Get Well Eduardo

It was meant to be another easy workout to maintain the 5 points gap. It was meant to be a match to erase the painful exit at last weekend’s cup competition. It was a match meant to regain the scoring touch that went missing during the Champion’s League. But this is a match where even the glory of a Premiership title winning run has to be put at the backburners.

Merely 3 minutes into the opening half when heartbreak happened. No sooner had the fans settled down when Eduardo’s leg snapped and he suffered a double compound fracture in his fibula and foot. First glance at the challenge made by Martin Taylor looked fairly innocuous and one would have half expected the Croat to be standing within the next minute or at least after some treatment at the sidelines. But that was not to be.

The early setback and the horror of the outcome shocked all Arsenal players. It must be said that some were more emotional than others. I guess it’s fair to say that most are more worried bout the health of Eduardo than the outcome of the match. No matter how bad the team played, you could easily understand what was going through their minds. Add in a McFadden goal from a freekick which profited from Almunia’s positioning or rather the lack of it.

Arsene Wenger must have felt hard done by during the interval. It is hard enough trailing in the actual football but he had to galvanize his side to come out firing in the second half when the players are more concerned and upset with the Eduardo incident.

It took a lot of guts to continue playing the way they did. To their credit, they did come out firing on all cylinders and laid siege into Birmingham’s goal. You could sense that they want to dedicate this win to the stricken striker. In a 10 minutes salvo, Arsenal have taken the lead with two well taken goals from the improving Theo Walcott. I pity this boy. It took him a while to get his first Premiership goal and in a match like this, it will always be overshadowed by what happened to his teammate.

After the goals, there wasn’t much attacking to be done by Arsenal. They simply slumped back to the mood they were in the first half. Not intending to do much and just wanted the final whistle to come. If they have kept going at Birmingham, the opposition wouldn’t be able to keep it with them. Somehow you knew that if the third goal did not come, the Blues would hit us back. And that they did. No matter how dodgy the penalty decision in the final minute of injury time was, the Arsenal boys only had themselves to be blame for their inadequacies to finish the job.

The antics of the captain, William Gallas when the penalty was awarded was shameful. That was not the behaviour of an Arsenal captain. Throwing a tantrum when there is still a penalty to defend was unacceptable. On the basis of this action alone, there should a new captain to take up the mantle as the leader of the club. In my years, I’ve never once seen Tony Adams acted as such throughout his distinguished career as Arsenal captain.

As disappointing as the result was, it was nothing compared with the loss of an individual to such a horrific injury. My heart and thoughts are with you, Eduardo. So is the rest of the world. Get well soon.

Pretenders To The Crown

This match is one for the history books. It’s the first time that Arsenal have met AC Milan in a Champions League match-up. It’s the old boys against the young guns. It’s the beautiful game against the tactically perfect game. It’s the best defender of the decade against the best striker in the Premiership this season. It’s a second round game to savour.

The first half may have turned out to be a bit dour to most of the fans around the world but I would like to have looked at it from a different angle. Yes, the game was tight. Neither side carved up really good chance to open the scoring. However the way the game was tactically was a beauty to watch.

Ambrosini, Pirlo, Seedorf and Gattuso were perfect in their protection of their backline. So disciplined was their performance that it nullified Arsenal’s threat from midfield. Every time that Fabregas or Hleb tried to move forward, they are being tracked by at least one of those 4 players if not more. They did not try to do anything more than carrying the ball to safety and ensuring that their defense is not breached. The blank on the column shots on target for Milan will attest to that.

Meanwhile, the match itself provided ample justification as to why a 39 year old stalwart can be a wall to even the highest scoring attacker in the Premiership. Even at his age, Maldini proved time and again that he’s no slouch. He was able to match Adebayor stride for stride. This man has won everything there is to win in club competition and only missed winning the World Cup due to his international retirement. Young kids looking for someone to idolize should look no further than this great individual.

Tried as Arsenal did to move up the tempo in the second half, you can sense the astute awareness that the Milan players possess in being able to position their players to slow down the game. But midway in the second half, the age factor begins to reveal itself and even the mighty Gattuso was caught grasping for breath chasing after the Arsenal passes.

