Del’s Match! 21 April, 2008
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Del Deanus, 34, played youth team for England and Tottenham Hotspur (I know, I know) and is currently managing Ryman Division 1 North side Edgware Town FC. However I recently heard the sad news that he has been diagnosed with Motor Neurone Disease.
Del, has been a prolific fundraiser for MacMillan Cancer Support having run the London marathon, lost four stone on a sponsored diet and organised a football match to raise money for the charity. Lots of ex-players and celebs have pledged interest in suporting this worthy cause. Ex-footballers include the one and only Paul Merson and I we’re still waiting to hear back from the legendary Ian-Wright-Wright-Wright whether he can make an appearance but it’s not 100% yet. We’ve also got former Scum and QPR legend Les Ferdinand and ex-Chelsea hero Frank Sinclair playing for the ex-players team.
DJ Spoony, DJ Brandon Block , cast members from the British gangster movie, The Rise of the Foot Soldier, and other celebrities from music and film will be playing in the All-Star XI side who’ll be playing against a top notch non-league side, which will have players from teams including Hendon, Wealdstone, Northwood and Edgware FC.
There’s even an incredible chance for two lucky people to rub shoulders, swap tactics and play with the professional side. This once in a lifetime opportunity and we’re auctioning this prize to raise money for Del’s care and well-being in the future months. If you’re interested in not only donating the cash but also playing alongside Paul Merson and even Ian Wright email: contact@delsmatch.co.uk to bid.
Kick off’s a 3pm but gates open at 1pm for this is all day event, there’ll be bouncy castles and face painting for the kids and a licensed bar and refreshment stalls for adults, that’s sealed the deal then yeah? There’ll also be a charity auction with rare signed & match worn shirts and other sporting memorabilia to bid for.
The big day is in three Saturday’s time on the 10th May. It’s being held at Edware FC’s ground on the high street in Edware. So I’m hoping as many readers in the North London area can get down to this great event, have a laugh, meet some ex-players and just suport this great cause. Tickets are £10 for adults and £5 for under 16s and under 5s can come in for free.
For more information go to www.delsmatch.co.uk. It’s got all the links there to find the ground, you can buy tickets on line online and it’s also got information of how to enter the bidding to actually play in the game.
I hope you’ve given that a quick read today, sounds like it should be a fun event. I hope you can make it, it would be appreciated so, so much. Cheers people, and I’ll be back with normal Arsenal news tomorrow. Thanks for reading, bye.
My Evening in The Diamond Club 22 February, 2008
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Regular readers will know that my dad’s photo made it down to the final 11 picked by Arsene Wenger in the o2 competition to win an Arsenal Opus. Last night they held a party for the finalists in the Diamond club, which included meeting Ray Parlour, Martin Keown and Nigel Winterburn. We also got a mini tour of the stadium included.
The Diamond Club was absolutely amazing, pure luxury. I had a little wonder round and it was incredible. The bloke giving us the tour said how much it was to be apart of it and it was something like £75,000 for two seasons or £100,000 for three. However you do get free drinks and free programme so it’s not all bad. The bar was called the ’30′s Champions Bar’ and had a bronze bust of Dennis Bergkamp on the end.
The whole place was beautifully decorated with a mixture of style and class. There were decorative wood panels to every table-booth, which overlooked the Club Level restaurant below. There were also a few trophy cabinets around the place, this one with a couple of the FA Cups and old Division One Championships we’ve won. Tottenham fans, keep dreaming.
Then we went down one floor to the Directors Box below. It wasn’t quite as extravagant as the Diamond Club but it was still really nice. The view from the seating area was fantastic and the seats were so comfy. I sat in Peter Hill-Woods’ seat. It was like being in 1st class on a jumbo jet, pure luxury.
Then we went down a couple of floors to the area I was most looking forward to. We saw the players entrance where everyone arrives, as you walk through the doors there’s a big red wall with a massive Arsenal crest on and underneath it says ‘The deeper the foundations the stronger the fortress’. Then along the corridor to the dressing rooms there are loads of iconic photographs from our history. The guy showing us around also said that the away team are always made to arrive first, all the added together, it must be quite daunting when the smaller teams come to play here.
Then we made our way to the dressing rooms. There are 4 dressing rooms, 1 for us, one for the away team and two more that are used for the Emirates Cup. You probably know that Arsene Wenger worked in Japan earlier in his career and he shared a lot of their beliefs; there’s even a Japanese garden at the training ground. Arsene designed all four dressing rooms, 2,3 and 4 are all square shaped which is supposedly unlucky and intimidating. However the home dressing room is horseshoe shaped, which is not only lucky but it allows Wenger to address his players much better.
In the players lockers there were shirts for each of the 11 finalists with our names on and no.11 on the back. I got ours signed by the three ex-players there and it’s now framed upstairs with a copy of my Dad’s photo.
There was also a plunge-pool in there for relaxing muscles and opposite that was the physio room, and no van Persie wasn’t in there.
We left the dressing room and walked down the tunnel as our players do every week. You could imagine what it would be like on a match day. A small light at the end of the tunnel gives you a glimpse of the fans and as you walk down the massive stadium gradually reveals itself. The atmosphere must be incredible for players coming out onto the pitch.
I sat In Wenger’s seat, stood in his technical area and felt what it was like to be sitting on the bench. For some reason I’ve always wanted to do that, I don’t know why. When I go to home games I usually sit in the 4th row, so I know what it’s like to be close to the front, however last night when I was down by the pitch, it felt so much different. The stadium looks so much bigger down there and I was just thinking about how the players must feel surrounded by all these fans, the immense pressure they’re under to perform. I sort of take our stadium for granted now but yesterday I started to realise how special it is.
We then went back upstairs to the Diamond Club for a Q&A with Martin, Ray and Nigel who joined us on the tour which I thought was really nice. It was good because you could ask them questions along the way or whatever you like and Ray made a few little jokes and it sort of gave the whole thing a really relaxed atmosphere and I completely forgot that they were people I idolised a few years ago, they just seemed like regular nice guys.
Ray Parlour had some funny stories to share in the Q&A, they also spoke about Arsene Wenger and how revolutionary he’s been for the club. Martin was talking about how he left the club when he was 19 because he didn’t get on with the manager and he was offered a raise of £250 a week to £300 when his contract expired and he left. He came back though obviously and became a fans favourite. Martin was also talking about Ruud van Nistelrooy, we all joked about it but he was saying about how it showed we weren’t going to be pushed about anymore.
It was a really enjoyable evening and I’m so grateful I was able to see all these things behind the scenes. That’s why I thought I’d share them with you on the blog today, hope you like it. I thought they were going to announce the winner but the bloke from o2 said they’re going to email everyone in a couple of weeks with the results and the announcement will be made before the ‘Boro game. As soon as I know anything I’ll let you know, but thanks so much to everyone who’s voted for my dad’s photo.
I’ll write up a match preview for the Birmingham game a bit later, until then.
