Tag Archives: ecl

Arsenal claim 4th place ‘trophy’

So that’s it, fourth place secured with a win at Newcastle. No playoff though I doubt Arsenal fans were too bothered about that, Spurs won but that effort was in vain as Arsenal took hold of their own destiny and achieved the win required.

Any Arsenal fan that tells you they were not nervous before or during the match are cold faced liars, the tension was unbearable at times and the final whistle could not come quick enough towards the end.

AFC FINAL WHISTLE

Laurent Koscielny provided the deciding goal to maintain champion’s league football for the Gunners and was a rock at the back to boot. Man of the match in my eyes and it is hoped his form from the second half of the season is here to stay permanently.

The whole team deserves praise for holding their nerve to carve out the result when the pressure was surely on, Tottenham had the far easier game to play and it was important that Arsenal scored the first goal to alleviate any extra nerves which could disrupt their performance.

The importance of securing fourth place cannot be stressed hard enough, competing in the champions league is the difference between attracting players of the calibre of Jovetic or settling for players of lesser ability. European football is a bargaining chip in negotiations and will ensure top players will consider signing up at the Emirates, it also ensures the current squad won’t get itchy feet for football elsewhere.

giroud celebrates v newc

Many have commented on Arsenal’s celebrations at the final whistle, saying that they celebrated as if they had won a trophy; I can assure you if fortunes were reversed and Tottenham achieved the fourth place they would have celebrated the same way if not harder. Fourth place was at stake but also was the chance to better your bitter rivals, nothing can be sweeter than achieving at the expense of your rivals. A trophy was not won but the tears of the spurs players at the final whistle is worthy of celebrating 20 times over.

worth it

worth it

Arsenal can now build on this, it will take shrewd business from Arsene Wenger to improve the team and create a squad capable of challenging for honours in an Alex Ferguson-less Premier league. The core of the team is there, there shouldn’t be a Robin Van Persie-esque departure from the squad this summer. The additions from last summer should improve on their solid debut seasons and a clear out of the less involved players should come to fruition.

Andre Arshavin took to twitter to bid farewell to Arsenal, he thanked the fans, his colleagues and all the staff at the club as well as wishing the club well in next year’s champion’s league. It’s a nice touch from the diminutive Russian who never said a bad word about the club during his exiled period this season. He left the club with many quality memories most notably the 4 goals at Anfield and that winner against Barcelona. He will be fondly remembered by Arsenal fans and I for one wish him well in the next chapter of his career.

arshavin tweets

Guys, please take advantage of the bragging rights to all the Tottenham fans you know. Do not feel sorry for them because they would not hold back if roles were reversed. Make them feel like rubbish today and for the rest of the week if you can.

Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy…

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Arsenal go out of competition in best possible way

The Arsenal boys can hold their head high after last night’s performance. After the debacle of the performance in the first leg it really was a night of damage limitation. The Arsenal managed to restore a lot of pride and belief with a totally unexpected 2-0 win at the Allianz Arena. It was the perfect outcome behind obviously pulling off a victory clawing back the 3 nil deficit.

It was important leading into the match that the players raised their game and put in a performance to restore the belief that could hopefully be transferred into the domestic form. It has been a long wait since the last game against Tottenham for the Arsenal players to get on the pitch and right their recent wrongs.

I’ll hold my hand up and admit that I didn’t believe Arsenal would win the tie; I believed they could win on the night but not enough to go through. By the time Koscielny planted that header in the back of the net all scepticism was thrown out the window as my fingernails were chipped away with nervous tension. Arsenal may have bowed out from the competition but much like the exit to AC Milan last season they can draw strength from the performance and channel it to the chase for top four position in the Premier League. In a night in which Arsenal had nothing to lose they walked away gaining so much.

giroud bayern

Much respect to the players on the pitch because based on the rumours leading up to the game of players left out and then viewing the starting line up the final result did not seem possible. Fabianski in goal is enough to send the jitters through to the bones of Arsenal fans. Spending the majority of the season on the treatment table he was drafted into the starting line up for his comeback game in quite high profile circumstances. Fair play to the Pole, he did everything right on the night; it was an assured performance and a sign of what he can be capable of.  When he is good he is good but the bad often outweighs the good, let’s hope he can change that trend if he is called upon again this season.

Koscielny was magnificent in partnership with Mertesacker at the centre of defence. That is probably one of the most frustrating things about the defence. We know they have these performances in them but on too many occasions the errors undo all the hard work. Koscielny has been disappointing this season in comparison to his efforts last season however last night showed why the manager believes in him.

Kozzer

Jenkinson also had a big game last night, he has improved with the run of games he has had in the side and Arsene will have a dilemma when Sagna returns to fitness. At the start of the season when Jenkinson was playing to a high level and growing with each game he was unfairly yanked from the first team as soon as Sagna was fit. I think this time when Sagna returns to fitness he should earn the right to usurp the English right back from the starting eleven.

