Tag: match report

Review: Arsenal’s Midfield is not working, and team lacked cohesion & leadership.

TotalArsenal

It is tough to be a Gooner at times like these. One moment we play heavenly football: Reading and Newcastle United away; only to fall back into mundane, clueless performances the week after.

It was important to win this game tonight, and dropping two points could turn out to be very costly in five months time. We did not deserve the three points against Wigan – a similarly poor performance as today against Southampton – and today we did not deserve more than a point either. In fact, some will argue we were lucky to get a point, given the fact that our goal was a Southampton own goal.

It is hard to put the finger on what our team was missing tonight.

Firstly, I thought our midfield did not play close enough to Southampton’s box most of the game. The problem with 4-3-3 is that our midfield is often stretched vertically rather than playing close together as more of a horizontal unit. Arteta often wants to sit deep, Cazorla needs to support the attackers and Wilshere has to cover the huge space between them: as a result the midfield is often stretched and therefore not cohesive enough. I am not a big fan of this at all.

Usually Wenger gets the midfielders to play closer together and push the oppositions higher up the pitch in the second half of games – after a good team talk at the break, so it seems. But this time, we did not improve as significantly in the second half as we did against Wigan and Newcastle United recently.

As our midfield was not capable of playing closer to our attackers, the latter looked isolated and ineffective. Theo and Pod got very little service, but Ox at least worked hard to create something for the others.

Secondly, and infuriatingly, the team lacked once again the required telepathic relationships; the automatisms of finding each other, and anticipating each other’s moves when passing the ball, were sadly missing today. So many passes went astray tonight with the intended recipient and/or the passer of the ball looking frustrated and misunderstood. At this stage, this should not be happening anymore, and I wonder whether the recent switch from Giroud to Theo up-front has a lot to do with it.

In our 4-3-3 formation, it makes a big difference whether we play Theo or Giroud in the centre of attack, and as a team we seem to be struggling in adjusting to the new ‘main man’. That’s why I reckon we would be better off to change to 4-4-2 now, and play both Giroud and Theo up-front together (and play with a more cohesive midfield behind them).

Thirdly, we lacked leadership tonight. We need somebody to hold this team together and to direct/conduct its style of football, and ensure our focus is never lost throughout the game. I have said it so many times, but TV is not that person. Jack is trying so hard to fill this void, as he has all the potential to become a (future) leader, and he seems to feel that something is not there, but the senior players have to stand up now and show stronger leadership.

Fourthly, some of our key players are struggling with their form at the moment. From one game to another, Pod is either wonderful or invisible; and poor old Sagna is struggling with a huge loss of confidence/form at the moment which might have cost us two points today.

On top of that, we still are not able to cross the ball effectively into the box. Other than Wilshere from set pieces, Arsenal are nowhere near consistent enough with their deliveries into the box, and that really is not good enough. What is the use of playing with wing-backs if they cannot cross the ball into the box properly?

Tonight’s result was disappointing, but I am not totally surprised. We are still a team in transition and more work needs to be done in terms of getting this team to click and be more consistent from one game to the next.

Let’s hope we will see a huge improvement against Swansea this weekend.

Written by: Total Arsenal.

Twenty Minutes of Heaven: Theo Stings Like a Bee, Full Backs Asleep, Ox Matures Fast.

TotalArsenal

theo walcot

Wow, what a crazy game of football at Ashburton Grove tonight!

It all started so subdued; I had to pinch myself to see whether I was actually awake. NU were allowed to pass the ball around as we did not pressure them anywhere near the required levels to gain control over the game.

Although Newcastle had more possession than us, and were also allowed to have it in our own half regularly during the first 45 minutes, I felt we were well organised at the back and there was only a small chance they would hurt us.

Theo’s anticipation of the Pod’s through-ball was first class, and so were his run and finish, and the ‘1-0 to the Arsenal’ felt great: surely we could build further on this performance and punish the Magpies on the break a few more times?

Unfortunately, we managed to give a few unnecessary free-kicks away in the first half and one of them cost us dearly. Sagna seemed sedated today: is he not fully fit or simply missing a yard or two in speed at the moment? I did not think he was at his best against Wigan, but today’s performance is starting to worry me a bit. He gave an uncharacteristic free-kick away in a dangerous position and Demba Ba cleverly aimed for Jack’s head – what was he doing there anyway – to guide the ball past it. Okay there was a lucky deflection, but Jack should never have chickened out.

1-1 was a fair score at the end of the first half, though, and we could only hope for Arsene to wake our boys up properly; in order to regain control over the midfield, start pressing them in their own half, and stop relying purely on launching Theo into space at the first opportunity.

Ox’s goal at the start of the second half was a beauty; and one that had been coming for him for a while. We can all get excited about potential new signings in the next TW, but there is nothing better than witnessing one of our talented youngsters growing into a man right in front of us. Ox is quickly making the RW position his, and regular goals (and assists) are the only thing that is missing in his game at the moment. But today he made a big step forward with a classy, timely and important goal from just outside the box – perhaps the most important of the whole game, as this one gave us the necessary momentum to start playing proper football again in the second half.

However, the Barcodes pounced again on Sagna’s apparent slowness, as Obertan was able to beat him with relative ease to put the ball right across our goal to the far post – Koz did not manage to get his full boot against it, but could only slightly divert it – where Marveaux  was left totally unmarked for the easiest of tap-ins.

It should come as no surprise that Wilshere was involved in getting us in front once more, with a determined run and a very good ‘hanging cross’ over Krul, to the far post towards Theo. It created total chaos amongst the NU defenders, and the Pod dealt with it all in the deadliest manner. I have been really impressed with Pod’s hard work rate and omnipresence on the pitch tonight.

