Gunnerblog

Thoughts on: Stoke, Theo & the transfer deadline

36 comments August 29th, 2012

After a month of hard work and hedonism, I am back at the familiar grindstone.  Only it’s not a grindstone, it’s a laptop.  And this is less of a job and more of a hobby.  But other than that, it is literally exactly the same as returning to a grindstone.

On Sunday Arsenal drew 0-0 at Stoke in a game that won’t go down as a classic.  I understand the concerns about having now played 180 minutes of the season without scoring – especially the day after Robin van Persie lashed in his first goal at Old Trafford – but I still think a draw at The Potteries is a creditable result.  The back five coped admirably, and when you consider that we included the inexperienced Mannone and Jenkinson that’s some achievement.  It’s also worth noting that we didn’t look overrun in central midfield, where Mikel Arteta and Abou Diaby occupied the deep-lying roles.

One notable absentee was Theo Walcott, left out in favour of Olivier Giroud with the Ivorian Gervinho retaining his place on the flank.  At the time I pondered whether or not Theo’s omission might have anything to do with his contract situation, and judging by today’s headlines perhaps I wasn’t too far off the mark.

There is now just one day between today and transfer deadline day.  For those of you who are terrible at maths, that means the deadline is in just two days.  And yet this remains a major issue that still requires a resolution.  Last night both Walcott’s representatives and Arsenal were privately insisting that talks were still ongoing, although the story in every newspaper absolutely reeks of an agent trying to force the club’s hand – either to up their offer, or to allow the player to go.

There is rumoured interest from both Liverpool and Man City.  I’d consider City unlikely – they will almost certainly snare Scott Sinclair from Swansea as their fleet-of-foot British replacement for Adam Johnson.  Liverpool, however, seems to make a lot of sense.  Brendan Rogers loves a winger with pace – look at his use of both Sinclair and Nathan Dyer last season.  Walcott himself is a self-confessed boyhood Liverpool fan, and wouldn’t be put off by a lack of Champions League football if he felt he’d get a guaranteed first-team place.

As Saturday shows, he’s not guaranteed that at Arsenal.  His success last season was built on a partnership with Robin van Persie – without that, he is vulnerable to competition from the likes of Gervinho, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Lukas Podolski.

However, to lose another statistically productive attacking player – and big name – would still be a big blow to the club, especially with so little time to replace him.  I confess I had an inkling that this news might be in the offing – just a day before I tweeted some information that we were making enquiries around Europe for attacking players, particularly in wide areas.  If we are to lose Theo, we’re already looking at potential replacements.

What’s slightly worrying is the breadth and speculative nature of some of those enquiries.  We’ve asked about a couple of players for the first time in the window just two days before its end.  All signs point to another chaotic finish to the transfer window.  Several players are guaranteed to leave – Henri Lansbury became the first yesterday, joining Nottingham Forest for a bargain £1m – and I’m still hopeful one or two might arrive.

Hopeful without being expectant, I should say.  Doing a deal this late can be tricky, but at least I know we’re trying.  It could yet be a very busy few days.  Brace yourselves.

Some Thoughts On Theo

181 comments June 18th, 2012

I don’t know about you, but my emotional interest in international tournament is always two-fold. I cheer on my national side, England, doing my best to put aside my differences with various members of the squad. Beyond that, I look out for Arsenal players in action for their respective countries, and generally wish them well. Last night, for example, I was rather caught up in the varying fortunes of strike pair Lukas Podolski and Robin van Persie. The former scored on his 100th appearance for Germany as he sailed through to the Quarter-Finals. Robin, meanwhile, misfired again and is now heading on a plane home to ruminate further on his club future.

The night before, however, both my interests were intertwined, as Arsenal winger Theo Walcott came off the bench to drag England to victory against Sweden. After the pedestrian efforts of James Milner, his pace and direct running provided a welcome change in tempo. Just three minutes after entering the field, his deflected strike drew the score level at 2-2. And it was his searing run and pinpoint cross that allowed Danny Welbeck to pirouette and snatch England’s winner.

Unfortunately, Theo has now suffered a set-back in training, with a possible reoccurrence of the hamstring injury that troubled him at the back end of last season. If that is found to be the case, it will almost certainly end his tournament. It’s a shame for Walcott, who has waited six years to get on the field in a major international competition, but whatever happens it surely won’t be forgotten that without him England would be staring down the barrel of a group stage exit.

