Having kept an eye out for legions of spectators making their way to Ashburton Grove with bin bags and [...]]]> A Blackburn side without their two main pillars of attack and defence (Yakubu and Samba respectively) where dismantled by an Arsenal attack that were unrecognisable as the one that failed to score at Bolton earlier in the week.

Having kept an eye out for legions of spectators making their way to Ashburton Grove with bin bags and seen none the atmosphere before kick-off was subdued due to the near freezing temperature and the early kick off.

Wot no bin bags ?

Your humble scribe even omitted his pre match Peroni’s as necking lager at noon didn’t feel quite right, in any case a hot drink would have been more in order to stop the teeth chattering.

The only surprises in the starting XI were the omission of Sagna (perhaps due to his comeback being managed with caution) and the continued starting of Robin, although to be fair he would have a week’s rest before the next fixture; the resting of Ramsey was less of a surprise as he had looked tired towards the end of his last few games.

Viewing from behind the clock end goal the away support seemed, like the home crowd, filled their quota to around 80% and seemed a respectable turn out especially considering their relegation battle and the supporter-Board of the club struggle.

Blackburn supporters

Barely had we taken our seats then Theo rampaged towards my line of sight to the left of “Chunky” Robinson’s goal and slid in a straight forward cross which Robin ran onto and slotted in, easy as you like.

A quick fire start

One nil down inside 90 seconds and the away support became even quieter.
The Blackburn midfield had offered no protection for the back line and the early attack cut through the defence with ease.

From thereon in some jolly jokesters in the Clock End decided to heckle Chunky with (in a parody of Robin’s song):

“He eats when he wants,
He eats when he waaaaants,
That Paul Robinson,
He eats when he wants……you fat bast**d”

Sitting behind him for the first half I noticed Chunky’s nervous tic of kicking his right foot against the post and looking at the sole of his boot to ensure there was no mud on his studs, before he would take a goal kick that always landed near the right touchline, level with the centre circle.

Arsenal continued to probe away at a Blackburn side that struggled to gain any meaningful possession of the ball so it was against the run of play when a rare Rovers foray up field resulted in a free kick following a Kozzer pull back on Modeste, I think it was.

Those around me muttered their expectation of an equalizer, which Pedersen duly supplied.

Now the press may have been rubbing their hands with glee at the prospect of another half time booing of the home team off the pitch, but 5 or so minutes later another Theo surge down our right flank resulted in another assist for Robin and the lead was restored, much to the chagrin of the hacks ready to paint the Arsenal support as fickle and petulant.

I saw no dissent or protests of any sort, trash/bin bag related or otherwise; however with the way the game panned out perhaps that is not surprising.

While Theo did not score he was creating almost as much havoc on his wing as Oxo was on the left – the twin wing menaces were giving the Blackburn full backs an unnerving time all through the game – and two assists will have done his self-confidence wonders.

Theo sets up RvP's 2nd goal

Almost straight after we had started goading the away end with “You’re not singing anymore” then Oxo crowned a stand out first half performance with a debut premier league goal after he rounded Chunky, following a Robin through ball, and showed composure beyond his years to slot the ball home.

Oxo's 1st goal celebration

3-1 nearing half time and Rovers already looked a shattered side although to be fair their supporters still tried to keep their spirits up with a near constant refrain of “Barmy army”

However all spirit seemed to drain from them when a few minutes after Oxo’s goal Givet was off for an early bath, as Eddy Waring may have said, for a crude lunge on Robin, one which Robin took some of the sting out of by managing to hurdle some of the flailing legs of the Frenchman.

The red card and all the yellows were fully deserved as Rovers were a fairly cynical side, giving our players a nudge whenever they were following the flight of the ball onto their head; however referee Mariner spotted most of these offences and had a fairly decent match.

Note, we were 3-1 up BEFORE the sending off so don’t believe any pony (pony and trap, crap) about the red card being a pivotal moment.

It was still an anxious wait for Robin to recover and prove there was no lasting damage done and the first half ended with the Gooner faithful very happy, if rather frozen.

The second half started with a spell of dainty possession for Blackburn, with which they produced no significant attacking intent and soon enough we increased our lead thanks to a rare long range shot from Arteta after a half clearance following one of our endless number of corners.

Theo then produced his third assist of the game to set up Oxo for his second of the game and confirmation that he had arrived – are we seeing a legend in the making? Too early to say but the possibility is mouth-watering.

A present day legend however sealed his hat trick after receiving a cross from the willing Coquelin and slotting in effortlessly for his third of the game and the cue for the Rovers fans to start drifting away at 6-1.

Those that remained did show a sense of humour in “Oleing” whenever their team could string a few passes together as Arsenal inevitably eased off in the intensity of their attacks after the 6th goal.

Some more action in the Rovers penalty area led to what, even from my view at the opposite end of the ground, looked like a decent shout for a penalty however at 6-1 we could afford some largesse to the referee and his linesman and lineswoman.

