Apr 16
Arsenal had too much class for Blackburn today, running out 3-0 winners. One by Pires (42′) and two in the last 10 minutes by van Persie.
He’s Dutch, so he’s always going to get the benefit of the doubt from me, but I’ve believed in RvP even when others were saying get rid of him (because of one red card).
He might not have as much talent as Reyes (though it’s close), but he’s loads tougher and he wants to score. Reyes looks like he’s more concerned with not getting hurt.
50 Responses to “Arsenal 3 - 0 Blackburn”
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
April 16th, 2005 at 1:20 pm
maybe i’m the only one but i really think reyes should stay and maybe shift to the wing. yes he’s having a tough time but october wasnt tht far away!
April 16th, 2005 at 1:27 pm
I have been a big critic of Reyes and once again today I found myself screaming at the TV.
Yes, He is a likeable good looking kid
Yes, he runs around all day.
But for the money we paid this is not what I expected. He has been here for nearly a season and a half and I don’t see any improvement.
I think we will be lucky to get 8mil for him at the moment and with VanP and Quincy coming through and Aliadiere maybe ready to give it one last chance I don’t think he is worth keeping
April 16th, 2005 at 2:14 pm
was he worth it when he was banging them in for fun at the start of the season? I would hate to see him making a mockery of defences for one of our rivals. He’s still young. A return of 10 odd goals isnt that bad either, we know he doesnt link well with henry, the wing suits him more….I definitely think he deserves more time.
April 16th, 2005 at 2:45 pm
We should get rid of Reyes it’s just that simple. I’m fed up of hearing excuses for this guy. He’s not worth half of 17 Million. Even Jermaine Pennant would have done better. You see it time and time again, we start the build up, and as soon as the ball gets to him, he loses it. Let’s get rid of this guy come summer, and let Madrid make buidling his fragile confidence THIER problem. We’re always a man down with Reyes in this team.
I’ve always been a big fan of RVP, you always saw the potential in him. He’s tough, and he’s atypical Arsenal in that he pulls the trigger without over elaboration. The best of this guy is yet to come. Ali is probably close, and if he can stay injury free together they can push Reyes of the bench, and save us all some grief.
April 16th, 2005 at 3:21 pm
No. He was not worth 13 mil for scoring a few goals at the start of the season.
This is not a ’sack Wenger’post or a ‘we will never win the CL’ post.
This kid has not performed. He has potential but so do plenty of other players that did not cost nearly as much. Wiltord was far more effective yet recieved far more stick from everyone[ me included]
Reyes has complained about Arsenal and made it clear that he would rather be at Madrid.
Piss off, cos it is not like we are really going to miss your contributions and the more you watch and read the more the impression is that the other players are growing tired of his act.
He will not go to any of our direct competitor and even if he did I don’t think we would have to much trouble defending against a very one footed, lightweight player who will disappear after acouple of heavy challenges.
April 16th, 2005 at 3:40 pm
We’re on our way, we’re on way
We’re going to Cardiff, we’re on our way
How do we get there? I don’t know
How do we get there? I don’t care
All I know is we are on our way
(Repeat until you get bored singing)
April 16th, 2005 at 5:26 pm
Reyes was not too bad.
RVP’s been just magical.
Viera is the MOM to me. Everything from here was near to perfection.
Pat’s really back, and will have “quiet summer”.
Another clean sheet from Senderos/Kolo.
Kolo was excellent. He’s getting better and more confident in the air.
ALl the players did their in the right spirit and the required commitment.
It wasn’t an easy game. Blackburn are like Manure a kicking violent team against bigger opponents.
April 16th, 2005 at 5:29 pm
RvP stays on his feet
Makes each and every finish neat
An elbow nearly takes his teeth
Takes more than that to make him leave
Reyes makes our passing hurt
Receives the pass and hits the dirt
Not sure exactly what he’s worth
Guess you could say he’s down to earth
Wenger must think long and hard
The kid from Spain or Feyenoord?
Cash in on one, but not in vain
Since neither cost as much as Wayne
April 16th, 2005 at 6:00 pm
How many more times does Wenger have to play Reyes as a striker before he realises that’s not his natural position? Apart from that, it was a superb team performance. Vieira was excellent, and Gilberto proved just how much we miss him. The jury is still out on Senderos though.
