Goals from midfield kill the Spartans

It was tough going last night. Tough for the lads on the pitch, tough for the traveling fans, no doubt, and tough for anyone who wasn’t subscribed to Setanta Sports as all the websites that usually stream the matches went down about 5 minutes before kick off. Just a bit suspicious, you’d have to say.

I ended up listening to BBC Radio London to a commentator who seemed to be practicing his stand-up material. Whether that had anything to do with how little was going on in the match I don’t know but I’d advise him not to give up the day job. Sparta came out rough and ready as we expected them to and picked up a flurry of yellow cards early on. No surprises that former West Ham man Repka got one but he got his when he injured himself in a tackle with Cesc who got booed by the crowd from then on. The much vaunted return home for Tomas Rosicky turned out to be rather a damp squib and I think, in all seriousness, I only heard his name once before half time.

It wasn’t until 20 minutes from time when we took the lead. Clichy intercepted in midfield, skipped past a couple of defenders and passed to Cesc who finished from inside the box. It’s good to see him get off the mark early this season – it’ll take some pressure off. We seemed to sit back a bit after that and when Rosicky (who left the field to warm applause from the home fans because of his history and the fact he was kind enough not to do anything to hurt them in the game) was replaced by Song we wobbled a bit according to the commentary. Jens made a couple of decent saves but was directly involved in our second. Claiming the ball from a Sparta corner he chucked it out to Sagna who broke down our left, got close to the box and played a nice pass to Alexander Hleb who finished very smartly past the keeper to make it 2-0.

That’s 2 goals in 2 games for Belarussian and if he keeps this form up he could beat Henry’s record in a mere 235 games, or something. In seriousness though it’s good to see some end product from him. It remains to be seen whether or not he can do it from the flank because surely when Adebayor and Eduardo are back we’ll play with two strikers again. Some players are good at being the lone striker but I’m not sure Robin van Persie is one of them. From what I gathered he was left a bit isolated and with too much to do and that’s understandable. He’s no Drogba-esque target man.

Still, 2 away goals and a clean sheet is a good result when you consider the players we had missing and bar an absolute disaster in the return leg it looks like Champions League football is on the agenda for this season. Arsene Wenger was happy with the result but wasn’t counting any chickens, saying:

The whole team has a resilience, they fight to the last second – and we have shown that again tonight when we scored the goal. At 2-0 we are not qualified. We know we have to keep on our toes. But the second goal was certainly a mental blow for them.

So we can certainly be happy – the only slight concern I had was the fact that with 20 minutes to go and still 0-0 our only options on the bench who might in any way change the game were the two teenagers, Walcott and Bendtner. I know we were missing Gilberto, Diaby, Eduardo, Adebayor and Denilson but I’d still like at least a winger to come in to give us something different. We have that up front with Bendtner who can blunderbus his way around the pitch but our collection of central midfielders and full backs playing on the wings aren’t really producing. It doesn’t look like it’ll be Pedersen as the manager denied making any sort of bid for him.

According to some people watching on Setanta last night Arsene said, in a pre-match interview, that his new contract could be signed within a matter of days. We’ll have to just wait and see what happens there.

So now we have to get ourselves ready for Blackburn on Sunday and one lucky Arseblog reader is going to get themselves a pair of tickets for the game. Thanks to everyone who entered and the answer to the question (Which former Arsenal player now plays for Blackburn?) was, of course, David ‘ave it’ Bentley. The RNG did its thing and the winner is Scotty Easen. I’ll be in touch with you this morning.

It was an interesting night in the Premier League last night. United’s start to the season is similar to ours last time around. They could only draw 1-1 with Portsmouth and lose Fake Ronaldo for three games after he was sent off. Chelsea came back from 1-0 down to beat Reading, Bolton lost (haha) to Fulham (aw) while Boro’s start to the season is consistent at least as they lost 1-0 to Wigan. Listening to BBC 5live last night a Boro fan phoned in and said Jeremie Aliadiere was ‘unbelievable’, in that he couldn’t believe how bad he was. Haha.

Right, that’s it. Busy morning. Until tomorrow and the Arsecast. G’luck.

Sparta Prague preview and other stuff

There’s a big, big game tonight. Probably the most important game of the season so far. heh. It’s Sparta Prague in Prague in the Champions League qualifier.

It’s a return home for Tomas Rosicky to the club where he began his career and for which his brother and his father both played. He’s looking forward to the game and Arsene Wenger is expecting big things from him, saying:

It is a game where Tomas is a bit more under pressure than others because of the extra scrutiny. But he is classy and I feel he is at the age where he can get the right balance in the final third. He is sharp, quick and lively. We want him to give key passes and score goals – and I am convinced he will.

It is the perfect fixture for him to kick into gear with. We saw at the end of last season that he was capable of scoring goals and arriving in the box at the right time. However, his Arsenal career up to now has been hampered by a series of niggly injuries and we have to hope that he can get a good run in the team uninterrupted. If he does then I think we all hope he can prove to be a more effective player than last season.