Oxo and Kozzer were taken off so there was time for the re-introduction of another legend (and for Sagna to continue his comeback) and with the sense of theatre we expect from the great man Thierry Henry duly obliged with the 7th goal in front of his beloved North Bank.

His upward twisting, pirouetting goal celebration shows that his 228th goal for Arsenal is as cherished as his first. As he left the pitch and the sky darkened and looked ready to start sleeting at full time one could sense the NY Red Bulls player was savouring every moment he could in his second chance to play for the club he loves.

TH12 claps off the pitch

Charybdis1966

twitter @charybdis1966

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These are troubling times my friends. The temperature is dipping in England, the pies at the Emirates are being nuked till they are a just a few degrees south of molten lava, some guy who claims to be an Arsenal supporter has organized a protest where people are supposed to cover any empty seat with a [...]]]>

These are troubling times my friends. The temperature is dipping in England, the pies at the Emirates are being nuked till they are a just a few degrees south of molten lava, some guy who claims to be an Arsenal supporter has organized a protest where people are supposed to cover any empty seat with a bin-bag, and the potholes on Gillespie Road need filling. Oh yeah, and Arsenal have problems with squad depth.

But tomorrow morning at 4 (fucking) am I will rise like the living dead, slip my Vermaelen shirt over my head, pull on a tattered robe, pad into the kitchen, put on the kettle, pull out a hunk of dough for my breakfast pizza, and sit down to watch Arsenal v. Blackburn. It’s just what I do. It’s what I have to do, because I love the Arsenal.

But you already know that. You already know so much about this match that I wonder if there’s any merit to even writing a match preview? But just in case, here’s what I know that you may not already know.

Yakubu is out.

Samba is out.

Wenger may rest van Persie.

Andre Marriner is the match official.

Chary is writing us a post-match “Man at the Match” report.

Each sentence above was intentionally crafted to be longer than the previous sentence.

Except this one.

Arsenal and her opponents have become so predictable in their approach to games that it’s hardly worth my time or yours to go over how they will try to exploit the Arsenal high line, will try to win free kicks in the Arsenal half, and will try to lob balls onto the heads of their defenders who will push, shove, kick, and prod to get them the all-important goal. Meanwhile, Arsenal will play possession defense, in a 4-3-3, with wingbacks playing as 5th midfielders, and will create chances that will be so wide open that when they miss we will bemoan their lack of quality finishing. Blackburn will probably score first, off their first shot, and then Arsenal will spend the rest of the game chasing after a goal.

Sound about right?

That said, I think there are two random factors: the crowd and the ref.

The crowd are currently being prodded into something of an inventive protest. They are being asked to voice their displeasure at something or another by  placing  bags over any empty seats in the stadium. I suppose this is intended to “alert” everyone to the fact that people are staying away from games lately. Given the cold, the services to the Vicky line, and the fact that Arsenal are playing Blackburn, you may actually see a fair number of empty seats tomorrow.

I’m not saying that people don’t have a right to protest. I don’t know too many people who aren’t a bit frustrated with the team right now. After all, we are in a place on the table that many of us aren’t really too familiar with. So, sure, be angry at the team and feel free to highlight the empty seats tomorrow and I will feel free to give you the middle finger as I tell you that Arsenal have the second highest attendance in England.

But it’s your right to pay £125 and bring your garbage bag into the stadium and cover the empty seat next to you. It’s your right to boo the team, to groan when someone misplaces a pass, and to generally make our club an embarrassment on international television. But you should know that arsenal are supported by millions of fans around the world and I’d be willing to bet that every single one of them would be dancing a jig to swap places with you at tomorrow’s match.

You’re lucky, really lucky, like top 1% of the world’s wealth lucky. Like someone who doesn’t have to worry about where their next meal is going to come from lucky.

People who can afford to go to see Arsenal matches are some of the most privileged people on Earth and just like spoiled little rich kids they have every right to throw a temper tantrum when Daddy doesn’t buy them a new car and instead gets them a used one.

“BUT DADDY I WANTED A NEW STRIKER?!!!!?!?”

When I go to see Arsenal, it’s a joy. I love every minute of the game. Win, lose, draw, they are all special. I get butterflies just thinking about my trips there and every year I can’t wait to get back. But you? You go ahead and take that privileged for granted. Or hell, maybe just give it up if you haven’t got the “bollocks” to stand there and support the team. Other folks would love to take your place.

So, what kind of crowd we get tomorrow is a huge unknown. I suppose it depends on whether the team win 6-0 or 8-0. 6-0 there will be widespread unrest, 8-0 and the protests will be muted.

The other unknown quantity is Andre Marriner. He’s refereed two Arsenal matches already this season: Blackburn 4-3 and Chelsea 5-3. So, I’m guessing that tomorrow’s match will see at least three Arsenal goals.

