» The Gooner World

Last match of a dreadful March for Arsenal and they would be hoping to end it with some sort of consolation.After going down 2-1 at the stamford bridge,Gunners will be looking to get all 3 points after 5 Epl matches.Arsenal dropped 11 points in the last 5 matches and that could have effectively ended their Epl campaign this season.



However the team would be keen to get their focus back and get all 3 points out of a Bolton side which is very much in the relegation Dog fight.Arsenal certainly do not fancy to go to Bolton in recent years and that is one more thing that wenger would be looking to set straight.Wenger rightly pointed out that now they need to take one game at a time.Let the season end and then the analysis can be carried out.Right now though,the attention has to shift to the Wanderers.



The Trotters produced a spirited performance against citeh and were unlucky to settle for only one point.They would no doubt approach this game with a physical and aggresive way.Arsenal t have lost Bakary Sagna at stamford bridge due to an injury, the extent of his injury being 3-5 weeks which was confirmed by Wenger.Diaby returned to the side so that leaves Rosicky and Eduardo as the only absentees.



Fingers have been pointed at Adebayor and company for not scoring enough goals when it matters and i am sure they would be looking to prove their critics wrong once again as they have done so well in the past.



Team selection would be interesting.Personally i would love to see the likes of walcott,Bendtner,Denilson and Gilberto start so as to give Adebayor,Fabregas,Flamini etc a much needed rest.Would Wenger be willing to make drastic changes after his current first teamers were unable to produce the 3 points in the previous 5 matches? That remains to be seen.



We haven't waved the title goodbye i think.There are tricky games coming up for all 3 teams in the title hunt and Arsenal need to believe that they can win the title.Wenger has come out and appreciated his players' mental strength but we haven't really seen it in the last 5 games.There are many who have to step and perform,including our captain fantastic.



This is the time for leaders to step up.This is the time to show that strength.This is the time to show the class,the time to get our act together,the time to inspire the team to victory.The question is, who will take that responsibility?



Arsenal Line-up according to me should be :

-----------Lehmann-----------

--Eboue--Senderos--Gallas---Clichy---

Walcott---Denilson--Gilby----Diaby-----

----RVP-----Bendtner---



Kick off Timings :

15:00 (GMT)

20:00 (PST)

20:30 (IST)



Live On ESPN

In news that will enrage English Soccer fans throughout the world David Beckham is the only first team regular who has made himself available to play the friendly international in the Stade de France on Wednesday night.

“Yes I’ll play, why the fuck not.” said a bare chested Becks yesterday.

However it is scandalous that many members of the squad do not seem to share his enthusiasm for the game.

England physio Mark Leather has confirmed that no fewer than 13 first team regulars have made themselves unavailable for selection for the meeting with the Gauls tomorrow night:

“So far Gerrard, Robinson, both the ridiculous looking Neville Brothers, Bentley, Walcott, Ferdinand, Lampard, Woodgate, Joe Cole and Gareth Barry have all pulled out due to injuries they said they picked up during training this morning. Ashley Cole has said he might be able to play but given the circumstances he will have to ring Cheryl, his wife, first. Crouchie has said that he wants to go and see his girlfriend Abigail Clancy who is doing a topless photo shoot for Nuts magazine in Leeds. Theo is desperate to join him ”

“Michael Owen has said that he might play if the weather isn’t too bad and Stewart Downing has told me he’d prefer to watch the match on TV because he reckons he gets a better view at home. I have never known a situation like this in all my time with the England team.”

With fans paying upwards of £70 a ticket plus travel for the match it is a matter of some concern that the England players appear so apathetic towards the game.

New England boss Fabio Capello was due to attend a press conference this afternoon to discuss the situation but unfortunately pulled out at the last minute due to “unforeseen circumstances”. However he was later seen skating with his wife and a small child at an ice rink in Richmond, Surrey.

When asked by our Sports reporter or not he intended to be in Paris this week, the England boss replied, without a hint of irony: “Forse”. [Perhaps]

On a brighter note old warhorse Emile Heskey appears to have recovered from a knock he picked up against Blackburn at the weekend and is set to lead the England attack against the French. Just who he will partner up front is a cause for concern with reports that 1970’s icon Mike Channon is planning to make himself available for selection again.”

