7amkickoff » Champions League Campaign

AC Milan it is

Tim — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 19:28:27 +0000

Waiting for the news from the mechanics on how much my broken down truck would cost me yesterday, I slipped into a local pub and had a pint with an old friend. Naturally, the talk turned to football and Randy asked who I thought Arsenal would get in the Champions League. Without hesitation I said:

AC Milan, and if they do, I have to go. No matter what happens it would be the best game I’ve ever seen. AC Milan at the Emirates? with Newcastle to follow up on the weekend? That’s a two game trip that I have to find a way to make.

Then my phone rang and the lady from the shop told me the bad news: it was the fuel pump on my truck. Why is it that there’s a single part on any car that can fail and cost you $1000? This is a 2001, two-wheel drive, four cylinder, Ford Ranger pickup truck, the whole damn thing is probably only worth $3000 — and that’s with the odometer showing just 50,000 miles.

$1000 for a fuel pump? You’re having a laugh.

The good news is that all totaled I got the fuel pump installed for $550. Still, that’s $550 that I had saved for my trip to London.

I get this question all the time “how much does it cost to go to London?” and my answer is always the same: depends. If you live in France it’s relatively cheap. If you live in Malaysia is fucking expensive. I happen to live in Seattle and right now British Airways is having a special on round trip airfare in the month of March and after taxes and fees the flight alone is over $1000. Hotel for a week, food, drinks, tickets to two matches, the #7 “AMKICKOFF” jersey, gifts for the people back home, pickles, drinks, food, drinks, and drinks will easily total another $1000. So, $2000 is what I will typically spend on a week in London.

As you can see a $550 fuel pump is 1/4 of my total budget!

But AC Milan at the Emirates is going to be something special and worth it. I started writing this blog back in January of 2008 and if you remember, 2008 was the year that Arsenal became the first English team to beat AC Milan at the San Siro. Cesc scored the opener and Theo set up Adebayor for the second as Arsenal went through to the semi-final to face Liverpool. Cesc’s long distance strike is a memory I will always cherish. That Cesc goal inspired one of my very first decent posts.

Of course, a month later Arsenal were absolutely jobbed by a penalty that wasn’t called in the home leg against Liverpool and a penalty that was awarded when it shouldn’t have been in the away leg. But that’s the Champions League for you: one minute you’re on top of the world, the next minute you’re beaten by a shit team like Liverpool because the referees can never seem to get the calls right.

Even the fact that Arsenal were drawn with AC Milan is seen in some quarters as further proof that Arsenal get jobbed in the Champions League. I’m not sure anyone would have been happy with any draw. The first leg (away) is sandwiched between Sunderland (away) and an FA Cup match (potentially away) after that, there’s Tottenham (home). Imagine for a minute the hue and cry if Arsenal had been paired with one of the two Soviet teams?

The way I look at this draw is that there is a ton of time between now and March so its no use looking at the form of either team, which players we have available, or pretty much anything. Flamini hasn’t played since last May, hell, he could even get back to form in time for the game! Personally, I’m just going to look forward to the game which includes booking my flight.

Here’s where you can help. I used to sell tee shirts on the site but the overhead was was stupid and the shirts only sold OK. Basically, I either had to give away all the profits to a place like Cafe Press or I had to hold on to $500 worth of shirts and sell them one at a time. Then, the reality is that even if I put my own capital into the shirts, in order to make $100 I had to sell like 30 pieces.

On the other hand, if you just donate $20 almost all of it goes straight to the trip. So, while I know that it’s nice for you to get something tangible out of your donations it’s much, much more efficient to just donate money. You could also think of the fact that you do get something: you get a daily article or like today, you get two!

Anyway, I’m not used to begging people for money. So, I’ll just stop. If you want to donate there’s a button on the sidebar or you could just click below.

Thanks in advance!

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Five things I learned about the Champions League last night

Tim — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 16:13:36 +0000

Defenders

Wenger took a real chance playing Santos on Tuesday is the reprise I hear from many and my gut reaction is that they are absolutely correct. As soon as I saw the lineup I felt a pang of worry though it was Vermaelen who I felt most concerned over. I suppose I should have been thinking more logically. After all, there are no fullbacks coming through the ranks at the moment so that leaves Arsene almost no choice but to play one of Djourou, Koz, Vermealen, and Miquel in those spots.

Unless…

Remember when Flamini was a squad player? Remember when he deputized at left back? Remember when that defensive unit set a Champions League record for most minutes without conceding a goal and beat Real Madrid at Galacticos Stadium?

What if Benayoun gets a look at fullback? He’s been very diplomatic about playing time so he has a level of humility that might lend itself to making the switch from midfield to defense. In the Arsenal system it’s not like fullbacks sit back by the corner flag and carry on conversations with the supporters, they have to be able to pass and move and are often the spearhead for attacks down the wings. He has the engine, the touch, the passing ability, and the vision going forward but can he tackle? Can he see plays developing?

Only Arsene Knows.

Our Champions League Draw

As you know, Arsenal can’t be drawn with any of the other teams in the Champions League final 16 who hail from England. That rules out Chelsea. In addition, Arsenal can’t be matched with any of the other group winners. That rules out Benfica who topped the Group of Dearth which featured perennial European super powers Benfica, Basel, Otelul Galati, and the team which finished third Manchester United.

That leaves Arsenal to face one of Napoli, AC Milan, Basel, CSKA, Lyon, Leverkuzen, and Zenit St. Racistburg.

I watch Italian football and I don’t care what you think, I like it. Napoli are an exciting team and along with AC Milan the least desirable matchup for Arsenal. Napoli because they are a stalwart defensive unit who shred opponents with their swift counter attacks and AC Milan because they are in incredible form at the moment.

Arsenal also don’t fare well against Soviet teams, especially away, and so either of those two would be my second choice of team to avoid.

Leverkuzen are captained by Michael Ballack who would love nothing more than to terrify Arsenal with his Jason mask.

That leaves Basel and Lyon and of them I would pick Lyon as my number one choice. Wenger’s record against French opposition is very good (in fact, I think he’s unbeaten) and the flight isn’t too far.

Still, I’d take Basel as well!

