Cazorla – Page 3 – Bergkampesque

Time for TV5 to replace Flamini & Who to be our (b)Ox to (b)Ox player?

February 1, 2014February 1, 2014TotalArsenal

Time for our Lion of Flanders to motor us forwards again?

The transfer window closed without any reinforcement in our defence or attack. I said jokingly yesterday that Wenger was after a player starting with a ‘K’, as we were being linked with Klose, Kalou and Kim Kallstrom( KK). We got KK who is supposed to help out in the box to box position; but then he arrived already injured, apparently. If the squib wasn’t already damp enough last night, it became saturated this morning with the announcement that our only signing arrived with a back problem that will keep him out for at least six games.

I don’t know what to say, guys and girls…. So let’s move on.

With Flamini out and Arteta seemingly struggling with getting back to 100% fitness and form, we have to ask ourselves who can strengthen and reinvigorate the so important double DM pivot of our team. Flamini and Arteta looked slightly sluggish and disorganised against Southampton, and although I reckon the DM pivot will not be tested as much tomorrow as it was on Tuesday, we will need to make some changes to get the team motoring again.

We will do a pre-match tomorrow morning, during which we can discuss the best line-up against Crystal Pulis’ park-the-bus formation in more detail.

In this post, I would like to discuss what we can do to replace Flamini’s defensive and leadership qualities. Furthermore, it would be good to discuss who should play in the box to box position, now that Rambo and Wilshere look to be out for a few games at least.

I reckon we are missing a trick with leaving the enthusiastic and powerful Vermaelen on the bench for so many games. If Arteta is fully fit, he should normally play but if and when we need to have more steel in midfield – somebody who is good in the air and can tackle properly – Vermaelen could be our man. He also offers additional thrust and has a venomous long distance shot. On top of that, he offers presence and energy and he is now wise enough to contain himself when needed (I hope!).

The above is linked with the second question: who to play in our box to box role?

I am hoping Rosicky is recovered enough to play tomorrow, and in the foreseeable future, in this position. The combination of Arteta and Rosicky could work a treat, as both are experienced and multi-disciplined midfielders.

It would be good to have a second option, though, in case of fitness/injuries issues for Arteta and/or Rosicky. Should Santi play in the box to box role, next to Arteta? Wenger tried Ox there against Coventry recently, but that was with Jack providing the defensive cover (which is not his core strength, is it?). It did not really work and I reckon that either Cazorla or Ox can only play in the box to box role if they get proper defensive cover.

I have my doubts whether Arteta will be able to do this, especially in the big games coming up. Therefore, I am hoping Wenger is going to try something different here; and for me Vermaelen could be the answer to our midfield puzzle. With the Lion of Flanders protecting the back four, Rosicky, Ox, or Cazorla could play deeper whilst supporting the four in attack regularly. I could also see this being done by Nacho or Sagna, but TV5 is the best option of them all imo.

I would also like to see Ox play properly in the box to box role, although Rosicky will have to be our first option until Jack or Ramsey return.

What do you think fellow Gooners?

With Theo and Rambo out, and no additional striker bought in January, who are going to score our goals?

AB wrote this succinct comment which is directly linked to the above question:

“TA you said it’s our midfield that delivers these [goals] – we don’t need more in the way of strikers. And I agree that’s the model that Wenger has built. But without Walcott and Ramsey, the model looks less sound. Oz and Ros are more creators than scorers, although I have never fully understood why given their technical skills. Gnab and Ox both look like they will score goals, but are yet to really break through on this front, and it’s too early to count on them. Which leaves Santi and Pod, both proven goal scorers. However, neither has hit sustained form this year (partially excused given injuries) and Wenger does not seem minded to play both together. They are going to be really important for us in the next 6 weeks – not least because Giroud is as much a space creator as he is a goal scorer.

This all adds up to goals being harder to come by in the next 15 games than they were earlier in the season. The importance of our defence being water-tight is therefore all the greater.

What do others think – where are the goals going to come from if we are to put 2 or 3 past opposing sides?”

What can I add to this?

I reckon, Wenger will need to start playing Pod more now, and with Santi possibly in the box to box role it could work a treat. We could play Pod – Ozil – Ox/Gnabry behind Giroud and Arteta/Vermaelen-Santi/Rosicky in the ‘DM’-pivot. We would have three regular goals scorers in the team with Pod, Giroud and Cazorla, whilst Ozil, Ox, Rosicky and Gnabry also can contribute. I don’t think it will lead to goal fests but it might be enough to win a lot of games, especially if our defence keeps performing so strongly…. for which we need a good replacement for Flamini…

What do you think fellow Gooners?

Written by: TotalArsenal

Arsenal’s midfield fluidity starting to resemble Total Football again?

January 20, 2014January 20, 2014TotalArsenal

ARSENAL V FULHAM

The Review

Thanking Voetbal International for today's picture — Thanking Voetbal International for today’s picture

Is this the small beginnings of not quite ‘Total Football’, but the nearest that Arsene Wenger will get to it?

