Fads in October 07

1. A “humilated” Jens Lehmann blasts Wenger and the other 2 Arsenal keepers.

2. Arsenal launched their Chinese language website.

3. Time’s up for Tottenham’s Martin Jol.

4. Section 377A is a hot act.

5. The world’s most wanted suspected paedophile got nabbed in Thailand.

6. Thierry Henry took his international strikes to 43 and surpassed Michel Platini’s goalscoring record for France.

7. Is Sin Ming the funeral hub of Singapore?

8. AC Milan goalkeeper Dida looks very much like a promising actor.

9. Local farmers petition against granite stockpile in Kranji. It was hilarious when they sent a basket of fruits and vegetables to the Prime Minister.

10. Senior Citizen is re-branded as “Active Ageing”.

Record intact

Arsenal’s season had entered its most demanding phase, facing Liverpool and Man Utd in the space of 7 days. That includes Sheffield United in-between.

In the much hyped match played yesterday, it was a 1-1 draw against Liverpool at Anfield. Yes, it was a pulsating match… Arsenal did the chasing as they fell behind early in the match.
Arsenal, coped well with this so called first big test of their Premier League campaign. Neutrally speaking, the Gunners were by far the more polished and better team.

Though a goal down so early in this match, they showed no signs of fear or nervousness… they just kept plugging away… struck the posts twice. With 10 minutes left, the excellent Hleb came from the left, found Fab4 and the young Spaniard toe poked gently past Pepe Reina for the equalizer.

Another excellent Arsenal display, great football, passing, teamwork and a never-say-die attitude. Blondie Almunia pulled off a few fine saves…I think Lehmann would be “humiliated” for a longer than expected time…

I’m glad with the draw. Actually, Arsenal could have well won it. It was a Liverpool displaying some admirable defensive work, working through a tight defensive mindset in a home match. Pooh pooh.

If Arsenal had not left Anfield with at least a point, it would be a real travesty.

Football from another planet? Yes!

Out of this world, it was outta this world….this was Arsenal in top gear. My, oh my… a mouthwatering 7-0 win over a bewildered Slavia Prague.

It is now an astounding 12th consecutive victories in all competitions. Walcott and Fab4 got 2 goals apiece, Hleb got erh, 2 goals too. Substitute Bendtner sealed the win with the 7th goal.

I like Cesc’s first goal, that wonderful curler. It has all the hallmarks of a player on top of his game. Walcott and Hleb’s second goals were equally mesmerizing.

Of course, young Theo Walcott stole the show. He was magnificent. Actually, so was the entire Arsenal squad. So va va vroom and it was a wonderful belated birthday present for Arsene Wenger.

A truly brilliant and flawless masterclass team performance. The only dampener was those scorching Lehmann’s remarks about being “humiliated”. Hope it is not affecting the team spirit too much…

Knox-king them down

Alright, it wasn’t a great performance… oh yes, the Gunners still nicked a 2-0 home win against Bolton.

The game did came alive during the second half. Kolo Toure gave the Gunners the lead with a low drive from a freekick some 25 yards. Rosicky and Walcott came on as substitutes and made the game lively. About 10 minutes to go, some blistering pace and a cross by nippy Walcott gave Rosicky the chance to tuck in the second goal.

I do wish for a better showing against Slavia Prague during mid-week… then it’s Liverpool and Man Utd. I dread and look forward to those matches at the same time.

It was great to see Gallas back in defence. This squad is something… even old guards like Lehmann and Gilberto have not find their way back to the starting 11 yet. Oh, I guess Bolton came with an intent to play out a draw.… armed with their fouls and ugly football.

Dudu didn’t really stamp his authority much in this match. To sum up the Arsenal strikers… Emmanuel Adebayor raced clear on goal 14 minutes from time, after rounding the keeper, he tripped over the ball. Thank God, a defender and midfielder scored.

Black cats culling

Man, this was one match that Arsenal should have been wrapped up nicely way before half-time. Instead, the Gunners were made to sweat a bit, got a bit of a scare and eventually, won all 3 points.

Well, the Gunners were all over Sunderland and had raced to an early 2-0 lead, somehow, cockiness and complacency sets in….squandered the lead and Sunderland drew level. Thank God, Van Persie scored his second to lift the Gunners to a 3-2 win.

Overall, a great game of enthralling football. There was excitement throughout… a stunning and ferocious Van Persie freekick, a 30 to 40 odd yard sizzler from Toure that cannoned off the post, Walcott sitting on his bum when an open goal was there for the taking, Senderos scoring, Hleb’s battered crown jewels…. and much more.

The poor decision to disallow Arsenal’s “third” goal was decisive. I actually felt that if that goal had stood…the turning point would had led the floodgates to open. 6 or 7 goals would have been a possibility. Damn.

Haiz…wish the Arsenal to be more ruthless…finish their opponents by half time so that the substitutes could come in during the second half for match exposure….leaving it till the end was nail biting but it have been painful.

9 in a row

The Gunners took a step closer towards qualification to the knockout stage in the Champions League with a Robin van Persie strike in the 76th minute.

At the final whistle, Arsenal became the first English side to beat Steaua Bucharest. Only saw the goal highlights…Van Persie did lashed out a good strike. Fab4 had an incredible miss from close range early in the match.

It was great to see Hleb up and running after that injury he got from the West Ham match. I guess it might not be a vintage Arsenal performance. I rather called it controlled with a few scares.

It is now a superb run of nine consecutive victories for Arsenal in all competitions. There is already talks of going unbeaten and emulating the form and consistency back in 2003-04. It is early days….for me, just enjoy the moment. Tops in the Premiership and group H in the Champions League. So, there might not be a need for a new Thierry Henry to emerge in the Arsenal ranks after all. Just keep winning.

My wishlist….also that our local cable operator could at least try showing the Slavia Prague match in three weeks’ time. Is that too much to ask?

One-nil to the Arsenal

The roll continues… this time round, it’s a win against the team who did the double over the Gunners last season.

This Hammers encounter looked every bit a hard fought match, unlike the skinning of the rams last week. Ha…of course, that extra grit, class, cohesion, energy and resilience matters….the Gunners held on to an early Van Persie header for a victory.

I’ve heard it’s the 101st meeting between this two sides and it’s Arsenal's first league win at Upton Park for seven years. This time round, there’s no shoving of Pardew, but there is Mark Noble's crude challenge on Alex Hleb, causing him to be carried off the pitch.

Upton Park was quite a big test and Arsenal came out with a win. Sitting pretty at the top….The Gunners’ title aspirations would really be put to the test come end-October… meeting Liverpool and Man Utd in a week. Wow!

For now, I’m wondering if Starhub is showing this week’s Champions League game against Steaua Bucharest.