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!

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 75^th 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.

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.

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.

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.