Robin van Persie – 2011- My Favourite Year

December 24, 2011

Robin van Persie is the son of a sculptor and a painter and his inherited creative genius shines through on the football pitch. Beginning his career at Excelsior Rotterdam, he moved on to Feyenoord and earned caps for the Dutch u19 and u21 teams.

Robin always dreamed of playing for his hometown club and then moving on to Arsenal or a small club in Catalonia to further his career.

Robin has always loved the red and white.

The highlight of Robin’s Feyenoord career was winning the UEFA cup in 2002 with a 3-2 victory and being named Dutch football talent of the year for the 2001/2 season.

van Persie’s early Arsenal career began fairly slowly largely due to injuries. From the 2004/5 season to 2009/10 he scored 5, 5, 11, 7, 11 and 9 league goals respectively. 2010/11 saw his total leap to 18, many of which were scored in the second half of the season when Arsenal’s unravelling was taking place.

This season he has scored 16 goals in 17 appearances, including 2 goals against Bolton on 24th September to take his Arsenal tally to 100. Of these one hundred goals, 71 were scored with his left foot, 23 right foot and 6 were headers which goes some way to dispel the myth of the van Persie ‘chocolate’ leg. His current tally for 2011 stands at 34 goals in a staggering 34 games. This draws level with Thierry Henry’s 34 but these were scored in 39 games and puts him two goals away from Alan Shearer’s all-time record of 36 scored in 42 matches.

Here are a few illustrations of Robin’s prowess in front of goal which has taken him to 115 goals, currently level with Alan Smith.

RVP with his right foot versus Wolves home 12th Feb 2011

The next goal versus Fulham on 22nd May 2011 illustrates a magnificent first touch.

A hat-trick of very different goals at 55secs, 3min 5 secs and 6 mins versus Wigan on 22nd January.

Robin’s goal against Everton encapsulated his self-professed desire to take risks by taking the volley on, resulting in his best goal of 2011.

RVP is now a world class striker who scores goals from all angles as the following illustrates

Robin’s son looks a prospect, too, so let’s hope he grows up with the Arsenal gene and follows in his father’s footsteps.

What’s your favourite RVP goal?

Robin would probably say, ‘the next one’.

Written by chas

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The New Arsenal – a mixture of Spirit and Class

December 19, 2011

Manchester City 1 – 0 Arsenal: Match report and player ratings

Since our painful, last visit to Manchester a few months ago, Arsenal have made tremendous progress. In fact, the club achieved such a fantastic transformation since the late arrival of experienced, quality players like Arteta, Mertesacker, and Santos that most of us were confident we could get something out of our game against the other club from Manchester today.

It was not to be. But, despite Citeh’s unforgivable luring of our players and hiring of our legend(s) over the last few seasons, and the shameless ‘investment’ in the club of £800m in order to buy a few pots, we still matched them in all departments today. The margins were small, and to be fair, Citeh did produce the best overall football at times and had the better chances, but throughout the game we played with spirit and class, with a never-say-die attitude and a real belief in ourselves.

The New Arsenal knows how to fight, it knows how to play as a team and for each other, it never gives up, and because of that we deserved a point out of yesterday’s game. It was not to be, but despite the loss of three points yesterday, our team will have won a lot of belief, confidence and real team spirit to build on further. In the long run, this game will prove to have been very valuable for us.

First Half

The game started pretty even, with both teams full of energy and confidence. In the 9th minute Citeh have a decent first chance: Zabaleta puts in a decent cross from the left to Aguero, who controls the ball well but then blasts the ball well over Szczesny and the goal. After that, there is more pressure by MC but Arsenal work hard as a unit and give very little space away. At this stage though, Song gets a yellow card – a very soft one – and soon after that Richards shamelessly tries to get our ‘Only Song’ booked again. A feat repeated by a few more Citeh players during the match, but referee Dowd did well not to fall into that oily trap. Arsenal struggles at the early stages to pass the ball through Citeh’s lines, and our opponents find it easier to pick an attacking through-ball. However, this changes when Song picks out a good run by Gervinho who hits a hard and low diagonal shot which Joe Hart, with an element of luck, is just able to save with his right arm. This was just what we needed to give us believe. The subsequent corner is played towards the edge of the box, where Ramsey hits a good low shot onto Hart’s left corner. The latter makes a decent save though.

In the 23rd minute, Richards puts a high ball into the box which is not handled decisively by our defence. Especially Mertesacker, who does not show enough strength in his one-on-one with Balotelli, is at fault, as the latter is able to turn and shoot at goal from close range. Szczesny imposes himself like an onrushing giant octopus and makes a very decent save. In the 35th minute, we witness another good run from defence into midfield by the superb Koscielny: he plays the ball to RvP, whose shot is blocked but still reaches Ramsey in the box.

Ramsey does not hit the ball cleanly, but does still almost score. Kolo Toure makes a clumsy tackle on Rambo but as he played the ball first, it was always unlikely Arsenal would be given a penalty for it. Gervinho and Theo work very hard all over the pitch and help out our defence on numerous occasions, and this is one of the reasons Arsenal never allows MC to have long periods of pressure on us. The teams continue to be pretty evenly matched. In the 41st minute, Aguero makes an energetic horizontal run across our box – reminiscent of Romario – until he finds a gap to put a decent diagonal shot in, but Szczesny had read his intentions well and saves his effort with ease.

Second Half

After two minutes, Djourou needs to be replaced and Miquel comes on. Arsenal needs to reshuffle its defence: Koz moves from CB to RB, Miquel becomes our LB and Vermaelen moves from LB to CB. Not good of course, but it had to be done. In the 53th minute, a good run through the centre by Gervinho almost finds Theo, but Zabaleta, who had a good game for Citeh, intercepts and the ball falls to Barry. Barry passes to Nasri who sees a sea of space in front of him on the left hand side – so he passes the ball to Balotelli who can collect the ball without any RB pressure (Koz is out of position). Song does his best to move into the space, but Balotelli manages to move the ball to Song’s left side and hits a low drive towards Szczesny.

Our goalkeeper is able to stop the shot, but the ball bounces up and Aguero beats Vermaelen brilliantly with a quick, horizontal header towards Silva, who puts the ball into our net from close range, despite Vermaelen’s flying tackle. A real shame, but plenty of time to make amends. From the subsequent kick-off the ball comes to Theo who shoots at once and forces Hart to make a half-decent save.