Lyon

Lyon beat Dynamo Zagreb 7-1 last night in a shocking second half where the French team scored all seven goals. There has been a lot of talk this morning about the French and UEFA investigating the match. UEFA has declined saying that their automated system for detecting match-fixing saw nothing unusual. But the French are going through with the investigation.

Both teams have issued statements calling speculation about the result “unfortunate” and “tendentious.” The latter being a word I had to actually look up.

Oh and the referee in that game?

Yep, Mark Clattenburg.

What UEFA will investigate

Apparently, a 7-1 score line where the defender winks at the forward and there are several very suspicious goals allowed (judge them all here) is not worthy of an investigation by UEFA but a 19 year old making claims on his twitter account is worthy.

Jack Wilshere is being investigated by UEFA for gambling because he tweeted that he put £10 on teammate Emmanuel Frimpong to be the first goalscorer in Tuesday’s game. Backing that tweet up with a second saying that Frimpong nearly won him some money when he hit the side netting when the score was still 0-0.

Here’s where I fall on this issue: professional footballers should not be allowed to gamble on football at all. If they are found betting on football, they should be banned for a year. Now I know that the English rules on this are different than my own rules but that’s where I stand.

As for Jack, well, if he bet on the game then it was a stupid mistake because despite the more lenient rules on betting in Europe, UEFA is pretty clear that a player may not bet on a game in which his team participates regardless of whether he is playing or not.

Jack is denying that he put a ‘holic pound on the game. Let’s hope he was just having some fun and this goes no further.

Shadenfruede

Amid the jubilant celebrations at the Tollington for last night’s book release of So Paddy Got Up reports are filtering back that much beer was consumed in celebration not only of the book launch but also of both Manchester teams being knocked right the fuck out of the Champions League.

Some folks on twitter criticized me and others for having a laugh at Man U and City’s expense and there’s a certain truth to the criticism. Yes, it is shameful to celebrate someone else’s loss but the problem is that, well, they are cunts. This joy isn’t coming from a place where we are celebrating the downtrodden getting more trod upon — which is what Man U, City, and Chelsea supporters do every time they gleefully rejoice in an Arsenal loss. Remember the “Oh I’d 8-2 be an Arsenal supporter right now” bullshit?

Arsenal are the underdogs, we were in a “relegation battle” earlier this year, remember? And if anyone is allowed a little shadenfruede at Mamchester Fucking United’s expense it’s the underdogs.

So come ye Blackburn and Fulham, ye Wolves and Wigan, Villa and Norwich, Stoke City and Everton. From Newcastle to Sunderland and Swansea to Bolton lift every voice and sing:

Chim chimminy chim chimminy chim chim cheree
Thursday night football for Manchester City
Chim chimminy chim chimminy chim chim cheroo
Europa League football beckons Man U.*

*I’m open to suggestions to improve this line.

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Olympiakos 3-1 Arsenal: Dog Day Afternoon

Tim — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 16:15:55 +0000

Vito and Sebastien sit in the front seat. Vito’s face is screwed up into a horrible squinting grimace as he cranes his neck and tries to make out the shapes of pedestrians crossing the slanting shadows of the setting sun. Sebastien is nervously running his hands over the steering wheel and the others notice that he’s doing that breathing thing again. It’s what he does when he’s nervous, a long sharp nasal inhale followed by an exhale that comes from the gut and sounds like “huhhhhhhhhhhggggh”. Lucas is sitting in the back seat and has sweated huge stains into the armpits of his business shirt. Stupid tie, he thinks, who wears a tie to a Greek bank robbery? Lucas glances at his calculator watch and announces to everyone “Uhh, it’s 4:45, don’t you think we should get started?”

“Let’s go over this again,” Sebastien starts to explain but Vito blurts out, “That’s a cop, man. That’s that big Swedish fucking cop, man. He’s going into the bank! Look at the size of him, he’s like fucking a mountain!”

“We have guns…” Sebastien says dryly “now shut the fuck up Vito, and listen.” Sebastien turns in the driver’s seat to face the others. “We go in and make a holy noise, pull your guns and waive them around like you’re crazy while yelling ‘EVERYONE ON THE FUCKING FLOOR’. Then I’ll go get the bank manager put my .45 to his head and get him to open the vault. Once we have the cash, we bolt. Take the car to the bridge and each go our separate ways and I hope to fuck I never see either of you again.”

“What if someone gets out of line, what are we supposed to do Seb? These guns aren’t even loaded, man. What if that big Swedish cop decides to be a hero? What am I supposed to do with this empty gun? Throw it at him and run away?” Vito stares at Sebastien.

“I’m not having blood on my hands and risking life in prison for a few grand. NO. BULLETS. You’re supposed to be an actor, Vito, ACT like the gun has something in it.” Sebastien then drew back the breech on his .45, shoved it in Lucas’ face, and then stared at Vito. “Acting…”

From the moment the driver’s side door snapped shut to the moment he was carted away in shame the rest of the day flew by in a blur. While it was happening Seb had no notice of details like the warmth of the sun in his hair, the cardboard smell of the city, or the look of terror on the teller’s face, he just went from moment to moment and from calamity to calamity.

It started exactly wrong. They burst into the bank, drew their weapons, and as soon as Seb yelled “get on the floor!” Lucas pissed himself and ran away. Punted on second down as Seb’s old football coach used to say, fuck.

Even from his spot on the floor, face down, that big Swedish cop really started to look menacing and the thought crossed Seb’s mind that “Olaf” here knew that the guns weren’t loaded. Acting, acting, must act like I have something in the chamber.

He grabbed the teller and put the .45 to her head. “Anyone fucking move and the bitch gets it.” An empty threat.

The robbery was supposed to last just 10 minutes but when Seb broke the news to Vito that there wasn’t even any money in the vault shit got weird. Vito started running around the bank yelling about how they were fucked, fucked and for nothing.

Seb breathed in through his nose and out through his mouth, “hhhhhhhgh” but Vito spun out of control. He turned on the nearest customer, a Brazilian named Andre, and butt whipped him. The blood was immediate and everywhere. Vito started to panic.

“WHAT THE FUCK??!”

