Tag Archives: Aaron Ramsey

What were we all worried about?

Posted on by
Reply

Well how about that then folks, eh? As if we weren’t nervous enough, the Jolly Olde Arsenal had to go and leave it a whole half before deciding to kill the game off. Isn’t that just ‘The Arsenal Way’ though? Winning games and finishing off the season early just wouldn’t really be how we do it, would it? No, we have to go and be all like “hey man, last minute points are all the rage. They’re like, totally narly, ‘n stuff”.

And so it came to pass that The Arsenal decided to make their route to (potential) Champions League glory go down to the wire against a quite frankly – and I can say it now the game has ended – poor Wigan side that get exactly what they paid for after only trying for the last ten games or so in the season.

I mean honestly, I don’t want to seem like I’m rubbing salt into the wound here, but you can’t be that poor defensively for most of the season and expect to stay up at the third or forth time of asking. Can you? I couldn’t believe some of the comments I read from neutrals yesterday. How can you say that Wigan are not the third worst team in the league? THEY FINISHED THIRD FROM BOTTOM! I shake my head at the stupidity of some people.

Anyway, that’s enough of talking about opposition, lets talk about The Arsenal. The side that was announced was as we could probably expect given our current form and options with Giroud suspended. The front three of Cazorla, Walcott and Podolski were as good as we could hope for, and the creative influence of Rosicky in midfield was certainly welcome from this observers perspective.

The game started exactly how we would have wanted it to. Similar to the United game, Arsenal bossed the opening exchanges and looked comfortable in possession. I was joined by fellow Suburban Gooner Ben Leeder and all talk pre-game was about how Arsenal would start. Would it be nervy? Would it be swashbuckling? Thankfully it was more of the latter. We zipped the ball around on the sodden Emirate surface with a purpose that showed a belief in our ability. Cazorla looked like his mercurial self and Walcott was clearly up for the game.

But it was the efficient German Lukas Podolski that gave us the perfect tonic for the evening, nodding home a corner whilst essentially unmarked on eleven minutes. Again, I don’t want to seem like I’m kicking a team whilst their down, but the fact that Podolski was inside the box with the easiest of tap in headers, should tell you all you need to know about this Wigan team defensively.

So it was that we continued to dominate the half and create chances on a soaking Tuesday night. Which almost always invariably leads to a goal against the run of play when you’re Arsenal. And it did. Maloney made the most of an opportunity to jump into Arteta to allow ref Mike Dean to award a free-kick, and he dispatched beyond the flailing arms of Szczesny. Personally I thought that the ‘keeper should have done better, but there you go. Half-time, 1-1, the nerves returning to the collective of fans I shared a couple of jars with during the interval.

The second half had a couple of wobbly moments at the beginning, with Szczesny partially making up for his concession of the goal with a tidy save from Kone, but most of the second half was Arsenal and as the time ticked away you could see Wigan had very little left in the tank. The ball from Cazorla to Theo for his goal was sublime, but perhaps it was that fatigue that allowed the Spaniard to find acres of space on the right hand side to put the perfect delivery for Walcott to scramble home. That’s three in three for Theo, and one hopes that he can make it at least four from four on Sunday.

There’s been a lot of talk about Podolski and whether he can play as a central striker, but the fact that he bagged a brace from the central striking position yesterday will have filled many of our hearts with glee. We have undoubtedly missed Giroud’s presence and ability to hold up the ball, but when you have a natural finisher like the German in your team, he’s always going to get you goals. His second of the evening came at a crucial stage in the game for us and effectively sealed our three points for the evening. Ramsey’s strike to make it 4-1 was the icing on the cake, but you could tell the game was over when Lukas bagged his second.

So we are all happy people today. The Fear has subsided for at least another three days and the hopes of Champions League football next season remain firmly within our grasp. On Sunday we’ll have to go again against a Newcastle side that is safe, but has made a habit of frustrating us since they came back into the Premier League three seasons ago, so I don’t think there will be much poultry counting going on in the build up to what will essentially define our season.

What were we all worried about, anyway *runs in corner and hides*?

That’s it from me. You have a good day now. I know I can.

United Preview: high intensity, because they’ll be no free ride

Posted on by
Reply

Well it’s been talked about for about a week, it’s been speculated and debated, discussed and digested, but here we are folks. Arsenal entertain Manchester United at The Emirates. It’s a sunny start to the day and as I merrily tap away at my iPad in my Arsenal dressing gown, I have a few flutters of nerves that reside deep within my person. My day today revolves all around The Arsenal and I don’t want there to be anything but happiness in my heart when I lay my head down to rest come this evening.

This is not about some Dutch bloke for me. I couldn’t care less what he does (as long as he doesn’t score) and I haven’t cared one iota about him since ‘The Statement’. If he plays today, he will no doubt be a threat, but it will be up to our central defenders to nullify that threat. They know what makes him tick and how he works, so they need to avoid giving him time and space to pull away off their shoulders and tuck away any chances. I hope Koscienly finds himself up against that player more often than not, as I think he has the better of him in terms of pace.