Sorry, match report tomorrow 19 December, 2007
Posted by lasagnechef in Uncategorized.2 comments
I’ve only just had a chance to sit down at the computer but I’ve got to go now. I’ll have the match report from the fantastic Blackburn game up tomorrow. I’m sure you’ll manage.
It was a great game, nd if you missed it, then you shouldn’t have. The kids showed great determination and at times played the full-stregth Blackburn side off the park.
I’ll do the write up tomorrow morning. Until then.
News? There is none. 18 November, 2007
Posted by lasagnechef in Arsenal News, Transfers, Uncategorized.7 comments
No update on the site in a couple of days. There’s been nothing to talk about. The internationals have been on and Scotland didn’t get through but England gave been given a final chance as Israel beat Russia. We need avoid defeat against Eduardo’s Croatia on Wednesday and we can even top the group if we win by two goals.
But that’s boring. We want Arsenal news but there isn’t really any. I suppose if there was any big stories they’d be about injuries. So maybe it’s a good thing? There’s still another round of matches to go, I’m sure someone will find a way to injure one of our players.
The top story today I suppose if from The People who report that Spurs want three of our players. I’d be very surprised if this story wasn’t just made up but I better talk about it anyway. They’re supposed to be interested in Diaby, Denilson and Traore to add to their squad. These are three youngsters that I rate very highly and I especially wouldn’t want Tottenham getting hold of them. Apparently we’d accept a £7m bid this summer for Diaby, and we probably would after Abou’s recent quotes; but not from Tottenham. The People also say that Sven is looking at Diaby to add to his new Manchester City side.
There’s news on Jens Lehmann‘s situation too. Mad Jens played 90 minutes for Germany this weekend and his manager has told him he needs first team football this season to play in Euro 2008. Lehmann says that he’s received bids from other clubs and believes he’s better than Almunia:
“I would like to be in the thoughts of my coach. You can boil it all down to one question: Is the other goalkeeper better than me? If not, why am I not playing? I’ve shown I can win matches and titles. Even if he is just as good as me, I should be playing. There have been concrete offers. There have been some calls. But it’s possible that I’ll stay at Arsenal.”
If Jens hadn’t reacted in the way he has over the last few months following his drop from the side, then he’d be back playing again in my opinion. By continuing to slag people off he’s only digging his hole deeper. Jens, shut up, we know you’re good, we know about all the things you’ve done for us, now just keep quiet and get on with it and you might get your place back.
The only other story was about Theo Walcott who won a penalty late in an England U21 game after a great run. He was unhappy about not being able to take the penalty and was shouting at people or something. Passion? Immaturity? Whatever. After another hilarious injury to Michael Owen for England there was a chance that Theo would get called up to the full squad, however that place has gone to fucking Darren Bent. Oh well.
Talk to you soon I guess. Don’t forget to enter this. See ya.
Friday Round-Up: Diarra wants to play 16 November, 2007
Posted by lasagnechef in Arsenal News, Transfers, Uncategorized.17 comments
Not a great deal going on today, hence the late blog. I suppose the main story is that Lassie Diarra finds his situation at Arsenal ‘puzzling’. Here’s what he said:
“I am a midfielder. The French team coach recently used me on the right and I was pleased to play. But my position is in the midfield. If Willy (Sagnol) was here I would not be in the starting XI. Each time I join the French team it is a big pleasure. But it is true that my situation for my club is puzzling. But it will be sorted out soon. To be called again by Les Bleus I have to play for my club.
So that situation has to be settled quickly, I am not getting mad with that. I am patient. At Arsenal I don’t feel in competition with Bacary Sagna, as I am a midfielder. The midfielders are outstanding, but I work fine in training sessions and I am waiting for an opportunity.”
This is not the first time he’s reminded us that he’s reminded us that he’s a midfielder, not a right back. In fact it’s about the 100th time. I said the other day about how Diaby’s not happy with the lack of appearances he’s getting and it’s not helping that Diarra feels the same. He joined us from Chelsea because Ashley wants his bum he wasn’t getting played at Chelsea and thought he might be able to get first team football at Arsenal. I don’t really know why he thought he’d come straight into our first team but fair play to him to have that self-confidence.
It’s good news that Lassana has said he’s ‘not getting mad’ and that he’s just going to wait until he gets the call. Like Diaby, he’s got a hell of a lot of potential and is certainly one we’ve got to keep. However, if I’m being honest, I think that Diarra might just be the bigger talent out of the two and Diaby might make that summer move he hinted.
There’s been a lot of talk about our lack of English players recently. I haven’t really spoken about it because it’s a load of crap. England’s lack of success has nothing to do with us, they’re just shit. In fact, there are quite a few players that we’ve brought up but they’ve moved on either because they’re not good enough for Arsenal or because they like to put mobile phones up their bums. Anyway, Arsene says we’ve got homegrown talent coming through. He also says he hopes England go through to the Euros.
Tomas Rosicky got linked with a move away from Arsenal the other day but these quotes assure he’s going nowhere.
That’s about it for today I’m afraid. Don’t forget to enter yesterday’s t-shirt competition! Thanks for reading.
Pennant Injured and Martin Jol sacked 26 October, 2007
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I suppose those are the two top stories at the moment. The breaking news tonight is that Ashley’s boyfriend is out for 10 weeks with an anal stress fracture. Is seems like things are getting worse and worse for our friends on Merseyside. I’m sure Liverpool will be dreading our arrival this Sunday and Benitez has another selection problem.
I can’t wait for Sunday but I’m gutted I’m not going. I went up there for the FA Cup game last year and it was brilliant, quite possibly my best away game. Tonight I decided not to go on Sunday, I could’ve got a lift up there but I have no ticket and even though there’ll probably be spares about I should really be saving my monies. If the game wasn’t on TV then I probably would’ve gone but a trip down the pub this weekend looks like the bet option.
I’ve said recently that we don’t look on great form at the moment but I was shut right up the other night as we murdered Slavia 7-0. It was a good performance but as I said t’other day, it wasn’t perfect and Wenger agrees with me. I think the result was more down to two things, Slavia weren’t great and once you score 4 then it’s easy to get more. Ooh that rhymes. Here’s what he said:
“No it wasn’t perfect. OK it is if you look at the result but I watched it again and you can see we missed some passes and some balls. No game is perfect, but some of our goals were that night.”
“The fourth, fifth, sixth and maybe the seventh.”
I love that last bit. Haha. I’ll talk properly about Sunday’s game tomorrow, but as we knocked in seven in the Champions League, The Scum lost in the UEFA Cup. However more importantly, Martin Jol was sacked before the game. When I first heard I was told that he resigned but it’s been confirmed that he has been given the chop. No not in that way.
He was a very successful Tottenham manager and came so, so close to reaching that important 4th place (at our expense might I add) and now he’s gone. A poor start this season and they’ve got rid of him. Fair enough it has been a hilariously terrible start for them, but still, I always thought they’d come back to be honest as much as I’d like to dream of their relegation.
