The Short Fuse - Brighton vs. Arsenal: FA Cup 4th Roundit me, Jeffhttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/51365/tsf-fav.png2013-01-27T16:27:44-05:00http://theshortfuse.sbnation.com/rss/stream/36821552013-01-27T16:27:44-05:002013-01-27T16:27:44-05:00Arsenal Man of the Match: Olivier Giroud
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<figcaption>Steve Bardens</figcaption>
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<p>He's so handsome!</p> <p>There's something about a really good, strong, physical center forward that I really enjoy in football. People don't tend to think of that kind of player at <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://theshortfuse.sbnation.com/">Arsenal</a> under Arsene Wenger's management (although I think that to do so is to overlook the strength and physical ability that players like <span>Robin van Persie</span> and <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="http://www.sbnation.com/soccer/fifa/players/110250/thierry-henry">Thierry Henry</a> possess), but we clearly have that kind of player at the club right now. <span>Olivier Giroud</span> is 6'4" and blessed with a good first touch. He can hold the ball up better than anyone else at the club. And yesterday, he was in full effect, scoring two very good goals against Brighton to help see Arsenal through to the fifth round of the FA Cup. In fact, he was so good, that we're going to call him the Mikel Arteta Man of the Match.</p>
<p>Giroud's two goals were basically exactly what you'd want from any center forward. His first came after <span>Lukas Podolski</span> laid the ball back to him 20 yards from goal on the counterattack, and without even looking up (because he knew exactly where he was and what he was doing), Oli curled a left footed shot into the top corner past the Seagulls defenders and a desperate Casper Ankergren.</p>
<p>His second was from a different chapter of the center forward book. <span>Abou Diaby's</span> lofted pass came floating, and Giroud picked it out of the air with his right foot before crushing it home with his left on the half-volley. The whole time he was doing this, he was holding off Adam El-Abd with his right arm, the defender unable to do anything but watch.</p>
<p>Other than the goals, Giroud's hold up play and headed flicks on for <span>Theo Walcott</span> to chase were straight out of English Football 101, and while that's not an approach that will always work for Arsenal, it works when he and Walcott do it. His ability to win <span>Wojciech Szczesny's</span> punts upfield turn those from useless cessations of possession from a flailing team into actual clearances that do more than invite the next wave of pressure.</p>
<p>Can we clone Giroud, please?</p>
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https://theshortfuse.sbnation.com/2013/1/27/3922220/arsenal-brighton-fa-cup-olivier-giroud-man-of-the-matchTed Harwood2013-01-26T17:05:07-05:002013-01-26T17:05:07-05:00Brighton vs. Arsenal: The Good, The Bad, The Ugly
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<figcaption>Mike Hewitt</figcaption>
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<p>WhooEEwhooEEwhooooooooo....wahhhhwahhhhh wahhhhhhhhhh</p> <p>Arsenal finally saw off a spirited and skilled (seriously, didn't they look a bit like Swansea?) Brighton & Hove Albion today by a final of 3-2 at the Falmer. Here are the Clints, the Lees, and the Elis.</p>
<h4>The Good</h4>
<p><b><span>Olivier Giroud</span>.</b> More to come on him in just a while.</p>
<p><b>The Return of Little Mozart.</b> Rosicky, who's not played for a couple of months, looked basically like he did in the second half last year, moving well, dribbling successfully, and generally popping up in between the lines. It was a good start from a guy who's been out for a while, again. He even threw in a patented "way late" tackle!</p>
<p><b>Arsene Wenger's subs.</b> When they needed to come, they came--the like for like subs of <span>Jack Wilshere</span> for Rosicky and <span>Theo Walcott</span> for <span>Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain</span> sparked the Arsenal offense, and although many wanted to see it much sooner, when <span>Kieran Gibbs</span> finally replaced <span>Andre Santos</span>, the whole team clicked into place for real.</p>
