Goal fest at the Emirates

 

Arsenal 6-1 Coventry

Another home game at the Emirates stadium and another 6-1 won for the Gunners as Arsenal began this season’s League Cup campaign in style.

As has become his custom during his time at the club, Arsene Wenger provided his fringe players an opportunity to impress; making eleven changes to the side that drew 1-1 against Manchester City. Three youngsters made their first team debut for the club, as the highly rated Argentine goalkeeper, Damien Martinez was handed his first start for the Gunners and although his services were largely uncalled for, Martinez acquitted himself well. While the industrious Martin Angha was deployed at right back and Serge Gnarby made a very impressive 20 minute cameo appearance.

Points shared at the Etihad

Manchester City 1-1 Arsenal

 

 

 

At the final whistle yesterday, Arsenal supporters were experiencing a range of emotions. There was great pride in a fantastic performance at the home of the Premier League Champions as well as the immense satisfaction of watching your side simply refuse to give in and ultimately achieve just reward for their endeavour. Yet there was also a tinge of frustration and disappointment as the Gunners created enough chances to have taken away all three points from the Etihad stadium.

 

Defensive stability the key to success

Montpellier 1-2 Arsenal

Under the guidance of new assistant manager Steve Bould, much has been made of Arsenal’s greatly improved defensive record. Four games into the new season and the Gunners have only conceded one goal, as a result of a goalkeeping error. At this stage last season Arsenal had already conceded 14 and were on their way to racking up an unprecedented 49 in the goals against column. The old frailties when defending against long balls and a tendency for being caught on the break were witnessed game after game by the frustrated Arsenal faithful, but Pat Rice’s retirement has signalled a stark change.

Steve Bould has greatly improved the defence

 

With Bould’s meticulous work on the training ground, there appears to have been a great transformation in the mind-set of the whole team. Gone are the days when the players would rush forward in gung-ho fashion as soon as the side had possession as well as that often lethal split second lapse in concentration when possession was lost. These damaging traits, which have cost Arsenal so dearly in the past, have been replaced with a more defensive minded attitude, as the whole team can be seen to be defending as one unit. Where before there were gaping holes for the opposition to exploit, now there is organisational strength.

 

This was particularly evident during the second half display against Montpellier in Tuesday night’s Champions League opener.

Gunners hit Saints for six

Arsenal 6-1 Southampton

Following the recent international break, Arsenal returned to Premier League action in sumptuous form on Saturday, defeating Southampton 6-1. It was as if the Gunners hadn’t been away, as they picked up right where they had left off in the 2-0 win against Liverpool, simply playing Southampton off the park. The visitors just could not live with Arsenal’s crisp one touch passing, with the home side able to link up so well with each other, often creating chances at will.

Nigel Adkins’ side did slightly play into Arsenal’s hands, as unlike Sunderland, in the first game of the season, they did not sit back and defend in numbers, in an attempt to grind out a 0-0 draw. Southampton in fact admirably adhered to their own attacking principles as more often than not, they opted to play the ball out from defence rather than lump it up to Rickie Lambert. The negative aspect of this tactic however was that the visitors played a relatively high defensive line, allowing plenty of space in behind for Arsenal to exploit and this coupled with the fact that in the first half in particular, Southampton tended to sit off the Arsenal players, was a recipe for disaster. With no real pressure being placed on him Santi Cazorla was able to majestically control the midfield, his piercing through balls creating havoc in the Southampton defence.

New boys sink Liverpool

Liverpool 0-2 Arsenal

Arsenal came away from Anfield yesterday with a renewed self-confidence, as the Gunners produced a majestic display to record their first victory of the new season, with the added bonus of new recruits Lukas Podolski and Santi Cazorla. grabbing both goals.

Arsene Wenger’s side entered this game amid great pressure from the media, as journalists and football pundits alike had been quick to point out the detrimental effect upon the team’s attacking ability, rendered by the loss of Robin Van Persie. Goalless draws in the opening two games of the season had not helped either as the players still appeared to be adjusting to their new teammates. Yesterday however, the team gave a performance reminiscent of Arsenal of old.

Without the ball, the Gunners were calm, controlled and organised as they defended resolutely, easily dealing with any pressure placed on them by Liverpool.  Not once did Arsenal look to be in any real trouble, with Vito Mannone only being tested towards the end of the game through two long range efforts by Jon Jo Shelvey. That said it all really, as in contrast to last season, Liverpool were simply unable to get in behind the Arsenal defence to cause the Gunners any problems.  The whole team worked as one unit, with Podolski and Oxlade-Chamberlain working particularly hard to track the runs of Liverpool’s wide players. As a result, the away side were able to invite Liverpool onto them, safe in the knowledge they were more than capable of breaking down the home side’s attacks before striking on the counter attack.

