Written by kelsey
In all probability most thought it would be a foregone conclusion to sweep Partizan aside and therefore qualify as runner up in our group. What we didn’t expect was a flat lacklustre performance, which I can only put down to nerves and the nagging thought in the back of the players mind that to make sure of qualification we just had to win.
Within a few minutes of the kick off, it was blatantly obvious that the fluidity of our game just wasn’t there and to compound things, Gibbs twisted his ankle and though bravely returned to the action he lasted barely five minutes to be replaced by Eboue, who I might add has the weirdest warm up routine I have ever seen.
The combination of van Persie and Chamakh seemed more experimental than anything and it just didn’t work. Arshavin had a bad hair day and the harder he tried the worse he played. Let’s not kid ourselves, Partizan are a poor team and their sole ambition was to avoid a heavy defeat, for the best part of half an hour they contained Arsenal very well.
RvP finally got a chance and was brought down in the box, he made no mistake and rifled the ball into the back of the net. 1-0 to the Arsenal. One would have thought that nerves would disappear, but apart from a great run by Eboue down the left flank and whipping the ball across with the outside of his right foot for no one to capitalise on, the team still seemed to be in a trance with no urgency.
After half time the inevitable happened when Partizan’s only moment of serious danger brought an equaliser when Cleo’s shot took a wicked deflection off Sebastien Squillaci and out of Lukasz Fabianski’s reach – leaving Arsenal’s fans, albeit briefly, anxiously following events in the game between Shakhtar Donetsk and Braga.
Arshavin was rightly subbed and our cameo super sub Theo started to cause all sorts of trouble, restoring Arsenal’s lead with a fine volley after 73 minutes. Another moment of class from Samir Nasri wrapped things up as he scored with a fine low finish four minutes later.
Leadership on the pitch is required. We have until early February to sort this issue out, but hopefully with a fit Fabregas (who was sorely missed) and possibly Vermaelen to marshal the defence, we have the privilege to host either a German or Spanish side. The last 16 gives the club an additional £3.5 million revenue plus of course the receipts from the home leg, and it might be advisable to use that money to strengthen the defence.
Arsenal News 24/7
arsenalarsenal.net 
Thanks for the write up Kelsey and your reading of the game largely concurs with mine although I think maybe you’re a tad harsh on the Meerkat.
Some of the passes and flicks he tried didn’t always come off, but I want our creative players to attempt these as they are a far better option than “safe” sideways, short passes. He tried and tried and even made a number of lung bursting runs tracking back.
Robin seemed to be very deep for too much of the time and it seemed odd to see him there; also i thought wohoever-bic was marking Chamakh was allowed to persistently foul him and kick him out of the game. I think whoever-bic finally did get booked for taking out someone else.
Finally, I thought we were going to get N5’s anti Theo rant today ?
Morning again
Thanks kelsey for the post and it’s so true we do make things difficult for ourselves.
The football in the first half was dire, Partizan were very poor and we should have turned on the sparkle and put the tie to bed in the first 20 minutes.
At least I didn’t throw all my toys out of the pram, as viewed on certain other sites.
Also I purposely didn’t refer to the game next Monday , as I feel we need time to digest this result.
Morning chary – the Theo rant is on its way but the boy came on and scored a very good goal and could have had a couple more – today is not the day to pull him apart.
You’re right about Robins play – I wondered how much of that would show up on tv.
Morning,
Fair post kelsey, that pretty much spells out the way most of us feel after the game.
It would appear that we have a problem in as much as there was very little understanding between RvP and Chamakh. It will be interesting to see who he picks against manure, but I would plump for Chamakh and have RvP on the bench.
Hi kelsey – quite so, Monday is days away, anything can happen. What I would say is that if we play like that on Monday we’ll get ripped apart and I think thats what upsets a lot of supporters. The manks would have been laughing and rubbing their hands together with glee at the prospect.
It looked to me – as an expert tactician … not – that Robin could have been out wide with Nasri playing more centrally behind Chamakh.
The headline of the post expressed everything IMO.
I am sure that the nerves got to the players,something that should have been avoided when we topped the group after 3 games.
Does this show inexperience within the squad for “big” games.
if so, this is a worry,but having said that,we had enough seasoned pros on the pitch.
