Sunderland Trick Or Treat??

     

Arsenal Train Ahead of Sunderland Courtesy Arsenal.com

Fresh of the back of a midweek win against Reading, the Arsenals Train grinds down for a quick stop at Sunderland this Saturday in an early kickoff, it’s been a bright rebound for the gunners since the season kickoff defeat at the Emirates, Unbeaten in 8 league games so far and 13 in all competitions. The form book is definitely with Arsenal despite the slight stuttering performance of late. On the other hand, the stadium of light has been anything but bright since the start of the season, no wins in 9…hopefully 10 matches, only 2 points from two draws. it’s like Halloween has well and truly made its home there darkening any potential reasons for light. Their last two games saw them put up spirited fight against West Ham and then Southampton in the League cup but still ended up losing by a lone goal. That has been the story of David Moyes team so far, conceding late goals and throwing away hard to come by leading positions. I for one don’t think David Moyes has helped his case, going by some of his unsavory comments has made recently. When your coach says:

“Ultimately you have to have good players on the pitch and at the moment we are not getting good enough players on the pitch. We need to get a better team it’s as simple as that. We need to get a team which can give us results”…

Quite harsh if you ask me, he basically says the current players aren’t good enough to get them the results he needs. That’s some curious way to motivate ya players to play for you…..ask Mourinho he is a specialist in blaming his players and everyone he could but himself. Having said all that Defoe is still a threat @34 and Arsenal has kinda staggered over the line in the league of late too. We narrowly beat Burnley, then Stalemating at the borough hurdle last weekend. It’s not been the vintage Arsenal we have come to start enjoying of late, maybe due to the number of games coming in thick and fast are beginning to pile up. There was that missing bit of our “special zip” in our last game against Middlesbrough. 

   Our Injury list has added Perez into its scalps with him being out for about 6weeks due to an ankle injury from a nasty tackle by Reading’s Gravenberch while there are doubts over Walcott, Nacho and Santi, who are key men. On Perez, I am sure the young man is gutted by the setback just when you sensed he was starting to get some game time. It’s not all bad new though as we have Giroud back and Ramsey is on the cusp of returning fully. The Beauty of this scenario is it gives Wenger food for thought. Does Giroud come back to spearhead our attack or does Wenger continue with what’s worked thus far, Alexis up top or do we just go with both as a front two? Whatever the answer is, we have some form of competition for starting berths and this new fight for places is good for the Gunners. Arsenal has so far been without Ramsey, Giroud and Welbz yet we sit joint top, granted that its early days, but, you have to admit the times are looking much better than what we used to have…….Giroud as our only strike option, without quality backup. Now Iwobi is emerging, even Sir Alex Ferguson was quoted saying he had been impressed by the young lad. Will the Ox also look at Walcott and fire up his guts for glory by becoming more consistent? Arsene claims his problem is within himself, a fragile confidence it seems. Whatever the team we are putting out, I hope we get the treat end of Halloween by claiming 3 points. If  you look at Sunderland, they seem to be currently in a rut that I would want Arsenal to take advantage.  A win for the us, add another clean sheet and use the chance to rack up our “goals for” column cuz that might decide places later on in the league. The predicted line is below depending on injuries prevailing.

Subs:  Ospina, Giroud, Jenkinson, Rene Adelaide, Walcott, Ramsey.

Image Credit: The Uk Guardian

 Anyway I hope for a win whether by a lone goal or by a floodgate of goals, it dont matter. Dont forget to like comment and share,  enjoy the game wherever you are.....Ciao

The Ox In the Box Double Seals The WIn

     Did you know Arsenal has only won the League cup 2 times in it’s over one hundred year history, with the last one coming as far back as 1993? Did you also know that the EFL cup happens to be the only domestic trophy that has so far eluded Wenger since becoming Arsenal manager?  Just a historical recap on the English League Cup formerly the Carling cup now EFL cup. Arsenal got back to winning ways and gave Arsene Wenger a consolatory belated 67^th Birthday gift with a 2-0 win over Reading at the Emirates that saw them book a quarter final berth. Our first in about four years, tells you how terrible our run in the EFL has been in recent times. We started the game brightly, bossing the midfield possession with some quick movement and passing. Al-Habsi in goal for Reading, was called to action in the first ten minutes when Jenkinson got off a shot to test the waters after a sweeping move from Iwobi to Oxlade then Jenks. The game went on more like a casual friendly with a laid back tempo, a few scuffs here and there but not at that highly competitive level we normally get in the premiership.  Arsenal finally broke the deadlock in the 33^rd minute through Ox who I must say, based on his recent performances seems to be slowly working his way back to form, plus he is scoring goals ….hopefully I haven’t jinxed him with another groin or hamstring pull coming for him. Niles did a pirouette dance just outside Reading’s penalty box with some nifty footwork before getting of a shot that went way over the bar for a Reading goal Kick. AL-Habsi decided to go short by playing out from the back but his defender made a harsh of it as Perez closed him down the ball fell for Chamberlain who ran at the two defenders from the right edge before lashing a diagonal ball into the far corner of beyond the outstretched Al-Habsi.
   1-0 to Arsenal

I really don’t know what the sudden craze about playing from the back is in today’s football, what happened to safety first?  City , Liverpool, Barcelona all obsessed with this play from the back concept. Considering the fact that Jaap Stam, a former defensive stalwart is their manager, one would expect better but I guess mistakes do happen. Reading tried to respond but the half played out at Arsenal 1-0 up.

