Back on the winning trail

Arsenal 2-1 Aston Villa

Following their morale sapping defeats against Blackburn in the FA cup and Bayern Munich in the Champions League, it was imperative for Arsenal to return to winning ways at home to relegation threatened Aston Villa on Saturday.

Although the Gunners performance left much to be desired, Arsene Wenger could at least take solace from the fact his side had the character required to bounce back and secure all three points. It would have been easy for the players to allow a horrid week, which Wenger himself labelled a crisis, to continue to affect their confidence, especially when Aston Villa equalised through Andy Weimann. Yet to their credit, the Gunners dug deep and managed to find a winning strike from Santi Cazorla, with only five minutes left on the clock.

Arsenal’s progress this season has been largely undermined by their recurrent slow starts, yet on Saturday they actually began the game rather well, immediately creating goal scoring opportunities. Within the first few minutes, Jack Wilshere, who as against Bayern, was deployed further up the pitch, was sent through on goal. However the young Englishman seemed to hesitate slightly before taking his shot and as Brad Guzan was quick off his line, the angle reducing all the time, the American shot stopper was able to pull off a relatively comfortable save.

Despite the missed opportunity, the Arsenal faithful did not have to endure a long wait before their side broke the deadlock, with the Gunners taking the lead in only the sixth minute of the game. Wilshere played a square ball into Cazorla and although the Spaniard’s initial shot was blocked by Nathan Baker, the ball fell straight back to Cazorla and the former Malaga midfielder made no mistake with his second attempt, firing low and hard past Guzan’s reach and into the bottom corner of the net.

Much has been made of the Gunners sluggish starts, especially against the top teams, but having taken an early lead against a side whose own confidence was at a low ebb following a horrendous season so far, the Arsenal faithful would have been forgiven for expecting their team to kick on and power past Aston Villa. Strangely, the complete opposite happened as the Gunners suddenly began to play within themselves while at the same time the visitors grew more and more into the game, exploiting Arsenal’s poor defending to create several dangerous chances of their own.

On the Gunners left hand side, Weimann was causing Monreal problems and having managed to outwit the Spaniard, he unleashed a low ball into the box, which Gabby Agbonlahor was unfortunate not to get on the end of. Arsenal didn’t heed the warning signs and a few minutes later Weimann raced clear once again, before cutting the ball back to N’Zogbia, whose powerful effort was stopped by Szczesny but not turned round the post. Luckily for the Polish international and the home side, Arsenal managed to clear the ball during the ensuing goalmouth scramble.

Paul Lambert’s side may be sitting in the relegation zone, but the manner in which the Scot had set his team up was causing Arsenal problems. The visitors would sit back and defend quite deep, allowing the home side to commit players forward, before catching them on the break. This was a very cunning tactic and with the Gunners continuing to struggle with their defensive shape, on several occasions, Villa were just one good final pass away from bearing down on goal. Had they been playing against a top team, Arsenal may well have been made to pay.

Despite enjoying the lion’s share of possession in the second half, the Gunners didn’t manage to create enough goal scoring opportunities and soon seemed to run out of ideas. Time and time again they would switch the ball out wide before attempting to cross it into the box, but the cross would either get blocked, or be too high or there just wouldn’t be enough Arsenal players in the box to effect the Villa defence. If the opposition are sitting deep, it is only natural for the Gunners to attempt to break them down by spreading the play and delivering crosses into the box. However without getting enough bodies into the area, it doesn’t matter how good the delivery is the chances of it finding the one Arsenal player in the box are remote at best.

Throughout the game, every time an attack from the home side broke down, Wenger’s team were vulnerable to the counter attack. In the 68^th minute, Villa fully exploited Arsenal’s defensive frailties to restore parity. A Gunners corner was cleared by Weimann on the edge of his own penalty area. Carl Jenkison, stood just behind the half way line, could only head the long punt up field, straight to N’Zogbia, who duly fed the on rushing Weimann. With the Arsenal defenders back pedalling, the young Austrian was allowed to run on goal unchallenged before firing a shot which Szczesny should have easily saved. The Arsenal number one is enduring a horrendous recent drop in form, making costly errors in each of his last three appearances. The main problem seems to be that he has no real competition for his place in the first team, which has resulted in complacency and ultimately his level of performances has suffered greatly.

