Match Reports
ESPNSoccernet: Struggling Pompey thumped by Gunners
Telegraph: Facing bankruptcy off the field and pretty broke on it, Portsmouth were swept aside last night. Relegation. Administration. Winding up. It all looms. Can it get any worse?
Match Video
The Arsenalist always gets the videos up super fast. If you’re ever stuck somewhere and can’t get a good live feed, he’s usually the next best bet. He even did me a favor and recorded the video below!
Man of the Match
Eduardo started the scoring with free kick to make it our third straight game where Arsenal scored off a direct free kick.
Diaby was good for the third game running, he’s really starting to assert himself in the midfield.
Nasri got a great goal and an assist.
Arshavin did a ton of heavy lifting all by himself up front.
Basically what I’m trying to say is that there were a lot of good performances, as shown by the score line, and I don’t want to take anything away from those folks. But… Song and Ramsey were just flat out brilliant.
It’s hard to pick between them for MotM, both players moved the ball around very well in the midfield, tackled well, and tracked back when needed (Song more so than Ramsey) but that’s their job. What distinguished both was that they both scored, and great goals to boot!
Song’s header came shortly after I had publicly wished that he would shoot more, he must have his mobile phone set to my twitter feed. Nasri nipped in and lofted a soft ball toward Song who had made the move toward the far post. It wasn’t an easy header to put in by any stretch, the ball was so softly lobbed in that Song had to generate all the power. Which he did, rising up and powering the ball into the side of the net, just past the keeper. So, he was solid throughout, scored a goal, and left a big boot mark where his place will be when he goes away to the ACN.
But for me, the tipping point of the match was when Aaron Ramsey took the ball off a Pompey defender, sold another a dummy, put the ball on his left foot and fired in a left-footed rocket. At that point, Arsenal were looking like they wanted to take their foot off the game a bit and Pompey was looking like they wanted to get a goal. We all know that a 2-0 score line can easily become 2-1 and the importance of getting that 3rd goal cannot be underscored. It was an emphatic way to seal the points for Arsenal.
Ramsey’s goal was also the 50th goal of the season, at the half-way point of the season, and ensured that Arsenal got all three points, bringing us to within 4 points of leaders Chelsea. It was easily one of my favorites of the year and for all of that, he gets the tip of the scales and Man of the Match.
The Good
It really was the perfect way to see off 2009 and end what is pretty much universally seen as a terrible decade.* In the ground and on the twitterverse it was a party atmosphere. One of those moments where you know you’re seeing something really special from a team which has been up and down lately but looks like they might have finally gelled.
The away supporters (which included the Arsenal America tour bus) were in amazing voice and were shouting down the Pompey faithful, no small feat. To be fair to the Pompey supporters, their team is utter garbage and they still sang at every turn which I doubt many other clubs could boast, if they wanted to make such a boast.
But even the Pompey faithful have to admit that there was something special about last night. Something about the Arsenal team and fans that had them in such fine form and such fine voice. If I were to take a crack at it I’d say it was a bit of a hangover from the win over Aston Villa combined with three bits of individually brilliant play which seemed to amp them up more and more until it culminated in the entire Arsenal away side signing about Alex Song after his brilliant header made it 4-1.
Hell, it was such a party atmosphere that Vic Akers lost his pants!
(Seriously, what’s going on here? It’s 37 degrees out, why does he have on a goose down jacket and shorts???)
Whatever the cause, the fans were singing and my favorite two songs were one about Arshavin and one about Song. Both were loud enough to hear over the television, clear as a bell. The Arshavin song started up after he held up the ball off one of their mammoth defenders, out muscled the guy, went on a blinding run and unfortunately his pass came to nothing. The crowd was so enamored that they started singing “He’s 5 foot 4, he’s 5 foot 4, we’ve got Arshavin, F*CK Adebayor” to the tune of the old Adebayor song, punctuating each “F*CK” emphatically.
The Song, erm, Song is simple and brilliant. It was sung throughout and extra loudly when he scored his awesome header, it goes “One Song, We’ve only got one Song, we’ve only got one song” sung to the tune of Blue Moon.
Over on the twitterverse, the feeling was similar and a sort of effusive jubilation poured out as we watched our beloved Arsenal pass, move, shoot, and score on Pompey pretty much at will.
It was a night to remember and hopefully the harbinger of many more to come. The fans reportedly left the park signing “we’re going to win the league” and on yesterday’s form, you’d have to believe it.
The Bad
It would be fair to call me a wide-eyed optimist about this team. In fact, I would go as far as saying that I’m a wild-eyed optimist at times. But you’ll have to forgive me if I take a moment and say that Arsene Wenger needs to sort out the goalkeeper situation, stat.
