Arsene Wenger – The best there is, the best there was and the best there will ever be

November 9, 2011

Written by Double 98

Sir Alex Ferguson choked back the tears when the Manchester United people unveiled a stand in his name. It was a fitting tribute to a legend of the game and so much more pertinent to honour the man while he is still alive and running the club. Club allegiance aside, hats off to the man – 25 years at the helm of the biggest club in world football and enjoying unparalleled success in trophies and medals deserves mention and accolade.

Down the road in North London, Arsenal were beating a team that they should beat easily enough by 3 goals. That Arsenal beat West Brom 3-0, is not remarkable in a normal context but in November 2011 it is monumental. 12 – 18 weeks before in the close season, Arsène Wenger was confronted with a crisis in his club – in his own words half the dressing room wanted to leave. He moved quickly to clear some of the deader wood and tried desperately to get his world class players to stay.

To no avail, In Fabregas he lost a player that his third great team was entirely build around – an attacking quarterback with unbelievable passing ability, incredible panoramic vision and a ludicrously fast footballing brain. In Nasri he lost plan B, Nasri was spiky and mercurial, while not an exact match for Fabregas, he was a player that Arsene Wenger could have built a team around quite quickly. Over the summer along with the heart being ripped out of the club, and the replacement heart looted by the Dubai heart collectors we also had the periphery annihilated – among them Clichy – our one time class act at left back and Bendtner, precocious and arrogant, he always seem destined to be (in eddie vedder’s words) a “sun in somebody else’s sky..”.

So Wenger stood 2 days before the transfer deadline, with a half a team, 1 point from 3 games and having just taken a hiding from Manchester United the likes of which no Arsenal Manager has ever taken from anyone. The crowd had turned, the mumbling voice of the disaffected had grown to a howling, crescendo of hate and rejection. It would have been easy to do two things – leave or abandon his self sustainability model and buy some over priced class.

He did neither, he looked around the club and noticed the last diamond at his disposal – a diamond so fragile and unreliable that even in the form of his life had not attracted any serious interest from those that have plagued our club for the last 10 years – he ran a cloth over Robin van Persie and saw a resolve where others saw a fracture and thought – I can rebuild an empire around this fellow. From what I can tell he sent his team of negotiators out each with a players name, a bottomline value and a maximum weekly wage. Most of the people his team negotiated with laughed at the offers, or the agents laughed at the wages but the bottomline was hard.

At the close of the deadline, the news was confirmed that we had signed Arteta, Santos, Park,  the BFG and on loan Yossi Benayoun to go with the earlier captures of Gervinho and Jenkinson. Each of them had a point to prove, and a hunger to fill – each of them could have earned more money elsewhere or at their old club. Wenger looked at his gem cabinet and found Walcott, Koscielny and especially Rosicky, looking under used and brimming with unfulfilled potential. He shined them up and went to work binding them together into a cohesive unit. It wasn’t easy – he was two months behind in preparation and already 8 points off the lead.

Since deadline day (and the Old Trafford humiliation) Arsenal’s premier league results are W 6 D 0 L 2 while in all competitions it reads W 10 D 2 L 2. In amongst that statistic was the away wins in Marseille and a thumping of bogey team Chelsea. Whatever way you look at this form it is, if not title winning then title contending form. Have some of the wins been fortunate – yes, has some of the defending been shocking of course but you know what? It has been exponentially better week on week even the boo’s have stopped and it appears that the crisis is averted.

The media have stopped their feeding frenzy – even to the point where MOTD gave no analysis of our game against WBA. As little as a month before they had analysed every defensive mistake, gesture and position as forensically as a crime scene in an attempt to convince us all that Arsène Wenger had lost the plot, the crowd and his dressing room.

So where does this all bring us? Well as the accolades quite rightly come in for Sir Alex, all his achievement is, for me, second to the real world achievement of Arsène Wenger – in 12 weeks he has had his heart ripped from his chest, he has been humiliated and beaten to within a inch of his life by his biggest foe, he has had to sit and endure the cacophony of boos and jeers from his own supporters, he has had to endure former Arsenal players telling him on tv that his time is up, he has had to stay quiet while players that never had the talent to play for him (Savage) tell the world that he hasn’t a clue, former managers telling us that he needs a defensive coach, he has had to look Robin van Persie in the eye every day and tell him not to waver in his faith, he has had to take old dogs like Arteta and teach them new tricks (well in Arteta he just converted him back to the Pepe Guardiola defensive fulcrum type player that he started out as).

He has not veered from his philosophy and now in our traditional black month of November – we the supporters of the greatest and most rewarding club, while maybe not seeing the promised land, no longer see the threatened land and I for one can’t wait til Manchester United come to town in late January. We might not win by 6 but we will demonstrate that the circle is turned and I expect to win.

Ferguson has never, ever had to endure even half of what Wenger has this season. Sir Alex may be the Knight of Manchester but Arsene is the King of Arsenal – Long live the King – We should buy our way out of the naming rights and call the Grove the Arsène Wenger Stadium and ensure that his legacy is indelible with the future of the club.

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Posted by peachesgÖÖner

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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Posted by Rasp

What Silent Stan REALLY Wants

November 7, 2011

Stan Kroenke is going to have to think about changing his nickname. He has been blabbing so much lately that the ‘Silent’ tag is starting to feel a tad ironic, a bit like ‘Little’ John (Robin Hood’s giant buddy) or ‘Curly’ from the Three Stooges (he was bald) or John ‘Not At All Racist’ Terry. After talking to the media in the States, then speaking at the Arsenal AGM, our majority shareholder spilled his guts again to a group of reporters recently.


