Familiar Foes: Special 1 or Specialist in Faiure

   A lot has happened around the world since I seen you guys but no time to comment on Trumps win (surprise surprise) or the Internationals or the fighting  in Syria…Nooo we dive straight in for the Man U V Arsenal. The Derby of the Premier league I dare say (maybe not as top of the bill as before), we both know these teams are not the stuff of champions they used to be Arsenal looking for their 1st League trophy win since the invincibles and Man U still outta sorts since the departure of SAF. How times have changed but ….have they really changed that much?? I think not. The added spice of  the Arsene-Mourinho rivalry makes this an even more interesting match. Man U Vs Arsenal like that heat isn’t enough, you throw in the caustic Mourinho V Wenger rivalry  for that lil tabasco on this “hotdog”. In a nutshell as far as hypes, egos, special one, specialist in failure or bitter rivalries go, this is not a game I’d wanna miss if I was you. Jose believes he isnt accorded the kind of respect Wenger has, despite his recently winning the league as compared to Wenger's last ....some eons ago. it riles him and he just cant get come to terms with Wenger seemingly having the better rub of the green from the Media, the FA, and the club managements.

Familia Foes

   Our look at the form book for both clubs, Man U looks to be in more some sort of Strait…..not dire yet, but one win in the last 5 league games tells an unpleasant story. Some go as far as saying compared to Van Gaal & David Moyes at this stage of their various tenures, Mourinho’s current doesn’t seem to be fairing any better than they had after 11 matches. A summer splurge on some of the best and most expensive players in Europe hasn’t had them blitzing opponents like most of the fans would have been expecting. The team is conceding more goals than an average mourinho side would especially one with a De Gea in between the sticks. Pogba besides his inconsistent hairstyles has only shown a bit of that quality we all know he has in flashes recently but he needs to do it more consistently to show his second coming to Man U is a the step up he so wanted. Mikitaryan not playing is another perplexing story entirely while Rooney is looking more of a misfit conundrum. Damned if you play him, damned if you don’t. It’s not all dour for the Mancs though, Rashford has forced Jose to take him a bit more seriously, Mata is getting playing time, Bailly has been a solid fit in at the back and Zlatan shows us he still gat it at 35, if you need a lil bit of something to cheer. Basically the team has a lot more potential to be more than they currently showing they are and it’s up to the manager to get his pieces to fit together. Does it mean Arsenal has a free pass on Man U this time, as an Arsenal fan…..i wish. 

     The truth is Arsenal hasn’t been firing on all cylinders too, one win sandwiched between the last 3 league matches hasn’t set us on a slower momentum now we are visiting Old Trafford where we have not won since 2006, against a manager Wenger hasn’t beaten in the League,  with just only one win in 12 past meetings against Mourinho all in the month of the dreaded November month where Arsenal has a not so productive history. Looking at all these indicators I don’t know what to expect as the odds looks totally stacked against Arsene Wenger and his team. That’s the form book though and we all know that in games like these, that book goes out the window, It comes down to who wants it more during the 90+ minutes encounter so all that aove may be irrelevant. This may be the day of reckoning for Mourinho where Arsene Wenger gets it right with a lil luck on his side and he gives him a hammering or another win for Jose. Tactically Mourinho is one who would have sat down to prep his team against an opponent drilling each of his players as to how to nullify the opposition tactics.           This method though is being found out and teams are getting past Jose and his plans. Wenger on the other hand will expect his team play swarms the opposition into submission with no specific player or players being targeted. For wenger too, teams are parking the bus, happily ceding possession and hoping to hit Arsenal on the counter and it works to a point. Whatever the plan is, I hope Arsene has a more pragmatic plan for this encounter. Both teams need the 3 points, a draw does neither team any good. Man U though being at home may feel the 6 points behind the gunners, they are under more pressure.  Both teams are also without some key players. For Man U, no Ibrahimovic, Bailly, Smalling, Miki, Fellaini, with Rooney a doubt.  Arsenal is still without their midfield dextro, Santi Carzola, Bellerin and possibly Sanchez even though he didn’t seem to aggravate his hamstrings on international duty, the remaining team looks good. My predicted team sheets will look like this.

