midfield battle – Page 4

A new CB, DM and Goalkeeper, or…..: What will the TW bring?

January 7, 2015January 8, 2015TotalArsenal

There is a lot of hope amongst some fellow Gooners that the boss will splash the cash and bring in a shipload of new signings this January. We have been here many times before of course, and we never quite know what the boss will do. I really do not have a clue what will happen but past January transfer windows (TW) tell us that:

He regularly buys nobody or surprises us with a largely unknown player for cover of a particular position;
Very seldom will he spend the cash on a star player;
He is a tough – some say tight – negotiator and will often wait till the very last minute;
Although he sets transfer targets, he appears to change his mind regularly.

Arsenal tend to buy their players during the Summer TW and only use the January TW to stop a gap, or to get a bargain. If it is the latter, we definitely will have to wait till the last day(s) of the TW, as the negotiators need the pressure of the deadline to force through a deal with those clubs who need to sell but are holding out for the best possible price.

Will we get a 'Monreal style' signing? — Will we get a ‘Monreal style’ signing?

If it is about stopping a gap (like Monreal two Januaries ago), Wenger tends to change his mind a lot, and recent developments might well delay or postpone transfer activities during this TW.

We need(ed) a CB, but with Debuchy, Chambers and Monreal doing decent stints in that position and Koz getting back to fitness, he might decide not to bother…. unless he can get a bargain. There is also a problem here in terms of getting somebody who wants to play third fiddle to the BFG and Koz when joining us, as nobody should be under the illusion that Wenger will drop either of them mid-season.

We also are desperate for a quality DM who can release the shackles of our attack minded midfielders. But out of the last chance saloon comes Le Coq who has been playing very well in his last two games, giving solid protection to the back four and allowing his fellow midfielders to let it all hang out. Wenger might be tempted to give Coquelin one last opportunity to play himself into the team…. It would not surprise me at all if we will not see another DM join us before 1^st of Feb.

Some believe we will buy another goalkeeper and they might well be right. I reckon Ospina will not have accepted a permanent nr.2 role when he joined us; and if Szczesny is to be replaced imminently, which is highly unlikely in my opinion, it will probably be with a new nr.2 (with Ospina making the promotion).

So, glass brimming half full Gooners, half empty ones, and seekers of balance, out there: given the above, do you believe we will buy (a) senior/quality player(s) at all this January? And if so, who? Gives us your predictions! 🙂

Written by: TotalArsenal

We ARE The Arsenal And That Was Unacceptable

November 5, 2014November 5, 2014TotalArsenal

Soft Underbelly Allows Three Costly Wobbles

We have known and been talking about it forever: Arsenal have a soft underbelly, and it is right in the heart of our defence and midfield. We strapped it over recently with the veterans of Flamini and Arteta playing in front of the vulnerable CB pairing of BFG and Nacho, and it somehow did a job against the lesser teams of Sunderland and Burnley.

But last night our swinging undercarriage was laid bare by a team the equivalent in Europe to the likes of Burnley and Sunderland in the PL. It was embarrassing and painful to watch, and with Arteta possibly injured for a while again and Le Coq on loan (WTF!?), and Koz out till at least after the break, we can only dream of a solid six-pack for quite a while.

The question is will Wenger ever accept this and buy properly, or will we continue with patching over the continuous softness? The answer my friends, is blowing in the window (which will not open till the new year, of course).

It is true that we seemed to fall apart as soon as Arteta left the field, but we should also not forget that we had looked vulnerable at the start of the game, when he was actually on the pitch; and we could have easily conceded a goal if the Belgians had been a bit more lucky/deadly. I also witnessed defensive weaknesses against Burnley during the first half, for which we were not punished.

The lack of organisational leadership with players like BFG, Flamini and Nacho on the pitch, which resulted in giving away a three nil lead at home, was simply unacceptable. Now I don’t think these players are at all lazy or careless; I am sad to say they probably just lack the qualities (physical and tactical), although I would love to be proven wrong on this. Or maybe, it is just a lack of tactical organisation and preparation, for which training sessions and trainers are to blame… You tell me…

We gave away a three nil lead at home, against CL minnows Anderlecht. We can analyse it to bits, we can find all sorts of excuses, but we still gave away a three nil lead against Anderlecht in twenty minutes of football, at the home of football. How does it make us feel? Like somebody just buried, with full force, their hairy-knuckled fat fist in our underbelly.

What do you do when that happens? You fecking fight back. Swansea should be scared, very scared. Or should they?

The one big positive (other than another master-class by Alexis and good performances by the FBs):

I was delighted to see the Ox score a goal he has been threatening to produce for quite a while. I loved the venom and precision in his bended shot, and it was great to see the master Alexis giving the young Englishman his approval of the finish.

Unfortunately for him, this will not be the one big thing we will remember from this game.

Bring on The Jacks on Sunday and let our players show why they are still worthy of wearing the shirt. We are The Arsenal!

Written by: TotalArsenal.

Don’t try too hard! Why Arsenal’s midfield is a mess?

