thrashing the Magpies

Fantastic Stuff! Reminds me of the finished-product team of the early 2000. Boy, if this team can pull up their socks and give us such performances week in and week out, we are in for 'some' entertainment.


Result:
Arsenal bt Newcastle United 3-0

Almunia: Just had to make a few saves, and was pretty confident on those! Wasn't involved otherwise(wasn't reqd.). Good for us! 5/10

Sagna: We didn't require our Full-backs yesterday! Our midfield was in rampage. Sagna still did some decent link-up play with Eboue and made life quite miserable for the Magpies! 6/10

Toure: What a slap on the face of critics! Superb performance, mostly attacking-wise, wasn't reqd. to defend a lot. There was a spring in his feet and the malaria looked a thing of past. Had a terrific shot on goal from far. 7/10

Gallas: Looked charged up, positive and was understandably sharp in tackles, was even involved in attacks. Good work! 6.5/10

Clichy: As always, did amazing overlaps! Crosses were neat too, the guy worked on it! Looks like, Nasri and Clichy are playing together for centuries, their link-up is already sparkling! 7/10

Eboue: Oops, I take back my 'peanut-brain' today! The guy wasn't his self, brilliant runs, dribbles and that mouth-watering back-heel to Persie, he did it all. Looked threatening while attacking and calm and composed while defending! 7.5/10

Cesc: Well, if Cesc is playing, the team looks much more composed, much more flamboyant while attacking. Cesc was exceptional with tackles too, a side of his game that has improved(One very bad tackle though, but that is OKAY!). As usual, gave some neat passes, but he is still to get back to his best! 6.75/10

Denilson: To me, he was the only weak-link in the whole Arsenal display of classy football last night. No hard feelings and nothing to take away from his hard-working performance and his exceptional run and goal, the guy still has lot to improve on technically! 5.5/10

Nasri: Man, we have got our man, we have got our Pires back. In fact, the run and outside of the right-foot swerving pass is Rosicky-like. Nasri is a hard worker and a no-nonsense player and I would want him to take a lot of free-kicks. He is pretty good with it. And yeah, I just loved him for that trick-trip on Barton. Muhahaha, now we are TALKING! Who's next? :-D 7.5/10

Ada: Well, he played as a midfielder almost and he excelled in it. I an always amazed at how much the guy can run, some really good passes, especially the first-time one to Denilson. Pretty impressive performance. 7/10

Persie: Ahh, finally, HE is back. Superb performance, tremendous work-rate! Dribbles, runs, nice free-kick, terrific corners. He did it all. But, inspite of this terrific perfo, I still feel is only 90%. And damn, I hear he is going through a X-ray now, hope we don't have a bad news. We can't afford to have one! 8/10

Subs:

Vela: Boyy, what a breath of fresh air. The guy could have easily scored. Vela and Theo can be our surprise package this season. Loved his cameo performance, especially one neato exchange with Cesc. 6.5/10

Song: Too small a perfo to really talk about. Looked quite sharp, hope he gets a full-start next match. 5.5/10

Theo: Really a terror for defenders. I dont know what he did on the right-hand side corner, but that was one heck of a trick, looked sharp. In fact, Theo always play well as a sub. He is more of a 20-minute special player, a super-sub! 6/10

Overall, very impressive performance. If we can improve on this, we can be the team to beat! The same team which drew with ManU couldn't touch us, that is heartening! :-D
7.5/10

put past Twente!

Ahh, The Royal Sideburns did shine! Finally! :-D


Arsenal thrashed FC Twente 4-0

This blog won't be the same as the ones before, because I couldn't watch the entire match. I watched it in patches, shifting from Sopcasts to Websites with Videos to JustinTV Live Streaming, twas pretty crazy!

I caught glimpses of 'magic' from Theo, grace from Cesc and the fact that 'his' coming back adds poise to the team. Eboue is much better off in the wings! Denilson improved from his last performance, but he still needs a lot of improvement. But, the guy is trying, I am pleased. Djourou looks solid (Three Consecutive Clean Sheets in his bag). Gallas was Okay! At least, he wanted to make up for his mistake! He did so, scored a goal and not of a corner! Van Persie is still shooting wide and very wide, indeed! Saint Niko worked hard and scored just before TIME! I am yet to catch on Nasri's goal! :(

A good comeback, a good confidence booster! Magpies, here we come!

A loss in GAME 2!

I am seriously not surprised by this performance. This was expected. This was coming. If, after this match Arsene fails to understand that we are 'really really really' short of quality, then I am sorry, he really needs to visit a Doc! He has serious mental problems! Waiting to sign a strong and experienced central midfield player for two months and not letting Media know about it, is not funny, is not clever, is not shrewd! It is STUPID! The player needs to come and settle down after playing some friendlies and training session matches.
If after this match, Arsene still remains obdurate and doesn't sign anybody, I think an UEFA Cup qualification looks out of the cards!

