Apart from the result at Norwich and the lack of energy from the team, the most disturbing thing to emerge post-match was Alexis Sanchez declaring himself fit to play before the game and Wenger taking his word for it.
Now Sanchez faces time out on the sidelines, nursing a hamstring injury, and my question is shouldn't a player's fitness be determined by the medical staff and the manager?
In this era of sports science, there simply is no good reason why so many Arsenal players are in the sickbay. While, skillful teams do get fouled more, not all these injuries are from collisions with other players.
Wenger needs to protect key players from burn-out and, if he can't do that with the existing squad, he needs to add to it in January. It's as simple as that!
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Monday 30 November 2015
Tuesday 24 November 2015
It's like 1989 again!
Arsenal are at their best when they have to achieve a mission impossible. That was the case when the Gunners travelled to Anfield to play Liverpool in 1989. No one expected an Arsenal win, especially by two goals! Winning at Anfield by a single goal was difficult enough!
Now Arsenal have to go to Olympiacos and win by the same score line to stay in the Champions League. Obviously, although it's more long-haul, a trip to Greece is not as daunting as a trip to Liverpool in the 80s. It seemed like the Reds were literally invincible, whereas the Greek side are eminently beatable.
A decent display against Zagreb has ensured that the last group game is not a dead rubber. Somehow this tired team found the legs that have been lacking in recent league games. Surely it wasn't just the addition of Joel Campbell from the start, although the Costa Rican did make an impact.
More noticeably, Cazorla seemed back to his best and Alexis Sanchez remembered where the net is. Arsenal fans would struggle to find fault in this team, especially Ozil, who was outstanding.
Arsenal seem to love to do it the hard way and, with an intimidating atmosphere ahead in Athens, there will be no easy passage to the knock-out stages of the competition.
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Now Arsenal have to go to Olympiacos and win by the same score line to stay in the Champions League. Obviously, although it's more long-haul, a trip to Greece is not as daunting as a trip to Liverpool in the 80s. It seemed like the Reds were literally invincible, whereas the Greek side are eminently beatable.
A decent display against Zagreb has ensured that the last group game is not a dead rubber. Somehow this tired team found the legs that have been lacking in recent league games. Surely it wasn't just the addition of Joel Campbell from the start, although the Costa Rican did make an impact.
More noticeably, Cazorla seemed back to his best and Alexis Sanchez remembered where the net is. Arsenal fans would struggle to find fault in this team, especially Ozil, who was outstanding.
Arsenal seem to love to do it the hard way and, with an intimidating atmosphere ahead in Athens, there will be no easy passage to the knock-out stages of the competition.
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Monday 23 November 2015
Cash splash rather than caution needed at Arsenal
After the WBA debacle, I feel compelled to highlight what I believe is Arsenal's Achilles heel, right now: a lack of energy.
With Coquelin out injured, Arsenal may well struggle even more in this department. Replacing him with the less mobile Arteta on Saturday was a disaster waiting to happen. Unfortunately, even the energetic Flamini cannot get up and down the pitch as quickly as he used to, so he was less effective as Arteta's sub than he would have been in his prime.
Allied to that, Arsenal have couple of temporarily burned out key players: Cazorla and Alexis Sanchez. Neither have been hitting the heights lately, especially the former who cost Arsenal a point by missing a penalty. It's not their fault though; a lack of depth in the squad has meant they will inevitably be run down into the ground by Arsenal and their respective international teams.
Then Arsenal have got Mertesacker at the back, who is more of a tactician than a runner. I'd consider putting Gabriel in for the out-of-form German, even if it's just for his running power.
The question is: how are Arsenal going to play the pressing game, which proved so effective against Man Utd again? Clearly, it will be difficult to achieve with the current squad of burned out players, ne'er-get-wells and veterans.
That's why everyone was flabbergasted that Wenger only bought Cech in the summer. Meanwhile, Rosicky was given new contracts, presumably to be a friend to the new Czech arrival, as I'm not sure what else he offers.
Arsenal fans will hope Wenger errs on the side of a cash splash instead of caution during the January transfer window, as title hopes may go out of a different sort of window before that due to lack of investment.
