So, I had work at 3:30 Atlanta time yesterday and Fox Soccer Channel wasn't airing the game until 5 so I had set the DVR box to record it. I sat down with an hour to go until work time to watch some of the Liverpool game and about 8 minutes in the commentator blurts out: "Over in Belgium Arsenal trail Liege by 2 goals inside 5 minutes". My heart sunk, I was furious. I got online to find a stream of the game after being unable to find one I ventured over to UEFA.com to look at the line ups and see what was going on. We were 2 nil down and were playing Diaby on the left wing. "Goddammit!" I went up stairs to change for work, came down and the score was 4 nil, the commentator confirmed it in the Liverpool game, "Arsenal have fallen 4 goals behind inside just 20 minutes in Belgium." I was livid. My girlfriend was scared I was going to transform into a giant green thing and tear through all my clothes.
I got to work and took my requisite exam and started my 4th day of training. I was so angry I could hardly contain it, 4 nil down and I wasn't even supposed to know anything about the game until after work. 4 nil down in 20 minutes, how were we going to come back? No Arshavin, no van Persie, no Nasri, no Walcott, no Vela, all players who could turn the game. Diaby, Rosicky, Cesc and Eduardo are all capable as well but Rosicky has only just come back, Eduardo really needs to feed off of service, Cesc is out of form and Diaby is Diaby.
I left my phone in my pocket during my shift and my nuts were vibrating constantly throughout the night, no doubt the game was eventful. Just to kick me in the pants a little extra the girl who was training me was a turbo control freak who was just about trying to teach me how to breathe.
I got through the night without much event and after tasting some wines and hashing out my problems with my trainer, managed to calm down. My girlfriend picked me up and greeted me with the loving affection a fragile Arsenal fan often needs.
I turned on the game and watched as we conceded a needless corner, Mannone, who looks just like that guy from the eHarmony commercials, didn't give Song a shout and Song put the Liege cross needlessly out for a corner. We cleared the corner and then Eduardo, the mad Brazilian that he is, tried to back heel the ball out of the air to Cesc on the edge of our own box. Their giant center back fended off Fabregas' challenge and sent his shot low and hard to the near post bottom corner. You could argue that a keeper shouldn't really be beaten at his near post but it's hard to argue that any of our keepers would have saved that shot. Under ordinary circumstances I wouldn't be too worried, we made an early mistake and conceded a goal, but knowing that we went on to concede 3 more in the next 18 minutes I wasn't at all happy.
We went at them right away with total immoderation and immaturity and opened ourselves up at the back by leaving huge spaces with poor passing. They countered with Jovanavic dribbling at our defense. Gallas came in with a challenge as the attacker cut the ball back and their toes seemed to graze each other about 3 inches outside the box, which was only evident after the replay. In real time it looked like there wasn't any contact. Such is life that the penalty was given. The penalty wasn't good but Mannone went the wrong way even though the replays showed that Jovanovic made it about as obvious as a ten year old would have that he was going to the keepers right. 2-0 down inside 5 minutes.
The game went on and we kept the ball for the rest of the half, which was uneventful. We did keep the ball, but not well at all. Passes were all over the place, we kept no real possession only tried to fly forward, which allowed them to sit back and soak up our lame pressure. We had a few free kicks that Fabregas hit very poorly. The game wasn't helped at all by the pathetic, conversational, boring commentary. It wasn't near as bad as Max Bretos or that inexplicably, horrendously bad commentator from Fox Soccer Channel whose name I forget, you know the guy I'm talking about. He's always popping in with these obnoxious Spanish sayings and annectdotes and commentating on the game like like he knows better than the managers down on the touchline. Jesus Christ he's awful. Brazil could be playing Spain in the World Cup Finals being played on a floating pitch in space and I wouldn't watch it if that guy was commentating.
40 minutes on the clock and it was still 2 nil. There was a cock up, UEFA.com fucked it up and the Liverpool match commentator fell for it too, as you would. It was relieving I have to say but I was still skeptical. That was until Diaby pulled a good run out of his had, burning past two defenders before sliding in for Bendtner to run onto and finish very neatly under the keeper. The whistle went and we went in 2-1 down after Bendtner scored a crucial goal. A pleasantly stark contrast to 4-0 at 20 minutes.