This is where I believe that Wenger could’ve used the service of Theo Walcott earlier instead of only the last 5 minutes. His pace would’ve cause trouble to the fast tiring Milan side. Although in fairness, given that short period of time, he still manages to conjure up an opening for Adebayor. Heading that cross against the crossbar was the last thing you would expect from him to do, given his scoring prowess this season. Facing an open goal, he should be calmer in dealing with the finish. In fact, a simple chest would’ve sent the fans celebrating a 1-0 lead in the knockout phase.

Arsenal have it all to do in the second leg. Senderos and Gallas would’ve have to maintain their performance to thwart the Milan players from scoring. 0-0 is not a bad advantage at this juncture. An away goal in the second leg would help settle the tie.

Looking At The Bigger Prize

A man can’t be choosy. The choice was obvious. With two big games in the space of 5 days, Arsene knew he had to juggle his players and keep an eye on the Champions league encounter. Unfortunately for Arsenal it came at the expense of a thrashing at Old Trafford. FA Cup are and still one of the cups that Arsene Wenger really likes to win. Having featured in 3 of the last 5 finals will tell you of his desire to win the oldest cup competition in the world.

However given the context of this season, his team selection for this game was quite understandable. Leading the league table by a good margin and with an upcoming important 2nd round encounter against the reigning champions of Europe, you could almost sense Wenger’s reluctance in playing an under-strength side. Note that I used “under-strength” instead of second team. For on the field are still Lehman, Gallas, Toure, Fabregas and Hleb.

It’s always harder to play as a defense when two of the regulars are not around, especially when both are playing on the flanks. This match was lost in these positions. Traore and Hoyte were dominated throughout the match by Park and Nani respectively. The end result of them being run ragged was the central defenders had to be pulled away to cover and protect their flanks which leaves the center with miles of space for attackers to run into.

Gallas have not been the tower of strength that he was during the league encounter between the two teams. He even took the time to put some sense into Nani for showboating moments earlier. That said, when a captain shows no real desire to win the game, it’s a feeling that will transpire to the rest of the team. Toure was never in the game as well; perhaps it was because he was feeling slightly burnout from the recently concluded African’s Nation Cup.

For the same reason Eboue chose to take an early shower with a petulant kick at Evra that warranted a straight red. You really can’t escape the colour of the card once you stop looking at the ball when you jump for headers. Adding a high kick to boot, there’s not much to complain about is it? Stupid is what stupid is.

The thing that makes you smile about this game is the introduction of Flamini. In the 10-20 minutes that he was in, he gave it his all. He was running all over the pitch to cover for his teammates who have already given up the cause. This guy really deserved all the accolades that had showered him this season.

From this match, one would be pretty afraid to approach a Champions League encounter against the defending champion that is AC Milan but I feel that come Wednesday, it’s a different Arsenal that the champions will be facing.

Race To The End

This was a game that Arsenal simply had to win. There’s just no two ways about it. Having seen their previous conquest, Man City conjured up a spectacular victory at Old Trafford to spoil the other Mancunians’ 50th year in memory of Busby’s era; Arsenal must now win at home against Utd’s old boy Mark Hughes’ Blackburn Rovers.

However all the talk leading up to the match was on David Bentley. He of course moved to Blackburn from Arsenal albeit after a short loan spell. This was a man touted as the next Dennis Bergkamp. On some occasions when he was given a chance, he rarely disappoints. So it was safe to say I was quite disgruntled to hear about his transfer to Blackburn 2 years ago. If only he had been a bit more patient, I’m sure he would have been the first name on Wenger team list this year.

The match was settled in the first and last five minutes of the game. Senderos and Adebayor combined to produce a comfortable score for an Arsenal victory to lead the table by 5 points. Yet the match itself reflected little to the final score. Blackburn tried and pushed Arsenal hard although they may not have that many efforts on goal to actually trouble a returning Jens Lehman.

To his credit, Bentley was probably the only real threat to the Arsenal defense. But his creativity and ingenuity was not match by the runnings and desires of his strikers. Arsenal weren’t at their efficient best and it showed with many stray passes that was easily intercepted in the middle of the park.

From here on then, it will be about the boys keeping cool and calm till the end of the fixtures. 5 points lead at this time of the season is as good and promising as they come. It will be interesting to see how these young lads respond to the extra pressure and burden to maintain the challenge and reach home first.