October 31, 2014TotalArsenal

So, I’ve not posted for a while and there are several reasons for that. These would include far too much work being put onto me by my university at a national level, where they want to be seen as a bigger player and leader, and a son with autism (high functioning) who struggles to learn how to interact with people, but wants most of all to be a (known) “part of a crowd”.

If you look at these and think it through, as I did after reading Gerry’s fine post and watching some highlights from Anderlecht, you’ll note that the same issues that affect my university and my son to an extent, affect Arsenal’s midfield. And it’s the middle that causes us strife.

So, first things first, I am in southern Belgium (again), in the land of Standard de Liege, so no one here thinks it was robbery, or anything other than perfect, that Arsenal stole victory from the jaws of defeat at Anderlecht. Just to assuage any guilty feelings.

Now, back to the topic at hand. I am writing this, by the way, before going to hopefully watch Arsenal vs Sunderland. So, if it turns out this is all wrong after that game, then it’s because I cant foretell the future (which is true as I question my workload and life choices). If it turns out to be true, just credit it to my general, all around genius!

So, the problem in a nutshell?

Everyone is trying too damn hard to be the star, the star creator and the star scorer, and the star of the highlights. We have no one who is willing to play their (single) role and just get it done regardless of how they look.

Midfielders who do the day to day work, Arteta would be one, get no press or play. They are also worth less in transfer fees etc. Now, while Arteta may (or may not) be reaching the end of top football, I think we can all agree he plays a single main role and sticks to it. He gets double points in my book for doing it in a role he may not be perfectly suited for.

Flamini might well be the same. Or not. Hard to tell sometimes.

After that, Ozil, also injured, plays one role and when allowed that role in the 10 slot does it well. And then gets no credit for not doing other things.

For every goal there are players working hard at doing things that aren’t noticed and don’t get credit that are just as responsible for the outcome. Instead, we see too much one man trying to dribbler two or three instead of making the ball do the work, or everyone trying to occupy the space where the last pass will lead to a goal. Or making the hard pass that is intercepted rather than the easy one also forward, that won’t make the highlight reel.

I don’t often agree with Steve (another poster) but he made a really good point that everyone clusters to the middle. I would add that everyone also tries to do everything or at least far too much. JW, AR, Ox.. All trying to be everywhere and do everything at once. And thus be the star. Perhaps it’s the fear of failure leading to mental lack of strength and confidence that is the cause, and has been speculated on a fair bit in the tattle-sheets. But, it’s there…

Our problem in another form then: we currently have a team of stars, not a star team made of stars. That is what differentiates us from Chelsea right now. Rather ironically, in trying to be a bigger name in the show, and doing more, the center gets crowded, everyone gets in the way of everyone else, we lose width and thus negate the pace we spent lots of money on this summer. Oh, and we also end up playing rather averagely and well below our talent level – regardless of injuries and who’s on the field.

I agree with jw1 who recently noted that a consistent line-up is useful. But still, at this level, they could still do better than they have. Why? Because, we aren’t playing football, we are playing my-ball more so. Even when Ozil was uninjured, he was often surrounded too closely by players and not enough were away, or off the ball pulling defences wide and just occupying space to threaten. I take again steve’s point, and he’s a guy who doesn’t fully rate Ozil, “imagine if Ozil had 4 attacking players to pass to”. Imagine indeed, especially if they were all spread out across the width and north/south. And there’s our problem again…

Yes, everyone wants to be the next zillion dollar creative player… And they are all trying hard to show it’s them.

When we play this way we also violate one of the first rules of football. I.e. make the ball do the work! Instead, we try to do all of it player by player, and not as much as a team. When everyone is trying to be the leader, there are far fewer places for the ball to go any distance to make it do any work. This makes defending us easier than it should be given our players. And again, we suffer and have to work harder than we should.

Equally, and succinctly, too many want to be “the big player” or “a major part of the team” and in doing so try too hard. Instead, they should do one simple job, stick to it, and we are likely all to end up better for it as a team.

Some anecdotal support of what I am saying?

Consider Galatasaray, who played 3 at the back narrow and 5 in the middle to clog it. That left gaping space we didn’t ignore out wide. As a result, less in the middle and we ran riot with talent. Aston Villa, much the same.

Player by player?

Ramsey – last year played to stay playing and was equally an assists man as a scorer – just playing all around good football. This year, playing to “do more” trying too hard and getting less.

JW – huge star but he is always trying to do too much, which is likely his downfall. He does best set back, not because he is better there but, in my opinion, because his natural nature is to try to do too much and sitting deeper removes or reduces that issue to an extent.

Ox and the occasional Rosicky – cannot stay outside, it seems.

Add that all up and suddenly one can have 4-5 players, including Welbeck, all sitting top of the box in the middle relying on backs to come forward to keep width, and far too many forward. The end result is we are one turnover and long pass from an exposed back line.

Succinctly, everyone is trying to be the single creative guy and the scorer possibly as well. But no one wants to be a cog in the machine or the guy who pulls the defenders wide so the others can score.

