The Invincibles would have struggled too

February 22, 2016

Discuss……

Ok I won’t leave it there, I’ll put some thoughts down first and then you can all have at it…..

Over the last few games a similar theme has arisen, why don’t we move the ball as quickly as we used to, obviously this often conjures up images in the mind of Paddy passing to God and him choosing which pawn to move next normally a rushing Thierry or Freddie and we just waited for the inevitable sound of ball in onion bag.

Repeat a couple of times then coast through the rest of the game conserving energy for the rest of the season. It is widely accepted that at some point Arsene shifted away from pace and power to smaller more gifted technical players, why?

I have a theory it stems from when we lost our unbeaten record, Ferguson decided stopping us playing would be far more beneficial than playing against us. He put a couple of solid banks out there and had his men go about kicking everything that moved, theory which proved successful in that upsetting the rhythm of our team stopped counter attacks early and denied us space in behind and time. This formula was gradually copied by everyone else, some like Allardyce had already done it.

With everyone else copying this tactic how would pace and power get round crowded midfield threes and solid defensive lines who were reluctant to move further than twenty five yards from their own goal, the power might have worked but the pace not so much. Hence the move to technical players who can unpick these packed defences and pass round midfield anchormen.

But here are my questions and the point behind the post:

Why did the likes of Blackburn, Newcastle, Middlesborough etc turn up at Highbury and play a proper game of football (ie both sides attacking)?

This allowed our pace men to burn away from opponents and exploit gaps left.

Why have teams adopted a very different style now?

They’d rather escape with a point, because Premier League survival is paramount and secondly once that is secure the next step is Premier League prize money, and every point counts. So when they arrive at the home of football they prefer to park the bus, would the Invincibles have had more weapons to break this down? I’m not sure.

Gooner in Exile

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Bore draw : And a trip to Hull beckons

February 21, 2016

The pre match media around this round of FA Cup fixtures has focused much on the congestion caused by this pesky competition. City are rightly annoyed that they will be playing tomorrow with a Champions League trip to Kiev on Wednesday. At least we got the early kick off and at home in our tie and haven’t got to worry about flying anywhere this week.

Bruce was quoted as saying he thinks FA Cup replays should be scrapped and Arsene said he preferred to preserve the current format. If Bruce didn’t want a replay he had a strange way of showing it putting his second string out to defend in two solid banks. Even with three days to recover before Barca Arsene also made 9 changes, Arsene had no choice but to keep BFG and Koscielny in the line up. Another chance for Theo to show what he can do at centre forward, another welcome to England for Elneny and another game for Iwobi to make an impression this time from a more central role.

In the early stages we managed to create a few chances, bit of slick interplay around the box leading to a variety of shooting opportunities, unfortunately the angles were generally tight and the keeper was giving a traditional Emirates performance thwarting anything sent his way.

In truth I felt we started to run out of ideas towards the end of the half, I don’t think we were as fluid as we could have been given our starting attacking three. They have all played centre forward at various times in their career and they have also been wide men. For me they all stuck to their starting roles far too much and what interchange of position there was did not feel instinctive.

We did have some good moments again in the second half, the closest we came to scoring were Campbell’s free kick, and Welbeck’s curling drive. Unfortunately Hull’s keeper was equal to both.

Ox, Ollie and Alexis were thrown on but to no avail and Hull held out for a 0-0 draw and a replay that their manager definitely did not want.

For me Elneny stood out, I felt he was constantly available for the ball and generally used it well. We saw glimpses from Welbeck that reminded us of the talents he possesses, Iwobi continues to improve. There was not much new learned from anywhere else on the pitch in my opinion, we know these players.

So Hull are added to the schedule for a midweek and hopefully we still have plenty of available players to rotate in.

Written by GoonerInExile

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Up for the Cup?

February 20, 2016

Who will be the stronger team – our reserves or Hull’s?

Let’s weigh up the evidence: Arsenal have a second team full of players who have been strained through one of the most rigorous examinations of world footballing talent. Targets identified, Arsenal spend many millions bringing players into the squad then working together to become a team. They are pampered, cosseted and trained by the very best coaches money can buy.

Hull are not in this fortunate position. Their scouting for squad players involves going to the local park and seeing if there are a few blokes who can run a bit and have a sense of direction.

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Hull are expected to make 9 changes from their last game and Arsenal about the same.  What does this say about the current status of the FA Cup?

