ARSENAL vs BARCELONA

Next match : Arsenal vs Barcelona @ emirates stadium


The first Leg of Champions league Quarter final will be held on tuesday @ Emirates stadium.
Everybody's eyes are on Messi and Henry.
It is seemed to have a tough match for Arsenal..
Arsenal need 2+ Goals lead if they need to advance to the Semi's . Because it will be very difficult to score @ Barcelona home

It is also told as the Battle between two friends Lionell Messi and Cesc Fabregas, the old Colleagues of La Messia, Barcelona.
Let's hope Arsenal will be in Great Form against Barcelona

Wengers Reaction : Disappointment



On the 1-1 draw...
"It is a disappointment because we had the game won and we had the chance to score the second goal. I believe the pitch was very difficult to play on and it was a scrappy game. We got slowly on top and played the second half in their half but they defended well and made the game difficult. In the end we got caught."
On Birmingham's equaliser...
"I think first there as an offside and then Almunia deflected the ball into his own goal. But I will have to see it again."
On if he was disappointed to concede late on...
"Of course but football is never finished when two teams fight until the end. We had the chance to score the second and to keep the ball. The last thing you want is a free-kick against you. Instead of going to the corner flag we are confined to their box."
On Cesc Fabregas' injury...
"I don't know medically. We will have to assess that tomorrow. He got tackled at the knee. We tried to take him of at first but after he said he was alright."
On if he will miss the Barcelona game...
"I don't know."
On leaving Nasri and Arshavin on the bench...
"Arshavin had a groin problem and Nasri had a knee problem from the last game."
On where the result leaves Arsenal in the title race...
"It is a big blow for our title, of course. We were in a position where we had to win all our games and not to win today is a big blow to our chances."

Let’s worry about McFadden after that Messi


Vermaelen shouldn’t have been sent off
Having given the penalty, he had to go, but it was an incorrect decision on two counts: the alleged foul consisted of the slightest physical contact, and was initiated outside the box. That said, there are plenty of referees who would’ve sent off Sol Campbell against Hull, and one wonders if that incident was in the official’s mind when he reached for his card.
Vermaelen will miss his first league game of the season at Birmingham
31 league games this season and Vermaelen has started every one of them. It’s been an outstanding first year from the Belgian, who must surely go down as the Premier League’s signing of the season. For a long time we marvelled at how no matter what injury problems we suffered, we managed to keep Vermaelen and Gallas in situe at the back. Next Saturday will herald the first time we have to go in to a league match without either of them.
Song and Silvestre could start at St. Andrews
If Sol Campbell is required against Barcelona, it’s hard to see him starting the league match just three days earlier. In his absence, Alex Song could well be the partner for Mikael Silvestre: he was superb in the role at the weekend (albeit against the rotund Mido), and with Denilson’s form improving we may be able to cope without Song in the holding role.
Diaby makes a difference
Removing Song from midfield is a luxurious move, but one made possible when you have the strength and skill of Abou Diaby to replace him. His arrival as a substitute at West Ham helped secure the game - his ability to win the ball, dribble it past players in absurdly small spaces then carry it great distances serves two obvious purposes: it relieves pressure on our goal, and gives us a threat on the counter-attack. Diaby has had a very good season and, along with Song and Fabregas, now features prominently in Arsene’s first choice midfield.
Messi-watch is a waste of time
One of my fears about the Birmingham game is that it will sit in the shadow of that enormous game with Barca. It’s easy to understand: with Lionel Messi in this kind of form a little nervousness is entirely natural. The only way to get through this period, however, is to take each game as it comes. Messi can wait - we’d be better off worrying about McFadden & Co for this week.

Ramsey: It’s easy to see why it happens. It’s not so easy to forgive.