It was a long interiew, filled with interesting observations about all sorts of things – from the way the Glazers run Manchester United (just fine and dandy according to Stan) to the astonishing fact that it is possible to have interesting discourse with Chelsea fans.But when I read the transcript of the interview, I noticed that a certain motif cropped up repeatedly. It gave me an insight into what Stan thinks about himself and, by extension, what he values in others.

The key concept is ‘intelligence’ (or ‘smartness’, in more colloquial terms).
Look at the examples:
Asked about how he defined success (and how long he felt it was reasonable to wait for trophies) our yakety Yank said: “We (meaning him and his team) have a broader experience than anybody in sports,” adding that he was “smart enough” to know that you can’t win silverware every year.

He was emphasising that the ‘smart’ approach was in taking the long view and not being a slave to instant gratification.

When the questions inevitably led on to whether Arsenal could compete financially with the likes of Manchester City, with their bottomless well of murky oil money, Stan was clear about the way he would like to achieve success: “I would be much more proud if all our leagues were developed with the idea that you are competing on the basis of intellect and work and effort instead of just simply, ‘I am going to throw dollars against the wall.’ Anybody who is a sportsman would rather compete on the basis of intellect, cleverness.”

On one level, the subtext here is that none of us should expect Stan to start splashing money like a chav in a chip shop. But also that he is ambitious – it’s just that his ambition is to win clever, not win broke. And when waxing lyrical about the success of the NFL (the professional organisation for American Football in the States) he pointed out that success was “all about how smart are you in selecting personnel.”

Moving on to baseball, he mentioned the new Brad Pitt movie Moneyball, which tells the story of Billy Beane, a baseball coach for an unfashionable and relatively poor team who achieved success through outsmarting his richer opponents: “Moneyball is all about being smart in sports, specifically baseball. There’s a wave in the US now of statistical evaluation – this whole science of sport goes a long way. There’s some very smart people – we employ some of them – who are analysing every stat and who are connecting every bit of data and trying to make sense of it. But that really started with Billy Beane, who is the guy in Moneyball. And Billy Beane’s hero truly is Arsene Wenger. He loves Arsene.”

Even on the subject of Samir Na$ri’s controversial move to Man City in the summer, Stan was at pains to focus on intelligence: “That’s where being smart and not being smart comes in. You’ve got one year left on a player’s contract. You’ve got a large sum of money being offered. Can you employ those resources better than you could had you not taken the money, taken a chance on losing the guy for nothing in a year or perhaps overpaying for him now and having less resources later?”

And on Manchester United under the Glazers: “I think it’s time maybe for everybody to think a little bit. They ought to think a little bit about who invests in these clubs.” In summary, in the course of just one interview, there are more than 10 examples of words like “smart”, “clever” and “intellect”. This is a man speaking off the cuff to journalists, not reading a prepared speech. A psychologist would suggest that these key words, used so liberally, are evidence of what’s really at the forefront of the speaker’s mind.

To me that means that Stan Kroenke is a man who values intelligence above all other qualities. Yes he likes courage and he likes the idea of making money and not spending it unnecessarily and he likes learning about football (there are references to all these in the interview), but his overriding obsession comes through loud and clear.

He sees himself, above all, as a SMART sports business owner. One who is not swayed by the daily rise and fall of fan disgruntlement or media muck-stirring, but who has a long-term vision and strategy. In that case it’s hardly surprising that he seems so comfortable with Arsene Wenger – the thinking man’s football coach if ever there was one. He clearly values Arsene’s analytical and professorial approach to the job over, say, the passion of a Ferguson or the duck-and-dive slipperyness of a Redknapp. I think it’s a good thing.

It should mean he will empower and enable Arsene to do his thing as well as he possibly can do it. And at a time when Arsene and Arsenal get far too little credit for the “smart” way in which the club has been run in recent years, it’s a refreshing vote of support for values that we supporters can also all be proud of. Man City may well win the league this year, but ask yourself: would you rather be a City fan or an Arsenal fan? You know the answer, and so do I.

Keep the faith Gunners: what we have is worth more than anything anyone else can possibly offer, however endless their supply of petro-dollars.

RockyLives
　

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Posted by RockyLives

Gun Powder kept Dry as Arsenal graft a win – and Player Ratings.

November 6, 2011

After getting the offer of some tickets late Friday, I went to the Emirates expecting a win, confidence in the team is getting stronger, especially with WBA not quite been the attacking enigma that they were last season when we managed to lose 2-3.

Robin “Assists from the lads were Insane”

Pre-match, Robin “One Man Team” Van Persie received his awards for a spectacular October, which was capped off in devastating fashion at the Bridge as Arsenal swept Chelsea aside. Midweek, Arsenal failed to reach the same heights against a stubborn and well drilled Marseille.

So against WBA, if this recovery was to be fully realised and help us rise up the table then, this confidence of expectation must be met with 3 points, especially ahead of the dreaded international break.

What sort of performance would we get? What team would the boss go with?

Sir Chez was between the sticks and the front six were the regulars, with Santos and Jenks as the full backs, TV was partnered by Kozzer………

“A minute’s silence was impeccably observed by all prior to the kick off in remembrance of those who have laid down their lives in the service of the Country, 90 years since the end of the World War 1”

Arsenal started in a positive mood which matched the atmosphere around the ground, which is good to see.

Ramsey was energetic as usual in the middle, constantly probing and pushing to attack. Song and Arteta were controlling and dominating the middle.

