Not beautiful, not sexy – but a critical win for Arsenal

October 20, 2011

Marseille 0 – 1 Arsenal: Match Report


Now, this was not a game for the purists of total football – for those who love sexy moves and scintillating finishes: the Arsenal of ‘old’ (at least for now). It will not go into the history books as one of Arsenal’s great CL evenings, but let’s not fool ourselves: this was a critical win for Arsenal.

Before the game, I thought about the likely consequences if we would have lost tonight. The media-scripts were, without any doubt, ready to be released by our friends from the redtops. At this brittle period of rebuilding our team, the CL qualification and subsequent group results have been the one shining light in the dark tunnel of the 2011-2012 season. A loss today and the media would have been putting their daggers into that last bit of success and dignity that Arsenal have been hanging onto this season, the Doomers would have joined them en masse, and we all would have really suffered from it. Even the biggest optimist would have struggled to keep the belief.

Yet tonight, Arsenal made an important step forward, and we should be all pleased by this. Arsenal are now top of the group and Marseille and Dortmund still have to come to the Emirates. All at once, there is reason for some renewed optimism. It was not beautiful, it was not sexy, but it was just what the doctor ordered. Games like these can lay the foundation for a turnaround of fortunes.

 

First Half

Both teams started nervously with a lack of ball control/possession and some defensive mistakes as well. It was tight in midfield and Marseille made it hard for us to dominate the game. However, after a while we started to make a number of good runs on the right-hand side, which led to some good, and some not-so-good crosses into the box. Unfortunately, the Marseille defence dealt with these easily albeit at the expense of a number of corners. From one of those corners we produced our best chance in the first half. Diawara cleared a header from Robin van Persie off the line, but we should have had a penalty, moments before that, when the same Diawara – very cunningly – had handled the ball in the air.

Marseille best chance came after 30 minutes: the occasionally impressive Remy showed some great agility to leave the BFG rooted to the ground (or should that be: anchored to the sea-floor?), and to get past Jenkinson. However, the latter was just able to stick his foot brilliantly in front of Remy’s diagonal shot at goal, and his attempt was deflected past our goal.

Just before the end of the first half,Santos did something inexplicable. Already on a yellow card, he decided to handle the ball whilst under no pressure to do so. It could have so easily been a second yellow card, and the team would have been put under immense pressure for the rest of the game. Santos, who really impressed me at the Emirates against Sunderland on Sunday, had a bit of a shocker of a first half, but luckily he improved somewhat during the second half.

Second Half

Arsenal, as so often this season, started the second half really well. Jenkinson, who had already impressed during the first half, showed great energy and determination to make a difference on the right, but was not helped by a few sloppy passes from Walcott and Rosicky at this stage. Jenkinson had to come off and Djourou replaced him. I am sure, I was not the only one to think that Marseille would now start to test the right-hand side of our defence, but just as they had not tried to put more pressure on Santos in the second half, they also refrained from targeting Djourou. The referee even helped them by giving Johan a yellow card almost straightaway, and unjustly so! It only then dawned on me that Marseille were actually aiming for a draw.

After 60 minutes, Song and Rosicky combined to play the ball to Theo just inside the box. Walcott got past the throughout-the-game very impressive N’Koulou, but his shot is too soft and too close to the goalie. Arsenal keep dominating without creating too many chances, as both Song and Arteta become stronger and stronger in the second half. Wenger changed Theo for Gervinho and straightaway there was more threat and creativity to our attacking play. Gervinho did really well to run past a few Marseille players and to play a great ball into box for Robin. Unfortunately, van Persie needed to use his right foot and his shot was stopped by the also impressive Mandada. It then looked like we were heading for a draw, which in itself would not have been a bad result for us.

But there was a final sting in the tale, and justice was done. The only team that tried to play football in the second half was rewarded for its efforts. Johan Djourou puts in an early cross and, for once, Robin van Persie is not alone in the box – Gervinho is there as well – and the Marseille defence is under pressure. Gervinho tries to control Djourou’s cross, but inadvertently (?), he produces the perfect assist for Ramsey, who also made a good run into the box. Ramsey controls the ball well with his first touch and finds time and space to coolly slot the ball, with a low, hard and placed shot, past the goalkeeper’s right-hand side. Ramsey, another one of our players who received a lot of criticism from his own fans recently, showed some great maturity at that moment in time – and just as much as Arsenal made a step forward today, he made one himself as well.

Player Ratings:

Szczesny: not much to do, but was calm and confident (which goes a long way) – 6.5

Mertesacker: read the game well defensively, but was often hesitant passing the ball going forward, and once or twice to static in the box. I still like him a lot and he is just what we need at the moment – 6.5

Koscielny: incredible, gutsy performance. He and Mertesacker compliment each other really well and over time this could become a good partnership – 7.5 Joint man of the match

Santos: gave the ball away a lot, and already on (an unjust) yellow card, he decided to handle the ball. He looked tired and slow, but also showed some glimpses of real quality –5

Jenkinson: very impressive game, defensively and especially going forward. I just loved his energy and eagerness, and in my view, he set an example to some of his colleagues tonight – 7.5 Joint man of the match

Rosicky: struggled at large parts of the game to impose himself and seemed to disappear a lot. But he does bring shape to our team and has plenty of class –6