By deciding to ‘celebrate’ his semi retirement by floating across the length and breadth of Britain in what he is cheekily calling, ‘my own last supper’, Portuguese sex symbol, Jose Mourinho has finally announced what many of us have suspected for some time, he truly is The Son of God.

Coming down briefly to use a urinal just outside Derby Coach station, the ‘Special One’ told our reporter:

“Of course I have known for a while. The problem I had was keeping it a secret from the Chelsea squad. I spoke to my wife about it and she said that it might adversely effect team moral if they thought that not only were they playing for their place in the first eleven but were also potentially playing for a place in heaven. She thought players such as Joe Cole and Shaun Wright-Phillips wouldn’t be able to take it all in. To be honest a few of them had problems understanding a basic 4-4-2 formation. Christ knows how they would have coped with talk of the after life.”

However recent events have allowed the Portuguese boss to finally come clean about the true nature of his existence.

“It was during my second home match at Stamford Bridge against Aston Villa that I realised I was in fact the Son of God. I can’t go into too much detail but suffice to say the proof was unequivocal. I now plan to float up and down Britain to say my final farewell to an England that has taken me so close to it’s heart.”

However the revelations are bound to have ramifications that could rock the very foundations the football in this country.

Talking from his Cheshire home, the Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson told our site.

“If this is indeed true I will be asking the Football League to hold an enquiry into the validity of Chelsea’s two Premiership titles. If, for example you can simply ask the Lord God almighty for assistance when you find yourself 1-0 down at half time, we are not competing on a level playing field are we. Chelsea should be stripped of their titles if this proves to be the case. ”

Pug ugly Portsmouth manager Harry Redknapp added to the debate.

“This don’t come as no surprise mate. He used to look at yer funny, know what I mean. Good luck to him I say. I always thought that if you could get the Big Man on your side it would be worth at least 20 goals a season!”

Spurs won their first trophy since , err I forgot when they last won a trophy actually but hey does it really matter? Anyway , Spurs won the Mickey Mouse cup and Mickey Mouse is rather pissed off. He calls White fart plain every day to get his beloved mug back, but the board of ***** won't give it back to him.

Lets support Mickey Mouse in his quest for the stolen cup!

SCUMS GIVE MICKEY HIS CUP BACK!

To Senderos, Thankyou for making just one mistake in the game.

To Clichy, Thankyou for backing up and covering that mistake

To Walcott, Thankyou for remembering that Adebayor missed the header in the first leg and delivering a low cross.

To all the players, Thankyou for such an awesome performance. Proud to be a gooner.

To all those who doubted Arsenal..... F*ck You !!


(To those who will be picking up the next set of draws, Thankyou in advance for giving us Fenerbache )

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Wordless victory.

And due to this fact I'll post some words I found through the internet:

"Crisis, what crisis? Arsene Wenger's side came into the game without a win in their last four outings and having failed to grab a lead from the home leg.

However, they turned in a masterful display in Milan, dominating the match to prove youthful exuberance can overcome experience."

In Arsene we trust, no matter when, where or what the circumstances are. He boosted the moral of a young team and make history. The whole world was against us and the boys didn't feel any pressure over their shoulders. Hats off to Wenger, because he's the one who gives the squad the mental strenght to carry on.

Once again the whole squad was brilliant. Anyway there're a few names I'd like to highlight. Fabregas, finally he had a classy moment on the pitch, and how I was missing these moments! What a shot, his pace was fantastic and Gattuso couldn't even mark him. Adebayor was at the right place, at the right moment when he scored our second goal. That's what I praise in a striker, congratulations, Ade. I hope you have found the way to the goals again!

But Walcott was the one that impressed me the most. It's just fabulous to see him playing well, I'm really, really proud of Theo. As soon as he replaced Diaby he controlled the tempo of the game and his run was absolutely amazing. What an assistance for Adebayor. The goals scored at Birmingham did have a real effect over him. Well done, Theo.

Though you doubted me, I told you all Pato is crap.

An epic match, an epic perfomance and a fair result. We're proud of you, young boys. Keep playing this way and we'll be champions.

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well no1 i mean no1 gave us a chance at the San Siro even though true gooners always believed...

and we dominated them...we just didn't sneak a win...we KILLED them...outplayed them,out thought them and out scored them....posession says it all...a team of young kids go to the san siro against teh defending champs who have 1 of the best defences and the world player of the yr and they demolish them...u couldn't dream of somethin like that!