The end result is we don’t get any creativity, we stifle players like Ozil and Welbeck (and others like Sanchez) from being their best, we expose our back line the same way hackers exposed Jennifer Lawrence, and thus pay a huge price.

Just not trying too hard and doing one thing well should be easy, but, it seems that may not fly with today’s player?

So, the solution. Not steve’s no creative players line-up, though it was interesting! 🙂 Instead, some mild sedatives and one instruction to do one thing and do it well. Back to the KISS principle about keeping it simple (insert S-word of choice here).

Anyway, I hope to be proved wrong vs Sunderland, and then you can all rubbish me in the replies…

Or to summarise, we need to step back and simplify to make a big step forward. To end where I began, every day I start with my son by talking with him about how trying less hard will lead to the friends coming to him rather than him always chasing social success. If my university would listen, they would hear that I cannot do every national leadership job unless they want less of something else – not without doing it all averagely.

When we have played our best, we have as fans tended to blame the other side. But, look at the games and you see one thing. When we play our best, we play simple football that isn’t crowded. And good things come directly from it. Just like I try to tell my son… See, good football is like life! 🙂

Now, I am off to watch the game and have some Belgian beer (Westmalle I think). For you? Some thoughts to consider?

Will Theo, who loves the sideline, be a major impetus to help us out?
Am I right about Ozil and others?
Is the fact we have players trying too hard, both fatiguing them too quickly as well as leading to injury (or some of them)?
Or, am I totally off my rocker (always possible!)?

Written by: JGC.

Mesut Ozil: Conundrum, Asset or Liability?

October 17, 2014TotalArsenal

Question: Is Mesut Ozil a Conundrum, an Asset or a Liability?

I ask, because if we believe the various media outlets, and unfortunately many do blindly, he is all three.

Take the latest stories of how he wants to quit Arsenal, and see how it is possible that a simple statement made in answer to a question by a team mate can develop, in a ‘Chinese whisper’ sort of way, to what the headlines read a couple of days later.

Ozil went to join up with the Germany squad, and although he never played, he would have had time to chat with his colleagues. They won the World Cup together, so they are amongst friends. Some are at new clubs and they discuss how they are doing there. Innocent question pops up, ‘Would you fancy playing at this club?’ Answer, ‘Possibly. One day, maybe’.

That is all it would take for this message to be passed along the line, until it reaches a manager of that club who has expressed an interest in the player, to then release that via a ‘tame’ journalist to spread the word ‘Ozil wants to leave Arsenal’. UK journo’s who love to stick the knife in, add ‘in January’ to their headline. Note also then how they respond to Arsene Wenger’s answers. ‘Wenger would be unhappy to lose Ozil in January’ … still leaving the idea it would be okay in the summer, even though that was never said?

When I read or hear comments, I take some on board if I think what they are saying has credibility, and the people who are saying it are in a position to speak with accuracy and experience.

Take this example. I heard Graham Souness talking at the half-time interval during a match recently. He was saying what he knew about cruciate ligament injuries, not from his own experience, but from other players that have had them. As it happens, he was talking about Falcao, but it does have relevance to Theo Walcott, and others of Arsenal interest. The crux of it was, when a players suffers these injuries the knee does not feel as ‘tight’ as it used to, and this can affect a player’s confidence. There is a slight ‘looseness or wobble’ which they have to get comfortable with. Again, with reference to Falcao, he said it is worse the older the player is when they get the injury. ‘Younger players can recover fully, but once they get over the age of 25, the difficulties arise’.

I find this credible, because Souness would know of a number of players who would have suffered this type of injury, and even allowing for advances in medical treatment, still many players do not get back to the level of ability they once had, so this explanation might have some substance?

So I ask, what makes any sense of Arsenal buying Sammy Khedira? One thing, the possibility of a low fee, even if that is off-set by the reported wage demand. Again, how much can we trust in that our ‘agreed terms’ suggest he settled for £100k, not £200, or £155k per week, as his demands were earlier reported? The other plus is his relationship with Ozil, on and off field. If he could link up with Mesut and bring the very best out of him week in, week out, then he would truly be a bargain.

The downside is, will Khedira’s knees hold out in the EPL, week in, week out?

I also read of a Chelsea interest. At first glance, he does not seem a player Chelsea need? They are pretty solid in the defensive midfield area, and why trade a younger, fit player, for a potential bench warmer? I think their ‘interest’ lies more in affecting Arsenal. Whatever way this saga goes, I do not see Khedira as the player we need. That said, will Ozil see this as another slight on his reason for signing? He gets played out of position, more on that later, and then does not get the one player he can rely on him to support him on and off field?

Another half-time chat I listened to during an England game was Glenn Hoddle on Wilshere. He was doing his usual bit on Wilshere underperforming, but he went on to say, ‘that in this ‘new’ role Jack had been given as the ‘holding midfielder’, that he would have to be more disciplined’. ‘He needs to stay back as he cannot do the 40 yard runs and get into the box for the return pass. Too often he goes straight into a crowded midfield, and if he loses possession there, he opens us(England) to a counter attack. So he must stay back and play for the team’.

That was the gist of it, but it struck a chord with me. We know Arsenal play a different format whilst they experiment with the 4-1-4-1 formation. As there is usually a defensive midfielder in place, and Jack either does the box to box stuff, or more recently, plays higher up the field.

This to me is where the Ozil conundrum comes in. Because of Wilshere’s tendency to operate in the centre ground, no matter where his starting line up is. In doing so, he takes away from much of what Ozil can do best. And what Ozil does best is when the centre field is not cluttered, and he can move in and out of that area, no matter what position he is notionally assigned to.

So can we play Wilshere in the same team as Ozil? Well not if they both have the same freedom to move into preferred areas, in my honest opinion.

Now if Wilshere is being groomed for the long term holding midfield role for England, and Hoddle was overjoyed at his performance that night, then perhaps he should do the same in the Arsenal line up? Yes, it will mean him giving up the idea of being the Number 10 conductor of attacks in and around the box, which will not go down too well with him or his many supporters? But I don’t suppose Arteta was overjoyed when he converted in a similar way. So does that make Arteta more of a ‘team’ player than Wilshere? If he takes it on board as a new challenge, and uses his skills more on reading the game, rather than just diving into tackles, where he risks as much injury as he does when he ‘puts his body on the line’ drawing fouls, or not, as the case may be, when he gets clattered going forwards. I think if he is serious about modeling himself on Alonso, then it ought to be for club and Country? Let’s not forget that some of those passes from deep were very Cesc-esque, or straight out of the ‘book of Alonso’. He must have enjoyed that, as well as his overall contribution?

Perhaps he should start thinking of a long term career in this pivotal role, rather than a short term, injury ridden, glory seeking one playing up front? Then both he and Arsenal could benefit?

It would also go a long way in solving the Ozil conundrum?

Now, is Mesut Ozil an Asset?

I want to use this quote from Milo in yesterday’s post:

First and maybe most important point: He opens he field and direction of play up, more than any other high profile number 10 or playmaker, by NOT being afraid to move the ball, or run sideways. Everyone always is looking for the big, flashy, vertical ball over the top, but when it’s not there, he refuses to force it and I admire that…Greatly. He certainly has the vision and skill to execute more difficult passes. His tendency to drift sideways results in him looking like a drifter, but he’s like the knight in a game of chess. Not always flashy, but LETHAL. No one has figured it out yet, but I tend to think his lack of production has more to do with Arsenal’s and Arsene’s tactics than it has with Mesut?

This was an excellent bit of insight which might have got lost, as it was not related to the post in question. Milo came to this conclusion through watching past videos. I wonder how many of Ozil’s critics have done this?

We have only seen flashes of what ‘the best number 10 in the world’ can do this season. But when we had a nearly fully fit squad last season, he was on fire. The plague of injuries this time has really upset the rhythm of the side. Despite the new signings being great additions, it does take time to gel properly. Ozil was late returning from the World Cup, and he is not the only player to find it difficult to get back to some sort of form at league level. No sooner does he play with the freedom that suits his game, and the line up is changed once more. My big criticism in his last game was the very unusual number of times he gave away possession. If he was carrying the injury that now requires him to have a 10 week break, it may well explain his lack of touch that day?

Over the next few games we will see if we can cope without him. But more importantly, we will see what a difference he makes in a fully fit squad in the New Year when he returns. He is an asset we most definitely need, but we need the team to work so he can produce his magic. Otherwise, and I will quote Milo again, we will miss ‘facets of his game that are either underrated/undervalued or go completely unrecognized’. But they are the very bits that help make the magic he can produce when conditions are right?

If we do miss out on him be able to produce his best, that would be a sad day for anybody who appreciates a quality footballer.

Liability? Never ….when he has quality players that move as a unit, and has the space to work in.

If he fails, then we must look at what is failing him …First!

In the meantime, we have to play without him. Who plays where, will be the subject of the next post. I just hope there is not a scramble of players all thinking they can step into his shoes, and we end up with an endless pattern of reshuffles?

Many thanks to Milo for inspiring the angle of this post.

Written by: Gerry.

Ozil LM – RamShere Central – Alexis & Danny to Mash: Ars v Spuds Preview

September 27, 2014TotalArsenal

Ooh I love devouring the Spuds. I like them chipped, I like them boiled with gravy, I like them in a salad with some garlic mayo on top, I like them flattened into hash brownies, or even better, mashed with butter and a hint of mustard. And the Spuddies are tastiest when gulped down at our very own home of football. 🙂

TIme to play with the heart but with a cool mind.

Today’s NLD comes early (again): the teams still have to find their stride, and Pochettino is still finding his feet at the club. You just cannot take count anymore of how many managers have come and gone, and for that, predict what we can expect from the miscreants this time round.

We need a win to build further on our away win at Villa and to get the momentum going for two more big games this week: Galatasaray and the Chavs. I would say let’s treat this as an OGAAT and not worry about what is to follow. But I feel this a big moment for Arsenal this season: the time for experimenting is over as the next three games will shape our season to a large extent. We need a win against the Turks and we need a result against the Chavs.

So now it is time to put out a formation and team that will have the best chance to get us there, give or take a couple of tweaks over the next eight days. Wenger’s plan for this season will be confirmed today/this week, I am pretty sure.

We can talk about it forever, but the only thing that matters is what happens on the pitch come 17.30. I have not seen enough of the Spuds this season to form an opinion about the strength of their team. After a late goal by Dier they clinched all the points from the Hammers on the opening day, and then they brushed aside QPR at home; but after that they just got one point from playing Liverpool and West Brom at home and Sunderland away, giving away a lead twice at the Stadium of Light.

So they are lacking form and the first doubts whether Pochettino is the right man for them, which I reckon he is, will have started to surface, no doubt. Clearly, they need to bounce back and will not need motivating for today’s NLD. We have not had the best of spells ourselves in recent weeks and could really do with a win.

I expect Arsene to set out with 4-1-4-1 but with one of the central midfielders to sit back a lot, especially during the start of the game. The only real risk we have is playing too much attacking football, leaving our back-four – especially the BFG – exposed in the process. The Spuds will love to play counter football against us and they have the weapons to hurt us. Some might call for 4-2-1-3 with two of Ramsey, Wilshere, Arteta and Flamini (or even Chambers), and I reckon they will get their wish effectively.

Many believe it will be either Ramsey or Jack next to Ozil in midfield, but I am convinced Wenger will incorporate all three. I reckon Ozil will be moved to the left, with licence to roam where he thinks he can add value (with Gibbs playing a more conservative role – and Sanchez and Ozil are likely to swap sides as well).

The defence picks itself and Szczesny is likely to be back. Danny on top and that is about it for me.

So predicted line-up:

I would be tempted to replace the captain with Flamini, but it is a good game for him to prove he has still got it. We need all eleven Gunners to be up for this and fire from all cylinders.

Will they be? Will I ever ask a more stupid question?

Let’s mash them Spuds! COYG!!

Written by: TotalArsenal.

Enough evidence that Wanyama or Schneiderlin are the missing link?

September 24, 2014September 24, 2014TotalArsenal

Arsenal v Saints Afterthoughts

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

For me, that was the game in a nutshell.

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

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

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

Written by: TotalArsenal.

Do Arsenal already have their own ‘Schweini’?

September 22, 2014TotalArsenal

If the events on Tuesday night and the previous weekend tell us anything, it is that a result should never be taken too seriously. Yet we all love to draw big conclusions from single events; and it’s even better when two single events have the same outcome…. it might lead to a fine theory; or it is often the conception – or the reinforcement – of our very own hobby horse(s).

The Dortmund loss does not make us doomed for winning the CL this year; and beating Villa comprehensively does not make us strong candidates for claiming this season’s PL title. Cups and titles are won by the OGAAT approach: one game at a time, leaving the past behind.

The season has only just begun, and it is hard to draw any conclusions on how it will end for Arsenal. The player purchases have been good to fantastic, although we left ourselves potentially a bit vulnerable at the centre of defence and midfield (DM). The late return of WC stars/relatively short preparation for the new season, the two CL qualification games and the international break – just when the PL got started – have all hindered Arsene in putting his stamp on the team and properly implement his chosen style of play, formation (4-1-4-1) and team tactics.

He clearly is still working on getting his new 4-1-4-1 formation to become the footballing machine he has in mind. The combos of Wilshere, Ozil, Ramsey and Sanchez, or Ox, Rosicky, Santi and Diaby/Campbell – or any combination as you see fit – have great potential. With the right man in front of them – OG, Welbeck, Walcott, Akpom? – and a solid player behind them, this could become a deadly, all concurring midfield foursome.

The notion that Arsene is compromising the effectiveness of the team in order to fit Ozil, Wilshere and Ramsey in, is incorrect. In my opinion, it is actually the other way round: he had a plan and got the players to execute it: and the signing of Alexis has been the icing on the cake.

I am starting to like the idea, advocated by the likes of Gerry (who partly inspired this post) and others, that Wenger is actually after a ‘footballing DM’ – a Bastian Schweinsteiger type, rather than a classical ‘destroyer’ type – but is either undecided who this should be, or has not been able to get his man as yet. However, after years of waiting for a DM, I do not know what to believe anymore.

He might, of course, also be working behind the scene to get one of his current midfielders to adapt to this role. I have no doubt that Diaby could be our ‘Schweini’ but we all know it would be mad to bank on this. Whoever plays the sole, deeper laying midfield role will need to be super fit and able to play (almost) every week. With the best will in the world, this is not going to happen for Abou this season, if at all.

Arteta and Flamini have each been played in the deeper role but they both have limitations, and are best used as back-up going forward. Arteta is the sort of player who initially gets better the longer he plays, and he might now enter a good spell. But I seriously doubt whether he can be our fulcrum in midfield for the whole season. I believe it would be a big mistake to bank on one of Arteta (sorry 17HT 🙂 ), Flamini or Diaby to fill this very important position, or indeed to simply believe that between the three of them the role will be covered this season. In the big games, we need a big player in the Schweini role.

An interesting sub-development is the imminent re-emergence of Theo into the team. Once fully fit he is likely to get a starting role in most games. It will either be as our sole CF, which I very much doubt, or as our (free-to-roam?) right (or even left) ‘winger’. If the latter is the case, one of Jack, Mesut, Alexis and Aaron will have to move…

And I reckon it could be Rambo: not to the bench, but, here it comes….. in the Schweini role. He really has everything in his locker to make it there. This is predominantly a gut feeling, just based of having seen both players in action. But looking at ‘Whoscored’, both players are rated with the similar strengths (both, notably, have no weaknesses, indicating their ‘all-roundness):

	Strengths – Very Strong	Strengths – Strong	Style of Play
Ramsey	Passing, Defensive Contributions	Key passes, Holding on to the ball	Likes to do lay-offs, likes to dribble, likes to tackle
Schweinsteiger	Passing, Direct Free-Kicks	Key passes, Long Shots	Likes to do lay-offs

Ramsey has a slightly inferior passing accuracy (this season 85.9%) than Schweinsteiger (last season an incredible 89.9% – he has yet to play this season), and also wins les aerial duels per game (0.8 v 2). The latter could be explained by the height difference or the positions both have been playing in – Ramsey is half a decimetre smaller. But then, Ramsey scores and assists a lot more than Schweinsteiger: 10 goals and 7 assists in 20 PL games v 4 goals and 4 assists in 22 Bundesliga matches last season. The latter could be explained by Ramsey playing in a more attack-minded midfield role than Schweini.

When you read ‘Whoscored?’ valuation of Ramsey you cannot help but think that sounds like a good all-round, defensive minded midfielder to me: defensive contributions, holding on to the ball, likes do lay-offs, likes to tackle…

Clearly, Ramsey’s ability to make clever, timely runs into the box as well as finishing off chances should also have been added to Ramsey’s strengths by Whoscored?. And the question remains whether playing Aaron deeper would deprive us too much of his goals and assists this season. But I would like us to try Ramsey in the sole, deeper laying midfield role a few times and see how he will do. He has the stamina and the passion, and all the necessary skills; and let’s hope he can stay injury free this season.

I have a feeling he would be a revelation and might even become our very own Schweini.

What do you think, fine fellow Gooners?

Written by: TotalArsenal.

Jack and Alexis raise bar, Welbeck impresses, Defence….: Match Review

September 15, 2014September 15, 2014TotalArsenal

Saturday’s game against the Champions was a good opportunity to gage how much progress we had made since last season.

The verdict in a nutshell: our defence – including our sole DM – not solid and composed enough, our midfield now bursting with quality, and our attack/ability to create chances and score goals in the biggest games has also improved significantly.

Unlike last season’s visit by MC, when they were happy to play for a draw, this time round our opponents wanted the three points badly. The Chavs have started the season well as expected and the totally unpredicted loss against Stoke, have put a lot of pressure on the Champions to keep up. The same goes for Arsenal of course, who managed once again to qualify for the CL in August, but had dropped two valuable points in and against Leicester and found themselves four points adrift from the league leaders before this big game.

MC were missing Yaya Toure who was replaced by lost-looking Lampard, and Milner was put on the left to protect the vulnerable ex-Gunner Clichy, mainly by kicking the proverbial out of Debuchy. Fernandinho was also clearly instructed to put his boot in every time Jack or any of the other midfielders threatened to get past him – because that’s when Arsenal are at their most dangerous – and the awesome Silva, very effective Navas, and efficient Aguero were there to produce the attacking football.

Arsenal had opted to start Welbeck (with Sanogo not even on the bench: was he injured?), play four mainly attacking midfielders behind him, and protect the back-four with our best option as DM, the willing but wilting Flamini. It looked at times more like 3-1-5-1, as our ‘LB’ Nacho was almost constantly situated higher up the pitch, functioning as a fifth midfielder.

First half

After a couple of minutes of MC pressure, Arsenal took over with our four midfielders (in our 4-1-4-1) formation dominating play. Jack led the charge with energetic and aggressive play both at the back and the front. Early on he produced a brilliant diagonal ball over the top of the MC defence and the alert Sanchez almost got there to head the ball past the quickly anticipating Hart. Welbeck is lively and constantly moving, never allowing the experienced MC back-four to settle. It is clear that he wants the ball in behind the defensive lines, but our midfielders expect him to play in front of the opposition’s defence ala OG, and a few balls go astray.

Then, unexpectedly, the stuff of dreams – or nightmares – happens. A nonchalant ball back from midfield to his defence by Silva, is quickly anticipated by Danny and he gets a free run at goal with just the keeper to beat. He produces a Bergkampesque lofted ball over the beaten Hart and everybody thinks it is going in, but it hits the woodwork and the keeper can collect. So close, and what a goal it would have been for the newly arrived attacker.

The near miss is a pivotal moment in the first half. MC wake up and appreciate their lucky escape and the crowd and Gunners experience the heavy realisation that this missed opportunity might cost us dearly in this game (similar to Ozil’s missed penalty against Bayern). Our inexperience of beating fellow top teams is still weighing heavily on us, and every time we miss a very good opportunity it sets us back, it seems.