In the 56th minute, Gervinho instigates another attack. From Arsenal’s left hand side, he passes back to Ramsey who instantly passes towards RvP. Boy Wonder tricks Hart brilliant, but his goal is ruled offsite. It is very marginal, and at moments like this it would probably really help if we were playing at home, as it needed a ‘benefit of the doubt’ decision in our favour. For the game it would have been brilliant if that one had counted, but it was not to be.

Then, ten mad minutes of football ensue. In the 62nd minute, Aguero unleashed a venomous, diagonal shot across the goal that had Szczesny probably beaten, but it went past the right side of the post for us. In the 63rd minute our defence is carved open by clever interplay of Silva and Nasri. The latter only has to pass the ball sideways in the box towards the relatively quiet Balotelli, and an easy tap-in would have resulted in 2-0 and game over. Unbelievably, Nasri over-hits his pass and we are given another lifeline. In the 64th minute, Gervinho skins Richards with a quick move and brilliant wing-play, and he pulls the ball back superbly for RvP’s, normally lethal, left foot. Unbelievably, Robin scoffs his shot and Hart is able to make a simple save. Ooh, what a shame that was. Had we scored then, we could have won the game, but Robin is human after all! In the 66th minute, Zabaleta hits the post and in the 67th minute Theo puts in a good cross towards RvP and Ramsey, who ones again had made a good run into the box, but they are ruled offsite. Again, this is a marginal decision which did not go our way, but Hart saved very well anyway.

Theo is then replaced by Arshavin, and the former is, understandably, not happy with the decision. In the 71st minute, a good move by Ramsey leads to a pass towards RvP, who quickly finds Arshavin. The pocket Russian has all the time in the world to pass the ball into the box towards several onrushing Arsenal players, but he fails miserably. The only possible excuse is that he still had to get into the game, but nevertheless his misplaced pass, which was easily intercepted by Hart, was pretty unforgivable.

In the 77th minute, we could have had a penalty. It would have been a soft one, but it did appear that Richards moved his arm slightly to stop the ball from going past his body, and he definitely did not try to get his arm out of the way. I can live with the referee’s decision, but I am pretty sure we would have had a penalty if we’d played at home. In the 89th minute, we witness another Arshavin-horror moment, as he miscues the ball badly form a simple pass by RvP. The melancholic Russian made the wrong decision and his execution was equally poor. Theo’s substitution was a bad decision, in hindsight.

Was that it then? Well no, there were still two brilliant Vermaelen moments, which could have so easily given us a deserved point from yesterday’s game. Firstly, from an Arteta free-kick, he drove a fierce shot from outside the box straight at Hart: anywhere else and it would have burst the net. Secondly, he put his entire livelihood into a shot from well outside the box towards Hart’s right side of the goal that only just misses the target.

The last fifteen minutes were almost entirely ours, but ever so frustratingly we just missed a bit of luck and levelheadedness (mainly by Arshavin) to come away from the Etihad stadium with a well-deserved point. However, this game will have done the New Arsenal easily as much good as our recent victory over the Chavs and our qualification for the Champions League last 16. Something the Oilers can only dream off at this stage of their Petrodollar Bonanza Project. And long may it continue.

Player Ratings

Szczesny: top performance: oozes confidence and his decision making is nearly flawless. Strikers fear him and that is half the battle won: 8.5

Koscielny: great drive and positioning (before he became RB). What a joy to have such a dedicated and positive, beastly good CB in our team: 8.5

Mertesacker: some good positioning and he brings calmness and organisation to our team. Needs to become a bit more aggressive and decisive, but I still like his performance: 7

Djourou: had a decent first half in an relatively unfamiliar position, and tried at least a few runs forwards: 7

Vermaelen: absolute beast and works so incredibly hard for the team. Also played in a relatively unfamiliar position and, understandably, we missed the attacking LB play from him at times. His desire to score for us in the last 10 minutes was simply inspirational: an other great player to have at Arsenal: 8.5

Miquel: did very well, and what a classy player we have here: 7.5

Arteta: brilliant game. Fought like a stallion and worked his socks off for the team. Together with Song, he tamed the MC midfield: 8.5

Ramsey: brilliant game. Fought like a dragon and worked his socks off for the team. He was everywhere and made so many positive runs into the box. Sooner or later, he will start scoring goals on a regular basis and, ideally, we would have had somebody in Ramsey’s position yesterday, who can do what he did plus score (more) goals. But Ramsey gives absolutely everything and is learning and growing very fast: 8

Song: brilliant game. Fought like a lion and did very well not to get a second yellow card: a very mature performance. Together with Arteta, he tamed the MC midfield: 8.5

Theo: was often isolated in attack and when he had the ball he was unable to shield it very well at times. He is not able to attack defenders from standing still; the way Gervinho does and that really is a handicap for him in games like this. Worked his socks off to help out our defence: 7.5

Gervinho: some will say he needs to improve on his decision making. Although, he made a few not-so-good decisions, he made many very good decision and he was everywhere yesterday. Like Theo he helped out our defence constantly, but he also set up many of our attacks: 8.5

RvP: worked his socks off for the team, and scored a brilliant goal which was given offsite unfortunately. Missed a good chance, but was also up against one of the best CB’s in the world right now (Kompany): 8.5

My Man of the Match: the entire team. They did us proud yesterday.

Written by TotalArsenal.

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In The Spirit of Sir Henry

December 15, 2011

Picture this. Its 18th Century London and crime is rife in the capital. Muggers and looters stalk the wealthy Streets and Avenues of the City Centre. The biggest killer? Not the small pointy blades of the outer city Hoodies. No. It was the Gentlemen who still sported the longer reaching swords, and could thus pick off their chosen Hoody from a safe distance. The Cads. Or were they?

This is the same merry bunch who thought up the worlds’ greatest games and sports, and then enshrined those in Codes and Rules ensuring fair play and gentlemanly conduct. It is also from these roots that the English developed their sense of justice in the sporting arena. The idea that it was in the taking part that the sport was to be found, and from here we developed our affinity with the underdog.

I like to think that everything about The Arsenal encompasses these principles. Or do I?

You know what, I don’t really. There’s nothing I like better than a touch of underhand dealing. A little skullduggery. We know there is underfloor heating beneath the pampered feet of the home dugout, but not so for our guests. We know about the shrewd dealings of one Sir Henry Norris. So what’s next?

