Jack Of Hearts

It nearly took all night but Arsenal finally dispatched Swansea yesterday, beating them 1-0 in the 3rd round replay of the FA Cup, setting up a 4th round matchup against Brighton on the 26th January. The man responsible for Arsenal's victory is the young Englishman Jack Wilshere, whose drive and effort shone throughout the entire match and was finally rewarded in the 86th minute with a blistering shot that Swansea keeper Michel Vorm had no chance of stopping. 

The Gunners really should have held on to their 2-1 lead at Swansea on the 6th January but it wasn't to be, as a Danny Graham goal in the final minutes tied the game and forced last night's unwanted replay. Arsene Wenger knows the squad is tired enough as it is and an FA Cup replay was the last thing he would have wanted during this busy fixture period. However I'm sure he was grateful that the team were at least still in the competition and had another chance to progress. That being said, last night's game was possibly the most important of this season to date; a loss would have seen us exit the FA Cup and almost certainly put to bed any thoughts of this Gunners side winning any silverware this season (Champions League excluded... but come on...)

I felt the manager picked probably the strongest side he could field at the moment but, as we have seen far too often recently, the team never really got going in the first half. For much of the opening 45 minutes Swansea kept control of the possession and were unlucky not to take the lead from a header hitting the bar, courtesy of ex-Arsenal man Kyle Bartley. At least that seemed to wake Arsenal up a bit as they started to play a lot better towards the end of the first half. In fact I'm sure the players were probably disappointed to hear the half time whistle, as the home side were beginning to finally take hold of the game.

Thankfully Arsenal carried that momentum and energy into the second half and really put this Swansea City team to the sword. The Gunners had chance after chance and it started to look like we'd never score and the game would go into extra-time. Twice Arsenal had the ball cleared off the Swansea goal-line and the pressure kept mounting, with Vorm making save after save. Wilshere, Theo Walcott and Olivier Giroud all had efforts blocked by the Dutch keeper. Swansea looked quite content to soak up the pressure and hold on for extra-time, maybe fancying their chances at a penalty shoot-out.

But it wasn't to be. With less than 5 minutes to go and the home crowd growing more frustrated and anxious as the seconds ticked by, they were rewarded with as good a goal as you are likely to see. Kieran Gibbs drove the ball into Swansea's half and played it to Santi Cazorla, whose expert pass found the feet of Giroud just outside the penalty area. The French striker played a cute first-time ball off the outside of his boot into the path of Wilshere, who smashed it on the half-volley and straight into the back of the net. It was a real peach of a goal, a shot that flashed past Vorm so quickly it could have burst through the goalkeeper's net. Arsenal's pressure was finally rewarded and there were no repeats of Swansea's late heroics in the first game on the 6th January. This time Arsenal held on for the clean sheet and the win, guaranteeing us a trip to Brighton in the 4th round.

Arsenal owe this win to just one man in particular, the heart of our midfield, Jack Wilshere. For me, he played his finest game in an Arsenal shirt since that memorable night against Barcelona a couple of years ago. He was everywhere last night, literally dragging this jaded and tired Arsenal side into attacking Swansea's stubborn defence. The Englishman wouldn't give in and his zig-zagging runs at the opposition were a sight to behold; this small bulldog terrier-like player fending off defenders as he consistently tried to create goal scoring chances for his team-mates. Finally he'd had enough of their wastefulness and took it upon himself to break the deadlock. His goal would be the envy of most strikers in the Premier League, a really fine hit. Last night definitely proved young Jack is worthy of wearing that number 10 shirt. It is obvious for all to see the immense pride he has in possessing the iconic number and he has certainly earned it. 

Let's hope there are many more Wilshere goals to come in Arsenal's future. I'm a big fan of that celebration he does, the knee slider with the badge-thump. I feel that for once we have a player who really means it when he says he loves the club. Long may that continue, I think he'd make a fine captain one day.

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He Only Bloody Went And Did It

I was planning on writing a full match report tomorrow after work but I don't think it's necessary anymore. Not after THAT. A moment of magic and sublime skill from the legendary Henry won us the game and the script couldn't have been written any better. A fantastic Arsenal memory for all of us, vintage Thierry Henry.

What a hero. I'm speechless.

Return Of The King

Now I appreciate this is rather old news now and I know I haven't posted for a while (been very busy at work) but I just wanted to chip in and say how happy I am we are getting Henry back at the club, even if it is just for a couple of months. I am over the moon about this.

