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Saturday, November 26, 2011

A Little Bump


As Mike Dean blew his whistle after fervently checking his watch again and again to make sure we didn’t have a second over the allotted four minutes, there was a sense of disappointment. 1-1 against a Fulham side who have really not proven themselves to be anything more than a low-mid table club this season, no offence, is not something anyone was expecting given the kind of run we’re on. There were some whispers of a drubbing too.
Well, this game was anything but. From the start, we looked sluggish, never quite running after the ball or showing that extra bit of energy to win it back. Of course, this was a direct consequence of the match on Wednesday against Dortmund, where we produced a brilliant performance to beat the in form German champions. The players were understandably tired, and only two from the eleven that played midweek were rested – Koscielny and Gervinho. I didn’t really mind that, since rotating too much would disrupt the rhythm of the team. But then, this is what you get if you have a solid, first choice starting eleven. You can’t expect them to play two matches in a week at full strength. That is where one notices the importance of having a deep squad, and rotating the team well enough.
To be honest, we don’t have the quality to do that often. One never knows what kind of mood Arshavin is in (we took that gamble today, and it failed. He was terrible), we have players who are good, but lack that extra bit of spark that has always differentiated the average footballer from an Arsenal player. I’m not naming names, but do we have a set of team who can do the job at Norwich away, and another set who can beat the German champions three days later? No.
And maybe we can’t have two complete sets with the disparity in the kind of money available to City or United and to us. But we can certainly afford to bring in quality reinforcements – ammunition we will need when we lose Le Forehead and Chamakh in January. What happens if we lose Song or van Persie to injury? There are things that I probably shouldn’t ask, but nevertheless someone needs to. Backup for Song is Frompong or Coquelin, and for van Persie is Chamakh or Park. The more experienced Chamakh will be gone in January for everybody’s favorite tournament – the ACN.
Now that I’m on a roll, let me finish my criticism. I assure you I have enough positives to make up! We had the worst start we’ve had in 50 odd years, and there was no reason for us to have that kind of start. I say that because the start is obviously linked to the summer, and we had the worst summer in some time, when it could so easily have been different.
We dragged ourselves down to such a point that we needed an incredible run to get back on track, and we set about doing just that. This unbeaten run, which now extends to 10 games, has been great, but it shouldn’t have been necessary.
Going into this game, we had some serious momentum with us. The key was to continue moving forward – keeping up with all the other teams fighting for those 3rd and 4th spots.
Being physically drained out didn’t help – there were a couple of sloppy passes that weren’t sharp enough, and we had to grow into the game. Santos was the pick of the players for me – he has learnt to curtail his forward runs, and is defensively a lot more available now than he was in previous games. I noticed this last game too, where he was still caught forward sometimes, but improved on his defensive duties. Good to see him doing that after receiving so much criticism for not tracking back.
Fulham were trying to slow the game down, and were successful – our best attacks came after winning the ball in deep midfield and playing quickly down the flanks. Walcott was particularly impressive, and he continues his hot streak. Arshavin, on the other hand, was shocking. He wasn’t very interested in the game, and his work rate remains abysmal. He had had ample rest before the game, and should really have been up for it. Instead, he fell in with his teammates and looked as though he had just finished playing a full 90 minutes yesterday. Poor. One wonders how long Wenger will keep him in the squad – a January exit does seem likely at this point, although with Gervinho gone we will need him to perform in that time.
We looked comfortable in possession, but the lack of pace killed us. We couldn’t speed the game up, and were closed down well by a very organized Fulham side. The goal seemed against the run of play, but it was that kind of game. Schwarzer was playing a blinder, and Thomas Vermaelen, while trying to hack the ball clear, only succeeded in rolling it past the diving Szczesny.
This woke te players up a little bit and we started to attack with more intent. The boss made very offensive changes, and ones that tactically made sense to me. Fulham weren’t going to attack a lot, and when they did it would be on the break. So the slow Mertesacker was replaced with Diaby, and Arshavin made way for Chamakh, while Gervinho came in for Ramsey. We shifted to something of a 4-4-2.
The changes worked, and we were pushing hard for the equalizer, with Gervinho being the chief architect of a many a dangerous move. We got our goal, and deservedly so. It came from a Walcott ball that was nodded past Scwarzer by none other than Thomas Vermaelen. We had eight minutes to win it, and the players knew how important it was to do so.
We built attack after attack and there was no doubting the commitment. However, this was how it should have been from the start, not just in the last ten minutes. There was too little time for another goal, and Mike Dean was almost too keen to blow the final whistle.
A word on the referee – it was a horrible game from him. Some of the calls were unbelievable. Tackles that should’ve been called for a foul, and fouls that were great tackles. On top of that, he wanted complete control on the pitch – anyone who appealed to him in the slightest got a warning, or in some cases a yellow card. No surprise, then, that we haven’t won any of the last ten games he has refereed in.
While previous Arsenal sides might have come out and won by maybe two or even three goals, that is just not how this side works. As Wenger put it, this side is less cavalier than the others. We are a solid team who play good football, but nothing too fancy. I have nothing against that.
We need some solidity, and we have that now. It is not too long ago when I would be sitting in my chair, my heart exploding as we struggle to hold on to a 2-0 lead with 10 minutes to go. Now I feel much more confident – in fact I believed that one goal was all we needed today to win, until of course they scored and we needed two!
This Arsenal side has something of a calmness and composure that the sides of the last few seasons did not. Even when we were a goal down, we did not stop believing – we had the belief to keep creating chances and did not panic. I think that is something that Arteta has been instrumental in bringing, along with the return of Vermaelen and the brilliance of Szczesny. We are also a lot more direct, and the over reliance on wing play that was so visible at the start of this season has been toned down.
This point could, maybe should have been three. But it is easy to see the team last season going a goal down and giving up. And I feel we should get used to these “narrow” victories that really flatter the opposition and don’t do justice to the domination we enjoy.
I’m fine with that as long as we keep on winning. It might not be as exciting, but it is certainly more mature. What do I think this side needs? I feel we need an exciting midfielder, and a talented forward to support van Persie. Mario Gotze and Alexandre Pato. Time to stop dreaming, isn’t it?
Anyway, what was important today was to keep the momentum going – we didn’t quite do that, but at least we didn’t completely stop. Now after the little business of the Carling Cup on Tuesday against City, where I expect the boss to let the reserves have a go at it, we resume our campaign for the Champions League places.
Up the Arsenal!