I have yet to see our team under Arsène come out after half time and do anything other than carry on in exactly the same vein as the first half – this is fine if we’re 3 nil up and coasting, but when we are looking vulnerable it would be good to see the players have more fire in their bellies when required. Whatever we do at half time, it seems to ‘relax’ the players rather than motivate them.
That’s down to leadership on the field.RVP(last night) preceded by Rosicky or Fabregas and even Almunia don’t have the quality of say Adams.
A fair summary of the game, although did anyone seriously expect us to make life easy for ourselves? We are the Arsenal, after all!
Not a great performance, but after the hiccup of Cleo’s equaliser we got the job done. Good to see that we are now in a position to bring proper quality off the bench who can make a difference to games. Walcott’s introduction was clearly the turning point, Bendtner was involved in the build-up to Nasri’s goal, and we had the luxury of leaving Rosicky and Wilshere on the bench.
Now all we need is to draw Schalke in the last 16, and all will be well again. But, to be honest, the CL is the last of our concerns for the next couple of months: we have United, Chelsea and City in the next month, then there’s the FA Cup and the Carling semi. For all that people keep hammering on about our weak defence, our complacency and our struggles to put weak opponents away, we’re at good nick just now, albeit in the weakest PL we have seen for years.
http://thearmchairsportsfan.com/2010/12/08/spluttering-arsenal-stumble-into-the-last-16/
Peachy, given Wenger’s fondness for converting players from one position to another maybe he’s trying to change Robin from a striker to a holding midlfieder !
We already know he’s had enough of Song being a DM, and he wants him to be a striker now. 🙂
Good write up Kelsey, I agree, the headline says it all.
We were pants last night; although, I am not convinced that it was down to nerves, it struck me as an experimental formation with one eye on Monday’s game. The other line I think sums things up well was by Rohan I think who said “We shouldn’t expect to win five nil every game” and he is right. The fact is we are through and that, in itself, vindicates Wenger in my opinion.
Chary, you are in a very generous mood today, something good must have happened to you lol. I thought Arshavin was poor to the point of pain, I agree with you that we should want our creative players to be creative but he was getting the basics wrong……over and over again. A bad day at the office for the Russian but we all know how much he likes a big game so hopefully the real Andre will turn up after the weekend.
Denilson was also particularly poor; passes going astray time and time again; he will be playing on Monday, you know he will. My only hope is that last night was used to get Song and the Brazilian used to playing together again in the expectation that they will be better on Monday. Feel free to clutch onto this straw, there is plenty of room lol.
I think that Chamakh and Vanpersie can become better together with time. this is our fist time seeing them together.
I also widh that arsenal fans would stop complaining and lift this team up. Part of the shitty performance yesterday was because fans kept groaning and moaning on the ground. You could just see the effect on the boys.
Of late there have been a few calls from supporters of other clubs calling out arsenal fans as moaners and whingers lacking the complete ability to support their team.
I enjoyed the game in the end and i smiled the biggest smile when Walcott scored. I know this team is not perfect but what is. Can we win thing? Damn skippy.can the suppoters be the the final piece? YES
After his recent tremendous form I thought that Nasri was played far too wide last night until he eventually popped up in the middle for his goal.There is a 50% chance that we draw either Barcelona or Madrid so in that case we go out over a two-legged affair.I’m not sure that after the initial disappointment failure to qualify last night and a subsequent decent run in the Europa Cup might not have been a bad option.
Totally agree Brian about Nasri, the Frenchman is wasted out on the wing; he should be playing where RVP did last night. The pairing should be him and Chamakh.
Hi Kelsey – thanks for the write up and I hope you’re feeling more chipper today.
I have several concerns from the game, but first and foremost we are into the last 16 knockout stage for the 8th consecutive season – so three cheers to both our team and our management for that!
But concerns, I have a few (sounds a bit like Sinatra)..
Our fluidity was stymied from the start as it was obvious that Song and Denilson were employed as defensive midfielders which reduced our attacking potential. That in turn caused VP to have play very deep in order to link up with Chamakh and it was plain to see that this did not work.
Chamakh in recent games has developed this bad habit of looking to pass the ball when he is in a scoring position, with his back to goal, when a better option would be to turn and shoot. My hope is that he will be shown video clips that will help him to understand and rectify the problem.
