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| All Hail The King!!! |
Match report.
Last night's FA Cup 3rd round victory over Leeds was a game that was a mixture of feelings; relief at winning, nostalgia at the return of the King and disappointment at the quality of our squad.
With 20 minutes to go, the manager made the double substitution. Walcott came on for Chamberlain and Henry for Chamakh. Emirates stadium went crazy. Suddenly I sat up on my couch. could Henry really produce a miracle tonight?
Ten minutes later, Song picked him out with a through ball, He lost his marker on the left, controlled the pass and placed it in the bottom right side netting. 1-0 to the Arsenal. I jumped about in my living room, careful not to alarm my mother-in-law who was asleep in the first bedroom. I punched the air. I ran to the fridge to look for a beer, but then remembered I have vowed to go slow on booze and so it was empty. Shit.
The game followed a pattern that is all too familiar these days at Arsenal; It was mostly played in Leeds half of the field. We passed the ball around, but we lacked penetration.
On the left wing Arshavin was very busy- expending energy but achieving very little. On the right wing, Oxlade Chamberlain was anonymous- typical of a young player.
Up front, Chamakh did not make any runs that I could say were pulling the Leeds defence out of position. Nor did our midfield try to seek him with through balls nor crosses. Arshavin looked very lively, running at the Leeds defence but always cutting inside with no end product to his endeavours. When he did occasionally go wide, his crosses were poor or blocked out for a corner. I will not even bother to talk about how poor his shooting was all game.
Oxlade Chamberlain for me did not do anything of note in the first half but I can forgive him because of his age and experience. Aaron Ramsey was moving around very well but he too was guilty of sloppy play, poor passing and poor shooting. And to compound our misery even further, Coquelin got injured, I suspect he'll be out for 2-3 weeks with what looked a hamstring injury.
Song and Arteta stayed deep, making the very occasional foray forward but really, nothing of note happened in the first half. I can't quite remember an effort on goal by either team. Towards, half time, Leeds started to feel lucky and they made the occasional counter-attack which really didn't cause us any discomfort.
The Manager must have said something about their mamas at half time because our performance was a little better in the second half.Chamberlain had a shot parried by the keeper, Arteta had a low shot saved. This might have had something to do with the sight of Thierry Henry and Walcott warming up on the touchline.
With about 10 minutes left to play, Song picked out Henry with the Pass of the game and the rest was a repeat of what we have seen over the years from Henry. Honestly, if I was the Leeds keeper, I would have abandoned my near post completely and just run to cover the far post as soon as Henry received that pass. But that's just me..
That one moment of genius from the veteran Henry, unfortunately highlights just how poor we currently are offensively. Apart from Robin Van Persie, we have no other striker currently who knows where the goal is. Gervinho will come good eventually but currently, he misses from 3 yards out.
I feel sorry for Chamakh. He did not have quality service all evening neither from midfield nor from the wings. That said, his movement does not do him any favours. He simply lacks self confidence and the intelligence to play at the highest level. Against a team like Leeds, a top class striker would have caused them problems with his movement and link play. Chamakh did neither for me. That an unfit 34 year old can come on and produce a moment of genius when he failed to do anything of note for me must be the writing on the wall for his time at Arsenal. Remember that this guy stayed behind in order to play in this fixture when he could have been with the Moroccan team at the ACN. He did not do much to sugest that he is really an alternative striker to Van Persie. I really feel sorry for him and thats saying a lot.
Arshavin for me will never reach the heights that he once graced in 2008 partly due to his age and also his lack of confidence. He has lost the close control, trickery, pace, accuracy and eye for a pass that he once had. Could it be that Arsenal is responsible for this decline? He has always appeared to me to be a player who thrives in a free role, something he has never had at Arsenal. I think the boss has to make a decision on his career in the summer. We really need a proper left footed winger in our team, just as we have a right footed winger in Walcott and Gervinho. Cutting inside onto the stronger foot to shoot is not always effective when teams are piling their 6 yard box with bodies. You need a left footed winger to run to the left corner and cross, thereby widening the pitch ala Walcott on the right. Basically we need something new in attack and sadly neither Chamakh nor Arshavin provide that at the moment.
And that brings me to my last point of concern. Van Persie. He may just follow the trend of Arsenal Captains past and decide that he wants to win trophies. With so many youngsters, injuries and poor quality in depth, our squad is being exposed. I think our transfer business in this window and in the summer will decide whether Van Persie signs a new contract or leaves.
The Manager really must do something to stop this perpetual drain of talent from the club. Ticky tocky goes the clocky.
Onwards march the Arsenal!!!
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