Arteta: a solid performance, doing a lot of the hard, often unnoticed, work in front of our defence. I like this guy a lot – 7

Song: he is a bit like an old-fashioned locomotive: he seems to start games rusty, even clumsy, and slowly, but the longer the game goes on, the sharper and stronger he becomes, and at the end of the game he is just unbelievable! –7

Arshavin: not a good game. Tried to set up a few attacks but just did not work out for him on the day. Gave the ball away too many times – 5

Van Persie: worked hard for the team, but was often isolated, and surrounded by a couple of very strong CB’s. The introduction of Gervinho seemed to really make a difference for him and he almost scored at the end –7

Walcott: a couple of decent runs and crosses into the box, and some good defensive support at times, but we did not get enough from him this game – 5.5

Substitutes:

Johan Djourou – did ok after a couple of very difficult months for him, and played a good, aggressive cross into the box that led to Ramsey’s goal –6

Gervinho – brought class, aggression and incisiveness to our attacking play – 6.5

Ramsey – made a difference straightaway and a great goal to win the match – 6.5

TotalArsenal

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Posted by peachesgÖÖner

Short trip to Marseilles

October 19, 2011

Our first trip to France since 2002 when we beat Auxerre 1-0. A similar scoreline tonight would see Arsenal in the box seat in the group.

Marseilles are in the same type of form as Arsenal, lying 15th in Ligue 1 and struggling to get back in touch with their last season’s form.  Their win over Borussia shows just what they can do when playing well – our esteemed manager stating he was “surprised and impressed.”  Mr. Wenger went on to say he expects Marseilles to play on the counter-attack and that they have a number of fine players.

Playing teams committed to counter-attacking football has become the norm for AFC because the opposition are fully aware of the pace of Theo, Gerv and RvP. Furthermore, with the amount of possession we usually have counter attack is the only way to play against us.

Gibbs is injured and Ramsey is expected back …..

My team

A big night for Mertesacker who up to now has shown himself to have the turning circle of  an oil tanker, his football nous will be sorely tested as Marseilles play with pace upfront;  in Remy and Ayew they have much admired strikers and many a club have tried to sign Mbia (allegedly).

Good omens:  We have played 7 times in France and have yet to lose. Marseilles have won only one of their 10 league matches this season and drew 0-0 on Saturday. We have won 4 of our last 5 games. Ayew may be suspended.

Not so dusty:  Marseilles are top of the CL group and have yet to concede a goal.  OM are strong at home and in Didier Deschamps have an excellent manager. Gignac is back to fitness and is a fine player – he should get at least 30 mins.

Henri Fabre, the inventor of the seaplane was born in Marseilles. His   seaplane first took off in 1910 and later is planes  saw action in the First World War. Fabre died in 1984 at the age of 101.

This is an important game for Arsenal, we know the result of coming second (or heavens forbid third) in the group.

COYRRG

Big Raddy

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Work in progress – Arsenal go marching on

September 29, 2011

We won. Chelsea didn’t. Man City didn’t. Man United didn’t. We did, and that’s the important bit, especially bearing in mind that we had nine injured players and (with the North London Derby coming up) only five genuine first choice players were in the starting XI.

The performance wasn’t the best, but neither was it the worst.  In ignorance, many of us assumed that the champions of Greece would be cannon fodder but by half-time it was clear that our opponents were no mugs. Olympiacos were a well organised, fit and energetic side, with a few dangerous players. They were often the better team in the first half, but the difference between the two sides was the quality of our finishing in the first half and the development of solidity at the back and better ball retention for Arsenal by the second half. The game was very open in the first half, worryingly so at times, since Olympiacos were able to drive into space on the break. We gave plenty of openings to our opponents, whose energy was best exemplified by Mirallas, who made Sagna’s evening a very uncomfortable one.

Both our goals came against the run of play, but came when we transitioned the ball quickly to the front third. The genesis of the first was a bit strange: Oxlade-Chamberlain had possession over on the wing, and decided to sweep a long pass back to Song, who was on the halfway line. Song then looked for the options, and saw Oxlade-Chamberlain had cut inside the Olympiacos right-back and was on a run toward the penalty area. Song pinged the ball back to the Ox with a long aerial pass, the youngster took the ball in his stride confidently, worked it across the penalty area, and efficiently shot back across the goal and through Mellberg’s legs.

The second goal came shortly after, when Santos was put through by efficient combination play from Rosicky and Arshavin; Santos then tried to cross it to Chamakh, but the ball was intercepted. Had it been Clichy, he would have panicked on receiving the ball in that situation and the chance would have been frittered away. But Santos is no fool, he just cut in and took an early right-foot shot that caught the keeper out at the near post.

Olympiacos’s goal came just a little bit later, and was outrageously simple; for two opponents to be able to bring the ball from a corner into the penalty area with barely a challenge made really is unforgivable. And then for Fuster to be able head the ball unchallenged from the penalty spot is very, very poor.  The decision has been taken to switch to zonal marking – fair enough, many pros say it is the better way to defend, and any change in system needs to bed down. But it needs to, and quickly.