Of course, his game-changing contribution served to remind Arsenal fans that it is not just Robin van Persie’s future that is in doubt. Theo Walcott’s existing contract also expires in just twelve months, and there has been a far less tangible effort on Arsenal’s part to secure an extension.

There still seem to be serious doubts over Walcott’s ability. The emergence of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain as a genuine contender for his first-team spot with Arsenal and England has not helped him. In my opinion, we’d be mad to let him go. In purely cynical terms, he’s a major name and a commercial asset to the club. However, on the pitch, his understanding with Robin van Persie is almost telepathic, and his stats (for goals and assists) suggest that despite his capacity to frustrate he remains productive.

The problem for Theo will always be that he was hyped as the new Thierry. He’ll never be that. However, considering that when we bought him we were essentially taking a £10m gamble, the fact he’s turned in to a Champions League and international level performer is actually a pretty decent return. If he were to ever leave, we ought to expect a significant profit – and to do so, it is essential he is under contract. Letting it run down yet further makes no sense whatsoever.

The fixtures are out first thing this morning. All the chatter says we’ve got Sunderland at home in the first game. That’d be a nice start.

Wolves 0 – 3 Arsenal: Theo dances past Wolves

79 comments April 12th, 2012

Arsenal 3 – 0 Wolves

Match Report | Highlights | Arsene’s reaction

This was a perfectly satisfactory night for Arsenal…
Three goals, a clean sheet, and no injuries.  The game was won inside 12 minutes, and we were able to coast for the remainder.  I had the ill-fortune of listening to one Tony Gale on commentary, as he insisted the ‘professional’ thing to do was to attack a ten-man Wolves side and look to score five or six.  I disagree: the professional thing to do was keep the ball, conserve our energy, and focus on greater challenges ahead.

Theo Walcott was electric early on…
Wolves made a strange decision to play a high-line, and Walcott punished them, twice flying beyond the defence.  The first time he was brought down, culminating in a penalty and a red card, and the second he finished superbly.  Afterwards he faded, and may have been a little thrown by the boos he received from the Wolves crowd.  He should embrace that sort of reaction: from opposition fans, a boo is almost always a compliment.

Robin van Persie was magisterial…
His impudently chipped penalty was the highlight of an exemplary display.  He dropped deeper than usual, happy to let Walcott roam further ahead, and was involved in all three goals.  He’s now equalled a record held by Ian Wright by scoring against 17 different Premier League teams.  The Footballer of the Year elect simply must stay at Arsenal.

Szczesny shares a trait with all great goalkeepers…
Concentration: he has the ability to make important saves having been inactive for long portions of games.  The young Pole has had an outstanding debut season as first-choice keeper.  The main thing he needs to eradicate from his game is a tendency to roll or kick the ball out to players under too much pressure to retain it.

Yossi Benayoun has been a vitally important squad member…
He’s been used similarly to the way in which Alex Ferguson uses Park Ji-Sung – brought in to bulk up the midfield with his industry in the big games.   He’s also chipped in with a few good goals, and last night’s was no exception, thumping home in to the near post from the edge of the box.  Despite his impressive displays, I’d be surprised if Arsene were to sign him permanently – with the emergence of Chamberlain, as well as the likely additions to next seasons squad of Podolski and Miyaichi, opportunities on the flanks will become increasingly hard to come by.

Andre Santos looks a long way from fully fit…
…but that is only to be expected after so long on the sidelines.  At times last night he made my heart jump up in to my mouth, but I’m sure that as his fitness improves he’ll regain the form he showed prior to Christmas.  In any case, Kieran Gibbs should be fit to return to the side at the next available opportunity.

Wigan on Monday will be a test…
I watched their game at Stamford Bridge and they were outstanding.  It seems they were in similar form last night, beating a subdued Man United.    Hopefully a third performance like that on the trot proves to be beyond them.  We now face Wigan and Chelsea before Spurs play another league game, giving us the opportunity to open up an 11 point gap.  Indeed, 4 wins from our last 5 games (3 of which are at home) would guarantee third spot and Champions League Qualification.  Keep the focus, and it is within our grasp.

The decision not to punish Mario Balotelli…
…is, of course, ludicrous.   The rules and systems simply must be changed to prevent further miscarriages of justice.

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You can hear me discuss all this and more on tomorrow’s Arseblog arsecast. Be sure to give it a listen.

QPR 2 – 1 AFC: Back to Earth

21 comments April 2nd, 2012

Arsenal fans seem as furious about this defeat as any other in this topsy-turvy season.  Once again, the players are being branded as no-hopers and the manager as clueless.  It’s almost as if one result has caused a seven-game winning streak to evaporate.