But the refs this season have been wild. It’s gotten so bad that I wonder what the point of even commenting on their performance is. In fact, the only thing that would surprise me is if the ref got the game largely right.

So there you have it. Your match preview is: the teams are predictable, the crowd is temperamental, and the refs are just plain mental.

Maybe something really crazy will happen, like one of those bin-liners will fly onto the field and land on one of the Arsenal players at a key moment in the game.

We can only hope.

Qq

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(current status)

Hey everyone, I have an important meeting at work this morning that I have to prepare for so you’ll have to wait for my brilliant “insight” into the Arsenal v. Blackburn match until this afternoon.

In the mean time, those hungry for more Tim can listen to the dulcet tones of my voice on the [...]]]>

(current status)

Hey everyone, I have an important meeting at work this morning that I have to prepare for so you’ll have to wait for my brilliant “insight” into the Arsenal v. Blackburn match until this afternoon.

In the mean time, those hungry for more Tim can listen to the dulcet tones of my voice on the Arsenal America podcast. Download the pod here and listen to Duncan Castles, Jim van Wijk, and me talk about transfers, injuries, and likeanewsignings. Plus you can hear me ramble on some more about the importance of second halves. Which I still think should be spelled “halfs”.

Anyway, yep, catch you later.

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I’ve talked about the importance of second half performances before. Arsene Wenger has talked about the importance of second half performances. And yet, against Bolton Arsenal’s second half performance was one of the worst of the [...]]]> It’s been 20 hours or so since the 0-0 draw against Bolton and frankly I’m not sure what’s left to say.

I’ve talked about the importance of second half performances before. Arsene Wenger has talked about the importance of second half performances. And yet, against Bolton Arsenal’s second half performance was one of the worst of the season. In fact, this team dipped in terms of performance from about the 30th minute onward.

In the first 30 minutes Arsenal generated 9 shots and 3 clear chances in front of goal. For the next 60 minutes Arsenal generated just one shot on goal. That’s a dip of epic proportions.

If you want to be generous you could say that Arsenal should have been just two goals up after those first 30 minutes. The most glaring of the misses came to Theo Walcott when he found a pocket of space behind the defenders and The Ox presented him with a one-on-one with the keeper. I’ve lost track of the number of one-on-one’s that Theo has had that he poked straight at the keeper. And at this point I think it’s pretty clear that Theo Walcott’s confidence is shot.

I’ve made excuses for him over the last few months because it’s been difficult to get service when you’re playing with a fullback who isn’t actually a fullback. But yesterday saw the return of Bacary Sagna, who was excellent, and service to Theo was just fine. But when you watch Theo these days, and especially when The Ox is on the pitch at the same time, it’s like night and day. His form is so poor at the moment that I have to wonder if he will be benched once Gervinho returns and Arsene will start Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain over Theo Walcott.

Ramsey is another player who seems like his confidence is gone at the moment. In yesterday’s By the Numbers column, I posted a comparison of Ramsey’s passes in the Bolton final third versus Arteta’s passes in the Bolton final third and like comparing The Ox to Theo you can see that Arteta’s passes are direct, attacking passes, while Ramsey’s passes are too often backwards and sideways.

Here’s the comparison again, for those who don’t want to click around:

By my count, 10 of Ramsey’s passes in the final third were backwards while just three of Arteta’s passes were of the same ilk.

And this gets to another issue that people have talked about extensively: the attitude of this team. Arteta gave an interview after the match in which he was clearly exasperated with his teammates. The quotes on Arseblog news don’t give the full emotional extent of his frustration, you really need to watch it on Arsenal player if you can. When Arteta says that Arsenal were “not good enough” it’s not said in the same way as when Arsene says it. He’s clear that he means that’s not an excuse, he says that Arsenal “should beat Bolton” and that we “should beat Blackburn” this weekend because “Arsenal have the quality.” It’s a frank assessment of the team and echoes the sentiments of many frustrated Arsenal supporters. On days when Chelsea drop points, with opponents who have the worst defensive record in the League, and presented as we were with three really good chances Arsenal should have scored and pulled out the win. I’m almost certain that Man U would have.

Which raises another topic that we have beaten to death; the problem is squad depth. If Robin van Persie doesn’t score, then who will? Park? Per Mertesacker was kicked in the face at the end of the match and broke his already quite broken nose. Who will play in defense if he’s out as I suspect he will be? Djourou? Squillaci? Song looks absolutely dead on his feet as you could see by the fact that Mark Davies was running him ragged. Who will play for Song this weekend if he gets the rest he deserves? Coquelin? My detractors will say that I’m schizophrenic on this topic but it’s been a long road for me and I’ve finally come to the conclusion that this team, as comprised is not good enough in terms of quality in depth. There are too many players on the team who are simply making up numbers; Squillaci, Almunia, and Park are three that everyone would agree on. But there are more that people would argue over like Diaby (who is under contract until 2014) and Arshavin. And that doesn’t even touch on the fact that Arsenal still have Denilson, Bendtner, and Carlos Vela under contract — meaning that they could return to Arsenal this Summer.

