For those who have not been lucky enough to go to an evening home game, I can tell you the stadium is absolutely magnificent in the evening darkness – both on the outside and inside. It shines, everything is squeaky clean and you have a feeling – especially when you are packed away right towards the back, under the gigantic roof of the North Bank – that you are ‘spectating’ the game in an enormous cinema.
I walked towards the stadium from the Highbury and Islington tube stadium, after meeting a few friends in the home-supporters-dedicated Arsenal pub ‘The White Swan’. It was great to see so many people playing football, jogging, playing netball, doing yoga, etc in the park on the way to the ground. On evenings like these London is simply irresistible. It is just great that our new stadium fits so well – so naturally – into the area, as if it has always been there; as if a gigantic spaceship has squeezed itself cosily into the warm nest of the good part of North London (go and visit the also ‘recently’ build Sunderland and Mansour City grounds for example, and you know what I mean).
The Game
Arsenal started with good intentions but it became quickly clear that this would not be an easy evening for us. It just hung there in the air. You could sense it throughout the whole stadium and the early – far too easy – goal by Bony turned this collective fear soon enough into stone cold reality. Bony’s opener was the sort of goal you expected us to score against inferior opposition a long time ago: a simple cross into the box and the striker outruns and out-jumps the defender: 1 – 0. It belonged to a different, pre-millennium era; yet we had it inflicted on us by Swansea yesterday.
The fans stayed behind the team and sent out encouragement, and the players tried their best to get back into it. But our attacking efforts looked laboured and lacked invention and movement, and everyone had to dig very, very deep to somehow make things happen. Just before we scored the equaliser in the second part of the second half, I was asking myself why we were no longer using the left wing. The pattern of our attacks was continuously the same: try to break through the middle with complicated 1-2-3s, and if we cannot get through, give the ball to Sagna.
Swansea were quite happy for the Frenchman to have it on their left: he will either cross it into the box where there is only Giroud to deal with (and there were far too few runs into the box by our midfielders), or he will play it back to one of the midfielders; who will once again try to break through the very well set up central defensive wall of the Jacks…
Luckily, within just 66 seconds, first Gibbs and then Podolski were finally able to breach the wall from the left for our two goals (which I saw right in front of me, luckily), and the supporters at last woke from their collective slumber. There was a real sense of relief and renewed hope throughout the ground. Unfortunately, this did not last long; as the team did not seem to know whether to attack for the third or sit back to protect the slender lead, the fans grew uneasy again very quickly. There was a real lack of leadership during this period on and off the pitch, and the substitutions did not help much either.
The cruel O.G. by Flamini sealed our faith, and the last bit of hope that we could still challenge for the title this season disappeared into the cold North London night for good.
In conclusion.
There was no lack of trying or hunger in the team, but what we did lack was freshness (especially Giroud looked like a spent force), imagination and self-belief. We played one-dimensional, predictable football, and as a team we just could not break the spell we were under.
The question I asked myself during the game was: How many of these players will play next season, if say we added a quality DM and CF/LW in the summer and everybody is fit?
The back four and GK will be pretty similar, with only Koscielny replacing TV5. But in midfield and attack we would not see many of yesterday night’s starters back, I reckon. All of them: Arteta, Flamini, Ox, Rosicky, Cazorla and Giroud will still have a place in our squad and they can all add value to our team; but with so many key players injured, collectively, they were just not able to reach the required level to deservedly beat Swansea.
Fatigue and low self-confidence will have played a role in this, but a lack of collective quality was also apparent. Of all these players, Ox has great potential to develop into a first team regular, but the rest will very likely become back up players or have to fight for their place. And as long as they do not have to play all at the same time, this is absolutely fine.
Theo would have added pressure and thrust on the right. Ozil and Wilshere would have added composure, thrust and invention through the middle and from the wings, and Ramsey’s box to box engine is missed more than anything else right now.
But it seems all of these players are not available for Saturday’s encounter with the Northern Oilers and Wenger and Bould will have to work their magic to somehow get this team ready for battle. Maybe KK, who did some nice stuff when he came on, will hold the key….
Let’s all flock to Cornwall on Saturday to position ourselves behind GLIC’s sofa. 😛
But as always, let’s keep the faith and support the team till the end.
