match analysis – Page 5

It’s Just One Loss: 5 Reasons for Optimism

December 17, 2013December 17, 2013TotalArsenal

After our season opening loss to Aston Villa at home, many Gooners everywhere were very very down and pessimistic. As a result of this, our very own Total Arsenal asked me (one of a few optimistic Gooners) to write a post to try to bring optimism back to people. Now we find ourselves in a similar situation, and TA has asked me to do this once again. So let’s start this off:

1. We’re in first place!

Guys! We are top of the league and lost to a team unbeaten at home! If someone had told you after that Villa loss that you would be disappointed in the team after game-week 16 when we would be top of the table….. you would tell them that they were insane. Look at the positives. We’re still top and we now have 9 days until we play a team that just barely ground out a wi against CrystalPalace this weekend. This team is good enough to win games, and overall, being in first is technically the best position we could be in. You could argue that points and goal differential are issues, but we’re in first. We just have to focus and not make any more mistakes like that.

2. We still have players to return from injury!

Podolski and Oxlade-Chamberlain are still not back from injury. Once we have two more wingers in the squad we can move Santi and Rosicky back into the middle in the CAM position and therefore we can give Ozil (someone with famously low stamina) a rest. This will allow him to get back to his best and take some pressure of him. The more players we have in the squad, the more rotation we can do and the less physical and even mental fatigue will affect the squad. Even though there are no excuses for our performances, everyone must concede we’ve had a tough schedule as of late. You can argue that champions have to deal with that and it’s true, but the injuries are compounding these problems and with those players back we will be able to play fresher squads in every game, therefore scoring more goals and winning more games.

3. January is right around the corner!

January. The time of unsettled players moving on and desperate clubs making big buys in attempts to save a season. This year players like Di Maria, Cavani, van Persie, Berbatov, Chicharito, Benzema and more, are rumored to be unsettled. As well as the big name Lewandowski available for free on a pre-contract. This is a year where Arsenal have openly admitted to having plenty of money to spend and the team is clearly ambitious. The purchase of Ozil has shown the club is willing to spend and Wenger has admitted our strike options are low. Hopefully we can see at least one big signing this January. It is not unlikely that we will sign a winger or a striker to shore up our attack as well as a younger defender to begin learning from Mertesacker, Koscielny, and Vermaelen as they age. Keep your chins up and let’s see where the team is come February 1st.

4. The team wants to win!

Some may think that Ozil not applauding the away fans is disgraceful. But one positive to this is that it shows that this team finds anything less than a win unacceptable. We fought until the end at City with Per scoring late on. We didn’t give up and fold like one would expect after letting in so many goals. This is a team that will work hard all week to redeem themselves against Chelsea. We need not berate and attack them, just let them work this week and let’s judge them based on how they respond against Chelsea now that fatigue is not an issue. Let’s not judge them on a defeat to a side undefeated at home this season after just returning from Italy having played a game last weekend as well.

5. It’s just one loss!

We are 11-2-3 in the Premier League this season. Last time we lost in the league was a 1-0 away at United. We followed that up with a 2-0 home to Southampton and then a 3-0 away at Cardiff. This team knows how to respond. In the grand scheme of things we’re still top of the league with a nice opportunity to gain points at home after a 9 day rest. We can keep our position at the top of the table next week. In reality, our loss to City was not that bad. In fact, it could set us up for a nice run of wins. Let’s turn our eyes to the next game, everyone slips up (See: Manchester City 4 – Manchester United 1, Tottenham 0 – Liverpool 5, Manchester City 6 – Tottenham 0, etc.).

In conclusion, stay positive guys! It’s one loss to a very good team and quite soon we could have more points as well as more players. Let’s assess where we are after Chelsea, and then at the end of January. There are bigger milestones than this. We just have to get behind the team for Chelsea and trust in the team and Wenger.

Have faith you Gooners!

Written By: Dylan.

Has Lukaku found a way out of Koscielny’s pocket yet?

December 10, 2013TotalArsenal

Match analysis and afterthoughts.

Well that was one of the most exciting games I have watched all season. Credit to Roberto Martinez for building such a potent side. It was end to end stuff practically the whole game. In the end we shared the spoils which was maybe the fairest result anyone has had all campaign. Being an avid Gooner, my focus of course is on the Arsenal side. As such, there are a few observations I would like to make.

