Tuesday, September 15, 2015

Arsenal 2015-2016: September

Saturday September 12, 2015 Arsenal vs Stoke 10AM EST



The international break is over and it's back to business for Arsenal. A visit from Stoke is on the table and despite not being the overly aggressive cavemen of the Tony Pulis era, defeating Stoke is always enjoyable.


We're still waiting for the real Arsenal to show up and start banging in the goals and show the form that the team showed during the end of last season and throughout the pre-season. Hearing that Chelsea had lost their third match out of five played in the new season was a great start to what should prove to be a victorious day.









 Thank you NBC Sports for broadcasting every EPL match. However, no thanks for not properly listing the channel that the Arsenal match was going to be on today. Having to work today I set my DVR to record the match. Upon arriving home I settled down to watch the match having made sure to not get any information on the already played match. Instead of Arsenal, however, I was disgusted to see that the DVR had recorded the Man City game. Damn you NBC Sports, this was the first Arsenal match I have missed viewing in years!


Once the disappointment had faded I was glad to see that even without my viewership, Arsenal had dominated Stoke and walked away with a deserved 2-0 victory. Theo Walcott got on the score sheet in the 31st minute after a precise long ball from Mesut Ozil. Giroud added a header in the 85th minute and Petr Cech kept a clean sheet.


Once again the stats show that Arsenal bossed the game withe 68% possession and 29 shots versus just 8 for Stoke. Plenty of scoring chances were wasted, but there was also bad luck involved as well with Sanchez hit the bar twice. Regardless of the negatives, it was a good win for Arsenal and sees the team move back to the top portion of the table where they rightfully belong.








Wednesday September 16, 2015 Arsenal at Dinamo Zagreb 2:45PM EST Champions League Group Stages Match Day One
The Champions League is back and Arsenal kick off their first round match away to Dinamo Zagreb. The Gunners are in Group F along with Bayern Munich and Olympiakos. While Bayern has been a tough opponent for Arsenal in recent years Zagreb and Olympiakos should be easily beatable opponents. However, having witnessed last season's Anderlecht match and other past debacles, you can never take anything for granted with Arsenal.


I know that I should concentrate on my own club and not take pleasure in the defeat of others, but seeing both Manchester United and City lose their first round matches after having taken the lead first was a great way to kick off the tournament.

 Here's to a great Champions League run for Arsenal.










Utterly embarrassing, unacceptable and pathetic are just some of the words that would describe this Arsenal performance. 

 With Chelsea looming on the weekend, Arsene Wenger made a number of lineup changes which shouldn't have been a major issue. At least that's what we thought.




The match started off well enough with Arsenal dominating possession and looking the stronger of the two sides. Sadly Arsenal fans have seen this all too many times. After 20 minutes, it was a complete team meltdown.




Arsenal were caught on the counter attack in the 24th minute when a Josip Pivaric shot was saved by David Ospina but bounced back in off of the Ox.




Things got worse as Olivier Giroud let frustration get the better of him and was sent off for two bookable offenses before the first half finished. Dinamo got a second in the 58th minute when Junior Fernandes scored on a header.




Theo Walcott gave Arsenal a bit of hope when he got one back in the 79th minute. Unfortunately it was too big of a mountain to climb and Arsenal left Croatia with nothing from a game they should have easily won on paper.









 Saturday September 19, 2015 Arsenal at Chelsea 7:45AM




Here we go again....Arsenal and Arsene Wenger versus the egomaniacal Moanrinho. Chelsea have lost 3 of their first five games and looked awful in doing so. For whatever reason, no pundit or anyone in the media has taken Moanrinho to task and the "special one" seems to get a pass and many excuses where any other manager would be under the gun. After Chelsea beat the "very dangerous" Maccabi Tel Aviv at home this week during the first round of the Champions League group stages the ass kissing pundits and media were already declaring Chelsea is back.



