Arsenal 1-0 Everton – 04/05/08 – (Premier League) 4 May, 2008

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz…

Jesus what a snooze-fest. That was quite possibly the most boring football match I’ve been to, ever. Fuck all happened in the whole game. Everton came for the 0-0 and we weren’t playing that well either.

We started with a very different 11; Fabianski was in goal, Kolo, Gallas, Song and Clichy were in front of him. It was a Brazilian pairing in the middle of Gilberto and Denilson with Eboue and Walcott out wide. Up front we had Adebayor playing the front man in a 4-4-1 formation with Bendtner behind.

It didn’t work.

We lacked a Cesc Fabregas in midfield and the strike partnership wasn’t combining. I was surprised not to see Cesc playing but I’ve just read on the website that he’s fucking injured too! Incredible! Out for three weeks apparently, so his season is over but he should return for Euro 2008. It was his 21st birthday today and he picked up the PFA Young Player Award before the game. What a season the boy’s had.

I was interested to see how the non-regulars got on, but everyone was fairly anonymous. Everton had a corner within a minute and I thought this could be an exciting game but oh how wrong I was.

15 minutes later we had a half chance. Walcott got forward and tried to curl it inside the par post but he couldn’t put enough bend on the strike and it went comfortably wide.

There was a little scare at the other end just to keep us awake. Just before the half hour mark Andy Johnson broke through the defence. Fabianski decided to come out but for some reason changed his mind, I’m not sure why, it was a pretty tight angle and I thought he would make it. I went mental when he changed his mind, I thought Johnson would score but Lukasz got a foot to it. Then there was a moment when the ball was loose in the box but Song managed to flick it over the bar whilst on the floor.

From the resulting corner Denilson had to clear the ball off the line. It was a couple of minutes of excitement in a very dull first half. There were a few more opportunities for us in the final 10 minutes but nothing clinical.

I didn’t really know what to think at the break, I just hoped Wenger kicked some backsides in the dressing room and got the team playing.

The second half got underway and nothing had changed, there was no new enthusiasm and I thought this game was destined for a 0-0.

With 20 minutes to go Wenger decided to make a change. I saw Traore had been recalled from warming up, I turned back to the bench and noticed Lehmann was standing in his shirt waiting to come on too. Traore replaced a tired Toure and Eboue switched to right back so Armand was playing left wing. Lehmann obviously came on for Fabianski, although I don’t think anyone would’ve complained if he replaced a certain no.27.

I felt a bit sorry for Fabianski but this was Lehmann’s final goodbye. Alright, he’s been a bit of a twat at times this year but he’s been a fantastic servant for the club and almost won us the European Cup in 2006 when he went on that great run of form.

The substitutions woke the crowd a little, and to be honest they made a positive impact on our team. Lehmann’s quick and precise distribution was allowing us to run at Everton’s defence. Traore’s pave on the left was causing them problems too and after being on the pitch for just 7 minutes he made the deciding impact…

Armand got down the left, unchallenged; there was no way of catching him. He delivered a wonderful hanging cross that had Nicklas Bendtner written all over it. The big Dane rose on the edge of the six-yard box and headed it inside the near post.

A beautifully simple and nicely worked goal, from two boys just coming into the team. After the game Bendtner seemed really grateful for Traore’s assist and getting the winning goal. He said that Armand does it all the time in training and it was good they could replicate it when it mattered.

The final few minutes were played out in the same matter as the rest of the game. Senderos came on late on for a knackered Adebayor. No he didn’t go up front.

So the final score was 1-0 to The Arsenal. It was a typical end of season game, no sweat broken and the whole thing was played in a bit of a friendly manner.

There was the traditional lap of appreciation after the game but Lehmann stole the show. It was nice to see the whole stadium chanting, “Lee-man! Lee-man!” He got a great send off but he deserved it. Jens, thanks for the memories, you’ve been fucking mental but we’ve loved you. Good luck son. I heard the Flamini song start up for a second but then died off, there were no big goodbyes from him like Lehmann. They were saying on Sky Sports News that he’s having a medical at AC Milan tomorrow. Hopefully we’ll know where his future lies soon then.