Don’t get me wrong, I think Almunia has the capability of being a solid keeper if he would just STOP thinking. Case in point, he made a terrific reaction save yesterday and often does, don’t forget he saved a penalty just the other day. He’s got the physical skills, but then when called upon to punch a cross out, or claim a high ball, you can see him physically shudder as his brain engages and he then sets about a deliberative process which would make a French bureaucrat proud and inevitably ends up flapping at the ball like a pelican.
It’s hard to watch. It’s always been hard to watch. But if Mooney doesn’t sort this out and either turn his damn brain off or get a new brain then I’m afraid that Wenger will sort it out for him.
In fact, at this point I’d almost rather that Arsenal buy a keeper than a striker. Sure, I don’t know how much longer Arshavin can do the job up front by himself, but I equally don’t know how seriously our title challenge can be taken with Almunia making glaring gaffes at the back every other game. After all, we’re getting plenty of goals from midfield.
Plus, Arsenal already signed a striker, putting pen to paper with Wellington Silva, 16 year old Brazilian wonderkid. He can’t play until 2011, but he’s a striker, and when he does come on, he’ll be like a new signing.
The Ugly
I’m serious, has anyone asked Vic Akers why he was wearing shorts???
The other ugly was that there were reportedly ugly scenes after the match with the Pompey faithful calling for the board to be sacked. On the one hand, I don’t blame them one bit: they are faithful, loyal, even rabid supporters and have given the club a ton of their time and money. But on the other hand, they had to know that something was seriously wrong when their previous owner was buying up tons of talent at huge prices in order to get the FA Cup. I suppose they looked at Chelsea and assumed that they had a similar owner (a guy who at least still seems like he’s interested in soaking up billions of dollars in losses) but that right there is why assumptions are stupid. They didn’t and he bailed when the burden got too big and now you’re left with what you’ve got; some seemingly shady guys who owe a ton of money, a club which is probably going to sell off its final asset in Younes Kaboul, relegation looming, and administration in mid season a real possibility.
There are a lot of clubs who have been toying with this same model, the Leeds model if you will, and there’s a real chance we could see a really big club like United, Villa, or Liverpool (or even a small club like Chelsea) follow Leeds and Pompey into serious problems. Personally, I don’t care, I’m more laisse faire than most of my readers, but I would like to point something out: according to the last financial report Arsenal have over £100m is cash lying around. And as long as we have Wenger, we know that this Arsenal club will play beautiful football, get into the Champions League, and do so on a realistic budget.
You could all learn something from that.
Epilogue
Tomorrow is the two year anniversary of this blog and in that time we’ve had 500,000+ visitors. Not a lot but if you consider that I spent over a year and a half in NewsNow obscurity then the growth over the last 5 months is actually pretty good. In my time on Wordpress.com I got 300,000 visitors. Since August we’ve had 200,000 and this last month alone we had 60,000!
It’s been a good year and if I can double that number over the next year I’ll be very happy. But the point isn’t traffic, you’ll notice that I basically have zero ads and rarely do I link to a product that I like. No, the point is that you all keep this site going with your comments and your friendship. It’s you guys and girls that keep me getting up at 4:30 am and writing a blog or two every day. So, thank you and I hope you all have a wonderful year and stick around for another good year from 7amkickoff.
One last thing, I’m working on a project for the new year and hope to have it ready some time next month. Oh, and yes, I’m thinking about a site re-design, I too have a hard time reading the gray text on a gray back ground.
What numpty thought that was a good idea?
*Please, let’s not start with the idea that the decade starts next year. I WAS JOKING
Happy new year Tim,
i really hope your blog will attracts more and more visitors.
arsenal fans should read your blog
Crappy decade overall, GREAT decade for the Arsenal.
Happy new year, Tim.
And Ramsey’s goal is definitely an early candidate for goal of the season.
Tim Reply:
December 31st, 2009 at 8:51 am
@matt, Yeah, I have a hard time calling it a good decade when we had so many social problems. Even if Arsenal did have the invincibles this decade.
And a happy new year to you as well! I have a feeling it is going to be very special for all of us who have devoted our daily lives to the cause…Cheers!!
Thoughtful and intelligent post, as ever
All the best for the New Year to you & yours, from me & mine.
And definitely hope to catch up again when you next make it over to London and The Emirates!
Up the Arsenal!
Tim Reply:
December 31st, 2009 at 8:49 am
@fourstar, Don’t forget you promised me a breakfast joint with great blood pudding.
