Wenger bemoans lack of creativity following Sunderland draw

Manager Arsene Wenger was disappointed about Arsenal's lack of creativity after they struggled to break down the Sunderland defence during their 1-1 draw yesterday.

The Gunners enjoyed a lot of possession but could not find a way past a determined and organised home side until Cesc Fabregas headed home a last-minute equaliser.

Wenger praised the way the Black Cats defended but was frustrated that his side did not have it in them to find a way past Roy Keane's team however well the opposition had played.

He said: "We had a lot of possession but lacked a bit of sharpness to get them out of position and they defended very well.

"But it was a bit of a frustrating day for us, we didn't create the chances we usually do and as well because I must say Sunderland defended very well."

The Frenchman said that it was too early to say whether it had been a good point to win or whether it was two points lost, but he was relieved to have got something out of the game.

Arsenal had looked like they were slipping to their second successive league defeat until Fabregas scored from a late corner.

Wenger hailed the resilience of the midfielder and claimed it showed his winning mentality.

He said: "It shows he is just not a great footballer but a great winner. He is one of the smaller players in our team and he goes for the header in the last seconds of the match, it tells you a lot about him."

Arsenal will hope to get back to winning ways against Everton following the international break

From www.inthenews.co.uk

Sunderland 1-1 Arsenal Match report Save By Cesc

Cesc Fabregas headed home in stoppage time to rescue a point for Arsenal at the Stadium of Light.
Grant Leadbitter's spectacular late strike seemed to have given Sunderland victory but the Spanish midfielder met Robin van Persie's corner with seconds remaining to seal what was probably a fair result.
Defeat would have been harsh on Arsenal, who could have had more if Van Persie's effort had not been wrongly ruled out in the second half. Theo Walcott's hooked cross was rifled in by the Dutchman but the linesman flagged for a goal-kick, claiming that the ball had crossed the byline before Walcott had retrieved it. Replays suggested the goal should have stood.
Either way, Arsène Wenger will take some solace from Fabregas' late intervention. They will head into the international defeat with much to do when they return to Premier League action in a fortnight's time.
Wenger opted for one change from the side which beat Porto in midweek. Alex Song was available again after a hip injury and was brought straight back in to add ballast to Arsenal's midfield. It was Song's 50th appearance in English football, although some of those games came on loan at Charlton. Samir Nasri dropped to the bench as Wenger plumped for a 4-2-3-1 formation with Cesc Fabregas given greater licence to get forward.
Nasri's omission may have been an acknowledgement from Wenger that he expected a stern physical test from Sunderland. Indeed, all the ingredients were there if you enjoy the stereotype of a tough day in the north for Arsenal - a biting, swirling wind, persistent drizzle and determined opponents. You sensed the visitors would need steel as well as style at the Stadium of Light.
In the event, neither side mastered the difficult conditions in a scrappy first half. While Arsenal struggled to exert their usual authority on proceedings, Sunderland too often left Djibril Cisse isolated up front. As a result clear-cut chances were at a premium.
In fact, the first opening came about while William Gallas was replacing his boots on the sidelines. Song took time to drop back into central defence and Sunderland took advantage as Dean Whitehead raced onto a through-ball. Kolo Toure's sliding tackle had to be perfectly timed - and it was.
After 11 minutes Arsenal had their first opening. A short corner found Fabregas on the edge of the Sunderland box but his cross held up in the swirling wind en route to Adebayor and the Togo striker couldn't time his leap well enough, heading well over the bar.
Fabregas, Adebayor and Denilson tried pot-shots - not a bad idea in these conditions - but failed to test Craig Gordon.
Indeed, the better chances were being carved out at the other end. On the quarter-hour Walcott was dispossessed by Kieran Richardson, who slid the ball to Cisse. Manuel Almunia raced out to deny the Frenchman from a narrow angle. Two minutes later Cisse collected the ball in the right channel and, having assessed his options, lashed in a shot which Almunia tipped over the bar. Arsenal were guilty of failing to close down Cisse - a mistake which cost them dear against Hull last weekend.
As the half drew to a close, the visitors enjoyed a decent spell of pressure as Fabregas dropped deeper and, as a result, saw more of the ball. Nine minutes before the break Walcott found a couple of yards of space for the first time and whipped in a low cross. Van Persie lurked at the far post but Craig Gordon dived to claim the ball ahead of him.
Nonetheless, it was a sign that Arsenal were finding their groove and they started the second half with plenty of purpose.
After a long spell of possession Fabregas found Walcott on the right and the teenager drove a low ball across the six-yard box but no Arsenal player gambled and the danger passed.
Then came the game's moment of controversy. Walcott battled his way to the right-hand byline and, as the ball bounced away from him, the 19-year-old hooked his boot around it and cut it back for Van Persie to rifle past Gordon. Arsenal's celebrations were cut short by a linesman's flag who ruled that the ball had gone out of play before Walcott retrieved it.
Replays suggested the goal should have stood.
Sunderland had their moments - Richardson testing Almunia from distance, Reid curling a free-kick straight at the Arsenal keeper and Cisse shooting over after Denilson had lost possession - but the visitors were enjoying most of the ball and most of the territory. It was surely just a matter of finding a way through the Black Cats' back four.
Nicklas Bendtner replaced Walcott and made inroads almost immediately, finding Adebayor after a jinking run. Once again, the Togolese was crowded out. Then Wenger brought off Denilson and brought on Nasri; the Frenchman had a sight of goal with 15 minutes left but could only poke his effort at Gordon.
With nine minutes left Arsenal's best chance came and went. Excellent build-up play involving Bendtner left Van Persie through on goal and eight yards out. The Dutchman's right-foot shot was on target but Gordon stood tall to block. Worst was to follow as Leadbitter emerged from the bench to fire home an unstoppable effort from 25 yards.
Arsenal threw everything forward in a desperate attempt to rescue a point and they were rewarded when Fabregas leapt to head home Van Persie's corner. In the end, it was probably a fair result.

