Hipster Gooner

Champions League: Barcelona 3 - 1 Arsenal (4 - 3 agg.): It's Absurd Video Time

2011-03-09T19:47:00.000-05:00

We here at Hipster Gooner realize that we haven't posted in a while. We're retooling a little bit, now that I have started writing previews for the NYC Arsenal Supporters' official blog, The Modern Gooner. As such, we have come to realize that it is in our best interest to add more of a twist to what we do here at Hipster Gooner, and have decided to establish ourselves as a more off-kilter look at the team.

And so, it begins here. We know you can get a standard recap of what went on in an Arsenal match almost anywhere on the Internet (might I suggest Sean's recaps on the aforementioned Modern Gooner?) But where can you get an absurd recap involving cops, robotic voices, and mispronunciation?

We didn't write the script specifically for the video (but we will in the future,) this was actually an e-mail exchange from yesterday afternoon between six people. As such, it's probably really weird and not as funny as it could be.

They'll get better. I promise.

Preview: Arsenal v. Stoke City

2011-02-23T08:45:00.001-05:00

On-loan Aaron Ramsey scored for Cardiff last night, as Arsenal
prepares for the side he was injured against last season. Pic via Daily Mail.

Emirates Stadium, London

Wednesday, February 23

7:45 p.m. GMT, 2:45 p.m. EST

Referee: Peter Walton
This Match, Last Year: Arsenal 2 - 0 Stoke City
All-Time in All Competitions: 48 Arsenal wins, 22 Stoke wins, 21 draws
Arsenal's Recent Form: D-W-W-W-D-W
Stoke's Recent Form: L-W-L-L-W-L

Predicted Line-Up

guesses in red

Szczesny

Sagna - Squillaci - Djourou - Clichy

Song - Wilshere

Walcott - Fabregas - Nasri

Bendtner

Subs from: Almunia, Eboue, Gibbs, Denilson, Rosicky, Arshavin, Chamakh
Suspended: Diaby (third of three, violent conduct)

Out: van Persie (hamstring), Koscielny (back), Fabianski (shoulder), Vermaelen (Achilles)

Arsenal News and Notes

Suddenly, Robin van Persie and Laurent Koscielny have slight knocks and are unavailable. Part of me suspects that they could play if this was a huge match, but there is an element of caution with a cup final on Sunday.
Abou Diaby still has a calf injury, but can't play anyway, serving the final match of his three match ban.
Johan Djourou will be available following his back injury suffered against Barcelona.
I suspect Nicklas Bendtner will start over Marouane Chamakh in RVP's place. Bendtner is in "better" form, if you can really say that. This is more to say that Chamakh is in poor form. Also, Arsenal could use Bendtner's height against a rugby team.
This is the first of five Arsenal matches within a two week span (the others being the Carling Cup final on Sunday, FA Cup replay next Wednesday, Sunderland in the league next Saturday, and Barcelona on the following Tuesday.)
Arsenal are unbeaten in 10 across all competitions and nine in the league.
Arsenal have only lost once (the 1-0 at Ipswich Town in the Carling Cup semi-final first leg) in their last 16 competitive fixtures.
The Gunners are unbeaten in 12 at home and have won six straight at the Emirates since the Leeds draw.

Stoke News and Notes

Matthew Etherington faces a late fitness test after withdrawing from Stoke's Saturday FA Cup win over Brighton & Hove Albion with a back problem.
Mamady Sidibe has a long term Achilles injury; Abdoulaye Faye has a hamstring injury.
Stoke City have not won away from home in the league since Boxing Day (four straight losses), though they have two away wins in that time period in the FA Cup.

Match Facts

The Gunners won this fixture 2-0 last year. Cesc Fabregas missed a penalty, but Arsenal got goals from Andrei Arshavin and Aaron Ramsey.
Arsenal have won eight straight home fixtures against Stoke in all competitions; five of those were league matches.
Stoke's last league result at Arsenal was a 1-0 win in 1981/82.
Stoke City scored in the opening ten minutes of both matches against Arsenal at the Britannia last season; they have not scored in the opening 15 minutes of any match this year.

The Referee

The referee is Northamptonshire-based Peter Walton.
Walton was in charge of Arsenal and Stoke's league meeting at the Britannia last year and was the man who showed red to Ryan Shawcross.
Walton's only Arsenal match this year was the Gunners' 3-0 win at Birmingham on New Year's Day.
For Stoke, Walton has taken charge of a 2-1 loss at Bolton and 1-1 draw with Manchester City.

Around England

Today, Champions League: Copenhagen 0 - 2 Chelsea
Today, Premier League: Blackpool 3 - 1 Tottenham Hotspur
Wednesday, Premier League: Marseille v. Manchester United; Stade Velodrome, Marseille
Thursday, Europa League: Liverpool (0) v. (0) Sparta Prague; Anfield, Liverpool
Thursday, Europa League: Manchester City (0) v. (0) Aris, City of Manchester Stadium, Manchester

Preview: Leyton Orient v. Arsenal, FA Cup 5th Round

2011-02-18T07:05:00.001-05:00

Orient's mascot is a dragon. His name is Theo.
Last year, Theo Walcott's birthday cake had a dragon.
Connection!?!? Pic via Leyton Orient.

Matchroom Stadium, London

Sunday, February 20

4:30 p.m. GMT, 11:30 a.m. EST

Referee: Kevin Friend
All-Time in All Competitions: 7 Arsenal wins, 2 Orient wins, 1 draw
All-Time in FA Cup: 4 Arsenal wins
Arsenal's Premier League Form: D-W-W-W-D-W
Leyton Orient's League One Form: D-D-D-W-W-W

Predicted Line-Up

I usually only get like seven of these in cup ties

Almunia

Eboue - Koscielny - Squillaci - Gibbs

Denilson - Wilshere

Bendtner - Rosicky - Arshavin

Chamakh

Subs from: Szczesny, Sagna, Clichy, Song, Fabregas, Nasri, van Persie
Suspended: Diaby (second of three, violent conduct)
Doubtful: Walcott (hamstring)

Out: Djourou (back), Fabianski (shoulder), Vermaelen (Achilles)

Arsenal News and Notes

Johan Djourou picked up a back injury on Wednesday and will miss the cup tie. Get well soon (damn it, we need you)!
Theo Walcott is a doubt with a hamstring knock, though I wouldn't have expected him to start anyway, and certainly hope he wouldn't have been necessary to use. Arsenal has been leaving these cup ties for late, though, haven't they?
No other new injuries, but a lot of rotation likely.
Arsenal are unbeaten in nine across all competitions, by far their longest streak of the season. Arsenal last went unbeaten in nine from February 20 to April 3 last year, a streak that was snapped at Camp Nou.
In 25 tries, Arsenal has never lost an FA Cup tie to a lower tier team under Arsene Wenger.

Leyton Orient News and Notes

Orient currently sit in 10th place in League One, meaning Arsenal have played progressively lower teams down the table with each passing round (Huddersfield Town is in 3rd.)
There are three teams currently still alive in the FA Cup that are below Orient in the table: Sheffield Wednesday, Notts County, and non-league Crawley Town.
I'd give you their injury news, but honestly, I can't seem to find specifics. As of last week, it appears that Adam Chambers and Matthew Spring are injured. I hope that is good enough for you.
Orient are unbeaten in nine League One fixtures (5 wins, 4 draws) since a New Year's Day loss to top of the table Brighton & Hove Albion. They have won three straight.
To progress this far in the competition, Leyton Orient has beaten Dagenham & Redbridge (another London derby!) in a replay, Droylsden in a replay in which they scored six goals in extra time, then upset two Championship sides in Norwich and Swansea. Both of those sides sit in Premier League promotion playoff spots right now.

Match Facts

Arsenal have won all five matches they have played against Leyton Orient since World War I.
The last meeting came in the 1978 FA Cup. Arsenal won 3-0 at Highbury.
Leyton Orient has spent only one season in the top flight, 1962/63. Arsenal beat them 2-1 at Brisbane Road and 2-0 at Highbury.
Orient's last win over Arsenal came in the old second division, on February 13, 1915. Orient won 1-0 at Millfields Road.
Arsenal have won all four FA Cup ties against Leyton Orient, with three of those coming away from home.

The Referee

The referee is Leicestershire-based Kevin Friend.
This is Friend's second Arsenal match in his career. The first was the 3-0 win over Wigan last month, in which Robin van Persie had a hat trick.
His last Leyton Orient match was on April 13, 2009. Orient won 1-0 at Swindon Town.

Other 5th Round Ties (and 4th Round Replays)

Saturday: Chelsea v. Everton (4th Round Replay); Stamford Bridge, London
Saturday: Stoke City v. Brighton & Hove Albion; Britannia Stadium, Stoke-on-Trent
Saturday: Birmingham City v. Sheffield Wednesday; St. Andrew's, Birmingham
Saturday: Manchester United v. Crawley Town; Old Trafford, Manchester
Sunday: Manchester City v. Notts County (4th Round Replay); City of Manchester Stadium, Manchester
Sunday: Fulham v. Bolton Wanderers; Craven Cottage, London
Monday: West Ham United v. Burnley; Boleyn Ground, London
Next Tuesday: Chelsea or Everton v. Reading; London or Liverpool
Next Wednesday: Manchester City or Notts County v. Aston Villa; Manchester or Nottingham

Champions League: Arsenal 2 - 1 Barcelona: OOOOH TO BE A GOONER!

2011-02-17T06:47:00.000-05:00

We've got Cesc Fabregas.

And Jack Wilshere. And Robin van Persie. And Andrei Arshavin...

Pic via Guardian.

Arsenal 2: van Persie 78, Arshavin 83

Barcelona 1: Villa 26

It's a pivotal month for Arsenal (but you know that already,) with a chance for silverware at the end, plus three other competitions of arguably more importance to worry about. Domestically, Manchester United looks catchable at the top of the Premier League, the Carling Cup final is the 26th, and a win on Sunday at Orient brings Arsenal to the quarterfinals of the FA Cup.

Ah, but in Europe, it's a whole different monster, and thanks to losses in Donetsk and Braga in November, Arsenal started the knockout phase of the Champions League behind the eight ball, having not won their group. Their reward was Barcelona, the team that just can't stop fucking talking about Cesc Fabregas, the team that forced Arsenal out of this competition last year with a bit of a thrashing at Camp Nou, the team that plays the same style of football so well, you almost can't be blamed for developing some sort of inferiority complex.

But, with that draw comes an opportunity to taste revenge. A win at the Emirates on Wednesday night wouldn't put Arsenal through, of course, but they'd have the upper hand going away, and have given Barcelona something to think about. And oh boy, what a win it turned out to be.

Arsene Wenger made two changes to the side that beat Wolves at the weekend. Bacary Sagna was suspended, after picking up a red card in the final match of the group stage in December, so Emmanuel Eboue deputized at right back. In the slightly more surprising change, Samir Nasri was not just fit to join the squad, but he was also fit to start the match on the left wing, dropping Andrei Arshavin to the bench.

From the start, Barcelona started tippy-tappying it around for a minute or two, but unlike last year's encounter at the Emirates, Arsenal actually showed up at the start, and had the better of the chances through ten minutes. From a free kick, Samir Nasri dinked a ball on goal which Alex Song could not quite reach to redirect, and Victor Valdes in goal handled easily. Valdes later made a brilliant save on a tight angled shot from Robin van Persie. A few other Arsenal chances went begging as the final passes were too strong or the final touches were too heavy.

The bad news in the first ten minutes was the early booking of Alex Song, who clipped Lionel Messi before he could do anything too Messi-like about 35-40 yards out in the seventh minute. Throughout the first half, Song walked a fine line of picking up a second yellow card, which would have completely changed the complexion of this match.

Barcelona started to click after the ten minute mark, as the tippy-tappying resumed, and in the 15th minute, Messi should have put the Catalans up 1-0. David Villa sent him a through ball which saw Messi clear in on Wojciech Szczesny. The Pole stayed up as long as he could, but was eventually drawn to make a move, and Messi maneuvered brilliantly to flip a shot past him, which twisted just wide of the far post.

Despite all of Barcelona's building pressure, Arsenal nearly struck first on a brilliant counter-attack of their own. The pace of Theo Walcott started a chance as he picked out Cesc Fabregas on the break. Fabregas lined up a cross for van Persie, but Eric Abidal got a head in the way just in time. Then, Barca streamed forward and as Lionel Messi sent a through ball for Villa in the midst of Arsenal's offside trap, Gael Clichy backpedaled for no reason and played Villa on. From there, the finish was academic.