First of all, how good are Per, Kos and Szczesny this season? It is because of them that we have the best defense in the league. I mean can someone tell me if Lukaku has found a way out of Koscielny’s pocket? The two have formed a defensive partnership that no one in the EPL can match. At least not at the moment. And what of Szczesny? He makes saves that Oliver Khan would be proud of. The three (along with Sagna) have been nothing short of world class. Which brings me to the left back position. I feel (and have always felt) that Monreal is a better defender than Gibbs.

The few games he has played continue to reinforce my stance. Yesterday, Gibbs had an below average game defensively and he may have cost us 2 points. He did not close down Deulofeu for the goal and considering he was in our penalty box, I find it a bit hard to forgive. Gibbs is good at making interceptions but his positioning at times and his one on one defending leaves something to be desired. Maybe he is jaded from all the games he’s been playing, but either way I feel it’s time Monreal got his chance.

Secondly, there is the midfield conundrum. In a previous post I mentioned that having so many options to choose from can sometimes be negative. In this case it is. I feel that Wenger should find space for Walcott in that side one way or another. Wilshere has been outstanding the last 3 games and Ramsey is one of the best players in the league this season. That said, playing them all takes away not just our width but also our killer instinct. We play so well but once we get to the opposition box there is no one willing to enter the box. Ironically, playing so many creative midfielders has restricted the number of clear cut chances we create because we pass and tease at the edge of the box but it so often ends up breaking down as there is no one willing to makes runs into the box, or shoot.

The omission of Theo has also made our counter attacks toothless. When we win back the ball and we have a chance to counter, the ball lands to Ozil or Santi and you feel like crying because everyone else either isn’t willing to make runs or just isn’t quick enough to make it count. Many people call Theo a one trick pony but when that one trick is being supported by Ozil and Cazorla, it is a devastating trick. Even on Ozil’s debut, that potential partnership showed from the go. The fact is, Walcott will greatly increase our goals. Since his return, we have scored every time he is brought on.

Thirdly, if the Everton game showed us one thing it is that we need a killer striker to really take us to that elite level. I have always said Giroud is a fantastic player but he doesn’t have that ruthlessness that Suarez, Cavani, Falcao, Lewandowski, Aguero and RVP have. There are games (like yesterday’s) where having a striker who takes his chances makes the difference. Yesterday towards the end of the first half we came alive and with a more clinical striker, could have gone into the half 2 nil up effectively ending the contest. Wenger must really make this a priority when entering the market in January.

In conclusion, I feel that the game against Everton was the hardest we’ve played all season. The draw was a very fair result but because I know we can do better, it came as a disappointment to me. More so, because we really needed that 7 point cushion going into the double header against City and Chelsea. Now we have to make sure that we win at least one of those two games which will be no easy feat. That said, we are THE Arsenal and we are more than capable of doing so.

In other news, I am glad Podolski is back and we are almost at full strength and now we can begin to see how good we really are.

Come On You Gunners!!!!!

Written by: Marcus

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.

Arsenal v MU: Afterthoughts and a bit of perspective

November 10, 2013November 10, 2013TotalArsenal

“If the diver always thought of the shark, he would never lay hands on the pearl”

SA’DI

I have read the comments from fellow, well respected bloggers and I can see why they are disappointed about the way Arsenal played today. It is a fair comment that Arsenal started a bit too conservative and did not do enough from an attacking sense in the first half. It is also true we did not see enough from our experienced, attacking players, notably Cazorla and Ozil, and that we left it too late with taking the game by the scruff of the neck.

All fair comments.

We lacked a bit of courage this afternoon and we probably paid for it.

However, I thought we played well from a tactical point of view and it was really good to put the Mancs under pressure for a sustained period in the second half. How many seasons in a row did we play embarrassingly bad at Old Toilet in recent times? The one big thing to take from this game is that we were never inferior to the Mancs at Old Toilet, and this has not been the case for a long, long time. In the long run, this is perhaps the most important lesson to draw from today’s game.

The only thing we were missing was a bit of luck as we deserved a point from this game.