Walcott was keeping wide, holding his position and looking for the ball, looking more confident, Jenkinson was getting forward well. But the link play between the two is poor at best.

Vermaelen and Koscielny were looking imperious, I like BFG and he has helped settle our back line in the absence of the Verminator, but surely with Kozzer and Vermaelen we have the best CB pairing in the Premier League?

We were keeping possession and looking for the killer pass, but it’s the movement in the final 3rd that seems the only thing not clicking. The first real chance came from a free kick as Gervinho is up ended on the edge of the box. The moment is there for the Boy Wonder, but instead, Santos takes aim, looking to get an early present for the fans…………no such luck.

As Arsenal press with a strong dominance of the play, West Brom looked to catch us on the break. The surprising thing for me was that West Brom, were like a Vampire with dentures, just lacking bite, I expected so much more from them, although I think they didn’t get much chance from a dogged Arsenal midfield, which if they did get past they met Kozzer and Vermaelen who gave no quarter.

On 22, Walcott moved slightly more inside with a slide rule pass splitting the WBA defence, Walcott ran at goal and shot at Foster, who didn’t gather the ball as it went under him, but it came back out, to the one and only Boy Wonder, who gratefully slotted in the first goal. 1-0.

The pace picked up and a lot was going through Walcott, but yet again we are not utilising his pace to the right affect.

On 39, a great cross field raking lofted pass to Van Persie at the far post, who pulled it back across, Gervinho was ahead of the ball and missed his chance to turn it in, but ball broke to the edge, to a grateful Thomas Vermaelen, who left footed firmly put I past the keeper across his direction of movement. 2-0……

Going in at half time 2 up with a clean sheet was a good feeling, tight at the back steady play, knowing when to go through the gears. The team looked solid.

WBA started the 2nd half much brighter and intent on getting forward. Arsenal seemed to take 5-10 mins to getting going again.  Best chance since the break saw Gervinho find Ramsey on the left who lashed the ball across the goal but wide.

Then Song had a wicked shot parried away by foster, as Arsenal looked to kill the game off.

A flurry of subs on 72. Ramsey and Gervinho for Rosicky and Benayoun.

On 74, Vermaelen, played a firm pass through the middle to Van Persie, he moved forward and right, played in Rosicky, RVP carried his run on, but the return from Rosicky was just behind RVP, who somehow steadied himself and the ball and returned the ball to Arteta, who slotted the ball home with ease, pinpoint shot. 3-0 game over.

Arteta had another chance and WBA were unlucky when Tchoyi took an eternity to find his composure and that allowed TV to block the shot.

West Brom tried to exert some pressure in the last few minutes but they still really trouble us, as the ole’s rang around the ground.

Ratings:

Wenger 8 :- Got the rotation and line up just about right. Made the substitutions at the right time. Will be happy with the efficiency and the improvement in our play.

Sir Chez 7 :- Wasn’t troubled throughout, got his positioning spot on, good handling and distribution was much better today. Gives the team a platform to build on.

Jenkinson 7.5 :- Great going forward and some quite superb crosses, needs other players to try harder to get on the end of them. Some wayward short passing, his positioning still needs work, wasn’t really tested by any real pressure but he is growing on me. Doesn’t mix well with Theo.

Koscielny 8 :- Gets better and better, he has pace, tackles and defends so well. Nothing got past him. Gets forward as well to add impetus to our attacks…….. Recovery pace is very impressive. His reading of the game is superb.

Vermaelen 8 :- Great to have him back, Steve Claridge you’re a mug, if you think he cant defend. Got forward well, smashed his goal in for our 2nd, did I say its great to have him back. One of his block tackles was perfectly timed, which should have been a shot on target. Protects his keeper like his life depended on it.  His range of passing is fantastic, his pass to Van Persie to set the move for our 3rd was a midfield splitting gem.

Santos 7 :- Effective defensively, got forward and linked up play. Positionally could do better.

Song 7.5 :- Warrior, who gives his all constantly. Broke up play well and has an eye for a pass as he put Van Persie in which helped our 2nd goal come about. Unlucky not to score in 2nd half as foster kept it out.


Arteta, really settled and loving Arsenal

Arteta 8 :- Calm and assured, simply classy, his goal was well timed and expertly taken. He gets my MotM, quietly dictates play and is so effective. Still think there is more to come, cannot wait.

Ramsey 7.5: – Had a good game, probes and drives team forward. His pass for Walcott to get him free for starting the move for the opener was quite simply brilliant. Presses well and breaks play up.

Walcott 7 :- Pacy and energetic, confidence is on the up, his movement needs to improve in final 3rd, he got it right for the opener and was unlucky not to score.  Was a bit quieter in the 2nd half, but always involved on the edge, teams are wary of him and that opens up space.

Van Persie 8 :- Scored one, two assists, great movement. Leads like a true leader. Integral to our success but not a one man team.

Gervinho 7 :- Trickery and pace, with some good movement, wastes a lot of possession, trying to go past when a simple pass is on. Will have better games and will be more influential. Unlucky not to score in 2nd half.

Subs:

Rosicky 7: Little time, but pressed and kept the team moving. Involved in the 3rd goal.
Benayoun 7: Little time, but energetic, is such an asset in this squad.
Arshavin 5: Very Little time, nothing positive.

The performance was more about graft than the craft which has embodied our reputation for the last few years, and it was good to see, there were moments throughout the match that showed we still have much class and players of undoubted ability, but it was an efficient team performance where we just were not in any sort of trouble, took the chances when they come along.

