Archive for December, 2014

Arsecast Extra 48: Coquelin, West Ham and a horde of eels

5 comments December 30th, 2014

The latest Arsecast Extra is here to warm your wintry ears, in which we answer the biggest question of all: who is the real villain of The Lord of the Rings?

This Arsecast Extra is brought to you by Audible.com – turns out you can get a free audio book download and a 30 day free trial. Click the banner below to sign up or go to audibletrial.com/arsecast.

You can subscribe to the Arsecast Extra on iTunes by clicking here. Or if you want to subscribe directly to the feed URL you can do that too. To download this week’s Arsecast Extra directly – click here – 40mb MP3. Thanks to Arseblog as ever for the mighty hosting power.

The Arsecast Extra is also available on our SoundCloud channel, where you can leave comments and such, as well as via the SoundCloud app for iPhone and Android. Alternatively, you can find it on the Stitcher podcasting app for iOS and Android.

If I don’t appear here before then, Happy New Year in advance!

West Ham Reaction – Thoughts on Coquelin, Welbeck & Akpom

1 comment December 29th, 2014

Well that was fun. After being horribly ill on Boxing Day, I was well enough to attend Upton Park yesterday and had a brilliant day. It’s a proper old-fashioned ground (forgive the cliche), and if you’ve never been I urge you to try and attend in its final season next year. I’ll miss it.

My video blog reaction to the game is directly above, but the real point of this post is to nudge you in the direction of my latest SportLobster blog, which looks in closer detail at questions surrounding Francis Coquelin, Danny Welbeck and Chuba Akpom. If I said the same thing here, I’d simply be repeating myself.

I think I enjoyed this win more than any other this season. That’s largely because it was an enthralling game with a cracking atmosphere, but also because it feels like a significant result: I don’t mind admitting that I was absolutely convinced we’d lose. Andy Carroll is usually like kryptonite for us, but we coped surprisingly well with the aerial onslaught. The Stoke debacle has clouded what’s actually been a very decent run of results.

Southampton next. If we can come back from St. Mary’s with a point or more we’ll reflect on a very merry festive period indeed.

Quick thoughts on Anfield + Arsecast Extra 47

Add comment December 23rd, 2014

It feels a bit like those two 4-1 wins never happened. That’s the problem Arsene Wenger has now: patience has worn so thin that each set-back seems to eradicate any goodwill or momentum he has managed to build up.

At the core of most fans’ frustration is the fact that Arsenal conceded a late equaliser to – shock horror - a set-piece. I understand that entirely.

However, my problem with what we saw at Anfield is rather different. I’m not too fussed about the result – I can see that in isolation, a draw at Liverpool could prove to be a valuable point. My concern is the performance: Arsenal were utterly dreadful. A scoreline more akin to the 5-1 we suffered last season would have been far more appropriate than the 2-2 we somehow managed.

Despite a week of rest, Arsenal played with a baffling lack of intensity. As a fan, it’s difficult to get excited about a team who so regularly display such a complete lack of character. We’ve had difficult seasons before, but I can’t remember one that felt quite as uninspiring as this one.

Anyhow. I discuss the game in more depth in my latest SportsLobster blog. Have a read for stuff on Giroud, Mertesacker, set-pieces and more.

Once you’ve had a read of that, do listen to the latest Arsecast Extra with Arseblogger, in which we chat about the Liverpool game and the forthcoming January transfer window. This Arsecast Extra is brought to you by Audible.com – turns out you can get a free audio book download and a 30 day free trial. Click the banner below to sign up or go to audibletrial.com/arsecast.

You can subscribe to the Arsecast Extra on iTunes by clicking here. Or if you want to subscribe directly to the feed URL you can do that too. To download this week’s Arsecast Extra directly – click here – 40mb MP3. Thanks to Arseblog as ever for the mighty hosting power.

The Arsecast Extra is also available on our SoundCloud channel, where you can leave comments and such, as well as via the SoundCloud app for iPhone and Android. Alternatively, you can find it on the Stitcher podcasting app for iOS and Android.

If I don’t appear here before then, Merry Christmas you lot. Really appreciate you reading.

 

New video: On The Whistle – “Without Szczesny they would have been out of sight”

2 comments December 21st, 2014

On The Whistle reaction to a very very weird game of football.

Tactics truck: Why Alexis, Giroud & Welbeck works so well

9 comments December 14th, 2014

That might have been Arsenal’s best performance of the season thus far. Scoring four times against a team who had conceded just two goals in their previous seven games is not to sniffed at. It’s somewhat ironic that a cobbled-together XI managed to put together our most fluent 90 minutes of 2014/15.

Key to that fluency was the attacking trio of Olivier Giroud, Alexis Sanchez and Danny Welbeck. They started in tandem at the Hawthorns at the back end of November, but despite encouraging signs were split up for the subsequent games against Southampton and Stoke. I hope Arsene Wenger sees fit to stick with them now: they appear to be a potent combination.

There’s a lot to like about the way the three strikers combine. Few forwards offer quite as much defensively as Alexis and Welbeck, who work tirelessly to protect their full-back. Both players also have the technical skill and tactical intelligence to join up with Arsenal’s approach play when required.

Giroud was outstanding on Saturday, and it’s surely no coincidence that he looks more of an asset when complemented by attackers with speed and dribbling ability. However, he deserves a measure of credit for being prepared to adapt his game. Against Newcastle, he regularly drifted in to wide areas to allow Alexis and Welbeck spells in the middle.

His Squawka heat map demonstrates that he was willing to work the channels, particularly on the right, when required. He may be the team’s focal point, but he is determined not to weigh down a mobile attack by becoming an immobile anchor.

There’s a growing camaraderie there, too. These players seem to have embraced the challenge of competition, and are working hard to discover a way to play together. Giroud is not affronted by Welbeck’s presence, and Welbeck in turn has not piped up about being ousted to the flank. Alexis meanwhile, just wants to play anywhere with anyone.

However, what I like most of all is that fielding this front three almost guarantees that Arsenal have a bigger presence in the penalty area. Last season, crosses would flash across a box occupied primarily by opposition defenders. If it wasn’t within Giroud’s reach, it would generally be cleared without danger: No longer: Welbeck and Sanchez both have the stamina and the willingness to get in the box to join Giroud on a regular basis.

That much was evident from our winning goal at West Brom. When Santi Cazorla sprinted to the byline, Giroud’s mere presence at the near post was enough to attract a defender out of the centre, granting Welbeck the space to charge in and score.

Since then, the interchanging movement has only become more sophisticated. The opening goal against Newcastle was a perfect example: when Alexis crossed from the right, Welbeck and Giroud engaged in criss-crossing diagonal runs, the Englishman darting from far post to near and his French counterpart moving in the opposite direction. Their markers were baffled, and Giroud was able to climb high to score.

Our third goal came from another cross from the right. This time, Giroud made his preferred darting run to the dear post. Beyond him, Welbeck sprinted towards goal before pulling back in to space around the penalty spot — a classic Thierry Henry strategy. His positioning created doubt in the mind of Fabricio Colocccini, and allowed Giroud to nip in to score.

Arsenal’s improved penalty box presence has another benefit at the other end of the pitch: having the height of both Welbeck and Giroud in our area does offer a measure of insurance at set-pieces.

Arsenal looked as impressive going forward against Newcastle as they have done all season, and for once it wasn’t solely down to the individual brilliance of Alexis Sanchez. This new front three is already working. Let’s give it the time it needs to get even better.

ps. Thanks to Arsenalist for the goal clips for me to deface, and sorry for reminding everyone of the horrors of Andy Townsend’s Tactics truc.

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