I thought we did well to sit back and restrict them from attacking our box, and I could see us gradually coming out of that defensive fortress to steal a goal (or two). It worked against Dortmund, and with so many injuries in attack it seemed the right approach. Out of nothing, we conceded a goal from a set piece and I will not forget how the swine celebrated his goal. The man has no character, no style and no humility and today he showed us all why Wenger had to let him go when he was approached by him with a ‘must do list’ if he wanted him to stay. Today, he came out as the winner but in the long run he will be the loser; no doubt about that. And it will always be Van Judas for me 😈

After the goal, we gradually took the initiative and the second half was ours in terms of possession, pressure and chances. We just missed that bit of composure, cutting edge and luck on the day, but that just happens sometimes. The attack is still gelling together as both Ozil and Carzorla are finding their feet in our team. The former because he is new and is having to play a different sort of football as he was used to; the latter because he has been out for a while and needs to settle back in the team – and work things out with Ozil. And it is still showing up in these sorts of games.

I could become very critical of both Ozil and Cazorla, but I know they are very good footballers who give their all, so why not give them the benefit of the doubt today?

Did we deserve to lose? Not in my opinion.

We could analyse it to bits, and I am sure we will do so over the next few days, but ultimately we lost because we were a little bit less lucky than the Mancs, and we just have to move on to the next game. That is what champions-in-the-making do: they take a set back on the chin and swiftly move on.

Arsenal are top of the league, with a gap between us and the Chavs, Mancs and Northern Oilers of at least four points. If you would have given me this position twenty days ago, just after the last inter-lull, I would have Suarezed your hand off. If you would have offered me a win against Liverpool, a win away to Dortmund and a narrow loss against the Mancs eight days ago, I would have taken it as well.

But that does not mean that today’s mini setback does not hurt a bit. I would have loved to beat the horrible Mancs comprehensively and for Flamini to do a ‘Keown’ in front of Van Judas today. I would have loved to create an 11 point gap between us and them today. It was not to be. However, our time will come, and I saw enough in the second half to suggest we are champions material this season.

If we beat Southampton in two weeks and the Mancs lose away to Newcastle the gap between us and them is eight points again, and the natural order of things will be restored once more. Let’s keep the faith and move on; and show a bit more courage next time.

COYG!

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.

Szczesny – BFG – Flamini – Ozil – Giroud: spine of a champion in waiting?

November 1, 2013November 1, 2013TotalArsenal

I love our spine: it is full of character, experience, ‘position experts’, and it oozes quality throughout. One Pole, two Germans, and two Frenchies; and we have some fine Spanish, German and English talents to add to it and support it.

Arsenal might be building a team around a British core in the mid to long term, but for the foreseeable future the core has not a single Brit in it. Jack and Rambo might well play themselves into the core sooner or later, and especially the Welshman has made a very impressive start to the season, but for now the spine is non-British.

You could argue that the wider spine should be taken into account, as we play with two CBs and two deeper laying midfielders who all play centrally. But for the sake of this discussion I would rather look at our narrow spine of Szczesny, Mertesacker, Flamini, Ozil and Giroud.

There are three questions that come to my mind when looking at our spine:

Can we improve further on it?
How will we cope with injuries?
Is it the spine of an imminent champion?

I welcome your views on this today, and this post is just a means for discussion/sharing of views.

In order to give the debate some added substance, I will quickly give you my views on the above questions.

Can we improve further on the spine?

Yes we can to some extent. We could get a more experienced and established goal keeper as Wojciech is not yet the finished article; and maybe there is a CB out there who has the BFG’s ability to organise the defence and read the game as well as he does, but is faster and more agile than the German giant. But despite his lack of speed and ‘turn-ability’, I love the guy and it would be hard to find somebody who would be a like for like improvement in all the aspects he brings to our team.

Other than that, I reckon Flamini and Ozil are totally cut for our spine, and the same goes for Giroud who plays the ‘modern’ holding striker role sublimely for us this season.

How will we cope with injuries?

That is the big question, isn’t it?

For Szczesny we have two options and I rather would have an experienced PL goal keeper as our nr.2, although we still have to see Viviano in action and he might well be the bee’s knees.

For Mertesacker we have Sagna, who has been very good in the CB role when played there recently. But Sagna is also our nr.1 RB and is played constantly by Arsene and in the French national team. However, if the BFG is injured I reckon Sagna is a more than decent replacement.

