Arsenal 2 Sunderland 0: How good was Eboue? Match reports and player ratings
Arsenal 2 Sunderland 0
From Goodplaya at the Emirates
The team selection was notable for… Cesc celebrates
Ramsey ahead of Denilson and amen to that. Too often Arsene’s team selections and substitutions feel very hierarchical to me and it’s as if nobody ever really gets dropped. But on this occasion Arsene went for it and even more pleasingly, Ramsey wasn’t the default first player to be withdrawn. Indeed, he played the full 90 minutes and enjoyed a far better game than in the return fixture.
And also…
Eboue at right-back in exactly the kind of game he should start. His defending wasn’t at all bad, but Sunderland at home is the kind of afternoon where you can sacrifice the extra solidity Sagna brings in favour of the extra pace and power of Eboue. He really was excellent by any standards. Garrincha he may not quite yet be but as someone who couldn’t stand the sight of the man a year or so ago, I can only offer positives here. He simply drove at Sunderland and fittingly set up the opener for Bendtner.
Sunderland…
Played with three strikers, which was possibly a first for a visiting side at the Emirates.
Can anyone explain…
Their fans. They came in huge, almost cup tie numbers. They seemed to be continually fighting each other. Loads of them left their seats after 35 minutes and quite a few didn’t appear for the second half. What was going on?!
Silvestre v Sol…
The thing with Sol is that the bad moments simply induce a lot less stress on my heart than Silvestre’s do. Sol gets done for pace – fine, I can handle that. But every time a ball gets played over the top and Silvestre gives chase, I think I lose about three weeks off my lifespan. Seriously, my heart just leaps.
Our general approach…
Was quite good really. We had a balanced look about us, with height up front, pace on one wing, trickery on the other, an enforcer in midfield and a marauding full-back etc etc. And we were pretty disciplined throughout. We went for the second goal after the break without being cavalier.
Cesc…
Didn’t have his best game but still got us the penalty and scored it. His pumping of the fists to himself after scoring reminded me a little of the way I celebrate our goals and I liked that.
Alex Song…
Was excellent, particularly in the second half. He was in the right place time and time again.
Theo…
Had a bit of a nightmare at times, crowned by two crosses that should have curled but instead ballooned, the kind of skill most footballers learn age about 8. But then I guess Theo wasn’t playing football at 8. That said, he had a couple of good runs and the second he went off, we suddenly looked a lot less dangerous and Sunderland had a lot less to worry about.
Other than that…
There is not all that much to say. The United result was a reminder to all the pessimists that for all our failings against United and Chelsea this season, we’ve been more consistent than United and as consistent as Chelsea against the rest. And while this year people say you can’t win the league without beating your closest competitors, so in seasons gone by they’ve said you can’t win it unless you can win the bread and butter fixtures.
Next week at Stoke…
Is absolutely huge. It’s a real bellwether game. Lose it and it will be hard to see us pushing on. Win it and it’s go, go, go.
And finally…
The playa ratings: Almunia 7, Eboue 9, Clichy 7, Silvestre 6, Vermaelen 7, Song 7.5, Cesc 6.5, Ramsey 7, Nasri 7.5, Theo 6.5, Bendtner 7. Subs: Rosicky 6.5, Sagna, 6.5, Denilson NA.
Fair play to you for headlining your praise of Eboue. Not to revisit last season’s unpleasantness, but I really hated what I felt like was an anti-Eboue witch hunt on the blogs (yours and others, I mean) last year, so for what it’s worth, I personally appreciate him getting credit from you when it’s due. Anyway, about the game, it really was a well constructed team, a promising team, even though the actual match and performance was a little underwhelming.
Good one- lets hope Sol is fit for Stoke- which is a really tough game. Stoke’s improvement seems to have crept under the media radar- they have a really stromg backroom and look organised and powerful. We should play Eboue and Sagna if the latter is fit, and workout how we can protect Clichy. I dont quite share your view of Ramsey- promising but nowhere near secure in his use of the ball yet.
Nasri also had his best game for a while. One moment of skill was sublime; he dragged the ball like Van Persie did in the Emirates Cup against Inter a few years ago. But he looked more committed, more willing to fight for the ball, and was unfortunate not to score.