Welbeck does not seem to be too much influenced by the miss though: he continues to be a nuisance to the MC defence and starts to play better when receiving the ball with his back towards goal. The first quarter of the game is for us: good dominance, one big chance, we are enjoying our football; but, it is fair to say, we do not come close enough to the MC goal to produce clear-cut chances.

Monreal offers great drive going forward and partners well with the industrious, and also defensively sound, Alexis. Every time we regain the ball in our own half we break well, with all midfielders playing their part, but especially Alexis and Jack the most driven and composed. MC’s pre-planned answer to this is to foul our midfielders as soon as they can: cynical but effective. Luckily the referee is handing out yellow cards for this and it only seems a matter of time before one of our breaks will lead to a good goal scoring opportunity.

Our style of play needs goals of course, as we are constantly taking risks with playing Nacho so high, leaving space behind him for the attacking three of MC to pounce on us. And that is, unsurprisingly, exactly how they scored their first goal. The ball breaks to midfield and Flamini’s tackle seems to be well-timed and effective, which it needed to be. But Navas, in a Marc Overmars reminiscent way, manages to collect the ball before it goes out, and runs like a hare towards goal. Nacho and Koz hesitate to make a tackle, allowing speedy G to put the ball into the box. Flamini and BFG seem still in control, but the Frenchman allows Aguero to run past him and score a simple goal. A very disappointing moment by all players involved, but especially Flamini who, with his experience and the role he is playing in, should have done a lot better. 4-1-4-1 without a proper, athletic beast of a DM, seems to ask for this sort of punishment…

Getting behind, combined with the strong sense of a missed opportunity earlier on, now make us weary, both on the pitch and in the ground. MC sense this and start playing the better football, disrupting our play with more and more ease. Ozil and Wilshere try to get it all going but we are not using the width with even Nacho not sticking to the by-line, and Debuchy being held back by Milner. It is all too intricate and easy for MC now, and Welbeck is not getting much involved at this stage. The consistent fouling aimed to disrupt constantly our flow of football continues, and we do not create anything worthy of mentioning anymore during the first half.

Second half

We start good: energetic and with purpose and bite. We get the ball into the box now but the well-drilled MC defence holds strong. Ozil gets more involved in the direction of our play but his passes (and shooting), especially over a longer distance, are not sharp enough to trouble the Oilers. The same goes for Sanchez’s final ball who does all the hard work to get near the box, but then just does not deliver the perfect through-ball.

After ten minutes the game seems to balance out, which is not good for us as we are behind. It needed a moment of inspiration, and it pleases me tremendously that it was Super Jackie Wilshere who delivered it: and in some style!

The ball was won in midfield and quick combination play between Jack, Alexis and Rambo, allowed the Welshman to perfectly guide the ball into Jack’s feet in the box. There was still a hell of a lot to do, but a quick shimmy got him past the opposing defender, and with his head held high, looking for the best option at a moment when the adrenaline is pumping like crazy, he is still able to adjust his feet to fool the MC players as if he is passing it with his left foot, to only use his right foot, daftly kicking it high and measured past the beaten Hart.

What a goal: it needed something special to crack the Oilers’ defence and Jack delivered it. Wilshere the new Fabregas? The new Pirlo? Or the new Bergkamp?! He has got it all! hahaha 😉

After three quarters of the game, soon after our equaliser, Dzeko – the ‘Giroud’ of MC – comes on for Aguero: a change which almost undid us towards the end of the game. But Arsenal now take proper control and Welbeck is everywhere again, after a quiet start in the second half. Fernandinho is lucky not to get a second yellow for bowling Welbeck over off the ball, when the Englishman is about to run into the box, or after petulantly kicking the ball away after another foul is committed on the fabulous Alexis.

Then the moment of total ecstasy arrives.

Arsenal apply pressure and a ball into the box is headed away by the fine warrior Kompany, despite being challenged by Welbeck who gives the colossus a friendly nudge in the process (; The ball ends up with Jack, just outside the ‘D’: he has the full play in front of him and instantly sees that Alexis is free. His cushioned header reaches the Chilean Master who volleys the ball high in the air and with deadly precision under the bar, past a fully beaten Hart. What a clinical, top quality finish! Alexis had been working so hard all over the pitch and he really deserved that goal. What a signing!

We had the Oilers rattled and had two choices: sit back and see out the game as best as we can, or attack for the third goal. Both are risky approaches and we all know what happened next.

We had one great opportunity to score the all important third goal – ‘two goal cushion goal’ – when good link up play by Welbeck, and fine combination play between Ozil and Jack let to the latter clipping a masterly ball over the now tired MC defence. Ramsey did well to anticipate it and beat the MC defence, but his finish lacked the control his fellow midfielders had been demonstrating earlier. Three moments of total quality were perhaps too much to ask.

