Aston Villa v. Arsenal 2-2 26/Dec/08

Villa deserves revenge at home since the last time both teams met at the Grove with a humiliating defeat two-nil, thanks to an own goal and a stunner from Agbonlahor. Disgracefully that revenge will have to wait another year when the Gunners took an impressive and unexpected lead of two that was nullified in the last minutes. With "Villa wrote off from championship" according to Wenger, the ones that are getting off the title race are Arsenal since all our hopes resided in our flamant Skipper Cesc had vanished. Yes, vanished. Cesc was the hope and the medial knee ligament injury is a tough and painful one (from experience I can tell). We are off without Cesc, that is for good. Anyway returning to the match Arsenal...





... saw some modifications, with Silvestre as left back. I do not know if Wenger could, at least, change midfielders from position as often as he does it in the defense department. Although this could make wide material discussion the defense has been the most vulnerable of Arsenal's, in a sense thanks to this modifications. The visiting side was dispossessed and lacked ball control, accuracy and passing. Villa seemed to have measured all of Arsenal's tricks and the only connection to the Dutchman in front was through long balls. Gabriel drove Silvestre nuts the entire game and by the 16' possession stat showed a miserable 26% for the Gunners. Villa pressure increased through minutes even with several arrivals from van Persie. Most of Villa's attacks came from the feet of Young who took advantage of the Arsenal's diminished right side. The zonal block defending was crushed when the miraculuous and unexpected lead came for the Londoners, at 41', with an arrival of Brazilian Denilson. The undeserved lead gave the Arsenal plenty of morale to end the first half. This part ended with the substitution of Song with Welshman Ramsey, due to an injury.





At 46' the Boxing Day glory for Arsenal kept with a Diaby play. The combination of Diaby with Eboue, in a handful of tricks and a later shot kept the visiting side two-nil up. Certainly when Diaby performs well at midfield, he scores and this was not the opposite case. According to Javier Tabares the impact of the first goal held the Villains still. Arsenal dominion of the match came naturaly and Ramsey introduction to the match brought balance to a diminished and weak midfield. But as every fairy story the doom came for Arsenal at 64' when the idiocy of William Gallas rose. Exactly when the real Skipper is unavailable Gallas has a criminal mind in which all kind of dumb things abruptly come. He provoked the penalty, in a late sliding tackle, on Agbonlahor. Barry did not missed from the spot and the game was now 1-2. Strangely enough it seems that Gallas idiocy arises each time he steps on Birmingham soil as you can remember on last year's fatidic match. Several bookings were part of the growing preoccupation for the Londoners as the final minutes came. Nasri's substituion was just a reminder of the tight battles helds in the pitch as Arsenal defended with five. Four minutes were added (only God knows from where the ref got them) and in the 93' the equalizer came after a poor defending by Arsenal, through the left foot of Zat Knight.


It has been a tough weeek, with gossip alm around; Villa wrote off title, Alonso's renewed move to the Grove, CR7 saga strikes again and even Wenger at Madrid.


Although the last match of the year is against Portsmouth, you know, dear reader, that I do not like to do "End of Year Specials" since we consider final as season ends. Even though, I would like to thank each and every person who has visited this blog this year. We have seen Mexico's caatstrophe in pre-olmpics, Spain rise in EURO and Arsenal's defeat at UCL. With home fixtures against Plymouth and Bolton we will resume next year's action. Thank you dear reader and happy Christmas.

Arsenal v. Liverpool 1-1 21/Dec/08

A miserable draw saw the two side cancel out each other when a thunderous and impressive goal by Dutchman van Persie and an Irish pikey Keane shot. Arsenal held for more than twenty five minutes with the sent off of Adebayor in a grim burglary act by Webb. Certainly this major setback has put the Gunners on thin ice regarding title hope aspirations. Although many pundits will erase Arsenal from title race, it appears slightly difficulat now that Liverpool is moving far from the touch line. The visiting side was pretty mediocre when facing a damaged and underdogged home team. Arsene's
declarations are the last touch of irony to the match: Liverpool were afraid but Arsenal reluctant.





The previous season's UCL encounters were still in the mind of many Arsenal followers while the match was about to began. The win narrowed Red's advantage to five points. With these precedents the match started with both sides being speculative. Liverpool players were clearly nervous. From the first fifteen minutes Liverpool's weakness was shown: the unfold of several players in one-touch plays. This effect caused the first arrival of Arsenal on an Adebayor header by a Sagna cross in the fouteenth minute. Arsenal's midfield gained confidence with a focused Cesc, who as usual, was ubicuous. Due to the pressure that Livepool made in the first minutes several Arsenal players had to rely on their tricks such as the ones shown by Adebayor reaching the 20'. With the offside trap led by William Gallas the Arsenal was entering into a difficult area, in which the slightest error could bring woe for the home side. Keane saw the yellow card after a terrible sliding tackle on Clichy.
The lead came for Arsenal in the 24', in the best moment of the match for the Reds. A stunning long ball of Nasri found a lone van Persie who, after chest-control dribbled the two centerbacks and scored on a thunderous shot. This is the type of definitions that we are used to by the fine Dutchman. Gerrard was nulified by Song's close marking by the 30' Arsenal had reached their perfect state: solid defending with ball possession and attacking opportunities with one-touch football. But perfect dreamy football ended when Robbie Keane cancelled Arsenal lead with another stunning strike between the two centerbacks. The Irish international was delighted to score again in front of rival crowd and his face was full of enjoy, instantly ignoring many months of speculation and gossip. Unfortunately, in the last play before the whistle, Cesc Fabregas injured on a clash. He limped out with the help of physios. The match was over.





