Arsenal Issues

Many Arsenal fans today are disgruntled. Every bar one goes to, or forum one reads, is rife with comments, by Gunners, exuding contempt and sometimes disgust for Arsene Wenger’s policies. The North Londoners are fifth, with an ever-tenacious Aston Villa, which Arsenal has failed to beat this season, 3 points better. Here are a few questions for Arsenal fans to reflect, and hopefully comment on.

I sent these same questions to Monday Night Football, so if you would like to check whether your views tally with those of expert panelists on Supersport, make sure to catch the exciting show on Monday, at 9 P.M. On Supersport 3:

1. It is common knowledge that Arsenal’s greatest need is an experienced, passionate, and V-12 engine defensive mid, someone like Yaya Toure, or Jimmy Bullard! And yet one neo-Alexandre-Hleb Andrei Arshavin hits the headlines everyday. Does Arsenal REALLY need the Russian striker?

2. We are only 6 points adrift from the summit, and with Eduardo back, and Walcott, Fabregas, Rosicky and Silvestre yet to return (forget Gallas!), can we win the league THIS SEASON? If not, when?

3. Lastly, I believe Nicklas Bendtner is a great striker in the making, much better, to me, than the on-and-off Emmanuel Adebayor. Does anyone agree?

In Arsene you trust?!

Battle of the Bridge

Perhaps the defining hours of this season’s Barclay’s English Premier League will be those between 18:00 and 20:00 CAT, when the league’s top four all play each other.

Chelsea host Arsenal at Stamford Bridge, where they haven’t lost for four years, to, non other than, the Gunners. The two sides have been the formula for a breath-taking fixture in the last 3 seasons. Chelsea have had the lion share of victories, with the North Londoners winning only one of the last eleven games in all competitions, and that one being Sunday’s corresponding fixture. A Willian Gallas first-half header was enough to separate the two teams when they locked horns earlier this season at the Emirates. Their league positions go further in accentuating the competitiveness of the match, as both sides have realistic hopes of lifting the silver-ware at the end of the season. With only eight games left for both sides, Arsenal, three points less, closely trail Man United, who lead the race with 70 points. Chelsea follow immediately behind, two points behind their Sunday opponents.

The Blues will be hoping for full recovery from Wednesday’s thriller at White Hart Lane, where the back of the net was slammed eight times. One thing, however, they will want to take with them to the Bridge, from the Spurs’ game, is the fluidity and quickness with which they played. With Drogba at his scoring self again, and Frank Lampard and Michael Essien in fantastic form, Avram Grant can afford something of a smile, surely. And as if that’s not enough, the tactician has got enough width in his side, with England midfielder Joe Cole playing some of his best football, and namesake Ashley beginning to pick up from where he left – on the other side of London.

Five draws in six games is not a statistic Arsene Wenger will be too pleased about. The Gunners seem to be seeing the title slip from their hands, after some disappointing results in the last couple of weeks. They will definitely need to raise their bar on Sunday, if they hope to get anything out of the game; and if they really are to challenge United on the summit, they will need to get something out of the Battle of the Bridge. But can they raise their bar so promptly? That, we know, they can do; just like they’ve done so often under the leadership of inspirational Wenger. They will need to be in AC Milan mode on Sunday if they are to challenge such a robust, stern and psychologically potent Chelsea. Like their North London rivals did in the midweek, Arsenal will be looking to play a quick, counter-attacking game, while keeping it impermeable at the back. This means Belarus magician Alexndre Hleb and England wonder-kid Theo Walcott being nowhere short of their best. A resilient Emmanuel Adebayor will also need to be in top-notch form as he will probably be expected to take the lone role up-front.

There will be no love lost when the two giants meet, with Ashley Cole, Nicholas Anelka and William Gallas all facing their former clubs. An away victory for the Gunners will mean a Premiership double over one of their fiercest rivals. And a victory for the Blues will not only mean revenge for their undoing at the Emirates, but an invaluable one point above their London foes.

Prediction
Chelsea 2-1 Arsenal

West Ham United were hammered at home against a ruthless Chelsea who, themselves, were coming from a painful Carling Cup Final exit a week earlier. The Blues recorded an emphatic 4-0 away victory even after playing a good part of the game without influential midfielder Frank Lampard.

The celebrations started as early as 120 seconds into the game when John Terry’s parried header was slotted home by new-boy Nicholas Anelka, only for the Frenchman to be told that he was off-side. Chelsea did not despair, though. With 17 minutes on the clock, Frank Lampard put the away team in the lead after Salomon Kalou had been tripped in the box by Antoine Ferdinand for a Chelsea penalty.

Three minutes later, former West Ham midfielder Joe Cole broke Hammers’ heart with a well-guided low shot after an equally superb control. The Bubbles just weren’t forming; because, two minutes later, Germany captain Mickael Ballack cemented last year’s League Cup champions’ lead with a fine, angled shot, making the most use of Frank Lampard’s cross, who was, by now, everywhere, including, in the 33rd minute, in the referee’s book. What looked like a tangle on the ground between the Englishman and West Ham’s Boa Morte ended in dismay for the former, who was having an excellent game thus far.