I think the likes of Nasri, Theo and Ramsey could prove very important in the run-in. Let’s hope one of them finds a Ljungberg-esque run of goalscoring!
Oh, and Theo is getting back to the player we saw he could be last year. Not everything came off, but his runs, particularly against a not top 4 team, were very dangerous.
i thought nasri was excellent at times – willing to go at the full-back more than usual and had the beating of him. he tends to come in-field too often which is somewhat predictable. more of the same please. song was everywhere. brilliant game.
next week is huge – we must win our away games at places like stoke and blackburn. hope diaby is back – for all ramsey was good yesterday, i would prefer diaby. same goes for gallas and arshavin – we need the big guns for this one.
Ummm Goodplaya, why is your entry so SIMILAR to that of Arseblog concerning the Sunderland match?
http://www.oleole.com/blogs/arseblog
woops scratch that
my browser is screwed up
sory =)
Goodplaya… you hit the nail on the head. We had balance yesterday. Pace. Midfield enforcement. Power. Size. Height.
If we had won the 12 pointer against United and Chelsea we would have been 10 points ahead of United and 6 ahead of Chelsea by now.
Nice post frm u, song / ramsey understand themselves better than song/denilson
Hey mate good blog ,format and background is quite excellent!
Arsenal is a great team.Eventhough the performance wasnot that like what we are used to, it felt great to see us win with out any mistakes at the back.Every time i write a comment, there is something i mention about the team selection.Never put Denilson in.NEVER.I don;t know what Wenger is thinkin but me, i don;t think he should play as a starter.Let him come off the bench in the last minutes cus he needs to stop making mistakes and mature fast and Wenger shouldnot let him soxt us dear points playing him as a start.And for fabianski, hte same goes for him.He actually needs a GOALKEEPING 101 tutorial at one of our training facilities.Wenger should Let Mannone in.He looks more physically and psychologically strong.The goal with MANUTD was scored because he was scared of getting a physical contact with the goal scorer…..that is shameful.And what was tat with PORTO.IS THAT GOALKEEPER’ name really going to be mentioned with the likes of VAN DER SAR and REINA?WENGER, if we are to win the trophy( trophies), u need to stop taking chances and gambling and starting to take every single game dearly.I DIDN’t feel bad when we lost to ManUTD and Chelsea c’uz i fel like we were getting the bad news first and them getting the good news firstCuz in the end, these teams are gonna play each other and i think the y wil drop a few points here and there for us.We just have to make sure making these childish mistakes and start winning every game.I am singing one song by Black Eyed Peas.
” I GOTTA’ FEELING THAT THIS SEASON GONNA BE A GOOD SEASON
THAT THIS SEASON IS GONNA BE A GOOD GOOD GOOD SEASON FOR ARSENAL….UHUUU”””””””””””””
I hate the way the default scapegoat position has moved on to Denilson. Even the best bloggers like the Goodplaya can’t resist having a dig in an otherwise positive match report. It’s like people have learnt nothing from the examples of Song, Diaby and Eboue. Now don’t get me wrong, I love Ramsey, but I think it’s very conspicuous that nobody has mentioned him giving the ball away before the Jones chance on Saturday. Imagine if Denilson had played and done that, people would’ve written whole blogs about it. Obviously Denilson’s form has been patchy this season, but realistically he’s now our second choice defensive midfielder behind Song. He’s a decent enough player to justify that position and can do a job against all but the top couple of sides.
Almunia looked a lot more confident, more decisive. Something to do with Fabianski’s woes?
I hope we start Rosicky against Stoke. He’s looking fitter and has both a class and a combination with Cesc that no-one else can match (although I agree that Nasri had an excellent game and Eboue was MOTM).
Actually, if Arshavin’s fit again we could see some real competition for those midfield positions.
spot-on ratings but i would give clichy a 6.
u guys shuld leave denillson alone. get of his back and instead support him aint u guys tired of always gettin urself proved wrong by these boys everytime remember eboue, diaby, song u all booed them but now u adore dem remember in potentially difficult match denilson scored a screamer to send us on our way 2 a thumping 6 _1 away victory against everton so please get behind d team and enough of the negative vibes come on we won 4 goodness sake!!!… come on u gunners!
