The next 2 weeks will be crucial to the credentials of our assault on the premiership title. With a visit to Anfield and hosting of Man u next Saturday, we have a big test on our hands. While victories over both will open up a healthy gap at the top of the table, it will also ensure that these two title contenders are further off the radar.
One quarter of this exciting season has flown past with the Gunners confounding all critics and racing to the top of the league. With eight wins and one draw, we have a 2 point lead over second placed Man u with a game in hand. To add to this incredible feat, we achieved this with experienced players like Gilberto, Gallas and Lehmann out.
Some critics may argue that 6 of those wins have been achieved at home and the Gunners have not any of the traditional top 4 clubs. Indeed, they have a point and it is up to us to prove them wrong these 2 weeks. With a convincing win over both rivals, there will be a psychological boost to our players and convinced them that they can do it.
With the experienced players returning back from injuries and suspension, the team is reinforced with the much needed experience when the going gets tough. As Flamini, Fabregas and RVP matures with more exposure, you can be sure that we will pass the acid test and lead the premiership right up to the last day.
Go Gunners!
Saturday, October 27, 2007
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Flaming Flamini
Six months ago, Mathieu Flamini seemed to be on his way out of the Emirates. Unable to win a regular place in the team, he considered buying out his contract. What a difference now!
'After the first two months of the season, the Frenchman has proved the perfect partner to the effervescent Fabregas'
As Arsenal's season soars with their performances, so does one little man's dominance and reputation. Like the team's performance so far, Mathieu Flamini has proved his critics wrong with amazing performances in the centre of the park.
It seems like years ago (April 2007 to be exact) that his critics were crying for his head; for him to leave the Gunners after his lack of interest and engagement with the team. Indeed, Flamini himself admitted a lack of first-team opportunities could force him to buy out the final year of his contract and leave Arsenal. He was unhappy that he was playing so few games, even though there were a string of injuries to the starting line-up. The defensive midfielder was recruited by the Gunners from Marseille in the summer of 2004, but failed to secure a regular place in the starting 11. At the beginning of this season, Flamini was considered to be behind Cesc Fabregas, Gilberto Silva, Abou Diaby and even Denilson for the central midfield positions.
Instead, after the first two months of the season, the Frenchman has proved the perfect partner to the effervescent Fabregas. His steady passing, accurate tackling and ferocious determination to win games juxtapose nicely to the incisive passing, delicate chips and brilliant crosses of his Spanish teammate. He works hard throughout the whole match in any game and never backs away from any tackles.
In the past, if there have been any complaints about Flamini's play, they have concerned about his often quarrelsome behaviour. To the delight of all fans, the 23-year-old has showed that he has matured over the past year. Indeed, he has even played peacemaker in a couple of flare-ups during matches.
Kudos to the Professor for taming the Flame and bringing the best out of him.
'After the first two months of the season, the Frenchman has proved the perfect partner to the effervescent Fabregas'
As Arsenal's season soars with their performances, so does one little man's dominance and reputation. Like the team's performance so far, Mathieu Flamini has proved his critics wrong with amazing performances in the centre of the park.
It seems like years ago (April 2007 to be exact) that his critics were crying for his head; for him to leave the Gunners after his lack of interest and engagement with the team. Indeed, Flamini himself admitted a lack of first-team opportunities could force him to buy out the final year of his contract and leave Arsenal. He was unhappy that he was playing so few games, even though there were a string of injuries to the starting line-up. The defensive midfielder was recruited by the Gunners from Marseille in the summer of 2004, but failed to secure a regular place in the starting 11. At the beginning of this season, Flamini was considered to be behind Cesc Fabregas, Gilberto Silva, Abou Diaby and even Denilson for the central midfield positions.
Instead, after the first two months of the season, the Frenchman has proved the perfect partner to the effervescent Fabregas. His steady passing, accurate tackling and ferocious determination to win games juxtapose nicely to the incisive passing, delicate chips and brilliant crosses of his Spanish teammate. He works hard throughout the whole match in any game and never backs away from any tackles.
In the past, if there have been any complaints about Flamini's play, they have concerned about his often quarrelsome behaviour. To the delight of all fans, the 23-year-old has showed that he has matured over the past year. Indeed, he has even played peacemaker in a couple of flare-ups during matches.
Kudos to the Professor for taming the Flame and bringing the best out of him.
