transfer news (28/12/2009)

Hmmm ,it was a truly wonderful performance indeed against Villa, comprehensively ,beating fellow title rivals(???) 3-0. At the centre of it was captain fantastic Fabregas. A sublime ,but sore performance as his recurring hamstring injury had the final say. Equally brilliant were Diaby and Song. Denilson, for whom Fabregas came on , is down with a back spasm. With Song going out for the African Cup of Nations in January , the Arsenal midfield look stretched to say the least. A midfield of Ramsey, Diaby, Nasri ,Arshavin for the whole of January is not going to instill much fear in upcoming rivals such as Portsmouth , West Ham , Everton etal . Even worse, Arsenal have no cover for the centre midfield positions. One solution is to play Nasri in centre and ask Walcott to hug the wings. The better one will be to sign somebody as a stopgap measure. Patrick Vieira sounds like an excellent bargain. Le Prof has admitted that he is scouting for midfielders in the winter window. Reports suggest that he has set his sights on Lille's wide attacker Eden Hazard and Saint Etienne's Blaise Matuidi. The former looks difficult given his price tag and the run of form Lille are enjoying in Ligue 1. Matuidi is in the mould of Song and the French U-21 international would make an excellent signing ,but ,given Arsenal are looking for a stopgap measure, he wont be too keen on it. So why not plump for Vieira!! He has a history with Arsenal ,he's classy and he comes cheap.

.Coming to the frontline, Arsenal cant wait for the return of a proper striker in Bendtner( i never imagined i would be saying this ). Arshavin is becoming the joke of the league . Imagine a 5 foot 2 inch centre forward. Eduardo looks bereft of pace,confidence , finishing ability and whatever you expect of a striker. Vela doesn look the exciting prospect he was ( u have a feeling Wenger killed him a bit by not giving him gametime ). All this makes RVP s loss monumental .If Arsenal need to mount a title challenge and make headway in Europe and in the FA Cup(the best chance of a title) , they need a big strong physical centre forward ( i mean an Adebayor with commitment ). Andre-Pierre Gignac, Toulouse's French international forward has been making noises about playing in England. The Ligue 1's top scorer last season would be an excellent buy given his sharp-shooting skills and his physical approach which will suit the English game. Toulouse are blowing hot and cold this season and , Gignac would move . Arsenal's long time fry in the pan, Bordeaux's Marouane Chamakh looks difficult,very difficult. Bordeaux are in stunning form , leading Ligue 1 by 9 points at the winter break and breezing into the Champions League knockouts with the best defence. Chamakh would be mad to leave such a form team ,even though his contract runs out at the end of the season.

. Wenger's other options include a move for Ruud van Nistelrooy as a stopgap measure or a loan deal for Milan's Klaas-Jan-Huntelaar. However, RVNs wage demands for a stopgap striker might hinder a move for him. Huntelaar looks more viable , but Milan might pull the plug at any time. So as of now ,Wenger should sign Vieira and Gignac. I also suggest a loan move out for prodigy Jack Wilshere . Burnley and West Ham are sniffing around. Lets see what January throws up. A very happy and prosperous new year in advance !!!

the importance of being fabregas

the game : Arsenal v Aston Villa , Date : 27/12/2009 . He came , he saw, he conquered and he got crocked . Cesc Fabregas is becoming a fleeting pleasure in every Arsenal fan's life these days. Its an understatement to say that he came and changed the landscape of an otherwise toothless Arsenal attack . .Arsenal started with a midfield of Song,Denilson and Diaby. We know what Song does . Denilson hardly looked as if he wanted to be on the pitch. His passing range hardly exceeds 5 feet. I can hardly believe this guy captained Brazil in every level till Under 20s. Well ,but Diaby is surely becoming a top class performer this season. He has shown exemplary leadership and willingness to take games into his own hands and settle them. He has produced masterclasses this season against AZ Alkmaar at home in the Champions League and he was sublime last weekend against Hull City. However ,Villa are not Hull and offer more in every third off the pitch. However , he was the best player on the pitch in the first half , breaking up tackles, helping out Song, passing confidently and making up for Denilson's inadequacies. But , Arsenal with Arshavin and Eduardo (Dunne and Cuellar must have had laughing fits when they saw the teamsheets) which meant a lack of height and a distinct lack of pace and confidence(read Eduardo) , Arsenal dint offer much going forward. The scene demanded the introduction of an albeit not fully fit Fabregas. .As soon as he came on , the crowd lifted and Arsenal seemed to step up the intensity and their game an extra level or two. He seamlessly threaded balls, made darting runs and as usual everything seemed to go through him. His quick feet forced Dunne into an error (his first of the match ), which ultimately proved costly. Fabregas stepped up confidently and produced a sublime freekick which left the American goalie Friedel all hands up . Sometimes, you just need to stand up and admire the class this puny 21 year old oozes . Arsenal shifted gears then and went on hunt for the second ,which will put the match beyond Villa. Arsenal have in the past , allowed late goals in and with Villa scoring in the last 15 Premier League games, you sensed there was a lot of anxiety. .However, the 2nd goal did arrive. Milner who has been Villa' s Player of the Season so far ,somehow passed straight to an impressive Armand Traore at leftback. The Frenchman produced a beautiful crossfield diagonal to the "Roadrunner" Walcott. A rather hamstrung Fabregas had to match Walcott for pace ,and then nose ahead of Stephen Warnock to cooly slot in Arsenal's 2nd past Freidel. An impressive run and a finish to match it , but he had worked up his already aggravated hamstring. He was soon limping around and had to be taken off . Well, this was some gamechanging performance. .However, Arsenal weren finished . Diaby rounded off his brilliant evening by running through the Villa defence for fun and produced a classy side-footed finish past Friedel ,which would have made Bergkamp proud. As the dust settled on the evening, Arsenal had hauled themselves back into the title race ( 4 points behind leaders Chelsea with a game in hand). However, injuries to Denilson and Fabregas had fans sweating. .With Song heading for the African Cup of Nations in January, you really are worried about Arsenal's midfield if Fabregas and Denilson dont recover quickly. With already the forward line being thin, this triple blow could have Arsenal rocking at arguably their best form. So its imperative that the Professor signs some central midfielder in the January window leave alone a center forward. I wouldn mind Patrick Vieira :) :) :) . Alas, lets leave that discussion for now. Lets savour this Catalan kid called Fabregas who we know will not be at Arsenal for much longer (his's heart is at Barcelona) . Captain Fantastic. True to every letter !!!