In terms of the team it’s likely to be the same one that played against Fulham as Eduardo and Adebayor are both out with ankle and groin problems, while in midfield we’re without Diaby and Denilson who both have ankle injuries it seems. A good result here is vital. We don’t want to be chasing a game back at home and so much depends on the result over the two legs. Not only financially and, to use Arsene’s word, footballistically, but you have to think that if we have our eye on a player or two our involvement in the Champions League group stages could be a big factor in whether we sign them or not.

Sparta are a decent side, good defensively, very strong and intimidating in their leather underpants and they know they’ve got to get a result in the first leg to have any real chance of going through. We have to keep it tight at the back and try and nick a goal or two. So no silly mistakes, no slips in concentration and no gifting them the first goal. It’s a lot to ask but here’s hoping! Speaking of gifting goals, Jens Lehmann will play tonight, and he’s philosophical about what happened against Fulham, saying:

 I have never taken such a woeful first touch in my entire career. If that is the way the season begins for me, it can only get better. As Yazz so famously said, the only way is up. Baby.

Indeed. At the press conference Arsene was asked about Gallas as captain and as I predicted he made it all sound quite reasonable. That’s what he does. You know what I think, that’s not about to change, so I’m not going to labour the point. When asked about Gilberto’s comments yesterday he said:

I cannot justify every small decision, and explain it to everybody. Things have to stay inside. He was not in the (training) group last week, and that is why what happened happened. I respect Gilberto a lot. I had a face-to-face meeting with him and told him what I wanted to tell him. I have nothing more to say about that.

If the implication is that the Arsenal captaincy is a small decision then that is rather odd, I have to say, and I still think he could have taken 5 minutes to tell Gilberto before it was announced anywhere else. Anyway, what’s done is done, for better or worse, and there’s no changing it so let’s just put it one side and when Gallas lifts the Premier League trophy next April we can cheer and be a bit sick in our mouths at the same time.

Blackburn have dismissed reports linking us with Morten Gamst Pedersen, especially at the price being quoted, around £8m. You can’t blame Blackburn for wanting more. I mean, if someone’s willing to spend £16m on Darren Bent then you have to think you can get more. In the current climate we’d probably have gotten £10m for Gus Caesar. I suspect if we do make any signings they won’t be from English clubs.

It’s your final chance to win two tickets to Sunday’s game against Blackburn at Ewood Park. Clicky here to enter and I’ll announce the winner tomorrow.

And that’s it. Tonight’s game is on Setanta Sports, I think. Anyone know if it’s on the free to air Setanta here in Ireland or is it on one of the subscription channels?

Till tomorrow.

Gilberto 'upset' at Arsene's Gallas decision

So as William Gallas talks about how proud he is to be captain of Arsenal, Gilberto Silva has spoken of his disappointment at being passed over for the job. He said:

Of course I was surprised because I was captain all last season when Henry didn’t play, and after his move to Barcelona I naturally thought I would be this time.

And he wasn’t alone. The general feeling amongst fans was that he was the right man for the job and I’m told the players were as shocked as anyone when Gallas was appointed. I thought Gilberto captained the team to great effect in Henry’s absence and while some might say he’s not a shouter and screamer what he did was lead the team by example. He probably had his best ever season in red and white, we know he was a captain off the pitch as well as the Christmas party was held in his house and overall he did a good job.

Being the top professional he is though he’ll get on with things and give 100% to the club but he’s obviously upset about the way the situation was handled, saying:

Arsene is the manager and it is his decision and I have to accept that. Life goes on and I will get on with my job like I always have. But I was surprised he didn’t speak to me about his decision. He had the time to do it because I was at the training ground before it was made public.

He didn’t say anything to me and I just found out about it that evening when I saw it on the Arsenal website. I wasn’t upset about not being captain, but I was about the way I learnt about it.

Now, for a man famed for his man management that is very poor, you have to say. What would it have taken to spend 10 minutes with Gilberto before making the terrible decision to have Gallas as captain, just to explain his completely wrong decision to the man who led his young team so well the previous season? Is that the way to reward good service? I had more or less gotten over the Gallas appointment, distracted as I was by the actual football, but I felt sorry for Gilberto at the time and I feel even more sorry for him now. Whatever Arsene’s reasons for making Billy Big Bollocks captain the way he has handled the situation is very disappointing and we can only hope that it doesn’t cause further resentment within the squad.

The Chairman, P2D2, has been talking about the club’s finances and he reckons we’ve never been in better shape and there’s money there for Arsene to spend. He says:

All these stories that the manager hasn’t got money to buy players are absolutely ridiculous. We’ve never denied him funds in 11 years and we’re not likely to now.

Keith Edelman said something similar last month but unfortunately for him and for the Chairman they’ve got a manager who appears to be allergic to spending money. Having made a profit of £255 billion this summer you’d think he might bring in some more players to the thinnest squad of his Arsenal reign but so far there appears to be little movement. The need for quality on the wings is there for all to see and while there may be no obvious candidates, Quaresma apart, there must be players who can come in and improve our first team straight away. There are now 17 days until the transfer window closes. Perhaps Arsene is just letting the money gain interest for as long as possible before he spends it.

