After his thumping free-kick against Aston Villa, Arsene Wenger revealed the secret behind Mikel Arteta’s shooting: his unusually small feet.  Well, rarely can such pies pequeños have been responsible for sending such reverberations through the Premier League.  Arteta’s 87th minute strike has not only continued our propulsion towards Champions League qualification, but also seems to have handed the title to Manchester United.
On the evidence of yesterday, City do not deserve to be Champions. Â They played without fight, without passion, and with plenty of fear. Â When the game was poised at 0-0, they looked more scared to fail than eager to triumph. Â It was a curious twist of fate that this crucial defeat for them came against a side whose mental toughness has often been openly questioned. Â Anyone watching this game would be forced to conclude that it is City, not Arsenal, who have the flaky psychology.
As for Arsenal, the victory was fully deserved. Â Arteta and Song were the foundation of the victory – after City lost Yaya Toure to injury, they were unable to cope with the tenacity and technique of our midfield pair. Â Ahead of them, Tomas Rosicky buzzed around effectively, whilst Robin van Persie seems to be regaining sharpness – only the post and, comically, his own man denied him a brace.
We waited a long time for the goal, but in the end justice was done. Â There was justice also for Mario Balotelli, sent off for a second bookable offence after the referee somehow failed to notice his potentially career-ending lunge at Alex Song in the first half. Â Balotelli is a curious case: the press are loathe to condemn him because they love the soap opera. Â Why, though, Â has Mancini been so loathe to condemn him? Â It can only be because he shows ability on the training ground that makes the circus seem worthwhile. Â However, he’s never shown anything like that form on the pitch, so I’m not unsurprised his manager’s patience is wearing thin.
Arsenal now look ahead to a clash with relegation-battling Wolves. Â I say ‘battling’ – they haven’t shown too much fight in recent weeks, and look doomed. Â That said, it wouldn’t remotely surprise me to see them raise their game for our visit. Â Every match between now and the end of the season is a big one, and after losing at QPR hopefully the team have learnt that allowing concentration to drop in this league will almost always result in painful punishment.
I’m actually typing this from holiday in Mallorca, so am going to scoot off back in to the sun now. Â Happy Easter everyone.
Arsenal are finally sharing the goals around…
Although Robin van Persie did grab his expected goal, he was joined by three other less familiar names on the scoresheet. Gervinho, Arteta and Vermaelen are all players capable of lessening the burden on the Dutchman, and it’s fantastic to see them finally beginning to do so. One only wishes that Park and Chamakh were capable of doing the same.
Thomas Vermaelen has a poacher’s instinct…
It’s remarkable that one of the players we’re looking at to take up some of the goalscoring burden is a centre-back. But then, Thomas Vermaelen is a remarkable footballer. Over his entire Arsenal career to date, he has a strike rate of almost a goal every four games. One need only see that when Arteta’s long-range strike hits the net, it is the Belgian who is following up in case of any rebound. The man simply loves a goal. As Arsene commented after the game, “I still don’t know if he came to replace Toure or Adebayor”.
Gervinho’s goal was much more than a tap-in…
Admittedly, it was a simply finish – and one which the erratic Ivorian almost miscued – but in some respects this was a spectacular goal. Excluding Ali Al-Habsi’s parry on Robin van Persie’s shot, this was a move that included a mammoth 33 passes. Take a look:
Admittedly, Wigan’s defending is poor, but our use of the ball is as good here as it has been all season. Promising indeed.
Theo Walcott is becoming a true team player…
His unselfish square for Van Persie spoke volumes, as did his obvious delight at getting an assist. Walcott’s good form has been one of the highlights of our season thus far, and one only hopes he and Van Persie can remain fit enough for their fruitful relationship to continue. Walcott has now assisted 11 goals for RVP – that’s as many as Dennis Bergkamp provided for Thierry Henry in their entire time at Arsenal.
Szczesny is part of a new core…
I expect by now you’ll have seen the clips of Wojciech Szczesny singing Arsenal songs at the top of his voice in the aftermath of Saturday’s game. His love for the club is palpable, and along with the likes of Vermaelen, Wilshere, and Frimpong, he is helping to forge a new spirit in the squad. These players seem to take genuine pride in representing Arsenal, as the treatment dished out by Frimpong towards deserter Samir Nasri shows. It’s heartwarming stuff, but there’s a serious side to it too – it’s a sign of the kind of spirit you find at many trophy-winning teams.
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Arsenal fly to Greece later today for their dead rubber tie with Olympiacos. I won’t be able to watch the game live, but I’ll hopefully provide some thoughts once I’ve caught up on Sky+.