For Flamini we have Arteta. It is not a like for like replacement as Flamini is better at the physical part of midfield defending, but Arteta is experienced and can play well in the deepest midfield position. In an ideal world, though, we would strengthen in this area as soon as possible. Our main transfer priority this winter?

For Ozil we have Jack, Rosicky, Santi and Rambo. Enough said.

For Giroud we have Bendtner and Sanogo and maybe Akpom. The Dane did not take his opportunity on Tuesday and it looks like closed curtains for him now. Sanogo could become a revelation but we just have not seen him play yet, and Akpom is one for the future.

Of course, we also have Theo and Pod who could play centrally but neither of them are capable of playing the specialist holding striker role anywhere near as well as the Big Ferocious Frenchman. I reckon a long term injury to him is our biggest potential weakness in the spine; if there’s one thing we have learned from our defeat against the Chavs, it’s this…

Is it the spine of an imminent champion?

Thanking The Guardian for this great picture!

It all depends on fitness and being able to play together as much as possible, especially during the big games. It is also important that Szczesny turns into a more consistent ‘safe pair of hands’ this season. So with a bit of luck, we could well have the spine of a champion in waiting this season.

But what do you think, fine fellow Gooners? And who would be your one purchase to further strengthen the spine?

Written by: TotalArsenal.

How can Arsenal improve further? Transition, Transition, Transition!

October 24, 2013October 24, 2013TotalArsenal

It’s all about the transition!

There has been recent commentary on a range of tactics and what makes us succeed or appear to be less successful. In particular, the area around defense and how we defend has arisen with strong sentiments around Arsenal “allowing” other teams to score or laying too far back.. In my opinion, no one is allowed to score, but the game is, in fact, a game, which implies both teams have a say in the outcome. Which is to say this isn’t La Liga with (nowadays) 3 teams beating up the rest who are of a clearly lesser level in many cases.

So, what is it about? What differentiates our successful periods from periods less dominant? Some say it is Flamini, no Flame, no game, might be the succinct response. Others imply we relax after scoring early and let others back in the game. Still more point at supposed weaker links, Arteta or Scz, or immobile Germans for defensive issues.

To me, in my analytical way, experience says two things:

1. There are two phases to the game – when you have the ball and when you don’t.

2. There are three often interchanging roles of each team in a game – on top, even handed, and behind the 8-ball, which is to say pressurizing and under pressure, with the middle being the arm wrestle tussle for control.

Equally, a physicist will tell you that if you expend excessive energy with the ball and pressurizing, you will, in a zero sum game, have to rest at some other time (and be pressurized). In contrast, a serious football fan will tell you to never give up the initiative. I will tell you that football is all about being able to count to 3 or 4, a game of numbers.

More succinctly, most goals come from gaining numerical advantage. Even JWs wonder goal #1 vs Norwich had local 2-1 advantage for every touch to break through 4 people (2-1 at a time).

Finally, however, it is a game and both sides play a role and try their best. Especially in the EPL, where the guaranteed wins have come fewer and harder every year of recent. Only Sunderland seem a sure bet right now and even that will possibly change before they are relegated (as seems likely at the moment).

So, what makes Arsenal right? And what is different when we are “wrong” or “off”? How do we maximise our numbers and minimise the opponents?

To me it’s all about the transition. Every team plays with and without the ball. The critical moments are what occur right after the ball changes hands and how one “finds numbers”.

For the moment let’s presume that we lose the ball and the other team (Whomever FC) do not immediately hoik it up field or turn it back (i.e. they aren’t Stoke and act rationally). What happens next or should happen next.

When we are going well: We race back and get in front of the ball which is critical to making sure the opposition do not get numbers. Hence, we all love fast counters because they give you numbers and we all groan when the ball goes sideways on a rapid Arsenal counter.

The entire goal is to get in front, with reasonable shape (2-3 layers) and, this is the key, aggressively front the ball. That aggressive first “fronting up” should push the ball sideways and slow the opposition transition.

The next key step is shape and aggressively moving forward, as a unit, so that the next pass goes back and then the next…

When we are successful, we bully teams back into their own end, even without the ball! When we are not they are allowed to play or move to easily.

Flamini gives us a lot of this “first fronting up” which allows players to get back, as well as the vocal organisation. If there was an argument “against” Arteta it is that he is perhaps too passive this way in comparison and a little too passive on the counter (when we are on offence). Not always but enough. Hence, Flamini’s importance, but, an importance that can be replicated.

The benchmark is Napoli, this year at least, and watch the game again at Arsenal.com and you will see that we never let them get a free forward pass with the ball, or barely so. Aggressively fronting through most of the game we bullied them time and again into passing all the way back to Reina. Not beautiful Wenger-ball perhaps but beautiful to watch and a sign of utter domination. Combined with incisive attack finding numbers and advantage versus an increasingly frustrated and confused opposition, and the outcome was certain.

When we are not going well: Well just the opposite, too passive and too slow to front the ball. The opposition gets better numbers or is allowed the opportunity to find them. Our slack period as we caught our breath was about this. We didn’t adapt tactics and effort to be more solid, and to me, it starts with someone getting in the face of the ball carrier. Without Flamini it was likely needing to be Cazorla (fatigued) and JW along with Arteta and Ramsey. If one is missing and the opposition comes through that area…

IMO, here is where JW is weak. He is aggressive as hell at coming back but doesn’t get in front preferring to come from behind or the side. As a result, he either gets the ball (good) or fails and doesn’t force the attack to slow, instead inadvertently actually pushing it forward (bad). It’s also where Rosicky is better or more experienced. Its not all JWs fault by any means but you defend as a team and if one or more elements aren’t in synch..

On attack you ask? Well the same holds in reverse really. When we go well we are incisive and forward. This is where Ozil has really helped us be more direct, and where, again if you want to see Arteta as a negative, he is perhaps a touch more cautious. Equally, JW at his best drives the game forward and finds numbers, TR the same, which is why they are always “visible” when going well on attack.

Equally, in this context, one could readily argue that JWs goal vs Norwich was Norwich allowing Arsenal to aggressively strike forward to find numbers 2-1 each time to remove a player in what was at the outside 3 vs 5. IMO, that’s unfair to Norwich and Arsenal as that was perfect aggressive play and not much stops that!

So, in summary, no one can dominate all of a game and all of the ball. There will always be times when we don’t have it and where after huge efforts on our part the other team is dominant. It’s how we respond and the basics we follow that, to me, determine the outcome.

In fact, I like it this way. It’s a game and if the other side has no chance what’s the fun? Better then to root for the underdog which is about all the fun there is to be had (again my opinion) in any Barca game that isn’t vs RM or Atletico. No games at all are like that in the EPL these days based on recent results that have helped put our team at the top of the table.

Finally, it is all about the players. If I examine our team now, I would say that Flamini is the glue that stops opposition transition the best and that makes a huge difference to half our game. Ozil, as is well discussed, adds the incisiveness we lacked last year as well as another SQ threat with Santi, and the super emergence of AR and OG this year. Questions, they come around Arteta adapting just a little in my opinion and JW, as he comes into form, finding the defensive half of his game gaining maturity. These will both come with time.

So, what do you think? Football is a very simple game with a at least a billion interpretations on how to play it best. Hopefully, this note at least fills the period between what I hope is a great, pressuring, perfectly transitioning domination of Dortmund and the weekend vs CrystalPalace!

To me it’s all about the balance defined by how we transition and thus whether we can dominate the ability and opportunities to find numbers and advantage or if we have to rely, as we did all too often in past on some magic from one or another player.

This year, I think we have the team to not to have to rely on magic too often … which is the first time since perhaps 2004ish and thus very good!! As long as we stay solid in the transition!

And a last question, if with way of looking at it in mind you could get any player in January who is it and why will they help us in transition?

Written by: JGC

Arsenal – Dortmund: a beautiful game and great learning opportunity

October 23, 2013October 23, 2013TotalArsenal

So what have we learned from our narrow defeat against last year’s CL runners up? Almost nothing, other than this team is still a work in progress, but has made progress nevertheless.

Arsenal played with a bit more tension and less fluidity than Dortmund, and that in my view made the marginal difference. Klopp is a top-top manager: second best in the world after Louis van Gaal. He knows how to make his players play in a system of football with clear tasks and expectations per position. If a top player leaves, he will find a quality replacement in no time and gets them to fit into the system incredibly fast, and that is what makes him such a good manager in my opinion. Arsene is more laissez-faire in his approach to ‘system-football’ as he allows his players more freedom to ‘express themselves’.

Dortmund was a well-oiled machine and if and when they won the ball back, they passed it better round than we did. We struggled with fluidity in the first half as too many passes went astray and we suffered from continuous miscommunication between the players. The fact that they were a tat nervous did not help either. But the boys fought back slowly but steadily and deserved their equaliser.

We had a great shape in the first half and gave away little. However, in the attacking third we struggled to combine effectively as the continuous and ferocious pressure of the Germans allowed us less time on the ball; and then, you need certain automatism to kick in (as our opponents demonstrated so effectively to us last night) which are not fully there yet. This will come, though, and I am sure the team will learn quickly. It is these sorts of games that will speed the gelling and finding each other automatically up for us.

Now, we can say that it is the little things that make the difference in games like these, but this is the case in most games. We can also say we would not have lost this game with Flamini in the team, or even won the game with Theo and Podolski available. Maybe this is so, but we just don’t know. We can also say, we should have played for a draw and remain more compact at the back; and although there is merit in this too, we could also have lost the game with exactly that approach after which we would have said we should have played for the win – attack is the best defence and all that sort of stuff. Hindsight smindsight.

What is most important: compared to the Munich home game, Arsenal have made tremendous progress and with a bit more luck we would not have lost, possibly even have won, this game. The team has made a lot of progress in a short period of time.

But Dortmund did not reach the CL final last year by luck and once a team has humiliated a team like Madrid, collective confidence levels go sky-high, and this will last for a while. At times we played better football than them, but unlike us, they were always in control and played with a better established and ‘oiled’ system, and that’s why they scraped past us, I reckon. Nothing to be ashamed of, though.

So let’s not go on and on about certain individual players who apparently underperformed on the night, or whether certain players are far more effective in another position than they played in yesterday. Let’s also not use this game as a ‘yardstick’ how good our team really is and see failure to win as evidence that our good run until now is down to just playing the lesser lights of the footballing world (as if there are anymore lesser lights).

Let’s just see this as a great game of football, at the highest possible level, that we were not far away from winning. Let’s see it as confirmation that the team has made great progress in the last twelve months and more is likely to come. Let’s see it as a great learning opportunity for the boys without too much immediate damage done. Just wait and see how the team will progress in the next few weeks as a result of this game: Liverpool will feel the full brunt in two weeks time.

And with regards to our CL group, we are at least the second strongest team and that will tell in the end.

Written by: TotalArsenal.

Deserved praise for Ozil and Ramsey, but Giroud is our beacon, our lighthouse

October 2, 2013October 2, 2013TotalArsenal

Sexy football is back, baby! 🙂

Frustratingly, I had to travel back from London last night and was not able to watch the game. The only thing I had was my blackberry on which I could read comments on my own site but not respond (for some reason), as well as regular updates on the BBC website.

I could gather from the comments how well we were playing and that made it even harder to only have written words of the good guys’ performances, whilst others were getting the Full Monty at the ground or on TV.

I was able to watch ‘the highlights’ on ITV later on, and although they did not give our game much time, I could gather what a special night it has been at the Home of Football.

I know the footie statisticians focus a lot on goals and assists, but it is about time we start to measure ‘penultimate assists’ as well. The big question for me is: where does a goal originate from: is it the assist maker and/or the one who starts the attack? Ultimately, a goal is a combination of actions on and off the ball and most goals are scored as a result of efforts by a number of players.

Last night, Ozil was praised to heaven for a very, very fine performance in the first half. His goal was simply Bergkampesque and so was his assist for the second one. It is impossible to over-estimate what this German footballing Genius is adding to our team right now, and that at half the money of Bale muhahahaha! 😀

Ramsey’s assist was also Bergkampesque in terms of vision and accuracy, and this guy – the ultimate professional footballer – deserves all the credit he is getting currently.

But last night was also a great demonstration of the importance of our Big Fecking Frenchman: Ollie Giroud. He produced both penultimate assists and without him and his actions both goals would not have happened: it is as simple as that. I have been stressing for quite a while that Ollie is not just a classical nr.9; he is far more important than that to the team. His hold-up play and ability to play with his back to the goal, combined with his energy and his permanent goal threat, is absolutely pivotal to our system of football.

If Giroud had not scored yesterday, he might not have had much recognition for his contributions. Luckily, he did score which is good for him and us, but what matters even more is that he was at the very basis of both our goals last night.

