Arsenal, my Arsenal...

We are troubled. 3 successive defeats (Sunderland 1-0, Chelsea 3-0 & Man City 3-0) and our free scoring spree from earlier in the season gone, coinciding with the inevitable season ending injury to Van Persie (he seems to always get season ending injuries). We of course did not score in any of those 3 games. Eduardo and Vela have not impressed in the lone striker position up front Van Persie thrived in earlier. It's clear, Wenger needs to change his policy and buy big in January, and I'm not speaking of no Chamakh. Yaya Toure, Luca Toni and Ruud Van Nistelrooy are currently unsettled and looking to move, especially with the world cup looming, that's the kind of buy big (both size and stature) I mean.

We face Stoke at home tomorrow and Olympiakos away on wednesday. At least we've confirmed tough spot for the champions league which isn't an easy feat considering big teams like Inter Milan are currently struggling.

With Bendtner, Walcott and Van Persie out, maybe a 4-4-2 with both Eduardo n Vela would be a better option or we play all midfielders up front. Bendtner has potential and has improved immensely, but I don't see us WINNING with this team. God help us...

Jabulani...

Happiness, Celebration, World Cup 2010! The draws are out. Jabulani which means ' to celebrate' is the name of the official ball for the World Cup 2010 in South Africa. Group G (Ivory Coast, North Korea, Brazil & Portugal) is already fast being labeled the group of death. The rest of the draws are as follows:
Group A
A1 - South Africa
A2 - Mexico
A3 - Uruguay
A4 - France

Group B
B1 - Argentina
B2 - Nigeria
B3 - South Korea
B4 - Greece

Group C

C1 - England
C2 - United States
C3 - Algeria
C4 - Slovenia

Group D

D1 - Germany
D2 - Australia
D3 - Serbia
D4 - Ghana

Group E

E1 - Netherlands
E2 - Denmark
E3 - Japan
E4 - Cameroon

Group F

F1 - Italy (defending champions)
F2 - Paraguay
F3 - New Zealand
F4 - Slovakia

Group H

H1 - Spain
H2 - Switzerland
H3 - Honduras
H4 - Chile

My heart goes out to Ivory Coast who are being touted to be the 1st African country to win the world cup (I tout Ghana as the African team to go farthest). They were dealt the similar fate of being in the group of death at the 2006 world cup. If they make it out of the group of death next year, most likely in 2nd, they are most likely to meet Spain who are likely to finish top of their group. The US meanwhile are delighted with their draw which they believe would be 'easy'. It remains to be seen. Argentina vs. Nigeria would be the opener for group B, a repeat of the Atlanta '96 olympic final and the 2005 U-20 world cup final. Mikel n Messi, the two best players from that tournament have since progressed to their national teams and will clash in that Arg-Nig game.

The countdown is at 188 days to the world cup. Of course, the African Nations Cup will be on in January. Let the games begin.

By the way, an accomodation service has been launched for the general public on fifa.com for the available 1,725,190 room nights available at different properties for the next world cup.
More Info...

Weekend Roundup...

If it seems I haven't been writing as often of late, let's just say Arsenal's 1-0 loss to Sunderland was not very inspiring. Our 1st defeat in 13 games in all competitions left a sour taste in the mouth. I had hoped Eduardo would be able to lead the attack as Van Persie had done, but it wasn't to be. I guess since Wenger had announced November is not usually a good month for us with internationals and injuries taking their toll, it was to be expected. The worst part was, we conceded from a set-piece again. Sunderland had 1 shot at goal, and 1 goal. Moving on...

In sharp contrast, our north-London rivals whom we had ridden over 3-0 last month thrashed Wigan 9-1, Jermaine Defoe bagging 5 goals in that game. I think I have to rank Defoe amongst the top 3 FINISHERS in the league, alongside Drogba and Torres. At the top, Man U n Chelsea both won comfortably and stuttering Liverpool n Man City could only draw. Liverpool now have an incredible run of 1 win in 10 games and City have drawn their last SIX games.Villa needed a rare late goal from Emile Heskey to draw surprise package Burnley. Portsmouth who have obtained only 7 points so far have sacked Paul Hart. The 2006 FA Cup winners have been disappointing so far and as usual, the manager's to blame. Interesting to see that it took till November before a Premier League manager was fired this season.

