Archive for the ‘Champions League’ Category

The starting line up sees Eboue return to the squad at right midfield and Ade restored up front.

The line up is:

Almunia

Toure, Senderos, Gallas, Clichy

Eboue, Fabregas, Flamini, Hleb

Adebayor, Van Persie….

The bench sees:

Lehmann, Hoyte, Song, Diaby, Gilberto, Walcott and Bendtner

Come on you reds!]]>

Update: Second Leg Preview Here

Morning all. It’s an exciting day today and whatever I could possible say to hype this match will be overshadowed by the simple phrase “Arsenal vs Liverpool in the Champions League at the Emirates”. Games can’t get bigger, can they? And what makes it more exciting is that we’ve got the quality to win it, we’ve got the home advantage tonight and psychologically we have the edge. Our performance at Anfield was awesome, with sublime passing and precision football, albeit we came away with a draw.

For those of you who know Bob, you’ll know he’s an avid Arsenal fan too, and I managed to catch up with him today for a quick interview about today’s game.

Are you looking forward to the game?

Yeah I’m really excited about it, but at the same time slightly nervous. In the Champions League, Liverpool are a different type of proposition to the Premier League, so coming up against them in the competition is a little apprehensive. We mustn’t concede a goal. If we could take even a slender 1-0 advantage to Anfield, then one goal there could see us knock them out.

Who will be our star player tonight?

I think Cesc is the obvious one, as he loves playing in these big games as he really shines and pulls the strings in midfield. If Hleb is on form, he will be difficult for the full backs to track, and could potentially pull players out of position and expose gaps in their defence. Ade would also be an obvious one with his size and strength and can definitely give Carragher and co a handful, but I’m quietly confident about Van Persie. I think if he has his shooting boots on, and the match practice he’s gained recently, plus those behind close doors, he could be a real difference between the team and also in the link up play between midfield and attack.

Who do we have to watch out for tonight[on the opposition team]?

One player in the Liverpool side that you can never rule out, in the Champions League, is Steven Gerrard. He seems to have a love for Big Ears [CL Trophy] like no other player in England, and I feel coming up against another English team will make him all the more determined to inspire his team the way he has in recent seasons. Up front, Torres is another player who seems to be hitting form, just at the right time. His mazy runs, his eye for goal and hold up play for Liverpool almost reminds me of a certain Mr. Henry; if you give him half a yard he will hurt you; so will definitely be a danger man and one to watch.

So how we will deal with Gerrard and Torres?

Well, I feel that Liverpool will come with a 4-5-1 formation, with Torres being the spearhead of the attack with support on the wings by Kuyt and Babel. With the pace between those players, especially the threat that Torres poses, our defence has to be alert to any counter attacks. The partnership of Senderos and Gallas, if they start, will have to really compliment each other, with Gallas using his pace and strength with that of Torres and Senderos attacking the long balls. What I’m trying to say here, is that Senderos has the aerial presence to win the ball in the air and Gallas has the pace to mop up the second ball. I think both Toure vs Babel and Clichy vs Kuyt will swing in our favour due the pace and experience that our full backs have. As for Gerrard, with the level of maturity that Flamini has shown this season, it will prove an interesting contest, but one I’m confident Flamini will relish. He will be the lynchpin of our defensive play, allowing Cescy to go forward and do what he does best.

So Bob, I know you never like answering this question, but what is your prediction for the game tonight?

It’s a tough one, I think we’re gonna win it. I’d love to say we’re going to score a handful of goals and not concede any. But I think it’s going to be a tighter affair than many think, with both teams being cautious going forward due to the pace and counter attack threats. Also both teams will not want to concede the first goal. You can tell I’m trying to avoid the prediction…

You can’t avoid the prediction!

Okay, okay… Going in at half time, I think it will be 0-0, but, unfortunately, as we’ve been leaking goals recently and I think they will score, but we will win the game… I’d rather take a 1-0 victory but I’ll go with 2-1 to the Arsenal. Man I hope I’m wrong and we win 6-0!

Thanks Bob, that’s got me really g’d up for the game today, whatever happens it will exciting. 

Team News

As predicted yesterday, nothing makes me think anything different. Of course, we won’t know the line up until 45 mins before the game, but here’s who I think will be starting.

