Newcastle vs. Arsenal: Match Review

Newcastle came back from an early goal down to win a point against Premier League leaders Arsenal, who failed to capitalize on a game in hand but nonetheless went four points clear of second-placed Manchester United.

Arsenal were 1-0 up after only four minutes, after Emmanuel Adebayor drilled a fabulous volley into the back of Shay Given's net. Despite having lost their last four matches, though, Sam Allardyce's Newcastle showed some spirit, and got a point out of the match when Steven Taylor's 60th minute strike went in off of the post.

Lineups:
Newcastle: Shay Given; Habib Beye, David Rozenhal, Steven Taylor; Joey Barton, Nicky Butt, James Milner, Charles N'zogbia, Geremi; Obafemi Martins, Alan Smith

Arsenal: Manuel Almunia; Bacary Sagna, Kolo Toure, William Gallas, Gael Clichy; Emmanuel Eboue, Gilberto Silva, Lassana Diarra, Tomas Rosicky, Eduardo da Silva; Emmanuel Adebayor

Arsenal started off with a bang after a brilliant piece of work from Emmanuel Adebayor silenced the Tyneside crowd only four minutes into the game.

The lanky Togolese striker chested down a cross from Emmanuel Eboue, and drilled an unstoppable volley between Steven Taylor and David Rozenhal before the ball touched the ground.

The goal will certainly be a contender for goal of the month.

Newcastle almost responded only a few seconds after Adebayor's strike when Geremi sent a header just wide with Almunia beaten.

The Magpies skipper then saw a free kick well saved by a fully stretched Almunia in the 28th minute.

The Arsenal goalkeeper played brilliantly, and made yet another save as the game approached half-time, throwing up a hand to deflect Steven Taylor's header onto the post. The save was so unexpected that the Newcastle players appealed for a handball, assuming that an Arsenal outfielder had touched the ball, rather than the brilliant keeper.

It was a warning for Arsenal, though, as Newcastle continued to press the Gunners in the second half.

Charles N'Zogbia powered a shot towards the well-worked Arsenal keeper soon after the break, but the ball only stung the Almunia's hands from distance.

The visitors showed some of their promise soon after, as Tomas Rosicky played Eboue in down the right. Unfortunately the Ivorian crossed straight to Shay Given, wasting a gilt-edged opportunity.

Geremi saw a shot blocked by Gilberto in the 53rd minute, before an Arsenal fast-break started.
Adebayor and Rosicky played off of each other, but the Togo striker raced ahead into an offside position, as the Czech Republic captain had the ball stripped away.

It was a chance that the Gunners would rue, as Newcastle equalized in the 60th minute.

Bacary Sagna was kept away from Habib Beye's cross by a strong Obafemi Martins, and the ball fell perfectly for Steven Taylor. Sagna tried to recover, but his block came a fraction of a second too late, as Taylor's shot ricocheted home off of the bottom of Almunia's post, giving the keeper no chance.

Newcastle continued to play strongly, as a shell-shocked Arsenal side backed down.

Even Nicklas Bendtner coming on for Eduardo could do little, as Arsenal settled for a point at St. James' Park.

I was wrong about Alex Song

Maybe I was wrong about Alex Song. And I'm not just saying that because it rhymes.

Song was brilliant in the center of defense alongside Philippe Senderos in yesterday's game against Newcastle. The two held out against a strong Newcastle frontline of Shola Ameobi, Alan Smith, and reported Arsenal target Obafemi Martins; managing to keep a clean sheet (thanks in part to Senderos' clearing off the line).

The Cameroonian was strong in the air and didn't seem to set a foot wrong throughout what was certainly the best Arsenal game of his career.

Perhaps Song is better suited as a central defender than a midfielder. His performances in the midfield have been abysmal thus far (Fulham anyone?) and he doesn't have the pace nor talent to fight for a spot against the likes of Fabregas, Gilberto, Flamini, Diarra and more in a congested midfield.

I have hopes for the lad now. Maybe Wenger can pull off another Kolo Toure, converting a decent player into a fabulous center back. If we keep playing Song in our backline (in the Carling Cup of course) we might just have the impenetrable defense we've been lacking.

Speaking of Wenger, the gaffer wants to play Song at center back as well.

“Don’t misjudge Alex Song,” he told Arsenal TV Online, “because he is a great player.”

