The Goon Blog

Another three points in the bag, but that was a close one. A United-esque performance has put us joint top of the league on points at least, before United play today but there is something about this side – a determination not to lose, a grit Ive seldom seen other Arsenal sides (especially recently) have, they fight and hang on like never before and when it really matters, really really matters, like in stoppage time at 1-1 with the title chase dangling by a thread one of the players stands tall and puts the ball into the back of the net, banishing the doubts once again.

The thing is with this side, you can’t help but doubt. In a season which those doubts have actually come true, the side seems to have matured faster than any other, and losses seem to have been the key for this maturity, getting battered three times by title rivals. You wouldn’t guess this side has been crushed by United and Chelsea more times than I can think in the past 12 months, comprehensively outplayed on nearly every occasion.

They are stronger though, the Aaron Ramsey incident seems to have added more steel to the spine and even without being at full strength – something that has hardly been seen this season – the side are genuine contenders and some peoples tip for the title. Astonishing. If the title is lifted, and that is one massive ‘if’, it is Hollywood stuff.

Adversity is a common theme this season, Andrey Arshavin wriggled through the Hull defence to finish brilliantly – another pretty early goal and you would have been forgiven to think that the chances of Hull getting something out the game were diminishing by minute, cue adversity, and a hopeless referee. Campbell touches Venegoor of Hesselink (I can’t spell the name and quite frankly, I don’t care) and he falls to the ground, a man of that height being tumbled by his body getting brushed by a defender, laughable really. Anyway, Sol is yellow carded and Jimmy Bullard – just why he is liked so much I don’t know – dispatches the penalty into the net, 1-1. It struck again.

I would forgive fans for being pessimistic at this point, just how many times in previous years has stuff like this happened and we have dropped points? The second half of this season has provided an attitude and mentality that drives this team, and hopefully, drives it to success.

George Boateng is a grade A tosser, no two ways about it. He and that Hull team are a bunch of cowards, after one of the Hull players dives in recklessly on Denilson (it was a potential leg breaker if Denilson didn’t move quickly), Boateng sticks his fingers into Bendtner’s eyes. The lowest of the low, quite how he stayed on the pitch I don’t know, and quite why Nicklas Bendtner was booked I don’t know either. Boateng’s stay of execution was short, a horrific tackle on Sagna (foot landed full on his KNEE) he was given a second yellow and off he trotted. Phil Brown, happy with his contribution, patted him on the back. Another tosser of the highest order and hopefully the idiot is sacked.

After that Hull cleaned up their act, and defended for their lives, it worked well and we were unable to get through a wall of ten orange men shirts. Arshavin managed to miss an absolute sitter and a mixture of fantastic tackles and the absence of Cesc, meant it was looking bleak.

Arise, Nicklas Bendtner and Denilson.

I was following the game on twitter for quite a while and pretty much everyone was slagging off Denilson – he is a statto’s dream. These are a few figures taken from the away leg of the Porto tie, our last defeat using the Picklive stats and scoring system.

Completed passes (points)

Fabregas 48

Denilson 45

Diaby 42

Interceptions (points)

Denilson 23

Sagna 22

Clichy 21

Vermaelen 19

info on the scoring is here

Denilson is not a bad player, far from it. Yes, his stats are overly representative of him but he has to earn them and doesn’t just do it by standing in the center circle the whole game and being a passenger, he is a good player and I find it so so bloody annoying that this team is doing well, over-achieving probably – and fans STILL can’t wait to jump on a players back. I was listening to 606 and almost immediately after we had won, some idiot was on there slagging off Arshavin and Bendtner, the two goalscorers, and Denilson! Its ridiculous.

Anyway, back to the point in hand. Denilson let fly from 30 yards with a shot Myhill couldn’t hold onto, Bendtner’s anticipation and reaction was lightening fast, beating the defenders to the ball to finish off an awkward rebound at knee height. That was the game won, 2-1 to the Arsenal, level on points with Chelsea.

It was the stuff Man United have produced on countless occasions these past few seasons and have been lauded for, its another game down, we just have to keep things going. We are at home again next week against West Ham, the rest will be vital and Cesc is going to make the game along with Rosicky, according to the boss. Gallas is out so it will mean there is sufficient time for Sol Campbell to recover and make the game.

Is it any coincidence that we have had to scrap for a game straight after a Champions League game midweek? No, and we are going to have to watch that, burn-out is the last thing we need fighting in two competitions with genuine chances in both – its been a while since we have been able to say that, isn’t it? Especially at this stage of the season. There are a matter of weeks to go now.

