'The Stranger and The Town'

Once upon a time

                There was a town that had a group of people who always worked hard to achieve great things. They lived in harmony and happiness. One day a stranger arrived, people of the town got confused and asked; who is he? No one had an answer except one man called David. He talked to the people and told them the guy wants to help the town; he is a very wise man who is here to make us happy. People welcomed the stranger but had doubt over him and whether he could indeed help them or not.
               Immediately, the stranger gathered a group of young men and started advising them and drew a plan on how work should be done and the roles of each person. He put rules and regulation and didn't accept less. After just a week, he formed a council. He brought up new ideas, tried to upgrade the town’s culture and changed people’s mentality on how things should be done. Other towns heard of him and one in particular tried to attack the town to kill that man who clearly is having a very positive effect on the town. The army of the town survived the attack but lost lot of its people died in the process. What has the stranger got in mind now? He gathered everyone and told them, the army needs reshuffling and told them about his plans to bring other strangers to fight for the town, people were astonished and didn't like the idea. Just after a week, 3 young guys arrived and the rest followed, the army has become very big and strong. They now go to other towns to attack and always won the battles. Just after 4 years the army become the strongest of all, defeating everyone that comes their way, they simply become IMMORTAL..
                 The stranger is now an inspiration of every town across the universe; people learned from his ideas and try to implement it. Suddenly, the rich men of the country were annoyed by that and wanted to enter the frame and prove themselves and make more money. They spent millions buying better equipment, build houses and factories. Their army was full equipped; they also brought foreign guys to fight in their army. It was a battle of the riches vs the inspiration. 2 years has past and the shock come were one General in the IMMORTAL army decided to go, they persuaded him to join the riches, they gave him the best house in their town, lots of money and the best looking girl. He betrayed his town, the battle become more intense during those years and the stranger was having difficulties in keeping his army who were leaving one after the other. What's the solution the people of the town screamed! No one knows what was happening, they started arguing among each other. What has the stranger got in his magic hat? That was the question no one had an answer to it.
                 The stranger had to come out several time to calm his people, he told them we're still strong and function as one despite some departures. He restored clam for a year or two but same problem kept happening and Lots of people become more frustrated. It got to a time were people started beating each other, the town was divided into 3; the pro stranger, the anti-stranger and people who couldn't decide. The anti-Stranger kept growing in numbers, they formed groups and councils. Who could have imagined such thing happening years back........ To be continued 

SIGNINGS SIGNINGS SIGNINGS…. LET’S HAVE A CHAT

          Hello Gooners across the globe. I don’t want to talk about last season because it only gave us heartbreaks and the last 5 games were just hell. But at the end of the day, we finished ahead of the scums and that’s the only joyous moment.

        Media linking us with almost every player you can remember.  And interesting enough, we’re now following ‘Colombian Radios & a Kenya TV Show’ thanks to twitter. It’s funny you know but could be hell in some cases. The 2 most used words in the Goonerland are ‘Transfers and Signings’ everyone wants to know who we going to buy and looking for clues.  For me, we need 4 signings; we need a backup keeper, a 4^th defender, a DM [Everyone wants a DM, we actually wanted a DM since 3-4 years] and a World Class striker IMO.

       Starting with the Goalkeeping situation, there has been talks of Cesar, Begovic and Mignolet. Realistically speaking can only see Cesar joining out of the 3. He fits the bill, short term and could provide competition for Szczesny.

      The defenders situation is also not that complicated, it’s a must we keep Vermaelen for me. He, Per and Koss the Boss will do the job but we need an addition just in case injuries do happen and also it’s a long season ahead. Ashley Williams will be a good addition for our 4^th backup position.

      What Next? A DM. We the fans are calling for a solid DM since years, even before Obama was appointed as president of the USA. Goal.Shit and the times linked us with Fellaini just recently and the entire GoonerWorld exploded. Maroune has said before that he wants to play in that role, at Everton due to injuries Moyes was forced to use him in a higher position and he excelled. He would be an intent signing and will do well at the Arsenal. Question is are we really interested or just noises? Capoue and Wanyama are linked with us since January and are cheaper option.  Another player heavily linked is Greiner. Apparently Arsene praised him. Good little player but is he a necessity?  The answer is No but he could be a good squad player.

      In the Striking department, Rooney will be my pick but can’t see it happening due to various reasons. Realistically it’s between Jovetic and Higuain. Who would fit better in our squad? Not too sure to be honest. Jovetic is an interesting target; having watched him recently I would say he played below his potential but he was magnificent in the previous 2-3 seasons.  On the other hand Higuain’s stats look very good but could be a little misleading. Is he a big game changer? Not too sure about that. Is he the World Class striker who would bring us back to the footballing map? I also have my doubt. To be honest it’s difficult for me to pick one but I am leaning slightly towards Jovetic.

