All posts tagged Nasri

Preview: West Ham vs Arsenal

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I have been so busy lately that I haven’t got the time to watch any Arsenal matches this month. Arsenal’s performance has been great this season so far and for me … every coming game is a big game for Arsenal because we need to keep going on with consistency. Arsenal’s current position on the league table is 4th with 18 points and 2 games in hand as compared to the table leaders Chelsea who are standing up there with 24 points.

We’re very much in the league and all the games that Arsenal play have to be won in order to stay in the ‘title race.’ We have a clash between Liverpool and Manchester United today, which is going to be a thriller and I will go with Liverpool because of two reasons. Firstly, being an Arsenal fan I’m going to naturally favor Liverpool over Manchester United. Secondly if Liverpool wins, ManU is not going to be at the top of the table losing 3 important points. Even if the game is going to end up in a draw … I’ll be glad since ManU will again end up losing 2 important points.

Okay back to the West Ham vs Arsenal game. I am really eager to see Nasri back in the squad, because I feel he can give that further acceleration to the side. It would be amazing to see Arshavin, Fabregas, Nasri and Rosicky in the midfield… just imagine the deadly combination! Okay … I’m off for now … too excited to watch the match .. just can’t wait!!

Review: Arsenal vs Manchester United (5th May 2009) – Emirates Stadium – Semi Final (UEFA Champions League)

A lot was expected and promised with the Arsenal fans for today’s match by Arsene Wenger and the players. The fans were asked to be at the Emirates Stadium and give a Volcanic reception. Arsenal was to give a fight back that Manchester United couldn’t have sustained. Arsenal didnt even prepared for the penalties, since Arsene Wenger boasted to be so confident that Manchester United sounded like a they would not do anything.

Well to start off with a basic analysis, for the first 5 minutes Arsenal looked to score and it seemed that the game might go to the penalities if Arsenal doesn’t win it straight off. Just three minutes after that, Van Der Sar’s goal kick landed in the Arsenal danger zone and Christiano Ronaldo’s cross went straight in to the path of Park Ji Sung because Gibbs was unable to clear the ball since he slipped. GOAL – Manchester United. After that, Arsenal’s free flowing football did not come out that well since the pressure of scoring three goals to go through was building up on them. 

 

Park Ji Sung Taking the Shot

Park Ji Sung Taking the Shot

 

 

In the 11th minute, Ronaldo scored on a 41-yard free kick again, and Arsenal’s dreams of going to Rome for the Champions League Final went down the drain. All the supporters looked upset since the game was almost over. Honestly, I did lost interest at that time because I didn’t know what to do. But still I managed to watch the complete match, knowing that Arsenal was not able to create any chances and now actually they had to score 4 goals to go through. The seats were getting empty at the Emirates Stadium, and all the fans started to return home upset by the game their team couldn’t even sustain. 

In the second half, I did try to keep myself glued to the couch because I convinced myself to watch this game as just another football match, and it started looking better. But on the 61st minute.. Boom!!! 3rd Goal!! 3-) to Manchester United. What a counter attack… there was no one to defend? And what the hell was Djourou doing?  He let ronaldo take the shot and didn’t even try to slide in or atleast block him one way or they other? Poor defending really!

Arsenal did score in the 75th minute from a penalty, that was earned by a red-card challenge by Fletcher on Fabregas. The final score Arsenal 1  - 3 Manchester United. Manchester United goes through with 4 aggregate goals and will face either Chelsea or Barcelona in the Final in Rome. Thousands of empty seats could be seen when Wenger shook hands with Ferguson. At the end of the day, all I can say is well played Manchester United, and they really did. They were quick, fast, determined and they knew they had to score, unlike our superb striker Mr. Emmanuel Adebayor!

Even though this team is young and there is a long way to go, but my question to all the Arsenal supporters out there is that when we are trophy-less since the past 4 seasons, do you think it would be easy to hold on to our star players when other clubs come in with great offers? Now expect to see a few big names leave the club this season, and a few new young ones in the team when the next season starts. Do leave your comments and subscribe to my blog to get further updates on new posts.

A Gunner For Life!

Arsenal vs Manchester Utd. (2nd Leg) Emirates Stadium – Only a few hours to go!

Only a few hours to go before one of the biggest match at the Emirates Stadium is about to kick off between Arsenal and Manchester United. Manchester United won the first leg, and the match was unexpectedly one sided as Arsenal failed to make a mark at Old Trafford on 29th April 2009. Although the Gunners were fortunate to only lose by 1-0 as Man Utd. did waste a lot of chances that could have most certainly knocked Arsenal out of the competition. A lot is expected out of Arsenal tonight, and all the fans are back and ready to support the club. Even the Arsenal players, specifically Samir Nasri have called the fans to be very strong in their support when Manchester United visit the Emirates Stadium tonight. Arsene Wenger has also mentioned that Arsenal has not practiced for the penalties tonight, which should mean we are prepared to beat them with a atleast a 2 goal difference!    

Uefa Champions League
 

Arsenal is going to go in the match as underdogs after the 1-0 defeat at the Old Trafford and they need to balance their attacking options with effective defending. Glad to know that Van Persie is back for today’s game but Sylvestre is injured and is out because of a groin problem. According the my understanding, the following is the team that is going to start today’s game from the Arsenal squad:

Almunia

Sagna – Toure –  Djourou – Gibbs

Eboue – Fabregas – Song – Nasri

Van Persie – Adebayor

  I’m signing off now wishing we can pull it off tonight and beat Manchester Utd. with a good goal difference!! Nothing beats that! Fingers crossed! Goodluck to all the Gunners out there! Hail the Gunners!