WEEKEND DIGEST: Breaking down top guns performances

WEEKEND DIGEST: Game Week 2

By now the ever growing BPL anxiety has pretty much settled since the return of the most followed sporting action, globally. Not to say I don’t always rush to my diary and mark the match dates, but at least I do it in a relaxed manner; coffee in my left hand knowing very well my dear BPL is here to stay for a longer period. Yeah longer than A United fan’s celebration at the Old Trafford in the past two seasons combined.

Today we welcome the third week of ecstasy, when Aguero finds form,Di Maria’s shirts sells, Sanchez proves his worth and Lukaku eager to annoy Mourinho at Goodison Park. Here’s a brief highlight of match day 2’s action.

Manchester city 3-1 Liverpool.

When a Kop shouts ‘’Money can’t buy you trophies’’ you’d surely want to smack his face with Suarez’ shin guards or maybe wipe him off with Gerrard’s rag; soon as he slip in fear of Ba the mammoth. The match was last week’s super fixture and a lot was expected when the Champions hosted the league runners up on Monday night. Balotelli had completed his move and was in the stands to cheer his new team against his former employers.  

Zabaleta returned in his position and hence pushed Clichy to the Left as the mighty Citizens rallied out to show why they are this season’s favorites to win the league again. Jovetic who literally missed the whole of last season, started ahead of Aguero as City’s top scorer in their pre-season caused all kind of trouble against the likes of Lovren and Skrtel. The Montenegro international scored two goals on the night before substito ute Aguero wrapping up the points within 20 seconds after coming on. Zabaletta who had a superb outing, was unfortunate to score in his own net but the damage was already done for the Rodgers men.

Everton 2-2 Arsenal

Termed as one of the most ‘exciting’ fixtures of the weekend, surely after the final whistle, the enthralling encounter deserved all the hype. In a sunny evening, Wenger’s men were walking out of Goodison tunnel with the 3-0 defeat ghost, strongly lingering in their minds and with only one goal; to right the previous wrongs. Wenger opted to start with our summer’s marquee signing upfront ahead of Giroud.Ozil and Mertesacker were also in the line up making their first competitive appearance since Brazil’s success with the German National team. 4-1-4-1 was Wenger’s menu and Ozil was at the end of the hot sauce; forced to wait tables from the left side of the room as Ox, Ramsey and Cazorla controlled the kitchen, with Koscielny sacrificed at the accounts office as Per,Chambers,Debuchy and Monreal acted as Szczesny’s cover infront of Flamini.

Gunners found themselves struggling with just 25% of the possession as McCarthy and Barry did everything to kill Arsenal’s fluidity .Coleman broke the deadlock in the 19^th minute courtesy of a flurry of cute passes from a free kick after Sanchez had conceded a foul.Per and Debuchy’s frustrations were recorded in the Ref’s book before Naismith painfully made it 2-0 after Ozil was foolishly disposed in the Toffees own third. Off went Sanchez; on came Giroud during the break. With just 8 minutes to go, Ramsey (who else) poked home from Santi’s low cross to send a nervy end to the match.

The goal appeared to have lifted Wenger’s men spirits as Giroud smashed home an astonishing header from Monreal’s cross from the left side and BOOM! 2-2 it was down from 2-0 as Arsenal made it 4 from a possible 6 points.

Sunderland 1-1 Manchester United

There is certainly very little to say when Van Gaal’s tactics are dragging with only35% possession in the first quarter of the match in a Sunday afternoon which saw the resilient Black Cats drop all their bodies in attack with little to fear in the stadium of Light. Fletcher in particular, seemed lost for the larger part of the first half before Mata’s goal in the 17^th minute finally gave the Red devils some breathing space. Valencia worked himself out with some fine footworks down the right before lashing in a sharp low cross which was met by the Spaniard; to slot past Mannone.

Wickham showed no weakness whenever he thrust forward in search of an equalizer forcing United into consecutive corner kicks. Poyet’s men were rewarded minutes after Mata’s goal when Rodwell; their summer signee rose above the likes of RVP (weird right?) to head home a free header connecting Sebastian Larsson’s well crafted corner kick. Keane came on for the injured Smalling something the Trafford faithful never wanted to see after Lingaard made the same bow last week.

