Author Archives: Michael Roberts

Can Arsenal Actually Beat Manchester United?

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Manchester United (Old Trafford, Manchester)
Premier League Fixture – Matchday 17
Monday 13th December 2010
Kick Off: 8pm – Live on Sky Sports 1

Let’s look at the different areas we usually take into consideration when previewing a game:

The Bookies:

Depending where you look, Manchester United are roughly evens, Arsenal are 3/1 and a draw is around 2/1. 3/1 is pretty high for Arsenal and on their day I believe we can beat anyone, with the possible exception of Barcelona.

The Form Book:

This is an interesting one.

In the last 5 games (home and away) it is Arsenal that have the best record overall in the league with 4 wins and a defeat, giving us a total of 12 points from a possible 15. Manchester United are a close second, with 3 wins and 2 draws, giving them 11 points from a possible 15.

But when you look specifically at home and away form, then you are dealing with the two home and away records in the league. Manchester have the best home record this season, with 7 wins and a draw from 8 games. They are undefeated in all games this season but away from home they have struggled, with only 1 win and 6 draws.

Arsenal on the other had have struggled at home (with defeats to Newcastle, West Brom and Tottenham) but have the best away record in the Premier League, with 5 wins, 2 draws and only the 1 defeat. So this game is a match-up between the best home team and the best away team.

As the old cliché goes, something has got to give!

The Referee:

The referee assigned to officiate this match is Howard Webb. I’m not sure what his record is for Manchester United, but at least he is a referee that doesn’t shirk the big decisions. At Old Trafford the main concern I have is over the big decisions, such as penalty incidents and whether they will be awarded to us if they are a blatant foul.

The good, and bad news, with Howard Webb is that from the last 9 Arsenal games he has refereed we have won 6 and drawn 3. The last game we lost with Howard Webb as the referee? Manchester United at Old Trafford in April 2008…

The Top Four Hoodoo:

Our very poor record against Chelsea and Manchester United over the last few seasons has been well-documented and the fact is that in the last 10 games against those sides we’ve failed to win any, losing 9 of them. And in the last 9 games we’ve played at Manchester United we’ve lost 7 of them. Arsenal are going to have to break a trend if they want to get anything from Old Trafford. Both Manchester United and Chelsea aren’t as strong as they were in previous seasons so if Arsenal are ever going to beat them, the time is now.

The Defence:

This is the main concern for Arsenal. Going forward we are as good as anyone and with Samir Nasri playing the best football of his career so far we are always a threat. So don’t be surprised if Manchester United single him out for some “rough” treatment.

But at the back, it is a really worry. If United are on form and sharp then it’s going to give us all sorts of problems. I never thought I’d be saying this, but Fabianski has pretty much kept us in a few games this season with some vital saves. Against Wolves was a prime example, and even against Fulham last week we needed to call upon his services far too much for my liking. And when you consider that was against players like Kamara then somehow I don’t think Rooney, Berbatov or Nani will be quite so accommodating.

Although I feel that he had a good start to the season, I think Koscielny has struggled recently. Squillaci is also hit and miss and personally I would be more comfortable with Djourou at the back. Whenever I’ve seen him (the away games against Wolves and Everton come to mind) he has been excellent. He makes good recovery challenges, is strong in the air and has good positional play. Even more importantly he makes vital interceptions. If we start with a defensive partnership of Squillaci and Koscielny then I will be concerned. The form of Nasri has masked the deficiencies at the back and I just hope that Arsene has noticed this and comes up with a way of sorting this problem out.

My solution would be to play Djourou alongside the lesser of two evils, Squillaci.

The Gut Feeling:

Call it blind optimism or plain stupidly, but I think we can do a job at Old Trafford. Of course, I realise that it is one hell of an ask and it will take some luck but if Arsenal are focused and give 110% then anything is possible. As so often with these big encounters, the first goal really is crucial. If we get it, then we will need the second but if United score first then it will be a massive uphill battle.

We’ve been hanging onto games recently (and just about come away unscathed) and in a weird way that might have prepared us better for any possibly onslaught United might throw at us. Our problems this season haven’t been from collapsing at the end of matches, but conceding stupid goals and having to chase the match. And hopefully the lesson against Tottenham will finally be learnt.

Although he hasn’t scored for a while and his form isn’t great, my biggest worry is Wayne Rooney.

He always seems to do it against us. He scored his first ever Premier League goal against us (that stunner into the top corner against David Seaman), his first Premier League goal for Manchester United against us and his 100th league goal against us! And just when you think he hasn’t battered us enough he scored in both Premier League games against us last season.

