Archive for May, 2009
May 4th, 2009
Portsmouth 0 – 3 Arsenal (Bendtner 13, 40, Vela 56)
Highlights here; Arsene’s reaction here
It seems a little peverse to be talking about the Portsmouth game when we are now actually closer to the United match than our last league fixture, but peverse is the shape of the hole I dug myself when failing to produce a comprehensive report yesterday.
The win at Pompey was an open game, and particularly entertaining for our travelling fans as we ran out 3-0 winners. The side was much changed from the one that lined up at Old Trafford, with only three players retaining their places in the side. Lukasz Fabianski came in between the posts, whilst the back four (from right to left) read Sagna, Song, Djourou, and Eboue. Denilson and Ramsey patrolled central midfield, flanked by Theo Walcott and captain for the day Andrey Arshavin. Upfront, Carlos Vela played just off Nicklas Bendtner.
Even by our standards, it was a young side, but from the kick-off they displayed bundles of attacking invention. Whilst Nadir Belhadj and Peter Crouch spurned early chances for the some side, we made no such mistake, with Nicklas Bendtner heading us into an early lead. Andrey Arshavin’s corner was headed straight back to him, and his lofted volley to the far post was met by the towering Dane. David James ought to have kept it out, but failed, prompting ironic chants of “England’s Number 1” from the away end.
Before half-time it was two. Arshavin danced into the penalty area, before being felled from behind by Sean Davis. Replays suggested Davis had touched the ball, but a penalty was given – as much to Arshavin’s surprise as anyone else. Whilst the decision did seem somewhat harsh, it’s worth noting that we were denied a stonewall penalty for a foul on Carlos Vela, and Arshavin also thought he ought to have had one earlier in the game.
Bendtner tucked the pen away for his fourteenth goal of the season. It’s an impressive tally considering his age and limited opportunities, and worth noting that he now has only one Premier League goal fewer than Robin van Persie.
At half-time, Pompey introduced former favourite Kanu and John Utaka, with the latter’s pace causing us plenty of problems. However, as with much of Utaka’s career in English football, he couldn’t apply the finishing touch to convert that threat into goals, and seconds after a glaring miss having gone through on-on-one with Fabianski, we had sealed the game with a third. Andrey Arshavin’s cross-shot deflected out to Carlos Vela, who took two touches before firing into the corner for his first Premier League goal.
From that point on the game was a dead rubber, and we were even able to give run outs to Amaury Bischoff, Fran Merida, and Mark Randall. Things went from bad to worse for Pompey, who had Noe Pamarot dismissed for hauling down Arshavin after a beautifully curled pass by the excellent Ramsey.
All in all, a good win which guarantees fourth place and keeps up the pressure on Chelsea ahead of our clash at the weekend. And, indeed, improves morale ahead of tomorrow’s gigantic tie with Man U. The good news on that front is that no injuries were picked up on the South Coast, and that Robin van Persie took part in training today and will almost certainly be available for selection.
A quick note on the latest takeover wranglings: Alisher Usmanov’s ‘Red & White’ have requested an investigation into the trading between Danny Fiszman and Stan Kroenke, essentially levelling the accusation that the two men have entered into a collaberative stakeholding, and as their combined stake totals over 30%, should thus be forced into an offer for the entire club. Obviously I echo the AST’s call for working together to the benefit of the club rather than petty finger-pointing.
I know you can’t wait for the United game. But really, it only seems at a distance because of our inherently flawed linnear perception of time. The moment of kick-off is actually as real as this moment right now, or the one ten minutes ago. it exists already in another dimension. I hope that’s some consolation to you.
<ducks to avoid the many objects being thrown at him>
May 3rd, 2009
Hey there,
Can’t get to a proper computer today, so sending this in from the iphone. Will be back with a more ‘formal’ effort tomorrow.
In brief: Ramsey was excellent, Eboue attacked well from left-back but wasn’t tested defensively, and Nicklas Bendtner’s total of 14 league goals is very handy indeed. Such a relief to have fourth place tied up.
Have a nice Sunday.
Eternally yours (well, not ‘eternally’. and not really ‘yours’ either),
GS
May 2nd, 2009
Business before pleasure: Stan Kroenke has increased his shareholding in Arsenal to 28.3%, leaving him just a percent and a bit short of the amount that would trigger an automatic offer for the rest of the shares.
