Morning Gooners,
2011 is here so surely the whole world has now changed for the better. Everything that normally bugs us will not happen anymore and the world will be nothing but Rosy for an Arsenal fan..... What? you're questioning the truth in that statement, how very dare you!! Lets look at the evidence shall we, the new year is only one day old and so far Man Utd have played some of the worst, ugliest football I have seen for years...and won a game that in fairness they should have lost, Torres scored in front of the Kop with a Gerrard assist, the media are up in arms about cheating Arsenal whilst almost ignoring several horrible challenges on our players, Spud fans are shouting about how they are now an established team in the top four and the gap between the north London teams is ever shrinking or in some cases Spurs are now the bigger club, Harry 'twitch' Redknapp is talking about another almost retired footballer as though they are the brightest prospect in modern football in the hope he can sell more shirts, or maybe a new DVD and Wayne Rooney still looks like Shrek after losing a cage fight. Ah well, same old shit for another year it is then!!
I need some cheering up, how about a lovely 3-0 win Mr Goonerfish, why thank you very much that'll do nicely.
Arsenal turned up to St Andrews yesterday with less than fond memories of recent visits. In previous years we have experienced the beginning of the end of a title bid with the horror injury that in fairness ended Eduardo's hope of a long and successful Arsenal career followed by Gallas' ridiculous sit in protest. More recently, last year Kevin Phillips scored an injury time equaliser to rob us of our hard earned points.
If our players were not looking forward to the visit then they didn't show it. We were treated to a wonderful team display by the same team that turned out against Chelsea. Fabianski continued to improve his reputation with some fantastic distribution, especially from his throws and added some strong decision making and a top class save from Larsson's first half free kick. Our defence was solid apart from that niggling habit we have of turning to mush when defending set pieces, Brum should have got a goal from such an occasion in the first half when our back line just fell to sleep. Djourou fro me gets better every time I see him, if he can stay fit and keep his run of games going he will be immense for us.
Jack Wilshere had a happy birthday quietly doing what he does and dictating the pace of the game through clever passing and an incredible ability to read the game, still can't believe he's only 19.
RVP should have had a hat-trick in the first half but his lack of match sharpness showed with some poor first touches and decision making. He got a lot of stick for earning the free kick that he scored to put us 1-0 up with his first goal since May. Yes he made a lot of it but there was contact so surely that comes under exaggeration rather than simulation. Bottom line, there WAS a foul, we got a free kick, we scored from that free kick, I don't see where the issue is. Robin then pushed himself into the highlights again with a clear handball in the box which wasn't given but I had to chuckle at McLeish moaning about it in his post match interview considering the fashion of Birmingham's equaliser against the Mancs.
Samir Nasri was epic. He is slowly becoming an absolute legend in an Arsenal shirt he is just the right mix of Freddie and Pires and is another player that is getting better with every game, at the half way spot he is definitely my player of the season so far. Nasri scored our second with a lovely placed shot into the bottom corner and from that point we never looked back. There were some lovely interchanges between Nasri, Fabregas and Van Persie all the way through the game and when you consider Cesc and RVP are still finding their fitness the potential partnerships that could develop between that trio is mouth watering, then add in the skill of Arshavin or the pace of Walcott or the brilliance of Wilshere and you finally get a glimpse of how exciting our future is.
It was a lovely run from Walcott that started the move for out third and ended in Fabregas smashing a shot into Foster's chest which came back out, took a double deflection and somehow ended up back in the net.
You may notice that I have neglected to mention the challenges that our players were subjected to but truth be told, you can read a review of any Birmingham vs Arsenal game and you read the same thing. Bowyer in particular seemed to have an issue with Sagna as he assaulted him on several occasions. The sooner the FA get to the bottom of this problem and really punish challenges that could in some cases seriously injure the opposition the better. I would say it won't happen until someone gets seriously hurt but the names Eduardo and Ramsey come to mind so maybe it won't happen until someone English such as a Lampard, Rooney or Gerrard get seriously hurt.
