loss to Roma, glory for Arsenal

apparently my decision to get some rest last night was the correct one. Milan visited AS Roma last night and ended their campaign in a very tragic way. they lost to the home side with 3-2 score line. a very sad good bye to Maldini indeed. and as for Becks, he was replaced by Clarence Seedorf in the second half which also means he ended his last day as a Rossoneri with his head down. still qualify for champs league though, thanks for the new policy implemented by Michel Platini. 3 top teams will automatically qualify for next season champs league while the 4th place have to win qualifying matches. anyway, Becks needs to go back to LA Galaxy and bear with fans tantrums for the season and of course, help them win trophies. it is so sad to see him leaving AC Milan without a single glory carved on his chest, but he’s done his best. i had a pretty tiring day yesterday and decided to go to bed earlier than i usually do, and in fact, avoiding the match was a very wise one. looks like i don’t have to watch his rerun today.

i made the headline as if Arsenal were facing their champs league opponent once again. actually, it was a bittersweet news for me. Arsenal managed to wrapped up their last game with a victory over Stoke City assembling a 4-1 score line. apparently, RVP scored brace for the Gunners and helped Arsenal tighten up their grip on the 4th spot leaving Aston Villa qualify for UEFA Cup next season. it is a good news for us to  have Wenger finally got around his head in the final day. but it was Stoke City we were facing off. it was nice to have the last game at home which offered Wenger a huge reception from the fans who have been his loyal supporter since the beginning. hopefully we will see some additional players to the team this summer, and so far we only heard Roque Santa Cruz in his list. but we can other developments this June.

Becks is a selfish man

when reading the title, i am pretty certain that most of you would raise both of your eyebrows asking a question or two to yourself, whether or not i am still sane. the answer is, i am in a stable health both physically and emotionally. unlike my previous posts which were more than endorsing whatever Becks was doing, today i would make a sharp turn than i had done in the past. i hope it can still posses some vibrant words; in a way i want it.

it has been 5 months since Becks loan move to AC Milan and he is currently regarded as an influential player both on and off the field. his move apparently, has improved Milan’s accomplishment from last season. in a way, he has put his work ethic more than other player in the squad and sent his team mates on a rise in overall performance. he may not score goals for Milan to win 2nd place from Juventus, but his hard work and professionalism earned more than just compliments. his team mates looked up to him and of course, the coach was more than happy to have him in the squad. however, prior to his arrival at San Siro, thunderstorms and heavy downpour rattled his marriage with Victoria. needles to say, Victoria wasn’t happy at all with Becks decision to leave his family behind while he spent his 3 months in Milan. it is understood that Becks has deep relationship with England camp and want more than just advisory role in England team, therefore he is up to Capello’s challenge to play once again in European team. abandoning his family and parent club back in LA, he set up a new adventure in Milan. thought to be a failure but proved to be a success has made his comeback to US postponed to further date, which would last until end of this season. of course, the decision was met with more heartache and pain to his family. he will not stay longer than he is supposed to, but the damage is already done. his decision although wise in some point, has flaws at the other end. he did not go to Milan to make money but to lose some, and in the end of the day  he lost so many good moments with his children by being away from home. he will be back to the States pretty soon and resume his duty as a player for less than a year. the question is, how would he cope with home fans agony?

it is unknown whether Arena, LA Galaxy’s coach, will ever include him in his squad list during his short stay. it is known however, that most of his fans despised Becks decision to go back to US after his comments on European leagues and clubs. their hatred of course rose up after the English man decided to end his contract with the Galaxy club earlier than he was supposed to. there was a clause saying that the player said, can buy out his remaining contract with the team involved after the player spent his 3 years term as Galaxy player. those words are not the exact copy of his contract, but we can all understand that they are in line with whatever written on newspapers. i can understand their grief and anxiety and won’t blame their harsh words over Becks performances. they had put up with so much hype 2 seasons ago and came home with nothing they could talk about for the rest of 2 seasons. failing to qualify for play off and lost out to their bitter rivals on league title must have hurt their soul very badly, thus no welcome home ceremony for Mr... $16 million man this summer.

what could he do to revive Galaxy’s prospect to win league title this season? no chance. he was a success in Man Utd and Real Madrid due many things, including world class team mates. who does LA Galaxy  have? no one in particular. if let’s say, Bruce Arena could snatch Messi and Fabregas from Barca and Arsenal respectively, LA Galaxy could just possibly the best team in US. but MLS does not posses such attraction to European players, therefore a possibility to land big names in football is very unlikely. Becks needs support and he needs it now. does Man Utd winning performances come from one player? well, possibly. but at times, Ronaldo was beyond helpful and at this moment his team mates would come in handy. their successful record at home would never be made without efforts by Ferdinand, Vidic and of course Van Der Sar. if the fans want to see some trophies, they would need to push more to buy world class players. could LA Galaxy do that? i doubt it. if option A is no longer available, perhaps Arena should capitalize Galaxy’s financial power to search for homegrown talent and start utilizing them. there’s always a way out, if we are willing to seek for it. thus, no more blaming game at the end of each season. one player can never turn around a dire situation without a help from others. please bear in mind that Ronaldo does not always the hero for Utd as other players would go hand in hand if things start to go bad.

dear Galaxy fans across the globe, please do not resort to whatever mean things you can think of for the sake of revenge. the only thing matter is title. players can come and go, but consistency need to be established, therefore no more disappointment in the future. David Beckham may have shortened his stay in LA, but you can still utilize his skill by implementing good tactical support. 

