Hammers Hammered – Report & Player Ratings

January 24, 2013

Five fine goals, free-flowing football and freezing fans fully satisfied.

(Whoops. Sorry about the alliteration. That sentence has more Fs than the ladies’ toilets in an Essex nightclub on Saturday night).

He signed da ting!

He signed da ting!

It would be fair to say that many of us were nervous before the game.

Would the Arsenal who dominated Chelsea for the second half at Stamford Bridge turn up? Or the Arsenal that whimpered and wallied its way through the first half of the same game?

Our inconsistency has been consistent this season and we knew that we could not afford to be off our game against a physical, long ball West Ham managed by the Walrus.

Truth to tell, it was the line in BR’s pre-match about the Hammers having put in 56 crosses in their last game that really caused a clenching of the buttocks. Fifty-six crosses? Given our ability to concede a goal roughly to one in every two crosses into our box, we could be on for a 0 – 28 humiliation.

Thankfully it was the good Arsenal that turned up. Podolski and Ramsey were in the starting line-up in place of Diaby (ill) and Coquelin (injured). The back five was unchanged, Ramsey took up the DM position behind Wilshere and Cazorla. Giroud started through the middle with Podolski left and Walcott right.

We looked threatening and up for it right from the off and created several half chances before, inevitably, West Ham took the lead. The goal followed a couple of annoying officiating errors (a clear corner to us given as a goal kick to West Ham, a clear goal kick to us given as a corner to them).

The said corner came in and was headed clear only to fall at the feet of Collison, who slammed it into the net through a crowd of players from just outside the box. It was powerfully struck and Szczesny was probably partially unsighted, but just once I would like to see him save one of those. I had the same feeling about Mata’s goal last week. Difficult to save, but great ‘keepers get some of them.

Anyway, that’s enough carping for one report, because we refused to let our heads drop or feel sorry for ourselves and hit back just a few minutes later. Wilshere set up Podolski with a wonderful little dink of a pass and the German rifled it into the side netting from about 25 yards with all the venom of Big Bertha (the cannon, not the golf club).

pod goal

At half time it was 1-1. But I don’t think any of us were expecting what happened next.

If we had been pretty good in the first half, we started the second like demons. The lightning-fast, quick-passing, rapid-breaking football that Arsene Wenger patented at Arsenal was suddenly back.

The half had barely started when we were ahead. A corner on our left saw a slick move in which Mertesacker, having taken up a near post position, suddenly sprinted (alright, lumbered) back into the middle of the box and Giroud dashed to replace him. The BFG’s movement confused the Irons’ defence and Giroud was able to reach Walcott’s near post corner first, guiding the ball into the net beautifully off the outside of his boot.

girou

Are we working on corners in training? Or was it just good, intuitive play?

Six minutes later it was 3-1. A neat one-two between Podolski and Giroud led to the German squaring the ball to Cazorla in the six yard box. Santi’s cheeky back heel steered the ball into the net and brought joy and relief to the crowd.

Our attacks were coming in waves now. Fast forward a few minutes and Podolski was provider once again. We broke down the left. Podolski held the ball up intelligently to allow Giroud to stay on side, then fired a low cross right across the penalty area for a flying Walcott to drive home.

And our excellent Number 9 completed his hat trick of assists minutes later when another
low cross was steered into the net adroitly by Giroud (a much harder finish than it first looked).

At 5-1 we continued to attack with panache and probably should have added further to our goal tally. But better than that, we were outstanding on the rare occasions when we did NOT have the ball, pressing West Ham all over the park and forcing them into errors. It was a real template for how we should approach every game.

A serious injury to the Hammers’ Daniel Potts (he appeared to be accidentally caught in the face or head by Sagna) caused a 10 minute delay and although we continued to press hard afterwards, the sight of Potts being stretchered off seemed to suck a bit of the energy out of proceedings. Hopefully the lad is alright. He was applauded off the pitch by both sets of fans (Stoke City Orc Scum fans please take note).

In summary: a brilliant performance and win; the gap on the cave dwellers closed to just four points and, surely, a huge lift to everyone involved with the club moving forward.

Many of us have complained that, too often this season, we have been less than the sum of our parts. Last night our players showed how good they can be and they need to carry this attitude, arrogance and self-belief into the rest of the season.

Player Ratings

Szczesney: Good game but I would like to see him stop somebody’s screamer some time soon (I know GiE will immediately post clips of half a dozen breath taking saves he’s already made in this campaign). 7

Sagna: Still not the old Mr Reliable, but had a better game than he has recently. He seems to have lost all confidence in his ability to cross. 7

Mertesacker: Very solid and brought the ball forward well from the back. 7

Vermaelen: Tommy is slowly but steadily getting his game back together and he, too, was good last night. Despite West Ham being a typical Allardyce team more physically suited to basketball than football, they did not cause us too many problems in the air. 7.5

Gibbs: Super game from Kieran. Good at the back and a thorn in the Hammers’ side all night going forward. 8

Ramsey: Fine job in his preferred midfield role. Worked really hard, passed well and did tons of work off the ball. No Hammer enjoyed paying against him last night. 7.5

Santi-Cazorla: A busy bundle of tricks, took his goal stylishly and contributed greatly to the speed and fluidity of our movement. 8

Wilshere: Our new talisman. Drove us forward throughout the game despite, as usual, beng on the end of several fouls. His energy and inspiration is rubbing off on his team mates. 9 (joint MoTM).

Walcott: He signed da ting, now he’s delivering. He was brave and inventive and forced West Ham onto the back foot. Some wrong options on occasion but he never stopped trying. Took his goal well. 8

Podolski: Three assists and a rocket of a goal. When the Pod is up for it like this he must be terrifying to opposition defenders with his size, speed, strength and the sheer power of his shot, which reminds me of Charlie George. 9 (joint MoTM).

Giroud: Took his two goals brilliantly and had a good all round game, even if sometimes his understanding with team mates was a tad off. 7.5

Subs
Koscielny: Deputised well for Vermaelen who was removed as a precaution.
Santos: Nice to see Andre get a run out. He’s not as bad as his last outings would have you believe and it can only be good for the squad to have him back and fit.
Oxlade-Chamberlain: Full of running and tricks. Took shots a couple of times when he should have passed, but at 5-1 up who can blame him?

RockyLives

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Posted by RockyLives

The Mole. Can Benitez finish the Job?

January 20, 2013

Doesn’t seem that long ago since Terry hit the dirt and watched as Brave Sir Robin danced away from him. Happy Days.

And what chance of a repeat today? Well, we did it against the Cave Dwellers so why not against Chelsea? I know, I know – lightning doesn’t strike twice but in a world of infinite probabilities, it does!

Both teams are going through an inconsistent patch. Chelsea’s home loss to QPR was inexplicable but so was ours at Bradford. We have both lost at home to Swansea. The main difference being that Chelsea have a squad which cost at least double Arsenal’s and a bottomless pit of money to overcome any problems; they also sack managers with alarming regularity.

Benitez. Why? What kind of incompetent signed this man? How can Chelsea employ a manager who a few years previously publicly stated his dislike of the manner in which they do business? Bizarre. But one must be impressed by they way Rafa is doing his best to destroy the club, a loss or draw to us and Swansea will see the Chavs out of the CC and with no chance of winning the PL. Perhaps he is on a huge earner from the Northern Oilers. Fairplay to the man!

