FA Cup boredom turns into excitement

Arsenal 3 - 2 Aston Villa

This game more than any other illustrated the magic of the FA cup and the old football cliché that it’s a game of two halves.  More importantly it perfectly illustrated everything that Arsenal have represented, good and bad, this season, in one 90 minute match.

We are the most Jekyll & Hyde team in the Premier League, seemingly winning when no one gives us a shout (see Exhibit A v Chelsea in the League, Exhibit B v Villa in the FA Cup, Exhibit C v Udinese in the Champions League) but we also lose unexpectedly bringing a whole heap of misery and shame upon ourselves (too many Exhibits to mention!).  This team can be brilliant for spells but also lacks the ability to control a match and gain results week in week out.

The Day it got Ugly...

So a terrible 2012 continues for Arsenal Football Club with a loss to Manchester United. On the back of two successive defeats this really was a must win game and it has to be said for the majority of the first half we were completely outplayed and deserved to be a goal down.

Back to back losses...a terrible start to the new year

Swansea 3 - 2 Arsenal

I didn’t want to write anything this week.  I was sad.  I was angry.  i was annoyed.  I was frustrated. Just like many other Gooners.  I have spent six days reading every respected Arsenal  blog there is (Arseblog, 7amkickoff, Goonerholic, Goodplaya, A Cultured Left Foot, Eastlower and others); reading match reports, statistics, analysis of what went wrong, analysis of what we should do, fans opinions as to the state of our club.  At times, it has made for uncomfortable reading, not because it’s the truth but because it’s easy for people to ‘talk smack’ on the internet without offering anything noteworthy to say.  At other times, what I have read has reminded me why I love the club.

I am Thierry Henry...I am Arsenal

Arsenal 1 - 0 Leeds
FA Cup

The scoreline doesn't matter. The fact that Leeds played well and we particularly didn't doesn't matter.  That fact that we won this game late on doesn't matter.  The fact that we didn't create too many clear cut chances doesn't matter.  The fact that we are carrying some passengers in our squad doesn't matter.

Thierry Henry matters.  His passion and love for the club matters.  His brilliant first touch and clinical finishing matters.  His celebration, especially with Arsene Wenger and the pitchside fans matters.  Alex Song's producing another match winning contribution matters.  Us as fans and the atmosphere we generate inside the stadium matters.  Our joy for football and belief in storytales matters.

Now just enjoy...watch again and again...and smile.....because we love Arsenal and this just makes us happy!

Player Analysis: Robin Van Persie

At various points this season we will look to analyse a particular player’s performances for the team, including in particular a comparison against that players’ peers, competitors and contemporaries.

Despite some fantastic and consistent displays this season from certain members of the squad, our first blog on this subject can be of no one other than our very own fearless leader, our captain fantastic, Mr Chocolate Leg himself, the Flying Dutchman, Arsenal’s no.10....... Robin Van Persie.

New Year / Old Habits - Fulham 2 - 1 Arsenal

So what was a great end to last year with a win at QPR which put us into fourth place was followed by a pretty farcical start to 2012. To start with Fulham away is never an easy prospect but the manner of our defeat hurt. We can complain about penalties that weren’t given or referees that were conned but at the end of the day we should have put this game to bed in the first half and as a result of wasted opportunities we let Fulham back in the game and paid the price.

A Good End .... Bye Bye 2011

Arsenal 1 – 0 QPR

Games come thick and fast at this time of year and it’s one of the things I love about the Premier League....who needs a winter break...not us!  As a result, it’s not about the performance of the team at this point in the season, but about picking up as many points as you can and staying in the hunt for whatever race you can....the one for 4^th seems to be where our involvement lies.  Our last game of 2011 was a hard fought but deserved 1-0 home win against a plucky QPR side that played well.  The significance of the result was even more so considering that everyone else dropped points (United and Chelsea both lost at home and Sp*urs threw away a certain victory to end up drawing).

Needless to say that RVP was again on the score.  Arsene hopefully has his fingers, toes and even his b@ll@cks crossed in the hope that RVP can stay injury free.  If he doesn’t, then I most certainly do! At some point Arsene needs to dip his hands into the considerable wad of cash in his pocket and buy someone to support RVP because this injury free scoring run will not last and it’s quite obvious to all and sundry that Chamakh is not the answer and Park is well, still adapting to life in England blah blah blah (code for not good enough to play Premier League football). Theo wants to play up top but judging by his miss when clean through, the less said the better. 

The game itself wasn’t the most interesting with only a handful of clear cut chances created in total by either side.  RVP, before his goal, had snatched at a few that one would have expected him to bury, most notably the chocolate leg volley that dipped over the bar but he got his rewards in the end following a perfectly weighted through ball from Arshavin which he calmly finished with aplomb.  A note on Arshavin – the ball for the goal demonstrated what he can bring to the party when he is on song but too often throughout the game his touch was poor, his dribbling was aimless and his passing went astray – this is the by product of not playing often enough and also being out of form, a catch 22 if there ever was one.  A decision needs to be made as to moving him on either in January or the summer at the latest.  His Arsenal career has been a mixed bag with several highs (4 against L’pool, winner against Barca) but consistent lows that represent a lack of reliability in his performances.

Defensively we were sound which is a good thing considering how many fullbacks are out injured.  The sight of Vermaelen getting injured was not good as this will rob us of a vital member of the first team for 2-3 weeks.  Anything that results in more game time for Djourou and especially Squillaci is a bad thing.   Right now our squad is threadbare in numerous positions, some of which Arsene could not have foreseen, others which have been staring him in the face for quite some time.  It’s up to him to put things right by building on the considerable good work he has done in the last three months.  The transfer window opens tomorrow and all those around us are going to get stronger – we must do the same.

King Henry: Inspiration or Desperation

We wake up this morning to strong rumours about an imminent return to the club of the legend that is Thierry Henry. A man who is the leading goal scorer for our club, is arguably the best player we have ever had and whose statue now resides at our stadium. The rumours of a possible return have been whispered ever since Thierry started training with the team to keep his fitness in the MLS close season. However as the transfer window draws nearer, these whispers have turned into full blown shouts with even senior players such as Song and Mertesacker giving their nods of approval to such a move.