Arsenal Must Sink The Yellow Submarine

April 14, 2009 | 211 Comments

Arsenal takes on Villarreal at home tomorrow (the winner playing either Porto or ManU in the Champions League Semi-Final). With virtually no chance of winning the Premiership, Arsene and Arsenal must see this as a chance to grab a piece of silverware that has eluded them in the past.

On paper, Arsenal has the upper hand, thanks to Ade’s fantastic goal which gave Arsenal the all-important “away” goal in the 1-1 result. A 0-0 result Wednesday at home, takes the Gunners one step closer to this elusive trophy, but is somewhat unlikely, in part due to the rash of injuries at the back. A 1-1 draw at the end of the match would lead to extra time, and perhaps penalties.

Having lost Clichy and Djourou last weekend and Gallas for the season, Arsene has some difficult selection choices to make at the back. Logically would dictate that Silvestre would step in at CB and Gibbs at LB, but their lackluster performances against Wigan have most Arsenal fans wondering whether this is going to be good enough against a slick and speedy passing Villarreal “Arsenal Type” team. Also, this leaves a threadbare bench defensively, with only Song as CB backup, or perhaps Sagna with Eboue moving to RB. Another alternative would be to put Silvestre at LB and Song at CB in order to field a more seasoned back four.

Villarrreal has one change to the team from the first leg, as their MOTM, goal scorer and electrifying DM, Senna, is out with a hamstring injury.

This leads me to believe that whosoever controls the midfield will emerge as winners and it will be interesting to see if Arsene sticks with his 4-5-1 formation or moves to a more aggressive 4-4-2. With Arshavin cup tied (aaarrrggghhh) and Diaby returning from injury it will also be interesting to see his starting MF line up.

Bearing in mind Villarreal’s lack of height up front, the absence of Senna and our need to score goals, I would probably go with my most experienced lineup and a 4-4-2 which looks as follows:

Fabianski
Eboue, Toure, Sagna, Silvestre
Walcott, Cesc, Song, Nasri
Ade, RVP

Bench: Gibbs, Diaby, Eduardo, Ramsey, Denilson

Let’s just pray we don’t have any more injuries at the back and that Cesc, RVP, Ade and Song do not pick up another yellow card which would exclude them from the 1st game of the semi-final tie if we are able to overcome the Yellow Submarines.

Posted by CaribKid | Filed Under Game Preview 

Frankie Simek on Arsenal TV Online For Tomorrow’s Match!

April 14, 2009 | Leave a Comment

For those of you watching Wednesday’s UEFA Champions League match against Villarreal on Arsenal TV Online, the usual match commentator, Dan Roebuck, will be joined by Frankie Simek, in the Emirates press area, giving live audio commentary.

Originally from St. Louis, Frankie was one of only two American Arsenal players. He was with the club from 2003-2005, and is currently with Sheffield Wednesday.

Afterwards Frankie will stay on for the post-match video show, where inside the Emirates studio, he’ll go through emails from Arsenal supporters and discuss anything match or Arsenal related.

Full details of tomorrow night’s Arsenal TV Online coverage can be found on the Arsenal.com.

Posted by Mark Barbeau | Filed Under Arsenal News 

AA Branch Office CL Match-viewings This Week!

April 14, 2009 | 4 Comments

ARSENAL vs. VILLARREAL
UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE QUARTER-FINAL
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 15, 2009

AUSTIN BRANCH MATCH VIEWINGS
Live: 1:45PM CST, Replay: 7PM CST
Cuatro’s
1004 24th St
Austin, TX 78705
Phone: (512) 243-6361
Info: austin@arsenalamerica.com

CHICAGO BRANCH MATCH VIEWINGS
Live: 1:45PM CST, Replay: 7PM CST
The Globe Pub
1934 W. Irving Park Rd.
Chicago, IL 60613
Phone: (773) 871-3757
Info: chicago@arsenalamerica.com

DALLAS BRANCH MATCH VIEWINGS
LIVE: 1:30PM CDT
Trinity Hall Irish Pub
5321 E. Mockingbird Lane, #250
Dallas, Texas
(Mockingbird Station – NE Corner of Mockingbird & 75 Ctrl Expry)
Info: dallas@arsenalamerica.com

MINNEAPOLIS BRANCH OFFICE MATCH-VIEWINGS 
Live: 1:45PM CST, Replay: 7PM CST
The Local
931 Nicollet Mall
Minneapolis, MN 55402
(612) 904-1000

Brit’s Pub
1110 Nicollet Ave
Minneapolis, MN 55403
(612) 332-3908
Info: minnesota@arsenalamerica.com

SAN FRANCISCO BRANCH MATCH-VIEWINGS
Live: 11:45AM PST, Replay: 6PM PST
Maggie McGarry’s Irish Pub
1353 Grant Street
San Francisco, CA 94133
(415) 399-9020
Info: sanfran@arsenalamerica.com

Check back for updates on other branch match-viewings!

Posted by Mark Barbeau | Filed Under ArsenalAmerica News, US Viewing Locations