Heh. That stuff about Silvestre vs. Sol was right on the money and made me laugh. I think I might have a similar reaction when he plays for us, esp. in the centre of the defence. The pecking order for me would be Vermanator + Gallas and then Sol, Song, and if we absolutely must, then, Silvestre. I suspect he’ll be giving other fans heart attacks this summer.
Aaron Ramsey had a good game. I have been wrong about him. He is going to be an Arsenal great and the private jet was worth every penny.
I enjoined all gooners to always get behind our players. No player is perfect at all times. Let us support our players wholeheartedly irrespective of any poor performance, till the end of the remaining 11 matches of the season are completed. Our supports will motivate them to surprise the top 2 at the end of the season. Arsenal, God must claim the Premiership for us. Amen.
Is that really you RS? Or has someone done an identity theft.
I just cannot believe you have sold out on the Ramsey thing, and hope you can get some of your usual shit together and give us back the old Ramshit we all love.
I was very pleased to see Ramsey start ahead of Denilson as he really is showing far greater application and potential than the young Brazilian. But had this been a Champions League fixture or a tougher league game, then I doubt Rambo would have been given the nod. However, to see him picking up more league starts and crucial 90 minute outings is encouraging.
Eboue is a real asset at right back. It is entirely possible that the rough treatment he experienced last season spurred him on to work harder and improve his game because there has been a marked improvement this season; I’d go as far as to say he has been as good as the season he usurped Lauren to become first choice RB. And to have someone in your squad like that is very pleasing.
the reason denilson is usually ahead of ramsey is that ramsey gives away the ball too much. he lost it in the first half to richardson in a very dangerous position, richardson sent a very good through ball to jones, who fortunatelly did not score. i like denilson although his recent form has been bad.
else:
1. almunia looked way more confident.
2. nasri was very good.
3. glad to see playa ratings back.
by the way, of course the #17 comment is not the true ramshit — the true one signs ramshit, not Ramshit.
i don’t think Sol has lost his pace, it just takes him a little bit longer to wind himself up to full speed these days. he still ran Falcao down on wednesday night. Bendtner & Theo – whatever their faults – give our attack far more variety. avoid defeat at Stoke and who knows…
I saw this yesterday Playa. You may need to paraphrase a little though!
“The people who booed Eboue one year ago love him, but that’s down to his attitude. He’s a good football player” (AW)
chelsea go to italy to play inter milan on wednesday night, and that will be a very tough game. then, they have man city at home on saturday…
so yes, stoke next week is huge.
As usual a good fair article. As (a very rare) Eboue fan who praised him when others were sniping I aws so pleased to see him get recognition for a great game. But he has had at least 5 really top class performances this year without mention. From now on away I would like this team:-
Almunia
Sagna Campbell Vermaelen Gallas
Song
Eboue Cesc Ramsey/Diaby
Arshavin Bentner
Subs: Walcott..Rosicky..Nasri…Clichy..Fabianski…JET
The idea is that no one will bully this side away and there is enough skill to create and score away from home. AW will not play this side as he will not admit that Clichy and Denilson are not good enough. But I would pay to see this side every week until June!
Hate to suggest this but I recommend a solid defence arrangement against Stoke relying say on the “speed of Walcott” and the guile of Cesq to get us the goals. Three at least. Once Theo has sprinted away 2/3 times it will help our defence as their forwards will try to come back and help. Yes Bentner up front should help our cause and its good to see Nasri and Rosicky improving. Yes we can trounce Stoke but this time we may have to beat them from the back keeping a good line even if our forwards seem to be all over them.
Sols (lack of) pace shouldn’t be an issue, although truth be told in a race he might come last. Recovery speed was what he was all about and still is. Just watch how he gets back at someone who beats him and slides a leg across cleanly & takes the ball. Most refs know he’s a clean player so he wont give that many fouls away doing this type of tackle. Back passes don’t seem to be a strong part of his game though.
