Date: December 2002

Arsenal v. Chelsea; Wed. Jan. 1; 10am eastern

Dec 31, 2002 by

Arsenal v. Chelsea; Wednesday Jan. 1; 10am eastern

TV: Fox Sports World

Radio: arsenal.com (fee required)

Live Text Play-by-Play: quite possible at Arsenal’s bigsoccer.com page

Arsenal: 1st Place (43 points)

Chelsea: 2nd Place (38 points)

The New Year is upon us and I see no better way to start 2003 than by kickin’ the crap out of Chelsea. This fixture holds even more importance than just a London derby as Chelsea actually sit in unfamiliar territory at second place, five points behind the Gunners. This fixture is always a rough affair and a lot of fun to watch but this Chelsea is a different animal than games past.

Chelsea just ended an eleven game unbeaten streak that saw them move comfortably up the table. Seven wins and four draws, they kept eight clean sheets and scored two or more in six games. They simply were able to get the desired results against the “lesser” competition. Chelsea has had problems with the top of the table and on the road. It just so happens the Gunners are top of the table and Chelsea is on the road, so two big factors move in the Gunners direction. In fact, the Gunners have not lost to Chelsea in over five years (it could be longer but I couldn’t find an archive that went any further back). In all competitions the Gunners have won six with five draws and at home, won five with only one draw at Highbury. More marks in the plus category.

Chelsea do seem to move with a different confidence. The defense has almost a swagger to them as they defend with power and speed. This air about them starts between the pipes in Carlo Cudicini. He has missed the last two games with a thigh strain but when he is in the game he has done everything right. No weaknesses to speak of, he has developed an arrogance most managers like to see in their keepers.

Last year’s Chelsea team was hurt by a squad rotation policy instilled by manager Claudio Ranieri. During the 11-game unbeaten streak Ranieri left a bit more consistency in the line-up and that seemed to help the players move the ball easier. So what does a manager do when he has success with a lineup? He changes it and inserts seven new players. This resulted in a 0-0 draw to Southampton and Ranieri changed again, inserting seven more. This resulted in a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Leeds. The game at Leeds could only be described as uninspired. So Ranieri now has to decide what he takes from these experiments and what will work against the Gunners.

Chelsea come into this match with a +17 goal differential. This suggests that they are playing a complete style of football. With Zola magic running wild and a defense that is the best in the Premiership this should be an entertaining match. It’s the Gunners intangibles that should shine through.

Arsenal America Predicts: A tough match, but our defense holds and the Arsenal grabs a 1-0 victory when late sub and Chelsea killer Kanu slots home a rebound in the 83rd minute.

The EINY Looks At 2002

Dec 30, 2002 by

The EINY goes old school epic style with his year end report. Take it away EINY…

Well the year has just about come to an end and here we have the Arsenal in some rather rarified air of being on top of the Premier League as the calendar comes to and end and what a 366 days it has been for us all and ol’ EINY will be doing a bit of reminiscing to remind us all of what has just occurred. First off I’d like to wish everyone a safe and prosperous new year and let’s hope 2003 will bring Arsenal more silverware….

I’d be remiss to not speak on the wonderful sight I just witnessed so let me express my unabashed JOY in seeing the gold away shirts make their re-appearance on Boxing day at the Hawthorns and propel the team to earning a tough 3 points on the road. Granted the opponent was West Brom, but a Boxing Day affair will always be tight as the holiday will be an incentive for the opponent to give their fans something to feel good about right after Christmas (just look at bottom of the table Motherwell beat Rangers 1-0 in Scotland-HA!;) Sorry for my pro-Celtic dig at the huns, back to Arsenal).

An effort that had me cursing Jeffers’ inclusion over Pires and watching Seaman pick the ball out of the net after less than 4 minutes was NOT the beginning I was expecting, but the lads played a lot better in the 2nd half and 3 points were gained and it may not have been “pretty”, but 3 points gained is 3 points gained and with the mancs, scousers and bloo scum faltering on the same day we’re still top of the league. And now we face a reeling Liverpool squad that would love nothing more than to get a win this Sunday at Highbury at a place they’ve had more success at than most teams so it’s imperative that Arsenal comes out blazing, gunning (no pun intended) and hands out a proper thumping to the Merseysiders and keeps Houllier’s troops reeling into the confines of UEFA Cup/Worthington Cup misery.

