Category Archives: Formation

Wigan preview: heed the words of Macaulay Caulkin

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So here we are folks. After a season of slogging towards the finish-line – an adjective that I feel is certainly fitting for our season – we find ourselves with five days to win two games and stake our claim to continue to eat at European Football’s top table.

As Macaulay Caulkin said famously in Home Alone: “This is it; don’t get scared now”.

Tonight it’s Wigan at The Emirates with, I think it’s fair to say, a lot riding on the game for both teams. I watched a bit of the Championship Play-Off semi final between Brighton and Palace yesterday, to which the annually trotted out line of “the most expensive match in world football” is often used, but I wonder how much tonight’s game is worth to both teams – just putting that into terms that Stan Kroenke and the Arsenal board might understand.

An Arsenal victory will condemn Wigan to a life away from the trimmings of the Premier League (albeit with ‘Parachute Payments’) for next season, whilst a Wigan win will all but end our hopes of a Champions League qualification slot for next year. And with it the possibility of added investment to the playing team (or at least a reduction in what could have been budgeted for) I don’t think I’m being too overly dramatic when I say that – there is no way Sunderland will do us any favours at the weekend against the Spuds – you can be sure of that. A draw does nothing for either side. It means a win on the last day for Wigan needs to be by about 12 goals and Arsenal have to beat Newcastle whilst waiting to hear from news from White Hart Lane.

Yesterday I spoke of how much more nervous I seem to be this season compared to seasons past – well, that tension and stress has now hit fever pitch, such is the worry that the team fluffs their lines tonight. We have looked shaky at times during this winning streak we’re on, and if we show any sign of psychological ‘handbraking’ as Arsene might put it, then you can be sure own opponents will capitalise.

For Wigan the threat to us is all to clear: Kone, Maloney, McManaman and the ball winning abilities of James McCarthy. They are the offensive threats and will attempt to catch Arsenal on the counter. Martinez is not stupid and he knows he won’t control possession for the whole match, so he’ll most likely set up with three at the back, look to catch Arsenal on the break with his wing backs and snatch a goal or two. That’s how Wigan beat us last season and that will be their game plan tonight. The decisions Martinez will need to make is how much rotation he can legitimately hand to his players. They have played three games in eight days where Arsenal have played none. If he is going to concede possession then he’s going to need his fittest players to be running their guts out tonight. He’ll also want a quick start. Last season they got two first half goals that stunned us and they managed to hold on through some shocking offensive play by Arsenal and some heroic defending. Martinez will know that his team will tire in the last 30 minutes or so, so his game plan will be to hope he is at least a goal up at half time.

As for us, well, I’ve got no idea how Le Boss will line up his side. He admitted yesterday that Jack is currently on painkillers and will undergo an operation on his ankle in the summer, so I’d be surprised if he’s anything but on the bench tonight. That means I suspect we will either see Cazorla dropping into midfield with either Gervhino or Podolski on the left, or the diminutive Spaniard will move across to the left to accommodate a starting slot for Tomas Rosicky. My personal preference would be to have Cazorla in the middle with Arteta and Ramsey, with Podolski up top and Gervhino on the left, and The Ox on the right. I know Theo has stepped up in his last two games and scored both of our goals, but at home against a team that will probably sit deep (especially if they are a goal up) his threat is nullified and so we need tricky players that can beat their man. Gervhino beats himself half the time, but the other half he can beat his man, so we might get more joy from him starting.

Whoever does get the nod from the manager needs to be up from this from the off. We steamrolled Manchester United for the first half a couple of weeks ago and our high pressing, intensity and desire got us up quickly and only a defensive mistake on Sagna’s part stopped us from winning the game. We need that same level of intensity from the first minute tonight. If we pour cold water on Wigan’s hopes early in the first half, they will tire enough for us to finish them off in the second, so we have to start quickly.

I think my nervousness about tonight stems from what happened to us at home against Wigan last year. We went into the game in form and a win would have all but secured Champions League football, yet we got our noses bloodied. I was confident before that game last year and was dealt a real reality check. Wigan had, and have now, the tools to damage us and we can’t – nay, mustn’t – let them do it again. There is more riding on this game for us than there was last season, just like their is more riding on it for them, so the pressure is on both clubs.

It’s never easy supporting Arsenal, it requires the constitution of a professional chilli eater, and it is going to be tested tonight. Let’s hope The Arsenal players can pass with flying colours.

See you on the other side my friends.

Jeff Goldblum can solve our striking problems

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Wednesday, Wednesday, Wednesday. The ‘in between’ weekday that doesn’t really know what it wants to be in life. It should be an astronaut. That’d show Tuesday and Thursday about ‘identity’.

As expected yesterday, the FA announced that Olivier’s red card had about as much chance of being rescinded as a fairly refereed game by Howard Webb at Old Trafford has of happening. The ban remains and the club now have to think of how to replace the loan front man with another one of the forwards that we’ve got at the club. At least Giroud has the fact the goal at Norwich has been attributed to him and not an own goal by Sebastian Bassong. Personally, I thought it looked obvious it came off Bassong, so to hear that it’s given to Giroud is a surprise. Perhaps this is one of those ‘everybody wins’ scenarios. Bassong doesn’t want the goal, Giroud does, and the result was secured by an additional goal so there wasn’t really much else to consider. I suspect it might be the last chance our dashing Frenchman has to add to his 17 goal tally, as he doesn’t like rippling the nets away from home and he’ll only have one more attempt at doing that. Of course, I’m trying the old Chris tactic of saying he’ll not score so he smashes in a hat-trick, so you can thank me on the final day of the season if it happens and we get our Champions League prize.