Come on Arsenal – that hope has turned to belief, and that belief into determination.

til tomorrow.

Hull are not a good team, but they will not be easy to beat tomorrow afternoon.

I’m kind of on a time limit at weekends at the moment and I said pretty much everything that needed saying yesterday afternoon. Hull will go into the game to kick the players and wind them up, hopefully none of them rise to it because right now what we least need are suspensions on top of an already long injury list and anything that stands to disrupt our title charge is most unwelcome.

We know what Phil Brown is like, we know what Hull are like, so there is no reason why we should be caught out in this game. All the players need to do is think about how angry they would feel if that orange smarmy idiot managed to keep his team in the league again (and repeat that horrible cringe worthy singing) this season, and that’s before you even start to think on about how he tried to tarnish Cesc Fabregas’ reputation in the country.

The defence need to hold firm again today, I have a sneaky feeling that the boss knows Gallas will be out next week too so will rest Sol Campbell who is creaking under the strain and not risk another injury, that means one thing, Silvestre. Alongside Vermaelen I think he should do OK, Thomas V is going to have to keep his brilliant form up though and another convincing display from Manuel Almunia wouldn’t go amiss, either. I would expect Eboue to start at right back with Clichy taking up the left hand side, partly due to the approach Hull will probably go for and also because Theo Walcott will probably start on the right of the forward three.

Diaby, Denilson and Nasri is my bet to to complete the midfield trio – Diaby has been immense and his form has been a vital part of our sustained title challenge this season. A few months ago I was really questioning his worth after injuries and less than convincing performances, but he really has stepped up to the plate and I really fancy him to score today with one of his powerful runs. Opposition midfielders and defenders find it hard to pick him up and track him, and its that which makes him so dangerous, his close control is a thing of beauty, you don’t see Diaby not winning many one on one scenarios with other players.

That brings me to the forward three who will probably be Andrey Arshavin, hotshot Nicklas Bendtner with Theo Walcott on the right. Fine by me. It really wouldn’t be at all surprising if Bendtner scored again tomorrow, his positioning is fantastic and he really does give shape to the attack, with the right back expecting to be tore a new one by Arshavin the focus is probably taken off him a little.

I can see us winning this by two clear goals but it really will not be easy. There is an old cliche saying that there are no easy games – that’s right to an extent, but we are playing the sort of team that used to relish playing us a couple of seasons back, we have been remarkably consistent against teams in the bottom half of the league this season and that must continue – if it does the title could be coming home.

Lets not let this aggravating orange sod get in the way.

Till tomorrow.

Afternoon,

its all a bit quiet today, we have some preliminary team news ahead of the game against Hull on Saturday; Cesc Fabregas needs a miracle to be fit for the game, and there are doubts over Thomas Rosicky and Bakary Sagna.

The fact that Cesc isn’t fit is a big big hit, we are going to have to break Hull down and can’t afford to drop points, there is going to be a lot of spirit needed to overcome them as they are going to be fighting for their lives with the threat of relegation hanging over them. I also can’t think of many more horrible thoughts than that big orange banjo-string’s face lit up by his stupidly white teeth having just stunted our attempt on the title.

Speaking to ATVO, the boss didn’t seem as pessimistic about his chances as the national press have indicated, saying:

“It is a little bit more than 50 against now, that means he will be very short for Saturday. We will assess him today. He is starting to run now but we think it would a gamble to play him on Saturday.

“Apart from him, we have an uncertainty with Sagna on his ankle. We also have a problem with Sol Campbell and how he will recover. He finished the Porto game with cramp. They are ‘doubts’ not ‘big doubts’. But we have to refresh the squad a little so we will see.”

It would be really handy to have Thomas Rosicky fit, especially with Alex Song dropping out the squad because of his suspension, it means we are seriously lightweight in midfield and puts extra strain on the newly returning Theo Walcott and Andrey Arshavin because there are less options for the wide positions as Nasri will play in the Cesc role and Rosicky will probably not be risked with his injury record. He was returning to his best, Thomas, its a shame.

There is a positive, we have no fixture congestion to speak of so its unlikely Cesc will miss a big block of games and I’d put money on him being fit by next weekend. You have to worry about the World Cup though, he isn’t going to get any real rest – especially if Spain go as far as expected.

