Most Memorable Arsenal Matches

It’s just around 3 years since my support for The Arsenal began. At first, it was quite mild and I rarely watched them. But what amazes me is how far I’ve gone from their. Not a single match missed in almost two years(except the first half of CC semifinal 2nd leg ).  There have been good moments, bad moments and those brilliant moments. Along with it have come those awful moments like the Cup Final defeat. But it wouldn’t be fair not to suggest my journey with the Gunners as one hell of a ride.

Here are some of the most memorable moments of MY Arsenal-watching career(as a FIFA 11 commentator would say!). Just to inform you, its only been 3 years since I’ve started watching them, so I’m not counting the matches we’ve played before. This compilation is based on how great I felt when Arsenal finally won the game. Hope you like it:

7. Arsenal-Stoke City 3-1(Britannia)

 

 

 

 

 

Yeah I know about Ramsey’s horrific injury. I was watching it with volume muted and all of a sudden I had the worsts of thoughts. I wouldn’t tell what that was but that moment almost made me cry. But after that, we showed some real grit and ultimately were rewarded with a penalty in stoppage time. That wasn’t all. The Verminator managed to get another one and at that moment, I thought that now the title was ours and our players would win it for Aaron Ramsey. They gave it their all but still ended up finishing 3rd.

6. Arsenal-Bolton 4-2 (The Emirates)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Remember the game where we were 2-0 down after Bolton scored the 2nd goal off a penalty. I do.Winning that game by more than a one goal margin would’ve taken us to the top of the league. And what I instantly thought after they scored twice was that we’d always crumble under the pressure of being at the top. And an hour later, I was proved all wrong. Goals from Rosicky, Vermaelan, Arshavin and another Arsenal player(c’mon you can’t expect me to remember that much. And if you do please inform me too!). And we ended up winning the match and going top of the league on goal-difference.

5. Arsenal-Hull City 2-1 (at their stadium)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nicklas Bendtner, to remind you, can sometimes finish. And a predatory finish was what won us the game that was level at 1-1 at Hull and probably kept our title chances alive. Denilson(oh all our poor players did well at that moment). He went for a 20-30 yard shot which the Hull keeper failed to hold on. And Bendtner was, for once, there to pick up the pieces and win it for Arsenal.

4. Arsenal- Manchester United 1-0 (The Emirates)

 

 

 

 

 

 

We were missing a number of key players. And with that, we were also missing some key ingredients such as our confidence. The feeling at the start of the match was a bit of worry and tension. All of that was gone when, just after 90 minutes the final whistle blew. We showed grit, determination and passion to win the game. Combine that with our quality and all that was left for Ramsey was to slot the ball home for the winner.

 

3. Arsenal-Barcelona 2-2 (The Emirates)

 

 

 

 

Maybe it was not the whole match, but the last 30 minutes that were too good to forget. Wenger brought on Theo Walcott and he split the Barca defencee like they were….. Arsenal themselves. Goals from him and Cesc at least kept the tie alive which eventually we ended up losing. Still it was a night to remember.

2. Arsenal Chelsea 3-1 (The Emirates)

 

 

 

 

 

 

A match that could be watched again and again by any Arsenal fan. Or a football fan in general. A game that had the biggest impact on Arsenal. We got to know our First-XI. We hunted the Chelsea players in pack and never allowed them enough space. For me, the most important match in the 2010-2011 season for us.

1. Arsenal- Barcelona 2-1 (The Emirates)

 

 

 

 

 

 

This has got to be at the top.  There wasn’t a part of the room where I was watching where I hadn’t jumped around. This match and every single detail of it will stay in my head for a long long time. Bendtner to Jack to Cesc to Nasri to Arshavin to GOAL!!!! The stadium erupted. And so did I.  The best match I’ve seen ever and possibly the best Emirates has ever witnessed.

That’s it for you. Hope you’ve liked the list.Another reminder it’s pretty much based on memory so I may have missed a match or two. Feel free to post yours below.

Reasons To Be Cheerful

The season ended on a catastrophic note for the Arsenal fans. From quadruple to a double. From a double to the league title and from that to not even a guaranteed place in Champions League next season. But at least it’s over. Never witnessed such an awful run from an Arsenal side. Sure they did stumble sometimes but not like this. And this time, it’s all got to do with the players. They weren’t simply good enough when the going got tough.

We are not new to the not-so-new Wenger comments about how the pitch was bad and how the referee just lost them the game before it even started. Some times he was right, sometimes he was not. But now even he doesn’t make such comments. That shows how poor we’ve been.

