2012 - its the end of the world! (or...year)

Super cute celebration from Theo and Gibbs. Source: Tumblr

Perfect end to the year.

A great morale boost for the end of the season.

We may not have leapfrogged anyone up the table, but it was a positive ending to the year and positive for all the players.

Theo in particular was of course a standout.  His hattrick was incredible. His last goal in particular was great, even though it could have been a penalty. It was a beautiful goal! He has truly grown into a mature player, and was excellent playing up front. He is fast, and his skill was Henry-like against Newcastle.  Last season a lot of people were writing him off, apart from Wenger and RvP...who always stood by him and said Walcott was invaluable to the team. Even though he-who-must-not-be-named is gone, Walcott is still here and would be a massive loss if he leaves the club. He needs to sign a new contract.

Santi Cazorla, Jack Wilshere and Mikel Arteta had a quiet day in the midfield, but were still setting the pace and providing the metronome and rhythm for how the game was to progress.  This was not as good in the first half, but they fell into a rapport in the second half, especially towards the end. I am loving this midfield combination more and more every time they play together.

Our defense was the real low point. At the beginning of the season I thought that Bould had tightened up the defense and we had a lot of clean sheets, but now it is a bit dodgy.  I think Arsenal missed the influence of Per Mertesaker (get well soon, BFG), and Vermaelen is having an inconsistent season. A new years resolution is definitely to improve and solidify our defense.

As a gooner, I was flipping my lid during this game. It was ridiculously exciting. My lucky number is 7, so I was so excited. Perfect end to the year.

Bring on 2013 and the rest of the season! :D

xoxo Gooner Girl

ps. How funny was Wenger and his zipper? Classic.

Poor performance, poor result

Aaron Ramsey against Norwich. Photo: Telegraph.co.uk

Norwich have given us all a reason of why having less internationals on your team is a good thing.

Norwich only had two players away on international duty, while Arsenal had 14.

Arsene Wenger (who celebrated his birthday yesterday - HAPPY BIRTHDAY WENGER!) said that having 14 players away proved we had very good players on the squad, but they were tired.  Cazorla especially was not the light, fast genius Arsenal fans have become accustomed to. By contrast he looked tired, as did a lot of our internationals. The international break meant we were disjointed, tired and didn't gel as a team.

However, no excuses. We can complain about the international break all we like, but we really should be beating teams like Norwich.

On the day, we played badly. We had more chances, more ball, and more possession, but we couldn't do anything with it.

Norwich should be commended for an absolutely fantastic performance, especially defensively. 

Arsenal will need to step it up before our mid-week Champions League match against Schalke.  The game should be interesting, it could go either way, but Arsenal will need to play a lot better than we did this weekend.

xoxo
- GoonerGirl

Every win counts!

Theo Walcott celebrates his goal. Image: Arsenal.com

Solid performance by Arsenal this morning...well the game was at 5.30am for me so I consider it the morning.

It is vital to win games like this. Some could argue "It's only West Ham". But the reality is in the premier league every point counts, and 3 points is 3 points, doesn't matter if its against West Ham or Manchester City.

The goals:

1-0: Diame 21
The great thing about this goal (looking at the positives here) is it wasn't a defensive blunder, more of a fantastic strike by Diame. He will be a dangerous player for West Ham. One could argue Aaron Ramsey should have defended better, but Ramsey's forte is not in defense, and the strike itself was deadly.

1-1: Giroud 41
Giroud's equalizer was incredible.  I was so happy he finally scored in the Premier League. It was a great left-footed jab too...Podolski with a fantastic assist. Kind of came out of no-where too, the reflexes he had to just prod the ball into the back of the net was just top class.  It came at the right time, too. I think it was great for Arsenal to equalise before the break, get a clean slate and make it even going into the second half. It made a difference mentally as well for Giroud to be the one to score, as he gained a lot of confidence and helped set up the 2nd goal.

1-2 Walcott 77
Walcott's goal was clean, composed and fast.  Set up by well Giroud, the goal confirmed Walcott's danger when he comes on as a super-sub. He makes such an impact, providing free space, speed and skill. It was a textbook Arsenal counter attack, which I always love to see.  Our counter-attacking ability was what kind of made me fall in love with Arsenal in the first place, which is why I rate Theo so highly as a player.

