Ooops! We did it again

Why is it we always shoot ourselves in the foot when it comes to the tail-end of the season or in cup final matches. The Koscielny-Wojciech debacle is not the first time we have literally presented an important match to the opposition. Cue back to the League Cup Final in 2007 when we self-combusted and lost Toure and Adebayor and finally the chance of winning. Again in the semi-final of the FA Cup against Chelsea, Champions League final v Barcelona, Champions League semi-final v Man United, we have always thrown away good positions where we could have won a trophy.

Many pundits have questioned the boys' temperament in the big matches and how we seem to freeze. I personally don't think we played all that badly against Birmingham. We have always struggled to break down teams who defend well in numbers. Although not many neutral fans agree with me but I am positive that we would have won the match in extra time. The Blues were hardly getting out of their half and we were creating chance after chance.

No doubt the boys' will be utterly dissapointed after the match. I can't blame them for lack of trying. It just seem that there is a mental block that is preventing some of them from crossing the barrier. I guess this is something which the boss should be looking into with three other competitions still alive. Maybe a psychologist would help. Certainly Koscielny and Wojciech would benefit from one after this episode.

Arsenal vs Birmingham: Carling Cup Final Preview

There is only 2 days left to the Carling Cup Final and I am just counting down the hours to arguably the most important match for the new generation Gunners. The last generation of the Gunners were undoubtedly very successful with the "Invincible" season to crown their glory days. Now we stand on the threshold of a new era where the Gunners dominate the trophies. It all rest on the result of this sunday's match against Birmingham in our first new Wembley final.

Normally I would be very confident about a victory for the Gunners against Birmingham. We have not lost to the Blues in the last six games, winning three and drawing the rest. We have done the double over Alex McLeish's side, with the last match going to 3-0 victory for us at the Emirates.

However, this is a Cup Final and many of the players out there have never been to one. I believe other than Cesc,Clichy, Van Persie and Arshavin none of the Arsenal players have even participated in such an environment. That is why I am a little worried for the boys and how they will hold up this Sunday.

The injuries to Cesc and Walcott certainly did not help our cause. Of course we have Nasri to take over from Cesc but we do have a hole to fill on the right side of midfield. He may be frustrating at times but Walcott does give us penetration and wide to the attack.I am pretty sure Bendtner will take his place on the right so let's see if the Dane can make good his promise of giving his best to the Arsenal cause.

I don't even want to think about the consequences should we fail to win this match. It is going to be such a big blow that I don't think we can recover from it. All I am doing now is think positive and hope it carries over to the boys on the field come Sunday.

A bittersweet victory at the Emirates

It was a good win yesterday for the Gunners at the Emirates but we could be counting the cost of the victory with both Fabregas and Walcott limping out of the match. Any game with Stoke is going to be a physical one but this is getting out of hand. I think Peter Walton is a decent referee but he certainly did not do justice to the Arsenal lads yesterday. It was not a dirty match but some of the tackles by the Stoke players were more than robust. How can you explain that there were only 4 yellow cards shown throughout the match with 2 of them going to Arsenal players. I counted the number of tackles Dean Whitehead had on the Arsenal players. In any other match or on the continent, he would have long been sent off.

Now that we are only 1 point from the leaders, there is genuine belief that we can challenge Manchester United for the title. I have always been confident of the lads. I feel the key to the success of our final run-in is so dependent on us winning the Carling Cup.

This is our chance of winning something for the first time since the FA Cup in 2005 and we have to take it. We are the overwhelming favorites and if we do not take this opportunity, I fear that the psychological damage will derail our challenge for not only the league but all the other competitions that we are still in.

I think we can manage without Walcott but it is going to be extra difficult to be without RVP, Koscielny and Cesc. We can only wait till tomorrow for the latest updates from the manager. till then, I am just keeping my fingers crossed

I am worried about tomorrow's match

We are to the grind of the English Premier League, with a match against Stoke City tomorrow night at the Britannia Stadium. This match was postponed from December when the country was covered in snow.

With Arsene Wenger news that both Van Persie and Koscielny will miss tomorrow match, I am a little worried about the consequences for the team. Van Persie is the league's top scorer in 2011 and we will certainly miss his goals up front. However it is the loss of Koscielny that is making me very worries. Djourou and Kos has formed a good partnership and in the absence of Vermaelen remains the two best centre-backs that we have. Koscielny will definitely be partnered with Squillaci and this partnership untested will come under extreme examination by the bully boys from Stoke City.

