I don't really know what words to use to describe this match. 'Mental' seems to be the most common word floating around and it's pretty apt. With just 37 minutes gone in the match, Arsenal were all over the place and we found ourselves 4-0 down. I was getting ready to write an angry blog post at that point about the lack of effort from the team as a whole. We were truly terrible at that point.
It took Reading 11 minutes to open the scoring with Robson-Kanu picking out Jason Roberts (who we made look like a world beater in that first half) unmarked in the box. It was soon 2-0 just 6 minutes later as Chris Gunter's cross came off Koscielny and beat Martinez at the near post. Martinez himself was at fault for the 3rd goal as he couldn't get a strong enough hand to Leigertwood's shot which looped into the net after hitting the goalkeepers hand. Martinez couldn't have done anything about the 4th as Hunt headed in well from Garath McCleary's cross. So at 4-0 it was looking bleak but Arsenal were given a glimmer of hope as Theo Walcott raced through the middle and scored with a great finish to really stake his claim to play as a centre forward.
After a bright first five minutes by Reading in the second half, Arsenal finally took control of the match. 62 minutes in Wenger made changes with Giroud and Eisfeld coming on for Frimpong and Gnabry. Giroud made it 4-2 with a superb header from a Theo Walcott corner and Koscielny also got on the end of a Theo Walcott corner to make it 4-3 with just stoppage time remaining. Reading tried to run down the clock, making a last minute substitution and their fans not giving the ball back quickly for throw ins. This meant that out of the 4 minutes added on ended up nearly playing 6 minutes and that was enough for Arsenal to equalise. It was Theo Walcott again who officially was given the goal. His shot was cleared off the line before Jenkinson fired home but replays showed that Theo's shot had already crossed the line.
So FT 4-4 and extra time loomed in this extraordinary game. Could their be more twists? You bet there was. Chamakh scored with a low drive from outside the box to make it 5-4 in the first half of extra time. In the second half of extra time Reading scored again with Pogrebnyak heading home from close range. Reading once again thought they may have done enough but Arsenal never gave up and scored twice in the dying minutes of extra time. First was Theo Walcott again, completing his hattrick in easily one of his best matches for the club. With Reading pushing again the ball was cleared long from Arsenal with only one Reading defender back who completely missed the ball allowing Chamakh to run in and lob the onrushing Federici in the Reading goal to complete the scoring.
Now that I have my breath back after that extraordinary match I have to give huge credit to the team. They looked terrible in the first half and could easily have rolled over and given up entirely but they never stopped. The goal before half time might have been very important as it gave just enough hope for the players to go and turn it around. I hope this match will give everyone at the club a huge confidence boost going into the game at Old Trafford on Saturday. I know a lot of the players wont be involved on Saturday but I really think Theo Walcott will be there on the bench and Giroud is likely to start. They were both awesome in this match and can take that into the game on Saturday. Both players must be exhausted but I'm sure they will recover.
It's great to be on the right side of an epic comeback for once. There's certainly not a lot of dull games when you're an Arsenal fan. Ooo to be a Gooner.
Wednesday 31 October 2012
Saturday 27 October 2012
Arsenal 1-0 QPR - Arteta, the pinball wizard
I finally have a goal to write about! Mikel Arteta scored against QPR in the 84th minute to give us an unconvincing win against bottom of the table QPR who had Stephane M'Bia sent off.
The big talking points of the day were the return of two of our players from long term injuries. They were of course Bacary Sagna and Jack Wilshere. I was very impressed with both of them today. I didn't have much expectations for either of them to make a huge impact as they have been injured for so long but Wilshere especially looked like he hasn't been out of the game at all and was easily our most creative player whilst he was on the pitch. Sagna showed signs of why he should be starting in the team despite Jenkinson doing so well as his deputy. After 66 minutes Jack was substituted off for Theo Walcott who made his first appearance since getting injured on International duty.
The first half was very dull. Arsenal started brightly but after a while went back to the stale football we've seen over the last couple of matches. The only shots of note was a header from Ramsey which hit the bar and an effort from the edge of the area from Giroud which was palmed away by Cesar in the QPR goal. Arsenal stepped it up a gear in the second half however yet couldn't make too many clear cut chances. Santi Cazorla should have made it 1-0 when Walcott's cross fell to him unmarked in the box but he blazed it over. With 79 minutes gone, Stephane M'Bia was brought down by Vermaelen but then lashed out at him and the ref had no choice but to give him a red card. 5 minutes later Arsenal finally made the break through. The goal came in a chaotic pinball fashion as first Giroud's header was saved by Cesar, it then fell to Arteta who headed against the bar but the ball kindly dropped to his feet for him to smash it home. My reaction was not my usual cheer of YES! but instead was FINALLY! which sums up the mood I think all us Gooners were in.
