Flying High At The Emirates

February 2012
Gunners cruise past Villarreal to set up Spurs showdown

View attachment 239941
Everton 0 - 2 Arsenal
(Van Persie 2', Rosicky 80')
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Arsenal cemented their win over United with a solid win away to Everton. It is well known that The Toffees make Goodison a very difficult place to visit so Bergkamp will be happy with team. Van Persie led the team superbly with a good individual performance.
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EUROPA LEAGUE LAST 32 FIRST LEG
Villarreal 1 - 3 Arsenal
(Van Persie 58', Walcott 67', Rodriguez 79', Lopez o.g. 93)
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The Gunners put in a great performance to make them favourites to qualify for the next round going into the second leg. Villarreal couldn't handle Arsenal's ability to break quickly and looked like a team who deserved to be 16th in La Liga. Walcott and Van Persie were outstanding and linked up very well.

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FA CUP 5TH ROUND
Newcastle 1 - 1 Arsenal
(Williamson 13', Arteta(pen) 74')

View attachment 239942

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Newcastle and Arsenal will need a replay to settle this tie after an even encounter at The Sports Direct Arena. The game wasn't the most fascinating and both goals came from set pieces. The winner of the replay will host Everton in the quarter finals.

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EUROPA LEAGUE LAST 32 SECOND LEG
Arsenal 2 (5) - 1 (2) Villarreal
(Rossi 8', Muniain 36', Park 89')
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Arsenal were just good enough to beat Villarreal at the Emirates in an 'off colour' performance. Despite the away team having more possession, Arsenal created more chances and won the game late on thanks to substitute Park. The Gunners now face local rivals Tottenham as they cruised past Anderlecht to reach the last 16.

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View attachment 239943

Aston Villa 1 - 1 Arsenal
(Given o.g. 45+7, Agbonlahor 47)

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At the end of February, Arsenal sit in 3rd place in the league with 49 points from 25 games. However, their title challenge is effectively over since runaway leaders and current champions Manchester United are currently 20 points ahead of Arsenal and Chelsea. Spurs have been woeful so far this season and have only 26 points from 26 games. Wayne Rooney is looking good for player of the season as he is top of the goal scoring and Man of the Match tables.
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March 2012 - Part 1
Arsenal edge past Spurs to face Shakhter

View attachment 240126

Arsenal 1 - 1 Blackburn
(Koscielny 73', N'Zonzi 81')
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Blackburn became only the second team in the league to avoid defeat at the Emirates as they came from behind to rescue a point. With 10 shots on target Arsenal constantly threatened Paul Robinson but failed to capitalise until a corner in the 73rd minute. However, 8 minutes after Koscielny headed home, N'Zonzi scored with Rovers first shot on target to equalise. These are the games The Gunners need to be winning if they are to secure a champions league spot next year.
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EUROPA LEAGUE LAST 16 FIRST LEG
Tottenham 0 - 1 Arsenal
(Muniain 86')

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After weeks of anticipation, the derby match between two of London's footballing giants had arrived. Arsenal fielded a full strength side but unfortunately for the neutral, Gareth Bale was unavailable after damaging his cruciate ligaments. The game was cagey to begin with with Arsenal trying to play on the counter and it look destined for a entertaining 0-0 before Van Persie got injured. Bergkamp brought on the promising Iker Muniain and when The Gunners broke late on it was the spaniard who cooly slotted home to give Arsenal a valuable victory.
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FA CUP 5TH ROUND REPLAY
Arsenal 3 - 0 Newcastle
(Muniain 12' 23', Walcott 91')