After a tough penalty win against West Brom midweek in the Capital One Cup, Arsenal faced a trip to Wales today to take on Swansea City.
The game today saw Arsenal have a very slow start. Swansea dominated the early game, swinging in crosses and taking long shots. However, with our tall defenders and determination, we managed to keep the Swans out.
Arsenal had an unchanged line up from last week’s Premier League game against StokeCity. I found it interesting that Gnabry kept his place, despite playing 120 minutes and a penalty shootout midweek.
The first half was very open and it was very much a back and forth affair. The one major scare of the first half came when Szczesny came way out of his box, on the goal line, only for Michu to keep the ball in and for the Swans to swing the ball into the box. However, I believe offside was called and no resulting goal would have counted.
The rest of the first half was a rather boring, albeit, open game. However, in the last minute of stoppage time in the first half, Serge Gnabry had a fantastic penetrating run from just beyond half field to the edge of the 18 yard box, laid it off to Giroud, who dragged it wide. It was not the best finish, but an excellent demonstration of Gnabry’s potential. Gnabry seems like the type of player who can play either wing or in a CAM type position, and I’m very interested to see how he develops.
Overall, the first half was tense, but at the same time, there was not much to talk about. Both sides went about their business and played their trademarked beautiful styles of football, with each side frustrating the other.
In the second half Arsenal came out much stronger. They seemed more determined and ready to win. Speaking of Gnabry, he would get Arsenal’s first goal of the day. Arsenal broke down the field and some smart passing got the ball to Rambo just outside the box. Aaron then slipped Gnabry through on the right of him, without looking. Gnabry took a calm collected touch, and then blasted a cool finish past Vorm in to the lower right corner of the net, in the 58th minute. Seeing Gnabry score his first senior goal for Arsenal was exciting and he really was a standout player today. His movement and passing was excellent and he’s starting to demand a place in the squad, maybe even a consistent place in the starting 11.
Not long after, in the 62nd minute, Arsenal would score again. The man of the match, Aaron Ramsey, would score his 8th goal in 8 games. Arsenal broke down the field again with some absolutely incredible passing, including a heel flick out to the sideline by Ramsey. In the end, Giroud reversed the ball to Rambo, who took a touch and slammed the ball into the roof of the net. I was really impressed with Rambo today, not just because of his goal, but also his physical strength, tempered with some smart tackles in defense.
After this goal, Arsenal seemed to settle down and become a little complacent. We tried to possess the ball and pass it around and it worked, until the 82nd minute when Arsenal’s complacency cost them. Ben Davies of Swansea made a run down the field, played the ball to Bony, and Bony put it back over the top of our defense for Davies to poke into the net. Mertesacker tried to get a tackle in, but he couldn’t reach it and Davies poked the ball past Szczesny. I blame our players for switching off, they really should’ve had more focus, but they were excellent the rest of the game so I will forgive them.
The rest of the game was a tense affair, with cards flying and tough tackles being put in by both sides. Jenkinson, Monreal, and Arteta came in to shore up our defense, and it worked. Arsenal was strong enough, physically and mentally, to hold on to the lead. Another winning goal for Rambo and another away win for the Arsenal. 8 away wins in a row, tied for the club record. This team really is something special.
An excellent 2-1 away win to the Arsenal and we are top of the league once more! Let’s hope we can keep this winning streak up and keep our number one spot. This team looks willing to do anything to win every game in every competition and that’s what any fan of any club loves to see. The team seems to be together and willing to fight for the badge and fight for each other.
For now I’ll leave you with some questions:
What did you think of today’s game?
Does Gnabry demand a spot? If yes, in the starting 11 or on the bench?
I don’t know about you but I like Swansea. They are easy on the eye, love to play smooth passing football, and as a club, they are run with a good vision and effective succession planning. I thought they would suffer after losing Rodgers to Pool, but targeting and successfully recruiting Laudrup was a mini-master-stroke by the club’s board, and you can bet on it that Laudrup’s eventual replacement will be another excellent manager. Getting this right is probably the most important aspect of club management, and you only have to look at the likes of QPR, Sunderland and Aston Villa to know what I mean.
Today’s game is another fine challenge for the boys. We played the Jacks eight times in the PL and it never ended in a draw, so it probably will do this time hahaha 🙂
Swansea’s Liberty Stadium
Swansea are likely to miss their captain, and Arsenal summer pursuit, Ashley Williams and the excellent Hernandez is also out, but as they also rested many first teamers in Birmingham – where as holders they went out of the league cup without much fight (1-3) – the Jacks will relish Arsenal coming to town.
Arsenal will have to give their all, remain defensively solid, which means winning the battle in midfield and play very disciplined in front of the defence, and as always, take our chances when they arrive. We did this better than our opponents in recent games and that’s why we won time and again.
Arsenal have quickly become an efficient team: even when not playing our so acquainted fluid football, we still manage to win games by remaining relatively solid defensively – although one clean sheet in the PL indicates need for further improvements at the back – and deadly upfront, with both Giroud and Ramsey in the early-season PL top-scorers list:
Every season we seem to have an area where for a long period of time we have multiple injuries: centre backs, full backs; and this season it looks like our mid-wing positions are suffering with injury after injury. We will miss Theo’s speed and thrust: he offers an extra dimension which makes it harder to defend against us with total control. Both Ryo and Gnabry had long games and look not yet ready to perform on the big stage from the start. I expect them to be on the bench though, and at least one of them will come on as a sub.
Luckily, there is good noise coming from Arsenal regarding Podolski, Santi and Rosicky returning in the next few weeks, and let’s hope Theo comes back within a month as well. As a result of our lack of ‘wingers’, I reckon Arsene will play all his established midfielders from the start today. It makes us nicely compact and effectively allows us to play 4-5-1, one of my favourite line-ups for Arsenal. We will need to be compact in midfield because that is Swansea’s strongest area: control the midfield and we’ll control the game.
I have no doubt the Swans will approach this game as a ‘let’s go out there and enjoy ourselves’ one, and we need to be focussed from the start. This is the sort of game in which we need to set the tone from the start and be on top of them for large parts of the game. Many of our first teamers had a well-deserved rest and so we should be able to win this game, but only with hard work and focus will we do so. Luckily we have Flamini and Arteta to make sure we’ll do just that.
Predicted Line-Up:
I am expecting Arsene to give the BFG a rest, after playing so heroically against West Brom for us. It looks like our French maestro is not so keen anymore on the Koz – TV partnership, although it is still early days. Therefore, I am going for Sagna replacing the German in this one. I admit, it is a bit of a gamble but it looks to me Arsene believes Sagna is better than Vermaelen and Koz at replacing the BFG’s ability to organise our defence.
In midfield I expect a lot of rotation during the match, but I reckon we’ll see Arteta and Flamini playing in the double DM positions. In the ‘3’ in front of the DMs, I am expecting Jack, Ramsey and Ozil to start: all can play in the hole and on the ‘wing’ in our formation, but I reckon Ramsey will get a chance in the hole today – just a gut-feeling though.
I don’t like doing predictions, as I am a bit superstitious about jinxing it that way, but please feel free to give us yours, as well as what you believe the starting line-up will be. I am asking for the boys to give their all and then somehow our quality should make the difference.
OGAAT fellow Gooners: one game at a time! Focus, hunger and decisiveness at the crucial moments: Bring on the Jacks!
Nacho tells the Spuds and Chavs who he’s gunning for!
Facing the Jacks without Jack? Who really gives a Jack?!
It turns out, the almost-miracle in and against Munich, may well be the much needed lift for our squad to finish in the coveted top-four domestically by the end of the season. Amidst the downplaying by some critics of our victory at the Allianz arena (due to Bayern’s suspensions and being mentally unfocused after their first-leg victory), the significance of that victory may go beyond the criticism of coming short in Europe yet again; it represents a huge boost for Arsenal in confidence, and the cornerstone for momentum to the rest of the season.
The problem for most of this season has been following up a great performance with another. There has been a lack of consistency game-to-game and even within a game; the 2-0 victory against Bayern saw the potential for Arsenal to be a fortress defensively like we were for the first few games this season, while playing as a collective, cohesive unit offensively.
Arsenal was able to follow up its 2-0 victory in the CL with another inspiring 2-0 victory against a Swansea side that beat us by the same score-line earlier this year. Arsene made some changes to the line-up that played mid-week in Germany, by starting Ox, Diaby and Monreal in place of Rosicky, Ramsey and Gibbs. We started off the game with some very nice one-touch passing, while Swansea countered with some beautiful passing of its own. It was evident that this would be a wide-open game with both teams taking turn passing and attacking.
Swansea dominated the first 20 minutes of play by creating the majority of chances and holding on to the ball very well – they ‘out-Arsenaled’ Arsenal in the process. Their first half was highlighted by golden opportunities both missed by Michu. Our defence did well in neutralizing the early threats; and after the initial 20 minutes of dominance by Swansea, Arsenal took over the game.
We had our fair chances to score in the first half, none better than Ox’s two shots off the crossbar, and Santi’s dipping effort from 25 yards out that Vorm saved calmly. However, both sides were unable to convert, and the half ended in a stalemate with both sides outplaying the other for half of the first 45 minutes.
The second half was a much different story to the first half of the game; as Arsenal have been able to own second halves, with only 12 goals conceded – better than any other squad in the Premier League. We started the second half as we ended the first half: in complete control on both possession and scoring chances. Santi drove our team forward on numerous occasions and Diaby threatened with a couple of nice runs, but we still lacked either the final ball or the finish to put us ahead. It once again appeared that we would be victims to our lack of creativity, as we were very stationary on the edge of the opponent’s box, contemplating a way to break through their defence.
However, in the 71st minute of the game, Arsene made two key substitutions that changed the flow and outcome of the game – Gervinho and Ramsey came into the match for Ox and Diaby. At first, I was a little puzzled by the substitutions since two-thirds of our most threatening attacking options today were now off the field, but I had faith that Gervinho’s trickery and runs would add some flair and potentially reinvigorate our stale offensive approach.
Immediately after the substitutions, Santi drove us forward once again and played a ball to Giroud, whose poor touch was saved by a diving second effort to get the ball to Monreal in the opponent’s box. Cool and composed as ever, Monreal slid the ball into the bottom corner of the goal to give the Mighty Arsenal a much-deserved one-goal lead. From there, the game was history as we continued to own possession and still attacked when given the opportunity. We moved up and down the pitch like a well-oiled machine, paying special attention to the defensive side of the game before eventually scoring in the 91st minute. Gervinho capped off a counter-attack in the 91st minute by calmly slotting an insurance goal for us from a Ramsey pass.
Player Ratings:
Fabianski (7.5) – He was never really tested, but came up with saves when needed. His aggressive goalkeeping in running out to meet balls played back to him by defenders displayed his confidence and comfort level in goal. I also noticed that most of his kicks in the air often find Arsenal players in open space, which is another benefit Fab brings to the table. Two clean sheets in a row, nothing extraordinary today, but he provides us with stability in goal going forward.
The Back Four: Jenkinson, Mertesacker, Koscielny (7.5) Monreal (8.0) – I grouped our back four together because I thought they all played a very solid game and have finally provided us with some defensive consistency and reliability. Jenkinson’s pass directly to Michu in the first half was frightening, but fortunately we were not punished for his mistake. Aside from that, Jenkinson was lively running up and down the flank and is blossoming into a fantastic and dependable RB. Mertesacker held the line well and played very deep to receive passes in typical fashion; he was steady as ever. Koscielny was aggressive and assertive in his defending again, and has formed a solid partnership with the BFG in the center of the park. Monreal’s timely goal set him apart from the rest of the back four, but all four are worthy of recognition for playing a solid defensive game with little to no errors.
Arteta (6.5) – I was a little disappointed with Arteta today, as he misplaced some passes (one to Koscielny in our own half) and was careless with his tackling (conceded a free kick just outside our own 18-yard box and picked up a yellow), which almost cost us. His lack of pace has been frequently exposed lately against clubs with fast players like Robben, Ribeiry, Routledge, Dyer, Pablo etc. However, he is still the engine of this team and Arsenal are more disciplined and organized when he wears the armband and is in the line-up.
Diaby (7.0) – Considering it was Diaby’s first game back after another injury lay-off, I was relatively impressed. There were flashes of his old-self coming back, as he galloped down field with ease and stripped the ball off Swansea players on numerous occasions. It was clear that he was rusty and not fully in form yet, as he had a heavy touch on a couple occasions and could not finish from the scoring opportunities he created for himself.
Cazorla (8.5) – Santi was the driver for our team and constantly pushed us forward throughout the whole match. Much like Diaby, Santi is once again showing signs of becoming the player he was at the start of the year and is exerting his influence on the game. He was my MoTM and has looked brilliant filling in for Jack in the hole. As mentioned earlier, it was Santi’s run with the ball that created the first goal; and his pass up field to Giroud that started the counter-attack for our second goal.
Oxlade-Chamberlain (7.5) – Ox’s first start in a while and like Diaby, it was clear that he had some rust to shake off. He was our most dangerous player in the first half, hitting the crossbar twice, combining well with Santi and making some nice runs into the opponent’s 18-yard box. However, he also had a couple heavy touches and made some errant passes in the final third. I’d like to see Ox get some more minutes during the rest of the season, as he provides a different option to our wings than Theo, Poldi, Santi and Gervinho.
Giroud (6.5) – Giroud was underwhelming yet again today. Aside from the nice second effort to assist on Monreal’s goal, he was largely not involved and never helped to threaten Swansea’s defense. As always, his work rate and attention to defensive duties is admirable, but we’ll eventually need goals from our striker if we’re to qualify for the Champions League next year.
Walcott (6.0) – There were times when I questioned if Theo was even on the pitch. There has been a disturbing pattern of Theo drifting centrally recently, looking for the breakaway pass and to be the man who scores timely goals, whilst leaving Jenkinson defending and attacking on his own on the right flank. While the belief in his own ability is great, the delivery has not been focused enough, and he needs to let the game come to him, instead of forcing the issue. I’m confident he’ll eventually find his scoring boots again.
Gervinho, Ramsey (7.0) and Gibbs (Incomplete) – In their cameo appearances, Gervinho and Ramsey made a substantial impact on the game. Their ratings are only a 7.0 because they only played approximately 20 minutes of the match. Gervinho immediately threatened Swansea with a nice run down the left, but fell victim to his own poor pass in the final third. Still, our offense looked livelier once he was on the pitch and his goal in the 91st minute sealed our victory. Ramsey’s work rate running up and down the field was necessary as our team was starting to fade before he came on. Despite his pass being played behind Gervinho on the goal, he still played it into the right area and picked up a crucial assist. Gibbs came onto the game in the 84th minute to defend the lead and never really had the opportunity to make his mark.
On a day where the Arsenal is victorious, it’s hard to point out too many flaws in our game, and I believe my player ratings more or less reflect this. Going forward, the striker partnership of Theo and Giroud will need to improve, as we’ll need their goals in the coming weeks to secure a Champions League spot.
Hopefully, Arsenal can maintain this level of intensity and consistency and finally form an identity of being a defensive fortress, while winning games in typical, beautiful Arsenal fashion.
Tomorrow’s game against The Jacks – the first of ten consecutive Cup Finals – at the beautifully named Liberty stadium, is a massive one for Arsenal. Whilst Swansea can play this game with an incredible lightness of being – they have reached the magical 40 points mark, won the League Cup, are already guaranteed European football for next season, and their manager has just extended his contract – Arsenal have the considerable weight on their shoulders of having to pick up all three points; so we can put pressure on both the Chavs and the Spuds in our joint race/chase for a top-3/top4 PL spot.
The 2-0 win against Bayern midweek has given our confidence a massive boost. This season, other than perhaps our result against Liverpool away, we have not achieved a better result against a top team, home or away. And still there was plenty of room for improvement, in terms of our passing game and creating chances, which will continue to be work in progress.
The Jacks play football as it should be played, and this promises to be an open game with quality football on display. The big question is whether we will play conservative again – just as we did against Bayern – as in sitting a bit deeper, and our two DMs predominantly focussed on shielding our defence by staying close in front of them.
The risk of this conservative approach is not producing enough opportunities for our four attack-minded players, and as in most of our games this season, the key lays with whoever will be playing in the lynch-pin role. Jack is not available to face his namesakes tomorrow, and Ramsey and Arteta come with limitations for this pivotal role. Diaby has probably been our best lynch-pin player of them all, but that was at the start of the season, and his recent form has been quite poor.
Yet, I feel Diaby will start tomorrow, and so will Ramsey: I reckon they will be our ‘2’ in our 4-2-1-3 system. Maybe Arteta will start, but I cannot see him finish the whole ninety minutes. We need a lot of energy and running in midfield against the mobile and good passers of the ball; Britton, De Guzman etc, and that’s why I reckon both Ramsey and Diaby will start tomorrow.
The most intriguing question with regards to our line-up is what is Arsene going to do with our back-five: will Fabianski start in goal again, will Vermaelen once again be left out, and will BFG-Koz be our CB-pairing again? My answer to this is yes, yes, and yes. Sagna is injured so Jenkinson will get another game, whilst Gibbs will get a rest and Nacho will replace him.
I expect Arsene to take courage from the defensive performance against Bayern and only make the necessary change of resting Gibbs; who only just returned from a long injury. Why break up a ‘winning’ defence? At this time of the season, Arsene has to stick with what seems to be working, and build on top of that.
Up-front we will probably see a similar formation as we had towards the end of our game on Wednesday: Cazorla in the hole, Theo on the right, work-horse Giroud in the centre, and Gervinho to start on the left. I don’t expect Rosicky to get another start so quickly after his start against Bayern, but if that is the case, I reckon Gervinho will start on the bench and Cazorla will move the left wing again.
Predicted line-up
This should be a very good game to watch, and it will be a big test for our boys. If we win tomorrow, it will give us great momentum, and the Chavs and Spuds will start to get very nervous of the ominous sound of the roaring canon behind their sweaty backs.
Arsene Wenger’s much-maligned zipper was a direct correlation to the team’s performances the past few weeks: a constant struggle, a lack of shape and pieces fitting together and frustration in the lack of consistency. However, today we ended up getting the result we deserved after several missed opportunities throughout the game. The line-up changes paid immediate dividends with Santi out wide, Coquelin as the defensive midfielder and Jack playing in the hole. Jack Wilshere’s capped off an inspiring performance with a goal in the 86th and rewarded a full 90-minute collective team effort from the squad.
Unlike past games this season, Arsenal started the game off with purpose and urgency. Despite Swansea’s immediate pressure, we quickly established the tempo and our passing game, thus forcing Swansea’s defense to turnover the ball on numerous occasions. However, some questionable defending eventually led to a Swansea scoring opportunity that was fortunately wide of the mark by Graham. Arsenal was able to win back possession of the ball many times, but our passing and decision making in the final third left much to be desired. Our defense would be tested once again as Sagna had a mental lapse and allowed Routledge to sneak in behind him. Luckily, Vermaelen covered him and neatly broke up Swansea’s offensive push.
The game continued with Jack driving our team forward and Diaby fluidly joining the play with him, but we still had issues penetrating Swansea’s well organized defense. Once again, Swansea took advantage of some poor marking by our back four and Bartley was able to turn a free header that beat everyone but the crossbar. A little later, our defense was again tested and Vermaelen and Mertesacker were caught too far apart, but Vermaelen once again saved the day with a last minute diving tackle. Despite all the defensive lapses, we dominated possession and were really pressuring Swansea when they had control of the ball. Our best scoring opportunities in the half came from an early Theo cross to Giroud, who really should have done more with the header; and from a corner, where the ball somehow landed on Vermaelen’s foot who was denied by a diving Vorm.
Arsenal began the second half rather sluggishly and failed to build further on a positive performance in the first half. Swansea looked more composed and settled into the game, until Diaby intercepted a pass and sent a quick long ball to a wide-open Theo who wasted his breakaway chip shot wide. From here on out, Arsenal were by far the better side and completely dominated possession and scoring opportunities. After numerous missed opportunities by Theo, Giroud, Wilshere, Santi and Vermaelen, we were finally able to get on the mark late in the game. Santi delivered a nice pass to Giroud who beautifully one-touched it to Jack, who put Swansea away for good.
Player ratings:
Szczesny (8.0) – Did not concede any goals, was pretty much non-existent as Swansea barely threatened and took no risks on chances that were somewhat on goal. Gives our team plenty of confidence when he’s in goal.
Gibbs (8.5) – I thought Gibbs was one of our top players today. He was often isolated on the left hand side with Santi drifting centrally a lot and was still able to influence the game on his own out wide. Notably, he won the ball back in the 2nd half against three Swansea players near their corner flag and produced some great runs down the flank.
Mertesacker (7.0) – Questionable defensive coverage in the first half that almost led to a Bartley goal, in addition to another where Vermaelen fortunately saved both with a crucial diving block. Aside from those defensive lapses in the first half, Mertesacker was again a steadying presence for the back four and always makes the easy, simple passes.
Vermaelen (8.0) – Two crucial defensive plays where he denied Swansea clear chances at goal. He also found himself in the right places off corners on several occasions and while it would have been a delight to see him score that sitter at the end of the first half, he is a defender after all.
Sagna (8.0) – Recovered well from his early defensive lapse and actually stripped Routledge of the ball on the same play, before clearing the ball out. He pushed forward very effectively and linked up well with our offense. Produced a beautiful cross that Walcott slightly missed and unfortunately hit the post. Had the presence of mind to run all the way across the field to challenge Graham and cover for Gibbs in the second half, when he saw that Santi was central and Gibbs was on his own.
Coquelin (8.0) – He played a very aggressive game and always had a move forward mentality to his game. Produced a nice effort on goal in the first half and was fairly involved offensively. This performance should give him some necessary confidence going forward, but he did fall victim to several turnovers. However, I believe the turnovers are a result of his lack of playing time, opposed to a knock on his ability.
Diaby (8.5) – What a difference one game makes. His performance today was a stark contrast to the one vs. Man $hitty. He established his presence in the center of the park early on and won numerous headers, made several good runs into space and was making all the right passes (had one poor pass in the 2nd half and a poor first touch in the 1st but was pretty much perfect). His quick long pass to Theo suggested that he hadn’t missed a game all year. If he can continue this form and stay healthy, Arsenal will be a force to be reckoned with.
Wilshere (9.5) – There isn’t much more that can be said about this lad that hasn’t already been said. He almost played a perfect game and gave our offense the shape that TA desires, and was so influential on his driving runs and ability to penetrate Swansea’s well organized back four. His goal in the 86th minute relieved Gooners all over the world and I’m sure everyone will agree that he, of all people, deserved to score today. The only knock I can maybe place on him was a turnover of a Szczesny pass in the 1st half, and over-dribbling at times in the opponent’s box that led to lost scoring opportunities or deflections once he did decide to shoot (Chico’s block in the 2nd half). Aside from that, he was just fantastic and boy I’m relieved to have him back and performing at the level he currently is at.
Cazorla (8.5) – He was much more effective from the wing position and seems to thrive in a secondary creative role. Santi gives us a different look out wide and stretched the defense in the second half with his passing and fluid transitions with Jack. A lot of space opened up for him because of the attention Jack was commanding and Santi often drew away defenders himself, opening scoring opportunities for Giroud. His defensive contributions often go unnoticed, but his sneaky ability to win back the ball cleanly is a joy to watch. I would have liked Santi to be more deadly in the final third; though you can’t really fault him as he almost always makes the right decisions, even in tight spaces. Also, he drifted far too centrally, almost to the right side of the pitch at times, and he’ll have to be more disciplined in his positional play against a top team like Chelsea this weekend (Gibbs won’t be able to cover Ivanovic and Mata on his own).
Giroud (8.5) – He always gives a full effort every time he’s on the pitch and his ability to hold up play is something Arsenal has not been blessed with in past seasons. He had several good scoring chances on goal, but seemed to often shoot right at Vorm. However, he has a knack for getting himself into good positions and his one-touch pass that set up Wilshere was beautifully done. Also of note was that Giroud’s determination regularly caused Swansea defenders to rush passes which eventually led to turnovers further down the field.
Walcott (7.0) – My rating of Theo’s game might be harsh, but if you’re auditioning for the striker role, you better finish off the majority of chances that you’re given. Despite getting himself into good positions to score, he wasted three chances wide, shot another right at Graham’s chest and missed a flick on header that hit the post. Fortunately, all can be forgiven after Jack scored late, but I’ve come to expect better finishing from Walcott. The end product wasn’t there today, but he certainly worked hard in his defensive responsibilities to help Sagna on the right.
Overall, a great team performance and Swansea were fortunate to not have lost this game by a larger margin. If we can continue to maintain high pressure and dominate the midfield, we should definitely see more positive results like this one in the future. Today’s line-up was what many of us have been calling for and I’m excited to see Jack dictate play and excel in the advanced midfield position. Here’s calling for some consistency going forward and a healthy squad.
Regular readers of Bergkampesque will have noticed my glass half full attitude towards Arsenal and Arsene Wenger. I remain confident in Wenger’s ability to turn things round for us this season, and I also believe in the squad of players we have (give or take a couple of necessary new signings). However, it is about time that Arsenal show what they are made of now, after a disappointing performance against Southampton this week; and I expect nothing else but a committed, full-blooded performance for 90+ minutes.
Swansea will be up for this and will be full of confidence after their recent win at Ashburton Grove. Arsenal will have to come out of the blocks with only one thing in mind: to take this game to Swansea with a high tempo and a strong focus on attack. To be fair, as we saw during our last encounter with the Swans, they are happy to sit back and absorb the pressure we will put on them; only to pounce back on the break as much as possible.
It is therefore important that we play a lot more cohesive tomorrow than we have done recently; with lots of ball retention, constant pressure on the Swansea team, and defending, creating and attacking collectively, rather than the disjointed efforts we saw against Wigan and Southampton recently.
Sagna or Jenkinson?
From the moment Sagna’s inexplicable defensive clearance led to us conceding a goal against Southampton, our right back turned into a shadow of his former self for the rest of the game. Until then, he and Ox had been our main attacking option as virtually all attacks came from the right. But his confidence was totally shot and he made mistake after mistake after his bad error that led to the goal.
So what to do tomorrow; play Sagna again or give Jenkinson a game? I reckon it will be dreadful for Sagna’s confidence if he is not played again tomorrow, and Wenger will probably play him for that reason alone. I hope he comes good again, as Sagna always gives his all. With Jenkinson having signed a new contract and Bacary hoping to get a new contract offer soon, it could be that the Frenchman is justifiably worried about his future, which in return might be affecting his confidence at the moment.
Rosicky or Santi?
We continue to struggle with the shape of our team and with that the purpose/directness of our football. I have written about the need for a more all-round DM, who should free up Jack to support the attack more regularly. At the moment Jack needs to help out too much defensively, and Santi is often isolated as a result. I believe Santi is at his best when he can play close to our CF and we need Wilshere to get closer to him in order to make this happen.
Rosicky always gives the team a good shape and real purpose and I wonder whether it is now time to give him a start instead of Cazorla. Cazorla could start on the wing, maybe instead of Ox or Pod. Alternatively, Jack could get a well-earned rest, and Rosicky could play next to Arteta, and with Cazorla in his normal position. But whatever it is, I reckon we need to play Rosicky tomorrow: he can give us the much needed impetus against the Swans.
Theo or Giroud?
Another big selection dilemma for Arsene. My personal view, as per recent posts and comments, is to play them both together in a 4-4-1-1. Giroud can be the pivot for our attacking play, who gets the midfield higher up the pitch with his ball retention skills, and also launches Theo into promising positions. Theo can move around and combine wing-play with centre forward play. However, I would eat my foot if Arsene was to start with both Giroud and Theo up-front and with four in midfield, so a choice has to be made between the Frenchman and the contract hugger.
Given the fact that Swansea play very compact and well-organised at the back, and the need for Theo to have space at his disposal, I reckon will start with Giroud in the middle, and possibly with Theo on the wing for tomorrow’s game.
Predicted Line-Up:
—————Szczesny——————
Sagna – BFG – Vermaelen – Gibbs
———Arteta——-Wilshere———
—————-Rosicky——————-
Theo/Ox——-Giroud———-Santi
At times during the match tomorrow, Santi and Rosicky could move to the wings in midfield and Theo and Giroud could play closer together. Let’s see what happens tomorrow. We need a great performance and a convincing win: it is time to kick-start the season properly now!
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 