Category Archives: Chary

Chamakh celebrates with RvP

Man at the Match, Chary: Holloway’s Tangerines Juiced

Theo Walcott led the demolition of a Blackpool side brimming with confidence carried over from their impressive win away to Wigan (a team we embarrassingly capitulated to last season after being 2-0 up at the DW stadium) last week.

On a humid, overcast afternoon with a blustery wind that stopped the atmosphere from feeling too suffocating the first sign of a change in the stadium since my visit at member’s day a little over a fortnight ago was additional signage above the entry points of each block. So as I entered block 11, a compass point motif, with the upward pointing part of the quadrant symbol highlighted in red was labeled “North Bank.”

My seat was at the corner flag to the right as the players faced the North bank where I observed our team warm up and the first thing I noticed was Song limbering up, with a slight limp in his left leg. This could just have been part of his natural gait as he played the full ninety and must therefore have been deemed match fit.

The pre match routine was unique in that for each of the newly renamed stands a family of three generations of season ticket holders were introduced to the crowd to represent the Clock End, the West Stand, the East Stand and – where I was – the North Bank.

A countdown to the switching on of the power to the clock followed the passing of two banners at both the clock end and north bank up and down the lower tiers after which fireworks were let off as the clock sprung to life at about seven minutes to 3pm.

The only other change was the Elvis song that usually accompanies the teams out onto the pitch was played fifteen minutes before kick off with a different song being played to the teams entrance, Right here, right now by Fatboy Slim. Not my sort of stuff, but I doubt many in the crowd would appreciate my choice, All guns blazing by Judas Priest.

The away support pretty much filled out the allocated blocks and plenty of bouncing and singing was to be had amongst the swathes of tangerine support, tangerine coloured balloons floating above them added to the party atmosphere.

As expected Ian Holloway’s team didn’t adopt the defensive approach that many mid/lower table teams have done at Ashburton Grove and for the first ten minutes or so they showed sufficient forward ambition to explain why they scored so freely last weekend, yet their skill levels in engineering openings were not on the scale of the home team.

I suspect they will score goals home and away as well as continuing the commendable trend for some of the so called lesser lights of the Premier League, such as Wigan and West Brom, to attempt to play an attractive game. Maybe the anti football ground out by the likes of Fat Sam Allardyce teams has finally been found out for the crowd killer it is. This is undoubtedly a welcome trend and a positive thing.

Once our passing game started to take a grip the Blackpool forays up field decreased in frequency and the Diaby-Wilshere portion of the midfield stabilised after a shaky start, both players guilty of losing possession although thankfully on no occasion was this punished.

It became clear after a quiet start that Theo Walcott was having an inspired game, his runs frightened the life out of the Blackpool defence and his crosses into the box were well directed even if Chamakh was not quite on the same wavelength as our number 14 initially. Striking partnerships take a while to form however based on what I’ve seen so far I’m optimistic that the Theo-Chamakh axis will reap many goals.

Once the first goal went in courtesy of precision finishing from Theo a healthy portion of the confidence drained away from the Blackpool midfield and a short while later a surging run from Chamakh led to a penalty being awarded.

As I was at the opposite end of the pitch to where the penalty was awarded few of us in the lower tier of the North bank could see that a penalty had been awarded or that their defender had been sent off. It was not till Arshavin picked up the ball and placed it on the spot that we knew for sure what the outcome was out of penalty, free kick or yellow to Chamakh for diving. A powerfully placed pile driver got Andrey off the mark goal scoring wise for the season and it was only a matter of time till Theo, playing like a man possessed, produced another moment of brilliance – a sharp turn and exemplary close control preceding another accurate, driven finish.
3-0 at half time and the mood around the ground was relief that a potential Hull style banana skin was being avoided.