You do know that Ramsey made an unforced error, which surprisingly didn’t cost us a goal. I like Ramsey but also like Denilson. Cos he has got a bit of experience and covers all parts of the ground…
Playa – I’m interested to know if you read ANR and if so what do you think about it?
That wasnt Ramshit was it? He normally doesnt blog after ramsey plays a blinder. Ramsey was man of the match in the news of the world and the sun ,but i agree with playa Eboue edged it. Would of given him more than a seven tho. If that was ramshit which it probbably isnt,i thought it might of taken him a couple of more years to come round,and then ramshit could of changed his name to gobshit !
Just a few things…
Credit where credit is due, Almunia looked very solid. Still not who I’d want as a #1 but there you go.
Ramsey vs Denilson—I can only speak for myself, but I don’t LOOK for a scapegoat, I don’t want a scapegoat, but when a player like Denilson continually loses the ball and then JOGS back sort of half-assedly, I fume. When the player jogs back casually as the other teams breaks I hate it The cardinal sin is not in the losing of the ball necessarily, but in the lack of the fight to win it back. I personally hate that above mediocrity.
Ramsey is callow yes, but provides energy and fight, and I among many other supporters are much more willing to overlook mistakes when a player busts a lung for the team.
So until Denilson decides that he can be bothered to fight to win, I would rather not see him on the pitch.
@Tom C What do you think I think of it?!?!
Time to start thinging like champions. Stoke are shit . Big strong players but shit none the less. This is a no brainer. We totally out classed a very poor sunderland but a win is a win and the goals will do the goalscorers a power of good. Good performances from Eboue Ramsey Song and Theo stir the blood. One game at a time on the run in and there is no team we can not expect to beat. Fuck’m all the long and the short and the tall we are the Arsenal.
Bill,there was no witch-hunt.Eboue was acting & playing like a cunt & was a total embarrassment to the club & his profession so he got plenty of stick. (btw, it wasnt just Gooners who hated him; in 30 years watching Arsenal I’ve never heard fans of other clubs speak about an Arsenal player with such contempt as they have about him)
He has totally & utterly changed so he’s now a good pro & a decent squad player who no-one has any problem with so of course he’s going to get praise when he plays well cos he now deserves it.
I don’t agree with any Arsenal player being booed by his own fans but looking back it’s clear Eboue owes the booers a huge thanks cos frankly they’ve saved his career.
Stoke is now a huge,huge game.We simply have to win if we’re to have any chance & it will not be easy in any way. Sol has to start & hopefully Diaby,Arshavin fit too.
That’s a ramshit wannabe. Bernadinho (27) made a good point. The real RS uses a small r, but the fake RS has used a capital R.
Bit of a wind up merchant. Nowhere near as colourful as the real item.
PD —
We’ll just have to agree to disagree. For me, I don’t really think he’s changed that much. He still goes over a little easy, he still looks like he might lose a leg every time he’s tackled, then seem to be just fine. And, importantly, he’s still a really useful attacking player when in form.
If you think he’s cleaned up his act since he was booed, I’ll concede that. I just don’t think it was worth our own fans booing and mocking him to get that (basically marginal) change in behaviour.
Anyway, like I said before, I don’t want to revisit last season too much. I do believe much of last year’s frustration with Eboue (and not just Eboue, the whole team really) really lies at Wenger’s feet, since Wenger refused to buy a midfielder and (in my opinion) conceded the league before it started. That’s a different debate though, so let’s just enjoy Saturday’s three points!
Keep Theo playing because when he runs at defences they start to fall apart. He needs games to continue to develop and reach his potential. End product is the key the final pass or shot on goal. Playing competitive games will allow him to get better.
Yep, that’s def where we’ll have to agree to disagree – you think the change has been marginal;I think it’s been monumental ! :-)
To me he’s unrecognisable in almost every way from the player he used to be……
Thats not ramshit. He goes very quiet when ramsey plays well.He’s probbably playing darts at home instead with a picture aaron rambo ramsey on the board. SCARY.
@ Playa – I think its usually one of the most interesting arsenal blogs, but I’m sick of his chosen agenda to hate this team and Wenger.
Send ANR hatemail!
