togetherness – Page 6 – Bergkampesque

Arsene’s era might not last much longer, but a big NO to boycotting our games

February 25, 2013February 25, 2013TotalArsenal

Can Arsene turn things round before the end of his current contract?

There has been a lot of commotion from fans this season, about boycotting games in order to prove a point to the Board of Directors: avoid buying tickets to games in order to not line the pockets of the greedy BoD, so that they will learn from their mistakes and properly re-invest funds into the squad.

However, apart from the remuneration figures that have been circulated over the Internet, there is no real proof that the Board, Manager or Owner are the sole perpetrators in Arsenal’s lack of spending over the years. Fans should understand that those in the Arsenal hierarchy are paid their salaries regardless of the increase or decrease in ticket sales, and that not all Board members are salaried in the first place.

In fact, it’s very likely that, in addition to the aforementioned Board’s salaries, the funds from ticket sales are invested in a wide range of expenses; such as building the club’s brand image internationally, player salaries, financing the stadium debt, remunerating the Arsenal employees (remember that there are employees outside of the BoD, players and manager), and maintaining the pitch and other amenities at the Emirates and Shenley Training Center, etc.

My point is that there is no proof that the board are simply lining their pockets with cash and refusing the club to spend money – there are a multitude of expenses at a football club and by no means will a decrease in ticket sales inspire the Board to invest their own funds on player transfers.

A small contingent of fans are attempting to hurt the club in any imaginable way through boycotting games and hoping for the club to lose in order to see change – I will never understand this malice towards a club that fans claim to be passionate about, and have devoted themselves to. Sadly, if we continue to see a decreasing trend in ticket sales, it may only affect the employees that need their jobs and deserve to be paid (ones that are paid to be at matches to sell programs, food, merchandise, take your tickets at the door, etc.).

More importantly, we must be cognizant that a decrease in attendance may adversely affect our players and squad morale as well. There’s supposed to be a considerable advantage in any sport when playing games in your home stadium; the lack of attendance can lead players to believe that the club’s supporters are not as passionate and loyal as they once believed. Aside from direct results in Champions League qualification and title opportunity credentials, this can actually have a minor impact on whether players want to join a club.

Arsenal is known for having a rich history and some of the world’s best and most loyal supporters. Of course, the club is bigger than any player, manager, small contingent of tumultuous fans, etc. But over time, these revolts can wear down a club and its reputation.

However, at the end of the day, the results of our club in the standings and on the pitch outweigh these concerns, and simply put, we have not performed to the high standards we set from 1998-2005.

What then do we make of the man who has become synonymous with Arsenal? For me, this summer marks the make or break point in Arsene’s career at Arsenal.

The stadium debt is now under control; a young core of talents that Arsene developed has recently been signed up to long-term contracts, and several unwanted wages (Squillaci, Arshavin & Fabianski) will be off the books very soon. Arsene must seize this opportunity and sign a world-class player, along with other talented ones to take this team forward into serious title contention. Otherwise, the vicious cycle of struggling to qualify for Champions League will continue, and the club could fall victim to obscurity, similar to Liverpool, Leeds United and Newcastle. Arsene’s current contract expires in the summer of 2014 and another season without silverware will undoubtedly spell the end to a storied managing career at Arsenal.

Bear in mind, I am not proclaiming that Arsene should be replaced if we do not win silverware next year; simply that there needs to be positive progression and considerable improvement in the standings and our on-field end-product, before the board should even consider extending AW’s contract again. Arsene’s reputation and accolades certainly may entitle him to an extension, but 9 years without silverware at a top club is difficult to defend against; especially considering we have been off the pace of the PL champions by 18 or more points in the last two years (this year and last).

Sometimes, change is necessary in order for a club to move forward and for players to feel that their playing time and jobs might be in jeopardy under a new manager. It can eliminate the complacency that has plagued this squad somewhat recently, and inspire players to perform with a full effort for the entire 90 minutes during each game. Of course, the reverse can be true and players can be upset with the change in management, and underperform in the new circumstances.

Despite the lack of results in silverware, Arsene should be applauded and admired for standing by the club in times in which we were placed under considerable financial restraint. I cannot think of another manager who could have done a better job during his tenure here than Arsene, and his work will continue to be remembered long after he leaves.

If Arsene is replaced and we are able to attain silverware afterwards, it should not be viewed as a slight against Arsene or the new manager; AW will always be responsible for Arsenal’s beautiful style of football and for developing and holding onto the young core in place, but the new manager will be responsible for instilling some change that will have guided us there.

I know many of you want to see Arsenal eventually win silverware with Arsene as manager, but at what point is the drought too much to endure as a top club?

Can you see Arsenal turning its fortunes around next season? How do you feel about some fans’ decision to boycott games?

Written By: Highbury Harmony

Aston Villa preview: five demands of our players + predicted line-up

February 22, 2013February 22, 2013TotalArsenal

Will Arsene and Steve have prepared the troops well mentally?

Only the uber-optimists will not feel a bit down at the moment. It has been a tough week for us Gooners with our FA-cup exit and an almost certain CL-exit in the space of just four days. Best not to talk about these games anymore and move on to tomorrow’s game against Villa.

We are desperate for a shot in the arms and a home game against Villa should provide us with a good platform for it. However, Lambert managed to get a result against us at home last year with Norwich City, and after Aston Villa’s win against West Ham in their last PL game, they will feel they at least have a chance against us; and if Blackburn can beat us, then they could do it too.

