Arsenal vs Braga Match Report

Arsenal opened the Champions League campaign against Portuguese side Braga at the Emirates. The Gunners took full advantage of their fans' enthusiasm as they riled up the crowd with an 9th minute penalty kick following a reckless foul on Marouane Chamakh. The men in red followed up with an a great move to double their lead.

Jack Wilshere played a brilliant match setting up the third Arsenal goal with a delightful back heel to Marouane Chamakh. The 18-year old showed a swagger that the Gunners embodied on the weekend's 2-1 win against Bolton. The youngster combined with Cesc Fabregas to great effect. Like Kaka and Seedorf, he was the fulcrum of the midfield.

Braga threatened to get back into the game with their striker, Mattheus, kept Koscielny and Squillaci alert. The side, off a 3-2 loss against Porto FC, clearly struggled against Arsenal's deft passing. When Hugo Viana was subbed for Mossoro in the 54th minute, the Portugeuse appeared to put up the shutters.

After halftime, Arshavin turned from scorer to provider. The Arsenal midfielder chipped a nice ball captain Cesc Fabregas who obliged with a spot on header. With Vela's 63rd minute introduction, Arsenal did not slow down as the Mexico international grabbed a goal that is sure to boost his confidence. Following the Arsenal hat trick, Andrei Arshavin sought his second inclusion on the score sheet but settled for an assist to Vela. The younger Arsenal striker later doubled his tally on 85 minutes.

The Emirates faithful were in full voice tonight. More importantly, Arsenal looked the part. If the Gunners can consistently replicate their delicious form, there is no telling how far they will go.

Players to watch against Sunderland: Samir Nasri and Laurent Koscielny

Have your say: Has Wenger finally gotten it right?

Starting XI:

Arsenal

Almunia, Sagna, Koscielny, Squillaci, Clichy, Nasri, Song, Fabregas, Wilshere, Arshavin, Chamakh

Braga

Felipe, Miguel Garcia, Moises, Rodriguez, Silvio, Vandinho, Aguiar, Hugo Viana, Alan, Matheus, Paulo Cesar

Goals:

Fabregas 9' (Pen)

Arshavin 30'

Chamakh 36'

Fabregas 53'

Substitution (In/Out):

55'

Mossoro/Miguel Hugo Viana

60'

Lima/Mattheus

63'

Vela/Chamakh

Denilson/Alex Song

70'

Emmanuel Eboue/ Andrei Arshavin

Hashtags For Soccer (Football) News On Twitter

During the last three months, I have regularly spread soccer gossip and news throughout the Twittersphere. Twitter is a great source for breaking news as information is pushed out quickly. The soccer community focuses primarily on disseminating updates, but there a few Twitter pundits that will engage you in the familiar debate about the Big Four or the Bottom Three.

I enjoy sharing soccer news more than the next person and noticed there isn't really a cohesive hashtag procedure among soccer news tweets. Last December, an astute observer noted the same obstacle in a Bigsoccer.com post about MLS Teams. There is a fledgling list of MLS-specific hashtags to keep up with MLS team news. In June, another blogger gave World Cup teams a go.

My axe to grind is far more basic. Anyone in the world should be able to find soccer news, in the English language, using a predictable and predetermined set of hashtags. This simple formula guides my tagging guidelines: sport (#soccer) + league (#EPL) + Associated Club(s) (#Arsenal #Fulham) + Broad Word (usually #news, #Wenger). I currently use the hashtags below but welcome additional feedback about preferred hashtags:

Leagues

• English Premier League = #EPL
• Scottish Premier League = #SPL
• French League = #Ligue1
• German League = #Bundesliga
• Italian League = #SerieA

Clubs:

• Arsenal Football Club = #Arsenal
• Manchester Football Club = #ManU, #MUFC
• Chelsea Football Club = #Chelsea, #CFC
• Liverpool Football Club = #LFC
• Aston Villa Football Club = #AVFC, #Villa
• Fulham Football Club = #Fulham, #Cottagers
• Tottenham Hotspur Football Club = #Tottenham
• Manchester City Football Club = #MCFC
• Blackpool Football Club = #BFC
• Birmingham Football Club = #Birmingham
• Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club = #Wolverhampton
• Sunderland Football Club = #Sunderland
• Bolton Football Club = #Bolton
• Newcastle Football Club = #NUFC
• Everton Football Club = #Everton, #Toffees, #EFC
• Blackburn Rovers Football Club = #BRFC
• West Bromwich Albion Football Club = #WBA, Baggies
• Wigan Athletic Football Club = #Wigan
• Stoke City Football Club = #Stoke
• West Ham United Football Club = #Westham

Unless a team was recently relegated from the English Premier League, I seldom tweet about the Coca-Cola Championship. Again, I welcome comments about how the aforementioned hashtags could be more accurate or suggestions based on tags you currently use.

Cheers,

@bellsworld

Tigers Tame City

A relieved Phil Brown walked away from today's match with a little less weight on his mind. The 2-1 win over Manchester City, move Hull out of the relegation zone but not out of danger. In the next 16 days Tigers will play 5 matches that will likely determine whether they remain in the EPL. If today is any indicator Brown's boys just may beat the drop.

Hull snatched the extended their lead after a 54th minute strike from George Boateng. The Ghanaian latched on to a poorly cleared corner from 18 yards out. The emphatic strike, enhanced by the Tiger's faithful, made City's comeback increasingly dubious.

Minutes later City responded but never really looked like the could take the lead. Standout performances by Jozy Altidore, Stephen Hunt and Jan Venegoor of Hesselink halted the men in blue.

Surely, the former will gain the most from today's win. Altidore has struggled to adapt to Hull and Phil Brown since he arrived on loan from Villareal in August. Today's effort was the American's first EPL goal in 19 appearances and lifted Hull to their first win in 11 games.

In the latter stages, Carlos Tevez embodied City's fighting spirit on the day. The Argentine won challenges while creating chances for a lackluster Adebayor. Despite a late flurry of attempts the Tigers stood firm until the whistle blew after 93 minutes.

In other news, Liverpool won the morale-building Merseyside derby 1-0. The win continues a 25 game win streak against the Evertonians. Manchester United further humbled Portsmouth in a 5-0 route.

'Round and 'Round We Go...

It's official. The summer merry-go-round known as the summer transfer window has begun. With Fabio Cannavaro and Ricardo Kaka making early moves one must wonder who will top these big names with each club vying for its own coup. Surely, Real Madrid will be the team to watch this summer as Florentino Perez looks to usher in the galacticos redux at the Barnabeu.

Apart from the usual surround Adebayor, Drogba, and Eto'o, this summer could see Javier Mascherano moving from Anfield to La Liga Champions Barcelona. Apparently the player's agent fancies a move enough though his client said he wanted to fight for a starting spot with the Reds. More notably, Brazilian Alexandre Pato may follow Carlo Ancelotti to Chelsea in a rather puzzling move. Kaka's absence must have unsettled the promising forward. That said the transfer period is still young so anything can happen.

In other news, England is finally turning up now that they have new management. The boys in white seem to have a cautious spring in their step although a win again Khazjikstan should be moot given England's quality.

That's all for now. Stay tuned for updates regarding possible moves by Ibrahimovic (Inter Milan), Ribery (Bayern Munich), Ronaldo (Manchester United), David Villa (Valencia) and Fabregas (Arsenal)!

Cheers,

M