September 22nd, 2013
It sticks in my craw, but I have to credit Mark Hughesɉ۬
Funny idiom, that. Apparently a craw is the throat of a bird. I googled it. I don’t have a bird’s throat, but if I did, having to be nice about Mark Hughes would certainly clog it right up.
Stoke are a changed team. They’re playing football now. Proper football. Rory Delap has been let go and has found his rightful place in League Two. Ryan Shotton and his towel have been dispatched to Wigan. The long-throws are out and short-passing is in.
I have to admit, I was impressed. Marc Wilson has transformed from a lumbering utility player in to a technically competent and positionally intelligent holding midfielder. In Marko Arnautovic, the Potters have acquired a number ten with both imagination and industry.
I don’t know if the speed of Stoke’s adaptation says more about Hughes’ innovation or Pulis’ intransigence. However, the latter option allows me to reduce Hughes’ credit and have a pop his predecessor, so I’ll plump for that.
There was a bit of role-reversal going onɉ۬
Stoke controlled a lot of the possession, yet Arsenal scored from three set-pieces. Still, at least the Stoke fans were forced to abandon their usual boast of supporting an “English†team – Kieran Gibbs and Jack Wilshere outnumbered Ryan Shawcross on today’s team-sheets.
Opportunity Gnocked for Serge…
…and I thought Gnabry did very well. His touch was superb, and the only criticism you could level at him is that he sometimes looked a little timid. After beating the first man he’d generally look to pass the ball to a more senior colleague.
His body-shape and running style remind me a little of Chelsea’s Eden Hazard. I certainly hope to see more of him in next week’s Capital One Cup tie with West Brom.
It was good to see some familiar faces on the benchɉ۬
The return of Mikel Arteta gives us back some depth in midfield. It will be genuinely difficult to choose between Arteta and Flamini, who was at his rambunctious best against Stoke, putting as much energy in to pointing and cajoling as tackling and harrying.
In difficult away games, it could be an option to field both, with Aaron Ramsey patrolling the area just ahead and Mesut Ozil stationed on the wing. It’s one of those “nice problems†Arsene Wenger will be delighted to have.
It was good too see Nicklas Bendtner back on the bench. Yes, he is hugely out of practise. Yes, he is a little overweight. Yes, he looks like he’s come to a fancy dress party in disguise as ‘The Mandarin’ from Iron Man 3. However, I’d still rather call on the Dane than either Yaya Sanogo or Chuba Akpom.
For Aaron Ramsey, confidence is everythingɉ۬
His opening goal looked like a simple tap-in, but was in reality far trickier. He had to react in an instant to find a very narrow gap between goalie and post with his weaker foot.
Of course, in his current form, he pulled it off. Confidence is an extraordinary thing. It can do incredible things to a footballer. Ramsey is at the crest of a wave, and I hope he can stay there as long as possible. When he inevitably reverts to somewhere approaching the mean, I still think we’ll still have a very fine footballer on our hands.
Ozil’s set-pieces are a bonus…
The German is not renowned as a dead-ball specialist but as an assured technician is able to get the ball beyond the first man and in to dangerous areas. That’s more than most of our current crop.
I am continually amazed that a group of such technically gifted players are unable to consistently deliver a decent set-piece. Even the wondrously-gifted Santi Cazorla seems to have inherited the Arsenal disease of lumping the ball directly in to the first defender.
Hopefully Ozil’s immaculate technique can give us a new attacking weapon for our Arsenal.
Have Arsenal ever had so many one-footed players?
We frequently celebrate Cazorla’s ambidexterity, but I can’t remember an Arsenal team containing so many players who simply refused to use their wrong foot. The likes of Jack Wilshere and Olivier Giroud seem allergic to kicking the ball with their right boot.
Perhaps its because we have so many lefties in the squad. Left-footed players aren’t encouraged to develop their two-footedness as much as they’re generally allowed to flourish as specialists.
It’s time some of our squad got working on moulding their chocolate legs.
Arsenal miss Tomas Rosicky…
Arsenal struggled to maintain their tempo for long periods of this game. I can’t help but feel that’s because of the absence of the metronomic Tomas Rosicky.