And so when I see Arsene Wenger on the Arsenal Player smiling broadly that he didn’t spend any money this transfer window, except to buy a kid who hasn’t  gotten a first team game yet and is already icing his knee, a transfer window I must hasten to add in which no one has any money (except Arsenal), and in which teams admitted to £1.6bn in losses, I get a little frustrated. Because it looks a lot like frugality for frugality’s sake.

Yes, we can argue over whether it’s a wise idea to buy more players when we have so many players who are already dead wood. But isn’t that exactly the problem? I’m the guy who argues for keeping the faith but at some point you have to stop thinking with your heart and be ruthless and cut some of these players — and I’m not talking about just the easy ones.

In the end, the reality is that all of these arguments dissipate like the smoke that they are if Arsenal do just one thing: win. No one cared a lick about Owen Hargreaves’ injury nightmare at Man U because they were winning. No one in Man City gives two-fucks about the debt they carry or whether they will qualify for the Champions League because of financial fair play because they are winning. Tottenham’s manager has been in court, accused of taking bungs and cheating on his taxes, and the Spurs’ supporters don’t give a shit because they are winning.

Conversely, Chelsea are under the microscope all the sudden because they are in fourth place. Liverpool supporters are starting to wonder about their team because they aren’t getting the results that they want, especially at home. And us Arsenal supporters are on the verge of a nervous breakdown because we are in 7th place with 15 games left to play.

Against Bolton, Arsenal probably deserved just a point. Bolton were very good, especially in the final 10 minutes when Arsenal were severely stretched. I will also admit that they probably deserved a penalty which when you look at the fact that Arsenal probably deserved a goal still put the two teams level in terms of points. They played their game, very well, and very cleanly and but for an excellent save by Szczesny at the death would have taken all three points.

My head says that that’s our reality. We are a 7th place team and by my account probably deserve to be a 7th place team.

My heart says that Arsenal can play better. I want to believe Arteta when he says that the performance was not good enough and they they should win against Blackburn on Saturday.

And if they do win, things will probably be better for a little while. That’s said both from the heart and the head.

Qq

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Arsenal travel to Bolton today and it’s no exaggeration to say that only three points will do.

Looking up the table, the Gunners are 6 points adrift of 4th place Chelsea who managed to get a draw against Swansea yesterday and just two points below Liverpool who beat Wolves 3-0 in their last match.

Looking down the table, [...]]]>

Arsenal travel to Bolton today and it’s no exaggeration to say that only three points will do.

Looking up the table, the Gunners are 6 points adrift of 4th place Chelsea who managed to get a draw against Swansea yesterday and just two points below Liverpool who beat Wolves 3-0 in their last match.

Looking down the table, there is some separation happening as the League divides itself into a top 7 who have 36+ points already, a middle 8 who have between 25 and 30 points, and a relegation 5 who have just 15-20 points from this season.

A win today means that Arsenal are able to jump over Liverpool and get into fifth place. But it’s also a bit of a nervy match because both Arsenal and Newcastle are level on points and both are playing teams in that relegation five. So, anything less than a win leaves the door open for Arsenal to drop to 7th place and while that will make some perverted “supporters” happy, that’s not a place I would ever wish my team to be.

Arsene talked to Arsenal Player about today’s match and about the previous few matches and said some things that really surprised me. First, he talked about how Arsenal’s conditioning plays an important role in his overall strategy. Not in so many words, but what he admitted is that teams like to come out in the first half and attack Arsenal. In doing so, he continued, they expend a lot of energy and then tend to fatigue in the second half which is where Arsene likes to take advantage of them.

He’s spoken about this quite a bit in the past which has lead me to do some analysis of Arsenal’s performances this year in the second half of games. My preliminary conclusions are that this season Arsenal’s second half performances have been below par*, which is why they are struggling. Too many times, this club allows teams to outwork them in the second half of games and get a result.

This presents a problem for Arsenal today. The team just played a hugely draining match on Sunday against Aston Villa in which they overcame a 2-0 deficit to win 3-2. You could tell by the end of the match that Arsenal were flagging and so how much energy they will have for today’s match is unknown. It depends on what rotation Arsene chooses and the fitness levels of both teams: Bolton played a draining match in the FA Cup this weekend as well, but have an extra day’s rest.

The other thing that Wenger said which surprised me is that Arsenal played “with the handbrake on” in the first half against Villa. It wasn’t a spectacular first half by Arsenal but I find it baffling that the team generated 6 shots on goal in each half and yet anyone would claim that they were playing with the handbrake. Arsenal average six shots on goal per game, six in a half, even weak shots, is a damn good haul. I’ve seen when Arsenal play with the handbrake on and when they do they generate zero shots.

