When a team like WBA can be level with Chelsea and the Spuds, and five points ahead of us in the league, nothing else but respect for the Baggies is due. There are no big names in the WBA first squad: Myhill (Foster is injured), Reid, McAuley, Olsson, Popov, Yacob, Mulumbu, Dorrans, Rosenberg, Gera, Long, Odemwingie, Morrison, and Brunt. Yet, they are fifth in the PL, despite losing their last two games, which is simply amazing and a lot of credit should go to their current manager Steve Clark.
We are seeing more and more a shift towards quality management in English top football, where real football nous is now the most important job requirement, as many clubs simply do not have big budgets anymore to buy expensive stars on big salaries; like Bolton, Blackburn, Birmingham and many others used to do. Liverpool, Aston Villa, Norwich, Swansea, and also WBA have all appointed managers recently who know about tactics and building a team from the bottom upwards; who know how to spot a good footballer and getting the best out of his players. And in Steve Clark, WBA seem to have found a manager who can do all of this very well.
I find this a fantastic development for English football, although the downside is that Arsenal will face more and more teams who can have a real go at us; and on the day can beat us.
Enough has been said about the transitional pains we are going through once again this season, as a result of letting two of our best players go and having to incorporate three new ones. It is now time for our team to find our mojo, our rhythm, and our ability to play and fight as a team, and I hope that a week’s rest to most of our best players will have done them good.
Arsenal will be missing Pod, Theo and Koz due to injury and Sagna is a major doubt. Koz will be replaced by our captain and Sagna by Jenkinson: absolutely no rocket science needed to figure that one out. But it is less clear what Wenger will do with regards to replacing his ‘wingers’ Podolski and Theo against WBA. Furthermore, and most excitingly, who will Arsene play as the most advanced central midfielder; who will be his conductor?
Cazorla has worked his socks for the team in recent weeks and just for that I love him. But he has also produced just one assist in his last eleven PL games, and has been generally less effective in conducting the game for us recently. Add to that Rosicky’s fantastic performance on Tuesday, and you can see that it is not easy to predict who will be conducting our football against WBA.
Predicted Line-up:
—————Szczesny—————–
Jenkinson—-Mert—–TV——Gibbs
———–Arteta—–Jack————–
—————-Rosicky—————–
Cazorla——-Giroud——–Gervinho
I am going for Rosicky in the hole, as he is clearly a player who knows how Arsene wants Arsenal to play football, and he can give our team both shape and purpose. Cazorla can play anywhere and be effective, and I reckon Wenger will play him on the wing against WBA.
On the other wing, I expect Gervinho to start, as he is our most natural winger, and I hope he will rediscover his form and scoring ability today.
Let’s hope we will see an Arsenal team tomorrow with a strong spine: Szczesny, Mert, TV, Arteta, Jack, Rosicky and Giroud all to give us shape and purpose tomorrow.
Let’s hope we will see a cohesive team which is more than the sum of its parts; a team that gels a lot better and automatisms start to work properly.
Let’s hope we see an energetic and attacking Arsenal that play with a high tempo, collective chasing down of the opposition and a never-say-die attitude.
Let’s hope the boys do us proud and we end up worthy winners today.
Let’s hope the supporters get fully behind our team today.
There are two corners Arsenal need to turn: the much needed short-term one, and the more strategic long-term one. This post is not about the latter, but only about whether Arsenal can get back to winning ways imminently.
In many ways, the start of the season has been bizarre:
How is it possible that we conceded 16 goals in the PL and MU 21, and yet they are 15 points better off than us?
How is it possible that we conceded only six goals in eight away games, yet only won two games, whilst MU conceded twelve but won six games on their journeys?
How is it possible that our four top-scorers in all competitions have scored only one less than MU’s four top-scorers, five more than Chelsea and four more than MC, and we are still trailing all three in the league?
Arsenal have scored 45 goals in all competitions; MU 50; Chelsea 55, and MC 40, and yet we are well behind all of them in the league.
Initially, I thought it was to do with our goal-scoring record in the Premier League this season. It has not been great, especially in away games, but we scored one goal less than Chelsea and are yet five points behind them; and four goals less than MC and we are an eye-watering twelve points behind them.
It is hard to come to any definite conclusion based on the above mentioned facts, but what they do tell me is that we are a team that needs to find a better balance between scoring goals and keeping a tight defence; that our team has not settled down yet and is still looking for its shape and rhythm.
Is it too easy to say; it is the price Arsenal have to pay for letting once again two (possible three) star players go and having to incorporate three attack-minded players into our team? Maybe it is, but we are where we are, and I am at this moment in time, much more interested in what can be done to properly kick-start the season, so Arsenal can get the balance right and start winning games again.
Five reasons why an Arsenal rebirth might be just around the corner:
The core team is almost injury-free and I am sure it will not take long before they will start to gel better and find their rhythm: Szczesny, Sagna, Mert, Koz, TV, Gibbs, Arteta, Wilshere, Cazorla, Giroud, Rosicky, Theo and Podolski, can together turn the season round for us. Most of these players had a well-needed rest during the week and hopefully they used the time to talk to each other about how they can improve as a team. There are some very smart people in our core team and I am sure once they can click together, we will see a significant improvement in our entire team.
Arsene has tried different formations and players in certain positions to see what works best during the last few weeks. Games came thick and fast and a combination of international breaks and fatigue of some of our core players, has not helped Arsene in finding the right balance. But he is a very experienced manager and has always been able to find a winning formational formula, and a way of getting the best out of the squad. I am confident we will see a far better purpose and shape to our football in the next few weeks.
We need to win a couple of games and then be a bit lucky with keeping our very best players fit. Success in football is a lot to do with psychology, and a couple of wins would undoubtedly do wonders for our team. As Arsenal are still going through a transition, we appear to be extra vulnerable to injuries of key players and suffer disproportionately from squad rotations. This should improve during the season, but if we can win a few games, and the two above mentioned reasons hold up as well, Arsenal can go on a much needed winning run. It would do wonders to this season’s team; no doubt about that.
Wilshere and Rosicky are the young and more mature club players who, with their skills as well as their hearts and leadership skills, are fully able to give our team its much needed identity and drive. Fingers crossed our little Mozart will last most if not all of the remaining season. Wilshere and Rosicky are very likely to become to on-field leaders we have been missing so much recently.
The January transfer window. The Theo situation will surely be sorted one way or another in January and hopefully Arsenal will be sensible enough to add a couple of quality players. We could do with an experienced goalkeeper and LB, but even more importantly we need to add a beast of a DM and a quality and dedicated right winger.
For me, the above is not wishful thinking and there is every reason to believe the season will still come good. But then I am a glass-half-full sort of person.
However, I am less confident than I have been in previous seasons that Arsenal can turn the season round again. It is now time for Arsene and the boys to show us what they are capable off and lead us back to winning ways.
Rosicky’s first half performance was a joy to behold. As was so often the case last season, when TR7 plays our whole team has shape and focus, and plays with real determination. The difference between the first and second half could not have been bigger. It was as if our team had no spine anymore without Rosicky. The only good thing to take from this is that if – and that is a big IF – he can stay fit, our first team is bound to become stronger in the next few weeks.
Vermaelen is good at leading by example but he is best when he is being led by a level-headed co-defender with great organisational skills. Tonight he missed Mertesacker’s defensive leadership. Squillaci; what can I say? Ineffective and rusty, and he should really be moved on. But that will not happen until his contract runs out.
Jernade Meade had a very good debut and well done to the young lad. He was fast and spiky, had generally a good awareness of the game being played around him, and I loved his drive and enthusiasm.
Coquelin had a decent game and was one of the better players. I thought his attacking contributions were a lot better than the execution of his defensive duties. I really don’t see him as an option for DM at the moment, but his through balls and balls over the top in the first half were very good.
The Ox is playing without his horns at the moment. I don’t know what his best position is, but he looked lost and lacking confidence and purpose. What has happened the The Ox who can take on players for fun, makes mazy runs and penetrates the box so easily?
Chamakh worked hard and positioned himself well, especially in the first half. But he was rustier than the Titanic and his touch let him down so many times, I lost count of it. I reckon he will play one more game against Bradford and that will be it.
Arshavin; was he in Athens? To me it looked like he was longing to be left alone on the Tundra of his beloved Mother Russia. Another one who is very likely to simply sit out his contract – as it is almost impossible to move him on.
This was also a big test for Aaron Ramsey, in my view. AR16 is not making the required progress in his career, and tonight he had another game that was full of hard work and determination, but so very little end-product. A real shame, but I reckon Aaron will not become a regular in our first squad any time soon – and he will have to work very hard to stay in the wider squad this season.
Szczesny did not have a bad game, but his distribution put us under unnecessary pressure more than once during the game. Both his decision making and execution with regards to his distribution need to improve significantly, if he wants to make it at Arsenal as our nr1 GK.
Jenkinson had a poor second half: his concentration and positioning were well below par and he did not stay tight enough to his man on more than one occasion. Another one who was missing the organisational leadership skills of Mertesacker tonight.
Gervinho did not have a good second half either; and his decision making, touch and shooting ability let him down far too many times tonight (except for the well spotted, and coolly executed, assist for TR7’s goal). Is it a lack of form, or have I been wrong all along regarding his abilities / value to the team?
We can take from the game the big positives of Rosicky being back with a bang and Meade having a fine debut at LB, but other than that we are left with far too many negatives.
The result, and the fact that we finished second in the group hardly matter, but what does matter is that so many players did not use this opportunity to show us why they should be playing in Arsenal’s first team.
When it comes to writing a pre-match I normally walk up to my computer like a boxer at a weigh-in. I stare down the opposition team, flare my nostrils, I might even say a few things about their mothers. Swansea, however, they are different…I admire them. Unlike promoted teams of histories past, Swansea has come into the league ready to play attractive football. They really have been a breath of fresh air, but I and Arsenal need to roll up our sleeves and get nasty for this one.
We sit 7th in the table with 21 points (12 behind league leaders Man U), Swansea sit in 8th position on 20 points. A win in this one could see us jump into 5th spot as Everton and Tottenham face tough away fixtures against ManchesterCity and Fulham.
New boy Michael Laudrup has picked up where Brendon Rodgers left off and really turned this squad into a dangerous team. Whilst our fans appear divided on Arsene: some want him out the door; others know he can work his magic again.
Missing in Action:
Arsenal: Diaby (thigh), Kozzer (groin) is most likely out until Christmas, Santos (abdominal strain) is still out; Sagna (foot), Podolski (illness), and Walcott (shoulder) all face fitness tests. Expect Sagna to miss this one.
Swansea: Thankfully Spanish international Pablo Hernandez misses this one with a thigh injury. He has formed a strong partnership with Michu so his absence will help our cause considerably. Graham (illness) and Taylor are also out.
Predicted Line-up:
Arsenal’s new mystery signing isn’t likely to start the game but we could see him make a sub appearance. It’ll be interesting to see how he settles in with his new team mates. I’ve managed to track down some footage of him, here you go:
Jokes aside I’m very happy this Rosicky is back; he came back and sparked our midfield back to life. Can he do it again this season? I think he can! This is what he is capable of:
I expect us to revert back to the 4-3-3 formation with Podolski coming back into the left position. The rest speaks for itself really, Jenks in for Sagna and Gibbs slotting into the left back position.
Previous Encounters:
Last time we met it was not a pretty match. An impressive Swansea outplayed us all over the pitch thanks to now Liverpool midfielder Allen, and fast wingers Dyer and Sinclair. Djourou and Miquel were our fullbacks and they were always in for a tough match. Ramsey conceded a questionable penalty after Dyer ran into his leg. Ramsey was also responsible for another goal after he was caught out in possession; this led to many fans using him as a scapegoat…something he’s struggled to shake off ever since. After drawing level in the 69th minute, Swansea scored a minute later to eventually go on their way to a 3-2 victory.
In the corresponding fixture last season Arsenal won 1-0 thanks to a Vorm mistake. Vorm rolled the ball out to his defender Rangel, who at the time was unaware of Vorm’s decision – the ball bounced off his legs and straight to Arshavin, who slotted home from an acute angle.
Form Guide:Arsenal: DDWWD Swansea: WDWDD
Coming off consecutive draws we are either in trouble or slowly clawing our way back into form (depending on which fan you speak to). We are divided, but personally I think we are on the up. Yes, there is cause for concern but with a few adjustments I think we can be a force once again. Arsenal haven’t lost in six matches and appear to be finding the defensive stability it showed earlier in the season.
Swansea has only lost one in nine matches and is once again showing they belong in the premier league. They’ve recently beaten Newcastle away, and West Brom at home, and drawn against Chelsea and Liverpool…good form in anyone’s eyes. It’s the sort of form that sends GLIC behind the sofa, Terry talking to his pigeon whilst rocking in his chair in the loft, RA crunching numbers or shouting words most of us think is a foreign language, VCC into a dusting and sweeping frenzy, Rocky shouting out expletives at the top of Mount Logan, Henry giggling uncontrollably, Herb shaking his fist wildly at Arsene, TA carving out new clogs to control the nerves, and me…peeping through a small crack in the doona, whilst I cower on the sofa. But hopefully our nerves are brushed aside early on.
One to Watch:
Giroud is my one to watch in this one. He has been left isolated in the last two matches thanks to ineffectual wing play. It won’t happen again and I expect him to get on the board in this one and make the Swansea defenders miserable all game. This season we have seen just what he is capable of with his head, however, last season he scored most of his 19 goals with his feet, so expect a lot more to come from this Frenchman.
Ahhhhhh-Michu!!! Dennis bless you! (I’ll grab my coat!) Michu has taken the league by storm so far scoring 9 goals in 14 matches. Signed as a midfielder for a lowly 2 million he has stepped into the striker’s role rather effortlessly; he must be watched over carefully!
Key-Match up:
Our fullbacks are going to have their hands full in this one, as they face the dangerous Dyer and Routledge. Routledge is coming off a brace midweek and has scored four times thus far; Dyer on the other hand caused all sorts of problems for us last season. Although he has cut off all of his locks, he is by no means suffering from Samson-syndrome!
Gibbs has just come back from injury so two games in a few days is really going to test his fitness level. Jenkinson may well have to step up for this one given Sagna is a major doubt after suffering a knock to his foot against Everton. Our two young fullbacks will be tested in this one, it’ll be a great learning curve and I expect them both to come out on top.
Pre-Match Finger:
I’m giving the finger this week to our fitness guru Tony Colbert! He joined Arsenal in July of 1998 as head of fitness and conditioning. Once upon a time our fitness was top notch, we ran over the top of other teams on a regular basis. Nowadays if a team parks the bus we are less inclined to break them down and we look just as fatigued. My biggest worry is players suffering soft tissue injuries early on in games or just after coming onto the field; IT SHOULD NOT HAPPEN!!! The warm up routine should be vigorous and prepare the body for the game ahead. Look at boxers for instance, they come out sweating before a fight, it is an art form! Koscielny is now out until Christmas, Diaby has a thigh strain that has kept him out for most likely the whole season, Ox a couple of weeks ago hurt his hip straight off the bat. My biggest worry is Colbert falling behind the game, not to mention he only has a Master’s degree; at this level I’d expect a PHD at the very least! Sports Science and strength/conditioning are forever evolving, perhaps fresh ideas will lift our conditioning allowing us to run out games, or better yet…IMPLEMENT A BLOODY PRESS!
Also, Stan Kroenke! A $132.5 million dollar ranch in Montana…really??? You greedy scoundrel. How about a cheeky couple of million thrown into our transfer war chest, after all you’ve probably got it tucked into your sock!
Pre-Match pat on the back:
My pat on the back goes to all the level headed Arsenal supporters out there. Yes everything isn’t hunky dory at the moment but it is not the end of the world. The apocalypse has not come, and even if the four horsemen Conquest, War, Famine, and Death came I’m sure Jack, Frimpong, Vermaelen, and Arteta would send them packing (Arteta could do it without putting one strand of hair out of place). We may not be world beaters currently but we will be soon enough. Hang in there and keep fighting the good fight!
This week I am debuting a new section to the pre-match. ‘Ask the opposition’ will show questions and answers by supporters from other blogs just to get their insight on the match. So let’s get a little bit of friendly banter going shall we!
This week the answers were kindly provided by Steve and Kevin, both Swansea supporters.
1) What’s your take on the Arsene Wenger situation (should he continue or should he be replaced)?
Steve: I think you should stick with Wenger, as a fan of a small club who’ve come from the brink of extinction to where we are today, I can appreciate the way Arsenal handle the finances. In a couple of years’ time, you’ll be one of the only clubs in the country to be debt free, owning a state of the art stadium and still competing at the top. I think patience in your stability can see you go on to dominate while a lot of clubs go to the wall.
Kevin:Whilst I imagine some fans may want a change of manager and a new era following Arsene Wenger’s, I do wonder whether a new manager would make you any better than you are now. Sacking Wenger would mean you would lose that consistency with managers that are so rare in the game these days. We Swans fans know all about a constant turnover of managers and while it hasn’t affected us one bit, it may not be the same for you. The departure of Robin van Persie obviously hasn’t helped your cause either and he was always going to be almost impossible to replace in the current market. If I was an Arsenal fan I would just get behind the manager and his players as I’d be shocked if Wenger was sacked anytime soon.
2) Who has been Swansea’s best player so far this season? What is he capable of?
Steve:The obvious player of our season for me to go for would obviously be Michu as he’s scoring for fun, but I’m going to go off the wall and say Hernandez (unfortunately he’s out tomorrow). I can see him going on to be massive for us. His vision is like nothing I’ve seen before in a Swansea shirt. When he first came in, he seemed to struggle a bit, but looking back now I think it was more a case that the rest of the team struggled to keep up with him and his little dinks forward.
Kevin:Michu is getting all of the credit for his goals and rightly so, but you can’t ignore the likes of Wayne Routledge and Pablo Hernandez who are consistently providing the assists for Michu, who’s goal tally has now increased to 9. Michu is not just a goalscorer, far from it. His work rate is excellent, he battles brilliantly to win possession and his finishing and desire to score goals is exceptional. It says it all when he was disappointed to score only 1 of the three chances he had at Newcastle a fortnight ago. Pablo Hernandez and Wayne Routledge are also up there with our best performers in recent weeks. Both offer something a little different. Routledge has pace to beat his marker while Hernandez is a tricky player – both have an eye for goal.
3) What formations and tactics are you most likely to employ in this match?
Steve: We generally play with a lone striker with Michu in the hole. Wednesday, against West brom, we had Michu up front with Routeledge in the hole and it worked well. Tomorrow though, with Hernandez out, I’d expect Routeledge to switch back to the wing with De Guzman to step in behind Michu.
Kevin:Unlike last season under Brendan Rodgers when it would be easy to tell you the tactics as it never changed game by game. Laudrup likes to change it up slightly. While we keep to the same 4-3-3 attacking formation, he’ll change the wingers. He often alternates between Routledge and Dyer on the right. Against West Brom on Wednesday, his side had far more width, unlike in previous games where the wingers were more central to link up with the attackers rather than the fullbacks. The decision to set up his wide with more width paid off brilliantly as they produced probably their best 45-minutes of football since their Premier League debut last year.
4) What position/player is your weakest link?
Steve:Difficult to pick a weak link to be honest as we’re back to playing as a team for each other, which was maybe lacking a couple of weeks ago. If I had to pick anyone though I’d have to say maybe young Ben Davies at left back due to his lack of experience. He’s done brilliantly in his debut season though, stepping up from the youth because of Taylor’s injury early in the season.
Kevin:There’s probably not a particular player that is a weak link at the moment. It would be harsh on de Guzman to say he is, and he doesn’t offer as much as his fellow midfielders and was dropped in midweek. We can concede some soft goals now and then which doesn’t help our cause, but right now we’re playing the best football we’ve seen in a long time. We suffered a drop in form after a good start but it’s back up there and the Swans will be as confident as ever on Saturday.
5) Which Arsenal player would you love in your team and why?
Steve:Sorry, no room for any Arsenal players among the super Swans J
Kevin: I think Cazorla would fit in well with our Spanish contingent in the squad! I wouldn’t mind one of your centre backs too as Mertesacker seems to have improved a lot this season and then there’s Vermaelen too. We could do with another centre back as cover.
6) What is your match prediction?
Steve:I fancy us to get something and I predict a few goals as neither defence have been particularly brilliant this season so far 2-2.
Kevin:It should be an entertaining game as both teams like to play attractive football but I wonder whether or not they’ll cancel each other like Swansea and Liverpool did last week, as they played out a goalless draw. There might be goals in this one though, as Arsenal clearly can score at home after the 5 they put past arch rivals Spurs, but then again they also struggled against QPR. A score draw would be a great result for us and would keep our unbeaten run going.
Prediction:
This is really going to be a tough one. It is imperative we keep our width in this one. Walcott wants to play centrally, Podolski wants to be the main striker, but it’s all causing too much problems, and it needs to be sorted out quickly! If we guard the dangerous Michu, and quell Swansea’s quick breaks I think we’ll snatch this one late…2-1 to the good guys!
Bergkampesque 