West Ham vs Arsenal Player Ratings

Emmanuel "Money Bags" Adebayor Proves To Be Too Much To Handle

Arsenal traveled across London this weekend to take on city rivals West Ham United in what was a very hard fought victory at Upton Park.  A scoreless first half saw Arsenal come out from the break determined to find the breakthrough.  Despite the heroics of Robert Green, Arsenal found a way through off of a Faubert own goal.  Arsenal we able to hang on to advantage until stoppage time when a sublime pass from Bendtner  put Adebayor in on goal to double the advantage and sure up the three points for the visitors.

Almunia: 8 Fantastic first half from the Spaniard who made a few fantastic saves, including a great one on Bellamy.  Almunia seems to really be growing into his roll this season and as someone who has never been particularly impressed by Almunia he really is becoming a solid keeper.

Eboue: 6.5 Not the greatest game for Eboue.  He was slopping in the attacking third but solid enough in defense.  I still think he plays better as a right back.

Gallas: 8 Great game by Gallas, one of the few good games I can remember him having in an Arsenal shirt.  He dealt well with the Hammer’s attackers all evening and played some fantastic one on one defense.  Lets all hope that our Captain keeps up this form for many games to come.

Silvestre: 7.5 Played very well next to Gallas.  He is still getting used to our system but the Frenchman seems to be fitting in quite well.

Clichy: 7.5 Showed great willingness to get forward but was outpaced by Bellamy in the first half.  All in all though it was a typical Clichy performance, as solid as ever.

Walcott: 8 Theo was brilliant on the night.  His pace and ability to launch Arsenal into attack with the snap of a finger caused West Ham trouble all night long.  He put some nice balls into the middle and showed a great willingness to fight down the right and to get into scoring positions in the box.  He was unlucky not to score when he fired off the crossbar.

Fabregas: 7.5 Fairly good performance from the Spaniard.  He controlled the midfield well and seemed to work much better next to Song then next to Denilson.  He had a few passes get away from him but over all he showed great determination to orchestrate the attack as Arsenal searched for a winner.

Song: 8 A so-so first half combined with an amazing second half completed what is most likely Song’s best game for the Gunners to date.  He was fantastic getting back in defense and halting any sort of offense the Hammers got going and was good in the final third as well.  He showed good decision making in his passing and some fantastic skill on the ball as well.  I hope this game will give Song a prolonged run out at the defensive midfield position.

Nasri: 7 Quite game from Samir but continued to link up well with Clichy down the right.  I have been really impressed with the Frenchman’s skill and strength on the ball and I look forward to seeing Nasri continue to adapt and fit into the side.

van Persie: 7.5 Looked for goal often and came close on three or four occasions.  It looks like Robin’s free kick ability is starting to return as she rattled on off the upright.  He worked the keeper well and played some nice balls between the rest of the team, especially his chest down to an oncoming Walcott in the box.

Bendtner: 7.5 A performance the young Dane can certainly be proud of.  The game did not come easy to him the whole 90 minutes but Nick worked hard and linked up well with his team mates.  He played some excellent balls into the box and even worked the keeper on on occasion.  His ball to Adebayor for the second though was absolutely fantastic.  Suffice to say, I believe Bendtner is coming along quite nicely and gives Arsenal another solid option up top.

Subs:

Adebayor: 8.5 Made all the difference.  His willingness to fight for every ball was very clear and his hard work paid off early as some fancy footwork and a shot toward goal helped Arsenal find the breakthrough as Adebayor bounced a shot off of a West Ham Defender and into the back of the net.  His link up with the rest of the team was great and his goal was superbly taken.

Diaby: 7 Showed some nice link up and some fancy footwork but ultimately didn’t make that much of an impact on the match.

Sagna: N/A

Man of the Match: Adebayor has certainly added another dimension to his game this season.  The way he links up and interacts with the other players on the pitch gives us something we didn’t have last year.  His pace and physicality have become huge problems for Premier League defenders and his 8 goals in all competitions have helped Arsenal keep it close in the opening months of the BPL and the Champions League.

Arsenal vs Everton Player Ratings

He Came From Mersailles To Play The Arsenal Way!

