Site note: I work Saturdays at the moment so coverage of Saturday games is bound to be pretty rubbish. I'm trying to improve coverage the rest of the time...
030206
Sol Campbell: Are footballers allowed to suffer mental illness?
Arsene Wenger has given Sol Campbell at least five days off so he can gather his thoughts. On SKY Sports News, Tony Gale said what Campbell needs to do is to just get out on the football pitch. That's why the far less decorated player of the two manages Arsenal and the much more successful Gale is a TV pundit.
A common sentiment on Campbell seems to be: we all have problems; we just roll up our sleeves and deal with them. But that's not true. Can you honestly say you don't have friends, family or work colleagues who have taken days, weeks or even months on leave from work at some point as they try to pull themselves together? Surely you not know people who speak of how they are tormented by depression, even if on the outsider they appear perfectly fine? And you must have seen someone storm out of the office inconsolable, tipped over the edge by something as innocuous as a computer freezing again or perhaps a petty argument.
Like it or not, the fact is one in three of us will suffer some form of mental illness in our lifetime. And the key word is ill, as Arsene so presciently put it in the aftermath of Tuesday. Illness more than a state of mind. A state of mind was what made Jermaine Pennant the stupid, arrogant, indulgent, wasteful player he was at Highbury. Illness is not the same thing.
So why has the idea that a footballer should suffer mental illness left so many so perplexed? Should their fantastic salaries act as a shield against mental illness? Well, if they do take months off on sick leave, it is true that they won't have to worry about recent UK government reforms of incapacity benefit. But that doesn't preclude them from illness and breakdowns. If wealth is no barrier to highly paid bankers, singers, actors and politicians plumbing the depths of mental torture, then why should footballers be shielded against it?
But what of the timing? It was wretched. But these things are bound to be. The point was that even had Sol had played the second half, he was already shattered and broken. He might have soldiered on bravely til the end, but he probably would have just ended up costing us more goals. And who cares that he went home? Whether he stayed and watched or showered and went is hardly the issue.
Were Sol Campbell renowned as a shirker of a bottler I could better understand the criticism. But he is not. In every major tournament he has stood up and excelled for England. He was always there for Spurs (that's why they still harp on about him leaving yet we've got over Rohan Ricketts going the other way). And until his troubles of the past year he has always been there for Arsenal, winning trophies that without him we probably wouldn't have won. So why are we so ready to think the worst?
Twenty years ago we would never have contemplated players spending weeks in rehabilitation as they battled alcoholism. "Deal with it like a man", we might have said. Who knows, in 20 years time we might realise footballers suffer from mental illness too.
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020206
Five more points to reflect on post West Ham
1) Did you imagine a month ago that you’d go to bed concerned about the extent of Kerrea Gilbert’s back injury?
2) Goals don’t have to be perfect: Flamini’s ball for the first one was poor, Van Persie’s right footed cross was never going to go in and Pires’ shot not the most beautifully struck. Yet we scored. For the second, Dennis’ shot looped up and fell for Pires – but the point is these shots have to go somewhere!
3) Sol Campbell: There’s a difference between not caring and simply having a torrid time of it. Football fans seem too ready to spout personal abuse when one of their players is in the doldrums. No doubt Sky Sports News will haul out every ex-pro under the planet to have their say on Campbell walking out. For what it’s worth, my take is that in the heat of the moment he was probably far angrier with himself than with Arsene Wenger.
4) We can harp on about squad size, but if Chelsea had our defensive problems, they would be without: Del Horno (Cole), Ferreira (Lauren), Johnson (Clichy), Carvallho (Toure), Gallas (Cygan – inferior quality but plays the same role) and Bridge (Hoyte – both on loan). That would leave Terry (Campbell) and Huth (Senderos) at left-back, with two other players I have never heard of at full-back. Except the right back they brought in would be in Africa (Eboue) and the left-back (Gilbert) would be forced off too. Then who would play?
5) Can you believe that the thought of registering a retired Martin Keown as a player must now be entertained with a little seriousness, such are our injuries.
Full report from last night below and player ratings to the right.
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010206
Arsenal 2 West Ham 3: Time for us to back Sol
In 17 years of watching Arsenal I can’t think of a more difficult game to put into words.
I’ll try starting with the negatives. We made three defensive errors. And we went through spells where we weren’t particularly threatening. But neither of those points really explain the result. For a start, three defensive errors does not normally result in three goals. And other than the goals and one very easy simple Lehman save, West Ham barely had an attack worthy of the name. And up front, we had chances. Van Persie hit a post early on. Then Henry’s volley was headed straight in when Freddie Ljungberg got in the way and inevitably, given his current luck, steered it wide. Djorou had one cleared off the line and Henry was inches wide to name just a couple more.
In short, for all our refusal to shoot at times and our defensive cock-ups, our luck is wretched at the moment. And taking into account our injuries (more of them later), our luck has been worse than wretched.
There will be much made of individual performances. On TV, Campbell’s failings were most obvious. His two errors cost us two goals – the first from a wretched attempt at a clearance and the second when he took an eternity to find his feet after Bobby Zamora had shrugged him aside far too easily. Sol was subbed at half-time and despite initial reports of an injury, SKY reported he had showered and left the ground within ten minutes of the second half starting.
No doubt, there will be a massive amount written about it and no end of speculation. Personally, I’m sympathetic with Sol. No doubt others will slam him for walking out on his team or bottling it or whatever. But the fact is that irrespective of the vast sums he earns and his recent rubbish form, I can’t remember him ever giving anything less than 100% when he’s worn the Arsenal shirt. So, while some may seek to crucify him for walking out of the ground, I’m prepared to believe he did it because he does care about his performances rather than because he doesn’t care. I’d hope that Arsenal fans will have the intelligence to get behind him now. After all, a Sol Campbell rehabilitated is far better than one crucified and broken.
Friends at the game have also criticised Thierry Henry, accusing him of having one of those games where he doesn’t look like he’s trying. To be fair, it wasn’t particularly obvious on TV, though I noted the speed at which he ran down the tunnel at the end of the game. The differing actions of Henry and Campbell show that very clearly, things are not right in our dressing room.
We are also being completely shafted by injuries at the moment. We started with the patently unfit/out of form Sol partnered by Djorou, with Gilbert on the right and Senderos left. It’s worth bearing in mind that Djorou and Gilbert didn’t even make the bench for our opening League Cup tie of the season at Sunderland. Then consider that two of them were off the pitch by the start of the second half, leaving us with Flamini, Senderos, Djorou and Larsson at the back, which just beggars belief.
Bizarre. And to think David Bentley scored a hat-trick tonight. At least it was against United. Playa ratings to the right.
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300106
Arsenal at Bolton: we weren't so bad.
Let’s start with a tortured analogy, Gary Lineker style:
"The club had two players at the African Nations Cup, an Iberian suspended and as usual they picked the reserve keeper for the cup. They faced a tough journey to the north-west from London to face in form Premiership opposition and yet the manager still had the temerity to rotate his squad.
But enough of Chelsea (Drogba and Geremi, Carvallho, Cudicini). Arsenal on the other hand…"
My point? It’s all very well for Lineker and his guests on Match of the Day to lambaste Wenger for fielding a marginally weaker team at Bolton than he could have (Pires seemed the only player who was properly fit to play but didn’t), but he didn’t have much choice. On top of our poor form and lack of confidence we have been completely plagued by injuries.
They have been a mixture of bad luck and the inevitable consequence of having too thin a squad. What happens is that players play too many games, get injured, get rushed back from injury too early to replace the replacements who have become injured and then get injured again. It can be a vicious circle and it is no coincidence that it has not happened to Chelsea – they can rest and rotate at will, keeping everyone fresh. This is no slight on them – more a criticism of us for not investing enough in a strong squad.
Luck also plays a part – we have three left-backs who are not normally injury prone all crocked at the moment. Michael Essien gets injured and will not start playing football again until around when the African Nations Cup ends. The difference is that he’ll be nice and fresh and won’t have been worn down by playing in a big tournament. But such is life.
But anyway, I thought we were unfortunate against Bolton. We created a fair bit, couldn’t take our chances and got punished from a good cross and not brilliant defending. Football is a game of small margins and we were no worse yesterday than we were when we won at the Reebok in the FA Cup last season. But that day Freddie got an early chance and had the confidence to take it. At the moment we lack the belief and confidence in the marginal areas that can have big outcomes.
Of course, a little bit of belief and confidence won’t see us suddenly toppling Chelsea. But when it does return on the road, I’d expect that when we get one early goal we might give somebody a fairly good spanking. Finally, enjoy today’s Arsenalless FA Cup 5th round draw, these things don’t (and hopefully won’t) happen very often.
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260106
Arsenal update: so much to talk about.
A few topics to address:
Wigan: Up front we had one of those nights and came up against an inspired goalkeeper. At the back we always looked like conceding and it was only a surprise it took so long. Sol and Senderos look rickety at the moment, with the former over weight, out of shape and mentally not with it. Regardless of pace, concentration alone should have been enough to have prevented the Wigan goal. We got what we deserved.
Bolton: I can’t help feeling Arsene is throwing in the towel before we’ve even kicked off. Of all the games in the season, Bolton away is when you need a positive attitude and a determination you will win. We sound like we’re going there expecting to get kicked (in both senses). On the other hand, it could all be a clever rouse by Wenger that will actually serve to inspire the players.
Whatever happens, we must compete. And I reckon that if we go hell for leather into everything then it could be Bolton who don’t know what to do. But don’t bet on it on present form.
Peter Hill-Wood: Again spilling all to his mate from the Star (is there a more unlikely double act in football?), the Chairman said about Henry’s contract offer: "I'm not going to say what the deal is, but it made me shudder. It's a lot of money." That sounds like bad news to me. Why come out with that if the deal is about to be wrapped up?
Peter Hill-Wood again: As the lunch (or pigeon shoot) Hill-Wood was on with his pal wore on (and perhaps as the brandy started flowing), he disclosed: “"What we've got is two or three players who are probably a year from not being good enough in the Champions League. Robert Pires, Freddie Ljungberg, Sol Campbell. Whether they have lost a yard of pace I don't know."
Two questions: 1) What the hell was he doing being so indiscreet? (I’m just guessing, but I’ve a hunch Arsene didn’t put him up to it. 2) Since when did he suddenly start talking sense about football? (And I mean that seriously.)
Thierry Henry: The skipper has been moaning about Tim Cahill’s role in Cesc’s sending-off. Some have told him to get over it and stop moaning, but frankly he is 110 per cent right. It was only the Aussie’s short stumpish legs that prevented him from taking Henry off his feet with a back of knee height sweep of the legs.
Something really has to be done to sort out this deliberate hacking that is now so prevalent. I am also a big fan of collective justice. If one team are just taking it in turns to perform yellow card worthy tackles on the opposition (and let’s face it they usually to take turns to target just one or two players), then the referee should just issue the third or fourth offender with a straight red and point towards the indiscretions of his colleagues. Why not?
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230106
Sympathy for Wenger’s whinge but no excuses at Bolton.
The press don’t buy Arsene’s complaints about physicality, opposition managers don’t buy it and at the moment the fans don’t buy it either. I largely agree – we aren’t strong enough and far too many players don’t compete properly for enough fifty-fifty balls.
But watching the Everton game, it struck me that we have to acknowledge the difference between the opposition taking a physical approach and sheer, deliberate, uninhibited outright kicking. Before I move on to Everton’s sins, I should say I missed the first half-hour and so missed Lauren’s horror tackle. It would not surprise me if it were bad – he often makes shockers (eg on Ronaldo) and gets off with a yellow at worst.
But on to Everton. Beattie simply scythed down Pires on the half-hour. This was not legitimate bullying – it was sheer thuggery. A yellow card. After the break, Nuno Valente felt Reyes had pulled him back as the pair chased a ball down by the corner flag. When no foul was given, out of frustration he launched himself nowhere near the ball and straight at Reyes. Again, sheer deliberate thuggery. Again a yellow.
Then on 90 minutes we had Fabregas sent-off for pushing Cahill around the neck. By the book it was the correct decision and it was a stupid thing for the kid. But looking at the replay you saw Cahill had tried (and failed) to scythe Henry down so cynically that it reminded me of watching Diego Maradona being set-upon by mere mortals as his skill and pace tormented them.
Had I been Fabregas, I’d have been irate too. Three times they just simply tried to kick us like rag dolls. And every time you know that the worst the law will offer is a yellow card. Five years ago, what Fabregas did was far more common. But then video evidence was used against players when the referee missed their raised arm and a three-game ban was the result. We know that even if Fabregas’ fairly harmless shove to Cahill’s neck had been missed by the ref, he’d be up before the FA in an instant.
So now, the new currency is the cynical foul. The advantages are huge: You can be violent enough to do some real damage and let out all your frustration but rarely will a red card result. And you know you will never be labelled as a cynical cheat. Which if we’re honest, is actually what a deliberate attempt to simply take out the man is. So, much as we are currently way to under physical in how we compete for tackles, we should at least acknowledge where Wenger's frustration is legitimate.
But all that said, I was angry to hear Arsene say: "And I expect it to be the same next week at Bolton in the Cup, I invite you all to come and see a re-run of this game." It reeks of resignation before we’ve even set-off. Thuggery we are powerless against. But not physicality. If we get stuck in like we're actually well capable of then can then we can leave Bolton looking like the ones with no plan B. Sadly, I'm not betting on it happening.
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220106
Arsenal lose away: Insert away day template
Arsenal lost <==insert opposition score==>1 -0<==not a variable==> at <==insert team here==>Everton, their <==insert number here==>6th away defeat of the season.
They went down to a <==insert name of third rate opposition goalscorer==>James Beattie goal which was <==variable a) a once in a lifetime strike b) a defensive cock-up==>a defensive cock-up<==if option =a, end paragraph here, if option =b, continue==>from<==insert names of 6ft plus defenders who were outmuscled==>Sol Campbell and Phillipe Senderos<=/>. Arsenal created a couple of chances after the goal but they were spurned by Ljungberg<==not variable==>and<--insert name of other guilty party==>Fabregas.<=/>
<==Following paragraph must always be included and can not be altered in any way==>From then on we enjoyed large spells of possession but were guilty of faffing around on the edge of the box rather than getting men into it. Henry looked frustrated and moody up front, Pires was peripheral, Ljungberg below his best, Reyes more willing than most, Fabregas willing too but outmuscled and Gilberto too passive, let down by poor passing, poor tackling, too passive, not going into challenges hard enough and too passive. We brought on Alex Hleb but he only offered the same and it certainly wasn't width. If we're honest for all our possession we didn't create enough chances and can't really argue too much with the result. What we need is a new midfielder and new players who will offer us goals up front.<==end of static paragraph==>
Manually inserted extra points:
<==insert manual point one here==>We had so many players out in defence that our right back played left back, our reserve centre back played, our injured centre back played and debutant Kerrea Gilbert got a game too. And did very well in my opinion.<=/>
<==insert manual point two here==>The bit about new players in the static paragraph needs to be changed. We have signed three and saw one of them (Abou Diaby) for the last ten minutes. He's tall. Other than that it was hard to judge, though he looks more like a stone that needs smoothening rather than an already polished diamond. He also had a shot. From outside the box. First time. Which in this team, is worth noting.<=/>
<==insert manual point three here==>In a nod to the past we also saw the return of the frustrated Arsenal player earning themselves a red card for nothing very worth getting a red card for at all. It was Fabregas today who shoved Cahill over (which is yellow) but made the fatal mistake of placing his hand at or above Cahill's shoulder. (red)
Under the rules it was a red card, a stupid thing to do and was something I had been predicting for a while. On December 26th I wrote: "He (Fabregas) sometimes gets involved where it is not needed and is one of those ‘first on the scene’ players. I just wonder if it could come back to bite him at some point." If you saw today's game you'll agree I was fairly prophetic.
As I said, a stupid red card, but in defence of the player I think all his bravado is more a misplaced attempt to show he won't be intimidated on the pitch. He's still a teenager and though his football sometimes belies it, his hormonally driven determination to ‘ave sum is an apt reminder of his precociousness. A few crunching tackles would be far more useful than getting involved in silly stuff. But then again, teenagers learn from their elders and Gilberto is hardly setting an example on the crunching tackle front.
I'd also say that while I accept raising your hand will get you an automatic red card, I don't think it's unfair to ask: "Why?" Fabregas' gentle push could never, ever have caused injury to Cahill. Yet we offer no benefit of the doubt, contrary to incidents like the awful tackle on Reyes today down by the corner flag or even when Lauren sent Ronaldo into orbit three weeks ago (I missed the start of today's game but understand he had another tasty one). Surely they are more of a concern than a petulant shove to the face.
To be fair to the boy he has now apologised. And if you disagree with my analysis about the degrees of punishment, consider that he will serve a three game ban, while Essien got two for his assault on Didi Hamann. I sometimes wish the people who run football would just do something else. A long, long way away.
But I digress. There is far too much wrong with football's rules to go into it now. And the point is we were very, very poor. Wigan on Tuesday. I wonder which Arsenal we'll get.
<==end of template==>
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160106
Freddy Sheppard should make Sven Newcastle manager
Arsenal stuff will appear later.
Sven: “I have spoken with the players concerned today and I have been very pleased with their reaction and am confident my relationship with them has not been damaged in any way.”
Freddy Sheppard: “We have spoken with the player and he has confirmed he is happy at Newcastle United.”
How absurd Sven should reassure us, the fans, that his comments weren’t a problem because Owen and Beckham had said they were cool about it. As if they were ever going to turn round and say: “Stuff you, stuff my chance of playing in the World Cup and stuff the £300,000 bonus if I win it.” I think not. The fact is that whatever Sven has spouted about Beckham and Owen in particular, both know his presence is the sure fire way will always get in the team.
Of course, it is possible that Sven invented the stuff about Beckham and Owen in a bid to impress the fake Arabs who were so fervently stroking his whopping great financial ego. In which case one would expect Becks and Owen to be livid with their boss for lying, as opposed to just breaking confidences.
But irrespective of what the players really think, the reality is that Sven’s comments about what Owen said were probably true. In which case they were extraordinary. To believe that Newcastle are so overpaying Owen that even his jaw is dropping in astonishment exposes just how naïve and incompetent Sheppard (and Souness) are. I should declare an interest here: I can’t stand either, as I said in my piece on the Owen signing back in August.
My theory is that the one plus side to the top players becoming so rich so quickly is that before long they are so wealthy that for most an extra £10,000 a week just no longer holds the same appeal. With money no great issue, before signing a contract they must then contemplate factors that will sit far more comfortably with the fans who pay them. These include factors such as the quality of the manager and the running of the club. Call me naïve, but loyalty to the supporters could even play a part.
Put it this way: Dennis Bergkamp has been offered vastly reduced contracts by Arsenal for the past three years but has singed them in spite of there probably being somebody somewhere who would offer him far more than the approximately £14,000 he currently earns weekly. In his head, Dennis knows Arsenal is a good club.
Owen is probably not yet as rich as Dennis. But he’s probably still rich enough that an extra £10,000 a week (£500,000 a year) would be worth sacrificing if it meant being happy in the job. Yet Newcaslte are paying him sooooooooooo much and offering sooooooooooo many benefits that Owen (who earned a fortune in his previous jobs) sees it as mitigation for the fact he is at a club he has never really wanted to play for.
After all, the tale that a trio of Sheppard, Souness and Shearer had persuaded Owen St James’ was the footballing place to be always seemed somewhat fanciful. Owen had not wanted to come to the North East initially and his subsequent body language and words with Sven suggest very little changed after he signed. So really, all Sheppard had done was stun an incredibly rich footballer into financial submission.
As one commentator said last week, Sheppard attempted to steal the limelight from Shearer equalling Jackie Milburn’s goal record by hailing him as Newcastle’s greatest ever signing. It was a not so subtle suggestion that Geordies should raise a glass to Freddy for signing the cheque.
And here lies the problem: an obsession with money and ego. Sven and Sheppard would get on famously.
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1430106
Wenger fills important gaps
Everybody has known for weeks that we needed a new, powerful midfielder. Many hoped he’d be experienced too but I think any gripes about that are dwarfed by the fact Arsene Wenger has splashed the cash.
Emmanuel Adebayor may seem like a less obvious signing but I think Arsene has been quick to plug a widening hole. Of course, we’ve known for years that we’ve had a plethora of forwards but no strikers. But only recently has it started to matter. It used to take three years for us to notch up five premiership blanks but we’ve managed it five times in seven games now.
He’s being compared to Kanu and has been given the number 25 shirt. Crucially, what Kanu gave us in his good years was something completely different from the excellent but generic offerings one would expect from the rest of the well-drilled Wenger players. For a while, Arsene’s signings were seemingly becoming more and more in the image of how he would create his perfect player.
For example, Alex Hleb (in his good early season form rather than his recent post injury struggles) looked like the result of cross breeding Robert Pires and Freddie Ljungberg. He had the perception and ability to glide past players reminiscent of an on form Pires and all the scurrying qualities of Ljungberg. It was as though a salesman had knocked on Wenger’s door and rather than offering something completely new he was offering the two for the price of one Pirberg.
As I said, I like Hleb and think he has a lot to offer. But the point I’m making is that players have been getting more and more similar. Yet Adebayor appears to break that mould and therefore we should be grateful.
The other big news is that it seems Theo Walcott could follow Diaby and Adebayor. Both Arsenal and Southampton are denying anything has been concluded, but looking at Wenger in the press conference today he had the air of the cat that got the cream. And certainly he is talking far more openly about Walcott than one would expect were a possible deal a long way off.
The word is Arsenal is his preferred destination because of the opportunity to work alongside his idol Thierry Henry. Which is perhaps the first pay-off of Henry’s pledge of loyalty last week. It could also be that we have Henry’s wobble to thank for giving Arsene a little jolt to wake him from the perceived transfer lethargy many fans have lamented. Arsene also deserves credit for apparently beating Mourinho in the battle to sign Diaby. A small victory, but one worth taking.
Finally, the signings keep faith with Arsene’s seeming determination to build the league’s youngest side. Of our top 25 players (the accepted size of a squad), 12 are 22 or under with four of them making up 80 per cent of our midfield. We have now gone three and a half years since we signed an outfield player over 24. But these signings are good news - though we shouldn't be disapointed if they aren't instant hits in the way Vieira and Kanu did.
It’s Boro today and I’m at work during the game. So there will be no update after it.
Update: The Sun report the following Wenger quote, which could be real and intended, real but not intended or a slip by the paper: “We have signed three exciting prospects at very reasonable prices." They have also dropped an absolute clanger in their analysis of Arsene's signing of young players. They said: "Niccolo Galli, Guy Demel and William Huck were unknown when they arrived and remained anonymous until they left." Galli died in a motorbike crash in February 2001.
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100106
Striker anybody?
I'm just coming to the end of watching a tape of tonight's game with the rubbish bits fast forwarded (ie most of it). What strikes me is that we simply have to play a striker. I don't give a stuff if Reyes and Quincy are more senior than Lupoli and Bentender. We badly needed someone to hold the ball up but there was nobody there. It's stubborness from Wenger. We also seem to lack committment in the tackle sometimes, which is hard to accept. The results is not a good one: we failed to score an away goal, which means that if they do, we'll require three. It's gonna be tough.
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080106
Spurs aren’t on their way to Wembley
Childish, mindless, moronic baiting is not my thing. And baiting Spurs over the years has been like taking candy from a baby. So I don’t think Arsenal fans should be laughing about their defeat at Leicester. But, frankly, I’m going to anyway. Ha, ha, ha, ha. That feels good.
It was at 2-0 to Spurs after 40 minutes and with the away fans singing their famous cup final song I admit I thought I was watching a new Tottenham. They were calm and in control and for once making a first division side look just that. Oh well.
Anyway, our weekend was rather better. I’m working Saturdays ‘til the end of the season so missed the Cardiff game. But by all accounts it was your standard Arsenal v lower league side game at Highbury in that we made heavy weather of what should have been a relatively simple task before eventually going through.
Henry was the other big news. A few people have tried to put a spin on his words but to me they simply that so long as we offer him a decent contract and invest in a few decent new players, he will stay. Which must be a massive, massive relief and is, if we’re honest, a real coup for the club. Let’s hope he didn’t feel rushed into his decision by the speculation about phone calls to Barcelona. And let’s hope the investment we all crave arrives. Of course it is worrying when you see Chelsea, United and Liverpool all making moves before us. But we should remember that Reyes only arrived in late January so there is still time. Another question about Henry (as a friend pointed out) is whether the club will be prepared to break their one year at a time rule for over 30s and so only offer him a deal ‘til he’s 31. Let’s just pray Arsene is having none of those thoughts.
I’d also like to nail on the head the absurd, lazy assumption made by some journalists that Thierry Henry has somehow been a disappointment this season. In the Daily Mail, Matt Lawton cited Henry as Arsenal’s biggest disappointment (with Van Persie the major plus). Elsewhere, recent performances have seen his shrugs, scowls, flailing of the arms and lack of willing to enter some attacks put down as evidence of his anxiety. What tosh. It’s what he’s always done and is just how he is.
And for the record, he has scored 10 goals in 14 league games and 13 in 19 in total. It is proportionately almost identical to RVN’s 15 in 20 or 17 in 28. And while the stats say he has hit just one double in seven league games, he also hit the post twice against Bolton, again against Chelsea and again against Charlton. So a little perspective is called for.
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040106
Arsenal 0 United 0: Report from Highbury
I’ve seen a few match reports this morning and many seem to have subtly rolled every great moment from Arsenal v United over the past eight years into one game and then compared it favourably to what was on offer last night. I actually thought this was probably as high a quality a Arsenal v United contest Highbury has seen for quite a while. Whisper it in hushed tones, but the 2-2 draw in 03 and the 1-1 in 04 were poor affairs. And our performance last night was generally improved on last year.
This was the first time I had seen United at Highbury since the last 0-0 draw in 1995 and you easily forget what a brilliant arena Highbury is for the big night games. The atmosphere crackled behind the goals, stretching so far from both ends that even the West Upper seemed alive. Occasionally. Down on the touchline, the East Lower rose furiously at every United indiscretion. It might be Highbury’s last night like that. One to savour.
Surprisingly, it was the attackers who were found lacking. United couldn’t put away their second half chances and we could neither take ours nor commit the men forward like we should have nor get the obligatory penalty that we are always denied in games like these. It is now five blanks in seven for us, enough to make the ghosts of seasons past spin in their graves.
We were of course thwarted by the absence of Van Persie, a real goal threat. With Freddie also missing, it was the back five you would expect, Cesc, Gilberto, Hleb, Reyes and Henry. Individual performances were quite revealing. Henry, irrespective of Gallic pouts and refusal to get into the box, is clearly injured at the moment but is playing anyway. Hleb did ok but has lost confidence he had in the first few games that let him beat men and feed in really interesting balls.
For all the talk of the absence of Vieira, Gilberto had a good game – his positional sense in front of the back four was largely spot-on and barring a couple of errors, he was neat and tidy in the tackle. Next to him Fabregas was superb. That he tired later can easily be excused in an 18 year-old near present in central midfield this season.
On the right, Robert Pires improved in the second half. But sadly, he is a relic of a bygone era, a time when Arsenal were so good that wingers like Pires could shirk all their defensive duties because others would cover for them. Chelsea have raised the bar. The wingers are constantly tackling, closing down and working for the team when the ball is lost. Pires does not do that and is therefore a luxury. Perhaps the way he shirks anything defensive it is due to a legitimate fear of reinvoking past injuries, perhaps it is just laziness. But either way, a title winning team in 2005 can’t afford passengers like that.
The contrast with Jose Reyes could hardly be starker. Like Fabregas, Reyes plays as though it is the purple blood that pumps through his fragile frame. In the first half in particular, he was outstanding, his commitment no less than anything Keane or Vieira showed at their peak. It wasn’t just the fact that he gave Gary Neville a torrid time. It was the way he chased everything, panicked United and so, so crucially covered for Pascal Cygan. Top man.
Talking of Cygan, he played to the best of his abilities. He is no Baresi. But equally he is no slacker either. He even went to take a short corner with Henry. The others at the back did well and even though we could have conceded, it is a fourth clean sheet on the trot.
I was at Highbury and the atmosphere was fantastic and the game thrilling. Those who say otherwise have probably been spoilt by seeing too many games of this ilk in person. A draw was fair – United shaded the chances but both sides could have scored and didn’t. For me, the tackle on Fabregas was a penalty because though Neville got a toe to the ball, it was still in Fabregas’ possession when he scythed him down.
Let’s face it, we are a team in transition. We had eight fantastic years where we punched miles above our weight. But now a lack of spending (and a misjudgement in the transfer market) are catching up with us. Getting us back on top will not be easy. And a number of older players will fall by the wayside. Last night represented another failure to beat a top team. But the major positive we should take is that it was our two youngsters, in who Wenger has invested so much faith, who were Arsenal’s best players last night.
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020106
Arsenal v United: 2nd preview
So Gilberto is fit but Ljungberg and Van Persie are out. The latter is a big, big blow. It leaves us with just Henry and Reyes as the only players available to have netted more than twice in the league this season. And given our lack of goals that is a worry.
I suspect Gilberto will return. And if he does, let’s hope 2006 starts better than 2005 ended. He is not the world’s greatest midfielder but he is a far better player than his recent form and good enough to face United.
I wonder whether Van Persie and Ljungberg missing could prompt a change of plan from Wenger. Could we see Gilberto, Fabregas and Flamini all play? And could Henry then play as a loan striker, supported by Reyes on the left and either Hleb or preferably Pires (as long as he really tries) on the right? It would be a fairly radical departure from what we have seen this season but I just wonder whether it might be a good way of not being forced to play Bergkamp due to Van Persie’s absence.
It is also possible that Cesc could play on the right, Flamini and Gilberto in the middle and Reyes left, with Dennis and Henry up front. But to me it doesn’t sound so good. Of course, we could stick rigidly to our normal formation and play Dennis and Henry with Reyes and say Pires supporting. It has worked well in the past. The question would be whether it leaves us too open in the midfield.
Irrespective of our current predicament, the game will be one of the last great occasions at Highbury and the atmosphere should crackle suitably. The game is sure to be a fiery one and Fergie has already stoked the fire with his myopic review of United’s behaviour over the years. We need to make sure we keep our heads (here’s looking at you Cesc (and Jens obviously)), not just to save ourselves embarrassment but also so we stay focused.
Speaking following the first battle of Old Trafford on the 1991 end of season video, George Graham told his side: “You still gotta tackle, still got to close down. But lads, you must watch your behaviour.” How apt.
Whatever happens, what we mustn’t be left with at the end of the night is regrets. That means ensuring there are no stupid individual errors that cost goals. That means ensuring that if we get chances that we take them. And that means hoping the referee does his job and calls the big decisions correctly. And of course we need to think about how we contain the United threat and Rooney and Ronaldo in particular. But that is something that comes after the basics and too often this season it has been the basics that have let us down. Come on you Gunners!
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010106
Arsenal v United preview: who to play?
I was only able to see the second half against Villa so I’m in no position to say too much about the performance. However most accounts have been pretty negative. From what I saw, we were clearly conceding too much possession to Villa but at the same time I felt the individual errors so evident in the defeats at Bolton and Newcastle were not so evident.
However you look at it, the draw was hardly great preparation for the final league visit of Man United to Highbury on Tuesday night, particularly given them beating fat Sam’s lot 4-1. The game is a funny one because for seemingly the first time in yonks it is the attack who pose the greatest worry at the moment. We may have hit four against Pompey but December saw us fail to find the net in four out of six league games. A big worry.
For me, the well-documented problems in midfield are at least in part to blame. Drive from the midfield in Wenger’s Arsenal has always been essential. After all, how could it not be in a team that so deliberately shunned the long ball from defence straight through to attack? But we lack that drive, power, speed and athleticism we once had. The problem seems exacerbated whenever Hleb and Ljungberg get the nod on the wings because essentially, they are the slightly more attacking shadows of what is in the middle. Played with Fabregas and Flamini, we have a midfield of four physically unimposing players, none of whom have the blistering pace and drive Wenger’s sides are famed for.
Given that, I would definitely play Reyes against United. There is the risk he will be intimidated out of the game. But at the very least he should offer us some variety. On the right it is a tough call. I suspect Hleb will sit on the bench. Then it becomes a question of the gritty but limited Ljungberg or the big occasion but inconsistent Pires. Who knows.
I can see why some would plump for Dennis next to Henry because of the greater fluidity his presence tends to give us. But I would go for Van Persie. I sometimes think it goes unnoticed how capable Van Persie is of fashioning a goal from nothing. And that can be vital. Certainly, when he was taken off after 68 minutes at Villa it was as though we had lost one of our few goalscoring aces. Dennis may give you the odd goal but he is no longer able to conjure a goal all on his own like Van Persie can.
Other than that we need commitment all over the pitch and concentration. With Cygan suspended I wonder whether Arsene could throw in a surprise and play Eboue at left-back or perhaps Eboue right-back and Lauren left-back. Either way, I suspect he might be anxious to avoid what happened against Chelsea where the full-backs were both out of position and the central defence not the number one pairing.
Put mildly, we have been rubbish against big teams recently and it is true that we have not really beaten anybody that tough this season (though victory in Amsterdam was cool). You can be sure Fergie will have pinpointed our weaknesses and will look to exploit our flimsy midfield in particular. Another defeat would be a sickener and the task then really would be to scrape fourth place. Victory could be a great, short-term shot in the arm and a timely reminder that we can still do it.
On a level playing field, it will be tough. What we have to hope for is that the playing field is level and that the curse of bad refereeing decisions that have plagued some of our recent big games does not rear it’s ugly head again.
P.S.: Have just read Fergie's comments about us not being a big club and just remembered how much I hate United. And as for his claim that tickets to Highbury cost £72, Fergie is either lying or else his pal had presumably frequented a tout, given that the highest price for a single ticket is £54. The only other option is corporate hospitality, something United would never dream of indulging in. Indeed, everything I hate about them is now flooding back. For pride's sake, we have to win.
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281205
Arsenal 4 Portsmouth 0: Lovely stuff
My first visit of the season to Highbury. And some memorable goals to go with it. Granted, we weren’t brilliant throughout by any means and the midfiled (and Gilberto in particular) and Pascal Cygan are serious worries at the moment.
But the four goals were sweet. It is rare that you hear a commentator sounding genuinely excited by what he has seen, but listening to what Steve Wilson said on Match of the Day tonight it was clear he relished our return to the scoring of Arsenal goals like we did. The first was a peach – Flamini hustling and winning the ball in midfield. He sprayed it wide to Reyes, who completely slipped his man and fired in a great low ball that Dennis simply had to take first time. He did and he finished perfectly to put us 1-0 up.
The second was a fine ball from Toure down the right into Henry. He controlled well before feeding the onrushing Reyes who hit an absolute stonker of a left footed shot first time into the roof of the net. It was a tough effort – he had to come across the ball and had little of the net to aim for.
Then just as we were slowing-up, Flamini released Henry who rounded the keeper, took the ball pretty wide and then clipped in from a tight angle for his first in five games. His celebration was interesting. We’ve all heard the strong rumours about him leaving. But as he celebrated in front of the East lower he looked like a man perfectly at home in his surroundings.
Then when Pires got played in he slid the ball in for Reyes, who was flying in at full pelter. There was the most mininal of touches from the defender but the referee’s decision to give a penalty was the right one. Such was Reyes’ pace, only the slightest nudge was enough to deprive him of his clear goalscoring chance. Thankfully, the referee didn’t send the offender off – though technically he should have. Henry converted and we slowed up afterwards, preserving energy ahead of Villa away on Saturday.
Overall, it was a very positive night. The combination of Henry, Bergkamp, Pires and Reyes would be a disaster in away games. But against weaker opposition at Highbury they are potent – such as when we beat Villa 3-1 last season. Against Pompey, Bergkamp and Pires could do their things and looked good. Henry did his stuff and while to Arsenal fans he probably only had an average games, it’s worth remembering that to neutrals he is persistently sublime.
And Reyes followed up his good performance at Charlton with another excellent show. He scored one and set-up two and generally caused trouble. On form, he is a fine, fine player and to me he is one of those players who just want to see do well. Tonight’s goal was another example of his goalscoring versatility.
Credit too to Arsene. He is sometimes criticised for his team selections and substitutions. But in the past two games he has got things spot on, resting people who need resting and so far keeping the squad fresh looking in a tough period. Elsewhere, Kanu hit a superb brace to sink Spurs. Lovely stuff.
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261205
Charlton 0 Arsenal 1: Reyes has rocket put up him
A rocket up ‘im is a tired and usually ill used football analogy but perfectly apt for today’s game. Even by his own standards, Jsoe Reyes was peripheral in the first half (barring one flowing move that Freddie really should have scored). Indeed he was so bad that he was almost as bad as Pascal Cygan. And in the first half, that really was bad.
Then when Reyes emerged after the break it was as though the rocket we all know he has in him had been ignited. It was crazy stuff. He played like a winger, all wide and running like apparently that was wingers are supposed to do. It was like what happens in other teams. It was a joy to see and suddenly our attacking threat was almost doubled, with not everything having to go through Thierry Henry.
Of course, it was not just Reyes who got better. The whole performance was far improved and we dominated the game. Our reward came when Ljungberg played in Henry. His first effort was blocked and his second low shot hit the keeper and looped into the air.
The ball dropped on Reyes’ right foot just a couple of yards from goal. He volleyed home and we had our first league goal in a month. Lovely stuff. We continued to dominate, could have scored more and never looked like letting things slip after Danny Murphy was sent-off - his second yellow for throwing the ball down in frustration after a Bennett call. Stupid decision and one I hate to see – even when it benefits us.
On a side note, Cesc got a bit involved in that incident and was also guilty of a slightly dangerous (yellow card worthy) challenge that went unchecked. I love watching Fabregas and am only too happy to see him get stuck in. But he sometimes gets involved where it is not needed and is one of those ‘first on the scene’ players. I just wonder if it could come back to bite him at some point.
But back to the performance: we were much better in the second half but there was still a lot wrong. We lack suredness, Cygan is still at left-back and Cesc and Gilberto had their usual flaws exposed. I’d give the young Spaniard a well earned break for the Portsmouth game.
The bright spots in the game were the result, a far improved Sol Campbell performance and Reyes second half effort. It was great to see him at full pelter and a reminder of the massive potential he has. If I’m honest I’d half forgotten how good he can be. Seeing him tuck the ball home from two yards also offered a extra useful reminder to yours truly.
I stick by my assertion that Reyes is not a striker. But I forgot that on form, he can still be a goalscoring winger. And more to the point, we are talking about a player who can score every single kind of goal, which to me suggests real potentially as a 15 goal a season winger. Cast your mind back over the goals he has given us and you will see there is no trademark. Left footed, right footed, headed, spectacular, bundled in, tapped-in, first time, lengthy runs, one-on-ones, volleyed. They are all there. And in this generally gloomy time for the club, that is a pleasing thought.
Portsmouth on Wednesday. I’d rather not see Cygan at centre-back, would replace Fabregas with Flamini, make sure Reyes gets another chance to try to build some confidence and probably give Pires a run-out in place of Freddie too.
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21/12/05
Insane Blatter wants to make things even easier for Chelsea
The Chelsea match review is below this quick post. Sepp Blatter has said: "If a club can only have five foreigners among their starting 11, then they will have to build on their own youth system. If Chelsea were forced to have five foreigners then Roman Abramovich could not go on buying the best players across the world for exorbitant fees. Chelsea is the example of what should not happen."
The man is a lunatic. The problem at the moment is that Chelsea are snapping up the cream of English players for sums only Man United can even think about, irrespective of whether the player is of any use to them (Lampard) or not. (Wright-Philips).
Were this rule to come in, Chelsea would simply further dominate the English market, pushing up prices and further decimating those without money. Not only would we be forced to fill our team with six English also rans, we would also no longer be able to compensate for the vast gulf in finances as we currently do, by scouring the world for affordable top players.
Develop their youth system? Err, no. They would just spend more money. I am not having a go at Chelsea, but the fact is they would be most happy with these plans. As Arsenal fans, these insane ideas should worry us.
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19/12/05
Arsenal 0 Chelsea 2: It ain’t the end of the world.
So, league defeat at home to Chelsea for the first time in yonks. Painful? Disappointing? Frustrating? YES, YES, YES. But surprising? NO. In short, we learnt very, very little that we didn’t already know.
If we were to win, we had to be clinical with what chances we created and make sure we scored the first goal. Chelsea began well but for me the first two real opportunities were Arsenal ones and we did little wrong with them. Henry hit the post and then Van Persie swept home beautifully only to see the offside flag raised in error.
Not offside
It was a massive, massive decision. 1-0 to Arsenal and we would have had a completely different game. It was a wretched decision and I’m getting sick of wretched decisions in big games. Don’t get me wrong, at home against smaller sides the refs favour us. But in big games we seem to get little luck. At crucial times in both United league games last year and now against Chelsea. I’m not talking about flukes of performance – like when we beat United in the Cup Final or when Drogba scored against us earlier this season. I’m on about the crucial refereeing decisions, which, for whatever reason, seem to keep going against us in the big games.
Six minutes before half-time and Robben was as onside as Van Persie was and he too put the ball in the net smartly. This time the goal stood. While you languish in footballing depression mulling over this defeat, just consider how different things might have been had our goal stood and theirs not.
Red cards:
As for the non sending-offs: yes, Senderos probably should have gone (as Wenger acknowledged). But so too should Essien, who is anything but a marked man as Mourinho claims. I thought his elbow was probably correctly called a yellow. But it was just crass inconsistency that let him get away with a later foul on Van Persie that was identical to one Henry had been booked for about two minutes earlier. So on that front, honours even. (ps, question for UEFA: when did going in studs first near someone’s knee become a two rather than a three game ban?)
I thought we actually played quite well after we went behind. Chelsea 1-0 up are a nightmare to play against. Though we could have created a few more chances, we still fashioned some decent openings. They were dangerous on the break but that was always going to be so with us chasing the game. Cole took their second excellently after one of Lauren’s worst ever mistakes for the club. But to bash him is ridiculous. He is a first class foot soldier who is having a good season and hardly ever puts a foot wrong.
The Midfield:
The problem for us was very obviously in midfield. Aware that we would be outmuscled, we frequently tried to pass long straight from defence to attack. It was an unfamiliar approach that met with limited success. I’ve heard mutterings of disappointment about Cesc’s performance, but I’d point to what I said on Saturday about him being asked to do the wrong job. But the problem is not just a lack of muscle in central midfield. While we could once slot Edu in left and Parlour right, Freddie is now our most physically strong wide player, which says it all. And the pace that once characterised our middle line only lives on in the injured and inconsistent Jose Reyes.
This is, clearly, a very difficult time for the team. Our standards have slipped and for the first time we are staring into the abyss of finishing outside of the top two. But let us not get carried away. We went three barren years without any trophy between Wenger’s first and second titles. Things change and evolve. Of course we need reinforcements and the prospect of Henry leaving is daunting. But things are not all bad.
Hleb is having a far better first year than Pires did, Sol Campbell (in my opinion) will rise again and while they are not yet world beaters, there is genuine promise in our young players. Things change and evolve and for anyone who is feeling at all disillusioned with Arsene, just imagine how much worse every other manager would do with our resources. For one thing, I think if Mourinho took over at Highbury tomorrow, he’d struggle big time. But take Wenger to Stamford Bridge and I’d expect him to win Chelsea titles, which less we forget, is all Mourinho has managed for them so far.
Chelsea?
So, finally, what of Chelsea? Have they raised the bar? Incrementally at most. That they are so far ahead is in part because of their own consistency but more due to United and Arsenal’s recent decline. Are they any better than us in 2004 or United in their pomp? I’d say no way. So the challenge is for us to get back to what we have achieved before and then catching Chelsea will take care of itself.
The most well resourced squad ever in British football was very fortunately injury free enough to be able to choose their first choice eleven against us. We were missing three left-backs, a winger and had a midfielder harshly suspended. C’est la vie. What a sign of the times that of the eleven players fielded by Mourinho, ten cost £6 million plus, while John Terry was a shooting star long before the special one had even heard of him. Our side contained just three players bought for more than £3.5 million.
Overhauling them will be very tough, but is doable. And if there is one manager you’d choose for a club like ours – in transition and relatively cash strapped – you’d plump for Arsene Wenger over Jose Mourinho or anyone else any day of the week. Which is handy really.
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17/12/05
Arsenal v Chelsea preview: How good would Cesc look in Chelsea’s midfield?
A year and a week after his first start in an Arsenal shirt, Mathieu Flamini is likely to again come into the Arsenal side next to Cesc Fabregas for the visit of Chelsea. The prospect has left many fearful, but they did ok last year and I think they can do ok on Sunday. In a way, the prospect of having Fabregas and Flamini snapping like whippets around Essien and Lampard is preferable to having Gilberto in there. In his current poor form, we might risk the Brazilian just providing poor man’s version of what Makalele does so well for Chelsea.
The game is obviously going to be very tough and despite our impressive home form, Chelsea must be favourites. At Highbury the league results have been immaculate but the teams we have beaten have been nothing special and our performances only impressive in short, sporadic bursts. Still, I think we have the players who, on their game, can stop Chelsea from scoring. And I think we are capable of creating chances against them at Highbury. So, we are not without hope.
If we are to win, a likely key player will also be our youngest – Cesc Fabregas. Usually in hushed voices, some Arsenal followers have questioned whether he has the strength for the Premiership. They say both Vieira and Gilberto have struggled next to him. I refute that. As far as Vieira goes, he acknowledges openly in his book that he played much of last season with a very dodgy ankle.
And as for his partnership with Gilberto, I see the problem being that Fabregas has been unfairly forced to play the role of tough tackling midfielder. While the Brazilian may provide a positional wall, it is Cesc who on the whole is required to throw his still slender frame into the tough tackling.
For me, he has actually done it ok, but the point is that expecting him to excel as the enforcer is as preposterous as expecting Dennis Bergkamp to score 30 goals a season. It is not what either do. But imagine Cesc sat on the Chelsea bench for a game and replaced one of Essien, Makalele or Lampard at half-time. Whoever he came in for, I’d expect him to flourish, revelling in being able to concentrate on doing what he’s great at. He could also offer Chelsea the midfield subtlety and creativity they have occasionally lacked - such as in four scoreless encounters against Liverpool in the Champions League.
So if you see Cesc being out muscled on Sunday, take a look around and remember what he is being asked to do. However well he does it, here’s to the midfield beast/animal/enforcer we all pray Arsene will buy in the January sales.
Ps: there was a really good piece on Football365 this week pointing out that in quite a number of these games where Arsenal supposedly allow themselves to be bullied to defeat the more truthful explanation is that very poor refereeing has instead allowed teams to get away with what is simply illegal.
It pointed out the United game last season and more recently the Bolton game (where the referee just ignored Lehman being elbowed in the stomach and another guy who was already booked punching the ball in to the net all in one move) and Newcastle, where the fact is Alan Shearer got away with stuff that was far more plain illegal than any ‘on the edge’ bullying.
I’m not saying we don’t sometimes go soft (I think we do), but it does add some rationality to the whole debate.
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12/12/05
Newcastle 1 Arsenal 0: Same problems, same lack of solutions
A week ago I penned a massive post Bolton post mortem. (Computer problems mean it has only just gone online - see below). Almost everything I said then applied to today’s match so I’m not going to go over the same ground in massive depth after today. For me there are a few points for why we lost:
1) We left our shooting boots at home. I’m hardly in a position to tell Thierry Henry how to score. He had the chances in the first half and didn’t take them. It was one of those things, as was Van Persie mis-kicking later.
2) We are still hideously under strength in the centre. Gilberto is playing crap, yet we have no other option. We need an animal in there (Gilberto, Cesc, Hleb and Freddie is hardly physically intimidating.) Yet we have no animal to bring in.
3) Dermot Gallagher was a total wanker today. (And yes, I know we get the run of the mill sometimes and did so against Newcastle on the first day of the season). That not withstanding, on a technicality sending-off Gilberto was justifiable. But as I remember they were the only free-kicks he gave away all day. And neither were dangerous tackles. They were the tackles of a player who is out of form and off the pace. Were they so bad he needed to be excluded from the pitch? Definitely not.
Compare the approach to Gilberto to how Gallagher treated Shearer and other Newcastle players. Shearer was given a free reign to elbow, foul (including one shocker in front of the referee), knowingly kick so high that knew he would hit Lauren, kick the ball away and delay kick-offs by standing in our half. It took 89 minutes for him to get booked. All this matters because while Newcastle (as is their right) adopted a very physical approach they were able to do so because Gallagher was being so lenient. Once a player has been booked they have to temper their approach, knowing that one more significant error will be the end for them. Gallagher patently failed on that part. Apparently this is his final year. On this showing, good riddance.
But overall there is no escaping the fact we have big problems away from home. The defence could do with some better drilling but overall they did fairly well today. And though the goal came from our left, Lauren looks infinitely better at left-back than Cygan. And up front I think we look fairly strong. We have drawn three blanks on the run but prior to then had looked dangerous. With a bit of luck, Henry could have had two at Bolton and Van Persie one. And the same can be said today.
The problem for me is midfield. In the middle we are enormously weak. It would be nice if we could give 18 year-old Cesc a break but there’s fat chance of that at the moment. And though Hleb helps, we lack defensively able players on the wings: Freddie is either a bit injured or out of form at the moment. Yet still he plays 90 minutes every game.
The thing is that Chelsea probably have as many midfielders and forwards out of form as we do. Crespo, Duff, Robben, Wright-Philips and arguably Drogba and Gudjohnsen are hardly setting the world on fire at the moment. Of course, we can hardly hope to have their strength in depth. But equally, we can expect far more of our current resources in the middle.
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04/12/05
Just what is Arsene playing at?
I spoke to a season ticket holding friend last night who for some weeks has said his confidence in the boss is waning. I don’t necessarily agree, but what follows are some of his concerns and some I have too. What do you think?
Arsene can moan about player commitment but to us Bolton yesterday was simply the epitome of what we feared at the beginning of the season, the inevitable result of Arsenal’s very own corporate restructuring. So as the squad has been trimmed and thinned out, those that are left are more comfortable than ever in their positions and what would normally be the responsibility of experienced team members is being carried out by talented, but as yet unproven, upstarts.
At Bolton Henry and Van Persie were the right choice. But even Tony Adams (who generally seems to not know that much about tactics) has been pointing out for years that Ljungberg and Pires won’t work at places like Bolton. Admittedly, Alex Hleb is injured.
But in central midfield Wenger is guilty of discarding our two most aggressive midfielders as if we have somehow had too many of them. It is blatantly clear that neither Fabregas, Gilberto nor Flamini have the animal instincts that seem to be present in the heart of every top side. It is also true that talented as the first two are, Gilberto is not and Cesc is not yet good enough that their places in the starting line-up should be completely unquestioned and unthreatened. How Arsene could go out at the start of this season and rightly deciding he needs a fourth central midfielder plump for a 17 year old (Alex Song) to complement his 18 and 21 year-olds is beyond me. Principles and only buying the right player is admirable, but not when it means no player.
And if the case in midfield is one of transfer bloody mindedness then the case at left-back is one of tactical bloody mindedness. With no personal insult intended to the man, I can’t remember a single player in Arsene Wenger’s reign enjoy a run in the side and look more out of his depth when doing so than Pascal Cygan at left-back. Even when he does something right, 90% of the time it means he hasn’t cocked it up. His abilities are simply so limited there, it was no wonder Bolton almost encouraged Jens to throw him the ball. Leaving aside the defending, you would have to say he offers nothing to the attack either. It is as though we have become numb down part of our left side.
For Arsene to come out last week and say he brought on Lauren at left-back for the last half hour in Thun to see if he could play there just encapsulates the problem. As you and I well know, Lauren would be miles better playing there, as would Toure, as would Eboue, as might Senderos and as might even Flamini.
They say there is no point buying for the sake of it, but there is also no point not buying for the sake of it. And Alex Hleb is the ONLY outfield and vaguely proven player over 21 who has arrived at Highbury in nearly three and a half years! That is extraordinary! We all know (and largely admire) Arsene’s determination to challenge Chelsea’s exorbitant spending by unearthing and polishing gems, but it is almost as if what Chelsea do is dictating what we do. By this I mean the more they spend the less we seem to spend. And yet the fact is that any title win would count as a great overcoming of the odds, even if we spent £20 million a year.
On that note, there is nothing wrong with stripping out a few luxuries (eg Kanu and Wiltord) to give younger players a chance. But you can’t start getting rid of the bare essentials. And at the moment you can argue we have no competition in goal, where Wenger’s signings there are slowly becoming more bizarre and obscure (witness Shabaan, Warmuz, Almunia and now Poom). We have two good centre backs (one of whom is off his game), a still very young pretender (Senderos) and another who ain’t up to it. Four years ago we had an (admittedly aging) Adams, Keown, Campbell, Upson, Grimandi (better than Cygan) and Oleg Lhuzny (probably better than Cygan).
I hardly need to go into central midfield. A comparison with last year simply says it all. On the wings, as I suggested earlier, there is fair attacking cover. The problem though is that when we want to plump for someone more defensive on the right we end up having to move Fabregas, where as two years ago we would have simply slotted Edu in, leaving Vieira and Gilberto intact in the centre.
And at up front, it seems to have taken ages to a) figure out Reyes is a winger and b) develop a successor to Dennis. Discounting Reyes, we have just three forwards – a footballing god, a youngster still making his mark and a man who is rapidly going over the hill. Think back to 1999 and look at the perfect balance we enjoyed: an in form Kanu, Dennis around his prime, a raw (but still 25 goal) Thierry Henry and Davor Suker, who was used as and when it pleased. Sadly, our current paucity of forwards meant that after 70 minutes we were calling for Dennis yesterday, even though all and sundry could surely see it was not the time or place for his services. And quite why on earth Robin Van Persie was withdrawn I don’t know. Simple maths says Van Persie’s goal threat is far higher than Dennis or Reyes.
All in all, there seems to be a great sense of bafflement. We expect managers to be a little mad, but more and more often we seem to be shrugging our shoulders and explain something away as Arsene just being Arsene. But it doesn’t add up. We might not like seeing Chelsea above us but always knew their spending would make it probable. But it’s hard to accept when we seem to be shooting ourselves in the foot so readily. Even Spurs have about seven midfielders better than our fourth choice.
And what is so galling is that actually we are not very far at all from being bloody good. With the exception of Cygan, every player in our squad is Arsenal quality and very many are worthy week in week out starters too. But they need reinforcements. With these reinforcements, we wouldn’t have to shunt Freddie back into the side when he doesn’t look ready. We would be able to pick the players who are physically at their peak and rest others when they tire a little. Which is what Mourinho does and explains why Cole, Duff, Robben and Wright-Philips always look so chirpy.
So what do we need? A hungry, improving goalkeeper who will in a few years succeed Jens. A half decent centre back who is solid if nothing else. An established beast in central midfield. Perhaps a young, as yet unproven beast, for when the big beast is suspended. A Davor Suker like signing – someone who will offer goals when they play but whose presence will not hold Van Persie back. And as the Dutchman becomes established, someone to fill Van Persie’s current role of young pretender – Arturo Lupoli would seem the obvious choice.
That is five signings. But only two (the beast and the goal scorer) would initially be pivotal ones. Those five, combined with our ever improving youngsters, could make a real squad. At the moment it is not just that Chelsea are so far ahead in the table, it is that we are in with the likes of Spurs, Bolton and Wigan. Squad wise, we will never be as big or strong at Chelsea. But at a certain point it starts to matter less and less until it becomes almost immaterial. We need to plug the holes so we can get to that point.
And finally, what are the rewards? We already have a really good crop of players. Arsenal may not be ahead of the chasing pack but it is still true that the vast majority of our current crop would walk into any Premiership team other than Chelsea and Man U in some cases. With the right moves in the transfer market we could perhaps hope to persuade not just the brilliant Ashley Cole to stay at Highbury but also Thierry Henry, one of the great players of this generation. Whether he stays or goes could tell us so much about where Arsenal are headed.
I may be wrong, but I struggle to believe Henry (settled in London with a wife and new born) would have any inclination to leave a flourishing Arsenal in a new stadium who have the tools to seriously fight Chelsea for the league and to capture the Champions League. I suspect he fears the same things we fear and he needs the same reassurances.
He is 28 and I suspect he knows he has half a chance not to just be known as a great of his time, but to etch his name as one of the great players of any generation. To become that great he probably still needs a mix of international success at his prime (he was not yet a great player in 1998 or 2000) and success with a club in Europe.
On the international stage, Henry’s options are obviously limited because he can’t change countries. On the club stage, whether he feels able to achieve it at Highbury may well depend on just what Arsene is playing at.
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27/11/05
Arsenal 3 Blackburn 0: Attack good, defence not so good
I only saw the BBC highlights of yesterday’s game, so it would be wrong to go into too much depth. But three things were quite obvious from watching it:
Our defence is making too many Premiership standard strike forces look like world beaters. And with all due respect to the man, it is my belief that rightly or wrongly, the presence of Pascal Cygan is a massive factor.
A couple of reports I have read suggested he was not personally so bad yesterday, but the problem goes beyond his individual performances. It is the effect he has on the team.
Exactly a year and a week ago I wrote: “Pascal Cygan is no Baresi, but he’s not an awful player either. But at the moment his presence is having a devastating effect on our play. The rest of the team doesn’t trust neither him nor Jens Lehman and the effect is reverberating through our side.” A week later Jens played his last league game until February and has not looked back since his recall. I added at the end of the article: “Cygan has to be dropped for the sake of the team.”
And the same must happen now. Arseblogger was entirely correct yesterday to point to Wenger’s apparent blind spot over Cygan. Far be it for faceless internet bloggers to tell him how to manage Arsenal, but the clamour from fans appears so universal that surely these feelings need articulating.
2) The second point is that we are obviously playing some very nice attacking stuff at the moment. Not all the time, but we are cranking up the pressure when it matters. Much as Blackburn perhaps deserved a goal or even two, the fact is we created three perfectly executed ones and could have had more.
3 ) Some players have such outrageous talent that you can forgive them being idiots on occasion. Robbie Savage is not one such player. Arseblogger aptly summed him up as a “cheating, conman, fairy, nancy, fraud, flimflammer, obnoxious wanky cunt.”
I would add one word to that description: twerp, defined in the dictionary as a person regarded as not just contemptible but insignificant too.
Just before I finish I’d like to pre-empt a couple of things that will happen this week. The first is that a certain journalist will twist the Savage incident to bring up every misdemeanour ever committed by an Arsenal player. The second is that we are going to have to listen to unrivalled levels of crap spout from the mouth of Sam Allardyce this week ahead of our visit to the Reebok next Saturday. If they beat Fulham today they will be level with us going into the game.
On that note, there was an interesting (and unmalicious) remark made about George Best this week. It was said that Best frequently mentioned how Pele had called him the world’s greatest, yet Pele never needed to do the opposite. Sam Allardyce loves to tell us how brilliantly he has done at Bolton on such limited resources, yet Arsene Wenger...
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I didn't see the Thun game, I'm flying during the Blackburn game and the Reading game is not on TV. But I'll probably post one or two more general updates before the Bolton game.
20/11/05
Wigan 2 Arsenal 3: Should the new midfielder be a partner for Cesc rather than Silva?
In a nutshell: We took control through goals from Van Persie (good turn, run, fierce shot, bad goalkeeping) and Henry (lovely slid finish from Cesc pass at end of flowing move). They pulled one back through shambolic defending. Henry netted a scorcher of a free kick. They pulled another back through shambolice defending. We won despite defending shockingly.
Analysis: It was very easy last season to say how much we were missing the Gilberto "wall" during his absence. And perhaps it was true. But on recent performances, Berlin's got a stronger wall than the one our Brazilian offers. Against Wigan he was, to put it mildly, shite. He didn't go forward, he didn't pass well, he dallied on the ball, he made absurd attempts to intercept that only put us in deeper trouble and he failed to get off the ground for headers. (Witness first goal). In short, he was oh so passive.
Next to him, Cesc Fabregas was a model pro. He ran tirelessly, he won tackles, he broke up play, he positioned himself well and he supported the attack right up until the last minute. Sure, not everything came off, but the way I see it this new midfielder we all agree we need should more likely be a partner for Cesc than for Gilberto.