I saw a couple of murmurs on my timeline yesterday about the Goetze to Munich transfer. A few gooners were slightly unhappy that we hadn’t activated his €31.5million clause to be in with a running of getting the player. Yes he’s a fantastic player but let’s be realistic here, his position isn’t exactly number one on our priority list, is it? Just because Arsene had an interest in a player a couple of years ago it doesn’t give us a divine right to then go out and splooge a ridiculous transfer fee and get the player. Even if we’d triggered his release clause and were discussing terms, he’s always going to join a team in his own country, that is the biggest in their league and have already won their domestic league. And they’ll possibly in the Champions League final two years running.

The reality is that we have to make our moves when the hyper-inflated ‘big-name’ players have been cherry-picked from the oil whores or other big teams like Munich or Madrid. They can’t go after everyone on the planet and there are plenty of excellent players that can be purchased for the positions that we require.

I just hope we don’t go after Valdes. He’d cost a premium, he’s the average link in a good Barca team, and I rate Szczesny over him any day of the week. I suspect we’ll see Fabianski offski in the summer, so we’ll need to replace, but I hope it’s with an experienced keeper that can give Wojciech a couple of years of competition before he becomes our stand-out number one.

Anyway, back to the striking dilemma, particularly in reference to this weekend’s action. I think Arsene has a real dilemma on his hands. Gervhino has hit a bit of form lately, but not as a front man; Theo is out of form but can be dangerous if United try to push themselves higher up the pitch and try to press us further forward; and Lukas is the most natural finisher but looked a bit leggy when he came on against Fulham. There is no ready-made replacement that can play the same role as Giroud and hold up the ball well enough to bring other players into play to join the attacks later, so with whoever plays on Sunday, there is going to need to be a change in our composition in order to beat the newly crowned champions (which even hurts to type I might hasten to add). I have to admit that I don’t really know what the best answer is, but with Theo going missing in the last couple of games and Gervhino clearly unable to play up top, I would plump for Poldi in our current formation. We shall wait and see to what Arsene fancies doing come Sunday morning. Perhaps he should try that thing Jeff Goldblum did in his lab with that fly. He could entice Gervhino in by saying there is a lifetime supply of extra-large headbands, Theo in by telling him there’s a new children’s book deal contract on the table, and Lukas can have all he can eat Bockwurst. The. When they’re inside BAM! A hybrid player that is in form, can play off the last man and is the best finisher at the club. I bet Jeff would be an awesome addition to Arsene’s management team. And I bet he’d be cheap. After all, what’s he done since Jurassic Park and Independence Day? He’d be absolutely delighted with the opportunity of a new role in the team and the ability to tinker with DNA once again would be something he’d bite yer hand off for. But only so he could put it in his machine and combine it with the head of a goat. Then you could have a goat’s head running around with a hand as a torso. Crazy old Jeff and his maniacal ways.

Anyway, not a lot else going on at the moment, so I’ll take my leave with the scheming plans of Jeff and Arsene still fresh in your minds.

Everton preview: unleash Theo and Poldi

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This is the one tonight folks. This is the one that, ever since our 3pm kick off with them was postponed due to the FA Cup Everton were still in, I’ve looked at and thought ‘we simply must win’. This is the game that on paper looks like the most difficult up against an Everton team that is in pretty decent nick, I have to say, sitting just four points off us having played a game more.

Strangely, as I write this, I don’t feel as nervous as the Reading or Norwich games. I wonder if that is because those were games that we were expected to cast asunder our opponents and move on to the next match with little regard for the confidence smashed team that lay at our feet? Anyway, at the weekend we all now know that Norwich were nothing of the sort and that it left a very late show, plus a few tactical substitutions to save our collective bacon. Therefore, perhaps my lack of apprehension is coming from an expectation that tonight will see a more difficult game and should we lose – whilst clearly disappointing – it would not be as if its to a relegation threatened team. I know this is all sounding a little bit too negative up until this point i.e. ‘what if we lose’, but it’s how I’m constructing and preparing myself for that eventuality and yet hopefully still remain upbeat if the worst happens.

But we aren’t going to let the worst happen, are we Arsenal? We’re going to be up for this game and show Everton why we have been doing this particular run successfully for the last 14 years. To the teams credit, they’ve done their jobs well enough over the last four games or so, but tonight’s opponents will most certainly provide a different challenge. And probably the most difficult of the games we’ve played since the away defeat to the Spuds. Everton won’t sit back and wait for a set piece, they’ll want to get forward and use the guile of Mirallas, Fellaini and Pienaar to unlock our sometimes fragile defence. I think the game against the Spuds provided Everton with the perfect blueprint to play away from home against us as well, so I think we’ll see the same team that rocked up at Shite Hart Lane returning to The Emirates. The Spuds have a similar style to us and left space in defence for the creative Everton players to express themselves, so I think they’ll know that we’ll do the same.

With the defence likely to be under more pressure today than Saturday, I suspect we might just see Mertesacker return to the first team. At least I hope so. He and Koscienly will have to deal with the physical presence of Anichebe and the aerial ability of Fellaini, but whilst Vermaelen is more suited to a physical approach than Mertesacker, the pairing of Big Per and Kos has been the most successful to these here untrained eyes. Per has the positional discipline that Thomas lacks, whilst the recovery pace of Koscienly is often a big plus when the big German can’t get back against a pacey front man.

Perhaps another reason why I’m less nervous about tonight is that I know we’ll get more space than on Saturday. The players that lined the yellow and green wall on Saturday had no intention of venturing forward, which meant that there was little space for our attacking players to express themselves. I’m positive there will be more tonight. The weekends game was a perfect match for somebody like The Ox; a player that would weave around in small spaces, as it ultimately proved and he almost did everything for the second goal himself. But tonight’s game is more suited to somebody like Theo in my humble opinion. Theo hasn’t seemed to master the art of stubborn defences that sit on the edge of their own box (and in some cases even deeper) and so his key strength – pace running beyond the last man – is effectively negated. But up against a team that likes to push its forwards on, that is where Theo becomes more of a threat, which I think we’ll see if he starts. Yes, he’s up against the excellent Baines, but he likes to get forward and support Pienaar and if Theo is on the pitch there will be a natural reluctance not to bomb forward as much by the English left back.