Suddenly, the alarm sounded. The big Swede sensed his opportunity and in the panic tackled Vito. Sending him crashing into the metal desks. As they scuffled some of the customers made a break for the door and Seb knew that the plan was coming apart at the seams. The Swede was pummeling Vito and just as Seb turned around to look for his escape something hit him.

He dreamed of a villa in Ibiza. High up on the hills, he was standing on a diving board. The pool stretched out before him and gave the illusion of meeting the azure sea. The Spanish sun was perfect, just warm enough to draw a sweat but not too hot to burn. Like an embrace. A woman was lounging in a chair beside the pool in a one-piece bathing suit, high heels, a big black hat and Jackie-O sunglasses. She looked up and gave Seb a dainty little wave. He smiled ear to ear. She was so beautiful. This was so perfect. Seb bounced once on the board, leapt high in the air, formed a perfect pike and headed straight for the blue water.

Seb awoke to being jerked off the floor by a pair of strong hands. Cop hands. He went limp.

It was over. There would be no Ibiza for a while. Just slate grey London skies, prison food, and a roommate named Harry. Next time, Seb thought, I’ll bring at least one bullet.

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Olympiakos v. Arsenal: Balls, Coqs, Bocephus, oh my

Tim — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 16:22:13 +0000

We come from that northern European, basically the northern European genes, the blue eyes. Those blue eyes. Boy everybody in the world learned real quick, didn’t they? When those blue eyes sail out of the north, you better nail everything down. Nail it down, strap it down, or they’ll grab it. If they can’t take it home, they’ll burn it. If they can’t burn it, they’ll fuck it.

Olympiakos play like they are allergic to the ball

I’m expecting Olympiakos to try a slash and burn tonight at home against Arsenal. Looking at their numbers over the first five games they lead Group F in long balls per game (74), long ball percentage (19%), crosses per game (21), cross percentage (5%), fouls per game (17.2), offsides per game (4), and goals from set plays (2).

Basically, Olympiakos play like they are allergic to the ball. In other words they play like Olaf Mellberg’s former team, Aston Villa.

Not only do their attacking numbers belie a side who lump the ball forward but their defensive numbers show a team that sits back as well. While Arsenal have the Champions League leading tackler in Alex Song and his 6.6 tackles per game Olympiakos have the Champions League clearance masters in Mellberg and Papadopolous who are clearing an amazing 28.1 times per game between them.

Should be a great introduction to defensive-counter-attacking football for a very young Arsenal side. Though, now that I’ve said this, Olympiakos will probably come out and show the world that they are pass masters on the way to scoring several beautifully worked goals from open play.

Le Coq

Frimpong is getting the lion’s share of the media attention this morning owing to the fact that Wenger chose the Ghanian to sit next to him in yesterday’s presser. Today could be a test of his temperament as I expect the Greek side to harass the Arsenal midfield and that will be an interesting to pay attention to, but the player I’ll be looking at is actually Coquelin.

Coquelin’s job today will be as understudy to Mikel Arteta. That means he will need to pick the right passes, take care of the ball, move the midfield along quickly, keep a tidy defense, and go forward in support of the attackers. It’s a big ask for the young fella but this is the kind of test that can make a young player’s career.

That said, pay close attention to Frimpong’s movement when Coquelin has the ball. Le Coq has come in for criticism for poor passing in some games but I actually blame Frimpong who at times doesn’t move to support his teammate. This is something Song does exceptionally well and is a mental part of the game that Frimpong hasn’t cottoned on to yet.

With a Bocephus sticker on Arsene’s 442

I see no reason why Arsene shouldn’t abandon the 4-3-3 today in favor of what he calls his version of a 4-4-2. The two central midfielders of Frimpong and Coquelin can anchor the midfield, The Ox is an outright winger, and most importantly both Park and Chamakh desperately need playing time. The only problem with this formation is that either Benayoun or Rosicky has to play on the wing.

Squillaci

Do you think the Squid will start?

Finally, here’s something that my non-American readers won’t have noticed: Arsenal are no longer a first choice television draw in the US.

The flagship television channel for football matches in the USA is Fox Soccer Channel. They show a 3pm GMT game every Saturday, the 5:30pm GMT game on the same day, and the Sunday match every weekend. Their secondary channel is called Fox Soccer Plus and their tertiary channel is called FoxSoccer.tv — a subscription online streaming service only available in the USA.

All three channels also carry Champions League games which brings me to today’s game. Arsenal are live but on Fox Soccer Plus (and the .tv channel) and this is happening more and more often with Arsenal.

I wonder what effect the English press’ love-in with certain stories like huge transfer spends and with the whole “Cinderella story” effect of certain teams plays into this? For example, Arsene Wenger was widely being readied for the guillotine after the first 5 matches of the season while Kenny Dalglish was being hailed as the guy who would bring the Premier League trophy back to Liverpool after 20 years.

Oddly, Dalglish’s record since taking over Liverpool is not significantly better than Arsene’s and not only that but in a paen to the 1980′s they play the most dire brand of football imaginable. Worse still, Andy Carroll must be as big if not a bigger bust than Fernando Torres and their star signing, Luis Suarez, must be one of the most despicable cheats and possibly human beings in the League.

Since taking over Liverpool “King Kenny” has won 16, drawn 8, and lost 8 while Wenger has won 15, drawn 10, and lost 7: a 1 point League difference between the two. Meanwhile, Liverpool had the best defense in the League but they also have an offense which has only scored one more goal than Steve Bruce’s Sunderland.

In terms of the players, the biggest story about Andy Carroll is that he probably has a drinking problem and worse still Suarez has been accused of racism, is a serial diver, and now has shown a crowd the middle finger. Not only that but Suarez is hailed as the signing of the season and yet he only has four goals so far this season. One better than Thomas Vermaelen, Mikel Arteta, Gervinho, and Liverpool’s second leading scorer Own Goal.

So, I have to admit that seeing Arsenal stuck out on a television limb while dross like Liverpool get a showcase is a bit hard to take. Jesus, it would actually make more sense to show Tottenham matches at the moment.

Having said that, I will now wash my hands out with soap.

