Our Facebook Page has been up and running for more than two months and we are now delighted to announce that we have finally obtained our own Facebook URL, which is www.facebook.com/ArsenalSpain.
Many thanks to those people who Liked our Page. Without their supports, we couldn't have achieved this target. If you haven't joined us on Facebook, click on the Like button in the column on the right-hand side of this post.
Welcome to the official Arsenal Supporters Club based in Playa Flamenca, Costa Blanca, Spain.
Friday, September 30, 2011
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Arsenal 2 Olympiacos 1
It was another tough game, but we got what matters most, which was all three points. A home win against Olympiacos was a must if Arsenal are to progress to the knockout stage.
The starting line-up came as a surprise. The makeshift defence and changes on the flanks were much expected due to the injuries to Koscielny, Walcott and Gervinho, but leaving the in-form striker on the bench was something nobody predicted. Arsene Wenger has recently admitted that the hard-fought wins over Udinese and the tough draw against Dortmund cost his side dearly on the domestic front, so his intention was probably to field a team just good enough to see Olympiacos off without stretching their key players' fitness too far ahead of the weekend's north London Derby.
Our defence looked once again vulnerable, but once Vermaelen is back from the injury, hopefully he should form a steady defensive partnership with Mertesacker to play most of the Premer League games, stabilising the back four.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain's dream debut in the Champions League has already been talked about by many, so I would like to mention Chamakh's effort here. He has been under heavy criticism since January, but there have been signs of his returning to the form, including his first goal in 6 months and man of the match performance against Blackburn. In last night's game, how Chamakh held three Olympiacos defenders to himself and pave the way for the opening goal should be applauded as much as Chamberlain's goal. His intelligent pass to Chamberlain in the second half nearly set up a third goal for Arsenal. All he needs is luck and once his confidence is back, we will see him start scoring goals again just as he did in the first half of the last season.
The "man at the post" issue caught my attention again last night on two occasions; first of which was when Arteta cleared off the line, saving Arsenal from conceding a quick equaliser. It looked like it was totally his initiative to take the action. It showed how important placing a man at the post was.
The second occasion was when Olympiacos scored their only goal from a short corner. Szczesny signalled his team-mates to move the defensive line forward, so I presume that he did not want his defenders as well as the opposition's attackers to sit too deep in the box. Then unmarked David Fuster planted a header into the corner, to which our goalkeeper did not even move. Should Arsenal have a man at the post? Yes, we should.
The starting line-up came as a surprise. The makeshift defence and changes on the flanks were much expected due to the injuries to Koscielny, Walcott and Gervinho, but leaving the in-form striker on the bench was something nobody predicted. Arsene Wenger has recently admitted that the hard-fought wins over Udinese and the tough draw against Dortmund cost his side dearly on the domestic front, so his intention was probably to field a team just good enough to see Olympiacos off without stretching their key players' fitness too far ahead of the weekend's north London Derby.
Our defence looked once again vulnerable, but once Vermaelen is back from the injury, hopefully he should form a steady defensive partnership with Mertesacker to play most of the Premer League games, stabilising the back four.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain's dream debut in the Champions League has already been talked about by many, so I would like to mention Chamakh's effort here. He has been under heavy criticism since January, but there have been signs of his returning to the form, including his first goal in 6 months and man of the match performance against Blackburn. In last night's game, how Chamakh held three Olympiacos defenders to himself and pave the way for the opening goal should be applauded as much as Chamberlain's goal. His intelligent pass to Chamberlain in the second half nearly set up a third goal for Arsenal. All he needs is luck and once his confidence is back, we will see him start scoring goals again just as he did in the first half of the last season.
The "man at the post" issue caught my attention again last night on two occasions; first of which was when Arteta cleared off the line, saving Arsenal from conceding a quick equaliser. It looked like it was totally his initiative to take the action. It showed how important placing a man at the post was.
The second occasion was when Olympiacos scored their only goal from a short corner. Szczesny signalled his team-mates to move the defensive line forward, so I presume that he did not want his defenders as well as the opposition's attackers to sit too deep in the box. Then unmarked David Fuster planted a header into the corner, to which our goalkeeper did not even move. Should Arsenal have a man at the post? Yes, we should.