So it is my hope that Theo starts on the right and, up until I read some of the comments about Podolski, I also thought we might see him on the left and Giroud through the middle. But Le Boss has talked up Lukas’ goalscoring and the fact he often plays through the middle in training, whilst simultaneously being quite critical of Giroud’s first half against Norwich, so I’m wondering if we’ll see a change tonight and see Poldi through the centre. Personally I don’t think it should happen. Giroud’s more physical side to his game will be more of a handful to Distin and Jagielka, so I hope we see my original thoughts come to fruition and the German is deployed on the left. Plus, I think Gervhino got back into his old ways at the weekend, so Arsene could probably play the ‘tired’ or ‘rested’ card on him to avoid the emotional trauma it may do to the lad that sees him hitting corner flags every time he plays from now on.

We’re in the final throngs of the season now and the legs are starting to get heavy. Which is why it’s so pleasing to see more than a standard first eleven picking up the slack and taking responsibility. Which is probably also why I am less nervous as well. It is well known that Everton don’t have the biggest squad in the league, so I suspect the same players that played against QPR also play again tonight. Conversely, I hope Arsene indulges his luxury by shuffling his players around a bit to keep them fresh. I’d like to see Jenkinson and Monreal back in the team, with a midfield that perhaps could even slot Coquelin into it, although I wouldn’t replace Ramsey or Arteta, so I’m not sure how the Frenchman would get into the side. Jack looked a bit leggy on Saturday, so I’d keep him as an ace up the sleeve and see what strings Santi can pull through the middle. My hope is that the little bit of rotation we can afford to do allows us a little bit of extra zip in comparison to our toffee counterparts.

But this is Arsenal, after all. This is a team that never makes things easy. This is a team that went on a great winning run last season and nearly imploded at the end of it, only to salvage a win on the last game of the season against West Brom, so we know the problems they are capable of getting themselves into as much as getting themselves out of. If the world was printed on paper, The Arsenal would win tonight, beat Fulham on Saturday and watch the spuds get beaten by Moneychester City. But we know that our season will be harder than that. We must all realise that we’ve got a banana skin coming our way soon.

Lets just hope it’s on the pre season tour of Japan in a few months.

Have a good one. Come on you reds!

Crazy Corner Conundrum

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Hey party people oaf12 here and welcome to Suburban Gooners!

 

It’s been a while since I have blogged on Suburban Gooners, yet it feels as if we are in the same position as we always (well for a while now) have been……nearly there!

 

My main worry is that the ‘there’ in ‘nearly there’ is the one thing that is changing! Over the years it has been the league title, then the top 2 or, at worst 3, but sadly now it is 4th and while I am still hopeful, even that target is looking rather challenging right now!

 

I’m not going to go into the who is or isn’t to blame – that has been done before, several million times. What I will say is that it certainly isn’t as black & white as simply being Wenger’s fault. Whilst he certainly isn’t blameless, I feel the main problems are higher up the chain. I would welcome David Dein back with open arms and as long as we didn’t ‘overspend’ I would also welcome a hungrier owner or at least one that seemed to care.

 

Anyway, enough of that rubbish, let’s get back to today’s topic and discuss our defensive corner policy. Again, I am not going to talk about why and whether we should or shouldn’t use zonal marking as that has been ‘done to death’. What I want to chat about is the fact that it drives me insane that we bring EVERY single player back to defend corners……

wtf

 

At first you may think “but oaf surely this is a good thing as it sures up our defence” but I would have to disagree! I really can’t see how, if anything I would argue the players probably get in each other’s way and play ‘the blame game’ when something goes wrong.

 

Also, I don’t know about you but if I were a goalkeeper (I have been, wow!!), I would feel more confident of collecting a ball within an area that doesn’t contain 20 players! By remoiving even 1, 2 or 3 it will create more space for Szczesny to manoeuvre, crazy huh!?!

 

My main concern however, is how much this limits us and invites yet more pressure. On the odd occasion a cleared ball may fall to, say, Theo on the edge of our box when cleared – this happened in the Newcastle game. Like lightening he carries the ball forward to launch a counter attack, so fast in fact that you start to remember how we used to play, how we used to be able to soak up pressure and then pounce!

 

Sadly, that is not the case anymore though is it? What actually happens, again as in the Newcastle game, is that the opposition have enough players back to crowd us out and we lose possession.

 

That is the odd occasion……

 

What usually happens is that when we clear the ball, all of our players are in or around our box so there is nowhere for the ball to go other than into the possession of the opposite team. Usually an opposing player picks it up and has enough time, as there is nobody there to hassle him, to look up and pick a pass / cross back into the danger zone.

 

Corner

 

It also invites the opposition to push more men forward, why not if there is nobody to mark! This is Sunday league stuff – if they (the oppo) have one striker forward you leave 2 defenders back, but if they have no strikers then you have a licence to push more men forward for the corner.

 

I’m not saying leave Giroud forward, he is good in the air so should come back but leave someone mobile, quick and maybe not as strong in the air up top. There will still be enough defenders and it will give us an outlet rather than blindly giving the ball away.

 

Imagine defending against Theo, or the Ox or Podolski at that matter, on the halfway line while your team have a corner. If that ball gets cleared over your head you know you are in trouble! Especially if one of the others are on the edge of the box to carry the ball or link up play too.