With Lehmann, Hoyte, Eboue, Song, Gilberto, Walcott and Bendtner on the bench.

Hleb has been recovering from a little injury but both him and Gilberto were cleared for this game.

Arsene has been talking about the game today and the challenge that it brings.

“It will certainly be the highest challenge for me. If you look at the next 10 days or so it will define our season because I strongly believe that we are in the title race. Our next two games in the Premier League are Liverpool and Manchester United and then, on top of that, we have two Champions League games against so this next period is vital. And the impact of the first game is also vital.”

It’s going be an exciting day today.

Come on you Gunners!]]>

Goal.com reports "Arsenal Make History & The Quarter-Finals", The Times report "Cesc Fàbregas is Arsenal heartbeat as young guns silence San Siro", CNN reports "Arsenal send holders Milan crashing out", the BBC reports "Arsenal can win Champions League".

Kaka speaks the truth

Kaka was the ray of sunlight in the game on Tuesday but he was quick to talk about the qualities of Arsenal and that we deserved to win. Arsene is a known admirer of the Brazilian, and he would be a welcome addition at the Emirates, but hey maybe I’m dreaming… although it’s very true that a player like Carlos Vela could come in next season and take our breath away – one thing I’ve learnt, is to trust Arsene… Let’s see what Kaka had to say…

“Arsenal played really well, better than us. We have struggled up front and we have not been good enough to get a better result. Arsenal played better in both legs and deserved to go through. They have good midfielders and a great striker in Adebayor. We have been unlucky to have met Arsenal in the last 16.”

Players Performance

We’ve progressed against all odds, but the quality was there for all to see. Let’s take a look at the game and the players performances from yesterday.

Almunia
Almunia, in all honesty didn’t have to do much during the game. He had a few shots to save and a little nervous defending from Senderos, but he did what ever he was asked of.

Clichy
Gael Clichy played very well and came up against Pato, Inzaghi and Kaka. He defended well, intercepted well and always closed down.

Senderos
It’s a tricky one to evaluate as Senderos as although his overall game was good, there were times where he was exposed. Young Philippe was very good in the air, but three times early on, he advanced to head the ball allowing the opposition in. It’s something that wasn’t exposed on Tuesday, but can be in future. In the second half he was much better and overall his display was impressive.

Gallas
His performance on Tuesday definitely made up for his sulking antic up in St. Andrews. His positional sense was immaculate and he gave everything. He was good backup for Senderos and snuffed out danger well. A captain’s performance.

Sagna
Bacary had an excellent game down the right, with defensive awareness and attacking prowess. He supported Eboue well and hardly gave Kaka or Pato a sniff. He really has been an excellent addition this season. He spoke after the game:

 “It is a great night for English football, now we will just try to win what we can win. It is too quick to say that [we are favourites]. We’ll just go from game to game now. It will be difficult to pass through the next level but we can do it. In the first leg we could have scored. And we knew before the game we could play better than that. Everyone was solid. In the first half we need to stay focused. Then we scored just before the end. It meant there was a great atmosphere in the dressing room afterwards. It is not everyday that we win against Milan. We played well in the first leg and  again tonight. For me, we deserved the win.”

Diaby
Young Diaby had a decent game, although his decision making wasn’t always 100%, he added pace, power and height to our team. His energy was excellent and he went forward with verve. He had a shot which went wide, and overall a confident performance.

Flamini
Both Flamini and his midfield partner were worthy of the man of the match award. Flamini all action display stopped Milan in their tracks every time they attacked. His performance is the reason why Gilberto is no longer in the first team. And at his age, he is only going to get better. He tenacity is why he was dubbed the new Gattuso, but something that is more apparent game by game is that he has pace and a passing ability not usually found in players of his position. He also has an eye for goal as we saw against Newcastle. He spoke to the media after the game.

“There are no limits because we are playing the Champions League to win it. We are playing the Premier League to win it too. So now we are going to concentrate. As you saw in the last two games, to concentrate is very important at a very high level. So we are going to stay focused.”