I was intrigued by the first half display. They played some really delightful build up play in the first 20 or so minutes, but without finding the net. Fulham, predictably set their stall out to not concede. In that respect they were the more successful. With Brede Hangeland back, and his young partner Burn, who was very impressive, they must have the tallest centre back pairing in the league? With other players around them willing to put in a shift, it was a far cry from the side that lost 6-1 in their previous league game. So scoring was going to be difficult. And apart from some long range efforts from Gnabry, who snatched at one when the whole goal opened up before him; and instead, it went the same as his other efforts, wide or high.

However, that was not what intrigued me. It was the movement from the front five or six that was different. So Gnabry played more central? Yes and no. He moved in from the right when Ozil went wide. When he switched flanks, Cazorla came more central. If Ozil went to the left side, then Gnabry went left of centre. All this was going on throughout the first half. The only constant player who never strayed wider than the width of the box was Jack Wilshere. With Giroud going out wide and leaving Gnabry as the central striker, it was very difficult to see if it was successful, because of the lack of goals. But what it did show was that there was a conscious effort to get an understanding between all of our attacking midfielders. I say this as a back drop with the penultimate post questioning individuals to work with Mesult Ozil. And the answer was that that all bar one player, it had some great moments in this battle for space in a crowded area?

The odd one out was Mesult Ozil.

In a later post yet to be released, I posed the thought that Ozil would be able to work around the others. In this example he failed to do so. But that is for a later discussion.

Right now, I was inspired by the fluidity, and I think in a more open game it would have produced a hatful of goals. It is still a work in progress I feel, and one that Ozil may or may not become a master of? Why it failed here was mainly because Giroud was not given more space by the movement around him, and he too, looked the odd one out? Gnabry’s improved: running into spaces to get the ball led to numerous one-two touches, and switches of play, and both Monreal and Sagna providing width and crosses that should have been better used. As a work in progress, Gnabry is coming along well. As to the cohesion of the rest of the midfield, we will have to see how that unfolds later. But it is intriguing?

From the opening corner inside two minutes, a through ball from Wilshere saw an Ozil shot blocked, when he ought to have done better? A blocked shot from Cazorla from a touch on from Giroud, The wild long range effort from Gnabry, and another one-two with Giroud saw a second Cazorla effort blocked. This was followed by the snatched Gnabry shot, and a blocked effort from Ozil: a rare long shot from Ozil(?) blocked, and a Giroud shot over after a good touch from Gnabry. It shows the variety I spoke of above, and all in the first 20 minutes … it looked only a matter of time?

However, it took a superb save from Chezzer, getting his right hand to a fierce half volley from Sidwell, and turned it away to safety, to keep the score at 0-0.

The rest of the half became more a battle for control, rather than shots raining in from all angles. Gnabry had an attempted curler that went wide, and Cazorla had another shot blocked. But for the most part, Arsenal were comfortable at keeping Fulham out, and Ozil apart, who looked a little off with his thinking, so receiving and giving passes were going astray, and Gnabry’s youthful keenness to score, the rest had a pretty good game. Although, it tailed off a tad in the second quarter, perhaps missing that urgency and energy that Rosicky or Ramsey might bring?

There was a different feel about the second half. I suspect the boss had reminded them not to repeat the Villa performance? Fulham started brightly, but when Arsenal did attack, shots were on target, and brought about a string of good saves. An angled shot from Giroud on the left, Gnabry’s fierce drive to the bottom left-hand corner, a blocked shot from Cazorla all preceded a goal mouth scramble. A cross from Cazorla to the far post, Sagna shot block, Koscielny shot blocked, Gnabry shot from equally close range, blocked. You could be forgiven for thinking it was not going to be our day?

That all changed a minute later. A lovely pass and move with Monreal, Cazorla kept moving with the final assist coming from Wilshere, and a first time shot hit with more accuracy than power saw the ball nestle in the bottom right-hand corner. Cazorla was a happy boy again. Five minutes later he repeated the trick in the same corner, hitting low first time. 2-0.

With 20 minutes to go, Lukas Podolski came on for the fast developing Serge Gnabry. He too had a terrific shot saved by keeper and woodwork, but had little else to add to his claims for a first team start, but not from the lack of trying. Fulham also tried to get a consolation goal with their sub, Darren Bent, who looked clear on goal but a late intervention by Koscielny forced him to shoot wide before he was clattered in the box. Certain penalty had Bent not got his shot away first, but I’ve known refs to give it anyway?

Ox came on with about 5 minutes plus stoppage time, and he became the third sub on who might have made it on to the score sheet late on, with a backward leaning header that had direction but too much height. Just a late corner scare that ended the game, otherwise the clean sheet was never really threatened.

It would have been nice to have written this as something to put the smile on one of our number who is having to face a very tough battle in the coming days. Instead it is written for the records, and despite the background on a personal level, I hope JB will not mind if I stuck to purely my insight of the game. Our thoughts are with you, but we understand that being TOTL is a triviality in your circumstances.

Best wishes, as always, JB.

Written by: Gerry.

Mesut, Aaron, Jack, Santi, Tomas: ideal cure for PTB.

December 7, 2013December 7, 2013TotalArsenal

I don’t know about you but when I have to do tedious tasks, like completing spreadsheets, peel potatoes or listen to MotD analysts, my mind often wanders to Arsenal moves and goals as a coping mechanism.