Arsenal battled back from a one nil deficit to beat Everton at the Emirates this weekend before the club heads off to Turkey to face Fener in the Champions League.  The win was certainly welcome after a string of poor form in the league had cost the Gunners 5 out of their last 6 points.  Hopefully this come from behind victory can help catalyze a good run of form for the tough stretch ahead.

Almunia: 6.5 Made some good saves but his poor decision to come off his line on Everton’s corner towards the end of the first half nearly cost Arsenal big time.

Song: 6 Much better when moved to Center Back, but utter dreadful at right back.  His inability to play his man and his area certainly did not help as Arsenal conceded within the first ten minutes.

Toure: 7 Did well until he came off.  Marked pretty well and generally dealt with problems.  Showed willingness to press forward as well to help spur an attack.

Silvestre: 8 I though Silvestre had a great debut.  He seemed a little bit on edge at the start of the match but seemed to really grow into his role.  It was also nice to see an Arsenal defender attack a ball in the air and win a header.

Clichy: 7.5 Saves Almunia’s ass by clearing off the line.  Combined well with Nasri down the left and got forward to help Arsenal in the attack.  I was particularly pleased to see the Frenchman stand up for his teammate when Denilson fell victim of a poor tackle down the left.

Eboue: 7 Poor as a right midfielder but fantastic filling in for Right Back in the second half.  His natural defensive ability combined with his willingness to get forward was a much needed change.

Fabregas: 7 Not a particularly great game from Cesc but still managed to make a difference when it mattered.  On a day when not all of his passes were going on target his willingness to just get into the box and make something happened proved vital as he combined well with Adebayor to put a shot on goal only for the deflection to fall to Robin to put the Gunners up 2-1.

Denilson: 5.5 Poor game from the Brazilian.  His passing was woeful, giving the ball away too cheaply on more then one occasion.  His utter inability to place defense cost Arsenal early in the game as his man breezed past him for the go ahead goal for Everton.

Nasri: 8 Great Game from Samir.  The young Frenchman is forming a fine partnership with Clichy down that left hand side and he seems to have a nac for picking up important goals.  So far so good for Nasri.  If he can manage to stay fit he will make a huge impact for Arsenal this season.

Adebayor: 6 Poor game from Ade.  Other then the little pass to Cesc he really didn’t do much.  He is clearly not on top form and while he has four assists only scoring in one out of the first eight Premier League matches is just not good enough.  Bring on Bendtner!

van Persie: 6.5 Incredibly wasteful but got what ultimately turned out to be the vital goal in the match.  It is a good sign however that even while the Dutchman isn’t on top form he is still picking up goals.

SUBS:

Walcott: 9 Fantastic game for Theo.  You could immediately see the impact the youngster had on the match as his pace and ability put Everton on their back foot.  He worked well down the right side and capped off the afternoon with his first Premier League goal for Arsenal at home.  Well done Theo

Diaby: 7 Combined well with Theo toward the end of the game and grabbed a nice assist.  It is nice to Abou back to fitness and with Denilson’s poor form it is only a matter of time before Diaby will get his chance in the middle.

Man of the Match: Theo Walcott is proving to be a revelation for Arsenal this season.  He grows with every game and his pace, vision and finishing are clearly causing defenses all sort of problems.  Over the first eight games of the season one thing has become very clear: Theo needs to be on the pitch as much as possible, because when he plays, anything seems possible.

Reflections on Everton: THEO! THEO! THEO!

Ever wondered what unlimited potential looks like? Look above.

Theo Walcott helped spark Arsenal to overturn a 1-nil deficit at halftime into a convincing 3-1 victory against Everton on Saturday at the Emirates.  Arsenal started the match off fairly well in the opening minutes until some lazy defending around the area which saw Leon Osman find himself on the end of a cutback from Steven Pienaar.  He was able to make a sliding toe poke past Almunia at the near post.  This ninth-minute goal silenced the supporters and unsettled the players.  There was a distinct feeling of “here we go again” floating above.