The only thing missing from Flamini is a new contract. He has been offered one and it’s something all Arsenal hope he will sign very soon. Arsene has spoken about this and is confident that he’ll sign. Flamini spoke about his contract yesterday:

“We are a new generation, we have to create a new history. I want to be part of this history, so I hope I will be here for next season. At the moment my advisers are talking with the club, so I really hope that everything will be okay. I cannot put a time on it, but I really want to stay here. What is important for a player is to play and I am playing. I am becoming more and more confident and I want to take more responsibility.”  

Fabregas
Young Cesc had one of his best performances and the papers have hailed him in full demeanour yesterday. He was everywhere. Him and Flamini covered every blade of grass. He passed well, assured, calm and fluent. He tackles were inch perfect. Cesc said it was one of the best moments of his career and moved to praise Arsene.

“It was one of the best moments of my career and I went straight to the boss because without him I would never have had the chance to play in a game like this. Maybe I have not been at my best since my injury, but now I feel great once again.”  

He has played well all season and any negatives are all because of his high standards. He talked about how well we’ve done despite a catalogue of injuries and how this victory symbolises that we’re back to our best.

“This performance has been very important for my confidence, after you have started the season so well and then have an injury. I was not playing the way I used to, and I was a bit upset. I needed a performance like that. We only have a small squad, and have had lots of injuries. However, now we have important players coming back, like Robin and maybe next week Tomas and Kolo Toure, so it is all positive.”

Cesc has been talking about winning the double, check out more on Arseblog.

Eboue
I’ve just been raving about half our team and hailing our midfield, but this is where I stop. Eboue had one of those games that he has. He was there, he had possession. He wasted possession and was eventually subbed. We know he has quality, we know he can dribble, we know he can cross, but when it’s really counted this season, his performances have been poor.

Hleb
Hleb was instrumental in Tuesday’s victory. He was everywhere, going forward at every opportunity. His link up play with Cesc, Ade and the rest of the team was immaculate, and he is one of our players of the season. I hope to look further into his contribution this season with a player profile later next week and he really does deserve the credit he is getting.

Adebayor
Ade is becoming Mr Dependable. His abilities to hold up play and link up players is amazing and he really is one of the best players who can play the lone striker role. He set up chances for Diaby, Cesc and Flamini and had a few chances himself. He also kept going for 90 minutes and eventually got his first Champions League goal. His goal was thoroughly deserved and he was voted PFA player of the month for February. He spoke yesterday:

“A couple of weeks ago people were saying ‘Arsenal are not going to win the title, they will also be out of the Champions League’. Now all of us in the squad have the confidence back because this means we can beat every single team in the world. We are trying to build something here again, a new chapter in Arsenal’s history. We came to the San Siro confident we would qualify and to do it is something magnificent.”

Arsenal FC blog talks more about Ade and his performance and how we’ve sent a signal of intent to Europe. 

Young Theo
Just a quick mention for Theo who is starting to play well now, although only a few games, he has produced some vital performances. Let’s hope he can keep up his cameo’s until the end of the season and become an integral part of our team. He had undoubted quality and is definitely better than Eboue. I’d like to see more of Theo, more assists and more goals… let’s hope he can deliver.

Arsene had talked about how we had the quality and he had belief in this team. He was proved right and after the game was full of praise.

“I believe that Fabregas, [Alexander] Hleb and [Mathieu] Flamini in the middle of the park delivered. They didn’t give Milan room. They defended very well and, when we had the ball, they had support from the flanks in [Bacary] Sagna and [Gaël] Clichy and supported them well. That gives them solutions. They did a good job defensively as well as going forward. The whole team did a good defensive job”

Take a look at A Cultured Left Foot’s match report and what Ancelotti said. See the goals here.

News Round Up 

Eduardo has been voted the O2 Arsenal.Com player of the month. He is a quiet player but has had some awesome performances alongside Adebayor. His goal against Manchester City was awesome, a natural finisher.

Read more about this on Arsenal.com.

We all wish him good luck in his rehabilitation. Arseblog has an exclusive interview with the striker from his first “real” interview on Croation TV. He reveals how “Taylor did not visit him in the hospital to offer an apology” and how the “News of The World interview was made up“. Interesting stuff, hey?