Bernabeau....Arsenal 1st team to beat madrid
San Siro.....Arsenal 1st team to beat milan
San Siro....Arsenla thrash Inter 5-1
White Hart Lane....won the tile
Old trafford....won the title

u name the big ground and we have made history there!!...

kaka was handled amazingly....hleb and cesc and flamini were phenomenol doin that...

pirlo and ambrosini....were they on the pitch..??

pato....2 legs and the wonder kid was even worse....i thought he was RUBBISH in leg 1....but that means he had to be worse than that today!!

1st 15 mins we were under serious threat and couldn't get out of our half...after that....milan just defended and defended and defended....

what a moment by cesc....out of nothing ...near the halfway line...goes past gattuso(??) and from 35 yards....WHAT A BEAUTY!

and walcott...is his pace for real...bloody hell..and what a cross and this time ade puts it in...

another fantastic night and wenger has done it again...

win dedicated to dudu...get well soon

P.S- i feel sorry for maldini...last game in europe...he has announced his retirement....what a player....a true gentleman....all i can say abt him is 1 word...LEGEND

- By Siraj Ahmed.

Winning the BPL is more important to the club than the Champions League. So Tuesday’s game is not the most important in context of our season. It was the Villa game that was important. Before the game I had my mind made up. We win the match, we win the league. We lose and it’s all over. We drew, so it means that we are still in running for the title. From now on we have to win every match against the non-Big3 opponents. The matches between the Big 3 would even out. We don’t need to worry about them.

That means that Wenger’s policy, of taking each game as it comes, applies to the CL now. The players know this, and anyone who thinks that we would carry Saturday’s form into the Milan game is absolutely wrong. It’s a different competition and we have a different plan for it. Just like what we do in the Carling Cup.

We go into this game at 0-0. That means we score 1 and Milan would have to score 2. Even if Adebayor had scored ‘that’ goal, we still would have needed to score at the San Siro. Anyone who thinks that Milan would not score at home is being tooooo optimistic. So the equation remains the same. We need to score ONE goal and we would score it. It is the fact that we did not let Milan score an away goal, that is going to decide the tie.

Even if Milan score first, the equation remains the same. If they score 2 before us then the tie is over. Whatever is said about Milan’s experience nullifying our team’s fitness and stamina is utter bullsh*t. The fact remains that they have old legs, and that would start showing after 60 minutes of the game. The longer the game goes on, the more would Arsenal be dominant. If it is 0-0 after full time then the extra time would give us 30 minutes of ‘running’ Milan off the pitch. They know this and they would want to score those 2 goals in the first 60 minutes, and kill the tie. Just like what they did against Manchester United last year. Scored 2 goals in the first 20 minutes and the tie was over. But on that occasion they had an away goal. They do not have that luxury here.

That means that the first 20 minutes of the first half, and 10 minutes either side of it are extremely crucial. We do not concede during these periods and we have every chance of going through. And to do that we need to ATTACK well in those periods. If we try to defend, Milan would score. We are not good at shutting out teams. That’s what teams like Milan are good at. So the saying of “attack is the best form of defense“, applies here. No need to ‘kick’ Kaka out of the game. No need to pay special attention to Pato. We just need to play our natural game and keep the ball in those periods, and we would go through.

To the team news now. Eboue is available for selection. Van Persie is ‘medically’ fit but would obviously short of form. I so very much wanted Rosicky to be fit for this match, but he is still out.

Knowing Wenger, he would deploy a 5 man midfield, with Adebayor upfront. Eboue would start on the right and Diaby on the left, giving us strength in midfield. Flamini and Fabregas get themselves picked automatically, with Hleb in his floating role in front of them. If we do not score after 60 minutes, then Walcott and Van Persie would replace Eboue and Diaby, giving them a chance to run the ‘old legs’ of Milan ragged.

Alumina would start in goal. I do not rate him much and would have preferred if Lehmann had started, but Wenger does not change his policy of not dropping players albeit an error. That means Almunia starts.

Our defense struggled against Villa. But that was because they had, in Agbonlahor and Young, two wingers with serious pace and a targetman in Carew, and they ripped us apart. Senderos lacks pace and he struggled. Our full backs could not go forward like they do, because as soon as we lost the ball, Villa’s winger were running with it and Clichy and Sagna had to track back quickly, which on occasions they could not.

