I could not bring myself to update this blog after the victory at Anfield against Liverpool on Sunday afternoon. I decided to read what other bloggers had to say; I have also spent a considerable amount of time reading comments on other blogs. I must say that it is quite interesting to read fan's reactions. You learn quite a lot about your team but more importantly about how fans blow like feathers in the wind. I am guilty of the same crime.
I will not waste time talking about what we didn't do in the transfer window, but I'll mention it for the thousandth time: This squad is a couple of players away from winning the League.
I sincerely hope that I am proved wrong. But please indulge me.
The New Arsenal Midfield
Arsenal favour a 1-2 midfield (4-1-2-2-1 team formation) We went to Liverpool and in the opening exchanges, Liverpool looked the better side. At least in as far as team cohesion goes. We slowly began to find our way into the game and our midfield began to assert themselves on the game. Diaby, was rightly voted man of the match afterwards. There is no doubt that a fit Diaby is a very good midfielder. Who still remembers the Carling Cup Semi-Final at Wembley against Chelsea when Diaby got injured after kicking the lights out of John Terry? There is no doubting Diaby's talent, only his fitness.
Mikel Arteta is a very good midfielder. I see a lot of similarities between Arteta and that brilliant little Catalan cunt called Xavi of Barcelona. I have questioned Arteta's ability in the past when the team was not playing well. He doesn't score many goals but his greatest strength is his ability to keep the ball. Arteta very rarely gives the ball away to opponents or gets caught in possession. It is this ability that has lead Arsene Wenger to deploy him in a deeper midfield role. He is our "continuity" player.
Arsenal rarely comes out of a match with less than 50% of ball possession. Our ball-retention as a team is bettered only by Barcelona. For this reason, a player like Arteta can thrive in a deep midfield role because for the most part, his defensive duty is to keep the ball for the team. The trouble only starts when the team loses the ball and Arteta has to tackle. On two occasions against Liverpool, Arteta was beaten for pace and had to foul a Liverpool player to stop their attacks. To his credit, he did put in some decent tackles to win the ball as well.
Santi Cazorla is probably the best attacking midfielder we have had since Cesc Fabregas. I suspect he is better than Fabregas because he is quicker, a good dribbler and is two-footed. Only time will prove me wrong. His movement and distribution so far has been brilliant and he scored a well deserved goal which will boost his confidence even further.
However, I can't help feeling that once again, Arsenal and Arsene Wenger have wasted an opportunity to truly make this midfield the best in the League. Something just doesn't feel complete about it. I feel we lack a traditional DM workhorse in there who will allow Arteta and Cazorla to really thrive and float all over the pitch. Make no mistake, Arteta is a better off playing higher up the pitch closer to Cazorla. His ball retention, passing and shooting ability would complement Cazorla's movement, passing and eye for a shot at goal.
Now, if Arteta were to move further up, Diaby would not fit into the deeper roll. He is defensively naive and tends to make risky dribbling decisions that get him caught. According to some bloggers, Diaby is a "Driver", like Wilshere. He is good running with the ball and beating opponents. But he cannot do a strictly disciplined role of a DM. In a deeper position, Diaby is a liability.
Equally, against better attacking and faster teams, Arteta will be exposed in that holding role. In such games Arsenal would need to switch their midfield to 2-1 (4-2-1-3 team formation). I am not sure that Diaby would be suited to that formation for long spells during a game. In such games, we would need to bring in a more defensively-minded player like Coquelin or Frimpong, two youngsters who might prove too inexperienced for the big occassion.
The other player we have are Ramsey, Wilshere and Rosicky. Of these, Perhaps Ramsey could do that job but honestly, all of them are attacking players and 66% of these three are injury prone.
I liked Song, but I thought Arsenal's decision to let him go to Barcelona would lead to a more disciplined holding player coming in. I am disappointed we didn't make a signing in there and I suspect we shall get exposed in that area as the season goes. Perhaps better defensive coaching will prove me wrong. I hope so.
