Image courtesy of ESPN Soccernet

It’s a happy Saturday for all Arsenal supporters as the Gunners defeated North London rivals, Tottenham to a staggering 5-2 at home. Yes, the men in red hustled on the pitch bringing victory to Emirates, something that means a lot to all players and supporters alike because we don’t see it too often.

Former Arsenal player, Emmanuel Adebayor opened the scoring against his former club in the 10th minute. However, Adebayor made a costly decision a few minutes later when he horrifically slide tackled Santi Cazorla, bringing the Spurs to ten men after an immediate red was given. It was this ‘spur’ of the moment trickle of madness that put Tottenham in the hot-seat throughout the match with only 10 men.

Arsenal took the Spurs’ disadvantage to full-force with Per Mertesacker scoring in the 24th minute. With another strike from Lukas Podolski and Olivier Giroud, his fifth goal of the season, the Gunners were up 3-1 entering the half.

Tottenham played a bit better in the second half with Gareth Bale’s 71st minute goal to prove it. Santi Cazorla hit the net in the 60th minute and a well deserved goal from Theo Walcott brought the Gunners to a steady 3 goal lead.

With the victory, Arsenal leaps over Tottenham in the table at sixth. Tottenham have four successive loses under their belt and the big question will be for Spurs manager, Andre Villas-Boas. Why did he start Adebayor, knowing that the guy was a walking time bomb? Who knows, but at least for now, we can say that Arsenal remain the Kings of North London just one more day.

The Gunner’s next match will take them to the Champions League where they’ll face Montpellier Wednesday, Nov.21, leaving them a three day break until their match against Aston Villa that Saturday.

Stay tuned to Aerys Soccer for all your Premier LEague updates and recaps!

An Arsenal victory pile for Laurent Koscielny and his equalizer late in the match

Don’t be fooled.  From the look of the photo in this post, you’d think Arsenal had just won the league title.  They didn’t… not yet anyways.  But this IS the way Arsenal reacted to an equalizer that denied Manchester City two points at Etihad Stadium Sunday.

Ending in a draw with Citay (as they are sometimes referred to) was almost as good as a win for Arsenal.  Along with that point that put them in fifth place, the Gunners made an equally important point by demonstrating that they can hold their own against a top team.

Prior to this match, Arsenal hadn’t faced as formidable a foe as Manchester City.  This was the first real test of the season for the North London side. Fans like myself were anxiously looking to see how the players performed both offensively and defensively against the likes of Manchester City superstars.  We were pleasantly relieved at the results.

The offensive formation was a surprise.  Wenger changed up what had been working so well in the last few matches by placing Gervinho out front and center with Lukas Podolski, Santi Cazorla and Aaron Ramsey right behind him.  Podolski, who squandered a great opportunity by striking a ball well over the bar, continued to look promising.

Santi Cazorla is my new favorite player (since Alex Song left for Barcelona, I have finally found his worthwhile replacement) and I predict Cazorla will be key to this season’s success.  In this match, I saw him make two mistakes  — the only ones I have seen him make so far this season. Otherwise, a perfect game including a thunderous long-distance strike that challenged Joe Hart in the second half.

Ramsey was the surprise addition to the squad.  I had lost confidence in the Welshman from last season, but he stepped up his game today and made some great contributions.  Had it not been for a bad touch from Gervinho, Ramsey’s through-ball might have put the visitors ahead by the middle of the first half.

I’m not sure what to say about Gervinho except I will refrain from saying anything in hopes that the Ivorian had an off day and things will look up in the games ahead.

Arsenal’s offensive players  matched up well with Manchester City’s usual back four, made up of former Gunner Gael Clichy, Joleon Lescott, Vincent Kompany and Pablo Zabaleta.  This usually fearsome group of mercenaries seemed sluggish and lumbered around most of the match.  Of the four, Joleon Lescott made the greatest contribution for both teams. His header at the end of the first half deflated some of the dominance Arsenal had established, but then he failed to clear a corner in the 82nd minute.  That costly error allowed Laurent Koscielny to level the game with a close range shot that sent electricity through ever Gunner, player and fan. See photo again for proof.

Arsenal’s defense has been a bone of contention for a number of seasons but the pressure from the likes of Sergio Aguero and Yaya Toure tested, but did not break down, Arsene Wenger’s back four.

Carl Jenkinson, looking far more seasoned than his young age reveals, was particularly strong down the right.  And praised for reading the game well, Per Mertesacker denied City possession time and again from center-half.   Additional and unselfish support from Mikel Arteta and Abou Diaby also point to Steve Bould and his efforts to strengthen the squad defensively.

