Arsenal 4-4 Newcastle United Player Ratings

A game of two halves at St James Park, which turned out to be the game of the season so far. Arsenal were superb in the first half and awful in the second.

Wojciech Szczesny 7.5/10
 An impressive game for the young keeper. Despite conceding 4 goals he wasn't at fault for any and made some crucial saves which stopped Newcastle from defeating Arsenal.

Bacary Sagna 5.5/10
 Like most of the team, was good in the first half both defensively and offensively. Was caught out a couple of times in the second half too far forward.

Laurent Koscielny 6/10
Also played well in the first half but did concede 2 penalties in the second half. Only one of them was a penalty and didn't look as good as playing with Squillaci

Johan Djourou 7.5/10
Defended well in the first half and scored a good header in the first half. He got injured early in the second half  and Arsenal went downhill from there.

Gael Clichy 5/10
Very similar game to Bacary Sagna. Solid in the first half and then poor in the second. Was caught too far forward and he exposed the centre halves on many occasions.

Abou Diaby 4/10
 Played well until he totally lost the plot after a bad tackle from Joey Barton. He got sent off as a result and this affected the team badly.

Jack Wilshere 6.5/10
 Looked impressive in the first half but didn't defend well when the team needed him to late in the second half.  After the Diaby sending off he needed to play more defensively but wasn't able to do this well.

Cesc Fabregas 6/10
A poor performance from the captain. Struggled to have any influence on the game in both the first and second half.

Theo Walcott 7/10
 Scored an early goal and set up another. He did waste possession a couple of times and could of tracked back more to help out the defence.

Robin Van Persie 7.5/10
 Was superb in the first half scoring two great goals. Had no impact in the second half apart from a goal that was ruled just offside.

Andrey Arshavin 6.5/10
 Played well early in the game but got worse as the game went on. Wasted possession and didn't help out defensively when he was needed.

Substitutes 


 Sebastien Squillaci 3.5/10
 As soon as the Frenchman came on the defence looked shaky and he was a big factor in Arsenal not getting the win. Hopefully Johan isn't badly injured and Sebastien won't have to play many games.

Tomas Rosicky 5/10
Was brought on to replace the ineffective Arshavin. He was even more ineffective and was poor defensively in the closing stages.

Emmanuel Eboue 5/10
Was brought on to defend the lead as he is meant to be a better defender than Theo Walcott. Made a couple of mistakes and gave the ball away.

Man of the match: Wojciech Szczesny 
 Nobody really deserves the motm award but Szczesny played well and wasn't at fault for any of the four Newcastle goals.

Arsenal 4-4 Newcastle United: Two points thrown away by Arsenal

Theo scores the opener for Arsenal.

The greatest game of the season was played out at St James Park this afternoon. Arsenal started the game brilliantly and were 3-0 up within 10 minutes and four up by the half hour mark. The second half went horribly wrong and Arsenal dropped two vital points. I'm not blaming Phil Dowd or Joey Barton but they definitely influenced the match in a bad way. There were some poor decisions by Phil Dowd throughout the second half and as as expected some crunching tackles from Joey Barton. Diaby got himself stupidly sent off in the second half after being wound up by Joey Barton. It started after a Barton tackle on Arshavin just before half time, which led to Diaby putting in a harsh tackle. When Barton put in another poor tackle after half time on Diaby himself, Abou simply lost it pushing Barton over and then pushing Nolan away. This was stupid from the Frenchman and he deserved to go but then surely Barton deserved a yellow for the tackle on Diaby. After a Newcastle penalty Szczesny was grabbed and pushed to the floor by Kevin Nolan which also warranted a red card as it was similar if not worse to what Diaby did. This resulted in a yellow for Szczesny somehow. Ive already seen many jokes on Twitter, saying the Andy Carroll money may have found it's way to Phil Dowd, maybe Cesc will have something to say over this once again.