The half time report was that we were very poor. They were committed, but even so, we were bad. Clichy wasn't particularly good, neither were Cesc, Song, Diaby, or Eduardo. Bendtner was working hard but I think we just have to accept that he just doesn't have the quality we all want him to have. Gallas and Vermaelen could hold their heads high and Mannone, although he missed timed a couple of clearances, did a fine job with everything else that was asked of him. He looked very composed.
We started the second half by conceded a corner, which we broke away from with Rosicky flying past a Liege player and then sending a wonderful 60 yard pass long and high down the middle to Bendtner who controlled it perfectly and would have scored was it now for one of the best tackles I've ever seen by Mangelar, the scorer of the first goal.
The game went on and we continued to boss the ball but did nothing with it. We went forward and ran into a red wall again and again. They just sat behind the half way line, as soon as we entered their half they pressed and we had to start again, as our passing continued to be poor. We were playing straight into their adjusted game plan, adjusted because they surely didn't expect to be 2-1 up at this stage.
We eventually began to keep the ball better higher up the park and our possession was rewarded with a few free kicks in good positions. The problem with our free kicks was that without van Persie, Cesc was left with the responsibility and his deliveries were consistently bad.
But it was looking up, slightly. And just as it did, the chocolate eating, lace weaving Belgiums came flying at us and got a few players in behind. Their Brazilian Belgium crossed low across the box and it was missed by Diaby, Vermaelen and Mannone and if it wasn't for Eboue's excellent clearance over the bar from 4 yards out, it would have been 3-1. Eboue has his bad moments, he had several horrendous ones last season, but be that as it may, he seems to get no credit for his good work. It seems that it takes 90 minutes of blistering play and outstanding quality (like at Celtic) for him to get any credit.
Just after that the game seemed to open up for about 5 minutes but we couldn't quite take advantage with 1-2's not quite coming off, or slips on the ball or some kind of mini disaster occurring at the worst possible moment. And on occasion their forwards would get in behind our midfield and try to expose our defenders and Gallas and Vermaelen were always on hand to make timely tackles and interceptions and they were monstrous in the air. They really are forming some kind of good partnership.
The 70th minute saw Rosicky come off for Ramsey. Rosicky's first start in 20 months was good, he played well, worked hard and while he was a little out of context, slightly out of flow with some of his teammates, he showed the kind of quality he can bring at times. He was the only player playing with some real urgency. Almost immediately we got our 2nd shot on target. It was easily saved and wasn't that great of a shot but it was progress. 73 minutes saw another shot on target, another baby step. Then on 76 minutes Eduardo did really well to beat 2 players on the dribble and was fouled in the process. Cesc finally played a good ball in and it was flicked on by Eduardo to the very offsides Alex Song who handballed it and poked it to the also offsides Vermaelen who poked it home. Square at 2 all after 78minutes. Much better than 4 nil down on 20.
Football can be funny, we get unlucky a few times in Manchester and karmic retribution lands on the poor Belgian minnows. The rich get richer and the little Belgians see a wonderful night on their Champions' League debut slipping away.
Then under a minute after our equalizer we could have been 3-2 up. Bendtner came very deep for the ball, played it on into the box and after a couple of 1-2's Cesc played it to Eduardo who hit the ball with his right to the far post, producing a great save from Bolat. From the resulting corner Vermaelen hit an outrageous back heal straight out of the air, which was cleared off the line by the man on the post. We were a slightly new Arsenal. We played with urgency and some quality. Eduardo almost got in on goal from a long ball out of the back but was tackled well. Then from the corner he scored the winner with his knee. The ball swung in and Sagna cleverly ducked under the ball as he looked to head. This seemed to confuse everyone in the box except Eduardo who was Johnny on the spot, getting his knee in front of his marker. The man who was supposed to have been banned, who had a terrible first half, making the mistake that led to their first goal, who was supposed to be subbed just before we scored our second, set up a crazy offsides, handball equalizer with a flick and scored the winner in the middle of a crowded box with his knee.
