For the second time in consecutive away games, Arsenal came from behind to take all three points. Â Carrow Road isn’t quite Stamford Bridge, but the significance of that achievement cannot be underestimated. Â A previous Arsenal side might have crumbled when Per Mertesacker’s clanger gifted Norwich the lead against the run of play. Â A previous Arsenal side might have consigned it to being “one of those days” when they saw good chances come and go. Â In the game’s dying moments, they might have naively overcommitted chasing a third goal, or wilted after the introduction of the bullish Grant Holt.
Not this incarnation. Â The XI players on the field at full-time had an average age of almost 26: this is a more mature outfit, with players more psychologically prepared for the rigours of Premier League football. Â It seems that finally Arsene’s boasts of “mental strength” might actually have some substance.
“Physical strength” was more the problem for Per Mertesacker in the early stages. Â Steve Morison is one of the Premier League’s more agricultural strikers, and as such was always likely to prove a test for the German. Â That said, the main issue with the opening goal was a moment of hesitation. Â With the ball bouncing beyond him, it looked as if Mertesacker was waiting for a call from Szczesny. Â When that didn’t come, he attempted the clearance – but by that time, it was too late: Morison has stolen the ball and given Norwich the lead. Â It was a rick, certainly, but in my opinion he is good enough to learn from it.
By that time Arsenal should already have been a couple of goals to the good. Â If there was one area in which you’d criticise the team’s performance, it was in their erratic finishing. Â The Ivorian Gervinho, for whom the epithet ‘erratic’ might have been specially invented, was particularly guilty. Â Indeed, even our equalising goal spared his blushes. Â Theo Walcott, who was absolutely outstanding on the right wing, skipped past his man and fired in a great low cross which Gervinho attempted to back-flick in to the net. Â Instead, he managed to miss the ball entirely. Â Fortunately, Robin van Persie was on hand to stab in to the empty net.
It’s no surprise that Van Persie went on to grab the winner too. Â When Song and Arteta won the ball back in midfield, the Cameroon midfielder embarked on a sprint towards goal with the ball at his feet. Â Ahead of him, he had two options: Gervinho, central and devoid of any marking, and Robin, stationed wider and on his weaker right-foot. Â Song, in his wisdom, opted for Van Persie, and the Dutchman’s subsequent finish was masterful, clipping the ball delightfully over the advancing Ruddy with his supposed ‘chocolate leg’.
It was his fifteenth goal of the season. Â In the calendar year of 2011, he has now scored 31 goals in 29 league games. Â In the history of the Premier League, only Alan Shearer (36) and Thierry Henry (34) have managed more. Â It is an extraordinary run, and one that surely confirms his place as one of Europe’s greatest strikers. Â What’s particularly fascinating is that he doesn’t have the electrifying pace of Henry, or the brute strength of Shearer. Â He is a pure footballer, and it is a combination of intelligent movement, breathtaking technique, and devastating finishing that is seeing him ascend these heights.
The feats of Messi and Ronaldo have made this kind of goal ratio seem less out of the ordinary. Â But this kind of stat (1.07 goals p/game) simply hasn’t been achieved over such a long spell in English football before. Â He owes something to the work of his team-mates, undoubtedly – Theo Walcott, in particular – but it’s clear Robin is the star turn in this Arsenal side. Â Worrying about contracts and what might happen in twelve or twenty-four months seems to me to be an unnecessary distraction from watching a world class performer at the peak of his powers.
I couldn’t possibly let the weekend pass without some comment on Arsene Wenger’s interview with L’Equipe. Â You can read the full transcript here, and I suggest that you do just that. Â Arsene says he’ll review his position at the end of the season, but I suspect every vaguely ethical manager at every top club will do just the same. Â Whatever your views on the disaster that was the summer, the way he has steadied the ship has been mightily impressive – helped, in now small part, by a Dutchman who is, like Davy Jones’ ship, Flying.
You can come out. The interlull is over, and between now and Christmas, there’s a veritable flurry of football. Here’s some of what I’ve been thinking about:
…Joel Campbell
As some of you know, I spent a good deal of my summer following the trail as Arsenal pursued Costa Rican striker, Joel Campbell. Whilst a deal was ultimately agreed, Arsenal were forced to send the player on loan to Lorient after his application for a work permit was rejected.
If he continues to rack up international caps he has a chance of qualifying for a permit next summer.
…Thierry’s return
Despite his relative success at Lorient, Campbell will be kicking himself that he’s not in London at the moment. If he were, he’d be able to pick up a few tips from one of the game’s true greats. Arsenal’s record goalscorer, Thierry Henry, is training with the club to keep himself fit in the MLS off-season.
The sight of Thierry in an Arsenal training strip is enough to make me feel all fuzzy inside, like the mouth of person suffering from flu. So, in the hope of giving you the same on this cold Friday morning – the nice feeling, not the flu – here’s a picture:
The blonde man behind Henry is American Brek Shea, who is here not only to keep fit, but also to try and impress Arsene enough to earn a move across the Atlantic. By the looks of things, he’d instantly take Gervinho’s crown as possessor of the worst haircut at the club.
Whilst I don’t think anyone would realistically want Henry to come back and sully his record and reputation, but at times Arsene must be tempted to bring him back to the club on loan. This January will leave us with only the injury-prone van Persie and anonymous Park as striking options. Tempting, isn’t it…
…Gervinho’s assists
Whoever plays up front for Arsenal will be able to rely on a decent supply from Gervinho. In ten starts, the Ivorian has created six goals. It’s an impressive return, and suggests his record as the most productive attacking player in France last season was no fluke. The challenge now is to improve his own finishing and take some of the goalscoring burden off RVP.
…Kieran Gibbs
Yesterday saw Jack Wilshere tweet the following:
It doesn’t take Jonathan Creek to work out that Gibbs must have been going some sort of surgical procedure, and the whispers are that it was for a troublesome hernia. If that is the case, I’d expect him to miss a further month. Still, at least Andre Santos has been working hard on his new fitness regime:
…Norwich
Our next game is away to Norwich tomorrow lunchtime. I’ve been really impressed with both the Canaries and Swansea, who’ve managed to combine decent results with attractive, enterprising football. Any lapse in concentration will doubtless be punished, so we’ll need everyone to refocus immediately after their international exploits.
…the Arsecast
In order to celebrate the return of proper football, I had a chat with Arseblogger for today’s Arsecast. Why not head over to www.arseblog.com and have a listen? On the agenda: Injuries in defence, Koreans in Sunderland, and racism in football. Enjoy.
Arsenal have made an enquiry for Borussia Mönchengladbach attacker Marco Reus. The 22 year-old has scored seven times in 12 Bundesliga appearances this season, and has clearly caught the eye of Arsene Wenger.
“Jens Lehmann has given Wenger an tip-off. After that Arsène has called me.
I had to be honest. I told Wenger he (Reus) was a very good player. But I want to keep him.”
That’s hardly surprising, considering just a day or two ago Favre described Reus as “one of the best players I’ve ever trained”. Raphael Honigstein described Reus to me as “the white Ashley Young” – and, like the Manchester United winger, Reus enjoys cutting in from the left-flank on to his preferred right foot. You can Rafa’s profile of the player here, and watch some clips of him in action below. The boy strikes a ball very clearly indeed:
A release clause of €18m comes in to play next summer, but Arsenal could be forced to pay even more in January. The other major stumbling block is the supposed interest of Bayern Munich, who are perhaps a more natural destination for a player who is far from certain to excel on foreign shores. Wait and see, I guess.
Over the next two transfer windows, Arsenal will be as much at pain to hold on to players as acquire them. The last few months have seen Samir Nasri follow Cesc Fabregas out the door, and serious questions raised over the future of current captain and talisman, Robin van Persie. In that climate, it has been particularly heartwarming to hear the words of Jack Wilshere. Although currently on the sidelines through injury, there can no doubt that he’s one of our most important players, and his commitment to the club appears to be unwavering. When asked if he wanted to remain with Arsenal “foreverâ€, Wilshere said:
“I promise that, yeah. I’ve been at the club since I was nine and learned to love it.
“From the [Patrick] Vieira days, to [Dennis] Bergkamp, [Cesc] Fabregas, I’ve watched them come through and move on. There’s a crop of new players, [Aaron] Ramsey, myself, Kieran Gibbs hopefully we can really create something special. I love the club and I want to be part of its future.â€
I think that it’s never a wise for a footballer to make those kinds of promises. Let’s just hope his resolve is not severely tested by circumstance.
The most immediate way in which to convey the ease with which Arsenal dispatched West Brom in this game is to the tell you that, in the second half, the man sat next to me began doing his Sudoku. Furthermore, from the looks of thing, he had a good deal more trouble solving his logical based, combinatorial number-placement puzzle than Arsenal did in unpicking a W.B.A. side in abject form.
Arsenal started with a very strong team, reintroducing Robin van Persie at the expense of Park Chu-Young. Expecting the pacy Odemwingie to start, Arsene opted for Koscienly and Vermaelen at the back, with Per Mertesacker afforded a rare rest. As it happened, Odemwingie was nowhere to be seen – and neither was any real attacking threat from Roy Hodgson’s side.
When we took the lead, it was no surprise Aaron Ramsey was the heart of it. I was quite critical of him in the early part of the season, but he seems to have found his rhythm and an eye-catching, defence-splitting pass released Theo Walcott on the right. When his shot was saved by Ben Foster, it fell kindly to Robin van Persie to tuck home his 13th goal of the season, and eighth in his last four league games.