Our second goal against Pool-victors Hull, for example, serves as the perfect tedium killer. Every time I think of that goal a smile forms in my face: the way the Hull players wanted the ball over the line, the perseverance of Nacho and Ozil, the sharp combinations between Ramsey and Ozil whilst moving constantly, and the beautiful, beautiful measured ball into the box by the Welshman to the German, followed by a fast, precise, deadly finish by Ozil. Stuff of day dreams.

Watch it again, from about 58 seconds onwards:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQkVFHWzUKY

Arsenal currently have five fit, multi-talented midfielders who can combined so well in tide spaces that we seem to have finally cracked the Park The Bus approach of some of the teams coming to the Emirates. Of course it helped that we scored an early goal against Hull, but it was also clear to me that they just could not deal with the movement and passing of our midfielders on Wednesday.

And if the movement and passing is good now, just imagine what it will look like in the future. Ramsey and Wilshere maturing further, Ozil settling properly into the team, Santi in his best form again, Rosicky coming in to replace tired legs at the start or during the games, and Ox returning fit and hungry to the team. Add to that the super talents of Eisfeld and Zelalem, and one or two others, and you know the future is bright.

It does make me think, though, what sort of football Arsene and Steve are aiming to play mid to long term: is this it or will we see another dimension added to our game?

I mention Steve Bould on purpose as I am equally impressed with the current defensive shape and discipline of the team. What initially seemed an awkward relationship between two strong-willed and passionate characters has slowly developed into one of great strength and depth. In recent seasons, there often was an obvious split in the team of the ‘defence seven’ – GK, defenders, and two defensive minded deeper laying midfielders – and the attacking four with the a limited amount of integration between the two ‘blocks’.

It worked for us when we needed to get results, but it was often hard on the eye, and was always going to be an interim measure as long as Wenger is ultimately in charge.

Now, after a summer of stability through keeping all our key players (except Gervinho, who I reckon we should have kept at least another year), and adding the extra dimension of Ozicle and the steel and extrovert leadership of the foxy Flamini to our talents, Wenger and Bould have evolved the team to the next – yet I feel not final – stage.

There is a lot more fluidity to our play and our team no longer look like two autonomous, task-orientated units. Only when we play the bigger teams, we still struggle a bit with playing as an integrated, holistic defending and attacking team. This is something the team will get better at the longer the players are together, and our two games against the Oilers will show us how far they have come.

We can look forward to the likes of Santi, Jack, Mesut, Aaron, Alex and Tomas becoming more and more a free moving, all conquering midfield attacking machine this season, with Flamini or Arteta offering defensive support behind them and Giroud being the pivotal, holding attacker up-front. On top of that, they get constant support from one full back at a time. There is growth in Gibbs and Jenkinson, and Nacho and Sagna are solid, safe pairs of hands for us.

Mid to long term, other than adding some strength in depth in some key areas (CB, DM, RB, CF), I can see us getting a top quality 24/25 year old left midfielder/winger. He would add another dimension, especially if and when combined with Theo on the right. That for me would be the next stage of growing our team into an all conquering machine again. It would give us variety in our approach to opponents and style of play.

We have not been lucky with our purchases for the LW/LM position in recent years; in fact, it seems to have some sort of curse ever since the one and only Pires left us, with Reyes, Arshavin and Gervinho, and to some extent Podolski, all failing to properly make it there. Let’s hope Arsene’s can find the final piece of the jigsaw in 2014 – either in January or the summer – and this team will become even better.

But what do you think fine fellow Gooners:

Have Arsenal found the cure for PTB teams now?
What style of football would you like Arsenal to play and are we there yet?
Is the LW/LM an area in need of real improvement (rather than adding cover as in the DM, CB, RB and CF positions)?
Who would be your nr.1 choice for the LW/MW?
Who would be your nr.1 priority purchase in January?

Let’s have a heated debate! 😛

Written by: TotalArsenal.

Ramsey, Ozil, Wilshere: who will be the next Fabregas?

November 16, 2013November 16, 2013TotalArsenal

On a night when eleven South-Americans made Chile Con Carne of a disjointed and uninspired England team, Jack stood out as the only one with ‘football intelligence’. It keeps amazing me how not a single national manager has been able to get a particular style into the England team since many a year, and Hodgson is also failing in this respect.

Chile are a decent team but not more than that; yet, they made England look poor on the night. They put pressure on England all over the pitch and never allowed them to have a sustained period of pressure on their goal. And when the Chileans had the ball, they passed it round so much better and with so much more purpose and penetration. It was a lesson in modern football for the English boys and a clear indication they have a long way to go.

Despite some committed performances by Rooney and Lallana, only Jack was able to break the stranglehold of the Chileans and then move the ball forward intelligently – leading to the (few) best attacks on the night. Yet, it is clear that Wilshere is nowhere near 100% fit and in form, and we really need to hope hard that this will change rather sooner than later, both for Arsenal and England.

This brings me to the discussion of who should play in the hole for Arsenal, both short and long term. There are various candidates but nobody has totally convinced me they have all that it takes to perform all the required tasks for this position to a high level.

I reckon in a 4-2-1-3 formation the one in the ‘1’ – the one in the hole – is the most important player of them all. He should:

Instigate our attacks
Help out defensively in midfield
Give shape and structure to the team
Produce a large number of assists and ‘penultimate assists’
Score goals regularly

For me, the player who embodies these five qualities in a 4-2-1-3 formation better than anybody else is Cesc Fabregas. Our former maestro has it all but is currently wasting it away at his other boyhood club.