Sunday, October 30, 2011

Dreams


It all started with a dream I suppose. Well, not exactly. To paint the entire picture, we must go back to Thursday night. That night, the night leading up to Friday, I did not sleep. One of the many side effects of procrastination is that one often ends up with an intimidating workload to be completed in a very short period of time – but I managed. I was in the groove and by the time the sun was rising, I was done with everything.
After I was finished with classes, my assignments all duly handed in by mid afternoon, I had two options – either to go to sleep, or stay awake. I decided to stick it up and finally sleep only at night so I could wake up in time for the match. For the record, I’m studying in the US, and since this was an early afternoon kick off, for me it meant waking up at 6.45 AM on a Saturday morning.
I was determined to make it, and somehow I managed to stay awake through the day. Then, I don’t know what happened. Somehow I just couldn’t go to sleep. It was terrible. Maybe there is a point before which you must go to sleep, and once you’re past it there is no hope for you. So it was that I went to sleep, like a typical college boy, at 3 AM.
And that was when I had the dream. The only thing I remember was Drogba scoring a few goals for Chelsea and continuing to haunt all Arsenal supporters. It was terrible. For some weird reason, my alarm went off right at the whistle and we had lost. When I took stock of where I was and the fact that the match hadn’t begun at all, I felt slightly relieved. Then came the realization that the Drog was not going to play, and I was even more relieved.
In this state of semi consciousness, I gathered enough strength to reach for my phone and see what was going on. I vaguely recall reading something that implied that Szczesny was making his customary miracle saves, and that our defense was all over the place. So for the next 45 minutes or so, I kept drifting in and out, periodically waking up from some terrible nightmare where we lost 4-3, 3-2, scraped by 2-2, and won 2-1, in what order I can’t remember.
I finally woke up as Walcott scored, courtesy of my recently recruited Gooner roommate. It was a beauty. The way he got himself up and weaved through two defenders, while leaving Cashley in his wake was magnificent. I haven’t quite been his biggest supporter, but if he continues to put them away like that, I’m fine with it.
Judging by the comments on Twitter and the commentary, I gathered that the defense on both sides had been dismal and the attack, ridiculous. I can’t recall when Chelsea had last been 3-2 down with half an hour to go.
Like most people, I could see that this was not over. We were defending with heart, although technically we seemed pretty poor at the back. At the time, however, all I cared about was Chelsea not getting another goal. Somewhere around the 75th minute I was involuntarily shivering, and no, it was not due to the cold (at least not entirely).
Let me make this clear. I was expecting nothing from this game. I was mentally prepared for us going down at the Bridge, but now that we were leading, the finish line almost visible on the horizon, I had genuine hope of winning it. Typical Arsenal, isn’t it? At that moment, I would have liked nothing more than for someone to turn the TV off, but I sat glued to it. There is something about football that turns us into obsessive people – where we have no control over ourselves. I was screaming at every decision given against us (the ref was as poor as some of the defending), and praying for another goal to make it a two goal lead.
It was only when I was assured of the result and watched and re-watched the highlights that I appreciated the technical details of our play – the swift, slick passing, playing almost on the counter, exploiting Chelsea’s high line, etc etc (much like we did against Barcelona at home). All that didn’t matter then. To be honest, little else in life mattered at that point, apart from eleven players winning a football match. The comforting thought was that I was not alone at all in bordering on the unstable when Arsenal played. There were thousands of people who cared as much, if not more. Somehow that gives it all a special meaning, as though it matters, as though an Arsenal win would make the world a better place.
The goal did come, but it was Chelsea who scored. Of course. And it was Juan Mata who had hit a screamer right into the top left corner. I had my head in my hands, saying to anyone who would listen (and I have a feeling even our neighbours did) that we had bottled it.
Five minutes later though, an incredible tumble from John Terry let van Persie through, who was never going to miss given the kind of form he is in. He Cech-mated the goalkeeper (not the best play on words, I know), and slid the ball into an empty net.
Chelsea were now committing everyone to attack. I had my heart in my mouth when the ball fell almost perfectly for Juan Mata to volley in twice, once with nobody in goal. Two excellent blocks ensured that we survived. Koscielny, who is fast developing into a great defender, was having a brilliant game once more.
Deep into injury time, we scored again while on the counter attack, and throughout the move I was screaming at the team to slow the game down and play keep ball. But when van Persie blasted a left footed shot past Cech to complete his hat-trick, I was screaming once more, rejoicing in the fact that we were almost assured of the three points.
So that was that. We had won, and what a win this was. I won’t say I never dreamed of the result, for I did, quite literally. This, however, felt like another one. A 3-5 result at Stamford Bridge never happens, right?
van Persie had been phenomenal, and Ramsey and Koscielny had played some of the best football they ever had in an Arsenal shirt. What made it more special was that we deserved the victory. There was that feeling of finally having proved ourselves to the world, to all the doubters out there. If a 3-5 win at Chelsea isn’t proof that we’re back, I don’t know what is.
Above all though, it reminded me of how much I love the club. It was clear that every player on that pitch in the red and white loved the club. They knew what the victory meant; they knew what it meant to play for Arsenal Football Club. The players going to the away supporters and saluting them after the game was over proved that.
This is why we do it everyday, isn’t it? This is why we are willing to go through those final 20 minutes of intense nail biting and shivering and praying. It is matches like this one, like the one against Barcelona, when we see the glory of this great club on full display.
It was a magical match that finished in our favor, and for a little while at least, the world is indeed the better for it.