     Second half came, we continued to dominate but couldn’t quite kill of the game and that was a cause for concern. Giroud 60 came on as a 60+ minute sub, his immediate impact was a fine header from a free kick. Al-Habsi made a fine save with the follow up header from Gabriel also cleared of the line by Lee. Ox again interchanged some passes on the left with Willock and Giroud before getting off a fine shot for Al-Habsi to again beat into the path of oncoming Iwobi, who lost his footing for another wasted goal scoring opportunity. Arsenal know how to make opposition keepers look good with poor finishing but they were knocking on the door for the second goal. Iwobi again snapped of a curling shot that was tipped over the bar. Our second goal duly came from none other than the Ox himself in the 78^th minute from the ensuing corner kick. Rob holding managed to keep the ball in play from an over hit cross, he dazzled a defender away before making for the byline, his cut back found Giroud who chested down and teed up Oxlade. The Ox obliged with shot that took a deflection into the next. Al-Habsi was left on the ground deflated from the wrong footing. The rest of the match was seen out without fuss, but for a header on target that Emilio had covered Reading rarely threatened.

     So what’s to be read into this match? Nothing really, we won, into the last 8 for the first time in 4 years, we had another clean, our sheet 6^th in our last 8 matches. Just another good day at the office I would say plus the opportunity for the young guns to play another 90 minutes. I like Maitland Niles in midfield very impressive again. Paired with ElNeny behind Iwobi, he was very tidy in possession with skill to get out of tight spots. ElNeny also played well too, he broke up play and got our balls to the wings very nicely. I would have loved to see more from Jeff, he has that next BIG thing tag but I am yet to be wowed like other Arsenal fans, he has time. Iwobi, a class above the other young stars, why not when he plays regularly with the big boizzz, he just needs to improve his finishing to become worlds class. Alex Oxlade Chamberlain, Man of the match, got us going on the wings, combined well with Jenks and gave us two fine goals on either half of the match. I hope he continues to progress, he is power and skill combined but highly inconsistent…..so can he finally kick on this season? That's the BIG question, he doesn’t have as much time to prove himself though. Our defenders did their bit too, not stretched much by the opposition, tougher tests await them. All in all, a good run out for the young gunners with Gibbs captaining us to another win and I hope We go all the way to win, yeah I can dream cant I?? Till the draws for the quarter finals are made, I see Man United have won against city…..guess you cant have it all, here’s my salute to the boiz…..Ciao 

Arsene's Party Pooped With Borough Stalemate

    So how did that go?? Well Arsene had to settle for communion wine (Heard he is catholic or was) instead of the champagne we planned. Middlesbrough came with a plan and stuck to it, they got that point they came for, might have been all 3 if not for Cech and the woodwork. Full credit to them, you cant fault an oppositions work ethic when its industrious even if it means sticking a twist into ya cruise control. Arsenal did not have a plan B to borough's organisation at the back, hence could not break down a resolute defence. We mentioned it before that while they have lost games, they have only lost one by more than a goal margin and that was telling if you asked me. The game started with Arsenals usual style of trying to overwhelm the opposition with some sleek movement of the ball which was good to watch at times. The flow however didn’t deliver this time as they stayed compact and organised. For all our more than 75% possession in the first 20 minutes we never caused Valdes any sort of concern in their goal. Lots of possession little penetration!!! Özil seemed a little jaded and Walcott didnt have that verve he has shown in recent weeks, or could it be that we missed the ambi-dexterity of Santi in midfield. He gives arsenal more penetration from deep with his incisive passes, no offence to Elneny and Coq but none of them come close to the Spaniards nifty or craft. 

Image Credits: Arsenaldotcom.

    Arsenal's initial dominance waned as the first half wore on then Middlesbrough settled into the game and started to turn the tide. It just wasn’t happening for the gunners, what was more worrying was that Cech was the busier of both keepers coming up with a double save in the first half just to keep us in the game from Traore and Negredo …first, then Gaston Ramirez stuck the post with a sweet free kick that left Cech almost tearing his own net as he tried to reach the ball, thank God it missed the target [top right corner it was headed]. Cech was again quick to save from a far post header by Ramirez. Cech was really our man of the match with these saves. We had our own moments but our final balls were a bit too short or too long, summing up our frustrating day at the office. Ozill and Alexis both struck freekicks into far far row Z and Victor Valdes safe punch respectively. Middlesbrough went into the half with their tails up. The second half was a bit tame from borough with the same approach, stay compact and hit them on the break. The gladly let us have the ball to dominate possession without us penetrating their banks of four. Arsenal brought on Perez and Ox for Neny and Iwobi but the closes we came to a winner was an Özil goal that was rightfully disallowed for offside. Arsene Wenger said post match which captures the mood nicely.

