YOUNG GUNNERS 3 ...but Bendtner makes too many

[Karl]

mistakes and bad choices!

[Karl]

BoyU's main man in the stands taking notes!

[Shola]

mistakes and bad choices!

Senior Gooner, whats the prediction for the big match this saturday?
Or are we gonna just easy with quiet optimism while the scousers and mancs make a bag a noise?

[Twan]

GOALFLASH Arsenal 3-0 Celtic (agg: 5-0)

Arsenal goal: It's now men against Bhoys (damn it). Denilson, who has been sensational, ploughs forward and finds Andrey Arshavin, who tees up Aaron Ramsey - the 17-year-old promptly plays it back in for the Russian and he turns on a sixpence and slots into the bottom corner. As the meerkat might have it: simples.

[HL]

I have been saying it from last season...."Bendtner is not Arsenal material"

I was hoping that he would be traded for free to some other team.

He played mid-field in a recent game. He apper to function ok in that position............

Still, he should just pack-up and leave.

[Karl]

A ear yuh, boss!
Based on his previous showings & today's...I agree!

[Lazie]

Ummm ... what a way unuh silent about Euardo's Oscar performance?

[Shola]

Ummm ... what a way unuh silent about Euardo's Oscar performance?

I knew this would come up, take a look at this!!!


So Arsenal are through the Champions League group stages after a 3-1 win last night, giving them a 5-1 win on aggregate.
Let's get the penalty thing out of the way first. In about the 25th minute Eduardo chased through a ball in the area, pushed it past the keeper, went to ground with minimal, if any, contact from the Celtic keeper and the referee gave a penalty.


Was it a dive? Yes. He might have been looking for the contact, but either way it's not nice to see any player dive, least of an Arsenal player. If we condemn the opposition we can't excuse it when one of our own does it. Put the shoe on the other foot for a moment and if that penalty had been given against us you'd be furious - that's the yardstick. Nevertheless the reaction to it from some pundits has been ludicrously over the top. The first goal last night was always going to be crucial, it's a shame it came about the way it did, but can anyone really tell me that over the course of the 180 minutes it made a difference to the overall result? Celtic had two shots on target over both legs. One tame effort in the first half of the first leg and one in the 92nd minute last night which resulted in Donati's goal.
Arsenal scored five goals. Even without the Eduardo penalty we'd have won last night yet they're bleating on about Eduardo being a 'cheat'. It's funny but these are the same people who told you 'Tiny Taylor' "isn't that kind of guy" when he shattered Eduardo's leg and ankle and put him out of football for over a year. It's easy to condemn a dive, it's safe, yet you rarely hear the same condemnation for acts of violence or dangerous tackles.
Eduardo is a cheat yet Michael Owen is 'clever' when he wins a penalty against Argentina with a dive. Steven Gerrard is notoriously light on his feet yet he carries no reputation as a diver. You can be sure that Eduardo will after one incident. Jingoism? Xenophobia? Arsenalism? Call it what you want but we all know there are rules that don't apply to some because of who they play for or what international shirt they pull on.
I'm not trying to excuse him or justify it but a little perspective is needed. Eduardo's dive was not his finest moment but in the grand scheme of things it meant little and he does not deserve the kind of vilification he's received from some quarters. It was just a dive. It wasn't this. It wasn't this either. Football would be better served if people paid more attention to things that really damaged the game.
Now, regular readers will know I'm all for retrospective punishment. That if there's a way to punish a player for an obvious dive after the fact then it should be looked at. It would certainly act as a deterrent, because diving is something we should try and get rid of as much as possible. I've got some sympathy for the Celtic players because we've been on the receiving end of a dive more than once. Rooney's leap over Sol Campbell to end the Invincibles run at Old Trafford and Dirk Kuyt in the Champions League quarter-final spring to mind - both of them affected us far more than Eduardo's tumble did Celtic last night. Yet I didn't hear much in the way of criticism for those players.
So while I'll happily hold my hands up and admit Eduardo took a dive last night, and I'll agree with you that it's not nice to see, don't expect me to sit here and let the press and pundits go to town a man who does not deserve that kind of treatment. If we had won the tie 1-0 then maybe there's a point worth making. The fact is Arsenal scored five, might have scored at least a few more than that, Celtic had two shots on target over two games and Arsenal were more than good value for the win.
And I'll happily fight anyone who disagrees with me. Yes, I will.


Taken from http://www.oleole.com/blogs/arseblog

Don't forget to click on the link of Stevie G's antics

[Lazie]

What I want is the opinion of my fellow ites.

[Hortical]

The young team will come of age this season and I see a plethora of silverware.

[Karl]

The young team will come of age this season and I see a plethora of silverware.

Tenk yuh! YOUNG GUNNERS fi dun dem!

[Twan]

Ummm ... what a way unuh silent about Euardo's Oscar performance?

He watched DVD's of Ronaldo before the game.

[Lazie]

He watched DVD's of Ronaldo before the game.

What mi like is how ppl always quick to point fingers but when their team benefit from it unuh pull an Arsene and gwaan like unuh never see it.

[Gamma]

i don't ANYONE has done that today....even wenger said it should not have been a penalty...suh what yuh is point just now?

[Lazie]

i don't ANYONE has done that today....even wenger said it should not have been a penalty...suh what yuh is point just now?

The term "pull an Arsene" is when ppl see wrongs and gwaan like dem nuh see it. WEnger admitted that the other day.