Fletcher and Wickham missed a couple of open chances which proved costly in the end after they failed to bag all the maximum points; but a point against Van Gaal was something worthy of a couple of pints and celebrations to the Sunderland fans following a morale boosting outing

Chelsea 2-0 Leicester

Kit numbers may have been swapped around the Stamford Bridge but one couldn’t help notice Hazard flashing no. 10 on his back as Fabregas a summer recruit from Barcelona claimed his favorite no. 4.Mourinho’s troops may have come under criticism even as they comfortably lead the log after just two games; with many claiming they’ve had easy rounds of fixtures but what many may have forgotten is that the so called ‘easy’ opponents were the reason why they ended up trophy less last season.

The Red hot Diego Costa was at it again on Saturday when he put the blues ahead in the weekend’s early kickoff. Ivanovic ran riot across his line working very hard in his defensive role as well as bulldozing the new boys with his forays upfront; which deservedly earned him an assist. Hazard broke down the left wing with his trademark twists and turns which appeared too much for the visitors when he swept a low curved effort past schmeichel to make it 2-0 and 6 out of 6 points.

In other results: QPR had the longest weekend when Redknapp’s former side; Tottenham put them to sword with a 4-0 hefty loss.

Hull city registered a vital 1-0 home win over Stoke city as Southampton and West Brom played out to a Goalless draw.

AWARDS: Goal of the week –Aguero vs. Liverpool.

Match of the week-Everton vs. Arsenal (2-2)

Player of the week-Jovetic\Chadli

Catch me again next week as I analyze this weekend’s tantalizing matches. Below are my picks and my predictions:

Burnley 0-2 Manchester United

Man City 2-1 Stoke

Everton 1-1 Chelsea.

Arsenal 2-0 Leicester

Enjoy!

@bryshavin.

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE; Arsenal pitied against Dortmund,Anderlecht and Galatasary

"These are the champiooons!"  so i sing with my mellow championic to the sound of Champions League theme song. The draw happened yesterday in Monaco and as always; Wenger's men were handed the usual suspects, only that this time round we don't have a French rival. Hopefully after we triumph the group stage, Bayern Munich won't be our next opponents.

Here's the full fixture list:

Matchday 1
Borussia Dortmund v Arsenal FC
Tuesday 16th September 2014
Kick Off: 19.45 UK
To be played at Signal Iduna Park, Germany
Matchday 2Arsenal FC v Galatasaray A.S.Wednesday 1st October 2014
Kick Off: 19:45 UK
To be played at Emirates Stadium
Matchday 3
R.S.C. Anderlecht v Arsenal FC
Wednesday 22nd October 2014
Kick Off: 19:45 UK
To be played at Constant Vanden Stock Stadion, Belgium
Matchday 4
Arsenal FC v R.S.C. Anderlecht
Tuesday 4th November 2014
Kick Off: 19:45 UK
To be played at Emirates Stadium
Matchday 5
Arsenal FC v Borussia Dortmund
Wednesday 26th November 2014
Kick Off: 19:45 UK
To be played at Emirates Stadium
Matchday 6
Galatasaray A.S. v Arsenal FC
Tuesday 9th December 2014
Kick Off: 19:45 UK
To be played at Turk Telekom Arena, Turkey
Twitter: @bryoshavin

Wenger calls for Chambers protection as he earns first England call up

First things first. Congratulations to our summer signing; Calum Chambers who received his first England call up for the upcoming friendlies against Norway and Switzerland. The 19 year old Southampton academy product has barely played five times for his new club and his solid performances across the heart of Arsenal's defence have already caught Roy Hodson's eyes.