Diaby's substitution of Spanish EURO winner brought doubts and long faces among Arsenal fans. Possession was key for Arsenal, but they vaguely seem to establish a solid replacement in the center. With the substitution Wenger could have opted for a three-men midfield and Nasri as link. Instead Nasri was redeployed on the right midfield, with Diaby lost. It was as if Diaby did not have any team mates. In many balls he was frequently dispossessed. Diego Latorre's comment on Gallas summed up his stay at the Grove: "No ha aprendido la lección (refiriéndose a la trampa de Fuera de lugar)," [He has not learned the lesson (referring to offside trap)]. Arsenal's problem was the midfield: dispossessed and dissapeared. Nasri too dissapeared. by the 60' Arsenal had 34% of possesion. Adebayor's second yellow showed Mr. Webb's burglary on important matches. As you may remember, in EURO match of Austria v. Poland, Mr. Webb robbed the organizer by giving the Polish a last gasp inexistant penalty kick. With this precedent the sent-off was clearly a MAJOR RUBBERY. Everyone who knows Adebayor technique knows that he always puts his body behind the ball, this time with no intention of hurting. By 70' the hopes of a doomed Arsenal to at least get a second lead were null. Diaby's tricks were effortless, and the beginning of Nasri's reappearing was on the move. Samir is far more dangerous in the center of the field, and the current circumstance forced him to do it, and when he managed to get out form the right wing four chances were created in the remaining fifteen minutes of game, including one shot, two corners and an assist on van Persie. The match ended with a taste like three points in a very peculiar draw.


Regarding UCL draw, all four English drawed such terrible teams against. Platini and friends may be conjuring despite the English dominance in the last years. It is incredible that FCB draw Lyon; is it fixed? Well, mmm, of course not! (haha).


And for Fuck's sake Wenger, this time you have crossed the line. This time I will have to put aside my "objective" analytical aspect for the passional one; in no place in the future, anytime in the world even with a different development the current player is following could JACK WILSHERE BECOME DENNIS BERGKAMP. First because they play in two entirle different positions. I do see the poinst he is trying to make since as I have stated earlier, Wilshere is a major force in the pitch even with his nearly seventeen years.
Wenger states that "[Wenger] thinks he has the attributes to succeed [Bergkamp]."

"I believe he will end up a central midfielder, just off the striker in the Bergkamp role," For any case Wenger does not seem to play him in that position. The change of positions between a player is a deadly two-sharped weapon, as I have stated in Dissapearing in the Pitch. Bergkamp could switch positions since he was overtalented, although we will have to wait untill this happens.
Meanwhile I am preparing another essay-post on young cracks; that will have to do with these topic.

Finally, be careful on what you say to Joppie young Messi, be careful.

Middlesbrough v. Arsenal 1-1 13/Dec/08

Arsenal dropped two points in their visit at Riverside this Saturday. But not much did happen in the league table since leaders Liverpool, followers Chelsea and Man Utd all tied leaving the top table in the same position as before. But it is not the points dropped or the dependency on other results that cared on Saturday; it was the poor form that Arsenal showed in some stances, and the radical good team effort shown in others. The tough visit of Liverpool on Saturday makes us thinks likewise. But for that matter the discussion will be made further.
In the other hand there is always the doubt whether what type of opposition can Boro create. For example last season at Riverside Arsenal miserably lost two to one and in the visit to the Highbury in 2005/2006 the score-sheet was 7-0.





First half settled the encounter's score. Although many pundits have stated that this is the most vulnerable Arsenal's side in years the tempo in which the match was played was really high. This one-touch game led to several plays that ended wide off the mark. The early lead came at 17' when Adebayor headed a corner in the middle of the area; hilarious since no one was marking him. In the following minutes Arsenal defyied physically the relatively weak Riverside team. This form is the perfect one for visiting; high-tempo plays with strong physical dominion. The turning point was Aliadiere. The man scored a good goal, in the 29', following a Tuncay aggresive cross. After the equalizer the visiting squad retracted more and more, reaching the point of a "defensive style." Adebayor and van Persie made some good efforts but none of them encountered the back of the net. Boro played with no mistakes, except the ones made by Robert Huth, the "talented" German defender.





Immediately after the beginning of the second half Boro began to apply pressure, and it seemed as if the second half was a mere continuation of the first. The midfield was so confused that by the 56' the Arsenal had not arrived a single time. Cesc's absence from the field and the improvised right midfielder were among the problems that the visiting side faced. Van Persie's shot went just wide at 62' while a disordered Arsenal went on through the 75' mark. I would like to return to Miguel Simón's quote on the Porto match. It is true that Bendtner as I have argued before, lacks offensive power as well as striker tricks to overcome opposition as in this case again. The match ended with an Arsenal far from grace.



Title race has been the topic everybody talks about this week and also why is important for everybody to rule Arsenal out of the competition. Not just these remarks were brought in the press withOld Jol came out this week, but from the arch-rivals skipper and even our own boss. With all this fuss going around the Emirates in the build-up against Mersey side this Sunday, we are reminded about the same fuss last season: Ancelotti's declarations, Fergies' usual bounce and some casual thoughts from any manager, including UEFA Chairman Platini. Obviously Arsenal is a special team that manages to tremble any top-flight teams inland or continental. This is rather vague in the previous months with the mediocre Arsenal demostrations; mediocre in the sense of not achieveing a constant display.


Toluca was crowned as Mexico's Summer champions in a wrethched match from the level of football, which was excellent by the way, to the refering and the penalty shoot-out. The match was really a "final" and the atmosphere surrounding the stadium was perfect. The game itself was enjoyable, despite the huge number of dangerous tackles, one which brought Villaluz to the hospital. The referee, Roberto García, was a complete disaster. Cruz Azul came from a 2-0 down defeat to bring the match to its utmost end.





Regarding the transmission of the match, by Televisa, I have to say that pseudo-commentators Bermudez and friends are a complete shame to the journalism industry, or at least fot the casual football fan watching it. Bermudez stated, in a complete passionate, disoriented, and unobjective manner that Alejandro Vela was to fail the penalty because he (Bermudez) "sensed it." Yes he "sensed it." I do not know how a "lectured" man working in the football transmission over the past twenty years can say such things. TVC, my favourite football broadcaster, was the other option, which I took without doubting. The bad thing is that several ammount of his aphorisms have trascended to popular culture. Thank God that the Spanish commentator option in the new FIFA 09 can be changed to English, this in order to not hear his voice anymore.





Now that I have touched FIFA 09 I shall put at least a mini-review of it. New features for Wii such as the Footii 8v8 and the re-engineered browser for online games are among the highlights. The return of the Manager mode is a good thing to receive. The problem is that for experimented players who have reached at least five years in the same mode in FIFA 07 or played Football Manager is less than new and lame. Footii matches and Online gaming are the best features. In the online mode it would have been nice a detailed statistics center and more care with connection issues. The game goes afloat due to these two features, being the latter the most attractive one to the FIFA gamers. Regarding the new control mode for the Wii it is a copy from the innovative and highly adaptable control of the PES 2008. Even when copying some aspects of the control, PES overwhelms the newly developed FIFA control. I hope the new version of PES will go out on Wii. A 7.5/10 will be enough with FIFA 2007 being among the highest football Jav's game rankings with a 9.5/10, and the Football Manager 2008 a 9.2/10. By the way if anyone wants to play online, add me as friend (javbrad14) and we will play whenever you want to, dear reader.