It appears that Juande Ramos’ mother is a whore as he looks set to take the job. They’re saying on Sky Sports News now that he’s on a private jet to Luton airport now to have talks with Spurs. He’s a good manager and done really well with the team at Seville, hopefully it’s a different story at The Shithole. Oh Spurs, how you make me chuckle.
Those are the two bits of news I suppose you should really know about. The rest is just about Walcott’s likeness to Thierry Henry and captain Gallas has been talking about things.
Business-wise, Stan Kroenke has been talking with Arsenal and insists his investment is a ‘partnership’ and a simple investment, nothing more sinister. Hmm.
There’s no more stories that I’ve really found that interesting. Oh, happy birthday to the Arseblog ‘Arsecast’ podcast. It was the 50th episode today too, if you haven’t been downloading it, well, you should. It’s on iTunes, only takes a click. Good to listen to in the car or wherever, a good laugh and a good insight on the week’s action. So yeah, if you haven’t checked it out already…do.
That’s your lot for tonight. A Liverpool preview tomorrow. Sorry for the lack of updates on the site recently, it’s down to a number of things, I’ve been busy and haven’t really had a chance to sit down to the computer, but mainly I haven’t really been arsed. But yeah, thanks for reading anyways.
Internationals: Eddy scores & Jens wants Bolton start 14 October, 2007
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Blah. Seems most of the real news has run out so I’ll just have to talk about how our players got on in yesterday’s internationals.
Eduardo’s second half goal meant Coatia beat Israel 1-0. It wasn’t a bad goal and you can see a clip of it here. That goal means another win for Croatia and they should qualify for Euro 08. Also in that group, England beat Estonia 3-0. The game saw Sol Campbell return to international football but the main highlight for Arsenal fans will be Ashley Cole. He could’ve claimed a goal after his ball took a wicked deflection and went in past our old goalie Mart Poom. However it was this injury in the second half which would’ve been most pleasing.
Cesc Fabregas’ Spain beat Nicklas Bendtner’s Denmark 3-1. Nick was a 2nd half substitute and came so close to scoring for his country. Iker Casillas blocked a close-range header from Bendtner with his foot and he also hit the bar from 20 yards out. The Spanish ‘keeper was finally beaten after a fine display just before time but Spain were still two goals up at this point; and just to stop any hopes of a Dane comeback they scored again 2 minutes after. Fabregas was taken off with ten minutes to go and put in a decent performance for his country.
Sagna started in France’s 6-0 thrashing of the Faroe Islands. Diarra got 15 minutes when he replaced Makelele but William Gallas could only manage a place on the bench after his recent return from injury. The game saw Thierry Henry break some sort of scoring record for France and he’s been admitting that his departure has helped Arsenal. So all smiles for the French football team as they get back to winning ways but it was a completely different story in the rugby. Haha come on England.
Mad Jens got a clean sheet against Ireland and now he expects to start against Bolton in the Arsenal side. I’m not so sure about that but we’ll see.
That’s about it as far as anything interesting goes in the international world. See you soon.
Cesc tranfer talk, Ade’s hungry and Henry’s talking… 12 October, 2007
Posted by lasagnechef in Arsenal News, Transfers, Uncategorized.6 comments
For international week there’s a fair bit of news going around so I may as well just get straight into it. The Cesc Fabregas to Barca stories have started up again. We all know that one day there is a strong possibility that one day Cesc will return home to his family, friends and club in Barcelona. It’s a day that all Gooners dread, Thierry Henry made the trip to Spain but to be honest, he is at the end of his career now. Fabregas hasn’t even reached his prime yet and he’s arguably already Arsenal’s most important player. His agent refuses to rule out a move to Barca and this week he’s said this:
“If we do hear of an offer from Barcelona, the club that taught him so much, then that would be a real compliment to Cesc.”
Last year he signed a long-term deal at Arsenal, I think it was something like 8 years. If he stayed to the end of that then left, then he would be leaving at a similar age, and time in his career, as Thierry. Which I suppose is acceptable. However I’m sure Barcelona wont want to wait 8 years for Fabregas and will one day make a bid for him. It would have to be something quite substantial to tempt Arsene to let him go.
Another player who is still growing at Arsenal, Emmanuel Adebayor has been talking this week. He’s had a great start to the season and is already two short on what he totalled up last season. He puts this new-found ‘hunger’ down to an injury in pre-season:
“I had an injury when I was [at the pre-season training camp] in Austria and this frustrated me a great deal. When I came back I was really angry and hungry. This is one of the reasons that explains why I have had such a good start to the season.”
When Ade first joined I was far off his biggest fan but he gradually started to warm to me. Now he’s up there with my favourites and I hope he can keep on growing.
This transfer market just gone saw the most high profile departure at the club for a long time. When Thierry Henry left to play for Barcelona it broke many Arsenal fans hearts. Titi felt it was time for him to move on and he wasn’t going to win much at Arsenal if he stayed. One thing missing from his trophy cabinet is a Champions League winners medal and he believed a move to Spain would fill this spot. However since Thierry departure the Arsenal youngsters have flourished and are on maximum points in the European group stages and are top of the Premiership with a game in hand. Along with the media, Thierry has been quick to jump on the bandwagon:
“I have been watching Arsenal and see that they are playing entertaining football and winning every game home and away. I know the young players there very well and they can definitely win the Premier League and Champions League this season. I watched how they beat Sevilla in the Champions League and I think they sent out a big message to the rest of Europe. Sevilla is not an easy team to play, but Arsenal played a great game.”
I hear that he’s having some good games in La Liga and I think he got a hat-trick the other week. However I’ve also been hearing about the man we used to know, the sulking, the temper and sometimes looking disinterested. I bet he sometimes thinks he should’ve stayed at Arsenal but I think he knows as much as anyone that his departure really has improved us.
Just quickly, Lehmann’s been talking about how he’ll be back in goal for Arsenal. This just as Germany Coach Joachim Low has said that Jens must be playing first team football if he wants to represent Germany in Euro 2008. There are rumours of Lehmann making a move to Man City in January just as David Seaman did, and I wouldn’t be surprised one bit if he followed in his footsteps.
I leave you with this, a headline you don’t see everyday.
Thanks for reading.
Official photos of new 3rd shirt and Emirates cup 19 July, 2007
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An even quicker post becasue I just noticed these and thought you’d be interested. You might’ve seen these pictures of the 3rd shirt floating around the internet but now it’s official. Some say it’s too Barcelona, and it is, but I think I like it. I might just be getting it to stop me getting the white one. This shirt will only run for one season as a third shirt though. What’s you’re view?
And there’s a pic of the new Emirates Cup. Looks a bit tacky to me. More here. Right now I really must go to work. Have a nice day.
Article for GloryFootball 19 July, 2007
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Just a quickie today ‘cos I’ve got work in a bit but I’m just gonna point out an article on GloryFootball.com that I have written. It’s a nice little site that new to the world-wide-web and might be worth ‘avin a butchers at. Here is what I wrote for the article:
Your view of Arsenal last season
Last season was very average for an Arsenal fan. Were never in the title race, the FA Cup disappointed and an early Champions League exit was terrible. We did well in the Carling Cup with our youngsters losing in the final to Chelsea. Other than that the double over United was brilliant.