Against Milan it would be different. They are a team who play a central game. Their passing is through the center and none of players in the midfield (except for Kaka) can be called pacy! Gallas and Senderos did not have much trouble against them in the first leg, and they should not expect any different in the second. Clichy and Sagna going forward, give us width, and 8 players when we attack. They will not have much defensive work to do and would be the key in getting that crucial ONE goal.

That pretty much sums it up. I hope all the fans would support ‘our’ team throughout the game, whatever the score may be. They are ‘our’ players fighting out there for ‘our’ team. Each one of them would surely give his 100% and there should not be any doubts about that. All I would like to see is an honest performance. If a win accompanies it, then it would be the icing on the cake. Good luck ARSENAL !

Following is the squad and my prediction for the game.


Jens LEHMANN (GK)
Abou DIABY
Bacary SAGNA
Cesc FABREGAS
Philippe SENDEROS
William GALLAS
Robin VAN PERSIE
Alexander HLEB
DENILSON
Mathieu FLAMINI
GILBERTO
Gael CLICHY
Manuel ALMUNIA (GK)
Emmanuel ADEBAYOR
Nicklas BENDTNER
Emmanuel EBOUE
Justin HOYTE
Theo WALCOTT

Formation 4-5-1:

Lehmann
Sagna Senderos Gallas Clichy
Eboue Fabregas Flamini Diaby
Hleb
Adebayor

Keys to winning the game: Sagna and Clichy. And keeping the ball and attacking well in the periods 0-20, 35-45 and 45-55 minutes. (Yes no marking Kaka or closing down Milan’s midfield and blah blah. We play our game well and we would go through)
Prediction: 1-1

A 5 point lead down to 1 in just 2 rounds of matches. Are we bottling? Are the injuries a bit too much to be able to compete at this time?

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We're losing points at the crucial stage, our game overall was poor and spark was missing in the team. Ade enjoyed a good form but he is back to his missing ways. Unlike Invincibles our team lacks the ability to find players on the cut back pass in the box, we hardly find a player in the box to tuck the ball in.

Senderos was average, what a stupid own goal to concede when our team is lacking the fire power. Eggborninlahore bamboozled our defense.

The only positive was Ade cushioned the ball for the Dane, i guess its been three matches since they last shared a pass between them.

Villa were the better team and we were lucky to get a point out of the game. Very disappointed with a home draw but its not over till its over. We need to lift our game and certainly a knock out in the UCL will prove to be a hammer blow.
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senderos was awful... not to mention he got bullied badly by gaby and crew and later harewood...brought back memories of drogba takin him to school

we really need a solid winger as eboue is NOT a winger and rosicky is very injury prone...and we need a good backup DC...toure and gallas are top class but if 1 of them is injured then it kinda gets seriously worrying...

i am the 1st to admit we didn't play well and villa did...they came with a game plan and executed it perfectly...almost perfectly...

ade missed 3 headers in goal and hleb and walcott were denied by world class saves but almunia had to pull off a few top notch saves too IMO....

but the pt shows AGAIN that the players never gove up and keep goin till the end...i thikn its now 14-15 pts this season that arsenal have rescued from losin positions...and 27 goals (if i ain't mistaken) from a total of 55 we have scored this season have come in the last quater of the game...

and ppl say the pt was a poor result but i think a loss would have had a BIG effect on the players coz of what happened last min (both the non calls for the 2 brum goals and the dudu injury) added to this...

and we have stayed on top..even by 1 pt which wouldn't have bene the case and put more pressure on the boys as a tough tough sequence of games is comin up!
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avge game. did not deserve to get anything. cesc is of colour. he needs a rest. all the next epl games are must wins before the ot showdown on april 12th. senderos if only he shows half his love and passion of arsenal in his playing he ll be a good defender. still have my doubts about almunia. seriosly poor positioning more than once inclu the own goal.

i feel we have had our blip . its now time to put the points into the bag.

P.S[did any1 see aguero last night against barca].worldclass
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Now it’s time to face the truth and think about our current situation.

Being sufficiently mature, I just can’t say we’re the favourites to win the title at the moment. Considering our last three games, we’re very poor and some of our players, though fully commited, are really feeling the pressure over their shoulders.