All in all we got the three points we needed, we saw a solid team performance, we saw a clean sheet and no one got injured so I would have to say it was a good days work.
Thoughts now head to the last game of the hectic festive period against Manchester City. Both teams are in good form so it should be a good game, hopefully ending in an Arsenal victory.
Till next time,
Goonerfish.
Showing posts with label Birmingham city. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Birmingham city. Show all posts
Sunday, 2 January 2011
Saturday, 1 January 2011
Early Transfer round-up and Brum Preview
Firstly Happy New year to all you Gooners out there.
So here we are, a brand new year and with the start of the year we see the annual madness start that is the transfer window.
It's only the first day and already we have Wenger confirming that we have one in and one out. Harvard Nordtviet is on his way to Borussia Monchengladbach in the next few days without making a single first team appearance since joining us in July 2007 and Japanese forward Ryo Miyaichi is on his way in.
Wenger has also said that he will be happy for Carlos Vela to leave on loan. He said:
Also on the transfer front, good ol' Freddie Ljungburg has returned to Britain completing his loan move to Celtic. Good luck to him.
And lets not forget about the madness that the next 31 days will bring about Cesc Fabregas leaving the club, already reports are flying around that Real Madrid are preparing a £35m bid. Again, lets keep calm Gooners Cesc is not going anywhere (in January at least) so lets not make him come out publicly every other day and stat his commitment to the club.
Now for the real reason for today's blog, our trip to Brum. Wenger made eight changes between the last two games and I expect a fair few today too bringing back some of our stronger players for the third game in six days.
Fabianski has given no reason to lose his place but he will need to be careful if Zigic plays, not because of his quality in the air but just because of his height, when your that tall luck will fall your way and Birmingham have enough poachers to bury the balls that he will be knocking down.
Wenger's first big choice is who to play at centre back. His rotation so far has seen Koscielny and Djourou play against Chelsea and Kos with Squillaci against Wigan. The question is will Wenger now give Koscielny a rest or continue to play who he sees as his best fit defender. My vote goes for the return of a Kos/Djorou partnership.
Fabregas returns from suspension to retake his place in the middle of the park and Jack Wilshere should be right beside him doing what he loves best on his birthday, winning three points for Arsenal.
Robin Van Persie continues to try and find the form we all know he's capable of and his style and skill should suit our game today working in close tight triangles with Cesc, Wilshere, Arshavin and Nasri.
Yesterday I talked about my strongest Arsenal XI and am hoping that we may actually see 10 of those players start the game today.
Goonerfish's line-up:
Fabianski
Sagna - Koscielny - Djourou - Clichy
Song
Fabregas - Wilshere
Nasri - Arshavin
Van Persie
Score: Birmingham 0 - 2 Arsenal
This game will be close. Only Everton have won at St Andrews this season and Birmingham have the third best home defensive record in the league behind only Chelsea and Manchester United. However, Alex McLeish’s side have only scored nine at home themselves which is the worst record in the premiership.
Last year we saw Kevin Phillips steal an injury time equaliser to make it 1-1 but I think the team have grown a little more over the past year and should have enough to do what Man Utd couldn't and take all three points.
A win today will see seven points earned in less than six days and in comparison to the same fixtures last year an improvement of six points so lets be positive and get behind the boys.
Till next time,
Goonerfish.
Don't forget guys for more random ramblings you can follow me on twitter or facebook.
So here we are, a brand new year and with the start of the year we see the annual madness start that is the transfer window.
It's only the first day and already we have Wenger confirming that we have one in and one out. Harvard Nordtviet is on his way to Borussia Monchengladbach in the next few days without making a single first team appearance since joining us in July 2007 and Japanese forward Ryo Miyaichi is on his way in.
Wenger has also said that he will be happy for Carlos Vela to leave on loan. He said:
"Some offensive players don’t play games like Carlos Vela. If he can get games somewhere else we will loan him out."
