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Southampton 1 – 1 Arsenal: Call for the Cavalry

1,211 comments January 1st, 2013

Southampton 1 – 1 Arsenal (Ramirez 35, Do Prado (og) 41)
Match Report | Highlights | Arsene’s reaction 

I’ll remember this match for the 74th minute.  With Arsenal searching for someone to make the difference and allow them to nick a single goal, and with it two further points, Arsene Wenger unveiled his back-up plan.  From the substitutes bench came the men tasked with rescuing the victory for Arsenal: Aaron Ramsey and Gervinho.

I don’t want to dissect the individual contribution of those two players.  I accept they’re both flawed in different ways.  I also accept that they seem like decent pros who give their all.  I’m not, despite the obvious temptation, setting out to slate two guys whose limitations are not their own fault.  However, the inference is clear: Arsenal do not have enough quality in the squad.

We can’t complain of injuries.  The only major absentee is Abou Diaby, and that is something of a given.  Bar the knack-prone Frenchman, this is an Arsenal squad at full strength.  And when it came to the crunch, once Olivier Giroud had been thrown on to add much needed shape to the forward line, we didn’t have a decent card left to play.  In replacing Chamberlain and Cazorla with the aforementioned pair of Ramsey and Gervinho, we were actually weakening our team.

It’s a problem that’s existed at Arsenal for a few seasons now: we have a strong first XI, but the players in reserve fail to match up.  The disparity between first-team and back-up increases over time: Arsene is reluctance to use his squad members, overplaying the likes of Arteta and Cazorla, whilst the men who come up short fall out of the reckoning entirely.  Their confidence drops, and so does their sharpness.  When they are  later called upon, usually out of necessity, the gap between them and the required level seems all the greater.  Hence the abominable displays of Marouane Chamakh, the disppearance of Chu-Young Park etc.

Arsene doesn’t help himself.  When asked recently about reported interest in Demba Ba, he stated:

“He is a similar type to Giroud and you will see Giroud develop into that kind of player.”

That may be.  But that doesn’t preclude Arsenal from buying Ba too.  There is room in the squad for more than one powerful centre-forward.  That way if one is injured, out of form, or just a bit tired you have the option of changing him.  Come the end of the season, you’ve got two players who are motivated by true competition and fresher due to being afforded rest.

By way of comparison with Arsenal, Manchester United can pick a front four of Shinji Kagawa, Wayne Rooney, Antonio Valencia and one Robin van Persie and still have Ashley Young, Danny Welbeck, Javier Hernandez, and Nani in reserve.  They can mix and match and still have enough quality to beat all but the sternest opponents.  I don’t expect Arsenal to be able to put together a stable of forwards of that quality anytime soon, but now that the transfer window is open there is no excuse for not going after some top drawer reinforcements.

The fact that we have Arteta shouldn’t prevent us chasing a defensive midfielder.  The fact that we have Cazorla shouldn’t rule out the pursuit of a schemer.  And the fact that Theo Walcott has had a handful of decent games through the middle certainly shouldn’t prohibit the signing of a striker.  Quality and competition provides flexibility.  This was an inflexible Arsenal performance.  Signings are the antidote.

Pleasingly, Arsene’s post-match comments suggest he is preparing to enter the market.  I’m also somewhat reassured by the news that Thierry Henry won’t be returning on loan: it means the manager can’t take the easy option of pouncing for a player he knows well for next to no money.  The short term sticking plaster is no longer an option.

Throwing money at a problem doesn’t always work.  In football, however, it rarely hurts.

—

SKREAMER COMP

Congratulations to @AdamBooth87, whose name came out of the hat and wins himself a pair of Skreamer boots.  I’ll be in touch soon to sort out your prize.

ps. Happy New Year, you lot.

Newcastle Preview, Theo Thoughts & SKREAMER competition

147 comments December 29th, 2012

Arsenal host Newcastle United today in our final match of 2012.  It’s been an up-and-down year – more on that next week – but victory today would enable us to end it with four consecutive Premier League wins.