Special praise to Rosicky and the influence he exerted on the game; while Wilshere and Diaby would show a mixture of skill and mediocrity Tomas was consistently controlling and pushing the midfield forward with the confidence of the seasoned, class player he is. The shame being how little we have seen of him since the 2007-08 season, where his presence in the midfield with Cesc, Flamini and Hleb almost delivered a title to us.
An honourable mention must also be made of Song’s efforts at centre back, while not especially dominating in the air he appeared clinical in the tackle and hard to push off the ball, however we are not playing to his strengths there and against stronger opposition we will need him in midfield.

Theo duly completed his hat trick and by now the Blackpool fans had become less animated although each time we scored, bizarrely, it appeared they were joining in the cheering and celebration. Curious indeed.

The decibel levels rose when our World Cup finalists took to the pitch after a Diaby strike brought up the fifth goal– I can only imagine the panic amongst the tiring Tangerines when they saw Robin and Cesc waiting to come onto the pitch.

“We’ve got Cesc Fabregas, we’ve got Cesc Fabregas” rang out – something a good many Gooners doubted they would hear this season. An extra special cheer for Robin as a losing finalist was heard in recognition of the belief amongst our supporters that he is an Arsenal fan as well as a player – the more of that type of player we have in our team the better.

Of course an appearance by Robin isn’t a bona fide one until he has an injury scare, which he duly provided in the penalty area not more than five yards in front of me. Cesc was his usual self, pulling the strings and creating space for himself in the way he does.

A Robin corner that Chamakh – salmon like – hung in the air for and skilfully craned his neck back to connect to and our sixth goal arrived for a deserving player. Chamakh took time to grow into the match but he will be glad to have started scoring, the only pity was the crowd didn’t have a song to sing for him, the one heard at Barnet was not taken up by the Ashburton faithful on this occasion. Chamakh, already a well integrated team member it looks, went straight over to Robin to thank him for the assist after scoring.

As the game headed to the finish what was surprising to me was the frustration of many in the crowd of the ever present tendency of our forwards to seek another pass instead of trying to shoot.

A strange thing to say after a 6-0 win, but an interchange between Robin and Cesc that resulted in an attack fizzling out (because of one pass too many) was greeted with a pretty scathing response from those around me; while I just groaned a little there were various expletive laden shouts to be heard. I would venture that many are tiring of our reluctance to shoot and the subsequent passing of responsibility of shooting to “someone else.”

Against a newly promoted team playing with ten men this weakness will not be enough to affect the result but against one of the title contenders we could pay for such profligacy via dropped points.

Tougher tests await our team but an away draw at Anfield and a healthy home win are a more than satisfactory start.

Thanks for reading.

Chary

Final whistle

Man at the match, Chary: New signings revealed in 4-0 win at Underhill

It’s mid July and that means the Arsenal’s 2010/11 season starts at Underhill, this being my second trip to the home of Barnet FC and the Arsenal reserves for many a year. There seemed to be a greater police presence around the pubs and open spaces around Underhill than in 2009 even though very few Barnet fans were to be seen, enough to suggest that over three of the five thousand attending were following the team in the very new and natty red and white kit. Around half the away crowd were already in the yellow and maroon/burgundy away kit with a healthy proportion of Chamakh 29 shirts in evidence.

The buzz around the ground pre match was caused by how incorrect the squad list given out by the Arse.com website the previous night was – no Almunia or Eduardo despite them being included yet Mannone and Chesney (Wojciech Szczesny) were in despite not being included in the original 22, with the latter being given the number 1 shirt, perhaps a flash forward of his intended future place in the squad. Perhaps the Athletico Madrid bids for Almunia had been made after all.

The conditions were blustery and cool when the sun went in while quite warm when the sun broke through, quite comfortable for playing either football or cricket, as was being played behind the south stand as we (myself and a few of the guys from Arsenalarsenal blog) queued up to go through the old fashioned turnstiles, with actual people operating them.

There was a departure in team selection from last year in that instead having a first XI in the first half and all reserves/squad players in the second half, each half had a mixture of first teamers and reserves.

So for the first half we had Vermaelen, Arshavin, Rosicky (with newly cropped haircut) as skipper, Traore and Fabianski (who was spared any boo boy treatment) providing the experience while Wilshere, Jay Emmanuel Thomas (JET) and Jay Simpson have so far only been squad players.