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After a strong performance in midweek, Muniain was handed a starting opportunity by Bergkamp. The youngster was superb again and ran the show in the first half. Newcastle couldn't live with Arsenal's pace and never looked like causing an upset. The win means Arsenal now face Everton in the quarter final later this month. Jack Wilshere made his comeback from injury with a 13 minute cameo and will be looking to push Ramsey and Arteta for their starting spots as he regains full fitness.
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EUROPA LEAGUE LAST 16 SECOND LEG
Arsenal 1(2) - 1 (1) Tottenham
(Van Persie 12', Lennon 92')
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After a promising away performance, Arsenal knew they had the advantage going into the second leg. This advantage was compounded when their talismanic captain Van Persie scored early on to give Arsenal a 2-0 aggregate lead. The Gunners then showed good work rate and commitment to shut the door on Spurs' attacking threats. Lennon scored a consolation late on but Arsenal will be pleased with their performance over two legs and they now advance to play Shakhter Donesk in the last 8.

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March 2012 - Part 2
Arsenal hit top gear at key time

View attachment 240284

FA CUP QUARTER FINAL
Arsenal 2 - 0 Everton
(Wilshere 43', Van Persie 87')
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Arsenal avoided a potential upset to progress to the semi finals of the FA Cup thanks to a good team performance. Wilshere came on after 13 minutes when Rosicky picked up an injury and took his chance to remind the fans what he was about when he scored from outside the box just before half time. The Gunners now face Wigan in the semis and can look forward to a day out at Wembley.

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View attachment 240282

Arsenal 2 - 0 Sunderland
(Gervinho 32' 49')
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After a long stretch of tough games, Bergkamp decided to rest his captain for this game and the upcoming game against Stoke. Despite this, the team played superbly and took Sunderland to pieces. The Black Cats couldn't cope with Arsenal's right flank as Gervinho and Sagna linked up time after time to create chances.
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Arsenal 3 - 0 Stoke
(Koscielny 74', Gervinho 84', Muniain 87')
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Just as the commentators were complementing Stoke for a physical defensive performance, it all went wrong for The Potters. A smart set piece, a penalty and a counter attack meant that on the whole, an even game looked like a thrashing. Gervinho and Muniain continued their good goal scoring form which is encouraging as it will remove some pressure from Van Persie.
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EUROPA LEAGUE QUARTER FINAL FIRST LEG
Shakhter 0 - 1 Arsenal
(Gervinho 24')
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Arsenal did 'the job' with a great defensive display in Donesk. At times The Gunners set up with 10 men behind the ball to negate some of Shakhter's tricky Brazilians. However, it was the away team who managed to score as they broke out on the counter. Gervinho seems to be flourishing under the new Arsenal management. The winner of this tie will face the winner of the Marseille vs. Sochaux clash in the semi final.

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Nice form showed by Gervinho. Also, 20 points off United is a huuuge gap.
 
Yeah United have been quality so far but they just lost the Champs league semi to CSKA Moscow
 
Seems like the makings of something good. Going into a little more detail with pre-season games and the goings on aswell would be appreciated :)
 
AJ0207 said:
Seems like the makings of something good. Going into a little more detail with pre-season games and the goings on aswell would be appreciated :)
Click to expand...

By "goings on" are you talking about transfers or the running of the club e.g. training, tactics, boardroom etc.?
 
April 2012 - Part 1
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Arsenal destroy Shakhter!

View attachment 240716

EUROPA LEAGUE QUARTER FINAL SECOND LEG
Arsenal 8 (9) - 1 (1) Shakhter
(Muniain 1' 27',Van Persie 5' 24' 45+2', Seleznyov 10', Dentinho o.g. 32', Mertesacker 62', Gervinho 88')
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Before the game, no-one predicted this scoreline but Arsenal completely embarrassed the Ukrainian side. Despite The Gunners having less than 50% possession, they were menacing every time they attacked. Van Persie and Muniain completed dominated their markers and were fantastic throughout. Arsenal now face Marseille in a potentially awkward semi final.

