The Gunners produced yet another lacklustre performance on Saturday, allowing Sunderland to dump them out of the only competition they had any hopes of winning. Following the debacle in Milan, several Arsenal players declared their desire to repay those beleaguered travelling supporters who had made the trip to Italy, with a positive reaction against Sunderland in the FA Cup. If this was the reaction they had in mind, they may as well never pull on an Arsenal shirt ever again. Their attacking play was painfully slow and ponderous, there was no fight or commitment as they allowed Sunderland to bully them off the ball and the defending was atrocious.
Wenger made five changes to the team he openly admitted had produced the worst Arsenal performance in Europe under his stewardship. However nothing seemed to change, it was still the same old Arsenal playing the same old way, nonchalantly passing the ball along the backline and to the goalkeeper, having the lion’s share of possession but ultimately going nowhere and doing nothing with it. Arsenal just have too many similar players for any changes to have a real effect on the team’s performance. For example on Saturday Walcott, who possesses great pace but whose final ball is terrible, was replaced in the starting line up by Gervinho, who also possesses great pace but whose final ball is just as terrible. The manager’s stubborn belief in his 4-3-3 formation only results in Van Persie becoming an isolated and frustrated figure up front as the two wide players generally struggle to support him, as Arsenal take far too long to move the ball forward.
There are serious issues throughout the team, for example the weakness in the Gunners’ defensive department was further exposed by the injury to Coquelin which led to the introduction of the useless Squillaci, who suffered an injury himself in the second half. With Squillaci and Djourou at the heart of the Arsenal defence it was difficult at times to believe you were watching a football match and not a circus act. As Sunderland hunted the ball in packs and applied great pressure on any Arsenal player with possession, Djourou dithered on the ball allowing his clearance to be closed down by Craig Gardner who was subsequently brought down by the Swiss international. The resultant free kick taken by Sebastian Larsson could only be cleared to the edge of the box where Kieran Richardson was waiting to pounce. Sagna’s half-hearted attempt to close the ball down was not good enough and Richardson’s well taken effort hit the back of the net, following a slight deflection off Squillaci. This summed up Arsenal’s performance for me. Sagna ambled towards Richardson and then stopped dead in his tracks as the shot was about to be taken. As an Arsenal fan I don’t want to see this! I want to see Arsenal players throwing themselves at the ball and putting their bodies on the line. Where’s the passion? Where’s the commitment? Where’s the hunger?
 |
| Clueless Arsenal |
In short, this Arsenal team are a disgrace. Having gone a goal down before half-time you would expect a reaction in the second half. But there was nothing. The Gunners continued to dominate possession but could not produce anything to break through Sunderland’s dogged defence. Yes they should have been awarded a clear penalty when Van Persie was bear hugged in the box, but World Cup Final referee Howard Webb did not see it or was not brave enough to give the decision. Instead Webb gave Wenger an excuse to hide behind as he later claimed that rather than the pathetic performance it was the penalty decision which had cost Arsenal the game. The beleaguered manager has since also claimed that to finish fourth would be like winning a trophy. That’s exactly why we moved into the Emirates, to finish fourth!! But then again I have never managed a football match so by Wenger’s reasoning I shouldn’t criticise him or his team, even if Arsenal’s deficiencies are blindingly obvious.
The second Sunderland goal owed much to the desire of former Gunners player Sebastian Larsson, who Arsenal could have signed for free in the summer, but why bother when we have Arshavin. The goal was indicative of the lack of hunger within the entire squad. As Arsenal poured forward in search of an equaliser, possession was lost, and the ball quickly played forward to Sessegnon. He easily brushed off Arteta’s feeble attempt to stop him, ran into the box, and squared the ball to Larsson, whose lung bursting run from well inside his own half was not picked up by a single Arsenal player. The Swede’s shot came off the post, hit the unfortunate Oxlade-Chamberlain and bounced over the line to send Sunderland through to the quarter-finals.
With Tottenham due to arrive at the Emirates on Sunday, Arsenal desperately need to improve as Spurs will be licking their lips in anticipation of dishing out a real drubbing. Needless to say the last two performances have not been anywhere near good enough. It’s about time this team showed some real passion and fight. Next Sunday is a battle we must win.
No comments:
Post a Comment