By Chris Harris

From Arsenal.com

Arsenal 4 - 0 FC Porto Highlight Video

Arsenal 4 - 0 FC Porto - ดูวิดีโอทั้งหมด กดที่นี่


Arsenal [4 - 0] FC Porto

31' [1 - 0] R.v. Persie

40' [2 - 0] E.S. Adebayor

48' [3 - 0] R.v. Persie

71' [4 - 0] E.S. Adebayor (pen.)

75' G. Clichy Yellow Card

83' T. Costa Yellow Card

Adebayor praise for van Persie

After last night's demolition of FC Porto, striker Emmanuel Adebayor has stated that he was happy with his improving partnership with team mate Robin van Persie.
The pair scored two goals each to secure a 4-0 win over the former European champions.
Adebayor, the Gunners' top scorer last season, said: "We are working hard for the team - he has got the same ambition as me.
"We are here to help this team, we are here to help win something so I'm very pleased with the way he played against Porto.
"I gave him a pass and he gave me a pass. That shows there is a good relationship between the two of us.
"We are very happy and hopefully we can help this team win something this season."



By Jonathan Chong

Almunia says ‘furious’ Wenger enticed Arsenal win

The mini-high from the victory over Porto has continued today, with most of the blogs featuring some very happy readers. It’s quite a contrast from the Hull backlash (or even the ‘drop Kolo Toure’ backlash that occurred on this blog - heh) and one which has been most welcome indeed.

Two of the stronger performers against Porto, two-goal hero Emmanuel Adebayor and goalkeeper Manuel Almunia, both commented on the win and pointed to the strong spirit and character that the side showed in recovering from the weekend slip-up against Hull.

Adebayor said, in his customary spitfire way:
“We knew this was a very important result after what happened on Saturday and we won 4-0 so we did it quite well. Losing to Hull is not like a crime. It can happen in football. We had to show character and belief in our personality. But we took our lesson. We are top of our group and we took our three points so we are happy.”

While Almunia added, with a chirpy Spanish tang:
“It was crucial to have a clean sheet, have a victory like this and play fantastically like we did. I think Arsène was furious before the Porto game and we said to ourselves that we had to play the Porto game as Arsenal know they can. But now we have togetherness, we are strong now, this is an important victory and it will give us more confidence.”

It’s interesting that in speaking about the win against Porto both referred back to the loss to Hull. It shows how seriously the players took this game and what is important is that they were able to react positively to that particular setback.

A few people have commented on various blogs warning Arsenal fans of getting ahead of themselves by celebrating the win so much. I think they’re missing the point. The joy that everyone is taking out of the win over Porto is not because they think Arsenal are going to sweep all before them and become the best team in the universe, it’s simply because they are happy that the boys were able to respond to the Hull setback in a positive way.