The defence is now settled, the team has a strength and desire, they fight and put some real shifts in now. The calmness comes from Arteta in the middle, who does the simple things so well, keeps the ball and team moving, which is what we are doing now, as our early season flirtation with the bottom half is truly over.

Written by Harry

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Posted by peachesgÖÖner

Has Theo Walcott finally come good this time?

November 4, 2011

January 20, 2006.

This is the day a fresh-faced (and he remains fresh-faced, and lovely, and the kind of guy my Mammy would love to see me bring home for dinner) Theo Walcott signed for Arsenal from Southampton for a then British record fee for a teenager. SIX YEARS ago, can you believe it’s six years ago?

Since then it seems we can’t make up our minds as to whether Theo is good or not.

We all like Theo, he’s such a nice boy. But that’s all well and good off the field, we want someone who doesn’t leave an inch on it.

Over the past six seasons, Theo has started 113 times for Arsenal, and made 76 substitute appearances. In this time he has scored 35 goals, and to be honest a lot of them have been impressive. Now the problem with Theo is that for every superb goal he has scored, he has missed two sitters. For every amazing run he has made that has had a end product (that run against Liverpool in the Champions League to set up Adebayor), there have been ten that have seen him run down dead alleys or over the endline. For every decent cross he has hit into the box, ten have ended up in row z.

One thing is for sure – Theo is fast, but its how he uses his speed that’s important. Has anyone else banged their fist off the table in anger as you watch Theo breeze past a defender only to keep his head down and not pick out a pass, or a decent cross? I know I often have, but not lately.

Not wishing to get carried away, but there has been a tad more maturity to Theo’s play this season. He seems to be getting his head up more after he makes himself some space, and his crossing has improved. He’s also putting in quite a shift in the defending side of things. What was most impressive was his performance against Chelsea. While RvP got the plaudits for his hat-trick, it was Theo that terrified the Chavs all afternoon. Think what you may of Ashley Cole as a person, but he has undoubtedly been one of the best left backs in world football over the past few years, and Theo ripped him apart last weekend.

Added to that his determination to get to his feet and score the goal that put us into the lead, and you’ll see Theo is beginning to use his head more.

Well, at least I hope he is, because I’ve said this a couple of times before “We’re seeing what Theo’s worth now” Hopefully this time Theo will make it stick.

Written by Irishgunner

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Posted by criochnaithe

Have we found our Park?

November 3, 2011

From the title, most people will think I’m going to big up our own Chu Young Park based on his impressive performance in the Carling Cup against Bolton, but actually, I want to take this opportunity to mention an unsung hero from the same game, Yossi Benayoun.

Man United have utilised Ji Sung Park as an attack based defender for the last few years now to great effect. It may seem harsh to class Park as a defender as he also had undoubted attacking ability, but let’s be honest, he would not have won these trophies with Man U had he not been able to use his immense fitness and attitude to such great effect. If he was at United for his attacking play alone he would have been moved on long ago.

Now, the reason I bring up this United workhorse is because, based on what I have seen of Yossi so far this season, I believe we could have our very own defending attacker. Yossi is an intelligent player with good movement and a great instinct for attacking the box, but it’s his workrate and defensive attitude that I have been impressed with so far this season. Something I didn’t know he possessed!

United’s Park is the first name on the team sheet when they play any big European or Domestic tie. This is due to his ability to harass the full backs and also the way he occupies the popular DM position with his strict attitude and positioning.

I believe we could have found a niche for our Israeli raider, and hopefully Wenger will see this too. With big games coming up without Sagna available, Yossi could be the man to protect our young Carl Jenkinson.

Fatgingergooner

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Posted by peachesgÖÖner

The Return Of The Verminator

November 2, 2011

Arsenal – Marseille: 0 – 0
Match Report

After THAT win against the Chavs, the big question for this match was: should we start with an unchanged team, or make a number of changes in order to keep our great momentum going?

This was a difficult call for Wenger: although a win would be great, it was not a necessity – after all, a draw would keep us top of the group tonight – and then there was to be considered the risk of fatigue/injury, as a result of potentially overplaying those players who pushed themselves to the very limit only 80 hours ago. Too many changes, though, would carry the risk of breaking up momentum. It needed a fine balancing act from Arsene which he did not get quite right on the day.

In the end, Wenger made only three changes: TV for Koz and Jenkinson for JD – nothing wrong with those, I am sure we all agree – and Park on for RvP. The task for Park could not have been harder: he had to make everybody forget the devastating Dutchman, who just scored a hattrick against the Chavs and who netted more than a goal per game for Arsenal this calendar year.

Unfortunately, but not unexpectedly, the game turned out to be quite the reverse of Arsenal’s heroic and scintillating performance on Sunday. The atmosphere at the Emirates appeared to be subdued (on tv at least), as the players seldom or never were able to light up the Emirates. This game clearly came too quickly for a number of the players Arsene decided to field tonight, and it comes as no surprise that Chelsea had a similar flat performance against Genk today. Park Chu-Young had a poor game: there is no way around it. However, he was surrounded by players who tried hard enough but often lacked a decent first touch, ability to pass the ball accurately, or finish one of the nine shots on target during the match. RvP was given 30 minutes to clinch the win, but also he looked a bit jaded and off-target when presented with a decent-enough chance. It was just not going to happen for Arsenal this evening.

