Arsenals players in Euro 2008

Arsenals players in Euro 2008

1. Jens Lehmann - Although out of favour with Arsenal, Jens will be favourite to start between the sticks for Germany. The bookmakers have Germany as 4-1 favourites to win the full tournament. Its easy to see why, with almost a home advantage with playing their football games in Austria, as well as an easy group stage start.

2. Cesc Fabregas - The hugely influental midfielder will be gauranteed a starting slot in Spains midfield as they open their tournament campaign against Russia. Spain are rightly set as second favourites to lift the trophy.

3. Philippe Senderos - The popular defender will feel right at home in this tournament - he’ll be playing for the home nation, Switzerland. In an excellent performance in the 2006 World Cup, Senderos scored the goal to send them through to the knock-out stages.

4. Lukasz Fabianski - Barring injury to Artur Boruc, young Lukasz will most likely spend this tournament on the bench. It will be valuable experience though for the keeper widely tipped to take over from Boruc in the coming years.

5. William Gallas - The towering defender will take his position at the back for France, and will consider his team to be in with the best chance of Victory.

6. Robin Van Persie - The skillful Dutch forward will be looking to score yet more important goals in the “group of death” against Italy, Romania and France.

Lets wish all of our players a safe and successfull Euro 2008!

Arsenal FC vs Liverpool First European Clash Match Report

One of the most talked about games was here and what a game it was. As arsenal and Liverpool prepared for their first ever european clash ever, I am sure the managers had a lot on their hands to get ready for.

Arsenal’s line up included Manuel Almunia; Kolo Toure, William Gallas, Philippe Senderos, Gael Clichy; Abou Diaby, Alexandr Hleb, Matthieu Flamini, Cesc Fabregas; Robin van Persie, Emmanuel Adebayor. Arsene Wenger decided to play a 4-4-2 formation.

Liverpool line up included Pepe Reina; Jamie Carragher, Martin Skrtel, Sami Hyypia, John-Arne Riise; Fabio Aurelio, Steven Gerrard, Javier Mascherano, Xabi Alonso, Yossi Benayoun; Fernando Torres. Rafa Benitez opted for a 4-4-1-1 formation.

The game kicked off in an exciting manner, with a huge roar from the crowd who had clearly been waiting for this game for a while. The first 20 minutes of the game belonged to arsenal, as they drove the ball forward, creating chances. In the 7^th minute Adebayor found him self clear of defense line with the ball at right corner of field. Pepe Reina left his goal to attack the ball, which everyone found very confusing; regardless he made a good save and put the ball out of touch.  

In the 20 minute flamini played a long ball to van perise who did very well too to get clear of the defense and retain the ball but only to kick it over the bar.  It wasn’t till the 24th minute when the first blood was spilt, with a swinging corner from Fabregas finding Adebayor at far post who makes no mistake and heads it in the goal. Arsenal’s jubilant and so is Adebayor. And if history was to maintain it’s reputation today, then arsenal should not lose this game because they haven’t so far this season when Adebayor scores.

The game kicks off again and Liverpool tries to gain control. Torres makes a fancy run to the penalty area and dives in attempt to get a penalty but referee wasn’t biting into it. Only a minute later Gerrard shows some fancy dribbling and moves past the defense line and cross the ball to Dirk Kuyt who scores a sliding goal. Both goals have come from some really poor defending. Arsene Wenger is clearly upset and Rafa is trying to stay calm as usual.

The next fifteen minutes of the game showed more of a sober side of both the teams, with only a few unconvincing kicks coming in from both sides. It wasn’t till the last five minutes of the first half that arsenal started to move up again. They managed to pull out two corners but both were wasted and Van Persie was clearly showing frustration. Referee called for half time with teams square, arsenal one and Liverpool one. The game had certainly lived up to his reputation so far.

Referee calls for half time. It’s all square at the emirates, with arsenal 1 and Liverpool 1. Babel has been lively in the fist half, torres has been kept quite, Persie has been poor of form, Adebayor has looked spirited.

