Arsene Wenger said he’d feel guilty if we missed out on top spot in our Champions League group but team selection and the squad that travelled showed he was thinking more about the league game against Boro on Saturday than winning the group.
It was, by any standards, a very poor Arsenal performance. Yes, we had a lot of players missing but that does nothing to excuse it, it merely reinforces the fact that we need to strengthen in January. We started ok but once Porto got hold of the game we never looked like scoring and given the chances they had we were somewhat fortunate not to get a real pasting.
We conceded soft goals, as is our wont this season. The first came from a corner, Abou Diaby’s defending was pure schoolboy and Bruno Alves powered his header home. The second saw Sylvester way out of position, Lopez was put through with ease and his finish into the top corner left Almunia with no chance.
At the other end we did little of note, Ramsey’s left footed shot the only threat I can remember. The strikers weren’t exactly given great service by a midfield from which only Aaron Ramsey can take any credit. The others just weren’t at the races and it was odd to see the young Welshman taken off when he could have been moved into the middle and the completely ineffective Song withdrawn. Jack Wilshere and Kieran Gibbs came on for Ramsey and Diaby and both of them had their moments, Wilshere’s bravery and willingness to work and get stuck in so refreshing compared to others. That a 16 year old is putting more experienced ‘professionals’ to shame says a lot about where we are at the moment.
But when your strikers lack service you should at least expect them to do the simple things right. Nicklas Bendtner had another night to forget. He gave the ball away far too easily and all the confidence he has in himself seems misplaced. Eduardo can’t come back soon enough to give us a different option up front when we go beyond Adebayor and van Persie.
Porto were stronger than us. In the last 20 minutes, they were dangerous every time we lost the ball and we were not effective enough. At 2-0 down the belief was not there, we weren’t strong enough to come back.
While captain for the night Manuel Almunia was pulling no punches when he said:
When we lose we have to think about what we did badly and what we have to do to improve, whether it is the first team or not.
Everyone that is wearing an Arsenal shirt has to give 100 per cent and that was not apparent tonight.
That’s not the first time we’ve heard that from an Arsenal player this season and it’s worrying that we still have that problem. Perhaps someone like Gallas is not motivated to play in a game like this, essentially a dead rubber, after all that’s happened to him, but for some of these players it’s a great showcase for them to show what they can do. What’s really worrying is that maybe that’s the best some of them have got.
Arsene Wenger is constantly telling the world how much he believes in these players, how much quality they have. It’s a nice idea but it seems like it’s gone to their heads and they feel they don’t have to put in the effort to make it in the game. When you raise kids it’s all well and good to fill them with confidence and self-belief but unless there’s a bit of tough love in there too you breed arrogance and complacency and that’s what we got last night. Arsenal’s players are the closeted, exclusive boarding school boys finding out that the real world isn’t beneath them and will gobble them up and spit them out unless they change their ways.
Ultimately though it showed, that even with players rested and out injured, that there’s a distinct lack of quality in the squad and that must be addressed in January. How many more times do we need evidence of it?
So, the defeat is made more disappointing by the manner of it. It was another lacklustre performance with certain players seeming entirely indifferent to whether we won or lost. Not many can come out with any credit and serious, serious questions need to be asked about some of them. Gallas, Diaby, Bendtner and Song in particular. We already know Sylvester is a nothing player.
However, let’s try and look at the positives. Erm. Well, we’ve qualified for the knock-out stages. As we’ve finished second we can draw one of: Roma, Panathanaikos, Barcelona, Bayern Munich or Juventus. Some very difficult games in there, I have a feeling in my waters it’ll be Barcelona, which would be a lovely trip, if terrifying from a football point of view at this moment in time.
If we had managed to finish top our potential opponents would have been: Inter, Sporting Lisbon, Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid, Villarreal, Lyon. Difficult games there too so it’s hard to say whether top would be an advantage or not, bar playing the second leg at home. The draw takes place next Friday.
Now it’s time to regroup and get ourselves ready for the trip to Boro early on Saturday morning. It hasn’t been a happy place for us to visit in recent times. We haven’t won there since a Robert Pires goal gave us a 1-0 in the 2004-5 season and we’ve lost two of the last three at the Riverside. Obviously we’ll have some of the players who missed Porto back and that will make a big difference. A fuller preview with more team news etc tomorrow and Saturday.
For today that’s your lot though.