But, but, but it all went pear-shaped once again, when Marveaux was able to put in a very clever diagonal ball from outside the box with the outside of his boot into the penalty area – arguably the best assist of the entire game – and Ba was able to beat sleeping beauty Gibbs with total ease.

Although the CB’s were the main culprits for conceding the 2nd and 3rd NU goals, it was also clear that we missed Mertesacker’s ability to bring order and structure to our defence.

It started to feel like we would never be able to kill the Magpies off in this game as our defence had simply become too fragile in the second half. But then, somehow, Arsenal found the afterburners and NU did not get another foothold in the remainder of the game.

It is fair to say that the Barcodes will have been tired at that time, having played at Old Toilet only a few days ago, but it was nevertheless impressive how we were able to up the tempo and pressure, and create a great number of opportunities in the last twenty minutes of the game.

Walcott 2nd goal was almost as good as his first one. His spatial awareness, combined with his decision not to blast the ball as soon as possible, but allow himself a touch in order to take proper aim, were very impressive. It turned out to be the blow from which the Magpies would recover no more.

Theo then became provider for the hungry substitute Giroud; first with a peach of a cross which OG headed in with force, and then with a determined run and ‘pass’ into the box which the Frenchman despatched aggressively with his venomous right foot. It was really nice to see Giroud taking his chances with such determination, and celebrating his goals with great joy.

But the final say was, ever so appropriately, for Theo.

This was his night; his announcement to the home crowd that he should play in the middle and what this could mean for us. From a ‘one-two free-kick’ taken near the corner flag with Jack, Theo slalomed past a few NU players, then somehow evaded a tackle, and got back up on his feet to beat Krul high into the roof of the net with a measured, rising chip. A truly fantastic solo goal.

Theo is all about speed they say; well, today he showed that his arsenal of attacking weapons is pretty well stocked. He will need to do this on a regular basis to win over the seemingly eternal doubters, but today he announced himself properly!

It was a great performance by Theo and a nice gesture to thank the crowd whilst holding the match-ball above his head. Whether you still have doubts about Theo or not – as a winger or a striker – it will be hard to deny that since he has been playing in the central striker position, Arsenal have had two out of three performances in which we looked a bit like our former self again, in which we had that extra dimension, and that so longed for cutting edge and bite; and with the team scoring 13 PL goals in just three games – a third of our PL total this season in 19 games – it would be madness not to continue with him in the middle of our attack – possibly with Giroud – for the time being.

A crazy game, a great result, and lessons need to be learned in defence; but today we witnessed the coming of age of Theo Walcott.

Written by: Total Arsenal.

Why Arsenal’s away support probably won us the game against Wigan

TotalArsenal

West Bromwich Albion v Arsenal Barclays Under-21 Premier League

A personal account of a whole day of Wigan-Arsenal.

We all know that Arsenal have a fantastic support at away games. It does not matter how far away the game is and whatever bad weather has to be endured, Arsenal are always supported by a large number of supporters on their ‘tours’.

Nothing feels better than being surrounded by many thousands of fellow Gooners and singing our songs together with full passion and harmony, whilst watching our beloved Arsenal. And it was fantastic to be part of it all this Saturday in the company of fellow blog owner Wigan Gooner (WG).

It was a long journey up from Norwich to Wigan, and the constant rain –  and its antidote the windscreen wipers – never seized to accompany me. Saturday was the second shortest day in terms of the sun being up, and it seemed the day just did not want to start. When it did eventually became lighter – I was already well north of Birmingham – the surrounding constant blackness turned into a permanent grey, but what did not change at all were the constant streams of red and white light on the motorway: a sea of red moving with me, and a river of white light moving perfectly parallel in the opposite direction.

WG and I met up before the game and it was great to speak about our club, and football in person rather than through keyboards for once. The weather was pretty bad but WG took me on a walk through various parts of Wigan, and it was especially great to see some of the forlorn – and in some cases refurbished into apartments – old mill and factory buildings.

One particular building stood out. It was a former, totally derelict mill/factory building that was bordered up. Although severely dilapidated, the striking redbrick walls and towers were in good condition and gave of a warm glow against the grey, heavy with rain, sky all around us. There was water gushing down drainpipes everywhere and a nearby river was in an incredible hurry.

After that we had to walk diagonally through a very large car park of a stereotypical shopping mall, in order to get to the DW stadium. It was great to see Arsenal bring some colour, and most of all warmth, to the soggy, heavy pitch and seemingly eternal grey skies, by kicking off the game in their familiar red and white (and a bit of navy blue) shirts and shorts.

The Stadium, which holds about 25000 spectators, was only ¾ full, and the away fans were more vocal than the home support from the start. The away fans showed how impressed they were with the home support by singing songs like ‘I want to go home, I want to go home, Wigan is a sh*t hole, I want to go home’, and ‘You only come to see the Arsenal’ to which the home support had no matching answer.

Basically, the Arsenal supporters verbally bullied the Wigan supporters which made  them even more quiet throughout the game.

Wigan gained their PL status through  their achievements on the pitch over the last eight years, but with large cities like Sheffield, Leeds, Bristol, Cardiff, etc not being represented in the Premier League, and the relatively small DW stadium not sold-out for a visit of the Arsenal, you do wonder whether they really deserve to remain in the top division of football in this country.

Analysis of the game.

Arsenal and Wigan fought for the midfield more or less the entire game. Both teams played a high line which led to a very congested area in midfield. Arsenal desperately tried to control the midfield but Wigan were well drilled and competent in both keeping us from passing the ball around and retaining it themselves once they took it off us. As a result, our defence was made to look very vulnerable more than once in the first half.

Wigan’s 3-5-2 style really seems to suit Martinez’ team and if they had better strikers up-front they would have gotten something out of this game.

Both WG and I felt that Arteta did not have the power and drive during large parts of the game to put his stamp on the game. His limited ability to tackle and to out-fight players in the air was a big miss against the Latics. He never stops trying though, but I feel even stronger now that we need to buy a more orthodox, experienced DM as soon as possible.

Jack Wilshere tried very hard to add physicality to our midfield play and that’s why we all love him, but we never had a good shape during the first half of the game. Quite regularly Arsenal won the ball in a one to one battle only to lose it again straightaway. It was frustrating to see how Arsenal were not able to keep hold of the ball for long, once we had won it in midfield, during large periods of the game.

Wigan, on the other hand, were much better at keeping hold of it and pass their way through our midfield in order to launch one of their ‘wing-backs’, or play a dangerous ball through the middle or over the top. It was very worrying how easy Wigan carved through us once they won the ball in midfield and had their strikers been better, we could have been 2-0 behind at half time.

The second half was much better, as Arsenal were able to press Wigan out of the midfield and closer to their goal: the area were both Arsenal can hurt Wigan and we are not running such a big risk of being carved open with just two moves.

Arsenal were also able to use the Ox far better in the second half as a result of the pressure we put on to Wigan. In the first half, AOC had been able to make good forward runs with the ball on the right wing, but there was little support for him and his attacks were therefore often ineffectual. But with Cazorla playing a lot closer to Ox and the young Englishman being able to make runs into the Wigan box, Arsenal finally had found the formula to hurt Wigan properly.

Until we scored the goal, Arsenal had dominated the second half and Arsene’s half time team talk appeared to be making a big difference.

From where the away supporters were – right behind the Wigan goal – it looked like a clear foul on Theo and it became the pivotal moment of the game. The away support shouted ‘penalty’ in total unison and the referee pointed to the spot. For an away team to be given a penalty resulting from such a foul, you need to be a  bit lucky. And I reckon, any doubt the referee might have had, was blown away by the boisterous shout from the almost 5000 strong away support.

Arteta put the penalty away and after that Arsenal kept playing for a while to get the second goal, but Theo missed a good opportunity to do so, and both Theo and Podolski could have done better in attacking a superb cross into the box by the Ox as well.

Bit by bit, Wigan started to push us back again and they were winning the midfield one-to-one battles once again. Arsene decided to shore up the midfield with bringing on Ramsey and Coquelin, for Ox and Pod. A tactic not universally supported by the away supporters, especially as we were still not able to keep hold of the ball and keep Wigan from finding openings through our midfield.

Somehow, we got there and were able to leave Wigan with three points, but let there be no doubt that we were lucky to do so, and we need to improve significantly in terms of the shape of our team and individual performances if we want to beat the Barcodes on Saturday.

On the way back from the Stadium WG and I went through the game in detail, and however much we were disappointed in some of the individual performances of our players and the general shape of our team, and however much we were drenched by the rain once more, the overriding feeling was one of happiness as a result of an ugly win that pushed us up to third in the table.

On the way home, I was once again accompanied by lovely red and white traffic streams, and the fantastic news of a goalless draw at White Heart Lane which kept us in third place at least till Sunday.

Five hundred miles through hazardous conditions were rewarded by a hard fought 1-0 to the Arsenal and fantastic in-depth discussions about anything Arsenal with WG.

Total Arsenal.

Wigan Review & Player Ratings: Ox and Szczesny main sparks in dour contest.

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Arsenal’s consistent inability to follow up a fantastic victory continues to be a concern, but at least we were able to come out of today’s clash with a much-needed three points. 

We always knew that today’s clash with Wigan Athletic would be a difficult contest, and this was the type of persevering victory that Arsenal needed to establish some semblance of consistency.  The wet, heavy pitch could have been a determining factor in our poor play since we rely heavily on passing and ball control.

Wigan started off the game with high pressure defensively, taking away Arsenal’s coveted time and space.  In possession, Wigan were very settled and knocked the ball around well.  They pushed forward successfully down the flanks to no avail, as both Beausejour and Stam wasted many crosses in the final third.  Wigan lived up to McManaman’s criticism of giving away the ball on numerous occasions, and this eventually allowed Arsenal to ease into the game.

However, it was very tough to break down Wigan in the first half as they successfully congested the middle of the pitch.

Throughout most of the contest, Arsenal found it very difficult to replicate the form of our last game, and the players seemed very tense and overly cautious in attack.  As the game continued, Wigan afforded Arsenal more space and the Ox eventually gave us the spark needed to break out offensively.  This eventually led to a few quality scoring chances but teammates were not able to get on the end of his crosses, and Theo missed a fantastic chance to convert one of his low crosses.

Fortunately, Arsenal were able to break through in the second half with a nice pass from Santi to Walcott in the box that subsequently led to a penalty, which Arteta finished clinically from the spot.

Defensively there were mental lapses once again, but we were able to grind out the victory and we were not punished for our mistakes.  Worth noting was that Vermaelen and Mertesacker were poor defensively for a good portion of the game which allowed Kone to get in behind them in the first half, but luckily he wasted the chance wide.

Now onto the player ratings from today’s game:

Szczesny (9.0) – I thought he was our best player today and has really provided the squad with stability.  Szczes kept us in the game with big saves and made some intelligent, aggressive decisions to challenge the Wigan forwards.  Well-deserved clean sheet and performances like these will be needed from him, if we’re to win  games when we are not at our best.

Gibbs (8.0) – Not as influential offensively as last game, but the blame should be placed more on Podolski’s lack of support opposed to a knock on Gibbs.  Defensively, Gibbs was solid and made some key tackles to break up the Wigan offense throughout the game.  Still, I was hoping to see more from him and the blossoming left flank partnership from last game let me down.

Vermaelen (6.5) – I was appalled at his questionable missed challenge on Kone in the first half that led to a good Wigan scoring opportunity.  This was only compounded by further poor concentration in coverage that later led to Kone getting behind himself and Mertesacker for a clear chance on goal.  He eventually settled down and more importantly, the defense did not concede any goals.  However, a much better effort is needed from our captain and those defensive lapses need to be addressed going forward.

