Swansea City – Arsenal Match Preview: Response Required, Right or (w)Rong
Tuesday’s twenty ticks of terrible tame tripe must be eradicated, erased and eased into the rear-view with a resolute, rampant and resounding response Sunday at Swansea City (Sity). If not, the alliterative alternates for this assemblage of Arsenal acolytes cannot help but turn into a wild wall of wailing wassails against one (won), Arsene Wenger.
As I said, in the comments of the previous thread…Apologies in advance…
At least we have a match to play. If this one goes wrong it’s a LONG two weeks off until Man United (and then Dortmund) in front of the (most-expensive in all of Europe) ticket-buying crowd. Where’s that emoticon that can shudder at the thought?…
Let’s get to it then…
Swansea away has actually been a good fixture for us in recent times. Last season, goals from Serge Gnabry and Aaron Ramsey–well booed for being a Cardiff lad–were enough to secure the full points and make a late goal from Ben Davies a mere consolation. The previous season we won there (2-nil) at the front end of our Spring run, which saw us make up a 7 point deficit on Tottenham to secure (another season of) Champions League football.
The most interesting element of that match, however, might have been the man between the sticks who kept the clean sheet. Lukas Fabianski will play again on Sunday, but not for Arsenal. Instead, it will be the man for whom he stepped in, Wojciech Szczesny, who will have to marshal a makeshift defence against a team who has been one of the surprise packages in the early part of the English season.
Of course, it will be more than a battle of keepers, even if we probably should expect an open match with both of them well tested. Swansea, under new manager Gary Monk, have been steadily testing the “bigger” English clubs, and even bested Man United at Old Trafford to ruin Louis Van Gaal’s managerial debut. Given the relative state of the two teams, this will not be an easy match by any stretch of the most optimistic Gooner’s imagination.
Fabianski, solid at the back, has been one reason. Another has been Wilfried Bony using all his muscle to soften defences while Gylfi Sigurdsson, back after an unhappy season with Spurs, has been the main man in the midfield. Bafetimbi Gomis, a fine pickup from Lyon, Ki Sung-Yueng, Nathan Dyer and Wayne Routledge have also contributed to a well-balanced attack. A consistent back four in front of Fabianski–Angel Rangel, Federico Fernandez, Neil Taylor and Ashley Williams–are distinctly at odds with our ad-hoc group. Unlike the poor start the Swans had early on a year ago, they currently sit a mere two points behind us. If they watched us in midweek (while they rested), surely they must be salivating at the chance to play us and jump above us in the table. We may, however, have caught a break with the sending off of their most physically imposing midfielder. Jonjo Shelvey will sit this one out having picked up a pair of yellows during their nil-nil draw at Everton.
Unfortunately, in addition to playing a good Swansea side, we must also contend with what happened on Tuesday night…
As complete as our comprehensive capitulation (might) come to be characterized, we have a chance to clean the charts with a couple of chancers of our choosing. (OK, I should probably let this go…but…) Chamberlain, Calum Chambers, could continue to contribute. Cazorla could (finally) can a chance. Constant calls for Campbell (might) catch the (curiously) closed columns aimed at Arsene’s aural avenues. If they aren’t, there’s always Atlas, er, Alexis, who appears able to alleviate an amount of the angst anchoring the average angry (and aching) Arsenalista…
Enough…This is NOT a joke, even if many a Gooner believes what we saw on Tuesday was…
In truth, the collapse was (very) bad and the manager must use this opportunity to right the ship. With all the injuries–key first teamers Ozil, Giroud, Koscielny and Debuchy are all long term absentees, while Arteta is a recent addition– we still must gather the remaining group and get a result. Additionally, there seems to be some confusion about how to do so.
Conservative formations have been the way forward in the league but are now (perhaps) unavailable with the latest injuries. Fortunately Jack Wilshere is back in the squad and (maybe) can fill in for the captain, even if Ramsey appears the man Wenger wants in the role. Theo Walcott, who looked very sharp late on vs Burnley, must be eager for a longer outing even if Tomas Rosicky and Lucas Poldolski were favoured as subs in the debacle on Tuesday. Some may call for changes at the back, but surely if Wenger didn’t choose them for that one, I can’t see him making them here. Most will argue for a bit of a shake-up, but dropping Cazorla or Welbeck when they need confidence is not Wenger’s way. Oxlade-Chamberlain shouldn’t be the one to make room just because he actually scored. Here’s my best guess:
Have at it with your own choices, of course, though, in my opinion, it really doesn’t matter who plays. Football is a team game and we, as a team, need to put our ghosts to bed. No matter what happens, we must respond. Referee Phil Dowd brings a measure of experience to the proceedings and generally is unmoved by crowd pressure. Still, if he blows against us, we must come back. If he whistles for us (and we’re able to take advantage), we must not become complacent. If their Pole in goal makes saves, we must continue to test him until he cannot. If ours makes a pig’s ear of things, the outfielders must pick him up and do what they can. And on and on… (Isn’t a pig’s ear something an East-ender would cry into?…) That’s what we (as Gooners) really need to avoid… more tears.
The Artist and Street Fighter Alexis – It was a honour to witness him play on Saturday!
Before I went to the game this morning, I read Arsene’s views re the quality of European strikers versus South-American ones; the former being a lot softer than the streetwise and street-trained latter, apparently. It is fair to say that this is a left-field, refreshingly new viewpoint by Arsene and I wonder who it was actually aimed at. Was it meant to be a compliment for Alexis and/or a kick up the arse for the likes of Welbeck, Podolski, Sanogo, Ox and Santi? As this game proved to us once again, the ‘softness’ of some of our attackers is a good reason for concern, as is the continued lack of cohesion between the front players.
I don’t like it when a player is over-praised in the media and by the manager, simply for the risk of jinxing it. However, in case of Alexis it only seems to spur him on further; and however much opponent defenders try to stop him, they just cannot do it. He is that good. The problem is, though, that nobody else is very close to Alexis’ level at the moment. And this is proving to be a big issue for which we have been relatively unpunished, until now.
