Arsenal 2 - 1 Wigan

Wigan are through and justice prevails. They deserve that historic final for all the hardwork. Arsenal are just an average side at the moment and being an average side, we played well last night. van Persie's goal was class and I wonder had we been the one that need to score one goal with 12 minutes left, would we have succeeded? Or would we end up getting all frustated and fall into opponent's provocation the way we did against Everton?

The Wigan goal was a bit like Beattie's goal and I reckon this will not be the last. Maybe our centreback have to go through the American Football training for the players in Line position.

Man Utd or Blackburn, either of them would not be easy for Wigan. All the best of luck to this admirable team.

Cesc to be fined. What are you thinking Sir?

Cesc, one of few players who seem to try their best whenever playing, is about to get fine for his red card. I don't really keep track of the records but this is either his first red card or his first red card after God knows how long. For those who keep records, tell me something. Did Vieira get fine for his first 10th red card?

What are you trying to do, Wenger? Trying to act tough like Ferguson? Then let me tell you something; try harder! Fining an 18 years old who got frustated seeing his team losing to a weaker opponents, who got betrayed by his senior partner THAT no.19, and probably went clueless seeing his captain playing without any passion; and above all, APOLOGIZED for his mistake, is a BIG MISTAKE. Just because he is a young and humble player doesn't mean you can use him freely to set example.

Seriously, I would have no argument had Wenger always been this tough in disciplining his players, any player. But I think this fine is really too harsh on Cesc and when it comes to our problematic season, it doesn't help and it is not the best of times to do that. Why don't you fine those seniors who earn so much and play like some clowns? You can always start with the invisible worldcup winner who play alongside the Spaniard.

Wrong player, wrong time, wrong decision. I just hope that this article on Cesc is just something the reporters make up. I sincerely hope so, Wenger.

The Unreliable Tips to Win Away Match

I feel sorry for Wenger when I saw his depressed gesture during the Everton match. So I have decided to list down some tips for Wenger to start winning away, or physical, matches.

1. Stop blaming the sun or the pitch or the opponent's tactic or the star constellation when you lose match. It's okay if you can't bring yourself to point out your own players' poor performance but there is no need to blame everybody else. You have been in the Premiership for almost 10 years so it's about time to do something with your whining reputation. Maybe Ljungberg can then learn from you and get up quicker instead of sitting and protesting for so long everytime he is fouled.

2. Do something with a certain no.19 who must not be named. Bench him and, if possible, send him to Neil Banfield to play with the Reserves. Oh as for his training, get Keown and Bouldie to kick his arse thrice a week and the rest of the time, let him join the junior gunners to learn a thing or two about passing.

3. Consider sending Campbell and Senderos to Keown also for some basic defending lesson. Feel free to keep them both in the squad though. It would be great if you can bring in an uncompromising and experienced centreback but if you can't, consider doing that in the next transfer window.

4. As many have pointed out, either use Pires or Ljungberg but not both. At the moment Ljungberg is too inconsistent that he surpassed Pires. Try playing Reyes on the left and Pires on the right. Hey you can even throw in Walcott and see if it works out. It's unfortunate that Cesc got redcarded but when the Spaniard is back, play him with Flamini/Diaby in the centre.

5. If you really want to play 4-5-1, get yourself a fiery striker who can bully defenders and hold up ball. TH is not one and will never be one. With him drifting to the left flank most of the time, your 4-5-1 looked like a terribly blunt spear. It takes so much time for your players to get into scoring position that when they do, the opponents would already drop back and start crowding their own penalty box.

6. As I've always said for so many times, get yourself a good defense coach and a good tactician. That Gilbert-Hleb substitution in the Everton game is one of the most bizarre ones among your many bizarre substitutions. One, Gilbert was your only defender who perform and is able to defend as well as bringing the ball upfront. Two, by keeping the 4-5-1 and asking Ljungberg to play rightback you are not anywhere more offensive and if anything, you are more vulnerable defensively.

7. I am not sure how you can do this but please, just make sure your players realize that they need to get stuck in and play like they care.

Don't take it too seriously, I just need to release some of my disappointment.

Everton 1 - 0 Arsenal

Awful defense. Another sad sight of Senderos being ridiculed by strong forward. Another laughable performance by no.19. Outmuscled in the midfield. Bad refereeing. The team acted like a bad loser.
Those are things I want to forget.

