Gibbs – Page 2 – Bergkampesque

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.

Gibbs, Nacho, Sagna, Vermaelen: who could be our ‘New DM’?

July 29, 2013July 29, 2013TotalArsenal

Do Arsenal already have a new ‘Beast of a DM’ in their midst, and will he break up the wall of RamTeta?

With Coquelin on loan, Frimpong disappeared in to the background, and no news of a new signing, we are looking rather thin in the double DM-pivot at the moment. Wenger said this week there was a lot of competition for the midfield positions, but I cannot agree with him from a skill-set point of view; how many of our midfielders can actually defend?

The wall of RamTeta is likely to form the core of our midfield once again next season. Many are not entirely happy with this, and want a typical beast of a DM to boss the midfield whilst the rest join our attack as much as possible. Although I would really like to see how Ramsey and Arteta will fare next season, I also want us to get a proper, yet capable of football, DM this summer.

We have discussed the external options in previous posts and we might well still get a DM: your guess is better than mine.

But as others have mentioned on BK in previous comments, there are one or two, or even three or four potential internal options for this crucial position. I am looking for a player who can defend first and for all: strong on the ground and in the air; he also has a fine engine with tons of stamina; has Presence!; reads the game, and positions himself, well; is a decent to good passer of the ball; and ideally has a fantastic long distance shot too.

My four internal candidates are:

Gibbs
Nacho
Sagna
Vermaelen

Gibbs

Our young English LB is a versatile player with plenty of scope for growth. Both Gibbs and Nacho are too good in my opinion to be back-up for each other, and I would not be surprised if we see them play together regularly in the future. I can see Gibbs do the DM position, although I reckon he might miss presence and be too injury prone for such a ‘body on the line’ position. But he could be further developed into a DM by Arsene…

Nacho

Our one and only January signing has really impressed me, even though he is not the fastest of LB’s I have seen. I love his toughness, defending skills, ability to read the game, and general attitude. Monreal would have the Presence! to put fear into the opposition and he is a tough tackler and battler in the air; he is also a good passer of the ball and very organised/disciplined. It remains to be seen, though, whether he can read the game, and position himself effectively, in midfield.

Sagna

Our French monsieur Reliable is a tough defender who reads the game well. He has plenty of Presence! and stamina and, as he has shown in recently friendly games, is a good communicator. Bacary is also a decent passer of the ball and offers forward thrust if needed. Is it time to move him into a more central position i.e. CB or DM?

Vermaelen

Many on BK have suggested to make TV our DM. Apparently, Wenger has said that TV will remain our captain, and as a captain needs to play, and Koz and BFG seem to be our first choice CB-pairing, it makes you think whether the Belgian could be turned into a DM…. Tommy has everything for it, it seems: great defender and tons of Presence!; reads the game well and is a good passer of the ball; he also has plenty of thrust and a great long distance shot. A captain needs to play and we need a beast of a DM; is TV the answer?

And there is one more question: if Arsene were to turn one of these four players into a DM, should they take the first team place of Arteta or Ramsey this season?

Plenty of food for thought, I hope!

Written by: TotalArsenal.

Eight early-season Arsenal conclusions and line-up v Urawa Red Diamonds

July 25, 2013July 25, 2013TotalArsenal

Will we see more of Mr Reliable as one of our CBs on Friday?

Whilst the transfer shenanigans continue without any let-off, Arsenal’s current team has actually been playing some very watchable footie. It is fair to say that the opposition has not been much to write home about until now, but nevertheless our football has been good.

It is only early days and things could change a lot over the next four weeks, but based on the first three games of the campaign we can pull a few conclusions:

Wall of RamTeta: it looks very much that Arsene will continue with Arteta and Ramsey in the double-DM pivot. Enough has been written about this in recent posts, so no more on this from me now.
Our AM, whether it is Rosicky or Wilshere, have been very quick in turning the game from defence to attack. They very often opt for the ball over the top, or a diagonal ball to find one of the wingers with a precision pass. Our AMs have been very mobile and driven to move the game forward quickly, and long may it continue.
The team has been pressing the opposition really well given the rustiness at this stage of the campaign and the humid weather in Asia. Ramsey has been leading by example with regards to this but the whole team has been chipping in, and collectively they have been very successful in winning back the ball regularly until now.
Theo, but also Gnabry and to a lesser extent Ryo, are being ‘launched’ constantly from midfield. This is all part of our quick defence to attack turnaround approach, and for the first time in a long while Arsenal are now really utilising the speed of Theo and others. It has led to many very good chances for Theo and I expect to see more of it this season, with our Speedy Gonzales hopefully converting more of his opportunities. Theo has got the speed and the good first touch, and now he needs to improve his lethalness. He will improve further this season, I reckon.
The full backs – one at a time – are once again key in setting up attacks from the wing. Unfortunately, Jenkinson and Gibbs have looked rusty until now, but they are both players who appear to need a number of games in a row before they start to shine.
Giroud has looked very positive and focussed until now, and six goals in three games will help him to build further on this. He will, of course, face tougher opposition this season, but his sharpness up-front is a very welcome sight.
Zelalem has been showing us lots of promise until now. He is very confident, calm and classy on the ball and can pick a through-ball with incredible ease. A great prospect.
Ox and Jack have looked really up for it and, IF they can stay fit for long spells this season, they will be……dare I say it……like two new quality signings.

All in all, plenty of positives and let’s hope the team will continue to progress over the next few weeks.

Predicted Line-up against Urawa Red Diamonds:

I reckon Fab will start in goal, and Jenkinson and Gibbs will get another chance to become more effective both in defence (especially Jenkinson) and up-front. I expect Sagna and Mertesacker to start, although there is a chance that Sagna will play with Miquel. I am expecting Arteta and Ramsey to get a rest and for Arsene to try another double DM combination tomorrow. Ox needs a start and Aneke should get a proper test as well, so I am going for these two tomorrow.

I expect Jack to play in the hole from the start and Myachi and Theo (or Gnabry) on the wing, and Giroud will probably not start this time round, so I am going for the Pod as our striker. The latter needs a good game and I have a feeling Wenger will give him the striker position tomorrow.

Enjoy the game fellow Gooners!

Written by: TotalArsenal.

Monreal or Gibbs, or both? And what to do with Santos?

July 4, 2013TotalArsenal

Nacho: 'you talking to me'. — Nacho: ‘you talking to me’.

Please note: this is a discussion post, containing a short intro in which I aim to give a bit of background info on the topic, in order to stimulate a wide-ranging debate.

The left back/ wing back situation has not been a settled one ever since the departure of Gael Clichy. Some might argue that the Frenchman was actually never at the required level for Arsenal, but I reckon this would be a bit harsh. He was never anywhere near as good as Cashley Cole, but he did more than ok in most of the seasons for Arsenal.

Not many of us were really sad to see him go, though, and if Gibbs had stayed fit for a (number of) sustained period(s), we would probably have been fine in the LB area since Clichy left. But he didn’t, and Arsene opted for additional cover with the last minute buy of Andre Santos from Fenerbahce.

Santos was full of confidence when going forward, and my favourite Santos moment was his cool and professional away-goal against the Chavs the season before last. However, defensively he showed some weaknesses in terms of positioning, fitness levels/speed, one-on-one defending and disciplined, defensive team play. He had a number of dodgy performances this season and it became clear the Brazilian had lost a lot of his confidence. Arsene acted decisively by buying Nacho Monreal last January, and sending Santos out on loan simultaneously.

If Kieran Gibbs could stay fit for most of the coming season, Arsene will be faced with a very-nice-to-have-dilemma: who should he play at LB: Nacho or Kieran.

For me, this is a hard decision to make. The Spaniard is more level headed and appears to be built stronger, but he struggled at times with getting used to the tempo and ferocity of the PL. It is fair to say that Nacho will have to improve further to make a real claim for the LB position.

Once Kieran gets into the groove, he can be fantastic, both defensively and going forward. He quickly developed a good understanding and cooperation with Podolski, and for a while we were most dangerous on the left wing of the team. However, as he gets injured regularly, he often struggles to play at the required level straightaway, and his positioning and concentration levels are often under par during these periods.

If both players are fully fit, it seems to be a shame to place one on the bench, and this raises the question whether we could play them both on the left of the team, say in a 4-4-2/4-4-1-1 formation. Nacho could be our LB and Gibbs or LW. This could only work though in a four-in-midfield formation, and our still young Englishman would have to improve his crossing in the box significantly. Or perhaps, it should be Gibbs at LB and Nacho as our LW…. Let us know your views on his.

And finally, what to do with Santos: is there still a space in the squad for him, or should he be loaned out for the season again?

Written by: TotalArsenal.

Ox, Jack, Santi, Gibbs, Theo: all capable of igniting Wengerball, but is it enough?

June 16, 2013TotalArsenal

How can we get back to sexy football?

17 Highbury Terrace wrote during the previous blog: ‘Unless we change our personnel in MF I just don’t see us able to play anything pretty.’

I fully agree with 17HT’s statement: for pretty, sexy football changes have to be made to the midfield. The key questions are whether we have enough talent in our squad currently to do it and how long it will take to get there.

For me the current first team is a combination of a number of engines – hard workers who motor our team along: Arteta, Ramsey, Koscielny, Giroud, Jenkinson; a number of specialist – quality players who perform their roles really well in most games: Sagna, Rosicky, Szczesny, Mertesacker, Nacho, Podolski; and a number of players who have (the potential for) that little bit extra quality and magic: Santi, Ox, Jack, Gibbs and Theo.

The problem, and simultaneously the exciting thing, is that those who can offer the magic, which is a big – but not the only – part of pretty football, are still mainly young. As fans, we do not have much patience anymore, and with money burning in our pockets, it seems right to now go out and add the sort of quality players who can deliver straightaway.

There is good reason to believe that in two years from now Santi, Ox, Jack, Gibbs and Theo will make us play scintillating winning football. They need to be lucky with injuries so they develop their talents to the max in the next 24 months. If we had been winning silverware in recent years, I would argue more vigorously that we need to be patient, as I strongly believe that these five players will be among the very best in Europe in the next two to five years (and Santi is very, very close to being there right now).

It is really important now to add to the squad in such a way that the development of those five (potentially) extra-quality players is not held back, and yet instant progress is made during this and the following season. I know that many are in agreement that we need to add that extra bit of defensive steel in midfield in order to free up the more creative minded players in midfield. We have discussed this more or less to death, and the links with Fellaini, Wanyama and Capoue are at least good signs that Arsene is looking to recruit for this position this summer.

But the more difficult issue is what to do with the ‘hole’ position. Jack has great potential for this one, and so does Ox, and many will argue that Santi is the right player to hold the biggest role in Wengerball right now. If we get Rooney or Cesc, which remains a half decent possibility, the team would make a big jump forwards, but at what price in terms of development of Ox and Jack, and Santi?

Santi can play in a free role on one of the wings, Jack can play next to the beast of a DM Arsene is going to get us, but what about Ox? He could play again on the wing next season, but this just does not seem to do him much good at Arsenal.

It would be some gamble by Arsene but what if he started him in the hole next season? Just imagine AOC getting the freedom to make things happen in the middle of our midfield, whilst being supported by Jack and Santi behind and next to him! Would that mean the start of the rebirth of pretty, sexy Wengerball? Or is Ox still too young for this, and should Arsene look to add an experienced, quality player right now; and if so, who should it be?

Written by TotalArsenal.

Jenkinson, Gibbs & Koz excel – Santi is king – Fabianski impresses

March 14, 2013March 14, 2013TotalArsenal

Five conclusion from a faith-restoring victory over Bayern.

Violently happy Coz we love you! :) — Violently happy Coz we love you! 🙂

The boys did us proud tonight – I am absolutely delighted with their performance. If this team had been playing together for a while longer and we had just a bit more quality up-front, we would even have nicked it.

Conclusion 1:

Our first priority is to get the defensive side of our football right; then we always have a chance, because we know how to play footie and score goals. The difference in performances of our defence during our home and away game could not have been much bigger. We hardly gave away any space behind our defence and between defence and midfield tonight, and were confident in the air and on the ground. Koscielny was superb and his pace and energy gave Mertesacker a chance to organise the defence, and focus on his own positioning. The full-backs were magnificent, especially Jenkinson did us proud. They had drive and passion, speed and strength, and helped out up-front as well. Their performances give us real hope of what could be in the future. Fabianski did everything right and did not flap once. I also really liked his verbal communication skills and willingness to give his fellow players an ear full when they deserved it.

Achieving a clean sheet against, and at, Bayern is a fantastic achievement by our ‘back-five’.

Conclusion 2:

Arteta and Ramsey did a great job defensively in front of the back-four. Yes, there were a few bad clearances, especially by Arteta at the start of the game, and some of the passes were not sharp enough, but they worked hard and denied Bayern space in the centre of midfield. Unfortunately, it meant that Rosicky remained isolated up-front a lot, but at least Ramsey tried to support him as much as he could; and it is exactly how we managed to create the first goal. Of course this will remain the seemingly eternal dilemma for us: 4-3-3, as in 4-2-1-3 or 4-1-2-3, can either make us too defensive or too attacking, and we need the right balance of players/skill-set to get it exactly right. We switched to 4-1-2-3 in the end, when Cazorla replaced Ramsey by moving towards the middle, and it almost worked out for us.

A big minus point of Arteta was his inability to keep his composure towards the end, leading to him giving away a number of avoidable free-kicks, which allowed Bayern to simply see out the game.

Conclusion 3:

Cazorla’s drive, overview and composure was magnificent tonight. He was at times absolutely faultless and never was in hiding throughout the night. For me, he was the best player on the pitch tonight – Jenkinson and Koz were not far off either, though – and what a player Arsene has signed with him. On the other hand, Rosicky had a rusty night of football; plenty of hunger and willingness, but not much came off and he often lost out in the one-to-ones with the Bayern midfielders. However, he was often left isolated, and he did not play often in our team this season; which caused a number of his passes going astray.

Conclusion 4:

We lacked that bit of extra quality up-front to properly finish off Die Lederhosen tonight. Theo put a few great crosses into the box – one leading to the first goal – but he faded in the second half; and his partnership with Giroud is still not working out properly. Giroud scored the goal and worked his socks off, but (still) lacks composure and physical strength; just that little bit extra that would make him a great rather than a good striker.

Conclusion 5:

The entire team was well organised, very focussed and disciplined, and played with great passion. After a number of negative, and often humiliating results recently, the boys did us more than proud. We probably were too defensive for too long of the game to complete the miracle, but it was the best strategy for us on the night.

As per the start of this blog, if this team had played longer together, and had a bit more quality up-front as well, Arsenal could have completed the turnaround tonight. Alas, it was not to be.

Finally

I reckon this unexpected, and almost heroic away-win will do us a world of good. Our next game is away against Swansea and there is every reason to play the same back-five and same ‘double DMs’ as tonight again. It would be great if Podolski returns to the team against The Jacks and Cazorla can replace Rosicky in the middle. I would start Giroud centrally again, but maybe give the Ox or Gervinho a start on the wing instead of Theo.

Tonight, Arsenal regained tremendous confidence and our reputation in Europe, and at home, has been restored a bit again. A real shame we did not make it through, but we simply left ourselves with too much to do after our disappointing home game against the Germans.

However, as this is a painful and necessary transitional year for Arsenal, it is victories like these that will help us to gradually get back to the very top again. A couple more players of real quality this summer and we should be able to go all the way.

Written by: TotalArsenal.

Nacho Monreal: arguably the best Left-Back we’ve had since Ashley Cole

February 28, 2013February 28, 2013TotalArsenal

During the January transfer window one thing was clear, Arsenal needed signings. More so, due to Kieran Gibbs’ unfortunate but rather inevitable (as we have come to expect) injury. The thought that we would have to depend on Andre Santos at left back for any amount of time was one that nobody who holds Arsenal dear was willing to entertain. Luckily though, Arsene Wenger was on the same wavelength as everyone else on this. He quickly raided Malaga for the second time in less than a year, and brought in Nacho Monreal.

I must admit I had never heard of him before, which is annoyingly typical of many Arsenal signings over the past few years (see Sagna, Vermaelen, Koscielny etc). The only consolation I held was that Malaga have emerged as one of the teams in Europe that seems to churn out world class talent on a constant basis. That said though, I still had my doubts and even youtube at the time did not have any comprehensive coverage of him. However due to the Gibbs’ injury, Santos ineptitude, and nature of the transfer (deadline day and all), I did not have to wait long to see him play. He made his debut in the fixture at home against StokeCity, 2 days after his arrival and boy what a performance he produced.