Behind the pair, things were just totally terrible. Credit to Wigan, honest team, hard working, deceptively skillful for a rugby league town all those other cliches. But the fact is Sol Campbell offered justification for Sven picking Rio ahead of him (yes he was that bad), Jens' kicking was crap, Lauren's general defending was poor and Toure's little better.
To their left was Pascal Cygan. The nicest thing I can say is that words fail me to describe his performance.
I'm not one for having a go at individuals just for the sake of it and it is true that in the end, we got a very welcome three points. But a spoon should be called a spoon and today our defending was chaotic.
Up front, it seems Van Persie may possibly have finally got the nod over Dennis, at long last. He played well, the returning Freddie worked hard but was not at full throttle, Pires put in a committed performance which didn't once involve me screaming at him for ducking a tackle and Henry once again made everything look too easy.
One final thought, much as I can't stand his self righteous, self important, status as a "real" player, and much as there is between no chance and 0% chance of Arsene going for him, you kinda have to admit Roy Keane could fill a gap.
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15/11/05
Arsenal playing before Chelsea form, European form and Vieira book form
A few brief thoughts as we wait for the Premiership to restart.
The first is that the fixture list is currently conspiring quite often to let us play our weekend game before Chelsea. I pointed out last season that while our results are largely unaffected by whether we play before, at the same time or after Chelsea, their's suffered last season when they played after us. And based purely on very anecdotal evidence, the same has been true this season. So we need to take advantage at Wigan on Saturday.
Secondly, this whole assumption that because Liverpool won the Champions League while being crap in the league, the same will happen to us seems bizarre. Last season was largely an anomoly. What nobody seems to have mentioned is that since defeat in Moscow over two years ago, we have a healthy European record that reads: P19 W12 D5 L2.
Finally, there is a piece in today's Times that takes 600 odd words to correctly say: Patrick Vieira hypocritically forgets his own diving when he lambasts Wayne Rooney and Ruud Van Nistelrooy as cheats.
But that is not all the piece says. In fact it reads strangely like a diktat handed down from Old Trafford to a friendly journalist much in the way United employed the same policy with the same friendly journalists after the battle of the buffet.
There was no way Vieira was going to ignore either Rooney or RVN in his book. And the fact is that Rooney DID cheat exactly as described and Van Nistelrooy WAS guilty of consistent violence that went unpunished against Arsenal. Whatever, Vieira's personal myopia, to suggest that the two United players are somehow worthy of apologies for what is correcly identified as shabby behaviour when Vieira does it, is just absurd.
And while I appreciate accuracy matters little when there is an axe there to be ground, the description of the Nicky Butt incident is just patently wrong. Contrary to what is written, it was a straight red card and not a second yellow. Secondly, there was never the slightest suggestion Vieira had dived. Thirdly, the decision to send Butt off was one based purely on the positioning of the incident near to the goal and not on the severity of the tackle or Vieira's reaction to it (there was no doubt it was a foul). Fourthly, all Alex Ferguson and anyone else was moaning about was the referee's decision to treat the incident as a goal scoring chance and thus issue red.
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10/11/05
International week update
My apologies for the lack of recent updates. The laptop appears to have died and enjoyable as this site is, staying late at work to update it is just not that appetising.
Anyway, things have gone pretty well since the Spurs game. There is not a lot to say about Sparta and Sunderland. We needed victories and we got victories. We didn't over exert ourselves but then we didn't need to. I'm still of the theory that we look far better when playas play in their natural positions and I think that was fairly obvious watching the Sunderland game. In midfield the mix was good, with the wall-like Gilberto and the more enterprising Fabregas, Reyes and Pires both looked comfortable out on the wings and up front we had a good mix of a forward/striker (what can you call Henry?) and a striker.
I don't think Chelsea were unlucky at Old Trafford because ultimately they didn't do enough. But I do think United can count themselves fortunate. Some of their defensive play was wretched - incredibly nervous and very deep. But they got away with it. People are asking whether they will collapse like we did. I don't think they will but nor do I think that the issue really. If someone does catch them I expect it to be by a process of small erosion rather than one big wave. So, for example, if they have a tricky away game that they draw others might take advantage with easy home wins. And of course if we win our game in hand and manage to beat the Blues at Highbury then the gap is only five points anyway. I'm not saying we will do it, just saying how I think they could be caught.
As Myles Palmer pointed out on ANR, the four league games before Chelsea are vital. Contrary to what he said, they actually read: Wigan (A), Blackburn (H), Bolton (A), Newcastle (A). We need to be looking for a minimum of ten points from the four of them and ideally twelve.
Not much else to say, except that I'm away for two weeks from Saturday, so there is a fair chance I won't update after the Wigan, Thun and Blackburn games (the last of which I will definitely miss as I will be in the air for it).
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01/11/05
Players in position works at Spurs
Arsene's decision to shore up the side with an extra midfielder was well intentioned and a welcome departure from the gung-ho approach that cost us so badly at Munich last season. But injuries and lack of squad depth meant that to do it we had Freddie playing out of position on the left, Cesc out of position on the right and our first choice central midfielders not in place. Add the fact we were playing with two forwards but no strikers, and it is obvious why we struggled. When Pires came on, suddenly we had him, Freddie and Cesc all where they should be. And when Van Persie came on, Reyes was on the left wing (which for me is his best spot), Pires was on the right (in a position he has played and done well in) and we had a good balance of a forward and a striker up front.
But I also wonder whether perhaps Arsene imagined the first half going as it did, while obviously hoping we would not concede. Spurs, confidence bolstered by their own good form and our lack of it, were always going to come out on fire. I wonder whether it was Arsene's plan to draw to try to draw their sting (keeping it at 0-0) and then introduce Pires and pounce on them as they tired. In the event, the problems of the first half called for Pires earlier than expected, but I expect it was probably always the plan that he would play a key role.
I don't think there can be any doubt we deserved the draw. Granted, Spurs dominated the first half (even if I only remember Jens having to save from his near namesake Jenas). But we dominated the second right from the off in my opinion. Sure, chances did not immediately come, but we did a good job of grinding them down and tiring them out and in the end Van Persie had about three good chances, Reyes had one, Pires had one and Pires scored. So for me, while our equaliser doesn't suit the grand theories of the pundits, it was well deserved. And to come back from behind against the likes of Spurs away never has been and is certainly not now something to be snorted at.
A couple of things have struck me. The first is that the idea of us being a one man (Henry) team is absurd. But it is true that we still haven't yet brought in someone who we can say is a sufficiently good deputy for him. Don't get me wrong, they don't need to be the same type of player, just a good enough alternative. Hopefully Van Persie can be. I'm also intruiged to see who replaces Dennis in the summer (or before?)
The second point is that the cover issue is not one of Chelsea's being excellent and ours adequate. In fact, our's is inadequate. Midfield reinforcements are a must (so that when we switch things around everyone is not pulled out of position like against Spurs) and so too are a buy each in defence and attack I guess. Bringing in those three players will not give us as excellently backed-up a squad as Chelsea's but I question whether their level of protection is really necessary. While they will always have all 11 positions perfectly filled, if we only have 9 or 10 it probably won't all that much difference in the end. It is when your side is so inbalanced (like against Spurs) that I think it becomes a big problem.
Thought for the day: When was Jens' last mistake?
Updating is a bit fraught at the moment due to a comatose laptop, so sorry for that. In the meantime we have Sparta and Sunderland at home. The latter of which is a must, must, must win game because either Chelsea, United or both will drop points next weekend.
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24/10/05
What story lies behind 'that' penalty?
This is a long post; it’s been that kind of weekend.
I’m now on my third school of thought about what happened and more confused than I was to start with. At first I simply wondered how they could be so stupid at such a crucial point in such a crucial match. Did they realise how agonising it was for the fans? Then I wondered whether these two great artists who have brought us both silverware and exquisite football had endured one of those once in a career cock-ups, the like of which every great band have had with that one appalling single and every great director has had with one shocking film. Should we simply forgive and forget and laugh it off as one bizarre and fortunately uncostly cock-up?
But now I wonder: was it symptomatic of a greater malaise? Could it be that whilst we as fans still yearn desperately to win the European Cup and to catch Chelsea, Pires and Henry see the first as impossible and the second as highly improbable and in any case offering only a reward that would emulate, rather than surpass previous achievements? Do they still have the same drive to succeed for Arsenal? Would Frank Lampard even consider doing anything other than burying the ball from the spot, irrespective of the score? And if the three points were as vital for them as they were for us, how could they contemplate even trying that penalty?
I realise the above paragraph could easily be interpreted as me saying they don’t care. I am definitely not saying that. For a start I am saying the above insinuations are true and in any case, if there has been any loss of drive, I would suggest it has been almost entirely subconscious and in no way deliberate. But whichever way you look at it, I think the above are fair questions that should be asked if we are to understand why such a monumental fuck-up occurred.
And just sticking with penalties for a moment, I’m delighted to see that Thierry Henry says he will be taking them all from now on. It had become absolutely farcical. Not only did we have our top marksman refusing to take penalties he had won for absolutely no obvious reason whatsoever. We also had Dennis refusing to take them following his miss against United over six years ago! Fear of flying is one thing, but a phobia of penalties is another and you get the feeling that in any other walk of life Dennis would have been told to pull himself together and just do it. And to think that yesterday it had got to the stage where we were passing them to each other. Incredible.
Which is also what can be said for getting two penalties off Mike Riley. I haven’t seen any replays of the second one, while the first one could have gone either way. But I will just say that analysing these things in super slow motion is pointless because football is not played in super slow motion. Slowing the play down will always make it look like the attacker has deliberately let himself be fouled. It distorts reality.
At last, the game. Firstly, City were very well organised and are a genuinely decent side. So a win is good. But we’re struggling. A fair part of the problem can be summarised in six words: Flamini, Gilberto, Cesc, Lampard, Essien, Makalele. Our players are good, but we lack a monster in there like Chelsea have and it tells. Eight other words also explain a lot: Van Persie, Senderos, Quincy, Eboue, Robben, Crespo, Gudjohnsen, Ferreira. Arsene didn’t make a single sub. Mourinho introduced first Gudjohnsen, then Robben and then Crespo, all about ten minutes apart. Of course, they didn’t win. But the contrast could not have been bigger.
Arsene is not an idiot: his public buoyancy and confidence in the strength of the squad is surely just a charade that he is obliged to show in an effort to maintain moral. But at heart it must be obvious to him just how blatantly we need to splash the cash.
I’ll finish by saying that Pires and Henry were right to apologise. And that Spurs away is the perfect time to make-up for things by putting in a committed, impassioned performance. And it’s vital they do, because if we’re as slack at White Hart Lane this time as we have been recently, then this time we will lose. And nobody wants that.
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20/10/05
Why Henry's goal at Upton Park was his greatest ever
In the world of footballing top tens, there surely can’t be a more enjoyable experience than picking Thierry Henry’s best goals. I can’t honestly claim to have seen enough of Pele and Maradona to properly judge them. But my suspicion is that if a montage of Thierry Henry goals were shown next to montages of the Brazilian and Argentinian’s best strikes, Henry would not look out of place.
So, at 10…
Chelsea (h) 12/04. At kick-off people said their defence was the immovable object and Thierry Henry didn’t score in big games. Thirty seconds later he had pinged in an unstoppable shot from the edge of the box, leaving Cech rooted to the spot.
at 9…
Bayern Munich (h) 03/05. A strange choice for some perhaps, but for me another brilliant goal against an immovable object. Bayern may have been a defensive shambles in the next round at Chelsea but against us they were tighter than something incredibly tight. After 70 odd minutes, Henry controlled a long ball on the left from Cole, brought it down and hit it instantly across Oliver Khan with complete precision. It was a perfectly executed goal. And it had to be.
At 8…
Manchester City (h) 01/04. This one is also representing the swerver against United later that season. Against City, I was in the North Bank and saw just how much his shot seemed to swerve and yet keep completely straight like an arrow. David James didn’t have a prayer.
At 7…
Sparta Prague (a) 10/05. A very late entrant but very deserving of it’s place. On for six minutes, he controlled the ball on the outside of his foot, swung his whole body through 360 degrees and then fired in a bending shot that beat the goalkeeper in the only part of the net it could have. Almost arrogantly brilliant.
At 6…
Inter Milan (a) 11/03. Broke out from defence, looked to be going nowhere and then made Javier Zanetti look amateurish before slamming home with the left foot. A brilliant goal and the crucial third in a 5-1 win.
At 5…
Spurs (h) 11/02. Very, very special run. He took them all on, cut inside and finished brilliantly. Then he celebrated in serious style in front of the west stand. Magnificent.
At 4…
Charlton (h) 10/04. So good it completely bamboozled the cameraman. I watched this game in a pub in London with one of those dodgy satellites. The commentary was in a foreign language, music was playing in the bar and a lot of people were only half watching. The camera was focused in on Henry as he held the ball with his back to goal about six yards out. Then he backheeled the ball and suddenly wheeled away in delight. The pub was genuinely stunned. Those of us who realised what must have happened looked on in disbelief. When they showed a replay from another angle the reaction from the rest of the pub was one of sheer incredulity. And the more they showed it the more disbelieving the reactions. It didn’t really matter what happened in the rest of the game.
At 3…
Liverpool (h) 04/04. No doubt you’ve heard people say how important this goal was in us winning the title. It was. I was at Highbury that day and 2-1 down at half time there was some serious cigarette smoking going on in the north bank. Within a minute we had equalised thanks to Freddie Ljungberg. But after equalising once and then going behind again, a fair few people feared things were turning against us and we would do it again.
Then Henry picked the ball up on the left. He jinked in, took on a couple of defenders and simply by his presence created sheer panic in the Liverpool defence. So much so that Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher knocked in to each other and fell to the ground comically. Suddenly Henry was through and he finished coolly. The north bank erupted. People who had not lost it since Ray Parlour scored against Valencia found themselves jumping out of their seats. A massive, massive goal and sheer brilliance bore in part out of the complete panic his presence can induce.
At 2…
Manchester United (h) 10/00. Unreal goal. Fed by Grimandi miles out, he chipped it up, spun Gary Neville and in one fired in a volley that dipped and swerved over Barthez into the far corner. Watching at home, all I saw was the ball leave his foot. I thought it was going miles over. Then the Clock End went mad. I had lost the ball in the air. Eventually, I was persuaded it had gone in but was convinced it could only have had it taken the most massive of deflections. Then I saw the replay. One of the goals of goals.
At 1…
West Ham (a) 08/02. You may think this a weird choice. I say the beauty of it has never fully been recognised. Now, don’t get me wrong: were this goal being judged purely on Henry controlling the ball on his knee and hitting an absolute bullet past David James from 30 yards, it would not be anywhere near number one, however great a finish it was. It is the first touch that does it and it is a touch which in my opinion defies the physics of football.
He receives the ball on the right edge of the penalty area from a Vieira pass. He has his back to goal. It is played firmly in to his left foot. Then he takes the crucial touch, which I will come back to in a minute. When he next touches it he has spun 180 degrees so that he is now facing diagonally to goal. His defender has been left bamboozled. The ball lands on what is now Henry’s right knee. Think about what he did with that touch: he took a ball that was coming into his feet and with one touch he looped it up in to the air with his foot. When it fell it was still, incredibly, travelling in the original direction. But he didn’t just lob it into the air, which would have been hard enough.
Instead, he met the ball purposefully with the right hand side of his left boot and somehow spun (not hooked as would have been the case had he used the left hand side of the boot) the ball up in to the air up and over his defender’s head. Had Brazil done it in 1970 I genuinely believe it would be replayed continuously now. Do whatever you can to get a copy of the video and watch that touch because 250 words of mine have failed to do it justice.
And it is for that reason that West Ham away was Thierry Henry’s best Arsenal goal and potentially the greatest I have ever seen.
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19/10/05
Sparta 0 Arsenal 2: Match report, playa ratings and Henry worshipping
The formalities first, then the Henry stuff: Cygan replaced Senderos who had replaced Campbell and Cygan continued in place of the injured Cole. Gilberto returned in midfield in place of Cesc who replaced the injured Ljungberg. The returning Van Persie replaced Bergkamp (something to do with a fear of flying).
We started well, with Cesc having a shot and some promising attacks. Then Reyes went off injured and Arsene went for the brave option of risking Thierry Henry for 70 minutes. Within two minutes he had chested the ball down on the edge of the box and fired what looked like a beaut of a volley that was deflected wide. Then he brought down a through ball from Kolo, spun on the edge of the box and hit the most belle of bending shots with the outside of his right foot. Great goal.
We didn’t do much else for the rest of the half and started the second somewhat sluggishly. Then on 65 we started playing again and within five minutes Pires? had played Henry in with a beautiful ball. He controlled it and still had a fair bit to do to knock it home. 2-0 it finished. A decent enough performance and a great result. Playa ratings to the right.
The goals take Theirry Henry past Ian Wright’s all time Arsenal goal scoring record. We have been fantastically privileged to see him rack up 186 not out and even luckier that so many have been done in such incredible style.
As I walked to work yesterday morning (Tuesday), I went with a bounce in my step. Sometimes you don’t realise what you have til it’s gone and I for one could not wait to see his magnificence return to the pitch.
Of course, there will be those Arsenal fans who will bemoan his unwillingness to commit to the club in his post match interview. That kind of reaction is absolute bollocks in my view. It is quite obvious he is not going to come out and commit to the club just like that because the fact is he is considering leaving. He is 28, has achieved a massive amount, probably fears somewhat about the destination we are headed towards and feels he may want to try and conquer Spain before he retires. People ask for him to be honest. He is. By saying what he is saying he is making it perfectly clear things are up in the air.
Do people want him to say he wants to go? What good would that do? The fact is that when he says he is focused on his football at the moment, that is the truth and that is what he showed us tonight. What is wrong with him kissing the badge if he puts in great performances? Kissing the badge is a sign that your heart is in to what you are doing. And who could argue that his heart wasn’t in tonight’s performance?
Of course we don’t want him to leave on a Bosman. But if he leaves, he leaves. We have been absurdly lucky to have not only one of the best, but one of the most consistent players in the world between the ages of 22 and 28 in his career. If he wants to move then so be it. I would wish him all the best.
Of course, I desperately want him to sign a new contract. But let us be grown up about this. He is doing nothing wrong. The best we can do is get behind him (the fans were great tonight), get behind the team at Highbury (we can do a lot better) and hope Arsene can bring in the players and the team achieve the success that will allow Thierry Henry to stay.
I have no inside knowledge on the issue of his contract, but my hunch would be that things are not a lot more complicated than Thierry fearing (quite justifiably) that the standard of the squad is slipping and that we look less likely to achieve the success (particularly in Europe) that he so craves.
We shall see what happens, but in the meantime let’s celebrate his achievement and leave the worrying for another time. I have written enough now, so won’t reveal my favourite Henry goal now, but you can reveal yours below.
ps: he seemed pretty happy to me when he broke the record.
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16/10/05
West Brom 2 Arsenal 1: Report + playa ratings. Grim.
Arsene Wenger has never suffered the indignity of losing to a lower division team as Arsenal manager, but it is hard to believe that the disappointment could be any greater than that experienced after today’s loss at West Brom.
In 45 minutes, our emotions went from genuine hope that things could be turning our way (we were winning and Chelsea were losing) to the sheer grimness of seeing us somehow lose and them come back to win 5-1.
In short, we took an early lead when Senderos hooked home a deep Reyes corner. We were completely dominant, they were crap. We sat back. They equalised after a feeble Pires attempt to block a cross, a poor header from Senderos and terrible marking of Kanu. Of all people, the man renowned for taking 10 touches when two will do, had time to control the ball, compose himself and then fire off an (impressive) shot past the helpless Lehman. It was a shocker of a goal.
In the 2nd half we eventually rallied around the hour mark and though we had a couple of chances (Toure, Reyes, Bergkamp) things were in no way urgent enough. We probably should have had a penalty for a foul on Reyes, but he wasn’t in a scoring position so I’m not going to complain. It would, however, be nice to see referees decide whether a foul should be given not based on where the incident happens on the pitch but on the incident itself. And if this means the law needs to be reformed so that minor fouls in non-threatening positions in the area do not warrant a spot-kick then so be it. We need consistency.
Anyway, they then scored a cracker out of absolutely nothing. We huffed but got nowhere. Immensely disappointing and all the more so when you are watching the game in the corner of a bar while in other corners Chelsea, United, Liverpool and Spurs fans are all celebrating goals going in. The upshot of all this is that the table does not look good. In fact I don’t even want to see it. All I know is we’re 14 points behind Chelsea having dropped 11 to their none.
But the main discussion must be about the performance. We started with a very youthful team containing Senderos, Clichy, Reyes, Flamini, Cesc and for much of the game Eboue too after Fred went off. We were without Cole, Campbell, Gilberto, Van Persie, Henry, Hleb and then Ljungberg. That would be a big miss to any squad, all the more so to ours.
So perhaps that excuses things. Or perhaps it doesn’t. The Everton and Man City sides that a far less experienced Arsenal dispatched from last season’s League Cup were miles better than the carthorses West Brom served up today. We could and should have easily won this game.
The problem is that the fact we are not at our most fluent at the moment should mean every playa is giving 120% so that effort alone can get us through. But that is not the case. We were leaden footed and lethargic today. Really, I would say that excluding the hard to appraise Lehman, only Reyes and perhaps Senderos and Toure did themselves justice out there today. Not everything may be coming off for Reyes, but he keeps plugging away and chasing everything.
The same is not true for the others. Pires is the worst culprit. His effort at times is frankly lamentable. I can just about excuse him pulling out of tackles because he is worried about his knee but he has no excuse for not doing everything humanly possible to block crosses.
We are clearly lacking really good cover right through the spine of the team (a defender, midfielder and striker are all needed). But we also have to roll our sleeves up and not commit the immortal sin of taking our foot off the pedal just because our opponents are crap.
It is going to take a miraculous recovery for us to challenge for the league now. We need our genuinely rotten luck with injuries to turn, new playas and better performances.
One final point about today’s referee and the one minute 55 seconds of injury time he added on. Now don’t get me wrong, I loathe it when managers squabble over every few seconds. My theory is normally if you don’t score in 90 then you probably won’t score in 94. But today was just some kind of complete joke. We had an injury a minute from time that lasted about one minute 40 seconds, we had four second half subs, three of which were incredibly slow West Brom ones, we had one of the longest and deliberately stalling goal celebrations ever and we had them wasting time every time they got a free-kick or goal kick, even when it was 1-1.
By adding on just two minutes the referee has completely indulged that negativity (which I accept Arsenal have been guilty of in the past). It was a complete joke.
...
09/10/05
Football returns next week
Do you get very bored of England games after 60 minutes? Do you have to tell yourself to try to be happy when England score? And does part of you secretly will the opposition to knock one past ‘us’?
Answer: Yes, yes and yes.
My conclusion is that Sven would get double the amount of stick if the thought of writing about England wasn’t so boring. In fact, I’ve had enough. I’m so bored I can’t be stuffed to write any more about England.
But I will say a few words about my good friends at FIFA. Presumably David Beckham’s red card will stand, despite his 2nd booking being a blatant dive.
It will stand because under FIFA’s own half witted rules, appeals are only allowed in cases of mistaken identity. I don’t give a stuff about Beckham, but I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: this is the most inept rule I have ever seen.
England have been wrongly deprived of a playa for 30 minutes because of an opposition player’s connivance. And then to compound the problem, they will ban him for no other reason than that they have invented a stupid rule that says he must be banned.
For some reason, this rule pisses me off big time. It is the height of bullshit in a game overflowing with the stuff. The only bans being handed out should be for the half wits who invented this rule and are now pressuring the Premiership to take it up.
The only saving grace is that these things have a way of hitting people back in the face. How I will laugh if the brilliant Ronaldinho is sent-off in next year’s World Cup semi-final for handling on the line when the ball clearly hit his chest. Of course, my scorn will not be directed at the unfortunate Brazilian. Instead it will be at the FIFA bigwigs who will have seen their showpiece player miss their showpiece game because of their own arrogant, farcical rules.
Football returns next week.
...
021005
Arsenal 1 Birmingham 0 - half a report
Well, I only saw the second half (hence no playa ratings). From the sounds of it we created a fair bit in the first half and as well as missing a penalty we could have had a hatful.
The second half seemed a very flat affair. Maik Taylor made great saves early on from Pires and Ljungberg and then we seemed to lose any great degree of urgency. In the end, Van Persie’s not brilliantly hit shot deflected off a defender and beat the excellent Taylor. We held on, though not with any great style.
We looked lethargic in the latter stages. From what I saw Campbell, Toure and Cole looked good enough. Reyes is playing with brilliant enthusiasm and desire. The rest of them don’t look lazy by any means but if you compare us with Chelsea at the moment, is the same unswerving desire there? I’m not so sure.
It needs to be.
And the crowd can play their part too. Apologies if the SKY sound system did Highbury a disservice, but the ground sounded embarrassingly silent today. The players are human beings like the rest of us and they thrive on the support of the crowd like you and I would. So, if you’re lucky enough to be at Highbury, sing.
Chelsea won 4-1 this afternoon and looked good, albeit against what is a pretty poor Liverpool league side. The Kop were singing louder in the 89th minute than anything Highbury managed today.
On site news, I’ve gone back to the old design but with the new logo following a public outcry. Not sure about what should go in the space on the left though, as the Latest Updates column was pointless and time consuming to update.
Finally, a question for any readers who live in Dublin or anywhere else in the Republic of Ireland. I need to get internet access at my new flat for 3 months. Are there any broadband companies who don’t insist on you signing up for 12 months? And what is the best dial-up?
...
|fhffg
Archives: July 2005, June 2005, May 2005, April 2005,March 2005, February 2005, January 2005, December 2004 and the embryonic goodplaya.
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Playa ratings:
v West Ham (2-3) - NEW
Lehman: An absolute idiot for stupidly getting involved with Harewood late on. Not only was it nasty, but he could have been sent-off and he also put us out of our stride. A minute later West Ham made it 3-1. He’s a very good goalkeeper but an arrogant, nasty character and an embarrassment when he behaves like that. 4
Gilbert: Looked to be doing fine until the Arsenal full-back curse struck. 6
Djorou: Individually did well, but understandably hasn’t been able to strike up any kind of partnership with Campbell yet. 6
Campbell: What can you say? Two massive errors that were punished to the max. Things just aren’t going his way at all. 4
Senderos: Obviously doesn’t offer the attacking prowess of Cole or Clichy but he looked solid and his distribution to Pires was fairly impressive. Did fine at centre-back in the second half but should have whacked it out instead of passing to Larsson for the mistake that led to the third goal. 5
Gilberto: He’s not great at the moment. Far too passive for my liking. 5
Diaby: Still raw, but I like him. And he is so like Vieira: even his mistakes remind me of Vieira’s shortcomings. Not sure why he was taken off. 7
Ljungberg: You have to laugh at the way he somehow managed to deflect Henry’s shot wide. Is trying really hard and not actually playing badly at all. But nothing is going his way. 7
Pires: I do feel we need players with greater bite than Pires at the moment. But in fairness, he was involved, scored one, set-up the other one for Henry and saw Hislop deny him with a great save. 6
Henry: Hard to judge. Seemed to have a decent enough game on TV but reports from the game were critical. 6
Van Persie: Unlucky. Offered a lot but nothing went his way. 7
Subs:
Flamini: Brought on as an emergency right-back but did pretty well all things considered. Say what you like about Flamini but he’s a fighter who unlike some of his team-mates will never be found lacking for effort. 7
Larsson: Yes, he made the cock-up for the third goal. But it was typical of our rough justice. Other than that he was excellent: committed in the tackle, full of running in attack and crucially he understands the value of hitting long-balls diagonally, as opposed to completely straight. Which is something some of his team-mates could do with taking note of. 7
Dennis: Not normally much of a substitute, but he found himself a good niche on the right of midfield and offered us extra creativity. Well hit volley to set up Pires’ goal. 6
v Sparta Prague (0-2)
Lehmann: Solid enough game. He’s doing well at the moment. 7
Clichy: Bit of a nightmare really, though to be fair their right winger was their best playa. 5
Cygan: Surprisingly assured. 7
Kolo: Looked fairly good most of the time. 7
Lauren: The odd moment of strangeness. 6.5
Flamini: Was hard to judge the midfielders tonight. Seemed to do the normal without being mega effective. 6.5
Gilberto: One of those Gilberto games where you don’t really know how he has played. 6.5
Fabregas: Got fairly involved and offered threat down the right. 7
Pires: Not his best game by any means but still one of his better ones this season. Magnificent ball for the second goal. 7
Van Persie: Seems to get carded in Europe for the most ridiculous things. Did alright without having much effect. 6.5
Reyes: Full of running til he got injured and wasn’t running at all. 6.5
Subs:
Henry (for Reyes 17ish): Emperor-like as he beat Wrighty’s record. Magnificent playa who, had he not scored, would have been accused of going missing in another big game. But because he did score, it won’t count as a big game. 8.5
Eboue (for Van Persie 70ish): Looking ok at the moment. 6.5
Quincy (for Cesc 85ish): Full of running. 6.5
v West Brom (2-1)
Lehmann: Blameless for goals. 6
Lauren: Not particularly composed. 5.5
Clichy: Has had far better games. 5.5
Senderos: Good goal, messy header for theirs. 6
Toure: Ok but ridiculously offside at one free kick. 5.5
Flamini: Ok but uninspiring. 5.5
Cesc: Decent. Kept trying. 6
Pires: Crap. 4.5
Ljungberg: Ok while he was on. 5.5
Reyes: Still running his heart out. 7
Bergkamp: A moany kind of day. 5.5
Subs:
Eboue (for Ljungberg 35ish): Not great. 5.5
Quincy (for Flamini 80ish): Bizarrely decided what Arsenal lack is left-wingers. 5.5
v Everton (2-0)
Jens: Very little to do. Did it all right. 7
Lauren: Occasionally seemed to imagine he had more pace than he does, which was quite amusing as he tried to take people on. Solid as usual. 7
Cole: As someone who gave him a good bashing over the summer it would suit by agenda to say he is playing poorly. But that would be a lie. Whatever the reasons for it, he has started the season well and in attack in particular is offering a lot. 7.5
Toure: Nothing to do at the back and seemed to enjoy getting in on this whole new set-piece malarkey. 7
Campbell: Two excellent headers, especially the second one which was a real hammer. Not at full speed yet but looked good, organised the defence well, shouted at people and seemed to realise he was our most senior player on the pitch. 8
Pires: Hadn’t done all that much in the brief period he was on the pitch before Gary Neville’s shit younger brother’s tackle forced him off. 6.5
Cesc: One friend said to me he is looking lightweight and giving the ball away too much. Maybe. But I think he does a lot of good stuff and his presence in the opponent’s penalty box is valuable. 7
Gilberto: Solid game, got through a fair amount and gave us a couple of those rare Gilberto moments where for a few seconds he stops looking like he is suspended in perpetual slow motion and instead provides us with raw Brazilian skill. 7
Ljungberg: Started slowly but furrowed hard as ever. Seemed to make a real determination to either stick wide out on the wing or else very deliberately come inside as opposed to just being narrow. I think it worked. Unlucky to hit bar in second half. 7
Van Persie: Hit the post with a nice effort (right footed!) and had some decent moments but was otherwise a bit subdued. Has been a fairly rough few weeks and is probably still feeling his way back in to things. 6.5
Reyes: Loses the ball now and then but that is only because he constantly seems to have it. Boundless energy at the moment, great creativity and fantastic balls into the box. Really was amazing how much of the ball he had tonight. 8
Subs:
Hleb (for Pires first half some time): Played pretty well, looked pretty creative and linked up well with Cole. Playing better than Pires. 7
Dennis (for Van Persie 80ish): Did alright. Created a bit of stuff. Didn’t do anything of note. 6.5
Alex Song (for Reyes 87ish): Made a couple of sloppy passes but it was harsh and exaggerated for Alan Smith to say he hadn’t found a man. 6
v Thun (2-1)
Almunia: Probably not to blame on the goal and handling was ok even though he still catches very strangely.6
Lauren: Did the usual Lauren stuff. Fairly well. 6.5
Cole: Thought he was good today. Clean at the back and contributed well going forward. Perhaps he enjoyed having Pires back in front of him. 7
Toure: Seemed ok. Can’t remember too much else.6.5
Sol: Looking a little chunky but it must be good to have him back.6.5
Cesc: Not his most spectacular game but made a couple of decent runs forward and made one particularly delicious pass in the second half.6.5
Gilberto: Very well taken goal and was more involved tonight than normally. An experienced head 7.5
Pires: By no means at his best but infinitely better than the past few games. Got in an early curler that almost flew in and was generally far more involved. Even tried to tackle twice. Neither attempt worked.. 7
Ljungberg. Svavanged without achieving much.6.5
RVP: Had been easing himself back into first team action when the dick head referee struck. 6.5
Reyes: Excellent, his boundless enthusiasm drove the team on and he looked really dangerous at times and caused Thun more problems than anyone else. 8
Subs:
Dennis (for Cesc 70 odd): Is that his first goal as a sub? Took it well. 7
Hleb (for Reyes 80 odd): Didn’t really find his touch in the ten minutes he had.6
Quincy (for Ljungberg 80 odd): Offered a new threat.6.5
v Fulham (4-1)
Lehman: Looking very solid at the moment. You can tell it by the fact he is not making kicking mistakes at the moment. At tricky moments, his handling from corners was excellent.7
Lauren: Missed a penalty, but that was bound to happen one day and at least it didn’t matter. Otherwise, he played well and looked particularly committed (mostly in the right sense) in the tackle. 7
Cole: His best attacking display for a while and linked up promisingly with Reyes. 7.5
Cygan: I’ve made no secret of the fact that his presence in the team pleases me not. Defending was ok tonight, though a couple of times Fulham forwards worryingly escaped him when crosses were slung in. Took his goals very well. Could it be that unlike the rest of the side Cygan does not feel obligated to score the perfect goal and concentrates on just sticking it in the net?7.5
Kolo: Poor clearance for the Fulham goal but on the whole had a decent game. The defensive issues we have at the moment seem more a collective than individual problem. 7
Cesc: Gets a wee bit overrun occasionally but on the whole is playing really well and in particular offers a genuine attacking threat in the way that perhaps Vieira sometime failed to. 7
Gilberto: Did what Gilberto does. Still sometimes resembles one of those video graphic created dinosaurs in the way he moves. 7
Hleb: Good first half, creating a fair deal and generally looking like a cross between Pires and Ljungberg (in the best sense). 7
Reyes: A very good game in my opinion, full of running, full of trickery and very direct. In particular, he linked up very well with Cole and Henry, which was very pleasing. His ball for Henry’s first goal was majestic and pleasingly the two seemed on the same wavelength tonight. 8
Dennis: Besides his idiotic yellow card he had a great game and was at the heart of Fulham’s dissection. Kept going strong right to the end. 8
Henry: Took his two goals, which both came at crucial times, very well. Just one more to equal Wright’s record. 7.5
Subs:
Flamini (for Reyes 75 odd): Set up Henry for the killer third goal. 7
Clichy (for Hleb 85 odd): Ran around like mad, as Clichy does. 7
v Liverpool (3-1)
Lehman: Two really good saves – the first from Riise and the second from Gerard’s piledriver. Flapped at one cross but all it served to do was to remind us how much he has improved. 7.5
Lauren: Did very well, almost scoring from Pires’ cross in the first half and setting up the third goal with some nice play. Is doing well at the moment, perhaps spurred on by Wenger not mentioning right back when saying which areas he doesn’t need to strengthen over the summer! 7.5
Cole: A mixed game. Good going forward and times and obviously an excellent second half block from Garcia. But also occasionally sloppy, messing up things we know him well capable of doing. 6.5
Senderos: A big presence at the heart of the defence he had one of his sternest tests in an Arsenal shirt when Liverpool got at us in the second half. Did pretty well on the whole though, especially as protection from midfield was not always forthcoming. 7
Kolo: A good solid outing and the same goes for him as for Senderos. 7
Vieira: Did some stuff really well and was very influential in our first half attacking play. But I felt he allowed the midfield to be too easily swamped after the break and was not always applying the pressure to Liverpool that he might have done. 7
Gilberto: It goes without saying that evaluating a Gilberto performance is very, very difficult. That said, I felt that like Vieira he could have offered a bit more bite in midfield to help out the defence in the second half. 6.5
Pires: Really was at the heart of some of our best stuff in the first half. Crossed brilliantly for Lauren to almost score, shot just wide and then scored with a magnificent free-kick. Faded later on. 7.5
Cesc: Absolutely outstanding. He set the move in motion for Reyes’ offside goal, fired just wide from 20 yards, scored his own offside goal and then added a very neat third for us in stoppage time. In between this he ran the game, tackling, running with the ball, passing brilliantly and generally looking the best player on the park. Outstanding. 9
Reyes: Not perfect, but he notched up another well taken goal, scored an offside one and ran his heart out for the cause in the second half. 7.5
Van Persie: Not as involved as he has been but got involved and put over one excellent early cross for Robert Pires. Generally looking a much better player than previously. 7
Subs:
Edu (for Pires 70 odd): Came on and did ok. 6.5
Bergkamp (for Van Persie 70 odd): Set up Fabregas for the third with a fantastic flick but was otherwise pretty poor. When he did try and press Liverpool he gave away a few free-kicks and the rest of the time he just didn’t seem to chase them at a time when we really needed players to get stuck in. I know he is still capable of the odd piece of magic but we probably have enough to our attacking armoury that magic alone should not prompt a new contract. We have shown we are capable of winning without Dennis and should probably now look to the future. 6
Aliadiere (for Reyes 85): As ever he came on and got stuck in, chasing everything and hassling the Liverpool defenders. Has a really good attitude and probably deserves more than five minutes at some point. 6.5
v West Brom (2-0)
Lehman: The defence clearly trusts him again and he is reciprocating that with improved handling, kicking and decision making. 7
Lauren: Worked reasonably hard and got forward on a few occasions. 7
Cole: Looked a little lethargic at times but kept going and finished the game strongly, setting us on a number of attacks. 6.5
Senderos: A couple of passes went astray but took a no nonsence defence to defending. Far be it for me to argue with his current record of not conceding a goal for absolutely yonks. 7.5
Gilberto: Covered well at set pieces, but with Arsenal in 2nd gear he seemed only to happy to make sure Gilberto was in 2nd gear too. Not much drive. 6.5
Vieira: Committed silly fouls early on and was not finding his passes. Got better as the game went on and provided more drive. Symbolic of our night. 7
Pires: Did ok initially but like the rest of them lacked the necessary drive. Got better with the team. 7
Cesc: Probably not his best game. Came looking for the ball a lot and should be credited for it but looked a little fatigued when challenged. 6.5
Van Persie: Did ok initially but was not really receiving a lot of support from the midfield. Took his goal magnificently. 7
Reyes: Ran hard but once again looked incredibly left footed. But gave an excellent assist for the opening goal and kept on trying right til the end, providing useful relief for the defence. 7
Subs:
Dennis (for Van Persie 75ish): Did little except provide a measured set-up for Edu's clincher. 6.5
Edu (for Cesc 75ish): Got involved a bit and finished well to clinch it. 7
v Spurs (1-0)
Lehman: Is playing very well and his handling looks as assured as ever, his throws good and his kicking far better than earlier in the season. I think it no great secret that he needs to control his temper. 7
Lauren: Has looked solid in recent weeks and looked more lively going forward. Alan Curbishley put him in his team of the season on the basis that few wingers get much change out of him. And he is probably right. Really does need to watch stray elbows though, intentional or not. 7
Toure: Was given a little trouble by Defoe but it was less trouble than Adi Akenbai gave him in the FA Cup in January. And Defoe is clearly a far better player than the Stoke man. Will soon score a very, very memorable free-kick I sense. 7
Senderos: It is hard to argue with his defensive record since he came into the side. We have simply stopped conceding goals. That said, what are the odds that back when we were conceding at will, Robbie Keane would have buried that chance. Could have got first goal for club with header. 7
Cole: Linked up well as ever with Pires down our left hand side and seemed really up for the fight. Had the slightly awkward penalty shout against him at the end but otherwise did well. 7
Vieira: With the ball he was excellent on the whole, spreading play at pace and helping support those ahead of him. Looks much more comfortable with Gilberto next to him. Though that said they both looked half a step off the pace at times against a Spurs side full of running. 7
Gilberto: Did what Gilberto does well. Though probably not as much of a shield as against Chelsea. 7
Cesc: Tired a little in the second half but was his usual youthful magnificence until then. Spread the ball with ease, got stuck in, helped out the attack and set up our goal. Nice. 7.5
Pires: Not the force he was against Chelsea but is playing well at the moment, linking up well with Cole down the left and generally providing an experienced head in an otherwise youthful attack. 7
Van Persie: Set Reyes up for the first minute chance, fired a decent effort wide and generally played quite a mature game without hitting great heights. 7
Reyes: Did very well to come back after the first minute miss. Goal was excellent and attitude looked good. Seemed to find an extra gear for second half run that set up Dennis. 7.5
Subs:
Dennis (for Van Persie 70 odd): Curled one wide and generally looked quite good against a tiring Spurs defence. There was the odd occasion when I felt he let the player pass him to quickly but that was probably just my last minute nerves. 7
Edu (for Cesc 70 odd): Hit the post with a curling effort and slotted in very, very neatly on the left. Will be a great shame to lose him if he does eventually go. 7
Aliadiere (for Van Persie 87 odd): Only had a few minutes but looked really keen to impress. Had a couple of good touches, got stuck in and made tired Spurs legs panic, buying us valuable time. 7
v Chelsea (0-0)
Lehman: Has looked much better recently and besides the odd dodgy kick, looked very solid against Chelsea and made one excellent save early on from Drogba. His positioning seemed good on through balls. 7
Lauren: He really didn’t put a foot wrong and kept Damien Duff and probably had his best game for the club against a very, very tricky opponent. Was ferocious and fair in the tackle. 8
Cole: After a slightly tentative start he threw himself at everything Chelsea chucked at us. Whatever people’s feelings about his current situation, there can be no complaints about his performance. 7
Senderos: Excellent as usual. This guy likes clean sheets. 7
Toure: Really did well in what could have been a tricky night. Got weight on his clearances and never panicked. 7
Vieira: It really doesn’t take a genius to figure out how much he seems to be enjoying having Gilberto back in the side. Really led the side again with fine interventions and set us on the path to attack – such as when Pires hit the bar. 7.5
Gilberto: Suffered a couple of inevitable nosebleeds when he got into decent positions going forward but otherwise did a fine job of snaffling out what Chelsea threw at us and generally making the team a slick unit. Showed one or two fine turns as well. 7
Cesc: This kid really does defy logic. At a time when his brittle bones should be feeling the effects of a long, hard season he is looking stronger than ever. Magnificently composed on the ball, he worked furiously in defence, midfield and attack. 8
Pires: His early volley that hit the bar reminded me of when I stood in the Holte End last year for Villa v Arsenal and he hit an even better effort that was turned just over. Even the anti-French bigots around me were shut well and truly up.
There is a wonderful magnificence about watching Robert Pires on song. He caresses the ball delightfully and when it’s time to move it on he does it with the utmost precision. A joy to watch and unlucky not to score twice. 9
Reyes: The story of his last 6 months – no problem with effort but he just lacks the confidence to make things really happen. The annoying thing is that he’s making errors on things that a confident Reyes could do with his eyes shut. Let’s hope his effort is rewarded soon. 6
Bergkamp: Like Reyes he worked hard and did his bit to keep Chelsea at bay. But also like Reyes he found himself struggling up front. The curtain appears to be falling on his magnificent career. Hopefully an announcement will be made soon and both we and Dennis can enjoy his final games. 6
Subs:
Van Persie (for Dennis 80 odd): Struggled to get into the game but had a few decent chances and ran hard for the side.
Aliadiere (for Cesc 85 odd): Did alright but by the time he came on it didn’t look like either side were really going to score.
v Boro (1-0)
Lehman: Flapped at one cross in the first half and then came ridiculously far out of his goal before eventually winning the ball. Yes, he’s kept a fair few clean sheets recently and yes, it’s even true we could win the league again with him in goal, but no, we won’t win in Europe with Jens and no, he’s not the answer. 6
Lauren: His early challenge, whilst not worthy of a red card as suggested on Match of the Day, was sheer stupidity. He did alright and he’s plodding along but not really getting any better. 6
Cole: Attacked decently at times but wasn’t helped by a very, very ineffectual Robert Pires. 6.5
Senderos: Now looks like he should be partnering Sol Campbell when the two are fit. Authoritative, big and commanding, his presence has coincided with a string of clean sheets. Still has rough edges, but these are being shaved all the time. 7
Kolo: Did reasonably well and made a couple of important blocks, but I’m not convinced his future lies in the heart of the defence. Together, he and Lauren sometimes seem to bring out the worst in each other and we just don’t look solid, clean sheets or no clean sheets. Would like to see him at right back. 6.5
Gilberto: I looked out especially for incidences of him filling gaps and yes, I can confirm it happens and he does his job well. Still looks very nervous in attacking positions, but his presence is welcome. 6
Vieira: I thought he did reasonably well, though like the rest of the players he seemed to have trouble bringing any great coherency to our play. 6
Cesc: I plumped for Cesc on the right a while ago and I like seeing him there. He got well forward and was always involved. Looks tired, but it’s been a long old season and he’s still, only 17. 6.5
Pires: I thought him absolute rubbish up until he scored really. His inability to tackle has been documented many times before, but on Saturday he seemed to be playing the whole game at walking pace. But then who better is there at converting the one chance he gets to secure a 1-0 lead. 6
Reyes: Things still aren’t all coming off for him but I sense things are getting better and his work rate and willingness to track back really can’t be faulted. We know for a fact that the boy has the talent to succeed, so while he may not be showing what he’s really capable of right now, we should applaud his recent application. Had a couple of really mazy runs and set up Henry excellently for a shot he scuffed. 7
Henry: Had one of those games where he seemed to stand almost still on the edge of the box, conserving his energy and waiting to pounce. It didn’t really work, though he did have a glorious chip fly just wide and certainly scared the Boro fans every time he got the ball. He was also up against an obdurate Boro. 6.5
Subs:
Dennis (Reyes 46): Did alright without really changing the game at all. It seems the curtain may be falling on his illustrious career and reluctantly, I think it right. We know he can still play brilliantly in patches but the truth is that it’s becoming less often and it’s hampering us in European away games. We need someone to step forward and become Henry’s partner. Sometimes the bullet needs to be bitten. And now is that time. 6
v Palace (5-1)
Jens: It’s tempting to say that the early back pass cock-up could just as easily have happened to Petr Cech but in truth that would be a lie. He’s simply too cocky and over confident with his kicking – it’s why so many balls get sliced wildly and why we almost conceded a shambolic own goal tonight. Otherwise, he actually did quite well. 6.5
Lauren: Is definitely becoming a better player going forward but was as culpable as anyone for our defensive malaise. 6
Cygan: Didn’t have an awful game but on too many occasions simple long balls forward by Palace became much more serious than they needed to be. 6
Kolo: Got skinned more often than he would have liked and was caught out at times from crosses. But still, we only conceded one. 6.5
Clichy: Did well getting forward, causing a constant menace. Defending was largely competent but seemed to be infected by the general defensive tendency to give the ball away. 6.5
Vieira: Another tricky game to rate from the captain. At times he was sluggish and easily caught in possession. At others, he took a grip on the game and drove the team forward impressively. Got well forward for his goal. 7
Edu: Didn’t have the sudden impact he enjoyed at Villa last week but did well enough and certainly gave us a fair bit of solidity. Good ball to Reyes for the opener. 7
Pires: Seemed to be rewriting the dictionary definition of anonymous for the first 20 or so minutes. Then got more into the game without coming close to hitting top gear. Was unlucky to hit the post in the 2nd half after good work from Reyes. 7
Reyes: His best game in yonks. He looked fearless again, running constantly at the Palace defence and causing a lot of trouble. Good assist for the first, great finish for the second, an assist for the third and a fantastic pass to Dennis to set up the fifth. Great to see him back again. 8.5
Dennis: As ever, he oiled, moulded and sculpted our performance. He also took his goal very well, like he did against Newcastle and United too. And set up Henry for the fifth. 7.5
Henry: Really played very, very well and channelled any frustration about constant offside decisions in exactly the right way. Had seemingly boundless energy to chase back lost causes and put us back on the attack. 8.5
Subs:
Flamini (for Edu 60odd): Solid and composed as ever. 7
Van Persie (for Dennis 80odd): Linked up reasonably well as the game entered its final stages. 7
Fabregas (for Pires 80odd): Settled in comfortably on the right. 7
v Wolves (2-0)
Jens: Whilst a clean sheet is a clean sheet, he had very little to do and looked no more reassuring than previously with his kicking. To be fair, he was also played a high number of over hit back passes today and was not at fault for the one from Flamini that took a wicked bobble off the Highbury surface (which appeared unusually cut-up).6.5
Eboue: Got forward well, hit the bar with a deflected shot and could have had a penalty. Nice work. 8
Clichy: Decent game without being exceptional.7
Sol: Not a lot to do. 7
Cygan: Better than usual. 8
Paddy: Mediocre for much of it truth be told. Got better later on and scored the penalty but for too long his mind didn’t seem in the right place. Sure, Wolves made it difficult by crowding midfield but too often he seemed semi asleep at throw ins and the like. Still, he kept going. 6.5
Flamini: Didn’t show the deftness of touch of the Newcastle game but retained all his normal solidity. And great as Ray Parlour was, watching Boro at the moment suggests that we’ve got an as good, if not better, replacement. 7
Reyes: A couple of good runs, some moments of anonymity and denied a stonewall penalty. Still getting back to form but it definitely seems better than a few weeks ago. 6.5
Freddie: Usual energetic performance without any stand out moments, save his well taken goal. That’s ten for the season now and we’re still in January. Good work Sir. 7
Van Persie: Not his most inspiring game and clearly doesn’t yet have the positional ability of Dennis (who does?) but is improving. 6.5
Henry: Gallic. Went into one of his moods after Riley ruled out his cheeky first half effort. Strutted around for a while, went in for a couple of silly tackles and became frankly self indulgently petulant when a foul was given against him. It’s alright for us to loathe Riley endlessly but our top striker shouldn’t let him affect his game. And the fact is he did. But recovered his composure, was unlucky not to score and set up Freddie in superb fashion. 8
Subs:
Cesc (for Van Persie): Settled in comfortably on the right. 7
Pires (for Reyes): Nice work for the clinching goal. 7
Quincy (for Fred): No time to make an impression.
v Charlton (3-1)
Alumnia: No chance with the goal and didn’t do too much wrong besides one poor fumble from a cross. Still not convinced by his catching techniques. No difficult saves to make6.5
Hoyte: Made the odd error but did well to make sure his old youth team buddy Jerome Thomas had his quietest game in weeks. Managed to get forward a bit more in the second half.7.5
Cole: Still not looking at his best and on a couple of occasions was embarrassed by Rommedahl. But in fairness he wasn’t as sloppy as recently and did get forward well later on. 6.5
Sol: With the exception of one wildly sliced clearance in the first half that Almunia had to save he looked pretty solid and kept Charlton’s clear chances to a minimum. Let’s hope his ankle isn’t too bad. 7
Kolo: Given a bit of grief by Bartlett in the air but stuck to his task well and like Campbell, restricted the number of clear cut chances. 7
Vieira: Watching the game live, I was unconvinced by his first half performance. But having just seen the highlights it seems he got through a lot of work and did what he had to do neatly and efficiently. Set up Fred well for the goal and kept up a good level of performance all the way through.7
Cesc: Lost the odd ball but was generally very sound. Passing was clean and crisp as ever and his touch for the second goal was exquisite by any standards.7.5
Freddie: Took his two goals brilliantly, worked hard and always looked a threat. In good form. 8
Clichy: Seemed to lose the ball cheaply a bit too often but worked hard down the left helping Cole out with nullifying the threat of Rohmedahl and getting forward well. Has tremendous energy which comes in handy at the end of games when opposition players tire.6.5
Henry: Not at his best today but more worrying than the actual performance was the fact that his normal fitness wasn’t there. Had a lovely free-kick cleared off the line.6.5
Van Persie: Still has a tendency to twist and turn once too often. But also holds the ball up brilliantly, moves it well and finished superbly for the third. Should probably be given a real run up front next to Henry. Took his goal like a striker, which is disconcerting coming from an Arsenal player.7.5
Subs:
Pires (for Van Persie 72ish): With the game won he wisely didn’t over exert himself ahead of Man City on Tuesday night. 6.5
Senderos (for Campbell 82ish): Slotted in well on his Premiership debut.7
Pennant (for Fred 86): Didn’t have time to get into the game. 7
v Newcastle (1-0)
Almunia: Our star man tonight. A smart early save from Ameobi (even if it was probably going wide) and excellent handling all night gave us one less worry. Four clean sheets in five and he also kicks a fair bit better than Jens.7
Lauren: Though Lauren Robert didn’t reach anything like his best, I’m not sure whether too much credit should go to Lauren. His positioning often seemed weak, his passing and tackling little better and he offered almost nothing in attack. Mr Average was distinctly poor. 5.5
Cole: Whilst there’s no shame in being given a tough time of things by Craig Bellamy, Cole’s performance was noticeably worse than just a torrid time. He made stupid, unnecessary fouls, got caught out when he should normally have had enough pace and looked very, very shaky. He may have been pushed a touch for the penalty incident, but a defender with his mind fully on the job wouldn’t have allowed the ball to hit him as blatantly as it did. In mitigation he did improve and unlike Lauren provided some attacking threat. 5.5
Kolo: Did alright but like the others his decision making didn’t always seem to be the best informed. That said, it’s a little harsh to chastise a central defender who has kept four clean sheets in five. 6.5
Sol: Urgh. After some very sound recent performances he seemed far too troubled by what looked like some relatively simple long balls. One such error allowed Ameobi in for his early chance and his lack of authority always made the long ball route look like a wise one for Newcastle to take. 6
Flamini: Not his best game for Arsenal but he still got through a lot of work, kept things simple and had a hand in setting up Vieira for the goal. 6.5
Vieira: Named man of the match by SKY and praised in a couple of papers, but I’m going to be honest and say that up until he scored I thought he was pretty useless, being caught in possession too often. That said in the second half he got through a fair bit of work as we ground out victory. 6.5
Fred: Beavered away, had some good moments and kept on trying. Was going to commend him for his work on a couple of occasions in particular but can’t now remember what they were. 7
Pires: Even by his standards, his tackling was poor today. Truth be told, I can’t fathom how he’s allowed to defend with his body constantly side on to the play. As a left winger he has defensive responsibilities and simply has to make a better fist of it. On the attacking front he was probably our most creative player, moving the ball smartly and at pace. 6
Van Persie: Still very, very raw. Unlucky not to score in the opening minutes and had a couple more decent efforts but all too frequently ran into trouble and lost the ball on what was admittedly an awful surface completely unsuited to his quick twists and turns. Corners weren’t bad. Needs time. 6.5
Henry: His touch was not quite at its magical best, but again this was probably due to the state of the pitch. Had a couple of good runs that resulted in decent shots on Shay Given’s goal. 6.5
Subs:
Clichy (for Van Persie 80 mins approx): Seemed as happy as anyone in the post match huddle but for the second game in succession he seemed a little out of sorts when called upon. 6
v Fulham (2-0)
Almunia: Looks better by the game and made a crucial save when he rushed out at speed to palm away a Fulham chance at 1-0. Made no notable mistakes. 7
Clichy: Had a good first half – getting forward well as usual and strong on the defensive stuff. Then in the second half he seemed to lose his confidence went, either as a result of or because of Fulham consistently probing down our left. Like any small full-back, aerial strength is a weakness.6
Lauren: Average as usual. Looked solid against a Fulham attack lacking any real penetration. 6.5
Sol: At times we were troubled in the air – but Sol is leading a defence that is no longer allowing attackers completely free headers at corners. Looks fit and healthy and, along with the rest of the defence, now has three clean sheets in four league games. 7
Freddie: A fine game on his return from migraine troubles. Played in Henry for the first and set-up Pires for the second. 7.5
Cesc: Gets caught on the ball occasionally but is still doing the vast majority of things with real fluency. Gives us real creativity in the middle. 7
Vieira: Showed a few soft shoe shuffles to bam boozle defenders in a way we haven’t really seen this season. Also got stuck into his tackles and generally seemed to be on the ball. 7
Pires: There was this surreal moment in the first half. He got the ball on the left wing and took a heavy touch. As if that wasn’t enough he then went flying into the tackle with the Fulham defender and actually won the ball. And it wasn’t the only time – I saw him snuff out a few Fulham attacks and even win a header.