RESULT
Fulham 1 Arsenal 0 (Hangeland 21')

Alumunia: Didn't have any save to make the entire match. So, can't blame him for non-involvement. 2.5/10

Sagna: Worked really hard, but still doesn't have the finishing product, way too many wayward crosses, had lost the ball a few times, very unlike him. Still, I would say he was quite solid the entire match and we depend too much on our full-backs for delivery! That is a serious problem, needs to be addressed. 5/10

Toure: The only player who looked solid the entire match, ran back, slide tackled, cleared first time, did a very decent job. I still feel he is not 100%, that's the reason behind him being substituted. 5/10

Gallas: If a captain has 'zero' involvement in a game, then there are serious problems with a team. The goal that was scored was thanks to 'No Marking' at all from Gallas, he just left the player, offering him a candy, which the player rejected and found the back of the net. 'Inspirational' is not even a word in Gallas's dictionary! 3/10

Clichy: The guy worked really hard. Crossed into the D several times, but most were 10-year old crosses, with a huge loop or mostly wayward. He needs to work really hard on crosses, if Arsenal consider that as a part of Plan B for this season. He did lose some balls but made up for it by tracing back, well, he was the fastest man on the field for sure. 5.5/10

Walcott: Nothing! Simply nothing! He just goes into the middle to show his newly designed 'royal' sideburns, if he thinks that is charismatic and the fans come to see his bloody sideburns then I am really sorry! His performance is way below expectations in every match, the reason behind him getting subbed always! The guy is still to give one good match so far! 0.5/10

Denilson: As we knew, this guy was the only player in Arsenal Training mid-week, rest had gone for international duty, I guess he took his chances and went pubbing or brotheling or something! He was ridiculous, and that being a gross understatement. Oh come on, we can't give him any more time, he is in Arsenal for quite some time and he is a Brazilian, if he had it in him , he would have shown it by now. Oh btw, there were 11 wrong passes by him. Is that some record of sorts? 2/10

Eboue: The peanut brain lacks creativity heavenly, a central midfield player playing for Arsenal and lacking creativity is like asking a two-year old baby to beat the hell out of a Texas Night Club bouncer! The guy gave two very good runs down the middle, but was fouled on both occasions just before he was about to pull the trigger. That actually saved us some time, from bringing the ball back from the last tier of the stadium in case he had taken a shot! 3.5/10

Nasri: Had a very mediocre game, never made a single run into the 'D', no good pass to a striker. Not a single good corner. A wasted free-kick. And losing the ball many times! Overall, not at all impressive! 3.5/10

Missabayor: Well, he receives the ball, shoots the ball, and shoots it wide! That is like a routine, like we brush our teeth, have breakfast and go to office! Ada just doesn't finish. He doesn't win headers, doesn't distribute well. He just took one really good header which hit the post and was Arsenal's closest chance to square the game! 4/10

Van Persie: Outrageously ridiculous! Takes too many wide shots, wastes free-kicks, grossly wastes corners, I've never got more irritated before, seeing an Arsenal's player performance. I think he should start from the bench next match. Bendtner is much better than him as of now! OR Persie should be sent to Moscow or some other place for rehabilitation. He looks to me ill, dreadfully ill! 1/10

SUBS

Song: Came in as a replacement for Toure, that almost shocked everybody on the ancient planet Arkozobetalum 3SCv56r! I thought bringing him in place of Denilson would have been a better option. Arsene has seriously gone nuts! Song looked quite impressive in the few minutes he got on the pitch for himself! 4/10

Bendtner: The good thing about Niko is, he has the intent, he always looks to score, always looks to give that killer pass! He is a man in form and needs to start. He just has to start against the Magpies next time around! 3/10

I don't think this is the end of the world, at the end of 2nd week, we just might be one point below Manchester United, in the league table.

Overall: 3/10

Honestly speaking, after this performance, I don't fancy ourselves to win anything this season! Carling Cup is a possibility though, coz the kids are much better than this guys! We now just look for a miracle, the miracle which is also known as one CESC FABREGAS! It's him, or no silverware! Premature ehh? so, be it! :|

vs West Bromwich Albion

Ahh, a new blog! Why did I decide to create this? Well, I love reviewing my team's performances and I thought, maybe down the line, many many years from now, what if I wanted to take a peak at my team (say 20 years back) and its performance in one particular match in one particular season?! As a part of a team-review plan, I have plans of roping in fellow-gunners @Abhishek's and @Prasanna's.