Much of the second half proceeded with Barcelona controlling the possession and tippy-tappy-tippy-tappying (I'm trying to include that phrase in as many paragraphs as possible.) Arsenal defended tenaciously, as you must against a team like this, to keep the match 1-0. A second goal was ruled out for Messi being offside and Szczesny made a huge save on Pedro as well. Yet, the feel at halftime was more optimistic than it was in either match with Barcelona last year. Sure, Arsenal was trailing, but they had created some chances this time. It felt like an equalizer could happen, as long as Arsenal could keep Barcelona from scoring again.

What the hell is that logo? I think it says, "Fuck Adebayor."
Pic via Daily Mail.

The Gunners had a strong start to the second half, and controlled a lot of the play throughout, but as in the first half, many of the chances went begging. It looked like, as Messi was, Robin van Persie was just not quite on form on this night. I guess he just wanted to fool us for 78 minutes.

Alex Song was removed for The Diminutive Russian, Andrei Arshavin, in the 68th minute, as Arsenal looked for more offense. Arsene Wenger spoke post-match about how the move could have backfired, and Arsenal could have found themselves two or three down. Alternatively, Song could have found himself with a second yellow, so not making the substitution could have backfired as well. So, who knows. Nicklas Bendtner came on for Theo Walcott in the 77th minute for a change of pace and style, i.e. the only really good way to use Bendtner, in my opinion.

Jack Wilshere's maneuvering won a corner kick as the clock reached 78 minutes. Arshavin took it, but Valdes caught safely. Then, Arsene Wenger angrily unzipped his coat. As Barcelona moved forward, Arsenal won a free kick at the halfway line and eventually Clichy found van Persie at a tight angle. From the byline, van Persie fired on goal, from an impossible spot, and managed to beat Valdes near post to make it 1-1. A brilliant, goal scorer's strike. And RVP's 12th goal in 12 games.

And so, the tide had turned. Barcelona tried to muster a challenge, but Laurent Koscielny (who was excellent) intercepted from Messi in the box. Wilshere hit Fabregas with a pass, and he played a powerful through ball for a breaking Samir Nasri, onside. Nasri ran out of space as he was closed down by the defense, however, so he cut back and sent a pass back toward the center. The pass found Arshavin, who thundered in a winner from 15 yards. And every Arsenal supporting place in the world went nuts.

Arsenal probed a bit for a third, but would not come up with it, then Szczesny made a tremendous stop in the dying moments before a Messi shot was blocked by two Gunners. At the final whistle, Arsenal sealed a 2-1 lead they will take with them to Camp Nou in three weeks. And, as tough as that match will be, not only was Arsenal able to fire a warning to Barcelona that this is not the same team that rolled over for them last year, but they were also able to build up a huge confidence boost moving forward into the four crucial domestic fixtures that come before the return leg. Arsenal have, in addition to two cup ties, Stoke and Sunderland at home in the league while United have road trips to Wigan, Chelsea, and Liverpool.

By the time Arsenal plays at Camp Nou on March 8, the landscape of this season could be quite different on all fronts, and with the way things are shaping up for the Gunners, it looks quite positive. Nobody knew how this team would react to blowing a four-goal lead at Newcastle. Well, their two performances since have been nothing short of spectacular. And it's a damn good time to be a Gooner these days.

Hipster Gooner Man of the Match: Jack Wilshere

Arsene Wenger Is Very Disappointed in You 2/16/11

2011-02-16T10:27:00.002-05:00

He's as disappointed as I am that I am not going to be able to come to today's game

From: http://www.skysports.com/story/0,19528,11670_6746917,00.html

Preview: Arsenal v. Barcelona, Champions League Round of 16, First Leg

2011-02-15T20:06:00.000-05:00

Have you heard that Cesc Fabregas used to play for Barcelona in his youth days?
Because this is the first that I'm hearing about that.
Pic via Daily Mail.

Emirates Stadium, London

Wednesday, February 16

7:45 p.m. GMT, 2:45 p.m. EST

Referee: Nicola Rizzoli (Italy)
History: 0 Arsenal wins, 3 Barcelona wins, 2 draws
Arsenal's League Form: D-W-W-W-D-W
Barcelona's League Form: W-W-W-W-W-D

Predicted Line-Up

guesses in red

Szczesny

Eboue - Koscielny - Djourou - Clichy

Song - Wilshere

Walcott - Fabregas - Nasri

van Persie

Subs from: Almunia, Gibbs, Squillaci, Rosicky, Arshavin, Bendtner, Chamakh
Suspended: Sagna (one match, professional foul)

Out: Diaby (calf), Fabianski (shoulder), Vermaelen (Achilles)

Arsenal News and Notes

Samir Nasri surprisingly returns to the squad, having returned to training after the hamstring injury he suffered January 30 in the FA Cup. He should only start he's 100%. I would hope.
Abou Diaby, however, picked up a calf strain on international duty. Nobody noticed, I guess, since he's suspended domestically.
Speaking of suspensions, remember Bacary Sagna's red card against Partizan? Because I forgot about it too. He's unavailable and Emmanuel Eboue will deputize.
Tomas Rosicky returns to the side as well, though I also, in this case, don't remember him getting hurt.
Arsenal are unbeaten in eight across all competitions and have lost once in their last 14.
The Gunners have not lost at home since November, going unbeaten in 11 at the Emirates.

Barcelona News and Notes

Caveman impersonator Carles Puyol will miss the tie with a knee injury, forcing left back Eric Abidal to play in the center and forcing Maxwell (who was terrorized by Theo Walcott last year) to start on the left.
As far as I can tell, Puyol is the only major injury in their side.
Sporting Gijon's 1-1 draw with the Catalans at the weekend marked Barcelona's first league loss in 16 matches.

Match Facts

This is the sixth all-time meeting between Arsenal and Barcelona. Arsenal have never won.
No foreign club has ever won a Champions League tie at the Emirates, in 27 matches.
Last year, Arsenal came from 2-0 down to draw level with Barcelona in the first leg of the quarter-finals. Nicklas Bendtner put Arsenal ahead on aggregate in the second leg before Lionel Messi scored four to knock the Gunners out.
The two sides met in the 2006 final. Sol Campbell put ten man Arsenal ahead 1-0, but Samuel Eto'o and Juliano Belletti scored in the last fifteen minutes to win the title for the Catalan side.
In 1999/2000, the two sides played twice in group play. Arsenal salvaged a draw at the Nou Camp, but then lost 4-2 in their home match, which was played at Wembley.

The Referee

The referee is Serie A's Nicola Rizzoli. This is his first Arsenal match.
Rizzoli took charge of last year's Europa League final, when Atletico Madrid beat Fulham in extra time.
His last match on English soil saw him send off Manchester United's Rafael for two yellow cards in last year's quarter-finals, as Bayern Munich advanced on away goals.
Rizzoli took charge of Barcelona's 5-1 win over Panathinaikos in the group stage earlier this year.

Other Round of 16 Ties

Tuesday: AC Milan 0 - 1 Tottenham Hotspur
Tuesday: Valencia 1 - 1 Schalke 04
Wednesday: AS Roma v. Shakhtar Donetsk; Stadio Olimpico, Rome
Next Tuesday: Copenhagen v. Chelsea; Parken Stadium, Copenhagen
Next Tuesday: Lyon v. Real Madrid; Stade de Gerland, Lyone
Next Wednesday: Inter Milan v. Bayern Munich; San Siro, Milan
Next Wednesday: Marseille v. Manchester United; Stade Velodrome, Marseille

Arsenal 2 - 0 Wolves: The Bounce Back

2011-02-13T16:10:00.000-05:00

Hugs! Pic via Sky Sports.

Arsenal 2: van Persie 16, 56

Wolves 0

I'm firmly of the belief that last Saturday's trip to Newcastle is going to be a season defining moment, but that's not necessarily a negative; it could shape the season in any number of ways. Which way would it go? Would Arsenal crumble in the aftermath or would they rebound and use the draw as a learning experience? With Barcelona on the horizon, the league to contend with, and a Wembley Cup final in two weeks, February is a crucial month for the Gunners that did not start very well on Tyneside. Yesterday, Arsenal righted the ship, dominating 90 minutes and completing the double over Wolves.

Coming into the match, team selection was a bit of a question. With Barcelona coming to the Emirates on Wednesday, would Arsene Wenger prioritize the league or Europe? Would he start his strongest side or rest some of his talent? The answer was the former. Arsenal made one change to the side that started last week: Abou Diaby missed out through suspension, but Alex Song returned to his normal starting position in Diaby's place, after missing the trip to Newcastle with a thigh injury. Johan Djourou was fit to start after a fear that his knee injury could have been season-endingly serious.

There's no doubt about it, Arsenal played exceedingly well yesterday, and it was the response that they needed following last week's collapse. It took a little while for Arsenal to get in gear, but they nearly went ahead 1-0 with a Robin van Persie goal that was called back for a foul on Jack Wilshere, instead of playing advantage. RVP shot the ensuing free kick over the bar. The Dutchman would get the opener in the 16th minute, one-timing a Cesc Fabregas cross home with his right foot.

Arsenal had a number of chances to extend that lead over the next forty minutes, but had a tough time sneaking another shot past Wayne Hennessey. A leading pass to Andrei Arshavin was a bit too far ahead for the Russian to take a shot, but he did cut back and feed a pass to the center for Theo Walcott. Walcott's shot was saved by the legs of Hennessey, then Fabregas's rebound was blocked off the line. Van Persie nearly picked up the brace just before the stroke of halftime, but Hennessey saved again. Just after the restart, following a brilliant run from Jack Wilshere, Walcott fired wide on a fairly wide open opportunity.

But the second goal would eventually come, and it would be classic Arsenal. The goal came from a series of lightning-quick one-touch passes. Bacary Sagna won the ball back initially and found Djourou in his own penalty area. Then, Arsenal launched the fast break. Djourou hit Wilshere, Wilshere found Song, Song found Fabregas, and the captain launched the ball forward for a breaking Theo Walcott. In the ensuing rush, Walcott centered for van Persie, who took one touch and fired past a diving Hennessey.

There was, of course, always a little fear that one Wolves goal could send Arsenal spiraling downward again. This week, however, Wolves never really had those opportunities. There was almost no pressure at all from the relegation candidates. In BBC's Match of the Day highlights, there was only one Wolves chance even shown, it came in the final minute of play with the match out of reach, and the shot was well over the bar. Arsenal did exactly what they had to do: bounce back from last week by sticking to their style. Perhaps the most encouraging part was that there was no nervousness in the defending, which would have been almost understandable after last week.

So, three more points, and Arsenal keeps their pace with United, as the Gunners still sit four points out of first place with just 12 games to play. After the first eight of those, they will meet each other at the Emirates. This is still a season defining month for Arsenal in all four competitions and each of Arsenal's next four matches are in different competitions. There could be new silverware for the trophy case by month's end. And by that point, one hopes last week is long in the rear view mirror. Yesterday was a good start.

Hipster Gooner Man of the Matcb: Jack Wilshere

Preview: Arsenal v. Wolverhampton Wanderers

2011-02-11T07:09:00.000-05:00

Wolves? Wolves.
Free use image via Wikipedia.

Emirates Stadium, London

Saturday, February 12

3:00 p.m. GMT, 10:00 a.m. EST

Referee: Chris Foy
This Match, Last Year: Arsenal 1 - 0 Wolves
Reverse Fixture: Wolves 0 - 2 Arsenal
All-Time in All Competitions: 55 Arsenal wins, 29 Wolves wins, 25 draws
Arsenal's Recent Form: W-D-W-W-W-D
Wolves' Recent Form: L-W-L-L-L-W

Predicted Line-Up

guesses in red

Szczesny

Sagna - Koscielny - Squillaci - Clichy

Denilson - Wilshere

Walcott - Fabregas - Arshavin

van Persie

Subs from: Almunia, Gibbs, Djourou, Song, Rosicky, Bendtner, Chamakh
Suspended: Diaby (first of three, violent conduct)

Out: Nasri (hamstring), Fabianski (shoulder), Vermaelen (Achilles)

Arsenal News and Notes

Nobody is injured coming back from international duty! Hooray!
Cesc Fabregas and Robin van Persie have recovered from their probably fictitious physical ailments that kept them off international duty.
Alex Song (thigh) and Johan Djourou (knee) face Friday fitness tests and Arsene Wenger is optimistic that they will be in the squad. Song is supposedly at 90%. Could they be rested anyway, with Barcelona on the horizon?
Denilson (does anyone remember what was wrong with him? thigh? hamstring?) is fit and back in the squad, and will have to start if Song doesn't, since Abou Diaby is suspended.
Samir Nasri is back in training and is a week or two away from competition. Shame he'll miss the first leg of the Barcelona tie. And Thomas Vermaelen should be, what, three weeks away? So they say.
Arsenal had a six match winning streak across all competitions snapped last week, but remain unbeaten in seven overall, unbeaten in eight league matches, and unbeaten in ten at the Emirates.

