Posts filed under 'Match Reports'
September 11th, 2011
Mikel Arteta congratulates Andrey Arshavin
Match Report |Â Highlights |Â Arsene’s reaction
One senses it could all have been rather different. An early goal would have settled Arsenal nerves and shattered Swansea resolved. We should have had one, too: inside the first minute, an eager and energetic Mikel Arteta hassled his man off the ball and played in Aaron Ramsey, who slipped when put through on goal. Had he kept his feet and his composure, Arsenal might have gone on to record a resounding victory.
Doubtless some would still have complained. There has been much whining about how we failed to put a newly-promoted team to the sword, but I think that shows a lack of respect both for Swansea and our current predicament. Yesterday, all we needed was a win. After shifting eight goals in our last game, a clean sheet would have been nice too. We finsihed with both. To complain would be churlish and naive.
Arsenal started with two debutants. Per Mertesacker partnered Laurent Koscielny in front of Wojciech Szczesny, whilst Mikel Arteta formed a midfield trio with Aaron Ramsey and Emmanuel Frimpong. Gibbs and Sagna supported Arshavin and Walcott on the wings, and Robin van Persie led the line. The substitutes bench contained remaining new boys Park, Santos and Benayoun – Alex Chamberlain was unlucky to miss out after showing some fine form for the England U-21s.
Aside from Ramsey’s early chance, there were other opportunities – Arsenal were generally better in the first half than the second, and on-loan Spurs defender Caulker had to produce a brilliant goal-line clearance to deny Theo Walcott after he had been played in by Arshavin.
It was the Russian who got the goal, in bizarre circumstances. Michel Vorm, who had started his career in English football in fine form, collected a loose ball and went to throw it out to his midfielder. Just as he did so, the improbably named Angel Rangel wandered in to his path. The ball bounced off the defender, leaving the retreating Arshavin to pass the ball in to an abandoned goal. The goal was comical in circumstance but brilliant in execution: a left-footed opportunity from such a narrow angle left Andrey with plenty to do.
It was Arshavin’s first goal at the Emirates since the victory over Barcelona – and his best performance in a long-time. Although nominally playing from the left, he drifted inside to combine with Arteta and Van Persie and looked, for the hour he was on the field, our most dangerous attacker. The aftermath of the Barca game saw us embark on a dreadful run that has stretched across the summer – perhaps this strike can book-end that spell and start us off on a good foot once again.
The second half was tense – Swansea struck the bar with a free-kick, whilst RVP thrashed a fight-footed effort against the post. The Welsh side were playing with nothing to lose, whilst Arsenal’s psychological handbrake was firmly on. In the game’s dying moments, Danny Graham ought to have done better with a volley on the turn from six yards out. The full-time whistle was greeted a sigh of relief rather than a roar of approval.
But we got there. We have our first league win of the season, and the smallest of blocks on which to build. There’s a big week ahead with trips to Dortmund and Blackburn. Positive results then could change the complexion of our season for the better. Like Luke Chadwick after a dose of isotretinoin.
This was an unfamiliar-looking Arsenal team – one still learning to appreciate and take advantage of each other’s patterns of play. I thought Mikel Arteta made a seamless transition in to red-and-white, particularly in the first half, when we was certainly the general of an otherwise inexperienced midfield. How he’ll relish returning to the grand stage of the Champions League on Tuesday.
Per Mertesacker was steady if not spectacular. In the first-half Szczesny had to produce a fantastic stop after Graham beat the big German to a cross, but after that he seemed to settle. His distribution was intelligent, and some of his tackling immaculate. He’s not the quickest, but seems to have the positional awareness to prevent that being a problem.
Yossi Benayoun made it a hatrick of debuts with a thirty minute cameo as a replacement for Andrey Arshavin, and I thought he did really well (video highlights). He’s a dynamic, creative player who isn’t afraid to put in a defensive shift too.
There were aspects of our performance which concerned me, certainly. Emmanuel Frimpong showed that whilst he is undoubtedly promising, he has much to learn in when it comes to his use of the ball. Kieran Gibbs, too, looked unconvincing. Perhaps he was bemused by the comically small but effective Nathan Dyer, or suffering from a lack of support from Arshavin, but Swansea certainly had most joy down his flank.
