Fourth place is everything now

Posted on February 19, 2012 by GilbertoSilver Posted in 2011-12 Season, FA Cup, Featured, Match Reports | 101 Guns

Shell-shocked Arsenal players after the defeat at Sunderland

Sunderland 2 – 0 Arsenal

Match Report | Highlights | Arsene’s reaction

It’s been a bad week for Arsenal fans. A crushing defeat in Milan, followed by a comprehensive loss at Sunderland, and the evaporation of any remaining hopes of bringing home silverware. Arsene clearly broke a mirror in 2005, and good behaviour has not granted him any time off fortune’s sentence: it will now be seven long years without a trophy.

Yesterday Arsenal were beaten on a ground where just one week earlier they had been victorious. The matchwinner on that occasion, Thierry Henry, was conspicuous by his absence, and a succession of defensive injuries stacked the odds against us. Nevertheless we were outrun, outfought, and occasionally outplayed by a fresher and patently more motivated Sunderland side.

There is no point masking our disappointment. The FA Cup represented our most realistic chance of glory this season, and the draw could certainly have been more cruel, but this is an Arsenal side showing early yet familiar symptoms of the annual end-of-season collapse. We have played ten games since January 1st, losing five. Injuries are mounting fast and belief is fading faster.

There were some fans declaring that yesterday marked the end of our season. They could not be more wrong. To be out of the cup is tremendous blow, but Arsenal still have their biggest prize to play for: fourth place.

I have never subscribed to Arsene’s view that a top four finish is equivalent to claiming silverware. It’s nonsense. There is no explosion of joy, no entry in the record books, no trophy. But it remains absolutely vital. As bad as things are, falling out of the top four would be disastrous. It’s not a prize – it’s a necessity.

I’m gutted about the defeats to Milan and Sunderland, but if I had to choose between going out of the cups or suffering two league defeats, I think I’d choose the former. To win the FA Cup would be fantastic, but I’m not sure it’d be enough to keep Robin van Persie, or attract major talent to augment (or indeed replace) him. Fourth place might.

I don’t see the point in discussing the future of Arsene Wenger now – whatever your opinion, everyone is surely unanimous in their agreement that, for better or worse, he will be here until the end of the season. If he and the club decide to part ways then, I’d far rather we were able to offer a new a manager a brief to rebuild with the economic support and talent-tempting allure that Champions League brings.

In the light of recent results, some supporters have declared that we have “no chance” of achieving a top four spot. They are, of course, wrong. Take a glance at the league table – we’re the present incumbents. Arsenal have been incredibly fortunate that in a year when we’ve spent much of the time in disarray, our closest rivals (Liverpool and Chelsea) have conspired to be similarly calamitous.

Our next three league games see us face Tottenham, Liverpool, and Newcastle. As painful as our experiences at Milan and Sunderland were, I’d happily accept those defeats if fate were able to trade them for nine points from those forthcoming fixtures.

If, however, we lose, to Spurs next week, all hell could break lose. The day before, Chelsea and Newcastle both have relatively easy home games, and defeat to our rivals could leave us in sixth place and coming off the back of three consecutive defeats.

There have been big London derbies before. For Arsene Wenger, there has never been one quite as big as this.

Thoughts on our Milan mauling

Posted on February 17, 2012 by GilbertoSilver Posted in 2011-12 Season, Champions League, Featured, Match Reports | 57 Guns

Kevin Prince Boateng opens the scoring in regal fashion

AC MILAN 4 – 0 ARSENAL

Match Report | Highlights | Arsene’s reaction

Arsenal have suffered a few significant defeats this season. There was the obvious example of the thrashing at Old Trafford, the collapse at Blackburn, and the capitulation in Greece. In all of those instances, there were mitigating circumstances: teams weakened due to transfer activity, injuries, or rotation. The reason the 4-0 defeat to Milan cuts particularly deep is that this is a game in which Arsenal were bereft of excuses. We had a strong side, a massive incentive, and we were hugely disappointing. Make no mistake about it: on Europe’s biggest stage, this was a humiliation.

When Milan were drawn out of the hat as our second round opponents, I think most Arsenal fans were quietly confident. In recent seasons they’ve gone out of the competition to both North London sides, and there is a general suspicion in England that Serie A is a league on the slide. Milan are perceived as an aging side who struggle to cope with the vibrancy of youth.

What we witnessed instead was one of Europe’s great names idly swatting away a feeble challenger. If ever evidence was required of Arsenal’s regression, on Wednesday night it was there in abundance. Almost exactly a year after beating Barcelona and the Emirates, we were dismantled by a Milan side that who are nowhere near the level of La Liga’s finest.

There were familiar mistakes, particularly in defence. Per Mertesacker’s absence was more crucial than many anticipated. All season long there has been clamour for a Vermaelen and Koscielny partnership at the back, but Milan exposed the problem with that pairing. Both players try to win the ball high up the pitch, meaning that any error leaves a terrifying amount of room in behind. On the night, Vermaelen put in a disastrous display, and Koscielny couldn’t do enough to recover the situation. When the Frenchman departed due to injury and was replaced by Johan Djourou, things went from bad to worse.