Monday, September 19, 2011
Man at the Post
You cannot win a game by conceding two own goals and an offside goal, especially away from home, but if it hadn't been for Robinson's superb saves, Arsenal might have just done it. Although defense was shocking, there were plenty of positives to take from the game against Blackburn on the attacking side. Many fans predicted after the Swansea match that we would see a few more "1-0 to Arsenal" kind of games, but this game proved that Arsenal are still capable of dominating a game in possession and creating chances and they showed their quality and skills in some eye-catching attacking moves. There were three great goals: Gervinho and Arteta's first EPS goals in Arsenal shirts and Chamakh's first goal since March.
On an Facebook Page called "Ultimate Arsenal Gooners", somebody asked an intriguing question: why Arsenal don't have a man at the post anymore. I haven't paid attention to this point up till now this season, but there was definitely nobody at the post, when Song put the ball at the back of his own net from a free-kick, because otherwise the own goal could have been avoided. If I remember rightly, there were players on this duty last season and Nasri and Clichy at the post cleared the ball on the line, rescuing their team on different occasions. The Page administrator wrote he had no idea about why, either, but he suggested it may be to prevent the attackers from sitting too deep and playing on-side. As Yakubu's offside goal proved, so close to the goal-line anyway, this tactic doesn't always work and the risk it poses is far greater than its benefit. Should Arsenal bring back a man at the post?
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
Mikel Arteta Interview
 |
| Arteta - I cannot wait to start playing |
If you are a member and have not registered your email address with us, please contact us at pfgooners@gmail.com. We will get in touch with you next time when we get a chance to participate in such a project.
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Transfers
Quite pleased with the new transfers especially Mertesacker who should give some top quality experience to the defence. If he stays fit Arteta should be a good addition but his fitnss record is not good and he is probably past is very best at 29. Benayoun is a goal poacher and could be just what we need, but another one with fitness issues.
Friday, August 26, 2011
Champions League draw
Following the qualification for Champions League Arsenal will be the group with
Marseilles
Olympiakos
Dortmund
Dortmund look the strongest as winners of the Bundesliga last season and Marseilles were second in League 1, Olympiakos won Greek Superleague.
Marseilles
Olympiakos
Dortmund
Dortmund look the strongest as winners of the Bundesliga last season and Marseilles were second in League 1, Olympiakos won Greek Superleague.
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Benfica 2 Arsenal 1
As the cliché says, this was a game of two halves. Arsenal played their stronger team in the first half and the fringe players in the second half, while Benfica did the other way round.
Benfica pressed Arsenal very hard from the beginning, but as they ran out of steam, Arsenal eventually started finding their way behind the Benfica defense line. The goal came out of a beautiful linkage play starting from RVP and ending with RVP. There was intensity in the game on the both sides.
The second half was a totally different story. Arsenal brought on six new players at half time, which included, to my horror, Squillaci. The whole first-half team, except Gervinho and Aaron Ramsey, were gradually replaced by the 86th minutes. While the defensive frailty was all too familiar, unlike the previous pre-season matches, Arsenal could not even dominate in possession.
If Arsenal are to fight in all four fronts again this season, depth in the squad will be a key element for success. The poor performance in the second half against Benfica's world-class players highlighted the fact that Arsenal's second-string players were not good enough at the top level.
Benfica also lost out for the Champions League automatic qualification spot in the domestic league last season, but they seemed to have made good reinforcement with a number of quality signings. Arsene Wenger reportedly said there might be a "super quality" signing, which could happen next week. Keep fingers crossed.
Monday, August 1, 2011
What We Have Learned from the Emirates Cup
The results were disappointing. Arsenal let the two-goal lead slip against Boca Junior, could not hold the one-goal lead for another five minutes to see off New York Red Bulls and failed to retain the Cup. However, these matches did not mean much for Arsenal. Arshavin pointed out before the tournament started that Arsenal had won the Cup twice with him but they did not win any silverware in the following seasons. He would have been happy to swap the Cup wins for any major titles.