Wenger has gone back to the Bould-Wenger ‘compromise formation’ of 7-4, it seems: seven mainly defensive minded players and four attackers, with the sole aim of keeping a clean sheet and nicking one or two goals per game. It was a bit of a shock to me (but not 17HT, who predicted the right starting eleven) to see us play the weathered veterans of Flamini and Arteta in the double DM pivot…. against the number last of the league table, Burnley, at home…
The first half reminded me a lot of the last home game I watched, the season’s opener against Crystal Palace. We started relatively brightly, creating a number of decent to very good chances in the first half hour. But we did not convert them through a combination of bad luck and lack of killer instinct by our forwards; or should that now be ‘hardness’?
After thirty minutes or so, Burnley started to build up some confidence and we did not look like going to create chances any time soon anymore. This is a common theme at Arsenal this season, as I have mentioned before. During the whole first half the crowd sensed that we were not going to score somehow: it is difficult to explain why this is other than a (collectively?) perceived lack of thrust and effectiveness within the team.
The chances we had were too far away for me to analyse in detail (I was in the upper tier of the North Bank, far away from the goal-mouth action). I was convinced Danny had scored when he went on his impressive run through the box, and thought that Cazorla simply had to take his chance. But it was not to be. Alexis’ shots from inside and outside the box also looked promising, and I guess on a better, more ruthless day, we would have been easily two up after a third of the match.
On the plus side, I thought we played with more discipline and structure in the formation: we used the wings better and did not overpopulate the area of the opponent’s ‘D’ too much. A refreshing change, although we lacked a natural, and above all fast, connector between midfield and attack (especially during the first 70 minutes).
The general issues we have in attack are:
Welbeck is very eager but quite ineffective, struggling to understand/execute his role in Wenger’s team plan at the moment, and also failing with his positioning in the box;
Ox adds thrust and zip to our attack which is a big plus, and his execution of the final ball is starting to improve, and so is his decision making. Still a long way to go to become a first team regular imo. He is also eager to proof himself; and, further on the plus side, he stuck to his role of wing player well.
Cazorla is struggling for form and confidence, but at least he is popping up in the right places to have the chances to score… His biggest problem is he is limited in his ability to attack the opponent: when he receives the ball, he wants to pass it on straightaway, unless he is in or around the box and he will try a shot. There is little ability to take on opponents or penetrate space with close ball control and speed. And his confidence seems low at the moment as well.
Alexis has the drive… he is our engine, our fulcrum, and there is more to it than just ‘hardness’.
Yesterday’s game made me realise why the likes of Chambers and Alexis are doing so well right now and Welbeck, Santi, and to some extent Ox, continue to struggle. Alexis took his chances whereas Santi did not; Chambers delivered the sharper cross and was at the right place at the right time, whereas Ox did not (enough); Podolski positioned himself perfectly and was ferocious – but unlucky – in his finishing, whereas Welbeck looked often lost in the box and unfocussed in his positioning and finishing.
We should analyse this in more depth and the table below should help to focus our discussions.
A number of Arsenal players compared against each other using key attributes of a top footballer:
Player
Energy/Attitude levels
Ability to focus and concentrate their efforts
Technical Ability
Confidence
Hardness
Cazorla
Medium to High
Medium
Medium to high
Medium
Medium to high
Ox
Medium to High, with a few bursts per game
Medium
Medium to high
Medium
Medium
Welbeck
Very high
Medium to low
Medium to high
Medium
Medium
Chambers
High
High
Medium to high
Medium to high
High
Podolski
Medium
Very high
Very high
High
Medium to high
Alexis
Very High
High to very high
Very high
Very high
Very high
Taking the above comparisons into account, it should not come as a surprise that it was Alexis who finally broke down the Burnley’s stout defence with a surreally high leap and focussed header, in between two giants of defenders. It also does not surprise me that the assist came from Chambers: he had been fighting consistently to get to the by-line and put in crosses, and his ability to focus led to the accurate and calm cross into the box. And the same goes for his finish for the second one. For once Welbeck was at the right place but his effort, although ferocious, missed accuracy. As the goal-mouth was crowded, we should not be too hard on him on this occasion though. However, Chambers was at the right place to pick up the rebound and he MADE sure it would go in: a sign of ‘hardness’?
The third goal was another example of all of Alexis’ attributes coming together: he works so hard and positions himself so well, his focus and technical ability enable him to score a difficult but perfectly executed goal, supported by high levels of confidence and a sheer will to score. How many times have we seen Cazorla in a similar position but just not delivering?
And Podolski showed us all that, although born and bred in Europe, he has the hardness of a South-American striker all the way. We all know he lacks the stamina (energy) to play a full role in a Wenger Arsenal team, but boy does he know how to be at the right place and at the right time, time and again – even though he was unlucky not to score. It was a ten minute master class for Welbeck and co of how it is done inside the box, and I am glad I was there to witness it in full glory (there might not be many more opportunities to witness this beast in action).
Finally, but most importantly, I should point out that bringing in a more attack minded midfielder by Aaron Ramsey made all the difference. At once, we had more zip and purpose and the tempo went up considerably; something that had been missing during most of the game.
The return of Theo, after being out for so so long and welcomed by the crowd by a fantastic roar, was, of course, the icing on the cake. Let’s hope he will add the much needed directness, fighting spirit and finishing from the right hand side during the remainder of the season.
3-0 to the good guys and joint third. Onwards and upwards per the principle of OGAAT.
For once, I think this is all about us, and how well we play, which makes this preview a lot easier to write. Not that we can just dismiss Burnley out of hand. If we play badly we could easily lose. They may be a bit suspect at the back, but they are a ‘team’, and will play like one.
Apart from that, they are capable of scoring, given the opportunity. It is up to us not to give them that opportunity.