The fact is that if you allow your performance level to drop, any team in this division can beat you.  Our performance on Saturday was not up to scratch – when we had the ball, we didn’t do enough with it, and when we didn’t have the ball we made simple defensive errors, with the normally reliable Thomas Vermaelen particularly culpable.

It’s a bad result, but we were going to lose eventually.  The uproar and vitriol I’ve witnessed in the aftermath of this game suggests that, as with the long unbeaten run prior to Christmas, the winning streak has created a disproportionate degree of expectation considering the limitations of this team.  A few months ago we were praying for fourth; now we’re furious that Spurs have closed in on third.

Just as many were too quick to write us off in the face for the Champions League back in September, so too were we too swiftly heralded as the Premier League’s ‘third-place elect’.  The road until the end of the season is long and winding, and there will be several more bumps between now and May.  Good: I for one find it exciting.  And, remembering the disaster that was last summer, am very glad just to be in the mix.

I’ve been fairly consistent in saying that we’d finish fourth this year.  Looking at the respective fixture lists of ourselves, Tottenham and Chelsea, I see no reason to revise my prediction.  As I’ve said several times, considering the problems we’ve faced this season – many of which have been self-inflicted, I’ll admit – that would resemble some achievement.  As much as I’m enjoying laughing at Liverpool, it doesn’t take a huge leap of the imagination to imagine that it could very easily have been us.

Of course, we should give it everything we have to finish third.  It’s still very much in our hands, and if we want to do it we need to avoid the complacency we displayed in the game at Loftus Road.  Some of the players seemed a little like they had begun to believe their own hype, whilst Robin van Persie is finally starting to look a little jaded – one can’t help but feel that earlier in the season he would have buried the one-on-one chance presented to him by Alex Song’s fine through-ball.  I was also a little bemused by the selection of Aaron Ramsey wide on the left – it was a ploy that had limited success at Everton, and seemed to backfire in a game where the attacking onus was with Arsenal.  Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has not started any of our last three games – a run I hope will end soon.

So it was a poor performance, and a poor result.  But it’s not the end of the world – nor, crucially, the end of our season.  Before the game I spoke of eight cup finals.  We lost the first won, but win the next against Man City and it will soon be forgotten.  Arsenal have plenty to play for, and I’m afraid slip-ups along the way are inevitable.  Don’t be fooled by unbeaten runs: this team are not the Invincibles.  They are, however, earning a reputation for being fairly unkillable: as soon as they’re written off, they find a way of coming back from the brink.  It’s a trait I can’t help but admire.

5 Reasons 2 Believe

112 comments February 27th, 2012

Arsenal pile on top of Theo Walcott after he sets the seal on Arsenal's derby victory

Match Report | Highlights | Arsene’s reaction

“Arsenal are alive more than anybody thought before the game.”
Arsene Wenger 

As we all know, Arsenal vs Tottenham is more than a game. And yesterday, with an Arsenal side on the verge of crisis hosting a rampant Spurs, it looked to be more than a derby. Fitting then, that what we got in the end was more than a victory. It was a hammering.

With 34 minutes gone, it wasn’t looking so clever. Spurs had glided in to a two goal lead; first Louis Saha broke beyond an Arsenal backline more jagged and ugly than one of Aaron Lennon’s eyebrow designs, and his shot deflected off Thomas Vermaelen and over Wojciech Szczesny. Then Gareth Bale fought his way past Kieran Gibbs, and took a self-inflicted tumble over the advancing Szczesny. The referee pointed to the spot, more out of habit than anything else, and Emmanuel Adebayor stroked home his inevitable goal.

At this point, I feared the worst. In the short-term, I was worried we would be on the end of a humiliating result. Although we hadn’t played particularly poorly, Spurs looked deadly on the break with the pace of Bale and Walker, and Saha and Adebayor were proving a real handful. It was inevitable we would pour forward in search of a goal, and I feared we’d be picked off on the counter-attack, much like Manchester United were in their 6-1 drubbing at home to City.

In the longer term, I wondered if this match might prove to be another nail in the coffin of Arsene Wenger’s tenure. A hefty home defeat to Spurs, off the back of exits from the Champions League and FA Cup, could have turned the tide against him irreparably.

The players, it seems, had other ideas. Before the game Arsene said he didn’t feel they’d let him down at Sunderland. I disagree. On that day they weren’t up for a battle; they didn’t fancy a fight. Yesterday was different.

