Norwich Reserves 0 – 5 Arsenal Reserves Match Report

February 22, 2012

Last night GiE and I, both based in Norwich, had the pleasure of watching a strong and keen Arsenal Reserves side take on a young and significantly less experienced Norwich City Reserves side, at Carrow Road last night.

2000 odd fans

Arsenal line-up was a welcome surprise: it was a mixture of young and promising talent with experienced players who were in need of a game. James Shea was in goal and Miquel (Captain) and Angha were our CB’s, with Jenkinson and Meade our FB’s. In midfield we played Yennaris, Benayoun and Ozyakup and upfront we played Arshavin, Chamakh and Park. Chamakh came off after 30 minutes, straight after a strong challenge on him, and he was replaced by Benik Afobe (who again was later replaced by Ansah).

Young Gooners

Arsenal meant business from the start as all 11 players played with verve and focus.

The Unusual Suspects

This team had no difficulties in finding each other and neat interplay was regularly mixed with long diagonal balls and clever passes right through the middle of the Norwich defence by the very impressive Ozyakup, my ‘man of the match’ Benayoun, and a very energetic, yet very smart playing Yennaris. Arshavin had a very energetic game too; in fact, I have never seen him work harder than in last night’s game, and together with Benayoun they led this Arsenal reserves side to a well-deserved victory.

We have seen Yennaris play at RB but he was very comfortable in midfield last night, with a fine first touch, great ability to pass the ball round and with enormous tenacity. Together with Ozyakup he formed a wall in midfield that Norwich was seldom able to penetrate. As a result, Bennayoun and Arshavin were able to control the attacking play in front of the Norwich 18 yard box with ease, very much helped by the desire of Park and Chamakh to make runs and play link-up football.

It was great to see us own the midfield last night; boss the entire area in front of the Norwich defence and play our great brand of football. Norwich City had no answer to it, as there was a massive gap in quality and experience between the sides on the night.

Arshavin almost scored after a great ball over the top through the middle by Yennaris in the fifth minute: he tried to lob the keeper his effort went just over the bar. A minute later Arsenal was in front: a mazy run by Benayoun leads to a shot against the post and Park is there to calmly slot-in the rebound: 1-0. In the 20th minute, Park takes a ferocious free-kick that just misses the target: a very impressive effort.

Park Celebrates Wildly

After a uncomfortable fall, Chamakh was replaced by Afobe.

Chamakh munches carpet

Another impressive, mazy run by Arshavin in the 40th minute leaves the Norwich goalkeeper no other option than to foul him: Afobe steps up to take the penalty but Wooton makes a great save to his left.

Afobe Can't Believe He Got That One

Two minutes later Arshavin seems to want to cross the ball to Park; the Russian’s effort is off-target but somehow floats into the top-corner to the surprise of Wooton and anybody else at Carrow Road: 2-0.

Arshavin Celebrates Wildly

After the break

Jenkinson was replaced by Ebecilio who played in the deeper centre midfield role and freeing Ozyakup to play further up the pitch, Yennaris moved to right back.

Arsenal continue as before: pressuring Norwich in their own half with good ball circulation, high levels of possession, but also with real penetration and attacking creativity. In the 58th minute, Benayoun feeds a clever ball through the middle form just outside the 18 yard box to find the clever run of Afobe. The latter controls the ball well and scores the third goal with real composure: 3-0.

Seven minutes later, Benayoun creates some space for himself to take a shot from the left inside the box, and although his shot is saved by Wooton, the rebound ends up with Arshavin who then scores the fourth goal, his second on the night, with composure: 4-0. Benayoun finally gets his well-deserved goal in the 87th minute: Ozyakup, who played a bit further up the pitch in the second half, plays a fine through-ball to Benny who then scores with a well-timed chip over the keeper: 5-0.

Summary

Norwich had a few half-decent opportunities, and maybe could have had a goal, but Arsenal was a class apart last night. Shea had not much to do, but he was a safe pair of hands when it mattered. We could hear him talking to the players and he oozed confidence throughout the game. Miquel was very calm and professional – a real class act, and together with the also impressive Angha, who tends to operate a bit more in the background compared to the young Spaniard, he controlled the defence on the night. Meade, our LB, also had a good game: he is tenacious, has a good first touch, protects and passes the ball well and was always willing to make runs. It was also great to see Jenkinson again, who made some good runs and had a relatively easy night (he only played the first half).

All our midfielders were great on the night, but we both thought that Ozyakup was excellent throughout the game. This is the first time I have seen him play, and we should take into account that the Norwich Reserves team was not much of opposition last night, but Ozyakup was imperious at times: always calm on the ball, superb awareness of the game, great passes and through-balls, strong physical presence, and very energetic. Another great prospect and he is Dutch as well!!

Ozyakup - A Good Prospect

I also really liked Yennaris, especially in the first half when he played in midfield next to Ozyakup. In the second half he was restored to the RB position (replacing Jenkinson) and he was skinned a couple of times by Norwich players which led to dangerous situations in our box, but he still had a decent game.

Arshavin really worked hard tonight and thoroughly deserved his brace. Benayoun was superb: he played with so much energy and joy and that really got the team going. Park had a good game too: in the second half he often was away from goal linking up with the midfielders and setting players up for an attack with clever passes. Afobe really impressed me on the night, but he did not last that long, as he only played 45 minutes (he only just recovered from a long injury). Afobe was replaced by Zak Ansah, but I did not see enough of him to pass judgement. Chamakh started ok, but went off after 30 minutes, so hard to judge his performance as well.

Afobe in full flight

All in all, a great night of football, on a relatively mild winter’s night in February: a very welcome diversion from the shenanigans on and off the pitch of our first team at the moment. On the evidence of the night, there a few players coming through the reserves who are ready to join the first team rather sooner than later.