<p><b><span>Abou Diaby's</span> chipped pass for Giroud.</b> Yep. Yyyyyyyyep! Yep.</p>
<p><b>Brighton.</b> Has to be said: they were prepared, and they worked, and they passed well. I'd kind of like to see them up next year; how about you?</p>
<h4>The Bad</h4>
<p><b><span>Per Mertesacker's</span> speed.</b> As in, lack thereof. His positioning is usually very good, and his awareness and experience are useful. His slowness is a problem, though, and it's getting exposed.</p>
<p><b><a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://theshortfuse.sbnation.com/">Arsenal's</a> "Let's Not Press or Close Down Maybe Ever" policy.</b> We know this doesn't work. We know that if we let teams ping the ball around and wait for the perfect pass to expose our mercurial central defenders, that doesn't work. We know that if we don't win the ball back higher up the pitch, our attackers can't always find their way through two banks of four. So not pressing seems like...yeah...The Bad.</p>
<p><b><span>Wojciech Szczesny's</span> effort on the first Brighton goal.</b> Not entirely his fault, as most of his teammates were still trying to decide where to stand when the short corner was in motion. But golly, man, he was jumping AWAY from the ball trying to punch it out. He got rolled.</p>
<h4>The Ugly</h4>
<p><b>Andre Santos</b>. Look, he's a nice guy, and a good guy in the locker room, and on his day, a serviceable wingback. Most of the time, though, especially this year...dude. Dude! Dude. Dude!</p>
<p>What do you think? What are your goods, bads, and uglies for today?</p>
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https://theshortfuse.sbnation.com/2013/1/26/3919390/arsenal-brighton-fa-cup-good-bad-ugly-2013Ted Harwood2013-01-26T12:01:22-05:002013-01-26T12:01:22-05:00Brighton vs. Arsenal: Match Report
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<figcaption>Mike Hewitt</figcaption>
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<p>Arsenal overcome two Brighton equalizers and, thanks to a deflected Theo Walcott goal late in the match, hang on for the 3-2 win in the 4th round of the FA Cup</p> <p>6th - The Ox sent in a high cross from the right into the box, which was headed out for a corner. Ref came over to ask what everyone was doing for dinner before the corner was taken. The corner kick was dealt with properly by Brighton and play resumed.</p>
<p>9th - Brighton's first threat on goal turned out to be a cross-shot that bounced in front of jumping Szczesny and out for a corner. So far, so good.</p>
<p>11th - Rosicky found himself with the ball, space for days and an unobstructed run at Brighton's back line. Lopez appeared to test the ref's strictness and tripped Rosicky just as entered into the attacking zone. Yellow card.</p>
<p>14th - Stop me if you've heard this before: Mertesacker was found planted and exposed as Lopez escaped him in little space and took a dangerous shot. Offsides was called just as his shot was unleashed wide right.</p>
<p>16th - On the break from the near-goal for Brighton, Arsenal countered brilliantly as Rosicky found Podolski in the middle and dished perfectly to Giroud, who found just enough space stepping back from his marker and slotted home the shot past the diving keeper in the upper left for the first goal of the match. 1-0 Arsenal.</p>
<p>18th - A clear strategy appears to be coming through as Arsenal attack from middle and right; Poldoski, in possession 30 yards out directly in front of the goal, fed Oxlade-Chamberlain on his right, who again sent in a cross that was headed out for a corner. Ref wanted to make sure he heard everyone correctly and reconfirmed where everyone was meeting out afterwards. Corner again dealt with ease.</p>
<p>21st - Diaby is still playing. EMT personnel and various local hospital staff are still on standby, however.</p>
<p>22nd - Another Brighton cross-shot looked like it might cause our Polish keeper trouble; the cross sailed just above the upper left corner and out for a goal kick.</p>
