2-2 draw against Barcelona shows Arsenal isn't a Pushover.

Arsenal return from 0-2 behind to 2-2 draw isn't best result Arsenal can get, but however it shows Barca couldn't easily beat Arsenal. Even though Barca is playing in Emirates, Barca had more possesion and more chances. The first half ended with 0-0 result, as Almunia made some good saves. Arsenal suffers more in the first half as Arshavin had to be substituted by Emmanuel Eboue and William Gallas had to be taken off for Denilson.

Great game showed by both team, playing attacking football. Arsenal shows no fear facing Barcelona with attacking football. Rarely a team brave enough to face barca with open play, and ususally Barca's oppostion opts to play defensively and search a counter attack goal.

However, Arsenal didn't do a good defending, and conceded two preventable goal. It was still the first minutes of second half when Ibrahimovic scored a goal, and looks like Alexandr Song, who pushed back to center back position, was out of position, and allowed Ibrahimovic to score. And it's also a miscomunication between Song, Vermaelen, and also Clichy who made Ibrahimovic escaped from an offside trap.

After Arsenal introduced Theo Walcott, everything changed, Arsenal got more chances, and also left flank from Barca is always bombarded. It's just few minutes after Walcott came in, Arsenal finally managed to score a goal. It's the substitute Walcott who score a goal, after getting through pass from Nicklas Bendtner. In the remaining 20 minutes, Arsenal looks likely to equalize, but it didn't happen until Fabregas' penalty. It was Puyol who obstructing Fabregas. Puyol was given a red card because he is the last man, and Arsenal got penalty. Fabregas did his job scoring the penalty. Arsenal back leveled. And the score remained till the end of first half.

2-2 actually gives advantage to Barcelona, who gets two away goals, but Arsenal is a team who can score in both home and away goal. But, seeing the Barca's domination, Arsenal would have a very hard game in Camp Nou 2nd leg, and Arsenal would miss Captain Cesc Fabregas after picking up yellow card. However, Barca is also missing Captain Carles Puyol and his center back tandem, Gerard Pique.

If Arsenal could play like second half last 20 minutes, Arsenal could beat any teams in the world!

Arsenal need to Improve

Arsenal failed to get 7th victory in a row in English Premier League after held 1-1 by Birmingham. Arsenal were struggling in first half but it's really Arsenal's second half. They had more than 10 chances but in the end they could only one goal could be scored. Arsenal should have had penalty on first half after Theo Walcott is brought down in the box.

Arsenal wouldn't win anything this season if they don't improve. They looked didn't have any creativity when Fabregas didn't make any impact in the midfield. Until Nasri and Arshavin comes in, Arsenal had few chance to score. Birmingham even had more chances. Arsenal should replace Nicklas Bendtner with other striker. Bendtner isn't bad, but he is really inconsistent, but usually he is flop of the team. Maybe Wenger should try to play Eduardo da Silva from the first minute or even Carlos Vela plays. Carlos Vela has a good potential but he hasn't got enough minutes of playing this season.

And it's right what Arshavin said, Arsenal need two or three more star player to win a trophy. Arsenal only has few world class player, Andrey Arshavin, Cesc Fabregas, Samir Nasri, Thomas Vermaelen, and Robin Van Persie. And in the match against Birmingham, Arsenal only started with Cesc Fabregas. It's obvious Fabregas couldn't dominate the midfield. He need one or two tandem in midfield. Abou Diaby is good, but he is yet to show his peak performance.

Wenger might have played wrong formation, instead of putting Mikael Silvestre on the center back, Wenger tends to make Song the central defender. Song is a good defender. But he is more needed in the midfield. This season, Arsenal has been struggling without Alex Song in the Defensive Midfielder, and Wenger must have realized that. Denilson is more like an playmaking midfielder. I have to admit he is good, but he isn't suitable to be a defensive midfielder.

A match against Barca is waiting in the midweek. Arsenal have to forget the draw against Birmingham. They'll have to do they best. Without disrespecting Birmingham, if they couldn't beat Birmingham, how would they beat sextuple "Los Fantasticos" Barcelona. C'mon Wenger, Prove a Point! You're a great manager, and show to world that you can beat Barcelona!!

Similarities between Arsenal and Persib

I've seen some similarities between my favourite club, Arsenal, and my hometown club, Persib.

1. Strong Goal-Scoring Defender
ARSENAL: Thomas Vermaelen
PERSIB: Nova Arianto
Both are a strong defender, and capable of scoring goals. They often go forward to help scoring goals. Nova Arianto has scored three goals in this season, while Thomas Vermaelen has scored seven goals in Premier League.