All that said, come the final whistle, we had what we needed. Dortmund will be a far sterner test, but we’ll be far better prepared with a victory under our belts. Bring on the big boys.
August 29th, 2011
MANCHESTER UNITED 8Â – 2 ARSENAL
Arsene's lowest ebb?
Match Report | Highlights Video | Arsene’s reaction
A couple of weeks ago, when Cesc Fabregas left for Barcelona and Samir Nasri seemed determined to follow him through the door, I told you that “the night is darkest just before the dawnâ€. It’s a turn of phrase I had heard the character of Harvey Dent use in Christopher Nolan’s Batman film, ‘The Dark Knight’. It’s supposed to engender comfort among troubled souls; to tell them that although things seem bad, they are almost certainly about to get better.
I conveniently forgot to mention that shortly afterwards Dent loses half his face in a fire and becomes a psychopathic killer. The night, for Gotham, just gets darker. And so it has proved for Arsenal’s start to the season, as yesterday we reached what we can only hope is our nadir, losing 8-2 to our supposed rivals Manchester United.
8-2. 8-2. It doesn’t look like a real result. I believe in the old days of teletext, eight is the point at which they’d spell out the number in letters (eg. Manchester United 8 (E I G H T)) to assure you it wasn’t a typo. It’s a shocking scoreline, in every sense.
The writing was on the wall as soon as the line-up was announced. Robbed of Vermaelen and Sagna to injury and illness respectively, the XI took on the look of a Carling Cup team, with Jenkinson, Traore, and Coquelin all involved from the start. The bench was even more distressing, with names like Chamberlain, Ozyakup, and Sunu all awaiting league debuts.
With such a weak line-up, the relatively experienced heads of Djourou, Koscielny, Rosicky and Arshavin had a duty and responsibility to hold things together and make sure the defence was not exposed.
That, as we all know, is not how it turned out. The defending was apocalyptically, comically bad. By the time goals five, six, seven and eight hit the net, I was laughing through the anguish. Here are our errors, catalogued:
Goal 1: The cracks began to show when Carl Jenkinson was caught way out of position, allowing Patrice Evra to charge in behind. Theo Walcott did brilliantly to get back and recover the situation, but was even quicker to let Jenkinson know what he thought of his defending, leading to a slanging match between the pair that carried on as we defended the resulting corner.
When the ball was cleared as far as Anderson, more horrors followed. His wedged pass over the defence should have been cleared, but for a combination of indecision and cowardice that allowed Danny Welbeck to steal in and score. First Johan Djourou inexplicably allowed the ball to bounce inside his own area, and then Koscielny ducked out of a challenge with the English forward. A Martin Keown or Sol Campbell would have put his body on the line to prevent a goal. Koscielny is not that man.
Goal 2: Again came from Wayne Rooney running in behind Jenkinson. Coquelin could’ve been quicker to close Ashley Young down too, but what a strike nonetheless.
Goal 3: Sorry Carl, but there was another basic positional error from the teenager here. Young was goal-side and Jenkinson had no choice but to bring him to ground, leading to a sensational free-kick from Wayne Rooney.
Goal 4: Wojciech Szczesny, who made several good saves on the day, made the classic mistake of edging across goal behind his wall and allowing Rooney the space to curl a terrific dead ball in to the far corner.
Goal 5: Goal five exhibited our most spectacularly bad defending. Andrey Arshavin, who found himself in the left-back position, stepped up alongside Johan Djourou, whilst Traore and Jenkinson were left behind. This left Nani onside and unmarked to score.
Goal 6: A couple of errors from Johan Djourou here, who dived in on Park, missed his tackle, and then failed to track the Korean when he broke free.
Goal 7: A penalty conceded by Theo Walcott. No complaints at all from the winger about the award – his trip on Evra seemed to be born as much out of frustration as any realistic attempt to defend.
Goal 8: Another sumptuous finish by young, but again Djourou found himself standing too far off in no-man’s land.