Wolves News and Notes

Stephen Hunt (calf) faces a late fitness test, as does Dave Edwards (leg.)
Defender Kevin Foley (ankle) will likely be recalled.
Long term injuries include Michael Kightly, who has missed all year with a tendon problem in his knee, and Adlene Guedioura (broken leg.)
Wolves have only picked up four points on the road this season, in 11 road matches. Wolves picked up a win at Liverpool Red and a draw at Liverpool Blue.
They have been giant killers at Molineux, however, having beaten Manchester City, Chelsea, and most recently, Manchester United at home. But, Arsenal won there in November, so really, that's just nothing but helpul.

Match Facts

Arsenal have beaten Wolves eleven straight times, across all competitions.
Marouane Chamakh needed about 37 seconds to score against Wolves at Molineux in November. Then, Wolves controlled a lot of play for about 92 minutes before Chamakh scored again.
In this match last year, Arsenal needed a billion minutes before Nicklas Bendtner headed in an injury time winner.
Wolves' last win against Arsenal came at Highbury by a 3-2 score in 1979.

The Referee

The referee is Merseyside-based Chris Foy.
The last time Chris Foy was supposed to take charge of an Arsenal match, it was against Leeds in the FA Cup at the Emirates. Then, it turned out that the referee was actually Phil Dowd. For the love of God, if that happens again...
Arsenal have won both matches worked by Foy in which they've played this year by 2-1 scores, first at Blackburn then at home against Fulham.
Foy has not worked a Wolves match this season. His last was a 0-0 draw with Stoke in April.

Around the League

These are the reverse fixtures of those played November 9-10.
Saturday: Manchester United v. Manchester City; Old Trafford, Manchester
Saturday: Birmingham City v. Stoke City; St. Andrew's, Birmingham
Saturday: Blackburn Rovers v. Newcastle United; Ewood Park, Blackburn
Saturday: Blackpool v. Aston Villa; Bloomfield Road, Blackpool
Saturday: Liverpool v. Wigan Athletic; Anfield, Liverpool
Saturday: West Bromwich Albion v. West Ham United; The Hawthorns, West Bromwich
Saturday: Sunderland v. Tottenham Hotspur; Stadium of Light, Sunderland
Sunday: Bolton Wanderers v. Everton; Reebok Stadium, Bolton
Monday: Fulham v. Chelsea; Craven Cottage, London

Newcastle United 4 - 4 Arsenal: Absurdity

2011-02-07T19:37:00.000-05:00

This is the moment my soul died. Pic via Guardian.

Newcastle United 4: Barton 68 (pen), 83 (pen), Best 75, Tiote 87
Arsenal 4: Walcott 1, Djourou 3, van Persie 10, 26

I'm not going to lie, I have no idea how to write this recap, because I still haven't really been able to completely wrap my head around what happened Saturday. I'll start by revisiting some things I said in the Everton recap from this midweek: "Do you know what worries me the most about the aftermath of this match? ... Arsenal have a knack of disappointing once the talk around them gets too hyped. ... We all know Arsenal isn't the most consistent side in the world. I guess that question will be answered Saturday on Tyneside."

Yes, yes it was. And I have the feeling that the ramifications of this match will be felt for a long time, in any number of possible directions.

Arsenal made two changes to the side that beat Everton on Tuesday (and my predicted XI was, again, correct) as Abou Diaby replaced the injured Alex Song in midfield and Andrei Arshavin, fresh off a goal and assist performance started as Tomas Rosicky dropped to the bench.

What a start it was, right? Andrei Arshavin put Theo Walcott through in the first minute and it was 1-0 Arsenal. Johan Djourou won a header in the box in the third minute and it was 2-0 Arsenal. A Walcott square ball found Robin van Persie in the tenth minute and it was 3-0 Arsenal. Then a Bacary Sagna cross found van Persie again, and it was 4-0 Arsenal. It was brilliant. Newcastle started mounting a threat after about half an hour, but on many plays in the box, Laurent Koscielny was there to clear. He was truly having a great match from the start, and everything was lovely at halftime.

It's quite astonishing how quickly a game can turn, however, and the big blow came immediately. Within five minutes, Johan Djourou was limping, having injured his knee; he could not continue and was replaced by Sebastien Squillaci, making for a much more unstable central back partnership. Then, Joey Barton's aggressive challenge on Abou Diaby made the Frenchman livid. He grabbed Barton by the back of the neck and threw him to the ground. Straight red card, all the way. Now, nobody is going to argue that what Diaby did deserved the red card. What is confusing is that Newcastle got away with a number of bookable offenses during the course of this match and Kevin Nolan once got away with doing exactly what Diaby did.

Those were two big reasons why Arsenal began to unravel. Now, I refuse to watch the highlights of this match, so my memory of the specifics in Newcastle's comeback are a bit hazy. The Magpies were given a penalty after the hour mark that was fairly soft, but was the type that you see given. Barton converted, then Wojciech Szczesny attempted to stall by picking the ball up first. This is when Nolan through him to the ground (and did not get sent off like Diaby) and somehow Szczesny was booked first. 4-1, and the tide was turning.

Newcastle certainly deserved their second goal as Best converted a cross, but the third was the most absurd. I'm not positive which player got the call, but it looked like either Laurent Koscielny or Tomas Rosicky were called for attempting to win a header. Barton converted again, as Szczesny this time got a piece of it, and things were getting painful. Then, a soft foul call on Rosicky, Arsenal clears the danger out to Tiote, who fires a wonder goal from 30 yards. Crushing. All the more crushing: Robin van Persie's injury time winner called offside (which I could not really tell from the camera angle but have heard it was a bad call.)

I don't really want to talk about this anymore. By now, you know what happened and you've made up your mind about Phil Dowd (who, FYI, has been dropped from this week's schedule.) It's time to move on.

Hipster Gooner Man of the Match: A convicted criminal, with some help from the officials

Preview: Newcastle United v. Arsenal

2011-02-04T07:41:00.000-05:00

Fabianski is out for the season. "Club in crisis," says the Mail, ridiculously...

St. James' Park, Newcastle upon Tyne

Saturday, February 5

3:00 p.m. GMT, 10:00 a.m. EST

Referee: Phil Dowd
This Match, Last Time: Newcastle 1 - 3 Arsenal (March 21, 2009)
Reverse Fixture: Arsenal 0 - 1 Newcastle
All-Time in All Competitions: 65 Arsenal wins, 66 Newcastle wins, 36 draws
Arsenal's Recent Form: D-W-D-W-W-W
Newcastle's Recent Form: L-W-W-D-D-L

Predicted Line-Up

guesses in red

Szczesny

Sagna - Koscielny - Djourou - Clichy

Diaby - Wilshere

Walcott - Fabregas - Arshavin

van Persie

Subs from: Almunia, Squillaci, Gibbs, Denilson, Rosicky, Bendtner, Chamakh

Out: Song (thigh), Nasri (hamstring), Fabianski (shoulder), Vermaelen (Achilles)

Arsenal News and Notes

Stay ready, Wojciech! Lukasz Fabianski is traveling to Germany for surgery on his injured shoulder. He's out for the season.
Alex Song took an accidental kick to the thigh from Laurent Koscielny in the first half against Everton and could not walk on it after. He'll be short for this match.
Samir Nasri will need about three weeks for his hamstring injury.
And how long do we have left on Vermaelen's injury? Four weeks? Four months? Four years?
Arsenal has won three straight in league play for the third time this season. The last time Arsenal entered a league fixture on such a streak, they lost to Newcastle.
This is the first time this year that Arsenal has won six straight across all competitions.
Arsenal has won their last two matches away from home, but at no point this year have they won three straight away fixtures.

Newcastle News and Notes

As part of this week's transfer frenzy, which Arsenal watched from the sidelines, Newcastle sold Andy Carroll to Liverpool for a bajillion dollars.
Newcastle signed Stephen Ireland on loan from Aston Villa. Turns out, he's hurt and will miss two weeks.
Shola Ameobi's broken cheekbone further depletes the Magpies' attacking options.
Ryan Taylor (ankle) has returned to training, but another four remain out: Dan Gosling (knee), Steven Taylor (hamstring), Alan Smith (ankle), and Hatem Ben Arfa (broken leg.)
Newcastle are winless in four matches across all competitions, a run which started by crashing out of the FA Cup to Stevenage.

Match Facts

In the reverse fixture, Andy Carroll scored just before halftime to give Newcastle a 1-0 victory at the Emirates.
Arsenal has already won at St. James' Park this year, knocking Newcastle out of the Carling Cup with a 4-0 fourth round win.
The Gunners had been unbeaten in nine against Newcastle before November's loss at the Emirates.

The Referee

The referee is Staffordshire-based Phil Dowd.
Arsenal's experience with Dowd has not been the best this season. He's taken charge of the 1-1 draw at Sunderland, the 3-2 loss to Spurs, and the 1-1 FA Cup draw with Leeds. Arsenal won both matches they played that were worked by Dowd last year.
Newcastle's experience with Dowd has been highly pleasant, however. He's taken charge of their 5-1 derby thrashing of Sunderland and the 4-3 win at Stamford Bridge that saw Chelsea out of the Carling Cup.
In 24 matches (20 league, 4 cup) he has shown 86 yellow cards and 8 red cards, one of which was to Alex Song.

Around the League

These are the reverse fixtures of those played November 6-7.
Saturday: Stoke City v. Sunderland; Britannia Stadium, Stoke-on-Trent
Saturday: Aston Villa v. Fulham; Villa Park, Birmingham
Saturday: Everton v. Blackpool; Goodison Park, Liverpool
Saturday: Manchester City v. West Bromwich Albion; City of Manchester Stadium, Manchester
Saturday: Tottenham Hotspur v. Bolton Wanderers; White Hart Lane, London
Saturday: Wigan Athletic v. Blackburn Rovers; DW Stadium, Wigan
Saturday: Wolverhampton Wanderers v. Manchester United; Molineux, Wolverhampton
Sunday: West Ham United v. Birmingham City; Boleyn Ground, London
Sunday: Chelsea v. Liverpool; Stamford Bridge, London

Arsenal 2 - 1 Everton: Gut Check

2011-02-02T07:34:00.000-05:00

CONTROVERSY!!!!! Pic via Guardian.

Arsenal 2: Arshavin 70, Koscielny 75

Everton 1: Saha 24

Do you know what worries me the most about the aftermath of this match, despite its status as a crucial win? The fact that I've already seen the media talking about how this is the kind of match that the title contenders win. While that's true, this is becoming a superstition for me. Arsenal have a knack of disappointing once the talk around them gets too hyped. That being said, without the injured Samir Nasri for another three weeks, this team is going to have to start winning ugly, and they did just that yesterday.

Nasri's injury meant Arsenal could not start their usual "A Team" XI and the change was the return of Tomas Rosicky to the starting line-up. Arsenal had, in fact, made ten changes from the side that started the FA Cup tie with Huddersfield Town. Only Laurent Koscielny started both matches. His involvement in this match would turn out to be huge in many, many ways.

The first 10 to 15 minutes or so were all Everton as Arsenal failed to get out of second gear from the opening whistle. Jack Wilshere picked up an early booking within five minutes, as the match showed from the start that it would get a little feisty. Arsenal finally got a few quality chances going after a quarter of an hour. Robin van Persie had a free kick blocked. RVP's beautiful back heel pass to Cesc Fabregas was fired wide by the captain. Tim Howard made a big save on Theo Walcott. The chances were coming for Arsenal.

But, you can't say Everton didn't deserve a 1-0 lead based upon their dominating more than half of the match's first half hour. They got that lead on 24 minutes, but did so exceedingly controversially. Seamus Coleman tried playing a through ball to Louis Saha, who was at the time of the pass standing in an offside position. During the ball's flight, Laurent Koscielny attempted to block and clear the pass, but only got a touch on it, and knocked the ball into Saha's path. The linesman's flag never went up, Saha finished clinically, and Everton led 1-0.

To tell you the truth, there is way too much of a gray area in the wording of the offside law, to the point where I'm almost 100% positive that the wording for this situation says something along the lines of it being totally "up to the referee's discretion" instead of actually having a firm black-and-white answer for it. Saha was offside when the ball was played, so that should have made him offside. Both managers agreed. So, after all of the sexism controversy last week when Andy Gray said women don't understand the offside rule, I'm pretty sure this proves that nobody understands the offside rule.

Arsenal needed to shake things up at halftime; a loss would have put Manchester United eight points clear in first place. Alex Song had to be removed with injury after taking an accidental kick from Koscielny; he was replaced by Abou Diaby, who was solid. Everyone at the Emirates not wearing blue felt cheated by the officials. It was gut check time.

