Posts Tagged ‘Jack Wilshere’

It sure looked like my guys from Arsenal were going to get blown out by the mighty Barcelona guys.

My heart was in my throat when David Villa blasted a close range bomb that found its mark in the 26^th minute.

Barca had it pedal to the medal.

We had several really good chances but Arsenal couldn’t crack the code.

Instead of quitting the guys took the game by the scruff of the net and pressed the attack.

The dividends paid off handsomely in the second half.

Robin Van Persie found a crease between the keeper’s left hand and the short post.

Whamo bamo the ball finds it destination in the 77^th minute.

The match winner came in the 83^rd minute.

Jack Wilshere set it up with a great pass to mate Cesc Fabregas. Then it was Katie bar the door.

We are off to the races.

Andrei Arshavin nailed it to give Gunner nation a huge 2-1 win over invincible Barcelona.

Game, set, and match to Arsenal.

This was a huge win for us.

Now the Gunners are in the drivers seat for the second leg.

Barca and Arsenal will play March 8^th at Camp Nou.

Arsene Wenger said about the second leg- Tonight’s result gives us a chance to go to Barcelona with belief. We know it will be a very difficult game but we will prepare well. We will be highly focused and we go to win our game. It is a special lift for my team. Our players have shown exceptional strength tonight and togetherness. This will enforce that.

This was Arsene Wenger’s first win against Barcelona.

The headman had this to say about the “W”- I am highly delighted because it was a special football match. The game promised a lot and absolutely fulfilled the promises between two exceptional football teams who always try to play. We were not only strong on the physical side but on the mental side, we kept resilient. We took advantage of one special piece of skill from Van Persie and the goal for the second was after some good build-up play. It was a special night. When we suffered, the fans were still very positive.

Tottenham picked a huge first leg away 1-0 win over AC Milan.

Peter Crouch nailed the match winner in the 80^th minute.

He unleashed a blast from 12 yards out to seal the deal for Harry me Boy Redknapp and his Spurs chargers.

Gunner nation rules.

Gunner for life.

www.palau.org

http://www2.hillsong.com/tv/home.asp

http://www.bolaradio.net/extreme/

My guys from Arsenal will take on powerhouse Barcelona at our house Emirates on Wednesday.

This will be balls to the wall match between to very good sides.

Robin Van Persie needs to step up big time.

Jack Wilshere needs to rip the twines as well as Cesc Fabregas.

The “D” needs to play airtight.

The guys can’t afford to have a brain fart and let Messi and his mates have clean looks and shots at the net.

If this happens it will be a long night.

Wenger says his club is ready- The only thing I can say is we are in an ideal condition to face them,” said the Frenchman. “We cannot complain. We have the belief, the confidence and the players available. We are 90 per cent in February and that was not the case last year. I feel we are in an ideal position to face them.”

We just want to show how good we are,” he said. “We want to show the belief we have in our game, in our quality, more than looking at the past.
 

“We have practiced. We are determined, focused and we want to win this competition. We know we face the super-favourites of this competition but the only way to do it is to knock them out.”

Defender Diaby said it is not all about Messi- We need to be focused on the way we defend and not be focused on one man,” the Frenchman told Arsenal.com. “We know that individually he is really good but if we do the job together I think it will be difficult for him. For me, that is the best way to control him and control the game.

 “When you focus on one man it is never a good idea because they have also got Iniesta, Xavi, Villa – so many players. The most important thing is to be well organised defensively and, when we have got the ball, play our game.

 “I watch Barcelona play quite often because I like the way they play, the way they move and obviously they have got the best player in the world.

 “We know that this is a great team but we have a very good side with very good players. We can beat anybody in the world. We just need to be conscious of our qualities and play our game.”

He is so right. The other guys will kill ya tamben.

Alex Song chimed in stating the Chelsea showed hwo to beat Barca- “The reference point for us has to be the Chelsea match from December, when we pressed them very high from the first minute and gave them no room.

“We need to do that to Barcelona – they have a similar style to us and it should be a pleasure for everyone to watch.

“I can’t wait. Everyone’s talking about it, not just here – a lot of my friends have been in touch wanting to come over and watch.

Alex Song said this about RVP- “I’ve always said that Robin is one of the best strikers in the world – he’s had bad injuries but has come back so well.