But it seems Chelsea are just as dangerous without one man as they are with one, if not more potent. Two Mark Noble shots were all the home team had to show before half-time.

Chelsea managed to keep their defense tight-lit in the second half until late when Carlton Cole should have scored after managing to squeeze the ball past and beyond Petr Cech only for captain John Terry to clear off the line. That was all the conformation they needed for a mediocre evening, but former Arsenal left-back made sure of the points when he reacted quickest from Joe Cole’s parried shot to side-foot the ball into the net from an acute angle.

The win keeps Chelsea’s title-aspirations alive after league-leaders Arsenal crucially dropped points at home against Aston Villa. West Ham United will feel bitter, but not too so, since they will know they had played with a side teeming with unspeakable talent and determination.

Tottenham Hotspurs on Saturday recorded a legendary win over their city rivals Chelsea to lift their first major trophy in more than eight years. The 2-1 victory at the new Wembley meant that boss Juande Ramos further added to his remarkable record of cup titles; collecting his fifth silver-ware in a row, after an impressive spell with Spanish side Sevilla.

It was the north Londoners who began the game with more intent when Irish striker Robbie Keane broke free with less than a minute on the clock to force a defensive intervention from Chelsea captain John Terry. They should have gone in front a few moments later when, first, Pascal Chimbonda’s header rattled the wrong side of the crossbar before, within sixty seconds, lethal forward Dimitir Berbatov headed wide after a perfect Keane cross.

The Blues only needed one or two half-chances to revitalize their performance. And it wasn’t too long before they broke Tottenham hearts when Didier Drogba dusted himself from a challenge by namesake Didier Zakora before finding the bottom left-hand corner of the goal. Former England first-choice goalkeeper Paul Robinson was left stranded, although, perhaps, he could have been better positioned.

The 39th minute Drogba strike did not deter a determined Spurs. Almost immediately from the re-start, Robbie Keane shot straight at Chelsea’s Czech goalkeeper Peter Cech before Berbatov uncharacteristically slipped at the final minute, failing to connect to yet another Keane teaser.

Chelsea’s eyes were glistening with the lustrous League Cup, which they so rudely snatched from their other city rivals Arsenal a year ago. It was only until deep in the second phase when an equalizer was sought by Spurs. One of Aaron Lennon’s increasingly desperate antics ended up in a Tottenham penalty after Wayne Bridge merely handled in the box. And monumental Berbatov made no mistake in slotting home his first ever League Cup goal with twenty minutes left to go.

An era thus began; one of unrelenting pressure from Spurs, led by Zakora in the middle, Lennon down wide and the brilliant Keane-Berbatov combination upfront. This led to the frequent stinging of Cech’s hands before the referee’s intervention with the final whistle.

And it looked like the constant bombardment of the Chelsea keeper did pay off after all, when, with just a few minutes played in extra-time, Cech punched a Jermaine Jenas free-kick straight into the destructive forehead of Jonathan Woodgate, who gave Spurs their deserving lead.

Woodgate, partnerd by fellow English-man Ledley King, then went on to defend resiliently against any Chelsea attack, making sure that the trophy goes to north London.

The defeat shatters Chelsea’s hopes of an illustrious quadruple; but still leaves them in contention of the other big three. The Tottenham board will be feeling very elated as thing seem to have shaken up at White Hart Lane after their appointment of the Spanish master tactician.

Arsenal fell under a curse from the Red Devils on Saturday evening after an enthralling performance by the hosts. A comprehensive 4-0 thumping at the hands of their fiercest rivals was enough to deter Arsenal spirits ahead of an equally crucial encounter against continental giants AC Milan later in the week.

What has been described as a ‘virtuoso’ performance by England wonder-kid Wayne Rooney proved to be a little too elusive for the gunners as the comeback-kid wreaked havoc in the visitor’s shaky defense. It was a sixteenth minute corner from the tunnel-end of Old Trafford that sparked everything. A well-positioned Rooney reacted quickest to a lose ball in the penalty area; and his header was too well-place for a hapless Jens Lehmann, even with two men on either post.

Perhaps the difference of the game was United’s new-found Portuguese inspiration Nani, who, without his fellow countryman Christiano Ronaldo, was given license to kill in midfield. And kill he did. A perfect ball on the 20th minute mark fell kindly for Scotland’s Darren Fletcher to further drop the jaws of the United fans, who were, at this point, quite literally in ‘dreamland’. But the dream turned into fantasy just seven minutes before half-time when no-nonsense centre-halt Michael Carrick fed a deserving Nani to slot home an incredible third.

At this point, it couldn’t get worse for Arsenal, surely.

But it did. Three minutes after the re-start, straight-from-the-Africa-Cup-of-Nation Emmanuel Eboue couldn’t hope for a more unpleasant welcome when he was shown red after a barbaric tackle on French left-back Patrice Evra.