At this point I need to fess up that the inspiration for this post came from a quite brilliant comment yesterday by GiE (7:43 am). We all know that City pay for Adebeyor to play for that lot. Well, GiE’s masterplan was for us to get the bloke on the same terms, then effectively short weekly loan him out to play for whoever is taking on the Spuds that week. Genius, simple and effective I thought. For me, this is Sir Henry Norris level thinking, and frankly, I’d like The Arsenal to start thinking more laterally.

It appears to me that there are two pressing areas in which we should direct our plans. The first is, quite obviously, to ensure home advantage to the max. To this end, we have to optimize the effects of Winter. We all know how darkness descends the over the land as the first half draws to an end, and the cold easterlies explore our exposed extremities. Perhaps we need to exaggerate the effect with thermal control over the visiting dressing room, while pumping in relaxation sound effects to weaken their resolve.

The second is to land the striker that we cannot afford. Now bungs seem a little old hat, so perhaps there are “extras” we could be offering our selected targets. The Leveson Inquiry would appear to offer some inspiration here in ways that may make “persuading” agents, managers and players to believe that the right thing to do would be to jump ship to The Arsenal at vastly reduced expense. A rigged photo here, an incriminating phone call there.  Just thinking aloud here.

So come on. Think up lads. I know I’m not squeaky clean in this department. The lighting in the Wiff Waff Club is heavily rigged to favour one end, and I know where to start the “eeny meeny miny moing” to win the toss, and as back up I also own a double headed coin. There is room for some shrewd thinking here. I happen to know there are many fish eaters on this site, with correspondingly enormous brains. So let’s put it to good use. Any ideas?

Written by MickyDitIt89

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One Man Team?

November 25, 2011

Another game for Arsenal, another win, another two goals, and who scored them? Of course our one man team Robin Van Persie, or at least that’s what the Fleet Street Scribes, Football Pundits and Broadcast Hacks will have you believe. And judging by the Emirates faithfuls reaction of silence then rapturous applause when Robin at first went down nursing a limb and then got back to his feet dusted himself down and walked back to the head of our attack Arsenal fans also subscribe to the theory.

What is it to be a one man team? For me it’s a team that relies on one player for creativity, and that everything goes through. Whilst Robin is playing very well at the moment the ball moves from back to front without him. If I could pick a player in a European club that is more important to his team than Robin is for Arsenal I look North to Salford and see Rooney. A player who as is always pointed out on highlight shows has such a huge bearing on the outcome of United games. Defensive tackles, dropping deep to create from midfield, and finally getting on the end of moves he starts.

Whilst if necessary Robin can do all this (well maybe not the tackling) he has concentrated this year on being in the box and doing the job centre forwards are paid to do….scoring goals. Long have we Gooners bemoaned the lack of a 30 goal a season striker, some seasons 20 would have been nice. Somehow we’ve found ourselves a 40 goal a season player at current rate and now we think others should be contributing.

Look at the 17 goals he has scored so far this campaign (I know 17 goals and we’re not out of November!). Anyway have a think back about the goals….how many have been close range tap ins from good wide play, or on a plate from a good through ball, by my reckoning I’d say 13-14 goals this season have come from the work of others or John Terry being shit. The exceptions are the free kick against Sunderland, the dribble and shot against Bolton and his hattrick goal against Chelsea.

Don’t get me wrong any injury to Robin right now is going to hurt him and us fans but the way the team is playing any centre forward worth a place in a Premier League squad should convert at least half of the chances the skipper has been handed this year (if not more).

I think Vermaelen, Song or Szczesny would be a bigger loss to the team as a whole for the platform they provide for the players in front of them, Robin by default is the focal point of attacks and in the form he is in teammates are looking for him with crosses and passes does that make us a one man team? I don’t think so, if it did the Liverpool with Rush were a one man team, Arsenal with Wright were a one man team, Barca with Messi are a one man team…..I could go on.

Robin is doing what strikers should do and long may it continue but if we miss him for a few games I’ll still back this team to score goals, because I see how many chances they are creating.

Written by Gooner In Exile

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The New Arsenal

November 18, 2011

The new Arsenal: focus, enthusiasm, togetherness, and a mixture of raw talent and calm experience

The interlull is almost over. Although it has been a boring period – from a footballing point of view – at least we did not have to endure again the spectacle of recent interlulls: in-fighting of fellow Arsenal fans. No, quietly the fans have gained considerable trust in this Arsenal team again and are more united now. And this makes a big difference on how an interlull period is experienced. Football is funny like that.

The reason for this renewed optimism is not only down to a run of good games/results. There is something within this new Arsenal team that makes it easy to indentify with again, to really love again, something that makes us feel good to support and believe in this team again with all our heart. It is like having a new girlfriend: she might be not as stunning as the previous one, and not everybody talks about you anymore, but she is surprisingly pleasant and enthusiastic and you feel you are getting somewhere again – a sense of hope and progress. And we can definitely say Arsenal is getting somewhere again.

So what are the key ingredients of this new Arsenal team? For me, they can be summarised with the word: FEETT. On a personal/work related level I have always felt that people with a lot of FEETT get furthest in work/life, and I believe this also goes for whole teams, or even organisations.

F is for Focus:

There is a new focus in this team, mixed with a healthy dose of humility. For a big part this is due to our awful start to the season. The sweet uses of adversity (Shakespeare) have been on display once again. Arsenal is well below from where it belongs in the league table, and the aim is to simply focus on one game at a time and win as many as possible, so we can climb the table and end in the top-4 at least.

The same goes for the cup competitions. This will sound a bit bizarre, but I have not seen Arsenal being this focussed as it has been this year, for a long time. Nobody believes anymore that we are special – at the moment – based on our recent history of superior, title & cup-winning football: no, for the first time there appears to be a strong realisation among the fans and the players that we need to regain that status through hard work and focussing on winning game after game. Wenger has also recognised this, as he stated recently that we need to be a bit humble and just concentrate on winning the next game (rather than talking about winning the title this year). Combine that with Gazidis’ announcement that not finishing in the top-4 would not be a disaster and you can see Arsenal’s tactics to release the tension a bit, and allow time to build another Wengerball super-team.

The paradox is that by saying we are not focussed on winning the title (at the moment) and not qualifying for the CL is not a disaster, we are far more likely to do well this season. This team is on a mission – it knows what it needs to do.

