Well that was pretty poor, wasn’t it? A performance we can happily stuff down the back of the sofa, and hope no-one notices. Of course, we can (and will) wheel out the line about it being a dead rubber, and say that we’d won the group already, so no worries. But let’s be honest, it was pretty rubbish.

There are plenty of negatives to take from the game, but chief amongst them is the nigh-on disastrous news that our fourth and final senior fullback is injured and will be out “for some time”. There are going to be some interesting questions about whether Vermaelen or Miquel plays in place of Santos and Gibbs.

Olympiakos wanted to win tonight and they dictated the pace virtually from the first moment to the last. We were out-thought and out-fought. It was just a shame their thoroughly deserved victory didn’t earn them a place in the knock-out phase. But then I also have a lot of time for Marseille.

Our first half performance this evening was dreadful, pretty much the worst we’ve seen since the cataclysmic August-September period. The defence was carved open time and again, and we gave up possession with our failure to deal with Olympiakos’s high energy pressing game. Our players failed to adapt and lacked the guile to look for the space that the multiple pressing players vacated when they were ganging up on the Arsenal defenders and defensive midfielders. It was that failure more than anything that handed the initiative to our opponents.

To make matters worse, there was no cohesion amongst the four defenders and they were nervous in their dealings with each of the keepers behind them. Djourou was woeful throughout the game, Squillaci only marginally better and both Santos and Vermaelen well below the standards we know they can play at. But above all else, their coordination was absent, they played like ships in the night.

Matters were hardly better higher on the pitch. Coquelin and Frimpong created nothing but more problems for the defenders with misplaced passes and sacrificed possession. And the attacking three were generally starved of the ball, with Oxlade-Chamberlain and to a tiny extent Arshavin providing only rare attacking force in the first half. Chamakh was once again dreadful, and in the first half Benayoun was ineffectual.

I have to admit, when Fabianski, who had looked decidedly nervy, was injured, I was a little bit pleased. The first goal wasn’t entirely his fault, a pass having ricocheted off the hapless Squillaci and Djourou before breaking perfectly for Rafik Djebbour, who finished from a tight angle with cool authority. But Fabianski seemed to have sold himself, and made it just little bit easier for the striker than it needed to have been. So, being something of a fan of Vito Mannone, I wasn’t too upset to see the Joaquin Phoenix lookalike come on in the 20th minute. But bloody hell, how wrong was I, to have such faith?

Olympiakos’s second goal was one of the most embarrassing goals I can remember Arsenal conceding, ever. Mannone bravely and sensibly came and headed a ball that had broken after Frimpong was caught in possession (again). But unbelievably, Mannone failed to do the simplest thing and catch David Fuster’s soft mis-hit shot that came back from his header. In his panic, Mannone tried to scissor-kick the ball away, it apparently not having computed that he was now back in his penalty area and could safely use his hands. His attempted kick failed and failed miserably. The ball gently bounced past him and into
the net. An aberration, and that’s being kind.

The second half was a shade better than the first, with the defence discovering some poise and cohesion, especially after Miquel came on for Santos. Mannone made one or two reasonable saves, and Vermaelen seemed to remember what it takes to be a defensive leader. But Djourou’s game continued to be of the lowest standard, and he was constantly caught out of position, was ponderous without the ball and consistently poor with it. Likewise, Frimpong and Coquelin continued to play badly. Benayoun started to offer something, and that culminated in the only bright moment of the evening, his lovely volley for our consolation goal when he was played in by Chamakh (who appeared to be more interested in diving to earn a penalty, so missed the Israeli’s lovely hit). But that goal was completely against the run of play, we didn’t deserve it.

That said, Olympiakos began to run out of puff after the 70th minute, and finally we had space in midfield while they dropped off instead of pressing us. Not a lot was produced by way of openings, though Rosicky and Chamakh did combine well at one point, and had the Little Mozart lofted the ball over the Greek keeper, we could have drawn level. However, justice was served when Olympiakos scored a decisive third in the closing minutes, following two free-kicks given away in quick succession near the by-line by the already booked Frimpong. Olaf Mellberg, well known to us as the scorer of the first competitive goal
at the Grove, rose higher than the four Arsenal players around him and headed the ball onto the post, past the sprawling Mannone. François Modesto was perfectly placed to pick up the pieces and he slotted the ball to make the result safe for the Greeks.

The fact we lost tonight is no cause for concern in itself. But the way that pretty much the same side that outplayed Man City last week was utterly off the pace tonight is disappointing, I for one expected more. And now, with Santos’s injury, we’ll have to see if we pay a higher price.

Ratings:
Fabianski: 4
Djourou: 3
Squillaci: 4
Vermaelen: 5
Santos: 5
Frimpong: 4
Coquelin: 4
Oxlade-Chamberlain: 6
Benayoun: 6
Arshavin: 5
Chamakh: 4

Mannone: 4
Rosicky: 6
Miquel: 6

Written by 26may1989

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