The game plan of the Potters is very traditional but successful against teams like us. We have always been subceptible to the high ball and tall centerforwards. In Stoke City's line-up, they have two giants in Jones and Carew. There is no doubt that both will feature in the match to take advantage of the long bombs from Rory Delap. I just am not confident with Squillaci's role in defense. Although he started well at the beginning of the season, he seems to have deteriorated at the turn of the year after returning from injury. The only saving grace for me is having Wojciech in goal because he is definitely more commanding than Almunia.

If we are going to keep our title hopes alive, these two games against Stoke will be critical. Don't forget Spurs are not far behind and anything less than a win will make it really uncomfortable for the Gunners at the tail end of the season when we have to visit White Hart Lane

What's with Arsenal and replays

Another cup tie, another replay. Why is it that this year we seem to be having problems clearing the cup ties the first time around. For the third time this season, we have met a lower division side and always needing a replay to get the job done. Leeds, Ipswich and now Leyton Orient. Yesterday's game was in the back until the lads decided to be generous to Leyton and give them the financial boost of a replay. Arsene has said earlier that these replays are important for the lower league sides and he does not support the abolishment of the replay system. I wonder if he is thinking twice now.

Luckily for us, we have a big squad to go around. I don't mind the replay because it would give some of the second stringers a chance to play. I though Miquel played well in his debut. The same cannot be said about some of the other senior players though. Bendtner was nowhere, his only contribution was his assist for the Rosicky goal. The Czech was not any better. He was a big dissapointment apart from scoring the goal. He constantly gave away the ball and was not influential at all. The other cog in the attacking system, Chamakh was hardly a treat. He certainly looks off the colour after a bright start to his first season with the Gunners. The only offensive player I thought gave a good account of himself was Arshavin. The Russian looks like coming back to his old form.

What this replays is another match in our very congested fixture. We will be playing twice a week till mid march now instead of having a rest the week before going to Barcelona. There's still the postponed match against Spurs which has yet to be rescheduled. That's the price for challenging in all four competitions.

The night we beat the best in the world

Oh boy, what a match it was yesterday. Although it is only the first leg and we still have 90 minutes to go at the Nou Camp, let's savour this moment and hope that this result will give us belief that the team is capable of much more. We were not given any chance at all by anyone going into the match.
I must admit that when the opposition when one up, I was fearing the worst. I should have known better. We two nil down last year and we fought back. It wasn't any different this year just that we won the game and we really took the game to them.

Right from the start we attacked and pressure them much like how Barcelona plays. We were really two teams alike in the style of play. Where we used to be dominate by them, this game showed that we have grown up and is able to compete with the best team in the world and win.

I was totally impressed with the way we took the game to Barcelona. Even in the first half, when they were leading, we had good chance which we failed to convert. But the second half performance was as just as any I have seen this year. The Spaniards hardly had a look at goal. The fact that Guardiola sacrificed his main attacker to bring in a midfielder showed that they were afraid of what we could do. Maybe last year's fight back was still playing in this mind. However, fortune favours the brave and the tactical changes made by Arsene were braves one and he absolutely deserved credit for it.

There are so many good performances but i like to single Wilshere and Szechny. Wilshere was instrumental in midfield and not overawed by the likes of Xavi and Iniesta. not sure if anybody saw the little contribution young Jack made to the second goal. It was his first time pass which allowed Cesc to spin away from his marker and set the wheels in motion. As for the young keeper, he did not have such a busy time but his presence in goal contributed to a whole deal of confidence for the defenders. I don't see that confidence in Koscielny and Djourou when they are in front of Almunia or Fabianski.

QUESTION: Now that we have beaten the best club side in the world, does it mean we are the best?

The twins go against each other tonight

The way we play have often be compared to how Barcelona plays. In fact, many pundits out there have remarked that we are similar in how we approach and play the game. Controlling gameplay with short, intricate passes are the common factors that have made both teams among the most popular in the world. Our style of play is so similar that I have heard many people calling Barcelona and Arsenal as twin terrors. Nobody in world football would like to meet Arsenal or Barcelona.