Although it was frustrating for the Gunners to be pegged back against a side they really should be beating, the team’s response was admirable. Having endured a torrid week, it would have been easy for the players to feel sorry for themselves at this stage and simply allow the game to pass them by. But instead Wenger’s side collectively gritted their teeth and dug deep to press forward in search of the winner. This show of character was duly rewarded in the 85^th minute thanks to a wonderful clipped ball by Wilshere, over the top of Weimann and into the path of the overlapping Monreal. The Spaniard raced to the by-line before cutting the ball back for his compatriot, Santi Cazorla, who slid the ball home to the relief of the Emirates crowd.

Arsenal were clearly not at their best on Saturday, but the most important thing was to take away a crucial three points to keep themselves in the race for a top four finish. The Gunners can now gain some much needed confidence from this result as they seek to move forward and put the terrible defeats of the past week behind them. With Chelsea losing to Manchester City, Arsenal are now only two points behind them as they prepare for what promises to be a pivotal North London derby.  Each and every player wearing a red and white shirt must stand up and be counted next Sunday. Let’s hope they rise to the challenge.

Outclassed!

Arsenal 1-3 Bayern Munich

 

Although a defeat always hurts, especially when your side has been completely outplayed and outthought by the opposition, there was an air of inevitability about proceedings at the Emirates stadium on Tuesday night. At the final whistle, many Arsenal supporters simply shrugged their shoulders in an act of acknowledgement that their side had simply not been good enough and in truth they had arrived at the stadium expecting nothing less.

 

The Gunners have not played well all season and have clearly struggled to believe in their ability to overcome superior opposition. In the pre match press conference, Mikel Arteta highlighted the fact his side would need to start the game well and could not afford to allow their opponents to race into a two goal lead as had happened previously against Manchester City, Chelsea and Liverpool. Having informed the press of the importance to avoid such a recurrence, Arteta seemed to have forgotten to provide the same advice to his teammates and with only 22 minutes gone, the game and indeed the tie were effectively over as Bayern raced into a two goal lead. 

 

Calamitous mistakes at the back had once again cost Arsenal dear and although Jack Wilshere refused to lay the blame at the feet of his manager and instead put the spotlight on the players who had ultimately let the Frenchman down, Wenger must also take responsibility. This is a man who is notorious for not setting up his teams with the opposition at the forefront of his thinking and while such an approach has been successful in the past, it is now proving to be his downfall. In his trophy laden years with the club, Wenger could afford to largely focus on his own team as the side was full of players who possessed the quality and ability to impose their game on the opposition. Without the likes of Vieria, Pires, Henry and Bergkamp, Arsenal can no longer afford to walk into games without a detailed plan on how to stop their opponents. However in an act of sheer stubbornness, Wenger refuses to accede to this view.

 

With Thomas Vermaelen having to fill in at left back against Bayern it was clear that the Gunners would be vulnerable from attacks down this flank. Yet in front of Vermaelen, Wenger decided to deploy Podolski, who is notorious for his lack of desire to track back. Consequently, Bayern tore Arsenal apart down the Gunners left hand side as the home side were unable to deal with the excellent Philip Lahm’s overlapping runs. It was no real surprise therefore that two of the three goals scored by the Germans originated from this position.

 

Only seven minutes in and with Vermaelen caught on the ball up field, Thomas Muller broke free on the right wing. As he approached the by-line, the German international cut the ball back towards the edge of the area for the completely unmarked Toni Kroos to fire past Szczesny, to give the away side the lead. From an Arsenal perspective it was a completely avoidable goal and highlighted once again, Wenger’s foolish decision not to sign a defensive midfielder in either the summer or winter transfer window. Such a player would have provided a shield for the back four and as Muller broke free on the left, an out and out defensive midfielder would not have been sucked into the box, as happened to Aaron Ramsey, but rather would have been stood on the edge of the Arsenal penalty area, ready to either intercept Muller’s cut back or at the very least be in a position to close down Kroos, preventing the shot on goal.

 

Arsenal’s defence is not strong enough to deal with such superior opposition and are often all at sea. They therefore simply cannot afford to play against the top sides in Europe and the Premier League without the protective shield an out and out defensive midfielder would provide. Arteta has tried his best in this position all season, but against the very best teams, the Spaniard has been found wanting. It is not necessarily his fault, he is just not equipped to perform such a role. Wenger maybe attempted to address this issue by deploying Aaron Ramsey alongside Arteta on Tuesday, but as the Welshman’s inclusion was accommodated by switching Santi Cazorla to the right flank, it actually only served to undermine Arsenal’s attack. Bayern completely dominated the midfield battle and with Cazorla nullified out wide the Gunners had also lost the influence of one of their most creative players.