Take a look at that photo one more time.  Look at the genuine and raw emotions on their faces – ALL of their faces. (Ok, Koscielny might have been exhibiting some pain at that point, but I bet it hurt so good.)  Seriously though, that is the photo of a cohesive team.  It’s a picture of a hard-working squad passionate about their game.  That is a photo of a doggedly determined team destined for greatness.

It is still early in the season, but both Manchester City and Arsenal remain undefeated.  Arsenal ended the week in fifth place while City settled into seventh on goal differential.  City will need to pick up their game if they are to retain their title, while on this evidence, Arsenal could be well-placed to challenge them.

COYG!

Gervinho was part of Arsenal’s starting 11 against Sunderland today

Arsenal kicked off their season opener earlier today with a home game against Sunderland.  The Wildcats fought hard and won their point well in a scoreless draw.

The recent departure of Arsenal striker Robin van Persie meant this was the first game without the goal-scoring captain as part of the team.  It goes without saying that van Persie, scoring the most goals in the league with 30, was instrumental in Arsenal finishing third in the Premiership.  The question now remains:  will Arsenal have a shot at the title without him?

The answer is a resounding YES.

The loss of van Persie has been anticipated all summer.  As disappointing as it is, not so much that the Holland striker left the club, but that he went to rival Manchester United. This time the club was prepared.  Unlike last season’s end of summer transfer mess, Arsene Wenger spent time and money on three key players that will keep the Gunners in contention for the title.

German International Lukas Podolski came from the Bundesliga and scored an impressive 18 league goals for his Koln team and 44 goals in 101 appearances for his national team.  Lukas started in today’s game and looked confident and eager but a lack of playing together as a team seemed evident.

Olivier Giroud is a fairly unknown French international player who played a pivotal role for his Montpellier team in the top French league.  The 25-year old led the attack by scoring 22 goals and winning the league title.  Giroud will not find the back of the net as easily as he did in Ligue 1, which was evident when he missed an easy shot in front of the net late in the match today.  That goal could have given the Gunners a win, but hopefully the striker will shake it off and return to the kind of football he is capable of playing.

Last but definitely not least, Arsenal most recently purchased Santi Cazorla who represented Spain at Euro 2012 and played successfully in La Liga.  He was given rave reviews from fellow Spaniard and Gunner Mikel Arteta and the two may often play together as attacking midfielders.

Cazorla is known for his pace, intelligent play and creativity.  He is also a very versatile player, able to play left winger but can also play right, considering he uses both feet effectively.  I predict his contribution will be crucial to the team and think he showed the most promise of all the players on the pitch today.

Obviously the team needs more time to get familiar with each other and gel but there’s promise from new and existing players.  Andre Arshavin came in around the 75th minute and had some good touches.  Defender Kieren Gibbs held steady against a more experienced Louis Saha and Gervinho had good possession of the ball, but needed help converting.

Even with quite a few injured players and an unusually hot day, the squad managed a point.  The Gunners will have to step it up quickly though as I anticipate an early and dominant start from both Manchester clubs and we don’t want to fall too far behind.  So happy the season has finally begun! Come On You Gunners!!

Happy Wednesday everyone! Now as you sit waiting the long, dreadful wait for the Men’s Olympic final between Mexico and Brazil Saturday or the epic clash for gold against the USWNT and Japan tomorrow, today is filled with more transfer rumors and new signings. So sit back, relax and enjoy today’s DKA!

La Liga

Fernando Llorente reportedly told his club, Athletic Bilbao, that he wants to leave to play Champions League football. So far Serie A club Juventus wants to make a  €20 million offer for the man known as El Rey Léon (The Lion King.) Llorente still has 12 months left on his contract and refuses to sign an extension according to Basque TV station ETB. Llorente is a World Cup winner but only scored 30 goals last season which happened to be his poorest season in terms of fitness having lost both the Europa and Copa del Rey finals and failing to play with Spain in the Euro final this year.

Looks like Llorente’s teammate Javi Martinez also wants out of Bilbao – he’s looking to move to Bayern Munich. According to the 23-year-old’s agent, Bayern are still interested in signing the midfielder but admits the transfer fee is holding them back.

Joselu, the promising striker built from Real Madrid Castilla, has signed a contract until the summer of 2016 with Bundesliga’s Hoffenheim. The 22 year-old scored 26 goals last season helping the club get promoted to the Segunda Division.

