Before this game, everything points to a comfortable Arsenal win, even though it is at Anfield. We’re of course on a high after the 7-0 demolition job on Slavia Prague while Liverpool have in general played poorly and went down to Besiktas in midweek. If things stayed that way we would win comfortably, however we all know that is not the case and this match will be the toughest match we have played all season. It being at Anfield may even help us, as the Anfield crowd will want them to play attacking football, and if they do we will destroy them; I suspect however they will put three men on Fabregas and try to kick us off the park.
As always is the regular list of injuries; Robin Van Persie is out for a month of course while Senderos has injured his back and we will see the short duo of Kolo Toure and William Gallas in the middle. Other than that though we appear to have most of our first team players fit, while Liverpool have Arsenal darling (and this is said with *extreme* sarcasm if you don’t pick it up) Jermaine Pennant, who wowed the crowd at Highbury with his drinking, driving and other such habits.
I would assume that Liverpool will play Crouch up front; the beanpole striker of course scored a hat trick against us time round and we will have trouble keeping him how, especially as Sagna is the only player in defense that is a competent header of the ball. Liverpool however have Daniel Agger out and will thus have to play Hyypia at the back - put Adebayor 1v1 against him and there’ll only be one winner (the Togonian for those of you too thick to get that). There are rumours? that Wenger may unleash Theo Walcott after his sensational performance against Slavia Prague; while some Gooners feel that this would be wasteful, I think that Walcott would thrive as he did last year against Chelsea in the Carling Cup final. Liverpool will have difficulty dealing with Adebayor and Walcott on the ground (Carragher is not the quickest) and if we slip in one of those players behind the defense, that should result in a goal (or two).
Anyways, here’s my prediction for the team to play today:
————-Almunia——————
-Sagna–Toure–Gallas–Clichy
———–Flamini————-
—Hleb–Cesc–Rosicky–Walcott
————Adebayor————-
Wenger may decide to bring Gilberto instead of Flamini as the Brazilian did well after he came on in midweek and he is used to the big games; it would be unfair to drop the Flamster though so I’m not too sure about that. Anyways, I know a few Gunners are feeling nervous about tonight- to cheer you guys up, here’s the video of the absolute mauling we dished out to them in the Carling Cup last season. Baptista hit four and even Alex ‘Zidane’ Song got one! Only our goals though, and watch out for Rafa’s face at the end.
Sunday is not a game of two giants; it’s a game of two titans. But the tale of the two titans were hugely in contrast at the beginning of the season; Liverpool were regarded to win the title, and Arsenal were regarded to finish 5th. But at the moment the reverse is happening. If Arsenal lose, momentum is lost and it could change our season. If Liverpool lose, Rafa will be a step closer to losing his job, although he is very far from doing so at the moment.
Torres is back. Those 3 words are what the Arsenal back line should have feared, but are not fearing. Why? Because the Arsenal back line have come off a clean sheet. Arsenal would have taken 4-0 rather than 7-1 against Slavia… why? Because of the clean sheet. A clean sheet brings confidence to the back line and helps gel the defence more efficiently. A clean sheet going into Liverpool on Sunday brings calmness to the defence and Almunia. It reassures us, that even if we play badly, we have the personnel to keep a good clean sheet. This is a great asset to have.
Arsène Wenger was right. After the departure of Titi, he has trusted the group, the young players. What has changed this year is drive, collective desire, and fighting spirit.
Thierry wanted success instantly, Gallas understands this might not happen but is making the most of our exceptional run of form. Arsenal had enough of being written off. Arsenal had enough of being classed as poor, and when Henry left they wanted to prove a point. The point has been partially proven, but we need to capitalise on this great run of form to prove a point to the tossers who write in the newspapers.
On another note, Jens said Wenger is humiliating him. However, Jens is humuliating himself. He needs to shut up and work hard. Wenger likes players who don’t complain, the track record proves it; Aliadiere didn’t complain thus Wenger kept him for 8 years even though a normal player would have been sold after 4. Almunia didn’t complain and has now been given his chance. Parlour never complained about being bit-part in the team and he turned into an unsung legend.
Jens will be going soon. But one person that has already gone is Martin Jol. Jol left last night before the game with Getafe kicked off. He waited to choose to tell the players after the match, which is fair; if he was sacked before the match Spurs would have lost 4-0. But in the end only ended up losing 2-1. When will Spurs understand that they cannot become successful until they back a manager and keep him at Spurs for 5+ years? When a manager is given backing, no matter how bad the run of form is, it can only get better. When a manager has the board breathing down his kneck, it’s only a matter of time before he gets sacked. Why? Because pressure in football is a colossal force that only results in the downfall of a club.