 

While Arsenal toiled and struggled, Bayern were the epitome of German efficiency, taking every opportunity to exploit the Gunners weaknesses. Arsenal never stood a chance. Having already taken an early lead, the Germans took full advantage of Arsenal’s poor defending from set pieces to double their lead in the 22^nd minute from a corner. Per Mertesacker completely lost Daniel Van Buyten at the near post, allowing the Dutchman a free header on goal. Szczesny’s attempt at saving the goal bound effort was laughable as he merely patted the ball straight to Thomas Muller, who was practically stood on the goal line, for the German to fire into the roof of the net.

 

The Gunners just weren’t in the game and should have been three down on the stroke of half time as Mario Mandzukic was allowed plenty of time and space as he stood in between Koscielny and Mertesacker, without being challenged, but could only divert his free header just wide of goal.

 

As in previous games in which Arsenal have allowed the opposition to race into a two goal lead, the Gunners did produce a much improved performance in the second half, but it was merely a case of too little too late. They didn’t really threaten Manuel Neuer’s goal but managed to half the deficit from a corner which was mistakenly awarded to the home side. Neuer hesitated and Jack Wilshere’s delivery was allowed to drift across goal for the unmarked Podolski to head home. Having been so outplayed in the first half, Arsenal were suddenly back in the game and remarkably could have equalised through Olivier Giroud’s volley, following a fantastic pass by Rosicky to Walcott, who crossed the ball to the French striker. Unfortunately Giroud could only direct his shot straight at Neuer and Bayern duly made the Gunners pay for squandering this opportunity.

 

As had happened so often throughout the match, Vermaelen wasn’t given enough support to quell Philip Lahm’s overlapping run and the German international was allowed to deliver a low ball into the box for Mandzukic, who had easily escaped the attention of Sagna, to apply the finish, albeit a somewhat clumsy one.

 

With the quest to finish in the top four becoming more and more fraught with each passing week, Tuesday’s game against Bayern may well be the last home Champions League game for quite some time. What a shame it will always be remembered for highlighting just how far Arsenal have fallen as a European force.

Gunners dumped out of FA Cup

Arsenal 0-1 Blackburn

Saturday’s dismal defeat at home to Blackburn, in the FA Cup, only served to prove once again that Arsenal’s current squad is simply not good enough. Arsene Wenger cannot afford to rotate his team selection even against a Championship side, as the Gunners do not possess the strength in depth required to do this. And yet when reading out the names of those selected on Saturday, Arsenal really should have been able to secure their progression to the next round of the competition.  

The utterly useless Gervinho and relatively inexperienced Coquelin aside, a team containing the likes of Szczesny, Vermaelen, Koscielny, Monreal, Diaby, Rosicky, Arteta, Oxlade-Chamberlain and Giroud should have enough quality to overcome a Blackburn side that simply came to the Emirates with the sole aim of securing a replay. Michael Appelton’s side were well organised as they defended as deep as possible, allowing the Gunners to enjoy plenty of possession while asking the question, “can you break us down?”

The answer from the home side was an emphatic no, as Arsenal continually played in front of Blackburn, with no drive, determination or injection of pace whatsoever. Much has been made of the away side’s heroic defending but in truth they couldn’t have enjoyed an easier day at the office. There was no slick interplay between the Gunners midfield and attack, no passing and movement and without Jack Wilshere there was no one willing to drive forward from midfield. As a result, throughout the entire 90 minutes Arsenal failed to consistently pull the Blackburn defence out of position and get in behind them, with the Gunners seemingly stuck in a general malaise, slowly passing the ball amongst themselves, enjoying ample possession but ultimately doing nothing with it.

In fact Arsenal only managed to create one clear cut opportunity, which unfortunately fell to Gervinho, who could only direct his shot wide of goal, having been put clean through by Rosicky’s excellent pass.

Oliver Giroud, who performed so well against Sunderland, particularly in linking the play, was extremely poor on Saturday. Time and time again, as the Frenchman received the ball he would immediately attempt to flick it on to a teammate. Yet with so many Blackburn players in and around the penalty area, Giroud’s flicked passes were blocked every time and the attack fizzled out. The former Montpellier man clearly did not have the astuteness to either recognise his approach was not working or initiate an alternative tactic such as holding onto possession before playing a more measured pass. In fact Giroud spent much of the game with his back to goal, never attempting to turn and face the opposition and as a result was largely ineffective.

