Arsenal end of season review part 1.

This I feel will be a long post so thats why its gonna be a multi part post. Also bear in mind I have just been watching the Robert Pires video on the other page.

First some words about "that" team. Its obvious to me that this was a team bursting with world class talent. Pires was given the "we are not worthy" accolade by his fellow team-mates in 2002 after a spectacular year I believe ended in unfortunate injury and missing the world cup. The components of the team were all there, a fantastic goalscorer in Thierry Henry ably aided by prolific wingers Pires and Ljungberg who each would score in excess of 10 goals a year. Ljungberg was a grafter always working back and always in tune with the number 10. Pires worked the left side magnificently with Henry and cole attacking from the left back spot. Most of the play came through the left hand side. Number 10 Dennis Bergkamp was the orchestrator of this orchestra, while Pires could be the orchestator for the left Bergkamp with sublime slide rule passing worked the middle for Henry and the right for Ljungberg. All of this should be remembered when I get to talking about the present Arsenal midfield. Patrick Vieira was the ball winner and probably the main line of defense before the back four came into play. Vieira broke up play and set the others on attack mode a lot of the time counter attack mode. Edu was also the hard tackling silky skilled midfielder who was much a reason for the teams success as any of the other team. His story is a pre-cursor to a lot of the bad things that have been happening to Arsenal since. More on that later. The back four were tenacious and verocious and teams often gave up when faced with this lot, they were winners and hated to lose. The team had it all and mostly they were full of matchwinners in their own right. Either one player could win games by themselves.

Ok enough with the past, lets talk about the recent present.

On first inspection of the season 2007-2008 Arsenal finished in third place 4 points behind United and with an inferior goal difference so in effect Arsenal finished 5 points behind the eventual winners. Wenger will say this was a vast improvement on the last season, 15 points more and a place more. It is true that the team performed well. It is largely a matter of perception. Some say that the team fell away at the end and seemed to lose focus and stamina for the final run-in. Others will say that if they had been behind in the race early and stormed back late in the race then the whole perception of the team would be different. I of course believe that the former is true, This team was in position to win and with some key moments in the premiership race the prize was gone.

Of course over the course of a full season there can be points that are lost and you may hope later in the year they dont become critical dropped points. The draw with blackburn away and the draw with liverpool away (a game in which the team really played well). Getting to christmas in good shape and losing the first game at Middlesboro - a tough place to play. Then when most pundits expected the team to fail at Newcastle they played a creditable 1-1 draw with a team that played hard for their manager Sam Allardyce. Arsenal had taken only one point from 2 games and with Everton away things looked tricky. This is where Eduardo was starting to come into his own and two goals against Everton secured a 4-1 win. The team had come through a tough period. Through December wins against Chelsea and Tottenham move things along. Adebayor comes on strong now with more goals against West Ham and Man City. Eduardo chipping in with a goal against City. And then a win against Blackburn with United busy with FA Cup duty. The following week United lose to Man City and a 5 point gaps appears with Arsenal at the top of the table. At this point in the season all is not what it may seem.

One step forward, one step back.

Wednesday heralded the end of the old experienced Milan team and ushered in the new guard of an Arsenal team put together by the skillful Arsene Wenger. The two goals came in the last 10 minutes but in all honesty the tie should have been over 45 - 90 minutes before that from either the first leg or from just before half-time when the crossbar was troubled both times. That Fabregas should score the first and Adebayor the sealing goal was extremely apt. This was a big big step in this team maturing and they are in the draw for the quarter-finals.
However the 5 point lead Arsenal had is now reduced to a mere 1 point and that was due in no large amount to that late late goal by Bendtner. The league form has been a bit patchy with two draws and now tomorrow, Sunday is massive with United busy in the F.A. cup a win can spring Arsenal 4 points clear and one game less to play.
Typical that when I hoped United and Chelsea win that they each lose their F.A. cup tie and reduce the amount of games advantage that Arsenal would have had. Tomorrow against Wigan the team must win convincingly. True to say that the points are now most important but for confidence to flow again a big win is needed...at least a two goal margin 2-0/3-1 would be most welcome.

Speedy recovery wished for Eduardo.

I predicted at the start of the season that what was in effect Thierry Henry's replacement, the signing of Eduardo would in effect be a good one. I felt that he could "weigh in" with between 15-20 goals. Well for this season at least he has signed off with a tally of 12 goals, I dont think that 15 goals as I predicted was going to be a problem for this player who with Robin Van Persie being out injured for a large part of the season. Indeed Eduardo had benefitted from the young dutchman being out of the side and he was starting to make his mark in the team. Eduardo may very well have finish with perhaps 18-20 goals-well within my expectations for a player who had bagged over 30 goals last season.
All of these things came to an end for Eduardo last Saturday when what I have come to terms with saying was now a mistimed tackle. Yes Arsenal are the kind of team that most people cannot let play their type of football, you do have to get amongst them and from time to time these things will happen. Its best now to leave it at that and let the emotions of a horrific tackle subside. It remains only to be said that perhaps the red card offence of three games for violent conduct is proper. The type of thing that has happened to Middleboro with Aladiere getting what was 3 games now changed to 4 games for a mere tap on the chin is absolutely ridiculous and Mascherano escapes all punishment for his inciteful initiation of the incident. It really beggars belief.
What now for Eduardo?... 9 months of rehab with some speculating that 1) he will never play again 2)if he does play agin he will never get back to the level he was getting to this season. and 3)psychologically will he ever be able to withstand a tough challenge again.
I for one hope beyond hope he can dispell all of these fears. I look forward to seeing him get back to playing, get back to the level he was at last Saturday and beyond and I look to see him take that first heavy challenge and get up again to will Arsenal on to greater glory. Now the team must come together and do it for Eduardo and take the premiership against all the odds of the start of the season and even against the odds of now.
Get well soon Eduardo and I will smile happily when I see you back on the field with your Arsenal team again.