"El Clásico" took place in the most dispaired situations, for both sides believe it or not, in the past twelve years I have been watching it. Madrid came with renewed forces after a win against Zenit while Barsa had a defeat with not much importance. In the pitch Ramos and Guti were responsible to batter (fortunately) the young Argentinian Messi. In any case the sum of the scoresheet was two-nil on the blaugranas.



Phill Ball's decision on taking his "sabbatic year" has stunned me. While being among Soccernet's best columnists (Hesse-Lichtenberger the first) for eight years, he has announced his momentarily relapse from his column. From here at Deviations we send him a warm good bye, we will be waiting for his "desert typos." Any case I wil continue to quote him when needed. Good Luck!

Porto v. Arsenal 2-0 (10/Dec/08)

Arsenal let out its choice to qualify as top seed when a rejuvenated Porto crashed the young guns in an encounter that was far from being decorous for the Gunneers. The team lack depth, offensive power and even defensive prowess. Aside the different conclusions that this match can bring, it was the expectancy over Eboué on recovering from his infamous mistake against Wigan that kept many Gooners on the tele. Both defensive backs, Eboué and Djorou, were new in the starting XI. Wenger seemed not to care the importance of ending in first place of the group. This makes us think if he cares about ANY competition at all. I have previously stated Wenger's Guru abilities, since he stated earlier before the match that "Porto have rejuvenating powers."





Anyway, the match started with a dangerous Alves shot at 9'. The Arsenal away form relied on a solid defending and despite the physical challenge by many Porto players the Londoners were holding tight. Diaby clearly was the mastermind in absence of rested Cesc. Reaching the 20' mark either sides did not offer too much. It was beginning to appear like a boring match from the old days, but then Carlos Vela made me laugh. I really do not know how they came to the conclusion that he must take free kicks, I mean if he wants to train he can do some at the TRAINING GROUND but, who cares right. The match showed no signs of progress with the 30' mark. Miguel Simón and Quique Wolff at least brought us some good and amusing commentaries. Lisandro shot saved by Almunia at 29', which was was curiously bad defended by Gallas, was a warning to the visiting side. Although the Welshman Ramsey shot was amongst Arsenal's midtime highlights, he was merely holding in the right side, suffering from the lack of depth that the nervous Eboué had. Reaching the end of the first half, at 39', it was Alves again, who headed without any mark and gave the lead to the Portuguese side. Porto was gaining confidence by the minute and by the time was off, Diaby and Song were conscious of the ammount of work they had done.





The second half was beginning to take its pace when a distracted Arsenal center back allowed Lisandro to score, obviosuly after a defensive wreckage of who else but Billy G. Ramsey's ability was not shown in the right side due to two things: the previously mention of Eboué's lack of depth and his lack of physical prowess. He could not fill the gap of the remaining fifteen meters in order to cross. The lack of ofensive power was also motivated by the fact that Bendtner had no ideas alone, in the box or wide on the wing. He lacks the brilliancy or the spark a Bergkamp or the "Unnamble" could have. He is, to resume, a regular central striker. This is confirmed by a quote that Simón stated and Wolff followed: "No hay peso en el área, no hay peso ofensivo." [There is no weight in the box, there's no offensive weight at all]. Young subs came in; Wilshere for Ramsey and Gibbs for Diaby. Eboué had another of his famous-to-forget nights. The visiting side had possession in the remaining twenty five minutes of the match but even with this not a single run to the box could be produced. Gibbs and the youngies were too shy to shot at glance and the counters were getting dangerous by the minute, with Billy G comanding the offside traps. The free-kicks were still a joke and even with the final push, due to game's inertia, the visiting side could not manage to get a ball in the box.
Strangely enough in the final stages of the game all offensive balls derived onto Wilshere. The final picture of the game was a disbanded Arsenal side that fell into the hands of an organized Porto. My advice to Gibbs: train your technique, not a bad player but that is the most important thing about football.


O Cesc, we give you everything and then you fuck us up. I have already said what I think about him leaving. His decision of playing on Spain is very respectable, but.....

Arsenal v. Wigan 1-0 6/Dec/08

Unfolding in the Barclays Premier League this time Arsenal gunned down a visitng Wigan side full of mistakes in an match that resulted ridiculously strange. In previous encounters Arsenal had unpleasant times, due to the fact that Wigan had studied well enough the Gunners. The latest of these was in the Carling Cup context which went favourable for the Londoners. Ambient at the Grove could not be more emotive even with a dismal display by the visiting side.





Arsenal tried to pursue the idealistic "Fantasy football," that for years Wenger has been inculcating in the youngies, in the first minutes but the vast majority of balls were fought on the strong physical one-on-one challenges, and on the 15' the lead came from the boots of Emmanuel Adebayor, after a deflection by Bramble on a van Persie pass. With both sides managing possession and attacks equally the second goal seemed less likely for the Gunners even when van Persie had a deflected opportunity in the 22'. After Samir's criminal foul by Palacios, the match turned quite crispy and by the 35' a rate of three fouls per minute had been commited by both sides. Among the foulers was Song, who continuosly became dispossessed or in any case, giving away to many balls.
As far as the 40' the tactics used by Bruce were not enough to match the solid defending Arsenal. The innovative 4-3-3 used in the last Cup clash was forgotten in order to put the regular and almost reglamentary English 4-4-2. First half ended with an Adebayor woodwork shot.