It’s easy to see how it happens.  You step on to the field, brimming with adrenaline, with the last words of your managers team talk still ringing in your ears.
“Alright lads, listen close.  When you go in, go in hard.  This foreign lot, they don’t like it up ‘em.”
It’s the 65th minute and the game is tightly poised at 1-1.  The ball breaks in midfield, and you stride on to it - a rare opportunity to relieve increasing pressure on your goal.  A poor touch carries the ball away, and you’re faced with a choice: admit you’ve conceded possession, or make a lunge for it.  You plump for the latter.  After all, “they don’t like it up ‘em”.
Your manager is right.  They don’t like it ‘up em.  Nor raking the back of ‘em, nor stamping down on top of ‘em, nor, as yesterday, swinging recklessly through a planted limb.  They don’t like it when their legs are snapped and left in a twisted, mangled mess.
Call him soft, but when this happens, Aaron Ramsey doesn’t like it:
Nicklas Bendtner and Glenn Whelan comfort Aaron Ramsey
Eduardo didn’t much care for it either, nor Abou Diaby before him.   Rough ‘em up a bit, leave that foot in a second longer, apply an ounce more force in your tackle.  Those Arsenal boys, they won’t like it.  If something should go wrong - well, it’s hardly the aggressor’s fault, is it?  The media will round to remind the Arsenal manager that, “it’s a contact sport after all, Arsene.  He’s just a good old-fashioned, big-hearted, tough-tackling sort of lad”.
“He’s not that sort of player,” they’ll say.  “He lives with his mum and does charity work.  He’s never even been sent off.  There was no malice in the tackle.
Perhaps not.  But none of that, not one part of it, makes Ryan Shawcross innocent.
Arseblogger struck upon a superb analogy yesterday when he pointed out that whist the law distinguishes between a pre-meditated hit-and-run and reckless driving, both remain crimes.  The law distinguishes between manslaughter and murder.  Shawcross might not have intended to break Ramsey’s leg, but irresponsible and negligent conduct means he did.
A tackle can be a beautiful thing.  There is as much technique in dispossession as a drag-back.  I would never want to see a game bereft of that art, but what Shawcross did was different.  He threw himself in to a situation where his chances of winning the ball were negligible, and his chances of taking out Ramsey significant.  Whatever his pleas about respecting his “fellow professionals”, he didn’t consider the odds enough to show concern for Ramsey’s well-being.  For him, there were no consequences.
The sad thing is how true that is - relatively, there are no consequences.  Another area where Common Law has the edge over Football Law is the idea of proportionate punishment.  Ramsey will probably miss a year due to his injuries - Shawcross will miss three games.  I’m sure his remorseful tears will have dried up by then.  Ramsey will have to live with his physical and emotional scars for a good while longer.
It’s tempting to ask the press to stop perpetuating the idea that the way to beat Arsenal is with unbridled brutality.  Unfortunately, the media are merely a reflection of our culture: one fascinated by the triumph of underdogs.  If Stoke’s cloggers are to overcome Arsenal’s artisans, uninhibited physical force is bound to be their principal weapon - and the people of England will then come together to celebrate it.  And we wonder why we don’t produce enough technical footballers.
Attitudes won’t change.  There are too many people in the game who regard our players with something approaching xenophobia; too many idiots like Stan Collymore dictating the media agenda; too many managers pulling the same old dirty tricks.  Instead, the only way to stop this from happening is to show that it doesn’t work.
Two years ago, when Martin Taylor’s stamp crumpled Eduardo’s left leg like an expendable plastic cup, our title chances collapsed in a similarly horrific manner.  After rallying to lead 2-1, a mistake by Gael Clichy saw us concede a stoppage time penalty that pegged us back to a costly draw.  After the game, a tearful William Gallas launched a Taylor-esque attack on the advertising hoardings.  He and the fans knew that the title would escape us.  Our belief, among other things, had been crushed.
Yesterday could not have felt more different.  When Ramsey reached out his arm to call for the physio, his team-mates responded just as they did two years ago.  For some of them, the experience was new - Thomas Vermaelen’s reaction was one of a player who’d not yet witnessed such a horrifying injury.  For others, it was painfully familiar - Clichy himself seemed distraught, whilst on the sidelines Eduardo’s expressionless face masked what must have been traumatic memories.  For ten minutes, there was barely a tackle in the game, as both sides came to terms with what they’d witnessed.
But then, something happened that Pulis, the press, and others hadn’t reckoned on: we fought back.  Not with high tackles or raised elbows, but with a ruthless efficiency befitting of this talented squad.  Stoke were down to ten men, and we exploited it.  No tantrums from our captain, but an ice-cool penalty and two assists for the superb Cesc Fabregas.  An injured Gallas was notable by his absence - in his place, Sol Campbell, a titan of a man, bellowing instructions and pumping his fists as the winning goals went in.
At the end, Cesc called the players in to a huddle - a sign of indomitable spirit not seen since The Invincibles.  Ours is the title challenge that won’t die, and with ten games to go, the message now is simple: do it for Ramsey.

Birmingham vs Arsenal - Preview

Arsenal lost many things at Birmingham on Saturday, February 23, 2008 but, according to Arsène Wenger, the title was not one of them.