Adebayor was probably the most important player for us during December and January. His scoring spree was fantastic and we really thought he had finally improved and changed. We thought we wouldn’t miss a top scorer anymore. However, Adebayor’s last perfomances lack goals, and that’s something we can’t live without at the moment. As he’s our main striker and goal scorer, he’s the one to make the difference in the box. And we’ve to admit that our team lacks scorers. Theo has just scored his first Premier League goal. Hleb and Fabregas hasn’t been scoring for a long time, and Flamini is just not used (and expected) to score very often. So that’s why Adebayor’s shots must meet the net again.

Though we were dominated by Aston Villa I’ve to say that Almunia saved us a couple of times. Clichy was a bit lost today, I guess he hasn’t put the Birmingham incident behind him yet. Hleb was the poorest, he couldn’t even pass properly. Fabregas was also lost and Theo didn’t have many chances.

To sum up, that’s not the way we should play. We’re doing exactly what we can't do. We should have been playing even better with less than ten matches to go. The time we could think about dropping points has already gone. We dropped four points in the last two matches and now even Chelsea’s approaching.

Now we’ve to face Milan and being defeated would be a disaster as it’s clear that our self-confidence’s becoming lower and lower.

I really, really hope van Persie’s return can make the difference and our ambitions to get even higher as I don’t think we’re playing like champions.
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Its a lot frustrating these days to sit through an Arsenal match... Villa didnt even try hard for us to salvage a point between the skin of the teeth... They were just doing their regular game and for the first 90 minutes of the game, there was only one teamw eho wanted to win the match, and it was not Arsenal..

After Flamini's statement over the weekend abt winning the PL for dudu, the performance yesterday was far from anything in that showed a character. The only point was the goal that kept our home record in tact....

Clichy is so short on confidence, that there is always a doubt before clearing out teh ball. He is also slightly worried running down the flanks, fearing moving out of position. Sendoros, less said the better.. He's a good player honestly, but his moments of turning to villain makes him look so idiotic on the field.

Arsenal's failure to win should be attributed to none other than Cesc.. The guy hardly gets into positions these days where he can get a decent strike on goal...let alone have a well directed shot. (may be once in a game). Where did he stack away those defence splitting passes, and cheeky touches??? Only good thing is he's winning the ball... Still our most potential player. Ade's first touch is like a clearance to the half...

The most dissapointing figure was Diaby, (if his injury is the excuse then i'll reserve this comment for later) who would not recieve any ball facing the opposition when layed to him. Arsenal's style of play does not expect wingers to give the cross, but atleast needs them to be involved in teh attack. 90% of the moves came from Hleb side. Diaby's inability to backtrack has clipped Clichy's runs too..Wenger realised Diaby's ineffectiveness and took him out... though I think it was delayed.

The "kid" has been slightly promising to show rare but glimpses of what his "Arsenal" holds..

This type of football would be like playing into Milan's hands at SanSiro.. If Kaka has a good day, which Ashley Young didnt have yday...we'd be back only in EPL..
--
Oh I forgot to mention that, if it were not for Almunia, I'd have gulped the whole bottle in despair...
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missed the game but from what i read :

- bendtner and ade are still some way off cooperating with each other but both were rubbish
- they didn't celebrate with each other
- poor senderos does it again. some claiming a bad moment and some blaming it all big phil's inconsistency.
- clichy yet to recover some confidence
- diaby, shite as usual these days
- despite leading the table and with a potent strike about to return along with a lw we are still struggling in the league (accor. to the press)
- villa fans were up to their c**tish selves, sang the traditional 'european cup' song and a sad song for ed. which led to a fight and some gooners sent home earlier than normal
- fergie claiming lucky arsenal score in the 7th minute of added time (clueless hypocrite)
- sp*rs losing ;)
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Those f**king Villa fans returned with a lesson taught by the Gooners. One even had to leave for the hospital.

Ironically, just when they chanted on Dudu moments after that Curtis Davies got injured and was stretched off. That will teach them a lesson. What goes around, comes around.

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I only saw the 2nd half, but the lack of penetration upfront was a bit disappointing. The full backs had an off day, as did Flamini but thats a rarity. 2 drawn games at home is not good enough.

However, I'd like to remind people here - ManU took the lead twice (?) this season and gave it up soon after. For all the talk of bottling under pressure, Arsenal have been able to hold on to the lead for far longer than ManU. This is not the time to lose faith in this squad. Yes, we had an off day and have made things more difficult for ourselves with tough games against Everton, Chelsea & Liverpool, but lets take things one game at a time.

With RVP & Rosicky back, things might change for the better.