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Alexander the Great conquers Dortmund

Tim — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 18:38:39 +0000

As many of you know, the first and only time I was lucky enough to see Arsenal at Highbury was a freezing cold yet sunny March day in 2006. The pitch was an amazing shade of green, Arsenal were in their claret strip, and Charlton were in white. Pires scored what would be nearly his last goal for Arsenal, Adebayor scored his first goal at Highbury, and Hleb not only shot the ball but scored his only ever goal in an Arsenal shirt.* Around the 70th minute Arsene took Fabregas off and put in an 18 year old kid who I had never heard of named Alex Song.

I don’t remember his performance that day, I was too busy being infatuated with Highbury and Henry to notice this kid in midfield. The next year, Song was the topic of much debate and many wondered was he a midfielder or a defender? People also questioned why Arsene had dumped Muamba and kept Song?

Seeing that he wasn’t able to get any playing time for an Arsenal side that still had Gilberto, Wenger sent Song on loan, to Charlton. Charlton’s then manager Alan Pardew always has had a keen eye for midfield talent (Cabaye has been massive) and he immediately drafted Song into the Charlton midfield for their relegation battle.

When he returned to Arsenal he was much stronger, much wiser, but still Wenger kept him at arms length and he struggled to break into the first team behind the effervescent Flamini. In hindsight, it was our good fortune, then, that Flamini used Arsenal as a stepping stone to get to where he is now, bit player on AC Milan.

With the team shorn of Flamini and Gilberto, Arsene put Song and Denilson on the field in a test of fire to see which would survive. It was hard going for us fans. I was there the day that Song and Denilson sideways passed Arsenal to death in a 0-0 draw against Sunderland. But Song got better with each game and Denilson slid backwards.

Song was promoted to full time holding midfielder and you can see why: he never seems to rest on his laurels and wants to improve every aspect of his game. Not content just holding back, tackling, and making neat little 3 yard sideways passes, Song started looking up for teammates making runs and dinking neat little balls in for them to gobble up.

Last year, he dyed his hair bright yellow and decided that he wasn’t just going to be a holding midfielder any more. He was going to be Arsenal’s box-to-box midfielder. He would carry the ball forward when needed, provide splitting passes when he could, tackle, track back, and play center half in asked.

Yaya Toure gets paid £200,000 a week to do that job for Manchester City and I’m not taking an inch away from him with what I’m going to say. Alex Song is, maybe, better than Yaya Toure right now. I’m not saying that stats prove everything but Song has played 9 League games for an Arsenal side that has scored just 27 League goals and he has 1 goal and 4 assists. Toure has played 12 times for a Man City side that has 42 League goals** and he also has 1 goal and 4 assists.

But most importantly, Song plays for a team that has not only qualified for the Champions League knock out stages but has won their group. While Toure plays for a team that is in third place and looking for a miracle to get through to the next stage. A team, I would like to add, that doesn’t make players like Song, it buys them.

Maybe you were one of the people who was surprised by what Song did against Borussia Dortmund last night, I wasn’t. That little trick he does where he dribbles with his right foot and then a quick one-two between left and right is one of his signature moves. Or maybe you’re one of the people who was surprised by the precision of his cross? Again, that’s something some of us have been commenting on now for 6 months. He had an assist taken away from him when The Ox™ scored against Olympiakos. The vision for that ball was something I gushed about after the match: 35 yards away and he sees The Ox™ making a run across the defense and he just curls it in to him? Breathtaking, really.

Neither of these moments were news to me, but if they were news to you, you can catch up on his skills from last season in 13 minutes of him in action here and here.

Last night against Dortmund, Arsenal were challenged by a hard working German side who demanded technical excellence from every player on the pitch. The announcers here in America actually apologized for the game at half time saying that it was dull but I found it anything but. Sure, there were a dearth of chances on goal but that’s because the first half was more like two prize fighters than the barroom brawls that we are used to in the Premier League.

Every coach should look at tape of that game because from a defensive standpoint, Borussia were nearly perfect. In the first half, the German champions moved as a unit, they surrounded players like Arteta and forced him to dribble out of trouble time and again, they won tackles all over the pitch, and they dominated both the passing lanes and in the air. I was so impressed with their workrate and their team defense (really for the whole 90 minutes) that I thought when Arsene Wenger hangs up his boots Klopp would make a great replacement. So, you’ll pardon me but I rather enjoyed the hell out of the first half.

The problem for Klopp was that Goerte was taken off. Song was charged with marking the Borussia playmaker and did the job admirably but once Goerte was gone the Dortmund side was defanged and Song was turned loose on them.

Still, Borussia battled Arsenal the whole time and hard fought games like that always turn on a moment of magic from one or two players. Song and van Persie provided that moment.

The goal turned the game on its head. Borussia started getting chippy and fouled several players (including van Persie) but they also pressed for an equalizer and that’s again where Song shone. Song made seven interceptions and five tackles trying to keep the clean sheet.

That the team was unable to keep Borussia out of the goals was the only red mark in Song’s blue book. He really should have cleared that ball, just hoofed it. But you know what? I think Song will get an earful about it from Szczesny. And I think Mertesacker will have a quiet word with him. And I suspect that Robin van Persie will put his arm around his shoulders and tell him that he is better than that.

And given where Song was three years ago I have no doubt in my mind that he will work hard to make sure he never makes a mistake like that again.

*Hleb actually scored 8 goals in total for the Arsenal
**This is a Premier League record

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Arsenal v. Borussia: could be a special night

Tim — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 15:58:30 +0000

Borussia’s away record in the Champions League is more than a little odd. They have played two games, in which they have dominated possession, even playing against 10 men at one point, and yet they have conceded 6 goals and scored just one on the way to an 0-0-2 record. Moreover, against Arsenal at home, they showed a very similar penchant to dominate the game both creatively and in terms of sheer possession and yet is was Arsenal who walked away with a point from the fiery Westfalenstadion. What I’m saying is that you’ll forgive me if I say that Borussia sort of remind me of Arsenal.

Borussia are an outright attacking team who love to dominate the ball, who create a ton of chances, and who are a bit unlucky when it comes to putting chances away. In this way, they are clearly like Arsenal.

They also set up similar to Arsenal in that both teams like to deploy a 4-2-3-1 in the Champions League and because most opposition teams invite them to attack in order to hit on the counter — both Arsenal and BvB play what Stuart Robson calls “a suicidally high line”.

