Saturday 30 May 2015

Arsenal: consistency, reinforcements and hunger

This was a day of records: Arsenal become the first side to win the FA Cup twelves times and Wenger equals a record of 6 FA Cup wins as a manager. It can't get better than this, can it?

Still, critics say we need a centre forward, a defender and a goalkeeper. Yet our secondary-choice keeper Szczesny kept a clean sheet and sub centre forward Giroud scored the fourth in the little time he had on the pitch.

Surely, if Arsenal can play this well they can win the league next season. Even without reinforcements. I certainly wouldn't bet against them. I said this squad would finish 3rd, but I didn't anticipate that Sanchez would adapt so quickly.

How Sanchez didn't get man-of-the-match is completely beyond me. What more can he do? He sets up Theo for the opener and scores a goal that will remain in the memory forever. As well as that, he drapes a Chilean flag over the area where Arsenal picked up the trophy near the royal box. What a performance!

Sanchez exemplified what Arsenal were about today: hunger. I've rarely seen them that hungry.

Whoever put the poster together that said: 'FA Cup winner' must have been less hungry for British English. That person must be as American as Lerner and Kroenke, the owners of the two clubs. If it's a tribute to those two, fair enough, but then I want consistency.

When the fireworks went off on the pitch, the banner suddenly said: 'FA Cup winners'. Make your mind(s) up!

Arsenal, of course, need consistency too. If we can play like we did against Villa more than most of the time, we might actually win the league...even without reinforcements.

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Sunday 17 May 2015

Time for a new starting XI for Arsenal?

It's all very laudable, Wenger sticking with the same team for the sixth consecutive time. However, it's important the team earn their right to be certain starters and, like against Swansea, some were well short of that mark.

Then again, a draw at Man U feels like a win. So says Theo Walcott, who's claimed the deflected cross that went in off Blackett as a goal. To be honest, I'd do the same. I mean, if Theo doesn't try to knock that ball into the box then it doesn't hit the net.

An own goal to me is more than a deflection. It's when a player completely alters the direction of the ball or intentionally plays it towards his own goal.

I agree with Wenger that both Walcott and Wilshere had a positive impact on the team when they came on around the (surprise, surprise!) 70th minute mark. Ramsey really came into his own, once moved into the middle and the fresh legs certainly paid off as Arsenal appeared to be the fitter side.

It now seems as if Arsenal have clinched 3rd place, which means no play-off for Champions League football next season. That is something to celebrate, but I still get a sense that this team is playing with the handbrake on.

That's understandable with an FA Cup final coming up. You can't expect players to play with the same level of commitment to challenges when they know a knock could keep them out of the Wembley line-up.

That's normally going to affect the first XI most, as they will feel they've done enough to warrant their selection for the biggest game of our season against Villa. However, Wenger's policy is to field reserves in this tournament, especially in goal, so I expect to see Szczesny back for what could turn out to be an unexpected reward for a below-par season.

In fact, the more I think of it, the more I realise there's no logic in playing your second best side in a cup final. By doing that, you punish in-form players and reward the off-form ones. A deal is a deal, but you try telling that to the fans if we throw away our only chance of silverware because of a gentleman's agreement.

I always feel Ospina is less likely to make a major mistake than most keepers, so he'd be a shoo-in for me. He had a reasonable game at Old Trafford, but the game showed we do need to tinker with the starting line-up.

This was another disjointed performance, so I would suggest that Theo starts on the right against Sunderland allowing Ramsey to move to the middle. I'd drop the jaded Cazorla to make way for Theo and see how that starting XI performs.

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Tuesday 12 May 2015

Arsenal must learn passes don't mean prizes

Very few people would have predicted a home defeat against Swansea with an in-form Arsenal fielding an unchanged side for a fifth consecutive time. Indeed, there is no obvious weakness in this side, which has led to Wenger saying there will be no or few addition in the summer. 'Any old excuse' some might say, but for once I agree with him. Even after this embarrassing loss.

I'm putting the result down to tactics; if Arsenal are content to out pass a team without making headway this could happen again. No doubt Aston Villa's Tim Sherwood was watching with interest, thinking of the cup final and seeing how bodies behind the ball can frustrate Arsenal. Sadly, the Gunners seemed content to pass the ball in front of Swansea and didn't seem to recognise that this tactic was ineffective.

One way to counteract this kind of defending en masse would be bringing on Walcott earlier. Giving Theo 20 minutes to make a difference was insufficient; he should have come on at half time.

It was ridiculous that Arsenal waited until 60 minutes were on the clock to test Fabianski. I bet the Pole couldn't believe his luck. Even when he was tested, it was all routine stuff. Swansea's defenders deserve the credit for protecting Fabianski so well. Ashley Williams, in particular, impressed.

The game will be remembered for Swansea's goal, awarded thanks to goal-line technology. It didn't look over the line, but it clearly was. Gomis had struck again from a Montero cross as Arsenal succumbed to Swansea's first double over them for 33 years. Strangely, it was an ex-Gunner who scored in one of those games: Ray Kennedy. This time, some will say it was the curse of the ex again and we shouldn't have let Fabianski go as he kept a clean sheet.

Sorry, I'm not buying that. I'm still impressed with David Ospina. We might need a back-up keeper, but
I think our first choice between the sticks is good enough. I never thought that to be the case with Fabianski, who was always a bag of nerves when he played for us.

To conclude, we must try to learn from this defeat; I'd rather it was now than cup final day. Maybe it was a timely wake-up call and reminder that passes don't make prizes. We need more running behind defences and shots on targets or we will have more disappointments to follow.

Although it's highly unlikely that Wenger will change his policy of not introducing unenforced substitutes until the 70th minute, I believe the players we start with could take matters into their own hands. Bellerin could push higher up to threaten the opposition with his pace meaning we wouldn't need to bring on Theo to turn things around. Minor adjustments like that are all we need to turn this season into a relatively successful one.

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