First Half

Marseille started strongly, with 63% possession in the first five minutes. This resulted in a couple of chances for both of the Ayew brothers. Marseille were clearly targeting Santos’ left back area early on in the game, and as we have come accustomed to, with some success: he just seems to find it difficult to get going early on. Luckily, Jenkinson did not suffer from a need to warm up, as he hit the ground running from the start: he was alert, and just did enough to put off Ayew from a very decent scoring opportunity. Soon, though, Arsenal had its first chance. Gervinho, who seemed to play a lot more centrally in the first half (where was Ramsey in those first twenty minutes or so?), played a decent forward pass to Theo, who hits the ball well but Mandanda goes quickly to the ground and diverts it inches wide. In the 12th minute we could have had a penalty as a result of a handball in the box. The referee spotted the infringement but decided the ball was handled outside the box.

Bit by bit, Song and Arteta start to get more grip on the midfield in the first half, and on the 22nd minute another great chance was created: Arteta passes to Walcott, who cleverly diverts the ball to Santos, and the latter’s dinked cross into the box is met by the fully committed Ramsey, but unfortunately he cannot find the target with his effort. Remy, who again occasionally showed his great talents last night, creates his own chance in the 24th minute, producing a shot that only just goes wide, as Szczesny is beaten – a rare moment of quality during the match. Just for a second, Remy made me think of TH14 there and then!

Then, in the 29th and 30th minute, Arsenal created two very decent chances. Gervinho shoots at goal from just outside the box, but again Mandanda makes a half-decent safe. The ball ends up with Walcott who passes the ball to the better positioned Park, but unfortunately, his touch lets him down badly. Straight after that, the best opportunity of the game falls to Ramsey. Again, Gervinho meanders through the centre of midfield and feeds Ramsey just outside the box. The latter hesitates, as he is looking for the perfect shot on target, and this is just enough for the excellent Marseille defence to re-group and block his shot. Theo was in an even better position to score, but Ramsey seemed not to have spotted him. Ramsey is gutted and clearly annoyed with himself for his wasted efforts, which only showed what a true professional he is becoming.

It was becoming clear at the latter stages of the first half that Arsenal was well out of shape for this game: a large number of bad first touches, passes went astray regularly and we were not clinically enough in front of goal.

Second Half

During the second half there were hardly any chances, as both team cancelled each other out. Both teams started to look like each other more and more, with Arsenal’s and Marseille’s midfield players taking possession of the midfield for short periods of time by turn, and the teams’ defences not making any major mistakes. Cheyrou had a decent chance in the 61 minute, when he started his own attack by combining with Morel, and almost reaching his venomous cross into the box.

Wenger then made a number of positive, attacking changes after 60 minutes. RvP, Rosicky and Arshavin came on for the forlorn Park, and the tired Ramsey and Gervinho respectively. In the 77th minute, Song wins the ball and passes to Rosicky, who puts in a quick and brilliant pass to RvP: from just outside the box he tries to diagonally chip the keeper, but his effort is tame and Mandanda is able to catch the ball with ease. Just before the end, RvP shows his class one more time: he whips into the box a brilliant cross from the left, to the far post towards the BFG but Morel is just able to clear.

Marseille seemed the happier with the point and, it must be said, they did work very hard for it and deserved it in the end. The defensive, central pair of N’Koulou and Diawara has impressed me very much over the two games and together with the other defenders, goalkeeper and very hard working midfielders, they earned themselves a point at the Emirates. On another day, with a more rested team, we would have won this game, as one or two of our nine shots on target should/would have gone in. But a draw is not too bad for Arsenal either: we are still top of the group and we can finish it off at our next home game against Dortmund.

Once again, this was not a game for the purists, as there was very little ‘quality’ to be seen on the night, from an attacking point of view at least. But Arsenal kept a – much needed – clean sheet and the Verminator played 90 minutes and was great, Jenkinson played a faultless match and the BFG had a great game too. The players gave all they had and fought for each other, and what a welcome change it is from recent seasons.

The jury is still out for Park: he did not have a good game, but it is fair to say it will take him time to get used to our style of football, and fit in properly. Let’s not be too harsh on him, at least for the time being. Anybody wearing an Arsenal shirt and giving their all is one of ours.

Player Ratings:

Szczesny: 7 – safe pair of hands, and a strong personality. No mistakes.

Jenkinson: 8 – did nothing wrong defensively and just does not hide away. He is very often is in the right place, at the right time, and that at such a young age! WOW. Joint man of the match.

TV: 8 – great, energetic performance. Still trying to find his feet in this newly shaped and manned defence. How wonderful to see him back in our team though.

BFG: 8 – such a good reader of the game and excellent in positioning himself. He was a real rock in our defence tonight. Joint man of the match.

Santos: 7 – Rusty start, but he oozes quality once he gets going, and is a real powerhouse going forward.

Song & Arteta: 7.5 – both worked very hard and did a lot of the dirty work tonight. They were up against a strong and well-organised Marseille midfield and did very well. Not as fit and energetic, or creative, as usual but still very good given the circumstances.

Gervinho: 7.5 – made things happen for us, especially in first half. A bit rusty at times, but again understandable, given the circumstances.

Walcott: 7 – did well in the first half, but also missed a bit of sharpness at times.

Park: 5 – the game passed him by most of the time. A few unfortunate first touches and did not hold on to the ball enough to allow our midfielders to come forward and feed of him. Still a lot to learn – might take a while, based on this evidence.

Ramsey: 7.5 – he seemed to know quite quickly that this game came too soon for him, and he was up against some formidable players today, but he gave it his all and just kept trying, which I thought was brilliant.

TotalArsenal

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Posted by peachesgÖÖner

Close to the Edge: Marseilles preview

November 1, 2011

Still basking in the glory of a wonderful Saturday afternoon? Me too, but time to move on.