Of course, the attacking side of his play was superb as well – he would have scored from a Dennis chest down but for a good save by Van De Saar. He linked up well, particularly with Henry, and inevitably took his goal with typical aplomb. Now has 19 in 2004, which is good. 7.5
Dennis: A fair few poor touches and bad decision making in general play. In mitigation, he dummied the ball well for the second goal and put Pires in with an excellent chest down. 6.5
Henry: Sure, the flicks didn’t always come off but at times he led Fulham a merry dance like he has almost every other defence this season. His goal was a trade mark finish and he was desperately unlucky when his side footer from the edge of the box crashed back off a post. 7
Subs:
Flamini (for Freddie 74ish): Some might say Arsene was making a point by not replacing Freddie with Pennant. Others will call it a sensible way of seeing out the game. 6.5
Van Persie (for Dennis 78ish): Provided his usual array of tricks but didn’t get a real chance to score. 6.5
v Portsmouth (1-0)
Almunia: Had a really good game. Caught when he needed to catch, punched when he wasn't sure and kicked immaculately. Also made a couple of really good saves. His run of impressive performances may only stretch to two but for now there seems no reason to bring back Jens. 8
Lauren: Did nothing too wrong but didn't offer as much in attack as he might have and at times appeared troubled by Pomey's pace. I think he's ok, but I'm becoming less and less convinced he should be our right back at all - more on that tomorrow. 6.5
Cole: A tough one to call. For a while looked rattled by Pompey's pace and agression down the left. Misplaced a couple of balls and though his tackles were mostly coming off they had a slightly concerning aggressiveness about them which made me think he was letting his own frustration get the better of him a little. But stuck to the task well and in the end kept a dangerous Pompey out. 7
Kolo: Got sucked in a couple of times, but on the whole he was part of a defence that looked pretty solid and much improved at set pieces. 7
Sol: Looked fitter than recently I thought - turning smoothly on a couple of occasions when faced with danger. He also made countless important headers at corners and won us the game with the kind of head down sheer determinism many fans would like to see a little more often. 8
Flamini: Ran hard, tackled hard and never gave up. Doesn't offer as much going forward as Fabregas, but doesn't claim to either. Unlucky with a header from Henry's free-kick. 7
Vieira: Industrious, but was also sloppy on occasion, getting caught in posession and losing the ball. Still doesn't seem 100% back to his best and didn't make the most of a couple of shooting opportunities. 6.5
Clichy: Fought well and offered Cole valuable protection down the left hand side. Showed initial attacking promise early on but faded as Pompey grew in stature. Nonetheless, was full of running at the end and nearly capitalised on tired Pompey legs. 7
Pires: His every touch was met with a chorus of boos as Bob faced Pompey for the first time since 'that dive' last season. There was even one moment when he slipped and the ball rolled out of play. Which probably made a certain journalist very, very warm inside. Otherwise, was neat enough but pretty ineffectual, seemingly afraid of injury in the rough house atmosphere. Had a couple of lovely runs late on and set Dennis up for a chance he really should have taken. 6.5
Henry: Worked hard and created much of our best work, but often found himself crowded out by the hoardes of Pompey defenders. Nearly scored after a flowing first half move and set up Dennis' other chance late on, which again he really should have taken. 7
Van Persie: Started really well, showing fantastic feet and trickery and generally leading Pompey a merry dance. He swivels at such speed he'll probably need a hip replacement aged 30. Faded somewhat after his impressive start, finding himself crowded out by the packed defence. Could pass a little earlier at times but nonetheless a decent first start in a difficult game and he staked a fair claim for inclusion against Fulham on Boxing Day. 6.5
Subs:
Bergkamp (for Van Persie 68ish): Should have scored late on following good set up play. His performance did little to silence the voices calling for this year to be his last. I'm undecided on that, but what I am sure about is that I won't miss the needless little kicks and elbows aimed at his opponents when frustration sets in. Simply put: the sly digs are ugly and Van Nistelrooy like and do nothing for us. 6
v Chelsea (2-2)
Almunia: Faultless for both their goals, he made good stops from Lampard and Gudjohnsen in the first half. And made a vital save when Robben wriggled his way through after the break. But nobody noticed it. Caught when a catch was a good idea, punched when a punch was wiser and set us on the attack with some good throws. 7.5
Lauren: Didn't see much of him, but when you're up against Duff and Robben, this can only be to a defender's credit. Thought he did really well to keep them in check, and the one time Robben did really threaten in the second half, the danger came down the other side. 7.5
Cole: The one player who I thought struggled today. As has been the case of late, he lacked confidence in his touch and stuggled defensively. Perhaps should have come out to Robben before the winger got into the box for his 2nd half chance, and was easily beaten in the air by Drogba for Cheslea's 2nd equaliser. 6
Kolo: Looked solid overall and helped limit Chelsea to only a few chances asides from set pieces. 7
Sol: A mixed bag. Made some really important defensive headers and looked in command at times at the back. But was a little caught out for their opening goal and sometimes seemed a little gung ho in his marking. Made important late tackle on Drogba.7
Reyes: Was quiet, but this was a tough game. Nodded down to Henry for the opener, worked hard and went on a few mazy runs without much success. Still, I thought he gave them something to worry about.6.5
Fabregas: Another excellent performance. He and Flamini were overwhelmed initially when up against Tiago, Lampard and Makalele but never gave up and fought their way back into the game admirably. Nice goal to set up Henry for the opener, he was instrumental in setting up the Frenchman's near winner and also set up RVP for his chance. Uses the ball so intelligently and showed that despite his size, he's not afraid to get stuck in. Was up against the very best in the business today and succeeded in limiting Lampard to a largely peripheral role.8
Flamini: £1 million? First league start? A snip if you ask me. He run's tirelessly, he harries, he puts his foot in and he uses the ball simply when he wins it. A real water carrier but absolutely essential today and worked tirelessly. Well done Sir. 8
Pires: We wanted a big performance and boy did we get one. Seemed almost impossible to shake off the ball, tackled back, linked up well with Lauren, Flamini, Cesc and Henry and drove the team forward in his own idiosyncratic waddle. When in his pomp, he is still a wonderful, wonderful footballer to watch. Set up Henry for the near winner, realised his responsibility as the senior partner in midfield, and shouldered the responsibility admirably.7.5
Dennis: Didn't get involved in too much of note, but I can't help feeling he just gives us a cetain sophistication and shape when he's in the side. Gordon Strachan pointed out on Match of the Day how hard he'd worked to stop Makalele getting the ball and in hindsight I think it probably a fair call.6.5
Henry: Forget the late miss - it can happen to anyone. Otherwise he was outstanding, scoring a brilliant first (which included winning a high ball!), netting an impudent second and generally running the show. Scared Chelsea shitless every time he picked it up and was responsible for a hell of a lot of good work. Also destroyed the concept he doesn't turn it on in big games. That's 15 in 17 league games now by the way.9
Subs:
Clichy (for Reyes 82): Ran around like mad for 10 minutes and forced mistakes out of tired legs. Really good footballer and good enough to start for probably every Premiership side and perhaps should be more often for us. 7.5
RVP: Is maturing very nicely indeed. Nearly netted a silky winner when he latched onto Cesc's pass and gave the Chelsea players a lot to think about. Would be really interesting to see him start. 7
v Rosenberg (5-1)
Almunia: Made a really, really good low save early on and kicked largely well. But looked dodgy more than once on crosses and for the second time in a week cost us a goal, which is a real worry. Eventually realised there's nothing wrong with giving a ball a good double handed punch. 6
Hoyte: Was up against a poor opposition but defended diligently and rarely looked rushed. Used the ball well, linked up well with his team mates and should be well pleased with his first European start. 7
Cole: Looked solid, with a couple of important defensive headers, but still not yet back to his marauding best I sense. Shouldn't have let the ball drop over his head for Harald Brattbakk to fire at Alumnia after 17 minutes. Withdrawn with quarter of an hour left. 6.5
Sol: Ditto for above, though did once later on look somewhat sluggish again on the turn. Perhaps I'm just paranoid about the impending arrival of Duff and Robben at Highbury.6.5
Kolo: A very easy night for the big man and he even found time for a classic Kolo dance into the opposition penalty area towards the end. 7
Flamini: Very, very good full debut. Set up the second goal, ran tirelessly, got tackles in and seemed to work well with Cesc in midfield. Looks comfortable tracking back and going forward and also seems to have a strange affinity for joining in attacks right around the right edge of the penalty area and particularly when we attack the North Bank. A young, thinking man's Gilles Grimandi, he ain't at all bad for a fifth choice midfielder. 7.5
Cesc: Absolute star. Has already played 20 games this season (twice as many as Edu, Gilberto and Vieira), yet still had the strength to turn in one of his best performances for the club. Fantastically alert, his use of the ball was excellent. He also scored a very impressive, very difficult goal and was involved in the build up for the fifth. Not just our most frequent performer in midfield this season, but also our best. 8
Jose: Took his goal really well and gave us a flying start. Had another deflected shot well saved and looked much more like the sun kid of the beginning of the season. Had a delightful late chip that bamboozled three very stupid looking Rosenberg players before landing on the roof of the net. 7
Pires: Looked much, much better and was even spotted making a tackle late in the second half. Kept going and linked up well late on with Jose and RVP before being withdrawn for Quincy with two minutes left. His penalty was so brilliantly placed it went into the side netting. Again I marvel at his ability to put a football exactly where he wants it to go. 7
Bergkamp: A nice return for the Ice Man who got involved well in the game, set up the opener and had a couple of openings himself. Might have done better when in front of goal, but eased himself back into the side well. 7
Henry: I actually thought that poor as the defending was for his goal, it was still a pretty decent finish. Worked hard all night, linked up well with the kids around him and seemed to be feeling particularly tolerant. 7
Subs:
Clichy (for Dennis 72ish): Spent a few mins in midfield before dropping back to left back when RVP replaced Ashley. As ever looked sound in the defending and assured going forward.
7
RVP (for Cole 75): Resuscitated the game with some silky skills, wayward finishing and then eventually a very well taken goal. Rawer than an uncooked vegetable, but with massive potential. 7.5
Quincy (for Bob 88): Should have had longer. Don't think he got a touch.
v Birmingham (3-0)
Alumnia: Looks like Lehman, kicks slightly better than Lehman, fumbles the odd ball like Lehman and jumps a couple of inches less high in the air than Lehman. Did ok, but would have been ill advised to let Morrison’s second half effort creep under him and over the line.6.5
Lauren: Seemed really quiet yesterday. Means he was doing his defensive job well which at the moment is the priority. Better? Seeing as we kept a clean sheet, probably a tad. 6.5
Cole: It's not been picked up much by the press, but I’ve thought Ash to be one of the players whose form has most obviously dipped in the recent spell. He’s still looked a top left back, but the subtlety of touch that allowed him and Bob to link so well still seems to be absent. Better? Not noticeably, but again should take credit for a clean sheet. 7
Sol: I’m of the opinion he’s still carrying a little bit of weight. Played well enough, but on a couple of occasions he looked sluggish and immobile on the turn, which is obviously a concern with Duff and Robben coming to town next week. Better? Probably not. 6.5
Kolo: Probably fair to say he’s not been our worst performer in the recent period, but I think on occasion he has allowed our recent jitters to affect his decision making a little. Kept Heskey quiet, but also seemed to time his jumps wrongly on a couple of occasions. Better? Ditto above. 7
Vieira: Did some good stuff but on other occasions his decision making and concentration again seemed lacking a little. He’s a hard one to judge at the moment. Better? Probably a bit.7
Cesc: I’m glad to see he escaped censure for his recent performances because I think a lot of the recent mutterings about how he’s no Gilberto have been unfair. Admittedly, the Brazilian’s best work is done off the ball, SKY’s stats show how we tend to win with him in the side, but I still think the young Spaniard is doing pretty well. He’s a young boy whose probably played too many games in a struggling team in a big league. But he’s still there, still getting stuck in and still doing his stuff. Tired in the latter stages yesterday and was replaced by Flamini, which was a wise, common sense, decision. Better? No, but only because he was doing well in the first place. 7
Freddie: Scavenged, burrowed, furrowed, ducked and dived. Fred’s doing them all at the moment and its working as the perfect complement to the continued attempts at perfection that come from the rest of the team. Is also being very productive. Should have had a penalty yesterday, set up the third goal and generally ran the show. Better? No, but only because he’s been great. 7.5
Pires: Mark my words. One of these days the opposition are going to get a free kick on the edge of our area. Their player will hit it, the ball will fly off Robert Pires and zip past Lehman. And we’ll all put it down as a fluke, like we did for Graveson’s effort that flew off Pennant in the Carling Cup game against Everton. Except it won’t be a fluke because Pires, like Pennant, will have jumped with his back to the ball, meaning that when it hits him he’ll have no way of giving it any direction.
My point is that Pires simply has to go into tackles. Maybe he’s worried about getting hurt, but he’s ducking out of the most basic challenges and its meaning we’re losing the battle in midfield at places like Old Trafford and Anfield.
Obviously, as I was making a note of this, Bob went and scored a classic Bob goal. Basically a really, really good one. He is a fantastic playa, probably the purest footballer we have in our team and quite possibly the best finisher. Yesterday was his 50th goal for the club and almost without exception (Bolton at home this season) they’ve been aesthetically perfect and a joy to watch.
But he must pull his weight for the team, which funnily enough I’ve seen him do really well on a number of occasions. Better? A little bit later on in the second half. 6.5
Reyes: You have to feel for him - seemingly everything he tries seems to go askew these days. Inches away from a Henry cross in the first half, he got into the game a bit more going towards half time, but then tired before being withdrawn. As I said above, he could do with a 25 minute run against tired defences to get his confidence back. Better? Not really, but not for want of effort. 6.5
Henry: Whether it be through injury or lack of confidence, he spent much of the game getting into decent positions but then making the wrong decision. Then ten minutes from time he took off past Melchiot, through the Birmingham defence and then a cool low finish hit whilst he was running at incredible speed. Six minutes later, he bought a ticket for Freddie Ljungberg’s cross and got lucky.
May not be at his best. But the level of criticism he of all people has taken is ridiculous. Has scored 13 league goals this season (four more than anyone else and 9 more than Ruud), scoring in 11 of the 16 games. And it’s not even like he’s bound to get the goals because nobody else does. He hasn’t even scored a third of our goals, and with the exception of Old Trafford (when nobody scored) and Selhurst Park, at least one other Arsenal player has scored in all of our other games.
Better? Yes. Despite earlier failures, his determination to keep going for the all important second goal was admirable. 7.5
Subs:
Clichy (for Jose): I love this guy. He’s like Wenger’s little foot soldier and seems capable of doing everything. Slotted in expertly in left midfield. He covers, chases back, tackles, retains the ball, gets forward, dribbles and causes havoc in the opposition defence. He may be more defensive than Reyes, but sometimes being slightly more defensive can give you the shape to attack more. May not be suited to central midfield, but should be considered a serious option for a place in left midfield on tough away games. 7.5
Flamini: Seems to do everything neatly enough without being spectacular. Will be interesting to see how he works with Cesc over the next two games.7
v Man United (0-1)
Alumnia: Crap on their goal, barely put a foot wrong otherwise. Plays and looks like a slightly smaller Jens, but can kick. 6
Hoyte: OK and defended well on occasion, but I’d still like to see him get forward more. That said, I think he’s a player who would look much better surrounded by seasoned pros. 6.5
Clichy: Really, really good as usual. Slipped on their excuse of a pitch for the early goal, but didn’t let it affect him and worked tirelessly defending and attacking all game. 7.5
Senderos: The lumbering giant of Everton had been replaced by a very, very accomplished looking centre half. One dodgy back header that fell short but otherwise cut out everything that was asked of him and looked a real first team option. 8
Djorou: Took eye off ball and then slipped for the goal which wasn’t good. Never quite looked the same player as against Everton, but worked his way back into the game. 6.5
Flamini: Looks like we can breathe a little more easily in the midfield department after watching a very assured display. Would like to see him trialled as a sub for Freddie in games where we’ve got a dodgy one goal lead. 7
Larsson: Some like him but I’m not so sure. What he did was decent enough but I thought he struggled to have an effect on the game. 6.5
Quincy: Maybe it was the pitch, maybe it was United doubling up on him. Either way the hero of the last round never really got into last night’s affair. 6
Pennant: Worked hard, tried to take the initiative and overall did quite well. Still not sure if he’ll quite make it at Highbury though. 7
Lupoli: Is a striker and when strikers get no service they don’t look much kop. 6.5
Van Persie: Battled hard all night and willingly came deep to win possession. But probably came a bit too deep and battled a bit too hard. Yes, he could have been sent off for the incident with Richardson. Reminds me a bit of a young Freddie, not in playing style but in the way that the potential is clearly there but the skills are still very, very raw. 6.5
Subs:
Smith (for Lupoli): Did OK but still looks wary of going in for challenges and taking men on following his long term injury.
Cregg: Alright
Karbassiyoon: Alright
030206
Sol Campbell: Are footballers allowed to suffer mental illness?
Arsene Wenger has given Sol Campbell at least five days off so he can gather his thoughts. On SKY Sports News, Tony Gale said what Campbell needs to do is to just get out on the football pitch. That's why the far less decorated player of the two manages Arsenal and the much more successful Gale is a TV pundit.
A common sentiment on Campbell seems to be: we all have problems; we just roll up our sleeves and deal with them. But that's not true. Can you honestly say you don't have friends, family or work colleagues who have taken days, weeks or even months on leave from work at some point as they try to pull themselves together? Surely you not know people who speak of how they are tormented by depression, even if on the outsider they appear perfectly fine? And you must have seen someone storm out of the office inconsolable, tipped over the edge by something as innocuous as a computer freezing again or perhaps a petty argument.
Like it or not, the fact is one in three of us will suffer some form of mental illness in our lifetime. And the key word is ill, as Arsene so presciently put it in the aftermath of Tuesday. Illness more than a state of mind. A state of mind was what made Jermaine Pennant the stupid, arrogant, indulgent, wasteful player he was at Highbury. Illness is not the same thing.
So why has the idea that a footballer should suffer mental illness left so many so perplexed? Should their fantastic salaries act as a shield against mental illness? Well, if they do take months off on sick leave, it is true that they won't have to worry about recent UK government reforms of incapacity benefit. But that doesn't preclude them from illness and breakdowns. If wealth is no barrier to highly paid bankers, singers, actors and politicians plumbing the depths of mental torture, then why should footballers be shielded against it?
But what of the timing? It was wretched. But these things are bound to be. The point was that even had Sol had played the second half, he was already shattered and broken. He might have soldiered on bravely til the end, but he probably would have just ended up costing us more goals. And who cares that he went home? Whether he stayed and watched or showered and went is hardly the issue.
Were Sol Campbell renowned as a shirker of a bottler I could better understand the criticism. But he is not. In every major tournament he has stood up and excelled for England. He was always there for Spurs (that's why they still harp on about him leaving yet we've got over Rohan Ricketts going the other way). And until his troubles of the past year he has always been there for Arsenal, winning trophies that without him we probably wouldn't have won. So why are we so ready to think the worst?
Twenty years ago we would never have contemplated players spending weeks in rehabilitation as they battled alcoholism. "Deal with it like a man", we might have said. Who knows, in 20 years time we might realise footballers suffer from mental illness too.
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020206
Five more points to reflect on post West Ham
1) Did you imagine a month ago that you’d go to bed concerned about the extent of Kerrea Gilbert’s back injury?
2) Goals don’t have to be perfect: Flamini’s ball for the first one was poor, Van Persie’s right footed cross was never going to go in and Pires’ shot not the most beautifully struck. Yet we scored. For the second, Dennis’ shot looped up and fell for Pires – but the point is these shots have to go somewhere!
3) Sol Campbell: There’s a difference between not caring and simply having a torrid time of it. Football fans seem too ready to spout personal abuse when one of their players is in the doldrums. No doubt Sky Sports News will haul out every ex-pro under the planet to have their say on Campbell walking out. For what it’s worth, my take is that in the heat of the moment he was probably far angrier with himself than with Arsene Wenger.
4) We can harp on about squad size, but if Chelsea had our defensive problems, they would be without: Del Horno (Cole), Ferreira (Lauren), Johnson (Clichy), Carvallho (Toure), Gallas (Cygan – inferior quality but plays the same role) and Bridge (Hoyte – both on loan). That would leave Terry (Campbell) and Huth (Senderos) at left-back, with two other players I have never heard of at full-back. Except the right back they brought in would be in Africa (Eboue) and the left-back (Gilbert) would be forced off too. Then who would play?
5) Can you believe that the thought of registering a retired Martin Keown as a player must now be entertained with a little seriousness, such are our injuries.
Full report from last night below and player ratings to the right.
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010206
Arsenal 2 West Ham 3: Time for us to back Sol
In 17 years of watching Arsenal I can’t think of a more difficult game to put into words.
I’ll try starting with the negatives. We made three defensive errors. And we went through spells where we weren’t particularly threatening. But neither of those points really explain the result. For a start, three defensive errors does not normally result in three goals. And other than the goals and one very easy simple Lehman save, West Ham barely had an attack worthy of the name. And up front, we had chances. Van Persie hit a post early on. Then Henry’s volley was headed straight in when Freddie Ljungberg got in the way and inevitably, given his current luck, steered it wide. Djorou had one cleared off the line and Henry was inches wide to name just a couple more.
In short, for all our refusal to shoot at times and our defensive cock-ups, our luck is wretched at the moment. And taking into account our injuries (more of them later), our luck has been worse than wretched.
There will be much made of individual performances. On TV, Campbell’s failings were most obvious. His two errors cost us two goals – the first from a wretched attempt at a clearance and the second when he took an eternity to find his feet after Bobby Zamora had shrugged him aside far too easily. Sol was subbed at half-time and despite initial reports of an injury, SKY reported he had showered and left the ground within ten minutes of the second half starting.
No doubt, there will be a massive amount written about it and no end of speculation. Personally, I’m sympathetic with Sol. No doubt others will slam him for walking out on his team or bottling it or whatever. But the fact is that irrespective of the vast sums he earns and his recent rubbish form, I can’t remember him ever giving anything less than 100% when he’s worn the Arsenal shirt. So, while some may seek to crucify him for walking out of the ground, I’m prepared to believe he did it because he does care about his performances rather than because he doesn’t care. I’d hope that Arsenal fans will have the intelligence to get behind him now. After all, a Sol Campbell rehabilitated is far better than one crucified and broken.
Friends at the game have also criticised Thierry Henry, accusing him of having one of those games where he doesn’t look like he’s trying. To be fair, it wasn’t particularly obvious on TV, though I noted the speed at which he ran down the tunnel at the end of the game. The differing actions of Henry and Campbell show that very clearly, things are not right in our dressing room.
We are also being completely shafted by injuries at the moment. We started with the patently unfit/out of form Sol partnered by Djorou, with Gilbert on the right and Senderos left. It’s worth bearing in mind that Djorou and Gilbert didn’t even make the bench for our opening League Cup tie of the season at Sunderland. Then consider that two of them were off the pitch by the start of the second half, leaving us with Flamini, Senderos, Djorou and Larsson at the back, which just beggars belief.
Bizarre. And to think David Bentley scored a hat-trick tonight. At least it was against United. Playa ratings to the right.
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300106
Arsenal at Bolton: we weren't so bad.
Let’s start with a tortured analogy, Gary Lineker style:
"The club had two players at the African Nations Cup, an Iberian suspended and as usual they picked the reserve keeper for the cup. They faced a tough journey to the north-west from London to face in form Premiership opposition and yet the manager still had the temerity to rotate his squad.
But enough of Chelsea (Drogba and Geremi, Carvallho, Cudicini). Arsenal on the other hand…"
My point? It’s all very well for Lineker and his guests on Match of the Day to lambaste Wenger for fielding a marginally weaker team at Bolton than he could have (Pires seemed the only player who was properly fit to play but didn’t), but he didn’t have much choice. On top of our poor form and lack of confidence we have been completely plagued by injuries.
They have been a mixture of bad luck and the inevitable consequence of having too thin a squad. What happens is that players play too many games, get injured, get rushed back from injury too early to replace the replacements who have become injured and then get injured again. It can be a vicious circle and it is no coincidence that it has not happened to Chelsea – they can rest and rotate at will, keeping everyone fresh. This is no slight on them – more a criticism of us for not investing enough in a strong squad.
Luck also plays a part – we have three left-backs who are not normally injury prone all crocked at the moment. Michael Essien gets injured and will not start playing football again until around when the African Nations Cup ends. The difference is that he’ll be nice and fresh and won’t have been worn down by playing in a big tournament. But such is life.
But anyway, I thought we were unfortunate against Bolton. We created a fair bit, couldn’t take our chances and got punished from a good cross and not brilliant defending. Football is a game of small margins and we were no worse yesterday than we were when we won at the Reebok in the FA Cup last season. But that day Freddie got an early chance and had the confidence to take it. At the moment we lack the belief and confidence in the marginal areas that can have big outcomes.
Of course, a little bit of belief and confidence won’t see us suddenly toppling Chelsea. But when it does return on the road, I’d expect that when we get one early goal we might give somebody a fairly good spanking. Finally, enjoy today’s Arsenalless FA Cup 5th round draw, these things don’t (and hopefully won’t) happen very often.
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260106
Arsenal update: so much to talk about.
A few topics to address:
Wigan: Up front we had one of those nights and came up against an inspired goalkeeper. At the back we always looked like conceding and it was only a surprise it took so long. Sol and Senderos look rickety at the moment, with the former over weight, out of shape and mentally not with it. Regardless of pace, concentration alone should have been enough to have prevented the Wigan goal. We got what we deserved.
Bolton: I can’t help feeling Arsene is throwing in the towel before we’ve even kicked off. Of all the games in the season, Bolton away is when you need a positive attitude and a determination you will win. We sound like we’re going there expecting to get kicked (in both senses). On the other hand, it could all be a clever rouse by Wenger that will actually serve to inspire the players.
Whatever happens, we must compete. And I reckon that if we go hell for leather into everything then it could be Bolton who don’t know what to do. But don’t bet on it on present form.
Peter Hill-Wood: Again spilling all to his mate from the Star (is there a more unlikely double act in football?), the Chairman said about Henry’s contract offer: "I'm not going to say what the deal is, but it made me shudder. It's a lot of money." That sounds like bad news to me. Why come out with that if the deal is about to be wrapped up?
Peter Hill-Wood again: As the lunch (or pigeon shoot) Hill-Wood was on with his pal wore on (and perhaps as the brandy started flowing), he disclosed: “"What we've got is two or three players who are probably a year from not being good enough in the Champions League. Robert Pires, Freddie Ljungberg, Sol Campbell. Whether they have lost a yard of pace I don't know."
Two questions: 1) What the hell was he doing being so indiscreet? (I’m just guessing, but I’ve a hunch Arsene didn’t put him up to it. 2) Since when did he suddenly start talking sense about football? (And I mean that seriously.)
Thierry Henry: The skipper has been moaning about Tim Cahill’s role in Cesc’s sending-off. Some have told him to get over it and stop moaning, but frankly he is 110 per cent right. It was only the Aussie’s short stumpish legs that prevented him from taking Henry off his feet with a back of knee height sweep of the legs.
Something really has to be done to sort out this deliberate hacking that is now so prevalent. I am also a big fan of collective justice. If one team are just taking it in turns to perform yellow card worthy tackles on the opposition (and let’s face it they usually to take turns to target just one or two players), then the referee should just issue the third or fourth offender with a straight red and point towards the indiscretions of his colleagues. Why not?
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230106
Sympathy for Wenger’s whinge but no excuses at Bolton.
The press don’t buy Arsene’s complaints about physicality, opposition managers don’t buy it and at the moment the fans don’t buy it either. I largely agree – we aren’t strong enough and far too many players don’t compete properly for enough fifty-fifty balls.
But watching the Everton game, it struck me that we have to acknowledge the difference between the opposition taking a physical approach and sheer, deliberate, uninhibited outright kicking. Before I move on to Everton’s sins, I should say I missed the first half-hour and so missed Lauren’s horror tackle. It would not surprise me if it were bad – he often makes shockers (eg on Ronaldo) and gets off with a yellow at worst.
But on to Everton. Beattie simply scythed down Pires on the half-hour. This was not legitimate bullying – it was sheer thuggery. A yellow card. After the break, Nuno Valente felt Reyes had pulled him back as the pair chased a ball down by the corner flag. When no foul was given, out of frustration he launched himself nowhere near the ball and straight at Reyes. Again, sheer deliberate thuggery. Again a yellow.
Then on 90 minutes we had Fabregas sent-off for pushing Cahill around the neck. By the book it was the correct decision and it was a stupid thing for the kid. But looking at the replay you saw Cahill had tried (and failed) to scythe Henry down so cynically that it reminded me of watching Diego Maradona being set-upon by mere mortals as his skill and pace tormented them.
Had I been Fabregas, I’d have been irate too. Three times they just simply tried to kick us like rag dolls. And every time you know that the worst the law will offer is a yellow card. Five years ago, what Fabregas did was far more common. But then video evidence was used against players when the referee missed their raised arm and a three-game ban was the result. We know that even if Fabregas’ fairly harmless shove to Cahill’s neck had been missed by the ref, he’d be up before the FA in an instant.
So now, the new currency is the cynical foul. The advantages are huge: You can be violent enough to do some real damage and let out all your frustration but rarely will a red card result. And you know you will never be labelled as a cynical cheat. Which if we’re honest, is actually what a deliberate attempt to simply take out the man is. So, much as we are currently way to under physical in how we compete for tackles, we should at least acknowledge where Wenger's frustration is legitimate.
But all that said, I was angry to hear Arsene say: "And I expect it to be the same next week at Bolton in the Cup, I invite you all to come and see a re-run of this game." It reeks of resignation before we’ve even set-off. Thuggery we are powerless against. But not physicality. If we get stuck in like we're actually well capable of then can then we can leave Bolton looking like the ones with no plan B. Sadly, I'm not betting on it happening.
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220106
Arsenal lose away: Insert away day template
Arsenal lost <==insert opposition score==>1 -0<==not a variable==> at <==insert team here==>Everton, their <==insert number here==>6th away defeat of the season.
They went down to a <==insert name of third rate opposition goalscorer==>James Beattie goal which was <==variable a) a once in a lifetime strike b) a defensive cock-up==>a defensive cock-up<==if option =a, end paragraph here, if option =b, continue==>from<==insert names of 6ft plus defenders who were outmuscled==>Sol Campbell and Phillipe Senderos<=/>. Arsenal created a couple of chances after the goal but they were spurned by Ljungberg<==not variable==>and<--insert name of other guilty party==>Fabregas.<=/>
<==Following paragraph must always be included and can not be altered in any way==>From then on we enjoyed large spells of possession but were guilty of faffing around on the edge of the box rather than getting men into it. Henry looked frustrated and moody up front, Pires was peripheral, Ljungberg below his best, Reyes more willing than most, Fabregas willing too but outmuscled and Gilberto too passive, let down by poor passing, poor tackling, too passive, not going into challenges hard enough and too passive. We brought on Alex Hleb but he only offered the same and it certainly wasn't width. If we're honest for all our possession we didn't create enough chances and can't really argue too much with the result. What we need is a new midfielder and new players who will offer us goals up front.<==end of static paragraph==>
Manually inserted extra points:
<==insert manual point one here==>We had so many players out in defence that our right back played left back, our reserve centre back played, our injured centre back played and debutant Kerrea Gilbert got a game too. And did very well in my opinion.<=/>
<==insert manual point two here==>The bit about new players in the static paragraph needs to be changed. We have signed three and saw one of them (Abou Diaby) for the last ten minutes. He's tall. Other than that it was hard to judge, though he looks more like a stone that needs smoothening rather than an already polished diamond. He also had a shot. From outside the box. First time. Which in this team, is worth noting.<=/>
<==insert manual point three here==>In a nod to the past we also saw the return of the frustrated Arsenal player earning themselves a red card for nothing very worth getting a red card for at all. It was Fabregas today who shoved Cahill over (which is yellow) but made the fatal mistake of placing his hand at or above Cahill's shoulder. (red)
Under the rules it was a red card, a stupid thing to do and was something I had been predicting for a while. On December 26th I wrote: "He (Fabregas) sometimes gets involved where it is not needed and is one of those ‘first on the scene’ players. I just wonder if it could come back to bite him at some point." If you saw today's game you'll agree I was fairly prophetic.
As I said, a stupid red card, but in defence of the player I think all his bravado is more a misplaced attempt to show he won't be intimidated on the pitch. He's still a teenager and though his football sometimes belies it, his hormonally driven determination to ‘ave sum is an apt reminder of his precociousness. A few crunching tackles would be far more useful than getting involved in silly stuff. But then again, teenagers learn from their elders and Gilberto is hardly setting an example on the crunching tackle front.
I'd also say that while I accept raising your hand will get you an automatic red card, I don't think it's unfair to ask: "Why?" Fabregas' gentle push could never, ever have caused injury to Cahill. Yet we offer no benefit of the doubt, contrary to incidents like the awful tackle on Reyes today down by the corner flag or even when Lauren sent Ronaldo into orbit three weeks ago (I missed the start of today's game but understand he had another tasty one). Surely they are more of a concern than a petulant shove to the face.
To be fair to the boy he has now apologised. And if you disagree with my analysis about the degrees of punishment, consider that he will serve a three game ban, while Essien got two for his assault on Didi Hamann. I sometimes wish the people who run football would just do something else. A long, long way away.
But I digress. There is far too much wrong with football's rules to go into it now. And the point is we were very, very poor. Wigan on Tuesday. I wonder which Arsenal we'll get.
<==end of template==>
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160106
Freddy Sheppard should make Sven Newcastle manager
Arsenal stuff will appear later.
Sven: “I have spoken with the players concerned today and I have been very pleased with their reaction and am confident my relationship with them has not been damaged in any way.”
Freddy Sheppard: “We have spoken with the player and he has confirmed he is happy at Newcastle United.”
How absurd Sven should reassure us, the fans, that his comments weren’t a problem because Owen and Beckham had said they were cool about it. As if they were ever going to turn round and say: “Stuff you, stuff my chance of playing in the World Cup and stuff the £300,000 bonus if I win it.” I think not. The fact is that whatever Sven has spouted about Beckham and Owen in particular, both know his presence is the sure fire way will always get in the team.
Of course, it is possible that Sven invented the stuff about Beckham and Owen in a bid to impress the fake Arabs who were so fervently stroking his whopping great financial ego. In which case one would expect Becks and Owen to be livid with their boss for lying, as opposed to just breaking confidences.
But irrespective of what the players really think, the reality is that Sven’s comments about what Owen said were probably true. In which case they were extraordinary. To believe that Newcastle are so overpaying Owen that even his jaw is dropping in astonishment exposes just how naïve and incompetent Sheppard (and Souness) are. I should declare an interest here: I can’t stand either, as I said in my piece on the Owen signing back in August.
My theory is that the one plus side to the top players becoming so rich so quickly is that before long they are so wealthy that for most an extra £10,000 a week just no longer holds the same appeal. With money no great issue, before signing a contract they must then contemplate factors that will sit far more comfortably with the fans who pay them. These include factors such as the quality of the manager and the running of the club. Call me naïve, but loyalty to the supporters could even play a part.
Put it this way: Dennis Bergkamp has been offered vastly reduced contracts by Arsenal for the past three years but has singed them in spite of there probably being somebody somewhere who would offer him far more than the approximately £14,000 he currently earns weekly. In his head, Dennis knows Arsenal is a good club.
Owen is probably not yet as rich as Dennis. But he’s probably still rich enough that an extra £10,000 a week (£500,000 a year) would be worth sacrificing if it meant being happy in the job. Yet Newcaslte are paying him sooooooooooo much and offering sooooooooooo many benefits that Owen (who earned a fortune in his previous jobs) sees it as mitigation for the fact he is at a club he has never really wanted to play for.
After all, the tale that a trio of Sheppard, Souness and Shearer had persuaded Owen St James’ was the footballing place to be always seemed somewhat fanciful. Owen had not wanted to come to the North East initially and his subsequent body language and words with Sven suggest very little changed after he signed. So really, all Sheppard had done was stun an incredibly rich footballer into financial submission.
As one commentator said last week, Sheppard attempted to steal the limelight from Shearer equalling Jackie Milburn’s goal record by hailing him as Newcastle’s greatest ever signing. It was a not so subtle suggestion that Geordies should raise a glass to Freddy for signing the cheque.
And here lies the problem: an obsession with money and ego. Sven and Sheppard would get on famously.
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1430106
Wenger fills important gaps
Everybody has known for weeks that we needed a new, powerful midfielder. Many hoped he’d be experienced too but I think any gripes about that are dwarfed by the fact Arsene Wenger has splashed the cash.
Emmanuel Adebayor may seem like a less obvious signing but I think Arsene has been quick to plug a widening hole. Of course, we’ve known for years that we’ve had a plethora of forwards but no strikers. But only recently has it started to matter. It used to take three years for us to notch up five premiership blanks but we’ve managed it five times in seven games now.
He’s being compared to Kanu and has been given the number 25 shirt. Crucially, what Kanu gave us in his good years was something completely different from the excellent but generic offerings one would expect from the rest of the well-drilled Wenger players. For a while, Arsene’s signings were seemingly becoming more and more in the image of how he would create his perfect player.
For example, Alex Hleb (in his good early season form rather than his recent post injury struggles) looked like the result of cross breeding Robert Pires and Freddie Ljungberg. He had the perception and ability to glide past players reminiscent of an on form Pires and all the scurrying qualities of Ljungberg. It was as though a salesman had knocked on Wenger’s door and rather than offering something completely new he was offering the two for the price of one Pirberg.
As I said, I like Hleb and think he has a lot to offer. But the point I’m making is that players have been getting more and more similar. Yet Adebayor appears to break that mould and therefore we should be grateful.
The other big news is that it seems Theo Walcott could follow Diaby and Adebayor. Both Arsenal and Southampton are denying anything has been concluded, but looking at Wenger in the press conference today he had the air of the cat that got the cream. And certainly he is talking far more openly about Walcott than one would expect were a possible deal a long way off.
The word is Arsenal is his preferred destination because of the opportunity to work alongside his idol Thierry Henry. Which is perhaps the first pay-off of Henry’s pledge of loyalty last week. It could also be that we have Henry’s wobble to thank for giving Arsene a little jolt to wake him from the perceived transfer lethargy many fans have lamented. Arsene also deserves credit for apparently beating Mourinho in the battle to sign Diaby. A small victory, but one worth taking.
Finally, the signings keep faith with Arsene’s seeming determination to build the league’s youngest side. Of our top 25 players (the accepted size of a squad), 12 are 22 or under with four of them making up 80 per cent of our midfield. We have now gone three and a half years since we signed an outfield player over 24. But these signings are good news - though we shouldn't be disapointed if they aren't instant hits in the way Vieira and Kanu did.
It’s Boro today and I’m at work during the game. So there will be no update after it.
Update: The Sun report the following Wenger quote, which could be real and intended, real but not intended or a slip by the paper: “We have signed three exciting prospects at very reasonable prices." They have also dropped an absolute clanger in their analysis of Arsene's signing of young players. They said: "Niccolo Galli, Guy Demel and William Huck were unknown when they arrived and remained anonymous until they left." Galli died in a motorbike crash in February 2001.
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100106
Striker anybody?
I'm just coming to the end of watching a tape of tonight's game with the rubbish bits fast forwarded (ie most of it). What strikes me is that we simply have to play a striker. I don't give a stuff if Reyes and Quincy are more senior than Lupoli and Bentender. We badly needed someone to hold the ball up but there was nobody there. It's stubborness from Wenger. We also seem to lack committment in the tackle sometimes, which is hard to accept. The results is not a good one: we failed to score an away goal, which means that if they do, we'll require three. It's gonna be tough.
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080106
Spurs aren’t on their way to Wembley
Childish, mindless, moronic baiting is not my thing. And baiting Spurs over the years has been like taking candy from a baby. So I don’t think Arsenal fans should be laughing about their defeat at Leicester. But, frankly, I’m going to anyway. Ha, ha, ha, ha. That feels good.
It was at 2-0 to Spurs after 40 minutes and with the away fans singing their famous cup final song I admit I thought I was watching a new Tottenham. They were calm and in control and for once making a first division side look just that. Oh well.
Anyway, our weekend was rather better. I’m working Saturdays ‘til the end of the season so missed the Cardiff game. But by all accounts it was your standard Arsenal v lower league side game at Highbury in that we made heavy weather of what should have been a relatively simple task before eventually going through.
Henry was the other big news. A few people have tried to put a spin on his words but to me they simply that so long as we offer him a decent contract and invest in a few decent new players, he will stay. Which must be a massive, massive relief and is, if we’re honest, a real coup for the club. Let’s hope he didn’t feel rushed into his decision by the speculation about phone calls to Barcelona. And let’s hope the investment we all crave arrives. Of course it is worrying when you see Chelsea, United and Liverpool all making moves before us. But we should remember that Reyes only arrived in late January so there is still time. Another question about Henry (as a friend pointed out) is whether the club will be prepared to break their one year at a time rule for over 30s and so only offer him a deal ‘til he’s 31. Let’s just pray Arsene is having none of those thoughts.
I’d also like to nail on the head the absurd, lazy assumption made by some journalists that Thierry Henry has somehow been a disappointment this season. In the Daily Mail, Matt Lawton cited Henry as Arsenal’s biggest disappointment (with Van Persie the major plus). Elsewhere, recent performances have seen his shrugs, scowls, flailing of the arms and lack of willing to enter some attacks put down as evidence of his anxiety. What tosh. It’s what he’s always done and is just how he is.
And for the record, he has scored 10 goals in 14 league games and 13 in 19 in total. It is proportionately almost identical to RVN’s 15 in 20 or 17 in 28. And while the stats say he has hit just one double in seven league games, he also hit the post twice against Bolton, again against Chelsea and again against Charlton. So a little perspective is called for.
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040106
Arsenal 0 United 0: Report from Highbury
I’ve seen a few match reports this morning and many seem to have subtly rolled every great moment from Arsenal v United over the past eight years into one game and then compared it favourably to what was on offer last night. I actually thought this was probably as high a quality a Arsenal v United contest Highbury has seen for quite a while. Whisper it in hushed tones, but the 2-2 draw in 03 and the 1-1 in 04 were poor affairs. And our performance last night was generally improved on last year.
This was the first time I had seen United at Highbury since the last 0-0 draw in 1995 and you easily forget what a brilliant arena Highbury is for the big night games. The atmosphere crackled behind the goals, stretching so far from both ends that even the West Upper seemed alive. Occasionally. Down on the touchline, the East Lower rose furiously at every United indiscretion. It might be Highbury’s last night like that. One to savour.
Surprisingly, it was the attackers who were found lacking. United couldn’t put away their second half chances and we could neither take ours nor commit the men forward like we should have nor get the obligatory penalty that we are always denied in games like these. It is now five blanks in seven for us, enough to make the ghosts of seasons past spin in their graves.
We were of course thwarted by the absence of Van Persie, a real goal threat. With Freddie also missing, it was the back five you would expect, Cesc, Gilberto, Hleb, Reyes and Henry. Individual performances were quite revealing. Henry, irrespective of Gallic pouts and refusal to get into the box, is clearly injured at the moment but is playing anyway. Hleb did ok but has lost confidence he had in the first few games that let him beat men and feed in really interesting balls.
For all the talk of the absence of Vieira, Gilberto had a good game – his positional sense in front of the back four was largely spot-on and barring a couple of errors, he was neat and tidy in the tackle. Next to him Fabregas was superb. That he tired later can easily be excused in an 18 year-old near present in central midfield this season.
On the right, Robert Pires improved in the second half. But sadly, he is a relic of a bygone era, a time when Arsenal were so good that wingers like Pires could shirk all their defensive duties because others would cover for them. Chelsea have raised the bar. The wingers are constantly tackling, closing down and working for the team when the ball is lost. Pires does not do that and is therefore a luxury. Perhaps the way he shirks anything defensive it is due to a legitimate fear of reinvoking past injuries, perhaps it is just laziness. But either way, a title winning team in 2005 can’t afford passengers like that.
The contrast with Jose Reyes could hardly be starker. Like Fabregas, Reyes plays as though it is the purple blood that pumps through his fragile frame. In the first half in particular, he was outstanding, his commitment no less than anything Keane or Vieira showed at their peak. It wasn’t just the fact that he gave Gary Neville a torrid time. It was the way he chased everything, panicked United and so, so crucially covered for Pascal Cygan. Top man.
Talking of Cygan, he played to the best of his abilities. He is no Baresi. But equally he is no slacker either. He even went to take a short corner with Henry. The others at the back did well and even though we could have conceded, it is a fourth clean sheet on the trot.
I was at Highbury and the atmosphere was fantastic and the game thrilling. Those who say otherwise have probably been spoilt by seeing too many games of this ilk in person. A draw was fair – United shaded the chances but both sides could have scored and didn’t. For me, the tackle on Fabregas was a penalty because though Neville got a toe to the ball, it was still in Fabregas’ possession when he scythed him down.
Let’s face it, we are a team in transition. We had eight fantastic years where we punched miles above our weight. But now a lack of spending (and a misjudgement in the transfer market) are catching up with us. Getting us back on top will not be easy. And a number of older players will fall by the wayside. Last night represented another failure to beat a top team. But the major positive we should take is that it was our two youngsters, in who Wenger has invested so much faith, who were Arsenal’s best players last night.
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020106
Arsenal v United: 2nd preview
So Gilberto is fit but Ljungberg and Van Persie are out. The latter is a big, big blow. It leaves us with just Henry and Reyes as the only players available to have netted more than twice in the league this season. And given our lack of goals that is a worry.
I suspect Gilberto will return. And if he does, let’s hope 2006 starts better than 2005 ended. He is not the world’s greatest midfielder but he is a far better player than his recent form and good enough to face United.
I wonder whether Van Persie and Ljungberg missing could prompt a change of plan from Wenger. Could we see Gilberto, Fabregas and Flamini all play? And could Henry then play as a loan striker, supported by Reyes on the left and either Hleb or preferably Pires (as long as he really tries) on the right? It would be a fairly radical departure from what we have seen this season but I just wonder whether it might be a good way of not being forced to play Bergkamp due to Van Persie’s absence.
It is also possible that Cesc could play on the right, Flamini and Gilberto in the middle and Reyes left, with Dennis and Henry up front. But to me it doesn’t sound so good. Of course, we could stick rigidly to our normal formation and play Dennis and Henry with Reyes and say Pires supporting. It has worked well in the past. The question would be whether it leaves us too open in the midfield.
Irrespective of our current predicament, the game will be one of the last great occasions at Highbury and the atmosphere should crackle suitably. The game is sure to be a fiery one and Fergie has already stoked the fire with his myopic review of United’s behaviour over the years. We need to make sure we keep our heads (here’s looking at you Cesc (and Jens obviously)), not just to save ourselves embarrassment but also so we stay focused.
Speaking following the first battle of Old Trafford on the 1991 end of season video, George Graham told his side: “You still gotta tackle, still got to close down. But lads, you must watch your behaviour.” How apt.
Whatever happens, what we mustn’t be left with at the end of the night is regrets. That means ensuring there are no stupid individual errors that cost goals. That means ensuring that if we get chances that we take them. And that means hoping the referee does his job and calls the big decisions correctly. And of course we need to think about how we contain the United threat and Rooney and Ronaldo in particular. But that is something that comes after the basics and too often this season it has been the basics that have let us down. Come on you Gunners!
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010106
Arsenal v United preview: who to play?
I was only able to see the second half against Villa so I’m in no position to say too much about the performance. However most accounts have been pretty negative. From what I saw, we were clearly conceding too much possession to Villa but at the same time I felt the individual errors so evident in the defeats at Bolton and Newcastle were not so evident.
However you look at it, the draw was hardly great preparation for the final league visit of Man United to Highbury on Tuesday night, particularly given them beating fat Sam’s lot 4-1. The game is a funny one because for seemingly the first time in yonks it is the attack who pose the greatest worry at the moment. We may have hit four against Pompey but December saw us fail to find the net in four out of six league games. A big worry.
For me, the well-documented problems in midfield are at least in part to blame. Drive from the midfield in Wenger’s Arsenal has always been essential. After all, how could it not be in a team that so deliberately shunned the long ball from defence straight through to attack? But we lack that drive, power, speed and athleticism we once had. The problem seems exacerbated whenever Hleb and Ljungberg get the nod on the wings because essentially, they are the slightly more attacking shadows of what is in the middle. Played with Fabregas and Flamini, we have a midfield of four physically unimposing players, none of whom have the blistering pace and drive Wenger’s sides are famed for.
Given that, I would definitely play Reyes against United. There is the risk he will be intimidated out of the game. But at the very least he should offer us some variety. On the right it is a tough call. I suspect Hleb will sit on the bench. Then it becomes a question of the gritty but limited Ljungberg or the big occasion but inconsistent Pires. Who knows.
I can see why some would plump for Dennis next to Henry because of the greater fluidity his presence tends to give us. But I would go for Van Persie. I sometimes think it goes unnoticed how capable Van Persie is of fashioning a goal from nothing. And that can be vital. Certainly, when he was taken off after 68 minutes at Villa it was as though we had lost one of our few goalscoring aces. Dennis may give you the odd goal but he is no longer able to conjure a goal all on his own like Van Persie can.
Other than that we need commitment all over the pitch and concentration. With Cygan suspended I wonder whether Arsene could throw in a surprise and play Eboue at left-back or perhaps Eboue right-back and Lauren left-back. Either way, I suspect he might be anxious to avoid what happened against Chelsea where the full-backs were both out of position and the central defence not the number one pairing.
Put mildly, we have been rubbish against big teams recently and it is true that we have not really beaten anybody that tough this season (though victory in Amsterdam was cool). You can be sure Fergie will have pinpointed our weaknesses and will look to exploit our flimsy midfield in particular. Another defeat would be a sickener and the task then really would be to scrape fourth place. Victory could be a great, short-term shot in the arm and a timely reminder that we can still do it.
On a level playing field, it will be tough. What we have to hope for is that the playing field is level and that the curse of bad refereeing decisions that have plagued some of our recent big games does not rear it’s ugly head again.
P.S.: Have just read Fergie's comments about us not being a big club and just remembered how much I hate United. And as for his claim that tickets to Highbury cost £72, Fergie is either lying or else his pal had presumably frequented a tout, given that the highest price for a single ticket is £54. The only other option is corporate hospitality, something United would never dream of indulging in. Indeed, everything I hate about them is now flooding back. For pride's sake, we have to win.
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281205
Arsenal 4 Portsmouth 0: Lovely stuff
My first visit of the season to Highbury. And some memorable goals to go with it. Granted, we weren’t brilliant throughout by any means and the midfiled (and Gilberto in particular) and Pascal Cygan are serious worries at the moment.
But the four goals were sweet. It is rare that you hear a commentator sounding genuinely excited by what he has seen, but listening to what Steve Wilson said on Match of the Day tonight it was clear he relished our return to the scoring of Arsenal goals like we did. The first was a peach – Flamini hustling and winning the ball in midfield. He sprayed it wide to Reyes, who completely slipped his man and fired in a great low ball that Dennis simply had to take first time. He did and he finished perfectly to put us 1-0 up.
The second was a fine ball from Toure down the right into Henry. He controlled well before feeding the onrushing Reyes who hit an absolute stonker of a left footed shot first time into the roof of the net. It was a tough effort – he had to come across the ball and had little of the net to aim for.
Then just as we were slowing-up, Flamini released Henry who rounded the keeper, took the ball pretty wide and then clipped in from a tight angle for his first in five games. His celebration was interesting. We’ve all heard the strong rumours about him leaving. But as he celebrated in front of the East lower he looked like a man perfectly at home in his surroundings.
Then when Pires got played in he slid the ball in for Reyes, who was flying in at full pelter. There was the most mininal of touches from the defender but the referee’s decision to give a penalty was the right one. Such was Reyes’ pace, only the slightest nudge was enough to deprive him of his clear goalscoring chance. Thankfully, the referee didn’t send the offender off – though technically he should have. Henry converted and we slowed up afterwards, preserving energy ahead of Villa away on Saturday.
Overall, it was a very positive night. The combination of Henry, Bergkamp, Pires and Reyes would be a disaster in away games. But against weaker opposition at Highbury they are potent – such as when we beat Villa 3-1 last season. Against Pompey, Bergkamp and Pires could do their things and looked good. Henry did his stuff and while to Arsenal fans he probably only had an average games, it’s worth remembering that to neutrals he is persistently sublime.
And Reyes followed up his good performance at Charlton with another excellent show. He scored one and set-up two and generally caused trouble. On form, he is a fine, fine player and to me he is one of those players who just want to see do well. Tonight’s goal was another example of his goalscoring versatility.
Credit too to Arsene. He is sometimes criticised for his team selections and substitutions. But in the past two games he has got things spot on, resting people who need resting and so far keeping the squad fresh looking in a tough period. Elsewhere, Kanu hit a superb brace to sink Spurs. Lovely stuff.
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261205
Charlton 0 Arsenal 1: Reyes has rocket put up him
A rocket up ‘im is a tired and usually ill used football analogy but perfectly apt for today’s game. Even by his own standards, Jsoe Reyes was peripheral in the first half (barring one flowing move that Freddie really should have scored). Indeed he was so bad that he was almost as bad as Pascal Cygan. And in the first half, that really was bad.
Then when Reyes emerged after the break it was as though the rocket we all know he has in him had been ignited. It was crazy stuff. He played like a winger, all wide and running like apparently that was wingers are supposed to do. It was like what happens in other teams. It was a joy to see and suddenly our attacking threat was almost doubled, with not everything having to go through Thierry Henry.
Of course, it was not just Reyes who got better. The whole performance was far improved and we dominated the game. Our reward came when Ljungberg played in Henry. His first effort was blocked and his second low shot hit the keeper and looped into the air.
The ball dropped on Reyes’ right foot just a couple of yards from goal. He volleyed home and we had our first league goal in a month. Lovely stuff. We continued to dominate, could have scored more and never looked like letting things slip after Danny Murphy was sent-off - his second yellow for throwing the ball down in frustration after a Bennett call. Stupid decision and one I hate to see – even when it benefits us.
On a side note, Cesc got a bit involved in that incident and was also guilty of a slightly dangerous (yellow card worthy) challenge that went unchecked. I love watching Fabregas and am only too happy to see him get stuck in. But he sometimes gets involved where it is not needed and is one of those ‘first on the scene’ players. I just wonder if it could come back to bite him at some point.
But back to the performance: we were much better in the second half but there was still a lot wrong. We lack suredness, Cygan is still at left-back and Cesc and Gilberto had their usual flaws exposed. I’d give the young Spaniard a well earned break for the Portsmouth game.
The bright spots in the game were the result, a far improved Sol Campbell performance and Reyes second half effort. It was great to see him at full pelter and a reminder of the massive potential he has. If I’m honest I’d half forgotten how good he can be. Seeing him tuck the ball home from two yards also offered a extra useful reminder to yours truly.
I stick by my assertion that Reyes is not a striker. But I forgot that on form, he can still be a goalscoring winger. And more to the point, we are talking about a player who can score every single kind of goal, which to me suggests real potentially as a 15 goal a season winger. Cast your mind back over the goals he has given us and you will see there is no trademark. Left footed, right footed, headed, spectacular, bundled in, tapped-in, first time, lengthy runs, one-on-ones, volleyed. They are all there. And in this generally gloomy time for the club, that is a pleasing thought.
Portsmouth on Wednesday. I’d rather not see Cygan at centre-back, would replace Fabregas with Flamini, make sure Reyes gets another chance to try to build some confidence and probably give Pires a run-out in place of Freddie too.
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21/12/05
Insane Blatter wants to make things even easier for Chelsea
The Chelsea match review is below this quick post. Sepp Blatter has said: "If a club can only have five foreigners among their starting 11, then they will have to build on their own youth system. If Chelsea were forced to have five foreigners then Roman Abramovich could not go on buying the best players across the world for exorbitant fees. Chelsea is the example of what should not happen."
The man is a lunatic. The problem at the moment is that Chelsea are snapping up the cream of English players for sums only Man United can even think about, irrespective of whether the player is of any use to them (Lampard) or not. (Wright-Philips).
Were this rule to come in, Chelsea would simply further dominate the English market, pushing up prices and further decimating those without money. Not only would we be forced to fill our team with six English also rans, we would also no longer be able to compensate for the vast gulf in finances as we currently do, by scouring the world for affordable top players.
Develop their youth system? Err, no. They would just spend more money. I am not having a go at Chelsea, but the fact is they would be most happy with these plans. As Arsenal fans, these insane ideas should worry us.
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19/12/05
Arsenal 0 Chelsea 2: It ain’t the end of the world.
So, league defeat at home to Chelsea for the first time in yonks. Painful? Disappointing? Frustrating? YES, YES, YES. But surprising? NO. In short, we learnt very, very little that we didn’t already know.
If we were to win, we had to be clinical with what chances we created and make sure we scored the first goal. Chelsea began well but for me the first two real opportunities were Arsenal ones and we did little wrong with them. Henry hit the post and then Van Persie swept home beautifully only to see the offside flag raised in error.
Not offside
It was a massive, massive decision. 1-0 to Arsenal and we would have had a completely different game. It was a wretched decision and I’m getting sick of wretched decisions in big games. Don’t get me wrong, at home against smaller sides the refs favour us. But in big games we seem to get little luck. At crucial times in both United league games last year and now against Chelsea. I’m not talking about flukes of performance – like when we beat United in the Cup Final or when Drogba scored against us earlier this season. I’m on about the crucial refereeing decisions, which, for whatever reason, seem to keep going against us in the big games.
Six minutes before half-time and Robben was as onside as Van Persie was and he too put the ball in the net smartly. This time the goal stood. While you languish in footballing depression mulling over this defeat, just consider how different things might have been had our goal stood and theirs not.
Red cards:
As for the non sending-offs: yes, Senderos probably should have gone (as Wenger acknowledged). But so too should Essien, who is anything but a marked man as Mourinho claims. I thought his elbow was probably correctly called a yellow. But it was just crass inconsistency that let him get away with a later foul on Van Persie that was identical to one Henry had been booked for about two minutes earlier. So on that front, honours even. (ps, question for UEFA: when did going in studs first near someone’s knee become a two rather than a three game ban?)
I thought we actually played quite well after we went behind. Chelsea 1-0 up are a nightmare to play against. Though we could have created a few more chances, we still fashioned some decent openings. They were dangerous on the break but that was always going to be so with us chasing the game. Cole took their second excellently after one of Lauren’s worst ever mistakes for the club. But to bash him is ridiculous. He is a first class foot soldier who is having a good season and hardly ever puts a foot wrong.
The Midfield:
The problem for us was very obviously in midfield. Aware that we would be outmuscled, we frequently tried to pass long straight from defence to attack. It was an unfamiliar approach that met with limited success. I’ve heard mutterings of disappointment about Cesc’s performance, but I’d point to what I said on Saturday about him being asked to do the wrong job. But the problem is not just a lack of muscle in central midfield. While we could once slot Edu in left and Parlour right, Freddie is now our most physically strong wide player, which says it all. And the pace that once characterised our middle line only lives on in the injured and inconsistent Jose Reyes.
This is, clearly, a very difficult time for the team. Our standards have slipped and for the first time we are staring into the abyss of finishing outside of the top two. But let us not get carried away. We went three barren years without any trophy between Wenger’s first and second titles. Things change and evolve. Of course we need reinforcements and the prospect of Henry leaving is daunting. But things are not all bad.
Hleb is having a far better first year than Pires did, Sol Campbell (in my opinion) will rise again and while they are not yet world beaters, there is genuine promise in our young players. Things change and evolve and for anyone who is feeling at all disillusioned with Arsene, just imagine how much worse every other manager would do with our resources. For one thing, I think if Mourinho took over at Highbury tomorrow, he’d struggle big time. But take Wenger to Stamford Bridge and I’d expect him to win Chelsea titles, which less we forget, is all Mourinho has managed for them so far.
Chelsea?
So, finally, what of Chelsea? Have they raised the bar? Incrementally at most. That they are so far ahead is in part because of their own consistency but more due to United and Arsenal’s recent decline. Are they any better than us in 2004 or United in their pomp? I’d say no way. So the challenge is for us to get back to what we have achieved before and then catching Chelsea will take care of itself.
The most well resourced squad ever in British football was very fortunately injury free enough to be able to choose their first choice eleven against us. We were missing three left-backs, a winger and had a midfielder harshly suspended. C’est la vie. What a sign of the times that of the eleven players fielded by Mourinho, ten cost £6 million plus, while John Terry was a shooting star long before the special one had even heard of him. Our side contained just three players bought for more than £3.5 million.
Overhauling them will be very tough, but is doable. And if there is one manager you’d choose for a club like ours – in transition and relatively cash strapped – you’d plump for Arsene Wenger over Jose Mourinho or anyone else any day of the week. Which is handy really.
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17/12/05
Arsenal v Chelsea preview: How good would Cesc look in Chelsea’s midfield?
A year and a week after his first start in an Arsenal shirt, Mathieu Flamini is likely to again come into the Arsenal side next to Cesc Fabregas for the visit of Chelsea. The prospect has left many fearful, but they did ok last year and I think they can do ok on Sunday. In a way, the prospect of having Fabregas and Flamini snapping like whippets around Essien and Lampard is preferable to having Gilberto in there. In his current poor form, we might risk the Brazilian just providing poor man’s version of what Makalele does so well for Chelsea.
The game is obviously going to be very tough and despite our impressive home form, Chelsea must be favourites. At Highbury the league results have been immaculate but the teams we have beaten have been nothing special and our performances only impressive in short, sporadic bursts. Still, I think we have the players who, on their game, can stop Chelsea from scoring. And I think we are capable of creating chances against them at Highbury. So, we are not without hope.
If we are to win, a likely key player will also be our youngest – Cesc Fabregas. Usually in hushed voices, some Arsenal followers have questioned whether he has the strength for the Premiership. They say both Vieira and Gilberto have struggled next to him. I refute that. As far as Vieira goes, he acknowledges openly in his book that he played much of last season with a very dodgy ankle.
And as for his partnership with Gilberto, I see the problem being that Fabregas has been unfairly forced to play the role of tough tackling midfielder. While the Brazilian may provide a positional wall, it is Cesc who on the whole is required to throw his still slender frame into the tough tackling.
For me, he has actually done it ok, but the point is that expecting him to excel as the enforcer is as preposterous as expecting Dennis Bergkamp to score 30 goals a season. It is not what either do. But imagine Cesc sat on the Chelsea bench for a game and replaced one of Essien, Makalele or Lampard at half-time. Whoever he came in for, I’d expect him to flourish, revelling in being able to concentrate on doing what he’s great at. He could also offer Chelsea the midfield subtlety and creativity they have occasionally lacked - such as in four scoreless encounters against Liverpool in the Champions League.
So if you see Cesc being out muscled on Sunday, take a look around and remember what he is being asked to do. However well he does it, here’s to the midfield beast/animal/enforcer we all pray Arsene will buy in the January sales.
Ps: there was a really good piece on Football365 this week pointing out that in quite a number of these games where Arsenal supposedly allow themselves to be bullied to defeat the more truthful explanation is that very poor refereeing has instead allowed teams to get away with what is simply illegal.
It pointed out the United game last season and more recently the Bolton game (where the referee just ignored Lehman being elbowed in the stomach and another guy who was already booked punching the ball in to the net all in one move) and Newcastle, where the fact is Alan Shearer got away with stuff that was far more plain illegal than any ‘on the edge’ bullying.