Gap to united & chelsea remains close.

Whether it is perhaps due to the idea that Arsenal do not possess the killer instinct or just the sort of results that sometime come about the fact remains that united and chelsea remain quite close to Arsenal.
Dont misunderstand me, it is a gap I would have readily accepted with glee back in August when the league began with a 2-1 win over fulham at home, a game which in many ways have reflected the season Arsenal have had. It is tempting as a supporter to total up the points that perhaps should have been won 2 points dropped against some teams such as blackburn away and liverpool away and of course birmingham home and away.But it is true to forget the points that have been won when things might have suggested we would not collect as many as we have, most notably against everton away and the equalising goal in injury time against united and the home win against chelsea. I believe that the Gallas goal against united may be the defining moment of this league campaign.
The last 3 results have not been good if you support Arsenal. I tend to believe that the FA Cup was "sacrificed" in order to maintain the push for the league title and the champions league. The players were just not interested in that defeat. The Milan game as highlighted already was a close game that perhaps should have been won ....narrowly. A strange kind of result which makes the second leg hard to predict. This latest game against birmingham was just one of those results, I know that Adebayor did see Bendtner and should have squared the ball to him for a simple goal to make it 3-1 and game over. It was appalling to see Clichy make such a basic mistake for the penalty, no argument from me it was a definite penalty but Clichy had so much time to just hoof the ball anywhere, Clichy had been having an outstanding season as has the other full back Sagna, Clichy has made some very uncharacteristic mistakes and this was the worst of the season. So a draw and a display of weakness from the captain Gallas for united to feed off, with his outburst at the end of the game.
In November I was asked if I believed Arsenal would win the league....in my heart I felt that they would just fall a little short. I am now thinking that with 11 games now to go that this team has come too far to now fail. I have fears of a Newcastle type implosion and with some games coming up which are winnable the Arsenal must win the next 3-4 games and then have a cushion to take to the difficult run of games where we will face liverpool and chelsea and then finally united. I have wrote alot about the cushion and gaps to the other teams and now I beleive more than ever that those gaps will be needed. I dont really beleive that the team will implode but rather will rally around the terrible injury inflicted to Eduardo. Now is the time to come together and be a team have Walcott step up and get Van Persie back for the run in. Everything still to play for and those teams have to catch the Arsenal.

1st leg Champions league conclusion.

Now that it has been nearly a week I think it is time to comment on this game. In essence I thought Arsenal were more than good value for at least a 1-0 lead to take to Italy. Milan came to defend firstly and try to get something from the game, Arsenal contained the Milan midfield very well and were more than dominant but in European football everything is at a much more magnified level, chances dont come as often and it is hard to be as physically imposing as you can in the premier league. This game produced little in the first 35 minutes, Arsenal were dominant but Milan were comfortable defending very well, then the opportunity came a few minutes before half time. A quick one two opened up the Milan defence a simple pass from Adebayor to Fabregas would have seen the young spaniard through on goal with just the keeper to beat. The pass was a very bad one and the chance was gone.
Second half resumed and Nesta had to go off injured, it was at this point that Arsenal really took control of the game creating opportunities almost at will but due to some poor finishing or some last ditch defending the game remained at 0-0. Most of the shots played straight at the keeper, as the second half wore on Arsenal got stronger and stronger and Milan's older legs grew more tired. Arsenal were now pushing for the first goal of the tie, as the game moved into the later stages Walcott came on and in the last seconds of the game he got to the byline and crossed to a relatively unmarked Adebayor. From the picture above you can see Adebayor hit the post perhaps hindered by the slight tug on his shirt. So it ended 0-0.

For the second leg a 0-0 is not a bad result...it will be hard to play in a hostile environment but the prospect of getting an away goal may be enough to put the team through. I expect another cagey and tense first 60 minutes and then for the game to open up and this is when the tie will be decided. It will be tough and I had hoped for at least a goal lead to take to Italy but this team still has an outstanding chance to go through.

Arsenal report card at mid-term.

