Arsene Wenger said that Arsenal “completely dominated” the match against West Brom on Saturday. Our passing was fluent, and the defending was solid for a change. The Baggies never looked like forging a comeback because of the supreme partnership of Vermaelen and Koscielny.
Top Performers
1. Robin van Persie: At this point, nothing can hold back the Dutchman. He scored a tap-in for the opening goaland provided an assist on Mikel Arteta’s goal. Van Persie is the center-piece of this Arsenal attack. Sometimes he drops into the midfield to spawn the forward play, and other times he lurks in the penalty area like a deadly assassin.
2. Thomas Vermaelen: The vice-captain is certainly back to full fitness. Vermaelen finessed the ball in the net after a friendly bounce off Gervinho. Many centre-backs would have blasted the opportunity into the clouds, but TV is not your normal central defender. He also made an important tackle on Somen Tchoyi to prevent what would have been West Brom’s best chance.
3. Carl Jenkinson: This right back is a crossing machine. Jenkinson often found yards of space down the wing and executed many splendid crosses. Slowly, he is becoming a solid defender to go along with his crossing ability.
Team Performance
It was clearly Arsenal’s best performance of the season on both halves of the pitch. We scored three goals, but, more importantly, the passing was quick and tidy. Our midfield controlled the possession and therefore the pace of the match. West Brom only had 33% of the [...]
The Gunners are aiming for their fifth Premier League victory on the bounce against West Brom on Saturday at the Emirates. Remember that the Baggies took four points from two matches against us last season, so it would be unwise to underestimate Roy Hodgson’s side.
Injury News
Kieran Gibbs and Marouane Chamakh will miss this match, as well as the players on the long-term injury list (Wilshere, Diaby, Sagna). Arsene Wenger is hopeful that Gibbs and Chamakh will be able to return after the international break, which is next week.
West Brom will be without striker Shane Long and midfielder Paul Scharner due to injury. Long is dangerous and has a lot of pace, so he will be a big miss for the Baggies.
Key Battles
Peter Odemwingie
Peter Odemwingie v Thomas Vermaelen: Odemwingie scored twice against us last season, and West Brom will need him to be productive. Vermaelen has recently returned from his injury, and it will be interesting to see how he deals with the pace of Odemwingie.
Aaron Ramsey v Youssouf Mulumbu: Assuming both players start, this could be a very important battle. Ramsey was fantastic at the Bridge but struggled against Marseille mid-week. Mulumbu is an effective holding midfielder who will certainly pressure Ramsey when he is on the ball. How Ramsey deals with this pressure will be telling.
Robin van Persie v West Brom: The Baggies are going to need all eleven players to hold down the Dutchman. Van Persie is in the form of his life. Roy [...]
Robin van Persie scored a hat-trick to lead Arsenal to victory at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea were wide open at the back, and the Gunners quickly filled those holes. John Terry’s slip, which led to the winning goal, will live in the memory of Gooners for years to come.
Let’s start with Terry’s hilarious miscue. Florent Malouda sent a poor pass back to JT, but Terry still should have gathered it easily. Instead, he fell flat on his face while van Persie raced away towards Cech. The Dutchman eased past the Chelsea keeper before showing Fernando Torres how to score in an empty net. The goal was Robin’s second of the day and gave us a 4-3 lead.
Who knows if the comical fall is even a slip? It looked as if Terry just tumbled over for no reason. Maybe he was looking for a phantom call, or maybe he didn’t want to reveal his true pace, or lack thereof. Van Persie still had to finish the chance, which is easier said than done when you have that much time and space. A player of less quality and class (Torres) would have let nerves settle in during that time.
Arsene Wenger must have done something at halftime. We were trailing 2-1 at the break and then scored four goals in the second half to bury the Blues. Andre Santos was a completely different player after the interval. In the first half, the Brazilian left back was exposed time and time again. In the [...]
Arsenal can complete their rise from ruin with a result at Stamford Bridge on Saturday afternoon. Chelsea will be a real test, even without Didier Drogba. Arsene Wenger knows that the next several days are extremely important, dubbing the two matches in this period as “cup finals.”
The Gunners will clash with the Blues in an early kickoff on Saturday. The result will determine whether we have finally recovered from that horrible start. We have played three games (Liverpool, United, Spurs) against the “Big Six” this season and have lost all of them. Any point taken from this match can been seen as a cure to our woes.