Another good performance by Kerrea Gilbert. Good 10 minutes show by Abou Diaby.
Those are things Wenger should be happy about.

Nothing much to talk about. Same old story. Arsenal were tamed by a hardworking physical side who played as if their life was depending on the result. Indeed the referee didn't help but in the end Arsenal are just not good enough.

If there is one position that Wenger should not be worried about this season, it gotta be the rightback position. In Lauren, Eboue and Gilbert he has three solid defenders who are up to the challenge. Seems like Hoyte will indeed have to switch to leftback.

Cesc was redcarded and I am interested to see if Wenger would throw Diaby into the next game. The lad looked composed and useful, better than a certain no.19 but then 10 minutes was too short to make any judgement on the player.

As to how this Arsenal side could end their poor away form, I think there is only one way, GET STUCK IN FOR GOODNESS SAKE!

PS: Welcome to Highbury Walcott! Will talk about you when I feel better.

Morality of Football 2

Now although you can't get too ethical in football, surely you can still try to be reasonable with your act. That's what separate us from Chelsea after all.

I despise them when they snatched SWP away for it's obvious that Mourinho did that just to make sure that his most serious opponent didn't get the guy. He didn't need SWP for goodness sake and he knew that we need SWP very much as we have always been too leftsided. He did not give a damn on the player's future career.

Mourinho made use of Roman's money to dominate the transfer market, without caring for others by buying overpriced players. Nowadays everyone waits for Chelsea's move without deciding to sell their good players. That is destroying football and that, regardless of whether is ethical or not, is not wise.

What about Arsenal? Did we not snatch Cesc away from Barca? Well yes we did but by the time we took him away, he was still very much raw material, good one nonetheless. And most importantly, we needed him and played him. He wouldn't be in Barca's first team action has he stayed. And we never used money as a bait. Cesc came to us on his own, believing that he could improve under Wenger's supervision.

I dare not talk about Flamini as I am not really clear about his situation.

Now we got to Walcott. This is really amusing. I still remember sometimes ago that some articles complained about how Premiership clubs are buying from clubs outside the league instead of buying English players from lower division clubs, while the Premiership club are arguing that English talents are often overpriced.

So now, while we can 'unethically' agree with Walcott to bring his transfer into tribunal, the player has stated his preference for us anyway, we decided to do this more properly by offering Southampton 5 million initial fee. That would raise to 12 million based on performance, which is again fair, considering that despite the hype Walcott is still very much a raw potential.

And here's three important questions. Do we need him? Yes we do. Because he can one day be as good as Rooney and when he is priced at 30 million, we can never buy him. Wenger, being such a stingy manager, will never buy someone just to make sure the talent doesn't go elsewhere. He has even let go Mascherano just because PV decided to stay on last season. He hates to destroy a player's future.

Second question: Do Southampton actually want to sell him? Yes they do. Can't you tell? They are just trying to get as much money as they could by playing the waiting game. Surely they played with the wrong opponent as Wenger is not someone who can be lured into buying overpriced player.

Third and probably most important one, will this move benefit the player? Again, yes! He can train with more superior training facilities at Arsenal, alongside superior players and supervised by quality coaches.How can he not improve? He will become a better player even if he may not play for us for his entire career.

And for the sake of everyone else, I think it benefits England too as this player may well be one of the future stars of England.

So what's the moral problem here? The moral problem here is Mourinho who again tries to unsettle the player by getting involved in the whole transfer saga. He did that with Diaby too. Seems like the special one still can't get over the christmas card incident.

Morality of Football 1

Upon reading some interesting comments on how our attempt on signing Theo Walcott has been unethical, and sticking to my standpoint that I won't get into this whole Walcott craze until he has actually signed, I would like to touch on the ethical part solely.

Let's begin with this question: do you happen to think that today's top level football respect ethics and moral?
In case we've forgotten, football, and Premiership football in particular, is a multibillion business. Though we all fans would like to believe that we are supporting a righteous football club with board who hold integrity with high regards, and manager and players who are loyal to the club, we've got to start realizing that is just not going to happen, not when you are supporting a club in top flight football competition where unthinkable amount of money is at stake.

Just look at Ericsson. And when Ian Wright made that comment that he would consider leaving if he was TH, I bet he didn't give a damn on how much he is adored by the gooners. Of course when it comes to football players talking, you know that sometimes they are just lacking in the neuron department. And what about Sol Campbell? That was like Tony Adams moving to Spurs. And Tony Adams said he would love to be Ferguson's no.2 few months ago. Now shall we call them all traitor? But no.. they are just trying to make a living, just like us.

