How much more fun it is to watch England play these days with one, two or sometimes three Gunners making a real difference in the team!
I thought the criticism for Hodgson’s selection choices against Ireland were too harsh. There was a good structure to England’s play and Rooney performed admirably in the hole, linking up really well with Ox and Theo, especially in the second half. Carrick and Lampard could perhaps have been a bit more adventurous, and England continue to have a problem in the CF position, but there was a good shape and structure to England’s game and enough chances were created to win the encounter with the Irish.
Like all other Gooners, I have really enjoyed watching the Ox play with such thrust and enthusiasm during the last two games.
AOC, maybe because he has not played much this season, has motored on England during these matches, and it is great to hear and read the praise he is getting at the moment. It is also good to see that the only midfielder/attacker of real quality in the England team in the last two games – the man Wenger does not mind to be linked with 😉 – Rooney, appears to have both an appreciation of Ox’s talent and a natural relationship/ good understanding with him.
Ox took his goal very well. Maybe he had noticed that both England and Brazil had wasted a number of chances by not keeping the ball low when shooting at goal. Ox’s effort went in because it was well placed, struck very sweetly, AND he kept his shot low to the ground; otherwise Cesar would probably have saved it.
Arsene will have noticed that Alex appears to be maturing faster in the England team than in the Arsenal team. To me, it looks like Ox should be given a proper chance now in the first team, but the key question is where should he play in our 4-2-1-3 system?
He has played on the right wing a number of times with mixed success. I saw him at the Emirates against Blackburn for the FA-cup and was not impressed with him then. There is directness about the Ox that does not seem to suit the ‘provider’ role/position of the wing, which also requires a lot of defensive discipline.
Wenger has been working hard to make AOC more of an all-round midfielder – including improving his defensive awareness and discipline – and good progress has been made. We saw him recently getting 60 minutes in the double-DM pivot and he did well there.
Could he be our answer to the box-to-box position in our current formation, or is he not strong enough defensively (yet)?
Or should he get a chance as our most advanced midfielder?
He has the thrust and dribbling skills to make things happen, however, I am not sure yet whether he has enough ability to find and produce the through-balls in this pivotal position. But then again, his goal against Brazil was not just a fine finish. He started the attack by moving with the ball towards Brazil’s box, linking up with Rooney, and then boom: goal. It was quick, inventive and deadly: something we have often been crying out for at Arsenal in recent seasons.
To play him in the hole would be a massive gamble by Wenger, especially now he has, supposedly, a lot of money available to bring in a more experienced and proven creative attacker/nr.10.
But Ox needs to play and he should get a proper run in the centre of midfield. Maybe, Arsene should get back to 4-5-1, often operating as 4-1-2-3 (when attacking). We would need a beast of a DM in the ‘1’ to make this formation really work, but let’s park that for now.
In the ‘2’ both Jack and Ox, or Ox and Cazorla, or of course, Jack and Cazorla, could play. This formation would give Wenger a chance to give Ox a lot of games in the middle, as he can give either Jack or Cazorla regularly a rest. Ramsey, Arteta, Coquelin and maybe even Eisfeld could be tried as well in the ‘2’.
Part of me desperately wants us to play like this next season, but another part is weary that it will leave us too exposed at the back…
I know this is sacrilege to the transfer horny hordes out there, but it is a necessary question to ask in my opinion. The paint on the old season has not even dried and everybody is talking greedily about the players we need to buy – and I have been as guilty as anybody. We all feel we have £70m+ burning in our holsters! 🙂
Yet, I feel there is not enough recognition for the incredible feat our boys have achieved since our painful loss against the Spuddies.
In a previous post I discussed our defence, and in this one I would like to focus on the midfielders we already have. It will be hard to do so without discussing our attack as well, but let’s give it a try.
Ever since Fabregas and that other guy left Arsenal two seasons ago, Arsene has been struggling to get his midfield – the most important ‘department’ of ‘Wengerball’ – to play the football he wants to play.
This season, Arsenal’s midfield has been our weakest area, either not supporting our defence sufficiently enough and/or not contributing to our attack enough. If we take out Cazorla’ goals, our remaining midfielders – Arteta, Ramsey, Rosicky, Diaby, Wilshere – have only scored a handful of open-play PL goals, and the assists-count is also nothing to boost about.
However, if we look back at the last eleven games (including BM away) our team has done very well: winning nine out of eleven matches and conceding just a few goals in the process.
So, if Arsenal were not to buy any new midfielders, how would we cope?
It all depends what Arsene is planning to do next season. If he wants to return to more attractive, attacking football, he will have to invest in at least a DM and possibly a nr.10 midfielder/attacker as well.
With the imminent return of Mourinho to these holy football shores this summer, no team will be able to compete for the big domestic prices without having a mean defence. Even if he did not, it might be best for Arsenal to continue with two defensive midfielders who operate under a conservative remit, which has been one of the main factors of Arsenal stopping to concede unnecessary – and often early – goals.
If Arsene decides to continue with this – un-Wengerball-like – unadventurous double-DM pivot next season, he does not have to buy anybody, as the likes of Arteta, Wilshere, Ramsey, Coquelin, and possibly Frimpong, can all play there with decent to very good effectiveness.
This would leave us with the third midfield position in Arsenal’s 4-2-1-3 formation: the ‘1’, also known as the ‘player in the hole’ position, or simply AM. Many believe Cazorla is the best man for this position, others prefer Wilshere in the hole, or Rosicky, or even the Ox.
If Arsenal were not to buy another midfielder, and simply stick to our end-of-season formation, we would probably cope quite well in midfield, as long as the emphasis is on defending and not making play from that area, as well as scoring far more goals than our midfielder did last season.
We would see a battle, this summer and at the start of the season, between Wilshere, Cazorla, and maybe Ox, to claim the AM position (I expect Rosicky to remain a back-up midfielder next season).
Jack is best suited to conduct play in midfield: to give us shape and find the deadly through-balls. However, he appears unready to score a decent number of goals in that position next season.
Santi is best suited to play close to the box, where he can find through-balls for his fellow attackers and can shoot at goal as much as he likes. However, his positioning there often leaves a big gap between the DMs and the opposition’s box, and this might be the main reason why he has been played more and more on the wings as the season progressed.
You would say that Ox is the most intriguing player in terms of determining his potential AND the most suitable position for him. Next season, we should see him make a big step forward, especially if Arsene is not to buy another attacking midfielder, which for this post I am assuming he isn’t.
Can Ox develop into a player who can do to a large extent what Wilshere and Cazorla can do: bring the ball forward from midfield and produce through-balls – ala Wilshere – as well as score goals from outside and inside the box – ala Cazorla?
I reckon he might well get there and it looks like Arsene is slowly developing him into an all-round AM. But next season is probably too early for him to take on the AM role as our main man.
So, although Arsenal have some fine players for the hole position, we are currently missing a candidate who has it all.
Eisfeld is a very promising talent who is both good at pushing forward from midfield/producing through-balls and scoring goals/producing assists. It would be good to see him getting more and more games in the first team, but he clearly has a long way to go.
If Arsenal were not to buy any midfielders, we could still cope well, even though our AM position would continue to be a work in progress. It would probably not be pretty, but if Arsene sticks to two defence-minded DMs, we could go on a very good run in the new season.
However, if Arsene wants to return to Wengerball, he will have to look for one or two additions. Firstly, a more traditional ‘beast of a DM’ (who can play a bit of footie as well): the DM should enable Wenger to reintroduce a proper box-to-box midfielder (ideally Jack if fit), and as a result play with a more attacking, flowing style of football.
Secondly, an experienced, more a Bergkamp type AM/nr10, who can set up attacks from midfield through speed, physical strength, great overview of the game, and ingenuity; produce a large number of assists and score double figures PL goals himself.
The key question, fine fellow Gooners, is: do we want Arsene to return to Wengerball OR, for the sake of stable progress and possibly the best chance of finally winning something next season, continue with, and build further on, what he and Bould have established during the latter part of the season?
The former could come at the cost of results/winning something; the latter at the cost of our enjoyment of our football (and winning something is not a given either).
Let’s see what will happen in the TW this summer: it will tell us a lot of what direction Wenger and Bould will be taking with our team.
The Pod showed the rest how to be composed before taking a chance yesterday.
Arsene’s zipper has been the perfect analogy for most of Arsenal’s season. Anytime he’s had issues with it on the sidelines, our team has seemingly also struggled on the pitch. Arsenal was rubbish for 90% of today’s match, even going down a goal in the 56th minute on yet another set piece. It took us until the 78th minute to show any urgency and from there, our substitutes led the way in bringing Arsenal to a hard fought 3-1 victory.
Before I continue with the match report, I’d like to point out that I’ve reached a point where I sympathize with Arsene when choosing his starting line-up. If he does not rotate, fans blame him for exposing our players to greater risk of injury; and if he does rotate, fans blame him for altering a winning formula and starting players who are clearly off-form. So which is it?
Going back to today’s match, Arsene introduced three new players into the starting line-up: Vermaelen for BFG, with Jack replacing the injured Rosicky, and Gibbs in place of Nacho.
Arsenal’s first half was reminiscent to the first half of the season, highlighted by turnovers, heavy touches, slower than normal build-up play and complacency. We were victims of committing 20+ turnovers in the first half alone, which comes to no surprise when you consider that we went into the 2nd half at 0-0 stalemate.
Our best opportunity to score in the first half came from a beautiful long ball from Santi who found a streaking Gervinho. Unfortunately, Gervinho played a heavy touch around goalkeeper Mark Bunn and ended up almost going out of bounds before attempting a shot on goal. There were no other significant scoring chances in the first half, as our attack looked disjointed in the final third and lacked real purpose. On a positive note, our defense was reliable and composed in dealing with the few threats Norwich posed going forward.
The second half began exactly as the first half ended – stationary and with players misplacing passes. The game looked like it could end in a stalemate with neither team displaying any urgency or looking like a threat to score. However, in the 56th minute, Gibbs committed an unnecessary foul and clipped the heel of Kamara near the edge of our own 18-yard box. Yet another set piece did us in, as we failed to mark Michael Turner and he converted a free header from Snodgrass’ kick to give Norwich the 1-0 lead.
Arsene immediately responded by bringing Theo and Podolski into the game but neither player were able to make a difference.
Theo did make a nice run to beat some Norwich defenders as soon as he came on, but the play was ruined by a poor first touch by Podolski. Norwich then began to take the game to Arsenal, moving the ball down field and picking up dangerous free kicks in our own half. Fortunately, they were not able to capitalize on their chances.
In the 78th minute, Arsenal finally looked like they would level the game, when Giroud calmly chested down a ball to a wide-open Podolski. However, the well-struck shot was deflected by Bunn’s fingertips before rattling off the cross bar. Finally, Arsene had seen enough and made his last available substitution by bringing Ox into the match. Shortly after, Ramsey outworked Snodgrass to give Arsenal a corner, which eventually led to Giroud being pulled down in Norwich’s penalty box.
The assistant referee immediately called for a penalty kick and Arteta calmly slotted away the gift of an opportunity to bring us even. The penalty was a breath of fresh air for Arsenal and they never looked back, dominating the final 10 minutes of the match. Some link-up play between Santi and Ox shortly after, led to a one-two with Podolski, before Ox fed the ball across the goal line for an easy tap-in that Giroud slotted away.
If that was not enough, Arsenal poured it on after Giroud flicked on Fabianski’s goal kick to an offside Theo, who eventually passed it to Podolski for a beautiful finish in the bottom right-hand corner of goal.
On another day, against a better opposition, Arsenal likely would not have gotten away with today’s performance. We were very fortunate to escape with the three points, and relying on a penalty kick for momentum is evidence that Arsenal were lethargic, stationary and lacking creativity and purpose in their attack.
Before I begin on the player ratings, I’d like to explain how I arrive at the score a player receives. For me, a 7 represents that a player has sufficiently done what has been asked of him and not much more. An 8 signifies that the player has contributed more than the average player, but that either his performance has room for improvement or I’ve seen better games from him lately. A 9 or higher is reserved for outstanding performances and is usually accompanied by tangible statistics on the score sheet. Ignore previous ratings from past articles, as I’ll look to be consistent from here on out in the new rating system.
Player Ratings:
Fabianski (7.0) – Fab made a couple outstanding saves after we leveled the game and he did everything we could have asked for from a starting goalie. It was unfortunate that he conceded a goal, since the foul was unnecessary in the first place and the marking let him down.
Gibss (5.0) – Kieran was underwhelming for me today. I expected to see some of his lively runs down the left flank and to show the boss that he deserves to be in the starting line-up. Instead, he committed the foul that eventually led to Norwich’s goal and he completely butchered two crosses where we actually outnumbered Norwich’s defenders in the box. Perhaps it was the lack of meaningful game time and being off-form that led to his poor performance today, but either way, I did not think Gibbs played well.
Vermaelen & Koscielny (7.0) – Aside from the goal we conceded, I thought Verm played a solid game and actually bailed us out of trouble on two occasions with a couple of nice sliding challenges. Kos also had an assertive sliding challenge to disrupt a Norwich counter to win us back possession. They were both invisible for the most part, which is what you want from a defender. However, their slow passing in our half didn’t inspire any urgency in our attack, but neither turned the ball over either.
Sagna (6.0) – Sagna was brilliant defensively, stopping all of Norwich’s attacks, while also trying to contribute offensively with a nice cross to Giroud who unfortunately hit the crossbar after he met it with his head. However, Sagna was at fault for allowing Turner to score, since Turner got away from him on the free kick, giving him the free header.
Arteta (7.5) – Arteta was instrumental in inspiring the squad to fight back after going down 1-0. He was composed all game and played the right balls to our players, while immediately pressuring the Norwich players whenever we lost possession. Considering the circus surrounding the penalty call and the Norwich players getting in his face before he took the spot kick, Arteta ignored it all and calmly slotted the goal that brought us even.
Ramsey (6.5) – In the first half, Ramsey was all over the pitch, joining in the attack and running back to help defend. He seems to have more of a spring in his step lately and is building the confidence to attempt some high risk, high reward moves (heel flicks, over the top passes etc.). However, several of these plays led to turnovers and he committed 4-5 alone this game. I was still quite pleased with him in the first half and his rating would have been slightly higher had he not completely faded in the second half.
Wilshere (4.5) – Was there a more disappointing player on the pitch today? I was thrilled to see Jack back in the starting line-up since he is my favorite player, but I questioned Arsene’s decision to start him after he had just returned from another injury lay-off. As the game progressed, it was clear that AW made a mistake, as Jack was rusty and his body language displayed that he was not mentally prepared for the game. He was not the inspirational leader we saw earlier this season and he gave no shape or purpose to our attack. Instead, he committed 7 turnovers and looked out of place. Hopefully, this game is just a one off and Jack can return to being the footballer we all know he is capable of being.
Gervinho (4.5) – While there may not have been a more disappointing player on the pitch than Jack today, Gervinho was equally as unimpressive. He committed 7 turnovers in the final third and had tunnel vision when entering the opponents’ 18-yard box. It was as if the performances from the past two games had completely eluded him and he was back to being the old Gervinho – no creativity, not taking defenders on, heavy touches and not finding his teammates in obvious scoring positions. Hopefully, he can regain the confidence he showed previous to today’s game and become an effective player for us down the final stretch.
Giroud (7.0) – He was instrumental in winning us the penalty kick, his flick-on to Theo in what eventually became the third goal was brilliant and he ended up tapping in the game winner. It was also impressive to see him calmly chest down the ball right to Poldi in the opposition’s 18-yard box. However, those positive moments were all achieved in the final 10 minutes of the game and do not excuse his performance up until that point. He was more or less invisible before that, aside from his 7-8 turnovers, and much like the rest of the team, was ineffective. I’ve found his decision making to be remarkably slow lately and looking for the spectacular play that he is usually incapable of making by nature, causes him to get stripped of the ball or play a poor ball.
Cazorla (7.0) – Santi was the only player with any creativity in the first half and played two very nice balls to Gervinho, who was unfortunately not able to convert or create a goal on either pass. Still, I was hoping for more from him after how influential he had been in our last couple home games. Instead, he drifted in and out of the game and never truly inspired the squad or made an impact (especially the 2nd half). The more worrying fact is that Santi and Jack have not been effective when both are inserted into the starting line-up. One player tends to over shadow the other and we lose a significant source of secondary creativity in the process. Hopefully, they can form a productive partnership and eventually take the league by storm, as they are amongst the most talented players in the EPL.
Walcott (6.0), Podolski & Oxlade-Chamberlain (8.0) – Of the three substitutes, it was clear that the latter two had the biggest influence on the match. Upon stepping onto the pitch, Poldi immediately found himself in scoring positions and struck a volley that almost brought us even. His finish in the 91st minute was an absolute cracker and capped off a magnificent cameo appearance. However, it wasn’t until Ox joined the action in the 79th minute that our team truly took the game to Norwich and threatened in attack. His combination play with Santi and Poldi was outstanding and his assist on the crucial game winner sealed the three points for us. Theo started off his substitute appearance with lots of energy and registered an assist on Podolski’s goal, but did little else.
At the end of the day, three points is three points and despite Arsenal’s performance for the first 85 minutes of the match, we should all be happy with the final outcome. Going forward, hopefully we will not have to rely on another penalty kick to motivate the squad, since the penalty call could have easily been disregarded on another day. The win effectively put us above that other North London team and into a Champions League spot. Onwards and Upwards! COYG!
Theo is out injured, but will Cazorla find the net again (last time round he scored a fine hat-trick)? 🙂
These were the questions going through my mind whilst thinking about our imminent encounter with The Royals:
Can we make it 12/12 wins against Reading?
Will it be another goal-fest (19 goals between the teams already this season)?!
Can we maintain momentum in chasing down the Spuds and Chavs?
Can Ramsey fill the hole left by Jack’s and Diaby’s absences?
Will Ox or Gervinho start tomorrow?
How tired will our defenders be and will we play with the same ‘back-five’?
Will our strikers be hungry or rusty?
Proper football is back and boy have we missed it. Reading’s brand new manager, Nigel Adkins, will have wished for an easier fixture than playing us away as his first game in charge, but on the other hand, expectations will be low and that can only suit him right now. Any game after an interlull cannot be underestimated though, and despite the fact that we won all eleven previous matches against the Royals, and have already scored twelve goals against them this season, it will not be a walk in the park tomorrow.
Our attackers – Ox, Pod, Giroud, Gervinho – have been rested mid-week, with only Giroud playing literally a couple of minutes against Spain. I reckon this is a major bonus for us, as they will be fresh. However, there is a risk they will be a bit rusty tomorrow; especially Podolski has not played much recently.
I expect Giroud to start up-front with Podolski on the left, in his familiar position. As Theo is out, the big question is whether Gervinho or Ox will play on the right wing tomorrow. Gervinho’s last game was against Ivory Coast against Gambia on 23rd of March, so he should be well rested by now. Ox’s last game was also more than a week ago, so Wenger will have to make a choice tomorrow, and I reckon it will be Ox who will get the nod. Gervinho could be used as super-sub again, as he can play in all three positions up-front (although he is at his best on the wing).
With injuries to Wilshere and Diaby, our midfield will have to be chosen from Coquelin, Arteta, Ramsey, Rosicky and Cazorla. Rosicky played a full game against Armenia (away) on Tuesday and is unlikely to start again tomorrow. Just like Gervinho, he is a good substitute to have on the bench. It is almost a given that the well-rested Arteta and Cazorla (did not play midweek) will start, and as Ramsey is ahead of Coquelin, and also did not play mid-week due to suspension, I reckon our three in midfield will be: Arteta and Ramsey in the double-pivot and Cazorla ‘in the hole’. Again, Coquelin is a fine player to have on the bench tomorrow.
The back-five – including goalie – is likely to remain unchanged, although Sagna is fit again and could start instead of Jenkinson. But I reckon the same back-five that played against Swansea and Bayern will start again against Reading; even though, Monreal, Koscielny and Mertesacker all played a full game on Tuesday. For a good defensive performance, consistency is king, and so it would be unwise to break up a ‘winning’ back-five right now.
Predicted line-up against Reading:
Let’s hope the boys are fully focussed and take their chances when they arise, and that our defenders are not put under too much pressure tomorrow. We need the full three points, so we can put maximum pressure on the Spuds and the Chavs in the race for a top-four finish. They both have tricky, post-interlull away fixtures against Swansea and Southampton respectively, and this is a great opportunity to let them have a mighty old sniff of our burning gunpowder!
Look behind you Chavs and Spuds, the Gunners are aiming for you! hahaha 🙂
Will or won’t Theo sign a new contract? And if so, does that mean Giroud will end up on the bench? And what about Podolski: he would also like to play more in the centre, and on top of that the rumours of Arsenal looking for another central striker are getting stronger at the moment.
Of all the rumours, the one regarding Demba Ba joining us from Newcastle seems the most feasible to me. But why are Arsenal still looking for a central striker? Does that mean, Arsene expects Theo to move on in January, or could it be that Arsene is thinking to move to a different system of 4-4-2 or 4-4-1?
To be honest, I have not got a clue.
I like the idea of Giroud up-front, especially in a 4-5-1 system. The Frenchman is great at holding up the ball and allowing the midfield to bounce the ball of him. I also like Giroud in a 4-4-1-1 upfront with either Theo or even Cazorla behind him. Giroud could feed the ball to either of them, but would also benefit from their potential assists.
But then I can also see a problem with Giroud. As a more classical centre forward, and in order to use him to his full potential, the whole attack has to be focussed around him, which will a) make us more predictable and b) make us more dependent on him. It does also mean that we need a good number two in the team, who can take over from Giroud in case of suspension or injury.
At the moment, we do not have an adequate replacement. Chamakh’s days are counted, and I don’t think Podolski has the same skill-set for the pivotal role up-front as Giroud does.
However, we have also played a ‘fluid-three’ up-front in the last few months: most recently with Theo in the middle, and Pod and Ox on the wings, but also with Gervinho in the middle and Pod and Ox on the wings. I really like the unpredictability of playing a non-classic CF upfront with two players on the wings who can also finish really well. Key is though that at least one of the ‘wingers’ is actually a winger who can make things happen. For me that means that in the current squad either Gervinho or the Ox has to play on one of the wings. With Gervinho going to the AOC , and the Ox picking up form recently, I reckon we will see more of Ox on the right wing.
If Arsene is to continue with a fluid-three up-front, is buying another CF the right thing to do; or is it more important to buy a traditional, quality winger who can add the necessary width and guile to our attacking play?
If Demba Ba is indeed joining us in January, it must mean we are going to play in a 4-4-2 or 4-4-1-1 formation, and I cannot say that would not excite me. I can see us play Cazorla and Ox on the mid-wings and Arteta and Wilshere in the middle, with either Giroud and Theo, Theo and Pod, Ba and Theo, Giroud and Pod, Ba and Giroud, or Ba and Podolski up-front. For Demba Ba you could also put another striker with whom we are being linked at the moment.
All the above indicates that it is hard to predict what system we are going to play and who will be our main attackers in 2013. Arsene bought Giroud only this summer, so surely his plans must involve him. But he appears also keen to keep Theo and give him his wish to be played in the middle. Both are different strikers and might, or might not, be able to play together. The only way to play them together is a 4-4-1-1/4-4-2 formation, and if that is what Arsene is aiming for, I can understand why he would want to buy another CF, as he will need cover in such a system.
Arsenal took a much-needed three points from last night’s match vs. Reading and hopefully it silences the criticism that has been plaguing the club as of late. The 5-2 result was well deserved given the balance of play and it’s about time that we started performing to the high levels of expectation for a top club. We completely dominated the first 60 minutes of play, and if it were not for some critical Federici saves, the score could have easily been 7-0.
