Arsenal 1-2 Chelsea: A late (and incomplete) review

[dropcap]A[/dropcap] 2-1 loss to Chelsea, our first to the season, exposed this Arsenal side as a work in progress. We now sit 7th on the table; behind all of the usual suspects as well as Everton, Spurs and West Brom.

Last week I said I felt confident to conclude that we will fight for the title this season. A week later I’m admitting that we’re a work-in-progress. So which is the truth?

To be frank I was disappointed with our performance in almost all areas against Chelsea. We were out-played tactically, defended poorly and deserved to lose.

Chelsea’s game was based around pressuring Arteta and cutting off the supply to Santi Cazorla and they did that expertly. Chelsea’s job was made simpler by Diaby’s injury after a quarter-hour as Aaron Ramsey, originally starting high on the right, dropped into the midfield. Arteta was ineffective, Cazorla was off-colour and Ramsey was poor as Chelsea looked more dynamic and more likely to create goal-scoring chances in the first half.

The defending on set pieces, an easy target and one that has been talked about by many, was terrible. I don’t, however, hold Vito Mannone accountable. The first goal was not his responsibility and on the second, once Koscielny played at the ball, the goalkeeper had a responsibility to hold his position. That Koscielny’s touch sped the ball up didn’t help.

Arséne Wenger’s decision to play Koscielny and Vermaelen, one I saw coming and was not overly opposed to before the game, proved to be a mistake. Per Mertesacker was missed and as poorly as Koscielny played, Vermaelen was worse: pushing forward at the wrong moments and tackling irresponsibly, giving away the two free-kicks that led to the goals.

Can you drop Vermaelen? Is it the right thing to do? Probably not, but if Arteta was the outright captain I would. It seems harsh but Koscielny is a better defender and Mertesacker’s presence feels necessary. It won’t happen, though.

If there were bright spots in the first-half they came from the wing-backs. I thought Kieran Gibbs had an excellent first half but he was trumped by Carl Jenkinson, who impressed again. He pushed forward with purpose and connected well with substitute Oxlade-Chamberlain, however Chelsea looked more likely to score.

Torres looked a new player and his opportunity, tucked away when he might have expected David Luiz to connect with his header, was the kind that only a sharp striker converts. Koscielny lost his man but Torres’ use of his body (and arms) made defending extremely difficult.

I feared the worst after going behind and while Chelsea scared us a few times, their best chance a penalty appeal for Torres, we scored a wonderful goal to equalise. The Ox and Jenkinson were at the heart of the move and Gervinho, who had been more busy a week ago, finished brilliantly. Erratic players still score goals but this was a sweet moment for The Brain™ who is relentless in his pressure.

We found a groove after scoring and finished the half as the better side. That continued into the second half but was undermined by poor defending to concede another soft goal.

And that’s as far as I got. Unfortunately, I was extremely busy following the game and will be out of town for the next few days. I will endeavor to post a mini-review of the week before Saturday, including some more thoughts on Chelsea, Olympiakos and the upcoming game against West Ham. Cheers all!

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Comments

  1. Thought we deserved a point, was disappointed Giroud didn’t finish his chance in extra time.

    Two errors cost us – but I don’t think we should be too down about the result! As long as we bounce back quickly!

  2. A nice short review but I disagree with some points.Especially the claim that ” We were out-played tactically, defended poorly and deserved to lose”…First part right second wrong. The team were equally as good if not better than Chelski in every aspect except one, defending free kicks. As per the past 6 years, this was our downfall. In every other aspect our ‘new’ team were superior and did NOT deserve to lose.

    As for Jenks and Gibbs, I am proud to say that I have almost been alone in praising them this year and last. I would NOT change them at all aprt from injury and minor games.

    I do have a solution to the defence and it is one I suggested last season too ie;
    Play Kossy in Songs old position immediately.