His control and body strength, combined with good touches and pass, allowed Ramsey to penetrate the Napoli defence and have space and time to both spot Ozil and deliver an accurate pass to our nr.11. This was absolute sublime ‘holding forward’ football and without it Ramsey would not have had the time and space to produce his classy assist, and Ozil would not have been put in a good scoring position.

The second goal was another example of Giroud’s wider importance to the team. He was helping out with our pressing game and not just hanging around the box for ‘an opportunity coming his way’. The pressing let to him receiving the ball; he controlled it well, passed it to king of assists and then burst into the box himself. Ozil found him with sublime precision and our big Frenchman was rewarded for all his efforts with a relatively simple ‘blast-in’. Another fine team goal and another fine penultimate assist by OG.

Although his goals and direct assists are very important, his other contributions are just as important to the team. I reckon OG is the sort of striker we will see a lot more of in the future, although they might be hard to find. I reckon Chelsea and to a lesser extent Man City, who have Negredo and Dzeko, are crying out for a holding striker of Giroud’s pedigree, and the same goes for many other teams in the PL and Europe who want to play 4-2-1-3 or 4-5-1.

It might also explain why Dortmund did not allow Lewandowski to leave them this summer, as he is probably the finest holding forward around. The Pole is as pivotal to Dortmund as Giroud is to us, and I predict that not only the former but also the latter will become big transfer targets this summer. Not that we will let him go, no way Jose! 🙂

All ingredients for another feast of Wengerball football this season are here. Ozil and Ramsey, but also Flamini and Mertesacker, and many others deserve all the praise they are getting, and so does our mobile rock up-front, our beacon, our lighthouse, our linchpin, our giant of a holding forward.

Written by: TotalArsenal.

Gerry produced a fine morning comment that should be read by a wider audience, so I have added it to today’s post:

So, the first 15 minutes. None of that cagey stuff I talked about pre-game. Instead, some of the finest, crispest, passing for such a long time I think we were beginning to think that that side of our game had gone? The grab an early goal and defend in numbers was fantastically left behind in this half.

Sagna – the times he slipped the pass along the line where there was barely room was amazing. He was on very good form, and didn’t he enjoy it?

Ramsey – whether playing tight one-twos or playing down the wing, switching play, tackling .. It was all the same. Probably one of his best displays without scoring. Brilliant!

Flamini – how did we ever manage to do so well without him? Right man in the right job, and invariably in the right place. Of all the missing pieces in our team, he has to be one of the best? Drove the play forward at pace when he wasn’t ‘Johnny on the spot’ defending.

Ozil – what can you add that has not been already said? Truth be told, he himself added a whole lot more with this display? His goal alone should be on Walcott’s I-pad on a continuous loop – the timing of his run was immaculate. When Ramsey reached the byline Ozil had only just left his marker about 10 yards inside their half, but running into space. Ramsey is so hot-wired at the moment that he saw the space … the SPACE(note Theo!) and not the fully marked Giro in the box. He then played the perfect ball accordingly. Ozil reached the point where their trajectories would meet and played the simplest of first time shots with his instep into the bottom left hand corner.
That was just the finish it deserved. Others added to it along the way.

Rosicky – I am so disappointed that he has hardly got a mention in a report I read elsewhere, other than to say he ‘tired in the 2nd half’. I am not sure that this display would have been possible without him in the side. True, he did not lay on the perfect assist, or score a sumptuous goal. But what he did, and always does, is drive the play forwards. He passed the ball quickly, whether on the left or right, up front or on the edge of our box. This on his first game back from injury, and the first alongside Ozil. He may get overlooked a star of this game, but don’t think for one minute he did not play his part.

Giroud – I predicted his intelligence would help him connect well with Ozil, and it did in this game. It was Ozil this time that got to the goal line and somehow got the ball through a narrow gap between defenders and keeper for a simple tap in. However, when players are moving around him, his nod downs and quick flicks really do show off his skills to the full. I said early this season that he is like a lighthouse, a beacon from where the team know where they are .. and here it with this illuminating display?

I sought of skipped past Arteta’s contribution as I concentrated on the moves going forwards. He was his usual solid self. I did not see him going forward much in the first half, but Flamini was allowed to because he was there.

Again, not a lot to say about Szcz, Per, or Kos, as they had little to do, but what they did was solid enough.

