Wednesday, March 2, 2016

Arsenal 2015-2016: March

Wednesday March 2, 2016 Arsenal vs. Swansea 2:45PM EST
Optimism has been replaced by irritation, frustration and disgust. In one of the strangest EPL seasons ever, Arsenal have regularly wasted opportunities to take advantage. In a season where Chelsea, Manchester United, Liverpool and Manchester City are underachieving and pretty much out of the title race, Arsenal still find themselves third behind Cinderella club Leicester and even worse Spuds.

Arsenal are out of excuses. Anything but a win and three points and they can kiss any chance that still remains of winning the title goodbye.

Swansea have been our bogey team in recent years. I can still see Bafetembi Gomis doing his ridiculous lion roaring celebration as he led Swansea over Arsenal in both meetings last season. Then there's goalkeeper Lukas Fabianski. The Arsenal castoff was known as Flapianski for his error prone play. Of course there's the good chance that tonight he will play like a world beater. Arsenal have a habit of making mediocrity look great.

There's nothing else to say. Win and get the three points and then get ready to defeat Spuds on Sunday. Anything less and the frustration level will just continue to grow.











Well that was an absolute travesty.  Just another typical wasted chance from Arsenal. All started out well and when Joel Campbell scored after 15 minutes it looked as if order had been restored and Arsenal would continue to score and put the game away early.


Of course this being Arsenal things aren't always what they seem. The stats said one thing: 63% possession and more shots on target for Arsenal. The final score said another: Arsenal 1 Swansea 2.

 Arsenal are fighting for the title and Swansea are currently treading water just above the relegation zone. Based on this performance you would think it was the other way around.

 The bottom line is that Arsenal are going through a prolonged period where they are unable to score despite lots of possession and plenty of passing. Add to that, the fact that the Arsenal defense is often left looking foolish and gives up cheap goals to the opposition.

 Twitter exploded after this one and the vibe among Gooners is about as low as it can get.









Saturday March 5, 2016 Arsenal at Tottenham 7:45AM EST



Enough is enough. Win or put a fork in it. Any North London derby is a big deal, but this one has more significance than normal. Not only are Arsenal running out of chances to keep their fight for the EPL title alive; but Spuds presently sit above Arsenal in the standings. Hearing the pundits and the media kiss Tottenham's butt while ragging on Arsenal is hard. Arsenal need to restore proper order and reestablish the fact that North London is red.

Moral is at an all time low coming off of that debacle versus Swansea at the Emirates. Fans are turning on the manager and the players. The players need to turn up and show that they have the mental strength to turn things around and get back on to winning ways.


















How to explain this one? Was this a wasted opportunity to take all three points and put a dent in the Spuds title charge? Or was this a moral victory to come back from a losing position and insurmountable odds to get a point? Did Coquelin cause us a win? Or did Alexis give us a major boost?

Usually a point away to the hated Spuds would be a good point. However, Arsenal really needed to take all three. However, when Coquelin committed a stupid foul on Harry Kane in the 55th minute with Arsenal up 0-1 everyone knew it was going to take a miracle with 35 minutes still left in the match.

Within seven minutes of Coquelin's red card, Tottenham scored two and were in the lead. Pretty much every Arsenal fan watching could feel the defeat coming.

Alexis chose a perfect time to get back on the score sheet with an equalizing goal in the 77th minute. Despite being down a man, the momentum shifted to the Arsenal side. It took an amazing block to keep Aaron Ramsey from scoring the winner late in the match.

In the end it was a point each and it was Spuds getting the negative press afterwards from not being able to take advantage of the extra man and hold on to the lead.

Another positive was the superb play by keeper David Ospina filling in for the injured Cech. After his howler back in the group rounds of the Champions League, Ospina had come in for a lot of stick. With nine saves in the match, Ospina made the most saves of any Arsenal goalkeeper since 2009.

So is the glass half full or half empty. I suppose today we'll try and be positive and say it's half full.















Tuesday March 8, 2016 Arsenal at Hull FA Cup 5th Round Replay 2PM
Arsenal have to win this. Period. Arsenal dominated Hull back at the Emirates but somehow didn't score forcing this replay at the KC Stadium. Arsenal have not won since defeating Leicester back on February 14th. Team morale is low, fan anxiety is high and the only outcome of this match that will keep a tsunami of angst from coming to shore is a win. A decisive win would be great. However, at this point any win is what is needed and expected.