Team Line Ups Courtesy UK Guardian

    Here is hoping for a better outing against the the mancs, 3 points and and a clean sheet to the good even though the signs aren't looking so good. Despite Arsenal's terrible record at Old Trafford and Arsene's hitherto terrible stats against Mourinho, one can and should be still be able to dream BIG......enjoy the game wherever you are, .......Ciaooo.

NLD: Guts But No Glory!

    What da deeleyo peeps, I mean whas goin on (ma fav yankee accent). Yes ooo, its Dee day back in the states (I never reach airport oo….lol) and we are about to find out who is the most hated of the two ills…..meh. Scheming Hilary or Mean-filled Trump? Frankly speaking I can’t be assed about the theses elections frankly speaking just cant understand what the vested interest it is with Nigerians, the way Nigerians analyses the US elections one would have expected that we would have the foresight to prevent the current economic recession right here….anyway Good luck best of luck to both candidates, though I have a soft spot for democrats just not sure about this their candidate sha, and the alternative…..Puhlzzzz.

    Back to naijagunner, the north London derby has come and gone, with the vestiges of the hype dust now settled. It turned out to be an unstoppable force meeting an immovable object, ending in a grinded out stalemate. One point is better than nothing looking at the glass from the half full perspective but with Liverpool turning over opponents like its Sunday jollof and Chelsea, storming their way back, one can’t help but feel it was two points dropped especially when you add the fact that we were the home team. The Gunner have dropped most points at home now with 1L & 2 D while we have only 1D on our away trips in the league. Arsene has something to worry about if that stat continues. Emirates should be made into a fortress where TEAM should fear coming cuz they would be put to sword.

    The match stated with both teams trying to impose themselves on the midfield, Tottenham

Took the gamble of starting Kane and he was threatening by his positioning during the early exchanges, there was a particular ball that Erikson whipped in from wide right which flashed across the six yard box inches in front of him but that chance went begging, a much match fit Kane would buried that. Thank God he wasn’t. Then next came son, dummying mustafi on the high press he raced down towards the by line and then flashed a cross into the area, Monreal did just that gentle enough touch not to turn it into his post but nick it away fro the lurking Kane ready to tap in ….another close one. This seemed to wake the gunners up from slumber. Monreal was one of our standout performers on that Sunday, showing why his early season Jitters are very obvious because we are so used to him being consistent. He cleared at least 3 potential goal creating chances from the Arsenals box much to Kane's frustrations. Arsenal stared to seize control of the game towards the last twenty minutes of. There was that snap shot from Sanchez that went waaaay over the bar.  Then Sanchez drifted right to tee up Özil, he dragged his tame shot wide of the mark. Next up was Iwobi who had a better game I think, derby rush maybe, he was set up in the box by a fine pass from Sanchez again, only, he shot straight at Loris…he really should have done better. Arsenal again turning the screw breaking away quickly as Özil, Sanchez and Xchaka combining to release Walcott, he ran ahead and thundered a fierce drive against Hugo Loris’s left upright. The rebound off the post was not skewed into row zee by Özil as he tried to balance himself on the scissors volley. That was a terrible miss by our German playmaker with a look that said it all. We were knocking for a due goal and it came in the dying embers of the 1^st half. Arsenal won a freekick outside Spurs 18yard box, Özil steps up to loft a teasing ball into the area, Kevin Wimmer who was starting his 1^st league game for spurs, sends its into the back of his net for an own goal.

1-0  to Arsenal

So the half ended with the gunners on the ascendancy. Second half was more of Spurs seizing the initiative again and it paid off, quickly Dembele dragged Coquilin shirt to tease into the Gunners box Mustafi tried to nick the ball but missed and koscielny stuck out his foot, missing the ball but buying the Penalty Dembele sought. Refree pointed to the spot from where kane made no mistake, sending it down the middle while Cech grasped air with his legs.

