After scoring the winner for us in our last game of the season against West Brom last year – effectively winning us a guaranteed CL-spot – Koz does it again today! What is not to love about Laurent Koscielny at the moment?!
As expected Sunderland and Everton let us down today, but we did not let ourselves down, and that is even more important than qualifying for the CL (well almost).This team has spine and spirit, grit and graft. I am so proud of our boys in red and white today!
An unchanged team seemed a bit of a risk by Wenger, and especially the inclusion of El Zorro was unexpected. Perhaps Arsene valued the psychological benefit of including the Spaniard more than his ootential technical and tactical contributions on the day. Another, semi-surprise was Giroud not starting up-front as most of us had anticipated. Other than that, there were no surprises in Wenger’s team selection.
The game basically had four phases:
A nervy and disorganised start: we seemed all over the place and play without our usual cohesion and discipline. NU were determined to give us a game and were getting alongside and behind our defence far too easily during this phase. Arteta had to go off, and the Ox made his entrance;
Things started to change gradually as we got more grip on the game and NU seemed to ease off a bit as well. However, we were hardly creating any chances during this phase and it was clear we needed Arsene to sort the team out during the break;
The first part of the second half was better again, and we struck lucky when Koz powered Podolski’s assists, from a Walcott free-kick, past Harper from close range. 1-0 to THE Arsenal.
The remainder of the game saw us play our best football in all areas of the pitch, but as we were unable to score a second – despite Theo coming agonizingly close – it remained a very nervy encounter right till the end.
In the end, there were two things that saw us through: the hunger, grit and graft of the entire team and the outstanding performance of Laurent Koscielny. His goal was no doubt the most important one in an Arsenal shirt, but what also made a real difference was his perfect defensive performance against NU today.
When Koz is in this sort of form he is simply unbeatable. He out-jumped the NU attackers all afternoon, made vital and extremely well-timed interceptions in the box – both on the ground and in the air – and stole the ball of his opponents with incredible hunger and precision – committing hardly any fouls in the process. What a player he is becoming and it goes without saying that Arsene needs to keep all defenders together this summer, and for me that includes Sagna and Vermaelen.
Other than the score (and what it means), and that performance of Koz – and I also thought BFG and both full backs had very fine second half performances – the game will be forgotten quickly: it was anything but a classic.
But the sustained period in which this team has shown the hunger, grit and determination to not get beaten by the Spuds for a top-four finish, after they beat us at the beginning of March and went seven points ahead of us, is just what this team needed. Five PL away-wins in a row – first time since 2004!! – eight wins out of our last ten PL games: what a turn around, and what a solid basis for the new season.
The foundations are laid, the walls are up, the roof is almost finished and the Spuds are stored firmly in the cellar; now let’s add some super quality furniture and polish off what we already have: Arsenal might be gunning for the top prizes next season! 😉
But before we start the silly season, I would like to say a big thank you to all the recent regular players: for their drive and passion and for playing for the shirt with all they had. More we could not have asked for, and they have done us proud!
The Pod was in clinical form tonight with a fine brace!
Well, that was not just a result, but also a game, we needed. Wigan did themselves proud with a committed performance and a strong finish to the first half as well as an energetic start to the second.
As I indicated in the match preview, the Latics’ midfield is very strong, and as they did against MC, they also started to dominate our midfield gradually in the first half. Wigan were determined not to let us have the ball and pass it round, and with their excellent closing down of our midfielders and the ability to pass the ball round well themselves, they forced the likes of Arteta, Rambo and Rosicky into regular mistakes.
We had scored a soft goal from a set-piece, although it should be said that Podolski took the opportunity well. And as against QPR, we pushed on for the second goal, but lacked the ingenuity and focus to get one; and gradually Wigan were able to get themselves back into the game.
I felt the goal was coming for a while, and after giving away a couple of free-kicks in dangerous areas by our (at times defensively struggling) midfielders already, it did not come as a big surprise that Wigan equalised through a fine free-kick by Maloney – although lean Dean the anti-Arsenal machine should never have awarded a free-kick against our Zorro in the first place. Szczesny almost saved it and Koz could have jumped higher, but it was still a very good free-kick and Wigan deserved the equaliser.
Luckily, they tired quickly in the second half and Arsenal were now, for once, super efficient with the chances we created, with fine goals by Theo, the Pod and Rambo, to finish Wigan off. The Pod, Theo, and Cazorla – with three assists, were a class apart tonight; and surely they will start again on Sunday?!
It many ways it was a crazy second half. Wigan came very close to get in front at the start of the half, as Szczesny made a fantastic save to deny Kone. Luckily for us, it did not take long before we took advantage of the enormous space Wigan left open in their half, and the game was decided in our favour in just eight minutes. Eight minutes of blitz-football did the trick and a tired Wigan knew that the war was over.
These are my initial thoughts on the game, but we will analyse it further in the next few days.
Other thoughts that are going through my head right now are:
Will Arteta play against NU or will he be out injured – it did not look good the way he left the pitch….
Should we play the same formation up-front against NU, now that Podolski has found the net twice in the central striker position, and both Theo and Carzorla have been effective on the wing? Or should Arsene reintroduce Giroud now that his suspension is over?
We now have a good chance to finish in the top-four and still a decent one to finish third. For that we need a 2-0 win and Everton to get a draw against Chelsea – and of course a Chavs loss and a win for us would be even more fantastic. I feel quite confident that Everton can get a result at SB, as the Chavs will be knackered and the Toffees will want to give Moyes a committed performance in his last game in charge. But of course, the most important thing is to win against NU so the Spuds have no chance to get ahead of us: that has to be our number one priority.