Five demands of our players tomorrow:

Focus: I want to see our team fully concentrated and focussed from the start tomorrow. No more silly defensive mistakes. Somebody needs to be the clear leader at the back and the rest need to follow suit. We have good defenders and now it is time to raise the level of organisation and professionalism between them.
Pressing from the start: when I watched us against Blackburn, I had that horrible feeling from the start that the team were not in the game somehow. We need a high tempo with lots of pressing of our opponents: not half-heartedly going through the motions, or having difficulties in ‘finding each other’.
Taking our chances: we have not been scoring anywhere near enough goals recently; scoring only five goals in total in our last five games (all competitions) is not good enough. Yet, we produce plenty of opportunities and I would like to see the likes of Theo, Giroud, Podolksi and Cazorla being a lot more prolific tomorrow. If we do manage to score an early goal, which is well overdue, we need to push on by keeping up the tempo and gunning for more goals.
A step improvement in our passing game: I often hear fellow Gooners complaining about us passing the ball too much. I, for one, would like Arsenal to improve their passing game, but definitely not reduce it. Too often the ball is played to a fellow player who is surrounded by one or more opposition players and nobody goes and helps. I would like us to’ gel’ a lot better and be a close unit, and play the familiar triangles again on Saturday; with a high tempo and with full intent to penetrate the opposition’s box constantly. We have missed the confidence, intent and invention to do this recently, and it needs to return again tomorrow.
Passion. Enough said.

Predicted line-up against Aston Villa:

A win tomorrow will not take away all the disappointment of the recent cup exit(s), but it will restore a bit of faith and hope that we can still finish the season on a high.

Come On you Rip Roaring Gunners!

Written by: Total Arsenal.

If only Arsenal had signed Van Bommel or Seedorf last summer

February 21, 2013February 21, 2013TotalArsenal

I still remember the excitement of the Ajax fans when they first found out Frank Rijkaard was returning to Amsterdam back in 1993. The Amsterdam-born, former defensive midfielder wanted to finish his career at his boyhood club, and Louis van Gaal welcomed him back with open arms. Ajax were bursting with promising talents, but needed somebody in the their first team to mentor them, and Rijkaard was the ideal player to do just that. He won a couple of European Cups (now CL) and twice the Italian League with Milan, and had been one of their most influential players.

The likes of Seedorf, Davids, De Boer brothers, Kluivert, Kanu and Overmars will have looked up to him enormously. In the two years that Rijkaard was at Ajax, he (their captain) and Van Gaal led the team to the sort of glory Amsterdam had not seen for twenty years, and has not seen ever since. It all culminated in Ajax winning the CL in 1995, beating Rijkaard’s former club Milan, both in the group stages as well as in the CL-final.

At the time, Ajax were a mixture of very promising talents and a number of good, but definitely not great, players (Danny Blind, Litmanen, Bogarde (!), Reiziger, De Boer brothers etc). Rijkaard made a big difference with his leadership skills and experience, as well as his desire to win at all costs.

In a way, the current Arsenal team are not too dissimilar to Ajax back in the early nineties: plenty of promising talents, and a number of good and committed, senior players. What is missing badly though, is a senior player in our squad who has done it all and still has the hunger and leadership skills to take this team forward; just like Frank Rijkaard did twenty years ago.

Unfortunately, we do not have any players out there who have an Arsenal background and won it all, and are still fit enough to lead our team back to glory in the space of one to three years. Maybe Thierry could still do it, but I reckon it is too late for that now.

For the last two seasons, I have been hoping that either Van Bommel or Seedorf would come to Arsenal, just for one or two seasons. I felt, and still feel, strongly we are lacking such an experienced player for the reasons described above.

Van Bommel: always giving his all, and hard as nails.

Van Bommel is a hard and very experienced player with a real winner’s mentality. He won the CL with Barcelona and the League in four different countries (Holland, Germany, Spain and Italy). He is now at PSV Eindhoven where he plays regularly and has not lost his hunger for success at all. He is mentoring the fine Dutch prospect Strootman into a future ‘Van Bommel’ and also the Belgian talent of Mertens, and PSV are in a good position to win the Dutch League this year – a feat they have not achieved in the last four years (after winning it four times in a row between 2004-2008).

Van Bommel would have been the ideal signing for us this summer. He would have played alongside Jack or Arteta in our ‘2’ in midfield, and led the team by example. He would have taught the likes of Jack, Aaron, Francis and even Arteta and Cazorla the darker arts of football, as well as positional awareness and overcoming setbacks. I can just imagine him in the dressing room after a disjointed first half against a top-team: he would single-handedly change the mood.

The same goes for Clarence Seedorf: also a multi-silverware winner and somebody with great leadership and mentoring skills. He has won five league titles and the CL four times; and with three different clubs. He would have been a fine mentor and have made a great impact on our youngsters. Seedorf, to everybody’s surprise, decided to finish his career in Brazil, where he is now playing for Botafogo.

Both Seedorf and Van Bommel would not have had to play in every game for us. Just once a week would have been enough to have had a fantastic impact on our team.

We are desperate for one or two quality, experienced veterans who have won everything and can act as leaders and mentors to our aspiring squad for a few seasons. In my view, Arsenal missed a great opportunity in not signing up either of them this summer.

Younger players love to learn from the masters, so they can become one themselves

There might be other very experienced, multi-silverware winning, senior players who could make a real difference at Arsenal for one or two years. He would also need to have good command of the English language and earn instant respect from our talented youngster: any ideas?

Written by: Total Arsenal.

Why are Arsenal 2nd half performances so much better? A theory.

February 21, 2013February 21, 2013TotalArsenal

This is a question I am sure many of you have asked yourself recently. Most will have heard this statistic by now: if only second half performances would count in the PL, Arsenal would be top of the league! Incredible stuff!

Why is it that we start not just sluggishly in midfield and attack, but also so poorly defensively this season? Especially against the top teams we have handed the game to them through bad defensive mistakes in the early stage of the first half, time and time again.

Yet, come the second half and we are usually firing from all cylinders. The team seems to be transformed after the half time breaks: starting with real purpose and shape to our football, and fully determined to win the game at all cost. Why cannot we play with the same intensity and focus from the start? Is there something wrong with our preparations? Do our players need a rollocking at half time to make them play better; or is it more to do with tactical adjustments?