E is for Energy & Enthusiasm:

We have the right balance now between talent, technique and energy levels, and with the likes of Arteta, Jenkinson, Koz, RvP, Ramsey, Song, Szzesny and Vermaelen in our team we have plenty of stamina. The team works a lot harder now – collectively – and with a considerable amount of enthusiasm as well. Energy and enthusiasm are paramount for success, as it will help us to get over the difficult moments easier and faster (recent second half performances against Udinese, Sunderland, Marseille, and Chelsea especially, spring to mind).

E is for Experience:

For me, this is probably the biggest, and most positive, change from last year. The way the BFG and Santos recovered in the second half, from their disappointing first half performances against Chelsea, was very telling. With Vermaelen, the BFG, Sanya and Santos there is plenty of experience in our defence and the likes of Jenkinson, Szczesny, JD and Gibbs will all benefit from this tremendously as well.

In midfield, we now have the ‘arrived’ Song, Arteta, Rosicky, Arshavin and Benny who are all experienced enough to make a difference and the likes of Jack, Rambo, Frimmpong. Diaby and Coquelin will all benefit from this. Upfront we have the experience of RvP, our captain, Theo, Gervinho and Chamakh – on whom I refuse to give up on, at least for the time being. The likes of Ryo, the Ox and Park can all benefit from playing with our more experienced players, especially the Dutch Master. It is this combination of youth and experience throughout the positions which makes me so hopeful of the (near) future.

T is for Talent:

This Arsenal squad is bursting at it seams with talent in all four areas of the team. Szczesny and Fabianski are both fabulous goalkeepers and Manone is nor far off either. Gibbs and Jenkinson are very promising propests and so is Miquel. The midfield is overdosed with talent, and this is after the departure of Cesc and ‘the other one’. In attack, we have representatives from four continents and I cannot wait to see Joel Campbell play for us. He looks like a great prospect and so does Park, who needs a bit more time to settle in properly.

The final T is for Teamwork or Togetherness:

This new Arsenal Team really is becoming a solid, cohesive group of players who are ready to fight for each other and make things happen. There is a great spine from Szczesny – Vermaelen/Mertesacker/Koscielny – Song/Arteta – Ramsey/Wilshere/ Rosicky – RvP. These players, together with the FB’s and Wingers, and aided by a great reserve bench in most games now, looks more ‘together’ and resilient than ever: a proper team where everybody wants to work for each other and for the club, and with plenty of quality to make the difference when required. As many have pointed out, the recent, collective team celebrations have been a joy to watch and tell us a lot about the levels of togetherness within this new team.

So there is plenty of reason to be optimistic for the future. Clearly, we are not there yet and things could still go against us again, but this team is on a mission and all the basic components are there for a successful season.

COYRRG!

TotalArsenal.

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What Do Points Win?

November 11, 2011

That little table on the right shows we are still one point behind last seasons cumulative total, one problem with that table (other than the lack of progression in 2010/11 from game 27 onwards) is that it does not take into account the opponents played. On Saturday we made a big step forward, like for like games compared to last season we are now 3 points up.

In one respect this makes the second half at Ewood, the unfortunate event in N17 and the late goals against Liverpool more costly. If we had gone like for like in those games we would now be up seven points on last season. Unfortunately one of those games occurred in the wake of the most turbulent pre seasons this club has ever seen, one in the early days of rebuilding, and one caused by the once in a lifetime goal immediately preceding disappearance to football obscurity.

Since those games we have been on a run which has seen us turnaround a number of disastrous results from last season, including perhaps most impressively and key to the change to a more cheerful Emirates faithful the victory over the Chavs down the Kings Road.

Whilst football seasons don’t go to exactly to history the majority of games go with form and expectation, especially where the top clubs are concerned. With that in mind I have looked at our nearest rivals using the same like for like basis to see if they have started the season as well as the current table suggests.

For the sake of this exercise West Ham were replaced by Norwich, Blackpool by Swansea, and Birmingham by QPR.

This is the result:

What does this tell us?

In my opinion it shows us that at United appear to be standing still, Chavs performing worse whilst Dippers, Shitty and Spuds have shown big gains.

Depending how you interpret this swing and how you extrapolate it gives various outcomes.

If you assume the remaining games will go as they did last season the final table will end up something like this:

Clearly that shows United retaining their championship and the rest of the top 4 being the same as last season. Whilst that will satisfy us after our poor start should we really be looking at the swing compared to the points gained last year, and then extrapolate that swing over the remaining games (and points achieved)? If so that would give the following:

Whilst all of this is playing with numbers it is important to show that despite our recent form and surpassing our points total from the same games last year we are not out of the woods yet. This could turn into one of the most exciting races for the Champions League ever, with not just two teams chasing the final spot, but four or five teams chasing three spots, plus a Championship to win.

The shake down is a long way off but the teams performances between now and January are crucial in achieving Champions League qualification.

Out of interest, to still be three points ahead come New Year’s Day we have to win every game but one (which will need to be a draw). That is the task that lays ahead of the manager and players to stay ahead of last years performance.

Written by Gooner In Exile

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Arsène Wenger’s Got a Headache

November 8, 2011

The criticism of Arsène for trying to force square pegs into round holes has frequently been levelled over recent seasons. Bendtner, Eboue and Arshavin in particular have all been deployed in areas that would not be their first choice let alone the Championship Managers among us. The reason for this has generally been a lack of depth in the squad exacerbated by the perennial injury problems that have depleted us so cruelly at vital times.

Now it would appear that Arsène has a headache of a different kind. The summer purchases coupled with the progression of quality players through the youth system has created a problem, a good problem to have but a problem nonetheless. As far as Sagna and Wilshere are concerned the problem is months away but in light of the coming 2 weeks of nail biting over the potential for injuries playing in meaningless internationals, I thought it would be interesting to ponder the alternatives.

Who are our best players in every position?
Well I think the answer at the top and tail of the team is obvious – RvP and Szczesny give Arsenal about the best polar opposites in the league. But elsewhere it is not so simple.

Centreback Partnership
Some supporters had been crying out for a tall physical presence at the back and then along came Per Mertesacker the 6ft 5in answer to our vulnerability from set pieces. Don’t get me wrong, I think the BFG is an excellent addition to the squad and has helped us keep in touch through this early critical period, but I think most would agree that his height is not the main attribute he possesses. No, it’s his positional play, reading of the game, timing of the tackle cool head and experience – but I wouldn’t mind betting that Kozzer has won more headers in the box when playing alongside Mert. The return of Vermaelen has been a huge shot in the arm and has reminded us all that he is a world class defender and our captain of the defence. For me the best CB pairing is TV and Koz but have your say by placing your vote below.



