Dec

31

Arsenal’s weaknesses exposed but some perspective needed

Filed Under The Arsenal | 336 arses

Not the best way to end the year both in terms of result and performance. A 1-0 defeat to Sheffield United was a return to the familiar old story of us being out-muscled and playing badly away from home.

It could have been better though as we started very brightly. Both van Persie and Julio Baptista could have put us ahead but their first touch let them down (for Baptista his first touch all night let him down) admittedly on a difficult pitch, Rosicky had a good effort saved by Paddy Kenny and Gilberto should have done better with a back post header. After that though it descended into one of the worst Premiership games I think I’ve ever seen.

Neither side did a whole lot, the ball spent more time in the air than than a Ryanair pilot, quality football was at a minimum. Then they took the lead after an Arsenal move broke down near the edge of their box. There didn’t seem to be much danger when the ball was played forward but Kolo Toure allowed himself to get turned, the United player went past him and clipped it past Jens Lehmann who, to me at least, seemed to be way too far out of his goal. Had he actually gotten a hand to it he’d have been sent off because he was outside the area. If he’d stayed back Kolo might have been able to get back at the Sheffield player. As it was he made the finish easy. Poor goalkeeping in my opinion. So 1-0 at half time and it was hard to see where we might get a goal from.

In the second half we brought on Cesc for Justin Hoyte but even the Spaniard couldn’t spark us into life. We kept trying to play our precision passing football on a pitch that looked like a ploughed field. It’s no wonder it didn’t work and we obviously needed to be more direct. The fact that we didn’t try to adapt to the conditions is the most frustrating part for me. A bad performance can happen but not doing anything to try and change the bad performance is not good. Perhaps we need to add a dirty, bobbly, disgusting pitch to the beautifully tended lawns at London Colney and use it for training in the week before games like this.

And the worst part is that for the last half an hour Sheffield United had Phil Jagielka, a midfielder, in goal because fat Paddy Kenny injured himself taking a kick out. With an outfield player in goal you’d think we might pepper him with shots but it wasn’t until the last five minutes that he made a save from Robin van Persie after another poor first touch from Baptista saw the ball scramble through to the Dutchman. Jagielka never looked in any danger though and really the lack of efforts on goal are a pretty poor reflection of the team’s performance. It’s hard to suggest that we deserved anything from the game. United worked hard, made the game really difficult for us - and yes they might have been a bit cynical at times, but that’s no excuse - and at the end of the day they earned themselves three valuable points.

The boss looks flummoxedWe obviously missed our injured players yesterday. We certainly missed the energy and hard work of Adebayor and the last time Jeremie Aliadiere played I hoped it would be the last time. This time I’m fucking lighting candles. If Arsene can give him away for nothing then that’s what he should do because he’s just not good enough. When he’s not completely anonymous he’s making wrong decisions, giving the ball away, spurning half-chances and contributing nothing.

It was nice to see Lauren back on the bench because Justin Hoyte struggled badly as well and to me he’s another one who won’t make it. Kolo looks like he really needs a rest, Rosicky was very sloppy and has yet to convince, Gilberto did ok, Gael Clichy blew hot and cold, Robin van Persie was kicked and pinched out of the game leaving him on a yellow card and basically a broken man, Flamini was ok, Senderos did well at the back and Julio Baptista would have done nothing to convince Arsene Wenger that he’s worth hanging onto. To be fair to him though he was playing on the left hand side of midfield due to the injuries and playing in conditions I’m sure he’s rarely experienced in his career. That said he was poor, his control was bad, he looked like a man who hasn’t played a lot of football but he did work hard and I think we need to see him in his best position before we make any decisions about him. What his best position is remains the $64,000 question but it’s certainly not left midfield.

More bad news came when Cesc picked up a booking which rules him out of the FA Cup 3rd round game against Liverpool. Overall it was very disappointing, especially when the team has shown a measure of resolve and an ability to cope with more difficult fixtures in recent games. Perhaps the effort of the last month has left them with nothing in reserve and when the squad was down to its bare bones today with very little on the bench to try and change the game then it was a game too far.

Considering we have Henry, Gallas, Lauren, Diaby, Hleb, Ljungberg, Walcott, Eboue and Adebayor all missing and not far away from coming back then it will certainly bring back some energy and fresh legs to a side which badly needs them at the moment. While not trying to go overboard with the praise for the lads for the good results it’s important not to go over the top in terms of the criticism the team will receive for this result. Reading around you see words like shocking, disgraceful and pathetic plastered across blogs and while we all get frustrated and can all see that the team has flaws you expect a bit better from some of them. Or maybe not.