Written by Total Arsenal

TA has not left me with much to write about as he has given a very full report of the game. However there are a few observations that I made during the game, which I will briefly outline.

  • The most rigid part of our formation was the back three: Miquel, Angha, and Ozyakup (who played the quarterback role in midfield) gave Arsenal a very solid base to build from, whenever Miquel won a header under pressure he tried and mainly succeeded to find the feet of Ozyakup.
  • It was hard to predict who would play where upfront: The five most advanced players were Yossi, AA23, Yennaris, Park and Chamakh (replaced by Afobe). They rotated through the advance positions constantly, a fluidity that we are currently missing in the first team which seems far more rigid.
  • Most width was provided by the full backs: Whoever was most advanced on the wing at the time was making runs infield with the ball giving the full backs space to come round, they didn’t go early or play on top of the winger they waited for space and exploited it, was particularly impressed by young Meade at Left Back.
  • Long diagonal balls: As TA says in the match report neither Oyzakup, Miquel or Angha were frightened of looking for long diagonal balls, even AA23 got into the act when he had dropped deeper into midfield making himself a yard and delivering a fantastic ball into the feet of Jenkinson.
  • We have someone shorter than Arshavin: Look between Chamakh and Angha and you will see Jermaine Meade. I came up with a song (he played left back). “He’s five foot three, He’s five foot three, who needs Gael Clichy, we’ve got the Meade”
Views through a cloud of smoke and vodka by Gooner in Exile

256 Comments | Uncategorized | Tagged: , , , | Permalink
Posted by Gööner In Exile

Heard the one about the Russian, the American and the Frenchman?

February 21, 2012

Arsène Wenger has never seen so much pressure from his own fans. His ability to manage this Arsenal team is being questioned, and according to some,  he is losing his grip on the modern game. But is he the only one to blame?

The year 2006/07 saw a major introduction into the Arsenal unit. No, it wasn’t the Emirates, it was the introduction of 2 billionaires. One was a Russian called Usmanov, the other an American by the name of Kroenke.

Have a look at this. Arsène Wengers stats prior to Kroenke and Usmanov make fantastic reading:

Matches between 1996/06

Games: 615, 356 won, 144 drawn, 115 lost

57.8% won, 23.4 % drawn, 18.6% lost

Matches since Kroenke and Usmanov came in 2007/09

Games: 244, 140 won, 54 drawn, 50 lost

57.3% won, 22.1% drawn, 20.4% lost

Matches in the last 2 seasons between 2010/12

Games: 97, 53 won, 19 drawn,  25 lost

54.6% won, 19.5% drawn, 25.7% lost

As you can see, Arsène’s record as Arsenal manager has dropped in the last 6 seasons. But is that his fault? Or are the major shareholders to blame? Prior to 2007 and the arrival of Kroenke and Usmanov,  Wenger sold players when he decided was best.

The likes of Overmars, Petit, Vieira, Ljungberg, Henry, Wiltord, Campbell etc were all moved on after we had seen their best years. Since the introduction of major shareholders, we have lost the likes of Flamini, Hleb, Clichy, Nasri, Toure, Adebayor and Fabregas, all at their peak.

Has Wenger had his hands tied, or as an Arsène supporter, am I clutching at straws? To be honest, until the club tell me something new, I may never know. But the reason I split the post Kroenke, Usmanov era in 2 is this: Fans are slating the club for a massive drop in form and ability over the last 2 seasons. Fans claim the club has been dumbed down in terms of ability and quality.

But do the stats REALLY show this? Yes, they have dipped slightly, but should a 3% swing in wins to losses really be deserving of the grief that Arsene is getting right now? Surely one of the reasons for this swing has to go down to the fact that this is probably the most competitive Premier League since it was launched.

There are now 7 teams fighting for a top 4 finish, and that doesn’t even include playing away games at Everton, Stoke and the like. And maybe the move to the Emirates has forced Arsene to look at options that he would have previously disregarded. Either way, if it came to a choice over Arsene, Kroenke and Usmanov, I know who I would rather have at this club.

Written by SlimGingerGooner

267 Comments | Uncategorized | Tagged: , , , | Permalink
Posted by Rasp

We’re Still Fourth

February 19, 2012

Written by chas

After a pleasant drive up the A1 with the sun bursting through and illuminating the clouds of smog over Middlesbrough, we arrived in Sunderland in plenty of time for a pre-match libation. The William Jameson on Fawcett Street offered fine ales at rock-bottom prices, a combination few can refuse.

http://www.thecastleinn-lulworthcove.co.uk/images/realales/large/harviestoun_bitter_and_twisted.jpg

Several pints of Bitter and Twisted later (£2.05 a pint) we were suitably refreshed and ready for all that the footballing gods were ready to throw at the Arsenal once again. A brief walk across a river and past a statue of a man running for a bus took us to a very windy and chilly Stadium of Light.

The team news was encouraging with the Ox and Le Coq chosen to give the side a much-needed injection of youth and vigour. Really early on, Coquelin went for an innocuous challenge, was seemingly fouled, Fergie’s Rent Boy gave nothing (a theme which reoccured throughout the game) and the net result was another full back in the sick bay. Squillaci came on to rapturous applause with Vermaelen shifting to left back.

Arsenal’s best chance of the half saw Gervinho put through by Robin in a swift attack (a rarity these days). The Ivorian struck it well forcing Mignolet into his only real save of a fairly tedious first half. The other notable chance for Arsenal came when van Persie seemed to be flattened in the penalty area but amazingly FRB gave nothing.