In the post-match press conference, Wenger pointed to the number of shots on target his side had registered but this only served to highlight the old saying “Lies, damned lies, and statistics.” Yes Arsenal did have 26 shots on goal and 12 on target but apart from Diaby’s header in the first half and Rosicky’s effort which came back off the crossbar in the second period, Blackburn goalkeeper Jack Kean was rarely troubled, as most of the Gunners attempts either flashed wide or were simple saves he would have been expected to make.

Wenger finally decided to introduce the cavalry in the 71^st minute, making a triple substitution with the introduction of Cazorla, Wilshere and Walcott. The intent was clearly for Arsenal to raise their game and push on, but minutes later, Colin Kazim-Richards completely deflated the Emirates stadium by scoring the winner. Martin Olsson’s shot should have been pushed away from goal by Szczesny, but the Arsenal goalkeeper could only parry the ball straight to Kazim-Richards who saw his mishit effort bounce off the ground and into the corner of the goal.

Vociferous boos rained down from the stands at the final whistle for a performance which in the manager’s words wasn’t good enough. While the players selected should be held accountable for producing such a woeful and insipid display, Wenger must ultimately assume responsibility. The Frenchman has decided to sign every single one of them and if they do not possess the talent, hunger and desire required to play for Arsenal Football Club then he only has himself to blame. It would appear that selling star player after star player and buying mediocre replacements, year on year, has finally caught up with the manager. The man, who in his early days with the Gunners was obsessed with winning, has allowed his decision making to become clouded by his desire to increase the club’s revenue.

Why would you rest star players for a competition you have a chance of winning, only to play them in one in which you have no hope? Not even the most optimistic Arsenal fans believe their side can win the Champions League this season and yet Wenger decided to prioritise it ahead of the FA cup. When viewed from a purely football perspective this decision is most perplexing, yet Wenger’s logic is easily ascertained when you consider that the money received for progressing to the next stage of the Champions League would be far greater than the financial reward for winning the FA Cup.

Thanks to the manager’s fixation with generating impressive balance sheets, Arsenal can now look forward to an eight straight season without a trophy. In previous years the fans could at least console themselves with the fact their side played some of the most attractive football in Europe, but not anymore. Mediocrity has now engulfed this once great club and performances this season have often been dire. The calls for Wenger to be given his marching orders have never been louder, but the board will probably stick by the manager and he will see out his current contract which runs to 2014. Yet this in itself leaves the club in an interesting predicament.

Since Saturday’s defeat, the newspapers have proclaimed that Arsenal will this summer revitalise their squad and spend the £70 million they have available. If the club were to do this however, they would also then need to offer Wenger a new contract. Surely it would be foolish to allow the manager to spend a large percentage of the cash available from the new sponsorship deal with the Emirates airline, only to then have to replace him a year later with another manager who would need more money to implement his own ideas. Yet on the other hand, many believe that Wenger’s powers have diminished and only a change in manager will relieve Arsenal from their current state of perpetual stagnation.

Does this once great manager deserve one last chance to spend big in an attempt to revitalise the club?

10 man Gunners secure three points

Sunderland 0-1 Arsenal

 

 

Arsene Wenger’s side, so often maligned for possessing a soft underbelly and capitulating under pressure, showed real grit and determination on Saturday, to fight till the very end and secure a vital victory away at Sunderland.

As the old saying goes, this was a real game of two halves, with the Gunners displaying different but equally impressive characteristics in each 45 minute period. In the first half, Arsenal showcased the attacking flair which has been distinctly missing at times this season, as they completely dominated the opposition. The midfield quintet of Ramsey, Wilshere, Arteta, Cazorla and Walcott were exceptional as their exquisite passing and movement outfoxed Sunderland time and time again, with the Gunners simply toying with the home side and attacking at will.

Gunners overcome Stoke's negative tactics

Arsenal 1-0 Stoke

As the Emirates crowd sang “One-nil to the football team” yesterday, you couldn’t help but feel a sense of vindication. Only one side had gone into the match seeking to secure all three points while attempting to play the beautiful game the way in which it was intended. The other team had started the match simply hoping to steal a point, by sitting deep, having eleven men behind the ball and employing every dirty trick in the book.

Why Stoke City and Tony Pulis bother to participate in the Premier League is beyond me.