Arsenal 4-0 Fulham: Third place secured, frustrating season put to bed

by Rachid



The performance we've been looking for since losing the Barcelona game in March finally came yesterday. You could say we went up against a makeshift Fulham side that couldn't care less about playing yesterday because their focus was squarely on Wednesday's Europa League final but it's the result that's important. A win was needed to secure third place and a solid 4-0 win is what we got. It was a game where we still missed important faces but managed to put on a performance that you'd expect from us at full strength.



We started the match pretty gung ho and apart from an error on Fabianski's part early on where he came out to claim a loose ball and dropped it in the area, the first half was all about Arsenal attacking the Fulham goal. The opener came in the 21st minute when Mark Schwarzer uncharacteristically left his goal to collect a backpass but was beaten to it by Andrey Arshavin. The Russian skipped over him, went down by the byline and saw van Persie begging for the ball just in front of the goal mouth. He decided to ignore him and continued from the tight angle and slammed the ball into the net after a deflection off John Pantsil. If he'd missed that chance van Persie would've had every right to be pissed off but it just goes to show how sure Arshavin is of his ability. You could even argue that that was perhaps an intent to silence his critics who have labeled him as lazy lately. There was certainly no laziness about that goal and the effort he put into keeping the ball in play as it almost crossed over the byline, and all the power he put into the shot to ensure that it would hit the back of the net even if a defender had gotten a touch - as Panstil did.



We doubled our lead not long after as in the 26th minute Sagna played Walcott through into space. Theo looked up and saw van Persie waiting in the box and played the ball square to him. It took him two bites of the cherry to score as the first shot was tipped by Schwarzer unto the underside of the bar but the Dutchman made no mistake in converting the rebound.



Eleven minutes later we were three up. Walcott played the ball in from the right and it went to Eboue. He flicked it on but it bobbled between Pantsil's legs and Chris Baird's unfortunate touch took the ball into his own net.



In the 39th minute van Persie, playing deep, found Eboue. The Ivorian made a simply sublime flick off the back of his heel to find Walcott on the edge of the area. Theo left his marker standing and went through on goal from an angle but only had Schwarzer to beat and put the ball wide of the far post. It would've been an absolutely breath taking goal had he finished it. He won't receive a more perfect pass in his whole career. That would've definitely been one of the Arsenal goals of the season, a definite highlight reel moment missed.



The second half saw Arsenal attacking much like they did in the first half. The final goal came in the 84 minute when Carlos Vela made his way into the box and produced a sublime chip over Schwarzer for his second goal of the season. While watching him celebrate I had mixed emotions. I was happy he scored such an awesome goal but at the same time I was a bit frustrated. Vela has so much technical ability but to be honest, he's failed to take his chances when they've been granted to him this season. I've argued in the past that it's partly due to him not settling in England but after the uninterested performance he gave at Blackburn last week I'm beginning to think the amount of passion needed for him to make it in this team just isn't there. I also wondered if that was to be his last goal in an Arsenal shirt.



The victory meant we secured 3rd place as Tottenham stubbed their toes at Turf Moor against Burnley, losing 4-2. You have to say though that it shouldn't have come down to this. It would've been unthinkable for Spurs to finish ahead of us and the fact that we found ourselves in a situation where we were in a battle with them for who'd finish higher on the final day makes me a bit disappointed, even though the danger was averted.



The players went on their lap of appreciation but unlike in previous seasons many fans left before it took place and it sends a message to show how displeased Arsenal fans are in general with the way the season ended. It also went a long way in showing the growing skepticism surrounding Arsene Wenger and his ability to lead this team to victory. He'll no doubt have noticed the scantiness of the crowd and realised that he'll be under intense scrutiny this summer to improve the team in all the areas needed.



It means there'll be countless transfer rumours for us to wade through as the summer rolls along and I'll be back on here blogging about the rumours that have some ounce of credibility in them. Also, expect an in depth rundown of the season that was in the coming days.



Oh, one more thing: for all you cunts hoping for Spurs to finish above us...put that in your pipe and smoke it!



Until next time, fellow Gooners, have a good one!