Three of the five goals were produced from the left side of the pitch, with one other goal assisted by Gibbs on the left from a fantastic Theo cross. Much of our early season success came from a dangerous left side that featured overlapping runs and fantastic link up play from Podolski and Gibbs. Gibbs’ injury vs. West Ham directly coincided with the attack down the left flank breaking down. Hopefully, the Gibbs-Podolski partnership continues to flourish consistently from here on out.
The left side was given more freedom to attack due to the speed threat of Theo down the middle; Reading’s defense was quite narrow and given our last clash with them in the Capital One Cup, they were right to be concerned. Up front, our attack was finally given shape and we were treated to a classic, beautiful Arsenal display – fluid passing, direct runs, intelligent movement and relentless pressure from both flanks. This was possible because Arsene finally switched his tactics and played a more mobile striker in Theo up front. The front three were interchanging their positions with Podolski and Ox occasionally drifting centrally and Theo chasing down balls played into open space down the left and right.
Player Ratings:
Szczesny (7.5) – The Pole’s continued to give us stability in goal and has done everything you can reasonably expect from a keeper. He did well to outstretch himself and grab what could have been an easy goal for Reading off a corner. None of the goals were his fault and were a direct result of defensive breakdowns. However, it would have been nice to see Szczesny save 1 of the 2 goals.
Gibbs (8.5) – Fantastic display down the left hand side and helped give our attack shape. Two assists, some scoring opportunities that were blocked and plenty of good crosses. Constantly pushed forward offensively and was reliable coming back for his defensive duties. The only reason I didn’t give him a higher rating was because of his errant pass to Wilshere that led to a goal that brought Reading back into the game.
Vermaelen (8.0) – Has looked much more reliable defensively this year and saved us early on in the game on a 2 v 1 by clearing Pogrebnyak’s pass across the front of the goal. Would have liked to have seen him more involved offensively, but it was more a luxury than a necessity today. Great game by our captain, took a gamble to intercept Gibbs’ errant pass before the first goal.
Mertesacker (7.0) – Broke up a few of Reading’s plays and ensures that we have adequate defensive cover. However, he was guilty of ball watching and drifted away from marking Kebe, who eventually scored the 2nd goal.
Sagna (7.0) – His crosses have been ineffective all year and perhaps it was fortunate that he was not playing in as much of an advanced role yesterday. Reading’s few scoring chances primarily came down the left side, a testament to both our domination in possession and to his defensive reliability. Still, had a few turnovers from poor passes and I’ve come to expect more from what I believe is the best right back in the Premier League.
Arteta (8.5) – The engine that drives our team and it was evident that we missed him last week in our loss to BradfordCity. Won ball possession back and instantly pressured Reading when we lost possession of the ball. Always great with ball retention, followed his defensive responsibilities well and distributed the ball to our creative outlets as we’ve seen him do all season. Really helped to settle our team down and conserved his energy to chase down attackers.
Wilshere (8.5) – You can tell that he’s the one who wants to make things happen for the squad. He leads the team up field with his charging runs with the ball and he is always looking to add directness to our attack from the midfield. His aggressive style helps keep the opposition in check, but it did lead to a yellow card. He had an opportunity to score from a nice mid-air volley but the effort was met from an even better Federici save. It was unfortunate that he slipped on the 1st goal, but the pass shouldn’t have been played that far away from him in the first place. Jack really should have had at least one assist today, but personal accomplishments are not important when the team wins.
Cazorla (9.5) – 3 goals and 1 assist, well deserved ‘Man of the Match’ recognition and he really showed his world-class ability. Recently, I’ve accused him of not being influential enough to take matters into his own hands to turn around games for our team, but yesterday he truly was the difference. He was creating plenty of through ball scoring chances for Theo, made intelligent passes in the final third, always put himself in good positions to score and took plenty of chances that he may not have taken in past games. The only thing keeping his rating from a perfect 10 was his defensive lapse early in the game when Pogrebnyak was on the receiving end of a nice give and go that almost led to a Reading goal when the game was 0-0. In addition, later in the 78th minute, Santi tried to do it all by himself vs. 6 Reading players and turned the ball over in Reading’s 18-yard box. As you can see, I really had to nitpick to find any flaws in his game yesterday.
Podolski (9.0) – A goal and 2 assists and it appears like Podolski has finally come back into form and reignited his partnership with Gibbs down the left flank. He’s often accused of either disappearing or being non-existent in games, but today he put in a great performance for the full 90 minutes. A couple erroneous passes at the edge of and within Reading’s 18-yard box brought down his rating slightly.
