Monthly Archives: May 2015
The FA Cup Defending Champions Retain their Trophy
Arsenal 4 (Walcott 40′, Alexis 50′, Mertesacker 52′, Giroud 90′) – Aston Villa 0
Match Report – Match Highlights – Post-Match Press Conference
Bheerhugz Cafe, Ikeja. The venue I chose to watch last season’s FA Cup final, this season’s Community Shield and yesterday’s FA Cup final. It’s turning out to be my new traditional venue for watching Arsenal cup finals. Why wouldn’t it be? When I was having a good time with the Mrs. and many of my close Arsenal buddies, drinking Orijin and having a blast.
With the game starting as late as 5.30pm, I arrived around 4.00pm with my woman and started drinking with my buddies and having me some good ol’ fun. We brought out our inner Arsene Wenger’s and started guessing the starting XI. So much was made about who was going to be in goal and who was going to lead the line and we got our answer by 5.30pm – Wojciech Szczesny and Theo Walcott.
Wembley looked so colorful and the fans were hopeful to get their money’s worth but after a fluffy of good saves that frustrated Arsenal, the Gunners finally broke the deadlock when Walcott used his left to blast a shot past Shay Given in goal. The relief in Bheerhugz Cafe was glaring for all to see with the fans jumping up and down like Kangaroos. As expected, some drinks were spilled on the ground but it’s one of those things that happen in such engagements.
At the start of the first half, Alexis Sanchez proved to us why he’s undoubtedly Arsenal’s Player of the season. An unstoppable volley from quite some distance that left Shay Given with no chance in Hell to make a save. While my friends were basking in the euphoria of seeing such a great goal, I had to do with the replay because I was busy taking selfies with my girlfriend and some other girls that I invited.
Then I concentrated on the game and watched Per Mertesacker use his shoulder to guide the ball into Given’s far post. If any random bloke was on that line, he would have cleared it with consummate ease but in all honesty, I didn’t care because I was seeing one of the rare things in life – Per Mertesacker scoring for Arsenal. That was his seventh goal in 167 appearances for the club. The cake had a very good icing when Olivier Giroud came off the bench to score an exact replica of the goal he scored Newcastle at the Emirates. An audacious side-footed flick that beat Given in his near post. There were some complains about offside but for a player that hadn’t scored in his last eight games, that was a welcome goal.
The ref blew his whistle and it was party time at Bheerhugz Cafe. Bodies were moving in different directions, more bottles of beer were consumed and of course, more pictures were taken.
Wenger was absolutely ecstatic in his press conference and he was proud of winning his sixth FA Cup which is actually half the amount of FA Cup titles the Gunners have won. Even the players gave their takes on what has been a great season with Hector Bellerin labeling it as an absolute dream and Francis Coquelin calling it a great feeling.
I’m elated that the feel-good feeling is back at North London with the Gunners retaining the FA Cup yet again. In 2002, Arsenal won the FA Cup, retained it in 2003 and when unbeaten to win the Premier League in 2004. Now they have won it in 2014, retained it in 2015, but I’m sure the fans wouldn’t mind them some deja vu. 😉
Sayonara.
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The FA Cup final: All You Need to Know
The day we have waited for has finally arrived.
Arsenal takes on Aston Villa for the right to win the last domestic silverware of the season. A win for Arsenal will also ensure that they become the record holders of the competitions with 12 wins as they’re currently locked on 11 with their eternal rivals, Manchester United.
The folks at London Designer Outlet have decided to create a lovely infographic that tells all you need to know about this historic fixture. This infographic has all you need to know about the FA Cup final and has lots of fun facts, figures and records on the worlds biggest and best domestic cup competition.
If you have a minute or so to take a look you can find the graphic here.
The tie promises to be an interesting encounter and we can only hope that Arsenal turns up a notch to deliver the trophy home.
The fans are very expectant and we can only hope the club delivers the trophy home.
Sayonara.
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Rating Arsenal’s Strikers’ Performances in the 2014/15 Season
Arsenal scored 105 goals in the 2014/15 campaign which was a truly magnificent feat.
Gooner Daily analyses the strikers that contributed to that tally
Lukas Podolski (13 appearances, three goals)
Podolski is quite a lovable character off the pitch but on it, he hasn’t been given a chance to prove his worth this season. Whether its simply a case of the manager not having faith in him or the forward not being good enough, it was rather strange. Nonetheless, he scored his three goals in two Champions League games before departing to Inter on loan.
Rating: 4/10
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (36 appearances, three games)
This was a very productive season for the Ox. Ceasing on the opportunity created with Theo Walcott out injured, the Ox featured consistently on the right wing and earned plaudits for his direct style of play even though his end product was quite questionable.
The English speedster made his mark in the North London derby and scored two goals in the Champions League. One of his most telling contributions this season came in Old Trafford when he made mincemeat out of some Manchester United defenders before providing a neat pass to Nacho Monreal. The rest they say was history.
Rating: 7/10
Yaya Sanogo (20 appearances, one goal)
Wenger has shown some measure of faith on this lad but many fans (me included) do not believe that he has what it takes to be in an ambitious club like Arsenal. Maybe I’m wrong but I need Sanogo to prove me wrong. In 20 apps for the Gunners, he managed to score his first goal for the club against Dortmund. He was farmed out on loan to Crystal Palace and scored a goal in 11 appearances for the Eagles.
Rating: 4/10
Theo Walcott (19 appearances, six goals)
It’s never easy being out of the game for so long, especially when things were going well for you before the unfortunate incident happened. Since his return to full fitness, Walcott was introduced slowly into the squad and got a couple of goals but there was a period he was frozen out of the squad.
The hat-trick he bagged against West Brom would give his manager something to think about ahead of this weekend’s FA Cup final.
Rating: 7/10
Joel Campbell (10 appearances, no goal)
After a long wait for him to return to the squad, Campbell finally made his Arsenal debut but failed to make any real impact in the course of the season. He was used a make-weight in getting Gabriel Paulista to North London. In 20 appearances for the Yellow Submarine, he managed to score a goal.
I don’t see him returning to the squad though. He’s clearly not good enough.
Rating: 3/10
Danny Welbeck (34 appearances, eight goals)
Arsenal’s transfer deadline day signing, Welbeck, hit the ground running with a scintillating hat-trick against Galatasaray and did his bit to contribute to Arsenal’s course this season.
He reached his pinnacle this season when he scored the goal that sent Manchester United out of the FA Cup. Yes, there were the misses but Welbz is a player that can improve greatly in the future and he can look back at his achievements this season with some measure of pride.
Rating: 7/10
Olivier Giroud (35 appearances, 18 goals)
The usually-fit Giroud suffered a freak injury at the start of the season and missed a large part of the first half of the season. In his return to fitness, he hit a hot streak of goalscoring form that also saw him win his first BPL Player of the Month award.
Following some comments by ex-Gunner, Thierry Henry, Giroud’s confidence was hit hard and he went on a goal drought that he has quite concerning. With the FA Cup final on the horizon, Arsene Wenger is faced in a dilemma on whether to use to Frenchman in poor form or a Walcott that just scored a hat-trick.
Rating: 8/10
Alexis Sanchez (51 appearances, 24 goals)
Sanchez has been a revelation since signing for the club. His exemplary performances has also rubbed off on his teammates and he’s a no-brainer to win the Player of the Season award.
Rating: 10/10
Sayonara
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