 

At the moment when we concede a corner our only target is to defend. With an outlet we could use (cleared) corners to our advantage – we cannot do this with the current set up.

 

To me this is obvious, simple, stuff and needs looking at ASAP.

 

What do you think Gooners? Are my points valid or talking nonsense?

 

Would be great to get your views in the comments below.

 

Cheers all

 

oaf out

NLD Aftermath

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Spurs 2-1 Arsenal – Doesn’t make for pretty reading does it..

A very strange game of football, where we eventually came out second best to the enemy. On chances created alone, we should of lost. But on the pattern of play, we where very much in the game. We just didn’t take the chances that did arise for us. The game turned out to be a battle of high lines, and whom ever played the right passes in behind would be victorious.. There is not exactly any major differences between the teams, mind you. they have a seven point lead and have a high flying Gareth Bale..

The game started off very cagey. The nerves where very clear to see on both sides. We dominated the very early stages and things looked promising. We created a very early chance (By our standards anyway) 10 minutes in, Giroud was put through and was bearing down on goal. With a lovely ball over the top of the Spurs defence. But the very impressive Jan Vertonghen caught him and the chance went begging. It was to be Spurs who broke the deadlock 36 minutes in. Bale, with a well timed run and a very acute finish. Adebayor dragged the Arsenal defence leaving space for Bale to exploit. Sidgurdson was left with the simple task of finding the unmarked Bale. Diabolical Defending. 1-0. Shamefully, it only took Spurs three minutes to double their lead. With an almost identical goal. Lennon was slide in, rounds the very lonely figure in Chesney. 2-0. Halftime couldn’t come quick enough.

The second half begins, very similar to the first, Arsenal possession, not leading to much penetration of the spurs back line. We managed to get our goal five minutes into the second half. A Bale own goal. I could give it to Mertesacker but a Bale OG just sounds better. After some very tenacious work from Ramsey to win a free-kick right in the spurs half, near the corner flag. Walcott swung in the eventuall free kick. Mertesacker with the flick on, straight onto Bale’s head with the ball ending up in the Spurs net. 2-1. Game on. Or so we thought. A few minutes later the ball broke to Monreal who was free at the edge of the box. The Spaniard shanked his left footed shot into the White Hart Lane crowd. We continued to attack the Spurs end. Jenkinson broke down the right-hand side and just before reaching the by-line. He swung in a beautiful cross. But the very impressive Lloris intercepted and gathered perfectly. But to then only spill the ball…unfortunately our frenchman was caught napping and too engrossed in his usual ‘celebration’ of disappointment. 59 minutes in, Bale should of made it 3-1. A well timed crossed ball from Sidgursgon before Bale skied it. A let off. Again Spurs should of finished the game. Sidgursgon through on goal and unselfishly tries to play in the again unmarked Bale, only for Mertesacker to intercept. A minute later Defoe drags a half chance wide of the goal. Another let off. The 80th minute was our next major, and final chance. Ramsey was slide in, the welshman was on the corner of the box. But with a very tame effort, he misses the target. FT. Spurs win the bragging rights, for now..

It’s really difficult to analyse and understand why we where defensively an absolute shambles.
To quote Arsene Wenger

“We were not efficent in the zones where it mattered (At either end). We were not dominated. it was a strange game to lose”.

We where in the game. We just didn’t have enough on the day. A boring and dull cliche, but true. We just couldn’t answer the question that where asked of the team. The game was very similar to our previous encounters with an AVB team – Chelsea (5-3) springs to mind. High lines and defence splitting passes. As I mentioned before individuals let us down, not the pattern of play. What has been a very worrying about this team this season – Every big game this season we have thrown away. It points to lack of quality, as well as the dreaded, ‘mental strength’. Too many poor displays from the major pieces of the ongoing Arsenal puzzle. The better players on the day have to carry to team. You can’t conceed goals like we do and expect a miraculous come back – Im surprised we don’t get more back injuries…

Personally Im very, very bored of seeing the same mistakes never being resolved and the surprise of the club, when they resurface. We are very poor (By Arsenal AND Arsene’s standards) where it really matters. Arsene seems to be really struggling with everything – Team Selections, tactics, substitutions. If you look at the enemy. Firslty, our decline is their gain. But credit is due because they have taken advantage of that. Im not saying Spurs have a Champions League place wrapped up, but ive seen enough enough of Spurs this season to tell me the managerial change was the correct decision.

The Board. The Manager AND the current approach isn’t working. This can’t continue much longer because the tend is backwards…

Cheers for reading,

try and enjoy your week,

As usual – Be Happy,

Ben

The North London Derby

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Morning Gooners,

I not sure if you knew, but we have a game today.. Its only the biggest North London derby in recent history..

Possible Starting Line-ups

As it stands, Bacary Sagna and Kieran Gibbs are definitely out. Abou Diaby is rated at 50:50 to play, no sleep lost over that news. Whilst Spurs number first choice striker, Jermain Defoe, ‘has a chance’ of being available for the game, probably coming off the bench. Also the American international Clint Dempsey remains out with a calf strain.

