Manchester City Review: We Were A Clear And Present Danger

From the moment Mike Dean wrapped his thin lips around his whistle and blew for kick-off at the Etihad Stadium yesterday till he blew it again to end the game after ninety minutes, we looked good for a result against City. No mean feat considering City is the defending champion and was playing in front of their home fans on a turf they have won 29 of their last 31 games and drew 2 on.

We showed no fear as we took control of the midfield early on and stopped Yaya Toure and Javi Garcia from getting any modicum of grip on that area of the field. Difficult to remember what Silva contributed to the game other than taking corner kicks, one of which Lescott scored from. Even when we went a goal down, we kept our heads up and kept plugging away with the belief that we were the better side on the day and deserved to get a result out of the game and that belief paid off eventually.

Preview Manchester City | Up Against A Financial Doper

I have no doubt that this afternoon's opponents, Manchester City presents us with our toughest test in this new season for a number of reasons;  they are the current champions, the game is in their own backyard and they are known to employ financial dope to improve their performance on the pitch. In fact it's a game that we can't complain about if we come out with a draw and a win will be considered a massive result.

Liverpool away was a tough test in its own way but they are not the league champions and they are a team in transition, struggling for consistency while trying to adapt to a new football philosophy being taught by a new manager. We exploited that vulnerability effectively.

Watch Arsene Wenger Press Conference Pre-Manchester City Game

wengmcpre by arsenalist

Jack Is Back | City Away Is Up Next | Some Startling Stats

Jack is back! Good news doesn't come better than this, does it? After one full year out of the Arsenal squad he resumed full training on Thursday. Yeah, I know it's a bit too early to get my hopes up considering that he's still a couple of weeks away from any attempt at full action but the first huddle has been crossed? It's expected that he will be eased back into the team gradually with some cameo appearances when eventually the manager deems him ready to play. One year out of the game is no joke so a bit more patience, guys and the man boy that English football is currently relying on for a return to glory will be ready for selection once again.

Watch Wenger Interview Pre-Man City

wengintmc by arsenalist

Eyeball To Eyeball, Montpellier Blinked | And Mary Had A Li'l Girl On The Day

Montpellier 1 -Arsenal 2

We've never lost a game in France. Before yesterday's win at Montpellier we had won four and drawn one. Yesterday took it to five wins and one draw as the team showed a reluctance to change the trend even if it was the French champions we were playing.

Away At Montpellier | Steve Bould Takes The Reins

The team is in France today for our first Champions League game of the season. Steve Bould will be taking charge in the absence of Wenger who will be starting a three match touchline ban for being naughty. Bould will be in charge on the sidelines and is not allowed to communicate with Wenger for the duration of the match according to Uefa rules and I really do wonder if these rules are not circumvented considering the amount of technologies available to us today for covert communications.

Wenger Is Excited About Our Team Play

Dear Arsenal supporter,

I was delighted with the high level of our performance on Saturday, especially in the first half.

We had a good combination of pace, speed in our passing, quick combinations, and the movement was excellent. We were a bit lucky as well because Southampton conceded two own goals, but overall I think it was another step forward from what we showed at Liverpool.

Hitting Southampton For Six

Arsenal 6 - Southampton 1

After the first two games of this season against Sunderland and Stoke City, when we did not score a single goal, I must admit I started to wonder where our goals were going to come from this season. I mean, we had sold the most prolific striker in the premiership during the summer and brought in three players with a lot of promise that on paper made us look a much better team than we were last term but after both games, it looked like it was going to be a while before the team will gel as a unit and start delivering on that promise.

Preview Southampton | Giroud's Duck Breaking Day?

It's match day at last and am I glad it is? After a two week international break I have developed all the withdrawal symptoms of a junkie -anxiety, dilated pupils, agitation, goose bumps, sweating, yawning. Have to seriously start considering rehab.

Our opponents today is Southampton FC, the team that gave us Walcott and  The Ox. Southampton was relegated to the Championship in 2005 after playing in the top flight for 27 consecutive years. In 2009 they were again relegated to League 1. That seemed to be the spur they needed to knuckle down as they gained back-to-back promotion to find themselves back in the Premiership after spending one year in the third tier of English football guided by their new manager, Nigel Adkins.