Robin Van Persie started the ball rolling with the equalizer in the opening match against Fulham, what I wouldn't give to have the man so besieged by injuries this year to complete a wonderful season by capping it with the goal to win the Premiership. From where we stand, it may not be such an impossible dream after all.

Thank You, Spurs???

To win where others have fallen, or in this case where Man Utd had fallen. A trip to Manchester City would be a stern test for the Arsenal as earlier in the season, the blue half of Manchester had beaten their red half. This was a fortress protected by the immaculate duo of Dunne and Richards with by far the most promising of goalkeepers in Joe Hart right behind them. Yet, as the final whistle blew, they had been put to the sword by a fluent Arsenal side.

Arsenal got into their groove early on in the match as they seek to put pressure on Utd who played Spurs at a later time. Winning balls in the middle of the park and keeping possession well without threatening too much. A quick counter attack and good interchange between 2 of Arsenal’s most creative players saw Sagna being feed on the right and he delivered a good cut back for Adebayor to collect his 17th goal of the season.

Before the opponents were able to catch their breath, Arsenal stunned them with swift counter attacking again. Clichy did well to get to the byline and pump in a high cross for Adebayor to nod down to Eduardo. A chest and a half turn volley later, Arsenal were two up. The same left back committed an error to allow Ireland to rob him while attempting to win a goal kick and Fernandes scored as a result from it.

It was pretty much cruise control from then on. Arsenal this year is much better equipped in keeping their lead. There were a few scares for the City fans especially as Hleb and Fabregas tried to showcase their attacking talents.

At the death, Adebayor once again warm himself further into Gunners’ hearts with his second goal of the night. Fouled in the middle of the field, he got up and continued to join a free flowing attack that culminated in his goal. That showed character and the desire to ignore the pain was commendable.

Utd muffed the chance to reclaim the top position after only managing a draw against the lesser half of North London. It’s the final turn to the checkered flag and Arsenal have nudged their noses in front. It will be a race to savour.

How Did You Do That Flamini?

To have the great Maradona visit you in the dressing room after a game must have been an unbelievable experience. But to see him face to face especially after succumbing to your second straight loss to the same team by identical scores of 3-0 must have be embarrassing. I’m sure that is how the Newcastle players felt when the legend himself walked into the room.

So for the second time in a matter of 4 days, the Magpies visited Emirates Stadium to play against Arsenal. And for the second time, they got beaten by the same scoreline, albeit this time without putting as much of a fight. This was a match where Newcastle tried all night to put Michael Owen through with balls over the defense. The passes were either called offside or managed to be cut by the duo of Senderos or Gallas. Safe to say there was no need for Almunia to even put on gloves.

Surely after this game, Matthieu Flamini has warrants himself a healthy pay rise almost equivalent to that of another star of the night, Emmanuel Adebayor. Both of them ran the show for Arsenal. Flamini has not put a foot wrong all season and certainly one of the frontrunners for Arsenal’s player of the season. Flourishing in his extended stint in the center of the park, Flamini has given the Arsenal’s rearguard a more reassuring look this season. Add to that his occasional forays upfront and late runs into the opposition box, Wenger may have finally found the perfect foil for Cecs Fabregas.

It seems like a formality for the past few postings that I’ve mentioned how good Phillipe Senderos has been. He continued in the same vein in the latest win. Owen does not have a sniff of a chance. Neither did Smith for that matter. Senderos has just been a rock in his return to the first team. He is tidier with his passing and not making any rash tackles or fouls. If this goes on, I could very well fancy Wenger to have a look at the idea of a 3-5-2 with Diaby or Gilberto sitting in the middle with Flamini while Fabregas and Hleb being given free roles.

Adebayor has really outdone himself this season. No one could’ve foreseen his current ranking in the top scorer’s chart. For the amount of sitters that he has missed early in the season, he is definitely making up for it in the post-Christmas matches. Headers, right foot, left foot and even from the most unimaginable of angles, he puts in the net. Somewhere in the Catalan city, Henry must have a rise smile and staking a claim in helping the Togonator to become the player he is right now.

When Fabregas scored the third, there was sign of togetherness that was very endearing to watch. He, Adebayor and Bendtner all huddled up for an extended period of time. Perhaps and hopefully exorcising the ghost of the clash between the latter two from the drubbing last week. Add to that the final whistle huddle and you can almost picture an Arsenal dressing room that is full of families and friends.

All for one and one for all.