Yesterday I had a pleasant chat with a friend on this very subject (following on from a discussion on AA with Herb). Is the FA Cup relevant? Is it important to anyone who was born post-Sky Sports?

The first thing to say is that financially it is far better to finish 4th than to win the FAC. This diminishes its value to the moneymen and accounts (to some extent) in big clubs using squad members prior to the semi-final.

Secondly, winning the FAC gains entrance into the Europa  Cup which is hardly a plus.

Then there is the unfortunate decision on the part of the FA to play semi-finals at Wembley, thus diminishing the grandeur of the Final.

Balanced against this is Glory. Silverware. Tradition. History. A Street Parade. Champagne. Celebration on a massive scale. Placards around the Emirates.

Which is more important to you?

 

Back to today:    Let’s see how many I get …

Ospina

Chambers    BFG   Koscielny    Gibbs

El Nino   Flamini   Iwobi

Campbell   Theo    Welbeck

Should be enough to win and allows the main players to rest ahead of the big midweek game.

I expect most of this afternoon’s entertainment to come from  the man who used to wear black but now wears yellow and black – the mercurial Mike Dean. This bloke is a complete plum and probably a Parking Attendant in daily life. Inefficient, egotistical, blind – many an epithet comes to mind.  Earlier this season over 100,000 people signed a petition for him not to referee AFC again, yet the FA selected him which tells all about how the FA view the paying punter’s opinions.

I could, and probably will, write a post about the deeds of Mr Dean.

Don’t forget the early K.O.

COYRRG

 

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Euros to win the League for Arsenal

February 17, 2016

Danny Welbeck came to Arsenal from Manchester United, where he had performed a bit part role as a wide playing attacker.

Soon after his arrival, and in the absence of Olivier Giroud, Arsene played Danny through the middle, and such was the success, he was soon deployed in the same role by England Manager, Roy Hodgson. Danny’s period as Arsenal striker culminated in the sublime Henryesque goals against Galatasaray, before the returning Giroud shunted him back out wide.

Right, back to England. This same period saw the emergence of Mr Kane from “down the road”, and he in turn began to receive telephone calls from Roy.

Fast forward one season, and the Premiership has seen the meteoric rise of Vardy, who himself, now sees the opportunity of grabbing an England starting berth as we head towards this summer’s European Championships. We are now in February, and the teams sitting in the top three League positions all have potential England Euro starters in the central striker’s role.

We all saw on Sunday how understandably knackered Vardy was during the last twenty minutes, and the same fate awaits Mr Kane. Danny, on the other hand, is fit, fresh and has much to prove for both club and country.

I do feel that the freshness and speed of both Danny and Theo will give Arsenal a real edge as the legs of other teams’ defences tire, but my question for today is, will the England carrot dangled before the Welbeck nose give Arsenal the edge over the battle worn legs of Vardy and Kane?

 Written by MickyDidIt89

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Valentines Day. Love Arsenal

February 14, 2016

Valentines Day. I woke up thinking why and who? Do you know? Do you care?

Why would you on such a fantastic day of sport?

I am praying to St Valentine (a Roman Christian martyr) for 3 victories and a draw.., England x 2, a draw for the Northern Oilers and at The Emirates – I am not sure.

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Arsenal vs Leicester: You know the runners and riders, you know the state of the ground (good to soft), the recent form, the health of the stables, the colours, the on-field odds, the background “fairytale” etc etc. So I am not going to spend this post teaching you to suck eggs (whatever that means!)

Instead I would like to briefly explore what football means to you, or more to the point, me.

Valentines is about emotional attachment and appropriately my connection to The Arsenal  and football as a whole is purely emotional based. I love football and I love The Arsenal. Which do I love more? BTW this is a slow build up to my point 🙂

Why do I not really care if we lose today? Because IMO it would be just marvellous for the game if Leicester won the title. And I say that knowing that for them to win it we would have to lose it.

I have been struggling with this all week. Which is more important, an Arsenal victory or a Leicester title win? I find that my romantic nature supersedes my desire for Arsenal glory. The truth is that I love the sport more than my team (I think).

However, if we win and go on to win the title I would be thrilled; my fears are that we could win today and balls up the title run-in. Oh, come on – you know you feel the same!

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Arsenal: Defensively we have been looking better – could it be the emergence of Gabriel or just we have been playing poor teams? Rumour has it that The Archangel is injured; if he is then our tactics will have to be adjusted to allow for BFG’s lack of pace. Much is made of the pace of Vardy and Leicester’s counter attack, yet we have faced much faster frontlines and coped. It is a question of organisation and concentration.