1-3 Cazorla 83
What can I even say? Top class. Too good. Cazorla is something else. Solo effort goal, fantastic finish, so well deserved. If we had paid double the amount we did for Cazorla, he'd still be a bargain. He is just magical on the field.

Overall there were a lot of positives to take from the match.  Still things to work on, of course. We are shaky at defending set-pieces, I get nervous for every corner.  But we got the 3 points, 3 goals, and confidence boost.

Good work gunners!

Now, I suggest you stop reading now if you don't want to read my little soapbox moment, although it is still football related.

ESPN Australia and NZ have not brought the rights to La Liga this season. This is incredibly disappointing and disheartening to football fans in the southern hemisphere. So tomorrow, instead of showing El Classio, they will be broadcasting College Football.

2 of the best football teams in the world are playing tomorrow, and we in the Southern Hemisphere miss out.

I understand the arguments around cancelling La Liga. It probably doesn't get as much interest as the EPL. I understand that. Its a two horse race. No one can really deny that either. But that does not mean that fans of Barcelona and Real Madrid should have to suffer.  I see lots of children here in New Zealand walking around in Barcelona and Real Madrid shirts, just as many as I see in Manchester United shirts.

They are global teams. Global brands even. There is a significant public interest to watch La Liga games.

Well, I can livestream it. But it is not the same! Television should be showing La Liga games, and it is just a joke that they think it is not worth buying for an Australasian audience.

In other news I need to get less passionate about Arsenal. I told my friend I was going to shove a Spurs fan as I walked passed him yesterday (joking...sort of) and then his friend said to me "That's not very nice."
Me: "He's a Spurs fan..."
Him: "Oi bet you're f***ing Arsenal scum"
Me: "Psssssshh, go gunners!" while I was walking away.

I'll get myself into trouble one day...

xoxo
- Gooner Girl

Negative Gooners and why negativity is pointless

I see a lot of negative gooners after every defeat. I understand this. When we lose, emotions are raw. I always feel drained, as if I've been running for 90 minutes with the boys. I'm emotionally exhausted.

But on my twitter feed, and my facebook, and various comments online all I see is "typical Arsenal" "same old arsenal" "f***ing giroud" "f***ing wenger" and that is just a selection of the more mild responses.

We lose one game, and the fans abuse Wenger and the players.

We lose one game, 2-1, to the current Champions League winners and team at the top of the EPL, and the fans give up hope. "Wenger out."

We lose one game and the fans give up.

We lost one game. One game. Imagine if the players themselves had that attitude? We'd never win. Ever. If the players had that attitude, they'd retire from football, think they were losers, and then get a job cleaning toilets at McDonalds.


That isn't how they became Premier League footballers. They became profession footballers through hard work, dedication, and not giving up.

Fans who have these types of negative attitudes about football and can't see the positives from the game...they're the same type of people who hate their jobs, get angry at their families, and genuinely aren't happy in their lives. They want to give up when they fail.

Failure is hard. It hurts. It hurts a lot sometimes. But how can you ever have success without the risk of failure? Failure is what makes success satisfying.

I'm not saying take football less seriously. Because take it seriously. I take it seriously. Too seriously, some would say. I'm emotionally distraught after a loss. But I channel that into positives and optimism. What can we do to improve? What are the positive sides? Where to next?

All I'm saying, is don't judge a season by one game. Don't judge a team by one game. Don't judge a player by one game.

Keep positive. Keep calm and carry on.
Love,
KiwiGoonerGirl

First defeat of the season...and why it isn't so bad.

Koscielny had a shocker in defense. Image: Mirror

Arsenal suffered our first defeat at the hands of Chelsea, in the first big London derby of the season. Chelsea are top of the premier league, and they have been playing really well, so this was always going to be a tough game for the gunners.

However it was a disappointing game. We conceded 2 goals cheaply, with poor defense, both off set pieces. Overall our defense this season has improved under Steve Bould, but we should have been better. Koscielny had a shocker, with two errors leading to the 2 goals.