 Well that was more like it. Having made it hard for themselves with a replay at Hull, the players put in a solid performance and easily dispatched Hull and moved on to the sixth round.


It took a while to get going but a defensive error by Hull gave Olivier Giroud a golden opportunity the 41st minute. Arsenal went in to the break with a 0-1 lead. Of course this being Arsenal, a one goal lead does not settle the nerves of fans. It was important therefore for Arsenal to pad on to their lead.



 Giroud's goal celebration was a tribute to his new baby boy that had been born earlier in the week. He was joined in the celebration by Calum Chambers, Mohamed Elneny and Alex Iwobi.


The goals kept coming in the second half. Giroud scored his second with an assist from Theo Walcott in the 71st minute. Then Walcott did himself a favor and got on the score sheet himself with a brace.


 In the end it was a solid Arsenal win. Despite that, some fans chose to display a ridiculous Wenger out banner following the match. This caused arguing among fans on Twitter and from what I read, all throughout the Gooner universe. So, it's on to the next round and a meeting with Watford.










Sunday March 13, 2016 Arsenal vs. Watford FA Cup 6th Round



Less than a week after defeating Hull 0-4 in their FA Cup 5th round replay, Arsenal play host to Watford with a return trip to Wembley at hand. Arsene Wenger has been receiving a ton of abuse this week from some supposed fans and a win today would go a long way in calming things down.

 Arsenal are going for their third FA Cup title in a row which would equal a record set 130 years ago by Blackburn.

Despite a visit to Barcelona looming later this week, today's match is more important. No one is expecting Arsenal to pull off a miracle in Spain and the FA Cup is within reach. Arsenal are still in the hunt for the EPL title, but with Leicester ahead of Arsenal by eight points, it may be too much to realistically catch up. Therefore the FA Cup is Arsenal's best chance for silverware this season.

 A win is a must.










The dream of a third straight FA Cup is over. Somehow the good Arsenal of last week took the day off and the pathetic and inept Arsenal showed up. No disrespect to Watford but this was a game that had victory written all over it. A home game at the Emirates and a chance to move on to the semi-finals should have been enough motivation for Arsenal to put in a strong performance. Apparently, however, it was not.

 In typical Arsenal fashion, the team dominated the match but walked away losers. Check out these stats: 71% possession, 20 shots to Watford's 7 and 7 corners to Watford's 1. This pattern of dominating matches, yet losing has become regular thing this season. Losing stinks no matter what, but losing when you dominate the match is just plain embarrassing and inexcusable.

In the end it was a combination of Arsenal's shaky defense and a lack of finishing that doomed the Gunners. 

 So, while Arsenal fans argue back and forth and vent their frustration, the team now gets ready to fly out to Barcelona for the second leg of their Champions League meeting with one of the best teams of the world. Sadly this comes after losing to one of the most mediocre teams in the world.












Wednesday March 16, 2016 Arsenal at Barcelona 3:45PM EST Champions League Round of 16 Second Leg



For one of the first times I can remember, Arsenal go in to a match with fans pretty much knowing they have no chance of winning and just hoping that the team don't get totally embarrassed. The morale can't be any lower and the fighting between fans is making things even worse.

 Of course miracles can happen and the match needs to be played out. The pregame weather pretty much sums up the mood as the rain is pouring down in Barcelona.











When the only good thing that one can say after a defeat is that at least they didn't get humiliated, you know that the expectations were pretty low.


The highlights were some great goalkeeping from Ospina filling in for Cech and new boy Elneny scored a great goal for Arsenal. Other than that, it was as expected, a easy win for Barcelona who go through on aggregate 5-1 and it's another round of 16 exit for Arsenal.











Saturday March 19, 2016 Arsenal at Everton 8:45AM EST



 Back to the league and a win has never been more important. Anything less than three points today will result in even more vitriol than what's been spewed this week towards Arsenal and Arsene Wenger.