April 16th, 2005 at 6:28 pm
You remind me of the Judge that issued a ruling on a lawsuit against Eminem in rap
http://triptronix.net/ishbadiddle/archives/2003/10/18/22.33.47/
April 16th, 2005 at 6:30 pm
Disagaree on Senderos. He’s solid. He makes the odd mistake, but who doesn’t? Add to that the fact, that he’s still learning. All these clean sheet are not a coincidence.
April 16th, 2005 at 6:35 pm
Funny!
Here on out I would like to be addressed as The Horrible Rapping Gooner.
April 16th, 2005 at 6:43 pm
Jermaine Pennant would’ve been better? Better at what? Dragging lampposts under his car?
April 16th, 2005 at 6:50 pm
I am not sure there can be much negativity after our win today. We played an outstanding game, and are on the way to the FA CUP Finals yet again. Our record in this competition is AMAZING.
Lots of good things to touch on.
TACTICS.
Maybe its just me, but we seem to be playing a bit more of a defensive style, in my mind. We are not coming out gunning from the beginning. Maybe its because Henry was out? But I think we are sitting back a bit more and covering the back 4. We don’t need to win the match in the first 15 minutes, and the patience seems to be paying off.
GILBERTO.
Its quite evident, even in the short time he’s been back, what he means to this team. He really shields the back 4 well. He is tall and athletic, which helps against set-pieces. He gives other players confidence when he is out there. Lauren, Kolo, Senderos… gotta feel more confident with Gilberto playing in the middle. Welcome back Gilberto Silva. You have shown how much you are worth to us all. The defense is now pretty damned solid, without SOL.
DEFENSE.
Confident all around. Again, isn’t it quite apparent. All of a sudden we look good defensively. On set-pieces, on corners… all game. Lehmann looked confident. With the way we are currently playing with LAUREN, KOLO, SENDEROS, COLE… do we bring Sol back into the mix right away? If so, who on earth do you sit down?
Kolo is so freaking talented. He could be a striker. He takes down that high pass, controls, fakes by the defender…. pass… goal. He’s alot more confident at the back too. If we bring in another solid defender in the middle, we will have a plethora of talent there, and whehter injury or suspension hit, we are COVERED.
VIEIRA.
Man of the Match.
Where have you been all year Paddy? That was the type of performance we have all: a) been waiting for. b) know you are capable of.
When Patrick Vieira plays like that, we are not going to be beaten very often. He was dominant. I can understand why folks get upset when he plays without that type of passion and intensity, because when he does, he is the best in the world. LONG MAY IT LAST.
THE KIDS.
Look at the team we had out there today!
Reyes runs his ass off. He tries. He has not lived up to billing YET, but we all see the potential. Big questin on what to do with him.
Senderos played yet another solid match, yet another clean sheet. He is strong physically, and can’t be intimidated. He knows what he is supposed to do and where he is supposed to be. BRIGHT prospect and future, which we are all excited about.
Cesc came on for Freddie, who was obviously having some real problems out there. Freddie was non-existant. Hope he is OK. Cesc came on and did his thing. He has such good vision, and passes the ball so very well. Fun to watch… again, all of us excited about this kid.
VanPersie. Hope he is okay. But fantastic performance and great finishing today. He has the skills as well. He isn’t consistent, thats the problem, but he is just a babe.
Aliadiare came on in the last few minutes. He looks to be physically bigger than I remember. Has he bulked up a bit or grown? He looks powerful. He is the one I DON’T want to see GO. I think he is the real deal, and has had horrendous bad luck with the injuries. Chin Up JA.
So we finish the match with VanPersie, Ali, Cesc, & Senderos on the pitch, and Reyes playing most of the game. These kids deserve their chance next season. They’ve learned and earned it this year. Will be interesting to see who stays and goes, but ALL could go on to be STARS, if not here, somewhere else.
Great job Arsenal Football Club. Made us all proud today… lets roll those wankers on Wednesday, and let them know we are still CHAMPIONS until they have “officially” won the league.
April 16th, 2005 at 7:04 pm
WIth Pat’s current form we can be a real danger for the ruskis.
Great collective performance from all the lads.
We need one like this against Chelski.