“We had a lot of the ball but that’s not enough to win games., it was a frustrating match”match

not so good but a point is better than none. Put into context the fact that Man United got tanked at the bridge and all top 3 drew at the weekend. Not so bad then, 2 points dropped but still joint top of the table......glass half full init??

    We welcome Reading at the Emirates tonight in an EFL 4th round cup tie, after our performance this past weekend, it’s a bit foolhardy not to thread with caution while expecting us to still do enough for a win. Its understandable that we will be rotating a lot for this match, after all its our 4^th game in 8 days, that’s a lot. Jenkinson is back while Oliver Giroud is a possible feature as he returns from his mysterious toe injury that’s kept him out of the team this long. Ramsey is totally out as is Danny Wellbeck. I expect the same Team that beat Forrest last month to take to the pitch, without Xhaka who serves his second match ban while Akpom sits out due to an injury.... hopefully they can do the business by getting a win to keep us still unbeaten……Consolation for Wenger too. My line up will see a couple of changes:

Subs: Ospina,Jenkinson, Giroud, Wilcock, Zelalem, Bielik, Macey.

  Anyway thats it from the me, hope you enjoy the game wherever you are, do share the post.....Ciaoo

Arsene @ 67 As Middlesbrough Comes To Town

A weekend of footy-celebration beckons as we move from the euphoric high of trouncing Ludogorets for six unreplied  back to the EPL plus Arsene Wenger turns 67 on Saturday. Hey lets keep the champagne on ice just yet......first another 3 points in the bag, then we can celebrate. The team from Bulgaria will definitely feel hard done by the football gods for not rewarding their “effort” when they look at the final score but that’s football, eat or be eating is the name of the game most of the time. Arsenal’s run of six wins in a row will be examined by Aitor Karanka's men from the riverside this weekend at the Emirates.

    Middlesbrough haven’t particularly had a run of good form with only one win in 7 EPL games for them against Sunderland FC way back in august. That seems like a long distant memory in this league where things can take a turn for the better or worse in so short a time, while we seem unplayable at the moment based on our hot form. Nicely poised for a potential banana skin here if you ask me so lets not get too cocky. After our champions league win on Wednesday the Boss recognized the way we seem to lose concentration after establishing some sort of lead thereby giving the opposing team a look-in …..Swansea game in mind here. Stronger teams would probably have punished us more even against Ludogorets when they had that spell of good possession. Wenger alluded to it at his press conference when he kind of admitted the need for a “relentless attitude”;

“First by analysing the games and noticing that you have periods where you are not as relentless as you would like to be,” he replied. “You also do it by reminding yourself that the game is never won, even at 2-0 up in the Premier League.

“Teams fight hard to come back and we’ve had lots of experience of that. You learn from your experiences and we learned against Swansea because we could have been punished. Hopefully we have learnt from that without suffering any damage.”

Its good when you believe in your ability which, Wenger is almost guilty of blindly overestimating, but it’s also nice to see that the boss recognizes that this is a tough league [not the best …sorry] with teams that fight to the dearth. I would expect this to be communicated down to the players well, if we wanna really challenge on all fronts against the very best.

       Like I said, Middleborough haven’t exactly had a good start to the season but will by no means be a pushover. They have a couple decent players in Negredo, Ramirez, their highest goal score so far…Stuani and our own Calum Chambers who is on loan thus won’t be eligible to play against the gunners in this match. They have the third best defence currently in number of goals conceded, losing only one match by more than a goal margin against Everton. The biggest problem has been their lack of goals. Its telling of a team when Calum Chambers currently stands as joint second top scorer for them with one goal. Here is hoping his absence upsets the balance of their defence and the gunners do capitalize on it. Middlesbrough’s main threat is from crosses into the box by Stuart Downing and Ramires as they have Negredo who can hold up play quite comfortably. Mustafi and Koscielny would have to remain organized and switched on always to thwart any threats especially aerial threats from them.

    Our team selection will probably see a few tweaks Cech back in goal, Monreal should still be thrusted back into the left back berth, Carzola remains doubtful after picking up that ankle Knock on Wednesday, Xhaka is serving his red card suspension. The front four should remain the same even though I would like to see Perez start with Sanchez or maybe Walcott rested a bit. Having said all that Wenger knows so, why predicted line up will look like this.

Subs: Ospina, Gibbs, Oxlade, Elneny , Perez, Rene Adelaide, Gabriel.

Courtesy The Guardian Uk.

