an example of better things to come.

we've heard and seen it all,
no one's talked us out.
the problems that have come,
haven't yet torn us down.

the fixture that nearly always give us trouble and yesterday's win was no exception. ewood park is hardly our stomping ground, actually not many people can claim that tile. only three clubs (other than the home team) picked up all three points there last season; arsenal being one of the teams to come away from there with zilch.

so with a postive, yet realistic outlook, i predicted a hard fought victory. and i wasn't wrong.
the first half wasn't particularly pleasant to watch to be honest, a bit nervy, even after theo walcott's goal (alan hansen looked sick as a dog on match of the day, having to justify his critiscm of theo for the second week running.)
you know how much power he put on the shot because it was revealed at half time, that he broke the net. not bad for someone with no 'football brain'.

but as i was saying, after theo's goal, we didn't look comfortable at all and a few minutes later, blackburn got the equaliser. smart, quick, clever goal. our defenders were caught napping and blackburn got their goal.

the first half ended on a negative, after seeing robin limp off. hardly the first time it's happened and i somehow doubt it will be the last but we've heard it's not too serious. so fingers crossed, he'll be back soon.

second half started more postively and we got our second goal. up until then, he'd been pretty quiet but his goal was vital and turned out to be the winner.

the second half was alot more comfortable than expected but this is arsenal, very few games go without a scare and in the dying moments, blackburn looked threatening but the final whistle blew, three points for the arsenal.

good game and manuel played well, very solid performance. i really hope that wasn't his last game. he's not world class but we could do alot worse and he's put in some decent performances for the club. the schwarzer rumours are impossible to keep up with; one day he's put pen to paper, other days mark hughes is refusing to even talk about the prospect of him leaving.

yesterday was sign of better things to come, if we can win at blackburn, we can win almost anywhere.
the sky's the limit..♥

cos we're the young, we're alright.

i know this blog is expectionally late but i've had one of the craziest weeks ever and i'm sure you'll understand!

arsenal 6
blackpool 0

my first game of the season and what a way to kick off the season at the emirates. after last week's point at anfield, we knew improvement was needed. we weren't exactly dreadful but we hardly threatened and at times, the team looked a mess.
so we set ourselves up for a tricky match against blackpool, knowing that this was probably the most dangerous time to play blackpool. recently promoted and coming to the emirates after thrashing a sorry wigan last week, we knew that we'd have all the pressure on us and they could just play freely in front of their travelling tangerine army.

i predicted an arsenal win but even i wasn't confident enough to predict the comfortable win.

sitting in the emirates before kick off, we were all buzzing with anticipation. the blackpool fans played their part with balloons and songs: we were all looking forward to a good game.
i won't bore with fangirl ramblings about how much it meant to me being there and witnessing theo's first arsenal hat-trick. blah blah blah.

lets just say: the game was amazing. i enjoyed seeing an arsenal performance like that, where we looked so in control from the first minute and a world class peformance by theo walcott. the hat-trick was fantastic but he also had an amazing game. everytime he came forward, the full back couldn't handle him and the headline in the Daily Mail summed it up, 'Thats what we needed in the world cup fabio!'

so we all left the emirates extremely happy and purring after a performance like that. 'it was only blackpool' or 'you were playing against ten men' have been said by fans of other clubs but i'm still so proud. take nothing away from my boys, we looked good and in that sort of form, theo walcott would give any defences nightmares.

next game: blackburn away. hardly my favourite game of the season and always a tricky game for arsenal. come on lads! ♥

now every feburary, you'll be my valentine.

eighty nine minutes in, one nil down and playing pretty poorly. i didn't want the season to start like that, negativity and disappointment. in the second half, we created absolutely nothing against ten men. the defence looked good but as for individual players, they looked ordinary. i had my head in my hands, praying for some sort of gift from god. sadly, god was busy but he sent pepe reina to deliver my gift instead. i couldnt believe it! i don't think i've celebrated an own goal so much in a long, long time!
that was the best bit of the second half for me, liverpool had competley dominated. average players like ngog suddenly became superstars and we didn't have a shot on goal until rosicky in the eighty fifth minute. completely different to the first half, when we looked extremely confident and capable of scoring many goals. obviously, the first half ended on a sour note, joe cole being sent off and making the whole game incredibly controversal for the first time. i've heard from many liverpool fans that 'it was no way a red card, maybe a yellow but not a red' or 'NO WAY, THATS NOT A RED CARD IN A MILLION YEARS' or the best one i've heard 'OH MY GOD, THE DEFENDER CHEATED, ITS SO OBVIOUS'.
let me just sum up my views of the red card.
1. i doubt he was going in to hurt laurent, so i'm in no way saying that what he did was intentional.
but...
2. it was a dangerous challenge and koscielny could have been seriously injured. his legs came off the ground and from the referee's angle (and all of ours), it looked reckless. so was it a red card? yes it was, surely liverpool must have believed this too seeing as they have not appealed against the referee's decision.
3. i will not accept in any way that laurent cheated to get joe cole sent off. his shin pad saved him from alot of damage and he was lucky to come back on the pitch after the half time interval.

