Arsenal Bounce Back

Goals scored  by Mesut Ozil, Danny Welbeck and an own goal from Aly Cissokho courtesy of a Kieran Gibbs cross

Arsenal came into the weekend with just six points in four games, and were staring at an Aston Villa squad in second place in the EPL. Everyone was focused on two players under scrutiny: new striker Danny Welbeck, and last summers bug signing Mesut Ozil. Some fans wanted Ozil out of the lineup, or at least moved to his preferred center midfield spot, but manager Arsene Wenger opted to keep him in the same role, out on the left hand side with freedom to roam to the middle. Santi Cazorla was slotted in that middle role, with Alex Oxlade-Chamberlein out on the right, meaning Alexis Sanchez would not be starting. Villa gave the Gunners a few scares at the beginning of the match, but keeper Wojciech Szczesny turned the chances away to keep the match level. In the 32nd minute, Welbeck played a brilliant through ball towards the box, and Ozil raced it down and put a left footed chance past Villa keeper Brad Guzan. It was a huge relief for fans, management and Ozil alike. In the 34th minute, Ozil and Welbeck switched roles, with the German international playing a cross past Guzan and onto the waiting foot of Welbeck. It was Welbeck's first goal in an Arsenal uniform. But then in the 36th Kieran Gibbs gained possession in Villa's half and played a long cross towards Chambo. Aly Cissokho tried clearing it out of the back of Villa's end, but his touch put the ball in the back of the net instead. In all, it was just three minutes and 12 seconds separating all of the Gunners goals. They now currently sit in third place with nine points, but expect that to possibly change by weekends end. Hopefully this served as a wake up for Ozil, who had been invisible all season, and even nation back to last year. Same goes for Welbeck, much maligned at Manchester United. If they both turn it on, Arsenal has the depth and talent to compete with Chelsea, ManCity and the rest of the best in the Premier League.

Is Chelsea Approaching Manchester United Status?

Diego Costa was one of the biggest signings of the summer

They are the number one team in the Premier League. They have arguably the best squad in the world. They have a manager who has won every place he has been, and is nicknamed "The Special One".  They are the boys in blue from West London: Chelsea FC. Chelsea have always been one of the top teams in the Premier League, but this year there is something different about them. Owner Roman Abramovich shelled out a lot of money to ensure this. Reminiscent of the dominant Manchester United teams of this past decade and beyond, Chelsea are dominating, they are confident, and they are full of expensive depth. During the transfer window , manager Jose Mourinho brought in Diego Costa, Cesc Fabregas, Filipe Luis, Didier Drogba, Loic Remy and Thibaut Courtois, among others. Add that firepower onto who they brought in last year: Andre Schurrle, Willian and Nemanja Matic. Oh but they leveled out the expenses by selling a lot of good players: David Luiz, Romelu Lukaku, Victor Moses, Juan Mata, Martin van Ginkel, Michael Essien, Fernando Torres, Frank Lampard, Demba Ba and Ashley Cole just to name a few (yes a few). Chelsea has done a remarkable job building and buying their team, which makes some fans dislike them. I am one of those fans, mainly because I support Arsenal and Chelsea ate up all the good strikers on the market, leaving the Gunners with Danny Welbeck filling in for Olivier Giroud. Fan disdain for the Blues is beginning to rival the disdain for United, although nothing will bring a smile to the face of a fan then seeing United lose. Chelsea could probably beat the World Cup champions Germany right now. The duo of Fabregas to Costa has been unstoppable: in four games Cesc has six assists, and Costa has seven goals. Courtois pushed Petr Cech, the long time starter, out of the number one goalie slot. Eden Hazard continues to be one of the best young players in the world. Chelsea is clicking on all cylinders, evident by picking up every point thus far this season, with a goal differential of +9 to boot. They are the new Man. United. You hate to love them, and love to hate them.

