Arsenal 0 – 0 Fenerbahce
5 November 2008
The Good news is that Arsenal kept a clean sheet. The bad news is that they squandered chances at the other end and failed to score. Click here for photos and the Match Report. You can watch Cesc’s post-match interview below.
Arsenal’s first real chance of the match came when Cesc Fabregas lofted a superb pass into Robin van Persie but he prodded the ball wide. Ten minutes later, another chance was created when Samir Nasri’s chip puts Cesc through and his shot was fumbled by the Fenerbahce keeper into the path of Robin van Persie, unmarked, on the edge of the six-yard box. A goal looked inevitable but Robin shot over.
Arsenal dominated possession and created further chances but a goal remained elusive, it was a frustrating night. On a positive note, Arsenal remain top of their Champions League qualification group and are well placed to go through.
Post-match quotes
Here are some of Cesc’s post-match quotes from the video above -
“As usual we had a lot of possession, we outplayed them all over the place
“We’re lacking a little bit of mobility in the final third. I think we’re a bit too nervous.
“It’s a little bit frustrating to have so many chances and not score. It’s not all negative. We played very well.
“It’s two games [referring to Spurs and Stoke] we should have won. We have a lot of injuries, but a club like Arsenal that’s no excuse.
“We’re wearing a big shirt in Europe. We have to play well as we’re playing for Arsenal. We have to make sure we give everything on the pitch always.
He Added, “We have to try and do the best we can with what we’ve got and I think we have enough quality to do it. We need the fans behind us when things don’t go well and I know it’s frustrating when the team doesn’t get the result they want.
“We have to keep going and see what happens in the next game against Man United. It’s a massive game. It’s welcome because good players want to play big games and we are good players.
Ask Fabregas!
Skysport are asking for fans to submit questions for Cesc. They will then be publishing the answers to the questions they choose to use, in their December magazine. So if you have a burning question now is your chance to submit it, all the details are here.
The Skysport programme Revista de la liga is also running a giveaway where you can win a signed Fabregas Spain shirt! Which would be pretty cool. The competition is open to fans aged over 18 and the answer to the question is 16 years and 212 days. You can enter here. Good luck!
Related posts:
Cristiano Ronaldo
Cesc Fabregas
Fernando Torres
Lionel Messi
Wayne Rooney
Gonzalo Higuain
Sergio Ramos
Real Madrid
Arsenal
FC Barcelona
Liverpool
Manchester United
AC Milan
Daniel Bergstrom
Isaac Asante
Angela Asante
Anita
plu
kyle
Rukhsana
Derbyanabella
funKy_gaL
Fati
zicha
netta4
Ali
ilycf4
jerrys
robbie96
sisi
Elle
Moya
emee
meme
mrscesc
lilaenfleur
dennisg
loveballack
megh
adekfab
shimearsen
Ari
Ellie
Petra
rival
dewaya
Chris
hossein
hesam
danielle
javad
Serafino
tomyson
marianna
sobhan
mimi
Boy, what’s with all the nay sayers…..1-NIL TO THE ARSENAL ….. I say !!!;D
I don’t think anyone should write our boys off! Of course they have a chance.
We can win tomorrow. It’s not the size of the dog in the fight but the size of the fight in the dog that matters. The boys just need to channel their inner mongrel and get out their and fight like b*st*rds for this. They can do it.
I am most worried!! I can not imagined we have a chance but is true sometime in football the unexpected happen so we must hope for the shock!! Arsenal sometime give bad shock this time let it be good shock
Hi guys!!
sorry if i came a lil’ too late.. da 2nd leg of da CL match against Fenerbahce was a lil’ too disappointing but nonetheless; Arsenal still kept a clean sheet (rather gd news for us)..
regarding da weekend match against Man Utd; i somehow have tis gut feeling dat Arsenal are gonna beat them.. i dun know; might be wrong but i strongly believe dat our Boys will put up a good fight against them.. maybe our Boys are reserving all of their energy for tis saturday match.. we’ll never know..
Yeah! Let’s hope for the best!! I’m sure the boys can do it!! they’ll be up for it and we are due some luck!!
GO GUNNERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I hear what you are saying Diane. I too hope that things will improve at Arsenal.
