Morning all. I don't really know what to write about today honestly. I went to bed all excited thinking, "Wow there's a match tomorrow plus I'll have time to write the blog in the morning, that sure sounds exciting," just to wake up and find that there really isn't that much to talk about.
First off, there is a radio show here in America about football called World Soccer Daily, hosted by Stephen Cohen and Kenny Hassan. I listen to it pretty regularly but yesterday Stephen (Chelski fan) said "Tottenham Hotspur will finish ahead of Arsenal this coming season." He's absolutely lost it. When's the last time Sp*rs have finished in the top four? I'm pretty sure they haven't finished above us since 1995. But I suppose it's good to set lofty goals, eh? They sold their captain and they're going to lose that sulking cunt Berbatov as well. Who is going to play striker, Darren Bent? You're havin a laugh. Cohen you wanker, go back to your Russian chums and stop making stupid comments like that one.
Anyways, moving on, I suppose we could talk about the match against Huddersfield today next. It's quite the drop off from Madrid and Juventus isn't it? You can tell though by how the squad is put together. It's almost all youngsters, and I don't mean youngsters plus Bendtner, Clichy, Sanga, Denilson, etc. The oldest players in the squad are Vela, Djourou and Theo, and everyone else is, for the most part, a reserve player. We have Little Jack in there as well as Aaron Ramsey, but it's basically another good chance to see what the youngsters can do.
Speaking of Jack, he's been given Gilberto's old number 19 which means he's listed officially as part of the first team squad. I guess not even Arsene Wenger could deny how well he's played this preseason and decided to include him in the first team. He could see a decent amount of action this year I think, with seven subs on the bench in the league plus hopefully a sustained Carling Cup run. Arsene always did say if you're good enough, you're old enough, and that's certainly the case with this young man. I really feel like I'm getting old, a kid five years younger than me is in the first team squad, whew.
Can you believe the first match that actually matters is one week away? We've got the Champion's League qualifying stages against FC Twente on the 13th! Exactly one week away and I can't wait. I'm even more excited about West Brom at home on the 16th to open the Premiership season. Football is finally back again!
Today I'd like to hear your season predictions. I want to know where you think Arsenal will finish, who the top scorer will be, how many goals he will have, and what (if any) trophies Arsenal will win. Let's get some discussion going on just how successful this team can be. Will Diaby or Denilson start next to Cesc? Will we bring in someone new? It's all crazy isn't it, which is why it's more fun to discuss with other mental Gooners.
Also, I'm going to have not one, but two new contests today, just off the top of my head here. Whoever can make up (make up, not steal off the internet, believe me I will check) the best new banner for the top of this site will receive an ArseNole Stein Mug which is absolutely fantastic. I have one myself and it's great looking and can hold coffee, beer, or whatever else you choose to drink. You can email it to me at ArseNole@{remove this}arsenole.com. So let's get lots of banners in so I can spruce up the site a bit. All you graphics people out there get to work.
The second contest is just about being humorous, if you can think up the funniest story about Wayne Rooney's death and put it in the comments, I'll pick whichever I think is the best and that person will receive some sort of Arsenal or ArseNole gift that I can come up with. I'll figure something out depending on just how good the stories are. Just leave it in the comments or you can email it to me, either way.
So there is lots to win today so get on your stories, your banners, and your season predictions. Good luck to the young guns today against Huddersfield and here's hoping Little Jack scores about 230582 goals. Cheers!
Wednesday, August 6, 2008
Contests, Season Predictions, World Soccer Daily
Monday, August 4, 2008
Oh How I Hate Tottenham....Plus Emirates Cup Stuff
Morning all. Yesterday we beat Real Madrid 1-0 through a beautiful penalty from Adebayor. I don't care how much you hate him, he makes our team better. If you boo him then go to hell. I don't boo Arsenal players, even Eboue, so piss off for booing our 30 goal scorer. He isn't perfect by any means but who is in today's footballing world? Point is he is our best striker for the time being and everyone should deal with it. As Arsene Wenger said, "A plane load of money wouldn't buy him right now."
RvP won us the penalty and went down like a rag doll. I thought he was going to be out for the rest of the season judging by the way he went down and stayed there. I've lost my confidence in his ability to stay fit. Luckily he's fine as far as I know. He's a great player, but for God's sake, play a whole season.
But the main point of this article, which I'm writing now because I can't sleep, is how much I hate Tottenham Hotspur.
1. I hate Sp*rs more than I hate Barack Obama...which is a ridiculous amount.
2. I hate Sp*rs more than I hate skanks that put up facebook pictures in bikinis. I hate that a lot.
3. I hate Sp*rs more than I hate the last two Eminem albums, and I really hate them.
4. I hate Sp*rs more than I hate Bolton, which is saying something.
5. I hate Sp*rs more than I hate that Thierry Henry left Arsenal, and I that just about killed me.
6. I hate Sp*rs so much that I wish their manager was Steve McClaren so they would lose every match.
7. I hate Sp*rs so much that I wish Juande Ramos would be hit by a bus, then run over with a lawnmower...that would hurt.
I could think of more reasons but that's enough for the night.
