April 25th, 2009
At the end of yesterday’s blog post I promised that today I would provide an in-depth ‘Boro preview. I had forgotten, however, that we don’t actually play Middlesbrough until tomorrow. I had also forgotten than I don’t have time for fully-fledged bloggery, as I am scheduled to take part in the annual Arseblog 5-a-side tournament, where my team (the reknowned ‘White Team’) will be attempting to take home the trophy for the third year running. This forgotten fact led to me being out until some 4am last night, which I’m not sure is advisable for athletes engaging in such top level competition.
In news that you’re somewhat more likely to care about, Cesc Fabregas and Phil Brown have both been charged by the FA over ‘spit-gate’ – though Cesc has been charged twice and Brown just the once, which I suppose makes it 2-1 to Hull. If only Hull had picked up a few more results similar to that one, perhaps they wouldn’t be in serious danger of relegation.
Arsene Wenger is “very positive” about the charges, and I’m certain that there is no video evidence to prove that Cesc Fabregas spat at any member of the Hull staff. I’m sure the FA will, however, find the Spaniard guilty of “coming onto the pitch after the final whistle”, though how exactly they’ve deemed that an offence of any sort is beyond me. I like how they’ve specified that it was “after the final whistle”, as if had he just wondered on during the game it’d have been fine.
I’m off to attempt my best Andrey Arshavin impersonation in the 5-a-sides. Wish me luck.
There will be be a Middlesbrough preview tomorrow. And this time it’s the truth.
April 24th, 2009
Morning all. Bit of swift whizz round this morning’s news.
Andrey Arshavin has warned Premier League defences that there is more to come, and it’s perhaps no surprise that the Russian has come in for high praise from Arsene Wenger:
“What is more important than the four goals – of course, there are exceptional goals in there – but what makes me very positive about the future is the fact that he’s a real winner.
When you see the fourth goal it’s the desire of the winner – it’s a good mixture of extreme motivation and relaxation aswell, because when you see his goal from behind, it’s like he flies away with the ball, because he lets his left foot go, you know?
It’s an amazing mixture of motivation and pure technical quality.”
One man who has hit the headlines for less positive reasons is recent days is Lukasz Fabianski, but Arsene is insistent that the goalkeeper is aware of his own failings:
“One characteristic of a top level performer is they rate their own performance well, and Fabianski knew after that he did not play well against Chelsea.”
Indeed, Fabianski himself was been remarkably honest about the Chelsea game and his desire to improve, saying:
“After the weekend, I was really feeling down. I know that it was mostly because of me that we did not qualify for the FA Cup Final.
When you are honest and look with honest eyes on that, you can say it. Every day I had been waking up with the game still in my mind, so it was not easy. When the season is finished, maybe I will clear it out from my mind. It was a big, big chance to win something this season in the FA Cup. I did not help my team like I should have, and I am sorry for that.”
Perhaps Fabianski will go on to become the world class keeper Arsene patently believes he will be, but in the short-term it’s great news that Manuel Almunia has made a full return to training, and could start against Middlesbrough on Sunday. Johan Djourou and Emmanuel Adebayor could also return to the squad, though I’m not sure they’ll be risked from the start. The bad news is that Robin van Persie will miss both the ‘Boro game and the first leg of the United tie, on a night where we’ll also be without Gael Clichy. Tomas Rosicky and William Gallas will not return this season.
I did warm you this’d be a real whistle-stop tour. There’ll be a much juicier ‘Boro preview tomorrow morning. Till then.
April 23rd, 2009
It’ll be no surprise to you that just two days after our topsy-turvy clash with Liverpool, I’m still talking about that game. You might, however, expect me to talk about the stunning individual display of Andrey Arshavin, or the fact that the draw was yet another vital step towards Champions League qualification.
