The return of the invincibles!
I am a Liverpool fan and should be writing about my team, however only one team deserves mentioning today and that is Arsenal. Last night's performance against Real Madrid was quite simply brilliant. They outplayed the mighty Madrid all over the pitch for the entire 90 minutes, such was their performance, they could have won by 3 or 4 goals. Indeed last night's victory served as a warning to all non-gunners out there that Arsenal are still very much, on their day, a force to be reckoned with.
My hats off to you.
posted by SKG at 2/22/2006 01:48:00 pm
EFT match of the season for 2008/2009: Barcelona construct a masterclass footballing performance to defeat the reigning Champions League holders and current English champions, Manchester United, by a scoreline of 2-0 in the 2009 Champions League final in Rome
EFT player of the season for 2008/2009: Chelsea central midfielder, Frank Lampard
EFT player of the month for May 2009: Nicolas Anelka (Chelsea)
EFT player of the month for April 2009: Andrey Arshavin (Arsenal)
EFT player of the month for March 2009: Steven Gerrard (Liverpool)
EFT player of the month for February 2009: Phil Jagielka (Everton)
EFT player of the month for January 2009: Nemanja Vidic (Man Utd)
EFT player of the month for December 2008: Steven Gerrard (Liverpool)
EFT player of the month for November 2008: Nicolas Anelka (Chelsea)
EFT player of the month for October 2008: Dirk Kuyt (Liverpool)
EFT player of the month for September 2008: Frank Lampard (Chelsea)
EFT player of the month for August 2008: Amr Zaki (Wigan Athletic)
EFT match of Euro 2008: Turkey's amazing comeback from two goals down to beat Czech Republic 3-2 as captain Nihat Kahveci's two goals in the last three minutes sensationally put his country through to the quarter finals at the expense of their beaten opponents
EFT player of Euro 2008: Spain (anchor) central midfielder, Marcos Senna
EFT match of the season for 2007/2008: Liverpool win titanic Champions League quarter-final second leg 4-2 against Arsenal that also saw two of the best football moments of the season - Fernando Torres' top corner strike and Theo Walcott's thrilling run across the whole of Anfield.
EFT player of the season for 2007/2008: Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United)
EFT player of the month for May 2008: Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United)
EFT player of the month for April 2008: Ashley Young (Aston Villa)
EFT player of the month for March 2008: Fernando Torres (Liverpool)
EFT player of the month for February 2008: David James (Portsmouth)
EFT player of the month for January 2008: Ronaldo (Manchester United)
EFT player of the month for December 2007: Roque Santa Cruz (Blackburn Rovers)
EFT player of the month for November 2007: Steven Gerrard (Liverpool)
EFT player of the month for October 2007: Wayne Rooney (Manchester United)
EFT player of the month for September 2007: Francesc Fabregas (Arsenal)
EFT player of the month for August 2007: Fernando Torres (Liverpool)
EFT player of the month for May 2007: Carlos Tevez (West Ham Utd)
EFT player of the month for April 2007: Wayne Rooney (Manchester Utd)
EFT player of the month for March 2007: Carlos Tevez (West Ham Utd)
EFT player of the month for February 2007: Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester Utd)
EFT player of the month for January 2007: Thierry Henry (Arsenal)
EFT player of the month for December 2006: Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester Utd)
EFT player of the month for November 2006: Didier Drogba (Chelsea)
EFT player of the month for October 2006: Jussi Jaaskelainen (Bolton Wanderers)
EFT player of the month for September 2006: Andrew Johnson (Everton)
EFT player of the month for August 2006: Nwankwo Kanu (Portsmouth)
EFT match of World Cup 2006: Italy win a thrilling 'end-to-end' World Cup semi-final 2-0 against Germany courtesy of two late extra time goals from Fabio Grosso and Alessandro del Piero 
EFT player of World Cup 2006: Italy captain and centre-back, Fabio Cannavaro
EFT match of the season for 2005-2006: Liverpool win the FA Cup final 3-1 on penalties against West Ham after a Steven Gerrard-led fighback saw the Anfield side recover from 2-0 and 3-2 down to level the match in normal time
EFT player of the month for May 2006: Steven Gerrard (Liverpool)
EFT player of the month for April 2006: Jamie Carragher (Liverpool)
EFT player of the month for March 2006: Robbie Keane (Tottenham Hotspur)
EFT player of the month for February 2006: Aiyegbeni Yakubu (Middlesbrough)
EFT player of the month for January 2006: Jason Roberts (Wigan Athletic)
EFT player of the month for December 2005: Steven Gerrard (Liverpool)
EFT player of the month for November 2005: Robin van Persie (Arsenal)
EFT player of the month for October 2005: Frank Lampard (Chelsea)
EFT player of the month for September 2005: Danny Murphy (Charlton Athletic)
EFT player of the month for August 2005: Wayne Rooney (Manchester Utd)
EFT match of the season for 2004-2005: Liverpool win Champions League final 3-2 on penalties against AC Milan after sensationally recovering from 3-0 down to level the match in normal time
7 Comments:
Cheers Mate! Indeed it was good to see some of the 'Arsenal' football being played again. We now need to finish off Madrid and aim to bring these performances to our domestic games...