So we were bad, but we won. We had a young goal keeper who had little to do but pick the ball out of his net twice and pick up a couple of loose balls in the box. We had a few additional injuries to our already lengthy injury list and we managed to come back from 2-0 down after 5 minutes to win 3-2. A potential disaster turned into a greatly spirited, if lacking in quality, performance. We'll put the performance behind us but we'll remember the spirit and the result and will be able to use this to galvanize our team and put together what we all hope to be a good string of good results.
WE LOVE YOU ARSENAL WE DO!...
I got to work and took my requisite exam and started my 4th day of training. I was so angry I could hardly contain it, 4 nil down and I wasn't even supposed to know anything about the game until after work. 4 nil down in 20 minutes, how were we going to come back? No Arshavin, no van Persie, no Nasri, no Walcott, no Vela, all players who could turn the game. Diaby, Rosicky, Cesc and Eduardo are all capable as well but Rosicky has only just come back, Eduardo really needs to feed off of service, Cesc is out of form and Diaby is Diaby.
I left my phone in my pocket during my shift and my nuts were vibrating constantly throughout the night, no doubt the game was eventful. Just to kick me in the pants a little extra the girl who was training me was a turbo control freak who was just about trying to teach me how to breathe.
I got through the night without much event and after tasting some wines and hashing out my problems with my trainer, managed to calm down. My girlfriend picked me up and greeted me with the loving affection a fragile Arsenal fan often needs.
I turned on the game and watched as we conceded a needless corner, Mannone, who looks just like that guy from the eHarmony commercials, didn't give Song a shout and Song put the Liege cross needlessly out for a corner. We cleared the corner and then Eduardo, the mad Brazilian that he is, tried to back heel the ball out of the air to Cesc on the edge of our own box. Their giant center back fended off Fabregas' challenge and sent his shot low and hard to the near post bottom corner. You could argue that a keeper shouldn't really be beaten at his near post but it's hard to argue that any of our keepers would have saved that shot. Under ordinary circumstances I wouldn't be too worried, we made an early mistake and conceded a goal, but knowing that we went on to concede 3 more in the next 18 minutes I wasn't at all happy.
We went at them right away with total immoderation and immaturity and opened ourselves up at the back by leaving huge spaces with poor passing. They countered with Jovanavic dribbling at our defense. Gallas came in with a challenge as the attacker cut the ball back and their toes seemed to graze each other about 3 inches outside the box, which was only evident after the replay. In real time it looked like there wasn't any contact. Such is life that the penalty was given. The penalty wasn't good but Mannone went the wrong way even though the replays showed that Jovanovic made it about as obvious as a ten year old would have that he was going to the keepers right. 2-0 down inside 5 minutes.
The game went on and we kept the ball for the rest of the half, which was uneventful. We did keep the ball, but not well at all. Passes were all over the place, we kept no real possession only tried to fly forward, which allowed them to sit back and soak up our lame pressure. We had a few free kicks that Fabregas hit very poorly. The game wasn't helped at all by the pathetic, conversational, boring commentary. It wasn't near as bad as Max Bretos or that inexplicably, horrendously bad commentator from Fox Soccer Channel whose name I forget, you know the guy I'm talking about. He's always popping in with these obnoxious Spanish sayings and annectdotes and commentating on the game like like he knows better than the managers down on the touchline. Jesus Christ he's awful. Brazil could be playing Spain in the World Cup Finals being played on a floating pitch in space and I wouldn't watch it if that guy was commentating.
40 minutes on the clock and it was still 2 nil. There was a cock up, UEFA.com fucked it up and the Liverpool match commentator fell for it too, as you would. It was relieving I have to say but I was still skeptical. That was until Diaby pulled a good run out of his had, burning past two defenders before sliding in for Bendtner to run onto and finish very neatly under the keeper. The whistle went and we went in 2-1 down after Bendtner scored a crucial goal. A pleasantly stark contrast to 4-0 at 20 minutes.
The half time report was that we were very poor. They were committed, but even so, we were bad. Clichy wasn't particularly good, neither were Cesc, Song, Diaby, or Eduardo. Bendtner was working hard but I think we just have to accept that he just doesn't have the quality we all want him to have. Gallas and Vermaelen could hold their heads high and Mannone, although he missed timed a couple of clearances, did a fine job with everything else that was asked of him. He looked very composed.
