Posts Tagged ‘Andre Arshavin’

I was hoping beyond hope that Arsenal would come out of Stamford Bridge with a win. This didn’t happen on this fine Sunday afternoon. Chelsea cleaned the Gunners clocks 2-0.

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The entire match can be broken down into four separate plays. Two of those plays resulted in two scores and the other two resulted into bupkis.

The rest is chump change.

Am I sad? Does a chicken have lips? Does the Pope shit in the woods?

Of course I am.

The Blues have not lost at Stamford Bridge all season. Chelsea has given up just one point in their house.

This is the plight of the Arsenal fan. We always have hope that the Gunners will win but in reality, Arsenal breaks your heart just like my Philadelphia Eagles.

Let’s look at the four match changers.

The first pivotal play happened in the 8^th minute.

Before this, the Gunners were in total control of the match. Then wham bam thank you madam. Chelsea took off like a bat out of hell down the other end of then pitch. Walcott knocks the ball out of bounds. The result is a corner kick for the Blues.

The ball meets John Terry’s head. Terry directs the header pass to mate Drogba.

Drogba peeled back to the right post while Terry placed the ball near the far right post.

Drogba’s one timer is into the back of the net.

It is 1-0 Chelsea at the eight-minute mark.

The Gunners Fabregas lollipops the ball over the Blues defender Carvalho straight into the waiting arms Arshavin. Arshavin’s one timer is kicked saved away by Cech. Cech stopped em dead on in the 17^th minute.

Arsenal’s Arshavin lets fly with a shot on goal in the 20^th minute. Carvalho blocks the shot. We are off and running down the other end of the pitch.

John Terry feeds Drogba. Drogba faints left and goes right. Drogba stops. He pops. Goal in the 23^rd minute for Chelsea.

This sucker is over.

You can say what you want but money talks and bullshit walks.

Four plays killed Arsenal.

That’s it folks four plays.

Does this kill Arsenal’s chances of winning the EPL?

No. It puts them on life support.

This is the good news. There are fifteen matches left and anything can happen.

Chelsea is back in the catbird seat with 58 points. Man U is second with 56. Arsenal is third with 49. Liverpool is fourth with 44. Tottenham is fifth with 43.

The race is on baby.

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This is a huge weekend for the sports world. In America, we have the Super Bowl. In England, all us Arsenal fans are gunning for Sunday’s encounter with hated foe Chelsea.

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The Blues had a chance to be eight points up on the Gunners but Chelsea’s tie with Hull City left the door ajar for the Gunners to move within three points with a win at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.

The Hull City tie gave Chelsea 55 points.

Arsenal has 49.

This is a must win situation for the Gunner nation.

Fabregas, Arshavin, and his mates need to step up to the plate big time.

It is kick ass and take names time for the Gunners.

Nothing short of a win will suffice.

Nasri said it best. A loss will kill our title hopes. A defeat is not part of our lexicon.

So, true my main man.

The Gunners have had a full week of practice. There were no mid week games. The guys should be rested. Locked, loaded, and we are ready to fire everything in our arsenal at the Blues.

Eduardo will not make the trip.

Theo Walcott will play but Diaby will be a game time decision if he is fit or not.

Lets hope Diaby is ready to go.

I will be holding my breath until mid Sunday morning.

Go Gunners and kick some major butt.

The other matches with title implications are Man U-Portsmouth, Liverpool-Everton, Hull City-City, and Tottenham-Aston Villa.

The Red Devils should not have a problem handling Pompey at Old Trafford but anything is possible. Least we forget what Burnley pulled off at the house that Man U built in the way back machine in September.

I bet the Red Devils fans haven’t.

When Man U wins this will give them 56 points. This will propel Man U into first place in the EPL.

The other big match is Spurs-Aston Villa.

There is a logjam for the final Champions League spot between Villa, Reds, City, and Spurs.

Lets not forget this little diddy. Thirteen points separate Spurs and first place Chelsea. If either Villa or Spurs can go on a huge run and at the same time the Blues stumble a title can be had by Tottenham, Villa, and yes Liverpool.