2/22/2006 2:09 pm
Dear SKG,
Yesterday's performance was not just a warning shot by Arsenal but one for all English teams.
It would appear that the Chelsea machine has disguised the fact that all Premier League teams and in particular Liverpool and Tottenham have improved considerably over the past three years.
Thus, while United were clearly the best team in the PL in '99, their CL triumph was hailed as a minor shock. (Almost as big as Liverpool's win in '05) Consequently, just four-five years ago British teams were expected to perform poorly in Europe and were almost without exception underdogs.
Those times have changed. Now the EPL is the most competitive league in the world. The best players may still be in Spain and Italy, but the tables are turning and they are turning fast with Liverpool leading the way in this transformation. I will not comment on Chelsea because that to me is not football, but market economy.
Despite Arsenal's transition we showed that the level's of play around EPL teams is certainly to be reckoned with.
As such yesterday was as much a victory for the birth nation of Football as much as it was a vital away win for Arsenal.
Certainly that performance leaves plenty of optimism on behalf of all football lovers. The pure excitement and professionalism diplayed by the youngsters was a joy to behold.
Seeing a team effort of young talents take apart seasoned superstars such as Zidane and Ronaldo, was heartwarming.
It is still a team sport, and it is still about who wants it the most.
Having said that, it was a shame to see previous Greats such as Zidane be mere shadows of their former selves. Shame to see them scoop to the level of fouling out of frustration and displaying ppor sportsmanship.
With footballl optimism,
Gus J.
2/22/2006 2:29 pm
Cheers fella - nice of you to say so.
A great night to be a Gooner.
2/22/2006 2:30 pm
I support Liverpool and accept we had a poor display last night. The only team that deserves mention is indeed the Arsenal and what a fantastic display of just how good English football really is. Agree with comments on here regarding attitudes towards the EPL. An amazing performance from Arsenal, we all know they are capable and what a time to turn it on – well done indeed really pleased for you.
2/22/2006 3:01 pm
Ditto these comments, especially tunadog's on how we can still mention quality and excellence of other teams, regardless, no need for bitterness. That was what Arsenal were yesterday, at the Bernabeu where it was expected they would fall.
While Arsenal earned their win, Madrid earned their defeat. They had little answer to Arsenal's touch-and-move play around the box and they should have lost by more. Goodness, if all British teams went through, it would be phenomenal, and while Liverpool and Chelsea face a battle, they have the qualities to get that 2nd leg result to go further. They all can.
I also concur with Gus J., it was a big shot for all, maybe even further than the EPL, showing that even with considerably lesser resources than usual, a team can do well.
RedsMan.
2/22/2006 11:04 pm
It was certainly a good time to be a Gunner yesterday...thanks for the comments (all you liverpool supporters!).
I'll respond on T's longer post but just wnated to recognise your praise and respond guys!
2/23/2006 9:38 am
Yes, thanks SKG for your post which generated goodwill with Gunners which is always great... and like Tunadog I hope the Pool have a good win at home in the second leg.
Thanx to the anon Pool fan and Blindjak for your comments too. BJ, all the talk before the game was about doom and gloom so you weren't alone.
Gus J, that is another comment of yours with a good perspective on the game of football... thanks for that.
2/23/2006 11:46 am
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