I feel sorry for Wigan who really have done themselves proud this week, and it seems so wrong that a team that can play such good football goes out, whilst the likes of Stoke and Sunderland are let of the hook. I hope they get back up again next season, but it will not be easy for them.
How come that we are so far behind the Mancs when we have scored more goals than anybody else at home in the PL and conceded less than anybody else away?
Food for thought fine fellow Gooners!
Written by: TotalArsenal – a very happy Gooner tonight! 🙂
Sometimes it is best to sleep a night over a game of football. On a beautiful, sunny Sunday morning it is easier to reflect on a game that was hard on the eye and tough for the heart, but THE RESULT still left us with a good after taste. And the latter – just like the better coffees and wines do – is still lingering on this morning.
Three points and a first win at Loftus Road in seven attempts makes the head nod sagely: 1-0 to the Arsenal is all we needed. Some will point out the need to boost our GD, but that is simply wishful thinking at the moment. Our team is running at its last legs and somehow just keeps scraping the barrel for more.
Since Arsene decided to put Arteta and Ramsey together in the double DM-pivot, and swap TV5 for the more organised and composed Koz, we have, as predicted, both become a lot more solid in defence and gradually more and more toothless in attack.
In our 4-2-1-3 formation the box-to-box midfielder holds the key for creating a fine balance between defending and attacking, and only a fit Diaby or Wilshere can truly make this formation tick as per the Wengerball ideology.
With Ramsey we get a hard and disciplined worker and he and Arteta deserve a lot of credit for our recent mean defensive record. Of course, this will not be enough in the long term. Wenger put into place his plan-B to get us back in the CL next season, and for me he is showing once more that he can play Mourinho-like football if he needs to.
But boy is our football hard to watch at the moment, as we dither and probe through the middle all day long, looking like our attackers have never played together before. Pod looked like running around with inflated testicles, Cazorla and Theo totally allergic to sticking to traditional wing-play, and Rosicky was simply not central/domineering enough.
Yet, in the first half we dominated so much that we should have added to Theo’s super-early goal. When in it the box, Theo tends to shoot at goal as soon as he can, without taking another touch, and it paid off for him straightaway. The keeper should probably have done better, but Theo gave him very little time to set himself up properly, and looking into the glaring sun will not have helped Green much either.
Theo was also a wee bit unlucky with another fine, direct attempt on goal in the first half which Green pushed onto the post, and he had another such an attempt saved in the second half. Theo, unlike the Pod yesterday, got himself in good positions in the box and made the keeper work, and his goal made all the difference yesterday. Does this mean he should play centrally more often, though? Aah, let’s discuss! 🙂
Arteta played one of his best games of the season with fantastic positioning, great interceptions and more than adequate distribution, including a fine, and priceless assist for our one and only goal. I loved his physical strength and sheer desire to fight for these crucial three points: he was a true captain for us yesterday. The Basque beast simply ruled the game against the Hoops!
Another big plus point – you must have noticed by now I am mainly looking at the plus points – was our composure and organisation in defence. The triangle of Szczesny – BFG – Koz is quickly developing into something very solid, and that is at least one of the big positives from our current season. Arsenal must ensure we keep them together for next season, and not be tempted to cash in on any of them.
The BFG’s composure and organisational skills are of great value to us, and Koz’ timing, energy but also his positioning and composure, combine really well with the German’s strengths and weaknesses. Add to that a mature and controlled performance of our goal keeper – making good saves (one against Remy was simply excellent) when required – and you can see why we are proving hard to beat at the back at the moment.
In fact, our defensive away record has been very good this season, conceding only 14 goals in 18 PL games: far better than anybody else in the PL. This will probably pan out to be our saviour this season in terms of CL qualification.
Nacho had a tough game against the only player who really cared, Townsend (I wonder what was motivating him hahaha). However, he did get forward and behind the Hoops’ defence once or twice, and that appeared to be the only way to create some danger during large parts of the game. Sagna had a decent game, but once again, he got little support on the wing going forward – often left alone with the ball with nobody anywhere near to set up an attack from the wing.
The negatives in a nutshell (nothing new really): ineffective wingplay for most of the game, attackers and midfielders not linking up properly or finding each other – no collective telepathy – too many players needing too much time (touches) to take their chances, no physical – and limited aerial – presence in the box, and not creative enough.
But our defensive triangle in the centre, our double DM pivot, and an improving Walcott saved the day for us. And there are ten days now to get some much-needed new content into the barrel.
Average player ratings by BK’ers:
Szczesny: 7.7
Nacho: 6.4
Koz: 7.7
BFG: 7.3
Sagna: 6.7
Arteta: 7.7
Ramsey: 6.7
Rosicky: 6.7
Cazorla: 7
Podolski: 5.5
Theo: 7.3
Written by: TotalArsenal.
Special thanks to those who put in their player ratings.
Glad that game is over and done with. I was very surprised to see Van Judas (VJ) start and finish the game, but it was good to see the supporters giving him a hard time.
I loved our commitment – some might call it healthy aggression – and focus in the first half. The first goal came early and this is often not an advantage in these sorts of games, as it can be hard to stay focused and keep momentum when that happens. Theo was marginally offside but he took his chance very well.
It was a surprise not to see Wilshere start, but both Ramsey and Rosicky – either of whose position he would have played in – did very well in the first half. Not scoring a second goal during the first half, and us slacking off a bit, gradually gave MU a chance to get back in the game. Despite some excellent saves by Szczesny, we still got undone by a lack of concentration / poor defensive play from Sagna, culminating in him fouling VJ in the penalty area. VJ took the penalty and Szczesny had no chance: 1-1.