Chambers impressed from the moment he made his bow in Arsenal colors against Benfica in the Emirates cup tourney. He went on to keep a clean sheet against City in the season's curtain raiser in a 3-0 Community Shield win. However, his manager who always rubbished any suggestions that he would be called upon to represent the 3 lions, called upon Hodgson to protect his new recruit citing that at his age, he needs psychological comfort as well after a whirlwind year for the English.
"I think he has the character to deal with the pressure and with the attention he will get," Wenger said. "He's a calm boy and I believe he has a good family environment and I hope that in the national team he will be protected a little bit as well.

"I believe that he has the quality to be where he is. The only danger is psychological and that he's under too much pressure and it comes too quick. He's played three games and he's in the national team. Of course that's the speedy way.

"I'm not negative about it because I think that we have the example of Walcott who mentally handled that very well. We have Wilshere who was very quick as well and I think Chambers is equipped mentally to deal with that.” Go on Chambers! show them what you got!
Twitter; @bryoshavin

Arsenal vs Besiktas: Gunners embroiled in a must win encounter

Hello #GoonerFamily! You know how it works ; when the Arsenal are playing it’s legally ARSENAL DAY!

Wenger’s men are playing hosts to the Turkish side, Besiktas in Europe’s most elite club competition in a return leg after the two teams played out to a goalless draw in Istanbul. 

Adding up to the already ballooning list of injuries which consists; Gibbs,Walcott, Gnabry and the doubtful 22 year old Sanogo.  With the transfer window set to close in 96 hours, the fans would voice their need to see Wenger splash some millions on a new striking cover,  since Giroud won’t be available till at least in the new year. There have been rumors concerning Podolski’s future at the club he so passionately love but the latest injury seems to have triggered the manager’s recent U turn stunt on the striker’s future. "Podolski is in the squad for Wednesday and will stay with us” 

he said in his pre-match presser which also featured England midfielder Oxlade Chamberlain. Giroud’s absence could see Sanchez lead the attack like he did against the Toffees before he was withdrawn at half time. Costarican combative striker; Campbell is also another prospect who could make his Champions League bow in the red and white colors after returning from a 3 year exile .
I can term it as a costly stalemate draw since it’s the match where we actually lost Arteta after the Spaniard limped off the field with a suspected ankle injury; Ramsey became another victim after the 23 year old midfielder picked up his first club marching orders. Fast forward; Giroud is set for a lengthy layoff on the sidelines after the French international appeared to have sprained his ankle moments after he scored a late equalizer in Saturday’s dramatic draw against Everton;

Tonight’s match is a must win, something which will actually make or break Arsenal’s season if they fail to make it to the group stage for the 17^th consecutive term.  Besiktas have proved to be a hard nut to crack after they controlled the tempo for the entire match last week, something which their Croat coach believes gave his troops a reason to be optimistic of downing the ‘big guns’. 'I was confident and my staff were confident before the first game. But maybe some of our players had a little bit of doubt because they had not played against those so-called "big guns".  Said the coach who will be forced to watch the match from the Emirates; stands after being sent off during last week’s draw. The players however, know what this match means to them and the club with not only confidence at stake but also the pride that comes with playing in the competition. To be able to see Besiktas off, the Ox knows exactly what needs to be done to ‘’finish off’’ the Turkish outfit.  "We need to defend well to start off with” he said 

“The main thing is to match them physically and competitively because they are going to come at us hard because they really want to qualify for this.”

With all said and done. COYG! Let’s make it 17 and rolling!

My predicted line up:                             Szczesny,

                                      Debuchy, Koscielny,Mertesacker,Monreal,

                                                              Flamini,  Wilshere

                                                       Cazorla, Ozil, Chamberlain

                                                                      

                                                              Sanchez

                                Subs; Podolski,Rosicky,Campbell,Chambers,Bellerin,Martinez

                                Predictions: Arsenal 2-0 Besiktas (Sanchez, Podolski)

Twitter: @bryoshavin.

EVERTON 2 ARSENAL 2: 5 Things we learnt from the game.