And The Rumours Keep Coming...

by Rachid



There's not much happening in the world of Arsenal today so it led to me trawling NewsNow for Arsenal content and I came across this:

"I have always dreamed about going to Spain and playing for the best team in the world.

''They were unsure about me when I was playing in Russia but I have shown them that I'm the real deal and I know they are ready to talk to me.

"I want to play for the top team and be trying to win every competition, I don't think you can rate one better than the other, it is all about winning. I want to play for them and that is never going to change.

"I know Gael Clichy would love to play out there as well, and he would work well in their team.

"It would be tough trying to compete with Xavi and Iniesta but that is the competition I want, I don't want to walk into a team."

 Maybe I just don't want to believe this because I really like Arshavin as a player and as a character but I can't understand why he'd say something like this, especially so soon after Wenger warned him to watch his mouth after the whole Russian interview controversy. I also don't get why he'd be making these statements when Barcelona, or no other club for that matter, have made an offer for him and it would mean that he'd have to stay at Arsenal another season after saying that to face the vitriol the fans will obviously dole out to him. It's not as if it's never happened before.



Something else I've been thinking about is why is it that these things only seem to happen with Arsenal players. Why is it that whenever a transfer window nears, it's always some controversy surrounding our players leaving? Why don't we hear United or Chelsea players flirting with other clubs to come get them? I might seem paranoid but I truly believe it's just another attempt by the media to settle our team. It seems Arsenal's the easiest team in England for the media to target to start witch hunts against the manager and player so time and time again we see stupid little stories and rumours like this.



The fans are to be blamed as well. Many times things like this come out the fans immediately believe it, no matter how far fetched it sounds and no matter how little logic there seems to be behind it. Why is that though? Why is it so easy for fans to believe made up stories involving our players but when the players come out and categorically deny them on Arsenal.com it's harder for the fans to believe those quotes that have come directly from the horses mouth.



It also seems now that the whole 'Cesc To Barca' drama (and I really hate using that D word) has gone dormant, the media needs a new target to unsettle and it seems the two players being focused on this season are Clichy and Arshavin. I don't think it's much of a coincidence that both players are linked to Barcelona again. Whenever these rumours come up, Barcelona's always the team we hear showing an interest in them. It's getting ridiculous now. Ridiculously boring.



Anyway leave your thoughts in the comments section.



Dust!

Leave Andrey Alone!!! (Sob Sob)

by Rachid



There hasn't been much football to sink our teeth into and as a result Arsenal fans worldwide have been scraping the barrel for Arsenal related content on the internet. As such, many were up in arms when they came across some comments about Arshavin wanting to play for Barcelona. According to claims by majority of the press, this is what Arshavin said:

 “Even playing just one season for Barcelona would make a pinnacle of my whole career,” the Arsenal midfielder said.

“Barca are the best team in the world and I enjoy their style of play so much,

“But after watching them against Arsenal in the Champions League quarter-finals the enjoyment has quickly turned into sorrow. They are so much better than anybody else at the moment.”

According to what I've read, these words came from an interview Arshavin did while in Russia. The first thing I thought when I saw this was "oh here we go again". Everyone's gonna get on his back about this just like they did with what he said in January (while the transfer window was open) about us needing new players, which was rehashed after the window closed to make it just seem like he's complaining idly. It's obvious that this whole nonsense came to being to not only try to unsettle the player but also to turn us against him. He's been pretty inconsistent this season and it makes him an easy target for the ire of Arsenal fans. It wouldn't be far fetched to think that the contents of the interview were changed during translation to create controversy. It doesn't seem to have crossed many Arsenal fans' minds though. Arsene Wenger, while not pleased with the whole issue, seems to be taking it with a pinch of salt though:

"Yes, I’m very disappointed [by this story] because he shows a completely different attitude [to me]. He wants to extend his contract with us and stay with us so the noise coming out of Russia is very difficult to explain. He looks to be very happy here.



"You should ask him where it comes from. Usually you have direct access to him, you can ask him where that comes from. I don’t forbid you to talk to him. But I take with a little bit of distance what comes back translated sometimes with the help of some agents who want to move the players.