I know the criticism you will level, “but qualitatively…” My response is that both my quantitative and qualitative analysis is that Arsenal played with no “handbrake” in the first half. I’ve been there at the Emirates while they passed the ball sideways for 90 minutes. The handbrake is not pretty. Arsenal attacked Birmingham** in that first half, which is why I was so confident in the result at half time.

The other strange thing that Arsene admitted is that contrary to popular belief there was almost no team talk at half time of that FA Cup match. Wenger was very excited about that fact and smiled broadly with a twinkle in his eye. That;s his coaching style, love it or hate it, he expects the old heads to carry the team on the pitch, not to strip each other bare in the dressing room at half time.***

Regardless of whether they did or didn’t play with the mythical handbrake on against Villa, this team cannot come out against Owen Coyle’s Bolton and put in a half-assed performance in either half. Bolton struggled mightily to start the season, probably because of the Gary Cahill saga, but they are no longer in the bottom three and I can guarantee you that getting points today to keep Blackburn from overtaking them will be the main focus.  They will fight for every 50-50 challenge, they will fight for every aerial ball, and they will target the Arsenal back four with wide play and long balls.

Arsenal simply must do the same.

In the end, both Bolton and Arsenal are fighting today not only with the team on the pitch but also looking to maintain at least parity with a competitor for their segment of the League table. If any of the four teams playing today loses, it opens a chance for their direct rival to overtake them. And with the number of games available to “turn a season around” shrinking every week, it makes today;s game a must, must win. A six point match, if you will.

*I can back this up with data but I want to look deeper into the last few years before I publish anything.
**Check the address of your stadium.
***LITERALLY.

Addendum

For every Dean there’s a Foy. Whereas Arsenal haven’t won a League game with Mike Dean as referee since November of 2008, Arsenal’s record with Chris Foy is 17 wins, 1 draw, and 3 losses. Not only is that a great record but all three of those losses were to Man U or Man City, which isn’t that bad.

Bolton, however, might feel aggrieved at Foy’s appointment. They’ve only won 1 and drawn 2 of the last 10 games that Foy refereed. That’s 5 points from a possible 30.

Finally, Foy doesn’t flash a lot of cards nor award penalties, so I expect a quiet game from him.

Qq

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We need a new striker!

We need a new defender!

We need a new midfielder!

We need a new, erm, keeper!

Just, for the love of the gods buy SOMEONE… ANYONE, except [...]]]> As Arsenal attempt to limbo under the closing the transfer window without buying or selling anyone, her supporters are busy sharpening pitchforks and tarring torches for the post-transfer-window inquest.

We need a new striker!

We need a new defender!

We need a new midfielder!

We need a new, erm, keeper!

Just, for the love of the gods buy SOMEONE… ANYONE, except that kid you bought from Borussia. What was up with that?

BURN HIM!

I suspect that very little will be done today because Arsenal didn’t seem to be too interested in doing anything apart from signing Thierry Henry. As much as I make light of transfer rumors, there’s a kernel of truth to some of them and you can almost always tell when the rumor is starting to take shape and become reality.

In this transfer window we saw that process with Henry: first there were suggestions, then rumors, then a strong link, details about what was holding things up were leaked, and finally both parties started confirming things. So far, the only thing I’ve heard anything about is Arsenal wanting to loan Ryo Miyaichi out to another English team. He’ll probably go to Bolton, where they play such amazing and beautiful football.

There is some weird stuff brewing on Twitter that has Arsenal defenestrating  Andrei Arshavin to AZ uhhh… AZ… Alkmaar, AKA the Cheese Farmers. Supposedly, sending Arshavin out would make it possible to bring someone else in. Who that someone would be is a complete mystery.

I’m having a hard time believing that Arsene would weaken the attack (no matter what you think of Arshavin, he does bring offense to the game occasionally) without bringing in a replacement so make of that what you will. Maybe we can get Julio Baptista back? He was a Beast. Remember when he scored four against LIVERPOOL?

Right, since there is no actual news going on this morning and we are simply waiting for the transfer window to snap shut I did a little “original research” which I’d like to share.

I. Googled. the. Arsenal. squad.

That’s right, folks. Building off yesterday’s wildly successful vanPersie/rape research I took the player’s names from the Arsenal official first team player’s list, copied and pasted them into Google with the smart search function turned on, took a screen-grab, and hilarity ensued.

Here they all are in order:

SURPRISE! Everyone wants to get rid of Almunia.

Szczesny and Twitter have been a bit of a big topic lately.

I was surprised that “Flappyhandski” didn’t turn up as one of the top search results. Gooners you’ve let me down.

Here’s something you might not know, Bacary Sagna has a wife.

