If any game of football lived up to the old cliche 'it's a game of two halves' then this was it. We were poor in the first half and so much better in the second. I have to also add that finally we had something go our way for once, although we haven't been great of late, we also haven't had any luck both in terms of refereeing decisions and in term of the rub of the green in other departments.
We were a bit too pedestrian in the first half, we had a fair bit of ball but didn't do enough with it, it was all a tad slow and lacking urgency. We were still rather unlucky to go in 2-0 down at the break. Villa's first was a neat set piece, a short corner that saw Koscielny outnumbered and out jumped by Dunne, their second hit us hard just before half time, Bent finishing second time lucky after Fabianski's save went straight back to the Villa striker. We had a fair bit of pressure though and could easily have gone it level on another day.
The players came out for the second half with a new purpose, a new drive and a real desire to move the ball around faster, press Villa into mistakes more eagerly and to get back into the game of football. It was a better overall team performance, Ramsey and Rosicky particularly impressed with their drive and energy from midfield.
The first came from the penalty spot, Dunne chopped down Ramsey for what should have clearly been at least his second yellow, Jones choked it but did at least give us a penalty, RVP converted neatly. The second relied on a fair bit of luck, Walcott got round his man on the right flank, cut in, and poked the ball at goal from an acute angle, it hit Given, was cleared into Walcott and it rebounded straight into the net, 2-2. The next was another clear penalty, a brilliant burst from Koscielny resulted in a desperate Bent lunge, no contact on the ball and another spot kick slickly converted by RVP. 3-2 and the game turned in an amazing 7 minute spell.
Villa huffed and puffed but couldn't get back into the game, and honestly they didn't deserve to. McLeish has created quite an unlikeable team, rather defensive, poor to watch, and extremely dirty and cynical in their foul play. Importantly the team showed a lot of courage to come back from two down today, and it must be remembered that we do still have a lot of players out injured. Those who started throwing around vitriolic abuse at our players and manager today have been made to look like the class numpties they are, how very priceless.
It is definitely a day for focusing on the positive, how could one not after such a second half resurrection? We all know that our squad is not right in several ways, realistically this can only be addressed in the summer though. Most importantly we have some key players returning to full fitness, Sagna and Arteta being two examples coming back today, and that is great to see. A bit more of this luck, a few more deserved penalties, some more fit first team players and you never know what might happen come May.
Sunday, 29 January 2012
Sunday, 22 January 2012
The Ox goes off, Arshavin comes on and the rest is history
This game was so utterly predictable. The unpredictable part of it was that young Oxlade-Chamberlain started and was arguably our best player, also that Nico Yennaris came on at half time for the hapless Djourou, this also swung the game in our direction. These two good managerial decisions were then more than negated when the Ox was take off and replaced by our lazy fat Russian.
Manu deserved the win. They exploited our weakness at right back as the 1st half wore on, this told just before the end of the half through Valencia's goal. We came out aggressively in the 2nd half, the Ox was the spark, the momentum shifted, and eventually a goal, a precious equaliser came, the Ox feeding RVP who finished supremely.
The momentum was with us, 1-1 with twenty to go. Theo had been poor, again, ineffective and unproductive as he has been so regularly of late, one really has to wonder why he deserves any kind of new contract given his recent attitude and output. Bizarrely and stupidly Arsene then took our best player off, in fact a double substitution was about to happen just before the equaliser. It was terrible enough to take the Ox off, but to see the lazy fat Russian Arshavin come on in his place was just gruesome, a truly awful decision from Arsene. Tellingly RVP did not look happy with it.
The crowd were fuming and quite rightly, why was Walcott not taken off instead? and why take our biggest threat off the field? Our forward momentum was then sapped, then to emphasise the woeful nature of the decision Manu scored a second and Arshavin's slack defending was again at the heart of it. This was no great Manu side either, it was as poor a defensive back five as I have seen representing their club against us.
Our squad is too weak, we need defensive reinforcements so so badly, not only this but Arsene is making some terrible tactical decisions which are killing our season, quite literally. Arsene's decision to withdraw our pace at Fulham was also a poor one, Gervinho and Walcott went off in the 2nd half, our attacking pace was gone, we sunk deeper and the pressure ended up telling.
