Liverpool Suffers a Reversal: Hammers 1 - Liverpool 0

Liverpool players have a crisis of confidence. They've broken their five-on-the-trot draw streak with a loss. They turned the ball over cheaply in midfield and didn’t look like scoring until the final quarter hour. While some players worked hard for club, others attitudes are defeatist and negative. I disagree with whoever thinks this is lack of motivation is a result of the ownership of the club.

I subscribe to the theory that ownership issues shouldn’t matter to the player on the pitch. His salary is settled for the next few years, his club is loved by many, and he has one thing to focus on- his football. As long as he keeps his eye on his football, he’ll get first-team action. The rotation policy virtually ensures that. But, by the look on the faces of the starting eleven, many of these players have become accustomed to underperforming.

Alonso comes to mind first. The passing we grew to expect last season departed when he returned from injury. He goes in for reckless tackles, is beat for pace, and out of sorts on the ball. His “attempt at goal” after one such foul was cynical and deserved a second yellow card. Aurelio is not right for the team, and I don’t see why he gets a starting position. While Riise is severely out of form, Aurelio hasn’t shown form yet. During this game he tried to stake out his place as the taker of corner kicks, but that is not enough to earn a spot on the team. He too was lucky to not receive a second yellow card after a series of late tackles. Aurelio is a player who doesn’t deserve a spot in the starting eleven and acts as though he’s bored with it. Harry Kewell is another formerly great Liverpool player who can’t seem to show the form required at this level. He is a player I like very much, but I was sad to see him relieved to go off at 60 minutes. He too is guilty of poor passing (with a few exceptions) and general absenteeism on the pitch. We were lucky West Ham kept trying to play through the middle with their five-man midfield rather than our left flank, or we would have been more seriously exposed.

West Ham is a good team with a great record against the Big Four, most memorably beating Man. U. in the final game of last season to beat the drop. If you didn’t see it, I recommend watching this fan as he watches his club. If we played like we wanted to win and lost, fine. But we didn’t.

As things looked to go nowhere, we kept playing the complicated passes around players or hitting it long, rather than playing a simple square ball and making school-boy runs. Players were more content to halt the attack at thirty yards out and hit one into Row Z than to work the ball smartly into the area. The team lacks motivation.

My thesis was proven correct when fringe players came on and made the difference. This happened a number of times this season and did again here. Babel showed much more heart than Kewell, his first touch creating a scoring opportunity. All of our attacks came through either Babel or the substitute Lucas, who now has a taste for goal and came close again yesterday. Don’t forget, it was Lucas’ shot that Phil Neville had to stop with his hands on the goal line during the Liverpool Derby. He came on in that game because “Gerrard was playing with too much emotion.” Those days have gone by, as even our talisman seems to be fed up.

I don’t know what the root cause of this apathy is. I didn’t see the H-W FA Cup tie, but it sounds like we had a case of this during the first half too, until Rafa shook things up at half-time. Why are our players not hungry? Leave your comments, and I’ll consider mine for my next post.

Anfield Banter is all ends up, but Liverpool @ The Offside has it just about right.

Come ON, you Reds! And, let’s hire a decent left-back in the last few minutes of the transfer window.

Post-Match Ramblings

I just finished watching the Arsenal-Newcastle match on my recorder. I won't write a detailed match report because there are plenty of good reports and review elsewhere. I'll just write down some of my thoughts about the match and events of the past two days.

Arsenal show that the players are hungry. Playing against opponents whom they vanquished three days earlier, the team did not display any complacency; they actually played better than last Saturday. Flamini upshifted into a higher gear and bossed the midfield. He scored one goal and made another and earned Man of the Match honor in my book. Newcastle, despite putting in some effort, just didn't have the quality to stay with Arsenal. Diaby was lively and put in a much improved performance compared to last Saturday. Eduardo played well, tracked back a lot and generally put quite a bit of pressure on the opposing defense. The Adebayor-Eduardo front line is a potent one; combining power, pace, guile, and poise. Senderos was solid again and I have run out of superlatives to talk about Clichy and Sagna. Almunia looks confident. He made some good decisions even though he wasn't troubled by Newcastle's toothless display. Gallas is a good captain. He is rock solid and organizes the defense well.

I also saw the first half hour of the Everton-Tottenham game. Woodgate looked really good. He was involved in most of the defensive plays. He is no doubt a good addition to his new team but it remains to be seen how long he can stay fit.