Meanwhile Arsenal have been less than impressive so far this season but they are in much better shape in 4th place than Chelsea's 17th place. All the momentum was with Arsenal...could Wenger finally beat that egotist and shut him up for good? Then Arsenal lost midweek at Dinimo Zagreb and all of a sudden instead of the media proclaiming that Chelsea was a club in crisis it's Arsenal once again as the "crisis club".

Please Arsenal, win this match. For the sake of your fans, for the sake of the club, for the sake of the players and Arsene Wenger. The 3 points are what we want but the icing on the cake would be inflicting more pain and suffering on Moanrinho and Chelsea.










Welcome to the Mike Dean show. The referee took center stage as he pretty much handed cheating Chel$ki the match with terrible officiating and what seemed like selective vision.

The role of the villain was successfully played by the repugnant cheater that is Diego Costa.



The game started off well with both teams have a strong spell of possession and it looked as if it would be a good match.

That changed as soon as Diego Costa began his reign of terror. He was all over Laurent Koscielny, including hitting him in the face several times. He also kicked several Arsenal players and began a verbal spat with Gabriel Paulista. Mike Dean somehow missed all of this. Then when Costa upped the ante with Gabriel, the two players were spotted by Dean, who gave both players a yellow card.

Seconds later Gabriel was sent off for allegedly kicking out at Costa. (If he was going to get a red he might as well have punched the ugly bastard in the face). Costa put in an academy award performance and acted as if he'd been assaulted.


That was pretty much the game decider. The match ended 2-0 to the cheaters and Mike Dean and a second yellow for Santi Cazorla was the icing on the cake for a complete joke of a match that was decided by Mike Dean and his inept officiating.



POST SCRIPT - After the match the FA rescinded Gabriel's red card and found Diego Costa guilty of violent conduct with a three match ban. Ironic isn't it that the guilty is innocent and innocent is now guilty. How the FA believes that is justice is beyond me. The unfair result stands and it's of little satisfaction that the correct decisions were finally made as they came after the match and Mike Dean's joke of a performance.











Wednesday September 21, 2015 Arsenal at Tottenham League Cup Third Round 2:45PM EST




After two miserable losses it's time to turn attention to the League Cup. This is the tournament where Arsene Wenger usually gives the younger players the chance to prove themselves. This one should be a bit different though for several reasons: many of the younger players are currently out on loan, Arsenal have endured a brutal week with two ugly losses and even more importantly it's against the vile enemy Spurs.

Of course while Arsenal get handed the tough away draw to Spuds, Chelsea get a trip to League One Walsall, Liverpool host League Two Carlisle and Manchester United get a home match with Championship side Ipswich.

 Regardless, it's time to right the wrongs and play the Arsenal way. Let's kick some Spurs butt.











Prior to kick off there were tons of groaning and angry Gooners on Twitter proclaiming that Arsenal were doomed and would lose the match due to the inclusion of Mikel Arteta and Mathieu Flamini. While it's true that both are probably near or past their sell by date, they have performed well in the past and Arsene Wenger wanted to rotate the squad with all the fixtures coming up. By the end of the match there were many Gooners who may have been feeling a bit guilty for writing Flamini off....but that's to come.


Others that were given a run out in the starting lineup included Ospina, Debuchy, Chambers, Gibbs and Campbell. Despite all the pre-match whining from Arsenal fans, the fact is these guys are all part of the squad and at some point they have to be given a chance to prove their worth.

 Proving that football truly is a beautiful game that often throws surprises, the much maligned Flamini became the hero scoring both goals in Arsenal's 1-2 victory away to the dreaded Spuds.


While it was the League Cup and generally not considered that important of a tournament, Arsenal had just lost two games in a row in ugly fashion and this was a North London derby. No matter what the occasion, losing to Tottenham is never an option for Arsenal.

 Flamini gave Arsenal the lead in the 26th minute after an Oxlade-Chamberlain shot was saved by Michael Vorm but hit back in to the path of the on rushing Flamini.