loss of confidence

when Andy Gray said “football doesn’t reward good football” i agreed with him fully. i have never quite agreed with him no matter what team he commented on, but yesterday, he said something that clearly stuck in my head. right from the first minute, Arsenal controlled the game and nearly scored a goal through Walcott’s effort. so much for our ‘beautiful’ football, but came to nothing. Fabianski was not at his best last night, and since when he has been reliable? not ever. what shocked me was a fact that Diaby commanded left midfield while Nasri took over Cesc’s duty as center midfield. they proved to be useless chicken running without purpose for the whole 90 minutes and created nothing but imbalance offense line. who would want to have a natural central player playing wide against his will? no one i assume.

it was unfortunate indeed for Arsenal to have their key players injured during very crucial moments. Tomas Rosicky, William Gallas and Eduardo are the most sought players right now and when they are going to be unavailable for the rest of the season, we can’t do anything but stay vigilant. instead of splashing cash last winter looking for reliable players, Wenger decided to stay put with his current squad members while luring Arshavin into his trap. i am not saying he isn’t a good addition to the team, but he alone will not get us anywhere. fans were anxious seeing Wenger’s transfer policy during critical moment and failed to capitalize his magnetic charisma to lure more creative players. yes, it is true that we do have plenty players in stock, but those players are likely to miss out the whole season and probably will not get back in time for opening season. let’s say that are back during pre-season matches, they might still need to prove their worth before stepping on to premier league once more. finishing 4th isn’t as bad as judgment day, but going to another play offs means a lot to the team itself. while other 3 clubs enjoying longer summer holiday, Arsenal need to spend their most of summer weeks doing some training to face qualifying rounds.

Wenger needs improvement very badly and we can’t wait any longer.

Man Utd crowned as premier league champions

as the weekend drew closer i was not as enthusiastic as weeks before. i knew it would be a tight one for Arsenal at Old Trafford. when Arsenal lost to Chelsea last week, i could have written 3 pages long of blog entry but i hated to do it and eagerly deleted the draft as soon as i could. humiliating defeat against Chelsea at home was enough to send most fans throwing spits at Wenger. initially, the fans could tolerate 4th spot despite strong performances in early season, however when Arsenal had been given the chance to snatch 3rd spot from Chelsea, we spoiled it badly. instead of leading in the first half, we conceded goals and most importantly, our pride.

the match began with so much pressure and Arsenal barely contain Man Utd’s edgy performance. with Ronaldo and Rooney joining Tevez in the attack. Arsenal had everything to worry with. unlike their usual display, both Toure and Song performed a good relationship at the back, especially in the 2nd half. coming out after a good break, Man Utd decided to hold their ground and let the last 45 minutes roll on without much hassle. should we have created more? i think we should and could. while Man Utd mostly enjoying their time at their half, Arsenal should have taken this opportunity to grab 3 points instead of hovering around at Man Utd territory without doing anything necessary. there were 2 things that went missing from Arsenal team and they were penetration and concentration. lack of leadership could also have taken a toll on Arsenal young guns. while Cesc is no doubt a phenomenal player, he is still need some guidance and Wenger has to find the answer on this. maybe we can buy someone like Xabi Alonso to better equip our fragile midfield. better luck next time Wenger. I do hope we can go through play offs next season and finally qualify for champs league group stage.

Milan did enough to stay in 2nd place

yikes! 0-2 for AC Milan and they were barely contained Catania’s resisted attacks in final minutes. i do not blame them though as the pitch was so slippery which made some of players lost their footings. anyway, Becks played his 70 minutes and helped his team with an assist. unlike his other assists, this time Becks nudged a header to Kaka’s direction and the Brazilian made sure it went to the net. the score line stayed that way until final whistle blown by the referee. Milan controlled the game throughout the evening but Catania stubborn defense made 2 goals were the only result for the day. overall, AC Milan did the best over the home side and claimed 3 points after nervous 90 minutes. Rossoneri could have had more goals but goal posts seemed defiant to let Ancelotti’s men advancing with more than 2 goals. it was enough though to buy Milan more space from 3rd placed Juventus who apparently, had only a point against Lecce. this would make the gap grows wider as the season closes to end. how would Inter react today? i am sure they will do their best to claim the Scudetto theirs one more time.

i am going to do my best to stay calm ahead of midweek match against Man Utd and stay positive despite negative result at the Old Trafford. what will come may come, in the end we can only pray for the best. it seems Man Utd are already set their sight for the Final in Rome. but nothing is confirmed before the match. They may have scored against us, but the margin is so low and we can still grab to level score line and make to the final. Wenger needs to build his boys’ confidence and let them roam with freedom. all i can say is that Nasri and Walcott need to find their form quickly before everything falls down, and it’s going to hurt them the most. the season is not yet ended and Aston Villa could snatch the slot before our eyes. so watch out guys!

Arsenal win against Pompey tighten their grip on the 4th spot

it was a delightful night for Arsenal fans around the world. the win against Portsmouth yesterday made 4th spot a feasible prospect for Arsenal. i must say, Carlos Vela impressed me a lot yesterday who apparently made only few appearances for the Gunners as starting line up. he has true potential as a world class striker someday. unfortunately for Arsenal, they do not possess a natural striker who can cause a lot of trouble with both of their feet. RVP and Carlos Vela are best example. however, Vela can be exempted from this since his maturity and experience in premier league is still limited. RVP needs to improve his skill on both of his feet if he wants to be a world class striker like some people claimed. he has a long way to go before reaching what Thierry Henry achieved few years ago.