Neither squad made any referent move in their lineups and Eboue's introduction to the match was really dull. With Wigan regaining confidence by the minute the Gunners had to recurr to a different tactic and that was the physical. By the 55' both teams had two chances each. Even with the previous ill-fated game the match was turning quite interesting and the set pieces provided several opportunites for the Arsenal, as Sagna's 53'. The finishing made by van Persie at 56' nearly went on the net. An interesting match was taking place. Fortunately enough for the Latics van Persie shot went just wide at 64' as well as Denilson woodwork the next minute. Heskey found some crosses while Zaki entered fresh and quick. And yet again Chris Kirkland showed his credentials and saved three shots by Adebayor in five minutes. Next minutes saw an awful quantity of wide and missed shots.
A good thing to rescue was that Arsenal had the will to seek the goal in the final minutes. Several mistakes by Wigan's fullback could have extended the lead for the Gunners at least two goals. Final five minutes were a pack of untalented rampages to home goal. Wigan was an inch to equalize and again Eboué had to be replaced in another performance to forget. Eboué's dismay has beenthe point of discussion between many sites.

Burnley v. Arsenal 2-0 2/Dec/08

Young guns dreams of advancing in the so-much criticized Carling cup were shattered yesterday at Turf Moor, courtesy of a double pounder by Kevin McDonald. Even when the Clarets showed resilience the young Guns deserve a strong applause as far as their goal was reched; with nine goals in two matches any team of Academy prospects might have never dream in their wildest of reveries. Particular dissapointment was brought from Spaniard Merida, that appart from playing apathetic, seems to have the back of the common reader and the press.
Wigan at home, previous clash in the Carling competition, visits the Emirates next weekend providing several results afar from the desired three points.





The "Capital Punishment III" thus began, in a rather difficult environment. The pitch had been ravaged by rain and snow. Hostilities commenced with an aggresive home side enquiring and putting both possession and speed in the game. A Jansen save on a Bendtner attack proved how moving the match could be, at 5' already. But the quiet night went not favorable for Arsenal as McDonald gave the lead to Burnley at 6'. Certainly a tempestive exit by the young defense lead the Scottish freeway to score. Then on at 10' the Dane failed to put the ball in the back of the net in what now could have appeared to be a two-goal lead for the Gunners.
Ramsey and Wilshere kept the team moving when playing close but the wide variants by the Gunners seemed not to work specially with Vela and Merida. In both wings Arsenal's defense faced strong opposition regarding Eagles and Blake. Pace and tempo obviously diminished and Fabianski was exceedingly nervous. Several aerial arrivals by the Turf Moor side scared the faulty Arsenal full-back. If it were not by Fabianski reflexes Arsenal would be, at least, four-up, at 35'.
Strangely enough Rodgers seemed to play in their right full-back position since his immense thirty-meter gaps between him and his defense partner Silvesttre. Arsenal passing and possession appeared in the last ten minutes of the first half, all attempts ended wide off the mark. All in all Ramsey's attempts to bring an idea on an equalizer were dull due to the solid defending of the Clarets. Jansen became the hero with not even a half of the match playes; a brilliant stop after a Bendtner-Vela combination.




I apologize to you dear reader due to the lack of the next forty five minutes. McDonald scored at 68' the final bummer for the north Londoners. I apologize again dear reader, this beign the first time I review a match not in its entire ninety minutes but from half. I promise that this would never happen again, this also being brought by the poor quality of the second half's transmission and the lack of replay. Again sorry.

Chelsea v. Arsenal 1-2 30/Nov/08

With a clear offside, Arsenal won another London derby and immediately went back in title race after today's Liverpool draw. Certainly the resilence of the Gunners was shown thorugh the mastery of a perfect Skipper Cesc. As you recall dear reader I was one of the first persons to call Cesc for captain since he showed the right manners to lead, something that was not shown by others players of the squad.





The debut of Cesc as captain in the Premier League was surrounded by a hostile environment; both sides booed their previous figures (Gallas and Cole). Two offsides in the first five minutes from Chelsea reminded the capability of their arrivals, but in the subsequent minutes Arsenal equalled possession. The game showed good mobility, agressive fighting and speed above all. Even with the overwhelming possession of the Blues and their attacking abilities Arsenal showed resilence in defense. Bosingwa set a cross, at 31', which found the head of Djorou earning Arsenal an own goal. From that moment on Arsenal administered well their attakcs, this was proved by a van Persie wide shot and another long try from Cesc in the final minutes of the match.





More attacks came from the visiting squad and by the 63' Arsenal were two goals up; the first an offside shot by Robin van Persie and the second another brilliant definition by the him. With all the pressure bumping in Chelsea the Gunners managed to keep the ball in the ground and after several attacks the away squad settled the game. Cesc was the man of the match, with all the touch and quality he set the team running and the discrete show by Denilson and Nasri was shadowed by the Spaniard's. The final minutes of the tie were a complete disaster, with Arsenal's approaching victory the Blues thunderously rammed with all their might but the whistle blew before anything else could happen.

In other news Marco Amelia's tremendous declarations have madde the gamer comunity even more happy. Good job Marco. For example I have had a delightful week proving the newest FIFA 09 and I have to say that its most important features, aside fom the expected return of the Manager Mode, is the Online feature. I will continue to report on this subject as I progress in the game.

Arsenal v. Dynamo Kyiv 1-0 25/Nov/08

After the dismal, horrible and humilliating performance of Arsenal FC at Manchester last weekend, the Londoners grabbed a late lead on the boots of Nicklas Bentner. At least a couple of positive points can be drwan from the match against the Ukranian side; Cesc's debut as captain and several young introductions among which Ramsey's and Vela's. Securing home points is vital for the team in order to obtain a good seed in the next UCL round draw.





With Dynamo pushing slowly towards Arsenal's goal, the latter's midfield abused the three-man liberty that the system Wenger was playing. As early as 8' Ramsey was set up by Vela to gain a corner after a deflected shot. The mix between first-team choices and bench-youngsters did not provide any important opportunities towards Dynamo's goal until 20' with a Ramsey header. Arsenal gained more possession of the ball with Ramsey swaying through both right to middle. Again Arsenal permited Kiev several approaches towards their goal. After a far cross by Vela, Ramsey found a wandering ball, again wide, at 29'. If at least the visiting squad could have shown some resilence and technique it might have pulled Almunia at least in two occassions, but instead the Gunners arrived again with a deep Vela cross that van Persie yet again shot wide. With the final minutes of the first half several arrivals from the home side, all non-efective. 39' Bangoura strike, unmarked by Gallas nearly enters the net. The match promised more and more emotions with the dynamic counters by both sides.





