Justice

Good morning from usually-sunny New Mexico,

How sweet was that result yesterday? The result felt justified and even though neither myself or my wife are Barca fans we enjoyed United's loss. Why? Well, I think we felt that over the course of their reign many things have gone their way whilst the luck went the opposite direction for us, Arsenal. For instance, Arsenal's season was riddled with injuries at the most inopportune times; United never really had to struggle with key figures missing for long periods of time. In addition, we've felt that whenever Cunaldo gets the ball he is a very dangerous player...but he is also a massive cheat. There are numerous examples of his deception so I won't bother you with that right here (do a Google search) but we felt that he might get another one yesterday when he lost the ball right outside of the box and quite literally jumped into a Barca player. Of course, direct kick awarded and Giggs sent a ball over the bar. RVP was the victim of a similar account a few weeks back and Cunaldo hit the ball nicely and caught Almunia out. We've seen it all year. Since we felt that United was lucky throughout the season and used a lot of deception to gain an advantage the result certainly was justified.

Now, what happened? I was fortunate to predict the result. Unfortunately, I was dead wrong by saying that Eto'o wouldn't play a part. In all fairness, besides that one break he had on Vidic that led to the goal he was mostly anonymous. One go at goal at this level is all that is needed and he finished. After that goal it almost looked like United gave up. In fact, they did give up. I wonder if his heiness Alex told them, "if they score early, we're fucked". It's almost as if some sort of sad, lowered-head behavior followed right after that goal. A team that looked dangerous for the first 10min suddenly looked fallible. Over here in NM, we were very, very happy. And after that goal everything turned for Barca and the game progressed in their favor.

All in all, I felt United were outplayed and the best team won. I am hoping that some things are learned from this match and Wenger will deploy similar tactics this upcoming season. More importantly I hope some of the Premiership teams, no matter their size, realize that if they play United they can get a result. I believe that a team that pressures their players, and does not allow their midfield to distribute can earn a result. It is increasingly hard to do this for 90min+ as United's bench is so stout but as Barca and teams before them have shown it can be done.

Lastly, I don't think most of us Gooners should be happy that Barca won just because Henry got to lift the trophy; in fact, we should be disgusted. Henry is a player who did lots for the Arsenal but fucked off after pledging his future to the club. I found it absolutely sickening to see tweets coming in from supporters who were absolutely chuffed that he won it. Fuck that! For us, Arse505, I would say that we are quite happy for former players who were released from the Arsenal a la Pires, Gilberto, Vieira...but we have no room in our heart for players who left for money or personal pursuits. Unfortunately, Henry is one who broke many hearts when he left after sounding like he was ready to work hard for our team; we'll never forgive him for that betrayal. At the end of the day, let's hope that the Arsenal are in this position next season and I am blogging about their triumph. So, until then...let silly summer begin...

ArsenaLOS

CL Final Rome

Hmm, so what will the line-ups look like today in Rome? Unfortunately, Barca really are in dire straights when you look at their make-shift back four. As ESPN reports, "Central defenders Rafa Marquez and Gabriel Milito are out injured while backs Eric Abidal and Dani Alves are both suspended". It's really unfortunate that the latter two were sent off for the most marginal of challenges. If you saw the Semi then you know that Anelka dove and got Abidal sent off while Cashley Cole fell awfully easy to have Alves get his second booking. Losing Alves may be a blessing in disguise as he goes forward and is so often caught out on the break; counter-attacking United would likely have exploited that, stretched the defense, and maybe finished with some dangerous balls across the goal. One thing is for certain is that United is fully loaded and Rio was never really injured and has declared himself fit. Really? wow. I didn't see that coming. Is it just me or does this Machine seem to never have any sort of hiccup in it's squad? I can't even remember when they had a major injury except to their center backs...maybe 2-3weeks here and there but nothing major. Must be nice. Anyway, we are gonna see a fully fit, full strength United versus a 2/3 fit Barca. Hopefully, Barca will attack and try to score as many goals as possible knowing they will concede; fortunately, it's one game, do or die.

I am assuming Barca will start Eto'o and Messi but will Henry line up? Ineista? I can't imagine Pep not starting them but if there is any doubt in his mind that they will be a hinderance, they'll sit. Now, I think we may see Messi in a roaming mode as Evra will not be easy to dissect on the wing. Evra is a bit of a hot head, too. Let's not be surprised if this cheating Manc gets booked early, and Messi exploits him. On the other hand, Evra may kick Messi out of the match. I really hope Messi gets him anxious, nervous early and gets that yellow on him...Eto'o is a curious character isn't he? He reminds me of Ibrahimovich - always disappearing in the biggest matches. If he can keep the CBs on the back foot and cause some confusion things will open up. But let's be honest here, United is going to crunch the 18 yd box and cut down space. At most we can hope for him squeaking through and winning a penalty. I don't think he'll be a difference maker today.

