The Battle of the minnows is over!- Pompey wins!!!

Sorry we were a little late with the review of the FA Cup Final!!!

The English Premier League has been a roller-coaster ride this season, with Manchester winning the coveted league title. But the league's oldest trophy-the FA Cup was out of reach for the 'Big Four' and for the second time in history, the semifinals consisted of only one top flight team-Portsmouth.

Liverpool had suffered a shock defeat 2-1 to Barnsley, who then defeated Chelsea 2-1 too. Arsenal lost to Manchester United 4-0 before the champs lost to Portsmouth 1-0.

Portsmouth(a top-flight team), faced off against League One Cardiff City, who were quite formidable. They had a veteran striker in Hasselbaink. Pompey boss Redknapp with Cardiff manager Dave Watson, who were old pals, hailed this as the demise of only the "Big Four".

The match, in Wembley, started in City's favour, as the underdogs took control. Pompey, missing Hotspur buy Defoe, had Nigerian Kanu upfront, who missed a sitter within the first 20 minutes.

Cardiff attacked again and again, only to be stopped by one of EPL's best goalkeepers, David James with Hasselbaink particularly murderous. Pompey failed to threaten but seized their chance, as City slacked near half time as an Utaka cross saw the ball slip from the James hands with Kanu pushing the ball into the goal for a 1-0 lead.

This lead was to stay for the rest of the match, despite Cardiff's regular attacks as Pompey, under Redknapp won their first silverware of the season and booked their place in the UEFA Cup.

Pompey next plays Manchester United in a pre-season friendly abroad in Nigeria.

Go GUNNERS Anyway!!!

Here are the highlights!! Compiled by blizzard and courtesy TVGOLO!!!

Portsmouth 1-0 Cardiff, Kanu

Manchester United come on top

The FA cup clash which took place between the Gunners and the Red Devils saw disastrous results from the Gunners point of view, as Manchester United came on top, winning 4-0 against the Gunners at home.

Sir Alex Ferguson adopted Arsene Wenger’s strategy choosing a young squad: Wayne Rooney, Nani, Michael Carrick, Anderson, Darren Fletcher, Rio Ferdinand (skipper), Vidic, Brown ,Evra and Edwin Van Der Sar, keeping Cristiano Ronaldo out of the match and Carlos Tevez on the bench.

Arsene Wenger had limited choices, fielding surprisingly Eduardo with Bendtner instead of Emmanuel Adebayor, Alex Hleb, Gilberto Silva, Cesc Fabregas, Traore, Kolo Toure, Gallas and Lehmann.

Arsenal kicked off with a quick pass but lost the ball immediately. Man Utd, on their home ground attacked as they put pressure on Jens Lehmann. The Red Devils got their result as a corner, after clearance, was headed back by Anderson to Rooney who saw his chance and headed it home. But replays showed that it had not beaten the offside trap.

Minutes later they doubled the lead as a Nani corner saw Fletcher head it into goal, though it seemed that Gallas had the last touch. Brimming with confidence, the Red Devils attacked again and again as they scored their third goal in the first half with a Carrick kick found Nani who kicked it past Lehmann’s outstretched hands for a goal. But, this goal too was an offside.

In the second half, the match got on a high as Eduardo got a yellow card, followed by Eboue, getting a straight red. Then Ferdinand lost his temper, leading to another Yellow, all in the first 5 minutes.

Both the managers did not make substitutions until the 75th minute as Adebayor, Flamini and Senderos were brought for Arsenal and Scholes and Saha for Manchester United. ManU scored a fourth as a Nani freekick saw the back of the net, thanks to Fletcher.

Arsenal played very badly, miscuing passes and had on 3 shots inside the penalty area. The manager’s decision to bring Adebayor late in the game was too bad as he could have fielded him in the first squad. Now all Arsenals’ losses have been when Adebayor came only in the second half.

But Manchester United got too cocky as Wayne Rooney got a yellow card for acting too smart on the field. This overconfidence will do them no good against a Champions league clash against Lyon. Maybe this loss will teach the Gunners something ahead of the Emirates Stadium clash against AC Milan.

The refereeing was too bad and was towards Man united’s side as three penalty chances were denied to Arsenal and also they scored 2 goals through off side.


In other matches, Chelsea cruised to 3-1 win against Huddersfield Town, though they did not deserve it. Liverpool lost to Barnsley 1-2 as they blinked in injury time to allow the opposition to come out on top.

Go GUNNERS!!!!

Arsenal Have to make most out of FA Cup opportunity

Arsenal face off against EPL rivals Manchester United at the Old Trafford here on Saturday at 10:45 IST. The Gunners have already faced the Red Devils in October and narrowly drew as the unlikely hero was skipper William Gallas after a Cesc Fabregas kick saw the net.

Manchester United nearly won and the hurt expressions on their faces conveyed their feelings after Arsenal’s injury time goal. Now the Red Devils will seek revenge on their home ground. But a few things are to the Gunners advantage:

1) Manchester United has had a slump of form where they have dropped 5 points in the last 2 games, drawing with Tottenham narrowly and losing to Manchester City having a full strength squad.
2) Emmanuel Adebayor has been in the form of his life, scoring in the last 9 matches and leading the Gunners to victory.
3) Inspirational Spaniard Cesc Fabregas, as usual has played his quiet yet explosive part in the Gunners’ form.
4) The passing abilities of the players led to many goals and victories.
5) Arsene Wenger has played his part by using brainy tactics to result in Arsenal’s victory.