Arsene Wenger revealed his plan to have Thierry Henry to play for the both sides in the last game of the Emirates Cup. He wanted Henry to play for Arsenal for the last five minutes, but the referee was adamant that the rules should not allow it. In Wenger's plan, Henry should have been playing for Arsenal when he set up the goal for RB New York. The episode illustrates how light-heartedly Wenger took these "friendly" games (he did not even regard them as competitions).
NY Red Bull must have been desperate for the Cup. They had 10 men behind the ball and played a very defensive game, looking like they would be happy to get a draw against Arsenal. The match was just like a typical Arsenal home game last season against a lower table team. It could have been a good test for Arsenal if they had taken it more seriously.
The two games highlighted all too familiar Arsenal's weakness: occasional lack of concentration in defense and the inclinations to try to walk into the goal. OK, Arsene Wenger would not have substituted Kyle Bartley for Lauren Koscielny with 15 minutes remaining, if it had been a Premier League match (or he wouldn't have played him at all). The more serious problem lies in attacks. There was no urgency. Arsenal had good possession, but they failed to make it count. Arsenal's attacking desperately needs the tempo and intensity to crack the opponent's tenatcious defense.
We may not have to be so worried about these problems, but the start of the season is only two weeks away. At the moment, there is no sign of reinforcement in the squad (just talks). I hope we can see significant improvement in Saturday's friendly against Benfica.
Arsene Wenger revealed his plan to have Thierry Henry to play for the both sides in the last game of the Emirates Cup. He wanted Henry to play for Arsenal for the last five minutes, but the referee was adamant that the rules should not allow it. In Wenger's plan, Henry should have been playing for Arsenal when he set up the goal for RB New York. The episode illustrates how light-heartedly Wenger took these "friendly" games (he did not even regard them as competitions).
NY Red Bull must have been desperate for the Cup. They had 10 men behind the ball and played a very defensive game, looking like they would be happy to get a draw against Arsenal. The match was just like a typical Arsenal home game last season against a lower table team. It could have been a good test for Arsenal if they had taken it more seriously.
The two games highlighted all too familiar Arsenal's weakness: occasional lack of concentration in defense and the inclinations to try to walk into the goal. OK, Arsene Wenger would not have substituted Kyle Bartley for Lauren Koscielny with 15 minutes remaining, if it had been a Premier League match (or he wouldn't have played him at all). The more serious problem lies in attacks. There was no urgency. Arsenal had good possession, but they failed to make it count. Arsenal's attacking desperately needs the tempo and intensity to crack the opponent's tenatcious defense.
We may not have to be so worried about these problems, but the start of the season is only two weeks away. At the moment, there is no sign of reinforcement in the squad (just talks). I hope we can see significant improvement in Saturday's friendly against Benfica.
Saturday, July 23, 2011
FC Cologne 1 Arsenal 2
A minute's silence was observed at the RheinEnergie Stadion prior to the match for the victims of the Oslo bombing and shootings. We have a few Norwegian members at Playa Flamenca Arsenal Supporters Club. Our thoughts are with the Norwegian people.
I was not quite sure if Gervinho was a right signing for Arsenal until I saw this game. He was on the pitch for 30 minutes and scored two goals. He looked dangerous and his killer instinct was just what Arsenal needed. I'd love to see more of him (even more if he changes his hair styles!).
Out Gervinho went and Ryo Miyaichi came on. He immediately made his presence felt and the timing of his run and releasing the ball showed his intelligence. A 15-minute run-out was too short to assess his quality, but he certainly seemed promising from what I have seen.
The other new signing, Carl Jenkinson had a bad day in the office. He went forward and put in some good crosses, but he was often caught out of position amid Cologne's counter-attacks. Towards the end of the first half, just when we thought he had realised the danger of that, he made a huge mistake. The own goal was unfortunate, but it was fortunate it happened in a pre-season friendly. He had a good lesson today and will have plenty of time to learn more before he deputises the first-choice right-back, Sagna (the wait could be longer if Eboue stays at Arsenal).
The defense looked frail both in the first half and second half. Arsenal played two sets of centre-backs, but neither of the pairs looked convincing. I hope that Arsene Wenger is now even more aware of the need of an experienced new centre-back.
However, the left-back situation may be a more urgent problem to address. Kieran Gibbs looked good, when he went forward, but Vermaelen had to play a left-back half the time, which meant that the central defense was stretched thin and often got exposed susceptible to Cologne's counter-attacks.