"I think everybody has the freedom to speak but you want to make sure first of all that you respect your club. I just put a question mark on the things that come back translated.”

I think what Wenger's saying is that he's skeptical to believe that Arshavin really said this but at the same time he seems pretty annoyed at how often this is happening with him. He's known as a very frank individual and he should know better than to trust these journalists who look to create shitstorms from his comments.



There's a lot of vitriol directed at him from Arsenal fans on the internet too. Many are now criticising him for his on and off performances throughout the course of the season and some are even saying we should sell him to Barcelona. What most people are on his back about though is that he's lazy. People are making it seem as though he didn't contribute this season. He's scored 11 goals this season and had 9 assists. We couldn't possibly ask more of him when he got two significant injuries this season and also was being played in a position where his height (or lack thereof) put him at a major disadvantage. There's no need to single him out for criticism. There are far lazier people in this Arsenal team and if you're gonna talk about laziness, their names should be called first. Names such as Almunia, Denilson, Diaby and Sagna to some extent.



Apart from all that though, there's not much else happening with the club this week. Arsene Wenger revealed a little more of his transfer plans yesterday. He says we'll be signing a player before June 11th (when the World Cup kicks off). He says:

“We have a basic squad and I believe in the squad I have,” he said. “But if I can make an addition – two or three maximum – then we will do it.



“I will try to do what I want to do as quickly as possible but I am not the only decider. It doesn’t only depend on me.



“Ideally, you would want to do the job before the World Cup. It is difficult to give yourself the right timing.



“Certainly, we will announce one player before the World Cup. After that we will see.”

 It's obvious the player he's talking about here is Marouane Chamakh. I think the only reason we're so hush hush about it is that we can't announce anything about him coming here until his season with Bordeaux is over. What concerns me though is that he claims we are gonna make two signings, three tops. Most agree that our current squad needs a new goalkeeper, maybe two center backs, a defensive midfielder and a striker to get that improvement that will put us over the top and make us truly competitive with the likes of Manchester United, Chelsea and Barcelona next season. If we're gonna sign only 3 players, at most, it leaves you a bit anxious about whether we're going into next season with the same depth issues we faced throughout this season.



A factor in Wenger's decision might be the new regulations set by the EFA though. It's now been made official that next season we're supposed to register 8 home grown players and 25 total for the Premiership. In seasons past that number was 30. It obviously means that our current Premiership first team squad of 30 players will have to be cut by 5.



At first I was a bit upset about what Wenger said about spending because this is something he says at the start of every transfer window - that he's looking to sign just two or three players maximum. Where it might be different this season however is that we need to trim the fat from our team. It means that he's probably looking to just make 3 additions maximum to the team and replace whoever else is leaving. It doesn't mean we're getting rid of 8 players and signing 3 in their place. It just means that Wenger now knows what areas of the team are lacking and he's probably gonna sell those players that are the weak links in the chain that's the Arsenal team. He's gonna sell them and probably replace them with like players but players who possess the qualities those other players didn't.



Also, the 25 registered player restriction doesn't necessarily mean we can only have 25 players in our squad. We can have as many as we like and if we have players who are underperforming or injured we can always deregister them and replace them with other players who are fit(ter) and performing better in training. We could always do this during the January transfer window.



A player that is a doubt to be in the team next season however is William Gallas.



Of Gallas Wenger says:

"There is a cut off point for Gallas. It doesn't depend only on me. Gallas can come and say 'Boss we will stop the talks because I signed somewhere and that's it'.



"I could set a deadline for us and that will certainly be before the end of May because we then have to look for someone else. We have more talks planned."

Many want Gallas to leave but I believe he's had very good performances when he's managed to stay fit this season. He and Vermaelen have forged a solid partnership at the heart of our defence. Many claim his constant bitching has been a blight on the team but ever since he was stripped of the captaincy he's been very professional and his game has turned around significantly. I'd rather not see him go but I'd like to see us sign another center back regardless of whether he's in the team next season.



What do you think? Let me know in a comment below. That's it for today. Dust!