The Football Thread

[Saanil]

Am I dreaming?? Or did Arsenal just went to Stamford Bridge and scored 5 goals to hand Chelsea their 2nd consecutive defeat? Ohh it is the latter. I think Arsenal fans have never been so happy for the past 2 years. After the terrible start to the season, Arsenal have somewhat retained their position in the league! As far as the game is concerned it was a terrible display of Defence all around. Mertesacker was the culprit for the two initial goals. The 3rd goal – well Mata was given too much time on the ball and he superbly shot the ball into the top left corner. RVP continues to be in sublime goal scoring form. I could not have imagined a win like this even with Nasri and Fabregas playing. Well of course Terry helped us a lot in this match. This season is really bizarre – Arsenal losing 8-2 at OT, ManUtd losing 6-1 to City at OT, Arsenal defeating Chelsea 5-3 at Stamford. I am sure all Arsenal fans were expecting a draw to be the best result for Arsenal in today’s match. I know we won but still want to highlight areas of improvement for Arsenal:

1. DEFENSE – We won today because Chelsea’s defence was equally bad. Mertasacker needs to be more careful in set pieces. Koscielny is super strong at the back covering for others too. Santos was terrible in the 1st half but his strike in the 2nd half was a good way to make up for the mistake. I am still not convinced of his defending though he is very good going forward. We need Sagna back immediately. Djourou was uncomfortable in that position and Ashely Cole made good advantage of this in the first 15 minutes.

2. ATTACK – Yes RVP scored 3 but we still need to improve our attacking. Players not attacking when given the opportunity and always looking for the ultimate pass. Arsenal taking corners is a waste of time – I think they have not managed to score even once from a corner – not a good thing. A player like Mertesacker can be a great asset in such situations but Arsenal has not taken advantage of his height. Time and again the right backs cross the ball in the box and there is no one to head those. Playing long balls is one aspect Arsenal is lacking. But as far as I know Wenger he will do nothing to strengthen this aspect of football because according to him it is not attractive football. Walcott scored a great goal but he can be more threatening. He should use his biggest USP, his pace, more effectively.

3. MID-FIELD – Ramsey had a mixed game today. He lost possession on a number of occasions but was good going forward too. But he has to show consistency. Song was exceptional for me today – was impactful in going forward but helped the defenders too. Arteta could have come on the score sheet had RVP made a pass to him in front of the goal which did not happen. (I am not sure if many people noticed it). I am just waiting for Wilshere to return.

4. GOALKEEPER – I am not talking about Scheszy but about Fabiasnki. Fabianski is just not good enough. He never looks confident and always looks like will make a mistake. Wenger has to get rid of him in January and bring someone who can be a worthy replacement for Sceszny who has been rock solid this season. Remember that if Sceszny gets injured Arsenal will be doomed with Fabiasnki as a goalkeeper. Wenger are you listening?

I was angry when Jenkinson was brought one in place of Djourou. I know Djourou was not that good in the 1st half but he was getting better in the 2nd half was beginning to settling in. Plus Jenkinson is too young to play in these situations. Since Benayoun was restricted to be played in this match, Rosicky was the next best substitute. This week again was a great week for Arsenal fans. Wenger has to make sure we continue with this momentum of ours.

BTW ManUtd won against Everton and are back to winning ways. Of course you did not think they would lose two in a row did you

[naveenroy]

Originally Posted by Saanil

Mertasacker needs to be more careful in set pieces.

A player like Mertesacker can be a great asset in such situations but Arsenal has not taken advantage of his height. Time and again the right backs cross the ball in the box and there is no one to head those. Playing long balls is one aspect Arsenal is lacking.

Totally, totally unimpressed with Mertasacker. A waste of all his height and build. Sorry, I think he has to be sold off at the next opportunity!

Happy about this win - will give a great confidence boost!!

[deetjohn]

Woo Hoo! 3 - 5 at stamford bridge. The defence analysis can wait. I am so happy.

[vb-san]

Two successive defeats for Chelsea!

That said it was an interesting game to watch. Both teams were competing on defensive lapses, and finally Chelsea came on top in that account. When it became 3-3, I almost expected Arsene Wenger doing another monotonous post-match interview, but RVP and co. successfully avoided it. Good show indeed!

Not very happy with Liverpool's game even though they're leading 2-0 against ex-boss.

And City sitting pretty with 5 points cushion on top!

[Saanil]

Originally Posted by naveenroy

Totally, totally unimpressed with Mertasacker. A waste of all his height and build. Sorry, I think he has to be sold off at the next opportunity!

