Friday, December 23, 2011

The Flying Dutchman, at the brink of summit

Can he do it now or now? This is what everyone's put their money on, at the end of this year. Which has been a historic half of season for Arsenal. Robin Van Persie aka The Flying Dutchman, is on the brink of history, He is just 2 goals away from equaling Alan Shearer's record of 36 goals in a calendar season. He already equaled Thierry Henry's record of 34 goals, when he score the opener against Villa, with a smooth penalty kick. With 2 games to play till the end of the season, home games against Wolves and QPR. There is no reason to think, he can't break the record.
  Its been a tremendous season for the dutch maestro. He has lead the team as a captain, as a leader, as a talisman both on the pitch and off the pitch. His goals in this season, has helped arsenal to reach a respectable position on the premier league table, after a worst possible start. They have also qualified for the round of 16 in the champion's league. The Team spirit on the pitch as well as in the dressing room is phenomenal. The team has been together when they have lost and together when they have won. He is a man of few words, but his leadership is very much evident on the pitch, motivating and pushing the young players to do well.

Here is a compilation of top 5 performances in his 34 goals achievement

1. Vs Everton 11/12/11




2. Vs Sunderland 26/10/11
      Both goals were top notch, with RVP getting the fastest goal, and a late thunderous free kick at the top corner. 5 star performance

3. Vs Chelsea 29/10/11 
   Hatrick hero: scored 3 great goals, to help arsenal get past chelsea in a frantic game, which ended 5-3 to Arsenal


4. Vs Barcelona 


          The 2nd half resurgence of Arsenal shows Van persie scoring an amazing goal from tight angle to level the score with barcelona. Arsenal winning the game finally with a superb shot from Arshavin in the closing minutes of the game.

5. Vs Stoke City


    Robin Van Persie came off the bench to score 2 goals and get arsenal the much needed victory.




Monday, December 19, 2011

Manchester City vs Arsenal: Player Ratings

It was a pulsating game at the Etihad stadium, but Arsenal finally losing out on the game 1-0 to Manchester city courtesy of a lone 2nd half goal by David Silva.
It was an entertaining contest between the two teams, with 1st half being rather timid display by both teams. City had more chances in the 1st half. Ken Aguero came close to giving City the breakthrough twice in the first half, but Szczesny showed some great reflexes to stop him from scoring. Arsenal had some half chances in first half through Aaron Ramsey.
Second half was more entertaining with end to end stuff. Great attacking moves from both teams. City scored from a powerful shot from Balotelli with scooped out of Szczesny's hand and the rebound was put in by Silva for the goal. Man city could have score atleast 2 more goals, with woodwork playing a spoilsport for a powerful shot by Zabaleta and Aguero's shot was just wide. Arsenal themselves had some close opportunities with Van Persie's header was judged offside from a beautiful cross by walcott. Also a nice lob shot from Van Persie was judged offside. Joe Hart played a crucial role in the dying minutes, as he was bombarded with powerful kicks by Vermaelen. Arsenal had a close penalty shout when the ball hit Micah Richards' arm right in front of Phil Dowd's eyes. In any other day, it would have been a penalty.
Finally it ended with a scoreline of 1-0 to City. Arsene Wenger will be pretty much disappointed with the result.  While Mancini will be relieved to avoid consecutive defeats in the premier league.

Szczesny : 7 
Overall Solid performance. Some may argue he could have done better with balotelli's shot. But pulled out some great saves in the first half. 


Djourou: 6
Had a quite game, dint have much to do. But was effective moving forward. He picked up some strain in the 2nd half was replaced by young Ignasi Miquel 


Mertesacker: 6
Mixed game for the big german, was woeful at times, but did pull out some good aerial tackles.


Koscielny : 7.5
He was fantastic throughout the match. solid defending in first half. Was shifted to left back early in the 2nd half to accommodate Vermaelen in the centre.


Vermaelen: 7 
Solid performance as usual by the defender. Strong in the air. Showed some attacking skills, nearly equalized for Arsenal

Song: 6
Working tirelessly in the midfield. Moved to centre back in the later stages of the game. Couldn't block Balotelli's shot. 


Arteta: 6
Not a great game by his standards. Was stranded deep in the midfield, while song took the attack to the opposition. Did show some good passing.


Walcott: 5
Poor game for the Englishman. Was kept totally silent in the first half by some exquisite marking by zabaleta. Showed some good skills in the 2nd half but wasn't effective.


Ramsey: 6.5
Good game for the welshman. Some good passing movies. Almost came close to scoring in the first half .


