It's All Arsenal

Porto 2 Arsenal 0 - Nothing much to make of it

noreply@blogger.com (Pai) — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 02:35:00 +0000

After the win against Wigan, Wenger was clearly planning to rest most of the players for this final fixture in the group stage. Toure, Clichy, Sagna, Nasri, Fabregas, Walcott, Adebayor and VanPersie were missing. I wasn't expecting much when Arsenal.com announced the squad. It was a clear ploy to rest some players.

Some will go on about how we finished second and that we'll have to face top teams in the next round. But in the end if we have to win the cup, we'll have to play the top teams anyway! If you look carefully at the standings, you'll see that there isn't much difference between the sides that finished first and second.

It's back to the league on saturday and it's Boro away. A fixture which has clearly not been our favorite for some time. Last time around we lost 2-1. It would hvae been 2-0 if it was not for the last minute consolation. In many ways it was similar to our performance against Stoke this season. One of the worst. With key players rested, there shouldn't be a factor of tiredness this time around. Boro will play an open game and if we're in the right mindset, we can win. One - nil to the Arsenal? Hopefully.!

Carling Cup jolly ride over

noreply@blogger.com (Pai) — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 09:00:00 +0000

I was expecting this. A tie away from home is always tough and poses a whole different challenge. It was too much for the kids and they just flunked. Burnley had the hunger to win the game more and that was clear during the game. We could have done better, especially Randall and Bendtner. Their goalkeeper had a nifty game and thwarted our forward line on several occasions. It's over anyway, no point arguing.

Now it's back to the league where we have to carry over the grit that we showed at the bridge. Wigan won't be an easy fixture. I hope the team has learned that from the past defeats. An immaculate record in December is needed to catch up with the leaders and the team needs to take it one game at a time.

PS: 21 of the 30 goals which Ronaldo scored in premiership was at Old Trafford. That doesn't mean he was spectacular away from home if some people think that was the reason. Ronaldo deserved it, i'll never question that. But Henry deserved it too. But the fact that he was not recognized is an anomaly.

Much needed win finally arrives

noreply@blogger.com (Pai) — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 13:36:00 +0000

Phew. Finally. We needed a break and there it is. A win. Against Chelsea at the Bridge. I can't think of a better 'break' that we could've got.!

It was a strange game. Both teams were never at their best, Arsenal were never at their passing best and Chelsea was never close the what they used to be at the Bridge. Chelsea dominated the first half where a silly mistake from Almunia saw us go behind after Bosingwa picked up the throw by the goalkeeper and whipped it in into the 6 yard box and a hapless Djourou turned it into his own net. There were no clear cut chances in that half and i never imagined that the fortunes would turn in the second half.

Up stepped Van Persie in the second half and scored a quickfire double to put us in the lead. The first was a clear offside, but the second was perfectly legal and an awesome finish too. I wasn't confident of a win even after that as Chelsea are known to batter the opposition hard in such cases. But the battering never came. In fact they didn't even manage a shot on goal after that.

It was a great feeling which would have been even great if we were the ones to end their run. This was a win which put a sigh of relief on the faces of all the gooners and most importantly, the players and Manager. I won't say that this will the turning point of our season until i see a winning run, which is exactly what we need now.

Meanwhile we have the Carling cup tie against Burnley away today. Again it will be the kids and it will be a tougher test for them as this is a tie away from home and Burnley are high on confidence after beating Chelsea at the bridge.

PS: Ronaldo won the Ballon d'Or by a comprehensive margin. Which makes me ask this question yet again. Why was Henry overlooked during his prime years when he scored near 30 goals every season and created many. Does this award always go to the media darling? things certainly look so.

Man City 3 Arsenal 0. It's getting darker.

noreply@blogger.com (Pai) — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 17:03:00 +0000

Bummer.

It's been so hard. Harder than ever. We seem to be slipping deeper and deeper into a crisis and are in a desperate need for something to lift the players morale. Sadly nothing happened today that helped the players.

Without Fabregas and Adebayor, our team can do nothing. We as a team lack creativity. We seem to be passing around with nothing to aim for.And Long gone are the days of counterattacking by Arsenal. Now we concede more than ever on counterattacks. With Walcott injured, i believe Ramsey will be better at the right side of the midfield than Diaby. He clearly has more creativity and has a better range of passing. And Bendtner is only effective when he comes on as a sub.

Gallas was dropped for this game, rightly so after his outbursts during the past few days. Fabregas was suspended. Adebayor, Toure, Walcott and Sagna were injured. The absence of these five first team players weakened our squad and that was evident on the pitch. I just hope these defeats and injuries teach our manager a lesson.
I'm sad to say i've lost my confidence on Wenger for the first time. If he is to win it back, he needs to sort things out. He needs to spend some of that well saved money during January to bring in a center back and a defensive midfielder. This season is done and dusted. Now all we can do is concentrate our resources for the cup games. Oh, and hope for some luck.

We need a confidence boost

noreply@blogger.com (Pai) — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 12:48:00 +0000

After the win against i was hoping that this was the morale boosting win that will eventually our season around. Hope is a good thing as some one said, but it didn't last long in this case. Back to earth after a morale crunching defeat against Aston Villa at home.
Wenger maintains that it's too early to judge the title chances. I agree, but if we continue playing like we did against Villa, we will have to start hoping again. Hope of a good next season.

There were clearly no leaders on the pitch for us. No one to lift the team with a bit of aggression or some harsh words. A stark contrast to last season when we had Flamini bossing the midfield. And of course there was "bad defending" which has attained a bit of (in)consistency over the past few games. Villa were never in top form. We just refused to play. And we payed the penalty.

Next up we have Manchester City away and then Chelsea away. We need to win both these games to get us back on track. We are already nine points off the leader. Can't afford any more slip ups.

There is bad news including injury to Sagna and Walcott. Fabregas is suspended.

The players definitely need to sort things out. And it's Wenger's job to ensure that they do that. Only a clear run of wins can help us now. The optimistic in me is hoping for it.

Bad decisions cost another game

noreply@blogger.com (Pai) — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 16:53:00 +0000

Injuries to Sagna, Adebayor and Walcott. Red card to Van persie.
And another 3 points dropped.

No Walcott. No Nasri. Denilson and Diaby in their position. No one to help Fabregas in creating opportunities.