The Arsenal Way

The international break has deprived us of watching the Arsenal for a whole week now but thankfully it's just a few more days to go before we get back on track.

I am the type of Arsenal junkie that trolls all types of internet media for news, opinions, editorials etc for anything Arsenal related. I came across this video below in the course of my travails and I thought it was worth sharing.

It's a Gooner's story told without words. It shows our griefs, our pains, our triumphs, our joys and more.

It tells the story of our way -The Arsenal Way.

Enjoy

 

Follow on Twitter @naijaendgooner

Sagna! The Next Saga Begins

Doesn't understand all the faffing around going on here

Bacary Sagna's interview with L'Equipe yesterday caused quite a stir amongst the faithful and rightly so. It had a theme that we've become familiar with over the past couple of years. A theme that usually culminates in the subject exiting the club sooner than later.

Just to be clear, Sagna did not say anything different from what Arsenal fans, football pundits and any followers of the Premiership for that matter have not said in the past few years. Each answer to the questions that was posed was an understatement.

Liverpool Vs Arsenal -Wenger's View

Wenger: 'We were dominant in midfield'

Dear Arsenal supporter,

I was very pleased with the quality of our performance at Liverpool, both offensively and defensively.

In our first two games we showed some potential but we lacked spark going forward and we are getting that now. It was a good win, there is strong potential in this squad and a positive energy. That is something we can build on.

In Arsene We Trust?

Not fussed if #AFC don't sign any1.i will still support the ppl that pull on that shirt every match day. #InWengerWeTrust #deadlineday
— Michael Fenton (@goonermike86) August 31, 2012

After a frustrating night, spent watching the clock with nothing to show for it, I made a decision to be happy. You should too.

Tiote didn't happen! Neither did Michael Essien -he ended up at Real Madrid. Neither did Dempsey -he's a Spud now.

Transfer Window D-Day |

NEWS: Walcott is staying put! Winger will stay at Arsenal this week after reaching a short-term arrangement with the club. #AFC
— AFC Followers (@AFC_Followers) August 29, 2012

There is something terribly, terribly wrong with the way we handle business at Arsenal. It's deadline day today and we are scrambling around the floors of the market with the hope of picking up crumbs and bargains after letting two of our best players go -just like we did last summer. It's deadline day and we are still fooling around with Theo Walcott and his contract extension.

A Case For Song To Be Kept| And Robin, You're Not Arsenal's No 1 Fan!

Despite Song's statement two days ago that though he's aware of the interest from Barcelona, he's happy at Arsenal and Wenger following up shortly with that crack about Spanish newspapers, the Song to Barcelona rumours are not going away. Word on the streets today is that the Barcelona representatives arrived London this morning to close the deal.

This Week At Arsenal, Ferguson And Barca Stoked The Fire Of Hate

Look at them. They worshiped you. You can make them love you again...

The week started really well with the club's confirmation of what we had known for a number of days -the signing of Santi Cazorla. Before the cheers died down, Ferguson from over at United rekindled the flames of our hatred for United as he publicly acknowledged United's pursuit of Robin Van Persie, declaring that he does not know "why Arsenal is operating this way", having met the hopefully stiff resistance of the club to sell its best player to a historic enemy. And then the marauders in Spain started tapping up Alex Song.

Watch Cazorla's First Interview At Arsenal And His Photoshoot

Cazorla Is A Gooner! Arsenal Are In Decline My Arse

"Arsenal are in decline". That's the latest tirade from no other than Alisher Usmanov, the pouting second largest shareholder of Arsenal FC. In an interview published yesterday by Russia's Forbes magazine and only a few weeks after he rode on the back of RVP's infamous statement to criticize the club's hierachy, Usmanov went further to declare,

"We do not consider just qualifying for the Champions League to be the chief ambition of the club, and with all our hearts we support the team and wish them well for the new season.Victory is absolutely not ruled out, but the current politics of the club's management will leave Arsene Wenger and his team with fewer and fewer opportunities in the long run..."

After the RVP debacle when he made public his letter to the board, there was much criticism of his timing, with many accusing him of opportunism but quite a number of fans agreed with what he had to say especially as regards "...the players themselves questioning their future at the club and the club's ambitions".

Watch Mo Farah Training At Arsenal Grounds