He is not that bad. He just needs more games. Remember that he comes from a different league! Remember Koscialny last season? Everyone was making fun of him in the initial matches saying he was trash - but look how he is playing now! All Mertasecker needs is more time. Now the problem is Vermalaen has come back. We can play either Kocs-Merta pair or the Kosc-Vermalean pair. Vermalaen needs more games to regain his match fitness. I would prefer Vermalaen to play with Kocielny - Faster, can head balls better, already has PL experience. Mertesacker can play in Carling cup/FA cup along with Djourou. If any of our first choice defender is injured Mertesacker can replace him. Good news for Arsenal may come in the form of Sagna and Wilshere coming back! Though our left back position is not solid I still think Santos with some more games can become capable to handle that position!

[deetjohn]

The Question of the day from guardian.co.uk/football

"If City beat United 6-1, United beat Arsenal 8-2 and Arsenal beat Chelsea 5-3, what will the score be when City play Chelsea?"

[joslicx]

Originally Posted by deetjohn

The Question of the day from guardian.co.uk/football

"If City beat United 6-1, United beat Arsenal 8-2 and Arsenal beat Chelsea 5-3, what will the score be when City play Chelsea?"

Would love to see Chelsea beat City 10-2 or something like that

[Saanil]

Zonal Marking came with a very good analysis of Chelsea's game plan midweek. AVB is changing the way Chelsea play. Yes they are losing matches but when you make such a major change, upsets will happen. Chelsea are moving towards playing a high line with defenders coming ahead to attack and thereby leaving spaces behind. I suppose Chelsea defenders are not used to playing like this hence the bad results. Chelsea are vulnerable to counter attacks - a thing Man Utd are good at.

EPL is no longer about the Top 4. City so far has been the best team in EPL and so stand at the top of the league. However I think City are yet to face tougher opponents so it is too early to comment on them.

[Panko]

Congrats Gunners! You deserved to win against hapless Chelsea.

[AdityaLN]

What's happening with Newcastle!! They sold most of their first team but are playing fine. They just won 3-1 at Britannia. One of the toughest place to even get a point. Even the big guys were happy scrapping a point there.

[aaron.d]

I would love to see Chelsea win over City be it 10-2 or 1-0. They are looking tough contenders for this years cup but they yet have to play in-form Arsenal and Chelsea might just stand to upset them. Hoping Torres sticks to his commitment of owing to his indebted fans and RvP continues his top form. Talk about money buying you happiness!!!

[varun.ppl]

The Week That Was

This week saw two unbeaten Premiership league teams, both on a dream run - one due to Oil Power (Arab Money) and the other due to a mix of luck, determination and hard work.

Man City Vs Newcastle - I wanted to see atleast one of them loose and didn't wanted a tame draw (I guess everyone knows whom i wanted to loose, (Man City)) but the match result was the other way around, primarily due to penalties in favour of City. If it wouldn't have been for those penalties, Newacastle's defense was quite gritty and they fought well, unlike the United defence (no offences).

Swansea vs Man Utd - First words, Scott Sinclair, how did you miss that! That was the epitome of the match. Chicharito continued with his excellent finishing in scoring the match's opening and only goal, but dare I say Swansea were simply impressive. They rarely let United's attacking prodigies inside their "D" and in the end it went quite lame and boring.

Norwich Vs Arsenal - 3 words! R V P. Boss, when you are fit, you are wonderful. Morison's early goal was a shock to me, coz i thought now it's the defensive woes again for Arsenal. But, the attacking front didn't get fidgety and RVP produced a marvelous effort again to make it 5 PL wins on the trot. After a disastrous start to the season, Arsenal seem to be gelling up well and look good for a Top 4 finish yet again, but this time it is a serious competition, with 4 teams on 22 points viz. Chelsea, Liverpool (great match), Arsenal and Spurs (have 2 games in hand). Newcastle is really enjoying themselves in 3rd position as of now.

Chelsea Vs Liverpool - Ex-chelsea player shines while the 50m fizzles out. Well, that would be too harsh on Torres coz he came pretty late in the match. But, the highlight of the match was Glen Johnson's solo effort. Well contested match, with good energy showcased by both the teams.
Rodriguez opened up the account for visitors and Sturridge returned the favor in the 2nd half. After Sturridge's goal, Chelsea looked certain to add to their tally but Reina's keeping and Malouda's miss didn't move the scoreboard forward. It seemed to end in a stalemate but Johnson's effort changed the nature of the match. Late appearance for Torres didn't add any value to the match. He should have been introduced atleast 10-15 minutes before, because Drogba was clearly suffering after 65 minutes. So, that makes it 2 in a row for Chelsea at home (i.e. 2 defeats)

Ok, RVP is the currently leading the pack with 13 goals this season in PL, 13 out of 25 goals forced - man that is a health 52% - good for the striker but seems to be an area of concern for the team, someone else needs to start scoring in case of an injury to the talisman. (Would keep my mouth shut now). Overall, he has scored 31 goals now in the year 2011. Highest number of goals scored in an year is 36 by Alan Shearer. Arsenal are still to play 7 more games before the turn of 2012, so RVP is looking certain to break this record. He has goal/match ratio of 1+ which is excellent!

