Brazil gets thumped a second time + World Cup overview

Hello everyone.

So, yesterday's game didn't exactly go according to plan for Brazil. I've turned the thing on in the 8th minute and Scolari's side was already behind. Before I could digest this info, Daley Blind smashed a second goal into the roof of the net. It was 17th minute.

Now, before I go any further and say how bad Brazil looked for the second game running, I have to state they suffered from atrocious refereeing. To start with, there was no penalty. Robben was fouled outside the box and it was clearly visible on the replays. Yeah, he did his usual thing, screamed, fell to the ground like he was shot (at the slightest of touches, mind you), but the foul itself happened outside the 18-yard box.

In case with the second goal, the guy who crossed was clearly offside. It was below-par defending from Luiz and even worse showing from his teammates that have to provide cover, but there also was a gross mistake from the linesman. People can joke all they like about how even a blind man can score against Brazil, but this mistake is going nowhere.

After that, Brazil had to respond, but were only able to come up with something from set-pieces. For a while it looked like they could get back into the game, but Scolari's side was so toothless up front (without Neymar and Hulk) that they couldn't get the most out of their possession. The culmination happened late in the day when Oscar got booked for diving (the first time someone got booked for diving during this tournament). Then Holland added another goal (deep into injury time) and it was all over.

Personally, I feel sorry for Brazil, but nothing comes close to how I hate each and every Holland player. I especially despise Robben for all his antics. He's got to the point where he performs several dives a game and still the referees are disinclined to do something about it. Cheating is so deeply ingrained in his DNA, that on a couple of occasions Robben dived, though he was clean through and staying on his feet could have proved a better option for the team. I really pity no one injured this guy. If Neymar deserves what he got for all his diving, Robben should spend the rest of his life in hospitals for all the cheating he's done. Don't want to talk about this guy anymore.

Today is the final day and the final game of this marvellous World Cup and it's Germany vs Netherlands in, erm, the final. Yeah, final in the final game on the final day. Something like that.

Anyway, as this tournament will be behind us in less than 11 hours, I thought a bit of overview is due. There were a lot of things I enjoyed about this World Cup, so I'll start with:

South American teams

To start with six (out of seven) teams made it out of their groups. The only team that failed to make the grade was Ecuador. Three teams then marched into the quarter-final and I suspect this number would have been higher, had these teams not been paired with one another. Chile, Mexico and Colombia all fought valiantly and I maintain they would been better placed in the semis, than Brazil, Argentine and Holland. But it is what it is.

Goalkeepers tournament

Ochoa, Bravo, Ospina, Navas, Enyama, Howard and Boli all deserve the highest marks. To demonstrate just how good they were, it'll suffice to say that the record for most saves in a single World Cup game now resides in third place. Howard set a new one against Belgium, when he performed 15 (or 16, it's still unclear) saves, while Navas bagged 14 saves in the quarter-final game against Holland. Three of the keepers I mentioned have already found themselves new clubs (Ochoa to Atletico, Bravo to Barcelona and Navas to Bayern Munich) and one is on the verge of a transfer (more on that later).

Goal spectacle

Up to this point, 171 goals have been scored. It matches the previous record (set in France in 1998) and, if we don't see a goalless draw today, a new record will be set. True, the goals have dried up in the last eight and, had it not been for two horrendous defeats Brazil suffered, we would not be looking at a new (possibly) record, but not much we can do about these defeats now.

Individual showings

Apart from goalkeepers there were a lot of other players to like. Neymar and Messi for almost single-handedly taking their teams so far, Sanchez and Rodriguez for having a marvellous tournament up front, Klose (who set a new record at the age of 36) and Muller (10 goals in 12 games) and a lot of others. Pick your personal favourite yourself, there are tens of worthy candidates.

Germany

Alright, they are here just because I like them and think they are worthy of lifting the World Cup. But still, it's hard for anyone not to feel attracted to the way Die Mannschaft plays under pressure and for how well Germany plays as a team overall. They have a lot of  bright individuals, but none of them is irreplaceable. There will be no tradgedy if they lose Klose (have Muller), Goetze (have Schurrle) or Boateng (have Mertesacker). Unlke Argentine, Brazil or even Holland, Lowe's side doesn't rely on one player to do the bulk of the work. All the luck to them in the final.