On the more positive note, Frimpong looked efficient in breaking down Cologne attacks. In fact, he looked better than Song in terms of passing accuracy. Rosicky played the Cesc Fabregas role very well. I thought the last season might have been his last season with Arsenal, but let's hope he will make more contribution this season. Also, the three goalkeepers did nothing wrong, which was encouraging.
Overall, it was a good work-out with a right result, though it was a shame Conor Henderson suffered a nasty-looking injury. If Arsenal had played a set of the best eleven players for the full 90 minutes, they would have won the game more comfortably.
Monday, July 11, 2011
Pre-season Match Focus
Pre-season matches have been offering excellent opportunities to assess how Arsenal's new signings fitted in the team and presenting the stage for young and upcoming players to shine. Jack Wilshre's performance attracted attention in the Emirates Cup competition two years ago, while Emmanuel Frimpong displayed his potential in the last year's pre-season matches. Unfortunately, Frimpong's knee injury at the beginning of the last season hampered further progress for the following 10 months, but we are hoping to see him continuing his progress this season. Hopefully, this season will prove to be a break-through season for him just like the last season was for Jack Wilshere.
Arsenal's travelling squad are: Wojciech Szczesny, Vito Mannone, Sebastien Squillaci, Johan Djourou, Kieran Gibbs, Carl Jenkinson, Laurent Koscielny, Andrey Arshavin, Marouane Chamakh, Ryo Miyaichi, Armand Traore, Thomas Vermaelen, Bacary Sagna, Theo Walcott, Alex Song, Jack Wilshere, Tomas Rosicky, Denilson, Aaron Ramsey, Emmanuel Frimpong, Samir Nasri, Carlos Vela, Robin van Persie
It now seems unlikely that we will see any big-name new signing taking part in the Asian tour as there is little time for Gervinho, whose arrival at the Emirates Stadium has just been announced, to join the travelling party. I don't think the other new signing, Carl Jenkinson, will make a big impact on the first team this season, but it is interesting to see how he plays alongside the first-team players.
Another new player for us to watch is Ryo Miyaichi who joined Arsenal in January, but was sent on loan straight away to Feyenord for the work permit reasons. The 18 year-old Japanese is highly rated by the media and fans alike and Arsenal seem to be promoting him big time ahead of the Asian tour. Let's see if he lives up to expectations.
Also, following the departure of Gael Clichy, the pre-season matches should present an ideal opportunity to see which existing players can fill his shoes or if we have to bring in a new player. The obvious successor is Kieran Gibbs, but he seems to me not quite ready yet and too injury-prone. Armand Traore is also included in the squad, but he did not have enough playing time with Juventus last season and he still has a lot to prove. Another option for the left-back Arsene Wenger has mentioned is Tomas Vermaelen. No doubt Wenger will try this option in the forthcoming pre-season matches.
The conspicuous omission in the squad is Cesc Fabregas, who currently has a hamstring problem. Apparently, he tweeted that he would make up for his absence later for Arsenal fans in Asia, which was interpreted as a suggestion that he may stay at Arsenal.
Arsenal's pre-season will kick off with the friendly game against Malaysia XI on Wednesday at 14:45 Spanish time.
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Pre-season Fixtures
Here is the recap of the forthcoming pre-season match schedule. It looks like a very busy pre-season in terms of travelling. A couple of years ago, some of us went to Mestalla to watch Arsenal play a pre-season friendly against Valencia. Unfortunately, there seems no possibility of such a pre-season trip this year.
For 2011/12 season fixtures, please see the previous post.
13 Jul Pre-season Friendly Away vs Malaysia XI
(Kick-off is at 8.45pm local time, 2.45pm Spanish time)
16 Jul Pre-season Friendly Away vs Hangzhou Greentown
23 Jul Pre-season Friendly Away vs FC Cologne
30 Jul Emirates Cup Home vs Boca Juniors
(Kick-off at 17:20)
31 Jul Emirates Cup Home vs New York Red Bulls
(Kick-off at 17:20)
06 Aug Pre-season Friendly Away vs Benfica
For 2011/12 season fixtures, please see the previous post.
