A loss to be proud of? Hollywood Superstar appeal + Ratings and Review

by & filed under Uncategorized.

Missing: Sloth. Last seen playing up front for Athens based Greek team. If found, please return to Hollywood.

Last night, Arsene Wenger took the Carling cup to a grander stage… Europe. The game was irrelevant to Arsenal but still held much importance to the yet unqualified Greeks. The team line up was unfamiliar to anyone without ATVO.

L Fabianski

K Gilbert Bartley Silvestre Cruise

Mérida Song Ramsey

Walcott Vela Wilshere

Alex Song took up the more familiar position as the man in the middle and Silvestre returned as centre back and captain for the night. This was the youngest team ever to be fielded in the Champions league. All eyes were focused on what Bartley could do in the middle of defence, how the famous actor could perform at full back and whether Carlos Vela could deliver us some hope up front.

Well, I’m happy to report that in the main, we were not disappointed.

Tom Cruise looked more than capable filling in at left back. He was assured on the ball, he played in a powerful manner and I was very impressed with his maturity considering how young he is. Kyle Bartley, although far too slight to start consistently in the Premiership had the presence of a seasoned pro at the back. He is 6ft 3 and he uses his height to full advantage. He is good in the air, comfortable with the ball at his feet and more than capable of smashing the ball out the stadium if the need arises. Kerrea Gilbert at the grand old age of 22 was partly responsible for switching off for the Olympiacos goal in the second half, but other than that, I thought he was ok.

Onto the midfield. Theo Walcott displayed the sublime and the, well, not so sublime. I’m not his biggest fan, I think for the money he’s on he should be running games like the one last night. However, truth be told he was largely ineffective with the ball at his feet and his finishing was poor. He did manage to cause ruffle some feathers, but mainly down to his natural gift, pace. He’s a formula one car that’s being navigated using a sail.

Song had a super game in the middle of the park. His passing was immaculate in the main and he did his level best to break up play. No easy task in a hugely inexperienced team. There were some truly magical moments of skill from the big man, so a big thumbs up from me.

The star of the midfield was Rambo. This is a player who is destined for great things, a player who can be bigger than Charlotte Church, nay, bigger than Tom Jones! His skill on the ball is controlled, his ability to drive past players in the middle with pace and power is a joy to watch and his growing stature on the pitch must be giving Wenger cold sweats at night. Yep, the boss is going to have to start considering him ahead of his love children. Rambo was man of the match for me last night, converting that type of form onto the Premiership stage is his biggest challenge… which I’m sure he’ll over come shortly.

Up top Fran Merida looked a class act as usual. His control and eye for a neat pass reminds me of Cesc. His additional pace and penchant for a shot leads me to wonder how good he could be for us. Jack Wilshere didn’t have his best game in the red and white and I sometimes felt like his body was letting him down. He has the brain of an Premiership superstar, sadly not the physical presence yet. Letting him leave on loan fills me with dread… however, a toughening up at half decent club might do him some good! Maybe Everton?

Carlos Vela did his level best to get in all manner of good positions last night, his finishing letting him down. The most notable miss was midway through the second half. Rambo cut the ball back to him in acres of space, only for Carlos to fire into the legs of Nikopolodiakashmanish. He’s going to have to sharpen up quickly if he wants a shot at the big time. I sense Arsene isn’t the biggest fan of Mexican, so he’ll have to work double hard to impress.

Last but not least, a word for the keeper. Fabianski showed why he should be number one last night. He came bounding out of his area for almost every ball that dared enter his box, he was off his line at lightning pace to deny the Greeks on a couple of occasions and his hands were safer than an empty match box. Given half a season, Fabianski could be the answer to all of our goalkeeping dreams. Will Almunia have to sustain an injury for us to realise this dream? Probably…

Conclusion:

A very good run out in a very unimportant game. Lothar Matthaus can harp on about how we disrespected the competition all he likes. Our injury list is justification enough that we didn’t need to field a first team and as far as I’m concerned, teams should put maximum effort into winning their group early… then this wouldn’t happen. Apparently this is the 5th season we’ve won the group before the last game. We’ve now got two weeks until the draw (18th), and to be honest, there’s not point in worrying about who we’ll get. We’ll have to face all the big boys on our way to the final. Madrid would be nice early doors, I’d like to beat Inter at some point… the only teams I don’t want to face are the English ones!

On the playing front, I was very impressed. Some food for thought for the coach. The only thing I’ll say that’s slightly negative is that the Champions League is more suited to our kids development. It’s technical and far less physical. Transferring that form to the homeland is a much more brutal kettle of fish. Still, lets enjoy the talent coming through, salivate over our impressive English core and keep them crossed some of the foreign boys will get their chance to shine in the Premiership!