The Arsenal Attack
I am very pleased for Lucas Podolski. He scored that all-important first goal that gets a player's confidence up and running. His performances on the left of our attack have been outstanding, sticking it to Gervinho and Arshavin. He works his socks off and when we do not have the ball, you are sure to find him in the left-back position. His movement for the first goal demonstrates his value to the team. He had dropped deep into left midfield when Steven Gerard gave the ball away to Thomas Vermaelen. Vermaelen passed to Podolski, who passed to Cazorla further up the pitch, ran all the way into the Liverpool box to score. Brilliant.
Olivier Giroud has not scored so far but I am pleased with the movement off the ball. It is only a matter of time before he starts scoring. He is definitely an intelligent striker. You could see his runs and movement were causing problems for the Liverpool defence.
Where I am concerned is our failure to break down defensively-minded teams in the mould of Stoke City and Sunderland. Many more teams will play a "Park-the -train" game against us, especially at the Emirates. Arsenal are stubborn and perhaps naive in their attacking philosophy. We only play "one" way. I opined before that we need a traditional winger who can just ping in a cross or a shot across the face of the opposition goal. This is one area I feel we have not improved. It is why we have failed to get the best out of a player like Marouane Chamakh or even Bendtner.
Unless Olivier Giroud can run at people with the ball, I suspect he may not have a very happy time playing at the top of our attack all the time, especially in tight games. The lack of directness in attack will see us drop more points against the (for lack of a better word) lower teams who sit back and park the train.
The Arsenal Defence
Much has been said about the influence of Steve Bould but nothing has been said about Neil Banfield. Surely he too must take some credit the defensive record thus far? Surely Arsene Wenger too must take credit for the defensive work thus far?
I think that our defensive woes have always been a problem of application and not personnel. There was a time when Djourou was our best Defender.... Aah Djourou... Anyway, Mertesacker, Vermaelen, Koscielny, Djourou, Gibbs, Santos, Sagna and Jenkinson is not an average defence. You would expect them to match any attack thrown at them in this League.
Therefore, for us to celebrate our 3 clean sheets so far this season might be a bit premature. Looking at the opponents we have faced thus far, I think we are on par. We should wait until we go 6 games without conceding before we start lauding the praises ofSteve Bould Neil Banfield.
My frustration with this team is failure to deliver at the business end of the season. But maybe this season will be different. I also hope that we shall buy a couple of players in January because we need them. Theo is leaving.
Until then, I shall continue to enjoy the performance at Liverpool and cheer the team on.
COYG!!!
I will not waste time talking about what we didn't do in the transfer window, but I'll mention it for the thousandth time: This squad is a couple of players away from winning the League.
I sincerely hope that I am proved wrong. But please indulge me.
The New Arsenal Midfield
Arsenal favour a 1-2 midfield (4-1-2-2-1 team formation) We went to Liverpool and in the opening exchanges, Liverpool looked the better side. At least in as far as team cohesion goes. We slowly began to find our way into the game and our midfield began to assert themselves on the game. Diaby, was rightly voted man of the match afterwards. There is no doubt that a fit Diaby is a very good midfielder. Who still remembers the Carling Cup Semi-Final at Wembley against Chelsea when Diaby got injured after kicking the lights out of John Terry? There is no doubting Diaby's talent, only his fitness.
Mikel Arteta is a very good midfielder. I see a lot of similarities between Arteta and that brilliant little Catalan cunt called Xavi of Barcelona. I have questioned Arteta's ability in the past when the team was not playing well. He doesn't score many goals but his greatest strength is his ability to keep the ball. Arteta very rarely gives the ball away to opponents or gets caught in possession. It is this ability that has lead Arsene Wenger to deploy him in a deeper midfield role. He is our "continuity" player.
Arsenal rarely comes out of a match with less than 50% of ball possession. Our ball-retention as a team is bettered only by Barcelona. For this reason, a player like Arteta can thrive in a deep midfield role because for the most part, his defensive duty is to keep the ball for the team. The trouble only starts when the team loses the ball and Arteta has to tackle. On two occasions against Liverpool, Arteta was beaten for pace and had to foul a Liverpool player to stop their attacks. To his credit, he did put in some decent tackles to win the ball as well.
Santi Cazorla is probably the best attacking midfielder we have had since Cesc Fabregas. I suspect he is better than Fabregas because he is quicker, a good dribbler and is two-footed. Only time will prove me wrong. His movement and distribution so far has been brilliant and he scored a well deserved goal which will boost his confidence even further.