I would not be surprised to see Thomas Vermaelen sitting on the bench at the start of the match. At his pre-match press conference, Wenger seemed very hesitant about starting Vermaelen (from Arsenal.com):
“He will certainly be in the squad at Chelsea. I don’t know yet whether he will start, I have to think about that. I feel physically he is not completely ready because he had problems to finish the game against Bolton, but he is close. We play two games in three days and I will have to evaluate the whole situation. But Thomas always wants to play.”
Who will start at right back? Carl Jenkinson may not be fit, and he would likely be torched by the speedy Chelski attackers anyway. Laurent Koscielny could fill in, but he has been great at centre-back recently. If Vermaelen doesn’t start, then Koscielny [...]
Robin van Persie scored two goals for Arsenal as the Gunners defeated Stoke City 3-1. Gervinho was fantastic, scoring one goal and making the other two. Arsene Wenger’s team jumped up to 7th in the table.
Many Gooners were surprised to see that van Persie was not included in Sunday’s starting eleven. Arsene Wenger explained after the match why he decided to keep Robin on the bench (from Arsenal.com):
”He had muscular tightness and I took 19 players [in training] yesterday because I was not sure whether to involve him on the teamsheet. He made a check this morning and he was medically alright to be on the bench.”
Despite the muscular tightness, RvP was the hero again at the Emirates. Wenger inserted the Dutchman in the 66th minute for the ineffective Marouane Chamakh. It was apparent from the minute that he stepped on the pitch. Van Persie was a class above the rest of the players from both sides.
Gervinho slithered to the endline before delivering the low cross to the Dutchman. Van Persie’s strike hit Begovich before nestling into the net. Robin simply stuffed in the cross. It wasn’t a pretty goal, but it was the winning play.
Gervinho connected with RvP for the third goal as well. The Ivorian drove down the wing before sliding in yet another low cross. Van Persie tapped it past Begovic to secure the three points.
What makes van Persie a world class striker is that he can score any type of goal. He is [...]
The Gunners are looking to win their third match of the week and jump to 7th in the table. Stoke City are also trying to win their third game this week, but the Potters have suffered away from home. Ryan Shawcross will certainly be an enemy at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday.
Injury News: Carl Jenkinson will miss two weeks after sustaining a knee injury at the Stade Velodrome on Wednesday night. Bacary Sagna, Kieran Gibbs, Jack Wilshere, Abou Diaby, and Thomas Vermaelen are also out for Sunday.
Arsenal are running out of full backs. With Sagna, Gibbs, and Jenkinson injured, Andre Santos is the only true full back, and he is expected to start at left back on Sunday. Arsene Wenger spoke about his choices at right back (from Arsenal.com):
“That’s what I have to sort out before the game and I have not decided. My options are Koscielny and Djourou.”
Djourou will be the more likely to start because Koscielny excelled in the center against Marseille. Djourou believes he is ready for the challenge of filling for the injured right backs.
We have won five out of the last six matches in all competitions. Another victory against Stoke would push us up to 7th, taking into account Saturday’s results. Three points would put us only two points behind from Liverpool, who failed to beat Norwich City.
Stoke City defeated Maccabi Tel-Aviv 3-0 on Thursday night in the Europa League. In their last Premier League match, the Potters beat Fulham 2-0. Stoke struggle away [...]
Robin van Persie’s brace propelled Arsenal to a 2-1 victory over Sunderland at the Emirates. The Dutchman also dispelled rumours about his committment to the club. Former Gunner Sebastian Larsson’s fantastic free kick was not enough to earn the Black Cats a point.
Robin van Persie scored early and late. And by early, I mean the quickest goal in a Premier League match this season. Twenty-nine seconds was all it took for RvP to put the Gunners in the lead. Tomas Rosicky started the move with a chip pass to Gervinho. Gervinho slid the ball across to van Persie, and the Dutchman calmly directed the ball past Simon Mignolet.
Van Persie was just spectacular throughout the match, but escpecially in the first half. His looping chip deflected off the inside of the far post in the 12th minute. Another few centimeters and van Persie would have had a goal-of-the-season candidate.