Arshavin is one of many players who are not good enough for our football club, I want to see his sort cleared out, I have had enough of lazy players like him who clearly do not care anymore. Make no mistake, things are pretty bad, we have lost 8 league games already this season, over a third of our fixtures. Those in power at Arsenal Football Club need to take responsibility for this mess and they need to go about sorting out our squad.
The worst thing in all this is that it has been obvious to any honest Arsenal fan that we have drifted off the pace set by the likes of Manu in the last few years, we are no longer at the races, we have been outplayed too often and this never used to happen when we genuinely competed for the title. I am in pain, there is no longer any room for excuses.
Manu deserved the win. They exploited our weakness at right back as the 1st half wore on, this told just before the end of the half through Valencia's goal. We came out aggressively in the 2nd half, the Ox was the spark, the momentum shifted, and eventually a goal, a precious equaliser came, the Ox feeding RVP who finished supremely.
The momentum was with us, 1-1 with twenty to go. Theo had been poor, again, ineffective and unproductive as he has been so regularly of late, one really has to wonder why he deserves any kind of new contract given his recent attitude and output. Bizarrely and stupidly Arsene then took our best player off, in fact a double substitution was about to happen just before the equaliser. It was terrible enough to take the Ox off, but to see the lazy fat Russian Arshavin come on in his place was just gruesome, a truly awful decision from Arsene. Tellingly RVP did not look happy with it.
The crowd were fuming and quite rightly, why was Walcott not taken off instead? and why take our biggest threat off the field? Our forward momentum was then sapped, then to emphasise the woeful nature of the decision Manu scored a second and Arshavin's slack defending was again at the heart of it. This was no great Manu side either, it was as poor a defensive back five as I have seen representing their club against us.
Our squad is too weak, we need defensive reinforcements so so badly, not only this but Arsene is making some terrible tactical decisions which are killing our season, quite literally. Arsene's decision to withdraw our pace at Fulham was also a poor one, Gervinho and Walcott went off in the 2nd half, our attacking pace was gone, we sunk deeper and the pressure ended up telling.
Arshavin is one of many players who are not good enough for our football club, I want to see his sort cleared out, I have had enough of lazy players like him who clearly do not care anymore. Make no mistake, things are pretty bad, we have lost 8 league games already this season, over a third of our fixtures. Those in power at Arsenal Football Club need to take responsibility for this mess and they need to go about sorting out our squad.
The worst thing in all this is that it has been obvious to any honest Arsenal fan that we have drifted off the pace set by the likes of Manu in the last few years, we are no longer at the races, we have been outplayed too often and this never used to happen when we genuinely competed for the title. I am in pain, there is no longer any room for excuses.
Saturday, 21 January 2012
Dean reduces chances even further and other news
I was not optimistic going into Sunday's game, we have massive injury problems, our squad is down to the barest of bones, our form is poor and consequently confidence is low, and then I heard that the hapless and compliant Mike Dean is to referee the game, I no longer have much room for optimism. This ACLF article talking about shoddy Mirror journalism and low quality refereeing is well worth a read.
Our defense has been absolutely decimated by an unfortunate series of injuries; Sagna, Jenkinson, Vermaelen, Santos, Coquelin and Gibbs are all still out for Sunday, meaning that we don't have many options, it is likely that Djourou and Miguel will continue in the full back slots. These novice full backs need help from the midfield and forwards, the likes of Arshavin and Walcott need to pull their overpaid fingers out, work harder and do their fair share of the defensive work, and not just leave our full backs to fend for themselves.
The other big blow is that Arteta remains out, he has been a lynchpin in our midfield so far this season, he has played with real discipline and tenacity, so when he is not there we have missed him. We also lack any quality combative backup in the squad with Frimpong out on loan and Coquelin injured. I am not sure how wise it was to send Emmanuel Frimpong on loan, we could have done with him against Fulham, Swansea and Manu. LeGrove have a point about players like Lansbury, a midfield fighter who would add so much more than a Benayoun or Rosicky.
Manu are still a strong side but very suspect defensively, I just doubt our ability to take them apart as we could have done if we had a fit first eleven. With Vidic out and no decent goalkeeper, as well as their lack of a proper quality right back, they are vulnerable at the back. Again I doubt it will happen, but I would prefer to see the Ox start, Arshavin has been woeful all season and his work rate has been poor. It's a big game for Walcott to prove his doubters wrong, his recent form has been poor and he needs to do something on Sunday.