Wingbacks
Now this is where it really does get difficult. Most Arsenal supporters would say that last season Sagna was the best right back in the league. He didn’t start this season so well and looked a yard or two off the pace, but a 90% Sagna is still better than most RBs and it seemed like an early hammer blow to our season when he was ruled out with a fractured leg.

But then there was the introduction of Carl Jenkinson to the first team. He was one of our early summer signings who at 19 was inexperienced to say the least having been on loan at a non league club previously. For me he has been a revelation. Like Jack, he’s an Arsenal supporter. He has amazing energy going forward and uncharacteristically for an Arsenal player, he can cross the ball. Don’t get me wrong, he’s not in the same class defensively as Sagna at this stage, but he is improving every game and has won the hearts of the supporters already. Sagna has to be my first choice RB for the big games, but Jenks is a real find and offers us more offensively so in a couple of years time who knows?


Gibbs or Santos? – now that is a much closer call. Gibbs has been threatening to become the new Cashley for a couple of seasons. His progress has been hampered by a worrying propensity to pick up injuries that hasn’t ever really let us see him have a decent run of games.

Santos is already dividing opinion. He’s all Brazillian, surging forward with gay abandon, super control spiced with clever tricks and finished with a sweet left foot and cool head in front of goal. He loves to go forward, its the gaping holes that he leaves behind that worry many. West Brom were poor on Saturday and Santos never really looked troubled but against stiffer opposition he may be undone. The hope is that he will adjust his game to put slightly more emphasis on the defensive side of his play, but I for one would not wish him to sacrifice his natural attacking game. Santos would be my first choice for LB.

The Midfield
Since The Boy Wonder’s place is not in question I shall consider the midfield to be the ‘5’ in a 4:5:1 formation – but you can call it 4:3:3 if it makes you happy. I have no hesitation on current form in saying that wide midfielders places are not in question, Theo and Gervinho have been excellent and are clearly Arsène’s first choice, but we still have very good options in Arshavin, the Ox and possibly Ryo in time.

The current best centre midfield 3 would appear to be Song, Ramsey and Arteta – but what happens when Jack is fit again?

It would appear that Song’s place in the side is safe so who would give way to accommodate our rising star? I actually think that Arteta has been more influential in the side recently than Song as he quietly gets on with his business and keeps the Wengerball machine running smoothly whereas Song is often noticed when he somehow magically manages to hold off multiple players and still emerge with the ball but I sometimes think he should not be in that position in the first place. Once again we are blessed with midfield options and squad rotation of the midfield 3 would help us stave off the customary end of season fatigue.

Which players would you prefer to see as our centre midfield three?

The Subs
I have made the presumption that everyone would agree that these are the only candidates for first choice in their positions but many would disagree. Is Arshavin more effective than Gervinho on the left? The Ox worth a try in place of Theo? Rosicky more reliable than Ramsey? Benny more attacking than Song? Diaby waiting in the wings to finally realise his potential? Coquelin worth a try for some games? – they may well all have to play their part in a typically long season. With the possible exception of strikers, we can now boast two quality players for every position on the pitch.

One thing is for sure, our new strength in depth makes us better equipped than for many years and the removal of large egos and homesick heroes from the dressing room should mean that rotation and competition for places makes us a stronger and more resilient squad this season.

You can see how opinion is divided in the polls by clicking on ‘View Results’ on the bottom left of each poll box.

Written by Rasp

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Now is the time to make Arshavin Arsenal’s Playmaker

October 13, 2011

‘We cannot allow ourselves to indulge in sadness and melancholy’

Andrey Arshavin, December 2010 (after MU away game)

 

With the departure of Cesc Fabregas and the long-term injury to Jack Wilshere, Arsenal is left with a hole, in more ways than one. It is a cruel double blow to have neither of them available for this pivotal position, especially during this transitional period. Since the start of the new season, the much-changed Arsenal team has looked unfamiliar to us, as if it has lost its identity, its USP, its typical style of football, and the main reason for this is, nobody has been able to make the ‘hole position’ theirs until now. It comes as no surprise that our results in the League have also been well under-par, and now is the time to make some bold moves so we can regain momentum and confidence again, and shake-off this mantle of sadness and melancholy once and for all.

The Playmaker position, just off the striker – the Dutch call it ‘de hangende spits’ (the ‘hanging-off’ striker) was made for Dennis Bergkamp and vice versa, back in the mid-nineties. He epitomised what can be done to a team and its style of football if the right player takes up the no. 10 position. DB10 was always able to find space for himself, so the defence and midfield had an outlet, he was able to hold on the ball and allow the attacking midfielders to move forward, but he was just as capable to set up a quick attack for his fellow striker and wingers – often with an inch-perfect defence-splitting pass that would make you go weak in the knees for joy – or to take on defenders himself and score goals from just outside the penalty area, or inside the box. Dennis had it all: brilliant first touch, superb vision, a winner’s mentality, a professional through and through, and somebody who took pleasure in doing beautiful things with a ball on the pitch. It was this quest for beauty that has made him such a special player and made him immortal to us, and, in a way, he made us all feel a bit immortal along the way.

Cesc Fabregas was a different ‘no. 10’ for us: more of an attacking midfielder than a striker, with a great ability to pass the ball within tight spaces and to boss the midfield area. However, what he had in common with Dennis was the ability to pick a defence splitting pass and to create something out of nothing, for which he also had the vision and touch. He was another great Arsenal player although not in the same category as Dennis, but then who is, or will ever be?

Jack Wilshere is a very promising player for both Arsenal and England. For me, he is our future ‘nr. 10’ as he is similar to Cesc in many ways, with great vision and a superb passer of the ball, very good in tight spaces and with a phenomenal fighting spirit and stamina. He came off age last year during our game against Barcelona, and to do so at such a young age is truly astounding. We are unbelievably lucky to have him, and I am sure he will be another Arsenal great. The only thing missing until now is Jack’s goal scoring ability/record, and until this improves he can compensate it with his vision and passing ability, which should lead to setting up many successful attacks and assists.