In the second half, we exerted our control over proceedings far more effectively. The game became tighter and we became more efficient with and without the ball. We didn’t play with verve but the threat from Olympiacos ebbed away, and we were deserved victors by the end. The only exception to that was when Torosides had a great looping shot that beat Szczesny but clattered against the cross-bar. But that was Olympiacos’s only real chance in the second half, with the Arsenal defence finding itself during the course of the game.  By the end, it was clear that Mertesacker and Song were enjoying their partnership, and Santos showed a wizened way about him.  He knows how to use his body to best effect when contesting possession, and he understands how to anticipate what his opponent is going to do. There are no guarantees Santos will be a success story but those who wrote him off after his first game or two for us should hang their heads in shame.

My marks for the evening:

Szczesny: 7 Did nothing wrong, and made a lovely finger tip save in the first half.  He couldn’t do anything for the goal, when he was criminally exposed by his defence.

Sagna: 4 Constantly bullied, especially by Mirallas, and made several bad decisions while in possession.  Even accounting for the poor cover he got from Arshavin, Sagna’s performance was very disappointing. Perhaps my mark is a bit harsh, but I rate Sagna highly and expect much better from him than this.

Mertesacker: 7 Reads the game so well, he can intercept the ball or break up the play higher up the pitch than one might expect, and with someone like Song to mop up if anything does get through, it does work. The BFG is growing into his role with us, a pleasure to see that.

Song: 7 By the end, an excellent performance from Song, who showed he hasn’t forgotten how to play at CB. He also got an assist for Oxlade-Chamberlain’s goal.

Santos: 7 Lovely to see him score on his home debut, and it was a very mature goal, the result of a steady head. His defending was similarly mature, and the only time we were threatened on his flank was when Torosides swung a leg from distance and almost struck gold.

Frimpong: 5 Had his moments but was often caught out positionally, and for all his huff and puff, he had insufficient impact on Olympiacos.

Arteta: 5 Tried to keep the ball moving and he made some good passes, but Arteta was unable to impose himself on the game. He does offer better set piece delivery than we’ve become used to from Fabregas and van Persie. He also made a crucial goal-line clearance in the first half.

Oxlade-Chamberlain: 7 Slightly lucky for goal as it ricocheted off a defender back to him after a heavy touch, but he did brilliantly well to create the opening and finish it off. The boy has oodles of talent, and more than that, he plays without fear. He’s not intimidated by being crowded by opponents and he’s willing to take them on. The Ox was paid the ultimate compliment when Holebas took him out and was booked, and Holebas should have had a second yellow later on, when Ox killed him for pace, but the referee somehow managed not to see an obvious foul.

Rosicky: 4 Worked hard but to little effect. Had a chance of a shot when laid on by Arshavin but declined, and the opportunity was lost. He did however play a crucial part in the second goal.

Arshavin: 5 Not an athlete, never has been, but that deficiency is showing more now, and it’s not off-set by as many moments of brilliance. But Arshavin was wrongly called offside in first half when would have been through one-on-one. And he brilliantly carved open Olympiacos’s defence with a chipped through ball to Chamakh, who then dragged his shot wide. He also hit the bar with a cross that was wrongly adjudged to have gone out. But he still failed to offer anything consistent, and truth be told, we need more from him.

Chamakh: 5 He had a couple of good chances, and he should have done better with both. But he worked harder than usual (according to the Sky TV caption as he was subbed, Chamakh ran 8.7km as against the team average at 70 minutes of 7.8km). He also created a great chance for Oxlade-Chamberlain in the second half with a defence-splitting pass but AOC shot at the keeper. Chalamkh is rock-bottom in terms of confidence and he’s not streetwise, missing the chance to earn free-kicks when defenders are too tight to him. Crucially, he just doesn’t hunt down the chances to attack the ball in the box. That is his main job, for all of his running.

Subs:

Ramsey: Didn’t impress during his time on the pitch, and with Wilshere now out for so long, we will need Ramsey to step up.

van Persie: Didn’t get a lot of service but also didn’t do much when he did get it.

Gibbs: Did pretty well during his short time on the pitch.

So, all in all, it was ok, but we remain a work in progress. Much of the midfield was huff and puff without end-product tonight, but they can and will do better. We’re on course in the Champions’ League, despite having been drawn in a tough group. Like all competitions this season, the CL is going to be a hard slog, but the second half defensive performance and Oxlade-Chamberlain made this a night that was net positive.

Written by 26may1989

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Posted by peachesgÖÖner

A Taste of Honey.

September 28, 2011

A hot sunny Athens morning, greek yoghurt, fresh fruit, and some Greek honey. Lovely.

Olympiacos (we use a K, they use the C) come to town as Greek Champions , further than that I have little to tell you about them. They have over 80,000 members, the 9th highest in European football. They have a superb stadium, noisy, fanatical fans and a good home record. It is said they do not travel well, oh, and their Swedish player Olaf Mellberg scored the first PL goal at the Emirates (for AV)

The first round win by Marseilles  in Athens was a poor result for 4 reasons:

1. Marseilles are French.

2. Olympiacos are a tough proposition in Athens and thus Marseilles are well placed in the group,

3. Marseilles are French

4. Marseilles are French

With little insight into the Greek team I will concentrate upon the Mighty Arsenal. Needless to say we go into the game reduced by injuries. To add to the long term absentees we now have Gervinho, Walcott, Bennie, Miquel, Djourou and more importantly Koscielny injured.

Wenger appears to be forced into playing Song alongside the BFG (Mertesacker) but by doing so we lose our best midfielder.

