I was angry about the way we played in Anderlecht game. To give away a 3 goal lead by committing too many to attack and then to lose all defensive cohesion and shape when still in front at 3:2 was irresponsible and amateur.

I was apoplectic 5 days later when we managed to take the lead in a close game against Swansea and once again put attack before defence and threw away the 3 points. Had we learnt nothing from the Anderlecht game?

A week later we outplayed United everywhere on the pitch except where it mattered. I just felt that his dream had finally lost its way completely. We had played some beautiful football yet as in many times before we had been undone by the simplest of counters – another sucker punch.

All that I had read from quotes from former players and those who had worked with Arsene was that he was an attacking manager and did not put great emphasis on preparing his teams to play against the strengths and weaknesses of a particular opposition.

Like many, I had accepted that he would not change. Pragmatism did not feature in his vocabulary. It was his way only.

But then came the Dortmund game. From my elevated position I could see the shape of the team and it was immediately obvious that the structure was solid. Arteta is an important cog and will be missed but even without him, it was clear that the players were defending as a team and taking responsibility. It didn’t always have to be pretty, but it was effective.

The away game at West Brom followed. We were good to watch in the first half but our clever possession was not matched by clinical finishing. We missed the Ox’s incisive runs but still held our shape well as a team. In the second half, we scored what RockyLives described as ‘an un-Arsenal type goal’ and I later observed was the sort of goal we conceded more often than scored. We had delivered the sucker punch. We held onto that one goal lead, 3 points in the bank … job done. Yes we continued to probe forward but there were always sufficient numbers held back to defend properly.

So had anything changed or was everything down to the players selected?

Reports from some players surfaced about practicing defensive strategies before the game; does this herald a change in approach? GoonerInExile commented that “Flamster was rarely seen further than ten yards in front of the back four”

There was another difference. The manager who had spent the majority of the previous season cuddling himself on the bench with angst written all over his face was prowling his technical area and communicating with his players. Could it be that he had instigated a different system and was standing there making sure that they adhered to his instructions?

Like them or loathe them, Mourinho and Fergie play (played) as a 12^th man for their teams. Their press conferences, the pressure they put on referees, the clever wind ups of opposing managers, their larger than life presence on the touchline all communicate a message to the players – I’m here fighting for you guys!

Now I know Arsene is far more cultured than to stoop to the levels of the aforementioned, but maybe we are seeing him fight back against the growing criticism from supporters and the media ………. and maybe he has changed his approach to the attack/defence balance. If this is true you could argue that the pressure he was under is what prompted the change … self preservation if you like. Personally I don’t care. I like what I see and as confidence grows we can express ourselves more on the pitch as long as we remember the basics of defending.

Has he had an epiphany? Has he changed ‘his way’ in order to provide a more solid defence? Does he believe that is the right thing to do, or is he just employing different tactics in the short term until the pressure is off? ……… Only time will tell.

A note on the banner…..

The banner incident is a disgrace and reflects badly on all Arsenal supporters. I’m ashamed and embarrassed by those who chose to display it. If I could phone Arsene up and apologise to him on behalf of all Arsenal supporters I would.

Written by DeVilles Advocaat

Arsene inherited the George Graham inspired defensive set up. Dixon, Winterburn, Bould, Adams and Keown had been drilled to perfection, or as near as is possible to get with human beings. With that lot to choose from he could concentrate on his mid-field and attack safe in the knowledge that the backdoor was secure.

Since the demise of those great players, I can recall Wenger signing only one top, top class central defender, Sol Campbell. When it comes to full-backs, Lauren, Cole and Sagna stand out from the otherwise general mediocrity. Yet two of those were allowed to leave with no real efforts made to retain them. With all due respect to Gibbs, his injury problems alone preclude him being considered an adequate replacement for Cole and why Sagna was allowed to leave is beyond my comprehension. Too old at thirty? Utter rubbish!