Unknown-1

Do you think it is to Arsenal’s advantage to have Arteta injured for a while? Could the midfield of Diaby, JW and Santi function more cohesively? Admittedly, we only have a reduced Swansea to compare and today will be a far sterner test, but I believe this will become our first choice midfield (though how long Diaby can stay fit is impossible to predict). None of them are  defensive players but both JW and Diaby are strong in the tackle. Concentration will be the key and a full awareness of who ventures forward . For this reason I would play and  extra MF – either Coquelin or Ramsey, both of whom played well on Wednesday.

For this reason having Koscielny out is also positive, BFG’s lack of pace requires hime to sit deeper! I must say, I am worried about Ba, he is in fine form and loves scoring against us. Furthermore, the excellent wingers at Chelsea will cause major problems to both Sagna and Gibbs.

Runners & Riders:

chavs v arse

Of course, playing a 4-4-2 is not Wengerball, but I doubt AW will start the game with Giroud upfront and he is unlikely to trust Ox in a game where we will be under the cosh.

Stamford Bridge is a strange place, an uglier ground it would be hard to find, but then it has to house some of the ugliest fans in world football. If one were to make a League of teams with the ugliest fans Chelsea would get a Champions League slot every season, Stoke would win the Prem most years 🙂

Today’s English Explorer is from the Days of Yore, and one of England’s Finest. Sir Walter Raleigh (1552 – 1618). An aristocrat and favourite of QE1, he is best known for his colonisation of North America and the introduction of tobacco to England and the world (how costly has that been?). His first colony was in Virginia where tobacco was harvested  – it got the Royal Seal from Her Maj and thus became the famous Royal Virginia tobacco.

He discovered Guyana and explored East Venezuala. His ship was the first Ark Royal which was a gift from QE1.

Unknown

Top Bloke. Full Set. Knighthood. Beheaded.

Raleigh wasn’t just an explorer he was also one of England’s great warriors.We all know the story of his defeat of the Spanish Armada, but what is less known is that after Elisabeth died and King James came to the throne, Raleigh was imprisoned in The Tower for 13 years for “plotting against the Crown”. Following an unsuccessful expedition to South America in search of El Dorado, he was re-arrested and beheaded. His head was embalmed and sent to his wife who kept it in a velvet bag until her death when it was re-united with his body.

Two defensive errors cost us the game at the Emirates; we weren’t outplayed and had the better of the game. Raddy would be satisfied with a point.

COYRRG

Big Raddy

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Posted by Erik the Red

Arsène Wenger – The grooming of England’s future Super Stars.

January 18, 2013

Much has been written about Arsène Wenger’s penchant for foreign players – French players in particular. Over the years he has been ridiculed for playing teams full of foreigners and for his seeming adversity to English youth. This culminated in a league match against Crystal Palace on 14 February 2005 when Arsenal named a 16-man squad that featured no British players for the first time in the club’s history.

PFA chief executive Gordon Taylor felt that this was the beginning of a worrying time for English football”. In March 2006, Alan Pardew chimed in with – “Arsenal’s Champions League success was not necessarily a triumph for British football” Arsène disagreed and said that he saw the issue of nationality as irrelevant and stated, “When you represent a club, it’s about values and qualities, not about passports”

Other pundits including Trevor Brooking director of football development at The Football Association defended Arsene, he felt that a lack of English players in “one of England’s most successful clubs” was more of a reflection on England’s limited talent pool rather than on Arsene.

Arsène preferred players that were nimble, adept at passing and those that displayed a high level of technical ability. Using his uncanny knowledge of worldwide players he brought in players like Petit, Vieira, Henry, Pires, Van Bronckhorst, Overmars, Toure, Gilberto, Wiltord, Anelka, Ljungberg, Silvinho, Lauren, and Edu, these players formed winning teams the likes of which had not been seen at Highbury since Herbert Chapman’s teams of the 30’s.

His explanation for not buying British players has always been that few “local” players displayed the attributes that he was looking for and those that did were overpriced in comparison to European players. More recently, with the riches of Chelsea and the Manchester teams Arsene was not able to compete on a level playing field for the British players he admired or for the better foreign players so he was forced to turn his attention to youth players, both foreign and British.

Today, in his youth and under 21sides he has a squad of 30 English and 19 foreign players many of whom already have international experience at various levels.

In Theo Walcott, Carl Jenkinson, Alex Oxlaide Chamberlain, Kieran Gibbs and Jack Wilshere he has five full England internationals, these players might well form the core of the English team for years to come. With another 25 English youth players in his care who can say just how many more will make the international team?

Who would have thought that Arsène Wenger might be the man to turn around England’s fortune by developing the nucleus of the English team?

He is a multi faceted man that should not be counted out.

GunnerN5

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Posted by peachesgÖÖner

The Old Arsenal Returns

January 17, 2013

When I said to Peaches that I could do the report for this game I thought it would probably be a simple mission. How wrong could I be. As I started watching the game I originally thought that the best way to report it would be to recount the key incidences as they occurred. I soon realised that there were far too many key incidences to recount in chronological order without going into a prolonged report, so I decided to switch to a different mode of report that would look at the game as more of a general synopsis with some specifics when required..

Firstly can I say, that for me, that was a thoroughly entertaining and humdinger of a game that the narrow scoreline and lack of overall goals doesn’t really reflect. Swansea, as we have found out this season, can play great pass and move technical football. How dare they aspire to this, that is our domain! Once again they did, at certain times, exhibit their ability to pass and move through very tight spaces at a very good technical level in what we like to think is our style of play. This time, however, we elevated our performance levels so that we looked, once again, to be the masters of this style of football.

Early on in the game I thought we took hold of midfield with a combination of the power, pace, and possession that Diaby and Wilshere offer us. We had a few chances but didn’t convert. Always a worrying thing for us Gooners, as we have seen that very situation so many times. If I was to be critical of us in the first half it would be to say that while we got into dangerous positions with possession in the last third, that we didn’t look like we had that final cutting edge. It always seemed like the final critical pass missed the key player by ½ yard. Many would put that down to players not being of the required quality. Personally, at this point, I would still put a lot of it down to players still getting to understand each other and instinctively recognise the movements of their team-mates.

Swansea had a couple of dangerous moments in the first half, the most obvious being when our former player Kyle Bartley headed against the cross bar. We got away with it but always in those situations I ask, was it an attacking move that we could have done nothing about, or could it have been avoided? I am not sure, but I will leave that subject open to debate.

In the second half, for me, we moved onto another level. The level that, for me, we need to be adhering to if we are to achieve what we all want. The passing and movement seemed to step up a level and became faster, more aggressive, and with more players moving around for their team-mates. Santi Cazorla started to step up a gear and influence the game and was superb in the second half, and he is a class player that we are lucky to have. Even more than this though was the performance of a young Englishman that stood out a mile.

untitled

I actually don’t really know what to say about Jack Wilshere. On the one side I don’t want to hype him up too much and create unnecessary pressure, but on the other I feel that we potentially have the next best world class midfielder on our hands. For me he was immense tonight and showed his abilities in both the deeper midfield and offensive midfield roles. He seems to have the ability to play both roles equally effectively. I obviously have my own overall opinions on Jack, but where you see his long term role in midfield I would leave up to you AA’ers to debate.