This is not about a ‘guard of honour’. It will be 30 seconds of clapping by the players and probably some of the fans; one of which will not be me. I don’t go to watch The Arsenal for any opposition, I go to cheer on my team. I clap my team. I cheer when they do well. There is nothing in a guard of honour for me to clap for.

This IS about three points. To do that we will need to press United high up the pitch from the first minute. There needs to be the intensity for the players that they can close the spaces between midfield and attack quickly and suffocate possession from the midfield to attack and then shift the ball from back to front quickly. It will be a challenge, of that we are all sure, but it is one our team is more than capable of. I suspect the back five will remain unchanged from the victory at Craven Cottage, with the only exception in midfield being the re-introduction of Jack Wilshire. He’s looked a bit leggy since his return and has been most certainly overshadowed by Arteta and Ramsey’s good form, so I suspect that whilst it would be harsh to see Rosicky drop to the bench, Arsene will prefer Jack in the midfield. If he does, we need to see the marauding Jack, the Jack that has a quick turn of pace to beat his man in the first five yards, the Jack that is all action and willing to get stuck in as well. If we get that Jack, then up alongside the excellent Ramsey and with the master of ball retention Arteta, we should hopefully see a midfield that can dominate possession.

The real challenge for us today will be how the attacking trio performs. There may have been a few people pleased at the absence of Giroud – expecting Podolski to start instead – but whilst that would be my preferred choice, I don’t think it will be Arsene’s today. I don’t think Lukas is fit enough for 90 minutes and so my educated guess would be that we see Gervhino up top. His form of late has been better, but that’s as a winger rather than a target front man. He just doesn’t have the ability to do it but, should he start today, I hope he proves me wrong on so many ways today.

Either side of the Ivorian – if he does start – I think we’ll see Theo and Santi start. Both were pretty quiet at Old Trafford earlier in the season so we’ll need to see better and more lively presence. Theo will be up against a tough challenge of Evra, but the Frenchman loves to get forward, which is why moving the ball from back to front quickly for us could be key to get Theo running into plenty of green space. Santi will drift in field so we’ll need to have either Gibbs or Monreal providing plenty of attacking width, and we need our little Spaniard to have one of his gems of a game today. He’s one of the keys we have to unlock the United defence.

I don’t think there is any hope for us seeing a United team turn up in party mode. I think Fergie will name his strongest eleven and they’ll be going for a win. I suspect there might be a 5-10% less intensity from United, but even a United at 90% is still capable of beating every team in the Premier League so I don’t think we’ll get any favours from them today.

I fancy Aaron Ramsey to score today. Don’t ask me why because he’s hardly a Frank Lampard style goal scoring midfielder, but I just have a feeling. If we get the same result as the last time he scored against United then I’d be more than happy, as we came away from The Emirates with a 1-0 win and three points safely in the bank.

After the Spuds result yesterday, we’ve got a real opportunity to establish some daylight between us and them. We need to take these opportunities. We need that buffer to ensure that we have the points in the bag as quickly as possible. It would both motivate our team more and also de-motivate our (geographically) closest rivals. Come on Arsenal, lets make this a happy Sunday to remember.

Right, time for a shower, so brekkie, then the pilgrimage to the home of football.

Until tomorrow.

Consistency is the blueprint for success

Posted on by
Reply

How about that Mother Nature, eh? More changeable than an FA rule book. One day she’s gently caressing your face with the warm glow of Spring, the next day she’s slapping the rain and wind and cold of winter around your chops. Mother Nature could learn a lot from Mikel Arteta. Mr Consistency. Right down to the perfect barnet.

One thing that’s not consistent is our goalkeeping situation. Fabianski establishes himself as first choice, then picks up an injury, then we are told by dear old Arsene that he’s out and they are taking it ‘game-by-game’. He’s not even given us a proper return date, so I suspect we won’t see Lukas in between the sticks for the rest of the season. His contract is up in the summer and I read in last night’s Evening Standard that he will look to sign a new deal but only if he’s given a fair crack at the number one jersey. I have to say I think it’s great that recently he’d found a bit of consistency in his play and had established a run of games, but if you look at his performances in goal since he joined the club and now, you would be hard pressed to find somebody who would rubber-stamp a new deal. He’s spent 90% of his Arsenal career looking Wobblier than Michelle McManus’ waistline, so if he is making demands on the number one spot then surely Arsene will be thinking twice. In my mind he simply isn’t good enough.

I do also wonder if his recent spell in the first team was Arsene giving him a shot and taking a serious look at him before deciding whether to stick or twist with the Pole. Or, perhaps Arsene does want to keep him on, so has used this end of season run of games as the carrot of first team football for which to grab hold of by signing a new deal. Which then leads to questioning, perhaps incorrectly, the motivation of the player and whether or not playing for a new contract has been the reason for that extra 10% he’s been showing in training that warranted the initial promotion to number one. Although the only counter to that thinking is that he’s not exactly a striker that is banging in goals. The goalkeeping position is always a difficult one to pin the old chestnut of ‘playing for a new deal’ on to by virtue of the fact that ‘keepers can often go games having very little to do – especially if you’re at one of the top clubs in the country. Plus, many of us have already acknowledged that Szczesny’s form wasn’t up to scratch before Fabianski came in, so perhaps it has more to do with the failings of his rival than his own performances at London Colney.

Personally I think it’s time we found some competition for Szczesny in the form of a more experienced head. A decent 30 something keeper that can keep Wojciech on his toes and help him to become the established number one and one of the best in the league in a couple of years time. There’s no doubt he has the potential to get there. Would Valdes be a good choice? I don’t think so. Yes he fits the 30 something mould, but he’d want too much in wages, plus I actually don’t think he’s that good.

Anyway, today we’ll find out what Le Boss thinks about all manner of things including that Dutch blokes return, guards of honour (yawn) and the team news ahead of Sunday. He’s already given us an indication that there are no injury concerns ahead of the game, so decisions will come based on who he thinks gives us the best chance of snatching three points off United at home. I have to say I don’t get the fuss being made about the guard of honour. It’s like those handshakes after the game that are as irrelevant as a moral compass at the Chelski team Christmas party. The only people that seem to care about these things are the media and Clive Allen. Give them the guard – let the players clap (I certainly won’t) and then take all three points.

Arsene also spoke to the official site about the importance of our defence at the moment and how it’s played a big part of our recent success. Again, unlike our changeable climate here in Blighty, I think we have benefitted from the consistency of a set back four during this period, so it’s no secret that we’ve improved during this run and have only conceded three goals in seven. It’s not rocket science; players playing together regularly get to know each others strengths and weaknesses and when you are a clever enough professional footballer you know when to anticipate any problems for your teammates and support them where necessary. I do think the defence has also been helped out by the form of Ramsey and Arteta together. Both have been able to provide enough protection to alleviate the pressure that the back four comes under. Last season with Song doing his marauding forward at times we saw too much space in between defence and midfield and that left us open on too many occasions. I think back specifically to the game away from home against QPR and one of the goals conceded where a player from the QPR midfield was allowed to stroll into the box and smash home the ball from the penalty box with Arteta and Song left trailing in his wake. This season we have seen that run tracked by either Ramsey or Arteta of late and the result has been a stifling of those types of chances being created.

Arsene admits that offensively we’ve not been as prolific, but as we’ve all discussed amongst ourselves (and I’ve read a few blogs about as well), if that is at the expense of ensuring that there are a reduction in sloppy mistakes at the back then so be it. The best form of defence isn’t always attack. Sometimes it’s a proper defence.

Catch y’all tomorrow.

Everton: Ramsey steals the show, Giroud couldn’t buy a goal

Posted on by
1

In the immediate aftermath of a home game, it’s hard to look at any result other than victory and three points for The Arsenal as abject failure, such are the fine margins of football and it’s fickle followers. Oh sure, it may look like I’m giving you my synopsis of last nights game after a night to sleep on the result, but I write this whilst hurtling home on the central line with nought but a tinge of disappointment and a smidgen of resentment.

I resent the teams that have a prolific striker. I resent that they have what we do not. I’m going to try not to give Olivier Giroud too much stick on today’s blog, but after a series of misses and good opportunities yesterday, it’s hard not to do the blogging equivalent of put my hands on my hips, lower my face slightly and give Giroud a shake of the barnet that says “Oh Olivier, you just aren’t that good, are you?”.

The cold light of day should hopefully have me waking up and feeling that this 0-0 draw against Everton wasn’t the worst result in the world, but I’ll let to know at what point of the blog I get to that point, because right now I’m only thinking of the missed chances.

Perhaps I should give some credit to Everton. After all, they are a very difficult team to break down and with players like Distin and Jagielka, they throw their bodies on the line for their team. It’s a shame we couldn’t get the Englishman a couple of seasons ago; such is the impact he has on that team. So whilst I am rueing our own profligacy, I must give ‘props’ to the Everton defence for standing strong.

I cannot however give ‘props’ to a referee that, quite frankly, was useless. If you read my random Arsenal musings regularly you’ll know that I try to avoid bemoaning the referee at all costs because more often than not, you need to look at you’re own team, which I’ll duly get to shortly. But Neil Swarbrick was terrible, in my opinion. On five occasions I saw Marouene Fellaini commit a foul, yet only three were even picked up and no yellow was distributed. But worst of all, the failure of Swarbrick to pick up the obvious second yellow foul by Gibson was the most irksome of all. Irksome because he even recognised it as a foul. If he thought Walcott had dived then he should have played on, but instead he recognised that Gibson had impeded our player, most probably looked at his watch and completely bottled it because we were within the first half an hour of the game. That, my friends, is totally unacceptable and I’m afraid is what we have come to expect from rapidly deteriorating refereeing standards in this country.

Ok, ref rant over, so what about The Arsenal? Well, defensively we came up against a physical presence of Anichebe, a fluffy aerial threat of Fellaini and the tricks and guile of Pienaar and Mirallas and largely kept them quiet for the whole game. We dealt with everything that was put our way and Szczseny was hardly troubled for the duration of the Evening.

In midfield I thought Arteta did well, whilst Jack had another ‘ok’ game, but we have to save the best for last: Aaron Ramsey. He was like the Duracell bunny. Attacking, defending, in the mix, winning the ball, distributing it, driving us forward. In my mind he should be one of the first on the team sheet right now. His game is all about action and yesterday he really was all-action. Superb stuff from a much maligned player who many questioned could make it, yet few will now argue about the potential and start talking about the reality. Once again, Arsene’s faith appears to be paying off.

