Tag: Wilshere

Reading pre-view: Gervinho has to play, Jack to lead, Cazorla to assist better

TotalArsenal

Arsenal-vs-Reading-7-5

Three areas for Arsenal to focus on during our game against Reading game.

It has been a long wait since that humiliating cup-exit almost a week ago, but tonight Arsenal will finally get the chance to make up for it. In order to do so, we need to see a number of improvements from our game against Bradford City, and it will go either really well or not well at all.

In a way, the game against Reading is pretty similar to the game against BC: Reading are bottom of the league and we are the favourites to win tonight, but we all know that if Arsenal are not fully focussed and give their all, we could end up with another painful away loss.

Area one: The shape of the team and system of football.

This is the main area of concern at the moment: Arsenal are desperately seeking their identity, their style of play and shape of the team. In my view, Arsenal have not played a version of Wengerball since the departure of Fabregas: last season we played a ‘plan-B’ for the entire season, and this year we continue to struggle to play the Arsenal way.

However, things are improving, despite the set-back against Bradford. With Jack getting better and better, he will be able to guard our shape and drive the team in the most central role of our 4-3-3 formation. With Arteta playing in the anchor role behind him, and Cazorla ahead of him, Wilshere holds the key in supporting our ‘back-five’, and linking up with the ‘front-four’ in order to instigate deadly attacking moves.

We also need Jack to inspire the team with his extrovert character and never-say-die attitude tonight. He might be young, and still not fully fit, but we need him to be able to put his stamp on the match: without it, it’s very unlikely we will find and keep our shape in this game.

Area two: Better service to our three attackers.

Other than the shape of the team, we are also struggling in providing our attackers with quality service. Cazorla has hardly had any assists in the last 12 PL games, and in the pivotal role that he plays in, this simply is not good enough.

I remember many fellow Gooners calling for us to shoot more and in Cazorla they now got what they asked for. The little Spaniard shoots whenever he can, but unfortunately, seldom scores; and many a chance goes to waste. I would like him to start concentrating again on setting up other players: his main aim should be to provide direct assists and indirect assists to Giroud and the wingers.

I am also hoping that our ‘wing-back’ play will become a lot more effective again. We are desperate for a steep improvement in our crossing ability to find the heads (or legs) of Giroud and Podolski. Both Sagna and Gibbs have to really concentrate and be more effective when going forward, and we need to see a far more fluid link-up play between the full-backs and the wingers tonight.

Area three: Proper wing-play to add a must needed dimension to our football.

This is another main area where we have struggled this season. In our 4-3-3 formation, we need effective wing-play to attack with speed and from the sides; to give us width and another dimension with regards to our attacking play. Yet, with Podolski and, I regret to say, Ox on the wings we have been far too predictable (also directly influenced by areas one and two, as per above).

That’s why I strongly believe we need to play Gervinho tonight – and I am assuming that Theo will not play tonight (or ever again for Arsenal?!). The Ivorian might have missed a number of seemingly easy chances recently, which has been very disappointing, but he is able to provide us with proper wing-play better than anybody else in our team at the moment.

Gervinho always makes himself available and once he has got the ball he seldom looses it. He is always keen to take on defenders and penetrate the opposition’s defensive shape, thus making things happen. In every game, he manages to get to the by-line at least a few times and set somebody up to score. I fully expected Ox to be able to do the same now, but it is somehow not happening for him; and the Pod is clearly not a proper winger and can only play on the wing if there is a proper winger on the right, and he gets the right support from his full-back. If this is not happening the Pod looks both ineffective and frustrated on the LW.

Other areas to focus on.

I have no doubt that Reading will try to press us continuously and will not let us settle. So we need to be up for it, and make sure we’ll pass the ball round a lot better than we have done recently. We also need to press them a lot better and that means the whole team has to take part in it and play as one tonight.

We we will also have to concentrate hard in defence, especially in the air during set-pieces. Let’s hope we will see good organisation and link-up between our defenders, and between the defence and the rest of the team.

Predicted Line-up:

Szczesny

Sagna – BFG – TV – Gibb

——–Arteta—Jack——–

———–Cazorla————-

Ox——–Giroud——Gerv

 

Preferred Line-up:

Szczesny

Sagna -– BFG –- TV -– Gibb

———-Arteta—Jack———

————Rosicky————–

Cazorla—-Giroud—–Gerv

I don’t need to tell you how desperate we are for a convincing win tonight.