Gervinho was good to get us back in it before the end of the first half.  We were fairly even in the 2nd half with a lot of attacking motion, but too many shots off target. It gets to the point where its great to have a shot, but shooting from too far out of the box and over the top of the bar is just pointless.  After the 2nd goal from Chelsea, which never should have happened, they parked the bus and just defended the rest of the game.

Olivier Giroud. His chance at 90+1 was disappointing. He really had a massive chance to score there, and once again he missed it. Giroud seems to be struggling in front of goal, and he never seems to be in quite the right place.  He had a beautiful bit of skill to get the ball into the box and into position, but the strike itself was...well...you saw it. It should have been the equaliser.

We cannot afford to get complacent and lose these big games.  While this defeat hurt, especially as it was the first defeat of the season, there are still positives to take from it.

Gervinho put in a good game. Cazorla was once again classy in the midfield, but he couldn't find a finisher, or someone to finish for him.

Carl Jenkinson is also a player who is starting to impress me. He had a few errors in that game, but overall his defense was fairly solid and he provided some good assists (which went to no-one, but there is promise there). A promising young player.

Ramsey had a good first EPL start of the season. He is maturing as a player and seems to be creating a lot of chances in midfield.  He works hard, he tries hard, and he doesn't give up when he is under constant criticism. He isn't meant to be a striker, and he does need to work on his accuracy, but he was really solid today in midfield. I am excited to see how he will collaborate when Jack Wilshere comes back.

Overall, a disappointment. I was pretty gutted. Giving away all 3 points was hard, when the two goals were avoidable and Arsenal didn't play horribly overall.

But its only the first loss of the season. We can build on this, learn from our mistakes and move forward. Come on you Gunners.

Keep positive.
Love,
KiwiGoonerGirl

First home win of the season!

Convincing win by the Gunners today. 6-1. We lost our clean sheet record, but we gained a lot of confidence, and most importantly 3 points and 3rd place on the EPL table!

Before the game, I was slightly worried. I personally wasn't thinking Southampton would be an easy win. Although they are the bottom of the table, they put up a huge fight against both Manchester clubs, and almost beat them both. So Arsenal did fantastically well to score 6, and I'm so happy we had a convincing home victory.

My personal highlight: Podolski's free kick. Arsenal? Scoring off a set piece? That's right, surprised? It was a great goal.

I was particularly impressed with several players.

Santi Cazorla: What a player. The way he passes the ball, prefectly weighted, always knowing where the gaps are, when to pass, when to hold on to the ball. What an influence in the midfield. He really dictated the pace of the first half especially, and while he didn't score he really made an impact to the team.

Gervinho: For once he was quick, sharp and on the ball. He created chances and scored 2 goals (the credit for the second should really be given to Ramsey, who made an immediate impact when he came on as a substitute). His finishing still needs to improve but I think scoring twice will give him the confidence boost he needs.

Kieran Gibbs: A lot of Gooners are saying Kieran Gibbs had a great game. It is true, and he could almost count two goals to his name, both own goals were created by him (if you've seen the game or the highlights, you know what I mean). My concern is that he is a Left Back, not a striker, and while it is fantastic he is getting up there, against a more penetrating offensive line up, such as our upcoming fixtures versus Manchester City and Chelsea, this is worrying.  Gibbs is not quick enough to get back and play in his position, as a defender. So he must be confident but cautious. Still, he is only young, and improving every game. Today, he had a good one!

I was disappointed with Wojciech Szczeny. He had a disappointing game, by his standards.  The couple of weeks off contributed to his poor form. Meanwhile Mannone did nothing wrong in the two games he started and put in a great couple of performances. Szczeny had a bad game today.  He conceded a goal he really should have saved, made a few poor clearances and was overall off his game. Against a better side, he would have been punished a lot more for his errors.

Until next time!
You know you love me,
xoxo Gooner Girl

Internationals

Diaby: Injured again...on international duty. (Photo: AP)

Ah internationals. A great time for the Gunners to represent their nation, and score some goals. And pick up injuries...

Diaby. After an absolutely fantastic, man of the match performance against Liverpool, he gets himself injured.

Muscle injury or "discomforts". This seems familiar, another Gunner with incredible potential struggling with injury. Maybe he'll eventually have a full, fantastic season and then leave us after 7 years? No, not funny, sorry. (Speaking of you-know-who, he is also injured).