Not unusual this season, we go into the game with injury doubts over Jack Wilshere and Keiren Gibbs. The latter is clearly the one that will call for a bigger reshuffle, even if he is only on the bench. But with Kos already out, the back 4 probably picks itself.
The most likely scenario is: Bellerin, Chambers, Mertersacker, and Monreal.
In midfield, I think Arteta and Ramsey are the likely back pair, but after the first 10 minutes or so, I expect Ramsey to get forward in the B2B role regularly.
Whilst the attacking trio, without Wilshere, will be: Ox, Cazorla, and Alexis. Or will it?
Leaving Welbeck up front.
The Bench will be interesting if you follow this list of possibilities, because apart from Martinez, the remainder all have a prefix of ‘Could start’:
Flamini, Hayden, Rosicky, Podolski, Walcott, Campbell, and Gnabry.
Now this is where we get to play musical chairs with ‘could start’s’?
Supposing, if you take the base listed above, and AW wants to repeat the DM base of Arteta and Flamini….. Ramsey could then displace Cazorla or the Ox?
Hayden starting throws up all sorts of permutations. At CB he could indirectly displace Bellerin by having Chambers go back to RB? At DM he could partner Arteta, and have Ramsey repeat the above. Indeed, he could displace Arteta and partner Ramsey? That would probably mean he would have to fly solo some of the time, and that would be an interesting experiment?
Rosicky? Whilst possible to put him deep, I would think he would more likely displace the Ox; which makes the OX available for the ‘fresh legs’, and he seems to pick up the pace of the game quicker than Rosicky does these days?
Podolski has a good chance of giving Welbeck a back seat, although that might take a tweak in the formation to a 4-3-3? And as a surprise element it might work, but maybe a step too far? However, still replacing Welbeck in a reprise of the Sunderland game, partnering Alexis up front could be a better option?
Walcott.. is this really on? Well yes, because AW has been saying he is fit enough, just needs to get used to the knocks. Burnley are a solid enough side to give him a stress test; so a real runner, excuse the pun.
The big question who he might replace? Ox is the obvious one, unless he moves over to the other wing, and Alexis takes over the playmaker role from Cazorla?
Campbell? Only if Ox is jettisoned for Walcott, and Alexis moves inside as above, thus making space down the left, but he is equally capable of switching wings with Theo. So although an outside possibility, it still has some merit?
Finally Gnabry. Now, I think he would be a straight swap for Welbeck, but clearly the Ox/Walcott slot would be another possibility? If not this week, then some time soon I can see him lining up alongside either Alexis or Danny?
Now whilst that was a bit of fun, you could repeat the same exercise if Gibbs is declared fit.
Compared to the importance of the CL match coming up, where his pace will be vital, I don’t think his absence here will make much difference.
However, I would say if he plays, the twin pivot is more likely. Monreal will not get forward that much, and may not need to, given the above options on that wing?
Actually, it is a bit like a Chinese meal, you can take one option from one area and another option from another, if they are compatible, and mix and match.
Key questions:
Sanchez in the No 10(advanced), in place of Cazorla?
Walcott to start?
Hayden in the DM slot? Or CB?
Bellerin at RB, with Monreal at LB?
Who would be a manager, eh?
Whatever side is chosen, and we can all have our own ideas, I think we should just be too strong, provided we ‘keep it simple(stupid)’ or a KISS for jgc, pass and move, keep our width, and be more clinical with our shooting …
Is that too much to expect?
For the record, my team would be this:
With Campbell and Walcott eager to impress out wide, Alexis pulling the strings up front, and Poldi not coming back to defend. DM pairing putting up an effective barrier, and either of them pushing forward to make the extra man. Speed out of defence: from Bellerin to Walcott or Hayden to Campbell; and Alexis down the middle and Poldi to get a brace, Walcott to set up an Alexis hat-trick, and Campbell to open his account …. SIX NIL I hear you cry…
Today’s game against Sunderland did not promise to be an advert for the beautiful game. Our hosts had been beaten savagely by the Saints only a week ago and were never going to play free-flowing attacking football in front of their own crowd. And we also had to find some belief again that we can defend our goal in order to try and win only our third game in this PL campaign. The inclusion of both Arteta and Flamini in the starting line-up surprised many of us, me included. But, in hindsight, it made some sense as Wenger just did not want to give the home team any encouragement that goals could be scored against Arsenal today: a clean sheet was the first priority.
So, with Sunderland eager to avoid another trashing and preferring to play us on the counter, and we playing the veterans of Flamini and Arteta, and almost veteran, Santi in midfield, the football on display was anything but sumptuous. As far as I could tell from a limited but luckily constant stream, we were once again struggling with attacking our opponent effectively. There is a Babel-esque nature to our attacking play at the moment; such is the lack of communication and understanding between the likes of Alexis, Sanchez, Ox and Santi.
Santi is no Ozil or Wilshere, and anybody still wanting to play him in his supposedly ‘natural/best position (nr.10)’, should re-watch this game if still in doubt. With Flamini and Arteta holding themselves back to a large extent, as per their remit and skill set, the onus was on Santi to link midfield with the three attackers. He struggled in composing our game and for large periods we did not attack effectively at all; which, in my view, is worse than the number of decent chances he missed during the latter part of the game.
To be totally fair, he was not helped much by the somewhat forlorn and ineffective looking Welbeck and by an overeager, but out of form, Ox. In fact, Sunderland were starting to get some confidence and were putting us under a bit of pressure after the first twenty minutes or so (a regular occurrence in Arsenal games this season). And had it not been for Wes Brown’s generous and belated birthday present for Arsene, I am not sure whether we would have scored at all in the first half and large parts of the second half, such was our bluntness and attacking mayhem upfront.
Luckily, we have a player of the highest quality and intrinsic motivation in our midst: the mini-Hulk from Chile, Alexis Sanchez. He is so effective at hunting down players and chasing the ball, and just never gives up. And for this he was handsomely rewarded with two priceless PL goals and three points for his club. Of course, Brown and our until recently very own Mannone made big mistakes themselves, rather than Alexis totally forcing them, but his chasing is so effective that sooner or later a player is going to make one. And let’s hope the likes of Ox, Jack, Welbeck are taking note of how it should be done from the master.
So three factors decided the game today: Sanchez successfully chasing of his opponents into mistakes (although the other players helped with this as well of course), his deadly finishing (most crucially for the first goal), AND the collective team effort to play for, and fight for, the clean sheet.
It was not pretty but this was a very, very necessary win. And now, with a week’s rest till the next game, the team can regroup and hopefully a few more players will become match fit to take on Burnley on Saturday.
Welbecks late equaliser (with thanks to The Guardian for picture)
(Or… Ozil Invisible Again!!)
As Gooners face difficult results we search for coping mechanisms. In descending order of how I rate them…
1) Wenger Out. Spend some damn money!
2) Wenger Out. He doesn’t know tactics AND he doesn’t play my favourite players and he sticks with HIS favourites, the f**king git!
3) Wenger Out. The team has no heart and plays like lady-parts! It’s his team so it’s his fault!
4-6) The exact same, but we blame the owner (4), the injuries (or maybe the physio) (5) or maybe it’s the players themselves who lack heart or are Cs or Ps (6)..
7) The ref cost us the points…
8) The result is bad (very bad) but I see some bright spots…
With a late draw and (very late chances for a win) AND with an injury riddled squad AND a ref who decided to leave his whistle at home, we are left without any REAL satisfaction. Those who would prefer to blame the manager will still find a way, but the obvious narratives (we should’ve bought another CB…or we ought to trust our young players…or the manager should be able to motivate his team…) don’t quite work given the way the opponent’s goals came and the ways our did and didn’t. (We can’t even blame this one on Mesut Ozil–Argh!!!)
As such, in light of lacking total satisfaction–in both the result AND the narratives–we’re left to actually discuss the events. Here’s my take.
We started brightly with aggressive first touches from those we’d expect to make them: Oxlade-Chamberlain, Alexis, Santi Cazorla, Jack Wilshere. Hector Bellerin looked assured and very pacy at Right Back and Nacho Monreal OK at CB. Early on we were able to keep Hull pinned in their own half even if shots were getting blocked at the point of attack or mishit.
In the 13th minute the reward came through Alexis. Our Captain on the day, Per Mertesacker, did well to keep the ball in their half, played it to the Chilean out on the wide right who carried it forward, danced around a defender, and took the shot on himself from a difficult angle. Harper covered his near post like a blanket but was exposed at the far corner and the shot was well-measured. A very assured goal on a great individual effort but it had been coming. It augured well for more.
More goals did arrive but from the wrong team. In a solo effort Mohammed Diame (linked with Arsenal a couple of January’s ago) got on the end of an average pass, jumped easily around stranded Monreal but still had lots to do and only one way to do it–by clearing a path to goal by hauling down Flamini. Szczesny charged out of goal to cut the angle but (maybe) went to ground a little early allowing for a deft chipped finish. 1-1.
It WAS a ridiculous no-call but one which suggested physicality would be permitted. Unfortunately, with such a small Arsenal team out there, it was a refereeing stance which most certainly favoured the visitors. Nonetheless the game was young and the Hull goal was completely against the run of play.
Unfortunately, our early goal may have seen us lose our initiative, perhaps in the hope that (for once) we might seal the (much needed) 3 points before squeaky-bum time. After their equalizer we continued to push forward, especially with aggressive first touches and solid running. The ability to press Hull into their own territory, however, waned, as their time wasting, having restored a perfectly satisfactory score-line for them, increased. Despite 3 minutes of injury time, we headed to the dressing room even.
The team talk must’ve focused on our offensive game because, almost directly from the kickoff, our lack of defensive focus was punished. Without an Arsenal touch (but plenty of very slow chasing of shadows) a wide ball to Huddlestone was lazily closed down by Wilshere. Mertesacker extended his head towards the cross but was easily beaten to it by Abel Hernandez who buried it from 7 yards out. Szczesny almost got a hand to it, but by such margins goals are scored.
Now down a goal, the patterns of the match deepened. Arsenal, huffing and puffing, but with an eye for not getting beaten on the break, kept pushing. Combinations continued to be off, especially amongst some of the English guys who’d played together during the international break, but Arsenal were still the better club. Needing a focus in the middle of the pitch, Wilshere seemed as likely as Cazorla to be the spark. Oxlade-Chamberlain, whose abilities in receiving the ball are as good as anybody at the club, also seemed bothered by basics. Although the initiative seemed strong, passes were either too hard to feet or poorly weighted into space. With Hull working minute by minute (time wasting) to hold the result, frustration and referee appeals came more steadily. Scoring chances did not.
Urgency was required, and Wenger went to his (threadbare) bench at just past the hour mark, pulling Flamini for Aaron Ramsey. Of course Ramsey was coming off another pulled hamstring and didn’t appear his fittest. Was it too many Cornish pies or merely the black boots? Were we risking another long spell out or was 3 weeks (instead of the originally diagnosed 6) enough to resurrect the Welsh Jesus? Either way, even if he brought a more offensive element, he looked unlikely to pop up in the box or belt one from distance.
Our offensive players, perhaps with the exception of Alexis and Welbeck, continued to cut forlorn figures. Oxlade-Chamberlain, in particular, though bright with initial touches was poor with ideas for finishing his moves although one nice run and pull back, even if slightly behind Cazorla, might’ve been better controlled or shot first time.
Wilshere, who took a knee to the back earlier on top of many unrewarded falls to the pitch, seemed increasing petulant as the referee continued to allow contact after contact. On 67 minutes another unwhistled foul was followed by a touch of red mist and an unwise attempt to regain the ball. A clash of knees and a Giroud-esque shaking of the fingers (the universal gesture of “I’m really gonna fake injury on this one or I might be seriously hurt…) seemed worrisome indeed. He took a yellow for his trouble but seemed to leave the pitch walking well. Joel Campbell was up quickly (woken from his nap?) and placed in a wide right position.
Now Oxlade-Chamberlain moved central and though time was still available, nervousness in the stadium seemed the tone. Online, where all is easier, doom and personal agendas, if not outright hate, seemed the order of the moment. Knives sharpened, narratives prepared, everybody was hoping for a win…for one team or the other…
Alas, ’twas not to be. Finally, with the same pressure at which we began the match and throwing caution to the wind by leaving Mertesacker (and Monreal) forward for long periods after set pieces, we forced our way back. At times it was desperate defending to avoid a 3rd Hull goal, but good pitch running from everybody showed belief in the project. Welbeck and Campbell made especially key interventions hustling back from their forward spots. Beyond those very occasional breaks, time wasting, led by former Tottenham Captain Michael Dawson, was Hull’s only tactic. Just as the 4th official lifted the number 6 (signaling extra time) the equalizer went in. Again, individual effort from Alexis and a well weighted close range pass to a very cool left-footed finish by Welbeck and one of the three points was regained.
There was still time for a winner, but a worthy team effort resulted in good pressure but no genuine clear-cut chances. With the final kick of the match, Nacho Monreal had a chance at a close range volley. The finish was that of a true center-back–nothing but air…
And that’s what we’ve got as well–Nothing but air left to fill now that another draw is in the books. 8 league matches, 2 wins, the loss at Stamford bridge and, now, 5 draws. We sit firmly mid-table on the same 11 points by which we trail the league leaders. It’s a long season, and only getting longer… The result is bad indeed, though getting the three points might’ve only papered over the extremely threadbare nature of the squad and the difficulties of the matches (coming thick and fast now) which lie ahead.
For whatever reason, this match seems a good one for player ratings. Of the original narratives on offer up above, the “Wenger Outs” and “Whenever we fail we must be lady-parts” don’t carry a ton of weight. (Ozil WAS invisible in this one, again, but, perhaps, has an excuse…) In my opinion, they would only apply to today’s match if you didn’t actually see it and only read the scoreline. My hunch, however, is that player evaluations will spark PLENTY of debate amongst actual observers… Here goes.
Szczesny: 6 Made no saves and hard to fault for either goal. May have stayed larger on the first, but only the most jaundiced observer would believe he should have come for the cross on the 2nd, which he also nearly saved.
Mertesacker: 6 Beaten far too easily for the 2nd goal but a real leader in pushing forward and continuing the fight. Somehow he intercepts a lot of balls from those positions high up the pitch. I believe he’d be more effective at set pieces if he wasn’t the only red shirted player taller than 6 feet…
Monreal: 6 Caught in no man’s land for the first goal but other defenders (or the ref) were well positioned behind him. Otherwise untroubled as a CB. His air kick at the end will overshadow an audacious cross to Alexis which was just tipped over by the keeper.
Bellerin: 6 Pacy and full of skills and got a mix of both dangerous and very poor crosses in towards goal. Diagonal runs at goal might be a real threat as well. Moving him forward (and Flamini out to RB) when Ramsey came on, might’ve been a thought.
Flamini: 6 People may fault him for not being beast enough to avoid Diame’s pull down but that seems a very harsh judgment. Otherwise kept play ticking over at DM. Ramsey’s introduction, even coming back early from injury, was not a backward move in terms of physical presence.
Wilshere: 5.5 Played with his usual verve but allowed frustration to the get the better of him. He looked as if he wanted to put the team on his back but just couldn’t find the touches nor get the whistles needed. I believe our chances to pull back the two goals would’ve been served better had he stayed on. Instead, he risked an unnecessary challenge and was taken off injured, which, if serious, could be a real blow to his and the club’s chances this season.
Cazorla: 6.5 Played with more aggression than usual (maybe trying to fill the shoes of Ozil) and showed good fitness to stay at it for the full ninety minutes plus injury time. Blocked a few times at the point of his shot but forcing the issue. I believe he needs to use Gibbs out wide for one-twos at times rather than forcing the play central. Blew the one decent final ball the Ox produced, but was regularly in very promising positions.
Oxlade-Chamberlain: 5 With so much imagination, power and skill on the first touch it is a real shame that those qualities seem so lacking if he takes more than one. As the match wore on the pressure to do even more with initial touches seemed to make them even worse. Additionally, at this stage in his career (and packing that huge chest of his) I’m beginning to worry that he seems unable to muster a composed physical and mental performance over the full duration of a match.
Alexis: 8.5 Responsible for both goals and clearly the class player on the pitch, both in skill and attitude. Still some giveaways but the relentless, never-say-die attitude, including keeping his head down in dealing with a ref who would not blow, probably saved us the point.
Welbeck: 7.0 After watching a composed, world-class finisher in the early match (Kun Aguero) it’s hard not to believe we are a step light in this area. The effort cannot be faulted and he ran several pitch-lengths to help keep the match at 1-2. The hold up play is good, but not at the level Giroud brings, nor is the sheer size and bother the bigger Frenchman presents at set-pieces.
Subs: Ramsey 6.5 Not looking fit but a definite lift in class and determination once on the pitch. Hopefully he can play a bigger role in upcoming matches.
Campbell: 6 Also not looking fit but a player with good ball skills who can maybe be a solid hold-up forward at a lower level or in future seasons. In English football, with a ref who won’t call fouls, even attempting to use him in this capacity seems foolish. (Where’s Yaya these days? And Poldolski was held out due to illness?…) As such, it’s all about the final ball but he was unable to create any chances–for himself at any rate. He did well on the one ball over the top in laying it off to Cazorla and should be credited for avoiding an offside call on that one.
So there you go. Those are just my opinions and ratings. (What do they say, Opinions are like Arseholes, everybody has one…) Pick your favorite poison, i.e., narrative or player(s) and scream it to the skies. Or contribute here, perhaps in calmer tones, if possible…
A trip to see the Trappists (Anderlecht) on Wednesday…
Inter-lull over and six games to go to the next break. Big players missing in all areas of the pitch, but still a more than decent squad to choose from. The mission is clear after allowing the gap with the Chavs go to nine points: start a winning streak by focussing on each and every game like a cup final. The most important game is always the next one as we live by the principle of OGAAT, or OVAAT: one victory at a time. And we will not be struggling much to treat the home against Hull as a cup final, given they were our opponents in the last FA Cup final just five months ago.
I like Steve Bruce. A decent guy: humble and enthusiastic, down to earth and fair – and with the sort of nose that makes you wonder what he sounds like when deep asleep. He is also a survivor and what he has done with Hull is pretty amazing all-round. Diame, Livermore and Huddlestone will form a strong central wall in their anticipated 3-5-2 formation, so I reckon we will need to be strong and disciplined in our midfield. If we crack it we will be fine.
After Arsene’s recent evaluation of Jack’s core strengths, it is clear to me we will find him play in the hole, or their about, today. He said on Arsenal.com: ‘
“Jack is not a ball-winner. I believe he is more a guy you want to get close to the final third, [if you] keep him deep you take a big part of his efficiency away.
“He is a guy who likes to penetrate when there are many people – he can provoke free-kicks, he can create openings. It would be detrimental to his strengths [to play in a position that] is not his strength.”
I hope fellow Gooners will remember these words as it will aid discussions on where Jack will play in Arsene’s team this season. We need some strengths and discipline behind him though, yet with the ability to give extra support in attack as much as possible. Who can do that well? Rosicky. So, I expect him to play next to Arteta, with both Ox and Flamini kept on the bench for a late cameo, or to be fresh for the Anderlecht game.
With injuries to Koz and Debuchy, and Chambers being suspended, the defence picks itself to a large extent. Maybe Flamini will move next to the BFG (on either side), but I have gone for Nacho, with Gibbs and Bellerin as our FBs.
Ox could start instead of Cazorla but I reckon Arsene will go for experience, and having Ox on the bench is a great weapon at hand. Alexis on the left and the Wel up top and that is it my fine fellow Gooners.
Predicted Line-UP:
I cannot wait for the game to start. The one benefit of the narrow loss against the Chavs is it will have made us grounded and focussed. So Come On You Rip Roaring Gunners – the League starts again, here, today! Super OGAAT! as 17HT called it this week. 🙂
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.
How to add speed and dynamism to the CBs-DM triangle?
Watching Holland battle against ‘minnows’ Kazakhstan and Iceland over the last few days, made me think about Arsenal. The similarities were quite strong. Against both teams the Dutch conceded an early goal and after that it was the typical battle against the parked busses. Both Kazakhstan and Iceland cannot be blamed for sitting back and defending a lead with all they have got, but the Dutch team can be blamed for conceding early in both games. They made it so hard for themselves and it is exactly what Arsenal so often do to themselves as well.
Beating the parked busses is becoming harder and harder, it seems. Teams are better drilled than ever and they love fighting for each other till the very end. The Dutch have formidable, classical wingers in Lens and Robben, very good CFs in Van Judas and the Hunter, and a couple of decent playmakers in Sneijder and Afellay. Yet, they struggled long against Kazakhstan and needed a fair portion of luck (soft penalty and strong deflection) to get past them; and against Iceland they got totally frozen out, never managing to score after going 2-0 behind in the first half.
The BFG is ready!
How many times have we seen Arsenal struggle in a similar way over the last few season, despite having fantastic attackers and midfielders on the pitch?
It is so important to find a balance between urgency and concentration when attempting to crack the PTBs, but this is all made that bit harder when a team is trailing. If Holland cannot crack them with the players mentioned above – and I reckon Germany and Spain have struggled in a similar vain over the last week – it might explain to some extent why we are struggling so often as well. Especially, as we also have a tendency to go behind to some dodgy defending (set pieces or counterattack).
Having a solid defence is of course key.
Teams like Arsenal and Holland will always prefer to attack and therefore run the risk of being vulnerable at the back. The Dutch continual weakness in defence has held back a whole generation of talented footballers, and I reckon it is fair to say the same about our beloved Arsenal.
From the goalkeeper to the CBs(pairing) and our left back, we just have not been able to get both quality and stability in these key positions for a long time now. Moreover, Arsene and Steve have not been able to get them to work as a solid unit. Last season saw a big improvement in many ways, with a large number of clean sheets and a strong away record, but it all fell down when we faced the stronger teams, with embarrassing mega losses rattling the most positive minded Gooners in the process. We conceded 41 goals and managed a goal difference of only +27 in the PL, whereas the champions conceded only four less but ended up with an eye-watering goal difference of +65. One could argue that we should have scored a lot more goals rather than worry about our defensive record during the previous season. I would agree with that to some extent, but going forward Arsenal need to focus on both areas in order to make the next step up.
Arteta, always giving his all
Many of us have argued that the least we must do is protect the back four better with a quality, athletic, beast of a DM. Every summer we are apparently looking for one but, for whatever reason, we end up with zilch every time.
I am a big fan of the BFG and reckon that his obvious shortcomings – lack of speed and ‘turnability’ when playing higher up the pitch – can be compensated within the team, so that his clear strengths – organisation of defence, headers, positioning, blocks, leadership – can shine through. The question is, however, whether we can play a relatively slow and ageing DM in either Arteta or Flamini in front of him…. and whether we can allow our FBs to bomb forward so much as they often do either.
Can we really afford to have so much slowness in the centre of defence and midfield whilst playing attacking, possession football?
I also rate both Flamini and Arteta enough to feel they have a place in the team/squad, but am concerned whether their and the BFG’s the lack of speed and dynamism can be compensated for in the same starting eleven. I reckon we will not make significant progress until Arsene adds speed and dynamisms – from within or the market – in either area. In a few years, Chambers can fill the void, either at the back or in the DM position, but it would be foolish to start counting on him now. As we saw this week in his games for England, Calum is a work in progress despite a truly phenomenal start for the mighty Arsenal. Let’s use him but not abuse him.
In Gibbs, Debuchy and Koz we have potentially solid defenders capable of now forming a high-quality defence that can aid the attack as well. The goalkeeper position remains open for debate. Szczesny continues to divide opinion with mixing the sublime with the ridiculous from one game to the next, and we have not seen enough of Ospina to see whether he would bring more stability and quality to the defence. Wojciech’s impressive performance against Germany could be the start of a more solid and focussed period, so let’s give him the benefit of the doubt for another season at least.
I realise that our attack needs to score a lot more goals as well, and as Liverpool almost showed last season, if we score more than we concede we can go all the way to winning the PL. But to really make progress long term, and to have a better chance against fellow top teams, we need to add speed, athleticism and dynamism in the triangle of CBs and DM. To do so, something has to give.
So my questions to you are:
Do you agree and why (not)?
What should Wenger do to add speed and dynamism to the ‘triangle’?
Well let us get the nasty bit out of the way first. We lost.
Why did we lose?
The simple answer to that is, because Chelsea did the necessary things better than us.
They defended better.
They scored when the opportunity came their way.
We defended well.
We had some chances, but not clear cut, or with accurate shots.
They had 11 players. So did we.
Were their players better than ours …. Best not go there?
But let me give an overview of how things went, and come back to individuals.
The kick off was delayed by 15 minutes as Arsenal fans coming into the ground were either discovered to have flares with them (presumably from departing Galatasaray fans?), or one or more were let off before they got in. Either way, it meant that the players had some minutes to kill, having done all the warm-ups. However, AW asked the ref if they could go out on the pitch again. This granted, we had the bizarre situation of the Chelsea team lining up from the dressing room side meeting our lot coming the other way off the pitch.
AW did have another surprise in store .. he changed our line up for this game!
Out went the 4-1-4-1, in came the 4-3-3. Team was this:
With the front three helping out in defence, it was something for Chelsea to think about. No doubt about it, for nearly half an hour we gave as good as we got.
Alexis got a shot away from distance, which went wide. Around the 10 minute mark, Wilshere played a delightful ball for Alexis to run on to, but his first touch was a tad heavy, and Courtois came out to gather it near the edge of the box. Alexis tried to jump over him when he realised he couln’t stop, at the same time as the ‘keeper tried to carry the ball clear, rugby style, ball in chest head down. His momentum forwards took the side of his head into direct contact with Alexis’s oncoming hip bone. Whilst he looked uncomfortable, he did not seem to be knocked unconscious. The club doctor duly allowed him to continue.
When play got underway again, Chelsea were probing our defence mostly through Hazard down the left. Remarkably, Costa hardly had a touch during the first half, and Fabregas was not receiving the ball very often either. So apart from the usual type of niggly fouls, it was pretty even-Steven. But then Cahill came on to Alexis late and dangerous, possibly as a result of the Courtois clash, which was very accidental. This was not! Not only a clash right knee to left knee, he followed through, studs up on Alexis’s standing leg. Very lucky to get just a yellow?
That sparked the off-field clash between AW and Moo. In order to get to the injured Alexis, AW had to walk in front of the Chelsea dugout. Moo tried to push him back, and things became heated when AW returned the push with interest. Both were warned by the ref that next time it would be the naughty chair in the stands.
Relations did not improve, and the 4th referee was well occupied in keeping them apart.
Things on the pitch carried on much the same, with Calum preventing Hazard from breaking away in the clear, and he took his 5th card ‘for the team’, and is now banned from the Hull game after the interlul.
Then Moo was having a charades moment when Szcz was about to take a GK to alert the ref that Courtois was in need of help. With apparently blood coming out of his ear, possibly suggesting a fractured skull, he left in an ambulance for a precautionary scan. The meant Cech came on wearing his head protector. Perhaps they should all wear one?
Chelsea seemed to step up the pace a little then, and although Fabregas will be credited with the assist for the goal that followed, he actually did little more than pass the ball to Hazard. The rest was all Hazard. A quick start got him past Santi on the edge of box, change of direction took him away from a reluctant challenge of Chambers. This left Kos to stick out the obligatory leg to give away the penalty, which he dispatched with ease. Kos was a tad lucky to only see yellow, but it was the presence of Gibbs in the box that probably saved him.
This time we did not go ‘mad for it’ trying to level the score, amid the multiple fouls from both sides, including a head clash between Kos and Hazard. Luckily Kos’s cheekbone is made of sterner stuff and he was able to continue. Towards the end of the half you got the sense that Chelsea were the happier to get in and regroup as we pressed more and more.
The second half carried on where the first left off, with fouls and cards following each other. Chances were fewer and farther between. Santi sent a shot wide after nice build up play. At the other end, Szczesny made a super reflex save at his near post when Hazard(again) beat Chambers to the byline, got the cross in at pace, which hit Santi on the knee: it was going to be a fluky own goal but for the gloved hand snapping out to turn it around for a corner.
Surprising substitution was made when Ox came on for Santi, who was not a happy bunny: understandably, as he was having a very effective game. The logical choice would have been Ozil, but it was not him; or Jack, who was having a good game, but opened up the argument of when he plays, he plays down the middle, and either takes space away from Ozil to run into, or forces him to operate wide. However, with Ox on in the middle, and Jack out to the wing, it seemed, at the time, to be the worst way of trying to reconstruct all the good things that came out of the Galatasaray Game?
They responded with Mikel for Schurrle, and were prepared to shut up shop.
However we were keeping steady pressure on them until Fabregas did his second thing of note. From the middle of his own half, Cesc flicks the ball over to the middle of our half, where Costa lurked between Kos and Per, and beat them both for pace. He finished it off with a nice touch that drew Szcz out into no man’s land, and lobbed the ball over him.
Having kept him quiet for an hour, this was the kiss of death. Alexis was subbed almost immediately, who was equally miffed at coming off, given it was Poloski who replaced him. Not quite replacing like with like regards work rate? And a few minutes later, Jack was replaced with Rosicky.
