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 3^rd and 4^th 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!

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.

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?