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nicki · Experte Beiträge: 4760

Rosicky Gunner Get Stuck In
Thu 14 Sep, 6:09 PM

Tomas Rosicky is ready to show he can mix it with the tough-tackling midfielders of the Barclays Premiership as well as crack in the odd wonder goal.
The Czech international opened his Arsenal account in some style last night, with a fine 25-yard effort in the 2-1 Champions League victory over Hamburg at the AOL Arena.
Rosicky joined the Gunners from Borussia Dortmund in the summer, and went on to catch the eye at the World Cup with a couple of equally-impressive strikes against the United States.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has chosen to blood the combative, goalscoring midfielder progressively this season, using him only twice in the Barclays Premiership and also in the Champions League qualifier first leg against Croatia Zagreb.
Rosicky, though, hopes he will soon be in the thick of the action, with the Gunners heading to leaders Manchester United for what has all the makings of another explosive encounter on Sunday.
He said: "The Premier League is very quick, much tougher than in Germany. England is certainly more physical.
"But I knew it would be very physical and I was prepared for that.
"I am not scared if someone wants to kick me, because I played in Germany and I am used to that."
Rosicky, 25, recalled: "I had a very hard time in Germany at the start of my career because teams would play with a man marker on me and it was difficult, so it was good preparation for England."
The midfielder is well aware of the history between the two rival clubs, who spent the best part of six seasons battling it out for the title before the emergence of Chelsea as the new powerbrokers in English football.
Rosicky said: "I remember the game at Old Trafford with what happened with Ruud van Nistelrooy [in October 2004]. Everyone remembers that one.
"I am looking forward to it.
"I know it will be tough and physical at Old Trafford, but I said when I joined Arsenal that you will never see me jump when the tackles come in.
"I am not as strong as some - but I am not scared either so I will never jump out of the way of tackles."
Arsenal lost on their previous visit to Manchester this season, going down 1-0 at City on August 26.
Wenger's men have yet to record a Premiership victory, and find themselves near the foot of the table following their worst start to a top-flight campaign since the French coach took charge.
There is belief, though, the win in Hamburg could just kick-start Arsenal's domestic campaign.
Rosicky said: "We have not started well in the Premier League, but I hope this win will make us more confident and then we can win at Manchester."
Wenger is more than happy with the way Rosicky has progressed, likening him to Robert Pires, who provided a consistent supply of goals from midfield before leaving the club at the end of last season.
"Robert Pires was a player that I have always liked," Rosicky said.
"On the one side, I wanted to play with him - but I also knew that if he stayed then Arsenal probably would not have bought me."
Rosicky added: "I know Pires scored a lot of goals and I will try to do my best to be productive when it comes to scoring.
"For my country, I have scored quite a few goals but at Dortmund I was not so successful and averaged five goals a season so I know from my position I have to score more."
Thierry Henry remains a doubt after missing the trip to Hamburg because of a foot problem.

Adebayor's goal has put Arsenal's season back on track!

Nina · Experte Beiträge: 204

hab meinen Kommentar zum Spiel aus Versehen unter Bilder3 geschrieben..

nicki · Experte Beiträge: 4760

Hamburg 1 Arsenal 2: Rosicky's rocket rewards Wenger

By Jason Burt at the AOL Arena
Published: 14 September 2006

Suddenly this Champions' League lark is a bit more of a breeze for Arsenal. Having toiled for so long under Arsène Wenger, failing to reach the business end of the competition year after annoying year, often looking as if they were suffering some kind of mental block, they stormed into the final last season. Last night they brushed aside the challenge of Hamburg to make an emphatic opening statement of intent in Group G.
Admittedly they were given some large dollops of luck - something they feel they have been lacking of late. First there was a marginal early penalty, cleverly earned by Robin van Persie and executed by Gilberto Silva, which led to the dismissal of the goalkeeper Sascha Kirschstein. Then there was the cavalier, sometimes reckless, approach of the Germans, who jettisoned their claim, earned last season, to having the Bundesliga's soundest defence.

Article Length: 732 words (approx.)

Rosicky will stand his ground in face of tough-tackling Premiership
JIM VAN WIJK

TOMAS Rosicky is ready to show he can mix it with the tough-tackling midfielders of the Barclays Premiership as well as crack in the odd wonder goal.
The Czech Republic international opened his Arsenal account in some style on Wednesday night, with a fine 25-yard effort in the 2-1 Champions League victory in Hamburg.