On to the ratings :

Sczcesny 7

Did what he needed to do effectively

Mertesacker 7

A solid game. On occasions you worry about his lack of pace but he reads the game very well.

Vermaelen 7

His on-field commitment, for me, cannot be criticised. He had a good game today and covered when required. He is excellent at the last ditch tackle.

Sagna 7

After a few “dodgy” performances Mr. Reliable seems to be returning to form.

Gibbs 7

I am a fan of Gibbs and feel he is an excellent full-back. Injury permitting I feel we have a quality FB at our disposal here.

Coquelin 7

I like him. He had some good sections in the game but then seemed to disappear at times, but that is maybe to be expected with a younger player. I still feel that we maybe have another very good AW identified and nurtured player on our hands. I would wait longer before I make a full judgement on his ability as an Arsenal 1st team player.

Diaby 6

He is still not fully up to scratch after an injury lay-off but even so there are times when you can see he brings a different quality to the team. Injury aside I am a big fan of his. He had bright spells in this game but seemed to, understandably, fade in his dynamism as the game went on.

Wilshere 9 and MOTM

As said above, I feel we have the real deal on our hands. His performance tonight was immense both in attack and defence.

Cazorla 8

Slightly quiet first half but in the second stepped up a gear and was, alongside Wilshere, one of the main reasons we started to control the attacking intent in the game.

Giroud 6

I like Giroud but it didn’t quite come of for him today. Having said that I wouldn’t let him go and recognise on another day he could have easily had 2 goals. His link up ability, for me, overcomes the times when he is not scoring goals.

Walcott 6

This is the controversial one. If I said I still feel there is a potential quality striker in him then many of you would pan me. You are maybe right, but I want to see Theo have more time in the advanced role before I make my final judgement. I remember that it took Thierry a while to become regularly lethal for us, and he needed an adjustment period to the strikers role before he started to catch fire, at about the same age as Walcott is now. Theo missed chances tonight but I would also argue that he got himself into good goal-scoring positions that most other players wouldn’t have been able to do.

Substitutions:

Ramsey 6 

When he plays in central areas, like today, he still seems a very decent player to me and was quietly effective when he came on. I still feel he has a potential long term future with us but we need more

Written by GoonerB

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Posted by Rasp

Is Defence Our Best Form Of Attack

January 10, 2013

We have been a bit of a Jekyll and Hyde team over the last number of weeks, sometimes looking like the most prolific attacking team on the planet and at other times looking like we don’t have the foggiest idea how to open up the opposition.

To make matters more confusing the vast contrast in performances often happen when very similar teams have been fielded in two separate games, and have often included combinations of Arteta, Wilshere, Cazorla, Podolski, Giroud, and Walcott or the OX all in the same team. This is not an insignificant attacking line up especially when combined with our traditional overlapping full-backs. This combination of players should really give any top side in the world a headache in defence, but have at times even struggled to make mid to lower table teams look at all uncomfortable.

When you look at the above names on paper it is difficult to understand how they can, at times, offer very little attacking threat. To try and explain it to myself I have considered the contradictory possibility that maybe we are fielding too many attack minded players to make our attack effective. I would obviously like to open this up for debate, but before I do I will explain a bit more what I mean by this statement.

In recent discussions on AA regarding what types of players Arsenal need to bring in, one type of player frequently mentioned is a more powerful defensive midfielder. This is usually mentioned in reference to a need to solidify the defensive aspect of our team, and therefore make us harder to breach, and is a sentiment that I am in full agreement with. Could a more pure defensive midfielder, however, actually make us more effective in our attack as well?

Conventional thinking would state that the more defensive players you play the more defensive you will be, but I would suggest that there are times when too many natural attacking players in the one team can leave us imbalanced, and upsets our shape so that players that should be supporting the attack more are pulled into positions of defence too often. Conversely the right defensive midfield screen can provide a better platform and reduce the need for other players to have to drop back as often.

Our current first choice defensive midfielder seems to be Arteta who more often plays that role in the midfield three with Wilshere and Cazorla. I like Arteta and think he is an excellent and very important member of our squad and am not in any way suggesting he is replaced and pushed to one side. I think he is and should remain a regular and important first team player. He did however come from Everton not as a pure defensive midfielder, and he has obvious offensive qualities to his game also. In many games he plays the deeper defensive midfield role very well and certainly never lacks heart and effort, and is not afraid of getting stuck in.

I have questioned, however, whether in some games he gets slightly exposed because he is not really a specialist in this role. At these times he seems to require more help in protecting the back four and breaking up attacks, and my observation has been that this more often than not drags Wilshere deeper to help cover in these areas.

Some will disagree and see the deeper role as Wilshere’s role anyway, and I would agree that all players need to perform some defensive duties, but for me Wilshere has far too much ability on the ball to be kept too often in a deeper role. He is not the finished article yet but those bursts of pace and ability to surge past people should be utilised in attack as much as possible, and this is where I personally see his long term future.

I remember, as one example, in the Southampton game thinking that we needed to release Wilshere further forwards to support Cazorla and try and get some attacking intent back into our game. It was not Arteta’s fault, but I felt he was a bit under the cosh in that game and he was struggling to screen and protect the back four effectively on his own. If we had been playing a more specialist defensive midfielder out there, who could have more effectively covered the defensive midfield area on their own, would that have released Wilshere from having to help out so often in defence and, if he could have played higher up the pitch more often, would that have seen us start to take more attacking control of the game?

You could argue that it may not have worked out that way and how can anyone really know, and I would agree that no-one can say for certain. It is more an observation and opinion that potentially a more specialised midfield destroyer to break up the opposition attacks would have given the platform for our attacking players to get into more dangerous areas more often. Once we turn the momentum of a game in our favour sometimes it becomes difficult for a team such as Southampton to get a foothold back in it.

For me a top defensive midfielder should obviously be a good tackler with a good physical presence. He also needs to be able to distribute the ball well, but for me he doesn’t need to be a “Bergkampesue” defence splitting passer of the ball, but more a decent passer who can redistribute possession once we win the ball back. I have always felt, though, that maybe an even more important characteristic for a central defensive midfielder is pace. I feel it is possibly even more important than for the attacking central midfielder where good positioning, awareness, quick thinking and the ability to play a killer pass are potentially more important characteristics. The defensive midfielder obviously needs to break up play but also needs to try and intercept and cut out threats from the opposition. The ability to cover ground quickly with pace is for me an important feature to defending well in front of the back four, and it is the one thing that Arteta unfortunately is not blessed with.

Many players are mentioned as being suitable players to bring in and play the defensive midfield role but some of you will be aware that I have championed Vermaelen for the role. Some would argue that he is not a good enough passer of the ball, but again I would question how important that is. He is a more than adequate passer of the ball for me and would have no problem in effectively redistributing the ball when we have won back posession. The plus side of his extra physical presence, good biting tackles and pace over the ground would far outweigh anything else for me. He could be considered as a defensive midfielder or even as part of a back three where he plays as an advanced sweeper.

