Arsenal » W.B.A.

West Brom Thread

Martin — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 18:40:49 +0000

I know it’s the Carling Cup, but, you know, it’s Arsenal, and maybe you’re looking for an excuse to waste time at work. That’s what I’m here for.

Arsenal: Starters: Szczesny, Gilbert, Silvestre, Senderos, Gibbs, Wilshere, Coquelin, Ramsey, Traore, Watt, Sunu Bench: Shea, Bartley, Eastmond, Randall, Barazite, Frimpong, Vela

West Brom: Starters: Kiely, Barnett, Zuiverloon, Olsson, Jara, Thomas, Teixiera, Korren, Dorrans, Moore, Cox Bench: Carson, Meite, Martis, Mulunbu, Bednar, Reid, Woods

Interesting that Vela starts on the bench. I have to think this means he’s just recovering to health, and probably isn’t 100% match fit yet. Anyway, we haven’t lost at home in this competition in quite some time, so hopefully the youngsters can pass a big test tonight. As far as I know, the game is not being televised live here in the States, although there’s probably a thread of it out there somewhere.

Come on Arsenal.

(UPDATE: 2-0 Arsenal, with goals from Watt and Vela. Onto the next round. Since it’s the Carling Cup and I didn’t see it, I won’t be doing a formal recap or ratings. I’ll probably drop back in with any mid-week news, and will definitely be back on Friday with a Fulham preview.)

West Brom 1-3 Arsenal

travis — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 18:39:11 +0000

That certainly was good. On a cold and rainy day the Arsenal finally came through with a result. Yes, it was against the team sitting at the bottom of the table, but one of the things this team had been struggling with is winning against the lesser opponent. Tip of the cap to Niklas Bendtner who played well and should have come away with a hat trick. His criticism over the past few weeks was deserved, but he showed this week why Wenger has placed his faith in the Dane. If only he could discover some consistency.

It wasn’t all rosy yesterday, as West Brom managed a goal thanks to a very poor wall — Eboue, it’s clearly your fault. His decision to move out of the way of Chris Brunt’s shot made for a very nervy time for me. I thought that they would revert to the same old Arsenal, unable to score against a lesser opponent. But West Brom’s defending was horrible, and Toure’s goal allowed for a sense of relief. He did pick up an injury — more on that below — and had to replaced for Diaby (who looked alright himself) but hopefully the Ivorian won’t miss out on too much action. Aaron Ramsey came on and had a gaffe. Enough of the negative; it was a win after all.

Arshavin has impressed me, despite the fact he’s struggling for fitness and is playing his way back into shape. Once again, he created a scoring opportunity that was capitalized on this time, and he will need more time to adjust to his new surroundings and new teammates. You can’t expect too much from him, but so far things are good. He’s been surprised himself by English football:

“But to tell the truth it seemed less difficult on TV. Only now do I understand how dynamic and hard the football is here.

“Now I would like to score as soon as possible. Everybody expected me to score in my very first match but that never happens, especially with me. But nothing was easy and immediate for me. Arsenal is no exception. So I need patience and hard work now.

“The main task now is to get into the Champions League for next season.”

Come on Andrey, if everything was as easy as it looked on tv, we’d all be professional athletes. You can’t really believe you though it would be this simple right? I love the little quote machine already.

It’s not all good news in the wake of West Brom as Kolo Toure seems to have aggravated a calf injury. That’s not a good sign with Gallas already out. It was a shame to lose the clean sheet streak, but if both Toure and Gallas are out for awhile we’re looking at a centerback pairing of Song and Djourou. Yikes.

That’s all for now. Players will be returning to full strength, there’s a whole lot of build up between now and next week’s tie at Roma. That’s all for now.

Highlights of 3-1 victory

travis — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 23:58:22 +0000

That’s more like it. 3-1 win on the road. Yep, it’s West Brom, but if Villa lose tomorrow to Man City — don’t bet on that — then the deficit is reduced to three points. I’ll have more tomorrow, but in the meantime, the goals are below, via 101greatgoals:

Win — or else

travis — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 16:55:45 +0000

Today is a must win. There’s no way to hope that this team has a shot at a Champions League spot unless they win today against West Brom. As devastating a loss as it would be to see this team miss out on a potential Champions League spot, this bit from ESPN Soccernet’s Fifth Official got me thinking:

So, Gunners fans, while you are wedged into your luxury seats inside your gleaming new stadium watching your array of world class stars and a manager with a reputation for re-inventing sides, think of the 87 clubs below you struggling and scrapping for an ounce of what you have – and doing so by getting solidly behind their team. You have no divine right to finish in the top four and while you may be going through a mildly sticky patch but spare a thought for Leeds, who were in the Champions League semi-finals eight years ago but now find themselves permanently entrenched in despair-and-humiliation-infested quicksand. Seriously, get over yourselves.

I speak as a fan who has become bored to tears by the recent dominance of the Big Four in the Premier League, not to mention disgusted at the default attitude of many Premier League followers who believe whatever happens outside that bracket matters not a jot. So come on Aston Villa, on you go Everton – let’s get that top four cracked and broken up as soon as possible.

Do I want to see the top four cracked? Sure. But at the expense of Arsenal? Heck no. I am not sure what that would do to the club. Enough doom and gloom talk. Today, a win. Is that too much to ask Arsene?