Arshavin ?? well he was just plain rubbish, in my house we were crying out for him to be subbed after 30 minutes. He’s a total mystery to me, you see, I think he is one of our best players when he turns up to play – but he is even more inconsistent then Theo.
Not much said about Fabianski yet it was he who saved our bacon with an amazing stop at 1-1.
Walcott was Johnny on the spot and was very composed in scoring – well done to him.
Here are my thought on Bendtner ???????
Overall a lack luster performance and if we play like that on Monday we will be trounced!
Respectfully Brian….wash your mouth out !!
The mighty Arsenal in the Europa Cup after 11 straight qualifications..?? I’d rather finish fourth in the group, than have to watch us on a Thursday night !!
Thanks for your write up Kelsey, I understand it was a bit of an effort for you.
Hope all is well/better with you today.
Yeah London, I have to admit to having irrational likes or dislikes when it comes to our players.
I can’t stand Diaby in a subjective, maybe disproportionate way and I support Andrey perhaps too much; but I’m human and I allow myself such indulgences.
We spent two whole days debating where Alex Song Billongs. Instructios of ‘Stay’ or Walkies’ seemed to be the two options.
Well yesterdy he seemed tobe on non stop walkies, to the point where I wondered how he was doingit. He mopped up crosses into our box numerous times, was presser in chief and won plenty of ball in midfield, but also got forward very well for Robins penno, and preceeded Nasri’s twinkle toes with a bit of twinkle-toery(?) of his own.
Fantastic work yesterdy Mr Song. Yesterday GN5 wished for two Alex Songs..I can only concur.
Thanks for the write up Kelsey – it hits the mood perfectly.
And I’m glad you didn’t refer to the ManUre game because it will have no relation to the game we played last night. Football performance can vary greatly from game to game (as we have occasionally seen to our cost, with embarrassing losses following on from stellar wins).
The fact that we were a bit off colour on a freezing night against an unfashionable team in a game that everyone assumed would be a walkover does not mean we’ll play that way on Monday.
I have a very strong feeling we’re going to win up in Manchester.
Sharkey: “where Alex Song Billongs” – nice one. Personally I thought there was a bit more of the “Less Plan A” about his performance last night (at least until we were chasing another goal following their equaliser).
Thanks for the nice comments.
Talking of Song, I have noticed he gets better in each game lately,as the game progreses.
gunnrn5 makes some reasonable assumptions about Chamakh, not perhaps having the confidence in himself to shoot.To be a striker that surely shold be a natural instinct.
RVP/Chamakh was an experiment,that didn’t come off, and I agree Nasri is far more suited to play more centrally than on the wing,as was proved to an extent last night and against Fulham.
BTW, what’s happened to Radders, did he make it to the Grove yesterday ?
A question.
I believed as runner up we play the first leg in the last 16 at home.Is that correct ?
If so, then it might not be such a disadvantage going by our away record domestically, though I accept playing in europe is a totally different proposition.
Correct Kelsey, we have the home leg first.
I met up with Raddy b4 the game and at half-time. He sits in the Clock End and was going to walk around to the North Bank to see the 2nd half from there. I didn’t see him after the game so I don’t know how successful he was – we’ll have to wait until Sunday to find out.
At least he saw some goals and a win – the last time he went to football was a 0-0 against Sunderland I think.
Oh, well that’s good then Peachy, he seemed to have disappeared off the radar after the disappointment of not getting to the Fulham game.
for me,wenger is the problem of arsenal.with all the praising on our man from morocco,his not my favourite.he has been praise high to the heavens.we didnot get him for the leg,but the head.he should make use of the proud dane,who is good with the leg and head.he has improved alot,and deserve to be a regular starter,alongside van p.arshavin to me should also be the vice to theo.he doesnot play with inspiration.i hope to see the conbination of thomas v and djourou,eboue on the left of defence,to give clichy a wake up call.i need friends on facebook,search adedayo adeyemi akanbi
U need friends on facebook…?? Lol !!
Not sure you’ll get any from here, this is a site for talking about the greatest club in the world !!!
Well done Kelsey. A nice sensibly set out read. 🙂
I was not one who thought before the game that it would be a doddle. Not being clever, just too many previous disappointments to make that assumption.