Ratings:

L Fabianski 7.5

K Gilbert 6

Bartley 7.5

Silvestre 7

Cruise 8

T Walcott 6.5

A Song 8

A Ramsey 9

J Wilshere 6.5

F Mérida 7

C Vela 7

P.S. Make sure you check out Young Guns this morning… they’re sure to have an opinion on the game!

[brightcove vid=55719452001&exp=271552671&w=300&h=225]

See you in the comments!

579 Responses to “A loss to be proud of? Hollywood Superstar appeal + Ratings and Review”

Jump to comment form ↓

  12. Mayank

    Fabianski’s 24, he’s at a very good age to enter the first team. Though the problem is that he’ll make mistakes that first team action guarantees and with Al breathing down his neck he might not be afforded the time.

  17. Goonerman

    I think Fabianski made a poor attempt to save the goal last night; he ran out jumped up in the air with his legs astride. Leonardo simply knocked it under him. Prat.

  21. A

    Gotta disagree Goonerman, first glance it looked like that but when you see it again he’d basically formed a long barrier and it was a miracle that Leonardo got it between his legs. Fabianski imo was very very good last night, I want him to take over asap, he’s ready, and will become one hell of a keeper.

  29. Franchise

    i saw it gunners the stunners. there were some sick free kicks on matchday 6

    ronaldo’s
    messi’s
    and balotelli’s

    how about the finish from milos krasic????

  30. Mayank

    All these 35 yard screamers we see these days have more to do with the ball than the person striking it. I’d like to see them do it with the Nivia football i used to play with in school…

  31. Gunners The Stunners

    Arsene Wenger says his Arsenal team will fear no-one in the last 16 of the Champions League and found several positives in defeat.

    The Gunners topped Group H despite going down 1-0 to Olympiakos in Greece – where Wenger fielded the youngest ever starting eleven in the history of the competition.

    Arsenal have avoided Spanish trio Real Madrid, Sevilla and Barcelona in the second round draw – but could face either of the Milan giants or Bayern Munich when the pairings are made in Nyon next week.

    “There’s nobody to fear, but there are some teams I would prefer to others,” he said. “If you ask me which teams I will not answer it.”

    Wenger praised the overall team performance but Aaron Ramsey stood out with the most accomplished performance on the night.

    He said: “I don’t like to compare players who are different, but he [Ramsey] has a good presence, a good personality and gets in the final third. He improves technically from game to game and that is promising.”

  38. Nick

    A his free kick was mustard and he does it on demand not once a season like some credit where credit is due that horrible little shit is good

  39. Franchise

    A no one else in world football could make a ball dip as quick as ronaldo’s did or does

    all the free kicks looked like bad goalkeeping by the way that is why they are so great. even when the keeper is around the ball he stands no chance

  41. Gunners The Stunners

    Mourinho still cracks me up with his comments. Last night, when asked whether Balotelli’s goal proved that he is very talented and needs more chances to play in the team, he answered,’Yes, he has the talent but the thing is when you have talent, you grab it with both hands not with only one hand’. Makes no sense but is funny. :D

  42. A

    I actually really rate Mandanda, he did very poorly there though. Balotelli’s free kick was hit ridiculously hard, it was a very unusual one.

  43. gazzap

    Makes me laugh that people find a reason to slate Fabianksi even after he has played well. Last night it was an unpressurised game!
    I dont even know what he has done to upset people.
    I know there are a bunch of people that keep banging on about the Chelsea game but seriously, get over it.

    On the goal, he made himself very big and was only a couple of yards in front of Leonardo. he did everything right. sometimes if the striker does everything right (or lucky) you are just not going to save it.

    I think he is a top keeper and just needs games. he should be our number 1 from now.

  44. A

    Franchise Mandanda’s positioning was poor, as was his reactions, and he even got a hand to it! That goal was poor keeping, simple as that!

    Ronaldo when he hits the air vent, as against Pompey, is unstoppable, but I wouldn’t say noone else in the world does it! Pirlo and Del Piero were well before Ronaldo was, it’s just that he was the first in the prem.