I would like to see Santos get another game tonight, he must be raring to get his AFC career started and despite having played well recently Gibbs, as we all know, is made of glass.

Up front we have options for the first time in ages. Should we play 4-3-3 expect to see the Ox to get his first start and how exciting will that be? Arshavin or Ryo on the left? AA for me, we need to be on the front foot for this game.

My Team:

I have concerns about the number of games being played by Ramsey especially in light of the upcoming trip to WHL. Perhaps AW will give him a rest and play  Coquelin and Frimpong  in midfield, as it is I expect Frimpong to start.  This is a game made for our friend Abou Diaby, he is sorely missed (IMO).

The same could be said of Van Persie but he has become so important to the team that he must start, hopefully we will be a coasting on the hour and Chamakh can continue to get some pitch time.

Athens has been continuously inhabited for more than 7000 years (London has a measly 2000 year history). Athenians and ancient Greeks have gifted the world many wonders, among them – democracy, astrology, biology, mathematics, physics and the theatre, but for all their marvels they didn’t invent football, did they?

This is a tie we are expected to win and is probably our easiest fixture in the CL, anything less than 3 points will be costly,

Champions League campaigns may come and go but Arsenal are Forever and Ever 🙂

COYRRG

Big Raddy

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Posted by Erik the Red

A Perisickening End

September 14, 2011

Written by Gooner in Exile

A trip to the German Champions in their mighty fortress was always going to be a difficult game. We went with a team that is still getting to know each other’s first names so the writing was on the wall and every pundit pre match was predicting we would be lucky to escape with a draw.

Dortmund started brightly dominating possession and exploiting our high line and Per’s lack of pace, they were full of running and the little wizard Goetze was at the heart of most things good from them. Through poor finishing and committed defending we managed to keep them at bay and slowly get ourselves in to the match. The best chance during this spell came from a poor touch by Gibbs seized upon by Goetze who played a lovely reverse pass to Lewandowski who rounded Szczesny but Sagna had covered well and cleared off the line.

Arsenal were creating problems for themselves, the ball was sticking in the midfield when pressure needed to be relieved, a number of players (one of the main culprits Gibbs) were pushing the ball backwards and sideways rather than looking forward and Dortmund were swarming in numbers to win back possession in the defensive third. At times I would just like to see us punt the ball out of defence and into the other half of the pitch.

The period was not without its chances for Arsenal though, Gervinho denied by a last second tackle by Hummels whilst waiting for the ball to drop, after switching wings Gevinho released Theo but unfortunately his first touch took the ball too far and towards Hummels, a better first touch and he would have had options to play in Van Persie or play for the penalty with his second touch.

Benayoun looked to set Gervinho away, the ball was cleared straight back to the Israeli who reacted to push another pass to Van Persie who forced the keeper into a save at his near post.

Finally the deadlock was broken, Dortmund were guilty of slowly playing out from the back, Van Persie hassled for the ball and touched it to Theo, Theo seized on the opportunity to push forward and played a perfectly weighted pass into the path of Van Persie who composed himself picked his spot and put us one nil up with two or three minutes of the half remaining.

The second half started in much the same way as the first with Dortmund pressing with and without the ball but Arsenal seemed to withstand the pressure better, the ball was being played longer from midfield to attack and between Theo, Gervinho and Van Persie the ball was staying up the pitch for longer which meant the defence was given a much needed rest to regroup and reorganise.

During this spell we forced a couple of free kicks but unfortunately neither Arteta or Walcott could produce a telling strike.

Dortmund slowly got themselves back on the front foot and were mounting large periods of possession in the Arsenal defensive third. For the most part the team stood firm, Koscielny, Song, and Sagna all getting involved in good blocks or tackles, Mertesacker winning high balls and when the ball did break through the defence Szczesny was there to provide the final barrier.

During this period the two of the new signings, Arteta and Benayoun, provided good work-rate they covered runs made tackles and won free kicks when they could easily have lost possession. Their commitment to the harder parts of the game was good to see from players who some would possibly regard as flair players. Their energy meant that Song could stay more central and provide a screen to the centre backs.

Trying to steady the ship young Frimpong replaced Walcott and Benayoun went out to left midfield, soon after Benayoun was moved on to the right as Gervinho was replaced by Santos and Chamakh came on for the tiring Van Persie.

These changes restricted any forward movement so it was going to be backs to the wall for the last ten minutes or so. The Dortmund pressure was calmly dealt with by our defence and the clean sheet was looking good.

Unfortunately it couldn’t last from a passage of triangle passing between Benayoun, Arteta and Frimpong who had no forward outlet the ball was lost resulting in Song conceding a free kick to stop a breakway. Gibbs rose well to head away the firmly delivered set piece but the ball looped out to Perisic who struck an unstoppable volley into the top right corner. There was simply no legislating for that strike, the harshest critic will say that too many red shirts had got sucked into the area and the Dortmund players on the edge of the box were left unattended.

There was still time for Szczesny to be called into action once more as he spread himself at the feet of Lewandowski to prevent a Dortmund winner.

So a point away from home in the Champions League in the bag and some valuable lessons learned about our strengths and weaknesses.

For me the team still has some gelling to do, hopefully three days training together before the visit to Blackburn will give the players the chance to at least learn each others names and maybe even how each other likes to play, that presently is our weakness.

