Ju Young Park scored his first goal in an Arsenal shirt against Bolton
The week that was - October 2011
October 26, 2011
After the starting the Premier League season with a record of 1-1-3, Arsenal fans were left wondering how many games we would actually win this season. But looking back on a week that saw us claim three wins - over Marseille, Stoke and Bolton - in three different competitions, and it's a completely different ballgame.
First up was Marseille in the Champions League on Wednesday. Stade Velodrome has widely been considered one of the toughest places in all of Europe to get a win. And for more than 90 minutes that seemed to be the case for Arsenal. A tight stalemate seemed inevitable, especially as neither team really seemed capable of doing much in the final third.
But suddenly, a cross by Johan Djourou was helped on by Gervinho until it met Aaron Ramsey at the edge of the box. The Welshman took a step inside and slotted home the winner with only seconds to spare.
Aside from Ramsey's goal, also worthy of note was the play of Laurent Koscielny. Opinion on the player has often alternated between praise for impressive performances, such as shutting down Messi last season, and forgettable moments such as Birmingham's go-ahead goal in last season's Carling Cup final.
Arsène Wenger praised the defender, "You saw in that game what we want from Laurent - he was commanding and playing with authority." And if continues playing that way, the Boss could be in for some tough decisions when Thomas Vermaelen returns from injury.
But perhaps more importantly, the win continued to build the team's confidence. Although the manager was quick to point out that his squad's record had not been as dreary as some made it out to be. "If you look back last five or six games you will see we only have one defeat," he noted. "We are slowly getting there - that will help tonight."
The three points catapulted the Gunners past Marseille in Group F and put them in a strong position to qualify for the knockout stages for the 12th consecutive year. However, we must recall that Arsenal were in a similar position at this time last year, but a couple of poor performances in Eastern Europe saw Shakhtar Donetsk win the group - and saw Arsenal paired with Barcelona in the following round.
The second game of the week came against Stoke, a team that few Arsenal fans hold in high regard. But with the Potters sitting above Arsenal in table, it was certainly a game that needed to be taken very seriously. The big news before kick-off was that Robin van Persie would not start. Wenger had discussed resting the Dutchman earlier in the week, but noted that resting a player in that kind of form is never an easy thing to do.
Moroccan international Marouane Chamakh picked up his first start of the season, and Gervinho's 27th minute goal made it look like Van Persie's services wouldn't be needed. However, Peter Crouch evened it up a few minutes later and the scoreline would stay the same well into the second half.
Enter Van Persie. Seven minutes after replacing Chamakh, the Premier League's hottest player added his 24th goal in 26 league games. And nine minutes after that he added another.
This led to Wenger being asked after the game if Arsenal were becoming a ‘one-man team'. To this he responded, "I don't have that feeling at all. When you want to be a team with quality you always have a player who stands out and who gets on the end of things." He then put Van Persie in legendary company by invoking the name of Thierry Henry as a player in a similar situation.
Arsenal then faced off against Bolton for their third game in seven days. Following their usual tradition in the Carling Cup, Arsenal made big changes to the line-up. Among those entering the fold were young players like Nico Yennaris and Ignasi Miquel, seldom used veterans like Ju Young Park and Sebastien Squillaci, and Thomas Vermaelen in his first appearance since August.
An unremarkable first half turned into a near crisis moment early in the second when former Gunner Fabrice Muamba put the Wanderers ahead in the 47th minute. But within 10 minutes, Arsenal came storming back on courtesy of Andrey Arshavin. The Russian first notched the equalizer then set up Park for a sublime curling finish - his first in an Arsenal shirt.
Needless to say, the Boss was thrilled. "We want to just keep going and I think it is down to us to change the mind of people. We have a good spirit, a good attitude and there is still some room for improvement of course. We are getting better and better."
And that couldn't come at a better time. Saturday the team travels across town to take on Chelsea in what could be a season-defining match. After suffering losses to the other ‘big' clubs - Liverpool and Man United - as well as Tottenham (sorry, couldn't resist) the matchup against the West Londoners is an opportunity to prove that the recent wins are rule rather than the exception.
Arsenal's seemingly non-stop schedule then continues on Tuesday with the return leg against Marseille. A win there would give Arsenal 10 points in the Group - a standard that all but guarantees passage to the knockout stages.
From a fantastic week that was to hopefully an even better week that will be.
Come on you Gunners!
- Kevin Mooney
October 18, 2011
A quick glance at the blogosphere or Twitterverse gives you a good indication of what many Arsenal supporters feel about international breaks. And despite the way we entered the break, the general feeling was that everyone was glad it was over and excited for Arsenal to kick-off again.
And after 29 seconds it was pretty apparent the players were even energized for the game against Sunerland. Robin van Persie hit yet another milestone in his career, this time by scoring the fastest goal by an Arsenal player in a Premier League game. The captain beat Simon Mignolet with a low shot after picking up a pass from Gervinho near the edge of the area. That was his sixth tally of the season, and he looked more than capable of bagging more.