3 points tonight and the CL Group stage is almost put to bed, which would allow Mr Wenger to rest some of his players for the remaining fixtures. We all know the damage done when AW has not closed out group qualification, and we must hope he has learned from last season’s mistakes.

Marseilles arrive having started to turn their Ligue 1 season around, unbeaten in their last 6 games and fresh from a 2-3 away win at Dijon.

Let’s be honest, our win in Marseilles was surprising. Marseilles were shockingly defensive and hardly attacked for the whole second half; considering they have some fine forwards it was a puzzling tactic.

rai o’r eich bod yn anghyfreithlon Ffrengig  

(Welsh for Have some of that Frenchie ….)

I fullt expect Marseilles to attack tonight, though it would be understandable if they played for a draw which would be a very good result for them. For details of their major players please refer back to the away OM pre-match.

As to our lads – would it be unthinkable to start with Park and bring on RvP at 60 minutes?  A frontline of Gerv, Park and Theo should be enough to dent the OM defence.

Thinking of Boy Wonder, GIE gave some fine stats (which I can’t find!!) when writing of the supposed Arsenal reliance upon Van Persie. He pointed out how much Barca rely upon Messi – this season he has played 16 times scoring 19 with 11 assists (phenomenal), does this make Barca a one man team?  Or Real Madrid – Ronaldo; 15 apps 12 goals. Yes, RvP is in the form of his life and yes, without him we may not score as many BUT RVP is paid to be our main striker and he is performing his job. He doesn’t score the goals in isolation, it is a team effort. and we have seen with the loss of Cesc that it is the team not the individual which creates success. He is no more than a very important cog in a machine which is starting to purr.

I would like to see CJ return if fit, JD improved second half at the Bridge but he will never be a right back. CJ had a good game in Marseilles until forced off with injury and has the makings of a fine player (get well soon Bacary).

My team

I cannot see TV lasting a whole game but it would be great to see him start tonight, particularly as OM rely on pace upfront which is certainly not the BFG’s strong point.

Ideally we will attack from the whistle and get to halftime with a decent lead at which time Mr Wenger can ring the changes and rest players ahead of the weekend.

Been searching for an inventor from Marseilles and have found Bertrand Gascogne Duchoux who is said to have invented the famous seafood soup Bouillabaisse, recently perfected by our very own Mickydidit89.

It would be wonderful to win tonight and continue this excellent run.

I see no reason to expect anything less.

COYRRG

Big Raddy

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Posted by Erik the Red

Arsenal: We’ve Got Our Bottle Back

October 31, 2011

How are you feeling this morning?

Still glowing?

Yeah, me too.

We have kind of forgotten what it’s like to enjoy a BIG win; a meaningful win; a surprise win against the odds.

Most of our surprises in the last six months have been nasty ones – the kind Mrs Gary Neville has every morning when she wakes up and sees who’s beside her.

But Saturday was different. We went to one of the bookies’ favourites for the title and gave them a spanking in their own back yard. And just because it’s a Chav back yard full of old piss-stained mattresses and wrecked cars, that doesn’t make the win any less sweet.

Make no mistake, Chelsea were seen by many as the real dark horses (whoops, sorry JT, I meant pale horses) in the championship race. Even in defeat to QPR last week they earned plaudits for almost nicking a result with only nine men.

But in the second half of Saturday’s fine win we completely dominated them, winning the half 4-1, taking a stranglehold on midfield and defending well (we only conceded because the ref missed a blatant foul on Santos).

The first half was a different story, with both teams attacking like panthers and defending like pandas, but enough has been said about that in all the match reports.

The point is, we found ourselves in a game that, several times, could have gone away from us – at 2-1 and at 3-3 in particular. But we refused to allow it to do so.

Having hauled ourselves level at 1-1, then gone in one down at half time thanks to another soft goal conceded from a set piece, heads could easily have dropped.

If this had been last year’s Arsenal team, with the homesick Spaniard and the fat French trouble-maker, I think that’s exactly what would have happened. Our heads would have gone down faster than Dani Alves on ice.

But this is a different group of players with a much better mix of vim and experience. It’s interesting that our best performers on the day (with the exception of Prince Robin) were the younger ones: Koscielny, Ramsey, Gervinho and Walcott.

But I have no doubt that they felt enabled to play their best game by the presence of older heads like Arteta, Mertesacker and Santos (as well as Rosicky when he came on), all of whom added an air of stability to the team.

We now have players who do not panic when we’re leading with 10 minutes to go. Indeed, against a dangerous Chavski side we looked very solid in the final stages (the BFG making up for a poor first half by dominating the box in the closing minutes).

We were calm enough and confident enough to see the game out – and bold enough to take our chance to really kill it off when it arrived.

Someone has clearly been to Lost and Found and reclaimed something we mislaid about two years ago: our bottle.

No-one really knew where it had gone. Pat Rice went all up and down the Holloway Road stapling little notices to trees and lamp posts saying “Missing: Our Bottle: Answers to the name Vieira or Adams. Reward if found.”

There were no takers, but now it has turned up of its own accord, just when we needed it most after the most disastrous start to a season for 58 years.

There is still everything to play for this season. The Mancunian lottery winners may be streets ahead at the top of the table but there is a long way to go and anything can happen.

Next up for us in the league are West Brom (H), Norwich (A) and Fulham (H). With the players we have, and with the fact that we now have our bottle again after such a long time, everything is possible.

Keep believing fellow Gunners.

RockyLives

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Posted by RockyLives

A bridge not so far, as Arsenal’s recovery gains pace and Player ratings…..