    Lastly, my advice for all the Gooners is neglect Goal.Shit, caught onside sorry offside, Daily Fail and the rest. Next 2 months going to be very long, we will have 230 medicals scheduled [31 for M’Villa alone]. Hopefully it’s going to be a very good summer and next season we can compete for trophies and get back to where we belong. Keep it up boys… Arsenal till we die. 

Let me know what you think.. Comments appreciated 

Pray for Muamba !!

          Fabrice Muamba is an African boy whose dad fled DR Congo due to political issues and arrived in the UK seeking asylum. It was very difficult for Fabrice at the beginning but through determination, he went to achieve greatness. Impossible is nothing his motto.

         Fabrice first joined Arsenal as a teenager and made his debut against Sunderland in the league cup. Due to limited opportunities, he joined Birmingham on loan. The deal was made permanent the year after, Fabrice impressed at the time. Unfortunately, Birmingham got relegated and he went on to sign for his current club Bolton on 16 June 2008. 

         Muamba settled very well at Bolton and won the hearts of the fans with his hard-working and spirited performances on the pitch.  He made more than 120 appearance for the club and scored his first ever goal against his former club Arsenal in the league cup. 

17 / 03 / 2012 

     The day Football united as ONE ! The young lad collapsed as white hart lane suffering cardiac arrest. He was rushed to the Hospital and the whole football world was in shock. The game was rightly cancelled. Thankfully, his condition has improved a bit and it's stable at the moment. He is fighting for his live and we hope he can make it and return to his family who are anxiously waiting for him. 

     The Lad still needs our prayers, please don't forget him. Make sure you remember him in your prayers. 

                                                        PRAY 4 MUAMBA

       Impossible is Nothing ; Impossible is Nothing ; Impossible is Nothing 

It’s more than just 3 points. (Match Preview)

This was supposed to be the title decider? Right. Everybody was talking about this game and its influence on who win the league. All arsenal fans were so anxious about this game in the last 4 weeks. Now, it’s a different story all together, our aim now is to get our second spot back instead of thinking about winning the league. Four weeks in football is very long and we gunners fans now know that very well. 

Although we can’t win the league anymore, this match is very important to us. Remember how the unbeaten streak started, from disappointment of not winning the league to something special and unthinkable. It all started against Southampton that day and why can’t it start against united on Sunday.  Everything is possible and with good planning, next season will be great. Am been too optimistic you would say but it can be done and if one man is capable of doing it, it’s the BOSS.

Our recent record against united is very poor, only one win in ten games. The last win was at the emirates when Nasri scored a brace. We also had a very bad record against Chelsea but we managed to end that by beating them. I can see the same thing happening on Sunday. All is over this season but we can start now for next season. We want to see the players going for it, playing as if this game is the title decider. Come on Guys we can do it.

                                                                                               

HEAD TO HEAD IN THE LAST 5 MATCHES VS United

United 2 vs 0 Arsenal
United 1 vs 0 Arsenal
Arsenal 1 vs 3 United
United 2 vs 1 Arsenal
United 0 vs 0 Arsenal

For a team like Arsenal, our head to head with united in previous seasons is disastrous. In our last 5 games, we lost 4 and drew one. In those 5 games, we played 4 at old Trafford and only one at the emirates. Our last goal scorer against them was Thomas vermaelen’s deflected goal at the emirates.

Some Arsenal State:

Johan Djourou will make his 100 start for AFC in all competitions.

Tomas Rosicky will make his 90^th appearance for Arsenal in the Premier league.

Clichy will make his 230^th start for AFC in all competitions.

Thomas vermaelen makes his long awaited comeback.

Finally, there is some good news for the gunners fans. We have passed through hell in the previous weeks. Our best defender is finally back playing; he made his comeback in the reserve game against united today, he played the entire match and helped the reserve team get a 0-0 draw at old Trafford.  He was excellent as usual, he did not show any sign of rustiness.

Thomas last appearance for Arsenal was against Blackburn at Ewood Park on the 28^th of August 2010. He went on international duty and picked up an Achilles injury. Arsene wenger on Friday, September 10 said “Vermaelen’s [injury] should be short-term and has a chance to play on Wednesday night." He was expected to play against Braga but unfortunately he had a setback and never returned. In late November, Thomas was ruled out for the year 2010. In January, we heard he will be back in 3 weeks. The fans were confused and we heard a lot of rumours. Now he has returned, he has a chance of playing in the final 2 games of the season but Wenger may not take that risk.