I am I saying this will definitely happen? No.

But, lets not rule out the possibility of Chelsea faltering down the stretch.

This years EPL title race has been any thing but sane.

Expect in the insane.

There are fourteen games left and crazier things have happened.

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I am sad today. Yes, that is right. I wanted Arsenal to win but just like my Philadelphia Eagles, the Gunners break your heart. Manchester United out gunned the Gunners 3-1.

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Nani was the key to the Red Devils attack. I said take Rooney out and force Nani to beat you. This is exactly what happened. I have ESPN, I mean ESP.

For most of the match, Rooney was a non-factor. The Rooney man had five shots. Four of those shots came in the second half.

Rooney scored one goal.

Nani took over the controls of the Man U attack. He ran the offense almost to perfection.

On the other hand, Fabregas had a really hard time directing the Gunners attack.

The only threat throughout the match was Arshavin. He had several great scoring opportunities.

The first one came in the 13^th minute.  Arshavin took off like a bat out of  hell down the left sideline. His shot curled just wide of the net.

A few moments later Fabregas darted through the Red Devils midfield. Fabregas fired a great pass to Arshavin. Arshavin lost his footing and this scoring chance was wasted.

Nani drew first blood for Man U. He fired a wicked ball into the goalmouth. Arsenal’s keeper Almunia missed played the chip shot and Whamo bamo the ball is into the back of the net.

Own goal. Man U is up 1-0 in the 33^rd minute.

Four minutes later Nani and Wayne Rooney played a great two man game that killed the Gunners D”.

Rooney fed Nani. Nani made a mad dash down the pitch. Nani nailed a perfect centering pass into the center of the box. Rooney killed the winner in the 37^th minute to put Man u up 2-0.

The Fat Lady began doing her pushups.

Park Ji-Sung’s goal in the 52^nd minute put the kibosh to Arsenal’s chances of mounting a comeback.

Thomas Vermaelen added a cosmetic goal in the 80^th minute to make the final score a respectable 3-1.

In a sad postmortem of the match, three things stand out.

The Gunners forced Nani to become the playmaker. This should have worked but Nani stepped up to the plate and had a hand in two of the three Red Devils goals.

Arsenal could not take advantage of Manchester United’s weak back line. Wes Brown, Evans, and Evra played well enough to stop the Arshavin and Fabregas from scoring.

Arsenal’s attack seemed to be just a hair off. The Gunners were missing the spark and intensity they had in their previous matches.

Speaking purely as an Arsenal fan, I want to jump off the bridge, but hey, Arsenal is like Philly we expect these things to happen all the time.

If anything will go wrong, it will. This is the plight of Arsenal and the Philadelphia Eagles.

In Philly, we have a saying about our Eagles. This saying will apply to Arsenal as well. The Eagles will find a way to screw up a wet dream.

City defeated Portsmouth 2-0.

Emmanuel Adebayor and Vincent Kompany scored both City’s goals in this total whitewash of Pompey.

The dust has settled. The results are in and Chelsea is in the catbird seat with 54 points. Man U is second 53. The Gunners are third with 49. Tottenham is fourth with 42.

My final parting shot is this.       

Arsenal will win the EPL.

Where there is hope there is life.

Arsenal and Eagles fans always hope for the best and expect the worst.

Go figure.

It could be worse than five points difference between Arsenal and the Blues.

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This is nut cutting time week in the EPL. Chelsea goes on the road to take on giant killer Burnley. Arsenal and Man U will duke it out on Sunday. Oh, yes, baby, you gotta love it.

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Chelsea is not the consummate road warrior. The Blues have struggled on the road even though Chelsea have won their last two road matches.

The Blues have five wins, three losses, and two ties on the road.

It is even money Chelsea could either win, lose or draw.

The Blues are perched on high in the EPL with 51 points. Two points separate the top three clubs Chelsea, Man U, and Arsenal.

This is a must win for the Blues. If they stumble, Chelsea could sink as low as second or wind up in a two-way tie for the top spot.