Unfortunately, as much as I can praise the midfield and defence, the same cannot be said about the attack, particularly given the big fat ’0′ next to our team name. On the left we saw Cazorla who actually played really well, keeping the ball and always finding the man, but I see him as more of the ‘midfield’ success rather than the attacking disappointment. Olivier Giroud and Theo Walcott were, unfortunately, average at best. Giroud missed a golden opportunity in the first half plus a miss within the last few minutes of normal time. But what really made me sigh yesterday, what made me turn to my fellow gooners and look around in despair, was what he didn’t do. I’m talking of the moment in the second half whereby Gibbs got in between the defence, looked for the cut back and open goal for the Frenchman, then played the ball off an Everton player and out for a corner. People around me bemoaned Gibbs, but I’m sorry, I’m just not having that. When I watched the replay I saw Giroud standing completely static on the penalty spot. There was no movement, there was no dart to the front or back post, there was just expectancy of the perfect ball laid at his feet. The reason I was sad? I know that a £25million clinical striker would have made that goal his own and given us the three points. Instead, we have a very capable £12million striker that, at times exactly like yesterday when you need a little something special, he’ll be found wanting. He will get goals in this Arsenal team, but I’m not sure he’s got the ability to take us on to the next level we’re after.

I’d love to make comments on Theo’s game, but actually I can’t really, as I didn’t really see anything of note. A couple of runs, but he was largely quiet, which isn’t really a major surprise. But that’s Theo. That’s what you get sometimes. When The Ox came on he looked a little more lively, but the problem we had was that he kept venturing inside and it made the play far too compact, which suited an Everton team that were happy to hold on in the last ten minutes.

So as I round up today’s blog, I’m still no nearer as to working out whether to accept a point or be disappointed. Everton are one of the top six teams in the league. They make it difficult for any team and tonight was never going to be easy. A point may prove to be vital when we hit the end of May, but when you’re looking over your shoulder at your nearest rivals for a top four space, you want the margins to be as stacked in your favour as possible and, after last nights draw, it’s no longer technically back in our hands if the Spuds with their game in hand.

All to much hypothesising for one day, I know, but you tend to do this a lot when you’re an Arsenal fan. They never make it easy for us.

Until tomorrow.

Bouldie’s out of his cage to talk about Character

Posted on by
Reply

Happy Friday to you. All in all yesterday after noon and evening was interesting, wasn’t it? No Arsene to give an update so Stevie Bould was let out of the box that Arsene keeps under his desk at London Colney and was allowed to speak to the official site to give an update on injuries and the form of some of the players. I’m not sure what happened to Arsene though, as I can’t find anything from doing a quick glance online, so maybe he just wanted a duvet day and so phoned in sick.

But before we get onto the Arsenal stuff, how about those Spuds, eh? Empty seats (although curiously there doesn’t seem to be any pictures by the press of these seats), a 2-2 draw against a supposedly inferior opposition, plus Gareth Bale stretched off in the dying embers of the game. Of course, Andre with his degree in human biology and part-time role as a physiotherapist knew immediately that it would only be two weeks and Bale would be back by the Moneychester City game on 21st April, but that’s by-the-by. The interesting thing here will be to see how the Spuds react because, like our players who have now all admitted that they looked to a certain ageing Dutchman last season to dig them out of holes, the Spuds will not be able to do the same with theirs at least for a couple of games. Obviously I never wish illness or injury on any player, but from a purely gooner-related ‘ahh, a bit of karma for their season of barely any injuries to key players, unlike us who’ve had Jack out twice’ perspective, this could be a real opportunity for us to close the gap.

Back in the world of Arsenal, and Stevie B has been talking about injuries. I’m really hoping his comments of Jack and Theo having ‘an outside chance’ of playing against Norwich are just Arsenal being overly pessimistic, because let’s face it, we were told three weeks Jack would be out a month ago, so if he misses Norwich and Everton it will be six weeks – double the length of time we expected – that he’s been out. I’m not suggesting we should have rushed Wilshire back – it’s good that the medical team have been careful with him, but what I am suggesting is that they should have been overly pessimistic from the start. Anyway, it’s done, the team are picking up points and we also have the improved form of Rosicky and Ramsey to thank for filling the good left in JWs absence. Which leads me seamlessly into my next para…

…Aaron Ramsey. His form of late has been much improved and with an added pinch of defensive discipline added to a smattering of cutting out some (not all, mind) of the silly flicks, he’s starting to look like a very useful utility player indeed. So much so that big bad bald Bould has been singing his praises about his form and the fact he doesn’t moan in training. I wonder who does. I bet Poldi does. Especially when they make him do bleep tests in his underpants because he forgot his kit. I bet Lukas is all “Ahh, but Mr Bould, can’t I go home and get my stuff? Or can’t I just use some of the other boys kit?” And Bouldies all like “no way boy! And for your backchat, 20 press-ups before we start. 1……2…..2 and a half…..” Anyway, I digress ever so slightly, because we should all be praising ‘Rambo’s form. He’s looked good of late and given that he, and Gervhino too for that matter, had a good game last week is always pleasing to see. Any true Arsenal fan wants every player in the squad to perform well, so it’s pleasing to know we have options in terms of form players, it’s just up to them to ensure they remain form players.

