Posts filed under 'Match Reports'
February 28th, 2014
I’ve been away…
…in Amsterdam. Working. No, not like that. I did manage to catch all our games while I was there, but given the demands of the job I was doing the Liverpool, Bayern and Sunderland matches had to remain blogless. I’d apologise, but I know that in this day and age you’re spoilt for choice. I’m sure you all got your fix elsewhere.
The Yaya Sanogo thing…
…caught me somewhat off-guard. I was mildly surprised to see him start against Liverpool, and truly shocked that he played against Bayern. It’s clear his opportunity has come about primarily due to non-footballing issues. Giroud’s off-field misdemeanours are well-documented, while Nicklas Bendtner is finally beginning to be frozen out.
Having been thrown in at the deep-end, Sanogo did enough to stay afloat. However, to continue the swimming analogy, I’m not yet convinced he’s the next Ian Thorpe. Nor Eric The Eel. Basically, he’s quite good at swimming. And football.
The criticism of Mesut Ozil…
…was way over the top. Anyone can miss a penalty.
That said, some people are more likely to miss than others. I have to say, I would never choose Ozil as a penalty taker. He simply doesn’t have the requisite ruthlessness in front of goal. He’s now missed two out of two for Arsenal. I’d be surprised if we see him take another.
Nevertheless, you can read about my hopes for his return over at ESPN.
Arsenal were excellent against Sunderland…
…and Tomas Rosicky rightly took plenty of the plaudits. Some argue we look better with just one of Ozil or Santi Cazorla in the team. I’d suggest the truth is that we simply look better because Rosicky is invariably the replacement for either player. We’re better with the Little Mozart in the team. It’s just a shame he’s not ten years younger.
Stoke away doesn’t hold as much fear as it used to…
Given the fixture list we face, this is actually one of our easier games. Three points is a must.
Competition time…
As you’ll know, last weekend Dennis Bergkamp’s statue was unveiled outside the Emirates Stadium. Obviously I can’t start giving away full-size bronze replicas of the non-flying Dutchman. However, thanks to the guys at Canvasartrocks.com, we have got one of these excellent Canvas Prints to give away.
Winning one is pretty simple. All you need to do is Tweet the answer to the following question, including the hashtag #DB10canvas.
Q. Against which club did Dennis Bergkamp score his last Arsenal goal?
The winner will be chosen at random and announced in the weekend’s post-Stoke blog. If you don’t fancy your chances in the competition, you can buy this and many other Arsenal-themed canvases here – use the discount code ‘GUNNERBLOG’ to get yourself  10% off any purchase.
Good luck!
February 8th, 2014
Liverpool 5 – 1 Arsenal
My ESPN Report | Lowlights | Arsene’s reactionÂ
February 3rd, 2014
Arsenal were methodical rather than meek…
At half-time I saw a number of people on my Twitter timeline criticising Arsenal for an apparent lack of attacking ambition. On closer inspection, it transpired most of these people were neutrals.
Their disappointment was presumably based on ill-informed expectations. Tuning in to televised coverage of the game, they probably anticipated Arsenal producing an exhibition of attacking excellence. We retain a reputation for extravagant football, just as we retain a reputation as bottlers. This season, it could be argued that both are unjustified. The fans who watch regularly will recognise that this team is evolving a different character: one far steelier, and devastatingly efficient.
Arsene Wenger remarked recently that while Mesut Ozil’s style is not always the most eye-catching, he wears opponents down due to the sheer consistency of his passing. The same analysis could be applied to the team as a whole.
Crystal Palace under Tony Pulis are a highly-organised unit. They are notoriously difficult to break down. Arsenal showed great patience to break down their opponent. It’s also worth pointing out that we put one more goal past them than the vaunted Manchester City.
I couldn’t care less if neutrals are entertained. We’re winning. That’s all I’m bothered about.
Ox t-shirts on sale now
Oxlade-Chamberlain in midfield reminds of Ross Barkleyɉ۬
He has the same entrancing combination of power and technique. As his second goal demonstrates, he is able to burst past defenders at will, and has the shooting power to finish things off too.
Comparisons with Theo Walcott have always been somewhat lazy. Chamberlain doesn’t share Walcott’s blistering pace or his probing movement off the ball. However, he does possess an impressive range of passing and a genuinely creative streak. As Wenger has long stressed, the middle is his natural home.