Hard working Ox

Gunners fail to score again

Stoke 0-0 Arsenal

Another game and yet another goal-less draw on Sunday, provided the football pundits with yet another opportunity to compare Arsenal’s new strikers with Robin Van Persie and castigate them for not being in the same class.

Olivier Giroud started his first game in an Arsenal shirt as the lone man up front, battling for the entire 90 minutes against Ryan Shawcross and Robert Huth. More often than not, the Frenchman won his headers against Stoke’s centre halves, holding the ball up well and laying it off to his new team mates, enabling them to join the attack. However he did not have any clear chances to test Begovic in the Stoke goal and as the game wore on, he visibly became frustrated with the constant pulling and pushing taking place, with the referee never once awarding a free kick in Giroud’s favour. Yet with a few minutes of the game left, Giroud saw Begovic off his line and had the skill and vision to attempt to lob the goalkeeper from an extremely difficult angle. Unfortunately his effort just clipped the top of the net, but the fact he even attempted such an audacious effort, shows he is brimming with confidence at his new club and suggests there is plenty more to come from Arsenal’s new number 12.

Bore draw at the Emirates

Arsenal 0-0 Sunderland

It was very easy for journalists and pundits to predictably proclaim the Gunners missed Robin Van Persie, following a listless 0-0 draw against Sunderland on Saturday. Of course if the Dutchman had still been wearing the red and white of Arsenal and not posing for photographs with Alex Ferguson, the home side would have been able to break down Martin O’Neil’s ultra-defensive Sunderland. Although Arsenal fans would wish to avoid similarities to last season’s opening games, these are the very same journalists and pundits, who suggested the Gunners were toothless without Cesc Fabregas, having failed to score in their opening two games of the 2011/12 season. Incidentally, Van Persie played in both those games.

Needless to say, the team will miss the Dutchman’s presence up front and it will take time for the new signings, Giroud, Podolski and Cazorla to settle into the squad, adjust to the rigours of Premier League football and reach an understanding with their new team mates. What the football experts failed to highlight was that the main issue on Saturday was not the absence of Van Persie, but the slow tempo in which Arsenal passed the ball. The transition between defence, midfield and attack was far too ponderous and the Gunners ended up passing the ball sideways time and time again. Per Metesacker, replacing the injured Koscielny, did not seem comfortable on the ball at all, his repeated indecisiveness allowing Sunderland to get back in numbers.  

Lukas Podolski worked extremely hard, in the lone striker role, continually chasing the ball, but was unable to really get himself in the game, with Wenger citing a lack of match fitness as the main reason behind this. Gervinho was lively on the right flank, but in similar fashion to last season, the Ivorian’s approach play as he bore down on the final third was fantastic at times, but his decision making once he got there was mostly atrocious. Meanwhile Theo Walcott, on the left wing, had another poor game, while Abou Diaby returned to first team action, but was not able to impose himself on the game. However Santi Cazorla provided a glimpse of his wondrous skill, technique and vision, which will only improve as the season wears on. The Spaniard could prove to be one of the buys of the season.

As in previous seasons, the Gunners had plenty of possession on Saturday, but just could not do anything with it.  With Sunderland sitting deeper and deeper as the game wore on, Arsenal needed to inject some pace into their game, but seemed unable to do so, maybe as a result of the intense heat or a lack of sharpness due to a less than ideal pre-season programme. As a result, the home side were only able to create one clear cut opportunity, thanks to the magical feet of Cazorla. Unfortunately Giroud seemed to rush his shot and skewed it wide. Arsenal’s hopes of an opening day victory went with it.

Following the final whistle, the club confirmed it had reached an agreement with Barcelona for the sale of Alex Song. Reports in today’s newspapers claim the Cameroonian had become disillusioned in North London, having seen the club fail to award his vastly improved performances with a new contract. His wage at Barcelona will reportedly be £70,000 a week; if Arsenal cannot offer this to one of their most improved and important players, we may as well not even bother any more. How the club can have sanctioned deals of £60,000 and £50,000 a week to the likes of Chamakh, Djourou and Almunia, in the past, but not be able to offer Song the same deal he will have at Barcelona is beyond me.  Apparently the powers that be didn’t place Song’s contract extension as one of their main priorities and consequently the fans will see yet another one of our main performers leave the club.

Wenger will now need to buy another defensive midfielder. His claims in the post-match press conference that he has plenty of midfielders with Wilshere, Rosicky and Diaby all coming back seemed very strange indeed, as none of these are defensive midfielders and all have suffered greatly with injuries in recent years. Add to this the rumours that Arsenal were prepared to make Van Persie the highest paid player in the club’s history but never actually offered him a new deal and we can only conclude that the way the club we love is being run at the moment is deeply disturbing. It appears as though any decent offer received for any player will be accepted, simply stoking the view that the owners only want to achieve qualification for Champions League football for the cheapest possible outlay. Sooner or later the bubble will burst.