He's Five Foot Fo-ou-ur! His Mates Are Not Much Bigger…
Sep 29th, 2009 by 'holic
Anybody out there play golf? Ever had one of those days where you are hitting the ball as sweet as a nut, but cannot buy a putt? Then, just when you are ready to break the putter over your knee you hole one, and the world is a different place. Fourteen men felt just that at the Grove tonight.
Football matches are not won in twenty, or forty, or sixty minutes, but ninety. Arsene Wenger faced serious questions after the break tonight. He needed to change something, anything, but his options were limited not just by injuries, but by the fact that only one of the side tonight was playing poorly. Without a big man to bring on he turned into Snow White, and put his trust in the little fellas.
In the biggest competition of them all, the key players were the smallest. For the first-half of the game we were treated to the return to form of the one and only Cesc Fabregas. What a stunning sight it was too. He coaxed, cajoled, prompted, even came close to a spectacular opener, only to be denied by the woodwork.
This was a masterclass from the Arsenal skipper, matched only by the performance of the grey-haired Nikopolidis in the Olympiacos goal. Watching from the other end, the redundant Mannone must have got an inkling of what it must have been like watching himself at Fulham on Saturday as his opposite number stopped everything thrown at him. Arshavin, Rosicky, Fabregas, and van Persie were all denied more than once.
Yet if Fabregas caught the eye in the opening half, there could be no doubt that Arshavin was the star of the show in the second. Often criticised for not providing much in the way of cover the little Russian appeared to be everywhere as the visitors grew in confidence, albeit fittingly.
The unlucky Rosicky and the woeful Diaby were withdrawn. Hi-ho, hi-ho, it was time for two more little ones, Eduardo and Vela, and a 4-4-2 formation was claimed by a witless commentator, ignorant of the fact that Arshavin doubled his already considerable efforts.
Finally the breakthrough arrived, with Fabregas and Eduardo burrowing deep into the Greek defence to set up van Persie for another crucial strike with just twelve minutes left on the clock. Four minutes from time it was the turn of Arshavin to benefit from a Fabregas pass and the impudently backheeled second goal added a sense of realism to the scoreline that made more sense of Arsenal’s statistical domination on the night.
A draw in the other group fixture between Alkmaar and Liege means we are off to the perfect start, five points clear of the third and fourth placed teams in the group. Early qualification is desirable given the Premiership fixtures that follow our last two group fixtures are Chelsea at home, and Liverpool away.
Although of course by that time another of Arsene’s dwarfs may be back. What price Samir Nasri returning to play Happy as Arsenal gear up for the Panto season?
42 Responses to “He's Five Foot Fo-ou-ur! His Mates Are Not Much Bigger…”
I’m just happy to see Cesc back on form, hopefully he can stay fit and push on from here.
Great patience today and we got our reward late on. Lets hope we can crack on and beat blackburn on Sunday. Great to see Rosicky back and I thought Eboue did ok aswell. Diaby needs to be more assertive and put his stamp on the game.
A welcome return of the Arsenal we know and love. I think that warrants a large Ardbeg please Mr. ‘holic.
actually by his standards diaby wasn’t half bad but this looks like our perfect team but nasri will come instead of diaby
Please, ‘holic, could you publish a precis in large print. Just askin’
Your first ten words are the only match report required, eie. I had to think long and hard about how to mention Diaby tonight. I don’t want him to become the fashionable figure to boo, I think he has something, but not consistently producing it is a problem, and one we probably cannot afford to indulge for much longer.
Diaby – consistency is all I ask.
The second goal appeared off side…
‘woeful diaby’ what game were you watching mate. all our team had gd games, fabregas,song,van p and arshavin were the standouts but diaby was solid, he tracked back, won the ball started attacks and stayed generally in midfield with song, i know for sure but cant wait until diaby proves you wrong and quite a few others who are jumping on his back, instead of encouraging him and supporting him as we should us fans, for some reason you slate him for not being gd enough, only one person knows if hes gd enough and thats why your writing a blog and he is manager of the greatest team in the world, opinions are opinions and everyones entitled to one, but he is our player a player that for the first time has a run of games under his belt and not just 2 or 3 and then another niggly injury, just when the time comes admit you were wrong about him and that he is a very gd player that can grow into a world class player if yes if he finds consistency, for once lets have a go at supporting the team and not just picking out someone and slating them because wenger hasnt spent, up the arsenal mate, OOH2BAGOONER
…and a big heh for xyzzy!