If you’re a betting man, a Wayne Rooney goal might be worth backing.

Chelsea’s Shocking Form / Pray For Samir Nasri

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Well in footballing terms, that was pretty much a perfect weekend.

Chelsea dropped yet more points, this time at home against Everton, and the Manchester United game against Blackpool was called off. Now we are top of the Premier League table, 2 points above Chelsea and 1 point above United, although they of course have a game in hand.

That is ideal because while it’s a cliché it is always better to have the points on the board. And psychologically this Arsenal team need the confidence of sitting at the top of the table.

But Chelsea’s form is truly staggering at the moment.

They had an unbelievable start to the season, winning their first 5 games and scoring bucketfuls of goals. Now they lie 16th in the form table, having lost 3 and drawn 2 of their last 6 games. I am baffled to why they are struggling so much at the moment.

Has Ancelotti lost the dressing room? Was Ray Wilkins the real mastermind? I thought John Terry’s absence was one of the major factors but he returned yesterday and they still dropped points at home. I never thought I would agree with something Alan Shearer said but last night on Match of the Day he picked up on the fact they looked slow and lethargic. The one thing you could always say about Chelsea was that they are big, strong and direct. Is age catching up with them or is it something else? Who knows.

So with yet another blip Arsenal took advantage. Only just mind.

Arsenal versus Fulham. Before the game, Arsenal were 3rd in the Premier League and 2nd in the form table. Fulham however sat just above the relegation zone and were bottom (yes, bottom) of the form table, failing to win any of their last 6 games. The draw specialists had only won one of their last 12 games.

But in typical Arsenal fashion, we made things extremely difficult for ourselves.

The game ended 2-1 to Arsenal but the scoreline only tells half the story. Mark Hughes proved that while being a massive twat he had actually done his homework and credit where credit is due, he had a game plan to release Kamara early at every opportunity and on another day (a la West Brom and Newcastle) Fulham could have taken all 3 points.

The fact is that with the defeats to West Brom and Newcastle at home this season we’ve given the opposition a blueprint on how to beat us at The Emirates, very much like how teams are taking the game to Chelsea this season and getting results.

But Arsenal showed, as Arsene would put it, fantastic mental strength. They never gave up and while it’s clear that some players need to get their act together, we have someone who is in the form of his life.

It’s not difficult to pick out one player at the moment and that man is Samir Nasri. His form and performances are nothing short of sensational. He’s got 11 goals already this season (8 in the league) and is the star man. His movement, his composure, his passing, his runs, his pace and his finishing are all world class.

Samir Nasri right now, is on a par with players like Freddie and Bobby from the Invincibles season. He has balls, steel and that confidence to do whatever he wants on the pitch. Along with Fabregas, they are probably the only 2 players from the last 5/6 seasons who wouldn’t look out of place in that squad of 2004.

Nasri is a leader on the pitch with his desire and performances. He gives everything and it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that without him we wouldn’t be top of the league today. I don’t need to go through the beauty of the goals again, you’ve all seen how special they were. He oozes confidence and that’s why we need to pray for him. All to often a player emerges with performances that are vital to the team (think Van Persie last season, and Eduardo a couple before that) and then we lose them to some kind of injury.

And that’s the only thing I fear for Samir Nasri. He is performing that well you just know with our luck something might happen.

I’ll be praying for him every night before I go to sleep.

Why Didn’t England Get The 2018 World Cup?

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What a f*cking disgrace.

We have the best infrastructure, the best stadiums, the best fans and the best facilities. And at least we wouldn’t have those bloody Vuvuzelas at the grounds.

It’s a massive shame, because for me one of the beautiful aspects of English football is the multicultural diversity. On the pitch, in the crowd, it doesn’t matter if you’re black, white or orange. English football fans are fantastic and all that matters is the colour of the shirt.

And it’s also a shame because from the two major tournaments we have hosted, one produced a semi-final finish and we won the other. Home advantage is key for England to perform at a tournament.

We would have guaranteed full stadiums and a fantastic atmosphere at every game.

Expect Arshavin to get booed next week by the opposing fans!

15 Games In: Can Arsenal Win The Premier League?

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There’s no doubt that this is one of the craziest Premier League seasons in a long time.

And despite Arsenal’s form being hit and miss recently, including costly defeats to Newcastle and Spurs, we still currently sit 2nd in the form table behind Manchester United.