When we look at recent defensive recruits a list of poor quality signings is revealed, Jenkinson, Santos, Monreal in the full-back category, while at centre-back Mertesacker is limited by a lack of pace, Vermaelen came promised much, got injured, lost confidence and his place, went to Barcelona, where incidentally he has not yet started a game, and Koscielny who has been hampered by the need to cover for Merts immobility and is himself now a long term injury worry. Others include players such as Senderos, Upson, Stepanov etc.

The paucity of quality centre backs over a period of time is revealed by the fact that Wenger has played Song, Diaby and now Monreal in the position, a situation that should not be tolerated in a “top four side”.

All of the above leads me to the conclusion that Arsene just does not “get” defending. I don’t think he “values” defenders. Full-backs have to be flying wingers, centre-backs have to be playmakers and strikers, when in fact the primary function is to defend, defend, defend.

If you are going to buy an Ozil, and play him on the wing, you need a sound defender behind him not someone who is going to bomb forward at every opportunity. If you are going to allow your mid-fielders to attack as a unit you need pacy defenders to stay back as cover. For an instance, for United’s second goal on Saturday, at the moment we lost possession all ten, yes all ten outfield players were in the Manchester half of the pitch, for all the good they were as defenders they may as well have been in a Manchester nightclub.

There were two other significant signings in the summer, Debuchy, a recognised premiership standard right-back, and Chambers a young man learning his trade. Unfortunately just as we were starting to see the quality of Debuchy he got injured, whilst Chambers had a baptism of fire, playing either at right-back or centre-back in almost every game of the season so far. I describe Chambers as “a young man learning his trade”, but what trade is that? A right-back? A centre-back? A wing back? I don’t know and I suspect that Wenger is equally in the dark, whilst poor Callum Chambers must be entirely bewildered.

The January transfer window is approaching, for once we are not crying out for a striker, indeed we may have too many, Podolski, Campbell and Sanogo just don’t get a look in, Welbeck seems to be a fixture, Giroud is back from injury, Walcott is nearing a return and then there is the magnificent Sanchez. We also have ample numbers in mid-field, so let’s bolster the defence, let’s buy a top quality centre-back and, if possible, a right-back, but most of all let’s get the defenders to understand that their duty is first and foremost to defend, defend, defend.

Written by Norfolk Gooner

Arenal v Manchester United in recent history have always been special games, sometimes title deciders, but yesterday was a different affair with both teams not living up to their respective fans expectations, this season.

I thought especially in the first half we played far better than in recent weeks and yet clinical finishing was yet again our downfall.  De Gea is getting a lot of plaudits but to be honest every single shot was aimed right at him (bar our goal).

I doubt anyone can argue that the game could and should have been put to bed within the first half an hour. All the players seemed a lot more motivated than in recent weeks, despite the International break, and quite frankly United looked a very ordinary team.

When we are leading we can’t seem to hold onto a lead, and when invariably we miss chance after chance and go one behind we start chasing the game and leave ourselves extremely vulnerable for the opposition to invariably score.

To say United’s goal was bizarre would be an understatement, yet we still had over half an hour to regroup instead of going gung ho and practically in football terms, commit hari kiri.

Who does one blame, the manager or the players or the system or a combination of all three ?

The stats this season don’t make good reading which ever way you look at them but yesterday because of the injury to Wilshere and Szczesny our options were limited. I believe the substitution of Ramsey was correct, perhaps a little earlier would in hindsight have been better, and Santi is not in the best of form, though it was nice to see Giroud back, who scored the best goal of the match.

I must give credit to Chambers who came under a lot of criticism against Swansea. He had an excellent game for one who was never expected to play practically every game so far this season.

Welbeck is a work in progress, Sanchez oozes class but I feel the main talking point will be about Wilshere, who should have scored, could easily have seen red, and then got injured, but the main question is what is his most beneficial position in our team.

There are questions about the whole set up of the team.Our failure to score regularly, not being able to boss the midfield and lapses in defence . Quite honestly, this a game we really should have won.

Over to you Mr.Wenger 🙂

Dortmund now becomes a must win game, for many many reasons..

kelsey