We knocked 5 past young Kasper up at Filbert Street and I cannot see him keeping a clean sheet this lunchtime. OG must be due a goal as too is Alexis.

I expect us to start with Ox on the right and a return for Coquelin, other than that the team picks itself. I will bet Mrs.Raddy’s Valentines Day gift (a Snickers bar) that OG starts ahead of TW.

What I really, really do not want to happen this afternoon is for us to draw and the cave-dwelling, knuckle-dragging N17 miscreants to win up at The Etihad. That would ruin my day and dent both our and Ranieri’s title ambitions.

I may love football more than Arsenal but if Young Aaron smashes in the third at the Clock End I will be out my seat, jumping up and down and convinced this is OUR year.

And if it isn’t, how great would it be for a top chap like Ranieri to take a team which a year ago was relegation fodder to the title?

COYRRG

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Who should start against Leicester – Olivier Giroud or Theo Walcott?

February 11, 2016

It appears that bloggers like nothing better than to express their opinion by voting on an Arsenal related poll. To that end we are introducing a ‘Your Vote Counts’ feature which will give you the opportunity to see if your opinion is in line with the majority. Traditionally polling days are on spursdays, but we may present the option on any quiet football news day.

Today you have the opportunity to cast your vote on:

Who should Arsène choose to lead the line on Sunday?

Oliver Giroud is our top goalscorer this season. He has scored some beautiful goals from difficult chances – remember that super swivel and goal against Liverpool – and missed some absolute sitters. He is good at holding up the ball and bringing others into play which means that we can compete using ‘long ball’ tactics.

Theo Walcott has again had time out with injuries this season and hasn’t quite found his shooting boots. He would like to play as a centre forward but the jury is still out on whether he can. He seems to have lost a bit of acceleration since returning from injury but I still think he would terrify defenders if he gets to run onto the right ball. I don’t think he has the strength or the guile to beat most centre-backs when positioned close to them. But has he had enough chances?

These two were most effective when it seemed they were fighting for their place. When Theo started games and Giroud came off the bench he would add a different dimension to our play. Theo is good running at a tired defense but doesn’t seem to get enough minutes to have an effect.

Who would you choose?

Written by peachesgooner

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The Arsenal dressing room …… fiery cauldron or yoga retreat?

February 10, 2016

 

We have all heard interviews with ex-players where they’ve said that Arsene is not a ‘shouter’. He prefers calm and tranquillity in the dressing room before games and at half time. Yes he can get angry, but that is usually after the game when a performance has been poor. Arsene’s assistant managers also know they have to buy into the ethos and any over exuberance from them is viewed with disdain.

Our players stroll out onto the pitch in relaxed style, none of the fist pumping huddle stuff Southampton engaged in at The Emirates.

Arsene doesn’t necessarily see the role of captain as that of an on-pitch leader. With Cesc and BSR, it was a means of elevating the status of a player in order to try to keep them at the club. In Mertesacker he has a captain in his own image. A very nice guy, but not a marauding shouter by any means.

Arsene relies a lot on his players’ intelligence and probably believes that they should have the professionalism to self motivate – but is that expecting too much?

There have been times in recent years, and demonstrably in our last 4 or 5 performances when the team has been less than the sum of its parts. We’ve dropped points against sides where few if any of their players would get into the current Arsenal line-up …. why?

We are going to need to be a cohesive and determined team unit to beat Leicester at the weekend. The players will need to buy into a strategy for the game and must fight for one another. We must win more 50/50 battles than we lose. In short, we need to be a better team than of late.

The question I would ask is … “Would we see a more battling performance from our players if the dressing room pre-game was more of a fiery cauldron than a yoga retreat?”

Rasp

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Arsenal have five days to hate Leicester

February 9, 2016

I am so pleased the current Arsenal side has so many overseas players, and here’s why. The English like an underdog, and that is a real weakness. Fair Play, good manners, the rule of law, honour, glorious defeat and so on. Not great characteristics to ingrain deep within a sporting institution, other than, in England, that’s precisely what Sport means.

However, look around the globe, and you’ll see the word Sport has an entirely different meaning.