Your view on the season ahead for Arsenal
07/08 will be interesting, Henry’s gone but Van Persie will have a brilliant season in his absence. He looked good last year but got injured halfway through; he still ended up our top scorer though. Walcott and Adebayor will also be looking to step up and I predict good things from those two.
Eduardo was incredible at Dinamo Zagreb scoring more goals than appearances last season; lets see how he does in England. I predict 4th again, the top three have strengthened this summer and will be too much for us. Give our young side a year or two and the title will be back to where it belongs.
Who is your enemy and why?
The enemy? Well there can only one answer to that, Spurs. I despise everything about their players, the manager, their fans and the club. Growing up as a Gooner, this hatred was forced upon me, but I generally loathe this team and seeing them slip-up brings a smile to my face.
Where you think you’ll finish in the Premiership this season?
4th
Right that’s all the copying and pasting I can do for ya today. God this is hard work. Laters
The FA Cup Final is boring / New new Away Shirt 19 May, 2007
Posted by lasagnechef in Transfers, Uncategorized.19 comments
Shame we’re not in it.
I’m watching it at home very very bored and decided to muck around on photoshop and I came up with this version on our new away shirt, by the way the real one is on the kits page.
I wish.
The only real news about is Freddie Ljungberg talking about his desire to stay at Arsenal. He was linked with a move away in January and it looked like West Ham were likely to snap up the Swede. He’s been Mr. Arsenal for quite some time and true fan’s favourite but all good things must come to an end. I think he can still do a job for us but he’d definately not going to be a regular. We’ll see what happens this transfer window.
Back to the game now, still 0-0…what a load of rubbish.
No injuries as of yet. 7 February, 2007
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Last night we had a handful of players in action. Gilberto Silva played in the 2-0 loss to Portugal at the Emirates Stadium. Also Hoyte represented England U21′s against Spain with Theo Walcott coming on in the second half. They were 2-0 down at half time and did well to finish the game 2-2. At half time Walcott was brought on to give an extra spark but he disappointed again. He’s going through a bit of form at the moment and he carried it on at international level too.
Tonight, Cesc takes on England at Old Trafford. Flamini has been called up to the French squad for tonight’s game with Argentina. Also tonight it’s Belgium vs. Czech Republic where Tomas Rosicky will feature after just being named their player of the year for third year in a row.
I’ve decided whether I’m going to Cardiff or not. I’ve entered to ballot for Gold Members with less than three away credits. Then the remaining tickets will be randomly allocated to those people. It’s not definite that I will get a ticket but if I do I’ll go to Wales. If not then I’ll just watch the game down at Arsenal. I’m not going to pay seventy-odd quid for a ticket though. If that’s all they have then I’ll just stay down in London. No idea how I’m going to get there if I do get a ticket but I’ll think about that nearer the time.
Once again there’s absolutely no news. There should be a bit tomorrow with tonight’s internationals. Hopefully it’s good news and we don’t pick up and more injuries. That’s the last thing Arsenal need at the moment. Have a good day.
Liverpool Preview – Part 1 5 January, 2007
Posted by lasagnechef in Arsenal News, Cup Games, Transfers, Uncategorized.18 comments
Tomorrow we make our first of two trips to Anfield in three days. First up it’s the FA Cup, which will hopefully see Wenger putting out a strong side. We’re looking okay selection-wise, Baptsita is back in the squad after his injury but we’re without the influential Cesc Fabregas through suspension. Wenger says Eboue will play but doesn’t want to risk Lauren by rushing him back early, I expect him to start on Tuesday. Diaby and Glass made their returns to training this week, which is excellent news, hopefully they’ll get match fit quickly and we’ll be seeing them back in the team soon.
We did very well against Liverpool earlier in the season beating them comfortably 3-0. A repeat of that would be fantastic but I expect it to be a bit closer than that tomorrow. The Scoucers have been doing quite well recently; they beat Bolton 3-0 on Monday with a convincing performance. We have to watch out for Crouch and especially his aerial threat at set pieces. Also Gerrard is one of the best in my mind and I feel we need to close him down and make it hard for him to play his game. If you let Liverpool play they can punish you but the same goes for us to be honest. It’s great we’ve got Thierry back and hopefully he’ll cause some problems tomorrow as will RVP who had a great game on Tuesday night. Kolo and Phil need to keep it tight at the back but if they perform like they can they’ll have no problems.
I’m making to trip up north tomorrow. I’ve been exited for this one for some time now and hopefully Arsene doesn’t disappoint me with a weak team. I’m not sure if he’ll put 4 or 5 across the middle but I can understand the reasons behind both. This is the team I hope Wenger picks:
I’d like to see Baptista alongside Gilberto but I’d be extremely surprised if Wenger played him in this one. I can’t really thing of anyone else Wenger would play in the middle ahead of Flamini anyway. If Arsene does go for a 4-5-1 I’d expect that same team with Van Persie moving to the wing and Rosicky dropping more central. Even with all those absences I think it’s quite a good team and one that can cause Liverpool some problems. I’m sure it’s going to be a great game tomorrow. Liverpool vs. Arsenal and it’s the FA Cup. Both teams will be desperate to win the trophy this year and going out at this early stage would be a disaster. I’m pretty confident ahead of tomorrow’s game but we’ll see how it goes, you never know how Arsenal are going to play, hopefully tomorrow it’s good.
Unfortunately, Anthony Stokes looks to be on his was out of Arsenal. Wenger is letting him go and doesn’t seem that upset about it. If a reserve player goes on loan and does brilliantly well and we sell him what does it say to the other youngsters? I was hoping we’d keep Anthony but it doesn’t look that way. I can’t believe Arsene is giving Aliadiere a chance instead of Stokes. The whole thing is just bizarre to me but it’s looks like he’ll be off to Charlton next week for about £2m or so.
Another International friendly has been arranged for the Emirates stadium next month. Brazil vs. Portugal will take place on the 6th February. The South American derby was a huge success the other month and now we’ve got the samba stars doing their stuff here again. Unfortunately I didn’t get to the last game but I might go to this one, I can imagine it would be interesting to see a team other that Arsenal playing and I very rarely get to internationals.
Joe O’Cearuill has joined Brighton on a month’s loan just as Matthew Connolly did recently. O’Cearuill joined Arsenal from the Watford reserves so I don’t really expect him to make it big for Arsenal in the future to be honest. All the best to Joe with his loan.
Right, it’s off to Anfield tomorrow morning. I’m predicting 2-0 With Henry and Gilberto scoring. I’ll be coming down with a massive grin on my face if that’s what happens otherwise it’s going to be a very long 4 hours back. I’ll have a match report up Sunday…probably, until then.