“When Robin is 100 per cent fit, you know he’s dangerous at any time. He’s scored a lot of goals in the past few weeks and helped the team in other ways; it’s very important to have him fit, because he’s one of the guys who gives you a real chance.”

Let’s see if we can kill the giants from Barca.

Gunner nation rules.

Gunenr for life.

www.palau.org

http://www2.hillsong.com/tv/home.asp

http://www.bolaradio.net/extreme/

My guys from Arsenal did what they needed to do at their house winning 2-0 over Wolverhampton.

Robin van Persie hit the daily lotto twice in the win.

Both goals were a thing of beauty.

The first was in the 16^th minute.

RVP nailed a perfect sliding kick that bounced off the right post into the back of the net.

The second happened in the 56^th minute.

This was a perfect counter attack that started with a great defensive play by Alex Song.

RVP and Theo Walcott played a perfect two-man game that left Wolves keeper Wayne Hennessy hung out to dry.

Robin Van Persie hit the back of the net.

Game, set, and match to the Gunners.

RVP has scored nine goals in his last four matches.

This “W” was huge.

Arsene Wenger had this to say about the Jack Wilshere- Jack is a talented player who can defend and attack. He had a very good game. He defends well, he attacks well, he creates, he has assists.”

“He is a very confident lad but he has not scored yet. Cesc was like that for a while,” said Wenger. “I believe he will score soon because he looks very close.

“He has a hesitation some time to shoot himself and chooses to always give the ball. When he is a bit more confident he will score goals.”

Wenger was pleased his chargers didn’t suffer a let down after the fiasco at Newcastle-There was none. In fact it confirmed the quality of our performance at Newcastle, what was not easy to read in the media, because we had an outstanding game as long as it was 11 against 11. It was confirmed today with the number of chances we created, the quality of our play. We were defensively solid and that was important after the four goals we conceded. We create many chances, the only regret is that maybe we didn’t score enough goals. Part of that is down to their goalkeeper – all the goalkeepers look very inspired here at the Emirates. The keeper had an outstanding game.

Wenger added about his guys not thinking about the mid-week tussle against Barcelona- We had to stay focused. For us it is important because [on Wednesday] we play certainly at the moment the best team in the world. It is important to go into the game with psychological confidence and as well in a strong position in the league. We are in a Premier League race, we believe we can do it, we have the hunger, and we can focus on every single competition and that is important. For me it was important we showed the focus today and did not have Barcelona in their mind.

Man U came up big in 2-1 win over cross-town rivals Man City.

The Rooney Man nailed a bicycle in the 78^th minute gave Sir Alex and the Boys a “W” at Old Trafford.

Rooney had this to say after the match- I have seen it again. I was just trying to keep my eye on the ball and to get a good connection. Luckily it went into the top corner.” It is a significant result and almost certainly rules City out of the title race unless a disaster happens.

Man U is top dog with 57 points.

My guys from Arsenal are second 54.

West Brom blew a three-goal lead and tied West Ham three all.

Blackpool and Aston Villa tied one all.

Liverpool and Wigan kissed their sister one-one.

Spurs picked up a huge 2-1 win over Sunderland.

www.palau.org

http://www2.hillsong.com/tv/home.asp

http://www.bolaradio.net/extreme/

Headman Arsene Wenger issued the warning. Be careful guys, Shakhtar hasn’t lost in many a moon at their house.

Shakhtar has only lost two matches in their last thirty games in all competition.

The Gunners jumped out to an early 1-0 lead before Shakhtar Donetsk scored two goals to win 2-1.

Former Gunner Eduardo scored the match winner in the 45^th minute to seal the deal for the Ukrainian side.

We have to put the Champaign bottles on hold until next week before we can uncork when we advance to the next round.

Arsenal didn’t start their top side however Jack Wilshere, Nicholas Bendtner, Samir Nasri, and the rest are a formidable squad.

These types of matches are good for they will serve as good teaching lessons. You can’t assume just because you kill a side one time doesn’t mean they will roll over and play dead the next time.

All one has to do is look at the best of seven series in Baseball, Pro hoops, and Hockey.

Different night many times a different result but here is the real kicker the best team will always prevail in a best of seven series 80% of the time.

This was a good lesson for the Gunners.

Wenger had this to say about our first loss in the Champions League play- www.arsenal.com ”Congratulations to Donetsk, they played well and won the game. We had a good start but after we lost our urgency and let Donetsk come into the game too much. We lost concentration in the duels and you could see what was coming towards half time.”