Mertesacker (6.5) – I thought the weakness in our defense lay with the two center backs today: together with Vermaelen, Mertesacker’s lack of pace and concentration, almost led to Kone scoring for Wigan.  He played his routine safe game by just clearing the ball, but gave Wigan some unnecessary second chance opportunities from corner kicks when not even under pressure.  Just as I said with Vermaelen; we didn’t concede any goals against Wigan so perhaps I’m being harsh, but some players need to answer for poor performances and Mertesacker is one of them.  He did however break up a crucial play on a 2 v 1 by clearing Stam’s cross pass to Kone in the second half.

Sagna (8.0) – Both fullbacks played solid games defensively and kept Wigan’s offence in check.  Much like last game, I want to see Sagna more involved offensively, but I’m glad he honored his defensive duties first.  Nothing spectacular here, but I’m happy if he can consistently perform like he did today.

Arteta (8.5) – Continues to be our most consistent performer this season and always shows composure and intelligent ball distribution (aside from the Fulham game which was a disaster for him and he wasn’t great vs. the Spuds either).  Won the ball back cleanly on a few occasions and has done everything one could ask for from a holding midfielder.  Had a nice involvement offensively on a run forward in the first half and played a nice final ball, that almost led to an Oxlade-Chamberlain goal.  Arteta scored the lone goal on a well taken, confident penalty kick.

Wilshere (7.0) – This was not one of Jack’s best performances and the team’s overall performance seemed to be directly correlated with his.  He misplaced more passes than usual today, but did not commit any serious mistakes and was unfairly penalized with a yellow card on a perfectly clean tackle.  Still, he was not as influential as usual, and I’d like to see him running up field with the ball more frequently.  Wilshere did play well defensively, breaking up the play with sliding challenges a few times.

Cazorla (7.0) – He definitely came out flat today and Wigan was smart to take away his space and close down on him early after his performance against Reading.  Santi uncharacteristically turned the ball over several times on some poor first touches, over dribbling and careless passing.  His slick pass to Walcott that eventually led to Arsenal’s only goal, was the only outstanding bit of work from him.  He wasn’t horrible but you definitely come to expect more from our main offensive distributor.

Podolski (5.5) – He pulled his typical Houdini act today and was pretty much absent for most of the game.  Of all the players who started against Wigan, I was the most disappointed with Podolski after his inspiring run out against Reading.  He created nothing offensively, was not involved defensively, did not link up with Gibbs and seemed to hardly move on the pitch.  I thought he should have been the first player substituted off, and his poor performance allowed Wigan to congest the middle of the pitch.

Walcott (6.5) – He looked lost as the central striker today and Martinez and Wigan must have carefully analyzed the Reading game film from Monday.  Theo wasn’t able to stretch the defense at all and wasted a good opportunity created by Ox, by shooting it right at Al Habsi in the second half.  He did show some intelligent movement by getting himself into good positions to score, eventually drawing a crucial penalty, but like Podolski, he was pretty non-existent most of the time.  It will be interesting to see if he can rebound vs. Newcastle next weekend.

Oxlade-Chamberlain (9.0) – Except for Szczesny, he was the most outstanding player on the pitch today.  Ox displayed great pace, confidence in taking on defenders and provided some nice offensive scoring chances with in-swinging crosses into the opponent’s 18-yard box.  He finally seems to be finding his form from last season and I absolutely loved this lad’s lively performance on the right flank.  However, Ox was guilty of over-dribbling and taking too much on his own, which led to a few unnecessary turnovers in the final third.  The best is yet to come from him and I think he’ll make the right wing position his own this season.

Ramsey, Coquelin, Koscielny (Incomplete) – None really had an opportunity to make an impact on the game, though Koscielny had a good clearance with his head late in the game, and Coquelin made a couple of nice sliding challenges to win the ball back.  However, Coquelin looked unsure when in possession of the ball and this almost led to a few turnovers in our own half.  Ramsey looked poor once again in his cameo appearance and why Wenger insists on playing him baffles me.  He constantly gives away the ball, is poor defensively, lacks pace and looks out of his element on the right wing.  Perhaps his poor performances are associated with inconsistent playing time, but it appears a loan move to another club may be the best for his development.

It is worrisome that we needed a penalty kick to find the score sheet and this poor performance is something to keep in mind for the coming games.  AW’s decision to substitute Oxlade-Chamberlain in the 75th minute was shocking and as a result, we quickly lost any momentum we had gained from Arteta’s goal. 

I expect the week off to be beneficial for our squad to get some much-needed rest and to re-group before facing Newcastle on the 29th.  All in all, not one of our best performances but top teams still need to pick up three points from these kinds of games, and we did.  Pulling out this type of victory is exactly what Arsenal needed and gives our players the confidence to know that we can still win games when not at our best.

Written by: The Gooner.

Santi dictates, Gibbs/Pod left side power, Theo gave us wings + Player Ratings

TotalArsenal

Santi Cazorla celebrates after scoring against Reading

Arsenal took a much-needed three points from last night’s match vs. Reading and hopefully it silences the criticism that has been plaguing the club as of late.  The 5-2 result was well deserved given the balance of play and it’s about time that we started performing to the high levels of expectation for a top club.  We completely dominated the first 60 minutes of play, and if it were not for some critical Federici saves, the score could have easily been 7-0.

Three of the five goals were produced from the left side of the pitch, with one other goal assisted by Gibbs on the left from a fantastic Theo cross.  Much of our early season success came from a dangerous left side that featured overlapping runs and fantastic link up play from Podolski and Gibbs.  Gibbs’ injury vs. West Ham directly coincided with the attack down the left flank breaking down.  Hopefully, the Gibbs-Podolski partnership continues to flourish consistently from here on out.