  45. Nick

    a mill on song will be a great investment when some one buys him for 75mill, coz that will be the going rate for average players in 12 years time if he keeps up the momentum he could be there you know

  46. Franchise

    A the only way any keeper wld have stopped that goal is by literally building a brick wall the dimension of the goal

  51. SongtheGreat

    mourinho is walking a very thin line,i just dont like him….end of story…

    balotelli well it wasnt mourinho’s choice to let him play ….that was pressure from the Owner…

    im gettin ready to puke everytime mourinho’s name is mentioned…

    what a fecker

  55. A

    positioning is poor, too far off his line, reacts slowly, goes with the wrong hand, and even then it’s a perfect height for him and he gets his hand to it! on par with the drogba fk against us, neither should ever go in. Not as bad as the cesc howler against tevez, but should still never be a goal

  56. A

    choy he’s changed recently. They used to be just a case of hitting the air vent, so he had no control over where the ball went, it was just a case of hitting it hard and if the distorted movement kicking it that way made it dip then it was unstoppable. Now he takes free kicks aiming them more, although not many go in that way as his technique isn’t great for it

  58. Franchise

    pepe is 6ft 2 he was standing beside the wall and at least 2 of the 4 marseille players in the wall were taller than him and the other 2 about the same height. it wasnt a short wall at all

  61. A

    http://www.101great goals.com/videodisplay/4161338/

    lol

    yeah it wasn’t a small wall, but so far out the wall wasn’t a big issue, it’s easy to get it up and over from that distance, usually power that’s the issue from that far out.

    did people see ronaldo when he missed the penalty, and then his sending off? what a complete and utter bellend. Really don’t want to play madrid in the champs league though, he’d completely rape us, along with kaka

  63. Gunners The Stunners

    Fran, Choy, What ronaldo does before taking the free kick is that he puts the ball carefully where the valve is positioned towards him making a 25-30 degree angle. He then hits the valve with full power which makes the ball dip on its way into the net.

    Some ex-footballer explained this technique on Sky Sports – Football on Sunday program but he also said that this is very hard technique to learn and learn to perfection like Ronaldo.

  64. Franchise

    A rule books for GK in free kick situations says

    use the wall to protect half of the goal and position yourself closer to the other half

    if the taker is good enough to get the ball over the wall to the other half you and protecting kudos to him for the effort but primarily u should protect your own area

  67. B

    So, Vela has signed a new deal. At least if he goes, we’ll get some good money for him. Hope he lives to his potential soon though…

  68. Mayank

    Really A? If we’re to win the CL we’d probably have to face them. I don’t think they’re that much of a threat if we keep from them for long periods.

    If i had to avoid anyone it’d be Chelsea.

  70. SongtheGreat

    im not sure that was anything to be pleased about A…vela doesnt show much of a promise im afraid..he’s becoming a soft gun…

  71. Clacko the gooner

    i have been watching that debate for a while and Ronaldo is one hell of a free kick taker. A, i am sorry but your comments seem just jealous to me. If taking afree kick was as easy as you say it is how comes not every player can score them or take them like he can? If it was that easy everyone would be doing it!

  72. A

    I agree Franchise, he wasn’t too far across at all, he was too far forwards. It was very poor keeping.

    In situations closer to the goal what you’re saying is absolutely correct, if someone can get it up and down over the wall from 20-25 yards then it’s basically a goal, nothing you can do. From 35 yards it’s a different story, and even being too far forwards, and slow to react, Mandanda got a full hand on it, but pushed the ball into the side netting. Whether you like Ronaldo or not I don’t get how anyone could claim that isn’t poor goalkeeping.

    What you’re saying is true, which is why Drogba’s goal was poor goalkeeping from Almunia, and Tevez’s was absolutely attrocious from Cech, but for different reasons to Mandanda’s shocker against Ronaldo

  75. SongtheGreat

    there has really been only one free kick to remember ever Carlos…that was a well taken free kick..barthez didnt even react..and zico had a few good ones….

  77. A

    Complete bollocks imo SongtheGreat, Vela has shown amazing promise! Just because he’s off form and lacking confidence at the moment doesn’t mean his amazing potential has suddenly disappeared!

    Mayank I’d worry about them a great deal, they’ve become much much better defensively, and they could really hit us on the break as City did, but better. Very quick, direct, and a real threat in the situations we’re most vulnerable to.

    Huh Clacko, jealous?! When did I say taking free kicks was easy too?? It’s far from easy, kicking the ball at the right point on the air vent, and with the right technique to get it going without any real curl takes alot of practice, and not many people can do it…. Ronaldo can, Pirlo, Cassano, Del Piero can, and a few others, but you never see it down the leagues. It’s not easy in the slightest

  79. Clacko the gooner

    STG, i remember Barthez saying that the first he saw of the ball it was heading towrds the corner flag and then he saw it in the net and had no idea what had happened. That was an awesome free kick.