He added this on what happened- I felt we moved out of the game altogether and moved into the game altogether so it was more of a team problem, a kind of complacency problem more than an individual problem. In the second half we came back into the game and gave a lot so you can’t fault the team. We were a bit unlucky. We have learnt the lesson that at this level you can’t lose focus at any moment and that is why we were punished.”

Arsene Wenger on Edurado’s match winning goal- I don’t take much pleasure form seeing him score in this particular game but it’s good to see him playing at that level and overall he had a very good game.”

Chelsea defeated Spartak Moscow 4-1.

The Blues pretty started their first team.

Chelsea advances to the next round.

We have a huge match against Newcastle on Sunday.

www.palau.org

http://www2.hillsong.com/tv/home.asp

http://www.bolaradio.com.br/

The Gunners romped over Shakhtar Donetsk 5-1.

This match marked the return of Cesc Fabregas.

Arsenal is on to the round of 16.

We took it to them from the opening bell.

Goals by Alex Song and Samir Nasri made 2-nil before the break.

Fabregas nailed a PK in the 60^th minute.

Jack Wilshere added a blast in the 66^th minute.

Marouane Chamakh nailed on in the 69^th minute to make 5-0 before Eduardo hit one for the Ukrainians in the waning moments of the match for a 5-1 final.

Shakhtar entered Arsenal’s house with 15 wins in 17 matches. They haven’t lost in Europe in a long time.

Boy did the Ukrainians walk into a buzz saw.

Manager Arsene Wenger had this to say about the walk in the park win. Quotes taken from www.arsenal.com

I believe we made it easy because we had a good team performance. The goals came naturally through the game through great technical quality and overall I believe as well that our technical quality slowly got them tired and, especially in the second half, the goals came with one-twos or possession. I felt they had given a lot in the first half to chase and be focused to defend well, and we took advantage of that in the second half.

Wenger added about the teaming up of Wilshere and Fabregas- Yes, I am convinced it works well together. Cesc just came back tonight but Jack has a good maturity level, you never think he’s 18 years of age when he plays. They combine very well. The midfield worked very well tonight.

Wenger talk about our next match against second place Man City on Sunday- Manchester City is a different type of game and what was important for us tonight was to win and then prepare. We won our last two games now and it is important we go to Manchester City with a good level of confidence and with some certainties in the way we want to behave. The result is important, the number of goals for me is not important.

Good win for the Gunners not it’s time to get back to work.

Gunner nation rules.

www.palau.org

http://www2.hillsong.com/tv/home.asp

http://www.bolaradio.com.br/

My guys from Arsenal almost took it on the chin at home against Birmingham. Yes, the Gunners pulled out a hard fought come from behind 2-1 over the Blues at Emirates.

An almost great goal in the first half by the Gunners Andrei Arshavin was ruled offsides in the 19^th minute.

The Gunners “D” stunk the joint out in the 33^rd minute. Nikola Zigic nailed a perfect shot that beat the helpless keeper Fabianski to give Birmingham a 1-0 lead.

Then a controversial penalty in the 41^st minute leveled this sucker up at one all.

Samir Nasri hit the PK.

Marouane Chamakh nailed the match winner just the other side of half time (47^th minute) to lift the Gunners to the win.

Jack Wilshere won the dumbest futebol player award when he was given the heave-hoe in the 90^th minute.

This stupidity could have cost Arsenal big time.

Thank God for small favors.

This was a huge win.

This stops our home losing streak at one.

Gunners lost at home two weeks ago when West Brom took it to us 3-2.

This fiasco happened on September 25^th.

This win moves Arsenal into second place.

Man U blew a two-goal lead at home and wound up with two all tie against West Brom.

This is the second time the Baggies have sent the home side home unhappy.

First at Arsenal now at Old Trafford.

Albion is now in 6^th place with 12 points.

The Red Devils are in third place and can slip to fourth place if Man City beats Blackpool on Sunday.

 Chelsea struggles on the road continue. The Blues and Aston Villa tied nil-nil at Villa Park.

Chelsea had their to chance win it in the final moments when Nicholas Anelka just missed the winner. The shot went clank off the crossbar in the 89^th minute.

This may cost the Blues the title.

Man U is stinking the joint out.

