I've got to admit, feeling like a loser has become a part of my identity, low self-confidence
hard-wired into my DNA by virtue of too many years of hardship. On Saturday morning, as Arsenal
destroyed Blackburn 7-1, I got to feel like a winner again. And it felt good. Really good.
In terms of pure bliss, I don't know that I've sincerely enjoyed any weekend of sports more than
the past one.
Arsene Wenger has made it clear that he is strongly opposed to loan deals such as Emmanuel
Adebayor's spell with Tottenham Hotspur.
Adebayor has been in fine form this season, scoring nine goals in 19 games for the Spurs after
parent club Manchester City chose to loan him out at the beginning of the season.
Arsenal legend Alan Smith has criticised current manager Arsene Wenger's recruitment policy,
which he believes could cost the Gunners a UEFA Champions League spot at the end of the season. The
retired striker, who has now turned to commentating, also believes that Wenger should have pursued
central defender Gary Cahill more aggressively before he was signed by their London rivals Chelsea
earlier this month.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has made it clear that he wants to follow up his impressive Premier
League debut against Manchester United by starting regularly for the Gunners.
Oxlade-Chamberlain was preferred to the likes of Andrei Arshavin and Yossi Benayoun as he was
surprisingly named a started for the visit of the defending champions.
Arsenal vice-captain Thomas Vermaelen has returned to fitness in time for this evening's massive
home fixture against Manchester United while there were also another two surprises in the Gunners'
starting line-up against the reigning champions.
The 18-year old summer signing Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain makes a memorable debut while Tomas
Rosicky also starts over Andrei Arshavin and Yossi Benayoun, who have previously been preferred to
him this season.
The Spanish midfielder Mikel Arteta was bought in the last minutes of the summer transfer window,
along with Per Mertesacker, Andre Santos, Yossi Benayoun and Ju Young Park, in the days following
the 8-2 defeat to Man Utd, and although Wenger denies that he was "panic-buying" Arteta believes
this was the reason he was brought [.
Morning all,
let's start with early team news ahead of Sunday's game against United and there's nothing good
regarding Mikel Arteta. The Spaniard will miss the game, Arsene says he has 'no chance' of playing
and the earliest we'll be seeing him is against Aston Villa in the FA Cup.
Clearly that's a big blow.
That wasn't particularly good was it. The result was the least we wanted because of the results
of those around us. It meant that we fall back by 1 point compared to before the start of the
weekend's fixtures. But the bigger concern is with our performance or rather the lack of it.
For anyone who hasn't seen Swansea this season, their performance justified all the praise that
Brendan Rogers and his team are getting.
The January transfer window is half way through, and, after the past two windows saw Liverpool
one of the most active participants, it's been surprisingly quiet for a side lacking both midfield
steel and finishing touch who before the season began set a return to Champions League action as
the minimum requirement.
It was billed one the homecoming for Thierry Henry and in the end, the ending matched the
expectation at the start. A single goal separated Arsenal from Leeds United and advances us to the
next stage of the competition. A home tie against Aston Villa is the prize that we got and it was a
moment of history being reenacted that sent us through.
The Christmas fixtures brought about a change in team line ups. Clubs which could afford to rest
key players relied on their bench to tide them over this hectic time. This meant first team starts
for a trio of Premier League superstars who have somewhat faded from this season's football action.
The little Russian maestro Andrei Arshavin has not looked very happy playing for Arsenal every time
he has appeared on the pitch this season, even though Arsene Wenger has given him numerous chances
to make an impact off the bench, and according to the Metro he has dropped behind Yossi Benayoun
and Thomas Rosicky in [.
Another one stopped
The final outcome was a result that we did not need and with Tottenham winning their latter game
at Carrow Road, it makes me very uncomfortable with the gap that is opening up slightly between us.
This was a chance to move ahead of Chelsea into 4th spot. It ended up being as frustrating a match
to watch.
Another one stopped
The final outcome was a result that we did not need and with Tottenham winning their latter game
at Carrow Road, it makes me very uncomfortable with the gap that is opening up slightly between us.
This was a chance to move ahead of Chelsea into 4th spot. It ended up being as frustrating a match
to watch.
So, 24 hours later than originally planned, we take on Wolves today at home. Yesterday's results
were relatively kind to us. Man City dropping points is nice but seeing Chelsea and Liverpool do
the same is more relevant to where we are right now and it's crucial we take advantage.
The manager does have some decisions to make today regarding his team.
