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Man Utd 2 – 1 Arsenal: Why Fergie is like Captain Hook

396 comments November 5th, 2012

The scoreline was entirely misleading…
If you missed the game and saw only the score, you might think that this was a close affair.  In fact, as an Arsenal supporter, you’d most probably be quietly relieved at the small disparity between the two teams – it’s a hell of an improvement upon 8-2, for one thing.  In reality, however, the gulf looked as wide as it ever has.  United missed a penalty and mustered a further seven shots on target.  Arsenal managed just three, all of which came during stoppage time at the end of a dead rubber of a second half.

There was a poignant sadness about Fergie…
Although Alex Ferguson was quick to state that his side “should have scored fix or six or maybe even more”, he didn’t seem to take too much pleasure in it.  In an interview with the BBC, he added:

“It was a strange game, nothing like the Arsenal – United games of the past.  It didn’t live up to his billing.”

He was disappointed.   Not just at his own side’s lack of efficiency, but at the sheer lack of competition.  Fergie loves a fight, and Arsenal simply didn’t give him one.

I don’t know if you’ve ever seen the film Hook, but it is one of Hollywood’s great cinematic masterpieces.  It features an astonishing turn from Dustin Hoffman as Captain Hook.  He kidnaps the grown-up Peter Pan’s children, and uses them as bait to lure Pan to NeverNeverLand for one great last duel.   However, when Pan does show up, Hook realises he is now just a fat, flabby, middle-aged man.  He’s no longer the great warrior Hook loved to do battle with.  The war is over, and the eternally combative Hook is devastated.  That’s how Fergie looked in the post-game press conference: no smug self-satisfaction; just genuinely gutted that we can longer proffer a credible challenge.

In the film, encouraged by the Lost Boys and a preposterously named vagrant called ‘Rufio’, Pan rediscovers his former glories, learns to fly, fight and crow once more, and returns for one final titanic clash.  At the moment Arsenal look a long way from such a resurrection.  And Rufio is dead, so that’s out the window.

Not everything is Ivan Gazidis’ fault…
Last season Arsene Wenger took a lot of flak from supporters.  This season it seems to be Gazidis’ turn.  I do have a degree of understanding with some fans’ frustration at what they perceive as the poor running of the club.  But here’s the thing: an almost identical XI performed far better at the City of Manchester Stadium, in a game which finished 1-1 but in which Arsenal really ought to have won by a goal or two.  City and United are about as good as each other.  The disparity between those two Arsenal performances is nothing to do with Ivan Gazidis, and the responsibility for the downturn in form must be laid squarely at the door of the manager and the players.

Theo Walcott was never likely to start…
There are three reasons.  The first is that is contract situation has undoubtedly seen him slip down the pecking order.  The second is that he played 120 minutes in midweek.  The third is that Arsene was always likely to pick Aaron Ramsey on the right in the hope of replicating the aforementioned City performance.  Of those reasons, I genuinely believe that on this occasion the second and third were more influential than the first.  In future, however, I hope Arsene doesn’t cut off his nose to spite his face by leaving Theo out at a time when we plainly need him.

Thomas Vermaelen does not look like captain material…
When Robin van Persie took on the armband, he seemed to grow as a man and a player.  Since Thomas Vermaelen inherited it, he has shrivelled like a slug in a Bloody Mary.  His mistake for the opening goal was absolutely criminal, and it was an error which compounded several weeks of poor form.  Perhaps it’s unfortunate timing that this dip in his performances has coincided with becoming skipper, or perhaps the broadened responsibility has led his own game to suffer.  Either way, he needs to improve quickly.  At the moment the armband is the one thing keeping him in the team.

Give Santos a break…
You don’t have to know him to see that Andre Santos is a nice guy.  He’s always got a smile on his face, is clearly popular with the squad, and is basically a cheeky cuddly good sort of bloke.  Now, I will grant you this: he’s a bit slow, a bit positionally naive, and probably not good enough to be a long-term option for Arsenal at left-back.  He had a very poor game against QPR and quite a poor one against United.  And yes, he swapped shirts with Robin van Persie at half-time.  But none of that is enough to justify the abuse this guy is getting from his own ‘fans’ on twitter.

You may not know this, but pros swap shirts at half-time all the time.  It’s a regular thing.  It usually happens in the tunnel, rather than on the pitch, but it’s no biggie.  Especially between friends, and that’s what these players are.  Just like you might be friends with your former colleagues.  You all saw Van Persie hugging Arsene at half-time, just minutes after scoring the goal that separated the teams at that point, and yet Arsene seems to have escaped censure.

Santos is the latest in a long-line of scape goats.  The likes of Bendtner, Eboue and Arshavin have all been down that path before him, and it doesn’t end well.  Personally, I think it stinks, and I hate what I see a section of the fanbase dishing out to a guy who is still our player.  Get a grip, people.