Ronaldinho was once again inspiring in Milan's 4-3 win against Cagliari. 2 months ago he looked like he couldn't run, but now he's settled in fine alongside Marco Borriello and an incredible Pato. With him and Seedorf playing playmakers, Milan's attack is a well oiled machine.

Mish Mash...

On a day I was eagerly awaiting Nigeria to complete their 'double' for the weekend, it was not to be.

Having, as usual, confined us Nigerians to the last minute never-say-die approach to qualifying for the world cup, the Super Eagles of Nigeria went down to Nairobi needing to beat the Kenyans and hoping the Tunisians didn't do same away to Mozambique. A few weeks ago, I was close to tears when,the Super Eagles, playing Tunisia at the Abuja Stadium could not hold on to a 90' min lead and conceded deep in extra time to draw the game and 'help' Tunisia retain their top spot. It seemed all over then. How could Tunisia not beat Mozambique? I still kept faith though seeing as it was mathematically possible.

So, yesterday when I tuned in to the game during the second half and we were down 1-0 to Dennis Oliech's 15' min goal...well, I was stunned. However, a quick flurry of goals and the last, a spin bicycle kick by Obafemi Martins of Wolfsburg in the 83' min left Nigeria 3-2 up. At about the same time, Mozambique scored! I could hardly wait to see if it would really happen. My heart was in my mouth, my intestines were in my pants! YES, NIGERIA WILL BE AT THE WORLD CUP IN South Africa! Now to go make arrangements.

Sunday...I've been following this Nigeria U-17 side throughout the tournament and in all honesty, they only got better as the tournament went on, after going down 3-0 to the Germans in the 1st half of their opening game, they came back to level 3-3. Since I last wrote on this blog, they dispatched NZL 5-0, S. Korea 3-1 and Spain...3-1. So, Switzerland who were making it to the U-17 world cup for the 1st time were expected to be no threat. Afterall, Nigeria were the defending champions and they'd just disposed of Spain, the last 'big name' in the tournament. Seferovic's goal in the 63' min to put the Swiss up 1-0 was to change all that though and to be fair, the Swiss' defenders were no-nonsense, we couldn't find a way through, forget that goal mouth scramble. S'all good though, Nigeria's future looks bright and I hope 1 or 2 of these young lads will make it to the world cup to learn.

It's amazing how Nigeria can perform so well at youth level but struggle at senior level. In 5-7 years, I daresay this same U-17 team will struggle to beat Spain's current U-17. I can only hope opportunities arise for the likes of Okoro, Emmanuel, Ajagun n co to become world beaters.

In other news, Van Persie is facing a few months out on the sidelines following an ankle ligament injury...

Coz Soccer is fun...

Other news...

Other champs league results:
Bayern Munich 0-2 Bordeaux, Maccabi Haifa 0-1 Juventus, Besiktas 0-3 Vfl Wolfsburg, Manchester United 3-3 CSKA Moscow, AC Milan 1-1 Real Madrid, Marseille 6-1 FC FC Zürich, Apoel Nicosia 0-1 FC Porto, Atlético Madrid 2-2 Chelsea, Fiorentina 5-2 Debrecen, Lyon 1-1 Liverpool, Rubin Kazan 0-0 Barcelona, Dynamo Kiev 1-2 Inter, Sevilla 1-1 VFB Stuttgart, Unirea Urziceni 1-1 Rangers, Standard Liege 2-0 Olympiakos.

Juventus recovered from losing 3-2 at the death against Napoli at the weekend to beat Maccabi Haifa. The Milan-Madrid clash was sumptuous again but resulted in a draw. Man U levelled off 3-3 after initially going down 3-1. Owen started n scored. (It makes me happy when I see the old names who have had injuries do well. Welcome back again Joe Cole.). Atletico Madrid-Chelsea was weird. It had stayed tied till the 82' min when substitute Aguero broke the deadlock with a half volley while Carvalho was temporarily distracted. Drogba was not going to take it lying down though, and came up with 2 goals in the 86' and 89' min on his return to the Champs League following a 3 match ban. Aguero was to have a final say, curling a sumptuous freekick in deep in extra time to tie things. Chelsea automatically qualify with 10 pts. Liverpool thought they'd shaken off their nightmares when Ryan Babel scored in the 83' min, but Lisandro Lopez shrugged off his 'defender' (teammate Cris) to beat Reina in the 90' min. Liverpool now have only 4 pts from 4 games. Tough times at Anfield. Rubin Kazan again held Barcelona at bay. I unfortunately missed this game (work...). Inter managed to beat Dynamo at the end. Legendary Shevchenko had scored in th 21' min, but Diego Milito (86' min) and Sneijder (89' min) wrapped the game up. Unirea, another 'minnow' in this competition held Rangers at home.