I'm gutted. Yet again. Wenger seems to be clueless. I can understand having confidence in the players we have. But in his case it seems a bit over the top. The DMC position still doesn't have someone who can do tha role effectively. Fabregas seems to jaded and running out of help. I was never a fan of Hleb, but i can say we definitely miss him. And most important Fabregas. Hleb used to have that touch of creativity like Fabregas which the current crop of players doesn't have. Nasri was never a replacement for Hleb. He was more of a replacement for Rosicky. Though Walcott gives us a bit of urgency, he doesn't always start like Hleb. Wenger seems to be interested in resting him more.

I hope Wenger learns something from these performances. We lack ideas as a team many a time. Things doesn't click. Not occasionally, but frequently. Wenger, buck up.

A Nightmare of a Result

noreply@blogger.com (Pai) — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 08:19:00 +0000

I watched the game yesterday. I went to sleep after that, almost weeping. I woke up today and the first thing i checked was if what i saw was just another nightmare.

Sadly, No. It is the truth. Arsenal 4 - Spuds 4. I know I'm not the only one gutted. And i don't think anyone would be more gutted after a result like this. All i remember is some Spuds player smacking the ball into the net. After that i was just. MAD. Almost threw away my new 500$ mobile phone away. Kicked at anything that came in my way.

I feel like blaming everyone. Even myself for enjoying beating them Spuds in FIFA 09 for 4-0. And i feel sorry for every Arsenal fan who was at the Grove watching this horror show during the last 5 minutes. If this is what i feel watching the game on TV, continents away, imagine what might have gone through their mind.

Arsene, please give us a good November so that we can forget yesterday. Please ask our team to stop giving us heart attacks.

And finally, if anyone has cared enough to read this, please ignore what you see in this blog. Everything is just outdated. And i'm too tired after yesterday to update it.

A tricky tie coming up

noreply@blogger.com (Pai) — Thu, 22 Nov 2007 13:57:00 +0000

England lost to Croatia 2-3 last day. Steve McLaren was sacked today. Tomorrow, we'll read how Arsenal were the sole cause for it. How Arsene Wenger brutally murders English talent. How he has something against Englishmen. How he and his foreign contingent degrade the quality of the England side and so on. I'll leave it to them to yap on.

The internationals are finally over and it's back to premier league this Saturday. We'll be playing Wigan Athletic at home. A simple tie, eh? I don't think so. Steve Bruce's move to Wigan maybe delayed, but Wigan will not be without the plan which is supposed to work well against Arsenal. It's simple isn't it? Just defend and defend and defend. With all your players.

We were up against teams with similar strategies, but then we had the creativity of Fabregas and Hleb. For this one though, we may be without both of them. Fabregas will have to watch from the terraces after he picked up his fifth yellow card in the last match against Reading. Hleb meanwhile picked up a knock while on international duty. *sighs*. The severity of the injury is unknown and the initial reports say that he could be out for two weeks. And that would be an absolute disaster. Without any doubt. Then there are injuries to Flamini and Diaby. So we'll be without our three most influential men.

Possible replacements are Gilberto, Diarra and Denilson. It could be Denilson and Gilberto if VanPersie is declared fit to play. Otherwise we might see the three of them. Presuming that Wigan will sit back and defend, it'll be a big test for our injury hit mid field. Arsene Wenger will be thinking over and over before deciding on the starting line up and formation. Will he risk Van Persie before he gets completely fit? Will he play Adebayor as lone striker with an unusual five in the mid-field? We'll have to wait to know.

There isn't much more news about Arsenal as most since my last post was reported again and again through several good blogs out there. So a short one this time around. *grins.

Points dropped, but points proved.

noreply@blogger.com (Pai) — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 11:29:00 +0000

Again and again. And again; I'm failing to post regularly. Not even for every match if not everyday. When the motivation is there, the resources wont be. And when the resources are there motivation won't be. And when both are there, I'm busy. Duh.

Leaving all the meaningless rants behind, let me talk about what I'm supposed to. Arsenal. As usual many things happened since my last post in which I murdered everyone with my pathetic rants.

I wasn't able to watch the 7-0 demolition of Slavia Prague due to my very lovable cable operators. I had to be content with live text commentary but the team's performance was sumptuous. Like the experts say, it looked like(and was) men against boys. Walcott and Fabregas bagged two goals each, while Hleb, Adebayor and an own goal completed the tally. Walcott drew much praise for his performance and so did Fabregas. Hleb put in another amazing performance and proved his critics wrong. Again.

Up next were Liverpool. At Anfield. The reds were in shambles after their away defeat to Besiktas, but they were much improved against Arsenal. An early goal by (None other than) Gerrard meant they were able to sit back and defend and attack on the break. Our players showed true character and vigour to fight back under adverse conditions. The equalizer came in the 8oth minute from Fabregas after brilliant play by Hleb. We certainly deserved to win, and came very close to it. This was supposedly our first big test and it was evident that we came out with flying colors. The fighting spirit and togetherness in the team was evident in the display at Anfield. Hleb summoned up another exhilarating display and the rarely praised defense did its duty wonderfully. 1-0 down away from home early in the game is always a tricky situation for the defense and they stood out that day.

Then it was Sheffield United it Carling Cup. At the Brammal Lane where we slumped to a 1-0 defeat last season after one of the worst performances in the near history. Wenger stuck to his policy and played the youngsters. Eduardo was given a start and he was quick to repay the manager for the opportunity. He scored in the 8th minute and again in the 50 minute, before Denilson's 69th minute goal which meant we were comfortable 3-0 winners.

And then came the much hyped Arsenal Vs Manchester United royal battle at the Emirates. The match didn't really live up to the expectations and to be honest, I was a bit disappointed with our performance. The first half was largely uneventful as ManU tried to break our passing game by deploying Anderson and Hargreaves in a defensive role. They succeeded in to a large extend and to everyones surprise, they even managed to get a goal. An own goal from Gallas in the first half injury time.
But the second half started with abang as Fabregas scored after some good work by Eboue and Sagna. From then on, it was end to end stuff and both managers tried to win the game by making some aggressive tactical changes. Walcott was brought on for Eboue and Eduardo for Rosicky. But against the run of play it was ManU who took the lead after some excellent work by Evra and Saha. Ronaldo was left with the job to tap in the ball and he did it without any mistake.
At this moment, i was devastated and so were many other gooners for sure. I sat infront of the TV, preparing for the worst when an excellent cross by Clichy produced a scramble infront of goal. Nothing was clear until the Ref blew his whistle for goal. And there i was screaming with relief. William Gallas was the scorer and the match ended 2-2. A Fair result perhaps, but not for me. I wasn't jumping with joy like many supporters as i clearly felt we should have done much better.
Looking back at the match, i can see an even bigger c*nt coming through ManU team. Anderson. What a sc*mbag. It was Fergie's turn to show who was even bigger (c*nt) as he complained that Webb was favoring Arsenal and that the ManU bench were receiving lots of abuse from people near the dugout. And then, he wants a cap on foreign players.! He might have forgot several facts in the bitterness of losing two points at the last minute. Webb was never favoring Arsenal. And might i say that no one with right mind would expect loving caring words from opposition fans when one is a c*ntbag like him.