Like Barkley, Ox needs to improve his stamina and defensive play if he’s to become a true box-to-box midfielder. Given time, he’ll do it. In Aaron Ramsey’s continued absence, Oxlade-Chamberlain is arguably the closest replicant of the Welshman’s all-action style.
The defence deserve enormous creditɉ۬
Arsenal have conceded one goal in their last 11 matches at the Emirates Stadium. It’s stunning stuff. Yesterday, Mertesacker and Koscielny were simply imperious. At one point they could even afford to play a spot of head tennis in their own half.
It’d be remiss not to mention the Kallstrom deal…
This is my first opportunity to talk about it on the blog, and I have to say it continues to puzzle me. Seemingly the only reason we were after a midfielder was to cope with the short-term absence of Aaron Ramsey and Mathieu Flamini. However, we have signed a player who is not available for the period those two are set to miss.
Arsene has stressed that the club were not aware of Kallstrom’s injury until 5pm on Deadline Day. By then, it was “too late†to find an alternative. The choice, according to Le Boss, was to sign Kallstrom or no-one. In those circumstances, concluding the deal was probably the right option. However, should it have come to that? Could there not have been a back-up for Kallstrom?
Arsenal really needed a striker in this window, yet Arsene insisted there was no-one of the “super quality†required available. I’m not convinced we necessarily needed a midfielder, and yet he brought in one of dubious calibre who is injured.
It’s a funny one. But he’s proved me wrong before. I, like many, has my doubts about the acquisition of Mathieu Flamini. I’d love to be similarly wrong again.
January 27th, 2014
Southampton 2 – 2 Arsenal
Match report | Highlights | Arsene’s reaction
You can’t win ‘em all…

In the heat of a closely-fought title race, it’s easy to forget that you simply can’t win every game. In isolation, a draw at Southampton is not a bad result. However, I suspect the Arsenal fans’ disappointment with the outcome stems from a pre-emptive anxiety about the fixtures we face over the coming weeks. Although this was a tough tie, it’s relatively easy compared to the harrowing schedule that awaits.
There was plenty to admire about Southampton…
In the first half, they were excellent. I had sort of assumed they were something of a spent force this season. After a superb start they appeared to have burnt out. Perhaps the players were guilty of making the same assumption. Despite having had a day less to prepare for the game, they absolutely flew out the blocks. The Saints didn’t march in – they stormed in, and their way with out wives. Their superiority was perfectly captured by convincing manner in which Jay Rodriguez bullied Bacary Sagna throughout the 90 minutes – a rare sight indeed.
This was one of our worst performances this season…
Apart from a seven minute spell at the start of the second half, we were all over the place. The most worrying development was the return of a genuine sense of chaos in our play. On other occasions when we’ve dropped points this season, the machine has simply failed to function efficiently. Against Southampton, the machine went haywire. Nothing really seemed to work. Conceding a goal immediately after taking the lead is particularly concerning: that sort of sloppiness is unlike the Arsenal defence we’ve come to appreciate in 2013/14.
We missed a “box-to-box midfielder 
The midfield looked horribly disjointed. Aaron Ramsey, Tomas Rosicky and Jack Wilshere were all out injured, so Arsene Wenger was forced to field Mikel Arteta and Mathieu Flamini behind Mesut Ozil. The gap between the defensive midfielders and the playmaker was enormous, and Southampton were able to exploit the space between at will. With Ozil playing high up, close to Giroud, there was no obvious link between the midfield and the attack. It wasn’t pretty.
Ramsey’s injury set-back is a big blow…
It seems the Welshman is set to miss the next four to six weeks, having aggravated his thigh injury. Obviously his dynamism in the middle of the park will be a big miss, but the main reason I was so keen to have him back was his goal contribution. With Walcott out, I hoped Ramsey could take up the strain. Santi Cazorla and Olivier Giroud are both quietly racking up the goals, but with Arsene Wenger patently unwilling to use Lukas Podolski I wonder how many genuine goal threats our first XI offers. Mesut Ozil’s last goal certainly feels like a long time ago.
Transfers: Just when I thought I was out…
…Arsene has dragged me back in. Speaking to Sky Sports News after the game, he seemed relatively optimistic about the prospect of a new acquisition before Friday’s deadline. I can only think that the injury to Ramsey has forced his hand. For a few weeks now, he’s been saying that “unless we have another injury†we have no major need. That injury, unfortunately, has arrived. Time to push the Draxler button?
