match analysis – Page 3

Chelsea v Arsenal: Match Review & Player Summaries

October 5, 2014October 5, 2014TotalArsenal

Chelsea v Arsenal

the

Verdict

Well let us get the nasty bit out of the way first. We lost.

Why did we lose?

The simple answer to that is, because Chelsea did the necessary things better than us.

They defended better.

They scored when the opportunity came their way.

We defended well.

We had some chances, but not clear cut, or with accurate shots.

They had 11 players. So did we.

Were their players better than ours …. Best not go there?

But let me give an overview of how things went, and come back to individuals.

The kick off was delayed by 15 minutes as Arsenal fans coming into the ground were either discovered to have flares with them (presumably from departing Galatasaray fans?), or one or more were let off before they got in. Either way, it meant that the players had some minutes to kill, having done all the warm-ups. However, AW asked the ref if they could go out on the pitch again. This granted, we had the bizarre situation of the Chelsea team lining up from the dressing room side meeting our lot coming the other way off the pitch.

AW did have another surprise in store .. he changed our line up for this game!

Out went the 4-1-4-1, in came the 4-3-3. Team was this:

Szcz, CC21, Mert, Gibbs – Santi, Le Flam, JW10 – Mesut, Welbz, Alexis

With the front three helping out in defence, it was something for Chelsea to think about. No doubt about it, for nearly half an hour we gave as good as we got.

Alexis got a shot away from distance, which went wide. Around the 10 minute mark, Wilshere played a delightful ball for Alexis to run on to, but his first touch was a tad heavy, and Courtois came out to gather it near the edge of the box. Alexis tried to jump over him when he realised he couln’t stop, at the same time as the ‘keeper tried to carry the ball clear, rugby style, ball in chest head down. His momentum forwards took the side of his head into direct contact with Alexis’s oncoming hip bone. Whilst he looked uncomfortable, he did not seem to be knocked unconscious. The club doctor duly allowed him to continue.

When play got underway again, Chelsea were probing our defence mostly through Hazard down the left. Remarkably, Costa hardly had a touch during the first half, and Fabregas was not receiving the ball very often either. So apart from the usual type of niggly fouls, it was pretty even-Steven. But then Cahill came on to Alexis late and dangerous, possibly as a result of the Courtois clash, which was very accidental. This was not! Not only a clash right knee to left knee, he followed through, studs up on Alexis’s standing leg. Very lucky to get just a yellow?

That sparked the off-field clash between AW and Moo. In order to get to the injured Alexis, AW had to walk in front of the Chelsea dugout. Moo tried to push him back, and things became heated when AW returned the push with interest. Both were warned by the ref that next time it would be the naughty chair in the stands.

Relations did not improve, and the 4^th referee was well occupied in keeping them apart.

Things on the pitch carried on much the same, with Calum preventing Hazard from breaking away in the clear, and he took his 5^th card ‘for the team’, and is now banned from the Hull game after the interlul.

Then Moo was having a charades moment when Szcz was about to take a GK to alert the ref that Courtois was in need of help. With apparently blood coming out of his ear, possibly suggesting a fractured skull, he left in an ambulance for a precautionary scan. The meant Cech came on wearing his head protector. Perhaps they should all wear one?

Chelsea seemed to step up the pace a little then, and although Fabregas will be credited with the assist for the goal that followed, he actually did little more than pass the ball to Hazard. The rest was all Hazard. A quick start got him past Santi on the edge of box, change of direction took him away from a reluctant challenge of Chambers. This left Kos to stick out the obligatory leg to give away the penalty, which he dispatched with ease. Kos was a tad lucky to only see yellow, but it was the presence of Gibbs in the box that probably saved him.

This time we did not go ‘mad for it’ trying to level the score, amid the multiple fouls from both sides, including a head clash between Kos and Hazard. Luckily Kos’s cheekbone is made of sterner stuff and he was able to continue. Towards the end of the half you got the sense that Chelsea were the happier to get in and regroup as we pressed more and more.

The second half carried on where the first left off, with fouls and cards following each other. Chances were fewer and farther between. Santi sent a shot wide after nice build up play. At the other end, Szczesny made a super reflex save at his near post when Hazard(again) beat Chambers to the byline, got the cross in at pace, which hit Santi on the knee: it was going to be a fluky own goal but for the gloved hand snapping out to turn it around for a corner.

Surprising substitution was made when Ox came on for Santi, who was not a happy bunny: understandably, as he was having a very effective game. The logical choice would have been Ozil, but it was not him; or Jack, who was having a good game, but opened up the argument of when he plays, he plays down the middle, and either takes space away from Ozil to run into, or forces him to operate wide. However, with Ox on in the middle, and Jack out to the wing, it seemed, at the time, to be the worst way of trying to reconstruct all the good things that came out of the Galatasaray Game?

They responded with Mikel for Schurrle, and were prepared to shut up shop.

However we were keeping steady pressure on them until Fabregas did his second thing of note. From the middle of his own half, Cesc flicks the ball over to the middle of our half, where Costa lurked between Kos and Per, and beat them both for pace. He finished it off with a nice touch that drew Szcz out into no man’s land, and lobbed the ball over him.

Having kept him quiet for an hour, this was the kiss of death. Alexis was subbed almost immediately, who was equally miffed at coming off, given it was Poloski who replaced him. Not quite replacing like with like regards work rate? And a few minutes later, Jack was replaced with Rosicky.

Chelsea replaced Oscar with Willan, who had just been booked.

It ended 2-0.

The stats tell much of the story: 60% possession, twice as many shots – 10 to their 5 – but crucially 3 of their 5 were on target, and we had none.

Sorry, I write that again: 94 minutes and not one shot on target?

They edged us with the most fouls – 14 to our 10, and cards to a similar ratio – 4 to our 3.

The last one to get a yellow was Welbeck on Fabregas. A two footed, studs up lunge at that. The Cahill yellow earlier may have saved ref Atkinson some ‘Untold grief would it have been a red, which to be frank, they both deserved?

That was the story of the game. Players all came away with some credit, although Ozil had a bit of a ‘mare, mostly losing possession. He had two things different today from his previous good games. A, The players moved off the ball quite well, but were also marked a lot better by the Chelsea defenders. B, Jack Wilshere.

Szczesny – had his reflex save, two shots straight at him, and the goal. Whatever he did, he probably would not have saved from the ‘Killer’.

Gibbs – Usual good stuff in defence, and got more use made of him in the second half.

Chambers – after his booking followed Hazard like a shadow. Given the difference in their experience, it was a great shift he put in.

Mertersacker – Masterclass of controlling our back line.

Kos – unlucky with the pen, but never gave an inch in defence, but Costa just had too much pace.

Flamini – amazingly missed a booking. More by luck, but still a solid game.

Wilshere – was behind much of Arsenal’s best approach work, and tried his best to change the script. One more game showing an all round improvement.

Cazorla – far from being ‘found out’, he worked his socks off. He was always quick to get away from defenders, and with quick passes he had one of his best games for so little reward.

Ozil – it seemed he could barely do the simple things right, and with the German team manager there to watch? Definitely a game to forget … and that is being kind?

Welbeck – found this much tougher but it did not stop him trying

Alexis – he was here, there, and everywhere. Not quite as effective going forward, but at least he made the defenders work hard.

Ox – strangely went into the middle when he came on, but did join up with Calum down the right some of the time. Not a lot happened for him though.

Rosicky – was also only fleetingly looking like the player of last year.

Podolski – would have had more openings early on, but they were closing the shop when he came on and he never really got his foot in the door.

Strange unused sub was Martinez? Presumably Ospina has travelled early for international duty?

Overall, we were beaten by a team who have all the players in the right boxes. We are still a couple away from that, but this was no 6-nil thrashing. The team worked hard and are much closer to them this time. Just two pieces of brilliance, the solo effort of Hazard, and the Cesc pass and Costa finish, was what separated the sides today. If anything, AW can look forward to the return fixture and a full strength squad as we progress some more.

Shame about the result, but full marks for effort.

Written by: Gerry.

Szczesny Creates Perfect Game | Wellbeck x3 | Ozil & Alexis Mesmerize

October 1, 2014October 2, 2014TotalArsenal

Initial afterthoughts from the Arsenal v Galatasaray CL game.

It was all going swimmingly well. Four nil to the good guys and Ozil, Santi, Alexis, and especially Welbeck, were having a field day. And then Szczesny spoiled it all with a rush to the head…. Well, that was my first reaction…

The first goal: great joint attacking by Alexis and Welbeck, with superb running both with and without the ball, and a quick and decisive finish by the young Englishman. The second goal: all about perseverance and strength and keeping a cool head…..bad defending no doubt, but Danny took his chance and had a lot to do to finish it.

The third goal: made by Ozil and coolly finished by Alexis. They gave us so much space and our players were very happy with this gift of gifts. Still Alexis had to do a lot but he showed once again how calm and deadly he is in the box. 3-0, game over… surely.

Second half sees Galatasaray take the initiative and they even manage to put some pressure on us. But pressure up-front means space at the back and once again we benefit well from this, supported by some fine defending and keeping it tight in front of our ‘D’. Ox had made a fine run from his own half all the way into the box, but just let himself down by opting for the wrong pass. But moments later he does find Welbeck with a measured through-ball into the box from just outside of it, and Welbeck produces his first Arsenal hat-trick with a controlled finish. The boy is ecstatic and feels the love from the crowd. A lovely moment for player and fans.

4-0! Are we going to give these Turks an enormous hiding all the way back to formerly named Constantinople?

Aaaah, well… Wojciech has been getting a bit bored in this game and a fine through-ball makes it into the box to Yilmaz. The Pole senses the danger and decides to come out and thwart the attacker (good), but his timing is very bad and he gives away a pen; and even worse, he has to go off with a straight red… And the penalty goes in, and the Turks have a new lease of life it seems…

I am thinking what a diff. This game was in the bag and now we have to dig deep to play with ten men, risking fatigue and injury to key players, thanks to WS’s fine mess.

But the players fight for each other and find a good cohesion whilst defending collectively.

There is a great spirit and determination not to concede again, even though the Turks are pressing hard. Ospina is now fully in his element and makes a number of class saves without losing his concentration once. And I am starting to think, this second half is just what the doctor ordered, just what we need before we go to the Bridge and meet one of our modern day arch enemies. This is the perfect preparation to deal with potential Chavs pressure once we have scored against them and our backs are against the oily wall.

So thank you, Wojciech: for your kind sacrifice to the team; for providing us with the perfect confidence booster and great all-round preparation for this weekend’s crunch game; for allowing Ospina to show us what a good goalie he is; and for making Arsene’s 18th work anniversary an unforgettable one! 🙂

Written by: TotalArsenal.

Arsenal v Spuds and the art of happily supporting our team

September 29, 2014TotalArsenal

We all live our lives as good as we can, and if we are lucky then large periods of it are lived relatively worry free (and many of us are not going through a nice period at the moment – maybe the injury of our very own nr.14 earlier this year was an omen of what was to come this calendar year?).

When I was thirteen, during a moment of contemplation (and realisation that classical education was not for me), I came up with the five ‘V’s’ of happiness and aims in my life:

Vriendschap – Friendship
Meisjes/Vrouwen –Girls/Females
Vrijheid – Freedom
Voedsel – Food
Voetbal – Football.

Voetbal has always been a great source of happiness and had a central place in my life from as long as I can remember. It still amazes me how so many people have made this sport so central to their lives.

I spoke to a colleague the other day about her dad who is fighting an unwinnable battle with cancer. He was taken to a hospice in December last year and she feared his life would be over soon; but he has an iron will, and his love for sport and football in particular, keeps him hanging on. When I spoke to her last week, she said he had lost so much weight and hardly ate any food any more, but he was in good spirits because the Rider Cup was on over the weekend and his beloved Man United were playing. That made me quiet, realising once more what deep power sports have over the happiness of people.

Football, and for us in particular, our club Arsenal bring so much joy and ‘hope for better’ and often, subconsciously, functions as a surrogate for our hopes and dreams in ‘real life’. And we all suffer disproportionately if and when our team does not live up to our (often unrealistic) expectations. I understand how a defeat, or even a hard-fought for draw against the Spuds, can make fellow Gooners feel down. I would be a liar if I said it did not affect me.

But we cannot let this happen. We played a League game and there are 32 more to come, and we have to take the rough with the smooth. In two months time this result will not look so bad any more and other teams will drop points against the Spuds too (whose manager will get them more and more to play his way).

There is not too much to say about the game, which I only saw on quite a bad stream. They set up to play us on the counter and we dominated them for most of the first half. Our midfield was trying to find the gaps and it only seemed a matter of time; and then came the injuries to the two more defence minded players, which put us out of our stride. It took us time to get back into the game in the second half, and then they scored a goal that could/should have been avoided. But that is football – it isn’t perfect all the time.

The crowd comes once again to life and the players find the inner-animal to fight back. We manage to put them under pressure but their defensive shape is impressive and they seem to hold out. But then comes the scrappy equaliser and we fight on for the three points. Ten more minutes and we might have done it. One more substitution and we might have done it (but they were all used up). So it ends in a draw and we feel disappointed because this Spuds team was there for the taking.

But this season, as every previous season, will have many twists and turns and key is to keep believing and supporting, whilst enjoying the ride as much as desperately wanting our expectations to be met.

Supporting Arsenal in a happy way is becoming more and more of an art these days. And we should all take a bow to Terry who buried his fine farther last Friday and still manages to cheer us up. Now there is a Man in Full. 🙂

Come On You Rip Roaring Gunners! Let’s make The Canon roar and take on the Turks with passion, power and deadly precision in two days time.

This is The Arsenal – By Far the Greatest Team and we supporters support you.

Enough evidence that Wanyama or Schneiderlin are the missing link?

September 24, 2014September 24, 2014TotalArsenal

Arsenal v Saints Afterthoughts

I am sure not to be the only one who isn’t too sad Arsenal are already out of the League Cup. Yes a great competition to blood the youngsters – I still have great memories of witnessing Arsenal putting Sheffield United 6-0 to the sword – but also an added pressure on Wenger and the team.

The media regard Arsenal as their favourite potential banana-skin victims, and so our cup games often end up being televised. As a result, Arsene often opts to play a stronger team than needed, even though I am sure he does not rate the competition very much, which could easily lead to fatigue or injuries to key players. For example, in yesterday’s game we risked Alexis and Jack, who both could have done with a break after a hectic, intense start of the season. But Wenger had to match the strength of the Saints’ defence to some extent in order to avoid a potentially humiliating outcome.

I watched the game on a half-decent stream and really enjoyed it. Both teams played some very good football, both tactically and technically.

Almost all of us would love Arsene to buy a really solid, beast of a DM and if you, like me, enjoy the art of midfield defending, you will also have wetted yourself from watching both Wanyama, and especially Schneiderlin, bossing proceedings through large parts of the game.

Still, during the first 20-30 minutes the best midfielder on the pitch was our very own Abou Diaby.

He was strong and incisive, sprayed passes around and produced a couple of exquisite through-balls, and during that time he and Wilshere were in charge. Is it fair to say that Arsenal started to wilt from the moment Diaby lost that initial drive and power?

I, for one, strongly felt that as soon as the Saints levelled from the penalty spot, we would end up losing this game. Somehow, our opponent wanted it more on the night, or was it just that their line-up was stronger?

I reckon we gradually lost the battle in midfield as both Wanyama (calm, organised, strong, disciplined) and Schneiderlin (energetic, seeks the one to one battles, good positioning) gradually took control of the midfield.

After their stunning second goal, Southampton showed great team composure by both breaking up our build up play from the back and putting up a formidable defence if and when we managed to get to the area in front of their box. There was almost no way through, and without a strong presence of a (holding) striker in the box – Podolski is not that sort of forward – and Rosicky and Campbell struggling to impose themselves on the game, we were simply not strong enough to hurt the Saints on the night. We had our chances but not many, and if and when they arrived our players felt pressure to not miss them…

For me, that was the game in a nutshell.

I should repeat what I said yesterday, that Alexis was impressive and his goal was simply sublime. Our defence played well: Ospina oozed calm and, in my view, could not have saved the Cline screamer. Bellerin is making progress and gaining confidence, Chambers looked solid and composed, Hayden did well too and Coquelin did surprisingly well as our LB.

Campbell struggled quite a bit in the first half, but had a good spell early on in the second half (I guess Wenger had a word with him). Rosicky was rusty and tried to overcompensate this with his drive, and he will not be impressed with himself after giving away a cheap penalty. Pod is an impact sub and cannot lead the line for us; there is not much more to it imo. A real shame we did not see much of Akpom, but let’s hope he will have some time in the first team soon.

Although the competition does not mean much to me, I still feel a bit down. It’s not because we lost the game, or we are now out of the competition, or even that it felt all the way we were not going to win it on the night. No, I guess it is to do with those performances of Wanyama and Schneiderlin for the Saints, and the fact that they are not ours, and that they made the difference on the night.

Written by: TotalArsenal.

A Mere Papering of Cracks? Villa v Arsenal afterthoughts

September 21, 2014TotalArsenal

On the heels of Arsenal’s first defeat since (Everton away in) April, many an observer–even would be supporters–have trotted out the usual narratives. Wenger has lost the plot, we’re playing the wrong players in the wrong positions, there’s no tactical flexibility, our record signing Ozil(shaven) can’t be arsed and the sky is–literally–falling.

We’re entitled to these reactions and living in the moment, but scanning my science blogs, I could find no evidence that the sky was–literally–descending upon us. Could it be that daylight is waning and the weather merely getting a bit worse in on our part of North London? It may, of course, have something to do with the calendar. Still with only a single match remaining before the official start of Autumn, the trip to Villa Park loomed larger, perhaps, than it might at another time of year. That we couldn’t match their current point total in the league–no matter the result–also did not bode well.

Admittedly, the defeat at Dortmund did feel a comprehensive one and many suggested the 2-nil score-line flattered us. Another narrative is that Arsene’s Arsenal simply cannot play against the bigger teams. With Villa having beaten Liverpool at Anfield and having the week off (whilst we took our full body blow), nerves amongst Gooners were understandable. Looking at the table alone (which, I’ve been told, “does not lie”) they had to be considered as one. With our next two league matches being derbies–Spurs at our place, Chelsea at theirs–the result, at the very least, seemed, er, rather consequential.

Here in the mountains of California, the smoke from our annual wildfires only barely clearing with a little lucky wind, I awoke to a line-up I liked. Alexis Sanchez, even if he’s already become a huge fan favorite, was rested in favour of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. Santi Cazorla came in for Jack Wilshere (who took a knock late on at Dortmund). Calum Chambers, recovered from his sore throat (tonsilitis), was the preferred 19 year old at right back (over Hector Bellerin), and both Kieran Gibbs and Mikel Arteta (both just back from injury and/or a respite…) kept their places.

Danny Welbeck, who had spurned scoring opportunities in his first two matches for Arsenal, also remained the point of attack. Curiously, younger forwards, including Yaya Sanogo, Chuba Akpom and Joel Campbell and the all-purpose defender, Isaac Hayden, called for by many a Gooner in the wake of the Dortmund disaster, didn’t even find a place on the bench. Perhaps in the Capital One Cup to be played in midweek?… On my television feed, the line-up was even listed as a 4-2-3-1 rather than the much maligned 4-1-4-1 we’re (supposedly) playing even if Ozil persisted on the left of the 3 (Santi in the middle, Ox on the right) and Ramsey was the player (nominally) brought back to help out the Captain. I’m not a stickler for formations and I tend to buy the idea that the number of players at the back is (more or less) all that matters and all else flows from there. I’ll leave the discussion of what was actually played to others. To borrow my favorite English saying (heard mostly in the Tube…) “Sorry…”

The match itself started with Villa on the front foot and Arsenal struggling to string passes together. Ramsey looked a central figure but first touches appeared overly aggressive if not just plain heavy. Additionally, the air in Birmingham looked lighter than the players favour and several long balls flew into touch. As such, as in Germany, possession was lost cheaply and Villa looked to be creating more menace throughout the opening stages. That several corners were conceded (the source of the last league goal scored against us in the league) did not help settle nerves. Another set piece provided their most dangerous moment (in the 23rd minute), after an unwise challenge from Calum Chambers, which earned him a yellow for his troubles. The cross sailed over all defenders and allowed a well taken chance for Kieran Clark with a diving header. Szczesney moved out of his goal mouth but maintained his feet and used his entire frame to block with his left leg and right hand. A pivotal moment, especially given the way the opponent kept Liverpool at bay a week ago after an early goal.

The truly pivotal moment happened nine minutes later. Playing the ball deep out of our own half (Chambers protecting the ball like a more experience player and exchanging passes with Mertesacker began the move) a series of lightning fast one touch passes between Ramsey, Cazorla and finally Welbeck sprung Ozil off the shoulder of the Villa highline and he finished calmly with his better foot.

Now Villa had to attack, and the 2nd goal came almost instantly. The camera was actually on Wenger as Gibbs took possession and passed smartly to Ozil who one-touched to Ramsey before receiving a lovely return ball out wide. Scorer and assist maker reversed roles with an inch perfect cross from Ozil and an easy finish (no shin this time) from Welbeck to break his (Arsenal) duck. Ozil in the center, Ozil on the wing: the record signing who just doesn’t care, suddenly everywhere?

Narratives turned upon their heads as well as points secured. Villa, shocked by the turn of events were still unable to get back to work. Kieran Gibbs, who was key in dispossessing Villa to start the lightning move on the 2^nd, again played a key role, poaching another pass even deeper in their territory and crossing to rampaging Ramsey at the far post. Defender Cissoko, caught, needed the most precise of clearances, but found his own goal instead. 3 nil.

That would be all the scoring in the match but Arsenal would secure the points through possession and trying for more. Our best 2nd half chance was likely a throughball from Oxlade-Chamberlain to Ramsey but the latter’s first touch was a near whiff. Late on, after gorgeous one touch work on the left from Ozil, Cazorla and subs Jack Wilshere, Lucas Poldolski and Tomas Rosicky–What? 3 attackers subbed in when we have a score-line to protect?!? — I guess Wenger felt the need to get more attackers involved (and we have far more of them healthy as compared to defenders) and, maybe, the score-line was doing the protecting–of the manager–in this case.

So, a result to freshen the spirits after the poor showing in Europe or a mere papering of cracks?

That’s for my old friends, a certain blogger who confuses Cookies and Monsters (and knows his cracks, amongst other things) and the one who demands Victory Con Cordia… It’s a bit of a no-win for the club despite the fact that we’re still looking up at Villa in the table. They (and early season surprise club, Swansea City) lost today but they are traditionally a mid-table club (at best) and it all could have been a whole lot scarier if their early aggression had led to an opening goal. Our goal scoring happened so quickly that it’s almost hard to appreciate them and they can’t possibly suggest that our problems have been ironed out. Bigger tests await which will “prove” if we’ve turned a corner or merely gotten a fortunate few points.

Amongst the players there could be some realignment of opinion about our record signing, given that he both scored and assisted. Our newest signing might also gain a measure of confidence having done likewise. Already (previous post comments), we’ve seen some debate about the relative contributions of Ramsey and Oxlade-Chamberlain. I’d give a shout out to the emerging right hand partnership of Chambers and the BFG and the two Spaniards who performed their duties well and showed a bit of their “technical superiority,” especially as the match moved on. Kieran Gibbs and Koscielny on the (much) pacier (left) side of our defense (American spelling there…) also had good matches. Szczesny stood tall in his one moment of true examination. Best of all, maybe, is that we appeared to finish the match without any fresh candidates for the physio room.

Of course, that’s only amongst the players who actually played. (Abou Diaby even looked alright after a full 90, even if it was only on the bench…) A new group will surely come in for the midweek cup match to reveal further truths about the depth of the squad… Do we move on to predictions for that one or continue to breathe sighs (of relief) or dissect this one?

What say you Fine Fellow (maybe not Freaking Out–if only for a moment…) Gooners?

😀

Written by: 17highburyterrace

Welbeck needs Thierry | Bellerin no RB | Arteta Aging: Post-Match Analysis

September 18, 2014TotalArsenal

Dortmund v Arsenal

The Verdict

Arteta, no nicer and more professional guy around, but is it time to bench our captain?

Let’s be honest now, I am not sure there is a side in the Premier League that would have withstood the battering we took last night? There are several who would have had more success on the counter attack than we did, including our next opponents Aston Villa. But hats off to Dortmund: Klopp had them up and ready. Every player was on board with what had to be done, and they were fit enough to carry it off.

From an Arsenal perspective, disappointing doesn’t cover it. Part of that problem lies with our high expectation for this season, and some results have given plenty a reason to believe it was in their grasp. The easy win in the Community Shield, taken at face value, it might. The truth was a little different? The resurgence of Wilshere and the 4-1-4-1 formation in the previous game against Man City gave hope of a similar line-up to do the business against a far better opponent.

Again the reality revealed flaws. The few opportunities that people saw of Bellerin pre-season, agreed with Arsene Wenger that he was ready for the step up? This was confirmed on the vote ‘Who will make the most impact this season’ (from the academy), and 62% had made Bellerin the clear winner ahead of Akpom. Regulars of this site will know I have been longing for Bellerin to have some game time, as I am a great fan, but my vote went with the 2% realists who see more coming from Isaac Hayden than young Hector. To me, he is a natural born winger who can tackle. That does not make him a right back, no matter how much Arsene wants it. He will always commit to whatever was asked of him, as he did last night, and if he is asked to go in again, he will not hesitate. But without any premier league minutes under his belt, it was asking a lot … but he will learn from it, not shirk from it.

I am beginning to think that both Per Mertersacker and Ozil are still mentally adjusting to life in the league, and only their experience is getting them through games. Such a contrast to the confident decision making that we saw last season, that is barely recognisable now?

Here again, the expectation level from our new signings, which certainly has had its bright moments; but to gel as a team, the cracks start to appear, and the optimism quickly fades away?

How to take positives out of a game when only one player came out unblemished by error, is difficult. But history tells us that Arsenal do bounce back. The Villa shock result last season is a good example. This was certainly a wake up call in every department. Not an easy fix this time, without assistance from our manager?

Most of our problems stem from poor decision making, under extreme pressure it has to be said, but it is not a good enough excuse. We know who they are, and the stats back this up.

Bellerin we can give some leeway to for the above reasons, and despite being up against it, he made second highest passes behind Wilshere, and 13 of the 19 in the final third.

Szczesny has no such leeway when dillydallying over a clearance that could have cost us another goal, as he is a repeat offender! He did of course pull off some superb stops which saved us from real embarrassment.

Mertersacker, normally the safest of player to play out of defence, but time and again passes were being intercepted. He did make several headed clearances, but also was caught up-field, and no matter how hard he tried, the lack of pace to get back was revealed to all? We were chasing the game in the second half, to be fair, but why were so many bodies committed to attack with seconds to go before half-time? Poor judgement call again, by somebody?

Koscielny really put a defensive shift, and if it wasn’t for the misplaced passes, he could have taken MOTM in a canter. There were just too many of those, but he comes away in credit overall?

Gibbs was probably the pick of players playing to their form. 2 from 2 in tackles, and made a great run into the box to lay on a guilt edge chance for Welbeck, who just hasn’t got that edge of an instinctive striker (at the moment) to take a half yard step back so the ball would fall to his feet. Instead he got tangled up in trying to adjust and missed the opportunity. Gibbs had another opportunity in the box, but that too was not to be. He made 6 interceptions too, so he at least is near the top of his game. However, he was involved in the attack down the left, just before half time that led to the first Dortmund goal. Quick as he is, from that deep he arrived just too late to be in a position to tackle Immobile.

Wilshere was left trailing in that breakaway, and allowed that multi cup winning (NOT! ex manager) Souness in the studio to moan at him for not making the effort. Ignoring the fact that Wilshere is not a Gibbs or a Bellerin, having only a short burst of pace, not a 35 yard lung buster? He did have the highest number of passes, in a game of low figures, at 49, but only 1 successful one in their box? He did win 5 of his 6 tackles which showed his battling qualities against overwhelming odds, but it was a far cry of the promise of the previous game? He started to show his brittle side towards the end, and got a needless yellow card for a stupid foul. On a bad night, he was one among many who failed to live up to expectation.

Arteta? If I am kind, I would say he almost matched expectation, in that he was the wrong choice, (if there was a choice?) in the wrong position, weakly supported by the wrong players .. and that goes partly towards my expectation of him being too slow, and he failed to reach that level. It is almost like he has aged 3 years since the end of last season, and he is now looking like a player well on the way down. But to be fair to him, he should never have been put in the game of high speed tackling? The 20% pass failure rate for that position says it all?

Ramsey, for a player who often hits the 100 mark for pass completion, but a lowly 39 tells you how far below his best he is? Going forward he did set up a chance for Welbeck, but a single positive in a game of this magnitude is what he is struggling with?

Ozil, what can I say? Our main creative midfielder only had 23 passes, and only 3 in the final 3^rd???

We are not going to win many games with that kind of service? He tried both wings, ran deep on Bellerin’s side, got booked for a none-tackle, but totally ineffective in anywhere it mattered.

‘Houston, we have a problem’ …

Alexis, industrious? hard working? These are the words we have come accustomed to associate with our super hero. 6 successful dribbles out of 9 sounds great too. Poor first touch does not gel so well? He was dispossessed 5 times, and several passes/touches led to turnovers, and crucially this would be at a time when we were attacking, and thus vulnerable to a counter. Part of this is probably down to the gelling process with team mates, and that has not had time to work through? But maybe there is a little clarity appearing in the rose tint department? He has got to get on the same wavelength or his talents will be wasted too?

Welbeck, sods law he will be second behind Ozil for the biggest criticism, but again, he can be given some leeway. If Arsene had any doubts about signing him, it is probably because he requires a different service to OG, and they may unlearn all they have been doing for the last two seasons? He is not OG, and he probably never will be? However, confidence can do wonders for a striker. He came into the side full of it, but that near miss against Man City probably took the edge off it. Here again, he had a chance to put one in at the far post, but body angle, or not twisting the foot back enough, made this attempt squirm wider than the other. These things will come.

Where is Thierry Henry when you want him, because he is just the player to help him in this department? He will come good, but in games like this, the pressure for every attempt to succeed is immense.

Subs:

Cazorla, should have made a difference if it was Ozil that was failing? I have to say, he was on 5 or 10 minutes before I remembered he was a sub. He was never going to save the day because the game had gone by then.

Ox looked lively from the off, and forced a corner almost immediately. But like Santi, the good ship Arsenal had already taken on board too much water, and its movement was sluggish.

Podolski came on with only ten minutes left, and got one driving run into the box, but the keeper was out quickly and it spilled out for a goal kick.

So that was my view on individual performances. Now for the collective?

Formation: Was this to blame?

While they notionally lined up in a 4-1-4-1, it never remained that way. For pretty much the first 30 minutes we were compressed into a 4-5-1 defensive position, with only Welbeck high. The flurry of early corners, and hasty clearances that led to yet another loss of possession, it was more all hands to the pump, rather than a clearly thought out plan. So that part cannot be put down to the formation?

Going forwards, when we started to get a foothold in the game, for the most part it broke down as we crossed the halfway line. However, following a very good build up, a missed chance which resulted in a throw in to us in the final third, we had 8 or 9 of our players in their half? Only Koscielny and Szczesny at one point in ours. So when we lost possession, and Immobile set off, Kos was about 5 yards ahead of him, Mertersacker had just crossed the halfway line about the same distance back but nearer our right-hand touchline, and Gibbs, who was guarding our left flank just inside their half. He had a good 10 yards to make up. Wilshere also joined the chase, but barely caught up with Mertersacker. The climax came when Immobile reached the box and it looked like Kos had it covered. Gibbs was right on his heels by now, and if the striker had run to the byline he could have got his tackle in. As luck would have it, a bit of a bobble off Immobile’s knee that took it away from Gibbs position, but the striker used that to get ahead of Kos to score.

A real sickener on the stroke of half time, but you have to wonder at the thinking of so many bodies involved in the attack. If Gibbs, who had been involved in the early part of the attack had dropped back inside our half, Kos might have been that bit deeper? Who knows?

The second half started how the first finished. Immobile chipped a great ball on to Aubamayang, who split the two CBs, and Szczesny came out and slipped at the vital moment. PEA also nearly went down himself, but just kept his feet to slip the ball into the net before Kos had a chance to recover.

From then on we did not look that threatening,… only threatened.

Szczesny came out to make a flying header with the full knowledge the collision with PEA was unlikely that he would be the damaged party, but once he had launched himself into the header, there were no brakes in mid air.

Kos also nearly did himself a mischief, colliding with a goal post in an attempt to avert yet another goal. Only the usual 65 minute subs did lift our attack somewhat, but we continued to look vulnerable. In fact, Mik the prick, having got himself booked in the opening few minutes for a blatant dive, seemed to be so intent scoring, it screwed him up completely. There was one breakaway where they were three on two… our two CB’s … he chose to shoot, high and handsome. Like I said, what a prick!

There are so few positives coming out of the game, except the one from history. Is this the giant kick up the backside that shakes this mental lethargy out of their system?

We have to hope so, but what is baffling is that so many had a poor game?

Perhaps it is simple case of trying too hard. Certainly with Ramsey we have seen it all before. He was even doing those heel flicks again?? Wilshere cannot lift the team on his own. Alexis too needs to settle more. Mert needs to get his calm, dependable head back on. Ozil needs a quiet corner somewhere and completely regroup. Arteta really needs to face up to life on the bench, especially after January? Will Walcott return bring a shape to our attack, when he returns? Will Chambers hold down the RB slot, and not get moved sideways for a crisis CB role? Will somebody give Hayden a run out before he is called into full time action?

Questions.Questions.Questions.

The only ones who can prove some of the answers will be out on Saturday against Gabby and his gang of thugs….

The reality of our form looks pretty bleak, but we have a few fresh bodies to throw into the mix, so like last season’s blip, our season starts now.

Keep the faith.

Written by: Gerry.

Giroud the ‘Holding Striker’ was, is and will be ‘Plan A’.

August 24, 2014August 24, 2014TotalArsenal

Everton – Arsenal Afterthoughts

Never was the cliché of ‘a game of two halves’ more appropriate: 45 minutes with Alexis up top and 45 minutes with Ollie up top made a world of difference. In principle, we all like the idea of three ‘free to move’ attackers up top, who terrorize the opponent and bang in goals for fun. But this is not something we just do by lining up very good players: and Mesut, Alexis and Alex are three very fine attackers indeed. It takes time and practice: players have to get used to each other, understand each other weaknesses and strengths and develop an automatic, telepathic understanding with each other.

The first half was very hard on the eye. Our midfield worked well and we had a lot of the attacking play, but as soon as we got near the box it was total mayhem. There was plenty of movement and energy levels were high, but many passes went astray – especially in front and behind the opponent’s ‘D’. We looked clueless and, most importantly, shapeless and like our attackers were put together up-front for the first time.

Of course, it did not help that we conceded a poor goal from a set-piece and that bad refereeing allowed the second one to stand. Just as against CP, when we also did not score in the first part of the first half after a dominant phase of the game, we conceded unnecessary as a result of bad defending of a set piece. There is work to be done there, but as the BFG is back now I am sure we will get on top this gradually.

I was actually quite shocked to see Wenger starting without OG up-top. I reckon he did this to save him for the most important game of the season so far – our second CL game on Wednesday (and not to ‘punish’ him for a bad performance in Istanbul).

I have tried to explain to fellow bloggers on BK why Giroud is so important to Wenger’s Arsenal on a number of occasions over the last few years. Ever since Chamakh was bought, Arsene has been meaning to have a ‘holding striker’, for lack of a better word, who enables midfielders and ‘wing players’ to get involved in our attacking efforts: this is vital to his next ‘Wengerball’ team. OG’s three top performance objectives are: level of effectiveness in holding on to the ball and cooperating with fellow midfielders and attackers, setting up attacks and assists, AND score goals – and in that order of importance. Most fellow Gooners judge OG’s performances in the reverse order… and that is where you are getting it wrong in my humble opinion, and why I understand, to some extent, your frustrations.

When Van Judas was injured for the first half of the season a few seasons ago, Chamakh played the holding striker role and we banged in 2.3 goals per game. In the second part of that season, and the subsequent season too, we managed about 1.9 goals per game, even though the traitorous ‘I will Always Be a Gunner’ grey-haired one was in the form of his life. We became dependent on him and all our attacking play was aimed at him: he delivered but as a team we were not scoring enough. Yet, under Chamakh’s attacking guidance, the team did very well, albeit with super midfielders in the team, like Cesc and Nasri, who knew how to put them away all right. And there is a hint for you all. 😉

Chamakh did not score enough himself and he could not deal with the criticism very well, so on comes Giroud from Montpellier. Giroud was an improvement of Chamakh, as he could play the holding attacker role really well, whilst also scoring more goals in the process.

It was amazing to see how much criticism was labelled at OG, and how little was aimed at the underperforming midfielders yesterday. Ox lacked composure and missed an easier chance than OG, Ozil was rustier than the Titanic, Ramsey’s boat was not floating and Jack is still missing the final sharpness. Yet, very few, to my despair, picked up how much OG changed the game for us once he came on. We had shape and focus again, there was directness to our play and OG was in the middle of much of it. Yes he missed a decent chance after being thirty seconds on the pitch…. unforgiveable! 🙂

Everton were very well set up though, and their double DM pivot made it really hard for us. But it was The Gunners and not the Toffees who travelled and played in Istanbul just four days ago, and who still had the endurance and energy to push on for the full 90+ minutes, and somehow overcome a 2-0 deficit – for the first time in three seasons apparently – and win not just an important point, but a lot of team spirit and belief in the process too. The latter is absolutely vital for a side with trophy winning amibitions!

I am convinced that if we had started with OG, and Alexis and Mesut (or Alex instead of Mesut) ‘on the wings’, we would have beaten the Toffees yesterday. With Sanogo still injured though, and OG in need of resting for the Besiktas cruncher, Wenger had not much choice but to try Alexis up-front. It did not work out, and he was right, however unusual, to revert back to plan A straight from the start of the second half.

OG’s reintroduction made all the difference: not because he is the prolific striker so many are longing for – far from it; it is because he gives shape to this team’s attack more than anybody else and he is vital in Wenger’s plans – for 2014-2015 at least.

Wenger knows he has a lot of work to do to get the other four attack minded positions effectively populated and to get the best use of a plethora of high quality midfielders and attackers. We still have two important games to come: Besitkas at home and Leicester away. It will take time to find our form again, but with the team spirit on display in recent games, I am positive we can get the needed results. And if we do beat both, we can look back at a very successful mini-start to the season, however unattractive and messy our football has looked at times.

Bread and butter first, the bacon and marmalade will follow soon. 🙂

Written by: TotalArsenal.

Sanogo the difference, last game for Pod & other post FA cup thoughts

May 18, 2014TotalArsenal

Post FA CUP Final observations by Gerry.

Good morning all. And what a fine day it is to be free of the … ‘not having won a trophy in X number of years’tag. Such relief. Congrats to all the team, who played as a team when they needed to. Job done … The hard way, of course?

I have spent the last hour reading all the comments, and I went with that flow too. I missed the equalizer (dog), but managed to see it out to he end. Annoyingly, the high pressure that brings us all the fine weather also gives me an occasional weak signal, thus rendering my recording a bit of a waste. Luckily, switching channels to watch it ‘live’ resulted in an upturn in our fortune on the pitch as well.

Just a few observations:

Starting with Geoff’s point in previous post (@01.39). Having a player close to Giroud makes him look a far better player with that extra yard or two of extra space. And that is saying something when it is a raw kid like Sanogo who still has so much to improve upon, can do that? Imagine what somebody with experience would do?

Sanogo. So, so very unlucky not to have broken his scoring duck by now. A wrongly disallowed goal in an earlier game. Finger tip touch in this with Giro-esque twist-turn-and shoot that might well have gone in off the post in this, along with other half-chances. If he can get his feet to do what his brain tells them to do, he will be something special. At the moment his first touch is clumsy to say the least. He has that long leg Diaby-like stick ability in tight situations, and can often come away with the ball when he has no right to it. But for all his flaws and limitations, he was the player we needed in this game, for his pace, effort, movement, and that occasional successful stickabilty that led to the winning goal. If they give out points for pre, pre, assists, then his part in that goal will be seen time and time again, with endless replays on the television, as a very special moment. I hope he will come good in years to come, and does not get drowned out by the clamour for that big signing.

Podolski. He suffers when he cannot start his play from the halfway line, imo. Guilty for the first goal for walking away before the danger was cleared. Not even playing the guy he was leaving off-side because Gibbs remained at his post on the goal line. But that is what you get when you play a forwards who is not naturally defensive minded? In the end his forward threat his lost from his starting position. Even young Yaya above, never shirked the defensive duty when needed, and had the pace of youth to get back up in attack.
Thank you Poldi for all your great goals, but I think you have probably played your last game in an Arsenal shirt?

Ozil. Criticism will come his way, but unfairly imo. The one thing Ozil needs is movement round him. Until Sanogo came on there was very little. Thus his passing game was made redundant. You can praise Hull’s tactics for much of this. They had a man on Arteta to keep him back. They were quick to pounce on Giroud when anything came his way, fairly and unfairly, it got the same result. Ramsey was kept back deeper because of the numbers they had in midfield, and Podolski rarely had a chance to run with it either. Luckily, as has been mentioned in comments above, he is a team player, and he will keep going for the team throughout the whole 120 minutes.

Cazorla. Worked his magic on the free kick. perhaps the goalie was at fault for not entirely trusting his ‘wall’ to do its job, as when he saw who had taken the kick, he took a half step to his right. which meant he was caught out by both the pace and accuracy of Santi’s shot. Where 9 times out of 10 going to where the keeper is, they will get saved. This one was one that didn’t. That apart, Santi worked hard against a disciplined defence, and few opportunities. occasionally his free roaming meant he was crowding out the space that Ramsey might run into, but overall a solid game, without too many decisive moments.

Arteta. I thought he had one of his better games, given the limitation of his pace, or the lack of. He was the main outlet ball out of defence, when played short, and was there to for Gibbs, as he was closed down quickly early on. However, he is another who will find game-time in short supply if the TW goes our way? Suggest he spends time getting his coaching badges?

Gibbs – Roundly criticised for missing the sitter, but that does not take away from his overall contribution. Nor should it be forgotten that he got in that position to miss the sitter, which, by rights, should have been a Poldi/Ramsey/Cazorla option? And let’s not forget his clearance off the line that saved us from going 3-0 down. He made numerous, and often unused runs down the left. Had a couple of half chances to feed a pass into the box, but failed for one reason or another. Where he excelled was being the last defender back on our set pieces. And also, when Fab went ‘Flappy’ near the end of the 120 minutes, he made another 30 yard dash to cover the open goal shot that ended up going wide. Should he ever get an injury free season, and all the experience that goes with it, he will be every bit as good, if not better, than Ca$hly got to be, and unlike him, he is a Gunner for life.

Koscielny. Kos had a typical Kos-type game. Sound in defence .. for the most part. Always a threat in our set pieces. Scored with his feet! And then nearly threw all the praise away with a blunder at the death. Still our best 50% pairing though.

Mertersacker. Poor old Per. An absolute rock for 119 minutes, then slips, and it could have ended in disaster for him. Slow to get up? Well apart from being a big guy at the tail end of a highly disciplined performance, he had a right to expect Sanga or even Kos to be covering as he was up against ‘fresh legs’ Aluko? Fortune favoured him with the latter’s misplaced shot, after Fab made a fruitless attempt to save the day. Let that not take away from an otherwise strong leader’s game.
Fortunately, he will not be departing any time soon!

Sagna. Oh Bacary. Yes you could leave on this high note? But you could also stay? Hard to find a fault in an otherwise tireless game. Few opportunities to get decent crosses in, but put in a real shift, as always. If economics decides it, he will be hard to replace. perhaps never, in like for like.
If common sense prevails. and team unity, loyalty, and a true class player are properly rewarded, Bacs will get what he really wants?

Fabianski. Deserved his place in the side, and fully deserves his medal. At fault for either goal? Not really. The first was a well worked routine that came back into the box at pace. For the second he was somewhat let down by the defending(Poldi), that allowed his initial save to come off the past and bounce to the scorer. In commentary it was suggested that diving into the goal meant he was in no position to save the second attempt? That is a bit harsh, give the angle he was going for the ball. As it was he only narrowly missed injuring himself, so another foot or two to the right and he almost certainly would have clattered the post, and that could have been far more costly? He did make another really good save that got a slight deflection of a heel(Arteta?) down to his right which made the difference between a finger tip touch or a full hand to it, but he still turned it around the post. Like Per, he was lucky late on, but overall another sound game.

Subs Wilshere and Rosicky had the same effect that the Hull subs did, by giving energy and focus to an otherwise tiring attack. And it made the difference for us, but not quite for them. Coming on for the last 20minutes of normal time might have been the obvious time, but we may well have lost our eventual goal scorer? Playing from the start is another question entirely, and one I do not intend answering.

Written by: Gerry.

4-4-2 till the end the season? Arsenal – West Ham Afterthoughts

April 16, 2014April 16, 2014TotalArsenal

After the FA cup semi-final game against Wigan I was critical of both Cazorla and Podolski. I felt they did not do anywhere near enough to justify the trust Wenger put in them, their seniority in the team and the wages they collect every Friday afternoon. But yesterday, against the Hammers, they both performed significantly better, powered on by the veteran playmaker Rosicky behind and around them.

Cazorla played with a lot more zest and invention, even occasionally taking on defenders in and around the box to make things happen. He added another dimension to our attack yesterday, benefitting from Rosicky’s drive and willingness/ability to motor on our attack.

The other big positive yesterday was the Pod’s brace. We all know that if there is a chance in the box, Lulu is the man who should be at the end of it. His hammer of a left foot is absolutely deadly, especially in the box.

This has made me think again about what to do with the Pod: should we keep him and where should we play him in our formation/team?

The problem with him is other than a great finisher, and the occasional attempts to go past his man on the left flank and get the ball in the box, he does not offer much to the team. Wenger does not appear to like these sort of players: we only have to think about Arshavin, who although a different kind of ‘left winger’ – let’s face it, neither of them really are – also had special individual attacking qualities but was neither blessed with great stamina and team spirit.

Without Theo, Jack and Ozil, the Ox still learning and Rosicky unlikely to play each and every game till the end of the season with the same vigour as last night, will Wenger opt for what looks like a 4-4-2 formation during the last games of the season? With Giroud (or Sanogo) our main target man and the Pod feeding off him with the same hunger and deadliness as he did against the Hammers?

Could this be Arsene’s new Plan B?

I thought it looked like we did indeed play more or less in a 4-4-2 formation, albeit with the full backs providing most of the width. Rosicky helped the DM-pivot duo of Arteta and (the growing on me) Kallstrom in the middle to keep things tight (and we have been looking a lot better defensively over the last two games, despite the two goals conceded), whilst Cazorla seemed to revel in his free role behind the two central attackers (with Rosa adding thrust and creativity).

I have little doubt that a 4-4-2 formation could be a safe way towards gathering as much points as possible till the end of the season, especially with Ramsey (and soon Ozil) coming back to full fitness and Kallstrom and Flamini being available too. But will it mean a lot of crosses into the box, with both Pod and Giroud attacking them, and with Cazorla lurking for any scraps?

Would this formation suit Pod best?

And finally, would Wenger really go back to such basic formation, even just as a temporary measure to keep us above Everton?

Over to you, FFGs 🙂

TotalArsenal

Arsenal v Swansea afterthoughts: Another PL title bites the dust

March 26, 2014March 27, 2014TotalArsenal

For those who have not been lucky enough to go to an evening home game, I can tell you the stadium is absolutely magnificent in the evening darkness – both on the outside and inside. It shines, everything is squeaky clean and you have a feeling – especially when you are packed away right towards the back, under the gigantic roof of the North Bank – that you are ‘spectating’ the game in an enormous cinema.

I walked towards the stadium from the Highbury and Islington tube stadium, after meeting a few friends in the home-supporters-dedicated Arsenal pub ‘The White Swan’. It was great to see so many people playing football, jogging, playing netball, doing yoga, etc in the park on the way to the ground. On evenings like these London is simply irresistible. It is just great that our new stadium fits so well – so naturally – into the area, as if it has always been there; as if a gigantic spaceship has squeezed itself cosily into the warm nest of the good part of North London (go and visit the also ‘recently’ build Sunderland and Mansour City grounds for example, and you know what I mean).

The Game

Arsenal started with good intentions but it became quickly clear that this would not be an easy evening for us. It just hung there in the air. You could sense it throughout the whole stadium and the early – far too easy – goal by Bony turned this collective fear soon enough into stone cold reality. Bony’s opener was the sort of goal you expected us to score against inferior opposition a long time ago: a simple cross into the box and the striker outruns and out-jumps the defender: 1 – 0. It belonged to a different, pre-millennium era; yet we had it inflicted on us by Swansea yesterday.

The fans stayed behind the team and sent out encouragement, and the players tried their best to get back into it. But our attacking efforts looked laboured and lacked invention and movement, and everyone had to dig very, very deep to somehow make things happen. Just before we scored the equaliser in the second part of the second half, I was asking myself why we were no longer using the left wing. The pattern of our attacks was continuously the same: try to break through the middle with complicated 1-2-3s, and if we cannot get through, give the ball to Sagna.

Swansea were quite happy for the Frenchman to have it on their left: he will either cross it into the box where there is only Giroud to deal with (and there were far too few runs into the box by our midfielders), or he will play it back to one of the midfielders; who will once again try to break through the very well set up central defensive wall of the Jacks…

Luckily, within just 66 seconds, first Gibbs and then Podolski were finally able to breach the wall from the left for our two goals (which I saw right in front of me, luckily), and the supporters at last woke from their collective slumber. There was a real sense of relief and renewed hope throughout the ground. Unfortunately, this did not last long; as the team did not seem to know whether to attack for the third or sit back to protect the slender lead, the fans grew uneasy again very quickly. There was a real lack of leadership during this period on and off the pitch, and the substitutions did not help much either.

The cruel O.G. by Flamini sealed our faith, and the last bit of hope that we could still challenge for the title this season disappeared into the cold North London night for good.

In conclusion.

There was no lack of trying or hunger in the team, but what we did lack was freshness (especially Giroud looked like a spent force), imagination and self-belief. We played one-dimensional, predictable football, and as a team we just could not break the spell we were under.

The question I asked myself during the game was: How many of these players will play next season, if say we added a quality DM and CF/LW in the summer and everybody is fit?

The back four and GK will be pretty similar, with only Koscielny replacing TV5. But in midfield and attack we would not see many of yesterday night’s starters back, I reckon. All of them: Arteta, Flamini, Ox, Rosicky, Cazorla and Giroud will still have a place in our squad and they can all add value to our team; but with so many key players injured, collectively, they were just not able to reach the required level to deservedly beat Swansea.

Fatigue and low self-confidence will have played a role in this, but a lack of collective quality was also apparent. Of all these players, Ox has great potential to develop into a first team regular, but the rest will very likely become back up players or have to fight for their place. And as long as they do not have to play all at the same time, this is absolutely fine.

Theo would have added pressure and thrust on the right. Ozil and Wilshere would have added composure, thrust and invention through the middle and from the wings, and Ramsey’s box to box engine is missed more than anything else right now.

But it seems all of these players are not available for Saturday’s encounter with the Northern Oilers and Wenger and Bould will have to work their magic to somehow get this team ready for battle. Maybe KK, who did some nice stuff when he came on, will hold the key….

Let’s all flock to Cornwall on Saturday to position ourselves behind GLIC’s sofa. 😛

But as always, let’s keep the faith and support the team till the end.

TotalArsenal.