Delightfully Dramatic Derby Day

So once again that time of year is upon us, no not Christmas, it is of course the North London Derby. Always massively important, always unpredictable, always dramatic and this year it was no different.

Nightmare in Norwich

Well, there's not a lot you can say about a performance like that. But that's what I'm here for, so here we go.

On the up at Upton park

So today's match had a bit of a feeling of deja vu about it. Occasionally sketchy moments in defence? Check. Someone in midfield having an off day? Check. Letting in a silly goal? Check. Fighting spirit? Check. Excellent comeback goals? Check. Olivier Giroud? Check.

Progress

So, we were having a frustrating start to the season. Then we played Liverpool. The team pulled out an inspired performance and things seemed to be coming together. Then this weekend we played Southampton and really hit it out of the park.
The performance level of the whole team really seems to have gone up several notches over the past couple of matches. The whole team has been really really excellent, with everyone putting in a shift. I really want to commend the defence, who seem to have made a massive leap forward, due in no small part I'm sure to Steve Bould. Per Mertesacker has, so far this season, been outstanding. He seems a completely different player from last season. Kieran Gibbs has improved massively and was brilliant on Saturday, running up and down the wing like no one's business. Carl Jenkinson seems to be improving too and Thomas Vermaelen is reliable and strong as always and seems to be taking to his new role as captain very well. Sticking with defense (sort of) Mikel Arteta is really starting to make defensive midfield his own. Simply, he kicks ass. He's strong, he's efficient, he's calm and unflappable and he's an excellent passer of the ball. And now for a sentence I never thought I'd say; let's hope Diaby comes back quickly because against Liverpool he really showed us what we've all been waiting for. Then we have the rapidly forming understanding between Santi Cazorla and Lukas Podolski which is just glorious to behold. I'm very very excited to see what those two could do for us this season. And even Gervinho is having something of a renaissance. His performance on Saturday harked back to the promise he showed when he first arrived. And I'm hoping he can get an extended run in the team and take his chance. There is of course still the Giroud problem to solve but I think the solution to that may just be time and a the confidence he'll get when he hits his first goal.
And tonight marks the exciting return of Champion's League football. I for one can't wait. Arsenal in Europe is generally an adventure (of both the exciting and stressful kind) so I can't wait to see what this year's campaign has in store.

Stoked

So we started the season with a frustrating nil-nil draw. And then in our second game we improved and progressed and....wait...nil-nil again?!

Opening day

Well opening day of the football season is upon us. Its the most hopeful and optimistic day of the year as anything can happen. Our opening result was an unspectacular 0-0 draw. Frankly though, I'll take it. We opened against Sunderland and I remember many many bad decisions going against us in these matches recently (particularly of the offside and time keeping type) and also I remember our opening game against Newcastle last year in which Gervinho got sent off for the stupidest incident ever. These are the sorts of things that we can really do without at the beginning of the season, so frankly I'll take nil nil. I know we all want a spectacular 6-0 win (props to Fulham and Swansea  for going close) to kick off our campaign but its not always that simple as all the players are coming off a long break and we have new arrivals who need to get up to speed. In terms of our transfer comings and goings obviously I was pretty annoyed about the whole Robin van Persie situation. But at the end of the day, there's not a lot else that the club could have done. What it all boils down to is this; either we force him to stay, he's unhappy and he plays badly and we get no money for him at the end, or we cut our losses and get a decent fee and reinvest it in the squad. Its that simple for me. And I'm pleased with our new acquisitions. I think Podolski and Giroud look exciting prospects. Lukas in particular looks like he fits right in and as if he's always been here. Santi Cazorla I think was a master stroke and fits right in with the Arsenal way. Maybe we may bring one more in, possible in defence or defensive midfield, I'd be very happy with that. Otherwise I think we've strengthened well. So while results are important, in an opening fixture its popssible that the performane of the players is more important than the actual score. Its important to get the nerves out of the way and get the team playing together and gelling. Its a long long season and there's plenty of time for spectacular 6-0 wins. Here's hoping that the Arsenal boys are listening. Happy Football season everyone!