The boys are doing alright, I think. Post match reaction from the Chelsea game is very good if you are an Arsenal fan. After several games against Chelsea, Arsenal had found it extremely difficult to beat their new and more recent london rivals. This game answered a lot of the critics, those who felt the younger members of the Arsenal team could not reach the lofty highs of the top tier of English football. Grand Slam Sunday reaffirmed the fact that United and Arsenal will most likely fight it out till the end. Last season the media wondered who had gotten the best deal out of the Cole/Gallas swap deal. Arsenal had at that time got a future captain and a player who is proving to be a legend in the making weighing in with 3 vital goals. One against United in November which effectively keeps Arsenal top of the league and one against a strong defensive Wigan display which was a vital three points and yesterday one against his old team- Chelsea. Arsenal have seized control of the top of the table and can now look down on those who pretend to be challengers. Liverpool after back to back league defeats seem to be out of it 10 points behind but with a game in hand, Chelsea now six points behind a healthy buffer for Arsenal. As i have always predicted it is United who are going to be the main challengers, perhaps it is Arsenal who are the main challengers to United in some peoples eyes.
Arsenal showed yesterday that they will fight tooth and nail all the way to the end. They have played nearly half of the campaign and are still top of the league. United will still feel like they should now be top. They have yet again gone to Liverpool and robbed them of the full three points. Yesterday United were the real winners, going to Liverpool and coming back with a win. Arsenal then responded with the victory required to go back on top of the league. Still more tests lie ahead. Next weekend a Tottenham side come to the Emirates and later in the month away trips to Everton and Portsmouth. There is still a long way to go but if Arsenal can still be on top come the new year United will find it very hard to get in front in this marathon race to the summit of the Premiership.

Arsenal's perfect start still needs some fine tuning.

Arsenal have started the English premier league in fine form winning 7 games and drawing just once. The main challengers to Arsenal's perfect start are Chelsea, Liverpool, and Manchester United.

Chelsea famously have started the process of decline in my opinion, all sparked off by the parting of ways of Mourinho and Abramovich. This was always an uneasy partnership, yet if Abramovich had just let Mourinho control team affairs and transfers then it is likely Chelsea would have continued to dominate for last year and maybe this year. The beginning of the end was last January when Terry was injured and Abramovich denied the coach the funds to go out and get a player to fill the void. Chelsea went on to surrender their title at Arsenal in May. The signings of Ballack and Shevchenko upset the balance of the team and wingers like Duff and Robben were discarded for central midfielders. Murinho took the easy way out and left before he would be humiliated by Manchester United. Chelsea have since dropped valuable points and Arsenal have a 7 point lead with a game in hand.

Liverpool in the first few weeks frightened me slightly, they spent big buying Babel and Torres amongst others and they started well...something they had not done last season. They should have taken 3 points against Chelsea but referree error led to a 1-1 draw. Benitez has shown a stubborness to continue in the rotation policy when it has clearly shown itself to be a problem in obtaining results. Without Agger against Tottenham they struggled to get a draw. They remain unbeaten like Arsenal but have a lot of questions to answer fully. Four wins and four draws leave them 6 points behind Arsenal.

Manchester United had a poor start to the season not withstanding the injury to Rooney and suspension to Ronaldo, they did not play well and lost to a new look Manchester City. With that loss and two other draws in their first three games they fell behind early.Since then they have had a series of 1-0 wins lucky, fortunate or deserved it still remains that they won those games. I had been hoping for a draw or loss in their games so that Arsenal will have a bigger cushion. They are starting to play well but I am hoping the law of averages will kick in and they will drop some points. Manchester United are the main challengers to Arsenal and if Arsenal can win their games in hand they can have a 5 point lead.

With those points cushions of 5,6 and 7. Arsenal have built up a nice protective space and allowance for any dip in form. Of course I hope that this does not occur but realistically there are going to be difficult games to come. It has been pointed out that Arsenal have played a lot of games close to home in the london area. However I would say that some of these games would not have been won last season and that Wenger's team is showing a mental toughness that dare I say it, champions are made of. Truly there is a long way to go and a lot of hard work ahead. The end of October and beginning of November will tell a big story about the fate of this team this season. Liverpool away is always a tough place to go to and a win there always shows champion potential. After LIverpool away the following weekend will be Manchester United at home a game we always do well in. These two games will show a lot. I hope for the cushions to get bigger and for Arsenal to win these games. If Arsenal have had an easy first 10 or so games then the rest of the league schedule will be tougher, but its always good to go into these games with real confidence and a swagger. However this swagger can go quickly so Arsenal make hay while the sun shines.
The team is scoring freely but also conceding slightly regularly one every other game. Sunderland nearly got some reward from their recent game with Arsenal, this game must be used as a lesson and putting teams away when you are on top is paramount. Something to work on as you cant always guarantee 2-3 goals every game.

it still remains that this Arsenal team seem hungry and harmonious, similar to Manchester United. Without question Chelsea and LIverpool have some small problems in those departments. For this reason I see a return to old days when Manchester United and Arsenal do battle for the destination of the premier league, yes Liverpool and Chelsea will be there or there abouts but for now I can see another famous Ferguson/Wenger war to the bitter end of this exciting premier league season.