I should begin by saying that I was forced to watch the match late last evening rather than live and fell asleep not long after it was over. Having awoken this morning still feeling ill when thinking about the match, I begin my reflections on our trip to Sunderland.

First, I have to say that a subpar performance was always likely to be in the offing following our midweek Champions League match. But I never, for a moment, expected a performance like that. Sunderland dominated us for at least the first hour. The goal was a fluke but it was solely down to the level of commitment and desire on the part of Fabregas to close down Ferdinand in a situation many other players would not have even bothered.

Also, on a positive note, Almunia looked solid and both Koscielny and Squillaci turned in proper performances at a tough away ground under significant amounts of sustained pressure. If any doubts remained that Koscielny is the real deal, they should be gone after yesterday’s match. The same can be said of Chamakh.

But now let me get down to the real reason I’m writing today’s piece. Phil Dowd’s performance yesterday was disgraceful. For the last week or two we have been treated to a concerted effort on the part of almost half a dozen of the Premier League’s managers to influence referees in matches other than their own. Phil Dowd came out onto the pitch determined not to give Arsenal anything. How else to explain all the fouls which Dowd ridiculously waved away including a blatant handball in the box? By the hour mark, Arsenal had been whistled for a dozen fouls while Sunderland had only one. ONE!!!

This kind of treatment by referees, especially based on what’s going on in the media, is nothing new. After Eduardo’s penalty against Celtic, Arsenal went most of the season without being given one penalty. But this is even more egregious because it’s not just the media, but the other managers in the league making a concerted effort to see that referees allow them to get away with things Arsenal cannot. This was all blatantly obvious and sickening as the match progressed. It’s one thing for an official to try to “even things out,” but Sunderland were allowed to get away with fouls, handballs in the box, etc… while Arsenal were penalized so often you would think they were the thugs.

Arsenal were the victims of a referee influenced by a full-out media attack by a bunch of two-bit hack managers of two-bit clubs. Dowd could have shown some spine and not bowed to the “Arsenal hate campaign” being waged by managers of clubs who get down on their knees and give thanks simply for avoiding relegation. Teams not even their own supporters care to pay to watch.

Now, I am not blaming the result on the referee. Obviously, the goal is our own fault (though we had played two attacks beyond the announced stoppage time) and Rosicky’s penalty miss was especially at fault for the result. Song’s two yellow cards were also legitimate. Nevertheless, during the regular run of play, Dowd was determined to show he was not influenced by the comments made by Wenger, but in the end he showed he was influenced by the comments made by Big Sam, Tony Pulis, ‘Arry, and David Moyes.

The opening 13 days of the 2010-11 season has been dominated by a few motifs. The first is the emergence of Theo Walcott. The second is the “re-emergence” of Tomas Rosicky. Third, we have the neverending Mark Schwarzer saga. And now, it’s been capped off with the “arrest” of Jack Wilshere. Ah, interesting days to be a Gooner, to say the least.

Well, we were all treated to a rare, but always satisfying, sight on Saturday evening… that of Alan Hansen eating crow. It was nice to see Shearer put Hansen’s comments from the previous week to the test. I mean, who the fuck is Alan Hansen to talk about a football brain? But, anyway…  Four goals in the first three matches for Theo has seen his stock rise and everyone take notice. There is no doubt that he will benefit long-term from being left out of the debacle that was England at South Africa this summer. Ironically, going to the World Cup in 2006 proved to be detrimental to his career, while missing it in 2010 will likely prove to be beneficial.

What else is there to say about Rosicky’s start to the season? I covered it in a post last week. The only thing to do when it comes to Rosicky is pray. I have no doubt that he can sustain this kind of form long-term throughout the season. The key, however, is will he even have the chance. With an injury record that almost makes Robin van Persie look like Superman, Rosicky needs a full season at this point in his career. He is 29 now and has watched what should have been his prime years as a footballer pass him by. He is not too old yet, but he certainly is not too young either.

I think we all knew that the Schwarzer saga would go down to the final day of the window. Hughes was never really prepared to sell him until he could be assured of a deal to bring Given to Fulham on loan. That end appears to have been worked out and I imagine Hughes will now take Arsene down to the wire in an effort to increase Arsene’s desperation and, therefore, the fee. Meanwhile, rumors are that Arsene has upped his original bid of £2.5m to £3m.

Should Schwarzer come in, and Almunia leave, it still will not resolve our long-term keeper situation. I think it is a rare Gooner these days that has any confidence left in Fabianski. He just never seems to have gotten over that night at Porto. That leaves Szczesny and Mannone, neither of which will truly be ready to be a top 4 club’s number one in a year or two, which is the most we can expect from the 38-year old Schwarzer. Having said that, if you were to ask me who will be the Arsenal goalkeeper 3-4 years from now, I would have to say it would most likely be Szczesny.

Finally, as I’m sure most of you have read by now on Young Guns and all over Twitter, Wilshere was indeed “arrested” and released on bail following a fight in which a woman suffered a broken elbow and a man was injured. It has subsequently come out that he is an “important witness” to the events and “played the role of peacemaker.” One cannot help but be reminded of the trouble Robin van Persie got into in Holland during his more impetuous, early spell with the club. Obviously, the media jumped all over this and, while, I’m sure we’d all like this story to go away or resolve itself sooner rather than later, I doubt that will be the case.