 Arsenal began the game superbly with a typical Walcott goal in the first minute. Two minutes later Djourou scored an easy header from a free kick where the marking was simply non-existent. In the tenth minute Robin Van Persie scored a third for the Arsenal and then got his second with a powerful header in the 26th minute. Arsenal were in full control of the game, dominating possession and defending well on the occasional attack from Newcastle. The game then began to boil over just before the whistle after Joey Barton took out Andrey Arshavin. Andrey didn't react but Abou Diaby did sliding in on Barton and conceding a free kick. It was a foul but so was the previous tackle which Phil Dowd didn't give. This was the type of inconsistent referring that happens so much in football, and can drive players and fans mad. 

 At the start of the second half no one would have possibly imagined the half of football that was played out at St James Park. There were two main incidents in the second half that led to the Newcastle comeback. The most important I believe was Djourou picking up an injury and being replaced by the awful Sebastien Squillaci. Djourou and Koscielny had been superb in the first half and as soon as Squillaci came on Arsenal looked far less confident and simply fell apart.  A few minutes after Djourou was forced off due to injury, Abou Diaby followed him down the tunnel after losing the plot completely. As I said earlier in the article he reacted to a poor tackle from Joey Barton by pushing him to the ground. Kevin Nolan then unnecessarily got involved running towards Abou Diaby who pushed him away much to Nolan's surprise. Phil Dowd correctly sent Diaby off for his over reaction but did Barton deserve to be sent off for the potentially dangerous slide tackle?

 

 Newcastle now appeared to be in control of the game and Arsenal were all over the place, passes were going astray and Newcastle kept having the ball given back to them time and time again. Newcastle won a penalty after Laurent Koscielny fouled Leon Best in the box. It wasn't a definite penalty more of a 50/50 but Arsenal couldn't really complain with the decision. Barton scored the penalty sending Szczesny the wrong way. Szczesny then picked the ball up from the back of the net and was simply wrestled to the ground by Kevin Nolan and Joey Barton. This was another example of inconsistent referring as what Nolan did wasn't much different to what Diaby did and he should have been sent off. Confusingly Szczesny received a yellow card, a very strange decision from Phil Dowd. Best scored a second for Newcastle in the 75th minute and suddenly a comeback looked possible. He took the goal well and the Arsenal keeper had no real chance of saving it. In the 83rd minute Newcastle were awarded a second penalty. There was no way at all this was a penalty, even after seeing many replays. Koscielny simply jumped for the ball with Mike Williamson who also seemed surprised about the decision to award the penalty. Barton scored again taking Newcastle one goal away from a magnificent come back. The come back was completed in the 87th minute after a brilliant strike from the Newcastle midfielder Tiote. It was a superb goal which was never going to be saved. 

Newcastle celebrate the equaliser.

 To sum up Arsenal should never have drew the game after being in such a commanding position. Newcastle undoubtedly deserved the dray they got, but if Diaby and Djourou had stayed on the pitch Arsenal would have won comfortably. Arsenal threw the game away and looked awful as soon as Squillaci came on for the injured Djourou. I hope Djourou isn't injured for long as Squillaci is a liability at the back and his confidence must be at an all time low. There were some shocking decisions from Phil Dowd throughout the match as well as Arsenal's awful second half display. I believe Nolan should of gone for wrestling Szczesny to the ground and this could of swung the game back in Arsenal's favour. In the end the draw was a fair result. It was certainly a game of two halves and one of the most entertaining we will see this season. However Arsenal dropped two points and can't afford to let this happen again. If we play anything like the first half we can beat anyone and that includes Barcelona. If we play like the second half, well we've seen what can happen today. 

Arsenal VS Newcastle United match preview

The home of Newcastle United.

Arsenal face a long trip to Newcastle on Saturday to continue in their pursuit of the Premier League trophy. Arsenal are a team in good form and Newcastle are the opposite. They also recentely lost their star striker to Liverpool, who dominated the previous game when we lost to Newcastle at the Emirates. The time of a relatively injury free squad was never going to last for the Arsenal and now Song and Nasri are both injured. Song should only miss this weekends game but Samir is out for about 3 weeks unfortunately. However Arsenal should have the strength in depth to defeat Newcastle at St James Park at 3pm tomorrow. It will be a tough game, but is a must win match for Arsenal who need the win to keep in touch with Manchester United at the top of the table. There are a few selection issues to be looked at and this is the starting XI I believe Wenger will pick for the Newcastle game.