Arsenal survived a scare in their last outing, after leaving it late following two goals in the final 8 minutes of the match from Aaron Ramsey and substitute Giroud at Goodison park. Wenger run a string of changes which saw world cup winners; Ozil and Mertesacker both start along Flamini who deputised Arteta at the CDM. Giroud started on the bench as new acquisition Sanchez was favored upfront. It was another dodgy performance from the Gunners; infact the third consecutive below par performance after Palace and Besiktas' performances. Everton went to the break leading by two goals from Coleman and Steven Naismith, before the visitors grabbed a point late in the game.

#1. Wilshere not living the hype.
Saturday saw yet another struggling day for the English international whom after all the priceless backing from the manager, ended up disappointing. The manager has always been vocal on Jack's potential, highlighting his extensive abilities to play on the flanks, deeper role and also behind the striker.

Since bursting out in the football scene as a 17 year old, the 22 year old is still struggling to live up to many English fans. He's been playing in a much deeper role in the last three games and even though he's free from his ankle injury woes, he yet again failed to put out a performance enough to see out a win, hence ended up being replaced late on in the game and was greeted by boos from the merseysiders.
#2. 4-1-4-1 formation not the ideal plan!
The boss has of late adopted the 4-1-4-1 formation which was evident in the Emirates cup when we played Monaco. He went on to use the same formation against Crystal Palace and even though we bagged all the points, we largely suffered as much as we did against Besiktas in Turkey! with Sanchez and Ozil in the team now, it would be perfect to use the 4-2-3-1 since we got much pace upfront, something we struggled with Giroud last term. playing Flamini as the lone defensive midfielder causes more havoc rather than protection against organised teams like Everton.
#3. Benching Cazorla and Koscielny was a mistake!
why were Kozza and Santiago doing on the bench? Starting both Mertesacker Ozil against Everton after a long summer break was a huge mistake! Koscielny scored a crucial equaliser against Palace last weekend and his partnership with Chambers has been instrumental in Per's absence! Cazorla's versatility was immensely missed in Arsenal's final third. Cazorla is arguably Arsenal's most valuable asset; his technical skills always works magic with Ramsey and Sanchez in the team. Wenger must have questioned his decisions after Cazorla injected the extra energy and class that helped us grab that one valuable point.
#4. Campbell the unsung hero
Many might have hailed Cazorla's impact in the game but they are doomed to not have acknowledged the Costa Rican striker heroics in the game. Campbell came on in the final 15 minutes of the game.Deployed on the right flank an unfamiliar role, the striker gave his all to make sure  he salvaged a point for his team. Running from the back to connecting with Giroud upfront, Campbell was indeed Saturday's unsung hero. He used his strength and football wisdom to keep the Toffees at bay.Kudos to him!
#5.  Where the hell is Rosicky?
If Wenger would use his the 'resting key players' tactic on the media, when asked about Rosicky; he would be lying! Rozza is yet to set foot on the pitch in any competitive match this season with three games already played.
The Czech international played a key role in last year's F.a cup success as well as in the Premier League. so why not use a player who's experience in the Premier League is worth every penny?

Tomorrow we play Besiktas at the Emirates in our Champions League return leg check out for the match previews here.
Twitter: @bryoshavin

EVERTON VS ARSENAL> Nitty Gritties

#MatchDayLive! Arsenal vs. Everton. (Goodison Park)

 

Hello #GoonerFamily it’s Match day 2!  In a couple of hours the mighty Gunners will be heading to Goodison Park, in what promises to be a mouth watering encounter. The last time these two teams met ‘Ole’ ‘Ole’ was not the kind of chants the Arsenal faithful were wishing to hear shortly before the break, when the Toffees proved to be sticky enough to all but grab the maximum points. 

TEAM NEWS: Arsenal’s skipper, Mikael Arteta won’t be traveling to the side he captained 3 years before switching to North London. Gibbs also who pulled his hamstring against Palace last weekend. However Arteta’s absence could mean that Diaby might finally make his much awaited return after his lengthy injury layoff. Walcott and Gnabry are still on rehabilitation following their respective knee injuries and the World Cup winners could as well feature today.  The home side will expect to see Darron Gibson return after 10 months out injured. The Irishman suffered anterior cruciate ligament damage last October. Seamus coleman is fully fit following a hamstring problem but toffees are still without Oviedo, Arouna Kone and Barkley.