We’re going backwards fast…
That’s the truth.  I’m not worried about shirt-swapping or referee decisions or anything else: I’m worried about this team.  The decline in recent weeks has been alarming.  Leaving aside that anomalous League Cup game, the first team have lost three of the last four.  On Tuesday night we face an intimidating trip to Schalke, and we’re only a couple of weeks away from a massive North London Derby.

We need to stop the rot.  At the moment we have slim trophy hopes and bleating fans.  We’re dangerously close to turning in to Liverpool.

Liverpool 0 – 2 Arsenal: The signs are good

751 comments September 3rd, 2012

Match Report | Highlights | Arsene’s reaction

A victory built on solid foundations…
After two games, your perception of our results depended on whether your glass was half-full or half-empty. If it was half-empty, you were concerned about our lack of goals; half-full, and you were delighted to have kept two clean sheets. Three games in, we’ve broken our goalscoring duck, but remain yet to concede. It’s a great foundation on which to build, and credit is due not just to Steve Bould, Per Mertesacker and Thomas Vermaelen, but the entire team for a fantastic collective effort. To have achieved that record without Bacary Sagna, Laurent Koscielny, and (for the past two games) Wojciech Szczesny makes it all the more impressive. To put it in context, by this point last season we had scored the same number of goals, but conceded 10 goals. It is a dramatic improvement.

Two news boys got off the mark…
And both Lukas Podolski and Santi Cazorla were outstanding, picking up an assist each to go with their first Arsenal goals. Podolski combines predatory instincts with a phenomenal work-rate, whilst Cazorla is perpetual motion, and perpetual class. I haven’t seen many players who’ve made such an impression on the Premier League so early. At £12.6m, I’m convinced he will prove to be one of the buys of the season.

Olivier Giroud could do with a goal…
He snatched at a fantastic opportunity in the first half, and headed over when well-placed in the second. His movement is intelligent and the signs are good, but he could do with converting one sooner rather than later.

Abou Diaby was immense in central midfield…
His performance was a heart-warming reminder of his undoubted talent. He seemed to spin away from opposition midfielders at will, turning in to space and driving at defenders throughout the game. I’ve had to chuckle at the way pundits have fallen over themselves to praise his combination of power and technique, and label Abou as the ‘new Vieira’. These are the same comparisons people made over half a decade ago, when Diaby first arrived as a teenager from Auxerre. Still, I suppose I can forgive the Match of the Day posse for getting Diaby: prior to this season, he had not started a Premier League game in over a year.

Whilst it’s great that he played to his potential yesterday, it’s important that he goes on to show some consistency. It’s become a bit of a myth that the only obstacle between Diaby and greatness is injuries. This isn’t true: even when he’s been fit, he’s been prone to drift in and out of games, or inexplicably lose confidence and subsequently form. He needs to use the hunger from his time on the sidelines to drive him on to a good run of performances. Fingers crossed he and the rest of the squad return from the international break healthy.

Alex Who?
Alongside Diaby, Mikel Arteta was immaculate in the holding role. In fact, our central midfield display was so good that the discourse about our failure to replace Alex Song almost evaporated over the course of the ninety minutes. It is, as someone has observed before, a funny old game. Had we lost this match, with one-time transfer target Nuri Sahin impressing for Liverpool, the fanbase would be up in arms. As it is, Arteta and Diaby bossed it, Sahin was anonymous, Arsenal victorious, and Song forgotten. Add that to the news that Jack Wilshere could return inside a month, and our midfield suddenly looks much healthier. Perhaps Arsene does know after all.

Is the window really shut?
It was intriguing that both Andrey Arshavin and Marouane Chamakh were left out of the matchday squad. Although I expect both to stay, the windows in Russia and Turkey are still open for a few days. If a decent offer came in, could we resist? We’ll have to wait and see.

For your consideration: Thoughts on Cazorla, RVP, & Song

39 comments August 11th, 2012

Hello all. I write this from the Edinburgh festival, where I am making my way through a mostly fun but occasionally torturous month of work. I have been meaning to sit down and write this blog for some time. Finally, having pretended to be meeting a fictional family member by the name of ‘Gavin’, I have found the peace and quiet required to do so.

Let’s begin with the most exciting news of the past couple of weeks: the signing of Santi Cazorla. I was rather deliberate about not talking too much about the Spaniard’s potential signing. This was in part because I had no substantial information to add, but also because it all sounded a bit too good to be true. A Spanish international midfielder for just £12.6m? Surely not. Even now that the deal has gone through, I won’t really believe it until I see him run out in red and white.

It’s clear that Arsene has been a long-time admirer of the player, and now he’s got his man, twelve months later than originally intended. I’ve bored you before with my observation that Arsenal never signed a replacement for Cesc Fabregas last summer – the deeper deployment of Mikel Arteta made him more of a stand-in for the injured Wilshere. Now, in Cazorla, we have one: a playmaker with experience, class, and match-winning ability.