2. Small-agile Playmaker
ARSENAL: Cesc Fabregas
PERSIB: Eka Ramdani
Both is a great playmaker in their class. Cesc Fabregas, who is currently Arsenal captain has been in superb form this season, scoring 18 goals in all competition. Eka Ramdani only scores three goal, but he is an integral part of Persib. Other similarities, is, despite being key player of their own team, they aren't first choice in the national team. Cesc Fabregas is second option for Vincente del Bosque's team after Xavi Hernandez, while Eka Ramdani isn't first team regular in Indonesian National Team

3. Rejoin-Veteran Defender
ARSENAL: Sol Campbell
PERSIB: Aji Nurpijal
Both Sol Campbell and Aji Nurpijal had already left the club, but they decide to return to their old team.

4. Supersub
ARSENAL: Eduardo da Silva
PERSIB: Budi Sudarsono
Both aren't first team choice but often used in squad rotation or become a supersub. They're also first choice in their national team. Eduardo is first team regular in Croatian National Team, while Budi Sudarsono is a key player for Indonesian National Team.

5. Title Hope
This season, both teams had already written off from champions' candidate for their own league. But now, they're considered as a title challenger. Persib is 6 points off league-leader Arema, while Arsenal only two points away from MU.

Arsenal - west ham analysis

Arsenal has already gone to the top, although might be go back to second or third place after man.utd and chelsea played their game tonight. 10-men Arsenal beat West Ham 2-0 by a decent performance. It wasn't Gunners' best, but they won through a hard work and much effort.
West Ham gives Arsenal a test, they're pressing so Arsenal didn't have much room to freely taking the game. Even when 11 against 11, West Ham looked threatening. Well, this victory is good for Arsenal. one man down is never easy for any team. Wenger made a good changes with subbing Bendtner with Diaby not long from the start of second half. Diaby gives Arsenal power in the midfield, after Song pulled to the center back, that's what Arsenal need.
Besides Vermaelen foul, Arsenal did a good defending. Personally, I think it shouldn't been a penalty and red card because it's just a body contact. But, thanks to Almunia who brilliantly blocked Alessandro Diamanti, who played very well yesterday, penalty. It might be another luck for the gunners, after Cole's shot has been denied by the post.
Arsenal still could improve on attacking. They had some good chances but failed to score, mostly because of not so accurate pass near the penalty area. If they don't maximize their chance, they could be punished with a bigger opponent they'll face, like Barcelona. They still had chance, but they have to improve their attacking.

UEFA Champions League Draw

UCL has already reached Quarter Final, 8 teams has already qualified and the drawing has already out, and here's the drawing
Lyon v Bordeaux
Bayern Munich v Manchester United
Arsenal v Barcelona
Inter Milan v CSKA Moscow


PREDICTION
Lyon - Bordeaux 50-50
This France derby would be an even game, both teams showing their condusivity as a team. Lyon shows everyone that they're capable beating any team, after sending Madrid out of the competition, but Bordeaux is still unbeatable in the UCL. Maybe Lyon or Bordeaux need an extra time and maybe penalty shootout to go to semifinal.

Bayern Munich - Man. Utd 45-55
Man. Utd is favourite side in this match. With on-fire striker Wayne Rooney, Man. Utd is hard to defeat now, while Bayern has Franck Ribery and Arjen Robben as their ace cards. Bayern would give a hard game for Man. Utd, but they aren't likely to qualify. Man. Utd will go through

Arsenal - Barcelona 45 - 55
Arsenal will need more than a good performance to go to next round as defending-champions Barcelona will be their next opponent. This encounter is replay of UCL Final 2005/2006, when Barca win 2-1.
There would be tough battle in the midfield: Keita/Toure - Xavi - Iniesta vs Song - Cesc - Diaby. Barca has a truf card in Lionel Messi, and Arsenal has Andrey Arshavin. and Barcelona is more likely to go the next round but if Arsenal could play clinically like when beating Porto 5-0, maybe the defending Champions will get out from the competition.

Inter - CSKA 55 - 45
Inter is better in players' quality but CSKA isn't easy to face. CSKA has already kicked Sevilla out of competition, with winning 2-1 in Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan. Inter wouldn't worry if they could repeat their performance in Stamford Bridge. But Inter have tendency to play worser against underdog teams. Inter would expect much from Dutch trequartista, Wesley Sneidjer, while CSKA has Keisuke Honda, who scores the winning goal against Sevilla. Inter should've been to next round if they didn't disrespect CSKA.