Even though we dropped 4 points in these two matches, we have proved that we are definitely no push overs. We'll be definitely there in the title race, very much the opposite of what the so called experts predicted.

And finally, it was Slavia against Arsenal and it ended 0-0. There was nothing worth mentionable and i couldn't even find any highlights of the match. Arsene played a carling cup squad and the point was enough to see us through to the knock out stages.

We have Reading up next and meanwhile, let me finish the Nick Hornby's "Fever Pitch". It's an absolutely amazing book that helped Arsenal equalize 3 times (pardon my odd belief that Arsenal will equalize if i watch the game with the book in my hand.!) in the last few matches.
And that's all i can summon today. Thanx for reading if you managed to stay awake all through this post.

Arsenal 2 - Bolton 0. Cable TV Blues

noreply@blogger.com (Pai) — Mon, 22 Oct 2007 11:50:00 +0000

I would have killed the cable providers if they were anywhere near in sight. Really. That much was my frustration.
Here' what happened. On Saturday there was a cricket match..(yawn), t20.. (still yawning) .. T20 is supposed to be the most exciting version of cricket. And I slept off almost half of it. Back to the scenario. Then there was Chelsea's match(YAWN..!) and last but most importantly there was Arsenal Vs Bolton live. Cricket was on national(channel 1, prime band). Arsenal's match was on ESPN(Prime band again, ch 26) and Chelsea's on star(ch 84), which is unbearably grainy and unwatchable.
Then cricket starts and the cable tv c*nts are now showing the same match on ch 1 and ch 26. and Chelsea match on 59 where its relatively less grainy. And Arsenal's match in the worst band, ch 86..! Now, why on earth do they have to show cricket on two frequencies? And why the hell do they have to put ESPN on the worst frequency. C*nts. F*ck off.. I'm getting a new connection ASAP.

Eh, a pretty boring and dragging rant i suppose. Anyway to the match. As anyone could guess, i couldn't watch the match because of all this. But the result cheered me up. A good 2-0 win over Bolton. I watched the highlights and i couldn't spot one shot on goal by Bolton. That was enough to convince me that they were playing 11 men behind the ball. They were fouling us whenever possible, thus stifling our attack. And the first half ended goalless.

In the second half came a double substitution which changed the match. Rosicky and Walcott were brought on and their pace and flair was enough to see us through. Toure opened the scoring with a long low powerful shot which crept in. Then the two subs combined to score the second. Walcott's pace seemed just too much for Bolton at that stage.

And that was it. We won 2-0. Bolton were never threatening and we deserved the points. Just imagine what it might have been as i couldn't see a single moment in the highlights with Bolton having possession. With Sammy Lee gone, they were back to what they do best, fouling. But that didn't pay off this time around.

It was good to see Walcott having a significant impact on the game. Some more performances like these and he'll surely get a start on the wings. Or maybe upfront.

With this win, we're top of the league. Chelsea, Liverpool and Manc's won their games and are keeping up the pressure. The next few matches in EPL will sure turn out to be very vital.

But coming up next is CL match against Slavia Prague. The cable tv c*nts wont show the channel, so I'll have to be content with highlights yet again. Bleh.

AGM and injuries

noreply@blogger.com (Pai) — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 13:24:00 +0000

The Arsenal board has announced that it will extend their lock-down agreement for 5 years till 2012 subject to certain conditions. As per this new agreement, the members who have agreed to this can sell to some permitted persons only until 2009. This includes family members and close relatives.
After this period, they can sell their shares, but only if the other members in the agreement decline to buy it. In effect the board members have a first option on the shares.

PHW spoke about the new investors and the board's stand towards a takeover and dividends.

“There has been much recent media coverage surrounding the share ownership of the Group, following the arrival of two new major shareholders in the past year. I would like to take this opportunity to emphasize to all Shareholders that the Arsenal Board is committed to the principle of developing the long-term stability of the Club through maintaining a business that pays its own way. Members of the Board are committed long-term shareholders and to strengthen the current position they have entered into a new agreement which replaces the existing lock-down agreement which expires next April."

There was also some benefits announced to the share holders which include many matchday discounts.

So that's about the AGM and we can be relieved that the fat c*nt won't takeover any time soon and that we'll be in safe hands for more time. The boards policy that the profits wont be divided among shareholders might not be popular with some hideous C*nts, but thats the way it's got to be done for a football club.

Now to injuries. Just when we were praying so that our players will come through the internationals unscathed, we get hit by an injury which we dreaded. One to RvP. The seriousness of the injury is not yet known as RvP is yet to undergo a scan. Senderos is also injured, but the return of Gallas means we might not be affected much. But upfront we're losing our in-form striker for god knows how many days/weeks. This is good chance for Eduardo and Bendtner and with matches against Pool and Manc's coming up, they'll have to get to form pretty soon. How I'd have loved if that f*cking injury hadn't happened.

PS: A detailed report about AGM by Arseblog.

The boredom....

noreply@blogger.com (Pai) — Mon, 15 Oct 2007 12:29:00 +0000

No EPL matches , not much news. Just some boring internationals. Boring boring weekend. I'd have spend my time doing bungee jumps if i could. But i ended up watching boring boring boring cricket.

If there is some news, it's outdated. Something like Jens mouthing off about Almunia when he should be working hard to get his spot back. And yes there's Barca trying and successfully suing Fran Merida for eh.. what? Not playing for them.. not signing a contract with them.. bollocks. A 17 year kid fined 2.1 million..! Time and again they prove they are utter c*nts. Well maybe they're trying to be more c*nty. Like trying to tap up Fabregas by talking shit in their spanish fecking tabloids.

I'm still fuming about the whole TH14 saga. It was those C*nts who regularly came up with stories of henry signing for them.