1-1 all square

   A kick in the teeth from a terribly soft penalty to concede but if it’s a foul which it was, then it’s a penalty….deal with it. We tried to respond on the offensive, Xhaka shot another balloon into the air, why today of all days, then Spurs tried a trick one from Rose across the 6 yard box after getting behind our back four, I don’t know how Monreal got ahead of Kane for the vital block on what would been a tap in. The look of disbelief on both Kane and Rose was just epic. Monreal just got up and carried on. End to end stuff this was becoming, Iwobi floated a flighted lob into the box Xhaka couldn’t dive to meet it and the half chance went begging. It was nerve wrecking and both Teams were going at each other hammer and tongs. Wenger decided to go for it, bringing on Ramsey for Coquelin and Giroud for iwobi. Sanchez Played in Özil but Loris was quickly off his line to smother the ball for a corner. Corner taken but ramsey couldn’t keep down a rebound from the clearance. Ramsey shot another ball waaaaay over, much to the frustration of everyone. Then came a Steven Gerard moment by Cech, when Spurs played a long ball into Son over our highline, Cech was quick off his line but slipped on the way, Son, stopped his running just long enough a moment for Cech to recover and clear the ball. Pheeew, that was close, Arsenal continued to press for that winner. Giroud nodded into Loris's safe hands from a cross by Sanchez., 90 minutes now and the tension was fever pitch. Then Danny rose sped to the byline before pulling back a cross that fell for Jansen, His scissors volley didn’t quite come off, Arsenal cleared but only just as Wanyama picked up the loose ball and shot over the ball. There was enough time for just one more attack from Arsenal before the final whistle.

I hate to say ths but we dropped two points despite credits to Spurs with their defending which was very well organized. They made it difficult to break down. On the balance of it all  1 oint isn’t bad but 3 would have been most ideal considering our next trip is at Old Trafford, that has become a must win match lest we fall waaay behing high flying Liverpool and revamped Chelsea, you also would expect Pep Guardiola to sort City out soon enough so all points count. Anyway that’s it, we are off to the international break guys, Up Nigeria as iwobi scores in Uyo…….Ciaooo

North London Derby: Red Or White?

    Remember remember the 5^th of November, Guy Fawkes day is upon them in Britain, and when we look at the recent polls, Americans still cant decide if she is bad while he is worse or the other way round. I’d rather the US elections, Brexit and all the hum dum of political jargon be gotten over with so we can watch something more meaningful on CNN. Anyway V for vendetta was that movie, twisted, cynical  and it rabid dialogue was nothing short of brilliant. How Guy Fawkes goes from villain to a hero is beyond comprehension but hey this world is full of mysteries aint it…..thats ma opinion though.

Guy Fawkes Mask: V for Vandetta

     Back to Arsenal as this is what we do here, please pardon the digression. It’s the north London derby (NLD) at the emirates on Sunday and our first on this blog ……yippee. Arsenal face the first test of their mettle against Tottenham as they begin the fabled “crunch November” in the league. A lot of history in this one since 1992 when both teams met for the 1^st time in the EPL.  From cross carpeting players like Sol Campbel to managers like George Graham and Herbert Chapman (same Chapman with a statue), it really is a stuff of legends.