Like his 20^th anniversary, I hope the boiz are reved up enough to get a good win and a clean sheet to add as well. Anyway that’s it from  the team, heres to a very happy birthday celebration with a win for you Arsene,  enjoy the game wherever you are..…Ciaooo

The Wizard Of Özil Show

       Another match another 3 points in the bag in another competition. 6 unreplied goals, still top of Group A......please whats not to like? Arsenal continued to show they were taking no prisoners as Ludogorets was well  an truly beaten on a fine night at the emirates, what should have been a possible banana  skin turned out to be an Özil show and boy did we enjoy it, his volleys are becoming like a routine which is good for him but i particularly like the first goal from him, from start to finish that was the best goal for me. The early exchanges saw arsenal try to impose themselves on the game being the home side but Walcott spurned the chance.....then Sanchez got it all started in the 12th minute with a a nice run that beat the offside high-line Ludogorets was playing, he cut into d box twisted Moti a "show me ya numba" that left the defender sliding to the ad-boards before deftly chipping the keeper for the 1st of the night. The visiting Team responded with a fight, with the tricky triumvirate of Wanderson  Cafu and especially Misidjan calling Ospina to action, reminding the gunners not to doze off. Credit to Ospina's turn around in form (from last seasons fiasco) as he kept arsenal in the game while Ludogorets for a spell, tried to turn the tide in chasing an equalizer but it was not to be. Özil reminded us of his beneath the surface skills when he from wide left found Walcott in space, who finished with a curling shot into the net. That was Özil's first assist for the season and Walcotts 8th goal in 10 matches so far, he definitely is on something and whatever it is, loooooonnnngggg may it continue. 

     Arsenal went into the break with the 2-0 lead. The second half show was the wizard of of Özil after Oxlade kicked things off  less than a minute into the start of the second half for 3-0. I liked the way he calmly stroked the ball into the far corner from a loose ball. He is one player with lots of promise but yet to deliver, i hope he makes it here at Arsenal but thats talk for another. Özil decide to make good his birthday wish of a "hunger for more goals" by scoring a second half hat trick, his first in his career. The volleys are gradually becoming a norm now but my pick of the bunch was the 1st goal, from the tackle by koscielny to the exquisite pass from deep in our half by Santi Carzola, boy was that pure vision....still yet, the best part of it was that silk touch that Özil killed the lobbed pass with all in his stride......Pure genius!! i just wonder how come he doesn't score more often with all that bundle of skill. This season he has 6 goals already in 9 games can he get into double digits in both goals and assist for the gunners this season?? Good question that he alone can answer. It must be said that his goal returns in Arsenal colours are looking good and should better his Madrid stats in Less number matches. He is just one goal away from equaling his haul of 19  goals for Real Madrid in 105 appearances. Arsenal went on to add two more goals by ozil to reflect their 80% dominance in the match yet you could tell the team still had a couple of gears they could crank up to if necessary.

      So whats to read into this goal fest of a performance, i wouldnt get ahead of fan worship here, we beat the opposition in front of us as expected but the quality of the opposition was a few rungs below European heavyweight,  has to be said but job done. Our play wasnt the best we've seen in recent times, but it it was more than good enough. So for now we try to keep the momentum for a better lenght of the season than we have had in the past cuz tougher tests lie ahead of the boiz. Ludogorets did also cause the gunners a few nervous moments but Ospina did what he is paid to do, bail the team out when all else failed with the frontmen at 1-0 up. Its nice to see that he's kept his head in the team despite last seasons horrors ....Olympiakos at the emirates comes to mind. This shows he's got the mental strength to overcome such poor showings, which is very good. Squad depth is helping the Team too as we made four changes without any significant drop in quality as compared to the normal starting 11, ad the injusries we currently have then you appreciate what that means. I just hope Wenger continues to rotate appropriately, giving game time to squad players while pressuring the starting 11 with their competition. No one likes changing a winning Team is the argument, but you also wanna make sure your players remain as fresh and raring to go so its wengers job to find the right balance in those extremes. I still believe Elneny and  Perez should be getting more gametime and that arguement was vindicated yesternight by the latter's impactful performance with two lovely Assists, his goals will come looking at the quality of our midfield. Wenger has a headache on his hands with a fully fit squad,( Ramsey, Giroud, Wellbz Still Out) lucky enough, the injury gods never seem to oblige him this. Maybe this season I guess. Anyway thats it from me, see u on the other side of Middlesbrough preview, till then help critique, like comment and share .....Cioaaaa

Swans @Sea but Only Just & Ludogorets Preview

Perspective is a funny thing depending on whose view it is, it’s a 6 ….no it’s a 9. Super Monday or Red Monday turned out to be nothing more than a notch interesting above a borefest. There was that dipping Coutinho shot which only God knows how De Gea kept out, spectacular doesn’t describe it enough and then the other palmed away shot from Emery Can, add Zlatan's miss from a teasing cross by Pogba and there you have it, all the highlights from the match summed up in those moments. Pretty much dozed off through the duration,  funny thing is Jose Mourinho’s Man United is 2 points worse of  14points than Van Gaals Man United after the same number of matches…….now that’s interesting init.

On to Arsenal now (I keep saying this aint a man U blog).

  3points in the bag.....Check

  6^th win in a row....Check

  Ozil to score....Check

 Keep the momentum....Check

Self-destruct button press....Check

 Do it the hardway...... Check no go back double CHECK!!