Rosicky joined the Gunners from Borussia Dortmund in the summer, and went on to catch the eye at the World Cup with a couple of impressive strikes against the United States. Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has chosen to blood the combative, goalscoring midfielder progressively this season, using him only twice in the Barclays Premiership and also in the Champions League qualifier first leg against Croatia Zagreb.
Rosicky, though, hopes he will soon be in the thick of the action, with the Londoners heading to leaders Manchester United for what has all the makings of another explosive on Sunday.
He said: "The Premier League is very quick, much tougher than in Germany. England is certainly more physical. But I knew it would be very physical and I was prepared for that. I am not scared if someone wants to kick me, because I played in Germany and I am used to that."
Rosicky, 25, recalled: "I had a very hard time in Germany at the start of my career because teams would play with a man marker on me and it was difficult, so it was good preparation for England."
The midfielder is well aware of the history between the two rival clubs, who spent the best part of six seasons battling it out for the title before the emergence of Chelsea. Rosicky said: "I remember the game at Old Trafford with what happened with Ruud van Nistelrooy [in October 2004]. Everyone remembers that one. I am looking forward to it.
"I know it will be tough and physical at Old Trafford, but I said when I joined Arsenal that you will never see me jump when the tackles come in. I am not as strong as some - but I am not scared either so I will never jump out the way of tackles."
Arsenal lost on their previous visit to Manchester this season, going down 1-0 at City on 26 August. Wenger's men have yet to record a Premiership victory, and find themselves near the foot of the table following their worst start to a top-flight campaign since the French coach took charge.
There is belief, though, the win in Hamburg could just kick-start Arsenal's domestic campaign. Rosicky said: "We have not started well in the Premier League, but I hope this win will make us more confident and then we can win at Manchester."
Wenger is more than happy with the way Rosicky has progressed, likening him to Robert Pires, who provided a consistent supply of goals from midfield before leaving the club at the end of last season. "Robert Pires was a player that I have always liked," Rosicky said. "On the one side, I wanted to play with him - but I also knew that if he stayed then Arsenal probably would not have bought me."
Rosicky added: "I know Pires scored a lot of goals and I will try to do my best to be productive when it comes to scoring. For my country, I have scored quite a few goals but at Dortmund I was not so successful and averaged five goals a season so I know from my position; I have to score more."
Thierry Henry remains a doubt this weekend after missing the trip to Hamburg because of a foot problem. Defender Kolo Toure is expected to play despite hobbling off inside 30 minutes last night with a hip injury.
This article: http://sport.scotsman.com/football.cfm?id=1361722006
Last updated: 15-Sep-06 01:03 BST
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Rosicky thunderbolt brightens Arsenal

ALAN ROBSON AT THE AOL ARENA

Hamburg 1 - Sanogo (90)
Arsenal 2 - Gilberto Silva (12 pen), Rosicky (53)
ARSENAL took advantage of an early red card for Hamburg goalkeeper Sascha Kirschstein, and the penalty that went with it, to clinch victory in the impressive AOL Arena, although Tomas Rosicky's first goal since arriving at Highbury in the summer proved to be the winner.

Despite missing injured captain Thierry Henry, the Gunners produced a controlled display.