QPR didn't really threaten but had a couple of chances at the end. Granero dragged a shot wide and Jamie Mackie hit on straight at Mannone. It was a nervous finish and one that isn't good for my heart but we held on to take all 3 points.
So our first goal and first win since beating West Ham 3 weeks ago and I personally don't care if it wasn't a typical Arsenal performance. Sometimes you just have to grind out these types of results. Santos played a lot better than he did midweek although he was rarely troubled and even Ramsey put in a good shift, once he was moved to his favoured position in the middle. We also saw a late cameo from Arshavin who I thought looked decent. He made a great tracking back tackle late on.
Very much looking forward to see who will play midweek against Reading. Hopefully we will see a little more of Jack Wilshere.
The big talking points of the day were the return of two of our players from long term injuries. They were of course Bacary Sagna and Jack Wilshere. I was very impressed with both of them today. I didn't have much expectations for either of them to make a huge impact as they have been injured for so long but Wilshere especially looked like he hasn't been out of the game at all and was easily our most creative player whilst he was on the pitch. Sagna showed signs of why he should be starting in the team despite Jenkinson doing so well as his deputy. After 66 minutes Jack was substituted off for Theo Walcott who made his first appearance since getting injured on International duty.
The first half was very dull. Arsenal started brightly but after a while went back to the stale football we've seen over the last couple of matches. The only shots of note was a header from Ramsey which hit the bar and an effort from the edge of the area from Giroud which was palmed away by Cesar in the QPR goal. Arsenal stepped it up a gear in the second half however yet couldn't make too many clear cut chances. Santi Cazorla should have made it 1-0 when Walcott's cross fell to him unmarked in the box but he blazed it over. With 79 minutes gone, Stephane M'Bia was brought down by Vermaelen but then lashed out at him and the ref had no choice but to give him a red card. 5 minutes later Arsenal finally made the break through. The goal came in a chaotic pinball fashion as first Giroud's header was saved by Cesar, it then fell to Arteta who headed against the bar but the ball kindly dropped to his feet for him to smash it home. My reaction was not my usual cheer of YES! but instead was FINALLY! which sums up the mood I think all us Gooners were in.
QPR didn't really threaten but had a couple of chances at the end. Granero dragged a shot wide and Jamie Mackie hit on straight at Mannone. It was a nervous finish and one that isn't good for my heart but we held on to take all 3 points.
So our first goal and first win since beating West Ham 3 weeks ago and I personally don't care if it wasn't a typical Arsenal performance. Sometimes you just have to grind out these types of results. Santos played a lot better than he did midweek although he was rarely troubled and even Ramsey put in a good shift, once he was moved to his favoured position in the middle. We also saw a late cameo from Arshavin who I thought looked decent. He made a great tracking back tackle late on.
Very much looking forward to see who will play midweek against Reading. Hopefully we will see a little more of Jack Wilshere.
Wednesday 24 October 2012
Arsenal 0-2 Schalke - Another shower of shite!
The name of this blog, The Angry Gooner is meant to be ironic. I love my club and I'm not one of these Wenger out morons either but nights like this really frustrate me as an Arsenal fan. It's not often we see the team fail to score in successive matches (okay I know we started the season like that) but we don't see us lose two in a row very often either.
Once again the team look lethargic and laclustre, despite looking bright in the first ten minutes without much real penetration. Gervinho again was at the heart of much criticism and his night was summed up in the second half when he did an appalling dive in the Schalke box. Speaking of dives the referee booked Afalley in the first half for diving when he could have easily have given a penalty. What Mannone was doing was beyond me but I do think Afellay went down too early. Had he waited a split second later it would have been a nailed on pen.
Andre Santos had a torrid night. After about 30 minutes we saw Koscielny warming up and there were some shouts that he might replace Santos and Vermaelen would be pushed to left back. Steve Bould who took the managers role with Arsene Wengers touchline ban later regretted not doing so when Schalke scored two late goals, one of which saw Santos play Huntelaar onside and the second he allowed Farfan way too much space to cross for Afellay to finish at the back post. It's very frustrating when fans, commentators and pundits alike can see how much of a hard night Santos was having yet he was kept on the pitch. I know taking a player off for playing poorly can dent their confidence but at the end of the day who's fault is it that they are playing badly? Taking a player off shouldn't dent their confidence anymore than it should drive them on to do better to get back into the side.
