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.

 

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.

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.

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.