Lauren offically back. 19 December, 2006
Posted by lasagnechef in Arsenal News, Cup Games, Uncategorized.10 comments
Ralph Lauren played in a reserve game last week which was a significant step towards his recovery and now he’s been named in the Carling Cup squad for tonight’s trip to Anfield. I was at the open training session on Monday and it was very nice to see both Lauren and Diaby out on the Ashburton Grove pitch. I don’t think Lauren will be getting 90 minutes tonight but I think we might see him at some point. It’s fantastic news that he’s back to 1st team football though and hopefully he’ll be back playing regular football soon.
The rest of the squad is Toure, Senderos, Rosicky, Baptista, Denilson, Song, Poom, Almunia, Aliadiere, Hoyte, Walcott, Traore, O’Cearuill, Merida and Randall. You can see some of the big names have been left out but there are four or five players that are regular 1st team players, I hope we field the strongest possible line up out of those names with all the main ones starting. I doubt Lauren will start and I expected Walcott to be rested; Theo played 89 minutes against Wigan and 83 against Pompey so I didn’t think the 17 year old would be playing most of this game too. However with the names that are in the squad it looks like he will be playing.
So, across the back I’d like to see Hoyte, Senderos, Toure and Traore. Then in midfield Rosicky, Baptista, Denilson and Merida. I think the Brazilian pairing in the middle will work well and Merida can play central and left midfield, he is a good player but I don’t see anyone else who will play left wing apart from a striker in a 4-5-1. Then up front I’d like Aliadiere and Walcott starting, Jeremie is the only out and out striker named in the squad however Baptista and Theo can play as a forward. I think Wenger will go with a 4-5-1 though dropping Walcott back into right midfield and possibly playing Rosicky through the middle or on the left.
I see Lauren coming on in the second half for a run out but he might start and then be replaced later on so not to aggravate any injury. Wenger has praised Ralphy for his commitment and his effort to get match fit again. It was a terrible injury nearly a year ago and we have to give credit to him. Here’s what the boss had to say:
“It is nice just to have him back. If you think what Lauren has gone through recently, the strength of character this guy has shown is amazing. And when you are at a big club that is the first quality that you need. There was a question mark about [his future] I must honestly say. But his desire, his strength and the way he practiced and worked so hard during his rehabilitation was top, top class. But I am not surprised. I know him and I brought him here. Lauren is an exceptional human being. That is why he came back It is great to have such an experienced player and such a winner with us again. When you have him in the side then you always have a chance.”
Nice words from Wenger; I’m sure he as much as anyone is exited about Lauren’s return. We’ll see if he’s still got it tonight or we may see him against Blackburn on Saturday.
While there’s all this good injury news on Lauren, Ljungberg’s injury will see him out until 2007. He’s been injured alot this season and to be honest, this time I am not bothered. Freddie has not been great this season and last season it was evident he was on the decline scoring only one or two goals. I believe the Swede will be on his way soon, he’s been incredible for this club, a great member who I will never forget but everybody’s time comes to an end one day. Rosicky is back now so we’ve got a more than good enough replacement in him.
A quick word about that open training session thing yesterday. The players were about half an hour late out leaving a couple of thousand Gooners sitting waiting in the English winter. They ran about a bit and stuff and did a little passing and moving and defence verses attack. I left early to go and buy tickets but I think they had a little game at the end. The highlight for me was seeing Lauren and Diaby out training. Ralph was training with the others as normal but Abou came out late and was running lengths with a coach. They both looked quite fit and ready and hopefully they’ll be pushing for places in the team in the very near future.
As I said I left early to buy tickets, it took me three attempts to buy the bastards. Firstly the cash point buy the box office wasn’t working so I queued up only for them to tell me they don’t accept my card. So I ran for 15 minutes to the nearest cash point but it was one of those ones that you have to pay for so I withdrew the minimum I thought I needed for the tickets. Then I ran all the way back, queued up again, then to find out the tickets were ₤34 not ₤27. So I had to run all the way around the stadium to my mate to borrow money because I wasn’t gonna go to that bloody cash point again. So then when I finally made it to the front of the queue for the third time I thought that would be it. But no. When the guy went off to get some change he came back and told me that I’d only given him ₤50 not ₤70. I was going mad because I had somehow lost ₤20. Anyway, in the end I managed to get the tickets for the FA Cup game in Anfield in the end but it was one hell of a struggle. No idea how I’m getting there yet.
Ok, it’s the Carling Cup at Anfield tonight though. There were tickets for tonight on sale yesterday too but God knows how I would’ve got up to Liverpool so it’s just Sky Sports 1 and a sofa for me tonight. I’m not expecting anything but hopefully we’ll progress, I don’t know how strong a line-up Liverpool will field but they won’t be easy that’s for sure. Match report tomorrow, until then.
p.s. Sorry for the lack of blogging this week, my internet’s been broken and whatever but I’m back.
100,000 hits for the-cannon.com 13 December, 2006
Posted by lasagnechef in Premiership, The Cannon News, Uncategorized.19 comments
Yesterday was a big day for The Cannon as the site got it’s 100,000th hit. It’s quite a big milestone for my site and I know in comparison with the bigger blogs that’s nothing and they probably get that in a week, however for my small and fairly new blog, I think that’s quite impressive.
The Cannon was born on 18th May 2006 when I’ve just arrived home after a disappointing trip to Gay Paris. In Paris I met with several well known bloggers and it inspired me to write a website of my own. I didn’t know how long I’d stick with the idea or where it was going but it was something to fill my time. Since then there has been 150 posts (this one being no.151), 748 comments and as I type 100,667 hits. I didn’t think when I started I’d get this far by the end of the year so I’m pretty chuffed; I remember when I got my first hit, that was pretty exciting.
Tonight we make the trip up to Wigan and we should be returning with all 3 points. Toure is back but Rosicky and Gallas are still out and will probably play against Portsmouth on Saturday. Thierry Henry is also out and isn’t expected to be back until after Christmas, the side have proved we can do well without him but luckily our next 6 games are not that tricky.
Tonight I think we should go 4-4-2 with Van Persie and Adebayor up front. Then Across the midfield Ljungberg, Gilberto, Baptista and Hleb. And in Defence Eboue, Djourou, Toure and Clichy. I think Fabregas and/or Flamini should be rested for this one, it’s not showing Wigan any lack of respect because we’ve still got real quality there but Cesc really does need a rest. Also I’d pick Djourou ahead of Senderos but if Wenger will I do not know. The game is on Sky Sports 1 I think but there are still tickets left last time I check so get your arse up to Wigan if you can, it might be a game to remember, you’ll never know. The last one was…
Yesterday I was saying how Bendtner and Lupoli might look away from Arsenal this summer, well today Arsene has said he will not be selling Anthony Stokes or Nicklas Bendtner. I’m sure he’s keen to keep Lupoli too but Arturo has an ambition to play back in Italy and I don’t think Arsene will stop him. Nicklas and Anthony have been doing incredibly well at their respective clubs on loan and Arsene has warned off all the interested parties saying, “They both have a future with us and we want to keep them.” I’m not sure whether the two will be playing in Arsenal’s colours next season or whether they’ll opt for another loan deal but at some stage these two will be important members of our squad.