The club have nothing left to distract them from the remaining league fixtures. There's still hope that Arsenal can catch Leicester and potentially win the league. To be honest, that hope is beginning to look less and less likely, so there is no more room for slip ups. Also important is to not allow the impossible to happen....that is to go a season without a St. Totteringham's Day. To see Tottenham finish above Arsenal would hurt worse than not winning the league.

 No ifs, ands or buts....time to get it done today Arsenal.












A much needed win it was. Add in the fact that it was a rather comfortable victory and the mood around Arsenal has been uplifted a bit. After exiting from the FA Cup and the Champions League earlier in the week, the fans needed something to feel good about.

Alex Iwobi was given his first league start along side Danny Welbeck. The partnership worked well with Welbeck being gifted a goal from an Everton mishap in the 7th minute. Iwobi added to the Arsenal lead in the 42nd minute with his first goal for the club.

Everton never put much pressure on the Arsenal goal and the final 0-2 scoreline stood. While it didn't take away the pain of exiting the FA Cup and Champions League, the victory did ease a bit of the tension surrounding the club and its fans.







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Saturday, February 6, 2016

Arsenal 2015-2016: February

Tuesday February 2, 2016 Arsenal vs Southampton 2:45PM EST


Back to the league and a weekday meeting with Southampton at the Emirates. Southampton have been mediocre this season, but when Arsenal went to St. Mary's last month, they completely humiliated the Gunners by a score of 0-4. It was a major hit in what is supposed to be Arsenal's year to win the league. Now it's payback time and hopefully Arsenal will seek retribution and get back to winning ways.






I had to work today so I set my DVR to record the match. When I got home I immediately went to watch the match and was disgusted to find out that instead of the Arsenal game I had recorded Man United and Stoke. Of course I skipped that I went to find out what happened in the Arsenal match.

Upon seeing the result, I am glad that this was the one match that I missed.  Arsenal had 67% of the possession, but in the end it amounted to nothing as the match ended 0-0. Aside from the fact that it was two points dropped, it was Arsenal's third straight match without scoring a goal and their fourth straight league match without a victory. Definitely not the results a team going for the title want.

The disappointment will fade, but if Arsenal don't get back on track now, it'll be a great opportunity lost. For now, they have dropped in to fourth place.








Sunday February 7, 2016 Arsenal at Bournemouth 8:30AM
Arsenal need to right the ship now or they can forget about any title hopes. They go in to this match in fourth place. With the surprising Leicester defeating Manchester City on Saturday at the Etihad, they now sit atop the table eight points ahead of Arsenal. Even with a win, Arsenal will only move up to third place. Even worse than being behind Leicester, is being behind Tottenham who won again Saturday.

Bournemouth sit in 15th place and this is a perfect match for Arsenal to get back to winning ways. Nothing short of a victory will be acceptable with a meeting with Leicester next week on deck.













It's back to winning ways for Arsenal as they take all three points in a 0-2 victory. Both goals came in the first half...in fact they came within two minutes of each other.



Mesut Ozil was the first to get on the score sheet with a cool finish in the 23rd minute. Then Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain silenced his critics with an angled shot that found the back of the net and pretty much sealed the victory for Arsenal.




While possession was pretty evenly split and Bournemouth had more attempts on goal, the outcome never seemed in any doubt.

After going without a win in recent weeks it was essential that Arsenal got back on track. Yes it's just Bournemouth, but so much of the game is fueled by momentum and it's nice that Arsenal have regained some momentum.











Sunday February 14, 2016 Arsenal vs. Leicester City 7AM EST
Arsenal host the surprise team of the season Leicester City at the Emirates and the ass kissing by the pundits of Leicester in the build up has frankly been nauseating. It's time for Arsenal to stop the fairy tale and send Leicester back to reality. Arsenal won the the away fixture earlier this season 2-5 and they need to secure all three points today. It's actually amazing to think that a match against Leicester City has this much importance., Leicester City? They almost got relegated last season. It's been a great story but enough is enough. Arsenal MUST show that they are capable of winning the league and the time is NOW to prove it.













It was looking like it was going to be another one of those frustrating days but then Danny Welbeck's head met Mesut Ozil's last gasp free kick in the 5th minute of added time. Instead of a 1-1 draw Arsenal struck with the last play of the match and walked away with all three points.