Arsenals 66 Wins to Spurs 50Wins, Spurs have never finished above the gunners in the league since Arsene came to town. Last season coulda been that season though, after pushing leiceter most of the way it looked like they would get 2^nd place above Arsenal (which they deserved if u ask me) but like the famous Lasgne of 2006, Tottenham bottled it yet again. We aren’t at that point of reckoning yet, just about a third of the league games played. Of the two sides, Arsenal are the form team even though they seemed to be getting themselves into tricky situations and then going on to get themselves out of it, just for the heck of it. One would thing a better team would punish the gunners more with their penchant for school boy defending in recent games. Spurs on the other hand though unbeaten in the league so far, here’s hoping we change that. They seem to have lost some mojo in their last few matches with just one win in four games compared to Arsenal's 3 wins in four. Yes the form guide points to an Arsenal win and I hope for that too….but derby is a derby and this happens to be one of the fiercest rivalries in football where no one wants to end up on the losing side. Form they say goes out the window when it comes to this and the day belongs to the team that shows to want it more. Can Arsenal do that to kill Tottenham’s high pressing game? BIG question that needs our BIG GUNZ to show up BIG time. Can we do that?  Sanchez seems to think so, saying this derby will have everything as he understands what the result  of this particular means to the team and the supporters in terms of morale and bragging rights.

“The Arsenal fans are amazing supporters and that really helps me to perform well, and  we want to give them something to celebrate” speaking to Arsenal.com

    I don’t think anyone can question our energizer bunny’s work ethic. The good thing is his attitude has rubbed of on the likes of Walcott and recently Oxlade who have spoken glowingly about how he gives that bit of extra. Özil is also reverse chipping in with more goals this season than assists so far and I hope he continues with both. Football is a team game and it would require the whole team to stay compact in defending without the ball and clinical when the chances come. Despite Spurs injury worries, without Anderwereld, Kane though proclaimed fit is not likely to start, spurs still posses a threat in Son(Spurs top scorer) Erikson, a fit Kane they are no slouch couch. Remember Arsenal has not won Spurs in the last four league meetings. The midfield will be a key battle area, if we win that, we have better finishers who can convert chances to hurt them real bad. Wenger has a few concerns too and a selection headache albeit a good one. Walcott and Monreal are likely to be back in the side after their short layoff while Santi the magician remains the doubt….still the ankle. My own preferred lineup will be to go with pace in attack and a strong midfield to stifle Dembele and Wanyama. Something like the usual back four with Cech, Nacho and Bellz returning, powerful midfield trio of Coq Xhaka and Ramsey in front of them then a front three of Wally Iwobi and Sanchez. …..yes I am leaving Özil on the bench with Giroud, keep them hungry for the second half. Having said that, I believe Wenger  who knows, will go with the team below depending on injuries(those in bold are almost a guarantee );

Sub: Ospina, Elneny, Jenkinson, Giroud, Ramsey Xhaka, Oxlade.

Predicted Lineups courtesy ; The Uk Guardian.

Whatever the team that's put out, here is hoping the players fight for everything like Sanchez said and get that win for the fans to celebrate. Till tomorrow, do enjoy the match wherever you may be.....Cioa

The Wizard Of Özil Seals The Comeback In Sofia

  Wow…..a comeback is always nice especially away from home but that wasn’t easy. Its not every time that we have said that this season since Arsenal Made a flying comeback post their first match loss. Arsenal played a different Ludogoret side from the one that visited the emirates two weeks ago. Off the block Arsenal tried to impose themselves in the midfield that had Ramsey starting for the first time since returning from injury on the wings where arsene admitted “he doesn’t like to play”. Ramsey was the first to test the opposition waters as early as the 5^th minute , then in the 8^th minute Özil was played through on goal by a delightful slide on pass from Coquelin. Özil took the pass well o the run but aas usual his final shot was a weak placement that  Borjan their keeper was able to save with ease. That seemed to have jolted the hosts out of their shell as they took Arsenal apart with two well taken goals within the space of five minutes. The first came from a nice free kick after Xhaka was harshly penalized for a soft handball outside the gunners penalty box. Wanderson floated in an in swinger, the Arsenal defence dallied on the incoming and the ball was bundled home by Cafu despite Jenkinson’s best efforts at a desperate clearance.

1-0 against the Gunners!