Deadspin Paints Bob Kraft As A Hypocrite

I'm heated and I don't know why. This is something produced by Deadspin. Basically calling Patriots owner Bob Kraft a hypocrite because he says he is against domestic abuse, but oh wait, he once met Floyd Mayweather, a known abuser, during a Monday Night Football game last year and they were captured meeting on TV. Naturally the SHEEP that blindly follow Deadspin and take everything they say as the Bible were calling him a hypocrite and telling Kraft to screw himself and all that. I love it and hate it even though I shouldn't hate it because those people are morons. Kraft and Mayweather met ONE time, and it was on TV because it was a primetime football game and two very wealthy people in the sports business were meeting for the FIRST time. But now that Kraft says domestic abuse is bad he's a hypocrite? Why? Because he was seen with Mayweather briefly last year and hasn't been seen with him since? Implying that they're FRIENDS is asinine. They do not do business together, they don't invite each other to events, they met once. Oh but all the freaking internet trolls and Twitter Know-It-Alls are quick to call him a hypocrite. So I guess meeting somebody who abuses women makes you a supporter of domestic violence. THAT MAKES PLENTY OF SENSE. Seriously, FUCK all the people calling him a hypocrite. It is stupid. STUPID. Read a book for me one time you idiots.

The 2014 Premier League Transfer Window: The Most Expensive In History

Every professional sports league has its own free agency period, and when a notable player is not under contract it can be a frenzy to sign them for big money. The problem is that a big name player is needed to create hype around North American free agency. That is what makes the European soccer “Transfer Window” so special. First off, there are two opportunities, one in the summer offseason and one midway through the season in January. Two chances to get a big name and create a splash. But the other beautiful thing about the Transfer Window is that any player, no matter their contract situation, can move teams, either permanently or “on loan”; basically a rental. 

Big names that moved clubs. From top left and clockwise: Angel di Maria, Mario Balotelli, Luis Suarez, Shinji Kagawa, James Rodriguez, and Alexis Sanchez. All shown with their new teams.

The most recent Transfer Window closed on September 1, 2014 at 11 PM (British time), and the final numbers at the end of the day were nothing short of staggering. According to Forbes.com, the total gross spending of Premier League clubs alone was 835 million British Pounds. To put that into perspective that is nearly 1.4 BILLION U.S. dollars. This is due in part to improved broadcast deals for the league, mainly with the United States, meaning there is more money to spend. Manchester United is often compared to the New York Yankees due to their deep pockets and frivolous spending, and the Red Devils flexed their muscle this summer, leading the league with a £150 million gross spending spree; roughly 16% of the Premier League’s gross total. That trumps Liverpool, the next highest spender, by £23 million. But then we look at net spending, because every team also sold players which cuts into the gross expenditure, and United still topped the rest of the pack with a net spend of £122 million; 30% of the total net spending by the entire league. Yes, a single team was almost a third of the leagues net outlay.  Across all leagues in Europe big names and stars of the World Cup swapped clubs, including James Rodriguez, Mario Balotelli, Luis Suarez, Alexis Sanchez, and Radamel Falcao.  Some of the biggest stars in the game move to new clubs within a summer, something rarely seen in America, and there is so much hype and media generated by this event. Fans stay up all hours of the day to see the latest signings, and there are television shows across the UK dedicated to the final hours. It’s treated like a national holiday. So, I will be the one to say it: soccer has the best free agency period, and it’s not even close. 

Radamel Falcao after his move to Old Trafford

Sunday EPL Roundoup

After a Saturday full of good matches, six teams stepped onto the pitch on Sunday. There was no shortage of goals or exciting moments, and points were aplenty to end the week. So without further ado...

Aston Villa vs. Hull City

The only game of the three not on a main broadcast, I admit I only saw the last 15 minutes or so of this one. Gabriel Agbonlahor opened the scoring for Villa in the 14th minute, and Andreas Weiman doubled it in the 36th. Hull got one back courtesy of Nikica Jelavic in the 74th, but that was all they could muster. Villa had a few good chances towards the end of the match, notably a quick flick from Fabian Delph from close range to the left of the net that was batted out of play. Brad Guzan, the US international keeper (who may now take over the starting job after Tim Howard announced his leave of absence from the national team) played well, making two saves. Something to note is that Delph recently got a call up to play for the English national team in an upcoming duo of friendlies with Norway and Switzerland.