I’m not saying we don’t sometimes go soft (I think we do), but it does add some rationality to the whole debate.
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12/12/05
Newcastle 1 Arsenal 0: Same problems, same lack of solutions
A week ago I penned a massive post Bolton post mortem. (Computer problems mean it has only just gone online - see below). Almost everything I said then applied to today’s match so I’m not going to go over the same ground in massive depth after today. For me there are a few points for why we lost:
1) We left our shooting boots at home. I’m hardly in a position to tell Thierry Henry how to score. He had the chances in the first half and didn’t take them. It was one of those things, as was Van Persie mis-kicking later.
2) We are still hideously under strength in the centre. Gilberto is playing crap, yet we have no other option. We need an animal in there (Gilberto, Cesc, Hleb and Freddie is hardly physically intimidating.) Yet we have no animal to bring in.
3) Dermot Gallagher was a total wanker today. (And yes, I know we get the run of the mill sometimes and did so against Newcastle on the first day of the season). That not withstanding, on a technicality sending-off Gilberto was justifiable. But as I remember they were the only free-kicks he gave away all day. And neither were dangerous tackles. They were the tackles of a player who is out of form and off the pace. Were they so bad he needed to be excluded from the pitch? Definitely not.
Compare the approach to Gilberto to how Gallagher treated Shearer and other Newcastle players. Shearer was given a free reign to elbow, foul (including one shocker in front of the referee), knowingly kick so high that knew he would hit Lauren, kick the ball away and delay kick-offs by standing in our half. It took 89 minutes for him to get booked. All this matters because while Newcastle (as is their right) adopted a very physical approach they were able to do so because Gallagher was being so lenient. Once a player has been booked they have to temper their approach, knowing that one more significant error will be the end for them. Gallagher patently failed on that part. Apparently this is his final year. On this showing, good riddance.
But overall there is no escaping the fact we have big problems away from home. The defence could do with some better drilling but overall they did fairly well today. And though the goal came from our left, Lauren looks infinitely better at left-back than Cygan. And up front I think we look fairly strong. We have drawn three blanks on the run but prior to then had looked dangerous. With a bit of luck, Henry could have had two at Bolton and Van Persie one. And the same can be said today.
The problem for me is midfield. In the middle we are enormously weak. It would be nice if we could give 18 year-old Cesc a break but there’s fat chance of that at the moment. And though Hleb helps, we lack defensively able players on the wings: Freddie is either a bit injured or out of form at the moment. Yet still he plays 90 minutes every game.
The thing is that Chelsea probably have as many midfielders and forwards out of form as we do. Crespo, Duff, Robben, Wright-Philips and arguably Drogba and Gudjohnsen are hardly setting the world on fire at the moment. Of course, we can hardly hope to have their strength in depth. But equally, we can expect far more of our current resources in the middle.
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04/12/05
Just what is Arsene playing at?
I spoke to a season ticket holding friend last night who for some weeks has said his confidence in the boss is waning. I don’t necessarily agree, but what follows are some of his concerns and some I have too. What do you think?
Arsene can moan about player commitment but to us Bolton yesterday was simply the epitome of what we feared at the beginning of the season, the inevitable result of Arsenal’s very own corporate restructuring. So as the squad has been trimmed and thinned out, those that are left are more comfortable than ever in their positions and what would normally be the responsibility of experienced team members is being carried out by talented, but as yet unproven, upstarts.
At Bolton Henry and Van Persie were the right choice. But even Tony Adams (who generally seems to not know that much about tactics) has been pointing out for years that Ljungberg and Pires won’t work at places like Bolton. Admittedly, Alex Hleb is injured.
But in central midfield Wenger is guilty of discarding our two most aggressive midfielders as if we have somehow had too many of them. It is blatantly clear that neither Fabregas, Gilberto nor Flamini have the animal instincts that seem to be present in the heart of every top side. It is also true that talented as the first two are, Gilberto is not and Cesc is not yet good enough that their places in the starting line-up should be completely unquestioned and unthreatened. How Arsene could go out at the start of this season and rightly deciding he needs a fourth central midfielder plump for a 17 year old (Alex Song) to complement his 18 and 21 year-olds is beyond me. Principles and only buying the right player is admirable, but not when it means no player.
And if the case in midfield is one of transfer bloody mindedness then the case at left-back is one of tactical bloody mindedness. With no personal insult intended to the man, I can’t remember a single player in Arsene Wenger’s reign enjoy a run in the side and look more out of his depth when doing so than Pascal Cygan at left-back. Even when he does something right, 90% of the time it means he hasn’t cocked it up. His abilities are simply so limited there, it was no wonder Bolton almost encouraged Jens to throw him the ball. Leaving aside the defending, you would have to say he offers nothing to the attack either. It is as though we have become numb down part of our left side.
For Arsene to come out last week and say he brought on Lauren at left-back for the last half hour in Thun to see if he could play there just encapsulates the problem. As you and I well know, Lauren would be miles better playing there, as would Toure, as would Eboue, as might Senderos and as might even Flamini.
They say there is no point buying for the sake of it, but there is also no point not buying for the sake of it. And Alex Hleb is the ONLY outfield and vaguely proven player over 21 who has arrived at Highbury in nearly three and a half years! That is extraordinary! We all know (and largely admire) Arsene’s determination to challenge Chelsea’s exorbitant spending by unearthing and polishing gems, but it is almost as if what Chelsea do is dictating what we do. By this I mean the more they spend the less we seem to spend. And yet the fact is that any title win would count as a great overcoming of the odds, even if we spent £20 million a year.
On that note, there is nothing wrong with stripping out a few luxuries (eg Kanu and Wiltord) to give younger players a chance. But you can’t start getting rid of the bare essentials. And at the moment you can argue we have no competition in goal, where Wenger’s signings there are slowly becoming more bizarre and obscure (witness Shabaan, Warmuz, Almunia and now Poom). We have two good centre backs (one of whom is off his game), a still very young pretender (Senderos) and another who ain’t up to it. Four years ago we had an (admittedly aging) Adams, Keown, Campbell, Upson, Grimandi (better than Cygan) and Oleg Lhuzny (probably better than Cygan).
I hardly need to go into central midfield. A comparison with last year simply says it all. On the wings, as I suggested earlier, there is fair attacking cover. The problem though is that when we want to plump for someone more defensive on the right we end up having to move Fabregas, where as two years ago we would have simply slotted Edu in, leaving Vieira and Gilberto intact in the centre.
And at up front, it seems to have taken ages to a) figure out Reyes is a winger and b) develop a successor to Dennis. Discounting Reyes, we have just three forwards – a footballing god, a youngster still making his mark and a man who is rapidly going over the hill. Think back to 1999 and look at the perfect balance we enjoyed: an in form Kanu, Dennis around his prime, a raw (but still 25 goal) Thierry Henry and Davor Suker, who was used as and when it pleased. Sadly, our current paucity of forwards meant that after 70 minutes we were calling for Dennis yesterday, even though all and sundry could surely see it was not the time or place for his services. And quite why on earth Robin Van Persie was withdrawn I don’t know. Simple maths says Van Persie’s goal threat is far higher than Dennis or Reyes.
All in all, there seems to be a great sense of bafflement. We expect managers to be a little mad, but more and more often we seem to be shrugging our shoulders and explain something away as Arsene just being Arsene. But it doesn’t add up. We might not like seeing Chelsea above us but always knew their spending would make it probable. But it’s hard to accept when we seem to be shooting ourselves in the foot so readily. Even Spurs have about seven midfielders better than our fourth choice.
And what is so galling is that actually we are not very far at all from being bloody good. With the exception of Cygan, every player in our squad is Arsenal quality and very many are worthy week in week out starters too. But they need reinforcements. With these reinforcements, we wouldn’t have to shunt Freddie back into the side when he doesn’t look ready. We would be able to pick the players who are physically at their peak and rest others when they tire a little. Which is what Mourinho does and explains why Cole, Duff, Robben and Wright-Philips always look so chirpy.
So what do we need? A hungry, improving goalkeeper who will in a few years succeed Jens. A half decent centre back who is solid if nothing else. An established beast in central midfield. Perhaps a young, as yet unproven beast, for when the big beast is suspended. A Davor Suker like signing – someone who will offer goals when they play but whose presence will not hold Van Persie back. And as the Dutchman becomes established, someone to fill Van Persie’s current role of young pretender – Arturo Lupoli would seem the obvious choice.
That is five signings. But only two (the beast and the goal scorer) would initially be pivotal ones. Those five, combined with our ever improving youngsters, could make a real squad. At the moment it is not just that Chelsea are so far ahead in the table, it is that we are in with the likes of Spurs, Bolton and Wigan. Squad wise, we will never be as big or strong at Chelsea. But at a certain point it starts to matter less and less until it becomes almost immaterial. We need to plug the holes so we can get to that point.
And finally, what are the rewards? We already have a really good crop of players. Arsenal may not be ahead of the chasing pack but it is still true that the vast majority of our current crop would walk into any Premiership team other than Chelsea and Man U in some cases. With the right moves in the transfer market we could perhaps hope to persuade not just the brilliant Ashley Cole to stay at Highbury but also Thierry Henry, one of the great players of this generation. Whether he stays or goes could tell us so much about where Arsenal are headed.
I may be wrong, but I struggle to believe Henry (settled in London with a wife and new born) would have any inclination to leave a flourishing Arsenal in a new stadium who have the tools to seriously fight Chelsea for the league and to capture the Champions League. I suspect he fears the same things we fear and he needs the same reassurances.
He is 28 and I suspect he knows he has half a chance not to just be known as a great of his time, but to etch his name as one of the great players of any generation. To become that great he probably still needs a mix of international success at his prime (he was not yet a great player in 1998 or 2000) and success with a club in Europe.
On the international stage, Henry’s options are obviously limited because he can’t change countries. On the club stage, whether he feels able to achieve it at Highbury may well depend on just what Arsene is playing at.
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27/11/05
Arsenal 3 Blackburn 0: Attack good, defence not so good
I only saw the BBC highlights of yesterday’s game, so it would be wrong to go into too much depth. But three things were quite obvious from watching it:
Our defence is making too many Premiership standard strike forces look like world beaters. And with all due respect to the man, it is my belief that rightly or wrongly, the presence of Pascal Cygan is a massive factor.
A couple of reports I have read suggested he was not personally so bad yesterday, but the problem goes beyond his individual performances. It is the effect he has on the team.
Exactly a year and a week ago I wrote: “Pascal Cygan is no Baresi, but he’s not an awful player either. But at the moment his presence is having a devastating effect on our play. The rest of the team doesn’t trust neither him nor Jens Lehman and the effect is reverberating through our side.” A week later Jens played his last league game until February and has not looked back since his recall. I added at the end of the article: “Cygan has to be dropped for the sake of the team.”
And the same must happen now. Arseblogger was entirely correct yesterday to point to Wenger’s apparent blind spot over Cygan. Far be it for faceless internet bloggers to tell him how to manage Arsenal, but the clamour from fans appears so universal that surely these feelings need articulating.
2) The second point is that we are obviously playing some very nice attacking stuff at the moment. Not all the time, but we are cranking up the pressure when it matters. Much as Blackburn perhaps deserved a goal or even two, the fact is we created three perfectly executed ones and could have had more.
3 ) Some players have such outrageous talent that you can forgive them being idiots on occasion. Robbie Savage is not one such player. Arseblogger aptly summed him up as a “cheating, conman, fairy, nancy, fraud, flimflammer, obnoxious wanky cunt.”
I would add one word to that description: twerp, defined in the dictionary as a person regarded as not just contemptible but insignificant too.
Just before I finish I’d like to pre-empt a couple of things that will happen this week. The first is that a certain journalist will twist the Savage incident to bring up every misdemeanour ever committed by an Arsenal player. The second is that we are going to have to listen to unrivalled levels of crap spout from the mouth of Sam Allardyce this week ahead of our visit to the Reebok next Saturday. If they beat Fulham today they will be level with us going into the game.
On that note, there was an interesting (and unmalicious) remark made about George Best this week. It was said that Best frequently mentioned how Pele had called him the world’s greatest, yet Pele never needed to do the opposite. Sam Allardyce loves to tell us how brilliantly he has done at Bolton on such limited resources, yet Arsene Wenger...
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I didn't see the Thun game, I'm flying during the Blackburn game and the Reading game is not on TV. But I'll probably post one or two more general updates before the Bolton game.
20/11/05
Wigan 2 Arsenal 3: Should the new midfielder be a partner for Cesc rather than Silva?
In a nutshell: We took control through goals from Van Persie (good turn, run, fierce shot, bad goalkeeping) and Henry (lovely slid finish from Cesc pass at end of flowing move). They pulled one back through shambolic defending. Henry netted a scorcher of a free kick. They pulled another back through shambolice defending. We won despite defending shockingly.
Analysis: It was very easy last season to say how much we were missing the Gilberto "wall" during his absence. And perhaps it was true. But on recent performances, Berlin's got a stronger wall than the one our Brazilian offers. Against Wigan he was, to put it mildly, shite. He didn't go forward, he didn't pass well, he dallied on the ball, he made absurd attempts to intercept that only put us in deeper trouble and he failed to get off the ground for headers. (Witness first goal). In short, he was oh so passive.
Next to him, Cesc Fabregas was a model pro. He ran tirelessly, he won tackles, he broke up play, he positioned himself well and he supported the attack right up until the last minute. Sure, not everything came off, but the way I see it this new midfielder we all agree we need should more likely be a partner for Cesc than for Gilberto.
Behind the pair, things were just totally terrible. Credit to Wigan, honest team, hard working, deceptively skillful for a rugby league town all those other cliches. But the fact is Sol Campbell offered justification for Sven picking Rio ahead of him (yes he was that bad), Jens' kicking was crap, Lauren's general defending was poor and Toure's little better.
To their left was Pascal Cygan. The nicest thing I can say is that words fail me to describe his performance.
I'm not one for having a go at individuals just for the sake of it and it is true that in the end, we got a very welcome three points. But a spoon should be called a spoon and today our defending was chaotic.
Up front, it seems Van Persie may possibly have finally got the nod over Dennis, at long last. He played well, the returning Freddie worked hard but was not at full throttle, Pires put in a committed performance which didn't once involve me screaming at him for ducking a tackle and Henry once again made everything look too easy.
One final thought, much as I can't stand his self righteous, self important, status as a "real" player, and much as there is between no chance and 0% chance of Arsene going for him, you kinda have to admit Roy Keane could fill a gap.
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15/11/05
Arsenal playing before Chelsea form, European form and Vieira book form
A few brief thoughts as we wait for the Premiership to restart.
The first is that the fixture list is currently conspiring quite often to let us play our weekend game before Chelsea. I pointed out last season that while our results are largely unaffected by whether we play before, at the same time or after Chelsea, their's suffered last season when they played after us. And based purely on very anecdotal evidence, the same has been true this season. So we need to take advantage at Wigan on Saturday.
Secondly, this whole assumption that because Liverpool won the Champions League while being crap in the league, the same will happen to us seems bizarre. Last season was largely an anomoly. What nobody seems to have mentioned is that since defeat in Moscow over two years ago, we have a healthy European record that reads: P19 W12 D5 L2.
Finally, there is a piece in today's Times that takes 600 odd words to correctly say: Patrick Vieira hypocritically forgets his own diving when he lambasts Wayne Rooney and Ruud Van Nistelrooy as cheats.
But that is not all the piece says. In fact it reads strangely like a diktat handed down from Old Trafford to a friendly journalist much in the way United employed the same policy with the same friendly journalists after the battle of the buffet.
There was no way Vieira was going to ignore either Rooney or RVN in his book. And the fact is that Rooney DID cheat exactly as described and Van Nistelrooy WAS guilty of consistent violence that went unpunished against Arsenal. Whatever, Vieira's personal myopia, to suggest that the two United players are somehow worthy of apologies for what is correcly identified as shabby behaviour when Vieira does it, is just absurd.
And while I appreciate accuracy matters little when there is an axe there to be ground, the description of the Nicky Butt incident is just patently wrong. Contrary to what is written, it was a straight red card and not a second yellow. Secondly, there was never the slightest suggestion Vieira had dived. Thirdly, the decision to send Butt off was one based purely on the positioning of the incident near to the goal and not on the severity of the tackle or Vieira's reaction to it (there was no doubt it was a foul). Fourthly, all Alex Ferguson and anyone else was moaning about was the referee's decision to treat the incident as a goal scoring chance and thus issue red.
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10/11/05
International week update
My apologies for the lack of recent updates. The laptop appears to have died and enjoyable as this site is, staying late at work to update it is just not that appetising.
Anyway, things have gone pretty well since the Spurs game. There is not a lot to say about Sparta and Sunderland. We needed victories and we got victories. We didn't over exert ourselves but then we didn't need to. I'm still of the theory that we look far better when playas play in their natural positions and I think that was fairly obvious watching the Sunderland game. In midfield the mix was good, with the wall-like Gilberto and the more enterprising Fabregas, Reyes and Pires both looked comfortable out on the wings and up front we had a good mix of a forward/striker (what can you call Henry?) and a striker.
I don't think Chelsea were unlucky at Old Trafford because ultimately they didn't do enough. But I do think United can count themselves fortunate. Some of their defensive play was wretched - incredibly nervous and very deep. But they got away with it. People are asking whether they will collapse like we did. I don't think they will but nor do I think that the issue really. If someone does catch them I expect it to be by a process of small erosion rather than one big wave. So, for example, if they have a tricky away game that they draw others might take advantage with easy home wins. And of course if we win our game in hand and manage to beat the Blues at Highbury then the gap is only five points anyway. I'm not saying we will do it, just saying how I think they could be caught.
As Myles Palmer pointed out on ANR, the four league games before Chelsea are vital. Contrary to what he said, they actually read: Wigan (A), Blackburn (H), Bolton (A), Newcastle (A). We need to be looking for a minimum of ten points from the four of them and ideally twelve.
Not much else to say, except that I'm away for two weeks from Saturday, so there is a fair chance I won't update after the Wigan, Thun and Blackburn games (the last of which I will definitely miss as I will be in the air for it).
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01/11/05
Players in position works at Spurs
Arsene's decision to shore up the side with an extra midfielder was well intentioned and a welcome departure from the gung-ho approach that cost us so badly at Munich last season. But injuries and lack of squad depth meant that to do it we had Freddie playing out of position on the left, Cesc out of position on the right and our first choice central midfielders not in place. Add the fact we were playing with two forwards but no strikers, and it is obvious why we struggled. When Pires came on, suddenly we had him, Freddie and Cesc all where they should be. And when Van Persie came on, Reyes was on the left wing (which for me is his best spot), Pires was on the right (in a position he has played and done well in) and we had a good balance of a forward and a striker up front.
But I also wonder whether perhaps Arsene imagined the first half going as it did, while obviously hoping we would not concede. Spurs, confidence bolstered by their own good form and our lack of it, were always going to come out on fire. I wonder whether it was Arsene's plan to draw to try to draw their sting (keeping it at 0-0) and then introduce Pires and pounce on them as they tired. In the event, the problems of the first half called for Pires earlier than expected, but I expect it was probably always the plan that he would play a key role.
I don't think there can be any doubt we deserved the draw. Granted, Spurs dominated the first half (even if I only remember Jens having to save from his near namesake Jenas). But we dominated the second right from the off in my opinion. Sure, chances did not immediately come, but we did a good job of grinding them down and tiring them out and in the end Van Persie had about three good chances, Reyes had one, Pires had one and Pires scored. So for me, while our equaliser doesn't suit the grand theories of the pundits, it was well deserved. And to come back from behind against the likes of Spurs away never has been and is certainly not now something to be snorted at.
A couple of things have struck me. The first is that the idea of us being a one man (Henry) team is absurd. But it is true that we still haven't yet brought in someone who we can say is a sufficiently good deputy for him. Don't get me wrong, they don't need to be the same type of player, just a good enough alternative. Hopefully Van Persie can be. I'm also intruiged to see who replaces Dennis in the summer (or before?)
The second point is that the cover issue is not one of Chelsea's being excellent and ours adequate. In fact, our's is inadequate. Midfield reinforcements are a must (so that when we switch things around everyone is not pulled out of position like against Spurs) and so too are a buy each in defence and attack I guess. Bringing in those three players will not give us as excellently backed-up a squad as Chelsea's but I question whether their level of protection is really necessary. While they will always have all 11 positions perfectly filled, if we only have 9 or 10 it probably won't all that much difference in the end. It is when your side is so inbalanced (like against Spurs) that I think it becomes a big problem.
Thought for the day: When was Jens' last mistake?
Updating is a bit fraught at the moment due to a comatose laptop, so sorry for that. In the meantime we have Sparta and Sunderland at home. The latter of which is a must, must, must win game because either Chelsea, United or both will drop points next weekend.
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24/10/05
What story lies behind 'that' penalty?
This is a long post; it’s been that kind of weekend.
I’m now on my third school of thought about what happened and more confused than I was to start with. At first I simply wondered how they could be so stupid at such a crucial point in such a crucial match. Did they realise how agonising it was for the fans? Then I wondered whether these two great artists who have brought us both silverware and exquisite football had endured one of those once in a career cock-ups, the like of which every great band have had with that one appalling single and every great director has had with one shocking film. Should we simply forgive and forget and laugh it off as one bizarre and fortunately uncostly cock-up?
But now I wonder: was it symptomatic of a greater malaise? Could it be that whilst we as fans still yearn desperately to win the European Cup and to catch Chelsea, Pires and Henry see the first as impossible and the second as highly improbable and in any case offering only a reward that would emulate, rather than surpass previous achievements? Do they still have the same drive to succeed for Arsenal? Would Frank Lampard even consider doing anything other than burying the ball from the spot, irrespective of the score? And if the three points were as vital for them as they were for us, how could they contemplate even trying that penalty?
I realise the above paragraph could easily be interpreted as me saying they don’t care. I am definitely not saying that. For a start I am saying the above insinuations are true and in any case, if there has been any loss of drive, I would suggest it has been almost entirely subconscious and in no way deliberate. But whichever way you look at it, I think the above are fair questions that should be asked if we are to understand why such a monumental fuck-up occurred.
And just sticking with penalties for a moment, I’m delighted to see that Thierry Henry says he will be taking them all from now on. It had become absolutely farcical. Not only did we have our top marksman refusing to take penalties he had won for absolutely no obvious reason whatsoever. We also had Dennis refusing to take them following his miss against United over six years ago! Fear of flying is one thing, but a phobia of penalties is another and you get the feeling that in any other walk of life Dennis would have been told to pull himself together and just do it. And to think that yesterday it had got to the stage where we were passing them to each other. Incredible.
Which is also what can be said for getting two penalties off Mike Riley. I haven’t seen any replays of the second one, while the first one could have gone either way. But I will just say that analysing these things in super slow motion is pointless because football is not played in super slow motion. Slowing the play down will always make it look like the attacker has deliberately let himself be fouled. It distorts reality.
At last, the game. Firstly, City were very well organised and are a genuinely decent side. So a win is good. But we’re struggling. A fair part of the problem can be summarised in six words: Flamini, Gilberto, Cesc, Lampard, Essien, Makalele. Our players are good, but we lack a monster in there like Chelsea have and it tells. Eight other words also explain a lot: Van Persie, Senderos, Quincy, Eboue, Robben, Crespo, Gudjohnsen, Ferreira. Arsene didn’t make a single sub. Mourinho introduced first Gudjohnsen, then Robben and then Crespo, all about ten minutes apart. Of course, they didn’t win. But the contrast could not have been bigger.
Arsene is not an idiot: his public buoyancy and confidence in the strength of the squad is surely just a charade that he is obliged to show in an effort to maintain moral. But at heart it must be obvious to him just how blatantly we need to splash the cash.
I’ll finish by saying that Pires and Henry were right to apologise. And that Spurs away is the perfect time to make-up for things by putting in a committed, impassioned performance. And it’s vital they do, because if we’re as slack at White Hart Lane this time as we have been recently, then this time we will lose. And nobody wants that.
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20/10/05
Why Henry's goal at Upton Park was his greatest ever
In the world of footballing top tens, there surely can’t be a more enjoyable experience than picking Thierry Henry’s best goals. I can’t honestly claim to have seen enough of Pele and Maradona to properly judge them. But my suspicion is that if a montage of Thierry Henry goals were shown next to montages of the Brazilian and Argentinian’s best strikes, Henry would not look out of place.
So, at 10…
Chelsea (h) 12/04. At kick-off people said their defence was the immovable object and Thierry Henry didn’t score in big games. Thirty seconds later he had pinged in an unstoppable shot from the edge of the box, leaving Cech rooted to the spot.
at 9…
Bayern Munich (h) 03/05. A strange choice for some perhaps, but for me another brilliant goal against an immovable object. Bayern may have been a defensive shambles in the next round at Chelsea but against us they were tighter than something incredibly tight. After 70 odd minutes, Henry controlled a long ball on the left from Cole, brought it down and hit it instantly across Oliver Khan with complete precision. It was a perfectly executed goal. And it had to be.
At 8…
Manchester City (h) 01/04. This one is also representing the swerver against United later that season. Against City, I was in the North Bank and saw just how much his shot seemed to swerve and yet keep completely straight like an arrow. David James didn’t have a prayer.
At 7…
Sparta Prague (a) 10/05. A very late entrant but very deserving of it’s place. On for six minutes, he controlled the ball on the outside of his foot, swung his whole body through 360 degrees and then fired in a bending shot that beat the goalkeeper in the only part of the net it could have. Almost arrogantly brilliant.
At 6…
Inter Milan (a) 11/03. Broke out from defence, looked to be going nowhere and then made Javier Zanetti look amateurish before slamming home with the left foot. A brilliant goal and the crucial third in a 5-1 win.
At 5…
Spurs (h) 11/02. Very, very special run. He took them all on, cut inside and finished brilliantly. Then he celebrated in serious style in front of the west stand. Magnificent.
At 4…
Charlton (h) 10/04. So good it completely bamboozled the cameraman. I watched this game in a pub in London with one of those dodgy satellites. The commentary was in a foreign language, music was playing in the bar and a lot of people were only half watching. The camera was focused in on Henry as he held the ball with his back to goal about six yards out. Then he backheeled the ball and suddenly wheeled away in delight. The pub was genuinely stunned. Those of us who realised what must have happened looked on in disbelief. When they showed a replay from another angle the reaction from the rest of the pub was one of sheer incredulity. And the more they showed it the more disbelieving the reactions. It didn’t really matter what happened in the rest of the game.
At 3…
Liverpool (h) 04/04. No doubt you’ve heard people say how important this goal was in us winning the title. It was. I was at Highbury that day and 2-1 down at half time there was some serious cigarette smoking going on in the north bank. Within a minute we had equalised thanks to Freddie Ljungberg. But after equalising once and then going behind again, a fair few people feared things were turning against us and we would do it again.
Then Henry picked the ball up on the left. He jinked in, took on a couple of defenders and simply by his presence created sheer panic in the Liverpool defence. So much so that Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher knocked in to each other and fell to the ground comically. Suddenly Henry was through and he finished coolly. The north bank erupted. People who had not lost it since Ray Parlour scored against Valencia found themselves jumping out of their seats. A massive, massive goal and sheer brilliance bore in part out of the complete panic his presence can induce.
At 2…
Manchester United (h) 10/00. Unreal goal. Fed by Grimandi miles out, he chipped it up, spun Gary Neville and in one fired in a volley that dipped and swerved over Barthez into the far corner. Watching at home, all I saw was the ball leave his foot. I thought it was going miles over. Then the Clock End went mad. I had lost the ball in the air. Eventually, I was persuaded it had gone in but was convinced it could only have had it taken the most massive of deflections. Then I saw the replay. One of the goals of goals.
At 1…
West Ham (a) 08/02. You may think this a weird choice. I say the beauty of it has never fully been recognised. Now, don’t get me wrong: were this goal being judged purely on Henry controlling the ball on his knee and hitting an absolute bullet past David James from 30 yards, it would not be anywhere near number one, however great a finish it was. It is the first touch that does it and it is a touch which in my opinion defies the physics of football.
He receives the ball on the right edge of the penalty area from a Vieira pass. He has his back to goal. It is played firmly in to his left foot. Then he takes the crucial touch, which I will come back to in a minute. When he next touches it he has spun 180 degrees so that he is now facing diagonally to goal. His defender has been left bamboozled. The ball lands on what is now Henry’s right knee. Think about what he did with that touch: he took a ball that was coming into his feet and with one touch he looped it up in to the air with his foot. When it fell it was still, incredibly, travelling in the original direction. But he didn’t just lob it into the air, which would have been hard enough.
Instead, he met the ball purposefully with the right hand side of his left boot and somehow spun (not hooked as would have been the case had he used the left hand side of the boot) the ball up in to the air up and over his defender’s head. Had Brazil done it in 1970 I genuinely believe it would be replayed continuously now. Do whatever you can to get a copy of the video and watch that touch because 250 words of mine have failed to do it justice.
And it is for that reason that West Ham away was Thierry Henry’s best Arsenal goal and potentially the greatest I have ever seen.
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19/10/05
Sparta 0 Arsenal 2: Match report, playa ratings and Henry worshipping
The formalities first, then the Henry stuff: Cygan replaced Senderos who had replaced Campbell and Cygan continued in place of the injured Cole. Gilberto returned in midfield in place of Cesc who replaced the injured Ljungberg. The returning Van Persie replaced Bergkamp (something to do with a fear of flying).
We started well, with Cesc having a shot and some promising attacks. Then Reyes went off injured and Arsene went for the brave option of risking Thierry Henry for 70 minutes. Within two minutes he had chested the ball down on the edge of the box and fired what looked like a beaut of a volley that was deflected wide. Then he brought down a through ball from Kolo, spun on the edge of the box and hit the most belle of bending shots with the outside of his right foot. Great goal.
We didn’t do much else for the rest of the half and started the second somewhat sluggishly. Then on 65 we started playing again and within five minutes Pires? had played Henry in with a beautiful ball. He controlled it and still had a fair bit to do to knock it home. 2-0 it finished. A decent enough performance and a great result. Playa ratings to the right.
The goals take Theirry Henry past Ian Wright’s all time Arsenal goal scoring record. We have been fantastically privileged to see him rack up 186 not out and even luckier that so many have been done in such incredible style.
As I walked to work yesterday morning (Tuesday), I went with a bounce in my step. Sometimes you don’t realise what you have til it’s gone and I for one could not wait to see his magnificence return to the pitch.
Of course, there will be those Arsenal fans who will bemoan his unwillingness to commit to the club in his post match interview. That kind of reaction is absolute bollocks in my view. It is quite obvious he is not going to come out and commit to the club just like that because the fact is he is considering leaving. He is 28, has achieved a massive amount, probably fears somewhat about the destination we are headed towards and feels he may want to try and conquer Spain before he retires. People ask for him to be honest. He is. By saying what he is saying he is making it perfectly clear things are up in the air.
Do people want him to say he wants to go? What good would that do? The fact is that when he says he is focused on his football at the moment, that is the truth and that is what he showed us tonight. What is wrong with him kissing the badge if he puts in great performances? Kissing the badge is a sign that your heart is in to what you are doing. And who could argue that his heart wasn’t in tonight’s performance?
Of course we don’t want him to leave on a Bosman. But if he leaves, he leaves. We have been absurdly lucky to have not only one of the best, but one of the most consistent players in the world between the ages of 22 and 28 in his career. If he wants to move then so be it. I would wish him all the best.
Of course, I desperately want him to sign a new contract. But let us be grown up about this. He is doing nothing wrong. The best we can do is get behind him (the fans were great tonight), get behind the team at Highbury (we can do a lot better) and hope Arsene can bring in the players and the team achieve the success that will allow Thierry Henry to stay.
I have no inside knowledge on the issue of his contract, but my hunch would be that things are not a lot more complicated than Thierry fearing (quite justifiably) that the standard of the squad is slipping and that we look less likely to achieve the success (particularly in Europe) that he so craves.
We shall see what happens, but in the meantime let’s celebrate his achievement and leave the worrying for another time. I have written enough now, so won’t reveal my favourite Henry goal now, but you can reveal yours below.
ps: he seemed pretty happy to me when he broke the record.
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16/10/05
West Brom 2 Arsenal 1: Report + playa ratings. Grim.
Arsene Wenger has never suffered the indignity of losing to a lower division team as Arsenal manager, but it is hard to believe that the disappointment could be any greater than that experienced after today’s loss at West Brom.
In 45 minutes, our emotions went from genuine hope that things could be turning our way (we were winning and Chelsea were losing) to the sheer grimness of seeing us somehow lose and them come back to win 5-1.
In short, we took an early lead when Senderos hooked home a deep Reyes corner. We were completely dominant, they were crap. We sat back. They equalised after a feeble Pires attempt to block a cross, a poor header from Senderos and terrible marking of Kanu. Of all people, the man renowned for taking 10 touches when two will do, had time to control the ball, compose himself and then fire off an (impressive) shot past the helpless Lehman. It was a shocker of a goal.
In the 2nd half we eventually rallied around the hour mark and though we had a couple of chances (Toure, Reyes, Bergkamp) things were in no way urgent enough. We probably should have had a penalty for a foul on Reyes, but he wasn’t in a scoring position so I’m not going to complain. It would, however, be nice to see referees decide whether a foul should be given not based on where the incident happens on the pitch but on the incident itself. And if this means the law needs to be reformed so that minor fouls in non-threatening positions in the area do not warrant a spot-kick then so be it. We need consistency.
Anyway, they then scored a cracker out of absolutely nothing. We huffed but got nowhere. Immensely disappointing and all the more so when you are watching the game in the corner of a bar while in other corners Chelsea, United, Liverpool and Spurs fans are all celebrating goals going in. The upshot of all this is that the table does not look good. In fact I don’t even want to see it. All I know is we’re 14 points behind Chelsea having dropped 11 to their none.
But the main discussion must be about the performance. We started with a very youthful team containing Senderos, Clichy, Reyes, Flamini, Cesc and for much of the game Eboue too after Fred went off. We were without Cole, Campbell, Gilberto, Van Persie, Henry, Hleb and then Ljungberg. That would be a big miss to any squad, all the more so to ours.
So perhaps that excuses things. Or perhaps it doesn’t. The Everton and Man City sides that a far less experienced Arsenal dispatched from last season’s League Cup were miles better than the carthorses West Brom served up today. We could and should have easily won this game.
The problem is that the fact we are not at our most fluent at the moment should mean every playa is giving 120% so that effort alone can get us through. But that is not the case. We were leaden footed and lethargic today. Really, I would say that excluding the hard to appraise Lehman, only Reyes and perhaps Senderos and Toure did themselves justice out there today. Not everything may be coming off for Reyes, but he keeps plugging away and chasing everything.
The same is not true for the others. Pires is the worst culprit. His effort at times is frankly lamentable. I can just about excuse him pulling out of tackles because he is worried about his knee but he has no excuse for not doing everything humanly possible to block crosses.
We are clearly lacking really good cover right through the spine of the team (a defender, midfielder and striker are all needed). But we also have to roll our sleeves up and not commit the immortal sin of taking our foot off the pedal just because our opponents are crap.
It is going to take a miraculous recovery for us to challenge for the league now. We need our genuinely rotten luck with injuries to turn, new playas and better performances.
One final point about today’s referee and the one minute 55 seconds of injury time he added on. Now don’t get me wrong, I loathe it when managers squabble over every few seconds. My theory is normally if you don’t score in 90 then you probably won’t score in 94. But today was just some kind of complete joke. We had an injury a minute from time that lasted about one minute 40 seconds, we had four second half subs, three of which were incredibly slow West Brom ones, we had one of the longest and deliberately stalling goal celebrations ever and we had them wasting time every time they got a free-kick or goal kick, even when it was 1-1.
By adding on just two minutes the referee has completely indulged that negativity (which I accept Arsenal have been guilty of in the past). It was a complete joke.
...
09/10/05
Football returns next week
Do you get very bored of England games after 60 minutes? Do you have to tell yourself to try to be happy when England score? And does part of you secretly will the opposition to knock one past ‘us’?
Answer: Yes, yes and yes.
My conclusion is that Sven would get double the amount of stick if the thought of writing about England wasn’t so boring. In fact, I’ve had enough. I’m so bored I can’t be stuffed to write any more about England.
But I will say a few words about my good friends at FIFA. Presumably David Beckham’s red card will stand, despite his 2nd booking being a blatant dive.
It will stand because under FIFA’s own half witted rules, appeals are only allowed in cases of mistaken identity. I don’t give a stuff about Beckham, but I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: this is the most inept rule I have ever seen.
England have been wrongly deprived of a playa for 30 minutes because of an opposition player’s connivance. And then to compound the problem, they will ban him for no other reason than that they have invented a stupid rule that says he must be banned.
For some reason, this rule pisses me off big time. It is the height of bullshit in a game overflowing with the stuff. The only bans being handed out should be for the half wits who invented this rule and are now pressuring the Premiership to take it up.
The only saving grace is that these things have a way of hitting people back in the face. How I will laugh if the brilliant Ronaldinho is sent-off in next year’s World Cup semi-final for handling on the line when the ball clearly hit his chest. Of course, my scorn will not be directed at the unfortunate Brazilian. Instead it will be at the FIFA bigwigs who will have seen their showpiece player miss their showpiece game because of their own arrogant, farcical rules.
Football returns next week.
...
021005
Arsenal 1 Birmingham 0 - half a report
Well, I only saw the second half (hence no playa ratings). From the sounds of it we created a fair bit in the first half and as well as missing a penalty we could have had a hatful.
The second half seemed a very flat affair. Maik Taylor made great saves early on from Pires and Ljungberg and then we seemed to lose any great degree of urgency. In the end, Van Persie’s not brilliantly hit shot deflected off a defender and beat the excellent Taylor. We held on, though not with any great style.
We looked lethargic in the latter stages. From what I saw Campbell, Toure and Cole looked good enough. Reyes is playing with brilliant enthusiasm and desire. The rest of them don’t look lazy by any means but if you compare us with Chelsea at the moment, is the same unswerving desire there? I’m not so sure.
It needs to be.
And the crowd can play their part too. Apologies if the SKY sound system did Highbury a disservice, but the ground sounded embarrassingly silent today. The players are human beings like the rest of us and they thrive on the support of the crowd like you and I would. So, if you’re lucky enough to be at Highbury, sing.
Chelsea won 4-1 this afternoon and looked good, albeit against what is a pretty poor Liverpool league side. The Kop were singing louder in the 89th minute than anything Highbury managed today.
On site news, I’ve gone back to the old design but with the new logo following a public outcry. Not sure about what should go in the space on the left though, as the Latest Updates column was pointless and time consuming to update.
Finally, a question for any readers who live in Dublin or anywhere else in the Republic of Ireland. I need to get internet access at my new flat for 3 months. Are there any broadband companies who don’t insist on you signing up for 12 months? And what is the best dial-up?
...
|fhffg
Archives: July 2005, June 2005, May 2005, April 2005,March 2005, February 2005, January 2005, December 2004 and the embryonic goodplaya.
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Playa ratings:
v West Ham (2-3) - NEW
Lehman: An absolute idiot for stupidly getting involved with Harewood late on. Not only was it nasty, but he could have been sent-off and he also put us out of our stride. A minute later West Ham made it 3-1. He’s a very good goalkeeper but an arrogant, nasty character and an embarrassment when he behaves like that. 4
Gilbert: Looked to be doing fine until the Arsenal full-back curse struck. 6
Djorou: Individually did well, but understandably hasn’t been able to strike up any kind of partnership with Campbell yet. 6
Campbell: What can you say? Two massive errors that were punished to the max. Things just aren’t going his way at all. 4
Senderos: Obviously doesn’t offer the attacking prowess of Cole or Clichy but he looked solid and his distribution to Pires was fairly impressive. Did fine at centre-back in the second half but should have whacked it out instead of passing to Larsson for the mistake that led to the third goal. 5
Gilberto: He’s not great at the moment. Far too passive for my liking. 5
Diaby: Still raw, but I like him. And he is so like Vieira: even his mistakes remind me of Vieira’s shortcomings. Not sure why he was taken off. 7
Ljungberg: You have to laugh at the way he somehow managed to deflect Henry’s shot wide. Is trying really hard and not actually playing badly at all. But nothing is going his way. 7
Pires: I do feel we need players with greater bite than Pires at the moment. But in fairness, he was involved, scored one, set-up the other one for Henry and saw Hislop deny him with a great save. 6
Henry: Hard to judge. Seemed to have a decent enough game on TV but reports from the game were critical. 6
Van Persie: Unlucky. Offered a lot but nothing went his way. 7
Subs:
Flamini: Brought on as an emergency right-back but did pretty well all things considered. Say what you like about Flamini but he’s a fighter who unlike some of his team-mates will never be found lacking for effort. 7
Larsson: Yes, he made the cock-up for the third goal. But it was typical of our rough justice. Other than that he was excellent: committed in the tackle, full of running in attack and crucially he understands the value of hitting long-balls diagonally, as opposed to completely straight. Which is something some of his team-mates could do with taking note of. 7
Dennis: Not normally much of a substitute, but he found himself a good niche on the right of midfield and offered us extra creativity. Well hit volley to set up Pires’ goal. 6
v Sparta Prague (0-2)
Lehmann: Solid enough game. He’s doing well at the moment. 7
Clichy: Bit of a nightmare really, though to be fair their right winger was their best playa. 5
Cygan: Surprisingly assured. 7
Kolo: Looked fairly good most of the time. 7
Lauren: The odd moment of strangeness. 6.5
Flamini: Was hard to judge the midfielders tonight. Seemed to do the normal without being mega effective. 6.5
Gilberto: One of those Gilberto games where you don’t really know how he has played. 6.5
Fabregas: Got fairly involved and offered threat down the right. 7
Pires: Not his best game by any means but still one of his better ones this season. Magnificent ball for the second goal. 7
Van Persie: Seems to get carded in Europe for the most ridiculous things. Did alright without having much effect. 6.5
Reyes: Full of running til he got injured and wasn’t running at all. 6.5
Subs:
Henry (for Reyes 17ish): Emperor-like as he beat Wrighty’s record. Magnificent playa who, had he not scored, would have been accused of going missing in another big game. But because he did score, it won’t count as a big game. 8.5
Eboue (for Van Persie 70ish): Looking ok at the moment. 6.5
Quincy (for Cesc 85ish): Full of running. 6.5
v West Brom (2-1)
Lehmann: Blameless for goals. 6
Lauren: Not particularly composed. 5.5
Clichy: Has had far better games. 5.5
Senderos: Good goal, messy header for theirs. 6
Toure: Ok but ridiculously offside at one free kick. 5.5
Flamini: Ok but uninspiring. 5.5
Cesc: Decent. Kept trying. 6
Pires: Crap. 4.5
Ljungberg: Ok while he was on. 5.5
Reyes: Still running his heart out. 7
Bergkamp: A moany kind of day. 5.5
Subs:
Eboue (for Ljungberg 35ish): Not great. 5.5
Quincy (for Flamini 80ish): Bizarrely decided what Arsenal lack is left-wingers. 5.5
v Everton (2-0)
Jens: Very little to do. Did it all right. 7
Lauren: Occasionally seemed to imagine he had more pace than he does, which was quite amusing as he tried to take people on. Solid as usual. 7
Cole: As someone who gave him a good bashing over the summer it would suit by agenda to say he is playing poorly. But that would be a lie. Whatever the reasons for it, he has started the season well and in attack in particular is offering a lot. 7.5
Toure: Nothing to do at the back and seemed to enjoy getting in on this whole new set-piece malarkey. 7
Campbell: Two excellent headers, especially the second one which was a real hammer. Not at full speed yet but looked good, organised the defence well, shouted at people and seemed to realise he was our most senior player on the pitch. 8
Pires: Hadn’t done all that much in the brief period he was on the pitch before Gary Neville’s shit younger brother’s tackle forced him off. 6.5
Cesc: One friend said to me he is looking lightweight and giving the ball away too much. Maybe. But I think he does a lot of good stuff and his presence in the opponent’s penalty box is valuable. 7
Gilberto: Solid game, got through a fair amount and gave us a couple of those rare Gilberto moments where for a few seconds he stops looking like he is suspended in perpetual slow motion and instead provides us with raw Brazilian skill. 7
Ljungberg: Started slowly but furrowed hard as ever. Seemed to make a real determination to either stick wide out on the wing or else very deliberately come inside as opposed to just being narrow. I think it worked. Unlucky to hit bar in second half. 7
Van Persie: Hit the post with a nice effort (right footed!) and had some decent moments but was otherwise a bit subdued. Has been a fairly rough few weeks and is probably still feeling his way back in to things. 6.5
Reyes: Loses the ball now and then but that is only because he constantly seems to have it. Boundless energy at the moment, great creativity and fantastic balls into the box. Really was amazing how much of the ball he had tonight. 8
Subs:
Hleb (for Pires first half some time): Played pretty well, looked pretty creative and linked up well with Cole. Playing better than Pires. 7
Dennis (for Van Persie 80ish): Did alright. Created a bit of stuff. Didn’t do anything of note. 6.5
Alex Song (for Reyes 87ish): Made a couple of sloppy passes but it was harsh and exaggerated for Alan Smith to say he hadn’t found a man. 6
v Thun (2-1)
Almunia: Probably not to blame on the goal and handling was ok even though he still catches very strangely.6
Lauren: Did the usual Lauren stuff. Fairly well. 6.5
Cole: Thought he was good today. Clean at the back and contributed well going forward. Perhaps he enjoyed having Pires back in front of him. 7
Toure: Seemed ok. Can’t remember too much else.6.5
Sol: Looking a little chunky but it must be good to have him back.6.5
Cesc: Not his most spectacular game but made a couple of decent runs forward and made one particularly delicious pass in the second half.6.5
Gilberto: Very well taken goal and was more involved tonight than normally. An experienced head 7.5
Pires: By no means at his best but infinitely better than the past few games. Got in an early curler that almost flew in and was generally far more involved. Even tried to tackle twice. Neither attempt worked.. 7
Ljungberg. Svavanged without achieving much.6.5
RVP: Had been easing himself back into first team action when the dick head referee struck. 6.5
Reyes: Excellent, his boundless enthusiasm drove the team on and he looked really dangerous at times and caused Thun more problems than anyone else. 8
Subs:
Dennis (for Cesc 70 odd): Is that his first goal as a sub? Took it well. 7
Hleb (for Reyes 80 odd): Didn’t really find his touch in the ten minutes he had.6
Quincy (for Ljungberg 80 odd): Offered a new threat.6.5
v Fulham (4-1)
Lehman: Looking very solid at the moment. You can tell it by the fact he is not making kicking mistakes at the moment. At tricky moments, his handling from corners was excellent.7
Lauren: Missed a penalty, but that was bound to happen one day and at least it didn’t matter. Otherwise, he played well and looked particularly committed (mostly in the right sense) in the tackle. 7
Cole: His best attacking display for a while and linked up promisingly with Reyes. 7.5
Cygan: I’ve made no secret of the fact that his presence in the team pleases me not. Defending was ok tonight, though a couple of times Fulham forwards worryingly escaped him when crosses were slung in. Took his goals very well. Could it be that unlike the rest of the side Cygan does not feel obligated to score the perfect goal and concentrates on just sticking it in the net?7.5
Kolo: Poor clearance for the Fulham goal but on the whole had a decent game. The defensive issues we have at the moment seem more a collective than individual problem. 7
Cesc: Gets a wee bit overrun occasionally but on the whole is playing really well and in particular offers a genuine attacking threat in the way that perhaps Vieira sometime failed to. 7
Gilberto: Did what Gilberto does. Still sometimes resembles one of those video graphic created dinosaurs in the way he moves. 7
Hleb: Good first half, creating a fair deal and generally looking like a cross between Pires and Ljungberg (in the best sense). 7
Reyes: A very good game in my opinion, full of running, full of trickery and very direct. In particular, he linked up very well with Cole and Henry, which was very pleasing. His ball for Henry’s first goal was majestic and pleasingly the two seemed on the same wavelength tonight. 8
Dennis: Besides his idiotic yellow card he had a great game and was at the heart of Fulham’s dissection. Kept going strong right to the end. 8
Henry: Took his two goals, which both came at crucial times, very well. Just one more to equal Wright’s record. 7.5
Subs:
Flamini (for Reyes 75 odd): Set up Henry for the killer third goal. 7
Clichy (for Hleb 85 odd): Ran around like mad, as Clichy does. 7
v Liverpool (3-1)
Lehman: Two really good saves – the first from Riise and the second from Gerard’s piledriver. Flapped at one cross but all it served to do was to remind us how much he has improved. 7.5
Lauren: Did very well, almost scoring from Pires’ cross in the first half and setting up the third goal with some nice play. Is doing well at the moment, perhaps spurred on by Wenger not mentioning right back when saying which areas he doesn’t need to strengthen over the summer! 7.5
Cole: A mixed game. Good going forward and times and obviously an excellent second half block from Garcia. But also occasionally sloppy, messing up things we know him well capable of doing. 6.5
Senderos: A big presence at the heart of the defence he had one of his sternest tests in an Arsenal shirt when Liverpool got at us in the second half. Did pretty well on the whole though, especially as protection from midfield was not always forthcoming. 7
Kolo: A good solid outing and the same goes for him as for Senderos. 7
Vieira: Did some stuff really well and was very influential in our first half attacking play. But I felt he allowed the midfield to be too easily swamped after the break and was not always applying the pressure to Liverpool that he might have done. 7
Gilberto: It goes without saying that evaluating a Gilberto performance is very, very difficult. That said, I felt that like Vieira he could have offered a bit more bite in midfield to help out the defence in the second half. 6.5
Pires: Really was at the heart of some of our best stuff in the first half. Crossed brilliantly for Lauren to almost score, shot just wide and then scored with a magnificent free-kick. Faded later on. 7.5
Cesc: Absolutely outstanding. He set the move in motion for Reyes’ offside goal, fired just wide from 20 yards, scored his own offside goal and then added a very neat third for us in stoppage time. In between this he ran the game, tackling, running with the ball, passing brilliantly and generally looking the best player on the park. Outstanding. 9
Reyes: Not perfect, but he notched up another well taken goal, scored an offside one and ran his heart out for the cause in the second half. 7.5
Van Persie: Not as involved as he has been but got involved and put over one excellent early cross for Robert Pires. Generally looking a much better player than previously. 7
Subs:
Edu (for Pires 70 odd): Came on and did ok. 6.5
Bergkamp (for Van Persie 70 odd): Set up Fabregas for the third with a fantastic flick but was otherwise pretty poor. When he did try and press Liverpool he gave away a few free-kicks and the rest of the time he just didn’t seem to chase them at a time when we really needed players to get stuck in. I know he is still capable of the odd piece of magic but we probably have enough to our attacking armoury that magic alone should not prompt a new contract. We have shown we are capable of winning without Dennis and should probably now look to the future. 6
Aliadiere (for Reyes 85): As ever he came on and got stuck in, chasing everything and hassling the Liverpool defenders. Has a really good attitude and probably deserves more than five minutes at some point. 6.5
v West Brom (2-0)
Lehman: The defence clearly trusts him again and he is reciprocating that with improved handling, kicking and decision making. 7
Lauren: Worked reasonably hard and got forward on a few occasions. 7
Cole: Looked a little lethargic at times but kept going and finished the game strongly, setting us on a number of attacks. 6.5
Senderos: A couple of passes went astray but took a no nonsence defence to defending. Far be it for me to argue with his current record of not conceding a goal for absolutely yonks. 7.5
Gilberto: Covered well at set pieces, but with Arsenal in 2nd gear he seemed only to happy to make sure Gilberto was in 2nd gear too. Not much drive. 6.5
Vieira: Committed silly fouls early on and was not finding his passes. Got better as the game went on and provided more drive. Symbolic of our night. 7
Pires: Did ok initially but like the rest of them lacked the necessary drive. Got better with the team. 7
Cesc: Probably not his best game. Came looking for the ball a lot and should be credited for it but looked a little fatigued when challenged. 6.5
Van Persie: Did ok initially but was not really receiving a lot of support from the midfield. Took his goal magnificently. 7
Reyes: Ran hard but once again looked incredibly left footed. But gave an excellent assist for the opening goal and kept on trying right til the end, providing useful relief for the defence. 7
Subs:
Dennis (for Van Persie 75ish): Did little except provide a measured set-up for Edu's clincher. 6.5
Edu (for Cesc 75ish): Got involved a bit and finished well to clinch it. 7
v Spurs (1-0)
Lehman: Is playing very well and his handling looks as assured as ever, his throws good and his kicking far better than earlier in the season. I think it no great secret that he needs to control his temper. 7
Lauren: Has looked solid in recent weeks and looked more lively going forward. Alan Curbishley put him in his team of the season on the basis that few wingers get much change out of him. And he is probably right. Really does need to watch stray elbows though, intentional or not. 7
Toure: Was given a little trouble by Defoe but it was less trouble than Adi Akenbai gave him in the FA Cup in January. And Defoe is clearly a far better player than the Stoke man. Will soon score a very, very memorable free-kick I sense. 7
Senderos: It is hard to argue with his defensive record since he came into the side. We have simply stopped conceding goals. That said, what are the odds that back when we were conceding at will, Robbie Keane would have buried that chance. Could have got first goal for club with header. 7
Cole: Linked up well as ever with Pires down our left hand side and seemed really up for the fight. Had the slightly awkward penalty shout against him at the end but otherwise did well. 7
Vieira: With the ball he was excellent on the whole, spreading play at pace and helping support those ahead of him. Looks much more comfortable with Gilberto next to him. Though that said they both looked half a step off the pace at times against a Spurs side full of running. 7
Gilberto: Did what Gilberto does well. Though probably not as much of a shield as against Chelsea. 7
Cesc: Tired a little in the second half but was his usual youthful magnificence until then. Spread the ball with ease, got stuck in, helped out the attack and set up our goal. Nice. 7.5
Pires: Not the force he was against Chelsea but is playing well at the moment, linking up well with Cole down the left and generally providing an experienced head in an otherwise youthful attack. 7
Van Persie: Set Reyes up for the first minute chance, fired a decent effort wide and generally played quite a mature game without hitting great heights. 7
Reyes: Did very well to come back after the first minute miss. Goal was excellent and attitude looked good. Seemed to find an extra gear for second half run that set up Dennis. 7.5
Subs:
Dennis (for Van Persie 70 odd): Curled one wide and generally looked quite good against a tiring Spurs defence. There was the odd occasion when I felt he let the player pass him to quickly but that was probably just my last minute nerves. 7
Edu (for Cesc 70 odd): Hit the post with a curling effort and slotted in very, very neatly on the left. Will be a great shame to lose him if he does eventually go. 7
Aliadiere (for Van Persie 87 odd): Only had a few minutes but looked really keen to impress. Had a couple of good touches, got stuck in and made tired Spurs legs panic, buying us valuable time. 7
v Chelsea (0-0)
Lehman: Has looked much better recently and besides the odd dodgy kick, looked very solid against Chelsea and made one excellent save early on from Drogba. His positioning seemed good on through balls. 7
Lauren: He really didn’t put a foot wrong and kept Damien Duff and probably had his best game for the club against a very, very tricky opponent. Was ferocious and fair in the tackle. 8
Cole: After a slightly tentative start he threw himself at everything Chelsea chucked at us. Whatever people’s feelings about his current situation, there can be no complaints about his performance. 7
Senderos: Excellent as usual. This guy likes clean sheets. 7
Toure: Really did well in what could have been a tricky night. Got weight on his clearances and never panicked. 7
Vieira: It really doesn’t take a genius to figure out how much he seems to be enjoying having Gilberto back in the side. Really led the side again with fine interventions and set us on the path to attack – such as when Pires hit the bar. 7.5
Gilberto: Suffered a couple of inevitable nosebleeds when he got into decent positions going forward but otherwise did a fine job of snaffling out what Chelsea threw at us and generally making the team a slick unit. Showed one or two fine turns as well. 7
Cesc: This kid really does defy logic. At a time when his brittle bones should be feeling the effects of a long, hard season he is looking stronger than ever. Magnificently composed on the ball, he worked furiously in defence, midfield and attack. 8
Pires: His early volley that hit the bar reminded me of when I stood in the Holte End last year for Villa v Arsenal and he hit an even better effort that was turned just over. Even the anti-French bigots around me were shut well and truly up.
There is a wonderful magnificence about watching Robert Pires on song. He caresses the ball delightfully and when it’s time to move it on he does it with the utmost precision. A joy to watch and unlucky not to score twice. 9
Reyes: The story of his last 6 months – no problem with effort but he just lacks the confidence to make things really happen. The annoying thing is that he’s making errors on things that a confident Reyes could do with his eyes shut. Let’s hope his effort is rewarded soon. 6
Bergkamp: Like Reyes he worked hard and did his bit to keep Chelsea at bay. But also like Reyes he found himself struggling up front. The curtain appears to be falling on his magnificent career. Hopefully an announcement will be made soon and both we and Dennis can enjoy his final games. 6
Subs:
Van Persie (for Dennis 80 odd): Struggled to get into the game but had a few decent chances and ran hard for the side.
Aliadiere (for Cesc 85 odd): Did alright but by the time he came on it didn’t look like either side were really going to score.
v Boro (1-0)
Lehman: Flapped at one cross in the first half and then came ridiculously far out of his goal before eventually winning the ball. Yes, he’s kept a fair few clean sheets recently and yes, it’s even true we could win the league again with him in goal, but no, we won’t win in Europe with Jens and no, he’s not the answer. 6
Lauren: His early challenge, whilst not worthy of a red card as suggested on Match of the Day, was sheer stupidity. He did alright and he’s plodding along but not really getting any better. 6
Cole: Attacked decently at times but wasn’t helped by a very, very ineffectual Robert Pires. 6.5
Senderos: Now looks like he should be partnering Sol Campbell when the two are fit. Authoritative, big and commanding, his presence has coincided with a string of clean sheets. Still has rough edges, but these are being shaved all the time. 7
Kolo: Did reasonably well and made a couple of important blocks, but I’m not convinced his future lies in the heart of the defence. Together, he and Lauren sometimes seem to bring out the worst in each other and we just don’t look solid, clean sheets or no clean sheets. Would like to see him at right back. 6.5
Gilberto: I looked out especially for incidences of him filling gaps and yes, I can confirm it happens and he does his job well. Still looks very nervous in attacking positions, but his presence is welcome. 6
Vieira: I thought he did reasonably well, though like the rest of the players he seemed to have trouble bringing any great coherency to our play. 6
Cesc: I plumped for Cesc on the right a while ago and I like seeing him there. He got well forward and was always involved. Looks tired, but it’s been a long old season and he’s still, only 17. 6.5
Pires: I thought him absolute rubbish up until he scored really. His inability to tackle has been documented many times before, but on Saturday he seemed to be playing the whole game at walking pace. But then who better is there at converting the one chance he gets to secure a 1-0 lead. 6
Reyes: Things still aren’t all coming off for him but I sense things are getting better and his work rate and willingness to track back really can’t be faulted. We know for a fact that the boy has the talent to succeed, so while he may not be showing what he’s really capable of right now, we should applaud his recent application. Had a couple of really mazy runs and set up Henry excellently for a shot he scuffed. 7
Henry: Had one of those games where he seemed to stand almost still on the edge of the box, conserving his energy and waiting to pounce. It didn’t really work, though he did have a glorious chip fly just wide and certainly scared the Boro fans every time he got the ball. He was also up against an obdurate Boro. 6.5
Subs:
Dennis (Reyes 46): Did alright without really changing the game at all. It seems the curtain may be falling on his illustrious career and reluctantly, I think it right. We know he can still play brilliantly in patches but the truth is that it’s becoming less often and it’s hampering us in European away games. We need someone to step forward and become Henry’s partner. Sometimes the bullet needs to be bitten. And now is that time. 6
v Palace (5-1)
Jens: It’s tempting to say that the early back pass cock-up could just as easily have happened to Petr Cech but in truth that would be a lie. He’s simply too cocky and over confident with his kicking – it’s why so many balls get sliced wildly and why we almost conceded a shambolic own goal tonight. Otherwise, he actually did quite well. 6.5
Lauren: Is definitely becoming a better player going forward but was as culpable as anyone for our defensive malaise. 6
Cygan: Didn’t have an awful game but on too many occasions simple long balls forward by Palace became much more serious than they needed to be. 6
Kolo: Got skinned more often than he would have liked and was caught out at times from crosses. But still, we only conceded one. 6.5
Clichy: Did well getting forward, causing a constant menace. Defending was largely competent but seemed to be infected by the general defensive tendency to give the ball away. 6.5
Vieira: Another tricky game to rate from the captain. At times he was sluggish and easily caught in possession. At others, he took a grip on the game and drove the team forward impressively. Got well forward for his goal. 7
Edu: Didn’t have the sudden impact he enjoyed at Villa last week but did well enough and certainly gave us a fair bit of solidity. Good ball to Reyes for the opener. 7
Pires: Seemed to be rewriting the dictionary definition of anonymous for the first 20 or so minutes. Then got more into the game without coming close to hitting top gear. Was unlucky to hit the post in the 2nd half after good work from Reyes. 7
Reyes: His best game in yonks. He looked fearless again, running constantly at the Palace defence and causing a lot of trouble. Good assist for the first, great finish for the second, an assist for the third and a fantastic pass to Dennis to set up the fifth. Great to see him back again. 8.5
Dennis: As ever, he oiled, moulded and sculpted our performance. He also took his goal very well, like he did against Newcastle and United too. And set up Henry for the fifth. 7.5
Henry: Really played very, very well and channelled any frustration about constant offside decisions in exactly the right way. Had seemingly boundless energy to chase back lost causes and put us back on the attack. 8.5
Subs:
Flamini (for Edu 60odd): Solid and composed as ever. 7
Van Persie (for Dennis 80odd): Linked up reasonably well as the game entered its final stages. 7
Fabregas (for Pires 80odd): Settled in comfortably on the right. 7
v Wolves (2-0)
Jens: Whilst a clean sheet is a clean sheet, he had very little to do and looked no more reassuring than previously with his kicking. To be fair, he was also played a high number of over hit back passes today and was not at fault for the one from Flamini that took a wicked bobble off the Highbury surface (which appeared unusually cut-up).6.5
Eboue: Got forward well, hit the bar with a deflected shot and could have had a penalty. Nice work. 8
Clichy: Decent game without being exceptional.7
Sol: Not a lot to do. 7
Cygan: Better than usual. 8
Paddy: Mediocre for much of it truth be told. Got better later on and scored the penalty but for too long his mind didn’t seem in the right place. Sure, Wolves made it difficult by crowding midfield but too often he seemed semi asleep at throw ins and the like. Still, he kept going. 6.5
Flamini: Didn’t show the deftness of touch of the Newcastle game but retained all his normal solidity. And great as Ray Parlour was, watching Boro at the moment suggests that we’ve got an as good, if not better, replacement. 7
Reyes: A couple of good runs, some moments of anonymity and denied a stonewall penalty. Still getting back to form but it definitely seems better than a few weeks ago. 6.5
Freddie: Usual energetic performance without any stand out moments, save his well taken goal. That’s ten for the season now and we’re still in January. Good work Sir. 7
Van Persie: Not his most inspiring game and clearly doesn’t yet have the positional ability of Dennis (who does?) but is improving. 6.5
Henry: Gallic. Went into one of his moods after Riley ruled out his cheeky first half effort. Strutted around for a while, went in for a couple of silly tackles and became frankly self indulgently petulant when a foul was given against him. It’s alright for us to loathe Riley endlessly but our top striker shouldn’t let him affect his game. And the fact is he did. But recovered his composure, was unlucky not to score and set up Freddie in superb fashion. 8
Subs:
Cesc (for Van Persie): Settled in comfortably on the right. 7
Pires (for Reyes): Nice work for the clinching goal. 7
Quincy (for Fred): No time to make an impression.
v Charlton (3-1)
Alumnia: No chance with the goal and didn’t do too much wrong besides one poor fumble from a cross. Still not convinced by his catching techniques. No difficult saves to make6.5
Hoyte: Made the odd error but did well to make sure his old youth team buddy Jerome Thomas had his quietest game in weeks. Managed to get forward a bit more in the second half.7.5
Cole: Still not looking at his best and on a couple of occasions was embarrassed by Rommedahl. But in fairness he wasn’t as sloppy as recently and did get forward well later on. 6.5
Sol: With the exception of one wildly sliced clearance in the first half that Almunia had to save he looked pretty solid and kept Charlton’s clear chances to a minimum. Let’s hope his ankle isn’t too bad. 7
Kolo: Given a bit of grief by Bartlett in the air but stuck to his task well and like Campbell, restricted the number of clear cut chances. 7
Vieira: Watching the game live, I was unconvinced by his first half performance. But having just seen the highlights it seems he got through a lot of work and did what he had to do neatly and efficiently. Set up Fred well for the goal and kept up a good level of performance all the way through.7
Cesc: Lost the odd ball but was generally very sound. Passing was clean and crisp as ever and his touch for the second goal was exquisite by any standards.7.5
Freddie: Took his two goals brilliantly, worked hard and always looked a threat. In good form. 8
Clichy: Seemed to lose the ball cheaply a bit too often but worked hard down the left helping Cole out with nullifying the threat of Rohmedahl and getting forward well. Has tremendous energy which comes in handy at the end of games when opposition players tire.6.5
Henry: Not at his best today but more worrying than the actual performance was the fact that his normal fitness wasn’t there. Had a lovely free-kick cleared off the line.6.5
Van Persie: Still has a tendency to twist and turn once too often. But also holds the ball up brilliantly, moves it well and finished superbly for the third. Should probably be given a real run up front next to Henry. Took his goal like a striker, which is disconcerting coming from an Arsenal player.7.5
Subs:
Pires (for Van Persie 72ish): With the game won he wisely didn’t over exert himself ahead of Man City on Tuesday night. 6.5
Senderos (for Campbell 82ish): Slotted in well on his Premiership debut.7
Pennant (for Fred 86): Didn’t have time to get into the game. 7
v Newcastle (1-0)
Almunia: Our star man tonight. A smart early save from Ameobi (even if it was probably going wide) and excellent handling all night gave us one less worry. Four clean sheets in five and he also kicks a fair bit better than Jens.7
Lauren: Though Lauren Robert didn’t reach anything like his best, I’m not sure whether too much credit should go to Lauren. His positioning often seemed weak, his passing and tackling little better and he offered almost nothing in attack. Mr Average was distinctly poor. 5.5
Cole: Whilst there’s no shame in being given a tough time of things by Craig Bellamy, Cole’s performance was noticeably worse than just a torrid time. He made stupid, unnecessary fouls, got caught out when he should normally have had enough pace and looked very, very shaky. He may have been pushed a touch for the penalty incident, but a defender with his mind fully on the job wouldn’t have allowed the ball to hit him as blatantly as it did. In mitigation he did improve and unlike Lauren provided some attacking threat. 5.5
Kolo: Did alright but like the others his decision making didn’t always seem to be the best informed. That said, it’s a little harsh to chastise a central defender who has kept four clean sheets in five. 6.5
Sol: Urgh. After some very sound recent performances he seemed far too troubled by what looked like some relatively simple long balls. One such error allowed Ameobi in for his early chance and his lack of authority always made the long ball route look like a wise one for Newcastle to take. 6
Flamini: Not his best game for Arsenal but he still got through a lot of work, kept things simple and had a hand in setting up Vieira for the goal. 6.5
Vieira: Named man of the match by SKY and praised in a couple of papers, but I’m going to be honest and say that up until he scored I thought he was pretty useless, being caught in possession too often. That said in the second half he got through a fair bit of work as we ground out victory. 6.5
Fred: Beavered away, had some good moments and kept on trying. Was going to commend him for his work on a couple of occasions in particular but can’t now remember what they were. 7
Pires: Even by his standards, his tackling was poor today. Truth be told, I can’t fathom how he’s allowed to defend with his body constantly side on to the play. As a left winger he has defensive responsibilities and simply has to make a better fist of it. On the attacking front he was probably our most creative player, moving the ball smartly and at pace. 6
Van Persie: Still very, very raw. Unlucky not to score in the opening minutes and had a couple more decent efforts but all too frequently ran into trouble and lost the ball on what was admittedly an awful surface completely unsuited to his quick twists and turns. Corners weren’t bad. Needs time. 6.5
Henry: His touch was not quite at its magical best, but again this was probably due to the state of the pitch. Had a couple of good runs that resulted in decent shots on Shay Given’s goal. 6.5
Subs:
Clichy (for Van Persie 80 mins approx): Seemed as happy as anyone in the post match huddle but for the second game in succession he seemed a little out of sorts when called upon. 6
v Fulham (2-0)
Almunia: Looks better by the game and made a crucial save when he rushed out at speed to palm away a Fulham chance at 1-0. Made no notable mistakes. 7
Clichy: Had a good first half – getting forward well as usual and strong on the defensive stuff. Then in the second half he seemed to lose his confidence went, either as a result of or because of Fulham consistently probing down our left. Like any small full-back, aerial strength is a weakness.6
Lauren: Average as usual. Looked solid against a Fulham attack lacking any real penetration. 6.5
Sol: At times we were troubled in the air – but Sol is leading a defence that is no longer allowing attackers completely free headers at corners. Looks fit and healthy and, along with the rest of the defence, now has three clean sheets in four league games. 7
Freddie: A fine game on his return from migraine troubles. Played in Henry for the first and set-up Pires for the second. 7.5
Cesc: Gets caught on the ball occasionally but is still doing the vast majority of things with real fluency. Gives us real creativity in the middle. 7
Vieira: Showed a few soft shoe shuffles to bam boozle defenders in a way we haven’t really seen this season. Also got stuck into his tackles and generally seemed to be on the ball. 7
Pires: There was this surreal moment in the first half. He got the ball on the left wing and took a heavy touch. As if that wasn’t enough he then went flying into the tackle with the Fulham defender and actually won the ball. And it wasn’t the only time – I saw him snuff out a few Fulham attacks and even win a header.
Of course, the attacking side of his play was superb as well – he would have scored from a Dennis chest down but for a good save by Van De Saar. He linked up well, particularly with Henry, and inevitably took his goal with typical aplomb. Now has 19 in 2004, which is good. 7.5
Dennis: A fair few poor touches and bad decision making in general play. In mitigation, he dummied the ball well for the second goal and put Pires in with an excellent chest down. 6.5
Henry: Sure, the flicks didn’t always come off but at times he led Fulham a merry dance like he has almost every other defence this season. His goal was a trade mark finish and he was desperately unlucky when his side footer from the edge of the box crashed back off a post. 7
Subs:
Flamini (for Freddie 74ish): Some might say Arsene was making a point by not replacing Freddie with Pennant. Others will call it a sensible way of seeing out the game. 6.5
Van Persie (for Dennis 78ish): Provided his usual array of tricks but didn’t get a real chance to score. 6.5
v Portsmouth (1-0)
Almunia: Had a really good game. Caught when he needed to catch, punched when he wasn't sure and kicked immaculately. Also made a couple of really good saves. His run of impressive performances may only stretch to two but for now there seems no reason to bring back Jens. 8
Lauren: Did nothing too wrong but didn't offer as much in attack as he might have and at times appeared troubled by Pomey's pace. I think he's ok, but I'm becoming less and less convinced he should be our right back at all - more on that tomorrow. 6.5
Cole: A tough one to call. For a while looked rattled by Pompey's pace and agression down the left. Misplaced a couple of balls and though his tackles were mostly coming off they had a slightly concerning aggressiveness about them which made me think he was letting his own frustration get the better of him a little. But stuck to the task well and in the end kept a dangerous Pompey out. 7
Kolo: Got sucked in a couple of times, but on the whole he was part of a defence that looked pretty solid and much improved at set pieces. 7
Sol: Looked fitter than recently I thought - turning smoothly on a couple of occasions when faced with danger. He also made countless important headers at corners and won us the game with the kind of head down sheer determinism many fans would like to see a little more often. 8
Flamini: Ran hard, tackled hard and never gave up. Doesn't offer as much going forward as Fabregas, but doesn't claim to either. Unlucky with a header from Henry's free-kick. 7
Vieira: Industrious, but was also sloppy on occasion, getting caught in posession and losing the ball. Still doesn't seem 100% back to his best and didn't make the most of a couple of shooting opportunities. 6.5
Clichy: Fought well and offered Cole valuable protection down the left hand side. Showed initial attacking promise early on but faded as Pompey grew in stature. Nonetheless, was full of running at the end and nearly capitalised on tired Pompey legs. 7
Pires: His every touch was met with a chorus of boos as Bob faced Pompey for the first time since 'that dive' last season. There was even one moment when he slipped and the ball rolled out of play. Which probably made a certain journalist very, very warm inside. Otherwise, was neat enough but pretty ineffectual, seemingly afraid of injury in the rough house atmosphere. Had a couple of lovely runs late on and set Dennis up for a chance he really should have taken. 6.5
Henry: Worked hard and created much of our best work, but often found himself crowded out by the hoardes of Pompey defenders. Nearly scored after a flowing first half move and set up Dennis' other chance late on, which again he really should have taken. 7
Van Persie: Started really well, showing fantastic feet and trickery and generally leading Pompey a merry dance. He swivels at such speed he'll probably need a hip replacement aged 30. Faded somewhat after his impressive start, finding himself crowded out by the packed defence. Could pass a little earlier at times but nonetheless a decent first start in a difficult game and he staked a fair claim for inclusion against Fulham on Boxing Day. 6.5
Subs:
Bergkamp (for Van Persie 68ish): Should have scored late on following good set up play. His performance did little to silence the voices calling for this year to be his last. I'm undecided on that, but what I am sure about is that I won't miss the needless little kicks and elbows aimed at his opponents when frustration sets in. Simply put: the sly digs are ugly and Van Nistelrooy like and do nothing for us. 6
v Chelsea (2-2)
Almunia: Faultless for both their goals, he made good stops from Lampard and Gudjohnsen in the first half. And made a vital save when Robben wriggled his way through after the break. But nobody noticed it. Caught when a catch was a good idea, punched when a punch was wiser and set us on the attack with some good throws. 7.5
Lauren: Didn't see much of him, but when you're up against Duff and Robben, this can only be to a defender's credit. Thought he did really well to keep them in check, and the one time Robben did really threaten in the second half, the danger came down the other side. 7.5
Cole: The one player who I thought struggled today. As has been the case of late, he lacked confidence in his touch and stuggled defensively. Perhaps should have come out to Robben before the winger got into the box for his 2nd half chance, and was easily beaten in the air by Drogba for Cheslea's 2nd equaliser. 6
Kolo: Looked solid overall and helped limit Chelsea to only a few chances asides from set pieces. 7
Sol: A mixed bag. Made some really important defensive headers and looked in command at times at the back. But was a little caught out for their opening goal and sometimes seemed a little gung ho in his marking. Made important late tackle on Drogba.7
Reyes: Was quiet, but this was a tough game. Nodded down to Henry for the opener, worked hard and went on a few mazy runs without much success. Still, I thought he gave them something to worry about.6.5
Fabregas: Another excellent performance. He and Flamini were overwhelmed initially when up against Tiago, Lampard and Makalele but never gave up and fought their way back into the game admirably. Nice goal to set up Henry for the opener, he was instrumental in setting up the Frenchman's near winner and also set up RVP for his chance. Uses the ball so intelligently and showed that despite his size, he's not afraid to get stuck in. Was up against the very best in the business today and succeeded in limiting Lampard to a largely peripheral role.8
Flamini: £1 million? First league start? A snip if you ask me. He run's tirelessly, he harries, he puts his foot in and he uses the ball simply when he wins it. A real water carrier but absolutely essential today and worked tirelessly. Well done Sir. 8
Pires: We wanted a big performance and boy did we get one. Seemed almost impossible to shake off the ball, tackled back, linked up well with Lauren, Flamini, Cesc and Henry and drove the team forward in his own idiosyncratic waddle. When in his pomp, he is still a wonderful, wonderful footballer to watch. Set up Henry for the near winner, realised his responsibility as the senior partner in midfield, and shouldered the responsibility admirably.7.5
Dennis: Didn't get involved in too much of note, but I can't help feeling he just gives us a cetain sophistication and shape when he's in the side. Gordon Strachan pointed out on Match of the Day how hard he'd worked to stop Makalele getting the ball and in hindsight I think it probably a fair call.6.5
Henry: Forget the late miss - it can happen to anyone. Otherwise he was outstanding, scoring a brilliant first (which included winning a high ball!), netting an impudent second and generally running the show. Scared Chelsea shitless every time he picked it up and was responsible for a hell of a lot of good work. Also destroyed the concept he doesn't turn it on in big games. That's 15 in 17 league games now by the way.9
Subs:
Clichy (for Reyes 82): Ran around like mad for 10 minutes and forced mistakes out of tired legs. Really good footballer and good enough to start for probably every Premiership side and perhaps should be more often for us. 7.5
RVP: Is maturing very nicely indeed. Nearly netted a silky winner when he latched onto Cesc's pass and gave the Chelsea players a lot to think about. Would be really interesting to see him start. 7
v Rosenberg (5-1)
Almunia: Made a really, really good low save early on and kicked largely well. But looked dodgy more than once on crosses and for the second time in a week cost us a goal, which is a real worry. Eventually realised there's nothing wrong with giving a ball a good double handed punch. 6
Hoyte: Was up against a poor opposition but defended diligently and rarely looked rushed. Used the ball well, linked up well with his team mates and should be well pleased with his first European start. 7
Cole: Looked solid, with a couple of important defensive headers, but still not yet back to his marauding best I sense. Shouldn't have let the ball drop over his head for Harald Brattbakk to fire at Alumnia after 17 minutes. Withdrawn with quarter of an hour left. 6.5
Sol: Ditto for above, though did once later on look somewhat sluggish again on the turn. Perhaps I'm just paranoid about the impending arrival of Duff and Robben at Highbury.6.5
Kolo: A very easy night for the big man and he even found time for a classic Kolo dance into the opposition penalty area towards the end. 7
Flamini: Very, very good full debut. Set up the second goal, ran tirelessly, got tackles in and seemed to work well with Cesc in midfield. Looks comfortable tracking back and going forward and also seems to have a strange affinity for joining in attacks right around the right edge of the penalty area and particularly when we attack the North Bank. A young, thinking man's Gilles Grimandi, he ain't at all bad for a fifth choice midfielder. 7.5
Cesc: Absolute star. Has already played 20 games this season (twice as many as Edu, Gilberto and Vieira), yet still had the strength to turn in one of his best performances for the club. Fantastically alert, his use of the ball was excellent. He also scored a very impressive, very difficult goal and was involved in the build up for the fifth. Not just our most frequent performer in midfield this season, but also our best. 8
Jose: Took his goal really well and gave us a flying start. Had another deflected shot well saved and looked much more like the sun kid of the beginning of the season. Had a delightful late chip that bamboozled three very stupid looking Rosenberg players before landing on the roof of the net. 7
Pires: Looked much, much better and was even spotted making a tackle late in the second half. Kept going and linked up well late on with Jose and RVP before being withdrawn for Quincy with two minutes left. His penalty was so brilliantly placed it went into the side netting. Again I marvel at his ability to put a football exactly where he wants it to go. 7
Bergkamp: A nice return for the Ice Man who got involved well in the game, set up the opener and had a couple of openings himself. Might have done better when in front of goal, but eased himself back into the side well. 7
Henry: I actually thought that poor as the defending was for his goal, it was still a pretty decent finish. Worked hard all night, linked up well with the kids around him and seemed to be feeling particularly tolerant. 7
Subs:
Clichy (for Dennis 72ish): Spent a few mins in midfield before dropping back to left back when RVP replaced Ashley. As ever looked sound in the defending and assured going forward.
7
RVP (for Cole 75): Resuscitated the game with some silky skills, wayward finishing and then eventually a very well taken goal. Rawer than an uncooked vegetable, but with massive potential. 7.5
Quincy (for Bob 88): Should have had longer. Don't think he got a touch.
v Birmingham (3-0)
Alumnia: Looks like Lehman, kicks slightly better than Lehman, fumbles the odd ball like Lehman and jumps a couple of inches less high in the air than Lehman. Did ok, but would have been ill advised to let Morrison’s second half effort creep under him and over the line.6.5
Lauren: Seemed really quiet yesterday. Means he was doing his defensive job well which at the moment is the priority. Better? Seeing as we kept a clean sheet, probably a tad. 6.5
Cole: It's not been picked up much by the press, but I’ve thought Ash to be one of the players whose form has most obviously dipped in the recent spell. He’s still looked a top left back, but the subtlety of touch that allowed him and Bob to link so well still seems to be absent. Better? Not noticeably, but again should take credit for a clean sheet. 7
Sol: I’m of the opinion he’s still carrying a little bit of weight. Played well enough, but on a couple of occasions he looked sluggish and immobile on the turn, which is obviously a concern with Duff and Robben coming to town next week. Better? Probably not. 6.5
Kolo: Probably fair to say he’s not been our worst performer in the recent period, but I think on occasion he has allowed our recent jitters to affect his decision making a little. Kept Heskey quiet, but also seemed to time his jumps wrongly on a couple of occasions. Better? Ditto above. 7
Vieira: Did some good stuff but on other occasions his decision making and concentration again seemed lacking a little. He’s a hard one to judge at the moment. Better? Probably a bit.7
Cesc: I’m glad to see he escaped censure for his recent performances because I think a lot of the recent mutterings about how he’s no Gilberto have been unfair. Admittedly, the Brazilian’s best work is done off the ball, SKY’s stats show how we tend to win with him in the side, but I still think the young Spaniard is doing pretty well. He’s a young boy whose probably played too many games in a struggling team in a big league. But he’s still there, still getting stuck in and still doing his stuff. Tired in the latter stages yesterday and was replaced by Flamini, which was a wise, common sense, decision. Better? No, but only because he was doing well in the first place. 7
Freddie: Scavenged, burrowed, furrowed, ducked and dived. Fred’s doing them all at the moment and its working as the perfect complement to the continued attempts at perfection that come from the rest of the team. Is also being very productive. Should have had a penalty yesterday, set up the third goal and generally ran the show. Better? No, but only because he’s been great. 7.5
Pires: Mark my words. One of these days the opposition are going to get a free kick on the edge of our area. Their player will hit it, the ball will fly off Robert Pires and zip past Lehman. And we’ll all put it down as a fluke, like we did for Graveson’s effort that flew off Pennant in the Carling Cup game against Everton. Except it won’t be a fluke because Pires, like Pennant, will have jumped with his back to the ball, meaning that when it hits him he’ll have no way of giving it any direction.
My point is that Pires simply has to go into tackles. Maybe he’s worried about getting hurt, but he’s ducking out of the most basic challenges and its meaning we’re losing the battle in midfield at places like Old Trafford and Anfield.
Obviously, as I was making a note of this, Bob went and scored a classic Bob goal. Basically a really, really good one. He is a fantastic playa, probably the purest footballer we have in our team and quite possibly the best finisher. Yesterday was his 50th goal for the club and almost without exception (Bolton at home this season) they’ve been aesthetically perfect and a joy to watch.
But he must pull his weight for the team, which funnily enough I’ve seen him do really well on a number of occasions. Better? A little bit later on in the second half. 6.5
Reyes: You have to feel for him - seemingly everything he tries seems to go askew these days. Inches away from a Henry cross in the first half, he got into the game a bit more going towards half time, but then tired before being withdrawn. As I said above, he could do with a 25 minute run against tired defences to get his confidence back. Better? Not really, but not for want of effort. 6.5
Henry: Whether it be through injury or lack of confidence, he spent much of the game getting into decent positions but then making the wrong decision. Then ten minutes from time he took off past Melchiot, through the Birmingham defence and then a cool low finish hit whilst he was running at incredible speed. Six minutes later, he bought a ticket for Freddie Ljungberg’s cross and got lucky.
May not be at his best. But the level of criticism he of all people has taken is ridiculous. Has scored 13 league goals this season (four more than anyone else and 9 more than Ruud), scoring in 11 of the 16 games. And it’s not even like he’s bound to get the goals because nobody else does. He hasn’t even scored a third of our goals, and with the exception of Old Trafford (when nobody scored) and Selhurst Park, at least one other Arsenal player has scored in all of our other games.
Better? Yes. Despite earlier failures, his determination to keep going for the all important second goal was admirable. 7.5
Subs:
Clichy (for Jose): I love this guy. He’s like Wenger’s little foot soldier and seems capable of doing everything. Slotted in expertly in left midfield. He covers, chases back, tackles, retains the ball, gets forward, dribbles and causes havoc in the opposition defence. He may be more defensive than Reyes, but sometimes being slightly more defensive can give you the shape to attack more. May not be suited to central midfield, but should be considered a serious option for a place in left midfield on tough away games. 7.5
Flamini: Seems to do everything neatly enough without being spectacular. Will be interesting to see how he works with Cesc over the next two games.7
v Man United (0-1)
Alumnia: Crap on their goal, barely put a foot wrong otherwise. Plays and looks like a slightly smaller Jens, but can kick. 6
Hoyte: OK and defended well on occasion, but I’d still like to see him get forward more. That said, I think he’s a player who would look much better surrounded by seasoned pros. 6.5
Clichy: Really, really good as usual. Slipped on their excuse of a pitch for the early goal, but didn’t let it affect him and worked tirelessly defending and attacking all game. 7.5
Senderos: The lumbering giant of Everton had been replaced by a very, very accomplished looking centre half. One dodgy back header that fell short but otherwise cut out everything that was asked of him and looked a real first team option. 8
Djorou: Took eye off ball and then slipped for the goal which wasn’t good. Never quite looked the same player as against Everton, but worked his way back into the game. 6.5
Flamini: Looks like we can breathe a little more easily in the midfield department after watching a very assured display. Would like to see him trialled as a sub for Freddie in games where we’ve got a dodgy one goal lead. 7
Larsson: Some like him but I’m not so sure. What he did was decent enough but I thought he struggled to have an effect on the game. 6.5
Quincy: Maybe it was the pitch, maybe it was United doubling up on him. Either way the hero of the last round never really got into last night’s affair. 6
Pennant: Worked hard, tried to take the initiative and overall did quite well. Still not sure if he’ll quite make it at Highbury though. 7
Lupoli: Is a striker and when strikers get no service they don’t look much kop. 6.5
Van Persie: Battled hard all night and willingly came deep to win possession. But probably came a bit too deep and battled a bit too hard. Yes, he could have been sent off for the incident with Richardson. Reminds me a bit of a young Freddie, not in playing style but in the way that the potential is clearly there but the skills are still very, very raw. 6.5
Subs:
Smith (for Lupoli): Did OK but still looks wary of going in for challenges and taking men on following his long term injury.
Cregg: Alright
Karbassiyoon: Alright
2) Goals don’t have to be perfect: Flamini’s ball for the first one was poor, Van Persie’s right footed cross was never going to go in and Pires’ shot not the most beautifully struck. Yet we scored. For the second, Dennis’ shot looped up and fell for Pires – but the point is these shots have to go somewhere!
3) Sol Campbell: There’s a difference between not caring and simply having a torrid time of it. Football fans seem too ready to spout personal abuse when one of their players is in the doldrums. No doubt Sky Sports News will haul out every ex-pro under the planet to have their say on Campbell walking out. For what it’s worth, my take is that in the heat of the moment he was probably far angrier with himself than with Arsene Wenger.
4) We can harp on about squad size, but if Chelsea had our defensive problems, they would be without: Del Horno (Cole), Ferreira (Lauren), Johnson (Clichy), Carvallho (Toure), Gallas (Cygan – inferior quality but plays the same role) and Bridge (Hoyte – both on loan). That would leave Terry (Campbell) and Huth (Senderos) at left-back, with two other players I have never heard of at full-back. Except the right back they brought in would be in Africa (Eboue) and the left-back (Gilbert) would be forced off too. Then who would play?
5) Can you believe that the thought of registering a retired Martin Keown as a player must now be entertained with a little seriousness, such are our injuries.
Full report from last night below and player ratings to the right.
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010206
Arsenal 2 West Ham 3: Time for us to back Sol
In 17 years of watching Arsenal I can’t think of a more difficult game to put into words.
I’ll try starting with the negatives. We made three defensive errors. And we went through spells where we weren’t particularly threatening. But neither of those points really explain the result. For a start, three defensive errors does not normally result in three goals. And other than the goals and one very easy simple Lehman save, West Ham barely had an attack worthy of the name. And up front, we had chances. Van Persie hit a post early on. Then Henry’s volley was headed straight in when Freddie Ljungberg got in the way and inevitably, given his current luck, steered it wide. Djorou had one cleared off the line and Henry was inches wide to name just a couple more.
In short, for all our refusal to shoot at times and our defensive cock-ups, our luck is wretched at the moment. And taking into account our injuries (more of them later), our luck has been worse than wretched.
There will be much made of individual performances. On TV, Campbell’s failings were most obvious. His two errors cost us two goals – the first from a wretched attempt at a clearance and the second when he took an eternity to find his feet after Bobby Zamora had shrugged him aside far too easily. Sol was subbed at half-time and despite initial reports of an injury, SKY reported he had showered and left the ground within ten minutes of the second half starting.
No doubt, there will be a massive amount written about it and no end of speculation. Personally, I’m sympathetic with Sol. No doubt others will slam him for walking out on his team or bottling it or whatever. But the fact is that irrespective of the vast sums he earns and his recent rubbish form, I can’t remember him ever giving anything less than 100% when he’s worn the Arsenal shirt. So, while some may seek to crucify him for walking out of the ground, I’m prepared to believe he did it because he does care about his performances rather than because he doesn’t care. I’d hope that Arsenal fans will have the intelligence to get behind him now. After all, a Sol Campbell rehabilitated is far better than one crucified and broken.
Friends at the game have also criticised Thierry Henry, accusing him of having one of those games where he doesn’t look like he’s trying. To be fair, it wasn’t particularly obvious on TV, though I noted the speed at which he ran down the tunnel at the end of the game. The differing actions of Henry and Campbell show that very clearly, things are not right in our dressing room.
We are also being completely shafted by injuries at the moment. We started with the patently unfit/out of form Sol partnered by Djorou, with Gilbert on the right and Senderos left. It’s worth bearing in mind that Djorou and Gilbert didn’t even make the bench for our opening League Cup tie of the season at Sunderland. Then consider that two of them were off the pitch by the start of the second half, leaving us with Flamini, Senderos, Djorou and Larsson at the back, which just beggars belief.
Bizarre. And to think David Bentley scored a hat-trick tonight. At least it was against United. Playa ratings to the right.
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300106
Arsenal at Bolton: we weren't so bad.
Let’s start with a tortured analogy, Gary Lineker style:
"The club had two players at the African Nations Cup, an Iberian suspended and as usual they picked the reserve keeper for the cup. They faced a tough journey to the north-west from London to face in form Premiership opposition and yet the manager still had the temerity to rotate his squad.
But enough of Chelsea (Drogba and Geremi, Carvallho, Cudicini). Arsenal on the other hand…"
My point? It’s all very well for Lineker and his guests on Match of the Day to lambaste Wenger for fielding a marginally weaker team at Bolton than he could have (Pires seemed the only player who was properly fit to play but didn’t), but he didn’t have much choice. On top of our poor form and lack of confidence we have been completely plagued by injuries.
They have been a mixture of bad luck and the inevitable consequence of having too thin a squad. What happens is that players play too many games, get injured, get rushed back from injury too early to replace the replacements who have become injured and then get injured again. It can be a vicious circle and it is no coincidence that it has not happened to Chelsea – they can rest and rotate at will, keeping everyone fresh. This is no slight on them – more a criticism of us for not investing enough in a strong squad.
Luck also plays a part – we have three left-backs who are not normally injury prone all crocked at the moment. Michael Essien gets injured and will not start playing football again until around when the African Nations Cup ends. The difference is that he’ll be nice and fresh and won’t have been worn down by playing in a big tournament. But such is life.
But anyway, I thought we were unfortunate against Bolton. We created a fair bit, couldn’t take our chances and got punished from a good cross and not brilliant defending. Football is a game of small margins and we were no worse yesterday than we were when we won at the Reebok in the FA Cup last season. But that day Freddie got an early chance and had the confidence to take it. At the moment we lack the belief and confidence in the marginal areas that can have big outcomes.
Of course, a little bit of belief and confidence won’t see us suddenly toppling Chelsea. But when it does return on the road, I’d expect that when we get one early goal we might give somebody a fairly good spanking. Finally, enjoy today’s Arsenalless FA Cup 5th round draw, these things don’t (and hopefully won’t) happen very often.
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260106
Arsenal update: so much to talk about.
A few topics to address:
Wigan: Up front we had one of those nights and came up against an inspired goalkeeper. At the back we always looked like conceding and it was only a surprise it took so long. Sol and Senderos look rickety at the moment, with the former over weight, out of shape and mentally not with it. Regardless of pace, concentration alone should have been enough to have prevented the Wigan goal. We got what we deserved.
Bolton: I can’t help feeling Arsene is throwing in the towel before we’ve even kicked off. Of all the games in the season, Bolton away is when you need a positive attitude and a determination you will win. We sound like we’re going there expecting to get kicked (in both senses). On the other hand, it could all be a clever rouse by Wenger that will actually serve to inspire the players.
Whatever happens, we must compete. And I reckon that if we go hell for leather into everything then it could be Bolton who don’t know what to do. But don’t bet on it on present form.
Peter Hill-Wood: Again spilling all to his mate from the Star (is there a more unlikely double act in football?), the Chairman said about Henry’s contract offer: "I'm not going to say what the deal is, but it made me shudder. It's a lot of money." That sounds like bad news to me. Why come out with that if the deal is about to be wrapped up?
Peter Hill-Wood again: As the lunch (or pigeon shoot) Hill-Wood was on with his pal wore on (and perhaps as the brandy started flowing), he disclosed: “"What we've got is two or three players who are probably a year from not being good enough in the Champions League. Robert Pires, Freddie Ljungberg, Sol Campbell. Whether they have lost a yard of pace I don't know."
Two questions: 1) What the hell was he doing being so indiscreet? (I’m just guessing, but I’ve a hunch Arsene didn’t put him up to it. 2) Since when did he suddenly start talking sense about football? (And I mean that seriously.)
Thierry Henry: The skipper has been moaning about Tim Cahill’s role in Cesc’s sending-off. Some have told him to get over it and stop moaning, but frankly he is 110 per cent right. It was only the Aussie’s short stumpish legs that prevented him from taking Henry off his feet with a back of knee height sweep of the legs.
Something really has to be done to sort out this deliberate hacking that is now so prevalent. I am also a big fan of collective justice. If one team are just taking it in turns to perform yellow card worthy tackles on the opposition (and let’s face it they usually to take turns to target just one or two players), then the referee should just issue the third or fourth offender with a straight red and point towards the indiscretions of his colleagues. Why not?
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230106
Sympathy for Wenger’s whinge but no excuses at Bolton.
The press don’t buy Arsene’s complaints about physicality, opposition managers don’t buy it and at the moment the fans don’t buy it either. I largely agree – we aren’t strong enough and far too many players don’t compete properly for enough fifty-fifty balls.
But watching the Everton game, it struck me that we have to acknowledge the difference between the opposition taking a physical approach and sheer, deliberate, uninhibited outright kicking. Before I move on to Everton’s sins, I should say I missed the first half-hour and so missed Lauren’s horror tackle. It would not surprise me if it were bad – he often makes shockers (eg on Ronaldo) and gets off with a yellow at worst.
But on to Everton. Beattie simply scythed down Pires on the half-hour. This was not legitimate bullying – it was sheer thuggery. A yellow card. After the break, Nuno Valente felt Reyes had pulled him back as the pair chased a ball down by the corner flag. When no foul was given, out of frustration he launched himself nowhere near the ball and straight at Reyes. Again, sheer deliberate thuggery. Again a yellow.
Then on 90 minutes we had Fabregas sent-off for pushing Cahill around the neck. By the book it was the correct decision and it was a stupid thing for the kid. But looking at the replay you saw Cahill had tried (and failed) to scythe Henry down so cynically that it reminded me of watching Diego Maradona being set-upon by mere mortals as his skill and pace tormented them.
Had I been Fabregas, I’d have been irate too. Three times they just simply tried to kick us like rag dolls. And every time you know that the worst the law will offer is a yellow card. Five years ago, what Fabregas did was far more common. But then video evidence was used against players when the referee missed their raised arm and a three-game ban was the result. We know that even if Fabregas’ fairly harmless shove to Cahill’s neck had been missed by the ref, he’d be up before the FA in an instant.
So now, the new currency is the cynical foul. The advantages are huge: You can be violent enough to do some real damage and let out all your frustration but rarely will a red card result. And you know you will never be labelled as a cynical cheat. Which if we’re honest, is actually what a deliberate attempt to simply take out the man is. So, much as we are currently way to under physical in how we compete for tackles, we should at least acknowledge where Wenger's frustration is legitimate.
But all that said, I was angry to hear Arsene say: "And I expect it to be the same next week at Bolton in the Cup, I invite you all to come and see a re-run of this game." It reeks of resignation before we’ve even set-off. Thuggery we are powerless against. But not physicality. If we get stuck in like we're actually well capable of then can then we can leave Bolton looking like the ones with no plan B. Sadly, I'm not betting on it happening.
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220106
Arsenal lose away: Insert away day template
Arsenal lost <==insert opposition score==>1 -0<==not a variable==> at <==insert team here==>Everton, their <==insert number here==>6th away defeat of the season.
They went down to a <==insert name of third rate opposition goalscorer==>James Beattie goal which was <==variable a) a once in a lifetime strike b) a defensive cock-up==>a defensive cock-up<==if option =a, end paragraph here, if option =b, continue==>from<==insert names of 6ft plus defenders who were outmuscled==>Sol Campbell and Phillipe Senderos<=/>. Arsenal created a couple of chances after the goal but they were spurned by Ljungberg<==not variable==>and<--insert name of other guilty party==>Fabregas.<=/>
<==Following paragraph must always be included and can not be altered in any way==>From then on we enjoyed large spells of possession but were guilty of faffing around on the edge of the box rather than getting men into it. Henry looked frustrated and moody up front, Pires was peripheral, Ljungberg below his best, Reyes more willing than most, Fabregas willing too but outmuscled and Gilberto too passive, let down by poor passing, poor tackling, too passive, not going into challenges hard enough and too passive. We brought on Alex Hleb but he only offered the same and it certainly wasn't width. If we're honest for all our possession we didn't create enough chances and can't really argue too much with the result. What we need is a new midfielder and new players who will offer us goals up front.<==end of static paragraph==>
Manually inserted extra points:
<==insert manual point one here==>We had so many players out in defence that our right back played left back, our reserve centre back played, our injured centre back played and debutant Kerrea Gilbert got a game too. And did very well in my opinion.<=/>
<==insert manual point two here==>The bit about new players in the static paragraph needs to be changed. We have signed three and saw one of them (Abou Diaby) for the last ten minutes. He's tall. Other than that it was hard to judge, though he looks more like a stone that needs smoothening rather than an already polished diamond. He also had a shot. From outside the box. First time. Which in this team, is worth noting.<=/>
<==insert manual point three here==>In a nod to the past we also saw the return of the frustrated Arsenal player earning themselves a red card for nothing very worth getting a red card for at all. It was Fabregas today who shoved Cahill over (which is yellow) but made the fatal mistake of placing his hand at or above Cahill's shoulder. (red)
Under the rules it was a red card, a stupid thing to do and was something I had been predicting for a while. On December 26th I wrote: "He (Fabregas) sometimes gets involved where it is not needed and is one of those ‘first on the scene’ players. I just wonder if it could come back to bite him at some point." If you saw today's game you'll agree I was fairly prophetic.
As I said, a stupid red card, but in defence of the player I think all his bravado is more a misplaced attempt to show he won't be intimidated on the pitch. He's still a teenager and though his football sometimes belies it, his hormonally driven determination to ‘ave sum is an apt reminder of his precociousness. A few crunching tackles would be far more useful than getting involved in silly stuff. But then again, teenagers learn from their elders and Gilberto is hardly setting an example on the crunching tackle front.
I'd also say that while I accept raising your hand will get you an automatic red card, I don't think it's unfair to ask: "Why?" Fabregas' gentle push could never, ever have caused injury to Cahill. Yet we offer no benefit of the doubt, contrary to incidents like the awful tackle on Reyes today down by the corner flag or even when Lauren sent Ronaldo into orbit three weeks ago (I missed the start of today's game but understand he had another tasty one). Surely they are more of a concern than a petulant shove to the face.
To be fair to the boy he has now apologised. And if you disagree with my analysis about the degrees of punishment, consider that he will serve a three game ban, while Essien got two for his assault on Didi Hamann. I sometimes wish the people who run football would just do something else. A long, long way away.
But I digress. There is far too much wrong with football's rules to go into it now. And the point is we were very, very poor. Wigan on Tuesday. I wonder which Arsenal we'll get.
<==end of template==>
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160106
Freddy Sheppard should make Sven Newcastle manager
Arsenal stuff will appear later.
Sven: “I have spoken with the players concerned today and I have been very pleased with their reaction and am confident my relationship with them has not been damaged in any way.”
Freddy Sheppard: “We have spoken with the player and he has confirmed he is happy at Newcastle United.”
How absurd Sven should reassure us, the fans, that his comments weren’t a problem because Owen and Beckham had said they were cool about it. As if they were ever going to turn round and say: “Stuff you, stuff my chance of playing in the World Cup and stuff the £300,000 bonus if I win it.” I think not. The fact is that whatever Sven has spouted about Beckham and Owen in particular, both know his presence is the sure fire way will always get in the team.
Of course, it is possible that Sven invented the stuff about Beckham and Owen in a bid to impress the fake Arabs who were so fervently stroking his whopping great financial ego. In which case one would expect Becks and Owen to be livid with their boss for lying, as opposed to just breaking confidences.
But irrespective of what the players really think, the reality is that Sven’s comments about what Owen said were probably true. In which case they were extraordinary. To believe that Newcastle are so overpaying Owen that even his jaw is dropping in astonishment exposes just how naïve and incompetent Sheppard (and Souness) are. I should declare an interest here: I can’t stand either, as I said in my piece on the Owen signing back in August.
My theory is that the one plus side to the top players becoming so rich so quickly is that before long they are so wealthy that for most an extra £10,000 a week just no longer holds the same appeal. With money no great issue, before signing a contract they must then contemplate factors that will sit far more comfortably with the fans who pay them. These include factors such as the quality of the manager and the running of the club. Call me naïve, but loyalty to the supporters could even play a part.
Put it this way: Dennis Bergkamp has been offered vastly reduced contracts by Arsenal for the past three years but has singed them in spite of there probably being somebody somewhere who would offer him far more than the approximately £14,000 he currently earns weekly. In his head, Dennis knows Arsenal is a good club.
Owen is probably not yet as rich as Dennis. But he’s probably still rich enough that an extra £10,000 a week (£500,000 a year) would be worth sacrificing if it meant being happy in the job. Yet Newcaslte are paying him sooooooooooo much and offering sooooooooooo many benefits that Owen (who earned a fortune in his previous jobs) sees it as mitigation for the fact he is at a club he has never really wanted to play for.
After all, the tale that a trio of Sheppard, Souness and Shearer had persuaded Owen St James’ was the footballing place to be always seemed somewhat fanciful. Owen had not wanted to come to the North East initially and his subsequent body language and words with Sven suggest very little changed after he signed. So really, all Sheppard had done was stun an incredibly rich footballer into financial submission.
As one commentator said last week, Sheppard attempted to steal the limelight from Shearer equalling Jackie Milburn’s goal record by hailing him as Newcastle’s greatest ever signing. It was a not so subtle suggestion that Geordies should raise a glass to Freddy for signing the cheque.
And here lies the problem: an obsession with money and ego. Sven and Sheppard would get on famously.
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1430106
Wenger fills important gaps
Everybody has known for weeks that we needed a new, powerful midfielder. Many hoped he’d be experienced too but I think any gripes about that are dwarfed by the fact Arsene Wenger has splashed the cash.
Emmanuel Adebayor may seem like a less obvious signing but I think Arsene has been quick to plug a widening hole. Of course, we’ve known for years that we’ve had a plethora of forwards but no strikers. But only recently has it started to matter. It used to take three years for us to notch up five premiership blanks but we’ve managed it five times in seven games now.
He’s being compared to Kanu and has been given the number 25 shirt. Crucially, what Kanu gave us in his good years was something completely different from the excellent but generic offerings one would expect from the rest of the well-drilled Wenger players. For a while, Arsene’s signings were seemingly becoming more and more in the image of how he would create his perfect player.
For example, Alex Hleb (in his good early season form rather than his recent post injury struggles) looked like the result of cross breeding Robert Pires and Freddie Ljungberg. He had the perception and ability to glide past players reminiscent of an on form Pires and all the scurrying qualities of Ljungberg. It was as though a salesman had knocked on Wenger’s door and rather than offering something completely new he was offering the two for the price of one Pirberg.
As I said, I like Hleb and think he has a lot to offer. But the point I’m making is that players have been getting more and more similar. Yet Adebayor appears to break that mould and therefore we should be grateful.
The other big news is that it seems Theo Walcott could follow Diaby and Adebayor. Both Arsenal and Southampton are denying anything has been concluded, but looking at Wenger in the press conference today he had the air of the cat that got the cream. And certainly he is talking far more openly about Walcott than one would expect were a possible deal a long way off.
The word is Arsenal is his preferred destination because of the opportunity to work alongside his idol Thierry Henry. Which is perhaps the first pay-off of Henry’s pledge of loyalty last week. It could also be that we have Henry’s wobble to thank for giving Arsene a little jolt to wake him from the perceived transfer lethargy many fans have lamented. Arsene also deserves credit for apparently beating Mourinho in the battle to sign Diaby. A small victory, but one worth taking.
Finally, the signings keep faith with Arsene’s seeming determination to build the league’s youngest side. Of our top 25 players (the accepted size of a squad), 12 are 22 or under with four of them making up 80 per cent of our midfield. We have now gone three and a half years since we signed an outfield player over 24. But these signings are good news - though we shouldn't be disapointed if they aren't instant hits in the way Vieira and Kanu did.
It’s Boro today and I’m at work during the game. So there will be no update after it.
Update: The Sun report the following Wenger quote, which could be real and intended, real but not intended or a slip by the paper: “We have signed three exciting prospects at very reasonable prices." They have also dropped an absolute clanger in their analysis of Arsene's signing of young players. They said: "Niccolo Galli, Guy Demel and William Huck were unknown when they arrived and remained anonymous until they left." Galli died in a motorbike crash in February 2001.
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100106
Striker anybody?
I'm just coming to the end of watching a tape of tonight's game with the rubbish bits fast forwarded (ie most of it). What strikes me is that we simply have to play a striker. I don't give a stuff if Reyes and Quincy are more senior than Lupoli and Bentender. We badly needed someone to hold the ball up but there was nobody there. It's stubborness from Wenger. We also seem to lack committment in the tackle sometimes, which is hard to accept. The results is not a good one: we failed to score an away goal, which means that if they do, we'll require three. It's gonna be tough.
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080106
Spurs aren’t on their way to Wembley
Childish, mindless, moronic baiting is not my thing. And baiting Spurs over the years has been like taking candy from a baby. So I don’t think Arsenal fans should be laughing about their defeat at Leicester. But, frankly, I’m going to anyway. Ha, ha, ha, ha. That feels good.
It was at 2-0 to Spurs after 40 minutes and with the away fans singing their famous cup final song I admit I thought I was watching a new Tottenham. They were calm and in control and for once making a first division side look just that. Oh well.
Anyway, our weekend was rather better. I’m working Saturdays ‘til the end of the season so missed the Cardiff game. But by all accounts it was your standard Arsenal v lower league side game at Highbury in that we made heavy weather of what should have been a relatively simple task before eventually going through.
Henry was the other big news. A few people have tried to put a spin on his words but to me they simply that so long as we offer him a decent contract and invest in a few decent new players, he will stay. Which must be a massive, massive relief and is, if we’re honest, a real coup for the club. Let’s hope he didn’t feel rushed into his decision by the speculation about phone calls to Barcelona. And let’s hope the investment we all crave arrives. Of course it is worrying when you see Chelsea, United and Liverpool all making moves before us. But we should remember that Reyes only arrived in late January so there is still time. Another question about Henry (as a friend pointed out) is whether the club will be prepared to break their one year at a time rule for over 30s and so only offer him a deal ‘til he’s 31. Let’s just pray Arsene is having none of those thoughts.
I’d also like to nail on the head the absurd, lazy assumption made by some journalists that Thierry Henry has somehow been a disappointment this season. In the Daily Mail, Matt Lawton cited Henry as Arsenal’s biggest disappointment (with Van Persie the major plus). Elsewhere, recent performances have seen his shrugs, scowls, flailing of the arms and lack of willing to enter some attacks put down as evidence of his anxiety. What tosh. It’s what he’s always done and is just how he is.
And for the record, he has scored 10 goals in 14 league games and 13 in 19 in total. It is proportionately almost identical to RVN’s 15 in 20 or 17 in 28. And while the stats say he has hit just one double in seven league games, he also hit the post twice against Bolton, again against Chelsea and again against Charlton. So a little perspective is called for.
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040106
Arsenal 0 United 0: Report from Highbury
I’ve seen a few match reports this morning and many seem to have subtly rolled every great moment from Arsenal v United over the past eight years into one game and then compared it favourably to what was on offer last night. I actually thought this was probably as high a quality a Arsenal v United contest Highbury has seen for quite a while. Whisper it in hushed tones, but the 2-2 draw in 03 and the 1-1 in 04 were poor affairs. And our performance last night was generally improved on last year.
This was the first time I had seen United at Highbury since the last 0-0 draw in 1995 and you easily forget what a brilliant arena Highbury is for the big night games. The atmosphere crackled behind the goals, stretching so far from both ends that even the West Upper seemed alive. Occasionally. Down on the touchline, the East Lower rose furiously at every United indiscretion. It might be Highbury’s last night like that. One to savour.
Surprisingly, it was the attackers who were found lacking. United couldn’t put away their second half chances and we could neither take ours nor commit the men forward like we should have nor get the obligatory penalty that we are always denied in games like these. It is now five blanks in seven for us, enough to make the ghosts of seasons past spin in their graves.
We were of course thwarted by the absence of Van Persie, a real goal threat. With Freddie also missing, it was the back five you would expect, Cesc, Gilberto, Hleb, Reyes and Henry. Individual performances were quite revealing. Henry, irrespective of Gallic pouts and refusal to get into the box, is clearly injured at the moment but is playing anyway. Hleb did ok but has lost confidence he had in the first few games that let him beat men and feed in really interesting balls.
For all the talk of the absence of Vieira, Gilberto had a good game – his positional sense in front of the back four was largely spot-on and barring a couple of errors, he was neat and tidy in the tackle. Next to him Fabregas was superb. That he tired later can easily be excused in an 18 year-old near present in central midfield this season.
On the right, Robert Pires improved in the second half. But sadly, he is a relic of a bygone era, a time when Arsenal were so good that wingers like Pires could shirk all their defensive duties because others would cover for them. Chelsea have raised the bar. The wingers are constantly tackling, closing down and working for the team when the ball is lost. Pires does not do that and is therefore a luxury. Perhaps the way he shirks anything defensive it is due to a legitimate fear of reinvoking past injuries, perhaps it is just laziness. But either way, a title winning team in 2005 can’t afford passengers like that.
The contrast with Jose Reyes could hardly be starker. Like Fabregas, Reyes plays as though it is the purple blood that pumps through his fragile frame. In the first half in particular, he was outstanding, his commitment no less than anything Keane or Vieira showed at their peak. It wasn’t just the fact that he gave Gary Neville a torrid time. It was the way he chased everything, panicked United and so, so crucially covered for Pascal Cygan. Top man.
Talking of Cygan, he played to the best of his abilities. He is no Baresi. But equally he is no slacker either. He even went to take a short corner with Henry. The others at the back did well and even though we could have conceded, it is a fourth clean sheet on the trot.
I was at Highbury and the atmosphere was fantastic and the game thrilling. Those who say otherwise have probably been spoilt by seeing too many games of this ilk in person. A draw was fair – United shaded the chances but both sides could have scored and didn’t. For me, the tackle on Fabregas was a penalty because though Neville got a toe to the ball, it was still in Fabregas’ possession when he scythed him down.
Let’s face it, we are a team in transition. We had eight fantastic years where we punched miles above our weight. But now a lack of spending (and a misjudgement in the transfer market) are catching up with us. Getting us back on top will not be easy. And a number of older players will fall by the wayside. Last night represented another failure to beat a top team. But the major positive we should take is that it was our two youngsters, in who Wenger has invested so much faith, who were Arsenal’s best players last night.
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020106
Arsenal v United: 2nd preview
So Gilberto is fit but Ljungberg and Van Persie are out. The latter is a big, big blow. It leaves us with just Henry and Reyes as the only players available to have netted more than twice in the league this season. And given our lack of goals that is a worry.
I suspect Gilberto will return. And if he does, let’s hope 2006 starts better than 2005 ended. He is not the world’s greatest midfielder but he is a far better player than his recent form and good enough to face United.
I wonder whether Van Persie and Ljungberg missing could prompt a change of plan from Wenger. Could we see Gilberto, Fabregas and Flamini all play? And could Henry then play as a loan striker, supported by Reyes on the left and either Hleb or preferably Pires (as long as he really tries) on the right? It would be a fairly radical departure from what we have seen this season but I just wonder whether it might be a good way of not being forced to play Bergkamp due to Van Persie’s absence.
It is also possible that Cesc could play on the right, Flamini and Gilberto in the middle and Reyes left, with Dennis and Henry up front. But to me it doesn’t sound so good. Of course, we could stick rigidly to our normal formation and play Dennis and Henry with Reyes and say Pires supporting. It has worked well in the past. The question would be whether it leaves us too open in the midfield.
Irrespective of our current predicament, the game will be one of the last great occasions at Highbury and the atmosphere should crackle suitably. The game is sure to be a fiery one and Fergie has already stoked the fire with his myopic review of United’s behaviour over the years. We need to make sure we keep our heads (here’s looking at you Cesc (and Jens obviously)), not just to save ourselves embarrassment but also so we stay focused.
Speaking following the first battle of Old Trafford on the 1991 end of season video, George Graham told his side: “You still gotta tackle, still got to close down. But lads, you must watch your behaviour.” How apt.
Whatever happens, what we mustn’t be left with at the end of the night is regrets. That means ensuring there are no stupid individual errors that cost goals. That means ensuring that if we get chances that we take them. And that means hoping the referee does his job and calls the big decisions correctly. And of course we need to think about how we contain the United threat and Rooney and Ronaldo in particular. But that is something that comes after the basics and too often this season it has been the basics that have let us down. Come on you Gunners!
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010106
Arsenal v United preview: who to play?
I was only able to see the second half against Villa so I’m in no position to say too much about the performance. However most accounts have been pretty negative. From what I saw, we were clearly conceding too much possession to Villa but at the same time I felt the individual errors so evident in the defeats at Bolton and Newcastle were not so evident.
However you look at it, the draw was hardly great preparation for the final league visit of Man United to Highbury on Tuesday night, particularly given them beating fat Sam’s lot 4-1. The game is a funny one because for seemingly the first time in yonks it is the attack who pose the greatest worry at the moment. We may have hit four against Pompey but December saw us fail to find the net in four out of six league games. A big worry.
For me, the well-documented problems in midfield are at least in part to blame. Drive from the midfield in Wenger’s Arsenal has always been essential. After all, how could it not be in a team that so deliberately shunned the long ball from defence straight through to attack? But we lack that drive, power, speed and athleticism we once had. The problem seems exacerbated whenever Hleb and Ljungberg get the nod on the wings because essentially, they are the slightly more attacking shadows of what is in the middle. Played with Fabregas and Flamini, we have a midfield of four physically unimposing players, none of whom have the blistering pace and drive Wenger’s sides are famed for.
Given that, I would definitely play Reyes against United. There is the risk he will be intimidated out of the game. But at the very least he should offer us some variety. On the right it is a tough call. I suspect Hleb will sit on the bench. Then it becomes a question of the gritty but limited Ljungberg or the big occasion but inconsistent Pires. Who knows.
I can see why some would plump for Dennis next to Henry because of the greater fluidity his presence tends to give us. But I would go for Van Persie. I sometimes think it goes unnoticed how capable Van Persie is of fashioning a goal from nothing. And that can be vital. Certainly, when he was taken off after 68 minutes at Villa it was as though we had lost one of our few goalscoring aces. Dennis may give you the odd goal but he is no longer able to conjure a goal all on his own like Van Persie can.
Other than that we need commitment all over the pitch and concentration. With Cygan suspended I wonder whether Arsene could throw in a surprise and play Eboue at left-back or perhaps Eboue right-back and Lauren left-back. Either way, I suspect he might be anxious to avoid what happened against Chelsea where the full-backs were both out of position and the central defence not the number one pairing.
Put mildly, we have been rubbish against big teams recently and it is true that we have not really beaten anybody that tough this season (though victory in Amsterdam was cool). You can be sure Fergie will have pinpointed our weaknesses and will look to exploit our flimsy midfield in particular. Another defeat would be a sickener and the task then really would be to scrape fourth place. Victory could be a great, short-term shot in the arm and a timely reminder that we can still do it.
On a level playing field, it will be tough. What we have to hope for is that the playing field is level and that the curse of bad refereeing decisions that have plagued some of our recent big games does not rear it’s ugly head again.
P.S.: Have just read Fergie's comments about us not being a big club and just remembered how much I hate United. And as for his claim that tickets to Highbury cost £72, Fergie is either lying or else his pal had presumably frequented a tout, given that the highest price for a single ticket is £54. The only other option is corporate hospitality, something United would never dream of indulging in. Indeed, everything I hate about them is now flooding back. For pride's sake, we have to win.
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281205
Arsenal 4 Portsmouth 0: Lovely stuff
My first visit of the season to Highbury. And some memorable goals to go with it. Granted, we weren’t brilliant throughout by any means and the midfiled (and Gilberto in particular) and Pascal Cygan are serious worries at the moment.
But the four goals were sweet. It is rare that you hear a commentator sounding genuinely excited by what he has seen, but listening to what Steve Wilson said on Match of the Day tonight it was clear he relished our return to the scoring of Arsenal goals like we did. The first was a peach – Flamini hustling and winning the ball in midfield. He sprayed it wide to Reyes, who completely slipped his man and fired in a great low ball that Dennis simply had to take first time. He did and he finished perfectly to put us 1-0 up.
The second was a fine ball from Toure down the right into Henry. He controlled well before feeding the onrushing Reyes who hit an absolute stonker of a left footed shot first time into the roof of the net. It was a tough effort – he had to come across the ball and had little of the net to aim for.
Then just as we were slowing-up, Flamini released Henry who rounded the keeper, took the ball pretty wide and then clipped in from a tight angle for his first in five games. His celebration was interesting. We’ve all heard the strong rumours about him leaving. But as he celebrated in front of the East lower he looked like a man perfectly at home in his surroundings.
Then when Pires got played in he slid the ball in for Reyes, who was flying in at full pelter. There was the most mininal of touches from the defender but the referee’s decision to give a penalty was the right one. Such was Reyes’ pace, only the slightest nudge was enough to deprive him of his clear goalscoring chance. Thankfully, the referee didn’t send the offender off – though technically he should have. Henry converted and we slowed up afterwards, preserving energy ahead of Villa away on Saturday.
Overall, it was a very positive night. The combination of Henry, Bergkamp, Pires and Reyes would be a disaster in away games. But against weaker opposition at Highbury they are potent – such as when we beat Villa 3-1 last season. Against Pompey, Bergkamp and Pires could do their things and looked good. Henry did his stuff and while to Arsenal fans he probably only had an average games, it’s worth remembering that to neutrals he is persistently sublime.
And Reyes followed up his good performance at Charlton with another excellent show. He scored one and set-up two and generally caused trouble. On form, he is a fine, fine player and to me he is one of those players who just want to see do well. Tonight’s goal was another example of his goalscoring versatility.
Credit too to Arsene. He is sometimes criticised for his team selections and substitutions. But in the past two games he has got things spot on, resting people who need resting and so far keeping the squad fresh looking in a tough period. Elsewhere, Kanu hit a superb brace to sink Spurs. Lovely stuff.
