Koscielny – Page 2 – Bergkampesque

Plucky, Plucky Arsenal – Szczesny, Koz and Mertesacker win us three points

November 23, 2013November 23, 2013TotalArsenal

I missed the first 25 minutes or so of today’s top;three game the Saints. So apparently, I missed our best period of football; but I don’t mind as I liked what I saw in the 65 remaining minutes of the game.

A clean sheet, a mature performance, scoring the second goal to kill off any remaining threat, and looking in control for most of the game was music to my eyes. How long have we been waiting for this sort of maturity: not playing well in terms of attacking football but just being able to see a game out professionally? That is what champions-to-be need.

I thought as a team we worked well, even though one or two individual performances were not at their usual level. But the real strength of a team is measured by its ability to compensate for any individual blips in form, and today we saw good evidence of just that.

You have to give some credit to Southampton, though. It takes some guts to come to the Emirates and just play their football, and at times they dominated us with very good combination and pressing football. In the end, two avoidable mistakes cost them badly and luckily they had these against us…. The Chavs will face a determined, highly motivated team – of that I have no doubt.

Being totally honest about our performance, I felt our midfield missed some necessary cohesion and fluency in their passing. We have some distance to go in terms of getting the likes of Cazorla, Ozil, Arteta, Ramsey and Wilshere to fully gel with each other. But the good thing is we have a solid defence, and against a team like Southampton we naturally sit back a bit more and keep things solid. At home this is not a bad thing as it makes us less vulnerable to counterattacks. In away games we do this regularly and it’s one of the reasons we have done so well on our travels.

Our back-five performance was very impressive and something special is growing between these players. All have made progress this season, even the wily Sagna. And all five players have both strengths and one or two weaknesses, but somehow they have found a way of maximizing their combined strengths and minimizing the weaknesses.

BFG slowness and lack of ‘turnability’ is compensated for by Sagna and Koz’s speed and last-ditch tackling ability. Koz’s occasional hot-headedness needs the BFG’s organisational and calming skills, etc etc.

But special praise should go to the triangle of Szczesny, Koz and Mertesacker, who were as good as impenetrable today. Arteta did not have one of his best games against the Saints, but neither was he awful. Nevertheless, Koz and Mertesacker coped very well with any threat through the middle, which is considerable as there is a lot of strength in Southampton’s midfield.

The team playing deep really seems to suit Koz and Mertesacker, and if they are in control it really helps Szczesny to stay calm and composed as well. I reckon, other than the hard work of the entire team, that’s what won us the game today. They also worked well together when defending corners and free-kicks which was good to see.

If we are going to win the league we will need a solid defence – a solid back five really – and the boys did us proud today. And I reckon there is still more to come.

It is great to see the team bounce back from the Manure defeat straightaway, and that despite not having had much time together during the latest interlull.

Three more points and a more solid position at the top, and plenty of evidence that this team has backbone and belief. Bring on the Frenchies – OGAAT! 🙂

Written by: TotalArsenal.

Mozart shows his metal – BFG-Koz solid – Rambo’s knock-out – great team performance

November 7, 2013TotalArsenal

Another Rambo Knock-Out by our Welsh Wolf :) — Another Rambo Knock-Out by our Welsh Wolf 🙂

Dortmund – Arsenal analysis and afterthoughts

After lacking a bit of luck a fortnight ago at the Home of Football, last night we definitely had it back on our side. As expected, both teams played chessball in the first half in which all players moved along like chess pieces to deny the other pieces space, and at the same time desperately trying to gain some themselves.

We defended really well as a team, give or take a moment or two. If you watched the simple demolition by Dortmund of Stuttgart on Friday, you will agree with me that our team did really well to deny die Gelb-Schwarzen space and time on the ball in the area where it could hurt us. To see our team play with such discipline and maturity, AND with such sacrifice to ‘our style’, was very satisfying. They still managed to create a few very good chances, but mainly from set-pieces, and it is fair to say we rode our luck at times.

I felt our weakest area was our left side of defence. BD are very dangerous from their right side of attack and they put a lot of pressure on Gibbs, Koz and our ‘DM’s from that area. Cazorla did his best to help out, but defending is not his strongest point and a fit Jack Wilshere would have been the better option last night.

The first part of the second half was more of the same. As in the first half, our attackers did not seem able to hold on to the ball for long in the areas where they could hurt Dortmund. We were not able to play close enough together to play our triangles and move forward with possession and sharp passing, and this tells us all about how good Dortmund are: they forced this on to us with their chasing and excellent positioning, which not many teams are able to do.

However, gradually the game opened up and the chess-positioning lessened, and we started to play some better midfield/attacking football. Arsenal’s first, and directly deadly, chance of the game came out of nothing. Ozil floated in a ball towards Giroud; the Frenchman won the aerial battle and laid the ball off to Rambo – who scores when he wants – and he wanted it badly: 1-0 to the good guys and game on!

And boy did it take the bounce out of Germans – Scheiße! hahaha 🙂

http://d3j5vwomefv46c.cloudfront.net/photos/large/775095792.gif

But Dortmund were not allowed back into the game by the collective ‘concordia’ of Arsenal. They did manage to produce a few half-decent chances but so did we, and it could as easily have been 2-0 as 1-1 at that stage of the game. Ramsey had a good opportunity to score a brace, after a perfect cross from our multi-functional CF; and the BFG launched himself in the air towards the ball like a B52 Bomber from an Ozil cross from the sidelines, but just could not reach far enough for what would have been a certain goal.

The team battled on and everyone gave what they had left in them to secure the win. Every single player deserves praise, but I would like to bring to light our CB-pairing and Rosicky’s performances.

No team will ever win something meaningful without a solid CB partnership, and the Koz-BFG partnership is developing into something special with now three clean sheets in a row. They are not fully there yet, and there will be a new test for them at Old Toilet, but boy are we lucky to have them playing together right now.

And then there was Rosicky, of whom I said he seldom performs well two games in a row. Yesterday, he proved me wrong with a MoTM performance against his former club after having played against the Chavs and Pool in an eight day period. TR7 was absolutely brilliant in all areas of the pitch and his defensive play and ‘professional meanness’ were outstanding. He put his body on the line for Arsenal and gave his all, and it is this hunger, passion for the club, talent and experience that make him such a valuable player for Arsenal. I hope he’ll stay fit and at Arsenal for a long time, and develop into our very own Ryan Giggs.