In the first match Arsenal looked to me to be a bit surprised by the swiftness of Borussia’s passing and the way that they fought to win the ball back in our half. Consequently, the Londoners played an uncharacteristically high number of balls over the top in order to bypass Borussia’s pressing midfield.

In the Premier League Arsenal’s long ball average is just 9% and they average 573 passes per game. Against the Germans, Arsenal lumped the ball forward 14% of the time and strung together just 410 passes which is a similar set of numbers to Arsenal’s worst domestic game this century; the 8-2 loss to Man U.

Key 1) This makes me wonder if Arsenal can force Borussia to defend instead of the other way around. Quick passing and pressure when they do lose the ball is the key to success in that regard. Interestingly, Bayern did just that and dominated Borussia in key categories like possession and shots this weekend and yet BvB just soaked up the pressure and hit them on the counter to steal the win. Still, it’s usually the team who are able to put their stamp on the game who win so I would look for Arsenal to do that tonight and dominate the ball.

Key 2) Borussia’s main threat is Mario Götze on the right flank of their front three. Since Santos is Arsenal’s only real left back (Vermaelen could play there but probably won’t) this puts a lot of pressure on his game. If he goes forward and stays forward then Vermaelen will be left in a lot of one-on-ones with the Borussia man and that’s not the kind of situation Arsenal want to find themselves in. But if he sits back then it gives Götze less to do to for 90 minutes. Personally, I’d give Santos freedom to get forward and instead use Song to mark Götze out of the game. An ugly tactic, I know, but when you see that 45% of their attack came from the right side away against Marseille and Olympiakos you have to think it might be a good idea to see what the other players on that team can do.

Key 3) Some people call it the slide rule pass, some call it the through ball, some people call it a kaiser blade, but I just call it Arsenal’s bread and butter and they need, erm, some bread and butter in order to, uhh, feast on the, uh… you know what I mean. When Arsenal do find themselves defending deep unleashing Theo and Gervinho down the wings will be crucial. That said, picking those slide rule passes is going to be difficult because Borussia like to flood the passing lanes plus, I have Song, who is actually one of Arsenal’s most effective through-ball midfielders, marking Götze out of the game. This is where Ramsey comes in to play. At times I have criticized him for his plodding, methodical play, and slowing down the Arsenal counters. Now is the chance for him to break out of that with a full performance. Ramsey is averaging 0.3 through balls per game in the Champions League and that is with severely curtailed minutes. His job today is going to be to look for those openings, play in Theo and Gervinho and then follow Robin van Persie in toward goal for the inevitable cross. Arteta and Song will need to hold back in midfield to make that work.

I’ve long had a theory that it’s nigh impossible to build a club that can dominate both the Premier League and the Champions League. After yesterday’s result, Man City seem like they are trying their darnedest to prove that right. I’m not sure what it is but it is very difficult to build a team that can win Europe and win the Premier League, only one modern side have done so: Manchester United — and they had their whole asses handed to them by Barfelona last year. I’d even point out that when Litterpool won their last title they finished out of the top four and that when Arsenal got to the final in Paris they would have finished out of the top four but for some dodgy lasagne.

Since breaking up the invincibles, Arsenal seem to be taking a different approach and as their domestic form has waned, their European form has waxed — reaching it’s best point (so far) with the win over Barfelona last term. Arsene was forced to rebuild this Summer but he’s done so still with more of an eye on Europe’s biggest prize than on the Premier League: choosing Mertesacker over Cahill wasn’t just about Bolton’s foolish greed.

That’s partially what makes these European nights so special. With a few exceptions Arsenal tend to really go for it because they are in essence trained to be a Champions League team rather than a pack of shit kickers like Stoke who couldn’t manage 100 passes a game if they tried. Borussia also seem like a team that enjoy these mid week games and I’m hoping they will come to the Emirates looking to play some football.

If they do, it could be a really special night.

I am going to try to get off work early and watch the match at home today. The game is only on Fox Soccer Pus in the USA (or the $20 a month online version of Fox Soccer Pus) and that means I will be watching the match on my mobile device. IF (BIG IF) I can ditch work early, I will be sending out snapshots from the game live on twitter. So, look for that. If not, well then I’ll see you on the other side!*

*Of the game, I’m not Jim Morrison.

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Man at the match, Chary: Bridge hangover as chances squandered

Charybdis1966 — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 14:59:36 +0000

A vaguely disappointing nil nil failed to quell the feel good factor derived from the Arsenal’s heroic high octane defeat of the Siberian oligarchs team last Saturday.

As the match drew to a close I recalled the target of four points from the two games against the French champions set by Wenger and was able to assess the performance and result in that context. Arriving at Arsenal tube station I was, as usual, “treated” to some singing from the Bouches-du-Rhône region, initially unintelligible but as the away supporters followed me up to the ticket barriers I could eventually pick up:

Mar-seille allez, Mar-seille allez, allez, allez, chante!

To the tune of “Oh my darling clementine” as sung by Huckleberry Hound a lot clearer than last night’s version.

The atmosphere for a mid-week evening kick off at Ashburton Grove is altered by that claustrophobic feel that the darkness that descends in London in November gives to the journey to your turnstile from the stadium environs.
The team line ups as announced before kick-off revealed our Captain was being benched to give the Park a start and that there was a welcome return to the starting line-up for the Verminator.

My seat was behind the Clock End goal, lower tier, so I had the away support a few blocks to my right. Inside the stadium they were fairly vocal as most away crowds tended to be on European nights — louder than Porto’s, quieter than Dinamo Zagreb’s, from memory. To their credit the complete 4 block allocation was full and animated.

Kick off

The early exchanges showed that Marseilles had pace all over the pitch if not skill, with the full backs making light work of Gervinho and Theo’s attempts to pull apart their back line.

Chesney showed himself to be a goalie of supreme confidence when he took on a Marseilles forward; even from the other end of the pitch I could see him dummying and dribbling around him and while there was much mirth in the crowd in reaction to his skill and confidence I would have preferred him not to be put (or put himself) in those situations and that he just takes the safety first option – a hefty hoof up field for example.

