Arsenal News 24/7Writer: Brice Coffer 
Date:Saturday December 19 2009
Time: 1:16AM
UK time is: 02:44:06
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Arsenal vs. Phil Brown FC
Ashburton Grove
19/12/09
17:30
On Sky
Arsenal v. Phil Brown
So here we go again, our third game in six days. The past two have been a beautiful mix of everything pleasing and frustrating about this current crop of players, even though in retrospect, a draw at Turf Moor isn't really a damning result.
Onto today's match, a match in which many Arsenal fans have been looking forward to since the fixtures were released in June. That's right, the ugly, singing Orange Man is back in Islington. Here at Vital Arsenal, we have been praying this egotistical liar would still have a job at Hull come December 19th. Don't get me wrong, having an ego isn't a bad thing. In fact, I am myself an egotistical narcissist, and I wouldn't have it any other way. However, I don't go off making up outlandish, over the top lies about people mutating into llamas and coming onto a football pitch in CLOTHESSSS! Black zip-up hoodies are the from the devil. I can't express my true feelings for Phil 'Orangy' Brown, so I'll just say he won't be receiving a Christmas card from me next week.
Vital Quotes:
Most of Arsene's pre-match quotes are devoted to current financial status of modern-day football, and since that kind of stuff bores me, I've picked up some quotes from a man I've always liked and respected, Martin O'Neill.
'It's interesting Arsene Wenger made the point that in what should have been a full Premier League programme some teams didn't play in midweek.
'I understand where he is coming from because some teams are getting an advantage. Stoke City didn't play this week and it stands to reason they would be fresher than us. I can understand what's been said (by Wenger). 'It should have been a full programme but it clashed with the Europa League.
'The Premier League should have had a look at that. Are those added few days' rest worth an extra few per cent? Absolutely, without question.
Arsenal Team News:
One in, one out. Cesc has been ruled out for 8-10 days with a hamstring injury that is 'not as bad as previously feared'. It's a shame he can't play. I know he would have wanted to give Hull a good kick up the rear. Denilson, however, is back and will make up the midfield trio with Song and Diaby. Other than that, it should be pretty much the same team as midweek. Silvestre will once again start, as our top three left backs are still out. Will Fabianski finally take over for the walking wounded? We'll have to wait and see.
Predicted Starting XI: Fabianski, Sagna, Gallas, Vermaelen, Silvestre, Song, Diaby, Denilson, Nasri, Walcott, Arshavin
Player to watch: Abou Diaby
Abou had one of his finest away games in an Arsenal shirt at Burnley. Without Cesc, he'll need to be sharp once again.
Phil Brown FC Team News:
Jimmy Bullard is out. I'm kind of glad he is out because he's a pretty likable guy. It's a shame he has to play for this orange bloke. Daniel Cousin and Ian Ashbee are also out.
Player to watch: Geovanni
We all know what he can do. Last year, he scored a goal worthy of winning any game. Though, if we would have closed him down, I don't think it would have found the net. Let's try to do that this time around
Ref Watch:
Steve Bennett is the head official for this one.
Match Prediction:
We were beaten by the better team on the day last October. Couple that with the drama after the FA cup victory and you will get an Arsenal team that is hungry for blood. As I said earlier, it's a shame Cesc can't play because he would rip this Hull team to shreds. I hope he'll have a word with the team in the dressing room before the match.
I'll probably end up with egg on my face tomorrow night for this, but I predict we will win big. I think this prediction comes from the fact I want to beat them so badly.
If we can will quite comfortably, the smug, mischievous smile on Arsene's face when he goes across to shake Brown's hand will be the best Christmas present I could ever ask for.
Next Fixtures:
27/12 (Sun) -- Aston Villa (h) -- Premier League
30/12 (Wed) -- Portsmouth (a) -- Premier League
3/1 (Sun) -- West Ham (a) -- FA Cup
The match is on ESPN in England, and FSC in the States. Have a good weekend everyone. Remember to put your hoods up!
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Your Comments
Nothing short of a convincing big win that makes Phil Brown cry will suffice for me. Yes I hope Cesc will be around to support the team and see the egotistical liar despair with humiliation.
GoonerLou
wow u talk of liers,cheaters etc and look who is top of the charts on your poll..... Hmmm hypocrite comes to mind...
Mix26
What he said ^^ :)
Spursnomad
what's a 'lier'? idiot
TPowell
Was that a joke abour Diaby?
Tom14
Haha ...Mix26, you retard.