I LOVE ARSENAL.
How’s that?
Alot of small players..Arshavin, Fabregas, Rosicky, Nasri, Vela, Walcott, Eduardo, Wilshere. But can United, Liverpool and maybe even Chelsea put as many naturally talented creative players on the field in the top 5/6 positions. I dont believe so
Woah, Pete, chill.
You don’t come here often, do you?
I’ll do anything I can to be positive, and Diaby at his best is much needed in this squad, but look at tonight’s game again. See how many times we surrender possession cheaply, and how many times tonight it was by the same player.
It wasn’t his night, and he has had a few displays like that, which at a time when he has a chance to establish himself as a regular with Nasri and Denilson injured is not good. With more consistency he would have something to offer.
Song was a mountain, those little clever fouls he committed were perfect, always breaking up play, but not giving away a free-kick. Eboue was good too, strong in the air and in the tackle.
Diaby and Clichy had their moments, but on the whole were good.
Up the Arse and on to League.
Actually Xabier, I agree that Song was good tonight, but the guys that made the difference were Cesc and Arshavin. They have not been at their best for a while, and deserve the praise.
diaby played realy well today as every body and diaby is not the only person who loses possession andrei, tomas and song deliverd more unsuccessful passes then diaby also diaby intercepted quite a number of times and created alot of chances andrei’s first shot on goal was assissted by diaby.. give credit where its due fgs and please try to judge the players neutraly not influenced with blind hate and based upon previous performances
please try to judge the players neutraly not influenced with blind hate
You don’t visit here very often either, do you? 🙁
instead of heaping praises on vp11 we should pray 4him. the guy is good,we luv him but the biggest reason he’s having problems scoring is because he has problems making decisions, takes too much time thinking what to do wit the ball.i’m glad he scored but God knows if he were drogba or rooney we’d hv scored @least 4.
he was our highest scorer last yr wit a meagre 11league goals but so was ade d season b4 wit a handsom 24 &we know wat stil happend
I only saw about 40 minutes of the game, 20 each side of the half time whistle but I thought Diaby was industrious. He was well positioned to get the ball back a few times and always available to move the ball about going forward. Not exactly Xavi but he was doing his job.
I think the fella suffers immeasurably because of the yin-yang of his performances. We have all seen him play and thought he could be the greatest thing ever if he played that way every week, a proper nuisance to both opposition attacks and defenses but often he disappears from games and is slack with his passing, positioning and tracking back. This is the two Diabys of last season, two that have been noticable in this one two. But in the past couple games people haven’t really been able to figure out this 7/10 guy. He was solid and reliable against Wigan, he was solid and reliable against Fulham, he seemed solid and reliable in all that I saw tonight. Nothing remarkable came from his displays.
Add this new feeling to being in a fluctuating bathos midfield and a pathological need to find weak parts in the Arsenal team (‘holic doesn’t do this; a large proportion of our fans do though) and Diaby comes off making people feel uncertain about his place, especially in a team where no-one really deserves vitriol (Almunia, a common scapegoat, is out and Clichy is getting back to form/a fan favourite personality).
goonerholic does this blog obey the law of freedom of speech?? you seem to be trying to impose you idea like a bully
Diaby was good today and Eboue was one of our better players. Please give credit where credit is due. Lets be honest AA was not that good and his goal was off side. Please lets us stop being bias and give the players credit when it’s due them.
arshavin and fabregas deserve most of the praise for that victory no doubt about it, but did anyone else notice that song didnt stop running all match and also i was really impressed wiv eboue. Sagna might have some competition there!
btw to all of the people who r complaining about arshavins goal being offside i will say this, if arshavin can dazzle the ref and linesman so much with his astounding finishing that they dont see the offside then he deserves the goal!
pete diaby wasn’t as bad as he usually is and i’m glad, but when he gets to that level you think he is we’l all eat our words &celebrate him, so if he’s your friend you could help pass d msg, we dnt hate him, afterall he’s our boy. rather we are waiting 4him to prove he deserves a place in our team &our hearts
&yes arshavin was offside but i guess the officials tot it’d be a shame to disallow such a classic goal
does this blog obey the law of freedom of speech??