As for strength, well tonight there seemed to be something that I haven’t seen for a while certainly not in the latter stages of last season, players were taking responsibility, Szczesny was grabbing bodies at corners and telling them where to stand, Benayoun and Arteta were working hard tracking back to win the ball back and put themselves where it hurts. Spurred on by this Van Persie was tracking back deep into his own half. From the ashes I think a team is rising, a slightly different team, one with a different mentality, one prepared to fight, one prepared to do what it takes to win. The future is looking brighter every game.

Ratings:

I don’t normally like ratings but today I thought I would give some as I thought a few players deserved mention that I could not put fit in the report.

Szczesny – 8 Solid start to finish, calm and composed, confident claiming high balls and some important saves.

Gibbs – 6 For me our weakest player tonight, too often turning back inside with nowhere to go when in possession, and dereliction of defensive duties for most of the first half allowing runners to get away too easily

Sagna – 7 Mr Dependable, as ever, solid in the tackle careful with possession, but did not offer as much going forward as he normally does.

Koscielny – 8 Despite some wayward passing in the early stages I thought he stood firm against a very talented Dortmund attack, made many good interceptions and tackles, was strong in the air, took a mighty thump to the head from Sagna and Subotic combined but just gets on with little complaint.

Mertesacker – 6.5 His pace was exposed on occasion when they played around him on the floor, but when they resorted to high balls he came into his own, will suit the bigger teams in the Premier League but we will need Vermaelen and Koscielny when it comes to the trickier attackers of City and the like.

Song – 7.5 Provided the screen as needed (especially in the second half) also retained possession well in both halves, took time to settle in the first half alongside the two new lads.

Arteta – 7 For me he gets a 6 for his first half display and 8 for the second, felt the game passed him by in the first half, but when he started to get hold of the ball and pick the longer passes he provided a good outlet and used it well, second half he put himself on the line in defence and got a nice cut on the head for his trouble.

Benayoun – 7.5 Slightly out performed Arteta, with a better display first half going forward, but most impressed and surprised by his work rate defensively.

Gervinho – 6.5 Too many blind alleys run down, needs to get his head up and use his teammates more, had the chance to lay in Theo when one on one.

Walcott – 6.5 Up until he pushed the assist through he had hardly been in the game, and had been guilty of losing possession too easily. Second half was better but should have used his pace better when he had the opportunity to.

Van Persie – 7.5 The half point is for the goal, otherwise a quiet first half, again much better second half and upped his work rate, I’d prefer him to come off every match on 75 minutes shattered than conserve himself to get through ninety minutes.

Subs, Frimpong, Chamakh and Santos not enough time to rate.

Man of the Match – Koscielny

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Posted by peachesgÖÖner

You’ll Never Walk Alone

September 13, 2011

You’ll never Walk Alone has always been my favourite football anthem, it reminds me of the wonderful Liverpool teams of the 60’s/70’s and Bill Shankly and the Kop and black and white TV and my first visit to Anfield. It is THE football anthem. Why am I writing about YNWA?  Well, because it is Borussia Dortmund’s anthem, and I have a feeling that with 80,000 Germans singing and cheering on their young and extremely talented side our boys in Red are going to be feeling very alone. Alone but hopefully not afraid.

Like most fans I was hoping that we would not draw BD in the final group of the CL draw, and  am sure I was not alone in using a 4 letter word when we drew them. Borussia are  a top, top team and despite losing Sahin to Real Madrid (he was voted Bundesliga player of the Year) they have (unlike us) retained their squad, even rebuffing a reported €40m bid from Arsenal the 19.y.o Mario Gotze.

Gotze is just one of the exciting talents in this Dortmund team, but let us focus upon him for a moment. Just 19, already touted as the future of German football and hailed by German Football Association’s technical director Matthias Sammer who called him “one of the best talents that we’ve ever had” –  high praise indeed. Remind you of anyone in our squad?  How we miss our Little Jack.

Barrios, a Paraguayan, plays upfront for BD and last season was top scorer in the Bundesliga in 2010 and scored heavily last season. Kagawa an attacking MF is one of Japans most talked about young talents, at 22 he already has 25 International caps. Subotic is a monster Serbian CB whom Chelsea  (and supposedly AFC) tried to sign in summer,  just 22 and a class player. I could continue but you will just get as depressed and anxious as I am.

BD’s stadium holds 81,000 fans and is the largest in Germany, they have an average attendance of  over 77k a game, the highest in Europe. Interestingly, BD are quoted on the German Stock Exchange – the only publicly owned club in the Bundesliga

Arsenal go into this difficult game missing Wilshere, Ramsey, Rosicky and Diaby in midfield. We have an untried defensive unit and are missing our best defender (apart from Chesney). And yet, we have cause for optimism: We have a terrific frontline, we have a midfield with PL experience  (if not CL), a defence that has a good mix of pace and height, and we are at our best playing away in Europe (OK – that might be an exaggeration)

My team:

World’s No.1.

Sagna Mertesacker  Koscielny  Gibbs

Song  Arteta  Frimpong

Walcott  Van Persie  Gervinho

Tough call on whom to play alongside Song and Arteta in midfield, but Frimpong adds some defensive steel and energy which will hopefully allow Song to get forward and be creative.  The front three have pace aplenty which will be important in what is sure to be an open, attacking game.

