The Arsenal Report

Finally he showed up.

Arsenal 2, Charlton 1 at the Valley this afternoon, thanks in large part to the heroics of Robin van Persie. His miraculous volley was spectacular enough to see us move up to 6th place in the table with 11 points. It was our 5th consecutive win. We did not play well as a team, however. Kolo and Gallas looked uncomfortable when dealing with long balls. Gallas especially looked of the pace. He is definitely not a 100% yet. Hoyte again failed to impress and could be blamed for the first goal. He lost Hasselbaink completely and when he did finally manage to catch up was shrugged off too easily for my liking. The sooner he doesn’t have to play the better. Jens had a decent game and had one outstanding save, diving low to his left. He has looked impressive this season—no World Cup hangover.

That being said, the 2-1 scoreline is quite deceptive. When we had the ball, we looked quick to counter and difficult to stop. This game could have well finished 6-3. Henry and Cesc were denied by good saves by Carson. Van Persie missed a sitter. Charlton had a poor first half but played well in the second. They were denied a clear penalty off Gallas’ hand, and Hasselbaink flashed a header just wide of the post. This was one of the most entertaining games we have played this season. Charlton, unlike most teams, were not afraid to attack us.

Hleb’s contribution today will be overshadowed by van Persie. He played a large part in both goals, stupefying 3 Charlton defenders before passing across the box to RvP for the first goal and threading a brilliantly-paced through ball to Eboue who set up the second. Hleb is an integral part of the squad, he proved that again today.

A short bit on the man of the match before I wrap this post up. Over the last couple of months a lot of Arsenal fans have questioned his future at the club. Some people (even some who write for this site) say he cannot play alongside Henry in front. The game today proved that his talent is worth the frustration he fuels when he misses tap-ins like the one today that would have completed his hat-trick. In the long run, today’s goals (especially the second one) will give him a huge lift and hopefully this will translate into goals. Gooners need to be patient—he can be a 20 goal a season striker. He is NOT a winger. With patience from the fans, he will be a legend at this club.

In all it was a great result. We lost the lead, subsequently equalized and then fired in the winner just after half-time. Even though we did not play our best, we came out with all 3 points on the road. It was a typical result for a Champion.

    This weekends trip to Charlton, looks like 3 easy points. Our new found confidence should see us through, comfortably. Since losing Curbishely, Charlton have lost what in my opinion made them a decent premiership team, dicipline and compactness. A side that used its available talent to the maximum and worked hard. Under Iain Dowie however they look like a bunch of misfits. Their summer acquisitions include scum reject Andy Reid, Liverpool reject Djimi Traore and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink who in my opinion is past it. They will be involved in a relegation dog fight that I can almost  guarantee.

    Arsenal on the other hand are looking good. The win at Old Trafford has done wonders. Rosicky has hit the ground running, Gallas has been phenomenal, Djourou looks world class and Henry has finally found his form. As is stands Gallas stands a very small chance of playing a part in saturdays fixture, as does Djourou who is still nursing a foot injury. To the horror of most Arsenal fans (I assume) there is a chance that Gilberto or Song may have to play in the center of defense. The thought of Gilberto playing center back makes me shudder. I remember him having to the take up the role a few years ago (3?) after Keown went off injured. Needless to say we lost 2-0 and that effectively ruined all title hopes. Song, ah well he's just not good enough. This is how I assume we will line up, hopefully Djourou will regain fitness. Gallas is almost definately out.

   Other possible alternatives could include Ljungberg for either Hleb or Rosicky, especially since he was rested mid-week. Hoyte is one of the few players that has not impressed me this season. This is his make or break season, given our quality at right and center back. My prediction, 3-0 to the Arsenal. Henry (2) and Kolo with a thunderbolt from 35 yards out.

    Lastly just a small mention about how we plan on moving to theArsenalreport.com.The Change should happen in a few weeks.

blinkrebelsarsenalthierryhenyfrddyljungbergrobinvanpersie.blogspirit.com simply did not cut it.

    From now a simple theArsenalreport.com in your favourite browser should get you here. Please feel free to leave comments. We cater to your needs.

Cheers!

blinkrebel 

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