Gibbs was not used so much in attack, as the right flank was getting most joy. It did not stop him making himself available though, which meant when he was having his one-two’s down the line it opened space for the others in the middle. However, his defending was questioned more than once. There was one occasion in the first half where he was not close enough to Insigne and allowed him a shot on goal, but shot wide. This was something happened, according to the audio, in the 2nd half too. And on each occasion it was down to Gibbs making the ‘right’(imo) decision to not allow the right back a free run in behind, but it is a fine line when trying to cover two players at the same time. If he tracks their wide player coming in, somebody should either take over so he can mark the overlap, or somebody else go wide? Gibbs is quick, but even he cannot be in two places at once? For the most part of the first half Flamini was there, with Rosicky tracking back. In the 2nd half when Wilshere came on for Rosicky it seemed to make the problem worse? Either the two are not communicating well enough, or Wilshere is a tad slow in reading the options?

And that folks is the nearest I can come to the report on performance. The match was decided by AW’s tactics to go all out from the off, so he gets top credit. But the players did all that was asked and then some.

This is why we are more likely to attract top players, whether next January or in the summer, as the video of this game gets spread around. Not only are we a top club, we have the players to match.

Written by: Gerry.

Ozil’s effect on Jack, Aaron irreplaceable right now, More to come from Arsenal

September 16, 2013September 16, 2013TotalArsenal

Well, right now to be a Gooner is to be blessed. Against Sunderland we witnessed a breathtaking first half performance and a clinical and efficient second half, resulting in a top of the table spot that is the icing on the sweet sumptuous cake that is Arsenal FC.

All this considering, we were lacking Santi and Poldi, and our German new signing had suffered a stomach bug and so really wasn’t at 100% AND had only trained once before with the lads. Which reminds me of some two snippets of good news; Olivier Giroud, last night after the game, tweeted that he is fine so that’s a relief, and reports are emerging that Arteta and Poldi have been responding exceptionally to treatment and are likely to return by beginning of October, which is in about two weeks. On the down side though, we lost Santi for three weeks it seems.

I am not going to repeat what has been said, rather I am going to explore an issue that has been overlooked, which is rather puzzling. The partnership between Wilshere and Ozil in the middle of the park.

Yesterday was Jack Wilshere’s best performance in an Arsenal shirt this season by a mile. And this was on the back of a poor performance for England. He played with the swagger, tenacity and confidence that once left the mighty Barcelona in defeat at the Emirates a few seasons ago. This was largely thanks to Mesut Ozil. Before the game, Wenger said that he believes Ozil will bring out the best of Wilshere. Anyone who still has doubts of that needs to re-watch that game.

I will take you back to a discussion we had sometime back regarding Wilshere’s best position in the team. I remember many argued that he is most natural in the number 10 role behind the striker but I insisted that Jack is a free spirit who best plays as a box to box, taking the ball in deep positions and surging up the field at will. I think I am vindicated on that front.

That aside though, yesterday we saw some of the best football from Arsenal, in a while. And before I go much further, let me state for the record that my man of the match is Aaron Ramsey, not just because of his goals but the boy was fantastic in attack and defence for the full 90 mins. Not even Arteta can displace him now.

Anyway, back to the issue at hand. Our midfield was dominant, and this will only get better as Ozil gets to play more with his team mates and Wilshere recaptures top form. Not to forget that once Santi, Rosicky and Poldi are reintroduced into the side, things will get very bad very fast for our opponents. In fact if I was Arsene I would take Giroud, Theo, Santi, Ox and Poldi and put them in a special training regime that focuses on movement off the ball and finishing, so as to capitalize on the unbelievable quality behind them. Yesterday, Theo should have given Ozil his first three assists in the league.

I was pleased we won 3-1 away but I still came out dissatisfied. I mean let’s be honest, based on the game alone we should have scored at least 6 goals (counting Theo’s three misses). Now consider if we were full strength and in this kind of form. We could realistically have gone in to double digits. That’s how much confidence and expectation I have in this team.

We play Marseille on Wednesday and for me every minute between now and then will be excruciating. I am now a junkie whose fix is watching the Arsenal ruthlessly annihilate their opponents. So for now, mine is to try and deal with the withdrawal symptoms until Wednesday.

Written by: Marcus