Just by the way, you don’t often hear of Wenger being furious with his players so it’s clear that he saw something in the loss to Hull that he really didn’t like. You sometimes get the impression that he’s a soft touch because of his manner in the media, especially compared to guys like Sir Alex Ferguson and Jose Mourinho, so it’s nice to hear every once in a while that he can be an angry old bugger too. Well done, Arsene.

Next up is what I consider to be a relatively tricky away trip to Sunderland. Although they’re struggling a bit this season - currently sitting in 13th in the Premiership - there is something about Roy Keane managing Sunderland that makes me a nervous wreck every time we have to play them. As such, I won’t mind how we get three points as long as we do get them.

For those who are interested, I’ve already set up a Pikum! for the Arsenal v Sunderland game which you can enter here. It should be a lot of fun and I’d encourage you to use your £10 worth of free credit if you’ve still got it in hand.

Anyway, that’s all for today in a post which is almost as short as I am. I’ll have a full match preview of the Sunderlund game in tomorrow’s post so until then, have yourselves a lovely Thursday and enjoy the happy Porto vibes floating around the blogosphere.

By Spanish Fry

Adebayor believes partnership can power Arsenal to greater heights

EMMANUEL Adebayor hopes his blossoming partnership with Robin van Persie will end Arsenal's three-year wait for silverware.
The duo combined to devastating effect in Tuesday night's 4-0 Champions League victory over Porto, plundering a brace each in a traumatic evening for the Portuguese champions.Van Persie claimed his first European goal for a year during an intelligent display and also set-up Adebayor, who replied in kind for the Dutchman.

Last season Adebayor was forced to shoulder Arsenal's goal-scoring burden by himself, largely thanks to injury-ravaged Van Persie's loss to the treatment room. But the Togo marksman is encouraged by the understanding they have developed so far this term."We are working hard for the team – he has got the same ambition as me," he said "We are here to help this team, we are here to help win something so I'm very pleased with the way he played against Porto."I gave him a pass and he gave me a pass. That shows there is a good relationship between the two of us. We are very happy and hopefully we can help this team win something this season."Porto were torn to shreds by some spellbinding play from Arsenal, with Theo Walcott continuing his irresistible form by galloping down the right flank at will.But for Arsène Wenger it was Cesc Fabregas who stood out, the Frenchman later hailing a "complete performance".Adebayor is also impressed by the midfielder's maturity. "Cesc played well, he kept the ball as normal. Fabregas always plays well – he is a very good footballer," he said."Don't get me wrong, he's a human being like everyone so sometimes everything gets difficult. But he is always there to show character, he is 21 and has got a lot of responsibility on his shoulders and he is dealing with that quite well."A strong performance was needed to dispel the storm clouds that had gathered following Saturday's shock defeat by Hull, and Arsenal delivered beyond expectation.Any lingering talk of crisis will dissolve should Sunderland be dispatched at the Stadium of Light on Saturday, and Adebayor is eager to build on Tuesday's rout."I hope we are back on track. Against Porto we showed good character, good personality and we played good football," he said. "We know that as soon as we put the ball on the ground and play our football, we have a lot of chances to win."That is what we did well against Porto. We are very pleased with our performance and hopefully we can do that again on Saturday."We are not playing to send a message, we are just playing to enjoy ourselves. We want to go as far as possible in the Champions League. We enjoy ourselves a lot on the pitch and we just want to keep on going, keep enjoying ourselves and see where we end up."Arsenal top Group G and Wenger expects his team to qualify for the knockout stages – but also demanded a return to winning ways on the domestic front."The most important thing was to respond quickly in a convincing way to the game against Hull and that's what we did," he said. "We were focused and I was happy with the attitude. Maybe we were too tense at the start of the game but we were focused and at this level that is vital."It's difficult to measure our best performance of the season but this was maybe our most complete performance."This is half the response I want. The other half comes on Saturday against Sunderland. I expect to win the group after this."