Finally for today, Metro has run a story linking Arsenal to Ospina. Don't know, if there any truth to that, but I surely hope there is. Ospina is at the end of his contract, costs only £3 million and is a quality goalkeeper. He's shown what he's capable of during this tournament and will likely push Szczesny all the way. A decent buy for such a meagre sum.

Phew, enough for today. Back here tomorrow with a review.

Meanwhile, keep all your fingers crossed for Germany

On Arteta, Khedira and trolls

Good day to you.

It's funny how things progress after you sign a player, especially if it's a world-class one. For you (and I mean all Arsenal fans) the joy is there alright. If a signing comes on the back of a long saga, which was splattered all over the newspapers, not only are you happy at the signing itself, you are relieved this soap opera is finally brought to a close. Knowing how deals have gone south for Arsenal at the last possible moment, your relief is doubled, while your happiness borders on disbelief for quite some time. There's only one better feeling than when Arsenal signs a player after a drawn-out saga: it's when the Club does so completely unexpectedly, in such a quiet manner, that you get to know the details only after the official confirmation. Nobody (including the newspapers) knows that Arsenal is after this player until the player is signed, and then your joy is unprecedented.

That's what happened last year with Mesut Ozil. Everyone was so happy for so long simply because it was a move no one expected and anticipated. Besides the fact that's Mesut is the best playmaker in the world from one of the biggest clubs. Fans and newspapers were sent into overdrive upon the announcement and it took at least two or three weeks for a simple fact to bed in: Mesut Ozil is a Gunner. I remember I grew real tired of all the fuss in a week or so, but I was still no less happy than on August 31st.

However, even then Internet trolls show their ugly faces. It happened then and it happened now, upon the acquisition of Sanchez, that's why I decided to write about it.

I have a groupmate (former groupmate, fortunately. He was chucked out and we'll now study not only in different groups, but even in different years. There really must be a God), who is, simply put, an Arsenal-hater. You know, there's a "fan" category and then there is an "un-fan" category. I don't think he supports any club the way I support Arsenal, but he's always ready to take a stab at the Gunners. Even if things go well (which they didn't up until this season), he'll always find something to try and spoil the mood. I've already banned him from commenting on my posts in VK (Russian analog of Facebook) and I'm seriously considering to ban him from sending me personal messages. I've already stopped reacting to them. Let him write whatever he wants. Because he has a psychology of five-year-old, he'll stop doing something as soon as I stop reacting to it.

You know what were his first words when we signed Mesut Ozil? "A decent footballer, but he won't help you much, cause he disappears in big games". When we won the FA Cup? "Oh, I laughed my ass off when Gibbs missed from 3 metres out".

And now we have signed Alexis Sanchez. His reaction? "Sometimes he has a good game, but a couple of years back the whole Spain was laughing at him, because he missed from a metre".

You know, there are just people who can't be happy when others are. He's from that category. I'm sure he'll find something nasty to say even if land ourselves a treble this season. He'll probably point out the hilarious way we lost to City in the final of Carling Cup.

Another troll of this kind popped up yesterday. He said, we owe it to Wenger's stupidity that Suarez hasn't joined Arsenal a year ago. A quote from him (as it is):

"No, Arsene wenger made stupid bids like £40 million and £1, his stupidity saved us.

Everytime a player has a buyout clause, the buying club tries to pay an amiunt over and above the buyout value, so wenger should have paid something like £44-£45 million to try to persuade liverpool".

I'm disgusted. Not only is this guy not familiar with simple grammar rules, he decided to get in a fight over a matter he knows nothing about. In case with Suarez, there was a buy-out clause which, if triggered, allowed the club interested in buying the player to do just that. Buy him, should the player express his desire to join that other club. It wasn't a starting point, meaning we had to pay more, it wasn't a clause that allowed us to start negotiating with the player and/or the club. It stated that if we pay MORE than £40 million, the player is ours. Simple as that. Hence the £1 bid.