Speaking of TH, I'm quite surprised by his quotes about our club. Unlike other players who left, Henry has always spoken good about Arsenal. Unlike Ljunberg, unlike Viera, unlike wiltord, unlike c*ntly c*nt. Bleh..

The first set of international matches are over and we've came through without any injuries. Hopefully we'll get through next round of matches also. After that we have Bolton at home. How i would like to see bolton being thrashed. even if fat sam isnt there. Just whip em boys.

Winning run continues......

noreply@blogger.com (Pai) — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 05:37:00 +0000

Another win, another three points. Arsenal defeated Steaua blahblah away from home in a tricky tie and came away with a gritty win. The side showed lots of patience and composure to grind out this win. We were always the favorites but failure to take the chances created meant we won by just one goal.

Steaua had their chances but they failed to take them. Van Persie scored for Arsenal from within the box with a thumping finish on 76th minute. After some tests before the match, Hleb, Ade and Van Persie started the game.

Thus two wins from two games sees us on top of the group and we should be comfortably through. Next up it is Slavia Prague at home and 3 points from that match will help us to relax a bit for the rest of the fixtures.

Back to EPL, we have Sunderland up next on Sunday. There's no doubt that they'll put up a strong defense. But with all our form and ability i can't see us dropping any points this time around. It's another thing if Almunia decides to emulate Lehmann's mistakes.

There's takeover talk going on like always and i will not put my head into it. Not now.

PS: This post was done in 5 mins, and i hope that explains the great quality............

Arsenal doing very well... In my absence.. !

noreply@blogger.com (Pai) — Sat, 29 Sep 2007 17:55:00 +0000

It's been a long long long time since my last post... more than 20 days.. huh. thats pretty long a break.! Anyway, here i am; back but surely blogs will be at much less frequency.

We had many matches since my last post and we have won all of them. Quite a good showing by the team to win some important matches and enabling us a good start to the season.

First it was "top four tottenham" at shite hart lane. We went down after a free kick from Bale went in. Then we had a good goal from Ade and a thunder bolt from Fabregas and then a stunner from Ade. So we dumped spuds at their place and showed em whos the boss. They're still reeling the reeling in the relegation zone.. hahahahaha

Then came Sevilla with all the talk from Renato and Ramos on teaching teams how to beat us. Then went back after getting a good kick in the arse. A 3-0 win to us.

Next was Derby and a goal fest was expected. And thats exactly what we got. Ade chipped in with the first hat trick at the Emirates and Fabregas and Diaby's goals meant we thrashed em 5-0.

Then came big sam's Newcastle in the Carling cup. Wenger fielded a squad full of youngsters as expected and they showed fat sam the depth of our squad. 2-0 win for us. Fat sam was clearly bitter about it and with no one to blame, he went for the FA for not playing the fixture on Wednesday. Fat c*nt.

And finally, just hours back, we grinded out a 1-0 win at Upton park against West Ham. It was a tough fixture as predicted. A 13th minute goal from VanPersie was enough to secure the 3 points. The goal came from an Alex Hleb cross. Hleb got injured after a nasty tackle from noble. Gob knows how serious the injury is.

That's it for now. More posts later. Hopefully.

Arsene Wenger's new contract almost done

noreply@blogger.com (Pai) — Fri, 07 Sep 2007 02:23:00 +0000

It's great news for all Arsenal fans as reports are out suggesting that Arsene Wenger has agreed to a new deal. This deal will keep him in the club until 2010.

After the good start to the season, this is another good news that'll boost the team confidence and eliminate all uncertainties that existed. There were many claims during the pre-season that Wenger will leave the club after Dein was sacked. The rumors became strong after Henry's departure when he claimed that he left because of the uncertainty over Wenger's future. And to rub it into Arsenal fans, reports started flowing in that Fabregas was also leaving unless Wenger stays. Wenger has brushed aside any comments that he is not comfortable when Dein is not around by doing what he does best. By managing our club as usual. He signed more young prospects and for me it was pretty clear back then itself that he will stay here longer. For some reason it wasn't clear for Henry. Either Henry was making an excuse, or Wenger refused to reveal his plans to Henry. If it's the latter, it's suffice to say that Wenger wasn't keen on keeping Henry at the club. So far his departure has only brought positives in our matches and it'd be great if it carries on.

After selling his shares, Dein has been talking about how Arsenal needs to spend big to keep up with its competition. Wenger's reply was quick. He came out and said,

"We have a team that can develop in the next four or five years. I feel we make superstars. We have a feel for the game and the way we want to play football is linked to development and therefore you have to take your time a little bit"
"I have not seen a number of what you might call world class players. World class prices maybe but not world class players."

Dein may have best interests for the club and he might want us to spend big. But with Arsene at the helm, that won't happen. So what would he do? Sack Arsene? Or force him to spend big? These two options certainly doesn't seem like one in the best interests of the club. Dein is not wanted anymore and he can spend the rest of his time with the Russian oligarch buying oil companies.

With the international matches coming up, there isn't much happening other that some comments from Rosicky who bets he'll score more this season, while Giles Sunu says he rejected Chelsea and ManU to join his dream club.

I'm relocating in the coming few days and i have no idea if I can get a net connection soon to keep this updated. Until then......

Arsenal 3 - Portsmouth 1. Senderos sent off.

noreply@blogger.com (Pai) — Sun, 02 Sep 2007 17:28:00 +0000

Arsenal defeated Portsmouth 3-1 in a lively encounter at the Emirates to move up to second spot in the EPL standings. The goals came from Adebayor, Fabregas and Rosicky for Arsenal, while Kanu scored for Portsmouth.

Arsenal started with a 4-4-2 with Clichy, Senderos, Toure and Flamini at the back and Rosicky, Gilberto, Fabregas and Hleb in the middle while Adebayor partnered Van Persie upfront.

The first goal came early in the 8th minute when Adebayor converted the penalty which was awarded when David James brought down Van Persie when he was sent through. An early goal was just what Arsenal needed and the lesser pressure due to it showed as we played comfortably.

The second goal came from a corner when Gilberto's flick on fell into Fabregas' path and the Spaniard showed quick reflexes and sharp finishing to slot it home. The score stayed like that until half time with Arsenal looking very comfortable.

The second half started with two substitutions from Pompey as Harry Redknapp tried to bring his side back into the game. Early in the half, Senderos was sent off for bringing down Kanu when the Nigerian was through. The ref without any hesitation, showed the red card and Senderos was off. Almunia produced a good save from the resultant free kick, but the ball fell in front of an opposition player who shot it over the bar.