It was good (and a relief) to see Gibbs return to first team action, he certainly contributed to the performance last night and it was important he lasted the 90 minutes. Of course Nacho Monreal has settled in well to the team but some competition at this stage of the season will keep the two left backs on their toes.

All the players played their part and helped to erase the memories of the first leg defeat. When you think back Arsenal were so out played in that game they made Bayern look like supermen. Last night Arsenal made those Bayern players look human; they had them scared in the end and reduced them to scurrying in the corners and playing for free kicks to waste time.

The players put in a shift and fought until the end to get the result, what they need to do now is transfer that into the game with Swansea at the weekend.  Everything earned last night will be for nothing if they come up short against the Welshmen. I understand it was a tough gruelling game away in Europe which will be followed by a tough away game to a Swansea team that have given Arsenal some tough games this season but this is the time to build on the momentum. There are players rested who can return to duty and with a number of options in the squad fatigue should be heavily reduced.

Well done Arsenal, enjoy your feats from last night but don’t dwell on it too long, there’s a job to be done at the weekend.

Enjoy your day people.

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Can recent history repeat itself against Bayern for Arsenal?

Interesting week ahead for the gunners; a week which has the potential to be the turning point in the fortunes of Arsenal football club. If history manages to repeat itself the game against Bayern could help restore belief amongst the players and fans much like what happened last year in the games against AC Milan. After a horrid 1st leg result against the Italians the team managed to pull off a gallant effort despite still being eliminated. The players were able to walk off the field with their heads held high, pride restored and a renewed belief and support from the fans as they saw out the season into third place.

ox v milan

The game with Bayern requires a massive performance from the players; they owe it to the fans, the manager and themselves to prove they do belong in the champion’s league amongst Europe’s best. The first leg played into Bayern’s hands as morale was low amongst the players and the Germans exploited that. We were totally outclassed and in my opinion at that moment in time it was not a true reflection of Arsenal football club. Now is the opportunity for the club to show they are miles better than that first leg performance.

A gift was presented in the form of Liverpool’s win over Spurs yesterday; the gap can be closed on our North London rivals in the league but a heavy/embarrassing defeat at the hands of the Germans is likely to filter through into the league form. A run of games is required now through to the end of the season, the club cannot afford to be hit and miss any more.

verm v robben

Elimination at the hands of Bayern may not be avoided but it does not mean Arsene’s team cannot pull off a victory on the night and/or produce a reassuring performance to restore pride. A performance of note is likely to be noticed by the Spurs players and the closer the season moves towards squeaky bum time the psychological effect that could have on their players is massive.

The Spurs performance against Liverpool was not bad, it was clear their confidence was up given their recent results and at the point they went 2-1 up the game looked to be theirs to lose. Thankfully for Arsenal fans they tried their best to throw the game away as they gifted two goals to Liverpool. Brain-dead defending which I thought was only a disease Arsenal suffered from this season ensured Liverpool left the game with all the points.

It is the little things that can turn a clubs season upside down, at 2-1 up they looked certain to add another goal and put the game beyond the Scousers however that moment of madness from Walker changed everything and from being at a level high in confidence and cruising the Spurs players now find themselves looking over their shoulder and worrying. Doubt can creep into future performances and if Arsenal takes advantage of the slip up it will make for a very tense run in.

suarez pen

oops…

Chelsea I still believe is the stronger of the two teams above Arsenal and likely to fix their problems while Spurs are the more fragile mentally and the team most likely to be caught. My only hope is the Arsenal mentality will grow stronger based on their Champions League efforts this week.

Enjoy your day people.

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Gunners avoid Barca but meet Bayern.

So the draw for the knockout stages of the Champions League was made yesterday and we managed to avoid a mouth-watering clash with Barcelona instead drawing Bayern Munich. By means a tie that can be equally as hard as facing Barca, Munich are a team in top form in their domestic league, they currently lie top of the Bundesliga not to mention being the winners of their Champion’s League group.

Bayern celebrating

There is an Arsenal link to Bayern as Lukasz Podolski is a former player; he will definitely have a point to prove against the German giants. His spell with Bayern didn’t quite go to plan and many questioned his credentials when playing for a big club; he then returned to previous club Cologne to rebuild his reputation. He had his 2nd chance to prove himself at a big club when he signed for us in the summer and although on reflection he hasn’t set the world alight since at the Emirates he has been far from a flop either. He will be bang up for it and he has already given some of his thoughts on the draw.

poldi bayern days

It will be a true test to the Arsenal and we will need to pull out an almighty performance in the first leg and then finish the job at their ground. If we do manage to win the tie it will no doubt restore confidence back to the players; Bayern are last season’s finalists after all and a win may give the team the belief that they have every chance to win the competition. Football is so much about confidence and once the belief is there in the players then half the manager’s job is already done, he just needs to channel that belief and avoid it turning into arrogance because that is when teams come unstuck.

No team has a divine right to win any game; it takes hunger and wanting it more than the other team. Just turning up expecting to win doesn’t ensure anything as we learnt last week against Bradford. If Arsene helps the team keep up its momentum in the league and channels their focus; then with the home fans behind them we can take the game to Bayern at the Emirates.

