Archive for September, 2006
September 21st, 2006
Arsenal’s Swiss defender Philippe Senderos expects to “get the green light to resume training next week”, and he already knows he’s in for a fight to win a first-team place.
With the signing of William Gallas and the emergence of Johan Djourou, aswell as the continued excellence of Kolo Toure, we now have one of the strongest crops of central defenders in Europe, let alone the Premiership. Senderos’ advantage is that he posesses qualities of leadership and organisation that are arguably missing in the other three.
Meanwhile, a strong Reserve side beat Portsmouth 2-0 last night, Jeremie Aliadiere getting both goals. It’s a while since we saw Aliadiere anything near the first-team, but if he takes the opportunities that the cup competitions will surely bring him, he might just get one last opportunity to make a go of it.
Finally, Arturo Lupoli followed Niklas Bendtner in being sent off for his new club, possibly for spitting. He did score though, so…
September 20th, 2006
You fools.
Anyhow, in spite of the scare stories you’ll read some places, our financial results are not as bad as the press you’d like to believe. Allow managing director Keith Edelman to explain:
“It is like an individual buying a new bigger house into which you have put more equity – you will have a bigger mortgage, but overall be in a stronger financial position. The two things are completely separate and you do not say ‘you have no money to spend because you have a mortgage’. A mortgage is something you pay off every month, X amount over a number of years then you look how much cash you have in your pocket to spend. Well, we ended the year with £36million of cash in the bank, in our pocket to spend now, so we are very cash-rich. We have lowered our debt repayments substantially every year … it means we have more money to invest in players and team development.”
If you found that interesting, I suspect you are in the minority. For most fans, the last sentence will be the only bit that matters.
With the Sheffield United game on Saturday, don’t expect to see Julio Baptista starting. Arsene says:
“Julio is a very good player, but he’s not played a lot of football and needs to be sharper and get some match fitness before he is ready to start games.”
Seems fair enough, but if he continues to impress as a sub like he did against Man U, he’ll be pressing for a first-team place within weeks.
Finally, a word on last night’s Panorama “exposé” of football’s bung culture. Whilst I don’t think any of the evidence is particularly damning, it’s nice to know that Arsenal were not remotely involved in anything the programme covered.
Or at least, not caught. Here’s hoping Big Sam goes down like a sack of potatoes tied to a tonne of bricks.
September 19th, 2006
When Emmanuel Adebayor arrived in January 2006, it was in the shadow of a teenage boy by the name of Theo Walcott. Both he and Abou Diaby were relatively unknown quantities: largely subsitutes in the French league, Adebayor was the elder at just 21. His signing was greeted with derision by some, who weren’t happy about another seemingly obscure signing with a £7m price tag. Others were delighted that a striker with physical presence and aerial prowess had finally arrived. Adebayor started as he was set to continue: dividing opinions.
His Arsenal career got off to a very promising start. After his debut was delayed by his involvement (or not) in the African Nations Cup, he finally made his first appearance away to Birmingham on 5th February. The Togolese forward headed a scrappy goal in a 2-0 win, and was heralded as one of the missing ingredients to a side who had been bullied off the park more often than not.
Further goals against Fulham and Charlton meant it was three goals in seven appearances, and the Arsenal community was beginning to warm to the lanky front-man. A goal and two assists in the thrashing of Aston Villa, and Adebayor was suddenly flavour of the month.
But in amidst these goalscoring performances, there were darker patches. A clumsy display against Bolton was a precedent to what was in many people’s eyes the turning point for Ade: the game away to Portsmouth. In this critical fixture, Adebayor missed two unbelievable chances as Arsenal slumped to a 1-1 draw. Suddenly his reputation slumped from goalscoring hero to “Ade-Akin-Bayor”. Any player can miss one sitter, but missing two? In the same game? Even Arsene was moved to say:
“You don’t miss chances on purpose, but of course he is very disappointed.”
More disappointed were the Arsenal fans. Adebayor didn’t score again last season, and his diminishing confidence and Champions League ineligibility hindered his progress hugely. A fantastic assist as a substitute against Tottenham halted some of the criticism, but doubts were beginning to creep in about him, to say the least.
An indifferent World Cup and another bad miss at home to Zagreb meant that this season started in much the same vein. However, all that changed yesterday. Asked to plough a lone furrow up-front, he ran himself into the ground, won a penalty, hit a post with a header, and scored the vital late winner. He’s since been lauded by Arsenal fans worldwide for his excellent performance, and the man himself is feeling more confident than ever:
“Scoring is my job and I am happy to have achieved it. I’m sure that Thierry Henry and Robin van Persie are watching at home, and today I played for them. Now I hope for an opportunity to prove my worth alongside Thierry.”
The problem is, of course, that he’s just as likely to miss an absolute sitter against Sheffield United on Saturday. Yes he scored the crucial goal against United, but he also sidefooted a shot softly into the chest of their goalkeeper when set free by Eboué.
Emmanuel Adebayor is a walking contradiction. Dubbed by Wenger on his arrival as “a bit of a Kanu type”, he idolises the Nigeria trickster. He shares the same squad number, lanky frame, and continent as the Portsmouth front-man. But part of Adebayor’s problem is that he labours under the illusion that he is Kanu. Kanu is one of the most insanely skillful players in football: we as Arsenal fans know that he is capable of the nigh-impossible. However, Adebayor is not. As good as his performance on Sunday was, it was marred by several attempted backheels and flicks that simply did not come off.
What Adebayor needs to do, is focus his game around his strengths: primarily, his physical conditioning. Remarkably fit, fairly quick and superior to Kanu in his upper-body strength, it could be argued that Adebayor’s erratic touch and imposing form liken him more to Didier Drogba of Chelsea than Kanu.
Adebayor is Thierry Henry’s favourite partner up-front, and why? Because his sheer size draws defenders in. The physical threat posed by the Togolese is matched amongst our strikers only by Julio Baptista, who does not share the former’s burst of acceleration.
Their record together is excellent, and for that reason alone the 22-year-old deserves to keep his place when Henry returns. One only hopes that Sunday’s starring role will inspire Adebayor to match the goalscoring exploits we witnessed when he initially arrived in North London. If he does that, then we could have one hell of a player on our hands.
September 18th, 2006
In the 86th minute, Cesc Fabregas stole the ball from Ronaldo, ploughed through two challenges, and slid an exsquisite reverse pass beyond Wes Brown. Emmanuel Adbeyaor, breaking off the back of Brown, latched onto the ball and poked it beyond the Polish debutant Tomasz Kuszczak. And my sitting room errupted.
Granted, there was only me and my eleven-year old sister in there, but they could probably still hear me at Old Trafford. After out-playing Manchester United over 90 enthralling minutes, Arsenal had got what they deserved: a win, their first of the season, and one that could ignite the flames of a previously floundering Premiership campaign.
After Gilberto slipped and had his 13th minute penalty saved, Rosicky’s powerful effort was tipped away, and Julio Baptista’s curled finish whipped just wide, I began to think we were going to have to settle for a draw. And what a draw: going into the game, United were huge favourites, and we were being written off by just about every pundit going. Had you asked sane Arsenal fan before the game if they’d have taken a point, and I’m sure they would’ve said yes.
But on the day, even Fergie had to admit we deserved to win. Employing the 4-5-1 formation that served us so well in Europe last season, our fluid pass-and-move game eclipsed United’s midfield entirely. Their problem was simple: unlike Aston Villa, Middlesbrough and Man City they attempted to play good football against us. Whilst all our other opponents this season have realised that by sitting back and congesting the midfield they can disturb our triangular passing moves, United came out willing to attack. Consequently, we were given room in which we simply out-passed and out-classed them.
Although it was a fantastic team performance, it’s worth talking about individuals. In goal, Jens Lehmann was absolutely outstanding. He made two quite incredible saves: one with his face after Cristiano Ronaldo had got in at the far post, and another plunging low to his right after Ole Solskjaer was sure he had scored. Although I did become worried he was going to get himself sent off, Lehmann must surely now be universally recognised as one of Europe’s best goalkeepers.
The defence was extremely solid, with the exception of a couple of concentration lapses from Emmanuel Eboué. Johan Djourou and Kolo Toure were immense. Toure in particular played through a painful hip problem as if his life depended on it. At left-back, William Gallas showed his class, and with the addition of the Frenchman we really do have potentially excellent back-line these days.
The sheer number of interceptions Gilberto made in critical situations shows his worth. The 4-5-1 we play is almost a 4-1-4-1, with Gilberto’s discipline allowing the creative players ahead of him the freedom to strut their stuff. Without him, the system would fail. Unlucky with his penalty, he captained the side excellently in another crucial victory.
Out wide, both Alex Hleb and Freddie Ljungberg worked tirelessly to protect their full-backs, whilst also showing a willingness to get forward to support the lone front-man. Hleb was replaced by Julio Baptista, who was finally allowed to play in his preferred position as a support striker, and showed his promise with a couple of surging runs from deep.
In the centre, we are blessed with two wonderful footballing brains in Tomas Rosicky and Cesc Fabregas. Rosicky appears to be a nigh-perfect replacement for Robert Pires. He has the frenchman’s skill and ability to make things happen, but adds a whole lot more in terms of work-rate and impressive tackling. Cesc, another all-round footballer, didn’t have his best ever game for Arsenal, dallying on the ball on a couple of occasions. In spite of this, it was his moment of magic that created the late late winning goal. Arseblogger is right when he says that no other player in our team could’ve placed that pass to such perfection.
And finally, the goalscorer himself, Emmanuel Adebayor. Often criticised for his unpredictable antics in front of gole, the Togolese beanpole proved his mettle with a diligent and measured display. After a couple of erratic flicks, he managed to hold the ball well and link with the supporting midfielders. His power and pace trouble any back line, and if he adds composure in front of goal to an already bulging armoury of talents, he has potential to become an excellent player for Arsenal. More of the same, please.
The fact I’ve been able to talk about every player glowingly shows just how good a performance this was. Ever since the Champions League final defeat, a cloud of melancholy has hovered ominously over the team. After yesterday’s win, it seems to have cleared. The belief is there, and the club is once again brimming with confidence.
Who knows, maybe Thierry’s words before kick-off had the desired effect? Naturally, I don’t want to go overboard, but you get the feeling that this could just be the start of something for this team. We’ve said that before and been wrong, but the significance of a victory like yesterday’s cannot be underestimated. Roll on the next game…
September 17th, 2006
I don’t know how many of you saw the advert to the left yesterday. It was plastered all over the TV, all over and the internet, and generally forced into the consciousness of even the most casual Arsenal fan. Naturally, a lot of fans were intrigued, curious to see what this exclusive might hold.
The rumours were wild: from a buy-out of Javier Saviola’s contract to an incredible return to the field for Zinedine Zidane. Some of the more restrained rumours said Zidane in a coaching capacity. Well, ladies and gentlemen, brace yourselves: I am about to unveil the news that the advert claimed “will shock the football world”:
This summer, Arsenal had a bid rejected for Eric Abidal.
Now, I want you to take a few seconds and calm yourself down. Take some deep breaths. I know it’s hard – the excitement coursing through your veins may course to unleash some inhuman yelp of joy.
Probably not though. Because this isn’t exciting, is it. If you’re anything like me, the only thing coursing through your veins will be a wave of fury to contend with the News of the World’s scam. The story is basically that we had a bid for him turned down in the summer, and are determined to go back for him in January, because – wait for it – he’s friends with Henry.
The supreme logic of the News of the World: he’s French, so he must be friends with Henry, so Arsenal will probably sign him. That is news worth advertising on national television, it seems.
The truth? We won’t sign Abidal. We may have been in for him in the summer, but only out of desperation. He is clumsy and lacking guile going forward. With the signing of William Gallas, the need for Adibal is thankfully negated – as soon as Gael Clichy returns to fitness, he will be stepping into that left-back spot. The moral? Don’t trust the News of the World (as if you did in the first place).
So, on to Manchester United. As I said yesterday, a win could change our season. Maybe the difference might come from set pieces: we haven’t scored from a single corner this season, despite having more than 40 of them – nearly twice as many as any other team. With the likes of Baptista, Toure, Gilberto, Adebayor and Gallas all providing aerial presence, we really should be able to provide more of a threat.
Speaking of Gallas, he’s been talking about how happy he is at Arsenal. Whilst he is fond of the young players, Thierry wants them to pull their socks up. Though if they literally pulled their socks up as far as him, our team would look really really silly. Anyhow, Titi’s not there today. If we’re going to do it, it’s almost certainly going to be without him.
No excuses. Come on Arsenal.
Team News Update (11.04 am): Sorry lads – Thierry Henry didn’t even travel.
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