  80. SUGA3

    and Vela will come good – it is all about giving him a beast to play off, he would be banging them left right and centre…

    what a shame that Ade turned out to be such a shitcunt…

  82. Franchise

    A its the speed of the ball. Speed as a result of the advances in ball technology and the technique of the hitter

    the way that ball dipped Mandanada only stood a chance if he could read the flight of the ball. it dipped with a swerve to make matters worse

    the keepers would be hard on themselves for not saving some of these shots but you can not blame the keeper for that. if he saved it it would have been a great attempt but a greater save but he didnt which makes it a sick attempt

  84. A

    It was good Clacko, but not in the same league as Juninho – he was out on his own as the best by some distance for a couple of seasons at Lyon, any fk within 30 yards was basically like a penalty!

  85. Keyser

    As a kid I used to regularly do what Ronaldo does on his freekicks with those £1 balls you used to get, in fact I did it with almost every shot I took and even some throw-ins, it was well easy.

  86. Clacko the gooner

    A, you were saying it was pure luck that he would hit the air vent and would have no control over where it went. Those were pretty much your exact words. If it is that easy then i should be able to do it, but i can’t.

  87. SongtheGreat

    excactly Clacko..damned i close my eyes and i still see it..one of those moments who stays with you forever…much like some of Banks saves…

    im telling you A…vela crumbles everytime he gets the chance…not very promising ..

  89. Franchise

    it was more or less a half chance cos no one has the right to bang in goals from those distances especially when the keeper expects it as it was a free kick

    kudos to the player

  90. Clacko the gooner

    A, i like the way you put that about Juninho. Any free kick in 30 yards was basically a penalty haha. He was a pretty special player.

  94. Franchise

    Juninho is a free kick legend

    del piero in his hey hays too

    ronaldos technique is different though. drogba seems to have mastered it. most of his free kicks are on target nowadays but he doesnt get it over the wall

  98. A

    Clacko it wasn’t pure luck for a second that he hit the air vent, he absolutely set up to hit the vent, that’s what his free kicks were based on. When you hit the vent the ball moves in a distorted way, sometimes it dips, as against Pompey, sometimes it rises, and ends up in the second tier, as it did many times for Utd last season! That’s where the element of luck in that technique comes in! It isn’t easy to hit the vent, with that much power, and straight on with no curl, I never said it was easy.

    Yeah Clacko Juninho was ridiculous for a period, his conversion rate was just scary.

  99. Clacko the gooner

    Nick have you seen the couple thsi season that Tommy V has tried. Basically the same as Kolo. If you get in the way of it you will most likely spend a night in hospital.

  100. wardo

    Gunners TS…. @15:49

    I saw it. Great free kick. I’m 95% certain that it took the slightest deflection. Still a thunderbolt

  101. Franchise

    in the past free kicks were kid off floating and curling

    the new technique these guys use is crazy

    i must say i can remember juninho doing something similar at times but he was mostly curly floating them :P

  104. SongtheGreat

    Anyone what was the name of the number 10 player in Peru sometimes back..he had a few good ones..

    and A jsut read that no action where to be taken against Cska…regarding the two players that where doped…

  106. insidealbania

    I’m surprised Arsh doesnt take a few for us especially as RVP is out. Also is it me, or do we just not get many free kicks in good positions lately?

  109. Clacko the gooner

    Who was that sout American keeper that took all the penalties and free kicks. He actually had a demon free kcik. Can’t remember his name for the life of me.

  110. Keyser

    It isn’t much of a new technique it’s just not one worth mastering for most players, you could toe punt the old Addidas Tango balls and almost get the same trajectory and dip, but it’s hit and miss stuff.

    Ronaldo shoots with the same sort of whip aswell, Nani does it. The cleverest thing Ronaldo’s done is make people think it’s some new dazzling technique.

  112. Franchise

    if i were arsene next summer i wld partner gallas with a newly signed beast 6’3″+ and move verm into midfield. he has got such a great shooting technique and might bang in a few from midfield. his passing is quite impressive too

  117. Nick

    that has to be the best save ever imo well fancy/flash anyway

    Fran think wenger will have to convert a cb to get the dcm we need but will he be able to get a cb to replace tv :?

  120. Franchise

    keyser if u cld master that technique u wld at least have made it in the championship. its not as easy as you think it is.

    till date over 60% of pro footballers dont know to hit the ball properly yet they easly earn £5,000 a week

    how many times have we seen players like Song, Eboue, Anderson etc etc hit the ball embarassingly? or how many times have we seen players hesitate to shoot cos they dont trust their technique? its an art

  122. Keyser

    Chilavert was the one with the fre-kicks, Higuite was a mad fucker who saved with the scorpion kick and used to try scoring by dribbling from his own box.