The sending off saw Arsenal change their formation as Gilberto moved to center back and we looked like playing a 4-3-1-1 with Van Persie playing behind Adebayor. Then in the 59th minute came the third goal when Rosicky's shot from a quickly taken free kick ended up in the net. Rosicky was unmarked and the quickly taken free kick really caught the pompey defense by surprise.

Even before the celebration's of that ended, Kanu scored at the other after a lucky deflection, but it was down to some poor defending from Clichy who failed to cut out the attack.Further substitutions followed as Hleb was replaced by Denilson and Van Persie was replaced by Diaby. Eduardo came on for Adebayor late on. Pompey tried their best to score, but they never converted their chances and Almunia was very good in the goal making some very vital saves. It ended 3-1 as neither side troubled the scores after Kanu's goal. The full match report is here.

In his post match interview, Arsene spoke about how the is super-ambitious and that the team always tries to go forward.
He also spoke about the reason behind signing Diarra,

"He was only one year to go at Chelsea, and when he didn't extend the contract I thought, he's a player we rate, so it happened very late. I would have thought that in the end Chelsea would extend his contract but when it didn't happen we found an agreement with Chelsea."

The signing was really unexpected after Wenger himself had told some time ago that we have too many midfielders when asked why Wilson Palacios didn't sign for the club. Anyway, if Arsene rates him and if he's available for decent price, there is no reason why he shouldn't be bought.

Caming back to the match, i feel we might have made some record by playing the most number of center midfielders at the same time in a game. At one time we had Diaby, Denilson, Fabregas, Rosicky, Gilberto and Flamini on pitch, playing at various positions. Thats six out of the nine outfield players. That just shows that our squad contains many versatile players.

Regarding the red card, i feel there was no doubt that it was a red card offense, but it wasn't entirely Senderos' fault. Some claim thats it was due to his bad positioning, but they forget that Kanu would have been offside if Flamini had positioned himself a little forward. It's a shame that he'll have to sit out for some games. He is a good prospect and he needed some matches to get back his confidence. This sending off also means we'll have to play Gilberto at the back for the next game which is away at Spuds. An important game it'll be and our defense will be put to a tougher test at the lane.

As another Game week got over, Spuds dropped points again after dominating at Fulham, while Chelsea lost to Villa at Villa park. Liverpool thrashed Derby, while Man U sneaked past Sunderland. Another team that has been doing pretty well is Everton. They have signed Yakubu and this time around they'll give a tough time for any opposition.

Diarra moves to Arsenal, Pompey preview.

noreply@blogger.com (Pai) — Sat, 01 Sep 2007 16:19:00 +0000

Lassana Diarra has signed on for Arsenal on the deadline day of the transfer window. The midfielder has apparently signed a long term deal with Arsenal and this late signing clearly shows how highly Wenger rates him. We already have a big enough contingent of center midfielders but Diarra is touted to be the replacement for Gilberto Silva once the Brazilian leaves/retires from the club.

Diarra later talked to the press about his transfer.

“I have great respect for the manager Arsène Wenger and am attracted by the style of football that the team plays. Of course I am excited by what the future holds and keen to play my part in helping Arsenal fight for trophies this season and for years to come.”

He was unhappy with the lack of first team action at Chelsea, but it's pretty strange that he chose Arsenal. Here the opportunities are restricted like at Chelsea as we have surplus of central midfielders.

Wenger also spoke about this deal.

“Lassana is a multi-functional player, making him a great addition to our squad. Not only is he hard working, he has a creative edge and is comfortable playing in the middle of the pitch or at right back.”

This transfer also throws doubt over the future of some players.

First, Mathieu Flamini. The arrival of Diarra won't help him at all in geting more first team action and it looks pretty sure that Flamini will leave in the next transfer window or the one after that. Flamster is a great squad player who has always given his best. I wouldn't like to see him leave, but he won't be pleased to be sitting on the bench. We'll hear more about him and his future soon.

Second, Gilberto Silva. It is pretty early to say that Gilberto's days at Arsenal are counted, but Wenger's policy of preferring young players over 30+ aged players throws doubt in my mind. Gilberto hasn't signed a new contract yet and he is supposedly unhappy with the captaincy decision. It would be foolish to let Gilberto leave soon but Wenger has his plans and we'll hear more about Gilberto's future in the coming sumer.

We recently had the Champions League draw and now it's the turn for Carling Cup. We drew Newcastle United and kept the tradition of drawing tough oppositions in league matches. Wenger will sure stick to a youthful team. The only question is whether he'll mix youth and experience like last time, or will he go for a full young squad.

We have lots of rumors about takeover, but I hate to go into those things as i hate a takeover even though it's headed by David Dean. The whole situation is a big mess and totally unnecessary.

Between all this, we have a match tomorrow against Portsmouth. It'll be played at the Grove and as always it's important to come away with a win. The likes of Kanu, Lauren and Campbell will return as they look set to start. It will be interesting to see what formation they go for, but the most probable one is a 4-5-1.
Coming to Arsenal team news, Alex Hleb is doubtful for this match as he fell ill and his inclusion in the squad will be a late decision. Hleb is a vital part in the team as we haven't signed any wingers and Walcott is still raw. We also have Sagna, Gallas, Eboue and Lehmann in the injury list.

Pompey will be tough to beat at it is important that our defense maintains its concentration throughout. Last time they visited, we went two goals down before fighting back to get a 2-2 draw. We need to win and i won't mind if its a scrappy 1-0.

Arsenal 3 - Sparta Prague 0, Dein sells shares

noreply@blogger.com (Pai) — Thu, 30 Aug 2007 17:25:00 +0000

Arsenal cruised to a comfortable 3-0 win over Sparta Prague to ensure a berth in the group stage of this years Champions League. An early goal from Rosicky and late goals from Fabregas and Eduardo meant the Gunners came out as comfortable 5-0 winners over two legs.

I couldn't watch the match and I feel it's better not to write opinions by just reading reports and watching highlights. So here's a good report. Have it!

Anyway, it's pretty nice to see our midfielders score more goals. If they can keep this scoring touch, we'd be far better as there would be less pressure on forwards. Eduardo played in the wings for some part of the game and from opinions, I've understood that he looked pretty lively there. In my opinion, he may play there in the left in the absence of Rosicky and that'll also help him to settle faster as playing on wings means seeing more of the ball.