Arsenal went in to half time with a one goal advantage but that was erased in the 56th minute when a Spuds shot bounced back off of Chambers and in to the Arsenal net. It was yet another own goal.

 It got a bit nervy but Flamini saved his best effort for the 78th minute when he volleyed in an amazing shot after connecting on a deflected ball in the air. It was a pretty impressive strike from a very unlikely source. With all the rah rah Harry Kane talk from the announcers it was funny to see last season's wonder kid upstaged by a 31 year old journeyman.

 All in all a good win that will bring confidence back to the squad. Arsenal also got a good match-up for the next round of the competition as they will travel to Championship side Sheffield Wednesday.














 Saturday September 26, 2015 Arsenal at Leicester 10AM EST

Coming off of a satisfying North London derby victory in the League Cup, led by Arsenal's leading scorer Mathieu Flamini, here's hoping that a meeting with Leicester will finally kick start the season for Arsenal. Since a flying pre-season where Arsenal looked like potential champions to the club's lukewarm start of the season it's been a bit baffling. Where have all those outstanding performances gones? Where is that confidence we saw during the FA Cup win and the end of last season?

Only six games in, but so far Leicester have been the surprise package of the season. They are the only undefeated club and currently sit fourth in the table, one spot above Arsenal. However, eventually reality sorts these kind of anamolies out and here's hoping that Arsenal bring a heavy dose of reality to Leicester and return to the Arsenal we know that this club should be.









So it seems that the real Arsenal does exist. Despite going down by one goal in the 13th minute, Arsenal had their eye on goal and walked away from Leicester with a strong and dominating victory.



Leicester have been one of the early surprises of the season and Arsenal proved that the bubble may have finally burst for the Foxes. 


Theo Walcott got Arsenal even in the match with a goal in the 18th minute. It was then time for the Alexis Sanchez show to begin. Alexis has taken some stick for his lacks of early season goals, but his display on the day proves that any worry or criticism was unfounded. His three goals were all of high quality and when a guy the size of Sanchez can consistently score headers, you know the player is special.


Giroud came on as a substitute in the 80th minute and sealed the victory with a goal of his own in the 90th minute.







Tuesday September 29, 2015 Arsenal vs Olympiakos 2:45PM EST  Champions League Group Stages Match Day Two
After a solid and dominating win over the weekend Arsenal face Olympiakos at The Emirates in a must win match. The abomination that was Match Day One needs to be put in the past and if Arsenal plan on advancing they have to right the ship so to say.




Arsenal have handled Olympiakos easily in previous meetings so here's hoping the result is what everyone is expecting.










If the trip to Zagreb was a nightmare then this match versus Olympiakos was like a reoccurring bad dream. Shock, horror, embarrassment and anger are just some of the emotions felt by Arsenal fans after witnessing this travesty. In a must win match at home versus an inferior team, Arsenal imploded.

When the starting lineup was released, Gooners on Twitter were going nuts seeing that David Ospina was starting in goal over summer signing Petr Cech. While it seemed a bit unfair considering that Ospina has performed well for Arsenal and is the starting keeper for Colombia, it seems as if fans had every reason to worry. Ospina had one of the worst howlers ever seen and probably went home and locked himself inside his apartment following the match. It was that bad.

A deflected goal in the 32nd minute gave Olympiakos an early 0-1 lead. Theo Walcott helped settle nerves when he equalized just three minutes later. Of course Arsenal were going to win I thought. That first goal from the Greek side was a fluke. At least that's what I was telling myself.



It didn't get much better after that. Ospina did the nearly impossible by scoring an own goal in the 40th minute as he somehow managed to catch and then drop an Olympiakos corner in to his own goal. The refs immediately ruled that the ball had crossed the line and Arsenal were once again behind in a game they should have had no troubles with. 

Alexis Sanchez gave Arsenal hope when he equalized in the 65th minute. I was convinced that Arsenal were going to go on and win the match and put things right. Unfortunately I was wrong. Within just one minute Olympiakos got a third and the miserable night ended in defeat.