<p>26th - Yet another corner for Arsenal. Oxlade-Chamberlain attempts to find Mertesacker, but the cross lacks the height needed to get to the BFG; handled with care by the 'gulls.</p>
<p>27th - MOAR CORNERS PLZ. Again, the Oxlade-Chamberlain corner fails to find his target - this time it's Koscielny - as it ends up in the arms of the keeper.</p>
<p>29th - Andre Santos made a spectacular tackle out wide and did the most Andre Santos thing ever: he stupidly followed up a brilliant tackle with an easy give-away in a dangerous position and, had it not been for a player just past our back line, the score would have leveled. Still 1-0, but it's getting a bit sloppy for the Gunners.</p>
<p>32nd - Brighton's first corner, thanks to Santos, ends up on the head of Barnes and hammers it with power past a terrible, passive display of keeping by Szczesny, who isn't helped out by his teammates who appear to not be ready for the kick. The camera pans to the celebrating Brighton supporters, one who is smashing the visiting supporters with both his middle fingers. 1-1.</p>
<p>35th - A camera shot of the linesman reveals him to be none other than San Diego Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers. Gus Poyet gesticulates wildly at no one in particular.</p>
<p>36th - Dickey on for the injured Greer.</p>
<p>38th - Corner for Arsenal. Sigh...another corner handled by Brighton.</p>
<p>42nd - Giroud gets fouled just outside the box. Naturally, the ref thinks he fouled himself and is awarded zero free kicks. Play resumes.</p>
<p>45th +1 - Santos decapitates a spectator in the stands with his attempt on goal.</p>
<p>45th +1 - LuaLua comes on for the injured Buckley.</p>
<p>45th +3 - Rosicky takes possession just wide of the box, dribbles a few times towards the center of the box and shoots just left of the goal.</p>
<p>Halftime. A pretty sweet Budweiser commercial comes on showing three laughing bros high-fiving each other, goofing off and wandering around what appears to be Jerusalem's Old City in search of killer beer and ladies who also enjoy smiling, laughing and high-fiving.</p>
<p>53rd - Oxlade-Chamberlain is fouled 25 yards out; Podolski's free kick gets above the wall and hammers the crossbar and ends up back into play and eventually out for an Arsenal corner. Brighton handle it and counter quickly; Lopez ends up firing out of play.</p>
<p>56th - Diaby plays a beautiful lofted ball to a cutting Giroud, who beats his marker, picks the cross out of the air perfectly and drills his first-touch shot in for his second goal of the match. Many still wonder why he hasn't scored that many goals for us. 2-1 Arsenal. Yellow to Giroud for celebrating with the away fans.</p>
<p>60th - Brighton threaten, but Arsenal clear it out of their end quickly and find Giroud up top with just his marker to beat. His powerful shot, though, is directly at the keeper, who punches it out of danger.</p>
<p>62nd - The match is becoming quicker as both sides sense urgency. This ends up hurting Arsenal as Lopez heads a perfect LuaLua cross past Szezesny, who was left exposed thanks to some awful marking by Mertesacker. This is now a trend with the German international, and his lack of mobility and overall foot speed to keep up with his responsibilities are becoming a massive liability for Arsene Wenger. 2-2.</p>
<p>66th - Ramsey is shown a yellow card for a late tackle.</p>
<p>68th - Lopez delivers a dangerous low cross in from the right as Arsenal start to lose control of the momentum. The cross is handled with care; Wenger appears to be ready to make changes as Wilshere, Walcott and Gibbs warm up on the sidelines.</p>
<p>69th - Walcott on for Oxlade-Chamberlain and Wilshere on for Rosicky.</p>
<p>71st - Twenty minutes left and no ballboy has been kicked up to this point.</p>
<p>73rd - Arsenal corner leads to it being cleared. Again. However, Brighton can't seem to get the ball out of the attacking zone; Koscielny gets tackled by Barnes, who is shown a yellow card. Giroud nearly gets a hat trick on the ensuing free kick as it barely sails high. Mackail-Smith on for Ulloa; Brighton are now out of substitutions.</p>