Last 6 games, points from a possible 18:

1. Manchester United (14) 4 Wins, 2 Draws
2. Arsenal (12) 4 Wins, 2 Defeats
3. Bolton Wanderers (11) 3 Wins, 2 Draws, 1 Defeat
4. Tottenham Hotspur (10) 3 Wins, 1 Draw, 2 Defeats
= Stoke City (10) 3 Wins, 1 Draw, 2 Defeats
= Liverpool (10) 3 Wins, 1 Draw, 2 Defeats
7. Manchester City (9) 2 Wins, 3 Draws, 1 Defeat
…
13. Chelsea (7) 2 Wins, 1 Draw, 3 Defeats

Manchester United are top of the league with 31 points, we’re third on goal difference with Chelsea on 29 and have 3 points on Manchester City, and 4 on Tottenham.

Would we have taken that at the start of the season?

Of course we would.

Before the North London Derby, I posted that Arsenal need to take advantage of Chelsea and United’s respective problems. Arsenal had the perfect motivation to win that game, which was to beat their fiercest rivals and get to the top of the league. I said that if Arsenal couldn’t win that game then they don’t deserve to win the league.

And it’s clear that the same questions year in year out still remain.

Do Arsenal have a world class goalkeeper capable of helping Arsenal win the league? How come we lack that “mental strength” Arsene keeps talking about and throw away leads?

More importantly, can this Arsenal team learn from their mistakes?

There’s no doubt that this Arsenal side are talented enough and maturing at the right time.

Samir Nasri is finally putting in the brilliant performances we expect of him. Chamakh has been fantastic this season, scoring goals and I’ve been impressed how quickly he has settled into the Arsenal team. His finishing has been slightly erratic at times but his work-rate is first class and he still manages to score important goals.

Fabregas has still been performing despite having injury problems, Rosicky looks like he is coming back to full fitness and form, Wilshire has been brilliant so far this season and Fabianski is finally winning fans amongst the Arsenal faithful.

Song is still a subject of debate with the Arsenal fans, but personally I think he has been excellent this season.

And now to the defence.

I still maintain that Arsenal’s collapse against Spurs could have been avoided if Djourou had been playing. He was immense against Wolves and Everton and I was at Goodison Park and was extremely impressed with his performance. He has fantastic positioning and seems to be in the right place at the right time – he intercepts so many important balls, he is solid in the air and has strength and pace. In my opinion he is a much more solid option than Koscielny.

We’re just going to have to accept that the crossing of Sagna and Clichy isn’t going to get better, although Sagna did put in a great ball for Chamakh against Villa which forced a fantastic save from Brad Friedel, and Clichy did provide the cross for Song’s winning goal against West Ham.

The frustrating thing is Arsenal are capable of lifting the Premier League trophy come May. But how many times have we said that over the last 5 seasons?

The games against the Top Five will be key. We’ve already drawn against Liverpool away, beaten Manchester City and lost against Spurs and Chelsea, but still sit 3rd in the league. We have Chelsea and Manchester United in December and providing we can stay within touching distance going into Christmas, those games are going to be real 6 pointers.

I’ve always said that you can tell whether Arsenal have title credentials 10 games into the season, but we’re 15 games in and I still have no idea.

Chelsea are struggling without John Terry, Frank Lampard and their good luck charm Ray Wilkins, but I can’t see them struggling for much longer. I saw snippets of their matches against Newcastle and Birmingham, and you could say that they were unlucky in both games. Ben Foster had one of the best games of his career to keep a clean sheet and against Newcastle they had a lot of possession but couldn’t make it count – they didn’t play badly in either match.

Manchester United have taken a couple of months to find their feet but a 7-0 demolition of Blackburn Rovers will kick-start their season, and unfortunately probably Berbatov’s as well – and they have a fully fit Wayne Rooney yet to find his form as well. Once United get into full flow they will be the team to catch.

Liverpool and Spurs will be there or thereabouts and while Arsenal, Chelsea and United have been inconsistent these two teams are even more so. The same goes for Manchester City, who seem to perform in the big games but lack motivation in the smaller ones.

So that leaves Arsenal. Can we do it?

Yes, of course we can. Players like Nasri are playing their best football for a good few years now. Our squad is stronger than it has ever been and you feel that injuries to Fabregas won’t severely affect the team like it used to in the past.

Chamakh gives us that edge up front and Van Persie and Bendtner haven’t even completely returned to first team football yet. Wilshire is holding his own in midfield, Song is always improving and hopefully Rosicky and Arshavin can push on from last season.

Will we do it?

Yes, I believe.

But what do you think? Do Arsenal have what it takes this season or are we destined for another Top Four finish?