As a pure defensive screen Vermaelen could likely provide 1 ½ times the protection that Arteta can in games where it may be more necessary, and if it allows us to play the other two central midfielders to take up more advanced positions then we may actually end up with a more potent attack by playing a more defence minded player in that deeper role.

I am not actually suggesting that Arteta is permanently pushed aside in this role. Far from it, I believe there will always be games where we can play him with Wilshere and Cazorla, as we do in our current first choice midfield three. These three for me do seem to be somewhat overplayed currently anyway, and I feel need a bit more rotation. Arteta could even revert to his slightly more traditional, pre-Arsenal, more advanced midfield role at times if TV is played in the deeper role and Wilshere or Cazorla need a rest or are carrying a minor knock. It is all about having alternative options for me and all of these players would still get plenty of playing time but hopefully with the added bonus of avoiding burn out and possible injury.

So what do AA’ers think. Do we need a more specialist defensive midfielder at times and if so who would be your choice? Would the addition of this player only be to make us better defensively, or could it actually have the additional effect of making us better offensively as well by way of freeing up other players?

Written by GoonerB

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Posted by peachesgÖÖner

Airy Fairy, Couldn’t Carey at St Mary’s

January 2, 2013

Going into the game on the back of the wonderful 7-3 versus Newcastle, the Gooner faithful were optimistic about the team’s ability to score goals but a little uneasy of our propensity to concede goals. Would The Arsenal be able to shore up the rearguard while maintaining our free-scoring form?

The line-up was unchanged with the Pod, Theo, Ox combination up front again.

S1

Subs Martinez Mertesacker Rosicky Ramsey Coquelin Giroud Gervinho

Arsenal began the first half passing the ball well. Unfortunately it was to be the boys in purple’s best period of the game. After 5 minutes Santi had a fine effort deflected wide. Boruc in the Southampton goal started nervously treating the ball as a slippery bar of soap but Arsenal couldn’t capitalise. The game was entertaining on the eye, helter skelter but with few chances on goal.

Thomas Vermaelen made a fine saving challenge as Southampton gradually got into the game as their work rate continually outmatched the away side’s. When will Arsenal learn that they have to match the opposition work rate for any difference in class to show itself?

Arsenal had a few fine openings largely created by Jack’s industry in the middle of the park. A fine interception by the Ox forced a corner, but Arsenal’s dead ball situations were poor the whole evening. The midfield three were made to look disjointed as Southampton harried and closed down space.

A series of poor decisions from Podolski, Sagna and then Gibbs eventually resulted in a goal for the home side. Another poor piece of play from Sagna left Kos needing to make a great challenge to stop the Saints going two up.

Against the run of play, a Walcott free kick was put through his own goal by Do Prado with Koscielny lurking and Arsenal suddenly had a lifeline back into the game. An underserved goal and the away side immediately looked threatening.

southampton 1-1

A superb cross from the Ox found Podolski dithering on the edge of the area when he needed to be busting a gut to get into the six yard box. The half time whistle came at the wrong time with the Gunners pressing, Walcott correctly flagged for offside.

1-1 saints 2

The second half started with a poor header from Gibbs and an early scare for Arsenal. Jack was booed for getting kicked in the face and the game continued with Southampton continually getting to the second ball first. On 56’ Szczesny passed within inches of the Southampton forward. This was followed by a good opening for Theo but he chose to shoot from outside the area when better options were available at the far post.

jack saints

Arsenal needed to hold the ball up and Giroud was brought on for the disappointing Podolski. Unfortunately I’m not sure if Giroud won the ball in the air once for the rest of the game. Southampton continued to show more energy, passion and threat in all areas of the pitch.

The few opportunities Arsenal did have to break were halted by professional fouls both on Cazorla and later on Sagna. Arteta did something similar when megged by Ramirez, who impressed throughout. The same player had a goal disallowed after a sly push on Koscielny allowed him the space to turn and fire past Szczesny.

On 68’ a fine driving run from Gibbs ended in another dreadful cross from Sagna. Mr Consistency was consistently poor with his passing and crossing all game. The Arsenal away boys sang ‘Cmon Arsenal’ which we all know is code for ‘buck your feckin ideas up, you’re playing shite’. Another chance fell to Theo and he, again, failed to notice the better options available to him.

Ramsey and Gervinho came on for the Ox and Santi; the latter having struggled to find enough space to really influence the game today. Surely Rosicky would have been the better option for Santi in Arsenal’s attempts to find that little bit extra to break down the excellent Southampton defence?

Arteta produced a fine drive on 80’ and then Gervinho cut inside beautifully a few minutes later only to shoot well wide of the near post. Szczesny made a good block before Arsenal’s best chance to get the winner went begging when Gibbs failed to find a purple shirt when in acres of space inside the Southampton penalty area.

Theo’s final contribution was an appalling free kick which failed to get anywhere near the Saints’ box. Giroud must have wondered why he had been brought on.

All in all, a pretty dismal performance from the Gunners. Southampton had played on Boxing Day, so I was expecting Arsenal to seem the fresher of the two teams at some point in the last twenty but, disappointingly this never happened. Southampton fought and harried, with no little skill too, and were unlucky not to win the three points, it has to be said.

Ratings

Szczesny– Made a few good blocking saves in a game of few clear cut chances. His distribution was up to his usual standard……7

Koscielny – Fought hard in a rearguard action the whole team didn’t seem to expect……7

Vermaelen – Played reasonably well without ever showing signs that he’s a great captain……7

Sagna – Poor for most of the game. If he does want to leave, you’d think he would be trying to impress potential suitors ….5

Gibbs – Looked threatening at times but failed to find a dangerous final pass. …..6

Wilshere – The best of a poor bunch. …..7

Arteta – Reliable in his efforts as always but must be given support by the rest of the team when continually put under pressure …….7

Cazorla – Santi’s worst game in an Arsenal shirt. When he did find a few inches of space his passing was off. We cannot always rely on the Spanish maestro for inspiration. Rosicky should have been brought on in his place …..6

Podolski – Looked disinterested again. Dropping deep and passing the ball back to the centre backs doesn’t cut it, Lukas ……5

Walcott – Theo seemed wary of upsetting the locals with a display we are all too familiar with before this season began …..6

The Ox – Looked good in flashes but continues to lack an end product …..6

Subs

Giroud – Didn’t affect the game as we hoped he would. His touch seemed off ….6

Ramsey – Was Ramsey brought on to play in the Santi role. He huffed and puffed but produced little …..6

Gervinho – Aside from the one nice cut in and shot, he seemed clueless as to how to beat a full back or even stay upright! …..5

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Posted by peachesgÖÖner

Arise Sir Theorry? Newcastle Report & Player Ratings

December 30, 2012

What a game!

For us spectators it was up, down, up, down, up down… then a long and satisfying climax.

Followed by 50,000 metaphorical cigarettes being smoked as we all came down from such a thrilling ride.

Do you remember that children’s rhyme about magpies? One for sorrow, two for joy etc? Well it goes on to say: “Seven for a secret never to be told.”

001

As we put our seventh past The Magpies to finally overcome their dogged resistance, I fell to wondering what the “secret never to be told” might be.

Perhaps it’s the reason why Theo hasn’t signed a new contract? What Stan Kroenke really wants? Or maybe it’s as simple as: “Park Chu Young: Why?”