Hull 1 ARSENAL 2

Arsenal beat Hull 2-1 in KC Stadium. Despite victory, Arsenal must wait till the injury time of second half to score the second goal. It was an even game, with Hull pressing everytime Arsenal held the ball, Arsenal didn't have much room to improve. However, Arsenal score the first goal after Andrey Arshavin beat 2 defenders and smashed the ball into Boaz Myhill's goal. 0-1 for Arsenal lead. Hull equalized after Jan Vennegoor brought down by Sol Campbell and the referee points the spot, Jimmy Bullard succesfully converted the penalty. 1-1. However, from the replay, it's clearly that before Jan Vennegoor brought down, he was in offside position, and the assistant didn't flag up! On the end of first half, George Boateng was sent off after getting second yellow card, and Hull must defended with ten players.

On the second half, Hull defended very well and looks like Arsenal wont able to score a goal. But, after Theo Walcott and Eduardo entered the fray, everything changed. Hull's defence looked more likely to be penetrated. Walcott's movement always worry the opposition team. Despite many chances, Arsenal still failed to score the goal until 90th minutes. Andrey Arshavin, Nicklas Bendtner, and Theo Walcott missed some good chances. On injury time, Denilson tried a long range shoot. The shot was blocked by Myhill, but Nicklas Bendtner took the rebound and scored the second goal. 1-2, Arsenal lead again. And Hull couldn't equalize again. It's Arsenal's victory


ARSENAL'S MOM:
Bacary Sagna
didn't make any mistake and strong on the backline and supports the attack well. worked well both with eboue and walcott

UCL Prediction

There are 4 match of UEFA Champions League 2nd leg match that is held on 9th and 10th March 2010:
1. Arsenal - Porto (1st Leg 1-2)
Arsenal will have to face Porto without Cesc Fabregas. The Arsenal captain got hamstring injury against Burnley. Still, without Fabregas, Arsenal is favourite in this match. In the last match, Samir Nasri proved himself that he could be playmaker too. It's likely for Wenger to put Samir Nasri in line up. Arsenal is also missing William Gallas, and Sol Campbell would be put as Gallas' replacement. Porto isn't a n easy opponent for Wenger's boys but Arsenal will win this game without clean sheet 3-1 for Arsenal

2. Fiorentina - Bayern (1st Leg 1-2)
Fiorentina hasn't been in a good form, and they are only on 11th position, while Bayern hasn't been lost for 19 match and comfortably placed in 1st position in Bundesliga, but Bayern will miss Martin Demichelis because of injury. Fiorentina wants to revenge to Bayern after lost 1-2 in first leg. The referee controversially decided to allow Miroslav Klose's injury time goal to stand although it's clearly an offside goal. Fiorentina will dominate the game, but Bayern would be able to held Fiorentina. 2-2 draw

3. Man. Utd - Milan (1st Leg 3-2)
Man. Utd has a good modal facing the second leg with 3-2 lead. While 0-0 is enough for Man. Utd to go through next round, Milan need at least 2-0 or 4-3 victory to go through next round, so there wouldn't be any other choice than attacking from the first minute. Ronaldinho and Pato would be a very dangerous threat for MU. As the consequences of Milan's attacking strategy, there would be much room for MU to counter attack, especially from Antonio Valencia, or Nani. This match won't ended with a goaless score, but no one would win this match. 2-2

4. Madrid - Lyon (1st Leg 0-1)
Neo Galacticos Madrid would have to win with two goals in this match if they wanna go through next round. Lyon has proven theirself they aren't pushover, but this match is played in Bernabeu, where Madrid only lost once in this venue. With CR9, Kaka, and Higuain, Madrid wouldn't have any problem scoring a goal. Madrid only have problem on the backline. They still rarely got clean sheet result, and their full backs are too often supporting the attack, leaving a hole on the backline. Lyon would be quite defensive and only launch counter attack, but it would be dangerous if the fullbacks are too offensive. If Madrid shows strong mentality again like against Sevilla, Madrid would win this game. 4-1 for Madrid

ARSENAL Player Rating vs Burnley

1. Manuel Almunia 6.0
The only Burnley goal isn't his fault. He caught the ball well and didn't make any mistake.

22. Gael Clichy 6.5
Didn't come forward often on the first half but give good attacking support on second half.

5. Thomas Vermaelen 6.5
Solid on the back, but rarely coming forward like usual

18. Mikael Silvestre 6.0
Defended well but lost concentration once on Burnley's goal

27. Emmanuel Eboue 7.0
Getting forward often and solid on the back. Solid game for the Ivorian.

15. Neves Denilson 6.5
Diciplined to cover the backline

4. Cesc Fabregas 7.5
The captain is on the field less than 45 minutes but managed to score a goal.

8. Samir Nasri 8.0
The dirigent of Arsenal after Fabregas taken off. Threatening Burnley with couple dangerous runs.

7. Tomas Rosicky 6.5
Had a great chance to open the score. But faded on the second half.

14. Theo Walcott 8.0
Great game for the young winger. Answer everyone critics with his performance tonight. But the question is can he be consistent like this?