early second half, liverpool score. good goal but i like to think quicker thinking from the defenders and almunia could have prevented it. although, i have to give ngog credit, it was a nice shot.

i am a big fan of manuel almunia but i can't help thinking that we need to get a new keeper in. someone like shay given would be perfect. experience, talent and has consistently been one of the best goalkeepers in the country.
but until we get someone else in, manuel has my full support and i trust him to do well for the team.

the majority of the second half was shocking from an arsenal perspective and the less said about it the better.
well until the eighty-ninth minute, which then it became pretty good. an uncharacteristic mistake from a world class keeper that gave us a point, a deserved point though.
last real action of the game was laurent being sent off, for a second yellow. probably a bit harsh seeing as ngog's handball was more obvious but all in all, good game but improvement is needed.

blackpool at home on saturday and i'm there!
looking forward to the unveiling of the clockend, a good game and seeing olly!

so come on you gunners, three points please?♥

maybe that's what happens when a tornado meets a volcano.

last night wasn't exactly about getting the perfect result. putting 7 past hungary wouldn't have been too bad but it was all about the performance, being back in front of the home fans at wembley and proving that there was more to come from the team. before the game, captain steven gerrard said, "england fans are the best in the world and we'll be doing everything we can to reward your loyalty" and we all hoped that tonight we could turn it on and for now, keep the haters quiet.
me, like 72,OOO made our way to wembley yesterday with heavy, yet hopeful hearts. a shocking world cup (when you think of what could have been) but we still turned up to support the team. well nearly everyone turned for that reason. i refuse to spend time writing about those people. i understand why they do it but at the end of the day, who's it going to help? boos don't encourage players, cheers and support do that. however stupid they may or may not be, the players themselves know the world cup was poor and people sitting their seats booing, won't make them realise this anymore.
yesterday for me proved that england fans are the best in the world, for 44 years, we've come barely come to close to winning anything but we still turn up to the games and sing our hearts out for the cause.

i was really worried about the game on the way there. i'd heard reports of only 2O-3O,OOO turning up. but luckily when i stepped off the crowded tube, i was met with the most beautiful sight in football. a jam-packed wembley way, a sea of red and white with the sound of singing and the occasional vuvuzela. i knew then that it was worth spending all this money for a friendly but as jermaine defoe said, 'there's no such thing as a friendly in international football'





so i was sat in my seat, i was calm for the first time all night and waited for the match to start. the players came out and there was alot of shouting and cheering. the national anthems were sung and then the teams were read out:
joe hart, then glen johnson. no boos at all. then ashley cole, a few boos but his private life could be the reason for that. steven gerrard and jagielka both received cheers but then john terry's name was read out and the boos rang around wembley. i couldn't understand why. this is our former captain, yes he had a bad world cup but on the england team, who didn't? i'm still struggling to understand why all the hate is directed at him when others had a bad world cup too. all the other england players faired okay with the crowd, apart from a few jeers for rooney.

the referee blew the whistle and the game started, finally we could our talking on the pitch...
but half time came. still O-O and england were booed off. i kind of wanted the ground to open up and swallow me. i was embarassed for the manager and for the players. i was almost praying "please let the second half be better"

and it was, thank god!
going one nil down was terrible, especially to a goal that shouldn't have been allowed. i was pretty sure that it hadn't crossed the line sitting right behind thr goal but i checked when i got home and sure enough, the goal had not crossed the line. just proof why goal-line technology is a must.
but two goals from steven gerrard, who had played excellently. a real captain's performance. he's often accused of not putting any effort in for england but last night, that statement could not have been more wrong.
the players who made their debuts all looked comfortable playing for the england senior team. also, joe hart looked reliable, something that we couldn't call some england keepers in the past!

so not an amazing result but a win is a win. and we can't complain can we? but there will be many that i will i'm sure!

heads up, keep the faith and remember there's light at the end of the tunnel.♥