Further Reading: ESPN | Bleacher Report
January 25th, 2014
Arsenal 4 – 0 Coventry
Match report | Highlights
This was our biggest win of the season…
…although the scoreline was arguably somewhat flattering. After romping in to a two-goal lead, Arsenal took their foot off the gas and instead applied the dreaded handbrake. On a side note, it’s vaguely amusing that a handbreak is something designed for security, but in Arsenal terminology has transmogrified in to something perilous.
Anyhow. Had Coventry’s Leon Clarke been in better form, the underdogs may even have grabbed a couple of goals. As it was, they failed to take their opportunities, and tired late on.
That’s what a midfield without Arteta & Flamini looks like…
Arsene fielded a very attack-minded central midfield of Jack Wilshere alongside Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. Although both players impressed in possession, without the ball they struggled. In the second half, Coventry regularly isolated and outmanoeuvred our full-backs. The work that Arteta and particularly Flamini do in wide areas is often overlooked and utterly vital.
It’s hard to argue with Podolski’s numbers…
He now has more goals than starts in 2013/14. He’s comfortably the best finisher in the Arsenal squad. In the light of his brace, it’ll be fascinating to see whether or not he gets the nod to start against Southampton on Tuesday. He couldn’t really have done much more to demonstrate his ability against Coventry. If he doesn’t start, it suggests that nothing Podolski can produce on the pitch will alleviate Wenger’s patent unwillingness to field him from the start.
We were more German than ever….
When Gedion Zelalem came on for his first-team debut, Arsenal had five Germans on the pitch. On the same night, Bayern Munich played in the Bundesliga. They ended their game with just four.
Further reading: Globe-trotting Gedion Zelalem looks at home at Arsenal – ESPN
However, I don’t think Draxler is coming…
Sorry to disappoint, but I don’t see this deal happening in the January window. A lot of amateur body language experts have come out of the woodwork to analyse Arsene’s various smirks and batting eyelashes, but I don’t think there’s anything in there to suggest we’re on the verge of a swoop for the prodigiously-talented Draxler.
I think the player would very much like to come. A lot of the noise this week seems to have emanated from his camp. However, the more certain Arsenal are of the player’s commitment the less likely they are to play his steep release clause. Arsenal will do the deal when they can get it cheapest.
There’s another reason for my doubts. Earlier in January, the club were actively considering a bid for a wide player. That search was accelerated when Theo Walcott was ruled out for the rest of the season. However, since then, agents who had previously being tasked with identifying potential recruits are now being fed the same “we have 17 wingers” line that Wenger trotted out in his post-Coventry press conference. That is the new company line – inspired, one might imagine, by the swift development of Serge Gnabry.
“Ah”, you say, “but what if he sees Draxler as a striker?” Wenger may well have a long-term plan to develop Draxler in to a striker, but is the middle of a title challenge really the best time to embark upon that sort of experiment? As much as I’d like us to sign the player, I suspect not.
Of course, it’s entirely possible that the reason Wenger has privately called off the hunt for a wide attacker is that he’s already found the one he wants: Draxler. However, looking in to his eyes on Friday night, I didn’t sense the same anticipatory glee I saw prior to the Ozil signing.
I think Arsene would still like to sign a striker, ideally on loan. Whether or not that will be possible in what’s left of the window remains to be seen. It looks unlikely.
I’d like to be wrong. I’d love Wenger to go out and make a signing in this window. I have a horrible, nagging suspicion that if we don’t, we may be left wondering “what if” come May. We’re in a phenomenal position, and I can’t fathom why we’d choose to leave anything to chance.
The FA Cup Draw…
I’ve come to accept that any home draw is essentially a good draw. We’ve been handed three in succession, so can’t really complain. Manchester City facing off against Chelsea is also fantastic for our chances. The FA Cup certainly represents our most direct route to silverware this season. It’s tantalising to imagine that we are just two wins from Wembley, and four wins from a trophy. Admittedly, the draw does leave us with a pretty daunting schedule over the next two months. However, as a United-supporting friend said to me in the light of the draw: “Better to be scared than bored”.
Further reading: Why February Could Be Make or Break for Arsenal’s Season – Bleacher Report
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