Schalke 2 – 2 Arsenal: Decent result; Disappointing circumstances

130 comments November 7th, 2012

Schalke 2 – 2 Arsenal (Walcott 18, Giroud 26, Huntelaar 45, Farfan 67)
Match Report| Highlights | Arsene’s reaction 

We would all have taken a draw beforehand…
On paper, it’s a creditable result.  However, losing a 2-0 lead is never a good thing, and the best sides tend to maintain that kind of advantage.

I’m not sure it’s a game we would have deserved to win…
If Theo Walcott had snatched a late winner, it would have been mightily harsh on Schalke.  Our opening two-goal salvo was hugely against the run of play, and whilst it understandable knocked the wind out of the German sails, they dominated for large periods of the game.

Theo got Giroud out of jail on the first goal…
Put clear on goal, the Frenchman should have scored.  Fortunately, when he trundled in to the keeper, Walcott was on hand to pick up the pieces and tap the ball in to an empty net – yet another example that he doesn’t need to play through the middle to score a ‘striker’s goal’.  It was telling that when the Frenchman did find the net just a few minutes later, it was with an instinctive headed finish – one that didn’t give him time to think.  He owes a lot to another fantastic cross from Lukas Podolski.

Vermaelen at left-back was the right call…
Koscielny looked more comfortable at centre-back than he has for most of the season, and Vermaelen was steady if a little positionally naive at full-back.  He has helped by an injury to Schalke’s marauding full-back Uchida, who looked a major threat in the opening period of the game.  On first viewing it appeared he might have been at fault for the equalising goal; in fact it was Podolski who ought to have followed Farfan to the far post.

Blaming the referee is a little bit rich…
Whilst there were a couple of decisions that plainly went against us, we were also lucky beneficiaries of the officiating on a couple of occasions.  There are plenty of referees who would’ve given a penalty for the (albeit accidental) handball by Per Mertesacker, and by my understanding of the increasingly laughable offside rule Olivier Giroud should have been flagged on the first goal.

The green shoots of recovery were there…
Arsenal scored a couple of half-decent goals and briefly looked like their confidence had been restored to them.  Had they managed to make it to half-time at 2-0, I suspect it might have been a rather different game.  As it was, Huntelaar got the crucial goal and Schalke attacked the second half with real vigour and ultimately outplayed us.  Even so, in the 20 minute period after Arsenal went ahead, I saw enough to remind me of why people were talking about this team in such positive terms at the start of the season.  Now we just need to see that across the 90.

 

Arsenal 0 – 2 Schalke: More of the same

700 comments October 25th, 2012

This would have been a difficult game even if we were in good form
As it was, off the back of that dire display against Norwich, I fancied Schalke from the off. The German side have some very good players, and came in to the game off the back of a morale-boosting victory over Dortmund: a side good enough to beat Real Madrid last night.

I make that 180 mins without creating a decent chance
Last night, our first shot on target came in the 93rd minute courtesy of 17-year old substitute Serge Gnabry. By my count, that makes for one shot on target mustered in each of the last two games, neither of which you would even stretch to calling a ‘half-chance’. The defensive frailties are nothing new, but this lack of attacking threat is unfamiliar and alarming. The last time I can remember an Arsenal side looking this impotent was just before the January transfer window in which Arsene pulled his finger out to sign Andrey Arshavin.

Andre Santos had a stinker.
If you head down to Hackney Marshes on a Sunday morning, you will occasionally catch sight of me taking to the field as a leaded-footed, positionally naive left-back. Alternatively, you could just watch reruns of Andre Santos’ performance last night, as he huffed, puffed, and struggled his way though a truly torrid 90 minutes. I was alarmed to see that he repeated his trick of standing several yards behind the defensive line, allowing Huntelaar to be played onside just as Grant Holt was on Saturday. In the first half, Per Mertesacker kept us in it, but eventually the weaknesses of those around him were exposed.

I don’t see the sense in dropping Giroud.
I know he hasn’t set the world alight, but I really don’t think there’s any point in persisting with Gervinho as a lone striker. Last nights horror show showed that ‘Goalvinho’ is not a viable long-term option. Why not play Giroud and at least allow himself a chance bed in? Rotating him in and out of the side simply harms his confidence, and right now we haven’t got a better option than the Frenchman.

Gervinho is not consistent enough to play for Arsenal
Every so often he will do something fantastic. More often than not, he will run in to blind alleys, away from his team-mates, and give the ball away. Gervinho is a maverick. He is not capable of cohesive team play. His head goes down, and one has the impression that he himself barely knows what he is going to do with the play. Players like him have their place in the game, but it is generally in mid-table. Sides who see little of the game, and require a game-breaker to do the unexpected. Arsenal are an intelligent, possession side. That is not Gervinho’s game.

Arsenal desperately need to sign a striker.
See previous two points. I’m not sure this requires much expansion. In a world in which Demba Ba is available for just £7m, there is no excuse for Arsene not bringing in a reliable front man in January.

The AGM will be a feisty affair.
Already last night there were chants of “6%; you’re having a laugh” and “Ivan Gazidis: What do you do?” (albeit with inferior punctuation). One can understand why, especially when you face the unavoidable question: Did we really sell Robin van Persie to play Gervinho up front? I don’t think it’s all bad. There were signs just a few weeks ago that this squad has plenty of ability. Arsenal don’t have the familiar excuse of inexperience to trot out; this is a mature side that should know better. Get back to where we were on Saturday and the picture won’t look quite so ugly.


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