The fact that what happens off the pitch with a club affects on-pitch performance is evidenced again by what happened to Liverpool in the game agaisnt Westham. The turmoil surrounding the rift between the owners and the manager and the financing matters are affecting the players. I just cannot believe that a team with Carragher, Alonso, Mascherano, Gerrard, and Torres can lose to Westham. Liverpool had better turn around quickly or next season's CL berth is slipping away fast.

Man. U. show that they have the right credential for defending the league title. They responded to the pressure heaped on them by Arsenal's win over Newcastle by beating Portsmouth handily. Portsmouth suffers because they lost several key players to ACN. They bravely put up some resistance but ultimately had no presence up front to trouble the Red Devils.

For Arsenal, next game will be a sterner test than they've had this week. Away to Man. City is a tricky game but let's see how the players can maintain their focus and continue their challenge on the title.

Return to League Action

Arsenal v. Newcastle - Tue 1145AM (PST) 245PM (EST) on FSC
Westham v. Liverpool - Wed 1145AM (PST) 245PM (EST) on Setanta
Man. Utd. v. Portsmouth - Wed 1200PM (PST) 300PM (EST) on Setanta

Now that the FA Cup games are over, Premier league games are back this week with a spate of weekday games.

Arsenal host Newcastle on Tuesday. We might see some changes in the Arsenal team with Rosicky doubtful with a knee injury. I suspect the team will look much like last Saturday's team with Almunia, Sagna, and Hleb starting. Either Theo Walcott will start at right mid or Diaby will start at left mid while Hleb takes the other wing. I will be happy to see either Walcott or Diaby because both of them can make good contribution. I haven't heard any other injury news and I hope there is none. Speaking of injury, I am still wondering how Kolo can be stretchered off in one game and then come back and play the next game. Eboue did the same after the Chelsea game last month. Arsene must find out their secret and teach Van persie and Rosicky a thing or two about coming back quickly from injuries.

Newcastle have the big man Mark Viduka back from injury. Midfielder Emre is back from suspension and Bad Boy Joey Barton may be back from the Big House. So Newcastle will have a stronger team this time around.

Senderos is in good form. Cesc and Flamini can take it up another notch from Saturday. Adebayor is hot so the spine of the team is in good shape. The addition of Sagna increases the solidity of the backline and adds offensive threat going forward. It is reasonable for Arsenal to expect 3 points from this one; anything less is a disappointment. I hope Arsene will keep the players motivated and keep out complacency that may stem from the previous win against the same adversaries.

FA Cup Draw - Manchester United versus Arsenal

Ruddy brilliant!

AC Milan in the Champions League and Manchester United in the FA Cup. The footballing gods are smiling Arsenal supporters and serving up some fantastically mouthwatering draws.

With Christiano Ronaldo looking underrated as the third-place finisher in FIFA's player-of-the-year voting, and playing at home, the Red Devils should be the bookies favorites. Arsenal will want to have their best players available. If these lads could line up at Old Trafford, I'd put a pound sterling on the Arsenal at whatever the odds:

Van Persie Adebayor
Rosicky Fabregas Flamini Hleb
Clichy Gallas Toure Sagna
Buffon

Any chance of bringing in Gigi Buffon during the transfer window?

I'm in Almunia's corner, but Man U have a way of unsettling him. I'm going to have watch this one on the back of a stiff drink.

Woodgate to Arsenal would make sense

Jonathan Woodgate, when he's healthy, is a good central defender. He's rarely healthy.

In a season or so with Real Madrid, he made something like zero appearances, missing out due to injury (Woodgate's duration and number of appearance at Real Madrid are unverified).

Somehow, among his years of injury layoffs, I've caught him playing a few games, and he's looked like a natural central defender. Good instincts, tall.

Arsenal have a settled central defense with Gallas and Toure, but a player who is quality and very fragile might just make a good deputy. He could come in when needed for a few games, and when he has to go back out with a long injury layoff, Gallas or Toure would hopefully be ready to come back in. It's crazy enough it just might work.

Woodgate, rather than Senderos, might be the kind of player Arsenal Supporters would like to see coming in for a suspended Gallas or Toure in a Champions League final.

Arsenal has a top physiotherapist in Gary Lewin, which could help Woodgate make his decision. Normally it's safe to assume that the prospect of mid-table mediocrity as an alternative is enough for Arsene to get his player, but Lasanna Diarra has thrown that thinking into question.

