Player Rating - Arsenal 3 Celtic 1 And MOTM

Congratulation to all our Players for doing a fantastic job over the two leg, Will not talk about Dudu dive, The reason Arsenal qualified is because they were the better side over the two legs and not because Eduardo won the penalty as most Celtic fans and media thinks.

Player Rating:

Almunia: Was not troubled by the Celtic defence. 6

Sagna : Solid performance going forward as well as defending. 7

Gallas : Well kept Celtic striker's in his pocket and was solid, i loved it when he dribbled past Celtic defender as if he was not there. 7

Vermaelen : I cannot remember a header he failed to win in the entire match. loved his attitude throughout the match. 7

Clichy : Slowly but steadily he is finding his true rythym maybe that long injury lay off helped him learning his mistake and clearly it seems he has been working on it during his re-habiliation. 7

Song : What can I say about him, was not as good as the first leg but very strong in the middle breaking Celtic attack. 6.5

Denilson : Star man, was brilliant throught out the match, he simply frustrated Celtic players, so much so they all started kicking him trying to intimidate him but could not succeed for the first time I saw Denilson actually getting on the face of a player refusing to bow down. I loved his performance. 8

Eboue : Just missed my MOTM award but I can say that this is one of his best performance in the middle of the Arsenal attack, his first touch has improved and his has shown a strong character, took his goal very well

7.5

Diaby : Decent performance from the Frenchmen, helped Song and Denilson well and was strong in midfield. 6

Bendtner : Not bad for the big Dane but one can see frustration on his face for not scoring so far in four matches, did troubled the Celtic defence whenever he had the ball. 6

Eduardo : Controversial penalty won by him, I seriously believe Dudu was not trying to con the ref, he might have caught in two minds and fell over, because I cannot see him exagerrating while diving, he just fell over thats it, overall fantastic performance from him, loved to see him play twice in one week.7

Ramsey: 6

Wilshere : 6

Arshavin: took his goal brilliantly. 6

Let me know who was yout MOTM

Comments and Suggestion are most welcome.

Eduardo Is No Diver.......Match Thoughts

Well was it a dive, I don't know may be it was a dive but does it matter in this tie and even I saw the video, personally I thought Eduardo was caught in 2 mind and fell over. Even if he dived who cares everyone does that. But what is surprising here is Celtic player are calling for 2 match ban for Eduardo, is this some kind of joke that you want player to be banned just because he won a penalty, I don't think Eduardo have a reputation to cheat on the football field.

Talking about banning Eduardo, UEFA can never do that, simply because they are shit and corrupt, there is no two way about it, what happened with Dogbark last season in the CL semifinal against Barca, he abused in front of millions watching on television, what UEFA does ban him and then later lift the ban on him, but no one is complaining.WHY?

One suggestion to all Celtic players and fans, go home prepare for Europa league because you are not good enough to beat Arsenal (even without the penalty Dudu won ) and stop calling him a cheat because he has no record of diving in his career. So I give him a benefit of doubt and one more thing learn to play football, kicking opposition player is no way of playing football. You all make me laugh when you say that this penalty won Arsenal the CL berth, because Arsenal would have thrashed you even without that penalty. So stop moaning about it

Now about the match, two players where a stand out performer last night
1. Denilson
2. Eboue
these two player where every where on the pitch, Denilson was harrassing the Celtic midfield and his tackling has improved, though his positional sense was always good that too has improved too. Eboue well he is some character, his first touch was good he was creating havoc with his trickery, forcing Celtic players to commit fouls and took his goal very well. If we can recall he was in a similar position in CL quater final against Roma and he made a mess of it, this time he made no mistake, this proves how strong mentally he has become.
But my man of the match is Denilson for his tireless work throughout the 90 min.

Prediction/Team News/Preview - Arsenal v Portsmouth

Premier league is back and we are already a game behind. Like Wenger said "we don't want to play catch up with anyone". I really feel that Arsenal should score early because we all know that Paul hart has Already parked his bus in front of Arsenal goal so more time we take to break portsmouth defence more likely it is for our player to get frustrated and make mistake by over committing themself,

Now for some team news, Wenger finally said it, that Vela is carrying an ankle injury and it will take some time to recover.

Eduardo is fit to face Portsmouth on Saturday, having recovered from a groin problem which ruled him out of the Champions League qualifier against Celtic. Well I believe that Eduardo will start this match and let's hope he don't get injured again till the end of the season.

Theo Walcott (back), however, has once again been ruled out. Arsene is right to criticise England U21 coach and Capello for including Walcott in the U21 championship. He warned them about the consequences.

Lukasz Fabianski (knee),Tomas Rosicky (hamstring),Samir Nasri (broken leg) and Johan Djourou (knee) all continue their rehabilitation. Wish them all a speedy recovery.

Portsmouth travel without midfielder Papa Bouba Diop, who faces a possible three to six weeks on the sidelines with a hamstring injury.

The Senegal international is set to undergo a scan to confirm the extent of the problem, but he will definitely sit out the clash at the Emirates Stadium.