On the topic of the transfer window, I do not think that is easy to go out and restructure our squad in January, however to claim that our squad is good enough and has the right balance is simply daft as well, I don't think either extreme of argument makes sense. As I talked about earlier in the week, we have too many underperforming players in the squad, this needs to be dealt with but it will be hard to do much in January. The likes of Fabianski, Squillaci, Rosicky, Arshavin, Chamakh, Denilson, Bendtner et al need to be cleared out as soon as we can.
Mike Dean is useless and he is refereeing tomorrow, it is virtually guaranteed that we will not get a penalty, we will get booked for minor fouls and he will do his best to wreck the game with his unique brand of refereeing incompetence. Dean has already missed clear penalties for us against Fulham, a game in which he failed to send off Senderos for a blatant second yellow card when he took out Gervinho when clean through on goal, Dean also missed Van der Vaart's blatant handball which helped him scored Tottenham's opening goal.
Something I have frequently talked about is the PGMO, the body that runs refereeing, and the completely hidden process by which refs are selected for PL games, it is blatantly open to corruption. This excellent piece from UntoldArsenal makes a point that I have frequently made, some very strange decisions seem to be being made by the PGMO and there appears to be a clear bias in the way in which officials are selected. The mainstream media have completely failed to get to grips with this issue, there are too many lazy journalists who are happy to reproduce the same old tired cliches without bothering to do any proper thinking or investigative work. Anyway come on you Gunners!
Our defense has been absolutely decimated by an unfortunate series of injuries; Sagna, Jenkinson, Vermaelen, Santos, Coquelin and Gibbs are all still out for Sunday, meaning that we don't have many options, it is likely that Djourou and Miguel will continue in the full back slots. These novice full backs need help from the midfield and forwards, the likes of Arshavin and Walcott need to pull their overpaid fingers out, work harder and do their fair share of the defensive work, and not just leave our full backs to fend for themselves.
The other big blow is that Arteta remains out, he has been a lynchpin in our midfield so far this season, he has played with real discipline and tenacity, so when he is not there we have missed him. We also lack any quality combative backup in the squad with Frimpong out on loan and Coquelin injured. I am not sure how wise it was to send Emmanuel Frimpong on loan, we could have done with him against Fulham, Swansea and Manu. LeGrove have a point about players like Lansbury, a midfield fighter who would add so much more than a Benayoun or Rosicky.
Manu are still a strong side but very suspect defensively, I just doubt our ability to take them apart as we could have done if we had a fit first eleven. With Vidic out and no decent goalkeeper, as well as their lack of a proper quality right back, they are vulnerable at the back. Again I doubt it will happen, but I would prefer to see the Ox start, Arshavin has been woeful all season and his work rate has been poor. It's a big game for Walcott to prove his doubters wrong, his recent form has been poor and he needs to do something on Sunday.
On the topic of the transfer window, I do not think that is easy to go out and restructure our squad in January, however to claim that our squad is good enough and has the right balance is simply daft as well, I don't think either extreme of argument makes sense. As I talked about earlier in the week, we have too many underperforming players in the squad, this needs to be dealt with but it will be hard to do much in January. The likes of Fabianski, Squillaci, Rosicky, Arshavin, Chamakh, Denilson, Bendtner et al need to be cleared out as soon as we can.
Mike Dean is useless and he is refereeing tomorrow, it is virtually guaranteed that we will not get a penalty, we will get booked for minor fouls and he will do his best to wreck the game with his unique brand of refereeing incompetence. Dean has already missed clear penalties for us against Fulham, a game in which he failed to send off Senderos for a blatant second yellow card when he took out Gervinho when clean through on goal, Dean also missed Van der Vaart's blatant handball which helped him scored Tottenham's opening goal.
Something I have frequently talked about is the PGMO, the body that runs refereeing, and the completely hidden process by which refs are selected for PL games, it is blatantly open to corruption. This excellent piece from UntoldArsenal makes a point that I have frequently made, some very strange decisions seem to be being made by the PGMO and there appears to be a clear bias in the way in which officials are selected. The mainstream media have completely failed to get to grips with this issue, there are too many lazy journalists who are happy to reproduce the same old tired cliches without bothering to do any proper thinking or investigative work. Anyway come on you Gunners!