And the board is even worst. You just have to look at Edelman's comment on how the Emirates Stadium is going to bring in huge income due to the pricy ticket. It's all about the money, pal.

You don't meet professional such as Dennis Bergkamp everyday. I am not saying he is a man with integrity whatsoever but at least he knows how to conduct himself. That's why I respect the player. Not only is he irreplaceable in terms of skill, his personality is also one of a kind in today's football.

So we should really wake up to the reality and realize that corrupt characters are all too common in today's football business.

I had a laugh upon reading a Spurs' fan blog where he talked about how Dein had played dirty in getting Adebayor by talking to the player months ago, thus beating Spurs to the player's signature. I wonder what his reaction was when he read Spurs' official denial on their interest for Adebayor. Adebayor may not be a smart chap but why the heck does he has to lie about meeting Spurs' official if it never took place? It's obvious that Spurs are just trying to cover their own asses by denying their interest. Do they even bother about being ethical? Does Wenger ever bother about that when he denied his interest in so many players we are linked to? He just has to do that to avoid price war on the players he wants.

And finally, part 2 on this Walcott case.

Arsenal 7 - 0 Boro

I think objectivity is one aspect that is lacking so badly within the media that you could tell how they would write beforehand. For example, consider the following cases

Chelsea 7 - 0 Sunderland
They would say, "Chelsea once again shows the rest of the league that despite their boring football branding, they are capable of playing such a beautiful passing game that was too much for Sunderland. They can be just as entertaining while keeping their winning form. This 'boring football' has brought them 16 points clear with most goals scored."

Man City 7 - 0 Man Utd
They would say, "If there is one club that is capable of challenging Chelsea in the Premiership, it would be Man Utd. Needless to say, despite Chelsea's dominance, Man Utd are still probably the best when it comes to attacking football. Rooney was again magnificent as the team's main engine, setting up goals for this teammates in the demolition of their local rival. Crisis? What crisis?"

But when it comes to Arsenal, they focus on how Mclaren would find his team struggling to stay in the Premiership. They are trying to tell you that Boro are so bad that they got beaten 7-0 by this Arsenal side. Arsenal were playing with two young centreback, Senderos and Djorou, but no, they focus on the inability of Boro's young players to cope instead.

You gotta love them.

Back to Arsenal.

Just like the 5-1 win over Inter, this is another moment where you just couldn't find the right way to express your emotion. This is different from the 7-0 win over Everton simply because we were just so bad in the previous games and we even lost 2-0 Boro Away that 7-0 scoreline is just too good even in your wildest dream. You can't help asking what is the true potential of this team? How could they be that bad in one game and this good in another game?

I understand that Boro were playing with some inexperienced players but surely their quality are not that far off from Wigan's players. And those passings, how can you not be spoiled? I won't mind Reyes not scoring should he play this way in the rest of the games. His movements and passings were class. Henry were roaming free like a wild beast. Both of them were just such a joy to watch.

I think Djorou played well in his probably first premiership start? So did Senderos in organizing the defense. The lad even got a goal as his reward. Cesc was doing fine in distributing the ball as usual. It was such a relief to see Cole returning to action without any significant setback. Well done for the defense.

Ljungberg really needs to stop his underwear advertisement while Hleb finally got his first goal. Apart from inability to score, Ljungberg improved much in his overall attacking play though. Pires' goal is among my favorite. It isn't something too difficult for the skillful Frenchman but it is something that takes a lot of confidence to do. We need our no.7 and no.8 to get back their confidence and form. It is clear that Wenger didn't buy any winger and that shows his belief in them. Of course we all know too well what both of them are capable of when they are on form.

the exceptional case

This season has turned out to be exceptional in almost every aspect. The latest one would be Wenger's involvement in January transfer dealings. Despite him saying that the opportunity of signing these players is just too good to let pass, our current form and situation must have partly forced him to take action. I don't know if Henry's contract talk has anything to do with this though.

I would have thought that he won't sign more than one player but at the moment we alreay have two new players in our book. I won't talk about Theo Walcott until he has actually signed.

The first and the most exciting one I believe would be Abou Diaby, the France U-19 captain. He may not have made great impact in Auxerre but this player may just be the kind of player who need a special mentor, just like PV.