Review of the Season

Now I've managed to get over the stress of the final day of the season I'm finally ready to look back over the season. The start was an absolute nightmare, actually nightmare is an understatement for what happend against Manchester United but somehow from the jaws of utter ignominy we managed to snatch some kind of victory. This season kind of summed up what it is to be an Arsenal fan in a small microcosm.

The End of an Era

The word legend is thrown around a lot these days but there are some people who not only deserve it but pretty much embody it. I'm talking of course about the one, the only Pat Rice. Just to put his legendary status into contex here; he's spent 48 years at Arsenal. As a player, youth coach, caretaker manager and assistant manager. And on Sunday he's retiring. It's not going to be the same without him, he's a presence that will genuinely be missed. For a start, he's a consummate professional and unbelievably hard-working, he's out there every game every week kicking ass at pre-match warm ups. He's unbelievably enthusiastic on the touchline always pointing and directing and he's yelling directions near constantly for ninety minutes. Frankly the term assistant doesn't do him justice, him and Arsene they're a team. He's the Dr Watson to Arsene's Sherlock Holmes, the Tonto to his Lone Ranger, the Robin to his Batman, I could go on (and believe me I did, and feel free to join in the comments or tweet me.) And also he's just cool. He rocks his shades like a boss every week. And despite seeming to be a super nice guy, he also seems to be somehow quietly badass. And I'm not ashamed to admit that I'm pretty much his biggest fan. So on Sunday I hope all you gooners out there (and fans of football) join me in saluting Pat Rice for all of his dedication, commitment and sheer love of the game. So raise a glass or put on some shorts (regardless of the weather just like Pat) or something and yell "Thank you Pat!" at your TV.
"Thank you Pat! Sports Wall loves you!"

A point to prove

On Sunday Arsenal played Manchester City at the Emirates. Now most commentators focussed on the fact that if City lost they dropped to 8 points behind Manchester United and the title race was effectively over. But I feel this was missing the point slightly. For all of us Arsenal fans though there was something else. Something more important going on. It was a grudge match. We had a point to prove. Man City had stolen our players, they wrenched Gael Clichy away from the warm embrace of Arsenal and the warming glow of his (frankly epic) bromance with Bacary Sagna. They turned Samir Nasri's head with their filthy lucre. So the match wasn't just about the league. It was about principles, it was about morals, team spirit and earning something against cold, hard cash and success at all costs. So to see our boys, my boys out there playing Man City's billion pound team off the park was particularly sweet. And outplay them they did. Bacary Sagna was excellent, he was absolutley everywhere. The midfield was outstanding, Tomas Rosicky ran the show (woop), Alex Song was as always a total beast and even poor old Yossi who took a lot of flak for starting ahead of golden boy Oxlade Chamberlain played pretty well and worked damn hard. As brilliant as our immense performance was seeing Samir Nasri being completely anonymous his entire time on the pitch. How does that taste now Samir? But honestly aside from being bitter, it was fantastic to see the team bounce back from a small blip last week with not only a great result but an even better performance. Also Andre Santos returned. And promptly gave Mario Balotelli a big old shove, presumably while yelling "BOOM! You've been Andre Santosed!" He's become something of a cult hero with my friend Simon and I largely because he's so hardcore, unpredictable and as Simon so beautifully put it 'terrifying.' Gary neville was once again on a roll this week with his at once withering and hilariously outtraged  ideas on how he would manage Mario Balotelli "I'd just tell him never to tackle. Ever." Then there was the bemusing but strangely amusing sight of two rather mature man City fans fighting over Vincent Kompany's shirt rather than giving it to the younger fan right next to them. I mean I was pleasantly surprised by how ripped Mr Kompany is and I can fully appreciate city fans harbouring a man crush but seriously let the younger fan take the shirt.