Sadly, I can’t. Instead, I find myself fixating on a gesture made by Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez after Arshavin’s second goal, which drew the game level at 2-2. Benitez clearly raised his hands in the air and clapped them together, as I hope the technology at my disposal (Sky+, an iPhone, and MS Paint) will demonstrate:
Now it could be argued that Benitez was clapping his hands in frustration at his own side’s poor defending. However, I believe it is in fact clear that the Liverpool manager is figuratively suggesting that the diminuitive Arshavin is a fly, whilst the ‘clap’ is instead a poorly concealed mime of squashing the tiny forward between his fat Spanish palms.
I hoped in his Sky interview after the game, Benitez would clarify these gestures. I think you’ll see them as pretty dismissive to Andrey and to Arsenal’s team as a whole. I think they are disrespectful and quite humiliating.
Apparently a devastated Arshavin waited to have a word with Rafa Benitez in his room after the game but as usual, and unfortunately, he didn’t turn up.
I was hugely disappointed by those gestures and having re-looked at them this morning I think I’m right and I think everyone will see why I’m complaining.
Arrogance is one thing. You cannot forgive contempt, which is what Benitez showed Arshavin on Tuesday night.
In my experience no Liverpool manager has ever done that. It was beyond the pale.
April 22nd, 2009
After pondering a way to somehow go about reporting one of the most extraordinary games in our recent history, I’ve elected to discuss it first on a goal-by-goal basis. You’ll notice a reocurring pattern; dissection of goals against will focus on our defensive ineptitude, whilst discussion of goals for us will be dominated by the footballing genius of one man: Andrey Arshavin.
36 mins Liverpool 0 – 1 Arsenal (Andrey Arshavin)
Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri bullied Mascherano off the ball on the edge of his own box, the latter taking the initiative and driving towards goal, before shifting the ball back outside to Cesc, who’d made an intelligent (and, crucially, onside) run to the byline. The Catalan looked up and pulled the ball back to Andrey Arshavin, who opened his body up and fired left-footed in off the bar from seven yards.
48 mins Liverpool 1 – 1 Arsenal (Fernando Torres)
Arbeloa’s cross from the right should have been cleared by Sagna, but his volley skewed across the penalty area to Dirk Kuyt. The Dutchman’s first attempt at a cross was blocked by Silvestre, but his second effort found a relatively unmarked Fernando Torres, who expertly planted home the header.
56 mins Liverpool 2 – 1 Arsenal (Yossi Benayoun)
Just as against Chelsea on Saturday, a simple ball over the top of Mikael Silvestre was the root of our problems. Neither the defender nor Fabianski assumed control of the situation, and the Pole was eventually forced into a hurried clearance which Gibbs could only turn into the path of Dirk Kuyt. Kuyt’s floated cross was a good one and Benayoun met it with a brave header, but the Israeli only scored due to shocking footwork from Fabianski, who first came to meet the cross, then decided to retreat, ending up four yards over his own line.
67 mins Liverpool 2 – 2 Arsenal (Andrey Arshavin)
A long ball by Fabianski was flicked on by Arshavin towards Bendtner, but Carragher beat the Dane to the ball. His clearance however, was intercepted by the Russian, who nicked in ahead of Alvaro Arbeloa. With space suddenly opening up before him, Arshavin bent a twenty-yard effort with the outside of his boot away from Pepe Reina and into the corner.  Such power with so little backlift – a stunning goal. Sky paid it the ultimate compliment of a replay from their main camera view.
70 mins Liverpool 2 – 3 Arsenal (Andrey Arshavin)
Samir Nasri dribbled from right to left across the pitch, playing a one-two with Arshavin along the way, before crossing left-footed into the box. There seemed to be no danger, but Fabio Aurelio inexplicably knocked the ball straight to Arshavin, who was lurking on the penalty spot. The Russian took one touch to bring the ball under control, and another to fire it under Pepe Reina and into the net for his hatrick.