Referee: Kevin Friend.

Head to head league record: Everton wins 55, draws 41, Arsenal wins 90.

Nitty gritties

*Everton’s victory against Arsenal in April ended a run of 13 without one against the Gunners in the Premier League.

*Arsenal are the only away team to score six goals in a premier league game at Goodison park (Aug 09)

*Steven Naismith  has scored four and assisted two in his last nine BPL apps

*Arsenal have now gone four games without a win against Everton, their worst such run in the BPL

*Arsenal last beat Everton in the BPL when Vermaelen struck after just 8 mins to seal1-0 win at Goodison Park in 2012.

*The gunners have never gone five league matches without beating the Toffees in their history.

*Arsenal have not won their opening two games since 2009 (which included a win against Everton)

*Last season Everton opened the season with two draws; they drew their last opener last week at Leicester.

*Everton have scored at least 2 goals in each of their last 6 BPL games. But two of the toffees’ last three BPL homes have seen them lose 3-2.

 *Arsenal have won more away games than any other BPL team in 13-14 (11) yet ended the season with a goal difference of only +2 on the road.

Twitter @bryoshavin

WEEKEND DIGEST: Match Day #1 analysis.

WEEKEND DIGEST: Breaking down top 6’s opening matches

Welcome to my first edition of #WEEKENDDIGEST Well another weekend of sporting action is here! What else could us football fanatics ask for? After the curtains were officially rolled up last weekend, we doomed to not enjoy every part of the next 9 months of nothing but total dynamic football showdown!

Manchester United vs Swansea.

Manchester United hit the ground running when they played hosts to Swansea at home in this season’s opener.  To the neutrals, the 1-2 drubbing was exactly what they were anticipating but as for the incumbent manager, he would have taken a 4-4 draw before the match. Greeted by cheers from the mammoth Old Trafford faithful, Van Gaal, looked like the right man to propel his troops to greater heights by starting on the front foot, as he enjoyed his moments of fame while making a long onfield trip from the dugouts, prior to taking his seat in front of the home crowd.

Soon after the Ref’s whistle went, the Wales side was already panting aas they helplessly watched United passing the ball around them at ease with Jones seemingly thriving under the new 3-5-2 formation. Rooney, United’s new captain looked lively from the onset playing upfront: his favorite position, in RVP’s absence. It took Swans 10 minutes to finally register their first shot on target through Ex spurs midfielder, Sigurdsson.

Former Arsenal custodian, Fabianski was on the opposite end and his heroics managed to put the home side at bay with numerous world class saves, denying Rooney and Janujaz who came on for the injured Lingaard after the youngster limped off after 25 minutes. Fabianski was called to action again after Jones and Herrera exchanged cute passes to break down Swansea’s shaky defence.Herrera, United’s summer acquisition did everything to impress as well as frustrate his opponents with his clever skills and passes, and this led to Nathan Dyer picking up this season’s first booking after he clipped the Spaniard. It wasn’t long before Swansea broke the deadlock through K.I. who had a superb outing with the club last season, after scoring from outside the box, past the hapless De Gea off Shelvey’s pass.

However, United’s resilience was evident after conceding the goal, and was it not for neat defensive displays from Taylor, they would have restored parity before the break. Whatever Van Gaal breathed into United’s souls during the break worked. United were in full control of the possession and 7 minutes into the second period, Rooney acrobatic goal drew the game level when he capitalized ion Jones shoulder flick to hit past Fabianski. United’s captain wasn’t stopping at anything after he hit the woodwork from a well taken free kick after the hour mark.

Tottenham fans should have rued the sale of Sigurdsson, after the England international became Swansea’s instant hero when he put Van Gaal’s men to the sword with his 72^nd minute goal. The goal came after a couple of classy moves from the visitors and with Routledge failing to put them ahead, Sigurdsson was present to embarrass De Gea with a first time side foot kick which bounced into the net to all but grab  the crucial points.