Wide opportunities among tough challenges were the first impressions of the second part of the match. I do not know if Denilson was even more confused than Ramsey in his wide mission. He did not provide a cross in the first fifty minutes. Bangoura proved to be far more dangerous thata what the Arsenal defense expected. With several movements by the Kiev midfield many spaces opened as well as with Arsenal's center back. In a long ball Vela nearly scored in his European debut leaving the Ukranian keeper with the ball in corner. As far as 60' the game was open for both sides, with Arsenal slightly finishing more plays than Kiev. Nothing interesting until 70' happened; Bendtner was on with a particular shoe color. The new Mercurial Vapor IV Pink announced by Ribéry were shown in the young Dane feet. I really do not see the problem of wearing that color in the cleats, but if you think it everybody nowadays wears pink Polo shirts.
Milievski nealy scores but Almunia was quite sharp. Van Persie crossed through Bendtner but he missed the spot. The last ten minutes saw a tempestive home side trying to gain the three points; Wilshere attempts and Cesc's deep passes contributed to what would appear to be another European boring draw but Bentner gave Arsenal a late lead at 87', when a long ball by Cesc was received and scored by the Dane. At least Jack Wilshere, the hot prospect, entered to prove some European minutes. Even Though we saw a terribly boring match at least Cesc's debut as captain was a won. Next tie is at Stamford Bridge.

Man City v. Arsenal 3-0 23/Nov/08

Title contenders Arsenal faced not only an overwhelming opposition in the visit to Manchester but the shame and disgrace of William Gallas' declarations. His words spawned a whole universe of reactions and the immediate result was the exclussion from the team to face the Citizens, and the so-desired controversial captaincy.
Even though several journalists,including Dale Johnson, have stated his inability to lead I would put the blame into who chose him. Mr Wenger made the mistake of, first, bringing him to Arsenal when he had a rift with Mourinho, then gave him the glorious number 'Ten'. Then after many players had Wenger's confidence (Toure and Gilberto Silva), he relieved them from their responsabilities and named him captain. Even when all that seems enough, in the last European championship he commmanded, along Thuram, the catastrophic failure of the French side.



Here, fulfilling his "captain abilities."


We all can remember his horrid display at Birmingham last season, when the title began to slip from our hands.
Several blogs have noted the capability of William Galas to count, yes to count. From recent declarations it was obvious that the Dutchman van Persie was the one of the suppossed turmoil, since his counting addressed a 25 year-old but it could be around the count of 24 or 23.
I told you, dear reader, the obvious dangers of keeping William Gallas as captain, or even as player for the club.
Hopefully is there is some light at the end of he tunnel; Cesc is taking the captaincy. One of the things that since last season, dear reader, I expected. Maybe you remember the name Skipper Cesc. Well now it has materialized, ofcourse for good.





Regarding injuries there were bad news for the Gunners with the absence of Adebayor and Walctott. But in the match things began quite calm with the usual strong possession. It was interesting to see the debut of Gavin Hoyte in the same position of his so-much criticized brother, now at Middlesbrough. But oh what a delight is watching again Robinho playing! As with Wigan Huges exploits he unlimited capabilities of the 3-3. But neither of both sides experienced any goal highlights until, incredibly enough, the 27' with City. As far as the 30' City achieved a denial towards the passing of the visiting squad. Arsenal's forward attempts were made first in the form of a free-kick by Nasri at 34'.
City gave Arsenal to many liberties which the visiting side could not used. Final minutes brought excitement to the game but neither of the teams contemplated opening the scoresheet. But as if it were not enough mid-week missery for the Londoners, Stephen Ireland took advantage of the wretched Arsenal defense, and added a goal to the stoppage-time show for the Citizens.





Second half began like a tempest for the Gunners with a wide shot by Diaby at 47', Bendtner at 48' and van Persie freekick at 50'. At 56' Wright-Phillips set up Robinho with such a fine ball that was chipped even better with the infinite quality of Robinho. Although it hurts to name it, the finish made by the ex-Merengue was one of the best of the tournament. City took advantage of the situation and began to touch, with a far better percentage of possession that the visitng side. Recently debuted Welshamn entered, at 60', for also recently debuted Hoyte, that did not have the best of the matches. Immediate glamour sparked from the boots of Ramsey when Bendtner missed a shot after a through pass. Robinho nearly flicked the third goal but the flag was up. Even though Arsenal produced several brilliant plays inside the box they were not resilent enough to make an impact in the scoresheet. After some wide attempts from the visiting side the Citizens slowed the pace and gave calm to what was supposed to be a smooth lead. Arsenal's missery began to pile by the minute with several attemtps and strikes by the Northern team. And the final touch of irony to a mid-week declaration hazard came with the brilliant display of Sturridge, putting in the back of the net the ball in a kick spot after a childish foul by Djorou.

Old Birds or Old Minds?

Today I was wandering through my magazines and I found an old article written by Jon Lake in Combat Aircraft April-May 2008. I have followed for more than three years this magazine due to the quality of news and updates of the military air industry that others (like Spanish Avión Revue) do not provide. The article discussed several things, which I do not agree completely, about the retirement of the F-117A Nighthawk and I thought it would be a good matter for discussion.





After the usual explanation of the development and background required for the casual reader to grasp the article, Lake begins to state the different causes that made the Congress and the USAF to retire the plane. The usefulness of the aircraft is according to Lake, the consecuences derived from: "This meant that the F-117A was best suited to operating against a modern structured integrated air defense network..." (39). Stating that it was the radar cross section low profile that made it outstanding, Lake concludes that this caused the early retirement, mentioning briefly the incident of the first casualty that took place in early 1999 on Yugoslavia. I think that one of the main reasons that the USAF retired the F-117A was due to the fact that the rebel Yugoslavian forces sold the scraps and remaining debris of the aircraft to the Russian AF. This incident, kept secret from spreading in the news (although mentioned in CNN and The Washington Post) was a handicap that compromised the use of this technology to the USAF. Thus retirement of the precious and most valuable asset in the late nineties, was a painful, but needed job. Since stealth technology had evolved in giant leaps since the F-117A getting rid of it was not that dificult, with all the projects concerning this new technology (B-2A, F-22A, UCAV and F-35).