Alarmingly, Liverpool and, dare I write it, Spurs have adopted a pressing game to such good effect of late, I won't be surprised if both clubs keep collecting points to narrow the gap. Meanwhile, Arsenal limp on, with injuries galore and no energetic back-up to replace those whose batteries are low or who are broken.
Perhaps the famous 'spirit' that Wenger is always quoting is needed now more than ever. Norwich away is never easy, but I'd be cautious on the field if I were Wenger and possibly go for Gibbs and Monreal on the left with Debuchy and Bellerin on the right. Wenger's lack of options may force him to agree with me for once!
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With Coquelin out injured, Arsenal may well struggle even more in this department. Replacing him with the less mobile Arteta on Saturday was a disaster waiting to happen. Unfortunately, even the energetic Flamini cannot get up and down the pitch as quickly as he used to, so he was less effective as Arteta's sub than he would have been in his prime.
Allied to that, Arsenal have couple of temporarily burned out key players: Cazorla and Alexis Sanchez. Neither have been hitting the heights lately, especially the former who cost Arsenal a point by missing a penalty. It's not their fault though; a lack of depth in the squad has meant they will inevitably be run down into the ground by Arsenal and their respective international teams.
Then Arsenal have got Mertesacker at the back, who is more of a tactician than a runner. I'd consider putting Gabriel in for the out-of-form German, even if it's just for his running power.
The question is: how are Arsenal going to play the pressing game, which proved so effective against Man Utd again? Clearly, it will be difficult to achieve with the current squad of burned out players, ne'er-get-wells and veterans.
That's why everyone was flabbergasted that Wenger only bought Cech in the summer. Meanwhile, Rosicky was given new contracts, presumably to be a friend to the new Czech arrival, as I'm not sure what else he offers.
Arsenal fans will hope Wenger errs on the side of a cash splash instead of caution during the January transfer window, as title hopes may go out of a different sort of window before that due to lack of investment.
Alarmingly, Liverpool and, dare I write it, Spurs have adopted a pressing game to such good effect of late, I won't be surprised if both clubs keep collecting points to narrow the gap. Meanwhile, Arsenal limp on, with injuries galore and no energetic back-up to replace those whose batteries are low or who are broken.
Perhaps the famous 'spirit' that Wenger is always quoting is needed now more than ever. Norwich away is never easy, but I'd be cautious on the field if I were Wenger and possibly go for Gibbs and Monreal on the left with Debuchy and Bellerin on the right. Wenger's lack of options may force him to agree with me for once!
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Sunday 8 November 2015
Super sub proves Wenger must be a genius!
As regular readers of this blog will already know, I'm not part of AKB brigade. By the same token, I've not been calling for Wenger's head either in the wake of disappointing results (especially as there haven't been many in the league this season).
However, today against Spurs, I had to question what had happened to the Arsenal team: it seemed like most of the Gunners were on Valium. Not only that, they were holding onto the ball for too long and losing possession. Worst of all, there was no evidence that Arsenal were learning not to dwell on the ball.
By contrast, Spurs were sharp, pressing the ball, giving Arsenal no time to pick a pass. Performance-wise, Arsenal weren't much better than they were at Sheffield Wednesday and Bayern Munich away. Was that because Spurs are such a good team? It's hard to say, but they were certainly well organized.
Yes, there are a lot of injuries, but it's the general lethargy that is worrying for Arsenal. Was it really the short-haul flight to Munich that drained the team? As well as that worry, collective defensive lessons have not been learned by Arsenal, with Koscielny inexplicably trying to play Kane offside, which led to the opening goal.
Arsenal got worse thereafter, with Cazorla, in particular, being closed down by Tottenham, who hunted in packs. Surprisingly, Cazorla (who was 'dizzy', according to Wenger) was replaced by Flamini at half-time, which added a bit of bite into the midfield. However, as much as I'm a fan of 'Flames', he didn't exactly turn the tide.