Hi Kate
Don’t suffer a loss before it has happened. there will be plenty of time for feeling bad if it does. Right now, we are under-dogs we have so many of our first-choice players out injured, it will be very very difficult for us on Saturday.
I believe, sincerely, that we can win, I am not a ‘crazy lady’ lol I know we may not but it is certainly not impossible. Far from it. Vela has played some great games for Mexico and he played in La Liga last year and he is a strong and positive forward. He could score, it is not inconceivable. We are not without any fire power. As Sam said Nik can be a little inconsistent but he could have a good game, I know he might not but let’s wait and see.
Vela and Bendy could do it for us. It happens you know all the time. The big games come and a player who normally never scores lol gets their first goal – football is a funny game!
We could win on Saturday, we could draw. A loss is not a sure bet. Not in football. Spurs beat Liverpool – do you think on paper and on form that looked likely?
Football: always expect the unexpected
Cesc is playing really good football, It is the rest of team that need to up there game.
Arsene need to buy some experiance players to play along side Cesc
If he does not buy anybody in the January transfer window.
I think we will loose some of our top players Cesc Robin Ade…
Cesc will get fed up with carrying the rest of the team.
hi guys.hi rose .
i know i may be a little bit late here but i really liked your idea about sending arsenal team a supporting e mail after stoke match . i dont know what u did but send them an e mail . it really wasnt that bad . i dont know guys what u think of me you can call me co-queen of drama or anything but i am just being myself .
i wasnt that lucky to watch that game against fener but i saw the higlights on youtube and i think we really werent that bad . we controlled most of the game . we created a lot of chances . we just needed to score .fab was ok but i think he is a little bit tired now .
rose i have seen the latest photos section and i really think fabregas was spitting a tooth in that picture . sorry . but he never spits you know .
did u hear the news ? ade and walcott are out against manutd and so van persie – the red carded van persie – now we lack strikers against manutd we have bendtner and vela . this isnt very comforting . i mean these are the players we are going to start with against rooney and berbatov ? lets just hope they lose with dignity . seriously .i am a positive fan and very supporting but welcome to the reality world . we will never make it . and if arsenal won that game against man utd please republish my comment and mock me for ever .
guys i really didnt mean to bother you but i am so desperate to see team winning again . i am not a negative fan . i am one of the biggest but i miss winning taste.
GO GUNNERS . GO FABREGAS .
well said Georgie
You hit the nail on the head rummba, in last night’s game Cesc ran 11.2 km’s of course as George said, it does make me wonder how much longer he can play 90 minutes every single game without being rested. Cesc has tremendous stamina but it has to effect him over a season.
some great posts!
Cesc is still doing the things he did in the past. But not with as sucessful an outcome as before. He still manages to pass the ball forward even though the pressure increases as the attacking play moves into opponents’ final third. It’s just the results of his attempts have become more mixed. If one compares Cesc’s stats to other midfielders of our league rivals, I believe he is still doing an excellent job.
Sorry to say this, but the players around him need to step up. People shouldn’t expect Cesc to carry the team on his own. I hope that le boss will be able to work on ways of getting Cesc the reinforcements that are needed and also allowing Cesc to be rested sometimes, he’s only human.
hey robbie
Well of course Cesc is the man! But to be fair to Silvestre the nature and position of his break could be quite different from Cesc’s…
Hi meri
Bendtner didn’t set the world on fire last night but he is one of those unpredictable players, he must be due a good game and when he plays well, he plays very very well.
I’m more nervous than a pig in a bacon factory ahead of Saturday. But let’s be optimistic it’s more fun than the alternative
It was unlucky for Arsenal not to win. I am nervous about Bendtner or Vela for Sat but will hope for Gunners! Forza Arsenal!!
btw great site!
OK, riddle me this….how is it that a 31 year old could be sidelined by a broken nose when on the same team as a 21 year old that wasn’t ?!
Yet more evidence that Cesc is the MAN !! ;D
oh cesc. he really is. one in five hundred and thirty three gajillion.
i totally agree. i don’t think some of the comments being passed about cesc not doing as great as he did before are fair. i think he’s been working doubly hard from last year. he runs up to attack and then runs back down to cover defensively. it’s hardly fair to say that he’s not up to ‘his usual Fab standard’. he’s just getting better and better and just because he doesn’t score doesn’t mean he ain’t good anymore. bah.
cesc will just get more amazing. it’s so hard to believe he’s only 21. totally an inspiration to the rest of us mortals and all the young arsenal.
keep going cesc. :] we’ll always be behind you. you are genius.