That’s where the check stops. We made an Omelette alright but my oh my did we almost make a harsh of it with number of eggs we had to break. What should have been a lot easier win turned out to be heading towards lucky escape. I wouldn’t sound like a glass half empty guy as we were in cruise mode for most parts of the game but why is Swansea at the Emirates such a difficult fixture to navigate? Some argue that they are our new bogey Team, like Bolton Wanderers under Sam Allardyce back then. Anyway 3 points is 3 points but I fear the Team needs to maintain proper 101% focus like we did against Chelsea. Let’s move away from negativity and spot the positives. Walcott, who missed two chances for his hat trick seems to be having a purple patch right now. This can only be good for the team considering we have been without Wellbz and the mysteriously injured Olivier Giroud in strike force while Perez has been in the store room we hid Park Ki Sung back then. I just wonder why Wenger will spend 17 Million pounds on a player and choose to keep him in a cold room, especially one who has shown he can mix it in with those up there. Alexis Sanchez on the other hand seems to have taken up the role of Mr Assist you as he leads our assist charts currently while Mesut Ozil has gone AWOL in that regard. One could refer to perspective and say it’s a good thing, the squad is better since we have been able to cope without these players thus far.…. but squad rotation is essential to players form and freshness. It also staves off complacency when you know there is competition for your spot. I would not a little bit more before these players start losing form while those NOT playing keep getting rusty. Which brings me to Granit Xhaka’s red card. To say the least it was dumb stupid red card to concede, making the game a real tough one for us. I would rather not say more, I just hope he learns from it. Wenger called it a “Dark Yellow” whatever that means but I beg to differ, Red Card no questions asked. If we had lost the game maybe he would have been more critical of him, who knows.

 

Arsene Wenger speaking prior to Arsenal's Champions League tie against Ludogorets

Unto Europe's Premier Competition, tonight we entertain Ludogorets Razgrad in the first of the Champions League double header at the Emirates. Frankly speaking I can’t say I know much about the Bulgarian side. Maybe a few clips here n there since their entrance into this competition this year. They had a chance against PSG at 2-1 down when they got that penalty but Moti missed from the spot and PSG went on to kill the game. They have a few tricky players and one to note is their number 10, the brazilian called Marcelinho who is at the center of their creative nous. In a nutshell I hope the boiz remain focused and secure all 3 Points. If we are harboring any hopes of topping the group then we can’t afford to draw the game let’s not even imagine a loss, no disrespect to Ludogorets. Mustafi knows and he said that much earlier on. 

“I don’t know a lot about them, but if a team plays in the champions League then they have quality, we have to understand that and be prepared for a game which is going to be really intense. It’s a home game so we obviously want to take the game into our oen hands and keep up the good run that we’ve had over the last few games”

I do hope they all keyed in like that. Lets see that focus on the pitch by picking another 3 points. My predicted Line up will be as seen below but a bit of rotation will be good though….lets see.

Subs: Cech, Gabriel, Gibbs, Perez, Giroud, Xhaka (No red), Oxlade, Elneny.

That should prove too much for Ludogorets.....i hope. Get the goals earlier so we can give game time to the likes of Perez and Elneny if thy cant get a start. Thats it from me, sorry for another late post, do enjoy the game wherever you are......ciao

From Cardiff to London: Swansea Preview

   Football is back so enough with the political rhetoric, whether its about the crashing Naira or the rising dollar, the ground breaking Yuan or the rebounding Brexit-bruised Pound. Trump or Hilary, Buhari and/or the Nigerian economy, league football takes center stage this weekend so we have something interesting to savour & relish, not some political doom or economic gloom. Besides celebrating the return of footy weekends, we celebrate with one of Arsenals finest in Mesut “Can I assist U” Özil who celebrates his birthday today clocking the young age of 28 years, we hope he gets to cap his celebration with a fine brace & an two assists against them.......No penalty taking please!!

#Happy Birthday Özil 

   Unto Arsenal, A quick fire preview as the swans come to town. This contest pitches up the premierships longest serving manager against the newest manager in the premier league. Arsene Wenger who has just clocked 20 years as the gunners coach doesn’t exactly have fond memories of Swansea, especially at the Emirates, 2 losses 1 win and 1 draw isn’t exactly something to cheer. Added to this is, back in 2001, when Stuart Pierce was newly appointed as Nottingham forest Manager, the gunners ended up on the losing side by a 2-1 margin, the other time Arsene Wenger met another EPL debutante coach was in 2015 against Slaven Bilic who got his Westham side leaving the Emirates with all 3 points via a 2 nil win. So one isn’t surprised that Arsene Wenger has preached caution and pragmatism in the approach to this match. Putting all these into context of  timing of the international break, except against Burnley, Arsenal has so far enjoyed a stellar Manager of the month nomination ride of 5 consecutive league wins in terms of performance. Swansea on the other hand got the international break at a time when they needed such breather based on the winless streak they had been on. In fairness to Swansea their lack of winning hasn’t been down to not churning out the right performances, cuz they have, pushing Man City and Liverpool all the way to deserve something from both matches but results are what counts. As most players just coming back from the break, I expect a cagey affair Swansea trying not to lose in continuation of  the form that saw the end of their former coach Francesco Guidolin while arsenal will be looking to improve on the home record against the swans. A lot has been talked about on Bob Bradley’s appointment and what he brings to the Swans in terms of work ethic, Organisation in defending, a lot of high pressing. Well I am hoping those lessons haven’t yet sunk in properly and Swansea make the mistake of allowing Arsenal to settle in their stride.If the gunners are allowed, it will be over before we even start but that’s just me wishing, nothing personal against Bradley at all. If the gunners can maintain that defensive discipline that has ensured the clean sheet keeping run of 4 in a row, then we can definitely take all 3 points. It will be Cech’s 250^th clean sheet in the EPL, here is hoping he too gets it in a win…..touch wood.