Sunderland’s only real chance of the first half, of course brought the inevitable goal for the opposition. A ball dropping to the edge of the Arsenal area after a Larsson free-kick fell to Richardson in far too much space and his deflected shot hit the net. The same ‘one chance one goal’ scenario is usually seen at the Emirates, but as Sunderland had virtually set themselves up as the away team, it all seemed worryingly familiar.

We heard some brain of Britain Arsenal fan saying at half time that Wenger wouldn’t buy anyone now and if he did in the summer it would be too late. Sometimes I despair.

The second half began much as the first only worse. This time two players Rambo and Squiddly were limping and were replaced by Walcott and Rosicky. Ramsey, in particular had been battered for the first 50 minutes with no protection from FRB and it must have been a blessed relief to wave goodbye to Cattermole’s studs.

The game seemed more stretched as Arsenal searched for an equaliser left and right, right and left, backwards and forwards across the pitch. Sunderland had some dangerous breakaways as a consequence and their crowd (well the small number that turned up, that is) actually started to make a little noise. The second goal came from one of these counter attacks and looked as though it had dribbled in off the post followed by Oxo’s shin.

A half chance fell to Robin’s right foot but he chose to use his left and the ball went high. The last incident of note summed up the game from an Arsenal perspective for me. Only a couple of minutes left and a short corner was played by Song to Arteta whose return pass rolled harmlessly off the pitch. Both players looked at each other and almost accepted that that was how things were going to be today.

All in all, I’d say our performance was an improvement on Wednesday but not the boost to both players’ and supporters’ morale we all craved. Out of the FA Cup and clinging on in the CL. More injuries, hopefully none too serious (TV5 looked to be carrying a knock for the last fifteen minutes as well). On the bright side, we’re still fourth and Chelsea are still shit. Spuds up next. If we beat them we’ll all be smiling again.

Player ratings – I’d give them all 4.

(Apologies for any factual inaccuracies. I was watching through an alcoholic haze, thank Dennis!)

221 Comments | Uncategorized | Tagged: , , , | Permalink
Posted by peachesgÖÖner

Arsenal – some rational yet brutal honesty needed.

February 17, 2012

Written by Sebastian

So, we went to the San Siro, and we got taken apart. Taken apart the way an Arsenal side of the past would dismantle another side. It was upsetting to watch. However I think the most upsetting thing is, I am not all that shocked. Shocked that we got beaten all over the pitch that badly, yes, but not shocked we were easily beaten. 4 or 5 years ago this would be a massive shock, but not now. It highlights how far we have fallen. Now that I have had an evening and a morning to think about last night’s events, I will try to be rational and honest. Some honesty is needed.

Looking back at the game, the first issue for me was the team selection; I feel Wenger got it all wrong. We needed experience at that level, and starting Ramsey and Arteta, who have little to no experience at that level, for me, was a mistake. They also dragged Rosicky down with them, who I feel put a lot of effort in on the night, but had little around him to help. Personally, I would have gone with:

Controversial I know, but it would have made them worry about us a little more I feel, making them want to go forward perhaps a little less. I know I also stated that we needed experience, and you will have seen that I’ve included the Ox, but the boy has no fear, and runs forward. Regardless of age, he is needed.

So, what have we learnt? Well the first thing that stood out to me was the fact that Ramsey is not good enough to be a starter for Arsenal. Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not going to needlessly abuse the guy like some so-called supporters, but in brutal honesty, he is not good enough at this moment in time to be starting for Arsenal if we have any ambition to win anything. He may turn out to be a star in the future, but truthfully I have no idea why he plays more regularly than Rosicky, who for me, is a much better player. On Wednesday night he was our worst player, and this wasn’t a one off performance. I hear people say that he’s going to be the next Fabregas, but I see nothing that warrants this comparison. All I see Michael Carrick/Gareth Barry/David Batty. Sideways, backwards, nothing exceptional. Wenger needs to be a little more ruthless with players that are not performing. I hope Ramsey proves me wrong, he has plenty of time to. (Personally, I’d do everything in my power to get Mario Gotze but don’t hold your breath!)

Secondly, Theodor Walcott. Theo has caused many a debate, not just among Arsenal fans, but football fans in general. He’s going to be 23 next month and in truth, is he any better than when we signed him? I don’t mean to needlessly bash any given player, or make a knee-jerk reaction, but this isn’t about any 1 performance. Theo has 1 attribute, and if he can’t use it, like he couldn’t on Wednesday night, he is completely ineffective. Apparently he is asking for £90,000 a week for his next contract (a pay rise from £60,000 a week). I’m sorry Theo, but if you think you are worth that then you want to go and have a quiet word with yourself mate. For me, I don’t think you can justify the wage you currently earn, let alone a pay rise. He’s English, young, has an international hat-trick, many appearances for Arsenal both in the league and champions league, so we should get good money for him, I’d say £25m. If that’s the case, bite their hands off, I’d have Eden Hazard any day of the week. You can say what you want about his age, Ox is already a more important player.

Thirdly, Thierry Henry. Tel coming back has highlighted just how far we have slid. He was past it when we sold him, yet 4 years later, he walks into our team and improves it. He is now gone for the rest of the season, but what he brought to the teams shows just what we are lacking. We need an experienced, talented leader in attack to help RvP.

Lastly, Attitude. When Arsenal were sweeping all before them to go the season unbeaten, each player had something that this team lacks. I am not talking about talent, as this team has shown, talent will only get you so far. Every player of the 2002-2005 Arsenal side had a “Win-at-all-costs, refuse to lose, over my dead body” mentality. Even if we were playing poor, we would still refuse to be beaten, drag ourselves to a point or 3. Any sort of result. I just don’t see that attitude in this team. I see it in RvP, and I see it, believe it or not in Arshavin to an extent. Arshavin is a winner, it is his application that lets him down. But I don’t see it anywhere else on the pitch. Last night it looked like every Arsenal player couldn’t wait for the final whistle, and that shouldn’t be the case. Beat your chest and show the world what you are made of, do not hide. That’s the difference between a winner and a loser. It’s not all about ability. Ray Parlour wasn’t the most gifted player, but if he was still around, he would be straight in this team.