But Arsene believes that he's a box player. So it's pretty sure that we'll see him more upfront rather than on the wings. Arsene was quoted saying,

"If you find Eduardo and supply him with chances, he will score goals. He's a box player."

which looks pretty true by seeing the goal which he scored against Sparta.

Cesc Fabregas meanwhile dedicated his goal to Antonio Puerta who passed away recently after a heart attack while he was on field. Football fans fans all around the globe are shocked by the death and I'm surely one among them after reading that he didn't even drink or smoke. He was a very fit person at 22 years old with a young wife and an about to be born kid. Very sad indeed.

In other important news, The Champions league group stages are drawn and Arsenal might face Puerta's team Sevilla. The winners of Sevilla Vs AEK Athens which was postponed after Puerta's death will decide who'll head to the group stage. The other teams are Steaua Bucharest and Slavia Prague.

It looks a relatively easy draw and Arsenal with all their quality should never find it troublesome to progress from this group. There'll some tricky away games but we should come out on top like we did against Sparta.

Meanwhile, David Dean has sold his shares to Red&White Holdings, a company co-owned by Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov for a reported £75mill. Dean will be the chairman of Red&White holdings and even though they spoke that they don't intend to takeover any soon, their intentions are pretty clear.

Dean said,

"Today's announcement marks a significant step towards realising the vision I share with thousands of fans at home and abroad of making Arsenal the world's number one football club,

I have not lost my passion for the club, indeed, it is greater than ever. My ambition remains to play an active role in Arsenal again.

My immediate intention is to work with others to provide the financial resources necessary to turn the vision of Arsenal as the world's number one club into reality."

This sale of shares by Dein is sure to start another media circus claiming things about takeover bids from everyone including Osama Bn Laden. Be prepared. *Sighs

Arsenal 1 - Man City 0. More injuries.

noreply@blogger.com (Pai) — Sat, 25 Aug 2007 16:03:00 +0000

An 80th minute strike from Cesc Fabregas ensured Arsenal a home win over Manchester City. Earlier Robin Van Persie missed a penalty after Hleb was brought down in the box by Micah Richards.

The match was in many ways a reflection of our last season performances at the Emirates, only difference being a clean sheet for Arsenal. As usual Arsenal created many chances, but none of them were taken. But most of the credit should go to City defense, which stood up and fought hard against the attacks which came one after the another.

As expected Arsenal started with a 4-4-2. But there were surprises in the starting line up as Gilberto started at center back after Senderos suffered an injury just before the game. So it was Clichy, Toure, Gilberto and Sagna at the back and Hleb, Fabregas, Flamini and Rosicky in the midfield, while Van Persie and Adebayor played upfront. An injury (or not) to Lehmann meant Almunia started infront of goal. City played some line up which included Mpenza, Elano and Petrov while Giovanni started from bench.

Sagna was injured in the first half after an accidental clash with Flamini and he was brought off early in the match. He was replaced by Denilson who played in the center while Flamini shifted to right back. This latest injury and another one to Senderos during pre-match warm up means we have very less options for the coming games unless they recover fast.

The match saw plenty of chances created, most of them created by Arsenal, but City had a fair share of them as they tried to score on the break. The city goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichal looked very shaky in handling crosses, but Arsenal couldn't take advantage of it. The first half ended 0-0, but Arsenal should have taken the lead. The second half was similar to the first, but there was a period of domination by City and those moments were worrying indeed. Then came the penalty as Alex Hleb was brought down in the box by Richards. Van Persie stepped up, but struck a poor shot straight at the keeper as he went for power rather than placement. But with ten minutes to go, Cesc Fabregas scored from a difficult angle after some neat passing in the box. 1-0 to the Arsenal and there was no way we were going to lose from that position. The full match report is here.

Our front line had a pretty ordinary performance and that was largely down to some excellent marking by the City defenders Dunne and Richards. Rosicky had a very lively game and he didn't look like he was affected by the injury. Hleb looked good on the right and did well to win a penalty for us, before setting up the winner. Gilberto looked comfortable at the back and Almunia made some good saves and looked very assuring behind the defense.

It was a very important win and a well deserved one too as City showed lots of fighting spirit. One can take many negatives out of this performance, but to me the win was important and it's good to see us keeping a clean sheet. We can still improve on counter attacks and finishing, which will be needed for a good season.

Arsene Wenger to sign a new contact soon

noreply@blogger.com (Pai) — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 08:00:00 +0000

Recent reports suggest that Arsene Wenger is set to sign a 3 year contact within weeks. Peter Hill-Wood spoke to Daily star about the situation.

"Hopefully we'll have something to say in the next week or so.
The length of the contract is up to him, but hopefully it will be a two or three-year deal. "We certainly want to pay him what he's worth, but money is not the major stumbling block. There are just little pieces here and there to sort out."

This is great news for the Team, the Board and all the fans. Everyone has been waiting for this to happen and once the contract is signed, there'll be many relieved faces. This news also means rumors that link the players future to uncertainty in Wenger's future, will rest for a while.

Meanwhile, Wenger told the press that he is in no rush to appoint a new director of football. He had spoke earlier that how appointing a new director at the pre-season stage would be difficult for him. Now that the pre-season is over, it may be the best time for him to appoint a new man. But as long as he feels that Ken Friar is doing a good job, there is no reason to appoint a new director of football.
Wenger spoke,

"At the moment Ken Friar does this job and he does it very well,"I have known him since I have been here and, as long as he does that, we will not change now. We might look to employ somebody still, but not necessarily someone to be involved in the deals for the transfers."

Coming to transfer rumors, we are being linked with Wilson Palacios, a Honduran winger. It might be just another Palacio like prank and there has been no solid evidence so far.
If this signing does happen, i do hope he is better than Eboue and Walcott. Otherwise there is no point in signing him as he isnt much young either. Nobody knows much about this guy and we'll know soon if there's any truth in this story.

And Gilberto Silva has spoke to icons.com many things, including Henry's departure, Eduardo's arrival and the ambition of the club. He also said that his three week break after Copa America wont do him any harm.
When asked if Henry's frustrations affecting the team morale, his answer was this.

It would be a bit silly to speculate about "ifs and maybes". Thierry wasn't the only player unhappy with our problems last year and I don't think his dissatisfaction was any problem for the squad in terms of morale.