In fact, it was an unlikely hero, Kieran Gibbs who saved the day for Arsenal. With Wenger lacking options on the bench and watching a front four not tracking back, Le Boss replaced Joel Campbell (who ironically seemed the most likely Arsenal scorer, due to his lack of fear of shooting on site) with the aforementioned left back. Well, at least Gibbs is fast, but was he really going to trouble Spurs right back Kyle Walker. The answer was a resounding 'yes' when Ozil (breaking the record for the most consecutive assists) floated the ball to the far post. Gibbs connected and somehow the ball was scrambled over the line.
They say the mark of a good team is not losing when you're playing badly, and Arsenal were so abject for so much of the game that they must be delighted with the point.
Arteta was also a used sub, coming on for Debuchy, who I thought did quite well. However, the Frenchman is perhaps not fully match fit yet, so he shouldn't be judged too harshly in Bellerin's absence.
The draw meant that Arsenal missed an opportunity to go to the top of the league with Man City dropping points at Aston Villa. Performances like this will make people doubt Arsenal's title credentials, although the result is what really matters. After the two-week international break, Wenger is hoping to strengthen his squad as some of his ten injured players may be ready for action.
Looking at the next six fixtures, apart from Man City, the list of games looks relatively kind. Despite looking like idle pretenders for much of the Spurs game, if Arsenal can show battling qualities again when the going gets tough (as it surely will again) perhaps they can indeed mount a serious title challenge.
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However, today against Spurs, I had to question what had happened to the Arsenal team: it seemed like most of the Gunners were on Valium. Not only that, they were holding onto the ball for too long and losing possession. Worst of all, there was no evidence that Arsenal were learning not to dwell on the ball.
By contrast, Spurs were sharp, pressing the ball, giving Arsenal no time to pick a pass. Performance-wise, Arsenal weren't much better than they were at Sheffield Wednesday and Bayern Munich away. Was that because Spurs are such a good team? It's hard to say, but they were certainly well organized.
Yes, there are a lot of injuries, but it's the general lethargy that is worrying for Arsenal. Was it really the short-haul flight to Munich that drained the team? As well as that worry, collective defensive lessons have not been learned by Arsenal, with Koscielny inexplicably trying to play Kane offside, which led to the opening goal.
Arsenal got worse thereafter, with Cazorla, in particular, being closed down by Tottenham, who hunted in packs. Surprisingly, Cazorla (who was 'dizzy', according to Wenger) was replaced by Flamini at half-time, which added a bit of bite into the midfield. However, as much as I'm a fan of 'Flames', he didn't exactly turn the tide.
In fact, it was an unlikely hero, Kieran Gibbs who saved the day for Arsenal. With Wenger lacking options on the bench and watching a front four not tracking back, Le Boss replaced Joel Campbell (who ironically seemed the most likely Arsenal scorer, due to his lack of fear of shooting on site) with the aforementioned left back. Well, at least Gibbs is fast, but was he really going to trouble Spurs right back Kyle Walker. The answer was a resounding 'yes' when Ozil (breaking the record for the most consecutive assists) floated the ball to the far post. Gibbs connected and somehow the ball was scrambled over the line.
They say the mark of a good team is not losing when you're playing badly, and Arsenal were so abject for so much of the game that they must be delighted with the point.
Arteta was also a used sub, coming on for Debuchy, who I thought did quite well. However, the Frenchman is perhaps not fully match fit yet, so he shouldn't be judged too harshly in Bellerin's absence.
The draw meant that Arsenal missed an opportunity to go to the top of the league with Man City dropping points at Aston Villa. Performances like this will make people doubt Arsenal's title credentials, although the result is what really matters. After the two-week international break, Wenger is hoping to strengthen his squad as some of his ten injured players may be ready for action.
Looking at the next six fixtures, apart from Man City, the list of games looks relatively kind. Despite looking like idle pretenders for much of the Spurs game, if Arsenal can show battling qualities again when the going gets tough (as it surely will again) perhaps they can indeed mount a serious title challenge.
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Wednesday 4 November 2015
Heavy defeat makes league success more likely
Arsenal's 5-1 defeat against Bayern Munich means Champions League elimination is almost certain, but the Gunners must surely rally against Spurs at the weekend.
There is not much anyone can say about Arsenal's abject display. Arsene Wenger was as disgusted with the defending as most of the fans. It's not often I would accuse players of not trying, but a lot of them seemed to have given up the ghost from the beginning.