But enough of such contemplation: it’s time to celebrate a truly entertaining game of football – the sort of match that only the English Premier League seems to throw up.

Arsene made only one change to the team that had won its last two Premiership outings – Koscielny coming in for the unwell Mertesacker (“German measles” as someone wittily suggested in the comments yesterday).

It meant another outing for Theo Walcott down the middle – and another chance for him to try and convince the manager (and fans) that he is a central striker. His two previous showings had been inconclusive: he played well and scored one in the rout of Reading; against Wigan he was quieter but won the penalty that led to us pocketing all three points.

Apparently Thierry Henry – who is back training with us and may well be signed on a short term loan again – has been working with Theo to improve his general strikeriness. Can a god train a mortal in the arts of the divine? We would have to wait and see…

Newcastle were coming off the back of a brave and narrow midweek defeat at Old Trafford. They also had several first teamers out injured – but not the man with whom we are being strongly linked as a possible January transfer target: Demba Ba.

Arsenal were fast out of the blocks, applying pressure early on and threatening both Newcastle flanks. When we went ahead in the 20th minute it was no more than we deserved.

Podolski, who had an industrious game, split the Magpies’ defence with a pass that invited Walcott to run straight at goal. His pace kept him ahead of the defenders and once inside the area he opened up his body to side-foot the ball past Tim Krul’s laft hand and into the bottom corner of the net. It was a really fine finish – indeed, a finish reminiscent of Thierry, who was looking on from the stands. Theo down the middle? You bet!

Having taken the lead, we fell back into one of this season’s recurring bad habits: taking our foot off the gas: reducing our pressing game and ceding both territory and possession to the Geordies.

It was disappointing, but on the plus side we were not allowing Newcastle to create clear cut chances (although a long range effort from Tiote brought back uncomfortable memories of that awful day at St James Park when we were winning four-nil at half time but gave up four second half goals to a Toon attack spearheaded by Phil “Fatty” Dowd).

Eight minutes before the break we should have gone two up when Walcott, after a nice exchange with Podolski, found himself one-on-one against Krul again, this time much closer to the goal. Theo tried a chip but didn’t really catch hold of it and Krul saved. Theo down the middle? Don’t make me laugh!

As is often the way, our profligacy was soon punished. Just before the break Sagna gave away an unnecessary free kick outside our box. Ba stepped up to take it and fired in a shot that looked to be heading straight towards Szczesny for a routine save. Unfortunately Wilshere, as the spare man to the side of the wall, was in the ball’s path and couldn’t decide whether to duck or block. In the end he half ducked, the ball deflected off his head and went straight into the net.

Jack is a quick study and I doubt we will ever see him make that mistake again. Next time he’ll take the ball in the face if that’s what’s needed.

Half time – 1-1.

The second half saw us come out with greater attacking purpose, soon rewarded when Oxlade-Chamberlain fired in a low, hard shot to put us back in front.

But we all know that this Arsenal team can give up a goal to any attack at any time and, sure enough, only eight minutes later a bit of comic defending allowed Marveaux to tap in unchallenged at the far post after a low cross across the face of goal from Obertan, who had beaten Sagna far too easily.

On the television it was difficult to tell who was at fault for leaving a man completely unmarked at the back post.

Gibbs had been drawn into the middle of the box which seemed unnecessary when we had two centre backs in the six yard area, but maybe a midfielder should have spotted the danger and plugged the gap.

Could we get back in front? Well, in this seesaw game anything was clearly possible and we had a couple of decent half chances – Cazorla drawing a good save from Krul and Podolski just inches away from a through-ball into the box.

Our third eventually came from some brilliant work from Wilshere, who made it to the goal line inside the Toon area and chipped back a lethal cross into the six yard box from a really difficult angle. Coloccini had no option but to get his head on it right under the bar. The ball bounced off the crossbar and the predatory Podolski was on hand to head home.

This time, surely, we could hang on to our lead.

Not with this Arsenal!

Newcastle came back at us and, sure enough, we gave away another soft goal. Marveaux found space on our right flank and crossed a ball to the far post, where Ba was lurking – marked by Gibbs. Unfortunately our left back took his eye off the Newcastle striker to ball watch for a second and that was all Ba needed to break clear for an easy tap-in. Poor defending from Gibbs.

Three times ahead, three times clawed back. For an Arsenal team with a certain flakiness in its DNA this was a worrying trend.

But yesterday was not destined to have an unhappy ending.

Four minutes after Newcastle’s equalizer Walcott received the ball in the opposition penalty area after a great run and cutback by Gibbs. He had time to control the ball, turn and side foot it into the top left of the net. Another superb, composed Henryesque finish. Theo down the middle? He’s a natural born killer!

It would not have been entirely unexpected for Newcastle to haul themselves level again, but finally their exertions in Manchester seemed to catch up with them and Arsenal started to turn the screw.

Giroud was on for Oxlade-Chamberlain and Ramsey came on for Podolski. With Giroud’s appearance, Walcott was pushed out wide right and soon showed that he can be deadly from the wing too. An outstanding early cross invited a diving header from Giroud and the ball was powered through Krul’s legs to put us 5-3 up.

The two-goal deficit really made Toon heads drop and we pushed on for more. Giroud grabbed the sixth with a powerful low drive in the 88th minute. Then Walcott secured possession of the match ball with another stunning goal. Picking the ball up on the left wing he dribbled past two Toon defenders and into the box. He appeared to be fouled but picked himself up and finished with an audacious chip past Krul. Theo down the middle? Argument settled.

Walcott’s hat trick was, after all, just divine.

Giroud almost grabbed a hat trick of his own before the final whistle went to huge applause.

The scoreline flattered us to some degree but there were many pluses to take from this game: we seem to have rediscovered our verve in front of goal; we had enough mental strength to not get deflated by three times giving up the lead; and, strangely, we did not let Newcastle create much of danger – preferring, instead, to do the dirty work for them ourselves.

One very striking figure from the match statistics was that we had only 45% possession, Toon having 55%. This is very unusual for Arsenal but I wonder if it points to a deliberate tactic. If we are going to play with Theo Walcott as our front man our greatest weapon is his speed in attack. In that case it makes sense to concede ground to the opposition, let them come on to us and hit them on the break as Wenger’s early (successful) teams used to do.

All in all, a great game in which Newcastle very much played their part.