Manager Paul Hart remains without Herman Hreidarsson and Steve Finnan, who are also suffering with hamstring problems and are at least two weeks away from returning.

Arsenal Team news:

Almunia, Sagna, Vermaelen, Gallas, Clichy, Song, Fabregas, Denilson, Arshavin, Bendtner, van Persie, Mannone, Eduardo, Eboue, Ramsey, Wilshere, Gibbs, Silvestre.

The formation should be somewhat like this

Almunia

Sagne Gallas Vermarlen Clichy/Gibbs

Song

Denilson Ramsey/Fab

Bendtner Arshavin

Eduardo/Van Persie

Prediction : 3 - 0 (Arsenal) Arshavin to score his first goal today

Let me know what formation you think Wenger will play

Arsenal Players Pledge

I found this nice video of Arsenal Players pledging for the new season. I don't know how many of you have seen this video but i found it interestin especially when Arshavin says 5 goal in 1 match.I hope they fulfill thier pledge

Cesc MOTM - CELTIC 0 ARSENAL 2 - Player Rating

Many will say that it was a lucky win, but I say it was a well deserved win. Because we were the better team throughout the 90 min and even Tony Mowbray accepted it.

First goal by gallas you can say was lucky but what i liked about that goal was Gallas run when he started the run he was on an OFFSIDE position, when RVP11 passed the ball to Cesc he came back in, the way he loose his marker was also very good and he also have every right to claim the goal because I assume the Celtic keeper had covered Cesc shot and one more thing I liked is that Cesc has once again started to take a pot from the distance which usually he avoids so its a positive thing. Talking about the second goal fantastic work by Diaby to dribble past couple of players and feeding the overlapping Clichy and the hard low cross from him found the legs of Celtic skipper Caldwell and into the back of the net, even if Caldwell had left the ball Bendtner was lurking behind him and he would have finished it any how. so great result just have to keep a clean sheet once again when Celtic visit the Emirates.

PLAYERS RATING

1. Almunia : Didn't have much to do only one shot on goal from Celtic. He was very well protected by our back four 7

10. Gallas : Brilliant performance once again, got a goal as well , though he was trying to avoid contact with the ball and the highlight of the match was when he intersected the cross from Fortune which was destined to find Celtic player on the other side and boy he looks happy now after the departure of Kolo and he is smiling these days. 7.5

5. Vermaelen : I really don't want to hype his performance but in these last two games he has been fantastic, a no non-sense defender most Arsenal fans been asking for, the way he jumps to win header, considering he is only 6 ft is brilliant, his tackling is fantastic and positional sense is good and the highlight of this match was his brilliant run to deny Scott Brown to take a shot on goal which was destined to be hit at the back of the net. 8

22. Clichy : Another solid game for him was troubled by Celtic pacy winger but he managed him very well was involved in the second goal, Overall pretty decent performance but still have not reached the heights of 07-08 season. 7

3. Sagna : Good game from Sagna as usual need to work on his crossing though he and Nikki B were working good. 7

15. Denilson : Another good performance from the Brazilian, once again he showed why Wenger shows so much faith in him, at the begining he was a bit shaky the reason could be the brilliant park head atmoshphere but as the game went on he was solid in possesion and tackling, he seems to have worked in gym a lot, he has become strong physically, anothere good performance from him this new formation is really helping his game. 7

17. Song : Well what can I say about him, never in my wildest dream i thought Song can be this brillaint, his tackling, positioning, strength I hope Cameroon do not qualify for the ACN. So that Song don't have to leave in January for a month or so. He was excellent from the word go. 8

4 . Cesc : I think Wenger was playing with Celtic coach when he said Fab is 50-50 for the game,

because wenger knew that Celtic will be trying to shut Fabregas at every opportunity and thats exactly what they did but Captain Fab still ran the show just like Xavi for Barcelona he was everywhere and this new formation has given him the freedom to dictate the play, another brillaint performance from the captain and my man of the match for the day. 8.5(star man)

52. Bendtner : Not as good as the previous game but was good helping Sagna a lot in tracking back and winning and intersecting play I really think that he and RVP should change positions 6.5

23. Arshavin : Well our little Russian is taking time to adapt to this new system I suppose. Was not his usual self but worked his sock off for the team and got his foot in whenever required. 6

11. Van Persie : He was also not very effective throughout course of 90 min. He was trying too much to dribble past player and win free kick but it almost backfired in the first half as the celtic could have taken the lead, only for Vermaelen to deny Celtic the goal 6

Celtic 0 - Arsenal 2(Arsenal Learning To Get Results)

Arsenal were Lucky to score 2 goals but no one can deny that Arsenal were strong defensively.
To be fare Vermaelen, Song, Gallas,heroes of the day. I assume he is the no non-sense defender we been looking. With this result we are alomst assured qualification to the champions league group stages.
Match report and rating to follow.

UP THE GUNNERS

Everton v Arsenal - Match Report

Arsenal produced a stunning opening-day performance to underline boss Arsene Wenger's belief his young stars can win the title.

