Reyes, van Persie and Lupoli bag goals as Arsenal, fielding some players I’ve literally never heard of (Kerrea Gilbert?), roll on. Nice little run of form from the Gunners. No, this game was not crucial, but it’s good to keep the momentum going.
[edit]See Mike K’s thoughts after the fold…
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I know I said I cared less about the Carling Cup but this is against a club that looks to be a Premiership opponent next season. Reading are currently in first in the Championship and are running away from the pack. They sit four points ahead of Sheffield United and have an unbeaten streak that goes on for 23 matches.
Equipped with the Championship’s best defense, Reading have given up just 11 goals in 21 league matches. They appear to sit with the same back four: Sonko, Shorey, Murty and Ingmarsson. The four stay flat and don’t move up very often.( I’m basing this on SkySports highlight reels.)
Reading have the league’s second best offense with 38 goals in 21 league matches. Kevin Doyle leads the team in scoring with 7, in all competitions. Leroy Lita, who has been paired with Doyle as of late, has not made much of a mark. The remaining goals are spread amongst a group of speedy and aggressive midfielders. Harper,Little and Sidwell are usually three of the four in the middle. The most impressive and solid midfielder has got to be Bobby Convey. The former DC United, rumored Spur and US International has made an appearance in every match this season. He’s a tricky character with great skill and good speed. I’m most impressed with the determination he shows and the fun he has on the pitch.
If Wenger wants an exit to this competition, I believe Reading is a club that will give it to him. Certainly I understand why he would rest the starting XI. The outcome of this match lies on solely on the team he fields.
Arsenal XI 2-0 Reading
Arsenal second string 1-1 Reading
I never predict a loss no matter what is against the Gunners.
I?d like to think we Arsenal Americans are a fairly enlightened bunch. We all have different ethnic, national, class, and religious backgrounds, and we all respect these differences. For all our care to make sure everyone feels included, how did we ever overlook the Arsenal Ladies?
Since their founding in 1987, the Arsenal Ladies FC have won almost as many trophies in less than twenty years as the Arsenal mens team has in the last one hundred or so years. The Ladies have 7 Premier League titles, 6 FA Cups, and 8 National League Cups, a haul which includes two Trebles. Though they?ve never reached the Women?s UEFA Cup final (no English club has, in fact) they have taken part in the tournament many times. The Ladies, managed by Vic Akers and captained by Faye White, are the current English title holders.
I think it is important we as Arsenal supporters pay more attention to this branch of the Arsenal. First and foremost, we should support them more simply because they are Arsenal, too! Many fanatical supporters go not only to all home and away games, but to reserve team fixtures as well. Supporters like this (I will be one of them, one day) say they do it out of love for their club. Well, if we love our club as much as we say we do, we should do a little more to support this segment of it. Of course, women?s football is not quite the same game as men?s football. There again, Arsenal mens football under Graham is not the same as the football of the Wenger era. But the same set of fans largely turned out for both types of the football, saying it didn?t matter what it looked like, so long as it was the Arsenal.