I can imagine most of you will disagree with this, but I’d actually rather be knocked out of the Champions League than F.A Cup this year, so it’s not all bad. The reason for this is simple. We were never going to win the Champions League, however we are in with a decent shout of winning the F.A Cup. This weekend against Sunderland is now massive. Let’s hope they can get over this disappointment, as sulking and letting our heads drop will end our season completely.

Let’s get behind the boys and see what happens. Keeping some perspective, we all knew that we were not going to challenge for the title or champions league this season, so our current position is not a shock, it’s just shame that we got badly beaten on the international stage. However, we are currently in 4th spot and we are well placed in the F.A Cup, which I feel most of us would probably have taken at the start of the season if we were being realistic. Let’s hope we can finish 4th (or possibly still catch that lot up the road!) and bring the cup back to the Emirates.

But if you do get down about the current state of the Arsenal side, just try to remember, it’s out of your control and there is nothing you can do about it. So smile and try to enjoy each victory!

248 Comments | Uncategorized | Tagged: , , | Permalink
Posted by peachesgÖÖner

The storm before the storm!

February 16, 2012

Milan was the venue for Arsenal’s travelling support as they went to Italy to cheer the boys on against a genuine European giant in AC Milan. Unfortunately, some of the travelling hoard managed to take things a little too far, and there were nasty scenes before the game between fans and police, after which one Arsenal fan was arrested.

Another headline was also being written before the game as question marks were raised about the state of the San Siro pitch. Wenger had already made his feelings known before kick off, and the lack of green on the pitch seemed to justify his complaints.

Arsène Wenger will have gone into the game hoping that his troops could show as much desire as the travelling Arsenal faithful, but with a lot more discipline added. A score draw or even a one goal defeat would’ve gone down well, as long as the Gunners could get at least one away goal. A repeat of the 2008 visit to the San Siro would’ve been even better!

Arsenal started with Gibbs returning to full back after a recent long lay off, allowing Vermaelen to shift across to his natural position of centre half in place of the injured Mertersacker. The only other shock selection was in midfield, where Rosicky was pushed out to the left wing in place of the Ox, with Ramsey coming in to the midfield. Wenger obviously felt that Gibbs would need a bit more protection given that this was his first game in months.

Oh, and on a side note, Thierry Henry was on the bench for his last ever game for the Arsenal….again!

For Milan, injury problems had eased in recent weeks but they were still without the likes of Nesta and Cassano. Italian football has taken a battering in recent years over match fixing allegations, but this Milan side could still boast the likes of Seedorf, Ibrahimovich, Mexes, Van Bommel, Robinho and Thiago Silva.

As the game got underway, Arsenal’s early concentration wasn’t quite as bright as their yellow shirts. Seedorf ghosted in behind Sagna early on but fortunately he dragged his shot a foot wide of the near post. This was pretty much Seedorf’s last action as an early injury forced him off.

The uneven surface and the bobbling of the ball definately seemed to be causing Arsenal problems early doors and this was emphasised on 15 minutes as a poor clearance by Szcsesny was clipped into the chest of Boateng who took one touch and volleyed the ball into the near top corner. Not a good 30 seconds from the young Arsenal Pole and not the start Arsenal were looking for.

Ibrahimovich was running the game and forcing the Arsenal back line to defend far too deep. This nearly resulted in a Milan second as a mix up between Szcsesny and Vermaelen almost let the Swede in, only for the referee to blow for a non existent foul. Poor, poor, poor.

Things didn’t get much better. Players were struggling to find a teammate, and they were defending on the penalty spot. Van Persie barely touched the ball in the first half.  As Arsenal dropped further back, he became more and more isolated.

On 40 minutes, the home side doubled their lead. Ibrahimovich was put in behind Sagna and the big Swede picked out the run of Robinho who had an easy task of nodding in from 5 yards. Their was definately a hint of offside about the goal, but the Gunners should’ve been 3 down already so there could be no complaints.

Arsenal were looking ponderous at best, and as half time approached, both Antonini and Ibrahimovich could’ve wrapped up the tie.

If Arsene’s half time team talk wasn’t hard enough already, it was made even harder by the withdrawal of Koscielny just before the break. Djourou was his replacement.

In summary, it was one of the worst half’s of football Arsenal have produced this season, and theirs a lot of competition! It was now about staying in the tie, rather than winning the game. One goal would put a whole different spin on the game, but a performance similar to the first 45 would put us out of the competition.

This was by no means a slick, dominant Milan side of old. Arsenal were defending poorly, passing poorly, and playing with fear. The whole team was to blame for such a lacklustre half.

Arsenal needed inspiration, and Henry was brought on for the disappointing Walcott as Arsenal switched to a 4-4-2.

It didn’t work!

Within 4 minutes of the restart, Robinho had fired low into the bottom corner. Again the build up was sloppy, as Ibrahimovich was lucky to get the ball back off Djourou and an untimely slip by Vermaelen let Robinho in. Every error was being magnified as AC Milan punished any mistakes.

At 3-0 Milan seemed to take their foot off the gas, bringing on Ambrosini in place of Boateng signalled their intent for the last 20 minutes. Arsenal seemed bereft of ideas going forward but a moment of magic between Henry and RvP almost got them back in the tie. Henry’s flick was volleyed towards the bottom corner by RvP only for Abbiati to throw himself to his left and tip it round the post. It looked a goal all the way until a fantastic save by the keeper.

