I'm getting sick of this sight
Now that my emotions have died down, I think I can do an objective review of the game. As everyone knows Arsenal lost to Chelsea on Sunday. The consequence of that match towards is clear for all to see, we are now further and further away from winning the league title. 9 points is the gap now, not necessarily a gap that is insurmountable but it’s a sizeable nonetheless.
The stats shows that we had almost 60% of ball possession which shows just how much control we had on the game but in the one column of stats that matters, the goals scored, there we recorded zero while Chelsea has 2. The goals itself were more down to our lack of defending than the ability of Chelsea. Had Drogba’s freekick hit the back of the net instead of rebounding against the bar, I would have no gripe in the way we lost the game.
The basics of defending were missing right from the off. Clichy needlessly conceding a freekick in the edge of Arsenal’s penalty box. While defending that freekick, Diaby requested Walcott to mark John Terry. That contributed to our first failure at defending. Walcott subsequently conceded the corner which resulted in Chelsea’s opening goal. Song allowed Drogba to sneak away from him and slammed the ball in from close range after Clichy went missing from his job of guarding the post.
While we put up a much more spirited display after conceding compared to the previous Sunday, we could not a way through to goal. The one time that we managed to do that, Fabregas’ inch perfect chip to Arshavin saw the latter’s shot saved by an impressive Petr Cech. I have no arguments as to that chance. Most attackers would’ve caught the ball the same way Arsahvin did, Cech was just there at the right time and right place. Any other time, the ball could’ve easily rolled in between his legs.
It seemed that for all of Wenger and his coaching staffs training, they could not resolve the abject defending from counter attack. Chelsea scored what proved to be the tie killer in a way not too dissimilar to the way Rooney scored the week before. Lampard got hold of the ball at halfway and ran at us. From Vermaelen to Clichy to Sagna, they backed off Lampard without wanting to close him down. Lampard passed to Drogba on the right who cut in Clichy easily and again slammed the ball past Almunia. Not much the Spanish keeper could do about both goals.
Many would point to the fact that Clichy was out of position during the counter attack but I also want to point out Vermaelen’s contribution to the goal. It is not the first time that I’ve notice this but I thought better of commenting on it until I get further proof. The Belgian tends to back off when the opposition is running at him with the ball. Not only that, he also tends to retreat back to the center of defense and not try to push the player out wide. Could it be that in the back of his mind, he was worried about another runner from the middle just like what Rooney did? Or did he think Clichy could’ve made ground on Drogba and cover the Chelsea man? Something to ponder upon. Not a match to highlight his imperious season.
Arsenal had another chance in the second half but Nasri was indecisive when put through on goal by Song. The moment of hesitancy on whether to go for goal or to relay the ball to Walcott, cost us. Chelsea moped up the situation almost immediately and our chance was lost. Bendtner came in for the last 25 minutes and the difference was clear. He won almost every header there is to be won and cause some nervy moments for Carvalho in particular. It was weird that we had more crosses in the box when Arshavin was in the middle compared to none when Bendtner got on. Surely they don’t think that the Russian is a better header of the ball than the Dane.
There’s a lot more that needs to be put into the training ground this week, ahead of the Liverpool clash tomorrow. We need leaders at the back to hold the defense together. The return of Diaby is the major plus point from the disappointing result. He was the one bright spark in midfield in a day when Song was not at his best. Hopefully his niggling injuries are well and truly behind him for he is real improvement this season.
We need a mighty bit of luck and favours from the likes of Villa and Man City to close the gap now. Mathematically we are still in the hunt and as the season has proved, no team is guaranteed 3 points from every game. That aside, the best thing the team can do now is to focus on our own matches, starting with Liverpool.
More on that tomorrow. Thanks for reading.
Without RVP, who will rise from this Arsenal team?
Surely lightning can’t strike at the same spot 3 times.
Having seen Arsenal being dealt the same hand twice in as many meetings against United at the Grove, tonight sees us visiting Chelsea hoping to avoid a recurrence of the 4-1 and 3-0 reverse in matches that was played at our home ground. The mathematics are purely simple. Win and we will be 3 points behind Chelsea but lose and it will be a 9 point gap.
Ancelotti has being going through the victory at the Grove earlier in the season and has identified our midfield as the area of concern. Closing us down and giving the likes of Fabregas, Nasri and Arshavin no chance to spray the passes around will be his tactics. With Drogba back in tandem with Anelka, it will be a massive job ahead for the back four in our defense. Vermaelen does have a point to prove to Drogba having being outclassed by the Ivorian in the last fixture.
However, our focus should not only be on Drogba as former prodigal son, Anelka also have a good scoring streak against us. Behind the pair of them, Lampard and Ballack will pull the strings from midfield. Alex Song will need to be aware of Lampard late-runs into the box.
Meanwhile, the injury scene on Arsenal’s front have not change much since the last league game last Sunday. Eduardo is still out injured while Diaby’s fitness is still a big puzzle. The latter has a late test yesterday to decide whether he can be risked in today’s game. God knows how much of a boost it would be should he be deemed to be fit. Denilson’s display lately does not fill me with much optimism. With that, I suspect the starting line-up will look something like this;
Almunia
Sagna—Gallas—Vermaelen—Clichy
Denilson—Song—Fabregas
Arshavin—Bendtner—Nasri/Rosicky
I think Rosicky will not be risked from the start and Nasri will be given the nod ahead of the Czech. From our defeat to United, I’d noticed that with Nasri and Rosicky both in the side at part of the attacking trio, is not a tactic that works due to the similarity of those two. That being said, we do have Eboue back from the ANC and is a very good option in an away fixture like this. His presence on either side of the flanks will give good coverage and support during defending.
Tactically, we need to be aware of the runs that Chelsea’s full backs make. Their overlapping runs are a threat and if they do get into good positions then we can expect crosses into our box. With the power and height of Drogba, any crosses into the box will be dangerous. Therefore, Arshavin and Nasri will need to keep track of the positions of Cole and Ivanovic and not allow them to double team on our full backs.
Except for the one win at Anfield, we have not gotten any result against any of the so-called big teams this season. Though it is by no means a measure of whether we would win the league but surely a win would a whole of wonders to the players’ confidence and give us a big lift towards the final straight. Come on you Gunners.
Can someone contact Wayne Bridge and sit him right behind our goal so that it intimidates John Terry during corners?
Song would want this guy to be fit for Chelsea
Normally, in the build-up of a game of this magnitude, there will be a lot of talk coming out from both of the camps. But this has not been the case between Arsenal and Chelsea. With no new news material to comment on, it’s best to look back tactically at what went wrong for us last Sunday and hope that it is rectified by kick-off at Stamford Bridge.
We were cruelly exposed on the wings in the 2 losses that we’ve endured at the Grove this season. First Ashley Cole, then Nani both used the width of the pitch to great effect. Crucially both players operates on different sides of the flanks for their respective teams, which just shows that our weakness is not so much on the players themselves but rather due to the tactics that the team plays in.
From being the best fullbacks in the country just 2 seasons ago, both Sagna and Clichy have not quite been able to maintain that level of performance this season. The reason for this could well be the very same reason why we have prospered at the other end of the field. The change of formation from the usual 4-4-2 to 4-3-3 has increased our attacking threat but on the downside, it also affords the opposition more space to exploit on the flanks.
In our previous formation, there’s always an extra man in midfield which provides protection for the fullbacks whenever they are being attacked but in the current formation, our fullbacks are not receiving enough cover from those in front of them. With Song as the only real defensive screen in front of the back four, he cannot afford to move to the side to cover for the fullbacks as there are bound to be runners through the middle. The other position in midfield which is normally played by Diaby/Denilson has a dual role of defending and attacking. In the normal defensive stance, they will be the one to look to provide extra support on the flanks but if they were in the attacking stance and the opposition launch a counter attack, chances are it will be a direct one-on-one between the opposition’s winger/fullback against our fullback.
So, the onus is really on the front trio as well as Fabregas to know their role during such situations. Players themselves must be aware of the danger that should a counter attack be launched into our half. They must not allow themselves to be sucked into the play and leave gaps in positions which they were originally intended to cover. Each player must work their socks off to harry and not allow the opposition time to pick their passes. Either side of the front trio will have to drop back and support and temporarily make it a midfield 4 whenever we are in defensive mode.
This may be easier said on paper than actually doing it on the pitch. With the excitement of the game going around you and the oppourtunity to score on the cards, players sometimes can forget their role in the game. Clean sheets are a rarity for this Arsenal, a far cry from the days when Tony Adams and David Seaman were in the side. To win the league we must learn to keep our door shut and make a fortress again that it once was. To do that is simple, each and every one of our players will need to work their socks off to help their team mates.
Match preview tomorrow. Have a nice day.
Could he take us to the title?
He’s confident. He’s tall. He’s strong. He wants to be the best striker in the world. He’s Nicklas Bendtner. Is he Arsenal’s title saviour?
Bendtner has always been vocal about his belief in his own capabilities, never one to shy away from proclaiming that he is hell-bent on becoming one of world’s best. When the transfer window was still open, Wenger was asked whether he would dive into the market to find a replacement striker in view of Robin Van Persie’s long term injury. The boss’ answer was simple, that depends on the injury update pertaining to the other striker in the squad. Now the boss could’ve easily said the same of Eduardo or Vela or Walcott, but the only one he did mentioned was Bendtner.
Bendtner has already scored 27 goals from 52 starts for Arsenal. 15 of those goals alone coming from last season. Unfortunately this year his goal tally stands at the measly figure of 3, one a piece from the league, Champions League and League Cup. However that is not down to his gameplay but due to injury. The last game he actually featured in before his return at Villa Park last week was in late October when he hobbled off in the early minutes of the North London Derby.
If he is fit enough, then he should without a doubt starts this Sunday’s game at Chelsea. His presence offers some sort of a variant in terms of the attacking option that Arsenal have available to them. With Nasri, Rosicky and Arshavin as the attacking trio, our attacking pattern is easily recognised as all three prefers to attack infield with the ball. Nasri and Rosicky are similar type of players that thrives on having a central striker of who they can play the ball to. Someone who can hold the play and allow them to get into spaces behind the opposition’s defense.
With Bendtner in the side, another one who could benefit from it is Theo Walcott. The 20-year-old Englishman has now returned from persisting problem with regards to his shoulders and will look to kickstart his season to ensure that he gets on the plane to South Africa. We know that Theo loves to run the channel and at every oppourtunity wants to get behind the left or right back. But once he gets into those positions (past the first player), he can sometimes choose the wrong option. If played together with Bendtner, Theo will know that if he crosses the ball high into the box, there’s a fair chance that the Danish player can get his head to the ball. Alternatively, any upfield ball from defense or midfield that is aimed towards Bendtner also allows Theo the chance to get to the flick on and possibly with a clear run at the opposition goal.
With a goal every 3 games that he plays for Denmark, there’s no reason why Bendtner can’t flourished the same way for Arsenal. His presence up front against the likes of Terry and Cavarlho cannot be any worse than what Arshavin can do. Worse come to worse, he can always use his big frame to put off John “English Tiger Woods” Terry.
Thanks for reading. Have a nice day
So, what has happened since my last post? Well not much really, except that from being touted to be out of the title race since the home defeat to United, now Arsenal are back in with a shout, should they proceed to beat Chelsea at Stamford Bridge this Sunday. Normally six-pointers are reserved for those fighting to remain in the league but this time around it applies to the Chelsea Arsenal game.
We are now exactly six points off of Chelsea and if last season’s encounter is any indication, there’s no reason why can’t move to within three points of the top. The results this past few days shows that teams like Chelsea and even United for that matter, can continue to drop points again lesser teams. They say that results against your major rivals are the ones that determines where the trophy ends up, fortunately this is not the case last season and results this season have mirrored that.
The Premier League has 20 teams. If a team manages to win all their games in a season, that’s 114 points. Now, there’s no need to kid ourselves into believing that can happen either to us or any other team for that matter. Taking out the big 4 will mean that against the other 16 teams, there’s a maximum of 96 points left to be gained. In the history of the Premier League, Chelsea has garnered the highest number of points in a single season when they won the league in 04/05 with 95 points. That year they lost only one game and drawn 8.
Let’s first take a look at Chelsea’s results this season. They’ve won 17 matches, drawn 4 and lost 3 already, with just 24 games played. The draws were against Everton (H), West Ham (A), Birmingham (A) and Hull (A). Their defeats came against Villa (A), Man City (A) and Wigan (A). Meanwhile United have won 17 matches, drawn 2 and lost 5 already with the same number of games played. Their draws were against Sunderland (H) and Birmingham (A). They lost against the likes of Burnley (A), Liverpool (A), Chelsea (A), Fulham (A) and Villa (H).
Comparing that to Arsenal who also have played the same amount of games and are sitting in the third position. We’ve won 15 matches, drawn 4 and lost 5 already. Our draws came against West Ham (A), Burnley (A), Everton (H) and Villa (A). The losses were against United (A), Man City (A), Sunderland (A), Chelsea (H) and United (H).
Now, let’s analyse further. In contrast to United’s results in which they have dropped points and not considering those games which Arsenal have not played, we gained 8 of the points which United have dropped. Balancing out the 2 defeats to United and we are still at an advantage of 2 points. Should we beat Sunderland at home and Birmingham away, we could easily eat into the 4 points that they currently hold ahead of us.
The same cannot be said of Chelsea if we consider things the same way. We’ve only have the upper hand of 1 point courtesy of the draw at Villa Park. There are quite a few away games which we need to better Chelsea’s result to reduce the gap. That is at Birmingham, Hull and Wigan. Even with top scorer, Drogba in the squad, Chelsea have dropped a considerable amount of points against teams in the lower half. Surprisingly, Arsenal are the opposite of that with points generally donated to the top 6 sides.
Which is why is it so important that we do not lose further ground at Stamford Bridge this Sunday. Pride was dented with the defeat last Sunday. We may have man for man better technical players compared to United but our players could learn a little from that game, that to win at the highest level, first comes the will to win and the ability will do the rest.