Obviously he won't be as quick as he once was and he won't score as many goals, as my colleagues at work have pointed out in glee, but it's just nice to have him back. Despite plying his trade across the pond nowadays in a raw and developing league like the MLS, he still possesses the necessary quality to contribute something to this team. With Gervinho and Chamakh leaving for the Africa Cup of Nations, the squad will be desperately short of firepower in attack and anything contribution Henry can bring to the team will be of immense help. Van Persie is still very much the man as far as goals go but it'll be nice for Henry to come on and give our captain a rest once in a while, or offer some support. For too long now van Persie has been forced to carry the burden of scoring practically all our goals; he has flourished and revelled in his new responsibilities but it's been a case of him having to, since Gervinho appears to be afraid of shooting in case he hurts the opposition goalkeeper and Chamakh looking lost every time he gets within 10 feet of a football pitch. So having Henry in the team should add a bit more potency when going forward, even if his age holds him back a bit these days. He still has a majestic touch on the ball and a keen eye for the killer pass, plus he still knows his way around the goal-mouth as his past year in New York proves. Yes its the MLS but Henry scored 15 goals last season and at the age of 34 that ain't too shabby, especially as he seems to play more in behind the striker now. I think Thierry will be perfectly placed tucked in just behind van Persie, feeding the Dutchman with clever through-balls and defence splitting passes.

The Frenchman currently holds the club record with 226 goals, as most of us know. Let's hope he can add a few more on top of that figure over the next couple of months, starting with Leeds on Monday Night.

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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!

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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.

Leaving It Late With Leeds

Arsenal escaped an FA Cup disaster this afternoon at the Emirates, battling to a 1-1 draw with Leeds United. I said it yesterday, that it would be stupid to underestimate our lower league opponents and it came true as Leeds thoroughly deserved their draw and replay to be scheduled at Elland Road at later date.

Arsene Wenger chose a stronger team than what was maybe expected, with the inclusion of Song, Chamakh and Arshavin in the starting eleven. The announcer at the Emirates informed the crowd the game was a 60,000+ sellout but there was a lot of empty red seats for a 'sellout'. This annoyed me greatly, because if I lived closer to North London and had the cash, I'd have been there! (though given the final score, its probably better that I wasn't) The game started pretty slowly and in the 10th minute Arshavin wasted a fantastic one-on-one opportunity after a great through ball by stand-in captain Rosicky. The little Russian had acres of space to score but shot right at Leeds keeper Kasper Schmeichel, a disappointing effort. For the majority of the first half Arsenal failed to get into any rhythm at all and were sloppy all over the pitch. The chemistry in the squad was reminiscent of the Wigan game not long ago - crap. However, with roughly 15 minutes left before half time the Gunners notched things up a bit and turned up the tempo. In the 27th minute Chamakh nodded the ball back to Arshavin who hit the ball nicely on the volley but it was straight at Schmeichel and out for a corner. From the resulting set-piece, the ball ping ponged around the box and was finally cleared off the line by a Leeds defender before Denilson forced a good save from distance at Schmeichel. Arsenal had definitely raised the bar and Leeds were struggling to cope. Defender Alex Bruce, who had a tremendous game in the Leeds defence, cut out a dangerous pass by Arshavin intended for Bendtner which would have had Leeds in trouble. From the resulting corner, Chamakh headed straight at Schmeichel wasting another good opportunity. Just before the end of the first half, Bendtner jinked his way into the Leeds penalty area before unleashing a low shot which was comfortably saved by Schmeichel yet again. Arsenal just couldn't get that crucial goal and it was the visitors who left the pitch at half time the happier.