The second half lacked the intensity and concentration/focus of the first part of the first half, and although we had plenty of shots on goal, we never created good enough chances or lack lethalness to win the game. We clearly wanted to win and committed many players forward, and by doing so, we left a lot of space behind our midfield, which is so dangerous against a team like MU. They had the best chances in the second half and could/should have scored the winner on a few occasions.
But, having now played all the top teams twice this season, it is clear that we are on one hand, not lethal enough, and on the other hand, not solid enough at the back. Arsenal conceded goals in all games against MC, MU and the Chelsea, and we scored never more than one goal in any of those games. Ultimately, this means us losing a lot of points against the top teams, with just two points out of 18 this season.
Today, we swarmed around the MU goal like bees, but we lacked penetration, invention, power and believe. Having watched Bayern and Dortmund power themselves into the boxes of their Spanish opponents last week, it is obvious that we need to invest in this area.
All in all, today’s performance was more than a bit disappointing and it is hard to take much encouragement from it for our remaining games. It seems that we are on our very last legs and the finish is still too far away….
I will also say, though, that we still have not got the best formation for our team/ the Arsenal way of playing football. Arsene just does not seem to be able to get this team to play on a higher level. Some will say it is because we do not have enough quality players, and no doubt, there is truth in this. However, I also feel that our 4-3-3 system without a proper DM and not using dedicated wing-play, is not working for us very well.
We need to look at the bigger picture, which is 26 points out of 33; so, we are on a good run and this draw might prove a very valuable point for us in the end. I don’t think we deserved more, and we could even say we are a tat lucky to end up with a draw.
But the other part of the bigger picture is that we look tired and lack stamina and quality in midfield and up-front, and possibly at the back as well. This team can work hard and there is plenty of growth in it, and that goes a long way, but we need to add real quality this summer, AND get the formation/style of play right, if we want to make a step improvement.
These were the questions I asked during the prematch report:
How will Nacho and Cazorla – I reckon they will start on the left today – cope against the strongest opposition in the PL?
How will the ‘fluid-three’ up-front work, or will Pod play in the Giroud role and stay centrally?
Will Theo finally have a good game again and show us all what he is capable of – might he even start in the middle today?
How will Aaron and Mikel cope in the double DM-anchor against the Mancs, and will the Mancs target Arteta as our ‘weakest’ link again?
How will the back-four cope with the Mancs’ versatile attackers?
Will Szczesny have a top game today?
Will we be able to dominate the game and play our passing game?
So, over to you fellow Bkers, and don’t hold back! 🙂
BFG – The Dream Catcher’s goal made the difference today
Three very valuable points and seven out of nine over the last week. These are the hard facts and the rest is relatively unimportant. It is now all about survival, getting in the top-four, and build further over the summer.
However, our performance today against 10-men Fulham was an absolute pain to watch. Of course, it is our third game in a week and all that bright light makes one a bit tired…… but we made this so hard for ourselves and we looked so much like a team who played together for the first time; something we have witnessed more than a few times this season. It remains a mystery to me!
Arsenal’s extra man advantage meant we could not leave Arteta and Ramsey to sit back a bit and absorb pressure – something we have done regularly in recent away games – but that they needed to play higher up the pitch and keep Fulham locked-in at their own half.
Both the Welshman and the Spaniard have given a lot for us against the Canaries and Toffees, and it was clear that they did not have the same level of energy, composure and discipline as they did in recent games. But regardless of this, it was also once again evident that both players slow our play down and struggle with the creative, attacking side of midfield play; and for me, they were the main reason for our inability to stamp our authority on the game today, once Fulham were reduced to ten men.
I believe both players are very valuable squad players and especially Arteta deserves to be a first team starter again this season, but with Diaby being Diaby and Wilshere and Rosicky currently struggling with having the continuous health and stamina for such demanding positions, we are a bit light in midfield at the moment.
And it showed badly today. With Sidwell out, we should have dominated the midfield and worked gradually and systematically towards scoring our second goal, but we remained shapeless and clueless for large parts of the game.
It also did not help that our wings are not working at the moment. Santi and Theo did not stick to the wing enough to give the necessary width to our game, and they also did not link up with their FB’s enough to give another dimension to our football. It is starting to look like our wings have become a dirty, infested area where no attackers want to be. This will need to change.
Most of our attacking play was focussed centrally, and was rather very laboured, slow and predictable.
We also witnessed again Arsenal’s difficulties with passing round the ball. How often do we see effective triangles between our players? We used to play close together and pass our way towards the box, centrally or via the wing, but now players do the opposite: as soon as a pass is made towards somebody in space, the passer runs away; leaving the recipient with very few passing opportunities behind. This is sooo un-Arsenal like; it is unbelievable!
The lack of passing, combined with some bad first touches throughout most of the team, and the absence of courage to find quick and risky through-balls – especially Arteta and Ramsey seem allergic to taking a bit of risk in their passing – are making us look very mundane at the moment. In a game like this, where we played a team with a man less for eighty minutes, it really showed up.
And I don’t think this will change again this season. Rosicky tried his best to add some quality to our play, and Cazorla always adds something, but as a team we looked laboured; lacking invention, imagination and thrust. Jack made a positive contribution but it was also not enough to regain composure, purpose and control over the game.
Luckily, the BFG had an inspired day both in defence, and especially, up-front, as his header at Fulham’s far post, from Koz’s ‘assist’ made all the difference.
Giroud and Szczesny conspired to give it almost all away in the latter stages of the game: the former by getting himself sent-off, albeit harsh, and the latter by spilling the ball from a safe he made from a free-kick which led to a goal, which luckily but rightfully, was ruled offside.
