Arsenal: A True Pretender

On Sunday, Arsenal suffered another defeat at the hands of Chelsea. It's hard to fault them for this loss as the game was at Chelsea and Chelsea has yet to lose at home this year. However, the loss was somewhat convincing. Arsenal really only had two good opportunities. One was off a beautiful cross from Cesc Fabregas and the other was from a free kick taken by Fabregas (remember I said he was the player to watch during the game? The guy is legit. He's going to make himself a ton of money after he dominates this summer in the World Cup). Two weeks ago Arsenal was in third place and still within striking distance of Chelsea and Manchester United, now they are seven points behind Man U and nine points behind Chelsea. There is still a lot of soccer yet to play, but the bottom line is that those two convincing losses solidified Arsenal as a true pretender this year, and not a contender.

Now that their place is established, I think it will be interesting to see how Arsenal responds fo the rest of the season. They are a great team, but have almost been over performing. I wonder if these two back-to-back convincing losses will be a reality check and if Arsenal will start to slide a bit, or if they will be able to bounce back for their next game.

Speaking of which, their next game is actually on Wednesday since the players' wives all banded together and forced the league to suspend play on Valentine's day weekend. That may or may not be true as no player is willing to admit that he is upset about it and would rather play soccer versus take his wife out for the evening. Regardless, their next game is at home against Liverpool. Talk about a gauntlet. Not sure who made their schedule but they clearly had it out for Arsenal. In three consecutive weeks, Arsenal will have played the first, second and fourth placed teams (they are in third). Just ridiculous. I think they are better than Liverpool, but coming off two brutal losses, it may be hard for them to rebound in such a short period of time and against a team that has some momentum.

Win or lose this week against Liverpool they will still be in third place; which is why I think they could have motivation issues and lose some future games that they should win. It's tough to come out and play each week when you know that they best you can do for the season is finish in third place. Such is the harsh reality of a team that at one point looked like a contender, but in reality, is just a true pretender.

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Weekend Games Preview

Sorry to all four of our readers for the lack of posting this week. Sadly this isn't a full time job yet. We'll revamp things next week and provide more posts. For now, here's a preview of some of the interesting games going on this weekend:

Liverpool v. Everton

Why do we care about this game?

1. It's the Liverpool derby. Whenever two teams from the same city play each other, you can expect something great. This game is at Anfield, Liverpool FC's stadium, but don't be surprised if Everton comes out on top.

2. Liverpool is currently in 5th place and Everton in 9th. Liverpool has had an up and down season and struggled to get in the top 4 of the League. They need to win this game, and pretty much every other game as there are 3 other teams that are within 2 points of each other and trying to get that 4th spot. Although in 9th, Everton has been playing some of their best football of the season.

Footballer to follow?

While I would like to give that to our American hero Landon Donovan, the player to watch is Everton's Marouane Fellaini. You can't miss him on the field. He's 6'4" not including his hair. He's Everton's sideshow Bob. He's been an absolute beast the past couple of games. He's a serious threat on offense, especially on corner kicks where his height is clearly a huge advantage. Plus, he's been a dominant force in the midfield, controlling the defense. If Everton wins, it will likely be because of this man.


Tottenham Hotspur v. Aston Villa


Why to care?

1. Because the nicknames for these teams are the Cocks and the Villans respectively. What's not to love about that? Both are awesome. If someone said you could either be one of the Cocks or one of the Villans, you would struggle with the decision.

2. These two teams are part of the aforementioned 4 teams that are all vying for that 4th position in the standings (top 4 teams at the end of the year qualify for the Champions League - which is a big deal). Currently the Cocks are in 4th place, but the Villans are only 2 points behind them. Thus, if the Villans can overtake the Cocks if they win this weekend. But beware the mighty Cocks.

Footballer to Follow? Jermain Defoe. The Cock has 15 goals this season. He's only 5'7", but he's a beast at forward. If Tottenham wins, it will likely be because of his heroics up top.


Chelsea v. Arsenal

Why to care?

1. Chelsea is in first and Arsenal is in 3rd in the standings. Arsenal was blitzed at home last weekend by Manchester United (that Rooney goal is still so fun to watch. Love him or hate him, that dead sprint down the field is fantastic). This game is at Chelsea. If Arsenal cares to overtake Chelsea, they have to win this game. Chelsea won't lose many more games this season, if any at all.

2. Because the teams are a complete contrast in club strategies. Chelsea is owned by a Russian billionaire who buys all the best players in order to win a championship. Arsenal still believes in their youth system and player development and relies on having along term coach that can piece together the many young players and make the sum greater than its parts. It's brilliant to watch him do it every season.

Footballer to follow?

This is tough because there are so many incredible players on the field. Whenever Arsenal is playing, I can't help but watch Cesc Fabregas the entire time. That is probably because of my Spain bias, but the man is incredible. He's a phenomenal playmaker. I don't think Arsenal can actually win this game, but if they do, he will need a strong performance.





So there is your preview. There are of course other games going on in La Liga. None quite as compelling as the three mentioned above. But don't think there isn't plenty going on in the promised land. Barcelona has yet to lose. They are almost playing too good if that is possible. They are so comfortable and the chemistry is so good that it's almost as though they are due for a let down game. Speaking of chemistry, Real Madrid is slowly piecing the puzzle together (is it a coincidence that this seems to happen when C. Ronaldo is out? When does his contract expire again?). The two teams are setting the table for a potentially amazing "El Clasico" in a couple of months.