Monday, October 17, 2011

Captain's Game


On Sunday afternoon, we went into another must win game – a game against a struggling Sunderland side that was looking for an opportunity to bounce back. And what better team to do that against than Arsenal? Let’s face it. We have had the worst start to a season in more than 50 years. We are playing a particular brand of football where we typically score a goal, concede one or two as a result of very questionable defending, and finally lose or, if we are luck, draw. Yes, yes, the team is practically brand new, we are without some of our best players, the panic buys need time to settle in, etc etc. The painful truth is, however, that football is cold and cruel. If you don’t play well enough, you don’t get into the top four. As simple as that. All the excuses can be thrown straight into the garbage can. We had the summer to rectify the mistakes from last season and improve the squad. We didn’t. Once the season starts, we have to put that behind us and do whatever we can to stay up there with the big guys.
This was an important game – both in terms of confidence building, and getting points on the board. We fielded a starting eleven that was probably the best we possibly could. Jenkinson started at right back, and Rosicky replaced Ramsey in central midfield since the latter had slight muscle fatigue.
We got off to the best possible start, with van Persie, that Dutch wizard, put us in front with a great finish from Gervinho’s pass. With his right foot, too. The captain had justified his program notes, where he claimed to be completely committed to the club, and also made it clear that, despite media implications, he was indeed NOT living on the streets, and had a roof over his head. Thank goodness for that.
The first 20 minutes were all Arsenal, and one caught not only glimpses, but the entire image, in distinct colors, of the Arsenal we have all grown. We should probably have been 2 or 3-nill up during that period. Captain Vantastic (yes, that was terrible, but I wanted to use it!) was robbed of a goal by the football gods when he took Arteta’s pass exquisitely while turning on the edge of the box, and then attempted the most delightful of chip over the keeper, only for the ball to hit the inside of the post and out. It was as though the spirit of Bergkamp was throbbing inside Robin.
After that, we realized that we weren’t supposed to be this good. The passes started getting slower, less accurate, and Sunderland started to grow into the game. Of course, we were still controlling the game in terms of possession, but well, when do we not? The second goal that everyone could sense coming was not to come in the first half. In fact, Arteta gave away a free kick outside the box about 25-30 yards from goal. It was an improbable distance, but Larsson had other ideas. He unleashed a curler that bent into the top left corner. Szczesny could do nothing about it. Rosicky didn’t even bother to turn and look if it had gone in or not. It was top, top drawer and Becks himself would have been proud of it.

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Of Chants, Voodoo, and Curses


Arsene Wenger, at some point in his career at Arsenal, made a deal with the devil. Maybe it was at the 2005 FA Cup Final, maybe the 2006 Champions League final. If it was the latter, however, it didn’t turn out well for us at all. We are so out of favor with the Fortune Gods, it is unbelievable. If losing the match on Sunday wasn’t bad enough, we lost Bacary Sagna for at least three months with a broken fibula. Of course, when our medical team say three months, they really mean he’ll be racing Wilshere for a come back. Ok, maybe not, but you get the point.
I feel happy for Wilshere though – he’s just had a baby, and at least will get time to spend with his little boy. All I hope is that he returns to doing what he does best – no, not unprotected sex – before Archie Wilshere joins the Arsenal academy.
Well, enough dilly dallying – straight to the game now. We were being written off before it even started, with Spurs the favorites to win for the first time in a long, long time. The other talked about point was how we would deal with Adebayor. By we, I mean both the players, and the fans. While the former did their best in keeping him relatively quiet on the pitch, the latter were, quite honestly, disgusting in their attempts to bring the man down. More on that later.
There are so many issues with the club and the team to be addressed that a small, concise summary of the game will have to suffice for the moment. We dominated possession early on and dictated play, although were unbelievably sloppy in possession at times, and made a habit of giving the ball away in dangerous areas. Our defense was stretched quite often (surprise, surprise), but we were saved more than once by the brilliance of Wojciech Szczesny. That guy has been massive for us throughout the disaster that is this season. However, he could do nothing against our defense, which was intent on conceding a goal.
They did. It was Adebayor’s flighted through ball that found Voo doo Vaart, who used his shoulder/arm to bring the ball down and then struck the ball sweetly across goal to finish. Of course, the handball wasn’t given. To be frank, it was difficult for the ref to spot, although it escapes me what the assistant was doing at this point. Maybe he was busy looking up the complicated FIFA rulebook, wondering whether he was within his rights to call the foul, and whether technically it was handball in the first place.
Voo doo Vaart then celebrated with the fans, something that would technically earn him a yellow. At this point he was on one already, and a second would have led to him being sent off. So the goal technically resulted from a handball, and Rafael technically should have been sent off. But whoever in the world cares about technicalities, right? Yes, I concede the rule about the celebration is a stupid one, but it is all the same a rule, and Spurs were very lucky not to be down to ten men.