Tomorrow is bank holiday, hurrah! Nope, I’m still working. Speak to you soon, thanks for reading.

Oh yeah I almost forgot. That win meant we went an entire campaign unbeaten at home, in all competitions. That’s some achievement, if we can start to build a decent home record it will really help us in future seasons for that title push. We’ve only ever lost one game at the new stadium so far and long may it continue. Well done lads.

Everton Preview: We don’t need the points, they do 3 May, 2008

After Man Utd beat West Ham this lunch time, our title hopes are officially over. It was a very, very long shot but after the win at Derby there was a bit of talk about our title shot and I said, “If West Ham beat United on Saturday then I’m going to be shitting myself on Sunday.” In one way I’m grateful I’m not shitting myself but in another way it’s a bit sad that it’s finally over. But at least it is over.

So tomorrow’s game is no longer vital. Or is it? We can still make second, Chelsea don’t play until Monday but I’m still sort of hoping they beat United to the title. I just think it’d be funny. We can’t come 4th anymore so it’s looking like we’re going to be 3rd.

Everton however, really need a result tomorrow. They can’t come 4th anymore, but that 5th place still isn’t secure yet. The way it’s worked out this year, there’s only one UEFA cup spot for league positions. Villa are right on their tail and Pompey are just behind them. So Everton will be desperate for as many points as possible tomorrow to secure that vital European spot.

This is worrying, Everton are a decent side and are more than capable of getting a result against us, as we’ve seen in recent years. We beat them 4-1 when we went to Goodison earlier in the season but last year we only managed one point over the two league games against them.

So basically, we’ve proved we can spank Everton, scrape out a draw with them and lose against them. And I’m betting tomorrow that it’s going to be one of those three, we’ll win, lose or draw. No but seriously, what I’m trying to say is that it really could be any result.

Right, team news. Robin van Persie is being rested, Tomas Rosicky’s out, Eduardo’s injured, Diaby’s injured…oh fuck it I can’t be arsed to list them all, this is what I think the team will be:

So the same team as Derby, except van Persie is out. I’d love to put Walcott up front but we’re lacking on wingers at the moment so he has to play there really. Denilson, for me, struggled against Derby but I think he should get another game, he needs these appearances. I’d like to play Hoyte at right back but I think he’s leaving to be honest.

The same goes for Flamini, I’d love him to play tomorrow but it’s totally up to Wenger. He hinted in the week that he might be on the bench. It would be great to cheer Matty off. Although it looks like he’s leaving in frustrating circumstances, he’s still been a great servant this season, given 100% in EVERY game and become a fans favourite. I remember last season, at the final game of the season, I waved Flamini goodbye but he stayed, this time I think it’ll be for real.

I really don’t know if we’ll win tomorrow, but I really don’t care. Obviously I’d like us to go out in style and win in front of our fans but if we don’t it’s not going to be the end of the world. I’m just going to have a fun day out and enjoy my last game of the season.

The perfect result would be something like a 5-0, but I’m not going to be choosy! Enjoy the game everyone, and I’ll speak to you on Monday hopefully, thanks for reading.

Arsene’s not happy 2 May, 2008

Seeing the articles on Arsenal.com tonight, it doesn’t seem like Arsene was in a great mood in today’s press conference. By the looks of things he was harassed by the media about possible transfers and he let them know what was what.

He said that Hleb is not for sale and only Flamini is free to leave at the moment. It also appears that Hleb went for more than an ice cream in Milan. Arsene has found out exactly what happened that night before the game and he says he’s going to report Inter Milan for tapping up Hleb.

I don’t think anyone bought that story about Hleb simply going for a frozen treat, and he’s obviously sat him down and asked him what actually went on. I doubt he’s too happy with Hleb at the moment and if Alex did want to leave he’s not going the right way about it.

Wenger’s stepping in the way and insisting that he has two years left on his contract but I wouldn’t be surprised if he told him to fuck off. I’d feel pretty betrayed if I was the manager right now.

