The times they are a changing !

All the Wolves talking to the press before the match about getting something out of the arsenal game definitely went out of the window in the first half. Wolves were too restrained and were often caught between offense and defense.

The times it seems are definitely changing. Arsenal have definitely found a very credible answer to the ‘parking the bus’ mentality. But this and other reasons contribute to Arsenals amazing run this season.

Firstly, the defending especially in the first half especially in the starting few minutes of the match has been exceptional. I think very often Arsenal have had problems coming from behind. A lot in the arsenal game depends about the momentum of play. Being a goal down is not a thing we see as regularly nowadays., which is a good thing. The Bad thing though is that when the job is done Arsenal fail to make to make the defense strong during the closing minutes. With the amount of running that the midfield is doing, esp. Song, there are usual mistakes like the Wolves goal that was let in late. Song actually did not move which actually hindered Vermaelen from marking his man Craddock who eventually had a free header in. The solution has to be found from within. And I think concentrating hard for 90 minutes to defend is not only the job of the defence but of the whole team, and this is where Arsenal have lacked.

That said, the finishing this season has been fantastic. With the midfielders having more opportunities of shots on goal from within the box, it is no surprise looking at the scorelines. Many a time it has been this finishing that has helped us kickstart a game. Case in point the game against Spurs. The likes of Van Persie, Fabregas, Arshavin have really done a fine job converting the chances that fall to them. Compared to last season it seems like we are creating twice as many chances and converting twice as many as last year. Adebayor is one player we are definitely happy to have left, he used to do the bulk of the squandering of chances. If we see the game play especially of Arshavin, we can understand this new Arsenal mentality. He has very less of the ball as compared to the end of last season, when he was just given the ball to ‘do his thing’. Now he goes through long spells with just a few touches. His dribbling has reduced but his touches have put Arsenal in much better positions. ( 2 assists against AZ Alkmaar) His goalscoring also has been like a bolt from the blue. Like the Wolves goal which nobody expected to go in , or the one against Man Utd, a game in which he hardly any contribution otherwise. But that says how Arsenal has developed, knowing the importance of putting the ball in the back of the net. The Man Utd game for example, even though we dominated, the goal wasn’t exactly as result of the domination.

The contribution of certain players has been immense of how Arsenal shape up. Van Persie – Arshavin in attack, Song – Fabregas in midfield and the back 4 Sagna-Gallas-Verm-Clichy have been really great. The spine of the team has been intact and this has shown in the movement and the understanding. The wolves match didn’t have Clichy, and you could immediately see lesser breakthroughs from the left. The default ball was played to Sagna on the right. Also, when Song wasn’t there for the starting 23 minutes, there was a certain uncertainty in the way our midfield was functioning. Diaby, I must say, has lost a tremendous opportunity to stake his claim for a permanent midfield role after the injury. If the time before the injury was anything to go by, he definitely cannot be relied on to take Song’s place when he is not available(African Cup) .

These factors combined have created a fear in the opposition even before they sort their own team out. Self-goals and defensive lapses from the opposition speaks volume of the stature of the team. This is a common feature against the big sides across Europe and around the world. The fear in the opposition itself forces them to make mistakes, but most of the time you still have to put the ball in the back of the net. A feat that Arsenal have done many times. The long injury list Arsenal maintain and yet the bench seems stonger than ever. But we still need to have a proper person to Deputise for quite a few players I mentioned in the Arsenal Spine. Song for now, seems to be doing it all alone at the moment.

The times are changing for the better and hopefully will remain so.

Sorry for the delayed post. But have had computer issues as well as time issues. I will be writing posts a little less frequently for some time and will be hoping to add a little more quality into them. Your comments as always are welcome.

Alan@India

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A Great Start For Arsenal

The new season has brought some renewed vigour to this Arsenal. Back-to-Back victories away from home has done a great good to Arsenal and has reaffirmed that the young Arsenal will be the team to beat.

The Everton thrashing was a very one-sided affair. It wouldnt be fair to judge Arsenal or Everton for that matter from that performance. It is too early in the season for that. More than the Arsenal goals, were visible the lapses in the Everton defence. I think it was a very good time to face them. I think we could very well see what wonders Arsenal can do to the scoreline if they take their chances.

The very unusual 4-3-3 seemed to be working well. The defence and the midfield were very keen to keep possession. Notably, Vermaelen and Song tried their best to break down attacks as soon as possible. Even the Van Persie, Bendtner and Arshavin gave the Everton defenders a hard time when Everton had possession. I think that was the important point of the match. Everton were never made to feel comfortable with the possession and Arsenal seemed to try more harder every time to get the ball back.

Another notable move was the sharing of the attacking burden. I had thought we would continue to depend on Fabregas and Arshavin for the spark. But surprise performers Denilson and Bendtner were more than ready to share the burden. There seemed to be a sharing of responsibility as I could see throughout the pitch. That we had goals scored from outside the box was also great to watch. The midfielders will definitely be called on for some more shots on target with this formation.