All in all a fantastic, and much needed, win in Europe and TOTT. These boys are making us SO PROUD. Same eleven against the Mancs…

Written by: TotalArsenal.

Who turned Arsenal into EPL title contenders?

October 8, 2013October 8, 2013TotalArsenal

Well, it is not just Ozil!

Over the last month or so, ever since we made Mesut Ozil our record signing for the club, not a day goes by without some sort of news or article regarding how Ozil has transformed the fortunes of a struggling team and how we have been taken from being consistently ‘in crisis’ to ‘oozing class’.

Now don’t get me wrong, I’m loving the attention that having a true world best (and he is the BEST play maker in the world, period!) brings to Arsenal, but it made me think that it should not be taken for granted that a solid backbone of a team existed in which Ozil has seamlessly slotted in. Cast your mind back to right before Ozil’s signing, the loss against Aston Villa. Hell had descended and it seemed to be the end. Apparently Arsene had “dithered” and “dilly dallied” and the result was only one free transfer and a seemingly long barren season up ahead.

The point I’d raise here is that we still had a good squad, a squad that had topped the table based on points collected since Jan 2013 till the end of the last season. Arsene had sorted out our best defensive partnership, he had sorted our Rambo’s position and form, Rosicky was back playing at a good level, and Jack was fitter than he had been in the last few seasons (the last one is still relative, since I personally don’t think Jack is as fit as he can be, but at least he has been able to get a solid preseason behind him). Tactically, Arsene had also more or less figured out a good way to utilize our best players and it was working. We were solid and we were winning.

Going into the summer, the need seemed to be a CF and a DM in priority, followed by perennial need for a GK and CD. The need was also to get rid of the fat of the squad. A number of people pointed out at this point that a couple of good signings would transform our squad from being solid to being contenders. Unfortunately as the summer progressed and the frustrations increased, the narrative changed back to Arsenal having a weak squad, loads of money in the bank and Arsene having no clue. Bring on the Villa loss and we were a club at war with itself.

Mesut Ozil wasn’t what we needed, but he was that someone who Arsene has always talked about, the player who improves a position, and in turn the squad, and no doubt he has. He has the Va Va Voom that we loved to talk about when Thierry used to score goals for us. Add to the Ozil signing the genius signing of Flamini and we have a central midfield core that any team in the world can be fearful about. More than anything, Ozil changed the narrative around the club, gave the fans and players confidence and showed the world that we meant business. But let’s take a look at some of the players he’s joined in… just so we can remind ourselves of our squad!

In defense we have Szczesny, he who was once touted as the most promising GK since the days of Seaman and Lehmann. After going through a bit of a self searching phase, he began to reach his best towards the end of the last season, and has begun this season brilliantly (barring the Villa horror show). Behind him we have Fabianski and Viviano, good solid backups.

Then we have the indomitable pairing of Kos and Per, both phenomenal defenders who compliment each other’s game brilliantly. I would go as far as to say that they’d be up there as the best defensive pairing in the EPL right now, Per with his uncanny reading of the game and ability to organize, and Kos with his pace and tackling. We have TV on the bench, the club captain who is rearing to prove himself again! What has been heartening has been the fact that TV has been quite happy to take his chance when it comes. I had for a while thought that maybe he may want to move on (there was some interest from Barcelona at some point) if he couldn’t have games here, but I’m glad he’s still with the club.

Gibbs, Monreal, Sagna and Jenks; four absolutely terrific players who compete with each other and the result is an improving standard of play. Monreal in particular, I feel is hugely responsible for pushing Gibbs to be better than he had been. Sagna is a rock, I hope he gets a new contract. The only weak link (if I can call it that) is Jenks, who still needs to work on his game in order to be a regular starter, but the boy has great potential.

Centrally we have terrific options, and even before Ozil we had fantastic options. We have versatile midfielders who can play a variety of positions in Arsene’s 4-2-3-1 formation. We have Rambo in the form of his life (the boy really deserves all the praise he’s getting), we have Rosickly, Santi and Ozil, all players who could be playmakers or drift in from wide centrally to make the killer pass or even play off the CF. We have Arteta and Flamini, the passer and the tackler, and we have Jack, who is slowly getting back to his best. If this was not enough, we have Theo and Ox who can give us pace from the wings, and Poldi who will score goals coming in from either flank. Oh yeah, we also have Gnabry!

Up front we have Giroud, who last season I said would be a superstar to anyone who would listen, and he is showing his class. The thing that I love about Giroud is his sheer hunger to succeed and to help and to score goals. He wants to be the greatest at the club and he is working hard to get there. You couldn’t ask for more. His hold up play and his finishing have improved fantastically this season. As back up to Giroud we are perhaps a little short, but we do have Theo and Poldi who could potentially play in that position, as well as Apkom, Sanogo and Bentdner. Ideally if Sanogo had been fit I would have loved to see him start the Capital One Cup matches. Don’t forget it was the same competition in which Giroud found his feet (or head) last season.

But the thing that I love most about the squad (pre and post Ozil) has been the togetherness, the camaraderie and the hunger to succeed. It’s such a pleasure to see Instagram or twitter photos of players celebrating together. Poldi, despite being injured, seems to be the chief cheerleader. The big players such as Per, Flamini and Arteta seem to be stepping up to guide the younger players. Even TV in a recent interview alluded to the fact that a club captain can do much even if he’s not playing.

So going forward I would love for this bunch to succeed, because in a long time I finally see the fruits of a long barren hard period coming to the fore. Win or lose, they will try, of that I’m sure, and as a fan I could not ask for anything more.

Let’s hope we have a terrific November and come Christmas we are still in a position to fight for the title.

Would love to know what you guys think!

