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Nasr09  
Division 1 Rookie
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Joined: 26 May 2005
Posts: 1299
157141 ODpoints
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Wenger's View
Arsenal vs Sheff UTD
Wenger's View:
| Quote: |  Dear Arsenal supporter,
The history books will say we beat Sheffield United 3-0 on Saturday but anyone who saw the game will know that it was not as easy as the scoreline suggests.
Sheffield United defended well and played well. I felt that we started the game well but you could see the fact that we had not yet won at Emirates Stadium played on the minds of the players when we didn't score an early goal.
Because of that we played what I describe as 'approximate football' in our passing. At half time we realised that we had to continue to do things well - defend well, attack well. Then we put them under pressure and the goal came from William Gallas. It was a big relief and you could see that.
Overall I felt that the goal would eventually come as long as we did not make a mistake at the back and let United in, as we did against Aston Villa and Middlesbrough. In the first half we gave them a few glimpses which we should have avoided, but in the second half we were much tighter.
When the players came in at half time with the score still at 0-0, I told them that we seemed too nervous and by being too nervous we were rushing a little bit when we had the ball. We were not clean enough technically and we were giving them confidence by giving the ball away too much.
We did not play very well in the last 20 minutes of the first half but we came back with quicker passing, quicker defending and more determination. When we lost the ball after the break we put them under pressure, something we didn't do enough in the first half.
I rested Alexander Hleb after last weekend's win at Old Trafford because I wanted to give Thierry Henry a game and I wanted to keep the freedom of playing with two strikers. The 4-5-1 worked last week but - with no disrespect to Sheffield United - it is difficult to do that at home in front of 60,000 fans.
The system we used at Old Trafford is not forever, it has to be adapted. And when you are at home against a team who want to defend, you have to keep an offensive formula in place.
Our Premiership form is improving and now we turn to the Champions League. Porto are our opponents on Tuesday night and it will be a difficult game - there are not many English teams who have beaten Porto, or Benfica for that matter.
We have a big challenge in front of us. What I expect from Porto is a very good technical level in the middle of the park. They keep the ball well. Winning the game is very important for us because it will leave us in a very, very strong position to qualify for the knockout stages.
Thanks for your support.
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| Tue Sep 26, 2006 6:01 am |
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seiya
Soccer Expert
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Joined: 05 Apr 2005
Posts: 4975
53224 ODpoints
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He respects Sheffield Untd too much... they dont deserve it coming from Champions League players in comparison to a club that has just made it to the premiership :p |
| Wed Sep 27, 2006 3:36 pm |
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Nasr09
Division 1 Rookie
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Joined: 26 May 2005
Posts: 1299
157141 ODpoints
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Charlton vs Arsenal
| Quote: | Dear Arsenal supporter,
Our victory at The Valley will be remembered for Robin van Persie's winning goal. It was outstanding, quite unbelievable and something which nobody was expecting.
Emmanuel Eboue got forward well on the right but when he crossed the ball I couldn't see anybody in the box. Then suddenly Robin arrived and, technically, his volley was perfect. It had power and pace and finished in the top corner. It was the goal of a lifetime.
Was it the best I have seen during my 10 years at Arsenal? Well, I must check because I have seen plenty of good ones, but it is certainly in the top five.
Robin was booked in the first half and, just after that incident, I waited a bit to see how he responded. That is football - if I had substituted him, people would have said I did the right thing, if he got sent off after the first incident people would have said I was stupid.
That shows that, as a manager, you need luck as well because I kept Robin on and he went on to score two goals, including his fantastic winner.
Overall, I think Robin has matured. He clearly has the talent and when you can adjust to the right attitude then you can become a great player. But first you need the talent. He has that and the attitude you can work on. He is getting better and better.
As Robin has shown, he can score goals. He has that quick, spontaneous movement that tells you he has class. His first goal was less spectacular but if you examine it you can see he did not need much time. He controlled the ball instantly and then it was in the net.
As for the game itself, I felt that Charlton fought very hard. When you go away after a Champions League game and then go 1-0 down, you need some quality to win. We could have finished it off a few times, but Charlton could also have come back with a few minutes to go.
Their best chance was Jimmy-Floyd Hasselbaink's late header. When I saw the ball going to him I thought it would be 2-2 but, luckily for us, he missed. Hasselbaink did set up their goal, of course. I thought it looked offside but the replay showed it wasn't. Maybe Kolo Toure played him onside.