Most pundits have written off our chances of getting even a point from tonight. They cite our current lack of form and Dortmund’s undoubted home strengths (their loss this weekend was the first in over a year), but these pundits are always writing us off. We have reason to be confident, Dortmund have only 7 points from 15 this season, they are stuttering upfront and have an ageing defence. Their team has little Champions League experience and winning the Bundesliga is nowhere near the achievement it once was, I firmly believe Arsenal would win it with our current squad.

A win is a tough ask, but why not?

COYRRG

Written by Big Raddy

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Posted by Erik the Red

Why City REALLY signed Na$ri

August 26, 2011

Let’s put bitterness and recrimination to one side for a moment and accept that Samir Nasri is quite a good player.

His close control is excellent, he can beat players for fun, he likes attacking the danger areas and he has an eye for goal.

On average, based on last season, he’ll provide an assist once every 10 games, which made him an important player for Arsenal.

Admittedly, not as important as Fabregas, Arshavin, Van Persie, Walcott, Rosicky and Wilshere, who all had more assists last term.

He’ll also get you a goal once every five games, based on his scoring record for Arsenal, which isn’t bad. If he starts, say, 15 games for Manchester City this season he’ll notch up a grand total of three.

He is effective out wide but, if given the greater responsibility of a central midfield role, is left badly floundering as we found out several times last year.

I would have preferred him to stay at Arsenal because he is a decent attacking option, although far from being world-class.

For some of the reasons outlined above, you can see why Man City bought the little Frenchman. They have been accused of having more graft than guile and, on his good days (which were few and far between when it really counted in the second half of last season) he has the skills to unlock an obdurate defence.

But for the money spent on him, City might well have bought any one of several talented outside forwards (Juan Mata, Gareth Bale and Franck Ribery to name but three). Instead they doggedly pursued Nasri all summer long (indeed from January, if some reports are to be believed).

In my mind it raises a question.

City have the resources to buy anyone, so why spend so much effort on a player who has been not much above average apart from one purple patch that lasted less than half a season?

They don’t really need his footballing gifts. It’s not like he’s a game changer for them (as Aguero may turn out to be).

Which brings me to my theory:

City are embarking on this season with aspirations, of course, to become champions of England. But also with a pragmatic ambition to, at the very least, stay in the Champions League with a top four finish.

If Financial Fair Play proves to have any teeth, City will need ECL income if they are to continue to compete at the top-level (and pay the stratospheric wage bill they have accrued).

So, to my mind, a crucial element in their move for Nasri was to weaken one of their rivals for the top four slots: namely, us.

I suspect the same motivation behind their acquisition of Clichy, too.

In a summer when everyone in the know in football was aware that Cesc was undoubtedly leaving Arsenal, I believe the temptation to kick us when we were down was too much for City to resist.

Mancini must feel that he has severely weakened Arsenal, and in the process gained yet another decent squad player in Nasri. Money, of course, is no object. I’m not going to criticise City for it. It’s great tactics – and Machiavelli (no, he didn’t play with Mancini at Sampdoria) would certainly approve.

The funny thing is that I think the Nasri move will backfire. He is clearly a disputatious fellow, as his arguments in the French camp and in the Arsenal dressing room give testament to.

He will bring that attitude to Eastlands, and may well leave behind a more united team at Arsenal. Certainly the spirit shown in the games against Udinese and Liverpool indicates that something positive is happening at The Arse.

However good the individuals were in our squad last season, they had collectively developed a losing mentality. The departures of Nasri, Clichy, Cesc and others have given us the chance to shake up the mood in the squad, bringing in new players not tainted by that negativity.

We won’t really miss the error-prone Clichy (top professional though he was for us) and Gervinho already looks like a more than capable replacement for Nasri – and that’s before we’ve even seen anything of Ryo and Oxo.

I may be wrong. Nasri may have a storming season for City. If he does I will not wish him well, because he has moved only for money and has shown a lack of class in his comments about his former club.

But it’s more likely City have Adebayor Mk II on their hands, and they’re welcome to him.

RockyLives

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Posted by RockyLives

Europe – guess who is back?

August 25, 2011

14 years in the Champions League and counting!

 By TotalArsenal

 

 

— Udinese – Arsenal: 1-2 Match Report —

 Let’s open with a cliché: this was a game of two halves. The first half was ok, but possibly not good enough to qualify for this year’s CL. During the second half Arsenal found its identity again and deservedly beat a spirited, and at times attractively footballing, Udinese football team.

We started very well in the first half, which was incredibly important, given everything that happened to Arsenal over the last few months – on and off the pitch. It was a warm and humid night, and the pitch in the Stadio Friuli looked great (on TV). We started with Szczesny in goal, a back-four of Jenkinson- JD – TV – Sagna; Frimpong, Song and Ramsey in midfield; and Gervinho, Theo and RvP upfront. I had hoped we would play Frimpong and Song together in midfield, but had not expected Ramsey to be the advanced midfielder. I thought Arsene would put Rosicky there from the start, but he kept him on the bench instead – and what a clever move that turned out to be!