In defence Sol Campbell has recovered from the game well and is tipped to play in his second game in a week, we could really use his experience and leadership in this run in, especially without our captain because he is as good as one, despite the armband being with Almunia. After the Porto game the boss said some very wise words, ‘you can only judge how a team copes without its best player over a few games, one game does not give a fair reflection’ – very true, and everyone is going to have to be a captain out there at the KC Stadium on Saturday afternoon, there is no room for passengers because believe you me, it will be a tough, tough game.

We will be denied the irony of our captain scoring against the very manager and assistant that made those false claims of him spitting at them, it would have been a fairy tail if Cesc had single handedly put Hull to the sword with his sixth goal of the game coming after dribbling (quite literally) round every single Hull player before rounding the keeper twice and kneeling down to knock the ball in with his head. Always next time I suppose, Cesc’s not going anywhere.

There’s some stories doing the rounds about Roma jetting in for talks with the out of contract William Gallas, trying to sign him up for next season. Roma, like us, seem reluctant to pay the 80,000 a week Billy G is demanding. At his age I think that sum is quite ridiculous but I suppose him being out of contract enables him to dictate his terms. The Daily Mail suggest that Roma’s talks with Gallas are stalling so they are setting their sights on Emmanuel Eboue – no chance. The guy is Arsenal through and through and after a season like he has had and coming back from the criticism he got last year its impossible to see him moving on anywhere.

This season is certainly hotting up, and with the line between success and failure as fine a line as ever there is more pressure on every game than the previous. It’s the boss’s most important end of season run-in in his career, and probably all the players’ too, its been five years since the final of 2005 – and since the Boss now considers that trophy to be somewhat of a disposable one, you could argue its been six years since we have won a trophy of note. A long time in football.

The pressure is mounting, and so is the excitement.

More tomorrow.

That was rather nice, wasn’t it? A fantastic display of attacking prowess put a hapless Porto side to the sword, it was a night where Samir Nasri found his talent, Nicklas Bendtner buried his demons of the weekend and pretty much every player played well, something we have not really had much of this season. I defy anyone to differ with my opinion that Arsenal are hitting form at the perfect time, and are really starting to purr.

The start was electrifying, Andrey Arshavin was tearing the Porto right-back a new hole every single time he had the ball at his feet, the first goal came after Samir Nasri slipped a Cesc-esque pass into the onrushing Arshavin, dividing the centerbacks and forcing the mistake that left Nicklas Bendtner with a sliding tap-in. It wasn’t quite as easy as it looked but it was in the back of the net, the tie was leveled and we didn’t take the foot off the pedal, we just kept on pressing.

It was Arshavin leading the Porto defenders a merry dance again that created the second. Dancing through three or four players then sliding a delicious ball across for Nicklas Bendtner to tap in a second. Was it tie over? No, but the hard work was done and Arsenal had seized the initiative.

After that the players took the foot off the pedal slightly and Porto did have their chances and it showed just why I don’t think we will win the Champions League this season – we give too many chances away and a better team may well have punished them, not to detract from a sublime showing of attacking football we witnessed last night though.

It ended up with us inviting pressure, Falcao had a snapshot which went straight at Almunia, either side of him and he didn’t stand a chance, they also had a header cleared off the line by Samir Nasri – we don’t usually have two defenders on the posts at corners but we are lucky we did last night or it would have been 2-1 and Porto right back in the game.

As it turned out, moments later Samir Nasri produced a spectacular solo goal – truly world-class. He picked it up on the right, twisting and turning through hapless defenders – its impossible to defend against when a player is changing direction so quickly and unpredictably, when through the defenders he absolutely hammered a shot in off the far post, it had to be perfect, an inch either way and it would have smashed the post and come out again or hit the keeper, he got it bang on and it was game over.

1 minute and 20 seconds later Arshavin broke and was overtaken by a lung busting run from Emmanuel Eboue, the Russian slid him in with a perfectly timed pass for the Ivorian to round the keeper and slot it home, 4-0, game well and truly over. It showed why we needed pace at that stage of the game and at first I was a little worried about the decision to sub Rosicky (who was very impressive) for Eboue, I thought it was a little too negative for that stage of the game, especially if Porto got a goal back, but I was happily wrong.

The last goal was created by Eboue, a jinking run was ended unfairly by some Porto oaf of a defender and who else but Nicklas Bendtner to step up and finish it off and complete his first senior hat-trick, its 6 in 5 games for the Danish international now – not bad going for a useless center forward, eh?