I tried some over here and it was pretty good, now I want the real thing!
fourstar Reply:
December 31st, 2009 at 10:30 am
@Tim, Absolutely, the one near my work is called The Buttery and it rocks
Tim Reply:
December 31st, 2009 at 10:42 am
@fourstar, a restaurant called “The Buttery” HAS to be good.
It’s a ways off but I’ll hit you up when we get closer to March.
Anyone else hoping Diaby can be more of a presence inside the box on set plays and corners? I mean, he’s hella tall, and we have no height whatsoever in our current strikeforce, I just wish he would fill the void until Bendy returns.
Tim Reply:
December 31st, 2009 at 8:41 am
@Kevin, I half-jokingly called for Diaby to be our main striker several weeks ago. I mean, why not?
Scruzgooner Reply:
December 31st, 2009 at 9:29 am
@Tim, If we could get some decent service into the box, Diaby might have a chance. The ugly part of the game for me (aside from OBE Akers’ legs) was the utter lack of quality balls from our corners. Get them over the first defender, lads, without rocketing them past the far post!
Happy new year, Tim, and thanks again for writing one of the best of the Arsenal blogs.
Tim Reply:
December 31st, 2009 at 10:43 am
@Scruzgooner, the corner kick problem has been plaguing Arsenal for years. It’s absolutely frustrating.
kevin Reply:
December 31st, 2009 at 2:10 pm
@Tim, not sure on the minute yesterday, but Diaby’s shot on goal was brilliant from an arshavin pass, nearly one-timed it into the top corner!!
scruzgooner Reply:
December 31st, 2009 at 9:30 pm
@kevin, that was edu who sent the ball to diaby from the right that begovic saved. hell of a pass, hell of a shot.
@tim, it’s been going for years, aye, but i’ve never seen it so bad.
happy new year!
Hey Tim, just wanna wish you a very happy new year and let you know that I’m a regular reader! You’re an awesome writer and it feels great to share your view on Arsenal related stuff! So here’s to the trophies we’ll get on 2010!
Excellent match, excellent write-up and excellent year from someone who didn’t catch your work until you “went big.”
Perhaps your 3rd year will be the charm, as they say….
As an American supporter I especially appreciate your insight into the financial workings of the wild shenanigans that high level football brings with it, and the associated detritus that falls from them: transfer rumors, referee manipulations, etc. It’s so completely different and fascinating from the sterile world of the American “Major” leagues.
Keep up the good work and Happy New Year, Happy New Decade and Happy Transfer Window….
Since Wellington Silva is only 16, he’ll count as a “homegrown” player (registered at an English or Welsh club for three seasons between the ages of 16 and 21) for the new Premier League rules when he finally makes the first team. Nice move, Arsene!
And Happy New Year, Tim. Thanks for the great blog, and the American perspective, even if you do use “irregardless” sometimes…
This is a great site. I get to ramble on about Arsenal and other things that pique my interest in the football world to my heart’s delight. Thanks, Tim.
To their credit, Portsmouth didn’t lie down w/ all the financial commotion that has engulfed their club. Today, ESPN Soccernet is reporting that Portsmouth are looking for another buyer w/ a spare 30mil to buy a Premiership club cheap. There is also 75mil in total debt which is down from 100mil.
How do you know when Arsenal are doing well and the supporters all have that glow on their faces? When an asshole like Sam Allardyce takes note that we had no English players starting yesterday. While not mentioning Arsenal by name, the foreign player association has a well worn ring to it. The argument goes that clubs like Arsenal are failing to develop English players and the National Team will suffer in the future. Boo-hoo.
http://soccernet.espn.go.com/world-cup/story/_/id/719355/ce/uk/?cc=5901&ver=us
The Telegraph list the percentages of English players in each side and not surprisingly we are not on the bottom. Blackburn at 28.9% is last Sam. We are at 37.5%, Man U 45.8% and Stoke tops the list w/ 62.2% English players in their roster.
Tim Reply:
December 31st, 2009 at 9:23 am
@ctpa, the English Nationalism Team faces a bleak future because they have turds like Sam Allardyce coaching their precious youth.
Tim Reply:
December 31st, 2009 at 9:28 am
@ctpa, I was also thinking about this very phenomena all week. I was watching Steven Gerrard and I really, seriously, wonder if he’s good enough to play for Arsenal.
Is he better than Cesc? No. I suppose he’s better than Denilson, but not by much. He’s more powerful and has a better nose for goal. But his touch and footballing acumen is average at best. I think our little Brazilian has him beat in those categories by a mile.
And that’s the thing about English players. They focus so much on tackling and power that they forget about technique and touch. I think that every player at Arsenal, even Craig Eastmond, has better touch than almost all of the players in the English Nationalism side.
