Points Dropped To 1 Point Gained & Preston Preview

   

Image Credit: The Metro UK

 I am so pissed!!! From an ooooh my…. to a Uurrgghhh. From making fans purr with ecstatic Joy almost wetting their pants to making them wanna tear their hair out in unbelievable frustration, you know it can only be Arsenal. What could have been a routine 3 points in the bag soon became an embarrassing scrap for a point, we sure know how to make a seemingly simple task harder than it looks. Well I have already mentioned it before that it can only be the gunners. Arsene may say his wards are now men but, performances like these ……. Le’ Proff plzzzzzzzz. What I see instead is what seems to be a battle between Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, you not sure which Arsenal team would turn up. It’s becoming harder to tell by each passing game. The game against Bournemouth left me feeling a complex mix of extremes, angry frustration at the way the team committed school boy error after error (Hector I am looking at you) till we were 3 goals down, then there’s the Joy from the determined comeback to level the deficit. Why and how the gunners got themselves into such a tight spot, remains a mystery, not for the first time too and that’s the mystery….WHY!?

In our preview, we noted how Bournemouth were in fine form at the Vitality Stadium and how they liked to play the ball. The 3-1 score line at the emirates back in November never reflected the complete perspective of the game not doing proper justice to their effort in that match. One would have expected us to be better prepared knowing how dangerous this team is at home… Ask Liverpool.

Arsenal on this day were second bested by an average team that came prepared, better prepared if I dare say and had the commitment to follow through. It was thus no surprise to find us on the back foot, 2 goals down by the 21^st minute. When Bournemouth broke with pace on their right before quickly switching play with a nice diagonal lob to their left. Bellerin was caught out cold, sucked into the center, he tried to readjust but couldn’t get his balance right, made a lame attempt to nick the ball from Charlie Daniels who calmly slotted home beating Cech at his near post. Everton at Goodison came to mind.

1-0 to Bournemouth

 We tried to rally but met a resolute and confident Bournemouth, 5 minutes later we were down by another goal. This time from Granit Xhaka’s rush of blood to the head as he made another of his silly mistakes at the wrong end of the pitch. What he was thinking when he shoved down King I think from the back is beyond me. Callum Wilson dutifully obliged the opportunity by slotting home from the spot. 

1-0  to Bournemouth

    2 goals down going into the interval was a first for the gunners this season and we needed a response from the lads. Bellerin and Monreal were being torn to shreds by Fraser and Stanislaus, Arsenal was all at sea but it was going to get worse, not better. We lost Coquelin to a hamstring pull so Ox came on. Then we conceded a third goal. Bellerin again a culprit. He really had a bad bad day at the office on this one. Frazer almost beat him to the duel sprint but just couldn’t so he did a little nudge for Bellerin to lose his footing, before scooping the ball to slot through Cechs legs. It was all falling apart for us.

Finally the lads woke up and started to play better, we began to claw back the deficit which starting from Sanchez (as usual) we did in 20 minutes. That’s the only positive I take from this match. That Arsenal fought back from 3 goals down, so credit to the Boiz for that! and that's where it stops!. The inexplicable annoyance is, what where we doing getting ourselves into such a jam in the first place? For a team that habours the ambition of winning Titles? That’s probably gone anyway if the keep this sham up.

    Hind sight is a chick they say….init? This was a game that we could have used to cement our grip on the top assault, leapfrogging Man City and squeezing the heat on Liverpool, better yet we gain 3 massive points on Chelsea having not to unexpectedly dropped points at Spurs. A massive opportunity lost. Xhaka has had couple decent games for some time now but he really need to cut out his ridiculous moments of “brainwave” else he would become a liability for all his talent. Bellerin on the other hand is usually most dependable, so imam give him a free pass on this day where he was just not at the races going by his high standards. Alexis Sanchez, for all his work ethic and immense talent should grow a pair of "cajones" and stop with the sulking, get behind the team and lead. Not pout ya lips in frustration because you think the others aren’t on the same wavelength as you. Mustafi has to be our good luck charm, Arsenal hasn’t lost a game he has started this season. Wenger should do whatever he can to keep him "embalmed". Just Kidding but that stat is real or have I jinxed it now? The whole Team needs to refocus in general if they really wanna win anything this season. All isn’t lost but we are throwing away points. Arsene Wenger i am Looking at you!