Gervinho: 7
Was lively in the entire match. Had some decent chances in the match. Teamed up nicely with Van persie to lead the Arsenal attack. 


Van Persie: 6.5
The flying dutchman couldn't rescue Arsenal from defeat this time around. Had some good shots on goal blocked by Hart. Lost the ball couple of times in the box. Not his best performance. 


Substitutions: 
Ignasi Miquel: 6
Decent game for the youngster. Replaced Djourou in the 2nd half. Was nervous, but pulled his game together. Got some intelligent tackles on Villa. Handled the pressure well 


Andrei Arshavin: 5.5
Came in for Walcott in the 2nd half. The Russian seemed to be a bit lost on the pitch. Had a wonderful chance to pass in a simple cross to RVP in the box, but missed out on it. Had a shot on goal in the later stages of the game. Clock might be ticking for the little russian. 


Maroune Chamakh: N/A
Dint have enough time on the pitch to influence the game. Came in for Mertesacker during the last 10 minutes of the game. 







Sunday, December 18, 2011

Manchester City vs Arsenal : Preview

Few months ago when Arsenal started their 2011-12 season campaign, they had tough games back to back against Liverpool and Manchester united. One game which will remain like a scar in arsenal history is the game against United at old trafford, where we succumbed to a 8-2 drubbing, which was quoted as a Manchester united team vs Arsenal school team. Today 18Th December 2011, we travel to other side of Manchester to the Etihad stadium for a game against the league leaders Manchester city. The difference is now we have got a mature and confident squad contrary to what we had in early august-september. The team strength and confidence is just growing every game. The Club just celebrated 125 years of existence last weekend, and the unity and love in the team is just very much evident on the pitch and dressing room. 
    Though we are 9 points adrift the leaders, the confidence and belief that we can come with a win can be seen on the faces of all the players. The table tennis tournaments, the captaincy of Robin Van Persie, mutual admiration for team mates have lifted the team spirit.Robin van persie is in the form of his life scoring 33 goals in this calendar years, just 4 goals away from Allan Shearer who currently holds the record with 37 goals and 1 goal away from the Arsenal legend Thierry Henry with 34 goals. There is no reason why RVP can't overtake Shearer in the goals tally. The Resurgence of Alex Song in the central midfield had surprised everyone. Strong in defense, never shy to attack when given the opportunity. He has matured very well in the central midfield after the gap left by Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri. He has partnered well with Mikel Arteta to give us a competitive edge. His presence will be crucial in today's game. He will have to play that protective role in front of our shaky defense. Man city has shown some really strong attacking skills from the likes of Sergio Aguero, Balotelli, David Silva, Edin Dzeko, and off course the former Arsenal man Samir Nasri. It will be interesting to see how he tackles all the boos by the away fans. The list is endless, Man city have a strong attacking unit. On the other hand, Arsenal defence this season has been good on and off. The return of Thomas Vermaelen, gave a big boost to the defence. With both Santos and Sagna out with injuries, he will again take over the left back position, with Mertesacker and Koscielny in the centre, and Djourou at Right back. Mertesacker has been shaky but Koscielny has been solid. So has been the young polish Goalkeeper Szczesny. 
    Attacking options are plenty. Arteta and Ramsey would be important in the midfield to make those through balls to strikers. Walcott has been in good form this season at the right wing. Arsenal will look to his services for the long runs in the wings as well as crosses in the box. He will have to overcome the defensive lines of Zabaleta. Gervinho too has had a good season. has created more assists than Samir nasri for Man city. But his finishing has been poor. It will be an interesting test against the well established defense of Lescott and Kompany. Former Arsenal man Clichy will miss the game because of suspension. Man City on the other hand have taken a jolt to their rampaging start to the season. They got knocked out of Champion's league even after defeating Bayern Munich in their final match. That was followed by a loss at stamford bridge to Chelsea, to end their unbeaten run in the League. Roberto Mancini will look to his Strikers to end their dismal run in last week. While Arsenal will look to inflict more wounds to Mancini's men. Mikel Arteta has said,
 If we can defeat manchester city, no one will doubt our capabilities to win the league 
And yes it will be an eye opener for the other teams, that Arsenal is back in the title race.

Probable Line ups:
Manchester City :  Hart, Richards, Kompany, Lescott, Zabaleta, Milner, Toure, Barry, Silva, Aguero, Balotelli 


Arsenal : Szczesny, Djourou, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Vermaelen, Song, Ramsey, Arteta, Walcott, Van Persie, Gervinho 


Predictions: Manchester City 2-3 Arsenal 
A hard fought win for Arsenal with goals from either sides.