Epic liveblog pt. 2: West Ham v. Arsenal
All right! So we got a good result in the first game and I frankly can’t wait to hear what type of dog Sir Alex Ferguson demands that the refs be fit as this week.
Arseblog’s tweet of the lineup shows that Arsenal number 1, Vito Mannone, keeps his spot and Almunia is back to warming the bench. No other surprises here:
Mannone Sagna Gallas Vermaelen Clichy Song Diaby Cesc Eboue Arshavin van Persie
Bit of news as Nasri makes the bench along with Eduardo and the rest of the usual suspects.
Kickoff — Arsenal in, gulp, white.
1′ — Wow, how did we conspire not to score that?
5′ — Arsenal at 6′s and 8′s as Scott Parker plays a beautiful through ball and the cross is dealt with by Sagna.
6′ — Mannone comes out strong for the corner and gets a blow to the eye for his trouble, foul called, thankfully. Mannone getting treatment.
10′ — Arsenal aren’t looking our best quite yet, credit to West Ham’s midfield, they are breaking us up and fighting hard.
13′ — Song cleaning up Diaby’s mess. Lots of calls for handball against Upson, but that’s a whole minute ago, move on!
16′ — Flag up for offside but Mannone with two really good reaction saves. I like this kid’s instincts and dexterity.
17′ — YEEEEEEEEEEEES! Robin pokes home from Green’s hashed clearance. Good all around play from Arsenal to set that up and cool-as-you-like finish from RvP. Arsenal putting the screws to the Hammers now.
22′ — A solid 4 minutes of pressure there from West Ham as Carlton Cole looks sharp in the attack. They are winning free kicks, corners, and generally getting what they want out of the game right now. I don’t really like this, we need to control possession we are not the kind of team which can defend from set pieces all night.
29′ — This is more like it, Arsenal controlling possession, slot to Clichy who wins a corner and… punched away well by Green. But this is Arsenal football.
32′ — Diaby… *sigh* that is just STUPID. But he makes up for it by staying in front of Cole on the return cross. What was the linesman doing there? Cole was off side by at least a yard, how did he fluff that?
36′ — Gallas, Arsenal’s Center Forwardback, powers home a bullet header over Ilunga. Well, done boys. Now, handcuff Carlton Cole and this is a done deal!
42′ — Vermaelen, Arsenal’s Centerleft Wingback, makes a huge run down the left side, puts in a Clichy-esque cross (useless) and then runs the length of the pitch back in defense and clears a header. Arsenal need to clone him and have 11 TV5s.
45′ — City let three points through their fingers today as Fulham make a huge 2-2 comeback in Manchester. 3 minutes of Man U time added for Arsenal to get a 3rd.
47′ — Darkhail asks about Mannone’s distribution and all I can say is that Arsene demands three things from his keepers; act as a sweeper, have a high distribution percentage, and control the box. Maybe he’s not as confident with his long kick yet? He’s young, give him time, he’s obviously going to be Arsenal’s number one for now!
HT — Arsenal really rolling and Song is looking huge out there at the moment. Currently, he’s man of the match for me. Not much else to say, for a few, must get ready for the kickaround.
45′ — Good lord it’s cold here, I’m packing extra socks, it’s going to be one of those days!
49′ — Cheap foul by Behrami on the captain and that’s always a worry, that one of the West Ham players will start to get chippy and hurt someone.
54′ — Good point WC. I read that Arshavin and Theo had a footrace and that Arshavin was Theo’s equal. He shows a good bit of pace just now and whizzes a wonderful cross which doesn’t find an Arsenal player.
58′ — Song’s had a couple of chippy little kicks and he needs to be careful, a yellow tonight sees him suspended for the North London derby. I wouldn’t be surprised if Wenger doesn’t bring Rambo on for Song any minute now.
62′ — Chesk with a BOLD LASH!
66′ — Diamanti fouls Cesc and I’m getting worried. Get a 3rd and start pulling some of these guys, we don’t need a silly injury here.