Tomas Rosicky was pulled in the 63rd minute for Andrei Arshavin, and the move worked within seven minutes. Cesc Fabregas's chipped through ball found the head of Everton defender Jack Rodwell, who could only nod a deflected header behind him, into the path of the Russian, who fired it in to equalize. It was Arshavin's first goal since December 29, a huge spark for the out-of-form Russian, and a huge lift for the team.

Arsenal celebrates Koscielny's winner. Pic via Daily Mail.

From there, Everton capitulated. Five minutes later, a Robin van Persie free kick was saved excellently by Howard, tipping it over the bar for a corner. On the set piece, several Toffee defenders covered Nicklas Bendtner, who had just come on for Jack Wilshere, leaving Koscielny wide open to knock a powerful header into the net. 2-1 to the Arsenal. And all that controversy from earlier became moot.

This match was quite a nasty affair, seeing eight yellow cards (five to Everton) and most recaps you read on this one should probably mention the fact that it was stunning nobody was sent off. Which brings me to Everton manager David Moyes's comments after the game, claiming that Cesc Fabregas said something so vile to referee Lee Mason while walking through the tunnel at halftime that he should have been shown a straight red card. Arsene Wenger has categorically denied that this happened. Quite honestly, Lee Mason did have a terrible game with the whistle, but Moyes's anger should be directed to him and not Fabregas.

Can you remember the last time Arsenal conceded the first goal in a league match and went on to win? It's only happened one other time this year, and it was October 16 against Birmingham. Arsenal passed that halftime gut check. There's no doubt about how much a win like this means for the team. But my fears still stand, as we all know Arsenal isn't the most consistent side in the world. I guess that question will be answered Saturday on Tyneside.

Hipster Gooner Man of the Match: Andrei Arshavin

Preview: Arsenal v. Everton

2011-02-01T07:19:00.000-05:00

Tomas Rosicky equalized late for Arsenal last year to deny Everton three points. Pic via Daily Mail.

Emirates Stadium, London

Tuesday, February 1

7:45 p.m. GMT, 2:45 p.m. EST

Referee: Lee Mason
This Match, Last Year: Arsenal 2 - 2 Everton
Reverse Fixture: Everton 1 - 2 Arsenal
All-Time in All Competitions: 95 Arsenal wins, 58 Everton wins, 41 draws
Arsenal's Recent Form: W-D-W-D-W-W
Everton's Recent Form: W-D-L-W-D-D

Predicted Line-Up

guesses in red

Szczesny

Sagna - Koscielny - Djourou - Clichy

Song - Wilshere

Walcott - Fabregas - Arshavin

van Persie

Subs from: Almunia, Eboue, Gibbs, Denilson, Diaby, Bendtner, Chamakh
Suspended: Squillaci (one match, professional foul)

Out: Nasri (hamstring), Fabianski (shoulder), Vermaelen (Achilles)

Arsenal News and Notes

Samir Nasri is out for two or three weeks with a hamstring injury. Ouch. He'll probably miss the first leg against Barcelona on the 16th.
Lukasz Fabianski may need surgery on his injured shoulder and his season might be done. Welcome back to the conversation, Almunia.
Denilson picked up a knock to his hamstring on Sunday as well, but played through the injury with Arsenal on ten men and out of substitutions. He's technically a doubt for this match, but do you think he would start anyway?
Sebastien Squillaci will serve a one match ban, but he wasn't going to start this one either.
Bacary Sagna returns from a concussion suffered last midweek.
Arsenal did not concede a goal in league play in the month of January (four matches.)
Arsenal have won five straight across all competitions for the second time this season and are currently unbeaten in nine at home.

Everton News and Notes

Tim Cahill has been out on international duty, as Australia lost the Asian Cup Final to Japan 1-0 in extra time this weekend. He returned to England yesterday and will be rested today.
Victor Achebe is a doubt with a groin strain. Tony Hibbert may miss through illness. Both face late fitness tests. Ross Barkley has a broken leg.
Everton are in the bottom half of the table but have only lost once since November, a stretch of eight league matches.
The Toffees have 12 draws this year, more than any other side in the league.

Match Facts

Arsenal needed a late deflected equalizer from Tomas Rosicky to pick up a point in this fixture last year. The match ended 2-2.
Earlier this season, Arsenal built up a 2-0 lead at Goodison Park, then turned off the accelerator and hung on through a close finish for a 2-1 win in November.
Everton's last win at Arsenal was in 1996 and the Gunners are currently unbeaten in their last seven matches against the Toffees.

The Referee

The referee is Lancashire-based Lee Mason.
This is Lee Mason's first Arsenal match of the season. He would have taken charge of Arsenal's home fixture with Stoke City that was called off due to snow.
For Everton, he has taken charge of two matches this year, both at Goodison Park: a 1-1 draw with Wolves and a 4-1 loss to West Brom where both sides had a man sent off.
In 18 matches this season (12 Premier League, 3 Championship, 1 League Two, 1 League Cup, and 1 FA Cup), Mason has shown 73 yellow cards and 5 red cards.

Around the League

These are the reverse fixtures of those played November 13-14.
Tuesday: Sunderland v. Chelsea; Stadium of Light, Sunderland
Tuesday: Manchester United v. Aston Villa; Old Trafford, Manchester
Tuesday: West Bromwich Albion v. Wigan Athletic; The Hawthorns, West Bromwich
Wednesday: Birmingham City v. Manchester City; St. Andrew's, Birmingham
Wednesday: Blackburn Rovers v. Tottenham Hotspur; Ewood Park, Blackburn
Wednesday: Blackpool v. West Ham United; Bloomfield Road, Blackpool
Wednesday: Bolton Wanderers v. Wolverhampton Wanderers; Reebok Stadium, Bolton
Wednesday: Fulham v. Newcastle United; Craven Cottage, London
Wednesday: Liverpool v. Stoke City; Anfield, Liverpool

FA Cup: Arsenal 2 - 1 Huddersfield Town: Way Too Close

2011-01-31T20:44:00.000-05:00

Samir Nasri got hurt. EVERYONE PANIC! Pic via Guardian.

Arsenal 2: P. Clarke 21 (og), Fabregas 86 (pen)

Huddersfield Town 1: Lee 66

So, there we were. Ridiculously early on a Sunday morning. It was the 85th minute, it wasn't even 9:00 a.m. in New York, and Arsenal were five minutes plus added time away from needing a replay against League One Huddersfield Town. The Gunners' B team, on ten men, not only could not put the Terriers away, but at times looked dangerously close to crashing out. And yet again, in the FA Cup at home against lower level competition, Arsenal managed to find a get out of jail free card. And..... exhale.

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes were obviously necessary again because of Arsenal's jam packed fixtures list. The Gunners will host Everton at the Emirates tomorrow, making this FA Cup tie the first match of two in about 60 hours. Manuel Almunia returned, thanks to rest for Szczesny and Fabianski's shoulder injury. Sebastien Squillaci returned to center back, playing along with Laurent Koscielny and giving Djourou a rest. Sagna and Clichy dropped to the bench for Emmanuel Eboue and Kieran Gibbs, as expected. Abou Diaby returned from injury to start in a holding role with Denilson. Samir Nasri started in the middle with the captain's armband, joined by Andrei Arshavin, Nicklas Bendtner, and Marouane Chamakh. So, in total, two members of the normal starting XI got the start.

Arsenal had a few chances early to take the lead, but with them being taken by Arshavin and Bendtner, they did not come to anything. Bendtner, in fact, had one absolutely terrible miss when he attempted to one-time a volley shot, but missed the ball completely, much to the delight of the traveling Huddersfield support. He did, however, shut them up a few moments later. He struck a low drive to the corner of the net that would have gone wide, but a favorable deflection and a Huddersfield own goal later, it was 1-0 to the Arsenal.

The problem is, Arsenal got a little too comfortable with that lead immediately afterward. This problem became even worse when Samir Nasri picked up a hamstring injury and had to be replaced by Tomas Rosicky. Nasri will be out for at least two weeks, so everyone hold your breath for the next three league matches. Just before halftime, Arsenal found themselves in even more trouble when Sebastien Squillaci was caught keeping too high of a line and obstructed the path of Huddersfield's Jack Hunt, who was through on goal. Straight red card all the way.

Squillaci's red card meant Alex Song had to come off the bench to play at center half and Arsene Wenger went defensive, pulling off Chamakh. Through the second half, you could tell Huddersfield's equalizer was coming. It arrived in the 66th minute, shortly after a brilliant diving save from Almunia had kept the lead intact. The Terriers won a corner and it was 6'3" Alan Lee who won the header in the box. So, it was time to bring on the big guns, and Cesc Fabregas came off the bench for Diaby.

The tie was in the balance, Arsenal settled a little, but play still went back and forth. Did Arsenal have a winner in them? Turns out, yes they did, thanks to more help from the penalty spot. Nicklas Bendtner was hauled down in the box by Jamie McCombe (who should have been sent off) and Mark Clattenburg pointed to the spot. Cesc Fabregas stepped up, stutter-stepped twice, and sent Ian Bennett the wrong way. Arsenal were back on top with four minutes of regular time to play, then held on for the win.

All in all, another unnecessarily stressful match caused by the apparent lack of cohesion in the back-up squad. They are an individually talented squad that just doesn't get the chance to find form due to a lack of playing time. Their reward for sneaking by Huddersfield is a London derby with Leyton Orient. Let's pray Nasri gets well soon and that Arsenal can back to doing their thing in the league.

Preview: Arsenal v. Huddersfield Town, FA Cup 4th Round

2011-01-27T20:47:00.000-05:00

On-loan Benik Afobe has extended his stay with Town for the rest of the season.
Pic via Sky Sports.

Emirates Stadium, London

Sunday, January 30

12:00 p.m. GMT, 7:00 a.m. EST

Referee: Mark Clattenburg
Last League Match: Arsenal 1 - 0 Huddersfield Town (January 22, 1972)
All-Time in All Competitions: 32 Arsenal wins, 16 Huddersfield wins, 25 draws
All-Time in FA Cup: 2 Arsenal wins, 0 Huddersfield wins, 0 draws
Arsenal's Premier League Form: W-D-W-D-W-W
Huddersfield's League One Form: L-D-W-W-W-D

Predicted Line-Up

almost all guesswork

Szczesny

Eboue - Squillaci - Song - Gibbs

Denilson - Diaby

Bendtner - Rosicky - Arshavin

Chamakh

I have no intention of guessing the bench for this one.
Doubts: Almunia (ankle), Rosicky (illness)

Out: Sagna (concussion), Fabianski (shoulder), Vermaelen (Achilles)

Arsenal News and Notes

Sebastien Squillaci (hamstring) and Abou Diaby (calf) are expected to return to the side.
Alex Song was rested during the week, meaning his ability to shift to center back in addition to Squillaci's return could finally give a rest to both Koscielny and Djourou.
Bacary Sagna is out of the hospital and, despite his concussion, will likely start vs. Everton on Tuesday.
There are possible returns for Tomas Rosicky (illness) and even Manuel Almunia ("ankle".)
Wow, I included a lot of rotation in that predicted line-up... But, our B Team can surely beat a League One side at home, right? Right?!? Also, Arsenal plays a league match on Tuesday, so there'll be a lot of resting.
Arsenal have won four straight across all competitions and have scored three goals in each of those matches.
The Gunners are unbeaten in eight matches at the Emirates, after losing three of their first nine at home.
Arsenal are on their fourth four match winning streak of the season. They have reached five straight wins just once.

Huddersfield Town News and Notes

Benik Afobe, on loan from Arsenal, is not eligible to play (says Arsenal) or is eligible to play (says Huddersfield.) So, I have no idea. Sanchez Watt was given permission to play for Leeds, so I can't see why Afobe wouldn't as well.
Top scorer Jordan Rhodes damaged knee ligaments in Town's 0-0 draw with Colchester United at the weekend, and is out for eight weeks.
Also out are Damien Johnson (knee), Alex Smithies (knee), Liam Ridehalgh (mono), and Gary Naysmith (foot.)
The Terriers are unbeaten in five league fixtures, but suffered a hard 4-0 loss to Carlisle in the first round of the Northern section Final of the League Trophy on January 18.

The disconcerting image of the Graf Zeppelin
above Wembley in the 1930 final.

Match Facts

Arsenal beat Huddersfield Town 2-0 in the 1930 FA Cup Final. Arsenal also beat Huddersfield 1-0 in the FA Cup two years later. This is their first FA Cup meeting since.
Huddersfield Town's last season in the top flight was 1971/72. Arsenal won both fixtures that season 1-0.
The Gunners and Terriers have played three League Cup ties since their last league meeting. Arsenal won 1-0 in 1982, 3-1 on aggregate in 1986, and 6-1 on aggregate in 1993.
Huddersfield's last win in North London was in 1954, winning 5-3 at Highbury.