Player Ratings

Szczesny: had no chance with any of the goals and dealt well with the other Newcastle efforts (shots and crosses). A couple of times he put us under pressure by passing to defenders who were clearly marked. He needs to improve this aspect of his game. 7

Sagna: perhaps the uncertainty over his future is affecting his game. He seems a bit out of sorts and was given a torrid time by Obertan. Was partially responsible for all three Newcastle goals. 5

Koscielny: filled in very well for Mertesacker. A typical Kozzer showing, full of commitment and effort. 7

Vermaelen: also had a solid game – he seems to have got over his bad patch. However, as GiE pointed out in comments yesterday, what was he doing letting Gibbs get drawn into marking a big centre forward like Ba? 7

Gibbs: overall a good game with some good attacking play and an assist, but he was woefully at fault for Newcastle’s third and partly at fault for their second. Still seems like a youngster who is learning on the job at times. 6

Arteta: like the rest of our midfield he got the runaround when we slackened off after taking the lead in the first half, but otherwise his game was as effective as we have come to expect. Much of his work is unspectacular and (I suspect) unnoticed by some fans. 7

Wilshere: fine game by the captain-in-waiting. He drives us forward every time he gets the ball and his run and chip for the Podolski goal were outstanding (LB said the chip reminded him of Brady, which is high praise indeed). He loses half a point for giving away Newcastle’s first goal by trying to dodge the ball. 7.5

Cazorla: always a joy to wacth, Santi made one and was unlucky not to get on the score sheet himself. He was a thorn in the Newcastle side all the time he was on the pitch. 8

Podolski: a really good game from the German, full of industry, commitment and strength. His goal showed a great poacher’s instinct and he made Theo’s first. 8

Oxlade-Chamberlain: Oxo is getting slowly better with each game. He took his goal very well and was heavily involved until subbed off for Giroud. His passing is occasionally a bit loose, but he will put that right in due course. 7

Walcott: couldn’t really have done anything more to prove his case for a central striker’s berth. Great hat trick, of which the highest compliment I can pay is that Thierry Henry would have been pleased with any of those goals. I have always rated Theo’s finishing and what I liked most about his goals was the composure he showed in putting the ball in exactly the spot where it could not be saved. His third also gave the lie to the criticism that he can’t dribble. Yes, he made some mistakes too, but all strikers do. What’s clear is that Theo is becoming a huge asset – someone who can be deadly as a main striker, or as a wide man. It would be a crying shame if we lose him just as he’s is reaching the fulfillment of his potential. 9 MoTM

Substitutes

Giroud: I love this player. His cameo was almost perfect (and would have been if he had converted the chance to get a hat trick). 8.5

Ramsey: another good, tidy appearance from Aaron. 7

Coquelin: also tidy, although one unforced loose pass almost put us in trouble. 6.5

RockyLives

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Posted by RockyLives

Jack in the Box

November 22, 2012

Morning all, we have two match reports today, the first from GoonerB and the second from RockyLives . Both include their own player ratings. Enjoy.

We ideally wanted a win and to qualify before the last game of the group and we got it. We may not win the group but this is maybe not so important. There are other very good teams looking like they will end up second in their group anyway so the potential for a difficult draw is likely either way. It is a cup competition so anything can happen, and a lot of the play that I saw tonight from our team would give me cause to be very optimistic.

We started rather cautiously as has often seemed to be the case recently. We looked to be a bit too slow and casual with our passing and kept it deep within our defence without any urgency to go forward. Montpelier pressed us quickly and higher up and forced us into mistakes in these areas which seemed to give them an early threat in the game. After about 15 minutes, however, it all changed. We suddenly regained our ethos as an attacking side and, in my opinion, mostly bossed the game from then. I think we are a side that needs to keep a high tempo in a game, and are not so good when we try and slow it down, but that I would throw out to debate amongst yourselves.

I would say that we look so much better when we leave players in advanced positions so we can pass forwards rather than sideways or backwards, and I think this could be the key to this current team reaching the heights we all wish for. The confidence in passing and movement seemed to develop and increase as the game progressed and I really think we have a team on our hands if we can get the best out of them. It obviously requires a fine balance between the defence and the attack, something that has been talked about in recent posts, and I feel that if this can be fine tuned then we may have cause for optimism in the near future.

On to the ratings :-

Szczesny 7

Didn’t have too much to do but came out bravely and snuffed out the threat when their player was through on goal.

Sagna 7

Typical Sagna performance of solidity with regular help in attack. Did get exposed when caught forwards, at one time in particular, but is that an acceptable risk across a whole game with an attacking full-back?

Mertesacker 7

He seems to be the general in defence now. He lacks the pace of TV and LK but seems to read the game better than most, and another solid game from him

Koscielny 7

Was potentially lining up as MOTM till later in the game when he got caught on the ball instead of clearing the danger. It almost cost us. Up until then he was imperious, using his pace to snuff out problems before they even started and bringing the ball out from defence. If he can iron out the errors he is a seriously good defender.

Vermaelen 7

Played out of his best position but did a job for us. It is a nice problem to have in choosing him, LK and the BFG in a starting line up. He is our captain and I expect he will show us why as the season progresses.

Arteta 7

Normal no nonsense highly effective performance from Mr Reliable. Is he the glue that binds it all together?

Wilshere 7

Hard to believe he is still so early in his recovery from a long term injury. He oozes class and, although by his standards this was a good rather than great performance, I think we will be salivating in greater measures in the near future.

Cazorla 8

What to say. Arsene has come up trumps with this fellow. Another great performance pulling the strings. As I have mentioned before, if we can mostly keep him higher up the pitch even when defending, then we will always look a greater attacking threat.

Chamberlain 7

Had a good game if not his greatest and made them worried about him. I love the way he is prepared to run at defenders and commit them.

Podolski 8

It was likely a 7 until the volley. BSR, eat your heart out. He is a natural goal-scorer and for me works hard for the team. I am glad we have him and think we will appreciate him more and more over the next couple of seasons.

Giroud 8 My MOTM

Getting better and better. Didn’t even score tonight but the question is would we have scored without him. Two assists and a constant headache to their defenders. He drops off, works hard, and has very good intelligence and link up play. If we can get the other attacking players working off him more effectively then we may have an attacking force to be reckoned with.

Substitutions

Coquelin 84 for Cazorla. Solid tonight but needs to bide his time to be a regular starter. Maybe a long term replacement for Arteta providing he remains patient.

Ramsey 60 for Chamberlain. Has many detractors but I feel he needs more time for AW and the fans to fully assess him, He has some good strengths and was solid when he came on.

Gervinho 84 for Giroud. Not enough time for me to see what he could do.

Written by GoonerB

As a bonus we have a second match report from Rocky 

We beat Montpellier 2-0.

We’re through to the knock-out stages of the Champions League AGAIN (London and Manchester Oil Corporations please take note).

Here are five big positives I took from last night’s game, most of which I was able to watch despite some dodgy stream issues in the first half:

Clean Sheet

We secured our first clean sheet since the 1-0 win over QPR six games ago. It’s all very well taking the view that it doesn’t matter if the opposition score provided we score more. The reality is that clean sheets breed confidence – not just for the defence, but throughout the whole team. I thought Koscielny was outstanding in defence and showed his speed on numerous occasions to snuff out Montpellier breaks down our left flank, where Vermaelen did OK but did not provide the cover an orthodox left back would have.

Podolski’s Performance

Lucas had as busy a game as we have seen for a long time and capped it off with a fine goal. If he can be as involved on a regular basis he will be a force to be reckoned with. He may want to play down the middle, but Giroud is making that position all his own. However, there is no reason why the Pod can’t come infield at times and act as a second striker – which is exactly what he did for his goal last night.

Santi’s On Song

When we had that short run of games where we considered it rude to create a chance on the opposition goal before the 90th minute, it was instructive that our toothlessness coincided with Santi Cazorla’s early season form tailing off. The good news is that it was just a blip, and after his Man of the Match performance against the Spuds he followed up last night with another display of creativity, tenacity and determination. A quality player.