Goalkeeper
Wojciech Szczesny will keep his place in goal due to his recent good form. He played well against Everton and I'm sure he will continue to do so.

Defence
 Right Back
Bacary Sagna will keep his place in the XI at right back. He has been consistent so far this season and long may this continue for the Frenchman.

Centre Back's
Johan Djourou will once again partner Laurent Koscielny at the back for Arsenal. The duo have developed a great partnership and we haven't conceded many goals recentely.

Left Back
Gael Clichy will continue at left back for Arsenal. He has been in superb form recentely in attack as well as the defensive side of his game.

Midfield
 Defensive Midfield
Alex Song, the first choice defensive midfielder is injured and Abou Diaby will take his place in the midfield trio. Abou did well against Everton and it will be good for him to get another game under his belt after his recent injury troubles.

Centre Midfield
Jack Wilshere will keep his place in the central role. He has been impressive throughout the season, and will have to defend more without a true defensive midfielder in the side on Saturday.

Attacking Midfield
Cesc Fabregas, the much talked about skipper will once again lead Arsenal out at St James Park. He is a magnificent leader of the team and also a brilliant footballer. He just needs to take no notice of the media, and continue playing his magnificent game.

Attack
 Right Wing
Theo Walcott has recovered from injury in time for the game on Saturday. His pace could be key in this match against Newcastle and he needs to continue on strongly from Tuesday night.

Centre Forward
Robin Van Persie will start up top once again for the Arsenal. He has been in magnificent form and he needs to continue in the way he has been playing.

Left Wing
Andrey Arshavin won us the game on Tuesday night and will be rewarded with a place in the starting XI. If he is in the same mood as on Tuesday, he could win the game by himself, but will the superb Arshavin turn up?

If Arsenal play like they did on Tuesday this should be a comfortable victory. Once again the players need to play their natural game and keep possession and take the chances the possession creates. I'm predicting a 2-0 victory for the Arsenal which would put us within 2 points of Manchester United who don't play till 5:30.

The emergence of Wojciech Szczesny

A top save from the young keeper

The young Polish keeper has emerged in recent months to be Arsenal's number one goalkeeper. Wojciech was certainly thrown in at the deep end for his Premier League debut back in December at Old Trafford. This didn't faze the youngster at all, due to the confidence he has in his own abilities. This is different to the way Bendtner is confident as Wojciech actually does have the potential to be an Arsenal player for many years to come. He has immense potential and has already proved himself in recent months to many Arsenal fans. Wenger recentely said he is the Number 1 and in my opinion he fully deserves this. Due to Fabianski being ruled out for the rest of the season, Szczesny's only competition is Manuel Almunia and I think we all know who we would prefer in goal for the Arsenal.


Wojciech has now made 9 starts this season, and hasn't been criticised for any of these performances. He has been consistent in goal and hasn't made any glaring errors which we have been accustomed to as Arsenal fans after having Almunia and Flapianski in goal. Szczesny appears to give confidence to the back four in front of him and this has shown in recent games for Arsenal. We have kept many clean sheets since Wojciech won his place in the side, and the back four have also looked far more solid. Djourou and Koscielny have been brilliant as a central defensive partnership and this has partly been due to Szczesny's brilliant and inspiring performances in goal for the side. I strongly believe Wojciech has the potential to be the Arsenal goalkeeper for many years to come and I hope Wenger continues to keep faith in him as the Arsenal number one. 


There is only one aspect of Wojciech's game he needs to work on to continue to progress into a world class goalkeeper. This aspect is his kicking which certainly needs improvement. This was very noticeable in his debut against United, it has improved in the last couple of games but still needs to be improved. We have been losing the ball a lot from his goal kicks but I'd certainly rather that than the awful mistakes we have seen in previous seasons.

 Szczesny looks to now be the number one for the rest of the season at least and he is the exact type of player the team needs to win the title. He is very confident in his own abilities and this is something our previous goalkeepers clearly lacked. He will play an important role in big games such as the two Barcelona games, where his talent and confidence will be needed. I am sure he will continue to impress and grasp the opportunity he has been given. If he continues to progress at the rate he has he can be our number one for the next 15 years and help the team to challenge for and win many trophies.