Ok, what’s the deal with this Tumblr? Oh it’s a place for people to steal content and then complain when people re-post that stolen content because they didn’t give credit to the original thief? I guess there is truly no honor among thieves.

If you haven’t noticed a theme yet let me make it very clear: injuries, twitter, wikipedia, and tumblr. Hurt players, brief remarks, nerds, and stolen content. That about sums up the internet.

Also girlfriends, people seem to be interested in whether these players have  girlfriends.

Nothing to see here, though [player]+Arsenal+Injury seems like a popular search.

How much did Arsenal pay for Squillaci? Let me answer that: too much.

People also seem to be interested in Djourou’s salary.

Ok, we are in the doldrums now.

Kieran Gibbs could change his name to “Kieran Gibbs injury”.

Depressed yet?

Doesn’t anyone know that Rosicky plays guitar? Can’t you at least search for that?

FINALLY! Something new that people are interested in, Arteta’s wife and his hair.

I’m curious about this “girlfriend” search: are people really interested in seeing whether Aaron Ramsey has a girlfriend? Why?

Here’s something new, there’s a kid from Canada named Alex Song who is a math wiz. True story.

Jack had a baby.

Arshavin is famous for his quotes.

No, Benayoun isn’t a racist. The Malaysia FA apologized to him and Chelsea when he was racially abused by some fans in a friendly.

Hang in there, we have added a new wrinkle: FIFA12. Specifically, people like to upload and watch videos on YouTube of other people playing certain characters on FIFA 12. How meta is that? Mega-meta.

Park scored a goal.

Robin’s Google results are really the strangest of the bunch. Rape and Muslim, very odd.

Henry is exactly what I would expect.

Another outlier is Theo, everyone wants to know how fast he is. The answer is: very. What no one seems to ask is how good he is?

Young players + FIFA12 = Theme. Maybe when he gets older and Stuart Pierce has used him up people will be curious how fast he is in the quarter mile?

Has anyone ever noticed that Gervinho’s hair is just a coverup for his enormous balding melon?

People really want to know if Marouane Chamakh has a girlfriend or is this just code for something else?

And finally… Ryo Miyaichi Ryo Miyaichi.

Right, that’s it for today. I hope you learned something. I know I did. Gervinho’s hair is weird.

Big preview of Bolton tomorrow plus a 10,000 word piece on all of Arsenal’s transfer dealings.

Qq

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Darren Bent broke free from Koscielny, gaining just enough space to fire a rocket that was parried by Fabianski. The ensuing rebound fell right to Bent and since he was faced with the tightest of angles and he wasn’t all alone in front of goal, naturally he scored. Seconds later, the half-time [...]]]>

Darren Bent broke free from Koscielny, gaining just enough space to fire a rocket that was parried by Fabianski. The ensuing rebound fell right to Bent and since he was faced with the tightest of angles and he wasn’t all alone in front of goal, naturally he scored. Seconds later, the half-time whistle blew and the Arsenal trudged off the field with their heads low while a chorus of boos rained down upon them.

I felt bad for the players. They had played their hearts out and yet here they were losing both the game and their home support.

This isn’t the article you already think it is. I’m not going to lecture you on what you should or shouldn’t do if you are one of those people who have the tremendous fortune to be able to attend games. If you feel like spending £125 to go to a game and vent your anger about the team, then by all means, have at it. Especially if the team play like a one-footed orc.

What I don’t get though is how for years and years I’ve sat and read comment after comment in which Arsenal supporters said “As long as the team give 100% I don’t care what the result is” and yet here was a half in which they had given 100%, the result was not quite there, and yet both in the stadium and online the vitriol was at unprecedented levels.

“Because they didn’t give 100%.” Easy to say, impossible to disprove. The perfect sport’s fan’s argument.

Villa’s first goal was an absolutely brilliant piece of work off the corner. That’s the type of thing that I think Arsenal need to work on in practice because the corners that they take are predictable and easy to defend. Chaos in the six yard box is always good for the offense.

But still Arsenal could have closed down on the second player on that corner and therein lies the rub: the person who wants to say that Arsenal didn’t give 100% will say that they “switched off” there on that goal while I would say that they were confused and didn’t quite know what to do. And while it’s easy to say that they should do better bathed in the dull glow of your LCD screen what you want them to do is much more difficult to actually execute in the harsh light of the game.

But it’s not just a matter of effort.

And if the first was because Arsenal arguably lacked effort, for the second goal you can see the ball just get past Alex Song as he goes sliding into the netting in a gut busting effort to stop the goal. That’s giving 100%. Does he deserved to be booed after that?

The boo boys will then say that Arsenal lacked attacking effort. So, how do we explain the 9 shots in the first half, six of which are on goal?

“Stats don’t prove anything.” Right.

Sure, there was a tame effort from Ramsey after Song played him in and he tried to toe poke but it’s not for lack of effort, but rather lack of creativity and class finishing.