Amidst all the awfulness, there were a couple of goals for Van Persie and Walcott, a missed penalty by the Dutchman, a red card for Jenkinson after another positional error, and several instances in which Andrey Arshavin was lucky not to join him in receiving his marching orders. If you have lots of time and a similar amount of self-loathing then I suggest you read the match report linked at the top of the page.
I’ve touched on our weakened team. It’s no excuse. We had injuries?  So did they.  United were without their first-choice central defensive pairing of Ferdinand and Vidic, as well as key midfielders like Michael Carrick and Antonio Valencia.  Our team was young? Well, on average, United’s was younger.  What we witnessed yesterday was, plainly, inexcusable.
Some of the performances were dire.  You’ll have noticed that Jenkinson’s name crops up repeatedly in the listed litany of mistakes. He looked very much like a player who has played a handful of games in the Conference and League One – unsurprising, because that’s exactly what he is.  He managed to get through the game against Udinese on Wednesday, but here he was out of his depth, and drowning.  The same could be said for Armand Traore who, with Premier League and Serie A experience on his CV, has less excuses than Jenkinson. Johan Djourou is going backwards faster than the DeLorean time machine, and on a couple of occasions Laurent Koscielny showed that whilst he is an able defender, he is not willing to get hurt for the sake of stopping a goal.
And yet, for the most part, I don’t really blame the players – especially not kids like Jenkinson.  As I’ve said before: it’s not their fault they’re out there.  It’s the fault of the manager (and quite possibly the board) for failing to strengthen a squad that has simultaneously been stripped of some of its most prized assets.
Bank balance aside, the numbers don’t look good for the manager – and I don’t just mean the glaring ‘8’ on the scoreboard; the first time we’ve conceded that many goals in a game since 1896.
It’s Arsene’s worst ever start to a Premier League season.  Taking in to account our form at the back end of last season, it’s also our worst ever run under him.  Since losing the Carling Cup Final to Birmingham, we’ve won just three league games.  One was against Blackpool. And, to help matters, we’ve now had a player sent off in each of our three domestic matches this season. We have more red cards than points.
Yesterday it was made painfully clear how far away our squad is from being able to compete with United. With no Ferdinand or Vidic, they were still able to call on two centre-backs who both looked more capable than our own.  How it will have stung Arsene to know that Phil Jones rejected his overtures to sign with the Red Devils this summer. To outsiders, Jones’ choice is easy enough to understand: wouldn’t you rather sign for the club where you can learn from good, experienced defenders, and play for a manager who actually seems to care about the art of keeping clean sheets?
As poor as our defending was, United showcased a real ruthless quality in front of goal. Much of our attacking talent remained available, but do we have players with the ability (or perhaps more importantly, the confidence) to score the kind of goal that Ashley Young and Wayne Rooney did yesterday?  Just so we’re all clear, Young cost United £16m – £1m more than we’ll end up paying for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, who made an unmemorable debut as a substitute.
What sickened me more than anything was to watch this team perform without pride, and without belief. The players know the squad isn’t good enough to compete.  It was written all over their performances – and some of them have even said as much. They were caught in a losing battle.  When Van Persie and Walcott were withdrawn to fight another day, they sat down on the bench without so much as a glance at Wenger.  Inside, they will have been fuming. You can bet that neither are in any mood to open contract negotiations anytime soon.
Meanwhile, the manager sat in the dugout, motionless.  He didn’t even walk to the touchline to cajole his troops. He just sat there and watched his lambs slaughtered. You know Arsene is in trouble when he’s receiving pity from his supposed adversary. After the game, Alex Ferguson said, “we could’ve scored more, but you don’t want to score more against a weakened team like thatâ€.  It’s a comment almost as withering and humiliating as the scoreline.
As I watched at home, I briefly (and, I now realise, irrationally) wondered if Wenger might resign in the aftermath of the game. What changed my mind was our extraordinary fans, who for much of the second half drowned out the United supporters with a chorus of “We love you Arsenalâ€. They will have reminded Arsene of his commitment to this club. He won’t walk away now.
