Saturday, August 28, 2010

Arsenal Come Through Blackburn Test

Blackburn 1 Arsenal 2

So it wasn't as comfortable as my first impressions might have suggested but Arsenal battled through a competitive encounter at Ewood Park to take top spot in the Premier League. Andrey Arshavin's sweet finish early in the second half was enough to secure the win.

The first half was particularly tough with Blackburn arguably walking down the tunnel at half-time on top. They gave everything in the first 45 minutes to try and disrupt Arsenal and it worked. Blackburn and particularly Samba seriously threatened from set-pieces culminating in Fabregas clearing a Ryan Nelson header off the line. But we were also dangerous and were unlucky not to take the lead when Diaby's goal-bound shot deflected off of a Blackburn defender and Robinson's shin and was then cleared. We took the lead on 20 minutes. Van Persie slipped a lovely ball into Walcott on the inside-right and he made no mistake as he buried a low shot across Paul Robinson that nestled in the bottom, left-hand corner.

Then, a disastrous six-minute period around the half-hour mark saw us lose the lead and the talismatic Van Persie. The goal came first as Christopher Samba came storming out of defence to slip a ball down the left wing to El-Hadji Diouf. Koscielny came across to cover but was completely out-muscled by Diouf who then squared to his namesake, and Man United loanee, Mame Biram Diouf to tuck home. This was followed by Van Persie limping off after earlier sustaining a knock in a challenge with Phil Jones. Arsene Wenger explained after the match that it appeared to be a twisted ankle and if it was, he would be out for 10 days. The international break couldn't come at a more advantageous time for us.

Chamakh came on and took up the task of marking Samba when he came forward for corners and throw-ins. I have to say I was very impressed with how effectively he dealt with him. Everytime a ball came into the box, Chamakh simply grappled with Samba, not allowing him to jump, which made it much easier for everyone else to clear the ball.

The second half seemed to breeze by once we grabbed the goal five minutes in. And what a lovely goal it was. Some neat build-up play released Sagna down the wing. He cut the ball back to Fabregas who blasted the ball off of Walcott. It broke to Arshavin, he made no mistake.

As the game progressed, Blackburn tired and Arsenal took control. A David Dunn shot that Almunia gathered is the only chance I can remember for the home side in the second period. Sam Allardyce's side did launch a few balls into the box towards the end but we just about managed to deal with them. Wilshere, a 82nd minute substitute for Arshavin, did have a wonderful opportunity to add a third in injury time but he lost his footing at the crucial time.

Overall I'm satisfied with the three points. We battled hard and always looked threatening despite losing Van Persie after half an hour. My one concern was how we struggled at times to clear out lines. We had a bit of luck defending some of the set-pieces but every team needs that at Ewood Park. I think that as we approach the international break we can be very satisfied with our haul from our three games and in the transfer market. Walcott was brilliant again and Almunia had a decent game in goals too. Hopefully the international break won't disturb us to much and we can continue on where we left off when the players return.

In other news we go to White Hart Lane in the third round of the Carling Cup so hopefully the young lads can give a better account of themselves than the last team we sent there in the tournament.

Friday, August 27, 2010

Bolton Mk II

Tomorrow Arsenal face Sam Allardyce's Blackburn at Ewood Park in the first test of the team's resilience this season. Blackburn is always a tough place to go but I do feel if we take an early lead, the test will dissolve into a canter and a 4-goal, drubbing to the Gunners.

So in reality the match will only pose problems if the team starts slowly and allow Blackburn to get on the front foot early on. Play with the same tempo as we did against Blackpool and I can't see anything other than our first away win in the league this season.

However as confident as I am, I'd be very surprised if Blackburn didn't overpower us from a set-piece at least once. And if the referee doesn't do his job we could be in for a long day at the office. What went on from Blackburn corners last year was a joke to say the least and I can't imagine such a refereeing screw-up happening again this time.

Moving on to team selection, the defense picks itself with Koscielny coming back in and Song moving back into midfield. After that its hard to know what Wenger will do because he really is spoilt for choice going forward. Walcott, Arshavin, Rosicky, Eboue, Fabregas, Van Persie and Chamakh will be competing and there isn't really a reason not to start any of them. Going on merit from the last game, I feel Rosicky and Walcott deserve a place. The manager has already said that Fabregas and Van Persie are fully fit so expect one to start at either Chamakh or Arshavin's expense.

So as long we play our game and remain fully focused we'll win this game. The alternative really isn't worth thinking about.

Champions League Draw and Ivan Gazidis

So the draw for the group stages of the Champion's League was made yesterday and it was quite favorable for Arsenal. With respect to the other teams in the group, this really was a plum draw. No long treks to Moscow, no Real Madrid and we don't play against Partizan or Shakhtar, away from home, deep into the winter months (albeit we face the latter away at the beginning of November). Of course, the big news about the draw is the fact that Eduardo will return to the Emirates which will make for an emotional night for all involved.

But there is a concern going forward into these games. After 5 of the 6 games, we go away from home in the Premier League. In those fixtures we face Sunderland, Chelsea, Manchester City, Aston Villa and Manchester United. It really is an unbelievable run of games but then again it's all a part of being a big team.

The only consolation about these fixtures is that, apart from Sunderland and Aston Villa, we face teams who are also involved in Europe. So when we face those teams it really will be a test of squads. As long as we go into those Premier League matches with the spine of the team fit, we can expect some very positive results.

Something else that I found interesting to come out of the ceremony in Monaco was Ivan Gazidis' interview on ATVO. He spoke briefly about the draw and the current state of the squad. He felt the squad was stronger than last year's and he also stressed how we've added 'some experience and steel' to the squad. Now, I do appreciate the fact that Gazidis will always sing the team's praises in every interview he does but the word 'steel' has stuck in my mind. It makes me think that Wenger's main objective over the summer was to toughen up the team and the way he has talked about the new signings is evidence of this. Tomorrow's game at Ewood Park will tell us if he has managed to do so.