    1. He is a better defender than Song & Diaby.
    2. He is faster than both.
    3. He is a better attacker.
    4. If needed he can support our defence to hold onto leads that we have surrendered year after year.
    5. He gives us extra height in every area.
    6. The money we save can go on a world class goalie and goalscorer.
    7. He is ready made cover for any injuries behind him.

    I would like your opinion re; this as I think it could be the difference we have been looking for.

  3. I agree with Gunner Pete. I don’t think we were out played at all. It was definitely a tug of war and the difference was the free kicks that we defended poorly. It was our problem for the last couple of years. Our defence was tight in open play where the back four including Arteta made some tackles and interceptions to stop Chelsea’s attack.

    Think about it, If we sort out/fix our set piece defence, Chelsea or Man city would not have scored against us. And we would have won those games!

    I do not agree however with putting Koscielny in midfield (Sorry @gunner pete) because although Kos can pass the ball, I don’t think he can do it when the other team is pressing and he needs to find team mates quickly. I don’t know. I guess I’ve never seen him in midfield?

    I agree that the team is a work in progress but we are not that far off the best at the moment. We are lacking some urgency in set pieces and Giroud needs to tuck them shots in!! I think he will come good but every game he misses atleast one clear cut chance!

    And I don’t get why everyone was fussing over Hazard. 32 Mil got shut down by a 1 Mil pounds from Charlton! Ha!

  4. You read some match reviews and listen to some commentators and you would think we were played off the park. We gave away two stupid goals through poor defending at set pieces and through needlessly giving away the free kicks in the first place. But apart from those two goals and the hilarious Torres air swing I dont recall us ever looking under serious threat, whereas Cech pulled off two or three saves, we hit the post and Giroud missed a great chance at the end. So its not all doom and gloom. But you can’t avoid the fact that we were below par in many areas. We lost our shape when Diaby went off, Ramsey had a poor game, Podlski was quiet and Cazorla’s radar was off. But as others have pointed out, our two fulllbacks were great! It was the kind of game where if it had been a draw nobody would have complained too loudly. It only feels as bad as it does because Spurs won at OT for the first time since the Bronze Age or something. Now that pissed me off!
    On a positive note, looks like Jack W survived his first outing in a long time. Fingers crossed he can come back as good as before.

    The Diaby injury leaves Wenger with some interesting decisions. I would like to see Coquelin get a run (see GB we can agree on something:)!).

  5. I do not think Andrew Weber is a true Arsenal fan. His Review of the game is any thing but lobsided. Having said that, i want to say events like last weekend are what makes football called the Without such erros, there would be no goals, no tensions, no axious moments and nothing to write about.However it is most important to learn from such erros because there are many more games to play.I believe Arsenal have learned a lesson and has put the past behind and are more determined to push forward.. up arsenal, never say die.

  6. Fair points guys, but that’s the curse of the incomplete review! I didn’t really get to make my final conclusions and the whole article probably comes off a little heavy-handed.

    In my opinion we were made to look more a work-in-progress than title material by a Chelsea team that looked a little further ahead of us in their development. I do, however, think we have so much to be optimistic about and will challenge for the title. This was a welcome wake-up call.

  7. Jenks has been very good and he comes from an Arsenal family which is great. I don’t think he defend as well as Sagna and Sagna is prob.ably the best header of a ball in the ckub. However Jenks is good crosser of the bgall ? I was a little dissapointed in the chelsea game that’s he didn’t go wides and take ion Cashley. Invariably he headed infield tto Cazorlac, Arteta or Eamsey. He may of course been instructed to do so, but going wide and crossing would hsve added another dimension to the attack

    Still early days and am hopefully Giroud will come good, if hhe had taken the two chances against chelsea and Sunderland we would hae 4 more points

  8. Hi Arsenal fans around the globe.This is not the time to trade tackies and blame on kos or og but a time to rally round our players with encouraging comments. Our ECL match-up with Olympiakos is hours away. A win against Olympiakos will be a massive boost for our boys to prosecute the rest of the EPL matches in October. I totally agree with Gervinho in his tweet. UP GOONERS

  9. Diaby injured??? that,s a first…….

    Arsene, Arsene, Arsene, your the WORST gambler I’v ever come across, and if that’s not bad you continue to do the samething over and over and over again and STILL keep getting the same results.

