November 6th, 2011
Thomas Vermaelen celebrates his first goal of the season
Match Report | Highlights | Arsene’s reaction
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.
November 4th, 2011
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.
October 31st, 2011
Hello all. I wrote this in the immediate aftermath of Saturday’s game, but have only just found the WIFI signal required to get it up.
Chelsea 3 – 5 Arsenal
Match Report | Highlights | Arsene’s reaction
The early part of this 2011/12 season has been characterised by some extraordinary results. Arsenal fans know this better than any, having been involved in remarkable clashes at both Old Trafford and Ewood Park. Yesterday, for the first time, one of these bizarre scorelines fell in our favour.
The scoreline might have been freakish, but the result wasn’t. An Arsenal win surprised many, myself included, but it comes off the back of an impressive run of form – it’s now eight wins from nine games. Chelsea, meanwhile, had lost their last league game at QPR.
Despite that, I didn’t dare anticipate victory. But before the game, looking at our team it did strike me that we are looking stronger than we have in some months. Over the past eight weeks or so, a new team has begun to gel, and there is suddenly a degree of solidity and momentum behind them.
It was a sign of Arsene’s confidence that he was able to leave Thomas Vermaelen on the bench, opting to continue with Laurent Koscielny and Per Mertesacker at centre-back. Johan Djourou and Andre Santos continued at full-back, with the first choice midfield trio of Song, Arteta and Ramsey restored. Gervinho and Walcott were the pacy outlets on the flanks, whilst captain Robin van Persie lead the line from the front.
One of the discussion points of the season has been the poor standard of defending. One has reluctantly come to expect that from Arsenal; from Chelsea it is more of a surprise. However, this season Andre Villas Boas has liberated his full-backs with perilous consequences. John Obi Mikel, meanwhile, is simply not a Champions League quality holding midfielder. Had the unreliable David Luiz started the game would have been even more open.
As it happened, it was a miracle the game got as far as 14 minutes at 0-0 – it could easily have been 2-2. I was particularly staggered by one miss from Gervinho – Walcott did brilliantly to skin Ashley Cole and crossed for what seemed a simple tap-in. Somehow, the Ivorian sidefooted wide. I was infuriated, and didn’t feel any better when Van Persie volleyed over an opportunity which, for a player of his equality, was relatively presentable.
When Chelsea took the lead it was through a header from Frank Lampard. Andre Santos, who had looked vulnerable in the early stages, was beaten too easily by Juan Mata, and when he crossed in to the box Lampard eluded Per Mertesacker to nod past Szczesny.
Arsenal were rocking, but before half-time had an equaliser. Aaron Ramsey, whose ninety minutes was typified by moments of enterprise and invention, played an exquisite through ball for Gervinho. This time, the winger knew better than to shoot, and squared to his skipper to tap in to an empty net.
Unfortunately, we couldn’t hold the lead until half-time, as John Terry bundled home a Frank Lampard corner at the near post. Again Mertesacker was at fault, and he and fellow new boy Santos were having a torrid time. As the half-time whistle blow, most of the talk among Arsenal fans was about replacing the Brazilian with Thomas Vermaelen.
Meanwhile, in the Arsenal dressing room, it seems Arsene Wenger was giving a speech to rival his rousing words at the AGM. With no substitutions made, Arsenal came out and attacked the second half with gusto. Within 4 minutes, we had our second equaliser of the game. And, of course, it was Santos who got the goal, racing on to a Song through-ball to tuck in to the near post and continue the fine tradition of left-backs scoring at the Bridge. From that moment on, he visibly grew in to the game, putting in several crunching tackles as well as marauding forward on the break.
Arsenal had momentum, and soon went ahead for the first time with the fifth goal of the game. Theo Walcott scooted inside from the right, tripped, fell over, clambered back to his feet, whizzed beyond two more defenders and thundered an effort in to Petr Cech’s increasingly vulnerably near post.
At this point, there were still 35 minutes to go, and I had little confidence in our capability to hold the lead. That said, when Chelsea did get their predictable equaliser, we were somewhat unfortunate. Andre Santos was fouled off the ball by Romelu Lukaku, allowing Juan Mata the space to crash in a phenomenal effort from fully thirty yards. At that point, it was easy to feel frustrated that we hadn’t paid the extra few million Euros to secure the Spaniard’s signature.