By Duncan Bech

Champions League Arsenal 4-0 Porto - Match Report

Better. Much, much better. Arsenal returned to form in fine style with a morale-boosting 4-0 win over Porto in Champions League Group G on Tuesday night.Arsène Wenger’s side had been humbled by Hull at Emirates Stadium last Saturday and, this evening, Porto returned to the scene of the crime with their own superhero – Hulk – in tow.Despite the scoreline, Arsenal were not that outstanding; like they had not been that bad on Saturday. The crucial difference was the chances they took. Robin van Persie slid them in front on the half-hour and, four minutes from the break, Emmanuel Adebayor scored with a towering header. Three minutes after the restart, Van Persie killed the game by burying a cross-shot and, 20 minutes from the end, Adebayor slotted home a penalty after substitute Nicklas Bendtner had been hacked down on the edge of the area.Arsenal will play better than this and win by a tighter margin however it was just the answer they needed after a weekend of questions. It also puts them top of Group G.In the immediate aftermath of that defeat to Hull on Saturday, Wenger had spoken of sweeping changes. In the end there was only one. Fit-again Samir Nasri came in on the left side of the midfield with Theo Walcott switching to the right. Emmanuel Eboue made way.The first home game of the Group Stage is always crucial but, after this particular weekend, it was doubly important for Wenger’s side. The sunshine and blissful optimism of Saturday was replaced tonight by sweeping rain and a measure of concern.It was nothing that a thumping win could not solve but Arsenal would take half an hour to start finding the solution!After a cagey first few minutes they began the search in earnest. In the 10th minute, a sweeping move involving Nasri, Cesc Fabregas and Adebayor found Walcott unmarked at the far post with the ball at his feet. However the angle was tight and the England international could only find the side-netting. When Van Persie’s curling effort forced a scrambling save from Helton, it appeared the home side were about to take control. However they were nearly caught out again – and with a classic Arsenal attack.The home side were over-committed in attack and Freddy Gaurin sent Tomas Costa racing clear on the right. His deep swinging cross was met by the diving Cristian Rodriguez just inside the area. Fortunately for Arsenal, the Uruguayan’s powerful header bounced up off the turf and smacked the bar on its way over. A huge let-off. Arsenal responded by pushing forward. As on Saturday there was little wrong with their approach play, but the finish was missing.Walcott’s trickled cross-shot caused more trouble than it should and Van Persie’s far-post volley bounced on to the roof of the net.However Porto would respond once more. Just before the half-hour, Lisandro let fly from almost 30 yards. It was powerful drive that forced a full-length save from Manuel Almunia.From the corner, the ball ran loose and the same striker was on hand to swivel a shot goalwards from six yards out. This time his effort beat the keeper but Gael Clichy was stationed on the line just behind him and booted the ball clear. Arsenal needed a goal to settle their nerves. Fortunately they got it almost immediately.Fabregas’ slide-rule pass sent Adebayor forward in the right-hand channel. The Togolese striker was only marginally onside but had plenty of time to place his pass. He decided to send over a low ball to the near post. Van Persie slid in just ahead of his marker to prod home the ball with his outstretched leg.The goal was a blessed relief and Arsenal tried to consolidate with concerted offense.It paid dividends five minutes before the break when Van Persie curled over a corner to the far post and Adebayor met it with a firm downward header. There was little chance of the pace alone beating the Porto defence but the visiting backline were fooled by the way the ball reared up. Now the tension could truly dissipate.Three minutes after the break, it was flowing out of Arsenal’s veins. The Porto defence ran into trouble in the corner and Walcott found Van Persie just inside the area. The Dutchman nutmegged Bruno Alves and flicked his cross-shot into the far corner of the net.It should have been 4-0 a couple of minutes later. Toure collected a corner and weaved inside the area. His cross found Walcott six-yards out but his snap-shot went wide. A couple of minutes later Nasri bundled an equally-inviting effort past Helton’s left-hand upright.Porto were now reeling and rudderless. Substitute Lucho set up Tomas Costa just before the hour but the striker wasted a decent opportunity by blazing high over the bar.Meanwhile Arsenal were attacking in waves. Walcott only just lost a foot-race with Helton and Adebayor scuffed an effort inches past the post.The home side’s dominance was such that Wenger withdrew Nasri and Van Persie with 24 minutes to go. For their part, Porto brought on Hulk.It barely changed the balance of play. Helton spilled a Fabregas drive and Adebayor pounced. However the keeper recovered to get a toe on the striker’s sidefoot shot.Rodriguez’ drive suggested Porto had not given up hope however they may as well have done. In the 70th minute Guarin hacked at the legs of Bendtner on the corner of the area. The Dane fell over, the referee pointed to the penalty spot and Adebayor scored.It had become a stroll.Tomas Costa rifled an effort inches wide soon afterwards but Arsenal regained their stranglehold almost immediately.Adebayor rolled an effort narrowly wide and substitute Carlos Vela scrambled the ball against the post in injury time.The whistle blew soon afterwards. Now Arsenal can truly move on.

By Richard Clarke

From Arsenal.com