Chelsea, Shalke and Roma join us, Man U, Barce and Febernache and either Liverpool or Inter in the quarter finals. The draw takes place on the 14th March. Maybe we’ll get Shalke then Febernache and then a replay against Barce? Or am I getting ahead of myself… one game a time my friend, one game at a time.]]>

For those of you who missed it and missed the headline of today's blog, we won 2-0 in Milan to become the first English side to win against Milan in the San Siro...

The Match

The game started well, with both Milan and us a little bit subdued. That lasted for about 4 minutes, where we had a few final third threats but nothing real. Milan’s little Brazilian Pato skipped to the byline and won a corner. From the resulting corner Maldini had his header cause confusion, and in quick succession, from the 5th until the 15th minute we weathered a little storm with a few corners and free kicks which saw Gallas, Senderos and Flamini instrumental in protecting our goal.

But after the first quarter of an hour, we started to show the Arsenal that dominated Milan in the first leg. Good work from Adebayor, playing as the lone striker, laid off a good ball to the onrushing Diaby, who side foot shot went a foot high and a foot wide. Milan weren’t easy opponents and had light efforts from Inzaghi, Pato and Kaka. Kaka was at his best, but seemed to be the major threat. We dealt with him well, and by dealing with him, started to control the game.

Ade had an excellent drive saved on the half hour mark, which he followed up with a curling shot. Both save-able, but a demonstration of our desire to score. Hleb was at his effervescent best and the ball stuck to his foot as he glided passed Milan’s midfield and defence… he worked with Ade and they set up Cesc for an effort which beat Kalac in goal, but cannoned up and over via the bar.

Hleb had a shout for a free kick right on the line of the box, where he was hacked down, but was mysteriously booked for diving. A spot of bad refereeing and a theme for the night. We really did take the game to Milan and the half finished with us on top.

As soon as the second half started, we continued to play well and control the game, Eboue was teed up in an excellent move and a bit of bad defending by the Italian giants, but he shot was laboured and poor, and was wide from 7 yards out diagonally right.

Pirlo had a free kick which Almunia made more of, and Kaka had a shot wide, but apart from that it was all Arsenal. Diaby had one of his better games, Hleb was at his instrumental best and Ade played the lone striker role very well. We saw shots from Hleb, Cesc, Diaby and Ade saved or wide. The Milan defence must have blocked about 10 shots through out the game as well.

As the game reached the last 15 minutes, young Theo Walcott came on and it seems to be the last thing the Milan defence wanted and his pace really tested Maldini and Kaladze. We looked the fitter team and had the lion’s share of possession.

On the 84th minute Cesc picked up the ball in midfield. With Hleb and Theo making good runs, he decided to ignore the pass and take a shot. He was about 30 yards out and he dipping low shot was squeezed in between Kalac and the post. It was a precise effort and a with pace. 1-0 to the Arsenal, Cesctabulous.

As soon as the goal went in, Milan knew they had to score two. Arsene subbed Cesc for Gilberto and we were ready to contain the opposition for the last five minutes. We were on a high and were first to the second balls (if that makes sense). In the final minute of the game / stoppage time, Walcott raced cleared down the right, rode one challenge and squared accurately for Ade to score at the far post. 2-0 the Arsenal and we were through.

Milan were beaten, the game ended and our famous huddle showed what we’re all about. We’re a team and are ready to challenge for the Champions League and the title. We needed this win and we showed we had the quality. The “young pretenders” had achieved what no other team have ever achieved.

Cesctabulous!

Cesc had an amazing game and was instrumental in defence and attack. Yesterday’s blog highlighted the role that Cesc would play and I said:

Cesc needs to play well. I remember the game he had against Juventus where he was everywhere, his tackles were inch perfect and he passing was accurate.

And that we needed that kind of performance… he duly delivered.

Arsene said in his post match interview that Cesc was outstanding, but the whole team played well. Here’s what the gaffer said:

“He (Fabregas) was outstanding, but tonight it is very difficult to single one out. I believe the whole team defended well and attacked well, it was a complete team performance. Of course I’m very, very happy tonight. I’m very proud of our performance, we were under pressure to score goals.”

I’m proud of the performance too. It was truly a great game.

More tomorrow, Laura Bagshawe, more tomorrow.]]>

Update: Gilberto is unavailable for tonight’s game, Kerrea Gilbert will replace him on the bench, other than that, everything else is correct!Another update: A spelling error on skysports.com confused millions of people who thought Gilbert was going to be on the bench… of course it’s Gilberto.
 