We started the second half by conceded a corner, which we broke away from with Rosicky flying past a Liege player and then sending a wonderful 60 yard pass long and high down the middle to Bendtner who controlled it perfectly and would have scored was it now for one of the best tackles I've ever seen by Mangelar, the scorer of the first goal.
The game went on and we continued to boss the ball but did nothing with it. We went forward and ran into a red wall again and again. They just sat behind the half way line, as soon as we entered their half they pressed and we had to start again, as our passing continued to be poor. We were playing straight into their adjusted game plan, adjusted because they surely didn't expect to be 2-1 up at this stage.
We eventually began to keep the ball better higher up the park and our possession was rewarded with a few free kicks in good positions. The problem with our free kicks was that without van Persie, Cesc was left with the responsibility and his deliveries were consistently bad.
But it was looking up, slightly. And just as it did, the chocolate eating, lace weaving Belgiums came flying at us and got a few players in behind. Their Brazilian Belgium crossed low across the box and it was missed by Diaby, Vermaelen and Mannone and if it wasn't for Eboue's excellent clearance over the bar from 4 yards out, it would have been 3-1. Eboue has his bad moments, he had several horrendous ones last season, but be that as it may, he seems to get no credit for his good work. It seems that it takes 90 minutes of blistering play and outstanding quality (like at Celtic) for him to get any credit.
Just after that the game seemed to open up for about 5 minutes but we couldn't quite take advantage with 1-2's not quite coming off, or slips on the ball or some kind of mini disaster occurring at the worst possible moment. And on occasion their forwards would get in behind our midfield and try to expose our defenders and Gallas and Vermaelen were always on hand to make timely tackles and interceptions and they were monstrous in the air. They really are forming some kind of good partnership.
The 70th minute saw Rosicky come off for Ramsey. Rosicky's first start in 20 months was good, he played well, worked hard and while he was a little out of context, slightly out of flow with some of his teammates, he showed the kind of quality he can bring at times. He was the only player playing with some real urgency. Almost immediately we got our 2nd shot on target. It was easily saved and wasn't that great of a shot but it was progress. 73 minutes saw another shot on target, another baby step. Then on 76 minutes Eduardo did really well to beat 2 players on the dribble and was fouled in the process. Cesc finally played a good ball in and it was flicked on by Eduardo to the very offsides Alex Song who handballed it and poked it to the also offsides Vermaelen who poked it home. Square at 2 all after 78minutes. Much better than 4 nil down on 20.
Football can be funny, we get unlucky a few times in Manchester and karmic retribution lands on the poor Belgian minnows. The rich get richer and the little Belgians see a wonderful night on their Champions' League debut slipping away.
Then under a minute after our equalizer we could have been 3-2 up. Bendtner came very deep for the ball, played it on into the box and after a couple of 1-2's Cesc played it to Eduardo who hit the ball with his right to the far post, producing a great save from Bolat. From the resulting corner Vermaelen hit an outrageous back heal straight out of the air, which was cleared off the line by the man on the post. We were a slightly new Arsenal. We played with urgency and some quality. Eduardo almost got in on goal from a long ball out of the back but was tackled well. Then from the corner he scored the winner with his knee. The ball swung in and Sagna cleverly ducked under the ball as he looked to head. This seemed to confuse everyone in the box except Eduardo who was Johnny on the spot, getting his knee in front of his marker. The man who was supposed to have been banned, who had a terrible first half, making the mistake that led to their first goal, who was supposed to be subbed just before we scored our second, set up a crazy offsides, handball equalizer with a flick and scored the winner in the middle of a crowded box with his knee.
So we were bad, but we won. We had a young goal keeper who had little to do but pick the ball out of his net twice and pick up a couple of loose balls in the box. We had a few additional injuries to our already lengthy injury list and we managed to come back from 2-0 down after 5 minutes to win 3-2. A potential disaster turned into a greatly spirited, if lacking in quality, performance. We'll put the performance behind us but we'll remember the spirit and the result and will be able to use this to galvanize our team and put together what we all hope to be a good string of good results.
WE LOVE YOU ARSENAL WE DO!...
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