Update:

Arsene says Arsenal have not been trying to acquire Woodgate. Now that someone's put the idea in his though, let's see what he does with it.

Scoreline looks just about right

It took Arsenal long enough to get the scoreline to reflect their good play, but with two goals in the last 10 minutes, they go it to 3-0.

Adebayor was immense for both of his goals, and could have scored more besides. Clichy was fantastic on the left side of the pitch, and cleared a ball off the line. Diaby had a couple nice runs with the ball in the first half, and almost scored right before halftime. Eduardo hit the ball off the post in the buildup to Adebayor's first goal, and it was his run that panicked Nicky Butt for the third goal. Walcott had some nice runs; Newcastle defender Cacapa conceded a yellow card when he felt he had no other option than than to trip Walcott. Fabregas was tidy in central midfield. Flamini put in a typical performance.

Gallas had some great tackles at the back, at least early in the game; Newcastle were pretty well run over in the second half, and Clichy just about took care defense on his own. Why did Newcastle keep trying to get the ball up the field on Clichy's side? Senderos did alright, Hoyte too. Lehmann looked quite good when crosses came in.

I can't believe I half considered not paying $16 to watch the game on pay-per-view.

Time for an Arsenal Bounce-Back

Newcastle, with their new manager, pay a visit to the Emirates Stadium in the FA Cup 4th round tie this Saturday. Things are a little murky as many are undecided about Arsenal's bouncebackability after the 5-1 drubbing at WHL earlier in the week.

Questions are everywhere: How will Newcastle play under their new manager? Will Arsene be able to motivate his players for this tie immediately after such heavy defeat? How will the head-butting incident affect team morale and overall play? Which is more important - the FA cup tie or the league match against the same team 3 days later?

For me, Newcastle is an inferior copy of the Sp*rs. They are equal on points but separated by goal difference (Tott's +4 vs Newcastle's -12) so technically they shouldn't present much of a problem. But as we all know the game decider is what's in the players' heads.

The way the injuries are piling up, Arsene might have to dig quite deep to put players on the bench and some of them might even have to play. But then we will be able to claim "we play kids!" Hahaha. Senderos is back so that helps (or not!). I just read that Kolo Toure was stretchered off with a thigh injury in Ivory Coast's victory over Benin in the ACN - he may be out for up to 6 weeks, ouch!

The Saturday game will be on pay-per-view somewhere and my cable carrier doesn't have it so I'll be reading Guardian's MBM (if they have it) or read match reports afterwards.

Liverpool 2 - Villians 2

Liverpool fans couldn't believe their eyes as what was on the way to being an easy win evaporated in the space of a few minutes on Monday afternoon. We were up a goal through Yossi Benayoun, dominating the midfield, and Carew and Young were completely neutralized by Masherano. Then it all fall apart.

To lighten the mood, here's a diversion to some photos from The Daily Mail of a Liverpool party, featuring Gerrard 50 years on, after they were calling him Gerritric after his hat trick against Luton Town. Worth the click, to be sure, but be sure to come back.

So we were up a goal and in charge of the match, but couldn't kill it off. Then, our defense fell asleep on two set plays and we were chasing the game, at home, and to a side who we are much better than. Attitudes became even more poor for a term, until new legs came on and Liverpool started looking brighter. Skrtel got his first run-out, after Arbeloa pulled up with an injury. This meant that Carra shifted to the right side, and eventually there was no room for Benayoun, with Carragher bossing the entire right side of the park. Crouchigol crowded the box, and eventually tempered the disgust of the fans. Harry Kewell made way for Ryan Babel, after putting a good shift of his own. (Kewell doesn't have the pace that he used to have, but he is developing an eye for positioning and can still pick out a pass.) Unusually for him, Babel didn't score in the 16 minutes he was on. I don't know what sort of invitation he needs. Son, this is a big club and you've got to impress the manager when he gives you a chance.

The whole game Kuyt was a tireless servant, running ragged, and still didn't manage to really test the goalkeeper. He's proving to be a support striker in the style of Emile Heskey, not a pure goal scorer.

The goals from set pieces hurt. I'm not sure if any singular player is culpable, but I think the defensive disarray was something we'd never have seen in previous years. While Masherano was able to stop anything moving forward, dead balls are a continuing problem for Liverpool.

We're in an FA Cup fixture against Havant and Waterlooville (yes, that is one club) and are in need of some confidence.