As much as I was saddened that Henry pledged his allegiance to Arsenal a la Donkeybayor and then fucked off to Barca...I still kinda want him to net the winner. It won't make up for 2006 but it doesn't hurt. I think deep down all Gooners are thinking the same thing...you served the club, now vanquish United. Destroy. United.

I think we'll see either an attacking display of PS3 FIFA-like football or a snooze fest because United won't attack except on the counter. United will have trouble getting the ball off of Barca so I am hoping that when they do they pass the ball away and Barca can counter right back at them. I think we'll see an early goal for the Catalan giants because I am just certain they will play to attack. In the end, I am going with a juicy 2-0 win for Barca. An early Messi goal with maybe the second in the late second half. Could be Henry, Iniesta or Hleb? haha, right. C'mon Barca; I still loathe you from 2006 but any team versus United is my team on the day!

ArsenaLOS

The future's bright....

Many congratulations to the Arsenal reserves for winning the Youth Cup Final today. I will admit that I haven’t been watching all of there matches but I have to say the 1^st and 2^nd leg were a pure joy to watch. We have such an exciting batch of young (and English!) players coming through the ranks and it will be interesting to see who gets those ever so precious first team positions for next season. I just hope that whoever gets the nod from Wenger actually gets to play and doesn’t get to sit on the bench for the season, like a certain Jack Wilshere. I was pretty excited when I heard he had made the first team at the beginning of the season. He is pure class and such a pleasure to watch but unfortunately only got a taste of some Carling Cup and FA Cup action before he disappeared back to the reserves due to allegedly “losing his form”. In my opinion it was the fact that he sat on the bench for most of the season that led to his lack of form. Here is a player who showed such amazing potential and was keen to prove his worth, but then he wasn’t given many chances so it must have been very frustrating for the poor lad. I don’t see the point of promoting a player from the reserves if you’re not going to use him. Let him stay in the reserves if you’re not going to play him. At least that way the player gets game time on the pitch every week. I was very frustrated that we didn’t get to see more of Jack this season. He made just one appearance as a sub in the Premier League and twice more as a sub in Europe. I hope that Wenger uses him a lot more next season and we don’t see young Jack getting fed up with the lack of football he gets and decides to go elsewhere. It would be a real shame to lose such a talented and exciting Young Gun.

Approach them head on

Good morning, Goons

I am so very happy to see that Reina recently came out with some support of my recent blog. Reina stated, "It's not easy to beat United," he told Spanish newspaper Sport. "The key is to approach them head on." And that is exactly right. http://soccernet.espn.go.com/news/story?id=649757&sec=uefachampionsleague&cc=5901

I truly believe that Barca is going to win. Why? Barca will never sit back, and will certainly dictate play. United will not. Alex will deploy a reactionary band of players and he will hope to counter. United does have an advantage going forward and against a patched up Barca defense. However, possession favors Barca and since it is a final I think we'll see a team up for the strong, physical challenges. If Barca can pressure United's midfield and force them into errant passes, Barca will win; if not, Carrick and Co. will have too much time to distibute to Ronaldo and Rooney. The two of them with maybe Berba or Tevez will be too much. Barca must stop the supply.

Thoughts?
ArsenaLOS

A Different Voice

My wife and I got a bit fed up recently about all of the Arsenal-based blogs concession to United. We get it. United finished top of the league, and are playing in their second consecutive CL final. We get that, too. United have overwhelming wealth (operating debt) and can afford to keep 100m quid on as subs. Must be nice. But let's have a serious debate about why United is better than everyone else...and I'm gonna stick with my guns - they are champions because their competition does not play. If you play not to lose, you still lose.

But truth be told if one takes the time to look at United's results this year you will find that the match was often lost before the match was even played. How is that possible? Well, so many teams play in defensive formations against United that there is no match to play - there is only absorbtion of wave after wave of United attack. A 4-5-1 formation eventually cracks against a 4-3-3. Even if the formation holds for 65min, United will dip into their 100m quid bench and influence the match in so many different ways. Eventually, United will score. Easy explanation for all of those late 1-nil wins, right? So, why do the lessers take this approach? Perhaps it is because they know they are going to lose, and are reserved to cushioning their goals against statistic. Certainly, if you are battling for survival a 0-1 loss to United is better than a 0-3 margin and could be the difference at the end of the season. But perhaps some of these managers should do a review over how Fulham and Liverpool got such convincing results. What did they do?

Liverpool ran riot for a few reasons and Hodgson took notice and emulated the result. In both emphatic wins the teams played; they did not sit back, they countered. Their formations were slightly different but both pressured the United player with the ball; thus, there were loads of unforced errrors and 'squeaky bum' moments resulting in errant passes, poor first-touches, and one might even say some nerves. Subs were also deployed immediately after United made their subs. One for one. United's late sub was neutralized so if the teams were still with United late, or had an advantage then the match often did not change. So, really, was Liverpool or Fulham better than United? Well, on the day they were better. But why?

So, for our first post, i'll leave it open for debate. Was United really better than all the other squads (so says the points) or did the others play into the fear of United and cast the illusion of dominance and superiority?

ArsenaLOS