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Manchester United - Pure Fastbreak Goodness

Manchester United went into Arsenal yesterday and came away win an impressive 3-1 victory. The first goal by Nani can be seen here. It's a beauty. Just a flashy, amazing goal. It's so good that his teammate Darren Fletcher can't think of any way to congratulate him other than trying to get a piggy back ride. Which I'm sure is exactly the way Nani wanted to celebrate after scoring a goal in which he single-handedly abused 3 Arsenal defenders.

While it was an amazing goal, the second one was my favorite. Arsenal was actually controlling the first part of the game. They were creating opportunities and they had many opportunities. Even after the Nani goal, Arsenal still seemed under control. Their demeanor made you think that they were still confident and knew that if they continued playing their game, that they would eventually score. Even though though they were playing Manchester United, you still got the impression that they were confident and knew that they could easily come back from down 1-0 and win the game.

Then the fastbreak happened. And it was a classic. What is a fastbreak goal? In my opinion, they are the most exciting types of goals in soccer - hence the name of the site. I realize that "fastbreak" is a term that is usually synonomous with basketball. "Counterattack" is the term that is usually used in soccer. Counterattack doesn't work as well because 1. it doesn't start with the letter "F" and 2. it doesn't quite capture how fast the goal happens. Regardless of the term used, the goals are so exciting and Manchester United's goal was a textbook example. Here's what it is and why Man U's goal was a great example:

1. The opposing team has to be threatening or about to score.

The goal isn't nearly as exciting if the team turns that ball over in the middle of the field. They have to threatening and thinking that they are the ones that are going to score. Plus, this is why the goals are so exciting. The team goes the entire length of the field for the goal.

2. It has to be an all out blitz from the start.

This is the key that links 1 and 3. The goal can't be a build up where the other team sort of sees it coming or where the team makes a few short passes once they gain possession. From the moment they get the ball they are running to goal. This is why these goals don't happen that often. It's literally within seconds of turning the ball over, the other team scores. Just watch the Man U highlights below. From the second Man U gets the ball, they are thinking score. They aren't thinking possess and build up an attack. They are thinking goal. Wayne Rooney's run is incredible. He's like a bat out of hell. Just sprinting the full length of the field to receive the pass and finish it into the corner of the net. Watch Rooney in the video below. He barely stays in the frame during the run down the field. But as quickly as he could sprint down the field they had the ball in the back of the net. Arsenal was down 2-0 before they could even realize they had turned the ball over.

3. The goal has to be a stomach punch or the knock out blow.

This is exactly what happened on Sunday. Although the second goal was still early in the game, it was a huge blow to Arsenal. As mentioned, Arsenal was playing with a lot of confidence. So much that the first goal didn't really seem to faze them. They knew, or at least played like they knew that they would come back from being down 1-0. Right after the first goal they were already threatening and everyone watching was just as confident as the players that they would come back and win. Literally 13 seconds later, Manchester United goes the full length of the field and scores another goal. I can't say it was entirely a knock out blow, but it might as well have been. Rarely is a team going to come back and beat or tie Manchester United after being down 2-0. It's not a knock out blow because Arsenal was at home and it was still in the first half. Still though, it was a brutal stomach punch that completely took the wind out of the entire stadium.

So that's a fastbreak goal. The full game highlights are below. The second goal and the fastbreak goodness starts at the 3:24 mark.

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Poor Glen Johnson

It wasn't exactly the best day at the office this weekend for Liverpool defender Glen Johnson. Granted, scoring an own goal happens to the best of defenders from time to time. And, even though he was the player marking Andrei Arshavin for Arsenal's second goal, I don't know that any defender could have done much better in that situation. That goal is a beauty (2:15 in the video). Still though, it makes for a long day when you are somehow responsible for, or involved in both of the goals scored against your team. Not that the rest of his team was doing much throughout the game. After their first goal, I'm not sure Liverpool had any other legit scoring opportunities. The ones where afterwords all of the fans behind the goal raise their hands because they think it's a goal and then collectively collapse after the miss while the player slowly lifts his head up and stares blankly into the stadium lights and while running his hands through his hair as he thinks, "I can't believe I just botched that shot. That was my meal ticket...for the next 5 years." Sorry about your day Glen. If it's any consolation, I don't think that any of your teammates can say they played much better.


Watch Liverpool vs Arsenal (1-2) All Goals & Highlights Premier League (13.12.2009) in Sports  |  View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com

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Amazing Goal or Poor Goalkeeping?

So Chelsea thumped Arsenal 3-0 yesterday. One of the goals was an own goal and Arsenal is playing without Van Persie. Still, I expected a better showing from Arsenal. I thought they actually had a chance to beat Chelsea and I considered them one of the stronger teams in the EPL this year. Regardless, I still can't decide if the goal by Drogba at the end of the game was a brilliant shot or poor goalkeeping by Manuel Almunia.

Goal Videos

The shot is impressive. Drogba perfectly places it into the side netting. But he also clearly fools the goalie which makes me wonder if the goalie should have blocked it. You can see the goalie try and cheat to his right as he expects Drogba to try and bend it over the wall. As a goalie, if someone bends it over the wall, you aren't expected to block it. If you do, your team is happy and you probably increased your paycheck. However, it's not expected. What is expected is for you to cover your half of the goal, which he doesn't do here. Then again, maybe it doesn't matter if he got caught cheating because maybe no keeper could have saved it anyways. But Drogba does also hit it with the inside of his foot. I know it's still a hard shot, but I feel like he could have saved it since it wasn't a rocket that Drogba hit with his laces.

Anyways, you can tell I can't figure it out. You be the judge. What do you think? Is Drogba amazing, or is the goalie a goat?

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