The performances of both Koz and the BFG were one of the very few positives today as they managed somehow to keep a clean sheet for us today.
We are now in a paradoxical situation where we play well below-par at times but still collect seven out of nine points during a pivotal week for us. It would be foolish to count on our luck continuing for the remainder of the season, and with Giroud out for at least one game – unless his card gets rescinded – Arsene and Steve have their work cut out to somehow get this team to play with purpose, thrust and invention again.
The Pod showed the rest how to be composed before taking a chance yesterday.
Arsene’s zipper has been the perfect analogy for most of Arsenal’s season. Anytime he’s had issues with it on the sidelines, our team has seemingly also struggled on the pitch. Arsenal was rubbish for 90% of today’s match, even going down a goal in the 56th minute on yet another set piece. It took us until the 78th minute to show any urgency and from there, our substitutes led the way in bringing Arsenal to a hard fought 3-1 victory.
Before I continue with the match report, I’d like to point out that I’ve reached a point where I sympathize with Arsene when choosing his starting line-up. If he does not rotate, fans blame him for exposing our players to greater risk of injury; and if he does rotate, fans blame him for altering a winning formula and starting players who are clearly off-form. So which is it?
Going back to today’s match, Arsene introduced three new players into the starting line-up: Vermaelen for BFG, with Jack replacing the injured Rosicky, and Gibbs in place of Nacho.
Arsenal’s first half was reminiscent to the first half of the season, highlighted by turnovers, heavy touches, slower than normal build-up play and complacency. We were victims of committing 20+ turnovers in the first half alone, which comes to no surprise when you consider that we went into the 2nd half at 0-0 stalemate.
Our best opportunity to score in the first half came from a beautiful long ball from Santi who found a streaking Gervinho. Unfortunately, Gervinho played a heavy touch around goalkeeper Mark Bunn and ended up almost going out of bounds before attempting a shot on goal. There were no other significant scoring chances in the first half, as our attack looked disjointed in the final third and lacked real purpose. On a positive note, our defense was reliable and composed in dealing with the few threats Norwich posed going forward.
The second half began exactly as the first half ended – stationary and with players misplacing passes. The game looked like it could end in a stalemate with neither team displaying any urgency or looking like a threat to score. However, in the 56th minute, Gibbs committed an unnecessary foul and clipped the heel of Kamara near the edge of our own 18-yard box. Yet another set piece did us in, as we failed to mark Michael Turner and he converted a free header from Snodgrass’ kick to give Norwich the 1-0 lead.
Arsene immediately responded by bringing Theo and Podolski into the game but neither player were able to make a difference.
Theo did make a nice run to beat some Norwich defenders as soon as he came on, but the play was ruined by a poor first touch by Podolski. Norwich then began to take the game to Arsenal, moving the ball down field and picking up dangerous free kicks in our own half. Fortunately, they were not able to capitalize on their chances.
In the 78th minute, Arsenal finally looked like they would level the game, when Giroud calmly chested down a ball to a wide-open Podolski. However, the well-struck shot was deflected by Bunn’s fingertips before rattling off the cross bar. Finally, Arsene had seen enough and made his last available substitution by bringing Ox into the match. Shortly after, Ramsey outworked Snodgrass to give Arsenal a corner, which eventually led to Giroud being pulled down in Norwich’s penalty box.
The assistant referee immediately called for a penalty kick and Arteta calmly slotted away the gift of an opportunity to bring us even. The penalty was a breath of fresh air for Arsenal and they never looked back, dominating the final 10 minutes of the match. Some link-up play between Santi and Ox shortly after, led to a one-two with Podolski, before Ox fed the ball across the goal line for an easy tap-in that Giroud slotted away.
If that was not enough, Arsenal poured it on after Giroud flicked on Fabianski’s goal kick to an offside Theo, who eventually passed it to Podolski for a beautiful finish in the bottom right-hand corner of goal.
On another day, against a better opposition, Arsenal likely would not have gotten away with today’s performance. We were very fortunate to escape with the three points, and relying on a penalty kick for momentum is evidence that Arsenal were lethargic, stationary and lacking creativity and purpose in their attack.
Before I begin on the player ratings, I’d like to explain how I arrive at the score a player receives. For me, a 7 represents that a player has sufficiently done what has been asked of him and not much more. An 8 signifies that the player has contributed more than the average player, but that either his performance has room for improvement or I’ve seen better games from him lately. A 9 or higher is reserved for outstanding performances and is usually accompanied by tangible statistics on the score sheet. Ignore previous ratings from past articles, as I’ll look to be consistent from here on out in the new rating system.
Player Ratings:
Fabianski (7.0) – Fab made a couple outstanding saves after we leveled the game and he did everything we could have asked for from a starting goalie. It was unfortunate that he conceded a goal, since the foul was unnecessary in the first place and the marking let him down.
Gibss (5.0) – Kieran was underwhelming for me today. I expected to see some of his lively runs down the left flank and to show the boss that he deserves to be in the starting line-up. Instead, he committed the foul that eventually led to Norwich’s goal and he completely butchered two crosses where we actually outnumbered Norwich’s defenders in the box. Perhaps it was the lack of meaningful game time and being off-form that led to his poor performance today, but either way, I did not think Gibbs played well.
Vermaelen & Koscielny (7.0) – Aside from the goal we conceded, I thought Verm played a solid game and actually bailed us out of trouble on two occasions with a couple of nice sliding challenges. Kos also had an assertive sliding challenge to disrupt a Norwich counter to win us back possession. They were both invisible for the most part, which is what you want from a defender. However, their slow passing in our half didn’t inspire any urgency in our attack, but neither turned the ball over either.