That is why there was so much joy in the European footballing world when the twins drew each other. to them, at least one of the terrible twins will be eliminated from the competition. Last year, Barcelona got the better of us, so this year it's time to return the favour.

last year's edition was disappointing not only because we lost but it was not a fair reflection of the team's strength. Both were missing their most important player with Iniesta missing for Barcelona and RVP not available for us. This time around both teams are almost at full strength with one absentee each from the defence. Puyol and Vermaelen canceling each other advantage out.

So whoever wins tomorrow's match can really be crowned the better of the twins. Let's hope it is going to be the Gunners

We will shut Barcelona out tomorrow

Although many people are expecting us to lose the Champions League match-up with Barcelona, I am optimistic that we will prevail over the two legs. Definitely I am expecting a win tomorrow and a draw over at the Nou Camp.

You may say I am nuts given our recent defensive performance at St James’s Park but do hear me out. Other than performance we have actually performed quite credibly in defence since the start of the year and the partnership between Koscielny and Djourou became more stable. It was a blessing the Squillaci got injured so that Kos and Johann had several games to get their partnership together.

Everyone who plays Arsenal knows that our weakness link in defence is defending against the high ball. That’s why we have so much trouble with Premiership teams with big, stalking centre-forwards. Three of the four goals conceded at St James’s Park were due to the inability to deal with high balls into the box. When the ball is on the ground, we are much more comfortable in dealing with the threat. Wilshere and Song provided good cover for the centre-backs when the opposition is attacking on the ground. That’s why we seldom go down to teams who play us on the ground.

That is also why I feel we can take on Barcelona. The Spanish team is very similar to us, with little creative guys with not much height. Messi,Villa, Iniesta, Xavi, Krjic and Pedro are all not Andy Carroll or Didier Drogba type forwards. We can deal with the intricate passing and little one twos because it would just be like a practise session for the defenders. That’s how they train every day.

When we drew Barcelona back in December, I was actually happy because we would not have to deal with aerial threats from the opposition. While they used to have Ibrahimovic and Yaya Toure to trouble us from set-pieces, I think we will be very comfortable dealing with their much vaunted attack tomorrow.

Champions League glory beckons

After being occupied with the Premier League for the past two weeks, we will now have two consecutive Cup matches to look forward to this week. Of course the big one is this Wednesday when we entertain the “best club team in the world” Barcelona before travelling to Leyton Orient for the FA Cup clash this Saturday.

Just similar to last year, no one is giving us a host of a chance to progress beyond the first knock-out round after we were paired with Barcelona way back in December. After seeing how Barcelona almost lost last weekend, I am fairly confident we would hold our own on Wednesday. In fact I am quite certain we would get a win at the Emirates.

Last year we had the team from Catalonia reeling in the first leg. We could have even beaten them had we taken our chances well. This time around, we are firing on all cylinders and if we have Nasri back, and then I think the Spaniards will be in for a surprise.

As I have said many times this season, the key to winning the match like this will be efficiency in front of goal. If we were to play like we did over the weekend and squander clear cut chances, then we would be in trouble. It is a good thing that we will have RVP for this match. We missed him dearly last year and we could only imagine what would happen if we had him on the pitch. This year, I am sure the team wants revenge for that loss. We just need to be brave and show the world that Barcelona as only as good as their reputation and it counts for nothing on the pitch.

It's a two horse race now

From the result from last weekend, we can now confirmed that Manchester City is no longer in the running for the title. Despite all the millions spent, the Citizens have failed to mount a credible challenge for the second year running.

Realistically the tile race is now a two horse race. Ancelloti has given up hope while I don't think Harry Redknapp was serious when he said his Spurs was up there challenging for Premiership honours. Many people might write off our chances as well but I have a strong feeling about us this season.

Our duel with Man United at the Emirates on 30th April is going to be huge. It will be the do or die match for our premiership chances. If we can sustain our challenge from now till then, we might have a chance of beating them and going on to claim the title. We have already beaten Chelsea at home this year, there's no saying we cannot do the same to Man United after losing to them for the past fixtures.