So I’m finishing this editorial AFTER the Liverpool match, sorry but it’s the holidays and EINY gets a bit behind in sending off entries so this will have to suffice until after the Chelsea match. A dire affair against Liverpool which saw Arsenal thoroughly hammer the scousers with waves of attacks and one disallowed Sol Campbell goal (could this be the next Arsenal record to be set for most disallowed goals in a season?) and multiple corners would only show 0-0 at the half. The second half seemed to wake up the scousers and with a bit of prodding (and Diouf’s diving after Owen became another suit and tie on the bench) the scousers almost woke up and took all 3 points with a well-deserved penalty but the Arsenal nerve and resolve seemed to be on the verge of missed opportunities when a fortuitous penalty was awarded against Riise for Jeffers’ Ruud van Nistelrooj “dive” in the box. Up stepped Thierry Henry and then the match became 10 minutes of can the scousers leave Highbury with a point (and possibly Houllier’s job) or would Wenger’s troops show their mettle? Well Gilberto Silva had a great chance in the last minute of injury time to send the “boring-boring scousers” home with nothing but for the grace of the ghost of Bob Paisley or something he managed to miss the target in front of the North Bank faithful and so we were left to rue the missed opportunity of 3 points gained and accept the draw. And to top things off the scum lost 2-1!;) HAPPY NEW YEAR one and all! Top of the league and a new year’s date with the rent boys from Stamford Bridge and a cup tie this weekend. Come on you Gunners! And now let’s take a trip down memory lane into the year that was 2002….

January-on top of the league by goal difference and FA Cup wins over Watford and Liverpool start Arsenal’s new year off nicely. The month ends with Arsenal trailing Utd. by 1 point and a game in hand.

February-Champions League resumes and Arsenal gains 4 out of 6 points and Deportivo’s visit next month has Gooners planning quarter final accomodations while league and FA Cup 1/4 final draws against Newcastle loom as Arsenal dips to 3rd and trail Utd. 3 with a game in hand.

March-Exiting the Champions League makes the quest for a domestic double more imperative as Arsenal beats Newcastle and lose Player of the Year Robert Pires to season (and World Cup) ending knee injury. Dennis Bergkamp’s “Dutch Tango” goal against Newcastle in the league defies explanation…

April-FA Cup final here we come! Arsenal beats ‘Boro to face Chelsea at Cardiff in May and league performances of an unbeaten streak that started in the new year continues as Freddie Ljungberg becomes “the man” and with a 5 point cushion going into May a double is within reach. Oh! We beat the scum 2-1 too!:)

May-Ray Parlour and Freddie Ljungberg score to secure the FA Cup 2-0 over Chelsea, Patrick Vieira and “Mr. Arsenal” Tony Adams lift the cup together (symbolism abounds) on May 4th and on May 8th Sylvain Wiltord knocks in a rebounded Freddie Ljungberg (that man again!) shot at Old Trafford and Arsenal becomes league CHAMPIONS again and record their 3rd league and cup double. No need to recite the songs or feelings, O.K. “we won the league at Old Trafford…” “Arsene Wenger’s magic, he wears a magic hat…” “are you watching, Tottenham?” “Where’s your captain gone???” “Champeones…..” This month would also be the last time we would witness the competitive appearances of Tony Adams and Lee Dixon in Arsenal jerseys as more than 30 years of football experience at Arsenal were to leave Highbury after Adams’ testimonial against Celtic with one last view of Winterburn, Bould, Adams and Dixon together in the back 4 with Lukic in goal. A 1-1 draw and Dixon scored to boot!:) Thanks for EVERYTHING, lads….

June-the World Cup is upon us in the form a joint tournament in Japan and S.Korea and the defending champion French lose 1-0 to Senegal despite having Vieira playing for les bleus! Horrendous refereeing decisions abound as both Spain and Italy get the short end of the proverbial stick against host S.Korea no less and overall FIFA deserves a major rollicking for the reffing in this tournament overall. England goes out bravely and the world’s new African World Cup story is in the form of Senegal’s outstanding performance (and eventual Liverpool reserves as Houllier would sign what would amount to one 4th of their squad to Anfield’s books). The semi’s would leave Germany, Brazil, Turkey and S. Korea standing with Brazil winning it’s 5th World Cup by beating Germany 2-0 in the final and Ronaldo coming to form to silence his critics over his injuries (and ease Inter’s concerns over his knee).

July-The “silly season” can commence and we see Leeds fire the first Salvo by firing David O’Leary and selling Rio Ferdinand to recoup cash after their plans for Elland Rd. construction fell into severe and dire difficulties. The scum take the p*ss of the year by announcing that they “almost signed” Rivaldo! Arsenal sign Pascal Cygan from Lille and Gilberto Silva from Brazil to strengthen the squad for the defense of it’s title.

August-Communtiy Shield showcases Arsenal’s intent on winning things as they thoroughly dominate the scousers and new signing Silva scores the winner in a 1-0 win. The league quest opens with 2 wins and a draw leaving the Gunners at the same spot they occupied last May-TOP! Oh and the scum “almost signed” Morientes too! Ha!

September-Huge road wins in the Champions League and stellar performances in the Premiership has all of Europe talking of an Arsenal treble run but there’s plenty of action left to play out Top of the league and CL group too.

