Gunners ease Emirates misery

In what I admit to being a pretty dull match at the Emirates last night Arsenal did win and in doing so eased of some of the pressure they have been coming under in recent days. Fabregas looked like he'd found his form again after being given the captian armband, although neither Vela or Ramsey really shined although it must be said Vela was hardly given the ball and Ramsey was playing out of position in a midfield made out of 4 central midfielders!!! We need our players back.

Anyway now that we've qualified nicely for the last 16, Arsenal can concentrate on returning back to normality back in the premiership title



Arsenal Team Statistics Dinamo Kiev
1 Goals 0
0 1st Half Goals 0
5 Shots on Target 3
5 Shots off Target4
3 Blocked Shots 1
7 Corners 2
16 Fouls 17
7 Offsides 6
2 Yellow Cards 2
0 Red Cards 1
84.6 Passing Success 73.4
24 Tackles 15
79.2 Tackles Success 66.7
67.4 Possession 32.6
46.8 Territorial Advantage 53.2

Fabregas' era has begun

I am so glad that Wenger has finally decided to strip Gallas of captaincy, in my opinion he has never had what it takes to lead a team and Wenger only gave it to him becuase at the time there were no natural leaders of the team and Gallas stood out because he was the oldest player on the team. Wenger also gave it to him because Gallas is such a big headed banana that he would have cried unless he had captaincy. Although the press only turned on Gallas after the Birmingham match he never deserved the honour of being captian, espically after just coming from Chelsea.

Now onto Fabregas. Cesc has been playing for the Arsenal first team since he was sixteen years old, so although he is only 21 now, he has already been playing first team football for 5 years which is incredible. The fact that Fabregas is also the heartbeat of the team it makes perfect sense to give him the armband. Fabregas also gives his team mates somebody to look up to when things are not going so well.

The Captain has been chosen

Man City 3-0 Arsenal

Arsenal's turbulent week ended in more misery as Manchester City sent them to their fifth league defeat this season.

The Gunners appeared to be in freefall after skipper William Gallas was dropped for his midweek outburst.

Stephen Ireland clipped in City's first after Gael Clichy sliced a clearance, and Robinho doubled the lead when he superbly chipped Manuel Almunia.

Robinho had a shot cleared off the line before Daniel Sturridge scored with a penalty after he had been fouled.

Arsenal's build-up to the match was blighted by Gallas' public claims that the team lacks spirit and togetherness, while City had won only once in five league games.

Gallas paid a heavy price for his comments, but his absence at the heart of the defence also cost the Gunners as they imploded for City's opener.

When Ireland burst into the box he lost control of the ball but Clichy skewed his clearance back into the midfielder's path and he finished with style.

Until that point, neither defence had really been troubled as careless passes dominated the play.

Arsenal, also accused by Gallas of lacking bravery, sometimes looked rattled by City's physical challenges.

And without Cesc Fabregas, Theo Walcott and Emanuel Adebayor they also looked lightweight coming forward.

However, City created little themselves before an unexpected spell of pressure at the end of the opening 45 minutes saw them rewarded.

It was a different story for the hosts after the break, though, as they countered with pace and precision, particularly through Robinho.

The forward might have had a hat-trick on another day, but had to make do with one goal.

It came when he was put through by Shaun Wright-Phillips and he sprinted clear before lofting an exquisite chip over Alumina without even breaking stride.

Later, Robinho thought he had scored with a back heeled flick but the goal was disallowed for offside.

And after that he perhaps should have scored when he rounded Almunia but his goalbound effort was cleared off the line by Johan Djourou.

Robinho was substituted shortly after having injured himself as he tried to score, but Arsenal were to suffer no change of fortune following the removal of their chief tormentor.

They might have pulled a goal back but Nicklas Bendtner shot straight at keeper Joe Hart.

And Robin van Persie had a goal disallowed for unsporting behaviour - the Dutchman nicked the ball off Hart as the keeper tried to take a goal-kick.