RvP Cake

Carrying on the sport's related bakery products theme from last year's Dani Pedrosa victory cookie. Here is the RvP cake that I made on Sunday. Its made with Nutella (because Europe loves nutella) and has the number 11 made with stars in the colours of the Dutch flag. Also it was delicious.

High Five

There was unbridled joy unleashed all around HQ on Sunday. I'll set the scene, Arsenal were coming off a mini-slump a disastrous four nil loss to Milan, a dispiriting two nil defeat to Sunderland in the cup, then we have possibly one of the biggest games of our season looming, and its the derby against our fiercest rivals who are currently-whisper it- above us in the league.

Down the swansea...

Well that was a rather infuriating match. It was one of those days when you just keep screaming at the screen throughout the ninety minutes. It was a game that Arsenal totally should have won. I know many people will say that Swansea played really well today and for some periods of the game its true they did. BUT having said that, it was more a case of us losing that game than them winning it. For a start, that was not a penalty. Not in a million years. Aaron ramsey barely caught him and was then in fact fouled by Dyer in return. Watch it again, you'll see that Dyer clearly stands on Aaron's leg. And to compound Aaron's shocker of a day (seriously its like he was competing to see how many times he could give it away) the second goal was his fault too. He gave the ball away very poorly. Silly boy. While we're on the subject, poor old Yossi had a bit of a nightmare in a bubblecar too as did Andrei Arshavin (again, has he walked under a ladder or something?) So there I believe was the problem, we were carrying three people in midfield (four sometimes, I'm looking at you Theo.) But it wasn't all doom and gloom and forgetting the art of defending. There were some glimmers of goodness amongst the nonsense. Once again, after a great performance at Leeds the other night, Ignasi Miquel (or baby Bambi if you like) was once again brilliant. I've said it before and I'll say it again the calm and assurance he has for a nineteen year old is incredible. Laurent Koscielny was immense at the back throwing himself at everything. And I know I say this all the time and I know I'm slightly (!) biased but Tomas Rosicky was great when he came on, and he really made a difference to the team and the performance. We don't see him as much as I would like but I think today he showed that in terms of an eye for a pass he has TOTALLY still got it. I think most of the boys acquitted themselves well at the end of the game as they were really fighting for it and flinging everything at the Swansea goal but alas it was not to be. So all in all it was a weird inbetween good in some ways bad in others sort of day. Sums up supporting my team really.

More musical madness

More of my 'songs that remind me of famous sports people.' First, Bacary Sagna is dressed as a member of Take That (Howard, as he had dreads at the time) in the video for 'Back for good.' Do you see what I did there? Bac for good. Ha ha. Then Mr Torres makes another appearance this time dressed as Agnetha from Abba. Because they sang 'Fernando.' Yeah I know, sophisticated humour. Then finally, the one and only Guti is dressed as Beyonce in the 'bootylicious' video. Because that song is known as 'gutilicious' in our house.

Revival

Well, it seems the whole season wasn't over after a couple of months after all. The revival of our season continues apace. They were all waitting for it to shudder to a halt when we drew with Fulham but we're not readyy to lie down yet. Oh no. I'm honestly over the moon with the spirit the boys have shown to drag ouur season back kicking and screaming and put together a fantastic run of late. Yesterday's result was a rousing 4-0 defeat of Fulham. The list of goal scorers made for pleasing viewing too with goals coming from all over the park courtesy of super centre half Thomas Vermaelen, centre mid supremo Mikel Arteta, king of the wing Gervinho and of course the man himself. Our very own superhero. The unstoppable RvP. And we are now up to the heady heights of fifth in the table. Yes. You better be looking over your shoulder because we're catching up.
And what about in the league of champions? Well only one English has so far qualified for the knockout stages. The team in question? ARSENAL. Yes. YES. Working together to lead the way people. All of the boys should be very proud of that little fact.
Speaking of facts, I learned some very interesting ones about Andre Santos, a man who is very quickly becoming a cult hero amongst my friends and family. We love the guy. We learned that he drives a green and black smart car (the colours of his first team) is a big fan of Strictly Come Dancing and has apparently taught all of his teammates the dance to his favourite Brazilian record.
And a not so gentle reminder to comment and tweet your votes for my Christmas story, either the grinch or Christmas Carol. Do it! There's not long left to have your say.