But I still think there is some work left to be done in defence. Vermaelen and Gallas combined well. But many a times there was a wide gap between them. Everton did not exploit this, but other teams might. The defence was very much hurried and focussed on getting the ball as quickly as possible. This sometimes caused blaring gaps that went unnoticed and Everton exploited one such opportunity through Saha’s goal. I still think this is only an issue of understanding and I definitely saw improvement in the Celtic game.

The Celtic game was a much tougher test for the Arsenal. Celtic looked like they had definitely done their homework. The starting few minutes they focussed on keeping the ball away from Arsenal. But during this time I could see a structure in the Arsenal defence. That Arsenal were able to keep the composure was key to the final outcome of the match.

There was much more hardwork involved here. Celtic definitely wanted to bully the Arsenal midfield in submission, but were unable to do so. There a lot of tackles that went unnoticed especially a few on Fabregas. Even through all this the referee did have a fine game.

Song played brilliantly and his ability to backup as a center back was very useful. He covered up for Vermaelen and Gallas when they bombed forward and also provided an added cover when Clichy was under pressure. Vermalen also had a fine game. His pace and reading of the game was great. He seems to be a natural defender and does not makes mistakes. Infact I think he complements Gallas very well. Another surprise was his passing which is very good for a Center Back.

The two goals were a tad lucky but Arsenal deserved a win for their overall performance. Celtic just did not have enough shots on target. Fabregas was masterful, his shot hit Gallas then went goal ward. He was also very brave and stood every time he was hit down. Celtic seemed to give a lot of challenges from behind and Fabregas bore the brunt. The second goal was just persistence paying off. Good work by Diaby and a fine low cross by Clichy forced the Celtic Captain Caldwell to drive the ball into his own net.

Arsenal had to concentrate very hard especially toward the end of the game, when the legs had tired. Celtic did not really pose a challenge and Fabregas and his men came away with well deserved clean sheet.

The new 4-3-3 formation has worked well. But I think RvP needs to improve. He was good at linking up play. But did not take his chances in front of goal and needs to provide a sterner challenge for the opposition defence when going one-on-one.

Arshavin has been releived of much of the creative duties, but has shown that he can have a shot on target when given a chance. His defence has improved and he seems to be forming a great partnership with Clichy.

It will be important how Arsene rotates his side. Song and Denilson I think will be the ones getting the least rest. Diaby in place of either doesnt really fit in.

ciao for now…

peace

Alan@India

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Rosicky return good for the Arsenal defence

Rosicky

God , I am glad he is back. The Little Mozart’s return will be vital to Arsenal this season. His return means we have one more player to fall back to. He is a proven starting XI player and I wont be too surprised if he is started by Wenger immediately. He is a player who can hold the ball and make the correct passes most of the time.

I think one of the main problems with team Arsenal last season was holding the ball.

Many games we had two players out of Denilson-Song-Diaby on the same pitch. This truly cut out the creative push and put greater pressure on the defence. Not one of these players are great creatively and their skill at holding the ball is a big question mark. But it is still unfair to compare this with the performances of Flamini the season before. Flamini had in his team a fit Fabregas, a fit Rosicky and a marvellous Hleb. This trio kept the ball well, passed between themselves well and were able to keep the pressure off the defenders. With the midfielders able to keep the ball, this even helped the full backs to push forward with confidence. But this all changed last season with the departure of Flamini, injury of Rosicky and most importantly the exit of Alex Hleb.

The first half of the season, the only creative linchpin was Fabregas and this put a lot of pressure on the defence. The midfield lost the ball too often. The CDM postion was exposed more usually than ever. The full-backs were forced to curtail their runs.

But with Arshavin, I think we found the replacement to the void left by Hleb. And with Rosicky’s return the midfield jigsaw should be complete.

Rosicky is adept at holding the ball, making the short passes accurately, finding space and did I mention holding the ball. That he can play well in center of midfield is an added bonus. Our over dependence on Fabregas has worried me a lot. Last season Nasri toiled hard to play in central midfield but he just didnt have the understanding of the team to excel in the way he can. Nor were Diaby/Denilson an option. Ramsey, also was too raw to able to take up that position. Rosicky can be the person to share the center of midfield burden with Fabregas. And I am sure there is a lot Ramsey and Nasri can learn from him. I also expect our full backs Sagna and Clichy to make more forward runs with him in the team. The CDM role surely should be a fairly lighter role and I for one am of the opinion that no reinforcements are needed in that aspect.

But I have the feeling that Wenger missed an opportunity for Glory this season by selling Adebayor. Surely with a good passing team we would require a person who can regulary tap in goals. Adebayor was that man a season prior to last year. Who will that man be now for Arsenal? I surely agree with Fergusons view, that none of the Adebayor may be spent to sign players. Well sure hope someone from within steps up…

peace…

Alan@India

Gunner4life

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