71′ — Hines attacks Clichy’s ankle and gets the first card of the night, a yellow. For me, that’s a straight red. He had no chance and he was angry from getting beaten by Clichy on defense. That was a straight red mist tackle and Hines’ protestations only reinforce that notion.
74′ — Poor clearance by Mannone and Cole gets a goal. Crap. Come on Arsenal pull your heads up and get another.
76′ — Scott Parker, who must have switched nationalities from English to foreign (because we know only foreigners dive), has a laughable dive and follows that up with an angry yellow card tackle on Eboue. It’s getting really tetchy now.
79′ — Penalty and I’m only surprised that Song didn’t get a yellow. Monnone guesses right but Diamanti puts it in an unsavable spot. Arsenal look really shaken and need to pull deep now to get points tonight.
85′ — AH HA, Chris Foy is having a nightmare, he sends Scott Parker off for Cesc’s foul on him. Fucking hell, I’m going to have to search the archives for Chris Foy, he’s lost his fucking mind tonight.
90′ — How does that stay out? Come on Arsenal, come on Arsenal, COME ON ARSENAL.
Son of a bitch…
Comments
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Why does Manonne simply refuse to kick the ball upfield? I have yet to see him to anything besides throw or pass it out.
ManU losing, ManCity dropping points at home, Arsenal cruising…
Could turn out to be a decent day after all!
@b, Ok, i take that back. Starting to feel like last season again…
@b, too right. This week has been a shitty one. At least Fulham and Stoke did us a favour at Middle Eastlands and Shite Hart Lane, respectively.
I rather liked Cole from his days at Chelsea. Goes to show you that Chelsea are a buying club and not a developing one because they had some perfectly solid players in Scott Parker, Glen Johnson and Carlton Cole and then went and sold them for chump change, only to go buy some pricey imports in Drogba, Ferreira and Essien. And they criticize Wenger every week for his “foreigners” destroying local British football…..
that’s it for Vito. No way can he stay in the first 11 after this.
You’re probably right and perhaps it’s good it’s happened now before he costs us in a really big game. The question is, who will come in? My guess is Wenger will play Fab in the kiddie cup and if he has a very good game he’ll play against Spurs. I’m not keen on the idea of Almunia having his first game next week, though he might have saved the penalty?
The telegraph is showing we have 19 pts in the table before the penalty was taken. I think the telecast is a bit late.
As we’ve seen in the past 2 weeks or so, Arsenal simply don’t believe that football is 90 minutes. After half-time they looked like they switched off and allowed West Ham back in the game. Granted the penalty call was rubbish but we should have been up 3 or 4 long before that. Arshavin was mediocre today and Wenger should have brought on Eduardo for more than 5 minutes and took Arshavin off in his place.
Well we aren’t going to win the league with shit like that.
@Xabier, Seriously. I’ve never seen a team give up the 3 points as easily as today. Arshavin looked out of it. And while individually most players had a decent game they never really clicked.
Not the first time, is it?
It’s fine for Wenger to show loyalty to Bendtner but he must know, surely, that when we’re desperate for a goal Bendtner is not where it’s likely to come from. Denfensively he may be more use than Eduardo, and his long passes are good, but for God’s sake, Eduardo is a finisher: why is so little faith shown in him?
@Mia, I think your criticism of Bendtner in this particular game is unfair. He was playing in a deep midfield role and he had very little time to settle and make an impact. It’s Wenger whom you should point the finger. Arshavin was below par for 45 minutes but he persisted with the Russian for another 45 minutes of nothingness. Arshavin looked tired and out of sorts and should have been subbed at the half.
I wasn’t criticising Bendtner, I didn’t actually see him as I had to leave the pub at half time; I was just suggesting that he’s not a good choice when you’re desperate for a goal. Whatever his merits, scoring is not one of them at the moment.
Well, to do that twice in one week is inexcusable. The second half performance reflected a very casual approach to the game and we got caught – AGAIN. The fact it has happened twice in a week speaks volumes of the team. Aren’t they supposed to be improving each year?