It seems there will not be room for Rosicky and Ozil in the same team. Hopefully one of the other midfielders – Ramsey perhaps – can pick up the baton and start picking up the tempo in the middle of the park.
For all Ozil’s gifts, he won’t replicate the persistent pressure that Rosicky is able to put on opposition defenders.
April 6th, 2013
WBA 1 – 2 Arsenal
Match Report | Highlights | Arsene’s reaction
Tomas Rosicky is a bit like Wigan. Or blossom. Come spring, he comes to life.
It’s freezing in England. Going by the weather, you’d be forgiven for thinking we were still gripped by midwinter. A more accurate calendar is created by the form of Wigan and Rosicky. The changing of the seasons is more reliably marked by the sight of an energetic Czech midfielder darting about the Premier League than it is by any shift in weather patterns.
If Rosicky ever does leave Arsenal, perhaps he should consider joining Roberto Martinez’s side. With their powers combined they could probably go from relegation strugglers to title-challengers between March and the end of May.
For now, Arsene Wenger is eager to keep him. It’s easy to see why. Arsenal have players with greater technical gifts, but few who marry those gifts with such a degree of hard work and commitment.
Goals have been hard to come by for Rosicky, but the double he scored at the Hawthorns showed a rare predatory instinct. His first was a diving header to divert a wild strike from Gervinho. The Ivorian received praise from some for an ‘assist’, which I think might be putting it a bit strongly. Whilst Gervinho’s direct style and clever footwork certainly contributed to the goal, only Rosicky’s intervention transformed a miscued shot in to an effective cross.
His second goal was also reliant on lightning reactions. Aaron Ramsey broke well and crossed to find the number seven. After his first shot was saved by Ben Foster, Rosicky raced on to the rebound and fired smartly in to the corner.
From that point on it should have been a comfortable Arsenal victory, but that’s just not our style. With 20 minutes to go, Per Mertesacker was dismissed for a clumsy tackle as the last man. James Morrison converted the resulting penalty, and suddenly Arsenal found themselves very much under the cosh.
In their panic, Arsenal were completely incapable of retaining possession. Arsenal invited West Brom on to them, and only luck and last-ditch defended prevented the Baggies from finding an equaliser. This fixture was our final game of last season, and will be remembered for Arsene Wenger clinging nervously to Pat Rice. This game was every bit as finely balanced, and you could have forgiven Arsene for seeking a hug from the far less cuddly Steve Bould.
The last passage of the game was summed up by the final few seconds of stoppage time, as Ben Foster was allowed to dribble fully forty yards up the pitch unchallenged before launching a long ball in to our penalty area.
Fortunately, Arsenal survived. Few wins this season have been as satisfactory. It was gritty, it was grubby, and it was great. The three points take us in to the top four, with the onus now firmly on Spurs and Chelsea in their games tomorrow.
The continuing progress of our rivals in the Europa League means this pattern will be repeated between now and the end of the season. We will have more opportunities to take the initiative and crank up the pressure on the other two London clubs.
Since losing the Derby at Spurs, Arsenal have won four games, scoring ten goals and conceding just two. We have the momentum, and we have Tomas Rosicky.
The omens are good. We just need to keep it going.
February 21st, 2013
Realistically speaking, Arsenal have one remaining target this season: to qualify for the Champions League. That battle recommences this weekend as Arsenal host an ailing Aston Villa side.
It’s ostensibly a good chance to get back on the good foot. Despite recent positive results against Everton and West Ham, Villa are remain right in the relegation mix. This is a side that we should be beating, and the odds reflect that: Ladbrokes has Arsenal as 1/3 to win the game.
It’s also a weekend that could see us make ground on our rivals. Chelsea travel to Manchester City, while Tottenham face a tricky London derby at Upton Park. If results go our way, we could go in to next week’s crucial North London derby just one point behind Spurs.
The next few games will have a huge say on our ultimate league position. After Villa, we face Spurs, Everton and Swansea in succession. We simply cannot afford to allow our downward spiral to continue.
In an effort to bring some spark back to the side, I’d advocate the reintroduction of Tomas Rosicky. Last season, when things were similarly precarious, his energy and drive was essential in dragging us towards the top four, and his recent cameos suggest he’s capable of making a similar impact in the latter portion of this season.