   All in all, it’s a match that asks a lot of questions of Wenger’s experience, what has change, have learnt anything since our last meeting against them which pretty much killed of any title ambition last season. 90 minutes shall tell us a whole lot, hoping its gonna be positive. My preferred line up sees Alexis making way for Perez as the point man in the attack, hoping his hunger is built up and raring to go, plus the Chilean as always would only just be returning to London Colney on thursday after playing full 90 minutes in both Chile’s world cup qualifiers. So here is how my 4-2-3-1 line up looks 

Subs: Ospina,  Gibbs, Oxlade, Alexis, Coquelin, Elneny

Swansea Line Up: Courtesy Lineup Builder.com

I guessthats it from me, sorry for the late post....a lot of things pressing to be  on that front burner. DO enjoy the match wherever you are and once again, from the "anaijagunner" TEAM, here's wishing Mesut Özil a very happy 28th birthday celebration [with a win ..*winks*]..........Ciao

Football is Back: Internationals WrapUp

Its so difficult to separate politics from anything these days, from your everyday work place to various organisations, religion and of course sports. watching the political debates on CNN talking about another of Trumps misdemeanor, like kilo tun soh  ooo {what has he said again} and how he keeps arming the opposition to his dentriment, One cant but wonder why there is still a presidential Race, I mean is Hilary Clinton that bad that some people would rather vote in a Donald Trump who has said all sorts, is saying all sorts and will continue to say all sorts regardless of the office he is running for? Look we wouldn’t even be here talking about this if  not for his very many ardent supporters who still gather at his rallies in their throngs, and we say Nigeria gat problems……..the republican party gat serious issues meeeiiin, but hey, that aint ma bizness

Trump Up or Down  Hill..ary ???

Anyway I was kidding about the “naija gat problems” part cuz bros we gat issues in motherland, no be lie ooo. Before I get sucked into the vortex of politics and its squeamishness, I re-digress back to football. The international break over the weekend put a pause on the Arsenal Team Train.  The last stop at Tuff moor aka Burnley station wasn’t exactly vintage Arsenal performance-wise as we were beginning to get used to in recent weeks, but 3points is always a welcome tally first then the performance. In keeping the momentum going 5 league wins in 5 just before the interlull is quite good. Its hard not to feel sorry for Burnley though, conceding in the dying minutes ant to such a controversial goal…..but I’ll take it.

Lets see what Arsenal Reps did in their various country colours.

The Good

Since charity begins at home I would say Alex Iwobi especially comes to mind first, his star is obviously on the rise, at only 19 years playing in the first team at a top club at such a tender age. He has it all right now or most of it all, he scored a brace for Nigeria against Plateau United in a pre-world cup qualifier friendly match. He went on to score the opening goal against Zambia. He has shown a certain maturity that’s helping him cope with the pressures of leading both club and countries attack, to think it was said in the past that he wasn’t tipped to make it BIG time.i guess hardwork , focus and humility does pay dividends especially when you think of the obscene amount of money  footballers are making these days. I hope he continues to work hard, on his finishing and tracking back, we have seen him struggle with his defensive side at Arsenal thereby leaving Nacho Monreal exposed at times still, if he maintains his focus and keeps up his ethic, then he may become even bigger than his Uncle Jay Jay wizard (hats off to bros) cuz he has an eye for goals which was one of his uncles flaws….. not enough goals i think.

Arsenal Boyz On Duty.........GIF Credit:Arsenal.com

Nacho Monreal got a surprise call up for the Spanish La Furia Roja (The Red Fury), his first since the last one in 2013 to make a 17^th cap and he marked it with an assist as he set up Nolito in a 2-0 win over Albania.

Granit Xhaka captained the swiss national team for the first time to a 2-1 win over Andorra but was absent through a suspension for their 3-2 win over Hungary.

Mesut Ozil was at the heat of Germany cresting his 10 shirt with an assist in their 3-0 win over Czech republic. Skordan Mustafi was also in action for Die Mannschaft although he was came on as a substitute.

Laurent Koscielny was in action for Le’ Blues in both their 4-1 demolition of Bulgaria and their narrow 1 nil win over the Oranje of Netherland, playing full 90 minutes in both matches.

David Ospina made history by becoming Colombia’s most capped goalkeeper of all time in a 1-0 win over Paraguay side. Alexis Sanchez had it sweet & Sour with Chile as they won 2-1 over Peru but were shocked by a 3-0 loss to Ecuador in Quinto.