52. Nicklas Bentner 4.5
7 chances 5 golden chances but no goals. no more explanation needed..

SUBS

2. Abou Diaby 7.0
Replacing Fabregas and give strength to midfield.

9. Eduardo da Silva 5.5
Missed one good chance but in overall didn't contribute much

23. Andrey Arshavin 6.5
Score the third goal for Arsenal but didn't have his best night

ARSENAL 3 Burnley 1

Arsenal beat Burnley 3-1 on a fine afternoon on Emirates Stadium. Arsenal tried to dominate the game from the beginning. Tomas Rosicky had his shot over the bar and Cesc Fabregas saw his shoot wide from the target. Then Arsenal took lead on 33rd minutes after Samir Nasri lobbed the ball through four Burnley's player and Cesc Fabregas hits the ball low between Brian Jensen's leg. 1-0 for "the Gunners". Not long after that goal, Cesc Fabregas is substituted by Abou Diaby. Wenger might want to rest Fabregas for next match against Porto. Two minutes later, Nicklas Bendtner had a very good chance after Eboue crossed the ball, but he missed it. And the 1-0 score remained until half time.
On the second half, Bendtner (again) had a great chance after Walcott sends the ball to the penalty area, but Bendtner heads it wide although he is unmarked. David Nugent shocked Emirates Stadium after equalizing the score, Thomas Vermaelen and Mikael Silvestre lost concentration and Nugent took that chance. But the 1-1 score only lasted 10 minutes, Theo Walcott dribbled the ball from right flank into the middle and placed the ball to the bottom left of the goal. 2-1 for Arsenal. After that goal, Arsenal had more than five chances but incredibly none of them become a goal. Burnley also had two chances but it saved by Almunia and over the bar. At least, Arsenal ensured the victory after Andrey Arshavin scored a goal in injury time. 3-1 for Arsenal. Arsenal now had the same points with Chelsea but had already played one games more than Chelsea

This Week Prediction

1. Arsenal - Burnley (EPL)
Arsenal is heavy favourite in this match, but Burnley couldn't be underestimated. Burnley held Arsenal 1-1 in this season. Arsenal might rest some players, so they would be fit against Porto.
So it won't be a big win for gunners. 2-0 for Arsenal.

2. Wolverhampton - Man.United (EPL)
Man.United wouldn't have much problem facing Wolverhampton. Same as Arsenal, they might rest some player, but still it's United's victory. 2-0 only

3. Chelsea - Stoke (FA)
Chelsea would try to bounce back soon after 2-4 defeat against Man.City. Stoke will show they aren't easy to be defeated and is likely to steal a goal from set pieces, but Chelsea's player quality will show the difference. 3-1 for Chelsea

4. Fiorentina - Juventus (Serie A)
Both teams aren't in their best form. Fiorentina is still on 11th position and Juventus got first defeat under Alberto Zaccheroni, against Palermo. With less players called up in international games, Fiorentina has a fresher squad. Juventus also missing many injured players. Through tough game, Fiorentina will win 2-1

5. AS Roma - AC Milan (Serie A)
Third Place against Second Place, it could be said a playoff for second position. Totti is still out, but Toni could be ready for AS Roma. While Milan lost Pato (injury), and Gatusso (Suspension). This game could be a high scoring game, since both teams like attacking, especially Milan. But Roma will exploit super-offensive Milan, 3-2 for home victory

6. Almeria - Barcelona (La Liga)
Many Barca players is still tired after international games, but with Rotation, Pep Guardiola would have no trouble beating Almeria. 1-3 for away

7. Real Madrid - Sevilla (La Liga)
Real Madrid would try to revenge the 1-2 defeat in Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan. Sevilla isn't an easy opponent since they even able to beat Barca 1-0 in Camp Nou! If Cristiano Ronaldo, Ricardo Kaka, and Gonzalo Higuain plays at their best, Real would win, but still there's no clean sheet for Madrid. 2-1 for Los Galacticos