We are entering that period of the campaign when performances cease to matter: it is all about results. We need to grab every point we can between now and May, and hope that Spurs combust in their own inimitable style. An injury to Gareth Bale would probably help, too.
Finally, at a time when the world and his wife seem to writing letters (either open, closed or slightly ajar) to significant figures at Arsenal, it’d be remiss of me not to mention this piece of musical correspondence between Arsene Wenger and Stan Kroenke. It’s worrying how much of it is still relevant.
December 8th, 2012
You hear the phrase ‘must-win’ brandished as an epithet to every other Premier League game. Â Today, for Arsenal, it feels appropriate. Â Should we fail to beat West Brom, the consequences will be catastrophic. Â Not as far as the Premier League table goes: there’s plenty of time for us to catch the Baggies, as well as the other teams chasing Champions League Qualification. Â The damage to the trust between fans and manager, however, could be hugely significant. Â Last week, the atmosphere shifted from tense to toxic. Â I dread to think where it goes from here.
West Brom come with a strong squad. Â Their only key player missing is Scott Carson BEN FOSTER (thanks for the copious corrections in the comments), and unfortunately for Gooners everywhere, his place won’t be taken by Martin Fulop. Â The man who made the last day of 2011/12 hilarious for all the right reasons now plays for Asteras Tripoli in the Greek Super League, but we’ll never forget him, and shall raise a glass in his honour on every St. Totteringham’s Day.
Arsenal are without both Lukas Podolski and Theo Walcott, as well as the expected absentees Bacary Sagna and Laurent Koscielny. Â Carl Jenkinson will continue at right back, with Mertesacker and Vermaelen in the middle, but it’s ahead of that where things become more interesting. Â We can be fairly certain that Mikel Arteta and Jack Wilshere will anchor the midfield. Â Santi Cazorla has started every Premier League game this season, and on each occasion it has been in the central playmaking role. Â I wonder, however, whether the absence of our first-choice wingers and the renewed availability of Tomas Rosicky will see Arsene bring the Czech in to the centre and shift Santi wide. Â We shall see, but I don’t think a change in role would do the Spaniard any harm – he may even find himself a bit liberated. Â Olivier Giroud is guaranteed to play at centre-forward, and I’d then go for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain over Gervinho on the flank, for the simple reason that The Ox is a better crosser of the ball, and that suits Giroud down to the ground.
Arsenal will take comfort from the fact that West Brom have lost their last two matches, but know that the Baggies have beaten Chelsea, Liverpool and Everton already this season. Â Swansea showed that sides no longer come to the Emirates playing with fear; they come to score goals and win. Â Arsenal will need to be vastly improved to win this one. Â And marks my words, Arenal need to. Â It’s a must-win.
December 5th, 2012
Match Report | Highlights | Arsene’s reaction
I really don’t have anything very interesting to say about this game…
I watched it, and it was relatively entertaining. Â But I couldn’t take it seriously. Â Arsene patently wasn’t too bothered himself, and so it was very hard to get emotionally involved in it. Â I enjoyed elements of our performance and the goal we scored – this was certainly a better display, even with a weakened XI, than we saw against Swansea or Villa – but it never felt truly competitive. Â It’s a shame not to win the group, but there are dangers on either side of the draw.
Tomas Rosicky was probably our best player…
…so it speaks volumes about how much of a priority the match was for Arsene that he took Rosicky off at half-time. Â Perhaps he’s considering throwing the Czech in for the game at West Brom – he adds some much-needed tempo to our game. Â I’d consider including him as part of the trio behind Olivier Giroud.
Jernade Meade was impressive again…
I liked the little left-back’s cameo at Reading, and he did extremely well on Tuesday considering he was making his first start in senior football away from home in the Champions League.  I’m told he’s a full three inches shorter than Santi Cazorla, which is frankly ridiculous, but he stood tall on the night with an energetic and confident display.  He was helped by the performance of Thomas Vermaelen  alongside him, who has shown a significant improvement since returning to centre-back.
We’ll be seeing a lot of these players again within a week…
I’m sure many of these guys will be in action again in the League Cup tie with Bradford City. Â They can’t afford to lose then – that looks by far our most realistic hope of a trophy this season.
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