Referee Martin Atkinson played a major role in the match, but not in a good way. He missed clear fouls on Arsenal players and then awarded Jamie Vardy a penalty for purposely falling over Nacho Monreal's leg...i.e. he clearly cheated. Vardy scored the undeserved penalty right before the half and the frustration level around the Emirates was obvious by the loud booing directed at Atkinson.

Perhaps feeling a bit guilty for his crap refereeing, Atkinson started pulling out the yellow cards and within ten minutes of the restart Danny Simpson saw red for a second bookable offense. Finally, things looked to be going Arsenal's way.

Arsene Wenger brought on Theo Walcott for Coquelin in the 61st minute and the striker rewarded his manager with the game tying goal in the 70th minute from a sublime Olivier Giroud assist. With 20 minutes left and a man advantage the match was very winnable.

Arsenal were pouring it on but the winner wasn't coming. Then in the 83rd minute, Danny Welbeck was introduced to the match after a ten month absence. 

Four minutes of injury time were added and as the match was down to just 30 seconds on the clock, a great thing happened....defender Marcin Wasilewski committed an unnecessary foul giving Arsenal a free kick. Mesut Ozil set the ball in and there was Welbeck, back after ten months out injured, to score the winner.

The celebration was wild, the stadium went nuts and Arsenal are now just two points behind Leicester. The only bummer is that Spuds won and remain above Arsenal for the time being tied on points but with a superior goal difference.

Arsenal need to use the momentum picked up from this match and move forward. The title race is on.















Saturday February 20, 2016 7:45AM Arsenal vs. Hull  FA Cup  Fifth Round



Once again attention turns to the FA Cup as Arsenal continue in pursuit of their third FA Cup trophy in a row. As fate would have it, it's Hull once again for Arsenal. Of course Arsenal defeated Hull in the 2014 final and dispatched of them again last season on their way to FA Cup glory in 2015. This year Hull finds itself top of the Championship with promotion to the Premier League their top priority.


While Hull fights for promotion, Arsenal are also in a title chase in the EPL and have a small match against a team called Barcelona coming up in just three days time. With priorities in mind and upcoming fixtures both teams are expected to make changes to their starting lineups.


Arsenal have added depth to their squad and with the return of injured players such as Danny Welbeck and Francis Coquelin, Arsene Wenger has options when looking to rotate the squad.


Here's hoping that the third time is a charm and Arsenal defeat Hull to move on to the last eight of the FA Cup. Let's retain OUR trophy!









We killed them. Just look at these stats: 69% possession, 24 shots for Arsenal to just 6 for Hull, 11 shots on goal for Arsenal to just 1 for Hull, 11 corners for Arsenal versus 1 for Hull. Reading those stats one would guess that the final score was something along the lines of 5-0, or maybe 3-0 or at least 2-0 or if Hull were very lucky maybe they just lost 1-0. While the stats tell one story, the final score told another.

After totally dominating Hull for 90 minutes, it's going to take another 90 to decide a winner. After all that, Arsenal couldn't score and the match ended 0-0. Arsenal's fixture list is busy, but a trip to Hull will be scheduled over the next few weeks as Arsenal will have to replay Hull for the chance to move on to the 6th round.

If Arsenal can win the replay, they will host Watford at the Emirates for the right to move on to the semi finals at Wembley.

Rather than dwell on what should have been or at least could have been, Arsenal are going to be a lot more clinical in front of goal. It's sadly become a frequent problem for Arsenal...match domination without a victory.  Arsenal fans would gladly take less control of the game if it came with wins.









Tuesday February 23, 2016 2:45PM EST Arsenal vs. Barcelona Champions League Home Leg Round of 16
Can miracles happen? No one is expecting Arsenal to win against Barcelona. They're perhaps the best team in the world and have a strike force of Messi, Neymar and Suarez. BUT, they still have to play the game and you never know until the final whistle.

There's a part of me that wouldn't be too upset if they were out of this tournament so that they could concentrate on the league and the FA Cup. The other part of me says that's a cop out and if you want to be the best, you've got to beat the best. A Champions League trophy, however, far away it may seem, would not be a bad piece of silverware to have in the trophy cabinet.

So here's hoping that Arsenal can do the impossible and beat Barcelona. At the very least, let's hope they do us proud.