Arsenal vs Wolves: Match Preview

If I were a neutral fan, I would fancy my chances of a putting some money on Wolves to create an upset at the Emirates. After all, the team did beat Manchester United last week against an Arsenal team which allowed four goals in 20 plus minutes. Moreover the Gunners have shown their weakness at the Emirates which losses to WBA and Newcastle earlier in the season.

However, I am a die-hard Arsenal fan and I am sure that a losing scenario for Arsenal will not happen tomorrow. Yes, we may have been damaged physcologically with the events of last week but this Arsenal team is strong enough to overcome that. Last weekend was actually a positive weekend for us since we have clawed back one point from Man United"s Lead. I am sure it will be a stalemate in the Manchester derby together with a win for us. So by end of day tomorrow, the lead will be down to 2 points.

My only concern for the team is in the midfield department. While we used to have an abundance of talent here, we are down to bare bones at the moment. Basically all the players who can play the midfield enforcer role is out: Song and Denilson through injury and Diaby who is suspended. It would be interesting to see who the Professor picks to join Fabregas and Wilshere in the centre of the park. It would have been ideal to bring Ramsey back into the team now but unfortunately he is out on loan in Cardiff.

Nonetheless, I am confident that the lack of midfield personnel will not affect the team that much and by the end of the match, we would have closed the gap to Man United.

Arsenal players return safely after international break

The international friendlies are now offer and thank god that we have not heard any injuries to the many players who were on international duty.

I didn't manage to catch many of the matches but the one game I watched was the England vs Denmark match. I was impressed with the Arsenal players turning out for England e.g. Jack Wilshere and Theo Walcott. Jack was absolutely brilliant running the midfield although he was playing in a different position to the one he always does for Arsenal. In the Gunners team, young Jack has roving role and does both offensive and defensive duties while for England he was more like the midfield enforcer. I don't think this is is most useful position but credit goes to him because he performed well. Theo was good as well in the match. His jinking runs gave the Danish leftback a torrid time. He also set up the equalizer.

On the other side, Bendtner was very much himself, playing the lone striker role. I still don't think he has what is takes to be the main striker, certainly not in Arsenal's first eleven but he does show a lot of commitment and willing to work hard for the team.

The player who was most impressive on the night was the Danish sensation Cristian Eriksen. I know Dennis Bergkamp alerted the Arsenal management about this boy last summer. I am sure it will not be long before a major club snaps up the 18 year old. He just ran the show for this Denmark side and was just unlucky not to get on the score sheet himself. His crosses were pinpoint accurate and his dribbling skills second to none on the night. There was one occasion where he just nutmegs Walcott so easily that the England winger was just stunned.

Now it is back to business on Saturday with the match against Wolves. We need to win this one and banish the disappointment of last weekend altogether.

Thanks for the international break!

I have never liked international breaks but I think this coming one is much needed for the lads. We have been playing so many matches in the past six weeks that the lads must be physically and mentally tired. It would also be good for the press to focus on other things other than our collapse at St James's Park.

This international break is also much welcomed because of all the accumulated injuries to the players. Just when we thought we have gone through the worst of injury crises, we have a new bunch players checking into sick bay. Nasri, Song, Denilson, Djourou have now joined Vermaelen on the injury list. It is a good thing that most of our first team players have withdrawn from their international duties. Given our luck I am sure had they not done that, they would be injured as well.

As it stands we have Walcott and Wilshere in the English squad. Let's just hope that Walcott can remain injury free cause the last time he was in the England squad, he came back injured. We just cannot afford any more injuries as bug games are coming thick and fast in the coming weeks, none bigger than then visit of Barcelona next week.

Let's hope Arsene takes this break to motivate the squad and break the cloud of doom that is currently hanging over the squad.

Not the first time referees have cost us the game!

No matter what people say, I will not accept that Phil Dowd did not cost us the game on Saturday. The two phantom penalties and not sending Kevin Nolan off for the same stunt that got Diaby the red card shows very clearly that Phil Dowd is not a professional. I would say Mr Dowd has it in him to see any team but Arsenal win.

It is not the first time he has cost us points. The last time we gave up a 2 or more goal lead (it was against Spurs at the Emirates), guess who was in charge. None other than Tubby Dowd himself. The goal that lead to Spurs winner that day was a freekick which was given only because he wanted to give Spurs a chance of victory. If they have not scored I am sure he would have given them a penalty, like he did on Saturday.