I wish I got more into internationals, but half the problem is they're not really broadcast on New Zealand television. Also they're in the middle of the day, or the morning on weekdays, so I'm not at home to watch them.

I've only seen the All Whites - the New Zealand National Football Team, thrashing Solomon Islands 6-1 and Spain beating Saudi Arabia 5-0. Great return by David Villa, and the first goal by Santi Cazorla was fantastic.

Other than that I've had no football to watch, or blog about.

I did see the awesome goal by Arsenal Reserve, Conor Henderson. If you haven't seen it, its a long range goal and its absolutely fantastic.

Apart from that, no more international news. Internationals are over now, so we can all get back to the main focus: Arsenal!

Our next game against Southampton should be a good one. They're fighters, they want to win, and they want to play football. I don't think Arsenal fans should be complacent about Southampton, they put up a good fight agaist both Manchester clubs.

Looking forward to it! Maybe Giroud will do a Theirry Henry and break his duck?
Til then,
You know you love me.
xoxo - GoonerGirl

We broke the duck!

Podolski scores his first goal for the Gunners - (image: Arsenal.com)

0-2 to the Arsenal.

An away victory is always something to savour, especially against a team like Liverpool.

We are the only team in the premier league that has not yet conceded a goal. Excellent work, and pretty amazing considering we are on our third choice keeper and Koscielny and Sagna are still out.

Cazorla has been playing fantastically, and he deserved his goal (and provided a great assist too!). Podolski is good too, I am glad he seems to be more aware about where the gaps are, and where he needs to be to score.

As for our other new signing...Giroud seems to be struggling with the pace of the English game, and sometimes is in the wrong place at the wrong time. Half the time he wasn't where there was an obvious gap, and he did stray offside a couple of times.  I think he needs to score a goal before he will find his momentum.

So the new signings are settling in, and this result should give us a lot of confidence.

It is too early in the season to make bold predictions and statements like the one I am about to make, but stay with me.

Last season we had a fantastic away record. We played really well away from home. Our away fans are great too. Loud. Passionate. (Awesome chants by the way guys...especially the one "He plays up front, he plays up fronnntttttttt, we've got Podolski, van Persie's a c-u-next-tuesday." Top notch, gunners!).

At home we struggled. For some reason. I remember watching too many 0-0, 1-1 and 0-1 games at home last season. The Emirates should be our fortress, where people are afraid to come. But while our defense is mostly solid, we are better at scoring away from home. Still, too early in the season to say, and we have only had one home game.

Until next time,
You know you love me,
xoxo - gunner girl

(I'm sorry...couldn't resist).

The good news is, we have not conceded a goal yet!

On the positive side...our defense is good!

...the bad news is, we have not scored one yet.

Another 0-0 draw. This time with Stoke. Considering it was at the Britannia stadium, away from home, and everything that has happened, and we had a back up goal keeper (Good work Mannone, and get well soon Woj!).

But the lack of goals is frustrating, especially when we are dominating offensively.

Both Sunderland and Stoke were the same. Nether team deserved to win, they just parked the bus. Stoke had hardly any chances, especially in the 2nd half, and then they came off and gloated that they had got a point off a top team.

I do not like teams that play passive football. It makes the games boring, and stops the flow. I am looking forward to game a fortnight away, against Southampton. They gave Man City a run for their money. They actually want to play football.

The players in the final third is what needs work. I am not going to mention he-who-must-not-be-named.  As for the new strikers, Giroud has been right up there, playing well, but unable to capitalise. Santi Cazorla has likewise been an impressive signing, and is amazing in the midfield, but he is a playmaker, not a finisher. Wenger has noticed this. He might sign another striker. I don't like to speculate on transfer rumours, but another striker would be good.

Could it be a chemistry problem? I think it could be, the team need to adapt to playing with each other. I like Giroud as a striker, and he has been very open and honest about the fact that he has to play better and get the ball in the back of the net.

I think these players still look a bit unaware. Where everyone is, where the other players are, what other opportunities are being created. This is a new look Arsenal, and the team still need to find their rhythm.