Come on You Rip-Roaring Gunners!

Total Arsenal.

Arsenal 2 – 0 West Brom: eight positives to take from today’s game

TotalArsenal

Jack-Wilshere_20121001184001453_660_320

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Total Arsenal.

Five reasons why an Arsenal rebirth might be around the corner

TotalArsenal

images (4)

There are two corners Arsenal need to turn: the much needed short-term one, and the more strategic long-term one. This post is not about the latter, but only about whether Arsenal can get back to winning ways imminently.

In many ways, the start of the season has been bizarre:

  • How is it possible that we conceded 16 goals in the PL and MU 21, and yet they are 15 points better off than us?
  • How is it possible that we conceded only six goals in eight away games, yet only won two games, whilst MU conceded twelve but won six games on their journeys?
  • How is it possible that our four top-scorers in all competitions have scored only one less than MU’s four top-scorers, five more than Chelsea and four more than MC, and we are still trailing all three in the league?
  • Arsenal have scored 45 goals in all competitions; MU 50; Chelsea 55, and MC 40, and yet we are well behind all of them in the league.

Initially, I thought it was to do with our goal-scoring record in the Premier League this season. It has not been great, especially in away games, but we scored one goal less than Chelsea and are yet five points behind them; and four goals less than MC and we are an eye-watering twelve points behind them.

It is hard to come to any definite conclusion based on the above mentioned facts, but what they do tell me is that we are a team that needs to find a better balance between scoring goals and keeping a tight defence; that our team has not settled down yet and is still looking for its shape and rhythm.

Is it too easy to say; it is the price Arsenal have to pay for letting once again two (possible three) star players go and having to incorporate three attack-minded players into our team? Maybe it is, but we are where we are, and I am at this moment in time, much more interested in what can be done to properly kick-start the season, so Arsenal can get the balance right and start winning games again.

Five reasons why an Arsenal rebirth might be just around the corner:

  1. The core team is almost injury-free and I am sure it will not take long before they will start to gel better and find their rhythm: Szczesny, Sagna, Mert, Koz, TV, Gibbs, Arteta, Wilshere, Cazorla, Giroud, Rosicky, Theo and Podolski, can together turn the season round for us. Most of these players had a well-needed rest during the week and hopefully they used the time to talk to each other about how they can improve as a team. There are some very smart people in our core team and I am sure once they can click together, we will see a significant improvement in our entire team.
  2. Arsene has tried different formations and players in certain positions to see what works best during the last few weeks. Games came thick and fast and a combination of international breaks and fatigue of some of our core players, has not helped Arsene in finding the right balance. But he is a very experienced manager and has always been able to find a winning formational formula, and a way of getting the best out of the squad. I am confident we will see a far better purpose and shape to our football in the next few weeks.
  3. We need to win a couple of games and then be a bit lucky with keeping our very best players fit. Success in football is a lot to do with psychology, and a couple of wins would undoubtedly do wonders for our team. As Arsenal are still going through a transition, we appear to be extra vulnerable to injuries of key players and suffer disproportionately from squad rotations. This should improve during the season, but if we can win a few games, and the two above mentioned reasons hold up as well, Arsenal can go on a much needed winning run. It would do wonders to this season’s team; no doubt about that.
  4. Wilshere and Rosicky are the young and more mature club players who, with their skills as well as their hearts and leadership skills, are fully able to give our team its much needed identity and drive. Fingers crossed our little Mozart will last most if not all of the remaining season. Wilshere and Rosicky are very likely to become to on-field leaders we have been missing so much recently.
  5. The January transfer window. The Theo situation will surely be sorted one way or another in January and hopefully Arsenal will be sensible enough to add a couple of quality players. We could do with an experienced goalkeeper and LB, but even more importantly we need to add a beast of a DM and a quality and dedicated right winger.

For me, the above is not wishful thinking and there is every reason to believe the season will still come good. But then I am a glass-half-full sort of person.

However, I am less confident than I have been in previous seasons that Arsenal can turn the season round again. It is now time for Arsene and the boys to show us what they are capable off and lead us back to winning ways.

Come On You Rip Roaring Gunners!!!

Total Arsenal.

Vermaelen is the captain, but Arsenal are desperate for an on-field leader

TotalArsenal

images45

Our team is currently devoid of leadership: nobody is able to take the bull by the horns and pull us out of this pile of excrement.

Yesterday’s game against Swansea was the ideal opportunity to start Arsenal’s recovery, as a win would have taken us within only two points of third position in the league table. A lot of the recent negativity surrounding both the quality of our football and our position in the league would have been instantly forgotten, as the hunt for third would have become our main focus.

However, our collection of eleven players on the pitch never looked like winning yesterday; and more than the result, this is hurting us badly now. Of course, Swansea are not a bad team and their confidence was high; and nothing is better for not feeling fatigue than being on a good run. Swansea deserved their win, but it is also fair to say that we handed it to them by not finding a cutting edge throughout most of the game.

It is absolutely amazing that Arsenal can still look so disjointed and one-dimensional after 15 PL games. I still feel that all our players are working hard to make things happen, but football is a lot more than 11 players working hard and performing their roles as good as they can.

Without any doubt, the most important thing that Arsenal are lacking at the moment is on-field leadership. Everybody is hiding in that respect, or maybe it is just a case of not being able to lead; maybe we have a bunch of players who need to be led by a strong leader with excellent organisational skills. And who is going to do that?

Vermaelen is a fine CB and for me he is our first soldier in defence, but he is not a leader. Any leader would choose Vermaelen in his team, as he would give his all for them, but ultimately he is a specialist who should be left to concentrate on his defensive duties like a pit-bull terrier.

From an organisational point of view, I would prefer Mertesacker to be our captain, or maybe Arteta. Both have a good overview of the game and can organise a team really well. They both could do a far better job in leading the team on the field than Vermaelen currently does.

But I am actually starting to think we need something else now.

We need a new on-field hero: somebody with the energy and drive, the never-say-die attitude, and the ability to rouse the troops; somebody who can re-install belief and purpose in our football, and who understands what it means to play for Arsenal: somebody of the leadership pedigree of Adams or Vieira.

Until recently, I believed Jack is too young for this, but a leader needs to take to the stage when duty calls him.

Jack is the complete midfielder and has the fighting spirit to make things happen; he bleeds Arsenal and also has the required organisational skills to guard the shape of our team and the execution of Arsene’s philosophy of football on the pitch.

West Bromwich Albion v Arsenal Barclays Under-21 Premier League

It is time for a new hero. It is time for the giant-killer to start wielding his axe at Arsenal. Arsene has got to be brave a make changes now.

Total Arsenal.

“This is no time for ease and comfort. It is time to dare and endure”

Winston Churchill.

Wilshere’s temperament could make or break tomorrow’s game

TotalArsenal

Tomorrow’s game against the Spuds could well become an unforgettable one for Jack Wilshere. I have a feeling it will, but then I am a big fan of JW10 and, like many, have seen in him all along a great talent, who will one day lead our beloved Arsenal to glory.

I am not saying he is ready yet, and I agree to a certain extent with those who have been saying we should not expect too much of Jack yet. However, my gut-feeling is telling me tomorrow will be his day.

In previous posts on Bergkampesque, I have been stressing how much we need Jack Wilshere in our current – once more going through a major transition this season – team.

Tomorrow, we will rely heavily on his technical and tactical abilities, as well as his character and temperament.

Jack plays in the linchpin role that nits together our two major blocks of defence and attack. In our 4-3-3 system there is often a lot of space in midfield which needs to be exploited by Arsenal, but at the same time can be exploited by the opposition. I feel we play a lot less compact than in the Fabregas (more like 4-5-1) days, and a hell of a lot is required from our three, predominantly, central midfielders.

Arteta is often sucked in by the needs/gaps of our defence and Cazorla is often required to stay near the strikers in order to make something happen, and therefore the role of the most central of central midfielders cannot be underestimated.

Whoever plays slightly ahead of Arteta has a huge job to do in gaining and keeping possession; and safeguarding the shape to our team, as well as providing Cazorla and our other three attackers with fast and accurate service. It takes a multi-skilled, animal of a midfielder to play this role to perfection.

Diaby started off fantastically in the linchpin role this season, and his performance against Liverpool was simply phenomenal. Abou has all the skills to make this role his, but unfortunately he has not been blessed with the physical health – so needed for this pivotal role – ever since that black day, at and in Sunderland, when his ankle was so horrendously snapped to pieces.

Ramsey had a few games in the linchpin role: he offers a great engine and work-rate, and he can pick a pass quite well, but he is less strong on and with the ball; and we all could see clearly what we had missed when Jack returned to the fore.

JW10 is so good at holding on to the ball in tight spaces; in finding a way out, with our without the ball. He can turn a player and not lose the ball in often very dangerous positions. He also has a great overview and can pick a killer-pass in a flash. But he is also happy to play it simple, and this ability to decide what is best to do next, is one of his major qualities; and what turns a good player into a great one.

When he moves forward with the ball, you can see that the team starts moving forward as well; with both a good shape and full of determination. They know he will not lose the ball quickly and get the game going for us: he simply leads the team technically and tactically when we are changing from defence to attack.

But there is something else about Jack that we have sorely missed recently: his temperament – his desire to win and fight for his team. He is not a nasty player but he will leave his foot in a bit, or make a strong physical challenge, when required; just to show his opponents as well as his team mates what the game means to him.

In that dreadful, drugged-out game against the Mancs a fortnight ago, Jack was one of very few who knew that our pride and honour were at stake. He was not just focussing on doing his own role as good as possible; he demonstrated to us all that fight and bottle were also required. It was almost as if he got those two yellow cards on purpose; to show the rest of the team what is needed if we want to have a chance of winning at places like Old Toilet.

I expect him to battle with real character again for us tomorrow: he cannot help it – it’s his temperament. Of course there is the risk of it getting the better of him, leading to a sending off: he is only young in the end.

But I reckon he will find the perfect balance between aggression and composure tomorrow, and I expect Jack to announce himself once again at the top stage of football.

Total Arsenal.

Five positive developments for Wenger to turn things round

TotalArsenal

Whether we like it or not, we are going through another transitional period. Supporters have every right to be disappointed in the club for being once more in this position.

However, we are where we are, and there are some developments within the team and on the field which could play a major part in turning the season round for us anytime soon.

Arsene Wenger has been here more than once before in his career, and he has always managed to turn back to winning ways eventually – albeit without turning this into silverware at the end of the season for quite a while.

The season is still long, and although it looks like Arsene just cannot make this team gel and play in a cohesive and effective way, things could fall into place again in the foreseeable future.

Five developments that could turn things round for Arsenal:

  1. There has been an even spread of goals between our Arsenal strikers this season, and we are more than matching the strike-force of the Mancs at the moment. Theo scored 8, OG 6, Gervinho 5, and Podolski scored 5 too = a total of 24 goals in all competitions. The Mancs: van Judas scored 11, Hernandez 8, Rooney 3, Wellbeck 1 = a total of 23. It is now really important to start scoring more in the games that matter; especially in the Premier League. Giroud has started to do that, and with Theo back in the starting-11 and the Pod hopefully finding his form again, Arsenal should be able to increase the goal per game ratio in the PL significantly.
  2. The imminent return of Gibbs and Szczesny to our ‘five in defence’ should help us considerably in going back to the tight defence Arsenal had at the start of the season. Mannone did relatively well, but the return of the more experienced and demanding Pole will mean a step improvement for us; and the same goes for Gibbs who has been missed tremendously over the last few weeks. Arsenal still have statistically one of the tightest defences and there is every reason to believe we can get back to a period of solid defensive performances.
  3. The return of Jack Wilshere has made a big improvement to the team. In our 4-3-3 system, he plays in such an important position and he has all the skills to link our play together; to both support Arteta and Cazorla in their respective duties of protecting the defence and making things happen in attack. He is getting fitter by the game, and we simply are dependent on him in terms of keeping a good shape to our team and starting to play the way Wenger wants us to. Hopefully Rosicky will be fit soon too, so Jack and Santi can get a break now and again.
  4. Our wings will soon be in full flow again. 4-3-3 only makes sense when a team possesses aggressive wing-play. Last season we had Theo and Sagna forming a formidable partnership; and at the start of this season, we saw the development of fluent wing-play on the left between Gibbs and Pod. Just imagine both wings starting to operate at their full potential again: it would make a huge difference to our team
  5. Last but not least, we should hope for the possibility of us going on a winning run again. A good win against the Spuds could rekindle our season and lead to a run of good results. Our players could start clicking together all of a sudden, and there are no more inter-lulls to break up our momentum again.

Admittedly, I am trying to convince myself that all is not lost and Arsenal will turn this season round, but reading the above again, I can see how things could still fall back into place for us.

Total Arsenal.

Did Wilshere set the team an example last Saturday?

TotalArsenal

Many have argued over the last few days that Wilshere’s red card, last Saturday, was a result of fatigue/ lacking match fitness, and/or that Wenger was to blame for not substituting him earlier. No doubt, he was suffering from rustiness, and Evra overreacted of course for Jack’s second yellow card, but I fully understand why Arsene did not want to substitute one of his very few extroverted warriors on the pitch at Old Toilet.

I have stated on more than one occasion that I reckon our current players do not suffer from a lack of attitude or hunger to win. We have a good bunch of players who work hard and want to succeed, but confidence is low at the moment, as a result of our system not working properly and a few players lacking top form.

Everybody is trying hard to get better, and although this is vitally important; it is not enough. I feel at times we are being too introverted, too quiet, and too nice to our opponents on the pitch.

Without doubt there are new language barriers to be overcome, and as Arsenal are fitting in new players, it takes time for them to gain the confidence again to shout at each other, to openly motivate each other, to come out of their individual shells and command their area of the pitch. A lack of success currently does not help either.

Surely, we will improve in these areas, but we also need a bit more healthy aggression and extravert leadership on the pitch.

At the moment, we have too many players who are just focussing on their own performance; on their own role and responsibilities, and however understandable this is, we need more open leadership all over the pitch.

Arteta, Mertesacker, Jenkinson, Gibbs, and to a certain extent Ramsey and Sagna are by nature more extravert, and therefore communicate more loudly with their fellow players. Szczesny has this too and Mannone is growing in confidence and is becoming clearly more vociferous. Vermaelen, as a player, was good at this too, but as a captain he is struggling both in leading the team and performing his own CB duties to the required levels at the moment.

Against MU we really lacked extravert leadership and more than just a bit of healthy aggression.

Prior to the game on Saturday, Arsenal had collected a meagre six yellow cards and no red cards in nine PL games. I don’t want us to become a nasty team, but getting less than one yellow card per game is telling us something about our levels of aggression at the moment.

As it stands, MU have collected 100% more yellow cards than Arsenal: 18 to 9. We have the one red card now and the Mancs have not collected a red card yet, but that should not come as a surprise… Chelsea have collected 14 yellow cards and two red cards, the Spuds 13Y/1R, Everton 19Y/1R and Liverpool 14Y/2R, and only Fulham, Man City and a few bottom of the league clubs have shown similar levels of disciplinary prowess; or should that be lack of aggression?! For me, it is the latter: we need more bite in this team. Only Arteta has collected more than one yellow card in the PL this season!!

Wilshere sensed this on Saturday and was determined to change it, and just for that I love him.

He will become 21 in January ‘13, but having missed out well over a year through injury, he is effectively only 19; in terms of football experience. Yet, he is simply born with extravert leadership skills and with a hunger to fight and win every time. And he is a definite Arsenal and England captain for the future for me.

He showed the others that sometimes you have to put your foot in, to do more than just your tactical/technical job, and to fight for the pride of the shirt and your own, personal honour. He is clearly also a very good footballer and as a result he will quickly gain the respect of the senior players in the squad again.

With a bit of luck they will follow his lead more and more, and the team will find a healthier balance between good tactical and technical football – which in itself needs further improvement – and playing with the right level of aggression and leadership on the pitch.

I am sure Wenger is sensing this too and, like all of us, he will be praying that JW10 will remain fit for the rest of the season.

Total Arsenal.

Three steps forward – two steps back: five observations from the Schalke 04 game.

TotalArsenal

 

Mannone is growing in stature – Wilshere is growing in form – Walcott in the middle is a rapidly growing Theo-ry – Our inability to hold onto the ball is a growing worry – Arsenal lacking defensive shape and discipline is a growing concern.

A lot of supporters expected Arsenal to bounce back from a bad performance/result instantly, just like we used to do in previous seasons. But, right now, Arsenal are suffering from structural problems that need time to be resolved; whilst in previous seasons we often only had to work on our focus and attitude to bounce back again.

Our current team is struggling to get a coherent system of football working in which players understand and find each other automatically; one that works in all areas and makes us fluent and deadly efficient, and in which substitutes can fit without too many adaptation issues. Clearly, this is still a work in progress, but progress was made nevertheless last night.

Schalke surprised me tactically: why attack us and try to dominate the game from the first minute, when their tactics at the Emirates had worked so well for them a fortnight ago? I cannot imagine Stevens not being aware how much Arsenal crave space, so it must have been a deliberate strategy to attack us and try to score a goal early. I applaud it though: it is exactly what a good game of football needed, as the game had a lovely flow to it and some very good football by both teams was on display last night. Schalke’s opportunism gave us the space to attack, and boy did we revel in it: it was just what the footie shrink had ordered!

Theo showed Giroud how to stay calm and focussed when an opportunity comes your way for the first goal, as he persevered with strength and good balance to put the ball over the line. Luckily Giroud took his second opportunity with the pounce of a hungry tiger, after great wing-play by, the otherwise mostly ineffective again, Podholeski.

Arsenal almost played the perfect first half against Schalke tonight. The defence was far better organised and mostly solid, our midfield was gradually winning the individual battles, and our three attackers combined well to score two very valuable away goals in Gelsenkirchen. But just before the end of the first half, individual fatigue by our best player of the season until now, and a collective lack of concentration gave the Germans an opportunity to pull a goal back: a real shame!

Cazorla is clearly in the ‘red zone’, because if there is any player at Arsenal you would bank on not to give away the ball at that moment, and in that situation, it has to be out little, energetic Spaniard. Holtby did brilliantly, though, to both see Huntelaar in space and to deliver the ball perfectly weighted to him in a flash; and although we should have done better defensively, it is fair to say that was a fine goal by Schalke 04.

The second half saw us trying to regain possession, but we were simply not fit enough to deal with Schalke’s midfield dominance. Cazorla struggled to get a foothold in the game, Arteta tired a lot towards the end, and Jack also lost some of his sharpness in the second half. Our defence struggled to keep its shape and were put under more and more pressure. The equaliser was almost inevitable and totally deserved by the Germans.

Arsenal somehow held on for an important point, and could well have clinched all three points at the very end, but Theo did not see Giroud in the perfect position to score the winner, and went instead for goal himself from a difficult angle. He should be forgiven for that though, and it in the end a draw away to Schalke 04 is a decent result.

Observation one – one step forward:

Mannone had another very decent game. Red Arse wrote a great post last week about Arsenal goalkeepers’ situation and since then Mann1 has put in a couple of assured performances against the horrible Mancs and Schalke 04. I am warming to Vito and I hope he will get a couple more games at least to further build his confidence.

Observation two – two steps forward:

Wilshere came through his next test with colours. He oozes class and is simply a joy to watch. Clearly, he was still rusty at times and needs to improve his match fitness further, but he made such a difference in midfield for us by helping out Arteta in the defensive department, whilst supporting Santi in setting up attacking moves. So great to have him back: he is our ideal lynchpin.

Cazorla and Arteta struggled to keep up with the tempo of the game for most of the second half, and this is all down to fatigue. It is so frustrating that we still cannot use Diaby and Rosicky to come and help out, and give the super-Spaniards a bit of a break before something or somebody breaks them.

Observation three – three steps forward:

Theo through the middle with Giroud next to him, or in front of him; in a 4-4-1-1 or 4-4-2 formation, could actually work. I really liked the way Theo and OG created opportunities between themselves last night, and with plenty of practice and playing games together they could become our two-headed goal monster we so desperately need.

Observation four – one step back:

Our inability to hold on to the ball in order to release the pressure being put on our defence is a big worry at the moment. Giroud needs to improve on his first touch, and shield the ball a lot better so he can give the rest of the team a break; by holding on to the ball and passing it back to somebody in space. I also felt that both Podolski and Theo were weak in holding on to the ball and find a pass to another player far too often. Especially when our midfielders were clearly running on their reserve tanks, it was important for our attackers to help out more in keeping possession.