By now, you would have understood that i am an Arsenal fan! but more that i love the spirit of the game. Cheers!

[joslicx]

varun bhai

Arsenal's main concern now should be how would they cope up when RVP has his annual sick leaves! The man is made of glass and misses lot of games each season because of injury. Arsenal are playing with fire here, having him as their main goalscorer! You guys need at least one more proven world class goal scorer, for you dont have a replacement for RVP in your squad. It will be telling in the month of december, with games coming thick and fast!

Meanwhile, Man Utd are doing what champions do! They are going thru their worst phase, but still winning games others would lose/draw. Liverpool drew to Swansea (they were unbeaten at home so far) but we won while playing real bad! We picked up a win against Everton after long time as well. After the 6-1 mauling by City, Utd have regrouped well. While it took some time for Arsenal and Chelsea to come back from a similar drubbing (l'Arse against us and Chelsea against Arsenal). Thats the difference between Man Utd and others! How fast we bounce back!
Chelsea meanwhile have lost back to back home games for the first time in Abrahovic era!!! Take that! How stupid it must be looking for Chelsea fans, having fired a coach of the caliber of Ancelotti (a double CL winner!!!). What a classless person Abrahimovic is!
Man City have assembled the most expansive squad of players (they have just reported a 200m pound losses for the year!! Incredible!!!). They are playing great at the moment. If they can carry on, they will win the league this year. Fergie will have to unearth another Ronaldo before we can challenge them again. But its a good learning season for our youngsters and Fergie is using them well. We have lost lot of great players recently and will lose more next year (the likes of Giggs and Rio are on their last legs). It will be interesting to see how the new united will shape up. Whether, like Chelsea's challenge, Fergie will be able to match Monsueur's billionaires...

[varun.ppl]

Originally Posted by joslicx

varun bhai

Arsenal's main concern now should be how would they cope up when RVP has his annual sick leaves! The man is made of glass and misses lot of games each season because of injury. Arsenal are playing with fire here, having him as their main goalscorer! You guys need at least one more proven world class goal scorer, for you dont have a replacement for RVP in your squad. It will be telling in the month of december, with games coming thick and fast!

Meanwhile, Man Utd are doing what champions do! They are going thru their worst phase, but still winning games others would lose/draw. Liverpool drew to Swansea (they were unbeaten at home so far) but we won while playing real bad! We picked up a win against Everton after long time as well. After the 6-1 mauling by City, Utd have regrouped well. While it took some time for Arsenal and Chelsea to come back from a similar drubbing (l'Arse against us and Chelsea against Arsenal). Thats the difference between Man Utd and others! How fast we bounce back!
Chelsea meanwhile have lost back to back home games for the first time in Abrahovic era!!! Take that! How stupid it must be looking for Chelsea fans, having fired a coach of the caliber of Ancelotti (a double CL winner!!!). What a classless person Abrahimovic is!
Man City have assembled the most expansive squad of players (they have just reported a 200m pound losses for the year!! Incredible!!!). They are playing great at the moment. If they can carry on, they will win the league this year. Fergie will have to unearth another Ronaldo before we can challenge them again. But its a good learning season for our youngsters and Fergie is using them well. We have lost lot of great players recently and will lose more next year (the likes of Giggs and Rio are on their last legs). It will be interesting to see how the new united will shape up. Whether, like Chelsea's challenge, Fergie will be able to match Monsueur's billionaires...

I agree Sarkar that Arsenal is presently in sublime shape only due to RVP's heroics and even mentioned that he is the most fragile player - but most of his injuries occur when he plays for La Oranje. It was great that he didn't play in the last friendly which Netherlands lost to Germany by 3-0. I don't mind that .

I do not disagree that Man. Utd. are champions but i guess u wouldn't also disagree that they are just making it. And all compliments to them that they are not letting City make up a huge gap. And u hv got great players like Chicharito, Nani and Anderson, esp Chicharito who have got huge potential.

But, as it looks now Abra's money is not working well for Chelsea rite now. Football is a team game and their team is not able to gel together, and also AVB has changed the defensive line, but still they are also not scoring freely too. So, it is an early sign of alarms.

But to be fairly honest, it seems to be an interesting season. 5 teams presently fighting for 3rd and 4th places.

Next week also we have some interesting encounters when OT welcomes Newcastle and Liverpool welcomes the Arabs!

Others have easy games. One definite thing that Arsenal have only 1 more match in their next 7 fixtures from the Top 6. If RVP keeps going on, we could move a couple of places up by the end of year!

[deetjohn]

I sincerely hope RVP stays fit the entire season. The talent was never in doubt, but he needs to stay fit. And the farther he stays away from the Oranje, the better.

Robin has had an amazing run this year. 31 goals in 29 league games. And I find it highly amusing that he isn't even nominated for the FIFA Ballon d'Or 2011.