Why I'm writing all this? My blood is boiling. I also want to warn you, my fellow readers, against such kind of people. Don't fall into this trap like I did. Don't respond. Ignore them. These people thrive on attention, when they don't get any, they begin to starve. Don't get in a fight with them, it's what makes them happy. You'll only ruin your nervous system, but you won't be able to prove them wrong. You can only prove a person wrong if he has some logic to his actions and/or arguments, but Internet trolls do what they do for no logical reason and they don't base their arguments on logic., hence you can't beat them in a fair fight. Their logic (or, rather, lack of thereof) is summed up brilliantly in a quote from "The Dark Knight", one of my favourite movies (the quote is slightly paraphrased):

"So why troll them?

Well, because they think it is good sport. Because some men aren't looking for anything logical. They can't be bought, bullied, reasoned, or negotiated with. Some men just want to watch the world burn".

Spot-on, precise and elegant. So keep your nervous system intact (especially as we all are going to need  it when the season starts) and don't give these trolls something to smile about.

On more Arsenal-ish news, and Mikel Arteta has given an interview to one of the guys over on Arseblog. Among the usual guff about the excitement of signing someone of Sanchez stature, the Spaniard also touched on the matter of his contract:

"I had my conversation with the manager, he knows my opinion and I know his opinion and we’re all good. That’s all I can say. I can’t stop the rumours, but you can be sure that I’m really happy here. I feel valued, I’ve been given a lot of responsibility and I like it. Until the club thinks something different about me, I’m happy here".

Sounds like our vice-captain will stick around a bit longer and that's good to hear. He's obviously an influence on and off the pitch, has joined Arsenal at a hard time and did what he was asked to do without any fuss. I was especially impressed by the way he handled his new defensive responsibilities. Arteta wasn't young when he was asked to play deeper in-field, but he still slotted in perfectly and his presence is soothing both to the players and the fans. You feel the team just isn't as balanced without the Spaniard, so Mikel staying is good news. If we don't buy another (quality) DM to replace him, Arteta becomes integral to our plans.

But, from what it seems, we seem right on course to purchase a replacement, Sami Khedira. I wouldn't have been so confident, if it wasn't for the comments from Stan Collymore on Twitter:

"Spoke to agent. Arsenal in advanced talks with Sami Khedira. Fuck me, they're getting serious".

"If Arsenal get Khedira, they win it. A great, great all round midfielder. The FA Cup parade has lit that Arsene fire again. Good to see".

So, apparently we ARE in for Khedira. He seems to have declined a new contract from Real Madrid and Ozil and Mertesacker did the "luring away" thing. If this deal goes through' it'll be a great addition and will considerably boost our chances. Hope it will happen. Fingers crossed.

Right, that's it for today. A little rest, then on to Brazzil vs Netherlands. I'll be back tomorrow to report on it.

Until then, beware of trolls

Alexis Sanchez: case closed

As you are no doubt aware by now, Arsenal have signed Alexis Sanchez. The transfer fee is rumoured to be around £28 million. It's a remarkably good piece of business we've done, considering Manchester Untited bought Shaw and Herrera £30 million apiece, while Liverpool has purchased Lallana for £25 million.

This deal is remarkable in more ways than one. Not only it is a bargain financially-wise, we have landed ourselves a player everyone wanted to have after this World Cup. Is it Arsene we have to thank for that? Well, he definitely played a key role, convincing the player Arsenal is the club to go in a private talk. He did the same stunt a year ago with Mesut Ozil, remember?

Truth be told, I don't understand the way Barcelona operates. They have let Valdes and Pinto go, Puyol has retired, Xavi will go play in the USA, Fabregas is in Chelsea. Neymar is injured, let's not forget that. And though the Catalan club has bought Luis Suarez (I'm not kidding, look it up), Sanchez is another blow. And I'm only talking about this transfer window. Six players leave them permamently, Neymar is injured and Messi will be knackered after going all the distance in the World Cup and their response is to buy Bravo and that bitey racist with a four-month ban? Pffff.

Not that I care one bit about Barcelona. As far as I am concerned, they deserve a special place in hell for beating Arsenal in 2006. There's nothing quite like watching them fail miserably. If this happens, be sure to check my blog, cause I'll be here, gloating in full swing.

However, back to Sanchez. That's what he said upon signing a deal with us:

“I’m so happy to be joining Arsenal, a club which has a great manager, a fantastic squad of players, huge support around the world and a great stadium in London. I’m looking forward to meeting my new team-mates and to be playing for Arsenal in the Premier League and Champions League. I will give my best to Arsenal and want to make all the supporters happy.”