I apologise for picking on certain players again. I will not try to make that a theme of this blog. I don't like doing it and the whole team should take equal responsibility for a loss. I must say that despite the result and the overall performance I was very impressed with young Francis Coquelin who was easily Arsenal's best player on the night. The youngster has started the season very well and has not put a foot wrong. Gnabry also made a short cameo appearance to add to his Premiership debut at the weekend and managed Arsenal's only shot on target in the whole match in the dying minutes. These young players are knocking on the door and the senior players need to pick up their game quickly or they could lose their places in the side. Maybe Wenger needs to be more ruthless and drop one or two of them to give them the kick up the backside they need.
Once again the team look lethargic and laclustre, despite looking bright in the first ten minutes without much real penetration. Gervinho again was at the heart of much criticism and his night was summed up in the second half when he did an appalling dive in the Schalke box. Speaking of dives the referee booked Afalley in the first half for diving when he could have easily have given a penalty. What Mannone was doing was beyond me but I do think Afellay went down too early. Had he waited a split second later it would have been a nailed on pen.
Andre Santos had a torrid night. After about 30 minutes we saw Koscielny warming up and there were some shouts that he might replace Santos and Vermaelen would be pushed to left back. Steve Bould who took the managers role with Arsene Wengers touchline ban later regretted not doing so when Schalke scored two late goals, one of which saw Santos play Huntelaar onside and the second he allowed Farfan way too much space to cross for Afellay to finish at the back post. It's very frustrating when fans, commentators and pundits alike can see how much of a hard night Santos was having yet he was kept on the pitch. I know taking a player off for playing poorly can dent their confidence but at the end of the day who's fault is it that they are playing badly? Taking a player off shouldn't dent their confidence anymore than it should drive them on to do better to get back into the side.
I apologise for picking on certain players again. I will not try to make that a theme of this blog. I don't like doing it and the whole team should take equal responsibility for a loss. I must say that despite the result and the overall performance I was very impressed with young Francis Coquelin who was easily Arsenal's best player on the night. The youngster has started the season very well and has not put a foot wrong. Gnabry also made a short cameo appearance to add to his Premiership debut at the weekend and managed Arsenal's only shot on target in the whole match in the dying minutes. These young players are knocking on the door and the senior players need to pick up their game quickly or they could lose their places in the side. Maybe Wenger needs to be more ruthless and drop one or two of them to give them the kick up the backside they need.
Sunday 21 October 2012
Norwich 1-0 Arsenal - Same old story
Norwich City have been on terrible form, Arsenal have been pretty good so all we have to do is turn up and win right? Wrong. That appears to be the attitude our players had on Saturday and we have seen this time and time again against the so called smaller clubs.
Credit deserves to go to Norwich City first. They set themselves up well and made it hard for us. They kept their shape and their tactics paid off. Despite our lacklustre performance, after seeing the Norwich defence in recent weeks, we could have stilled scored had they not improved on their recent performances.
Certain players have been the focus of a lot of criticism after this match. First was Mannone who failed to hold onto Tetty's shot which led to Grant Holt following up for their goal. Gervinho too had a poor game. He's such a frustrating player as one game he can fantastic and the next game he can be terrible. His first touch was completely off and he just couldn't pick a pass or stay onside for most of the match. Ramsey was also under criticism. He's an easy target when Arsenal lose in the games he plays. I think fans expect him to play as well as Wilshere or Arteta and I don't disagree that he should do better but I think too much is expected of him. The rest of the squad were poor also. I can't name one player from the starting XI who deserves any credit from the match at all.
Personally this was just one of those games which will go down as a bad day at the office. The important thing for us now is too pick ourselves up, learn from this and make sure it never happens again.
Certain players have been the focus of a lot of criticism after this match. First was Mannone who failed to hold onto Tetty's shot which led to Grant Holt following up for their goal. Gervinho too had a poor game. He's such a frustrating player as one game he can fantastic and the next game he can be terrible. His first touch was completely off and he just couldn't pick a pass or stay onside for most of the match. Ramsey was also under criticism. He's an easy target when Arsenal lose in the games he plays. I think fans expect him to play as well as Wilshere or Arteta and I don't disagree that he should do better but I think too much is expected of him. The rest of the squad were poor also. I can't name one player from the starting XI who deserves any credit from the match at all.
Personally this was just one of those games which will go down as a bad day at the office. The important thing for us now is too pick ourselves up, learn from this and make sure it never happens again.
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