Stevie B did also talk about Diaby and how he hopes he can come back with a stronger character and be a better, less injury prone player, but sadly I think that particular ship sailed so long ago it’s already docking off the coast of Boston, USA somewhere I’m afraid. We’ll certainly have a better idea come the summer anyway. A big name midfield signing will be the most obvious signal that Abou is done in Arsenal’s and Arsene’s eyes.

That’ll do for me today. I don’t know if we’ll see Arsene in front of the press today, or whether he’s playing a mammoth session of RISK with Annie and therefore won’t give up until he’s achieved world domination, in which case he might be a doubt for attendance tomorrow unless she folds and lets him win. He’s a stubborn old man sometimes.

Catch you tomorrow people.

Sunderland victory: building momentum at business end of season

Posted on by
Reply

When Carl Jenkinson slid in on Sessegnon to get his second yellow card of the day, I looked around at the concerned faces of gooners and wondered if we were to repeat the feet of recent North East travels to St James’ and end up with a draw or worse, a defeat come 5pm yesterday. There was still 30 minutes on the clock to go and Sunderland were handed a lifeline that up until that point, I don’t think they had.

The first half was vintage Arsenal. Crisp passing, suffocation of opponents by possession, and creating chances. We still could have created a lot more chances but for a teensy bit of over elaboration at times. However, that’s me being a little bit harsh because overall we were excellent.

Le Boss had decided to plump for Sagna in the middle, Jenkinson on the right, Santi on the left of the front three and Rambo, Jack and Arteta in midfield. A couple of curveballs, certainly. And it worked. I thought every player played well in that first half and almost everything seemed to click. I say ‘almost’ purely and simply because we should have been at least 3-0 up by half time. Walcott had a few chances, forcing saves from Mignolet (who had a superb game and made a number of saves to keep his side in it – quelle surprise), Giroud dragged a shot agonisingly wide, Rambo forced a couple of good saves from the keeper and probably should have scored when put through. So when the excellent Santi Cazorla smashed in his drive from just outside the box on 35 minutes, a half time lead was certainly warranted. The Management agreed, nodding knowingly when I turned and told her that ‘it had been coming’; she is very good at honest assessments of games and so when she nods in that fashion I know my unequivocal fan bias is not clouding my judgement of what I see.

The second half was always going to be a difficult affair, but it was made all the harder when Jack Wilshire came off a couple of minutes in with an injury. Sunderland’s game plan all day was to rough Arsenal up, most of the time unfairly (and often getting away with it), so it was no surprise that Wilshire’s body took one battering too many. Arsene may have said publicly that he didn’t think JW had been targeted, but I’m sure behind closed doors that’s not what he’s thinking. Diaby came on for Jack and never really got a foothold in the game. He gave the ball away on a few occasions, he missed a good chance inside the box to make it 2-0, and looked like his lackadaisical self rather than the marauding Diaby we all love to see.

So Jack’s injury, plus Carl’s silly challenge that we can have no complaints about (its a shame because he probably would have played against Blackburn next weekend), all gave a little bit of impetuous to the home side who as expected poured forward in search of an equaliser. But even though we had to be resolute defensively and rely on a good save from Szczesny and Titus Brambles ability to screw the ball wide from three yards when it seemed easier to score, we still created chances ourselves. Giroud really should have scored with the number of shots on goal – all just going wide or just going over the bar, and Walcott could consider himself unlucky not to have got onto the scoresheet with a dink over the top of Mignolet that hit the post and came out.

There were a few ‘heart in mouth’ corners at the end but we managed to hold on to three precious, and I believe, we’ll deserved points. Another mention to Ramsey as well, because I think he had a good game and even ‘did a job’ when asked to fill in at right back for a third of the game. You can see that his confidence is returning and he’s looking a better player for it. He still makes mistakes and one moment in the first half he dwelt on the ball too long to leave us three versus three at the back, but that is a minor blot on an otherwise good performance.

We’re starting to build some important momentum as we approach the business end of the season, which will be vital to any Champions League aspirations we have for next year.

Peace out.

Why gooners curse the pointlessness

Posted on by
Reply

Howdy all.

Right, now that the midweek irritations are done and dusted, we can all get back to some semblance of normality with Premier League action this weekend. Oh, wait a second, maybe we can’t because we’ve unsurprisingly had two injury scares after the latest round of meaningless internationals. Arsene was watching France yesterday and, aside from hearing the abusive Nasri chants from some sections of the crowd, he would have seen one of his players pick up a knock in the form of Laurent Koscienly. I haven’t watched any highlights but I did read Arsene’s comments of “It’s not good” when describing the injury. We’ll most likely get more information from Le Boss about the extent of the injury when he does his pre-match press conference (which I suspect will be today because we play away to Sunderland this weekend), but once again Arsenal fans could be left to curse yet another international window. Believe it or not, I actually have people question why I hate international matches so much, so the next person that I get into that debate with can have chapter and verse using this as an example. We’ve got Thomas Vermaelen who didn’t play for Belgium (I believe) and now Koscienly potentially out injured this weekend. With Djourou out on loan we could find ourselves in the exact position many of us feared when we clamoured for Arsene to make signings: Squillacitown.