Liverpool next week at Anfield is a big game. Come on you Gunners!
- KiwiGoonerGirl

Arsenal 0 - 0 Sunderland

Giroud's 80th minute miss could have been the decider

This was our third draw to start the season in a row.

It wasn't as bad as last season's opener against Newcastle, where we drew 0-0 and had the whole Gervinho/Barton red card debacle.

There were plenty of negative things to dwell on. The commentators consistant mentioning of van Persie's departure, Song's impending move (now confirmed by Barcelona) and Fabregas and Nasri's transfer's last season...it was difficult to watch.

However, as an optimistic gooner, I'd rather look at the positive side.

Positives:

• Santi Cazorla - what a signing! Was creating beautiful football, and had more than a few chances.
•  New look side - Arsenal had a completely different team to what we've been used to. We seemed to function pretty well on the whole. Obviously the new players need a bit more time to adapt, but I think it all looks pretty positive.
• Clean sheet - We kept them scoreless. Always a positive.
• All the chances - once Giroud and Podolski find their stride, we'll be scoring goals.
• Vermaelen as captain! - Great to see.
• We got a point.
  
• We're not Liverpool. Losing to West Brom 3-0. Eeeek. Nasty.
• We're not Spurs. Enough said.
  

Giroud's chance...yes. It was a clear goal opportunity. But anyone could have missed that. I don't think we should be too quick to judge Giroud.

We can't be too quick to judge the whole team! There were a lot of positives to take from the match, and for the season as a whole. It is a marathon, not a sprint. Doesn't matter if we didn't win our first game. We've got the whole rest of the season to make up for it.

Here's hoping Man Utd lose tomorrow.
- KiwiGoonerGirl

And so ends another Arsenal transfer saga.

Was the little boy inside screaming Manchester United?

Van Persie is gone. It hurts to see him in a United jersey, and being honest, this is a massive blow. Manchester United have possibly made the best signing in the transfer window. Really all we can do now is accept it and move on.

Lets look on the positive side.

He had only one year left on his contract. He wanted to go. I think we made a good deal to sell him for 24 million pounds. In that way we were very lucky. Selling an aging, injury prone player for that amount of money was a very sensible business move.

After the PR disaster which was his website statement, we had no choice but to see him. He had to be sold. He wanted to go, and Wenger wanted him to stay, but at the same time, Wenger understood we can't put up with a player who wants to leave on the team, no matter how talented the player is.

Arsenal have lost their influencer, captain, and world class striker. But no one player is bigger than the team.

Once again, Arsenal are underdogs going into this season. If we can pull this off, it will be spectacular. Our team is looking strong, with Giroud, Podolski and Cazorla fantastic signings. But losing van Persie was a blow, it is undeniable. 

Whatever happens, BRING ON SUNDERLAND.

I cannot wait.

The wait is over. EPL begins tonight.

- KiwiGoonerGirl

Cazorla confirmed!

It's official, Arsenal football club have officially signed Santi Cazorla!

Cazorla is a great signing for the club. He has been one of the best players in La Liga outside Real Madrid and Barcelona. I think signing an attacking midfielder is a positive step for Arsenal, because we really need that stability in our midfield. I am also pleased he is 27, so we haven't signed a young player, he can help the young guys with his experience. Jack Wilshere, Aaron Ramsey and the like are fantastic young players, but they need leadership in the midfield. We really missed Wilshere last season, and the loss of Fabregas and Nasri meant our midfield was weak, and passes were slipping through.

Arteta should combine well with Cazorla, they are both Spanish so the communication between them will be good. I feel as though Arteta really helped set the pace last season, as the metronome. So I am happy to see them collaborate.

So that brings our total spendings for this transfer window up to £35 million, the same amount Liverpool payed for Andy Carrol, and we've got Giroud, Cazorla and Podolski. Wenger is great at bargain finding. We will see how they all adapt to the English game, but overall I am optimistic with the signings Arsenal have made.

Until next time,
- Emma

Transfers, Ramsey, Olympics and me...

This morning, in Arsenal transfer news headlines:

Mirror: van Persie wants to stay and he's gonna do a u-turn.
Daily Mail: van Persie is going to Manchester United

Well this is reliable.