But there was still time for more late drama. John Terry, who looked at half-time as if he might prove to be the match-winner, inexplicably slipped when trying to reach a loose backpass from Florent Malouda. Robin van Persie raced on to the loose ball, and from then on there was only ever going to be one outcome. The Dutchman skipped past Petr Cech and tucked home to put Arsenal 4-3 ahead.
Chelsea were then left with no choice but to go for broke, and inevitably Arsenal created chances on the break. When Tomas Rosicky headed away an inswinging free-kick, Arsenal were able in break in numbers. Even so, when Van Persie received the ball from Mikel Arteta on the corner of Chelsea’ penalty area the outcome was far from certain. However, the Dutchman unleashed an unstoppable shot which flew past Cech at his near post. It was his hatrick, his tenth league goal of the season, and the eighth of a quite unbelievable game of football. One which we had won.
The celebrations for the fifth goal and the final whistle have have looked a little over-the-top to the neutral. They were more befitting of a side winning the league than a mere three points. However, for Arsenal fans, they require no explanation. After the horrors of Old Trafford, this game provided a necessary and hugely cathartic fillip. For the first time since the victory over Barcelona in spring, Arsenal fans are able to feel unapologetically proud of their team.
Granted, we weren’t perfect – in the first half the defending left much to be desired. But we played with a swagger that has been sadly absent since the summer.
Supporters and players alike seem to be slowly regaining faith in the potential of this club and team. Winning at Stamford Bridge was a slap in the face to those pundits who said Arsenal wouldn’t even challenge for the top four this season. We’ll certainly be there or thereabouts – the sheer brilliance of Robin van Persie alone ought to be enough to ensure that.
I can’t wait to see what the atmosphere is like at the stadium when Arsenal take on Marseille tomorrow. I hope the fans give the players the raucous welcome they deserve. And should the first goal go against us, I hope they remember the way in which we were able to twice come behind with such stunning effect over the weekend.
I think we’re all agreed that our season only started on September 1st. This weekend, it finally burst in to life. Let’s consign the pain of August to the past, and start enjoying it.
October 24th, 2011
Arsenal 3 – 1 Stoke
Match Report | Highlights | Arsene’s reaction
Imagine, if you will, that Arsene Wenger had been dismissed following Arsenal’s defeat at Blackburn on September 17th. It’s not beyond the realms of possibility – certainly, a large proportion of the fanbase were calling for just that to happen. Now imagine that the new manager – some idealistic lovechild of Jose Mourinho and Pep Guardiola, conceived in a bout of passionate hate-sex, had achieved exactly the same results Arsene has in the last seven games.
It’s six wins from seven games, with 15 goals scored and just six conceded. It’s a run that’s taken us to the top of our Champions League group, and within three points of both Liverpool and Tottenham in the Premier League.
Had these results been picked up by a new manager, divorced from the stigma that Arsene has collected in his 15 years at charge, he’d be being praised for the impressive and pragmatic turnaround. Arsene, too, deserves that credit. I want to stear clear of cliche and avoid claiming that we’ve turned round any corners or over any leaves, but there is an increasing confidence in this Arsenal squad – a confidence underlined by the fact that Arsene felt he would be able to start Robin van Persie on the bench yesterday.
As we know, the Dutchman eventually stepped on to the field to resume his customary role as match-winner. He is now just one off double-figures for the season, and has a staggering 25 goals in 26 league games in the calendar year of 2011 (thanks Orbinho). His evolution in to a central striker has been fascinating to watch. He arrived at Arsenal as a lanky teenager who had, like another great Arsenal striker, Thierry Henry, spent most of footballing career on the left-wing. Unlike Henry, Van Persie was not blessed with blistering pace, and so was ear-marked by many (including Arsene) as a potential successor to Dennis Bergkamp in the support-striker role. When we made the necessary switch to 4-3-3, however, Arsene needed a centre-forward who could receive the ball with his back to goal and bring the midfield in to play. He needed someone with an immaculate first-touch, and Van Persie was that man.
What he and others could never predicted was that the Dutchman would unearth in himself such a goalscoring instinct. Both finishes yesterday were instant near-post strikes – real poacher’s goals. If he somehow manages to avoid injury, he promises to have his highest scoring season to date.
For both goals yesterday he owed a huge debt of gratitude to Gervinho. The Ivorian winger had his best game in an Arsenal shirt, scoring the opener after a lovely clipped pass from Aaron Ramsey, and then setting up the second and third with darts to the right and left byline respectively before cutting the ball back in to Robin’s path. Whilst his first touch and finishing can be erratic, he does seem to possess that burst of pace over five yards than allows him to get past a man in the tightest of situations. And, unlike Theo Walcott, he seems to be able to take the ball with him when he does it too, and find a pass at the end of it. Hopefully his goal yesterday marks the start of a scoring run – we need the likes of Gervinho and Walcott to take the pressure off Van Persie.
Finally, I wanted to speak in praise once more of our centre-back pairing of Per Mertesacker and Laurent Koscielny, who (for the most part) coped admirably with Stoke’s aerial bombardment. Stoke’s goal was the unfortunate product of a lapse on concentration – I think fans and players alike thought they’d hoofed their free-kick out of play, only to see it catch in the wind and turn out to be a perfectly clipped pass to the near post.
Koscielny has been getting a lot of praise of late, but it doesn’t take a genius to see that having the giant German alongside him is helping him enormously.  It means that Thomas Vermaelen will have a genuine battle to get back in to the side when he returns from injury, which is a luxury we couldn’t have dreamt of a few months ago. While we’re on the defence, I also though Andre Santos and Johan Djourou performed very ably in the full-back positions.
Right, Carling Cup tomorrow, and another chance to look at Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, among others.
October 17th, 2011
Robin van Persie celebrates the winning goal
Match Report | Highlights | Arsene’s reaction
Arsenal are more reliant on Robin van Persie than ever…
There are two reasons we have relied quite as much on one Robin van Persie. Â The first is that it hasn’t been possible, simply because he hasn’t been fit. Â The second is that it hasn’t been necessary, because we’ve had a more even distribution of talent. Â At the moment, especially with Jack Wilshere and Bacary Sagna injured, he is the sole world class performer in our team. Â He’d grace any team in the world, and finds himself as the talisman of a struggling side. Â Fortunately, he is seizing responsibility with relish, as his match-winning display yesterday demonstrated. Â This Robin is, unlike his comic-book name-same, no ‘boy wonder’: he’s all grown-up. Â And we desperately, desperately need him.
Robin is swiftly becoming too good for this side…
The sad truth is that as Robin’s shooting star is looking lonely in a darkening Arsenal constellation. Â He has less than two years to run on his current deal, and Arsene didn’t exactly sound confident of him signing an extension any time soon:
“The ideal situation is that he extends his contract but if he doesn’t you have to respect that. You know what is important is that he plays like he plays because we are all here to see special football players and he is a special football player.”
In other words: enjoy it while you can. Â As I said above, Van Persie would not look out of place at Real Madrid or Barcelona. Â If he keeps playing like this, he’ll have his pick. Â Perhaps his future will depend on our Champions League status.
Carl Jenkinson has one oustanding quality…
There may be question marks over his defensive positioning, but you can’t argue with the fact that he is quite possibly the finest crosser of the ball at Arsenal Football Club. Â For anyone who has spent years watching our corners hit the first man that won’t be a huge surprise, but yesterday Jenkinson’s delivery of the ball was consistently excellent. Â It was a solid performance from the young lad, and hopefully he’ll grow in confidence and stature as the games go by.
Andrey Arshavin can be a great impact sub…
Yesterday he was introduced for the patchy Gervinho, and made a real impact, drifting infield and showing a willingness to run at defenders and try to make things happen. Â I know I have a reputation as something of an ‘Arshavin apologist’, but when you witness cameos like he produced yesterday it’s easy to see why I can be seduced by his talent before being appalled by his attitude.
Arsene does not trust Park…
Had Van Persie not spared our blushes with that sumptuous free-kick, surely questions would have been asked of his Arsene’s continued unwillingness to make use of his new striker. Â Against both Spurs and Sunderland, Arsene chose to introduce Yossi Benayoun ahead of our number nine. Â Perhaps it comes from an unwillingness to change our shape, but with only two years in which to make his mark at Arsenal, Park will surely be conscious of the early lack of opportunities.
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