Arsenal almost did but we pulled out the win.

We are missing our playmaker Cesc Fabregas.

Rumor has it Fabregas wants outta here.

We will see.

Oh Yeah, Tottenham defeated Fulham 2-1.

Spurs Tom Huddlestone hit the match winner in the 63^rd minute.

Hold on to your horse. Wait a minute; the ref Dean allowed the goal after an assistant ruled Tottenham’s William Gallas was offside.

The entire joint went bananas.

The EPL is alive and well with a ton of crazy stuff that continues to happen.

This is why futebol is so much fun to watch and write about.

www.palau.org

http://www2.hillsong.com/tv/home.asp

http://www.bolaradio.com.br/

Arsenal and Tottenham’s second teams battled each other.

My guys from Arsenal needed extra time to beat the Spurs 4-1 in the third round of the Carling Cup.

Samir Nasri scored on two PK’s in extra time to seal the deal for the Gunners.

We took the lead in the 15^th minute.

Henri Lansbury nailed a close range volley to give us the lead.

Spurs got the equalizer in the 49^th minute.

Robbie Keane made keeper Lukasz Fabianski look like a fool.

Robbie Keane was one on one with Fabianski. Keane fired a laugher of a shot that hit Fabianski in the worst possible place the hands.

Low and behold, the kiddy shot goes right through Fabianski’s paws.

Why does this always happen to us.

Why do both our keepers play sometimes like Abbott and Costello or Laurel and Hardy?

This was bad but we didn’t get down and pulled out a win at Tottenham’s house-White Hart Lane.

This was a good win for Arsenal.

The young dudes played very well.

Arsenal is on to the fourth round.

Wenger had this to say about the match- Quotes from www.arsenal.com 

The game was enjoyable. We played well in the first half but we were only one goal in front and after that Tottenham came back. We were for a few minutes a little bit in danger but slowly we took over again and in the final 20 minutes it looked that would could score, but we didn’t. Then we got these two penalties which in my opinion were penalties and that was the turning point of the game. But overall we played very well

Wenger also heaped praise on a major disappointing Jack Wilshere- He was outstanding. I am a bit cautious with him because you do not want to get too quickly too early all the praise. In the first half I think he has shown a little bit of everything you want from a football player. He got some stick and he could take it, he didn’t respond. He played, tackled, won the ball and tactically his position on the pitch was always good. He had an outstanding first half. He is fearless.

I know this is the Carling Cup but these competitions give Wenger a chance to look at players who would not get much playing time. This gives management a chance to see how these players perform in nut cutting time.

The one thing you can’t simulate in practice-real match conditions to see how the players really react.

All in a good show for Arsenal subs.

Let’s see how this will translate when folks like Wilshere, Denilson, Henri Lansbury and the rest when called upon to perform in EPL matches.

The jury is still out.

The signs are good.

There were huge surprises in Carling Cup action from Tuesday.

Everton lost to Brentford 4-3 in a PK shootout.

Brentford is playing in English League One.

The Bees are near the heave-hoe zone.

This baby is huge.

The Toffees are hurting big time.

Burnley shutout Bolton 1-0.

Burnley was demoted to the English League Championship.

www.palau.org

http://www2.hillsong.com/tv/home.asp

http://www.bolaradio.com.br/

Our road woes continue.

We need to find an answer to why Arsenal struggles on the road.

The Gunners escaped with a one all tie with Liverpool at Anfield.

This BS has to stop.

Liverpool was down to ten men.

Then lightening struck when Reds David Ngog broke free just outside the box. Ngog fired a perfect top shelf bullet. This laser beat keeper Manuel Almunia in the 46^th minute.

We had the advantage but Arsenal couldn’t crack the Reds “D” code.

At several times in the second half it looked like Liverpool was playing twelve guys.

Then magic presto the match changed in an instant.

The clock was going tic, tic, tic. Time was winding on the match. A loss looked for certain. Gunners Rosicky fired a great cross into the teeth of the goalmouth. Chamakh bumps the ball towards the goal. Chamakh gets tangled with Reds keeper Reina. Reina bats the ball into the back of his own net in the 90^th minute to us the equalizer.

Thanks be to God for the Abbott and Costello routine by Pepe Reina.

This huge gaff saved our bacon on this Sunday afternoon at Anfield.

This was a totally underserved one point.