Premier League Half-Season Review

Well , almost 19 games are up in the Premier League and we are now in the busy Christmas period where games come in thick and fast. Well, this season has been suprising. It could even be an understatement. Some has been expected and some unexpected. Chelsea, Manchester United and Arsenal were always expected to be there or thereabouts when Christmas comes. But , there have been a few shocks.

.Chelsea under Carlo Ancelotti, have enjoyed a good start. A man with so much of experience has brought a new dimension to the squad and his new diamond formation in midfield has had a few guessing. Even though Chelsea's form has been brilliant both domestically( a minor abberation in the League Cup) and in Europe, the recent slump of 1 win in 5 Premier League games and the approaching African Cup of Nations( they lose Drogba, Kalou,Essien ,Mikel) has Ancelotti in shifty feet. Chelsea are not looking comfortable.

.Manchester United have lost more games than they would have wanted to . A makeshift defence in the past one or two months has been the main problem , and ,Fulham were the most recent to take advantage of it .However, the midfield doesn look settled . With Carrick and Fletcher playing defense, United rely too much on Giggs and Valencia. Obertan looks a good signing though. Upfront, Ronaldo hasn been replaced and how United replace his goals will go a long way in determining their season. Rooney cant do everything on his own. Berbatov oozes class but doesn work hard. The gamble of signing Owen is still out for the jury,nothwithstanding a Champions League hat-trick and Derby winner against City.

.Arsenal have had a mixed season so far. They have blighted by injuries , none more than van Persie. His loss is monumental and how Arsenal cope up with his absence is going to be crucial. Wenger must realize that this is his best chance to win the title in such an open title race. Arsenal's season will be decided by consistency , as they have already shown that they can outscore opponents for fun.

. Aston Villa and Tottenham are slowly emerging strong contenders for the Champions League spots. I am more impressed by Villa , with their brilliant manager and British squad. If they can avoid the slump they experienced towards last season , Villa could be in the big league soon. Tottenham have been exciting to watch , but poor defeats have exposed chinks in the armour. Tottenham should be there or thereabouts in the fight for Champions League spots come end of the season.

.Now, the biggest story of the season is the circus at Manchester City and now the new ringmaster is Roberto Mancini. Signing Tevez, Adebayor,Barry,Santacruz, Toure , they did send out a statement but their performances on the pitch haven matched it . They looked like a team without direction , and it will be interesting to see what Mancini can make of this motley crew.

.Well ,coming to Liverpool, their season is already in shambles. Out of the title race and the Champions League , they need to do serious damage control .. They are involved in a serious dogfight for the top 4 places and unless Benitez and the owners make some smart moves (chances of that happening are nil), Liverpool could go into meltdown and lose key players like Torres, Gerrard and Benayoun.

"watch this space for dedicated entries on Arsenal , Liverpool, Man United and Chelsea"

Coming to the rest of the league . Fulham have been impressive as usual . Birmingham have been punching above their weight and both might be in contentions for Europa League spots come end of the season. Sunderland, Stoke and Blackburn are in no-mans land and will try to move upwards as much as possible.

Stunningly , one 7 points seperate Wolves at 13th to Portsmouth at the bottom . Wolves,Burnley,Wigan, Bolton,West Ham, Portsmouth are in a serious relegation battle already and could make for an awesome season for us neutrals.

"watch this space for more articles on the Premier League"

first post

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Finally. A month has passed since i decided to write my own football blog. Well it was one of my aims this holiday,but never could find time or the will. But ,somehow on this cold, wintry morning i decided to do roll my sleeves and do a bit of work. Watch this space in future for some decent articles .

As an ardent fan and a passionate follower of the game, i believe this blog is a way to express my thoughts on whats taking place in the world of football. When it comes to the game, i support Arsenal . I believe they are a special team (trophies or no trophies ) , and the football they play is a treat on the eyes. When it comes to the national team, its Argentina . No special reason, but one of the joys of football, Juan Roman Riquelme used to play for them ( I hope he returns).

.So thats it. Lets hope this post is an exciting beginning for whats to follow.