I reckon Cazorla is good at 1, 4 and 5, but his defensive abilities are not great and neither is he able to give shape to our team very well as he lacks the presence and physical strength to boss the middle of the pitch. He likes to wander off and move where there is space, rather than hold the fort in the middle.

Ramsey is growing into a great player now and offers a lot towards the above five points. He has started to score goals and produce assists, and his defensive abilities are impressive as well. He also has potential to give shape and structure to the team and instigate our attacks, but this is not showing a lot yet. I reckon he is best positioned in the box-to-box role right now, but could be considered for the AM role in the future.

Rosicky adds drive and purpose and is great at instigating attacks. He does not score anywhere near often enough and neither does he produce a great number of assists, but his defensive abilities are great and, most importantly, he also gives a lot of shape and structure to our team when played through the middle. When Rosicky plays we often play our best ‘Wengerball’ football.

But for me, there are two candidates for the ‘man in the hole’ role: Ozil and Wilshere.

Jack is a natural midfield general and remains the best candidate in the mid to long term imo. He loves to stay in the middle and boss the area, he can defend and pick those defence-splitting passes, and he is starting to score goals now.

However, something is not right with him at the moment and it is more than a lack of form – and nothing to do with confidence as some believe, as I reckon Jack is a very confident person. No, something is not right with his body and fitness levels: it is to do with his running and feeling in his foot, and it all seems to stem from the operations he has had on his foot in the last 12 months or so.

I really hope he will come good and that we, the supporters, honour our role and support the guy through thick and thin (taking into account that he is still very young and what we were like around his age….).

That leaves me with Ozil, who does very well with regards to most of the above mentioned required qualities. He instigates attacks really well, produces a lot of assists and scores goals regularly, and his defensive qualities are okay but not great.

The one area where I still have doubts is in his ability to give shape and structure to our attack: to really boss the midfield.

Fabregas was brilliant at this, and I would like to see more dominance and presence of our record signing going forward. Some believe that Ozil goes missing at times, but this is only true in a ‘shape-giving’ sense, as he will always give his all during the match. Mesut is just a clever player who constantly is anticipating what will happen next and how to maximise on this (similar to Fabregas), and he will keep doing this as long as he is on the pitch.

It might well turn out that Ozil is best positioned ‘on the wing’ – in a free role; a bit like Santi in a way. But I would like Ozil to link up better with his fellow midfielders and to start owning the centre of the midfield more; to drive the team forward and to give more shape to our football and attacking play.

And I hope Wenger will get him there gradually, just like he did with our former El Capitan.

Or maybe, Wenger still has a space for our prodigal son? 😉

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7YzUVDUWB_A

Written by: TotalArsenal.

Ten games in: ToTL, and the best is yet to come!

November 4, 2013November 4, 2013TotalArsenal

Will Arsenal improve further once Pod and Theo return?

First of all (of course) I’d like to begin by congratulating the team on an awesome performance against the other in form premier league team in the league. I’ll single out Arteta, Cazorla, Sagna and Ramsey for special praise for Saturday’s performance. They went about their duties in spectacular fashion. It’s good to see that Sagna is getting back to his best AND has learnt to put in a decent cross. Ozil had a quiet game yesterday but still managed an assist thanks to Rambo’s screamer. That’s the mark of a world class player.

Anyway, my focus isn’t just on yesterday’s game. We have reached the ten game mark of the season and there is plenty to be discussed so I’ll get on with it. Firstly, the premier league table speaks volumes on the leaps and bounds that Arsenal has overcome this season. We look a class above everyone else, especially in the league. Top of the table with a 5 point cushion is very significant in a league where competition is cut throat. Of course we have tougher fixtures coming up against Chelsea and ManCity but so far so good. Also, this season has marked the return of our swagger. We play such beautiful football that I could be stuck in the middle of the ocean and still find a way to watch our games.

We still haven’t hit top gear yet as we still don’t show consistently the dominance we should, considering the talent we have in our ranks. This is a good thing because we will still get better. I also think we don’t score nearly as many goals as we can but like I’ve just said, all in good time. There have been a lot of improvements in our team but the one that has impressed me most (and I attribute it to our form) is our spirit. These days Arsenal is a big team, pure and simple. Our ability to win on off days, hold on to a lead, secure points against the run of play and quickly recover from losses has reassured me that, barring a spectacular injury crisis, we are very much title contenders. The win at palace and the recovery at Liverpool are prime examples.

Again I’d like to remind you all, fans and rivals alike,that we are playing this way yet we still haven’t had a full strength side all season. We still have Theo, Podolski and the Ox who are yet to return to the side. I expect the former two to greatly improve our goal output once they return to full body and match fitness. I also expect to see much more from some of our players such as Theo and the Ox.

Another great positive we have on our side this season is the fact that we no longer are dependent on one player. In previous seasons we’ve had players like Van Persie, Cesc and Thierry Henry, whose performances kept us above the surface. Now we have Giroud, Ozil, Cazorla, Ramsey, Walcott, Wilshere, Podolski, who have all shown that they have the ability to win us games. It’s almost like with every game, a new hero steps forward.

