BOB Up With...Aben

Hello All,

My guest for this week’s series is an AKB* himself right from his birth J.

I was referring to my friend and fellow Gooner Aben Kochattu Benz [AB] J.

He has taken some time out to discuss about his take on Arsenal’s current form, their current crop of youngsters, The awakening of TGSTEL**, WBA game, Best Game which has witnessed at Emirates, His experiences of watching football in London and much more [Phew…that was one lengthy interview indeed J]

*AKB –  Arsene Knows Best…Typical term used by Arsenal fans who support & back Arsene Wenger.

**TGSTEL – The Greatest Striker That Ever Lived…none other than Mr. Nicklas Bendtner J

   














Please find our predictions below

	BOB	Aben	Actual
SATURDAY
Tottenham v Chelsea	2-1	2-2
Aston Villa v Man City	0-3	1-3
Fulham v Cardiff	2-1	1-1
Hull v West Ham	1-2	2-1
Man Utd v West Brom	3-0	2-0
Southampton v Crystal Palace	2-1	2-0
Swansea v Arsenal	0-2	1-3
SUNDAY
Stoke v Norwich	2-1	1-1
Sunderland v Liverpool	1-2	1-2
MONDAY
Everton v Newcastle	2-1	2-1

BOB: Your Take on the current progress of Arsenal this season?

AB: Last year this time around, our squad was pretty raw. Players like Carzola, Giroud and Podolski were just trying to get adapted to the English game.

But now things have changed very much. We have been getting the results which we want so far.

The main reason being the fact that this squad is almost the same with that of last season also with excellent additions in the form of Ozil and Flamini.

I think our resurgence started right from our win against Munich last  season, and this has been continuing since then [Incidentally Arsenal played Swansea right after the Munich game and came out victorious with goals from Monreal and Gervinho].

Fortunately for us, many of our players have hit form with Giroud, Ramsey and Sagna in particular and they have been performing very well so far.

One should not forget the forget the Energy and influence which Ozil has given this team.

BOB: Do you concede the fact that we’re“Lucky” at times?

AB: Yes of course…but we need them. Notable incidents include Altidore’s disallowed goal [against sunderland], Morgan Amalfitano’s shot hitting the woodwork during the dying minutes of extra time [against W.B.A in COC] etc but as the famous saying goes, we have been braver in all these situations and luck has indeed favoured us [*touchwood*].

BOB: Your take on the young Guns’ performance in the COC midweek?

AB: We all know that Wenger has this habit of giving them a chance during cup games and it became very evident on Wednesday that they lacked experience.

It also showed the fact that they have not been playing together long enough to know each other’s strengths and weakness.

To be honest, I felt none among them showed the skills or talents as much as what Wilshere or Fabregas showed during the same age.

Gnabry might come somewhat closer with Zelalem behind him but you never know.

I was also impressed with the performances of Ballerin, Olsson and Akpom. They made a very positive impact once they came on from bench; composed and very much comfortable with the ball procession.

Expecting them to knock the doors of the first team very often going forward.

BOB: Key Performers and disappointments from W.B.A Game?

AB: Apart from the Defensive Rock of Mertasacker, I was delighted with Jenkinson’s performance. He was terrific going forward, not to forget his crossing and his primary defensive abilities.

Among the young guns, I would pick Gnabry although the fact that he was bit jaded after playing 3 games in a span of 7 days.

Biggest let down from the game has to be Eisfeld and Miyaichi. Whilst the former was totally Invisible till the goal he scored, the latter was guilty of giving away balls very easily. I was expecting an strong performance from Eisfeld in particular as I thought he has this habit of scoring beautiful goals as per what I have seen from many youth fixtures although he’s not that authoritative in terms of ball procession. Ryo had a few good crosses but lacked fitness to play 90 min. IMO, Gnabry has overtaken him both in performance and pecking order.

BOB: Thoughts on the TGSTEL**?

AB: He started pretty slowly and was goal shy which was quite obvious considering his match fitness. After a while it became much better as he started winning air duels n all. Not to forget the pass which gave us the goal. He made some good run-ins like Giroud and I believe he will definitely come good if given more opportunities and who knows, he could prove to be a wonderful second striker for us.[Note: All the above will be applicable only if remains grounded].

BOB: The signing of Viviano?

AB: Frankly, I don’t have any idea on why Wenger signed him. Although I have heard of his name being linked to us when Aluminia was at Helm. But at the end of the day, we needed one too.

There was a time during last season, when both Szczesny and Fabianski were injured and Mannone was put in goal, so he could be very necessary backup. He had a very decent season at Florence last year and also the fact is, he is right behind Gigi [Buffon] in Italy’s squad. Arsene might have some plans for him IMO, as I remember reading that Fabianski is the last year of his contract and Wenger would want Viviano to step up as No.2 once Lukasz leaves [ Consider it as a wild theory from my side].

BOB: Thoughts on the Swansea game at the weekend?

AB: I think it is going to be a very tricky game. Could be very similar to the Sunderland game but expecting an even tougher opposition. I believe they will try and keep more procession of the ball as they would like to penetrate us more rather than sitting back and defending stuff. Thought they put up a strong performance against Liverpool & Valencia, but was very surprised to see them lose against Birmingham [ having won the cup just the year before] which might give an indication that they are looking forward to progress in Europe and perform well in the league.

Would be very interesting to see how we line-up against them and I think we would miss Walcott very much as all our current midfielders [Ramsey and Wilshere playing on the wings] would tend to cut inside making our play bit narrow as compared to Theo. I am also sceptical about the involvement of Ryo and Gnabry has both of them played 120 min of gruelling football just couple of days back.

All we need is to maintain is our defensive discipline as I am convinced that Ozil will try and create at least 2-3 goal-scoring chances and with the form Giroud is in, He is bound to convert them into goals.

I am backing Arsenal to Win the game 3-1 with our talisman Ramsey to score one.

BOB: Whom do you think would be Game turner for both Arsenal and Swansea for this weekend?

AB: For  Arsenal, it would be none other than Ramsey and for Swansea , I would pick Michu.

BOB: We know that you have witnessed Arsenal play at the Emirates many times but can you explain the best match you have watched during your short stay there?

AB: It definitely has to be the North London Derby [5Spur2 17 Nov 2012] without a doubt. I woke up in the morning with Goosebumps and had them the entire day till I reached back to my place. As a matter of fact, I as well had that during the game against Aston Villa [2011-12 season], which happens to be my first game there. Words can’t explain how excited I was then. It was totally different from what we see on TV, an experience which can never be shared but has to be witnessed. But my life as a Gooner would never be complete until I watch my team lift the Premier League or Champions League in front of me J.

Me [Left] alongside Aben in front of Emirates before the Tottenham match J.

BOB: On THAT Match [Man Utd 4 – 4 Everton] in Old Trafford?

AB: [Laughs] That would go down as the most difficult match I have been to. Trust me, sitting amidst united supporters that too in United stand and cheering for Everton [from inside] is something very difficult to do. I literally wanted to Jump when Everton equalized then but sadly I couldn’t J. All I could do was to smile sarcastically at my friend sitting next to me who happened to an united supporter.

One couldn’t have witnessed a better match than that as a neutral.

BOB: Experiences of watching a match in London?

AB: Once you come out of the stadium and board any public transport wearing a jersey or a scarf, you will be subjected to so many reactions from the people. Some will cheer you, some will mock & tease you, some will come to you and ask for the score while some will come and talk to you about the game and tactics.

Taxi drivers will honk and wave you to show their support of the team. It was ultimate fun overall.

Cheers,

BOB J

Twitter: Bhuvanesh_SR