Thursday, 19 January 2012
Two step forwards, one step back
We started the season appallingly, no doubt a big reason for this was the late transfer deals which meant that it took us a fair few weeks to get into gear, and those in the know seem to agree that the board were far more to blame for this than our manager. We recovered well with an excellent run of results in the league, but the last few weeks have seen this form slip, evidenced by the recent collapses against Swansea and Fulham.
There are many reasons for this recent collapse and many different people have many different opinions. Certainly it would be foolish to deny that injuries, poor refereeing and bad luck have had a part. In my opinion though, our squad has been on the decline for several years now and this has culminated in our poor start and recent run, the last minute activity in the transfer window was a sticky plaster, admittedly it was a start, but major surgery is still needed on our squad, and it will take time and patience for this to be carried out and an effective solution reached.
We have amassed a lot of mediocre dross in our squad. It is easy to list a lot of highly paid players who have never delivered for the club for a variety of reasons, some of the players have just been unlucky with injuries, others have just been bad buys because they are not of Arsenal class, but overall I feel that several years of shoddy cheap signings have had a massive negative effect on our squad and consequently results, it will take months and years to put this right, it cannot be done overnight, no matter who is in charge of the club.
Almunia is not good enough, Fabianski is not Arsenal class, Gibbs cannot stay fit for more than 2 weeks, Squillaci is a poor player, Djourou is no more than a squad player at best, Diaby is persistently injured, Denilson is not Arsenal class, Rosicky has never delivered, Arshavin has been average for many months, Chamakh has no confidence and is not up to it, Vela is not the right sort, Bendtner is not good enough, why has Park not played? Probably because he's not up to it as well. Think how much money is going on these under performing players' wages.
We have way over ten players who are not delivering anything like what is needed, no wonder our squad has been found wanting when a few injuries bite and the fixtures come thick and fast. The signings of Per, Mikel, Santos and Bennayoun were needed, but the amount of work needed to be done on our failing squad is huge. We are desperately short in certain areas, we lack fight and bite in midfield especially, we lack forwards and full backs, there is little time left to remedy these issues with the transfer window shortly, it is also very hard to get the top quality players in mid season.
If anyone is to blame for this then it is the board from what I've heard. Arsene has not been backed as he should have been and there has not been the driving force pushing things through from boardroom level, as was the case when Dein was at the club. I still think Arsene is the man to restructure the squad, the problem is that I have significant doubts as to whether he will get the support from the board that he so badly needs to do this tough job. The mediocrity needs to be ditched, we need to show ambition, and if we can reinvest these wasted wages in some top quality talent, we may just be able to become a major force again, then we can convince the likes of RVP and Song to stay. If things don't change then I honestly could not blame RVP for wanting out and it pains me to admit that, it really does.
There are many reasons for this recent collapse and many different people have many different opinions. Certainly it would be foolish to deny that injuries, poor refereeing and bad luck have had a part. In my opinion though, our squad has been on the decline for several years now and this has culminated in our poor start and recent run, the last minute activity in the transfer window was a sticky plaster, admittedly it was a start, but major surgery is still needed on our squad, and it will take time and patience for this to be carried out and an effective solution reached.
We have amassed a lot of mediocre dross in our squad. It is easy to list a lot of highly paid players who have never delivered for the club for a variety of reasons, some of the players have just been unlucky with injuries, others have just been bad buys because they are not of Arsenal class, but overall I feel that several years of shoddy cheap signings have had a massive negative effect on our squad and consequently results, it will take months and years to put this right, it cannot be done overnight, no matter who is in charge of the club.
Almunia is not good enough, Fabianski is not Arsenal class, Gibbs cannot stay fit for more than 2 weeks, Squillaci is a poor player, Djourou is no more than a squad player at best, Diaby is persistently injured, Denilson is not Arsenal class, Rosicky has never delivered, Arshavin has been average for many months, Chamakh has no confidence and is not up to it, Vela is not the right sort, Bendtner is not good enough, why has Park not played? Probably because he's not up to it as well. Think how much money is going on these under performing players' wages.