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261205
Charlton 0 Arsenal 1: Reyes has rocket put up him
A rocket up ‘im is a tired and usually ill used football analogy but perfectly apt for today’s game. Even by his own standards, Jsoe Reyes was peripheral in the first half (barring one flowing move that Freddie really should have scored). Indeed he was so bad that he was almost as bad as Pascal Cygan. And in the first half, that really was bad.
Then when Reyes emerged after the break it was as though the rocket we all know he has in him had been ignited. It was crazy stuff. He played like a winger, all wide and running like apparently that was wingers are supposed to do. It was like what happens in other teams. It was a joy to see and suddenly our attacking threat was almost doubled, with not everything having to go through Thierry Henry.
Of course, it was not just Reyes who got better. The whole performance was far improved and we dominated the game. Our reward came when Ljungberg played in Henry. His first effort was blocked and his second low shot hit the keeper and looped into the air.
The ball dropped on Reyes’ right foot just a couple of yards from goal. He volleyed home and we had our first league goal in a month. Lovely stuff. We continued to dominate, could have scored more and never looked like letting things slip after Danny Murphy was sent-off - his second yellow for throwing the ball down in frustration after a Bennett call. Stupid decision and one I hate to see – even when it benefits us.
On a side note, Cesc got a bit involved in that incident and was also guilty of a slightly dangerous (yellow card worthy) challenge that went unchecked. I love watching Fabregas and am only too happy to see him get stuck in. But he sometimes gets involved where it is not needed and is one of those ‘first on the scene’ players. I just wonder if it could come back to bite him at some point.
But back to the performance: we were much better in the second half but there was still a lot wrong. We lack suredness, Cygan is still at left-back and Cesc and Gilberto had their usual flaws exposed. I’d give the young Spaniard a well earned break for the Portsmouth game.
The bright spots in the game were the result, a far improved Sol Campbell performance and Reyes second half effort. It was great to see him at full pelter and a reminder of the massive potential he has. If I’m honest I’d half forgotten how good he can be. Seeing him tuck the ball home from two yards also offered a extra useful reminder to yours truly.
I stick by my assertion that Reyes is not a striker. But I forgot that on form, he can still be a goalscoring winger. And more to the point, we are talking about a player who can score every single kind of goal, which to me suggests real potentially as a 15 goal a season winger. Cast your mind back over the goals he has given us and you will see there is no trademark. Left footed, right footed, headed, spectacular, bundled in, tapped-in, first time, lengthy runs, one-on-ones, volleyed. They are all there. And in this generally gloomy time for the club, that is a pleasing thought.
Portsmouth on Wednesday. I’d rather not see Cygan at centre-back, would replace Fabregas with Flamini, make sure Reyes gets another chance to try to build some confidence and probably give Pires a run-out in place of Freddie too.
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21/12/05
Insane Blatter wants to make things even easier for Chelsea
The Chelsea match review is below this quick post. Sepp Blatter has said: "If a club can only have five foreigners among their starting 11, then they will have to build on their own youth system. If Chelsea were forced to have five foreigners then Roman Abramovich could not go on buying the best players across the world for exorbitant fees. Chelsea is the example of what should not happen."
The man is a lunatic. The problem at the moment is that Chelsea are snapping up the cream of English players for sums only Man United can even think about, irrespective of whether the player is of any use to them (Lampard) or not. (Wright-Philips).
Were this rule to come in, Chelsea would simply further dominate the English market, pushing up prices and further decimating those without money. Not only would we be forced to fill our team with six English also rans, we would also no longer be able to compensate for the vast gulf in finances as we currently do, by scouring the world for affordable top players.
Develop their youth system? Err, no. They would just spend more money. I am not having a go at Chelsea, but the fact is they would be most happy with these plans. As Arsenal fans, these insane ideas should worry us.
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19/12/05
Arsenal 0 Chelsea 2: It ain’t the end of the world.
So, league defeat at home to Chelsea for the first time in yonks. Painful? Disappointing? Frustrating? YES, YES, YES. But surprising? NO. In short, we learnt very, very little that we didn’t already know.
If we were to win, we had to be clinical with what chances we created and make sure we scored the first goal. Chelsea began well but for me the first two real opportunities were Arsenal ones and we did little wrong with them. Henry hit the post and then Van Persie swept home beautifully only to see the offside flag raised in error.
Not offside
It was a massive, massive decision. 1-0 to Arsenal and we would have had a completely different game. It was a wretched decision and I’m getting sick of wretched decisions in big games. Don’t get me wrong, at home against smaller sides the refs favour us. But in big games we seem to get little luck. At crucial times in both United league games last year and now against Chelsea. I’m not talking about flukes of performance – like when we beat United in the Cup Final or when Drogba scored against us earlier this season. I’m on about the crucial refereeing decisions, which, for whatever reason, seem to keep going against us in the big games.
Six minutes before half-time and Robben was as onside as Van Persie was and he too put the ball in the net smartly. This time the goal stood. While you languish in footballing depression mulling over this defeat, just consider how different things might have been had our goal stood and theirs not.
Red cards:
As for the non sending-offs: yes, Senderos probably should have gone (as Wenger acknowledged). But so too should Essien, who is anything but a marked man as Mourinho claims. I thought his elbow was probably correctly called a yellow. But it was just crass inconsistency that let him get away with a later foul on Van Persie that was identical to one Henry had been booked for about two minutes earlier. So on that front, honours even. (ps, question for UEFA: when did going in studs first near someone’s knee become a two rather than a three game ban?)
I thought we actually played quite well after we went behind. Chelsea 1-0 up are a nightmare to play against. Though we could have created a few more chances, we still fashioned some decent openings. They were dangerous on the break but that was always going to be so with us chasing the game. Cole took their second excellently after one of Lauren’s worst ever mistakes for the club. But to bash him is ridiculous. He is a first class foot soldier who is having a good season and hardly ever puts a foot wrong.
The Midfield:
The problem for us was very obviously in midfield. Aware that we would be outmuscled, we frequently tried to pass long straight from defence to attack. It was an unfamiliar approach that met with limited success. I’ve heard mutterings of disappointment about Cesc’s performance, but I’d point to what I said on Saturday about him being asked to do the wrong job. But the problem is not just a lack of muscle in central midfield. While we could once slot Edu in left and Parlour right, Freddie is now our most physically strong wide player, which says it all. And the pace that once characterised our middle line only lives on in the injured and inconsistent Jose Reyes.
This is, clearly, a very difficult time for the team. Our standards have slipped and for the first time we are staring into the abyss of finishing outside of the top two. But let us not get carried away. We went three barren years without any trophy between Wenger’s first and second titles. Things change and evolve. Of course we need reinforcements and the prospect of Henry leaving is daunting. But things are not all bad.
Hleb is having a far better first year than Pires did, Sol Campbell (in my opinion) will rise again and while they are not yet world beaters, there is genuine promise in our young players. Things change and evolve and for anyone who is feeling at all disillusioned with Arsene, just imagine how much worse every other manager would do with our resources. For one thing, I think if Mourinho took over at Highbury tomorrow, he’d struggle big time. But take Wenger to Stamford Bridge and I’d expect him to win Chelsea titles, which less we forget, is all Mourinho has managed for them so far.
Chelsea?
So, finally, what of Chelsea? Have they raised the bar? Incrementally at most. That they are so far ahead is in part because of their own consistency but more due to United and Arsenal’s recent decline. Are they any better than us in 2004 or United in their pomp? I’d say no way. So the challenge is for us to get back to what we have achieved before and then catching Chelsea will take care of itself.
The most well resourced squad ever in British football was very fortunately injury free enough to be able to choose their first choice eleven against us. We were missing three left-backs, a winger and had a midfielder harshly suspended. C’est la vie. What a sign of the times that of the eleven players fielded by Mourinho, ten cost £6 million plus, while John Terry was a shooting star long before the special one had even heard of him. Our side contained just three players bought for more than £3.5 million.
Overhauling them will be very tough, but is doable. And if there is one manager you’d choose for a club like ours – in transition and relatively cash strapped – you’d plump for Arsene Wenger over Jose Mourinho or anyone else any day of the week. Which is handy really.
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17/12/05
Arsenal v Chelsea preview: How good would Cesc look in Chelsea’s midfield?
A year and a week after his first start in an Arsenal shirt, Mathieu Flamini is likely to again come into the Arsenal side next to Cesc Fabregas for the visit of Chelsea. The prospect has left many fearful, but they did ok last year and I think they can do ok on Sunday. In a way, the prospect of having Fabregas and Flamini snapping like whippets around Essien and Lampard is preferable to having Gilberto in there. In his current poor form, we might risk the Brazilian just providing poor man’s version of what Makalele does so well for Chelsea.
The game is obviously going to be very tough and despite our impressive home form, Chelsea must be favourites. At Highbury the league results have been immaculate but the teams we have beaten have been nothing special and our performances only impressive in short, sporadic bursts. Still, I think we have the players who, on their game, can stop Chelsea from scoring. And I think we are capable of creating chances against them at Highbury. So, we are not without hope.
If we are to win, a likely key player will also be our youngest – Cesc Fabregas. Usually in hushed voices, some Arsenal followers have questioned whether he has the strength for the Premiership. They say both Vieira and Gilberto have struggled next to him. I refute that. As far as Vieira goes, he acknowledges openly in his book that he played much of last season with a very dodgy ankle.
And as for his partnership with Gilberto, I see the problem being that Fabregas has been unfairly forced to play the role of tough tackling midfielder. While the Brazilian may provide a positional wall, it is Cesc who on the whole is required to throw his still slender frame into the tough tackling.
For me, he has actually done it ok, but the point is that expecting him to excel as the enforcer is as preposterous as expecting Dennis Bergkamp to score 30 goals a season. It is not what either do. But imagine Cesc sat on the Chelsea bench for a game and replaced one of Essien, Makalele or Lampard at half-time. Whoever he came in for, I’d expect him to flourish, revelling in being able to concentrate on doing what he’s great at. He could also offer Chelsea the midfield subtlety and creativity they have occasionally lacked - such as in four scoreless encounters against Liverpool in the Champions League.
So if you see Cesc being out muscled on Sunday, take a look around and remember what he is being asked to do. However well he does it, here’s to the midfield beast/animal/enforcer we all pray Arsene will buy in the January sales.
Ps: there was a really good piece on Football365 this week pointing out that in quite a number of these games where Arsenal supposedly allow themselves to be bullied to defeat the more truthful explanation is that very poor refereeing has instead allowed teams to get away with what is simply illegal.
It pointed out the United game last season and more recently the Bolton game (where the referee just ignored Lehman being elbowed in the stomach and another guy who was already booked punching the ball in to the net all in one move) and Newcastle, where the fact is Alan Shearer got away with stuff that was far more plain illegal than any ‘on the edge’ bullying.
I’m not saying we don’t sometimes go soft (I think we do), but it does add some rationality to the whole debate.
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12/12/05
Newcastle 1 Arsenal 0: Same problems, same lack of solutions
A week ago I penned a massive post Bolton post mortem. (Computer problems mean it has only just gone online - see below). Almost everything I said then applied to today’s match so I’m not going to go over the same ground in massive depth after today. For me there are a few points for why we lost:
1) We left our shooting boots at home. I’m hardly in a position to tell Thierry Henry how to score. He had the chances in the first half and didn’t take them. It was one of those things, as was Van Persie mis-kicking later.
2) We are still hideously under strength in the centre. Gilberto is playing crap, yet we have no other option. We need an animal in there (Gilberto, Cesc, Hleb and Freddie is hardly physically intimidating.) Yet we have no animal to bring in.
3) Dermot Gallagher was a total wanker today. (And yes, I know we get the run of the mill sometimes and did so against Newcastle on the first day of the season). That not withstanding, on a technicality sending-off Gilberto was justifiable. But as I remember they were the only free-kicks he gave away all day. And neither were dangerous tackles. They were the tackles of a player who is out of form and off the pace. Were they so bad he needed to be excluded from the pitch? Definitely not.
Compare the approach to Gilberto to how Gallagher treated Shearer and other Newcastle players. Shearer was given a free reign to elbow, foul (including one shocker in front of the referee), knowingly kick so high that knew he would hit Lauren, kick the ball away and delay kick-offs by standing in our half. It took 89 minutes for him to get booked. All this matters because while Newcastle (as is their right) adopted a very physical approach they were able to do so because Gallagher was being so lenient. Once a player has been booked they have to temper their approach, knowing that one more significant error will be the end for them. Gallagher patently failed on that part. Apparently this is his final year. On this showing, good riddance.
But overall there is no escaping the fact we have big problems away from home. The defence could do with some better drilling but overall they did fairly well today. And though the goal came from our left, Lauren looks infinitely better at left-back than Cygan. And up front I think we look fairly strong. We have drawn three blanks on the run but prior to then had looked dangerous. With a bit of luck, Henry could have had two at Bolton and Van Persie one. And the same can be said today.
The problem for me is midfield. In the middle we are enormously weak. It would be nice if we could give 18 year-old Cesc a break but there’s fat chance of that at the moment. And though Hleb helps, we lack defensively able players on the wings: Freddie is either a bit injured or out of form at the moment. Yet still he plays 90 minutes every game.
The thing is that Chelsea probably have as many midfielders and forwards out of form as we do. Crespo, Duff, Robben, Wright-Philips and arguably Drogba and Gudjohnsen are hardly setting the world on fire at the moment. Of course, we can hardly hope to have their strength in depth. But equally, we can expect far more of our current resources in the middle.
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04/12/05
Just what is Arsene playing at?
I spoke to a season ticket holding friend last night who for some weeks has said his confidence in the boss is waning. I don’t necessarily agree, but what follows are some of his concerns and some I have too. What do you think?
Arsene can moan about player commitment but to us Bolton yesterday was simply the epitome of what we feared at the beginning of the season, the inevitable result of Arsenal’s very own corporate restructuring. So as the squad has been trimmed and thinned out, those that are left are more comfortable than ever in their positions and what would normally be the responsibility of experienced team members is being carried out by talented, but as yet unproven, upstarts.
At Bolton Henry and Van Persie were the right choice. But even Tony Adams (who generally seems to not know that much about tactics) has been pointing out for years that Ljungberg and Pires won’t work at places like Bolton. Admittedly, Alex Hleb is injured.
But in central midfield Wenger is guilty of discarding our two most aggressive midfielders as if we have somehow had too many of them. It is blatantly clear that neither Fabregas, Gilberto nor Flamini have the animal instincts that seem to be present in the heart of every top side. It is also true that talented as the first two are, Gilberto is not and Cesc is not yet good enough that their places in the starting line-up should be completely unquestioned and unthreatened. How Arsene could go out at the start of this season and rightly deciding he needs a fourth central midfielder plump for a 17 year old (Alex Song) to complement his 18 and 21 year-olds is beyond me. Principles and only buying the right player is admirable, but not when it means no player.
And if the case in midfield is one of transfer bloody mindedness then the case at left-back is one of tactical bloody mindedness. With no personal insult intended to the man, I can’t remember a single player in Arsene Wenger’s reign enjoy a run in the side and look more out of his depth when doing so than Pascal Cygan at left-back. Even when he does something right, 90% of the time it means he hasn’t cocked it up. His abilities are simply so limited there, it was no wonder Bolton almost encouraged Jens to throw him the ball. Leaving aside the defending, you would have to say he offers nothing to the attack either. It is as though we have become numb down part of our left side.
For Arsene to come out last week and say he brought on Lauren at left-back for the last half hour in Thun to see if he could play there just encapsulates the problem. As you and I well know, Lauren would be miles better playing there, as would Toure, as would Eboue, as might Senderos and as might even Flamini.
They say there is no point buying for the sake of it, but there is also no point not buying for the sake of it. And Alex Hleb is the ONLY outfield and vaguely proven player over 21 who has arrived at Highbury in nearly three and a half years! That is extraordinary! We all know (and largely admire) Arsene’s determination to challenge Chelsea’s exorbitant spending by unearthing and polishing gems, but it is almost as if what Chelsea do is dictating what we do. By this I mean the more they spend the less we seem to spend. And yet the fact is that any title win would count as a great overcoming of the odds, even if we spent £20 million a year.
On that note, there is nothing wrong with stripping out a few luxuries (eg Kanu and Wiltord) to give younger players a chance. But you can’t start getting rid of the bare essentials. And at the moment you can argue we have no competition in goal, where Wenger’s signings there are slowly becoming more bizarre and obscure (witness Shabaan, Warmuz, Almunia and now Poom). We have two good centre backs (one of whom is off his game), a still very young pretender (Senderos) and another who ain’t up to it. Four years ago we had an (admittedly aging) Adams, Keown, Campbell, Upson, Grimandi (better than Cygan) and Oleg Lhuzny (probably better than Cygan).
I hardly need to go into central midfield. A comparison with last year simply says it all. On the wings, as I suggested earlier, there is fair attacking cover. The problem though is that when we want to plump for someone more defensive on the right we end up having to move Fabregas, where as two years ago we would have simply slotted Edu in, leaving Vieira and Gilberto intact in the centre.
And at up front, it seems to have taken ages to a) figure out Reyes is a winger and b) develop a successor to Dennis. Discounting Reyes, we have just three forwards – a footballing god, a youngster still making his mark and a man who is rapidly going over the hill. Think back to 1999 and look at the perfect balance we enjoyed: an in form Kanu, Dennis around his prime, a raw (but still 25 goal) Thierry Henry and Davor Suker, who was used as and when it pleased. Sadly, our current paucity of forwards meant that after 70 minutes we were calling for Dennis yesterday, even though all and sundry could surely see it was not the time or place for his services. And quite why on earth Robin Van Persie was withdrawn I don’t know. Simple maths says Van Persie’s goal threat is far higher than Dennis or Reyes.
All in all, there seems to be a great sense of bafflement. We expect managers to be a little mad, but more and more often we seem to be shrugging our shoulders and explain something away as Arsene just being Arsene. But it doesn’t add up. We might not like seeing Chelsea above us but always knew their spending would make it probable. But it’s hard to accept when we seem to be shooting ourselves in the foot so readily. Even Spurs have about seven midfielders better than our fourth choice.
And what is so galling is that actually we are not very far at all from being bloody good. With the exception of Cygan, every player in our squad is Arsenal quality and very many are worthy week in week out starters too. But they need reinforcements. With these reinforcements, we wouldn’t have to shunt Freddie back into the side when he doesn’t look ready. We would be able to pick the players who are physically at their peak and rest others when they tire a little. Which is what Mourinho does and explains why Cole, Duff, Robben and Wright-Philips always look so chirpy.
So what do we need? A hungry, improving goalkeeper who will in a few years succeed Jens. A half decent centre back who is solid if nothing else. An established beast in central midfield. Perhaps a young, as yet unproven beast, for when the big beast is suspended. A Davor Suker like signing – someone who will offer goals when they play but whose presence will not hold Van Persie back. And as the Dutchman becomes established, someone to fill Van Persie’s current role of young pretender – Arturo Lupoli would seem the obvious choice.
That is five signings. But only two (the beast and the goal scorer) would initially be pivotal ones. Those five, combined with our ever improving youngsters, could make a real squad. At the moment it is not just that Chelsea are so far ahead in the table, it is that we are in with the likes of Spurs, Bolton and Wigan. Squad wise, we will never be as big or strong at Chelsea. But at a certain point it starts to matter less and less until it becomes almost immaterial. We need to plug the holes so we can get to that point.
And finally, what are the rewards? We already have a really good crop of players. Arsenal may not be ahead of the chasing pack but it is still true that the vast majority of our current crop would walk into any Premiership team other than Chelsea and Man U in some cases. With the right moves in the transfer market we could perhaps hope to persuade not just the brilliant Ashley Cole to stay at Highbury but also Thierry Henry, one of the great players of this generation. Whether he stays or goes could tell us so much about where Arsenal are headed.
I may be wrong, but I struggle to believe Henry (settled in London with a wife and new born) would have any inclination to leave a flourishing Arsenal in a new stadium who have the tools to seriously fight Chelsea for the league and to capture the Champions League. I suspect he fears the same things we fear and he needs the same reassurances.
He is 28 and I suspect he knows he has half a chance not to just be known as a great of his time, but to etch his name as one of the great players of any generation. To become that great he probably still needs a mix of international success at his prime (he was not yet a great player in 1998 or 2000) and success with a club in Europe.
On the international stage, Henry’s options are obviously limited because he can’t change countries. On the club stage, whether he feels able to achieve it at Highbury may well depend on just what Arsene is playing at.
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27/11/05
Arsenal 3 Blackburn 0: Attack good, defence not so good
I only saw the BBC highlights of yesterday’s game, so it would be wrong to go into too much depth. But three things were quite obvious from watching it:
Our defence is making too many Premiership standard strike forces look like world beaters. And with all due respect to the man, it is my belief that rightly or wrongly, the presence of Pascal Cygan is a massive factor.
A couple of reports I have read suggested he was not personally so bad yesterday, but the problem goes beyond his individual performances. It is the effect he has on the team.
Exactly a year and a week ago I wrote: “Pascal Cygan is no Baresi, but he’s not an awful player either. But at the moment his presence is having a devastating effect on our play. The rest of the team doesn’t trust neither him nor Jens Lehman and the effect is reverberating through our side.” A week later Jens played his last league game until February and has not looked back since his recall. I added at the end of the article: “Cygan has to be dropped for the sake of the team.”
And the same must happen now. Arseblogger was entirely correct yesterday to point to Wenger’s apparent blind spot over Cygan. Far be it for faceless internet bloggers to tell him how to manage Arsenal, but the clamour from fans appears so universal that surely these feelings need articulating.
2) The second point is that we are obviously playing some very nice attacking stuff at the moment. Not all the time, but we are cranking up the pressure when it matters. Much as Blackburn perhaps deserved a goal or even two, the fact is we created three perfectly executed ones and could have had more.
3 ) Some players have such outrageous talent that you can forgive them being idiots on occasion. Robbie Savage is not one such player. Arseblogger aptly summed him up as a “cheating, conman, fairy, nancy, fraud, flimflammer, obnoxious wanky cunt.”
I would add one word to that description: twerp, defined in the dictionary as a person regarded as not just contemptible but insignificant too.
Just before I finish I’d like to pre-empt a couple of things that will happen this week. The first is that a certain journalist will twist the Savage incident to bring up every misdemeanour ever committed by an Arsenal player. The second is that we are going to have to listen to unrivalled levels of crap spout from the mouth of Sam Allardyce this week ahead of our visit to the Reebok next Saturday. If they beat Fulham today they will be level with us going into the game.
On that note, there was an interesting (and unmalicious) remark made about George Best this week. It was said that Best frequently mentioned how Pele had called him the world’s greatest, yet Pele never needed to do the opposite. Sam Allardyce loves to tell us how brilliantly he has done at Bolton on such limited resources, yet Arsene Wenger...
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I didn't see the Thun game, I'm flying during the Blackburn game and the Reading game is not on TV. But I'll probably post one or two more general updates before the Bolton game.
20/11/05
Wigan 2 Arsenal 3: Should the new midfielder be a partner for Cesc rather than Silva?
In a nutshell: We took control through goals from Van Persie (good turn, run, fierce shot, bad goalkeeping) and Henry (lovely slid finish from Cesc pass at end of flowing move). They pulled one back through shambolic defending. Henry netted a scorcher of a free kick. They pulled another back through shambolice defending. We won despite defending shockingly.
Analysis: It was very easy last season to say how much we were missing the Gilberto "wall" during his absence. And perhaps it was true. But on recent performances, Berlin's got a stronger wall than the one our Brazilian offers. Against Wigan he was, to put it mildly, shite. He didn't go forward, he didn't pass well, he dallied on the ball, he made absurd attempts to intercept that only put us in deeper trouble and he failed to get off the ground for headers. (Witness first goal). In short, he was oh so passive.
Next to him, Cesc Fabregas was a model pro. He ran tirelessly, he won tackles, he broke up play, he positioned himself well and he supported the attack right up until the last minute. Sure, not everything came off, but the way I see it this new midfielder we all agree we need should more likely be a partner for Cesc than for Gilberto.
Behind the pair, things were just totally terrible. Credit to Wigan, honest team, hard working, deceptively skillful for a rugby league town all those other cliches. But the fact is Sol Campbell offered justification for Sven picking Rio ahead of him (yes he was that bad), Jens' kicking was crap, Lauren's general defending was poor and Toure's little better.
To their left was Pascal Cygan. The nicest thing I can say is that words fail me to describe his performance.
I'm not one for having a go at individuals just for the sake of it and it is true that in the end, we got a very welcome three points. But a spoon should be called a spoon and today our defending was chaotic.
Up front, it seems Van Persie may possibly have finally got the nod over Dennis, at long last. He played well, the returning Freddie worked hard but was not at full throttle, Pires put in a committed performance which didn't once involve me screaming at him for ducking a tackle and Henry once again made everything look too easy.
One final thought, much as I can't stand his self righteous, self important, status as a "real" player, and much as there is between no chance and 0% chance of Arsene going for him, you kinda have to admit Roy Keane could fill a gap.
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15/11/05
Arsenal playing before Chelsea form, European form and Vieira book form
A few brief thoughts as we wait for the Premiership to restart.
The first is that the fixture list is currently conspiring quite often to let us play our weekend game before Chelsea. I pointed out last season that while our results are largely unaffected by whether we play before, at the same time or after Chelsea, their's suffered last season when they played after us. And based purely on very anecdotal evidence, the same has been true this season. So we need to take advantage at Wigan on Saturday.
Secondly, this whole assumption that because Liverpool won the Champions League while being crap in the league, the same will happen to us seems bizarre. Last season was largely an anomoly. What nobody seems to have mentioned is that since defeat in Moscow over two years ago, we have a healthy European record that reads: P19 W12 D5 L2.
Finally, there is a piece in today's Times that takes 600 odd words to correctly say: Patrick Vieira hypocritically forgets his own diving when he lambasts Wayne Rooney and Ruud Van Nistelrooy as cheats.
But that is not all the piece says. In fact it reads strangely like a diktat handed down from Old Trafford to a friendly journalist much in the way United employed the same policy with the same friendly journalists after the battle of the buffet.
There was no way Vieira was going to ignore either Rooney or RVN in his book. And the fact is that Rooney DID cheat exactly as described and Van Nistelrooy WAS guilty of consistent violence that went unpunished against Arsenal. Whatever, Vieira's personal myopia, to suggest that the two United players are somehow worthy of apologies for what is correcly identified as shabby behaviour when Vieira does it, is just absurd.
And while I appreciate accuracy matters little when there is an axe there to be ground, the description of the Nicky Butt incident is just patently wrong. Contrary to what is written, it was a straight red card and not a second yellow. Secondly, there was never the slightest suggestion Vieira had dived. Thirdly, the decision to send Butt off was one based purely on the positioning of the incident near to the goal and not on the severity of the tackle or Vieira's reaction to it (there was no doubt it was a foul). Fourthly, all Alex Ferguson and anyone else was moaning about was the referee's decision to treat the incident as a goal scoring chance and thus issue red.
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10/11/05
International week update
My apologies for the lack of recent updates. The laptop appears to have died and enjoyable as this site is, staying late at work to update it is just not that appetising.
Anyway, things have gone pretty well since the Spurs game. There is not a lot to say about Sparta and Sunderland. We needed victories and we got victories. We didn't over exert ourselves but then we didn't need to. I'm still of the theory that we look far better when playas play in their natural positions and I think that was fairly obvious watching the Sunderland game. In midfield the mix was good, with the wall-like Gilberto and the more enterprising Fabregas, Reyes and Pires both looked comfortable out on the wings and up front we had a good mix of a forward/striker (what can you call Henry?) and a striker.
I don't think Chelsea were unlucky at Old Trafford because ultimately they didn't do enough. But I do think United can count themselves fortunate. Some of their defensive play was wretched - incredibly nervous and very deep. But they got away with it. People are asking whether they will collapse like we did. I don't think they will but nor do I think that the issue really. If someone does catch them I expect it to be by a process of small erosion rather than one big wave. So, for example, if they have a tricky away game that they draw others might take advantage with easy home wins. And of course if we win our game in hand and manage to beat the Blues at Highbury then the gap is only five points anyway. I'm not saying we will do it, just saying how I think they could be caught.
As Myles Palmer pointed out on ANR, the four league games before Chelsea are vital. Contrary to what he said, they actually read: Wigan (A), Blackburn (H), Bolton (A), Newcastle (A). We need to be looking for a minimum of ten points from the four of them and ideally twelve.
Not much else to say, except that I'm away for two weeks from Saturday, so there is a fair chance I won't update after the Wigan, Thun and Blackburn games (the last of which I will definitely miss as I will be in the air for it).
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01/11/05
Players in position works at Spurs
Arsene's decision to shore up the side with an extra midfielder was well intentioned and a welcome departure from the gung-ho approach that cost us so badly at Munich last season. But injuries and lack of squad depth meant that to do it we had Freddie playing out of position on the left, Cesc out of position on the right and our first choice central midfielders not in place. Add the fact we were playing with two forwards but no strikers, and it is obvious why we struggled. When Pires came on, suddenly we had him, Freddie and Cesc all where they should be. And when Van Persie came on, Reyes was on the left wing (which for me is his best spot), Pires was on the right (in a position he has played and done well in) and we had a good balance of a forward and a striker up front.
But I also wonder whether perhaps Arsene imagined the first half going as it did, while obviously hoping we would not concede. Spurs, confidence bolstered by their own good form and our lack of it, were always going to come out on fire. I wonder whether it was Arsene's plan to draw to try to draw their sting (keeping it at 0-0) and then introduce Pires and pounce on them as they tired. In the event, the problems of the first half called for Pires earlier than expected, but I expect it was probably always the plan that he would play a key role.
I don't think there can be any doubt we deserved the draw. Granted, Spurs dominated the first half (even if I only remember Jens having to save from his near namesake Jenas). But we dominated the second right from the off in my opinion. Sure, chances did not immediately come, but we did a good job of grinding them down and tiring them out and in the end Van Persie had about three good chances, Reyes had one, Pires had one and Pires scored. So for me, while our equaliser doesn't suit the grand theories of the pundits, it was well deserved. And to come back from behind against the likes of Spurs away never has been and is certainly not now something to be snorted at.
A couple of things have struck me. The first is that the idea of us being a one man (Henry) team is absurd. But it is true that we still haven't yet brought in someone who we can say is a sufficiently good deputy for him. Don't get me wrong, they don't need to be the same type of player, just a good enough alternative. Hopefully Van Persie can be. I'm also intruiged to see who replaces Dennis in the summer (or before?)
The second point is that the cover issue is not one of Chelsea's being excellent and ours adequate. In fact, our's is inadequate. Midfield reinforcements are a must (so that when we switch things around everyone is not pulled out of position like against Spurs) and so too are a buy each in defence and attack I guess. Bringing in those three players will not give us as excellently backed-up a squad as Chelsea's but I question whether their level of protection is really necessary. While they will always have all 11 positions perfectly filled, if we only have 9 or 10 it probably won't all that much difference in the end. It is when your side is so inbalanced (like against Spurs) that I think it becomes a big problem.
Thought for the day: When was Jens' last mistake?
Updating is a bit fraught at the moment due to a comatose laptop, so sorry for that. In the meantime we have Sparta and Sunderland at home. The latter of which is a must, must, must win game because either Chelsea, United or both will drop points next weekend.
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24/10/05
What story lies behind 'that' penalty?
This is a long post; it’s been that kind of weekend.
I’m now on my third school of thought about what happened and more confused than I was to start with. At first I simply wondered how they could be so stupid at such a crucial point in such a crucial match. Did they realise how agonising it was for the fans? Then I wondered whether these two great artists who have brought us both silverware and exquisite football had endured one of those once in a career cock-ups, the like of which every great band have had with that one appalling single and every great director has had with one shocking film. Should we simply forgive and forget and laugh it off as one bizarre and fortunately uncostly cock-up?
But now I wonder: was it symptomatic of a greater malaise? Could it be that whilst we as fans still yearn desperately to win the European Cup and to catch Chelsea, Pires and Henry see the first as impossible and the second as highly improbable and in any case offering only a reward that would emulate, rather than surpass previous achievements? Do they still have the same drive to succeed for Arsenal? Would Frank Lampard even consider doing anything other than burying the ball from the spot, irrespective of the score? And if the three points were as vital for them as they were for us, how could they contemplate even trying that penalty?
I realise the above paragraph could easily be interpreted as me saying they don’t care. I am definitely not saying that. For a start I am saying the above insinuations are true and in any case, if there has been any loss of drive, I would suggest it has been almost entirely subconscious and in no way deliberate. But whichever way you look at it, I think the above are fair questions that should be asked if we are to understand why such a monumental fuck-up occurred.
And just sticking with penalties for a moment, I’m delighted to see that Thierry Henry says he will be taking them all from now on. It had become absolutely farcical. Not only did we have our top marksman refusing to take penalties he had won for absolutely no obvious reason whatsoever. We also had Dennis refusing to take them following his miss against United over six years ago! Fear of flying is one thing, but a phobia of penalties is another and you get the feeling that in any other walk of life Dennis would have been told to pull himself together and just do it. And to think that yesterday it had got to the stage where we were passing them to each other. Incredible.
Which is also what can be said for getting two penalties off Mike Riley. I haven’t seen any replays of the second one, while the first one could have gone either way. But I will just say that analysing these things in super slow motion is pointless because football is not played in super slow motion. Slowing the play down will always make it look like the attacker has deliberately let himself be fouled. It distorts reality.
At last, the game. Firstly, City were very well organised and are a genuinely decent side. So a win is good. But we’re struggling. A fair part of the problem can be summarised in six words: Flamini, Gilberto, Cesc, Lampard, Essien, Makalele. Our players are good, but we lack a monster in there like Chelsea have and it tells. Eight other words also explain a lot: Van Persie, Senderos, Quincy, Eboue, Robben, Crespo, Gudjohnsen, Ferreira. Arsene didn’t make a single sub. Mourinho introduced first Gudjohnsen, then Robben and then Crespo, all about ten minutes apart. Of course, they didn’t win. But the contrast could not have been bigger.
Arsene is not an idiot: his public buoyancy and confidence in the strength of the squad is surely just a charade that he is obliged to show in an effort to maintain moral. But at heart it must be obvious to him just how blatantly we need to splash the cash.
I’ll finish by saying that Pires and Henry were right to apologise. And that Spurs away is the perfect time to make-up for things by putting in a committed, impassioned performance. And it’s vital they do, because if we’re as slack at White Hart Lane this time as we have been recently, then this time we will lose. And nobody wants that.
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20/10/05
Why Henry's goal at Upton Park was his greatest ever
In the world of footballing top tens, there surely can’t be a more enjoyable experience than picking Thierry Henry’s best goals. I can’t honestly claim to have seen enough of Pele and Maradona to properly judge them. But my suspicion is that if a montage of Thierry Henry goals were shown next to montages of the Brazilian and Argentinian’s best strikes, Henry would not look out of place.
So, at 10…
Chelsea (h) 12/04. At kick-off people said their defence was the immovable object and Thierry Henry didn’t score in big games. Thirty seconds later he had pinged in an unstoppable shot from the edge of the box, leaving Cech rooted to the spot.
at 9…
Bayern Munich (h) 03/05. A strange choice for some perhaps, but for me another brilliant goal against an immovable object. Bayern may have been a defensive shambles in the next round at Chelsea but against us they were tighter than something incredibly tight. After 70 odd minutes, Henry controlled a long ball on the left from Cole, brought it down and hit it instantly across Oliver Khan with complete precision. It was a perfectly executed goal. And it had to be.
At 8…
Manchester City (h) 01/04. This one is also representing the swerver against United later that season. Against City, I was in the North Bank and saw just how much his shot seemed to swerve and yet keep completely straight like an arrow. David James didn’t have a prayer.
At 7…
Sparta Prague (a) 10/05. A very late entrant but very deserving of it’s place. On for six minutes, he controlled the ball on the outside of his foot, swung his whole body through 360 degrees and then fired in a bending shot that beat the goalkeeper in the only part of the net it could have. Almost arrogantly brilliant.
At 6…
Inter Milan (a) 11/03. Broke out from defence, looked to be going nowhere and then made Javier Zanetti look amateurish before slamming home with the left foot. A brilliant goal and the crucial third in a 5-1 win.
At 5…
Spurs (h) 11/02. Very, very special run. He took them all on, cut inside and finished brilliantly. Then he celebrated in serious style in front of the west stand. Magnificent.
At 4…
Charlton (h) 10/04. So good it completely bamboozled the cameraman. I watched this game in a pub in London with one of those dodgy satellites. The commentary was in a foreign language, music was playing in the bar and a lot of people were only half watching. The camera was focused in on Henry as he held the ball with his back to goal about six yards out. Then he backheeled the ball and suddenly wheeled away in delight. The pub was genuinely stunned. Those of us who realised what must have happened looked on in disbelief. When they showed a replay from another angle the reaction from the rest of the pub was one of sheer incredulity. And the more they showed it the more disbelieving the reactions. It didn’t really matter what happened in the rest of the game.
At 3…
Liverpool (h) 04/04. No doubt you’ve heard people say how important this goal was in us winning the title. It was. I was at Highbury that day and 2-1 down at half time there was some serious cigarette smoking going on in the north bank. Within a minute we had equalised thanks to Freddie Ljungberg. But after equalising once and then going behind again, a fair few people feared things were turning against us and we would do it again.
Then Henry picked the ball up on the left. He jinked in, took on a couple of defenders and simply by his presence created sheer panic in the Liverpool defence. So much so that Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher knocked in to each other and fell to the ground comically. Suddenly Henry was through and he finished coolly. The north bank erupted. People who had not lost it since Ray Parlour scored against Valencia found themselves jumping out of their seats. A massive, massive goal and sheer brilliance bore in part out of the complete panic his presence can induce.
At 2…
Manchester United (h) 10/00. Unreal goal. Fed by Grimandi miles out, he chipped it up, spun Gary Neville and in one fired in a volley that dipped and swerved over Barthez into the far corner. Watching at home, all I saw was the ball leave his foot. I thought it was going miles over. Then the Clock End went mad. I had lost the ball in the air. Eventually, I was persuaded it had gone in but was convinced it could only have had it taken the most massive of deflections. Then I saw the replay. One of the goals of goals.
At 1…
West Ham (a) 08/02. You may think this a weird choice. I say the beauty of it has never fully been recognised. Now, don’t get me wrong: were this goal being judged purely on Henry controlling the ball on his knee and hitting an absolute bullet past David James from 30 yards, it would not be anywhere near number one, however great a finish it was. It is the first touch that does it and it is a touch which in my opinion defies the physics of football.
He receives the ball on the right edge of the penalty area from a Vieira pass. He has his back to goal. It is played firmly in to his left foot. Then he takes the crucial touch, which I will come back to in a minute. When he next touches it he has spun 180 degrees so that he is now facing diagonally to goal. His defender has been left bamboozled. The ball lands on what is now Henry’s right knee. Think about what he did with that touch: he took a ball that was coming into his feet and with one touch he looped it up in to the air with his foot. When it fell it was still, incredibly, travelling in the original direction. But he didn’t just lob it into the air, which would have been hard enough.
Instead, he met the ball purposefully with the right hand side of his left boot and somehow spun (not hooked as would have been the case had he used the left hand side of the boot) the ball up in to the air up and over his defender’s head. Had Brazil done it in 1970 I genuinely believe it would be replayed continuously now. Do whatever you can to get a copy of the video and watch that touch because 250 words of mine have failed to do it justice.
And it is for that reason that West Ham away was Thierry Henry’s best Arsenal goal and potentially the greatest I have ever seen.
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19/10/05
Sparta 0 Arsenal 2: Match report, playa ratings and Henry worshipping
The formalities first, then the Henry stuff: Cygan replaced Senderos who had replaced Campbell and Cygan continued in place of the injured Cole. Gilberto returned in midfield in place of Cesc who replaced the injured Ljungberg. The returning Van Persie replaced Bergkamp (something to do with a fear of flying).
We started well, with Cesc having a shot and some promising attacks. Then Reyes went off injured and Arsene went for the brave option of risking Thierry Henry for 70 minutes. Within two minutes he had chested the ball down on the edge of the box and fired what looked like a beaut of a volley that was deflected wide. Then he brought down a through ball from Kolo, spun on the edge of the box and hit the most belle of bending shots with the outside of his right foot. Great goal.
We didn’t do much else for the rest of the half and started the second somewhat sluggishly. Then on 65 we started playing again and within five minutes Pires? had played Henry in with a beautiful ball. He controlled it and still had a fair bit to do to knock it home. 2-0 it finished. A decent enough performance and a great result. Playa ratings to the right.
The goals take Theirry Henry past Ian Wright’s all time Arsenal goal scoring record. We have been fantastically privileged to see him rack up 186 not out and even luckier that so many have been done in such incredible style.
As I walked to work yesterday morning (Tuesday), I went with a bounce in my step. Sometimes you don’t realise what you have til it’s gone and I for one could not wait to see his magnificence return to the pitch.
Of course, there will be those Arsenal fans who will bemoan his unwillingness to commit to the club in his post match interview. That kind of reaction is absolute bollocks in my view. It is quite obvious he is not going to come out and commit to the club just like that because the fact is he is considering leaving. He is 28, has achieved a massive amount, probably fears somewhat about the destination we are headed towards and feels he may want to try and conquer Spain before he retires. People ask for him to be honest. He is. By saying what he is saying he is making it perfectly clear things are up in the air.
Do people want him to say he wants to go? What good would that do? The fact is that when he says he is focused on his football at the moment, that is the truth and that is what he showed us tonight. What is wrong with him kissing the badge if he puts in great performances? Kissing the badge is a sign that your heart is in to what you are doing. And who could argue that his heart wasn’t in tonight’s performance?
Of course we don’t want him to leave on a Bosman. But if he leaves, he leaves. We have been absurdly lucky to have not only one of the best, but one of the most consistent players in the world between the ages of 22 and 28 in his career. If he wants to move then so be it. I would wish him all the best.
Of course, I desperately want him to sign a new contract. But let us be grown up about this. He is doing nothing wrong. The best we can do is get behind him (the fans were great tonight), get behind the team at Highbury (we can do a lot better) and hope Arsene can bring in the players and the team achieve the success that will allow Thierry Henry to stay.
I have no inside knowledge on the issue of his contract, but my hunch would be that things are not a lot more complicated than Thierry fearing (quite justifiably) that the standard of the squad is slipping and that we look less likely to achieve the success (particularly in Europe) that he so craves.
We shall see what happens, but in the meantime let’s celebrate his achievement and leave the worrying for another time. I have written enough now, so won’t reveal my favourite Henry goal now, but you can reveal yours below.
ps: he seemed pretty happy to me when he broke the record.
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16/10/05
West Brom 2 Arsenal 1: Report + playa ratings. Grim.
Arsene Wenger has never suffered the indignity of losing to a lower division team as Arsenal manager, but it is hard to believe that the disappointment could be any greater than that experienced after today’s loss at West Brom.
In 45 minutes, our emotions went from genuine hope that things could be turning our way (we were winning and Chelsea were losing) to the sheer grimness of seeing us somehow lose and them come back to win 5-1.
In short, we took an early lead when Senderos hooked home a deep Reyes corner. We were completely dominant, they were crap. We sat back. They equalised after a feeble Pires attempt to block a cross, a poor header from Senderos and terrible marking of Kanu. Of all people, the man renowned for taking 10 touches when two will do, had time to control the ball, compose himself and then fire off an (impressive) shot past the helpless Lehman. It was a shocker of a goal.
In the 2nd half we eventually rallied around the hour mark and though we had a couple of chances (Toure, Reyes, Bergkamp) things were in no way urgent enough. We probably should have had a penalty for a foul on Reyes, but he wasn’t in a scoring position so I’m not going to complain. It would, however, be nice to see referees decide whether a foul should be given not based on where the incident happens on the pitch but on the incident itself. And if this means the law needs to be reformed so that minor fouls in non-threatening positions in the area do not warrant a spot-kick then so be it. We need consistency.
Anyway, they then scored a cracker out of absolutely nothing. We huffed but got nowhere. Immensely disappointing and all the more so when you are watching the game in the corner of a bar while in other corners Chelsea, United, Liverpool and Spurs fans are all celebrating goals going in. The upshot of all this is that the table does not look good. In fact I don’t even want to see it. All I know is we’re 14 points behind Chelsea having dropped 11 to their none.
But the main discussion must be about the performance. We started with a very youthful team containing Senderos, Clichy, Reyes, Flamini, Cesc and for much of the game Eboue too after Fred went off. We were without Cole, Campbell, Gilberto, Van Persie, Henry, Hleb and then Ljungberg. That would be a big miss to any squad, all the more so to ours.
So perhaps that excuses things. Or perhaps it doesn’t. The Everton and Man City sides that a far less experienced Arsenal dispatched from last season’s League Cup were miles better than the carthorses West Brom served up today. We could and should have easily won this game.
The problem is that the fact we are not at our most fluent at the moment should mean every playa is giving 120% so that effort alone can get us through. But that is not the case. We were leaden footed and lethargic today. Really, I would say that excluding the hard to appraise Lehman, only Reyes and perhaps Senderos and Toure did themselves justice out there today. Not everything may be coming off for Reyes, but he keeps plugging away and chasing everything.
The same is not true for the others. Pires is the worst culprit. His effort at times is frankly lamentable. I can just about excuse him pulling out of tackles because he is worried about his knee but he has no excuse for not doing everything humanly possible to block crosses.
We are clearly lacking really good cover right through the spine of the team (a defender, midfielder and striker are all needed). But we also have to roll our sleeves up and not commit the immortal sin of taking our foot off the pedal just because our opponents are crap.
It is going to take a miraculous recovery for us to challenge for the league now. We need our genuinely rotten luck with injuries to turn, new playas and better performances.
One final point about today’s referee and the one minute 55 seconds of injury time he added on. Now don’t get me wrong, I loathe it when managers squabble over every few seconds. My theory is normally if you don’t score in 90 then you probably won’t score in 94. But today was just some kind of complete joke. We had an injury a minute from time that lasted about one minute 40 seconds, we had four second half subs, three of which were incredibly slow West Brom ones, we had one of the longest and deliberately stalling goal celebrations ever and we had them wasting time every time they got a free-kick or goal kick, even when it was 1-1.
By adding on just two minutes the referee has completely indulged that negativity (which I accept Arsenal have been guilty of in the past). It was a complete joke.
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09/10/05
Football returns next week
Do you get very bored of England games after 60 minutes? Do you have to tell yourself to try to be happy when England score? And does part of you secretly will the opposition to knock one past ‘us’?
Answer: Yes, yes and yes.
My conclusion is that Sven would get double the amount of stick if the thought of writing about England wasn’t so boring. In fact, I’ve had enough. I’m so bored I can’t be stuffed to write any more about England.
But I will say a few words about my good friends at FIFA. Presumably David Beckham’s red card will stand, despite his 2nd booking being a blatant dive.
It will stand because under FIFA’s own half witted rules, appeals are only allowed in cases of mistaken identity. I don’t give a stuff about Beckham, but I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: this is the most inept rule I have ever seen.
England have been wrongly deprived of a playa for 30 minutes because of an opposition player’s connivance. And then to compound the problem, they will ban him for no other reason than that they have invented a stupid rule that says he must be banned.
For some reason, this rule pisses me off big time. It is the height of bullshit in a game overflowing with the stuff. The only bans being handed out should be for the half wits who invented this rule and are now pressuring the Premiership to take it up.
The only saving grace is that these things have a way of hitting people back in the face. How I will laugh if the brilliant Ronaldinho is sent-off in next year’s World Cup semi-final for handling on the line when the ball clearly hit his chest. Of course, my scorn will not be directed at the unfortunate Brazilian. Instead it will be at the FIFA bigwigs who will have seen their showpiece player miss their showpiece game because of their own arrogant, farcical rules.
Football returns next week.
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021005
Arsenal 1 Birmingham 0 - half a report
Well, I only saw the second half (hence no playa ratings). From the sounds of it we created a fair bit in the first half and as well as missing a penalty we could have had a hatful.
The second half seemed a very flat affair. Maik Taylor made great saves early on from Pires and Ljungberg and then we seemed to lose any great degree of urgency. In the end, Van Persie’s not brilliantly hit shot deflected off a defender and beat the excellent Taylor. We held on, though not with any great style.
We looked lethargic in the latter stages. From what I saw Campbell, Toure and Cole looked good enough. Reyes is playing with brilliant enthusiasm and desire. The rest of them don’t look lazy by any means but if you compare us with Chelsea at the moment, is the same unswerving desire there? I’m not so sure.
It needs to be.
And the crowd can play their part too. Apologies if the SKY sound system did Highbury a disservice, but the ground sounded embarrassingly silent today. The players are human beings like the rest of us and they thrive on the support of the crowd like you and I would. So, if you’re lucky enough to be at Highbury, sing.
Chelsea won 4-1 this afternoon and looked good, albeit against what is a pretty poor Liverpool league side. The Kop were singing louder in the 89th minute than anything Highbury managed today.
On site news, I’ve gone back to the old design but with the new logo following a public outcry. Not sure about what should go in the space on the left though, as the Latest Updates column was pointless and time consuming to update.
Finally, a question for any readers who live in Dublin or anywhere else in the Republic of Ireland. I need to get internet access at my new flat for 3 months. Are there any broadband companies who don’t insist on you signing up for 12 months? And what is the best dial-up?
...
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Archives: July 2005, June 2005, May 2005, April 2005,March 2005, February 2005, January 2005, December 2004 and the embryonic goodplaya.
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Playa ratings:
v West Ham (2-3) - NEW
Lehman: An absolute idiot for stupidly getting involved with Harewood late on. Not only was it nasty, but he could have been sent-off and he also put us out of our stride. A minute later West Ham made it 3-1. He’s a very good goalkeeper but an arrogant, nasty character and an embarrassment when he behaves like that. 4
Gilbert: Looked to be doing fine until the Arsenal full-back curse struck. 6
Djorou: Individually did well, but understandably hasn’t been able to strike up any kind of partnership with Campbell yet. 6
Campbell: What can you say? Two massive errors that were punished to the max. Things just aren’t going his way at all. 4
Senderos: Obviously doesn’t offer the attacking prowess of Cole or Clichy but he looked solid and his distribution to Pires was fairly impressive. Did fine at centre-back in the second half but should have whacked it out instead of passing to Larsson for the mistake that led to the third goal. 5
Gilberto: He’s not great at the moment. Far too passive for my liking. 5
Diaby: Still raw, but I like him. And he is so like Vieira: even his mistakes remind me of Vieira’s shortcomings. Not sure why he was taken off. 7
Ljungberg: You have to laugh at the way he somehow managed to deflect Henry’s shot wide. Is trying really hard and not actually playing badly at all. But nothing is going his way. 7
Pires: I do feel we need players with greater bite than Pires at the moment. But in fairness, he was involved, scored one, set-up the other one for Henry and saw Hislop deny him with a great save. 6
Henry: Hard to judge. Seemed to have a decent enough game on TV but reports from the game were critical. 6
Van Persie: Unlucky. Offered a lot but nothing went his way. 7
Subs:
Flamini: Brought on as an emergency right-back but did pretty well all things considered. Say what you like about Flamini but he’s a fighter who unlike some of his team-mates will never be found lacking for effort. 7
Larsson: Yes, he made the cock-up for the third goal. But it was typical of our rough justice. Other than that he was excellent: committed in the tackle, full of running in attack and crucially he understands the value of hitting long-balls diagonally, as opposed to completely straight. Which is something some of his team-mates could do with taking note of. 7
Dennis: Not normally much of a substitute, but he found himself a good niche on the right of midfield and offered us extra creativity. Well hit volley to set up Pires’ goal. 6
v Sparta Prague (0-2)
Lehmann: Solid enough game. He’s doing well at the moment. 7
Clichy: Bit of a nightmare really, though to be fair their right winger was their best playa. 5
Cygan: Surprisingly assured. 7
Kolo: Looked fairly good most of the time. 7
Lauren: The odd moment of strangeness. 6.5
Flamini: Was hard to judge the midfielders tonight. Seemed to do the normal without being mega effective. 6.5
Gilberto: One of those Gilberto games where you don’t really know how he has played. 6.5
Fabregas: Got fairly involved and offered threat down the right. 7
Pires: Not his best game by any means but still one of his better ones this season. Magnificent ball for the second goal. 7
Van Persie: Seems to get carded in Europe for the most ridiculous things. Did alright without having much effect. 6.5
Reyes: Full of running til he got injured and wasn’t running at all. 6.5
Subs:
Henry (for Reyes 17ish): Emperor-like as he beat Wrighty’s record. Magnificent playa who, had he not scored, would have been accused of going missing in another big game. But because he did score, it won’t count as a big game. 8.5
Eboue (for Van Persie 70ish): Looking ok at the moment. 6.5
Quincy (for Cesc 85ish): Full of running. 6.5
v West Brom (2-1)
Lehmann: Blameless for goals. 6
Lauren: Not particularly composed. 5.5
Clichy: Has had far better games. 5.5
Senderos: Good goal, messy header for theirs. 6
Toure: Ok but ridiculously offside at one free kick. 5.5
Flamini: Ok but uninspiring. 5.5
Cesc: Decent. Kept trying. 6
Pires: Crap. 4.5
Ljungberg: Ok while he was on. 5.5
Reyes: Still running his heart out. 7
Bergkamp: A moany kind of day. 5.5
Subs:
Eboue (for Ljungberg 35ish): Not great. 5.5
Quincy (for Flamini 80ish): Bizarrely decided what Arsenal lack is left-wingers. 5.5
v Everton (2-0)
Jens: Very little to do. Did it all right. 7
Lauren: Occasionally seemed to imagine he had more pace than he does, which was quite amusing as he tried to take people on. Solid as usual. 7
Cole: As someone who gave him a good bashing over the summer it would suit by agenda to say he is playing poorly. But that would be a lie. Whatever the reasons for it, he has started the season well and in attack in particular is offering a lot. 7.5
Toure: Nothing to do at the back and seemed to enjoy getting in on this whole new set-piece malarkey. 7
Campbell: Two excellent headers, especially the second one which was a real hammer. Not at full speed yet but looked good, organised the defence well, shouted at people and seemed to realise he was our most senior player on the pitch. 8
Pires: Hadn’t done all that much in the brief period he was on the pitch before Gary Neville’s shit younger brother’s tackle forced him off. 6.5
Cesc: One friend said to me he is looking lightweight and giving the ball away too much. Maybe. But I think he does a lot of good stuff and his presence in the opponent’s penalty box is valuable. 7
Gilberto: Solid game, got through a fair amount and gave us a couple of those rare Gilberto moments where for a few seconds he stops looking like he is suspended in perpetual slow motion and instead provides us with raw Brazilian skill. 7
Ljungberg: Started slowly but furrowed hard as ever. Seemed to make a real determination to either stick wide out on the wing or else very deliberately come inside as opposed to just being narrow. I think it worked. Unlucky to hit bar in second half. 7
Van Persie: Hit the post with a nice effort (right footed!) and had some decent moments but was otherwise a bit subdued. Has been a fairly rough few weeks and is probably still feeling his way back in to things. 6.5
Reyes: Loses the ball now and then but that is only because he constantly seems to have it. Boundless energy at the moment, great creativity and fantastic balls into the box. Really was amazing how much of the ball he had tonight. 8
Subs:
Hleb (for Pires first half some time): Played pretty well, looked pretty creative and linked up well with Cole. Playing better than Pires. 7
Dennis (for Van Persie 80ish): Did alright. Created a bit of stuff. Didn’t do anything of note. 6.5
Alex Song (for Reyes 87ish): Made a couple of sloppy passes but it was harsh and exaggerated for Alan Smith to say he hadn’t found a man. 6
v Thun (2-1)
Almunia: Probably not to blame on the goal and handling was ok even though he still catches very strangely.6
Lauren: Did the usual Lauren stuff. Fairly well. 6.5
Cole: Thought he was good today. Clean at the back and contributed well going forward. Perhaps he enjoyed having Pires back in front of him. 7
Toure: Seemed ok. Can’t remember too much else.6.5
Sol: Looking a little chunky but it must be good to have him back.6.5
Cesc: Not his most spectacular game but made a couple of decent runs forward and made one particularly delicious pass in the second half.6.5
Gilberto: Very well taken goal and was more involved tonight than normally. An experienced head 7.5
Pires: By no means at his best but infinitely better than the past few games. Got in an early curler that almost flew in and was generally far more involved. Even tried to tackle twice. Neither attempt worked.. 7
Ljungberg. Svavanged without achieving much.6.5
RVP: Had been easing himself back into first team action when the dick head referee struck. 6.5
Reyes: Excellent, his boundless enthusiasm drove the team on and he looked really dangerous at times and caused Thun more problems than anyone else. 8
Subs:
Dennis (for Cesc 70 odd): Is that his first goal as a sub? Took it well. 7
Hleb (for Reyes 80 odd): Didn’t really find his touch in the ten minutes he had.6
Quincy (for Ljungberg 80 odd): Offered a new threat.6.5
v Fulham (4-1)
Lehman: Looking very solid at the moment. You can tell it by the fact he is not making kicking mistakes at the moment. At tricky moments, his handling from corners was excellent.7
Lauren: Missed a penalty, but that was bound to happen one day and at least it didn’t matter. Otherwise, he played well and looked particularly committed (mostly in the right sense) in the tackle. 7
Cole: His best attacking display for a while and linked up promisingly with Reyes. 7.5
Cygan: I’ve made no secret of the fact that his presence in the team pleases me not. Defending was ok tonight, though a couple of times Fulham forwards worryingly escaped him when crosses were slung in. Took his goals very well. Could it be that unlike the rest of the side Cygan does not feel obligated to score the perfect goal and concentrates on just sticking it in the net?7.5
Kolo: Poor clearance for the Fulham goal but on the whole had a decent game. The defensive issues we have at the moment seem more a collective than individual problem. 7
Cesc: Gets a wee bit overrun occasionally but on the whole is playing really well and in particular offers a genuine attacking threat in the way that perhaps Vieira sometime failed to. 7
Gilberto: Did what Gilberto does. Still sometimes resembles one of those video graphic created dinosaurs in the way he moves. 7
Hleb: Good first half, creating a fair deal and generally looking like a cross between Pires and Ljungberg (in the best sense). 7
Reyes: A very good game in my opinion, full of running, full of trickery and very direct. In particular, he linked up very well with Cole and Henry, which was very pleasing. His ball for Henry’s first goal was majestic and pleasingly the two seemed on the same wavelength tonight. 8
Dennis: Besides his idiotic yellow card he had a great game and was at the heart of Fulham’s dissection. Kept going strong right to the end. 8
Henry: Took his two goals, which both came at crucial times, very well. Just one more to equal Wright’s record. 7.5
Subs:
Flamini (for Reyes 75 odd): Set up Henry for the killer third goal. 7
Clichy (for Hleb 85 odd): Ran around like mad, as Clichy does. 7
v Liverpool (3-1)
Lehman: Two really good saves – the first from Riise and the second from Gerard’s piledriver. Flapped at one cross but all it served to do was to remind us how much he has improved. 7.5
Lauren: Did very well, almost scoring from Pires’ cross in the first half and setting up the third goal with some nice play. Is doing well at the moment, perhaps spurred on by Wenger not mentioning right back when saying which areas he doesn’t need to strengthen over the summer! 7.5
Cole: A mixed game. Good going forward and times and obviously an excellent second half block from Garcia. But also occasionally sloppy, messing up things we know him well capable of doing. 6.5
Senderos: A big presence at the heart of the defence he had one of his sternest tests in an Arsenal shirt when Liverpool got at us in the second half. Did pretty well on the whole though, especially as protection from midfield was not always forthcoming. 7
Kolo: A good solid outing and the same goes for him as for Senderos. 7
Vieira: Did some stuff really well and was very influential in our first half attacking play. But I felt he allowed the midfield to be too easily swamped after the break and was not always applying the pressure to Liverpool that he might have done. 7
Gilberto: It goes without saying that evaluating a Gilberto performance is very, very difficult. That said, I felt that like Vieira he could have offered a bit more bite in midfield to help out the defence in the second half. 6.5
Pires: Really was at the heart of some of our best stuff in the first half. Crossed brilliantly for Lauren to almost score, shot just wide and then scored with a magnificent free-kick. Faded later on. 7.5
Cesc: Absolutely outstanding. He set the move in motion for Reyes’ offside goal, fired just wide from 20 yards, scored his own offside goal and then added a very neat third for us in stoppage time. In between this he ran the game, tackling, running with the ball, passing brilliantly and generally looking the best player on the park. Outstanding. 9
Reyes: Not perfect, but he notched up another well taken goal, scored an offside one and ran his heart out for the cause in the second half. 7.5
Van Persie: Not as involved as he has been but got involved and put over one excellent early cross for Robert Pires. Generally looking a much better player than previously. 7
Subs:
Edu (for Pires 70 odd): Came on and did ok. 6.5
Bergkamp (for Van Persie 70 odd): Set up Fabregas for the third with a fantastic flick but was otherwise pretty poor. When he did try and press Liverpool he gave away a few free-kicks and the rest of the time he just didn’t seem to chase them at a time when we really needed players to get stuck in. I know he is still capable of the odd piece of magic but we probably have enough to our attacking armoury that magic alone should not prompt a new contract. We have shown we are capable of winning without Dennis and should probably now look to the future. 6
Aliadiere (for Reyes 85): As ever he came on and got stuck in, chasing everything and hassling the Liverpool defenders. Has a really good attitude and probably deserves more than five minutes at some point. 6.5
v West Brom (2-0)
Lehman: The defence clearly trusts him again and he is reciprocating that with improved handling, kicking and decision making. 7
Lauren: Worked reasonably hard and got forward on a few occasions. 7
Cole: Looked a little lethargic at times but kept going and finished the game strongly, setting us on a number of attacks. 6.5
Senderos: A couple of passes went astray but took a no nonsence defence to defending. Far be it for me to argue with his current record of not conceding a goal for absolutely yonks. 7.5
Gilberto: Covered well at set pieces, but with Arsenal in 2nd gear he seemed only to happy to make sure Gilberto was in 2nd gear too. Not much drive. 6.5
Vieira: Committed silly fouls early on and was not finding his passes. Got better as the game went on and provided more drive. Symbolic of our night. 7
Pires: Did ok initially but like the rest of them lacked the necessary drive. Got better with the team. 7
Cesc: Probably not his best game. Came looking for the ball a lot and should be credited for it but looked a little fatigued when challenged. 6.5
Van Persie: Did ok initially but was not really receiving a lot of support from the midfield. Took his goal magnificently. 7
Reyes: Ran hard but once again looked incredibly left footed. But gave an excellent assist for the opening goal and kept on trying right til the end, providing useful relief for the defence. 7
Subs:
Dennis (for Van Persie 75ish): Did little except provide a measured set-up for Edu's clincher. 6.5
Edu (for Cesc 75ish): Got involved a bit and finished well to clinch it. 7
v Spurs (1-0)
Lehman: Is playing very well and his handling looks as assured as ever, his throws good and his kicking far better than earlier in the season. I think it no great secret that he needs to control his temper. 7
Lauren: Has looked solid in recent weeks and looked more lively going forward. Alan Curbishley put him in his team of the season on the basis that few wingers get much change out of him. And he is probably right. Really does need to watch stray elbows though, intentional or not. 7
Toure: Was given a little trouble by Defoe but it was less trouble than Adi Akenbai gave him in the FA Cup in January. And Defoe is clearly a far better player than the Stoke man. Will soon score a very, very memorable free-kick I sense. 7
Senderos: It is hard to argue with his defensive record since he came into the side. We have simply stopped conceding goals. That said, what are the odds that back when we were conceding at will, Robbie Keane would have buried that chance. Could have got first goal for club with header. 7
Cole: Linked up well as ever with Pires down our left hand side and seemed really up for the fight. Had the slightly awkward penalty shout against him at the end but otherwise did well. 7
Vieira: With the ball he was excellent on the whole, spreading play at pace and helping support those ahead of him. Looks much more comfortable with Gilberto next to him. Though that said they both looked half a step off the pace at times against a Spurs side full of running. 7
Gilberto: Did what Gilberto does well. Though probably not as much of a shield as against Chelsea. 7
Cesc: Tired a little in the second half but was his usual youthful magnificence until then. Spread the ball with ease, got stuck in, helped out the attack and set up our goal. Nice. 7.5
Pires: Not the force he was against Chelsea but is playing well at the moment, linking up well with Cole down the left and generally providing an experienced head in an otherwise youthful attack. 7
Van Persie: Set Reyes up for the first minute chance, fired a decent effort wide and generally played quite a mature game without hitting great heights. 7
Reyes: Did very well to come back after the first minute miss. Goal was excellent and attitude looked good. Seemed to find an extra gear for second half run that set up Dennis. 7.5
Subs:
Dennis (for Van Persie 70 odd): Curled one wide and generally looked quite good against a tiring Spurs defence. There was the odd occasion when I felt he let the player pass him to quickly but that was probably just my last minute nerves. 7
Edu (for Cesc 70 odd): Hit the post with a curling effort and slotted in very, very neatly on the left. Will be a great shame to lose him if he does eventually go. 7
Aliadiere (for Van Persie 87 odd): Only had a few minutes but looked really keen to impress. Had a couple of good touches, got stuck in and made tired Spurs legs panic, buying us valuable time. 7
v Chelsea (0-0)
Lehman: Has looked much better recently and besides the odd dodgy kick, looked very solid against Chelsea and made one excellent save early on from Drogba. His positioning seemed good on through balls. 7
Lauren: He really didn’t put a foot wrong and kept Damien Duff and probably had his best game for the club against a very, very tricky opponent. Was ferocious and fair in the tackle. 8
Cole: After a slightly tentative start he threw himself at everything Chelsea chucked at us. Whatever people’s feelings about his current situation, there can be no complaints about his performance. 7
Senderos: Excellent as usual. This guy likes clean sheets. 7
Toure: Really did well in what could have been a tricky night. Got weight on his clearances and never panicked. 7
Vieira: It really doesn’t take a genius to figure out how much he seems to be enjoying having Gilberto back in the side. Really led the side again with fine interventions and set us on the path to attack – such as when Pires hit the bar. 7.5
Gilberto: Suffered a couple of inevitable nosebleeds when he got into decent positions going forward but otherwise did a fine job of snaffling out what Chelsea threw at us and generally making the team a slick unit. Showed one or two fine turns as well. 7
Cesc: This kid really does defy logic. At a time when his brittle bones should be feeling the effects of a long, hard season he is looking stronger than ever. Magnificently composed on the ball, he worked furiously in defence, midfield and attack. 8
Pires: His early volley that hit the bar reminded me of when I stood in the Holte End last year for Villa v Arsenal and he hit an even better effort that was turned just over. Even the anti-French bigots around me were shut well and truly up.