The most immediate way in which to convey the ease with which Arsenal dispatched West Brom in this game is to the tell you that, in the second half, the man sat next to me began doing his Sudoku. Furthermore, from the looks of thing, he had a good deal more trouble solving his logical based, combinatorial number-placement puzzle than Arsenal did in unpicking a W.B.A. side in abject form.
Arsenal started with a very strong team, reintroducing Robin van Persie at the expense of Park Chu-Young. Expecting the pacy Odemwingie to start, Arsene opted for Koscienly and Vermaelen at the back, with Per Mertesacker afforded a rare rest. As it happened, Odemwingie was nowhere to be seen – and neither was any real attacking threat from Roy Hodgson’s side.
When we took the lead, it was no surprise Aaron Ramsey was the heart of it. I was quite critical of him in the early part of the season, but he seems to have found his rhythm and an eye-catching, defence-splitting pass released Theo Walcott on the right. When his shot was saved by Ben Foster, it fell kindly to Robin van Persie to tuck home his 13th goal of the season, and eighth in his last four league games.
Before half-time we had doubled the lead. Again, Robin van Persie was at the heart of it. When he cut the ball back from the byline, it evaded Gervinho and Thomas Vermaelen, on one of his many forays forward, arrived to fire home. The goal was just desserts for an excellent performance from the Belgian. His urgency and willingness to get tight and win the ball early enables us to get it back quicker. The fact he’s then able to stride forward and help take part in the attack is an added bonus.
In the first half, we had 71% of possession. West Brom, conversely, had not yet managed a shot. Vermaelen was a more potent attacking threat than anyone in the Baggies’ line-up. The second half was similarly one-sided, though probably less eventful – hence the introduction of a Japanese puzzle-game by my disgruntled neighbour. Vermaelen and Van Persie both had chances to extend their tallies, with the Belgian heading just wide and RVP firing over from Walcott’s cut-back.
A series of substitutions saw Arsenal’s style change – the pace and power of Ramsey, Walcott, and Gervinho was replaced by the tippy-tappy technicians: Rosicky, Benayoun and Arshavin. It was again Van Persie who made the biggest contribution to the build-up, turning in midfield, playing a one two with Rosicky, charging in to the area and laying the ball off for Mikel Arteta to sidefoot home from the edge of the area. The Spaniard’s goal capped an impressive display – some have been a little underwhelmed by his start at Arsenal, but it’s clear to me that he’s deliberately playing a more cautious, defensive game than he’d like. Hopefully as we become more secure, he’ll be able to get forward more and express himself – the composed finish showed that he certainly has plenty still to offer.
Arsenal eased off in the remaining minutes, but crucially did manage to keep a second consecutive clean-sheet – an important achievement after the defensive horror show at Stamford Bridge. Andre Santos had the expected heart-in-mouth moments, but was still good on the ball. In the first half alone, this guy produced two 360 degree pirouettes. That’s my kind of defender. On the other flank, Carl Jenkinson looked a million miles away from the player so cruelly exposed at Old Trafford. His response has been emphatic and impressive, and he’s clearly by far the best crosser of the ball at the club.
This victory avenged the 3-2 defeat in the same fixture last year, and moved us level on points with Liverpool – a team some pundits probably thought would have disappeared over our horizons by now. We’ve got a couple of weeks off now. Keep saying those prayers and let’s hope everyone returns from international duty in good health.
Arsene Wenger has signed bigger names. He’s spent more money on a player, and he’s worked far longer on some deals. But rarely has a signing been set to have such a major impact on Arsenal’s season as that of Mikel Arteta.
Typically, Arsene likes his signings to be supplements to a settled squad. They can bed in over a prolonged period, slowly augmenting the existing set-up. In the case of Arteta, there’s no time for such luxuries. He’ll have to hit the ground running – and passing, and tackling, and scoring.
In the past month or so, Arsenal have lost both Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri. The injury to Jack Wilshere has made for a hatrick blow: we have lost arguably our three most creative players. Replacing them was never going to be easy. Cesc is a once-in-a-generation talent: we can’t buy another Fabregas off the shelf.  Nevertheless, some fans were desperate to see a marquee signing. Realistically, that could only have been a player from abroad: a Juan Mata or a Mario Goetze. Talented though those players undoubtedly are, they’d be unknown quantities. It’s impossible to say how they’d adapt to the English game. Furthermore, they’re in the same age bracket as the likes of Song, Wilshere and Ramsey. With Cesc gone, these players needed someone they could look up to. Mikel Arteta is that man.