Drogba and Kalou will not play for the Blues in today’s encounter with the Clarets.

Man U and Arsenal battle it out at Emirates on Sunday. The stakes are huge.

Depending on what happens Saturday either Man U or Arsenal could be in the catbird seat.

I want to see an Arsenal win. This is whom I am pulling for. The winner of this match could be a deciding factor on who wins the EPL title.

Man U is not very good on the road. The Red Devils are 6-1-4. This is only two games above over .500

These are the keys to the match. First of all, shut down Wayne Rooney. Do not give him room to operate. Force Man U to become on dimensional by taking Rooney out. This will  force Berbatov and Nani to become the bread winners.

The soft spot in the “D’ is the back line. Ferdinand will not play due to a four-match suspension. Spread the attack out and force Man U into unfavorable match-ups. Arshavin and Fabregas need room to roam and create scoring opportunities. When this happens the Gunners can score big.

The Gunners need to attack and play smart “D”. This means Fabregas must be at his best. Attacking and creating scoring opportunities for Arshavin, Eduardo and Ramsey.

When the final whistle blows it will be a 3-1 win for the Gunners nation.

I know this is very simple explanation but when it is all said and done the team that dictates the tempo and forces the other team to get away from their game will win.

Go Gunners.

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Tudo faz isso. Desta Maneira. Manchester United tudo boa sorte. The old saying I would rather be lucky than good applies to both Manchester United and Arsenal. Thanks to two late goals, both Man U and Arsenal escaped with a tie against sides the Red Devils and the Gunners should have beaten with ease. But that was then and this is now. Tudo Desta Maneira.

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Muito problemas em Red Devil terra. Man U jogador muito mal. In plain English, they stink.

Manchester United needed a win not a draw or a loss. Instead, Birmingham was totally out played in the first half however Blues took the lead at the break 1-0.

Blues one good attack came near the end of the half. This caused problems for the mighty men of Old Trafford.

Man U defender Paul Scholes blocked Cameron Jerome rocket of a shot. Corner kick time.  Problem time for the Man U “D”.

James McFadden lifted a great corner kick into the box. The Man U “D” looked like the Keystone Cops trying to defend a simple centering ball. The ball goes flying all over the lot. Birmingham’s Boyer gets his head on the ball. Bing bam, boom. The shot goes clang off of Johnny Evans into the waiting feet of Jerome. Goal for Cameron Jerome. It’s 1-0 at the 39^th minute.

You can hear the howling all the way from Old Trafford.

Manchester United secured the equalizer in the 63^rd minute. The mighty men from Old Trafford began to squeeze Blues box. Patrice Evra fired a low centering pass towards the goal. Birmingham defender Scott Dann freaked under the pressure from Ji-Sung Park. Dann got confused. He fired the ball into his own net.

Game, set, and draw to Man U.

I don’t care what anyone says Manchester United is in heap big trouble. The Red Devils cannot continue to play this way. If this display of crappy lucky futebol continues the Red Devils will find them looking from the outside in.

6-1-4-road record is worse than stink. Couple with that losing to Leeds, Liverpool, Burnley, Aston Villa, Chelsea, and Fulham Man U is on a downhill slide.

Arsenal on the other hand should have beaten Everton at Emirates. Not on this day. The Gunners lucked out a two all draw.

Everton played like a team with everything to play for.

The Toffees drew first blood in the 12^th minute. Leon Osman ripped a header to give Everton a 1-0 lead.

Arsenal’s Brasilian super hero nailed the equalizer in the 28^th minute.

Everton took the lead when Steven Pienaar fired a scorcher from just outside the box. Pienaar ripped the twines in the 81^st minute.

You can hear all the Gunners fans screaming “Oh No’ all the way here in 70 degree LA.

Super sub Tomas Rosicky the cat who just signed a new contract with the Gunners nailed the match saver in the 90^th minute.

Rosicky’s shot went boom, off of the Toffees defender Lucas Neill.

This goal may have saved the Gunners season. A loss could have put a nail in Arsenal’s chances of winning the EPL.