If Arsenal is going to win the title, we need to win on the road.

If not we are sunk big time.

The champs always find ways to win on the road.

Last year EPL Champions Chelsea had the best road record.

Next up for us is newly promoted Blackpool.

The Seasiders are coming off a huge win 4-0 win over Wigan.

The only saving grace is that we are home.

It was good to see both Robin Van Persie and Liverpool’s Fernando Torres return to action.

From what I saw, our guys played too much one on one and didn’t work the ball around for a good shot.

Several times Jack Wilshere, Theo Walcott, Samir Nasri, and Tomas Rosicky had good scoring chances but they could close the deal.

We have to learn how to finish.

Not a good start but I’ll take the one point.

Arsenal needs to improve.

www.palau.org

http://www2.hillsong.com/tv/home.asp

http://www.bolaradio.com.br/

The EPL is a little more than one week away.

I can’t wait.

Yes, we had the World Cup and my beloved Campeonato do Brasil but without the EPL on Saturday and Sunday, I am a lost puppy.

Are you ready for some Futebol?

Yes, I can’t wait.

Kickoff is set for August 14^th.

There are some huge opening round matches.

My guys from Arsenal battle Liverpool at Anfield.

This is a huge opening bell tilt.

The Reds are coming off a disappointing 2009-2010 campaign.

In plain terms, Liverpool stunk.

They played like crap.

The Reds finished in seventh place.

The fat Spanish waiter is gone but I don’t know if this will help Liverpool.

Fernando Torres will probably miss the first half of the season.

Let’s see if Roy Hodgson can change the Reds fortunes.

The Gunners are itching to get back at it.

Arsenal has several young guns ready to prove themselves. Jack Wilshere, Samir Nasri, Aaron Ramsey, and Theo Walcott all have to finally live up to the high expectations placed on them by Wenger and us fans.

Robin Van Persie and Cesc Fabregas should be raring to go after being injured for most of the 2009-2010 campaign.

The weak link in the scheme is the keeper.

I think both Almunia and Fabianski are both two clowns who should be shot at dusk for stupid goal tending.

These guys suck big time.

Let the games begin.

Speaking of games, Internacional and Sao Paulo play their second leg of the Copa Libertadores semifinal in Sao Paulo at Mouribi.

Tricolor needs to win by at least one goal.

Colorado won the first round 1-0 in Porto Alegre.

Both of sides hate each other.

This should be a wild one.

www.palau.org

http://www2.hillsong.com/tv/home.asp

http://www.bolaradio.com.br/

It’s August. This means the EPL is two weeks away. Kick-off begins August 14^th.

My guys from Arsenal played in the Emirates Cup in London.

The Gunners and AC Milan tied at one all.

We started a very young lineup.

The clown in goal was Fabianski.

He did okay.

Jack Wilshere, Andre Arshavin, and Tomas Rosicky started up front.

Samir Nasri and Emmanuel Eboue anchored the midfield and Thomas Vermaelen was rock of the back line.

The surprise of the match was Marouane Chamakh knocked home the bacon in the 36^th minute. Chamakh sent the ball right through the keeper’s wickets.

Arshavin set this baby up with a great pass.

AC Milan found the equalizer in the 76^th minute.

Brasilian the Duck Pato headed home ball. Buda bing buda boom it’s in the back of the net.

Next up is Scottish side Celtic.

Celtic and Lyon tied two all.

All of this action takes place at the Gunners house Emirates.

Lyon jumped out a huge two nil lead before the guys from Scotland scored twice in the final ten minutes to tie this baby up at two all.

These two goals broke the hearts of the French side.

I love it.

The cheating frogs get it shoved back in their face.

Sao Paulo finally won.

Tricolor  stopped the bleeding at Morumbi with a 2-1 over Ceara.

This was Sao Paulo’s first win six matches.

Tricolor had four loses and one draw entering into today’s play.

The win move Sao Paulo to ninth spot in the table.

Tricolor has 15 points.

Fluminense defeated Atletico-PR 1-0.

Washington scored the match winner in the 21^st minute.

Atletico-GO and Guarani tied one all.

Sunday will be a fun one. This is the derby special day Vasco-Flamengo and Palmeiras-Corinthians.

I love it

Flamenguista for life.

www.palau.org

http://www2.hillsong.com/tv/home.asp

http://www.bolaradio.com.br/