Sunderland struggled to mount an attack until Sebastian Larsson converted on a free kick. Szczesny could not be held accountable because Larsson’s strike was simply brilliant. The shot danced in the air as it headed towards the back of the net. After the match, Arsene Wenger praised Larsson for his free kick ability (from Arsenal.com):
“Yes he among the best in the league, with Sebastian Larsson. I think Larsson is maybe the best free-kick taker in the league.”
Things were looking bleak for Arsene Wenger in the 80th minute. A draw at home against a terribly inconsistent Sunderland side was not [...]
The Gunners will look to recover from defeat in the North London derby against Sunderland. Steve Bruce will be under pressure if the Black Cats continue to struggle. Robin van Persie said that he is as fit as ever after the international break.
Injury News: Abou Diaby and Thomas Vermaelen will miss the match but both should be back fairly soon. Bacary Sagna and Jack Wilshere are out long-term. Arsene Wenger gave an update on Vermaelen’s progress at his press conference (from Arsenal.com):
“He’s two weeks away. He is running out on the pitches. He looks alright but we have to respect the progression, you still have to give him two to three weeks to be competitive again.”
Tomas Rosicky will be available despite suffering a minor injury while playing for the Czech Republic.
Robin van Persie is feeling great. He told Arsenal’s Official Matchday Programme: “I played 90 minutes in both international games, and I feel great. I feel so fit these days, I recover well, don’t have any pain, and feel really good.
“I’m enjoying it, playing all the games, doing all the training sessions. A couple of years ago, I had periods where I struggled to play two 90 minutes in a few days, but now I can do it, recover well, and for me it’s the best feeling for years.
“I also love the fact that the international week is over on a Tuesday – it gives you [...]
Kyle Walker’s long strike sealed the victory for Tottenham in the North London Derby. Arsenal’s woes are multiplying as Bacary Sagna’s injury will see him miss three months. Spurs coach Clive Allen was angry at Arsene Wenger after a post-match confrontation.
Rafael Van der Vaart opened the scoring for Spurs in the 40th minute. He received a lofted pass from Adebayor and volleyed the ball inside the far post. It appeared that Van der Vaart handled the ball when he brought down the pass, but nothing was given. He was already on a yellow card. Wenger commented on the goal in his post-match press conference (from Arsenal.com):
“It is frustrating as well because their first goal was handball. I wonder what the linesmen do in these situations. It is a second yellow card as well because he already had one – for handball, on purpose.”
Some fuss has been made about Van der Vaart’s celebration with the supporters after the goal. Technically, that should have resulted in a second yellow. Personally, I do not think that players should be booked for celebrating with fans. Arsene Wenger agrees with me (from Arsenal.com):
“I am not a fan of that. I can understand that when a player scores there has to be some spontaneous reaction to a goal.”
Aaron Ramsey scored the equaliser for Arsenal in the 51st minute. Alex Song made a run down the wing from his centre-back position to cross the ball to Ramsey, and the Welshman blasted it home from [...]
Derby day is upon us again as the Gunners travel to White Hart Lane. Spurs are the favourites heading into the match, but Arsene Wenger’s squad have won their last three games. Emmaneul Adebayor will most likely (definitely) play an important part in the match on Sunday.
Injury News: Laurent Koscielnly is very doubtful to play, while Theo Walcott and Gervinho will have fitness tests on Saturday or Sunday to determine their fate. Arsene Wenger said that Sebastien Squillaci is healthy but not match fit. Another phantom injury to keep a mediocre player out of a match.
Speaking of phantom injuries, there is absolutely no chance that Manuel Almunia will make an appearance at White Hart Lane. Almunia has seemingly been collecting his cash this season and doing little else. The Spanish keeper has been sent to West Ham on loan for one month. Gooners around the world are dancing in the streets.
Our old friend Emmanuel Adebayor has a new kit. This season the emotional striker will be playing in the despicable all-white shirt. Every Arsenal supporter remembers when Adebayor ran the length of the pitch after scoring for Manchester City.
Adebayor has issued an apology to Arsenal fans for that celebration, but he will not hesitate to score (from ESPN): “What happened two years ago was an accident and I do apologise to all the fans of Arsenal. Sometime the emotions, we cannot control them, we are all human beings. I regret what [...]