The mistakes made on each goal were clear. Wojciech Szczesny’s poor clearance allowed Milan to win the ball back and play in Boateng for the opener, whilst unusually lazy tracking from Bacary Sagna allowed Zlatan Ibrahimovic to skip the byline and cross for Robinho to nod home the second.

At half-time Thierry Henry was introduced for the anonymous Theo Walcott, and with him came the hope for a miracle. That hope soon evaporated, when a Vermaelen slip left Robinho plenty of time to fire home for the edge of the box. Whilst Zlatan Ibrahimovic clearly played for the penalty that sealed the victory, it was a clumsy challenge from Johan Djourou that made the Swede’s deception all the more easy.

Let’s make no bones about it: the tie is over. I’m not even going to discuss the possibility of 5-0 second leg victory; that game is now just about attempting to recover a modicum of pride.

Milan gave us a lesson. It’s hard to name a single Arsenal player who played ‘well’. Aside from our disastrous ‘defending’, I could not believe that in a game of this magnitude the men charged with being our creative hub were Tomas Rosicky and Aaron Ramsey. Both good men and fine players, but both some years off their peak, albeit in opposite directions.

The FA Cup is now our only chance of silverware – although that is a distant second to our primary aim of qualifying for the Champions League. The gap between us and Milan was vast. Even a single year spent out of Europe’s glamour competition will widen that chasm even further.

Finally, a quick note to say: Thankyou Thierry. The guy risked his legacy to help out the club he loves in their hour of need. And yet, he managed to enhance his legend. Take care, old friend.

Sunderland 1 – 2 Arsenal: Thierry’s Fabulous Fond Farewell

Posted on February 13, 2012 by GilbertoSilver Posted in 2011-12 Season, Featured, Match Reports, Premier League | 87 Guns

SUNDERLAND 1 – 2 ARSENAL

Match Report | Highlights | Arsene’s reaction

When I last filed an entry on this blog, Arsenal had just beaten at home by Manchester United, to the audible irritation of a mutinous crowd. It got worse. In the next game, an FA Cup Fourth Round tie at home to Aston Villa, Arsenal found themselves two nil down at half-time, and staring down the barrel of a fourth defeat in five games. Since then, there has been a remarkable upturn in our fortunes. An upturn which, I should add, has coincided with my enforced absence. Perhaps I should stay away.

First off, Arsenal fought back to beat Aston Villa 3-2, scoring a trio of second half goals inside eight minutes. Then a 0-0 draw at Bolton was followed up with a stunning 7-1 victory over Blackburn – a game memorable for the first Premier League goals from the emerging Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, and a stoppage time strike from Thierry Henry on what could be his final Emirates appearance.

It was not, however, to be the last contribution of Henry’s loan stint. On Saturday, in the final Premier League appearance of his farewell tour, the man who writes scripts with a swish of his right boot rather than a pen emerged from the bench. There was just half an hour to play in our game against in form Sunderland at the Stadium of Light. After Aaron Ramsey had clawed back an equaliser to James McClean’s opener, Henry’s expertly volleyed home a stoppage time winner to hand Arsenal a vital three points. 229 Arsenal goals and, with a game against AC Milan to come, still counting.

It was a massive result on a day which saw Chelsea, Liverpool and Newcastle all succumb to defeat. As things stand we’re currently in fourth place, which is invaluable considering that we are about to enter a period of fixtures that will almost certainly define our season. We return to Sunderland in the FA Cup and face Milan in Europe, whilst our next three league games see us come up against Tottenham, Liverpool, and Newcastle.

It looks like we’ll have to do without Per Mertesacker for that period, after the big German was stretchered off in the North East. He’s actually been a very consistent figure in the Arsenal side – of the outfield players, only Laurent Koscielny, Theo Walcott, and Robin van Persie have started more games this season. The one saving grace is that his injury comes at a time when we are able to welcome back Bacary Sagna and Kieran Gibbs on the flanks, giving Arsene a rare opportunity to pair Vermaelen and Koscielny in the middle.

Another player we’ll soon be welcoming back in to the fold is Gervinho, who is expected to return to London on Tuesday. His African Cup of Nations campaign ended in unceremonious fashion as he missed the crucial penalty in the shoot-out which saw underdogs Zambia take the title. The players lack of confidence in front of goal was underlined by the fact that, despite being an attacker, he was Ivory Coast’s ninth penalty taker, even refusing to take the eighth and sending defender Kolo Toure up instead. If you haven’t seen the penalty, it’s about as bad as you imagine it to be. Gervinho has undoubted qualities, but for a man whose tax return reads ‘footballer’, he is surprisingly bad at the actual ‘kicking the ball’ bit. Nevertheless, one has to feel sorry for any player who is the victim of a shootout, and let’s hope it doesn’t knock his confidence too much for the remaining period of the season.

It’s nice to be back and blogging again. It’s also nice to be able to write positive things. There’s nothing like a few decent results to ease any tension among the fanbase.

An exciting trip to Milan looms large, and Thierry will soon be back in the San Siro. Would you bet against one final magical moment?