  124. Nick

    sounds like lehmen who bad was he in the early days comming out doing kick ups and other shit he was nop good at but at least he came good in the end now he just pisses on the side of pitches good to see him mello with age :)

  129. Keyser

    Franchise – Come on everyone thinks they could make it, but try it down the park, you won’t get it right all the time, but maybe if you’re good enough you could hit it right once in a while, if Ronaldo can do it, they’ll be plenty of others.

    I’m not saying it’s easy, it’s just not something special, the difference between us and the professionals is that they do it at that level.

    Heh, I’ve thought about it and it’s like taking the best player from your local five a side team, making a five a side team of five best players, get them to play each other and more the better players upwards.

    I bet I could chip a ball like Bergkamp, lob a keeper, but then you’ve got to think that every player is the quickest, strongest, even most skillful player of his area.

  140. Gunners The Stunners

    Arsenal Football Club is delighted to announce that Mexico international striker Carlos Vela has signed a new long-term contract with the Club.

    Twenty-year-old Vela made his long-awaited Arsenal debut last season, and burst onto the scene with a fantastic Carling Cup hat-trick against Sheffield United at Emirates Stadium in September 2008.

    The Mexican forward signed for Arsenal in January 2007, but then spent the next 18 months on loan in Spain gaining precious first team experience, before coming back to London permanently for the beginning of the 2008/09 season.

    Carlos, who has made eight first-team appearances this season, is a regular for Mexico and has already made 19 appearances for his country, scoring six goals during this time.

    Vela made his senior debut for Mexico in September 2007, aged just 18, scoring his first senior international goal just one month later. He also played an integral part in Mexico winning the 2005 FIFA Under-17 World Championships, scoring five times to take the Golden Boot, and was also a member of the Mexico squad for the 2007 FIFA Under-20 World Cup.

    The skilful left-footed striker began his career with Deportivo Guadalajara in Mexico, before moving to Celta Vigo in Spain, from where he joined the Gunners. Vela has now made a total of 38 Arsenal first-team appearances, scoring seven goals.

    Manager Arsène Wenger said: “We’re delighted that Carlos Vela has signed a new long-term contract with the Club. Carlos is a fantastic talent and we have already seen glimpses of this during his performances.

    “Let’s remember, he is still only 20 years-old, so there is still a huge amount to come from this boy. We have invested a lot of time in Carlos, as we put him in Spain for two years to get some good experience. Now he’s back with us, we’re working hard with him every day and he is a very exciting player. We’re looking forward to seeing Carlos score many goals in an Arsenal shirt for a long time to come.”

    Carlos Vela said: “I’m very happy to sign a new contract and I’m very excited to be spending more years with Arsenal Football Club. I just want to work hard and help this great Club win trophies. I want to stay here for a long time and it’s a great responsibility. I will keep working hard to show the Boss and all the fans why I’m here.”

    Vela is the 11th first-team player who has committed his long-term future to Arsenal since the end of last season. Vela, Eduardo, Sanchez Watt, Alex Song, Nicklas Bendtner, Denilson, Robin Van Persie, Theo Walcott, Lukasz Fabianski, Aaron Ramsey and Jack Wilshere, have all recently signed new long-term extensions with the Club.

    Everyone at Arsenal Football Club is looking forward to Carlos’ continued contribution in the forthcoming years.

  141. Franchise

    ronaldo probably spends more time practising than vp

    i heard becks was also on the pitch four hours endless after training to master his technique

  142. Nick

    arsh ramsey or tv should have a go nasri can hit one as well.
    hopefully once rvp is back one would have made the job theirs they have scored so many goals

  143. goonermichael

    About the free kicks. we may as well not have direct free kicks. Our conversion rate is beyond a joke. Robin is our specialist and I can’t remeber the last one.

  145. gazzap

    bendtner is another fucking crock. a couple of weeks out ends up being months. fuck this. he has had a set back and is out for another month. Wenger definitely needs to buy a big man up front.

  147. Nick

    thats great but he only one that has any real urgency aint…gallas can leave those fuckers still had years left get the priorities straight arsenal for fucks sake

  148. SongtheGreat

    Franchise ive heard from reliable sources that ronaldo cheats..he’s playing with a butt plug…could explain all the whining and expressions..

Leave a Reply

    Fill in your details below or sign in here:

    Connect with Facebook

  • (will not be published)

First time commenters will go into moderation.


Jump to top ↑

XHTML: You can use these tags: <a href="" title="" rel=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong>