Arsenal: Lucky Or Unlucky?

I’ve had some time to think about our first 3 games of the season which have been against Aston Villa, Manchester City and Middlesbrough.

In the first match of the season, Villa absorbed all of our pressure and snatched a goal from a header. We attacked, attacked and attacked some more and luckily Gilberto riffled a brilliant shot into the roof of the net – getting us a point.

Against Manchester City, we played exactly the same way and the opposition did as well – men behind the ball and Arsenal couldn’t convert a huge amount of possession into goals.

Then yesterday, we go a goal down again and we only equalise from the penalty spot.

Hell, even the Dinamo Zagreb game was a struggle!

So are Arsenal lucky or unlucky?

There are two ways of looking at Arsenal’s form and specifically the first month of The Premiership campaign.

The first one is the ‘unlucky’ viewpoint shared by Arsene Wenger. He maintains that Arsenal have suffered because of injuries, lack of match sharpness and also tiredness from the recent International break and the World Cup in Germany.

I suppose there is some evidence to support this. We’ve had the lion’s share of possession in all 3 games and created a few chances, which on another day could be a totally different result.

But the other viewpoint – and perhaps the most worrying – is that Arsenal have so far been lucky.

Against Aston Villa, we never really looked like scoring and lacked the killer instinct. We had a lot of possession but didn’t do enough to put the Villa defence under pressure – some could say that we were lucky that the usually indecisive Gilberto Silva decided to smash the ball into the Villa net. I dread to think we could have lost that game.

And the same happened yesterday – if Eboue didn’t win the penalty for Thierry Henry to convert then Boro could have beaten us! And they ended the game with 10 men!

The problem Arsenal have is that they play the same way which may be pretty for the neutral spectator, but it no longer brings the team and the supporters the results.

Yesterday I identified the lack of killer instinct from wide positions without the presence of Pires and Bergkamp, and unfortunately teams know that.

The opposition know that Arsenal don’t have Bergkamp or Pires (and even Vieira for that matter) to change defense into attack in a split second with a penetrating pass up the field. Nowadays it seems that we cannot get the ball up the pitch quick enough and the passing is over-elaborate – making it so easy for teams to get behind the ball.

With teams playing so deep Arsenal either play in front of the opposition or get it wide – but we don’t have Pires to deliver the final killer pass for someone to convert.

I think if teams had 10 men from the start we would still find it difficult to break them down.

The only way to make teams come out is to have a threat via shots from distance. If Frank Lampard or Steven Gerrard have the ball 20 or 30 yards from goal and they have a bit of space they will shoot, forcing the defenders to close them down. But defenders won’t close the Arsenal players down because we don’t shoot! So they just sit back and absorb the pressure and let Arsenal play around with the ball.

If Arsenal could score from headers, crosses, corners and set-pieces we wouldn’t need a Plan B – but we don’t!

The big question is what are Arsenal going to do about it?

People will say that Arsenal don’t have Vieira, Pires or Bergkamp anymore so why talk about them?

Well it’s because we play the same way!

We are not the same team as we were 2/3 seasons ago but saying that the squad is still full of talent, class and experience.

Arsenal have to play differently to get the best out of the current personel – for example how does Van Basten get the best out of Robin Van Persie while for Arsenal he seems withdrawn and restricted?

The same could be said about Reyes contrasting form for Spain and Arsenal – let’s hope the impressive Rosicky doesn’t suffer at Arsenal.

Hopefully the worst start to the season in over 25 years and being 4th from bottom of the league will give Arsene Wenger something to think about and might just be the thing we need to shake things up in the Arsenal side.

But then again maybe I’m worrying about nothing and maybe Arsenal will beat Hamburg and Manchester United this week. Saying that though it’s not really the results that have been worrying, it’s the performances and if we take this form into the next 7 days it is going to be a very long season indeed…

 

Things Need To Start Changing – And Quick…


How Can Arsenal Change The Way They Play?

In every home game this season Arsenal have conceded the first goal – Aston Villa, Dinamo Zagreb and now Middlesbrough.

Take about making things hard for yourselves!

We drew against Villa, only just beat Zagreb now drawn against Boro – not forgetting the away game against Manchester City.

The problem we have is that in all of the games we have played this season, Arsenal have looked tired and no-where near sharp enough. We play an intricate passing game which doesn’t come off unless every single player is in tune – unfortunately we’re way off that at the moment.

Our excuses will include players being tired from the World Cup, the disruptive International break, fitness and injury worries – but a lot of teams have these problems but still get wins on the board.

When was the last time you saw Arsenal 4th from bottom after 4 games?!

Alright, we have a game in hand but a total of 2 points after 3 games is pretty worrying – especially when our next league game is against the in-form and seemingly devastating Manchester United – at Old Trafford!

In our failings to beat Boro, City and Villa were the same signs – lack of urgency, lack of a Plan B and our fear of actually shooting from distance!

The equalising goal today came from Thierry Henry – via a penalty!

I’ve seen all three league games now and I haven’t felt that we could score a goal. The play in front of teams and all the opposition have to do is play as deep as possible – and unfortunately for us it works.

We don’t seem to have any killer instinct and seem content to pass the ball around waiting for an opening.

And I don’t know how many times Arsenal had the ball in wide positions and how many corners we had, but without the ability to cross the ball we’re never going to score from there!

Bobby Pires would have been perfect this afternoon wide on the left because when he has the ball in that position he has the ability to pick out a killer pass and make things happen.

I am still hopeful for the midweek Champions League game and The Premiership match against Manchester United but things need to change – and quick.

 

You Just Can’t Buy Class. Obviously.


Thanks For The Memories?

As Ashley Cole left Arsenal and joined Chelski, you could probably forgive Arsenal or Arsene Wenger for criticising the left-back for all the back-stabbing and general dis-loyalty for seeing Chelski and Jose Mourinho behind everyone’s backs.

But no, Arsene had the following statement:

“Upon Ashley’s departure I would like to thank him on behalf of the team and everyone connected with the Club for his contribution to our success over recent years, Ashley has always played with his heart for Arsenal.

“I remember giving him his debut nearly seven years ago and he grabbed the opportunity. He had a strong desire to succeed and ultimately it was that determination that sees him leave this Club. Ashley has grown up with Arsenal and given time, will hopefully appreciate what the Club has given him. I feel the future is bright for this team and look forward to seeing it challenge for honours.”

What a well thoughout, concise and positive farewell to a player who, lets face it, was a complete arsehole and will continue to be for the rest of his life.

And then you have William Gallas after leaving the Russians.

Now we’ve all read the statement Chelski have issued to the press, clearly in a campaign to either unsettle the player or tarnish a signing which is a fantastic coup for Arsenal.

Jose Mourinho was fuming with the departure of his old number 13 which gives Arsenal the defensive pairing of Kolo Toure and William Gallas. Can you have a better defensive partnership?

Now aside from the laughable accusations of ‘hawking himself to the highest bidder’ Chelski have made having just signed rent boy Cashley Cole and money-grabbing superstars such as Michael Ballack then you wonder if the Chelsea PR machine is totally stupid.

Don’t they see they look like a 2 year old who’s crying over spilt milk?

But with the apparent bust up between Jose Mourinho and Peter Kenyon over the whole Gallas deal then you’ll probably find it’s Kenyon’s very public way of trying to justify the transfer.

“Oh Master Jose, I had to get rid of that Gallas boy – he said he’d score an own goal and then get sent off… and er… he said your a big stupid head!”

Er.. right…

 

The Future’s Bright, It’s Red And White?

Well 24 hours ago we had a weak squad but today we have actually brought in some world class players to cover the inevitable loss of Spanish and English prostitutes Jose Antonio Reyes and Cashley Cole.

Cashley got the move he’s always dreamed of since he was child and in return we get William Gallas and £5 million. It looks like it was Arsenal who compromised in the end after such a late transfer – possibly the last one of the actual transfer window. But I personally don’t mind as we have got a fantastic centre-back in Gallas who has proved himself in The Premier League and at the highest level.

Wenger’s transfer target Julio Baptista came to Arsenal 12 months later than he would have liked, and swaped the white of Real for the red of Arsenal with old Sevilla team-mate Jose Antonio Reyes – who didn’t seem to care if he signed for Real or Atletico.

Baptista also mentioned he has been learning English – that’s one huge step more than Jose tried to make while living in England!

Under-19 Brazil captain Denilson arrived from Sao Paolo in a deal that could be worth £4 million and Zinedine Cygan has finally left Arsenal to join ex-Arsenal team-mate Bobby Pires at Villarreal.

The main concerns I had for the coming season was the lack of physical presence we had in the squad which would especially problematic in certain away games but Gallas and Baptista should clear up that problem.

‘The Beast’ is renowned for his pace, power and physical presence on the pitch which with our youngsters will be vital for the upcoming campaign. He also has big game experience and has been a regular in the Brazil squad so should hopefully be a big player for us. But it will be interesting to see if Arsene plays him in defensive midfield where he started his career or whether he will be deployed further up the pitch.

And William Gallas pairing up with Kolo Toure at the back is a mouth-watering prospect. People talk about Gallas being a versatile player and playing in several positions but with the French International demanding a move away from Chelski for being played out of position don’t expect Gallas to play anywhere except central defence.

Which presents an interesting question when Senderos returns to full fitness. With all 3 centre-backs fully fit who would play? I’ve always said I would like Kolo to play in midfield because he is technically sound and has so much energy and pace it’s unreal! But we’ll have to wait and see…

Right, I’m off to bed now – three players coming to Arsenal in a single day? That’s far too much excitement for me!