Today is the day. The biggest day of our season so far. We’re in the San Siro and trained yesterday. We will have a light training session later today and prepare ourselves for what will be an awesome game.

Van Persie Returns

Van Persie is ready to return tonight and will have a place on the bench tonight. It’s a real positive to have him back and at the moment, it’s a tonic we really need. Van Persie has ability and class, has an eye for goal and ability to create for others. We all thought he would be our gem this season and unfortunately we have hardly seen him due to a catalogue of injuries. He’s not fit enough to start today, but he will be on the bench and could play a part in the game.

The pre-match hype has been big. Ade, Cescy, Arsene and more have all been talking. Let’s listen to Arsene first as he speaks about Van Persie.

“He has not played for five months really but he can play a part in the game. He is not ready to start but medically it is not a risk. Maybe to start in the game and play above his normal pace, that would be a risk.”

I hope he stays injury free for the rest of the season, as he could really kick start the run in to the title.

Arsenal to Attack

Arsene talks about the game and we’re not going there to defend. With the result in the balance, both teams have to attack.

“I do not like to go away from home thinking my team just has to defend. With a 0-0 result, we know that we have to attack as well as defend. From the first game, we have the belief we can beat them because we dominated the game – that always has an impact on the second game. We will need patience against them in Milan but our pace can be a good asset as well.”

Well, Arsene is right, we can’t defend. If we sit back, Milan will unlock us. As I discussed yesterday, Milan have all four of the “injured” players backand Ancellotti’s talk was all rubbish. We’ve got to play like we did in the first leg, but this time we have to score. Ade’s miss in the first leg means that a nil – nil won’t do. We would all love to win, but a score draw will get us through on the away goals rule. Arsene says we will attack:

“What is good from the first result is we know every time we get the ball we are incited to go for a goal. When you win 2-0 away from home sometimes subconsciously you think you only have to defend. On that basis 0-0 is not a bad result because you know defence is not good enough. You know will have to attack as well.”

Arsenal FC Blog talks about how vital the away goal will be.

An interesting piece in today’s Daily Mail, a twist on Arsene’s words, and a strapping headline, as tabloids always do - “Wenger vows to beat Milan and win respect of Europe“.

Fearless Fabregas

Young Cesc talks about how the team hold no fear. Cesc needs to play well. I remember the game he had against Juventus where he was everywhere, his tackles were inch perfect and he passing was accurate.

“We are young, but we are not scared of anything and we will play our game. You have always seen if we are winning or losing, we will never go to defend. We will always want to attack, because it is the way we like to play and enjoy playing.”

A Cultured Left Foot looks further into Cesc’s comments and how they will rally the troops.

The Squad

The squad was announced yesterday and sees Van Persie back, but Toure out. We’re thin on the ground defensively with Hoyte and Gilberto our only real cover. We’re stronger in midfield (especially if you include Walcott in that category) and a little stronger up front than last week. Rosicky is missing and will definitely be a miss for this type of game. Here’s the squad for tonight’s game:

Goalkeepers: Jens Lehmann and Manuel Almunia

Defenders: Bacary Sagna, Philippe Senderos, William Gallas, Gael Clichy and Justin Hoyte

Midfielders: Cesc Fabregas, Abou Diaby, Alexander Hleb, Denilson, Mathieu Flamini, Gilberto, Theo Walcott and Emmanuel Eboue

Stikers: Emmanuel Adebayor, Nicklas Bendtner and Robin Van Persie

Line Up

Yesterday, I looked at a proposed first XI and bench but after lengthy discussions with many others and hints from Arsene and the English press, the revised starting eleven is as follows:

Eboue should return to the first team as his domestic suspension is not carried into European games. He hasn’t played since the last Milan game, so let’s hope he is fresh. Hleb will revert to the left wing and Diaby, Cesc and Flamini will make up a middle three with Ade up front.

The bench will see Lehmann, Hoyte, Gilberto, Denilson, Walcott, Bendtner and Van Persie. More team analysis from Gunners Live.

Tuesday Round Up

Sagna talked to the Sun about the death of his brother, a week before the first leg and how his dad told him to play. He also talks about the squad and the support he has had.