  I know Jenkinson is just back from injury but he was a weak link in the arsenal backline making life a bit more difficult for Mustafi. Going forward he lack the incision of bellerin and his defending really needs to be less clumsy especially his positioning. He gets a bit of slack cuz he is only back from a long injury lay off but he is has to up his game to catch up with Bellerin. Our collective defending was brought to the fore again few minutes after the goal via a fast break with the ball played out wide by Wanderson to the left for Cafu. Cafu  did some nice footwork to land Gibbs on his backside before playing the ball into space for Keseru to convert. 

2-0 against the gunners!

Painful to see us defending this way, . I just did a bigups on Gibbs and he fails me like this….. that was it though for the home side. Arsenal needed to respond and they picked themselves from falling behind. Özil did well to scoop the ball of the line for Granit Xhaka to steer beyond the grasping dive of Borjan in Ludogorets goal on the dot of 20 minutes.

2-1 against the gunners! Still some ground to make up.

Just like arsenal conceded in quick succession, Ludogorets were going to almost oblige Arsenal the same. Arsenal won the ball in their half got it to Ramsey out wide on the right flank. Ramsey on the edge of the box floated one into the box. Giroud came forward to glance the header beyond the keeper for the glorious equalizer…..pheeeeww. The game played out till the end of the first half.

2-2 All Square at halftime.

   The second half was more grit than grace from both teams as they tried to eke out that final killer ball to finish off the other Team. Not like Arsenal were so dominant cuz Ospina had to get of his line twice to smother a potential threat from Wanderson. Ludogoret still gave us some nervy causes for concern. Oxlade came on for Ramsey just over seventy minutes before two more substitutions bought El Neny and Iwobi. As the match was dying into a stalemate, Ludogorets were taught a hard lesson at this stage. Arsenal broke away on the counter and Özil was able to spring the offside trap from way out.

2-3 to the Gunners! Come back almost done…...

   The whole goal, lets just say we were treated us to a Messi-esque goal, chipping the keeper first before dummying two defenders on the floor twice then slotting home with aplomb. Please watch the goal here …….in case you missed it. Özil has his critics but this was a thing of beauty that Dennis Bergekamp would be very proud. He got an assist and a goal, 7 goals now, i hope he is able to hit double figures in both this year.

   Game over and we see it wasn’t a routine win as some may have thought, Ludogorets are the Bulgarian champions so why would one expect that. It was a game that could have gone totally south with a bad loss, but the team turned it around which was very good. 10 points just like PSG who had a late winner at Basel but still top of group A. The November month of key games has started on good note. Lets hope the winning momentum is maintained in the league as well. From the whole Team, that’s it from us……..CIao

Sunderland Treat, Almost Tricky!

    Happy Halloween wherever U are especially for Man U fans. Yeah I know I keep saying this isn’t a Man Utd blog but one has to start asking questions about what is going on over there in the Red Manchester. Man City, Chelsea, Liverpool, Tottenham and even Arsenal whom we all kinda wrote off after the first game which they lost, are all in the mix of “Contenders”. Well Mourinho led Man United sit in 8^th place (not bad) but 8^th points off the top with a +1 goal difference after 10 games can you beat that? Even Moyes and Van Gaal did much better at this stage when the bean couters came to take stock. Mourinho is throwng his usual antics, after being sent to the stands on Saturday, he has come out to blame every one but himself ,….as usual. I never liked him but he had done enough to earn ma respect and I am sure so many other people too but he is gradually losing it all. Why Henri Mikitharian isn’t able to get game time after such a high profile move is beyond me. Dortmund and Bundesliga player of the year last season or is Dortmund to Man U moves Jinxed? Kagawa …anyone?

Back to Arsenal on the quickie, 10 EPL games played 7W 2D 1 L, so Are we title contenders?? Not yet. I would love to be postive and i am being positive but not only is it early days yet, i do say so because we have a bit of a complacency about our play however good we are. We can take out most if not all teams if we stay focused and hungry,  but we seem to lack that killer instinct, that has always being our bane. From the last match against the Mack'ems here are 5 things we learnt, at least i did:

Gibbs Makes a Claim at a comeback.