April 16th, 2005 at 7:11 pm
and on a side note…
Liverpool are having a great run in the CL, but what will their fate be. With the draw v. Spurtz, they fall to SIXTH. Unless they pull a miracle out and beat BOTH Chelsea and likely AC Milan, they will not be back in the Champion’s League next season. Will Gerrard stay? Will some of their other stars? It might be a case of a big step forward in the CL, and 2 huge steps back when its all over.
April 16th, 2005 at 7:16 pm
Stag, you forgot one man - Pires! He did not has a top game, but don’t he just love to score when we needed MOST?! Our first goal was very crucial, without it, Blackburn would be packing their defence and bringing on J.Stead, thus opened up their defence a bit. van Persie took advantage and scored two great goals. I love the first goal he scored, pure class.
April 16th, 2005 at 7:19 pm
Right on Andez. Pires, the man folks write off. He is too old, he shouldn’t start. Please. He is 2nd in the team in scoring EVERY SEASON!!!! Pure Class is 100% correct.
April 16th, 2005 at 7:29 pm
Why do people still attack Reyes even if the Arsenal fans in the stadium were loving him all the time, he was after Viera our best attacking player on the pitch, he linked well with Ljungberg and Lauren whom from their side Arsenal Attacked the most.
on the opposite Pires and Bergkamp played a very poor game by their standards and Reyes was better then them by a long way. Reyes caused a lot of problems for Blackburn defence and entertained the fans with his skills and tricks, it is true that he losed the ball few times but so did pires and bergkamp, so why do people attack him only? are they afraid to blaim players such as pires even if he scored a goal?
It is the small players that must be forgiven a lot not the old ones.
April 16th, 2005 at 7:48 pm
Yes, Jos? had a good game, and was our main source of danger with Paddy.
They give him stick because RVP scored two brillant goal.
These guys are always quick to think and judge only one game!
They will change their mind one day.
Don’t worry.
April 16th, 2005 at 8:13 pm
More proof that Arsenal can win a physical game.
Dickov needs to take a pill. He yellls at Cesc as he is down after the horrible challenge from Savage( no card), and then yells atLauren after pushing him and Lauren just gives him a look as to say, ” Dude, whats you problem”.
Reyes had a decent game. He too often gives up the ball in possession.
I liiked watching Savage try to get the ball off of PV
April 16th, 2005 at 8:22 pm
We’ve improved defensively and he’s been part of it. But to ‘prove himself’ I’d like to see his performances against better teams. So far it’s been Blackburn x2, Middlesbro, 10-man Bolton, Portsmouth & Sheff Utd. Also Bayern Munich, but without Roy Makaay. He looks good, but the past few months have not been a big enough of a test.
April 16th, 2005 at 8:28 pm
I thought Reyes was ok considering he was playing out of position. He was the lone striker against a very defensive tean, so give him a break.
Blackburn are a filthy disgrace. The game was a victory for football, as Blackburn they did a hatchet job on Vieira and spent the entire first half playing beyound the rules. The referee was too weak to punish them suitably. Pathetic.
Arsenal reacted superbly, and showed that all Blackburn will ever gain by such tactics is yellow cards. I hope they go down with Bolton next season, as both teams are full of scum, and play sh*tty long ball “football”.
April 16th, 2005 at 10:55 pm
Great post and great analysis Stag. I agree with every single bit of it. You even told the truth about Freddie!
I hope he is okay too. He’s been a real bright spot this season with his seemingly tireless running.
April 16th, 2005 at 11:02 pm
I like Reyes a lot too. More than potential, less than fully realized. The only thing I will say about him is that he seems less comfortable with the one touch passing, and seems to want to create more with the ball on his feet. Henry does that too, but not only is Henry better at it, but Henry balances that aspect of his play with superb one touch passing. If Reyes stays and commits to our system, he could be one of the greats. I have a feeling we’ll deal him to Real at some point though. I’m less concerned about the money issue connected to him than a lot of people are though.
April 16th, 2005 at 11:03 pm
I enjoyed that too (Savage vs. PV4). Savage really did look like he was *trying* to earn a yellow.
April 16th, 2005 at 11:07 pm
I hope with this physical game, the boys will be up to it for the one against Manure - if Manure beats Newcastle. The last 2 defeats against Manure were tough to swallow, especially when they out-muscled us and had a dodgy ref in the OT game. Revenge is guuner be sweet and will be sweeter if it is the FA cup final.