At the end of the day, Man U is one point behind EPL leader Chelsea. Chelsea has 45 points. Man U has 44 while the Gunners are three back with 42.

Chelsea has a make up match due to the snow.

The Man U point total is very deceiving for the Red Devils are lucky as sin to be in second place.

Birmingham should have won.

Blues didn’t.

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The snow is once again playing and wrecking havoc with the matches set for Saturday. As of 2 pm on Friday here in LaLa land, LA only three matches have survived the bad-butted snow days in merry Old England.

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The survivors are Arsenal-Everton, Man U –Birmingham, and Wigan-Aston Villa. Four out of the top eight will have epic encounters in the snow.

So, we better hold our horses and see if this situation might change. God only knows and he isn’t telling us quite yet.

Arsenal, Man U, Aston Villa, and Birmingham all need to win. It is all about the “W”.

Sadly, for some, only one winner can come out of the Birmingham- Red Devils clash.   

Blues are playing in the friendly confines of St. Andrews. This is huge for the mighty men of Old Trafford. Man U is playing horrible on the road. Man U is only 6-0-4 on the road. This stinks.

Birmingham is 5-3-2. This is good but not great. The edge has to go to Blues. Man U can’t win on the road to save its life. The Red Devils will need more than Rooney on this snowy day. Berbatov has to come up big. Nani, Anderson, and Gibson need to find the back of the net early and often. If not this will be a long cold hard day playing in the snow for Man U.

A loss here and you might have to stick a fork in the Red Devils season.

Blues are riding a five match unbeaten string.

Watch out Man U for you are surely in danger.

Arsenal on the other hand is peaking at the right time. Yes, the Gunners are hurting up front and in the midfield but Eduardo, Arshavin, Nasri, and Aaron Ramsey are coming on strong.

The Gunners need to knockout the Toffees early. You can’t let Everton hang around. Remember this is the same squad that beat Chelsea in the Carling Cup. The Blues played pretty much their first team.

The Toffees drove em nuts.

Everton is riding a five match unbeaten string.

Tim Howard anchors the “D.” Louis Saha leads the team with ten goals.

This should be a good one at Emirates but Arsenal should win this baby hands down.

Aston Villa battles Wigan in the other snow day match. Villa is coming off a hard loss at the hands of Liverpool. Villa needs this baby bad. Aston Villa is in sixth place. Aston Villa is ten points behind league leaders Chelsea.

The Latics can win this baby if they play their cards right.

Aston Villa is at DW Stadium. Villa is one step above stink on the road. They are 4-3-3.

The dog Wigan has the edge eventhough they are near the bottom of the table.

Keep this in mind for the bottom dogs have given the upper echelon teams fits all season long.

This could happen again. 

This is as plain and simple as it get.

Hold serve on the road and win 90% of your home matches and you are in like Flynn.

So there, ya have it on a snow day in merry old England.

Here in LA it is a cold 75.

You gotta love it. I sure do.  

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Today will be a hodge podge of stuff. There are some disturbing reports about the financial stability concerning Manchester United.

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My friend Tophatal wrote about this very subject three months ago on his blog. Now his revelations are turning out to be true. Check out his blog. There are lots of great insights and 411. 

The Glazers who own the majority share in Manchester United have saddled the club with a mountain of debit. The Red Devils may collapse under the weight of this debit. Many owners make a habit of stripping one business of its assets and transfer the assets to another business.

I hope this is not the case. If the Glazers have done this, they will have surely destroyed an English futebol institution. This is truly bad.

These money woes are just the tip of the iceberg. The Red Devils have been playing crap all season long. Sure five loses isn’t that many but this is only halfway point of the season.

Man U can’t find the back of the net to save its life. Rooney is scoring-some. The crux of situation is this. Big bucks were spent to bring in Berbatov. This clown can’t score to save his life. Nani is a waste of time.

Neville, Giggs, and Scholes are senior citizens in futebol life yet these guys are logging a ton of minutes. These senior citizens will break down at this rate.

Add on top of this the entire back line is injured you have recipe for disaster.