Written by: Umair Naeem

http://umairn.wordpress.com http://www.facebook.com/UmairNaeemOfficial

http://www.twitter.com/umairn

Flamini or Jack, Koz to shackle Fletcher, Ozil’s debute? Sunderland pre-view

September 13, 2013TotalArsenal

Intro:

Welcome back BK’ers. Arsenal returns after another typically boring interlull. Just to recap:

Our players departed to various corners of the globe two weeks ago. Unfortunately for us the Earth is not flat so Arsene’s attempt to send Bendtner off the edge of it failed. The Great Dane did however inform Arsene that not only is he the world’s greatest striker, but after conquering England, he and his fellow Vikings have overtaken Europe after storming the shores on massive flotillas; and now he’s asked the kit designers to change his name to ‘Bendtner-the-Great’!

We beat our knuckle dragging rivals 1-0 thanks to this goal by GIROUD!!!!

Today we lock horns with Paolo Di Canio’s Sunderland. Although they’ve lost their past seven league games, Sunderland have had a decent record against us in recent seasons. They knocked us out of the FA Cup two seasons ago, we drew 0-0 on opening day last season, and we scrapped over the line with a 0-1 win in our last meeting. They are a different team this season, though. They’ve lost Mignolet and Sessegnon, but gained Mannone (best of luck, just not against us), Liverpool striker Borini, and Napoli defender Dossena.

Let’s get in to it shall we?

Missing in Action:

Arsenal: Podolski (Hamstring), Vermaelen (Back), Ox (Knee), Arteta (Thigh), Diaby (Knee), Rosicky (Hip), Zelalem (shame really, I would have liked to see him make a cameo against West Brom). Thankfully, Walcott is okay to play after he escaped injury following a tackle from Ukrainian defender Oleksandr Kucher. Sanogo will also miss the game (heaven forbid we need to chase victory in this one).

Sunderland: Lee Cattermole, Craig Gardner, Phillip Bardsley, Connor Wickham will all miss this fixture through injury. Wes Brown will most likely miss this one but with O’Shea missing due to suspension he may need to suit up.

Predicted Line-up:

Once again this should be best the available one. Ozil will make his debut in place of Rosicky. Santi will start out wide but drift in every now and then like he usually does with great success. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if Flamini started in place of Jack, in fact I’d probably prefer if given Jack’s midweek involvement. The Gibbs/Nacho LB mystery still remains. I prefer Nacho in away games but I think Gibbs will start. If Ozil was settled in I’d be adventurous and go with Gnabry out wide instead of Santi, however, we need to assert ourselves early this season so a safety first approach should be in play.

Previous Encounters:

Sunderland v Arsenal 0-1

Arsenal took the lead at the 36’ mark thanks to a beautiful strike from our mighty Spaniard Santi Cazorla. Late replacement Jenkinson was sent off after 62’ thanks to a second yellow. After that we had to dig our heels in and fight to keep the Black Cats at bay. This was the game we first saw the partnership of Mertz and Sagna. Boy did Sagna do well on short notice.

See Santi’s goal here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfIE6tPykhU

Arsenal v Sunderland 0-0

A stubborn Sunderland could not be broken down in this one. Resolute defending and a shocking miss from new boy Giroud saw the game finish goalless. It’s fair to say we’ve seen better football matches than that one.

Form Guide: Arsenal: : WWWWL Sunderland: LWDLL

Four wins in a row and we are travelling nicely at the minute. A win against Tottenham should see spirits high in the Arsenal camp, not to mention the buzz created by Ozil.

Sunderland is yet to pick up a league win this season (2 losses and a draw). They did progress in the capital one cup after trailing by 2 goals against League One outfit MK Dons.

This week I’ve dipped into the Arsenal Archive and pulled out this video clip. It’s a collection of Tony Adams’ favourite FA Cup moments. Enjoy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvczIuCn5YM

One to Watch:

Ex-ManCity footballer Adam Johnson will need to be shackled in this one. Despite the fact that I don’t rate him highly, he is still an incredibly gifted footballer. If Gibbs or Nacho give him space he could fire in some bullet crosses, and with Fletcher hovering in and around the area he should not be given an inch.

Club record signing Mesut Ozil will have all eyes on him today. Arsenal fans will be sitting on the edge of their seats, eyes popping out every time he goes near the ball. On the other hand, journalists will be sharpening their pencils as they prepare to label him a flop if he doesn’t break the game apart. All I know is I’m bloody excited. If he scores, Arsenal fans the world over could develop a repetitive strain injury in the wrist…fear not though we have two!

Key-Match up:

Steven Fletcher vs Laurent Koscielny

Last season Fletcher was Sunderland’s key signing in the transfer window. After a reasonably large sum of money was exchanged for the former Wolves striker, Fletcher shot down his critics by scoring 5 goals in 4 games. This won him the Barclay’s player of the month for September. Last week marked his first match back from injury and he did it in style scoring against CrystalPalace after coming off the bench (albeit in a loss). I don’t know what it is about Fletcher but he just seems to be one of those strikers that can make you pay if given the smallest sniff (almost Bent-esque). Koscielny along with his partner in crime big Mertz will have to be on guard for this one. I have no doubt ‘Bosscielny’ is up for the challenge though, he’s fast becoming a world class defender. If he played for Bayern or Barca he’d probably already be labelled one.

Key Stat: Last season: Koscielny finished second in the league for aerial duels won (only 2% behind the monster Samba, 6% more than Cahill, and 14% more than Vermaelen). Have a look at his tackle and interception stats:

Pre-Match Finger:

This week’s finger goes out to…International breaks! I’m sick of them! Yes I know Australia is useless at football (6-0 to Brazil…way to go guys) but there are just too many negatives. We at Arsenal know better than most that when our players jet-set across the globe not everyone will come back in one piece. If I decide to watch an International match I’ll do it to keep an eye out for our players. I don’t care if they score 6 goals! I’d rather them sit on the sideline or hover near the corner flag staying away from the action. With our thin squad the last thing I want to hear is Ozil/Santi/Kozzer has come back injured so we’re going to have to rub horse placenta on him. Arsene must lose plenty of sleep when his players fly the coop.

My next bone to pick with International games is their timing! We build up a head of steam, we’re choc full of confidence, 4 wins on the trot then it’s “I’ll see you in two weeks, Arsene.” Worst of all the injuries and roadblocks seem to happen during friendlies, cheers FIFA we didn’t need Ozil for 6 months anyway. Lastly the controversy; every time there’s an international round something happens that takes away from the game itself. We might care a bit more if we didn’t have to witness unreliable refs, diving, handball decisions not called, and worst of all…racism.