Premiership:
West Ham United 2-1 Aston Villa
Maybe Villa were distracted by Champions league like the rest of us, but I don't know how they lost to a West Ham side that has played good football recently but struggled to pick points. I've seen Zavon Hines play though (usually as a sub) and he looks good, lots of energy. He had the winner in the 90' min. I need to go watch that.

FIFA U-17 World Cup:
Arg 2-3 Col, Tur 2-0 UAE, SUI 4-3 GER, ITA 2-1 USA.

I was only able to catch the end of the Arg game and it was 2-1 when I started watching (lunch break) with about 8 mins left. Araujo had scored again. Then, kid called Blanco comes on and grabs the equalizer, from a move he started himself and a couple mins later, Colombia had the 3rd. To be honest, the few mins I saw, Argentina looked like they deserved it. Granted, they were a man down, but they looked so lackadaisical in the closing mins. Something they exhibited against Nigeria also, but in their defense then, it wasn't their 1st team playing and they'd qualified.

Till tomorrow, when Nigeria faces New Zealand...

Thanks to DirecTV for all the games I can watch (all champs league except Setanta's showing). I pay but it's worth it...

My Football, My Arsenal, My Joy...

Welcome back Champions League: To say that Arsenal inspires me to write is akin to saying I'm African. It just doesn't tell the whole story. I feel such excitement, such passion, whenever I watch Arsenal play. Going on from the weekend's dispatch of Tottenham came another sublime performance against AZ Alkmaar today, 4-1.

The opening goal of the game came very unexpectedly in the 26' min when Cesc Fabregas received the ball out on the left at the edge of the 18 yard box. With quick acceleration, he stepped inside his marker to the right. That half yard gained gave him the chance to shoot and he took a quick shot through the legs of his marker, Mendes Da Silva. The shot was mild though. Yet, Argentine international keeper Romero got only a slight touch and the ball crept in the corner. 1-0 Arsenal. The second came from Nasri, who by the way, I believe is super intelligent. His acceleration and turns away from his markers are impeccable. On for his 1st start in the champions league this season, I was happy with his performance. Arshavin had drifted a pass into his path in the 44' min, with a slight shimmy, the last defender was nowhere to be found and Nasri was 1 on 1. He still had a bit to do and deftly curled it around Romero. 2-0. I loved his celebration. It was 'dirt off my body' not my shoulders. He is not yet fully fit though and you could see he ran less towards the end of the game... HT.

Just 8 mins after the restart, Arsenal were cruising. This time, it was Fabregas who found the net again. Following a swift arsenal move between Diaby and Arshavin, the Arshavinator found Fabregas who was racing into the box with a pass inside the defender on the left flank and he wasted no time in blasting it into the roof of the net. Powerful finish. You expect him to be graceful and maybe pass it in, nope. BLASTED!

3 mins later, Almunia was called in to answer 'present' when Graziano Pelle had the chance to turn and fire at goal in the box. He saved at point blank range and diverted it onto the bar. AZ Alkmaar had a couple more tries, but Arsenal stayed strong. Not too long afterwards, 72' min to be precise, it was 4-0. This goal had me jumping up n down on the bed like a lil kid. It was the typified Arsenal counter attack that resulted in the goal that had me this way. Arsenal had cleared the ball from defence and the ball found Eduardo near the center circle with his back to goal. A clever back heel released Arshavin racing clear,and he stopped at the right time to send the ball into the path of the on rushing Diaby. 4-0. Job done, Arsene took off Van persie, Arshavin n 'FABULOUS' for Eduardo, Ramsey n Rosicky. Jeremain Lens had the time to score a consolation for Alkmaar though after they hit Arsenal on the counter.

Worthy of mention: Arshavin almost seems to conserve his energy at times but is always there to make things happen. All 4 assists credited to him. Gibbs making his return to champs league football following that costly slip against Man U last season looked comfortable. He is set for a run in the side as Clichy is sidelined with a back fracture for at least a month. It's important, I think, to note that Lens scored his goal by holding off Gibbs. He has chances to get 'comfortabler' in the coming games though.

Status update...

