Wild American Gooner

When Sports Are More Than Just Sports

Category Archives: Arsenal


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I Wish Sagna Well, Unlike Cesc (And Today’s Predictions)

I didn’t catch much of Chile game last night, but I was impressed with Australia’s resiliency. They will need more of the same if they hope to take a point off the Netherlands or Spain. The Chileans looked pretty dangerous from what I saw, but they may rue only having a plus-two goal differential against the Socceroos.

Before I get to my predictions for today’s matches, I want to say a few words about Bacary Sagna and his now confirmed departure to Manchester City. Maybe it’s that we’ve all known he would be leaving this summer for a long time, with City the likely destination. Or maybe it’s that he was very professional this season with reliable play amid the contract distractions. Maybe it’s that he fulfilled his contract to Arsenal, sticking to his word. Or maybe it’s that he left a winner, not a quitter. For all these reasons, I am not bitter about Sagna’s departure. In fact, I have a tremendous amount of respect for the man.

For years, he has been a steady presence at right back. But he has grown to be more than that in recent years, filling in at center back in times of need (think back to his heroic performance in the Sunderland game two seasons ago), sending in steadily accurate crosses that won’t be fully appreciated until Jenkinson starts misfiring his, and even scoring crucially important goals. At his age, he was never going to get the long term deal he so craved at Arsenal. So he did the best thing for his future by securing his services elsewhere. I don’t blame him for wanting the insurance a longer deal provides after all the injury scares he has had recently.

Bacary Sagna’s recent Instagram post has confirmed all the positive characteristics I had seen in him as an Arsenal player. If you haven’t seen the post, check it out. It is a very simple, yet incredibly classy gesture. Sagna’s head and heart have always been in the right place. He has been professional to the end. It’s a shame he is leaving for Manchester City of all places, but he has served his duty with Arsenal. Goodbye, Bacary. I wish you well.

Now to my predictions. Yesterday’s weren’t so good, so hopefully these go better.

Colombia 1 Greece 1

The first game of the day won’t be the most beautiful. Greece will be Greece, defending with a lot of men behind the ball. And Colombia will try to attack through James Rodriguez, a player many around the world haven’t been able to watch much of at Monaco. I see Greece scoring first, on a corner, with one of the center backs, Sokratis Papastathopoulos, heading it in, if only because it will make all the commentators in the world stumble over his name. The Greeks won’t do much after that, and the steady pressure Colombia will present will lead to a goal from Jackson Martinez. Colombia might romp, but I think Greece will hold firm for a draw.

Uruguay 2 Costa Rica 0

Assuming Luis Suarez sits this one out, Uruguay will face a stiffer test than they want from Costa Rica. Had Alvaro Saborio not gotten injured, the Ticos might have had a chance. But without him, Costa Rica isn’t a huge threat going forward, as young players like Joel Campbell are relatively inexperienced against top opposition. If they score, it will come on an error by Fernando Muslera in goal. Uruguay will be boosted by a brace from Edinson Cavani, who will aptly fill Suarez’s role as the main man. Last World Cup’s Golden Ball winner Diego Forlan will be one to watch at Costa Rica, as most of his skills have declined since 2010. Many will want to see whether the magic he provided in South Africa could be rekindled in Brazil. Ultimately, Uruguay will leave with the necessary three points, but it may not be pretty.

England 2 Italy 2

This highly anticipated game will be a good one. With both teams afraid to lose, it will start slowly.  But a surprise goal from Jordan Henderson against the run of play will open things up. Mario Balotelli will strike next, because the world hasn’t seen enough of him in the news lately. He will be out to change that. In-form Daniel Sturridge will then find the net in the second half to give England a 2-1 lead, but that will not be the end of the scoring. Andrea Pirlo will find the net with a free kick to tie the game in spectacular fashion. Both teams will feel like they should have won the game, but they will each leave with a singular point. Look for England to impress on the flanks.

Japan 3 Ivory Coast 2

These will be the game of the day, with chances abound. The battle will be in the midfield, with each team possessing an abundance of talent going forward. Shinji Okazaki, Keisuke Honda, and Shinji Kagawa will be the stars of the show, each scoring a goal apiece. Japan will go ahead 2-0, with Gervinho getting one back before half. Japan will score next, before Didier Drogba makes it 3-2 soon after. Japan will see out the one goal lead, but it won’t be entirely convincing. Yaya Toure will be largely invisible, hampered by a thigh injury that could be the deciding factor in this group. If he is effective, the Ivorians will win, but I don’t believe he will be anywhere near his best. A tie in the Colombia-Greece game could lead to an incredibly open game in the nightcap, as both teams will be looking to take control of the Group C, knowing the parity that exists among the four teams.

I might be back later today with thoughts on a game or two like I did yesterday. Links to new posts will be posted to Twitter (@MrMcGinnis94). Or just check back periodically. Thanks for reading, please comment below, and have a great day.

 


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You Broke My Heart, Cesc.

This hurts a lot. Cesc Fabregas was Arsenal. Even when he left, he was always a Gunner. While his exit back in 2011 was messy, there was some solace from knowing that he still loved the club that gave so much to him. Unlike Samir Nasri and Robin Van Persie, Fabregas departed with some dignity. He wasn’t leaving to win trophies necessarily. He was leaving to go home. And you can never fault someone for that.

But today, Cesc has left home to return to London. But not to his beloved Arsenal. He is going to Chelsea – the antithesis of Arsenal. Mourinho’s style of soccer will see the end of the Fabregas that grew up in La Masia and developed at Arsenal. Gone will be the beautiful, graceful player that we all love. In its place will be a shadow of our captain – a player no longer driven by love for his club but rather by greed.

To a certain extent, you can’t fault a player for wanting to win trophies. But Barcelona will always offer that. Even in a down period, a team with Lionel Messi, Andres Iniesta and a slew of other stars will compete for every trophy there is. I would argue that in the sense of potential to win trophies, Chelsea does not top Barcelona. So why is Fabregas leaving?

He is quoted today as saying: “I do feel that I have unfinished business in the Premier League and now is the right time to return. I considered all the other offers very carefully and I firmly believe that Chelsea is the best choice. They match my footballing ambitions with their hunger and desire to win trophies.”

So much about what he said there annoys me. For one, the unfinished business was at Arsenal. Winning anything at Chelsea will not complete anything he failed to do for the Gunners. And second, his saying the desire to win trophies drove this move is ridiculous. As I said above, Barcelona is still a top club. It seems that he is hiding his real reasons. I’d like to hear him speak about why his dream return to Barcelona didn’t work out. Was it because they lacked ambition? Or was it because he just wasn’t good enough to get in the side?

I won’t fault Arsene Wenger for not resigning Fabregas because clearly he has changed from the boy who loved his clubs for what they meant to him. But I will fault the man himself. You made the wrong choice, Cesc. You could have done great things for Arsenal, restoring them to the top of the Premier League. But instead, you were greedy.

I hope when Chelsea visits Arsenal next year, Fabregas sees the error of his ways. I don’t want the crowd to shower him in boos, because our former captain deserves better. But I hope nobody acknowledges him as a hero. Because this is not the same Cesc Fabregas that loved Arsenal and Barcelona. Goodbye, Cesc. You were once a hero of mine. But now, you are just another unlikable Jose Mourinho pawn. I don’t wish you luck. You made the wrong choice. And you just broke my heart.


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Some Thoughts on Arsenal, the World Cup, and the Red Sox

We’re almost there. Only two more days until the big day. Today I want to share a few thoughts on a couple different subjects. There will be some Arsenal, some World Cup and even a little Red Sox.

In the Arsenal calendar year, June might be among the most frustrating times to be a Gooner. The season is over, and the transfer market is open. Well, open for everyone else it seems. There are hundreds of silly transfer rumors every day that I try to avoid, but inevitably get carried up with. Just this morning, I’ve seen reports linking us with Bernard, Sami Khedira, Nigel De Jong and Steven Caulker among others.

Sometimes, these reports are so mouthwatering that I want to believe them. The Sami Khedira rumor in particular has me seeing trophies lining up before my eyes. And I find that one piece of information – in this case, that Özil is known to be close friends with Khedira – that makes me believe it might just happen. But on the other side of that, some rumors – like the Caulker one – are so strange that I fear another Park Chu-Young signing. Please, Arsene, don’t sign Steven Caulker.

Regardless of what I hope or fear, Arsenal will not be signing any of these players anytime soon. Recent history suggests the good ones will sign for Chelsea – Juan Mata and Eden Hazard were both heavily linked with Arsenal before opting for the Blues – and us Gooners can go back to waiting for Wenger to figure out his plans once the market price for everyone has gone up. Maybe he’ll splash some cash, or maybe he won’t. But I’m fairly confident that none of the big stars linked with Arsenal this month will sign anytime soon.

I wish I could stop reading those articles, but they’re the only Arsenal ‘news’ out there, so I can’t help myself. I end up driving myself crazy with nightmares of Cesc Fabregas wearing blue. But as long as we make it through June and July without any major letdowns, I have faith that this will be a good summer for Arsenal. Until then, all I can do is worry and hope.

Now, to Brazil. Many people ask me for whom I will be rooting once, in their words, “When the U.S. is out.” After I tell them off for their lack of patriotism, I usually stall long enough for them to express their views instead of pressing me for mine. By this point, most people change the conversation, and I am safe. Safe from having to declare my secondary fandom. It’s a complicated question for me. For while many of the people that ask me will be rooting for the countries rather than the players, I will be rooting for great soccer.

Great soccer comes from the best teams, and as a result, I want to see the best teams and the best players do well. I would rather see a semifinals with Brazil, Spain, Germany and Argentina than one with lesser teams on exciting runs, with the exception of the U.S. So while I like rooting for an underdog in some sports, the World Cup is not where I do that. I want the games to be close, but I want the best players to decide the games with moments of brilliance.

I guess if you are going to force my hand at naming a second team that I will cheer for, I might say Germany. They will have the most Arsenal players, and I have a bit of German blood, so they would be the natural choice. But even so, I can’t rule out rooting for another team against the Germans should I so choose. I also enjoy teams that attack more, so I want to see teams like Italy and Japan do well.

Lastly, I want to say a few words about the Red Sox. They are struggling right now. It seems every time they take a step forward, they leap back three. But while this team is frustrating, these players have earned my trust that they will fight out of the hole they are in. These are the same players that continuously stepped up for big moments last year, and I expect them to try and do the same again this summer. Dustin Pedroia will heat up, Jake Peavy will win a second game, and at some point, they will start to pull things together.

This team’s struggles have reinforced how spectacular a season last year was. Everything that needed to go right, did. Every time I see Daniel Nava strike out nowadays, I think back to the player he was a year ago, and how lucky we were to have him hitting as well as he did. I thus can’t be disappointed with this team, because they gave everything to the championship run and delivered. For the rest of the summer, I will patiently wait for them to turn things around. I know things are different this year without Jacoby Ellsbury. But this group of players and the manager have earned my trust for the considerable future. The Red Sox will figure it out.

Have a great day, and check back tomorrow for some final pre-World Cup thoughts. Leave any comments and give me feedback as I try to make this blog the best it can be. Thanks for reading.