Alexander Hleb has been saying poor finishing has been our major downfall this season. Alex smashed a shot way over the bar at Stamford Bridge in the final minutes at the weekend and he is probably the main culprit for what he is saying. He is right though, a few games this season we’ve had so many chances but we were unable to stick the ball in the net. Here’s what Alex had to say:
“I have watched United a couple of times. If they have chances, they use them. Their execution is on the highest level. Even if we just converted one out of five chances, we would be right up there with them, even if we weren’t quite on the same level. And we would have had fewer problems in the UEFA Champions League too. Of course we’re the ones to blame for missing from unthinkable positions, though bad luck does play its part too.”
Hopefully that run of luck is over now and hopefully Alex will sort out his shooting. Last season he never shot at all but now he’s got an eye for goal but more than a few times he’s blasted it well off target.
Enjoy the game tonight, thanks for reading. As always a match report to come. Until then.
No need to sack Wenger 1 December, 2006
Posted by lasagnechef in Arsenal News, Premiership, Uncategorized.22 comments
Times aren’t good for Gooners at the moment and one or two have been calling for Arsene Wenger’s exit. This is absolutely ludicrous; he is the best man to get us out of this mess. He has brought some incredible players and some inspired tactics to Arsenal and I’m sure that he’s the man to take Arsenal back to the top over the next few seasons. We’ve lost two games in a row but you’d think it was the end of the world reading Arsenal websites, mine included. When you think about it like that it’s all a bit silly, but the real reason behind all this negativity is the tension over the next three games. All of them can be very easily lost and that would be it, our season over; and if we did lose to Spurs (touch wood) we would never ever hear the last of it. I’m sure Arsene knows exactly what he is doing, I’ bet he’s got it all planned out and is quietly confident. Say we did lose all three matches, that still wouldn’t mean Wenger should go.
Recently I’ve heard people talking about how Arsene has destroyed Arsenal. Stupid, I know. Their point is that the teams that have been successful under Wenger have included tough players such as Keown, Vieira, Adams, Winterburn, and Wright etc but now they are all gone and the current squad are just pushed off the ball. I see the point but I think Arsene has noticed that too and he’s tried his best to replace these players. Recently he’s brought in Diaby, Baptista, Gallas and Adebayor but all of them are foreign and what we need is some English grit and determination. There are players that give their all for this club and that’s why the fans adore them, we need more players to stand up and be counted. Signings are still needed but Wenger has just moved us to a bazillion pound stadium so we’re on a very tight budget at the moment, the future looks bright with all these kids coming through, but what about the present?
We’ve got Tottenham at home tomorrow, possibly the biggest fixture for Arsenal fans; I think we have to get it right this weekend or we could be in for a very miserable winter. I’m hoping my match report won’t be another criticising, explicit and angry one, but more of a relieved, happy and praising one. November was horrible for us but quite good to Spurs, they won 4 including beating Chelsea, they drew with Blackburn and they lost to Reading; compared to our 3 losses, a draw and a win, that’s pretty good.
Hopefully losing to Fulham will help us: If we won 6-0 on Wednesday night then we’d be totally expecting to beat Tottenham and wouldn’t be very cautious. Now we know we’ve got to play well and have 100% concentration. It looks as though we’re going to be without Thierry Henry, that could possibly be a blessing who knows. No doubt he is our best player but he’s not in great form at the moment and maybe he could do with another little rest. We are without him for the Porto game midweek too so we’re going to have to play well without him anyway.
We tried a 4-4-2 against Fulham but it’s hard to tell whether it actually worked or not, I feel we’ll go for 5 across the midfield against Tottenham and I think that’s probably the best thing to do and switch it to 2 strikers in the game if need be. This is how I would like to see us starting presuming Henry will not be fit:
I’d like to see RVP get the chance up front on his own, I know he works best with a partner but so do all the Arsenal strikers. The Beast will be there to help him with Cesc on the top of the midfield. That’s the line-up I’d like to see but I think Arsene might play Ljungberg and Adebayor and leave out Baptista and Walcott.
Yesterday I was dreading the game but now I’m really looking forward to it, I love this club and it will be a special game to remember and hopefully we’ll be able to create a fantastic atmosphere. It’s an early kick off tomorrow so don’t forget to set those alarms tonight; it’s a big day ahead of you. C’mon the Arsenal, lets beat the scum and give ‘em nightmares about The Emirates. Look I even used the proper name. Have a good Friday people.
What Do you think of Tottenham?
SHIT
What do you think of Shit?
TOTTENHAM
Thank you!
That’s alright!
We hate Tottenham and we hate Tottenham.
We hate Tottenham and we hate Tottenham.
We hate Tottenham and we hate Tottenham.
We are the Tottenham haters.
Yidos…Yidos…Yidos
Henry, Rosicky and Van Perise all back for Fulham 29 November, 2006
Posted by lasagnechef in Arsenal News, Premiership, Uncategorized.9 comments
Tonight we make the short trip past Stamford Bridge to Fulham’s Craven Cottage. They are one of the established Premiership teams that have struggled a bit this year but Chris Coleman has managed to bring them up to 12th but will still be desperate for points. I’m sure he’ll do his best to earn a scrappy point tonight but I feel Arsenal have just too much for Fulham; I’m expecting us to score two at least but don’t be surprised to the goals don’t come, because as you’re well aware sometimes we just have ‘one of those days’. However don’t be surprised if we slaughter Fulham 6-0 because the talent and desire is there.
We have a pretty much full team to pick from apart from Gallas, and obviously Diaby and Lauren. However Baptista is being rested for this one, more on that later. This is what I think the team should be, Wenger will probably pick something entirely different but this is my pick: Lehmann, Clichy, Senderos, Toure, Eboue, Hleb, Fabregas, Gilberto, Rosicky with two up front: Van Persie and Henry. A strong line-up and I think one or two may be rested for the Spurs game on Saturday. I think we should go 4-4-2 though, it’s hardly a threatening team we’re playing and this is a good opportunity to test the formation again before that important game at the weekend.
As I’ve mentioned millions of times before I’m going tonight, look out for my ‘The Beast – 9′ shirt. It’s a tricky tube journey with lots of stops and changes down to the River Thames on the District Line. I’ll get there eventually and have a wonder round, see what the cottage is like and get inside nice and early. I don’t think this one’s on TV but it’ll probably be on the radio I’d expect; if you can, support the boys tonight in what should be the start of some form. And as always, a match report to come.
Julio Baptista hasn’t played a great deal after his comeback from injury but has been rested for tonight’s game. The Brazilian hasn’t had alot of football in the past year thanks to some continuous injuries and I suppose getting back into it it’s tough. He’s had some iffy performances but looks to be finding his feet and scored his first goal against Hamburg last week. Wenger reckons we are about to see the best of The Beast:
“We have seen that before with players who came here, it always took them six months to adapt. I am confident he will make a big impact here. There is no basic problem with him. He has just got to adapt to the pace of the game. He has just come back from six weeks out with injury, and I feel he needs to work, maybe he will play on Saturday.”