It's good that players are unhappy with the performance. Maybe that'll just help to motivate themselves this season. But if the unhappiness is towards the board or Arsene Wenger's policies, it'd be trouble. We all know that Gallas was really unhappy with our transfer policy until he was awarded the Captains arm band. And David Dean's departure haven't exactly helped the situations. Hopefully Wenger will sign the contract soon and ease some of the uncertainties that exist.

And speaking of uncertainties, we can't ignore our North London neighbors. Martin Jol's managerial position is under threat as it is reported that the board is unhappy with his performances(After only 3 games). They approached Sevilla manager Ramos with a lucrative offer but got turned down. And Ramos spoke to public that he was offered a deal form Spuds. Jol is unhappy with the board for not showing faith in him and players are unhappy with the board for not showing faith in Jol. As if the pressure from supporters wasn't enough, poor old Martin Jol now has the board looking to draw blood. Shame on you Spuds..!

Injured Gallas to sit out for three weeks

noreply@blogger.com (Pai) — Mon, 20 Aug 2007 15:04:00 +0000

After sustaining a groin injury in the last match against Blackburn Rovers, William Gallas is set to be sidelined for at least three weeks. This means we will be without proper defensive cover until Gallas returns. Senderos will partner Toure at the back until then.
I don't have any doubts that Senderos will perform well. He has partnered well with Tore in the past and he is very much capable of doing that again. He is strong in the air and will surely do well. He just needs to have 2-3 first team matches continuously. And the injury to Gallas means this a great chance for him to prove his critics wrong. What concerns me is the fact that we have no one to cover further injuries at the center back position. One more injury means we'll end up playing Alex Song in that position. Very worrying indeed.

After his mistake in the last match, Jens Lehmann is talking again; about how England players are mentally weak. It's good to see that he is trying to get involved in other things rather than get moody about his mistake. But enough is enough, one more mistake and he'll be, he must be out of the team. He might not be dropped for the next game, but there is a mighty good chance of that happening if he makes another mistake soon. Gooners from all over the world are enraged with his latest mistake and many are calling for his exit from the club. Wherever you go, whichever forum u read, same opinion can be seen.

Meanwhile, Cesc Fabregas has came out showed his support to Jens.

“When I make a mistake I don’t like people shouting at me, I just have to think about what I did wrong and put it right. Now Jens has to think about it himself but of course we are all alongside him. He does not have to apologize. “This is a team. Since the beginning of the season we said we will always be together. We are together now and we are strong. We showed that at Blackburn. There was one mistake and we lost two very important points. But it is still very early.”

It's good to hear that the team is ready to shoulder the responsibility rather than point fingers. As I said in my last post, there was some bad defending from Flamini and Cesc, as they just stood and watched the ball being passed around rather than closing down Dunn. We definitely miss Gilberto and I cant wait to see him back in action clearing air balls and putting in well timed tackles.

There is ten more days for transfers and i have come to the conclusion that we wont sign anyone now. Seeing the current state of team, its obvious that we need a winger. Walcott hasn't matured yet, even though Wenger thinks otherwise and Eboue isn't doing much as a winger.
One player who has impressed everyone is Sagna. He has been great in the last three matches defensively and going forward. Another great buy from Arsene.

Blackburn Rovers 1 - Arsenal 1. Lehmann shocker

noreply@blogger.com (Pai) — Sun, 19 Aug 2007 16:11:00 +0000

Two games, Two mistakes, Two goals conceded. This time around Jens Lehmann won't be the happiest man in the dressing room after the game. In a very physical affair at Ewood Park, Jens Lehmann's mistake meant that we have dropped points for the first time this season after Robin Van Persie put us ahead.

Arsene Wenger reverted to a 4-4-2 after injuries to Rosicky and Eboue. Hleb moved to the left and Walcott on the right. New signing Eduardo teamed up with Robin Van Persie upfront. Blackburn put out a very attacking lineup, but it was soon clear what their intentions were. Right from the kick-off, the Blackburn players tried to rough up our players. And no prizes for guessing who was at his bloody best doing that. Robbie Savage. Mark Hughes may speak on and on about how his team is misunderstood and harshly treated by the referees, but these sort of showing by his team proves nothing but the fact the he loves kicking teams around. And thats exactly why Robbie Savage is in the team. That twat knows nothing other than fouling and intimidating people. And the referee for the game Alan Wiley never got hold of the game and he allowed Savage and his thuggish team mates to get away with many fowls.

It was a very physical affair and it was Arsenal who took the lead after a small scramble in the box. Friedel's mistake allowed Van Persie to slot in the ball to make it 0-1 and despite being not so convincing, Arsenal went ahead. Captain Gallas had to substituted after he suffered an injury and he was replaced by Senderos. The score stayed the same at Halftime.
The second half saw a resurgent Blackburn side proving that they can play Football along with kick-boxing. There were tackles flying around and most of them were intended purely to take out the player. Van Persie and Fabregas were targeted in particular and were never allowed time on the ball.
The Equalizer came from David Dunn who hit the ball from outside the box after some good passing movement. Jens made a real mess of it and the ball ended up in the net. 1-1. From then on the game opened up.
Blackburn skipper Nelson was sent off after pulling down Van Persie when he got through. Bendtner was brought on for Eduardo who couldn't make a big impact on the game.

Wenger in his post match interview, spoke that this was a game where we should have come away with a victory.

"We feel we have dropped two points because we were 1-0 ahead and had a few chances to score a second goal, But it was a good performance. We were resilient and dealt well with the long ball and the physical challenge they gave us."

He refused to criticize Lehmann saying,

"He feels very down at the moment because of course he knows his responsibility, A goalkeeper is there not to make mistakes and he will certainly be concerned, but what we have to worry about at this stage is to just prepare for our next game."

I'm really disappointed with a draw as we should have finished off Blackburn before they equalized. But it was a relief to see that the team responded well to the physical approach they had to face. Another match has gone and it showed some more weaknesses.
1. Lehmann. He should sit out a few games. A spell on the bench can only do him good.
2. Lack of Wingers. Walcott isn't much of a threat and Eboue isn't a winger. We need a new signing.
3. DMC position. The goal by Dunn showed us how much we missed Gilberto. There was noone to close him down. Even though Flamini does his best, Gilberto is just irreplaceable.

All is not bad for Arsenal as the other three clubs in the top four dropped points as ManU lost to Man City and Liverpool drew with Chelsea.

Wenger contract decision soon; Blackburn preview.

noreply@blogger.com (Pai) — Fri, 17 Aug 2007 17:24:00 +0000

When asked about decision over his contract Arsene Wenger's answer was this.