13 Jul Pre-season Friendly Away vs Malaysia XI
(Kick-off is at 8.45pm local time, 2.45pm Spanish time)
16 Jul Pre-season Friendly Away vs Hangzhou Greentown
23 Jul Pre-season Friendly Away vs FC Cologne
30 Jul Emirates Cup Home vs Boca Juniors
(Kick-off at 17:20)
31 Jul Emirates Cup Home vs New York Red Bulls
(Kick-off at 17:20)
06 Aug Pre-season Friendly Away vs Benfica
Friday, June 17, 2011
2011/12 Season Fixtures Released
| 13 | Sat | Barclays Premier League | A | Newcastle United |
| 16/17 | Tue/Wed | UEFA Champions League | - | Play-off Round 1st Leg |
| 20 | Sat | Barclays Premier League | H | Liverpool |
| 23/24 | Tue/Wed | UEFA Champions League | - | Play-off Round 2nd Leg |
| 27 | Sat | Barclays Premier League | A | Manchester United |
| 10 | Sat | Barclays Premier League | H | Swansea City |
| 13/14 | Tue/Wed | UEFA Champions League | - | Matchday 1 |
| 17 | Sat | Barclays Premier League | A | Blackburn Rovers |
| 21 | Wed | Carling Cup | - | Round Three |
| 24 | Sat | Barclays Premier League | H | Bolton Wanderers |
| 27/28 | Tue/Wed | UEFA Champions League | - | Matchday 2 |
| 1 | Sat | Barclays Premier League | A | Tottenham Hotspur |
| 15 | Sat | Barclays Premier League | H | Sunderland |
| 18/19 | Tue/Wed | UEFA Champions League | - | Matchday 3 |
| 22 | Sat | Barclays Premier League | H | Stoke City |
| 26 | Wed | Carling Cup | - | Round Four |
| 29 | Sat | Barclays Premier League | A | Chelsea |
| 1/2 | Tue/Wed | UEFA Champions League | - | Matchday 4 |
| 5 | Sat | Barclays Premier League | H | West Bromwich Albion |
| 19 | Sat | Barclays Premier League | A | Norwich City |
| 22/23 | Tue/Wed | UEFA Champions League | - | Matchday 5 |
| 26 | Sat | Barclays Premier League | H | Fulham |
| 30 | Wed | Carling Cup | - | Quarter-Final |
| 3 | Sat | Barclays Premier League | A | Wigan Athletic |
| 6/7 | Tue/Wed | UEFA Champions League | - | Matchday 6 |
| 10 | Sat | Barclays Premier League | H | Everton |
| 17 | Sat | Barclays Premier League | A | Manchester City |
| 21 | Wed | Barclays Premier League | A | Aston Villa |
| 26 | Mon | Barclays Premier League | H | Wolverhampton Wanderers |
| 31 | Sat | Barclays Premier League | H | Queens Park Rangers |
| 2 | Mon | Barclays Premier League | A | Fulham |
| 7 | Sat | FA Cup | - | Round Three |
| 11 | Wed | Carling Cup | - | Semi-Final 1st Leg |
| 14 | Sat | Barclays Premier League | A | Swansea City |
| 21 | Sat | Barclays Premier League | H | Manchester United |
| 25 | Wed | Carling Cup | - | Semi-Final 2nd Leg |
| 28 | Sat | FA Cup | - | Round Four |
| 31 | Tue | Barclays Premier League | A | Bolton Wanderers |
| 4 | Sat | Barclays Premier League | H | Blackburn Rovers |
| 11 | Sat | Barclays Premier League | A | Sunderland |
| 14/15/21/22 | Tue/Wed | UEFA Champions League | - | Round of 16 1st Leg |
| 18 | Sat | FA Cup | - | Round Five |
| 25 | Sat | Barclays Premier League | H | Tottenham Hotspur |
| 26 | Sun | Carling Cup | N | Final |
| 3 | Sat | Barclays Premier League | A | Liverpool |
| 6/7/13/14 | Tue/Wed | UEFA Champions League | - | Round of 16 2nd Leg |
| 10 | Sat | Barclays Premier League | H | Newcastle United |
| 17 | Sat | Barclays Premier League | A | Everton |
| (Or FA Cup Quarter-Final) | ||||
| 24 | Sat | Barclays Premier League | H | Aston Villa |
| 27/28 | Tue/Wed | UEFA Champions League | - | Quarter-Final 1st Leg |
| 31 | Sat | Barclays Premier League | A | Queens Park Rangers |
| 3/4 | Tue/Wed | UEFA Champions League | - | Quarter-Final 2nd Leg |
| 7 | Sat | Barlcays Premier League | H | Manchester City |
| 9 | Mon | Barclays Premier League | A | Wolverhampton Wanderers |
| 14 | Sat | Barclays Premier League | H | Wigan Athletic |
| (Or FA Cup Semi-Final) | ||||
| 17/18 | Tue/Wed | UEFA Champions League | - | Semi-Final 1st Leg |
| 21 | Sat | Barclays Premier League | H | Chelsea |
| 24/25 | Tue/Wed | UEFA Champions League | - | Semi-Final 2nd Leg |
| 28 | Sat | Barclays Premier League | A | Stoke City |