Jol would have turned it around. He was the manager to take it to the next level. He just needed time. He was given money, but needed time. He also needed the team for himself, not Comolli butting his nose in on who to buy and who to sell. Jol wanted to keep Carrick, but Comolli called Levy and said, ‘I have a player better than Carrick for half Carricks price. Sell Michael, it will not affect us’. The board sold Carrick and bought in Zokora, who was nowhere near the standard of Carrick. They needed Muntari, Appiah, Yaya, someone with great passing ability and great physical presence, not the King of laziness a.k.a Zokora.
To conclude, I came across this picture of Paul Robinson which had me in stitches for around 10 straight minutes, hope you enjoy it:
Firstly, at 10.42pm last night I ordered a small half mighty half full house pizza from Dominos. You are probably thinking ‘What the hell is he on about this time?!’. Well, I’m am the ultimate predictor. Yes yes I know, but I really am. I predicted Jose walking, I predicted England to beat France in the World Cup when everyone was writing England off, I predicted Arsenal to be better this season without Henry and so far I am correct. Then I predicted what I was going to do at 10.42pm last night; eat a Dominos pizza. And so I did.
Back to the real world… need I talk much about Arsenal? Not really. But I shall. ITV4’s presenter summed it all up in one line after the 5th goal by Fabregas:
‘This is perfect football from Arsenal. What an excellent display we have had tonight’
He was right. It was perfect football. Everything was clicking; Walcott’s pace, Hleb’s skills, Fabregas’ inch perfect passing, Almunia’s calmness, Sagna’s physical presence, Gallas commanding the back line. It all worked, it was like Pavarotti singing Nessun Dorma at the Opera; it was smooth and classy. Nessun Dorma translates to ‘Nobody Shall Sleep’, and last night nobody at the Emirates was bored thus didn’t fall asleep.
Jens is becoming ever more frustrated with Wenger. Jens will be sold soon. Whether it’s January or July, it does not matter. Jens will be sold; he will go back to Germany and then retire after a year. But it doesn’t matter, it doesn’t matter because we have Fabianski who in 4 years time will be as good as Cech. At the moment Almunia is getting his chance and fair play to him. I always backed Almunia, on Goonersweb I said he will shine once given a chance. He buckles on the big stage, but he will learn to handle the pressure once he gets big games under his belt.
A keeper should be judged on his ability to save shots when not called upon for large amounts of a match. The perfect example is Cech; in 2005, Chelsea’s defence were the best around. Cech was not called upon for 80 minutes of most of their matches, then in the 85th minute, would save a header that was going in the bottom corner. That is the sign of a world class keeper, a keeper that can barely be called upon for 80 minutes of a match but is still able to save a good shot after 80 minutes. Almunia done that last night. Twice late on, Slavia had the chance to get a goal. Both shots were world class, and both saves were world class. I’m not saying Almunia is world class. I’m saying his saves were world class. Make of that what you will.
So Arsenal play Liverpool on Sunday, who lost to Besiktas tonight. Momentum is with us, and on paper we should easily win, however it will be a hard game. Gerrard will be eager to stop the humiliation Liverpool are suffering at the moment. I predict a draw, but at the beginning of the season I would have taken a draw, and so would every person reading this blog but you just won’t admit it.
Meanwhile, Saw 4 is coming out soon. Saw 4 is the most entertaining film I’ve ever watched. It’s logical, and I like logical films. At first glance it looks like a blood filled film with no real meaning behind it, however the morals behind the storyline are exceptional. The producers use horror to emphasise the importance of appreciating life. ‘If you don’t appreciate life, you do not deserve to live’. Jigsaw is right. At the risk of sounding like someone who works for the Saw PR department, I can easily say it’s one of the best films I’ve ever watched. The best however is Shawshank Redemption, which was rated the 2nd best film ever. If you have seen neither of the films, then get off my site and be ashamed of yourself. Never come back and never read my articles again… actually scrap that, read my next one then bugger off
All I have to say is… what a F**KIN’ brilliant performance. Walcott, Hleb, Cesc… orgasmic pleasure at its finest. No time to write a detailed review, so here are the goals (sadly without the first, which was f**kin’ ace too).
Good to see Hleb score, and hope the midfielders continue. And Walcott… WTF! Thierry who?
