January 2012
1 post
6 tags
Thierry Henry: In Search of Lost Time
By Ulysse Pasquier, writing from Montreal
Anyone who follows football knows the amount of emotion that the sport can bring in a split second. From total despair to intense euphoria, every fan is ought to have experienced his fair share of hair-raising moments. What happened at the Emirates yesterday however transcended all these feelings. Seeing Thierry Henry warm up wearing the...
December 2011
1 post
6 tags
A miraculous week for French clubs in the...
A miracle. That’s exactly what Lyon needed to go through to the knockout stages of the Champions League after disappointing in the five first games and scoring only on two occasions. To qualify, Les Gones not only needed Ajax to lose, but also had seven goals to catch up on the Dutch side. As if that wasn’t hard enough, Lyon’s goalscoring form had been worryingly poor, especially away, and when...
November 2011
1 post
6 tags
A Year with Laurent: Only the Illusion of Success?
By Ulysse Pasquier
Les Bleus wrapped up 2011 with a 0-0 draw at home against Belgium, an unconvincing performance that unsettled many critics in France. Just over a year since taking the top seat, the grace period and overall optimism linked to Laurent Blanc’s appointment have clearly evaporated. There is no talk of getting rid of the former Bordeaux coach of course but the consensus...
August 2011
1 post
10 tags
Fighting the Power Shift - Arsene's Last Struggle?
By Ulysse Pasquier, writing from Montreal
Football clubs do enjoy their deadline drama it seems. These last couple of days have been so hectic it has become difficult to keep track of my Twitter feed every single deal, and the transfer window is not even closed yet! We can expect more signings in the next 24 hours that could shape the rest of the season, notably in the Premier...
June 2011
1 post
4 tags
April 2011
1 post
6 tags
WatchLike Liverpool in Istanbul, The Podcast Makes A Comeback! iTunes / Soundcloud / RSS
After a two-month period of soul-searching and not having nearly enough time for weekly hour-long recording sessions, the A Football Report podcast is back with a new, fresh format. The podcast, now hoping to be about 25 minutes in length, will focus heavily on interacting with you via Facebook, Twitter, and...
March 2011
1 post
6 tags
A game Barcelona deserved to win, but should they...
By Ulysse Pasquier, writing from Montreal
Ignoring the result, the first leg between Arsenal and Barcelona at the Emirates was everything we had hoped for. The amount of precision in both teams’ passing and control made the game a joy to watch for anyone passionate about football, Gooner or Culé. Although not lacking the excitement and controversy, Tuesday’s match was...
February 2011
1 post
7 tags
Carling Cup Final: Arsenal and Birmingham face-off...
By Ulysse Pasquier, writing from Montreal
There will be much more than just golden statuettes distributed on Sunday as Arsenal will look to end their 6 year trophy drought against Birmingham in the Carling Cup final. Arsenal’s lack of silverware since 2005 has been a talking point in the press - for what seems like forever for us Gooners - and yet it will be Alex McLeish who will have the...
January 2011
1 post
7 tags
Arshavin and Bendtner - Should Arsenal fans Love...
Arsenal fans have been increasingly frustrated with the duo’s performances in the recent weeks, especially following their important involvement in the Gunners’ two-game cup ties against lower-league clubs Leeds and Ipswich. Arshavin and Bentdner have indeed not had the best of seasons so far with most of theirs last appearances in the league coming from the bench. The humiliating defeat at...
December 2010
2 posts
8 tags
Walcott inspires Gunners against out-of-form...
By Ulysse Pasquier, writing from Montreal
Arsenal ended on Monday night their calamitous recent record against the Blues with a significant 3-1 win at the Emirates. Arsene Wenger’s players had to overcome the psychological pressure of having won only two of their last 18 matches against Chelsea in all competitions. Goals at either end of half-time from Song, Fabregas and Walcott allowed the...
6 tags
Samir Nasri: a Tale of Two Goals
By Ulysse Pasquier, writing from Montreal
If you haven’t already, you should definitely listen to this week’s AFR Podcast in which our writers led a very interesting discussion with guest contributor Andrew Weber (editor of ArsenalFCBlog.com and FootballNomad.com). One question that was raised is whether Arsene Wenger should consider selling Cesc Fabregas in the light of very promising - and...
November 2010
2 posts
7 tags
Sagna leads the run past Everton as Arsenal go...
By Ulysse Pasquier, writing from Montreal
Arsenal were arguably this weekend’s biggest winners as they defeated Everton 1-2 at Goodison Park to go second in the Premier League, just two points from Chelsea. While the Gunners benefited from the Blues’ poor performance against Sunderland, they still had to find the resources to overcome a spirited Everton side. The game itself had a very different...
2 tags
October 2010
1 post
6 tags
Arsenal need the Carling Cup
By Ulysse Pasquier, writing from Montreal
The Gunners went through to the quarter-finals of the Carling Cup for the eighth consecutive season with an impressive 4-0 win against Newcastle at St. James’ Park. Krul opened the scoring just before half time with an unfortunate own goal while strikes from Walcott (53th, 88th) and Bendtner (83th) rounded up a very promising night for Arsenal....
September 2010
2 posts
"Another dimension" - Perfect start for Cesc and...
By Ulysse Pasquier, writing from Montreal
Arsene Wenger couldn’t have hoped for a better start to the Champions League as Arsenal put six past an uninspired Braga side at the Emirates on Wednesday night. “The Portuguese Arsenal”, as they are called for their similar home colors, were given a painful introduction to the competition and could do nothing against the Gunners’ pace and quality...
Arsenal Injury List Adds Two More
matchcentre:
It was smooth sailing for England as they celebrated a Wayne Rooney goal in the first 10 minutes of their Euro 2012 campaign against Switzerland, which ended with a 3-1 win. However, for Arsenal fans the main focus was on Theo Walcott’s injury.
The Arsenal winger assisted with the opening goal by finding Glen Johnson who then played a low ball across the box to Rooney who easily...
August 2010
2 posts
Headed for trouble...: A French Problem at... →
footballtransfers:
…
Arsene Wenger has announced this week the signing of Sebastien Squillaci from Sevilla after the French defender successfully underwent a medical examination in North London. The 30-year-old was given a 3-year contract and is Arsenal’s third signing this summer after…
I completely agree with the first part of your answer. I think Squillaci is a great signing...
Fabregas stays! Football prevails
philosofooty:
By Ulysse Pasquier, writing from Montreal
Cesc Fabregas released a statement on Friday announcing that he would not be leaving North London this summer. This is a huge relief for all Arsenal fans who have had to suffer the stubborn and sometimes inappropriate advances of Barcelona since the end of last season and throughout the World Cup. In his statement (which you can find...
July 2010
1 post
6 tags
Barça players try to steal Cesc
As Spain was celebrating its World Cup win, the Barcelona defenders thought it was a good idea to play a little prank on our captain. Pique and Puyol rushed out to force a Barça shirt on Cesc Fabregas who was unaware this was going to happen. I found the sight very unsettling and I hope spending this much time with his friends from Barcelona will not lower his morale if he’s still with...
May 2010
1 post
Good Causes: World Cup Calendar for Soccer Aid
worldcupreport:
By Ulysse Pasquier, writing from Montreal
Being less than two weeks away from the start of the World Cup, I think it’s a good time to take a break from the predictions and focus on a good cause. Designer David Watson has created this very cool typographic poster of the entire event’s schedule. The poster is available to buy here: http://www.trebleseven.com/ and profits go to...
April 2010
3 posts
10 tags
My letter to Santa Wenger
Studying for finals can be excruciating, especially when you have to witness back-to-back discouraging Arsenal performances.
Arsenal can now almost be officially ruled out of contention for the Premier League title after being well beaten by Tottenham in midweek and giving up a 0-2 lead to lose 3-2 to relegation-battling Wigan on Sunday.
After such disappointing results, there has been...
Patrick Vieira knows that France needs Patrick...
worldcupreport:
By Ulysse Pasquier
Patrick Vieira was asked on Tuesday April 6th if he still believed in his chances of being included in Raymond Domenech’s World Cup squad. His answer:
“Yes of course I would pick Patrick Vieira without any problem. Given his experience, his determination and what he can bring to the France team, I would pick him.”
Patrick Vieira is not only remarkable because...
5 tags
6 tags
Greatest comeback of the century?
Hmm…maybe not, but it certainly was a great night of football and an amazing accomplishment for Arsenal as they came from two goals behind to grab a 2-2 draw against Barcelona in their Champions League quarter-final first leg at Emirates Stadium. It was one of the most dramatic matches I had seen in a long time and I am glad I chose to forget that I had to write a 12 page paper for the...
March 2010
5 posts
7 tags
The Battle for Cesc
Arsenal was drawn on Friday against the title holders, Barcelona, in the Champions League quarterfinals. Incredibly, it did not feel like a surprise to be picked against the Spanish giants and it almost seemed destined to happen. The fixture is a repeat of the 2006 final which saw the Gunners fall apart 10 minutes from the victory to eventually lose 2-1. I am sure other Arsenal fans who remember...
7 tags
The Art of 'Winning Ugly'
Arsenal defeated Hull City 2-1 on Saturday thanks to a 90th+3 minute goal from the one and only Nicklas Bendtner. The match was both stressful and exciting and proved to be a massively important away win. With only 8 fixtures to go, the Gunners are well in the race for the title lying in 3rd just 2 points away from first place Manchester United.
Hull City equalized in the 28th minute with a...
7 tags
Bend it like Bendtner
Arsenal trashed Porto 5-0 at the Emirates on Tuesday, 6-2 on aggregate, to advance to the quarterfinals of the Champions League. The Gunners came back from a 2-1 deficit and showed much more spirit than they did in Portugal, with the likes of Almunia and Song back in the side.
I am very skeptical about Manuel Almunia, but at least he didn’t pull any gaffes - I’m looking at...
8 tags
Shawcross, 'not so gentle' giant
19 year-old Welshman Aaron Ramsey suffered a career-threatening injury, breaking 2 bones in his leg, on Saturday during the Stoke - Arsenal game at Britannia Stadium.
The injury was caused by Stoke’s 6 ft 5 defender, Ryan Shawcross in what some are calling a “50/50 tackle”, but you can be the judge of that: (the images are extremely gruesome and you may not want to watch...