We have way over ten players who are not delivering anything like what is needed, no wonder our squad has been found wanting when a few injuries bite and the fixtures come thick and fast. The signings of Per, Mikel, Santos and Bennayoun were needed, but the amount of work needed to be done on our failing squad is huge. We are desperately short in certain areas, we lack fight and bite in midfield especially, we lack forwards and full backs, there is little time left to remedy these issues with the transfer window shortly, it is also very hard to get the top quality players in mid season.
If anyone is to blame for this then it is the board from what I've heard. Arsene has not been backed as he should have been and there has not been the driving force pushing things through from boardroom level, as was the case when Dein was at the club. I still think Arsene is the man to restructure the squad, the problem is that I have significant doubts as to whether he will get the support from the board that he so badly needs to do this tough job. The mediocrity needs to be ditched, we need to show ambition, and if we can reinvest these wasted wages in some top quality talent, we may just be able to become a major force again, then we can convince the likes of RVP and Song to stay. If things don't change then I honestly could not blame RVP for wanting out and it pains me to admit that, it really does.
Sunday, 15 January 2012
Flaws exposed by plucky Swansea
Firstly I have no time for anyone who is so fickle as to suddenly turn on our manager after a short series of poor results, get a grip on reality and try to be objective, I know it's hard sometimes but engage your brain before letting loose with any bitter resentful bile. Secondly well played Swansea, they played some excellent football and their style deserves praise. Anyway onto the match.
A lot of nonsense will be spouted about how terrible we were today and how Swansea deserved the win, this is just easy and lazy in my opinion. It was a great game of football that hinged on a few key moments, some of the problems were of our own making, some not. I am sure Per was far from fully fit today, but our defensive line up has been decimated by a rather unfortunate run of injuries, and this cannot be ignored when looking at today's result, again we played without proper full backs.
We started well and got the early goal, RVP with a great finish when slotted clean through, the angle wasn't easy too. A key moment soon after when Dyer conned the ref in the box, he stamped on Ramsey, dived down and cheated. The useless Oliver had a great view and got it completely wrong, given the great penalty shouts we have been denied in recent weeks it is particularly galling to see such a pathetic decision go against us, at such a key time too, it really changed the game, Swansea were up against it til then, the momentum was given to them by this refereeing error. We need video technology badly.
Swansea had a lot of the ball but didn't create much clear cut for the rest of the half, in fact the better chances fell our way, RVP had a great opportunity with another one on one, Ramsey had a shot cleared off the line. The warning signs were there though in the midfield, there wasn't enough defending going on, Benayoun and Ramsey didn't provide much beef, the full backs looked very exposed at times and this was to tell in the end.
There were too many poor performances today, the midfielders were gradually overwhelmed as the game wore on, the wisdom of sending Frimpong on load has to be questioned. The fact Henry adds a lot from the bench says a lot for the sorry state of our forward department in terms of depth and quality. Arshavin was poor today, Theo was poor as well, we really lack quality in the squad, Oxlade-Chamberlain must start to get some games ahead of the anonymous Russian. Having a midfield three with Benayoun and Ramsey within, combined with a front three who don't do much defending is ridiculous in my opinion, the defense didn't get enough help from elsewhere and the pressure told in the end.
Dyer had far too much space before he blasted home Swansea's second. It was gutting that we managed a good equaliser when Theo finished neatly having been played clean through, only then to see Graham given acres of room as he beat Szczesny from a tricky angle, the young Pole will not be happy with letting that one in. Graham then had another great chance to make the game safe for Swansea.
Still we continued to create some cracking chances and really should have taken at least a draw out of the game. Mertesacker blasted wide from six yards with the goal at his mercy, Rosicky blasted over on the volley, Koscielny blasted a good volley straight at the keeper after a good initial same, there were some other decent half chances. Very very frustrating, it was just a great shame that Henry didn't get an opportunity to show his class.
There are too many issues to go into now without writing a long book, but in summary we are short in several areas of our squad now, especially in forward and defensive areas. I am no fan of the way we play the 4-3-3 formation, we frequently lack defensive grit and the more offensive players regularly fail to do enough in helping us defend as a team, some of our forward players' form has simply not been good enough of late. I would like to see a return to a more robust 4-4-1-1 or 4-4-2 formation now.