The visitors arrived at St Andrew’s that day with the chance of extending their advantage at the top of the Premier League table to eight points.

In the opening minutes Eduardo suffered an horrific injury and, by half time, Arsenal were a goal behind. They regrouped at the break and Theo Walcott’s brace was a fair reflection of their second-half dominance.

However, in injury time, Stuart Parnaby tumbled over Gael Clichy’s outstretched leg and James McFadden fired home a costly penalty. The fall-out focussed on the reaction of William Gallas but the team struggled as a whole in the wake of what had happened that day.

They drew their next three games and then lost to Chelsea exactly a month after the Birmingham defeat. By the time they were beaten at Old Trafford a fortnight after that they were nine points off the pace.

Birmingham ended up going down so Saturday’s trip to the Midlands is Arsenal’s first since that horrible afternoon. Understandably the build-up has been dominated by unpleasant memories.

“It was a dark day because Eduardo was injured,” Wenger said. “But we didn’t lose the title that day.

“At the end of the day we played a draw but everything happened after that because it created some unrest.

“However I do not think it was our darkest day. We lost the title later on when we didn’t beat Middlesbrough at home. Then we went to Man United and we were 1-0 up but they got a penalty and we lost. So it was a few games, not just the Birmingham game."

With the title race so tight, Wenger’s pressure-valve approach is correct but for Eduardo at least it is still THE Birmingham game. He does not recall laying motionless for nine minutes and then leaving the field on a stretcher with an oxygen mask strapped to his head. Those of us who witnessed it will never forget it.

Wenger admits that, two years and two surgeries later, the 27-year-old is still working his way back to his full potential. Getting through Saturday will only help.

"Of course, it is definitely [the ideal opportunity] to get over it,” said Wenger. “It is the final hurdle in his mind. To be confronted with what happened to you is always good."
Importantly, the team have faced a similar situation in the last month. However after the harrowing loss of Aaron Ramsey at Stoke, Arsenal won the game with a last-minute penalty rather than losing it.

“That shows we have matured,” said Wenger. “These boys are winners but as well we have won nothing yet and so this is just another opportunity to show that we have matured."

Apart from Ramsey, Wenger’s midfield is replete. The manager’s major decision is at centre half. William Gallas and Thomas Vermaelen played every Premier League game of the season until February 10. On Saturday, for the first time in the League this term, Arsenal will have neither. The Frenchman has been troubled with a calf injury since the win over Liverpool and the Belgian is suspended after his red card against West Ham last Saturday. Sol Campbell seems certain to start. His partner will be either Mikael Silvestre or Alex Song.

Despite the visit of Barcelona on Wednesday, Wenger has painted Birmingham as the starkest of priorities right now. The Midlanders were one of the Premier League’s form side around Christmas and dreaming of Europe themselves.

This week’s defeats to Blackburn and Sunderland suggest they have faded somewhat since then but Alex McLeish’s side remain formidable at home. Both Manchester United and Chelsea have failed to win there and if Birmingham avoid defeat against Arsenal they will have completed their longest unbeaten run at St Andrew’s for 36 years.

"They are a good side,” admitted Wenger. “They are well organised, play good football and have a very good physical dynamic.

“They have done extremely well until now. They just had two difficult games but I have seen them in every single game and they made life hard for everybody. So you have to give them credit. They are in a secure position with nearly ten games to go and that is remarkable."

You could describe Arsenal’s recent brinkmanship in the same terms. Since the start of February, Wenger’s men have pulled out last-gasp victories against Stoke and Hull meanwhile the wins over West Ham, Burnley and Liverpool have all suffered from an unnecessary nervousness.

"Ideally you want to win games earlier,” admitted Wenger. “But even if it is in the last minute we have shown that we keep the nerves and we keep going.

“These are good ingredients for a team who wants to fight for a title. But we will need the same qualities again at Birmingham. They will try to make it difficult for us and we will need to fight, maybe until the last second of the game. The most important thing is that we prepare to fight until the last second.

“We are on a good run, we are in a position nobody expected us to be. Not one person at the beginning of the season expected us to be where we are so we are in a fantastic situation so let's take advantage of it, enjoy it and go for it. After that we face what happens.

"When the referee starts the game we have as many chances as Birmingham to win the game.