At half time first substitution of the game was made, injured Persie goes off and Theo Walcott replaces him. The second half starts with arsenal came out with all guns roaring. Theo Walcott got into the action right away as he dribbled the defenders to confusion before taking a shot from just outside the penalty area which narrowly missed the outside post.

Liverpool quickly got back into the game, with a few free kicks from Gerrard. The rest of the game went on quietly for a few more minutes until arsenal started to build up again. A great play from Adebayor and Theo Walcott saw the ball back in Liverpool’s penalty box. Adebayor made a great cross to eboue who completely messed it up, which is why the substitution wasn’t much of a surprise when Nicolas Bentner came on for him.

A few more great plays by arsenal followed. Hleb dribbled the ball into the box again getting clear of everyone before kuyt brought him down. Clearly a penalty!! This was denied by the referee. Even a blind man can give that one, especially with the view referee had. Clearly arsenal has been robbed.

To make matters worse, arsenal’s series of attack continued with poor finishing. Not only that but another built up came into play where fabregas was handed with a long shot out side the box, the ball look destined for goal but the only thing that stood in the way was Nicolas bentdner who deflected the ball off the line wide off the post.

Final minutes of the game also included arsenals great attack but they summarized the entire game well, that it just wasn’t arsenals day. Even though they played brilliant football, the finishing has never been worse.  I think arsenal has not done themselves justice and I am sure anyone can vouch for this that the game should have had a score line of 3-1 in favor of arsenal.

Bolton vs Arsenal FC Match Report

Seems as if Arsene Wenger was either very confident about today’s game or was praying very hard for a miracle because he decided to rest his leading goal scorer Adebayor for the first hour of the game. With arsenal already behind Manchester United in points could really use the points but history wasn’t on their side since they hadn’t won a game at Reebok since 2002.

Arsenal started to create chances early in the game. A nice pass from the midfield to Robin Van Persie saw him clear of the defense line and only the goal keeper to beat. But out of touch persie drove it right in to goal keepers hands. Soon after words, in the 14^th minute, Bolton responded with a wonderful goal. Matthew Taylor headed it into the back of the net with the keeper standing right in his spot. The worried arsenal side changed their tactics quickly and started to play more aggressive soccer. Most of the men moved forward in to the oppositions half. But the aggressive tactic only back fired soon when Abou Diaby was sent off for his careless tackle on Steinsson. Even with the ten men, arsenal tried to drive the ball forward and make the most of the game. There were some nice passes to Nicolas Bendtner but weren’t fruitful.

Around the 43th minute we saw exactly how the Arsenal defense was against the Bolton’s attack as Matthew Taylor nailed another one. Bolton fans were singing on the top of their voices. Two up and one man down at the end of the first half; I wouldn’t be surprised if some televisions got thrown out of the windows.

At this point I would hate to be in Arsene’s shoes. I wouldn’t know what to say to the team that’s good and has all the talent yet has been doing so miserably and are on the verge of losing the title race when they had the lead on for the most part of the season. What ever he said, it worked. The second half had a few fireworks in store for the arsenal fans. Starting with the captain, William Gallas, leading from the front, he pinned one in the corner of the goal. Soon after that a Van Persie scored off of a penalty. Alexander Hleb was brough down by Gary Cahill in the 67^th minute. With the second goal in place, arsenal fans were given hope but they had to wait for it because the next goal didn’t come till the very end of the game when Jlloyd Samuel put one in the back of his own net.  The goal came from a corner from Hleb, took two deflections, the final one off of Samuel and gave arsenal a marvelous victory. Not only that but also re-ignited their hope for the title.

Else where, unfortunately Manchester United had convincing won over Aston Villa. The goals came from Cristiano Ronaldo, Carlos Tevez and a couple from Wayne Rooney. The heat is building up for the big game at Old Trafford and its going to turn out to be a fantastic season as we move closer to the end of it.

