Sagna – Page 3 – Bergkampesque

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Total Arsenal.

Arsenal – QPR: Five conclusions after a much needed win

Jack made a big difference

How great was it to hear a collective cheer from the fans when Jack had his first touches of the ball?! He made a great difference from the start: our team had shape and purpose again. It was just so good to see him move through the middle, picking out through-balls and combining with other midfielders to make things happen in the centre of the park. He makes it look so simple, and yet what he adds to the team is invaluable.

As soon as he came off, we lost a bit of our shape, and that tells us all how important he/the lynchpin role is in our 4-3-3 system.

Santi was far more effective today then in recent games. Cazorla played a lot closer to Giroud today as Wilshere’s skills and vision allowed him to stay higher up the pitch during most of the game, and that’s where he can be most effective. I love the fact that Santi always tries to shoot, but let us hope he will improve on his accuracy!

Bacary was awesome and great to see him back

The Corporal has done a great job at RB for us, and we are very lucky to have two very good RB’s in our team. Bacary is one of my favourite Arsenal defenders and to see him back; full of purpose and super strong, is just fantastic. He is such a safe pair of hands in defence and he gave great support to Ramsey and others on the right wing today, with a few peaches of crosses that could easily have led to an assist today. It just looked like he had never been away: what a beast of a player!

Podholeski needs a rest and some maintenance

The combination of Podolski – Giroud – Ramsey; as a false right winger/extra midfielder, does not work. We lack depth, speed and become predictable in our 4-3-3. I can see scope for 4-4-2 with both Pod and Giroud up-front, but then we need to give them far better service into the box from the wings. I can also see Giroud being very effective in 4-5-1, but in 4-3-3 we need to play with at least one proper winger, if not two in order to get the best out of OG.

The Pod is a great signing, but he is struggling on the left wing at the moment, and could do with a rest. I really hope Gervinho’s injury is nothing serious, because we need him on the left wing in the next few games.

Mannone saved our day

We almost gave it away at the end, as we were not able to play the game out. QPR obviously changed tact as soon as they got behind, and it almost paid off for them, but our young Italian stallion was focussed and ready when it most mattered, and he made a few fantastic interventions late on.

The wingers gave us a much needed extra-dimension in attack

What a difference the late substitutions made. Theo and Gervinho/Arshavin brought an extra dimension and totally ruffled the QPR game plan. I will say it again: if we play Giroud in a 4-3-3 system we need to have wingers in our team; who can get into the box and to the by-line, and who cross the ball to our big target man. Giroud clearly revels in this role, and Santi loves to benefit from the scraps that fall to him as well.

Please Arsene, can you play Gervinho – OG – Theo against MU, with Santi behind OG, and Jack and Mikel behind Santi?!

All in all, a hard fought win and thoroughly deserved.

Some credit is due to QPR though: they played with discipline and purpose and made it really difficult for us until we brought our wingers on, and with a bit more luck they could have gained a point today.

Ooooh Arsenal, we love you!!

Total Arsenal.