Later Lake again reiterates that the aircraft "is an old design, and was never designed for easy and low-cost supportability." (37) If the first was the case why have not the USAF retired the aging B-52, or the F-16? That is in the broader sense due to the adaptability that these aircrafts have in order to receive upgrades. But would not it make an upgrade a more suitable aircraft fo the callenges that the AF is facing? This is were Lake seems to go with the flow of the previously mentioned high price of sustaining that the F-117A has. But if you think of keeping a small, effective and decisive squadron of aircraft upgraded it would be the same as to try to upgrade the different airframes of the jeopardized F-15. It is the same as including it on the budget as an upgrade. Lake contradicts himself and even helps my argument in: "but in today's ongoing opearation, an F-16 or an F-15E can undertake the same missions the F-117, and can do so more cheaply..." (40).
One thing to mention was that in the usual article in Combat Aircraft, footage detail is provoded, but not in this case. Even though Richard Cooper took the photos and that there is the advertising in the last part of the article of a new book on F-117A it is curious that the details are not portrayed.





There are plenty of matters to discuss from this the article, but from the whole stealth program. One of them is the naming of the aircrfat and it subsequent changes. The letter 'F' stands for fighter but to this aircraft, certainly do not fit, not even the number. These two devices were used by the USAF to conceal the identity of the plane to the Russians, in that time Soviets. The Soviets suspected that a highly secret program involving DARPA and Skunk Works was taking place and in order to not get fooled, as with the SR-71, they implanted several resources to know the projects's nature. But the American did all the possible to conceal it (from naming it after a fighter, putting a "hundreth" number, avoiding it in FY spendings acquisition) until, as Lake accurately depicts, was discovered (or revealed) in 1989. The fact that it is named 'F' put into predicaments several analysts and later, publishers.
For example Sharpe, although translated by Macarena Rojo, carefully evades the discussion naming it "Avión monoplaza de ataque indetectable por radar"(150) [Single-seated stealth attack aircraft]. And interestingly enough Eden puts the F-117A in the "Attack aircraft" section. But Jackson names it as "Stealth Interdictor" (236).

Other accurate term can be found in F-22 Raptor America's Next Lethal War Machine by Steve Pace, exactly in "...a Lockheed Martin F-117A Stealth Fighter, the world's first operational aircraft designed to exploit low-observable or stealth technology." (8) Concerning generations Pace accurately describes: "The Lockheed Martin F-117A Nighthawk, which was a third-generation stealth aircraft, was a Skunk Works achievement just like its SR-71A Blackbird stable mate—the first-generation stealth aircraft. The Have Blue prototypes were the second-generation. The fourth-generation is the Northrop Grumman B-2A Spirit, while the fifth-generation is the Lockheed Martin/Boeing F-22A Raptor." (51)


Of course that it has been buried, and the final word said: "Thus, after what had been a remarkably short career by modern standards, teh F-117's retirement is likely to be permanent, though it has more than earned its place in the history books as the world's first stealthy attack aircraft." (41) Even though the effort made in the article is substantial it is obvious that the legacy of the F-117A is far from being just in some Primary school book.


-Eden, Paul. Anatomía de Aviones y Helicópteros Militares Modernos. Madrid: Libsa, 2003.
-Jackson, Robert. The Enciclopedia of Military Aircraft. London: Parragon, 2003.
-Lake, Jon. "the Last Black Jet Bows Out." Combat Aircraft 9.2. April-May 2008. New York: Ian Allan Publishing, 36-41.
-Pace, Steve. F-22 Raptor America's Next Lethal War Machine. New York: McGraw and Hill, 1999.
-Sharpe, Michael. Jets de Ataque y de Defensa. Madrid: Libsa, 2002.
-Withington, Thomas. B-2A Spirit Units in Combat. Osprey Combat Aircraft 64. Oxford: Osprey, 2006.

Pure delight!

A handful of mediocre crosses, a scarcely defensive build-up and a poor physical shape summed up David Beckham's flamboyant debut against Arsenal's February Champions League rivals. Two for both teams with a double from both Pato and Vucinic gave us a good match, in the final satges above all.





In other results Hugo Sanchez's Almeria lost the two goal lead when his side faced Espanyol. It was a last-minute free-kick by Pareja that gave the visiting side the shared point. The dreams of Sanchez were shaterred and in that same country FCB faced Osasuna in a battle of a relegation placed team against the leader. It was a thrilling match that saw the Basque lead the scoreboard for nearly ten minutes. But the late show of Barsa forwards assured the home side missery.
It was nearly a perfect Sunday footy marathon, aside from the usual hangover, but seeing FCB loosing (even for ten minutes) is a pleasure that I could not miss. I am really sorry for the Basque, with all their supporters going mental against the hated Barsa. Cheers for them





Man Utd trashed Chelsea three-nil with an exciting performance from FIFA World Player of the Year CR7, even though he did not appear on the scoresheet.Finally I agree with Michael Carrick.

Arsenal v. Aston Villa 0-2 15/Nov/08

Arsenal's chace for the title had a major setback today at the Grove when an overpowered Villa crushed the young side two-nil. Three points were left behind and all I can do is to say the ammount of game and quality the Villains displayed today. It was far from being expected but nobody is surprised with players like Barry, Agbonlahor and Young in that squad. Even when Aston Villa has represented major trouble for Arsenal in the past years (as Bolton for example) the home side always managed to get a positive result, either visiting or receiving.





First half was a disaster for the Londoners. In the 19', after a horrid display of confussion led by William Gallas (Really, him?), a penalty kick was marked. Ashley Young took it but Almunia saved it. The match was pure suffering, even with those awful Mexican TV commentators I have been referring in the last posts. Villa took Cesc by surprise on a personal mark disassembling all the game play for the Londoners in the first half. All spaces created by Arsenal were used intelligently by the northern side. The Villains waited in their box for a desperate Arsenal, in 30'. Barry was able to always find a teammate alone and with a clear view of pass. The Arsenal was completely overwhelmed by zonal possession and the only remanent midfield work relied was not in Cesc but in Diaby. The main question was what was going to happen to the home side when they began to open for attack if the spaces created were already being used by Villa? This question was the main concern regarding Nasri's dissapearance from the pitch today: zonal space marking.