All the usual things new players say upon joining. His quotes are there for you just to prolong and savour this wonderful moment.

And here's the manager's reaction:

“Alexis will add power, creativity and much quality to our squad and we are all looking forward to him joining up with us in a few weeks. He has consistently produced top-quality performances at the highest level for a number of seasons now and we are all excited to see him integrate into the Arsenal squad. I’m sure all Arsenal supporters will join me in welcoming Alexis to our club.”

You bet we will. There already are tons of messages and pics all over the Internet greeting Sanchez. I've already said a lot about the player's qualities here and here, so I don't know what more there is to add really. Sanchez will play in number 17 shirt at Arsenal, while Monreal will be shifted to 18. By the way, Gibbs will now be our number 3, with Debuchy all set for taking number 2. You can also read about how well Alexis fared in the last couple of seasons compared to Messi, Ronaldo and Suarez. And if you are interested in Chilean ability to score goals, check out this Youtube video. Well worth your time.

If we are talking about this deal from our point of view, not only do we get a wonderful player in his prime (he's 25), who's able to play across the front three, we also send out a statement to all other clubs. It's less of a bomb we've dropped last year when announcing the signing of Ozil, but the message is loud and clear nonetheless.

To buy a player EVERYONE wanted to see on their team after the World Cup in such a quiet and quick way is an enormous achievement. Sanchez had other options, but he chose us. While everyone thought we were interested in Balotelli, Arsene has been quietly hijacking Sanchez from Barcelona. Moreover, look at the calendar. It's July 11th. And we already have one of the most (if not the most) important piece of the jigsaw in place. Alexis will be able to play for us from August 3rd, when the Emirates Cup kicks-off.

Debuchy's deal is also as good as done, all we are waiting for now is official confirmation and, if talk about Khedira wanting to join us is true, then we'll be all set for the new season well before August kicks in. We still should be on the lookout for a central defender and a back-up keeper, but both these signings are low-priority ones. Doesn't mean we shouldn't get through with them, we should, but they are not urgent. The keeper will only be second fiddle to Szczesny and that central defender will at best be third-choice after Mertescielny.

Of course, I've seen some worrying quotes that Sanchez is a replacement for one of our high-profile players, that'll leave Arsenal this summer. As earlier Cazorla said something shady about his future, I feared it might be him. Fortunately, the little Spaniard denied all talk of exit today, so we can be quite calm on that front. It's interesting, that there are only two years left on his contract, as he has recently signed a new one, but apparently the new deal was about improved conditions, rather than prolonging the thing. Either way, I don't think we should worry about the Spaniard right now. We can have this talk again a year from now, if he doesn't sign a new contract by then.

For me, the likely candidate to leave (if, and only IF, I stress, the rumours are true) is Podolski. The German is, for better or for worse, only a sub at the moment. The arrival of Sanchez will likely see the German fall even further behind in the pecking order, something he may not be too happy about. It's hard to find a place for Poldi on the team, but I'll still be devastated, if the German leaves. He is a clinical finisher, a kind of super-sub and his transfer elsewhere will definitely weaken us. Still, it's all talk, don't forget that.

Amidst all the excitement of signing someone as good as Sanchez, I completely forgot Arsenal have officially launched a new PUMA kit yesterday. Here's a short video about the event, as I can't be bothered to search for a long one. Here are the pictures of this kit. It's goodbye to Nike, so "thank you" for them is in order. They've been providing Arsenal with equipment for 20 years, paid off some of our stadium debt and, at the end of the day, their logo looked great on Arsenal's shirts. Now PUMA takes over.

Finally for today, I've failed to report on Holland vs Argentine match. Truth be told, the game was mind-bogglingly dull, one of the most uninteresting games during this tournament. Higuain did score a wrongly disallowed goal during normal time, but that was easily the only bright spot in the entire game. I got the feeling both teams just didn't want to face Germany in the final, so it all petered out to penalties. With no sub in hand, van Gaal had to stick to Cilissen and he didn't impress. Romero was the hero, as he saved two spot-kicks and carried Argentine feet first in the final. If the South American team doesn't burst into life on July 13th, Germany will make short work of them. Which is what Argentine deserve, honestly.

Phew, that's it for today. Enjoy Sanchez and all that entails.