Saturday, September 24, 2011

Winning


“Winning is not everything. It is the only thing.” Who was it that said that? A quick Google search reveals that it was Henry Russell Sanders, an American college football coach. How pertinent that statement is for our team right now. We are a club that is, quite frankly, in shambles. Everything – right from the management to the medical team, is in disarray. I said last time that I hoped we would hit rock bottom fast since the recovery can begin.
Well guess what? We just took a big, giant step towards doing that. Jack Wilshere, the one beacon of hope, the wonder boy who was to be back in six weeks, now needs to be operated on his ankle and will not be back before Christmas at the earliest. The whole situation has the terrible scent of a Vermaelen-esque injury about it. That makes two injuries this year that were misdiagnosed, with something very similar happening to young Benik Afobe. He too was expected to return from injury in a few weeks, but was later told that he would be out for a few months. There is obviously something wrong with the medical team, since our injury record is getting preposterous.
With Jack, the strategy was to wait a month and see if the ankle heals on its own. Well, it didn’t. So, either we consulted the wrong guys initially, or we just haven’t taken care of that ankle as we should have. I refuse to believe that what has happened is plain bad luck, since it has become a common occurrence these days. We had Vermaelen out for most of last year, and Diaby, Wilshere and Afobe look set to go down that same path. The club, in their statement regarding Wilshere's injury, took some pain to point out that the best doctors in the world had been consulted throughout, and it was pretty obvious that they were on the defensive there.
The issue of not hiring a defensive coach still baffles me. Arsene obviously does not like to spend a lot of time doing defensive training, and isn’t the most astute manager in the world when it comes to organizing defenses. Our backroom staff has been the same for years now – so much so that even the chef and the doorkeepers have kept their jobs throughout. I’m not saying that they should all be fired because they are incompetent. I do, however, get the feeling that there is something of a rot beginning to set in and that we need some fresh faces. Piromac and Pat Rice have been great assistants and are very dedicated to the club, but now might be the time to get in someone younger to join them.
In other news, Wenger has admitted that we will struggle to keep up to FOUR of our best players in the long term - van Persie, Song, Vermaelen and Walcott will all have just one year to go on their contracts in the summer, and we might have to sell them, just like a certain Samir Nasri.
"Our desire is there to convince them to stay", said Wenger. "We tried before and the financial gap on that front has become bigger for us.
I cannot say that if we go to our maximum wage that we are sure to sign a player."  
Surely that is enough for even the slowest and dumbest of people to see that our wage structure is flawed. I have commented on this before and quite frankly, have little more to add. Paying Diaby more than the Spuds pay Modric is just not good economics.
As to the match tomorrow, it is really very simple. We have to win. There is just no other option. Our position in the table is not flattering, to say the least, and it is shameful for a club of our standard. Four points in five games is an outrage. However, we must accept the position that we are in and come out all guns blazing against Bolton. I am sure that we will create chances once more. Our play against Blackburn was at least coherent in attack, and hopefully we see more of that here. The guys have had one more week to gel, to know each other, to work as a unit, and so we are that much closer to being a team. There is every reason to be optimistic, and yet I doubt I would be surprised if we drew. I am not even thinking about a loss, and I fear for the club if that does indeed turn out to be the case.
In the defense, it will be interesting to see who starts at left back – will Andre Santos be given his second start, or will Keiran Gibbs continue? Personally I think it will be Gibbs. Santos needs to work a little bit at tracking back and communication, but at the same time offers more of a threat going forward. Obviously, right now we need someone who can be solid on the left flank, and if Arshavin starts (unlikely, in my opinion), that someone just cannot be Santos.
Expect Ramsey to start alongside Song and Arteta in central midfield. I expect Wenger to field a fluid 4-3-3, with Walcott and Gervinho on the wings. What I would really like to see though is a more solid, structured 4-4-2. Walcott can finally play as striker, a role he has been begging and pining for, and the impressive Oxlade-Chamberlain can be handed a start as well. So here is my expected line up for tomorrow:

Chezza;
Sagna, Koscielny, Mertesacker, Gibbs;
Song, Ramsey, Arteta;
Walcott, van Persie, Gervinho.

And my desired line up:

Chezza;
Sagna, Koscielny, Mertesacker, Gibbs;
AOC, Song, Arteta, Gervinho;
Walcott, van Persie.

I do hope Wenger springs a surprise and fields the latter team! 
The only question now is a philosophical one – do we have what it takes to finally win? I honestly do think so. We have been supplied bad news after bad news, and things are fast approaching a breaking point. Bolton at home is the perfect opportunity to get things back under control, maybe even get the media on our side for a while. We could really use some positive coverage right now!
Bolton is a team I respect (although admittedly, they lack common sense – keeping Cahill was a big mistake in their financial circumstances), and I do wish for them to do well overall. Right now, however, it is about us. It is about finding the spirit of football again, about starting to enjoy our game again.
It is pure and simple. This game is about winning.
 