Chelsea replaced Oscar with Willan, who had just been booked.
It ended 2-0.
The stats tell much of the story: 60% possession, twice as many shots – 10 to their 5 – but crucially 3 of their 5 were on target, and we had none.
Sorry, I write that again: 94 minutes and not one shot on target?
They edged us with the most fouls – 14 to our 10, and cards to a similar ratio – 4 to our 3.
The last one to get a yellow was Welbeck on Fabregas. A two footed, studs up lunge at that. The Cahill yellow earlier may have saved ref Atkinson some ‘Untold grief would it have been a red, which to be frank, they both deserved?
That was the story of the game. Players all came away with some credit, although Ozil had a bit of a ‘mare, mostly losing possession. He had two things different today from his previous good games. A, The players moved off the ball quite well, but were also marked a lot better by the Chelsea defenders. B, Jack Wilshere.
Szczesny – had his reflex save, two shots straight at him, and the goal. Whatever he did, he probably would not have saved from the ‘Killer’.
Gibbs – Usual good stuff in defence, and got more use made of him in the second half.
Chambers – after his booking followed Hazard like a shadow. Given the difference in their experience, it was a great shift he put in.
Mertersacker – Masterclass of controlling our back line.
Kos – unlucky with the pen, but never gave an inch in defence, but Costa just had too much pace.
Flamini – amazingly missed a booking. More by luck, but still a solid game.
Wilshere – was behind much of Arsenal’s best approach work, and tried his best to change the script. One more game showing an all round improvement.
Cazorla – far from being ‘found out’, he worked his socks off. He was always quick to get away from defenders, and with quick passes he had one of his best games for so little reward.
Ozil – it seemed he could barely do the simple things right, and with the German team manager there to watch? Definitely a game to forget … and that is being kind?
Welbeck – found this much tougher but it did not stop him trying
Alexis – he was here, there, and everywhere. Not quite as effective going forward, but at least he made the defenders work hard.
Ox – strangely went into the middle when he came on, but did join up with Calum down the right some of the time. Not a lot happened for him though.
Rosicky – was also only fleetingly looking like the player of last year.
Podolski – would have had more openings early on, but they were closing the shop when he came on and he never really got his foot in the door.
Strange unused sub was Martinez? Presumably Ospina has travelled early for international duty?
Overall, we were beaten by a team who have all the players in the right boxes. We are still a couple away from that, but this was no 6-nil thrashing. The team worked hard and are much closer to them this time. Just two pieces of brilliance, the solo effort of Hazard, and the Cesc pass and Costa finish, was what separated the sides today. If anything, AW can look forward to the return fixture and a full strength squad as we progress some more.
Shame about the result, but full marks for effort.
So, we’re going into a match that certainly will be marked as one of the most important matches this season; certainly, it is the sternest test we have had to face so far. Most gunners, me included, have doubted our own team’s ability to hold up the current league leaders. However, I have no doubt in my mind that the boys can exceed our expectations and get a good result against the men in blue.
However, the Blues will not go down without a fight, especially with a certain Jose Mourinho involved. Mourinho’s tactical acumen is adapting his team to counter the opposition’s set-up, and this is one of the main reasons for Chelsea’s recent success. This is in direct contrast to Le Prof”s tried and tested formula, regardless of the opponent’s strengths and weaknesses.
Although we worry about the injuries to our key players, I believe the enforced changes to our line-up will provide some unpredictability to our style of play, and possibly help us against Chelsea. While Chelsea are indeed undefeated, they are not invincible: far from it. Their games against Schalke and Swansea have given us a hint of the brittleness of their defence. If we can sacrifice some of our traditional passing game build-up for some direct-pace approach, Chelsea can be unsettled.
Alexis, Welbz and Ox should focus on using their superior pace against the technically brilliant but slower duo Terry and Cahill. For this game, we should play Ox on the right and Sanchez on the left. While Ivanovic is a good, in-form defender, he is slow on the turn and who else but Alexis to cause him a few headaches with his fancy footwork? Ox is put on the right because Azpelicuta, or however you spell his name, is perhaps the best man-marker other than Koz in the PL. The only way we are going to expose him is through sheer pace.
Matic is a tougher nut to crack. He is usually so solid against good teams. But Chelsea’s match against Schalke has shown opposition teams how to expose him. In that match, he was up against Draxler. Draxler got past him with absolute ease with his sublime skill and forced Matic to foul him countless times. Which is why I want to give Alexis a free role on the left, interchanging positions with Ozil regularly. If anyone will replicate Draxler and finally break Matic, it has to be Alexis.
Another major threat for this match will be the Costa-Fabregas partnership. Costa will be hard to stop but I trust Koz and Per to nullify the threat he brings. Most importantly, we must stop our former talisman. We should deploy Danny to man mark Fabregas. We should deprive him of the ball and that will undoubtedly slow him down, or hopefully shut down – their source from midfield. Or we could drop Ozil and deploy Rosicky to harass and abuse Fab.
Alongside that, I sincerely hope Gibbs and Calum don’t venture too far forwards in this match. We should go for a more cautious approach, and by keeping back Calum and Gibbs we can blunt the pressure given by the Chelsea wingers.
Most importantly though we mustn’t concede within the first five minutes, like we did the last time. And even if we do, I hope we won’t be pushing everyone forward to get an equaliser. Stay calm, pass the ball around and slowly gain momentum from there. This may not be a blueprint for success but if done right, we might be able to salvage a point or even go on to win the game.
Predicted starting XI
PS- VCC, if I get the line-up completely right, I’m expecting 20 points for the UMF league 😛
Written by: Shrillex
Bergkampesque has a number of regular bloggers from all over the the world, and at times it might look we are all very familiar. However, we will welcome new bloggers who like to add to our debates in a constructive way with open arms. Just place a comment and join the debate – It’ll be fun. 🙂
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