Arsenal-Mania

The Arsenal-Mania Player of the Month: December

By Rachel Rodrigues on Thursday, January 5, 2006

To sum up the month that has just past many Arsenal supporters would just use one word: AWFUL and they are quite right. Going into December we were on a run of 6 wins out of 6 matches but that all came crashing down on our first outing of the festive month. The month saw the final match of the Champions League group stage, the quarterfinal tie in the Carling Cup and 6 premier league clashes.

Our first match of the month was against Bolton away; it's a fixture that sends worry into each and every Arsenal supporter but we were slightly confident due to the form we were in going into the meeting. Unfortunately it seems the lads didn't take the form of last month with them, playing quite plainly the worst we have seen them all season handing the wanderers the three points.

Ajax made the trip to Highbury to conclude the group stage of the Champions League on the following Wednesday. We had been playing quite well in the CL this season and were aiming for our 6th win in 6 matches but it wasn't meant to be with the match ending in a stalemate with Thierry Henry missing a penalty kick. The result didn't really have a bearing however due to us securing the no. 1 position on the table in the previous match.

The draw was made for the Round of 16 later on in the month; we were paired with Real Madrid. The first leg of the tie will take place in February and will mark the first match between the two so far in our history.

We were back in the league days later and looked to bounce back from the defeat last weekend. We travelled up to St James' Park to face Newcastle for the second time of the season. We played well in the match in my opinion but lost out in the last ten minutes when our defence had a momentarily lapse of concentration.

The following week saw us entertain Chelsea at Highbury. It was important for us to get back on track and perform well and it all looked good after the opening onslaught. Robin van Persie would have opened the scoring had the linesman flag not had gone up for an incorrect offside decision. The linesman on the opposite side made another error allowing Robben for Chelsea to open the scoring despite being offside and that changed the match. Chelsea doubled their advantage in the second and denied us yet another win despite our good performance.

Arsène Wenger rang in the changes yet again for the Carling Cup clash against Doncaster who gave us a hard time and showed they were not just there to make up the numbers. They opened the scoring early on but that was cancelled out in the second half thanks to Quincy who scored our first goal of the month. The game went to extra time where Doncaster scored but yet again they were denied a victory thanks to late equaliser from Gilberto. This meant the final semi-final spot would be decided in a penalty shoot out and thanks to Manuel Almunia and three good penalty kicks we were through.

We face Wigan Athletic in the Carling Cup semi-finals and the two legs of the tie will be played next month.

Back in the premiership on Boxing Day, we travelled to face Charlton at the Valley. Our away form hasn't been the best this season but we put that behind us to take all three points thanks to José Antonio Reyes who scored the only goal of the match in the second half. That meant that we had recorded our first victory of the month and had put a stop to the three match-losing streak in the league.

Portsmouth made their way to Highbury for the final time in midweek and thanks to a goal each from Dennis Bergkamp and José Antonio Reyes as well as two from Thierry Henry in the first half we recorded another victory and moved the club into an unfamiliar 6th position on the table.

The final match of the month saw us travel to Villa Park to face David O'Leary's Aston Villa who were have a very good run of form. The match ended in a stalemate, quite disappointing for the Arsenal supporters due to the form we were in coming into the clash and the attitude that was shown by our players.

And that is the way the month ended, 2 victories, 2 draws and 3 defeats. December has been quite depressing for all concerned and I just hope we start of the New Year on a more positive note. Next month we can look forward to the high tempered clash against Man Utd, our first match in the defence of the FA Cup as well the two Carling Cup matches against Wigan.

After thinking and discussing about all that has happened during the month the Arsenal-Mania forum users have decided that the Arsenal-Mania Player of the Month for December is Kolo Touré.

Kolo Touré has been solid throughout the month and has a never give up attitude that should be commended. He is one player that we would really suffer without as he adds something to the team that no one else can match at the moment. He is a much-loved player amongst the fans and that is entirely deserved due to his great attitude and performances on the pitch.

Kolo won the award with 54% of the votes followed by José Antonio Reyes who had 18% and Jens Lehmann who had 16%.

Kolo Touré's stats for December:
Appearances: 7
Goals: 0
A-M Man of the Match awards: Chelsea and Aston Villa

Best quotes from the POTM voters on the forum

DannyGooner1982 The lion-hearted Kolo Touré, FOR SURE.

Viper Touré. He has been fantastic for us this month and he is always committed on the pitch. He is one of the only players who will actually fight for us.