I watched the game on TV which is always slightly different to being in the stadium. Leaving aside all the erudite comments already made, for a moment, I had a sense of RVP, and particularly Chamakh, trying to run thru glue. Oh for someone who can run at even half the speed of dear old Thierry! It was painful!
Someone help me out here. Is slowness of the lower limbs, especially in congested areas, really a cerebral slowness of thought? A Post for someone, maybe? 🙂
Fair assessment. We were dire in the second half and i agreed with the TV ommentator, why play Song and Denilson at home against a weak team. Against MU away.. certainly. We should have hd Wiltshire out there. I believe more and more TV and Djourou should be our starting CBs, I have little faith in the others though Koz has great potential.
Positives.. nice to see AW get the subs right. Theo was a constant threat and Bendtner had a role in both goals. I still believe that a Theo/Nic combination would b effective. RVP.. sorry.. I just dont se where he fits in .. perhaps in plac of AA?
Reading all the comments it is generally agreed that it wasn’t a game to do an experiment on how certain players woud jell,as beforehand technically if Braga had won we could have gone out with the laboured display that only brought us the win through substitutions.
Kelsey,
Spot on post.
Had I been asked, you would have been reading my “Recipe of the Day”.
There appears to be agreement on a couple of things. Nasri needs to be central. We will play Song and Denilson at OT, and we will need Cesc.
Getting kind of cramped in the middle, no? Although I agree with all of the above.
oops that should have read we were dire in the FIRST half!!!!
It is possible that none of you may be interested to hear this, but I am at Pre-match Level 1 already, ahead of monday’s game.
Prior to last night Belgrade hadn’t won a point; in fact, their performances had been so poor they hadn’t even scored a goal. We, on the other hand, had one of our most influential players coming back from injury who was desperate for game time; if last night wasn’t the right time for a bit of experimentation then I throw my hands in the air and ask when would have been? It is a fact that had we lost we would have gone out of the competition but we didn’t, the gamble paid off. The result is that Van Persie is in better shape for having played ninety minutes and if the same thing happens to Chamakh as happened to Gibbs at approximately the same stage in the game on Monday we will be crying out for a fitter Van Persie to take up the attacking mantle.
The similar argument applies to the selection of Song and Denilson in the middle, it was obvious to everyone that that amount of defence was unnecessary and a combination of Song and Wilshere would have been more suitable but yet again the answer is that we won and we now have a rested Wilshere, fit as a fiddle, raring to go on Monday………that said, I think Wenger will play Song and Denilson again and last night was used as a practice run, a chance to iron out some of the creases.That little bit of experimentation has given Wenger better options for Monday and the extremely important Christmas period that follows.
I swear, I am seriously starting to believe that I watch a totally different game from most other people.
I don’t know if you’re around R Lives but you’re a regular traveller I was wondering what a decent price for flights to LA are, and I don’t mean to Little ‘Ampton.
London,
As I said during discussions yesterday, I wanted AW to at least use the same formation as he will at OT ie Song and Denilson (I thought he would go for JW and rest Alex). So in this respect, I totally agree with you. As a result, it was always going to take longer to open up a team like Partizan, as opposed to Utd who will be coming at us.
My biggest concern is how we line up at OT.
Hi Micky
Yeah, I must admit I was a bit surprised to see Song out there, Wenger usually rests him in games like that.
Not being allowed to settle into blog world today. Must offski again.
London,
I think SingaSong was resting himself during the game. 🙂
London,
i don’t think you watched a different game,you just put a different spin on it, although I would argue that RVP is one of our most influential players.
The reason for that,though undoubtedly a huge talent, he is averaging fewer games for us in the last 2 seasons than the 2 before that and he manages about 1 game in 3.If one is continuously injured how influential is the player,also allowing for limited game time to gently ease the recovery.
is he a luxury we can afford ? I am just asking the question.
Kelsey,
To answer your question. I have said earlier in the season that for me, it is one more injury before january and out. A club like ours deserves a consistent twenty-a-season man. Love him, but..