Then once in a lifetime a miracle happens…Australia make it past the group stages of the World Cup. A nation unites and everyone screams “Lucas Neill is the best defender in the WORLD!!!!” (funny thing is, Liverpool actually fell for it!). It’s a change from the usual “Soccer is a game for girls: they’re weak, they dive etc.” Then Australia gets knocked out by Italy thanks to a dive. It’s okay though, because it’s an excuse for the whole country to get drunk and cheer for a game no one normally cares about. The next day it’s “who cares, soccer is shit anyway.” To be continued…if Australia become half decent again.

As for Zidane, you can have a finger too! Suggesting Ozil left Real Madrid because he “lacked the will to fight”…buzz off you imbecile, perhaps he should go around head butting players then?! Although, I would have been a lot happier if he head-butted Bale and Ronaldo before he departed the club.

Pre-Match pat on the back:

This week’s pat on the back is going to Jack Wilshere for copping the criticism he received after his display against Ukraine. He was subjected to some rough tackling during the game (when isn’t he?) but the backlash from the game has been completely ridiculous. It’s the English media’s fault not Jacks. They’ve built him up to be Jesus Mk II.

But when he has a bad game he’s no longer the ‘Super-kid’ he was once heralded as; instead, they start questioning his ability or wonder if his injuries have left him as a shadow of his former self. The good thing about Jack, though, is we know he can shake it off and come back fighting. He’ll dust off those injury cobwebs and make those who doubted him look very senseless.

‘Ask the opposition’ returns again this week. It is designed to get some friendly banter from our opposition fans and get their insight for the match ahead. This week the answers were kindly provided by Adam from www.a-love-surpreme.com and Paolo’s Pecs (a Sunderland moderator for www.not606.com . Let’s see what they’ve written for us this week:

1) How do you rate your transfer window (ins and outs)?

ADAM: There’s been a massive turnaround over the summer, with 14 new signings and 7 first-team departures. Yet the transfer window overall has been greeted with a mixed reception as some of the deals feel like they are desperate and only short term solutions to the problems. In saying that, Jozy Altidore looks promising as does Italian international Emanuele Giaccherini and Czech right-back Ondřej Čelůstka. On the other hand, it was sad to see Danny Rose return to Tottenham and Simon Mignolet’s departure is like watching your girlfriend leave you and yet still be on good terms.

PAOLO: I think we have found some good talent, but I do worry that some of the lads are only a slight improvement, when with the financial backing we have we should be going forward in leaps. We’ve lost a little of our pre-season optimism already, Cabral looked superb v Fulham then hasn’t figured, Altidore looks a handful but not a natural finisher, funnily, the last minute unknown Celutska looks a real gem, as does Diakite when used.

2) Can Vito Mannone fills Mignolet’s shoes between the sticks?

ADAM: It looks like Mannone will be providing competition for Keiren Westwood this season who’s waited patiently for a run in the first team. Mannone looked decent in pre-season however neither him nor Westwood will be as good as Mignolet in my opinion.

PAOLO: Not on any level. I had a chat with Vito in Tesco (bit surreal) and he seems a decent lad, I reserve judgement on him, but I think replacing Mig will take years, we are all seeing his impact at Anfield already.

Mignolet should be an Arsenal player, simple as that, even we said it ‘he should go to Arsenal, Liverpool are not good enough for him’. We’re not a bitter bunch at all…

3) You’ve had a slow start to the season, how do you think Paolo Di Canio he travelling? Will he take you places?

ADAM: I think Paolo will be either be a huge success (Europe) or we’ll be in a relegation dogfight, there’s no in between with him. Hopefully it will be a success but at the moment it’s not looking good.

PAOLO: Jesus, how long is your column… There are minor divides already, I’m still all for, love the natural enthusiasm and agree that discipline is needed. Some say he’s OTT, and there points are justified, some say he is short tactically, and we have failed to impact 2 of 3 games.

I do think he’s learning, and I do think, given patience, he will get us moving. How far? Top 10 regulars maybe, not this season though.

4) What player/position is your weakest?

ADAM: We lack creativity in central midfield although hopefully the signing of Ki Sung-Yueng will change that. We also look very light defending set-pieces as there’s not much physical presence in the team.

PAOLO: Centre mid, we can’t get a balance and lack creativity. Seb, who I like, is not worth his shirt at the minute, he is not strong enough or quick enough in the head to play CM.

5) Which Arsenal player would you like and why?

ADAM: Laurent Koscielny or Mesut Özil would be nice but realistically I’m a big fan of Rosicky and he’d be perfect for us, given our need for an attacking centre-midfielder. Despite smashing a penalty over against us a few years ago, his composure, long shots and determination to come back from a long injury have always impressed me.

PAOLO: Cazorla, driving force, creativity. We are desperate for that. I lived in Marbella for 3 years, watched Santi many times, and the man is a magician at times. Top lad too, used to just turn up at local schools and kick ball about with kids. His son, supposedly, is ridiculously talented, aged 5 or 6 or whatever. Sign him up!

6) Which player/position do you feel is our weakest?

ADAM: Arsenal had arguably one of the tightest defences ever under George Graham but Arsene Wenger’s era has been plagued with defensive frailties. Plus, there’s very little cover at the back as Sagna while playing well there so far isn’t a natural CB and Thomas Vermaelen is struggling for form. Arsenal don’t seem to like it when teams are rough and physical against them either although that is slowly changing now.

PAOLO: I think you lack a genuine holding midfielder, and think both of your wing backs can be got at. CB I think you have good players, but none of them perfectly complement each other.

7) Özil, will he live up to the hype?

ADAM: He made a very successful transition from the Bundesliga to La Liga and plays well at International level so he should be a huge success; I just hope he struggles on his debut!

PAOLO: Yes, and then some. Phenomenal natural talent, if he is half a Bale, I’m a fit blonde. He, Santi, Jack one midfield? I will be covering my eyes a lot on Saturday.

8) What is your prediction for the match?

ADAM: We have to put on a good performance eventually and that may be due against Arsenal. We have a decent record against you at home as well so (as long as Özil isn’t at his best) I’m going for 1-1.

PAOLO: I’m an eternal optimist, you have to be following Sunderland. 3-0 Arsenal…

Prediction:

I think we’ll account for Sunderland pretty easy. They have a very unsettled squad at the moment, and while we also have a plethora of injuries our squad seems pretty settled. I think Ozil will be a handful and I look forward to seeing both he and Santi working in tandem. I’m going to go with a very solid 0-3 victory, with Giroud scoring a brace early and Santi getting on the score sheet late.

For this week’s psychic prediction I contacted ‘Eagle Star’ again (he thinks I write for le-grove so if things go sour BK will not suffer his magical wrath. Terry may suffer from more warts on his pecker. But it’s uncertain whether that can be attributed to magic, or just the ‘dark arts’ strip club he works at on weekends). Here are his responses:

Oz: Will Arsenal dispatch Sunderland this week?

Eagle Star: Thank you for coming back. Here for some more free predictions huh?! After our last discussion I watched the Tottenham game and I must say Arsenal played well. I’m seeing a 0-2 victory.

Oz: sounds good. Our new signing Ozil is going to debut in this one, how will go?

Eagle Star: I think he’ll come close to scoring.

Oz: Now you predicted we’d sign 4 players after the Tottenham game, what happened to the other two?

Eagle Star: As I keep telling that pest James Bond Arsenal tried to but couldn’t close.

Oz: So you’re JB’s insider?

Eagle Star: ….I’ve said too much, see you next week Oz.

What is your prediction?

Will Ozil make a dream debut?

Can Mertesacker and Kozzer keep Fletcher at bay?

Written by: Oz Gunner

Szczesny commands, Per & Kos top class, Giroud a cut above, Flamini the grinder: player ratings!

September 1, 2013September 1, 2013TotalArsenal

Togetherness has no price tag! With thanks to The Telegraph for photo — Togetherness has no price tag! With thanks to the Telegraph for photo

So 107 million pounds later we are still better than the spuds…Anyway straight to business, the player ratings.

Szczesny (8.0) – I have to say today he looked like the keeper we want to have between the sticks. Commanded his area expertly, fantastic communication with his defenders and made vital saves that made sure that three points remained at the Emirates. Top performance.

Gibbs (6.0) – By his standards he had an average game. Didn’t have much in him going forward and struggled a bit against Townsend. That said, he won his fair share of duels against him and slowly settled into the game as it wore on, especially with the introduction of Lamela. Finished the game strongly.

Per (7.5) – Powerful display by our BFG. Commanded the skies with his height, read the game well to make vital interceptions and most of all, controlled the game from the back. We now see why he has the armband albeit for now.

Kos (7.5) – As we have come to expect from the French man, top class display. Managed to keep Soldado out of the game and even managed to cover for Gibbs when he bombed forward or lost the ball. At the end, was at the heart of that fantastic Arsenal defence which stifled out the frustrated Spurs.

Jenkinson (6.5) – Was a surprise inclusion but he did put in a shift at right back. Showed good tackling but struggled a bit against the strength of Chadli in the opening stages. Settled as the game wore on.

Wilshere (5.0) – Was taken off before half time because he is ‘ill’ and it showed. Wasn’t his normal energetic self but did manage to carve out some decent chances. Hope he has a quick recovery over the international break.

Ramsey (7.5) – He really is coming of age. Energetic display all round, showing that right now no one is as committed to the cause as he is. Chased down every single ball and was always looking to instigate attacks. He needs to work on his final balls and decision making in the final third but other than that, wonderful performance.

Rosicky (6.5) – Put in a sublime performance, always looking to run at players and play dangerous balls behind the defence. Picked up a yellow card with a stupid challenge on Capoue though.

Cazorla (7.5) – Was his usual majestic self, always looking dangerous when on the ball. It is obvious that his technical ability was a class above everyone else. His movement was a bit subdued though, as a result of being played on the wing. Took two dangerous free kicks with the second one agonizingly close to making it 2-0.

Walcott (7.0) – His pace behind the defender was always a constant threat and this paid off when he swung in a low cross for Giroud to slot home. Would have piled more misery if it wasn’t for the outstanding Hugo Lloris.

Giroud (8.0) – Man of the match for me. Continued his goal scoring exploits making it 3 goals in 4 games with a wonderfully poked finish from Walcott’s cross that fooled everyone. Showed fantastic skill, composure and movement to score the goal. His work rate overall was amazing, despite the fact that we played a conservative game in the second half, making him a secluded figure upfront. Still won his aerial duels and chased down players. Needs to work on his pace on the ball. Sometimes his mind is sharp but his execution lets him down.

Flamini (6.5) – Looked like he lacks match fitness but still put in a decent performance. Made an interception that would have led to a goal chance if Ramsey hadn’t rushed his decision making. Received a yellow card for a crunching tackle on Paulinho.

Monreal (6.0) – Came on for Rosicky and should have put away a chance from a Walcott shot that was spilled towards him by Lloris. Otherwise was solid defensively and helped us see out the game.

Sagna N/A – Came on very late for Walcott. Didn’t have much time to influence the game though he made some important aerial clearances at the end to see out the result.

For me the most eye catching thing about our win was the collective team display. Everybody worked hard for each other tirelessly and gave nothing away.

It is always a good day when the Spurs kneel before our superiority. COYG!!!

Written by: Marcus

Arsenal – Fenerbahce: Koz for BFG, Jack for Rosicky – No blue shorts please!

August 26, 2013August 26, 2013TotalArsenal

Can Ollie make it four in four, or even more?! :) — Can Ollie make it four in four, or even more?! 🙂

After months of no meaningful football, the games are coming thick and fast now. You could argue the 2^nd leg against Fenerbahce is no longer meaningful with Arsenal having scored three times and conceding not a single goal in Istanbul last week, but that would be complacent.

The CL games – even the pre-qualification ones – attract big corporate customers to the ground and they want value for money. Therefore, it comes as no surprise to me that Wenger wants to play a very strong side tomorrow. The squad is also not strong enough to give a large number of first-teamers a break and yet feel comfortable we’ll get through.

Wenger has said he will not be making many changes – not more than one or two. Let’s hope this does not backfire on him, as quite a few players could do with a rest in order to avoid fatigue/injury so early on in the season. On the other hand, I can understand Wenger wants to build further on the mini-momentum his team has gathered, and if the team can do the job within the fist sixty minutes, he can afford to substitute a few players late on.