Blackburn’s Morten Gamst Pedersen is a name that has been linked over the last few days. So there. He’s looked a decent player at times for Blackburn, capable of some spectacular goals, but doubts remain about his ability to play at the highest level on a consistent basis.

The team news ahead of tomorrow’s Champions League qualifier against Sparta Prague sees Adebayor definitely out with Eduardo da Silva rated as 50-50 and you have to think the manager will err on the side of caution with him. There’s no point risking him if it’s not completely necessary and Bendtner showed he can do a job when given the chance, despite his obvious rawness.

If you fancy two tickets to see Blackburn v Arsenal at Ewood Park on Sunday then simply click here to enter a very simple competition. It’ll run till Weds at midnight then I’ll announce the winner on Thursday morning. It goes without saying that you need to be in a position to actually travel to Blackburn to collect your prize and see the game, doesn’t it?

And that’s it for this morning. Good day to you.

Late, late show gives Arsenal a deserved win

Three points to start the season is really rather satisfactory, you know, even if the winning goal did come a lot later than people might have liked. Jens Lehmann is obviously a big fan of season 06-07 and he did everything in his power to live in the past by gifting Fulham a goal inside the first minute. It really was a horrible mistake for such an experienced keeper to make and despite it being the first game of the season it will raise question marks over the decision to keep him this summer. Will it be Seaman mkII? Let’s hope not.

Having seen the highlights about three times last evening it seemed like it really was a case of last seasonitis. Chances, shots, but no goals. Without Eduardo or Adebayor it was Hleb who played in the second striker role. Other than that there were no real surprises in terms of the team. With about 10 minutes to go things looked bleak but then Kolo Toure was clearly fouled inside the box by Charlie Blackmouth and Robin van Persie fired home the penalty to equalise. One of these days he’ll get a penalty just a bit wrong but every time I’ve seen him take one there isn’t a keeper in the world who would get near it. Not even Dr Octopus.

With Bendtner and Walcott on we were causing problems and the big Dane really put himself about. At the moment he’s a bit like a bull in a china shop but he scares the shit out of the opposition with his size and power. He won headers, had a good shot on goal and generally caused mischief. With just a few seconds of normal time remaining Cesc floated a ball into Hleb inside their box. He had van Persie on one side and Bendtner on the other, each of them screaming for the ball, but after his promise to be more selfish he turned sharply and drilled in the winner into the bottom corner. A very nice finish, I have to say.

And that was that. Full time and three points. I didn’t see enough of the game to comment on performances overall but you can certainly say we’ve improved over the opening day last season. It was a similar type of situation and we could only manage a 1-1 draw. To be behind for so long and to come back and win the game is very positive and will provide the lads with confidence and belief that a draw just wouldn’t have done. Again the silly goal could have cost us dearly and while Arsene Wenger said Jens was ’10′ when asked to put his keeper’s relief on a scale of one to ten, I’d be looking very closely at the German if I was the manager. Yes, mistakes can happen but mistakes happen to keepers more often when they get older. Almunia and Fabianski have got to really start pushing him now.

Afterwards Arsene was felt emibiggened by the cromulent result, saying:

This was the kind of result that changes a team and a season. We had our backs to the wall, didn’t give up and managed to win the game and it is the sort of result that can change a season for a team because it gives you momentum and belief.

I know it’s early to be talking about the effect this could have over the course of the season but I know what he means. Imagine if we hadn’t got the winner – the players would definitely be thinking ‘Oh oh, here we go again’. Now they’re thinking ‘Hurrah, but didn’t we do this last season against Wigan? We did. But still. This is nice on the first day. I think I’d like an ice-cream.’

Afterwards Fulham manager Lawrie Sanchez went on a rant about Arsenal being divers, completely ignoring the fact the penalty was in fact a penalty, and the clear cut 100% penalty on Hleb in the first half and the fact that his own player tripped over his own feet and tried to claim a penalty. Basically though nobody should pay the slightest bit of attention to anything a man who wears glasses like that says. It was the pathetic, bitter rant of a man beaten fair and square and he’s making excuses already for the fact that he’s going to get Fulham relegated. The cunt.

So, the opening day of the season sees us win, United only draw against a plucky Reading side playing both the United team and ref Rob Stiles, and Sp*rs lose. We now have a massive 2 point gap over the champions, I can feel my spine tingling as we speak.

For those of you interested in betting and all that malarkey, perhaps you might want to take a look at the Daily Mail on the Arsenal Newsnow feed. They seem to be able to predict the future.

And really that’s it for this morning. We’ve got to prepare for our Champions League qualifier against Sparta Prague on Wednesday so there’ll be plenty of news and previews and team news for that one. For now we can just enjoy the first Monday of the new season and rub our shiny three points over and over again.

Also, if you fancy two tickets to Blackburn v Arsenal at Ewood Park on Sunday click here.

Till tomorrow.