Thomas will now take part in the normal pre-season training and that is important for him. He will be ready for the beginning of next season. Am sure most gunners will be wondering and saying “what would have happened if Thomas played the whole season” the answer is a better position in the league for sure. We missed him a lot this season. Imagine united and Chelsea without vidic or terry for the whole season. They will be short in defence for sure, Thomas presence last year was unbelievable and in his first year in the EPl, he was part of the team of the season.  Lastly, our VERMINATOR IS BACK AT LAST.

Cheers.

It’s All Over for the Gunners (Match review + player rating)

      

            Arsenal hopes of winning the premier league this season is now over. The defeat against Bolton today was the final nail in our coffin. We are now 9 points behind United with 4 games left. Chelsea is now in 2^nd spot following their 3 nil victory against West ham yesterday. The gunners, who were challenging for four trophies in February, will now end the season trophy less.

            Today’s match against Bolton was a must win game for Arsenal in order to maintain their challenge for the premier league title. Arsenal made only one change to the team that played against Tottenham on Wednesday night, Jack wilshere replacing the injured Diaby in midfield. Arsenal came into this game unbeaten in the last 16 premier league matches. Arsenals are also unbeaten against Bolton in the previous 10 games.

First Half

            Arsenal started the match strongly and attacked Bolton from the start. Fabregas played Walcott through in the 3^rd minute, but his shot was saved by Jussi and Nasri’s follow up was blocked. Bolton were under pressure from the start and a minute later, Robinson brought Walcott down in the penalty area, Mike Jones gave a corner instead of a clear penalty. Bolton were very fortunate at that instance. 3 minutes later, Fabregas had a shot off target. The first minutes were full of incidence. On the 7^th minute mark, the first yellow card of the match was issued to fabric Muamba for a bad challenge on Jack Wilshere. In the 11^th minute, Kevin Davies showed the whole world what he is best at; very late challenge on Song, Mike Jones just gave a free kick and a warning. How on earth he was not booked there Mr. Jones? Fabregas then had a very good shot saved fantastically by Jussi who was having a good day so far. Arsenal were in control of the game at that time, in the 19^th minute the second yellow card was issued against Taylor for a very late tackle on koscielny .

    
         The game then became more balanced and Bolton started playing a little bit, Bolton had their first chance in the 25^th minute mark when Danny Sturridge played Lee through, fortunately for the gunners, Song was there to clear. Arsenal then became very sloppy in possession and gave the ball away too easily. Danny Sturridge was having a good day and he played lee through again, but the Korean shot was saved by Szczesny and that resulted in a corner kick. The resulted corner ended up being the first goal for Bolton in the match. Gary Cahill out jumped Clichy in the air, the ball hits Nasri on the line and guess who was there to nod in the first goal, Danny Sturridge capping his good first half performance with a goal. Five minutes later, Fabregas went on a solo run and saw his shot hit the post. That was Arsenal’s final attempt in the first half. Mike Jones then whistled for the end of the first half. A half dominated by the gunners but Bolton had the most important goal.

SECOND HALF

            After just few seconds from kick off, Danny Sturridge was brought by Djourou. Mike Jones pointed to the spot. From the replay, it looked a very soft penalty. If Mike Jones judged that to be a penalty, then what on earth was he thinking when he didn’t award Walcott a penalty in the first few minutes in the first half? Taylor stepped up and had his shot saved by Szczesny . The young keeper has kept us in the game for sure. Just 2 minutes later, Fabregas and Van Persie combined beautifully and the Dutchman scored to make it 1-1. Van Persie became the first player in the premier league history to score for the seventh successive away games. Fabregas assist was his 80^th in the premier league. After the equalizer, the game was tensed and had some tough tackles; as a result, Alex song received the 3^rd yellow card of the match in the 52^nd minutes. Jack Wilshere was also booked for a tackle on Lee, the game was a ding don affair, Arsenal were slightly ahead in terms of possession. Arsene Wenger then had to make changes and he brought on Chamackh in place of the booked Alex Song. Arsenal had a wonderful chance when Van Persie played Nasri through, the Frenchman was one on one with the keeper but failed to score on two different occasions, his first shot was saved by Jussi and his follow up was blocked brilliantly by Cahill.

        Arsenals were in total control and Arshavin replaced Walcott in the 72^nd minute. The pressure on Bolton was immense but the gunners failed to create good chances. Jack wilshere’s return to the Reebok Stadium lasted only 82 minutes; he was replaced by Aaron Ramsey. The gunners kept piling the pressure; but Elmander pounced on a mistake from the defence and was one on one with Szczesny but failed to score. The polish keeper pointed the ball for a corner kick. Arsenal problems from set pieces were evidence in the match; from the resulting corner kick, Cohen headed in the winner for Bolton. The referee added 5mins but to no avail. Arsenal lost the game and our hopes of silverware this season is now over.