If the boos betrayed anything it’s that there’s a deep lack of faith in this team. I used to joke about how the Emirates crowd were funny in the way they groan  after every misplaced pass. Passes which happen once every 5 minutes. But they have now upped the ante and folks in the stadium reported to me that Arshavin was booed when his name was announced before the match.

Clearly, the pillars upon which Pat Rice and Arsene Wenger have stood for so long aren’t so much starting to crumble as they are being kicked over. Every loss, draw, and even win is picked clean in a forensic analysis of every detail of the match. Where should Ramsey have been standing for that corner? Why didn’t Arteta close down space late in the game when Villa tried the same corner over again? How lucky was Theo for Arsenal’s second goal? Why didn’t he stick out a leg?

Even every other aspect of the Arsenal is analyzed to death. How many years left on Diaby’s contract? What salary is the Ox™ pulling down? What’s Robin van Persie’s pre-match meal? Is he a Muslim? Seriously…

What’s Joey Barton’s?

Twitter, wiki, haircut, Morrissey vs. rape, twitter, Muslim, jersey. I just have to say, some of you are looking for some weird shit about Robin when a convicted criminal like Joey Barton has tamer search history than the in form striker of the Premier League.

Ironically, the boos at half time were drown out by the screams of joy during the second half. Two Arsenal penalties and a fluke goal were enough to convince people that somehow the second half was better. The second half wasn’t that much better in terms of effort from Arsenal, Villa simply lost their minds.

I would say that Dunne’s tackle on Ramsey was as dumb as you’ll ever see but then we saw Darren Bent’s tackle on Koscielny a few minutes later and that was one of the worst pieces of defending I’ve seen in a long time. Did Arsenal drive into the box more in the second half than the first? No. Remember in the first half that Ox had several drives, Theo did as well, Ramsey had the toe poke, and so on.

I can only surmise that for many of us our faith in Arsenal is based on results but that’s not how faith is supposed to work. Faith is keeping a player under contract for nine years as he struggled through injury hell; always showing signs of a miracle, but never quite fulfilling his promise. Faith is giving that guy chance after chance because you see something special in him. You see that he’s a leader, you see that he scores special goals, you see that if he could get a run together and get over his injuries he could be something special.

Arsene Wenger had faith in Robin van Persie through that injury nightmare and Robin has repaid us all with 120 goals in those nine years, tying Dennis Bergkamp’s Arsenal haul. Not only that but Robin has shown what a good run of games from him can do, scoring 46 of his goals since January 2011.

Faith doesn’t always work and sometimes blindly believing in a cause is stupid. It’s slippery that way, if it wasn’t it would be called something else like “fact” or “Truth.” But you have to admit that Wenger showed tremendous faith in Robin. When many of you were calling for Robin to be “cut loose” and for Wenger to “get rid of the dead weight” he stayed his course.

This is the same faith Wenger has in Diaby. Faith Wenger has in Theo. Faith Wenger has in Ramsey. And faith Wenger has in Andrei Arshavin.

It’s up to you whether you choose to follow. I, for one, am just trying to enjoy the ride.

Qq

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Villa are the third worst team in the League in shots per game. Third worst in keeping possession. Fourth worst in pass percentage. And second in tackles per game. They are also just 9 points lower than Arsenal on the League table and have allowed 4 fewer goals than Arsenal. All of which simply confirms what [...]]]>

Villa are the third worst team in the League in shots per game. Third worst in keeping possession. Fourth worst in pass percentage. And second in tackles per game. They are also just 9 points lower than Arsenal on the League table and have allowed 4 fewer goals than Arsenal. All of which simply confirms what you probably already know: Aston Villa are addition by subtraction, a team set up to negate play, in short a team managed by Alex McLeish.

But not all teams can or should play the same way. I watched the Liverpool win over Man U in the FA Cup and they look like a team transformed. Gone are the slick passing midfielders, replaced by long balls, and two-footed lunges. But if you know that a team is going to close down space, rotationally foul the midfield, crowd the keeper on corners, and lump balls forward for their two wingers to run under then you damn well better have a plan to counter that. Arsenal need to keep possession, play solid at the back, keep calm, and be brave — Man Up as some might say in the States. And with McLeish already saying that Villa have no fear of Arsenal, Man Up might be the only way to get a result.

To say that Arsenal have previous with McLeish is an understatement. This is the manager who admitted that he probably sent out his Birmingham side too riled up on the fateful night that Taylor broke Eduardo’s leg.

And, of course, this is also the same manager who beat Arsenal to the League Cup with Birmingham. Arsenal supporters don’t want to hear this but McLeish knows how to play against Arsenal and get a result. His record against Wenger is P8 W2 D3 L3 and while two wins doesn’t look that spectacular you have to remember that his teams were/are relegation fodder so averaging a point a game while winning a cup final over a top four side is a pretty impressive record.