And that, right there, is why they will never win a trophy.
Akash Reply:
December 31st, 2009 at 10:27 am
@Tim, Absolutely agree Tim.
For that matter how many assists does Lampard have against his name?? And he is he supposed to be the premier midfielder in the league!! (Paul “Over the Hill” Scholes is probably the only Non Arsenal English player worth watching)
b Reply:
December 31st, 2009 at 10:28 am
@Tim, stevie g might not be a good fit for this arsenal team, but if Arsene had seen him come through the academy a while back he’d have built his team and system around him like he’s doing with Cesc now. Plus there’s the whole intangibles thing that poolites like to talk about.
b Reply:
December 31st, 2009 at 10:30 am
@b, oh and happy new year everyone.
Tim Reply:
December 31st, 2009 at 10:32 am
@b, there’s no doubt about that. All you have to do is look at the way Rambo is blossoming under Wenger’s tutelage to see what Steven Gerrard could have been had he been given a coach that cared about fundamentals.
It proves my point exactly.
A HAPPY NEW YEAR TO GOONERS EVERYWHERE!!!!!!!!!!!!
Good result at Pompey, I was still worried, whilst it was
0 – 0, even though we were in command.
Song, Ramsey realizing their potential, and still so young, Rambo has just celebrated his 20th so I understand. If Diaby can maintain his recent improvement he too could be pretty awesome.
New old rumor Roman Pavlyuchenko wants away from Spuds, Arsene and Dedcrap to do a deal?
Not just Wellingto da Silva, look out for Luis Conte, Zezinho, and Raheem Sterling.
Maybe not the best decade, but a good 2009 calendar year, according to Arsenal Station, we scored more goals and lost less matches than any other Premiership team!!
Viva!
Tim Reply:
December 31st, 2009 at 9:29 am
@viva los gooners, Rambo just turned 19.
viva los gooners Reply:
December 31st, 2009 at 10:21 am
@Tim, Thanks for correcting my stupid error, 20 hardly falls in the ‘and still a teenager’ widely bandied about by commentators.
Happy New Year!
Viva!
(or even a small club like Chelsea)
amen. Keep fighting the good fight sir.
Honestly, I couldn’t have asked for a better way to see off the new year. Happy new year to you Tim and may the new year bring much happiness and prosperity to you and your family. Thanks for keeping up this excellent blog.
Now you know my secret tim. I am related to Vic Akers vis a vis our penchant for wearing shorts when its near freezing
We had a very GREAT team play yesterday. Song was especially magnificent for me. Diaby and Nasri put in stellar displays. Ramsey, Eduardo and Almunia gave hearty performances. Arshavin sacrificed his natural instinct to enhance the team’s overall play. The back-four’s efforts were of stalwart proportions. I simply applaud them.
That, my friends, is the stuff that good Season Compliments are made of. My family and I wish every Gunner and their families not just the very best in 2010, but one filled with lots of blessings. Cheers everyone!
matt Reply:
December 31st, 2009 at 11:35 am
@LRV, Great post. Happy new year!
Wonderful game yesterday. Thrilled that Song scored. He deserved to find the back net after the work he has been putting in all season. 2010 looks bright.
Thanks for doing what you do Tim. Happy New Year to all.
The performance at Pompey had a heart-warmingly festive feel. It was a polished and mature performance, that shows just how far this team has progressed. Very promising and exciting.
Here’s to a great 2010 for Arsenal and 7amkickoff. And may your hangovers not be too severe!
Tim & All (and you too Kevin
) Have a happy new year!
kevin Reply:
December 31st, 2009 at 2:01 pm
@Sex Fabregas, aww, thanks! don’t misspell your name next time and I’ll be nicer!! lol
Tim, i love reading your posts since the wordpress days, and your sense of optimism about Arsenal is really heart-warming. awesome post as always and i love ” It’s you guys and girls that keep me getting up at 4:30 am and writing a blog or two every day.”
happy new year! and may we see arsenal winning the title this year!
good luck..
Cheers mate for a great years blog. Sceptical at 1st as u well know but its been a great read. Happy new year
Interesting article,
At the end of your writing, does that mean you’d be happy if Arsenal maintains 4th, not winning anything just as long as we’re playing beautiful football and champs lge? Really?
I think many fans would like us to win something, So what if you have a fat bank account and not willing to use it? I mean if there are really NO other players better than Arsenal’s then.. sure that’s a good point, keep the cash. But surely, that’s not true! There is no defensive cover, what happens if Song is injured?, Diaby has been performing to standard (Not superlatives mind you) but Diaby does lack consistency (which we hope he finally does) Are there no better left backs better than Gael Clichy? Spending within a budget is right. Not spending because there is no one better… c’mon…
Nice blog, first trip here, HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!