Instead it was City who got the next goal.

Sturridge earned himself a spot-kick after he was fouled by Djourou and the substitute confidently dispatched the penalty to round off a fine win for City.

Man City: Hart, Zabaleta, Richards, Dunne, Garrido, Wright-Phillips, Ireland, Kompany, Vassell (Elano 73), Robinho (Hamann 82), Mwaruwari (Sturridge 88).
Subs Not Used: Schmeichel, Onuoha, Evans, Ben-Haim.

Goals: Ireland 45, Robinho 56, Sturridge 90 pen.

Arsenal: Almunia, Hoyte (Ramsey 60), Djourou, Silvestre, Clichy, Nasri, Denilson, Song Billong, Diaby (Vela 69), Van Persie, Bendtner.
Subs Not Used: Fabianski, Wilshere, Gibbs, Lansbury, Simpson.

Booked: Song Billong.

Att: 44,878

Ref: Alan Wiley (Staffordshire).

Gilberto leaves Arsenal - a personal tribute

Arsenal have confirmed that Gilberto has joined Greek side Panathinaikos. The 31-year-old spent a total of six seasons with the Gunners, making 244 appearances. Here, Arsenal.com reporter Chris Harris pays tribute to the quiet man of Arsenal's midfield.

In a football world awash with ego, hype and sensationalism, Gilberto was a breath of fresh air.

The Brazilian never courted controversy and never spoke out of turn. He arrived quietly, he left quietly and, in between, he was quietly efficient. While emptier vessels made more noise, Gilberto just got the job done.

He came to Arsenal on the crest of a wave, shortly after helping Brazil win the World Cup in the summer of 2002, and the early signs suggested that Arsène Wenger had recruited a goalscoring midfielder. Gilberto scored the winner on his debut in the Community Shield against Liverpool, broke a Champions League record with a goal after just 20.07 seconds of Arsenal's win at PSV Eindhoven and netted at Auxerre a week later.

In truth, Gilberto's qualities were rather more prosaic, though no less important. He had earned the tag 'Invisible Wall' in Brazil for his almost unseen ability to break up attacks, protect his defence and do the simple things well. He soon put those attributes to work at Highbury but struggled to win over some sections of the Highbury crowd. It seemed this un-Brazilian Brazilian was not eye-catching enough for some.

They say 'you don't know what you've got till it's gone' and so it proved with Gilberto. Having provided the midfield foundation for the 'Invincibles' side of 2003/04, the Brazilian suffered a serious back injury which left him in a brace for much of the following campaign. Suddenly Arsenal looked fragile; suddenly Gilberto's worth was obvious. Where was the man who won the ball back, who shielded the back four? He was sidelined, and he was missed.

Gilberto's return was well-timed. Shortly afterwards, Patrick Vieira left the club and it was left to the Brazilian to guide Cesc Fabregas through the embryonic stage of his Arsenal career. It worked - Wenger's new-look line-up reach its first Champions League Final in 2006 and Gilberto excelled in Europe, revelling in the holding role when Arsenal adopted a five-man midfield.

He scaled even greater heights the following season. Thierry Henry was officially the club captain but, in his injury-forced absence, Gilberto grew from the quiet man of midfield into the team leader. He wore the armband, he took the penalties, he filled in at centre-back and he contributed 11 goals, including a North London derby double and a late equaliser in the historic opening game at Emirates Stadium.

If that showed his character on the pitch, Gilberto's conduct off the pitch was just as exemplary. Arsenal endured some desperate defeats that season but the Brazilian never shied away from reporters and spoke with integrity and honesty in his post-match interviews.

In a similar vein, Gilberto didn't vent his frustrations in the media when things weren't going his way last season. Missing out on the captaincy and losing his first-team spot must have hurt, but Gilberto knuckled down, worked hard and, when his opportunity came, he stepped up and performed.

