Costly Blunder Against Baggies

So by now you have surely seen that Arsenal failed to come away from West Brom with a win, and had to settle for a 2-2 draw yesterday. In a match we really needed to win to keep up with Man United at the top of the league, Arsenal typically had to do things the hard way.

West Brom took an early lead after some bad defending from a Baggies corner in the 3rd minute, Steven Reid climbing high to head home. Going 1-0 down that early in the game is never a good way to start the match, especially when you're away from home against a team battling relegation. But things got worse, when Manuel Almunia decided to leave his area in the 58th minute in an "attempt" to clear the ball from danger. It was probably the worst decision of his professional career, and there have been plenty of horrors in the past to compete. There was no need for Almunia to rush out and try and clear the ball, no need at all. Squillaci had Peter Odemwingie close to him, but not so close that it was a clear goal-scoring opportunity and Odemwingie was so far away from goal that the danger was minimal even if Squillaci messed things up. If Almunia had just allowed Squillaci to deal with the ball on his own, the disaster that followed would never have occurred. Instead, Almunia sprinted out to meet the ball, thus getting in Squillaci's way and letting Odemwingie collect the ball and slot home into an empty net. 2-0 West Brom and Arsenal's season effectively over.

Luckily the Gunners didn't crumble from this setback like they have before so often throughout this campaign. Arshavin soon pulled a goal back with a fantastic effort, showing nice control and accurate finishing. It wasn't long until Arsene Wenger's men managed to tie things up when a deep cross came off of West Brom's post/part of Bendtner and fell to Abdoulaye Meite who failed to clear the ball and van Persie pounced. In a weird tackle-but-shot-kind-of-thing the Dutch star connected with the ball enough for it to roll over the line and level the score. Arsenal had a chance to win it late on (Clichy's low shot narrowly pushed around the post) but could have lost it too were it not for a terrific last-ditch block from Squillaci. It finished 2-2 which is a fair scoreline given the events that happened during the game, but for a team challenging for the title, this wasn't good enough yet again.

Ever since Almunia supplanted Jens Lehmann as the Gunner's number one keeper, he has hardly endeared himself to the Arsenal faithful. When Almunia first took over from Lehmann in the 04/05 campaign, he started well enough but made too many mistakes to ever be a reliable choice. Almunia ousted Jens once again in the 07/08 campaign, this time for good, but again he was hardly convincing and ever since fans have cried out for Wenger to buy a new keeper in each transfer window since Lehmann left the club. Now 'Mad Jens' is back, all 41 years of the crazy German, and Almunia has fucked himself again with his performance yesterday. Jens was obviously just brought in as a backup, since Fabianski and Szczesny are going to miss a long time, but now Lehmann is in a position to see serious playing time. Almunia, gifted another chance to prove he belongs at this club, has fallen at the first hurdle and even his most ardent supporters will struggle to defend him for much longer. Wenger now has a dilemma on his hands; to stick with the sometimes-brilliant but often clumsy and error-prone Almunia, or chuck the baby out with the bath water completely and start the wise but elderly veteran Lehmann. Either way, surely Almunia's days at the club are numbered and the gloves must be handed over permanently to Szczesny and Fabianski in the summer. We can't keep throwing games away because our keeper is the weak link, and Wenger has let this problem grow for far too long.

Arsenal take a bit of a break now due to the internationals coming up, and don't play again until April 2nd when Blackburn visit the Emirates. In Gunners-related news, lasagnechef over at The Cannon has posted leaked photos of what is apparently going to be our new home shirt for next season. I have long heard the rumours that we are going to celebrate our 125th anniversary next year, and I've seen a different pic of this design before. Its extremely hard to know if this recent batch of photos are of a fake design because it looks pretty real to me and so far I like what I see. I agree with The Cannon, some red and white stripy socks would go well with that shirt. We'll probably have to wait until May/June to find out what the official design will look like but I reckon it won't be much different than what we are seeing below (click on the image to see it bigger).

Thanks for reading.

Same Old Story For Sorry Gunners

In typical Arsenal fashion of late, the Gunners slumped to another defeat this evening, this time in the F.A Cup, losing 2-0 to Man United at Old Trafford, crashing out of yet another competition in disappointing circumstances (familiar eh?). It was a game we really should have won - there won't be another chance to catch a United side this weak for a while.