Without Flamini, Rosicky, Adebayor, Clichy, Van Persie, Walcott, or even Denilson, Arsenal was looking rather shallow in terms of creativity. Danish Nicklas Bentener and Eduardo didn’t seem to blend, and Fabregas and Hleb in the middle just looked to be out of options. United were simply on top of their game. And perhaps it was the injection of youth that did the damage, with tenacious yet stylish Anderson filling in for Scholes, Park Ji Sung for Giggs, and Nani for Ronaldo. Arsenal was given a dose of their own medicine.

The final nail was carefully inserted in the coffin in the 74th minute when an amazing Nani managed to pull off a juicy cross at the end of a mazy run to find Darren Fletcher unmarked at the far post. His header was, again, perfect.

The result sends the Gunners crushing out of England’s most famous Cup, and United straight into the draw for the quarterfinal where they will be joined by other big-guns Chelsea. Meanwhile, last year’s Champion’s League finalists Liverpool were also very rudely booted-out by a very much second tier Barnsley FC.

Battle of Titans

Saturday, February 16th, marks a very important date in the calendar of English football. Two giants of the game, Manchester United and Arsenal, come face-to-face in an F.A Cup fixture that has, over the last several decades, proved to be simply, a classic.

The two teams meet each other for the 13th time in England’s most famous Cup title. Arsenal will be looking at building on their new-found success over their rivals this season, being unbeaten in the last three meetings. A 2-2 draw at the Emirates in the Premier League earlier this season meant that the bragging rights stay in North London coming into this game.


But Old Trafford is always a different proposition. Most staunch Red Devil’s will remember the mesmerizing goal by veteran Ryan Giggs at the Theatre of Dreams nine years ago in the same fixture. Old Trafford has never been Arsenal’s favorite playing field as memories of a 6-1 defeat close to a decade ago still linger in the minds of many of their fans.

Sir Alex Ferguson, who will be seeing off his 100th game on Saturday evening, will be hoping for an improved performance from his side after collecting only one point in two testing games. They will be banking on the mood of flamboyant winger Christiano Ronaldo, who seems to be holding the key to United’s fortunes this season. Up-front, they will require striker’s Wayne Rooney and Carlos Tevez, who have not been as potent as expected thus far, to put on their scoring boots if United are to frighten the current league leaders.

On the other side, Arsene Wenger will be rejoicing over the availability of rock-solid centre-back Kolo Toure and his fellow countryman Emmanuel Eboue, who come from a fruitless adventure at the Nations Cup in Ghana. Their presence will do a lot in filling the places of injured Gael Clichy and unavailable Bacary Sagna who have become superb on the flanks. The secret to a famous Arsenal win will lie in how well they manage to shut-down Christiano Ronaldo from the game. That means keeping a tight-lit on him on both wings, as he’s known to very cleverly swap positions with Ryan Giggs when need arises, as well as cutting off all delivery to him from, most likely, Paul Scholes. They will also need to keep up high levels of concentration against a very professional United midfield, while maintaining their famous creativity, orchestrated by Spanish sensation, Cesc Fabregas and the man with dancing feet, Alexander Hleb.

Generally, a very exciting game should be anticipated. Crunching tackles, quick-tempo counter attacks, and an electrifying atmosphere are always necessary ingredients for a beauty. Both teams boast prolific goal-scores, with United looking at Ronaldo to spare their blushes, while Arsenal rely on Togolese Emmanuel Adebayor to add to his already impressive tally.

Prediction
Manchester United 2-2 Arsenal

Star-studded Barcelona was frustrated by last year’s UEFA Cup winners Sevilla in an exciting match played at the Estadio Ramoa Sanchez Pizjuan on Saturday.

An impressive start by the home side ensured a competitive match-up, with Victor Valdes in the Barcelona goal being made to work early in the first half. A Daniel Alves free-kick forced the Barca goalkeeper into an early acrobatic save.

Returning from a disappointing show at the just-ended African Cup of Nations, striker Freddie Kanoute came close to putting the hosts ahead with a volley from close-range mid-way in the first chapter. But Sevilla’s relentless pressure paid off a few minutes later when a beautifully-worked move started with inspirational Alves finding a well-positioned Jesus Navas before falling graciously for teen-ager Capel who made no mistake in front of goal.

The Catalans came to life in the second half thanks to a judicious move by tactician Frank Raijkaard when he brought on former Player of the Year Ronaldinho. Having the Brazilian on the pitch was in itself enough to inspire the visitor’s midfield who, after a swift pass by Argentine sensation Lionel Messi, found the solution to their problem when celebrated Spain playmaker Xavi slotted past Andres Palop with only fourteen minutes left on the clock.

A late sending-off for Mali international Seydou Keita gave Barca a chance to increase their tally, but Raijkaards men failed to take advantage with so little left on the clock.

The draw means that Barcelona stay on second place after their fierce rivals Real Madrid trounced Valladolid 7-0.