Obviously though we do have a bit of a weakness away from home, we do have a problem with teams that really like to mix it physically (although I thought the referee was far too quick with his cards for Arsenal players while allowing some United players, Morgan in particular, to get away with stuff that more than merited a booking) and we do have to face the fact that some of the young players aren’t quite up to scratch. Certainly Aliadiere has nothing to give this team, Hoyte is reasonable back-up at best while Gael Clichy is far too inconsistent and has too many flaws in his game to be first material at present.

I think the whole team looked jaded though and I think that’s down to the efforts of this month. We’ve seen them battle physical teams like Wigan, Blackburn and Watford, scrap like crazy against Chelsea, show great character to come back against Portsmouth, grind out a result in Portugal and demolish Sp*rs so I don’t think it’s a deliberate ploy to play badly or to ‘believe their own press’. I think they were just knackered. That’s not make to excuses for anything but it needs to be taken into account.

However, it’s not unreasonable to ask questions about the manner of the defeat. Was there a lack of instruction when Paddy Kenny went off? Should there have been more guidance from the sideline? As well as that, given the hectic schedule of the Christmas period why did the squad take a long coach journey to Sheffield when they normally fly to away games? Would it have made a big difference? I don’t know but it’s a question worth asking all the same.

Afterwards Arsene Wenger said ‘They took advantage of our first mistake at the back’ which might as well be our theme song this season. If it happened once or twice you could write it off as bad luck but the monontonous regularity with which it’s happened to us this season means it’s something we have to work on, particularly when we don’t seem to be as able to take advantage of opponents mistakes. All in all though, disappointing as it was, I really don’t think it has merited some of the hysterical reaction I’ve been reading.

It certainly wasn’t the most auspicious way to end the year but we get a clean slate for 2007, Charlton come to the Grove and there’s a bit of revenge on the cards with the return of Alan Pardew. Who knows who might be back from injury too.

Looking around the Sunday papers here’s a quick round-up of what’s going on. Falkirk are waiting for a phone call from Arsenal to see if Anthony Stokes can stay on loan for the rest of the season. He scored another hat-trick yesterday to bring his season total to 16. Personally I hope he stays up there for reasons outlined earlier in the week and unlike Nicklas Bentdner who takes every opportunity to tell the press how good he is and how he’ll leave Arsenal if he’s not treated accordingly the young Irishman is letting his football do all the talking. Meanwhile Arsene Wenger is reportedly upset that Arturo Lupoli is only on the fringes of the Derby team during his loan spell.

Marco van Basten thinks that Robin van Persie has the potential to become the best player in the world, no small praise from a player as good as he was while Southampton’s Gareth Bale, linked with a move to us, could be on his way to Old Trafford as United look to sell Heinze. He might be only 17 but he’s a very, very good player and certainly would add something to our squad in the left back position.

And that’s about it. I suppose I’ll talk to you next year then. Have a good one tonight, whatever you’re doing.

Update: I just want to thank everyone who has visited Arseblog in 2006 and helped make the site so successful. This year has seen the introduction of the arsecasts (podcasts) which are getting close to 4,000 downloads each Friday, the site has done nearly 20,000,000 page views this calendar year alone and the Arseblog community has grown both on and offline.

It has been, as always, a pleasure. Thanks again and the very best to you and yours for 2007.

Dec

30

Baptista challenged, Adebayor arrested

Filed Under The Arsenal | 658 arses

I shall start the morning with an outrageous *boilk*.

On to the real stuff then and the boss has denied he’s the new Neil Warnock after his recent touchline antics. To be honest I was expecting old Womble face to be involved in far more ructions than he has been and the boss took his little joke in a good way.

We have some injury worries but the main change today will be Julio Baptista starting and AW has challenged him to make the most of the opportunities that come his way saying that he’s got 6 months to secure his future at the club. He says:

Julio has a lot to prove in the next six months. I am leaning more one way than the other about taking him [permanently]. But I will not give you the way I am leaning. He has a great attitude and is very strong mentally. I like him as a player but I agree he has not got the opportunities to show how good he is.

Arriving at the club without much of a pre-season and a couple of niggly injuries have hampered his progress but with Adebayor out of the side he’s got a chance today to show what he can do. And speaking of Adebayor today’s Sun is reporting that he’s been arrested after his girlfriend walked into a police station claiming he’d assaulted her. Obviously we’ll wait and see what more comes of that before making any comment.