Sagna (6.0) – Sagna was brilliant defensively, stopping all of Norwich’s attacks, while also trying to contribute offensively with a nice cross to Giroud who unfortunately hit the crossbar after he met it with his head. However, Sagna was at fault for allowing Turner to score, since Turner got away from him on the free kick, giving him the free header.
Arteta (7.5) – Arteta was instrumental in inspiring the squad to fight back after going down 1-0. He was composed all game and played the right balls to our players, while immediately pressuring the Norwich players whenever we lost possession. Considering the circus surrounding the penalty call and the Norwich players getting in his face before he took the spot kick, Arteta ignored it all and calmly slotted the goal that brought us even.
Ramsey (6.5) – In the first half, Ramsey was all over the pitch, joining in the attack and running back to help defend. He seems to have more of a spring in his step lately and is building the confidence to attempt some high risk, high reward moves (heel flicks, over the top passes etc.). However, several of these plays led to turnovers and he committed 4-5 alone this game. I was still quite pleased with him in the first half and his rating would have been slightly higher had he not completely faded in the second half.
Wilshere (4.5) – Was there a more disappointing player on the pitch today? I was thrilled to see Jack back in the starting line-up since he is my favorite player, but I questioned Arsene’s decision to start him after he had just returned from another injury lay-off. As the game progressed, it was clear that AW made a mistake, as Jack was rusty and his body language displayed that he was not mentally prepared for the game. He was not the inspirational leader we saw earlier this season and he gave no shape or purpose to our attack. Instead, he committed 7 turnovers and looked out of place. Hopefully, this game is just a one off and Jack can return to being the footballer we all know he is capable of being.
Gervinho (4.5) – While there may not have been a more disappointing player on the pitch than Jack today, Gervinho was equally as unimpressive. He committed 7 turnovers in the final third and had tunnel vision when entering the opponents’ 18-yard box. It was as if the performances from the past two games had completely eluded him and he was back to being the old Gervinho – no creativity, not taking defenders on, heavy touches and not finding his teammates in obvious scoring positions. Hopefully, he can regain the confidence he showed previous to today’s game and become an effective player for us down the final stretch.
Giroud (7.0) – He was instrumental in winning us the penalty kick, his flick-on to Theo in what eventually became the third goal was brilliant and he ended up tapping in the game winner. It was also impressive to see him calmly chest down the ball right to Poldi in the opposition’s 18-yard box. However, those positive moments were all achieved in the final 10 minutes of the game and do not excuse his performance up until that point. He was more or less invisible before that, aside from his 7-8 turnovers, and much like the rest of the team, was ineffective. I’ve found his decision making to be remarkably slow lately and looking for the spectacular play that he is usually incapable of making by nature, causes him to get stripped of the ball or play a poor ball.
Cazorla (7.0) – Santi was the only player with any creativity in the first half and played two very nice balls to Gervinho, who was unfortunately not able to convert or create a goal on either pass. Still, I was hoping for more from him after how influential he had been in our last couple home games. Instead, he drifted in and out of the game and never truly inspired the squad or made an impact (especially the 2nd half). The more worrying fact is that Santi and Jack have not been effective when both are inserted into the starting line-up. One player tends to over shadow the other and we lose a significant source of secondary creativity in the process. Hopefully, they can form a productive partnership and eventually take the league by storm, as they are amongst the most talented players in the EPL.
Walcott (6.0), Podolski & Oxlade-Chamberlain (8.0) – Of the three substitutes, it was clear that the latter two had the biggest influence on the match. Upon stepping onto the pitch, Poldi immediately found himself in scoring positions and struck a volley that almost brought us even. His finish in the 91st minute was an absolute cracker and capped off a magnificent cameo appearance. However, it wasn’t until Ox joined the action in the 79th minute that our team truly took the game to Norwich and threatened in attack. His combination play with Santi and Poldi was outstanding and his assist on the crucial game winner sealed the three points for us. Theo started off his substitute appearance with lots of energy and registered an assist on Podolski’s goal, but did little else.
At the end of the day, three points is three points and despite Arsenal’s performance for the first 85 minutes of the match, we should all be happy with the final outcome. Going forward, hopefully we will not have to rely on another penalty kick to motivate the squad, since the penalty call could have easily been disregarded on another day. The win effectively put us above that other North London team and into a Champions League spot. Onwards and Upwards! COYG!
Well that was a fine and much-needed win today. It is only fair to say that Reading were easy prey this afternoon, and that a stronger team might have punished us for not finishing off our chances in the first half. But, once again, we played a lot better in the second half and, despite one costly lapse in concentration, Arsenal totally dominated the game from start to finish, and very much deserved their win today.
It was great to see Gervinho start a game again, and he took his opportunity to shine for us really well. The Gerv and Santi were clearly our drivers in the first half, and for most of the second half as well. Gervinho was everywhere and always made himself available, and he is the one of the few who wants to keep hold of the ball and attack the space in front of him, rather than just pass the ball to the nearest player as soon as possible.
Gervinho’s performance was by no means perfect, and he can delight us as much as frustrate us from one moment to the next, but with a goal and two assists, he deserves a lot of praise today. His positioning was great (especially in the box) and his ability to take the ball forward and make things happen was also on show today once more.
He took his goal well and provided two fine assists. The one for Santi was simple and effective; after he created a bit of space, by keeping the ball and moving forward towards the goal, he played a simple, low and well-measured pass to Santi, who this time round did show the required composure, and finished really well with a placed, curling shot past some Reading defenders and goalkeeper Taylor.
The second assist was the best one; The Gerv held off defenders around the box and then made a good, measured pass towards Giroud’s left foot, who could do nothing else but score.