 Arsenal's Champions League hopes are now hanging on by a thread with Bayern Munich home and way up next.




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Sunday, August 9, 2015

Arsenal 2015-2016 - August

Sunday August 9, 2015 Arsenal vs. West Ham 8:30AM EST




After a fantastic pre-season which saw Arsenal pick up three trophies, the season kicks off today at home to West Ham. With the signing of Petr Cech and Arsenal's late form last season, many pundits are predicting that Arsenal could win the title this season. The transfer window stays open for another few weeks and names like Karim Benzema continue to be mentioned in association with the team.



With a Sunday match, a number of other EPL teams played yesterday and there were some interesting results. As was the case often last season, Man United were gifted a win that they didn't deserved. The fact that it was against Tottenham makes it a bit easier to accept. Meanwhile, Moanrinho's Chelsea saw their goal keeper sent off and they hung on at home to draw with Swansea 2-2. Chelsea will now be without their number one keeper for several matches and isn't it ironic that the guy that would have filled in, Cech, is now in goal for us!

 So here's to a successful and winning season. Come on you Gunners!












 That sucked! What an abject, pathetic, uninspired, disappointing fiasco this was. 

 Petr Cech had a shaky start to his Arsenal career while allowing two West Ham goals and despite 62% of the possession and close to three times as many shots on target Arsenal couldn't get on the score sheet.

 Arsenal came in to the season opener with momentum riding very high and for whatever reason seemed to not show up. Whether they took their opposition too lightly or it was just one of those days, losing at home to a weaker opponent took away all the positive vibes surrounding the club prior to the match. 

 This was one of those matches where a media and Twitter ban are immediately imposed. Let's just hope that this was a one off .










Sunday August 16, 2015 Arsenal at Crystal Palace 8:30AM EST


It's time to get this season going. The Gunner's opening day loss to West Ham has led to a week of media and fan abuse of Arsenal and Arsene Wenger. Saner minds are looking at it as a one off blip. Meanwhile the media is kissing Alan Pardew's ass as the Crystal Palace manager had the audacity to claim that Palace player Yohan Cabaye would walk in to Arsenal's first team.

 It's time to make things right!











Arsenal secured their first win of the season in a tough, but dominating contest versus Crystal Palace.

 The Gunners had 59% of the possession and almost double the amount of shots on target. The final scoreline of 1-2 was a bit flattering to Palace as Arsenal were in control for most of the match.


Alexis Sanchez was in the starting lineup and the Arsenal midfield was a constant threat to the Palace goal.

 Olivier Giroud scored a brilliant goal from a Mesut Ozil pass in the 16th minute to give Arsenal the 1-0 lead.



Joel Ward evened the score just 12 minutes later and the match went to the half even at 1-1.

 While the winner was recorded as an own goal by Palace defender Damien Delaney, it was Sanchez that caused the confusion in the box resulting in the goal. On paper it was recorded as an own goal, but in reality it was all down to Sanchez.











Monday August 24, 2015 3PM EST Arsenal vs Liverpool
It's only the third week, but it is important that Arsenal make a statement about their title credentials with a convincing victory over Liverpool at home.


 While Liverpool have traditionally been one of the top clubs in England, I hope that the Arsenal players truly look at the competition that they are up against as opposed to the name of the club they will face. This Liverpool side should not bring fear to anyone and if Arsenal don't overthink it, they should come out with a victory. The level of talent between the two sides is no comparison. It's time that this belief that we hear about among the Arsenal squad shows itself on the pitch.

 Come on Arsenal.












Third match and third uninspired performance. Aaron Ramsey had a perfectly good goal disallowed and other than that Arsenal were unable to get on the score sheet. Add to that the fact that Chambers and Gabriel were standing in for Koscielny and Mertesacker.  In addition to some bad passes and giveaways, Arsenal's central defense looked shaky throughout the entire match.