English Premier League

Welcome to Emirates Santi!! That’s right Gooners, Arsenal signed Spanish midfielder Santi Cazorla from Málaga for  £15 million!! Cazorla helped his former club reach the 4th spot in the La Liga standings and will be making his Arsenal debut on Sunday in a friendly against Cologne. Santi will join the newest Gunner signings, Lukas Podolski and Olivier Giroud.

Serie A

Villarreal’s Cristian Zapata will be spending the 2012-2013 campaign at San Siro. The former Udinese defender had a medical finished on Tuesday in Milan and will sign his one-year loan with AC Milan later today.  After the one-year loan the deal will become permanent at the end of the season.

Welcome back fútbol fans! This past week of La Liga has been a crazy one with matches Monday-Thursday!

Current standings for the 2-12-2013 campaign are as follows:

On Monday, Málaga beat Racing Santander 3-nil with goals from Santi Cazorla, Ruud van Nistelrooy and Isco. Málaga, who were almost relegated last season, has improved tremendous amounts and will begin the weekend sitting at 4th.

Barca faced Getafe, a club who they lost to earlier in the season, came up on top as they scored 4-nil at the Nou camp with Alexis Sánchez rounding out with two goals. Barcelona are still within a 4-point reach of current leaders Real Madrid, with only 6 matches left of the season and a huge El Clasico coming up next Saturday.

Espanyol lost 2-nil to Osasuna while Real Sociedad and Real Betis drew at 1-1.

Wednesday was a whole different ballgame as all four matches were very entertaining to watch. First on the list was Atlético Madrid – Real Madrid in El Derbi Madrileño. It was a do or die match for Real, who could have seen their title hopes fall out of place. Falcao scored the lone goal for Atléti off a header from Adrian Lopez in the 55′, but it was Real’s Cristiano Ronaldo who made headlines with his 7th hattrick of the season. José Callejón scored their 4th goal minutes after Ronnie’s penalty kick.

Valencia proved why they’re sitting in 3rd after a 4-1 victory against Rayo Vallecano at the Mestalla. After a couple rough weeks, plagued with bad form, Valencia opened up the scoring in the 41′ by Jonas. Jordi Alba, Pablo and another goal by Jonas gave Valencia their win. Diego Costa fired low into the corner giving Rayo their only goal.

Granada drew with Athletic Bilbao 2-2 and Sporting Gijon beat Levante 3-2.

Thursday was another high-scoring day of fútbol as Sevilla sank Zaragoza at home with 3 goals, two from Álvaro Negredo and one from Federico Fazio. Santander lost to Mallorca 3-nil while Villarreal beat Málaga 2-1.

This weekend is another busy one for the players. Real Madrid face Sporting Gijon at the Bernabéu, hoping to pull off a victory. The whites can’t afford to be down ANY points. If Madrid grasp a victory but lose during El Clasico, they’ll still be Liga leaders, even if it’s by one point.

Levante play Barcelona Saturday as well and that match will be broadcasted on ESPN3.com at 4 p.m. ET. Levante have had a fantastic season so they’ll give Barca a little difficulty at the Ciudad de Valencia.

On Sunday, all the other clubs face off with the televised matches being Espanyol – Valencia on ESPN Deportes at 6 a.m. ET and Rayo Vallecano playing Athletic Bilbao on ESPN Deportes at 3:30 p.m. ET.

On Monday Getafe will play Sevilla at the Coliseum Afonso Perez which is a must-watch match as Getafe’s defense are a perfect match for Sevilla’s fast offense.

Ever wondered how Messi & Ronaldo match up? Just check out this video for some interesting statistics!

http://youtu.be/2SiOoiPc03Y

In other news around Liga, Villarreal took a huge blow today as Giuseppe Rossi tore his ACL in training. Rossi, who was on his way back to a good form after suffering an injury in October, will miss Euro 2012 for Italy who were to face Spain in the tournament opener.

We have an update on Barca defender Eric Abidal, who underwent a liver transplant Tuesday. Barca manager, Pep Guardiola (King of the Skinny Ties) stated that the French international was recovering well and that everything is going as planned. It’s unlikely he will return this season, let alone represent France in Euro, but we all wish his a fast recovery!

Twitter is a pretty interesting place to find weird news. Today I noticed a hashtag called #footballermovies. Some of my favorite La Liga inspired ones are ‘Guti & The Beast,’ ‘Lionel King,’ ‘Cesc & The City,’ ‘One Flew Over the Kaka’s Nest,’ ‘Xavitar,’ and ‘Don’t Messi With The Zlatan.’