The referee was useless, the penalty was an error and he made numerous other more obvious ones, some of his free kicks were just plain ludicrous, one decision at the death not to give a free kick on the edge of the Swansea box for a head high boot was simply inexplicable.
It was a funny old mixture today, we created several of our own problems, we didn't defend well enough and we missed too many good chances at the other end, Swansea played some great football and took their chances, we lost. It was not quite as terrible as some would have you believe though, we created more chances, had more shots on and off target than Swansea, despite out defensive failings with some better finishing we could easily have taken something from this game.
Finally to all the idiots who are now slagging off the manager, players and club left, right and centre, get a grip you absolute braindead morons. Criticism on certain issues is fine but the stupid knee jerk abuse that some indulge in is just beneath contempt, it really is. Hopefully today can be used to fire us into some action in the market, we need depth and quality in certain areas, we are but a couple of injuries away from a massive crisis.
A lot of nonsense will be spouted about how terrible we were today and how Swansea deserved the win, this is just easy and lazy in my opinion. It was a great game of football that hinged on a few key moments, some of the problems were of our own making, some not. I am sure Per was far from fully fit today, but our defensive line up has been decimated by a rather unfortunate run of injuries, and this cannot be ignored when looking at today's result, again we played without proper full backs.
We started well and got the early goal, RVP with a great finish when slotted clean through, the angle wasn't easy too. A key moment soon after when Dyer conned the ref in the box, he stamped on Ramsey, dived down and cheated. The useless Oliver had a great view and got it completely wrong, given the great penalty shouts we have been denied in recent weeks it is particularly galling to see such a pathetic decision go against us, at such a key time too, it really changed the game, Swansea were up against it til then, the momentum was given to them by this refereeing error. We need video technology badly.
Swansea had a lot of the ball but didn't create much clear cut for the rest of the half, in fact the better chances fell our way, RVP had a great opportunity with another one on one, Ramsey had a shot cleared off the line. The warning signs were there though in the midfield, there wasn't enough defending going on, Benayoun and Ramsey didn't provide much beef, the full backs looked very exposed at times and this was to tell in the end.
There were too many poor performances today, the midfielders were gradually overwhelmed as the game wore on, the wisdom of sending Frimpong on load has to be questioned. The fact Henry adds a lot from the bench says a lot for the sorry state of our forward department in terms of depth and quality. Arshavin was poor today, Theo was poor as well, we really lack quality in the squad, Oxlade-Chamberlain must start to get some games ahead of the anonymous Russian. Having a midfield three with Benayoun and Ramsey within, combined with a front three who don't do much defending is ridiculous in my opinion, the defense didn't get enough help from elsewhere and the pressure told in the end.
Dyer had far too much space before he blasted home Swansea's second. It was gutting that we managed a good equaliser when Theo finished neatly having been played clean through, only then to see Graham given acres of room as he beat Szczesny from a tricky angle, the young Pole will not be happy with letting that one in. Graham then had another great chance to make the game safe for Swansea.
Still we continued to create some cracking chances and really should have taken at least a draw out of the game. Mertesacker blasted wide from six yards with the goal at his mercy, Rosicky blasted over on the volley, Koscielny blasted a good volley straight at the keeper after a good initial same, there were some other decent half chances. Very very frustrating, it was just a great shame that Henry didn't get an opportunity to show his class.
There are too many issues to go into now without writing a long book, but in summary we are short in several areas of our squad now, especially in forward and defensive areas. I am no fan of the way we play the 4-3-3 formation, we frequently lack defensive grit and the more offensive players regularly fail to do enough in helping us defend as a team, some of our forward players' form has simply not been good enough of late. I would like to see a return to a more robust 4-4-1-1 or 4-4-2 formation now.
The referee was useless, the penalty was an error and he made numerous other more obvious ones, some of his free kicks were just plain ludicrous, one decision at the death not to give a free kick on the edge of the Swansea box for a head high boot was simply inexplicable.
It was a funny old mixture today, we created several of our own problems, we didn't defend well enough and we missed too many good chances at the other end, Swansea played some great football and took their chances, we lost. It was not quite as terrible as some would have you believe though, we created more chances, had more shots on and off target than Swansea, despite out defensive failings with some better finishing we could easily have taken something from this game.