Jenkinson started ahead of Traore in our back-four and it is almost a football-fairytale story how the young ‘prince’ Jenkinson has made it to the first eleven of our team in such a short period; and what a prospect he is! Sagna was moved to the LB position, but it was there where we were at our weakest during the first half – and Udinese at their strongest.

Initially Udinese had no answer to our formation and we started to take some control over the game. It was great to see our attacking intentions from the start: Gervinho, Theo, Ramsey and RvP were all hungry and had shots on goal whenever possible. We were also happy to play the long ball on occasion, which gave us the necessary variety in our attacking strategy.

The beauty of winning 1-0 at home, is that an away goal counts double and that is such a psychological advantage during the second leg of a CL qualifier. It totally suited Arsenal who do not know anything else than go out there and attack. The pressure was with Udinese, who knew very well that scoring two goals could still not be enough, as Arsenal are always capable of scoring the all important away goal (or two!).

Gervinho was the most dangerous for us and what a gem Arsene has bought for us this summer. The Gerv just sticks to his role and does it diligently and oh-so effectively. It looks so simple what he does, but how good is it to have a player again who loves to attack space and take on defenders whenever possible for 90 minutes long. The partnership between him and RvP is already looking fantastic and they have only played together for two months.

Frimpong had a good first half, but Song did look a bit lost and rusty at times. Slowly but steadily, Udinese got more grip/dominance on the game during the last twenty minutes of the first half, and in Di Natale they have a player of great quality. He was a joy to watch throughout the game; such clever runs, such energy, such a good balance and body strength, and such lethality in front of goal.

Udinese started to put up two rows of four – very close together – in front of our attackers and we started to struggle a bit to get through. We were vulnerable for attacks from Udinese’s right wing, but luckily we escaped a couple of times. It was, however, during this period that Arsenal had their best chance to nick the all important away goal in the first half. Gervinho found his way into the box with a brilliant move and pulled the ball back perfectly for Theo. The latter hit the ball low and hard – and on target – but the impressive Udinese goalkeeper Handanovic made a great save. RvP received the rebound, but could also not find a hole in the Udinese defence, resulting in another good save by their goalie.

Finally, Udinese found the opening with a couple of quality moves:  Pinzi, with some quick thinking, found Di Natale with a good cross, who had positioned himself cleverly between Jenkinson and Djourou – who both should have been tighter on him. Di Natale – the ex-international – proved why he has been the Italian top scorer for the last two seasons, by scoring a classy header over our goalie, from only a half chance. Szczesny had no chance at all. All in all, Udinese deserved to be in front at the break.

In the second half, Rosicky came in for – the impressive  Frimpong. This was clearly no reflection on Frimpong’s performance but a tactical change. And what a difference it made. Arsenal started to look again like the Arsenal that we have come to know in recent seasons. Song, back in the DM position, became an absolute beast in the second period: what a transformation. Ramsey looked a lot more in his element, and chapeau to Rosicky who brought some well-needed freshness and directness to our attacking play again.

 

In the 55th minute, Gervinho’s efforts were rewarded. He made it relatively easy to the by-line and passed cleverly back to RvP: 1-1! With the all important away goal in the bag, it was important to stay calm, but we did the opposite by conceding a penalty, which seemed harsh to me at the time. Anyway, what came next is all that matters: a world-class save by Szczesny – one that we will remember for decades to come and provides us with the final proof that this man is ready for the big stage. Let’s hope that the strength Szczesny showed in his left arm is symbolic for the found again strength and belief within the entire team.

After that save, the Udinese players and their fans never believed in it again. And Arsenal dealt a final blow by a superb goal from the man who loves space as much as Na$ri likes oil-smeared cash. The always impressive Sagna combined cleverly with Theo and the latter finished coolly and professionally. Job done and we are once again, for the fourteenth time in a row, back in the Champions League!

Arsene Wenger has shown everyone again what really matters in football: a well-thought-through system and eleven talented players on the pitch, with hunger and desire to win, and who love to work for each other till the end. Forget about transfers today, just enjoy the moment.

Player ratings:

Szczesny: 8.5 – did not make a single mistake and made a world-class save tonight. Superb.

Jenkinson: 7 – confident, energetic, good awareness and calm under pressure: what a buy – he could well be the transfer of the season!

TV: 7 – solid, but gave a penalty away at a crucial time, which could have cost us dearly.

Djourou: 7 – also solid, but should have been putting pressure on Di Natale before he was able to score. Still a fine performance though.

Sagna: 7 – struggled in the first half quite a bit, but played out of position, and is of course not left footed. Combined very well Theo for 2nd goal.

Song: 8 – struggled quite a bit in first half, but what a second half! Once Song gets going, there is no stopping him.

Frimpong: 7.5 – fine first half –worked hard and broke up a lot of attacks. What a prospect!

Theo: 7.5 – good, solid performance. Aggressive from the start and scored a very important, and well taken, second goal.

Ramsey: 7 – still finding his way without either Cesc or Wilshere on the pitch, but improved considerably in the second half. Decent performance overall.

RvP: 7.5 – worked hard and scored the all important first goal.

Gervinho: 8.5 – Man of the Match for me. Song was my MotM in the 2nd half, but overall, Gervinho deserves it in my opinion. He is focussed, works hard for the team, unselfishly looks for the best attacking opportunity, and just added that bit of extra class which made the difference tonight.

Rosicky: 7 – helped Arsenal to find its identity/shape again and worked hard.