Unfortunately for our collective ulcers, it took a bit longer than we would have liked. After coming close several times, it was not Van Persie who scored next, but his former Arsenal teammate Seb Larsson. The Sunderland midfielder's incredible 31st minute free-kick beat Wojciech Szczesny and dramatically turned the direction of the game. In fact, Sunderland very nearly pulled ahead if not for a dramatic diving save by Szczesny.
But Van Persie stepped up again late in the game and buried a free-kick of his own to give Arsenal three big points. And Arsène Wenger knew exactly how big those points were to his squad. "We have now won five home games on the trot," he said after the match. "If we can put another two or three results together it will help confidence because you can feel that the attitude and spirit of the team is great." Mikel Arteta agreed with the Boss, saying "We just have to keep doing what we are doing at home, winning every game and I am sure that is going to see us climb up the table quickly." And climbing the table and winning ‘the next game' is all Wenger is focused on right now. "We just want to focus on short term at the moment," he said. "We are not in a position to make long-term plans."
Apart from the win, once again injury news was center stage. And it's not all bad news: Laurent Koscielny was back in the squad which allowed Alex Song to move back into midfield. Abou Diaby and Thomas Vermaelen are back in training, and it should just be a matter of a week or two before we see them in the squad. And despite missing the Sunderland with a minor hamstring injury Aaron Ramsey looks good to go.
The Club also unveiled its new state-of-the-art Medical Centre at the training ground in Colney. The facility will give players returning from injury a separate space where they can get more one-on-one attention from medical staff. And for all you transfer window watchers, it will also allow the Club to conduct medicals at the Training Centre, on very short notice.
But this being Arsenal, there was indeed some bad news. The back line took another hit when Kieran Gibbs had to be subbed in the second half after straining his stomach muscles. That meant that two of Arsenal's summer signings - Andre Santos and Carl Jenkinson - will likely get the nod for at least the next couple of weeks.
And as you might expect, both players were the subject of discussion during the week. While they both still need some time to settle in, the talk was positive. Former Gunner Edu was in town doing some work in his new role as director of football at Corinthians. He is "100 per cent sure" that Andre Santos will be a hit at Emirates Stadium. And Wenger gave some praise to Jenkinson, saying that "His fitness is outstanding, he's quick, he has good crosses and he is good going forward."
Looking ahead, on Wednesday Arsenal travel to France's Mediterranean coast to take on Marseille. Like Arsenal, Marseille have struggled in their league, but are playing well in Europe and currently sit atop Group F, ahead of us by two points. And Wenger expects a tough match: "Marseille can be dangerous because they are good on the counter-attack," he said. "I think at home they will try to play like that against us."
Beyond the key European tie with l'OM, Arsenal face our dear friends from Stoke. The Potters visit Emirates Stadium on Sunday and will as ever be looking to take a scalp for Arsenal and continue their climb up the Premier League table. But for us, three points would push us past them. And that would be lovely.
And with any luck, this time next week we'll be reveling in nice little winning streak.
Come on you Gunners!
- Kevin Mooney
October 10, 2011
As we are in the midst of an international break, it's been a pretty quiet week at Arsenal Football Club. The most interesting news comes from the smattering of reports regarding the 16 Arsenal players who are out on national team duty. And honestly, one of the most interesting aspects of that is that there are only 16 Arsenal players lining up for their native lands. Well-documented injuries to players like Jack Wilshere, Thomas Vermaelen, Bacary Sagna and About Diaby - and Wojciech Szczesny's minor back strain - kept that number from cracking 20.
A quick looks at results:
» Four Gunners have scored. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain picked up a hat-trick for the England U-21s, Ju Young Park picked up a brace for South Korea, Marouane Chamakh netted for Morocco and Aaron Ramsey scored from the spot for Wales.
» We have gotten a glimpse into our short-term future regarding the African Cup of Nations. Chamakh's goal helped push Morocco into the CAN along with Gervinho's Ivory Coast. Alex Song's Cameroon, however, misses out after finishing second in their group. The tournament runs from January 21-February 12.
» The chances for a big Arsenal presence in next summer's Euro Championships are quite strong. As of now, the only players sure to miss out are Ramsey (Wales), Benayoun (Israel) and Johan Djourou (Switzerland).
» So far our players have avoided injury (knock on wood, throw salt, spin around, etc, etc)
There is still one more round of international games over the next two days. Stay tuned to Arsenal.com for updates.
Since Szczesny was hanging around Colney much of the week working out, he made some time to talk to the dot com. The Pole has become as known for his gregarious and confident attitude as he is for his spectacular saves. He spoke about his excitement for the Euros and how it felt to pick up some praise from German goalkeeping legend Oliver Kahn. He also set the record straight regarding some misleading stories in the media. For the record, he doesn't think he deserves to be Arsenal's captain - but would relish the opportunity one day. He also thinks rumors of him moving the Barcelona are funny.
We also heard from a few young players this week. Luke Freeman spoke to Arsenal Player about his career so far and what his hopes are for this season. The interview is worth checking out to get some insight into what life is like for a youth/reserve team player at the Club.
Chuks Aneke piped up about playing in the Carling Cup. The highly-touted midfielder only got a brief spell against Shrewsbury, but he is hungry for more action. He thinks he's ready to head out on loan to pick up some first-team experience. He also revealed which Arsenal player he looks up to the most.
Oguzhan Ozyakup is also hoping for a bigger role, although he happily admits the start to his Arsenal career couldn't have gone much better. The Dutchman made a big impact against Shrewsbury - setting up Benayoun's goal just after coming on.
Lastly, a bit of off-the-field news. The result of the North London derby was certainly less than cheerful, but some bright news did emerge. FOX reported than more than 2 million viewers in the U.S. tuned into to watch the games on their three combined networks. And the replay of the game on FOX outperformed the similarly delayed broadcast of Manchester United v Chelsea match on September 18. It's not exactly raising Ol' Elephant ears, but it's a nice badge of honor.
Looking ahead, Sunderland pops by the Emirates on Sunday for a visit. We then head to Provence to take on Marseille in the Champions League on Wednesday. The game against l'OM is a key group stage match up. They sit at the top of the Group F table, but we could supplant them with a win. The game against the Black Cats also takes on significance in terms of the table. Sunderland sit one point below Arsenal, and neither team relishes a shot at being in the relegation zone when the weekend ends. The good news is that Laurent Koscielny and Djourou are back in training, so our defensive options look much more stable than in the previous two games.
I'd say more stability, a step closer to moving into the knockout stages and a trip back into the top half sounds like a good way to get things re-started, don't you?
Come on you Gunners!
- Kevin Mooney
October 4, 2011
In the aftermath of the loss to Spurs on Sunday, I saw a question posted on Twitter: what hurt more, losing the North London Derby, or losing Bacary Sagna for three months. Now don't get me wrong. I NEVER want to lose to Spurs. That's one of those things that has no place in this world, like racist chants and low-calorie beer. But still... it's just one game. Losing Sagna for three months... that's a lot of games.
Sagna joins a slew of Gunners on the injury list including Jack Wilshere and for now, fellow defender Thomas Vermaelen. The word on the street - and Twitter Avenue - is that the Verminator will be back reasonably soon, but whether or not it is in time for Sunderland in two weeks remains to be seen. In a bit of irony, the only member of the first-choice back four who is healthy is Kieran Gibbs.
Arsène Wenger was asked about his team's title chances in the post-match press conference and he gave an unambiguous answer. "At the moment we are 12 points behind Manchester United and Manchester City - that's not realistic to say today that we will win the league."
And that statement is difficult to argue. But before anyone starts to overreact and begins looking for travel arrangements to places like Ipswich, Watford and Peterborough next season, there are a few things to keep in mind. First: Most of the clubs above us in the standings have way fewer injuries than we do. Once the walking limping wounded start to return en force, we should start making are way back up the table. Second: It's not like this game was a blow-out of epic proportions. It was a 2-1 loss that, depending on who you talk to, featured a controversial opening goal. Three: It's October and there are 31 games left on the schedule.
And lest we forget, we do have the Champions League to keep us warm at night. Arsenal beat Olympiacos on Wednesday, and witnessed some impressive individual performances from what could honestly almost be described as a ‘B Team.' Eighteen-year-old Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain became the youngest-ever English goalscorer in the Champions League when he put Arsenal ahead in the eighth minute. Fellow transfer window signee Andre Santos also scored - his first for the Club - to earn three points for Arsenal in Group F.
The win means we sit in second position in Group F. It also marked the only win by an English team in the Champions League last week. A win against Marseille on October 19th would put us at the top of the group table and make our prospects of advancing to the knock-out stage very strong indeed.
As far as the rest of the week's big news...
» The boss has dismissed talk that Robin van Persie might move to Manchester City in January.
» Ivan Ivan Gazidis shed some light on the Club's recently-released financial numbers for 2010/11
» Arsène marked 15 years at Arsenal
» Manuel Almunia has joined up with West Ham in a one-month mergency loan
Looking ahead... we have to look way ahead. An international break means no games until the aforementioned match against Sunderland on October 16th. In some ways the break couldn't have come at a better time: hopefully a number of our players will be able to get healthy over the next two weeks. Of course, it also would have been nice to get a quick win or two under our belts and put the loss to Spurs behind us. Regardless, stay tuned to Arsenal.com for the all the updates from international play... and the treatment room.
Come on you... various national teams featuring Arsenal players!
- Kevin Mooney
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