So, who is going to fill this position for us until Jack returns?

The candidates are: Aaron Ramsey, Thomas Rosicky, Mikel Arteta, Yossi Benayoun, Robin van Persie and Andrey Arshavin. I cannot see Arsenal change the system to 4-4-2 in the near future, so I am going to base my views on the current 4-2-3-1 system. In the ‘2’, Alex Song is our ‘pure’ DM and there is back-up for him from Emmanuel Frimpong and Francis Coquelin. For me the best partner to Song in the ‘2’ is a typical box-to-box midfielder and either Aaron Ramsey or Mikel Arteta should play in that position. The DM’s partner should be an all-round midfielder who can defend, and go forward, create chances for others and score goals himself. Both Arteta and Ramsey can offer this, and we are lucky to have two such good players to cover this position.

But who should play in the hole: who should be our Playmaker? Ideally, a player for this position should have vision, hold on to the ball really well, a great passer of the ball and ability to score goals with an average of 0.25 goals or higher, per game.

For me, for now, it is neither Ramsey, nor Arteta. For different reasons, I find it too early for them to be given this vital role in the team. I am not convinced that both of them have the vision that is required for this key position and with PL goal-scoring records of 0.16 goals per game (Arteta) and 0.12 (Ramsey), I do not feel they are prolific enough either. However, it is early days and both could claim this position over time.

Rosicky has the vision and the passing ability, but lacks the stamina and consistency to really claim this role. When TR played in this role this season, he gave Arsenal its identity back, but he cannot do this twice a week for us and his goal scoring record is not great either with only 0.13 goals per game. For me, Rosicky should be the second choice for the Playmaker role, and he is a good squad player for Arsenal to have (just think back to his second half performance against Udinese in Italy).

Yossi Benayoun could be a possibility, but as he is on loan at Arsenal I don’t think we should give this position to him on a regular basis. His goal scoring record is the same as Arteta’s (0.16 goals per game), so not bad but also not brilliant. I would like to see more of Yossi in an Arsenal shirt so I can make a proper assessment of his abilities.

This leaves me with two remaining possibilities: Robin van Persie or Andrey Arshavin. Both are options I would like us to try out, just to see whether it works. As a captain, RvP is isolated as our lone striker. If he were to play in the ‘hole position’ with either Chamakh, Park, or even Gervinho or Walcott, in front of him, he could be both a better leader of the team and improve our attacking options. He would not be a typical Playmaker, but fill in the role similar to the way Rooney does at MU. If we were to opt for a 4-4-2 formation, as many of us would prefer, this would work very well.  It would mean a strong decrease in focussing on our passing game and continuous emphasis on breaking quickly – a bit like the Arsenal of the early parts of the last decade. We have the wing-players for it now with Walcott, Gervinho, Ryo and Ox, and with Chamakh and Park we have the typical strikers to make this system work for us. We could add to this strike-force at the next TW and all could be rosy again.

However, as I said earlier, I don’t believe we will adopt a 4-4-2 system in the near future. In the current 4-2-3-1 system, we need a playmaker in the middle of the ‘3’. As we are not talking about a classical playmaker – as in a 4-4-2 formation in which the player next to the DM would be: a role that would fit both Arteta and Ramsey a lot better in my opinion – we need somebody in this role who can hold on to the ball in tight spaces, pass it with ease, find gaps in defences easily, makes good attacking decisions in a flash, and can score goals from just outside the box as well as inside the box.

For me, this player is Andrey Arshavin. Please don’t get me wrong in thinking I am a huge fan of Arshavin: he is not consistent enough, and does not work as hard as is required, but then – as we all know – he is not playing in his best position either. Arshavin has a PL goal scoring record of 0.27 goals per game, which is the same as DB10 had for us. He is great passer of the ball and can split open defences easily. He holds on the ball reasonably well, although this is not one of his strong points. He can score from just outside the box, and I have no doubt he would link up well with RvP.

It is only a matter of time until Arshavin leaves Arsenal, but I think he deserves to be given the ‘hanging-off’’ striker position, just this once: at least until Christmas this year. He is our best option there and it would be cruel not to give him a last opportunity to show us all how really good he is. Why Arsene Wenger has not done this until now is a mystery to me, but hopefully the current lack of alternatives might change his mind.

TotalArsenal.

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A R-ight close SHAV IN-creases tension as the Vorm Turns? And Ratings…..

September 11, 2011

Arteta – Bright Start but faded…..

Its September 10th, a New dawn, new beginnings, from the ashes of Project Y’sssh and the dishevelled remains of a team that faced the Old Trafford onslaught, it was  Wengers regrouped band of footballers with a significant number of new recruits, grabbed on the supermarket trolley dash on 31st August, who took to the field, ready to drag Arsenal back to the upper echelons of the premier league………

Per – Slow Steady Start

There was an air of anticipation around the ground, as we all took our seats, Arteta and Mertz were in the Line up and the other new boys all on the bench…..A team selection rightly predicted by many, but from now on perhaps not so easy to predict, so the depth is there…

Little time to get the know the new players as our team returned from around the globe after their international endeavours with goals aplenty scored by our boys…….so they do know where the ball should go………?

Anyway, a bright start to the game saw a Spaniard look composed and assured on the ball, with deft touches and slide passes, he was playing with a smile and a zest about his play.  And the fans had their early voices heard…..

The first chance saw Arteta put Aaron through on goal, but he lost balance and smashed it high and wide. Arsenal continued to press and knock the  ball around. But the next best chance was seized by the Swans…….

A delightful cross in from the right from agustien, as Danny Graham attacked the six yard box (please note this arsenal), got in front of Per and stabbed it to the bottom corner, wrong footed, off balance and his eyes closed, ok that bit was made up, Szczesny somehow got down to his left to produce a stunning save…….

Arsenal kept up the initial pace of the game with the lively Arshavin releasing the ball through the middle to Theo who came from the right, Theo managed to squeeze the ball goal bound under Vorm, as it edged towards the goal, Caulker cleared the ball away…

Arsenal continued to move the ball around, but it lacked real zip and the movement in the final third was poor, as chances were few and far between. Frimpong back from suspension showed heart and the fight for a battle, had a dig from range, but it was dragged wide.

Gradually Swansea became more dangerous as their confidence grew with Dyer and Sinclair causing problems with their pace and directness, arsenal struggled to gel as a team. Another cross flashed across the 6 yard area, Graham nearly getting his head on it, with arsenal defence static Gibbs nearly steering in his own net as the ball came at him.