Nor should he. This is his mess, and he needs to fix it – a change of manager at this stage would benefit no-one. The obvious place to start is in the transfer market.  A centre-half and a central midfielder are absolutely vital.  We’d all like business to have been done earlier, but there’s no point moaning about that now: we’ve got three days to do the required repair work on this squad.  Transfers can be done very quickly. Take the case of Park Chu-Young: Arsenal received news that Joel Campbell’s work permit appeal had been declined on Friday afternoon – by Saturday morning the Korean striker was on his way to London. That deal should have been completed last night, and will most likely be announced today, leaving Arsene and the board to concentrate on the other reinforcements we urgently require.
A particularly optimistic fan tweeted me last night to say that Feyenoord were once beaten 8-2 by Ajax but went on to lift the title in the same season.  The performances of the two Manchester clubs yesterday, and by contrast our own, shambolic display, have shown us that winning the league is almost certainly impossible.  However, we are perfectly capable of recovering from this to retain our Champions League spot, which has to be the realistic target for this campaign. Get the transfer business right, and our season could start against Swansea on September 10th.
Either that, or Arsene will lose half his face in a fire and become a psychopathic killer.
August 26th, 2011
Match Report | Highlights | Arsene’s reaction
In the run up to this game, I’d have been lying if I’d said I wasn’t worried. Â When I saw the XI we’d be fielding, those concerns only grew. Â I was sat in an Irish bar in Italy, far removed from the constant team news bulletins and probable line-ups I’m accustomed to. Â As I watched the team emerge from the tunnel, I saw their faces: youthful, raw, and understandably anxious. Â Six months ago, Carl Jenkinson was playing conference football. Â This was Emmanuel Frimpong’s second senior start. Â And here they were, in the preliminary stages of the world’s greatest club competition: the Champions League.
I was nervous, but I was a mere TV viewer; not even in the stadium in the stadium to lend my support. Â These lads were right in the firing line, directly responsible for securing the cash and cachet that Champions League football begins. Â By the end of the night, their furrowed brows had turned to smiles, and my panic to pride.
It’s not just Frimpong and Jenkinson. Â Compared to some others, their contribution was modest. Â To a man, they stepped up and responded brilliantly, providing a reprieve for a manager and a club who have been struck by blow after blow in recent weeks.
You all know the result by now, and how it came about, so I don’t need to dwell on the detail of the game. Â I’m sure we were all fearful when Di Natale’s header looped beyond Szczesny and in to the net, drawing Udinese level, but the fact remained that a single Arsenal goal would leave the Italians needing three.
When that goal eventually came, it was no surprise that Gervinho was the creator. Â I thought the Ivorian was superb. Â His movement, speed, and ability to dart in from either the right or left make him a nightmare to mark, whilst his close control means he’ll win plenty of penalties over the coming months. Â We saw all this against Newcastle, but against Udinese we saw something else: end product. Â Driving in from the left, he dragged the ball beyond a defender, accelerated to the byline, and cut it back for the waiting Van Persie to sidefoot home.
That should have been that, but Arsenal being Arsenal, we almost found a way to throw it away. Â A very debatable penalty was awarded for a supposed handball by Thomas Vermaelen, and it required a quite stunning save from Szczesny to deny Di Natale a goal that could have transformed the tie.
As it was, Arsenal ended up putting the seal on the victory in style. Â Bacary Sagna, whose solidity in the unfamiliar role of left-back is just another exhibit in the growing list of evidence that he’s one of Arsene’s best ever signings, played in Theo Walcott, who scooted beyond the defence and finished confidently in to the near post.
Walcott and Gervinho were ultimately too much for Udinese to cope with. Â The summer additions of Gervinho, Chamberlain, Ryo and Campbell suggested Arsene was keen to provide an objection of pace, and these two provided that in spades. Â They also allowed us to recapture what was one a crucial component of our game: the lightening counter-attack.
There were other impressive showings: Sczcesny was commanding, Vermaelen committed, and Tomas Rosicky put in a brilliant second-half shift as a ball-winning midfielder.
Congratulations to this group of players for triumphing in the face of adversity. Â With their backs to the wall, a mishmash team pulled the manager out of an ominous hole. Â I hope he’s wise enough to know they won’t be able to do so every week – either domestically or in Europe, where we find ourselves in a challenging group with Marseille, Olympiakos, and Dortmund. Â These are good, committed players. Â But to flourish, they need reinforcements. Â With Champions League football in the bag, we should have both the means and the might to lure them.