Counting Kilometers

Fixtures against Reading make me uneasy. First of all, they always seem to make life difficult for United, grinding out draws on the opening day of the current campaign and twice last season (once in the FA cup). Secondly, as one of my colleagues here on Wicked Deflection pointed out, Steve Coppell simply looks like a serial killer. And Captain Jean-Luc Picard.

There he was, squirming awkwardly in the stands before the match with England boss Fabio Capello sitting nearby. Later, he was literally acting shady - standing beneath one of those little bus-stand player enclosure things on the touchline with his face actually obscured by shadows. And the Jeffrey Dahmer of the Premier League did indeed give United nightmares for the first 70 or so minutes.

Reading were organized and ambitious as usual, and United's frustration continued to mount as the match progressed. Man of the Match (and midfielder) Kalifa Cisse was brilliant deputizing at center back for Coppell, thwarting United's attack countless times. "We ran so much that we clocked up more kilometres than we have in any game this season," said Sir Alex Ferguson. Carrick and Hargreaves were an unspectacular but efficient pairing in central midfield but squad selections will become much more interesting as early as next week when Paul Scholes a.k.a. the Ginga Ninja returns to the side. Lord Ferg will be forced to choose between four class midfielders including young prodigy Anderson, who made Gerrard and Fabregas effectively disappear in meetings earlier this year.*

It finally took a beautifully lofted pass from Tevez to unlock Reading's defense in the 77th minute, with Rooney delicately guiding it past Marcus Hahnemann with a sublime touch. Ronaldo would add a second in stoppage time, but by that point, Reading players were more interested in getting the shirt off his back. Graeme Murty had arranged to get it after the match, but it disappeared from the locker room while he was showering. The culprit? Stephen Hunt. "It was pretty funny really," said Hahnemann. "Murts was looking for it everywhere, but Hunty finally came clean and gave it back to him in the players' bar afterwards. And probably just in time!"


* My first attempt at winding up my fellow contributors

Arsene plays psychological warfare with Spurs

Arsene Wenger has released the team sheet for tonight's Carling Cup semi-final second leg at White Hart Lane. The first leg ended 1-1.

Spurs would have already been anxiously expecting to see William Gallas on the team sheet, with Senderos and Djourou both injured, but Arsene Wenger, in a move possibly designed to torment the collective Spurs psyche, has put Cesc, Hleb, and Adebayor in the squad as well. Gone are the trainees from the first leg: Gavin Hoyte and Mark Randall (Van Persie played in the first leg but was re-injured, so he's out too). In come the vanquishers from Arsenal's trip to White Hart Lane earlier this season.

Arsene probably won't play Cesc, Hleb and Adebayor from the start, but I wouldn't be surprised if had them warm on the side if the scores stay level; just to be sadistic and cause a stir. He conceals it well, but Arsene actually has quite a dark sense of humor. If they do come on, I would expect them to make an impact.

2 Abou DIABY
3 Bacary SAGNA
4 Cesc FABREGAS
9 EDUARDO
10 William GALLAS
13 Alexander HLEB
15 DENILSON
16 Mathieu FLAMINI
19 GILBERTO
21 Lukasz FABIANSKI (GK)
25 Emmanuel ADEBAYOR
26 Nicklas BENDTNER
30 Armand TRAORE
31 Justin HOYTE
32 Theo WALCOTT
40 Vito MANNONE (GK)

Liverpool Section Breaks its Duck

Dear Readers:

First, a thanks to 433 for graciously offering to share space on his well-written, if not well-read, blog. I have joined the staff to cover an obvious weakness in his posts, namely, his coverage of the most-celebrated football club in English history, Liverpool F.C.

Since we play later today, I'll take this time to lay out my objectives and let the readers know where I stand on key issues, such as gun control, nuclear proliferation, and progressive tax policies. I may handicap pastry shops from time to time (Wicked Deflection does not have an Official Pastry Sponsor, so I'm not in a lobbyist's pocket, but would be willing to consider it.)

I too am a Yank. I have feverishly followed the Beautiful Game for the last 4-5 years, after being introduced to English football by 433. Before that, my playing history was not exactly celebrated.

Our current season has been inconsistent. We'll go on eight-goal tears one game, followed by near-defeats at home to Derby. There are some Liverpool players who the currently-underperforming team is leaning on. We've got some of the best players in the world in Carra, Gerrard, Torres, Reina, MonsterMashe, Alonso, Finnan and Babel. We've got top level players like Kuyt, Kewell, Agger, Hyypia (see his return to glory this season), Pennant, Lucas and Benayoun. The attitude of the club looks to be poor.