Of course Kozzer (Laurent Koscielny) started as expected and having watched him carefully in the warm up, where the players were passing to each other in triangles in front of the dugouts, he definitely favours his right foot and he also played on the right side of central defence.

As for his performance, I’d compare it to Vermaelen’s last year where to my eyes Thomas looked fairly good for most of the game but appeared to be out jumped for certain headers. Similarly for Kozzer, he made some mistakes but overall he looked more steady than spectacular in defence, although a couple of thundering headed clearances were given loud cheers – it’s good to see this new boy being given every encouragement.

Once the game kicked off, pretty quickly Rosicky carved open the defence within a minute or so of the start and Arshavin was there to show his class by steering in the opener after jinking past the keeper. Andrey appeared to have lost some weight and he looked leaner than at this same fixture last year. A dipping shot by Andrey also rebounded off the cross bar soon after as further evidence of his ability to fashion a chance out of very little.

Wilshere looked lively and was full of running although whenever a pass didn’t work or he didn’t get the ball as he wanted a little petulance in his reaction could be seen. Personally I see it as a desire to win rather than anything especially negative about the player and not proof that he has become an awkward customer now. Wilshere also set up the first of Simpson’s goals, again wriggling around in the mid field area finding space to line up the goal as well as chipping in with an assist for Simpson’s second goal after a dart of speed from Arshavin released Jack into space to set up a tap in.

JET although big and strong seemed a little ungainly and clumsy to me although he didn’t lose possession as much as it appeared he should so I’m not sure if he will make it for the Arsenal.

One player who did impress was Nordtveit, looking too tall to be a right back, which is where he played, who has been on loan to Nuremberg in the Bundesliga last season, where he played as a defensive midfielder, so a versatile player. Looking composed and solid on the ball and very difficult to get past I foresee some appearances for Nordtveit this season. He even was victim of a wild sliding tackle that saw him go flying up in the air – good preparation for what to expect in the competitive games that I believe he will play in his season.

Another player to catch the eye was Frimpong, full of energy and running and seemingly all over the pitch in a “box to box” midfielder kind of fashion.

The second half saw a completely different XI start for the Arsenal with the experience provided by Nasri, Walcott and our second new signing, Chamakh. Our new number 29 showed why Wenger was so keen to bring him and while it can’t be said that a friendly against a fourth tier team is a representative test of his suitability to the Premier league, genuine class shows and in Maroune’s case his first touch and control while receiving the ball with his back to the goal was near perfect. His understanding with Walcott showed great promise and he certainly looked strong enough to hold off most of the more lumpen centre backs he will come up against.
The Arsenal support in the East terrace also premiered Chamakh’s chant, a simple:

Chamakh… Chamakh.
Chamakh, Chamakh, Chamakh

The first two repeats separated by a pause with the last three being said quicker and quicker. I’m looking forward to seeing how he links up with Robin and with a little luck maybe we could have a very potent strike force this season.

I was told later that there was a “F**k you Barca” banner in the North Terrace although your humble scribes’ eyesight was too poor to pick it out although I did hear the “Stand up if you hate Barca” chant come from the East terrace area.

Theo understandably looked fresh and scared the living daylights out of the Barnet defenders and while a few of his crosses were way off target I’m optimistic that he can have a productive season for us based on his desire to show how wrong Capello was to leave him out of the England squad. I believe things worked out doubly well for us, Theo was spared any association with the South African debacle and we now have a fully rested and highly motivated player on our hands.

While Arsenal looked quite good up front and in mid field in either half, watching Djourou dwell on the ball while the Barnet forwards snapped at his heels made me fear for our back line if the likes of Rooney or Drogba were to be pressurising him instead. Djourou seemed to want too much time to make his clearances. If I was to be pushed on this point I would not, on the evidence of that game, pick Djourou ahead of Kozzer. So does this point to the further defensive addition that Wenger wants to bring in as being the first choice partner for Vermaelen? Although I was impressed with Nordtveit surely it would be too soon to pick him as first choice, if so then maybe Wenger see something in Djourou I don’t?