The Gunners started the second half brightly, piling more pressure on Leeds - it only looked a matter of time before Arsenal converted one of their many chances and took the lead. But then disaster struck, as it often has at the Emirates this season. In the 53rd minute against the run of play, Leeds winger Max Gradel was upended by Denilson in the box and referee Phil Dowd (whom I despise) had no option but to point to the spot. Robert Snodgrass stepped up to take the penalty and narrowly squeezed it under Szczesny's left hand to make it 1-0 to Leeds. A nightmare upset was suddenly on the cards for the home side and Arsenal really had to step things up to avoid humiliation. A few minutes after the visitors took the lead, Fabregas was brought on to replace Song and ten minutes later Theo Walcott was introduced, replacing Chamakh. It was all or nothing now for Arsenal, but it was Leeds who nearly took a two goal lead when Becchio forced a stunning save from Szczesny, who palmed away the Leeds man's powerful header. Arsenal were banging their heads against the brick wall of the Leeds defence, constantly looking dangerous yet not really looking any closer to scoring that all important equaliser. With ten minutes left, Arsenal were getting desperate and things got a bit crazy; Bendtner blazed over a good header, Theo wasted a great chance when he hit it right into Schmeichel's hands. With only a couple of minutes left, madness ensued when Phil Dowd appeared to reward the Gunners a penalty after Walcott was tripped, only for Dowd to change his mind when the linesman signalled that Bendtner was apparently offside. The problem was, the trip on Walcott happened before Bendtner was offside so the penalty should have stood! But the outrage at the ref didn't last long as Theo was pulled down again in the Leeds penalty area only seconds later, and this time Dowd whistled for a REAL spot kick. Cesc stepped up to take it and dispatched the ball right down the middle, past the diving Schmeichel, to make it 1-1 and save the home team from a famous cup upset at the hands of Leeds. There was still time for a winner in injury time as Arsenal wasted more chances to finish the opposition off and put the tie to bed. Bendtner sliced a decent chance with his left foot (really horrible miss), Denilson nearly won it but for an amazing save from Schmeichel (man-of-the-match from the Leeds goalie), and finally Walcott narrowly missed a making it 2-1, hitting the side netting from a tight angle. The final whistle blew and a sigh of relief was heard all over the stadium - at least we didn't lose...

Obviously most Arsenal fans expected a win and with all the chances we had there really should have been only one outcome. However, we are still in the competition and that's what really matters. I don't particularly like the idea of a replay at Elland Road, especially when we already have a hectic schedule of games in the near future, but it is what it is and we must go there and beat them on their home turf. A match we are more than capable of winning - if we can't then we don't deserve to be in the FA Cup for much longer, simple as that.

Thanks for reading.

Cup Fever & The Return Of Rambo?

Arsenal get their FA Cup campaign under way tomorrow against Leeds United at the Emirates in what's set to be an interesting game. There is no doubt Arsene Wenger will rest some of his key players against the Championship opposition but I'm sure whatever side the boss puts out will be looking to give Leeds a real run for their money.

Despite being the underdogs, it would be unwise to underestimate the Whites in this FA Cup tie. Leeds are currently sat in 5th place in the Championship, which is pretty impressive for a team that only got promoted from League One half a year ago. So it would be a good idea for Arsene to choose a team that isn't too different from what we see most weeks. I expect Nasri and van Persie will be rested, and probably Cesc too; in a match like this, with the quality of players we possess, there is no reason we shouldn't beat Leeds with whatever team the boss picks, but football games aren't won on paper and we recently saw what happened when you play a team of guys who don't get much match-time (at Wigan). Eboue will be filling in for Sagna, who starts his suspension after the clash with Zabaletta in the City game on Wednesday. Kieran Gibbs has returned to fitness so expect him to replace Clichy at left back. Other than that, I don't expect there will be any more drastic changes. Polish keeper Wojciech Szczesny will probably replace Fabianski in goal, as he normally does in the Carling Cup, so it'll be another opportunity to see our potential future number 1 in action again. Up front, players like Bendtner and Rosicky will be given the job of leading the attack against Leeds, players who have more than enough in their locker to win games like these.

The exciting news ahead of tomorrows clash is the return of Aaron Ramsey. The Guardian have reported that the Welshman is set to be included in the squad and possibly make his triumphant return to the Gunner's starting eleven. The 20 year old Wales international, if he plays, will be making his first appearance for the Arsenal since that fateful day against Stoke on the 27th February 2010, where we all know what happened with a certain Ryan Shawcross. Since recovering from his broken leg, Aaron joined Nottingham Forest on a short loan deal but didn't get much playing time thanks to the ridiculous British weather we've had. Anyway, he's back where he belongs now and probably itching to prove he's still got what it takes at the top level. It'll be nice to see Ramsey run out at the Emirates in the red and white again, after such a long time out, even if the boss just gives him 10 minutes towards the end. Let's hope he can recapture the form he was in just before that nasty injury, when Aaron had forced his way into Wenger's team with some fantastic performances. Fingers crossed.

So I'll be looking to watch the Leeds game tomorrow, as luckily I don't have to work and the game is on ITV, so I should be able to watch it live. After Leeds, we have the now manager-less Ipswich to play on Wednesday night in the first leg of the Carling Cup semi-final, and I'll be looking to watch that too. I have officially caught cup fever.

Thanks for reading.