 

Arsenal versus Chelsea Match Report

There was a lot of hype of this game for a while and I have to add that it duly delivered. I personally was looking forward to it because for the most part this could be the season decider. Arsenals needs to win the game to make sure that they are still in the title race. Not even a draw is good enough today. I saw that the team was really pumped up for this and William Gallas had rounded up the boys to give them one last moral boost. It was one of those games which kept your heart beating till the last minute, especially because Manchester United had won their game against Liverpool very convincingly and were looking good for the title run.
Before the game had started there were a lot of comments back and forth. Things were looking equally good for the both sides. The plus point for arsenal was the pundits were favoring them, the ex-arsenal player Thierry Henry had come out and said that arsenal was going to win this too. Other than that Chelsea were yet to win against any of the big sides since Avant Grant had taken over.
The positive thing for Chelsea was that not only were they playing at home, but also they were undefeated at home for 77 games. Their first team was all available for the game including Ashley Cole, who many insisted should sit out the game due to his behavior with the referee in the last game. On the other hand Arsenal was missing their left winger Eduardo. Not only that but arsenal just seem to be crashing lately, with their form not being as good as it was in for the most part of the season.
The first half was pretty quite even though there were a fair number of chances for both sides. Drogba looked good for Chelsea, with his maneuvers and tactics. On the other hand Van Persie made few good passes but nothing much to brag about.
The second half had something for the fans from both sides. Even though it started out a little slow for my liking but it quickly turned into a game we had all wished for. It was in the 58th minute that from a superb corned kick from Cesc Fabregas Willy Sagna headed one into the back of the net. I am sure like my most of the arsenal fans were out of their seats and couldn’t believe their eyes. Had the dream actually become a reality, I think its one of the best feelings I’ve had the entire weekend.
The game seemed pretty simple from here on, Arsenal needed to defend well and play around with Chelsea and the game was theirs. Two quick subs were coming from Avant, Anelka is brought on against his old club for Makelele and Belletti was coming on for Ballack. Something ticked with the subsititions because a minute later the wonder man for Chelsea Didier Drogba nailed one into the back of the net. What an esthetic moment it turned out for Chelsea as Drogba throws his shirt on the side and runs to the fans. Boy had he saved Avant’s record or what. Major error in the defense line and negligence from the referee for not calling it offside led to the goal. How pathetic is this, referees messed up the entire weekend, first with the Liverpool vs. Manu game and then this.
Regardless of all that goal stood and the game was resumed. What came next was a series of Chelsea thrashing on the goal and helpless arsenal boys looking to clear the ball everytime. It was less then ten minutes later that Drogba was feeded the ball again and a wonderful strike lead to another goal. I think was probably the time when arsenal fans should have gotten up and left and I should have turned off my tv. The goal was coming for a while. It had been nearly twenty minutes since Chelsea was driving onto the goal and arsenal had nothing in reply. Ever since the first goal, Chelsea seemed to keep most of the possession and they seemed to be only side attacking. It was really game over here and not much more to add. I have to say that hats off to Avant for making such a major come back and as for Drogba, I don’t even know where to start. He’s shown exactly why he’s such a valuable player for Chelsea and one of the top rated players in the world.
As for arsenal’s chances for the title, my heart says they are still in it because Man Utd. has to play Chelsea and Arsenal and anything could happen in the other games but my mind says that it’s all over because Manchester United is in good form and unfortunately arsenal is not. And not only that but arsenal has dropped down to third position and when you are reigning for the most part of the season and drop down to third position towards the end, the spirits aren’t exactly running high.

Arsenals Chances Of Winning The English Premier League

Here’s the break down. What’s done is done, and it’s in the past regardless of the fact that the result at Emirates last weekend was just pathetic. With less than three month to and eight games in hand arsenal really has to push forward and make things happen. I am trying to ignore all the news which say that they are out of the title race and the dream has sunk. Forget about it, I think arsenal has a fair chance of winning this but needs to win the small games and at least two out of the three big games.