You can read more about which of our players is injured and who amongst them are suffering with colds here on .con . It appears that Sheffield United have suffered a virus/cold outbreak of their own as well so it could be the sneeziest Premiership match on record.
The Mirror reports that Jens Lehmann has been made two offers by German clubs. Both Hamburg and Stuttgart want to bring him home at the end of this season.

Anthony Stokes can stay on loan at Falkirk or move to Charlton, says Arsene Wenger. Personally I think he should stay in Scotland. Firstly because he’s doing well up there and is in a settled side. Secondly because he won’t have to work with that übercunt Alan Pardew whose record at loaning young Arsenal players really should put the boss off. When he was at West Ham he took Jeremie Aliadiere and never played him. Thirdly Alan Pardew is a massive cunt and fourthly you have to consider the fact that Alan Pardew is a cunt. Stay in Scotland, Stokesy!

And that is that. I need painkiller and I need them fast. Good luck to the boys today, I shall be watching, nursing a hair of the dog that bit me, no doubt.

Tomorrow. Oh yes. Tomorrow.

Dec

29

It’s Friday, I thought it was Wednesday.

Filed Under The Arsenal | 311 arses

A quickie this morning, which is always quite nice you have to say, as I have to go see a man about a dog who plays golf. Funny how the Christmas period screws up your brain. I really thought it was Wednesday today. Shame that never happens in a normal working week, eh?

We have Sheffield United tomorrow and the team news and all that guff will emerge later in the day as the press conference takes place. This time there has to be rotation because of injuries and tiredness and stuff. The most obvious change should be Julio Baptista in for the injured Adebayor but I wouldn’t be surprised to see Flamini come in for Cesc who could do with a day off to recharge his batteries.

And Cesc has been speaking about our European campaign. Having come so close last time around he’s determined to go one better this season, saying:

If we want to win the Champions League, then we have to touch the greatness we did last season. We know we can do that, because we showed it against Real Madrid, Juventus, Villarreal and then Barcelona. As a player, I do not believe in looking back and regretting things. I only do that when I feel I have failed and that I need to learn from the reasons for that failure.

Jens Lehmann has laughed off reports that he’ll quit after Euro 2008. The Germanian says:

Hahahahahahahaha. I laugh off such reports.

Seriously though, he says he’ll retire from the national side but still feels he can maintain his current level and will be looking to play on at club level for a while yet. Much as I like Jens I think this season really should be his last with us. I fear a Seamanism, if that doesn’t sound too rude.

Emmanuel Adebayor has been named Togo’s foreign-based player of the year for the second year running. Can’t imagine the competition is too high, in fairness, but well done to him all the same. Gunnerblog has a nice series of extracts from his interview with arsenal.con.

Meanwhile Anthony Stokes is waiting to see what’s going to happen to him. His loan spell runs out tomorrow and that could be his last game for Falkirk where he’s banged in 11 goals so far this season. Unless the boss has plans to use him at Arsenal, which I doubt at this stage, he should probably stay until the end of the season.

And there’s not much else happening. Expect a weekend of transfer speculation as the window is set to open early next week but it does seem likely that the only movement will be players going out of the club. Jeremie Aliadiere seems to be first to leave and that should be confirmed soon enough.

Right, off to see the man. Laters.

Dec

28

More of the same, but different, stuff

Filed Under The Arsenal | 219 arses

Urgh, I feel terrible. I think I’ve caught the dreaded lurgy.

A bit going on this morning so I’ll try to get through it as quickly as I can. Arsene Wenger is happy that Gilberto Silva is getting the recognition he deserves suggesting that people didn’t realise how important he was for us. He’s certainly in the middle of a purple patch in front of goal and his contribution in terms of protecting the defence and mopping up in midfield has almost gone unnoticed in light of that.

The fact that this run of good form has coincided with him being captain in place of the absent Thierry Henry has led some people to suggest he should be given the armband on a permanent basis. Gilberto says:

I don’t know if captaincy has made a difference but I am enjoying scoring goals because most of the time I stand in front of defenders, just doing the hard job on the pitch, holding the midfield and trying to stop them playing through our defence.

