October 4th, 2008
My pal Tone has done the research, and since his last birthday, Rosicky has made just 17 appearances in an Arsenal shirt. Apparently during that run we suffered just two defeats (one away to Middlesbrough, and another in Seville when Rosicky appeared as a substitute in a weakened team that was already behind). In the same spell, we faced Chelsea, Man U, Spurs and Liverpool, and took an impressive eight points from twelve. I’m sure Rosicky’s nearest and dearest were torn between whether or not to send a ‘Happy Birthday’ card or yet another ‘Get Well Soon’ message. Well, we at Gunnerblog say:
Happy Birthday!
Get Well Soon!
Get Happy/Well Soon – Birthday!
That is rubbish. Sorry Tomas.
Hopefully the boys honour Rosicky with a worthy performance and three points against Sunderland today. I am not particularly confident about the game, but last time we lost to them was so long ago that the man who is now their chairman, Niall Quinn, got the winner.
The win against Porto had an air of inevitability. They have a terrible record in England and our players were super-motivated after the Hull result. But today is the real test of the degree to which we have ‘bounced back’. A win before the International break would be lovely.
This one’s for Super Tom.
October 3rd, 2008
Joe Kinnear’s revelation that he and Arsene Wenger are good friends comes as a bit of a surprise. Until, that is, one reads the transcript of Kinnear’s press conference yesterday, and it stops being ‘a bit of a surprise’ and becomes absolutely unbelievable. I’m disappointed in you, Arsene. The guy is clearly off his trolley.
Kinner would be better to ignore flak in the way that Arsene has done with such dignity over the years. Though one does suspect he’s referencing the disgusting jibes he’s put up with when he points out that not only racism constitutes abuse. Â
Sunderland away tomorrow. I’m thinking of making a ‘Team news’ template which starts with the words:
Eduardo, Rosicky, and Diaby are still out.
Does anyone remember Diaby picking up a serious injury? I don’t. His recovery time just seems to drag on and on. Arsene suggests he could be back after the International break – I’ll believe it when I see it. Alex Song is fit again and could be drafted in if Arsene chooses to play five across the middle.
Finally, seeing as it’s Sunderland, I’ll leave you with the most fun I’ve ever had watching Kieran Richardson in any context.
Go to 1:15 in this video to see Richardson indulge in a delicious David Brent-style piece of hyperbole and subsequent trackback.
More tomorrow.
October 1st, 2008
Arsenal 4 – 0 Porto (Van Persie 31, 48, Adebayor 70, 71 pen); Highlights courtesy of 101greatgoals
Football is so weird.
It’s weird that we can lose at home to Hull, then be several bad misses away from putting double figures past Porto.
It’s also weird that a side can dominate their domestic league so regularly and be such a force at home in the Champions League, and yet so utterly terrible at home. But Porto are not alone: look at Celtic.
The Portugese were absolutely dreadful. Apart from an opening quarter in which they struck the bar with an impressive counter attack and swung in a couple of dangerous set-pieces (our defending at corners was still worryingly woeful), they offered little. And at the back, they made us look solid.  That’s all you need to know.
After all the rumours about potential changes, the side was almost identical to the one that lost to Hull. Samir Nasri was the only new face, replacing Emmanuel Eboue.  On reflection, it was a wise move: the lads out there had plenty to prove.
After overcoming those early scares, we took control with two goals before half time. I particularly enjoyed the first: a long ball controlled by the head of Adebayor, before Cesc Fabregas slipped the Togolese striker in behind the back line. Adebayor waited for what seemed like an eternity before squaring and the onrushing Van Persie poked home.
The two strikers, who had both come in for plenty of criticism on Saturday, again combined for the second goal. This time it was Van Persie’s inswinging corner, and Adebayor’s powerful header bounced in off the bar. I have a sneaking suspicion the final contact might have come off the head of the defender, but no-one else seems to agree. Anyhow, what mattered was that it was two nil, and pretty much game over.
The result was confirmed shortly after half-time. Some more terrible defending from Porto allowed Walcott to play in Van Persie, who probably couldn’t believe his luck when he was allowed to glide past his marker and poke home another.
The fourth came from the penalty spot. A needless foul on Nicklas Bendtner saw Adebayor step up to stroke home the fourth. Four nil, with two goals each for the main strikers: not a bad result at all.
And it could have been better. Walcott hit the post when scoring seemed easier, a Theo cross struck Nasri’s knee and flew just wide, and Adebayor dragged a chance for a hatrick wide. Carlos Vela made another impressive cameo, and our attacing game was certainly back on track.
The important thing now is not to get carried away. Perhaps after comfortable wins at Blackburn and Bolton, complacency had set into the senior side. Hopefully the lessons learnt against Hull will stay at the forefront of our minds for the remainder of the season.