This is how the rest of the season for arsenal breaks down, here are the remain english premier league fixtures for the rest of the season:

Sun 23 March

Chelsea Vs. Arsenal FC (Away)

Sat 29 March

Bolton Vs. Arsenal FC (Away)

Sat 5 Arpil

Arsenal FC vs. Liverpool (Home)

Sun 13 April

Manchester United. Vs. Arsenal FC (Away)

Sat 19 April

Arsenal FC Vs. Reading (Home)

Mon 28 April

Derby Vs. Arsenal (Away)

Sat 3 May

Arsenal Vs. Everton (Home)

Sun 11 May

Sunderland Vs. Arsenal (Away)

Of the games which are left I expect arsenal to breeze through Derby, Reading, Sunderland and Bolton. With at derby sitting good at the bottom of the table and looking to stay there for the rest of the season most probably, I think Arsenal should have no problem at all over coming them. Sunderland might look tough with Roy Keane as their manager but they are only just clear of the relegation zone for now. Arsenal can easily put them there and I honestly expect them to. Reading is a side which has provided miracles through out the season but not a side which can over come arsenal easily, I think arsenal should get the three points. Where as Bolton which were a side to compete with last season because of Nicolas Anelka are also sitting pretty in the relegation zone and should be an easy side to beat just like arsenal did in the beginning of the season.

The team which is a slight concern are Everton. Everton has played well this season and has managed to compete for the Champions League spot and are still very much in the race. They have only lost eight games this season but fortunately for arsenal five of them have been away from home.

The games which will make and break the season for arsenal are the ones against the other big sides of the premiership. The young squad at the Emirates has to gather their nerves and get into it. If they want the season they have to work for it and show it.

The next game at Stamford Bridge against Chelsea can probably shut the doors of lifting the trophy for asrenal. Chelsea has been amazing at their home not losing any game for the longest time. Like I said earlier arsenal needs a few miracles, this is one of them. With this win arsenal can secure two things. One confidence of the players for beating Chelsea at home and two eliminate Chelsea from securing the second spot in the Premier League.

The game against Liverpool is going to be interesting, even though Liverpool is in great form but I think history over the last few years is on our side. Arsenal has managed to win against Liverpool very convincing in the EPL time after time and I am looking forward to them doing that again. The fact that it is being played at home is definitely a plus point.

The game against Manchester United can turn out to be a big one even the season decider but we have a while to go before we can declare that. Not that all the tickets are sold out already but I am guessing Manchester United can raise the ticket prices to twice as much and still manage to sell a full house. So seldom do we see two sides competing so closing for the title and playing in such an exciting season decider at the end of the season. I can assure you it can turn out to be the highest watched show or what ever you want to call it for the day.

And finally this is why I think arsenal has a really good chance of making a good come and lifting the title. I predict this with the assumption that arsenal won’t mess up in the small five games cause if they do then I guess they just don’t deserve to win. Here goes nothing; the best part of the remaining games is that all the big sides have to play against each other. I think arsenal will draw against Chelsea and win against Liverpool. This means that arsenal is expected to drop two more points leaving Manchester United two points and probably a game in hand ahead.

The current leaders are starting to look a little shaky against. Their win against Derby was the least bit convincing and this is why I expect Manchester United to drop at least five points besides the big match against arsenal. I think they will lose one and draw the other against Chelsea and Liverpool.

With the above predictions becoming true, this means that arsenal and man utd with be tied in points but the latter will probably be on the top of the table because of the goal differences. What it will boil down to is the big game against Arsenal. I think the winner of that game will go on to lift the title. Even though it’s an away game against Manchester United but I think arsenal will really be pumped for this and will look more determined to win because it’s been a while since the club has done this and probably the first time for most of the squad where as players at manu have already been there and done that and we all know the side which wants it more will take it on the day….