“We are very soon, Very, very soon.”

It'll be a huge boost to the team if he signs a new contact now and a slap on the face for Thierry Henry who said he decided to move on because Wenger's future is uncertain. His signing will bring a lot of relief to players as well as many fans. Everyone knows how important it is that he stays for more seasons. I never had doubt that he'll sign a new contract and i still don't have doubts over it. He brought up this team from bare bones and it'd be very strange if he left them now.

Wenger also talked about how we have young players with old heads.

“We have matured, We have a great togetherness and we fight for each other. You could see that the other night [in Prague].

"You understand some qualities are more important when you get a bit older. When you are younger you are a little bit obsessed by your own performance. When you get more mature you understand that different ingredients are needed to focus on and that is what we have learned."

It's true that our players cant be labeled as players without experience and maturity. Everyone of them have played a lot of games over these years and they have plenty of experience at the top level.

Coming to the Sundays away match against Blackburn, the team news says that we'll be without Tomas Rosicky and Eboue for this game, while Eduardo is fit again and has a good chance to start the game. It'll be interesting to see what team Wenger will put out. As Eboue is injured he will have to play both Walcott and Hleb. Hleb will probably start on the left and Walcott on the right. It could also be Diaby on left as Wenger has a habit of playing him there when we are short of wingers. The current situation really shows that we need one more winger in our team. Eboue hasn't impressed anyone with his performances in the last two games and Hleb and Walcott aren't much convincing either.
So for this match there is a good chance that we'll revert back to 4-4-2 with Eduardo partnering RvP who has been lonely upfront.
My prediction, a 2-1 win for us.

Sparta Prague 0 - Arsenal 2. Job almost done.

noreply@blogger.com (Pai) — Wed, 15 Aug 2007 20:51:00 +0000

Arsenal have won their away leg of the Champions League qualifier against Czech side Sparta Prague. The goals came in the second half from Cesc Fabregas in the 72nd minute and from Alex Hleb in the 90th Minute after a goalless first half. Gael Clichy setup the first goal while Sagna assisted in the second. The full match report is here. As usual ten sports decided against showing the match. And a shitty net connection meant i was left to watch the live score updates.

Wenger started with the same starting XI that played against Fulham, as expected. We had Eduardo, Adebayor, Diaby, Denilson and Gilberto out of this tie due to injuries. This win away from home is one of the important ones this season. It's only half time considering the two legs, but we can be pretty sure of a spot in the group stage.

Update: The goals can be viewed here.
[0-1] Fabregas 72'
[0-2] Hleb 90+'

Apart from that we had 'top four spuds' losing again, this time to everton only to find themselves at the bottom. First two games really shows how much Jol "wasted" on that team. And Mancs drew again, this time to Pompey after Ronaldo was sent off for a head butt. Seems he'll get a three match ban as a disciplinary action. Must be because i took him in my fantasy premierleague team.

Arsenal 2 - Fulham 1. Improvements needed.

noreply@blogger.com (Pai) — Sun, 12 Aug 2007 14:58:00 +0000

The new season has finally started and we've started with a win. A win that wasn't convincing at all. A win that showed everyone that there is lot of work to be done, on different fronts.

The starting lineup was the same which everyone expected with us playing a 4-4-1-1 with Hleb playing behind Van Persie. New man Eduardo Silva was dropped from the squad after a knee injury.

The first goal was scored by Fulham in the first minute, when Jens Lehmann tried to act smart on the ball. He received a back pass from Clichy and tried to pass it back to him even when Healy was in the way. He should have passed to Sagna, he didn't and went off-balance while trying to pass and made a real mess of it. Healy was left with the job to tuck the ball into the net and he did it without any mistake. So it was 1-0 to Fulham even before everyone had taken their seat.

From then on, it was the same old story. Arsenal trying to equalize only to miss several chances. Rosicky had a good chance after some good work by Hleb, but he dragged his shot wide. Another chance fell to Rosciky after some work on the right by Sagna and again the ball ended up on the wrong side of the net. Many chances followed and it looked like we were without any improvement on the finishing department.

Fulham meanwhile was not defending all the time, they had some pretty good chances and if they were taken the result would have turned out as something else. Our defense looked out of sorts on several occasions as their strikers were left unmarked at times.

The first half ended with a 1-0 scoreline and Arsenal continued their pursuit for the equalizer. Again there were so many chances. They fell to Hleb, Fabregas, Van Persie and Rosicky. But none of them were converted. Then when it looked like we'll be having another bad opening day, Toure went on a great run only to be blocked by Bocanegra. A penalty was awarded and Van Persie stepped up to convert it.
Then in the injury time we got a winner; from Alex Hleb who controlled a lofted ball from Fabregas to slot it home. Emirates erupted with joy and i can't explain how much happy I was.
The detailed match report is here.

Wenger in his post match interview commented that the team showed great fighting spirit and claimed that this was a result that could change a team's season.
He had an interesting comment about Hleb playing behind Van Persie.

"Hleb is doing very well in there, I felt that sometimes Van Persie was a bit isolated, when Bendtner came on and was supporting him it was a bit easier. But sometimes it depends on the games."

It was true that RvP looked isolated at times, and i definitely felt like we were missing Adebayor's presence. His work rate will only help RvP.

The first match brought to light many of our weaknesses and showed that we lacked a lot to compete for major trophies.
First, Eboue was just ok at right wing and it was definitely showing that we need a new winger. Someone who play very well in that position rather than just an ok performance.
Second, We need to improve the defense. Sagna seems to be solid, but the Toure-Gallas partnership was as shaky as ever. There were many occasions when our defending looked dreadful due to lack of communication.
Third, we are still very inefficient in using the set pieces. Nobody runs towards the ball and there isnt any determined attempt to head the ball.
Fourth, Jens needs to cut out his mistakes and improve his concentration.

Now onto plus points, Hleb looks great at the center, just behind the striker. He created a lot of chances, worked hard and showed good determination. He deserved his goal and i feel if he gets that role more, we'll see more goals from him.
Sagna looks solid at the back. He links up well with the wingers and looks like he has settled in no time.
Bendtner looks like he'll be very useful. He won several Aerial balls and showed immense power and determination to hold off the defenders after he came on. He might come very hand in those away matches when the opponent just tries to knock us out of the game.

In other matches, Chelsea and liverpool won their matches against Birmingham and Aston Villa. And Spuds lost against Sunderland. Serves them right.