ArsenalSupremoo

Arsenal finished off there Pre Season preparations with an excellent 3 1 win over Manchester City in a sell out in Helsinki. Despite not dominating the play and possession it was Arsenal who took their chances as Theo Walcott struck first with a great chipped goal as Aaron Ramsey provided him an excellent assist to make it 1 0. 

“Drogba did well when he came on,” the boss told the post-game press conference.

“He still has the resources, you could see that yesterday as well. He has kept that physical strength and his intelligent game and he finished well.

“I must say we were exhausted in the end, especially Mertesacker who played the two full games and was just back from Asia.

“He [Drogba] took advantage of it. Honestly the penalty was very, very, very, very, very, very soft! It was classic Drogba.

On the subject of transfers Wenger confirmed that Roma and Crystal Palace would be taking Gervinho and Marouane Chamakh off our books.

News : Gervinho looks set to join Roma and official confirmation in the coming days.

The Gunners home kit will stay the same with some slight adjustments which means this is the last year Nike will provide kits for Arsenal with their current deal runs out in one years time paving the way for Arsenal to seal a deal with Puma from next season.

United closed the gap on early leaders Chelsea to one point after Javier Hernandez's late goal secured a dramatic win over the nine-man European champions at Stamford Bridge.

David Luiz's own goal and Robin van Persie's clinical finish gave United a two-goal lead early on, but Chelsea fought back superbly to level with goals from Juan Mata and Ramires either side of the interval.

However, red cards for Branislav Ivanovic and Fernando Torres swung the momentum back towards United, who stole the points thanks to Hernandez's close-range winner in the 75th minute.

December 9, 2012

Manchester City 2 Manchester United 3

Robin van Persie sparked chaotic scenes as the United striker's injury-time winner capped a heated Manchester derby at Eastlands and put his side six points clear of their bitter rivals.

United had raced into a two-goal lead as Wayne Rooney struck in the 16th and 29th minutes.

But Yaya Toure's effort on the hour gave City a lifeline and the champions looked to have rescued a point when Pablo Zabaleta equalised with only four minutes to play.

There was a sting in the tale for City, though, as van Persie's free-kick curled past Joe Hart, prompting one City fan to invade the pitch in a bid to confront United defender Rio Ferdinand, who had been struck in the face by a coin while celebrating the winner.

December 29, 2012

Arsenal 7 Newcastle 3

Theo Walcott underlined his value to Arsenal with a stunning display that helped Arsenal hit a magnificent seven at the Emirates Stadium.

Walcott was engaged in fraught contract negotiations with Arsenal at the time, but he had the ideal leverage after scoring three goals and setting up two more against the Magpies.

Walcott swept Arsenal in front but Demba Ba equalised with a deflected free-kick.

After Sylvain Marveaux tapped in to cancel out Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain's low shot, Lukas Podolski nodded home.

Ba levelled again, only for Walcott to score twice more, either side of a brace from substitute Olivier Giroud as Newcastle, beaten 4-3 at Manchester United in their previous game, crumbled in the final minutes.

Walcott walked off to chants of "sign him up" at the full-time whistle and within weeks he had agreed a three-and-a-half-year extension worth £100,000 per week.

April 21, 2013

Liverpool 2 Chelsea 2

Leave comments of which Moments, Games or Players were your favorite ones this season and your opinion about the awards.

Arsenal desperately needed the points as well as they try to qualify for the Champions League and the Gunners romped home thanks to a brace from Lukas Podolski and strikes from Theo Walcott and Aaron Ramsey.Shaun Maloney had given Wigan hope with a first half equaliser, but the Latics, running on fumes after their Wembley heroics, will experience the unique anguish of becoming the first side to win the FA Cup and be relegated in the same season.

While Wigan, four points behind Sunderland with one game left, will be back in the second tier for the first time since 2005, Arsene Wenger's team are on course to play in the Champions League for a 16th consecutive season. They had fallen two points behind Tottenham after their north London rivals won at Stoke, but now head to Newcastle on Sunday knowing another win will guarantee a top four finish.

They would not even need three points if Tottenham fail to beat Sunderland at White Hart Lane. Martinez named the same starting line-up that stunned City, but the Latics seemed sapped of energy and they surrendered the lead in careless fashion in the 11th minute.

When Santi Cazorla lofted over a corner, Wigan's statuesque defenders allowed the ball to bounce just six yards from goal and Podolski, having escaped some slack marking from James McArthur and Emmerson Boyce, took full advantage as he stooped to head past Joel Robles.

Over 20,000 Wigan supporters had celebrated their triumph at Wembley, but the tiny group, numbering no more than 500, who made the return trip to north London were beginning to get a sinking feeling in the torrential rain.