“Now I have to show everyone that I am strong, to show my family I am strong and to carry on with my team-mates. Everyone at the club gave me support and that helped me so much. It’s difficult to talk about it but I really want to thank everyone at Arsenal for what they have done for me in the past few days, the players the staff and everyone.” – More here.

Finally, a quick round up sees Jeorge Bird doing a piece on the Under 16’s, which is definitely an interesting read. And a brilliant piece by Young Guns on how Arsenal kids have it easy.

Well, it’s match day, I’m excited and it’s only a few hours until the game….

Come on you Gunners!!!

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Well, it’s Monday and most probably the start of another busy week. I say probably as it really depends on what you do. If it’s a week off work or you’re holiday then it probably won’t be that busy. Or if you work a 2 hour day and then sleep the rest of the day, again maybe not. If you work in the city and commute for 4 hours a day then you’re probably busier than I mean too. But on the whole, were all busy… let’s start again.

It’s Monday and the start of another action packed week in the lives of all Arsenal fans. This weekend saw us gain a vital point in the championship race with a last minute goal from Niklas Bendtner. As A Cultured Left Foot highlights, we are top of the league, I said we are top of the league. Although our lead has been cut, the league is still in our hands, with tough games with Chelsea and Man U, it will be a tough run in, but we’ve shown this and last season that we can produce in the big games.

Cescy talks about our resilience and strong mentality and it’s good to hear from him

“When you are so young and if you do not have this spirit, it is very difficult to do something. If a team is weak mentally, you do not come back from these games – because these are matches when everything is against you, maybe it is not the best game of your life, but still you come back and get the points. That means something. We have to be strong and at least we have come back fighting until the end. “

Milan vs Arsenal

Tuesday brings us a tantalising clash in the San Siro against Milan. We’ve had tough two games, but this game is the climax of our last two weeks. A good performance against Milan could kick start our season and we have the ability. We’ve beaten Inter Milan in the San Siro convincingly and let’s raise our game this time round and show the aged team of Milan what we’re all made out of.

We played a 4-4-2 formation against Birmingham and Aston Villa, but I fully expect us to play our European away formation, of 4-5-1 with Adebayor the lone striker. 

 Our back five will be the same as against Villa, as Toure has yet to recover. He may feature on the bench, but it’s touch and go. Almunia will be important and he pulled out some good saves on the weekend. Senderos plays better in European games as the pace is somewhat different. He had a good game in the first leg and we will be looking for another performance in the absence of Toure. Our midfield will comprise of Flamini and Fabregas with Hleb in front and Diaby and Walcott on either wing. With this formation, we can allow more freedom for Walcott and Hleb. Diaby can come in central and Hleb wide left if we need more steel in the central areas. Ade will act as the lone stiker and will hold up the ball and bring in the rest of the midfield. He will be dangerous at set peices and on the counter attack.

The line up / formation should look like this:

On the bench, we’ll see Lehmann, Hoyte, Gilberto, Denilson, Bendtner and the return of Van Persie and Toure to the squad. If Toure doesn’t make it, then we’ll have a fit again Djourou in the 16.

Arsene has been talking to the press about the game and spoke about the pace of our team and the pace that Milan to play at.

“Milan have shown in Europe that they can deal with all sorts of opposition, they can slow the game down. What Milan do well is put you to their pace, and when Kaka gets the ball they can have sudden acceleration which can kill you. We will have to adapt to that because we like to play always at a high pace.”

It’s true, players like Kaka, Pato, Gilardino and even Seedorf aren’t slow and can sudden change the pace of a game. We’ll have to be on our top form to keep Kaka in check, and Arsene also speaks about how to control his talents

“In Italy, what do the teams do who play against Milan? They take Kaka, get him out of the game. We will play zonal and will not mark him man to man. We will be faithful to what we do usually. We will try to get him out of the game by cutting the connections with him. If you kick the great players out of the game, why should people go to watch football? Great players make football a bit special, they make it art. If you are there to kill them, it is not acceptable.”

Carlo Ancellotti has been talking about how the Milan players are tired and he has many injuries, with Kaka, Pirlo, Nesta and Seedorf supposedly doubts for the game. I wouldn’t believe it if I were you, I fully expect all four to be available for the game.