August 20th, 2011
Match Report | Highlights | Arsene’s reaction
Quite often, I get criticised in the ‘Comments’ section of this blog for being “too positive”. I’m accused of being sycophantic to the manager and blind to the club’s problem. Those readers will probably enjoy this blog a little more. Equally, I hope that those fans who enjoy my more positive outlook will forgive the sombre mood of this post – but I was deeply alarmed by what I witnessed today.
When Arsenal took to the field at St. James’ Park a week ago, our first XI looked decent enough. It was the bench that bothered me. One week, and a few predictable injuries later, those substitutes have been promoted and are getting game-time. Their inexperience and insufficiency was exploited ruthlessly as Liverpool recorded their first victory away to Arsenal of Arsene’s reign. A watershed result in a watershed month for the manager.
I’m not blaming the kids. The likes of Jenkinson, Frimpong, Ramsey and Miquel tried their very best. Unfortunately, however, they made rookie errors which, at this level, simply don’t go unpunished. The truth is that they oughtn’t have been out there today – it is not their fault that the squad has been stripped of experience.
In the first half we were performing well enough without creating any chances of note, until we lost Laurent Koscielny to a back injury. That setback saw Miquel introduced, and a nervy Arsenal never really found their footing again. Watching in the stands, the match had a 0-0 draw written all over it – Liverpool were seemingly happy to park their five man midfield and take a valuable point.
The game hinged on the sending off of Emmanuel Frimpong. Along with the outstanding Thomas Vermaelen, Frimpong had been Arsenal’s best player, but after clattering Lucas Frimpong picked up a second booking and had to go. Over-enthusiasm and a rush of adrenaline put an end to what was otherwise an outstanding full debut – the FA should be doing everything they can to convince him to change his mind and play for England.
Liverpool, smelling blood, introduced Luis Suarez, who set about tormenting our backline with his speed and movement. The goals Liverpool got were admittedly graced with luck: both appeared to be offside, and one was the result of a calamitous own goal after Miquel’s clearance hit Ramsey and looped over the advancing Szczesny. But with ten men and a defence of Sagna at left-back, Jenkinson at right-back, and Vermaelen and Miquel in the middle we were asking for trouble. For the first time I found myself wondering with concern just where Sebastien Squillaci was.
Miquel did alright, and can obviously pass a ball, but was understandably nervy. He wasn’t alone in putting in a less than inspiring performance: Sagna looked uncomfortable at left-back, Jenkinson was committed but struggled on the ball, Ramsey was erratic, Walcott anonymous, and Arshavin awful. But, at the moment, they’re all we have.
The knocks and suspensions we’re picking up are unfortunate. But we know we have a squad prone to injury and discipline, and have taken no steps to counter that. When Liverpool went ahead, a good number of fans chanted aggressively, imploring Arsene to spend some money. I didn’t join in – at that point, the team were still very much in the game and needed our support. I did, however, entirely understand the sentiment.
Liverpool weren’t brilliant today, but their team looked an awful lot better than it did twelve months ago – and this, let’s remember, was without Gerrard and with Suarez starting on the bench. It’s no coincidence that since January, they’ve spent about £100m. Yes, they’ve overpaid for some players, but they’ve got the personnel they needed. And they’re better for it.
There is a lot to be learnt from their handling of the Fernando Torres sale. Torres was a symbolic and pivotal figure at Anfield – much like Cesc was at Arsenal. After selling him to Chelsea, they immediately replaced him with players able to come in and make an immediate impact in their first team. Crucially, it also gave the entire club a lift, and convinced players and supporters alike that they would recover from the transfer. I’m not advocating anything as absurd as paying £35m for Andy Caroll, but some new additions would not only plug the gaping holes in the squad, but also give the whole club a boost.
Those holes will widen further if Samir Nasri leaves next week. The headline news was that he started the game, and I thought he did OK. During the match a story broke on French TV station Canal Plus that the deal with Manchester City may have fallen through – I have to say I doubt that very much indeed. Arsene Wenger said he knew nothing about it after the game, but City officials are privately briefing journalists that they’re confident a move will go ahead. Wednesday will act as a deadline of sorts – if he plays against Udinese, he would be cup-tied for the Champions League (IF Arsenal qualify).