    What next???? what ever it iz i won’t we surprised.

  10. Agree with most of the people , we never looked like outplayed , it looked like a even match and we had our best chances not taken and left it below par in defending set pieces.Well the team has to work upon the way we are conceding goals to catch up Chelsea soon on the table.

    As far as team selection , i don’t have any worries as the team looks balanced and every player is doing their part well.

    Being the first game to be lost in the season with an own goal mishap is an optimism to go forward and fix the loop holes in the upcoming games.

    Given that Chelsea are experts in providing air tight defense against barca and the way we managed to break through is something really optimistic and i support this team for title more than to panic on their first loss.

  11. Not really relevant but don’t you just love this

    CFr Cluj 1 man utd 0 (18 eminutes ) van persies face is s picture

  12. This is all I said. Why we did not agree earlier is baffling.

    We lost the midfield cos Ramsey and Diaby were ineffective, period. We say Cazorla and Podolski did what? Why should the whole team be baby sitting Ramsey and Diaby? Why should Vermaelen not kick the hell out of whoever and concede the free kick when it is clear someone gave the ball away foolishly in the first place. Why do we not score from the chelsea mistakes as well?

    Ramsey and Diaby WILL NEVER let us win anything.

    That said…..I think everyone was quite satisfied seeing Vermaelen and Kos pair for the first time this season. Mertesacker did not however deserve to be left out as well as he is on form. From now on, I guess everyone will be satisfied with whoever starts amongst them.
    I could agree with GunnerPete to let kos or Vermaelen play the Song role instead of Coquelin and see how it pans out in the next match. I would love to rotate them too, but I think this would be the better idea.

  13. Thank you Andrew for your always honest and objective analysis.
    This Arsenal team is an improvement over the last few seasons, we have a better and balanced squad.
    I personally am not convinced that Diaby and Arteta much less Ramsey can do the job over a long season.
    During the winter months of January, February , the midfield will need strong characters to help Sandi.

    DEspite his lack of finishing , I like what Gervinho brings to the team , but resorting to starting him as a striker! It shows that we are not competing for a title in all honesty.
    We will be fighting to finish in the top 4.Nothing wrong with that! we need to be patient with Giroud , let’s give the year to adapt, Wenger needs to bring in a striker in Jan or next summer to take the pressure off !

  14. I thought their midfield outclassed what I had been calling “the best midfield in the premier league”, but on 2nd review for me the match was a closer than my initial impression. Had Arteta and co. been in better form I think the outcome would have been different. Ramsey was especially off, and Giroud again flubbed his lines in front of goal.

    The combination of Mata, Oscar and Hazard is beginning to terrorize opponents and the Spaniard was the difference of course. He is in particularly good form right now. Ramires too.

    We need to maintain that level of consistency if we are to be within sniffing distance of anything shiny this year. That said, I think on our day we can go toe-to-toe with any team in the world can beat ANY team in the world.

    I hope it’s our day against Olympiakos.

  15. It is going to be another frustrating year for a gooner like me. This is my honest opinion after being outplayed by Chelsea. We are already seven points adrift and looking at the squad it is simply not good enough to win trophies. Having got rid of almunium – the worst goalkeeper to don Arsenal jersey – now the team has two more error goalkeepers to content with. the adage that if you throw peanuts you will get monkeys is appropriate for Arsenal. the professor wants to win with boys that will not happen. His biggest mistake has been not to sign a quality goalkeeper the most important position in football. He is not going to learn the lesson and the supporters are to suffer as long as he is incharge.

  16. I think people are being a little hard on Szs, he,s hardly error prone and brought stability to a dodgy defence last year. The jury is still out on Mannone, but we are not the only team with problems in that area. United and Liverpool also have problems.

