We’re not far off from being champions says Silvestre

Defender Mikael Silvestre says that the team are not far off from being able to lift the Premiership trophy or even the FA Cup or Champions League, such is the improvement in the squad.
The team have already lost two games in the league this season, but Silvestre says that those defeats provided food for thought.
Fresh off the back of the 6-2 mauling of Blackburn Rovers, the Frenchman says that simple mistakes which allowed their opponents an early lead can be eradicated.
Arsenal went on to win 6-2. Silvestre said: “In those two defeats against City and United, we learned that we are not far from being a winner.
“We scored goals away from home which is good and I am looking forwards to the big games again this season to test ourselves. “We play very good football and I hope it will pay off. It is about being mature and the details.
“If you look at the way we conceded two goals at the weekend, if we can get rid of those moments, then we will have a real chance. We are not far from it.”

BRAZIL AND REAL MADRID CAN MAKE ME WORLD'S BEST PLAYER AGAIN - KAKA

He says group success is the key to individual accolades...

Real Madrid and Brazil playmaker Kaka has declared that he would like to once again be recognised as the best player in world football and he believes that winning trophies with club and country is the key to putting himself back on top.

Kaka won both the Ballon d'Or and the FIFA World Player of the Year awards in 2007 and says that preparation is the key to winning titles and succeeding in achieving those individual accolades once again.

"To be elected again as the world's best have to win collective titles. I think I have the possibility of achieving that with [Real] Madrid and with the Selecao," the 27-year-old was quoted as saying by AS.

"I'm going to make the most to achieve that. Every time when Brazil is well prepared we achieve success, but that did not happen in 2006."

Brazil have already qualified for the World Cup in South Africa next summer with two qualifiers still to be played in the coming days, against Bolivia and Venezuela.

GERMANY U-20 3-2 NIGERIA U-20

GERMANY U-20 3-2 NIGERIA U-20: EUROPEAN CHAMPIONS BATTLE TO GRITTY VICTORY

---

Ten-man Germany are through to the quarter-finals of the FIFA Under-20 World Cup after a last-gasp victory in Suez... 

 

Germany have qualified for the quarter-final of the FIFA Under-20 World Cup after they defeated Nigeria 3-2 at the Hosni Mubarak Stadium on Wednesday night.

Germany will now clash with Brazil, who defeated South American rivals Uruguay in their own round of 16 match earlier Wednesday.

Full-back Bjorn Kopplin was the hero for the Germans as he scored twice, with the match winner coming in stoppage time when he ran almost half way down the pitch following a mistake by Lukman Haruna before slotting the ball home.

Daniel Uchechi put Nigeria ahead on 51 minutes with a header off a cross by King Osanga, but almost immediately the Germans drew level through Kopplin.

Nigeria regained their lead in the 68th minute following a strong run by Nurudeen Orelesi, which found Rabiu Ibrahim to fire home from close range.

However, six minutes later Germany restored parity when substitute Mario Vrancic stabbed home after yet another superb delivery by Kopplin from the left wing.

After a dour first half, the first two goals after the interval appeared to open up the game as Nigeria goalkeeper Uche Okafor had to deny Richard Sukutu-Pasu twice within two minutes. First, he came out to clear with Sukutu headed for goal, and almost within a twinkle of an eye, the Kaduna United goalkeeper had to save off the feet of the big striker.

Even though European champions Germany were denied the use of as many as 26 players by their various German clubs for this tournament, they were the favourites against a Nigerian team who barely scraped through to the round of 16 by virtue of having finished as one of four best third-placed teams.

Nigeria started out with an attacking team with four forwards - Stanley Ohawuchi, Odion Ighalo, Osanga and Uchechi - with Ibrahim and Lukman Haruna supporting them from midfield.

The Flying Eagles took the game to their German counterparts, but against the run of play, Bayer Leverkusen striker Richard Sukutu-Pasu came close to opening up the scoring as early as the fourth minute when he almost punished  a moment of indecision in the heart of the Nigerian defence.

Sukutu-Pasu's other chance came in the dying minutes when his near post header was gathered by goalkeeper Uche Okafor.

Before then, Okafor did well to come off his line to thwart a goal-bound Tobias Kempe, who had sprung the Nigerian offside trap.

Nigeria's chances in the first half fell to skipper Ighalo. First, on 11 minutes, he whipped a shot from the top of the box, which narrowly missed the target. In the 33rd minute, he sliced his shot from inside the box wide.