Finally to all the idiots who are now slagging off the manager, players and club left, right and centre, get a grip you absolute braindead morons. Criticism on certain issues is fine but the stupid knee jerk abuse that some indulge in is just beneath contempt, it really is. Hopefully today can be used to fire us into some action in the market, we need depth and quality in certain areas, we are but a couple of injuries away from a massive crisis.
My line up versus Swansea
I have to assume that Per passes his late fitness test as I cannot consider the alternative, to be honest even if Per is still unwell, he is still probably a far better option for us than a fully fit Squillaci. There are rumours that Arteta is not fit, I hope these are not true.
Szczesny
Djourou; Per, Kos; Miguel
Song, Arteta, Ramsey
Walcott, RVP, Ox
Obviously if Per fails his test, it may be wise to play Djourou centrally with Yennaris at right back. While if Arteta is not fit then it is another game in which we all think, why did we let Frimpong go on loan? Still Frimpers isn't an option, so we may well see Yossi Bennayoun starting. I'd keep Thierry on the bench as a useful option to bring on if needs be.
If Arteta isn't fit then it will be absolutely key that Song plays deeper with discipline and doesn't charge forwards with reckless abandon. Against Fulham we didn't defend well enough as a team, we also lost attacking outlets as the game wore on, it is key to remember that we need to keep pace on up front otherwise we will sink deeper and deeper, thus bringing more pressure on ourselves. I expect Arshavin will start ahead of the Ox and hopefully he will do ok, I just think the Ox is much more of a pacey threat than the Russian.
It looks like being a good game of football today and in my opinion the key will be that we defend well as a unit, obviously injuries have decimated our defensive line up, but it will be key that the midfield and wide forwards do their defensive share. It will be important that we keep a close eye on Scott Sinclair who is a quick incisive forward and a key reason for Swansea's success so far this season. Come on you Gunners!
Saturday, 14 January 2012
Injuries and Premier League conflicts
So there is at last some good news on the injury front, Carl Jenkinson has had positive scan results and is back in training, TV5 is not far off and may be back for Manu. Per looks unlikely to beat his flu in time for Swansea, while Johan Djourou is back from suspension. It still means that our back four this sunday will be rather ropey and may contain Squillaci, not good. Swansea away is going to be tough.
Arsene has had some interesting words to say on the Premier League fixtures and the way in which he feels certain clubs can influence them, it wouldn't be the first time this has been said. It is easy for certain lazy journalists to just ignore the point made and write his comments off as mad 'conspiracy' theories. One should always remember that pointing out that a system may not be fair is not the same as madness.
A conspiracy doesn't have to be several bearded men meeting at the cover of dark in a small smokey room, if a system is open to being influenced by certain vested interests then this may be a conspiracy of sorts, and it is just weak to write off a fair complaint as a mad 'conspiracy theory'. I don't know what truth there are to Arsene's allegations, but what I do know is that a lot of people will write them off without even bothering to research them.
Generally whether it relates to the FA, the PGMO, the PL, I am continually amazed at the rank laziness and the complete lack of any proper journalistic investigation in the sports press of this country. A lot of journalists are either too slack or too scared to bite the hands that feed them, consequently we see the media accept glossy PL booklets as gospel and just write off claims without even bothering to research them. Whatever you do, don't believe everything you read in the media.
Arsene has had some interesting words to say on the Premier League fixtures and the way in which he feels certain clubs can influence them, it wouldn't be the first time this has been said. It is easy for certain lazy journalists to just ignore the point made and write his comments off as mad 'conspiracy' theories. One should always remember that pointing out that a system may not be fair is not the same as madness.
A conspiracy doesn't have to be several bearded men meeting at the cover of dark in a small smokey room, if a system is open to being influenced by certain vested interests then this may be a conspiracy of sorts, and it is just weak to write off a fair complaint as a mad 'conspiracy theory'. I don't know what truth there are to Arsene's allegations, but what I do know is that a lot of people will write them off without even bothering to research them.
Generally whether it relates to the FA, the PGMO, the PL, I am continually amazed at the rank laziness and the complete lack of any proper journalistic investigation in the sports press of this country. A lot of journalists are either too slack or too scared to bite the hands that feed them, consequently we see the media accept glossy PL booklets as gospel and just write off claims without even bothering to research them. Whatever you do, don't believe everything you read in the media.
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