“I feel he was misjudged in the Fulham game last year where we had a nightmare first half. He was involved in it so everyone thought he was to blame but I didn’t think so. He moved out to Charlton where he had some great games.

“We believe he is a quality player and I personally believe he can make it at centre back.”

Arsenal vs Newcastle: Match Review

Match Preview

Arsenal dominated today's games for long spells, despite only managing to put the game away 2-0 in the final 10 minutes. An 83rd minute header from Nicklas Bendtner broke the deadlock, and Neves Denilson put the game beyond doubt with a superbly taken strike from 20 yards out. Arsene Wenger's younger players have once again proved their worth and will go into the fourth round full of confidence despite Wenger's commitment to playing a second string side in the Carling Cup.

Lineups:
Arsenal: Lukasz Fabianksi; Emmanuel Eboue, Justin Hoyte, Philippe Senderos, Armand Traore; Neves Denilson, Lassana Diarra, Alex Song; Nicklas Bendtner, Eduardo da Silva, Theo Walcott

Newcastle: Shay Given; Habib Beye, Sanchez Jose Enrique, David Rozenhal, Steven Taylor; Abdoulaye Faye, James Milner, Charles N'Zobgia; Shola Ameobi, Obafemi Martins, Alan Smith

Sam Allardyce's men created the first clear cut chance of the match when Enrique sent in a dangerous cross from the left wing. Alleged Arsenal target Obafemi Martins headed the ball goalward, but a fine save from the young signing Lukasz Fabianski kept it out of the back of the net.

Nicklas Bendtner had a similar chance after a 17th minute cross from Armand Traore, but the tall Dane couldn't steer the ball goalward, powering it high over the crossbar.

Eduardo soon had his first chance at goal, after some good work from newly returned Emmanuel Eboue, but the newly signed Croatian striker was just unable to send the ball towards goal. He was able to get alone with Shay Given, but was shut down by the Newcastle keeper just in time to keep the scoreline 0-0.

Arsenal enjoyed another chance when Emmanuel Eboue forced a great save out of Given after powering a low drive goalwards from 20 yards.

Both goalies kept their teams clean sheets for the first half, but Arsenal came out the stronger in the second.

Given was called into action again as he made a fine reflex save from Theo Walcott.

Arsenal had another great chance when a blocked shot from Eboue gave the gunners a corner. Eduardo headed the resulting corner towards the goal, but Charles N'Zogbia cleared the ball off the line.

Newcastle then had a penalty shout turned down as Philippe Senderos appeared to bring down Martins in the box.

It was not the last chance Newcastle would have, despite Arsenal going on to dominate the rest of the game. On 83 minutes Traore crossed the ball to Nicklas Bendtner who made no mistakes in powering in his header.

Obafemi Martins had a chance to equalize soon after as he rounded Lukasz Fabianski, only to see his shot brilliantly cleared off the line by a sliding Senderos.

The game then finished beyond doubt, as Neves Denilson unleashed a superb strike from 20 yards out to seal an appearance in the 4th round for the young gunners.

Watch the goals (and Senderos' clearance) here

Arsenal vs. Newcastle: Match Preview

Tomorrow will see Arsene Wenger's young guns take on Big Sam's Newcastle side in the Carling Cup. Wenger confirmed that he will continue to play youngsters and players "who need to get up to full speed" in the Carling Cup, despite the fact that Sam Allardyce always plays his strongest squad even in the 'lesser' of the English cups.

Arsene informed Arsenal.com as to some of the players we will be seeing tomorrow.

“You will see Bendtner, Diarra, and Denilson. Maybe Eboue (ankle) will be coming back as well.

“You’ll see Justin Hoyte and Alex Song maybe Eduardo and Diaby. Then there is Armand Traore and Lukasz Fabianski who we have not seen a lot of so far. We have sold out and we will put out a good team. We want to give the opportunity to our fans to see some unfamiliar faces.”

After Wenger saying that both Hoyte and Bendtner will stay at Arsenal, it is great to see the young pair finally get some time on the pitch.

It would be nice to see Bendtner starting a match, as the youngster has great promise. He complained about not seeing enough action in the start of the season, despite his impressive performances, and the Carling Cup could be the perfect opportunity to let the tall Dane show off his skills.

Hoyte also has considerable talent, and as he can play either left or right back he could be a great squad player for Arsenal in the future.