April 16th, 2005 at 11:07 pm
I thought their tactics were shite too. All the more so because we face a tough game against Chelsea mid-week. I hope the lads don’t much more than an aspirin after today, but from where I was watching they got the shite kicked out of them. The Senderos thing really scared me. Well, the Van Persie thing too. Blackburn are scum if that’s the best they can do.
April 16th, 2005 at 11:09 pm
Not to mention that the loser of the game gets zero silverware for the year. It’s sobering, but revenge would be that much sweeter. Ferguson would be looked at sideways if they finish 3rd for the 2nd straight year, and win no silverware to boot.
April 17th, 2005 at 12:07 am
Better on the pitch. He plays better for Birmingham than Reyes does for us.
April 17th, 2005 at 6:40 am
I am not sure Reyes is going to Real Madrid. rela Madrid are rebuilding but they gave Solaris a 4 your extension.
Figo’s been dropped for Owen.
Raul’s considered as spain first striker. Ronaldo will be auround next year.
If Jose goes to Madrid this summer he’ll be good for the bench of the time.
ANyway I hugely rate Jos?, but we can cope.
WE’ll five more than 8 striking option next year : Henry, Jose, Dennis, RVP, Aliadiere, Quincy, Lupoli, the new big signing.
April 17th, 2005 at 6:41 am
Hopefully Reyes stays, Wenger watched him 40 odd times before buying him so I don’t see us giving up on him after a season and a half. We know what he’s capable of from the start of the season. He’s young, he’s been kicked and he’s a bit homesick - the biggest thing was the Aragones incident and stupidly siding with his national coach. Next season he starts with a clean slate.
For me the question is who, if anyone, do we get in to replace Bergkamp? He is worth one more season, not least because he is always brilliant in August and September, but should we add another striker to the roster? Could we stomach Totti or Van der Vaart? Is RVP the best solution? What about Fernando Torres?
April 17th, 2005 at 6:49 am
Danny,
the victory was even sweeter considering the mature, calm and convinced response the team gave to their ugly and violent tactics.
I am pissed off when professionals let themselves because an ill-minded manager ask them to do so. Blackburn players are a disgrace for their job and their union.
RVP robbed Viera by scoring 2 great goals and made justice justice to our performance with 3-0 instead of 1-0 (which was good considering the blend refereing).
Reyes did his job and was our main threat, before Robin’s goals.
April 17th, 2005 at 7:10 am
He always scores in the Cup. He’s the 4th or 5th highest scorer in the Premiership, top-scoring midfielder like last year.
April 17th, 2005 at 7:15 am
The whole game stank. They took it in turns to kick Vieira who, if he’d retaliated even once, would have been sent off. They also deliberately targeted Reyes who just got up and got on with it. It was all totally calculated, apart from the spiteful elbow at the end when van P scored. Let’s hope it sends out a message at last: you can’t beat quality by maiming good players and cheating anymore.
April 17th, 2005 at 8:05 am
No we couldn’t stomach them! Torres is terrific but I don’t think he’d want to come - if he were to move, which so far he’s refused to do, it would surely be in Spain or to Italy. If we could afford to go for a big name, it’d be Adriano for me, any day. I quite liked the look of the two Peruvians at Bayern as well, both of whom are right-footed, I think.
April 17th, 2005 at 8:21 am
Hey Miranda - how good is Torres? I’ve rarely seen him play - the last time was the madrid derby on tv and he had chances but couldn’t finish. 16 goals in the league isn’t a bad return for a 20 year old though. Would he be any good next to Henry - how good is his passing?
I would like Adriano too, but if he’s on the market he’s going to chelsea or he would eat our entire budget of ?30-50m - I would always go with the lower figure. My logic is, Athletico Madrid are skint, but are looking at signing Baptista from Sevilla (?15m min), so I would say that they are selling the only player thay have who is worth anything like that. In Spain, Barca may be interested but they have lots of targets, Italy only Milan, Inter and Juve could afford him - Milan already have gilardino, inter are a possibility (but he may as well sign for newcastle) and juve seem set on getting cassano…so maybe we would be a decent option for him.
April 17th, 2005 at 9:02 am
I have never been so thoroughly pissed off after a great performance by the lads. The only thing Blackburn deserves is relegation. They should have had several players sent off. It was completly dispicable. Andy Todd had better receive a lengthy suspension after trying to injure RVP. I can’t remember a more pathetic display of refereeing than that.