And in the last three games, McLeish actually has an advantage and has gotten two wins. Worse, Arsenal’s form is in the toilet at the moment. Since beating Villa in December Arsenal have P7 W3 D1 L3. Arsenal need a win to get the season back on track.

That terrible run of form is almost entirely down to injuries. Arsene revealed yesterday that Jack Wilshere suffered a setback in his recovery from a broken bone earlier this season and it’s been a pretty big blow to the psyche of nearly every supporter I’ve spoken with. If it’s that big of a deal to the supporters I can only imagine how much it’s rocked the team and the player himself.

Jack is a bit of a mythical creature. Part human, part football animal, he does add a little extra bite to the Arsenal midfield. The idea that Arsenal haven’t been rotating enough over the last few years and that is leading to injuries is still an open question from my perspective. What isn’t an open question is whether Wilshere would add quality to that rotation.

But if Jack’s injury setback has the team and supporters feeling low, the possible inclusion of Bacary Sagna in tomorrow’s team must have the opposite effect. I always had a suspicion that fullback play was the lynchpin of the Arsene system but couldn’t confirm the effect they had on the team by simply looking at charts. I guess I needed all four first choice fullbacks to go down injured to get the full picture of how they work both offensively and defensively.

I don’t know what team Wenger will name tomorrow but I’d be surprised to see Sagna on the starters sheet. That said, the dot com lists Sagna, Henry, and Arteta as all having tests today and for some irrational reason I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see Thierry Henry start and play 60 minutes. So maybe we will see all three return?

For Villa’s part, Charles N’Zogbia is not expected to play tomorrow which should take pressure off the referee trying to get the calls right, what with him diving all over the place constantly. The player that none of you will be happy to see included in the team sheet tomorrow is former MLS all-star and Tottenham/Liverpool reject Robbie Keane. Maybe they have some other characters that you despise but Keane is one of those guys with his flat, moon face, who I just can’t stand.

Referee Michael Jones has been the head ref of Arsenal matches seven times, six times at home, five wins, one draw and one loss. The one loss was away to Bolton last April which ended any hope of Arsenal finishing in the top two. And the draw was a 0-0 at home to Man City where both Zabaleta and Sagna were sent off. Inauspiciously for Arsenal supporters, Jones has been in charge of nine Villa matches, and they have never lost.

But in the end we know that the referees aren’t giving Arsenal any breaks. We know that in cup ties the referees tend to swallow their whistle and let play go on. We know that McLeish will be playing safety first, or perhaps kicking first and safety second. But it’s Arsenal’s job to show their quality and “mental strength” in front of the home supporters and Man the Fuck Up. The team and the manager were booed off the pitch just a few days ago and people on twitter are selling tickets below face value for the first time since I can remember.

This is a real test tomorrow.

What is this team made of?

Qq

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Man U first half v. Arsenal

Arsenal’s second half v. Man U

Man U second half v. Arsenal

I don’t want to be too simplistic but looking at the FourFourTwo Stats Zone Powered By Opta* application on my [...]]]> Arsenal’s First Half v. Man U

Man U first half v. Arsenal

Arsenal’s second half v. Man U

Man U second half v. Arsenal

I don’t want to be too simplistic but looking at the FourFourTwo Stats Zone Powered By Opta* application on my iPad I noticed a few things.

First, simply put, Arsenal’s first half was very poor in terms of passes in the final third against Man U but was, when compared to Man U’s second half, pretty much a wash. Except! They scored a goal in their period of profligacy and Arsenal didn’t.

Second, Arsenal’s second half was superior to their first half but the amount of rebound fell well short of the effort Man U put into their first half. Arsenal attempted just 68 passes in the Man U final third compared to Man U’s 100 passes in Arsenal’s final third in the first half. Still! Both teams scored just one goal in both of those halves.

Third, you can see how Man U targeted the right back in both halves but how Yennaris was better equipped to deal with the threat in the second than Djourou was in the first.

And finally, the debate will continue to rage over Wenger’s substitution of Arshavin for Ox but don’t see a huge drop in passes in the final third after the Ox’s sub. Arsenal still completed 25/31 in those final 15 minutes which is nearly half the attacking passes in the second half in just the last 15 minutes. But! Defensively, is where Arsenal failed there. United completed just 11/20 passes in the Arsenal final third in the last 15 minutes of the game but crucially, they completed 7/7 passes in Arsenal’s final third from the moment that the Ox was subbed to the moment that Welbeck scored — including the three in the build-up to the goal.

One sub, seven minutes, seven passes, one goal.

Is that the lack of concentration that we keep hearing about? Is this just down to Arshavin? What else do you see?

Qq

*I’m being silly in mentioning the entire name. I was NOT paid to put this here. In fact, I paid for the damn app myself. Grrrr…**
**I also was not paid by Apple to mention the iPad. GRRRRRR…

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