Eduardo Catch Up

On Saturday, the Villa chants added a sour note to the game, and Arsene spoke after the game.

“You expect better from people who come to football stadiums. It looks that intelligence and stupidity can have no limits. Unfortunately stupidity has won.”

Sometimes fan go over the line and we’ve all seen it happen, whether it’s against us or us doing it. Eduardo spoke to the News of the World on Sunday and moved to praise Gary Lewin for the important part he had to play.

The injury was so grave I could have lost my foot. So I will always be grateful to Gary for what he did in lowering the risk to my leg. That was decisive. I do not remember too much about the blow. I remember the pain, seeing that my foot had rotated, but I only recaptured my senses in hospital.”

Monday Round Up

Elsewhere, Gunners Live looks at the 5 worst performances of the season.
The top five were:
5. Portsmouth 0-0 Arsenal – Away – Premier League
4. Sevilla 3-1 Arsenal – Away – Champions League
3. Middlesbrough 2-1 Arsenal – Away – Premier League
2. Manchester United 4-0 Arsenal – Away – FA Cup
1. Tottenham Hotspur 5-1 Arsenal – Away – Carling Cup
Click the link above to read the full blog, very interesting…

I agree with him on the top five, but I think the score line for the Sp*rs game outweighed the actual performace, a game we dominated, whereas, we just didn’t turn up for the Man U game away at Old Trafford.

The Online Gooner highlights the annoying Sp*rs resergence under Juande Ramos and how they have become a better team and with the money behind them and finally have a decent manager, they will start to become a team capable of acheiving more than mid-table mediocrity.

Meanwhile, young Carlos Vela got another 73 minutes under his belt and showed some great touches and good overall play. You can check out the full match report on Young Guns.

Jeorge Bird continues his examination of left winger to be Pedro Botelho and is really making me quite excited at his arrival. Check out this link for a match report from his latest game and a round up of youth and reserves.

In other news, Southampton are stuggling financially and it was reported today that they may went to settle early in the Walcott deal. With sales of their star players such as Walcott and Bale amongst others, high crowds, how on earth can they be close to administration? They have moved to dismiss this story on their official website.

Okay, that’s it for today… it’s seems like there is a lot going on in the world of Arsenal at the moment. Let’s hope we can refocus on a very important game and get the win or score draw we need in Milan. More team news tomorrow.]]>

A clean sheet, a good performance or a wasted opportunity?

Arsene says: “We have shown drive – 90 minutes of quality. We have show maturity.”

It’s hard to describe, I’m a little disappointed we didn’t score, but I felt that we had a good game, controlled the game, were the dominant force.

It was a cagey start by boths side, with Milan having the better of the first 15 mins, but as the game grew, so did we. Flamini was outstanding and our overall play was quick, collective and precise.

But we couldn’t score, we tried, we had shots, but they were all at the keeper…

We lost Toure after 10 mins to a hamstring injury, but his replacement Senderos played admirely.

We played well in the first half, with Eduaro, Fabregas, Adebayor and Flamini all had chances but it was 0-0 in the first half.  In the second half, we came out guns blazing, played really well but didn’t really have any clear cut chances.

But… with 30 seconds to go, Walcott, on a substitute, dazzled the left back and sent a cross to the far post. Who was there? Adebayor, no keeper, open goal. Hit the bar! We could have won it… and he looked embarrassed.

A clean sheet, a good performance or a wasted opportunity?]]>

I’ve had a high number of hits on this page today - this blog entry is from the first leg – if you’re looking for today’s game (4th March 2008) click here.

Okay, it’s six thirty and just an hour until kick off. Let’s have a look at the starting line up against AC Milan.

The Squad

Lehmann, Sagna, Gallas, Toure, Clichy, Eboue, Fabregas, Flamini, Hleb, Adebayor, Eduardo, Fabianski, Senderos, Bendtner, Gilberto, J Hoyte, Traore, Walcott, Denilson.

First XI

Jens Lehmann (GK)
Lehmann retains his place after Almunia failed to recover from flu and then a stomach bug.
We all hope Lehmann can have a performance that we know he can and why he was brought to the club!

Bacary Sagna (RB)
Sagna is back and will bring steel and stregth to the back four as well as a good attacking option.