Despite Wenger putting out a strong team nothing went Arsenal's way tonight. Van der Sar rolled back the years and had a fantastic game in the United goal, turning every Arsenal effort away with ease. We had 11 shots on target tonight and just couldn't get one past the Dutch master. He deserved his man of the match award, no doubt. The thing that annoys me about Man United is they somehow, despite what I believe is a pretty shit and one-dimensional team, manage to grind out wins every year and take home trophy after trophy. This season has seen Ferguson's weakest and poorest United squad in a long, long time (in my opinion - they haven't been the same since Ronaldo left). I know they still have Giggs and Scholes etc. but they aren't the same players they once were. Speaking of Scholes, he should have at least been booked, if not sent off for two reckless and classic Scholes tackles late on in the game. That guy will never learn... Anyway, it just astounds me this Arsenal side could not beat a team tonight with the likes of Darron Gibson and John O'Shea out there patrolling the midfield. We are unlikely to have a much better chance at beating the old enemy for a while.

So that's Arsenal out of the F.A Cup, the Carling Cup, and the Champions League, all within the space of two weeks. It feels like these systematic collapses occur every year now, and its getting depressing to watch us limp out of competitions that we could realistically go on and win. Tonight, it looked like Wilshere and Nasri were the only guys really pushing it, the only guys who cared. I love that Jack is out there, every game going 100% trying to win the ball, trying to push forwards. When Cesc eventually leaves us for sunnier pastures (I don't want this, but come on, its probably just a matter of time), I'd love to see Wilshere as captain - he'd be ideal, he just embodies all that is good at Arsenal. But Wilshere's determination and effort is somewhat lacking from other members of the squad (don't get me started on Diaby, I've had just about enough of his lackadaisical play). To rub salt into the wounds, Johan Djourou had to be stretchered off towards the end of match, with a dislocated shoulder that will rule him out for the rest of the season. This means we all get to enjoy the Koscielny - Squillaci partnership once again - YAY!!! At least there was one bright spot from tonight; seeing Aaron Ramsey make his return to the first team was brilliant, and I thought he looked good for the 20 or so minutes he was on the pitch. A class act that guy, I hope he can perform well for the rest of the season.

I'm not gonna run through a play-by-play of the game, you no doubt already know the story by now. We completely dominated possession but we typically switched off when they counter-attacked and that was the difference tonight. I still think we have a better team, and probably deserved a lot more, but you have to give credit where its due and United were absolutely clinical, making the most of their chances. It was disheartening to see us camp outside their penalty area and fail time and again to break them down - it's the same old story now, and I don't know what's going on, in defence and attack, but something is not working. The sad thing is its been this time of year the last few seasons where we've completely collapsed, and its been the same old story in 2011.

Next up is a trip to West Brom in a weeks time, a crucial league game on the 19th March. Since we spectacularly lost to them at home earlier in the season I'd like a really convincing win at the Hawthorns and three important points for the Gunners. Given recent events, I'll take a smash-and-grab 1-0 and no new injuries... got to hope for the best!

Thanks for reading.

Can I Have Last Night Back Please?

Well what a complete waste of time that turned out to be. I didn't really expect us to win last night, at best I hoped we could hold on to an aggregate scoreline that would take us through, but to lose like that was complete crap. There is no doubt that van Persie's sending off changed the game. Yes we were being dominated before his dismissal, but trying to keep Barca at bay with 10 men is a lot harder than having all 11 out there. Robin's second yellow card was a complete joke, and the referee seemed to have some motive behind his decisions all night. What I don't understand is he gave RVP a yellow for something silly like kicking the ball away after the whistle, but what about when Messi controlled the ball with his arm later on in the game? The whistle was blown for the handball (despite it appearing to hit Messi's shoulder) but there was no yellow card for that was there? Another example is Abidal wrapping his hand around van Persie's throat. Did the French defender receive a caution for it? Of course not. I hate seeing games when the officials are so ridiculously inconsistent with their decisions - Busacca completely ruined any chance of last night being a great game.

