Halloo everyone, it's Monday morning and we're deep into enemy interlull territory. It'll take us another 6 days to get out, so in the mean time we'll do a little review of the season so far.
I think it can be said that we began the season with the fans in good cheer. We were all very excited for the competition to start after a very comprehensive pre-season that saw us beat Rangers, Atletico Madrid and a host of other teams, after drawing our opener with Barnet. Some youngsters got their feet wet, including the very exciting Jack Wilshere, the next great hope for England and Arsenal and some first teamers got back to the team while some were rested and some were injured.
The Everton game was set to be a big clash. Nobody really likes seeing Everton away on the first day of the fixture list and with only 1 signing we'd been written off our top four place by just about everyone in wake of Man City's outrageous spending spree, which saw the Adebayor and Kolo Toure out of the club. I think we all agree that it was good to see the back of Adebayor, especially for 25 million, but it was sad to see King Kolo go, even if we did get 16 million for someone we paid 250,000 for.
While we only signed 1 central defender, we got another back from loan and two players back from serious long term injuries in Eduardo and Rosicky, but lost Nasri, Fabianski and Djourou to long term injuries in the process. And then more bad news, Rosicky was set to miss the first month of the season too. So we started the game a little light in midfield and with additional injuries to Walcott and Vela, a little light up front and of course without our number 3 at center back and our number 2 in goal, we were light in those positions too. Typical, we start a crucial season with some potentially crucial injuries and we've got Everton away followed by Celtic in the Champions' League qualifier.
We start the Everton game well and play some nice stuff and then Denilson comes through with an excellent opener and a fantastically happy celebration. Then Everton go to sleep on a couple of free kicks and Vermaelen scores on his debut and Gallas heads home too. Cesc gets his first of the season just after the break and we're flying. Then Cesc gets his second with a great individual goal, Eduardo poaches one in the last minute and we've hit them for 6 with 5 different scorers including a center mid who could use some goals, a forward just back to league play from a long long injury and, a debutant center back and the 3rd top scoring defender in premier league history.
We couldn't keep the shut out but we scored 6 away to a good side on the opening day with a very complete and clinical performance and really zipped the mouths of our critics. It was a happy day all around with Bendtner standing out as an ample fixture up front and will provide great competition for the returning Walcott, Vela and Rosicky.
Next were Celtic in a deadly important Champions' League qualifier. It wasn't exactly the fixture we wanted but we were certainly the favorites. Kick off came and we were on fire again. We pressed them hard and high and our new 4-3-3 formation was working a charm. We could all see that it suits our players and even with Bendtner out on the right and van Persie central we were playing great football.
It was all coming together and while we weren't breaking through we were really on top of the Scotts. Song was outstanding, Gallas and Vermaelen were forming a great partnership with the Belgian standing out with great tackles and excellent aerial aggression. We came through the game winning 2-0 with just about the jammiest opener you'll ever see after Cesc free kick cannoned off Gallas back and wrong footed Boruc in the Celtic goal. We pressed on for a second and got it in the 70th minute or so after good work from Diaby led to a Celtic own goal. The press said it was lucky but there was nothing lucky about it. It was a fine build up and a killer ball, had the defender not gone for it Bendtner was lurking for a tap in. 2-0 away, job essentially done.
We played Portsmouth in our first home game of the season the following weekend. With Portsmouth struggling we rested a number of starters, except for Cesc who for some reason played. We never got out of gear during this game and played at training pace but still scored 4. Diaby got the first 2 in a good performance from him and they were great goals. Gallas got the 3rd and Ramsey finished nicely late on for the 4th. We could have had a couple more but didn't finish. The game finished 4-1 and we well and truly moving early in the season.