The Referee

The referee is Tyne & Wear-based Mark Clattenburg.
Clattenburg has taken charge of three Arsenal matches this year, all big wins for the Gunners: 3-0 at Manchester City, 4-2 at Aston Villa, and 3-1 against Chelsea.
Clattenburg's last Huddersfield Town match was on April 9, 2007 in League One. Huddersfield lost at home, 2-0 to Blackpool. Blackpool's goalkeeper in that match was on-loan Joe Hart.
In 25 matches this year (18 Premier League, 2 League Cup, 1 FA Cup, 2 Europa League, 1 Champions League, and 1 Euro qualifier,) Clattenburg has shown 68 yellow cards and 3 red cards.

Other Fourth Round Ties

Saturday: Everton v. Chelsea; Goodison Park, Liverpool
Saturday: Swansea City v. Leyton Orient; Liberty Stadium, Swansea
Saturday: Aston Villa v. Blackburn Rovers; Villa Park, Birmingham
Saturday: Birmingham City v. Coventry City; St. Andrew's, Birmingham
Saturday: Bolton Wanderers v. Wigan Athletic; Reebok Stadium, Bolton
Saturday: Burnley v. Burton Albion; Turf Moor, Burnley
Saturday: Sheffield Wednesday v. Hereford United; Hillsborough Stadium, Sheffield
Saturday: Stevenage v. Reading; Broadhall Way, Stevenage
Saturday: Torquay United v. Crawley Town; Plainmoor, Torquay
Saturday: Watford v. Brighton & Hove Albion; Vicarage Road, Watford
Saturday: Southampton v. Manchester United; St. Mary's Stadium, Southampton
Sunday: Wolverhampton Wanderers v. Stoke City; Molineux, Wolverhampton
Sunday: Notts County v. Manchester City; Meadow Lane, Nottingham
Sunday: West Ham United v. Nottingham Forest; Boleyn Ground, London
Sunday: Fulham v. Tottenham Hotspur; Craven Cottage, London

Carling Cup: Arsenal 3 - 0 Ipswich Town, 3-1 aggregate: She Wore a Yellow Ribbon

2011-01-26T07:33:00.000-05:00

We're going to Wemberley. Que sera sera. Pic via Daily Mail.

Arsenal 3: Bendtner 61, Koscielny 64, Fabregas 77
Ipswich Town 0
Arsenal wins 3-1 on aggregate

This time yesterday, Arsenal was 90 (or 120) minutes away from either their first trip to a cup final since 2007 or a more heart-wrenching result. A poor first leg trip to Ipswich meant the Tractor Boys had nicked the lead in the tie, with every intention of "parking the bus" and stifling the Arsenal attack. For 150 minutes in this two-legged tie, Ipswich kept the door shut on Arsenal's potent office. Then, finally, the door broke down, Ipswich crumbled, and we're going to Wembley.

The good news (yes, I consider it good news) was that there was not very much rotation in the squad. Robin van Persie started. Cesc Fabregas started. Jack Wilshere started. The normal back four started. There were, in fact, only three changes to the side that beat Wigan at the weekend. Alex Song dropped to the bench for Denilson, while Samir Nasri and Theo Walcott dropped from the wings for Nicklas Bendtner and Andrei Arshavin.

Arsenal had a number of chances in the first half to bring the tie back to level terms by picking up the first goal, but could not sneak anything past Marton Fulop. Robin van Persie volleyed a deflected Bacary Sagna cross wide of the mark. Cesc Fabregas fired a shot straight at Fulop's chest. RVP, setting up for a header similar to the goal he scored last midweek at Leeds, nodded off the crossbar. A Fabregas shot later in the half rolled harmlessly across the goalmouth and wide on the other side. The goal just wasn't coming. Fabregas tried to draw a penalty in the 10th minute as well, but nothing was doing as it was a pretty clear dive.

Some bad news in the 13th minute, even if you're not triskaidekaphobic, as on a set piece Wojciech Szczesny and Bacary Sagna had a clash of heads, leaving both down for the count on the pitch. While the goalkeeper stayed on, Sagna could not continue and was replaced by Emmanuel Eboue. It's a concussion for the right back, who had to be taken to the hospital. He was not going to play on Sunday against Huddersfield Town anyway, but here's to hoping for a quick recovery.

Through fifteen minutes after the restart, it still looked like Arsenal's goal just wasn't coming and all of those thoughts about having not won a trophy in almost six years started to come back. Then, just at the hour mark, Jack Wilshere, who was solid all day, played a lovely diagonal ball to Nicklas Bendtner who raced forward, then cut back around the defender, and fired a perfectly placed shot to the far corner. Arsenal were on the board, the tie was level, and Bendtner has the habit of really shutting me up about him (but only occasionally, so he should try to do that more.)

So, the momentum had swung back in Arsenal's direction, and three minutes later, they pulled ahead in the tie. Andrei Arshavin's corner floated into the box, and instead of Arsenal losing out on the ball in the air as they tend to sometimes, Laurent Koscielny launched forward and beat Fulop to the ball, thundering a header to the back of the net. It was Koscielny's first goal in forever (I want to say Bolton in September but could be wrong,) but more importantly, it meant Arsenal had one foot in Wembley, up 2-1 on aggregate on 64 minutes. On 77 minutes, Arsenal sealed the deal. Denilson won the ball in midfield (that's not a typo) and Fabregas played a great one-two with Arshavin to the sneak the ball through Fulop's legs, giving Arsenal a 3-1 lead on aggregate. Andrei Arshavin may be out of form and may still make a number of errors we're not used to him making, but he can still be clinical at times, and certainly was here.

This is actually going to be Arsenal's first trip to the new Wembley Stadium. Their last cup final, in 2007, and their last cup win, in 2005, came at Millennium Stadium in Cardiff. Arsene Wenger said last year that the Carling Cup was a trophy not worthy of a parade (after Manchester City's regular starting line-up beat half of Arsenal's reserves) but the trophy drought needs to end. And, I'm sure you can't hear this enough, winning this cup in 1987 was considered the springboard to winning the league in 1989. Knock the tournament all you like, Arsenal has beaten some talented sides to get this far, and need to prove to themselves that they can win something. They're 90 minutes away.

Preview: Arsenal v. Ipswich Town, Carling Cup Semi-Final, Second Leg

2011-01-25T06:51:00.000-05:00

Will the Diminutive Russian start tonight? Will he find his form again? Pic via Guardian.

Emirates Stadium, London

Tuesday, January 25

7:45 p.m. GMT, 2:45 p.m. EST
Ipswich Town leads 1-0

Referee: Mark Halsey
All-Time in All Competitions: 29 Arsenal wins, 18 Ipswich wins, 11 draws
All-Time in League Cup: 1 Arsenal win, 2 Ipswich wins, 1 draw
Arsenal's Premier League Form: W-D-W-D-W-W
Ipswich's Championship Form: L-W-D-L-L-W

Predicted Line-Up

mostly guesses

Szczesny

Eboue - Koscielny - Djourou - Gibbs

Song - Wilshere

Nasri - Fabregas - Arshavin

Chamakh

Subs from: Shea, Sagna, Clichy, Denilson, Walcott, Bendtner, van Persie

Out: Fabianski (shoulder), Rosicky (illness), Squillaci (hamstring), Diaby (calf), Almunia (ankle), Vermaelen (Achilles)

Arsenal News and Notes

So, how much rotation?

Full backs: I would not be shocked if both Sagna and Clichy were rested.
Center backs: Looks like Koscielny and Djourou again, out of necessity. Squillaci returns to training this week and should play in the FA Cup Sunday.
Holding midfield: I've listed both Song and Wilshere to start, but I know that's wishful thinking. You just know Denilson will play. Abou Diaby could also return Sunday.
Attacking midfield: If Arsenal wants to control the creative flow, I think both Fabregas and Nasri should start. Drop Bendtner from the starting forwards from the Leeds match last week. More wishful thinking?
Center forward: Tough call; I think Chamakh will start with van Persie the possibly necessary impact substitute.

Arsenal have kept clean sheets in every league match played in 2011, but have allowed one goal in each cup match against Championship sides (Leeds twice and Ipswich in the first leg.)
Since losing at Ipswich, Arsenal have won three straight, scoring three in each of those matches. Robin van Persie has six of those goals. Samir Nasri, Theo Walcott, and Bacary Sagna have the other three.

Ipswich News and Notes

Ipswich Town have no fresh injury concerns, but midfielder Lee Martin is cup-tied.
Ipswich have not won a domestic trophy since the 1978 FA Cup, when they beat Arsenal.
The Tractor Boys took a 1-0 lead into the second leg of the League Cup Semi-Final in 2001 against Birmingham City. They went down 1-0 in the second leg, forcing extra time, where they lost 4-1, 4-2 on aggregate.
Ipswich have not won in six road competitive fixtures. They only need a draw today to reach Wembley.

Match Facts

Tamas Priskin had the 78th minute goal to give Ipswich the 1-0 lead after the first leg.
Arsenal have reached this stage of the League Cup 14 times, but have advanced to the Final only six times and have won it only twice (1987 against Liverpool and 1993 against Sheffield Wednesday.)
Arsenal beat Ipswich twice by 2-0 scores during Town's last year in the top flight, 2001/02.

The Referee

The referee is Lancashire-based Mark Halsey.
Halsey's only prior Arsenal match this year was the 2-0 win at Wolves. Arsenal could really use a goal within 40 seconds in this one, as Marouane Chamakh had at Molineux in November.
Halsey's last Ipswich Town match came in an FA Cup tie, on January 5, 2008. Ipswich were down to ten men in 24 minutes and lost at home to Portsmouth 1-0.

Around the League

Tuesday, League: Blackpool v. Manchester United; Bloomfield Road, Blackpool
Tuesday, League: Wigan Athletic v. Aston Villa; DW Stadium, Wigan
Wednesday, Carling Cup: Birmingham City v. West Ham United; St. Andrew's, Birmingham (West Ham leads 2-1)
Wednesday, League: Liverpool v. Fulham; Anfield, Liverpool

Arsenal 3 - 0 Wigan Athletic: He Comes from Rotterdam

2011-01-24T07:43:00.000-05:00

I wish they threw hats on the field, like in hockey. Pic via Daily Mail.

Arsenal 3: van Persie 21, 58, 85

Wigan Athletic 0

Due to some of the performances we've seen from this team this season, it always feels like it's a question of "which Arsenal team is going to show up this time?" Then again, this is probably the first time all season that the Gunners have a starting XI that are clicking as a unit and are playing a fantastic run of football. It's a run of form that you hope lasts forever, like something you're really careful around so as to not ruin it. On Saturday, Arsenal continued their dominant run of form with a one-sided thrashing of Wigan Athletic that could not have been more satisfying. And thanks to City's loss at Villa, Arsenal slip back up into second place, though they remain still two points back and a game behind.

It was Arsenal's A Team outfield ten that were at it again in this match. Wojciech Szczeny continued his run in goal over the injured Lukasz Fabianski. The outfield ten were the same as they have been for five of the last six Premier League matches, with Sagna and Clichy at full back, Koscielny and Djourou at center back, Song and Wilshere in the middle, Fabregas as the playmaker, Nasri on the left wing, Walcott on the right, and van Persie up top.

For the record, I'd like this side to start Tuesday too, in the League Cup semi-final second leg, because it's a must win. If Arsene Wenger wants to rotate, do it Sunday against Huddersfield Town. That's wishful thinking though, I'm sure there'll be some changes on Tuesday. I just hope it's no more than three or four.

Arsenal were flying from the start and Wigan had no answer for Arsenal's control of the ball in midfield. They did, however, have an answer in goal for all of Arsenal's early pressure in Ali Al-Habsi. The Omani goalkeeper, on loan from Bolton, was brilliant in keeping Arsenal off the board in the early going, making a few world class saves to keep a clean sheet going through twenty minutes. Al-Habsi made save after save against the likes of Fabregas, van Persie, Walcott, and Nasri that it started to feel like the draw with City did earlier this month. Waste too many chances and you could find yourself playing out a frustrating 0-0.

But, in the 21st minute, Arsenal got on the board after the Dutchman broke Wigan's offside trap and proceeded forward one-on-one with Al-Habsi, then pounded a left footed shot through the goalkeeper's legs. Arsenal deserved the goal and it had been coming. They just could not get a second before halftime. The most frustrating moment came with Walcott clear through on goal before he elected to pass it off to Fabregas instead of shooting, giving Wigan's defense just enough time to track back and tackle the Spaniard to win the ball back.