In whatever perspective you want to look at it, Nacho still comes out on top. First of all, this was a game where we had to improvise defensively following a last minute injury to Koscielny, so you wouldn’t have expected the back line to run with any sort of cohesion. Secondly, it was against Stoke (the premier league bullies). Thirdly, not only was this his debut, the transfer was so sudden and hurried that he hadn’t even said goodbye to his former teammates. He was still very much in transition. Yet despite all this, he put in a performance that wowed even the deepest sceptics around. From the first contribution he made in the game, it was clear that we had struck oil.

I can confidently say that Nacho is arguably the best left-back we’ve had (defensively) since Ashley Cole abandoned us for the blues. I have watched every game he’s played since he signed for us and his attributes are there for every one to see. The trait that sets him aside from the plethora of left-backs who’ve tried to succeed Ashley Cole, is his positional discipline. Nacho knows that he is a defender first and that forms the basis of his game. Even when he attacks, he has his system geared to tracking back in case our opponents counter attack. This is massive for us, because he knows when to go forward and when to hold his line at the back. As a result he has completely shut our opponents out on that left wing. Against Aston Villa, Cazorla who played on the left did not have to support him defensively even once. That is how good he is.

Another impressive attribute is his strength in the air. All I will say about this is that Nacho is 5’10 and he absolutely dominated the game against Stoke aerially. If that doesn’t speak for itself then maybe everything I have known since I evacuated my mother’s uterus is wrong, and Spurs are actually champions of Europe. Then there is his tackling, an area which he is decidedly outstanding.

Against Aston Villa there is a tackle he made on the left touch line (I can’t quite remember against who) to keep our attack alive. I was left in awe. I only saw such feats from Roberto Carlos. His ability to dispossess players on the tackle without committing fouls is positively shocking, to say the least. I am inclined to believe that that particular tackle earned him a place in goal.com’s team of the week.

Finally, his attacking threat: let us not forget that his assist earned us three points last weekend. I can’t yet say he is as good as Gibbs when going forward but Arsene seems to believe that this side of his game will come out eventually. Even if it does not, he still has earned the right to be our first choice number 3 even when Gibbs is fit. Nacho has turned the tables in the sense that in a position where we were woefully lacking, we now have two of the best in the league.

The cherry on the cake is that we acquired him for around 8.4 million pounds. That is about 2 million pounds more than we got Santos for. Incredible! Plus he only turned 27 recently so he still has a good 6-8 years of service to the Arsenal. Save for the signing of Cazorla, this is the first time Wenger has got it right in a while.

In times when we are in turmoil and constantly under siege, Nacho is one of the few things that remind us we are the Arsenal and not just some mid table team struggling to get by. With a few right moves in the market to complement him, we could build a team that will rein havoc on the likes of Spurs for years to come.

COME ON YOU GOONERS!!!

Written by: Marcus

Three wins out of last four: are Arsenal finally turning a corner?

February 4, 2013February 4, 2013TotalArsenal

It has been a roller coaster of a season for Arsenal characterized by inconsistency. We began the season on a high note, at some point even being the team with the best defensive statistics in the league. It was all bliss and celebration but before long, the team began to crumble. Losses against Chelsea, Schalke, Swansea and Man United, coupled with consecutive draws against Schalke (again) and Fulham, then Aston villa and Everton, saw Arsenal’s season engage in a downward spiral.

Gervinho, Mertesacker and Vermaelen had lost their early season form, Giroud was still finding his feet in the league, Wilshere and Sagna were fresh from injury, Rosicky and Diaby were still out and Walcott was still in the middle of his contract debacle. This meant that our best players were either injured, adapting, out of from or distracted. We lost ground on the leading pack and ultimately dropped out of the title race. The situation got so bad that at it began to look like we wouldn’t even finish fourth for the first time in a very long time.