Arsenal 2-1 Everton Player Ratings

Arsenal defeated Everton after a strong performance at the Emirates Stadium. It wasn't a typical Arsenal performance but the type we will need to win the Premiership.

Wojciech Szczesny 7/10
  A solid match for the youngster. He made a couple of important saves and his kicking was better than in previous games

Bacary Sagna7/10
 A good game for the Frenchman. Contributed well in both defence and attack.

Laurent Koscielny 7.5/10
Defended well throughout the game and took his goal very well with a brilliant header to win the game.


Johan Djourou 7.5/10
 Another impressive display from the centre half. Has developed a brilliant partnership with Koscielny over the past couple of weeks.


Gael Clichy 7/10
 A good display from the experienced left back. Made some good attacking runs and should have scored a third for the Arsenal


Alex Song 6/10
 Not brilliant from the defensive midfielder. Some poor tackles in the first half, didn't play in the second due to an injury.


Jack Wilshere 6.5/10
 Similar game to Alex Song, some poor tackles and picked up a yellow card early in the game.


Cesc Fabregas 7/10
Didn't conduct himself brilliantly throughout and put in a horrible tackle on Mikel Arteta. Did however provide a game changing pass for Andrey to score the equaliser.

Theo Walcott 6.5/10
 An ok performance from the young Englishman. Had a couple of goal scoring opportunities which he wasted. He may have picked up an injury at the end of the match after a horror tackle from Fellaini.

Robin Van Persie 7.5/10
 An impressive display from the Dutchman. Led the attack well and would of been on the score sheet if it wasn't for some brilliant saves from Tim Howard in the Everton goal.

Tomas Rosicky 5.5/10
 Poor from the Czech international. Wasteful in possession and was rightly subbed off for Arshavin.

Substitutes 

Andrey Arshavin 8/10
 Andrey changed the game when he came on and it was a truly match wining performance from the little Russian. Looked to be back to his best.

Abou Diaby 7.5/10
Impressive from the tall Frenchman. Looked stronger than Alex Song in the defensive midfield role.

Nicklas Bendtner 7/10
 Another solid performance for the Dane. Unlucky not to grab a late goal.

Man of the match: Andrey Arshavin

 He was unlucky not to start the game but proved to be a match winning substitution. He added much needed enthusiasm for Arsenal and hopefully his new found form can continue.

Arsenal 2-1 Everton Arsenal claim victory despite not being at their fluent best

Last night Arsenal beat Everton 2-1 at the Emirates Stadium. It was a fascinating match, but not exactly an example of the Premier League's best football. It was quite a scrappy game with plenty of fouls and debatable referee decisions. Arsenal stood firm in defence throughout the game and were patient until the end when they took two chances to win the match. The two late goals came from Arshavin and Koscielny and kept Arsenal in touch with United at the top of the league.

An example of the early midfield battle. 

 The game started with plenty of tackles flying in from both sides. This was especially in the middle of the park where Fabregas, Wilshere, Arteta and Rodwell put plenty of strong challenges in on each other.  Jack Wilshere was booked early on and this appeared to have an effect on his game for the rest of the match. Arsenal were putting pressure on the Everton back four but didn't create many chances and the game was effectively at stalemate. Everton then scored one of the most controversial goals of the season as Louis Saha finished superbly but from a clear offside position. Seamus Coleman delayed his pass and when he finally passed the ball Saha was at least two yards offside but the goal stood. The linesman and referee did talk to each other but they didn't change their decision, despite protests from the Arsenal players and the barrage of abuse from the Emirates crowd. This injustice for the Arsenal spurred them on and their play improved for the rest of the half.

Fabregas couldn't believe the Everton goal stood.