Hi kelsey
Hmmmmm, good point, is Van Persie one of our most influential players? By age and experience, undoubtedly, yes. As to whether he still deserves the title of Mr Arsenal is open to debate but it is worth remembering the reason he got that name in the first place and that is he never shirks away, the man’s head never drops, the Dutchman leads by example and drags the rest of the team with him. The problem, as you point out, is his unfortunate injury record. Is he still worth persevering with, the answer has got to be yes….we need as many players as we can get at peak condition and the ninety minutes that he put in last night will certainly go a long way to help achieve that.
London,
Would you change your mind if he suffered another two month lay off this season? Serious question. I think his injury cost us the chance of the title last season.
you didnt see a different game, but maybe have a better understanding of why AW picked the side. I think MC needs a rest and going on your logic, last night would be the time. Anyway, we won and in the end..we are all amateurs and AW is the professional. we alo have no clue about dressing room or fitness issues that need to be addressed.
We need our most important players to be fit most of the time. Sadly, with RvP and Cesc, that’s no longer the case.
Hi Mickey
Interesting question but it does imply that Van Persie has in some sort of control over his own injuries which I am sure you would agree he doesn’t. If The Boy Wonder is injured for another two months it will be very disappointing but not something that he would have had anymore control over than Vermaelen has over his mysterious injury. There is no such thing as a player who is guaranteed not to get injured. Van Persie’s injury last season came at a crucial time the loss of such an important player at such an important time no doubt harmed our chances of winning the league but yet again it wasn’t something he had any control over. Chamakh could break his leg on Monday and we could say exactly the same thing about that potentially costing us the league. Meanwhile the Moroccan will be in pain in hospital far more unhappy than any one of us.
Chary: sorry, probably not the best person to ask about flights to LA. I’m usually travelling for the job and am lucky enough to have my flights booked by the company.
In general, if I had to guess, I think anything under £500 for a round trip London-LA is pretty good value.
You heading out that way soon then? I can certainly let you know the details of some good footy pubs.
London, I’m sure Micky wasn’t blaming RvP for his injuries, but it is legitimate to ask whether the manager/club should continue to rely on a player who seems so injury prone, although arguably they have already taken steps to cope with the problem by acquiring the services of Chamakh.
Btw, if I remember rightly from last January, it wasn’t just that RvP was crocked. It was also that Bendtner got injured too and we had that ridiculous run of games (including versus ManUre at home) where Arshavin was leading the line.
One of the things that surprises me about the RvP debate is how little discussion there is about Cesc’s repeated absences, even though their appearance record is pretty similar over the past two seasons.
In a recent post on the subject I wrote: “In the seasons 2008/9 and 2009/10 Cesc played in 64% of our EPL fixtures, Robin played in 58%. In the same period Cesc’s total appearances in all competitions were 69, Robin’s were 64.”
So far this season Cesc is faring a little better: 12 starts and 2 appearances as sub in all comps, compared with RvP’s 3+5, but his injuries are a serious concern.
Rocky,
Spot on! It’s not apportioning blame, it is just a fact of life. Hargreaves (Utd) Owen (Liverpool) did not want to be chronically injured but it happened.
If that is the case with RVP, or whoever, the club is deprived of their services and need to respond, including selling such a player on, and replacing them.
That is surely an incontrovertible conclusion!
How are you Redders? I shared your sense of frustration at the feeling that some of our players were ‘running through mud’. I put it down to the fact that the Partizan lot were actually defending really well in the first half, lots of men behind the ball and closing us down very quickly. Given that our passing game was a bit off, it must have made it hard going for the likes of RvP and Arsh.
Hi Neamman
Totally agree with that one.
Hi Rocky
It wasn’t my intention to imply that Mickey was blaming RVP for his own injuries. Do you think I have missed the point? If so, where? I’m curious.
By wenger’s own admission he got it wrong.
http://arsenal-mania.com/articles/3109638/Wenger-to-re-think-van-Persie-role.html
Kelsey,
I’ve just been talking to your twin! 🙂
Arsene may have admitted his error on this occasion, but actually, he should read your Post’s and benefit from them. He does get some important things wrong. But we won’t tell anyone! 🙂
OK, Red Arse,
I shall have a word with george graham next week when he comes over and tell him to make sure he gets Arsene to read our blog.
Fair enough really, a reasonable time for a bit of experimentation, no harm done. RVP got ninety minutes game time, a goal and he will be a lot better for it.
