Aston Villa | emiratesviewpoint

Is Arshavin back?

Who in the Arsenal team do all the Arsenal fans regard as lazy, uninspiring and low in team spirit? Most probably Andrei Arshavin. Our Russian international, who is an evident Barcelona fan and isn’t used to playing in the cold, hasn’t really lived up to expectations recently.

Who do you least expect to step up to plate when squad morale is low after a week of terrible results? Probably Arshavin again. This time, he hits us all fans aback with a cracker of a performance.

Arshavin’s goal against Aston Villa was crucial. Although Arsenal were dominating from the kick-off, we were frustrated by not being able to convert the chances that were coming our way. That’s when Arshavin’s precise finish to the bottom right corner broke the shackles. Soon after he produced an insightful pass to break Samir Nasri free one-on-one with the goal keeper which Nasri missed (and shouldn’t have especially after the angle he beat to score in the Tottenham game earlier). He did however manage to assist Nasri later in the first half with a corner kick. Not only that, he did manage to make some brilliant runs on the counter to pose a constant threat to the Villa defense. Although it was a great team effort, he did enough to be the MoM.

Was his performance enough to prove that he’s back to form? Maybe, but there are still quite a few important games coming up in December. It was still great to see Arshavin play so well and take control against a Villa side who always tend to nick results off.

Andrei Arshavin v Aston Villa

Arshavin has always been one of my favourite players since I saw him play in Euro 2008. I’m so glad that he’s scored after a 9 game goal drought. Hopefully this will get him back on the goal trail. We desperately need him to.

Don’t get me wrong, he’s not going to change too much. He will still be that lazy character always getting that odd assist and poking out for goals.

We can’t really expect all our Arsenal players to give their 100% every game. Arshavin certainly does not have the Gunner ‘spirit’ bursting through his veins. Our team still needs him. He’s a genuine match winner and has the ability to show flashes of brilliance at the most unexpected of times. That’s probably why Arsene Wenger plays him game in and out, because you never know when his day is.

Goal: Arshavin vs Aston Villa 39′
– Watch more Sports Videos at Vodpod.

2010: 11/28
POSTED BY: Sharjil
CATEGORY: Match Related
Player Related
TAGS: Arsenal
Arsene Wenger
Arshavin
Aston Villa
emiratesviewpoint
Samir Nasri
2 comments

Reasons to still be optimistic

So yeah, we lost yesterday. I knew right after the defeat to spurs that we would lose yesterday and that it might be one of ‘those’ weeks. And it was. Sometimes after losses like this, we are more devastated about the loss than the consequences of it. So what actually did we lose this week?

1) 3 points lost in the title race

2) lost our dignity at the hands of sp*rs

3) 3 points lost in the C. league

4) Loss of Cesc Fabregas

Reasons to still be optimistic:

Losing 3 points in the Premier League title is always a bad thing especially if you are challenging for the title. But have a look at the table right now. We are 2 points behind the leaders the same as before, the only difference being that there are two leaders now instead of one. So even though we lost, I’m glad we lost on the same week when Chelsea dropped points. The difference in points in the table is a good enough reason to still be optimistic as mathematically we are well within reach of the title. Chelsea have bad fixtures coming ahead and with their weakened defence there is still much to hope for. Arsenal have a much better squad than Manutd this season and all of us know it, just wait till Ferdinand gets injured…

Maybe the humiliation by spurs has little or no bright side to it but hey, let them make a DVD or whatever, Arsenal FC has much pressing matters at hand than to soak it’s shirt with tears. Move on. Next up- the loss to Braga. Arsenal were playing away at a stadium they have never played before. Plus a number of players were rested/benched. I am not much surprised by the result and as Wenger stated, Carlos Vela should have had a penalty and it was the turning point of the game. And, anyways this was no by no means a must win game. A win against Partizan should be enough for Arsenal to get through to the next round. We may even top the group if Braga do us a favour and lose. And anyone who is familiar with the Champion’s League knows that finishing top in a group is not always a good thing and it does not necessarily give you the upper hand. In fact, I would prefer Arsenal to draw a top team in the next round like Milan or Bayern(not Barca though, at least not now!) than a weaker team which this team might underestimate.

The loss of Cesc Fabregas is a massive blow for Arsenal, or is it? The skipper had been rather ordinary in the last few games and he never really seemed to have recovered, physically or mentally, from his previous injury. Yes, Wenger made some wrong calls for the Braga game and this was definately one of them. Cesc’s injury might be a blessing in disguise. The lad needs some rest to clear his head and come back strongly. In the mean time I expect Nasri take over together with young Wilshire and do the business.

Other good news thats come our way is that Ramsey had played in a reserve game yesterday and he seemed pretty excited about his return. So are we. You can watch his interview at the club’s official site. Denilson has apologized for the club’s recent losses and is determined to set things right. Well this might not be ‘good news’ but at least one of the players have stepped up and have the decency to apologize. It would have been better if it was the captain himself who apologized but this will have to do for now.

So you see, things aren’t all bad. Living in depression is never a good thing. After the tears have dried out, it’ s time to look forward. Put this week behind you and put on your seat belt ’cause it’s gonna be a long ride. Aston Villa, here we come!