Having lost last season's Champions League final to Barcelona following the early dismissal of Jens Lehmann, there may have been an element of justice to Arsenal profiting in such a way, although their appeared little contact from Kirschstein on Robin van Persie when the Dutchman skipped past him in the area after only ten minutes.
Gilberto put Arsenal ahead with the resultant spot kick, beating substitute goalkeeper Stefan Wachter,
The Hamburg faithful were incensed, and a deafening whistle rang around the stadium every time the Gunners were in possession.
Rosicky made progress down the left, and cut the ball back to Van Persie, whose near-post flick was well kept out by Wachter. The Germans, like Arsenal, are without a win in their domestic league so far this season, but Vincent Kompany came closest to levelling things with a backward header from a corner that flashed across Lehmann's goal.
Arsenal centre back Kolo Toure had picked up a knock to his thigh, and was replaced on 27 minutes by Justin Hoyte, with recent arrival William Gallas getting the chance to move to his preferred role at centre-back.
Arsenal began the second half brightly, midfielder Cesc Fabregas almost jinking his way through the Hamburg defence, but their appeared little threat to the scoreline prior to the 53rd minute, when Rosicky produced a goal out of nothing.
Van Persie fed Rosicky, some 25 yards out on the left. The Czech midfielder took a touch to set himself before unleashing a rasping strike into the top corner.
It was a fine strike indeed, reminiscent of those he netted for the Czech Republic in the World Cup this summer.
There was a scare at the end, however, when Hamburg's Boubacar Sanogo pulled one back in stoppage time and the German side even threatened to snatch an unlikely draw.
Hamburg: Kirschstein, Demel, Reinhardt, Kompany, Mathijsen, Jarolim, De Jong, Wicky, Trochowski, Sanogo, Ljuboja. Subs: Wachter, Mahdavikia, Guerrero, Fillinger, Berisha, Laas, Benjamin.
Arsenal: Lehmann, Eboue, Toure, Djourou, Gallas, Hleb, Fabregas, Silva, Rosicky, Van Persie, Adebayor. Subs: Almunia, Ljungberg, Julio Baptista, Flamini, Song Billong, Hoyte, Walcott.
Referee: Peter Frojdfeldt (Sweden)
Related topic
· Champions' League
http://sport.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=669
This article: http://sport.scotsman.com/football.cfm?id=1357232006

nicki · Experte Beiträge: 4760

ich glaube manches ist wieder doppelt, aber das fand ich nicht schlecht geschrieben:

Personally, I'm thinking it'll end a draw, but Arsenal won't be walkovers, despite their poor start to the Premiership season, in stark contrast to United who have won four out of four.

I say 'poor', but it's been much worse than that really for the Gunners; a mere two points from three games against Aston Villa, Man City and Middlesbrough - three games that at the start of the season looked very winnable. With these matches building up to the big one against United at Old Trafford, it wouldn't have been unreasonable to expect 9 points on the board by now, or 7 at the VERY least. 2 is shocking considering the opposition, but the game on Sunday will be different.

The key thing is that so far we have played against opposition who did not themselves believe they could beat us, leading to very boring, cautious and defensive approaches, nicking a goal in any way possible. Villa opened the scoring from a setpiece, City won the game on a stupid penalty and 'Boro's goal was their only shot of the game.

The rest of the time, these teams just defended against constant attacks from Arsenal, who have been passing it well but lacked the sharpness to finish. They've not been able to find a way through with a penalty area packed full of players. They won't be up against anything like that at Old Trafford.

Arsenal's poor form actually gives them a bit of an advantage; Alex Ferguson, playing at home, will need his team to attack us. They'll be looking for nothing less than a win, which will give us more space, and more oppurtunities on the break.

It could be tougher if Thierry Henry doesn't play. I haven't read much about his injury but I think he was being rested tonight and saved for Sunday. Playing his midweek game for France last week tired him out for the 'Boro game at the weekend. Wenger wouldn't have wanted that to happen again.

Speaking of tonight, I only saw the second half but Arsenal looked very in control of the game. I predicted beforehand that Hamburg would fancy their chances of beating us and attack more than the Premiership teams we've been playing, but tonight was an entirely different situation when I started watching, with us in the lead. Rosicky scored an amazing winning goal, which will hopefully give him confidence. His passing was excellent from then on, as was the team's in general.

Even if Henry doesn't play, we should be okay for pace. Adebayor looked lively tonight, running at people and using that pace to good effect. There's also Theo Walcott who I would seriously consider starting against United. Players who look to run at others when they get the ball, and also make pacey moves off it, are important in the counter-attacking system we are likely to use this weekend. We can't have a midfield full of players like Fabregas, Hleb or Rosicky, whose first thoughts are always to look up and pass when they receive the ball. One of these creative three will have to be dropped in my opinion, and I think it'll have to be Hleb, as our Czech playmaker will hopefully now have less of a reluctancy to shoot at goal.

Walcott on the right of midfield could be deadly, if he finds himself up against the dodgy Mikael Silvestre who played at left-back for United in their win over Celtic tonight. Arsenal will need guts and comittment like Gordon Strachan's side showed if they hope to cause as much of a problem for Fergie's men. Walcott, an English lad, will know the importance of a game like this more than perhaps some of the foreign players. He would also be keen to impress on what would be his first ever start for the club. He strikes me as a player confident enough to deal with a heavy debut like that.