I have been thinking about this situation for quite a while and I will share some of my thoughts with you in this post. But please join in with your arguments as well, as together we might get a bit closer to the truth regarding this bizarre situation.

Paradoxically, the fact that we do so much better in the second halves of our games compared to the first ones, is both disturbing and filling us with hope. If we could only spread out our form for the entire 90 minutes of the game, our performances would increase significantly.

But why aren’t we?

I reckon Arsene and Steve do little in terms of specific tactical preparation with the team prior to a match, as in analysing an opponent’s weaknesses and strengths and determining a bespoke strategy on how to beat them. I don’t know this for sure, but going with Fabregas’ comments regarding this subject a while ago, I reckon there must be some truth in it.

Arsene is a strong believer in playing our own game/ style of football and this should overcome everything that is put in front of us. He is not alone in this: any manager who believes in a ‘total football’ approach tends to focus their energy on perfecting the system rather than adjusting it every time, depending on whom we play against. Johan Cruijff, Louis van Gaal, Guardiola, Jurgen Klopp, etc do/did it to a large extent. If the system is made perfect and maintained in that way, it will deliver the very best there is: highly attractive and very successful football.

However, it is not easy to get to a level where the team can conquer all: it takes a lot of time and effort. And it really does not help that our best players – including our two previous captains – have left us in mini-droves over the last few seasons.

I reckon, Arsene is struggling at the moment to get the team to play once more his football philosophy and tactical concept to the required levels. I really do not think our players lack the motivation when they start a game, but somehow it is not clicking between the players, and as a result, they simply underperform collectively.

At half time, Wenger and Bould can talk to the players about specifics that are not being done the way they should be done in a particular game. As a result, the players come out with a clear picture of how to be more effective and with more collective belief that they can turn things round. The turnaround in performances, from the first half to the second half, have been significant this season.

I reckon the longer the team plays together the better they will understand, and be able to execute, Arsene’s system of football and associated tactical principles. Hopefully, the team will start playing as well in the first halves as they do in the second halves, as soon as possible. It would make a big difference to the remainder of our season.

But how do you explain our underperformances in the first half, and what should Arsenal do differently?

Written by: Total Arsenal.

Review + ratings: How much further will the once mighty Arsenal fall?

February 17, 2013February 17, 2013TotalArsenal

Arsenal have now been knocked out of the FA and Capital One Cups when fielding relatively strong starting line-ups. What does this say about our first team squad? There were no positives that came out of this game and there are no excuses that we were only able to generate two to three decent scoring opportunities against a Championship side. Our creativity and tactics are incredibly stale and we have no answer to teams who efficiently “park the bus” in front of goal. After today’s performance, I can only envision the doom that awaits us on Tuesday vs. Bayern Munich.

Arsene decided to field a veteran starting line-up in what appeared to be Arsenal’s best opportunity at lifting silverware this year. However, in typical Arsenal fashion, we started off the match very sloppy with a few misplaced passes and searching long balls to absolutely no one. Eventually, an Arteta interception led to some good link up play between Rosicky and Ox that eventually settled us down. From there, we started establishing our presence as the better team and knocked the ball around quite well. The majority of our attacks came from the right side with Ox and Coquelin threatening with good runs and link up play, but much like our overall game, the delivery in the final third left much to be desired.

For the first half hour of the game, Blackburn exerted high pressure on our back four, which made it extremely difficult for us to move the ball into their half. As a result, we had very few scoring chances during this period, and our best ones came from corners, which were, however, executed horribly time and again. Our best opportunity to take the lead in the first half was created on a quick through ball by little Mozart, but was ultimately ruined by an awful shot wide of goal by Gervinho. The only other decent attempt on goal in the first half, came from a Diaby header off a corner that required a brilliant save from Kean to keep the game level.

At the end of the first half, Arsenal had 70% possession and 12 corners, yet had absolutely nothing to show for it as the game remained 0-0.

For some reason, Arsene decided to swap Gervinho and Ox on the wings in the second half and our offensive play seemed to suffer as a result. Gervinho had been much more effective down the left in the first half, and Ox had linked up well with Rosicky and Coquelin down the right. As usual, we lacked creativity and penetration in the final third and our whole team was too stationary in the build-up. Our defence remained as untested as it did in the first half, and Blackburn continuously turned over the ball on misplaced passes.

However, the opposition did play with more attacking intent after the restart. The closest we came to scoring in this half came from a Rosicky strike that beat Kean, but unfortunately struck the crossbar.

With the game seemingly at a stand still, Arsene opted for a triple substitution to bring on our best three attacking players in Jack, Theo and Santi in the 70^th minute, to hopefully freshen our approach and have the same positive effect as they did vs. Brighton.

However, within two minutes of the triple substitution, Blackburn was able to capitalize on some questionable defending by Coquelin, and Kazim-Richards scored on a miskick.

The Blackburn goal finally inspired some urgency in Arsenal’s attacking play, but it was to no avail as Blackburn successfully defended their lead by parking the bus and clogging the box with 10 men (as they had all game). There’s no excuse for the horrible performance on our home turf and we never deserved to win that game, especially with such few scoring chances against a team like Blackburn.

Our tactics have been stale for quite some time, and our players constantly beat a dead horse with a stick by sending in crosses into the box clogged with opposition players, and standing and contemplating how to break down a “park the bus” defense.

Player Ratings:

Szczesny (7.0) – Szczes was not at fault for the goal today and made the initial save. However, with two shots on goal, typically I would hope that we would not concede. Not much else can be said.

Monreal (7.0) – He got involved a fair bit offensively and made some nice runs forward and found himself on the end of some nice, leading passes. However, his crossing and balls played in the final third need to be better. Good aggressive play when without possession of the ball, Nacho was one of the few bright spots in today’s performance.