0-0 was the final and it was Arsenal's second home match without getting on the score sheet.

 All the talk has been about Benzema joining the club. At this point it's looking more and more like a bit more fire power is needed.



Then again, when Ox and Walcott are on the bench rather than on the pitch one has to wonder what the manager is thinking as his team struggles to break down an inferior club.









Saturday August 29, 2015 Arsenal at Newcastle 7:45AM EST


It's time to truly get this season started and it's a trip to the Northeast on the cards for today.

 Wenger shakes up the lineup a bit with Theo Walcott getting a start and the Ox playing along side him in place of Ozil who has a bit of a knock. On defense Mertesacker is still out but thankfully Koscielny is back in central midfield to partner with Gabriel as Calum Chambers has still to convince in that position.


Here's hoping that the Arsenal team that we saw during the end of last season and pre-season is on display today and the Gunners walk away from Newcastle with all three points.











 A win is a win, but this was not a vintage Arsenal performance by any means. When Newcastle striker Aleksandar Mitrovic saw red in the 16th minute, it should have been a cake walk for the Gunners. Instead, eleven man Arsenal slogged it out with ten man Newcastle and Arsenal's game deciding goal was credited to Newcastle's Fabricio Coloccini.




A look at the statistics, however, tell a completely different story. Arsenal had 74% of the possession, 29 shots to Newcastle's 1 and 9 corners versus 0 for Newcastle. Arsenal fans are used to stats like these as there have been many frustrating matches where the Gunners have dominated but not put away the opposition. That was again the case here. The team needs to become more proficient at finishing and worry less about the pretty passing and touches. With players like Ozil, Sanchez, Ramsey and Cazorla setting up the goals, Giroud, Walcott and the rest of the offense need to put the ball in the back of the net on a more consistent basis.


To be fair, despite the fact that Coloccini was credited with the own goal, it was the Ox that made that goal.






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Sunday, August 2, 2015

Arsenal kick off the new EPL season at Wembley as the Gunners face Chelsea in the Community Shield



It's just 64 days since Arsenal won their second consecutive FA Cup over Aston Villa at Wembley Stadium and the new EPL season is upon us. First up is the traditional season kick off of the league winners taking on the FA Cup champions. So it's a match up of the egotistical one versus the very classy Arsene Wenger. Arsenal are being talked up as possible title contenders this season and this is a great opportunity to make a statement.


Arsenal have had a great pre-season winning all of their five matches and two trophies; the Asia Trophy in Singapore and the Emirates Cup at home in North London. At the same time, the egotistical one and his crew of pampered superstars have not won a match in their pre-season preparations,

It would be great to see the so called "specialist in failure" give Jose "the ego" Moanrinho at taste of his own medicine.

 So here's to an Arsenal win and a great start to the 2015-2016 season.
Sunday August 2, 2015 10AM EST Arsenal vs. Chelsea at Wembley Stadium FA Community Shield














 Well what do you know....the "special one" and his club were very ordinary as Arsenal never looked in any trouble as they captured the first trophy of the new EPL season.


Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain gave Arsenal the lead in the 24th minute with a powerful strike in to the top corner and that was enough to secure the victory for the good guys. Arsenal showed a defensive side that had often been missing in seasons past and in the end it was the Gunners that were celebrating with silverware.


The highlight of the post match celebrations was Wenger's snubbing of Mourinho and the egotists subsequent tossing of his runners up medal in to the stands. He proved once again what a classless sore loser he truly is.

 Up the Arsenal and here's to the new season!




























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Saturday, August 1, 2015

Wilmer Flores Makes Me Proud To Be A Mets Fan


As a lifelong Mets fan living in a Yankees town you get used to taking grief from fellow sports fans. The Mets have a way of breaking their fans' hearts on a regular basis and causing frustration, depression and downright angst. However, when you're a true fan you stick with your team through all the misery with the hope that one day they'll turn it around and you'll finally taste victory.