More than most. Don’t abuse other posters. Don’t abuse the management and players without being able to explain yourself in plain English, and don’t get me in trouble with the law is all I ask.
No bullying here. 🙂
Samuel, great last paragraph. Thanks for dropping by, mate.
spot on uk
Tonight reminded me of a couple of seasons ago when most teams arrived with a ‘park the bus and hit ’em on the break’ mentality.
Tough to break down if well organised and frustrating to watch.
As for Diaby, he wasn’t at his best tonight, I put that down to a Fulham hangover where everyone was below par. Also, I reckon he’s more suited to a faster, more open game instead of the patient game we ended up playing this evening.
Strong continental larger please ‘holic.
Hey ‘holic,
I emailed you earlier, at the ‘gooner(at)goonerholic.com’ email address. Is that address up and running?
What is all this tosh about jumping on players backs and not getting behind the team just because people voice an opinion? I have just got back from the game and heard nothing but a vocal and encouraging crowd. Just because someone voices an opinion does not mean that they want them shot at dawn.
I thought at times tonight we were sublime. Some fantastic movement, but we were not clinical enough in front of goal. I do not know what the final stats were, but we need to make more of so many chances.
I have said it numerous times on here and I will say it again. We play too narrow. When we play teams that have the sole intention of sticking 10 behind the ball we make it easier by not playing with any width. Take a look at the first goal. Your words Holic…..
“Finally the breakthrough arrived, with Fabregas and Eduardo burrowing deep into the Greek defence to set up van Persie for another crucial strike .”
What you have missed is the fact that for the first time in the match, when Cesc broke forward is that he had someone out wide. (Vela). This gave the full back problems. Does he go with Euardo or push out towards Vela? This uncertainty creates the space for Eduardo and the rest is history. When we have been narrow the options are cut and therefore the space was not there.
Just for the record I did not think Diaby was that great tonight. Nor Song. Both give the ball away far too much for my liking. In my opinion neither are of the required standard just yet. Will that change? I have no idea but I sincerely hope so.
Most of the star performers have already been mentioned by others but I would also like to add Eboue to the list. Thought he was outstanding tonight.
A good performance and a good three points. Now let us do the same to Blackburn but be a tad sharper in front of goal.
Keep the faith.
fredster,
I have responded. Thanks for your mail, and I hope I have explained myself well?
Steve, welcome back. I’m not convinced we are too narrow, but I take your point about Eboue tonight. Unlike you though I was impressed with Song. He did his job well, broke up play without attracting the hostility of the referee, which was quite something, bearing in mind he was guilty of a couple of fouls that were necessary, but ‘professional’ in nature 😉
On another night that game would’ve been sealed by half time. Spot on will all the appraisals Goonerholic. Special mention to Clichy for me who played like he hasn’t in a while. Nice to have the Gael of old back. Keep it up son.
Some touches by the li’l Czech wizard were exquisite and when firing on all cylindars I think we’ll hace some long range goals back in the side (Robin, I’m looking at you!). After so long out you’ be forgiven for forgetting how good wee Tomas actually is.
Holic,
If you get the chance, take a look at the game again and look for width. If we play wide it is laboured. One of the reasons for making the move to The Grove was for a wider pitch. But we do not play with a winger. I would love to find another Overmars etc etc. Even when Henry was here he would terrorise people out wide and therefore pull defences apart. This created the extra space. I would just love to see someone who was a genuine winger break down the line at pace. I honestly think it would cause chaos.