It was shocking. The injured Koscielny, in particular, was missed. Bellerin, was also out of action too, but Debuchy deputised reasonably well given the awful performances that surrounded him. Perhaps Debuchy benefitted from Joel Campbell's assistance, as the Costa Rican was one of the few players who kept running.
Strangely, given the stick he's had for his lack of work rate, Ozil was another who kept running. He even had 'a goal' disallowed, although it turned out the referee was right to rule it out for handball.
At least, Giroud's spectacular goal was allowed to stand. He was replaced by the 'unready' Alex Iwobi, who must be becoming readier and readier for first-team duty with each minute he spends on the pitch. It was character-building stuff for the youngster, as you learn more from defeat.
It is for that reason, I expect Arsenal to keep a clean sheet in the next game. I'm not sure how many the Gunners will score against Spurs, as they are in decent form, but I'll be most surprised if Cech is picking the ball out of his net again this weekend.
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There is not much anyone can say about Arsenal's abject display. Arsene Wenger was as disgusted with the defending as most of the fans. It's not often I would accuse players of not trying, but a lot of them seemed to have given up the ghost from the beginning.
It was shocking. The injured Koscielny, in particular, was missed. Bellerin, was also out of action too, but Debuchy deputised reasonably well given the awful performances that surrounded him. Perhaps Debuchy benefitted from Joel Campbell's assistance, as the Costa Rican was one of the few players who kept running.
Strangely, given the stick he's had for his lack of work rate, Ozil was another who kept running. He even had 'a goal' disallowed, although it turned out the referee was right to rule it out for handball.
At least, Giroud's spectacular goal was allowed to stand. He was replaced by the 'unready' Alex Iwobi, who must be becoming readier and readier for first-team duty with each minute he spends on the pitch. It was character-building stuff for the youngster, as you learn more from defeat.
It is for that reason, I expect Arsenal to keep a clean sheet in the next game. I'm not sure how many the Gunners will score against Spurs, as they are in decent form, but I'll be most surprised if Cech is picking the ball out of his net again this weekend.
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Monday 2 November 2015
Campbell impresses
After the Sheffield Wednesday performance, we could be forgiven for writing off Joel Campbell. The Costa Rican had a poor game, like the rest of his team-mates on that occasion.
However, Campbell put that behind him against Swansea with a goal on his first league start and a performance that was largely impressive. It just goes to show how important it is to have reliable team-mates around you.
Campbell's work ethic is unquestionable, which may be why he got a second chance. Plus the size of the squad and the latest injuries to Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Theo Walcott forced Arsene Wenger's hand somewhat.
The latter point about having no choice was made obvious when Wenger replaced man-of-the-match Mesut Ozil with Alex Iwobi, who was 'not ready' to play first-team football just days before (to use the manager's words).
Anyway, after the cup debacle, no one could complain about this Arsenal performance. Yes, the Gunners rode their luck at times, with Per Mertesacker getting away with being 'brittle', according to former Gunner John Hartson, and a handball in the penalty area. At the other end, it helped only having Fabianski to beat, who inexplicably dropped the ball in front of Koscielny for the second goal.
Overall though, Arsenal are beginning to look like title contenders in what is shaping up to be a tight league.
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However, Campbell put that behind him against Swansea with a goal on his first league start and a performance that was largely impressive. It just goes to show how important it is to have reliable team-mates around you.
Campbell's work ethic is unquestionable, which may be why he got a second chance. Plus the size of the squad and the latest injuries to Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Theo Walcott forced Arsene Wenger's hand somewhat.
The latter point about having no choice was made obvious when Wenger replaced man-of-the-match Mesut Ozil with Alex Iwobi, who was 'not ready' to play first-team football just days before (to use the manager's words).
Anyway, after the cup debacle, no one could complain about this Arsenal performance. Yes, the Gunners rode their luck at times, with Per Mertesacker getting away with being 'brittle', according to former Gunner John Hartson, and a handball in the penalty area. At the other end, it helped only having Fabianski to beat, who inexplicably dropped the ball in front of Koscielny for the second goal.
Overall though, Arsenal are beginning to look like title contenders in what is shaping up to be a tight league.
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