However, all that said, I can't see Wenger risking it. Hleb provided good width for Arsenal tonight, which is unusual for him, but the team in general looks a lot more balanced in Europe.

Back to Sunday's game, of which key Man Utd man Ryan Giggs will play no part after picking up a bad injury tonight. He's been very influential for them so far this season, so that can only do us good.
I don't know, maybe I'm mad. I predicted things would lift off after we beat Zagreb 2-1 at the Emirates and I was wrong, but I feel really confident now. In my opinion we've just won the hardest game in the group, so with a bit of luck we can take that kind of form to Old Trafford and provide a decent enough challenge.

I'm predicting a 2-2 draw. I'd be happy with that.

nicki · Experte Beiträge: 4760

sorry für doppeltes gequatsche, manchmal weiß ichs auch nicht, ist es neu? ist es alt?

Gunners down Porto
Tuesday Sep 26 2006 22:15
Arsenal sit at the top of the Champions League Group G table after cruising to a 2-0 victory against FC Porto.

Goals from Thierry Henry and Alex Hleb either side of the break secured maximum points, but a more emphatic margin of victory would have been achieved had the Gunners' finishing matched their approach play.
Arsene Wenger opted to make two changes to the team which defeated Sheffield United 3-0 at the weekend. Emmanuel Adebayor and Freddie Ljungberg dropped to the bench, with Hleb and Robin van Persie replacing them.
The Gunners boss was also forced to make a late switch when Johan Djourou picked up an injury during the warm-up. Justin Hoyte stepped up from the bench.
The hosts started well and thought they had taken the lead after just four minutes when Kolo Toure bundled the ball home from a corner. However, the linesman ruled the ball had gone out of play before reaching the Ivorian.
It looked only a matter of time until Arsenal actually opened the scoring, as Hleb, Tomas Rosicky and van Persie knocked the ball about nonchalantly in midfield while the visiting defenders chased shadows.
However, for a ten-minute period in the middle of the first half Porto dominated, with Ricardo Quaresma threatening to rip the home defence apart.
It proved to be only a brief spell of dominance for the visitors and Arsenal, with van Persie at the centre of everything they did, soon regained the initiative.
The Dutchman squandered a good chance by firing over after being played in by Henry, before seeing Porto goalkeeper Helton make good low save to deny him.
It was no surprise when the goal eventually arrived in the 38th minute, but it was a shock that van Persie was not involved.
For once Arsenal swapped their intricate passing game for a direct approach and it paid dividends. Emmanuel Eboue surged down the right and sent over a perfect out-swinging cross for Henry to head home at the far post.
A looping van Persie header almost doubled the hosts' advantage just before the break, but they had to wait for less than three minutes after the restart for a second goal.
William Gallas made a purposeful run through midfield before squaring the ball to Henry on the edge of the penalty area. The Frenchman stretched to square it to the on-rushing Hleb, who despatched a low shot beyond Helton.
It was game over as soon as Hleb's shot nestled in the back of the net.
Porto had few ideas going forward and Lehmann had only two saves to make -comfortable takes from substitute Raul Meireles and Quaresma.
Arsenal were happy to show off rather than test the Porto goalkeeper and while Henry's silky skills entertained the crowd, the hosts rarely looked like adding a third.
That will have been of little concern to Wenger, as his side already have one foot in the draw for the first knockout round.
The Times September 14, 2006
Rosicky hits high note in show of silk and steelFROM MATT HUGHES IN HAMBURGSV Hamburg 1 Arsenal 2

ASHLEY COLE may think he has all the answers to Arsenal’s domestic problems, but even a man of his undoubted wisdom would struggle to explain the contrast between his former club’s poor domestic form and their continued excellence in Europe. In a performance comprising elements of silk and steel, Arsène Wenger’s team continued where they left off last season to stamp their authority on the Champions League. Cole has labelled his former team-mates lazy and selfish, but not even the most jaundiced, born-again Chelsea fan would have made such an accusation last night.