I do hope Wenger is right, I was very exited when Baptista arrived here but was a little disappointed with some performances, but Arsene is right, and it does look like he is adapting to the game as time progresses. He’s on a season long loan from Real Madrid but it looks like the deal will be made permanent. Jose Reyes went the other way and is doing really well is Spain and I expect the ‘Galacticos’ to want to keep him too. I’d like to see Julio given the chance to play on Saturday and I feel it might be quite a physical game and we may need a little beastliness in our side.
And finally the Ballon D’Or winner was officially announced as Fabio Cannavaro on Monday. I think it should’ve been Titi this time but I suppose his year will come one day. He didn’t even come 2nd though! Buffon was runner-up and probably deserved it, I forgot about him, he had a great world cup and without him Italy wouldn’t have one it. Cannavaro won with 173 votes with Buffon getting 124 who was closely followed by Henry, and Ronaldinho came 4th, about 50 points behind Thierry. Then it went Zidane, Eto’o, Klose, Drogba, Pirlo and Arsenal ‘keeper Jens Lehmann came in 10th which I am very pleased with.
That’s all the news for today; enjoy the game tonight if you get to watch it. Have a good Wednesday.
Henry should win the Ballon D’Or 27 November, 2006
Posted by lasagnechef in Champions League, Premiership, Uncategorized.7 comments
Well it would be nice wouldn’t it?
I want to put that defeat to Bolton behind us and carry on with the season, I don’t care if we don’t win the title, I just want us to have a good season and qualify for the Champions League and hopefully go far in the competition this year too. The beginning of nice things and good luck for Arsenal would be Thierry Henry picking up the European Player of The Year Award today. I’m not sure when it is announced officially who’s won but reports are that world cup winner Cannavaro will be taking 2006′s Ballon D’Or home. However many people have said that Thierry Henry deserves the prize this year round, and now France’s coach Raymond Domenech has been added to that list. I think he should win it too, and I’m not just saying that as a Gooner. Here’s what the two have done in the past year:
Fabio Cannavaro
1. Captained Italian side that won The World Cup
2. Cheated with Juve and had 2 titles taken away and relegated to Serie B
3. Left Juve for Madrid because didn’t want to help club back to the top
Thierry Henry
1. Became captain of Arsenal FC
2. Reached The World Cup final with France and was top goal scorer
3. Reached Champions League final
4. Became Arsenal’s all time record goal scorer
5. Chose Arsenal over Barca, declaring his love for the club
I think that’s it but you can see all Cannavaro has done is one thing, and fair enough it is a big thin but Henry was in that final too but only lost on penalties. It seems as though Cannavaro’s name is being engraved onto that trophy but I think along with many others the Frenchman should be lifting the trophy today.
Thierry Henry picked up his third yellow card in the Champions League against Hamburg last week which now rules him out of Arsenal’s vital game against Porto. His 1st yellow card was a stupid one in Moscow, it was when we had that last minute goal not given after Henry apparently handballed it and picked up a booking for it. It was absolutely ludicrous and now thanks to that we will be without our star player for the decisive group game. Thierry has been saying how he should’ve steered clear of any bookable offences against Hamburg:
“I concede that the booking I picked up wasn’t very clever. It was the result of frustration, but I’m not making excuses – I deserved the yellow card. And of course I am disappointed to be out of the Porto game. “The two yellow cards I picked up against CSKA were not bookings and in fact the first card, well, not only did the ref rule out a perfectly good goal, he booked me for handball! What can you do? Sometimes these things happen in football and I just had to accept the suspension. We showed great character to come back and win against Hamburg which leaves us in a good position to qualify.”
All we need is a point in Portugal and I think we can do it without Henry. We should have Van Persie for the game and William Gallas has targeted this game for his comeback. It’s all very exiting but it will be very tense. I think the Champions League should be our main focus now so not qualifying is unacceptable.
Lets take one game at a time though and the next one is Fulham away in two days time. I will be there giving my support with the away Gooners. Henry and Van Persie will be back for this one after being unavailable last weekend, a win is a must and anything other than that is just not good enough. Fulham have lost their last two games and are not having the best of seasons and need points at the moment so they won’t go down without a fight. I think we need to play the 4-4-2 for this game, the 5-man midfield shows too much respect to teams and what we need at the moment is goals and a man supporting Henry. I think Wenger will probably start 4-5-1 but I hope he realises we will do better with two up top. Mourinho says Arsenal are not out of the title race just yet, we are 33/1 top become champions. As long as we are up near the top challenging the top teams that’s good enough for me. Fulham should be an easy three points but we’ll just have to see how much luck we have on the day. (Also Spurs are 400/1 to win the league)
That your lot for today. Wish a happy birthday to this bloke and I hope we’ll be celebrating Thierry wining the Ballon D’Or tomorrow. Have a good day.
UPDATE: Henry comes 3rd in Ballon D’Or.
Good International Week for The Young Guns 14 November, 2006
Posted by lasagnechef in Arsenal News, Uncategorized.13 comments
There’s quite a bit of news following the win against Liverpool so I’ll try and quickly cover most of the stories and most of them are about this week’s internationals.
Justin Hoyte scored for England U21′s as they beat Holland 1-0. One day I think he’ll be England’s right back so it’s good that he’s doing well for the U21′s. The senior England team play Holland tomorrow night at the Amsterdam Arena, it’s live on BBC 1 at 7pm, I won’t be watching as I’ve got work. It’s an experimental line-up chosen by Steve McLaren; he’s got 18-year-old Man City defender Micah Ricards at right back and Andy Johnson partnering Rooney up front. McLaren’s got a bit to prove in this game after not the greatest of starts, his England will face a tough Dutch side that won’t include Van Persie who has withdrawn from the squad as his wife is expecting their first child.
Whilst on the subject of England, Matthew Connolly our reserve captain trained with the England squad. The national side were short on defenders for the practice at London Colney and he was asked by McLaren to join in amongst Ashley Cole, John Terry and Rio Ferdinand. It would’ve been an amazing experience for the lad, he’s only ever played with England at youth level before and here’s how he tells his story:
“I had just finished training with Arsenal, then [Reserve team manager] Neil Banfield said that England wanted to borrow me. It was great. We played a few mini-matches at the end and I was in the same team as Wayne Rooney, Joe Cole and Micah Richards. I think I did quite well. John Terry spoke to me for a while, he asked me what position I play and we just had a little chat, which was great because he’s someone I look up to. I also spoke to Ashley Cole and Micah Richards, and the session lasted about an hour in all. I really enjoyed it.”
Connolly is another promising youngster who’s going from strength to strength with our reserves and this sort of experience will only do him good. I’m sure in World Cups to come Matthew will play an important part in the England setup.