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Arsenal 4 - 0 Liverpool
(Van Persie 4' 33' 51', Gervinho 39')

View attachment 240717

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Van Persie scored his second hat-trick in as many games to help his teammates hammer Liverpool at the Emirates. With this win over 2nd placed Liverpool, Arsenal keep their league challenge alive and sit in 4th with 3 games in hand over Chelsea and Liverpool.

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FA CUP SEMI FINAL
Arsenal 4 - 2 Wigan
(Muniain 10', Figueroa 13', Koscielny 19', Wilshere 51', Alcaraz o.g. 75', Medunjanin 81')

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Arsenal played their part in a great game in their first visit to Wembley since last year's disaster Carling Cup final. The game will go down as a classic with both team producing great football. In all truth, Arsenal were too good for Wigan and wonderkid Iker Muniain troubled the Wigan defence all match. Van Persie will lead his team out in the FA Cup Final against Aston Villa who beat Chelsea 3-1 in the second semi final.

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EUROPA LEAGUE SEMI FINAL FIRST LEG
Arsenal 0 - 1 Marseille
(Remy 66')

View attachment 240715​

French giants Marseille pulled off a shock and potentially tie deciding result. Despite The Gunners controlling possession and territory, they couldn't create key chances and paid for it in the second half when Remy capitalised on Marseille's only real chance of the game. Arsenal now travel to France knowing they will have to produce their best form to reach the Europa League Final.

With so many cup commitments, Arsenal face an extremely busy run-in. Currently, The Gunners have to play 5 games in the last eight days of the season including fixtures against Chelsea, Tottenham, Man City and the final against Aston Villa. ​

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April 2012 - Part 2
Bergkamp suffers second semi final exit

View attachment 240737

Man City 2 - 0 Arsenal
(Dzeko 1' 21')
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As the fixtures started to pile up, a key game arrived with 5th place Man City hosting Arsenal. Unfortunately, The Gunners really struggled at the Etihad and by losing, have given City a chance of Champions League qualification. To make things worse, Van Persie limped off after 40 minutes and will miss the next week.
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Arsenal 0 - 0 Norwich
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After playing City on the Sunday, Arsenal were expected to play Norwich on the Tuesday before heading to France to play Marseille on the Thursday. Understandably, Bergkamp was furious but the game went ahead so he decided to rotate his squad. Arsenal handed starts to Romulo, Squillaci, Coquelin, Park, Rosicky and Diaby in hope they could rest key players and still pick up a win. However, the team picked didn't turn up and unfortunately for the fans produced a poor performance.

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EUROPA LEAGUE SEMI FINAL SECOND LEG
Marseille 0 (1) - 0 (0) Arsenal

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Marseille put in another fine defensive performance to deny Arsenal and book themselves a place in the Europa League Final. The team were gutted to lose out at the final hurdle for the second time this season but now have to pick themselves up to ensure the season isn't a disaster. Marseille clearly set up to defend their first leg lead and didn't manage a single shot on target.
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Arsenal 3 - 2 West Brom
(Van Persie 11', Walcott 21', Vermaelen 44', Long 50' 52')

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Van Persie returned to help Arsenal to a vital victory at home to West Brom. Despite the team looking jaded they put in a solid performance and held on for a critical 3 points. ​
 
5th May 2012​
FA CUP FINAL
View attachment 240745
Arsenal pull off great escape!
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No-one can question Aston Villa's right to be at Wembley after their tremendous run to reach the final. Wins over Blackpool, Man United, Fulham, West Ham and Chelsea have given them a great chance to win their first trophy in many years. Arsenal have had a similarly difficult run to the final, producing strong performances against Man City, Everton and Wigan. The bookies have made Arsenal favourites to lift the trophy this afternoon but there is no way Bergkamp's side will be complacent.