Arsenal struggled for much of the rest of the half to get a grip on the match.  While Everton didn’t seem nearly as impressive to this observer as they did to the broadcast commentator, they nearly doubled their lead after a Silvestre deflection went just wide and then again when Clichy, not for the first time this season, cleared a ball off the line.  Arsenal weren’t completely devoid of chances in the half, however, with van Persie having a point blank shot saved by Tim Howard and Fabregas shooting wide.

There was no doubt that the club was suffering from an international break hangover in the first half.  When Arsenal came back out for the second half, Theo Walcott replaced Kolo Toure who went off with a shoulder injury.  Walcott immediately injected life into the game which filtered its way through the entire side.  In the 49th minute, Samir Nasri hit a low shot from just under 25 yards which took a slight deflection and found the back of the net.  Arsenal were back.

Nothing less than a win would do considering our recent results and the team dug in, in classic Arsenal style.  They pinned Everton back so much that over the course of about 20 minutes their best attack consisted of Yakubu in a 1 on 4 situation just over the halfway line.  The go-ahead goal was looking inevitable when it finally came in the 71st minute.  Cesc Fabregas, who overall had a very mediocre match, started the move with a perfectly timed pass to Adebayor in the box.  He then cut it back to Fabregas at the penalty spot but his shot was saved by Howard.  But Howard couldn’t hold on and the rebound fell to van Persie who headed home.

A one-goal lead is usually a dicey situation for Arsenal but they continued to press looking for the goal that would seal the points.  It finally came in the 90th minute when Theo Walcott was rewarded for what he had brought to the team in the second half by getting his first-ever Premier League goal at the Emirates with a low shot from an Abou Diaby pass.

This is the result we needed and the second half was the performance we needed.  Before Sunday’s results, we are currently sitting in 3rd place, four points off Chelsea and Liverpool and 2 ahead of United, who have a game in hand.  Arsenal now get ready for their Champions League match at Fenerbahce, one of the tougher away trips you can make in the Champions League outside of England, Spain, or Italy, on Tuesday night.

Gooners Stalked By Delusional Fat Guy

If you see this man over your shoulder... RUN!!!

So it seems that reports late last week regarding Alisher Usmanov’s cooling towards his Arsenal stake were either exaggerated or wholly fabricated.  The Telegraph had reported that Usmanov had “been advised not to go ahead with a takeover of the club and [was] reportedly ready to sell his shares.  As usual, us Gooners couldn’t be lucky enough for a story like that to be true.  It’s like “Caught Offside-Syndrome.” You know, that horrible fan site that is somehow on all the major Arsenal news wires with their hit-seeking headlines of “Arsenal set to bid £15m on NEW ZIDANE” – every day with these idiots!!! As if that wasn’t bad enough they now have an imitator, Football FanCast.com.  Usually flattery is the biggest  form of flattery but in this case it’s the biggest form of stupidity.  But I digress…

Of course, as with most football articles in the British press, there is not one quote in the piece either from Usmanov or even an “unnamed source” to back up their headline.  So it appears it was a “premature ejection” of the gangster.  The rest of the article goes on to detail the seemingly precarious situation of both Danny Fiszman and Lady Nina Bracewell-Smith’s position as major shareholders.  Both are said to be seriously contemplating selling their shares and moving on.

What does this mean for Arsenal and its supporters?  Well, I don’t want to go into takeover scenarios and ramifications which I already covered in an article a couple of weeks ago entitled,“The Good and Bad Legacy of David Dein.” So, first things first… the Usmanov “story” was in fact fabricated because yesterday Usmanov was quoted by Sky Sports regarding the rumours.  These quotes are ironically golden so we will reproduce them here:

“I’m in love with Arsenal. I have no intention of selling my stake. That may be possible at some point in time when I know that Arsenal hates me. I will make sure this doesn’t happen. I have not lost one single share.  As long as Arsene Wenger is manager that’s not going to happen.”

He may sell his stake “at some point in time when I know that Arsenal hates me,” he said.  Is he blind?  Can he not read? Can a man who is smart enough to make billions of pounds be so stupid?  Both the Arsenal board and the supporters have done nothing but make it plain and clear that they “hate” Usmanov, yet apparently he doesn’t get the hint.  I mean, even a rudimentary knowledge of English would allow him to get the gist of blog headlines such as “We Hate You Usmanov, Oh Yes We Do” and “Usmanov Fuck Off.”  No? Which begs the question: What do you do when you aren’t in love with someone who loves you?