Defence wise the Verminator slotted straight back into the team as if he’d never been away and Mertesacker showed the calm authority we’ve come to expect but without the missed headers that he needs to eliminate from the game.

“Jenks” has quickly become a fans favourite with his work rate and never ending drive to push on whether defending or getting forward, conversely Santos was seen differently, a capable and experienced defender who is probably not 100% match fit.

Marseilles pushed forward for the first half hour and for an away side that was quite brave however their finishing was as bad as ours turned out to be.

There were few alarms and no one especially felt we would concede at any moment – a feeling we definitely had in matches during the closing stages of last season. Encouraged by their support striking up the Huckleberry Hound song, Marseilles continued to press and a few shots on Chesney’s goal resulted which were on target, and many more off target.

As time went on however the Arsenal then gained more possession which resulted in whistling from the away support.

It’s clearly a continental thing to whistle when the opposition has the ball, in the UK it tends to be done to register displeasure at a bad refereeing decision or the opposition not kicking the ball out if one of your players is injured. If that happens in a continental game what would they do then as an alternative to whistling? If they just whistle more, how could you tell what the crowd was irate about if it’s just more of the same?

Anyway gripe/observation over.

Despite the extra possession Arsenal had as the first half drew to a close it seemed that Park was lacking that “something” as things just failed to happen for him; maybe he needed a bit of confidence that would result from a few more of his one twos working or having some decent shots on goal?

We clearly need a stand in for Robin but at the moment Park is not the answer, I sincerely hope he will be part of the answer at least and the sooner the better.
Gervinho seemed to be having one of those days also where things didn’t quite come off and when they did the resulting shot was wide or well saved with Aaron seeming a touch jaded also.

The extra possession Arsenal gained as the game went on was as a result of the Song-Arteta axis establishing a metronomic understanding in the centre of the midfield.

One gets the sense that Mikel is loving being on the European Cup stage, a chance a player of his quality and experience should really have had earlier in his career. One of our more palpable chances was an Arteta free kick, which on another day would have drifted in rather than swerved away from the top left corner of the goal.

Arteta free kick

Half time came and with it the news that the Russian’s from the bus stop in Fulham were one nil up against the mighty Genk.

No substitutions from either side at half time but as time went on and the Marseilles defence held firm it seemed it was only a matter of time before changes would have to be made.

Robin and Arshavin had been warming up as soon as the second half had kicked off, Robin being the benefactor of a standing ovation from the Clock end.

Robin Arshavin subs

The pattern of the second half followed the latter half of the first in that Arsenal pressure was repelled or the final ball was poor or the finishing was not quite there.

The referee had a fairly good game and wasn’t buying the feigning injury Marseilles started to indulge in, with Mathieu Valbuena seeming like a refugee from a dwarf throwing/diving competition; the sort I imagine being held in deepest Tennessee by some good old boys. Perhaps the midget Mathieu was giving the crowd a preview of his bid to be part of the French 2012 Olympic diving squad? However the referee did seem a bit too keen to book that well known midfield destroyer Rosicky for his first challenge, having come on as the second sub with Robin on shortly before.

Then an exchange of dwarfs – Valbuena off, Arshavin on to try and provide a creative spark and feed Robin for the goal that would seal a Round of 16 qualifying victory.

The game seemed to peter out with a few more attacks by Arsenal at the North bank end and try as Arshavin did to make something happen by the last third of the game Marseilles had decided to settle for the draw and their initial attacking intent evaporated.

Final Whistle 0-0

Overall, not a disastrous result, just as long as a victory against West Brom on Saturday can be won before another wretched interlull/nationalism break before hostilities resume a fortnight later.

Just to cheer up the Gooners emptying Ashburton Grove news filtered through that the European footballing powerhouse of Genk finished their game level with Chelsea to extend the team “led” by John Terry’s winless run to 3 games.

Nice.

Cha(ry)azza

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What Silent Stan really said to the Arsenal team

Tim — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 14:20:33 +0000

Silent Stan surveys the room. Arsene Wenger stands stoically beside him in his white on red training outfit, arms clasped behind his back, head slightly cocked downward in deference to the man who is poised to speak. The players are all seated in their stalls, kitted out with fresh uniforms, boots meticulously cleaned, and street clothes hung neatly on hangers.

While some of the new players like Jenkinson sheepishly look about the room, Robin van Persie stares straight through Stan Kroenke and coolly adjusts his armband. Stan can’t help but note how the Hamlet black letters “CAPTAIN” stand out on the Ophelia white field.

Stan puts both hands on the tactics table in front of him, draws a breath.

When I was a boy chasing frogs in the ponds of Missouri my constant companion was a young man named George ‘Dusty’ Dipp. In the mornings he taught me how to fish and caught some of the biggest bass I’ve ever seen. By dusk I showed him the tricks of frog gigging. The rest of the day we’d spend exploring the back woods of my small home town.

Dusty was the best damn baseball player I ever knew. There wasn’t a position he couldn’t play, he once started at shortstop, moved to left field when a player was injured and finished the game pitching a no-hitter as our closer. Oh and he hit two homers that day, both batting lefty even though he was right handed. When coach asked him why he hit lefty, Dusty just replied ‘needed a challenge, coach.’

Dusty’s home life was bad and perhaps that’s why he spent so much time doing other things. It was best to stay away from his paw when the checks came at the beginning of the month because that always meant a three day bender was coming the end of which there was always trouble. Dusty’s dad ran a farm but it never farmed much, instead he just took the money from the Government to let the fields lay fallow. Probably the richest soil in our little town too. Could have grown a bumper crop if the right hand were at the till.

It was August 3rd when little Susie from next door came ringing by the house. A Saturday morning, bright and clear, the cicadas were singing and the only thing on my mind that day was the big game. Division rivals from Framington across the valley were in town and I was nervous because winning this game would put us at the top of the table. We’d never beaten them before but I felt confident because we had Dusty. Dusty was at the top of his game.

Susie was in a state. ‘Have you heard?’ She puffed ‘Something’s happened to Dusty, you have to come to St. Jo’s. He’s been asking for you.’

I ran all the way to the hospital with my heart about to burst through my chest but nothing was going to stop me. And when I got there the sight of him lying there helpless blood caked on his face I felt my heart stop beating.