Once RVP was off, Messi and co. took advantage of the extra space and carved open chance after chance. If it wasn't for Almunia, who played surprisingly well coming on early for the injured Szczesny , the scoreline would have been huge. I don't want to talk about the game too much, Arseblog has a fantastic summary of the match, but it's just frustrating to see us play so well in the first leg and then be completely dominated last night. I don't think we actually had a single attempt at goal the entire game, which is ridiculous. I don't know what Wenger's gameplan was, but it didn't work in the slightest. There was a moment of hope with minutes left in the game, when Wilshere stole the ball in midfield and played a perfect pass into the path of Bendtner, who typically took a heavy touch and wasted a fantastic opportunity to send us through to the quarter finals. Things just haven't been going our way lately.

Anyway, we must put the Champions League exit behind us now and focus fully on the prospect of going to Old Trafford on Saturday. United are still licking their wounds after losing to Chelsea and Liverpool in the league, so if we are to ever win against them, there is no better time to do it. The match is a later kickoff, so I should hopefully be able to make it home in time from work to watch it. The Premier League should be the team's focus from now on, but if we can dispatch United on Saturday we have a great chance to go far in the FA Cup. What will be will be I spose...

Thanks for reading.

Why The Change?

You may have noticed by now that this is no longer the home of Escape To Forest City. I decided to change up the blog a little bit for a couple of reasons:

1) Its become increasingly difficult to write and report about things going on in the States when I don't live there and I don't have easy access to watching the games. It was great having NBA League Pass for a month or two, I could watch as many Cavs games as I liked, but since my subscription ran out its very hard to write something meaningful based on 2 minutes of NBA.com highlights. The same thing occurs with the Indians and Browns. I just don't have the time or money to focus on my Cleveland teams, not enough for a blog that would be worth reading.

2) Its much easier to write about Arsenal because the English sporting media have football related news 24/7 now and I've lived Arsenal stuff the majority of my life. I know the club, I know the squad, I know the league and so on. It's just a lot easier to write about something closer to home if you understand that. I found myself writing more about Arsenal than any of my Cleveland teams combined, so I made the decision to switch the blog's direction into Gooner-mode for the foreseeable future.

The only reason it's taken this long to swap is because the internet is already overrunning with Arsenal blogs, and I felt the web didn't need another one, especially not from a university student who really ought to be spending more time on his dissertation rather than writing quick 500 word pieces about last night's game (me). So from now on, Escape to N5 will be the home of my rants and raves about Arsenal and football in general. Maybe from time to time I will go back and touch upon my Indians, Cavs and/or Browns but I think it's better if I just remain a fan of those teams for now, rather than try to write about them.

So if you're still reading then thanks for staying on board. It means a lot.

Ash.

p.s. I hope everyone enjoys the new face-lift I gave the blog - I think the new colours and header look smart.

Chance To Close The Gap

Today's game against Sunderland is a huge turning point in Arsenal's Premier League season. Win today and Arsene Wenger's men crawl to within 1 measly point of league leaders Man United. Steve Bruce's Sunderland are all that stand in the way...

I haven't posted for a while because I've still been mourning from the events that occurred last weekend. I don't begrudge Birmingham the win, I think they deserved it to be honest, but I am still so annoyed at how we threw that game away. The game could have gone either way at 1-1 and I think if we went into extra time we would have emerged victorious. But to lose like that makes me sick, especially when its a cup final. The 5-0 win over Leyton Orient on Wednesday cheered me up a bit, setting up a tasty battle against United at Old Trafford. I think if we have our guys healthy, we can beat them.

Anyway, attention must first turn to the game at 3 o'clock this afternoon. Sunderland have been pretty awful of late, losing their last 4 league games so they are there for the taking and we must ensure we get the win today, because anything less will be considered as a disaster especially in the wake of United's loss at Chelsea; this is a glorious chance to put our mark on this title race and keep the pressure on Fergie and his boys.

The big news is that Aaron Ramsey has returned from his latest loan spell at Cardiff and is in the squad for today's game. Its exciting to think he could make a big impact today and I hope he gets some game time this afternoon, it would be brilliant to see the Welsh wonder run out at the Emirates. I'll be at work so will miss the game as per usual but I'll be keeping a close eye on the scoreline once 3 o'clock rolls around. Massive day for the Arsenal, just gotta hope they can deliver when it matters...

Thanks for reading.

Precious Points Cost Gunners

3 crucial points in the Premier League race but at what cost? Arsenal dispatched Stoke City 1-0 tonight, thanks to a Sebastien Squillaci header in the 8th minute, and are keeping the pressure on Man United who are now only 1 point ahead at the top of the league. But victory came at a price, with Cesc Fabregas and Theo Walcott both forced from the pitch with injuries, the severity of which has yet to be determined. Fingers crossed they are only out of action for days, not weeks.