Wigan's sloppy defending has been their Achilles heel this season and they were almost caught out again when Laurent Koscielny was gifted yards of space to poke Cazorla's corner wide from close-range.Yet somehow Wigan were level in first half stoppage-time.

Scottish winger Maloney forced Mikel Arteta to concede a free-kick in a dangerous area after surging clear of the midfielder, who responded with the slightest of nudges. Maloney picked himself up to take the set-piece and curled a superb strike over the wall and past Wojciech Szczesny.

Wigan should have been in front at the start of the second half when Arouna Kone played a one-two with Callum McManaman to earn a clear sight of goal, but the Ivorian striker's shot was parried by Szczesny. James McCarthy then turned to fire home, only to see the linesman's offside flag halt his celebrations. But those two narrow escapes provoked a response from Arsenal and Cazorla forced a brilliant double save from Robles.

Wigan suffered a significant blow when in-form winger McManaman was stretchered off just before the hour. Wenger's men were finding space on the flanks far too easily and Wigan's failure to adapt proved fatal in the 63rd minute.Cazorla made a run that left Roger Espinoza trailing in his wake and the Spaniard whipped over a low cross which Walcott bundled past Robles's weak attempted save.

Wigan needed an immediate response, but instead they were dealt a hammer blow five minutes later as more woeful defending allowed Podolski to put the game beyond reach. Cazorla won a header far too easily and Wigan's defenders showed no urgency as Podolski ran clear to flick his shot over the hopelessly exposed Robles.

Ramsey put the seal on Wigan's relegation in the 71st minute as the Welsh midfielder sprinted away down the left before lashing into the roof of the net. The atmosphere at the Emirate stadium tonight was exceptional, the fans made the ground electrifying and the players step up their game with an outstanding display. The game was a beauty to watch.

It all goes down to the final game at ST. James Park were Arsenal's last win on the ground was a 3-1 win in 2009.

"It was one of my most important goals and hopefully there can be a few more next weekend," Walcott told Sky Sports.

"I am so proud of the guys because we deserved it.

"I felt like we had to take the initiative and make runs in behind, which we weren't really doing in the first half.

Wigan Manager Match Reaction

"We've got one more game. We need to reflect and share our good feelings with the fans after winning the FA Cup," he told BBC Sport.

"I never expected this," he said. "The players have been great ambassadors for Wigan Athletic. I don't think we've deserved to be in the bottom three but we are.

1. Santi Cazorla is the first Arsenal player to get four assists in a single Premier League game since Fabregas v Blackburn in Oct 2009

2. Theo Walcott seven attempted passes, four complete. three crosses attempted one complete.

3. Full Time Stats Arsenal v Wigan Shots 21-11 On target 10-2, Fouls 12-11 Duels Won 54%-46%, Pass Accuracy 81%-84%, Possession 48%-52%

4. Only two players have been subbed off more often in a single Premier League season than Podolski (22 times).

6. Santi Cazorla/Podolski have combined for seven goals this season, the joint-most in the PL along with Giroud/Walcott.

What are you thoughts on the game? Who was your MOTM? Are you confident that we can beat Newcastle at their ground to seal Champions League Football. Personally I don't see no reason why not! COYG

Arsenal played at home to the newly crowned Premier League Champions knowing that they needed a win to keep a hold of third place. Spurs were still behind them after drawing at Wigan on Saturday, but Chelsea were already 2-0 up on Swansea and were set to overtake Arsenal. With both of those teams having a game in hand on Arsenal nothing less than a win would do. Arsene Wenger had to decide who to pick at centre forward with Olivier Giroud suspended after his red card at Fulham last week. His choices were limited but he played safe and opted for Lukas Podolski. The only other change from last week was Kieran Gibbs coming in at left back as he continued to rotate that role with Nacho Monreal.

The Arsenal players gave United a guard of honour before the game, but the fans made their feelings known by booing them. The biggest jeers of all were reserved for ex captain Robin van Persie on his first return to his former club. Those jeers continued for the rest of the game every time he touched the ball. Arsenal got off to the best start possible when they took the lead with less than two minutes gone. Tomas Rosicky played Theo Walcott in on the right and he finished from a tight angle past David de Gea in the United goal. Replays showed Walcott was slightly offside but the assistant missed it and the goal stood. Arsenal got stuck into United and had the upper hand as the champions struggled to get their game going. There weren't too many chances to increase that lead, but one glorious chance was missed.