You’re welcome lola
Robbie and nzgooner, great rants and of course I 100% agree with you both lol no surprise there
Here’s the injury news so far
Agree TA he’s a credit to Arsenal and we are lucky to have him.
I do think this situation must be frustrating for him.
We created 17 attacks that produced 17 shots and yet we did not score, as the main architect of those chances what more can he do?
Also week in and week out he is criticised for “sloppy passing” which is a term people that have never played the game use. I think what they are referring to is failed attacks. When as Fab pointed out the mobility in the final third is missing what do people think happens?
If the playmaker has the ball and there is no one making a run off the ball, there is no clear and effective choice available, what does the playmaker do? Pass the ball backwards every time? We have midfielders who take that option. To try to create attacks it is sometimes necessary to play the ball into space not too far from a team-mate in the hope that they will see the gap.
It is very difficult to score or break down defenses without occasionally going forward. Cesc’s ‘sloppy passes’ are mostly forward passes. Of course when he had players around him who made runs and made themselves open he had options available and took them. Now there are more times when he doesn’t but he has the same passing game as before. It’s not the passes he is making that are the problem, it’s the lack of options to pass too. He could improve his pass completion rate no problem by only passing sideways or backwards, but what would that do.
People seem to think he should be able to retain possession and find a team-mate to make a defence splitting pass too with total accuracy every time even when no one is open. Newsflash he has vision but he’s not a f**king magician.
rant over.
Thanx 4 da pix and da vidz!!
So tell me again why Cesc is not Captain?…..”we don’t have to find excuses” – how is it a twenty-one year old is aware of this and the Boss isn’t!
“We’re wearing a big shirt in Europe. We have to play well as we’re playing for Arsenal. We have to make sure we give everything on the pitch always.”
I also loved how he says….”We are as many as we are,and that’s it, we have to try to do the best we can with what we’ve got,we have the quality to do it, I believe in them alot”
Subtle,soft spoken, intelligent,commanding on the pitch…I believe this will be his most challenging season…and imo he’ll yet again prove the critics wrong and show everyone what makes Cesc,Cesc!…… Rant over…..thanks for the posting Sam, it’s much appreciated , Cheers ;D
just watched Fab’s post-match interview must say he is a credit to himself and the club. Thanks for posting it.
Agree with Arsene’s comments about tackling from behind. Have to salute his guts in standing up for the team and stating the truth even though he will get plenty of stick for it.
Sam I was sorry to hear about the booing – but not surprised
Here are some quotes from Arsene, he was quizzed about the comments he made during the week where he defended the team against the accusation from Stoke’s keeper that they were spineless and asked if he regretted saying what he did:
“I responded to a statement made by a player from Stoke. I congratulated them for their victory but I just wanted to say you don’t have to be brave to tackle someone from behind,” Wenger said.
“I don’t know why I should regret that. I maintain that strongly. It is not bitterness after a defeat.
“Sometimes in England we feel ‘he didn’t fancy that’. Of course we didn’t fancy that because that is not football.
“You can look at the fairplay table. We are top of the table. We don’t have lessons from anyone on that.
“I am responsible for the behaviour of my team. Of course we are ready to battle but it depends what you mean by battle?
“We make less fouls than anyone and receive more fouls than anyone. Look at the team that makes less fouls. It is Arsenal. Who gets more yellow cards after four or five fouls? Us.
“Some teams get their first yellow card after 15 fouls. I cannot read the rulebook or something is wrong.”
On the upcoming match against man united
“I will not tell you that the game is not important. It is a massive game with a massive importance for us,” Wenger said. “We play every three days at the moment and every game is massive.
“Manchester United versus Arsenal is always a special one but we know for us it is vital to do well in the big games now. I’m confident we will.”
On tonight’s match:
“We played three games [since last Wednesday] and we had an outstanding game against Spurs and dropped points,” Wenger said. “Then we had a little hangover in the game against Stoke. No English teams have won this week, Liverpool drew, we don’t really know how [they got their controversial penalty]. Chelsea were not physically sharp. We were not physically sharp. It looks like the Premier League matches dominate teams physically. If you have Premier League games [in the preceding midweek] and then Champions League games the week after it does make it difficult.”