I was impressed with Giroud willingness to work for the team today, and he created a lot of space in the box through his movement and ability to occupy more than one defender most of the time. And his work for the team was reciprocated by the fine pass Gervinho provided to him for our third goal.
Throughout the game, and especially in the first half, we were still wasteful with our chances, and both Cazorla and Gervinho deserve some criticism for some disappointing finishing. I guess this is something we have to accept of both players: they work hard, get themselves in good positions, and are attack-minded, but both of them – Gervinho more than Cazorla – will waste a lot of chances in the process as well.
However, Cazorla’s coolness for the second goal and Gervinho’s composure for his goal and assists, made the difference today, and in the end that is all that really matters.
Our defence was shielded magnificently today by Mikel Arteta, and you could see how much he has benefited from a well-needed interlull break. When Arteta plays like this, the whole team plays better. It allowed Ramsey to support Rosicky and Cazorla, who was found mostly in the middle of the pitch, in putting pressure on the opposition’s defence high up the pitch. Today that made all the difference.
However, I thought that Ramsey and especially Rosicky were a bit rusty in the first half and not dynamic enough. Luckily, they both improved strongly in the second half and it was their drive that kept our rhythm going throughout the second half. Towards the end of the game, Arsenal started to play some wonderful football and both Ramsey and Rosicky had big contributions in this.
Reading scored a good goal through Robson-kanu, who sneaked in behind Monreal to score with a diving header from a fine cross by McAnuff.
Ox did well coming on as a sub and winning a penalty straightaway, which was well taken by Arteta.
In summary, an easy win, and an important one; with the Spuds winning (as expected) at Swansea, and the Chavs dropping three very costly points at Southampton, our win today keeps the pressure up on both of them; and that’s all we can do. Our next game against West Brom will no doubt be a tougher nut to crack.
Nacho tells the Spuds and Chavs who he’s gunning for!
Facing the Jacks without Jack? Who really gives a Jack?!
It turns out, the almost-miracle in and against Munich, may well be the much needed lift for our squad to finish in the coveted top-four domestically by the end of the season. Amidst the downplaying by some critics of our victory at the Allianz arena (due to Bayern’s suspensions and being mentally unfocused after their first-leg victory), the significance of that victory may go beyond the criticism of coming short in Europe yet again; it represents a huge boost for Arsenal in confidence, and the cornerstone for momentum to the rest of the season.
The problem for most of this season has been following up a great performance with another. There has been a lack of consistency game-to-game and even within a game; the 2-0 victory against Bayern saw the potential for Arsenal to be a fortress defensively like we were for the first few games this season, while playing as a collective, cohesive unit offensively.
Arsenal was able to follow up its 2-0 victory in the CL with another inspiring 2-0 victory against a Swansea side that beat us by the same score-line earlier this year. Arsene made some changes to the line-up that played mid-week in Germany, by starting Ox, Diaby and Monreal in place of Rosicky, Ramsey and Gibbs. We started off the game with some very nice one-touch passing, while Swansea countered with some beautiful passing of its own. It was evident that this would be a wide-open game with both teams taking turn passing and attacking.
Swansea dominated the first 20 minutes of play by creating the majority of chances and holding on to the ball very well – they ‘out-Arsenaled’ Arsenal in the process. Their first half was highlighted by golden opportunities both missed by Michu. Our defence did well in neutralizing the early threats; and after the initial 20 minutes of dominance by Swansea, Arsenal took over the game.
We had our fair chances to score in the first half, none better than Ox’s two shots off the crossbar, and Santi’s dipping effort from 25 yards out that Vorm saved calmly. However, both sides were unable to convert, and the half ended in a stalemate with both sides outplaying the other for half of the first 45 minutes.
The second half was a much different story to the first half of the game; as Arsenal have been able to own second halves, with only 12 goals conceded – better than any other squad in the Premier League. We started the second half as we ended the first half: in complete control on both possession and scoring chances. Santi drove our team forward on numerous occasions and Diaby threatened with a couple of nice runs, but we still lacked either the final ball or the finish to put us ahead. It once again appeared that we would be victims to our lack of creativity, as we were very stationary on the edge of the opponent’s box, contemplating a way to break through their defence.
However, in the 71st minute of the game, Arsene made two key substitutions that changed the flow and outcome of the game – Gervinho and Ramsey came into the match for Ox and Diaby. At first, I was a little puzzled by the substitutions since two-thirds of our most threatening attacking options today were now off the field, but I had faith that Gervinho’s trickery and runs would add some flair and potentially reinvigorate our stale offensive approach.
Immediately after the substitutions, Santi drove us forward once again and played a ball to Giroud, whose poor touch was saved by a diving second effort to get the ball to Monreal in the opponent’s box. Cool and composed as ever, Monreal slid the ball into the bottom corner of the goal to give the Mighty Arsenal a much-deserved one-goal lead. From there, the game was history as we continued to own possession and still attacked when given the opportunity. We moved up and down the pitch like a well-oiled machine, paying special attention to the defensive side of the game before eventually scoring in the 91st minute. Gervinho capped off a counter-attack in the 91st minute by calmly slotting an insurance goal for us from a Ramsey pass.
Player Ratings:
Fabianski (7.5) – He was never really tested, but came up with saves when needed. His aggressive goalkeeping in running out to meet balls played back to him by defenders displayed his confidence and comfort level in goal. I also noticed that most of his kicks in the air often find Arsenal players in open space, which is another benefit Fab brings to the table. Two clean sheets in a row, nothing extraordinary today, but he provides us with stability in goal going forward.