However, I can't help feeling that once again, Arsenal and Arsene Wenger have wasted an opportunity to truly make this midfield the best in the League. Something just doesn't feel complete about it. I feel we lack a traditional DM workhorse in there who will allow Arteta and Cazorla to really thrive and float all over the pitch. Make no mistake, Arteta is a better off playing higher up the pitch closer to Cazorla. His ball retention, passing and shooting ability would complement Cazorla's movement, passing and eye for a shot at goal.
Now, if Arteta were to move further up, Diaby would not fit into the deeper roll. He is defensively naive and tends to make risky dribbling decisions that get him caught. According to some bloggers, Diaby is a "Driver", like Wilshere. He is good running with the ball and beating opponents. But he cannot do a strictly disciplined role of a DM. In a deeper position, Diaby is a liability.
Equally, against better attacking and faster teams, Arteta will be exposed in that holding role. In such games Arsenal would need to switch their midfield to 2-1 (4-2-1-3 team formation). I am not sure that Diaby would be suited to that formation for long spells during a game. In such games, we would need to bring in a more defensively-minded player like Coquelin or Frimpong, two youngsters who might prove too inexperienced for the big occassion.
The other player we have are Ramsey, Wilshere and Rosicky. Of these, Perhaps Ramsey could do that job but honestly, all of them are attacking players and 66% of these three are injury prone.
I liked Song, but I thought Arsenal's decision to let him go to Barcelona would lead to a more disciplined holding player coming in. I am disappointed we didn't make a signing in there and I suspect we shall get exposed in that area as the season goes. Perhaps better defensive coaching will prove me wrong. I hope so.
The Arsenal Attack
I am very pleased for Lucas Podolski. He scored that all-important first goal that gets a player's confidence up and running. His performances on the left of our attack have been outstanding, sticking it to Gervinho and Arshavin. He works his socks off and when we do not have the ball, you are sure to find him in the left-back position. His movement for the first goal demonstrates his value to the team. He had dropped deep into left midfield when Steven Gerard gave the ball away to Thomas Vermaelen. Vermaelen passed to Podolski, who passed to Cazorla further up the pitch, ran all the way into the Liverpool box to score. Brilliant.
Olivier Giroud has not scored so far but I am pleased with the movement off the ball. It is only a matter of time before he starts scoring. He is definitely an intelligent striker. You could see his runs and movement were causing problems for the Liverpool defence.
Where I am concerned is our failure to break down defensively-minded teams in the mould of Stoke City and Sunderland. Many more teams will play a "Park-the -train" game against us, especially at the Emirates. Arsenal are stubborn and perhaps naive in their attacking philosophy. We only play "one" way. I opined before that we need a traditional winger who can just ping in a cross or a shot across the face of the opposition goal. This is one area I feel we have not improved. It is why we have failed to get the best out of a player like Marouane Chamakh or even Bendtner.
Unless Olivier Giroud can run at people with the ball, I suspect he may not have a very happy time playing at the top of our attack all the time, especially in tight games. The lack of directness in attack will see us drop more points against the (for lack of a better word) lower teams who sit back and park the train.
The Arsenal Defence
Much has been said about the influence of Steve Bould but nothing has been said about Neil Banfield. Surely he too must take some credit the defensive record thus far? Surely Arsene Wenger too must take credit for the defensive work thus far?
I think that our defensive woes have always been a problem of application and not personnel. There was a time when Djourou was our best Defender.... Aah Djourou... Anyway, Mertesacker, Vermaelen, Koscielny, Djourou, Gibbs, Santos, Sagna and Jenkinson is not an average defence. You would expect them to match any attack thrown at them in this League.
Therefore, for us to celebrate our 3 clean sheets so far this season might be a bit premature. Looking at the opponents we have faced thus far, I think we are on par. We should wait until we go 6 games without conceding before we start lauding the praises of
My frustration with this team is failure to deliver at the business end of the season. But maybe this season will be different. I also hope that we shall buy a couple of players in January because we need them. Theo is leaving.
Until then, I shall continue to enjoy the performance at Liverpool and cheer the team on.
COYG!!!