The East terrace boys started the “Super, super Sam” chant for another slimmed down player, Nasri, just before a Barnet defender trod on the ball, lost control and let Nasri steal in and score the fourth.

Without the creative axis of Arshavin and Wilshere the second half lacked the excitement of the first half yet encouragingly the typical Arsenal fast pass & move game was still there. Chesney came on but unfortunately we didn’t get to see him do anything much other than come out to clear an over hit long ball over the top that the Barnet forward failed to reach. Chesney’s reputation certainly preceded him as the crowd greeted his arrival warmly and the young man didn’t appear at all fazed by the attention (yes, I know it’s only a League 2 side and a crowd of 5,000) and commanded his penalty area well during the few occasions his goal was threatened.

With the proviso that the Arsenal were playing a League 2 side I’d conclude it looks quite good up front and in the middle although the centre back and goalkeeping situations still need to be addressed.

Roll on Anfield, August the 15th.

Final whistle

Mannone and Rice

Djourou - first choice centre back?

Chamakh before the second half

Jack Wilshere in the dug out

Man at the Match, Chary: Arsenal v Man Citeh

With the hapless Spuds reverting to type at Old Toilet earlier in the day we arrived at our penultimate home game knowing a win would guarantee a third place spot. Not only would this avoid the need for a potentially awkward two-legged pre-qualifier, but it would also allow any potential signings to be tempted into joining us with confirmed Champions League football.

After the shameful capitulation at Wigan last Sunday confidence amongst the team and Gooners alike was less than sky high so the prospect of a back line containing Fish-head Silvestre and the supposedly creaking/decrepit Campbell up against Tevez, Bellamy and our ex number 25 would be cause for a few extra drinks pre match to be downed to calm our nerves.

Prior to the game kicking off Ashburton rang out to the sound of Vieira’s song as he had surprisingly been named in the starting eleven for City, and the singing grew in volume till the great man himself acknowledged the assembled Gooner faithful just as the game kicked off.

For a change your humble scribe was in the north end of the ground, directly behind the goal and two thirds of the way back from the goal in the lower tier, as opposed to near the family enclosure at the south end, near the away fans where I would usually sit.

Now you may have heard that you are not allowed to stand up at Arsenal games – ever – however in this section everyone was standing all the way through the game; this block, presumably containing the remnants of the old North Bank crowd, had support that was as vociferous and hard-core as it can get. Hand on heart, if you ever have a choice of location for a match ticket I recommend area’s 9 or 10, it’s an experience like no other.

As the first half progressed two things stood out, firstly the referee Mike Dean was on a personal mission to alienate himself to the home crowd by persistently giving almost every decision to the Middle Eastlands franchise, every tackle we made was a foul and yet De Jong and Barry committed trip after trip and play was waved on – even Paddy had a second bite out of Song’s heel when Alex was moving away with the ball and yet “play on” was the verdict. By the end of the game we would get 4 yellows for 13 fouls committed (3.25 yellows per foul) and yet the northern Chavs would get 2 yellows for 14 fouls (7 fouls per yellow) – that’s twice as many more fouls on us are permitted before a yellow is shown, yet more proof of how referees permit more fouling on us and punish us way more severely for any misdemeanours.

Secondly the reintroduction of Song into our midfield gave our defence (and shaky goalie) a degree of protection which meant that not only was Fabianski not especially tested, certainly not until the second half, but Fish head actually had a good game – there I’ve said it, Fish-head actually had a solid game. The usual scapegoat acquitted himself adequately and I counted only one scuffed clearance from Fabianski in the first half – less than Shay Given committed it seemed to me.

The overriding impression I had of our defensive display was the colossus that is Sulzeer Jeremiah Campbell. Time after time he made impressive interceptions and aerial clearances, plus his superior positioning skills and awareness of the attacking players around him meant he was never caught out. Every time I’ve been at the Grove Campbell has impressed and 35 years old or not he has earned the right to another year with us, assuming he wants it and he sustains his fitness and dedication to training. Some Gooners may have a little antipathy to Sol in the past due to the manner of his departure, but his return and his commitment to the cause have, to my mind, confirmed him as a true goon legend.