As we moved close to half time, no player really was standing out for Arsenal, Arshavin was certainly been more involved than of late and couldn’t have been lambasted for his usual laziness, as he chased and harried every ball, soon he got his reward.

Frimpong, passed into Theo with his back to goal, who turned inside to his right and done two men on the edge of the area, but flashed his shot high and wide with his left, a deflection looped the ball up high and as it edged towards the corner, Vorm collected the ball and rolled it out, but it hit the heels of the swan defender Rangel, Arshavin turned and with his left peg, curled a sweet shot into the empty and inviting net……..

Second half started lively with both sides knocking the ball about, but both lacked penetration. Sinclair raced towards goal; he tried to evade Kosceinly who scythed him down, yellow card. Sinclair’s free kick hit the bar and over.

Moments later, Arsenal moved forward down the left, Arshavin played into RVP, who took the ball with two players in close quarters, he shrugged them off and turned to his left and across the goal and unleashed a curler to the far right post which he clipped.

Arshavin came off for Benayoun on 63, which considering it was his best performance for a while was unfortunate.

Arteta, played the ball out wide to Sagna, who moved forward and curled the ball across the goal, just nobody attacking the box, Van Persie just too late……

Frimpong was replaced by Coquelin on 75; quickly he got into the game, he reads the game well, and he worked hard to close down players. On 81 Van Persie was taken off for Chamakh, which was a strange one, but later at the end, RVP limped as he walked on the pitch to applaud the fans, so maybe a precautionary move?.

Chamakh almost had an immediate impact; a long ball from Koscielny was headed back to Ramsey, who fed Gibbs on the left, who crossed perfectly first time, Chamakh rose, good contact but straight at Vorm.

In the last few minutes, Swansea pressed and won some corners and from one of them, the ball broke for Graham, who turned and couldn’t keep his shot down and fired over from 5yards…..

Overall:

So we end with 11 men, no bad ref decisions against us and we get a little bit of luck for a change, so has the Vorm turned?

Well it’s a win, a clean sheet and 3points. Important not to drop points, especially with the pressure at the end of the match, nervous but we didn’t concede a sloppy goal which was a trade mark last season.

Fair play to Swansea, they played well and looked good at times, need to find the scoring touch soon to stay in this league, but we are not prolific!!! My only gripe was way too many players went to ground holding their heads………

Ratings:

Wenger: 7:

Picked a team, most of us picked beforehand but 3 points so cannot mark down too harsh. I would love to know what instructions he sends Theo out with, his play no way as effective as against Udinese. Standard substitutions, didn’t improve the game, as we lost our shape, allowing and inviting pressure.

Szczesny: 8: Just for that save, which truly was world class, Number 1?, commands the box and is more considered with his distribution now.

Sagna: 7: Not spectacular but dependable and solid, Sinclair will cause problems for who ever he faces. Got forward well.

Koscienly: 7: Reads the game well, under rated for me, I’ll say as always, he just lacks aggression for me. Rightly booked

Mertesacker: 6: Steady and slow start, little time to acclimatise to premier league so will mention a couple of good tackles he made.  My big concern was he didn’t attack the ball enough and use his height effectively

Gibbs: 6.5: offensively was probably better with some good crosses, but again he failed at times to attack the ball in defence, one very notably near the end that could hav cost us. Positionally naïve or still learning? Needs to up his game or Santos will be coming early this year……..

Frimpong: 6: Heart and fight, plenty of drive, his effort alone endears him to the crowd, a favourite of mine already. But his passing was poor. Although when he gets it wrong he chases till he gets it back…..Young and will be a stalwart for years…….Tired towards the end, before been subbed.

Ramsey: 7: Heard some comments knocking his performance, thought he did well, looked for the ball and moved us forward. Had an early chance that he blasted wide. Never hid and worked tirelessly. Heard someone say he isn’t good enough for Arsenal, balderdash…….have a word…….

Arteta: 7: Really lively start, probing and laying off deft touches, a Spaniard orchestrating the midfield, he is his own man and he will do well for us. Hacked down several times, showed that he was seen as dangerous by the swans. Dropped off in the 2nd half as our shape went apples and pears……

Arshavin: 8:  A much better performance, worked hard and close down defenders, always looking and probing. Definitely not a lazy boy today…….Took his goal well, it might have been an open net, but most would have missed that from that angle. Went off before 65 as usual….Just gets my MotM for his goal and work rate.

Walcott: 7:   A crowd splitter, he tends to frustrate more than he excites, but just what he instructions does he get? The team doesn’t aid him and he is not suited to balls in tight areas to his feet. I will defend him, but I agree without pace he wouldn’t be as useful, but he has pace so that statement is pointless, he does give us an outlet, he needs to become consistent to realise his full potential. But I would say, he has an Ox breathing down his neck…… I know quite a few will disagree with me but for all his knockers, he did more than Van Persie.

Van Persie: 6: Didn’t get involved enough, if he plays point, he needs to attack the area with more vigour. Great shot in the 2nd half that hit the post. Subbed late on, took a knock? Play him in the hole…….

Subs:

Benayoun: 6: Lively

Coquelin: 6: Tenacious

Chamakh: 6: Had a header, but little time.

Next up:  Dortmund……….Champions league, we need a better shape and more movement in the final 3rd. Defenders need to attack the ball and not let it bounce. With Gervinho and Song back in the team, we will step it up again……..

End Note: Condolences to Brendon Rodgers, Swansea Manager, whose father died on Friday.

Written by Harry

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Healing the Wounds

September 8, 2011

Football blogs serve one important function and that is to provide an escape valve for supporters to vent their angst – and boy have we had cause of late. Such is the need to let off steam that AA has been flooded with contributors wishing to exorcise their footballing demons. Today we publish the thoughts of 2 new writers who are Arsenal to the core and through their own words have reached the same upbeat conclusion as to our prospects this season.

Part 1 written by Holly

Since September 1st I’ve withdrawn from all on line sources of Arsenal news, I think my brain was about to implode with the frenzied wind up to transfer deadline day, so the break was welcomed. This allowed me to stand back and take stock of where we are at compared to the last home game of last season where those that turned up made their feelings clear that they were not happy with many things Arsenal. This is the bit where I shall embrace controversy; I think we are now a far superior team and squad and feel that not only is a top four slot a realistic shout, but a title tilt is far from beyond us also!