‘Stan..’ he said and drew a sharp breath. He said my name again with an exhale. ‘you gots to play Framington today Stan. You gots to do it and you gots to win. There will be a moment in that game, Stan, when the boys is up against it, and the breaks are beating the boys, when that moment comes, Stan, tell them.’

Dusty swallowed hard. His breath quick and short now.

‘God damnit Stan, you tell ‘em to get out there and give it all they got and win this game. I don’t know where I’ll be Stan, but I’ll be looking down on you boys today. I’ll know about it, and I’ll be happy.’

Stan Kroenke paused for a moment and looked at each of the players, measuring each player’s mettle.

Tonight, you play Marseilles. This is no emotional wreck of a team like Chelsea. You won’t be able to go out there tonight in front of 60,000 announced attendance and hand their asses to them with a 5-3 trouncing like you did with Abramovich’s boys.

No.

This Marseilles team are hard as nails on defense and will bite you faster than a rabid dog on the counter attack. They are going to come in here and park the bus, throw away the keys, and install indoor plumbing. And if we don’t get our transition defense right, they will get you on the counter attack.

You know about the quality of Valbuena’s crosses. You know what Remy and Ayew can do on the counter. Stay a step ahead of them and make sure the midfield pressures the deep lying playmakers or our defense will be exposed with balls over the top time and again.

They are big boys too and will try to win corners and set pieces so they can get at what everyone says is your soft underbelly. Foul smart, of course, but when you do conceded a set play, be brave and get your head in there. As Dusty used to always say ‘if I headbutt you it always hurts me less.’

But most importantly, get out there and express yourselves. I know that they have been winning lately but so have you. Your fans will all be here tonight looking forward to a follow-up to the Chelsea game. Get out there and tear them apart with your pace and movement, take the chances that come to you, and let’s stay at the top of the table for our group.

Tonight, I want you to think about Dusty. The joy he had in every walk of life. The perseverance to overcome adversity. And the faith he had in us.

I’m not going to pretend to know where Dusty is now but I do feel like he’s watching and what he’d want more than anything is for you to go out there and give it your all.

Win one for the Dipper.

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Marseille 0-1 Arsenal: the Good, Bad, and Ugly

Tim — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 20:25:56 +0000

The Good

Aaron Ramsey’s 92 minute strike is naturally going to be the talk of the game. Djourou had come on for Jenkinson — who wasn’t having the best game and seemed to tweak his knee. Then came Gervinho for Theo — who wasn’t having his best game either. And finally, Wenger pulled out all the stops and put on Ramsey for Arshavin — who also wasn’t having his best game.

Arsene had seemed to switch to a 4-4-2 ish formation sometime around the 60th minute but Theo wasn’t a big enough target for the corners and crosses of which Arsenal was the model of futility hitting just 1 of 32.

When Gervinho came on, the defenders were suddenly faced with a player who had fresh legs, who ran directly at the defense, and who looked to slip in his teammates behind the Marseille line (he was the only Arsenal player on the pitch who provided a splitting pass — the through ball that nearly produced a goal for Robin van Persie). It’s no coincidence that Gervinho’s run provided both the target for Djourou’s “cross” and pulled the defense out of shape to create the space that Ramsey exploited.

Don’t take that the wrong way. Ramsey scored the goal and I love to see Arsenal’s midfield produce goals. Ramsey also seems to step up and score big goals in big moments which is also huge. I’m just saying that Gervinho’s contributions to that goal shouldn’t be overlooked.

Defensively, Arsenal were very solid. There were a couple of moments that I thought Arsenal looked ragged but even the best defenses have lapses occasionally. The difference between what people consider a good defense and a bad defense is literally inches. Like when Per accidentally shinned the ball back off a Marseille cross, does it fly 6 more inches to the right and make Szczesny miss the save? Or when Perm and Carl clashed over the ball in the box, one small kick the wrong way and that ball bounces somewhere other than where Jenkinson was able to clear it.

That said, there can also be massive performances that make a defense good and Koscielny had a massive performance last night. I could pile up a bunch of numbers for you and make a little Koscielny stack that paints a picture of what his game was like but for me the best parts weren’t his numerical superiority but rather things like the last man tackle, or the communication between he and Szczesny when he ducked out of the header and Szcz claimed the ball. Reading the game well, tackling well, clearing the ball, winning headers are all important but stuff like communication, being brave, and winning the key tackles are what make a defender great.

Man of the Match for me.

The Bad

Santos had a nightmare of a first half and probably should have had an early shower, twice. His handball was particularly inexplicable: arm out, arm to ball, referee blows for the infraction, and chooses not to give a second yellow. Maybe someone can explain to me how that happens? Is the ref saying that it wasn’t intentional? Really? But more importantly Arsenal need their fullback to not lose his mind and play that handball. If that happens in a Premier League match, the referee will gleefully hand out a red card.

Meanwhile, Arshavin reverted to a form of Arshavin that I hate: the cutesy, flick on, back-heel, no-look, non-shooting, dribbling into cul de sac’s, black hole of possession. I was surprised when Arsene took Theo off first because I thought he was having a better game than the Russian (which isn’t saying much) but my guess is that Theo is being reserved for Stoke and Shava isn’t.

I’m not a footballing traditionalist, how could I possibly be? I just want to see Shava do the basics well first, then lay on the backheel passes and tricksy flicks. There’s a reason that Arsenal only managed to create 6 goal chances the entire game. Yes, some credit goes to Marseille’s defense but some (dis)credit has to go to Arshavin and Theo who were ineffective for too much of the game.

The Ugly

What exactly do the 5th and 6th officials do in Champions League matches? There was a lot of talk that Jenkinson handled the ball and Marseille should have been awarded the penalty but I’ve seen the replay plenty of times and it looked like it struck him in the ribs. But isn’t the point of the end line official just that? To make that call?

If so, then how on earth did three officials miss the Hand of God defensive play by Marseille? You have the main official who is positioned perfectly across the box. You have the sideline official who is looking for offsides and other infractions. And they have now added a third official in the area who, in this case, was positioned on the other side of the goal. None of them saw that handball?

Is the 5th and 6th official actually just a FIFA/UEFA jobs program for struggling economies? Maybe every league around the world should take this idea on, create literally hundreds of jobs. HUNDREDS.