Aside from all this though there are concerns that have risen in these first ten games that I feel must be addressed. My biggest concern as per now is the fear of some players suffering burn out. The players in particular are Giroud, Ramsey, Koscielny and less so, Ozil. As Bendtner showed against Chelsea, Giroud has no able deputy, especially with Walcott and Poldi still out. He has played virtually every game for us and an injury to him now would be monumental. Ramsey and Koscielny too have been piled with games because of their influence. Once this tricky run of fixtures is over, Wenger really should give them breathers.

My final concern lies within our football. We have been playing well but I feel the team doesn’t do enough when not in possession. Our pressing has improved, I must say, but still isn’t up to par. When we lose the ball in midfield we let the opposition run at us too easily, especially in Flamini’s absentia. There are players I have to commend for their tireless work rate off the ball and these are Giroud, Ramsey, Rosicky and Flamini. When we lose the ball, they are always the first to dive into challenges in a bid to win the ball back and I really rate them for that.

However, pressing can’t be the job of a few individuals but a team effort. There are players who are a bit lazy when we lose possession. Ozil and Cazorla mainly. Wilshere too is developing this but I suspect it has to do with his injury. These two players will rarely chase down the ball even if it is they who lost it in the first place. I sometimes find myself screaming at the TV when they casually escort our opposition players into our danger area.

This has proven very costly because whenever we’ve met teams that are ready to hustle, we struggle. Against Dortmund, we could only conjure some few minutes of possession in the second half, and for a team whose credentials are being questioned at every turn, this is just not good enough. It is something Arsene has pointed out twice so far so I’m hoping he is working tirelessly to improve.

In conclusion, I have to say that we have every reason to be positive. If we can navigate these two months without too many nasty surprises and in January bring in a Lewandowski or two, then the title will be ours to lose. For now, all we can do is take it a game at a time, keep the focus and showcase our premium brand of football that makes every match day worth the wait.

Come On You Gunners!!!!

Written by: Marcus

Arteta and Santi are Back, Ramsey roars on: Match Review

November 3, 2013TotalArsenal

Match Review: Questions have been answered

Liverpool came to the Emirates on Saturday looking to capitalize on Arsenal’s midweek slip up against Chelsea. Arsenal would have to respond to that midweek loss well because the winner of this game would go top of the league.

Wenger played a strong lineup, but had to field a relatively weak bench due to injuries to Jack and Serge, among others out for the longer term.

Arsenal started the game strong and looked in the mood to really make this a horrible day for Liverpool. The ref was pretty fair from the beginning and did not fall for the SAS diving, so credit to him.

Every week Liverpool’s formation makes less sense and weakens them down the flanks even further. This week Liverpool played a very central heavy formation perhaps hoping to break up our midfield passing, but all they succeeded in doing was giving us too much space on the wings.

This would first become evident in the 19^th minute. Arteta played Sagna through down the right hand side. He outran the out of position Cissokho and swung a cross into the middle. It was behind Giroud, but Santi had made a run behind him and headed the ball after a bounce. The ball hit the post, but Santi followed up and sliced it calmly into the net. Our little number 19 scored his first goal of the season against Liverpool just as he did last season.

Arsenal remained dominant for the rest of the first half. Arteta was fantastic at breaking up play in the absence of Flamini. Giroud got a few chances throughout the game, but he just could not put the game to bed.

After half time Liverpool were forced to change formation to have any hope of winning.

Their chance to do so would just about die in the 60^th minute. Ozil gave Ramsey a nice little chip to the top of the box. Aaron calmly trapped the ball and let it bounce a few times. And as any player full of confidence would do, just let rip on the half volley. The ball dipped and swerved and made its way in just under the crossbar. The goal itself was incredible, but sadly will probably be overshadowed by Begovic’s goal.

The confidence this team has, is embodied in Ramsey. We are prepared to take chances offensively now because we now have no fear of our defense not being good enough when we lose possession. This has led to some incredible passing and play this season and it’ll only get better as the season goes on.

After this goal no one really looked like scoring. We put on Monreal to shore up our defense on the left, but soon after Gibbs went off with a slight knock and Vermaelen came on at left back. Jenkinson came on at the end to maintain our clean sheet and it worked. Liverpool came close a few times at the end, but we were ready and organized at the back and kept our 2-0 lead.

At the final whistle Arsenal went five points clear at the top of the league and showed the rest of the league that we mean business. Many had questioned if we could play our game and win against big teams and questioned if we can do it every week, and this win showed that we can. This month will be big and if we get wins against Liverpool, Dortmund, United, etc, we will really show everyone that we are starting a new era where Arsenal will return to dominance. I maintain that City is our biggest competition in the league, after seeing them run rampant in a 7-0 win against Norwich earlier in the day. Our games against them will probably be the biggest of the season.

Overall, the team was fantastic today with standout performances from Szczesny, Arteta, Cazorla, and Koscielny. Giroud probably could’ve had a few goals, but overall the score line is a pretty good representation of the game.

For now I’ll leave you with some questions:

What did you think of the game?
What kind of message did this game send to the rest of the league?
Who do you think our toughest competition is for the league title?
Who was your man of the match?

Thanks for reading! 😀

Written by: Dylan.

The Santi Cazorla-Mesut Ozil partnership: You ain’t seen nothing yet

October 18, 2013October 18, 2013TotalArsenal

Super Santi ready to move into another gear?! — Super Santi ready to move us into another gear?!