The loss to Leeds is a sign that something is wrong with boys from Old Trafford. If you remember, I said this about two weeks ago. Do I have ESPN I mean ESP.

Leaky finances couple with older players with no replacements in sight means big time trouble ahead for Man U.

Do you remember when Man U received 128 million from the Cristiano Ronaldo buy out? How come not a dime of this money has been spent on bringing in more talent.

Better yet, what about spending the money developing younger talent?

Maybe there is trouble in Man U land.

Here’s a thought. Sir Alex Ferguson will quit at the end of this year. He has won all the important domestic and World futebol titles now he will call it quits at the end of this year.

This will be the scop of the year.

Another story has surfaced that Chelsea is debt free.

Maybe many of the top clubs are in heap big trouble.

The only club not in trouble is Arsenal.

The Gunners have spent their money wisely. Arsenal has no debit.

Don’t de surprised if the Gunners win the whole shooting match.

The young kids are primed and ready to step forward. Eduardo, Nasri, and Arshavin are finding their stride. Vela is playing better. Fabregas is almost ready to return.

The cupboard is filled with younger talent ready to step in.

What Wenger did was borrow an American system of supplying the main club with talent. It is called a farm system. Major Baseball teams use a farm system to train young talent to replace older stars. In the old days, the New York Yankees were kings of this. Now the Phillies, Angels, and Minnesota Twins are the best examples of how to develop younger players.

When a team buys talent to win championships this can work in the short run but in the long run, this will destroy a team. For the team will not take the time or the resources to develop talent to replace aging stars.

Man U is sadly discovering this fact.

This will bite Man City as well too.

Real Madrid is headed down the same dangerous and bad road.

It is time to give Arsene Wenger his just do. He is doing it the right way. Yes, younger players will drive you nuts. They may not win for a while but in the end, the foundation upon which the club is built will stand.

There is an old adage. What goes up must come down.

Maybe Man U and Chelsea are on the way down.

In American sports, the Dallas Cowboys, New York Yankees, New York Mets, LA Dodgers, Boston Celtics, Washington Redskins, and the Detroit Lions have all found this out the hard way.

My Philadelphia Eagles have too. For way too many years, the bums stunk the joint out.

The Birds have had a run of eight to ten years of horrible teams. Then they are good for a few years then stink for the next ten years.

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The snow hit merry old England. Tons of the white stuff forced the match between Bolton and Arsenal to be cancelled. So the chance of cutting the gap between the Gunners and Chelsea are just that a chance. This is at least for now the case. A make up date has not been set.

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Chelsea and Man U can breath just a little bit easier now. At least for the time being this is the case. Arsenal has hit their stride. Eduardo, Nasri, and Arshavin look like they are ready to carry the load with RVP out until at least till May.

This added day would give Fabregas more time to heal from his hammy injury. Once he returns it will be Katie bar the door

I still think this year’s race will be one of the tightest and craziest in history. The EPL winner will have at least six maybe as many seven losses. 

All you have to do is look at Chelsea’s, Man U, and Arsenal’s road record. This is down right bad. It stinks. Chelsea is 6-2-3. Man U is 6-0-4. Arsenal is 5-2-3. Last year these clubs combined had a total of nine road losses for the entire 2008-09 campaign. The road loss total for Chelsea, Man U, and Arsenal stands at ten. This is the halfway point of the season.

Throw into the mix Liverpool is hurting with injuries. The Red are stinking the joint out. Liverpool has lost seven out of their first twenty matches. Last year the Reds lost a total of two matches all year. Both of the loses came on the road.

What is so different about this year?

Clubs like Man City, Aston Villa, Tottenham, and Birmingham have gotten stronger. Man U lost one of their key players. The Red Devils are racked with injuries to their “D”.

Chelsea is very inconsistent. The Blues give up too many big plays and lose to teams they should beat. Injuries are playing havoc with the Gunners strike force and midfield.

The Dogs are playing tougher. They are giving the upper echelon clubs down right fits.

All of these factors have led to one of the best title races in history.

Sure, the status quo is fine but having a season like this makes it more fun for the average Joe like me.