Arsenal – Szczesny – Jenkinson Mertesacker Vermaelen (C) Monreal – Arteta Wilshere – Ramsey Cazorla Podolski – Walcott (4-2-3-1)

Spurs – Lloris – Walker Caulker Vertonghen Assou-Ekotto – Parker Dembele – Lennon Bale Holtby – Abebayor (4-2-3-1)

Previous encounters

What a day the 17th of November was…To jog your memory, incase you forgot, we won 5-2 against the 10 men of Spurs. The scoreline doesn’t tell the whole truth about what actually went on that day. Some of the press / fans, built up our attacking prowess. Our closing down and our work rate, but theses are things I expect in every game, let alone the North London Derby. Spurs dominated possession in the early stages and created a very early chance and they SHOULD of scored. The pressure eventually lead to the early Spurs opener. Chesney palmed Defeo’s shot into the path of Adebayor whom broke the deadlock – His 100th club goal. A dream start for AVB’s men… Well, until hero Adebayor turned from hero to vilian within seconds. With an x-rated challenge on Cazorla. The Togolese striker gave the referee no option. From that moment on, Spurs where always going to have an uphill batlle. We then went on to put five past spurs, with five different goal scorers taking the spoils – Mertesacker, Podolski, Giroud, Cazorla, Walcott. Totteham’s second scored by Bale was the most worrying – A sign of things to come today ? …Bale galloped through our midfield to finish with a fantastic strike, he drove the ball into the bottom corner of the net.

Team Analysis

To continue with Bale for the moment – He played on the left-wing during the previous encounter. Granted he had one of his ‘off’ days, but he still showed flashes of brilliance. (That sentence can sum up his season in my opinion) Later on in the game, once it was psychologically over.  AVB changed his role, he sat just off the striker. Taking a more central role. A free role if you will. This was just a little offering of things to come from the Welshman. Personally, I don’t believe his future is for the conventional number 10 role, even tho he has been very impressive. Currently he is Spurs’s match winner and using a school yard mind-set it makes sense to give him (your best player) free rain. The ability he has striking the ball is out of this world. As we have seen in recent weeks, his goals have been the difference between one and three points. Also the difference between 4th and 5th. That’s why I believe he has been given the role of a so-called number 10 – Goals.

I’m really caught in two minds if Ramsey will start this afternoon. In previous big games, Arsene has opted for the Welshman, to help with possession and recycle the ball. But, when has he ever gone with the trend. Spurs have two very good attacking Full-Backs in Kyle Walker and Assou-Ekotto – Defensively is both their downfall and our golden ticket. Neither Podolski or Cazorla have been known for their defensive play, which leads me to think Ramsey may start.

Another possibility, may be the ‘usual line-up’ – Because of Theo’s lack of build up and hold up play as a central striker, which leads to a lot of pressure on our already shaky midfield. Putting Cazorla central will allow (hopefully) Arsenal to pass around the Spurs midfield. If we can get in behind Scott Parker (Spurs last man in midfield), the mayhem should begin..

Arteta will be key in what happens today – He will be tasked with his usual ‘defensive role’ – The space between the lines will need to be very limited. If he can keep his game simple and sniffs out all the danger – Keeping Dembele and Bale as quiet as possible, We may just grab ourselves three points today *squeezes arsenal shirt*.

What ever happens with the starting XI, the main thing is we start quickly – As a unit. Preventing an early goal for ‘them’. Hopefully we can break the trend, the ‘Arsenal way’ of conceding early goals in big the games… See you on the other side.

COME ON YOU ARSENAL, GIVE THEM HELL !!

Cheers for reading,

Be Happy

Ben

Nacho Monreal – Stability is his middle name…

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Gooners, I hope all is well…

My thoughts and ramblings about our new Spanish acquisition..

Nacho Monreal, the deadline day signing from Malaga made his debut on Saturday against Stoke and to say I was impressed is an understatement. The Spanish international was solid, a dependable reassuring presence. I personally felt very comfortable when he had the ball at his feet. His positioning was fantastic; spreading and squeezing the play when we had the ball. He made his debut look effortless.

Arsene on Monreal’s debut “I am happy that we didn’t conceded and the defence looked solid. Nacho had a good start. he got stronger and stronger.”

“There is no better culture shock than Stoke when you come from Spain! They had a very physical game and I think he dealt well with it.”

He is a typical Arsene signing, in regards of being relatively unknown, a fantastic technician and very intelligent player. His arrival gave some fan’s, ‘that buzz’. Other’s just gave them a sigh of relief something was eventually done. If you haven’t seen him play before, sit back, enjoy the ride. I’ve been thinking this for a while, but has our transfer policy has been tweaked? In year’s gone by, Arsene would have went for younger, less experienced talent – Usually just to fend off the ‘European Big Guns’. Like our other incomings this season, Monreal, 26, is coming into his ‘best years’. Has Arsene just realised his mistakes from previous years, or is he just exploiting the current finanical climate?

Nacho played in La Liga now for many years and is a very experienced footballer. He came through the youth ranks with Osasuna. He made his debut for his hometown club, Osasuna at Valencia CF, on October 22nd 2006. The following season he became Osasuna’s first-choice left back. Later on that year he was also selected for the Spanish U-21′s. His steady rise with Los Rojillos secured him a move to big spending Malaga in 2011, where he went on to sign a five-year contract. The transfer was a blessing in disguise for Arsenal – Due to financial problems, owing Osasuna the majority of his transfer fee. They had to sell…

Pelligrini on the sale of the Spaniard – “Monreal’s exit is a very sad moment for the team. It deprives us of a very important player who performed to the highest standards. Unfortunately, the reality of the club is what it is, and there is no way of hiding it. It was an option that came up at the last-minute, and the club thought it was appropriate. I understand they have to try to balance the books, because the pressure is on us from all sides, and we have received punishments. It is a major loss to us in sporting terms.”

For me, the most promising thing about Nacho Monreal – He is actual full-back. NOT a converted winger. Like the fantastic Jordi Alba. It’s no surprise then that he has very strong defensive skills. All the key ingredients. He’s physical (As Jonathan Walters discovered), tactically and positionally astute, and his ability to read the game and the necessary tackle is great. He also has fantastic speed to allow ‘recovery’ incase of any errors made. As we saw on Saturday, Monreal is very good going forward. He can link up well with the attack and once he gains the confidence of his team mates he will excel and be a fine player for Arsenal.