72 mins Liverpool 3 – 3 Arsenal (Fernando Torres)
Albert Riera’s cross from the left was beautifully brought under control by Torres, who swivelled, shifted it outside Mikael Silvestre, and fired past Fabianski. Silvestre (who resembled Philippe Senderos when Torres easily turned him in the Champions League last season), and Fabianski (who got a hand to Torres’ shot but could not keep it out) did not cover themselves in glory, but it ought to be said that this was a quite brilliant goal.
90 mins Liverpool 3 – 4 Arsenal (Andrey Arshavin)
A Liverpool corner was headed away by Kolo Toure, and substitute Theo Walcott took the ball on a fleet-footed dribble. The scene was eerily reminiscent of his stunning run at Anfield a year ago, and there was an audible intake of breath from the crowd as Theo accelerated into a fifty yard sprint down the pitch. With defenders closing in, he seemed to be alone, but then appeared Arshavin – in the ninetieth minute, making a lung-bursting charge up the field. Walcott passed, and the Russian took one touch, and blasted the ball with his left foot inside Reina’s near post.
92 mins Liverpool 4 – 4 Arsenal (Yossi Benayoun)
Samir Nasri’s stray pass found Xabi Alonso, who clipped a cross to the far post, where sub El Zhar rose above Gibbs to head back across goal. In the centre, the keeper seemed glued to his line, whilst both Toure and Silvestre challenged Ryan Babel for the ball. When none of the three made decent contact, Benayoun was left alone to score the final, and arguably scrappiest goal of the game.
—
Just reliving those goals again has been somewhat exhausting. And there could have been more: we twice cleared off the line; a Nicklas Bendtner goal appeared to be wrongly disallowed; Cesc Fabregas was ruled offside in similarly controversial circumstances; and Lukasz Fabianski made a string of good saves in the first half before imploding somewhat in the second. It was an extraoardinary game, and one on which I might not gain the neccessary perspective to summarise it accurately for a few days yet. A friend called it a game in which “we deserved to lose, and yet should have won”, and given that we led on three separate occasions, that’s perhaps accurate.
There’s no place to start really other than the remarkable Andrey Arshavin, who scored all four of our goals. Julio Baptista matched the feat on the same ground a couple of years back, but his goals came against a weakened side in the Carling Cup. Arshavin’s tally was achieved against one of the league’s best defences on a night when they needed to win to preserve their title ambitions.
Funnily enough, with the exception of his goal he barely got a kick in the first half. But a player of Arshavin’s quality does not need many opportunities to influence the game. Every time he receieved the ball, he tore at Liverpool’s Championship ambitions: four shots, four attempts on target, four goals.
Two with his left foot, two with his right. His second was arguably the most spectacular, but for me the truly remarkable goal was his fourth. After working hard throughout the ninety minutes, he found the reserves to sprint the length of the pitch – keeping pace with Theo Walcott, mind – and at the end of that was still able to finish expertly.
Whilst Arsenal fans have been enamoured with Arshavin’s performances since his arrival, this was his first real chance to strut his stuff on a grander stage – and what a way to announce yourself to English football. Everyone will sit up and take notice now – this isn’t just a good player we’ve got, it’s a special one.
There are those (myself included) who argue that Arshavin’s chance to show the nation what he’s made of ought to have come on Saturday in the FA Cup. He wasn’t the only one to make a case for their retrospective inclusion: Samir Nasri and Alex Song, who both came back into the side last night, were excellent. Song grew throughout the game in a performance which entirely overshadowed the diastrous showing of Denilson, whilst Nasri was everywhere, playing the last half-an-hour as an auxillary defensive midfielder, breaking up play and starting counter-attacks from deep.
The bad news? Well, we can’t defend at all. And with the Champions League semi-final with United looming on the horizon, it’s worth noting that on those occasions we won’t have Arshavin to bail us out. People will point to the fact that we fielded some reserve players, but this is not an isolated incident – it’s not even our first 4-4 draw this season! The way in which we twice allowed Liverpool to equalise within minutes of taking the lead is not acceptable from a team with trophy-winning aspirations, and despite the value of the point we gained, one can empthaise with the frustration captain Cesc Fabregas clearly felt at the end of the game.