October-the league streak comes to an end with losses to Everton and Southampton and CL losses amount to “panic” amongst some of the Gooner faithful and we haven’t even seen the dreaded “bogey months” that were ahead. Liverpool makes a little noise in the league and all of a sudden THEY start talking of going undefeated! It seems like the “mickey taking” has reached new heights in England, eh?;)

November-Group winners in Europe (scousers get bumped to “lower class” UEFA Cup) and Arsenal goes on a roll by ending back on top of the league and Thierry Henry starts to shine after his performance in Rome and we beat the scum 3-0, remain on top of the league and have a BIG laugh at the scum being ousted from the Worthington Cup by 2nd division Burnley no less! Did I mention we just ended 1 bogey month on top of the league????:)

December-a bad start losing 2-0 to the mancs at OT, but a draw at the Lane and wins over ‘Boro and West Brom and a final draw against the scousers leave Arsenal 5 points clear of nearest opposition at the year’s end. With players coming to form in the name of van Bronckhorst, Pires, Ljungberg and Bergkamp, the new year should showcase some pretty exciting football to be played by our Gunners for sure. Nothing’s handed out but there’s a LOT to play for domestically and on the European front so let’s enjoy it.

Now I’d like to take the time to thank a few people. YOU the reader-for reading and givng your views here at Arsenal America. I hope more of you will contribute and give your views in the new year. Rick Liebling-We may disagree on AFC matters, but thanks for giving me a venue to “caucus” my views. Happy new year, mate.

And to the Gooner faithful worldwide- long may we enjoy Arsenal success! And to my main man Slow and Low in Holland-congrats on the forthcoming little Gooner!

All the best for 2003! Cheers……

1 life

1 love

1 club

1 nil!

1 Tony Adams!

1 Nigel Winterburn!

1 Arsene Wenger!

1 Ian Wright Wright Wright!

1 TEAM IN LONDON!

Dan Winkler’s ArseAm Diary, Entry 2

Dec 30, 2002 by

Wow, what a day. My first time at Highbury and, despite a disappointing result, it was great. I had an omen that things would go well when I noticed the fellow Gunners who got on the Tube at London Bridge, which is fairly far south of the stadium. A couple more joined in the ride at the next stop, and before I knew it was almost nearly all Gunners on the Piccadilly line heading toward the Arsenal Tube stop. The queue to get out of the Underground was long, even though we arrived about two hours before kickoff – everyone seems anxious to get to Highbury.

I wandered around for a while soaking in the atmosphere – from the scalpers (“touts”) who ask if you have any extra tickets for sale, to the merchandise wagons (both official and unofficial), to the program vendors, to the hot dog/hamburger stands. The streets around Highbury are electric before a match, with a mixture of accents and languages filling the air. Wandered down towards the Gunners pub, which was already packed well before I got there, and I met up with fellow traveler Dan Nooter, who had managed to get into the pub earlier and had been taking things in from that perspective. Dan had only arrived earlier that same day. Dan and I wandered around for a little bit before deciding to head into the stadium and meet up with the rest of the crew. We sat in between Naggi and Dave and just soaked in the atmosphere as the rest of the crowd slowly arrived.

The PA announcer took great delight in announcing the Newcastle/Sp*rs result several times. The players came out on the pitch to loud applause (some louder than others), and during their warm up nearest the North Bank almost every player was serenaded to a version of their “song,” whether it was captain Patrick Vieira or “the Iceman” Dennis Bergkamp, as he was introduced. Each player applauded the fans when his song was sung – something you really don’t see in the U.S.

The match got underway and the crowd was lively, with the chants flying fast and furious. I tried to join in when I understood them – I’ll be better prepared by Wednesday. As you might expect, the energy level wore down as the match went on, and things looked dire when Liverpool scored their penalty. But we were rewarded with Henry’s PK right in front of us, and the goal let us leave feeling OK with the result. After all, when was the last time that Arsenal led the league by five points heading into the New Year? After the match organizer extraordinaire Andrew Leyden got the group together for some planning and a couple of group pictures. We decided to head over to the Gunners, and then go somewhere else if that was too crowded. Unfortunately, I got separated from the group because I hung around the bar under the North Bank (open for 30 minutes after each match) to meet up with some of the folks on the Arsenal mailing list, which I’ve been on for about five years. I was finally able to put faces to names, so I’m glad I did it. A few of them decided to head to the Gunners and meet the rest of the ArseAm crew, but by the time we got there the North Americans were nowhere to be found. I imagine they went somewhere else – we’ll plan better next time.

After a couple of pints at the Gunners, we headed to the Woodbine, another Arsenal pub fairly close by. Another pint there (have I mentioned that the English don’t mind drinking a bit?) and it was time to head back home. Met up with my sister and her boyfriend and – you guessed it – headed to another pub until it closed (which was only 10:30, but that’s what happens on Sundays). Then it was to bed for a long sleep.

On Monday some of the ArseAm crew were heading to Cambridge (or Oxford, maybe?), one was heading to Edinburgh, and some were sightseeing on their own. Also, some of us are planning to hit the theatre scene tonight – Bob Hobbs and I are off to see ‘Rent,’ which features Tony Adams’ ex-flame Caprice. I’ve heard she’s not too bad, actually.

Tuesday’s the tour of Highbury, and Wednesday’s the big match against Chelsea. Time’s already flying, and there’s still so much to do. Things are 100 percent great so far (well, maybe 95 percent – the weather’s lousy!) and I can’t wait for the tour and the next game.

For some photos from Dan, go to:

http://www.d-wink.com/ArseAm/arseam-pics.htm

Click the link that says Day 2.