Morning, all the festive fun is well and truly over now and if you’re back into the thick of things with work and early starts again then you have my deepest sympathies.
There’s not much I can say about yesterday’s game because I didn’t see it, bar very brief highlights. Note to self: when recording something on Sky+ remember to record it on a channel you’re actually subscribed to.
You’ll have to read around for reports from the game but some observations on the result. Eduardo got his third goal in four games. Arsene says:
He is slowly coming back. He has been out for a basically a year. Football is not like an engine where you start and drive off at 100mph. Everybody comes back slowly and that is what is happening with him. He is getting better with every game.
The header was fantastic, he’s always been good in the air for a relatively little guy and hopefully his scoring will continue. He asked for a run of games and he’s delivering so far. Good to see.
Aaron Ramsey scored another belter with his left foot, that’s two in a week for him and it’s clear to see why Cesc spoke about him with such admiration a couple of months back. Maybe people laughed when he said his place might be under threat from the young Welshman, but it’s obvious that he’s now a real option in our midfield. You might also wonder if there’s any connection between Diaby’s improved form and attitude and the emergence of Ramsey. I bang on about competition for places a lot but when it’s there it can really have a positive effect.
Their goal – poor defending really. I know a lot of people will point the finger at Sylvester but he held his line with the centre-half closest to him. It was Gallas and whoever was in the right back position (from the video it looked like Song to me), who played the West Ham player onside. A sloppy goal to give away all the same but on the flip side we showed good character to come back from one down. And the more often you do that the more often you can do that, if you get me. After the Standard Liege game earlier in the season I thought coming back from 2-0 to win would instill some belief in them. For a time when we went behind there was no belief that we could turn it around. Now, it seems, we have that.
I was surprised that Gallas, Vermaelen and Sagna started. I suppose it just shows the paucity of options we have in defence. Under normal circumstances Eboue would have played at right back but the fact we don’t have any real options at centre-half continues to be a big worry. I worry that if we play the bollocks out of Gallas and Vermaelen in every competition we’re going to end up knackering them and it’d be a disaster if our season fell away at the end for lack of quality replacements. In the meantime we’ve got to hope they avoid injury and burn-out.
Alex Song played his final game before going away. Of him Arsene says:
We will miss him because he’s an important player. In the system we play he plays in front of the defence and we will have to find a new balance without him.
The obvious option is Denilson, if he’s fit, but he’s got to learn from Song’s discipline and positioning. We’ve all been impressed with his development this last 12 months but as the only real defensive midfielder in the squad we’ve got to hope his absence is something we can cope with.
Wilshere and Merida reportedly had quiet games – the benefit of a loan spell where they might play regularly is obvious. For Wilshere I think he’d be as well at a Championship side, things get so tight in the Premier League that managers are cautious and unlikely to trust youth when they’re scrapping for survival. There’s not much point in him going to train somewhere else. Merida must look at Ramsey, see Diaby, Denilson, Song and Cesc there too and realise there’s a very difficult path to the first team for him at Arsenal. There are no imminent retirements, the oldest midfielder is 24, and with the club still waiting for him to sign a new deal it’d be no surprise if he succumbed to interest from back home this summer.
Stoke away in the next round. Could have been a bit easier, in fairness, but then Stoke won’t exactly be jumping up and down for joy either.
Arsene spoke about transfers again, saying:
I have the money, I have the desire but I do not have the player. We’ll try to be in the market.
With the games coming thick and fast now the work behind the scenes from Gazidis and his team will be crucial in ensuring that successful business is done during this transfer window. You have to think the manager has a shortlist and discreet enquiries will be made as soon as possible. I’m told he might look closer to home for a short-term solution to our centre-half problem, although that’s not something I’d be very comfortable with. As for the rest we’ll have to just wait and see.
We’ve got a couple of important home games in the next 5 days now. Bolton are managerless, for now, although it does seem as if Owen Coyle will take over there. Whether it happens in time for him to take charge against us remains to be seen. All eyes on that game for the next couple of days. As the manager always says: Let’s do this one game at a time.