"So let's make sure that we turn up at our best, then we have a good chance to win the game."www.arsenal.com

Wenger - Eduardo is heading back to his best

Arsène Wenger believes Eduardo is “still on the way back” from the horrific injury he received at Birmingham two years ago.


www.arsenal.com
On February 28, 2008, the Arsenal striker suffered a broken fibula and open dislocation to his left ankle following a challenge from Martin Taylor in the early stages at St Andrews.

The Croatian underwent surgery that night and it signified a long journey back to playing again. Therefore it was an emotional evening on February 16, 2009 when the 27-year-old scored twice in his comeback game against Cardiff.

On Saturday, Arsenal return to Birmingham for the first time and 
Eduardo is expected to be part of the travelling squad. Over two years on, Wenger feels the player’s recovery remains ‘in progress’.

"I believe he is still on his way back,” said the Frenchman. “He is not completely yet where he was before but the signs are positive. He is getting better and better but I knew that it would take a long time.

“Don't forget that he had a second surgery at the end of last season and that was decisive in getting him back to where he was before because the injury had affected his pace.  

“After that he had a few muscle problems but now I feel him coming back.

“For a while he had not found his sharpness completely. However for the last two or three weeks in training he has been showing that he is back where he was before. But it took him a long time."

Barcelona: Reaction.


The reaction to this draw has been splendid, it has sparked a debate all over the sporting world about who is better, who's 'beautiful game' this is, who has the better squad and the players returning to former clubs. I have read alot of the reaction online and of course the two teams faithful' are split into two sides, which was always likely to happen. There are Arsenal fans who fear Barcelona, and Arsenal fans who are really up for this and vice versa.

We have a great chance to win this game, if you watch the two teams you would know that we move the ball faster and we pass the ball better and that isn't biased. Honest. Barcelona like to push their full-backs (Alves and Abidal) so far up the pitch, even in that 4-3-3, it will be interesting to see how Guardiola handles this.

Most of the talk has featured Diego Maradona but at more revs per minute, who has been in the form of his life and is definitely up their with your Pele's, Maradona's and Best's. And he's only 22. José Aurelio Gay and his team described him as "not human" and "interplanetary". Gay said "We could have beaten Barcelona but we could never have beaten Leo Messi. If we had scored four, he would have scored 12".

So yeah, they have Lionel Messi, but we have Francesc Fabregas and he is a gooner, he is also in the form of his life and arguably up their with Iniesta.

Leo Messi has expressed his concern on our style of play, Hleb thinks we pose a threat and Henry is struggling to cope with the news. We shall give Henry a great reception on his return, but when the whistle goes we are behind the Red & White.

In other news, Arsenal will appeal against Vermaelens red. It could be risky but I feel this one is more about resting Sol for Barcelona than playing Thomas for Birmingham. Let's hope that the FA's ridiculous justice and judging formula doesn't fail us.

Have a good 'un. Till next time.

My Story: Using Connectives
By Luke Murphy



I flew to the shop because I was forced to go. I had to get milk, coke, the Herald anf some ice-cream for €1.50.

Then I drove in my sports car to earn some money as the youngest taxi man but I forgot my keys to the house. Eventhough I forgot my keys I had a back up plan. After my job, I tried my back up plan. I climbed though the window but then I saw the door open!!

My Story
By Patryk Zylawy
Last weekend, I drove to Polish school with my dad. Then I ran to my classroom because it was time for Polish Language. When I finished school, I drove home to eat my dinner. When I ate my dinner we went to Fairview for a walk around and played football. After that, my dad drove home to eat something. Next I walked to me bedroom to watch tv. Last, I sprinted to my bed and went to sleep.

The Island
by Evan Pierce

We could hear the cry of a wolf. We knew it was a wolf by the long, howling cry it was making. We were starnded on an island a thousand miles from home.We wetre on our way to holidaying in North America when the boat we were on sank. Five of us swam to shore. We mad a camp straight away and got a fire going.

It wasn't long before night came and all the noises on the island began. Whenthe morning came we walked. We walked all aound the island. Survival would be tough, but we knew if we wnated to see our homes again we would have to be brave and tough. There could be a jungle on the island with many creatures and many adventures to share with you...


Our Trip to Bull Island!!!



By Jack Kenna.



We went to Bull Island on Tuesday on a class outing. We left the school at 10 o' clock and got the bus up the road. We went on a long walk to the visitors centre. When we arrived there, a man called Pat showed us a slideshow. It was really interesting. Then we looked at different energy sources like solar, wind and earth power. My favourite power was solar power. Then we saw lots of birds, that was cool. We got back to school at 2:30 pm. We had a great time and learned a lot about nature.