    I am Wengers biggest fan, but not buying an experienced keeper ( Schwarzer, Given) a few years back in my opinion remains his biggest mistake

  17. I got this from swiss Ramble

    Since 2007 Arsenal have generated a very healthy £376 million operating cash flow, but have spent £71 million on capital expenditure, £110 million on loan interest and £64 million on net debt repayments, while the cash balances have risen by £118 million. Astonishingly, only 1% (one per cent) of the available cash flow has been spent in the transfer market.

    The last sentence is very thought provoking, My Arsenal have become a real joke.
    And it just confirms that wenger and the board even though they may want to win put money above all, look at Gazidis’s increase, BUT wait, we’re accustomed to rewarding mediocrity so that checks out.

    The fans are not excluded from blame Because the gates appear to be the biggest revenue earner SO then if we complain BUT continue to buy season tickets and go to the games then we’re a bigger fool than wenger and his bunch.
    Are we a better team then last season???? slightly better BUT not significantly. we’re two points better than last year so that’s a little improvement because 1 point is a big difference in football. On the other hand we’ve played 6 games won 2 lost 1 and drawn 3, manu has lost twice and STILL their infront of us.

    As of today am done with blaming the board and the manager Because ultimately the fans have the power to change but refuse, so let the chips fall where they may, How could you have resources and failed to use them?? and then complain???
    so let wenger play how he wants, who he wants, buy average players and pay himself a BIG FAT PAY because the fans like it this way so why change.

  18. @Kel
    your’ Arsenal may be a joke, but in reality they are a very successful team. Ok the past few years have been a little barren, but don’t forget we don’t have a Sheikh or a Russian oligarch ( or whatever they are called) . I guess the 90 or so teams behind Arsenal in the premier league are call jokes

    This is a well managed team, financially sound who have developed a great new stadium. Success will come

    I suggest you support one of the non joke teams… Who are they?

  19. @ Retsub
    Stop making excuses and stop blaming the Sheikh or a Russian oligarch for Arsenal’s lack of success the last 7 years, And for crying out loud noone wants Arsenal to spend 40 or 50 r even 30 mill on one player just BUY the right players, something we have failed to do.

    And by the way what the hell is Vermaelen doing his head does not seem right wenger should give him a rest

  20. @kel
    These arn’t excuses, Chelsea’s net spend over the past few years has been approximately 10 times that of Arsenal. Arsenal are a well run club working to a budget. When Abramovich gets bored or Abu Dhabi find another toy to play with, these teams will slide back into mid table.
    Personally I don’t think Wenger has done bad on transfers?

    I do agree on Vermaelen though…. Nutter

    I think Giroud and Theo should start at the weekend

    Keep hearing great things about Gervinho , still not convinced

  21. Just watched the Olympiacos game. Got the result but the performance was still very poor. But we are in the box seat in the group so I guess that’s the main thing. Am starting to feel for Giroud. Thought he was nailed on to score when he came on but he isn’t getting the breaks. Podolski seems to be drifting in and out of the game at the moment. Need to get him more involved.

    Onto Saturday and the ‘ammers under th next manager of Real Madrid!

  22. That was a frightful 90 minutes against Olympiakos, especially at the back. Both Vermalaen and Koscielny seemed utterly clueless and why was Mertesacker left out again? We really could have used his steady presence.

    At 1-1 we were as shaky as I’ve seen us in a while, but we did manage to gradually impose ourselves thanks largely to the work rate of Gervinho, Gibbs, Podolski and Ramsey who were all stellar. Ramsey’s goal was class all the way and it was so good to see that from him.

    3 points in the bag no thanks to the defence but onward we go.

  23. Also a shout out to the ladies, in case you didn’t know:

    The Arsenal Ladies continued their fantastic record by winning their ninth consecutive league title last Sunday.

    They still remain unbeaten in their present campaign and are set to seal victory in the Continental Cup final against Birmingham on Wednesday, which could see them claim a double.

    The recent trophy is the 37th in 25 years for Laura Harvey’s side, making them the most successful in women’s football.