Until later

Just. Wow

Hello everyone.

To start with the obvious: Germany is through to the final after beating Brazil 7-1 (!)

You know, whatever I expected from the game, this was not it. If you allow me  to quote myself, that's what I said three days ago, while talking up Germany as the favourites to win this World Cup:

"If Germany doesn't win the goddamn thing, I'll lose faith in humanity".

I can say that I expected Germany to win this semi-final (though I'm not saying they couldn't have lost it. Of course they could have). I can say I hoped the Bundesteam will thrash Brazil, but again I realised it would be an unlikely scenario. Simply because at this level the margins are so tight and the gulf in class is next to indiscernible, such big scorelines are rare.

Just look at how both teams fared prior to this game. Both qualified with seven points, both had only one group stage game when they were a lot better than the opposition. Both teams had very decent opponents in the play-off and both had only just made it to the semis. Yes, I've stated quite a few times that the manner was different, that Germany played a lot better than Brazil, but the results were nearly the same. In the end, it's the results that go down in history and in our memory, not the way the team played. Yet, though I still insist that a big scoreline rarely reflects the way things stand, the difference between Germany and Brazil was laid in plain sight yesterday for everyone to see.

Brazil was forced to play on the front foot the entire tournament without really having the potential to demonstrate that style of play. When Sandro Mazzola was asked why Russia failed so miserably and whether Kapello was at fault he said Russia didn't demonstrate anything because they didn't have enough talent up front. Strikers (or attacking midfielders) who can turn the game on it's head, create a moment out of nothing and gift a team, that's otherwise not much better than their opponents, a win.

See, that's exactly Brazil's problem during this tournament. While likening them to Russia is a bit too much, the problem itself remains. Apart from Neymar (and, sporadically, Hulk) Scolari's side doesn't have anyone capable of creating chances in the final third. Honestly, who can do this? Bernard? Young and raw. Oscar? See above. Jo? Please. Fred? The best he can do is grow a moustasche. George? Oh, wait...

This weakness was only further exposed by the fact that Brazil had to play the entire tournament on the front foot. As the hosts, the favourites and so on, a team much supported from the stands, Scolari's side had no choice but to take matters into their hands and take the game to the opponents. They've scraped through group stages largely thanks to Neymar (who, for all his shortcomings, was in terrific form), but,as soon as Neymar's form dwindled down, encountered serious problems. Chile? A win on penalties, perhaps the luckiest bounce in this tournament. Colombia? Two goals from set-pieces. TWO. And while the first goal went in due to Colombia's failure to mark Silva, the second was just a touch of class from Luiz. A defender scoring from free-kicks. He does so brilliantly, no doubt about it, but the fact that he takes these free-kicks in the first place tells you all you need to know about Brazil's attacking potential. Just ask yourselves, would Luiz be taking these kicks playing for Argentine or Holland or Germany?

Oh, and about Germany. First off, congratulations on a brilliant performance. However weak and disjointed Brazil looked much of this was down to simply brilliant play from Die Mannschaft. I've always admired how the Germans worked with the ball at their feet and how good they are offensively, but when five (!) different players score (including a 36-year-old Klose (well done on setting a new World Cup record), a DM and a sub), that's just astounding.

And all of this was in stark contrast to Brazil. You think Germans weren't talked up as favourites? They are prompted to win the World Cup every four years. You think they didn't have to play on the front foot because of that? They had to do this every game.

And yet they've succeeded so far. They had to break down organised defences every single time. Even France put a lot of men behind the ball in the quarter-final. But Lowe's side succeeded time and again. Ghana was probably the only team that (realistically) could have beaten Die Mannschaft. That I write down to physique. Ghanians were just physically better ready. Yet even all this physicality could have been in vain, as the persistent Germans were a whisker away from snatching the three points. So well done Germany, see you in the final. Hope for a win, cause you deserve it more, than anyone else in this tournament.

As for Brazil, hard times indeed. They will now battle either Holland or Argentine in a fight for third place. And I think it'll be just if they get that consolation prize.