Preston Preview: Whatever the team we put out but, If we can’t win Preston on Saturday at the Emirates, then we might as well forget any trophy this season, no disrespect to Preston North End.  That’s it for my preview. No team sheet on this…..Ciao

2017 Beauty By The HFB & Bournemouth Preview

Courtesy: The Uk Mirror

         WHeeeeww, what a way to announce ya hunger gametime for 2017. Its moments like these this that makes one love the game of football, goals like that make you love Arsenal and the way they play. This is also part of what frustrates the fans, tease us with a thing of beauty such as that, then follow it up with a tepid ughhhhh kinda performance….God forbid. Have I finished drooling over the scorpion goal by Giroud, for those still wondering what I am yapping about? Of course I have, moved on with the 3 points in the bag too. I was only musing out loud, but just in case you want to relive that special magic moment, here it is… fully worth another look, trust me.

Giroud got Arsenal off to a perfect start for 2017, with a solid albeit kind measured 2-0 win over Palace, much has been talked about the beauty of Girouds goal, and I take nothing away from it when I say the match was just another 3 points so let’s not lose sight of that the performance was such that we controlled much of the game and limited Big Sam’s boiz to a short spell where Cech had to earn his thursday paycheck. There was a lot of encouraging points to take from the match. A win, second consecutive clean sheet, Benteke kept in check, Iwobi did well in Ozils absence, well anchored by the improving Xhaka and we shoved another defeat down Big Sam’s throat. Adding the beauty of Giroud’s goal was just a gloss over an afternoon of accomplished well controlled performance. So what’s not to like? All that is history now and we grind on by travelling down to the Vitality stadium.

     Its Bournemouth Tuesday evening. We all know how they play i.e the Eddie Howie way with the ball on the ground. Their home form while not stellar is quite good 5W 1D 3L isn’t a bad return for a team their size, beating Liverpool in here in one of the most shocking comebacks of this season. This has them at 9^th position on the log then you realize they are to be taken with seriousness. The last league encounter between these two teams back in November 2016 was a cracking affair even though Alexis genius helped settle the match at   3-1 in favour of Arsenal. The score line did not exactly reflect how fine the margins of that game were as Bournemouth could have gotten something out of it. I want to believe Wenger and his boiz are focused on the task at hand. One match at a time but a must win this is….yet again. 9 points off the top with just a point separating us Spurs and Man United, it’s really getting tight around the top six. The league is still Chelsea’s to lose but with 18 matches still to be played, none of the top six teams are out of contention. You just have to look at the momentum 6 straight wins for Man United has done to get that point into proper context, things can and do change in as little as 3 matches. Like I said though, lets take it one game at a time, stay focused and take nothing for granted. Benik Afobe has stayed back from the AFCON to help his club, the threats of Stanislus, Arter, King and Ake also adds more to us needing to be focused for this encounter. We have to win this game, a good ol’ one-nil to the Arsenal will be fine, since it appears we may have gotten back our clean sheets formula (I hope). Jack wilshere missing this one due to his loan may be another good one for us, he has somehow steadily found his influence grow in this team, which bides well for his continued return back to fitness. It also raises questions about our handling him on and off the pitch back at arsenal. What they not getting right about him. Anyway, that’s another matter for another day. Today is about getting another win on our travels. Potential banana skin it could be if the gunners lose focus and get complacent, there are no easy games should be the watch word. With the games coming thick and fast, I would give iwobi a rest and start Ramsey in the playmaker role, he needs the run of games and boost of confidence as his season has being more stop than start. Our depth in midfield has been the saving grace in helping Arsenal cope with Ramsey’s absence, Welbz should get a look in from the bench as he eases back to full match fitness while Mustafi remains a 50/50. My team will look like this:

Subs: Ospina, Welbeck, Jeff, Iwobi, Oxlade, Mustafi, Holding

Not an exactly strong bench we have there, but in light of injuries and suspensions, i think the mix is just about balanced. The gunners will need to cut out any silly errors here, keep the sheet clean for a slim win, thats hoping they can maintain focus. Whatever the team that turns out, lets just get all 3 points and close the gap on Liverpool having drawn, maybe Chelsea too if they draw against Spurs, but we need to win first. Do enjoy the game wherever you are...Ciaoooo

A 2016 Flash Back & Palace Preview

   

   And so here we are. As the 2016 train slowly grinds down to a halt we at anaijagunner would love to wish all our teaming readers, Football, Arsenal and Non Arsenal fans alike a very royal welcome to 2017 wherever you may be. Happy New Year folks. 2016, like every other year was one of highs and lows for us as Arsenal fans and Super Eagles supporters. The emergence of Alex Iwobi on the scene from the tail end of last season, teased us on what could possibly be...so much potential for his young age, already capped and scored for the Eagles at the young age of 20 signed a professional contract to boot. It seems the sky is just a starting point. Well it hasn’t being a straight up curve of success for the young man though, he has had criticisms for his seeming lack of goals amongst other things so I guess the jury is still out on him on how good he will come. There was that 3-0 thrashing of Chelsea my gaaawwd, was that good?  It’s been a long time coming and it was nice to see the boiz raise their game to deliver such a blitz of a performance. For the eagles though, Iheanacho’s star continues to shine as his stock does go up. He has shown he can be lethal in front of goal for both club and country, though not helping the eagles qualify for the 2017 AFCON. Next is the world cup qualifiers, let’s see how it goes. Then the lows, I grit ma teeth to type theses even though it’s easier to find yourself remembering the negatives while taking the positives for granted. Losing to Liverpool, City then the draw against Spurs for me was the height of ill preparation both mentally and physically. That’s just one win in in 5 against top 5 opposition…..NOT good enough I will like to continue but let’s just leave it at that for a little flash back on the past year, glass half full perspective.

     Fast forward to today, talk isn’t about transfers on ins or outs. It’s the visit of Crystal palace to the Emirates in a late New Year day Kickoff. The Eagles have recently hired a familiar foe in Sam Allardyce after sacking former player and Coach, Alan Pardew for a bad run of results… ouch!! Wenger and Big Sam encounters go way back to the Bolton wanderers’ days when they kind of became some sort of a bogey team to the gunners, other meetings after that have been more favorable to Wenger. Our Boxing Day clash with Westbrom was more steel than style according to wenger, I think we might need more of such doggedness. Chelsea is flying high, having matched Arsenals record on the number of consecutive wins, 13 on the bounce, while Liverpool suddenly has found a way to win 1-0. The reds win over city was their third in the last four matches. City is not looking as imperious as they should but the seat above us in 3^rd place.  I don’t need to hammer home the importance of 3 points at stake here, be it grinding out these wins no matter how parked the opposition buses may be. Thats what i loved about the game against the baggies, we eked out a 1 Nil win, our first in 13 games but hopefully many more to come.  Wenger says:

“Coming after two bad results, we didn’t panic, we kept going,” Arsène Wenger said. “We had a relentless attitude and in the end we managed to win it.

“We’ve done that many times this season, so that means the resolve is there and the stubbornness too. We said we want to have style and steel, and I think we may be showed more steel than style in this game, but it will be important for our season.”

The Season is half way through and the points at stake keep reducing with each passing game, the league is obviously not won yet with lots of points to play for but Chelsea’s as Wenger reckons are definitely super favorites thus theirs to lose. (They were top on Christmas day) With Walcott and Ox out, It’s not all gloomy as the squad is bolstered by the return of Mustafi and Danny Welbeck which a serious boost, if we get things right. So can we? That’s the question for Wenger and the team to answer. My predicted lineup here

Whatever the lineup we put out, the boys eed to be up for a fight cuz thats the way Big Sam will set up his team, get into our faces try to knock us out of our fluidity and hope for a hit on set pieces. We need to stay tough and stand up to the upcoming physicality. DO enjoy the game wherever you are....Ciaoo