There is a wonderful magnificence about watching Robert Pires on song. He caresses the ball delightfully and when it’s time to move it on he does it with the utmost precision. A joy to watch and unlucky not to score twice. 9
Reyes: The story of his last 6 months – no problem with effort but he just lacks the confidence to make things really happen. The annoying thing is that he’s making errors on things that a confident Reyes could do with his eyes shut. Let’s hope his effort is rewarded soon. 6
Bergkamp: Like Reyes he worked hard and did his bit to keep Chelsea at bay. But also like Reyes he found himself struggling up front. The curtain appears to be falling on his magnificent career. Hopefully an announcement will be made soon and both we and Dennis can enjoy his final games. 6
Subs:
Van Persie (for Dennis 80 odd): Struggled to get into the game but had a few decent chances and ran hard for the side.
Aliadiere (for Cesc 85 odd): Did alright but by the time he came on it didn’t look like either side were really going to score.
v Boro (1-0)
Lehman: Flapped at one cross in the first half and then came ridiculously far out of his goal before eventually winning the ball. Yes, he’s kept a fair few clean sheets recently and yes, it’s even true we could win the league again with him in goal, but no, we won’t win in Europe with Jens and no, he’s not the answer. 6
Lauren: His early challenge, whilst not worthy of a red card as suggested on Match of the Day, was sheer stupidity. He did alright and he’s plodding along but not really getting any better. 6
Cole: Attacked decently at times but wasn’t helped by a very, very ineffectual Robert Pires. 6.5
Senderos: Now looks like he should be partnering Sol Campbell when the two are fit. Authoritative, big and commanding, his presence has coincided with a string of clean sheets. Still has rough edges, but these are being shaved all the time. 7
Kolo: Did reasonably well and made a couple of important blocks, but I’m not convinced his future lies in the heart of the defence. Together, he and Lauren sometimes seem to bring out the worst in each other and we just don’t look solid, clean sheets or no clean sheets. Would like to see him at right back. 6.5
Gilberto: I looked out especially for incidences of him filling gaps and yes, I can confirm it happens and he does his job well. Still looks very nervous in attacking positions, but his presence is welcome. 6
Vieira: I thought he did reasonably well, though like the rest of the players he seemed to have trouble bringing any great coherency to our play. 6
Cesc: I plumped for Cesc on the right a while ago and I like seeing him there. He got well forward and was always involved. Looks tired, but it’s been a long old season and he’s still, only 17. 6.5
Pires: I thought him absolute rubbish up until he scored really. His inability to tackle has been documented many times before, but on Saturday he seemed to be playing the whole game at walking pace. But then who better is there at converting the one chance he gets to secure a 1-0 lead. 6
Reyes: Things still aren’t all coming off for him but I sense things are getting better and his work rate and willingness to track back really can’t be faulted. We know for a fact that the boy has the talent to succeed, so while he may not be showing what he’s really capable of right now, we should applaud his recent application. Had a couple of really mazy runs and set up Henry excellently for a shot he scuffed. 7
Henry: Had one of those games where he seemed to stand almost still on the edge of the box, conserving his energy and waiting to pounce. It didn’t really work, though he did have a glorious chip fly just wide and certainly scared the Boro fans every time he got the ball. He was also up against an obdurate Boro. 6.5
Subs:
Dennis (Reyes 46): Did alright without really changing the game at all. It seems the curtain may be falling on his illustrious career and reluctantly, I think it right. We know he can still play brilliantly in patches but the truth is that it’s becoming less often and it’s hampering us in European away games. We need someone to step forward and become Henry’s partner. Sometimes the bullet needs to be bitten. And now is that time. 6
v Palace (5-1)
Jens: It’s tempting to say that the early back pass cock-up could just as easily have happened to Petr Cech but in truth that would be a lie. He’s simply too cocky and over confident with his kicking – it’s why so many balls get sliced wildly and why we almost conceded a shambolic own goal tonight. Otherwise, he actually did quite well. 6.5
Lauren: Is definitely becoming a better player going forward but was as culpable as anyone for our defensive malaise. 6
Cygan: Didn’t have an awful game but on too many occasions simple long balls forward by Palace became much more serious than they needed to be. 6
Kolo: Got skinned more often than he would have liked and was caught out at times from crosses. But still, we only conceded one. 6.5
Clichy: Did well getting forward, causing a constant menace. Defending was largely competent but seemed to be infected by the general defensive tendency to give the ball away. 6.5
Vieira: Another tricky game to rate from the captain. At times he was sluggish and easily caught in possession. At others, he took a grip on the game and drove the team forward impressively. Got well forward for his goal. 7
Edu: Didn’t have the sudden impact he enjoyed at Villa last week but did well enough and certainly gave us a fair bit of solidity. Good ball to Reyes for the opener. 7
Pires: Seemed to be rewriting the dictionary definition of anonymous for the first 20 or so minutes. Then got more into the game without coming close to hitting top gear. Was unlucky to hit the post in the 2nd half after good work from Reyes. 7
Reyes: His best game in yonks. He looked fearless again, running constantly at the Palace defence and causing a lot of trouble. Good assist for the first, great finish for the second, an assist for the third and a fantastic pass to Dennis to set up the fifth. Great to see him back again. 8.5
Dennis: As ever, he oiled, moulded and sculpted our performance. He also took his goal very well, like he did against Newcastle and United too. And set up Henry for the fifth. 7.5
Henry: Really played very, very well and channelled any frustration about constant offside decisions in exactly the right way. Had seemingly boundless energy to chase back lost causes and put us back on the attack. 8.5
Subs:
Flamini (for Edu 60odd): Solid and composed as ever. 7
Van Persie (for Dennis 80odd): Linked up reasonably well as the game entered its final stages. 7
Fabregas (for Pires 80odd): Settled in comfortably on the right. 7
v Wolves (2-0)
Jens: Whilst a clean sheet is a clean sheet, he had very little to do and looked no more reassuring than previously with his kicking. To be fair, he was also played a high number of over hit back passes today and was not at fault for the one from Flamini that took a wicked bobble off the Highbury surface (which appeared unusually cut-up).6.5
Eboue: Got forward well, hit the bar with a deflected shot and could have had a penalty. Nice work. 8
Clichy: Decent game without being exceptional.7
Sol: Not a lot to do. 7
Cygan: Better than usual. 8
Paddy: Mediocre for much of it truth be told. Got better later on and scored the penalty but for too long his mind didn’t seem in the right place. Sure, Wolves made it difficult by crowding midfield but too often he seemed semi asleep at throw ins and the like. Still, he kept going. 6.5
Flamini: Didn’t show the deftness of touch of the Newcastle game but retained all his normal solidity. And great as Ray Parlour was, watching Boro at the moment suggests that we’ve got an as good, if not better, replacement. 7
Reyes: A couple of good runs, some moments of anonymity and denied a stonewall penalty. Still getting back to form but it definitely seems better than a few weeks ago. 6.5
Freddie: Usual energetic performance without any stand out moments, save his well taken goal. That’s ten for the season now and we’re still in January. Good work Sir. 7
Van Persie: Not his most inspiring game and clearly doesn’t yet have the positional ability of Dennis (who does?) but is improving. 6.5
Henry: Gallic. Went into one of his moods after Riley ruled out his cheeky first half effort. Strutted around for a while, went in for a couple of silly tackles and became frankly self indulgently petulant when a foul was given against him. It’s alright for us to loathe Riley endlessly but our top striker shouldn’t let him affect his game. And the fact is he did. But recovered his composure, was unlucky not to score and set up Freddie in superb fashion. 8
Subs:
Cesc (for Van Persie): Settled in comfortably on the right. 7
Pires (for Reyes): Nice work for the clinching goal. 7
Quincy (for Fred): No time to make an impression.
v Charlton (3-1)
Alumnia: No chance with the goal and didn’t do too much wrong besides one poor fumble from a cross. Still not convinced by his catching techniques. No difficult saves to make6.5
Hoyte: Made the odd error but did well to make sure his old youth team buddy Jerome Thomas had his quietest game in weeks. Managed to get forward a bit more in the second half.7.5
Cole: Still not looking at his best and on a couple of occasions was embarrassed by Rommedahl. But in fairness he wasn’t as sloppy as recently and did get forward well later on. 6.5
Sol: With the exception of one wildly sliced clearance in the first half that Almunia had to save he looked pretty solid and kept Charlton’s clear chances to a minimum. Let’s hope his ankle isn’t too bad. 7
Kolo: Given a bit of grief by Bartlett in the air but stuck to his task well and like Campbell, restricted the number of clear cut chances. 7
Vieira: Watching the game live, I was unconvinced by his first half performance. But having just seen the highlights it seems he got through a lot of work and did what he had to do neatly and efficiently. Set up Fred well for the goal and kept up a good level of performance all the way through.7
Cesc: Lost the odd ball but was generally very sound. Passing was clean and crisp as ever and his touch for the second goal was exquisite by any standards.7.5
Freddie: Took his two goals brilliantly, worked hard and always looked a threat. In good form. 8
Clichy: Seemed to lose the ball cheaply a bit too often but worked hard down the left helping Cole out with nullifying the threat of Rohmedahl and getting forward well. Has tremendous energy which comes in handy at the end of games when opposition players tire.6.5
Henry: Not at his best today but more worrying than the actual performance was the fact that his normal fitness wasn’t there. Had a lovely free-kick cleared off the line.6.5
Van Persie: Still has a tendency to twist and turn once too often. But also holds the ball up brilliantly, moves it well and finished superbly for the third. Should probably be given a real run up front next to Henry. Took his goal like a striker, which is disconcerting coming from an Arsenal player.7.5
Subs:
Pires (for Van Persie 72ish): With the game won he wisely didn’t over exert himself ahead of Man City on Tuesday night. 6.5
Senderos (for Campbell 82ish): Slotted in well on his Premiership debut.7
Pennant (for Fred 86): Didn’t have time to get into the game. 7
v Newcastle (1-0)
Almunia: Our star man tonight. A smart early save from Ameobi (even if it was probably going wide) and excellent handling all night gave us one less worry. Four clean sheets in five and he also kicks a fair bit better than Jens.7
Lauren: Though Lauren Robert didn’t reach anything like his best, I’m not sure whether too much credit should go to Lauren. His positioning often seemed weak, his passing and tackling little better and he offered almost nothing in attack. Mr Average was distinctly poor. 5.5
Cole: Whilst there’s no shame in being given a tough time of things by Craig Bellamy, Cole’s performance was noticeably worse than just a torrid time. He made stupid, unnecessary fouls, got caught out when he should normally have had enough pace and looked very, very shaky. He may have been pushed a touch for the penalty incident, but a defender with his mind fully on the job wouldn’t have allowed the ball to hit him as blatantly as it did. In mitigation he did improve and unlike Lauren provided some attacking threat. 5.5
Kolo: Did alright but like the others his decision making didn’t always seem to be the best informed. That said, it’s a little harsh to chastise a central defender who has kept four clean sheets in five. 6.5
Sol: Urgh. After some very sound recent performances he seemed far too troubled by what looked like some relatively simple long balls. One such error allowed Ameobi in for his early chance and his lack of authority always made the long ball route look like a wise one for Newcastle to take. 6
Flamini: Not his best game for Arsenal but he still got through a lot of work, kept things simple and had a hand in setting up Vieira for the goal. 6.5
Vieira: Named man of the match by SKY and praised in a couple of papers, but I’m going to be honest and say that up until he scored I thought he was pretty useless, being caught in possession too often. That said in the second half he got through a fair bit of work as we ground out victory. 6.5
Fred: Beavered away, had some good moments and kept on trying. Was going to commend him for his work on a couple of occasions in particular but can’t now remember what they were. 7
Pires: Even by his standards, his tackling was poor today. Truth be told, I can’t fathom how he’s allowed to defend with his body constantly side on to the play. As a left winger he has defensive responsibilities and simply has to make a better fist of it. On the attacking front he was probably our most creative player, moving the ball smartly and at pace. 6
Van Persie: Still very, very raw. Unlucky not to score in the opening minutes and had a couple more decent efforts but all too frequently ran into trouble and lost the ball on what was admittedly an awful surface completely unsuited to his quick twists and turns. Corners weren’t bad. Needs time. 6.5
Henry: His touch was not quite at its magical best, but again this was probably due to the state of the pitch. Had a couple of good runs that resulted in decent shots on Shay Given’s goal. 6.5
Subs:
Clichy (for Van Persie 80 mins approx): Seemed as happy as anyone in the post match huddle but for the second game in succession he seemed a little out of sorts when called upon. 6
v Fulham (2-0)
Almunia: Looks better by the game and made a crucial save when he rushed out at speed to palm away a Fulham chance at 1-0. Made no notable mistakes. 7
Clichy: Had a good first half – getting forward well as usual and strong on the defensive stuff. Then in the second half he seemed to lose his confidence went, either as a result of or because of Fulham consistently probing down our left. Like any small full-back, aerial strength is a weakness.6
Lauren: Average as usual. Looked solid against a Fulham attack lacking any real penetration. 6.5
Sol: At times we were troubled in the air – but Sol is leading a defence that is no longer allowing attackers completely free headers at corners. Looks fit and healthy and, along with the rest of the defence, now has three clean sheets in four league games. 7
Freddie: A fine game on his return from migraine troubles. Played in Henry for the first and set-up Pires for the second. 7.5
Cesc: Gets caught on the ball occasionally but is still doing the vast majority of things with real fluency. Gives us real creativity in the middle. 7
Vieira: Showed a few soft shoe shuffles to bam boozle defenders in a way we haven’t really seen this season. Also got stuck into his tackles and generally seemed to be on the ball. 7
Pires: There was this surreal moment in the first half. He got the ball on the left wing and took a heavy touch. As if that wasn’t enough he then went flying into the tackle with the Fulham defender and actually won the ball. And it wasn’t the only time – I saw him snuff out a few Fulham attacks and even win a header.
Of course, the attacking side of his play was superb as well – he would have scored from a Dennis chest down but for a good save by Van De Saar. He linked up well, particularly with Henry, and inevitably took his goal with typical aplomb. Now has 19 in 2004, which is good. 7.5
Dennis: A fair few poor touches and bad decision making in general play. In mitigation, he dummied the ball well for the second goal and put Pires in with an excellent chest down. 6.5
Henry: Sure, the flicks didn’t always come off but at times he led Fulham a merry dance like he has almost every other defence this season. His goal was a trade mark finish and he was desperately unlucky when his side footer from the edge of the box crashed back off a post. 7
Subs:
Flamini (for Freddie 74ish): Some might say Arsene was making a point by not replacing Freddie with Pennant. Others will call it a sensible way of seeing out the game. 6.5
Van Persie (for Dennis 78ish): Provided his usual array of tricks but didn’t get a real chance to score. 6.5
v Portsmouth (1-0)
Almunia: Had a really good game. Caught when he needed to catch, punched when he wasn't sure and kicked immaculately. Also made a couple of really good saves. His run of impressive performances may only stretch to two but for now there seems no reason to bring back Jens. 8
Lauren: Did nothing too wrong but didn't offer as much in attack as he might have and at times appeared troubled by Pomey's pace. I think he's ok, but I'm becoming less and less convinced he should be our right back at all - more on that tomorrow. 6.5
Cole: A tough one to call. For a while looked rattled by Pompey's pace and agression down the left. Misplaced a couple of balls and though his tackles were mostly coming off they had a slightly concerning aggressiveness about them which made me think he was letting his own frustration get the better of him a little. But stuck to the task well and in the end kept a dangerous Pompey out. 7
Kolo: Got sucked in a couple of times, but on the whole he was part of a defence that looked pretty solid and much improved at set pieces. 7
Sol: Looked fitter than recently I thought - turning smoothly on a couple of occasions when faced with danger. He also made countless important headers at corners and won us the game with the kind of head down sheer determinism many fans would like to see a little more often. 8
Flamini: Ran hard, tackled hard and never gave up. Doesn't offer as much going forward as Fabregas, but doesn't claim to either. Unlucky with a header from Henry's free-kick. 7
Vieira: Industrious, but was also sloppy on occasion, getting caught in posession and losing the ball. Still doesn't seem 100% back to his best and didn't make the most of a couple of shooting opportunities. 6.5
Clichy: Fought well and offered Cole valuable protection down the left hand side. Showed initial attacking promise early on but faded as Pompey grew in stature. Nonetheless, was full of running at the end and nearly capitalised on tired Pompey legs. 7
Pires: His every touch was met with a chorus of boos as Bob faced Pompey for the first time since 'that dive' last season. There was even one moment when he slipped and the ball rolled out of play. Which probably made a certain journalist very, very warm inside. Otherwise, was neat enough but pretty ineffectual, seemingly afraid of injury in the rough house atmosphere. Had a couple of lovely runs late on and set Dennis up for a chance he really should have taken. 6.5
Henry: Worked hard and created much of our best work, but often found himself crowded out by the hoardes of Pompey defenders. Nearly scored after a flowing first half move and set up Dennis' other chance late on, which again he really should have taken. 7
Van Persie: Started really well, showing fantastic feet and trickery and generally leading Pompey a merry dance. He swivels at such speed he'll probably need a hip replacement aged 30. Faded somewhat after his impressive start, finding himself crowded out by the packed defence. Could pass a little earlier at times but nonetheless a decent first start in a difficult game and he staked a fair claim for inclusion against Fulham on Boxing Day. 6.5
Subs:
Bergkamp (for Van Persie 68ish): Should have scored late on following good set up play. His performance did little to silence the voices calling for this year to be his last. I'm undecided on that, but what I am sure about is that I won't miss the needless little kicks and elbows aimed at his opponents when frustration sets in. Simply put: the sly digs are ugly and Van Nistelrooy like and do nothing for us. 6
v Chelsea (2-2)
Almunia: Faultless for both their goals, he made good stops from Lampard and Gudjohnsen in the first half. And made a vital save when Robben wriggled his way through after the break. But nobody noticed it. Caught when a catch was a good idea, punched when a punch was wiser and set us on the attack with some good throws. 7.5
Lauren: Didn't see much of him, but when you're up against Duff and Robben, this can only be to a defender's credit. Thought he did really well to keep them in check, and the one time Robben did really threaten in the second half, the danger came down the other side. 7.5
Cole: The one player who I thought struggled today. As has been the case of late, he lacked confidence in his touch and stuggled defensively. Perhaps should have come out to Robben before the winger got into the box for his 2nd half chance, and was easily beaten in the air by Drogba for Cheslea's 2nd equaliser. 6
Kolo: Looked solid overall and helped limit Chelsea to only a few chances asides from set pieces. 7
Sol: A mixed bag. Made some really important defensive headers and looked in command at times at the back. But was a little caught out for their opening goal and sometimes seemed a little gung ho in his marking. Made important late tackle on Drogba.7
Reyes: Was quiet, but this was a tough game. Nodded down to Henry for the opener, worked hard and went on a few mazy runs without much success. Still, I thought he gave them something to worry about.6.5
Fabregas: Another excellent performance. He and Flamini were overwhelmed initially when up against Tiago, Lampard and Makalele but never gave up and fought their way back into the game admirably. Nice goal to set up Henry for the opener, he was instrumental in setting up the Frenchman's near winner and also set up RVP for his chance. Uses the ball so intelligently and showed that despite his size, he's not afraid to get stuck in. Was up against the very best in the business today and succeeded in limiting Lampard to a largely peripheral role.8
Flamini: £1 million? First league start? A snip if you ask me. He run's tirelessly, he harries, he puts his foot in and he uses the ball simply when he wins it. A real water carrier but absolutely essential today and worked tirelessly. Well done Sir. 8
Pires: We wanted a big performance and boy did we get one. Seemed almost impossible to shake off the ball, tackled back, linked up well with Lauren, Flamini, Cesc and Henry and drove the team forward in his own idiosyncratic waddle. When in his pomp, he is still a wonderful, wonderful footballer to watch. Set up Henry for the near winner, realised his responsibility as the senior partner in midfield, and shouldered the responsibility admirably.7.5
Dennis: Didn't get involved in too much of note, but I can't help feeling he just gives us a cetain sophistication and shape when he's in the side. Gordon Strachan pointed out on Match of the Day how hard he'd worked to stop Makalele getting the ball and in hindsight I think it probably a fair call.6.5
Henry: Forget the late miss - it can happen to anyone. Otherwise he was outstanding, scoring a brilliant first (which included winning a high ball!), netting an impudent second and generally running the show. Scared Chelsea shitless every time he picked it up and was responsible for a hell of a lot of good work. Also destroyed the concept he doesn't turn it on in big games. That's 15 in 17 league games now by the way.9
Subs:
Clichy (for Reyes 82): Ran around like mad for 10 minutes and forced mistakes out of tired legs. Really good footballer and good enough to start for probably every Premiership side and perhaps should be more often for us. 7.5
RVP: Is maturing very nicely indeed. Nearly netted a silky winner when he latched onto Cesc's pass and gave the Chelsea players a lot to think about. Would be really interesting to see him start. 7
v Rosenberg (5-1)
Almunia: Made a really, really good low save early on and kicked largely well. But looked dodgy more than once on crosses and for the second time in a week cost us a goal, which is a real worry. Eventually realised there's nothing wrong with giving a ball a good double handed punch. 6
Hoyte: Was up against a poor opposition but defended diligently and rarely looked rushed. Used the ball well, linked up well with his team mates and should be well pleased with his first European start. 7
Cole: Looked solid, with a couple of important defensive headers, but still not yet back to his marauding best I sense. Shouldn't have let the ball drop over his head for Harald Brattbakk to fire at Alumnia after 17 minutes. Withdrawn with quarter of an hour left. 6.5
Sol: Ditto for above, though did once later on look somewhat sluggish again on the turn. Perhaps I'm just paranoid about the impending arrival of Duff and Robben at Highbury.6.5
Kolo: A very easy night for the big man and he even found time for a classic Kolo dance into the opposition penalty area towards the end. 7
Flamini: Very, very good full debut. Set up the second goal, ran tirelessly, got tackles in and seemed to work well with Cesc in midfield. Looks comfortable tracking back and going forward and also seems to have a strange affinity for joining in attacks right around the right edge of the penalty area and particularly when we attack the North Bank. A young, thinking man's Gilles Grimandi, he ain't at all bad for a fifth choice midfielder. 7.5
Cesc: Absolute star. Has already played 20 games this season (twice as many as Edu, Gilberto and Vieira), yet still had the strength to turn in one of his best performances for the club. Fantastically alert, his use of the ball was excellent. He also scored a very impressive, very difficult goal and was involved in the build up for the fifth. Not just our most frequent performer in midfield this season, but also our best. 8
Jose: Took his goal really well and gave us a flying start. Had another deflected shot well saved and looked much more like the sun kid of the beginning of the season. Had a delightful late chip that bamboozled three very stupid looking Rosenberg players before landing on the roof of the net. 7
Pires: Looked much, much better and was even spotted making a tackle late in the second half. Kept going and linked up well late on with Jose and RVP before being withdrawn for Quincy with two minutes left. His penalty was so brilliantly placed it went into the side netting. Again I marvel at his ability to put a football exactly where he wants it to go. 7
Bergkamp: A nice return for the Ice Man who got involved well in the game, set up the opener and had a couple of openings himself. Might have done better when in front of goal, but eased himself back into the side well. 7
Henry: I actually thought that poor as the defending was for his goal, it was still a pretty decent finish. Worked hard all night, linked up well with the kids around him and seemed to be feeling particularly tolerant. 7
Subs:
Clichy (for Dennis 72ish): Spent a few mins in midfield before dropping back to left back when RVP replaced Ashley. As ever looked sound in the defending and assured going forward.
7
RVP (for Cole 75): Resuscitated the game with some silky skills, wayward finishing and then eventually a very well taken goal. Rawer than an uncooked vegetable, but with massive potential. 7.5
Quincy (for Bob 88): Should have had longer. Don't think he got a touch.
v Birmingham (3-0)
Alumnia: Looks like Lehman, kicks slightly better than Lehman, fumbles the odd ball like Lehman and jumps a couple of inches less high in the air than Lehman. Did ok, but would have been ill advised to let Morrison’s second half effort creep under him and over the line.6.5
Lauren: Seemed really quiet yesterday. Means he was doing his defensive job well which at the moment is the priority. Better? Seeing as we kept a clean sheet, probably a tad. 6.5
Cole: It's not been picked up much by the press, but I’ve thought Ash to be one of the players whose form has most obviously dipped in the recent spell. He’s still looked a top left back, but the subtlety of touch that allowed him and Bob to link so well still seems to be absent. Better? Not noticeably, but again should take credit for a clean sheet. 7
Sol: I’m of the opinion he’s still carrying a little bit of weight. Played well enough, but on a couple of occasions he looked sluggish and immobile on the turn, which is obviously a concern with Duff and Robben coming to town next week. Better? Probably not. 6.5
Kolo: Probably fair to say he’s not been our worst performer in the recent period, but I think on occasion he has allowed our recent jitters to affect his decision making a little. Kept Heskey quiet, but also seemed to time his jumps wrongly on a couple of occasions. Better? Ditto above. 7
Vieira: Did some good stuff but on other occasions his decision making and concentration again seemed lacking a little. He’s a hard one to judge at the moment. Better? Probably a bit.7
Cesc: I’m glad to see he escaped censure for his recent performances because I think a lot of the recent mutterings about how he’s no Gilberto have been unfair. Admittedly, the Brazilian’s best work is done off the ball, SKY’s stats show how we tend to win with him in the side, but I still think the young Spaniard is doing pretty well. He’s a young boy whose probably played too many games in a struggling team in a big league. But he’s still there, still getting stuck in and still doing his stuff. Tired in the latter stages yesterday and was replaced by Flamini, which was a wise, common sense, decision. Better? No, but only because he was doing well in the first place. 7
Freddie: Scavenged, burrowed, furrowed, ducked and dived. Fred’s doing them all at the moment and its working as the perfect complement to the continued attempts at perfection that come from the rest of the team. Is also being very productive. Should have had a penalty yesterday, set up the third goal and generally ran the show. Better? No, but only because he’s been great. 7.5
Pires: Mark my words. One of these days the opposition are going to get a free kick on the edge of our area. Their player will hit it, the ball will fly off Robert Pires and zip past Lehman. And we’ll all put it down as a fluke, like we did for Graveson’s effort that flew off Pennant in the Carling Cup game against Everton. Except it won’t be a fluke because Pires, like Pennant, will have jumped with his back to the ball, meaning that when it hits him he’ll have no way of giving it any direction.
My point is that Pires simply has to go into tackles. Maybe he’s worried about getting hurt, but he’s ducking out of the most basic challenges and its meaning we’re losing the battle in midfield at places like Old Trafford and Anfield.
Obviously, as I was making a note of this, Bob went and scored a classic Bob goal. Basically a really, really good one. He is a fantastic playa, probably the purest footballer we have in our team and quite possibly the best finisher. Yesterday was his 50th goal for the club and almost without exception (Bolton at home this season) they’ve been aesthetically perfect and a joy to watch.
But he must pull his weight for the team, which funnily enough I’ve seen him do really well on a number of occasions. Better? A little bit later on in the second half. 6.5
Reyes: You have to feel for him - seemingly everything he tries seems to go askew these days. Inches away from a Henry cross in the first half, he got into the game a bit more going towards half time, but then tired before being withdrawn. As I said above, he could do with a 25 minute run against tired defences to get his confidence back. Better? Not really, but not for want of effort. 6.5
Henry: Whether it be through injury or lack of confidence, he spent much of the game getting into decent positions but then making the wrong decision. Then ten minutes from time he took off past Melchiot, through the Birmingham defence and then a cool low finish hit whilst he was running at incredible speed. Six minutes later, he bought a ticket for Freddie Ljungberg’s cross and got lucky.
May not be at his best. But the level of criticism he of all people has taken is ridiculous. Has scored 13 league goals this season (four more than anyone else and 9 more than Ruud), scoring in 11 of the 16 games. And it’s not even like he’s bound to get the goals because nobody else does. He hasn’t even scored a third of our goals, and with the exception of Old Trafford (when nobody scored) and Selhurst Park, at least one other Arsenal player has scored in all of our other games.
Better? Yes. Despite earlier failures, his determination to keep going for the all important second goal was admirable. 7.5
Subs:
Clichy (for Jose): I love this guy. He’s like Wenger’s little foot soldier and seems capable of doing everything. Slotted in expertly in left midfield. He covers, chases back, tackles, retains the ball, gets forward, dribbles and causes havoc in the opposition defence. He may be more defensive than Reyes, but sometimes being slightly more defensive can give you the shape to attack more. May not be suited to central midfield, but should be considered a serious option for a place in left midfield on tough away games. 7.5
Flamini: Seems to do everything neatly enough without being spectacular. Will be interesting to see how he works with Cesc over the next two games.7
v Man United (0-1)
Alumnia: Crap on their goal, barely put a foot wrong otherwise. Plays and looks like a slightly smaller Jens, but can kick. 6
Hoyte: OK and defended well on occasion, but I’d still like to see him get forward more. That said, I think he’s a player who would look much better surrounded by seasoned pros. 6.5
Clichy: Really, really good as usual. Slipped on their excuse of a pitch for the early goal, but didn’t let it affect him and worked tirelessly defending and attacking all game. 7.5
Senderos: The lumbering giant of Everton had been replaced by a very, very accomplished looking centre half. One dodgy back header that fell short but otherwise cut out everything that was asked of him and looked a real first team option. 8
Djorou: Took eye off ball and then slipped for the goal which wasn’t good. Never quite looked the same player as against Everton, but worked his way back into the game. 6.5
Flamini: Looks like we can breathe a little more easily in the midfield department after watching a very assured display. Would like to see him trialled as a sub for Freddie in games where we’ve got a dodgy one goal lead. 7
Larsson: Some like him but I’m not so sure. What he did was decent enough but I thought he struggled to have an effect on the game. 6.5
Quincy: Maybe it was the pitch, maybe it was United doubling up on him. Either way the hero of the last round never really got into last night’s affair. 6
Pennant: Worked hard, tried to take the initiative and overall did quite well. Still not sure if he’ll quite make it at Highbury though. 7
Lupoli: Is a striker and when strikers get no service they don’t look much kop. 6.5
Van Persie: Battled hard all night and willingly came deep to win possession. But probably came a bit too deep and battled a bit too hard. Yes, he could have been sent off for the incident with Richardson. Reminds me a bit of a young Freddie, not in playing style but in the way that the potential is clearly there but the skills are still very, very raw. 6.5
Subs:
Smith (for Lupoli): Did OK but still looks wary of going in for challenges and taking men on following his long term injury.
Cregg: Alright
Karbassiyoon: Alright
But enough of Chelsea (Drogba and Geremi, Carvallho, Cudicini). Arsenal on the other hand…"
My point? It’s all very well for Lineker and his guests on Match of the Day to lambaste Wenger for fielding a marginally weaker team at Bolton than he could have (Pires seemed the only player who was properly fit to play but didn’t), but he didn’t have much choice. On top of our poor form and lack of confidence we have been completely plagued by injuries.
They have been a mixture of bad luck and the inevitable consequence of having too thin a squad. What happens is that players play too many games, get injured, get rushed back from injury too early to replace the replacements who have become injured and then get injured again. It can be a vicious circle and it is no coincidence that it has not happened to Chelsea – they can rest and rotate at will, keeping everyone fresh. This is no slight on them – more a criticism of us for not investing enough in a strong squad.
Luck also plays a part – we have three left-backs who are not normally injury prone all crocked at the moment. Michael Essien gets injured and will not start playing football again until around when the African Nations Cup ends. The difference is that he’ll be nice and fresh and won’t have been worn down by playing in a big tournament. But such is life.
But anyway, I thought we were unfortunate against Bolton. We created a fair bit, couldn’t take our chances and got punished from a good cross and not brilliant defending. Football is a game of small margins and we were no worse yesterday than we were when we won at the Reebok in the FA Cup last season. But that day Freddie got an early chance and had the confidence to take it. At the moment we lack the belief and confidence in the marginal areas that can have big outcomes.
Of course, a little bit of belief and confidence won’t see us suddenly toppling Chelsea. But when it does return on the road, I’d expect that when we get one early goal we might give somebody a fairly good spanking. Finally, enjoy today’s Arsenalless FA Cup 5th round draw, these things don’t (and hopefully won’t) happen very often.
...
260106
Arsenal update: so much to talk about.
A few topics to address:
Wigan: Up front we had one of those nights and came up against an inspired goalkeeper. At the back we always looked like conceding and it was only a surprise it took so long. Sol and Senderos look rickety at the moment, with the former over weight, out of shape and mentally not with it. Regardless of pace, concentration alone should have been enough to have prevented the Wigan goal. We got what we deserved.
Bolton: I can’t help feeling Arsene is throwing in the towel before we’ve even kicked off. Of all the games in the season, Bolton away is when you need a positive attitude and a determination you will win. We sound like we’re going there expecting to get kicked (in both senses). On the other hand, it could all be a clever rouse by Wenger that will actually serve to inspire the players.
Whatever happens, we must compete. And I reckon that if we go hell for leather into everything then it could be Bolton who don’t know what to do. But don’t bet on it on present form.
Peter Hill-Wood: Again spilling all to his mate from the Star (is there a more unlikely double act in football?), the Chairman said about Henry’s contract offer: "I'm not going to say what the deal is, but it made me shudder. It's a lot of money." That sounds like bad news to me. Why come out with that if the deal is about to be wrapped up?
Peter Hill-Wood again: As the lunch (or pigeon shoot) Hill-Wood was on with his pal wore on (and perhaps as the brandy started flowing), he disclosed: “"What we've got is two or three players who are probably a year from not being good enough in the Champions League. Robert Pires, Freddie Ljungberg, Sol Campbell. Whether they have lost a yard of pace I don't know."
Two questions: 1) What the hell was he doing being so indiscreet? (I’m just guessing, but I’ve a hunch Arsene didn’t put him up to it. 2) Since when did he suddenly start talking sense about football? (And I mean that seriously.)
Thierry Henry: The skipper has been moaning about Tim Cahill’s role in Cesc’s sending-off. Some have told him to get over it and stop moaning, but frankly he is 110 per cent right. It was only the Aussie’s short stumpish legs that prevented him from taking Henry off his feet with a back of knee height sweep of the legs.
Something really has to be done to sort out this deliberate hacking that is now so prevalent. I am also a big fan of collective justice. If one team are just taking it in turns to perform yellow card worthy tackles on the opposition (and let’s face it they usually to take turns to target just one or two players), then the referee should just issue the third or fourth offender with a straight red and point towards the indiscretions of his colleagues. Why not?
...
230106
Sympathy for Wenger’s whinge but no excuses at Bolton.
The press don’t buy Arsene’s complaints about physicality, opposition managers don’t buy it and at the moment the fans don’t buy it either. I largely agree – we aren’t strong enough and far too many players don’t compete properly for enough fifty-fifty balls.
But watching the Everton game, it struck me that we have to acknowledge the difference between the opposition taking a physical approach and sheer, deliberate, uninhibited outright kicking. Before I move on to Everton’s sins, I should say I missed the first half-hour and so missed Lauren’s horror tackle. It would not surprise me if it were bad – he often makes shockers (eg on Ronaldo) and gets off with a yellow at worst.
But on to Everton. Beattie simply scythed down Pires on the half-hour. This was not legitimate bullying – it was sheer thuggery. A yellow card. After the break, Nuno Valente felt Reyes had pulled him back as the pair chased a ball down by the corner flag. When no foul was given, out of frustration he launched himself nowhere near the ball and straight at Reyes. Again, sheer deliberate thuggery. Again a yellow.
Then on 90 minutes we had Fabregas sent-off for pushing Cahill around the neck. By the book it was the correct decision and it was a stupid thing for the kid. But looking at the replay you saw Cahill had tried (and failed) to scythe Henry down so cynically that it reminded me of watching Diego Maradona being set-upon by mere mortals as his skill and pace tormented them.
Had I been Fabregas, I’d have been irate too. Three times they just simply tried to kick us like rag dolls. And every time you know that the worst the law will offer is a yellow card. Five years ago, what Fabregas did was far more common. But then video evidence was used against players when the referee missed their raised arm and a three-game ban was the result. We know that even if Fabregas’ fairly harmless shove to Cahill’s neck had been missed by the ref, he’d be up before the FA in an instant.
So now, the new currency is the cynical foul. The advantages are huge: You can be violent enough to do some real damage and let out all your frustration but rarely will a red card result. And you know you will never be labelled as a cynical cheat. Which if we’re honest, is actually what a deliberate attempt to simply take out the man is. So, much as we are currently way to under physical in how we compete for tackles, we should at least acknowledge where Wenger's frustration is legitimate.
But all that said, I was angry to hear Arsene say: "And I expect it to be the same next week at Bolton in the Cup, I invite you all to come and see a re-run of this game." It reeks of resignation before we’ve even set-off. Thuggery we are powerless against. But not physicality. If we get stuck in like we're actually well capable of then can then we can leave Bolton looking like the ones with no plan B. Sadly, I'm not betting on it happening.
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220106
Arsenal lose away: Insert away day template
Arsenal lost <==insert opposition score==>1 -0<==not a variable==> at <==insert team here==>Everton, their <==insert number here==>6th away defeat of the season.
They went down to a <==insert name of third rate opposition goalscorer==>James Beattie goal which was <==variable a) a once in a lifetime strike b) a defensive cock-up==>a defensive cock-up<==if option =a, end paragraph here, if option =b, continue==>from<==insert names of 6ft plus defenders who were outmuscled==>Sol Campbell and Phillipe Senderos<=/>. Arsenal created a couple of chances after the goal but they were spurned by Ljungberg<==not variable==>and<--insert name of other guilty party==>Fabregas.<=/>
<==Following paragraph must always be included and can not be altered in any way==>From then on we enjoyed large spells of possession but were guilty of faffing around on the edge of the box rather than getting men into it. Henry looked frustrated and moody up front, Pires was peripheral, Ljungberg below his best, Reyes more willing than most, Fabregas willing too but outmuscled and Gilberto too passive, let down by poor passing, poor tackling, too passive, not going into challenges hard enough and too passive. We brought on Alex Hleb but he only offered the same and it certainly wasn't width. If we're honest for all our possession we didn't create enough chances and can't really argue too much with the result. What we need is a new midfielder and new players who will offer us goals up front.<==end of static paragraph==>
Manually inserted extra points:
<==insert manual point one here==>We had so many players out in defence that our right back played left back, our reserve centre back played, our injured centre back played and debutant Kerrea Gilbert got a game too. And did very well in my opinion.<=/>
<==insert manual point two here==>The bit about new players in the static paragraph needs to be changed. We have signed three and saw one of them (Abou Diaby) for the last ten minutes. He's tall. Other than that it was hard to judge, though he looks more like a stone that needs smoothening rather than an already polished diamond. He also had a shot. From outside the box. First time. Which in this team, is worth noting.<=/>
<==insert manual point three here==>In a nod to the past we also saw the return of the frustrated Arsenal player earning themselves a red card for nothing very worth getting a red card for at all. It was Fabregas today who shoved Cahill over (which is yellow) but made the fatal mistake of placing his hand at or above Cahill's shoulder. (red)
Under the rules it was a red card, a stupid thing to do and was something I had been predicting for a while. On December 26th I wrote: "He (Fabregas) sometimes gets involved where it is not needed and is one of those ‘first on the scene’ players. I just wonder if it could come back to bite him at some point." If you saw today's game you'll agree I was fairly prophetic.
As I said, a stupid red card, but in defence of the player I think all his bravado is more a misplaced attempt to show he won't be intimidated on the pitch. He's still a teenager and though his football sometimes belies it, his hormonally driven determination to ‘ave sum is an apt reminder of his precociousness. A few crunching tackles would be far more useful than getting involved in silly stuff. But then again, teenagers learn from their elders and Gilberto is hardly setting an example on the crunching tackle front.
I'd also say that while I accept raising your hand will get you an automatic red card, I don't think it's unfair to ask: "Why?" Fabregas' gentle push could never, ever have caused injury to Cahill. Yet we offer no benefit of the doubt, contrary to incidents like the awful tackle on Reyes today down by the corner flag or even when Lauren sent Ronaldo into orbit three weeks ago (I missed the start of today's game but understand he had another tasty one). Surely they are more of a concern than a petulant shove to the face.
To be fair to the boy he has now apologised. And if you disagree with my analysis about the degrees of punishment, consider that he will serve a three game ban, while Essien got two for his assault on Didi Hamann. I sometimes wish the people who run football would just do something else. A long, long way away.
But I digress. There is far too much wrong with football's rules to go into it now. And the point is we were very, very poor. Wigan on Tuesday. I wonder which Arsenal we'll get.
<==end of template==>
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160106
Freddy Sheppard should make Sven Newcastle manager
Arsenal stuff will appear later.
Sven: “I have spoken with the players concerned today and I have been very pleased with their reaction and am confident my relationship with them has not been damaged in any way.”
Freddy Sheppard: “We have spoken with the player and he has confirmed he is happy at Newcastle United.”
How absurd Sven should reassure us, the fans, that his comments weren’t a problem because Owen and Beckham had said they were cool about it. As if they were ever going to turn round and say: “Stuff you, stuff my chance of playing in the World Cup and stuff the £300,000 bonus if I win it.” I think not. The fact is that whatever Sven has spouted about Beckham and Owen in particular, both know his presence is the sure fire way will always get in the team.
Of course, it is possible that Sven invented the stuff about Beckham and Owen in a bid to impress the fake Arabs who were so fervently stroking his whopping great financial ego. In which case one would expect Becks and Owen to be livid with their boss for lying, as opposed to just breaking confidences.
But irrespective of what the players really think, the reality is that Sven’s comments about what Owen said were probably true. In which case they were extraordinary. To believe that Newcastle are so overpaying Owen that even his jaw is dropping in astonishment exposes just how naïve and incompetent Sheppard (and Souness) are. I should declare an interest here: I can’t stand either, as I said in my piece on the Owen signing back in August.
My theory is that the one plus side to the top players becoming so rich so quickly is that before long they are so wealthy that for most an extra £10,000 a week just no longer holds the same appeal. With money no great issue, before signing a contract they must then contemplate factors that will sit far more comfortably with the fans who pay them. These include factors such as the quality of the manager and the running of the club. Call me naïve, but loyalty to the supporters could even play a part.
Put it this way: Dennis Bergkamp has been offered vastly reduced contracts by Arsenal for the past three years but has singed them in spite of there probably being somebody somewhere who would offer him far more than the approximately £14,000 he currently earns weekly. In his head, Dennis knows Arsenal is a good club.
Owen is probably not yet as rich as Dennis. But he’s probably still rich enough that an extra £10,000 a week (£500,000 a year) would be worth sacrificing if it meant being happy in the job. Yet Newcaslte are paying him sooooooooooo much and offering sooooooooooo many benefits that Owen (who earned a fortune in his previous jobs) sees it as mitigation for the fact he is at a club he has never really wanted to play for.
After all, the tale that a trio of Sheppard, Souness and Shearer had persuaded Owen St James’ was the footballing place to be always seemed somewhat fanciful. Owen had not wanted to come to the North East initially and his subsequent body language and words with Sven suggest very little changed after he signed. So really, all Sheppard had done was stun an incredibly rich footballer into financial submission.
As one commentator said last week, Sheppard attempted to steal the limelight from Shearer equalling Jackie Milburn’s goal record by hailing him as Newcastle’s greatest ever signing. It was a not so subtle suggestion that Geordies should raise a glass to Freddy for signing the cheque.
And here lies the problem: an obsession with money and ego. Sven and Sheppard would get on famously.
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1430106
Wenger fills important gaps
Everybody has known for weeks that we needed a new, powerful midfielder. Many hoped he’d be experienced too but I think any gripes about that are dwarfed by the fact Arsene Wenger has splashed the cash.
Emmanuel Adebayor may seem like a less obvious signing but I think Arsene has been quick to plug a widening hole. Of course, we’ve known for years that we’ve had a plethora of forwards but no strikers. But only recently has it started to matter. It used to take three years for us to notch up five premiership blanks but we’ve managed it five times in seven games now.
He’s being compared to Kanu and has been given the number 25 shirt. Crucially, what Kanu gave us in his good years was something completely different from the excellent but generic offerings one would expect from the rest of the well-drilled Wenger players. For a while, Arsene’s signings were seemingly becoming more and more in the image of how he would create his perfect player.
For example, Alex Hleb (in his good early season form rather than his recent post injury struggles) looked like the result of cross breeding Robert Pires and Freddie Ljungberg. He had the perception and ability to glide past players reminiscent of an on form Pires and all the scurrying qualities of Ljungberg. It was as though a salesman had knocked on Wenger’s door and rather than offering something completely new he was offering the two for the price of one Pirberg.
As I said, I like Hleb and think he has a lot to offer. But the point I’m making is that players have been getting more and more similar. Yet Adebayor appears to break that mould and therefore we should be grateful.
The other big news is that it seems Theo Walcott could follow Diaby and Adebayor. Both Arsenal and Southampton are denying anything has been concluded, but looking at Wenger in the press conference today he had the air of the cat that got the cream. And certainly he is talking far more openly about Walcott than one would expect were a possible deal a long way off.
The word is Arsenal is his preferred destination because of the opportunity to work alongside his idol Thierry Henry. Which is perhaps the first pay-off of Henry’s pledge of loyalty last week. It could also be that we have Henry’s wobble to thank for giving Arsene a little jolt to wake him from the perceived transfer lethargy many fans have lamented. Arsene also deserves credit for apparently beating Mourinho in the battle to sign Diaby. A small victory, but one worth taking.
Finally, the signings keep faith with Arsene’s seeming determination to build the league’s youngest side. Of our top 25 players (the accepted size of a squad), 12 are 22 or under with four of them making up 80 per cent of our midfield. We have now gone three and a half years since we signed an outfield player over 24. But these signings are good news - though we shouldn't be disapointed if they aren't instant hits in the way Vieira and Kanu did.
It’s Boro today and I’m at work during the game. So there will be no update after it.
Update: The Sun report the following Wenger quote, which could be real and intended, real but not intended or a slip by the paper: “We have signed three exciting prospects at very reasonable prices." They have also dropped an absolute clanger in their analysis of Arsene's signing of young players. They said: "Niccolo Galli, Guy Demel and William Huck were unknown when they arrived and remained anonymous until they left." Galli died in a motorbike crash in February 2001.
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100106
Striker anybody?
I'm just coming to the end of watching a tape of tonight's game with the rubbish bits fast forwarded (ie most of it). What strikes me is that we simply have to play a striker. I don't give a stuff if Reyes and Quincy are more senior than Lupoli and Bentender. We badly needed someone to hold the ball up but there was nobody there. It's stubborness from Wenger. We also seem to lack committment in the tackle sometimes, which is hard to accept. The results is not a good one: we failed to score an away goal, which means that if they do, we'll require three. It's gonna be tough.
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080106
Spurs aren’t on their way to Wembley
Childish, mindless, moronic baiting is not my thing. And baiting Spurs over the years has been like taking candy from a baby. So I don’t think Arsenal fans should be laughing about their defeat at Leicester. But, frankly, I’m going to anyway. Ha, ha, ha, ha. That feels good.
It was at 2-0 to Spurs after 40 minutes and with the away fans singing their famous cup final song I admit I thought I was watching a new Tottenham. They were calm and in control and for once making a first division side look just that. Oh well.
Anyway, our weekend was rather better. I’m working Saturdays ‘til the end of the season so missed the Cardiff game. But by all accounts it was your standard Arsenal v lower league side game at Highbury in that we made heavy weather of what should have been a relatively simple task before eventually going through.
Henry was the other big news. A few people have tried to put a spin on his words but to me they simply that so long as we offer him a decent contract and invest in a few decent new players, he will stay. Which must be a massive, massive relief and is, if we’re honest, a real coup for the club. Let’s hope he didn’t feel rushed into his decision by the speculation about phone calls to Barcelona. And let’s hope the investment we all crave arrives. Of course it is worrying when you see Chelsea, United and Liverpool all making moves before us. But we should remember that Reyes only arrived in late January so there is still time. Another question about Henry (as a friend pointed out) is whether the club will be prepared to break their one year at a time rule for over 30s and so only offer him a deal ‘til he’s 31. Let’s just pray Arsene is having none of those thoughts.
I’d also like to nail on the head the absurd, lazy assumption made by some journalists that Thierry Henry has somehow been a disappointment this season. In the Daily Mail, Matt Lawton cited Henry as Arsenal’s biggest disappointment (with Van Persie the major plus). Elsewhere, recent performances have seen his shrugs, scowls, flailing of the arms and lack of willing to enter some attacks put down as evidence of his anxiety. What tosh. It’s what he’s always done and is just how he is.
And for the record, he has scored 10 goals in 14 league games and 13 in 19 in total. It is proportionately almost identical to RVN’s 15 in 20 or 17 in 28. And while the stats say he has hit just one double in seven league games, he also hit the post twice against Bolton, again against Chelsea and again against Charlton. So a little perspective is called for.
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040106
Arsenal 0 United 0: Report from Highbury
I’ve seen a few match reports this morning and many seem to have subtly rolled every great moment from Arsenal v United over the past eight years into one game and then compared it favourably to what was on offer last night. I actually thought this was probably as high a quality a Arsenal v United contest Highbury has seen for quite a while. Whisper it in hushed tones, but the 2-2 draw in 03 and the 1-1 in 04 were poor affairs. And our performance last night was generally improved on last year.
This was the first time I had seen United at Highbury since the last 0-0 draw in 1995 and you easily forget what a brilliant arena Highbury is for the big night games. The atmosphere crackled behind the goals, stretching so far from both ends that even the West Upper seemed alive. Occasionally. Down on the touchline, the East Lower rose furiously at every United indiscretion. It might be Highbury’s last night like that. One to savour.
Surprisingly, it was the attackers who were found lacking. United couldn’t put away their second half chances and we could neither take ours nor commit the men forward like we should have nor get the obligatory penalty that we are always denied in games like these. It is now five blanks in seven for us, enough to make the ghosts of seasons past spin in their graves.
We were of course thwarted by the absence of Van Persie, a real goal threat. With Freddie also missing, it was the back five you would expect, Cesc, Gilberto, Hleb, Reyes and Henry. Individual performances were quite revealing. Henry, irrespective of Gallic pouts and refusal to get into the box, is clearly injured at the moment but is playing anyway. Hleb did ok but has lost confidence he had in the first few games that let him beat men and feed in really interesting balls.
For all the talk of the absence of Vieira, Gilberto had a good game – his positional sense in front of the back four was largely spot-on and barring a couple of errors, he was neat and tidy in the tackle. Next to him Fabregas was superb. That he tired later can easily be excused in an 18 year-old near present in central midfield this season.
On the right, Robert Pires improved in the second half. But sadly, he is a relic of a bygone era, a time when Arsenal were so good that wingers like Pires could shirk all their defensive duties because others would cover for them. Chelsea have raised the bar. The wingers are constantly tackling, closing down and working for the team when the ball is lost. Pires does not do that and is therefore a luxury. Perhaps the way he shirks anything defensive it is due to a legitimate fear of reinvoking past injuries, perhaps it is just laziness. But either way, a title winning team in 2005 can’t afford passengers like that.
The contrast with Jose Reyes could hardly be starker. Like Fabregas, Reyes plays as though it is the purple blood that pumps through his fragile frame. In the first half in particular, he was outstanding, his commitment no less than anything Keane or Vieira showed at their peak. It wasn’t just the fact that he gave Gary Neville a torrid time. It was the way he chased everything, panicked United and so, so crucially covered for Pascal Cygan. Top man.
Talking of Cygan, he played to the best of his abilities. He is no Baresi. But equally he is no slacker either. He even went to take a short corner with Henry. The others at the back did well and even though we could have conceded, it is a fourth clean sheet on the trot.
I was at Highbury and the atmosphere was fantastic and the game thrilling. Those who say otherwise have probably been spoilt by seeing too many games of this ilk in person. A draw was fair – United shaded the chances but both sides could have scored and didn’t. For me, the tackle on Fabregas was a penalty because though Neville got a toe to the ball, it was still in Fabregas’ possession when he scythed him down.
Let’s face it, we are a team in transition. We had eight fantastic years where we punched miles above our weight. But now a lack of spending (and a misjudgement in the transfer market) are catching up with us. Getting us back on top will not be easy. And a number of older players will fall by the wayside. Last night represented another failure to beat a top team. But the major positive we should take is that it was our two youngsters, in who Wenger has invested so much faith, who were Arsenal’s best players last night.
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020106
Arsenal v United: 2nd preview
So Gilberto is fit but Ljungberg and Van Persie are out. The latter is a big, big blow. It leaves us with just Henry and Reyes as the only players available to have netted more than twice in the league this season. And given our lack of goals that is a worry.
I suspect Gilberto will return. And if he does, let’s hope 2006 starts better than 2005 ended. He is not the world’s greatest midfielder but he is a far better player than his recent form and good enough to face United.
I wonder whether Van Persie and Ljungberg missing could prompt a change of plan from Wenger. Could we see Gilberto, Fabregas and Flamini all play? And could Henry then play as a loan striker, supported by Reyes on the left and either Hleb or preferably Pires (as long as he really tries) on the right? It would be a fairly radical departure from what we have seen this season but I just wonder whether it might be a good way of not being forced to play Bergkamp due to Van Persie’s absence.