While that is a bigger problem than this armchair manager can handle, it is my opinion that we're weak on both left and right back. Previous seasons saw Riise play with class, scoring a few times a season, getting stuck in, and generally causing hysteria among the opponent's right side. He's had a worrying drop of form, and seems to be shooting more in order to compensate. This technique, so far, has not been effective.

In the right side, we've got a player that I just identified as World Class in Strong Steve Finnan. When he's rested, there isn't a player I'd rather see there (save Sevilla's Daniel Alves). However, he is aging, we we need to get better cover on the way than our utility defender, Arbeloa. Alvaro Arbeloa has been a fantastic asset to the team, slotting in across the defense wherever needed, and playing competently. In what was his first-team start, he totally neutralized World Footballer of the Year Ronaldinho last February in our Champions League tie at the Nou Camp, playing a role which he was rumored to have been hired for during the January transfer window. Fans found this endearing, and he's been called upon time and again to cover for injured players. He keeps our side glued together, but I hope we've got some young talent almost ready for a first-team debut.

So, this spring, I look forward to success in the FA and Champions League tournaments. I look forward to closing the gap with the other top clubs, and looking down the table at Chelski. I look forward to seeing some fringe players like Crouch, Kewell, and Lucas make selection difficult for Rafa.

Catch my Reds today at 2PM EST on Setanta.

A Pleasing Win

I am of two minds about Saturday's match against Fulham.

On the one hand, I think one would expect Arsenal to beat a team second from bottom of the table. On the other hand, given the indifferent performance last week, this is something of a bounce-back that soothes the fans' nerves.

The first half was a very good performance. A classic 442 with a full-strength team that played fluid and incisive passing presented great threat to the opposition's goal and indeed scored two via Adebayor's head. Committed performances were evident all over the pitch. The key difference between the first half against Fulham and last week's game was the effective crossing from both wings. Another thing that impressed me was the interplay between Hleb and Sagna resulting in the latter's cut-backs deep inside Fulham's box. Eduardo was only somewhat effective as a strike partner with Ade but that might be because Ade stood out so much against the weak back line of Fulham.

With the game secured, Arsenal seemed to use the second half for a training session. The formation was changed to 4231 as my colleague 433 pointed out. Hleb dropped in behind Ade. Rosicky moved to right midfield while Eduardo, left midfield. I think that was a less effective formation. Eduardo sometimes forgot that he needed to play on the left side and give some defensive help. Twice when Fulham countered on their right flank, Eduardo was absent and gave Fulham big gaps to exploit.

This win is pleasing not only because Arsenal are keeping pace with Man. U. but also because the creativity is returning and the team's confidence is back. Let's see if this team has the tenacity and persistence to keep this energy until the end of the season and claim some silverware.

A proper game of football at the Cottage

Arsenal won 3-0 away to Fulham today with 2 first half headers from Adebayor and a third goal late on from Rosicky. The formation shown above is how they lined up in the second half. In this first game of the post-Lassana Diarra era, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger gave up on using substitutes altogether, as Hoyte, Diaby, Bendtner, Gilberto, and Lehmann were all considered surplus to requirements.

Adebayor's first-half double was just what the doctor ordered in this tight league-title race. Like really annoying close-talkers, Manchester United and Chelsea continue to violate Arsenal's personal space at the top of the table, but when Arsenal went into halftime 2-0 up against a Fulham side with 15 points from 22 games, I was sufficiently relaxed to skip a round of my anxiety medication.

The Eduardo to Rosicky combination came very close to scoring sometime around the hour mark, and later they did get Arsenal's third goal. The side showed no sign of missing Eboue, with Hleb, Rosicky, and Eduardo taking turns playing wide. Arsenal and Man U now both have 54 points from 23 games, on pace for 89 points. If history is any guide, one of these teams will not be able to keep up that pace. The highest points total for a second-placed finisher in a 38-game Premier League season is 83.

I'd be a little more confident of Arsenal keeping up the pace if Van Persie could make a sustained return from injury. Four of the forward players look like they have goals in them: Eduardo, Adebayor, Rosicky, and Bendtner, but Van Persie can make his own goals, and his overall play is very good.