    Also the Lady Gunners are still in the Champions League. They beat Barcelona 3 – 0 last Wednesday.

    Since 2005 — the last silverware won by Arsene Wenger’s men — the ladies have lifted a staggering 16 trophies.

    You go girls!

  24. @1-Nil.
    Come on dude it wasn’t that hectic.
    We were lacksadaisical at times and that does worry.
    But,all in all this is the grittiest, just get it done side we’ve had in a few years.
    However, it will be good to see old Per tree at the back again.

  25. Agreed leftcoast, but if I’m harsh, I really want to see this side fulfill its potential. In any case, because the ability to collect points when we’re not at our best is essential, they certainly deserve credit.

  26. All that’s neede is to clean sheet our Est London opponents this weekend and all will yet be well.

    Icehammer I sense yer lurking presence ;/
    COYG!!!

  27. Boy, do we need Diaby back or what?!?! And Wilshere will be an added bonus. Unfortunately we are unlikely to see either for a few weeks :b

  28. to the Ramsey haters: he was just horrible tonight, wasn’t he? clever backheel to set up a good change and a very cool finish over the keeper. just horrible.

  29. Diaby and Ramsey play allows freedom and creativity to Cazorla and Podolski.For those who witnessed the first half of yesterday’s game might have realised this.

    It wasn’t as effective when ramsey and ox had to play together against chelsea but they will improve .

    As for yesterday’s game we looked better in the second half and after substitution we looked like the team to score.Podolski came lively in the second half and i never expected the first two goals to go in .

    Guess what i heard from commentator after the first goal.” Gervinho the Goal Machine”.

    Giroud is still catching the eyes and thanks for his header to Ramsey. If it is not for his unlucky streak he might had one.Probably he need to change his shirt number. Within 10 minutes to finish he had two genuine shots at goal and one header to allow ramsey to race past and score.

  30. @1NiltoTheArsenal same with me! I was expecting them to smash Olympiacos because I know what they are capable of! But I guess we can’t have Christmas every week!

    @jet hehehe. He just grows every game. I can’t wait till he gets a bit of form going.

    Gervinho can be frustrating at times but he did deliver tonight and starting to look comfortable as our main striker. I do want to see more of Giroud though. He didn’t score tonight but he did hit the target twice!

  31. My preferred midfield combination started the game, but the problem is that the coaches need to let Coquelin and not Arteta to be the last defensive midfielder. I feel Arteta will definitely complement Cazorla more.

    We can not complain about the substitutions, i think they did absolutely brilliant.

  32. Kel , I agree with you! Our fans have not been demanding that’s why by Arsenal standard we ‘ve been mediocre. Sandi Carzola was brought in , thank God! Because RVP was leaving . If we had made the type of moves last summer that we did this year, we may e RVP would still be wearing an Arsenal shirt.
    I was shocked by the inaction of the manager after the departure of Cesc and NAsri , I am sure RVP was appalled too. He probably realized then , he had to leave .he would never win a major trophy with this type of mismanagement. Yes we finished third, ahead of teams like Stoke, New castle , but how many points behind Manure and shitty? Podolski, Giroud are good buys, let’s not stop there, ship out Chamakh and go to the Spanish , Portuguese, Deutch league’s ! I am convinced they are players there who could help us .

  33. @brisvegasgooner – I think the tease is completely uncomplimentary and totally inappropriate…you are not a guard dog here.

  34. @Retsub, fantastic result. We should sneak a couple of those girls on Arsene’s squad. They’re kicking butts and taking names. THEY are the Barca of women’s footy right now.

  35. Arsenal were not outplayed, just two bad goals that were let in. They must pay more attenion to this, in truth Chelsea played their usual boring football, yes they got their game plan done well. They are a good side and will be in contention for the title, but lets face its early days. There a lot of critics writing Man Utd off that is a danerous thing to do . I believe the lads can still challenge for the title, so lets keep the faith.