<p>75th - Corner, Arsenal. Wilshere's attempt is headed out by Brighton. Another corner. Another clearance by Brighton. Remind me the purpose of corners, again?</p>
<p>78th - Arsenal continue to attack Brighton in their zone. This goes on for a couple minutes until Santos receives a Wilshere pass and proceeds to shoot it into the nearby waters of the English Channel. Wenger decides that he's seen enough and brings on Gibbs to the delight of every Arsenal fan in the solar system. Arsenal are now out of substitutions.</p>
<p>82nd - Wilshere finds Gibbs barreling down the left, who crosses it into Giroud. His attempt fails, but the buildup and shot on goal are promising.</p>
<p>85th - Gibbs flicks the ball past two defenders and crosses, again, into Giroud, whose aerial kick is interrupted at the last-possible moment by a Brighton defender and out for a corner.</p>
<p>85th - Beautiful goal (FROM A CORNER!!!) by Theo Walcott; the keeper punches the corner attempt out to Walcott, whose shot is deflected from the head of a Brighton player and into the right side of the net. 3-2 Arsenal.</p>
<p>87th - Brighton push up nine players in an attempt to keep their FA Cup dreams alive; Jenkinson gains possession and Arsenal counter quickly. Walcott draws advantage and somehow recovers from a tackle to gain possession and gets a shot on goal. Deflected for a corner.</p>
<p>89th- Podolski delivers a spinning roundhouse kick just left of the goal mouth; the ensuing, powerful shot is saved by the keeper and eventually played out for a goal kick.</p>
<p>90th + 1 - Brighton nearly equalize; Mackail-Smith's header goes just wide left and he fruitlessly appeals for a penalty. Ref tells him they can talk more about this over dinner.</p>
<p>90th + 3 - Diaby gets tackled. He's still running, but may be out for up to four months depending on the severity of the tackle.</p>
<p>90th + 4 - Brighton's last attempt at an equalizer fails as the free kick, the push of every player and subsequent shot by LuaLua end up without the coveted goal they need to keep their run in the competition alive.</p>
<p>90th + 5 - Final whistle sounds. 3-2 to the Arsenal. Brighton's FA Cup run ends at home as Arsenal move on to the 5th round.</p>
https://theshortfuse.sbnation.com/fa-cup/2013/1/26/3918168/brighton-arsenal-fa-cup-match-reportTravis King2013-01-26T09:33:12-05:002013-01-26T09:33:12-05:00Brighton v. Arsenal: Match Thread
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<figcaption>You know Lennay, too? Small world. | Mike Hewitt</figcaption>
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<p>Arsenal head down the road a wee bit to take on the Seagulls and look to extend their form displayed this past midweek against West Ham</p> <p><a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://theshortfuse.sbnation.com/">Arsenal</a> continue their quest to win a trophy (!!!) today versus a Brighton side that equalized late in their midweek match on the road versus Blackburn. Now, on paper, this shouldn't be too tough a contest, but as we've all seen up to this point this season, we're probably in for a fight versus the plunky Championship club.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.theshortfuse.com/2013/1/25/3916012/arsenal-brighton-FA-cup-fourth-round-match-preview-2013" target="_blank">Ted ran through all the squad news yesterday</a>, so there's not a whole lot to add from his reports. A win today would be the perfect little two-match run leading up to next Wednesday's home encounter versus suddenly-hot <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://liverpooloffside.sbnation.com/">Liverpool</a>, so, uh, no more drama please.</p>
<p><b>Brighton</b>: Ankergren, Calderon, El-Abd, Bridge, Greer, David Lopez, Bridcutt, Hammond, Barnes, Ulloa, Buckley</p>
<p>Subs: Kuszczak, Orlandi, Mackali-Smith, Vicente, Dicker, Painter, LuaLua</p>
<p><b>Arsenal</b>: Szczesny, Jenkinson, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Santos, Diaby, Ramsey, Rosicky, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Podolski, Giroud</p>