Chelsea totally crushed Bolton today, considering Jaaskelainen had made a string of stunning saves earlier to deny mostly Drogba and keep his team in it, 0-5 Chelsea, almost seemed an unfair result, but Chelsea are unstoppable at the moment, kudos to them. Deco n Drogba's goals were sumptuous btw.

There seems to be no sleeping well for Benitez today following Liverpool's 3-1 loss to Fulham. Red cards to Degen n Carragher will compound his misery as they face automatic match bans.

Man United kept their cool to dispatch an at times frustrating Blackburn side. Excellent turn and finish from Berbatov for the 1st goal and a sweet first time finish following Anderson's cross. Owen had a chance to finish by Rooney in the 94' min and pulled it narrowly wide. On another note, I've seen Obertan's clips on youtube but watching him play for the 1st time, I had to wonder, especially after that glaring miss following a typical Man U touch n go. You've got to finish chances like that if you want to stay in a Man U side. Let's give him time tho.

Pompey found the goals with a 4-0 win against Wigan with a hattrick by new signing, Ivoirien Aruna Dindane hat-trick(I have to go look for the goals). Amazing to think Kanu's still playing, wonder what will happen if/when Nigeria don't qualify for the world cup (God help me, my world cup won't be complete without my country).

FIFA U-17 World Cup: FT: GAM 2-2 COL, NED 0-1 IRN, BFA 4-1 CRC, NZL 1-1 TUR. The final group games will be played tomorrow. Btw, Fifa's conducting random MRI testing of the wrists to check ages, so no lying this year. It already claimed 2 players from the UAE.

Ok, time to go watch the Parma AC Milan game live on FSC. Ronaldinho's coming back to form...

It all went 'orribly wrong for 'Arry.

Considering Harry Redknapp's 'personal opinion' that "Gunners won't win it" and Keane's "You look at the two squads and we're definitely on par," Arsenal's 3 - nil win at the Emirates Stadium was the perfect response to a week of mind games from the Tottenham camp.

With 'Arry missing Luka Modric, Aaron Lennon & Jermaine Defoe, he opted to go for a formation similar to Arsenal's to match them man to man with the big man Crouch up front.

Both sides had had their chances, Gomes saving brilliantly to his left when Fabregas had the goal to his mercy, Totenham's plan seemed to work right up till the 41st min. Eduardo (who came on after Bendtner pulled up with a groin strain) collected the ball on the right flank with no seeming danger and won a throw. Sagna quickly took it and had the ball tapped back to him. With enough time afforded him by Tottenham, Sagna settled and whipped in a cross towards the 6 yard box and Van 'Pepper' Persie raced quickest across King for a great finish.

I was literally still celebrating that goal seeing as I'd settled for a 0-0 HT score and was looking for my phone to text a friend when I saw 'FABULOUS' racing away in celebration. Barely 11 seconds after the restart, he'd scored. 4's his number, 4's the number of men he left in his wake. Palacios seemed to stumble over the ball and FAB collected, skipping past him, holding off Jenas, OLE'd King's diving tackle before steadying himself to slot coolly past Gomes. The goal was reminiscent of Henry's dribbling run against Real Madrid at the Bernabeu a few years ago.

This 2-0 lead at HT was however, fearful. A similar advantage last weekend against West Ham had resulted in a draw. With Arsenal slowly taking control, Wenger was seen at the sidelines screaming at his young charges. Eduardo had missed with Gomes again saving big after he had raced clear and Tottenham seemed to be giving themselves a fighting chance. The breakthrough came in the 60th min though. Following a strong challenge on Eduardo, the ball fell through to Sagna who raced clear and then stopped (as everyone else) to look at the referee who waved play on...Sagna once again steadied himself an drove in a low cross , an ensuing miscommunication between Gomes n King left the ball to an onrushing Persie, who gently tapped in.

That said and done. Arsenal held on for the clean sheet and gave us gunners the chance to 1ce again refer to the 'Spu*s team who haven't beaten Arsenal in the league since November 1999. Talk about being a class ahead.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPAvxAgr-aU

Other scores:

Home Team	Score	Away Team	Time
Arsenal	3-0	Tottenham	R
Bolton	0-5	Chelsea	R
Burnley	2-0	Hull	R
Everton	1-1	Aston Villa	R
Fulham	3-1	Liverpool	R
Man Utd	1-0	Blackburn	L
Portsmouth	4-0	Wigan	R
Stoke	2-2	Wolverhampton	R
Sunderland	2-2	West Ham