"He is a top quality player and at the moment we have too many strikers. He does not get the games he deserves."It is also confirmed that Ramsey will come back to Arsenal and will not be going back on loan. Wenger has said he hopes for him to be ready for action in February.
Also on the transfer front, good ol' Freddie Ljungburg has returned to Britain completing his loan move to Celtic. Good luck to him.
And lets not forget about the madness that the next 31 days will bring about Cesc Fabregas leaving the club, already reports are flying around that Real Madrid are preparing a £35m bid. Again, lets keep calm Gooners Cesc is not going anywhere (in January at least) so lets not make him come out publicly every other day and stat his commitment to the club.
Now for the real reason for today's blog, our trip to Brum. Wenger made eight changes between the last two games and I expect a fair few today too bringing back some of our stronger players for the third game in six days.
Fabianski has given no reason to lose his place but he will need to be careful if Zigic plays, not because of his quality in the air but just because of his height, when your that tall luck will fall your way and Birmingham have enough poachers to bury the balls that he will be knocking down.
Wenger's first big choice is who to play at centre back. His rotation so far has seen Koscielny and Djourou play against Chelsea and Kos with Squillaci against Wigan. The question is will Wenger now give Koscielny a rest or continue to play who he sees as his best fit defender. My vote goes for the return of a Kos/Djorou partnership.
Fabregas returns from suspension to retake his place in the middle of the park and Jack Wilshere should be right beside him doing what he loves best on his birthday, winning three points for Arsenal.
Robin Van Persie continues to try and find the form we all know he's capable of and his style and skill should suit our game today working in close tight triangles with Cesc, Wilshere, Arshavin and Nasri.
Yesterday I talked about my strongest Arsenal XI and am hoping that we may actually see 10 of those players start the game today.
Goonerfish's line-up:
Fabianski
Sagna - Koscielny - Djourou - Clichy
Song
Fabregas - Wilshere
Nasri - Arshavin
Van Persie
Score: Birmingham 0 - 2 Arsenal
This game will be close. Only Everton have won at St Andrews this season and Birmingham have the third best home defensive record in the league behind only Chelsea and Manchester United. However, Alex McLeish’s side have only scored nine at home themselves which is the worst record in the premiership.
Last year we saw Kevin Phillips steal an injury time equaliser to make it 1-1 but I think the team have grown a little more over the past year and should have enough to do what Man Utd couldn't and take all three points.
A win today will see seven points earned in less than six days and in comparison to the same fixtures last year an improvement of six points so lets be positive and get behind the boys.
Till next time,
Goonerfish.
Don't forget guys for more random ramblings you can follow me on twitter or facebook.
Saturday, 16 October 2010
Bring on the Brum: Birmingam preview
Hurrah, real football is back.
Injury news seemed really positive a few days ago, but as we wake up to match day it seems we've got two in and two out.
Theo Walcott and Nic Bendtner both return to the squad but Sagna and Koscielny both miss out thanks to a thigh and back injury respectively. The scenario is far from ideal, gaining two attackers is great but in losing two defenders, the negative outweighs the positive, we have plenty of attackers available so we were not particularly short there however decent defenders are very hard to come by at Arsenal.
With Vermaelen still ten days away according to Wenger, it's going to be a big day for Johan Djourou who you have to assume will start next to Squillaci in the centre of defence. I like Djourou and think he could become a fantastic defender given a run of games and some confidence but that being said, I'm glad we're playing a team like Birmingham and not a Manchester club or Chelsea. I have a feeling he'll put in a good performance today.
Eboue is the other player to benefit from injuries. He will surely replace Sagna at right back, unless Wenger is having a look at some of our younger players ready for the Carling Cup game at Newcastle, then we may see a lesser known starter such as Eastmond or Nortveit, my money is on Eboue though.
