Arsenal 0 – 0 Sunderland: Cazorla could be the signing of the season
922 comments August 19th, 2012
Arsenal 0 – 0 Sunderland
Match Report | Highlights | Arsene’s reaction
I suppose it was inevitable.
The day after Robin van Persie departed to join Manchester United, Arsenal failed to break down a resilient Sunderland side. There’s a painful irony about the fact that the Dutchman is capable of just the sort of incisive, efficient penalty-box play that Arsenal plainly lacked. We had all the possession you could ask for, but our final ball and finishing was not up to scratch.
Olivier Giroud should have won the game.
On as a substitute for Lukas Podolski, the Frenchman was set free by Santi Cazorla, only to skew his shot wide with his right boot. Would Van Persie’s chocolate leg have fared better? We’ll never know.
Arteta looks most likely to inherit the ‘Song’ role.
In an unfamiliar-looking central midfield trio of Arteta, Diaby, and Cazorla, it was the more senior Spaniard who played the deepest. With Song on the verge of completing his move to Barcelona, it’s likely Arteta will continue in that role for most of the season. It’s not a dramatic change from last year – he tended to have a deeper starting position than his counterpart from the Cameroon anyway. The bigger question is whether or not we’ll be able to cope without Song’s considerable physical presence. I’ll have plenty more to say about Song’s departure – and his likely replacement, Nuri Sahin – once those deals are confirmed.
Cazorla could be the signing of the season.
I’m not particularly prone to hyperbole, but this guy has everything. Apart from height. And the ability to fly. I mentioned in a previous blog, but his two-footedness is quite extraordinary. Whether passing or shooting, it is genuinely difficult to tell which foot is stronger (for those who want to know, it’s his right). He’s creative, dynamic, and looks like he’ll score goals too. In fact, he reminds me of Cesc. As compliments go, that’s a pretty big one.
The balance of the front three will be essential.
Arsene said after the game that he felt the attacking trio of Gervinho, Podolski and Walcott had lacked a little creativity. He sees all three as ‘strikers’ – players whose game is typified more by movement off the ball than incisive passing on it. In future, against teams who park the bus as snugly as Sunderland did, he may look to deploy someone like Cazorla, Rosicky or even Arshavin in the front three to provide a bit of variation.
Stoke is a massive game just two weeks in to the season.
Lose there, and we have just one point from six. With Van Persie and Song, two of our best players last season, heading through the exit door, it won’t take much for talk of a ‘crisis’ to begin. Indeed, if you watch or listen to Sky’s Sunday Supplement, we’re already in the midst of one. To be fair, I don’t think that programme has considered us ‘out of crisis’ since 2005, so I’m not sure that counts. A creditable result at the Potteries, however, and wheels of positivity will begin to turn.
Thoughts on Song tomorrow.