Arsenal broke quickly after winning the ball in midfield and Aaron Ramsey advanced into their penalty area. As he was closed down he had a choice between Podolski on the left and Walcott on the right to pass to. He chose Podolski and his shot was saved, but Walcott was in a much better position and would surely have scored if Ramsey had passed to him. United had a couple of chances of their own on the break with Van Persie and Phil Jones both missing with headers. Jones should have scored and Wojciech Szczesny managed to get his face in the way of Van Persie's effort. Both crosses came from the Arsenal right as Bacary Sagna was found wanting in his defensive duties. Shortly before half time it was Sagna who handed United their equalizer on a plate. He tried to pass the ball back to Per Mertesacker but he could only play it to Van Persie who advanced into the penalty area. As Sagna tried to get back to retrieve his error his tackle was mistimed and he took him down to give away the penalty.

The league's top scorer got up to take the penalty as Sagna's name went into the referee's book. He made no mistake from the spot kick and the teams were level with half time approaching quickly. After all of their effort it was very disappointing for Arsenal not to be leading at the break. The second half was a more even affair with Arsenal struggling to create chances for the most part. United looked dangerous on the break, but Arsenal defended well enough and their chances were very limited too. The closest Arsenal came was a Santi Cazorla effort which De Gea pushed away late on. The boss made changes as the game went on with Jack Wildhere, Gervinho and Alex Oxllade-Chamberlain coming on for Tomas Rosicky, Podolski and Ramsey respectively. It was to little avail though as they failed to find the goal they needed.

The team worked very hard throughout the game but they didn't show an awful lot of quality in the final third. Far too often there was nobody in the penalty area when Arsenal got the ball into wide areas. The balance of the team wasn't right with Cazorla on the left either as he came inside at every opportunity. It meant most of Arsenal's wide play was on the right and Sagna was usually the player trying to deliver the ball into the area. He has been a good servant to Arsenal for a long time now but he hasn't had a good season and yesterday was a bad day for him. He made a poor challenge in the second half which should have earned him a second yellow card, but thankfully the referee decided otherwise. His defending was at least better in the second half and he made a couple of good tackles and interceptions. I have no doubt that he has been affected by breaking his leg twice last season and also that he has just over a year left on his contract with Arsenal.

I would be very surprised to see Sagna in an Arsenal shirt next season. A point at home to the champions wasn't a bad result for an Arsenal team that has struggled against other teams in the top five this season. The consequences of the draw were that Arsenal lost the mastery of their fate and must now depend on other teams to finish in the top four. They will probably have to win their last three games to qualify for next season's Champions League. Those games are all winable as they are against teams struggling at the wrong end of the table. QPR are up next and they are already relegated with three games to go and that's followed by a home game against Wigan a few days after they play in the FA Cup final.

The final game is away to Newcastle and hopefully they can play like they did against Liverpool last Saturday. Despite the setback of no longer being in control of their own fate it was equally important that the team didn't lose on Sunday. They have kept their unbeaten run going and the defence managed to hold fairly firm against the best attack in the league. My real worry at the moment is the lack of decent goal scoring opportunities the team is creating. They need to find their creativity again for those last three games as they are all against teams with a poor defensive record. If Arsenal can stay solid at the back and add just a little more creativity I feel confident that a top four place is still well within their grasp. I have no doubt that it will come down to the last game of the season as seems to be the Arsenal way at the moment.

What are your opinions on the game? Is it time for Sagna to leave the club after another inconsistent performance? What did you make of Podolski upfront? Do you still believe we will make it into Champions League Next Season? Join in with our Arsenal community, we have connected with the Disqus comment system and now easier for you to comment on our posts toconnect and talk with the Arsenal fans and when you get a reply to one of your comments you will get a notification

Read more from JamrockRover at his Arsenal blog at http://everarsenal.blogspot.com/

4. Arsenal are the only team in the Premier League with 3 players in double figures for goals (excl pens). Giroud 11, Walcott 12, Cazorla 12

5. Only three teams have conceded more penalties than Arsenal (six). The three teams are Villa, Norwich & Wigan all with seven each.

6. Arsenal have the joint-most errors leading to goals this season (14 along with Wigan) and six penalties conceded

7. Match Statistics : Arsenal v Man Utd Shots 19-12 On target 6-4, Fouls 11-12 Duels Won 47%-53%, Pass Accuracy 81%-83%, Possession 52%-48%

Gary Neville and Graeme Souness on the race for Europe 

What are your opinions on the game? Is it time for Sagna to leave the club after another inconsistent performance? What did you make of Podolski upfront? Do you still believe we will make it into Champions League Next Season? Join in with our Arsenal community, we have connected with the Disqus comment system and now easier for you to comment on our posts to connect and talk with the Arsenal fans and when you get a reply to one of your comments you will get a notification Login using your social networks plugins or if you don't want to leave your name you can sign in as a guest.