The Back Four: Jenkinson, Mertesacker, Koscielny (7.5) Monreal (8.0) – I grouped our back four together because I thought they all played a very solid game and have finally provided us with some defensive consistency and reliability. Jenkinson’s pass directly to Michu in the first half was frightening, but fortunately we were not punished for his mistake. Aside from that, Jenkinson was lively running up and down the flank and is blossoming into a fantastic and dependable RB. Mertesacker held the line well and played very deep to receive passes in typical fashion; he was steady as ever. Koscielny was aggressive and assertive in his defending again, and has formed a solid partnership with the BFG in the center of the park. Monreal’s timely goal set him apart from the rest of the back four, but all four are worthy of recognition for playing a solid defensive game with little to no errors.
Arteta (6.5) – I was a little disappointed with Arteta today, as he misplaced some passes (one to Koscielny in our own half) and was careless with his tackling (conceded a free kick just outside our own 18-yard box and picked up a yellow), which almost cost us. His lack of pace has been frequently exposed lately against clubs with fast players like Robben, Ribeiry, Routledge, Dyer, Pablo etc. However, he is still the engine of this team and Arsenal are more disciplined and organized when he wears the armband and is in the line-up.
Diaby (7.0) – Considering it was Diaby’s first game back after another injury lay-off, I was relatively impressed. There were flashes of his old-self coming back, as he galloped down field with ease and stripped the ball off Swansea players on numerous occasions. It was clear that he was rusty and not fully in form yet, as he had a heavy touch on a couple occasions and could not finish from the scoring opportunities he created for himself.
Cazorla (8.5) – Santi was the driver for our team and constantly pushed us forward throughout the whole match. Much like Diaby, Santi is once again showing signs of becoming the player he was at the start of the year and is exerting his influence on the game. He was my MoTM and has looked brilliant filling in for Jack in the hole. As mentioned earlier, it was Santi’s run with the ball that created the first goal; and his pass up field to Giroud that started the counter-attack for our second goal.
Oxlade-Chamberlain (7.5) – Ox’s first start in a while and like Diaby, it was clear that he had some rust to shake off. He was our most dangerous player in the first half, hitting the crossbar twice, combining well with Santi and making some nice runs into the opponent’s 18-yard box. However, he also had a couple heavy touches and made some errant passes in the final third. I’d like to see Ox get some more minutes during the rest of the season, as he provides a different option to our wings than Theo, Poldi, Santi and Gervinho.
Giroud (6.5) – Giroud was underwhelming yet again today. Aside from the nice second effort to assist on Monreal’s goal, he was largely not involved and never helped to threaten Swansea’s defense. As always, his work rate and attention to defensive duties is admirable, but we’ll eventually need goals from our striker if we’re to qualify for the Champions League next year.
Walcott (6.0) – There were times when I questioned if Theo was even on the pitch. There has been a disturbing pattern of Theo drifting centrally recently, looking for the breakaway pass and to be the man who scores timely goals, whilst leaving Jenkinson defending and attacking on his own on the right flank. While the belief in his own ability is great, the delivery has not been focused enough, and he needs to let the game come to him, instead of forcing the issue. I’m confident he’ll eventually find his scoring boots again.
Gervinho, Ramsey (7.0) and Gibbs (Incomplete) – In their cameo appearances, Gervinho and Ramsey made a substantial impact on the game. Their ratings are only a 7.0 because they only played approximately 20 minutes of the match. Gervinho immediately threatened Swansea with a nice run down the left, but fell victim to his own poor pass in the final third. Still, our offense looked livelier once he was on the pitch and his goal in the 91st minute sealed our victory. Ramsey’s work rate running up and down the field was necessary as our team was starting to fade before he came on. Despite his pass being played behind Gervinho on the goal, he still played it into the right area and picked up a crucial assist. Gibbs came onto the game in the 84th minute to defend the lead and never really had the opportunity to make his mark.
On a day where the Arsenal is victorious, it’s hard to point out too many flaws in our game, and I believe my player ratings more or less reflect this. Going forward, the striker partnership of Theo and Giroud will need to improve, as we’ll need their goals in the coming weeks to secure a Champions League spot.
Hopefully, Arsenal can maintain this level of intensity and consistency and finally form an identity of being a defensive fortress, while winning games in typical, beautiful Arsenal fashion.
Five conclusion from a faith-restoring victory over Bayern.
Violently happy Coz we love you! 🙂
The boys did us proud tonight – I am absolutely delighted with their performance. If this team had been playing together for a while longer and we had just a bit more quality up-front, we would even have nicked it.
Conclusion 1:
Our first priority is to get the defensive side of our football right; then we always have a chance, because we know how to play footie and score goals. The difference in performances of our defence during our home and away game could not have been much bigger. We hardly gave away any space behind our defence and between defence and midfield tonight, and were confident in the air and on the ground. Koscielny was superb and his pace and energy gave Mertesacker a chance to organise the defence, and focus on his own positioning. The full-backs were magnificent, especially Jenkinson did us proud. They had drive and passion, speed and strength, and helped out up-front as well. Their performances give us real hope of what could be in the future. Fabianski did everything right and did not flap once. I also really liked his verbal communication skills and willingness to give his fellow players an ear full when they deserved it.
Achieving a clean sheet against, and at, Bayern is a fantastic achievement by our ‘back-five’.
Conclusion 2:
Arteta and Ramsey did a great job defensively in front of the back-four. Yes, there were a few bad clearances, especially by Arteta at the start of the game, and some of the passes were not sharp enough, but they worked hard and denied Bayern space in the centre of midfield. Unfortunately, it meant that Rosicky remained isolated up-front a lot, but at least Ramsey tried to support him as much as he could; and it is exactly how we managed to create the first goal. Of course this will remain the seemingly eternal dilemma for us: 4-3-3, as in 4-2-1-3 or 4-1-2-3, can either make us too defensive or too attacking, and we need the right balance of players/skill-set to get it exactly right. We switched to 4-1-2-3 in the end, when Cazorla replaced Ramsey by moving towards the middle, and it almost worked out for us.
