Monday, April 28, 2014

Happy St Totteringham's Day

Arsenal vs. Newcastle
Ozil celebrates. Source: Arsenal on Facebook

After Everton lost, we had to capatalise, and that we did, beating Newcastle 3-0.

To be honest, getting so many goals against Newcastle always frightens me a little, because the 4-4 still haunts me.

However Arsenal won comfortably and gave the boys a lot of confidence going into the next few weeks, which will be huge for the club.

This was an entertaining game for me. I woke up at 7am to watch the game, twitter was down, and couldn't livetweet it. I did miss you guys.

The good thing about Twitter being down is there were no distractions for me and I could get 100% immersed in the game.

The internet at our flat has been shit ever since we moved out, but we finally have enough internet so I can stream football again.

I had forgotten how much I missed it and how much I just love this team and watching them play.

The gist of the game is that Arsenal dominated.  Newcastle never showed up to the party.

Arsenal would have won even if Ozil's offside goal hadn't counted.  It was offside, there was no goalkeeper, and I don't want to have any double standards, it shouldn't have been a goal.  If it was reversed, I'd be angry if Newcastle scored a goal like that.

Giroud is an underrated and despised player by a lot of Gooners, but I think he had a great game.  He looked very strong, ran the ball well, and had a few good chances, and got a goal himself.

I cannot get over how much we missed Ozil, he is a fantastic player and really shone in this game.

Overall, a comfortable game, a happy victory and a good St Totteringham's Day!

Until next time,
xoxo KiwiGoonerGirl

Ps. Follow me on Instagram http://instagram.com/p/nWNLiNjh4b/ and Twitter: @KiwiGoonerGirl

Saturday, February 8, 2014

Bitter disappointment at Anfield

Liverpool's dominance reflected on the scoreboard. Source: Mirror.
Not much to say about a 5-1 loss.

The Match [The Torture]

Arsenal's run of tough games in February began with Liverpool at Anfield, and the Reds stunned.

I don't think many people saw this coming. Yes, I thought there would be goals.  But I thought it would be close. Arsenal played worse than I did in FIFA earlier that evening.  Liverpool played like they were against your mates 10 year old sister on FIFA.

The first 20 minutes were pure brilliance for Liverpool, and torture to watch as an Arsenal fan.

While the first goal was quite possibly offside, Arsenal have no excuses for how they allowed themselves to get pummeled with four goals before lunchtime.

After the first goal the game was decided.  2-0, Arsenal could not come back. 3-0 we didn't even look close to coming back and winning it. 4-0 it was all over.

After half time, Gooners were collectively hoping that it could not get any worse. Any hopes for a comeback, or even trying to make the score look okay, were dashed when Liverpool scored a 5th. 5-0 up and the game was completly over.

The second half was more evenly matched after that, with Arteta scoring a consolation penalty goal in the 69th minute after a Steven Gerrard foul in the box.

But Liverpool kept Arsenal under pressure until the end, and were deserved winners.

Where do we go from here? [Warning: This is my opinion section]

First of all, Ozil was invisible on the field. When he did feature it was to make two, very poor blunders. Ozil is a world class player.  He is someone who has the responsibility to dictate the terms of the opponents and create the pace of the midfield. Ozil cannot be expected to not carry the team, but he played very poorly.  If I was Wenger I would have Rosicky starting against Manchester United.

Wilshere appeared to be the only player showing passion and emotion and desire to win the game, even as we were getting pummeled. Sometimes I wish we had 11 Jack Wilshere's on the pitch. Jack lacks maturity and experience, but he makes up for that in passion. He needs to develop as a player but he is still a bright beacon of hope for Arsenal.

Injuries.  I don't think it should be used as an excuse, but Arsenal are really missing the influence of Aaron Ramsey and Theo Walcott. I hope they both get well soon. We need you boys! I know Theo's recovery is a long way off, but Giroud is not pushing up front and he isn't threatening the opponents.  Love the man, he isn't enough of a threat at the moment.

Finally, just want to thank all the Gooners I was chatting to on Twitter. While the first 20 minutes were literally more torturous than any football game I've ever experienced, the negativity disappeared after the initial shock (or maybe those fans just went bye, done with this) and everyone was extremely positive. The people I saw on my timeline were optimistic and giving credit to Liverpool for a great performance. Those are the fans, and people, who embody what Gooners should be. Them, and the away fans, who never stop chanting.

Bring on the rematch next Saturday! Lets knock 'em out of the FA Cup.

Stay positive, Gooners.
- KiwiGoonerGirl