October 30, 2011

Since April 10th we have lost 5 and drawn 3 games away from home, a dismal and painful run of games that has seen our defence and confidence take knock after knock.

The abject display in August at Old Trafford saw a very humbling score line result in cries for Wenger to walk now, before we fell apart at the seams was the cry of the naysayer’s. Then at Ewood Park we saw the worst team in the premiership, come from behind and beat us, the wheels were well and truly off………

So yesterday, we tipped up at Chelsea, our recent Nemesis, who seemed to always get a result against us, especially at the Bridge even when we play well. Our actual recent form though had given us a little belief back, with 7 wins out of 8games in all competitions.

The defence has been slowly improving, the team were slowly coming together and at the sharp end, the boy wonder had been on fire, so why couldn’t we get a result……….?

Trust me or do one……..

Well after the first 5mins, there were so many reasons why we couldn’t get a result; I lost count of how many times, Chelsea just seemed to stroll through and around our defence, Chelsea had 3 or 4 gilt edged chances to take the lead, better crosses and they might have been out of sight.

Mixed in between there was some moments for Arsenal, when Ramsey had broke into Chelsea’s area and dragged the ball back, but no one was up with play. Then another clearance by BFG fell to Theo and a one-two with Ramsey, saw Theo away but he failed to get the ball down, another bad at the office loomed……..?

The attacks continue with Sturridge been afforded far too much room, but from been on the back foot, Ramsey intercepted a weak ball in from Lampard, he strode out of the box and lift a chip pass into Arteta, who headed it back to Ramsey, who took it on his chest and then volleyed a delightful ball out wide right to Theo…….who pushed it

passed Cashley and then sprinted round the other side of him and left him in his wake, Cole has more chance of getting Cheryl back than catching Theo……

Theo looked up, stepped forward and delivered a sublime ball across the area, as Ivanovic stretched out but couldn’t get the ball, Gervinho, somehow did a Torres….a woeful miss from 5yds.

Moments later, Santos cut in from the left and laid the ball to Song, who moved it onto Theo, a couple of light touches, a look up and a even more sublime pass arching in over the Chelsea defence, curling to the far post, Van Persie came in, but the ball raised just that little too high and he couldn’t keep it below the crossbar. Two very good chances to take the lead.

The Chelsea fans couldn’t help themselves as they berated our Boy Wonder, for missing the chance, he who laughs last………………..!

Anyway, normal service resumed, we miss, opposition score, how predictable was that, as John “Colour Impaired” Terry, sent a ball out wide to Juan Mata, who turned back on Santos and delivered a ball not to dissimilar to Theo’s, but in came Fatboy just behind 6ft 6” BFG who must have thought he was in a limbo competition, as he got under the cross allowing Fatboy to head pass Sir Chez……..

Arsenal improved slightly, but the game was still ebbing and flowing unpredictably, as players from both sides, made mistakes and gave cheap balls away, but there were no real clear cut chances…….But the worrying thing was that Arsenal’s back door was seeing more action than George Michaels…….

A superb pass from fatboy, put Sturridge away, as he allowed the ball to drop and run forward, he arched his body and for some reason hit the ball with the outside of his foot and away from the goal and Sir Chez, that would have been difficult to come back from……….

The midfield of Arteta, Song and most notably Ramsey were working very hard to sustain a footing in the game. Santos in from the left into Gervinho, who lost the ball, fell back to Santos, who fed Ramsey an inside turn, Gervinho had got up and run into the area, a great pass from the Welsh Wizard found Gervinho, the touch was heavy and the ball ran towards the on coming Cech, but just as you thought Gervinho would clip it into Cech’s body, he slid it to the grateful Robin, who just calmly stroked the ball with his left peg into the empty net……1-1 game on…….36mins.

Moments later Ramires completely sold Santos, into the box and across the area for Sturridge to stab home, but the young forward had strayed offside, tight but a good call by the assistant referee. So nearly we conceded after scoring, frustrating weakness.

On 41, Robin took a free kick just outside the Chelsea area, could he? No it wasn’t to be as we drifted to half time with Robin’s effort curling just over…….

But, hold it, Chelsea get a late corner, Fatboy delivers a ball into the mix, Terry, out muscles the BFG, (is that F for friendly?), and knocks the ball limping into the goal, Arteta had moved from the post, less said. Half time, 2-1 to Chelsea.

We had looked dangerous going forward, but in defence, we had the look of an Essex girl on a night out, carefree and not bothered who got in behind……….

The only player who defensively was sharp was Koscielny, who reputation is growing…..

Second half; more defensive qualities were needed, surely?

Why bother, as we came flying out the traps, first Van Persie and then Ramsey had early opportunities to get us level.

On 49 minutes, Djourou impressed me with his strength and desire to keep the ball; he came inside and got the ball to Song, with a little help from a Lampard tackle. Song, who reversed stepped back across the ball and then picked Chelsea defence apart with a gem of a pass, through to the left where Santos, took the ball in his stride, one touch in front and then drilled it with his left foot across Cech, 2-2…..Get in there….

To celebrate Santos then decided to show the Brazilian Version of the “No dad Samba two step”, maybe he wants to go on Strictly Come Dancing? Who cares, finally we have a left back who knows where the net is…….

Almost immediately, Arsenal tried to let Chelsea back into the game, a looping ball up and over our back line, saw Cashley bear down on the area, an out rushing Szczesny leaped out of his area and sent Cole into a spin, a yellow and a free kick. Should it have been red? Well even our young pole tweeted after the game (not a bright idea) that he wasn’t sure how he stayed on the pitch. For me, it was an either way call, but the referee chose luckily for us only a yellow.