April 17th, 2005 at 11:22 am
Scott, clever, but you need to get out more my friend.
April 17th, 2005 at 12:30 pm
If Reyes stays, stick him out on the left wing.
Or sell him, cash in, & move up Quincy on the wings as cover for Freddie & Robert. It won’t be a major loss if Reyes goes.
Van Persie looks like he can fill the Bergkamp role when he retires & he certainly looks a little more tougher than Reyes & looks like yet another in a long line of Dutch magicians
April 17th, 2005 at 12:34 pm
I agree with you on this one, Danny. Reyes looks like he’ll never be fully fit for a striker’s role & is more suited to play out on the wing.
Senderos is young, especially for a center back. To even be playing decent in the center as a 20 yr. old is amazing. He’s certainly got the talent, he just needs experience & some playing time to see if he’ll be an Adams & Campbell or if he’ll panic constantly & ship him off like Upson
April 17th, 2005 at 12:35 pm
If he (Reyes) does get shipped off, I don’t think it’ll be much of a loss as maybe that’ll get Quincy some more playing time with the 1st team outside of the Carling Cup.
April 17th, 2005 at 12:44 pm
Plus, we have Quincy & Lupoli in the years to come. Also, there’s an Irish teenager in the reserves, Anthony Stokes, who plays, I believe, that half-striker role, who from a few clips I’ve seen in reserve matches, has a ton of skill (for a 17 yr. old) too.
“Great job Arsenal Football Club. Made us all proud today… lets roll those wankers on Wednesday, and let them know we are still CHAMPIONS until they have “officially” won the league. “
That’s the spirit! Make them earn the title! Despite what the modern world tells us, there is nothing wrong with losing as long as you played well & made your opponent(s) earn their victory.
On to the Final & Man U! Who despite thrashing Newcastle 4-1 today (Newcastle were beaten before the match was ever played, what with all the internal bickeirng going on up there), I’m still confident of beating.
April 17th, 2005 at 12:44 pm
Interesting point about Reyes. Why are we so indulgent? I know why I am - I warm to his putting on a bright face when he’s obviously desperately miserable - but I can’t imagine this site’s average macho male would be similarly susceptible to his charms. I do believe he’s got huge potential but van P and Pennant also have/had huge potential and many people aren’t so tolerant of them when they underperform. Weird.
April 17th, 2005 at 12:52 pm
Agree that PV’s gotten a lot smarter over the years & realizes now that other teams try to wind him up. Nothing’s more satisfying than beating an opponent thats trying to throw you off your game with all those crap tactics b/c now you’ve beaten them twice- once with talent, twice be being smarter & not falling for those stupid playground tricks.
April 17th, 2005 at 1:01 pm
RVP is too young right now to fully replace Dennis but eventually I think he’ll fill that role perfectly.
I personally wouldn’t want Totti or Van Der Vaart their enormous amounts of talent are only equalled perhaps even surpassed by their selfish attitudes.
Unless you want to sign Totti exclusively to play against Bolton & that way we could match Diouf with a spitter.
I don’t know about Torres, outside of the little action he saw in Euro2004, I haven’t seen him play that much & don’t know a lot about him other than that he’s young & he’s been watched by AC Milan for the last couple years.
April 17th, 2005 at 1:22 pm
It would help if the FA could use referees who weren’t so fat that they could actually run around the pitch.
April 17th, 2005 at 2:16 pm
I haven’t seen enough of Torres either. I remember him looking wonderful in one game but more anonymous in a couple of others. As you say, he’s a top scorer - 4th, 5th? - which speaks for itself, but there was an article about him in the paper recently which made much of his being a fanatical Athletico fan which makes me wonder whether he’d perform so well anywhere else, especially in the rough, inhospitable climate of the premiership. Has anyone seen that young Norwich striker? I haven’t ever but he sounds the right type - i.e. pacy and able to hold up the ball? Then again, he’s probably no better than Quincy etc. Anyway, speculating seems pointless as if Wenger is true to form, we’ll sign a player none of us have heard of from some tiddler club in Thailland or somewhere.
April 17th, 2005 at 2:43 pm
You’ll be happy to know that I was inspired by your song posting, Kelvin. And a few pints/shots while waiting on a phone call. ;^P
April 18th, 2005 at 3:37 am
Glad to be of assistance