“I felt we created the chances in the first half and we had three or four clear-cut chances but couldn’t score. In the second half we dropped physically and from then on we were less dangerous. We had a lot of possession but Fenerbahce didn’t come out, they were happy to defend.”
poor cescy! he looks sad. Things keep going wrong
They do have lot of injureys but this team was betta than against Stoke and relly wif a bit more lucks they shud win
Al supposedly has a stomach bug. Either way whether sick or rested it was probably not a bad idea to give him a break. It was pretty obvious that what confidence he had left after Spurs was completely shattered on Sat.
The team were booed off of the pitch by some but certainly not all of the home support today. FFS what do they think that will achieve.
nzgooner agree is good to see some changes although they didn’t really have a massive effect you’d have to admit. Of course the other big change was Fabianski in goal but does anyone know what this mystery illness Almunia has,,, is it a terminal case of butter fingers?
Dammit. I’m still on my Obama high! and I so wanted this to go well but instead it has burst my bubble a bit
I just wish Robin could have done better because if he had converted that chance after about 10 minutes or the other one after 20 or so … then Fener would have been chasing and it would have opened things up and then we would have had the kind of result that would have given the boys a boost. It’s a shame 
He did force one good save tho so let’s give him a little credit but can’t deny he was wasteful.
Cesc seems more on edge in the post match interview than usual. It must be hard facing the press after the last 3 games.
I was pleased to see Ramsay and Djourou start. We are feeling the lack of an in-form striker. You wouldn’t really bet the house on any of our forwards to find the back of the net and you need at least one on a good streak of consistent form.
Wenger keeps changing the midfield. Cesc was back with Denilson, which doesn’t work after partnering with Song, which also doesn’t work. The lack of a solid pair in the middle is still a big problem and from the tinkering Wenger doesn’t have a solution in his current squad that he is happy with.
Cesc gets little time and space and is also the main focus of the opponents defense because they are not being stretched elsewhere as they were when defenders had Hleb, Rossicky, even Flamini moving into dangerous off the ball positions.
It is making life very difficult for Fabregas. He will draw some criticism, unjustly, but on the plus side, he will truly be a better player by the end of this year after playing in these circumstances.
A tough day at the office. Still clear signs as Fab said, of nerves. A bit of a lack of confidence. This is a young team, they are a bit more vulnerable and a little less mentally tough and resilient at 17-21 than they will be at 27-31. This team has the quality to do well, but they must win the battle between the ears before they will win the battle on the pitch. Their opponents are not their enemy right now. This team must overcome themselves. I think if they can stay close, keep communicating with each other, reassuring each other, they can still come through this.
I agree with Rose’s comments under another post , some fans are not helping and it is a clear case of cutting off your nose to spite your face, to knock a team desperately short on confidence, when you are hoping they will win.
I forgot to mention that I think Aragones made sure his team shut Cesc down as much as possible he was double marked a lot … in fact the kind of tactics you were worried about in the first leg rose were actually much more visible this time round and that did make life difficult for Fab today, so that is part of why he faded too, to be fair.
TODAY JUST WASNT OUR DAY
BUT WE DID PLAY BETTER THAN WE DID AGAINST STOKE, I HAVE TO AGREE WITH THAT.
I hope Silvestre is ok. I thought we played better than we did against Stoke even if it wasn’t the result we hoped for. So it’s progress. But I am very nervous about the Man Utd game. Still lol perhaps we will win that comfortably, stranger things have happened in football
Well that performance isn’t going to shut up any critics folks. I would say there will be another round of very loud belly-aching and lots more calls for Wenger to be sacked.
Cesc had a very good first half, he was the most effective of our midfield by a mile. He faded a bit though. Which is why in some ways I wish we had rested him because he is over-played and it shows.
well the last time I said rvp couldn’t hit the back of a bus with a banjo it didn’t go over well lol so I won’t say that
I’ll simply say that had we done a bit better with a couple of our chances we would have won that comfortably.
well I’ve always been a big rvp fan and I’ve defended him over the years even after last weekends moment of madness but I have to admit his finishing was just not there, he tried but he was off and he may not be as missed as I thought against Man U because close = no cigar.