December 5th, 2010
Arsenal 2 – 1 Fulham (Nasri 14, 75, Kamara 30)
Highlights | Arsene’s reaction
If Samir Nasri was British, he’d be being talked up as the Footballer of the Year in waiting. I’m not denying that Gareth Bale, the current darling of the media, has had a good season. Better than good. But Nasri, on current form, is better than better than good. He is exceptional.
His brace yesterday took his tally for the season to eleven. But whilst it was the precise quantity of his two goals that gave us the victory, it was the exquisite quality that will see them talked about for a long time to come. Whilst I don’t think either goal quite bettered his extraordinary slalom against Porto last year, they were noteworthy for the same outrageous close control and sumptuous finishing.
It is said that Nasri learnt to ply his trade playing street football in Marseille. I’ve never been to Marseille, but I imagine it must have very narrow streets. Nasri finds space in the tightest corridors, wriggling past opponents like an octopus through a keyhole.
Form is crucial in football, because it brings with it confidence. At the moment Nasri’s is sky-high. Everything he tries comes off: whether that be volleying a lofted corner past Brad Friedel last week, or side-stepping two sliding Fulham defenders before lashing in to the top corner for yesterday’s opening goal.
We could well have scored before then. Mark Schwarzer was in inevitably impressive form, and denied Andrey Arshavin from close range in the opening moments with a superb save. The Russian was perhaps inspired by the ridiculous boos of the Fulham fans incurred by his ‘World-cup winning’ speech, and promptly finished a dazzling run by playing in Nasri, who surprisingly shot wide.
When the goal did come, it was no surprise that it was that same pair at the heart of it. Arshavin collected a piece of miscontrol from Aaron Hughes, tore at the Fulham goal, then poked a ball to Nasri on the right. First Hangeland, then Hughes were sent tumbling by Nasri’s deft feints. And then, with one swing of the left boot, a goal. Nasri was in such devastating form that Mark Hughes withdrew the teenage left-back, Matthew Briggs, after just 28 mins.
After taking the lead, both the team and the crowd became a little lax, and Fulham came back in to the game. Their equaliser, however, came about in bizarre circumstances. Laurent Koscielny collided with Sebastien Squillaci, and was apparently concussed. Had he fallen to the ground, the game would almost certainly have been stopped. Instead, he staggered on, and Diomansy Kamara was able to exploit the gap he left to nip in behind and beat Fabianski.
Johan Djourou was rushed on as a replacement, and clearly took a little while to acclimatise to the pace of the game. Fulham were understandably keen to exploit this, and Fabianski had to pull off a cracking save from another one-on-one just moments later.
At half-time, the nerves in the ground were tangible. Our inconsistency at home this season is well-documented – and to make matters worth, both Spurs and Chelsea were leading.
The main problem in the team was that our backline looked too exposed. The defensive midfield pairing of Jack Wilshere and Alex Song simply weren’t ‘defensive’ enough. Song in particular had a nightmare of a game – his passing was all over the place, and when that’s the case the last thing you want to see is him strolling forward and venturing in to the final third – especially when a game is so delicately poised. That said, it’s hard to believe he’s doing so entirely of his own volition: Arsene has plainly changed the system to allow he and Wilshere to bomb on alternately. I’d suggest letting the naturally more creative Jack worry about getting forward, and telling Song to stick to what he does best: keeping it simple and breaking up the play.
In the second half, we were stabilised somewhat by the manner in which Johan Djourou grew in to the game. He’s never been particularly aerially dominant – this is the only six foot three defender who occasionally stays back on attacking corners – but yesterday he rose to meet every challenge with aggression and, usually, success. It was great to see. Arsene said of his performance:
“He is doing very well. He has been out for a year and as you have noticed I have rotated him a little bit. We do not want to lose him and a guy that has been out for a year you cannot play him three games a week. From the start of the season he has gone from strength to strength and today, in the difficult period when we had to defend in the air, he was dominant. He has not only shown dominance but also personality.”
With Koscielny due to miss a couple of games with a head injury, Djourou has a real chance to establish himself in the team.
In the search for a winner, Arsene threw on Robin van Persie and Theo Walcott, and it was the Dutchman who created our winner, receiving a pass from Andrey Arshavin and laying it in to the path of Nasri. The number eight had been switched in to the centre, and showed why with a mesmerising waltz through the penalty area and around Schwarzer, finished with a pirouetted shot to score from the tightest of angles. 60,000 fans held their breath as he danced between the Fulham challenges, and the roar of exhalation and exaltation that greeted the finish could probably be heard back in Nasri’s hometown.
There was still time for a few more scares – Dickson Etuhu coming closest – but we held on for a vital three points. News of equalisers for Birmingham and Everton meant that not only had we won – we were top of the league.
It’s an important victory and one that hopefully puts our home hoodoo to bed. We owe it to one man in particular. Arsene said of that man:
“We scored two exceptional goals from Samir that were a combination of touch, intelligence, special talent and calmness. He needed to be patient to finish in both situations and he did very well. I’m happy because he had a game that at the start was only based on coming to the ball and now he has more variation in his game. His game is improving and of course he is more efficient.
I always was a strong believer in him. Many people questioned me when I took him here but he is showing that he has exceptional talent and I think there is more to come from him.”
What’s more, he’s got a cracking song. Altogether now:
Na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na…
December 4th, 2010
When Arsenal face Fulham at the Emirates this afternoon, Mark Schwarzer will be full of mixed emotions. Principally, you’d imagine, he’ll be feeling regret. In the summer, his proposed move to Arsenal was seen by many as an inevitability. Arsene wanted him, he wanted to come, but in the end the deal broke down over the fee: Fulham tried to squeeze us for a few hundred thousand pounds more, and we failed to oblige. Transfer deadline day came and went, and Schwarzer was left stranded.