Arsenal were going in search of the all important away goal and Ox came on for Gibbs to give the side more emphasis. The Gunners definitely improved and van Persie had a sight of goal as his right foot volley was hit straight at Abbiati.

It proved a short lived revival though for the Gunners as Ibrahimovich went down easily in the box from a weak Djourou challenge and the ref was on hand to gift the home side a penalty. Zlatan picked himself up to dispatch it himself. 4-0. Fucking piss poor.

In the last 10 minutes Arsenal managed a van Persie header, which was saved, and a Rosicky volley that went out for a throw in! It summed up the performance to be honest.

All in all this was a dreadful Gunners performance. We were out played, out worked, and out fought. The defending at times was dreadful, and the loss of Mertersacker for a month could prove to be our seasons breaking point. We played 10 yards too deep and never gave ourselves a chance to press Milan. I don’t for a second believe this is a great AC side, we made them look good.

The speed of play in the Milan half was awful. Can you blame the pitch? No. Milan didn’t have any problems knocking the ball around. So many times we got to the final third and turned back out.

Starting with Rosicky was a poor decision as he played far too narrow. If Ox had started then the Milan back four would’ve been more stretched which allows more space for RvP. The players need to have a look at themselves. The midfield was inept and the wingers were piss poor. Only Ox and RvP can come out of that game with any kind of positivity.

For me, this game is not a dreadful result IF we can beat Sunderland and stay in touch for fourth. We were never going to win the CL this year so concentrating on the league and FA Cup makes more sense. The only worry is how this affects the confidence in the team. A defeat at the weekend against Sunderland could be tragic and could see a similar crumble to last season. It would be easy to sit and blame individuals, but the whole team was crap. I know its hard but we need to look at this game as a one-off until we see the next performance.

Ratings:

Szscesny 0

Sagna 0

Koscielny 0

Vermaelen 0

Gibbs 0

Song 0

Arteta 0

Ramsey 0

Rosicky 0

RvP 5

Walcott 0

Subs

Henry 0

Djourou 0

Ox 6

Manager

Arsène Wenger 0

204 Comments | Uncategorized | Tagged: , , , | Permalink
Posted by peachesgÖÖner

Top four again, but can we stay there?

February 14, 2012

Back in October Rocky predicted we would be top three by New Year. He was actually close to being right as a win at home to QPR on New Years Eve took us into the Champions League qualification spots as we popped Champagne to wave bye bye to Arsenal’s annus horribilis.

Unfortunately defeats to Fulham, Swansea and United followed, by the time we drew away at the Reebok even the most positive bloggers on here were waving goodbye to any hope of Champions League football next season let alone finishing above the cretins from N17.

And now two games later we are back in fourth (thanks mainly to the Chavs poor showing) and now the big question remains. Can we hold onto it?

The next three Premier League games will define our season.

H – Spuds
A – Dippers
H – Barcodes

Seven points from those three games are a must and should see us hold onto fourth or at least be in touching distance. I made a similar prediction at the start of the season for our opening games thankfully August results can be corrected later, February/March games are not as easy to recover from. The Chavs have somewhat easier games.

H – Bolton
A – WBA
H – Stoke

Chavs have toughies after that (City and Spuds) frankly hearing fellow Gooners wanting Spuds to win any game (for the benefit of us) is beginning to stick in my craw. So I’d rather we were safely in 4th before the Chavs – Spuds game, and maybe even pushing for third (I know dream on).

So now we have players returning from injuries and no Carling Cup disaster to recover from, can the team put a strong finish together to maintain our position at the top table?

Written by Gooner In Exile

120 Comments | Uncategorized | Tagged: , , , | Permalink
Posted by Gööner In Exile

Ramsey: the next victim of Fans Fulfilling Prophecy?

February 13, 2012


From an interview by Simon Hattenstone with Paul Gascoigne, The Guardian 7 October:

But no, he’s [Gascoigne] not thinking about going back into football, either as a manager or as a pundit. He says he’s not got the constitution for it. “I’ve been told when a player’s playing well praise him, and when he’s having a bad game fuckin’ slaughter him, and I couldn’t do that. I couldn’t bring myself to slaughter someone having a bad game because I know he’s got to sit with his girlfriend or his wife, he knows he’s had a bad game, his kid probably thinks, ‘Oh, my dad’s shit.'” He shakes his head. “Couldn’t do it.”

Expectations are usually high when a CM has the ball in the centre of the opposition’s half, with a promising situation in front of him. If the CM delivers a good defence-splitting ball the crowd will be pleased – if not, it will quickly lead to a collective sigh of disappointment, especially if and when Arsenal is not in the lead. If the latter happens a few times in succession, the confidence of the player can get affected, depending very much on the thickness of his skin. Nothing new there: as long as football has been played in front of a crowd, players have had to deal with both the disappointment and elation of the fans present. But nowadays, players have to deal with so much more. Not only do they have to put up with a large number of journalists who do not bother to write about the truth, but whatever it is that its readers want to read; they are also now regularly subjected to vitriolic blogs and direct fan-communications via Twitter etc. It takes a lot for a modern-day, young football player to stay strong and believe in himself and the support he gets from his manager / his club is absolutely crucial.

We, the supporters, also have an important role to play: we can make or break football players and we all know we have made, but also broken, a few in recent times.

A lot of weight on Aaron Ramsey’s shoulders:
Creative Midfield play is without any doubt the toughest job in football. If CM’s are really good they are often referred to as conductors, magicians, creative hubs etc. They always get microscopic attention of the crowd, especially at Arsenal where the fans have been exposed to the very finest of CMs. As a result there is a lot of weight on the shoulder on whoever is brave and talented enough to take on such a pivotal role. After the master Fabregas sadly left for Barcelona, his most likely successor – the master in development, Jack Wilshere – sustained a nasty injury. It left a hole in the ‘hole-position’ the size of the Iberian Peninsula and the British Isles combined.