Tevez and Bellamy made little headway therefore and chances were few for them and a ring rusty Robin meant a lack of cutting edge up front also meant few chances for us. Clichy could match Bellamy for pace and Sol had Tevez neatly marshalled and so the first half petered out, barring a Nasri shot there was little goalmouth action. Wayne Bridge being subbed around the half hour mark, perhaps a sighting of John Terry getting into his car had caused his hasty exit, was the only other event of note.

Come the second half and we would be attacking the goal in front of me and prior to Given taking his place in the north end goal he was applauded by Arsenal fans around me showing that is possible for opposing players to be respected, Shay respectfully clapping the north end Gooners back. Now Given had earned the respect of Gooners however when a former Gooner legend was subbed around 20 minutes later the effects of a lack of respect were to be amply demonstrated. Having seen BBC highlights of the game I am positive the audio was reduced to dampen down the sheer volume of boos and vitriol aimed at our Ex-25. We cheered lustily at Paddy as he came off, bur with perfect timing – as our ex-25 came onto the pitch, bizarrely sporting a pair of schoolgirl style ponytails – the atmosphere turned to one of primeval enmity.

Wenger had asked for the Arsenal fans to show this ex player respect, but of course he HAS to say that, he can hardly suggest: “OK Gooners, give it to him, full force and with both barrels.”

What the TV pictures and audio won’t convey is the frequency and volume at which the Arshavin song was belted out, with extra venom in the last two words. When Given was being treated in the goal in front of me, the sustained chants of “Wa**ker, wa**ker, wa**ker” aimed at he who shall not be named made him visibly shrink. All he had to do was to reach down for a bottle of drink on the touchline as he waited for a corner to be taken and the shouts of abuse picked up and increased in volume. To me it seemed our ex-25 was affected by the hostility of the reception and in my opinion we had every right to make our feelings to him known. For this self-centred individual football is not a team game, it’s a convenient stage on he can strut his ego to the lesser mortals, he can rub their noses in his obvious superiority, every game is all about him.

Bellamy, tried to console Adebayor as the long wait for the corner after the Diaby shot that caused Given’s injury to be taken continued. That about summed it all up for me, two fairly odious individuals finding common ground.

Sadly I did hear some disrespectful chants aimed at Kolo (“Not good enough for Arsenal..”) which was unfair and the “Angola” song that was aimed at our ex-25, appeared to be crossing the line of acceptability in my opinion, but hey, it’s a free country and maybe I shouldn’t moralise on other peoples actions.

Our best chance, aside from the Diaby shot, came from a Robin free kick that was marginally wide and perhaps needed a touch more dip also.

In truth City had a few more chances towards the end of the game but thanks to the continued efforts of Sol in marshalling Tevez a clean sheet beckoned and were it not for a lack of decisive shooting a one nil to the Arsenal would have been there for the taking. Nasri and Diaby, despite them both having some good moments, seemed to slow the play once we got into the final third with the latter especially reluctant to dribble or pass into the penalty area.

As for “Super Nick”- I can also honestly say that his first touch has improved from, say, 4 months ago where I would expect virtually every pass played up to him to ricochet off his boot to a defender.

As a nil nil looked inevitable, due to my worries about our back line being breached repeatedly, I thought that while I would have been happy with a draw before the match the lack of ambition shown by the be-scarved Italian’s team made me feel it was two points dropped as full time approached.

After the 8 minutes of injury time failed to produce the winner all that remained was for Mike Dean to be given the send off he deserved “the referee’s a w***er” and for our ex-25 to be booed off the pitch. Of course he had to be the last player off the pitch, even after Robin and Eboue came over to the Red Action section and threw their shirts into the crowd.

I sincerely hope the hostility of the reception that man got is ringing in his ears for a long time.

Charybdis1966.