There’s a lot of football to be played between now and 19th February when the first leg is scheduled; hopefully boosted by some new signings in January we will progress to the next round.

I do wonder how the postponement of the Boxing Day game against West Ham will affect the team in the long run. The strike scheduled by the London Underground staff had left the authorities with no choice but to cancel the game on that day. On the plus side it gives the players an extra rest over the Christmas period but we will have to shoehorn the game into January which I am sure will be at an unwelcome time. Additionally West Ham are struggling with injuries and it may have been the best time to play them; I have always preferred games on the board rather than games in hand as there is no guarantee you get maximum points from those games.

emirates empty

I suppose with the game off it’s a great opportunity to drive down to the stadium on Boxing day and visit the Armoury store. The roads will be empty and the shop will be less crammed with no game on. I’m sure to pick up a bargain or two in the sales, Arsenal Onesie..? Maybe not.

Enjoy your day people.

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Last 16 achieved, top of group still possible – AFC

Mission accomplished, we are through to the last 16 in the champions league. There have been many big name scalps already so far in the competition and so our achievement carries more kudos. It hasn’t been pretty, after a good start to the group stages the games against Shalke did their best to derail our momentum and it was important that the team pulled together and ensured they ground out the results required to qualify from the group.

Although winning the group is out of our hands it is not an impossible feat; we have learnt in the past how important winning the group is when the last 16 draws have been made. Arsene has a tough decision to make in the final game as players in need of a rest could get a well-earned breather but if we were to take the foot off the gas and Shalke did lose their last game it would be a gutting feeling. We will see, plenty football to be played before the next group fixture.

On the game itself the first half seemed very nervy and flat. Although we didn’t seem to be under much threat from the Montpellier attack the impetus from our team with added home advantage was nonexistent. It was an easily forgettable half and one that had me feeling glad I was sat at home cosy watching on TV rather than witnessing it after parting with my hard earned cash and sitting in the cold November air. We went in at half time 0-0, there were a few grumbles from the home crowd however I will give them a benefit of the doubt they were grumpy from the weather.

The second half had a much better outcome and brought the crowd back to life and happier times. It took about 4 minutes into the second half when Jack Wilshere managed to flick the ball past the keeper after a nice knockdown from Olivier Giroud playing against his old club. That was jack’s first goal since returning to first team duty and you could see the joy on his face as he reeled away to celebrate. The goal clearly removed the weight off our shoulders since a win was the minimum requirement from this game.

Although the general team play didn’t improve too much from the first half the goal certainly raised the crowd and the atmosphere, the players started to grow into their play. About 12 or so minutes later we scored our second goal, and what a goal it was. Lukasz Podolski who was clearly up for this game had a couple of chances that didn’t go his way earlier in the game. It was only a matter of time before he made his mark in the game which he sure did. Giroud was again the provider lofting the ball into Podolski’s path just inside the box. Still with plenty to do the German unleashed a powerful volley into the back of the net that the keeper had no chance in saving. The quality and technique of the volley was reminiscent of a Robin Van Persie volley scored against Charlton a few years ago. It was a special goal which ensured applause all around. We had our cushion which made the result pretty much assured on the night.

The goal scored by Podolski is the exact type of goal that reminds us of why he is in the team, problem is when he isn’t scoring his contribution gets questioned. It was nice that he scored his goal, he looked dangerous all night and proved his worth to the team.

The rest of the game was played out with less urgency as we did what was required for the night, as expected Shalke made sure they gained three points from their game against Olympiacos and so our win was vital to ensure qualification from the group.

Some mini points from the game:

Long overdue clean sheet.

It was great for the defence to get a clean sheet last night. After all the plaudits from the early part of the season for our defence we went from shutting teams out to leaking goals at an alarming rate. I hope this is just the start of another prominent defensive run. Although comfortable against Montpellier there were still the odd moments where on another night we could have conceded. The important thing is the shut out will build the defenders confidence; as we all know football is all about confidence.

Giroud is becoming invaluable to our plans.

Olivier Giroud has started growing into the team, he now looks the part after a shaky start to his arsenal career. Even though he did not score yesterday he provided assists to both our goals by using his height and vision to set up his team mates. We now play to his strengths and the team is benefitting from this. Even if Thierry Henry does join us in January he will have a tough job getting in the team ahead of ironically our new number 12. Let’s hope the number 14 shirt isn’t vacant…

Injured players returning.

It was great to see Gervinho and Gibbs returning to the first team squad. Even though Gibbs didn’t get on the pitch his presence on the bench is enough to raise the spirits of the team and the fans. What we need now is strength in depth and options from the bench. The return of those two players will go a long way to boosting our fortunes. I suppose you can add Oxlade chamberlain to the list of returnees. Although he didn’t have the best of games, he is still finding his feet after injury himself.

Next up is Aston Villa on Saturday, the dreaded 17.30 kick off slot. Lets carry on the momentum from the past two games and get a result at Villa park.

Enjoy your day people

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