FuiKaka
Diaby shouldn't play. He played brilliantly at Burnley, and with a ratio of 1 good game in 5 the chances of him having one for a second game in a row are tiny. In all seriousness, I'd like to see Ramsey play in the middle, to give us more range in our passing from midfield, and help get our widemen on the ball, hopefully those being Nasri and Walcott/Eboue with Arsh in the middle again.
ArsenalRob
Do people really think Diaby was brilliant? He wasn't poor, but I wouldn't say he was worth any real praise.
Tom14
To be fair, he may only have been "Brilliant" by his own dodgy standards, but his performance was certainly well above average on a difficult night. He marauded inteligently, linking up play and even bothered to get back to put his body between the ball and our goal. The one performance won't change my opinion of him in the long-term, but individually it was certainly worthy of praise.
ArsenalRob
diaby, eboue, and eduardo starting in place of ramsey, sagna, and walcott...
TPowell
stephen hunt tries to seriously injure yet another keeper
TPowell
Stupid!!
GoonerLou
Denny mother*****ers!!!
TPowell
Fantastic from Deni
ajwb
Classic Brazilian free kick!!! :D WELL DONE DEN!!!
GoonerLou
hull players going down to try and get arsenal players sent off... i guess that's what their club is ALL about... eh phil?
TPowell
I think the boys have got to get themselves together and refuse to get wound up by a classic Phil Brown gimmick. It is ging to be an explosive second half, I perceive. Hey! Don't look now, but Silvestre has held his own today, hasn't he?
Naijagunner
I honestly couldn't see exactly what Nasri did but it didn't look good. But before that, didn't the Hull number 11 refuse to give the ball back to us after the ref awarded the free kick or something? Then he and Barmby pushed Nasri I saw. What happened there?
GoonerLou
Nasri stepped on a hull players foot, intentional or not i'm not sure... but it sure as hell didn't hurt the player who went down like he had been shot in an effort to get Nasri sent off, Hunt (who has already intentionally ran himself into almunia today even after seeing that the offside flag had been raised) tried to be a big man and fight Nasri, everyone got involved and the right players got booked. Man I hope we don't mess this up... i was so happy to see Den score.
TPowell
Brilliant from Denilson. I'd like to see Song and little Stephen Hunt go head to head.
gunnerkid107
I think the Hull city players just stood around the ball to stop Fk being quickly taken but for some reason stephen (unt picked the ball up and Nasri recated wasnt pleased and stood on Hull player then got pushed by barmby
ajwb
******** dirty ****s! Good work Denilson! Diaby needs to come off for Ramsey, he's useless enough as it is but try to play Cesc's posistion? Never.
FuiKaka
After Hunt twice barged into Almunia, Joy Royale said "I don't think he likes goalkeepers" lol. I'm glad this game is getting a bit of an edge to it .... it'll make it feel sweeter when they're all whinging at the end and we're celebrating. It's been a poo first half but I reckon we could be in for some fireworks in the 2nd.
Rocky7
There's a bit of playacting in the falling dramatically and rolling around I thought. But Nasri shouldn't have done that. Then I saw Barmby get involved and push Nasri, he should've been booked too. Glad to see Song try to calm things down but did it like a man. Now I hope this is the last straw on Brown's back.
GoonerLou
Either Boateng or the irish pube head
ajwb
..to get sent off
ajwb
"Irish pube head" lmao.
Rocky7
Haha Barmby got a yellow card after the fact it seems.
GoonerLou
Beautiful turn by Eddie. He's still lacking sharpness, but he seems to be coming back to us in this game with a couple of nice efforts.
Rocky7
come on boys, lets get the second and kill this thing off!!
TPowell
About time Manuel ... about friggin time!! YESSSSS!!!!
Rocky7
Almunia, finally, makes a 'match winning' save!!! An unlikely hero? A soft penalty, if ever there was one.
Naijagunner
Are you ******** kidding me?!?!?! Awful penalty decision, awful penalty kick... and to top it off Stephen (unt hits the open header wide!!! hahahahah
TPowell
F'kin Silvestre though ... jesus, what was the point in that?
Rocky7
It was a "soft" penalty .... but the decision is still correct. If you pull a shirt then it's a freekick, end of.
Rocky7
what a beautiful goal
TPowell
YYYYYYEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!
Rocky7
Eduuuuuuuuu!!!!!
Naijagunner
F'kin have that you orange *****!!
Rocky7
Eboue contributes further to his legend by hacking down that vile little sh**.