The left side was given more freedom to attack due to the speed threat of Theo down the middle; Reading’s defense was quite narrow and given our last clash with them in the Capital One Cup, they were right to be concerned.  Up front, our attack was finally given shape and we were treated to a classic, beautiful Arsenal display – fluid passing, direct runs, intelligent movement and relentless pressure from both flanks.  This was possible because Arsene finally switched his tactics and played a more mobile striker in Theo up front.  The front three were interchanging their positions with Podolski and Ox occasionally drifting centrally and Theo chasing down balls played into open space down the left and right.

Player Ratings:

Szczesny (7.5) – The Pole’s continued to give us stability in goal and has done everything you can reasonably expect from a keeper.  He did well to outstretch himself and grab what could have been an easy goal for Reading off a corner.  None of the goals were his fault and were a direct result of defensive breakdowns.  However, it would have been nice to see Szczesny save 1 of the 2 goals.

Gibbs (8.5) – Fantastic display down the left hand side and helped give our attack shape.  Two assists, some scoring opportunities that were blocked and plenty of good crosses.  Constantly pushed forward offensively and was reliable coming back for his defensive duties.  The only reason I didn’t give him a higher rating was because of his errant pass to Wilshere that led to a goal that brought Reading back into the game.

Vermaelen (8.0) – Has looked much more reliable defensively this year and saved us early on in the game on a 2 v 1 by clearing Pogrebnyak’s pass across the front of the goal.  Would have liked to have seen him more involved offensively, but it was more a luxury than a necessity today.  Great game by our captain, took a gamble to intercept Gibbs’ errant pass before the first goal.

Mertesacker (7.0) – Broke up a few of Reading’s plays and ensures that we have adequate defensive cover.  However, he was guilty of ball watching and drifted away from marking Kebe, who eventually scored the 2nd goal.

Sagna (7.0) – His crosses have been ineffective all year and perhaps it was fortunate that he was not playing in as much of an advanced role yesterday.  Reading’s few scoring chances primarily came down the left side, a testament to both our domination in possession and to his defensive reliability.  Still, had a few turnovers from poor passes and I’ve come to expect more from what I believe is the best right back in the Premier League.

Arteta (8.5) – The engine that drives our team and it was evident that we missed him last week in our loss to BradfordCity.  Won ball possession back and instantly pressured Reading when we lost possession of the ball.  Always great with ball retention, followed his defensive responsibilities well and distributed the ball to our creative outlets as we’ve seen him do all season.  Really helped to settle our team down and conserved his energy to chase down attackers.

Wilshere (8.5) – You can tell that he’s the one who wants to make things happen for the squad.  He leads the team up field with his charging runs with the ball and he is always looking to add directness to our attack from the midfield.  His aggressive style helps keep the opposition in check, but it did lead to a yellow card.  He had an opportunity to score from a nice mid-air volley but the effort was met from an even better Federici save.  It was unfortunate that he slipped on the 1st goal, but the pass shouldn’t have been played that far away from him in the first place.  Jack really should have had at least one assist today, but personal accomplishments are not important when the team wins.

Cazorla (9.5) – 3 goals and 1 assist, well deserved ‘Man of the Match’ recognition and he really showed his world-class ability.  Recently, I’ve accused him of not being influential enough to take matters into his own hands to turn around games for our team, but yesterday he truly was the difference.  He was creating plenty of through ball scoring chances for Theo, made intelligent passes in the final third, always put himself in good positions to score and took plenty of chances that he may not have taken in past games.  The only thing keeping his rating from a perfect 10 was his defensive lapse early in the game when Pogrebnyak was on the receiving end of a nice give and go that almost led to a Reading goal when the game was 0-0.  In addition, later in the 78th minute, Santi tried to do it all by himself vs. 6 Reading players and turned the ball over in Reading’s 18-yard box.  As you can see, I really had to nitpick to find any flaws in his game yesterday.

Podolski (9.0) – A goal and 2 assists and it appears like Podolski has finally come back into form and reignited his partnership with Gibbs down the left flank.  He’s often accused of either disappearing or being non-existent in games, but today he put in a great performance for the full 90 minutes.  A couple erroneous passes at the edge of and within Reading’s 18-yard box brought down his rating slightly.

Walcott (8.5) – His pace is a nightmare for defenders and Reading gave him plenty of space to make intelligent runs into empty space.  His goal at the 80th minute destroyed any hope of a Reading comeback and despite starting as a striker, he was willing to move out wide and distributed some nice crosses into the middle of the pitch (he spotted Gibbs with a cross that eventually led to the third goal).  However, Theo missed a breakaway opportunity in the first half and he could have passed to a wide-open Podolski in the second half instead of taking a shot that was wide of the mark.

Oxlade-Chamberlain (7.5) – He really set the tempo of the game for us after his blazing run and attempt on goal that was deflected wide by Federici in the opening minutes.  Reading had difficulty coping with his pace all night and his ability to cut inside added another element of directness and unpredictability to our attack.  In fact, it was his decision to take the ball inside and pass it to Wilshere that eventually led to Cazorla’s hat trick, which involved classy, vintage Arsenal build-up play.  He did disappear for about half the match and was rightfully substituted in the second half.  He had a great opportunity to score his first PL goal this season but a spectacular sprawling Federici save met his header.

Ramsey, Giroud and Coquelin (Incomplete) – All were relatively late substitutes and did not have sufficient time to make an impact on the game.  I hate to pick on Ramsey after such a great team effort but our attack down the right side became non-existent once he stepped onto the pitch and we ended up passing backwards into our own end more.  Giroud missed a great opportunity to get onto the score sheet after sending a volley into Federici’s outstretched arms on a breakaway.  Coquelin made a nice run forward and held the play up well that eventually led to a Podolski give away, but that’s about all I noticed from him in his cameo appearance.