William Gallas (CB)
Gallas will captain the side and after his shaky performance on Saturday, we hope he gives us a captain’s performance.

Kolo Toure (CB)
Toure is back from African Nations duty, back from a re-introduction to the premier league up north!
Kolo is a player who can win this game for us.

Gael Clichy
Clichy also returns to the side and has recovered from his “musclar” injury. He will add both defensive and attacking steel to the left hand side.

Emmanuel Eboue (RM)
Eboue has got the nod ahead of a returning Walcott. Without RVP and Rosicky, we have no other option… if you remember Eboue against Man U at the Emirates last season, we know Eboue can contribute!

Mathieu Flamini (DM)
Flamini has been in great form this season and hopefully will have another top notch performance.
Flamini on Gattuso: I don’t want sound disrespectful to the guy because he’s amazing but I think I’m a different player to him. I’m more attacking. We try and play a little more football. And, anyway, I want to make my own name in the football world.

Cesc Fabregas (CM)
This boy is the heartbeat of our team… when he’s on form, so are we. Cesc vs Kaka, an awesome dual.
Cesc on Milan: When you play against Milan, you don’t need extra motivation. We have to come back and be stronger than ever

Aleksandr Hleb (AM)
Hleb is our connoisseur’s favourite and we will look to Hleb to unlock the Milan defence.

Emmanuel Adebayor (CF)
12 goals in 9 games. As ANR reports suggests If Adebayor has a good night against Milan, Arsenal will be fine. That’s very true. Ade – it’s your time.

Eduardo (CF)
Our little gem, no one’s talking about him, no one’s mentioned his name. But he can finish, has pace and could be our “secret weapon” tonight…

The Bench

The is confirmed as:
Fabianski – he’s had his good games and his bad, he is unlikely to be needed (I hope)
Senderos – has come back to form of late
Bendtner – not really shown or had many chances since his winner at the Emirates against Sp*rs.
Gilberto – starting to gain some match pratice,
Walcott – 80% fit but could be an important cameo
Denilson – Returns to the side, unlikely to play
Hoyte – Keeps his place in the 16, unlikely to feature.

The Milan XI is as follows:
Milan XI

Zeljko Kalac 16
Kakha Kaladze 4
Paolo Maldini 3
Massimo Oddo 44
Alessandro Nesta 13
Andrea Pirlo 21
Ivan Gennaro Gattuso 8
Massimo Ambrosini 23
Clarence Seedorf 10
Kakà 22
Pato 7

Subs
Alberto Gilardino 11
Christian Brocchi 32
Filippo Inzaghi 9
Valerio Fiori 29
Emerson 5
Daniele Bonera 25
Marek Jankulovski 18

Come on you gunners!
Let’s hope my next blog is a very happy one!]]>

Valerio Fiori his Champions League debut tonight. This will be the first start for 38 year old for Milan in eight seasons.

Dida is currently out with a back injury and Zeljko Kalac is also struggling with a dislocated finger.

Meanwhile, back at the Emirates, it looks like Almunia is back in contention, although, most likely for a place on the bench as he’s just recovered from flu… come on Lehmann, let’s have a steady performance today!]]>

I’ve had a high number of hits on this page today - this blog entry is from the first leg – if you’re looking for today’s game (second leg on 4th March 2008) click here.

Okay, it’s Wednesday and the day has finally arrived… Arsene says “it’s the ultimate test”… Cesc says “we’re in the presence of world class players”…

It’s going to be a very exciting night tonight, in front of 60,000+ at the Emirates… With Gilberto suffering a “stiff back”, he is touch and go and it’s looks like Eboue will be restored to the side and a reversion to 4-4-2 although this 4-4-2 can easily become 4-5-1 with Hleb and Adebayor up front!

Arsene believes we can beat them & I agree – but we have to be at our best.

Cescy is careful of Kaka – I would be too!

More in a bit, time to do some work!]]>

I mean the professional performance and eventual 2-0 win against a woeful Milan side...

I'd like to see the game stay as 11 versus 11, I'd like to see Kaka versus Fabregas. I'd like to see Adebayor skip past a Nesta or Maldini... it's going to be an exciting day tomorrow.... come on you reds!]]>