The Gunners exposed Everton's frailties in defence and the hosts' lack of depth.

The last time Everton lost 6-1 at home was back in 1958, and Arsenal did the damage that time as well.

Their passing, movement and finishing left Everton in shreds, and the north Londoners were three up at the break through Denilson, debut defender Thomas Vermaelen and his centre-back colleague William Gallas.

Everton boss David Moyes had suggested beforehand the Joleon Lescott saga had destabilised his team, but few would have predicted to this extent.

After the interval Cesc Fabregas struck with two fine goals, the result maybe suggesting Moyes should sell Lescott with Manchester City still interested, and spend the money on re-vamping his squad.

Everton included Lescott despite the ongoing saga of Manchester City's attempts to sign him, which prompted Moyes' angry outburst yesterday at the Eastlands club's tactics.

Brazilian striker Jo had recovered from an ankle problem, while Steven Pienaar was passed fit after knee trouble.

Arsenal gave their new Belgian defender Vermaelen his league debut, but were without Theo Walcott (back), Abou Diaby (groin), Tomas Rosicky (hamstring) and Johan Djourou (knee).

But their absences did not seem to matter as they systematically took Everton apart at the back.

Moyes got a heroes' reception from the Goodison Park faithful, and Lescott's name was greeted with far more cheers than jeers from a sell-out crowd.

But Moyes then had to sit and watch as his usually reliable rearguard, admittedly missing the excellent Phil Jagielka, fell apart before his eyes.

Arsenal were sharp from the start and their passing game was quickly on song. And when Phil Neville misplaced a ball in midfield, the Gunners flowed forward before Nicklas Bendtner drove a shot over the bar.

Then Bendtner headed down for Robin van Persie to see his shot on the turn deflected wide by Lescott.

Everton were having to work tremendously hard in midfield to contain the tempo of Arsenal's game and the Toffees barely created a chance in the opening half.

The goal Arsenal had been threatening arrived after 26 minutes. Bendtner surged in from the left before flicking a pass to Cesc Fabregas, who instantly turned the ball into Denilson's path.

The pace of the move left Everton floundering, and the fine strike from the Brazilian from just outside the area dipped and curled into the top corner.

Everton's response was predictably furious and they had Arsenal hemmed into their box for a spell.

Only a goal-line clearance from Denilson following Marouane Fellaini's header from a Leighton Baines corner stopped an equaliser.

Arsenal, though, were cutting through Everton with movement and accurate passing, and after 37 minutes they were two ahead.

Van Persie's free-kick from the right found Vermaelen beyond the far post, and the defender headed back into the bottom corner for a fine debut goal.

Everton's marking for that was dreadful, with Fellaini and Joseph Yobo seemingly at fault. But four minutes later when Gallas headed home another free-kick, this time from Fabregas, the defending was even worse.

The Frenchman had a free run into the six-yard box to guide his header home completely unmarked. Goalkeeper Tim Howard appealed for cover as colleagues stood motionless.

Everton were shell-shocked, and it got worse three minutes after the interval.

Everton were caught by a pitch-length move from Arsenal that ended with Fabregas cruising into the box to send his shot past Howard.

Denilson had started the surge deep on the left and found Van Persie before a neat pass left the Arsenal skipper to do the rest.

Moyes then made a triple substitution. Saha replaced Leon Osman, Dan Gosling came on for Tony Hibbert while Jack Rodwell took over from Jo.

The reshuffle included Neville reverting to full-back from midfield, where he had struggled. Rodwell, Fellaini and Pienaar both had chances as Everton struggled to get some pride back.

Arsenal sent on Emmanuel Eboue for Bendtner after 63 minutes, the game long won.

But Fabregas was not finished. After 69 minutes he collected a throw from Manuel Almunia and ran from inside his own half without facing a tackle to drive home the fifth.

Their jobs done, Arsenal took off Fabregas and Van Persie, sending on Aaron Ramsey and Eduardo.

With the ground emptying fast, and the Gunners' fans in full song, Everton just wanted this embarrassment to end as quickly as possible.

But Eduardo still had time to score the sixth, netting from close in after Andrey Arshavin's shot had come back off a post with two minutes to go.

Everton finally got onto the score-sheet in injury time when Saha netted after Pienaar's shot had been blocked.

Teams:

Everton Howard, Hibbert (Gosling 58), Yobo, Lescott, Baines,Osman (Saha 58), Neville, Cahill, Pienaar, Fellaini,Jo (Rodwell 58).

Subs Not Used: Nash, Vaughan, Duffy, Baxter.

Goals: Saha 90.

Arsenal Almunia, Sagna, Gallas, Vermaelen, Clichy,Fabregas (Ramsey 72), Song Billong, Denilson,Bendtner (Eboue 63), van Persie (Eduardo 72), Arshavin.

Subs Not Used: Mannone, Silvestre, Gibbs, Merida.

Goals: Denilson 26, Vermaelen 37, Gallas 41, Fabregas 48, 69,

Eduardo 88.