Vermaelen (5.5) – Part of me still thinks that he could have tried to jump and clear Kazim-Richards’ fluke goal. It almost seemed as though he just stood on the goal line and watched the ball go in off the post (granted the shot bounced quite high). Still, I’m not sure what kind of coverage our back four were playing when the goal went in and Vermaelen was not marking anyone.

Koscielny (6.0) – On the Blackburn goal, he ran over to try and compensate for Coquelin’s awful coverage and unfortunately Vermaelen did not run across the pitch to cover for Kos. Aside from that, he made a nice surging run in the first half to keep the play alive and was aggressive in pressuring Blackburn for turnovers.

Coquelin (6.0) – His awful defensive coverage on the Blackburn goal spoiled an otherwise good performance. His crossing was also very poor, but aside from that Coquelin was aggressive in his challenges and won the ball back cleanly on numerous occasions. He ran forward to join the attack and was composed when carrying the ball up the pitch.

Arteta (5.5) – He had a few nice interceptions that prevented Blackburn from setting up in our zone, but was largely invisible today. He was nowhere to be seen in coverage on the Blackburn goal and misplaced some passes late in the game, which is very unusual for the Spaniard. He also should have done much better with his shot on goal that hit the side netting in extra time. I’ve come to expect a lot more from Arteta and he never really seemed to settle into the game and lead the play from the back.

Diaby (5.0) – Lots of misplaced passes today and several turnovers from holding the ball for too long at the edge of the opponent’s box at a crucial point in the game. He’s supposed to be a great box-to-box presence that can run with the ball up and down the pitch but not once did we see that ability today. Diaby did have a quality header on goal that was turned away by a great diving save, along with stripping the ball off a Blackburn player on one counter attack and a good link-up play with Rosicky in the first half.

Rosicky (7.5) – Little Mozart was our best starter on the pitch today and every time he touched the ball, he tried to make something happen. Too often, Arsenal fall victim to sideways and backwards passing, but Rosicky made sure that we pushed forward as often as possible. Rosicky was unlucky to not have anything to show for his hard work, as Gervinho wasted his perfect break away pass and his own shot struck the crossbar.

Gervinho (5.0) – His brutal shot wide of goal after Rosicky played a perfect ball to him in stride highlighted Gervinho’s afternoon. Gervinho often found himself overwhelmed in the opponent’s box and never took on defenders effectively. His passing was also a little off and most of our attacking play from the left side came from Nacho in the first half. Gerv did make a couple nice plays in the first half by dribbling the ball past defenders into empty space, but never really threatened the opposition. His form dipped even further after AW’s decision to play him on the right in the second half.

Giroud (6.0) – Our big CF was also invisible today and was not making his typical good movements to get into scoring opportunities. The center of the pitch was so clogged that we tried to focus our attack down the wings, but we really could have used a more mobile striker to make some runs behind their defense. Giroud also did not really find himself on the end of any headers, though he did work hard to try and get involved in the game chasing down balls out wide on the pitch.

Oxlade-Chamberlain (6.5) – Ox made several nice runs with the ball today and drove our team forward down the right flank, but his corners and crossing left much to be desired. His general play in the final third was wanting and he took some questionable shots on goal that were well wide of the mark. Just like Gervinho, when he switched to the left side in the second half, he became invisible and ineffective.

Wilshere, Walcott and Cazorla (Incomplete) – Jack and Theo each found a way to get through the stubborn Blackburn defensive shell, yet both were unsuccessful in scoring or creating a goal. If Theo’s header had gone anywhere but right at the keeper, he likely would have scored and Nacho should have taken Jack’s over the top pass first time in the air. In the end, all three had a minimal effect on the game and we were unable to solve Blackburn’s “park the bus” defense. If all three were afforded more time, they may have been able to get Arsenal on the board, but it’s tough to make a significant impact down 1-0 with only twenty minutes of playing time.

Whether you want to blame today’s performance on players who were rusty and did not have a sufficient run of games to find form or on a bad bounce that led to Blackburn’s goal, one thing is clear: there is no excuse to only be creating so few quality scoring opportunities against a lower division team. Losses in cup matches are always possible, but to lose in the manner we did today was a disgrace. Any momentum we may have had from the previous two league games has now vanished and squad morale will be low going into our David vs. Goliath match this coming Tuesday.

Another season goes by and likely another year without silverware. How much further will the once mighty Arsenal fall?

Written by: Highbury Harmony

Did you see Sagna celebrating our victory? Time to sign him up!

February 15, 2013February 15, 2013TotalArsenal

When referee Taylor blew an end to the game at the Stadium of Light, nobody was more pleased with having kept a clean sheet than Sagna. Bacary’s celebration was only partly captured by the TV cameras, but when I paused the image it became fully clear what his, and the team’s, performance meant to him.

His arms are stretched out horizontally and his head is raised to the heavens, no doubt primal screaming out his delight over the hard fought victory. Just have a look at SlimSwaidy’s excellent video below, and pause the game at 3.23 minutes:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NJtwxEuOWgE

We are all quick to judge people and Bacary has had a lot of criticism recently. It really annoyed me how many fellow Gooners were starting to write him off after a few slightly under-par performances; not just from a technical and physical point of view, but also in terms of lacking desire and attitude, and not caring about Arsenal at all. One of our most reliable and committed Gunners was left hung out to dry, and that goes against anything true support is all about.

Well, last Saturday’s performance against Sunderland showed us all, once again, what a true warrior and Gunner Bacary is. If and when he makes a mistake again, please remember his truly fantastic performance against the Black Cats; and especially, keep in mind his celebration at the end of the game. This guy cares; this warrior is a true Gunner!