 Sports is a business, however, and players come and go. Generally they are looking out for themselves and are out for the biggest paycheck. The days of player loyalty to an organization are pretty much gone and, to be fair, I can understand the concept of looking out for number one. When you look at it from a fans perspective, however, it feels like betrayal when a player you've supported and cheered for leaves your team and suddenly changes allegiance to a new club and set of fans.

 That's why a player like David Wright is a favorite among Mets fans. When he had the chance to leave the Mets for greener pastures (or at least a team with a winning record) he sat down with Mets management and declared that he wanted to stay a Met. He signed a contract that would keep him with the only professional organization he had ever been with through 2020 when he will be 37. He wanted to be part of the solution in helping make the Mets a winner instead of taking the easy way out and joining an already stacked team.




Then there's Wilmer Flores. While not yet a superstar like David Wright, Flores has been with the Mets organization since he was 16 years old and has yet to really establish himself as an everyday player. He's had a number of ups and downs this season as he's finally getting the chance to play everyday. Flores has been questioned by fans and has at times looked shaky in the field. Yet, the player has kept his mouth shut, never complained publicly and has continued to conduct himself like a professional and go out everyday and try to improve his game and help the Mets win.

 Wilmer Flores is no longer an unknown ballplayer. That's not because he's suddenly become a superstar, it's because he showed something that is rarely seen in sports these days...real human emotion and loyalty.

 With the trade deadline approaching and the Mets in need of a strong bat to keep any hope of making a playoff run alive, reports started circulating on reputable websites and then Twitter. It was reported that the Mets had traded pitcher Dan Wheeler and Flores to the Milwaukee Brewers in return for former Met Carlos Gomez. Even the MLB website had the story posted.

 News of the trade spread and Flores was informed of the trade during a home game versus the Padres at Citi Field.  Gary Cohen, Keith Hernandez and Ron Darling discussed the trade during the broadcast and even questioned why Flores was still in the lineup after being traded.

 As Flores went to play the field in the top of the 8th it was apparent that he had been crying. He did his best to wipe his eyes with his sleeve but he couldn't hide the fact that the news of the "trade" had come to his attention and it was obvious that he was not happy about it.



When Manager Terry Collins was alerted to the fact that Flores was upset and had been crying he had no idea why. When he asked why, he was told that Flores had been traded.

 Collins response was, "To who? For what"

 It was only after the game had ended that the real story emerged. Apparently a deal had been in place, but in the end it did not go through. In post game interviews General Manager Sandy Alderson made it clear that there was no trade.

 Whatever the reason was, the trade never became official. Reporters had jumped the gun in reporting the story and social media had rapidly spread the news to fans. Everyone seemed to know that Wilmer Flores had been traded...except for the fact that he hadn't been.




 After the dust had settled, Flores explained that he had become emotional as he did not want to leave the Mets organization. He had signed for the club when he was 16 and news that he would be moving on truly upset him.

 Flores became a lead news story on sports shows and even the major television network news programs. He was lauded for showing human emotion that is rarely seen by professional athletes.

 That was on Wednesday.

 On Friday, the story took another turn and Wilmer Flores became a true cult hero.

 After making a great play in the field, Flores received a standing ovation from the fans at Citi Field. The same happened every time he came to the plate and when he drove in the Mets first run with a single.

 Then came the bottom of the 12th inning in a must win game versus the Mets' division rivals, the Washington Nationals. Hollywood could not even have scripted what happened next. Flores came to the plate and cracked a long game winning home run over the center field fence.



Flores was mobbed by his teammates, cheered by the fans and became a worldwide trending topic on Twitter.

 In an age when all news seems to be horrible and tragic, it's great to see a feel good story fueled by true emotion being recognized and applauded. Thank you to Wilmer Flores for making us Mets fans proud. Your loyalty and commitment are inspirational and maybe that's what this team needs to FINALLY get a championship team for all of us loyal and committed Mets fans!

Let's Go Mets!









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