Let it snow let it snow let it snow as we head into the New Year. Let the chips fall where they may. I have a good hunch that at least one-maybe two super heavyweights are going down.

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Even when I make jokes, I get it right. Who would have thunk it.  I said what is the worse thing that could happen to Manchester United was a loss to Fulham. Well guess what? The mighty boys from Old Trafford got their butts whipped by Fulham 3-0.

This was a classic massacre or if you would like to say a take me to the woodshed butt whopping.

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This was one of those oh, excuse me, we have a ton of injuries what do you expect me to do?  Win. At least put up a fight and show some heart.

This was bad folks.

The Cottagers just flat at took to the mighty Red Devils and kicked some major butt. This is about all you can say about the match.

Danny Murphy led off the slaughter with a wicked shot that beat the keeper Kuszczak in the 22^nd minute to give Fulham the 1-0 lead.

The rout was on baby.

Bobby Zamora found the back of the net in the 46^th minute to give the Cottagers a 2-0 lead.

In the 75^th minute, Damien Duff ripped the winner to put the finishing touches on a huge masterful killing of the boys from Old Trafford.

Manchester United played like crap.

I haven’t seen this bad of a performance from a Man U squad in years.

There is heap big trouble in Manchester United land.

Way to go garoto to the guys at Fulham.

I just love this stuff.

Dogs ruled on this day.

Before you cats go nuts on me, let me explain. Yes, I am a fan of Manchester United. A fan is correct but not a fanatic.  I root for the Red Devils. I am partial to them but I don’t live and die with their fortunes on the pitch.

My heart is in Brasil. I am a die hard Flamenguista. I am also a die-hard Philadelphia Eagles fan. The NFL baby.

I also have a very found spot in my heart for Arsenal.

My wife thinks I am a nut, which I am. I do have the papers to prove it.

I became a Gunners fan when I saw the movie Fever Pitch starring Colin Firth.

I have seen Fever Pitch ten times.

Oh, guess what I saw at Emirates. The Philly fanatic dressed in a Gunners uniform was whipping up the crowd into a fever pitch.

The Philly fanatic is the Philadelphia Phillies team mascot.

I am a huge futebol fan but what floats my boat is Jesus. Without Him, I am a dead man.  I am a messianic Jew.  

Tottenham didn’t suffer a let up against Blackburn. Spurs beat em 2-0.

Peter Crouch hit the daily double to lead the Spurs to an impressive win.

The Rovers had a golden chance at the outset of the match to grab the early lead but the shot clanged off the cross bar.

Whew was that close.

Two back-to-back good performances by Spurs have put them back into the title hunt.

Aston Villa held serve in their 1-0 win over Stoke City.

John Crew scored the match winner in the 61^st minute. This goal saved Villa’s hide. This was a total lackluster performance by Aston Villa.

Maybe Bobby Darin’s Dream Lover might best describe the way Villa played on this day.

Still a win is a win and this is all that counts.

Liverpool lost to lowly Portsmouth 2-0. The Reds are dead.

Rafa will get sacked.

Liverpool has quit playing.

I have seen this before.

The players will not play for Rafa anymore.

Rafa needs to go.

After a close, first half the Gunners turned on the Afro burners and kicked some booty killing Hull City 3-0.

The first match changer was this. There was a near bitch-slapping brawl between several Arsenal and Hull City players near the end of the first half.

There was a lot of huffing and puffing signifying nothing. I wish futebol players would learn how to fight.

A few moments later Brasilian Denilson rifled home a great free kick in the 45^th minute to make 1-0 Arsenal at the break.

His shot flat out made the keeper Boaz Myhill look really silly. Denilson’s shot was a ball buster.

This was turning point number two in the match. Hull City had a chance for the equalizer when Gunner defender Silvestre knocked down Craig Fagan in the 56^th minute. Up steps Geovanni for Hull City. The run up. The shot. The diving save by Almunia. The header by Hunt off the rebound. Almunia gobbles the ball. Whew was that sucker close.

The Gunners kicked it into high gear.