Panathinaikos are about to find out what Arsenal have known for six years: Gilberto is a man you can rely on.

Have Arsenal found another world beater?

Arsenal Football Club are set to seal the signature of Amaury Bischoff.

The French-born midfielder has turned down a new contract with German side Werder Bremen in order to head to the Emirates Stadium, after the lure of the Gunners proved too strong.

"Bremen was superb, but Arsenal is a huge opportunity for me," Bischoff told Bild. "Wenger has known me since my time at Strasbourg and believes in my quality. He trusts me to be in the first team.

"Wenger has not put me under any pressure. He said, 'Take all the time you need'."

Bischoff, 21-years-old, moved to Bremen in 2005, yet he has made just one senior appearance which came in the Uefa Cup against Celta Vigo in 2007: but will he go on to become yet another star find by Wenger?

Fabregas does it again

The heart of Arsenal has become the heart of Spain as Fabregas gets two assists to help Spain beat Russia, propelling them into the Final of Euro 2008.

Does humour have a place in football?

When I gather with a few mates at the Auld Triangle (or whatever it chooses to be called this season), prior to another stunning Arsenal victory, we stand in the road (in contravention of the 2004 Road Traffic Act), drink (ditto) and talk (probably ditto under the Terrorism Act, and now punishable by 42 days inside without charge).

We talk of serious matters sometimes, but also we joke, we have fun, we laugh. We do the same in the stadium. Of course we have serious moments, we cringe, we scream abuse at Robbie Savage, all that stuff, but also we laugh.

Even some of the songs have me in stitches. Singing, “We’ll race you back to London” to the Man Bankrupt supporters who managed to find their way to the Elder Trafford, is very amusing. Droll even.

So what is it that the journalists and the bloggers have got against humour in football. If you are reflecting football, there should be the odd laugh. The Guardian does it ok but otherwise it is all a bit serious.

I only came to think of this when I noticed that very few of the slightly amusing pieces published by Untold Arsenal ever make it onto the rolling Arsenal story sites like GoonerNews. I’ve never quite worked out why. It can’t be censorship can it?

Now I know that I am inviting a load of emails saying that it is because we are a bunch of turnips for whom a season ticket at Tottenham would be suitable punishment, but well, a bit of lightheardedness doesn’t go amiss. After all, Up the Arse is often advertised as “Laugh at those who deserve it”

Anyway, if you look back through yesterday’s stuff you find odds and ends that are marginally mirthifull. If you are that way inclined. None of the last 3 posts made it onto the rolling news services. I leave you to work out why.

Eduardo will END the curse of the Arsenal number nine shirt

I can't wait for the day that I see Eduardo put the red and white shirt of Arsenal on his back again.

We won't know what type of player Eduardo will be after coming back from such a bad injury.

Before his "assault" we were beginning to see the reason why Le Boss signed him. He was starting to settle in and was producing some great football.

Of top of this, he seems such a nice bloke, and to see him suffer such a cruel injury just seemed damn wrong.

I've a feeling that he will come back better than before and will become one of the BEST forwards in Europe. I've rated him from when before he signed for Arsenal, and was very pleased when he signed on the dotted line for us.

I reckon that finally we will have someone who will end the curse of the number nine shirt at Arsenal. The last few to wear it have struggled, Jeffers, Reyes and Baptista, and even Eduardo himself suffered from the curse when getting injured!

The number nine shirt is prestigious in football. It's a goal-scorers shirt, and Eduardo is a goal-scorer. I've no doubt when he returns he will do us proud.

He was a hungry player before and after missing the last part of the season and the Euros, he will return even hungrier. He is a strong person and that strength is what he will need on the long road to recovery.

He will get there. And I reckon that he will score a bucketful for our club. In fact. I think he will get 100 goals for Arsenal. At least. In fact, I'm having a bet on it!

The curse of the number nine has affected numerous players, including Eduardo himself.

But he is just the man to lift it.

Keep it Goonerish.........