Wenger has been struggling to replicate his beloved 4-2-3-1 system, in which the midfield dominates our play to a large extent. I have posted before about the ‘Wall of ARS’: how Arteta, Ramsey and Song are multi-talented and multi-disciplined midfielders who can play in any position and can perform any midfield function to a high degree. We are now playing a 5/4-3-3 system, where ARS is a ‘mini-team’ in itself, and if and when all three are firing on all cylinders it is a joy to behold: the games against Chelsea, Marseille and Dortmund particularly spring to mind. It appears that Wenger has given ARS the freedom to perform various midfield duties as they see fit and sort things out between themselves, as in who does what at any particular point of the game. Ramsey has been the most advanced player and therefore has had most CM-responsibilities, but others have chipped in as well, notably Song has had many fantastic assists this season. However, even with the ARS at its best, something is still missing.

I am not sure whether the most advanced midfield position in our current 4-3-3 system is the ideal position for Ramsey. I think he would perform better in Arteta’s position, next to the more defensive minded midfielder Song (at least on paper). Nevertheless, Ramsey has been giving his all in this challenging position, and has been making good progress. I expect Jack Wilshere to become first choice for the more advanced position, once he is fully recovered, but Ramsey could still claim the CM-role on a permanent basis in the next few months.

The essence of ‘Victory through Harmony’
I have no doubt whatsoever that Aaron is a super-talent who will develop into a top class player. In order to get there, however, confidence/trust in his abilities by himself and the supporters is absolutely paramount. A number of fans have been highly critical, and in some cases, outrageously abusive about Aaron’s performances recently, and for a player like him – in this difficult position and at his tender age – this can be very detrimental.

If we are not careful Ramsey will become another victim of a negative ‘fans fulfilling prophecy’:

  • A couple of (perceived) under-par performances by Ramsey leads to;
  • Unhappy crowds and unhappy bloggers etc;
  • Once Ramsey becomes aware of this (and how couldn’t he) it’s highly likely that his confidence gets affected;
  • Ramsey might easily start making more mistakes, and as a result, will take less risk and might even start hiding during games;
  • Leading to more unhappy crowds, bloggers etc, even less confidence and worse and worse performances;
  • Before you know it, we have ‘unsupported’ him into a failure.

I just cannot understand why somebody who calls him/herself an Arsenal supporter can severely criticise a player beyond the technical performance in a particular game. If and when a player has a below-par game, there is nothing wrong with pointing this out. But when fans start saying that Ramsey is rubbish and should be dumped, when he is solely blamed for a game lost by Arsenal, or even worse, for all that has gone wrong with Arsenal this season, when fans start introducing silly, derogatory terms such as Ramilson, when even a few idiots start wishing him all sorts of diseases, and worse, then fans are starting to harm the very thing they say they support.

By all means, if a player is lazy, has a calculated commitment to the club and does not care for Arsenal one iota, criticise him as much as you like: he deserves it.

But any player who gives his all, who cares about Arsenal and wears the shirt with pride, is one of us and should get our full, unflinching support: that is what Victory through Harmony stands for. Ramsey is such a player and we need to stand behind him.

It is a question of attitude, and before you know it, we will actually experience a case of positive fans fulfilling prophecy, in which we help a player reach their full potential. Let’s stand behind Ramsey, let’s encourage him and support him, and before you know it we have another world class player in our midfield.

TotalArsenal.

145 Comments | Uncategorized | Tagged: , , , , | Permalink
Posted by peachesgÖÖner

Our Bench Is Rubbish! Sunderland Report & Player Ratings

February 12, 2012

There was a point yesterday – just before Sunderland scored their freak goal – when I was thinking: we need to change this game from the bench, but who can we bring on? We have no quality on the bench!

Silly me.

All it took was one Ramsey pot shot, one sublime cross from Arshavin and one trademark Henry finish to prove that Arsène Wenger still knows what he’s doing.

All three had come on as substitutes and they undoubtedly secured the three points for us.

This was a very important win against an obdurate and well organised Sunderland who were the form team in the Premier League going into this fixture.

The performance was even better when you take into account the state of the pitch. It looked as if the Riders of Rohan had just charged over it (perhaps on their way to Stoke to find some Orcs).

We started with arguably our strongest available 11 (I say arguably because it’s a toss-up between Rosicky and Ramsey for the third midfield role) and right from the off we set a pattern that changed little throughout the game: we controlled the ball, Sunderland largely conceded the middle of the park and drew back to just outside their penalty area, we passed and probed but struggled to find a way through, Sunderland relied on occasional breaks and set pieces.

No doubt some will damn the team for our inability to conjure a way through the massed Black Cat ranks. Perhaps we missed a bit of Fabregas magic – expelliamus parkbussimus – but I prefer to credit the Sunderland defending.

They gave no space at all to Prince Robin, nor to our two wide men, Walcott and Oxlade-Chamberlain. Every time any of those three got the ball there were at least two men on them.

Chances were few and far between, although Theo did manage to get away from his markers on one occasion and fire a low shot across goal, but it went past the far post.

Despite the lack of goal scoring opportunities our defence was looking solid (even from set pieces), while Song and Arteta were doing a great job of providing an extra shield in midfield and Tomas Rosicky was as busy as he was against Blackburn last weekend.

The one big scare was when Mertesacker slipped in the box while dealing with a speculative through ball.

For most players the ball would have bounced over their head and out for a goal kick, but for the BFG it arrived at chest height, so naturally he chested it down. But, as he did so, he caught his foot in one of the horse divots and stumbled.

