Sunderland Review: I am very, very concerned
1 comment February 23rd, 2009
Arsenal 0 – 0 Sunderland
Highlights here; Arsene’s reaction here
One a weekend when Aston Villa suffered a potentially morale-sapping defeat to Chelsea, we had the perfect opportunity to seize some initiative and close the gap to just four points. All we had to do was beat Sunderland at home – and with the greatest of respect to the Mackems, it’s not the toughest task for a club that would claim to be part of the league’s elite. But as you all now know, we failed.
There are many reasons we failed to win. They are linked to the reasons we failed to beat West Ham and Tottenham. Three consecutive 0-0 draws in the league is almost unheard of under Arsene, and is a damning indictment of the failings of this Arsenal side.
To me it was clear that the real problem on Saturday lay in central midfield. Denilson and Song were afforded plenty of space by Sunderland, partly because the opposition quickly realised that neither player had the technique nor the vision to make anything of the possession they were granted. I went onto The Guardian’s chalkboard facility and made a diagram of Denilson’s passing patterns: there was only one pass into the final third, and it was unsuccessful. The rest of the passes were shown by short etched marks across the pitch – short, often little more than five yards, and always, without fail, sideways.
I was going to post it here. But then I remembered an image I’ve been meaning to use for a while – it’s a poll from Arsenal.com. Enjoy:
Zero percent of Arsenal fans want to see the pairing of Song and Denilson starting games. And yet they are, on a regular basis. Granted, that’s down to Cesc’s injury, but we knew about that before the January Transfer Window opened. And even with Cesc, I am absolutely convinced that neither of those players represent genuine long-term options. Unless of course, we’re happy with the UEFA Cup – or possibly worse.
And if things continue at this rate, that is where we will end up. We are not only relying on Villa or Chelsea to have a poor run of results, but on ourselves finding form that looks a million miles away at the moment. People will point to the forthcoming return of the likes of Fabregas, but I can’t help but feel that by then it may be too late. Three points from the last nine is a fairly pitiful return at the time of the season when every game represents an opportunity to close in on that vital Champions League spot. We ought to be throwing caution to the wind. Instead, we’re throwing the advantage to Villa.
The one positive was the debut of Andrey Arshavin, who (whilst clearly lacking in fitness) fired off a couple of cracking shots and delivered one excellent cross for Nicklas Bendtner. He played from the right, but often swapped positions with both Samir Nasri and Robin van Persie. Perhaps the most encouraging thing about his debut was the experience he displayed: after moves broke down, he would talk to the likes of Van Persie and Bendtner about the runs he wanted them to make; similarly, when Manuel Almunia picked up the ball, Arshavin would point to where he thought the ball ought to be distributed. He has a bit of personality about him – something we really lack. All of that said, he is absolutely tiny – I genuinely thought he was the mascot when he waddled out of the tunnel.
That’s it from me today. It’s Roma tomorrow, and that is starting to look like a very daunting tie. Preview tomorrow morning.