Saturday, September 17, 2011

Regression


God said, “Let there be light”, and a flame flickered, wavered, and was conveniently put out. That has been the story this past week for Arsenal FC. When the new look squad took the field against Swansea, one could glimpse of sliver of hope begin to regenerate among fans. There was hope that the new signings would bed in and Arsenal would quickly regain the lost confidence after the infamous defeat at Old Trafford. They scraped what can only be called a lucky win, although it was always going to be difficult after what had happened in the last few days of the transfer window.
Their confidence restored a little, the players then headed to Borussia Dortmund for what was definitely the toughest game in the Champions League group stage. Dortmund were very impressive, but a goal from van Persie pegged them back, only for Perisic to steal a point in the last five minutes with a spectacular effort. Arsenal had defended like lions, and had only gone down to a wonder goal. That game did a lot towards regaining that lost confidence. It was a good away point and the team looked strong.
Going into the Blackburn game, there was a positive buzz about the team probably for the first time in months. All the new players (bar Park) had been given a run and there was genuine excitement surrounding the game. Arsenal would finally be able to play their own slick, passing game. Blackburn were a side that had little confidence going into this fixture – three losses and a draw isn’t a record that anyone can be proud of, and surely this was on their minds. One would have thought this was the perfect opportunity for Arsenal to pounce and further deepen the gloom at Ewood Park, while furthering their own rehabilitation.
Arsenal looked as though they were on course to do just that. In the first half, they had a massive 66% of possession, and the crowd were treated to some vintage flowing moves. Mikel Arteta contributed with his technical skills in central midfield, and Ramsay had a solid half as well, keeping it relatively simple. The attacking was very easy on the eye and finally one caught a glimpse of the Arsenal of old. The goal came as a result of an amazing through ball from Alex Song that Gervinho latched onto, swiveled, and shot right into the bottom left corner. It was a fantastic finish from an unlikely angle.
Arsenal were completely dominating in all parts of the field when Blackburn, out of nowhere, found an equalizer. The goal was typical of Arsenal too – new left back Andre Santos, handed his first start, was playing Yakubu onside (remember how Clichy used to play the exact same game), and Yakubu finished well before Szczesny could react. It must be said though that this was Santos’ first full game, and so communication was always going to be a problem. However, this was a problem in the Dortmund game as well, when countless through balls were threaded through the central defense. More on the defense later.
The goal, meanwhile, did little to stem the flow of the game. Arsenal still continued to attack and dominate play, and it was little surprise they scored the next goal.
Song was once again involved as he released Ramsay on the right, who spotted Mikel Arteta’s run into the box and cut back for him. The Spaniard scored with an emphatic finish, his first goal in the red and white. The first of many, I hope. We finished the half on a high, and this looked the perfect game to get our confidence back. Everyone had played their part, and we looked coherent in attack, a first this season. Everyone had set roles and the communication between midfield and attack was great. Things were on the up.
At half time, though, something happened. Maybe they replaced the drinks with something else. As we took the pitch in the second half, we looked a different team. Back came the uncertainties that were so visible in the Dortmund game. We were still enjoying majority of the possession, but somehow seemed less confident on the ball.
Arshavin was in the mood to show off his defensive skills, and soon conceded a free kick outside the box on the right. The zonal marking we have deployed was in place. The ball came in and two players missed the subsequent header a little way off the near post. The second ball then hit the unsuspecting and surprised Alex Song, who had no time to react. The ball bounced off him into the net. 2-2 Blackburn. They had equalized once more. The goal was entirely down to rotten luck, and there was really little Song could have done about it.
Out we went in search of a goal again. Somewhere along that quest, we lost Bacary Sagna – probably one of the players of the season so far. He has been a rock defensively and that had been the case in this game as well. To replace him we had Johan Djourou, a player completely lacking in confidence, being played out of position as right back.

Saturday, September 10, 2011

Rebirth


First league win of the season. I wouldn’t have imagined I would be saying that almost a month into the campaign. For Arsenal, however, it hasn’t been a month. For Arsenal, this was a new beginning, a fresh start, another chapter, a rebirth - have your pick! It was a new look team that took the field at the Emirates – a team few would have guessed at a month back, let alone last season. This game was about how we took the loss at Old Trafford. This game was about the new signings and how they fit in. This game was the perfect opener.
The last two weeks have brought an amazing change in the squad, and, I would like to imagine, in the dressing room too. The international games did not, for once, bring in the countless injuries they always seem to do. In fact, most of our players had great games – the captain scored four in a game (against San Marino, but still), Chu Young Park scored four in two games for South Korea, the Ox put in two brilliant performances for the under-21’s, Szczesny, in the words of the great Oliver Kahn, was the only “world class” player in the Germany-Poland game, and Ramsay put in a great shift for Wales against England. The best news for me, however, was that Arshavin apparently was fantastic for Russia. That showed today. He was lively throughout and very dynamic on and off the ball. His defensive skills remain questionable, but it was good to see him play his heart out.
Even when you remove the importance of the game psychologically, this one was very interesting tactically. Swansea is an attacking team, much like Blackpool – they love to play some real football and are often adventurous going forward. Traditionally, we love playing against such teams. However, there was little doubt about how Swansea were going to tackle this one – put 10 men behind the ball. That’s a fair tactic and I have nothing against it. When you come to a stadium like the Emirates, that’s probably the best way to go about the game. To their credit, they maintained a 4-5-1 throughout and were not afraid to attack when they did get a chance.
Arshavin, as I mentioned earlier, looked very lively on the left side, and the excellent Keiran Gibbs did well too I thought. For Swansea, there were times when Nathan Dyer looked very dangerous, and they attacked well through the wings, although they lacked a final product and our defense held on well. The focus in defense was obviously on Per Mertesacker. He is a very intelligent player, as the boss himself put it. His positioning was spot on, but he was slow to turn and did not look very mobile. It must be remembered though that there is a big difference between the German and English leagues. The very nature of the game changes. Obviously, a center half will take time to get used to it. A great example is Koscielny, who I think is very underrated considering his abilities. He is very mobile and brilliant at reading the game, can also jump and has adjusted well to the rigors of the Premier League. He has a high jump too. Above all, he is a hard worker, willing to give everything for the team.
This pairing will work until the Verminator returns, I feel. The games we have in the next four weeks are not the toughest, except maybe the one at Shite Hart Lane. But considering our opponents, we don’t really expect a challenge do we? We are, and will be the only team in North London.