Jack in the Box

Arsene Wenger reckons it will be Christmas before Jack Wilshere is back to his best. Well, what a present that will be. Last night he showed even more great touches and bursts than he did against the N17 Saddo Society and, best of all, he popped up in the Montpellier penalty area to grab a great goal. People were saying he could be the complete midfielder if he added goals to his game. You always felt it was just a matter of time. Let’s hope last night has set the ball rolling.

Don’t Stop The Momentum

Football is a game where confidence and momentum have a disproportionate effect on a team’s fortunes. After a stop-start season this win – securing our place in the CL knock-out rounds – following on from a resounding derby victory will start to rebuild the optimism we were all feeling after the Liverpool and Manchester City away games. I have always felt the quality of players in our squad was good enough to challenge for big prizes. If they can get on a roll I hope they can prove me right.

What are your positives and negatives from last night’s game?

Please share your thoughts in the comments section below.

Player Ratings

Szczesny 7

Not much troubled, but looked secure and confident. He raced out of his goalmouth to tip the ball away from a Montpellier forward’s boot in the first half when it was still 0-0. It was an important moment (about which the unremittingly negative Alan Smith could only say: “That would have been risky if he’d got it wrong”).

Sagna 7

Reliable as ever from Mr Reliable.

Mertesacker 7

Typically sound outing from the BFG. He defended with composure, distributed beautifully and almost dribbled his way through for what would have been our most remarkable goal of the season.

Koscielny 8

He has had a few wobbles recently, but last night Kozzer was back to his best against some very skilful and speedy opponents. Was unlucky not to open the scoring with a powerful header against the crossbar.

Vermaelen 6

Got caught out of position a few times but he did a job for the team in a role that does not fully suit his skills.

Arteta 7

The metronome kept things ticking all game long. If Santi and Jack had good games, it was because Mikel was behind them doing the donkey work.

Wilshire 7

Some fine touches and bursts and a very well taken goal. His understanding with his midfield partners and the forwards is growing visibly.

Cazorla 8

What a player! Creative, imaginative, daring, surprising. A joy to watch. He orchestrated most of our best moments.

Podolski 8.5 (MoTM)

For my money his best outing yet in the famous red and white. He was heavily involved throughout and scored a peach of a volley. He was able to combine some good wing play with cutting inside to form a front two with Giroud. I feel this role suits him as he is not a natural “holder up” of the ball like Giroud so, I feel, would struggle if played as our out and out centre forward. He had a couple of decent goal attempts before he scored. For one of them he perhaps should have passed, but I don’t have a problem with a striker being greedy in front of goal. It makes a change from endless tippy tappy.

Oxlade-Chamberlain 6

Not his best game. He seemed a bit rusty, his passing was off and he drifted inside too much. A learning curve game for a talented young man.

Giroud 8.5

Close call for MoTM. He led the line superbly, made two excellent assists and was a thorn in the Montpellier side all game. He’s a different flavour to the strikers we have become used to under Wenger, but it’s a flavour that I’m developing a taste for and I suspect many other Gooners are too.

Subs

Ramsey 7

Gervinho 7 (one touch, but he didn’t mess it up!)

Coquelin 7

RockyLives

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Posted by peachesgÖÖner

“A” “V”ery “B”ig win for Arsenal and some ratings……..

November 18, 2012

Wounded, bloodied and showing signs of decline, as a crisis of confidence has seemingly gripped the arsenal squad of late, we stood on the Lunch time death slot where we have failed to win a game in over 3 years [since Sept 2009 when we beat, Spurs 3-0]…..

In our way again, those unlikeable Lily White neighbours strode in complete with their bloated egos, not exactly in great form themselves, but the usual pre-match hype had them claiming that the gap was closing and today was their day and they would go on to finish above us…..

Arsène fielded pretty much the strongest team available, with injuries slowly abating, Szczesny was back between the sticks, he is our number one that there is no doubt for me, Mannone is an ok No2 but lacks the presence of a top keeper…..

AVB was brave from the start as he went with a very attacking line up, with Defoe and Adebarndoor up front, supported out wide by the overrated lennon and bale, pace wasn’t lacking….At least we had Walcott starting, [how many games has he got left in an Arsenal shirt??]

The first few minutes saw the midfield three of Cazorla, Arteta and Wilshere look to dominate possession, but Spurs were pushing up a high line and squeezing the space in the midfield…..

The crowd were up for it as was Tottenham’s Sandro who went through the back of Giroud early doors, but Arsenal were working hard and most notably Podolski was working very hard defensively, however slowly Spurs were getting at us more and more. Sandro then went through Wilshere……

Walcott was looking up for it and getting crosses in, but still Spurs seemed to get stronger, a breakdown the right from Lennon, gained a free kick as Vermaelen blocked him. Bale floated a free kick in, which was headed straight out to Huddlestone, whose shot was blocked into Gallas path by Kozzer, Gallas scored but was ruled as offside, that was a warning that we didn’t heed.

As Vertonghen hit a quality long ball down the left into the path of Defoe whose movement had left BFG stalling, defoe put it across Szczesny, who got a hand to it, but it fell to Adebarndoor, who tapped it in 0-1….just 10mins in……murmurs…..

Moments later lennon pulled an easy one across the goal with Szczesny looking beaten, I really have never rated lennon, thank god he as poor as I think he is…….Poor man’s Walcott for me…
Arsenal weren’t getting totally outplayed but were struggling to get back on terms, then on 16mins another long ball out by Vertonghen was headed down towards Carzola by BFG who out jumped Adebarndoor, but then Adebarndoor launched himself at the ball and took our little maestro out….

Howard Webb gave him a very deserved red card…….In midst of the heated moments that followed Jack had a little spat with Bale, but was calmed down by the rest. Let’s try and keep 11 on eh..?

Anyway, with numbers in our favour, Arsenal started to dominate, on 23 a great cross by Walcott was met by BFG who powered in a header, to redeem himself from his earlier error, 1-1 …..

Fantastic first goal for the Arsenal by the rather large german…..

With the extra space Arsenals’ talented trio in the middle started to dominate, with Theo looking lively, Giroud looking more and more the striker we needed, Podolski was also still working much harder than he has been.

Half time was getting closer, Sandro was also getting closer to an early bath as well, how he didn’t have at least a yellow was beyond me……Sadly Lloris was looking good in between the sticks, could we get in front?, on 40 Giroud had a very powerful header but it was straight at his French team mate.

Moments later, Arteta, drove across the pitch looking for a one two with Jack, but the ball came off huddlestone and fell to Lukas, who managed to dig the ball out across the back of gallas and it trickled into the far corner as Lloris was wrong footed…….2-1….half time was nigh…..

But wait, Lennon connects with Vermaelen, the free kick which comes back out to Santi, who devilishly darts into the box through a couple of stumbles, but manages to keep his feet, play on from Webb, as Santi squares the ball to Giroud, who with Gallas and Vertonghen in his way, manages to sweep the ball in 3-1, thats 5 goals in 5 for Giroud, after me, who needs Van persie when we’ve got Giroud…….I know….

