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 [...]
Reports say that Juan Mata is not interested in moving to White Hart Lane. The Valencia winger would rather move to Arsenal. Arsene Wenger “likes” Mata but has not yet made an official bid.
According to Goal.com, sources close to Mata say that he would snub a transfer to Tottenham. Mata would rather stay at Valencia or move to Arsenal. He is not interested in a move to Spurs despite interest from Harry Redknapp.
Spurs boss Harry Redknapp recently confirmed Tottenham’s interest in the 23-year old Spanish star. Redknapp is willing to pay £19m for Mata.
Why would Mata want to move to White Hart Lane? Valencia finished third in last season’s La Liga, only behind powerhouses Madrid and Barcelona. Valencia are automatically qualified for the Champions League. Mata is not interested in wasting his talents at Spurs.
Tottenham cannot lure the talented Spanish winger from his current home. Spurs will be competing in the Europa League next season. A player of Mata’s quality demands Champions League play. Valencia have also won more recent silverware than Spurs. And Harry Redknapp’s squad will not even compete for the Premier League title this season.
Okay, time to end the anti-spurs rant. So what does this mean for Arsenal? It means that Wenger will not have to worry about Redknapp stealing his player away. Mata is happy to wait for a potential Arsenal offer.
Arsene wants to get the Nasri and Fabregas situations sorted before he moves for Mata. If Fabregas or Nasri leaves, expect Mata’s signing [...]
Tottenham have submitted a offer for Arsenal target Juan Mata, in an attempt to keep him away from the Emirates. Arsenal are launching a new and improved bid for Everton’s Phil Jagielka. Despite reports, Joel Campbell has not agreed to a move to Arsenal.
According to The Guardian, Spurs have submitted a £22m bid for Valencia winger Juan Mata. Mata has been heavily linked with a move to the Emirates Stadium, but this Tottenham effort could sway Valencia and Mata towards White Hart Lane.
Arsene Wenger has not yet made a formal offer for the 23-year old Spanish star. The boss seems to be waiting on the Cesc Fabregas saga to make a decision. £22m is more than what Arsenal are expected to offer, but Mata would prefer a move to the Gunners where he can compete in the Champions League.
Mata’s contract says that Valencia must sell him to any club that offers more than €21m. Tottenham’s offer exceeds that amount, so the decision will be Mata’s. Will he decide to wait on Arsenal or head to Spurs?
Some media outlets are reporting that Arsene Wenger is considering signing Juan Mata and Phil Jagielka in a terrific double swoop.
According to Daily Mail and other sources, the Gunners are ready to make a fresh offer for the Eveton centre-back. Wenger is willing to pay £15m for Jagielka but will try to secure the England international for £12m first according to Goal.com. David Moyes is likely to reject this bid, just as he rejected [...]
Robin van Persie believes that some English players party too much: “The really top players aren’t fooled by riches or fame because they are fully focused with their football. For me, it’s very important to be having breakfast every morning with my two children and that wouldn’t be possible if you were hanging about in a disco all night. When I see some of my English colleagues who are out till three in the morning, then I can only conclude that they are invariably finished at 33.”
These quotes were acquired from ESPN. ESPN have previously been known to twist headlines (most do) and show an anti-Arsenal bias. What I am trying to say here is that possibly something is lost in translation. I am not sure what language RVP used in these comments. He did claim a couple of weeks ago that his reported rant against Spanish players and Chelsea never happened.
That said, I am glad Robin is committed to preserving his body for a long career. While the Dutchman is famously injury-prone, maybe he will be able to play at a top level into his mid-30s. Not too many players have done that so we will find out.
RVP also commented on his frustration with the team:
“Every year it always goes wrong in an identical way and that is frustrating. When you look at results in the last years, then Arsenal shouldn’t be talking about winning the league because too many times things have gone wrong.
Stan Kroenke’s bid to buy Arsenal Football Club has been approved by the Premier League. Aaron Ramsey thinks Arsene Wenger needs to make some serious changes this summer. Gareth Bale is confident that Tottenham can finish above Arsenal next season, a bold statement to say the least.
American Stan Kroenke now officially owns 63% of our beloved Arsenal. The Premier League has made it official yesterday. However, Alisher Usminov has not given up his dream of someday owning the club. Kroenke had this to say after becoming majority shareholder:
“As the controlling shareholder of Arsenal football club, it will always be our intention to do what’s necessary to assure success on the pitch, provide long-term stability and build on the accomplishments and history of the club.
“The club has funds to invest and will do so wisely. Our constant aim will be to compete for silverware and championships.
“Arsenal is not about one shareholder, one player or one fan. It’s a special institution and we look forward to celebrating that further during the 125th anniversary year of the club.”
Kroenke seems like the responsible owner of a club. He does not want to drive the club into debt by borrowing funds to buy the club (Glazers). Stan also is not the guy who will fire a manager a year after he won the double (Ibramovich). Do you think Kroenke can help bring silverware back to Arsenal?
Aaron Ramsey believes that it is finally time for Arsene to be a buyer in the [...]
What to say about this game. I needed a whole day to pass just to let it decompress in my mind. The match started out with a bang, with three goals in the first twelve minutes, and it ended with Arsenal blowing yet another lead. This has become the side’s trademark: blowing leads like their is no tomorrow. Manchester United left the door open for us to sneak up on them, but we failed miserably, and the manager is to blame.
Another draw… time to take the blame, Arsene?
Theo Walcott was magnicificent last night. He used his terrfic pace to terrorise the Spurs defence. Cesc found him streaking through the middle and the winger put it past Gomes for the first goal of the match in the 5th minute. It was a brilliant start but Spurs equalised only two minutes later.
Rafael van der Vaart scored the first goal for Spurs. The Dutchman made a spectacular strike the curled into the near post. Szczesny really should have made the save though. No keeper should be beaten at the near post.
We quickly responded in the 12th minute. Samir Nasri got a hold of a fine strike from outside the penalty area. It was a great shot, although it may have taken a deflection of a Spurs defender…. 2-1 Arsenal.
Robin van Persie showed tremendous effort to put us up by two. He first tried to head the ball in off a cross from Walcott. The header was [...]
Arsenal have to earn three points tomorrow night at White Hart Lane. Spurs will be trying their hardest to crush our hopes, while trying to qualify for the Champions League. It is a big match for both sides, as the North London derby always is. Earlier in the season, Spurs came back from two down to win the match 3-2 at the Emirates. That match was just one of the many painful moments we have had so far.
Cesc Fabregas
Tottenham are coming off a 1-0 loss against Real Madrid that eliminated them from the Champions League. They won their last league match 3-2 over Stoke City. Spurs have several very talented players but their most dangerous attacker is Gareth Bale. He play on the left side and they will look to him earlier in the match.
We will have most of our players, now that they have healed from their various injuries. Bacary Sagna will return at right back, so that will mean the Eboue will get no where near the pitch. I wonder if he will participate in another match this season.
Cesc Fabregas is frustrated, like all of us, on the lack of any trophies in the past six years. He said this to a Spanish magazine: ”From 2007 I had already started saying “we’re not winning, but we’re playing well”. And then you realise that’s no use. You enjoy yourself, during a phase of the championship – like this year, for example, when we [...]