Arsenal Versus Middlesbrough Full Time Report

I was expecting a really good result for arsenal especially after their recent run of draws. I thought this one would be it where they would spring back to life, needless to say that my 2-1 in favor of arsenal was wrong. The game started out nice and slow, a typical arsenal game start. But ten minutes into the game we saw arsenal driving forward, with good play from the wing back eboue and midfielder fabregas. They played well to create many chances one of which adebayor even converted only to find out that he was offside. There were other really good chances for arsenal like a great attempt by fabregas from the edge of the D to squeeze the ball throw two defenders but only to find the goal keeper. Then there was shot by eboue that bounced off the bar.

Middlesbrough didn’t have much to brag about first most of the first half besides the goal. There was the shot by O Neil from far out that didn’t even swing by the goal. Though I have to add that the goal by Aliadiere was great play by the team. The long ball from the defence to tucay who passed it nicely to Aliadiere, who finished it off was a nice play by the entire team.

The second half saw arsenal looking desperate for goal. They had a reputation to protect, not to lose to Middlesbrough twice in a row. And not only that they had to keep up with Manchester United to give it a good race to the final match. While middlesbrough brought all their men back to defend arsenal changed their formation to 3-5-3 to push on with kolo toure moving up. The move eventually paid off in the 85^th minute when toure scored his second goal of the season. The next ten minutes were very intense. We saw a sending off, Mido who was sent off for a high foot attempt to get the ball. Instead of the ball he got clichy’s face and a red card to follow, who was later carried off the field.

Even though arsenal worked hard towards the end of the game it just wasn’t enough as the referee whistled for full time and teams closed play to a draw. I think there were two reasons for arsenals draw today instead of victory. First one was the luck just wasn’t on their side. We saw the ball bounce off the post three times, once for eboue and twice for fabregas. Then the goal from Aliadiere had a hint of offside but of course the officials missed that. Other reason why I think arsenal drew the game today was due to their poor passing. Even though they did well to bring the ball forward, the final touches which counted generally ended up with the defenders, even the short clear passes. I my opinion I didn’t see a good effort from Adebayor and Van Persie but was pleased with the way Fabregas, Flamini and Eboue played. I just hope arsenal can get their act together before its too late. Make sure you all catch the next live football coverage to see how arsenal plays.

Arsenal FC Versus Middlesbrough First Half

The weekend is here and so is our game. Grab you drinks and grab a seat because Arsenal versus Middlebrough is about to start. Boy oh boy does arsenal need to win this desperately. With Manchester United winning their game, they are already two points clear of arsenal and the last thing arsenal needs is to fall back on points. Good news for arsenal fans is that Robin Van Persie is back.

Key man to watch for arsenal will be Cesc Fabregas and Jeremie Aliadiere who is making his return to the Emirates stadium. I think he’s been in good form recently and is very motivated and I am sure we will see him drive the team forward. I am expecting at least a goal from Adebayor. My prediction for the game is, win for arsenal 2-1.

I have to add that it was nice to see Eduardo coming out for the fans; it’s a relief to see that he’s on his way to recovery, even if it is slow. We will all wait for him to recover.

First twenty minutes mainly consisted of arsenal making some good attempts on the goal.It’s been mainly arsenal so far. A goal by Adebayor which was given offside. Weird though there was no sign of van persie during this period and when we did see him he made a horrible miss. Arsenal’s defence looked strong and showed exactly what sort of experience William Gallas and Kolo Toure bring in. I noticed Fabregas really up for this game who is driven the team forward and Eboue too has shown similar effort. There were a few good chances for arsenal for instance the great play by fabregas to cross the ball to adebayor who fails to put any power to the header. Next there was the shot by eboue which we saw hit off the bar. Other than that there weren’t any good shoots just great plays.