And you know who we desperately missed yesterday? Alex Song.  The way Arsenal left the defence unprotected just outside the centre of the box, on a few occasions in the second half, was just amateur-like; and could have easily cost us yesterday. I also feel strongly that Song would have helped us tremendously in holding onto the ball better.

Observation five – two steps back:

Our defence, even with TV5 instead of the shirt-swapper at LB, still lacks shape, discipline and organisation. Koz had a good game and so did Mertesacker and Sagna, but Vermaelen struggled again. And, as a unit, it was nowhere near what is required to compete successfully at top level.

Vermaelen’s confidence is shot: the lion of Flanders has turned into a pussycat. But I have written enough about TV5 in recent posts, so won’t go back into that again.

On a final, Arsenal unrelated, note: as a football romantic, I am absolutely delighted that, over two games, the properly run football clubs of Ajax and Dortmund got the better over the cup-buyers of Citeh and Madrid. There still is hope for football! 🙂

Total Arsenal.

Wenger needs va-va-voom – Vermaelen no leader – Jack is our hope

TotalArsenal

This is The Arsenal and we are not scared of anyone, right?!

Nobody likes losing, but nothing is worse than getting beaten by the Mancs whilst the whole team is oozing a gigantic inferiority complex: a collective lack of belief from the moment the first kick is made. I hate that more than anything else. How many times have we gone to Old Trafford in the last few years with that same resignation; that same anticipation of imminent defeat? Simply unacceptable!

Vermaelen is no leader

I have said it a number of times in recent weeks: Thomas Vermaelen is not a leader. He is a specialist: a bloody brilliant CB who on his day is simply unbeatable. He is, however, not a leader and the added responsibility to captain the team has made him error-prone, insecure and lost at sea at times. In the big games, Thomas has made a number of mistakes which have cost us in more than one sense. He should be oozing calm and organise the team; set the right examples and fill everyone with confidence. He is doing the opposite, and I reckon this will not change anytime soon.

There is an added complication, as others have already pointed out previously: the best CB pairing is probably Mert-Koz. But as TV is our captain, Arsene has left himself with a bit of a CB-selection pickle: he simply has to select Vermaelen even when it would be best to give preference to Koscielny.

Arsene has got to sort this out as soon as possible: there are better options for the captaincy within our team, and he would get back again a specialist warrior in TV.

Arsene needs to re-inject some much needed va-va-voom into the team

Our 4-3-3 formation with Pod-Giroud-Ramsey (as a false winger/fourth midfielder) is totally not working. Arsenal are so toothless at the moment that we would struggle to make a dent in a cream-cake. Why Wenger is persevering with those three up-front only he knows. Podolski has not made an impact on the game since the end of the inter-lull. For me he is the perfect CF for Arsenal, and a lot better than Giroud. Giroud gets no service at the moment, though, and I cannot see this change for the foreseeable future. Arsenal are simply not a team to play a classical CF up-front, and I don’t understand why we bought him to play in a 4-3-3 system without proper wingers.

Now is time for Arsene to inject some va-va-voom; to spice things up a bit. It is of paramount importance to sort out the front-three situation as soon as possible. If it was me, I would start with Ox-Giroud-Theo upfront, or even better: Ox-Pod-Theo. Even Pod-Theo-Ox could work, as they all add speed, attacking menace, unpredictability and some much needed new thrust: some va va bloody voom!

It is time for Arsene to re-inject some belief by taking a bit of risk and trying something new.

Jack is our hope

We have Jack back – although suspended for the next PL game now – and together with Cazorla and Arteta, he can boss the midfield. For me, he was the man of the match against the Mancs, as he was setting an example to many of his colleagues by battling away and now and again putting in a strong tackle. He had attitude and was fighting for his and the club’s honour.

And that’s exactly the spirit we need to get back to The Arsenal we know and are proud of: the one that is feared and admired by our opponents at the same time.

Total Arsenal.

Jack is back – Bacary was never away – Mannone saves our day – Wingers rescue us

TotalArsenal

Image

Arsenal – QPR: Five conclusions after a much needed win

Jack made a big difference

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

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

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

Bacary was awesome and great to see him back

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

Podholeski needs a rest and some maintenance

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

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

Mannone saved our day

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ooooh Arsenal, we love you!!

Total Arsenal.