| 5 | Sat | Barclays Premier League | H | Norwich City * |
| (Or FA Cup Final) | ||||
| 13 | Sun | Barclays Premier League | A | West Bromwich Albion |
| 19 | Sat | UEFA Champions League | N | Final |
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
2010/11 Season Review
The 2010/11 season looked so promising at one stage even the media started talking about an unprecedented quadruple, but ended as a most frustrating and heart-breaking season. Undoubtedly many supporters are glad to see it finally over.
The highest point of the overall disappointing season, however, was the victory over Barcelona. Manchester Utd's defeat in the Champions League final meant Arsenal remained the only team that beat Barcelona this year's competition. This will be an achievement to be remembered for many years to come. Arsenal appear to have gone backwards this season in terms of their progress in the CL and their final position in the Premier League, but beating Barcelona was definitely a step forward from the previous season.
There were also some bright spots, such as the emergence of Jack Wilshere, RVP's record-breaking goal-scoring form since the beginning of the year 2011, Aaron Ramsey's return to the first-team action from the horrific injury (and his goal against Man U), and every sign Koscielny showed as a great defender in the future.
I believe that nobody has been hurt by this season's disappointing results more than Arsene Wenger has and he will try everything he can do to avoid the repeat of the disappointment next season. I expect there will be a few ins and outs this summer as he has indicated. He made it clear that Arsenal would be an active player in the transfer market (but would not be spending £50 million for one player).
Arsenal has reportedly offered £8 million for Blackburn's Christopher Samba. If this is true, it shows that Arsene Wenger recognises that Arsenal need an experienced defender with a commanding presence and aerial strength to defend set-pieces. Let's hope that we will see a few new signings play in the pre-season matches in Malaysia, China and Germany in July.
The highest point of the overall disappointing season, however, was the victory over Barcelona. Manchester Utd's defeat in the Champions League final meant Arsenal remained the only team that beat Barcelona this year's competition. This will be an achievement to be remembered for many years to come. Arsenal appear to have gone backwards this season in terms of their progress in the CL and their final position in the Premier League, but beating Barcelona was definitely a step forward from the previous season.
There were also some bright spots, such as the emergence of Jack Wilshere, RVP's record-breaking goal-scoring form since the beginning of the year 2011, Aaron Ramsey's return to the first-team action from the horrific injury (and his goal against Man U), and every sign Koscielny showed as a great defender in the future.
I believe that nobody has been hurt by this season's disappointing results more than Arsene Wenger has and he will try everything he can do to avoid the repeat of the disappointment next season. I expect there will be a few ins and outs this summer as he has indicated. He made it clear that Arsenal would be an active player in the transfer market (but would not be spending £50 million for one player).
Arsenal has reportedly offered £8 million for Blackburn's Christopher Samba. If this is true, it shows that Arsene Wenger recognises that Arsenal need an experienced defender with a commanding presence and aerial strength to defend set-pieces. Let's hope that we will see a few new signings play in the pre-season matches in Malaysia, China and Germany in July.
Monday, May 2, 2011
Arsenal 1 Man U 0
A bit of pride has been restored after a very disappointing and frustrating season.
Let joy be unconfined
Thursday, March 10, 2011
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