It’s time to settle down and prepare yourself for some emotion, because you are about to watch a man be reunited with a long lost mentor he met as a boy. The fact that it’s set to the music from The Shawshank Redemption is almost unfair.
Today was the Liverpool vs. Arsenal match, which holds a special place in The18's heart because two of our staff writers, Sam Klomhaus and Ivan Anich, are diehard fans of Liverpool and Arsenal, respectively. We made them watch the game together (plus a few cameos from Connor the intern), and hilarity ensued. Here's what transpired (Liverpool in italics, Arsenal regular):
Liverpool’s lineup: Mignolet; Clyne, Toure, Sakho, Moreno; Can, Milner, Henderson; Lallana, Firmino, Ibe
Thierry Henry is Arsenal's all-time leading goal scorer with 228 goals in all competitions. Choosing the best one out of those 228 would seem like a tall order, but it really isn't. Henry's goal against Manchester United back in 2000 was simply the most genius goals scored by the Frenchman. The goal is classic Henry. Flair, creativity, and execution is all there. It happens so quick and so unexpectedly as he turns a simple pass that really meant no harm, into absolute glory. Out of nowhere he flicks the ball in the air, and before you know it, he sends a cracker into back of the net.
Is there a prettier goal than a rabona goal? The answer is no. The skillful move is one of beauty and nonchalantness. The pros make it look so easy but it isn't. Laurent Koscielny was just fooling around in Arsenal training at the Emirates and saw the camera was on him. What does a baller do when the lights are on him? He performs obviously. After a series of little tricks, Koscielny rips a rabona into the upper 90 from about 15-18 feet like it's nothing.
There are three things that are certain in this world. Death, taxes and that Mesut Ozil will register an assist whenever he steps on the pitch. In Monday's 2-1 victory over Manchester City, Ozil chalked up assists on both Gunner goals bringing his total for the 2015 EPL campaign to 15! The next highest assist total in the league is 7, which is held by Everton's Gerard Deulofeu. Now that we gave props to Ozil's ridiculous assist numbers, we go onto the real discussion of this Amazing Goals post. Which goal was better between Theo Walcott's and Yaya Toure's?
After a rough November in The Premier League, which saw Arsenal collect two points, the Gunners are back on track for a second-half surge for England’s most coveted trophy as they only trail Leicester City by two points. Throw in the 3-0 result against Olympiacos to propel them into the round of 16 of the UEFA Champions League, as well as the impending chase for a third-consecutive FA Cup, and Arsene Wenger’s team have quite the full plate in front of them.
The London Derby between Arsenal and Chelsea has countless highlights. But on this day, December 10th, 9 years ago Michael Essien scored a screamer that nearly made Stamford Bridge explode. Sure, it was only an equalizer, but the 84th minute rocket was huge for Chelsea at the time as they were trying to keep pace with runaway leaders Manchester United. The game was back and forth, with pushing and shoving and loads of talent on the pitch.
It’s been a season of stunning upheaval in the EPL. Leicester City have sat proudly astride the Premier League in November and boast the most lethal striker in the division in Jamie "chat s*** get banged" Vardy. The Chelsea team that won the league at a canter last season have become so accustomed to the bottom half of the Premier League table that they’re thinking of releasing a Drake-inspired charity single called "Started At The Top, Now We’re Here (In 14th)." But at least in this swirling maelstrom of change, we can rely on one anchor of stability: Arsenal are fourth.
Vlad Dragomir arrived at Arsenal in June, signed from ACS Poli Timisoara in Romania for £71,000 ($107,000). The 16-year-old Arsenal phenom was largely an unknown at the time, a central midfielder who liked to get forward on the ball and whom Wenger thought had a bright future. The only other thing we could tell was that young Vlad was a fan of posting copious selfies to his Instagram account (to be fair, what 16-year-old isn't).
After a 2-0 victory in the Emirates against Bayern Munich in the last Champions League match, you knew Pep Guardiola's lads were going come out firing against the Gunners from North London. In all honestly, a 5-1 drubbing against the leaders from the EPL wasn't really that much of a surprise considering in Bayern's last 5 home matches, they have outscored opponents 24-3. The best goal from the match was David Alaba's beautiful curler that honestly put the nail in the coffin in the 44th minute.