Like all of our deadline day signings, it was a deal that was both a long time in coming and a short time in happening. A long time in coming because Arsene has been aware of Arteta for a good while now. How could he not be? At Everton, he’s been right under our noses, pulling the strings for a Premier League team for the best part of a decade. Since signing, Arteta has hinted that Everton denied him the opportunity to move last year – possibly to Arsenal. However, official interest this summer was only lodged in the form of an enquiry shortly before the fateful weekend that saw us hammered 8-2 by Manchester United. In the aftermath of that match, Arsene was asked by a clearly well-informed reporter whether there was any interest in Arteta. He said “No”, and then allowed this smile to crawl across his lips. The writing was on the wall.
It’s not clear if he was first-choice, but when it came to the crunch a combination of factors (the heavy defeat at Old Trafford; Everton’s poverty; our need for experience) combined to see Arteta arrive at Arsenal.
Reaction amidst Everton fans has been mixed. The blog RoyalBlueMersey suggest the club have done well to get £10m for a player who has struggled with injuries:
“For the past two to three years Arteta has been way below the standard we have come to expect from him. And no, we aren’t expecting too much. If we want to press on then people like Arteta have to perform at their best on a consistent basis. Â Arteta hasn’t. Â He doesn’t shoot often enough, his passes are sideways, his crosses don’t beat the first defender and his free kicks hit the wall.”
He may have a point. Lasts season, Arteta’s form was as patchy as his fitness. But for a more balanced assessment of the player – one not lacquered in the bitterness caused by his departure – I urge you to read this piece from Everton blog School of Science. Their appreciation of the player is evident:
“Mikel Arteta, thank you. Thank you for the last 6 1/2 years. Thank you for playing football in a way that this club was once renowned for, thank you for honouring the style, substance and character of some of the great men who have gone before you, and thank you for being a true gentleman and the ultimate role-model during your time at Everton Football Club.
Thank you for making it a pleasure to watch you. For the free-kicks, the little turns, the touch, the guile, the craft, quality and sheer excellence of more or less every touch. Thanks for being a shining light of real football through the last 9 years of bland efficiency.”
We’ve witnessed his class at a distance, and now we’ll get to witness it up close in a team far more suited to his style than Everton’s rugged game. Is he as good a player as Cesc Fabregas? Probably not. Is he better than what we had a week ago? Certainly. He has what Ramsey lacks in guile, what Song lacks in finesse, and what Rosicky lacks in cutting edge. He’s a great role model for Wilshere and others. And, despite being 29, he could yet improve. Old Trafford last weekend provided a perfect showcase of the step up Ashley Young has made now he’s surrounded by better players. Arteta is more than capable of doing the same, inspired by the bright lights of the Emirates and Champions League football.
Arteta’s last act at Everton was to take a stoppage-time penalty. At stake were three points for a beleaguered club. Everton’s usual taker, Leighton Baines, handed the ball to Arteta, grasped his head in his hands, and whispered a few crucial words in to the Spaniard’s ear. One can only imagine he was urging the midfielder to leave the club and the fans the parting gift of a goal.
That’s pressure. That’s where a player has to draw upon experience, nerve, skill and character.  Arteta duly stepped up, and scored. And that’s just why Arsenal need him.
I have to say, what excited me most about the signing of Mikel Arteta was the possibility of once more seeing an intelligent, technical midfielder alongside the prodigious Jack Wilshere. It seems I will be waiting some time. Yesterday, Jack took to Twitter to confirm he’ll miss at least two, possibly three months with this mysterious ankle problem.
To put that in context, that’ll be more than a third of the season and is in danger of becoming half. Also, that recovery schedule assumes no set-backs, which considering our injury record seems more than a little unlikely. It explains why Arsene was so keen to pursue Arteta alongside other reported midfield targets like Rennes’ Yann M’Vila. The Spaniard has now joined up for training at London Colney, and is already making a good impression – it’s good news, as he’ll need to hit the ground running. Sprinting, even.
Arsenal may find themselves still reliant on Tomas Rosicky, who helped create an equaliser for the Czech Republic this weekend with an outstanding slide-rule pass. He’s not everyone’s cup of tea, and I doubt he’ll ever be the player he might have been, but he does work hard and keep the ball moving. If he could add some goals to his game he would remain an important squad member.
Considering the injuries and departures elsewhere in the squad, it’s increasingly unfortunate Gervinho managed to get himself suspended for three league games. Arsene has spoken in his press conferences about how quickly the winger has settled and how he’s showing real confidence in training, and yet so far we’ve only seen glimpses. He was on the scoresheet for Ivory Coast at the weekend, which will have helped keep his form and fitness up. Swansea on Saturday will be the final match of his ban, and after that I expect him to become a regular name on the team-sheet.
Right. That really is all that’s going on at the moment. There’s another round of internationals tomorrow night – let’s hope our players come through unscathed and we can begin looking forward to a few debuts on Saturday…