Luckily for Martin it only finished 3-1. Jol lives for another week. Last night I opened a can of Stella Artois, poured it in the pint glass, and relaxed in front of the television. The first half was scrappy, neither team settling down. Then Martins scored a scorcher. A simple long ball from Given went straight to Dawson who fucked it up, and Martins was there to volley it in the net.
Martin Jol is a dead man walking. Let’s not fool ourselves, if Ramos was available Levy would take him in an instant. Spurs need to keep a consistent manager to run the team, not change the manager when things aren’t working. That’s why they should not sack him. That’s why they have been useless for the past decade or so. But they will, and as long as they don’t get Hiddink I will be happy. Why? Because Hiddink will turn them into a top 4 team. Ramos will do nothing. Ramos has been underperforming with Sevilla, however his two consecutive UEFA cup runs have turned him into a ‘world class’ manager… that’s ridiculous. Ramos has walked/been sacked more than I’ve said ‘Debra let’s have an early night tonight darling!’ … which is a lot believe me. But never mind. Spurs are Spurs and I’m here to talk about Arsenal.
But to talk about Arsenal I shall not do yet. I will talk about a crazy, deluded man called Rafa Benitez. With 30 mins to play in the Merseyside derby, Rafa said to himself ‘Gerrard will either a. get sent off b. get sent off, or c. get sent off… so I must take him off’. This is what he done, and luckily for him, it worked. Why? Because the referee was a fecking joke, but I can’t be arsed to talk about refs once again so I’ll leave it for now.
Rafa needs to understand there is a right time to rotate; rotation is good but only at the right time. You rotate when players are either tired, injured or you are going through a tough patch of games so you need players to be at their best. You do not rotate at the beginning of the season when players are playing well and need to gel. Rafa reminds me of what Wenger used to be 2 seasons ago; stubborn. Wenger never changed tactics/made correct substitutions. Now Wenger has changed and everything is clicking for Arsenal. Why? Because people only realise their mistakes in the future. Rafa will keep rotating, but in 2 years time he will look back and say ‘I rotated too much. I was wrong’. Until that day he will keep rotating Crouch, Torres, Kuyt and Voronin, and until that day Liverpool will not win the premier league.
Recently, Gallas has said he’s back in love with football. Well it’s good to hear that, I mean he’s only getting 80 grand a week and playing for one of the best clubs in the world. More to the point, Gallas being happy means Arsenal as a whole are happy. When the cub captain is unhappy, it drags the team down and morale plumits i.e. Vieira was unhappy in his last 2 seasons, hence why we weren’t playing too well, Henry was unhappy, hence why we were diabolical. Gallas has an attitude similar to Henry’s; in fact, they are long lost twins. Both want to win things, and both aren’t scared to voice their opinions. However Gallas is more realistic than Henry. Henry expected us to win something last season and splash the cash; Gallas knows this is not Arsenal’s style, he knows we are young and instead of having a go at the team like Henry done, he is motivating the team by saying:
‘We can win trophies this season’.
Arsenal have a strong unity within our players, a bond that will never break under Wenger. This is the opposite to Chelsea, where Drogba has said he wants to leave, then to everyone’s amusement changed his mind and scored against Boro to seal a good win for them.
Sorry to keep you waiting. But I had to clear things from my brain concerning other clubs before I could talk about Arsenal. Arsenal host Prague tonight, at 4.10pm I rubbed my crystal ball and it showed ‘Arsenal 2-0 Prague… Walcott and Eduardo’. So I guess that’s my prediction. Walcott will start tonight, my gut feeling says so. Slavia will try and stop us playing our beautiful football but Walcott will score in the first half to give us a lead, then Eduardo will double it in the second half. The scoreline doesn’t really matter at the moment, the most important thing is to keep momentum going as it is crucial to get a good run of successful wins on the trot.
Walcott will be immense tonight and Eduardo will play well, so will Almunia in goal. Jens is getting frustrated at not playing, that’s why he will be sold in January. Jens is past it, he will go back to Germany and play for a top German side before retiring a year later. How do I know this? Because I know everything. I said Jose will walk, and he did, I said England will beat France in the rugby, and they did so, I said this season we were going to better without Henry, and so far I’m right. The best thing to do is believe me because my track record proves me to be excellent at predicting. What do I predict will happen at 10.42pm tonight? I think I’ll be sitting at home eating a dominos pizza, half full house and half mighty meaty.
Will my prediction be correct? I think you better tune in over the next couple of days to see if I was right