You mention the ref. I also thought he did well tonight to let the game flow in an unfussy way. Be nice to see a few of those in the Premiership.
we are on song now!
always love your pieces! forever beautifully crafted and peppered with brilliant lines all over! keep going!
I rated Diaby’s performance tonight more highly than ‘Holic did, but taking shots at our venerable blogger, after a string of top-shelf posts and good-humored banter going back a few years now, is beyond the pale.
Hi Guys, I am a very merry goonerholic from Malaysia. Dropped by this site from goonernews. Sad to say, i do not have the opportunity to watch live arsenal games at highbury/emirates like most of you do but i have been chanting with support back from home on live tv.
The game vs olympiakos yesterday was by far one of the best games ive seen arsenal performed since god knows when. The team was filled with confidence and you can feel that most of them are trying to impress the manager to play them as we have a very very strong bench as well.
I certainly do not agree about the comment on Diaby. Imo, he played really well but only lacks the ability in the air despite his height. But one thing is for sure, we won the game last night because nicklas bendtner wasnt playing.
Talking about losing possesion? Bendtner. Talking about not tracking back? Bendtner. Talking about size, height? Bendtner never win balls and never gets hold of them. He should be thrown right on top just to pick up lose balls and planting them to the net if the manager still considers of playing him.
I have no offence on bendtners supporters but seriously, if the gunners doesnt perform this season with a bronzewear, please blame it on bendtner. Oh ya, i was wondering, who would wanna but his shirt.
Thoroughly agree with you ‘holic. I think Diaby has the ability, it’s just not showing through consistently right now.
I remember watching Song last season and thinking, ‘What the f’s he doing?’ Now look at him. He was magnificent again last night.
All I ask is that Diaby turns out the same as Song now that he has his chance of an extended run in the team.
Eboue had another good game as did everyone else. Our only disappointment was not being able to get the ball past their goalie. What a game he had! Let’s hope he retires soon!
Watched the game last night and I think all the players did play well. But at a stage I was getting frustrated abt our chances of scoring but kept on believing. Am really happy rosicky is back. Arshavin did well too. Cant wait for nasri to be back, really luv to see play again. Gunners 4 life. From nigeria
I feel Arsenal for all the domination and goal shots, they aint clinical enough. That’s what separates a good from a great side.
I’m afraid Arsenal for all the stats in their favour could be caught. When the gunners attack broke down,the Greeks were very swift. Against a better team the gunners could have been undone.
This is food for tought for AW.
I managed to watch the game first, live on tv then a rerun on ATV online. Diaby had a good game…he gave the ball away a few times but nothing alarming. I would say considering his recent performances, last night would suggest he is on the up, so give time and support….i have always believed that he will come good. Song by far had a blinder….nothing passed him and has been pointed out, he ran for the entire 90+ minutes, always hurrying and bustling the opposition. Cesc had a great game, his passing was incisive like the sweet curry we have all come to expect from him..but he is still not in form. nothing said about RVp, had a good game and took his goal well….long my it continue.
contrary to most I dont think AA had an exceptionally great game….he is easing into form after his injury.However his direct running at opponents was back even though sometimes he pushed the ball a little too far ahead of him. His work rate was definitely more compared to the weekend and I would expect that his performances will be on the up from now on….Blackburn must be having nightmares at the thought of facing him considering last year.
It is difficult to say which one had more bearing in the score remaining 0-0 until late on between our finishing and the keeper playing a blinder. I thought the keeper was outstanding. I also though Cesc could have done better with one shot in the first half and RVP with one that Ebuoe laid to him after which he hacked that bloke down….there is always room for improvement and I cant wait to see us purring again come the weekend
Also, this is one of the best arsenal blogs….probably after Arseblog and ACLF
Morning ‘holic. Refreshing morning fruit juice for me mate (I know….lightweight)!!
Wow, a really interesting and diverse range of coments prompted by your analysis of the game.