I think most Arsenal fans expected a tough scrappy game tonight and that's exactly what happened. The Gunners started brightly, with Theo hitting the post after just a minute played. Arsenal kept the pressure on Stoke and it soon paid off when a Jack Wilshere corner found its way to Nicklas Bendtner, who lobbed the ball onto the head of Squillaci to head the ball home for the lead. Not a beautiful goal like we Gooners may have become accustomed to, but an important goal nonetheless, and Squillaci's first in the Premier League. It was a good pass from Bendtner too, his only meaningful contribution this evening (but how important in the scheme of things).

Once the Gunners went 1-0 up, they dominated possession but couldn't extend the lead, much to the frustration of all Arsenal-supporting spectators. The game became quite niggly, with Stoke typically nipping at the heels of every player wearing the red and white. Fabregas was taken off just five minutes after the goal, with what looked like a knee problem (although they're saying on Radio 5 now it might be his hamstring - shiiiiiiiiit). Hopefully he is not seriously hurt and his substitution was just a precaution ahead of Sunday's Carling Cup Final against Birmingham (I think having the captain fully fit on Sunday is going to help us immensely). Arshavin replaced Cesc and I thought he played quite well for the remainder of the match. Nasri and Wilshere were masterful in midfield, pulling the strings in the captain's absence, which was absolutely crucial in maintaining possession throughout the contest. The defence played well, with Djourou and Squillaci coming out on top against Stoke's big target men - pleasing to see given that our squad are vertically challenged in most departments. Overall this was not a nice game to watch, in fact it was downright horrible most of the time. Despite Stoke failing to create many clear-cut goal opportunities, every set-piece and every stupid time wasting Rory Delap throw-in looked dangerous. When you're only 1-0 up and have wasted larger leads previously in the season, the nerves build up as time ticks down. So when the final whistle blew, I was more relieved than happy.

So Arsene Wenger's men came away with the all 3 valuable points tonight but losing Fabregas and Walcott could really hinder our chances on Sunday, as well as the upcoming games against Barcelona and other Premier League games in the near future. Attention now turns to Wembley, and the Carling Cup Final against Birmingham. I've booked the day off work so I'll be there in the pub to watch us try and end our trophy drought. Really, really, really want us to finally win this bloody competition, as the League Cup is the only domestic trophy Wenger hasn't won. Looking forward to Sunday! Until then...

Thanks for reading.

Just heard that Walcott has an ankle sprain, and so will miss the Carling Cup Final on Sunday. A major blow, his pace would have given the Blues a real problem. Balls...

Oh What A Night

Arsenal shocked the football world last night, coming from behind to beat Barcelona 2-1 at the Emirates in the first leg of the first round of the knock-out stages in the Champions League. It was the match that everyone wanted and thankfully it was my side that came out on top, recording a historic victory in what was an absolute classic.

I was at the pub early to get a good seat for the game and the place was a madhouse, absolutely packed (thankfully, the majority of spectators seemed to be fellow Gooners). In fact it was so busy I didn't get my food which I ordered at 7 until kickoff began. Whilst enjoying a burger, the Gunners started brightly, nearly taking an early lead after 5 minutes or so. Fabregas looped a ball over the Barca defence into the path of van Persie, who volleyed from a tight angle right at Victor Valdes. So close, but a promising start. However it didn't take long for the Catalans to show just how dangerous they could be when Messi narrowly missed putting his side in front after 15 minutes. A David Villa pass put Messi in the clear but his chipped shot was inches wide. A huge sigh of relief could be heard around the Emirates and in the pub - Arsenal had dodged a bullet, as Messi usually converts those sort of chances 99% of the time. Moments later the Gunners were on the attack again when Walcott's pass split the Barca defence and put Fabregas into a great position, whose cross for the diving van Persie was just narrowly cut out by Abidal. But seconds later the Emirates was stunned. Messi played a beautiful through ball between Djourou and Clichy into David Villa, who made no mistake dispatching the ball underneath Szczesny to make it 1-0 Barca. Things almost went from bad to worse when seconds later Szczesny made a great save from Pedro that could have buried Arsenal completely. Luckily the Gunners didn't crumble and immediately replied when Wilshere played in van Persie with a beautiful pass, which the Dutchman really should have converted (he sliced his left foot shot badly). The game was frantic now, end to end stuff, but again Barca showed just how lethal they could be; after picking his way through our defence Messi played in Pedro who looked certain to score, but Szczesny did well again, making a fantastic save to deny the Spaniards a second goal. Messi bundled the rebound in but thankfully he was judged to be offside (although he probably wasn't). Before I knew it the half time whistle was blown, 45 minutes gone just like that.