Arsenal team: Szczesny, Sagna, Koscielny, Mertesacker, Santos, Song, Wilshere, Arteta, Walcott, Gervinho, Van Persie (C)
Subs: Fabianski, Vermaelen, Mario, Romulo, Benayoun, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Muniain

Aston Villa team: Given, Lichaj, Dunne, Cuellar, Stevens, Petrov (C), Warnock, N'Zogbia, Heskey, Agbonlahor, Bent
Subs: Siegrist, Herd, Hutton, Albrighton, Pitak, Baker, Devine
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Arsenal 2 - 1 Aston Villa
(Agbonlahor 31', Walcott 87', Arteta (pen) 90+5')

View attachment 240747

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Arsenal started the game really well, creating several good chances. So when Aston Villa broke on the counter and Agbonlahor finished emphatically, it was completely against the run of play. From then on Arsenal looked shell shocked and Aston Villa dominated until half time, pushing for a second goal. After half time, Arsenal came out firing and dominated the game. However, Aston Villa were courageous and it looked like they would hold on for a famous victory. In one of Arsenal's last chances of the game, the ball was squared to Walcott and to the delight of the fans he thumped home! As the managers were preparing for extra-time Walcott broke into the box again and was scythed down by a clumsy Carlos Cuellar... PENALTY! There were no protests from the players and the fate of the tournament rested in Arteta's hands. Arsenal have won the FA Cup.
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May 2012
Gunners blow it in final 10 days

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With so many games this season, The Gunners had 6 games(inc. FA CUP Final) to play in the final 10 days of the season. This left Bergkamp the almost impossible task of rotating his squad so they could hold off Man City and finish in the top 4.
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Tottenham 1 - 0 Arsenal
(Van der Vaart 20')

View attachment 240801

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Despite the Arsenal players best efforts, Spurs claimed a 'bragging rights" victory over their fierce rivals. Van de Vaart's 20th minute strike was enough to beat a jaded looking Gunners side who looked heavy legged from the start. Modric was outstanding all game and outshone Rosicky and Arteta.

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Bolton 2 - 4 Arsenal
(Rosicky 6', Wheater o.g. 33', Eagles 76', N'Gog 79', Park 84', Romulo 90+6')
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Still on a high from their FA Cup victory, Arsenal waltzed to a 2-0 lead inside 35 minutes. However as the game went and players started to tire, Bolton seized their chance and stunned The Gunners with 2 goals inside 4 minutes. To Bergkamp's relief, utility forward Park fired home from close range and then Romulo added the extras in injury time. Arsenal are now in a strong position to finish fourth, 3 points clear of City with a game on hand.

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Chelsea 2 - 1 Arsenal
(Drogba 47', Mata 50', Walcott 88')

View attachment 240802​

After a tense first half at Stamford Bridge, Di Matteo's team talk must have really inspired his team as several Chelsea players came out like men possessed. In a period of extreme pressure on Szczesny, Chelsea were rewarded with goals from Drogba and Mata. The game was essentially over and although Walcott got a late consolation, The Gunners were hitting dodgy waters at the wrong time. The next game was now going to be make or break for Arsenal and they knew they couldn't afford to lose.
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Arsenal 0 - 1 Man City
(Tevez (pen) 32')

View attachment 240803​

Games were coming thick and fast for a depleted Arsenal squad and they now had to play City just 48 hours after the Chelsea game. Bergkamp's team weren't recovering sufficiently from game to game and although they put in a valiant performance they couldn't beat a rested City side. The result was completely devastating for Gunners fans as Champions League qualification was now out of the players' hands. City were now level on points with Arsenal and had superior goal difference.
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Arsenal 1 - 1 Newcastle
(Arteta 22', Utaka 75')

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Arsenal knew they had to better City's result to ensure Champions League Qualification. Both teams had potential banana skins with City away at Stoke. At half time everything was looking good for The Gunners. Arteta had given them the lead and City were being held by Stoke. However, City went 2-0 up at the Brittania and when Peter Utaka broke through to equalise for Newcastle, things were going '**** up'. At the final whistle, Arsenal were fifth in the league and will have to make do with the Europa League again next year. The fans seem to be behind Bergkamp but will the season be deemed a success by the Arsenal boardroom.