As we move into the international break, I think we can feel about as confident as we could have to hoped to be following our first three fixtures. It’s hard not to think back on the opportunity lost at Anfield, but it’s hard to break down a team like Liverpool, especially with 10 men all behind the ball and the lead. The result at Blackburn was encouraging but not quite as significant as some may think. Lazy pundits still expect us to lose when we go up north. The loss at Ewood Park at the end of last season nothwithstanding, our record away to clubs like Blackburn and Bolton in the last 3 years has been very good. I did the numbers last year on our trips to the north over that period, but just don’t have time to dig them up this morning. But trust me, they’re good. Nevertheless, it was a stern test for the club and will have clued in players like Koscielny and Chamakh more into what to expect in England than either of the two previous matches.

]]> https://arsenalstation.wordpress.com/2010/08/30/interesting-days-to-be-a-gooner/feed/ 3 2847 Football Talk Manuel Almunia https://arsenalstation.wordpress.com/2010/08/27/the-biggest-arsenal-event-ever-held-in-america/ https://arsenalstation.wordpress.com/2010/08/27/the-biggest-arsenal-event-ever-held-in-america/#comments Fri, 27 Aug 2010 15:27:27 +0000 http://arsenalstation.wordpress.com/?p=2836 Through the tireless efforts of the NYC Arsenal Supporters’ president (and now vice-president of Arsenal America), Kurtis Powers, the biggest Arsenal event ever held in America, in conjunction with Red Bull New York, will take place in NYC on the weekend of September 10-12. The highlight of the weekend will be a trip to Red Bull Arena on Saturday afternoon/evening for an “interactive session” with our all-time leading goalscorer, Thierry Henry, following Red Bull New York’s match with the Colorado Rapids.

From NYCAS: “We will have our own section for this match on the lower level. More importantly, when the match ends, they will clear the stadium, except for us, and will allow us a one on one Question and Answer session with the Arsenal legend. We are the first supporters’ group, or any group for that matter (not even Red Bulls fans have gotten this opportunity), that have access to Henry in this capacity. We will have the stadium and Henry all to ourselves! This is sure to be a classic.”

Also, everyone attending the match will be given a free raffle ticket as Red Bull New York have generously donated a number of Henry-signed shirts and footballs to give away to us.

Some other activties are being planned as well including a Gooner meet-and-greet on the Friday evening followed by the Arsenal-Bolton match on Saturday morning at our new pub headquarters, The Blind Pig, in Manhattan. The Red Bull match is at 4pm and the “interactive session” with Henry will begin about 7pm. There is also a football event being planned for the next Sunday morning.

Any Gooner from anywhere is welcome to come and enjoy this special weekend with us. Because tickets are being secured at a group rate, we must have a full count before the club determines the final ticket price, which will be between $25 and $50. Once we have the final ticket count, the club will note the price and an e-mail will be sent with the ticket cost and payment processing information. All ticket monies must be paid via PayPal though there is a 4.5% fee.

If you are certain you would like to attend the match and session with Henry, please send an email including your name, email address, and the number of tickets you would like to NewYorkRoadTrip@arsenalamerica.com. For further updates, join the group’s Facebook page. Even if you are not attending the match, you are more than welcome to come out to the other events of the weekend with your fellow Gooners. Up the Arsenal!!!

Yes, the main story of Saturday’s 6-nil win over Blackpool was Theo’s hat-trick. But, what seems to be lost in the hoopla, is the absolutely sterling performance of Tomas Rosicky. I had been hoping for one of those “<player> vs. <opposition>” videos to pop up on You Tube and now it finally has done.

Rosicky was either at the start or at the heart of nearly everything Arsenal did well on Saturday. Right from the kick-off, he propelled the team forward whether it was dropping ball after ball into space or picking it up in his own half and, basically, doing one of the best Fabregas impersonations I’ve seen in a long while.

He made the perfectly-placed pass to Arshavin, who set up the opening goal. He set Walcott free nearly half-a-dozen times including the move that led to a great save on Arshavin’s half-volley. He also threaded the ball perfectly between two defenders for Chamakh, who subsequently drew the penalty that saw Arsenal go up 2-nil and Blackpool down to ten men. He played the ball to Sagna down the right that led to Diaby’s goal. He played the ball into space for Arshavin, who delivered a sitter missed by Chamakh. He also made a fantastic pass after turning to Vela making a run into the box.

Every one of these balls were just glorious to watch. Rosicky put on the central midfield “masterclass” that David Pleat, and only David Pleat, thought Nasri had done at Anfield. Now, I am of course mindful that he was playing much of the match against a 10-man relegation favorite and therefore had more space than usual. But, nevertheless… Rosicky’s vision, creativity, and deftness of touch appears to have fully returned following his losing 18 months due to injury in what should be his prime.

His injury problems have been so consistent that even though he’s beginning his fifth year at the club, we’ve never seen him really hit top gear for any period of time. It remains to be seen whether or not he is really over the recurring muscle injuries, but he has said he feels better than ever after having his first full preseason in years. A good sign is that Rosicky not only stood around dropping ball after ball for his teammates to run onto, but he also went in hard, and won, a number of 50-50s in the center of midfield. Furthermore, his distribution from central midfield was fantastic as he worked every inch of the middle and attacking thirds on Saturday.

Of course, Rosicky is likely to play the majority of his time on the pitch this season out wide, but Saturday was a reminder of just how devastating a player he can be in the middle when fully healthy and match-fit. The confidence the Boss has in him was fully evident when he was offered a contract extension this past January despite having been injured for most of the previous 24 months.

I remember being really excited about the club signing Rosicky. But we have only seen glimpses of the “real” Rosicky-the one who scored that unbelievable Champions League goal, the one who scored the goal at Anfield, etc…. So, while we look forward to the emergence of Theo, Jack, and some of the other young players, I am also looking forward this season to the emergence of the “real” Tomas Rosicky.