It's hard not to feel sorry for them, really. As I watched children crying uncontrollably in the stands, or Scolari nearly having a heart attack, I myself was on the verge of tears (while my mom was on the verge of a heart attack). For the duration of this World Cup Brazil had to fight not only against physical opponents, but also to carry the huge weight of expectation and, as Arsenal fans, we can tell them a lot about this weight. At the end of the day, it was just too much for Brazil. They are (let's be realistic) a mediocre team with title aspirations. I take my hat off for them, as they've fought tooth and nail against unfavourable circumstances and wish them luck in their last game. The players, the fans and everyone else in some way connected to Scolari's side need that third place, that minimum requirement.

In other news, we are nearing to the end of Sanchez saga and the resolution seems to be a happy one. Wenger has told talkSPORT (I'm pinning a different url, as it's more interesting, but it contains a link to talkSPORT, just in case you need it), that Sanchez deal is "almost done". And I couldn't be happier that it is. Sanchez is genuinely exciting, played greatly during the World Cup and should fit in our overall style of play. However, I've already said a lot about him, so I'll stop here and will say nothing before he is signed. If you still feel like reading a bit more about him, here you go.

Finally, the article on Arsenalstation mentions Debuchy and, while I've talked about him earlier, I've stumbled upon a very good piece, which examines his strengths and weaknesses (and, more importantly, his abilities in comparison to Sagna and Aurier), so give it a try. Fascinating stuff.

Phew, that's it for today. Tonight it's Holland vs Argentine and this time I'm for South American side. The lesser evil, you know.

Back tomorrow with fresh goodies

Until then

Navas and Costa-Rica bow out; Holland will face Argentine

You know, I probably should consider betting. The minute I predict Opponent A will beat Opponent B invisible wheels start turning to make exactly the opposite happen. It's convenient, come to think of it. I will now state that Brazil will go through and start making secret preparations to put a huge amount of cash on Germany. It should work out. I'll be rich and famous.

As you can guess, Argentine and Holland made it through to the semi-finals. Quite unexpectedly, both games were dull.

Argentine scored an early goal thanks to a wonderful shot from Higuain and you would think they would have fallen back to defend their slender lead (especially after Di Maria limped off), but such was the quality of Belgium's play that Sabella's side continued dominating without really trying. Belgium (with Lukaku on the bench) had maybe one half-decent chance in the entire first half, while Argentine looked pretty decent on the counter, Messi masterminding their attacks.

Second half was a bit livelier, but not by much. Higuain should have doubled the lead after rounding off Kompany, but instead hit the bar, Messi sent his free-kick over and then missed a brilliant opportunity to end the encounter after he was clean through. Credit to Courtois, though, it was much more a case of a brilliant save rather than a poor finish.

Belgium, with Lukaku and Mertens on still created little. When Hazard, completely off the pace, was replaced by Chadli, that was all you needed to know about how bad Belgium looked. I remember they had some decent chance to equalise late in the game, but I cannot even remember what it boiled down to. They missed, most likely. A keeper of Romero's quality would have grabbed thin air instead of the ball, had Belgium tried a little harder to keep their efforts on target. And so another unconvincing side is through.

Sabella's side will play Holland and I cannot even tell, which national team looked worse in the quarter-final. Probably Holland, cause they needed two hours and a penalty shoot-out to finally end Costa-Rica's resistance. Argentine has, at least, kept it inside 90 minutes. Holland is pathetic.

Honestly, they operate pretty much the way Brazil does. Lump it towards Neymar Robben and let him figure out the rest. And though Robben takes to the ground like a fish to the sea at every opportunity, such was the way Costa-Rica defended and Navas saved everything that came his way, that Holland needed a win on pens to go through.

And though everyone is occupied by hailing van Gaal for his clever trick with the keepers right now, I see the situation differently. If he's so talented, then why can't he break down Costa-Rica inside regular time? Why, with all his resources can't he make a sub that'll help to end the encounter before it goes to penalties? It's just a lucky bounce for Holland, like the one they had against Mexico. The same bounce that have kept Chile out, while Brazil progresses. Nothing more.

Now there are three utterly unconvincing sides in the semi-final. And, to my horror, that means at least two of these will have some kind of prize. I'd like to see Holland make fourth, with Brazil third and Argentine second. If Germany doesn't win the goddamn thing, I'll lose faith in humanity. I can't even bear the thought of someone as despicable as Holland making the grade. God save us then.

That's it for today. Little happening from an Arsenal point of view, so I'll leave it at that.

Until later