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Upcoming Updates: Season Review and the future of Dennis Bergkamp



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Bergkamp handed new contract

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Just days after Pat Rice's expected retirement, Arsenal have moved to show their commitment to the current management by handing inexperienced manager Dennis Bergkamp a new five year contract. Bergkamp himself has had to move to replace Rice and has hired Mark Bowen as his new Assistant Manager. Bowen was Mark Hughes' assistant for a number of years at Blackburn, Man City, Fulham and Q.P.R. but parted company with Hughes in March. ​
 
When's the next update- this is my favourite story atm!
 
Season Review 2011/12

View attachment 241370


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Board expectations vs actual results

Premier League: The Board expected me to finish in the top 4 this year but unfortunately we finished just outside in 5th. I can easily blame this on the tough run of games we had at the back end of the season but its the draws against Norwich, Q.P.R, Aston Villa etc. that really hurt us.

FA Cup: We managed to win the FA Cup surpassing the expectation that we at least reached the Semi Finals. This is a great achievement for the club as we won our first trophy in a while.

Champions League: The expectation that we reached the Quarter Final of the Champions League went disastrously wrong considering we were knocked out at the group stage qualifying round! However, we had a strong run in the Europa League and restored some of our pride by reaching the Semi Finals.

League/Cup Champions

Champions League - Barcelona
Europa League - Marseille
Premiership - Manchester United
FA Cup - Arsenal
Carling Cup - Bolton
La Liga - Barcelona
Serie A - Juventus
Ligue 1 - Lyon
Bundesliga - Dortmund
Premiership sides relegated - Wigan, Sunderland, Blackburn
Championship sides promoted - West Ham, Southampton, Burnley

Arsenal Best Performers(Premiership)

Top Assisters: Aaron Ramsey (9), Van Persie (8), Walcott (8)
Top Goalscorers: Van Persie (16), Walcott (13), Gervinho (10)
Highest Average Rating: Van Persie (7.45), Walcott (7.22), Gervinho (7.21), Koscielny (7.19)

Transfer Analysis/ Targets

Mario (£6 million) - Made 16 appearances in the league and has good potential. He was good back up to Sagna last season but may take a more prominent role this year.

Iker Muniain (£21 million) - Made 34 apperances in the league which is fantastic for his debut season. However, only scored 4 goals and contributed 5 assists at an average rating of 6.84. At the moment, he doesn't justify the price tag but I'm confident he will be value for money over the length of his contract. Overall, a good investment.

Romulo (£8.75 million) - Made 21 appearances in the league and was brilliant back up for Song when he left for the African Cup of Nations. Even though many appearances were from the bench he still achieved a average rating of 7.01. Next season he will push Song all the way for his starting spot.

Assuming I don't sell anyone, there are only a few positions I feel need strengthening. Firstly, I want to buy an attacking midfielder to provide a threat through the middle. Secondly, I want to buy a back-up striker to Van Persie but also I want them to eventual replace Van Persie so they need to have great potential. Finally, I would like some extra cover for my full backs but this is not essential.

Targets for next season

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  • [*=left]Top 3 finish in the Premiership
    [*=left]Win a domestic cup
    [*=left]Score more goals



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good updates and like the end and next season review keep up the good work mate
 
coco85 said:
good updates and like the end and next season review keep up the good work mate
Click to expand...

AM32 said:
When's the next update?
Click to expand...

Firstly, thanks for reading the story. Secondly, I'm now revising for exams and although Ive got the intention of carrying on the story after my exams, there won't be many updates over the next few weeks.
 
fozzyliverpool said:
Firstly, thanks for reading the story. Secondly, I'm now revising for exams and although Ive got the intention of carrying on the story after my exams, there won't be many updates over the next few weeks.
Click to expand...

OK, I understand. Good work mate! :)
 
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