The nicest thing with his transfer is the fact that he rejected Chelsea. It takes some character to do that, something SWP should have done instead of listening to Ian Wright.

And it just made my day when the Auxerre's vice president, Gerrard Bourgoin said
"It was a choice that belonged to the player. But Wenger has been better than Mourinho, that's all." Good one. In truth I guess Mourinho has made it clear to him that with Chelsea's midfield quality, he is seen as one for the future. Arsene could obviously offer him faster path to the first team action just by showing him the video of our match against Wigan.

Everyone is comparing him with PV and I think he can be the complete midfielder who is perfect to partner Cesc in the midfield. As long as he is strong, aggresive, brave, and can pass the ball, he is good enough for me. So here you go, our new no 2.

Emmanuel Adebayor may not really be what most of us have in mind when we talk about getting another forward. I really couldn't think of him becoming our main attacking force for year to come. But you never know. He looks strong enough to hold up ball and since Wenger compares him with Kanu, he must have some skills. Anyway, we'll see. That 7 million is a bit too risky for a gamble though.

On Gilberto

I couldn't help wondering what Gilberto had in mind when he blamed the poor performance on the difficulty of playing with youngsters. While I do agree that it isn't easy to play with youngsters when you are used to playing with worldclass players, I think it's wiser to shut up when you play like an inexperienced youngster yourself. His performance of late has been rather embarassing to watch.

I used to question his contribution to the team. But when he got injured last season, I was led to believe that his invisible wall was indeed vital to our defense. That would be a big mistake as it turned out that while he does possess a sound positioning sense, he is not good enough for anything other than intercepting pass.

He can't tackle hard enough and he doesn't have enough strength or pace to stop strong and skillful players such as Rooney, Gerrard, or Lampard.

When he does get the ball, his passing would often let him down. What's the point of being able to intercept opponent's pass if the next thing you do is to pass it back to your opponent?

That he was doing well when PV was around is probably because what he needed to do back then was only to intercept passes after all. And that's why he seemed to be invisible during our glorious year. PV would make the tackle and bring the ball forward. Occasionally we would lose the ball or need to pass the ball back and that's when Gilberto's positioning help. He helps us keeping the possession with his simple football.

But that was Arsenal of the past. Opponents would just sit back and let us play in their own half. Today's Arsenal are different. To begin with, we don't have that box to box midfielder who does all the things anymore. We don't intimidate others anymore. On the contrary, teams such as Bolton or Blackburn would come at us and try to intimidate us.

Gilberto can't afford to remain invisible anymore. He has to get involved in the midfield battle and in going forward. That's why he seems much much more visible this season. And that's why we begin to see how bad his passing is. He isn't playing his game at the moment, simple as that.

So do we need to get rid of him? That depends. It's clear that Gilberto needs an all-round tough midfielder with skill, someone like PV or Gerrard. But it's obvious that Cesc will never be such player. So Cesc-Gilberto partnership will never work. By sticking with Gilberto we are forced to either sacrificing Cesc' development or playing with three centre midfielder.

And we have not even begin to consider Hleb who I think is playing out of position at the moment. He was forced to play left wing and sometimes right wing. But isn't it obvious by now that he brings most impact when played in the centre? And Hleb is yet an entirely different player compares to Cesc or Gilberto. Dillema indeed.

Wigan 1 - 0 Arsenal

I didn't watch the game and don't intend to watch the replay. I am afraid Wenger has never wanted to win the Carling Cup in the first place. He wants the CL place for next season, and he wants FA Cup. But we were already in semifinal that it's just sort of a waste to lose it here.

Arsenal World suggests that we were playing one of our worst football games ever since Wenger arrived. The thing is that we have witnessed quite a number of games this season which could qualify into our top ten worst display of football. Four or five years ago, I remember how often I got disgusted over the fact that despite playing very well Arsenal were losing or more often, drawing. Our defense were solid and our midfield were dominating. We created chance after chance. During that time, I would always pointed out that Arsenal only need a clinial striker to bury all those chances and we would be complete.

Only now do I realize how lucky we were then. It's much more painful to watch your team losing games they don't deserve to win. There are too many weaknesses within the team that I don't even know where to start.

But I know for sure that we do need good defense coach. I do know that we do need good tactical coach to advise Wenger. And I do know that we do need to start letting go the naive approach where we would always attack through the middle.