Im not usually a fan of stats because I feel they can cloud your judgement and prevent you from creating your own opinion on a subject, and generally I feel they don’t tell the whole story… But, these make for some great reading and back up my points.

Nacho Monreal’s: Stats against Stoke: 85% pass completion, 3 aerial duels won (+ 1 bludgeoned Walters), 1 keypass, 2 interceptions, 5 clearances, 1 dribble, 3 crosses and a final match rating of 7.33 (Via WhoScored)

Plus – 34% of our attacks went down our left hand-side and as expected he spent most of his time ‘hanging around’ the half way line. Exciting stuff considering it was just his debut..

His intelligence and all round play was the most impressive. He seemed very calm and calculated when under pressure. He made very ‘quick-witted’ runs, a lot inside as well as overlapping, which was very interesting and encouraging. His one touch passing, Keeping it short and simple mentality is something we have longed for, for such a long time. It was very refreshing to watch. One of my ‘bugbears’ with the Arsenal team in the last two years is our inability to keep hold of the ball and dominate possession. Something we’ve lacked since Nasri was sold. Having that man out wide to help recycle the ball. Nacho gave us a kick in the right direction also helping dominate possession and help fill the void. Very encouraging and an enjoyable to watch at points when we had possession of the football. He managed three crosses during the game, very dangerous and equally precise. Very accomplished technician. You could see the whites of Giroud’s eyes light up! Very beneficial – Having that option to play to the frenchman’s strengths is something most gooners would welcome with open arms.

Nacho Monreal on his style of play “Arsenal like to keep the ball, which is beneficial for me and I like this part of the team’s game. I love playing with the ball at my feet, short, sharp touches, and good movement.

I think Arsenal do have certain elements of Spanish football philosophy. The Spanish people know that there are players of great quality in this team and I hope we can play good football.”

As seen on Saturday, Monreal will/did fit easily into Arsenal’s style of football. As like Santi, he has seemed to make the transition look very easy. It was Partly down to Stoke’s negative approach – He wasn’t put under constant pressure like he will be against better attacking units – but still impressive, when called upon.

He’ll be fine competition for Kieron Gibbs and I hope his arrival will put pressure on Kieran to improve his game and ease the pressure off him also. If Nacho can build up a relationship with Podolski, as Gibbs already has, we are in for some serious combination play. We have two very good left backs….

Cheers For reading,

Be happy,

Ben

An effective squad needs better use of rotation

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Morning you gooner, you.

I have a little confession I must make to you. There was a little part of me on Sunday that hoped there would be a replay. Not after we scored the second goal of course, then I was only thinking of the win, but up until that point there was a teeny-weeny part of me that thought a replay would not be such a bad thing. Really teeny. Buried deep within the recesses of my mind.

Why? Well, I love going to watch Arsenal live and in the flesh, feeling the build up around the ground and smelling the anticipation in the air. It’s all really exciting and I wish we could play home games every week. Sadly however, it feels like I really haven’t seen that many games at all this season. I missed Schalke and West Brom matches due to family commitments which has probably compounded this feeling, but the fact we had the West Ham game postponed along with the first half of the season fixture list being a little bit more heavily weighted towards away fixtures, has led to this feeling that I just haven’t had enough Arsenal for my liking this season.

So when the chance comes to head along to The Emirates next Wednesday, I’ll get that excited feeling again, which I am seeing as a positive. Ignoring the fact that we have been pretty average on multiple occasions this year, I’m just happy to see my team play, and am hopeful that the players can do what is required to get the win.

And the good thing? We play five out of the next six games at home. It’s glorious stuff. Moneychester City, Swansea, Liverpool, West Ham and Stoke. All at home. All an opportunity to roar on the team. And all in the space of the next month.

Of course Arsene has a different perspective; he who must manage the squads fatigue levels and ensure there is no burnout, will be looking at the next four weeks and wondering where the respite will come from. Successive weekend/Wednesday games will inevitably force his hand in terms of rotating his squad, which i think could turn out to be a positive for the players as well, again – trying to look at some positive resolutions to our recent woes. I looked at Big Per’s shaky game on Sunday and initially wondered what had happened to our towering German. He seemed off the pace, slightly ponderous and his positional play wasn’t exactly top-notch. But I quickly dismissed this line of enquiry in my head with the realisation that he hasn’t played since before Christmas. Maybe Father Christmas bought him too much stollen and he’s feeling a little sluggish, i dunno. But what it did make me realise (his sluggish performance, not the stollen) is that it’s very difficult to call upon players who may not have seen any action for an entire month or more. We can all bemoan the atrocious form of Chamakh or the apparent laziness of Arshavin, but the reality is that they were never given anything other than the odd game with complete knowledge that they had no chance of dislodging anybody from the first team. It can’t be any good for your confidence knowing that and must surely play a part in their overall performance.

I don’t want to suggest we should take gambles of playing players into form that are clearly technically limited, or just don’t seem to care any more, I’m just trying to understand why these players can’t do it. Perhaps it is a crisis of confidence, or perhaps it’s that they see their futures elsewhere, but there has to be some kind of delicate balance to be struck. I hate to say this (I REALLY do) but Fergie manages to rotate players to a degree of success, and when I look at some of the players he has in his squad, in terms of technical ability I don’t see there being a massive difference. Certainly not an 18 point one. So why do we have problems with rotating?

Perhaps this is where Arsene should take some responsibility. After all, he is the one that is talking about having a fully fit injury-free squad, yet we see the same 12 or 13 players play every week. Is that because he has no faith in the other ten that are close (in theory) to the first team? You can hardly say that with our form this season, that he is sticking to a winning team, because we’ve not been able to string together what I would call a decent run of wins all season. We’ve spluttered more than an old yellow Robin Reliant.