Diarra, Denilson, Eduardo, and Diaby are all players on the fringe of regular first team action, and good Carling Cup performances might see some of them getting more time in the Premier League as well. Diaby and Diarra in particular impressed in the 5-0 drubbing of Derby on Saturday, the former scoring the first goal, and the latter registering some impressive mazy runs.

It should be great to see our young players play, but it will be quite a test against the Premiership's 5th place team. Allardyce is likely to play such big names as alleged Arsenal target Obafemi Martins, former Manchester United striker Alan Smith, Mark Viduka and the impressive young Charles N'Zobgia.

Newcastle's impressive front line may cause trouble for the young Traore and Hoyte, but with Kolo Toure in the center we may be able to hold off Big Sam's strikers. Scoring goals shouldn't be a problem with Eduardo and Bendtner in the lineup, and the home advantage will help as well. I fancy our side will just manage to pull out a 2-1 victory in a tight match.

Obafemi Martins is NOT coming to Arsenal

According to The Sun, Newcastle striker Obafemi Martins has admitted that he is flattered by the link with Arsenal, but he is fully committed to Newcastle United. He told The Sun that he wants to stay with Newcastle and fight Michael Owen and new signing Mark Viduka for a spot in the starting 11.

Martins had been linked with Arsenal throughout the summer because of the get-out clause in his current contract, but as I argued in my post about signing a new striker, he would be surplus to requirements as far as I am concerned. While I rate him highly, he is not worth his £13 million price tag, since Arsenal don't really need a striker right now.

What do you think? Is failing to land Martins a mistake like missing out on Ribery and Babel?

Do we need a new striker? If so, who should it be?

Despite having bought Eduardo da Silva and having brought Nicklas Bendtner back from loan this summer, many fans believe that we need another striker to deal with the loss of Thierry Henry. With Arsene Wenger claiming that he wants to play with two strikers, some believe that we need to sign a new striker. Arsenal has been linked with Obafemi Martins, Robinho, and former Arsenal man Nicolas Anelka amongst others. With Bendtner performing admirably during the pre-season and Eduardo looking comfortable in an Arsenal jersey, as well as the fitness of Robin van Persie and Adebayor, I think we are pretty set on strikers. I don't think that we need to bring in any new strikers, and I will go through each of the three men above telling you why they don't belong.

Obafemi Martins - Rumors about the transfer of the 22 year-old Nigerian have been abundant, in large part because of the £13 million buy out clause in his contract. Even now, it is rumored that Arsenal have placed a £9 million bid on the player, although it is unlikely that Big Sam would accept such an offer (even if it were true). At 22, Martins would be a typical Wenger buy (although he has already proven himself in the Premiership with 13 goals last season in 36 league appearances. While he is an excellent player, he is not the type of player that Arsenal need right now. At 5 ft 7 in Martins would be short even for Wenger's current team of midgets. While he is good in the air he has little to offer that can't already be gotten from our current strikers. He may be better than Adebayor and Bendtner right now, but Bendtner has great promise, and in my opinion Adebayor doesn't deserve a starting spot anyways.
Edit: Obafemi Martins is not going to leave Newcastle

Robinho - Robinho plays as a winger or a second striker more than an out-and-out striker. Arsenal don't need a second striker (as we have Hleb who is brilliant playing in that position) and while we do need a winger, we don't need Robinho because of his price tag. While I wouldn't mind seeing Robinho at Ashburton Grove, I don't think that he would warrant the huge price-tag that Real Madrid would be sure to slap on him. A player like him (someone selfish) would be appreciated, but with such a huge price tag and small frame (5 ft 9 in) I would rather see Morten Gamst Pederson or someone similar join us.

Nicolas Anelka - I don't think we need too much of an explanation why Anelka shouldn't rejoin Arsenal. The former Arsenal man was rumored to be Arsene Wenger's first choice as a replacement for Thierry Henry (I'm not quite sure why), but his sulking attitude would make him more of a liability than anything else. He showed us in his two seasons at Arsenal that he is a great player, but his attitude is the type that rips a team apart - not what Arsene Wenger wants.

So there you go. I don't think we should buy a striker, although a winger would be a welcome addition to our squad. However, I don't think that we should be splashing Chelski-like amounts of cash on players like Robinho (unless of course Abromovich decides to buy Arsenal).

What do you think? Do we need a new striker? Who should Arsene be going after?