<p>Subs: Mannone, Sagna, Gibbs, Wilshere, Cazorla, Arshavin, Walcott</p>
<p>As always, use a subject line, no linking to illegal streams and above all else be kind to one another (or I'm taking the toys away from you).</p>
<p>COYG</p>
https://theshortfuse.sbnation.com/2013/1/26/3918044/brighton-arsenal-match-threadTravis King2013-01-25T14:49:18-05:002013-01-25T14:49:18-05:00Brighton vs. Arsenal: FA Cup Match Preview
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<figcaption>Alex Livesey</figcaption>
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<p>Arsenal travel to the seaside to face off against Brighton & Hove Albion FC in the FA Cup.</p> <p align="center"><br>Brighton & Hove Albion F.C. vs. <a href="https://theshortfuse.sbnation.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Arsenal</a><br>FA Cup Fourth Round<br>Kickoff: Saturday, January 26, 2013, 10 AM EST<br>Falmer Stadium, Brighton*<br>Form: Brighton WWWDD | Arsenal DLWLW<br>TV Coverage: Fox Soccer Channel</p>
<p>Arsenal will kick off against in-form Brighton & Hove Albion FC in the fourth round of the FA Cup tomorrow. The Seagulls are on a run of solid form as of late, beating <a href="https://cominghomenewcastle.sbnation.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Newcastle</a> in the third round of the cup and sitting just outside of the playoff spots in the Championship. Led by Craig Mackail-Smith, who has 11 goals, and former <a href="https://weaintgotnohistory.sbnation.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Chelsea</a>/current <a href="https://bitterandblue.sbnation.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Manchester City</a>/on-loan left back <span>Wayne Bridge</span>, as well as former <a href="https://thebusbybabe.sbnation.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">Manchester United</a> keeper <span class="fn"><span class="vcard"><span class="fn"><a href="http://www.sbnation.com/soccer/fifa/players/112067/tomasz-kuszczak" class="sbn-auto-link">Tomasz Kuszczak</a>, </span></span></span>Brighton are not to be taken lightly (at least if my experiences against the former in FM12 count for anything) (/danago'd).</p>
<p>Arsenal will have to make do without captain <span>Thomas Vermaelen</span>, who has an ankle knock after <span>Aaron Ramsey</span> cleared him off the line against <a href="https://bracethehammer.sbnation.com/" class="sbn-auto-link">West Ham United</a> on Wednesday (Ramsey also got the ball, so that's good). However, the other Tommy, <span>Tomas Rosicky</span>, is back and available. Note to Wenger, wherever you are: please rest <span>Santi Cazorla</span> tomorrow and play Rosicky. Please. The little Spanish Wizard needs some beddy-by. He's runnin' on fumes.</p>
<p><span>Mikel Arteta</span> and <span>Francis Coquelin</span> are also both out still, so the midfield options read thusly: <span>Jack Wilshere</span>, <span>Emmanuel Frimpong</span>, Aaron Ramsey, Rosicky, <span>Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain</span> (who'll probably start on the wing), <span>Abou Diaby</span>. Any preferences there, anyone? I'd kind of like to see Diaby and Frimpong together, to see what that looks like, with Rosicky in front of them, just to start. Jack can come off the bench towards the end if needs be, but he could probably use a little rest too.</p>
<p>In defense, this might be a game where <span>Carl Jenkinson</span> gets a roll out, and maybe <span>Andre Santos</span> as well. <span>Per Mertesacker</span> and <span>Laurent Koscielny</span> will probably start in the middle; Ignasi Miquel will probably be on the bench. Whatever lineup shows up out there, they should have, on paper, no real issues taking care of Brighton tomorrow, but given previous cup ties this year and Brighton's form, things might get a little sticky.</p>
<p><i>* As far as I know, Brighton's stadium is not full of blind, cave-dwelling ancestors of the races of elves in Tamriel.</i></p>
<p>Match prediction:</p>
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https://theshortfuse.sbnation.com/2013/1/25/3916012/arsenal-brighton-FA-cup-fourth-round-match-preview-2013Ted Harwood