Chelsea v. Arsenal; liveblogging the 2nd half

The first half wasn’t really that bad. The score line is a bit harsh on Arsenal and especially Djourou, but I really liked that he took a moment after the goal and snapped right back up. The rest of the squad need to do the same, right now. One thing that I have noticed in all my sporting years is that champions come out and play hard in the second half, some commentators call it “finding another gear.” We saw that often with the Invicibles, even a great team like that had moments like we saw in this first half but they always responded in the second half. Chelsea will certainly be aware of this and will come out swinging at the start of the half. Arsenal need to keep their heads up, not get frustrated, and play their game. They are making chances, they have to believe that something will come of it.

Also, Nasri needs to defend Bosingwa further up the pitch — he’s abusing that side and putting extra pressure on Clichy and Clichy doesn’t need any more pressure.

46′ — Well, they are playing hard but back to back miscommunications with Adebayor won’t do much to endear him to his detractors.

51′ — You are seeing an absolutely clinical performance by Chelsea right now. They have sucked the life out of this Arsenal team and are picking apart the defense at will. Cesc is nearly invisible as the Chelsea midfield dominates.

56′ — I don’t think I’ve ever seen an Arsenal squad look this ordinary. Come on boys, you’re the Gunners!

59′ — Looks like Wilshere is warming up. Well, sure, it’s not like Nasri and … NO WAY!!! van Persie is yards off-side and yet Mike Dean rules that the ball came off A. Cole. 1-1 to the Arsenal. Well, I’ll be damned, that’s a harsh call on Chelsea, the Gunners need to really step up now.

61′ — Terry with a two-footed challenge, good yellow.

62′ — now it’s Chelsea who look discombobulated, free kick to Fabregas flicked by Adebayor and falls to van Persie. Well, well… 2-1 to the Arsenal.

65′ — My dog is deaf, Matt! Adebayor is frustrating the hell out of me right now, and I’m probably his biggest fan. Nasri is defending well suddenly, maybe someone had a chat with him.

68′ — Clichy with some brilliant defense in midfield and a great run earns Arsenal a free kick in a dangerous spot — van Persie hat-trick?

70′ — Hey… why isn’t Clichy put in as holding midfielder? Probably a dearth of left-backs it the only reason, he could hardly be worse than Song and reminds me a lot of Flamini.

73′ — Chelsea are getting tetchy, John Terry just elbowed the back of van Persie’s head to clear him off Cesc’s pass.

76′ — AH HA! Clichy has been assigned to cover Bosingwa and is doing a much better job of it than Nasri. This moves Nasri over to the middle of the park where he seems more creative.

79′ — I agree Barnaby, I’ll be happier if the score line is 6-1…

80′ — Ivanovic has been doing a great job harassing Adebayor. Nothing getting past the big Russian. Song, too is having a decent game defensively.

83′ — Adebayor’s had a rough game and is subbed by Bendtner. Mike Riley has to shoo him off the pitch. PINK BOOTS!

85′ — Clichy throws himself about and gets a yellow on Ivanovic… This is the start of my campaign: CLICHY FOR MIDFIELD.

89′ — Come on boys put this one to bed.

92′ — AHHHAHHAH Denilson…

94′ — Oh fuck off, the commentator just reminded me of Essien getting that last-gasp equalizer

95′ — Max Bretos just called Arsenal “truly dysfunctional” you can fuck off too Max, you useless cunt. — Crap, sorry, I just channeled Joe Kinnear there.

Final Thoughts

I’m sure we’ll hear non-stop hand-wringing and recriminations over that first goal and I’d be the first to admit that it looked like Arsenal got away with one there. And? So? I’ve seen plenty of teams get over on us over the years. Until they introduce goal line technology or T-Town Alex’s video replay that’s how the league works: sometimes you get screwed.

We’re also going to hear how Arsenal don’t deserve the win. Well, I could argue that Arsenal didn’t deserve the loss to Hull or Stoke, that’s how the cookie crumbles. Arsenal won.

HA!

2-1 to the Arsenal! And again, happy St. Andrew’s day.

0 comments

  1. lay off denilson… midfield was relatively contained and he made some decent stops… did more than nasri, but this is the kind of win we need… a hard fought battle with a touch of class

  2. Well, two moments of brilliance and we changed the game. Overall, I’d say we lost midfield today, but i’ll take the win. For heaven’s sake Arsene do no suffer from delusions of grandeur and STRENGTHEN!!

    MOTM — (wait for it)… Van Persie? No. Glichy – YES!! (welcome back son).

  3. i stayed in my bathroom for the whole 30 minutes, i had just gone to take a leak and when i came back i found persie had scored, so i went and stayed in the bathroom till the end of the match, oohhhhh it was alll so very worth it !!!
    I love Arsenal !!!!!
    I love my bathroom as well !!!!

  4. Wow a great win for our Arsenal!

    To be honest, I had no much hope on this game but they proved us wrong again! A great win and this MUST be a turn to our bad start – we are just 7 points off the top! Ahahaha!

    And for Denilson haters, that guy did very well out of position, so shut it and at least praise him for his work rate. But clearly he need more games in his natural position and be tough like Flamini was.

    Overall all the players gave their best and defence was fantastic (except for the own goal madness – I blame Almunia on this). Clichy was fantastic and he showed the cunt Cashley why we don’t need him at all. Cunt he is and always he will be.

    I just hope Arsenal put this performance each week, but hell Wenger should come up with plan B to stop teams that play 99% defensive game.

    Adebayor seems missing but his presence really make Arsenal look more solid upfront and his ability to muscle out opponents and also good in the air.

    A real relief and time to move forward and turn around the season.

    – PS : Spuds lost hahahha!!

  5. Go lose to Stoke and have fun at the UEFA Cup next year.

    Aston villa plays better football and are far more consistent.

    Oh and stay fucking onsides.

    Sincerely,
    A disappointed Chelsea fan

  6. Guys, ARSENAL DO NOT HAVE ANY BAD PLAYERS, but I do believe we have players who are not optimal for our team needs. Don’t mean to drop a clanger on what’s a fine day and great match, but I think overall we played more defense than them. Chelsea was very progressive today and we had space to play, can’t expect that to be the case every game. Very encouraged by the response AFTER the second goal, and it showed we have more to offer than what we demonstrated thus far this term.

  7. Dear Alex the Bitter Chelsea Fan,

    I’d rather lose to Stoke than Burnley and I’d rather beat Chelsea at the Bridge than beat Stoke at the Potteries.

    Enjoy your team while Abramovich can afford them!

    Sincerely,

    Tim The Happy Arsenal Fan

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