Predicted Team:

I reckon, Koz will return in order to give one of the CB’s a rest and the BFG, but also stand-in CB Sagna, could really do with one. My guess is that Arsene will rest the German and play Sagna next to Koz.

In midfield, I reckon Arsene will play Jack – who will definitely start tomorrow – next to Ramsey in the double-DM pivot, and play Santi in the hole.

Other than that, I don’t expect any changes in the team; although, it is possible that Gibbs will get a rest with Nacho starting. But the young Brit is playing very well right now and Wenger might give him another game to build further on his fine form.

I would have loved to see the likes of Akpom, Zelalem, Gnabry, Frimpong or Eisfeld play tomorrow, but other than one or two late substitute appearances I don’t think we’ll see much of them tomorrow.

Let’s get the job done quickly and fingers crossed for no further injuries. And please, no blue shorts but nice, pristine white ones! 😉

COYRRG – Another year of CL footie is beckoning! 🙂

Written by: TotalArsenal.

Keeping Sagna, TV and Koz is paramount – time to show our class!

June 5, 2013June 5, 2013TotalArsenal

I have been reading ‘What money can’t buy’ by Michael J. Sandel, a normally rather dry and far too serious book for the football blogging world. It explores the moral limits of market thinking, and one of the subjects it covers has always intrigued me: intrinsic versus extrinsic motivation in people. This, in my view, is a subject of great importance to Arsenal football club.

Sandel gives a number of interesting examples of how money sometimes kills something that is far more important than free market transactions: moral responsibility and intrinsic motivation.

I would like to highlight two of these, and please bear with me as the link with Arsenal will be made eventually.

The first one is with regards to ‘donation day’ at a high school in Israel. During this day students go door-to-door to collect money for charity. An experiment was done by a couple of economists to determine the effect of financial incentives on the students’ motivation. The students were divided into three groups: one group was given a brief motivational speech about the importance of the cause and sent on its way; the second and third group were given the same speech but also offered a monetary reward based on the amount they collected – 1% and 10% respectively. The rewards would not be deducted from the charitable donations; they would come from a separate source.

The unpaid students collected 55% more in donations than those who were offered 1%; and 9% more than those offered 10%.

The second one is regarding a location for storing Switzerland’s nuclear waste. One location designated as a potential nuclear waste site was the small mountain village of Wolfenschiessen, in central Switzerland. Economist surveyed the residents before an official referendum was due, and 51% said they would accept the waste site being built in their community. Their sense of duty for the greater good appeared to be bigger than the concerns about the risks.

The economists than offered a financial incentive: what if the Swiss parliament proposed to build the nuclear waste facility in their community and offered to compensate each resident with an annual monetary payment – a considerable amount: how many would then favour it?

The result: support went down from 51% to 25% and increasing the monetary payment did not make any difference.

These examples show two things to me: people are motivated by things like wanting to do good, public duty, and pride; money is not always the one and only factor when trying to achieve the best possible outcome/ changing people’s behaviour.

In the premier league we have gradually started to accept that spending lots of money on fees and salaries is the only way for clubs to be able to keep hold of their players and attract new ones. At Arsenal, we have had a number of players who left us because they simply could earn more money somewhere else and, to some extent, because they believed they had a better chance of winning silverware at their new clubs.

A football career is relatively short and players will want to maximise their income as much as possible. Although most players who left Arsenal recently were already multi-millionaires, I understand and respect that, however mercenary of them, they left Arsenal in order to better themselves. And if Van Judas had not deceived us so much with his faked love for the club and ‘I am a Gunner-for-life’ rubbish, I would already have forgiven him.

However, there is something else in football too and this has to do with pride, with the desire to leave something behind for generations, with becoming football-immortal. The pockets of Adebayor, Nasri, Van Judas, etc might be bursting with shiny gold coins, and they can even show a medal to their friends and family, but immortal they are now very unlikely to become. Bergkamp is immortal, Henry is immortal, Adams is immortal, etc, and not just at Arsenal: speak to any football fan in the UK, or even Europe, and they will eulogise along with you about the sheer brilliance of these players.

I am not naïve and realise the club operated back then in a different economic reality compared to recent years, and I also realise that we have once again entered a new phase, in which we ought to be able to compete better with the largest clubs in Europe, as well as the all-over Europe mushrooming oil-funded clubs, both in terms of attracting top talent AND paying them market-rate wages.

But this will not be enough, and we only have to look at Man City to realise that, in order to achieve a period of sustained success, much more is required than an expensively assembled team of top footballers.

We need a large number of players with not just technical and tactical qualities, but also an intrinsic desire to give their all for the club, and remain loyal: to want to win and take Arsenal to the very top again.

Arsenal has history and class; we are a club with strong values and principles and enormous pride. We now have a great stadium, play CL-football year after year, and (still) have a great reputation.

But it is important that our players, new and established, feel at home at Arsenal; that they, as well as potential new signings, recognise and appreciate our class and history. It is also important they believe they can win silverware with Arsenal; that we are not an in-between stop towards bigger and better things: that we are the final destination, the football Walhalla!

For that, the club’s management needs to (further) develop and promote an ambitious vision which the players buy in to. There also needs to be a fair and yet (at least fairly) competitive wage structure, and there needs to be a healthy dose of courage and bullishness to invest money in new, quality players, if and when required. And the club also needs to stick to its values and principles.

For me, it is paramount to keep hold of all our key players; and this includes those that reach the mature footballing years.

How can we expect our players to develop loyalty and remain intrinsically motivated to give their all, and want to win silverware at Arsenal, if the club does not look after those players who have been given their all for us?!

I understand why the club had to let go the likes of Pires, Vieira, Gilberto, Henry and Ljungberg, Toure and Clichy, etc in the last seven/eight years, but it is now time to show that we do look after our players and reward them for their loyalty and hard work at the club. Arsenal need to offer their players – young and established – (a sense of) continuity and proper care, and it needs to start with the likes of Rosicky, Vermaelen and Sagna.

Players will always have to be able to make the grade and remain good enough for Arsenal of course.

But if we want our players to properly care for Arsenal and go the extra mile, they will have to feel the same from the club.