Admittedly, Bacary Sagna looked only half-fit, whilst the promising but raw Kieran Gibbs’s performance seemed to be dragged down by the mire around him. Whilst Fabianski did pull off some decent saves, a lack of confidence and communication meant that chaos ruled at the heart of our defence. Ahead of him, Mikael Silvestre looks very vulnerable indeed against anyone with pace. I would be absolutely terrified fielding either of the latter pair against Silvestre’s old pals at United, and the quicker Manuel Almunia and Johan Djourou can return the better.
In midfield, Denilson was ostenisbly playing as a protecting midfielder, but was invisible for the hour he was on the pitch, appearing only intermittently to gift possession back to Liverpool. He looks like a spent force, and I think using him sparingly between now and the end of the season is the safest option available.
It was an epic encounter, and worth remembering at the end of it all that we came away from it with our unbeaten record intact, which not many people expected us to do. We were without Almunia, Gallas, Djourou, Clichy, Van Persie and Adebayor, and facing a Liverpool side for whom victory was paramount. Yet we’re now nineteen league games unbeaten – that’s half a Premiership season. That stat really does underline what a hash we made of the first half of the season.
After a series of patchy draws, the true turning point, I suppose, arrived on the 2nd of February.
When we signed Andrey Arshavin.
April 21st, 2009
Almost exactly two decades ago, Arsenal travelled to Anfield in a game that would become legend. In the last minute, Michael Thomas scored the goal that the ensured the title would return with The Gunners to London.
Tonight, as then, Arsenal will play in yellow and blue, making the evening all the more evocative of the memory. And tonight, as then, though admittedly with less immediacy, the title is on the line. For Liverpool, that is. We, on the other hand, have less to play for – with fourth place all but assured our main motivation tonight must be the preservation of our unbeaten run in the league and with that our forward momentum.
As much as anything, tonight is about putting right the wrongs of the weekend. Ten points from an available eighteen would absolutely guarantee fourth position, so winning every match is no longer essential. But these league matches against Liverpool, Chelsea and United ought to be viewed as an opportunity to make a statement ahead of next season, when we hope for a renewed and reinvigorated title challenge.
Injuries will again go a long way towards dictating Arsene’s selection. Despite Manuel Almunia’s claims he would be ready to face Middlesbrough, Arsene has suggested that Lukasz Fabianski may remain in goal for the Champions League ties against Man U. Whether or not this is simply an attempt to buffer the drop in confidence Fabianski would inevitably suffer at knowing he was one game away from losing his place remains to be seen. In better news, Bacary Sagna is in the squad. If he is fit enough to start, I suspect Emmanuel Eboue could be shunted forward into midfield, with Theo Walcott taking his turn on the substitutes bench. In the centre, Alex Song ought to return to parter Cesc Fabregas.
After missing out on Saturday, Samir Nasri and Andrey Arshavin seem likely to come back in, with one of the pair taking up a role behind Nicklas Bendtner: yesterday brought the news that both Robin van Persie and Emmanuel Adebayor will miss the game – the former’s problem more serious than the latter.
Liverpool aren’t without injury problems themselves, and Steven Gerrard will not be available. In spite of that, they’re still a threat, with Fernando Torres and Yossi Benayoun particularly liable to cause trouble. However, if we keep the ball on the ground and get Nasri, Fabregas and Arshavin in the game, we could create plenty of havoc ourselves.
A couple of bits of other business: I’m still assured that The Duke will be an Arsenal player come the Summer, and esteemed French journo Philippe Auclair has been in touch to indentify these quotes as originally coming from an interview by he and Bruno Constant of L’Equipe.
Let’s hope tonight is more reminiscent of 89 than our Champions League exit last season. Come On You Yellows.