Despite Arsenal playing a game full of so many positives, there were still negatives to take away.  In typical Arsenal fashion, an inspiring first 60 minutes eventually led to 2 goals that gave life to a late Reading comeback.   It looked like a realistic possibility before Theo iced the game with a great finish at the 80th minute to make it 5-2.

We have lacked focus defensively for much of this season and have been punished late in games for conceding crucial goals (2nd leg vs. Schalke, Swansea, Fulham, Olympiacos); fortunately, today we amassed a significant lead to relieve some of the pressure if such a scenario were to occur again.  As noted earlier, Gibbs’ misplaced pass exposed us for the first goal and ball watching by Mertesacker led to the second goal.  Finally, zonal marking on corners looks like it’ll eventually do us in, and we were fortunate to only concede 3 today.

Going forward, questions still remain unanswered.  Can we replicate the same success at home?  Was today’s result a testament to our improved team play or us facing a very poor, lackluster Reading side?  Will this win be met with any level of consistency or will we once again be victims of an underwhelming performance next time out?  Not to sound too pessimistic after today’s glorious performance, but there’s been a disturbing trend of inconsistency that casts a shadow of doubt over the coming Wigan clash on Saturday.

Four times this season, we’ve managed to follow up encouraging wins with losses or ties: beat West Ham, then lost to Norwich/beat QPR, then lost to Utd/beat Tottenham, then tied Villa and Everton before losing to Swansea/beat WBA, then lost to Bradford on pens.

All in all, a great game where we dictated the pace of the game and the result should go a long way in building confidence for our squad.

Written by: The Gooner.

Arsene meant business but the players missed their sofas

TotalArsenal

Going up North in the dark and cold nights of December in order to secure a win has seldom or never been something Arsenal have been good at; and last night was another painful exhibition of our lack of balls.

Arsene surprised everybody with putting out a very strong line-up and it became clear that he wanted to win this game at all cost. But putting eleven professional and highly paid players on the pitch does not seem to be enough anymore these days. Except for Vermaelen, Szczesny and Jack, our players did not put in the sort of performance needed to overcome a stubborn and hard working second division team.

I could single out players, but I have no doubt this will be done over the entire Arsenal blogosphere today. Other than Podolski, I don’t think the players can be accused much of a lack of work-rate last night. But where almost all players let us down is in the application of their skills, and their focus and concentration. And that is just as unforgiveable.

Bradford City scored a good goal and Thompson showed all our players how to take an opportunity. In 105 subsequent footballing minutes, our attackers never reached a level of technical finishing required for any team; let alone a PL team that has ambition to win silverware any time soon.

Arsenal had 28 shots, and only 12 of those were ‘on target’: we only scored a single goal in 120 minutes of football against a second division team. Gervinho and Cazorla were the worst culprits of wasting opportunities, but there were many others who showed a very poor technical ability last night. Simply not good enough: a total embarrassment.

The other main concern that came from this game is the lack of shape and game-plan last night. Jack tried desperately to give shape and focus to the team but the rest were not on the same wavelength. The wings were ineffective and Podolski was nowhere near the attacking pivot needed in such a game. Lucas Podholeski was an enormous disappointment last night for me.

Once again, it looked like we could not cope without Arteta playing as our anchor in front of the defence. As a result, we were reduced to a bunch of individuals rather than a team with a plan, a shape, a menacing threat, and the ability to soak up pressure from a hard working site, in order to kill them off if and when opportunities arise. In short, we were amateurs tonight.

It is gallant of Wenger to defend his players, and of course he has no other choice to do so publicly. But last night, an incredible amount of damage was done to the reputation of our club, and the patience of our supporters.

It is up to the players and the manager now to use this humiliating result as a blood line drawn in the sand.

If they don’t turn it round now, the ensuing winter months will become the coldest and darkest we Gooners have had to experience in modern times.

Total Arsenal.

Arsenal 2 – 0 West Brom: eight positives to take from today’s game

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Jack-Wilshere_20121001184001453_660_320

Today’s performance against West Brom was a significant improvement from what we have seen in recent Arsenal games. Lady Luck helped Arsenal on the way with a harsh first penalty being awarded in our favour, but there can be little doubt that the good guys deserved their win today.

It looked like our core players had benefited from not having played mid-week, as they all appeared to be both fitter and more focussed during our game against the Baggies.

The big negative for me today was our inability to take some of the excellent chances which came our way – other than the two well-taken penalties by the impressive Arteta, of course. We also were not able to get the best use out of Giroud, although the Frenchman himself was partly to blame for this.

But, other than those two ‘areas for improvement’, I thought our encounter with the Baggies offered strong signs of Arsenal making progress, and I would like to highlight eight positives from our game today:

  1. MA8: I thought Arteta had one of his best games this season; at least for the first seventy minutes or so. He tired towards the end and made a few mistakes that could have cost us on another day, but before that he was the solid anchor in our team. His positioning was spot on and he also won many one to one battles; he had great drive and timing, and really imposed himself on the game. Mikel also managed to be more direct against West Brom and his passing was often full of attacking intent.
  2. Jack Wilshere took the game by the scruff of the neck today. Not Cazorla or Rosicky turned out to be the conductor of our team today, but Jack, the beanstalk climbing, giant-killer was the one who led the team on the pitch against West Brom. There is still room for improvement for Jack – his final ball needs to improve a bit further and he missed a very good chance today – but his ability to give our team shape and purpose is incredibly important for us at the moment. Jack was simply fantastic today.
  3. Our wingers were disciplined in keeping their shape and stick to their tasks. Ox played a lot better than he did on Tuesday, and hopefully he can build on his performance against the Baggies to regain his best form. Gervinho might have missed a few chances, but his overall play – especially his running with and without the ball – is so important for our team. His ability to take on defenders and get the ball into the box, simply means Arsenal have an added dimension; we are less predictable. If Gervais could just add a bit of sharpness to his game and gain more upper-body strength, he would be far better able to pick the fruits of all his hard work.
  4. Our full backs were great today. Both Sagna and Gibbs really found the perfect balance between solid defending and supporting our attack against WBA, and I really hope the former signs a new contract and the latter can stay fit for a while. In our 4-3-3 system they are immensely important, and we are lucky to have two very good full backs at Arsenal.
  5. Our centre backs, as well as our back-four as a whole, looked more in control and coordinated than I have seen them in a while. How many times did they manage to get the Baggies in an offsite position today? It all resulted in a well-deserved clean sheet.
  6. As a team we pressed so much better than in recent games, and we were also able to win a lot of the one to one battles today, which is an improvement from recent games. WBA were never allowed to get into the game and this was mainly the result of our improved pressing and ability to dominate midfield.
  7. The whole team did not only have a better shape and gelled a lot better; it also showed real passion and fight. Players stood up for themselves and each other today, and it was a joy to behold.
  8. Despite our injuries, we were able to bring on three strong substitutes who were all able to contribute in us seeing the game through till the end. It is good to know that we will have an almost full squad available for the tough – and oh so crucial for gaining momentum – December and January fixtures.

Next up in the PL are away games against Reading and Wigan. There are no easy games in the PL for Arsenal this season, but with a strong squad, and a good possibility that the above mentioned eight positives can be repeated again in fixtures this month, Arsenal should be able to make further progress in the table. However, it will be key to further integrate Giroud into the team and provide him with quality service; and as team we need to score more in the PL by taking our chances better than we do currently.

Still a work in progress and another set-back cannot be ruled out, but we can take plenty of encouragement from today’s strong team performance.

Total Arsenal.

An Arsenal side with a fighting spirit will always get my support

TotalArsenal

 Are Arsenal doomed? Bollix to that!

Change of formation – cannot fly without wings – (almost) solid performance by our defence – ability to fight.

I only saw the game last night on a fuzzy stream that broke up a few times, which makes it difficult to analyse the game tactically. It is incredible that Gooners based outside the UK can watch our games on their TV-sets while we have to make do with streaming. But, it is what it is, and I was definitely able to get a general picture of our performance last night.

Change of formation to 4-4-2 only partly paid off.

We basically played 4-4-2 with Giroud and Theo up-front, and Ramsey – Arteta – Wilshere – Santi in midfield. This came as a big surprise and initially Arsene was rewarded handsomely for his willingness to adapt. Theo’s slightly fortuitous goal in the first minute was a direct result of Everton not being tactically prepared for our change of formation.

I can see why Arsene started with four in midfield: we needed the extra man in order not to be overrun. But even then, Everton were a force in midfield and their tactics to never let us settle on the ball worked well for them – as it did when other opponents followed the same strategy against us recently.

During the entire game we were seldom or never able to dictate the game or maintain our shape for long. Everton’s pressing and ability to hold on to the ball and pass it round was impressive, and in general better than Arsenal’s. The question that will remain unanswered is whether it would have been better to have started with our 4-2-1-3 system. We had the players for it and it is what they were getting used to, but I guess Arsene felt he needed to do something different in order to gain new impetus this season. It will be interesting to see whether the new formation will be a one-off or not.

It was also obvious that we were not used to playing in this formation, as we lacked the normal intuitive understanding and football automatisms which Everton, on the other hand, had in abundance last night. The result of all of this was that Everton were able to force mistakes on us, and luckily it only cost us once. Fellaini pounced on an enforced mistake by a number of Arsenal players to pass-shoot the ball past our goalkeeper.

We cannot fly without wings.

The 4-4-2 formation saw Wilshere play a lot deeper than usual and he did a good job defensively. However, because of this we were less dominant in the attacking part of midfield as Wilshere and Arteta often sat too deep, and Cazorla had to occupy one of the wings (Ramsey and Cazorla swapped occasionally). Theo and Giroud tried hard to cover the space and make the best of it, but it did not really work out for us.

Just like in the Villa game, we did not use our wings to the best ability. Theo was missed on the right and Ramsey and Gibbs did not get much out of our left wing. With a striker like Giroud in the centre of our attack, this is a real shame. We either use Giroud in a 4-3-3 system with proper wing play, or we go back to the early-Chamakh era of 4-5-1; with Giroud alone on top and five multi-disciplined midfielders behind him, who can play off the Frenchman. Last night, our formation made Giroud look mostly ineffectual in our 4-4-2 formation.

I hope last night’s formation was a one-off tactical adjustment by Arsene, and that we go back to 4-3-3 on Saturday. As per my previous post, we need Theo to play as a dedicated winger right now, and replace him adequately ASAP, if he does not want to play there anymore.

(Almost) solid performance by our defence.

Our defence held out really well last night and dealt with the pressure put on them more than adequately. They could have done better with Fellaini’s equaliser – they should have learned from Bale’s goal 10 days ago – but there was good coordination between them and they fought like lions for each other. Conceding only one goal in two tricky away fixtures is a sign of progress in defence.

Ability to fight.

As I could not make out individual shirt numbers on the stream and the picture was too fuzzy to recognise our players every time, I am not in a position to review individual players. What I can say though is that everybody worked their socks off last night and was up for the fight for 90+ minutes. The game was played by both teams like it was a cup-final, and it takes a lot to keep believing and fighting for a win in a hostile away environment.

And as an Arsenal supporter this will always be the most important thing for me: a team that works hard and fights for 90 minutes will ALWAYS get my support, regardless of the technical and tactical insufficiencies on display.