I watched the game via a stream on the SuperSport (or ShowSports) channel, they had two pundits – one was Carlton Palmer and the other was some old geezer who’s name I don’t know. The entire time they were slagging off Bendtner, even after the game, ignoring the goals and slating his attitude and commitment. He is probably the hardest working forward at the club and has improved a hell of a lot in the past year, if he wasn’t injured it would not surprise me if he had close to 20 goals this season, especially playing in a team as creative as this Arsenal side. Just no matter what you do, you can’t please some people. What the hell has Carlton Palmer achieved to slag off Bendtner? What right does he have to question his attitude and commitment? If I remember rightly he was a hated figure in the dressing rooms he occupied. It disgusts me.

The main talking point from this game for me is the position Samir Nasri is most effective in, and I find it no coincidence that with Cesc out the team and him slotting into Cesc’s role, we saw the best of him. It takes the pressure off the captain – even for the game at Hull at the weekend, he doesn’t have to rush back and risk a setback with his hamstring trouble.

All in all it was a fantastic performance to watch, not without its hiccups, but those aside it was beautiful football. Thomas Vermaelen is possibly the best blocker of a football I have ever seen and whilst Sol Campbell was a little sluggish every now and again he always recovered. I believe Vermaelen is developing into one of the finest centerbacks around and one day I can see him with the captains armband on his arm, I really can.

So, we are in the draw for the quarter finals yet again along with Bayern Munich. We won’t know what teams will be through until next Wednesday evening because of UEFA’s stupid publicity plans but if we get a kind draw we can make the semi’s and from there you never know… I’d take Barca though, that would be fantastic.

The focus once again now shifts onto the Premier League and the chase for the title, Hull away will be tricky so lets hope we perform as well as we did last night.

Til tomorrow.

So, after almost a month we can finally try and right the wrongs of the Porto game three weeks ago, and having not overturned a first leg deficit in Europe for over 30 years, there is a hell of a lot of work to do.

Lets put this in perspective: When this tie was drawn it was a good draw, Porto are not that much of a threat so anything but us going through tonight would be a failure in my mind. Are Arsenal better than Porto? Yes – so Arsenal should progress.

The task is made all the more tricky with Cesc Fabregas ruled out with his hamstring strain but Alex Song returns to the team after serving a league suspension at the weekend so he is a welcome return. It will be interesting to see if the boss decides to start with Andrey Arshavin after freely admitting he can’t last the 90 minutes. Will he go for it from the start to try and take advantage of the best team at our disposal and put Porto on the back foot? It will be interesting tactically.

In the Porto press conference yesterday their manager promised goals, is it a bluff or are they going to come out and attack? I think they might go for the away goal, if they get one, we need three to get through, so its vital we score the first goal to level out the tie, if we get in the ascendancy early on we can get into their heads, and when they start remembering they have never won on English soil thats when the heads could drop and we can capitalise.

In my book, Porto are not a great team so we should go through, after all we only need to win one nil, but as I said earlier, if we concede our lives are going to be made ten times more difficult.

With the absence of our top goalscorer someone is going to have to step up, be it Andrey Arshavin, Samir Nasri, Thomas Rosicky, Theo Walcott or Nicklas Bendtner – one of those players is going to have to perform better than they have all season and hopefully there won’t be too many nerves jangling come the 89 minute mark.

We need a commanding display from Almunia, Thomas Vermaelen and Sol Campbell, despite us needing goals the chances are they are going to have to mop up all the mess if moves break down and that brings me onto something else, over-comitting.

Its happened in every game against our rivals this season and we have been picked off, if Porto had an ounce of intelligence they will look to do the same. We must be careful.

We beat this lot 4-0 at home last season, they can’t have improved that much since then, call me ignorant but its my opinion.

Lets go and win this.

Til tomorrow. COME ON YOU REDSSS

Afternoon,

I guess the only negative coming out of this weekend is the tight hamstring Cesc has, his withdrawal was precautionary against Burnley but the worrying thing is that its the same hamstring that was torn earlier in the season. He didn’t train this morning.

The boss has said that if there is more than a 50% chance of his hamstring going in the game against Porto he will not play, personally I think if there is even the remotest chance of his hamstring tearing again there is no point in risking him, we can beat Porto without him. He is just too valuable a player to have missing for two or three weeks, 17 goals this season in all competitions is a remarkable total and he has at least that many assists to his name as well.