  36. Saw an interesting stat the other day. Gervinho 5 shots at goal this season, five goals. Whenever he gets the ball today”SHOOT”

  37. Arsenal can play all the pretty football they like but if w,e continue to give away stupid free kicks ,we are going to lose.

    Commentator made an interesting point. Why are we aiming all our crosses at Carroll

  38. Despite my preferred midfield not starting, we got a sweet result nontheless…We never really had to do much. See guys Giroud is impressive.

  39. My thoughts on today’s game
    1 Theo is a better bet than Gervinho
    2. Giroud is gonna score a lot of goals this season
    3. Ramsey is improving every game, but still lacks concentration late in the game
    4. Well done Mannone, he was put under a lot of pressure
    5. I am all for attractive football but can someone please explain why each time West Ham got a free kick they pumped it in the box and created chasos. When we get a free kick we pass to Mertesacker
    6 Cazorla… What a player
    7 thought Santos did well
    8 good to have Mertesacker back. I think we have underrated him, he reads the game very well. Kosciesny and Vermaelen are very good players, but lack concentration when they play together

    All in all a good days work

  40. giroud was in the right spot AGAIN on his goal. and walcott’s touch on his goal was perfect. saw a great shot of the curl he put on there to bend around the keeper. very nice. i was ready to let him go, but a few goals from him have me starting to think otherwise.

  41. @retsub
    No WE did not underestimate the Big Fuckin’ German but I’m glad you’re getting some appreciation for his quiet but effective positional play and shrewd reading of they game 😉
    Well done to the lads for a solid second half and 3 much needed points going into the break.
    Come On You Gunners!!!!!

  42. Leftie
    Ok sweeping statement about the BFG but I think the majority of fans would have opted for the Verm/ Kos partnership at the beginning of the season. It’s great to have some experienced heads in the side which will hopefully pay dividends during those cold winter away games when we normally. Screw up

  43. I have to admit that I was not by the BFG last year, I was always worried that he would be exposed by his feet. You can’t beat success …so far so good
    I thought today Gervinho looked tired, he should have started on the bench . Wenger should alternate between Theo,Gervinho and Ox to make sure they stay sharp and hungry!
    Giroud is a good player, we should be patient with him. IMO we will probably will only see the best of him next year. That’s we need other players to continue to score to relieve the pressure . Let’s not forget , it took RVP a few years before he started really to contribute to our team.

  44. @Retsub
    October 7, 2012 at 4:34
    Completely agreed.

    I think Ramsey is actually improving. I saw him fly two long balls to Jenkinson which missed for a throw-in, but was nice to see him try that and fail. With confidence growing he will do better with time. T’was only nice because we won the game, but, giving him playing time can only help his confidence. I think the matches he should be played in should be non-pressure matches. The time for rebuilding is over, we must simply demand efficiency now.
    If I must state this… the goal Cazorla scored might not have been if Ramsey had gone forward again, I think he goes forward too much, he sees a lot of the ball and hesitates a lot before giving out the ball. If he learns more of one touch passing the way Jenkinson(isn’t he amazing?) does these days, then I say start Ramsey all the way.

    I really loved the fact that Giroud started and got his goal. He has very good talent. Saw it from the first day. Was nice to see Santos come in when he did. The BFG, Kos and Vermaelen at the back? I certainly would not mind a 3-5-2 or 3-4-3 or 3-6-1 with those guys at the back. Again, all substitutes were spot on.

    Said it before, Walcott is a better finisher than Gervinho….but tends to loose concentration or seems complacent when assured of a starting berth. I like Gervinho’s work rate, but he lacks the finishing Podolski possesses. So sad, the lads are doing well and we are not even seeing Arshavin. Its all mumbled up for the coach to sort out with Wilshere and Sagna and Rosicky all gearing up.

  45. Didn’t see the match but by all accounts arsenal played well.
    good win in a difficult place hope they keep it up for the fans sake because
    god knows!!!! they deserve it.

    @ GunnerBoss
    “Walcott a better finisher than Gervinho” i don’t know man, theo will score difficult goals and miss easy ones and Gervinho the same, i would swap both of them for FALCAO

    just kidding, that will never happen, BUT seriously i don’t know which of the two is a better finisher and that isn’t good at all….