We at the pub talked at halftime about the obviousness of needing that second goal, pretty much deciding that if it didn't come by the 50th or 55th minute, the match would stay a little too nerve wracking. We've seen Wigan pull back goals against us before quite late in matches, and recently to boot. And when Wigan came out for the second half, making two substitutions, it looked like they might have had an equalizer in them. Maybe for about ten minutes... In the 58th, Arsenal scored that second goal, and boy, was it a brilliant one. Cesc Fabregas floated an over the top ball into the box which was met clinically by the left boot of van Persie, who thundered a volley into the roof of the net. Absolute top class goal and Arsenal had their second just before the hour mark.

Now, it was time to start thinking about getting RVP his first hat trick in England. He had scored twice in matches nine times, but the hat trick had always eluded hime. It finally looked like it was coming when Gary Caldwell conceded a penalty by taking down Fabregas in the box in the 69th, being sent off for a professional foul in the process. Wigan claimed the call was harsh and that Fabregas dived; I thought there was contact, but it wasn't a clear cut call. van Persie stepped up for the spot kick, with the perfect chance to pick up the hat trick, then fired it high over the bar and into Row Z.

We then joked, "he just wants to score a fancier goal for the hat trick later." Then, he pretty much did. The hat trick finally came for van Persie in the 85th. Fabregas's through ball found Theo Walcott, who possessed around the goalkeeper for just long enough to allow van Persie the chance to fire it home with his right foot. Hat trick complete. Three-nil to the Arsenal.

Since their loss at Ipswich, Arsenal have scored three goals in each of their last three matches, and Robin van Persie has scored six of those nine goals. Arsenal have kept four straight clean sheets in league play. An in-form van Persie playing in front of an in-form Cesc Fabregas is a dream situation for Arsenal to be in, the type that is starting to look like it can bring glory back to the good, red parts of North London very soon.

On that note, this team is a goal down, but 90 minutes away from a Wembley final. Ipswich may want to park the bus in front of the goal and sit on that lead, but there's a difference between Ipswich parking the bus and a side like Manchester City parking the bus. With the right, in-form line-up on the pitch Tuesday, Arsenal should have the creativity, quality, and skill to force that bus into a number of defensive errors. This team is so close to getting somewhere, they just can't start to falter again. I can't wait until the day I'm finally capable of setting those doubts aside in my mind.

Hipster Gooner Man of the Match: Robin van Persie

Preview: Arsenal v. Wigan Athletic

2011-01-21T08:32:00.000-05:00

Arsenal has played Wigan so much in the past two months, I've exhausted the pictures to use.
So, here's Gunnersaurus. Enjoy! Free use image via Wikipedia.

Emirates Stadium, London

Saturday, January 22

3:00 p.m. GMT, 10:00 a.m. EST

Referee: Kevin Friend
This Match, Last Year: Arsenal 4 - 0 Wigan
Reverse Fixture: Wigan 2 - 2 Arsenal
All-Time in All Competitions: 11 Arsenal wins, 2 Wigan wins, 2 draws
Arsenal's Recent Form: L-W-D-W-D-W
Wigan's Recent Form: D-W-D-L-D-D

Predicted Line-Up

guesses in red

Szczesny

Sagna - Koscielny - Djourou - Clichy

Song - Wilshere

Walcott - Fabregas - Nasri

van Persie

Subs from: Shea, Gibbs, Eboue, Denilson, Arshavin, Bendtner, Chamakh

Out: Fabianski (shoulder), Squillaci (hamstring), Diaby (calf), Almunia (ankle), Vermaelen (Achilles)

Arsenal News and Notes

With no new injuries to the main starting XI, why assume there'll be changes? Though, I'm not positive how many times Arsene Wenger will keep starting Johan Djourou consecutively.
Denilson (hip) and Marouane Chamakh (knee) picked up knocks in the midweek win at Leeds, but are expected to recover for Saturday.
Abou Diaby and Sebastien Squillaci remain a week away from returning from their respective injuries.
Apparently, Lukasz Fabianski's shoulder injury now "requires patience." I'm thus far quite satisfied with Wojciech Szczesny's deputizing, aren't you?
Thomas Vermaelen will return in six weeks, after a procedure to remove an injured tendon that apparently some people don't even have, or something.
Manuel Almunia? Anybody?
Arsenal have won two straight and have lost once in their last eight across all competitions; they are unbeaten in five in the league, with two draws.
Arsenal have not lost at home since that early morning we're not going to speak about again.

Wigan News and Notes

Victor Moses has returned to training as of yesterday, but will not be back until next month. Moses injured his shoulder in the Carling Cup against Arsenal.
Wigan will likely be without Tom Cleverley (hamstring) and Franco Di Santo (ankle) as well.
Despite facing a battle against relegation, Wigan Athletic under Roberto Martinez is not the type of side that plays negative football. Wigan tends to play a strict 4-5-1 formation with Hugo Rodallega as the center forward.
Wigan, like Arsenal have only lost once in their last eight competitive fixtures, but they have drawn five of them. Their only loss in this stretch was a 1-0 home defeat to Newcastle.
Wigan is even on points with Aston Villa, but sit in 18th place, and thus, the drop zone, because the Latics have scored five fewer goals. They are even on points and goal difference.

Match Facts

Wigan have never picked up a point at the Emirates, but they did knock Arsenal out of the Carling Cup in 2006 on away goals, despite losing the match itself.
In late November, Arsenal beat Wigan 2-0 at the Emirates to knock the Latics out of the Carling Cup. Antolin Alcaraz gave Arsenal an own goal before Nicklas Bendtner sealed the win.
Wigan used a late equalizer from a Squillaci own goal to steal a point from Arsenal at the DW Stadium in late December. Arshavin and Bendtner had Arsenal's goals.
Last year, Arsenal beat Wigan 4-0 in league play at home. Vermaelen had a brace; Eduardo and Cesc Fabregas scored the others.

The Referee

The referee is Leicestershire-based Kevin Friend.
Last season was Friend's first in the top flight. He has split his time between the Premier League and Championship this year.
This is the first time Friend will take charge of an Arsenal match. He is the third official to work his first Arsenal match this year after Stuart Atwell (4-1 win vs. Bolton) and Michael Oliver (3-2 loss to West Brom.)
For Wigan, Friend has taken charge of their 2-0 win over Swansea in the League Cup, and their 2-1 loss at Blackburn in the league.
In 19 games this year (8 Premier League, 8 Championship, 2 FA Cup, 1 League Cup,) Friend has shown 61 yellow cards and 3 red cards.

Around the League

These are the reverse fixtures of those played December 28-29.
Saturday: Wolverhampton Wanderers v. Liverpool; Molineux, Wolverhampton
Saturday: Blackpool v. Sunderland; Bloomfield Road, Blackpool
Saturday: Everton v. West Ham United; Goodison Park, Liverpool
Saturday: Fulham v. Stoke City; Craven Cottage, London
Saturday: Manchester United v. Birmingham City; Old Trafford, Manchester
Saturday: Newcastle United v. Tottenham Hotspur; St. James' Park, Newcastle upon Tyne
Saturday: Aston Villa v. Manchester City; Villa Park, Birmingham
Sunday: Blackburn Rovers v. West Bromwich Albion; Ewood Park, Blackburn
Monday: Bolton Wanderers v. Chelsea; Reebok Stadium, Bolton

FA Cup: Leeds 1 - 3 Arsenal: Leeds Will March on Together, Just Not in the Cup

2011-01-20T06:52:00.000-05:00

So... is Arsenal just not wearing red anymore? Pic via Guardian.

Leeds United 1: Johnson 37

Arsenal 3: Nasri 5, Sagna 35, van Persie 76

Arsenal needed to use a get out of jail free card at the Emirates just to force this replay, but at Elland Road yesterday, they'll be satisfied that they never trailed against a Leeds side that is building momentum for a promotion push back to the top flight. After a difficult 1-1 draw against Leeds was followed by an abysmal performance in Ipswich, there were questions starting to surround some of the side. Arsenal seems to always find answers to those questions; it's just that they always reappear once people have stopped asking them. It's crucial, therefore, for the Gunners to continue their form from the last two matches going forward.

There were not many surprises in the starting XI, though the forward corps was a bit weaker than I would have liked (a moot point now, really.) Wojciech Szczesny continued deputizing for the injured Lukasz Fabianski in goal. Bacary Sagna returned from suspension to start at right back. Laurent Koscielny and Johan Djourou started at center half, despite articles on Tuesday night that Djourou might be rested. Kieran Gibbs got the start at left back. Alex Song and Denilson started in the holding roles as Jack Wilshere dropped to the bench. Samir Nasri started his first cup tie for a while and wore the captain's armband. He started in the forward four with Andrei Arshavin, Nicklas Bendtner, and Marouane Chamakh. The bench was strong, including the likes of Cesc Fabregas, Theo Walcott, and Robin van Persie.

Arsenal needed a strong start to cast away any doubts that could spring into their heads. A strong start on Saturday, with van Persie scoring in the 13th minute at West Ham meant Arsenal controlled the play from there, and this time around, the goal came even earlier. In the 5th minute, Arshavin's pass to the center caught a little flick from Chamakh into the path of Nasri, who was through on goal and coolly finished past Kasper Schmeichel to put Arsene Wenger's gold and redcurrant army ahead 1-0. The Gunners almost grabbed a second around five minutes later, as a free kick from Nasri found Chamakh's head in the box, but Schmeichel made a fantastic save. Ten minutes later, Arshavin had a total miss from in close after a set-up from the Moroccan.

Na-na Na-na Na-na Na-na Na Na-na! Pic via Daily Mail.

But, Arsenal would find their second goal in the 35th. Bendtner, in the box, opted to pass back into open space to find Sagna. Sagna dribbled the ball in closer, then pounded a shot off Schmeichel's hands and in for his second goal of the year. Seriously, Sagna has two goals this year, three if you count a similar goal he scored in a friendly (you shouldn't.) Also, I love how Sagna celebrates his goals, as they're such a rare occasion. He tends to just sprint away, just running and yelling. It's awesome.

If you thought Sagna's goal was a laser beam of a shot, then Leeds's Bradley Johnson won the game of one-upmanship two minutes later. Johnson fired an absolutely unstoppable rocket shot into the roof of the net from 25 yards out. Szczesny had no chance, Leeds had pulled one back, and the tie was in the balance again. It was a truly beautiful goal, which I can say now, since Arsenal won.

So, Arsenal needed another to feel a little more comfortable. A handful of seconds after the restart, Alex Song had a chance for Arsenal's third, but his shot was a bit off the mark and Schmeichel saved. Ten minutes later, Robert Snodgrass, Leeds's goal scorer at the Emirates, had a goal saving tackle on an Arshavin chance. With twenty minutes to play, Arsenal upped the ante, bringing on Fabregas and van Persie.

14 minutes from time, Arsenal finally had their third, and it was the Dutchman off the bench who provided it. Bendtner found van Persie with a cross from the right wing at the back post and, with the Leeds defense slightly asleep, RVP headed the ball in comfortably to make it 3-1 to the good. From this point on, it was a coasting effort from Arsenal. Gael Clichy relieved Nasri about six minutes from time, pushing Gibbs up the pitch a bit. Leeds had a chance for a second from a corner just around the start of injury time and could not convert, even with all eleven men in the box. In the end, a thoroughly satisfying win for the side that continues to baffle me by wearing yellow against non-red opponents.

The Gunners escaped from jail at the Emirates a week and a half ago, then deserved to win this one at Elland Road, and their reward is a fourth round tie at home with League One Huddersfield Town, another side that currently has an Arsenal player there on loan; this time, Benik Afobe (I think his loan has been extended for the season, otherwise it would have ended January 8.) Arsenal remains the only English team still alive in all four of their competitions. But, with that in mind, another league fixture is coming up just around the bend, with Wigan coming to the Emirates on Saturday. This has seemed to be a team all year that crumbles when the title challenge talk returns. So, do me a favor and shut up about it, okay media?

Hipster Gooner Man of the Match: Samir Nasri

Preview: Leeds United v. Arsenal, FA Cup 3rd Round Replay

2011-01-18T12:18:00.001-05:00

Wojciech Szczesny will make his fourth straight start. Pic via Daily Mail.

Elland Road, Leeds

Wednesday, January 19

8:00 p.m. GMT, 3:00 p.m. EST

Referee: Mike Dean
Original Tie: Arsenal 1 - 1 Leeds United
All-Time in All Competitions: 44 Arsenal wins, 41 Leeds wins, 32 draws
All-Time in FA Cup: 5 Arsenal wins, 2 Leeds wins, 7 draws
Arsenal's Premier League Form: L-W-D-W-D-W
Leeds's Championship Form: W-D-D-D-L-W
Winner in 4th Rd.: v. Huddersfield Town on Sunday, January 30 (Noon GMT, 7:00 a.m. Eastern)

Rotation?