The whole night the officials were all over the place. Djourou’s yellow card was one of the worst decisions I’ve seen on any pitch. That was a textbook perfect tackle and yet the mystery yellow came out. Real shame there because Arsenal can ill afford to have another defender out for even a single game and if he gets another yellow in any of the remaining matches he will have to sit for one game (I think). Meanwhile Santos could have been sent off a couple of different times. Koscielny had a moment of stupidity where he blocked the attacker and could have seen red. I mean, I know we benefited from the calls but still that was an ugly night for the referees.

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Marseille v. Arsenal: on ne peut exister que par le jeu

Tim — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 16:34:44 +0000

Known Knowns

Arsene Wenger’s career as a manager is always going to be intertwined with the history of French football. Not only has he been one of the most influential managers in terms of creating players for the French national team but he was was manager of Monaco during one of the darkest periods in French football history and threads from those days in the 90′s still pull at him.

Marseille were, and still are, one of the biggest clubs in France. They won Ligue Un nine times, including a run of five consecutive titles between 1989 and 1993, the last of which they were disqualified for due to what is called the OM-VA scandal.

The fallout from that 1992-1993 season is still felt to this day. Marseille were convicted that year of match fixing when they were found to have offered three Valenciennes midfielders a bribe to take their foot off the gas so that Marseille would win the league early and be able to rest players ahead of the Champions League final.

They were stripped of their league title (though not the Champions League title) and the President of Marseille, Bernard Tapie, was sent to jail in no small part due to the testimony of then Valenciennes manager Boro Primorac — now an assistant with Arsenal.

Primorac’s testimony also sent Jean-Pierre Bernes to jail along with Tapie for the same scandal. Bernes was banned for two whole years from French football and has since returned with a vengeance. Now dubbed France’s Most Powerful Agent, he is Samir Nasri’s “adviser” and over this Summer’s negotiations with Manchester City, a lot of people were wondering what role revenge for the OM/VA bribery scandal played in Bernes securing the Nasri to City move.

Even people who I would normally associate with some other team, like Chris Waddle and Tottenham, I can’t help but wonder what role his time in Marseille plays in some of the vitriol he spews at Wenger.

It really belies the class of Arsene Wenger that despite this history, his pre-match press conference was an attempt to bury the hatchet.

I’m happy to go to back to Marseille because it is memories of passionate games. Times have changed. I love Marseille as a city. It is a real football city.

That [scandal] is over now because the owners are not the same. Now it is completely different. Football has changed in France. It was not the happiest period of French football.

I don’t know much about Marseille’s style of football and how Arsenal can beat them ahead of this match but I do know that there aren’t too many people on this earth who could go through what Arsene Wenger has been through in his career and come out of it as graciously as he has.

No matter what happens between now and the end of Arsene Wenger’s contract I will always be proud that as a Gooner we had a manager like Arsene Wenger.

Known Unknowns

I haven’t had a chance to see a single Marseille match but far be it from me to let that stop me from analyzing their style! I’ll just couch it in the “known unknown” section and if anyone asks, I can always reply “well I did say it was an unknown.”

I’m slippery that way.

Seriously, the only data I have is from WhoScored.com and I admit that they are a tough team to figure out. For example, they are 15th in their league having only scored 10 goals so far this season. Seven of their ten goals in their first ten games have come off set plays. Yet Wenger says he’s worried about their counter attacking prowess.

And why wouldn’t he be? Loic Remy, Mathieu Valbuena, and Andre Ayew are all terrifyingly quick on the counter, it’s no coincidence that Arsenal has been linked to a move for all three. The link to Valbuena was so strong this Summer that someone even made one of those Welcome to Arsenal videos.

Attacking down the right side, Valbuena is Marseille’s most important player right now with 2 goals and 5 assists. His crossing numbers look excellent and he’s completing 2.7 crosses per game so I suspect he will be looking to bomb down the wing at Santos and get crosses in. Or he can cut in and set people up as well, he also leads Marseille in Key Passes Per game with 3.3.

Against BvB, OM’s central midfield was absolutely shredded. They passed the ball at a combined rate below 60% and allowed BvB to get off 20 shots to OM’s 8. And Marseille was the home team!

They soaked up pressure from a team with a vastly superior midfield, who had more than twice as many shots, they are a threat off set pieces, their goalkeeper was man of the match and they scored three times: Remy and Ayew getting all three.

Does this sound familiar to you?

Oh, and just to make the comparison to the way Arsenal are played in the Premier League complete, in their last five games there have been 5 red cards. Three of which have been shown to Marseille.

They are a hard-tackling, defensive minded, set-play scoring, counter-attacking, team with no midfield apart from their wing players, who pick up red cards for fun. Meanwhile Arsenal are playing with two makeshift wing-backs in Carl Jenkinson and St. Andre. I don’t know for sure, but I think those two might have their hands full tonight.

As for Arsenal, there are a lot of unknowns regarding team selection. Arsene could go with a French front line with Gervinho and Chamakh (not French but loads of experience in France) and rest Robin van Persie. He could also start Arshavin and Theo to help pin Marseille back and keep their midfielders from overrunning Arsenal’s back line.

In the center of the park I’d like to see Song and The Coq™ deployed behind Ramsey. This would give Arteta a rest while also providing two holding midfielders to mark Loic Remy out of the game. In fact, I’d use The Coq™ in that role almost exclusively – Coquelin played against Remy twice last season, neither time entirely successfully (Remy scored both for Nice and Marseille in those games) but every bit of experience helps and if The Coq™ is at all competitive he’ll want to show what he can do.

A lot of unknowns about Arsenal and the lineup and how well they can gel together. Arsenal look set to start with their eleventieth starting back four and possibly some fresh recruits in midfield and up front. It’s really a mystery how that will work out, though I’m certain that someone will call me crazy for ringing in 10 changes or whatever I’ve suggested. Just remember, this is the Known Unknown’s section!

Hopefully, Arsenal just hit them with an early goal and open the game up. Maybe Chamakh will want to see if he can’t beat Gilberto’s fastest Arsenal goal title?

Unknown Unknowns

On ne peut exister que par le jeu?

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