Poor Gunners stay top

Arsenal 1-0 Newcastle

As in their previous game against Bournemouth, Arsenal once again performed poorly but still managed to take all three points to cement their place at the top of the table.

If anything this performance at home to Newcastle was even worse than that against Bournemouth.

Apart from the opening 10 minutes of the game, Arsenal had absolutely nothing going forward. Giroud, in keeping with the rest of the team, has played poorly throughout the last few games and repeated the trick again on Saturday. The Frenchman just could not get himself into the game at any point and was largely dominated by the Newcastle centre backs. The fact Wenger took him off and played Ozil up front for the final few minutes, when Arsenal needed someone to hold the ball up, said everything about the Frenchman’s performance.

Either side of Giroud, Walcott and Oxlade-Chamberlain were largely anonymous. Both were deployed on the wings to give width to the team, but both were intent on drifting into the middle of the pitch which was already extremely congested. Their movements throughout the game simply made the Arsenal attack far too narrow and extremely easy to defend against. Yet none of the coaching staff seemed to instruct either player to stay wide and it was only when Joel Campbell came onto the pitch that the Gunners appeared to have some energy in attack.

In sharp contrast to Walcott and Oxlade-Chamberlain, Campbell’s non stop work rate is infectious and very similar to that of the injured Alexis Sanchez. While the Englishmen are happy to drift in and out of games, Campbell and Sanchez are a bundle of energy, running their socks off for the team, chasing down lost causes as they attempt to get their side onto the front foot. Walcott and Oxlade-Chamberlain have had an opportunity to shine in Sanchez’s absence but have failed miserably, much to the frustration of the Arsenal fans.

Such was the poor level of performance from the home side that Steve Mclaren declared his side were stunned at having lost the game, as they had controlled it for large parts. In fact Newcastle had the better chances of the match with the Gunners indebted to Petr Cech as the goalkeeper was called on to produce two top class saves, one in each half to maintain his clean sheet.

In the post match press conference Wenger admitted that his side had been far from their best but also suggested his defence had played well. Yet the number of times a Newcastle player was allowed to head the ball towards goal without being challenged in the box, was laughable. As the home fans looked to the big screens each time, the replay showed the Arsenal defenders stood still just staring at the Newcastle player rising high and heading towards goal. Fortunately, most of these attempts were just over the bar or simple for Cech to claim. However it must be worrying for Wenger that crosses into the box should pose such a danger to a side that has a settled back four.

In the end, as against Bournemouth, Arsenal had to rely on a corner to break the deadlock. This time Ozil’s delivery was met by the head of a defender, but the ball was not cleared from danger and as it looped in the air, Giroud fought well to get his head onto it. Laurent Koscielny, a man who has made a habit of scoring crucial goals throughout his Arsenal career, reacted quickest to latch onto the ball and poke it home from close range.

Although the Gunners had taken the lead, they still looked somewhat vulnerable at the back and with Newcastle pressing forward and leaving space in behind, Arsenal failed to capitalise. Aaron Ramsey had the best chance to put the game to bed, as his jinking forward run saw the Welshman get past two Newcastle defenders and into the box. However with Campbell alongside him, Ramsey elected for the spectacular and rather than a square pass for the Costa Rican to tap home, Ramsey attempted to curl the ball into the top corner and missed.

Fortunately that miss didn’t prove crucial and Arsenal were able to see the game out. With Leicester drawing their game, the Gunners now sit two points clear at the top of the table. However, this is now the third straight game in which the Gunners have performed poorly and any continuation of this form will see them punished sooner or later. Although it is always a good side when a side can still win games when not at their best, Wenger must be hoping that performances pick up soon.

The festive period is always a very busy time in English football and with so many injuries Wenger has not really been able to refresh his squad. Heavy legs may therefore be a reason behind the below par displays and with players hopefully starting to come back from injury soon coupled with the promised signing of at least one player during the January transfer window, Wenger will be confident that this is just a blip.

There is now at least a week’s break before the next match in the FA Cup against Sunderland, before the mid-week league game away to Liverpool, in which the Gunners will need to be at their very best to take all three points. Although Liverpool have their own problems at the moment, if Arsenal perform as they have done in the last three games, they will be punished.