Theo Walcott got to playing for the three lions in a double 60+ minutes appearance against Malta and Slovenia. Its nice to have him back in contention for England hoping he can maintain form and fitness.

Mohammed Elneny was in action for the Pharaohs of Egypt as they narrowly won 1-2 away in brazaville.

The Not so Good.

While it was nice to have Kieran Gibbs and Alex Oxlade Chamberlain back in contention for England berths after missing out on call-ups in recent times, but they remained on the bench for both matches England played during the qualifiers. It’s a tough for both of them to usurp their competition at both club and country with the form they are in. In fairness to Gibbs its being more of Nachos consistency and his incessant injuries, while Ox on the other hand is up against the emergence of Iwobi and a scorching Walcott plus his own errant form, then injuries. Giroud remains AWOL with his mysterious fitness issues while Ramsey we hear may have suffered yet another setback.

Ozil and Alexis Sanchez are still stalling over their contracts with their bumper pay rise demands seeming to be the road block but we shall get details of these in due time. I guess that’s it from me for a wrap, see you on the other side of Swansea Preview………Ciao

Basel Bossed as Burnley Beckons!

  Well…….that was easy. No I mean, that’s went easier than expected. I mean the gunners practically blew away the Swiss champions, turning them into Swiss cheese in a less than 30 minutes blitz. From the blast of the whistle we were dominant for most parts till Walcott got the brace that pretty much ended what we feared might be contest. Basel came to the emirates with a fine record of no loss to an English side in 5 UCL games. My only gripe is our wastefulness in front of goal, Ozil missing two good chances and Sanchez being a bit unusually casual at the last.  Now to Walcott, I asked before what exactly he was on cuz he showed here again the willingness to chase everything, his movement on and off the ball was full of intelligent running into space while putting in some good diagonals that no one connected to. When Arsenal play like this, free of any mental shackles....they are quite difficult to stop. Kos, Mustafi were practically on holiday only doing occasional mop ups to recycle play forward. Ospina, well he saved when he was called to action by a Bjarnason dipping shot.

   I talked about seeming wastefulness up front, sometimes we take our foot of the pedal and ease off. I hope this is dealt with, that’s how complacency sets in besides, its always good to score as many goals as the opportunity allows and not dawdle like u showing mercy. Be that as it may, we must give credit to the boiz. they bossed the game from midfield, Santi was at the heart of it all linking well with Iwobi and Ozil especially the pass to Sanchez that was the “pre assist”.  As for Ozil, he spurned one or two chances but he is getting into good positions, he needs to imbibe that killer instinct for him to become the player he has the true potential to become. Alexis had one of those games where he got everything but score, frustratingly denied a couple gilt edge chances by FC Basel Vaclik whom Basel would do well to give a healthy bonus for his heroics that ensured a respectable score line. I am sure Marek Suchy has aches on his aches after his torrid time trying helplessly to keep the Chilean quiet. All in all, another good day at the office, 3 points, 2 goals and 3^rd consecutive clean sheet not forgetting better depth in the squad...signs of an Arsenal in Crisis init?

  Next Stop is an away match at Turf moor, Sean Dyche’s men have had something of a yoyo season thus far, beating Liverpool on Match Day2 followed by 2 losses and a draw then a Stephen Defour inspired win on Monday against Watford......Yep same Watford that trounced Man United just last week. They should be buoyed by that win but I am sure the way Arsenal seem to be cruising won’t have gone unnoticed by them, so expect them to have a game plan prepared. Arsenal hasn’t lost to Burnley in over 3 decades and I hope they don’t start now. As another international break looms after match Day6, it would be nice to extend our match winning streek to 5 on the bounce and keep the momentum going into the break. Arsene summed it up in these words:

“In recent games we have combined style and efficiency and we want to continue that because we want to give pleasure to the fans,” Wenger said. “We know that comes with results but as well with the quality of the game and in our recent games against Chelsea and against Basel, we managed to do both.”

My predicted lineup for both teams  below (Courtesy the UK Guardian Online)

subs: Ospina, Debuchy, Chuba, JR Adelaide, Gibbs, Perez, Alex Ox, Giroud,

While i humbly remain unconvinced by Sanchez through the middle, 4 goals in 5 premiership games is  quite difficult to argue against, besides, its tough to change Arsene Wenger when he has his mind set on a certain task as he seems to have done here. I also believe Elneny deserves a start while Santi should get a rest, Wenger is the coach though and he would likely do the opposite, thus my term Predicted lineup. Whatever TEAM files out for the gunners, i would hope for another 3 points, keep the winning streak going and put the pressure on Man City who have a tricky date at Spurs especially without De Bruyne, someone needs to remind Master Pep that this is the premiership, no coasting to the title allowed....LOL. Anyway those are ma thoughts from here, dont forget to critique /Like/Commen and share our post. Do enjoy the game wherever you are....Ciao

Chelsea High To Basel Preview

     So Big Sam ends his short stint as england manager with an egg in the face that gives Arsene another reason to laugh as he dropped a clanger after being caught on video making unsavory and damning comments by a Telegraph Journalist working undercover. You'd expect some of us would have learnt to keep our opinions off the record so to speak cuz you don’t know when Big brother might be watching…yeah I know. If Cops don’t learn not to get caught on video shooting indiscriminately or accepting twenty naira, then who will? How sad though, only one game at the helm of one of the best paying jobs in the world right now and you have to step down cuz you couldn’t keep those implicating opinions about ya predecessor or employers to yourself…sorry mate.