Arsenal’s patched-up, inexperienced back four, further disrupted by a first-half injury to Kolo Touré, held their own against a spirited SV Hamburg team, who continued to attack despite suffering the early sending-off of Sascha Kirschstein, the goalkeeper. The visiting team scored two goals of contrasting beauty, with a clinical counter-attack resulting in a first-half penalty converted by Gilberto Silva before Tomas Rosicky stole the show with his first goal for the club. Jens Lehmann played his customary crucial role, making two good saves with the score at 1-0, although Boubacar Sanago’s injury-time consolation brought his remarkable run of European games without conceding a goal to an end after 853 minutes. The previous time he picked the ball out of his net in Europe was in March 2005. With Arsenal having taken only two points from their opening three Barclays Premiership matches, Wenger’s belief that his team are title contenders is looking dubious, but the Champions League is a different matter. It is becoming difficult to avoid the conclusion that the Frenchman’s adherence to risky, attacking football makes Arsenal more suited to what remains, in essence, a knockout competition. It was surprising, though, to see Wenger abandon the tactics that took his team to the final without a single defeat last May. That run was based on a 4-5-1 formation with the midfield rushing forward on the counter-attack at every opportunity, but last night Wenger reverted to 4-4-2, with Robin van Persie partnering Emmanuel Adebayor up front in place of the injured Thierry Henry. William Gallas remained exiled at left back — how long before his next incredible sulk? — and Johan Djourou made the most of his opportunity at centre back as Hamburg started brightly. The Switzerland player needed every inch of his muscular frame to repel two dangerous passes and he made a well-timed tackle on Raphaël Wicky on the edge of the area to spare the blushes of Emmanuel Eboué, who had given the ball away. Having been criticised by Cole all week, it appeared as if Arsenal were going to stay under siege in Germany, but after ten minutes they were liberated by a piece of breathtaking counter-attacking football. Alexander Hleb collected Lehmann’s throw in his own half and released Adebayor with one of those wonderful cross-field passes he produces once or twice in every match. Adebayor thundered down the left flank before finding Van Persie in the penalty area, with the goal at his mercy. The Holland striker almost went around Kirschstein but went over the goalkeeper’s trailing leg, with Peter Frojdfeldt immediately sending him off. The home team clearly thought that Frojdfeldt should have acted differently and were still protesting as Gilberto dispatched the penalty. For a team a goal and a man down within 11 minutes, Hamburg’s commitment to attack was impressive, with Arsenal by no means completely comfortable. Nigel de Jong headed just past the far post and Lehmann made a smart save from Danijel Ljuboja just before half-time, problems caused in part by Touré’s 28th-minute withdrawal with a hip injury. Arsenal’s only other real chance of the opening period also fell to Van Persie, whose shot was saved by Stefan Wächter, the substitute goalkeeper, following a left-wing cross from Rosicky, and their second goal came from the same combination. Dropping deep to receive possession in the 53rd minute, Van Persie passed square to his new team-mate, with Rosicky cutting inside to unleash a right-foot thunderbolt from 25 yards.Having provided a partial response to Cole’s latest diatribe, Arsenal must prepare for a further test of their spirit against Manchester United at Old Trafford on Sunday. SV HAMBURG (4-4-2): S Kirschstein — G Demel (sub: M Mahdavikia, 53min), B Reinhardt, V Kompany, J Mathijsen — D Jarolim, N de Jong, P Trochowski, R Wicky (sub: S Wächter, 12)— B Sanogo, D Lluboja (sub: J P Guerrero, 81). Substitutes not used: M Fillinger, B Berisha, A Laas, C Benjamin. Sent off: Kirschstein. ARSENAL (4-4-2): J Lehmann — E Eboué, K Touré (sub: J Hoyte, 28), J Djourou, W Gallas — A Hleb (sub: M Flamini, 69), Gilberto Silva, F Fàbregas, T Rosicky — E Adebayor, R van Persie (sub: J Baptista, 69). Substitutes not used: M Almunia, F Ljungberg, A Song, T Walcott. Referee: P Frojdfeldt (Sweden). · FC Porto were left to rue a series of missed chances after a 0-0 draw at home to CSKA Moscow. Anderson, Porto’s Brazilian midfield player, hit the post and Adriano missed the best chance when he fired wide when clear.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,278-2357445,00.html

Henry uses head again to mark Wenger's anniversary in styleBY MATT DICKINSON, CHIEF FOOTBALL CORRESPONDENTArsenal 2 FC Porto 0

TOMORROW marks a decade in North London for Arsène Wenger, a period during which he has transformed just about everything at Arsenal apart from the name. No wonder, then, that when he heard Tony Blair telling the Labour conference yesterday how much had changed in the past decade, he briefly wondered: “Is the Prime Minister talking about me?” It is the only time the Frenchman has allowed himself to look back over his tenure. The anniversary, he said, would be marked by a routine training session, although one conducted against a happy backdrop of improving results. After a jittery opening to the campaign, last night’s swatting of a subdued FC Porto team was a fourth consecutive victory.