It is a horrible position to be in. The only hope is that Vermaelen and Mertesacker are in fine enough shape to be in the squad to travel to the Stadium of Light. We can all look in Arsene’s direction and play the ‘see! We told you so’ card, but the reality is it will help nobody, so we’re far better off praying that we have two of the three centre backs ready and able come Saturday 3pm.

There was some more good news in the form of Jack Wilshire and Theo Walcott, who both had steady games and Jack even picked up the Man of the Match performance against Brazil yesterday. I only flicked over to watch the game for about five minutes, but both Jack and Theo looked to be playing well, albeit Theo took a knock when I was watching and I found myself not wanting to watch any more of the game due to fear that he’d pull up.

I understand Rambo also took a knock in the Welsh game, but I know even less about that, so I’ll wait to hear what Arsene has to say. He was probably injured when some rogue faecal matter was sent in his direction by Gareth Bale after Rambo didn’t feed him a banana.

There is actually bugger all else to talk about I’m afraid, so I think I’ll just call it a day and hum quietly to myself on the train. Adios amigos!

Seaside travels, but let’s not get our noses bloodied Arsenal

Posted on by
Reply

Good morning Goonerland! How’s your Saturday shaping up? I guess that really depends on what time you’re reading this blog really, doesn’t it? Read it come eight O’Clock GMT and it could be quite a dated blog, but it could still fill you with happiness if Arsenal are the victors and go marching into the Fifth Round of the FA Cup. Read it after a cup upset and more disappointment at the hands of Brighton, and you’ll probably want to throw whatever device you’re looking at towards a hard surface. I would recommend that you don’t however.

This weekend is FA Cup weekend. It’s the fourth round and thankfully for The Arsenal’s performance against Swansea a couple of weeks back, we have something to play for with a trip to the South Coast to play a Brighton Team that made the black and white French Province of Newcastle look like a team of slack-jawed Gallic nobodies. If there is a lesson to be known from Pardew’s Parisian’s (yes, I know that all of the players aren’t from Paris, but I like a bit of alliteration and it was the only ‘P’ word that I could think of that linked to France) it is that going to the Amex is fraught with danger and the opportunity to pick up a bloody nose. Arsenal will have to be on form and they will have to put in a performance that shows they mean business in what is most likely our best chance of silverware this season. Unless Arsene has done a Roberto Di Matteo style deal with the Devil and charmed our Champions League campaign with never-ending fortune. I suspect he hasn’t.

Brigthon will be up for this today, make no mistake about it. I watched the game against Newcastle and whilst the “Geordies” were poor, you have to say that Brighton were quite good. The two stand out players on the day were the defensive midfielder Bridcutt and the man who scored the first goal Lopez and I suspect both will start today. They also had some bald bloke in defence who spent the entire game being a general irritant and tugging shirts of Newcastle players inside the box whilst getting away with it, but I can’t remember his name and if you read this blog regularly you’ll know I am to research what Eddie The Eagle was to the Winter Olympics. Anyway, that’s what I suspect we’ll get from Brighton today, a ‘in your face’ and ‘they don’t like it up ‘em’ performance. So it will be important that we react to this and play our way and don’t let the Brighton players to dictate the possession or the play.

I’m not sure what Arsene has in mind for his starting eleven, but with Liverpool on Wednesday having just played West Ham in midweek, I suspect he’ll be looking for a little bit of rotation in the team. I hope it is not a lot of rotation and the side has a look of familiarity to it. I remember watching us get knocked out to Stoke a few years ago with a reserve side that screamed “the FA Cup is an inconvenience to us” from the players and the manager. Back then we had other fish to fry. Right now we only have one battered cod in the fridge to consume. I think we’ll see the back four shuffled slightly, with a change for Jenkinson (he deserves one at least) at right back and Vermaelen injured. It will give Koscienly another chance for game time to get back into the form that we know he’s capable of and exhibited last season. I’m not sure whether we’ll see Jack continue in the midfield, as Diaby is back and I think Le Boss might want to give him a little rest, perhaps having him on the bench. I suspect Ramsey will be given another shot in midfield. At least I hope he does. He had a really solid performance on Wednesday and my hope is that he can build on that and gain more confidence with back-to-back starts. He did the simple things well and showed great determination and constant running throughout against West Ham, so I hope we see the same from him if he’s favoured by Le Boss. I do wonder if Santi will be given a rest though, as he has played a lot of games and with the return of Tomas Rosicky to the squad after a calf injury. His last outing was in the Champions League I think and I thought he was the best player in the team at the time, so I’m not too worried if ‘Little Mozart’ comes in.

Attacking-wise is where I can’t really see much rotation at all, which is entirely Arsene’s own fault. With Chamakh at West Ham and Arshavin about as useful as an ashtray on a motorbike, we have only four real options to choose from in the front three positions. I think The Ox will get a run out, but I don’t know who we’ll see up top or on the right/left. I suspect that Giroud will play at the top of the trio, after his goals in midweek plus his absence from the team at the beginning of January. Whether that means Podolski or Theo are rested I don’t know. But it does go back to that old chestnut of squad depth. I’ll not go into the details, why’s and wherefore’s over our lack of purchasing whilst seemingly delighted to send player after player out on loan, weakening the whole squad with every departure, but it does make you think that something needs to be done and soon. Another argument for another day – probably later on in the week sometime.