Let’s look at the recent Swansea game. I would have thought it was made for Rosicky to get some game time. I know it’s easy to say with the benefit of hindsight, but I thought Cazorla was quiet, and an opportunity to show that if the worst were to happen to Santi, we have a player that can slot in and do a job was there for Tomas. Yet he remained patiently on the bench for his chance. Which never came.

I have the same feelings about Coquelin. He hasn’t been too impressive when starting in the Capital One Cup, but I think a run of games would be very useful for him in midfield. Normally, with the injury luck Arsenal used to have, he’d have had a run of games by now. After all, that’s what got Denilson playing over 150 times for us, so perhaps Le Coq is unlucky. Maybe Arsene doesn’t trust him enough, which means the only other alternative is to buy a ready-made ball-winning (very reluctant to say ‘DM’ because I think the position doesn’t really exist with Arsene any more – he wants his midfielders to be more interchangeable) midfielder, which would of course, as Arsene would say, ‘kill’ Coquelin – or at least his chances of a career at Arsenal.

Arsene has hinted that one or two signings will be made this January. If that is the case, then he needs to be looking at the attacking three for his new blood injection, but he needs to rotate more everywhere else. Jenkinson needs to come in occasionally. If Diaby stays fit for more than 30 minutes then he needs to relieve Jack or Mikel. Coquelin should be given the chance to prove his worth, plus he should play the square peg Ramsey in a square-shaped hole in midfield.

I suppose I could start some thoughts about what players we may sign, or talk about the rumours of David Villa at Heathrow, but what is the point? It will only wind me up more for writing it, or you for reading it. So I’ll say adieu for today.

Adieu.

A slight change?

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Happy New Year to everybody. I hope everyone is well.

Our inconsistent form sadly continues into 2013…

(Seven) 7 – 3. Aren’t brackets fantastic… Against Newcastle covered up our defensive frailties for a brief second. But against Southampton we were slapped across the face with them like a wet fish – We were passive, embarrassingly so, and it brought back horrific memories of other terrible games we have played this season (Insert fixture of choice that doesn’t cause so much pain to ease your woes).

The strangest thing is the amount of individual errors we as a team seem to commit. Every goal we have conceded in the last two fixtures has been preventable – All down to basic errors. What is it down to? The lack of defensive training? ‘Being Jaded’? Or just tactical errors? I believe to a certain extent it is tactical. Asking players to do jobs they don’t find comfortable, natural. Errors will occur, sadly they will continue to unless changes are made.

If you look at Newcastle’s first goal, it was a deflected free-kick from Demba Ba. His shot hit Jack, who turned away. The ball spun past a stranded Chesney into the net. This could have all been prevented. Sagna didn’t need to dive in and give away a pointless foul. Jack didn’t need to stand where he positioned himself – No mans land.

Newcastle’s second came from a pin point cross field pass from Bigirimana to Obertan, who was free on the left-hand side, but before he did that he jinked past Sagna with ease. Then he passes the ball across the six years box where an unmarked Marveaux taps in? Again, this could have been prevented. Basics to our defending seem to have disappeared. Sagna gets taken for a ride, then allows the cross. Koscienly is then afraid to stick a leg out in case he knocks the ball into his own net. Gibbs isn’t even looking over his shoulder to see if the right-sided midfielder is there. Bang, 2-2.

Newcastle’s final goal was scored by the very impressive Ba – His second of the match. Vermaelen pushes out to challenge Ba for a header that can’t be won (Intrigued to know if he was asked to mark Ba, or if it was a rush of blood) The ball is then flicked on towards Marveaux, who drives into the space vacated by Vermaelen. Marveaux turns on six pence, and with a beautiful pass, finds Ba at the back post for a tap in. Gibbs went to sleep again and let Ba slip in to make it 3-3.

Our full backs were poor defensively against Newcastle. Simple mistakes that shouldn’t happen, happened. Vermaelen’s poor defensive positioning should not be ignored. His obsession of charging into areas he should not be in to make a challenge is always very costly. It allows teams to get into dangerous areas and exploit us.

As for Southampton, their goal was something out of a slap stick comedy – Podolski runs back into trouble, misplaced a pass to Koscienly, who in-turn is unable to clear the ball. Which leads to the ball bouncing around our box like in a pin ball machine, because Gibbs and Sagna fail to deal with it.

We can’t ignore the simple fact that we are conceding sloppy goals – All down to basic errors. With the lack of a focal point in our attack and the quality of our football servely dipping – We can’t hold onto the ball for long periods like we used to. leading to even more pressure on our leaky defence. Against Southampton and Aston Villa (sticks in my mind the most) Our distribution was very, very poor. We seemed unable at times to move the ball from defence to attack. We are struggling to create from deep areas.

I think a slight adjustment to the spine of the team would make a massive difference. What is clear, we need players to add to the starting XI and the squad.

My hope for the transfer window would be a defensive midfielder and a striker.

A defensive midfielder would tactically improve us massively – He could be used for close man marking – for opposition playmaker/support striker instead of using Vermaelen and exposing the defence.

Arteta has done the job well, but Jack and Santi leave him very exposed at times. Arteta does read the game very, very well. He makes countless tackles and interceptions. Whilst we play Walcott as our loan striker he stretches the play – Leaving acres of space for Arteta to cover. His lack of pace seems to be his downfall at times. I think he is more effective high up the pitch. He has been struggling with his build up play/distribution – Partly due to movement from the rest of the players. Pushing him further up the pitch would get the best out of him.