Another of our reserve players had been shocked into playing with their nation: Denilson has been called up to the Brazil squad. He joins up with Dunga’s squad to replace our very own Gilberto who has withdrawn from the squad for personal reasons. This will another fantastic experience for one of our youngsters, he’s captained Brazil for the youth team but will be training along with the top Samba-Stars this week. Denilson is certainly another one for the future but hopefully this experience will send him back to Arsenal hungry and full of confidence.
Last year Arsenal traditionally played a 4-4-2 formation for league games and a 4-5-1 system in Europe. The two formations worked really well for the two different types of games and the 5-man midfield helped us out when the battle would be a little more physical. This season started off like that too but over the past few games we’ve consistently played 4-5-1. Thierry Henry has been talking about how he has to adapt to this new Arsenal style. Especially with the two signings of Rosicky and Baptista this 5-man midfield idea works especially well because we have midfield players who will get forward and easily support the 1 man up front. I think 4-5-1 is the way forward for Arsenal, the 4-4-2 meant we had a very straight midfield line but now we have a sort of diamond that can emerge in games and with our slick passing it suits our game very well.
The captain has also been saying that he will stay at Arsenal for the rest of his career. We kind of knew this in the summer when he signed his four-year deal and I could never see him playing anywhere else. It’s great that Thierry has committed himself to us and God knows where we would be without our record goal scorer. HE talks about how he would refuse an offer that came in for another club and feels we have made adequate additions to the squad this summer to challenge for silverware. He’s not been in top form at the moment and is due a goal, lets hope he hits a run of form soon.
Matty Flamini put in two good performances in last week against Everton and Liverpool and is looking for more regular football in Arsenal’s midfield. He’s is a player that I like and can definitely to a job for us, but he’s going to have a tough job fighting for a place against Diaby, Cesc, Baptista and Gilberto. I think his best hope is to prove himself when there are injuries and giver Wenger that problem of who to play. Exactly what he did on Sunday. Diaby is out until the new year and Baptista is back soon, I think he’s got a chance of fighting with Diaby but I don’t see him ever becoming a regular .He did a magnificent job at make-shift left back last season and has been a great servant to the clubs but I fear he might move away in search of more regular football. We’ll see how it goes but good luck to Matty.
That’ll be your lot for tonight. I’ve got to get an early night as I’m off into Islington in the morning for this university fair thing. I’m gonna wonder over to the Grove after which’ll give me a chance to have a quick look around the shop and take some snaps of the stadium. Have a good day people.
p.s. I almost forgot this 
Arsenal v Liverpool & Liverpool v Arsenal 11 November, 2006
Posted by lasagnechef in Arsenal News, Cup Games, Premiership, Uncategorized.13 comments
Rafa Benitez’s men make the trip to North London tomorrow but the draw for the quarter finals of the Carling Cup were made today at it’s Liverpool at Anfieldhe’s got a few options to replace him, he says he’ll either play Zenden, Gerrard or Xabi in the centre. I hope we can put in a good performance tomorrow and I’ve got a sneaky feeling Henry might be dangerous, I predict a 1-1 draw but it could really go any way. It’ll be a great game though and I can’t wait for tomorrow. For those of you not going it’s on Sky Sports 1.
Our vice-captain, Gilberto Silva says it’s a must win game if we are serious about our title hopes. A few weeks ago we were catching up on the leaders but we’ve dropped back to 10 points behind Man Utd, ok we still have a game in hand but still that’d only narrow it down to 7 points if we won. We can’t afford to go further behind the leaders, we might not realistically be title contenders this season but we must be up there pressuring them all the way. This is what Gilberto had to say:
“If we want to fight for the title then we must win this game. This season we have dropped many points already, that is why we are so far from the leaders. But we know we want to fight for the title and that is why this is a crucial moment for us. I think it is much better, not easier, but better when we play against a team like Liverpool because they will not sit back just to defend. They will come out and want to play – they want to win. But, at the same time, we are confident for this game.”
I went to Arsenal v Liverpool at Highbury last year; we won 2-1 thanks to Gerrard back pass to Henry for an easy winner. Another 2-1 would do just nicely again tomorrow.
Gael Clichy has now fully recovered from his recent long-term injury and he has just started to play regular football for the first team this season. I expect him to start at left back tomorrow and I hope this season will be a good for him as the now, 1st choice left defender. If you don’t already know Ashley Cole fucked off to Chelsea in summer because we wouldn’t give him enough money and Gael is looking forward to filling his void:
“In the summer I saw the newspaper reports about Ashley possibly going to Chelsea and it is a shame that we have lost a good player and a friend. But I have to be honest and say that it is a big opportunity for me now that he has gone. I am up for it. I am here to progress every day and to be the number one left back at Arsenal and the French national team. I am giving 100 percent in training, but I have also learned, after all the troubles last season, to listen to my body and to take care. I feel that this could be my season.”
Hopefully Gael has some better luck with injuries this season and there’s no doubt the Frenchman can go on to be even better than Ashley ever was.
Alex Hleb has been talking about our incredibly bad luck in front of goal in the past few games. It’s been frustrating to watch and sometime I just found myself laughing about how stupid it was. Hopefully the late goal against Everton on Wednesday was the beginning of a new run of luck. This is what Alex said to the Daily Express:
“I don’t know what is happening to us. Maybe the answer is from somewhere up above. I know that we play this beautiful football and there should be no stopping us from scoring. I cannot answer why the goals are not going in. Maybe it is just fate. Of course it could be a problem for us if it keeps going, but nothing is really wrong. All we have to do is be more focused, more concentrated. We have to keep playing beautiful football – and once we are up there we have got to make the most of our chances. It’s not down to who scores them, whether it is the strikers, defenders or the midfielders, whoever. We create a lot of chances, who scores them – that’s not important, but we are not going to change.”
He’s right. I hope he’s right. We just need to keep our cool when finishing and not snatch at chances. Thierry Henry is probably our best finisher; he’s scored some incredible goals and is due a goal at the moment. I see the captain grabbing at least one goal against Liverpool.
The players have been talking about our style of play quite alot recently. It’s come under some criticism due to our lack of goals but in alot of their interviews they’ve been saying something along the lines of ‘we will not change our style of play’. Even Hleb said it in the quote above and Theo Walcott has been saying it too today. In the past other teams and fans have praised us for the way we play the game, it is beautiful but it does mean we have to score the perfect goal. Obviously our style isn’t going to just change like that because we’re not banging them in at the moment. This bad patch of form will pass soon and we’ll be back to out best. Hopefully starting tomorrow.
And finally, the Arsenal Ladies are through to the UEFA Women’s Cup Final after beating Brondby 5-2 on aggregate. I went to the game this afternoon; the Ladies play at Borehamwood’s stadium, which is just around the corner from me. IT was quite a good game and our most notable player was the no.11, Yankey. She was a bit like Walcott with fast runs down the wing cutting into the box. So they’re through to the European cup final and I’d be quite interested in going but I have no idea where or when it is. It was a good day out and for only three quid, a bargain.
Right, that’s yer lot for today. Off to the Grove tomorrow, match report to come soon. Thanks for reading.