Jack Wilshere is going to be a legend. I love the kid. I don't think that Cesc even had the skills this kid has at that age. If he did, then it's comparable. I expect big things. I don't want the pressure heaped on him at this age but I know he will be incredible.
That's all I've got. Cheers.
Thursday, July 31, 2008
The ArseNole Podcast - Episode 3
Morning everyone. The ArseNole's 200th post is also the post for the third ArseNole Podcast. I know you're all so excited, and so am I. Joaquin and i recorded it during the first half of the Stuttgart match yesterday. The sound quality should be better than the last time but we're still trying to improve it every time we do it. Comments and feedback are much appreciated and you can send any comments or topics you want us to talk about to ArseNole@{removethis}arsenole.com. Thanks for listening and please comment!
You can listen to the podcast here, or you can download the podcast here, or you can subscribe using iTunes by clicking here. Or just visit the podcast page and catch up on the previous ones here.
Cheers!
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Arsenal 2-1 Barnet Match Report
Our first preseason friendly is done and dusted, and while it certainly wasn't Arsenal at their best, we did get the job done eventually. It was great to see so many youngsters along with some of the veterans, plus our new signings Ramsey and Coquelin on display. Carlos Vela was not included in the squad, presumably due to some type of injury.
In the first half we went with the more experienced lineup, and also saw Aaron Ramsey make his debut in midfield. The lineup looked like this:
Sagna-Nordtveit-J. Hoyte-Clichy
Lansbury-Ramsey-Denilson-Traore
Bendtner-Walcott
At the start of the game Arsenal had a lot of the ball, and we had a chance pretty early when Ramsey played a great ball through to Bendtner who really should have done better with the chance. He took a bad touch and tried to play it back but couldn't get anything behind his pass.
This seemed to be a continuing theme throughout the first half, Bendtner getting chances and just not being able to put any of them away. His whole game really looked to be off as his passing wasn't very good either. Walcott didn't give him much help though as he seemed drift in and out of the game.
In the fifteenth minute Arsenal gave away a free kick in a dangerous position because of a foul I believe against Havard Nordtveit. Barnet took the kick brilliantly to beat the wall and Manuel Almunia to give Barnet a surprise 1-0 lead. They certainly hadn't had much of the possession and the goal was against the run of play, but they took advantage of the chances, which Arsenal hadn't done so far.
Aaron Ramsey looks to be a wonderful signing already. He completely controlled the midfield for the first half, showed great awareness and ability on the ball. He always seemed comfortable, even under pressure, and his passing was precise. He looks like he could be (forgive me for the reference) the new Cesc Fabregas. I'd say he was the best player on the park for the first half. After the game however, when asked about Ramsey's performance he said simply that Aaron "looked tired but works hard in training." He must not agree with my thoughts on his performance.
Unfortunately though Arsenal were unable to create much in the way of chances in the first half and went in at the half 1-0 down.
The start of the second half saw us make 11 substitutions, so I'll try to remember them all.
Ogogo-Rodgers-G. Hoyte-Steer
Wilshere-Randall-Coquelin-Barazite
Simpson-Fonte
The youngsters started a bit sloppily at the beginning of the half, giving some passes away and looking a bit shaky sometimes in possession but they got into form soon enough. Jay Simpson for me looked particularly impressive, making good runs and mixing his passes well.
It wasn't long before we had equalized. Jack Wilshere, who was brilliant (he's the type of player that I get excited every time he gets the ball) fed a beautiful pass to Jay Simpson, who was making a run into the box. Simpson hit it first time and sent it into the back of the net. It was a great shot that the keeper would have done very well to save. 1-1 was the score and Arsenal were looking for more.
The second goal also involved Wilshere. He fed Jay Simpson running through the middle who sent a perfect ball across to the left side of the box which Nacer Barazite met first time and sent into the bottom right corner of the net, past the onrushing Barnet keeper. 2-1 to the Arsenal and looking much better.
The rest of the match was pretty uneventful. Arsenal were content to keep the ball and Barnet didn't really have much going forward. They did have a free kick right outside of the box with about 8 minutes to go but they wasted it.
So the match ended 2-1 to Arsenal and while it wasn't the best performance by the regular starters, the youngsters came in and got the job done, which was great to see.
Man of the Match: Jack Wilshere, closely followed by Jay Simpson. Wilshere is already a master of the pass even though he is the youngest player on the pitch. His awareness going forward and willingness to run at defenders is exceptional and he's a player that is very exciting for the future. Hopefully Arsene will keep him grounded so his potential doesn't get to his head, but I'd expect to see him in some Carling Cup games this year.
Needs Work: Just the team's sharpness as a whole. Bendtner and Walcott looked extremely rusty but that will come with time.
Arsene's Post Game Comments: He is VERY adamant that Emmanuel Adebayor will not be leaving. He said after the match that his is a very different situation than Hleb's was and will not be leaving under any circumstances. So it would be a good time for Adebayor to start rebuilding the ties with the team. Arsene was asked about which players were likely to be included in the first team squad and would only say that "a few of them" would be included but gave no names.
I'm really looking forward to the next preseason game. It's quite exciting to see all the youngsters get to play. Lots to talk about so let's hear your comments about the match and Arsene's comments. Cheers!