Enough now of the cashing in on established, older players who still have a lot to give to our club, and whose experience, hunger and loyalty are of great importance if we want to win silverware again, as well as keeping hold of our big, younger talents.

Let’s offer Sagna a fair and multi-year contract; let’s tell Vermaelen he is part of the team and we’ll do everything to get him back to his best; let’s tell Koz he is part of Arsenal long term plans and he is going nowhere; and let’s show all our players the club continues to have real ambition to be the top club in England and Europe.

It will give us a competitive edge against the Oilers for years to come.

“We become just by doing just, temperate dy doing temperate acts, brave by doing brave acts.” Aristotle.

Written by: TotalArsenal.

What if Arsenal bought no new defenders? Time to promote Miguel and Yennaris.

May 22, 2013May 22, 2013TotalArsenal

What if Arsenal bought nobody this season?

I know this is sacrilege to the transfer horny hordes out there, but it is a necessary question to ask in my opinion. The paint on the old season has not even dried and everybody is talking greedily about the players we need to buy – and I have been as guilty as anybody. We all feel we have £70m+ burning in our holsters! 🙂

Yet, I feel there is not enough recognition for the incredible feat our boys have achieved since our painful loss against the Spuddies.

Winning the last five away games in a row is worthy of high praise, and so is winning eight of the last ten games. Add to this our five clean sheets (six including Bayern away) and conceding only five goals in 10 PL games, and we can only say that our boys have done us proud to fight back with all they had after the derby defeat.

The key question we have to ask is whether we can, and should, build further on this team.

To do this properly, let’s assume nobody is going to be signed in the summer, so we can analyse the strength as well the potential in this team going forward. For good order, and to avoid the nutbums to come on to the blog in hordes, I am not saying we should not buy anybody this season.

In three separate posts, I am going to look at the areas of GK/defence, midfield and attack.

Defence

Our defence has improved from last season, conceding 37 goals compared to 49 a year ago. Yet, we know that, except for the last ten games, they have been inconsistent: often conceding unnecessarily and early on in games, after which the team is faced with big mountains to climb. In the crucial one to one matches with our nearest rivals, our defence has not been good enough, especially in the first halves of our encounters with them.

It would be wrong to put all the blame on Vermaelen, as everybody in our defence has made costly mistakes this season. It is also fair to say that as a unit they were not provided with enough protection, and the switch towards a more conservative double-DM formation in which Ramsey and Arteta were ordered to stay tightly together and focus first and for all on their defensive duties, rather than venturing forward constantly, has made a big difference.

I feel the biggest problem for Vermaelen was his inability to combine the leadership duties, both of the defence AND the team as a whole, with performing his own CB duties to a high level of concentration and execution. He failed in this, and many of us could see from quite early on that Vermaelen was not made for the captaincy.

Other than instructing Ramsey to play more conservatively and closer to Arteta, the pivotal decision in turning this season round has to be the benching of the Lion of Flanders. It allowed the BFG to become the organiser/leader of defence and Arteta to take on the leadership responsibilities of the whole team.

I love TV5, and really hope he is going to stay put, and fight for his place. But this cannot be as our captain, and he will have to work very hard to dislodge the more and more solid CB-pairing of BFG and Koz.

There are some vague rumours that TV will leave this summer, but if we want to consolidate the newly found strength of our defence, Arsene needs to do everything to keep him. One injury to either Koz or BFG, and TV gets another chance to work himself back into the team. We need at least one quality, experienced CB on the bench, and TV would be ideal for this. The question is whether he would be happy to accept this scenario…

With Squillaci surely leaving now and Djourou probably not returning to the squad after the summer, there should now be a chance for Miquel. He is a very stylish player who lacks experience, and I would love to see him get first team games next season. We also now know that Sagna can play centrally, and so we should have both two experienced – Vermaelen and Sagna – and a talented option to cover for the CB positions. However, this does mean we need to hold on to both the Belgian and Frenchman, and if we don’t, we need to replace them as we need to keep a certain level of experience within back four.

Our current CB-pair of BFG and Koz is a combination of the tall and stable organiser type with the ‘first-soldier’, highly energetic type of CB. I reckon in TV and also Sagna we have more than decent replacement for the first-soldier type CB, but we do not have another ‘organiser’ type, ready to slot in.

I believe that Miquel has great potential for this, but he would not be adequate cover (yet) if and when the BFG is out for a long period. Perhaps Koz can be turned into this type but I am not entirely sure whether this would benefit us much. TV is not that type and neither is Sagna, so this is an area Wenger might have to look at.

We are likely to see an enormous ‘Battle of the FB’s’ next season, as Sagna and Jenkinson will compete for the RB position and Gibbs and Nacho for the LB position. It is fantastic that we have two good players for each position, and only if Sagna were to leave would we need to find experienced cover – and that is why I believe Arsene will not let the Frenchman go: what would be the point?

It might also be time to promote Nico Yennaris, who can play in midfield but also as a FB. It would allow us to use Sagna more regularly as a CB – especially in the domestic cup games – and give both Jenkinson and him a break now and again.

I reckon Szczesny has done enough to convince Wenger he is still our nr.1 with a number of good performances since he returned to the first team. The key issue remains whether we have good enough back up in case the’ Pole in Goal’ gets injured, suspended or suffers a huge drop in form. Mannone and Fabianski both had stints in the first team and both did relatively very well.

But I still think this is the one area were Arsene might invest a bit of money to bring in a PL-experienced goalkeeper. However, if he decides not to then the risk would be relatively low.

So all in all, our defence is looking pretty good and if we keep everybody there is no urgent need to bring in new players.

Written by: TotalArsenal.

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Violently happy KOZ we love you – Phenomenal Laurent does it again!

May 19, 2013May 20, 2013TotalArsenal

Thanking The Guardian for this great picture!

After scoring the winner for us in our last game of the season against West Brom last year – effectively winning us a guaranteed CL-spot – Koz does it again today! What is not to love about Laurent Koscielny at the moment?!

As expected Sunderland and Everton let us down today, but we did not let ourselves down, and that is even more important than qualifying for the CL (well almost).This team has spine and spirit, grit and graft. I am so proud of our boys in red and white today!

An unchanged team seemed a bit of a risk by Wenger, and especially the inclusion of El Zorro was unexpected. Perhaps Arsene valued the psychological benefit of including the Spaniard more than his ootential technical and tactical contributions on the day. Another, semi-surprise was Giroud not starting up-front as most of us had anticipated. Other than that, there were no surprises in Wenger’s team selection.

The game basically had four phases:

A nervy and disorganised start: we seemed all over the place and play without our usual cohesion and discipline. NU were determined to give us a game and were getting alongside and behind our defence far too easily during this phase. Arteta had to go off, and the Ox made his entrance;
Things started to change gradually as we got more grip on the game and NU seemed to ease off a bit as well. However, we were hardly creating any chances during this phase and it was clear we needed Arsene to sort the team out during the break;
The first part of the second half was better again, and we struck lucky when Koz powered Podolski’s assists, from a Walcott free-kick, past Harper from close range. 1-0 to THE Arsenal.
The remainder of the game saw us play our best football in all areas of the pitch, but as we were unable to score a second – despite Theo coming agonizingly close – it remained a very nervy encounter right till the end.

In the end, there were two things that saw us through: the hunger, grit and graft of the entire team and the outstanding performance of Laurent Koscielny. His goal was no doubt the most important one in an Arsenal shirt, but what also made a real difference was his perfect defensive performance against NU today.

When Koz is in this sort of form he is simply unbeatable. He out-jumped the NU attackers all afternoon, made vital and extremely well-timed interceptions in the box – both on the ground and in the air – and stole the ball of his opponents with incredible hunger and precision – committing hardly any fouls in the process. What a player he is becoming and it goes without saying that Arsene needs to keep all defenders together this summer, and for me that includes Sagna and Vermaelen.

Other than the score (and what it means), and that performance of Koz – and I also thought BFG and both full backs had very fine second half performances – the game will be forgotten quickly: it was anything but a classic.

But the sustained period in which this team has shown the hunger, grit and determination to not get beaten by the Spuds for a top-four finish, after they beat us at the beginning of March and went seven points ahead of us, is just what this team needed. Five PL away-wins in a row – first time since 2004!! – eight wins out of our last ten PL games: what a turn around, and what a solid basis for the new season.

The foundations are laid, the walls are up, the roof is almost finished and the Spuds are stored firmly in the cellar; now let’s add some super quality furniture and polish off what we already have: Arsenal might be gunning for the top prizes next season! 😉

But before we start the silly season, I would like to say a big thank you to all the recent regular players: for their drive and passion and for playing for the shirt with all they had. More we could not have asked for, and they have done us proud!

Written by: TotalArsenal.

Koz – BFG – Szczesny: An Impenetrable Triangle is Slowly Forming

May 16, 2013May 16, 2013TotalArsenal

Since Arsene dropped his captain and first choice goalkeeper to the bench, after the painful and costly loss against you know who, Arsenal conceded just five goals in ten games: 0.5 goals per game.

Vermaelen has started just one game out of those ten (against Norwich) but Szczesny was reintroduced to the first team against Everton, after which he started in all games again (five in total). Koscielny basically took his chance with both his floppy ears and never looked back. Fabianski did well in his five consecutive games, conceding just three goals. But then he got injured, apparently, and his last chance to claim the nr.1 goalkeeper position at Arsenal went up in smoke.

We will have to see what will happen with Fabianski and Vermaelen this summer, but I reckon not many of us are expecting them to be here come September. I hope the Lion of Flanders will stay and fight for his position, but for Fabianski it would no doubt be best to find himself a team where he will be regarded as the nr.1 goalkeeper.

Nine games of (new) partnership between Koz and Mertesacker are not really enough to make a strong claim about the long term viability of it, but with conceding just four goals in all games, including Bayern, MU, Swansea and West Brom away, there is plenty of reason to be optimistic.

Of course we should take into account the additional support our defence has had in those last ten games, by both playing Arteta and Ramsey in a more conservative and deeper set-up in midfield and by clipping the wings of our full backs to some extent. But the German and Frenchman have formed a great partnership that deserves credit.

For me, despite Fabianski doing well too in his games, both Koz and BFG are not complete without Szczesny behind them. This is a very promising triangle in the heart of our defence and I am starting to feel very positive about it going forward. Somehow, these three get the best out of each other, and the whole is a lot greater than the sum of its parts.

Szczesny is an extrovert and ‘confidence-player’, who imposes himself on his opponents. He also has great technical ability, but his cocky-nature can get him into trouble which sometimes leads to poor and costly mistakes.

Mertesacker is an imposing figure and a natural organiser; he has great overview, and is a fine reader of the game. He is also calm under pressure and deals well with personal mistakes and set-backs for the team. However, we also know he is not the fastest and gets beaten in one-on-one situations at times.

Koscielny is very energetic and athletic, a great tackler and strong in the air. He reads the game, and positions himself, very well. But, his over-exuberance makes him prone to the odd mistake which sometimes leads to costly (own) goals against us.

However, Koz has hardly made any mistakes recently and the same goes for Mertesacker and Szczesny. There seems to be a growing a fine understanding between the Frenchman, the Pole and the German and they are compensating for each other weaknesses to a large extent.

Mertesacker’s organisational skills and natural calm seem to help Koz and Szczesny with balancing their energy levels, composure and decision making. Koz and Szczesny’s speed of thinking and ability to act quickly and decisively are covering well for the BFG’s slowness in turning and vulnerability of being left in a one-on-one with fast and agile attackers.

The three of them are bit by bit forming an almost impenetrable triangle and it also looks like the FB’s are both benefiting from this, as well as adding further value to our solidness at the back.

Sagna and Mertesacker work well together, but I have also noticed how Jenkinson and Mertesacker form a fine partnership on the right side of our defence – both compensating for each other’s weaknesses (inexperience and positioning in case of Jenkinson).

Koz and Gibbs are also starting to gel and support each other better and the same goes for Koz and Nacho. Although, the latter partnership is still more of a work in progress.

All in all, there are some really positive signs with regards to our defensive solidity and although it is still early days, I reckon this is an area Wenger and Bould do not have to worry about too much this summer (except for adding some strength in depth in case Vermaelen does not stay).

But would you agree with that?

Written by: TotalArsenal.