@Shaun, well, it’s the same team that went down 2-0 away in Liege and came back to win, went down twice against Blackburn and came back to win. Those games spoke volumes about the team too. It’s hardly cause for panic yet, the league looks to be much closer this year.
@b, Spot on b. Spot on.
“we’re going to win trophies this year”( Arsene Wenger at the recent AGM). Really? This game today epitomises precisely why I’m not convinced this team can. Two nil up against an inferior Hammers team with twenty minutes to go. Incredible!
On the bright side Song didn’t get a yellow and will be available next week. I can see us drawing next week, some stupid amount too. FUCK!
@Xabier, Also: I love how all the doomers come out of the woodwork at the slightest tiny dip in form of the team.
@Xabier, Except it’s not really a dip in form. It’s half-time, we’re dominating the game and are up 2-0 and then just stopped playing football for the second 45 minutes. That’s a general leadership problem if you ask me. The team is becoming complacent and complacency is not a form dip – it’s the lack of someone on the field kicking the other 10 men’s arse and getting them in gear.
I thought we looked listless in the first half and wondered what we were conserving our energy for – it’s not as though any of these players will play in the Carling. Missed the second half altogether, thankfully. Was it it as dire as the radio implied?
It wasn’t dire. However, there seem to be a lack of urgency about this the team. One would think that this team have learned something from the last two years. Well, perhaps not. While all is not lost by any stretch of the imagination, it is, nonetheless, troubling that we continue to concede so easily to inferior opposition when the game should have been well and truly put to bed.
Hate to say it, but I lay this at Arsene’s feet today. We did nothing creatively the whole match and he waits to make subs when? The 83rd minute or something? As someone said above, we looked listless throughout. Very uninspired. I was saying to someone before the match, these tough away matches are where we can use the assuredness of a Rosicky. This game showed last year’s team without question. The entire midfield was nonexistent today, Cesc included. Your move, Arsene.
terrible result,will we ever learn?
It is never a good thing when everyone and their brother has the 3 points already in our win column before the ball is kicked is it? All I hoped for before this game is that we learned our lesson from AZ Alkmaar and saw the example from Stoke-Sp**s. We obviously did not.
The number of players who were poor on the day were too numerous to count.
Now you know why we need to score an average of 3 goals per game
FFS why dont we burn the white strips already.
@travis the septopus, Aye!
OMG THE SKY IS FALLING!!!!! it is just one match we will bounce back. It seems that as positive as everyone acts they are still waiting for that moment to say it is all going to shite. hold on, we have a long way to go.
Listless, complacent? Yes, but the real problem is we don’t have a strategy for winning these games.
We play as though we’re going to sail though every game, but in reality defensively we’re a disaster waiting to happen. We’ve got a keeper problem (and will have all season, I’d guess) and that problem will be compounded if we get an injury to Gallas or Vermaelen or Song. How will we cope? We won’t, because as soon as the opposition gets a goal back from a set piece, we look astonished and simply carry on as before until it’s too late and the three points are virtually lost. Then we bring on Bendtner, who history suggests won’t under that pressure ever get us a goal; then, when it can’t make a difference, we bring on an unfit Eduardo.
If Eduardo and Nasri weren’t fit enough to play 20 mins and make an impact, there should have been a goal-scorer on the bench who could. Vela, for instance, or even Sanchez Watt. Thing is, we weren’t prepared for what happened, and that’s inexcusable because it has happened time and again. It almost cost us fourth place last season – it would have done, if Villa hadn’t collapsed and bought badly in the window.
We should have come out at half time yesterday hyped up and with the resources to score two more goals so as put the game beyond doubt. Instead, we came out and sat back. Wenger complained about the ref. I’m complaining about the lack of a strategy, about the failure to learn from experience. Defensively we’re vulnerable, especially to teams who score from set pieces, like Stoke who’ll probably beat us one-nil. So, given our defensive frailties, we need to concentrate on attacking for the full 90 minutes. We should have brought on fresh legs at 70 minutes at the latest.
Well, we can only hope that the boys learn the lesson. I mean, same lesson twice in a week is a hell of a school, isnt it?