Walcott (8.5) – His pace is a nightmare for defenders and Reading gave him plenty of space to make intelligent runs into empty space. His goal at the 80th minute destroyed any hope of a Reading comeback and despite starting as a striker, he was willing to move out wide and distributed some nice crosses into the middle of the pitch (he spotted Gibbs with a cross that eventually led to the third goal). However, Theo missed a breakaway opportunity in the first half and he could have passed to a wide-open Podolski in the second half instead of taking a shot that was wide of the mark.
Oxlade-Chamberlain (7.5) – He really set the tempo of the game for us after his blazing run and attempt on goal that was deflected wide by Federici in the opening minutes. Reading had difficulty coping with his pace all night and his ability to cut inside added another element of directness and unpredictability to our attack. In fact, it was his decision to take the ball inside and pass it to Wilshere that eventually led to Cazorla’s hat trick, which involved classy, vintage Arsenal build-up play. He did disappear for about half the match and was rightfully substituted in the second half. He had a great opportunity to score his first PL goal this season but a spectacular sprawling Federici save met his header.
Ramsey, Giroud and Coquelin (Incomplete) – All were relatively late substitutes and did not have sufficient time to make an impact on the game. I hate to pick on Ramsey after such a great team effort but our attack down the right side became non-existent once he stepped onto the pitch and we ended up passing backwards into our own end more. Giroud missed a great opportunity to get onto the score sheet after sending a volley into Federici’s outstretched arms on a breakaway. Coquelin made a nice run forward and held the play up well that eventually led to a Podolski give away, but that’s about all I noticed from him in his cameo appearance.
Despite Arsenal playing a game full of so many positives, there were still negatives to take away. In typical Arsenal fashion, an inspiring first 60 minutes eventually led to 2 goals that gave life to a late Reading comeback. It looked like a realistic possibility before Theo iced the game with a great finish at the 80th minute to make it 5-2.
We have lacked focus defensively for much of this season and have been punished late in games for conceding crucial goals (2nd leg vs. Schalke, Swansea, Fulham, Olympiacos); fortunately, today we amassed a significant lead to relieve some of the pressure if such a scenario were to occur again. As noted earlier, Gibbs’ misplaced pass exposed us for the first goal and ball watching by Mertesacker led to the second goal. Finally, zonal marking on corners looks like it’ll eventually do us in, and we were fortunate to only concede 3 today.
Going forward, questions still remain unanswered. Can we replicate the same success at home? Was today’s result a testament to our improved team play or us facing a very poor, lackluster Reading side? Will this win be met with any level of consistency or will we once again be victims of an underwhelming performance next time out? Not to sound too pessimistic after today’s glorious performance, but there’s been a disturbing trend of inconsistency that casts a shadow of doubt over the coming Wigan clash on Saturday.
Four times this season, we’ve managed to follow up encouraging wins with losses or ties: beat West Ham, then lost to Norwich/beat QPR, then lost to Utd/beat Tottenham, then tied Villa and Everton before losing to Swansea/beat WBA, then lost to Bradford on pens.
All in all, a great game where we dictated the pace of the game and the result should go a long way in building confidence for our squad.
After extensively watching Wilfried Zaha ply his trade for CrystalPalace this year, I must say that I’m a big fan.
Zaha has great balance, pace, ball control and the goal scoring instincts needed from a forward. He has a very unique running style that involves a wide stance, which is very deceptive and provides a great center of balance when running with the ball. There are so many tricks at his disposal that he seems to create new feints, step-overs and turns with each passing game. More importantly, from an Arsenal standpoint, he offers a more direct footballing style. Despite over dribbling at times, Zaha relentlessly takes on opposing defenders with the desire to always cut inside, opposed to staying out wide, a la Gervinho.
First, I would like to take you back to a game he played vs. Manchester United last year in the Capital One Cup. It was evident in this game that Zaha would have the talent to succeed at the highest level; however, I questioned his defensive work rate and his decision to not use his teammates more often, leading to a few errant passes and touches that left him with nowhere to go.
His trickery did lead to many Utd fouls though. Still, I saw an extraordinary talent that only needed to refine his game before teams at the next level would start taking notice of him. Fast forward a year later and he has assumed a lot more defensive responsibility than prior seasons and has become even more creative when taking defenders on. He’s noticeably stronger and is using his strength effectively to shield the ball from opposing players. He has shown true dedication to evolve his game and has become a well-rounded footballer.
The typical question that clouds such a big talent is whether he has the prima donna attitude that comes along with the talent. Zaha blends his confidence, boldly stating only Messi and Ronaldo are better than him, with humility; he credits his success to the faith put into him at Crystal Palace and those in the squad around him, in particular Yannick Bolasie, his winger across the pitch.
If Zaha were to make the jump to the Premier League, there are a few concerns that I would raise. As previously mentioned, Zaha over dribbles and could still use his teammates more. Often, his fullback makes darting runs down the flank, only to pass it to Zaha who does too many step overs/dribbles to no avail. Fortunately, Zaha has the ability to make you forget a mistake very quickly by taking on three defenders and creating a scoring chance that only exceptional talents could produce. Arsenal football is all about passing and moving into space (or it is intended to be that way) and Zaha would need to adjust his game to truly make an impact and break into the starting eleven.