In more concrete transfer rumor news, Cazorla is undergoing a medical with Arsenal. While I don't like to speculate on rumors until they have been confirmed by the Arsenal website, reports from The Guardian and the Independent seem more reliable and trustworthy.

There have been suggestions that Robin van Persie has made a tactical move against the club, in order to get us to sign more quality players, in order to re-sign and prove Arsenal does have ambition. While this is a very optimistic outlook, and I'd love if he stayed, I am not sure this was his intention. Overall I think his plan to get as many bids as possible has failed. Of his legitimate options, the only appealing one is Juventus. He probably does not want to go to another English club.  However with his injury concerns and age, I think clubs are unwilling to spend so much money on him. We will see how it pans out.


Aaron  Ramsey: The kid has balls. 3 penalties. 1 missed. I am happy for him that he got 2 of them, and proud of his performance overall. He played really well and I am upset GB are not through to the semi-finals.


Olympics: I've been watching, New Zealand have more golds than Australia! So proud to be a kiwi! Love it! How many dudes you know row like this? Not many, if any.

I'm excited as well for Jessice Ennis, she is a true inspiration and role model to me.

Also in unrelated and very uninteresting sports news, I finally graded to my 1st kyu in karate. One away from black belt now. It was an intense grading but worth it in the end.

- Emma aka KiwiGoonerGirl

Arsenal News - Pre-Season Training, SkySport Drama and Adidas

The off season is always a tough time, especially as an Arsenal fan.

But pre-season training has begun, and photos have appeared on the Arsenal website. I really enjoy the fact that the Arsenal website keep us up to date with what is happening at pre-season training. There were a few notable absences in the photos, with Aaron Ramsey on the Great Britain team for the Olympics. And of course there was no sign of van Persie.

Speaking of van Persie, Sky Sports published a story today, suggesting van Persie could still stay at Arsenal and renew his contract.  The article was taken down a couple of hours later, perhaps because of the impossibility.  Wayne Rooney made a similar move several years back to get more money. I don't think that money is van Persie's motivation, and I don't think it would work. Plus, many United fans still haven't forgiven Rooney for that stunt.

There are also rumors that Adidas will be making the Arsenal kits, as early as 2014. The current shirt we have is for this season and next season, so the next shirt we see could be an Adidas one. As a New Zealander I am happy about this, because it means the shirts will be easier to buy (we have Adidas shops, but not Nike shops). Also, Nike are known to have sweatshops and slave labor to produce their products, which I do not support. We will wait and see if the Adidas deal goes ahead.

I also read a very interesting article on spending, and how much Arsenal would have to realistically spend to compete with the spending clubs like Chelsea and Manchester City.  Check it out if you are interested.

Until next time...keep calm and be a gooner :)
- Emma

Well yesterday's post was ironic...

I just have to note the irony in posting my post...convinced that van Persie would stay less than 12 hours before he announced he will not be signing a new contract. Situations like these you have to see the irony and the humor, or it's all too much.

I'm pretty gutted. The announcement came completely out of the blue and I was not prepared for it at all.

Also, RvP created a PR nightmare for the Arsenal Communications department. They were sideswiped which was both unprofessional and disrespectful by van Persie and his lawyers and agent.

My disappointment in Robin van Persie will depend where he goes. If he goes to Manchester United, City, Chelsea, or any other English club I will find it very difficult to like him.

If he goes to Spain or Italy I will respect him as a footballer, but still be disappointed.

I think the worst thing about his decision was the fact that Arsenal have made him what he is. Wenger had hope in him when others had given up on him altogether.  Arsenal stuck by him when he struggled with form and injuries.

I think the worst part was RvP questioning the "direction" of the club. I thought we were moving forward. Arsenal have a strong philosophy.  And we made some big signings already. If Giroud and Podolski are not big, important signings, then who are?

Altogether, I'm not angry at van Persie. Just immensely disappointed.

RvP - Transfer rumours

Obviously I'm a big Robin van Persie fan. Well...I'm a gooner.

This season I have been trying to steer clear of the transfer rumors for once, because last season they almost killed me.

But now that the EUROs have finished, what have I to do football wise apart from dwell on the potential comings and goings of Arsenal players.