I know know, such positivity, I must be on the happy pills!

Think about it, from our squad last season we have lost really only four players that we could argue were regulars and even out of those four I could find you more gooners than not that were happy to see two of them leave, namely Bendtner and Clichy. So really it’s the loss of Cesc and Na$ri that leaves the ‘gaping hole’ I keep hearing about. I’m fed up hearing we’ve not replaced these departees but not only have we replaced them we’ve improved upon them. Like for like we are never going to replace Cesc, the guy is a one-off, a truly world class player, so rid yourself of any desire to compare like for like, it serves little purpose. Na$ri on the other hand, whilst admittedly possessing the potential to be world class, we only saw glimpses of it and therefore he is very replaceable.

Now let’s take a look at those who’ve joined us, whose primary remit would be to replace and improve upon the creativity of our departed. Let’s presume that Park comes in for Bendtner, and judging by his 4 goals in 2 games in international week I’m reasonably encouraged by this prospect. Then we have Arteta, Gervinho, Benayoun, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (AOC), and to a lesser extent Myaichi. Arteta is as similar a player to Cesc as certainly the premier league has to offer and he has made a big impact in training already with his quality. His guile, quick feet and vision will create many opportunities for our attack and he won’t require any settling in time. Gervinho has started his Arsenal career in fine form, his performance against Udinese suggesting that we have a big game player on our hands.

It may be a little churlish of me to point out that when we needed our big game players during last season’s title run in that Na$ri popped up with a grand total of one goal in fifteen games, images of him clean through at Bolton one on one will haunt me for a long time. Benayoun is another quality addition; I’m much happier with the prospect of him coming off the bench instead of Eboue, for example. Then we come to the player who with a bit of luck could do a Theo and be a surprise inclusion for Capello next summer (yes, I know I’ll get stick for this). If you didn’t see the six minute clip doing the rounds in the last couple of days of his second half cameo for the under 21s then I urge you to go find it and watch. One nil down to four one up thanks to four assists from AOC. Speed, power, control, end product, I could not believe how lucky I felt that I was watching an Arsenal player, this kid has the lot

If Arshavin’s form continues and (the ever improving) Theo picks up a knock then AOC could get his chance and if he does I’ve an inkling he’ll take it. Myaichi is an unknown entity at the moment but he did achieve cult hero status after playing just four months in Holland, so he certainly has something about him. Next week’s Carling Cup match against Shrewsbury may be interesting.

All in all that’s a very strong hand we’re playing with in an attacking/creative sense. Just behind them we’ve a more experienced Jack, the proverbial new signing Aaron Ramsey back after serious injury and more recently a man of the match performance against England at Wembley, and the emergence of the first real competition (Diaby/Denilson, I’m looking at you) to Song, Emmanuel Frimpong. For the record I would have liked us to have secured the signing of M’Vila before the deadline but maybe that deal can be done in 12 months.

Finally we come on to the defence. To Koscielny, Djourou and Squillaci at the end of last season we can add the returning (4-6 weeks they say, and I believe them, ha) Vermaelen and the vastly experienced and huge Mertesacker. Nobody could argue that a starting pair of Vermaelen and Mertesacker isn’t strong, and with good back up in firstly Koscielny and then Djourou I think we’re set fair at last in this position. Clichy left to very little fanfare and Santos comes in, in similar fashion. At the very least he will provide good competition for Gibbs but lest not forget he is a Brazil international and at 28 the right age for our squad. On the other side Jenkinson has shown enough for me to be confident that with the right guidance he will be a very useful squad member at the very least, in the mould perhaps of an O’ Shea up at Old Trafford, and before you laugh just remember that O’ Shea has 5 league titles, 3 league cups, 1 fa cup and a champions league winners medal to his name.

So come on guys, be positive, think big, get behind them, you never know, you may be pleasantly surprised. Latest odds for the title by the way 26/1…………

Part 2 written by Fatgingergooner

Sunday 28th August, Old Trafford, Man Utd 8-2 Arsenal. Now this is a game that will long live in the memories of football fans all over the world, but it is one that this Gooner is ready to move on from…..

I could sit here and write a full analysis of this game from start to finish, talk about whether or not lambs were sent to their slaughter for Arsene’s benefit in the Transfer Window, or whether it was the lack of tactics, confidence or football experience that was to blame for the defeat. There are some that would love to sit and discuss this for hours on end, after all, it is still the hottest topic in football and to many Arsenal fans it is still an open wound that can only be soothed by the counselling that is found on blogs. But for me, its a scar, one that i will have to carry for the rest of my days, but also one that has healed cleanly. There are 2 reasons why i have been able to move on:-

Firstly, no matter how many ways you look at the scoreline and the result, it will only ever read:-

1 game, 0 points, -6 goal difference

You can try and dress it up as a confidence shattering result for a club that was already on the brink (something the press have enjoyed doing over the last 2 weeks), but many of the players that featured in the game will not be taking to the field on a regular basis for the remainder of the season. People like Jenkinson and Coquelin will be used sparingly, Arshavin, Rosicky, Djourou and Koscielny will now play second fiddle to the new signings, and Traore has been removed altogether. In 2 weeks time we will have players coming back from injury and suspension, new signings bedded in and raring to go, and a different looking side from that which was subject to humiliation.

Secondly, I have accepted that this was a lamb that could have been slaughtered in 10 different ways! A crack CSI team couldn’t figure this one out! Was it the boards influence? The players naivety? The coaches downfall? Or was it Professor Wenger in the changing rooms with the football pump!!!???? To be honest, I don’t know, and I don’t think anyone else does either, and that is why we must move on.

We have a relatively easy set of fixtures coming up:-

Swansea (h)
Blackburn (a)
Bolton (h)
Spuds (a)
Sunderland (h)
Stoke (h)

During this period our rivals will be playing each other:-

Man U v Man C
Man U v Chelsea
Liverpool v Man U
Spuds v Liverpool

This is an important period coming up for this club and something that all Gunners should be looking forward to. We can close the 8 point gap and in my opinion get ourselves right back in the title race where this new look side belongs. Some may say that I’m deluded, or some of you may want to look back over the Old Trafford defeat than look to the future. I’m not here to judge, but think about this…..

1 game, 0 points, -6 goal difference…….no more, no less…………

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