Americans like Winners, Latin Nations like, approve, and have developed an honourable art out of Cheating, East and Bribery, Over There performance enhancing drugs and so on. Yet here we English are stuck back in the Victorian era where it’s still it’s all “No, after you”. That was all fine back in the day when losing was ok, because we knew deep down we could have them shot later.

So, back to this weekend and Leicester. Are we ready?

Arsenal, more than any other Club, epitomize this national characteristic trait, and we have to snap out of it, and prontissimo, or we’re in for a very nasty shock. In short, we need to get nasty and develop some serious attitude issues, and we have five days to do it.

Over this short five day period, each and every Arsenal player needs to develop a deep and meaningful grudge, and it’s really hard to know where to start. They will simply not “get” how annoying Gary Lineker is, because that’s down to context. You see, had this been almost any other Minnow sitting top, the job of hating would have been made a whole lot easier, but I’m really struggling with Leicester City.

Our Boys aren’t the best at being motivated on any day, and the five we stuck past them earlier won’t help either as the old chestnut complacency could have crept past front door security.

If I was Ranieri, I’d be posting scented candles to our boys, birthday cards, Facebook Requests, free tanning sessions and so on. Really soften us up.

If I was Wenger, I don’t know what I’d do.

Written by MickyDidIt89

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Difficult February/March – decisions to make?

February 8, 2016

These are crunch months for me, whilst we face the prospect of 4 more games in February, and at least 5 in March, Leicester have 13 games between now and end of season.

We can reduce our pile up by making some simple decisions, play youth team in Champions League, play the same team in the FA Cup, save the first choice eleven for the Premier League.

Many have mooted that this is our best chance in years to win the league, many have said how we need to make sacrifices of playing style and stars for the pursuit of the trophy, in extreme circumstances some have talked about replacing Wenger with the repugnant Mourinho (yeah I know he’s a “winner”…..but at what cost?).

Is sacrificing the FA Cup 3peat and any chance of progress in the Champions League worth a possibility of winning the league?

Gooner in Exile

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Koscielny Scores as often as Theo.

February 7, 2016

Anyone saying out loud that they think today will be a regulation 3 points against a newly promoted team is a bare-faced, heinous fibber. How did this come to pass?

How is it that we have one player who cost the sum of the Bournemouth team and yet we are fearful of failure? Is it due to Bournemouth’s excellent team ethic or our team inefficiencies?

If we had played them 5 weeks ago I would be hugely confident of victory – today I am not which points to our malaise rather than B’mouth’s excellence

And this in a ground with a capacity of less than 12,000! (thank you Kelsey)

What is going wrong? Is it just the strikers inability to get the ball in the onion bag? The stats indicate a definite Yes. What is the solution? IMO it is obvious – we buy a better strikeforce but that is for the future, what of now?

Mr W stated at the start of season the importance of the midfield scoring on a regular basis: Ramsey has 4, Ozil 3, the rest … zip. Not good enough. So the burden of goalscoring is firmly at the feet and heads of the strikers – OG is doing well but the others? Sanchez has 6 from 14 starts – OK. Walcott 3 from 14, Campbell 2 from 12.

Given the number of chances created by Ozil alone this a simply not good enough. Koscielny has scored as many as Theo!

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Ooops, this post is starting to read like a Friday Rant 😀

Positives? We are still challenging despite a poor run of results. A win today puts us equal 2nd. We played very well in the 2nd half against S’ton and if we can reproduce that form (not the shooting accuracy!) we can still win the league.

Onto today. Will BFG return from the naughty step? Given B’mouth rely more on pace than brute force I would hesitate but I love the Big Man almost as much as AW does.I expect him to start.

Campbell or Ox? Ramsey on the right with Elneny alongside Coquelin? OG or Walcott upfront? You guess …

Eyes will be focused upon the performance of Afobe. Should we have kept him? I always come back to “how many ex-players improve after leaving AFC?” Perhaps Nasri, maybe Fabianski, certainly Vela but others? Perhaps Afobe would have improved staying at Arsenal – Arsene clearly thought not. I really wish him well but not this afternoon.

I like Eddie Howe, the man has a big future. Could he manage at a Top 4 club with the huge pressures and resources attached? His career path is likely to be a step up to say Stoke/Spurs and then, if successful, onto Chelsea with their revolving door policy. Then spat out with a golden handshake and a few million in the bank.

Our away form is about the same as our home (6 wins away, 7 home).

All things considered we should win this game but there are huge doubts raised by our recent form.

I am very cautiously optimistic.

COYRRG

 

 

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