The team news is worryingly good.  Worrying in that anything unfamiliar is unsettling, but also because a clean bill of health might encourage Arsene to keep his cheque-book closed in January.  The return from illness of Olivier Giroud gives Arsene his major selection headache: whether or not to reintroduce the Frenchman or persist with Theo Walcott in the central striking berth.

Much of Arsene’s press conference focused on Walcott’s hypothesised evolution in to a centre-forward:

“I like the signs that I have seen.  If you look at my statements, I always said that one day he would play through the middle and it grew in his brain.

He is now 23. I decided to play Thierry Henry at 23 through the middle because you have to learn a lot before. The fact that you play in other positions as well helps your technique.  On the wing you need a shorter technique against the line. Once you [then] play in the middle you can go on both sides.

From [the ages of] 19 to 23, Theo has learnt a lot. Now we will sometimes play him on the flanks and sometimes through the middle. I like what I have seen through the middle.”

I have to say I’m not convinced by this switch.  It seems odd that having resisted playing Walcott through the middle for so long, Arsene has suddenly introduced such a radical shift halfway through the season.  It looks, to me at least, like something of a desperate move, with as many as four possible motivating factors.  The first is his lack of options: Arsenal are patently lacking in quality strikers.  The second is a desire to convince Theo to sign a new deal and remain at Arsenal.  The third is to save a bit of money in January by turning Walcott in to a striker instead of bringing one in.  And the last, and arguably most worrying, is that Arsene might have been influenced by the huge consensus among the media that Walcott deserves a chance through the middle.

I don’t foresee it being a long-term solution.  Firstly, because I’m not certain that Walcott is more suited to the central role than one on the wing, but also because I don’t think Theo will be here come next season.  Arsenal still need a forward, and while Arsene insists he is preparing to be ‘busy’ in January, I am concerned he is mainly going to be busy making excuses about ‘super super quality’ and lack of value.

Today, Walcott is guaranteed to start, and my hunch is that despite all the noise from Arsene it’ll be on the wing.  Rotation is important at this time of year, and Giroud should be fairly well rested and raring to go.  Other than that, the team will surely be as we expect, with Podolski on the left flank, Cazorla joining Wilshere and Arteta in midfield, and Vermaelen and Mertesacker flanked by Gibbs and Sagna.  It’s possible that one of the centre-backs will be rested in the next couple of games, but I don’t think Arsene will take that chance today against the dangerous duo of Ba and Cisse – the former of which he has denied an interest in.  Again, a little worrying.

The fact that Arsenal had a rest of Boxing Day while Newcastle suffered a morale and energy-sapping last-minute 4-3 defeat at Old Trafford means we really have no excuses today: we ought to win.If you fancy a flutter on today’s match, then you can check out my predicted team and betting tips over at Unibet.

In other news today, I’ve got a bit of a competition for you lot.  The guys at Warrior Football have given me a pair of their new SKREAMER football boots to give away.

They’re a really lovely bit of kit.  I wore a pair myself in my final Sunday League game of 2012, and whilst the bright colours probably attracted an extra few kicks on the ankle, they feel great on the pitch.  They’re apparently packed full of scientific advances, much like the Predator was all those years ago, so fair play to Warrior for attempting to do something genuinely innovative.  You can read more about them here.

And if you fancy, you can nab yourselves a pair.  I’ll be running a competition – entry is via Twitter only, I’m afraid, so make sure you’re following me @Gunnerblog.  As we all know, a ‘Skreamer’ in football terminology is a rocket shot – a goal from distance that flies past a helpless goalkeeper.  My question is simple:

Which Arsenal player scored the most goals from outside the box last season?

Tweet me and tag your answer with #SKREAMER to go in to the hat.   You’ve got until Monday to enter.

Good luck to you, and good luck to Arsenal today.  Three points required to end 2012 on a relative high.  And three cheers for Pat Rice, who has been awarded a richly-deserved MBE.  Congratulations to him.