We have found some momentum now. We have won twice away from home ? Charlton and Manchester United - and two Champions League games. So it is five games on the trot, but the negative thing is the interruption now for international duty.
When the players come back from international games they do not have the same focus on club football as they do before they go. We will have to get our attitude right though because we have a Champions League game in Moscow in the week after the international break.
Thanks for your support. |
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| Thu Oct 05, 2006 6:43 am |
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Nasr09
Division 1 Rookie
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Joined: 26 May 2005
Posts: 1299
157141 ODpoints
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Arsenal vs Reading
| Quote: | Dear Arsenal supporter,
I was worried about Sunday's trip to the Madejski Stadium because I have seen Reading there against Manchester United and Chelsea, and I know from experience that after a Champions League game it is always very tricky to go away from home.
So I was concerned by the difficulty of the task, but we responded very well. We had a good start with a fantastic goal from Thierry inside the first minute and after that our movement, our technique and our pace made a big difference.
Reading never gave up and they were dangerous on set pieces and crosses but overall we looked like we could always create something with our mobility and quick, coordinated movement.
It was a very good performance. We were on a very good run before the game against CSKA Moscow and we were disappointed on Tuesday night after losing that game. We wanted a quick response to make sure our level of confidence did not drop.
Cesc Fabregas signed a long-term contract last week and against Reading he showed exactly why we rate him so highly. He gave the right answer. He's a great player and he will be greater, I believe. There is a good understanding in our midfield now. We are very mobile, very quick and of course Cesc has a quick football brain.
Tomas Rosicky also impressed again. He is getting better in every game and I am very happy with his performances. We feel that physically he has adapted quicker to English football than we expected him to.
That was our fifth consecutive win in the Premiership. If you look at our performances we have beaten Watford, Charlton, Manchester United and now Reading. However, on Sunday I felt we played at a higher pace and with more mobility.
We were also under pressure because Manchester United won and Chelsea won on Saturday. We knew that the Reading game was a big day for us and we gave the right response.
Thanks for your support. |
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| Mon Oct 23, 2006 1:18 pm |
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Nasr09
Division 1 Rookie
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Joined: 26 May 2005
Posts: 1299
157141 ODpoints
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Arsenal vs Liverpool
| Quote: | Dear Arsenal supporter,
We knew Sunday's game against Liverpool would be an important fixture in the context of the season. We had a good team focus and our big players were all focused.
It was a case of 'strong stars - strong team' because all the players you expect to dictate the tempo for the team did well. That is important because we are a very young team.
A big part of having a big season is to beat the big teams. It is not everything of course, but we have won at Manchester United and now we have beaten Liverpool.
Those results give us hope but we have to learn to put that kind of effort and team focus in every game. The quicker we do that, the better our chances of achieving something at the end of the season.
Liverpool have 17 points now, so they are 14 points behind Manchester United. Liverpool have very good home form but they have lost games away. But you have to take into consideration that they have played at Manchester, Chelsea, Arsenal and Everton, who are for them the most difficult away teams.
I will have more options in midfield soon because Freddie Ljungberg has recovered from injury. He was not match-fit to face Liverpool because he had only had two days with the team but he will be released for international duty with Sweden this week.
The best way for Freddie to get his sharpness back after five weeks off is not to play the whole game for Sweden but to play a big part in the game.
Finally, I want to talk about last week's incident at West Ham. I reacted and I regret that because you should never react, but I accept Alan Pardew's apology and life goes on.
I have not spoken to Alan Pardew or anyone else about the matter since it happened and I will not especially demand a hearing from the FA because, for me, the incident is over.
Thanks for your support.
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| Thu Nov 16, 2006 5:36 am |
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footyfanatic51
Division 2 Rookie
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Joined: 15 May 2006
Posts: 410
16660 ODpoints
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nasr, do you know why wenger didnt play Rosicky against liverpool? |
| Fri Nov 17, 2006 2:58 am |
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Nasr09
Division 1 Rookie
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Joined: 26 May 2005
Posts: 1299
157141 ODpoints
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yeah he sustained a hamstring injury in training. He was said to be out for about 2 weeks. hopefully he'll be back in time for the champs league clash with hamburg |
| Fri Nov 17, 2006 5:27 am |
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footyfanatic51
Division 2 Rookie
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Joined: 15 May 2006
Posts: 410
16660 ODpoints
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oh ok thanks.. i had no idea i was hoping it was nothing serious |
| Sat Nov 18, 2006 2:53 am |
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