There is much for Middlesbrough to brag about in the first 20 mins of the game except for a long shot by Gary ONiel which was no where even close to the goal. But come 25^th minute and arsenal has been haunted by Aliadiere, he hits one at the back of the net. A long ball is played to Tucay and he makes a great pass to Aliadiere who scores. The following few minutes consisted of a shaky arsenal side and middlesbrough defence as Robert huth makes a blunder to concede a corner. But Middlesbrough are lucky and arsenal fc can’t make much of it.

Its wasn’t long before arsenal has grouped together again and made a few good attempts on the goal. But middlesbrough defence and goal keeper are looking good. Aint nothing getting past them. What will Arsene Wenger have for the team in half time. They are looking down and falling behind on points. What a night it could turn out for Manchester United. The night the season turned in their favour.

Third time was not a lucky charm

It’s been three games in a row for arsenal now that they have been drawing in the english premier league.  After the fantastic win against Blackburn rovers its just all been rather slow. Not only has Manchester Utd. caught up to them but also might take the lead given that they win the next game.

Manchester United are two points behind arsenal fc and with a game in hand. I personally think that the boys at arsenal fc have played well through out the season and shut a lot of critics up. The young side has gone out there game after game and given it their best.

My only problem with the team is that I don’t want such a brilliant season to go down the drain after staying in the lead for more than half the season. I really hope arsenal can pull it together and win the game against Middlesborough coming weekend, and also looking forward to Robin Van Persie returning for the side. We all know they can especially after their magnificent win at San Siro against AC Milan.

San Siro Is Greatest Euro Win For Arsenal

“No Fear,” said Flamini just before the game started. That just sums up the exactly how ready the arsenal fc boys were for the boxing match of their life. It gave all the die hard fans something to look forward to. That just maybe arsenal is saving a good punch to knock out their opponent and boy that knockout punch came in a small package, Cesc Fabregas.

Even though the start was a bit shaky for me and there were patches in the middle that made my heart pop out like the runs by Kaka or the thunderous strikes by Pato, I realized that for the most part of the game Arsenal had been the dominant side. They played well, and they played like a unit. The passing and the chances created showed how badly they wanted this and how hard they had worked for it. The only thing lacking until the final minutes were the goals to prove that arsenal were the superior side.

I personally thing that of all the wins in the Champions League this was easily the best one. And I can give you a number of reasons.

1.      Playing against last year’s winner of the tournament.

2.      If that’s not enough then playing against the team that has reached the final three times in the last five years.

3.      AC Milan’s reputation and performance in the tournament over the decades has been exemplary.

4.      Arsenal was playing away from home.

5.      Arsenal had the curse of the European competition to fight against as well.

6.      Most people had written arsenal off as it is and the players had to keep that out of their minds.

7.      One of the youngest arsenal sides were playing without one of their key player Robin Van Persie.

8.      The goal itself gave a lot of inspiration to all the fans after Fabregas’ strike from 30 yards out. The feeling was just different.

These are some of the reasons I think that this was the best win in Europe for arsenal. If you can think of other reason please chip in and let me know.

Arsenal FC Player’s reaction after the AC Milan game

The arsenal boys are looking good after their win over AC Milan. Not only that they are feeling confident and a found a new inspiration to drive them forward. Many players gave told how they felt. The official site reports it as the following.

Philippe believes that arsenal boys had  “belief and patience”. He talked about the manner in which the team played as one, defended as one. What a perfect time for the team to come back after four games without a win.

William Gallas was overwhelmed with Fabregas’ goal. He commended the timing and talked about the challenges that lie ahead for the youngster. He was very happy with the players, he talked about his pride in them. He was glad to see that they didn’t fear AC Milan and went at them instead.

Abou was exceptionally pleased about the performance and his future expectations of arsenal in the competition. He thinks that the team can drive all the way in both the champion’s league and in the premiership.

The man of the night, the angel in disguise Cesc talked about the “perfect” night for arsenal. He was overwhelmed with the feeling of beating a side which consisted of stars like Kaka, Gattuso, Pirlo and Ambrosini. He also went on to talk about Arsenals tough luck in the competition in the past.