Then came the Celtic second leg and along with it some serious controversy. Well, some silly controversy but it was controversial. Eduardo dived to win a penalty on about 25 minutes and then dispatched it calmly after the hullabaloo afterwards. We played well again and went at them but with less urgency than the 1st leg. Eboue scored a nice goal and then Arshavin scored a very similar one not long after. Eboue and Eduardo were fantastic, which were great signs that both of them had turned corners. Eduardo was well and truly over his injury and Eboue was well and truly over being Eboue and was ready to be a professional.
In the end the penalty was meaningless as we really hammered them over the 2 legs, they never stood a chance and were never really in for a sniff. Over the 2 legs they had 2 shots on target, 1 of them going in in the last minute of the second leg. Still Eduardo was suspended in a flame of UEFA inefficiency. They had opened a can of worms they never had a chance to contain and so they overturned the suspension, which proved vital later on.
We were well and truly rolling and had built some nice momentum to take to Old Trafford, although we had lost Cesc to injury, something that for me proved vital. The game against Man U started off OK. For the most part we were canceling each other out with neither midfield able to really hold the ball too well. We were the most attacking of the 2 teams and began to boss the game towards the end of the half but again found it difficult to use the width to create space. Fletcher was on a rampage throwing tackles all over the place, including nowhere near the ball on several occasions with Michael Carrick following suit. Of course Alex Song was booked for his first offense and that was the way the game went. They got away with murder in around the 35th minute or something like that when Fletcher went flying into a tackle on Arshavin, getting nowhere near the ball and completely taking out the Russian before scooping the ball up with his arm and running off with it. No penalty, the ref completely fluffed it. Arshavin got the ball about 30 seconds later and drove forward and with nobody to close him down let fly from 30 yards and smashed the netting in the near post top corner.
1-0 up at half time and we deserved our lead. The 2nd half was much like the end of the 1st. We were dominating possession and looked dangerous but were caught on the break by a great pass in behind Gallas for Rooney who charged into the box. Almunia came when he didn't need to and Rooney went to ground a good two yards before the keeper got to him. The penalty was awarded and it was much the same as Eduardo. Almunia was booked and Rooney scored the penalty. It was 1-1 but I wasn't all that worried as we looked the better team. Then came Diaby's crazy own goal and we just couldn't break them down until the last second when RvP scored a goal that was disallowed. Cue the super retardo moron ref show and Wenger was sent to the stands for kicking a water bottle in frustration. He ended up being planted on top of the tunnel where he was ranked and screamed at abusively by the United fans for the remaining minute or so. The ref was bad throughout and what he did to Wenger was disgraceful. We lost a game we deserved a lot more out of and our momentum came to a screaming halt.
The international break came after and we had time to collect ourselves before facing Man City. This was another crazy affair in Manchester where inept refereeing hurt our chances. We were on top of them from the 1st whistle to the last and managed to lose 4-2. We were slightly unlucky on the 1st goal as it came off the post and back off Almunia, but really the keeper should have had it before it hit the post. The free kick was questionable in the first place and Richards was at least a yard and a half offside.
We brought it back to 1-1 with RvP scoring his first of the season after he was set up by the excellent Rosicky, making his first appearance of the season. Throughout the game Adebayor was out to hurt our boys and stood on Cesc and wasn't even booked, slapped and kicked Song and stamped on van Persie's face. At 1-1 we looked like the only team that would score as we pressed and pressed and they scored on the break, a poor goal to give up after Song should have tackled easily and Almunia maybe should have done better from Bellamy's shot.
We pressed on and again looked like scoring and were caught on the break again and Adebayor scored an unmarked header and was finally booked after he ran 100 yards to celebrate in front of our fans. Scum. Then they scored another to rub salt in the wounds as we were pressing again. We hit the post, had 2 cleared off the line, Given saved 3/4 times and really we could have come back to make it 3-3 had we not been scored on. We finally scored and made if 4-2 and realistically could have made it 4-4 even but didn't and lost. Another game we should have won where we were victims of terrible reffing, really really genuinely awful reffing.