Rocky7
For once the commentators were right: 'cheap penalty'! Hahahaha easy come, easy go.
GoonerLou
Eddy <3 ***** penalty decision, they were both pulling each other. It's about time Almunia did that. Keep going now boys, take it to those *****ers!!
FuiKaka
Rocky, in my view, it was Fagan holding back Silvestre. I will like to see another Slow mo; anyway, who cares now? We are 2 up.
Naijagunner
shouldn't it be a card for intentionally handling the ball?
TPowell
If he's giving the freekick for handball then it should be a yellow card as it was intentional.
Rocky7
Lookin at the replay Eduardo nearly feckin missed his goal .... lol
Rocky7
Yeah Rocky, I know it's hypocritical for me to say this when I'm complaining about opponents kicking our players. But Eboue's an absolute legend!!
GoonerLou
Fuikaka, "Diaby needs to come off for Ramsey"??? Take that back, now!
Naijagunner
That said he's played very well today I think. Nice to see him contributing a bit more.
Rocky7
I want a proper spanking now! Go and kill them now! (At the same time they're announcing Hughes has just been replaced Mancini but who cares now!)
GoonerLou
...Silvestre almost had an assist for Arshavin?? It is going to be a great Christmas, I think.
Naijagunner
We're realy gunna miss Song :(
Rocky7
Yeah. Sparky's gone. Interesting to see Adebayor was on the bench today; how much longer before he starts to moan about a lack of love. Now, Mendy is a speedy player and Silvestre may stop bombing forward for the next 20 minutes or so.
Naijagunner
**really
Rocky7
Theo should pin them back a little. 4-0 should be a fair result. Go for it, lads!!!
Naijagunner
Naijagunner - NEVER!! Silvestre looks like he's playing left wing not left back. Good game Eddy! You're so freakin' cool.
FuiKaka
DIIIIAAAABBBBYYYYYYY!!!!
Rocky7
DIABYYYYYYY!! See, i always told you guys he was good ;)
FuiKaka
What a Crack!!! Abouuuuuu!!! Good incisive touches from the team too.
Naijagunner
Great play from Diaby all match, deserves that goal
ajwb
the referees a gooner..............
black-messi
i'm not really a diaby fan... but i'll happily admit that when he's in form he's quite the player... come on Abou, give us some consistency!!!
TPowell
Diaby has had two good games in a row eh! :D
GoonerLou
I was talking to my friend in the first half that Diaby looked good and an absolutely deserving goal for him.
Sajit
C'mon Vela. ***** their ***** up!
FuiKaka
Fuikaka!! You louse, you!! Lol!
Naijagunner
Almunia, Silvestre and Diaby all playing reasonably well in the same match? I think this cold weather must be the begining of the end of the world.
Rocky7
AND IT'S THEO WALCCCCCCCCCOOOOOOOO......damn.
FuiKaka
Sums up Theo's season, really.
Naijagunner
Rock7 - Add Eboue to that list aswell. Maybe we should leave RVP, Cesc, Rosicky, Sagna and Clichy on the bench every week?
FuiKaka
Silvestre (I must have written his name 90 times today) is even joining in the party pieces. He is back! I tell ya.
Naijagunner
FuiKaka .... I think Eboue is a solid player and proved so a while ago. I've not had a problem with him being in the team for quite some time.
Rocky7
WALCOOOOOOOOOO...........no.
FuiKaka
LOL.
Rocky7
All around good peformace by everyone. Den and Song did a fantastic job holding that midfield. Silvestre was turning up the heat. Eddy is awesome. Diaby...yeh. Good game boys.
FuiKaka
You know if that was a chip from Carlos, it would've gone in. Er actually if it's from anyone else lol. Come on Theo time to really pick up some tricks! It's hard to imagine him not to do so training with players like RvP, Rosicky (er he's seldom around, but still), Cesc, Nasri and Arshavin. Scratching my head.
GoonerLou
Seeing the replay of the pen incident .... I'm not entirely sure that Silvestre did pull his shirt at all.
Rocky7
assuming none of our injured our healthy in time, we must start the exact same team against Villa
TPowell
No Rocky it looked a dive to me! They both sort of stretched out their arms but I didn't see amy pull of shirt from the angle I saw. Maybe there's something on the other side but it didn't seem that way.
GoonerLou
Btw guys, when's the last time we scored from a direct free kick? For all those attempts from RvP! We win so many set-pieces and it's fantastic to have someone like Den who can put it right in.