Over the past few weeks I have read various posts and had numerous discussions about how Santi (last season’s best player) and Ozil (our new record signing) would play together in the Arsenal team when they are both fit and firing. This is a discussion based on the fact that when both of them are fit and in form, they are both indispensable. Many have argued that one might have to step down for the other, while others believe they can be played side by side. I’m here to give you my take on things.

Let me begin by declaring that Mesut and Santi can, and probably will, be played together to form a midfield that can be arguably in the same league as Barcelona’s, once they gel. How? You may ask. Well, it’s actually rather simple. Santi will be played on the left with Ozil in that number 10 role. Many people have argued that moving Santi to the left takes some sting out of him, but these are people who I’m beginning to think don’t watch Arsenal too keenly.

The movement in our midfield is incredible (and so is Ozil’s). You see, the German is not like the Cesc Fabregas/Paul Scholes kind of player who will occupy the middle of the park and dominate it quite statically. He is more of the Cazorla kind of player who will pop up anywhere he will find space to cause damage. Case in point, on his debut, his assist came from the left. Both chances he created for Theo were from the middle. Against Napoli, he assisted from the right.

This typifies his game. He moves all over the pitch.

This is perfect because Santi is the same and this means that he may start from the left, but during the game you will definitely see a lot of interchange and by the end they will both have played everywhere. It makes us even more potent because they will share the creative burden, and it is likely that they will be even more prolific goal scorers because they give each other the freedom to get into dangerous positions.

This combination has the potential to be devastating. It could make us unplayable simply, because having two players of that kind of ilk play together could mean that we dominate games, sometimes without even trying.

Add Ramsey, Theo and Flamini to that and you realize that this form we’ve seen of late is still second gear. Once Theo begins scoring, Ramsey/Flamini keep up their form, and even possibly improve, and Santi and Ozil click, we will turn up the heat for sure.

With that midfield, Theo can occupy the CF position even more during games because of the license to roam he will be given by his midfielders. I know Santi isn’t exactly match fit but I’d still like to see him link with Ozil on Saturday.

Written by: Marcus.

Pod delivers, Giroud, Rosicky & Theo show their team-value, Santi and Ramsey class: Fulham Match Report

August 24, 2013August 24, 2013TotalArsenal

We’re only happy when it rains – We’re only happy when it gets complicated! 😉

I was not very confident for our encounter with Jol’s Fulham today. I believed a combination of our fatigue from playing/travelling midweek and Fulham’s good start, as well as an ‘in-your-faces’ approach to the game by them, could prove too much for us. I was hoping for a win but counted on a draw.

My biggest concern were the lack of defensive midfield skills and formational indiscipline, as was so apparent against Villa last weekend. But I did not need to worry, as I had somewhat forgotten that Arsenal play more compact and disciplined in away fixtures compared to our home games, with defence and midfield moving up and down the pitch as a well-drilled double-unit, leaving very little space between the lines. This meant Fulham were given very little chance to penetrate the centre of our midfield and pounce on our potential frailties there.

It also helped that we played with three in midfield, where Fulham tried to play in a more traditional 4-4-1-1 formation; as a result, the Cottagers were often outnumbered, outmanoeuvred and outsmarted by our boys today. It was clear that Arsenal are a team and Fulham are a collection of individual players who still need to get used to each other.

Our team:

First Half

Arsenal started with the right tempo and clearly had the bit between the teeth. After ten minutes, Rosicky produced a fine ball over the Fulham defence to Theo; the Englishman did not hesitate for a moment and shot towards goal from within the box, but Stockdale was equally responsive and made a decent save. Arsenal then put a lot of pressure on Fulham with a number of Walcott corner kicks in quick succession, and it was really good to see that we were a real threat from these set-pieces.

It was also good to see that Szczesny was successful in finding OG on a number of occasions, but unfortunately the Frenchman’s headers did not end up near a fellow Arsenal player in most instances.

We were playing well and dominating early proceedings, but it still needed a bit of fortune to get the ball past the inspired Stockdale. Ramsey tried a shot from well outside the box but OG was in the way, despite him trying to make himself sparse. The Welshman’s drive hit Giroud’s leg, which fortuitously led to the Frenchman assisting himself. He pounced on his gift like a tiger and lifted the ball over the goalie with both style and composure: 1-0 to the good guys!

As can be expected, this early adversity gave Fulham new impetus to have a real go at Arsenal in this game, and we lost a bit of our initial concentration and intensity of play. However, Szczesny was focussed and decisive when he had to be and made two fine, instinctive saves from efforts by Taarabt and Duff in quick succession.

Good link up play by OG then led to a decent shot with the outside of his foot by Santi from outside the box, but it was not hard or precise enough to trouble Stockdale. At this stage, Cazorla was still looking a bit rusty, and he gave away a dangerous free-kick just outside our box. Our wall was poor but somehow we got away with it as Riise’s ball is smothered in the wall, and a relieved Szczesny can make an easy save.

During the second part of the first half, Arsenal start to look a bit tired and Fulham find more and more a way through the centre of our midfield. Luckily, Taarabt is desperate to shoot himself from outside the box on a number of occasions when there were better options for him, and all his efforts are wasted or dealt with by our Pole in goal.