Arsenal started the second half just as they did the first, looking dangerous and attacking with speed but still struggling to carve out a clear goal scoring opportunity. Then after 67 minutes Messi nearly put the game beyond doubt. After Eboue failed to clear, Iniesta put Messi in to make it 2-0 but the Argentinian star could only hit the side netting. But wasteful Barca were soon made to pay for not converting their chances. After Messi failed to score, Barcelona manager Pep Guardiola brought on the defensive Seydou Keita for David Villa, in an effort to shore up the defence and hold on to their lead. Wenger made a substitution also, bringing on Arshavin for Song, a change that would prove critical. With Barcelona now sitting back (well, not quite, they are Barcelona after all!) Arsenal went all out to claw themselves back into the game and in the 78th minute the North London side struck. After some work down the left flank between Arshavin and Clichy, the Frenchman chipped the ball over Gerard Pique into van Persie's path who smashed the ball past Valdes from the tightest of angles. When everyone watching expected a cross, including Valdes, the Dutch magician squeezed home the most accurate shot you are likely to see in a long time to make it 1-1, and game on. It just had to be van Persie, my favourite player in recent times, that made the difference - a phenomenal moment. The Emirates and the pub erupted (I hurt my voice-box from shouting) and it wasn't long until things got even better. Five minutes later, after Koscielny intercepted what could have been an extremely dangerous Barca pass, El Capitan, Barcelona's favourite Gunner Cesc Fabregas, played an incredible ball across half the pitch that split the Spaniard's defence wide open, releasing Nasri. Instead of opting to shoot, Nasri cut the ball back and played it across the penalty box to Arshavin, who stylishly clipped the ball around the Barca defenders and past Valdes to make it 2-1 and send every Arsenal fan in the world into total euphoria. Within five minutes Arsene Wenger's men had come back against the best team in the world to take the lead. Incredible stuff. Arsenal managed to hold on for the win, but not without some panic when Szczesny saved well from Dani Alves, then Arshavin's attempt at nodding the ball back to Szczesny was almost intercepted and converted by Alves, before finally Eboue cleared the ball with an almighty hoof into Row Z. The final whistle blew seconds later and Arsenal had done it, completed the impossible task of knocking the Catalan giants off their perch, taking a 2-1 advantage into the second leg. Now obviously the tie is only half-way complete, there is still the daunting prospect of facing Barca again at the Camp Nou, but this win will provide the team with a massive psychological boost heading into that game, and hopefully for the rest of the season. Because last night proved, that above all, when Arsenal play at their best, they can beat the best teams in the world. What a classic.

I can't really fault any of our players after the performance they gave as team. Jack Wilshere raised his game on the biggest stage of all and was easily the man of the match for me. He consistently turned and rolled away from the opposition's attempts to dispossess him but he was always aware, eyes up constantly looking for a teammate. A fantastic game for our English prodigy, proving to the masses that he's not just 'one for the future', but he's performing right now. I think credit must also go to Laurent Koscielny who had a wonderful night in defence considering who he was up against. By no means did he have Messi in his back-pocket, but I reckon that Koscielny probably gave the Argentinian the hardest game he's had for some time, and Kos managed to keep Lionel from reeking too much havoc against us. A classy game from the Frenchman and a big "fuck you" to the critics who doubt his ability at this level.

Things got even better this morning (I know what you're saying, "How on earth could things be better?!") when I saw that my Cavaliers had handed the World Champion Lakers their third defeat in a row, recording a momentous win heading into the All-Star break, beating Los Angeles 104-99. Ramon Sessions was a beast, attacking the rim at will, and ended up recording 32 points and 8 assists. Sweet revenge against Kobe and his boys since the last time we played L.A. A memorable win for sure and it deserves a picture of course!

Anyway, I've got a lot of uni work coming up soon so I'll blog what I can when I can. If you've made it this far through this essay of a post, thank you very much for reading!