Okay, lemme leave all these aside for the time-being, and get directly into last week's action! Arsenal cut the red ribbon for the new season 08-09' against newly promoted West Bromwich Albion at The Emirates.

Well, proper match-reviews can be read @Arseblogger's and @CulturedLeftFoot's.

So, I'll do a player-by-player analysis instead.

Match Result: Arsenal beat West Brom 1-0 (Nasri 4')

Alumunia - Pretty solid. He made that all-important save (a gone-haywired offside trap from Djourou and Gallas caused the small period of absolute chaos). 5/10

Sagna - Solid as ever! I would expect a little more efficiency and precision in the Final-Third as the season progresses. His work-rate is again amazing! 6.5/10

Gallas (C) - Pretty decent. Took an amazing shot at goal in the first half, an Absolutely Ungallaish effort! He still needs to improve on his 'temper'. He needs to stay cool and not abuse players for mistakes (He abused Djourou for a pretty long time as the Camera kept focussed. That's very disgusting, IMHO!). Needs to work on his sprints too, later in the season he might have to track back players like Torres, Rooney, Drogba, won't be easy! 5/10

Djourou - Pretty good. Never let us feel the absence of Kolo. He is also confident as he dribbles strikers with ease and passes with utmost accuracy. Yes, as many others, he also has the small periods of Concentration Lapse, but that'll improve with age. He is still 21. I think Wenger should throw away the idea of utilizing the guy for CDM later in the season. He is a very good CB, better than Senderos! 6.5/10

Clichy - As always, incredible work-rate, needs to work on his finishing, you never know, even a full-back maybe needed to finish at times. His defence is a little behind his attacking prowess for the time-being. He still needs to get that agression back like from last season. Overall, pretty good and solid! 6.5/10

Eboue - The Peanut-brain will be called so until and unless he uses his heads. He could have easily scored three goals if he had his head above his neck. A player of his talent should score goals week in and week out. But, Wenger just needs to sit with him and explain about the working of the Human Brain! No, wait, let him know that there actually EXISTS a human brain! He played out of position on Saturday, and CDMing is certainly not his forte! He is much better off as a RW or even better as a replacement for Sagna! 5.5/10

Denilson - Honestly, he was heavily man-marked, and to take up Cesc's responsibility for the first match of the season, was really tough for the Brazilian! He, still played a good game, solid in defending but lacked in creativity. He has a lot of work to be done on the shooting front. He should practise nothing but shooting for say, a month or so! :D Am serious! 5.5/10

Nasri - Easily, the best player of the day! Superb goal, clinical touch! Exemplary work rate! Good to see him taking shots on goal unlike Hleb and almost unlike Rosicky! Nasri's shots are also 'ON GOAL'! :D The guy is better off playing in the mid, I believe! He looked dangerous whenever he was in the middle! He needs to make some more runs into the box, take some risks and show a little more aggression like the way he used to, in Marseille. A lot to improve, but an exceptional performance on debut! 7.5/10

Walcott - Almost, unseen throughout the game. A friend remarked after 30 minutes, "okay, wait! ohh..Theo is playing?!". I have kept on telling, if a man(boy) who can make a difference this season, its got to be Theo! he really has to pick himself up and show what he really is! He gives those few minutes of brilliance in the entire match. That doesn't help! He needs to play consistently throughout, easily one of the fastest moving footballers around, he can be a defender's nemesis! Overall, Okayish perfo! 4/10

Adabayor - A conversion rate of 1 out of 10 in a club like Arsenal won't help. He got 300 chances last season and he scored 30 goals. That's not impressive! That's a little below average! Let people talk about his goal-scoring abilities, am still not convinced. He has an amazing work-rate. He runs a lot, but that doesn't help! A striker needn't run a lot, needn't show amazing work-rate, just that one moment of brilliance would be much better. I would prefer Ada staying 'wasted' throughout the game and give us two goals with two brilliant moments in 90 minutes! :) 4.75/10

Bendtner - Comes too deep down, I think he should focus more on scoring goals than assisting Ada or whoever plays with him! He has technically improved a lot in two years. A commentator said yesterday, "Niko has scored more goals from the bench last season than Aliadiare in this entire career at Arsenal!" The guy has talent and a good footballing brain, he just needs to get ambitious! 5.5/10

(Subs)

Toure - Not much to be said! Played out of position as RW! 3/10

Persie - To me, the guy should be an impact player. It is high time he takes bottom-line responsibility of seeing Arsenal through at least against not-so-decent teams! He has probably the best shooting-boots in the team, so he needs to score goals and at least try to keep his attempts on targets. 3.25/10

Decent performance to start with, and also keeping in mind, Cesc, Rosicky, Eduardo, Song, Diaby are missing! Overall - 6.5/10