Score from crosses, long passes, corners, free kicks, headers. Exploit all the possibility in attacking and stop being one-dimentional.

Arsenal 2 - 1 Cardiff

Well done Bobby! Now improve on that.
It's clear now that Lauren is solely a rightback. Let's hope for a fast recovery by Cole and Clichy.
Now that TH has stated his desire to stay, let's hope that Wenger can match his ambition by bringing in few world class players and therefore enticing our captain to up his game. TH needs to play with good players for him to be able to express fully his ability and creativity. At the moment he couldn't seem to trust his teammates enough.

But these teammates of him are showing tremendous improvement. Reyes is going strong and so is van Persie. Cesc's talent is unquestioanable.

van Persie's signing new contract till 2011 is another good news. With Senderos, Cesc, and Reyes all have signed new contract extension, Wenger seems to have laid down a strong foundation for the future. There is a feeling in me that he may leave after we settle in the new stadium, probably two or three seasons after the next season. The man will come to a point where he thinks he has fulfilled his goals for Arsenal and by then, let's hope that he has got the CL cup he so much deserves for building such a formidable team that play like no other teams do.

Into the Second Half of the Season of Transition

Looking at Bergie's comment on how we should be alright by taking one step backward this season if we could take two steps forward next season, it seems that the common agreement within the camp is that "This season is over. Let's try our best to qualify for CL next season"
As such, Wenger approached Man Utd game aiming for 1 point. He seemed prepared to even let go the second place, or even third place. His realistic aim was to finish fourth.
At the beginning of the season some people said that fourth place is the realistic target. I thought we were good enough to finish third behind Chelsea and Man Utd.
But never did I expect Benitez' squad to be so formidable this season, defensively.

Good job there Rafa!

Whereas Arsenal never seemed like scoring against good sides lately. Frustating it is.
But I still believe all the same that this team is capable of finishing third, let alone fourth. We are yet to face Liverpool and we still have to face Man Utd at Old Trafford. Tottenham is yet to visit Highbury. We've still got many crucial games left in the second half of the season many would like to forget.
It's time for players such as Campbell, Pires, Henry, and Ljungberg to rise up to the challenge. It's time for them to justify the 'senior' status they have earned at this club. When they do, they will in turn inspire Van Persie, Reyes, Cesc, Flamini, and Senderos to give their all.

If they have some pride for wearing the Arsenal shirt, I hope that pride is so damn hurt now that they would fight for that.

Jose Mourinho's team is all about the manager. He is the brain. He is the motivator and conductor that makes his team win. He is the discipline master that makes sure they don't slack off when they are winning.

But Arsene Wenger is different. He is like the backstage technician who makes sure his players are tuned to play to their potential. Whether they could win and keep on winning depends not on that one manager. It depends on the 11 player that he sends out. More than any other team, this is a team where teamwork plays crucial part.
They play by intuition and moments of brilliance. They are not restricted by formation and positioning. They flow like river when they click.
Will we see that Arsenal team on this second half? I don't know.

As far as transfer window is concerned, I believe Wenger needs a class holding midfielder and a centreback who is better than Sol Campbell and Senderos to partner and lead Kolo. If he has enough money for the attacking department, I would say right winger will be useful.

I will let Henry and Persie play together upfront. Reyes should continue on his good form on the left flank. Cesc or Flamini should occupy one of the midfield slot.
The defense line will be fine when Cole and Clichy return.

Villa 0 - 0 Arsenal

Wait a minute.. was it Arsenal? That team that played against Villa was certainly wearing Arsenal's shirt but there is every reason to suspect that it was a Championship side in disguise.

Okay that was a bit too much. After all a draw can be considered good result when you look at our away games record this season right? And of course you expect Villa to play better football than, say, Charlton.

The positive of the game? Cygan, in my very own opinion, was having a better performance as a leftback. If he can improve on this performance he could well have a chance of surviving the Man Utd game.

The most frustating part of the game? Ljungberg. Apart from his good effort that hit the post he was so easily dispossessed that not even Reyes in his first season could match that.

Enough said. I won't waste my time on the transfer rumour until I see a news saying that we have COMPLETED a signing. And I won't waste my time on how Wenger should approach the Man Utd game because I don't believe he knows and cares about tactical approach. Should we win the game it will be because the team plays with their 120%.