Nasri Scores A Wonder Goal

“When the going gets tough, the tough gets going..”, and so we heard a long time back. The stakes couldn’t be higher when the Gunners squared up against a resilient Porto side in the decider for a place in the quarters of the Champion’s League, last evening. Trailing by a single goal, an away goal at that, from the first leg, and with home support to cheer them on, Arsenal were doing rather OK going into the match. But when our skipper Fabregas picked up an injury against Burnley at the weekend, there were suspicions on whether we could create enough for the likes of Bendtner to finish. Not forgetting the Dane’s conversion rate in front of the goal-mouth, the situation became all the more precarious. But the display which the Gunners belted out in front of another packed Emirates crowd is what reiterates our faith in Wenger’s ‘Young Guns’ time & again.

The final score read: Arsenal 5 – Porto 0, & we @11G celebrate the same right now..

No stopping Us!!

They mockingly said “For 30 years, Arsenal haven’t overturned a first leg deficit in Europe’s Premier Competition“. I can gladly reply to them “You can eat your words safely now.” The jinx, if ever there was one has been broken, and it has been done in a thumping style with a resounding win over a hapless Porto. To the quartefinals and the other teams  I have one thing to say, “Watch Out, We are coming!” 11G recounts the same right now..

William Gallas

Seldom are players swapped stirring so much controversy as happened when the top-2 from London exchanged the pro-libedo might of Ashley Cole for the grumpy, sulken skills of William Gallas. Both proven performers in search of fresher challanges.

Conor Valentine is back with views on his favourite defender. And mind you, he’s Irish! (Follow him on Twitter @Gunnerman911)

STOP, it's Eboue!

Some players just pull on their jocks, ride on the pitch, do their bit & happily recline once the final whistle blows. While the other few prefer divide opinions while they are at it. Be it their on-field demeanour or off-field persona, the media just can’t have enough of them. Emmanuel Eboué is one such kind.

Conor Valentine explains.. (Follow him on Twitter @Gunnerman911)

We Miss You Robin!

Arsenal until recently, were the leading goal-poachers not just in England, but in the whole of Europe. Now that is a remarkable stat if you consider the acute paucity of goal-guzzlers at the Emirates this season. For a while Wenger had a full repertoire to choose from, in likes of Van Persie, Bendtner, Arshavin, Vela, Eduardo, & we are not even counting Walcott here! Injuries ripped right through our front-line & left us seriously short on armory. The transfer window came & bid adieu, but Arsene didn’t flutter one bit, much to the dismay of the faithful. He stuck by his guns & is now supposedly through the so-called ‘striker crisis’ facing his ranks.

Conor Valentine, a fiercely avid Gunner from Dublin, shares his views on the same right now. You can Follow him on Twitter @Gunnerman911.

One Nil To The Opposition!

“Buy a striker Arsene.” “Why doesn’t Arsene buy a winger?” “Wenger should seriously fish in the market for a strong, tough-tackling midfielder.” “Arsenal needs a mean defender if they are to remain in contention this term.” And as we were busy quoting, re-quoting the above, another one flew in our net! Hell, the ‘one nil to the Arsenal’ coinage has now become ‘Arsenal one down’ & the prime reason behind this is not the paucity of forwards, or the inability of our mid-fielders, or for that matter the brawn of our defence. More often than not, it’s the custodian who has let the team down. 11G probes the case of ‘The 3 Muskepeers’ right now..

Is Walcott Good Enough For No. 14?

You shouldn’t be surprised if faced with a question similar to the one above i.e. Where is our No. 14!? Answers may range from, ‘We had Thierry Henry playing there, aye (!?)‘ to ‘It was this real fast guy‘ & so on. You shouldn’t also be surprised if few fail to remember this guy completely. But then pardoning them would be much easier than forgetting the promise one English teenager had shown signs of, months before WC ‘06. It’s that time of the year again, & we @11G rewind time to get up-close with Theo Walcott. Our No. 14 btw..