The ball bounced up and onto his arm. It was certainly not deliberate and certainly not ‘hand to ball’ but you do see them given – particularly when the penalty would favour the home team. Full credit to the referee, Neil Swarbrick, for not being swayed by the Mackem hysteria.

By half time it was pretty obvious that this was going to be a tight affair and that one goal might nick it.

The second half started much the same as the first. Sunderland had a couple of decent low shots from around the edge of our area. Szczensy did well to save both (one down to his left, then a more difficult one down to his right that hit a mole hill just in front of him).

It was a credit to the lad that he was sharp and focused when called into action, having had little to do up to that point.

Up front we were still probing with all the effectiveness of a blind gynaecologist. Walcott and Oxlade-Chamberlain were becoming even more peripheral than they had been in the first half, and, on 66 minutes, Arsene decided to make a change, bringing off Oxo for Thierry Henry.

Within four minutes we were behind. A rare Sunderland attack was tidied up down our right flank with Sagna shepherding the ball back to Mertesacker, who was running towards his own goal and had the simple task of rolling the ball back to Szczesny or across the park to the unmarked Koscielny.

Unfortunately the BFG injured his ankle as he turned and went down as if shot.

McClean, for Sunderland, showed brightness to keep on running past the fallen German before shooting low across Szczensy into the far corner of the net. I have seen comments questioning whether Chezzer might have done better, but the shot was hit very hard and from close range. Not his fault.

However, it was a freak goal and I was cursing our terrible luck. From a completely innocuous situation, suddenly, we’re a goal down. I really do think it’s time Arsene started going to church.

Given how tight the Sunderland defence was, I was doubtful as to whether we could rescue a point, let alone all three.

Ramsey came on for Mertesacker (let’s wish him well and hope for a speedy recovery), with Song dropping back into the centre of defence. And it didn’t take long for young Aaron to make a mark. Just three minutes after the re-start Arteta had a shot from outside the area blocked, the ball cannoned to Ramsey and his low first time shot went in off both posts. Ramsey has his critics, but he never hides and never stops taking shots at goal. It was always only a matter of time before his luck turned for the better.

So, one-all with 15 minutes to go. Would we sit back or push on for all three?

This is Arsenal – of course we would push on for all three. Arshavin came on for Walcott on 86 and immediately looked more dangerous than had either Theo or Oxo (perhaps because the Mackems were tiring after there exertions all afternoon and following their extra time FA cup win on Wednesday night).

As the clock passed the 90 minute mark, our pocket Russian found himself on our left wing with two Sunderland defenders in front of him. He jinked one way then the other, then dinked in a beautiful cross with his right boot. Jinky-dinky loveliness.

And who was there to meet it in the six yard box? Cometh the hour, cometh the legend.

Thierry Henry, who up til that point had had very little influence in the game, ghosted between the Sunderland centre backs to volley the ball past Mignolet in the Black Cats goal.

You can take away the speed, you can take away the stamina, you can take away some of the strength, but you can’t take away the class. A striker’s goal from a born winner. The celebrations among the Arsenal players were a joy to watch. Henry clearly means a lot to these lads, and they to him.

We never looked in trouble after that and at the end it was three points well earned and well deserved.

Player Ratings

Szczesny: Not too much to do but made two very good saves in the second half. 7.5

Sagna: Great to have him back. Unflappable and unbeatable at the back, and contributed a lot going forward. 8.5

Koscielny: He got caught in possession a couple of times but was generally the strong, reliable defender we have come to know and love. 7.5

Mertesacker: Was having a superb game until his unfortunate injury. We need him back quickly because, in my opinion at least, our strongest pairing at the back will be the BFG with one of Koscielny and Vermaelen. 8.5

Vermaelen: Didn’t put a foot wrong but is not able to support the attack as well as an orthodox left back would. 8

Arteta: Another fine game, controlling the ball from deep, covering our defence and instigating forward moves. He is our metronome. 8

Song: A real warrior’s performance from Alex. He misplaced a few through balls when looking for defence-splitters, but after his success against Blackburn last week you can’t blame him for trying. And his all round work breaking up Sunderland moves and powering us forward was exemplary. Can’t be blamed at all for Sunderland’s goal (sorry Peaches). 8.5

Rosicky: Finding some form at last. Was very combative, if a little wasteful with his passing at times. 7

Oxlade-Chamberlain: It’s not going to be a fairy tale every week at this stage of his career.  Had a couple of decent runs but was effectively marked out of the game. 6

Walcott: He saw more of the ball than Oxo but did little with it. Games like this, with banked lines of defenders sitting deep, are not the forum for him to shine. 6

Robin van Persie: Didn’t get much of a look-in. One second half header could have been dangerous but looped straight into Mignolet’s arms. Nevertheless, the fact that he had two or three players marking him at all times undoubtedly helped other players to find space at times. 7

Subs

Henry: Did nothing for 25 minutes then scored the winning goal. I’m making him man of the match partly for sentimental reasons and partly because he made the most valuable single contribution on the day. 9 MoTM

Ramsey: A brilliant cameo from Aaron. He was everywhere in his 22 minutes and scored the goal that brought us back into the game. The many critics will, in time, have enough egg on their face to make an omelet the size of Wales. 8

Arshavin: Little Andrei looked energetic and direct when he came on and provided a beautiful cross for Thierry’s winner. Perhaps he has reached rock bottom (in the Man Utd game) and is coming out the other side. I really hope so. 8

RockyLives

255 Comments | Uncategorized | Tagged: , , , , , , | Permalink
Posted by RockyLives

Wenger avoids relegation….again!

February 10, 2012

Written by SlimGingerGooner

Well, can you believe it!?