Eduardo finally got in the scorebook in the 59^th minute. This gave the Gunners a 2-0 lead.

This was a great example of how short passes in the box ate up the Hull City “D”. 

The ball was on the wing. A great entry pass into Diaby. Diaby passed up the shot and hit Eduardo. Eduardo was standing at the goals doorstep. A simple poke into the net finished up the play.

A great give and go from Arshavin and Diaby cooked Hull City’s goose in the 80^th minute. All Diaby had to do was deposit the gift into the back of the net.

This was all she wrote.

This win by Arsenal squarely puts a ton of pressure on Chelsea to beat lowly West Ham. Will the dogs rule on Sunday? 

We will find out.

The table shapes up this way. Chelsea is the top dog with 40 points. Manchester United hangs on to second place with 37 points. Arsenal is third with 35 points. Aston Villa is fourth with 35 points. Arsenal has a better goal difference than Villa. The Gunners are plus 13 while Villa is only a plus 8. Spurs are in fifth place with 33.

Let fun and games begin.

I love it.

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Now it’s back to the fun in sun for the EPL resumes play on Saturday and Sunday. There is a ton of pressure on the big boys to come up with the “W” not a tie or a loss. The matches that I am focusing on are Manchester United-Fulham, Arsenal-Hull City, Spurs-Rovers, and West Ham- Chelsea. Sure, City has big one against Sunderland but for you City guys you will have to wait.

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The Red Devils have a leaky “D” as well as missing the back of net. If mighty boys from Old Trafford want a historic four peat, Rooney, Berbatov, Anderson, and the rest need to find the back of the net more often than not. Maybe Rooney and his mates might try their hand at being masons. They are good at firing bricks.

MIA is Ferdinand, O’Shea, Neville, and Brown. That’s the entire back line of defense. No wonder the Red Devil’s “D” is like a sieve.  Even the super defender Russian Vidic is hurt. Can it get any worse? Yes, A loss will kill the boys from Old Trafford.

Arsenal needs to shake off the miserable one all tie with Burnley and take it to Hull City. This is a must for win Arshavin, and rest of the Gunners.

My advice is to take it to em. Pedal to the medal. Attack, attack, and whatever you do, don’t, and I mean don’t give up a cheap goal.

Short balls. Work the ball into the offensive zone and punish the net. Please no long balls this time guys.  

Fabregas is out with a hammy injury. This will hurt. Still I expect Arsenal to win.

Drogba, Cole, and Carvalho are to play for Chelsea. This should kick it up a notch for the Blues.

If the Blues play like they did mid-week and last Saturday, it could be a long day.

West Ham stinks but this is the year of the dogs. Anything can happen just ask City, Arsenal, and Man U.

Spurs- Rovers will be a good one. Tottenham needs to get the “W”. This is not the time to let down after kicking City’s butt up and down the pitch mid-week. Come out breathing fire and score baby score. It is that simple.

All and all this season in the EPL is really wild. Who would have thought that Chelsea, Arsenal, and Manchester United would struggle on the road?  Road warriors they are not. All of em has three losses. This is not good. Championships are won on the road. 

The team with the best road record will win the title.

Last year EPL champ Manchester United had three road losses all season. That’s it baby. The Red Devils had a total four loses for the entire campaign. Guess what? The mighty boys from Old Trafford already have four of those bad boys.

 Last year Arsenal and Chelsea had a total of three road losses each. Now hear this both Chelsea and the Gunners have already equaled last season’s total road losses. Both Chelsea and Arsenal have three of those big boys and we are not even at midterm break.

This is not good.

Need I go on?

In the NFL, we have a saying. “ On any given Sunday any team can win.” This saying is now true in the EPL. Former Commish, Pete Rozelle was seeking parity. In the NFL, parity is now a way of life.

I am not saying parity is on the fast track in the EPL but the dogs are making life hard for the big boys.

You gotta love it.

Oh, yeah, one last parting shot.

Barcelona and Estudiantes battle for the 2009 World Club Title. Will Estudiantes be Barca’s Waterloo?

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