Surely he's embarrass of his own performance too
It was a good night for Arsenal last night, even though none of the games involved us.
Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester City all dropped points in their Boxing Day fixtures. A win for
us tonight will see us leapfrog over Chelsea and go level on points with Tottenham (depending on
the outcomes of their own match against Norwich).
Surely he's embarrass of his own performance too
It was a good night for Arsenal last night, even though none of the games involved us.
Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester City all dropped points in their Boxing Day fixtures. A win for
us tonight will see us leapfrog over Chelsea and go level on points with Tottenham (depending on
the outcomes of their own match against Norwich).
The Villa win – having not played that well, and right at the death, and thanks to a header
(rare), and from a corner (plentiful but rarely fruitful) – was a deeply satisfying result. It's
a game we may well previously have lost, but coming after the loss at Man City, it showed
tremendous bouncebackability.
Don't panic, Marek. There's so much gel in there, the ball is more likely to burst than your hairdo
suffer any damage. Image: Giuseppe Bellini/Getty Images.
Y'know, this results post is about as far from comprehensive as it's possible to be without
actually failing to produce one at all.
On the plus side, we've got most of our pressies wrapped, festive manicures booked and the power
outages in the office due to cheap tree lights are down to about three an hour.
We ended up giving a good account of ourselves against Man City but not winning, which was
pardonable enough, but embracing the tag of honourable losers is not an act any team should partake
in with any relish or frequency. Getting a positive result was the most important thing against
Villa, and it gave me perverse pleasure when we managed to do it in spite of being quite poor
overall.
How's your luck, eh? Pretty impressive at City and get nowt. Pretty ordinary at Villa and sneak
a win. That's football, though, right? At least we battled on last night and were trying for force
the victory until the death. What is it AW says about spirit? Well, we've got plenty of it
anyway.
How's your luck, eh? Pretty impressive at City and get nowt. Pretty ordinary at Villa and sneak
a win. That's football, though, right? At least we battled on last night and were trying for force
the victory until the death. What is it AW says about spirit? Well, we've got plenty of it
anyway.
How's your luck, eh? Pretty impressive at City and get nowt. Pretty ordinary at Villa and sneak
a win. That's football, though, right? At least we battled on last night and were trying for force
the victory until the death. What is it AW says about spirit? Well, we've got plenty of it
anyway.
How's your luck, eh? Pretty impressive at City and get nowt. Pretty ordinary at Villa and sneak
a win. That's football, though, right? At least we battled on last night and were trying for force
the victory until the death. What is it AW says about spirit? Well, we've got plenty of it
anyway.
Aston Villa 1 – 2 Arsenal Match Report
1st half observations from a bad stream
The first 45 minutes were pretty different from what I expected. Aston Villa did not close us
down frantically and allowed Arsenal plenty of space. Especially Gervinho and Theo saw plenty of
the ball, as Villa sat deep in the beginning, allowing our wingers to attack them from the
sides.
Match report Video and highlights -
There was nothing more important than taking three points last night. A good performance is
always welcome, but winning after playing some way below par is also welcome. Winning after playing
some way below par and very late in the game against a team managed by Alex McLeish, is more
welcome than Johnny Beer and Fred Rum around my house.
Arsene Wenger was well aware that his Arsenal team were given a very difficult game by Aston Villa
last night, and it was only a goal from substitute Yossi Benayoun that sealed the points three
minutes from time, but Wenger was pleased that the squad kept fighting right up to the end. "Villa
were dangerous [.
That feeling of joy
Another 3 points in the bag that puts us level on points with Chelsea and just 2 points behind
Tottenham, until their match tonight at least. Not the most accomplished of performance you will
ever see from Arsene Wenger's Arsenal side but don't let anyone tell you that we didn't deserve to
get all 3 points from this game.
Manchester City scored three and stayed top of the table. Manchester United score five and
remained in second position. Tottenham and Chelsea, in third and fourth position respectively, play
each other on Thursday night. On the face of it, everything stayed the same. Manchester City first,
Manchester United second, Tottenham third and Chelsea fourth.
In Thursday's Premier League game, Brad Friedel was in goal for Spurs in a 1-1 draw with Chelsea.
Tottenham went up eight minutes in when Emmanuel Adebayor scored. Chelsea equalized in the 23rd. A
tough night on Wednesday for Clint Dempsey and Fulham with Manchester United beating them 5-0 at
Craven Cottage.