Arsenal have reached the landmark 40 points needed to stay in the Premier League!

Back in August another season of struggle was being predicted by the knowledgable Arsenal faithful. A lack of quality signings in the transfer window and an air of disappointment from pre season results even had some sections calling for a new manager:-

“Wenger will  win nothing. He has lost it completely. He should just go! Christ!”

“The rot presided over by this little profit maniac and Board should be “arrested” or a red and white funeral beckons for Arsenal FC.”

“Keown for Manager!”

“Ok, so who do we want as a replacement for the senile old bastard?
O’Neill?
Adams?”

“Forget top 4 this season. It’s not gonna happen. Next summer we’ll say goodbye to more of our best players. If we stay up it will be a good season.”

So it comes as a great surprise to the fans that Arsenal look to have avoided relegation for another season. Some good results against fellow strugglers Bolton, Wigan and Norwich mixed with unexpected victories against the likes of Chelsea have seen the Gunners hit the dizzy heights of the top 5.

Nobody at Arsenal is under any illusions though about the tough couple of months coming their way. With the likes of  Man City, Tottenham and Chelsea still to come to the Emirates, Wenger knows that keeping his team in the top half is going to be difficult, but he has great faith in his squad and believes the experience they have from previous relegation battles could prove vital:

“Sometimes we are reproached for not having enough captains in our squad, now we have plenty,” Wenger told the Official Arsenal Magazine

“Overall we have more experience and this could be important if we are in a strong mid table position.That could have a big part to play.”

He added: “I’m very happy with the signings we made and my challenge now is to prove that I made the right decisions. I have great belief in the players I bought in and I am convinced they will prove me right.”

Strong words from Le Boss as Arsenal head into the last few months of the season looking for a bright finish to a fantastic season. Let’s just hope that Arsene’s new signings  can keep the team going in the right direction and, who knows, a top 4 finish may even be a possibility for a team mooted as possible relegation candidates just 4 months ago.

#certain quotes may have been altered for the benefit of this post.

164 Comments | Uncategorized | Tagged: , , , | Permalink
Posted by peachesgÖÖner

Have you heard the one about the future?

February 9, 2012

In recent transfer windows and recent seasons we constantly hear Wenger and the Board remind us that we are building a team for the future, a club for the 21st century, one that does things differently promotes from within and doesn’t need to pay huge transfer fees to compete.

Some fans have countered this reasoning (fairly) that without a present the future means nothing, and that the future has as little guarantee as signing a £50million striker or a £35million striker depending on which team you prefer laughing at the most.

As we reside in 7th place and the season looks to be disappearing from our grasp taking Champions League football and our Captain with it its time to take a look forward and see if what we are aspiring to is better than what we have at the moment.

According to most our current squad has 11 first team players and the rest are disposable, I would actually say that we have maybe 9 players of sufficient and proven quality, 6 others with potential (some already proving it), and maybe 5 senior pros who should when asked be able to do a job. (List at the bottom of the blog to keep you guessing)

Thats 20 players who I think should be able to be relied upon to get the job done. Admittedly they need at least five of the proven quality players on the pitch to help them, but we see United week in week out with all sorts of squad changes able to get the job done.

So in one sense I am asking what is so wrong with what we have now. Is it good enough? How much better are others? Or are we just so bereft of confidence as a team and as supporters of our team that no matter who is in the team the season would end in failure anyway?

As for the future what are we building to, what is the dream, we seem to be awash with young talent, but for whatever reason the young talent brought forward over the last few years has yet to fulfil its promises. Some of that talent has gone from the club, some never achieved the level it was hoped they would.

Should we be more optimistic about the current crop of youngsters coming through the system, if we should why should we?

Recently we have felt too much of a disconnect between us and the players, maybe its age maybe its just modern football, but I think its because of where they have come from. Some have arrived as eager faced 16-18 year olds straight into the reserves, plucked from the youth system of a club on the continent and given an Arsenal tracksuit and pay packet to match. Some have arrived with the knowledge that younger players get game time at Arsenal and under Arsene Wenger, only seeing it as a stepping stone to the biggest clubs and pay-packets.

I see a huge difference between the youth team players coming through now and those that have been used in the last few years, and the main difference is pride of wearing the red and white shirt and a cannon on their heart. The youngsters now coming through the system have been at the club for many years, they have had to work hard to not only be the best in their age groups but to be the best at the club to have a chance of getting a professional contract. When they have taken the field they have played with so much passion and desire and whilst they are young and inexperienced if you could take some of that desire and love for the club and inject it into those that have come before I don’t think the likes of Bendtner and Denilson would be moaning about sitting on the bench, they would realise how lucky and privileged they are to sit there and be part of this great club we all love.

So do I buy into the hype about the future? Yes, wholeheartedly. Do I think it will be better on the pitch than what we have now? I honestly couldn’t tell you, but one thing I think they will all do is leave it out on the pitch and show us fans that they care, every week, every game.

I also think that we are building a squad now of 18-21 year olds that will come to fruition together and we will not be in our current position of world class forward on pitch, average forward on bench.

Just take a look at this group of youngsters in our Reserves and tell me you don’t have a warm feeling about seeing those lads progress.

Current Squad Breakdown

Proven quality:

Szczesny, Sagna, Vermaelen, Koscielny, Song, Arteta, Wilshere, Gervinho, Van Persie.

Potential:

Coquelin, Frimpong, Ramsey, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Jenkinson, Gibbs

Good enough:

Rosicky, Walcott, Arshavin, Santos, Mertesacker

Written by Gooner in Exile

201 Comments | Uncategorized | Tagged: , , , | Permalink
Posted by Gööner In Exile

« Previous Entries
Next Entries »