This sort of motivation is priceless, and you only have to look at the lacklustre performances by Manchester City against Liverpool and Southampton recently, to understand why. No team, however good technically and tactically, can do without at least a number of players fighting for the shirt; with an intrinsic desire to give their all and win at all costs.

In my view, the first team is now full of these sorts of players; Szczesny, Gibbs, Koz, Vermaelen, BFG, Sagna, Jenkinson, Rosicky, Wilshere, Ramsey, Arteta, Cazorla, Theo, Giroud, and to a slightly lesser extent, Podolski, are all players who give everything for the shirt during every game.

Some of these players are not necessary outspoken, extrovert players on the pitch: the likes of Arteta, Cazorla, Koz, Sagna, Ramsey and to a certain extent our captain, Vermaelen, just get on with their job as best as they can, whilst always giving their all to the team.

Others like Szczesny, Theo, BFG, Wilshere and Giroud are becoming more and more vocal and extrovert; motivating themselves and their fellow players, and the supporters, in the process.

Especially Jack is making an incredible difference, and without him we are significantly weaker: not only in terms of the shape and impetus he gives to our football, but also, and most importantly, through his drive and real desire to fight for a win. Is he less important for us at Arsenal than Bale at the Spuds? Absolutely not: Jack is the engine and embodies the necessary ‘culture’ or attitude of our team going forwards. Without him we will struggle.

But Jack is young and needs older players around him with the same passion and drive as him. And there is no doubt that Bacary is one of them. He became 30 yesterday, and the sooner we can sign him up for the next three to four years the better.

Written by: Total Arsenal.

Sunderland Review: Szczesny & Sagna our Fiercest Warriors in Impressive Team Display

February 10, 2013TotalArsenal

We always knew Sunderland would be a tough, physical matchup considering their track record of being a solid defensive squad, and the pointless International friendlies that were scheduled midweek. Fortunately, Arsenal were able to escape the Stadium of Light with a much needed three points that catapulted us over Everton to fifth place before their clash with Manchester United later today. This game was a true test of our character since we had to weather out the storm for 28 minutes with only 10 men.

Before the game even started, we were thrown a curveball with Koscielny not feeling well and Sagna having to deputize for him at the CB position, with Jenkinson filling in at RB.

The first half began with strong physical play from both sides, with both Cattermole and Jenkinson making some careless challenges resulting in yellow cards. The physical play continued throughout the half with Sunderland players targeting Jack and Theo at every possible opportunity. It was a pleasure to see Ramsey, Jack and Arteta respond with some physical play of their own and take down some Sunderland players in the process. Arsenal was full of attacking intent and we came at them with pace and astute passing that broke down their defense on numerous occasions. As Sagna pointed out in an interview with Arsenal.com earlier this week, the free flowing nature of our attack often leaves us susceptible to counter attacks, and Sunderland had a couple quality chances themselves to get on the board. Theo was particularly dangerous with the ball at his feet and Sunderland seemingly stood still and watched him, as he easily maneuvered around their defense and created a few quality scoring chances. However, Mignolet was looking like he’d be impossible to beat after making some fantastic saves and us being too wasteful in front of goal; we were all left wondering if this would eventually come back to haunt us yet again.

Fortunately, after several missed chances, Santi was finally able to give us the lead in the 35^th minute on a fantastic cross crease strike.

The second half started exactly how the first half finished, with both teams trading chances and plenty of physical battles. Jack left the field in the 50^th minute after being fouled by N’Diaye and it was more of a precautionary measure by Wenger, since he had played a full match midweek vs. Brazil. Twelve minutes later, Jenkinson fouled Sessegnon after he was beat and collected his second yellow card of the game and was sent off the pitch.

From there, Sunderland took the game to us and continued to challenge our defense and threatened to score. Steven Fletcher had the best chance to equalize on a clear one on one with Szczesny but was denied by aggressive play from our stopper. Sessegnon gave us trouble on both flanks all game and had a few quality chances to score but some poor decision making kept them scoreless.

Theo had the best opportunity to give us a two-goal cushion when Santi sent him in on a clear break, but the post denied his chip shot over Mignolet. Arsenal was able to hold onto the clean sheet and the crucial three points, thanks to some outstanding saves by Szczesny and headers/clearances by Giroud, Mertesacker and Sagna late in the game.

Player ratings:

Szczesny (9.0) – My MoTM and the main reason Arsenal were able to keep a clean sheet. Szczes was certainly the difference maker today as he made 6 quality saves, with three late in the game (Fletcher one on one, in addition to Fletcher and Bramble headers). Good aggressive play on challenging shooters and jumping for high balls in our 18-yard box by our young keeper.

Monreal (7.5) – Nacho is already looking like he’s played with Arsenal for a while and adds stability to the LB position. His phenomenal first touch on controlling balls in the air was there for everyone to witness and he made all the right passes and runs in the offensive zone. Sessegnon did beat him in the first half, however he was trouble for us all night and the defensive lapse never even led to a shot on goal.

Mertesacker (7.0) – The BFG positioned himself well to make some great clearance headers at the end of the game and kept our back line well organized throughout the contest. His one major mistake came in the second half when he cleared a ball right at Fletcher that gave him a clear chance to equalize. Fortunately, Szczesny bailed him out.

Sagna (8.5) – I thought Sagna did a magnificent job filling in for Koscielny at center half. He was very disciplined defensively and never risked his positioning by venturing forward to join the attack. He added a nice physical presence in the heart of our defense and made some game saving clearances in the second half. For me, he was the one of out best players on the pitch today, and it’ll be interesting to see if he’ll get another chance at the CB position.

Jenkinson (6.0) – In the first half, Jenkinson was very steady, joined the attack well and mitigated any risks by clearing the ball out when under pressure. However, in the second half he was beat by Sessegnon on two occasions and one eventually led to his ejection from the game. Both of his fouls were rightfully penalized and they were careless tackles that he could have avoided with better positioning. The sending off put our team under a lot of pressure to come out with the three points and his rating is reflective of this. He might deserve more of a break since it was his first PL start in a while, but I would have to like to have seen Jenks be more disciplined in his tackling.

Arteta (7.5) – Our squad is more organized when he’s in the lineup and he sets up the play from deep with astute passing and vocally dictating to players where the open spaces are. On counter attacks, he would often aggressively challenge the opposition and concede free kicks to allow the rest of our team to catch up. He effectively killed some time near the end of the game by holding on to the ball and not rushing the play up field for a counter attack. However, he made one visible mistake when he questionably held on to the ball and lost possession against a pressing N’Diaye right in front of our back four.

Ramsey (8.5) – Has there been a player who has made greater improvements over the last few weeks than Ramsey? Much like Arteta, he was aggressive in challenging the opposition on counter attacks, defended the RB position against Sessegnon once Jenkinson was sent off the pitch and ran up and down the field the entire game. In the first half, he made some good penetrating passes in the offensive zone and had a great shot on goal that was met by a fantastic diving save. His rating would have been higher had it not been for his wasted breakaway shot right at Mignolet just before the first half.

Wilshere (7.0) – He never really had the opportunity to settle into the game and establish himself since Sunderland’s focus was to foul him and take him out. Still, in the 50 minutes he did play, he effectively drove our team forward and helped dissect Sunderland’s defense. However, Jack uncharacteristically had some misplaced passes in the final third that led to quick counters for Sunderland in the first half.

Cazorla (8.5) – Santi was all over the pitch and his rest last week vs. Stoke seemed to rejuvenate him. Our most dangerous player offensively, he was the main beneficiary of Sunderland’s defense zoning in on Jack. He was given space to move around the pitch and played some dangerous balls in the final third and opened up Sunderland’s stingy defense. His goal in the first half proved to be the match winner and his slick pass to Theo in the second half would have been a nice complement to the performance he put in today. With that said, his shot over the bar near the end of the game was very questionable and it gave Sunderland one more chance to attack down field for the equalizer.

Giroud (7.5) – Defensively, Giroud did all we could ask for from a striker; he ran up and down the pitch to help out at both ends, pressured Sunderland’s defense to rush the ball up field and made some crucial clearances with his head when we were down to 10 men. His movements were great as he got himself into prime scoring areas but his finishing left much to be desired. He had a beautiful pass that sent Ramsey in alone and was involved in other dangerous link-up plays that led to quality scoring opportunities. However, he was also at fault for holding on to the ball for too long and getting stripped, in addition to a few other misplaced passes that stopped our attacking momentum in the first half. His decision to shoot (well over the goal) on a quick break near the end of the game, when he had open men to his left and right, thankfully did not cost us. Hopefully Giroud’s finishing will improve in time for the critical clash vs. Bayern in the CL.

Walcott (7.5) – Theo’s darting runs with the ball really helped set the tone for Arsenal in the first half. He created so many scoring opportunities for himself that it was disappointing to see him miss on all four of his clear scoring chances. Much like Giroud, his lackluster finishing could have cost us on other days, but fortunately not today. Even though he did not score, his overall performance was solid and he contributed an assist on Santi’s goal. Also worth mentioning was that he honoured his defensive responsibilities today, especially when we were down to 10 men and helped Ramsey defend Sessegnon.-

Diaby (6.5) – He came onto the pitch at a disadvantage since we were down to 10 men, 12 minutes into his substitute appearance. It’s difficult to make an immediate impact coming cold off the bench and it was evident in some early give-aways by Diaby. As the game continued, he started being more careful with the ball and was involved at both ends of the pitch. His physical presence in the midfield was exactly what we needed to see out the one goal lead.

Miquel (Incomplete) – He made a late cameo appearance to help protect our one goal lead. It would have been nice to have seen him play more minutes to help discover if we have a quality fourth choice CB. I believe that had Jenkinson not been sent off and if we had been winning by more than one goal, he would have been brought on as a substitute earlier in the second half for Jenkinson, with Sagna being pushed out to RB again.

Final conclusions

With both Chelsea and Tottenham winning their home games today, it was vitally important to return from Sunderland with three hard fought points in the bag. Arsenal played a game of two halves, but both halves contained really good stuff.

In the first half, we were able to dominate play for large periods and create a number of fine opportunities, and some of our football was simply sublime. However, we were wasteful and only scored one goal which kept Sunderland in the game.

In the second half, Arsenal’s resolve was tested by the combination of Jack’s injury and Jenkinson’s sending off. We have often been questioned by the media and pundits if Arsenal are a club that has what it takes to grind out wins like today’s; there was a willingness to fight for every ball and defend our lead at any cost. All the players played well in protecting our lead, but a special mention to both Szczesny and Sagna who fought with pride for the shirt and led the team by example.

Arsene should now be able to rotate a few players for our game against Blackburn in the FA Cup. This means that some of our key players may be rested for ten days before our CL round of 16 tie with Bayern.

A good result today and perfect preparation for two important games coming up.

Written by: Highbury Harmony.

Time to let the Invincibles go

February 5, 2013TotalArsenal

A combination of a proud history, a glorious recent past, a new 60,000 capacity stadium, and continuous top-four finishes, have raised our expectations to dizzying heights over the last few years. Having high expectations, rather than high hopes, is a recipe for unhappiness; and many fellow Gooners have fallen victim to the former rather than opting for the latter.

Arsenal football club has everything going for it, except fans’ patience. After seven years without silverware this is fully understandable; and yet patience, trust, and continuous belief are now required more than ever before.

Success is virtually always cyclical: it comes and it goes and then it comes again, etc. I guess the one exception to the rule are Manchester United, who under Ferguson, have subsequently weathered French and Portuguese storms to somehow keep winning things. It all remains to be seen whether they would have won as much, or even anything, in the last eight years, if Wenger had been able to keep his players and spent more money on quality signings; and Abramovic had chosen for stability and consistency, and had worked harder on somehow bridging his differences with the ‘Special One’. But let’s give credit where it is due.

I am proud of our past, and especially our glorious recent history; and it gives me enormous pleasure to think back about the great football we have played. The Mancs might have won more silverware, but the quality of our football, epitomised by the phenomenal achievement of the Invincibles, is what football fans – Gooners as well as non-Gooners – will still remember in twenty, fifty, maybe even a hundred years from now.

However, the past is the past for me, and I enjoy the here and now as much as anything; despite our football being nowhere near as good as before, during and even after the Invincibles era.

Among a significant number of fans there tends to be a need to compare our current performances and (lack of) achievements with those of the recent past; as long as Arsenal do not at least achieve the same in the here and now, they remain dissatisfied. This is exactly the high price that comes with becoming very successful during a sustained period: rather than appreciating and accepting its specialness, we tend to make it our new norm; our yardstick against which our future performances and successes will be measured. This comparison is very likely to lead to dissatisfaction, and in some cases, resentment and anger. You only have to surf certain corners of the Arsenal blogosphere to find the raw evidence for this.

Leaving the past for what it is, and not comparing the current performances of our team constantly against it, whilst realistically assessing our current position, will lead to more realistic expectations; and as a result more inner peace and enjoyment of our football. Easier said than done, but it is as simple as that!

I am also not going to tell you that the future will bring us silverware again: there are no guarantees. Saying that everything will be fine in a couple of years is equally as nonsensical as comparing the here and now constantly to the past.

Arsenal made the strategic decision to build a bigger stadium in order to compete better with MU and the European top teams in the future, but the arrival of oil money meant clubs could, from one day to the next, spend vast amounts of money without having to worry about the enormous losses and debt they were creating. The new reality bit our mighty team firmly in the arse: not only could we not afford to buy the sort of players Chelsea and MC were able to, they also successfully enticed our carefully developed players away.

There are plenty of reason to be positive about the future, as FFP should come to our rescue, but it all remains to be seen what will happen over the next few years: we should always expect the unexpected, which could be very positive as well as negative.

Arsenal are not going to win the league and we will most probably not win the CL, but we might have a slightly better chance to win the FA-cup. The key thing is, though, to look at the here and now and we have still four months of football to enjoy: every game matters and there is beauty to be discovered in each and every one of them.

Not everyone has realised yet that we have started a new journey this season: we are going through a full blown transition and slowly but steadily the building stones of Arsene’s latest attempt at Wengerball are becoming visible:

A British core of very talented players with real passion for the club;
The acquisition of predominantly Spanish and German quality, experienced players;
The upwards push of talents coming through from our player development system;
The removal of players who have not made the grade by either selling them or loaning them out till their contracts expire, or just letting them run out their contracts;
All key players have been signed up on long term contracts now, which should enable us to hold on to players, at least in the next few years;
More money available from now on, to both hold on to players better – by steadily and responsibly increasing their salaries if and when appropriate – and attract two or three quality players every season.

With these building blocks as the basis of the club’s strategy of making us competitive at the highest level again, these are exciting times; especially if you can refrain from constantly comparing our current performances with those of the Invincibles era, and you can see the progress the team is making.

We are on a journey and who knows where it will end. But isn’t it exciting we are moving forwards again, albeit slowly? Yes, there are likely to be further set-backs, as our transition is not yet completed, but Arsene now has the tools and funds to further improve the team, if and when required.

If you can let go of the past a bit, and manage to swap your high expectations with high hopes; and mainly look for the positive developments in our football and in our team, you might start enjoying our football a lot more.

Carpe Diem.

Written by: Total Arsenal.

Arsenal v Stoke: Lucas finds the Pod-hole, Nacho impresses, bullies get bullied

February 3, 2013TotalArsenal

Stoke parked the bus but Lucas found a way through the Pod-holes.

In a way it was nice to see a team park the bus against us again, as it allowed our team to control the game and find its shape and rhythm. On the other hand, the lack of space combined with the disciplined defending of Stoke showed up our lack of guile and penetration on too many occasions yesterday. We know that Theo works best on the wing when he can combine his speed and good first touch with being played into space, and Ox is not that much different; although he is better able to take on a defender from a standing still position.

Yesterday’s game screamed out for Gervinho. As said many times before, he is the only player who is comfortable with attacking a congested flank and get himself into the box with the ball. This is such an important commodity to have when teams park the bus against us, and I felt we missed him yesterday.

It took an ugly goal – a deflected free-kick by Podolski – to find a way through the parked layer of busses yesterday, but who cares. It was exactly what we deserved and the happiness on the Pod’s face, combined with the joyous, collective team celebration – good to see Nacho joining in straightaway – told us all what it meant to the players.

Nacho impressive debut.

Nacho did fantastically well! He was still a Malaga player less than 48 hours before the kick-off, and yet Nacho was able to boss his area and contribute to our attack as if he never played for another club than Arsenal. First impressions are very good: he is fast, hard as nails if needed, reads the game well, good crosser of the ball, and has both stamina and desire to keep supporting our attack. Highbury Harmony aka The Gooner already told us what a good player Arsenal had bought and yesterday’s performance showed indeed a lot of promise.

The Ox’s horns still need strengthening, and the whole team lacked composure up-front.

Alex was played on the left wing against Stoke, and I thought he did ok. The Ox missed two very good chances of which Podolski would probably have converted at least one. This is where he really needs to start improving now: converting chances/ scoring goals.

When a team parks the bus, it is important to take your early chances, and Arsenal had a spell of just a couple of minutes in which they had three decent opportunities: Ox missed; Giroud inexplicably headed towards his fellow players in the box, whilst there was a decent gap on the keeper’s left side to head towards, and Koz headed a decent chance straight at Begovic.

It is fair to say that as team Arsenal were not clinical enough and on another day we could have ended up with just the one point. However, after having scored a great number of goals in the last dozen games, this is not an area we should worry about much at the moment.

Diaby and Arteta properly protect our defence, but they should also have supported Jack and Giroud more in the middle of our attack.

It was good to see Arteta back in the deeper DM role, which he combined well with Diaby. Defensively our midfield did a great job, as they never allowed Stoke out of their trenches even when they wanted to. However, with our flanks being restricted by Stoke during large parts of the game – despite Wilshere’s constant endeavours to find a way through – I would have liked to see Diaby or Arteta to move more into the area in front of Stoke’s ‘D’. Especially Diaby has the qualities to hold onto the ball there and play other team mates in, or penetrate the Stoke bus himself and have a shot at goal.

We were surprisingly physical and ‘together’, and the quality on the bench made the difference today.

I really liked the way we handled Stoke today from a physical point of view. Our approach was perhaps epitomised by Arteta’s fair but hard tackle on Owen late on in the game. It was the sort of tackle we have had to endure many times in our encounters with the Orcs in recent years. It was good to see Arsenal handle the physical side really well, as it looked our players had mentally prepared themselves for a tough battle, and yet not a single yellow card was collected by the team.

But ultimately, it was the quality on our bench which made the difference. The combined arrival of Podolski and Cazorla brought new impetus and thrust, which meant we did not relent our attacking efforts and kept trying to find a hole through the parked bus. Eventually our efforts paid off, and with Chelsea losing and Everton drawing unexpectedly at home against Aston Villa, this hard fought win really helped our push for a top three/four finish. Well done to the boys.

Written by: Total Arsenal.

Stoke Preview: Nacho and Santi to power the left wing?

February 2, 2013February 2, 2013TotalArsenal

Ramsey and Diaby to fight their demons – Jack back in ‘the hole’ – Nacho and Santi to power the left wing?

For tomorrow’s game against Stoke I am hoping for a strong performance in the following areas:

Composure and organisational discipline at the back;
Dominance in midfield;
Effective wings;
Composure and clinical finishing up-front.

I know the above is not rocket science, and I am sure you will agree that if Arsenal does well in those areas on Saturday, we shall win the game with relative ease. However, we know that Arsenal are nowhere near a settled team, and that despite all the qualities our squad possesses, we continue to struggle in the above mentioned areas.

Here are some worrying, but also fascinating, facts I copied of the BBC football website:

Opta statistics show that Arsenal have made more errors leading directly to a goal than any other team in the Premier League this season (13).
There have been 50 Premier League goals scored at the Emirates Stadium this season – more than at any other ground [Arsenal scored 32 goals at home, joined top with MU, but we also conceded 18 goals; 50% more than in our away games!].
If games began in the second half, Arsenal would be second in the table with 46 points, two points behind Manchester City.

Paradoxically, the above tells us Arsenal have a lot of work to do, and yet we are not that far away from being a lot more successful: we scored as many goals as MU and only conceded three more goals than them in the PL at home this season, but yet the Mancs won eleven games out of twelve, and we managed to win just six – hence the enormous gap between us and them in the league table.

Defence

With Vermaelen a doubt, it will probably be the BFG and Koz as our two CB’s. Sagna could do with a rest, but against the very physical site of the Orcs, Wenger will probably go for him again rather than Jenkinson.

At left back, it will either be Santos or our new signing: Nacho. It is a big decision for Wenger to make: does he give Santos another chance to prove himself, or will he be worried the Brazilian will mess up badly and the home crowd will go ballistic? Is it too soon to play Nacho; given the amount of change he had to deal with in the last 24 hours, and his unfamiliarity with his team-mates and Arsenal’s playing style? I reckon it is, but Wenger might feel he has no other choice. The heart says; let’s play Nacho, but the brain says; it will be Santos. Aah stuff it; it has to be Nacho on Saturday!

Midfield

The midfield is again interesting. It looks like Arteta might be back, although he will get a final test on Saturday morning. In a way, I would like both Ramsey and Diaby to start as our two deeper laying midfielders. I would like them to fight for the shirt; to give their all and boss the Stoke midfield physically, technically, and tactically. It would do their confidence a world of good and might help them to put their – mutual leg-break induced – inner demons to rest.

However, if Arteta is fit to play, Arsene is likely to reinstate him, and my gut-feeling tells me Diaby will play next to him, which means that Jack can be moved back into the hole position. I reckon that’s where Jack is at his best and the team plays a lot better with him there; as he conducts our football so well, and adds a real attacking thrust to our game.

It could give Arsene the opportunity to play Santi on the left once more; where he can help Nacho to settle into the team and form a smooth and effective partnership against Stoke. We need at least one wing functioning well on Saturday, and it would be good if we could release the pressure on Sagna a bit. Last season, the Sagna-Theo partnership was one of our best weapons, but with Theo moving towards the middle almost constantly, and Santi Cazorla regularly not helping out either, Sagna does often not get enough support to be really effective; despite trying his hardest to help our attack constantly.

Attack

I reckon we might see Santi move into the LW position and the Pod start on the bench for this game: Santi-Giroud-Theo. We need Giroud’s height, and Theo’s and Santi’s goal scoring and assist-producing abilities. And as said before, playing Santi on the left would enable him to support his former team mate Nacho as much as possible, during his first game for the club. The Pod would be perfect as a super-sub, if we were to need one against the Orcs.

Predicted Line-Up:

Arteta will play if declared fit; if not, it will be Ramsey

The line up is a strong one, and the bench will look good too: there is plenty of quality in our squad. But Saturday’s game is all about discipline and composure; about collective pressing and gelling; about taking our chances when they arise; about pride; and for once, about doing all of this for the entire duration of the game.

CoYG!

Written by: TotalArsenal.