MONACO AUGUST 26: Adidas balls on show alongside the three main European club trophies, the
Champions League, Europa League and Super Cup during the UEFA Champions League Group Stage draw at
the Grimaldi Forum on August 26, 2010 in Monaco, Monaco. (Photo by Michael Steele/Getty Images)
Continúa la acción del torneo más importante de clubes del mundo: La UEFA Champions League
2011/12 que reúne a las mejores escuadras del continente europeo, he aqui los resultados:
Martes 6 de diciembre Grupo E
Stamford Bridge Londres
Chelsea (ING) 3 0 Valencia (ESP)
Goles: 1-0, 3′ Didier Drogba (C); 2-0, 21′ Ramires (C); 3-0, 75′ Didier Drogba (C).
Yossi opens his accounts for Arsenal
This was Arsenal's first defeat in this season's Champions League and it had we not qualified
prior, it would be shambolic rather than comical. Olympiacos must have thought we'd done them a
favour but they could rightly be disappointed to miss out on the next stage.
Yossi opens his accounts for Arsenal
This was Arsenal's first defeat in this season's Champions League and it had we not qualified
prior, it would be shambolic rather than comical. Olympiacos must have thought we'd done them a
favour but they could rightly be disappointed to miss out on the next stage.
Arsenal's last Champions League group stage match ended in defeat, as a tough Olympiakos team
beat an inexperienced Gunners side 3-1 in Greece.
In a match where poor defending dominated, Arsenal went behind from a 16th minute strike from
Rafik Djebbour, who rounded Lukasz Fabianski before slotting home to give the Greek side the
lead.
Arsenal's last Champions League group stage match ended in defeat, as a tough Olympiakos team
beat an inexperienced Gunners side 3-1 in Greece.
In a match where poor defending dominated, Arsenal went behind from a 16th minute strike from
Rafik Djebbour, who rounded Lukasz Fabianski before slotting home to give the Greek side the
lead.
Olympiakos vs Arsenal 3-1 Champions League Highlights Video 2011 Goals Djebbour Benayoun is a
post from Soccer Blogger. Follow Soccer Blogger on Twitter
Olympiakos vs Arsenal 3-1 Champions League Highlights Video 2011 Goals Djebbour Benayoun is a post
from Soccer Blogger. Follow Soccer Blogger on Twitter Olympiakos vs Arsenal 2011 ( Olympiacos
Arsenal 2011 video below) Final score and result:- Olympiakos vs Arsenal 3-1 ( Rafik Djebbour,
David Fuster, Francois Modesto/ Yossi Benayoun) Greece- Champions Match MD 6- [.
Team news, manager quotes and match facts ahead of the Champions League Group F tie between
Olympiacos and Arsenal at Stadio Karaiskaki.
TEAM NEWS
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger selected a mixed squad for the final Champions League Group F game
at Olympiacos.
With the Gunners already qualified having won the group, the likes of raw midfielders Oguzhan
Ozyakup and Craig Eastmond, defenders Ignasi Miquel and Nico Yennaris many of whom had played in
the Carling Cup defeat toManchester City - were included, along withEngland Under-21
international Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.
Team news, manager quotes and match facts ahead of the Champions League Group F tie between
Olympiacos and Arsenal at Stadio Karaiskaki.
TEAM NEWS
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger selected a mixed squad for the final Champions League Group F game
at Olympiacos.
With the Gunners already qualified having won the group, the likes of raw midfielders Oguzhan
Ozyakup and Craig Eastmond, defenders Ignasi Miquel and Nico Yennaris many of whom had played in
the Carling Cup defeat toManchester City - were included, along withEngland Under-21
international Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.
Team news, manager quotes and match facts ahead of the Champions League Group F tie between
Olympiacos and Arsenal at Stadio Karaiskaki.
TEAM NEWS
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger selected a mixed squad for the final Champions League Group F game
at Olympiacos.
With the Gunners already qualified having won the group, the likes of raw midfielders Oguzhan
Ozyakup and Craig Eastmond, defenders Ignasi Miquel and Nico Yennaris many of whom had played in
the Carling Cup defeat toManchester City - were included, along withEngland Under-21
international Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.
No boss, I don't want to go to a press conference.
For all the talk of boring group stage, at least this season's one has been slightly different.
It wasn't the walk in the park it was the previous few seasons. Praise is given where praise is
merit. Olympiacos, Marseille and Borussia Dortmund provided stiff resistance but we've managed to
come out on top.