Two wins in the EFL cup run as captain merged with an assured performance in his first start in league in which he got an assist for that crucial second goal against Sunderland tells a lot about his progress recently. His defending is looking improved and he is gradually working his way back into contention for a stating berth. Remember he also got a call up for the England squad earlier this month even though he did not play. Monreal we all know has been consistent up until this season where Iwobi has kind of left him exposed in games but if Gibbs continues his upward trajectory in improvement injuries allowing, he just might usurp our Mr Consistent who is not getting any younger.

Arsenal Like to do it the Hard way.

     I don’t know how many times immaa say this but I say it again, we seem to dislike the easy route. We got into the bossed it from midfield got ahead from a sweet stealing header by Sanchez after 22 swift passes… yeah death by a thousand passes, very beatiful. Then what? Kill of the game, naaah instead we took our foot of the pedal. Playing with Sunderland like it was a training session. We ought to have been at least two goals up if Ozil had been more clinical or if Iwobi hadn’t over run the ball after rounding the keeper. We played with style and lots of possession but no end product. 1-0 up is never a safe scoreline in games, we all know that so it was no surprise we conceded a soft penalty from which they equalized. Typical Arsenal, not this time though, the gunners they cranked up the gears with super sub Giroud doing in  an ‘8 Minute of Blitz’ what they ought to have done in 70 minutes. Arsenal seem to like it the hardway….not so good!

   

Sanchez shows the way but…

     Another man of the match performance but i still don’t agree with him up top. he sure is making a case for that to continue though as his goals are proving Wenger’s belief in that being the way to go. Well you can’t fault that, he is an energizer bunny full of running and always trying to make something happen. The way he out foxed Kone for Arsenals 1^st goal was just amazing. He left the Kone still expecting to head a ball that was already in the net. So what’s the “but”?  For all of Sanchez’s good to Arsenal his penchant for falling down every single time he is pulled or pushed or tugged will see him lose 50-50 calls for penalties like it happened in the match, also he needs to cut out his trying to influence the referee into giving a yellow card against the opposition. Come on bro, it makes you look like a whining pantsy and that’s very unsporting if you ask me. Great work ethic from a star player, he just needs to cut out those kinks.

Arsenal show they have Quality in Depth

     1-1, game all square, Giroud comes off the bench and scores 2 good goals with his first two touches easing off the pressure on the team while sending the gunners to the summit of the table albeit briefly. That’s a rarity in past seasons. We usually have a starting 11 that’s solid with Giroud leading the line with no extra goods in the tank, but not this season. In Defence Midfield and Attack, this gunners boast of better replacements than before which can only be   good for the Team. Elneny has held forth well even though Ramsey is back an Xhaka has served his last match ban so Arsene has some decisions to make. We have so far coped without Welbeck, Giroud, Ramsey and Perez although it must be said that we don’t have an adequate replacement for Santi who has picked up a knock…still there is an improvement in the squad depth quality wise.....now that is good!

November can be defining Month.

     On paper, Arsenal have two tough league games in November, away at them Tiny Tots who are thus far unbeaten (Wont it be nice to hand them thei first defeat of the season) but have stuttered with two consecutive draws draws and then at home to Man Utd, sandwiched in between will be . Now Man United isn’t the worry but the Mourinho factor may still be. Arsene still owes him a beating in the league. The BIG question is can they beat these two teams now?? 6 points would be a dream come true, 4 points from those two games will be good a 2 points will be bad and anything less would be really terrible. If you add Ludogorets and PSG in the UCL and Southampton in the EFL cup then you get the picture. Not that I have underestimated Bournemouth cuz there are no easy games in the EPL these days.

   All in all, a good day out with 3-points in the bag although no clean sheet. Liverpool is looking a threat now ooo, or is it me? For us, here is hoping we dont have our hitherto terrible November run in the league while successfully being able navigate three tricky cup games both home and away with good results. I believe proper management of his players will be very critical to such success. Finding the right balance will be tricky no doubt but rotation is very key. Anyway thats it from me.......... Ciao

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