A big minus point of Arteta was his inability to keep his composure towards the end, leading to him giving away a number of avoidable free-kicks, which allowed Bayern to simply see out the game.
Conclusion 3:
Cazorla’s drive, overview and composure was magnificent tonight. He was at times absolutely faultless and never was in hiding throughout the night. For me, he was the best player on the pitch tonight – Jenkinson and Koz were not far off either, though – and what a player Arsene has signed with him. On the other hand, Rosicky had a rusty night of football; plenty of hunger and willingness, but not much came off and he often lost out in the one-to-ones with the Bayern midfielders. However, he was often left isolated, and he did not play often in our team this season; which caused a number of his passes going astray.
Conclusion 4:
We lacked that bit of extra quality up-front to properly finish off Die Lederhosen tonight. Theo put a few great crosses into the box – one leading to the first goal – but he faded in the second half; and his partnership with Giroud is still not working out properly. Giroud scored the goal and worked his socks off, but (still) lacks composure and physical strength; just that little bit extra that would make him a great rather than a good striker.
Conclusion 5:
The entire team was well organised, very focussed and disciplined, and played with great passion. After a number of negative, and often humiliating results recently, the boys did us more than proud. We probably were too defensive for too long of the game to complete the miracle, but it was the best strategy for us on the night.
As per the start of this blog, if this team had played longer together, and had a bit more quality up-front as well, Arsenal could have completed the turnaround tonight. Alas, it was not to be.
Finally
I reckon this unexpected, and almost heroic away-win will do us a world of good. Our next game is away against Swansea and there is every reason to play the same back-five and same ‘double DMs’ as tonight again. It would be great if Podolski returns to the team against The Jacks and Cazorla can replace Rosicky in the middle. I would start Giroud centrally again, but maybe give the Ox or Gervinho a start on the wing instead of Theo.
Tonight, Arsenal regained tremendous confidence and our reputation in Europe, and at home, has been restored a bit again. A real shame we did not make it through, but we simply left ourselves with too much to do after our disappointing home game against the Germans.
However, as this is a painful and necessary transitional year for Arsenal, it is victories like these that will help us to gradually get back to the very top again. A couple more players of real quality this summer and we should be able to go all the way.
Another game in which we gave away the game in the first 45 minutes; another game in which our defence was too easily breached; and another game in which our attackers lacked composure and intelligence to hurt our opponent.
Against the top seven of the PL we had just one win in all our away games: against Liverpool. We drew at Everton and Man City, and lost to MU, Chelsea, and now to Spuds; and we still have to go to Newcastle United (last game of the season). We lost all these matches with a 2-1 score, and every time we gave our game away with sloppy, undisciplined defending in the first half.
We started well and worked very hard to dominate the game against a defensively well-organised, and equally energetic Spuds team. The defence and midfield looked sharp and it looked like a goal would only be a matter of time. However, it became soon clear that our attackers had difficulties in finding each other and also struggled badly to both make clever runs and deploy composure in front of goal. The Spuds defended well and did not allow us much space, but we still should have done better in attack.
I see more and more similarities between Giroud and Ramsey: not only do they look each other – they could easily be brothers – they are also great workers and very likeable chaps, and I would never slate them because of this, but they also lack the necessary quality for the level Arsenal should be playing at. Perhaps both players are going through a bad patch, but I have seen enough now to realise they are at best first-18 squad players, rather than automatic choices for the first-11 team.
Theo Walcott also had a disappointing game. He did not receive the best of service and Spuds did a good job defensively against him, but in games like this he needs to be more dominant and force himself into the thick of the action. In general, I felt we lacked wing-play today as both Theo and Cazorla, and of course Jenkinson and Nacho, faced strong opposition and did not have the discipline and/or skillset to add another dimension to our attacking play. Although Jenkinson managed to get a few decent balls into the box from the wing, and he had a decent game in terms of supporting our attack.
I thought Cazorla was our best player today and I loved his drive and energy. And this brings me to the one really good thing about our team today: it had drive and determination from the start and the likes of Arteta, Wilshere and Cazorla, but also Vermaelen, Nacho and Jenkinson, and of course also Ramsey and Giroud, all played with passion and a real desire to win today.
I thought we played well in midfield and were able to dominate this area for large periods of the game. In that respect, Ramsey should be credited for his hard work and focus, and the same goes for Arteta who was a warrior for us, although not without fault, today.
I felt that Jack struggled to find the quality openings which we know he is capable of, but together with Santi he always adds something to our football, even when he is not at his best.
I won’t be telling you anything new when I say that both our defence and attack were well below par, and the main reason we lost against the Spuds. Had only one of these departments been at the required level, we would at least have drawn this game.
I don’t want to talk about our rubbish defending in the first half – in the second half it was not much better but we rode our luck a few times – as it depresses me too much right now. Let’s analyse it again during the week.
There is also not much new that can be said about our attack: plenty of hard work and willingness but not enough composure and quality; and as a unit, our attack is missing cohesion, creativity and focus.
So, to give you our current situation in a nutshell: Arsenal are in transition and there is still no light at the end of the tunnel; our defence is disorganised and lacks confidence and leadership; our attack lacks cohesion as well as individual quality, and our midfield has become our stronghold and driver of the entire team. At least we have that to build our hopes on.
Bergkampesque 