2 losses in 4 league games wasn't good, especially after our explosive start and we had the Champions' League to pick up some momentum again. Almunia got ill and so we had to throw Vito Mannone into the action with Fabianski injured. We all saw him in pre-season and weren't exactly impressed so I think we were all a little worried.
There was nothing the young Don could do about our terrible start in Belgium. We fell 2 goals behind inside 5 minutes. Eduardo made a terrible mistake on the edge of our area and Cesc feeble attempt at a tackle saw them score the 1st. They got a slightly fortunate penalty 3 minutes later and scored a truly bad penalty, had he gone the right way surely Mannone would have saved.
We didn't come back very well, we were playing poorly but for 1 good moment from Diaby where he powered past 2 defenders and slid in Bendtner who took his chance well. It was a crucial goal as it got us back in the game at half time.
Then Eduardo made amends for his mistake and set up the equalizer from Cesc only good free kick of the night (there were many bad ones) with a nice flick for Vermaelen to score after a crazy offsides handball goal mouth sramble and scored the winner himself. We turned a potentially disastrous result into a great galvanizing come back win away in the Champions League.
Then, in a rather bland game against Wigan, we put away 4 again with Vermaelen scoring the opening 2. The 1st a powerful header from a corner, the second an awesome top corner curler from the top of the box after a 1-2 with Eboue. We didn't get into gear again but they couldn't touch us. Oddly enough we could have scored about 10 in this game but the 4 did enough.
Then our youngsters played West Brom in the Carling Cup and we were fairly fortunate to win the game 2-0 as we weren't looking all that good until they had a man sent off for slapping Jack Wilshere. We scored 2 goals late on and saw Vela play and score for the 1st time this season.
Then there was Fulham away. This has proved a tough fixture the past couple of seasons and with Almunia still out we had to rely on Mannone to come good. And come good he did. He was awesome. He kept us in the game with 5/6 fantastic saves. We didn't play particularly well but weren't all that poor either. A draw may have been a fair result through the course of the game, but when you compare chances then Fulham were certainly on top. van Persie scored a great goal with a great touch and finish from Cesc sublime pass at the beginning of the 2nd half and that was enough after Mannone's heroics.
Olympiacos in the Champions' League was next. We battered them from the 1st minute on and could have won 24 nil but they threw 11 men behind the ball and kept us out until late on, but van Persie finished well in the 77th after a nice team move and Arshavin scored a great little Cryuff flick to finish them off. Mannone came up with a couple of good stops in this 1 too as they threatened once or twice. We were really superior and are looking well set to progress top of the group as the other teams keep drawing.
Then there was Blackburn. What can you say about this game. It was our most complete performance of the season. Although we were a bit shakey at the back for the 1st two, they were certainly avoidable and with some work goals like those will be cut out. We attacked superbly and finished clinically and Vermaelen's goal was outstanding. And then there was Cesc Fabregas. He put in the most complete center mids performance I've ever seen from anybody at any level in any game. If he continues to play like that for the rest of the year he'll win the world player of the year award. He set up 4, hit the bar, had one cleared off the line, force 2 good saves and scored a peach of a left foot volley before he was subbed. Bendtner finished off the scoring with a stonker from 20 yards and we're rolling again.
Nasri is back in training, Denilson has been out and will continue to be for another month or so, which is a big loss considering his form, but one we can cope with. Fabianski and Almunia are both back to give Mannone a run for the #1 spot which is well and truly up for grabs at the moment and we're as close to having a complete squad as we've been for years, minus Djourou or course.
van Persie has hit his stride, Rosicky is in top form and the central defenders have formed a great and effective partnership. If we can keep this momentum going and win the north London derby at the end of the month we'll be in good poise to continue through November and roll well and fast into our game against Chelsea. Should we win that the title race will be well and truly on and tight.
So, minus a couple of hickups so far, so great for the Arsenal. It's as good a start to the season we could have asked for without being selfish.
Come on you Arsenal.
Highbury86
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