Tim Reply:
December 31st, 2009 at 12:24 pm
@CruEL, I will love Arsenal even if they are fighting for relegation because every other club has been bought by oil money and outspends us 100x over.
Buying players isn’t like buying a loaf of bread. You can’t just go down the aisle at Waitrose and get two Drogbas and a Thomas Vermaelen. Look at Citeh, they were so desperate for defenders that they paid well over the mark for Toure and Lescott. So much so that they are now talking about making further purchases to cover for their cover! So, one of the things I always try to remember is that Wenger, more than you or I ever could be, is painfully aware of the need in the squad. He’s never failed us before with his spending habits and he’s brought in real talent in Arshavin, Vermaelen, Nasri and Eduardo over the last few years.
The other thing I try to remember is that getting players in is not like Football Manager, you can’t simply offer a team £30m and get whoever you want. The player needs to agree as well and there are myriad reasons why players don’t want to come to England. Bolton, Blackburn, Sunderland, and Birmingham are just a few I can name off the top of my head. The pace and power of the English game, combined with what many European players see as overly physical approach is a huge deterrent and cannot be discounted.
Also, don’t forget that Arsenal’s playing style is hugely demanding and that Wenger is hugely demanding of his players from lifestyle choices to diet and everything.
Basically, what I’m saying is that there’s a “Goldilocks” player that Wenger looks for; someone hungry to win, willing to put up with England, physically fit, mentally fit, a good kid, etc.
We can all point to a ton of players we think would fit the bill, but Wenger’s the one who knows his team. If he doesn’t buy I will be surprised, but I won’t worry too much about it because I will rest assured that Wenger knows what he’s doing, has the best intentions of the club and the players at heart, and will work tirelessly to make Arsenal the great club that he has made it over these last 14 years.
esm Reply:
December 31st, 2009 at 12:43 pm
@Tim, And don’t forget the tax disadvantage that players have in England as opposed to, for example, Spain. Arshavin has gone on a bit about it, actually.
Tiki Reply:
December 31st, 2009 at 1:06 pm
@esm, Won’t be too bad soon. Spain is scrapping/reassessing its top end tax rules.
nycgunner Reply:
December 31st, 2009 at 1:36 pm
sure there are better left backs than clichy. their names are gibbs are traore.
nycgunner Reply:
December 31st, 2009 at 1:48 pm
*correction. gibbs AND traore
Happy new Year man. Keep up the good work and hoping we can ALL celebrate another League Title triumph come May!
Peace and blessings!
It must be the first of jan some where why oh why have we not bought someone yet you know some unknown that just as soon as he joins us he will become world class. we all know the type. The blogs great i wish the arsenal would a great and happy new year.
meant world
Happy new year, 7′oclockers! Tim, thanks for all the writing. All, a buddy of mine sent me this link today. A funny Arsenal-themed skit which is likely a few years old, but I hadn’t seen it and got a few laughs.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WV4VVTI5DI8
So far so good. Win the game in hand and the gunners are one point behind Chelseas. Admist all this i hope all gunner fans have not forgotten AW has signed another Brazilian kid of great potential.We don’t know what AW will do in the tw. But if the gunners fall off the pace and are unable to challenge then fans would start question Arsene knows.
Happy anniversary and Happy New Year, Tim! NewsNow obscurity or not, I’ve enjoyed the site every single time I’ve visited. Quality stuff, and a friendly atmosphere from another Yank.
Hi Tim,
Happy new year! Thanks for your blog this year – it’s been a great read. I enjoyed Song’s goal yesterday (and his celebration) very much. No one deserved it more.
I have three wishes for 2010 and I don’t mean in the transfer market… 1. for no more players to get injured, 2. for our injured players to recover soon and stay healthy with no more ‘niggles’ (big one that I know), and 3. for Eduardo and Walcott to regain their confidence and play like we know they can (i.e. THAT goal against Cardiff).
This is a long shot but does anyone know of a bar in Antigua where they show the Arsenal games? I will be there for the next 2 weeks and would love to watch the games live rather than on ATVO.
I hope y’all have a great new year’s eve and an even better 2010. C’mon Arsenal!
Hey Tim,
If you do a redesign can you make it look good and readable on my android mobile phone so I can read it on my 7ambusridetoseattle?
c
Tim Reply:
January 1st, 2010 at 5:31 am
@T-Craig, yes! I will look into mobile design.