Second half appeared not as promising for the Arsenal than the first. Cesc's failed pass count rose to eight being three in this match. Many question rose as the one above, such as if Bendtner's fit for the Premier League standard. Villa stroke Arsenal in all its flaws, and perhaps in the most dangerous one: the physical. The return of the "Real" Arsenal, the one that lacked all the perfect attributes against Man Utd, arose. The home side grew desperate by the minute. and by 67', it seemed as the tie would be a winning. Exactly when a man of character was needed Carlos Vela replaced Bendtner. I doubt the nature of this decision but for me is far from being realistic. Can a Carling Cup hattricker give Arsenal the lead?
The question was answered immediately when Young crossed from the left seeking Agbonlahor, but rather found Clichy who scored an own goal, at 69'. After the lead the home side crumbled and the pull was rather by inertia than talent. Agbonlahor put the final touch of missery on the already accumulated by the London side when at 80' he crossed-shot Almunia after a wild long ball from Sidwell. Marking was as usual, awful, and practically Gallas let him score the decisive goal. Some attemtps like Cesc's freekick at 87' or a melee in the box at 85' were the last gasps of a miserable side.

Arsenal v. Wigan 3-0 11/Nov/08

The young guns did their homework today when they passed cruised a visiting and dangerous Wigan side. Resilence and fortune are the main features that the youngest side ever can be praised of. Vela and Simpson gave a particultar show, also with juveniles Ramsey and Wilshere displaying their awesome bright future. After the massive win against Utd, these teenagers certainly draw some inspiration from their fellow senior team mates. If this pace continues maybe the youngsters could produce the so-much desired silverware that the seniors could not. One change was made in the line-up regarding the last clash against Sheffield, Bendtner for Simpson. I have to recognize the work done by Mr. Bruce; playing three midfielders and three forwards is not a common practice on England and the tactical work made by him and his team sees a very good developing. The match went calmly enough for the young home defense.





Goalie Fabainski seemed to had a crazy exit but amended his mistake, as early as 3'. One of the actions to highlight, at 14', was the rampage of Vela through the box, while causing several troubles for the opposite defense it was his lack of ability with the right foot that denied his finishing. In that same minute the sparky imagination of Wilshere set Simpson with a pass that Kirkland could merely hold. The young guns were on top and the lead was near.
With all the tempest going on around the Wigan's box it was the turn of them to show their credentials and this was proven with a srong attack lead by Valencia and finished by a de Ridder shot at 17'. Again Ramsey showed his capability of pulling the strings of the team with Randall on a more discrete job. It was a free-kick by the Welshman that scared many travelling fans. The fact was that if it was not for keeper Kirkland the match at least could have been three-nil. Another brilliant save was made on a fine shot by Mexican Vela.
Young and hot prospect de Ridder drew completely mad Gibbs who was left alone in several stances in the first half. Mainly that side was a one-way traffic for Wigan throughout the whole match.
I would like to make a parenthesis here regarding Fran Merida. The young Spaniard has not enjoyed the best of stays in the club and in this match it seemed quite obvious that his style is not as Cesc's even in the widest of comparissons. He seem lousy, confused and even tired. He has not the pace of his team mates and as them he did not shine at any circumstance. He does not seem the hot young prospect of the likes of Ramsey or Wilshere, quite the opposite.
In the late stages of the game, at 43', the lead came. It was a thrilling through pass by Wilshere who passed to beat four defenders, the rest was top-class finishing for Simpson.





Right in the beginning of the second period Simpson had a wide header chance. It seems to me that youngster Simpson has a very unique style as striker. He is physically gifted and with a good technique he can overcome many challenges. Not many good-to-mention arrivals for the home team, or in any case the away, were made at 60'. Pressure piled up for the young guns and in the 62th minute Ramsey gave us the perfect timing for the midfielder to pass. Second goal, at 67', came after Wilshere effort in a clearacne led by a brillinat Vela run that found Simpson lonely. The goal was inevitable as the performance of the Gunners. Now, the applause from a 60,000 crowd began at 70', when Carlos Vela flicked in past Kirkland an impressive and brilliant goal. The outstanding quality was highlighted by another take of the camera, in which he requested the ball from Djorou before he took it. I have to say, dear reader, that the so criticised Mexican deserves a praise. On the other side Dutchman de Ridder was the man of the match to the Latics as his skills and assistances were of good impression. It was not that electric and talented player one year and a half in the EURO qualifiers for the U-23 but he showed the skill and toughness, at least for English rigour.
Amaury Bischoff came in, as well as Henry Landsbury, at 77'. The so much promised defensive midfielder finally made his expected debut. Now as far as I can tell any player who is injured and simply cannot outstand its level should be replaced. That was the case with Kirkland, anyone could see his face in any clearance or effort. Instead of making his side suffer he should have got a replacement. Final minutes were full enjoy for home siders, as far as Wigan they can certainly have their hopes on Dutchman de Ridder, who made a fantastic play that finished in the woodwork.

"That is not my mother's idea for a drive in the country"

Yesterday I spent large part of the day reading and watching movies. I know that among several friends my movie repertorium does not have the "high-sounding interpretations" that in many ways could have, but I think I apologeticaly defend myself. In any case I saw two movies that for long I wanted to watch. The first was Paranoid Park by Gus van Sant and the other A Straight Story by David Lynch.
The first was on display one year and a half ago but for ceratin reasons I could not go.





Paranoid Park tells the story of a teenager who accidentally kills a Police guardian. I do not know if there is an implicit reference to Crime & Punishment by Dostoyevski in the orignal book but it seems to be that, as well as the Russian master has been refered to many times in the recent years. The story as far as I am concerned in the movie, is retold several times, at least three. This again made me think in the postmoder metafiction, that has been so much criticized in the recent years, and which is dully used by some unexperienced writers. Anyway I really liked the film besides of the soundtrack.





The latter is a DVD I bought some time ago, but due to the school I could not watch it either. I have to say that the film shocked me because I expected a typical Lynch movie; a dazzling and detectivesque story with several time frames interwoven as well as many confusing and ungraspable elements, at first sight. It turned out to be a different story, in a sense "straighter." The plot is quite simple but I think it is the message that conveys the whole meaning is what makes it unvaluable. I think it can be catalogued as a Road Movie, although I am not an expert to decide that. Immediately I remembered "Walker Brothers Cowboy" by Alice Munro. This story reminds so much to the typical beautiful lanscapes that Alvin crossed in his journey. It kept coming to my mind, so I re-read it and this is one of the few things I can relate to. The metaphor of the road, as an ending of the cicle of life is well depicted. I would like to say that in a sense is not that Lynchean but that is matter for another post.