The form of both teams looks very similar. Brighton have lost one in six whilst drawing two, where we have lost two in six whilst drawing two. Both teams played in midweek so the argument over fatigue for Arsenal’s players really doesn’t wash I’m afraid. We need to be showing the gulf in class on the pitch at 3pm, not just on paper or on respective bank balances of both sets of players.

Sing up for The Arsenal.

West Ham: just the tonic

Posted on by
Reply

Mornings really do suck when you’ve had a late night and complimented it with an early morning. However, if the reason for ones tiredness is down to watching ones team smash five goals past another Premier League side, the general suckiness of life is quite easily washed away. Why, just as I type this very blog this morning, do I feel a little bit better with every word.

Yesterday’s 5-1 victory over West Ham was exactly the tonic we needed for our ailing wounds of defeat. After successive setbacks against teams we all feel we should be rubbing shoulders with at the top of the table, this ‘game in hand’ wasn’t even a question of wanting the result – it was a result that we simply could not afford to lose.

So it was with worrying looks and rolling of eyes that I saw the first half come to a conclusion as the scores remained 1-1. Fans to my left and right of me were very concerned of what the implications of even a draw would be on this coldest of cold evenings. Half-time debate revolved around the question of Arsene’s ‘worst ever side’ and my companion for the evening – Roy – spoke with much displeasure of how he didn’t remember a side as poor as this. My footballing almanac in my head only goes as far as 89/90, so I had to bow to his knowledge, but my assertion still remains that there must have been some pretty dire sides in the early eighties.

I asked yesterday whether we’d see ‘first half’ Arsenal, ‘second half’ Arsenal, or a combination of both, but by the end of the game I had my answer. In fact, despite the first half remaining 1-1, when you look back at the game you do realise that even in the first half we were in control, with an attempt off the line from Podolski, as well as an excellent free kick from the ambidextrous Cazorla. We controlled the match throughout and I think the 5-1 score line was certainly a fair one.

It was disappointing to concede as a result of YET ANOTHER set piece and the perpetually awful zonal marking system that we deploy. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: zonal marking doesn’t work. We’re not good enough defensively for it to be even half effective. The sooner Arsene realises this the better. But I guess we’re stuck with it now until the end of the season at least – Arsene doesn’t tend to ‘do’ tactics, preferring to coach into players his thoughts and style instead. So expecting him to change halfway through a season is a bit of a pipe dream.

Anyway, lets not dwell on the goal conceded by Jack Collinson, because we were level not long thereafter with a thunderbolt from Podolski. So often recently we’ve talked about Jack being our talisman that spurs the team on to success, but yesterday it was our attacking German. I thought he was superb from start until his inevitable substitution. It’s almost like a game of Football Manager with Podolski, whereby he gets down to about 65% fitness on the 70 minute mark so you have to take him off. Personally I have no idea why, because he doesn’t look jaded to me. It must be really frustrating for him though – not to see out 90 minutes more than once every six weeks. It certainly can’t help him build up his fitness. Anyway, back to his awesomeness yesterday, because he was awesome. He even had time to give an assist to Cazorla, Giroud and Walcott through three perfectly timed cross-field passes. There have been times this season where people have questioned his ability and said that he goes missing in games. I’ll admit that he can go quiet, but for his first season in the Premier League you can hardly say he hasn’t had a positive impact. Yesterday was definitely his bet in and Arsenal shirt in my opinion.

I was also pleased to see another much maligned player have a solid game in the middle of the park. One mistake in the first half aside (a mis-placed pass that actually came to nothing) I thought he was brilliant. He added ball retention and pass completion to his ‘ever willing runner’ game yesterday, and it was shades of the midfielder we all thought he could be three years ago. Much like Coquelin, Aaron looks to have grabbed his chance at a starting berth with both hands and with the injury to Coquelin on Sunday, Rambo must surely be a shoe in to start against Brighton. Let’s hope he continues this into a run of form that has the fans chanting his name again.

It felt a bit more like the Arsenal of old yesterday. Lightning quick counter attack with deadly consequences for the opposition. We looked like we could score with every attack in the second half and probably should have done to be honest. One sumptuous bit of play that encompassed our performance was a brilliant bit of pressing (remember when we used to do that all over the pitch?) by Jack and Theo to dispossess Jaaskalaienen (might be how you spell his name, but quite frankly I don’t give a monkeys left ballbag) then try to chip him, only for the keeper to get a touch and gratefully smother the ball. It was exactly what the home fans needed to see. I include myself when I say this: questions were seriously being asked about the desire of this team. Whilst they haven’t fully answered them yet (and can only do so through a bit more consistency), a comprehensive win like yesterday is the perfect building block from which to start again rebuilding everyone’s confidence.