MC were adamant that Jack handled the ball in the box before our attack, but if you look closely, you will see that Jack’s arm was tucked back by a MC player which then sprung it forward towards the ball. Never a handball. 🙂

Then came the near sucker punch. A simple corner, badly defended: a free header for Demichelis, followed by a ‘nearly safe’ by Szczesny, or even Flamini: 2-2. Our ecstasy levels dropped immediately and the emotional roller coaster was almost completed. Giving away the hard fought for lead so soon, just as we did against Leicester before the interlul, was a painful experience for all.

After that, we somehow held on for the draw as the Oilers smelled blood. The woodwork and an excellent low safe by Szczesny, both from goal efforts by Dzeko, saved us. At this stage our defence were pulled all over the place, as Citeh combined with menace and intent – attacking a lot better now that Dzeko had taken over the central attacking position from Aguero and Silva could move closer to our box.

A draw was a fair result in the end. Our midfielders and attackers worked hard to get us in front but our soft underbelly of a defence/DM unfortunately cost us once again. Debuchy’s horrible injury did not help, but I expected more organisation and leadership from our experienced CBs and DM in the latter stages.

There is little time to learn lessons from this truly fantastic, yet educational game, as Dortmund await tomorrow, which will be another top-level encounter for everyone involved.

But the two big positives are that Jack is starting the hit the form many of us knew he is capable of, and Alexis is the sort of all-round attacking player we have all been hoping for. On top of that, Welbeck had an encouraging start to his Arsenal career, and once Ozil and Rambo start to hit proper form we will do some serious damage to our opposition. Let’s hope this starts on Tuesday night.

Written by: TotalArsenal.

The one player that holds the key to Arsenal’s season

September 6, 2014September 6, 2014TotalArsenal

2.92 chances/2.58 key passes per game, yet we still question MO11

Since Mesut Özil joined on deadline day last year every expert seems to have given their opinion about him. From ‘biggest waste of money’ to ‘best number 10 in the world’, and no player seems to divide the opinion of experts and fans as much as him.

Indeed, he seems to be a giant paradox.

Statistically, he is one of the world’s most creative players. Creating 2.92 chances per game, playing 2.58 key passes per game and 10 assists in 26 games in the Premier League is as good as it gets all across Europe.

On the other hand, his performances seem to tell an entirely different story at times. He often goes missing and looks lacklustre, lazy and unwilling to defend. I believe the biggest problem with the perception of his performances is that we expect too much from him. He has the giant price tag of £42.5m hanging over his head and everyone expects him to be a 20 goals, 20 assists per season player that grabs every game by the scruff of its neck and wins it for us easily.

I hope people have realised by now that Mesut Özil is not that kind of player.

The second biggest issue is his position. It seems to me at times that Arsene Wenger himself does not know yet whether he wants Özil to play in the number 10 role or out wide in the future.

Özil playing out wide allows Wenger to fit Ramsey, Wilshire, Özil and Cazorla in the same line-up, which gives us the lion share of possession most of the time, but it also seems to hinder our creativity and completely takes away our pace. Playing out wide also requires Özil to track back which he does not like to do and even abandons at times.

To be honest I have no idea why Wenger still plays him out wide as it clearly does not bring the best out of him.

Playing in the number 10 role, no matter whether alone in a 4-2-3-1 or as a shared number 10 in a 4-1-4-1 suites Özil much more. He gets into positions where it takes only one or two more passes to create a goalscoring opportunity. He does not have to track players back into his own box and we can counter attack much better if he wins or receives the ball as early as possible.

In my opinion the criticism he receives is over the top and one obvious thing is that none of his former or present coaches and teammates have anything bad to say about him.

I still remember seeing an Interview with Arsene Wenger on German TV in October 2013. When asked to describe Mesut Özil he stated ‘Mesut Özil is a dream. He is born to play football. Everything he does is class, he makes it look very easy, but he also works very hard’. Joachim Löw hails Özil for his performance without the ball and Jose Mourinho has called him the best number 10 in world. The perfect quote about his role at Arsenal comes from one of the most intelligent footballers ever, Phillip Lahm: ‘His vision is probably the best I have ever seen and that is why it is so important to have the right striker ahead of him. He is a dream for strikers and you saw that with Ronaldo and Benzema when he was at Madrid. If Arsenal can find the right striker who is fast and makes intelligent runs – then Mesut will be devastating next season.’

To me Mesut Özil is the best number 10 in the world. BUT he is only as good as the team allows him to be. At Real Madrid he was sensational because he played the number 10 role with world class forwards like Benzema and Ronaldo, who made it easy for him. At Arsenal it has been up and down so far. He didn’t have a player he could feed with passes the way he could with Ronaldo and playing out wide has not helped him a lot either. The signing of Danny Welbeck and Alexis Sanchez might change this. Welbeck, Alexis and Walcott (if he can finally stay fit) are quick and intelligent enough to provide runs through the back four and therefore provide Özil with what he needs to be brilliant in the number 10 role.

My questions to you are:

1) Where do you want Özil to play? Left wing, right wing or in the middle?
2) Have we found the right striker to get the best out of Özil?

Written by: Nik

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

August 24, 2014August 24, 2014TotalArsenal

Everton – Arsenal Afterthoughts

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Written by: TotalArsenal.