree of hard-work, are currently rendering him unplayable.
The closest player in style is Chelsea’s Didier Drogba, who possesses a similar degree of pace, power, and goalscoring flair. But Adebayor differs from Drogba in several key areas: he is far more comfortable receiving the ball into feet; he covers the entire width of the pitch as opposed to the central third; and, crucially, he is several years younger.
Ade’s evolution has been startling. He’s transformed from a hard-working but limited player to a composed goalscoring gladiator. He always terrorised defences – now he is obliterating them. And the extra marking his increasing reputation is bringing him is simply leaving more space for the likes of Eduardo and Fabregas in which to flourish.
Adebayor could not have played in the Arsenal side that was built around Thierry Henry. He could not have partnered Dennis Bergkamp – the timing of his runs is not yet good enough to latch onto those inch-perfect through-balls.
However, in this new team, he is the ideal centre-forward. Arsene has reneged on his one-time promise never to sign a target man, and in Adebayor and Bendtner is forging brutishly powerful players who are also extremely technically able.
So what next for Adebayor? Well, his primary aim ought to be to keep scoring goals, and enjoying his football. And I have faith that he will. A huge chunk of his success seems to be down to an extraordinary well of mental strength. He has recovered from a couple of serious set-backs in his Arsenal career (the nightmare game at Portsmouth in his first season stands out), and has transformed from perrennial third choice to our leading striker.
It’s not neccessarily what Arsene expected, but he is never surprised by what those who want it enough can achieve:
“When you are a long time on the job you don’t set any limits on anybody. Human beings can always surprise you.”
I can’t wait to see what further surprises Adebayor has up his sleeve this season.
February 3rd, 2008
Just a quite write-up to give you some fresh Guns, point you towards a match report, and tell you that the goals are visible on the excellent 101greatgoals.com.
I had predicted that it was unlikely that all of the top three would take three points yesterday. Indeed, both Chelsea and United drew, making our victory at Eastlands all the more valuable.
We were a class above Man City, who until yesterday were undefeated at home. However, we gave them a thorough beating, and if we had been more focused in the latter part of the first half, the margin of victory could’ve been greater.
Emmanuel Adebayor was the undoubted star of yesterday’s show, scoring twice and providing an assist for Eduardo on the other.
Tomorrow will see a more thorough write-up and a comparison between Adebayor and the previous incumbent of our goalscoring throne: Thierry Henry.
February 2nd, 2008
With Gilberto and Manuel Almunia added to our expanding injury list, we now have only fourteen outfield players available for the trip to Man City. I suppose they are:
Abou Diaby
Bacary Sagna
Cesc Fabregas
Philippe Senderos
Eduardo
William Gallas
Aleksandr Hleb
Mathieu Flamini
Gael Clichy
Emmanuel Adebayor
Nicklas Bendtner
Armand Traore
Justin Hoyte
Theo Walcott
That means that all of those players, plus goalkeeping pair Lukasz Fabianski and Jens Lehmann (who will start), will be involved today. Indeed, Lehmann will be the only change from the side that defeated Newcastle on Tuesday.
Arsene Wenger has spoken about Golden Boot-chasing Emmanuel Adebayor, and called him the best striker in the Premier League. I think on current form it’s certainly true, but as much as I love Ade, he still has to show he can maintain this form for the whole season and beyond to earn that title. Arsene said:
“He doesn’t get enough credit for his touch. He has good feet, quick feet, and is a complete striker. He can still improve the timing of his runs as he sometimes gets caught offside, and, just with that, he can score 10 more goals each season.
He’s a strong character in the dressing room and a winner. He’s a guy who made mistakes at the start of his career, and has realised here that there’s another life rather than being easy.
He smells that he can win, and is a winner. When he realised that he could live in the big world of top-class football players it changed him, and today he’s a different animal, mainly mentally. He realised he wasted some time and it was time for him to be serious.”
Arsene seems to be genetically engineering his players to enhance their sense of smell to almost abstract levels. Adebayor can smell victory, and he famously claimed that William Gallas can smell goals. What can Arsene smell? Burgeoning young talent on the other side of the world? It’s astonishing stuff.
And, in a story that doesn’t surprise anyone in the know, we nearly bought Ronaldo before United gazumped us a few years back. We’d enjoy his footballing ability, which is undeniable, but I wonder how his personality and glamour-model chasing might’ve fitted in under Arsene. But then, perhaps he would’ve turned out to be an entirely different person. All ifs, buts, and maybes now.
Today is a day on which I consider it quite unlikely for all of the top three to win. So it’s vital we do. Come on Arsenal.
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