@tomc The way I see it we’re 6.5/1 with the bookies to win the title with 11 games to go, we’re two points off second who are 9/4 and undoubtedly have harder games on paper to come and we’re 1/33 to finish in the top four. We’re also still in Europe.
I don’t think we’re perfect but nor have I given up on the season!
@Ramshit…
I am so proud of you to have eaten your own words
and a word of praise for Ramsey too…thats great…:)
way to go…
Good game overall.. Read at some places that Arsenal won dirty and am actually proud… we can play fluid and creative each match and not get 3 points… from now untill the end of season… 3 points from each match should be the priority…And who knows we might even get a whiff of the title
Soccerzlife, that’s not ramshit, it’s a time wasting wannabe who should be banned from this blog. Note the capital R. The real rs wouldn’t sell out but would find some more negativity to criticise Ramsey with. To tell the truth I find Ramsey merely OK . He’s got talent for sure and already is a valuable squad member who will progress to regular first choice selection when Cesc inevitably leaves. At the moment he’s a bit of a Jon Sammels without the long range shot.
They seek him here
they seek him there
they seek the ramshit eveywhere
Is he you
is he me
who gives a fuck its time for tea.
its not ramshit. Ramshit cant spell
re. 46
great rhyme
RE.19 The ramshit we all love? Dont put words in our mouths jack. The vast majority of people on here think he’s comments are a joke. Hes a man utd fan,a wind up thats still annoyed we beat them to his signature. Have you noticed he hasnt blogged since ramsey played well and utd lost!
News just in. Its been reported that fuck all has happened on the football front today. When asked to comment on this unexciting and totally expected news AW said ‘eh?’. I think we can agree this was another classic AW answer with all the articulate and phsicologically insightfulness we have come to expect from the great man.
Tune in tomorrow when we will be asking ‘Pies – who ate them all?’.
I thought this was quite interesting, especially the later part of the interview ; http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/leagues/premierleague/arsenal/7326648/Arsene-Wengers-revival-at-Arsenal-will-take-time.html
av that j.t you cunt. 4-2 to city. love it! COME ON YOU GUNNERS. Chavs booing bridge,what wankers they are
Goodplayer,
Forget aboth Sunderland but TODAY incidence reveal what the Anti-Arsenal Soft CAMPAIN is all about! “ROAUGH them up,..ARSENAL cannot play agaings the physicality of Blackburn. Bolten , Stock.. ” STOCK!! breaking Arenal player leg is what the British media and its subsidiarie are all about ! Clealry the foul on Ramsy was intetional and to scare Arsenal so young boys.
No matter who says what it he did not mean it he did it and the result is there to enjoy for the campainers. I am sad, angry an feel for the younn RAMSEY and his families and frends
It is high time the FA do something about this roughing Arsenal player, 28 Febuary is a bad day for us it was Edwardo now Ramsey around the same day. Well done to the lads who fought had for their fallen friend .
Please condem this as loudly and widely as you can.
We must condemn this incident… ENOUGH of these horror injuries.
That Shawcross cried means ABSOLUTELY nothing. Nice of Sky Sports to tell us he cried over and over again and show his crying in close up.
Tears wont fix Ramsey’s leg or what this may have done to his career.
ARSENAL manager Arsene Wenger today accused Stoke City’s Rory Delap and Ryan Shawcross of deliberately injuring Theo Walcott and Emmanuel Adebayor.
Both were hurt by tackles during the Potters’ 2-1 win at the Britannia Stadium on Saturday and will miss tomorrow night’s Champions League clash against Fenerbahce at the Emirates Stadium.
Walcott has a chance of recovering from a shoulder injury in time for the visit of Manchester United on Saturday, but Adebayor is unlikely to be able to face the champions.
Wenger said: “I read that my team were not brave.
“All I can say is they are brave and, for me, you need to have more courage to play football when you know that someone is tackling you from behind without any intention to play the ball.
“The only intention is to hurt you and I can show some tackles where I can prove what I say. The one who is tackling is not the brave one. For me the brave one is the player who is trying to play football.
“It happened at the weekend. Do you think Delap tried to play the ball when he tackled Walcott? Or that Shawcross tried to play the ball when he tackled Adebayor off the pitch? All the players have been injured deliberately.