Some fans began calling for Arsene Wenger’s head, but he retained his usual obstinate faith in his team and insisted that they would come good. Lately, however, it looks like Arsene may indeed be vindicated for his faith. Three wins and a draw in the last four games shows that the team may be beginning to put together a run that will see us get back in the champions league slots. We are five points adrift third spot, with a much more forgiving fixture list than those above us. We are beginning to display the kind of football that the world has become accustomed to seeing from the boys in red and white.

There are five particular players I would like to credit for this turn around: Wilshere, Walcott, Podolski, Giroud and Gibbs.

Wilshere has become the heartbeat and engine of the team, giving his absolute best even when the team is against the ropes (like in the first half against Chelsea). He defends, runs at players creates space for his team mates, and rips apart opposition defences with his incisive passing, constantly. Everyone is touting him as the next Arsenal and England captain, some even believing that this should be so immediately.

Walcott has become our most potent attacking threat and has become impossible to handle with his pace, first touch, combination play, movement and incredible finishing. He truly has matured.

Podolski continues to be our Mr. reliable with his goals, assists and defensive work on the left hand side of attack.

Giroud has really found his footing and is constantly finding the back of the net. His work rate, combination play, physical presence and predatory finishing have become too much for some to handle, and he still is getting better.

Gibbs (lately) has become our best defender. Both his defensive and attacking displays have really driven Arsenal to the form we all desire. He and Podolski have formed an incredible understanding on the left hand side.

Arsenal have began playing the kind of one touch football that makes me depressed every time there is an international break and I have to wait two weeks to watch them play. It began in that devastating 12 minute spell against West Ham where we absolutely destroyed them, scoring five goals in the process. That form has continued against Brighton, Liverpool and Stoke.

Our defence, however, was absolutely wanting against Brighton and Liverpool. Against Stoke, on the other hand, it was solid (granted we dominated the game in its entirety and Stoke aren’t known for their attacking prowess). I was particularly impressed with our new boy, Monreal’s defensive contribution. He is a remarkably astute defender, plus he has the ball skills of a winger. Not a bad buy, I must say. Mertesacker must also get some praise as he was our best center back. He dealt with crouch the whole game and this was key in keeping a clean sheet.

If you consider that players such as Rosicky and Diaby are fresh from injury, and will get better as games go by, and Gervinho’s displays at the AFCON are carrying the Ivory Coast, you realize that the prospect of finishing third is very real. Whether Arsenal can maintain this form is yet to be seen, but the initial signs are good.

We are out of the title race for sure, but we have a chance to go for the FA cup and with the belief, we could be the surprise the Champions league, like Chelsea did last year.

COME ON YOU GUNNERS!!!

Written by: Marcus

‘Nacho’s Anyone’? What this super signing will bring to Arsenal: in-depth analysis.

February 1, 2013February 1, 2013TotalArsenal

“What is important is that you bring in players who can strengthen your team, or you do nothing, you’re strong enough to do nothing. We could do with top quality, one more, but you have to find him. If I bring a normal player in, I give the club a problem.” – Arsene Wenger

There was much debate that the mighty Arsene Wenger would let us down yet again in the transfer window and that he would not reinforce the team with the necessary parts to at least qualify for Champions League next year. However, it appeared the old, wise man still had a trick up his sleeve and he deceived us all. At the 11^th hour of the January 31^st transfer deadline, Arsene perhaps pulled off the most significant coup in the January window: Malaga’s starting Left Back, Nacho Monreal.

Before you rush to proclaim that Chelsea did good business with Ba and Newcastle with Yanga-Mbiwa and Sissoko, you need to understand my criteria for rating Nacho as the highest quality signing. Nacho was one of the few transfers not subject to: 1) a buy-out clause or an expiring contract, 2) under performance at his respective club or 3) a falling out with either the manager or club. He’s also a Spanish International playing back-up to one of the best LBs in the world in Jordi Alba, and the whole Spanish squad itself is considered to represent the golden generation of football.

Nacho was a former product of struggling side Osasuna before making the first major move of his career to Malaga in 2011. Last season, Monreal out-dueled Eliseu for the starting LB role, and was an integral part of their surprising Champions League qualification and 4^th place finish in La Liga.

It was rumoured that he started learning English last year in preparation of a move to Arsenal this summer, and that our very own Santi played a huge role in persuading the Spanish International to join him at the Emirates.