Whether he stays or not, I wish Arsene would stop telling us how much Nasri “loves” the club. Today he said:
“I have always said I will try to keep Samir Nasri. I have never changed my mind. I played him, much to the surprise of everybody, because he loves this club and at the moment I am happy he is here.”
Right, let’s get this straight: Samir Nasri doesn’t love this club. Or, if he does, it’s a love which comes second to monetary gain, which is no kind of love I know.
The fans in that stadium today love the club. Unlike Nasri, they’re putting their money in to the club rather than taking it out. And unlike Nasri, they’ll be here next week. And next season. And beyond.
I didn’t join those who left early, or who booed. But I understand why they’re frustrated. For the first time, I have serious doubts about our ability to qualify for the Champions League both for this season and next. I hope, with all my heart, that I’m proved wrong.
August 17th, 2011
Arsenal 1 – 0 Udinese (Walcott 4)
Match report | Highlights
1-0 to the Arsenal. A familiar scoreline, but a far from familiar Arsenal performance. For much of the tie – indeed, the entirety of the second half – Udinese bossed possession, and Arsenal were to forced to look for counter-attacks as they tried to grasp a foothold in the match.
Fortunately, we were protecting a lead, thanks to a goal in the fourth minute from Theo Walcott. The English winger met Aaron Ramsey’s cross with a lovely cushioned volley which, at close range, gave Handanovic no chance. Arsenal had started fast and it looked at one stage as if we might blow a shell-shocked Udinese away.
However, led by the slippery front-man Di Natale, the Italians recovered well to secure a foothold in the game, and only the fabulous save from Wojciech Szczesny, a brave block from Alex Song, and the width of the crossbar prevented them from grabbing a first-half equaliser and crucial away goal.
If Arsenal were relieved to see half-time, they couldn’t have known what travails would follow. In the first nine minutes of the half, they lost Kieran Gibbs and his replacement, Johan Djourou, to hamstring injuries. With Armand Traore also out, it meant having to hand a first-team debut to Carl Jenkinson in an unfamiliar left-back role.
The lad did OK, but had he made a major error I would’ve felt incredibly sorry for him: he shouldn’t never have been in that position. Six months ago he was playing in the conference; now we’re expecting him to be ready for the Champions League. It is, frankly, ridiculous.
You could say the same of the introduction of Emmanuel Frimpong, though the tenacious Ghanaian midfielder seems to be taking to first-team football like a duck to the proverbial water. Even so, the fact he gave away several dangerous free-kicks is indicative of his inexperience.
Our squad is thinner than Steve Bould’s hair. Joey Barton has more depth. On the bench yesterday Andrey Arshavin represented the only plausible attacking option. Wantaway Nicklas Bendtner was included to make up the numbers; if he wasn’t brought on for the struggling Chamakh he was never going to be used.
Nevertheless, we held on for what, in this sort of tie, is a good result. We could even have nicked another: only a stunning save from Handanovic prevented Walcott from adding second late on after Gervinho finally rounded off his promising approach play with an effective final pass. A draw or even a 2-1 defeat in Italy will be enough to take us through. It’s great to record another clean sheet, and I thought the triangle of Szczesny, Vermaelen and Koscielny were impressive again, whilst in midfield Aaron Ramsey showed tremendous work ethic and desire.
The problem of our ever-depleting squad, however, remains. Yesterday, Emmanuel Eboue and Carlos Vela became the latest players to leave Arsenal, joining Fabregas, Clichy, Denilson, and Emmanuel-Thomas. More are set to follow. The steady drain of talent is becoming an exodus.
After the game Arsene Wenger declined to speak to the press, ostensibly as part of a stand-off with UEFA, who were unhappy that messages were being passed to pitchside via Boro Primorac and Colin Lewin. He will have been relieved to have found an excuse to avoid the outstretched cameras and microphones. Doubtless he would have faced more questions about strengthening his squad – questions to which, as yet, he has provided few answers.
There remains much work to do: both in the second leg in Udine, and in the transfer market. Get busy, Arsene.
Next Posts
Previous Posts
