salaam all
we finally get back to our winning way in the league. i am grateful for that. make no mistake, our performance was not really what you would call convincing as a title contender but at least we get the 3 points. like the saying goes, the most important statistic in the end of every match is the goals scored.
we were without a number of first team players. Billy Gallas and Bac were injured during their international duty with France and Nik also injured for the same reason. Cesc had a broken nose but was declared fit to play. Robin was also injured during international duty (nothing new here..ha!) but le Boss confirmed on the match day that he also will be available for selection.
the injury to Bac and Billy Gallas can only means 1 thing, and that is the long awaited debut of Mikael Silvestre in Arsenal colour. up until now i can't shake off the weirdness of seeing him in Arsenal colour. but he did well IMO. as 1 of fellow Gooner on the net was saying, he probably won the challenge for header in 1 match more than King Kolo and Billy Gallas did combined for the whole season.
match rating followed and also including new feature in my match rating; MOTM.
Manny - game like this showed why people will always have doubt over Manny credibility as Arsenal #1. nobody doubt his shot stopping ability, but to be Arsenal #1, you need to be more than that. 1 crazy moment in 1 of the dangerous corner Everton have bring back all those doubts. save our a$$ though early in the 2nd half. (5.5)
Alex Song - probably the poorest ever performance by him in Arsenal colour. but the fault solely lies with le Boss as he was the 1 who decided to play Alex out of position. a bit better in the 2nd half when moved back to his more familiar role in the centre of defense. (2.0)
King Kolo - was slightly below average. his injury is a blessing in disguise as it ensure that normal balance restored in our side. i honestly think the main problem with King Kolo is that he cared too much. (4.0)
Mikael - showed Billy Gallas and King Kolo how to win a header challenge. played well for a debut match. looks good as a partner for either Billy Gallas or King Kolo. here's hoping for more to come from Mikael. (6.0)
Gael - MOTM. this guy is simply amazing. given the choice to me, he should be the captain. (6.5)
Manu Eboue - slightly below average performance by our cult hero. getting better in the 2nd half though. but then, every players in our side looks better in the 2nd half. that is the indicator of how bad we played in the 1st half. (4.0)
Denilson - poor game from the Brazillian. a few nice tackle, but that's about it. what make me frustrated the most about him is that he will always almost casually jog around even when we are attacked. no real urgency from him to track back and initiate the attack. (3.0)
Cesc - average game from him. better in the 2nd half when Denilson decide he had enough tried being a 'Kaka' and play a little deeper. (5.5)
Samir - showed that he has more in his game than the ice cream maniac that is Alex Hleb. protect the ball well, which is really important aspect. also link up well with Gael. real gem we have here. even able to scored with long shot. it's only October, that must be the reason why le Boss haven't able to grind that out from him..hahaha (6.0)
Robin - poor, poor match from him. he was supposed to be the clinical one for our main striker pair. but he was toothless in this match. but he kept on going though, and get 1 of our goals. that is new for him. he always seems to disappear in the match where things are not going his way. but he need to find back his shooting boot, quickly. (5.0)
the Togonator - see comment for Robin, minus 'the clinical one' part and minus a goal. everything else is the same. (4.5)
subs
Theo - scared the sh1t out of the Everton player when he came in. getting more confident by the day which can only be good news for us. even got a goal for good measure. i am with le Boss regarding his comment about Theo has more to his game than Leo Messi. (6.0)
Abou - a good comeback cameo appeareance by him. even got himself an assist to go with the calm, assured game. that's what he need to add to his game; calmness and of course a better decision making. (5.5)
special note on the refereeing of the match. how poor is the referee? consistently making mistake to both side. even the commentator was saying '2 wrong doesn't make it right'. how on earth we did not get a penalty for that foul on Robin and how on earth Tony Hibbert was not sent off were beyond me. not only that, he even yellow-carded Gael in that incident with Tony Hibbert. as i always said to my sister here in my office "sh1t you la".
another special note to le Boss. i can only assume that he lost a bet with Manu Eboue, and the bet prize is that le Boss will never ever play him in the right back position again unless Manu Eboue wanted to. what on earth did le Boss thinking putting Alex Song as right back when we have Manu Eboue available? that was a gamble and it almost cost us. the only good thing came out from that gamble is that by the looks of that performance, le Boss will never ever put Alex Song as right back again.
so, now on to Turkey for CL group match. damn, there won't be any live coverage for our match from Astro.
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