Monday, September 5, 2011

The New Arsenal

Finally, it’s done. The endless flow of rumors, denials and heartbreaks is over. There is now almost a profound silence, and the debates about whether the squad is good enough or not have begun. There was a massive sense of relief and a collective belief that was evident immediately after the window had closed and the Benayoun and Arteta signings had been confirmed. The happiness on Twitter was evident. As for myself, I cut a lone figure with all the negativity I was spewing forth. Somehow, all our deadline day activity and announcement of signings did not set my pulse racing.
Here is a summary of our dealings:

IN:
Mikel Arteta
Per Mertesacker
Andre Santos
Park Chu Young
Gervinho
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
Carl Jenkinson
Joel Campbell
Jon Miquel Toral Harper
Kristoffer Olsson
Serge Gnarby
Leander Siemann
Hector Bellerin
Yossi Benayoun (loan)

OUT:
Cesc Fabregas
Samir Nasri
Gael Clichy
Emmanuel Eboue
Armand Traore
Jay Emmanuel-Thomas
Giles Sunu
Jamie Edge
Raorie Deacon
Mark Randall
Nicklas Bendtner (loan)
Carlos Vela (loan)
Denilson (loan)
Wellington (loan)
Kyle Bartley (loan)
Joel Campbell (loan)
Henri Lansbury (loan)
Pedro Botelho (loan)
Samuel Galindo (laon)
James Shea (loan)

Our net transfer earning, without add-ons, according to Arsenal Report is +£12,388,200, with the add-ons being worth around £6,000,000.

So we have had a net selling summer, and bear in mind we had £35 million at the very least to spend before the window began. That means, when the add-ons come flooding in, we will have about £55 million sitting in the bank, and that is a conservative estimate. One must also remember that that with the Fabregas and Nasri sales, we have cleared up about £10 million pounds a year in terms of wages. Getting rid of Nicky B’s £2.5 million a year also helps. We have had players come in, but I doubt they are on wages high enough to "cover" the profit.

When the transfer window started, we all agreed that we needed numbers, that our first choice eleven were great – hell, we even beat Barcelona when we were at full strength – but that our reserves were just not performing. We had to cut the dross, and add some players who would perform when called up. Amid all this, the first departure was Gael Clichy – an experienced left back, albeit with little or no positional sense and a penchant for leaving his brains behind in big matches, but a solid one none-the-less. He was great at tracking back, and did ok even with the defensively astute Arshavin playing in front of him on the flank. He was also the last of the Invincibles. I wasn’t so bummed at him leaving. He was very replaceable. What I didn’t know was that we would take literally all summer to replace him, sell another of our left backs, and almost leave it all to the excellent, but young and injury prone Keiran Gibbs.

Monday, August 29, 2011

Crisis Club

It took great courage to summon the mental strength to haul my laptop up and actually get something written. The facts are in front of us, the arguments on both sides heard. Hell, we even saw a little preview of what the season is going to be like. This was an anomaly, you say? Well maybe, but a defeat is a defeat. It might be that we will never be humiliated in that way for a long, long time, but it will definitely surprise me if we got any points at all against the big boys. The one positive is in retrospect. Fans were screaming at the end of last season when things had not quite gone our way – we thought we couldn’t possibly be feeling any worse. Well, that position seems almost enviable now, since at least we had the summer to look forward to. Now we stand on the brink of a disastrous season. No, it does not look pretty.

Manchester United 8-2 Arsenal. Sunday, the 28th of August, ranks in my memory as the worst day in the Wenger era. And as to Manchester United’s performance, it wasn’t even a “gr-eight” one. They had two amazing finishes from Ashley Young, two great free kicks, a penalty, and some stereotypical Arsenal defending to help them achieve that. Arsenal on the other hand, played it safe – they did not want to attack, defend or link up play at all! Aaron Ramsay’s poor form in midfield continued as he was a mere passenger and rarely made a useful pass. Walcott and Arshavin, were, as in previous games, extremely ineffective. Andrei even got himself a yellow in the first half for good measure, and so had to be extremely cautious while tracking back for the rest of the match. Jenkinson at the back looked completely lost and allowed Young to get the better of him quite a few times. Koscielny wasn’t completely fit, and it showed. Djourou looked a shadow of what he was last season. Traore’s positional sense was as sharp as Clichy’s. Robin van Persie was out of it too, coming up with the most terrible penalty I have seen him take to date. That was probably the turning point of the entire match – we just said, “to hell with it” after that miss, and what followed was painfully unbelievable. All through, I kept hoping that I would get up from this nightmare only to see the match hadn’t quite begun yet.

Jenkinson, not surprisingly, ended up being yellow carded twice, and was sent off in the second half. Theo Walcott, that accomplished defender, finally played right back, a role he has been crying out for since he joined us. The younger version of Walcott, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain played in front of him on the right wing, and as I had mentioned in my preview, did get to make his debut.

What is stupefying about this match was that despite conceding the number of goals we did, Szczesny actually didn’t have a bad game (De Gea, on the other hand, did. That first goal had a charming Almunia air about it), and neither did Coquelin, the young defensive midfielder who, with this debut, was eased into life in the Premier League. Five of those eight goals came after Coquelin was subbed for Lansbury (another League debutant), and even before that, we were just too open. As Zonal Marking (amazing website that offer tactical analysis of selected matches) reports, our back four were pressing extremely high up the pitch trying to play the opposition offside, but that is not a good idea when you’re playing with no pressure on the ball. Even then, we did not press as a unit, and as mentioned earlier, Traore’s positional sense was amazing, and Jenkinson just did not know what to do with Young. So, he took the easy option and let him score. The first goal too showed how shockingly pathetic our defending was, with no one even looking at Welbeck when the return ball came in until it was too late.