Cesc is still short for a return so Nasri or Wilshere should take up his role joing Song in midfield. Nasri is a hard choice for Wenger when Fabregas is not in the team, not for selection because he's pure quality, but where to play him. With Fabregas in the team recently Nasri has been played on the right of an attacking three but when Cesc is not playing super Sam has proved his worth in that central position. It all depends on how Wenger shapes the rest of the side.
Although Bendtner and Walcott are back in the squad, I don't think we'll see either of them start the game. Walcott is more fragile than your Gran's finest china so Wenger will want to bring him on when the oposition are more tired and less likely to catch him and cause him as much of a physical challenge. Bendnter on the other hand will effectively be playing his pre-season over the next few games so I expect him to see no more than 25 minutes, probably replacing Chamakh who will probably be grateful for the break.
Goonerfish's line-up:
Fabianski
Eboue - Squillaci - Djourou - Clichy
Song
Wilshere - Nasri
Rosciky (c) - Arshavin
Chamakh
Score Arsenal 3 - 1 Birmingham
Birmingham will offer a physical game today as most lower clubs now seem to be doing when they come to the Emirates but they are not as strong as Bolton or Blackburn so I don't see them being able topush us about too much.
Today marks Arsene Wenger's 800th game in charge of Arsenal, I wrote my Ode to Arsene yesterday so won't go over just how much I love the man again but lets all hope that our boys can celebrate the event by sending the boys in blue back to Brum hurting from their beating.
Till next time,
Goonerfish.
Injury news seemed really positive a few days ago, but as we wake up to match day it seems we've got two in and two out.
Theo Walcott and Nic Bendtner both return to the squad but Sagna and Koscielny both miss out thanks to a thigh and back injury respectively. The scenario is far from ideal, gaining two attackers is great but in losing two defenders, the negative outweighs the positive, we have plenty of attackers available so we were not particularly short there however decent defenders are very hard to come by at Arsenal.
With Vermaelen still ten days away according to Wenger, it's going to be a big day for Johan Djourou who you have to assume will start next to Squillaci in the centre of defence. I like Djourou and think he could become a fantastic defender given a run of games and some confidence but that being said, I'm glad we're playing a team like Birmingham and not a Manchester club or Chelsea. I have a feeling he'll put in a good performance today.
Eboue is the other player to benefit from injuries. He will surely replace Sagna at right back, unless Wenger is having a look at some of our younger players ready for the Carling Cup game at Newcastle, then we may see a lesser known starter such as Eastmond or Nortveit, my money is on Eboue though.
Cesc is still short for a return so Nasri or Wilshere should take up his role joing Song in midfield. Nasri is a hard choice for Wenger when Fabregas is not in the team, not for selection because he's pure quality, but where to play him. With Fabregas in the team recently Nasri has been played on the right of an attacking three but when Cesc is not playing super Sam has proved his worth in that central position. It all depends on how Wenger shapes the rest of the side.
Although Bendtner and Walcott are back in the squad, I don't think we'll see either of them start the game. Walcott is more fragile than your Gran's finest china so Wenger will want to bring him on when the oposition are more tired and less likely to catch him and cause him as much of a physical challenge. Bendnter on the other hand will effectively be playing his pre-season over the next few games so I expect him to see no more than 25 minutes, probably replacing Chamakh who will probably be grateful for the break.
Goonerfish's line-up:
Fabianski
Eboue - Squillaci - Djourou - Clichy
Song
Wilshere - Nasri
Rosciky (c) - Arshavin
Chamakh
Score Arsenal 3 - 1 Birmingham
Birmingham will offer a physical game today as most lower clubs now seem to be doing when they come to the Emirates but they are not as strong as Bolton or Blackburn so I don't see them being able topush us about too much.
Today marks Arsene Wenger's 800th game in charge of Arsenal, I wrote my Ode to Arsene yesterday so won't go over just how much I love the man again but lets all hope that our boys can celebrate the event by sending the boys in blue back to Brum hurting from their beating.
Till next time,
Goonerfish.
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