Robin van Persie is important for Arsenal to retain. We need him for the experience, leadership and goals. He will help the younger players grow and he is a great leader for the team.


I don't think that Robin van Persie will transfer to another English club. He has too much loyalty to Arsenal and he isn't in it for the money.


Spain is an option, but I can't really see a need for him at Barcelona alongside Messi. RvP is best as the lead striker, the same way that Torres plays his best football. Torres doesn't suit playing alternative striker to Drogba at Chelsea, and van Persie wouldn't suit playing alongside Messi.

Real Madrid have a similar problem with the strikeforce of Cristiano Ronaldo up front, and in the words of Robin van Persie's father, they are a team of amazingly talented, individual superstars. If van Persie was Beckham, he would leave.

Another reason I believe van Persie will stay is his young family. They are settled in London and moving would be disruptive for them.


I have a feeling Walcott is more likely to leave than van Persie.

Of course I am still worried and nervous that van Persie will leave, but I was much more on edge last season with Cesc and Nasri.


Also congrats Espanol for the amazing EURO 2012 win. Beautiful, attacking flowing football, 4 wonderful goals, well deserved.

Thoughts on the lack of a playoff game at the EURO 2012…

Third/fourth playoff matches are always depressing. No-one wants to be in them. No-one really wants to watch them.

That said, some of the most exciting games can happen when neither team is playing it safe, and going for the last possible glory.

Third playoff matches are depressing. Often the team that gets fourth performed well during the entire tournament and loses, to end the tournament on a depressing low that creates disgruntled players and angry fans. 

These games can often cause injury to key players for clubs.

My parents told me about how they went to the Rugby World Cup playoff match in Sydney in 2003.  The All Blacks had already been knocked out, and it was only a half-hearted game that they couldn't fully get into. While rugby is certainly not football, the third place game always has a slightly glum atmosphere about it, where no-one on either side seems to really care.

On the other side of the coin, I would love to see a playoff game for the EURO, simply because it would be entertaining. And honestly, if Germany and Portugal played in a 3rd place playoff, my money would be on Germany.

Early morning wake up...only football can justify this

Damn you European time differences.

I love football...but getting up at 5.30 in the morning to go and watch football is tough. Dedication. And worth it. But tough.

I got up this morning when it was still dark and went to watch the 2nd semifinal of the EURO with my friend Josh.

Before the game I would have predicted Germany to win (which I did...2-1) and the opposite happened, Germany lost 2-1.

Italy were very impressive. I think the Germans only really dominated about two times in the entire game, the first 10 minutes and the final 2 (in stoppage time).

Italy played very attractive attacking football. Completely different side to how they had played against England, which was good to see.

If they play like they did in the final, they will be very difficult to beat. I will be supporting Spain, even though they haven't been playing very attractive football this tournament. They have really missed David Villa up front.

So it will be a Group C re-match in the final! VAMOS ESPANA!

Also...another thing.
New Zealand cafes! Get your act together and get WiFi so I can tweet during the football!

Transfer rumours...the Olivier Giroud saga

Its the off season, and what do we do in the off season apart from speculate (read: obsess) over transfer rumors.

It is all but confirmed that Olivier Giroud will be joining Arsenal. Wenger appeared on Aljazeera sport as part of the Euro 2012 panel and said Arsenal have bought him. 

I usually don't like to believe transfer rumors until they are officially confirmed by the Arsenal website. However everything looks very promising.

Giroud will be an asset to Arsenal. He provides another attacking option which we desperately need, weather or not van Persie stays. I hope we sign him and he adapts quickly and well to the English game.

Arsenal Addiction

I have finally decided to start a proper blog about my Arsenal addiction.

I've been on Twitter and Tumblr for a while now, but I really felt like starting something a bit more serious where I can really go in depth about all things Arsenal.

Arsenal things happen to me every day, even in the off season. Today on the cryptic crossword in the newspaper one of the clues was "Welcomed warmly at White Hart Lane they are not" and it was obviously Arsenal. I dislike crosswords, they make me feel unintelligent. But I was happy to get that answer right.

Keep posted if you want to read about my random ramblings about Arsenal.

- Emma aka KiwiGoonerGirl