Saturday, August 27, 2011

The Young and Hazardous

Arsenal FC needs some football players. That much is un-debatable. It is also un-debatable that they need players in every position bar between the sticks, which is just plain weird because until last season, all we wanted was a keeper (well, and a defender)! It is fitting, then, that this post begins with a little ode to the amazing Wojciech Szczesny. I spelt that without looking it up, by the way. Yes, that’s how much I love the guy!

The famous anecdote while he was with the youth team sums his attitude perfectly. As the referee was inspecting the net in his goal, Chezza turned to him and said he shouldn’t bother because the ball wasn’t going to hit it anyway! It didn’t.
The guy has been a revelation since starting for the first team last season after an injury to Fabianski. And there has been no looking back. His run is even more amazing when you consider the fact that he broke both his arms while training in the gym a few years back. That is what you call a comeback. Never short of confidence, with a little bit (well, quite a bit) of arrogance about him, he is the keeper we had all been crying out for.

The defense looks assured with him between the post, something that wasn’t quite happening with Almunia and Fabianski. His performances this season too have been spotless for the most part. The penalty save against Udinese, which, surprisingly, seems so long ago now, was immense – both in terms of quality and what it means for our season in general. It was undoubtedly the turning point of that 25 million pounds tie. He had riled up Di Natale before the kick was taken, and Di Natale put in some serious venom behind the shot. Chezza took a few steps forward and pushed it over the crossbar. Ten minutes later, we had scored and were ahead.

Anyway, with that game done and dusted and the big pay day assured, the focus immediately turns to transfers. Contrary to my expectations, winning the game did not see a trillion credible rumors surface. My hopes of us signing Kaka, Sneijder and Benzema were dashed. At any rate, it did break out today that we had almost completed the signing of Park Chu Young. Erm, who?

He is the captain of the South Korean national team and plays for Monaco in France. He is 6 feet, 26, and we have apparently agreed a fee of €3 million, rising to €5 million with add-ons. He is thought of extremely highly in South Korea, and according to my Youtube scouting, seems to be technically very sound, and loves to take players on. Also, he looks to make passes all the time, and links the play up well. All the ingredients to be an Arsene special!

So with him supposedly at the Colney for a medical (reported by the excellent Young Guns Blog), we have a whopping £87 million in our kitty with Wenger wanting to buy at least two more players. He confirmed that Nicklas Bendtner would also be sold, which would add about £10 million to that figure. Now we’re getting to dizzying heights, as we would have £97 million to spend on TWO players. That’s some serious quality. We could actually bid for Christiano Ronaldo.

Joel Campbell, that Costa Rican sensation who was just waiting to light the Premier League on fire, has reportedly been denied a work permit. What a pity. Wenger had admitted, though, that he was taking “a little gamble” when signing him, and well, he seems to have lost that particular battle. We will miss the 50-odd goals he was surely going to score for us.

Speaking about banging the goals in, Young’s scoring record is not great, but that just might be due to poor service. Also, the last two signings from Monaco have worked for us, and none of us came with a good record. The latter of those two was Adebayor. The other was someone called Thierry Henry. Ring any bells?

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Money, Money, Money

Money, money, money
Must be funny
In the rich man's world
Money, money, money
Always sunny
In the rich man's world
All the things I could do
If I had a little money
It's a rich man's world.

How fitting this song is to both this week, and the transfer season in general for Arsenal FC. These seven days, touted (quite rightly) as being the most important in recent history for the club, are governed by one thing and one thing only - money. We fans, and the club too, have learnt a valuable lesson - the world and its people, especially those who play football, answer only to money. Most do anyway. Samir Nasri (or Cashri, whichever way you have it) moved away for that very reason. The facade of being disrespected by fans and wanting to win trophies is a poor, poor justification. This from a player who in effect had dismissed City's millions only last year.

I am not here to say that Nasri is a cr*p player who should have been sold ASAP. Those are different (*looks sideways at Almunia*). Nasri has been great for the club. But only at times, it must be said. Out of the 3 years (27 playing months) he was here, he performed exceptionally for only four months. That's about 12.5% of his time at the Emirates. It must also be added that when push came to shove last season and Arsenal needed a hero, he all but disappeared. His individual brilliance will be missed (that Porto goal was something else), but it isn't something that cannot be replaced. We have Gervinho, Chamberlain and Miyaichi to do just that. While going, he used the fans, insulting them for "disrespecting" him and then not even mentioning them when they cheered him on against Liverpool. Showed his class there, didn't he? And also, 25 million is a great price for a player with just one year on his contract and four good months. Of course, when you're being offered around 200k a week, the decision to leave becomes very easy. The chapter called Samir Nasri, then, is officially closed.

The fact that worries me right now is our pay structure. What star player is going to join the club when he knows he will never get over a 100k unless he is absolutely legendary? On the other hand, we have players like Bendtner on 52k, Diaby on 60k and Almunia on 50k! The club says that this averages out the wages, and prevents jealousy! What? Give me a break. Jealousy can be good. If you're a guy earning 10k a week, and you see a van Persie or a Wilshere earning much much more, you want to get there yourself, and work harder for it. THAT encourages competition and also attracts star players to the club. It is unbelievable that the club does not see the simple logic behind wage structures at other clubs.

An article came out on Sunday saying that Wenger was apparently at loggerheads with the board, and he himself wanted to break the wage structure to buy star players, but the board wouldn't let him. All they wanted were some average signings to pacify the fans. Out of nowhere, Arsenal found the time and necessity to send an email to the journalist saying that nothing of the sort had happened and to contact the club for confirmation before posting information such as this. That just sounds bizarre. Everyday, thousands of news stories break out, most of which are made up. Why then did the club take such pains to clarify this story? Conspiracy theories beckon, but I will resist.