At ease in the Champions League after last season’s run to the final and increasingly at home in their new surroundings at the Emirates Stadium, Arsenal seized control of group G on an evening blighted only by the late withdrawal of William Gallas with a hamstring strain. The France defender had been enjoying his night in central defence, reverting to his favoured position at the last minute only because of the withdrawal of Johan Djourou in the warm-up, and he looked to be forming a powerful and stupendously quick partnership with Kolo Touré. Not that either was particularly tested as Arsenal beat their Portuguese opponents with ease. Wenger’s men were the better team throughout, although it took them a while to take advantage of their ascendancy. The manager was to become so frustrated — ostensibly at some minor decisions from the officials, but also, partly, at his players’ failure to convert early chances — that he was sent back to his seat from the touchline by Stefano Farina, the Italian referee. Fortunately, his team had started to pick up their game and the next time he was off the bench was to salute Thierry Henry’s headed goal, which secured a half-time lead. The France forward does not score many with his head — indeed, Arsenal fans had spent some of the previous 37 minutes bemoaning their team’s familiar failure to attack crosses — but this was his second in four days after his productive nod against Sheffield United. As on Saturday, the supplier was Emmanuel Eboué, who has proved one of the great finds, even for a man with Wenger’s reputation as a talent-spotter supreme. The powerful full back charged past Marek Cech and, on the run, whipped a perfect cross to the far post. Henry directed a fine header back across goal to chalk up his third goal of this season. The previous time Eboué had rampaged down the flank, Arsenal fans had wailed as Henry, Robin van Persie and Tomas Rosicky had stood and watched the cross sail through the penalty area. “I felt that we became a bit nervous after not scoring in the opening 20 minutes against Sheffield,” Wenger had said and there had been a few jitters before Henry struck, exacerbated by Van Persie’s shocking miss. Fed by Henry, the Holland striker did not have time to pull the ball on to his favoured left foot as he prepared to shoot from eight yards. Forced to use his right, his technique flew out of the window while the ball soared over the bar. An embarrassing miss, it was not to prove costly because Arsenal extended their lead moments after the interval. Relaying the ball quickly along the edge of the Porto penalty area, Henry passed to Alexander Hleb. Manuel Jesualdo Ferreira, the Porto coach, had changed left backs during half-time, but the weakness in that area remained as the Belarussian took advantage of time and space to control the ball and then place his shot in to the far, bottom corner. It would have been a perfect night had Gallas not pulled up in the final seconds, although the injury is not serious enough to spoil the manager’s anniversary. ARSENAL (4-1-4-1): J Lehmann — E Eboué, K Touré, W Gallas (sub: A Song, 90min), J Hoyte — Gilberto Silva — A Hleb (sub: T Walcott, 86), C Fàbregas, T Rosicky, R van Persie (sub: F Ljungberg, 74) — T Henry. Substitutes not used: M Almunia, J Baptista, E Adebayor. Booked: Rosicky, Gilberto. FC PORTO (4-3-2-1): Helton — Bosingwa, Pepe, B Alves, R Costa (sub: R Meireles, 46) — L González, P Assuncao, M Cech — R Quaresma, Anderson (sub: Adriano, 65) — H Postiga (sub: L López, 46). Substitutes not used: V Baia, T Sektioui, Fucile, Jorginho. Booked: Costa. Referee: S Farina (Italy). GROUP GA second-half header by Dudu, the Brazil midfield player, gave CSKA Moscow, the Russian champions, a 1-0 home victory over SV Hamburg. Dudu outjumped Boubacar Sanogo and beat Stefan Wachter, the goalkeeper, from ten metres in the 59th minute.RESULTS: Porto 0 CSKA Moscow 0; Hamburg 1 Arsenal 2; CSKA Moscow 1 Hamburg 0; Arsenal 2 Porto 0. FIXTURES: October 17: CSKA Moscow v Arsenal; Porto v Hamburg. November 1: Arsenal v CSKA Moscow; Hamburg v Porto. November 21: CSKA Moscow v Porto; Arsenal v Hamburg. December 6: Porto v Arsenal; Hamburg v CSKA Moscow.