We are only five points away from third place, and we can get there in the next few weeks. That’s what we have to fight for now, and our team showed last night it can and will fight for it; and that’s why they will continue to get my full support.

 

Total Arsenal.

Edgy Wenger sees Wilshere-less Arsenal edge further away from top-four

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It was always going to be difficult to win three games in seven days; and as expected, Arsenal struggled against lowly positioned Aston Villa today.

Five initial conclusions:

Arsenal are still too fragile for squad-rotation.

Arsene rotated three players for the Villa game: Wilshere, Vermaelen and Sagna, and guess what; the team lost its shape again and looked once more like it was put together for the first time. Gibbs did ok, Jenkinson was rusty and had no meaningful report with the Ox, and Rambo could once again not match the quality of his football with his incredible work rate. The Ox, who played his second game in a row, is also not making us forget Theo at the moment, which is starting to worry me a bit.

We might believe Arsene should rotate more, but today we saw why he is so reluctant to make unforced changes to his first eleven. His core, first-eleven team is improving quickly, but as soon as he makes more than the odd change, Arsenal drop their performance significantly.

Giroud’s service to the team is not being reciprocated.

Giroud is more and more developing into the team’s attacking pivot: he is everywhere and reads the game well. He is also getting better at shielding, and holding on to the ball. His lay-offs are also rapidly improving. Unfortunately, the quality of his service is not being reciprocated, and as a team we let him down today. Was there one decent cross in the entire game? I cannot remember any myself. Both ‘wingers’: The Ox and Pod, seldom or never made it to the by-line, and especially the latter had a number of poor first touches. Unfortunately, Gervinho, who came on as a substitute, did not do any better than either of the wingers.

Our midfield struggled badly without Wilshere.

In our 4-3-3 the midfield three are obviously very important, but Arteta, Rambo and Cazorla did not gel at all tonight. Cazorla worked his socks off and was pure class throughout the game; despite some lose ball at the end – clearly caused by fatigue.

At times, I wondered whether Arteta was actually on the pitch; he sat deep and got seldom involved in any of our attacking moves. We really missed Wilshere today, who understands so much better than Ramsey what is required of the lynchpin role. Wilshere is much better capable of holding on to the ball and moving forward with it with real intent.

Jack also has got a quickly improving understanding with Santi, as they seem to be able to think and act on the same wave-length. Sadly, Rambo does not offer this to the team, and it looks more and more now that he is not going to make it at Arsenal – something I say with a heavy heart.

At last, a clean sheet in the PL!

Well there was one silver lining today: our defence did well and kept a clean sheet in the PL – only our second clean sheet since our away win at Liverpool on the 2nd September. As said earlier, the FB’s did ok defensively but offered little in the final third (especially Jenkinson). I thought the core-triangle of Szczesny-BFG-Koz did really well tonight. Our CB’s read the game brilliantly, and timed their interventions really well. They were also keen to help out in attack, as they realised that something extra was needed. Tonight’s game was once again proof to me that Mert and Koz are our best CB-pair at the moment.

Arsene was edgy throughout the game.

Arsene tried hard to get the team going from the side-lines, as he seemed to sense from early on that his team would struggle to find the quality to beat a struggling opponent. He even used the F-word at one stage, which tells us how disappointed he was in some of his players today. I like it when Arsene gets emotionally involved though. Unfortunately, he was not able to change the game with his substitutions or his side-line coaching tonight, and I expect him to be very disappointed in his team tonight.

Total Arsenal.

Unselfish Giroud too much for his old teammates: Arsenal 2 – 0 Montpellier

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We almost take qualification into the next round of the CL for granted nowadays, but we only have to look at the Southern and Northern Oilers to realise how special it is to be once again in the last sixteen of the most prestigious club tournament in the world.

Montpellier made it hard for us in the first half by pressing constantly and not allowing us to keep the ball for long. I thought they did that really well; but as predicted they were not able to do much harm to us where it mattered most. They now only scored eight goals in their last seven games, and they must feel gutted seeing Giroud doing so well for us at the moment. I do feel for them a bit.

In the second half, Arsenal were better at keeping the ball and getting into areas where we could hurt them. Giroud proved to be the ideal attacking pivot in this game, as he unselfishly provided both Wilshere and Podolski with fine assists.

The first one started with a decent cross by Vermaelen towards Giroud; the Frenchman out-jumped his former teammates and presented Wilshere with the perfect assist. Jack did not believe his luck and calmly stroked the ball past and behind Jourdren. It was great to see the joy on Jack’s face: it had been two years – 10% of his entire life – since he scored last for Arsenal, so no wonder he was so pleased.

But the highlight of the night was the second goal. A strong and determined run by Ox, from the right-hand side towards Montpellier’s box, instigated the goal. Once he moved into the danger area, he passed the ball to Podolski just outside the box. The German quickly passed to Giroud, who also did not hesitate for a second and bounced the ball back to Podolski at the perfect height for his left howitzer. Podolski put all his venom into his volley, and Jourdren had no chance: a beautiful team goal, involving all three attackers.

After that, Montpellier tried to regain control but were never dangerous, and Arsenal could see out the game with relative ease.

A clean sheet and two fine goals; and Arsenal are now qualified for the next round: job truly and well done! With a bit of luck, there are no further injuries and we can start preparing for what will be, without any doubt, another tough, physical battle against Aston Villa in three days time.

I know many fellow Gooners reckon Arsenal have no chance to win the CL this year and they could well be right; but it is tournament in which luck plays a big part.

The clear favourites: Barcelona (Celtic), Real Madrid (Dortmund), and Bayern (Bate Borisov), have all been beaten in Europe already, and there is no reason to believe we cannot beat them too.

Clearly, Arsenal are outsiders, but you never know; maybe Arsene will be holding up the cup with the big ears at Wembley on the 25 May 2013. Stranger things have happened! 🙂

Total Arsenal.