A Five Star performance

I think Saturday's game may be the one of the best game i've seen in quite a while. Complete and utter madness but a brilliant game nonetheless. At the end of the first half it seemed like it was going to follow a familiar pattern with us having enjoyed arguably the better chances of the game then falling behind to a goal we should be able to defend better. But then the second half happened. The crazy happened.

Gradual Progress

Very slowly, very quietly, against everyone's expectations Arsenal have gone top of their Champion's League group and back into the top half of the Premier League. I feel a tiny little bit excited but also I don't want to jinx it. Yes yes there are still some issues to be worked on BUT let's focus ont he positives here people, that's what we're all about here at Sports Wall. The confidence of the team is obviously still a little fragile but RvP is in fiiiiine form. In the game against Sunderland he scored two fabulous goals, put in a proper captain's performance and reiterated his commitment to the club in his programme notes. What a guy. Then we have Wednesday's game against Marseille. A solid defensive showing. Yes I'll say that again. A solid defensive showing. The back four actually looked pretty assured. Even Djorou at right back who was out of position. While he was on the pitch Jenkins looked very promising making some lovely, quick little runs down the flank. In both games the boy Chesney has continued to look very confident and assured which is precisely what we need. Tomas Rosicky played very well on Sunday, then played the entire 90 minutes, which is very encouraging. Wednesday's game also spawned our fun new game 'Where's Andre Santos.' Its a lot like 'Where's Wally' and originates in the fact that the commentator mistook Andre Santos for someone (we can't remember precisely who now) who looked absolutley nothing like Andre Santos. So now we like to spot him all over the pitch.

Two steps forward one step back

Well it seemed as if things were going in the right directionn. Firstly we had a three nil victory over Bolton. And in this match something very cool happened. Robin van Persie scored twice which took his total for the club up to 100. Awesome. Then there was the mid-week Olympiakos game. It was a very strange game. On the one hand Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain scored a lovely goal to become the youngest English goalscorer in the Champions League and Andre Santos scored his first goal for the club and Tomas Rosicky was captain. But on the other hand there was some extremely sketchy defending going on leading to the narrowest of escapes with one of their shots cannoning off the crossbar. But still the boys held it out extremely well and above all we were the ONLY English team to win in the Champion's League mid-week. But then the derby happened. A two one loss to Spurs. However, there aare things that must be considered. One: their forst goal was a handball. A clear handball. Again officialdom contrives to rob us. Two: for most of the game we were the better team. And that is a very important thing to keep in mind. The level of performance was much improved and we still have important players on the sidelines. Also  Francis Coquelin played very well in the centre of midfield. The boy has potential. It always seems like I'm saying the same thing after these results but I really do beleive its impoortant to find the positives. Because that's what being a football fan is. You don't just give up when its difficult, that's not how it works. When your team is struggling you just have to scream and cheer a little louder and with a little more feeling. You get behind them because if you don't, you shouldn't have been there in the first place. Because if you really love your team you can't just switch that off.