Second half, starts with AVB going for it, 3 at the back, fair play to the Portu’gueser, bold and brave. Spurs did well as their ten men stuck in there, arsenal wrongly sitting back, the fans were restless, next goal was crucial…..Oh by the way, Sandro was still on the pitch despite even more fouls…

A long goal kick by Szczesny was flicked on by Giroud, to Theo who chest controlled the ball and brought it down, then played Podolski down the left of the box, who then crossed for Santi to come in at the far post and slide the ball in, 60mins 4-1…….

Arsenal didnt take advantage as Spurs continued to try and get back into the game, with yes you guessed it, Sandro was still on the pitch, but finally he gets a card on 66. Then on 70 mins a sliced clearance by BFG was headed into Bales path and he ran forward and dragged a shot back across through Kozzers legs, 4-2. Immediately Le boss replaced Wilshere with Ramsey…The crowd was now very nervous even with the 2 goals and a man advantage….Moments later Bale has another chance but it drifts wide across the goal, that was too close for comfort…….

On 80 Santos replaces Podolski, a luke warm reception for the Brazilian, but he is not at LB, so not too much to worry about there and he didn’t seem to take any shirts off anyone…….On 85 the Ox replaces Giroud….he looked very lively straight away….

Arsenal are now dominating possession, as they knock the ball about…Ox gets the ball off a loose pass from Vertonghen and drives forward into the box and plays it to Theo, who comes across and drags a shot back across Vertonghen and pass the helpless Lloris…5-2, 91 mins……

Not quite as exciting as last years match which ended the same, probably not as satisfying either in a way, but a major boost nonetheless……

Some sites claim this is just papering over the cracks, codswallop, look we have a good squad and some very talented players, we might fall short for the title, but I expect a top 4 finish at minimum, we do have the players when everyone is fully fit…..and all settled……..By the way, I am not getting carried away, work is still needed.

It was good to see Giroud bag another along with Podolski and Santi getting goals, the three newest signings are still settling in, but you can see their quality….if you cant, open your eyes……..

There is more to come, thats for sure……….

Ratings: [In my humble opinion]

Szczesny: 7: Steady game, good to have the Pole back. Unfortunate with the first……

Sagna: 8: Although I am warming to Jenkinson, he is no Sagna yet, quality game by our beaded warrior, linked well with Theo.

BFG:7: At fault for Spurs first, but a great equaliser and worked hard throughout….

Kozzer: 7: Steady and pacy when needed, still finding his feet this season….

Vermaelen: 7: Took his time to settle, doesn’t like the left and it shows, but did a job….

Arteta:7.5: Dictated the play well when in control of the ball, worked hard, tired towards the end..quietly effective.

Santi: 9: Wizard….. great goal capped his Man of the Match*performance……

Wilshere: 7.5: Spikey, passionate, skilful and OURS…..Just gotta to love our Jack….

Podolski:8: Thought that was his best game he has had for a while, defensively worked hard, not lazy today, lets keep it at that level Lukas, nicked a goal as well…..

Giroud: 8: Gets better every week for me, strong and tenacious, holds the ball up well and links well, more skill than most give him credit for, great goal…….

Walcott:9: Pushed Santi for MoTM very close, pacy, direct and great assist as well as a good goal. If its just 10k more he wants, give him that pen now, if you think he isn’t good enough for us, then you have me stumped, ok not as consistent as we all want, but wouldn’t swap him for Lennon, Sinclair, Sturridge, SWP, Johnson or whoever in that category you want to mention……..Classy when in the mood…….

Wenger: 7: Put out his best team available, but allowed the team to sit too deep for me in the 2nd half. Perhaps should of subbed Jack a little bit earlier and Ox really lifted the team when he came on too late.

Overall: Great result, pressure lifted a little with a reasonable performance, team need to push on now, a win midweek and at Villa next Saturday, then we can move on and forget the blip, consistency is needed now without doubt. Good day as Chelsea lost, as did United losing to Norwich 1-0 as well, which we got slated for…will they? Perhaps they missed Webb today?

Side note for AVB: Brave and bold, fair play and you did ok in the 2nd half but your team did not dominate, your team had moments, but you had them at Chelsea as well, how did that end?

Written by Harry

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Posted by harry671

Arsenal: Reasons To Be Cheerful

November 12, 2012

We are living through troubled times as Arsenal followers these days.

Two-goal leads should be precious, closely-guarded things but our grip on them at the moment is about as secure as Nicky Bendtner’s trouser elastic.

Mid table teams used to come to the home of Arsenal with trepidation in their hearts, knowing that if they had the temerity to threaten our goal they would get badly gored by a raging Adams, a rabid Keown or a berserk Bouldie.

Now the only risk they face in our penalty box is loneliness, as they’re left to stand there all on their todd, cleaning their fingernails and humming pop ditties until someone sticks the ball onto their boot or bonce.

In such circumstances it takes a very special Gunner to not be disheartened (actually, we’ve got one – he’s called Terry Mancini Hair Transplant and you will meet him later on in the comments if you choose to linger).

So, tempting though it is to reel off a long list of grievances, today I want to highlight a few positive thoughts about our predicament.

You might call it clutching at straws. On a mountainside. With a thousand-foot plummet to certain death waiting below.

You might call it rose tinted glasses. Tinted with the tears of blood I have been crying lately.

Or you could just take it in the spirit it’s intended and, for a few minutes at least, look on the bright side.

  • Some of our team members are playing badly, but they are not bad players. At the start of the season a centre back three of Vermaelen, Koscielny and Mertesacker seemed like a match for anybody. The first two are having a real dip in form, but their best form will return.
  • Jack Wilshere is only at 70% of his powers. After 17 months off through injury and surrounded by new faces in the team, it will take time for him to regain his peak but when he does our team will contain the best English player and, possibly, the best player in England.
  • We are having our worst start to a season for 20 years… but we are still only one point behind the Spuds.
  • If we do end up in a scrap for fourth place, at least two of our potential rivals are struggling (Liverpool and Newcastle), the Spuds are as inconsistent as ever and only Everton look like a serious threat. But Everton traditionally struggle to maintain form across a whole season.
  • It’s just over six weeks to the transfer window and we know that Arsene loves a little January flutter once in a while.

  • Olivier Giroud is proving to be something we have not had for a very long time: a tireless, powerful, skillful centre forward. His goals will keep coming and I can see him becoming a crowd favourite. People have been asking “is Giroud good enough for Arsenal?” I would say the correct question right now is “are Arsenal good enough for Giroud?”
  • Arsene Wenger, time and again, has shown himself capable of getting himself and his team out of a hole. At the start of last season we had fallen into a pit as dark, deep and smell as John Terry’s soul, but still we hauled our way out of it and ended up finishing third. At the moment we the fans are as adrift as the team, but a few good results can change everything.
  • We entertain the Teetering Horseparts next weekend and they are often eager to help kick start our season. A good win over the forces of darkness and there will be smiles all over N5.
  • The financial situation at Arsenal is looking a lot brighter: apparently the club has secretly invested in a black scarf manufacturer just off Drayton Park and the shekels are rolling in.

Right. I know that lots of you will want to have a moan about all things Arsenal today (nothing wrong with that), but how about this for an idea: before each comment containing criticism (of the club, of players, of the manager, of the coaching, of the fans), why not start with one positive or hopeful thought. One sliver of something positive that you can see in among the murk of despondency.

It might cheer you up. And it might cheer the rest of us up too.

RockyLives   

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