Another one of his many tricks to see Arsenal lose points is to prolong the match, like when he decided to let game go on until Sunderland scored to grab a point at the stadium of light. Clearly time was over but Tubby chose not to blow the whistle just because we were leading.

There are a couple of excellent referees in the Premiership but with guys like Mason and Dowd, you would think that it could be better to get neutral referees from the continent so that we can actually get some fair play going on. It is difficult to see how the "Respect the Referee" campaign can be successful when the referee's do not respect the game enough to do a good and professional job.

So the fat lady did not finish singing yesterday?

After the collapse last nite at St James's Park, all the pundits, from Asia to Europe to America confidently pronounce the end of Arsenal's Premiership title challenge. Everybody was saying how Arsenal would be 7 points of Manchester United by the weekend and have no chance of catching the Red Devils. Well, as they say it ain't over till the fat lady sings, and the lady was missing yesterday.

It was of course very poor to drop two points after leading 4-0 in the first. It was sickening to see how the lads played yesterday. Of course it is difficult to be facing 12 men on the pitch with only 10 (there is no doubt Phil Dowd plays for Newcastle) but our own performance was poor. We didn't string an attack for long periods in the half, choosing to sit back and let the opposition attack. Van Persie was sitting too deep and the withdrawal of Walcott and Arshavin was detrimental to the team formation. The most important loss was that of Djourou, as his replacement was ill-suited for the match. Squillaci has lost his way since the turn of the new year and every time he plays, we look shaky at the back.

Having said all that, we gained one point at the end of Saturday and are now just 4 points of the lead. Just like nobody expected the collapse in the second half, I am sure not even the most positive Wolves fan expected victory yesterday at the Molinouex. Next week we have the Manchester derby and a possible loss of points again for the Red Devils. We need to put the disappointment behind and get maximum points from our meeting with Wolves at the Emirates and add more pressure to the Red Devils. I am tired of hearing that the title is all sewn up by United. Let's give the pundits some else to take about now

A great result, An excellent team performance

At the end of the day, it is all about the three points. As usual we did it the hard way but this time we did not cave it after going behind. Earlier in the season, we lost both matches to WBA and Newcastle at home after going down. Yesterday, we showed true resilience with a superb second half performance.

We did not play badly in the first half. If it wasn't for the linesman's self-interpretation of the offside rule, I doubt that we would be behind. The Toffees played hard but did not pose much of a threat. The only time they seriously threatened was when Bilyaletinov forced a great save from Scezcny. I am starting to like our young Polish goalkeeper alot. From what I see, he has the air of confidence in his command of the box that both Fabianski and Almunia lack. He is going to be great for Arsenal in the future.

I think we have to thank David Moyes for his cowardice in the second half. It has a big part to play in our comeback. The Everton manager was contended to try and soak up the pressure from the Gunner hoping to hold out for the win. They played passive football and was trying all way out to gain extra minutes with every stoppage. On the other hand, Arsene played his cards courageously by deploying both Arshavin and Bendtner for Rosicky and Wilshere. This was the turning point in the match as Arsenal quickly scored the equalizer and subsequently the winner.

What pleased me most about the match was the team effort by all the players involved. We had a bit to defend after we scored the second goal and you could see that all the players were enthusiastic about helping out in defence. Bendtner, Arshavin and Walcott was all tracking back and added extra manpower to the defence. This type of performances were lacking in the first half of the season which is why I am very optimistic about Arsenal future this season.

Again, at the end of the day, we got the three points we needed to keep pace with United. We need to do the same this weekend as United could potential drop points in the Manchester derby.

Andy Carroll for £35 million pounds. Is it worth it?

Well, this is a departure from the usual comments on the Gunners as I was reading through the transfer news this morning, I realized that Liverpool just paid £35 million pounds for Andy Carroll. Seriously, £35 million for Andy Carroll? Just imagine this amount is higher than what Barcelona paid Valencia for David Villa, and close to double the amount Liverpool is paying for a seasoned and experienced World Cup star, Luiz Suarez. Is the transfer market going crazy or Liverpool just being plain desperate. I am wondering if I am the only one who is befuddled by this development. Please let me know if you think this transfer is worth it, from a neutral's point of view (since I do not think there are any non-Arsenal fans reading this blog)

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