            Our dream of ending the 6 year drought is now over, the years keep passing so fast and we are still without a trophy. The question on all Arsenal fans minds is when will we win our next trophy? The answer for that question is not unknown. All we can hope for is Arsene preparing the team well next season, make some changes and restore some confidence back to the team and the fans.

Player Ratings

Szczesny – The polish keeper was solid during the game. He made some good saves and saved a penalty. 7/10

Sagna  - Arsenal’s Mr. Consistent was solid at the back but disappointing in attack. 6/10

Djourou – The defender caused a penalty that looked soft to be fair. He also was responsible for the second goal letting cohen slip away to nod in the winner. 5/10

Koscielny- He was also indecisive in his marking and struggled with the pace of sturridge and Lee. 5.5/10

Clichy – the Frenchman has been the weak link in our defence this season. His constant Failure in crossing is also a big issue. 5/10

Song – Alex was a bit heavy on the ball, made some good challenges but also struggled to impose himself. He was subbed early in the second half. 5.5/10

Wilshere – Jack was very bright in the first 20 minutes but faded a little bit after. He had a decent game. 6.5

Fabregas – The captian was my man of the match. He threatened Bolton and was unlucky not to score a goal. Almost all our attacks went through him. 8/10

Walcott – Theo pace was clear to see at the beginning, he also faded a little. To be fair, I expected more from the Englishman. 6/10

Nasri – samir was lively in attack, his movement was brilliant and caused Bolton a lot of problems. His finishing let him down today; he missed our best chance in the second half. 6.5/10

RVP – Robin was also very lively, scored a goal and his movement was fantastic. 7.5/10

SUBS

Chamakh – with Niclas missing due to injury, the Moroccan had a chance to impress the boss, but his performance was average. 6/10

Arshavin – The Russian who said earlier that he was struggling with his weight did not affect the game. His movement generally was good. 6/10

Aaron – the Welsh captain didn’t have the time to impose himself on the game. 

Arsenal vs Bolton – Preview

A must win game for arsenal to keep their title hopes alive. How many times have we heard this sentence in the past 3 to 4 weeks? Although we cannot stop dropping points, we are still in the title race with 5 games left. With only 1 win in the last 6 premier league matches, it’s looking highly impossible for us to win our next 5 games.

Sunday’s match against Bolton at the Reebok will be a tough game. Bolton after losing 5-0 in the Fa cup semi final will try to give their best in order to appease their fans.  On the other hand if any team in this world who owes its fans, it’s Arsenal FC.  We the fans have been left frustrated by the player’s performances in the last 2 months. The manner in which we have surrendered leads in recent matches is shambolic and unforgivable. The question is, will the players ever learn from those bad experiences? I hope they will but I doubt it very much.

Arsenal

Arsenal has a very impressive away record this season. We have lost only 2 games to united and Chelsea respectively. We are unbeaten in our last 16 matches; the last defeat was against United at old Trafford on the 13^th of December 2010. Since then we have won 8 matches and drew 8. In our last 6 matches, we won only one match and drew five. Out of a possible 18 points, we managed to grab only 8 points.

Our previous 5 Away games:

Tottenham 3 – 3 Arsenal

 Blackpool 1 – 3 Arsenal

West Brom  2 – 2 Arsenal

Newcastle  4 – 4 Arsenal

West ham    0  - 3 Arsenal

In our previous 5 away games, we won 2 games and drawn 3. We scored 15 goals and conceded 10. We have conceded too many goals for a championship winning team to be honest .Our defenders have to step up and we need a clean sheet very badly at the moment. Goals in away matches is not a problem for us, we have scored in almost all our away matches this season. Our main concern is the defence; we seem to concede goals for fun.

HEAD TO HEAD IN THE LAST 5 MATCHES VS BOLTON

Arsenal 4 – 1 Bolton
Arsenal 4 – 2 Bolton
Bolton 0 – 2 Arsenal
Arsenal 1 – 0 Bolton
Bolton 1 – 3 Arsenal

Arsenal has a very good record against Bolton in recent years. We have won the last 9 matches against Bolton. We are also 10 matches unbeaten against them. Our last defeat against Bolton came on the 25^th of November, 2006. We lost that match 3 – 1 , Nico Anelka netting a brace that day. Since Big Sam left Bolton, they struggled very badly against the Gunners.

Arsenal top 3 Scorers:

Robin Van persie   18 goals
Samir Nasri            15 goals
Theo Walcott          12 goals

Some Arsenal State: (If they Play):

Tomas Rosicky will make his 90^th appearance for Arsenal in the Premier league.

Walcott will make his 110^th Appearance for Arsenal in the premier league.

Walcott will also make his 170^th appearance for Arsenal in all competitions.

Cesc Fabregas is on 79 assist in the premier league.