Before half-time we had doubled the lead. Again, Robin van Persie was at the heart of it. When he cut the ball back from the byline, it evaded Gervinho and Thomas Vermaelen, on one of his many forays forward, arrived to fire home. The goal was just desserts for an excellent performance from the Belgian. His urgency and willingness to get tight and win the ball early enables us to get it back quicker. The fact he’s then able to stride forward and help take part in the attack is an added bonus.
In the first half, we had 71% of possession. West Brom, conversely, had not yet managed a shot. Vermaelen was a more potent attacking threat than anyone in the Baggies’ line-up. The second half was similarly one-sided, though probably less eventful – hence the introduction of a Japanese puzzle-game by my disgruntled neighbour. Vermaelen and Van Persie both had chances to extend their tallies, with the Belgian heading just wide and RVP firing over from Walcott’s cut-back.
A series of substitutions saw Arsenal’s style change – the pace and power of Ramsey, Walcott, and Gervinho was replaced by the tippy-tappy technicians: Rosicky, Benayoun and Arshavin. It was again Van Persie who made the biggest contribution to the build-up, turning in midfield, playing a one two with Rosicky, charging in to the area and laying the ball off for Mikel Arteta to sidefoot home from the edge of the area. The Spaniard’s goal capped an impressive display – some have been a little underwhelmed by his start at Arsenal, but it’s clear to me that he’s deliberately playing a more cautious, defensive game than he’d like. Hopefully as we become more secure, he’ll be able to get forward more and express himself – the composed finish showed that he certainly has plenty still to offer.
Arsenal eased off in the remaining minutes, but crucially did manage to keep a second consecutive clean-sheet – an important achievement after the defensive horror show at Stamford Bridge. Andre Santos had the expected heart-in-mouth moments, but was still good on the ball. In the first half alone, this guy produced two 360 degree pirouettes. That’s my kind of defender. On the other flank, Carl Jenkinson looked a million miles away from the player so cruelly exposed at Old Trafford. His response has been emphatic and impressive, and he’s clearly by far the best crosser of the ball at the club.
This victory avenged the 3-2 defeat in the same fixture last year, and moved us level on points with Liverpool – a team some pundits probably thought would have disappeared over our horizons by now. We’ve got a couple of weeks off now. Keep saying those prayers and let’s hope everyone returns from international duty in good health.
Greetings, one and all. After my Iberian escape, I have returned the British Isles and indeed the blogosphere.
I should probably begin by talking about the 0-0 draw with Marseille. Usually my blogs are laced with the sort of relentless positivity that occasionally veers over the line in to genuinely annoying, but in this instance I do have a bone to pick with Arsene Wenger. Before the matches against Chelsea and Marseille, he spoke of how Arsenal were facing “two cup finals”. Now, the last time I checked, you don’t rest your captain and top scorer in a cup final.
It’s not certain that had RVP started, we’d have beaten Marseille, but given his extraordinary form it certainly would have improved our chances. Van Persie is now set to start tomorrow’s game against West Brom – a game which, with respect to the Baggies, seems a more suitable opportunity for him to get some rest.
Maybe I’m speaking out of turn and the Dutchman is nursing an injury none of us know about. I do understand the caution surrounding our most prized asset, but a win against Marseille would have enabled us to secure qualification and leave Van Persie out of our two remaining games altogether. Strange logic from Arsene, and a gamble which (by his own admission) somewhat backfired.
Now, for something a bit more fun: Andre Santos. I have to say, I find the criticism of his defending a little bit joyless. He’s not a masterful marker or a text-book tackler, but we knew that when we signed him. Forgive the stereotyping, but he’s a proper Brazilian full-back, with all the carnival fun and chaos that entails. There’s a brilliant piece about his idiosyncratic style here, and I suggest you give it a read.
A club the size of Arsenal ought to able to afford one slightly mad attacking full-back. Arsene may feel Kieran Gibbs offers more solidity, and when fit I expect the Englishman will remain first-choice, but having the option of starting a full-back who is prepared to get to the byline and who can actually cross and shoot is quite a thrill. If United can play Antonio Valencia at right-back, we can certainly find room for Santos on the left.
Finally today, a little note on the source of today’s headline: a man called Brek Shea, a man with a name so preposterous it could only have been conjured in the United States of America. The 21 year old left-footer is the bright young thing of FC Dallas and indeed the entire MLS, and will spend a month training with Arsenal this winter. Although not an official trial, Shea has been earmarked as a potential Premier League star, and will be keen to make an impression on his hosts. Reports about him are positive, and he can certainly strike a ball – see video here.
Right, I’d better hop it. Let’s hope there’s not too much boing in the Baggies tomorrow. It’s Arsenal who are supposed to be bouncing back.