While I think the extra responsibility has done something to his game I don’t think he’s going to be made captain on a full time basis. There’s no reason why he can’t play like that without being captain and Wenger has always maintained Henry will remain the skipper. I just don’t think you can take away the captaincy from someone without it becoming a big issue and let’s not forget that Thierry is proud to be Arsenal captain. As well as that what happens the next time Gilberto has a poor game? You can be sure there’ll be plenty who’ll say ‘Oh, we should never have made him captain. He’s become complacent.’

Still, he’s doing a great job at the moment and you can’t argue with that. Here he talks about how the team stood up to the physical challenge of the Watford game.

Ahead of the game at the weekend it was confirmed that Emmanuel Adebayor will definitely be out with a thigh strain. With Henry already out it looks like Julio Baptista could get a rare start. It will be interesting to see how he goes. He’s obviously got to take his chances when they come along but a cold night in Sheffield will be a real test for the Brazilian. Johann Djourou should be fit but I wouldn’t be surprised to see Philippe Senderos start in his place, particularly as he’s better able to cope with an aerial game like Sheffield United will play.

Nicklas Bendtner has been talking about next season. Currently on loan at Birmingham the young Dane says:

The plan is that I will stay at Birmingham until my loan spell expires at the end of the season. Afterwards, I will go back to Arsenal and break into the team there. I feel my chances at Arsenal are good. I am just as good as all the others and it’s only Thierry Henry who is certain to play.

Whatever else you have to say he’s got confidence in his own ability.

And that’s about it. I’m going to take some hot lemon and paracetemol and ibuprofen and morphine and oxycontin all washed down with a bottle of Jamesons. That should see me right.

Dec

27

Three good points at Watford should build confidence

Filed Under The Arsenal | 129 arses

Well, it wasn’t the prettiest game we’ve ever played but in the end we got the three points I think we deserved.

Theo celebrates with Robin van PersieWe opened the scoring through Gilberto, his amazing goalscoring run continuing when he headed in a Rosicky corner. The lead only lasted a couple of minutes though when Tommy Smith finished smartly after a cross from our right was deflected into his path. It was all very scrappy though. The winner came with seven minutes of normal time left.

Theo Walcott controlled a clearance brilliantly on the right hand side and set Robin van Persie clear after he’d beaten the offside trap. He cut in from the right hand side and fired a shot past the impressive Ben Foster in the Watford goal. Considering the chances we had squandered during the game it was no less than we deserved and the lads showed good spirit and character to keep going.

Some people might complain that we didn’t take advantage of the team that sits bottom of the league but nobody has turned Watford over this season, they’ve given the best sides in the league good games at home and it was always going to be difficult. Given the fact that we’ve played excellently this season and not won it seems a bit churlish to complain when we don’t play so well and win. This is something new for this team and they can take a lot of confidence from it.

Despite the hectic schedule it was the same starting XI as against Blackburn and I now expect some changes for the game against Sheffield United. At the back we looked very shaky at times. Both full backs can play better and Johann Djourou seemed to be letting the ball bounce which was causing us problems. When Senderos replaced him at half time he made us much more solid.

In midfield Cesc looks a bit tired, which is only natural, Hleb had one of those games, Rosicky was busy but still looks like he’s in a settling in period while Gilberto was quality again. One tackle in our box just before we scored was just awesome. Up front Adebayor looked tired as well but he still didn’t stop running. He didn’t have his shooting boots on though and a thigh strain will keep him out of Saturday’s game. Robin van Persie did well enough but he’s always capable of a moment of magic which can win you a game and so he proved last night.

Arsene Wenger afterwards compared him to Dennis Bergkamp, saying:

There are similarities between the two of them. Dennis is a good role model for him and I’m sure Robin copies the way he played. He is now more mature, has been here two years and has developed physically. He is very dedicated and he continues to improve.

Van Persie himself said:

Six points have made it a very happy Christmas for us. We won without being at our best. We put our bodies on the line and had to show a lot of heart.

And although you could pick over the performance piece by piece when the team has to play 4 games in 10 days it’s the results that are the most important and it’s so far so good for us over the Christmas period. Another tough test awaits us on Saturday with a trip to Bramall Lane to play another side who will give everything and battle as hard as they can to move away from the relegation zone.

And that is that. I’m still full to the brim of turkey and ham which makes me wonder why on earth I agreed to play 5-a-side today. Oh wait, it was the beer talking. Damn.

Update: I forgot to laugh at Cuntley’s fine contribution to Chelsea’s 2-2 draw with Reading yesterday. Bwa ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha. That should do it.

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