In our case, the Arsenal board went to the media and made disparaging comments about Usmanov.  Arsenal supporters used ridiculous amounts of bandwidth by doing the same in the blogosphere.  Take a hint!!!  Even the thickest girl would get the hint if you called the Sun to complain about her or if you started a blog devoted to the cause of getting rid of her.  And if it didn’t get rid of her, then she’d be a stalker.

And so it is my fellow Gooners, that we are being stalked by a delusional fat guy who just won’t take the hint.

“Captain Excuses” Is Still Flipping His Lid

I think I would rather have a cunt than a Willy.

When will the drama with Gallas end?  First we had the stories with excerpts from French footballer, Jerome Rothen’s new book, You’re Not Going To Believe Me, detailing how Gallas was given the nickname of Pierre Richard, the French Mr. Bean. This is hardly surprising to anyone who has ever seen an extended interview with the man.  If that wasn’t enough, we are then told how our “captain” was quite the untrustworthy, petty juvenile delinquent in his days as a Caen trainee.

Following these “revelations,” Gallas was in the papers once again this week as he admitted that he was in top form.  The most amusing part is that he says it as if he’s cluing us in on something we don’t know.  Of course, referring to himself in the third person is also quite amusing:

I can say we have not seen the Gallas from 2006 this term so far…. Maybe I feel a little tried. Do I experience the most difficult period since I joined Arsenal? We could say yes. Above all I miss consistency. One match is good, the other one is not so good.

“We could say yes???”  Are you serious, Billy?  The fact that he even thinks it is up for debate is worrying.  I don’t see where he has a problem with consistency… he’s been consistently poor since the end of February.  Scoring goals does not absolve him of his responsibility as a central defender and neither does the club winning a match.  For him it’s a matter of personal glory over team success and that is in no way acceptable for any player at Arsenal let alone the captain.

Now, “Captain Excuses” is in the paper once again trying to justify his behavior last February that, without a doubt, played a crucial role in our losing the title:

The controversy about my captaincy? People had to find a scapegoat as we didn’t win any trophies last season. So, they talked and talked again about the Birmingham match. Indeed I made a mistake. I must admit I flipped my lid. We should have won that game easily.

Before Arsenal, I spent six years at Chelsea. That team was capable of getting ugly wins. If we had an opportunity to win a cup, we would never miss it.  There I became imbued with the winning culture, which doesn’t exist yet at Arsenal.

Of course, some of my Arsenal team-mates could not have appreciated my behaviour against Birmingham. I had to state my authority again and today when I motivate them before a match, they say; ‘Capi, we need you, we are following you’.

If I would have been an unworthy captain, they would have banned me.

Anyone who has read our posts on Gallas in the post or knows me outside of the blogosphere knows that there is no love lost between me and Gallas.  But these latest comments have taken our captain to a whole new level.  Of course your teammates “could not have appreciated” your behavior… what was there to appreciate?  Oh wait, it was his winning culture, right?  Get real.  A real winner wouldn’t have left his teammates to deal with the possible rebound from the penalty kick while he threw a tantrum my 2 year old would find hard to replicate.

There wasn’t anything resembling a “winning culture” in Gallas’ behavior that day or most days.  He wants to deny that the Birmingham match was a major factor in the team’s downslide last season?  It was the first in a run of six consecutive -and 7 out of 8- winless matches in the league.  That was the end of our title run-in right there.

It doesn’t take a genius to see that it all started at the Birmingham match.  A quick look at the results list tells you that.  But it’s also not hard to see that his behavior on that day had a profound effect on the rest of the team.  I can on ly speculate but, having played sports in my younger days, I can’t believe that the players didn’t lose what respect they had for Gallas and especially his captaincy.  Even he was forced to admit that he had to “regain their confidence” following the incident.  So for him to downplay it now is just another way for him to pile on the excuses.

The truth is that this team will never have a “winning culture” while William Gallas is its captain and probably not while he’s in the starting XI or even at the club.