There's such potential for changes in Arsenal's side for this match, that I'm going to tackle this position-by-position, instead of going with the normal predicted line-up format:

Goalkeeper: Lukasz Fabianski suffered a set back in recovery from his shoulder injury, so Wojciech Szczesny will continue to deputize. Fabianski is not expected to be back until after the Carling Cup second leg with Ipswich, so he'll be back for the fourth round of the FA Cup at the earliest (should Arsenal win this match.) With Manuel Almunia still out, James Shea will remain on the bench. There's been a lot of media talk about how Szczesny will handle a sell-out crowd at Elland Road, which is only of concern if you forget that he was fine at Old Trafford last month.

Defense: Bacary Sagna returns from his three match ban, so I expect he'll start as Emmanuel Eboue will need a break. Sebastien Squillaci's return won't be until February and Thomas Vermaelen is undergoing a procedure on his Achilles that has put a 4-6 week timetable on his return, so Arsene Wenger's hands are tied at center back again: Laurent Koscielny and Johan Djourou will start. Maybe there'll be some rotation at left back as we could see Kieran Gibbs start over Gael Clichy.

Holding Midfield: Aaron Ramsey will return to the bench for this match, but I again don't think he'll start. Ramsey would likely have seen some amount of time against Leeds or against Ipswich if Arsenal were winning at any point. Since I'd expect one of either Alex Song or Jack Wilshere to be rested (more likely Wilshere, who started both matches last week,) that unfortunately will mean a start from Denilson. Abou Diaby maintained in a French interview that he'll be fit by this weekend, but Arsene Wenger said in his press conference that he's likely out for as long as Fabianski (that is, until the end of this month.)

Attacking Midfield: Here is where the most questions about rotation lie, as all three starters (Cesc Fabregas, Samir Nasri, and Theo Walcott) could drop to the bench for rest. Tomas Rosicky could return; according to the BBC, he's been out with a virus that I don't seem to recall anybody mentioning before. Nicklas Bendtner and Andrei Arshavin could get starts as well; I'd be totally shocked should Carlos Vela enter the starting XI. Since this match is must-win to advance, the more changes that are made here, the less comfortable I'm going to feel. All three usuals won't start, but I'd prefer there only be one change at most (which, if I had to choose, would be Walcott dropping since he, like Wilshere, started both matches last week.)

Forward: Robin van Persie is finding his form, but Marouane Chamakh has not started since the original tie with Leeds last Saturday. The Moroccan came off the bench at Ipswich and did not feature at West Ham. My gut instinct is to start RVP for the must-win cup ties and maybe give Chamakh a run-out at the weekend.

Other Arsenal Notes

Jay Emmanuel-Thomas has been loaned to Cardiff City for the remainder of the season.
Arsenal's win at West Ham on Saturday was their first win in four, however, the Gunners have only lost one of their last seven in all competitions.
Arsene Wenger has never been bounced from the 3rd Round of the FA Cup in his career at Arsenal. Sheffield United were the last side to knock out Arsenal from this round, in 1995/96.

Leeds News and Notes

Luciano Becchio is a doubt, after suffering a back injury against Scunthorpe this weekend.
Defender George McCartney has joined Leeds on loan after the initial match, and as such, is cup tied.
Sanchez Watt has again been granted permission to play against his parent club.
Leeds's 4-0 win over Scunthorpe at the weekend was their first win in six.
Leeds have not lost at Elland Road since late October and are unbeaten in seven home matches.

Match Facts

Arsenal has required at least one replay at some point during their path to each of their 10 FA Cup titles.
Arsenal had won three straight against Leeds before the 1-1 draw at the Emirates. Leeds's last win over Arsenal was 3-2 at Highbury in 2003.
This is the eighth FA Cup tie between the two sides; Arsenal has won five of them.

The Referee

The referee is Wirral-based Mike Dean.
Over this season and last season, Arsenal has not won any of the six matches of which Dean has taken charge.
Arsenal have not scored in a match worked by Dean since Cesc Fabregas's 7th minute goal at Burnley in what was eventually a 1-1 draw. Their opposition has kept a clean sheet in the last four. Excluding injury time, Arsenal has not scored in 443 minutes of playing time while Mike Dean is the head official.
This is Dean's first Leeds match since a 1-1 draw with Luton Town in 2007/08.

Other Third Round Replays

Tuesday: Wolverhampton Wanderers v. Doncaster Rovers; Molineux, Wolverhampton
Tuesday: Manchester City v. Leicester City; City of Manchester Stadium, Manchester
Tuesday: Cardiff City v. Stoke City; Cardiff City Stadium, Cardiff

West Ham United 0 - 3 Arsenal: They're No Ipswich

2011-01-17T12:55:00.000-05:00

Robin van Persie and Theo Walcott help get the Gunners back on track.

Pic via Daily Telegraph.

West Ham United 0
Arsenal 3: van Persie 13, 77 (pen), Walcott 41

Arsenal's month of cup ties seemed to have come at just the right time, at least, that's what I thought when the month started. The first team regulars were starting to play brilliant football as a unit, so it couldn't hurt to have the opportunity to rest those players a few times, and keep the bench match fit simultaneously, right?

But then things went south; the "B Team" wasn't winning those cup ties as the regulars rested. And suddenly, there could have been something off about the psyche of this team heading back into league play. And so, on Saturday, Arsenal found the right tonic, a league match against West Ham United, a team currently in such disarray that they could not even come close to the same fight Ipswich Town put up on Wednesday.

The starting XI was not particular surprising, and once again for a league match, was exactly as I predicted. Basically, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. The only changes from the side that started each of the last three league fixtures were required due to injury and suspension, with Wojciech Szczesny deputizing for the injured Lukasz Fabianski and Emmanuel Eboue starting again at right back, as Bacary Sagna served the end of his three match ban. In total, there were four changes from the side that lost at Ipswich midweek, with the returns of Gael Clichy, Alex Song, Samir Nasri, and Robin van Persie.

Arsenal started on the front foot and won a corner and a free kick during the first five minutes of play, but nothing came of it. West Ham had an opportunity to strike first within the first ten minutes as well, but a Zavon Hines square ball was cleared by Clichy for a subsequent corner that missed the mark.

Then, the miserable first match in a West Ham shirt for Wayne Bridge truly began. Bridge, who had fallen out of favor as left back at Manchester City, was signed by West Ham on a sixth month loan deal. I think this was only his second, at most, league start of the season. If you're not up to match fitness due to a lack of games, then having to control Theo Walcott's pace sounds like a nightmare, and for Bridge, it truly was. Bridge gave Walcott acres of space and time as he came down the right flank in the 13th minute, backing off and allowing Theo to send an uncontested cross into the box. Samir Nasri let the ball slip past him and it landed comfortably on the right boot of Robin van Persie, who fired it into the corner. Shambolic defending from West Ham and Arsenal had the quick lead they deserved.

Arsenal was frustrated for much of the first half in their attempt to pick up a second. Theo Walcott was through in the 18th but couldn't muster power behind his shot and Robert Green saved easily. West Ham's midfield got weaker in the 20th when Mark Noble went off injured. West Ham's best chance to pull level came in the 21st, as Johan Djourou scuffed a back pass to Szczesny. Carlton Cole pounced on the poor pass, but Szczesny saved, then Hines's rebound shot was fired high. Nasri had a shot saved in the 25th, Song had a shot blocked in the 27th, and van Persie hit the post in the 30th.

But, before halftime, Arsenal's second goal finally arrived. Wayne Bridge, covering Walcott, allowed van Persie to receive a chipped ball onside, then Bridge closed down on the Dutchman, leaving Walcott room to receive a cross in the six yard box. Bridge was goal side, but had no chance to block the pass, and Walcott tapped the ball into the roof of the goal.

One might think, game over at this point, but it was very fresh in my mind that Arsenal blew a 2-0 lead at Upton Park with only 16 minutes to play last season, so no 2-0 lead at West Ham will ever feel safe to me. Then again, West Ham came out lifeless in the second half this time, and much of the second period seemed to consist of everybody just going through the motions. In the 73rd minute, the camera panned to a number of Hammers fans fast asleep in their seats.

Then, Arsenal truly put the game away. Wayne Bridge's disastrous West Ham debut continued as he clipped Walcott in the box. Easy penalty call for Andre Marriner and Robin van Persie pounded the spot kick into the low corner, easily beating Robert Green who had guessed right. Arsenal then made their substitutions to rest some legs: Denilson on for Fabregas, Kieran Gibbs and Andrei Arshavin on for Walcott and Nasri. The trio did not make much of an impact.

All in all, a much needed win to correct Arsenal's mindset going into their FA Cup replay at Elland Road this week. The ship, once again, appears to have been righted, but I still fear a set back once the "B Team" gets a run out again.

Hipster Gooner Man of the Match: Robin van Persie

Preview: West Ham United v. Arsenal

2011-01-14T09:35:00.000-05:00

Alessandro Diamanti is probably singing that stupid bubbles song...

Pic via Guardian.

Boleyn Ground, London

Saturday, January 15

5:30 p.m. GMT, 12:30 p.m. EST

Referee: Andre Marriner
This Match, Last Year: West Ham 2 - 2 Arsenal
Reverse Fixture: Arsenal 1 - 0 West Ham
All-Time in All Competitions: 53 Arsenal wins, 33 West Ham wins, 38 draws
Arsenal's League Form: W-L-W-D-W-D
West Ham's League Form: L-D-W-D-W-L

Predicted Line-Up

guesses in red

Szczesny

Eboue - Koscielny - Djourou - Clichy

Song - Wilshere

Walcott - Fabregas - Nasri

van Persie

Subs from: Shea, Gibbs, Denilson, Ramsey, Arshavin, Bendtner, Chamakh

Suspended: Sagna (third of three, violent conduct)

Doubtful: Denilson (thigh)

Out: Fabianski (shoulder), Squillaci (hamstring), Diaby (calf), Almunia (ankle), Vermaelen (Achilles)

Arsenal News and Notes

Good news, everyone! Tests this week show that there is no long-term concern over Thomas Vermaelen's Achilles injury. This, of course, does not quite mean he is on his way back.
Lukasz Fabianski is did not pass fit with a shoulder problem. Denilson is a doubt with a thigh problem, but I can't imagine him being anywhere near playing in this match, right? I hope.
Sebastien Squillaci still needs about a week or two with his hamstring injury. Abou Diaby is still out a while with a calf problem. Manuel Almunia may never be seen again.
This is the final match of Bacary Sagna's three match ban.
Aside from Eboue over the banned Sagna and Szczesny in goal, I can't see why we wouldn't use the same starting XI that beat Chelsea and Birmingham but drew City.
Arsenal have not won in three competitive fixtures, their longest winless streak of the season. Their last streak this long was last year when Gunners went winless in five from April to early May.
Arsenal will wear their yellow change kit tomorrow, since West Ham wears claret. In 10 games this season wearing yellow, Arsenal have won just three, drawn three, and lost four, including Tuesday's Carling Cup tie at Ipswich.

West Ham News and Notes

West Ham have just completed a six-month loan signing of Wayne Bridge from Manchester City, possibly so he can keep a better eye on where John Terry is in relation to his girlfriend. But, also because the Hammers were so light at left back that center half Matthew Upson played there on Tuesday.
Victor Obinna will start a three match ban after being sent off on Tuesday.
Players possibly returning from injury for the Hammers include Herita Ilunga (hamstring), Kieron Dyer (thigh), Benni McCarthy (calf), and Lars Jacobsen (heel).
Longer term injuries include Jack Collison (knee), Manuel Da Costa (ankle), Thomas Hitzlsperger (thigh), and Peter Kurucz (knee).
West Ham have won three of their four competitive fixtures in 2011, but the loss was a 5-0 drubbing at Newcastle last midweek.
Three of West Ham's four league wins have come at home. In addition to beating relegation rivals Wolves and Wigan at Upton Park, the Hammers also beat Tottenham 1-0 in September.
In league play, West Ham's goal difference is -2 at home and -14 away.

Match Facts

West Ham struck in the 74th minute, then again on an 80th minute penalty to turn a 2-0 deficit into a 2-2 draw against Arsenal in this fixture last year.
Arsenal returned the favor, using late goals from Eduardo and Aaron Ramsey to knock West Ham out of last year's FA Cup, 2-1, in January, the last match played between these two sides at Upton Park.
Arsenal used an 88th minute winner from the head of Alex Song to win the reverse fixture on October 30.
Arsenal's last league win at Upton Park was on October 26, 2008, 2-0, thanks to a Julien Faubert own goal and an injury time goal from Emmanuel Adebayor.
West Ham's last win over Arsenal at home was in November of 2006, 1-0, with an 89th minute winner from Marlon Harewood.