Porto will come to attack so we will not need as much craft to break them down unlike most teams that come to the Grove in the league, the most important thing that needs replacing is the sheer work-rate, Abou Diaby is a player that can score goals so him and Samir Nasri along with Song in the midfield could be very interesting – either way, we can survive without our captain tomorrow night.

If Theo Walcott plays like he did at the weekend then Porto will have a very different monster on their hands to the player they dealt with in the first leg, he terrorised Burnley and if Porto do what we expect and attack he offers so much pace on the break, we know what he can do when the game is end to end, another big performance please Theo…. remember he did it last season against Villarreal with that fantastic chip, one of those would be most welcome this time around.

Update: Cesc out of Porto game with a small chance of making the Hull game next weekend.

Days like this are always good for a bet on the football. There are some tasty odds flying about so as well as possibly qualifying for the quarter finals of the Champions League, you could pocket some cash too. Happy days!

Its good news that the only injury is Cesc, with a lot of players making their comebacks against Burnley it would not have surprised me if we had another niggle or two, I suppose confirmation of that will come in the boss’ press conference later but on first hearing, the only casualty has been Cesc.

It is the first game I’m going to be able to sit down and watch for a week or so now after work commitments keep getting in the way (and will for the foreseeable future). I just have to savor the games more I suppose!

The William Gallas contract scenario seems to be leaning on the side of him leaving the club in the summer now, on one hand its very bad news considering his brilliant form this season, on the other, it means the boss could try and solve the problem of our leaky defence that has been shipping goals despite the great form of both Gallas and Thomas Vermaelen. Roma seem to be interested in the Frenchman.

REDaction are calling for people to arrive to the Grove early tomorrow to create a hostile atmosphere. It worked last time against United – though not on the pitch.

Right, thats about it for today. More tomorrow.

Apologies for the lack of a preview, work commitments meant I had little spare time and I am relying on Match of the Day highlights to give me a picture of what happened down at the Emirates today.

I’m in a bit of a rush so I’ll use bullet points.

• Nicklas Bendtner had a nightmare in front of goal but you have to be positive, he scored in his three previous games (inc. against Austria) and hasn’t long been back from 3-4 months out of action. At least he was in the positions to miss the chances which is the most important thing. It was just one of those days and I would rather it at home against Burnley than most other sides. I’m backing him to score on Tuesday night against Porto.

• Cesc scored his 14th of the season yesterday, the highest total since Robert Pires hit that mark a fair few seasons ago now, he is set to break the club record of goals from a midfielder in a season. Quite some going considering the players we have had down the years – and what a lovely goal it was too. Nasri’s splendid chipped pass and a cool, clinical finish by one of footballs finest.

• The goal conceded was hardly unexpected considering how we have defended this season, it may be thinking too far forward but goal difference could decide the top three places this season in some respect, so we need to tighten up quite a bit and stop conceding these silly goals that have plagued us this season. Its why I don’t think we are massive contenders for the Champions League – the only reason.

• Theo Walcott’s form has taken an upwards turn, and about time! From what I could see, he was brilliant and scared the Burnley back-line to death, the main difference was end product, he created chance after chance and really got hold of the game when Cesc was off the pitch with his tweaked hammy. He is going to have a part to play in this title race if he keeps this form up. The goal was terrific, it was cool and composed, and full of quality too. Will it be the making of him after a few false dawns? I hope so, but have no real expectation in that regard.

• Abou Diaby & Andrey Arshavin, the injury returnees: Made a real impact and it was great to see Arshavin on the scoresheet again, again, he could have a real impact in this title race too – he has it all. The relief was there for all to see and heres to a few more of those goals in the next nine games.

• Overall: a very important win. The chances we created show that why we are not as fully attacking as we were in the early weeks of the season, we can still create more chances than any other team. On another day we would have won by six or seven goals, but we conceded again, annoyingly. If Wolves had scored against United and drawn 1-1 all three teams would be drawn on 61 points, amazing. We have a real chance here, a far bigger chance than I ever thought possibly. The unity shown before the whistle – by both players with the Aaron Ramsey shirts – and the fans with the banners, show what is so special about this club, the atmosphere and class. Brilliant.

There are concerns over Cesc Fabregas’ fitness for Tuesdays home tie against Porto where we only need a 1-0 win, but if Porto score it could be a different story. His loss would have an important say on the game and considering the kicks they gave him last time the boss will have to think long and hard about his participation – is another Villa-esque show on the cards?

Lets bathe in the warm glow of a win and an as exciting title run in as the Premier League has seen, its a nice feeling. The rest can wait til tomorrow.

Til then.