I personally fall largely in the camp of Steve T’s analysis. Yes, for a long time I have felt we need to play wider (a vacany which Walcott would usually fill so perhaps could have benefitted from his craft had he been fit) especially when the opposing team parks the bus. Diaby I thought had a pretty good game tbh. Yes, he continues to be a bit of an enigma, as well as being consistently inconsistent, but his overall game imo is definitely improving. One to go in the file marked ‘patient development’ methinx.
Other than that, I agree with everything else that has been said. Cesc is looking sharper and brighter, as is AA and a very special shout to Eboue – a player I can proudly declare I have always supported even when the naysayers were constantly getting on his back. Nice to see RvP hitting the back of the net and overall a superb team display.
NB. I’m bemused by the vitriol aimed at ‘holic. Why? This is an excellent blog accomodating a broad range of opinions about Arsenal – please don’t spoil it!
Good stuff, ‘Holic. Upbeat, positive and amusing as almost always. Arsenal played well against a fair Greek team. It wasn’t championship winning stuff, but it was a win, there were some very good performances and there seems to be a good spirit in the team.
Whether Diaby played well, poorly or otherwise on the night isn’t of epic importance. What is (at least for him) is that this is likely to be a make or break season. Arsene Wenger appears committed to give him an extended run and every chance to prove himself over the length of the season. I hope he does. The alternative is likely to be new pastures for him.
A couple of years ago, I hoped that Fabregas, Denilson and Diaby would emerge as one of the great mid-field trios. I think two of the three will get there, but Song, Ramsey or Wilshere seem more likely to stamp their names in the long term memory.
For me, Diaby has been a passenger for much of this season. That the team is going well is testament to the contribution of the other ten. Step it up, Abou. I do believe you have it in you. I hope you fulfill all of the promise in these big boots.
Chateau Lafitte 1924 please, barman, and a glass for mon ami Escargot, s’il vous plait.
Wise wise ‘Holic is now mastering the art of controversy and it pays (in comments at least). Yesterday was such a wonderful day.
I don’t disagree with Steve T but I think our biggest problem is that we’re too flat going forward which is easier to defend against. The 3 strikers are often on the offside line and the 2 attacking midfielders offer very little depth by pushing forward too close to the strikers. We stop playing triangles as soon as we close in towards the goal. And we have very little coverage in midfield as a result, no wonder Song was exhausted towards the end.
This strategy won’t fly against better teams, a good defense will contain 5 players on a line/very narrow band without too many problems and Song won’t be able to break all the counter-attacks by himself.
Luckily we have a hell of a team that can compensate for tactical weaknesses.
One last thing: I know it’s hard for Almunia but I hope that Manonne gets the nod at least as long as he doesn’t ship a goal. Either he’s the real deal or Almunia needs to feel uncomfortable for a bit, he’s been somewhat too complacent in his last games.
I just can’t resist: Pascal Cygan is an Invincible.
Read that again: Pascal Cygan is an Invincible.
Now what were you saying about Diaby?
Heh!
Wasn’t being deliberately controversial, Matt, and actually the stick above is just one guy posting under a variety of names, so I guess I can sleep safe for another few nights.
Let me be absolutely clear. I rate Diaby at his best very highly. If he can add consistency to his best then we have a proper footballer on our hands.
Consistent he ain’t yet! In his defence he has been asked to play out on the left hand side a lot, and that is not a role he will ever master.
Apparently Nicklas Bendtner won’t trust him with new brake pads again, either.
My apologies ‘Holic, I should clearly have pointed out I meant my last blurb as a tongue-in-cheek comment. I have trolled here long enough, I hope you do know you’re my favourite blogger by now 😉
Of course I’m sure that you still remember Cygan but I don’t know that the ones hurling epithets at the “Arsenal-scapegoat-of-the-month” understand that all the 30 players in a team can’t be the best footballers in the world.
And honestly a little bit of spice doesn’t hurt, it’s good to read so many comments defending one of our boys!
I’m afraid it’s too late BtM but in case it’s not would you mind saving a glass of that 1924 Chateau Laffite for me?