The back line looks good. Senderos did ok today in place of Kolo Toure who's away to the African Cup of Nations. Still, the team aren't quite in full stride, and Cesc is a bit off the pace from his early-season brilliance. No bets on who's going to be the standout player, the talisman, to lead this Arsenal side to the league title, but today, Clichy and Adebayor looked up for the role.

Arsenal with 51 points from 22 games, playing well, and on track to win the league

Arsenal dropped two points today against Birmingham City, but the performance was encouraging. Arsenal were the better side, but Birmingham defended well to keep Arsenal from scoring a second goal, and scored one of their own after a corner that took a lucky deflection.

Arsenal didn't have a stand-out player who was able to make the difference to win the game, but as a team they looked very good, especially in the first half and the last 20 minutes. Congratulations to Birmingham City for earning a point. They look like they're easily good enough to avoid the drop.

Arsenal supporters will be disappointed with two dropped points, even more so if Manchester United defeat Newcastle and move to the top of the table, but Arsenal are in a great position to win the league.

84 points, 2.2 points per game, would have been enough to win the league in any season since it started in 1992/1993. Arsenal are averaging 2.3 points per game through 22 of 38 games this season, and if they continue to play like they did against Birmingham City today, they'll almost certainly keep that average up above the 2.2 threshold.

Today's game was one-way traffic for large portions, and with just a little bit of good luck, Arsenal would have won. Walcott was an improvement at right midfield over Eboue, but he was taken off for Bendtner who also played well when he came on. Diaby came on late and did ok, too, but didn't have enough time to make an impact.

The game was great entertainment, so keep it up lads, I say.

Arsenal win with early goals

For the first goal, West Ham gave Cesc space to pass the ball into the box to Eduardo, and the central defenders gave Eduardo space to bring it down and slot it into the back of the net, and Arsenal were on pace to win the game 45-0.

The second goal was a long ball from Clichy that Adebayor headed past the keeper, and then got a boot to it to somehow curl it in off the far post.

There were other chances for both sides, but 2-0 it stayed. Arsenal supporters aren't used to such straightforward victories, but most of them won't be complaining.

Cesc - Played like Cesc. Had the assist for the winner and looked good on the ball in central midfield. Had a couple pops at goal, but West Ham blocked well. Really got forward well linking up with Adebayor; a real return to form (8).

Eduardo - Scored the winner in the second minute, and if he keeps it up, Arsene Wenger is going to have a selection headache. Almost scored in the second half from a header that went just wide, while he was being fouled in the box (8).

Clichy - Had an assist and cleared a ball off the line from a West Ham corner, in addition to the typical strong defending and strong runs forward. He comes forward into midfield to take the ball away in his distinctive style. Good crossing (8).

Gallas - Great clearances, especially after West Ham corners (8).

Adebayor - Had a bit of a wonder goal to give Arsenal a two-goal cushion, curling it in from the endline with his left boot, while running at a full sprint (8).

Almunia - Looked good. Made saves, and cleared danger when he came off his line (8).

Eboue - Set up West Ham with a goal-scoring chance and suffered one of his typical injuries that looks career-threatening based on his reaction (5).

Hoyte - Also set up West Ham with a goal-scoring chance. When players are more confident with their place in the team, they're more likely to clear danger by putting the ball out into touch. Got forward well in the second half (6).

Flamini - Strong in the midfield winning and maintaining possession. He's a holding midfielder in a good run of form (8).

Toure - Defended well and helped Arsenal keep a clean sheet in his last game for Arsenal for a few weeks as he's off to the African Cup of Nations (7).

Rosicky - Good build-up play from Arsenal's first-choice left midfielder, but couldn't quite add to his goal tally (7).

Walcott - Came on for Eduardo (63') and it looked like Arsenal switched to the 4-4-1-1 with Walcott wide left and Rosicky behind Adebayor. Walcott had some good runs, but his end product is still a work in progress (6).

Hleb - Came on for Eboue (77') and it looked like Arsenal kept with the 4-4-1-1 with Rosicky left, Walcott right, and Hleb behind Adebayor. With Hleb in there, Arsenal were stringing together fantastic passing moves, with the ball looking like it had a magnetic attraction to Hleb's boots (7).

Daiby - Came on for Rosicky (88') and played left midfield in the 4-4-1-1.

West Ham did well to limit Arsenal to 2 goals, and had chances to score themselves; but a great performance and result from Arsenal, although not quite the famous "football from another planet."