Kelsey,
Do you really know/see Gorgeous george?
I saw him on a train years ago, but kept a cool distance in case he became over familiar! 🙂 As if. 🙂
Yes,
he came to my wedding.That is a long story,but true.
Wow!!
Well that’s it, you have beaten me. No way I can trump that! 🙂
Nite Kelsey. What an interesting character you are. 🙂
Hi London. On the injuries thing I suppose (a) we all agree that any player can get injured and that (b) some players get injured more often and for longer absences than others (whether through misfortune or being ‘injury prone’, if such a thing exists).
If I’m understanding your view correctly, I think you’re saying that there’s nothing we can do about it – it’s the whims of fate – and if we have a good player who is injured a lot we stick with him in the expectation of a period when he is not injured so much.
And if I’m understanding Micky’s view, it’s that there has to come a time when the management must consider dispensing with a player – even a really good one – if he is injured for too much of the time.
I tend slightly (but only slightly) towards the latter view. If we had taken the decision two years ago to cut our losses on RvP and bring in another top striker (but one with a more average injury level) we might have had a bit more to celebrate in the last couple of seasons.
London, could you ever conceive of giving up on a player because of his regular long-term injuries?
(And apologies to all parties if I have misconstrued your views!).
@ R Lives 6.18 – cheers, it’ll hopefully be around Easter next year; I’ll tap you up for some sports bar info nearer the time.
Hi Rocky
Thanks for that, I suspect we are all saying the same thing but in different ways. Injuries are down to the whims of fate, I doubt that we would differ on that point. But what I disagree with is the idea that just because one player has been injured in the past he is more likely to get injured in the future. If every player were fit there is no reason to suspect that Van Persie is going to get injured any easier than any other player. Chamakh who has no history of injury could break his leg just as easily as anyone else. If Van Persie or any other player were not able to for fill their job description it would be understandable that the club would want to replace them.
Saying Van Persie’s injury cost us the league smacks of blame, something that does not sit well with me. Maybe I picked up the wrong end of the stick, it wouldn’t be the first time.
Cheers London. I certainly don’t think RvP’s injury cost us the league and even if it did it’s not his fault – he doesn’t want to be injured.
Where I disagree with you (I think) is when you suggest that the chances of all players suffering an injury are equal. I believe some players’ bodies are less prone to picking up strains and sprains than others’.
All players have an equal chance of being Shawcrossed, or of breaking a leg in an unfortunate fall, but I don’t think they share the same likelihood of picking up smaller, niggly injuries.
I would be prepared to bet quite a few bob that in the next 12 months RvP misses more time through injury than Chamakh. Again, no blame attached to RvP, it’s just a fact that he suffers a lot of injuries. Some people have more robust physiologies than others.
Hmmmm Rocky
I am sure we would all agree that every player has an equal chance of being Shawcrossed. But, would I take the bet that RVP will suffer more injuries than Chamakh over the next twelve months? It does challenge the point I am trying to make that just because a player has been injured in the past does not mean that he will be injured in the future. Ok I’ll take it, I will have RVP and you have Chamakh and the person who loses has to write the following day’s post.
I have to go, it’s been good chatting
Ha ha – like it London, you’re on.
For simplicity sake, shall we say number of days injured from now until the last day of this season?
COYRRR
Please people, do not make predictions about the Old Cow Padock scoreline. I’m just going to cross my fingers & hope the away boyz & girlz get there rich deserts, oh and ofcourse the rest of us watching on tele.
Proper preparation should see a positive derived from the fixture, but all total preparation goes out the window when Rooney drops in the box 👿
P.S I hope mon ami doesn’t get caught up in the build up by the sweaty sock. There should be a media ban @ The Club till the job is done.
Adios amigos, till Tuesday morning 😎
Yeah, catch you later gnarley, it’s about time we made a stand at the theatre of snores.
New post……
Hi just wanted to give you a quick heads up and let you know a few of the pictures aren’t loading properly.
I’m not sure why but I think its a linking issue.
I’ve tried it in two different web browsers and bogh show the same outcome.
Keepp on working, great job!
Hello! I’ve been following your weblog for some time now and finally got thee courage
to go ahead and give you a shout out from Lubbock Tx! Just wanted to
tell you keep up the good work!