However, the process was immediately sped up due to Kieran Gibbs’ injury yesterday. This short-term injury could end up being a blessing in disguise, since we had an immediate need for cover at LB and Nacho is widely considered to be the second best LB in La Liga by a host of Spanish papers. This is particularly impressive when you consider some of the LBs currently plying their trade in La Liga: Fabio Coentrao, Marcelo, Filipe Luis, Aly Cissoko, Adriano etc.

He has a relatively good track record for avoiding injuries and the only significant time he missed was two months in both 2008/09 (malleolar injury) and 2010/11 (meniscal laceration). This season he dealt with some back problems in October that kept him out for just over a month, but everything seems to be cleared up now.

I’ve had the pleasure of watching Nacho play with Malaga for a little over a year now and I truly believe we have bought a special player who is astute at both ends of the pitch. Defensively his positional play and awareness are good, he’s not afraid to get involved physically and is noted to be quite decent in aerial duels. Still, like most Spanish players, he is better known for his great ball control and the innate ability to play tiki taka football to escape pressure. Nacho has good pace and the stamina to run up and down the pitch for an entire game, with a penchant for good link up play with his forwards.

With that said, Nacho’s game is not flashy and he doesn’t have one particular skill that will blow you away. He doesn’t have blistering pace or slick dribbling skills; he’s a well composed, steadying presence at the back that Arsenal will be able to rely on game after game. His tackling and ability to close down on players one on one is quite outstanding, as he’s had an 83% tackle success rate this year, compared to Kieran Gibbs’ 69%. Nacho has averaged 2.1 tackles and 2.1 interceptions per game, while also contributing 1 goal, 2 assists, 0.8 shots/game and 0.4 key passes/game in 14 appearances for Malaga in La Liga this year.

In his Osasuna days, he really had to work on his crossing and delivery since the aerial attack was the focal point of their offense (Osasuna’s playing style is the closest thing to StokeCity in La Liga). Despite Nacho’s statistics showing that he has only successfully completed 6 of 25 crosses this year, one must bear in mind that Malaga’s attack is focused around playing the ball along the ground, with a balanced approach down the wings and through the middle. I suspect that Nacho’s crossing ability has been under utilized at Malaga and believe that Giroud can be the immediate beneficiary of his early or late crossing ability; now that Nacho will be given the license to do so more often.

There has been a lot of praise about the blossoming partnership between Podolski and Gibbs, and fans were particularly concerned when Gibbs went down with a hamstring injury for the second time yesterday. I see no reason why the partnership cannot continue, and most likely improve, with Nacho at the LB position – his passing is more accurate and his defensive play is stronger since he was brought up through the ranks as a genuine fullback. One must bear in mind that Gibbs was originally a winger who was converted to a fullback and this is the cause for his occasional mental lapses in defensive zone coverage.

One might wonder what the signing of Nacho means to the long-term future of Kieran Gibbs. Fortunately, Nacho is not seen as a long-term replacement for Gibbs since he will turn 27 this February, and will bring some much needed competition, experience and depth to the LB position. Nacho will act as an invaluable mentor and his natural talents in crossing, positional play and technical ability can be passed on to Gibbs.

Gibbs’ injury history has been well documented and this will give him the opportunity to not be so heavily relied upon, and the necessary rest to prevent injuries. However, Nacho is cup tied with Malaga and will not be able to feature for Arsenal when they take on Bayern Munich on February 19^th. Luckily, Gibbs may be back to full fitness by then and Arsene can ensure that when he does return, he will not be unnecessarily rushed back into the first team for both Champions League and domestic games.

Going forward this purchase will undoubtedly be a massive boost for our team and perhaps reignite the play of our own little creative wizard, Santi, who formed a fantastic partnership down the left with Nacho at Malaga last year. It’s also a signal of intent to the rest of the Premier League that Arsenal is still capable of attracting top quality talent and actually has the financial resources at its disposal. Don’t be fooled by the relatively modest £8 million transfer fee involved with the purchase of Nacho Monreal; Arsenal were just fortunate to once again capitalize on the dire financial situation plaguing Malaga CF and most of Spain.

Here’s to wishing that Nacho has a successful Arsenal career and that his transition into our squad is seamless!

Written By: The Gooner