December 19th, 2009 Emirates Stadium 12:30PM EST ESPN/Setanta Form... Arsenal - W L L W W D Hull City - W D W D L D Expected Lineups... Arsenal - 4-3-3 - Almunia, Sagna, Gallas, Vermaelen, Silvestre, Fabregas, Song, Denilson, Walcott, Arshavin, Nasri Hull City - 4-5-1 - Myhill, McShane, Zayatte, Gardner, Dawson, Garcia, Marnley, Boateng, Geovanni, Hunt, Ғagan Ramifications... Arsenal - stay at 3rd, drop to 5th Hull City - up to 12th, down to 19th
Diaby was a nice surprise today, Denilson shot was beautiful, and Almunia played clean sheet. It nice to see somebody else step up!
So, I just felt like talking about some of the player's performances. Eduardo had another so-so game up-front. He grabbed a goal (Titus Bramble could of scored it) and had a couple of good good touches but is still looking like a ghost compared to his usual self. I don't feel like his recent form can be blamed on the injury as he was as good as ever right after his return. He broke his ten-game goal-drought yesterday, which will definitely be a relief, but he doesn't seem to have the same confidence when finishing. For example, he had an absolutely sublime turn in the second-half which completely wrong-footed the defender and put him one-on-one with the 'keeper but he woefully put his shot wide of the post. Any other day (or any other day before the injury/right after), he would of put it away like a champ, but he seems to lose his cool right before the strike. Even his goal was a bit too close for comfort. Anyway, I hate to complain when we win, but he really needs some mental help (sounds a lot than I'm making it out to be) because I think the injury has finally got to him. Diaby was a big surprise. Every time I see him on the ball (when he's shite or a godsend), I'm immediately reminded of good ol' Patrick Viera. He has got that same lanky stride, random bursts of brilliant footwork, great vision, and a viscious shot. When Diaby is on-point, he could be a great player. He has always had that streak of worldclass in him, but he just needs to make that happen every game. Yesterday, he did just that. He was strong in the midfield, kept possession (that is a rare thing for him), had some great passes, got an assist, dribbled well, and had a top-notch goal. What more could you ask? I don't really have much more to say. Great game, and one of the best players on the pitch. Silvestre also didn't look too bad, but then again, we weren't exactly under a lot of pressure on the defensive-side. Even though he got a penalty called against him, it was definitely harsh as the player (forgot who it was) went down much too easily. Almunia -- Props on the save, which definitely changed the game in our favour. Playing the game at 1-1 would of been a completely different story. The save definitely but the wind (did they even have any?) out of their sails, and gave us the confidence to push forward. Everyone else was pretty decent, Ramsey and Song both deserving shout-outs for a good performance. Walcott should of scored late in the second half, but those sort of shots are always hard to control. Arshavin? He was there, but off in his own mystical world. Good game, 3-0, two points off of United with a game at hand. Looking good. Oh, and Hunt is a ****.