“I am not ready to listen to things that are completely untrue and make people who are cowards, for me, look brave.”
The Frenchman was also adamant it was not the first time opponents had hurt his players with reckless challenges, with the badly-broken leg Eduardo suffered against Birmingham last season the most notable example.
Defender Bacary Sagna was also hurt against Stoke City and had been receiving treatment on an ankle injury in a bid to be fit for tomorrow’s game.
Wenger added: “Do you want me to tell you the players we have lost here? Diaby, deliberate foul from behind, Rosicky, deliberate foul, Eduardo, deliberate foul. Now we lose Walcott, deliberate foul, and we have lost Sagna – deliberate foul on him.
“There is only one intention when he is tackled and that is the ankle. And you want me on top of that to sit here and say, ‘Yes, sorry we are not brave’”
The Stoke loss, plus the home draw with Spurs that preceded it, saw Arsenal fall six points behind leaders Chelsea, who are ahead of Liverpool on goal difference, and Manchester United will also kick-off on Saturday ahead of the Gunners.
oh, i remember that tackle on adebayor. it was shocking. was that shawcross as well?
good spot, btw, Good to be a GOONAH!!
Watched the highlights programme on Irish telly. Slowmo of the break is horrific. That said Shawcrosses foot wasn’t high. It was more bad luck than malicious. That said I am fed up watching our players getting kicked and fouled off the pitch will the refs do fuck all about it. Anyway I wish young Ramsey a speedy recovery.
ps. JT is a cunt.
Let’s be honest – there is a bit of victor’s justice going on here. Shawcross’ tackle was NOTHING like Smith’s on Diaby or Taylor’s on Eduardo. It all happened really quickly and was a horrific outcome of two players trying to win possession of a loose ball. It is desperately bad luck for Aaron, but it seems to me that Shawcross was not intentionally reckless or malicious. The bottom line is the spirit we showed to rally round and go on to win the game. The lads really seem to want it.
“intentionally reckless” is a contradiction in terms, and no one is saying it was malicious. The fact of the matter is that it was reckless, pretty much be definition. If the consequences of you mistiming your tackle is that you snap someone’s leg in half, then you shouldn’t go in for that tackle. I don’t see how there can be any argument about it. But the other issue is the way teams play us. Anybody can make a mistimed reckless tackle–we’ve seen our players do it, so in that sense it’s part of the game. But it’s outrageous and *immoral* that certain players and teams go about their business against us in a way that increases the chances of these injuries occuring.
I find it amazing that Pulis says Shawcross isn’t that type of player as I know him as a fouling bastard. Am I really the only one that sees it? Having said that, this wasn’t a particularly bad one from him but when you do bad tackles, one of them’s going to do some serious damage and unfortunately it happened against ramsey….
I’m waiting for ramshit to come on and say it;s his own fault…..
It was his own fault.
I think Cana’s two-footed lunge (can’t remember who on – only got a yellow though) last week was much worse than Shawcross’s one-footed kick at the ball that missed by a fraction of a second and hit Ramsey’s leg instead. But Cana’s dangerous play never gets mentioned again because no one suffered a hideous fracture.
I hope you fucking die ramshit
As pointed out by arseblog shawcross has previous, took out jeffers and broke his ankle.
ramshit your a cunt
whoever is using my name to post this message(It was his own fault) is very shameful indeed
goodplaya, kindly verify who is the real fucker imposter… since you are using wordpress, you are able to check the ip… i would very much like to know the culprit… could it be Andy Mack himself?
i comment only on football sense and i will never do such a thing on other human being misfortune… whoever post that message is a low life… shame on you, hiding behind your pc
There are LOADS of us gooners… let’s do something this time. Stand up. Be heard. Enough of this nonsense. All of us see ridiculous tackles ‘up us’ every week. Something has to be done. Cesc is ‘targetted’ each week. Next time it will be him.
Enough is enough.
ramshit, It’s not me. I think you football knowledge and understanding puts you at the head of the cricket table and you are undoubtedly a tw4t, So I have no wish to impersonate you.