I’m a big Wenger fan and have always kept faith in his policies. And now that he’s seen the faults in this team, he’s ready for the ‘most active’ summer of his Arsenal reign. This season has been a big roller-coaster ride. Promising so much but ending with nothing. But the positives can’t be forgotten. Jack’s rise, Ramsey’s return, Wojciech’s solidity and van Persie’s injury-free period for once. The team has shown more promise than ever, but also failed big time to live up to it more than ever.

Sunday has seen the departure of a will-be-never-remembered season as far as Arsenal fans are concerned. The opposite is true for Blackpool fans. Sure they were relegated but the year has to be a major highlight in their history. Arsenal were losing at the moment when Blackpool took the lead at Old Trafford, and my face instantly had a big smile. It was really disheartening to see them go down after giving us so much. But Yessss, Birmingham also went down and there was another glow(a bigger one) to see that.

Yeah Boy! Sorry to See You Go

Brum’s relegations is so very welcome as in the previous seasons, they’ve been the one to put a stop to our hopes of ending our trophy drought.

The fact that a very poor season has ended is a good enough reason to look forward to the next season optimistically.

Now it’s a 2-month time before the season again kicks-off. Really sad. My weekends will be so much boring now.

I used to return from my classes on Saturdays and Sundays and sat back and enjoyed the ever-interesting Premier League matches. Now that it’s over, don’t know what I’ll do to entertain myself on weekend nights(the average kick-off time here is 8-9 PM).

Here’s hoping that the promise is fulfilled next season from my beloved Arsenal!!! See you soon!

Also, I’d like some suggestions from you readers as to what I should write during this break. Please avoid suggesting transfer articles.

*This article has won an Arsenal Season Review 2010-11 DVD courtesy of Justarsenal.com*

Someone Help Jack! Please!

Jack Wilshere has been selected for the Euro Under-21 Championships this summer.This means that he gets no rest for almost 3 years. Having played his first full season in top-flight, he now is an England regular. He goes to Denmark this summer, plays for Arsenal next season, goes with England again next year for the Euro Championship and returns to Arsenal only to play another full season with them.All this is supposed to burn him out and probably waste his undoubted talent.If that’s not what Stuart Pearce or the English FA can understand, then I don’t know what will.

He’s only 19. To put such huge amounts of pressure on a 19-year-old player is something that’s just not acceptable. He’s been exceptional for Arsenal which offers top-quality football.He’s played in the Champions League,the Premier League and even for the England national team. Now Pearce wants him to gain experience at a lower level. Let me inform you, a player cannot perform to his full potential if he’s asked to play at a lower level. I remember Wenger’s comments about how Arsenal players would struggle if they had to play in the Championship rather than the Premier League. It’s not as if Jack would assert his authority in that tournament. Mentally, it might not even be good for him.

Remember there was a boy aged 16, chosen to represent his country at the World Cup. Neither did he play in that tournament, nor did he practice to improve his footballing qualities. It has taken him an eternity to realize his potential which is not yet completely fulfilled.The guy is Theo Walcott. Our own speedy forward whose progress was much affected by the extreme pressure he had to face at 16.

Run Jack Run! But Make sure you've still got legs!

I don’t know what Pearce thinks but people thinking he’s a psycho certainly aren’t wrong.From a personal point of view, I love Jack and wish him good luck. But how the hell can playing at a lower level be a good experience.He’s already played 50-odd games for us and has looked a bit jaded in recent matches. Though Wilshere might not admit himself, no vacation this summer might prove to be detrimental to his progress. I can understand the pride in playing for his country but he’s also got to look at his fitness. To be honest, I’d like Wenger to rest him at Fulham only because of the fact that his performances have dropped recently.

Jack schedule this summer is draining and expect him to miss the start of the next season and even suffer from injuries the same way Cesc Fabregas has this year. Bojan has also been called up but the fact is he’s played a fourth of the minutes Jack’s played. He’s also not a Spanish regular and he’s a case where playing in such a competition would help him. But for Jack, he’s played 4,066 minutes. That’s the equivalent of 45 full 90-minute games. At 19, he’s played like a more-mature player than most in England.

Jack’s a tough lad and probably the toughest at Arsenal. But every player has his breaking limits. And Jack’s getting closer to that mark.It’s up to England to preserve their own gem.Or else he might crack. For his sake, someone please help him!