The Flying Eagles must rue some missed chances in their best performance at the tournament, especially late in the second period particularly Uchechi, who clipped his shot over the bar from inside the box.

Arsenal in Strong Position to Win Premier League

Arsène Wenger believes Arsenal are now strongly positioned to challenge for the Premier League title after having moved into the top four of the table despite what he regards as an extremely difficult opening sequence of fixtures. 
Arsenal have played a game less than most of their rivals following the Champions League qualifying round against Celtic and also faced away games at Everton, Manchester United, Manchester City and Fulham in their opening six matches.
“We are in a strong position, despite the fact we have lost two games,” said Wenger. “If you look at the away games we had, it was at places where other teams can drop points – Manchester, Everton and Fulham. We should have won the two games in Manchester but that made our resolve even stronger.

Arsenal 6 - 2 Blackburn: Fabregas masterclass prompts romp

Arsenal 6-2 blackburn

Fabregas masterclass prompts romp

Arsenal 6 - 2 Blackburn (Vermaelen 17, Van Persie 33, Arshavin 37, Fabregas 57, Walcott 75, Bendtner 89)
Defensively, there were lapses. A combination of indecisive goalkeeping from Mannone and the sun preventing Vermaelen from spotting a dropping ball led to us falling behind to an Nzonzi header, and Blackburn’s second goal was the result of a counter-attack where we were as caught out as Nicklas Bendtner was here.

Going forward, however, we were stunning. The 4-3-3 system allowed Cesc Fabregas and Abou Diaby to roam forward in support of an electrifying front three of Arshavin, Van Persie and Tomas Rosicky.
We netted six goals, each with a different scorer. Vermaelen lashed in our first from twenty five yards, before a composed Van Persie finish for his third goal in three games. Arshavin’s shot on the spin put us 3-2 ahead, before Cesc’s floating volley killed the contest. Theo Walcott came on for his first appearance of the season and rounded off a stunning counter, before the recovered Nicklas Bendtner crashed an effort in off the post with similar to force to that with which he crashed his Aston Martin into a Hertfordshire fence.
There’s a more extensive match report here, but the undoubted talking point is the stunning performance of Cesc Fabregas. He assisted or scored the first five goals (he was off the field for the sixth), and celebrated his own strike with a badge-kissing display of loyalty that was reminscent of the affection between player and club we experienced with the watching Henry.
Cesc is an outstanding player who, in conjunction with the likes of Arshavin aka the assassin , is capable of lifting this side to sufficient heights that joining Barcelona remains a future option rather than an immediate neccessity. Against Blackburn there signs of the team’s potential, and Arsene is adamant about the strength of their capabilities, and honest about their flaws:

“There are some strengths coming out of this team and we have to add some discipline defensively because we struggled a little bit defensively today. We looked always like we know we will score goals.”

It’s the International break now, so bask in the entertainment this win provided while you can. You’ll be spending the next week or two waiting for something to match it.

Arsene wenger

As of today, Arsene Wenger is Arsenal’s longest serving manager, surpassing the record previously held by George Allison for his spell in the thirties and forties.

The official site have trawled through the archives and produced a couple of nice pieces that are definitely worth a look. It’s only when you look back at pictures from when Arsene was first appointed that the amount of time that’s passed really hits some.

Arsene and the club are now synonymous. There is a whole generation of fans who do not know an Arsenal without him. There are countless more who can no longer imagine the same eventuality.

Arsene is not only our longest serving manager, but our greatest. And what a servant he has been, bearing the load of our debt to enable us to move into the finest club stadium in the country. Under his term we have become one of the European elite.

The world of football is now very different to how it was when he arrived. To win trophies with shrewd acquisitions and ingenious tactics proves ever more difficult when there are several teams able to invest hundreds of millions of pounds to counteract that. Arsene’s later years have been about trying to find a formula to succeed without disproportionate investment. A man once regarded by some as a chequebook manager has become a crèche supervisor. Thus far, it’s not delivered any trophies, but it is still delivering me a club and a team I feel immensely proud of.

The longer Arsene remains at the helm the closer his departure comes. It is genuinely hard to envisage the day when he is not conducting affairs at London Colony, but it can only be a few seasons away now. My one wish for the remainder of Arsene’s reign is that he is able to win the trophies that give him closure on this – his fourth Arsenal team, and greatest project to date.

Here’s to you, Arsene.

HTML Hit Counter

copyright 2009 www.arsenalnigeria.blogspot.com