It’s been a difficult few months for him since. Adjusting to the likelihood that the move would never be resurrected, and that his chance of a big payday and bit of glamour at the end of a journeyman career had all but disappeared. Eventually, he was allowed to return to the Fulham team, and his form there has been good.
Over on the other side of London, Lukasz Fabianski and Wojciech Szczesny have emerged as potential successor’s to Manuel Almunia. Arsene never buys when he has a younger option in his own squad.
Schwarzer obviously made his peace with the vanished prospect of joining Arsenal: this week he signed a new deal at Fulham that will take him through to 2012. Arsene seems comfortable with his decision:
“I can understand that decision. At his age a two-year contract is a great deal for him and it shows great confidence of the club for him. I don’t have a problem with that.
It is important that we focus on our players and the squad we have. I am pleased for him [Schwarzer] that he got an extension to his contract but all the rest is history that has to be a little bit discreet.”
Fair enough. But without doubt all eyes will be on the two men between the sticks this afternoon. Schwarzer will be in the Fulham goal, and Fabianski at the Arsenal end. Whatever happens, there’ll be comparisons drawn between the two. If Arsene is going to come out of today’s game looking like he’s made the right decision, and crucially with three points under his arm, he needs Fabianski to cope well with Fulham’s aerial threat. And he needs Schwarzer not to have, as sod’s law would dictate he will, the game of his life.
Aside from Fabianski, the defence will contain Gael Clichy, Bacary Sagna, and Sebastien Squillaci. Arsene will then have to choose between Johan Djourou and Laurent Koscielny. The pecking order until now would suggest that Koscielny is the likely choice.
In midfield, Alex Song and Jack Wilshere are likely to continue in the deeper roles. Ahead of that, it’s anyone’s guess. Arsene hinted he could try and introduce Robin van Persie alongside Marouane Chamakh, but I’d be surprised if Van Persie was handed a start at this early stage in his recovery. After being rested in midweek, both Andrey Arshavin and Samir Nasri should also be in the starting line-up.
You don’t need me to tell you our home form has been patchy at best. It’s time to set that right.
Come On You Gunners.
December 1st, 2010
Arsenal 2 – 0 Wigan (Alcaraz 41 (og), Bendtner 67)
Highlights | Arsene’s reaction
We never had to come out of first gear to win the game…
Once Victor Moses departed with a dislocated shoulder, Wigan’s resistance disappeared. He had been their brightest spark, but without his counter-attacking verve they weren’t much of a threat. One Alcaraz scored his own-goal there was no escape for Wigan (b-dum). The second half was played at exhibition pace, and only some slack finishing on our part prevented it from becoming a rout.
West Ham’s victory over Man United makes us favourites for the cup…
When was the last time we were legitimately favourite to win any sort of silverware? Discounting the Emirates Cup? It’s an unusual position for us to be in, but one that’ll be important for our relatively inexperienced squad’s development. Tonight two from Birmingham, Villa, West Brom and Ipswich will join us and West Ham in the semi-finals. We have no excuses for not winning this tournament now. Whatever you make of the Carling Cup, having some silverware on the table before February is out would be a hell of a fillip.
The Carling Cup is some fans’ only chance of a ticket…
…but that doesn’t excuse some of their behaviour. Sorry to go all Scrooge on you at this time of year, but three pitch invasions in one game just isn’t funny. Maybe if they’d been naked I’d have been impressed. Especially in that cold. But simply running on the pitch and getting yourself a ban is no way to behave. Tell that to Karl Henry, I suppose.
The ‘Carling Cup Philosophy’ isn’t completely dead…
Although we’ve certainly brought more established players in to the Carling Cup side, it’s worth pointing out that we still give games to some very young players. Szczesny is 20, Wilshere 18, and Gibbs, Walcott and Vela all 21. For the likes of Szczesny and Gibbs this experience is invaluable: they’re far too good for the Reserves or even to be loaned out, but can’t necessarily be relied on to play every week in the Premier League. The role the domestic cups play in granting them games remains vital – if anything, it’s become more beneficial as they now play alongside senior pros. Gibbs, by the way, was outstanding last night and is beginning to put Gael Clichy under significant pressure.
The same can’t be said for Carlos Vela…
After a week in which his brother has ‘threatened’ Arsenal with the possibility of losing Vela, the Mexican striker needed a big performance to remind Arsene Wenger of his quality. Whilst he did produce one brilliant cross for the second goal, Vela also conspired to miss several one-on-one chances you would usually expect him to take. Watching from the bench, Jay Emmanuel Thomas must have felt slightly frustrated. Presented with the same opportunities, he would surely have opened his Arsenal account. Instead, he got just six minutes at the end of the game. With Wellington Silva set to provide yet more competition come January, Vela could be running out of time to make the impact his early promise suggested he would be capable of.
Robin van Persie showed some flashes of quality…
Two of the chances Vela missed were created by quite exquisite back-flicks from his Dutch team-mate. The fitness levels might not be quite there yet, but the touch is, and whilst I think Chamakh deserves to keep his place for now, Robin is undoubtedly a fantastic option to have on the bench. As the season progresses he should improve – injuries notwithstanding. Touch something wooden. Quickly.
—
Right. Two games from a trip to a Wembley Final. Doesn’t sound too bad, does it?