Sunday, August 21, 2011

Acceptance

Denial
Anger
Bargaining
Depression
Acceptance

These are the five stages of death. Regardless of ywhat religion, race or country you are from, these are generally the stages one goes through when faced with death. Surprisingly enough, these very stages have typified the mood among Arsenal fans throughout summer.

We approach now what is perhaps the most defining week in the Wenger era. We find ourselves faced with so many questions - questions that must be answered after the 0-2 loss against Liverpool. Before I get into the game, I have a confession to make = I could not watch the game, although I did catch the MOTD highlights. The rest of my knowledge is a result of compulsively checking for Twitter updates every 10 seconds.

The big, big news before the match was that Samir Nasri was going to start. There was just one change to my line-up, which had been predicted before team news, and that makes me proud!

We defended brilliantly and played our hearts out, that much is clear and undebatable. The atmosphere in the stadium, amid the intense showers, was something else, I'm told. Then the inevitable happened. We lost Koscielny to back spasms. That makes it three out of three games we have had to make a forced substitution. Our confidence took a hit, and Liverpool started dominating possession. We did not give up. Miquel was assured, Frimpong and Vermalean immense. Theo and Arshavin were having an off day. Now considering the fact that we have 10 players playing on the wings at any given time, losing our two real ones to an “off day” dented our already dismal creativity.

It must be said that Nasri played his part in the chances we DID manage to create, a mazy run the pick of the lot. We found out what we were letting go off. Still, he is no Fabregas. The fans played their part too, and he was largely cheered on. Not sure I would have been able to do the same though! Ramsey, Nasri’s creative partner in central midfielder, was having a poor game himself, and did little to help Samir out.

For me, the turning points, not in the match, but in my thinking, were the 8th minute Frimpong yellow, and the Koscielny injury (Squillaci’s absence on the bench was very telling too). Those, to me, exemplify the problem at Arsenal. We have a brilliant player in Frimpong, but one who is obviously inexperienced. He was making his League debut against a team like Liverpool! And of course, our players are falling to injuries like toothpicks. Surely there is something wrong with the way we train? We have world class facilities, and the satellite tracking system introduced this season in training was supposed to help prevent injuries – whatever happened to that!

Looking at our line-up, who really gave us a chance? Yes, Frimpong was lion hearted in his efforts, and Miquel played the best he could, but the attack was nothing short of toothless, and there can be no excuses there.

Thursday, August 18, 2011

In The Dumps

It is safe to say that Arsenal FC is in a state of some turmoil – not just within, but also outside, with the fans divided into distinct groups. If some fans aren’t yet in a state of panic, they are constantly at odds with others who are. The state of the club, the role of the manager, of the board, of the players themselves, is being questioned. No one truly knows what is going on, and there is confusion all around. The media is blamed for being against the club; the media is blamed for being biased towards the club. We have all possible permutations and combinations about our future being argued for or against.

Nothing escapes the vast reaches of the Internet. Hundreds of thousands of fans indulge in a discussion of one kind or another every day, be it through Facebook, or Twitter, or other great blogs. Needless to say, these discussions often get heated up, as fans of opposing views collide and each gets his support going. It’s straight up war out there!

These fans, it seems, are divided into a few sects. There is one that thinks the club must be defended at all costs, and this means the manager, the board and the players. There is one asking for the removal of the manager, one for the removal of the board. One is begging players like Nasri to stay at the club, another doesn’t want to see him put on the famous red and white again. Opinions on Cesc Fabregas are divided as well: some feel he should never have been sold, others that the timing of the sale wasn’t right, and some just worry that the money will never be reinvested. (Strangely, everyone seems to agree Denilson, Squillaci and Almunia are crap. Hmmmmm.).

Such a divided fan base cannot be a good thing for the club. It proves, as people have noticed, that the club’s PR base is very poor – there is no clear communication with the fans. The club has been accused of lying to the supporters and hiding facts.
Fans, in that situation, are bound to be confused, especially with the influx of information through the Internet. So the question for the exasperated fan is how he deals with this information (or misinformation) from and about the club. What constitutes a “real” fan?

This is a question that keeps popping up everywhere. It has been used as an argument in countless debates – a “real fan” would never say this, or oppose that. So how is one supposed to react when one hears, say, a rumor linking the club to a star player like Karim Benzema, or an unknown one like Joel Campbell (now a player at the club)? The trouble is two fold – one, there is often little truth these days to transfer rumors, or at least the extent to which they are hyped. Two, there is no “correct” way to react. The club’s need on the pitch, one must agree, must be left to the manager and board to analyze – they are infinitely more knowledgeable about the inner workings of the game and the transfer market. All we can argue about is whether they are actually making an effort to improve the squad on the pitch. It is hard to believe that someone as shrewd as Wenger does not know that our defense needs strengthening, and that Cesc and Nasri have to be replaced soon.

In that situation, it is indeed testing for the fans when all summer, the only real activity has been the addition of three kids and a speedy winger, while the club’s most influential, gifted player has left along with a few others, and another few are on their way out. The “We have got no players left, We have got no players left” chant is gaining a creepy, realistic aura.

According to Le Grove, an excellent blog about everything Arsenal, we have been outspent by every club in the Premier League since the league’s inception. The likes of Hull City and QPR have spent more (net) than we have. Looking at it neutrally, this brings our success in the Wenger era into startling perspective. It is nothing short of a miracle to continuously finish in the top four of the most competitive football league in the world with that kind of spending (or non-spending).