Ramsey picks up an unnecessary yellow card which put him in a precarious position for the rest of the game. Luckily, the team played some fine counter football and especially Theo showed great composure and drive at this stage of the game, although his ball to Gibbs, after a run to the Fulham box all the way from midfield, was the wrong option.

Cazorla also started to find his feet and composure in the latter part of the first half. He was more and more enjoying his free role, and when he found himself not far outside the Fulham box with the ball, he had the vision to place a precise ball into Theo’s path. The Englishman takes an instant shot which is parried by Stockdale, albeit towards the outside of the Fulham box. Podolski is at the right place and the right time – after he started the attack in the first place with his ball to Santi – and shoots the ball high and precise into the Cottagers’ net: 2-0! And the fans sang with all their heart: ‘He scores when he wants’ 🙂

The goal was reminiscent of a Bergkamp goal more than a decade ago:

Second Half

Fulham came out with renewed desire and impetus – Jol is good at pep-talk – hoping to score an early goal in the second half, as to get the crowd behind them and start an onslaught on the tired legs and minds of our Gunners. But it is all quite toothless and Jol’s substitutions also do not have much impact, at least initially.

We start to look quite tired after sixty minutes, but once again our attackers come to the rescue. OG collects a ball brilliantly from defence at the half way line with three fine touches. Once again, Theo is there to collect his pass and drive forward towards the Fulham box. Theo plays the ball to Santi who takes it to the by-line, after which he lays it back to the onrushing Podolski. The German is allowed to take a first touch which enables him to trigger his brilliant left cannon of a foot for a well placed, and yet very hard, shot into the keeper’s left corner: 3-0 to the yellow and blues, and game well and truly over! 😀

The fans go crazy and serenade the likes of OG, Ramsey and Podolski with great passion: you can sense the happiness of the away support all the way into our living rooms. As John Lennon sang: Happiness is a warm Gun(ner). 🙂

Fulham do not give up entirely, and despite some very fine positioning and reading of the game by both BFG and Sagna throughout the game, they get caught out for once by a bit of magic from Berbaflop. The naturally blasé Bulgarian received the ball with his back to the goal near the by-line; he takes a touch, turns and shoots/passes towards goal – all in one, smooth move. BFG is too slow to react and Szczesny is only able to get his hands to it, but he parries it across his goal line, where Bent is very grateful to slot the easiest of chances into the net: 1-3.

Bent, apparently a big Arsenal supporter, has now scored against the mighty Red and White with five different clubs. I wonder how he feels about this unenviable record?! 😕

Fulham tried to push for a second goal after that but Arsenal brought on Jack and Nacho to firm up our midfield and defence. There were even further chances for us to score a fourth goal, but especially Theo lacked the killer-instinct of The Pod to take full advantage of his own hard work as well as the opportunities that came his way.

Conclusions:

The Pod announced himself onto the new season with two goals of the highest quality.
Giroud, Rosicky and Theo worked very hard, and often unselfishly, for the team today, and especially the Englishman showed a different side to his game against Fulham.
Santi grew into the game and together with Ramsey he was real class today: both produced a master class in modern midfield football play and made the likes of Sidwell and the former Spud-Smurf look very ordinary.
When Arsenal play away, we are more compact and disciplined in our defensive duties, and as a result, we appear to be less dependent on having a strong DM in our line-up. However, it remains to be seen whether this is the case against the stronger, and more settled teams.
Sagna impressed once again at CB and it looks like he and the BFG could form a very fine partnership if need be.
The FB’s, Jenks and Gibbs, played with good discipline and were full of energy and enthusiasm throughout the game.
Today’s game was ample evidence that we have a number of attackers who can score and produce assists, which makes it hard for the opposition to eliminate our attacking threats. This could become a real strength again this season.
The team already has good fitness levels, the players find each other relatively easily at this stage of the season, and there is a really good togetherness in the team.
More players are required to add strength in depth.
The team would still benefit from a quality attacker: especially a winger who can also play in the middle, or a nr.10 who can also play on the wing, would be very welcome.

A good game to watch, some pride restored and some real pluses to take from today.

Written by: TotalArsenal.

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Arsenal – Fenerbahce: Frimpong’s big chance, Rosicky in the hole, Full-Backs fully back?

August 21, 2013August 21, 2013TotalArsenal

Fenerbahce's Sukru Saracoglu Stadium — Fenerbahce’s Sukru Saracoglu Stadium

Let’s park the bigger discussion about the club’s continuous failure in the TW, and focus for now purely on the CL qualifier against feisty Fenerbahce tomorrow. Nothing is better after a disappointing defeat than to get a chance to make up for it a few days later, and the Fenerbahce game gives the boys a fine opportunity to bounce back.

Would it not be nice to see a repeat today of the score line almost five years ago, when we beat Fenerbahce 2-5 in Istanbul. This was the team that played for us back then: Almunia, Eboue, Song, Silvestre, Clichy, Walcott (Djourou 84), Fabregas, Diaby (Ramsey 73), Denilson, Nasri, Adebayor (Vela 86).
Subs Not Used: Fabianski, Van Persie, Bendtner, Gibbs.