Finally, before I clock off, a word on Olivier Giroud. He was a totally different player to Sunday. His movement was good, his link up play worked well, and he chipped in with two good goals yesterday. The first was a particularly good thing to see; all too often our corners are headed away at the near post, but his quick thinking to flick the ball home with his foot was tip-top stuff. I read a Tweet from a fellow gooner that said 90% of his goals last season were from his first touch, which is quite a poachery attribute and interesting to note about his game. I still believe that we need a top quality striker with him to fight for his place, but at least this will give him a bit of confidence too.

That’s it from me today – catch ya on the flip side dudes.

Injuries force a selection shuffle: Ox? Aaron? Andrei or Tomas?

Posted on by
2

Howdy howdy heroic homosapiens of The Arsenal faith. Hope all is well with you. As for me, well, I’m wondering what I’ve done to deserve feeling like a thousand frost knives are jabbing at my face.

The ‘injury stick’ is what is once again jabbing at our beloved team and we have a few worries ahead of the visit of West Brom to The Emirates. The absence once more of Podolski and Walcott will no doubt be telling; not least because it gives Gervhino another opportunity to run into yet more blind alleys and dribble into yet more grateful defenders. There is also a question mark over who will be the other player to play just of Giroud, who looks to be fit and has had a bit of a rest over the last week and a bit. Does Le Boss plump for ‘the plump’ Arshavin to play on the left or right (depending on which corner flag Gervhino is dribbling into) or does he continue with The Ox? Or should Rosicky be fast tracked to play in one of those positions? Or does be try my least preferred option and hammer a bright green square block into a circular hole shaped space in the shape of Aaron Ramsey?

I think Ramsey did well against Olympiacos, but playing him in one of the front three positions won’t really help him at all in terms of his confidence, or wrestling back the belief of some sections of the fans that have been baying for his blood for about nine months or so. He’ll give us work rate, he’ll try things, but whilst I’m not 100% convinced in his ability to be one of the best at Arsenal, even I can see that playing him further forward is no more conducive to his development as a player as having him coming on in his normal position for 15 minutes at the end of every game.

Alex Oxlade Chamberlain is one of the most favourited options I’m sure most gooners would opt for. But recently he’s looked a little weary and unsure of himself in my opinion. When he came on last weekend against Swansea, his first meaningful attack of the right back was indicative of the whole funk the squad is feeling at the moment. He took a couple of touches and then tried to go outside the right back, only to be stopped by the simplest of outstretched legs. He has lost a little bit of the sparkle of last season, but that can be said of the whole squad, so we can’t really hold it against him. He’s also still only 19 and we need to be mindful of investing too much hope too soon. Just think about what he has looked like compared to the inconsistencies of Theo Walcott. So for me, I’m not sure if playing The Ox is the right option on Saturday. It might be the only feasible option with the injuries we’ve had though, so we shall wait and see.

What about that semi-forgotten man Arshavin? Normally wheeled out for the cup games that have less meaning, the wee Russian has also made a couple of substitute appearances in the league and on the couple of occasions that I’ve seen him come on he has actually made an impact. There may be a small minority of fans that think perhaps he should be given a shout from the start this weekend. Again, I’m not too sure of this. Andrei may work as an impact sub, but at times last season he looked like he couldn’t last an hour let alone perform for the whole 90 minutes. I’ve always said he’s a luxury player that drifts in and out of games, but with Cazorla being given the licence to roam, could we really afford to have an Arshavin only putting the effort in for 35 odd minutes out of the 90? West Brom will work us hard and know that they have a confidence stricken Arsenal side in front of them, so they’ll apply plenty of pressure to put off players like Arshavin from getting any kind of footing in the game, so I’m not sure what sort of an impact a player like him could have from the start. I still think he warrants a place on the bench, but it’s a question of whether Le Boss thinks he deserves a promotion to the first eleven. I suspect not.

The final ‘wild card’ option for me would be for Tomas Rosicky to be given the spot. I say ‘wild card’ simply because of his recent return to injury, so you don’t really know if he can last 90 minutes. He’s had about 20 against Swansea followed by 45 against Olympiacos, where he was by all accounts, brilliant. He also popped up on the scoring sheet which will do his confidence the world of good. He’s played in that position a couple of times for us last season, but his most effective position when he hit form last year was in the midfield, so I’m not sure whether or not he’ll be able to replicate that against West Brom. It’s a different kind of position to the midfield role and he’d be encouraged to get beyond defenders in the final third out wide. We all know that he has the ability to beat a man, but does be have the required pace to get on the end of the balls beyond the last man/full backs? I’m not sure.

Arsene has some decisions to make on Saturday morning (assuming he hasn’t already made them) that will determine how we play against West Brom attack-wise. If I was the one in the managerial hot seat I think I’d be looking at dropping Gervhino and playing Arshavin and Rosicky either side of Giroud and seeing how the first half goes. If Andrei doesn’t look up for it, haul him off and tell The Ox to grasp his chance with both hands, then hopefully we’d get a mixture of attacking flair, desire and drive. I just don’t think Gervhino has the form to warrant a first team spot right now, but I am a believer that Wenger has his player hierarchies and, much like Arshavin a few seasons ago where he was picked regardless of form, I suspect we’ll once again see the Ivorian from the start.

Have a good Friday gooners.