Arsenal vs Crystal Palace.

Fresh from winning the Community Shield, The Gunners were desperate to kick start their season by bagging all available points, something they had failed to do in the past 4 seasons. From Ramsey, Cazorla to the Boss, they all seemed to be on the same bandwagon, highlighting the importance of a positive start. The Fa cup winners were the favorites to win the tie after ousting Manchester City 3-0, in their last competitive outing. The red and white army was playing hosts to their fellow Londoners in a tie they looked to make it a remarkable 100 wins since they played the first match at Emirates stadium. 

Crystal Palace were playing under the guidance of Keith, their caretaker manager after the club lost Pulis, their inspirational coach through a mutual consent days before the match.  The Eagles, showed no signs of missing the coach who dragged them from the relegation pit, to helping them make history by making their first successive BPL appearance, after he dusting and  polishing them.

Palace looked organized and their brave approach from the first minute of the game didn’t go unnoticed as they easily passed the ball around the Gunners. Chambers, Debuchy and Sanchez made their Premier League bow in Red and white as wenger opted to stick with the starting lineup which played against City. A midfield trio of Ramsey, Cazorla and Sanchez, found it hard to break Palace’s solid midfield with the Chilean on the end of a couple of miss paces. The visitors kept on pressing their London hosts and it wasn’t long before their efforts were gifted. Arsenal guilty from conceding through set pieces, were at it again. Brede Hangeland, Palace’s new recruit from Fulham rose high to head home a 35^th minute opener after Sanchez lost his marker and the Eagles faithful ruptured in jubilation.

With their supporters fully behind them, the hosts never lost the fight and instead the goal somehow gave them a wakeup call. Sanchez crafted a beautiful free kick which France international, Laurent Koscielny flicked in past Speroni, into the left bottom corner to level matters before the break. The French man who’s we’ll known for his crucial goals which earned Arsenal the ‘position 4 trophy’, miraculously, scored in the first game of the season! After the break, the match was a bit less exciting with Palace in particular fielding ten men in their half making it hard for the hosts to get that extra yard in the final third. A flurry of tackles was experienced as the game turned from technical to a physical affair. Boos and jeers were heard from the home fans , unimpressed by Palace’s time wasting tactics hence drawing a tense atmosphere from the players. The fourth official had added 5 minutes after the regular time elapsed, and the hard working Gunners had won a corner.

Sanchez stepped up to deliver the kick as the home fans gradually lowering their voices in desperation, as the time worn out. Debuchy shot straight at Speroni following the corner kick but he parried it away for Ramsey to smash into an empty net to send the home crowd in ecstasy!

The same same guy who scored the F.a cup final winner at Wembley, again rose to the occasion to rescue his team mates with a hard earned win.

In other results: Tottenham needed a last minute winner to hand Maurico Pochettino with a dream start, away at Upton Park. West Brom drew 2-2 with Sunderland to both grab a valuable point. The returning QPR, suffered a painful 0-1 loss to last season’s F.a cup finalist Hull city. Leicester showed their might against a youthful Everton as they drew 2-2 in what arguably is the match of the weekend full of entertainment. Stoke city lost 0-1 to Aston Villa through Weimann, in a weekend which only saw Arsenal and  Liverpool winning their respective home matches, after the reds saw Southampton 2-1 following goals from Sterling and Sturridge as they began their journey without Suarez. Manchester city outmuscled Alan Pardew’s men to win 0-2 at St. James Park.

Fabregas’ inspired Chelsea side, secured a 1-3 come-from-behind win against Burnley,with Costa scoring on his BPL debut.

AWARDS

Match of the week- Leicester 2-2 Everton.

Goal of the week: McGeady (Everton) vs Leicester.

Catch me again next week as I analyze this weekend’s tantalizing matches. Below are my picks and my

 PREDICTIONS:

Arsenal v Everton.(2-1)

Manchester City v Liverpool.(2-2)

Sunderland v Manchester United.(1-2)

Spurs v Qpr.(1-1)

Enjoy!

Twitter:@bryoshavin