Tottenham Hotspur vs. Liverpool FC

Liverpool came into White Hart Lane needing a win over top place Spurs in new striker Mario Balotelli's debut for the Reds, and they took care of business. Raheem Sterling started the day off right with a left footed finish after a nice pass from Jordan Henderson across the goalkeeper, Hugo Lloris. Right after the half, Tottenham's Eric Dier made contact with Joe Allen in the box, and Allen went down (rather easily, but still enough there to call a penalty). Captain Steven Gerrard converted from the spot, ensuring he would continue to take the penalties instead of Balotelli. 22 seconds after a double substitution by Spurs, new defender Alberto Moreno finished off a brilliant solo effort to finish off the deed to the tune of 3-nil. Lloris made an excellent save on Daniel Sturridge after a no look flick from Balotelli, and Tottenham should have gotten a chance at a penalty after an obvious foul on Emmanuel Adebayor in the box, but the ref let them play on. Balotelli was impressive in his re-debut in the Premier League, playing with strength. He was brought down form behind at one point, and did not react in typical Mario fashion, a refreshing and relieving sight. By the end of the match all you could here form the stands was Liverpool's famous anthem, "You'll Never Walk Alone".

Leicester City vs. Arsenal FC

Arsenal came into this match fresh off a Champions League qualifying win over Besiktas, and they came out roaring. Santi Cazorla played a nice ball to Yaya Sanogo (starting in place of the injured Olivier Giroud) who had his shot blocked, but the ball fell to Alexis Sanchez, and the Chilean international put it home to give the Gunners the 1-0 lead. Leicester answered right back, as Leonardo Ulloa headed home a cross from Jeffrey Schlupp. Laurent Koscielny, arguable Arsenal's best defender, collided with Schlupp earlier in the match and needed a bit of medical treatment, going down the tunnel for repairs. He returned with a heavily bandaged head, but ended up needing to come off, with Calum Chambers, another young, recent England call up, coming on for him. After that, the play was rather even, but Leicester had a few of the better chances. Wojciech Szczesny took care of that. Leicester had a chance in the second half to pull a shocker, but Ulloa could not finish his second of the day, pulling it to the side of the open net. Horrible, horrible miss, lucky break. They traded chances during a fast paced second half, and Szczesny made sure the game stayed level with a superb save late in the match. Alas, neither team could pull ahead, and they ended with a 1-1 draw.
Yaya Sanogo did not look good out there starting up top. He had trouble with runs and gave a few balls away, and overall just did not look as good as he did in a few games he played this preseason. Joel Campbell may get the nod in the Gunners next game, September 13th against Manchester City. Manager Arsene Wenger said Campbell will get his chance to prove himself, and he even denied all loan attempts for the Costa Rican striker. Luckily, if Arsenal has anything it would be depth. In the match with Leicester, Jack Wilshere, Lukas Podolski, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlein, Campbell and Tomas Rosicky all on the bench. That bench could beat some of the teams in the Premier League this year. Theo Walcott is also returning to fitness and should play this season. While Arsenal let Loic Remy slip through their fingers (and into the hands of those bastards Chelsea no less) any concerns at striker can be addressed internally and during the January transfer window.

At the end of this third weekend of EPL action, here are the standings.

Nothing next week due to an international break, but I will find something to write about.

Saturday EPL Roundup

Three marquee match ups to run through, and by marquee I mean at least one team playing that is considered a contender. This week's match ups will conclude tomorrow with a good batch of games, so there should be plenty of material for tomorrow's roundup. Without further ado...

Burnley v. Manchester United

Manchester United needed a bounce back after a horrible start to the season, and they wound up in a scoreless draw with Burnley. United never took control for a long stretch, and Burnley gave them quite a scare towards the end of the match, being spurned by a good effort from United keeper David de Gea. Not even the debut of Angel di Maria could help the Red Devils pick up all three points. Manchester United have picked up just two points in three games. To put that into perspective, that is just two out of the NINE possible points. It's not even like they've played the cream of the crop in the EPL either; United lost to Swansea at home to open the campaign, then drew with Sunderland and Burnley. Meanwhile, the roster that new manager Louis van Gaal has put together has a goal differential of -1 despite having superb firepower. The starting lineup for the Burnley match included  Robin van Persie, Wayne Rooney, Antonio Valencia, di Maria, Juan Mata, and Ashley Young, along with Adnan Januzaj, Danny Welbeck and Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez on the bench. van Gaal's men have to play better to avoid a repeat of last season's embarrassment. Signing Daley Blind from Ajax should help.

Manchester City v. Stoke City

Defending champions Manchester City came out with guns blazing against Stoke, who weathered the early attack. ManCity's depth allowed them to put Sergio Aguero up top with Stevan Jovetic just behind him, with David Silva and Samir Nasri providing support on the sides. When you can have players like Edin Dzeko, Jesus Navas, Fernandinho, Gael Clichy and Pablo Zabaleta as your substitutes, your doing something very right. Stoke probably should have gotten a penalty midway through the first half, but there was no call and play continued. After turning away a few Manchester chances, Stokes Mame Biram Diouf converted on a brilliant solo effort, complete with a nutmeg on Fernandinho and a shot through Joe Hart's five-hole. Hart honestly should have saved it. It was not a hard hit and it just rolled right between his legs. Diouf almost added to it on a nice cross in front of the net, but could not convert. Stoke went a dominating run a for a few minutes until Stokes Odemwingie was injured, and Dzeko and Navas came on for City. Stoke continued to sit in a defensive shell, and then Yaya Toure went down in the box. City cried for a penalty, but it was Toure getting the yellow card for diving. In the end, Stoke prevailed with a 1-nil score over the Citizens. 

Everton v. Chelsea

The best matchup going into the weekend pitted the Toffees of Everton FC and the Chelsea FC Blues.  Everton's Romelu Lukaku faced off with his old side and his fellow Belgian international Eden Hazard. Meanwhile, Chelsea got striker Diego Costa back after  brief injury scare, and Costa wasted little time, scoring the opening goal before most people switched from NBCSN to NBC for the match, just 34 second into it. Branislav Ivanovic added another to the Blued lead in the third minute to keep the nightmare going for Everton. Right before the half, Kevin Mirallas brought Everton to within a goal. Tim Howard kept Everton in the game with a few key saves in the second half, but could not stop a Seamus Coleman own goal. Eden Hazard raced around the outside and into the box, and his shot barely nicked Coleman, but it was enough to get past Howard. Right after this, however, Stephen Naismith got the goal back for Everton on a great pass from McGeady. Fater that it was game on at Goodison Park, with an intense 20 minutes of action following. Nemanja Matic continued the goal craze with a rolling strike to make it 4-2 to the Blues. As you could probably guess the trend continued. Everton was down by two, so they scored again, this time courtesy of a former Chelsea striker signed Tuesday, Samuel Eto'o. And then Ramires scored again for Chelsea to gain another two goal advantage, 5-3. Then, with a minute to go, Diego Costa tallies his second of the match to put Chelsea up 6-3 and seal the game. This game did not disappoint in the slightest, and Chelsea came out looking like the eventual champions. Only time will tell if they can keep this pace up. 

New England Revolution Sign Jermaine Jones

SI.com-The New England Revolution has won the strange and lengthy race for U.S. national team midfielder Jermaine Jones, a source with knowledge of the negotiations told SI.com on Sunday, later confirmed on ESPN by Alexi Lalas. According to Lalas, Jones landed with New England after the club was selected in an unprecedented "blind draw" over the Chicago Fire.
In case you didn't already have soccer fever after the World Cup, Jermaine Jones is coming to New England. Huuuuge move by the Krafts here. He was possibly the best player not named Tim Howard on the USMNT in Brazil this past summer. He's not the biggest name that will be brought to MLS, but it's enough to peak the intrigue of casual fans everywhere, in my opinion. If you needed a refresher on Jones' summer/career: