Archive for December, 2007
December 26th, 2007
Next month the African Cup of Nations will see some of the continent’s best talent compete. Tomorrow, at Fratton Park, we will be able to witness a microcosm of this tournament, as some of the most celebrated African players around face off in a full-blooded Premiership clash.
NIGERIA:
Former Gunner Kanu and flying winger John Utaka make up Portsmouth’s Nigerian contingent, and it’s possible the pair of them could link up if Harry Redknapp deploys his dangerous 4-3-3 formation. Kanu’s skill and Utaka’s pace make that a fearsome prospect.
IVORY COAST:
Ivorian pair Kolo Toure and Emmanuel Eboue will both be eager to secure three points on one of their last performances before disppearing to the tournament in…
GHANA:
The home nation of the CAN 2008 are represented by Sulley Ali Muntari, who along with the likes of Michael Essien and Asamoah Gyan, is one of the reasons that Ghana are a big favourite to follow up their impressive World Cup performances by winning the tournament.
CAMEROON:
Although born in Spain, Lauren is one of the Cameroon’s most heralded internationals. To be frank, I have no idea whether he’s currently retired from international football or not. He seems to change his mind more often than a particularly indecisive schizophrenic. Alex Song, whose recent form has seen him linked with a call up for the CAN, would be a surprise starter. However, with rotation paramount in the Christmas period, you never know…
TOGO:
Is Emmanuel Adebayor the most talented player not to have qualified for the African Cup of Nations? With Robin van Persie still strugging with a muscle problem, the pressure is again on him tomorrow to be our match-winner.
ZIMBABWE:
Whilst his country have not qualified for the tournament, Benjani Mwaruwari won’t be too down. An astonishing turn around in his goalscoring fortunes have seen him net nine Premiership strikes so far this season. A player that Redknapp originally signed on Arsene’s recommendation, it would be just typical for him to net a vital goal tomorrow.
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Of course, having done all this, it’s almost guaranteed that a European player will prove to be the matchwinner.
Hope your Christmas was good. Come on Arsenal.
December 25th, 2007
Blimey, that was quick, wasn’t it? Last Christmas feels like it was about a week ago. But footballistically, it’s all change. We’ve gone from soft touches to title contenders. This is no longer Thierry Henry’s Arsenal, but a William Gallas-captained, Cesc Fabregas-inspired side. And we’re much the better for it. Funny how things turn out.
Have a good day today. I absolutely love Christmas. It’s an excuse to eat and drink vast amounts, feel good about yourself by giving people gifts, and then feel even better about yourself by receiving huge quantities of tat.
I hope Santa brings you everything you want, including three points at Portsmouth tomorrow. Season’s Greetings, Gunnerbloggers.
December 24th, 2007
My Christmas wish is ultimately very simple: to prove pretty much every pundit (armchair or otherwise) wrong, and go all the way to the Premier League title.
Before the season, a succession of big names in the punditry world wrote us off. Journalists were queueing up to proclaim Tottenham the next big thing, and a huge number of them suggested that Spurs would end up qualifying for the Champions League at our expense. We couldn’t handle the departure of Thierry Henry, our squad was too light, and of course, they had mega-signing Darren Bent.
After we started the season in decent form, including an impressive 3-1 win over Spurs, eyebrows that had been frowning in disapproval began to raise.
But still there were doubts. And even now, on Christmas Eve, as we sit at the top of the table, people still expect us to fail.
Why? We have come through games against Chelsea, United and Liverpool entirely unscathed. Our one defeat came at the end of a tricky run of away matches when we were without arguably our four best players. Our squad has proved its depth with Carling Cup victories over Newcastle and away at Blackburn.
When I look at our players, I see the spirit of Champions. To overcome defeat at Middlesbrough by beating Chelsea and Spurs shows the kind of mettle required to win trophies.
So let’s prove the critics wrong, and do it, starting with Portsmouth on Wednesday.
December 23rd, 2007
To win a game playing badly is the mark of Champions. To win a game playing badly against Spurs is simply the mark of Arsenal.
How hilarious was that? Frankly, we were poor. We never really clicked. And at 1-1, with less than twenty minutes to go, an over-zealous Kolo Toure tackle presented Robbie Keane with chance to win the game from the penalty spot.
And he missed. Or to be more accurate, Manuel Almunia saved his strike, waiting ’till the last minute before plunging low to his right to push the ball away. No longer Manuel Fawlty, but an instant Arsenal hero.
Kryptonite is a fictional substance from the Superman radio show series (and subsequent related media, most notably the comic books), which emitted a radiation that had an adverse effect on Kryptonian natives such as Superman. Emmanuel Adebayor is a footballer from Togo (though he was born in Nigeria), who has footballing powers which have an adverse effect on certain North London natives, particularly Tottenham Hotspur. So it was no surprise when Ade put our miserable first-half performance behind us with the opening goal, tucking away after an ingenious backheel by Cesc. That’s six goals in his last five games against Spurs. Somebody give that man a knighthood.
A deflected toe punt from Dimitar Berbatov pulled them back into the game, then the rib-tickling ‘Robbie Keane Show’ began. First he thudded a ball against the cross-bar from all of five yards, before (for an encore) performing the aforementioned disppearing act from the penalty spot. What disappeared? Well, any chance of a Spurs victory, of course.
A soon as that happened, it was as if the Gods of Christmas (eg. Noddy Holder) were on our side, and it was no surprise when we stole a winner in the 76th minute. Adebayor won a corner, and giant Dane Nicklas Bendtner replaced Emmanuel Eboue from the substitutes bench.
Spurs elected Tom Huddlestone to mark Bendtner. Now, Huddlestone could run through the Grand Canyon and still get scraped on both sides, so it was no surprise when his effort to track Nick’s run resulted in him blundering into one of our players. Unmarked, Bendtner rose like a particularly sprightly salmon to power the ball into the bottom corner.
Merry Christmas Everyone.
December 22nd, 2007
Ahead of this lunchtime’s derby clash with Spurs, Arsene has one major tactical decision to make: whether to keep the fit-again Emmanuel Eboue in the side and go with the XI who defeated Chelsea, or reintroduce Robin van Persie and revert to the 4-4-2 he favoured earlier in the season.
The arguments in either case are compelling. Keeping Eboue would allow Arsene to deploy Aleksandr Hleb in the centre of the field and continue using a system that has taken us to the top of the Premier League.
On the other hand, Van Persie is undoubtedly a superior calibre of player to the erratic Eboue. The clincher for me is that a 4-4-2 formation could play havoc with Tottenham’s vulnerable backline. Adebayor has a tremdendous record against Spurs, and supplementing his power with the guile of van Persie could leave Tottenham in tatters.
Last season, press and public alike raved about Dimitar Berbatov, but his goals per game ratio was far weaker than that of Van Persie. Hopefully today the Dutchman will prove that he is the superior talent.
Arsene has spoken about the tie with Milan, calling their domestic performances “average” and revealing he’ll be travelling there this weekend to watch the ageing side in action. I wonder if the draw might have scuppered any hopes he had of luring Yohann Gourcuff during the January break…
After today’s match, we’ve got two tricky away ties at Portsmouth and Everton, so three points this afternoon would be a big boost. As if beating Spurs ever required an extra incentive.
Come on Arsenal.
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