Miracles can happen, but they didn't happen today. The final stats show that Barcelona dominated the match with an overwhelming amount of possession and double the total of shots from Arsenal. In the end the final 0-2 scoreline is respectable from an Arsenal point of view, but it really could have been so much different.

Arsenal defended valiantly in the first half and were able to keep the likes of Messi, Neymar and Suarez off of the score sheet. While they weren't winning the possession, the defensive alignment worked brilliantly. At the interval the amazing stat was that Barcelona did not register one shot on goal.

Arsenal on the other hand had several chances but were unable to break the deadlock.  The best chance came to the Ox who was unable to get power on his shot.

In the second half Barcelona broke the deadlock when they caught the Arsenal defense sleeping in the 71st minute. Up to that moment it looked as if Arsenal were holding out for a 0-0 draw at least. It was a typical Barcelona goal...scored by Messi with set up courtesy of Neymar and Suarez.

 The most questionable move from Arsene Wenger came with seven minutes left in the match when he substituted Coquelin with the always questionable Mathieu Flamini. It didn't take Flamini long to ruin what had been a closely contested match. He fouled Messi in the box within moments of his arrival. Messi coolly slotted home the penalty and that was that.

There's the old saying it aint over till it's over. However, when it comes to Barcelona versus Arsenal....we pretty much know it's over. The return leg at the Nou Camp will be an exercise in damage control.  There's no shame in losing to the best team in Europe, but giving away cheap goals never helps your cause.

Next up is a visit to Old Trafford with three very important points on the line.










Sunday February 28, 2016 Arsenal at Manchester United 9:05AM
This used to be one of the top fixtures in the EPL season. That was when Arsenal and United were battling it out for league supremacy. Since then the oil barons have bought in to football and Chelsea and Man City started spending like drunken sailors out for a night on the town.

 Arsenal are within striking distance of the top of the table. Manchester United are treading water while waiting for a life preserver. Their season has been abysmal and each week there's a new crack in the armor. Arsenal are coming off of a loss to Barcelona while United are celebrating their comeback victory over a small team from Denmark with a name something like jkdlelslakdkeldkja.
There's a big difference though. Barcelona are probably the best team in world football while jkdlelslakdkeldkja is the equivalent of playing a non league side.

 With that in mind, this is a must win for Arsenal. They are by far the superior team and anything but a victory would be both an embarrassment and a kick in the gut to Arsenal's title chances. They won the corresponding fixture earlier in the year with an easy 3-0 victory. That day they put the game away early scoring three goals within 20 minutes. Let's hoping we see something similar today.

 An added motivation is the now fit Danny Welbeck getting a start up front against the manager that stated he wasn't good enough for Manchester United. Welbeck got sweet revenge last season when he scored the winner versus United in the FA Cup. It would be great to see more of the same today.












It's taken me several days to come back to this blog and recap what was an abject pathetic performance. Losing to Manchester United is one thing, but losing to a team of scrubs, no names and players playing out of position is just plain embarrassing. I have always defended Arsenal, but the term "bottlers" has been thrown around about the club on a regular basis. I am beginning to agree that they are indeed a group of bottlers. Every time there's a chance to get an advantage or dispel any negativity surrounding the club, they fail and they fail miserably.

 Arsenal were sunk by an eighteen year old making his Premier League debut. Now if Marcus Rashford goes on to become the new Lionel Messi, then we'll look back and say we saw the beginnings of a superstar. However, it's more likely that we'll look back and just laugh at how Arsenal allowed an unknown kid to look like a combination of Messi, Pele and Ronaldo.

 There's really no reason to go over the details. In short, Arsenal passed the ball about a lot, scored a couple of goals, but basically wasted a ton of possession and looked inept and feeble on offense. Theo Walcott started up front yet I had to check the names on the team lineup after the first half to see if he really was playing. He was basically invisible. Outside of Ozil and Welbeck and maybe Koscielny the players failed miserably. They really should be ashamed and embarrassed as they lost to an inferior team in a match they had to win.

 So, there are no more excuses or you can kiss any chances of a title goodbye. Even worse, Tottenham are above Arsenal and could be champions if their current form keeps up. Get it together now Arsenal.








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