Thursday, October 11, 2007
A Breath of Fresh Air
The start of the new season brought about new changes in Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium. With the brand new stadium and brand new atmosphere, a change of the captaincy and departure of the old guards signaled the start of a new generation.
Arsenal supporters who have been subjected to ‘this is a period of transition’ feared the worst. The talismanic Henry is gone and the young successor in RVP seems not to be ready. In the previous seasons, the young successor to Viera (Fabregas) has failed to take over successfully. Will the same story be repeated? Will we get the stale air that surrounds failure again? The 2 pre-season wins in Cup competitions have also failed to raise the expectations of supporters.
However, after 10 straight victories and an unbeaten run of 20 matches, we have left all critics open jawed. We have confounded all odds and statistics, upsetting the form book and now sit pretty on top of the Barclay Premier League with a lead of 2 points and a game in hand over 2nd place Man U.
Like a breath of fresh air, we displayed a brand of attacking football and flair that belied our age. With the maturity of a seasoned campaigner, the young ones have stamped their authority and torpedo-ed our way to the top of the league. In our club management itself, we bucked the trend of foreign ownership. In our manager, he refused to be bullied into spending millions to get the best players. Instead, he grooms them from young.
All in all, Arsenal is like a breath of Fresh air in the cold, stale world of the Barclay Premier League. Go Gunners!
Arsenal supporters who have been subjected to ‘this is a period of transition’ feared the worst. The talismanic Henry is gone and the young successor in RVP seems not to be ready. In the previous seasons, the young successor to Viera (Fabregas) has failed to take over successfully. Will the same story be repeated? Will we get the stale air that surrounds failure again? The 2 pre-season wins in Cup competitions have also failed to raise the expectations of supporters.
However, after 10 straight victories and an unbeaten run of 20 matches, we have left all critics open jawed. We have confounded all odds and statistics, upsetting the form book and now sit pretty on top of the Barclay Premier League with a lead of 2 points and a game in hand over 2nd place Man U.
Like a breath of fresh air, we displayed a brand of attacking football and flair that belied our age. With the maturity of a seasoned campaigner, the young ones have stamped their authority and torpedo-ed our way to the top of the league. In our club management itself, we bucked the trend of foreign ownership. In our manager, he refused to be bullied into spending millions to get the best players. Instead, he grooms them from young.
All in all, Arsenal is like a breath of Fresh air in the cold, stale world of the Barclay Premier League. Go Gunners!
Friday, September 21, 2007
Do we need Henry or Do we have Harry
As the season grows by, the challenge grows for the kids in Ashburton Grove. Overcoming the condemning eyes of all, the team has grown from strength to strength. First, winning 2 cups in preseason and then keeping an unbeaten streak while on the way to the top of the table.Using a comparison to the magical world of Harry Potter, like the kids at Hogwarts, our kids lost their star. What Albus Dumbledore meant and signifies to the school of Hogwarts was what Thierry Henry meant to Arsenal Football Club. With a flick of his wand, Albus always conjures something out of nothing. Similarly, with a flick of his boots, Henry commanded the field with such majestic fare that leaves all in awe. The death of Dumbledore mirrors similarly to the departure of the King at Ashburton. The sense of doom and despair surrounded the Emirates Stadium like a crowd of Dementors camping in Hogwarts.As the saying goes, for every cloud there is a silver lining. Enter Cesc Fabregas! The Gunner’s answer to Harry Potter. The boy genius is the fulcrum of the new team that Arsenal is building. Fabregas gives hope to his teammates with his leadership and vision on the pitch. Like Harry, he is being pushed into the limelight at a tender age. With his raw talent and charisma, he is leading the team from the center of the park. He grows in confidence with every incisive pass and every goal scored build the growing belief that he is indeed the answer; just like every adventure and experience that Harry survives and increases his magical arsenal. With 6 goals in our excellent unbeaten start to the season, is Fabregas the finished product to lead us on? Is he the boy wonder like Harry? I can hardly wait to see him bringing us to the title this season! Go Gunners!
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Arsenal vs Sevilla
I sincerely sincerely hope we thrazh the Shitz out of them... just to make my unbearable life a bit happier for today at least.....
Go Gunners!!!
Go Gunners!!!
life sucks...
my life sucks... i am stuck in germany...working day and nite for a company that does not care about my welfare or my personal life....
4 months away from my wife and family and what do i get? more 4 months... cant even get my leave. What the (*^%#@&^#@ hell is this?
unbelievable........