These reasons can lead the Gunners to a victory and a safe passage to the next round.

GO GUNNERS!!!!!!!!

Arsenal face off against Manchester United

In the draw of the FA Cup on Monday, it was decided that Arsenal would face off against the EPL champions and present Gunner rivals in the league race in the fifth round of the FA Cup.

The Rivals in the present English Premier League, these teams will face off at the peak of their success.

Arsenal have come back after losing to Tottenham against Newcastle with a crushing victory and Man Utd have defeated Tottenham, coming from behind to reach the fifth round of this pretigious trophy.

Arsene Wenger has given some good news saying that Tomas Rosicky's injury is minor and he shall be back on the field in ten days time. Holland striker Robin Van Persie has also recovered from a thigh injury and has started training. Manuel Almunia and Sagnol have also returned to the squad. The injury received by Kolo Toure has been scanned by the Arsenal branch in Paris and it has been said that he will recover just in time for this crunching match. Man Utd midfielder Paul Scholes is also back from injury.

So we must see this exhilarating match on the 16th of February.

The other matches are as follows:

1) Arsenal Vs Manchester United

2) Chelsea Vs Huddersfield Town

3) Liverpool Vs Barnsley

4) Bristol Rovers Vs Southampton

5) Cardiff City Vs Wolverhampton Wanderers

6) Sheffield United Vs Middlesbrough

7) Coventry Vs West Brom

8) Preston Vs Portsmouth

BEST OF LUCK GUNNERS !!!!!!!!!!!!

Arsenal are back!!!

After a humiliating loss to neighbours Tottenham in the Carling Cup semis, Arsene Wenger was under a lot of fire to make Arsenal perform against Newcastle United. The shock of 5 -1 drubbing they received was etched on the Gooners faces as the Gunners came out in Emirates stadium.

Wenger chose a mix of skill with experience as he took Emmanuel Adebayor, Tomas Rosicky, Theo Walcott, Abou Diaby, Cesc Fabregas, Mathieu Flamini, Senderos, William Gallas, Gael Clichy, Hoyte and experienced Jens Lehmann.

Arsenal kicked off but the Newcastle defenders awoke with an Arsenal pass in the 5th minute as Fabregas got a light touch, just to be stopped by GK Given. Another chance was missed as Adebayor on a one – two with Diaby had a faulty pass as Jose Enrique cleared the ball. In the 8th minute, Arsenal had a blow as Rosicky limped off the field to be substituted by Eduardo.

The first half was very eventful as Newcastle, under a new coach, tried their very best to score, only to be stopped by Arsenal’s solid defence. There was a minor scare for the Gunners as Smith kicked the ball right on cue, only for the ball to be headed away by French Clichy on the line. Misses from Diaby, Adebayor, Fabregas and Eduardo ended the first half.

The Gunners, frustrated by their misses, went on outright attack after half time. Eduardo, sprinting forward towards the goal, stopped Newcastle fans as he kicked, only to hit the post. But then the ball went to Adebayor, who after tricking the defence, kicked it right into the goal.

Putting pressure on Newcastle, Arsenal kept on denying them the prize. Adebayor, who had scored in the last six games, again took the ball through a pass from left wing, tricked the defence through a well executed decoy plan, and kicked it past GK right into the goal.

Ensured a victory, the Gunners did not hesitate. In the 90th minute, a Fabregas freekick to Eduardo missed him, only to be headed in by Defence Butt for an own goal, sealing their fate.

Arsenal have recovered from their loss to the Spurs and has to face Newcastle again on the 29th of January. I hope that they put a similar performance to stay in the chase for the English Premier League.



Arsenal ------- Newcastle United
3 --- Goals --- 0
0 --- Yellow cards --- 1
8 --- Corners --- 5
6 --- Fouls --- 11
6 --- Shots off target --- 1
11 --- Shots on target --- 3
47%--- Possession percent --- 53%

Best of Luck, Gunners!!!

Here is the video!!

Thanks TVGOLO!!

Arsenal brush off newcastle with 3-0 victory over Magpies

It was assumed that a humiliating 5-1 loss to spurs would burst Arsenal's bubble , but that was not to happen. The gunners have strode to an entertaining 3-0 victory over the magpies in the 4th round of the FA cup with Emmanuel Adebayor continuing his rich form.
The game started off at a balance , with both teams having considerable amounts of possession and being equally dangerous . Newcastle were displaying the slick one touch football that Kevin Keegan is known for. Arsenal, on the other end were fabulous ,with eduardo and adebayor causing problems for the newcastle defence. A flurry of shots followed by a flurry of saves explains the first half , with the defence of both sides managing to get the better of the offence. The first half did not display a superiority with both sides displaying their capabilities.
The second Half started off just as the first , but things got interesting. In five minutes Eduardo's shot smashed against the post , which left a free ball to be netted in by adebayor himself! After that , it was all arsenal. Brilliant defence denied arsenal a second , and from then on arsenal were barely in their own half. The dominant football displayed by the homeside was expressed by one more adebayor goal. To wrap it up , newcastle gifted arsenal an own goal which completed a good day for the gunners. They have bounced back from a heavy defeat and have sprung to life which allows them to proceed to the next round of the FA cup.
The question that will be surrounding the newcastle camp is known to all-Can they bounce back in the premier league fixture against the gunnerz? Can they do to the gunners what tottenham did? We shall find out in no more than 3 days.

Thank you
gunner!