The shares were acquired from the Carr family – including director Richard Carr. This is significant as he was part of the Lockdown Agreement which, it transpires, expired last month.
It leaves Kroenke in a powerful position, and I can’t help but feel we’re a matter of months away from him assuming full ownership of the club (I’ll leave the debate about whether that’s a good or a bad thing for another time). The next major pillar of the old ownership to fall will surely be Nina Bracewell-Smith’s stake, and competition for that between Kroenke and Usmanov would be rife were it not for the fact that the Uzbeki is believed to have lost 74% of his fortune in Ye Olde Crunche. It could be an interesting Summer we have ahead of us. The AST have had this to say:
“The AST were the first shareholders at Arsenal to welcome Kroenke’s initial investment. We have since established a good dialogue with him and this will continue. Our position is that stability and plurality in ownership is to the benefit of Arsenal. New Chief Executive Ivan Gazidis has made a good impression and says he values our role and the importance of custodianship. We hope he will build relationships with all shareholders so that the club has stability off the pitch which is a vital ingredient for success on it.”
Turning our attention to first-team matters, the most notable piece of news is that Eduardo will miss the rest of the season with a freak groin injury. It’s disappointing for him and for us but I think his contribution between now and May would have been extremely limited anyway. He needs to rest up, have a full pre-season, and properly announce his return in August. Arsene Wenger called Eduardo the unluckiest footballer he has known, saying:
“Eduardo is like the guy who stands on the motorway and gets run down by the lorry coming up the wrong side. He is really distraught.”
I’m not sure about that analogy. In that situation I’d say that a portion of blame could be laid at the feet of the idiot who deemed it appropriate to stand on the motorway. In this instance, Eduardo was simply fallen on by an ailing Rio Ferdinand.
Nevertheless, we must do without him for now. With Adebayor certain to be rested today, Nicklas Bendtner will probably start alone, with the likes of Andrey Arshavin and perhaps Carlos Vela playing off him. In midfield, I’d expect Denilson to come back in, and Abou Diaby may start in anticipation of being dropped on Tuesday. At the back we’re very short of options – I’d anticipate Emmanuel Eboue coming in for Bacary Sagna, but other than that your guess is good as mine.
A win today would be valuable, and I hope those players that are selected realise that. Who knows? A good performance today could put them in serious contention for a start on Tuesday night.
(Except Arshavin, annoyingly.)
May 1st, 2009
This morning, the Arsenal.com homepage features a pop up advertisement for next season’s away kit. Whilst most of the image is in a concealing shadow, the small patch that is visible is unequivocably and somewhat upsettingly blue.
Looking at the image a little closer, it seems the shirt may also have pinstripes. Whether or not it comes with a collar and tie remains to be seen.
I think a lot of fans will have mixed feelings (at best) about wearing what resembles a Chelsea shirt in many of our away games next season. Whilst I wasn’t over-enthused about the green shirt that is flying off ebay’s transcendental shelves (I’d recently decided the green shirt was camoflague for Emmanuel Adebayor against the eagle-eyed gaze of the nation’s linesmen), a blue shirt is not what I had in mind.
One suspects that the designers of the shirt saw the popularity of this season’s away kit, and seized upon one of its key elements. Unfortunately, they’ve picked the wrong one, focusing on the blueness rather than the glorious yellowness.
Officialy confirmation will arrive on May 21st, but in the meantime I’m going to see if I can do some digging.
To be fair to Nike, they did this week permit readers of Arseblog to pose questions directly to Theo Walcott, in what makes for a very entertaining little piece. Apart from the last fifteen seconds or so, which just feel somewhat uncomfortable. Check it out.
Tomorrow we face Portsmouth, with the knowledge that a win will secure fourth place. Whilst I know it seems unlikely, it’s important we keep up the pressure on Chelsea in an effort to nick third place off them at the last minute. With all that said, I’d still expect there to be plenty of changes tomorrow.
At least one of those will be enforced, with the news that Mikael Silvestre and Eduardo both picked up groin strains on Wednesday night. For varying reasons, those two do seem to be particularly vulnerable to niggling injuries.
Full preview tomorrow, post Arsene’s afternoon press conference.
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