Feeling Defensive

Well I think its fair to say, I did not see this weekend's result coming. I know things weren't exactly going to plan so far this season but four three at Blackburn was not something I would have predicted. However, this isn't going to be a sad, moping post. I didn't feel as despondent after this game as I did after the game we shall never speak of again. The thing about the Blackburn game was that the performance of the team was not reflected in the scoreline. It was a weird fluke of a scoreline. The first major thing to point out is that Yakubu's second goal was offside. Shouldn't have counted. Then we must also consider that Alex Song can't be blamed too much and castugated for his own goal as he knew absolutely nothing about it before it hit him, and it did just hit him, he didn't direct it or anything it just rebounded off him. Poor Laurent Koscielny's own goal was still horrific mind you. And one more thing, Theo Walcott should have got a penalty at the end of the game when Paul Robinson rushed out and took him down. Accuse me of bias all you want but there is no way on earth that if that was down the other end it wouldn't have been given. But its not all doom and gloom, there were plus points in there somewhere. For a start Mikel Arteta and Gervinho scored their first league goals for us and Marouane Chamakh scored his first goal in months. Also the boys responded admirably to going behind and fought back very well. The last five or ten minutes they threw absolutely everything they had at the Blackburn goal and were literally inches off an equaliser and given the amount of chances we had within the game we could conceivably have won the match. And at least there was some good news mid-week with some of our babies putting in some lovely cameos to secure a three-one win over Shrewsbury. Yes they scored first. Yes they're a couple of leagues below us but a win is a win.

Nightmare

Well Sunday's match was just a total disaster. I don't think I've been quite that upset at a football match for quite a while. I could have cried by the end. When Robin missed his penalty and just sank to his knees in the box, it just broke my heart. Seeing poor Jenkins get sent off was brutal. I know a lot of people are saying that we never expected to get anything out of the game anyway but I'm an insanely optimistic and devoted fan and there's always a part of me that thinks they can win every game, no matter what the circumstances so there was absolutely no way I saw anything like that coming. Its unbelievably difficult to find positives from a situation like that but you can look at it and see reasons. I mean let's be fair to the boys here, we had 8 players missing. That's more than half a team. Any team in the world would struggle in a big game with that many injuries and suspensions. Plus many people are saying that with that many players out Arsene should have set his team up differently and shouldn't have tried to outplay them, should have been more defensive. But how? What would this different set up be? What would this magical defensive solution be? The only experienced players he had left were all attacking players so obviously he went for an attacking set up. They slagged him off for using kids but ignore the fact that if he did go for this magic defensive strategy he would have had to use more kids. So before we all go crazy with knee jerk negativity lets all just remember that we've only played THREE games this season. There's plenty of time left of the season.

It never rains but it pours....

Here we go again. There I was thinking a new season means a new start, perhaps the unfairness of last season will pass. Clearly I was wrong. They're starting early this year. Robbed again. Sometimes it's really hard to take defeat, sometimes you get yelly and want to swear a lot. This happened to me on Saturday. But sometimes you can keep a sense of perspective, sometimes you think there were mitigating facors. This also happened to me after I calmed down on Saturday. At first I was raging, fist-shaking mad you might say. Not only was the lead up to the first goal offside, not only was the second goal offside but robin got shoved over in the box in a move that literally anywhere else would have been a penalty. So it was very easy to get very upset about the result. But my Dad lovely as he is, said to me 'look, you need to keep this in perspective.' And he was right. As usual. We were missing more than half a team on Saturday. Wilshere injured, Song suspended, Gervinho suspended, Tomas Rosicky injured, Kieren Gibbs injured, Djourou injured, Koscielny goes off during the game. That many players were missing and yet we weren't outplayed by a pretty much full stength liverpool side complete with new signings. We only conceded after we'd had a man sent off. Both goals were offside. So when you start to look at all these things, it all adds up and it all makes sense. And lets not overlook some encouraging performances. Vermaelen: easily man of the match, absolutley immense, as I said last week, he's turning into one hell of a player. Frimpong, until a silly red, he was looking handy, making good runs. The boy Chesney, once again nicely confident and assured. As my lovely grandad put it "that goalkeeper's having a good day." And Ignasi 'Bambi' Miquel, looks ridiculously assured for teenager. Calm and unflappable, apart from his hair. So let's not get carried away with knee jerk  reactions of negativity, let's just wait and see what happens.
Oh and here's angry Arsene to accompany the post. I've been doodling some ideas recently so keep an eye out for more of these little guys coming your way.
As always comments and tweets @moleyontheline are very welcome. Seriously, go ahead.