Most independent observers of last year’s La Liga will tell you that Cazorla was the best Spanish midfielder outside the top two. When I’ve watched him, the thing I’ve most been struck by is how genuinely two-footed he is: at first glance, it is almost impossible to tell whether he is right or left-footed. Inevitably, this makes him a dangerous prospect in the wide positions, as he can go both inside and out. However, I expect he will start his Arsenal career in a less familiar central role. Not only are we already well stocked in wide areas, but Tomas Rosicky is injured and will not be fit for the start of the season. Cazorla should be able to slot in beside Arteta and Song to form an impressive midfield triumvirate.

Whilst Malaga’s financial plight made the fee far from extortionate, it’s still a massive signing for Arsenal. When you add his arrival to that of Podolski and Giroud, it’s even bigger. So much so that fans seem far more relaxed than previously about the future of Robin van Persie.

There’s no doubt in my mind that the Dutchman intends to leave Arsenal this summer. The recent comments of Alex Ferguson convince me that he has probably arrived at some sort of provisional agreement with Manchester United too – they wouldn’t risk the embarrassment of going public with the bid if they thought there was a chance RVP would reject them.

From the outside it looks as if Arsenal are waiting for a bidding club to hit a trigger point – probably somewhere around the £20m mark. If that happens, Van Persie will go. If it doesn’t, he’ll stay and see out his contract. The latter option is feasible: I don’t think he’s the type to kick up and fuss and refuse to play if he doesn’t get what he wants. However, my gut instinct is still that he will be gone by August 31st. It might go all the way to the wire.

I made my peace with Van Persie’s probable exit a while ago, but I am a little worried about the reports of Barcelona’s interest in Alex Song. Whilst I admit he has flaws, I’m a big fan of the Cameroon midfielder, and unlike with Van Persie I cannot see an obvious replacement within the squad. Ironically, if Barca do get Song, they are likely to field him as a centre-back rather than a midfielder. Arsenal remain in a strong position: Song has three years remaining on his deal. However, We know that Barcelona like to do their business in the newspapers, and this one could get quite ugly.

For now, though, I’m not going to dwell on the negatives. We face FC Koln tomorrow afternoon, and it’ll be a first chance to see Podolski, Giroud and Cazorla in an Arsenal shirt. The new season is just around the corner, and there’s cause for optimism. I’ll have a report on the friendly for you on Monday.

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Malaysia conquered, it’s on to China – with Cazorla in tow?

42 comments July 25th, 2012

Arsenal’s pre-season campaign got underway in earnest yesterday as the squad took on a Malaysia XI in the first friendly of our Far East tour.  A relatively strong side started the game, captained by Thomas Vermaelen, and with a midfield featuring the stringy, unfamiliar figure of a fit Abou Diaby.  Andre Santos played in the front three.  I could not love that man any more.

The team, suffering from both the rustiness and the oppressive heat, actually went in at half-time 1-0 down after a cracking long-range strike from Azmi Muslim beat a stranded Vito Mannone.

The second half saw a raft of changes.  Alex Song took both the armband and control of the midfield, and it was his pass that set Nico Yennaris away to square for Thomas Eisfeld to tuck in a late equaliser.  There was even time for a winner, with Chuks Aneke’s deflected strike deceiving the keeper after a neat one-two with Ignasi Miquel.  Video highlights are available here.  The squad have now flown on to China, where they will play against Manchester City in a showpiece game on Saturday.

There’s very little to gleam from a game so early on in our preparation, but it must be a terrific experience for the likes of Eisfeld, Aneke and Miquel to be spending this time in and around the first-team.  Whilst we all clamour for signings, the emergence of young talent from within the squad is an important tradition of the club, and one we should look to preserve.  Speaking of young talent, I was particularly struck by the performance of Ryo Miyaichi yesterday.  The Japanese winger was a constant threat from the left flank, and looks to have matured significantly during his time at Bolton.

Whether Ryo stays at Arsenal this season or heads out on loan again will depend largely on who else arrives.  All the chat at the moment is about Spanish midfielder, Santi Cazorla.  It’s an interesting one.  Cazorla was one of two players (Juan Mata being the other) earmarked to replace Cesc Fabregas last summer.  In both instances, Arsenal were financially outmuscled.  Mata ended up across London at Chelsea, whilst Cazorla remained in Spain with moneybags Malaga.

However, in the intervening twelve months, the fountain of oil money that funded the Malaga revolution has seemingly dried up.  The likes of Cazorla, Ruud van Nistelrooy and, crucially, the Spanish taxman have all gone unpaid.  Understandably, the two-time European Championship winner wants out.

It’s hard to know just how real our reported interest is.  The player’s camp might be stoking the fire in order to force Malaga in to paying Cazorla the money he is owed.  Equally, Arsene might genuinely be moving to snare a quality player on the cheap.  I hope the latter is true: Cazorla would be a terrific signing, and add a much needed option in the central attacking midfield position as well as in wide areas.

Of course, half the time we have to be more worried about keeping the players we have, which is why it’s such terrific news that Laurent Koscielny has signed a new long-term contract.  His improvement last season was dramatic, and this is due reward.

Till next time.