GoonerLou
The numbers of times keepers have saved pens this season after coming 3 miles off the line..... what exactly are the assistants doing on the goal line?
Saf 91
What exactly are referees doing giving a penalty for absolutely nothing?
gunnerkid107
he couldn't have possibly come off the line 3 miles, the pitch is nowhere near that length
TPowell
Very witty.
Saf 91
gunnerkid107 - this one should not have been a pen, but there have been plenty that were, and they've been saved by keepers coming off the goal-line. Like Fabregas' (although that probably would have been saved anyway) and Lampard's a couple of weeks ago.
Saf 91
Just saw that highlights on Motd have to say i'm very dissapointed that Cesc didn't wear a tux, he has brought shame to the club.
Dberg
I agree Saf. Its seems like they only call that sort of thing if the shooter makes it. It's very logical.
gunnerkid107
Is it just me, or did silvestre have an awesome game, as well as going utterly ape**** with several contentious decisions? Just me? I'll get me coat. lol.
Gunnerman
Great stuff from Nasri and... Diaby? Two great games in a row! What are the odds?!!! I just hope he can keep it going for that small game we've got next Sunday...
ArsenalRob
Oh, and was it just me, or was Cesc wearing the same black hooded jacket as he was for the FA Cup game last season?
ArsenalRob
That penalty decision, Silvestre did have his arm raised, but no more then Fagan did. You seen that 15-20 times in every game. It's 6 of one half a dozen of the other. No way a penalty. I like Phil Brown's comment "He was brave to give it" ...no *****. Oh and "Garcia wouldn't go down easily" ...Nasri stood on his foot, that's downwards pressure, yet Garcia's feet managed to come upwards off the floor. Nasri is good with his feet, but he can't defy physics.
FuiKaka
Bennett only gave that penalty decision because he thought at half time that he may have got the first half free kick wrong. Just a clumsy and dishonestly amateur attempt to even things up.
Amos.
I don't think that Diaby and Cesc in the same midfield work. You can see Diaby struggling to define what his role in the game is. Yesterday showed that with Song and Denilson doing the defensive stuff for him, and without Cesc being the playmaker, that's probably when he's going to be most productive. The penalty was one of the worst decisions I've ever seen. Some of the refereeing in this country is horrendous.
Gooner_Vin
Cesc had his best game of the season vs Blackburn with Diaby next to him, I think it works as long as Diaby adjusts himself accordingly which sometimes he struggles to do. Havent seen a replay of the Penalty decision yet but at the game I was laughing at Chunts poor cross and then amazingly saw Bennett give a pen? He's got form for soft pens against us, it was him who caused the battle of Old trafford by giving a non existent pull on Forlan before Horse face stepped up and missed.
iceman10
LMFAO @ half our end "Tango whats the score? Tango Tango whats the score?" and the boos that followed when he ignored our "Tango give us a wave, Tango Tango give us a wave!" The oldies are always the best.
nikolaijns
BOOM orange ****
Tom14
Ul get a tan from the floodlights, taaaaaaaaan from the floodlights, ul get a tan from the floodlights!
iceman10
Let's not kid ourselves completely over the Nasri-Garcia incident. Garcia massively exagerated, but it was clearly intentional by Sami and some of the more pedantic refs may have given red. I like the way that Nasri is fiesty, but it was a stupid risk to take, especially at 0-0 in what was at the time a tight game where we needed 11 men.
ArsenalRob
LOL! I knew our fans were ribbing Brown with a song, didn't know what they were singing! He's such a t-w-a-t!
Gooner_Vin
When he didnt answer to "tango give us a wave "we booed and changed the song to "tango your a cu&&, tango your a cu&&". Also songs of, "tanned in the morning, your getting tanned in the morning" and "You should of gone christmas shopping".
paul_ownz
lol paul forgot about the xmas shopping one, it's all coming drifting back now! :)
nikolaijns
Tanned in the morning, you're getting tanned in the morning - that has to be the best of the lot!
Gooner_Vin
Gotta say I was really surprised when Denilson scored that free kick, didn't think he had it in him:), but it was certainly better than any direct free kick I've ever seen from Cesc...Also, I feel that people aren't giving Diaby enough credit, he was awesome tonight and had a good all round performance, including on the defensive side (even if he is still slightly clumsy in his tackles). I've never really seen him perform so maturely, obviously we've seen him have great games attacking wise but I haven't seen him use his strength so well before for both attacking and defending.
ArsenalFan01
It would be just like Cesc to wear the same hooded outfit he wore last time!
Wyn Mills
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