Rosicky Seems The Answer.
Thursday, 21 September 2006
Over the last few seasons, Arsenal have had this, "Thou shall not shoot when 20/25 yards out!" policy. Though with the addition of Tomas Rosicky it seems slowly but sure that should change, as we have watched the last 2 games Arsenal have played against Hamburg and Manchester United, they are less afraid to shoot and Tomas seems to be the key. A strange thing also of note is, Arsenal also tend to try out the audacious long range efforts when Thierry Henry is not around. When he is in the squad they do knock the ball around alot and some actually feel we knock the ball around a bit TOO much.Without shooting from long range, makes us somewhat predictable and as we have seen teams when they play us at home, the opposition either flood the midfield(not allowing our passing game) or they line their penalty box with players. (knowing Arsenal want that "eye of the needle" passes) So my question is, why just not take a pop at goal and see what happens! Last week when the Gunners took on Hamburg, their keeper didn’t even get a sniff of Rosicky’s shot flying past him, that was a rocket of a shot. Knocking around the ball is beautiful to watch, but only when you have a two goal cushion or any large lead. When the score is tied or ones team is one up, doing that is simply not the answer and in most cases we do get punished. Just take this season for example, our first 3 games were against Aston Villa, Manchester City and Middlesbrough, and in all three games Arsenal dominated but were not ruthless enough in front of goal, always laying the ball off to the other and ofcourse when Arsenal dawdle like this, all it takes is one of the opposition to hoof the ball clear and Arsenal have to start from scratch. In Rosicky, we have a player who will take the game, head on if it means breaking the deadlock. As I have seen regular footage of him, he will let fly when he sees the window of opportunity, no matter how small that is. Same can be said of Hleb when he was at Stuttgart but since he has joined us he seems more wanting to lay off balls to Henry that have a thump at goal. Henry has made mention that the "kids" should take more responsibility in the team, contributing with goals, so it seems to be working, (since he hasn’t been in the squad for 2 games and we picked up 2 deserved wins) just he should not get angry when he returns and the guys have a go at goal and leave him fuming for wanting a pass. We have the quality, no doubting that and at times the blame is spread around as to who was responsible for wasting chances, with the goal beckoning. If this season is going to be a successful season with the odd trophy thrown in, surely it will be the fact that we have a higher conversion rate with our chances and added to that, not being shy to unleash 20/25 yard screamers at the opposition goalkeeper. By Mornay Visser
http://www.arsenalsa.co.za/content/view/599/106/

Arsenal (2) - FC Porto (0)
Wednesday, 27 September 2006
For the second game in succession Arsenal’s charismatic skipper Thierry Henry used his head to score a goal. Having nodded one past Sheffield United at the weekend, Henry again exploited a magnificent cross from Emmanuel Eboue to head the Group G leaders closer towards the knock-out stages of the Champions League.The Gunners doubled their lead just after the break when William Gallas and Henry set up Alexandre Hleb.Hleb’s goal consigned the 2004 winners Porto to bottom of Group C, and ensured the Gunners went two points clear at the top.The Gunners started off brightly enough with Cesc Fabregas sending a shot skimming over, and Robin van Persie missing two opportunities.However, before Henry gave the Arsenal the lead Kolo Toure thought he had opened his account with a close range effort, but the goal was ruled out - the linesman judging that the ball had been out of play before Fabregas had passed to the Ivorian.With seven minutes to go to the break and having failed to beat the goalie Helton, the Gunners put together a marvellous move.Hleb switched the ball to Eboue who was running down the right, the full-back left Marek Cech standing, Eboue then delivered the perfect ball - expertly weighted - the ball cleared the Porto centre-half, Pepe, and dropped towards Henry who only had to beat Helton, which he duly did, with his head.Just before the whistle, another header troubled Helton, this time from Van Persie, but the Porto keeper was up to the task.Asburton Grove then erupted as Gallas glided through Porto's midfield before squaring to Henry. Instead of shooting, Henry passed the ball along to Hleb, who was arriving at speed, the Belarussian's shot was low and hard and raced past poor Helton. There should have been more as Thomas Rosicky ballooned the ball over the bar, and Fabregas went close with a shot after more good work by Henry. Soon after, Theo Walcott came on for Hleb, as the youngster made his Champions League debut.By Terry Dennis