I am so so.... sad and demoralised now... no matter how hard i try.... it just feels like a waste of time... a waste of effort and a waste of my talent (no matter how little there is)......
life really sucks..... God (whichever one).. please help me.....
sigh.....
4 months away from my wife and family and what do i get? more 4 months... cant even get my leave. What the (*^%#@&^#@ hell is this?
unbelievable........
I am so so.... sad and demoralised now... no matter how hard i try.... it just feels like a waste of time... a waste of effort and a waste of my talent (no matter how little there is)......
life really sucks..... God (whichever one).. please help me.....
sigh.....
Saturday, September 8, 2007
Do we really need to buy?
The Gunners have always been prudent in our spending and although there are many rumours that Wenger hands are tied when it comes to purchasing quality players, Le Boss has always insisted that he will not spend unwisely.
From the start of the departure of star striker Henry right up to the start of the season, half the world has written Arsenal’s chances off this season. However, 2 pre-season tournament wins and the unbeaten run continuing with last Sunday impressive victory over Portsmouth (with 10 men!) have convinced many doubters about the quality of Wenger’s vision. At the end of last Sunday’s match, the stadium rose to acknowledge the victory with a great sense of pride. For the first time in a long time, we can see and feel the swagger of the outrageous young squad.
Against a very handy team, the young side built with less than £30m had dominated the first half and when the game took a wrong turn for them, they adapted, adjusted and rose to the challenge. It was the perfect antidote to the speculation in the press during the week of all the behind the scenes machinations following David Dein selling out his Arsenal shares to a Russian investor.
Dein has always maintained that Wenger needs to spend in order to keep up with the rest of the EPL. As much as I believe that Dein is an Arsenal guy through and through, I have been thinking that Dein likes to have his cake and also eat it. He wants to keep his share of power, share of money and still be loved by the Arsenal faithful for his role in developing Arsenal.
Anyway, do we need to buy the ‘star’ players in order to stay ahead? I think the past few years together have built up the team spirit among the ‘kids’. We have seen so many changes and so much loss in experience that it is frightening to even imagine. Yet, on the other hand, the influx of young and guts under the harshest critics seem to have galvanized the players into a team.
The loss of the free-scoring ex-captain worked in a magical way for us as it gave chances to Toure, Gilberto and even Gallas to lead the young ones. Fabregas has truly excelled in his play, easily topping polls as the Gunners’ player of the month with 3 goals and even more assists.
With more youngsters coming through the ranks, Le Boss last words seemed as thoughtful as it can be as he declared, “Why buy when we can make stars out of potential?”
From the start of the departure of star striker Henry right up to the start of the season, half the world has written Arsenal’s chances off this season. However, 2 pre-season tournament wins and the unbeaten run continuing with last Sunday impressive victory over Portsmouth (with 10 men!) have convinced many doubters about the quality of Wenger’s vision. At the end of last Sunday’s match, the stadium rose to acknowledge the victory with a great sense of pride. For the first time in a long time, we can see and feel the swagger of the outrageous young squad.
Against a very handy team, the young side built with less than £30m had dominated the first half and when the game took a wrong turn for them, they adapted, adjusted and rose to the challenge. It was the perfect antidote to the speculation in the press during the week of all the behind the scenes machinations following David Dein selling out his Arsenal shares to a Russian investor.
Dein has always maintained that Wenger needs to spend in order to keep up with the rest of the EPL. As much as I believe that Dein is an Arsenal guy through and through, I have been thinking that Dein likes to have his cake and also eat it. He wants to keep his share of power, share of money and still be loved by the Arsenal faithful for his role in developing Arsenal.
Anyway, do we need to buy the ‘star’ players in order to stay ahead? I think the past few years together have built up the team spirit among the ‘kids’. We have seen so many changes and so much loss in experience that it is frightening to even imagine. Yet, on the other hand, the influx of young and guts under the harshest critics seem to have galvanized the players into a team.
The loss of the free-scoring ex-captain worked in a magical way for us as it gave chances to Toure, Gilberto and even Gallas to lead the young ones. Fabregas has truly excelled in his play, easily topping polls as the Gunners’ player of the month with 3 goals and even more assists.
With more youngsters coming through the ranks, Le Boss last words seemed as thoughtful as it can be as he declared, “Why buy when we can make stars out of potential?”
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