The resultant free kick was sent to the far post by fatboy, but our pole stretched his frame and tipped the ball around the goal, super save.

Arsenal seemed to be getting the upper hand in the middle with Arteta and Song pressing and Ramsey probing.

A long ball out from Szczesny, to Theo, who was bundled over by Cashley. start of a bizarre passage of play. A quick free kick by Robin into Theo, who drove forward, as he did, he stumbled and fell over, but somehow kept his momentum going, in the middle of 4 blue shirts he got up, jinked pass and powered into the area and drilled a shot to Cechs near left post, with some real venom. 3-2 up, to come back twice showed some real bottle and then to get in front, Arsenal were controlling the game now.

Theo, Simply Brilliant……..

A plethora of substitutions on both sides saw Lukaku and Dodgy Barnet on for Chelsea, with Rosicky and Jenkinson replacing Walcott and Djourou respectively. The game got a little scrappy, on 80mins Santos as he came out, gave the ball away, but as he went to atone for his mistake he was clearly blocked by Lukaku, the ball then broke for dodgy barnet and he fed Mata, who managed to unleash a thunderbolt, just before Song despairingly tried to block him, to Szczesny’s right side. 3-3 game truly back on………Subs too early? Should Walcott have stayed on? No time to think…..

Not quite as powerful as Essien’s drive a few seasons ago, but Mata’s just as damaging, as Chelsea seemed now to be in the ascendancy. Were we going to blow it, after all the effort in the 2nd half?

But on 85, an innocuous back pass from Malouda, to Terry, saw John Terry slip, or did he throw himself down in a very defeatist manner?, who cares, I am sure Wayne Bridge had a chuckle, as Robin Van Persie, ran onto the loose ball, as Cech came out he step round him and slotted in his second, what a game………..

John Terry Slipping Over……

+4mins of injury time and Chelsea threw the lot at us, please hold on you could the silent thoughts of every Arsenal fan, with Vermaelen now on, I felt safe, ok maybe still a tad nervous…

Malouda, then Mata kept putting the ball into the area, eventually Jenkinson headed it out, it bounce in front of Rosicky who bravely won the ball from dodgy barnets high foot with his head, Rosicky brought the ball out, moved it onto Arteta, he shifted it across to the left and Van Persie, who drove an unstoppable left foot swerving drive into Cech’s right hand side, 5-3 game over, the fans were in dream land………..

Boy Wonder settles the nerves

What a game, it had it all, finally away from home, the Arsenal boys had grabbed the 3points. Defensively it was a horror show at times, from both sides, but with some tricks from Robin, Theo, Aaron and GMan, saw the Arsenal fans treated to a result we have been deprived of by the feet of Drogba too many times…….

Ratings: (STC: Subject to Comments)

Sir Chez: 7: Still Raw at times, but he has that edge that sets him apart, some good saves, little chance with Mata’s shot, but he’ll be disappointed with the other two.

Djourou: 6: Quite truly dreadful first half as he was dragged around, but he improved in the 2nd half, having a good contribution to the 2nd goal.

BFG: 6.5: Was at fault for both Chelsea’s first half goals, but he did defend better in the 2nd half. Need to be stronger and more aggressive.

Kozzer: 9: Immense, read the game well, blocked, tackled and was everywhere, without him in the first half, I think they would have been out of sight.

Santos: 7: (that is a 5 for 1st half and 8 2nd half), Defending in the first half was comical, but he gained composure and got into the game, his goal was well taken and gave him confidence. The third goal although came from his mistake, he was fouled attempting to block the ball.

Arteta: 8: Thought his stature grew as the game wore on, did the simple things really well, gave little space, pressed and moved the ball quickly, slowly starting to feel at home.

Song: 8: Powerful and energetic, press and close down Chelsea midfield, some of his passing was sublime. Gave some needless balls away in first half, he is though very important to us.

Ramsey: 9: Super Welsh Wizard, truly a special player who gave his all today, his range of passing was fantastic, he has a great engine and never doubts himself.

Walcott: 9: Proved all those doubters wrong, showed he deserves to wear our shirt, capped a great display with a stunning goal, no football brain? Waddle talking Twaddle…

Boy Wonder:9: Captain’s performance, one on one there was only one winner, clinical and deadly from anywhere.

Gervinho: 7.5: Energetic and difficult to handle, makes things happen, missed a very easy chance, but worked his socks off, unselfish in laying off Robin.

Man of the Match: It could have gone to anyone of 4 today and others like Arteta gave a good account as well. 4 players got 9 off me, a truly fantastic team performance and as Robin said share the champagne between the team……If you were to push me to a choice, between the four 9’s, RVP, Koz, Theo and Aaron, I would go for Kozzer, at times he was on his own, but he held firm………..

Subs:

Rosicky and Jenkinson :7: Little time but got upto speed quickly and helped see us to the line.

Vermaelen: Only on for minutes, great to have him back……….Best defender in the Premier League……..

The Manager: 8:

Big decision to leave TV on the bench, nearly bigger one to take Theo off, all came good in the game in the end, Wenger and his team deserved this bit of luck that has so far been missing this season, he has asked for the trust in him to remain, well after today, he has mine fully back, not that I lost faith………….

In summary:

That could of gone either way at times yesterday and we still have a lot of work to do, but we have put ourselves right back in the mix, the team seem together and really up for it, lets really get behind them now and see where this crazy journey goes this season……. God I love being a Gooner, thanks Dad……..

Ps. Sorry if that was a tad long…………try writing that up in less!!

Written by Harry

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Posted by peachesgÖÖner

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