The Referee

The referee is West Midlands-based Andre Marriner.
His name sounds like a soap opera character, doesn't it?
Marriner has taken charge of just one Arsenal match this season, the 4-0 win at Newcastle in the Carling Cup's fourth round.
By contrast, this will be his third match at Upton Park this year. Previously, he worked West Ham's 3-1 loss to Bolton and 1-1 draw with Fulham.
In 19 games year (15 Premier League, 1 Championship, 1 League Cup, 1 FA Cup, and the Community Shield), Marriner has shown 68 yellow cards and 3 red cards.

Around the League

Saturday: Chelsea v. Blackburn Rovers; Stamford Bridge, London
Saturday: Manchester City v. Wolverhampton Wanderers; City of Manchester Stadium, Manchester
Saturday: Stoke City v. Bolton Wanderers; Britannia Stadium, Stoke-on-Trent
Saturday: West Bromwich Albion v. Blackpool; The Hawthorns, West Bromwich
Saturday: Wigan Athletic v. Fulham; DW Stadium, Wigan
Sunday: Birmingham City v. Aston Villa; St. Andrew's, Birmingham
Sunday: Sunderland v. Newcastle United; Stadium of Light, Sunderland
Sunday: Liverpool v. Everton; Anfield, Liverpool
Sunday: Tottenham Hotspur v. Manchester United; White Hart Lane, London

Carling Cup: Ipswich Town 1 - 0 Arsenal: How Many Wake Up Calls?

2011-01-13T10:05:00.000-05:00

Arsene Wenger is very disappointed in all of you. Pic via Daily Mail.

Ipswich Town 1: Priskin 78
Arsenal 0

Arsenal entered yesterday's Carling Cup Semi-Final at Ipswich Town likely thinking it would be a walk in the park. Their effort, in the end, was a mix of some complacency and a lack of sharpness. And as a result, Ipswich Town will go to the Emirates in two weeks with a deserved 1-0 lead in the tie. This is not acceptable, Gunners. To be fair, the majority of the credit in this result has to go to Ipswich Town for playing well and not to how poor Arsenal's performance seemed.

I don't think you can blame this loss on just complacency, though the mere fact that you ever can needs to be unacceptable as well. There are certainly players on this team who are giving 100% without getting results because of those who are not. And it doesn't help when the players who are giving it their all have a bad night simultaneously, as Cesc Fabregas did last night. And, Ipswich, on their night, took advantage.

Arsene Wenger made four changes to the side that needed a late lifeline to force a replay with Leeds United on Saturday, and somehow, I had nine of the starting XI right in my match preview (I think that's one of the only positives I had yesterday...) Laurent Koscielny returned for the injured Sebastien Squillaci in central defense. Jack Wilshere got the start over Alex Song in the midfield. And, Wenger recalled two big names in the attack as Cesc Fabregas and Theo Walcott started while Tomas Rosicky and Marouane Chamakh dropped to the bench. That move pushed Nicklas Bendtner to the central forward role (where he is slightly less useless but still fairly useless.)

Arsenal had a fantastic first... three minutes or so, and looked like they had about three chances to take a 1-0 lead in the first 90 seconds, but could not capitalize. Then, as the match settled down, Arsenal fell out of any rhythm it looked like the were building at the start. The first half progressed much as the first half went on Saturday. At halftime, I tweeted, "This is just like Saturday, except Arsenal is wearing yellow, have a stronger squad starting, and are playing worse."

The difference between Saturday and yesterday was that the chances were going the other way. There was a point in the first half when a statistic flashed on the screen that both sides had one attempt on target. But, it was Ipswich that had seven chances, compared to Arsenal's three. Even with Fabregas in the line-up, the offensive force just was not there. And, it was worse for most of the second half.

Some players looked like they were just having off nights: Fabregas, Walcott, Wilshere, Johan Djourou, and Kieran Gibbs spring to mind. Laurent Koscielny continues to play himself out of position challenging in one-on-one situations, which also continues to make things harder on his central partner. Emmanuel Eboue has a penchant for being burned at right back. Denilson and Andrei Arshavin just look like they can't be bothered at times; Arshavin is running out of passes on this if he hasn't run out with you already, Denilson surely needs to go. And, Bendtner just continues to be what we all know he is: an impact substitute at best, as long as he can play central forward and the opposition can't win headers.

Tamas Priskin put Ipswich up 1-0 in the 78th.
Pic via Guardian.

In the 76th, Arsenal should have taken the lead. Kieran Gibbs swung a cross from the left flank that just missed the head of Chamakh, the substitute, and caught an unsuspecting Fabregas on the right knee or thigh, on the six yard line, with a wide open net. And over the bar it went. Ipswich got out of jail there and took advantage, almost instantly. Tamas Priskin broke through the defense as Arsenal played a high line, fired low past a diving Szczesny, and put the Tractor Boys up 1-0. Yes, Priskin was offside, and yes, it should not have counted. But you can't say they didn't deserve it.

This match felt a lot like the loss at Braga did in November. Poor performance that looks like it's going to stay 0-0, then the opponent pings a goal, and Arsenal's desperate search for an equalizer goes wanting. Theo Walcott had two chances that were saved excellently by Marton Fulop, the goalkeeper who went to Manchester City on emergency loan last spring and allowed the goal that sent Spurs into the Champions League.

The moral of the story is that, while Ipswich deserved this win, you have to ask questions of Arsenal as to why they showed up with this performance. As my title asks, how many wake up calls does this team need before they stop getting complacent? Arsene Wenger blamed fatigue for the second half performance. That doesn't make any sense, since the players on the pitch largely haven't played much this year. And the players you could argue were fatigued weren't the ones who played lazy.

The tie hangs in the balance going back to the Emirates a week from Tuesday. I believe the lack of an away goal only comes into play after extra time (a 2-1 Arsenal win in 90 minutes would force extra time, not give the tie to Ipswich on away goals just yet.) In any case, let's move forward, bring back the A Team on Saturday, and take three points from Upton Park. Please?

Hipster Gooner Man of the Match: Tamas Priskin

Preview: Ipswich Town v. Arsenal, Carling Cup Semi-Final, First Leg

2011-01-11T10:12:00.000-05:00

New Ipswich manager Paul Jewell took Wigan past Arsenal in this round five years ago.
Pic via Guardian.

Portman Road, Ipswich

Wednesday, January 12

7:45 p.m. GMT, 2:45 p.m. EST

Referee: Martin Atkinson
Last League Match: Arsenal 2 - 0 Ipswich (April 21, 2002)
All-Time in All Competitions: 29 Arsenal wins, 17 Ipswich wins, 11 draws
All-Time in League Cup: 1 Arsenal win, 1 Ipswich win, 1 draw
Arsenal's Premier League Form: W-L-W-D-W-D
Ipswich's Championship Form: L-L-L-W-D-L
Second Leg: Tuesday, January 25 at Emirates Stadium

Predicted Line-Up

guesses in red

Szczesny

Eboue - Koscielny - Djourou - Gibbs

Denilson - Wilshere

Bendtner - Rosicky - Arshavin

Chamakh

Subs from: Fabianski, Miquel, Song, Ramsey, Nasri, Fabregas, van Persie

Suspended: Sagna (second of three, violent conduct)

Out: Squillaci (hamstring), Diaby (calf), Almunia (ankle), Vermaelen (Achilles)

Arsenal News and Notes

Reserves captain and center back Ignasi Miquel remained with the first team this week, after Sebastien Squillaci picked up a hamstring injury on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Jay Emmanuel-Thomas, Craig Eastmond, and Conor Henderson all started for the reserves on Monday, making their availability for this cup tie unlikely. Then they lost 10-1, largely thanks to an 11th minute red card and a fairly makeshift line-up in places, against an Aston Villa side who started multiple first-team fringe players.
After posting about the difficult question of whether you start the A Team or the B Team for this match, my predicted line-up is generally the B Team, with some big names available on the bench. I expect this match to be where I am the most wrong this season, in this respect.
Aside from Squillaci, I have not heard of any other new injuries, but news has been slow between cup ties.
Arsenal have drawn three of their last four competitive fixtures, after going 21 matches without a draw.
Arsenal have drawn two straight matches. They have not gone more than two games without a win this season.

Ipswich News and Notes

After firing Roy Keane at the end of last week, Ipswich went to Stamford Bridge for their 3rd Round FA Cup tie against Chelsea on Sunday, and were hammered 7-0.
Ipswich Town have dropped points in three straight competitive fixtures.
Before their 3-0 win over Leicester City in mid-December, Ipswich had lost seven straight league matches.
Ipswich needed extra time in their first two rounds of this competition, to beat Exeter City and Crewe Alexandra.
West Bromwich Albion was the only Premier League side Ipswich was forced to beat to advance this far in the competition.

Match Facts

This is the third time Arsenal will meet Ipswich Town in the League Cup. Over two legs in 1970, Arsenal drew 0-0 at Ipswich before winning 4-0 at Highbury. Ipswich Town returned the favor, knocking Arsenal out in November of 2000, winning 2-1 at Highbury. James Scrowcroft had the 89th minute winner, scored on Stuart Taylor, who himself had just returned from a loan spell at Crystal Palace.
Ipswich Town's last top flight season was 2001/02. Arsenal won both fixtures 2-0 that year. Freddie Ljungberg had three of the four goals. Thierry Henry had the other, from the penalty spot, at Ipswich.
The aforementioned Ipswich League Cup win stands as their most recent victory over Arsenal.
You would have to go back to September of 1984 for Ipswich's last league victory over the Gunners. Then again, this isn't a league match, so that's actually fairly moot.

The Referee

The referee is West Yorkshire-based Martin Atkinson.
Atkinson took charge of Arsenal's last Carling Cup tie, the 2-0 win over Wigan, in late November. He also took charge of Arsenal's 1-1 draw at Liverpool (when he sent off Laurent Koscielny) and 2-1 win over Birmingham (when he sent off Jack Wilshere.)
February 18, 2009 was the last time Atkinson took charge of a match at Portman Road; Ipswich Town beat Nottingham Forest 2-1.

Other Matches

Tuesday, Carling Cup Semi: West Ham United v. Birmingham City; Boleyn Ground, London
Wednesday, League Match: Blackpool v. Liverpool; Bloomfield Road, Blackpool

What Is Your Starting XI at Ipswich on Wednesday?

2011-01-10T09:08:00.001-05:00

In for the banned Sagna, Emmanuel Eboue is one of the only obvious selections.

Pic via This is Futbol.

Rotation, rotation, rotation. We've talked about it a lot lately and with Arsenal competing on three domestic fronts in the month of January, we're going to be talking about it a lot more this week. Arsenal's 1-1 draw with Leeds on Saturday added one more match to the fixture list, with very little break in between each match.

We've also noticed since the festive period a clear line between Arsenal's usual starting squad and the squad of bench players who start when Arsene Wenger determines the need to rotate. The A Team started three of the four league fixtures during the holiday period, while the B Team started at Wigan and against Leeds (both draws.)

The A Team has established itself as: Fabianski; Sagna, Koscielny, Djourou, Clichy; Song, Wilshere; Fabregas, Nasri, Walcott; and van Persie.

The B Team isn't quite a full XI on its own and usually requires about two players from the A Team to overlap, thanks to injuries to Diaby and Vermaelen. Reports indicate that Squillaci picked up a hamstring injury on Saturday, which will force Wenger's hand to buy in the transfer market. The B Team list, therefore, includes Szczesny, Eboue, Gibbs, Denilson, Rosicky, Bendtner, Arshavin, and Chamakh, plus Aaron Ramsey close to a return and the occasional smattering of reserves like Jay Emmanuel-Thomas, Craig Eastmond, and Ignasi Miquel. And it took me a reread of the article after posting it to realize I had completely forgotten Carlos Vela, who is likely going to be loaned somewhere anyway.

In the coming weeks, the fixture list is a little complicated. Arsenal plays the first leg of the Carling Cup Semi-Final at Ipswich Town on Wednesday night. Then, three days later, it's back to league play against West Ham United, at Upton Park. Three to four days later, depending on the not yet determined replay date, they'll travel to Elland Road for the replay against Leeds. Three or four days later, it's back to the Emirates again to host Wigan in the league, then three days after that, they host Ipswich in the second leg of the Carling Cup Semi.

Five matches in thirteen days.

My question to you: in which matches do you start the A Team, in which matches do you start the B Team, do you mix-and-match the squads at any point, and who do you send out at Ipswich on Wednesday?

Remember, if you play the B Team on Wednesday, then it will be ten days since the A Team's last start by the time Arsenal plays West Ham at the weekend.

Tricky, isn't it?