"No roads paved when we left the highway. You have to roll up the windows because of dust. The land is flat, scorched, empty. Bush lots at the back of the farms hold shade, black-pine shade like pools nobody can ever get to. We bump up a long lane and at the end of it what could look more unwelcoming, more deserted than the tall unpainted farmhouse with grass growing uncut right up the front door, green blindsdown and a door upstairs opening on nothing but air?" (9)

Munro, Alice. Selected Stories. New York: Vintage, 1997.

Arsenal v. Man Utd 2-1 8/Nov/08

It was the opportunity for the Gunners to get back on the title pursuing and they made it. It seems as if the game was a recap from last season 2-1 (which I still owe the post haha) which was the match that defined title race just with the reverse score. This time it was also that for Arsenal this match defined the season, not even with half of it raced. Now title contention for the London side seem more reachable and the prospect of resurgence is far more near than against Stoke. Even with several first team injuries the young guns managed to overcome the difficult task. It was Samir's night as he rose above level and scored two in a brilliant match. Former Red Devil Mikael Silvestre did play with a broken nose and van Persie faced one match ban from the red card against Stoke. Certainly this match was more favorable for the Northern side that from the London.





Several changes were made in the line-up with Diaby and Bendtner, the latter as the sole striker. I would say that this positioning of the Dane as the only attacker against Utd is a very dangerous and difficult proof to the young Gunner since every match against the Red Devils is among the toughest in the season. And so began the first half with the expectancy of another thrilling match. But not even with a minute passing the Gunners felt the missery of an unfocused United player, Silvestre. It seems this because of his pass to Almunia. Utd was awarded an indirect free-kick inbox. In a deflection of Anderson's kick Carrick found the ball but went jsut wide. On the consecuent minutes the pressure was on the home side with one of the special Roonie Rockets wide off the mark. A good cross from Clichy a minute later saw Bendther header went just wide. Arsenal attempts from the left side, a cross from Nasri and a wide shot by Denilson, were the only side that could be managed for the London side in the first fifteen minutes. Arsenal turn more agressive in the attacking part and in a set-up piece there were three shots on target. The visitig side were suffering from different approaches.

The first fifteen minutes were the beginning of an excellent match full of adrenaline worthy of a game of this magnitude. The game turned backwards when Utd again took possession of the ball until the goal arrived at 22'. There were glimpses of a brilliant Samir Nasri in the beginning stages of the match with the previosuly mentioned crosses but it was his goal, a crossed shot deflected by Utd defense, that marked his resurgence. One has to pay attention to the degree of technique that this kind of shots has. Utd began to make an extreme pressure, and by 28', the momentum of Arsenal appeared to have passed. One thing that the Arsenal took advantage from was the different ways in which Arsenal faced this kind of pressure: reverting them with a strong counter-attack that kept possession till the play was finished. This was the perfect Arsenal that every supporter is expecting with the different attacking possibilities and a strong defending. Certainly by the end of the first half, and with several dangerous Utd arrivals, the Arsenal was beginning to cope with an opposition that was as strong as any top-flight team in Europe





Just second half beginning Samir's dream began. After a play that he created, Cesc, with Evra fouling him, passed through and finished in a thunderous way. Van der Saar could do nothing as missery was piling in the soulders of the Red Devils. Right after the goal a cross from Park fond a lonely Ronaldo who stroke the ball wide, just wide. It was the best game so far in the season for the Gunners. And who could tell that! William Gallas organizing the defense, showing some respect and encouragment. Denilson's effort was considerable, following CR7 in every direction near the goal. Reaching the 50' mark the things began complicating for the home side, not because dispossession but by the flaws of referee Webb. The game was swaying in possession and the full-throated counters were a reminisence of the style played in later tournaments (Germany v. Italy in WC 2006, and Turkey v. Czech Republic in EURO 2008). From the moment of the arrival of the second goal Samir Nasri had begun to appear in the middle, making incurssions in the middle and the fact of his awareness of the need of Arsenal for an attacking midfielder led to him the question of why had he arrived to the Grove. In the final stages of the match the game saw a tranquil Arsenal substitute several players. In an impulsive streak Rafael scored a nice volley in the 90'. But what I was wondering was that just before he scored the six minutes were added, I do not know from where did Mr. Webb counted six minutes of injury time. The final extreme pressure by Utd in the last gasp were neutralized by the colling off of the match by Arsenal forwards.


I have to say that I did not expected either the result nor the way of playing by both sides. I thought that due of our recent form United would crash us in an unexpected form, but it was Gunners unexpected form that rose from level. The point is; if Arsenal is going to play everytime like this in season or just when facing Utd or just when obliges? The quesition still remains unanswered but we all hope it is for the silverware way.

Contemporary Fiction (well maybe not that contemporary)

Since we are organizing the Colloquium this year I have dedicated my time to read some of the books we will find in the event. Due to the popularity and wide knowledge of Paul Auster, he has become almost a "classic" in this event, and this year seems to have no absence. I rememeber I read a couple of years ago The New York Trilogy and later Smole & Blue in the Face.
This winter I decided to re-read the book in order to have a more fresh memory of the different approaches this three novels can have. I now can say that I have developed more as a student than when I read it and I have been thinking of several connections with other works. For example, (and I know that to some it may seem repetitive and boring) in Ian MacEwan's Atonement (which actually I am developing the paper for the colloquium) shares several characteristics. Many critics have developed the idea of "Metafiction" in the current postmodern novel. In this group you can consider MacEwan, Banville, Coetzee, Izhiguro and even Lessing. Auster does not derive from this concept and the point I am trying to make is the creation per se. In Coetzee's novels it is the creation of something in order to achieve certain effect: language to represent, fiction to create. In Izhiguro is the urge for remembering the past. In MacEwan I would say is how far can the mind create, and in which ways the reader, the writer and the narrative voice is involved with the story.
I would like to quote this passage from City of Glass, and after it I think that my point should be cleared.


"What happens when a thing no longer performs its function? Is it still the thing or has it become something else? [...] The word, however, as remained the same. Therefore, it can no longer express the thing." (93-94)

Auster, Paul. The New York Trilogy. New York: Penguin, 1990.


This passage expresses tone thing that critics have not focused enough, refering to this topic of fiction, and that is certainty. In which degree can we, the author and the narrative voice can be certain of what is telling... That is an answer that Auster indeed answers but in the case of MacEwan, we will see dear reader, when you attend to our Colloquium.