  46. 3-1 away win; you have to be happy with that. Have seen the goals and the highlights – daylight savings kicked in this weekend downunder so 3am kick off here which is not my favourite time of the day! Or night. Not these days. I recorded the game but I just can’t sit there and watch a recording – its way too stressful so watched the rest of the game at x30!

    International break which is good for our injured players giving them some time to get back to fitness.

    Kel – I like your thinking about Falcao. Maybe if we all chipped in we could get his left peg at least!

  47. @kel – I did not just base my thoughts cos of one game, Walcott has been scoring for us occasionally especially on the counter. He has done so against even Barca etc. But Gervinho is untried in this position, so he is actually coping fine. Nevertheless, Walcott is faster(nothing to do with finishing) and a little bit more direct, I guess he has been under-studying Henry for longer than we know. Gervinho runs too much with his eyes on the ground(I guess this is it). Walcott came in and had more shots on goal than Gervinho did. The better finisher is supposed to be more accurate and instinctively knows where the goal is looking up just once before shooting. Gervinho occasionally cannot see who to pass the ball to on time and loves running away from goal in a counter attacking position. Not that one who dribbles better cannot be a better finisher, afterall they both are good dribblers. With the little add-ons, I still think Walcott will make the better finisher.

  48. Theo has always been a good finisher , he is faster than Gervinho – Theo’s weakness is his dribbling when he does not have the space to run into…hands down a better scorer than the brain!
    Gervinho is the complete opposite , he can score sometimes great goals but very often at a crucial moment he lacks concentration and misses easy chances. It is hard to learn and become a good finisher at age 26 or 27 . It is a skill , mindset and instinct you should have by age 20 or 21.
    What Gervinho has that Theo will never have is creativity with ball to his feet , dribbling ability . When he is “on” , he can mesmerize defenses , like he did in the CL this week! You can’t teach that ! You either have it or you don’t !

  49. First thing, Retsub my friend, the Gervinho stat about 5 shots five goals. Yes its interesting but only because its bogus. Hes sliced and skewed more shots in every direction this season its not even funny..il just remind you of the one directly in front of goal on the edge of the penalty area vs city at 1-1..horrendous technique and theres simply no comparison to Walcott who is arguably the best finisher im the squad, its getting him into the situation to score thats the issue with him, his desire.
    The game was great because we came frombehind against away vs an in form and confident side we ground them and bent them.to our way of playing and had there been ten more mins we would have scored three more.
    Delighted for Santos. Anyone who follows him on twitter will know theres not a more eager or enthusiastic gunner in that squad and I think off-field issues have hindered him a little lately but I think the guy suits the way we play down to the ground and looking forward tp seeing him get more game time now.
    Cazorla has always been a player iv admired from afar and once thank you Wenger for taking the plunge and p.s do you see the results?
    Goodstuff all round this morning.

  50. Shambo
    Thought it was too good to be true. I guess they were so bad they didn’t count as shots. Hopefully Theo will benefit from being dropped he can be very frustrating, but would hate to see him go.

    Anyway today I am a Geordie for the day. I don’t like to wish ill health on anyone, but if RvP were to get injured today it would cheer me up

    In fact if he crashed into the crowd and hit Cashley and Nasri it would make my year.

    Agree about Santos he plays with a smile on his face

  51. Retsub..no joy in the Newcastle game bro, can you believe the way teams fold vs Utd but raise their games 30% vs us?? Not even funny how poor Newcastle were in the first 20 mins.
    Was working tonight and got chattin to a guy who came into the bar about Mannone and realised weve no song for him yet…its just not right so I got to thinking…..what about ‘ Only Mannone’ to the tune of the great Roy Orbisons ‘ Only the lonely’?
    I think it could catch on…..dum dum dum doobee doooowahhahhh…….