Only Ramsey, Walcott, Gibbs, Fabianski and Diaby are left from that squad, and especially Ramsey (late substitute), Diaby (played 70+ minutes) and Walcott (was unstoppable on the night) will have good memories from that game with all scoring a goal (Song and Adebayor were the other scorers).

Fenerbahce were recently banned from playing European football for match fixing, but as they appealed the decision they are still allowed to play pending the outcome of the hearing, which will take place a day after the return fixture. But of course, we cannot take much notice of this and just have to focus on beating the Turks over the two legs fair and square.

I am not too worried about tomorrow’s game, as I expect Arsene to use his European experience to get the best out of the team and a positive result to take back home. However, Fenerbahce should not be underestimated as a hostile atmosphere combined with an early Turkish goal could lead to considerable trouble, if we do not keep our cool.

Therefore, Wenger will have to select his best and most experienced team for this encounter, and he will have to get his players to totally focus on tomorrow’s game and nothing else. We need a calm and well organised defence/GK, we need a well organised, solid and multi-disciplined midfield, and an energetic, continuously pressing, and lethal attack tomorrow. So, that means a step improvement of all three lines from Saturday’s under-par performances against the shitty Villains.

I reckon Arsene will have to make one big change and that is in midfield. The Rambo-Wilshere combo did not work as we were left far too exposed in the centre of midfield throughout most of the game. I am a huge fan of Wilshere but I reckon he will start on the bench tomorrow, and Frimpong will replace him. He is our best defensive midfielder at the moment – which says a hell of a lot – and I reckon he will play in front of our defence and shield it with his life. I expect Ramsey to play in the more box-to-box like position and Rosicky, because of his experience and his truly fantastic performance on Saturday, will be back in the hole again.

Up-front it is likely to be Cazorla, Giroud and Theo, with a second half cameo by Podolski.

At the back, we have had some fantastic news that Sagna somehow has got over his horrific fall on his neck and that Gibbs can play too, so they are likely to play; although both Jenkinson and Monreal (appears to have recovered from his pre-season injury) are also available tomorrow.

My predicted line-up looks like this:

Enjoy the game fellow Gooners and let’s get behind the boys with all that we have tomorrow night.

COME ON YOUR RIP ROARING GUNNERS!

Written by: TotalArsenal.

Mikel and Aaron could be in trouble

July 23, 2013July 23, 2013TotalArsenal

Mikel Arteta and Aaron Ramsey were two of our best players in that unbeaten run at the end of last season. Arsene devised a double pivot system that saw them sit in front of the back four, leading to one of the best defensive records we have had in years. Arteta was the last line of defence in front of the back four, and Ramsey played a box to box role but mostly spent his time alongside Arteta, shielding our defence from attacks.

This system worked wonders defensively, but I must admit our offensive quality suffered.

Thing is, though, Arteta ideally is not a DM despite the fantastic work he’s done there for us. Arteta, at Everton, played as the ‘hole’ player for the better part of a decade and was their star man. His passing, vision and goals made Everton tick. Again, while overall he has performed admirably there, at times he suffered, especially the recently concluded season. This is the main reason Wenger introduced Ramsey alongside him: to give him some much needed support.

As it turned out, this was a match made in heaven, because Arteta’s strong point is reading the game and Rambo’s is tackling, so they seem to compliment each other perfectly.

This is all well and good, but you have to remember one thing, Wilshere was injured. You can play around with the tactics and formations all you want, but the fact remains that a fully fit Jack Wilshere is one of the first names on the team sheet. Not only that, considering what Santi achieved last season, he has made the hole position his. Add that to the fact that Arsene Wenger came out and admitted that our midfield needs a physical DM and has made it a transfer priority this summer, you realize that these two players are in danger of losing out.

Like I said earlier, Santi and Jack are not about to lose their positions in the team or be moved around to accommodate anyone, simply because they are our two best players. What stacks the odds against Arteta and Ramsey even more is the fact that Santi and Jack showed that they can work together to devastating effect. You do not need to look past our 5-1 hiding of West Ham to see what I mean. Considering that Jack is fully fit and so is Santi, we are looking at a situation where Arteta and Ramsey would be fighting for one spot, DM.

Let’s face it; neither is good enough to make the DM position their own. Not if we indeed are building a team to challenge for trophies.

Last season Mikel showed that he can not shoulder the defensive burden alone. Ramsey, on the other hand, does not have the defensive talent to do it alone (despite his energy and his eagerness to tackle; 80% of his tackles ended in him conceding fouls). Neither has the physicality or defensive acumen to dominate the defensive half of our midfield like Vieira did for us, Wanyama did for Celtic, Essien did for Chelsea, Sven does for BVB and so on and so forth.

Wenger has realized this and that is why he’s chasing the likes of Fellaini; and with the bounty we have right now, you wouldn’t bet against us. If reports are to be believed, we triggered Fellaini’s release clause of 23 million pounds and had a 19 million pound bid rejected for Lars Bender. Even if it’s not them we end up signing, we have seen the amount we are willing to shell out for a DM. Do you really think Arsene Wenger is going to spend 20 million on a player who will come and sit on the bench? I don’t think so, and that is why following all logic, it seems that Arteta and Ramsey’s time in the starting 11 is soon coming to an end.

On the bright side, though, they’ve shown what they can do for us and therefore will provide solid cover AND competition for whatever combination is preferred.

Written by: Marcus.

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