Their combative spirit was typified by the goal that got us back in to the game. After Robin van Persie struck a post with a right-footed effort, the ball was kept in play and knocked back to Mikel Arteta. The Spaniard floated a clipped pass to the far post, where Gareth Bale seemed certain to nod the ball away. Instead, he was beaten to it by Bacary Sagna, who launched himself at the ball and headed powerfully beyond Brad Friedel and in to the far corner.

It is said that great headed goals depend on two components: delivery and desire. All too often our attempts to score from crosses lack either. This was a rare example of both. In recent years, I haven’t seen too many Arsenal players throw themselves at the ball the way Sagna did yesterday. He didn’t care if he got hurt. He knew what a goal back before half-time would mean, and he wanted it more than every single Tottenham defender.

Even he could not possibly have known the avalanche that goal would inspire. Before half-time, we were able to grab the equaliser that turned the game on its head. Of course, it fell to Robin van Persie to turn this way and that on the edge of the box before arcing a beautiful shot around Brad Friedel and in to the back of the net. It was a moment of sheer class. It had struck me before the game that since his evolution in to a penalty-box poacher, RVP has not often found himself with the time and space required to score the wonder goals for which he made his name. Yesterday, in his desperation to drop deep and make things happen, he inadvertently created an opportunity for one of his patented long-range strikes. And what a strike it was.

As the second half kicked off, the momentum was firmly with Arsenal. Harry Redknapp made a double change, introducing Sandro and Van der Vaart and switching to 4-3-3 in an effort to stem the time. It served only to weaken Spurs’ attacking threat, and a creaking Tottenham backline found itself coming under wave after wave of Arsenal attacks.

In this most unpredictable of games, Arsenal’s third goal had the most unpredictable scorer. Tomas Rosicky picked up the ball about thirty yards out, slid it wide to the onrushing Sagna, and sprinted in to the box to meet the full-back’s cross with a deft finish off the outside of his left boot. Wojciech Szczesny celebrated with a backflip. The Emirates was delirious, and Rosicky relieved. It was his fiftieth game since his last league goal.

If Rosicky scoring was a surprise, then so too was what followed: a brace from Theo Walcott. Walcott had been dreadful in the first-half – he seems destined to inherit Andrey Arshavin’s role as the fans’ designated scapegoat – and was probably considered for the hook at the interval. However, he showed tremendous persistence and self-belief to put in a considerably improved second half display.

At the heart of his performance were two fantastic goals. First he raced almost the length of the pitch to support Robin van Persie, and lifted the ball neatly over Brad Friedel. Then he beat the offside trap to meet a remarkable lofted pass from Alex Song, and finish expertly across the American. Big goals from a player who has not been a fan favourite of late.

Late on, a headless chicken who goes by the name of Scott Parker was sent off for a second bookable offence, and Arsenal were able to see out the game with a bit of keep-ball against ten men whilst ‘Oles’ rang around the Emirates. A remarkable turnaround, and a contender for the most entertaining game in our new stadium’s short history.

We’re not out of the woods yet. Amidst the Arsenal fans’ gloating, one song was conspicuous by its absence. Quick though we were to ask Adebayor what the score was, or to remind Spurs they had been two up before collapsing, there was no chant for the man who had masterminded the victory: Arsene Wenger.

He got his XI spot on, starting Yossi Benayoun ahead of the more fancied Gervinho and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. His recent faith in Tomas Rosicky was vindicated with the Czech’s finest performance in years, and his decision to retain Walcott rewarded with two excellent goals. And yet the 60,000-strong crowd did not see fit to salute Le Boss individually. Perhaps we were too busy taunting our rivals. Or perhaps there’s more to it.

Grateful though we all are for yesterday, there is a strong and accurate feeling that redemption is about more than one game. This was the first of three hugely significant league games, which will also take in clashes with Liverpool and Newcastle. The performance yesterday has to be a blueprint for those games, and beyond. If we are to qualify for the Champions League we need to consistently find that level of desire, that degree of determination, and that quality in our play.

Each of our goals was expertly taken, and each demonstrated a player prepared to go that extra mile for his team.  Each of those five goals gave rise to joy and, crucially, belief.  Belief that this is a side who are capable of taking fourth place, ensuring Champions League qualification, and (with the right reinforcements) pushing on beyond that in the year to come.

Today marks a year to the day since the Carling Cup Final defeat by Birmingham – a game which signified the beginning of something on an annus horribilis for Arsene’s Arsenal. Let’s hope yesterday’s victory can signify the start of a more enjoyable twelve months.

Oh, and Tottenham fans: Mind the gap.