Anyway good riddance, he was never going to be "The Solution" to England's footballing Woes,  now to Arsenal tins jaaare. As a big fan of DC & Marvel Universe, it’s only natural that one enjoys watching Batman, The Justice league and all their spin offs. That’s the inspiration for the picture below, one fight scene that I enjoy so much however brief  is  "Bane Vs Mammoth" (Still enjoy it). Now that’s what the win against Chelsea reminded me off. That super duper soccer punch you didnt see coming, Arsenal came with a game plan and stuck with it for 90+ mins, Chelsea never had a chance.!!

Young Justice:  Bane Vs Mammoth courtesy Warner Bros Animation

     By now I expect you must have relived all the moments taking it all in, enjoying that last drop of satisfaction gotten from thrashing Costa and Friends from Chelsea FC. Costa is probably still in Koscielny's Pocket crying somewhere. Guys lets face it, this hasn’t happened in a long long time, sure we beat both Manchester Clubs last season at one time or the other, but not Chelsea, even at their worst nadir……they still managed to do a double over Arsenal yet again, it was all too painfully familiar.  Ok, ok, oooakaaayyy,  enough already with the Chelsea win, even if we would love to continue milking every bit of pleasure that’ win gives, there is no time for that, same 3 points as any other  win so why the plenty OMG (rolling eyes here). I am not trying to trivialize by brushing aside this win like it means nothing, far from it, it means a whole lot for the Team. It was as a well wrapped 20^th Anniversary Gift to Arsene Wenger, confidence booster, a wonderful feeling of pleasure and the continuation of the momentum we building, whats not to like there? Still.....this is football where there is no room for getting ahead of ourselves despite the performance, like we have been there before, Arsenal build ya hopes only to send them crashing so lets stay focused by keeping our feet firmly planted on the ground. The result was good but the performance in general was what caught the eye, everyone is gushing about Sanchez/Özil but Walcott must be on something beastly extraordinary or how do you explain his transformation in the last 3-4 games. His goals, assists & especially his work rate and hustle to get stuck in, i mean he's already made more tackles in 6 games than he had made in the past two seasons!! Can you beat that?? Arsene commented on his new work ethic:

“He has improved, he showed that on Saturday [against Chelsea].

He knows when you play on the flank, you have to add that job to your game,

because today all the full-backs who go forward are dangerous.

 Despite that he wanted to compete on the flank,

 and as long as he produces these kind of performances, I’m OK with it.”

Encouraging words that will bode well for Walcott, hope Oxlade is listening too.

Keeping our feet on the ground means taking it one game at a time, so time to switch focus to the Champions League as we welcome FC Basel to town in a match Day2 game . I expect the players to know this is a must win game (no offence to Basel) to boost our chances of topping the group. We have to win all our home games, so let us start by winning FC Basel on Wednesday. On paper, an Arsenal win is very much expected but we all know how in football, anything can happen.  Add the fact that Arsenal’s consistency is being inconsistent….again anything can happen. Having said all that, I expect the players to guard against any form of complacency and remain focused in order to the job done. Another 3 points will do nicely, as PSG would most likely beat Ludogorets FC barring any unexpected miracles, so we need to win this. I don’t expect Basel to be push overs, they currently top the Swiss Super League by 14 points above their nearest rival, marching their way to an 8th consecutive title which is nothing to scuff at, but i expect our fire power should be too much for them hopefully.  Coquelin’s Injury (Out for 3-4 weeks) being the only blip on a perfect Saturday, means we Arsene has to start one or both Xchaka &/Or  Elneny  in the middle just behind Özil, I would give Santi a rest maybe Sanchez too, he needs it.  Besides Ospina back in, the defense picks itself as the same while i'll give Perez a start as the arrow head in attack, no Sanchez through the middle for me. While I don know which Arsenal will turn up my line up will look like. 
Bellz, Mustafi, Kos, Nacho, Xhaka, Elneny, Özil, Walcott, Perez, Sanchez/Iwobi, a 4-2.3-1 formation:

Subs: Gibbs, Santi, Adelaide,Oxlade, Iwobi.

The flipside of the Chelsea win is that million dollar Pound question. Is Arsenal now a True Title contender or is this another flash in the Pan? We have seen this before(Man U win last year), so its up to this crop of mature Men as Wenger calls them, to show that they are ready to challenge for Silverware regardless of the pressure that comes with it. For now though, lets enjoy this and hope its another win against FC Basel on Wednesday, enjoy the game wherever you are........Ciao