 Alex Song had picked up an injury during the first half and was replaced at half time by the Frenchman Abou Diaby. Abou has recentely returned from injury but looked fit and played well for the second half. Arsenal put more pressure on Everton at the start of the second half but still failed to breakthrough the Everton defence. Wenger could see his side were struggling and especially Tomas Rosicky. Tomas was replaced by Andrey Arshavin in the 62nd minute after another disappointing performance form the Czech international. In the 69th minute Jack Wilshere was replaced with Nicklas Bendtner. Arsenal switched to a 4-4-2 formation with Wenger signalling his intent. Arshavin had already made an impact on the game before his goal came in the 70th minute. His intelligent running and enthusiasm which he has lacked recentely was on show and he looked like a player desperate to regain his place in the starting XI. In the 70th minute Cesc Fabregas played a brilliant ball into the Everton box. Andrey timed his run perfectly and finished the move off with a strong volley. This was a typical Arshavin goal and showed he still has the talent but has just been lacking in confidence. This goal however will give him a lot of confidence and hopefully he can take this into the Newcastle game on Saturday. Arsenal continued to press Everton all over the pitch and created some strong attacking moves. Arsenal won a free kick in the ideal position for Van Persie. Tim Howard made a world class save from the free-kick which gave Arsenal a corner. It was from this corner that Arsenal secured the winner. Koscielny was unmarked in the box, he took advantage and scored a powerful header. He had made a good run but shouldn't of been allowed the space he got and the Everton defence were punished for this. For the rest of the match Arsenal kept possession, defended solidly and played out the rest of the match comfortably. 

Arsenal players celebrating the winner. 

   This was an example of how Arsenal have learnt to win 'ugly' this season as they weren't at their fluent best but still managed to win the game. Arsenal managed to grind out the result and this is what is needed for a title-winning team. Manchester United have displayed this trait for years and Arsenal have added it their stylish game this season. This was a game Arsenal needed to win to stay in touch with United and the strong team spirit helped them to achieve this. Arsenal now face a trip to the North East to play Newcastle in another important game in the race for the title.

Arsenal VS Everton Match Preview

Arsenal are taking on Everton in the premier league this evening. After just playing on Sunday Arsene won't have had long to prepare the team for this next encounter. It is however an important game as Arsenal need to continue to win and build momentum in the Premiership and close the gap on Manchester United as soon as possible. This is a game Arsenal need to win to stay in serious contention for the title and Wenger will pick his strongest side to make sure this is the case.

  There a couple of selection issues, that need to be looked at such as the replacement for Samir Nasri and whether Nicklas Bendtner deserves a place after his recent performances. This is the starting XI I believe Wenger will pick for the game against Everton.

Goalkeeper
 Wenger recently said Wojciech Szczesny is Arsenal's number 1, and he will return tonight replacing the disappointing Manuel Almunia.

Defence
 Right Back
Bacary Sagna will regain his place at right back. He was 50/50 for the Sunday game and wasn't risked so he would be fully fit for tonight's game.

Centre Back's
Johan Djourou will return to partner Laurent Koscielny at the back for the Arsenal. He was rested at the weekend for tonight and will have to play anyway due to Squillaci being suspended.

Left Back
Gael Clichy will be at left back replacing Kieran Gibbs. This would always have been Wenger's plan but even more so after Kieran's poor game on Sunday

Midfield
Defensive Midfield
Alex Song will start in the defensive midfield role. He hasn't played much recentely but is still a key player in Arsenal's midfield trio.

Central Midfield
Jack Wilshere should start in his favourite role tonight. Diaby is back from injury but won't be ready to start a second game in a row and Jack has now cemented his place in the Arsenal team alongside Alex Song.

Attacking Midfield
Cesc Fabregas will start tonight and hopefully have the influence he had coming off the bench against Huddersfield Town. The captain is even more important tonight due to the absence of Samir Nasri.

Attack
Right Wing
 Young Theo Walcott will return to the starting XI for tonight's game. He has been rested a lot recentely and should be fully prepared to take on the Everton defence.

Centre Forward
Arsenal's best striker Robin Van Persie will start tonight in the central attacking role. He has the capability to win the game himself and let's hope he doesn't get injured like Samir did at the weekend.

Left Wing
Due to Samir's injury Andrey Arshavin will have the chance to regain some form on the Left side for Arsenal. He needs to improve tonight to keep his place for the important matches ahead.

  Arsenal will need to be far better tonight than the last game as Everton pose a serious threat. The team should still have enough to beat Everton, they just need to be patient, keep possession and take the chances they get throughout the match. I'm predicting a 2-0 victory tonight at the Emirates.