My solution…

I have mentioned him previously, but Etienne Capoue, of Toulouse would be my choice. The 6 ft 2 defensive midfielder has represented France at all levels. He would instantly add height and power, that key ingredient, missing from our midfield. He is the type of player that puts out a fire before it starts. He sits very deep at times, almost a third centre back deep. Some of his key attributes are his ability to intercept, his concentration levels, regaining possession and his ‘keep it simple’ passing. Impressively Etienne Capoue won the most duels in Ligue 1 in 2012. But what puts the bow on top of the present is his distribution, as i’ve said, something we seem to be missing. To compare him to Diaby (People like a comparison) – Technically isn’t in the same league as Diaby but his other attributes gives him the potential to be a better option. Capoue, like Diaby, can and will ‘carry the ball’. Someone we are missing currently. A scary thought would be having both of them in there. Petit and Vieiria anyone? Capoue ‘sitting’ would offer that missing protection for the back four, allowing other players into the team do what to they do best…and what they find most natural…attack. In-turn hopefully pinning Vermaelen back and making him an all-round better defender.

4-2-3-1 seems to be our formation for the foreseeable future. Capoue Could allow us to change to 3-4-3 or 3-3-3-1 when in possession

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As always, please share your thoughts..

Cheers for reading,

Be happy,

Ben

Southampton: fire not fizzle required

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Morning fellow fans of the fabulous North London red and white football team known to us all as ‘The Arsenal’. It’s a New Year. A fresh start. A time for resolutions, plans for new beginnings and an opportunity to write history.

At the end of 2011 I was glad to see the back of it from a footballing perspective. With 2012 now consigned to the ‘what was once, has now past’ part of footballing memories I have stored away like my old Arsenal programames in my shed, I am now ready to start afresh with a New Year and a renewed vigour of hope. As you can tell from my vivacious opening to this blog, I’m excited about what this year could achieve for Arsenal. How long will that excitement last? I’ll tell you come 8pm tonight.

Yes folks, the start of a New Year heralds an almost instant opportunity for the current squad to lay down a marker for how 2013 will pan out. Should we see three points and a dominant display against a dogged Southampton, then the optimism I have shall continue into this weekend’s FA Cup tie to Swansea. Should we fizzle out like an overpriced November firework bought from a back alley merchant on the A10, then I upset the fire of excitement might just be extinguished quicker than we all hope.

The team news is pretty much as we expected. Barring the usual afflictions to the usual suspects (Diaby must surely now be looking more like Kevin Spacey before we find out he’s Keyser Söze than ever before with his dodgy knees and ankles), we’ve got an almost full complement to choose from at St Mary’s today. It is enough to send you giddy with excitement I tells ya. So we can expect to see Szczesny (Thanks to JackGoonerski for keeping me on my toes!) start with a back four of Sagna, Gibbs, Vermaelen and I suspect a return for Big Per at the heart of the defence. The three musketeers of Cazorla, Arteta and Wilshire will continue in the heart of the team, but the decisions up top will be more challenging. In fact, you’d probably say it would be easier for Le Boss to start with those that haven’t got a hope in hell of making the squad and work back from there. Arshavin: you’re cut. Gervhino: you’re out. Chamakh: I saw some good hustle with that Shisha during the week, which is why it was so hard to cut you.

I think Arsene will plump for the same three that started the game against Newcastle on Saturday. How could you not in all fairness? All three were on the score sheet and the contract rebel himself grabbed another hat trick. It is harsh on Giroud, who could have also have had a hat trick had that pesky crossbar not conspired against him, but you can’t drop a player that has just bagged three goals. In addition, I suspect that Theo and The Ox may just have that little extra juice in their tank by way of an incentive against their old club. I still expect Giroud to have some role to play, but I think it may be just to that of a second half cameo.

Southampton are a team that have no trouble scoring goals – an unusual positive for a newly promoted side to the Premier League – but plenty of problems keeping them out of their own onion sack. Nigel Adkins doesn’t really seem to be confident in any of his keepers and, having spoken to a couple of Saints fans over the last few weeks, it is their defence that they really worry about. Having conceded three to Stoke a few days ago, you cannot say that our attackers will be too concerned about how they might create chances, but when you’ve got players like Lambert who can be a handful, their attackers will be thinking they will get a few chances against an Arsenal team that conceded three against a tired-looking Newcastle. Puncheon has also been a potent player on the right-wing and I suspect that Ba and Marveux’s goals against us will give him hope that he could do a bit of ghosting in at the far post if Gibbs is found wanting again. There could be a positive in the absence of their captain Adam Lallana through injury, who I rate really highly; he is a technically good player and a creative spark that they miss at times. Ramirez came with the reputation (and probably the wage packet to boot), but it’s the young Englishman who I’ve been more impressed with.

We need to be quick off the blocks today. There needs to be the urgency we saw against Reading and the clinical finishing of Newcastle. Southampton will give us chances to break them down – of that I am sure – but there needs to be players that take those chances. It may have only have been a few days since our last game, but Southampton have the same issues as us, probably more so given that they also played on Boxing Day, so excuses of fatigue will not be taken kindly too should the players not show they are up for this fight. We can’t afford to be lacklustre in the first half and spray the ball across our back four for 40 of the first 45 minutes. We need to be laying down a marker. Especially when you look at some of our upcoming fixtures. January is going to be a tough month, so we need to make sure that there are no more slip ups. We’ve already had too many draws and too many defeats. I very much doubt Reading (playing the Spuds), Fulham (against West Brom) and Newcastle (against Everton) will do us any favours, so we need to make sure we’re keeping track of those around us by winning games – even winning ugly will do at this time of the year.

Mercifully, the TV gods have allowed us gooners to have a late kick off, which means that many of us will be able to shake off any New Year’s Eve partying by the time kick off arrives. Sing up for The Arsenal gooners, and here’s to a very Happy Neew Year.