Traore & Arshavin – not enough playing time to make a judgement.

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Posted by WiganGooner

Mozart scores! Udinese preview

August 24, 2011

 

I have read on some of the Arsenal blogsites that there are “fans” who want AFC to lose this game, their reasoning being that Arsene and the Board will be removed should we not achieve CL qualification. Or is it so we can concentrate on the PL (I stopped reading)?  Whatever the reasoning I say Nay, Nay and thrice Nay, this is a huge game in our season and we need to get a result.

I cannot speak for you but I was in a state of some considerable nervousness during the first leg. After 4 minutes I was ready to bask in an easy victory against another poor Italian team. How wrong I was. Udinese found their rhythm and showed why so many pundits call them the most attractive team in Serie A; had it not been for some sterling work by the defence and Szczesny in particular, we would be going to Udine is a perilous situation. As it is we hold a one goal advantage and the luxury of defensive shutout.

1-0 to the Arsenal was a refrain heard all over Europe, it was de rigeur for us to win 1-0, and yet despite winning the game last Tuesday evening we woke the following morning to discover that many fans and pundits were disappointed by the performance and the result. Are we spoiled? You bet.

Udinese showed themselves to be a fine team. A strong midfield allied to the wily Di Natale dominated us for large swathes of the game; we will need to be fully concentrated for 95 minutes to get through.

Team selection will be a headache. If Traore is fit should he play or should we continue with Sagna at LB? Should we play Song at CB should Koscielny not recover from his back twinge? What of Frimpong? Should we go to Udine looking to keep a clean sheet and fill the team with defenders hoping for a counter attack goal, or should we attack them from the first? Gerv or Theo or both? Can we continue to justify giving a shirt to the dreadfully out of form Arshavin? What would you do?

My team:-

Subs: Whoever is fit.

My concern with the above team  is the lack of any creativity in midfield, but we just do not have anyone left fit in the squad to cover the loss of Diaby, Wilshire, Nasri and Cesc. My hope is that Rosicky will smack one in from 30 yards to shut up his critics (one can but hope!)

This is a huge game for Arsene and Arsenal. A loss would not be a disaster but a major blow. I do not subscribe to the theory that we will not be able to attract quality players should we lose – they are mercenaries and will play for whoever pays the most, but the season will not be the same without the CL and the thought of the Europa League (alongside such luminaries as Stoke and Fulham) is too awful to contemplate.

Tonight will will require a committed team effort.  Victoria Concordia Crescit – Victory Comes from Harmony (as you all will know)

COYRRG

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Posted by Erik the Red

Forza Arsenal

August 16, 2011

Which are the best games of the season? Well, to me they have always been the Autumn  midweek night games. The games start in sunshine and finish under floodlights, it is early season so the fans are excited, the team has gone through pre-season and are all fit and raring to go.  These are nights that live long in the memory.

Yet tonight, despite this being Arsenal’s opening home match, there are ripples, no waves, of discontent and difficulty. The fans are unhappy, the team is torn apart by injury and doubt,  grey clouds are expected over the Emirates. It is in this context that Udinese arrive at THOF to try and knock us out of the Champions League.

Much has been written about the glass half empty/half full performance at St. James. I prefer to concentrate upon the positives – a solid defensive performance and a midfield that controlled the game. We looked under-par in the offensive aspect of the game but surely with the quality we have that will come.

Udinese:. I know little about them but Italian teams are always good, well trained, difficult to break down and almost always a threat. Udinese will be no different despite losing their 3 best players this summer. Sanchez, Inler and Zapata all moved on which will make Udinese a different proposition to the team that finished 4 th in Italy. Sanchez, in particular, will be missed; voted best player in Italy last season he was sold to Barca for over €30m. Yes, we know that pain!

Udinese have only played English opposition once  – they beat Spurs 2-0 in 2009  🙂  This is their first CL campaign having had the best season in their recent history. In Di Natale they have  last season’s top scorer in Italy (29 goals – 59%  of Udinese’s goal tally!), though the loss of Sanchez and Inler will surely affect his supply line.

You know the tale of woe emanating from the Emirates. Cesc gone, Nasri and RvP suspended etc etc.  Despite this, we remain a top European act and have enough strength in depth to win the tie tonight. Much will depend on the efficiency of the attack and for this reason it is a big night for the front 3. Without any real creativity in midfield they will have to start creating their own opportunities, in particular I would to see Chamakh return to the player we saw at the beginning of his AFC career.

My team: (assuming a fit Rosicky)

 

 

subs: 7 chaps.

I really hope AW has enough faith to go at Udinese from the start and play a proper 4-3-3 rather than rely on a deep-lying Arshavin, but he has almost always chosen a cautious approach to the first legs of games so I wouldn’t be shocked to see AA start in place of Theo.

We have yet to lose or even draw a CL qualifying game, having won all 8 played. Tonight should see us continue this excellent run.

Udine is a small town (175,000) near Venice in the Fruili region, famous for it’s wonderful wines. Bruno Sacco was born in Udine; the head designer of  Mercedes Automobiles for over 30 years. He was voted one of the 25 most influential car designers of the 20th century and as an ex-Merc man (an old 500 SL) I can testify to his achievements.

COYRRG

written by BR

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Posted by Erik the Red

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