  52. About the 1-3, a very entertaining game. 4 really well taken goals. Unfortunately for West Ham, they tried to do a ‘Stoke’ but just don’t have the physical boys to do it. Very happy for Giroud. I hope he goes on to 20+ goals this season.

    @shambo. dum dum dum doobee doooowahhahhh ……. LOL. Nice work

    How about Billy Idol’s Mony, Mony for Mannone?

    Here she comes now sayin’ Mony Mony
    Shoot ’em down, turn around, come on Mony
    Hey! She give me love and I feel all right now

    You gotta toss and turn and feel all right
    Yeah, I feel all right
    I said yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
    (Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah)

    ‘Cause you make me feel, Mony Mony
    So good, Mony Mony
    So good, Mony Mony
    So good, Mony Mony

    So fine, Mony Mony
    So fine, Mony Mony

    It’s all mine, Mony Mony
    Well I feel all right

    (Mony Mony)
    I said yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
    (Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah)

    Please credit my wife Alana for this crazy song. She loves the Arsenal!

    BTW, still laughing in Liverpool’s direction. Rogers is hopeless. And Suarez is a ###T!

  53. Shambo, Davem and Alana

    Good stuff you guys are in the wrong careers. I was going to try to do something with Jessie J’s all about Mannone but got sidetracked.

    Shambo very dissapointed in the softy Geordies. Was going to watch the game but it was over by the time I got home.

    Don’t you just hate it when you have a two week break from footy. I just can’t get excited about watching England these days

  54. Guys am very concerned about our defending, i saw the highlights of the westham game and even though we had plenty of possession (AS USUAL),
    we looked like last season on the defensive side and that’s not good, not good, not good at all.

  55. While I share ur optimism kel, I think it does serious injustice to Steve Bould. Whenever we dont play well, it will be like he has not done his job properly. Hopefully, the first three games should’ve put all that doubt to rest.

    See, this is why i keep on talking about efficiency. The experience, concentration levels and the mentality of the players usually determine a lot during a game.
    If the players are not used to a particular formation:
    1. The concentration levels will need to be higher than usual cos he has to remember where he is supposed to be at all times etc
    2. Having the right mentality definitely helps especially when one is a goal down etc. It also helps in boosting confidence.
    3. Experience helps in everything, but it does not mean that an experienced player will have good concentration levels throughout neither does this mean that an experienced player will have the right mentality for a particular game etc.

    If one or two players let the team down, it is a collective responsibility nonetheless. This is why it is very imperative the team is picked to complement and aid one another.

    I would love us to look critically at the whole team and probably point out who we feel is responsible for the lapses.
    I personally feel the midfield let us down, I think the defenders were perfect. When we get that midfield combination right, no team will give us more problems than we can give back.
    Another thing that worries me is the fact that a lot of things we should be doing while training is done in the match. The fact that Jenkinson crosses the ball better than Gibbs is a big worry etc. If we can tell Gibbs or any other person to stick to what he knows he can do best will definitely make us more formidable. A player that knows he cannot shoot accurately from 30yards should not try it twice in a match.
    Luck does not win the league, good preparation and implementation(decision) on the pitch does.

  56. I think Arsenal deserved the 3 points agains chelsea we show amazing football
    and great quality of game we are the champions this season

  57. things are very quiet on the blog so let me fire off a few questions
    1 Sagna or Jenkinson. i like the fact that Jenks is a supporter. when he kisses the badge he means it

    2 Arteta. Wilshire and Cazorla in the same side. are we lacking in inches?

    3 hope santos has a good game today. he plays with a smile on his face

    4 Giroud to score at least 2 tomorrow

  58. Emmanuel peter you may be wrong it andrew weber did the arsenal blog then he is a true arsenal supporter cause i am a arsenal and do you support arsenal? and you have to answer my qustion other wise i will tell andrew weber to delete your comment and arsenal tryed to win but chelsea are a very hard team to play against arsenal did well

  59. It’s not that I want to duplicate your website, but I really like the design and style. Could you let me know which design are you using? Or was it custom made?

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