Another concern is delivery. Arsenal is in desperate need of a winger who can create space for those in the center of the pitch, provide crosses in the air and passes on the ground from out wide to our forwards. Zaha’s excellent at creating space for others and has produced some dangerous in-swinging balls, but I have not seen consistent top-notch delivery from him yet. However, this could be related to the lack of top-end talent surrounding him rather than a criticism of his ability. Next, I question how Zaha’s game will translate to the top flight. He’s used to dribbling around Championship defenders but EPL defenders are more adept at taking away space and knocking you off the ball.
At this point, I’m not convinced of two things regarding these rumours:
1) Arsene Wenger would break his previous record transfer fee to acquire an unproven entity. Zaha represents the typical Wenger signing; a young talent with loads of potential. However, Wenger currently has Oxlade-Chamberlain and Gnabry trying to break into the first team and both are being played at the same wing positions with arguably just as much potential. Arsenal’s rumoured offer to CP is in the range of £7-9 million with add-ons, which is nowhere near CP’s valuation of £20 million. Typically, the asking price of young, English talent is inflated, so this should come as no surprise.
2) Crystal Palace will actually let Zaha leave. Holloway and CP really have no reason to sell their best player in January. A bid for Zaha in June would likely garner just as much in a transfer fee, if not more. Attaining promotion is more important for the club than whatever sum they’ll eventually get from selling Zaha.
With that said, there are some positives working in Arsenal’s favour. Zaha is an admirer of Arsenal football and the Gunners have always been his boyhood club. There’s also the matter of him being an England international now, where Wilshere, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Gibbs, Jenkinson and Walcott can convince him that Arsenal is where his future lies. I believe the only remote possibility Arsenal has of landing Zaha in January, is if the player himself requests a move to the club.
It’s impossible to predict how quickly a player from a lower division will adapt to the rigours of the Premier League, but I feel that Zaha is a special talent similar to that of Walcott and Oxlade-Chamberlain. After 19 games in the Championship this season, Zaha has roughly managed to score a goal every 5 games, assist every 6 games, generate 2 shots with one on goal per game and is fouled almost 3 times each game. Not exactly the most overwhelming stats, but one must bear in mind that he already has 102 appearances in the Championship to his name at the tender age of 20.
The ability he’s shown in beating defenders is reminiscent of the greats (think of the flair of both Ronaldos).
In fact, I believe Zaha to be a hybrid between all three of Walcott, Oxlade-Chamberlain and Gervinho. He has the goal scoring instincts of Theo, the combination of pace, flair and ability to take on defenders in tight spaces like Gervinho and AOC (if not more), the directness of AOC and the willingness to play out wide like Gervinho. Zaha could be that special ‘top, top’ player that would be worthy of Wenger’s pursuit. All that remains is being tested at the highest level and seeing if he can realize his vast potential. The latest news round-ups have Arsenal as the favourites to land him in January, but it will take an exceptional offer to pry Zaha away from Palace.
What do you Gooners think about Zaha as a player? Is he the solution for our lack of delivery and directness from out wide? Would that amount of money be better spent elsewhere?
That was an interesting and encouraging performance by our friend the Ox tonight. I really enjoyed watching him against San Marino, and I was glad to see that Roy Hodgson had given him a central, pivotal role in midfield this time. Not everything was great, and Alex clearly has still a lot to learn, but there were plenty of positives in his performance tonight.
What I liked about him was his attitude; always making himself available and drawing the ball towards him. His England team members were very happy to play the ball to him and as such Alex did really well tonight. To be so involved and become a central part of the national team is very impressive for a 19 year old.
He has got a good ability to see the wider picture of the game and is very good at spreading the game by moving the ball from one flank to another with just a quick move or diagonal pass. He acts and passes very quickly and instinctively. He is also good at spotting deeper runs in front of him, but definitely needs to work on improving the accuracy – angles and weight – of his through-balls.
Especially in the end he lacked accuracy and quite a lot of his passes were off-target. This was probably to do with fatigue as a result of him continuously making runs and finding space to receive a pass. I think it is fair to say that his passing needs further improving, if he is to hold on to a central midfield position, but I am sure he’ll make progress in this area over the next few years.
I loved the way he took his goal: that was pure class and his finishing in the box is definitely one of his strongest assets. From what I have seen tonight, I still feel his best place is on the right or left wing, where he can use his strengths to full effect. He is good at taking on defenders and getting the ball in the box. And as said before, he is also a good finisher, especially for a 19 year old.
Alex is a super prospect and we are lucky to have him. He is growing up very quickly, and although I still think Arsenal need to take it easy with him, this could well be his breakthrough year.
Bergkampesque 