As I mentioned yesterday, Flamini’s April deadline is up. When Wenger set the time frame for Flamini to sign, I thought to myself, if he extents that then he’s being taken for a ride. Well, he’s extended the deadline to Monday. Mental.

“It will be sorted out over the weekend. Will he stay or not? That is down to him but the deadline is Sunday, Monday latest. The deadline moved for negotiation problems. Only he could tell you [whether he will go or not]. For me yes he stays, but does he tell me the complete truth, I don’t know.

To me, that looks slightly promising that he’s staying, but we’ll never know once it’s finally over. My guess is that he’s still weighing up his options. With Milan still unsure whether they will qualify for next season’s Champions League, maybe he’s waiting to see what happens there. If he did move to them and they didn’t manage to qualify then you’d have to think his move was a little unambitious, but we all know it’s about money anyway so maybe Champions League football doesn’t matter to him.

Wenger has reminded us that we must stick to our wage structure. It’s quite annoying that we can’t just spend big and keep our best players like every other big club does but Arsene’s reminded us that we have a £360m debt to manage from the stadium move. Ouch.

Le Boss has also commented on Edelman’s departure saying that it was completely unexpected. He says that they never spoke about the decision and it was completely out of the blue. The two still haven’t spoke about it yet wish seems a little suprising to me. The guy’s been here 8 years but doesn’t decide to tell anyone he’s leaving. I’m a bit suspicious…and worried.

I’m fucking knackered, I’ve just about managed to squeeze this post out of me and now I’m going to bed. I’ll speak to you tomorrow evening to preview the Everton game, until then.

Thursday Update – Edelman Leaves 1 May, 2008

Hello there, sorry I’ve been a bit lazy with the site recently, it’s because I’ve been working my arse off working and literally haven’t had a spare minute. I’m not working tonight though so you get an update…

I’ve missed a few stories however the big one in football is the all English Champions League Final. Yep, the dreaded Manchester United vs. Chelsea scenario came true and it’s going to be the cuntiest final in history (Spurs will never make it). It’s on the 21st of May, mark it in the diary because I think a day of sleep is in order. It’ll be a brilliant game, but there’s no way I’ll be able to watch it. You might say I’m jealous, well I am, but the sight of one of those two lifting the trophy will make me puke a little. Can’t decide who I want to win, there are positives and negatives either way; so I’m just going to blank it out.

Right, the less said about that the better yeah? The big news Arsenal-wise is the departure of Keith Edelman, our Managing Director. It’s come as a bit of a shock to me, I’m not really sure why he’s left but I fear it has something to do with the fact that he’s also the Director of Arsenal Holdings PLC; This will spark wild debate over an Arsenal takeover which looks long off before I heard about this.

Regular readers will know I’m not really fully in the know with things to do with the Board and other behind the scenes activities so I’m not really sure how Edelman’s departure will affect us. He joined us in 2000 and played a big part in our move to Ashburton Grove. He will be retained by Arsenal for one year ‘to ensure that a smooth transition takes place’. The Board are apparently looking for his replacement already.

One departure I certainly wasn’t expecting this summer. However one I am expecting, Mathieu Flamini is still yet to be announced. His April deadline has been and passed so it’s safe to say he’ll be moving on this summer. It’s a real shame but if he wants more money, so be it. He’s now fit for the weekend’s game with Everton, it would be nice to see him play in that and say his farewells to the Arsenal fans but Arsene has suggested today that he’ll keep Denilson in the side to give him a chance. When asked about the possibility of him playing Wenger said:

“Maybe Mathieu will be on the bench but I don’t know yet. He might join in training on Friday.”

He also hinted that Fabianski and Bendtner will be allowed another chance but van Persie will miss the game. He’s not exactly injured…but he’s being rested for precautionary reasons. Whatever.

Everton wont be an easy game, they need the points and are very capable of getting a result off us. We should still be going for the win though; I hope Wenger doesn’t mess about too much with the team selection. I’ll talk more about this game on Saturday in the match preview.

I think I’ve covered everything of importance. Sorry about not writing much this week but not a lot I can do about it, I’ll update tomorrow night though. Until then.