It is also possible that Cesc could play on the right, Flamini and Gilberto in the middle and Reyes left, with Dennis and Henry up front. But to me it doesn’t sound so good. Of course, we could stick rigidly to our normal formation and play Dennis and Henry with Reyes and say Pires supporting. It has worked well in the past. The question would be whether it leaves us too open in the midfield.
Irrespective of our current predicament, the game will be one of the last great occasions at Highbury and the atmosphere should crackle suitably. The game is sure to be a fiery one and Fergie has already stoked the fire with his myopic review of United’s behaviour over the years. We need to make sure we keep our heads (here’s looking at you Cesc (and Jens obviously)), not just to save ourselves embarrassment but also so we stay focused.
Speaking following the first battle of Old Trafford on the 1991 end of season video, George Graham told his side: “You still gotta tackle, still got to close down. But lads, you must watch your behaviour.” How apt.
Whatever happens, what we mustn’t be left with at the end of the night is regrets. That means ensuring there are no stupid individual errors that cost goals. That means ensuring that if we get chances that we take them. And that means hoping the referee does his job and calls the big decisions correctly. And of course we need to think about how we contain the United threat and Rooney and Ronaldo in particular. But that is something that comes after the basics and too often this season it has been the basics that have let us down. Come on you Gunners!
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010106
Arsenal v United preview: who to play?
I was only able to see the second half against Villa so I’m in no position to say too much about the performance. However most accounts have been pretty negative. From what I saw, we were clearly conceding too much possession to Villa but at the same time I felt the individual errors so evident in the defeats at Bolton and Newcastle were not so evident.
However you look at it, the draw was hardly great preparation for the final league visit of Man United to Highbury on Tuesday night, particularly given them beating fat Sam’s lot 4-1. The game is a funny one because for seemingly the first time in yonks it is the attack who pose the greatest worry at the moment. We may have hit four against Pompey but December saw us fail to find the net in four out of six league games. A big worry.
For me, the well-documented problems in midfield are at least in part to blame. Drive from the midfield in Wenger’s Arsenal has always been essential. After all, how could it not be in a team that so deliberately shunned the long ball from defence straight through to attack? But we lack that drive, power, speed and athleticism we once had. The problem seems exacerbated whenever Hleb and Ljungberg get the nod on the wings because essentially, they are the slightly more attacking shadows of what is in the middle. Played with Fabregas and Flamini, we have a midfield of four physically unimposing players, none of whom have the blistering pace and drive Wenger’s sides are famed for.
Given that, I would definitely play Reyes against United. There is the risk he will be intimidated out of the game. But at the very least he should offer us some variety. On the right it is a tough call. I suspect Hleb will sit on the bench. Then it becomes a question of the gritty but limited Ljungberg or the big occasion but inconsistent Pires. Who knows.
I can see why some would plump for Dennis next to Henry because of the greater fluidity his presence tends to give us. But I would go for Van Persie. I sometimes think it goes unnoticed how capable Van Persie is of fashioning a goal from nothing. And that can be vital. Certainly, when he was taken off after 68 minutes at Villa it was as though we had lost one of our few goalscoring aces. Dennis may give you the odd goal but he is no longer able to conjure a goal all on his own like Van Persie can.
Other than that we need commitment all over the pitch and concentration. With Cygan suspended I wonder whether Arsene could throw in a surprise and play Eboue at left-back or perhaps Eboue right-back and Lauren left-back. Either way, I suspect he might be anxious to avoid what happened against Chelsea where the full-backs were both out of position and the central defence not the number one pairing.
Put mildly, we have been rubbish against big teams recently and it is true that we have not really beaten anybody that tough this season (though victory in Amsterdam was cool). You can be sure Fergie will have pinpointed our weaknesses and will look to exploit our flimsy midfield in particular. Another defeat would be a sickener and the task then really would be to scrape fourth place. Victory could be a great, short-term shot in the arm and a timely reminder that we can still do it.
On a level playing field, it will be tough. What we have to hope for is that the playing field is level and that the curse of bad refereeing decisions that have plagued some of our recent big games does not rear it’s ugly head again.
P.S.: Have just read Fergie's comments about us not being a big club and just remembered how much I hate United. And as for his claim that tickets to Highbury cost £72, Fergie is either lying or else his pal had presumably frequented a tout, given that the highest price for a single ticket is £54. The only other option is corporate hospitality, something United would never dream of indulging in. Indeed, everything I hate about them is now flooding back. For pride's sake, we have to win.
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281205
Arsenal 4 Portsmouth 0: Lovely stuff
My first visit of the season to Highbury. And some memorable goals to go with it. Granted, we weren’t brilliant throughout by any means and the midfiled (and Gilberto in particular) and Pascal Cygan are serious worries at the moment.
But the four goals were sweet. It is rare that you hear a commentator sounding genuinely excited by what he has seen, but listening to what Steve Wilson said on Match of the Day tonight it was clear he relished our return to the scoring of Arsenal goals like we did. The first was a peach – Flamini hustling and winning the ball in midfield. He sprayed it wide to Reyes, who completely slipped his man and fired in a great low ball that Dennis simply had to take first time. He did and he finished perfectly to put us 1-0 up.
The second was a fine ball from Toure down the right into Henry. He controlled well before feeding the onrushing Reyes who hit an absolute stonker of a left footed shot first time into the roof of the net. It was a tough effort – he had to come across the ball and had little of the net to aim for.
Then just as we were slowing-up, Flamini released Henry who rounded the keeper, took the ball pretty wide and then clipped in from a tight angle for his first in five games. His celebration was interesting. We’ve all heard the strong rumours about him leaving. But as he celebrated in front of the East lower he looked like a man perfectly at home in his surroundings.
Then when Pires got played in he slid the ball in for Reyes, who was flying in at full pelter. There was the most mininal of touches from the defender but the referee’s decision to give a penalty was the right one. Such was Reyes’ pace, only the slightest nudge was enough to deprive him of his clear goalscoring chance. Thankfully, the referee didn’t send the offender off – though technically he should have. Henry converted and we slowed up afterwards, preserving energy ahead of Villa away on Saturday.
Overall, it was a very positive night. The combination of Henry, Bergkamp, Pires and Reyes would be a disaster in away games. But against weaker opposition at Highbury they are potent – such as when we beat Villa 3-1 last season. Against Pompey, Bergkamp and Pires could do their things and looked good. Henry did his stuff and while to Arsenal fans he probably only had an average games, it’s worth remembering that to neutrals he is persistently sublime.
And Reyes followed up his good performance at Charlton with another excellent show. He scored one and set-up two and generally caused trouble. On form, he is a fine, fine player and to me he is one of those players who just want to see do well. Tonight’s goal was another example of his goalscoring versatility.
Credit too to Arsene. He is sometimes criticised for his team selections and substitutions. But in the past two games he has got things spot on, resting people who need resting and so far keeping the squad fresh looking in a tough period. Elsewhere, Kanu hit a superb brace to sink Spurs. Lovely stuff.
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261205
Charlton 0 Arsenal 1: Reyes has rocket put up him
A rocket up ‘im is a tired and usually ill used football analogy but perfectly apt for today’s game. Even by his own standards, Jsoe Reyes was peripheral in the first half (barring one flowing move that Freddie really should have scored). Indeed he was so bad that he was almost as bad as Pascal Cygan. And in the first half, that really was bad.
Then when Reyes emerged after the break it was as though the rocket we all know he has in him had been ignited. It was crazy stuff. He played like a winger, all wide and running like apparently that was wingers are supposed to do. It was like what happens in other teams. It was a joy to see and suddenly our attacking threat was almost doubled, with not everything having to go through Thierry Henry.
Of course, it was not just Reyes who got better. The whole performance was far improved and we dominated the game. Our reward came when Ljungberg played in Henry. His first effort was blocked and his second low shot hit the keeper and looped into the air.
The ball dropped on Reyes’ right foot just a couple of yards from goal. He volleyed home and we had our first league goal in a month. Lovely stuff. We continued to dominate, could have scored more and never looked like letting things slip after Danny Murphy was sent-off - his second yellow for throwing the ball down in frustration after a Bennett call. Stupid decision and one I hate to see – even when it benefits us.
On a side note, Cesc got a bit involved in that incident and was also guilty of a slightly dangerous (yellow card worthy) challenge that went unchecked. I love watching Fabregas and am only too happy to see him get stuck in. But he sometimes gets involved where it is not needed and is one of those ‘first on the scene’ players. I just wonder if it could come back to bite him at some point.
But back to the performance: we were much better in the second half but there was still a lot wrong. We lack suredness, Cygan is still at left-back and Cesc and Gilberto had their usual flaws exposed. I’d give the young Spaniard a well earned break for the Portsmouth game.
The bright spots in the game were the result, a far improved Sol Campbell performance and Reyes second half effort. It was great to see him at full pelter and a reminder of the massive potential he has. If I’m honest I’d half forgotten how good he can be. Seeing him tuck the ball home from two yards also offered a extra useful reminder to yours truly.
I stick by my assertion that Reyes is not a striker. But I forgot that on form, he can still be a goalscoring winger. And more to the point, we are talking about a player who can score every single kind of goal, which to me suggests real potentially as a 15 goal a season winger. Cast your mind back over the goals he has given us and you will see there is no trademark. Left footed, right footed, headed, spectacular, bundled in, tapped-in, first time, lengthy runs, one-on-ones, volleyed. They are all there. And in this generally gloomy time for the club, that is a pleasing thought.
Portsmouth on Wednesday. I’d rather not see Cygan at centre-back, would replace Fabregas with Flamini, make sure Reyes gets another chance to try to build some confidence and probably give Pires a run-out in place of Freddie too.
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21/12/05
Insane Blatter wants to make things even easier for Chelsea
The Chelsea match review is below this quick post. Sepp Blatter has said: "If a club can only have five foreigners among their starting 11, then they will have to build on their own youth system. If Chelsea were forced to have five foreigners then Roman Abramovich could not go on buying the best players across the world for exorbitant fees. Chelsea is the example of what should not happen."
The man is a lunatic. The problem at the moment is that Chelsea are snapping up the cream of English players for sums only Man United can even think about, irrespective of whether the player is of any use to them (Lampard) or not. (Wright-Philips).
Were this rule to come in, Chelsea would simply further dominate the English market, pushing up prices and further decimating those without money. Not only would we be forced to fill our team with six English also rans, we would also no longer be able to compensate for the vast gulf in finances as we currently do, by scouring the world for affordable top players.
Develop their youth system? Err, no. They would just spend more money. I am not having a go at Chelsea, but the fact is they would be most happy with these plans. As Arsenal fans, these insane ideas should worry us.
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19/12/05
Arsenal 0 Chelsea 2: It ain’t the end of the world.
So, league defeat at home to Chelsea for the first time in yonks. Painful? Disappointing? Frustrating? YES, YES, YES. But surprising? NO. In short, we learnt very, very little that we didn’t already know.
If we were to win, we had to be clinical with what chances we created and make sure we scored the first goal. Chelsea began well but for me the first two real opportunities were Arsenal ones and we did little wrong with them. Henry hit the post and then Van Persie swept home beautifully only to see the offside flag raised in error.
Not offside
It was a massive, massive decision. 1-0 to Arsenal and we would have had a completely different game. It was a wretched decision and I’m getting sick of wretched decisions in big games. Don’t get me wrong, at home against smaller sides the refs favour us. But in big games we seem to get little luck. At crucial times in both United league games last year and now against Chelsea. I’m not talking about flukes of performance – like when we beat United in the Cup Final or when Drogba scored against us earlier this season. I’m on about the crucial refereeing decisions, which, for whatever reason, seem to keep going against us in the big games.
Six minutes before half-time and Robben was as onside as Van Persie was and he too put the ball in the net smartly. This time the goal stood. While you languish in footballing depression mulling over this defeat, just consider how different things might have been had our goal stood and theirs not.
Red cards:
As for the non sending-offs: yes, Senderos probably should have gone (as Wenger acknowledged). But so too should Essien, who is anything but a marked man as Mourinho claims. I thought his elbow was probably correctly called a yellow. But it was just crass inconsistency that let him get away with a later foul on Van Persie that was identical to one Henry had been booked for about two minutes earlier. So on that front, honours even. (ps, question for UEFA: when did going in studs first near someone’s knee become a two rather than a three game ban?)
I thought we actually played quite well after we went behind. Chelsea 1-0 up are a nightmare to play against. Though we could have created a few more chances, we still fashioned some decent openings. They were dangerous on the break but that was always going to be so with us chasing the game. Cole took their second excellently after one of Lauren’s worst ever mistakes for the club. But to bash him is ridiculous. He is a first class foot soldier who is having a good season and hardly ever puts a foot wrong.
The Midfield:
The problem for us was very obviously in midfield. Aware that we would be outmuscled, we frequently tried to pass long straight from defence to attack. It was an unfamiliar approach that met with limited success. I’ve heard mutterings of disappointment about Cesc’s performance, but I’d point to what I said on Saturday about him being asked to do the wrong job. But the problem is not just a lack of muscle in central midfield. While we could once slot Edu in left and Parlour right, Freddie is now our most physically strong wide player, which says it all. And the pace that once characterised our middle line only lives on in the injured and inconsistent Jose Reyes.
This is, clearly, a very difficult time for the team. Our standards have slipped and for the first time we are staring into the abyss of finishing outside of the top two. But let us not get carried away. We went three barren years without any trophy between Wenger’s first and second titles. Things change and evolve. Of course we need reinforcements and the prospect of Henry leaving is daunting. But things are not all bad.
Hleb is having a far better first year than Pires did, Sol Campbell (in my opinion) will rise again and while they are not yet world beaters, there is genuine promise in our young players. Things change and evolve and for anyone who is feeling at all disillusioned with Arsene, just imagine how much worse every other manager would do with our resources. For one thing, I think if Mourinho took over at Highbury tomorrow, he’d struggle big time. But take Wenger to Stamford Bridge and I’d expect him to win Chelsea titles, which less we forget, is all Mourinho has managed for them so far.
Chelsea?
So, finally, what of Chelsea? Have they raised the bar? Incrementally at most. That they are so far ahead is in part because of their own consistency but more due to United and Arsenal’s recent decline. Are they any better than us in 2004 or United in their pomp? I’d say no way. So the challenge is for us to get back to what we have achieved before and then catching Chelsea will take care of itself.
The most well resourced squad ever in British football was very fortunately injury free enough to be able to choose their first choice eleven against us. We were missing three left-backs, a winger and had a midfielder harshly suspended. C’est la vie. What a sign of the times that of the eleven players fielded by Mourinho, ten cost £6 million plus, while John Terry was a shooting star long before the special one had even heard of him. Our side contained just three players bought for more than £3.5 million.
Overhauling them will be very tough, but is doable. And if there is one manager you’d choose for a club like ours – in transition and relatively cash strapped – you’d plump for Arsene Wenger over Jose Mourinho or anyone else any day of the week. Which is handy really.
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17/12/05
Arsenal v Chelsea preview: How good would Cesc look in Chelsea’s midfield?
A year and a week after his first start in an Arsenal shirt, Mathieu Flamini is likely to again come into the Arsenal side next to Cesc Fabregas for the visit of Chelsea. The prospect has left many fearful, but they did ok last year and I think they can do ok on Sunday. In a way, the prospect of having Fabregas and Flamini snapping like whippets around Essien and Lampard is preferable to having Gilberto in there. In his current poor form, we might risk the Brazilian just providing poor man’s version of what Makalele does so well for Chelsea.
The game is obviously going to be very tough and despite our impressive home form, Chelsea must be favourites. At Highbury the league results have been immaculate but the teams we have beaten have been nothing special and our performances only impressive in short, sporadic bursts. Still, I think we have the players who, on their game, can stop Chelsea from scoring. And I think we are capable of creating chances against them at Highbury. So, we are not without hope.
If we are to win, a likely key player will also be our youngest – Cesc Fabregas. Usually in hushed voices, some Arsenal followers have questioned whether he has the strength for the Premiership. They say both Vieira and Gilberto have struggled next to him. I refute that. As far as Vieira goes, he acknowledges openly in his book that he played much of last season with a very dodgy ankle.
And as for his partnership with Gilberto, I see the problem being that Fabregas has been unfairly forced to play the role of tough tackling midfielder. While the Brazilian may provide a positional wall, it is Cesc who on the whole is required to throw his still slender frame into the tough tackling.
For me, he has actually done it ok, but the point is that expecting him to excel as the enforcer is as preposterous as expecting Dennis Bergkamp to score 30 goals a season. It is not what either do. But imagine Cesc sat on the Chelsea bench for a game and replaced one of Essien, Makalele or Lampard at half-time. Whoever he came in for, I’d expect him to flourish, revelling in being able to concentrate on doing what he’s great at. He could also offer Chelsea the midfield subtlety and creativity they have occasionally lacked - such as in four scoreless encounters against Liverpool in the Champions League.
So if you see Cesc being out muscled on Sunday, take a look around and remember what he is being asked to do. However well he does it, here’s to the midfield beast/animal/enforcer we all pray Arsene will buy in the January sales.
Ps: there was a really good piece on Football365 this week pointing out that in quite a number of these games where Arsenal supposedly allow themselves to be bullied to defeat the more truthful explanation is that very poor refereeing has instead allowed teams to get away with what is simply illegal.
It pointed out the United game last season and more recently the Bolton game (where the referee just ignored Lehman being elbowed in the stomach and another guy who was already booked punching the ball in to the net all in one move) and Newcastle, where the fact is Alan Shearer got away with stuff that was far more plain illegal than any ‘on the edge’ bullying.
I’m not saying we don’t sometimes go soft (I think we do), but it does add some rationality to the whole debate.
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12/12/05
Newcastle 1 Arsenal 0: Same problems, same lack of solutions
A week ago I penned a massive post Bolton post mortem. (Computer problems mean it has only just gone online - see below). Almost everything I said then applied to today’s match so I’m not going to go over the same ground in massive depth after today. For me there are a few points for why we lost:
1) We left our shooting boots at home. I’m hardly in a position to tell Thierry Henry how to score. He had the chances in the first half and didn’t take them. It was one of those things, as was Van Persie mis-kicking later.
2) We are still hideously under strength in the centre. Gilberto is playing crap, yet we have no other option. We need an animal in there (Gilberto, Cesc, Hleb and Freddie is hardly physically intimidating.) Yet we have no animal to bring in.
3) Dermot Gallagher was a total wanker today. (And yes, I know we get the run of the mill sometimes and did so against Newcastle on the first day of the season). That not withstanding, on a technicality sending-off Gilberto was justifiable. But as I remember they were the only free-kicks he gave away all day. And neither were dangerous tackles. They were the tackles of a player who is out of form and off the pace. Were they so bad he needed to be excluded from the pitch? Definitely not.
Compare the approach to Gilberto to how Gallagher treated Shearer and other Newcastle players. Shearer was given a free reign to elbow, foul (including one shocker in front of the referee), knowingly kick so high that knew he would hit Lauren, kick the ball away and delay kick-offs by standing in our half. It took 89 minutes for him to get booked. All this matters because while Newcastle (as is their right) adopted a very physical approach they were able to do so because Gallagher was being so lenient. Once a player has been booked they have to temper their approach, knowing that one more significant error will be the end for them. Gallagher patently failed on that part. Apparently this is his final year. On this showing, good riddance.
But overall there is no escaping the fact we have big problems away from home. The defence could do with some better drilling but overall they did fairly well today. And though the goal came from our left, Lauren looks infinitely better at left-back than Cygan. And up front I think we look fairly strong. We have drawn three blanks on the run but prior to then had looked dangerous. With a bit of luck, Henry could have had two at Bolton and Van Persie one. And the same can be said today.
The problem for me is midfield. In the middle we are enormously weak. It would be nice if we could give 18 year-old Cesc a break but there’s fat chance of that at the moment. And though Hleb helps, we lack defensively able players on the wings: Freddie is either a bit injured or out of form at the moment. Yet still he plays 90 minutes every game.
The thing is that Chelsea probably have as many midfielders and forwards out of form as we do. Crespo, Duff, Robben, Wright-Philips and arguably Drogba and Gudjohnsen are hardly setting the world on fire at the moment. Of course, we can hardly hope to have their strength in depth. But equally, we can expect far more of our current resources in the middle.
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04/12/05
Just what is Arsene playing at?
I spoke to a season ticket holding friend last night who for some weeks has said his confidence in the boss is waning. I don’t necessarily agree, but what follows are some of his concerns and some I have too. What do you think?
Arsene can moan about player commitment but to us Bolton yesterday was simply the epitome of what we feared at the beginning of the season, the inevitable result of Arsenal’s very own corporate restructuring. So as the squad has been trimmed and thinned out, those that are left are more comfortable than ever in their positions and what would normally be the responsibility of experienced team members is being carried out by talented, but as yet unproven, upstarts.
At Bolton Henry and Van Persie were the right choice. But even Tony Adams (who generally seems to not know that much about tactics) has been pointing out for years that Ljungberg and Pires won’t work at places like Bolton. Admittedly, Alex Hleb is injured.
But in central midfield Wenger is guilty of discarding our two most aggressive midfielders as if we have somehow had too many of them. It is blatantly clear that neither Fabregas, Gilberto nor Flamini have the animal instincts that seem to be present in the heart of every top side. It is also true that talented as the first two are, Gilberto is not and Cesc is not yet good enough that their places in the starting line-up should be completely unquestioned and unthreatened. How Arsene could go out at the start of this season and rightly deciding he needs a fourth central midfielder plump for a 17 year old (Alex Song) to complement his 18 and 21 year-olds is beyond me. Principles and only buying the right player is admirable, but not when it means no player.
And if the case in midfield is one of transfer bloody mindedness then the case at left-back is one of tactical bloody mindedness. With no personal insult intended to the man, I can’t remember a single player in Arsene Wenger’s reign enjoy a run in the side and look more out of his depth when doing so than Pascal Cygan at left-back. Even when he does something right, 90% of the time it means he hasn’t cocked it up. His abilities are simply so limited there, it was no wonder Bolton almost encouraged Jens to throw him the ball. Leaving aside the defending, you would have to say he offers nothing to the attack either. It is as though we have become numb down part of our left side.
For Arsene to come out last week and say he brought on Lauren at left-back for the last half hour in Thun to see if he could play there just encapsulates the problem. As you and I well know, Lauren would be miles better playing there, as would Toure, as would Eboue, as might Senderos and as might even Flamini.
They say there is no point buying for the sake of it, but there is also no point not buying for the sake of it. And Alex Hleb is the ONLY outfield and vaguely proven player over 21 who has arrived at Highbury in nearly three and a half years! That is extraordinary! We all know (and largely admire) Arsene’s determination to challenge Chelsea’s exorbitant spending by unearthing and polishing gems, but it is almost as if what Chelsea do is dictating what we do. By this I mean the more they spend the less we seem to spend. And yet the fact is that any title win would count as a great overcoming of the odds, even if we spent £20 million a year.
On that note, there is nothing wrong with stripping out a few luxuries (eg Kanu and Wiltord) to give younger players a chance. But you can’t start getting rid of the bare essentials. And at the moment you can argue we have no competition in goal, where Wenger’s signings there are slowly becoming more bizarre and obscure (witness Shabaan, Warmuz, Almunia and now Poom). We have two good centre backs (one of whom is off his game), a still very young pretender (Senderos) and another who ain’t up to it. Four years ago we had an (admittedly aging) Adams, Keown, Campbell, Upson, Grimandi (better than Cygan) and Oleg Lhuzny (probably better than Cygan).
I hardly need to go into central midfield. A comparison with last year simply says it all. On the wings, as I suggested earlier, there is fair attacking cover. The problem though is that when we want to plump for someone more defensive on the right we end up having to move Fabregas, where as two years ago we would have simply slotted Edu in, leaving Vieira and Gilberto intact in the centre.
And at up front, it seems to have taken ages to a) figure out Reyes is a winger and b) develop a successor to Dennis. Discounting Reyes, we have just three forwards – a footballing god, a youngster still making his mark and a man who is rapidly going over the hill. Think back to 1999 and look at the perfect balance we enjoyed: an in form Kanu, Dennis around his prime, a raw (but still 25 goal) Thierry Henry and Davor Suker, who was used as and when it pleased. Sadly, our current paucity of forwards meant that after 70 minutes we were calling for Dennis yesterday, even though all and sundry could surely see it was not the time or place for his services. And quite why on earth Robin Van Persie was withdrawn I don’t know. Simple maths says Van Persie’s goal threat is far higher than Dennis or Reyes.
All in all, there seems to be a great sense of bafflement. We expect managers to be a little mad, but more and more often we seem to be shrugging our shoulders and explain something away as Arsene just being Arsene. But it doesn’t add up. We might not like seeing Chelsea above us but always knew their spending would make it probable. But it’s hard to accept when we seem to be shooting ourselves in the foot so readily. Even Spurs have about seven midfielders better than our fourth choice.
And what is so galling is that actually we are not very far at all from being bloody good. With the exception of Cygan, every player in our squad is Arsenal quality and very many are worthy week in week out starters too. But they need reinforcements. With these reinforcements, we wouldn’t have to shunt Freddie back into the side when he doesn’t look ready. We would be able to pick the players who are physically at their peak and rest others when they tire a little. Which is what Mourinho does and explains why Cole, Duff, Robben and Wright-Philips always look so chirpy.
So what do we need? A hungry, improving goalkeeper who will in a few years succeed Jens. A half decent centre back who is solid if nothing else. An established beast in central midfield. Perhaps a young, as yet unproven beast, for when the big beast is suspended. A Davor Suker like signing – someone who will offer goals when they play but whose presence will not hold Van Persie back. And as the Dutchman becomes established, someone to fill Van Persie’s current role of young pretender – Arturo Lupoli would seem the obvious choice.
That is five signings. But only two (the beast and the goal scorer) would initially be pivotal ones. Those five, combined with our ever improving youngsters, could make a real squad. At the moment it is not just that Chelsea are so far ahead in the table, it is that we are in with the likes of Spurs, Bolton and Wigan. Squad wise, we will never be as big or strong at Chelsea. But at a certain point it starts to matter less and less until it becomes almost immaterial. We need to plug the holes so we can get to that point.
And finally, what are the rewards? We already have a really good crop of players. Arsenal may not be ahead of the chasing pack but it is still true that the vast majority of our current crop would walk into any Premiership team other than Chelsea and Man U in some cases. With the right moves in the transfer market we could perhaps hope to persuade not just the brilliant Ashley Cole to stay at Highbury but also Thierry Henry, one of the great players of this generation. Whether he stays or goes could tell us so much about where Arsenal are headed.
I may be wrong, but I struggle to believe Henry (settled in London with a wife and new born) would have any inclination to leave a flourishing Arsenal in a new stadium who have the tools to seriously fight Chelsea for the league and to capture the Champions League. I suspect he fears the same things we fear and he needs the same reassurances.
He is 28 and I suspect he knows he has half a chance not to just be known as a great of his time, but to etch his name as one of the great players of any generation. To become that great he probably still needs a mix of international success at his prime (he was not yet a great player in 1998 or 2000) and success with a club in Europe.
On the international stage, Henry’s options are obviously limited because he can’t change countries. On the club stage, whether he feels able to achieve it at Highbury may well depend on just what Arsene is playing at.
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27/11/05
Arsenal 3 Blackburn 0: Attack good, defence not so good
I only saw the BBC highlights of yesterday’s game, so it would be wrong to go into too much depth. But three things were quite obvious from watching it:
Our defence is making too many Premiership standard strike forces look like world beaters. And with all due respect to the man, it is my belief that rightly or wrongly, the presence of Pascal Cygan is a massive factor.
A couple of reports I have read suggested he was not personally so bad yesterday, but the problem goes beyond his individual performances. It is the effect he has on the team.
Exactly a year and a week ago I wrote: “Pascal Cygan is no Baresi, but he’s not an awful player either. But at the moment his presence is having a devastating effect on our play. The rest of the team doesn’t trust neither him nor Jens Lehman and the effect is reverberating through our side.” A week later Jens played his last league game until February and has not looked back since his recall. I added at the end of the article: “Cygan has to be dropped for the sake of the team.”
And the same must happen now. Arseblogger was entirely correct yesterday to point to Wenger’s apparent blind spot over Cygan. Far be it for faceless internet bloggers to tell him how to manage Arsenal, but the clamour from fans appears so universal that surely these feelings need articulating.
2) The second point is that we are obviously playing some very nice attacking stuff at the moment. Not all the time, but we are cranking up the pressure when it matters. Much as Blackburn perhaps deserved a goal or even two, the fact is we created three perfectly executed ones and could have had more.
3 ) Some players have such outrageous talent that you can forgive them being idiots on occasion. Robbie Savage is not one such player. Arseblogger aptly summed him up as a “cheating, conman, fairy, nancy, fraud, flimflammer, obnoxious wanky cunt.”
I would add one word to that description: twerp, defined in the dictionary as a person regarded as not just contemptible but insignificant too.
Just before I finish I’d like to pre-empt a couple of things that will happen this week. The first is that a certain journalist will twist the Savage incident to bring up every misdemeanour ever committed by an Arsenal player. The second is that we are going to have to listen to unrivalled levels of crap spout from the mouth of Sam Allardyce this week ahead of our visit to the Reebok next Saturday. If they beat Fulham today they will be level with us going into the game.
On that note, there was an interesting (and unmalicious) remark made about George Best this week. It was said that Best frequently mentioned how Pele had called him the world’s greatest, yet Pele never needed to do the opposite. Sam Allardyce loves to tell us how brilliantly he has done at Bolton on such limited resources, yet Arsene Wenger...
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I didn't see the Thun game, I'm flying during the Blackburn game and the Reading game is not on TV. But I'll probably post one or two more general updates before the Bolton game.
20/11/05
Wigan 2 Arsenal 3: Should the new midfielder be a partner for Cesc rather than Silva?
In a nutshell: We took control through goals from Van Persie (good turn, run, fierce shot, bad goalkeeping) and Henry (lovely slid finish from Cesc pass at end of flowing move). They pulled one back through shambolic defending. Henry netted a scorcher of a free kick. They pulled another back through shambolice defending. We won despite defending shockingly.
Analysis: It was very easy last season to say how much we were missing the Gilberto "wall" during his absence. And perhaps it was true. But on recent performances, Berlin's got a stronger wall than the one our Brazilian offers. Against Wigan he was, to put it mildly, shite. He didn't go forward, he didn't pass well, he dallied on the ball, he made absurd attempts to intercept that only put us in deeper trouble and he failed to get off the ground for headers. (Witness first goal). In short, he was oh so passive.
Next to him, Cesc Fabregas was a model pro. He ran tirelessly, he won tackles, he broke up play, he positioned himself well and he supported the attack right up until the last minute. Sure, not everything came off, but the way I see it this new midfielder we all agree we need should more likely be a partner for Cesc than for Gilberto.
Behind the pair, things were just totally terrible. Credit to Wigan, honest team, hard working, deceptively skillful for a rugby league town all those other cliches. But the fact is Sol Campbell offered justification for Sven picking Rio ahead of him (yes he was that bad), Jens' kicking was crap, Lauren's general defending was poor and Toure's little better.
To their left was Pascal Cygan. The nicest thing I can say is that words fail me to describe his performance.
I'm not one for having a go at individuals just for the sake of it and it is true that in the end, we got a very welcome three points. But a spoon should be called a spoon and today our defending was chaotic.
Up front, it seems Van Persie may possibly have finally got the nod over Dennis, at long last. He played well, the returning Freddie worked hard but was not at full throttle, Pires put in a committed performance which didn't once involve me screaming at him for ducking a tackle and Henry once again made everything look too easy.
One final thought, much as I can't stand his self righteous, self important, status as a "real" player, and much as there is between no chance and 0% chance of Arsene going for him, you kinda have to admit Roy Keane could fill a gap.
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15/11/05
Arsenal playing before Chelsea form, European form and Vieira book form
A few brief thoughts as we wait for the Premiership to restart.
The first is that the fixture list is currently conspiring quite often to let us play our weekend game before Chelsea. I pointed out last season that while our results are largely unaffected by whether we play before, at the same time or after Chelsea, their's suffered last season when they played after us. And based purely on very anecdotal evidence, the same has been true this season. So we need to take advantage at Wigan on Saturday.
Secondly, this whole assumption that because Liverpool won the Champions League while being crap in the league, the same will happen to us seems bizarre. Last season was largely an anomoly. What nobody seems to have mentioned is that since defeat in Moscow over two years ago, we have a healthy European record that reads: P19 W12 D5 L2.
Finally, there is a piece in today's Times that takes 600 odd words to correctly say: Patrick Vieira hypocritically forgets his own diving when he lambasts Wayne Rooney and Ruud Van Nistelrooy as cheats.
But that is not all the piece says. In fact it reads strangely like a diktat handed down from Old Trafford to a friendly journalist much in the way United employed the same policy with the same friendly journalists after the battle of the buffet.
There was no way Vieira was going to ignore either Rooney or RVN in his book. And the fact is that Rooney DID cheat exactly as described and Van Nistelrooy WAS guilty of consistent violence that went unpunished against Arsenal. Whatever, Vieira's personal myopia, to suggest that the two United players are somehow worthy of apologies for what is correcly identified as shabby behaviour when Vieira does it, is just absurd.
And while I appreciate accuracy matters little when there is an axe there to be ground, the description of the Nicky Butt incident is just patently wrong. Contrary to what is written, it was a straight red card and not a second yellow. Secondly, there was never the slightest suggestion Vieira had dived. Thirdly, the decision to send Butt off was one based purely on the positioning of the incident near to the goal and not on the severity of the tackle or Vieira's reaction to it (there was no doubt it was a foul). Fourthly, all Alex Ferguson and anyone else was moaning about was the referee's decision to treat the incident as a goal scoring chance and thus issue red.
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10/11/05
International week update
My apologies for the lack of recent updates. The laptop appears to have died and enjoyable as this site is, staying late at work to update it is just not that appetising.
Anyway, things have gone pretty well since the Spurs game. There is not a lot to say about Sparta and Sunderland. We needed victories and we got victories. We didn't over exert ourselves but then we didn't need to. I'm still of the theory that we look far better when playas play in their natural positions and I think that was fairly obvious watching the Sunderland game. In midfield the mix was good, with the wall-like Gilberto and the more enterprising Fabregas, Reyes and Pires both looked comfortable out on the wings and up front we had a good mix of a forward/striker (what can you call Henry?) and a striker.
I don't think Chelsea were unlucky at Old Trafford because ultimately they didn't do enough. But I do think United can count themselves fortunate. Some of their defensive play was wretched - incredibly nervous and very deep. But they got away with it. People are asking whether they will collapse like we did. I don't think they will but nor do I think that the issue really. If someone does catch them I expect it to be by a process of small erosion rather than one big wave. So, for example, if they have a tricky away game that they draw others might take advantage with easy home wins. And of course if we win our game in hand and manage to beat the Blues at Highbury then the gap is only five points anyway. I'm not saying we will do it, just saying how I think they could be caught.
As Myles Palmer pointed out on ANR, the four league games before Chelsea are vital. Contrary to what he said, they actually read: Wigan (A), Blackburn (H), Bolton (A), Newcastle (A). We need to be looking for a minimum of ten points from the four of them and ideally twelve.
Not much else to say, except that I'm away for two weeks from Saturday, so there is a fair chance I won't update after the Wigan, Thun and Blackburn games (the last of which I will definitely miss as I will be in the air for it).
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01/11/05
Players in position works at Spurs
Arsene's decision to shore up the side with an extra midfielder was well intentioned and a welcome departure from the gung-ho approach that cost us so badly at Munich last season. But injuries and lack of squad depth meant that to do it we had Freddie playing out of position on the left, Cesc out of position on the right and our first choice central midfielders not in place. Add the fact we were playing with two forwards but no strikers, and it is obvious why we struggled. When Pires came on, suddenly we had him, Freddie and Cesc all where they should be. And when Van Persie came on, Reyes was on the left wing (which for me is his best spot), Pires was on the right (in a position he has played and done well in) and we had a good balance of a forward and a striker up front.
But I also wonder whether perhaps Arsene imagined the first half going as it did, while obviously hoping we would not concede. Spurs, confidence bolstered by their own good form and our lack of it, were always going to come out on fire. I wonder whether it was Arsene's plan to draw to try to draw their sting (keeping it at 0-0) and then introduce Pires and pounce on them as they tired. In the event, the problems of the first half called for Pires earlier than expected, but I expect it was probably always the plan that he would play a key role.
I don't think there can be any doubt we deserved the draw. Granted, Spurs dominated the first half (even if I only remember Jens having to save from his near namesake Jenas). But we dominated the second right from the off in my opinion. Sure, chances did not immediately come, but we did a good job of grinding them down and tiring them out and in the end Van Persie had about three good chances, Reyes had one, Pires had one and Pires scored. So for me, while our equaliser doesn't suit the grand theories of the pundits, it was well deserved. And to come back from behind against the likes of Spurs away never has been and is certainly not now something to be snorted at.
A couple of things have struck me. The first is that the idea of us being a one man (Henry) team is absurd. But it is true that we still haven't yet brought in someone who we can say is a sufficiently good deputy for him. Don't get me wrong, they don't need to be the same type of player, just a good enough alternative. Hopefully Van Persie can be. I'm also intruiged to see who replaces Dennis in the summer (or before?)
The second point is that the cover issue is not one of Chelsea's being excellent and ours adequate. In fact, our's is inadequate. Midfield reinforcements are a must (so that when we switch things around everyone is not pulled out of position like against Spurs) and so too are a buy each in defence and attack I guess. Bringing in those three players will not give us as excellently backed-up a squad as Chelsea's but I question whether their level of protection is really necessary. While they will always have all 11 positions perfectly filled, if we only have 9 or 10 it probably won't all that much difference in the end. It is when your side is so inbalanced (like against Spurs) that I think it becomes a big problem.
Thought for the day: When was Jens' last mistake?
Updating is a bit fraught at the moment due to a comatose laptop, so sorry for that. In the meantime we have Sparta and Sunderland at home. The latter of which is a must, must, must win game because either Chelsea, United or both will drop points next weekend.
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24/10/05
What story lies behind 'that' penalty?
This is a long post; it’s been that kind of weekend.
I’m now on my third school of thought about what happened and more confused than I was to start with. At first I simply wondered how they could be so stupid at such a crucial point in such a crucial match. Did they realise how agonising it was for the fans? Then I wondered whether these two great artists who have brought us both silverware and exquisite football had endured one of those once in a career cock-ups, the like of which every great band have had with that one appalling single and every great director has had with one shocking film. Should we simply forgive and forget and laugh it off as one bizarre and fortunately uncostly cock-up?
But now I wonder: was it symptomatic of a greater malaise? Could it be that whilst we as fans still yearn desperately to win the European Cup and to catch Chelsea, Pires and Henry see the first as impossible and the second as highly improbable and in any case offering only a reward that would emulate, rather than surpass previous achievements? Do they still have the same drive to succeed for Arsenal? Would Frank Lampard even consider doing anything other than burying the ball from the spot, irrespective of the score? And if the three points were as vital for them as they were for us, how could they contemplate even trying that penalty?
I realise the above paragraph could easily be interpreted as me saying they don’t care. I am definitely not saying that. For a start I am saying the above insinuations are true and in any case, if there has been any loss of drive, I would suggest it has been almost entirely subconscious and in no way deliberate. But whichever way you look at it, I think the above are fair questions that should be asked if we are to understand why such a monumental fuck-up occurred.
And just sticking with penalties for a moment, I’m delighted to see that Thierry Henry says he will be taking them all from now on. It had become absolutely farcical. Not only did we have our top marksman refusing to take penalties he had won for absolutely no obvious reason whatsoever. We also had Dennis refusing to take them following his miss against United over six years ago! Fear of flying is one thing, but a phobia of penalties is another and you get the feeling that in any other walk of life Dennis would have been told to pull himself together and just do it. And to think that yesterday it had got to the stage where we were passing them to each other. Incredible.
Which is also what can be said for getting two penalties off Mike Riley. I haven’t seen any replays of the second one, while the first one could have gone either way. But I will just say that analysing these things in super slow motion is pointless because football is not played in super slow motion. Slowing the play down will always make it look like the attacker has deliberately let himself be fouled. It distorts reality.
At last, the game. Firstly, City were very well organised and are a genuinely decent side. So a win is good. But we’re struggling. A fair part of the problem can be summarised in six words: Flamini, Gilberto, Cesc, Lampard, Essien, Makalele. Our players are good, but we lack a monster in there like Chelsea have and it tells. Eight other words also explain a lot: Van Persie, Senderos, Quincy, Eboue, Robben, Crespo, Gudjohnsen, Ferreira. Arsene didn’t make a single sub. Mourinho introduced first Gudjohnsen, then Robben and then Crespo, all about ten minutes apart. Of course, they didn’t win. But the contrast could not have been bigger.
Arsene is not an idiot: his public buoyancy and confidence in the strength of the squad is surely just a charade that he is obliged to show in an effort to maintain moral. But at heart it must be obvious to him just how blatantly we need to splash the cash.
I’ll finish by saying that Pires and Henry were right to apologise. And that Spurs away is the perfect time to make-up for things by putting in a committed, impassioned performance. And it’s vital they do, because if we’re as slack at White Hart Lane this time as we have been recently, then this time we will lose. And nobody wants that.
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20/10/05
Why Henry's goal at Upton Park was his greatest ever
In the world of footballing top tens, there surely can’t be a more enjoyable experience than picking Thierry Henry’s best goals. I can’t honestly claim to have seen enough of Pele and Maradona to properly judge them. But my suspicion is that if a montage of Thierry Henry goals were shown next to montages of the Brazilian and Argentinian’s best strikes, Henry would not look out of place.
So, at 10…
Chelsea (h) 12/04. At kick-off people said their defence was the immovable object and Thierry Henry didn’t score in big games. Thirty seconds later he had pinged in an unstoppable shot from the edge of the box, leaving Cech rooted to the spot.
at 9…
Bayern Munich (h) 03/05. A strange choice for some perhaps, but for me another brilliant goal against an immovable object. Bayern may have been a defensive shambles in the next round at Chelsea but against us they were tighter than something incredibly tight. After 70 odd minutes, Henry controlled a long ball on the left from Cole, brought it down and hit it instantly across Oliver Khan with complete precision. It was a perfectly executed goal. And it had to be.
At 8…
Manchester City (h) 01/04. This one is also representing the swerver against United later that season. Against City, I was in the North Bank and saw just how much his shot seemed to swerve and yet keep completely straight like an arrow. David James didn’t have a prayer.
At 7…
Sparta Prague (a) 10/05. A very late entrant but very deserving of it’s place. On for six minutes, he controlled the ball on the outside of his foot, swung his whole body through 360 degrees and then fired in a bending shot that beat the goalkeeper in the only part of the net it could have. Almost arrogantly brilliant.
At 6…
Inter Milan (a) 11/03. Broke out from defence, looked to be going nowhere and then made Javier Zanetti look amateurish before slamming home with the left foot. A brilliant goal and the crucial third in a 5-1 win.
At 5…
Spurs (h) 11/02. Very, very special run. He took them all on, cut inside and finished brilliantly. Then he celebrated in serious style in front of the west stand. Magnificent.
At 4…
Charlton (h) 10/04. So good it completely bamboozled the cameraman. I watched this game in a pub in London with one of those dodgy satellites. The commentary was in a foreign language, music was playing in the bar and a lot of people were only half watching. The camera was focused in on Henry as he held the ball with his back to goal about six yards out. Then he backheeled the ball and suddenly wheeled away in delight. The pub was genuinely stunned. Those of us who realised what must have happened looked on in disbelief. When they showed a replay from another angle the reaction from the rest of the pub was one of sheer incredulity. And the more they showed it the more disbelieving the reactions. It didn’t really matter what happened in the rest of the game.
At 3…
Liverpool (h) 04/04. No doubt you’ve heard people say how important this goal was in us winning the title. It was. I was at Highbury that day and 2-1 down at half time there was some serious cigarette smoking going on in the north bank. Within a minute we had equalised thanks to Freddie Ljungberg. But after equalising once and then going behind again, a fair few people feared things were turning against us and we would do it again.
Then Henry picked the ball up on the left. He jinked in, took on a couple of defenders and simply by his presence created sheer panic in the Liverpool defence. So much so that Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher knocked in to each other and fell to the ground comically. Suddenly Henry was through and he finished coolly. The north bank erupted. People who had not lost it since Ray Parlour scored against Valencia found themselves jumping out of their seats. A massive, massive goal and sheer brilliance bore in part out of the complete panic his presence can induce.
At 2…
Manchester United (h) 10/00. Unreal goal. Fed by Grimandi miles out, he chipped it up, spun Gary Neville and in one fired in a volley that dipped and swerved over Barthez into the far corner. Watching at home, all I saw was the ball leave his foot. I thought it was going miles over. Then the Clock End went mad. I had lost the ball in the air. Eventually, I was persuaded it had gone in but was convinced it could only have had it taken the most massive of deflections. Then I saw the replay. One of the goals of goals.
At 1…
West Ham (a) 08/02. You may think this a weird choice. I say the beauty of it has never fully been recognised. Now, don’t get me wrong: were this goal being judged purely on Henry controlling the ball on his knee and hitting an absolute bullet past David James from 30 yards, it would not be anywhere near number one, however great a finish it was. It is the first touch that does it and it is a touch which in my opinion defies the physics of football.
He receives the ball on the right edge of the penalty area from a Vieira pass. He has his back to goal. It is played firmly in to his left foot. Then he takes the crucial touch, which I will come back to in a minute. When he next touches it he has spun 180 degrees so that he is now facing diagonally to goal. His defender has been left bamboozled. The ball lands on what is now Henry’s right knee. Think about what he did with that touch: he took a ball that was coming into his feet and with one touch he looped it up in to the air with his foot. When it fell it was still, incredibly, travelling in the original direction. But he didn’t just lob it into the air, which would have been hard enough.
Instead, he met the ball purposefully with the right hand side of his left boot and somehow spun (not hooked as would have been the case had he used the left hand side of the boot) the ball up in to the air up and over his defender’s head. Had Brazil done it in 1970 I genuinely believe it would be replayed continuously now. Do whatever you can to get a copy of the video and watch that touch because 250 words of mine have failed to do it justice.
And it is for that reason that West Ham away was Thierry Henry’s best Arsenal goal and potentially the greatest I have ever seen.
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19/10/05
Sparta 0 Arsenal 2: Match report, playa ratings and Henry worshipping
The formalities first, then the Henry stuff: Cygan replaced Senderos who had replaced Campbell and Cygan continued in place of the injured Cole. Gilberto returned in midfield in place of Cesc who replaced the injured Ljungberg. The returning Van Persie replaced Bergkamp (something to do with a fear of flying).
We started well, with Cesc having a shot and some promising attacks. Then Reyes went off injured and Arsene went for the brave option of risking Thierry Henry for 70 minutes. Within two minutes he had chested the ball down on the edge of the box and fired what looked like a beaut of a volley that was deflected wide. Then he brought down a through ball from Kolo, spun on the edge of the box and hit the most belle of bending shots with the outside of his right foot. Great goal.
We didn’t do much else for the rest of the half and started the second somewhat sluggishly. Then on 65 we started playing again and within five minutes Pires? had played Henry in with a beautiful ball. He controlled it and still had a fair bit to do to knock it home. 2-0 it finished. A decent enough performance and a great result. Playa ratings to the right.
The goals take Theirry Henry past Ian Wright’s all time Arsenal goal scoring record. We have been fantastically privileged to see him rack up 186 not out and even luckier that so many have been done in such incredible style.
As I walked to work yesterday morning (Tuesday), I went with a bounce in my step. Sometimes you don’t realise what you have til it’s gone and I for one could not wait to see his magnificence return to the pitch.
Of course, there will be those Arsenal fans who will bemoan his unwillingness to commit to the club in his post match interview. That kind of reaction is absolute bollocks in my view. It is quite obvious he is not going to come out and commit to the club just like that because the fact is he is considering leaving. He is 28, has achieved a massive amount, probably fears somewhat about the destination we are headed towards and feels he may want to try and conquer Spain before he retires. People ask for him to be honest. He is. By saying what he is saying he is making it perfectly clear things are up in the air.
Do people want him to say he wants to go? What good would that do? The fact is that when he says he is focused on his football at the moment, that is the truth and that is what he showed us tonight. What is wrong with him kissing the badge if he puts in great performances? Kissing the badge is a sign that your heart is in to what you are doing. And who could argue that his heart wasn’t in tonight’s performance?
Of course we don’t want him to leave on a Bosman. But if he leaves, he leaves. We have been absurdly lucky to have not only one of the best, but one of the most consistent players in the world between the ages of 22 and 28 in his career. If he wants to move then so be it. I would wish him all the best.
Of course, I desperately want him to sign a new contract. But let us be grown up about this. He is doing nothing wrong. The best we can do is get behind him (the fans were great tonight), get behind the team at Highbury (we can do a lot better) and hope Arsene can bring in the players and the team achieve the success that will allow Thierry Henry to stay.
I have no inside knowledge on the issue of his contract, but my hunch would be that things are not a lot more complicated than Thierry fearing (quite justifiably) that the standard of the squad is slipping and that we look less likely to achieve the success (particularly in Europe) that he so craves.
We shall see what happens, but in the meantime let’s celebrate his achievement and leave the worrying for another time. I have written enough now, so won’t reveal my favourite Henry goal now, but you can reveal yours below.
ps: he seemed pretty happy to me when he broke the record.
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16/10/05
West Brom 2 Arsenal 1: Report + playa ratings. Grim.
Arsene Wenger has never suffered the indignity of losing to a lower division team as Arsenal manager, but it is hard to believe that the disappointment could be any greater than that experienced after today’s loss at West Brom.
In 45 minutes, our emotions went from genuine hope that things could be turning our way (we were winning and Chelsea were losing) to the sheer grimness of seeing us somehow lose and them come back to win 5-1.
In short, we took an early lead when Senderos hooked home a deep Reyes corner. We were completely dominant, they were crap. We sat back. They equalised after a feeble Pires attempt to block a cross, a poor header from Senderos and terrible marking of Kanu. Of all people, the man renowned for taking 10 touches when two will do, had time to control the ball, compose himself and then fire off an (impressive) shot past the helpless Lehman. It was a shocker of a goal.
In the 2nd half we eventually rallied around the hour mark and though we had a couple of chances (Toure, Reyes, Bergkamp) things were in no way urgent enough. We probably should have had a penalty for a foul on Reyes, but he wasn’t in a scoring position so I’m not going to complain. It would, however, be nice to see referees decide whether a foul should be given not based on where the incident happens on the pitch but on the incident itself. And if this means the law needs to be reformed so that minor fouls in non-threatening positions in the area do not warrant a spot-kick then so be it. We need consistency.
Anyway, they then scored a cracker out of absolutely nothing. We huffed but got nowhere. Immensely disappointing and all the more so when you are watching the game in the corner of a bar while in other corners Chelsea, United, Liverpool and Spurs fans are all celebrating goals going in. The upshot of all this is that the table does not look good. In fact I don’t even want to see it. All I know is we’re 14 points behind Chelsea having dropped 11 to their none.
But the main discussion must be about the performance. We started with a very youthful team containing Senderos, Clichy, Reyes, Flamini, Cesc and for much of the game Eboue too after Fred went off. We were without Cole, Campbell, Gilberto, Van Persie, Henry, Hleb and then Ljungberg. That would be a big miss to any squad, all the more so to ours.
So perhaps that excuses things. Or perhaps it doesn’t. The Everton and Man City sides that a far less experienced Arsenal dispatched from last season’s League Cup were miles better than the carthorses West Brom served up today. We could and should have easily won this game.
The problem is that the fact we are not at our most fluent at the moment should mean every playa is giving 120% so that effort alone can get us through. But that is not the case. We were leaden footed and lethargic today. Really, I would say that excluding the hard to appraise Lehman, only Reyes and perhaps Senderos and Toure did themselves justice out there today. Not everything may be coming off for Reyes, but he keeps plugging away and chasing everything.
The same is not true for the others. Pires is the worst culprit. His effort at times is frankly lamentable. I can just about excuse him pulling out of tackles because he is worried about his knee but he has no excuse for not doing everything humanly possible to block crosses.
We are clearly lacking really good cover right through the spine of the team (a defender, midfielder and striker are all needed). But we also have to roll our sleeves up and not commit the immortal sin of taking our foot off the pedal just because our opponents are crap.
It is going to take a miraculous recovery for us to challenge for the league now. We need our genuinely rotten luck with injuries to turn, new playas and better performances.
One final point about today’s referee and the one minute 55 seconds of injury time he added on. Now don’t get me wrong, I loathe it when managers squabble over every few seconds. My theory is normally if you don’t score in 90 then you probably won’t score in 94. But today was just some kind of complete joke. We had an injury a minute from time that lasted about one minute 40 seconds, we had four second half subs, three of which were incredibly slow West Brom ones, we had one of the longest and deliberately stalling goal celebrations ever and we had them wasting time every time they got a free-kick or goal kick, even when it was 1-1.
By adding on just two minutes the referee has completely indulged that negativity (which I accept Arsenal have been guilty of in the past). It was a complete joke.
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09/10/05
Football returns next week
Do you get very bored of England games after 60 minutes? Do you have to tell yourself to try to be happy when England score? And does part of you secretly will the opposition to knock one past ‘us’?
Answer: Yes, yes and yes.
My conclusion is that Sven would get double the amount of stick if the thought of writing about England wasn’t so boring. In fact, I’ve had enough. I’m so bored I can’t be stuffed to write any more about England.
But I will say a few words about my good friends at FIFA. Presumably David Beckham’s red card will stand, despite his 2nd booking being a blatant dive.
It will stand because under FIFA’s own half witted rules, appeals are only allowed in cases of mistaken identity. I don’t give a stuff about Beckham, but I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: this is the most inept rule I have ever seen.
England have been wrongly deprived of a playa for 30 minutes because of an opposition player’s connivance. And then to compound the problem, they will ban him for no other reason than that they have invented a stupid rule that says he must be banned.
For some reason, this rule pisses me off big time. It is the height of bullshit in a game overflowing with the stuff. The only bans being handed out should be for the half wits who invented this rule and are now pressuring the Premiership to take it up.
The only saving grace is that these things have a way of hitting people back in the face. How I will laugh if the brilliant Ronaldinho is sent-off in next year’s World Cup semi-final for handling on the line when the ball clearly hit his chest. Of course, my scorn will not be directed at the unfortunate Brazilian. Instead it will be at the FIFA bigwigs who will have seen their showpiece player miss their showpiece game because of their own arrogant, farcical rules.
Football returns next week.
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021005
Arsenal 1 Birmingham 0 - half a report
Well, I only saw the second half (hence no playa ratings). From the sounds of it we created a fair bit in the first half and as well as missing a penalty we could have had a hatful.
The second half seemed a very flat affair. Maik Taylor made great saves early on from Pires and Ljungberg and then we seemed to lose any great degree of urgency. In the end, Van Persie’s not brilliantly hit shot deflected off a defender and beat the excellent Taylor. We held on, though not with any great style.
We looked lethargic in the latter stages. From what I saw Campbell, Toure and Cole looked good enough. Reyes is playing with brilliant enthusiasm and desire. The rest of them don’t look lazy by any means but if you compare us with Chelsea at the moment, is the same unswerving desire there? I’m not so sure.
It needs to be.
And the crowd can play their part too. Apologies if the SKY sound system did Highbury a disservice, but the ground sounded embarrassingly silent today. The players are human beings like the rest of us and they thrive on the support of the crowd like you and I would. So, if you’re lucky enough to be at Highbury, sing.
Chelsea won 4-1 this afternoon and looked good, albeit against what is a pretty poor Liverpool league side. The Kop were singing louder in the 89th minute than anything Highbury managed today.
On site news, I’ve gone back to the old design but with the new logo following a public outcry. Not sure about what should go in the space on the left though, as the Latest Updates column was pointless and time consuming to update.
Finally, a question for any readers who live in Dublin or anywhere else in the Republic of Ireland. I need to get internet access at my new flat for 3 months. Are there any broadband companies who don’t insist on you signing up for 12 months? And what is the best dial-up?
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Archives: July 2005, June 2005, May 2005, April 2005,March 2005, February 2005, January 2005, December 2004 and the embryonic goodplaya.
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Playa ratings:
v West Ham (2-3) - NEW
Lehman: An absolute idiot for stupidly getting involved with Harewood late on. Not only was it nasty, but he could have been sent-off and he also put us out of our stride. A minute later West Ham made it 3-1. He’s a very good goalkeeper but an arrogant, nasty character and an embarrassment when he behaves like that. 4
Gilbert: Looked to be doing fine until the Arsenal full-back curse struck. 6
Djorou: Individually did well, but understandably hasn’t been able to strike up any kind of partnership with Campbell yet. 6
Campbell: What can you say? Two massive errors that were punished to the max. Things just aren’t going his way at all. 4
Senderos: Obviously doesn’t offer the attacking prowess of Cole or Clichy but he looked solid and his distribution to Pires was fairly impressive. Did fine at centre-back in the second half but should have whacked it out instead of passing to Larsson for the mistake that led to the third goal. 5
Gilberto: He’s not great at the moment. Far too passive for my liking. 5
Diaby: Still raw, but I like him. And he is so like Vieira: even his mistakes remind me of Vieira’s shortcomings. Not sure why he was taken off. 7
Ljungberg: You have to laugh at the way he somehow managed to deflect Henry’s shot wide. Is trying really hard and not actually playing badly at all. But nothing is going his way. 7
Pires: I do feel we need players with greater bite than Pires at the moment. But in fairness, he was involved, scored one, set-up the other one for Henry and saw Hislop deny him with a great save. 6
Henry: Hard to judge. Seemed to have a decent enough game on TV but reports from the game were critical. 6
Van Persie: Unlucky. Offered a lot but nothing went his way. 7
Subs:
Flamini: Brought on as an emergency right-back but did pretty well all things considered. Say what you like about Flamini but he’s a fighter who unlike some of his team-mates will never be found lacking for effort. 7
Larsson: Yes, he made the cock-up for the third goal. But it was typical of our rough justice. Other than that he was excellent: committed in the tackle, full of running in attack and crucially he understands the value of hitting long-balls diagonally, as opposed to completely straight. Which is something some of his team-mates could do with taking note of. 7
Dennis: Not normally much of a substitute, but he found himself a good niche on the right of midfield and offered us extra creativity. Well hit volley to set up Pires’ goal. 6
v Sparta Prague (0-2)
Lehmann: Solid enough game. He’s doing well at the moment. 7
Clichy: Bit of a nightmare really, though to be fair their right winger was their best playa. 5
Cygan: Surprisingly assured. 7
Kolo: Looked fairly good most of the time. 7
Lauren: The odd moment of strangeness. 6.5
Flamini: Was hard to judge the midfielders tonight. Seemed to do the normal without being mega effective. 6.5
Gilberto: One of those Gilberto games where you don’t really know how he has played. 6.5
Fabregas: Got fairly involved and offered threat down the right. 7
Pires: Not his best game by any means but still one of his better ones this season. Magnificent ball for the second goal. 7
Van Persie: Seems to get carded in Europe for the most ridiculous things. Did alright without having much effect. 6.5
Reyes: Full of running til he got injured and wasn’t running at all. 6.5
Subs:
Henry (for Reyes 17ish): Emperor-like as he beat Wrighty’s record. Magnificent playa who, had he not scored, would have been accused of going missing in another big game. But because he did score, it won’t count as a big game. 8.5
Eboue (for Van Persie 70ish): Looking ok at the moment. 6.5
Quincy (for Cesc 85ish): Full of running. 6.5
v West Brom (2-1)
Lehmann: Blameless for goals. 6
Lauren: Not particularly composed. 5.5
Clichy: Has had far better games. 5.5
Senderos: Good goal, messy header for theirs. 6
Toure: Ok but ridiculously offside at one free kick. 5.5
Flamini: Ok but uninspiring. 5.5
Cesc: Decent. Kept trying. 6
Pires: Crap. 4.5
Ljungberg: Ok while he was on. 5.5
Reyes: Still running his heart out. 7
Bergkamp: A moany kind of day. 5.5
Subs:
Eboue (for Ljungberg 35ish): Not great. 5.5
Quincy (for Flamini 80ish): Bizarrely decided what Arsenal lack is left-wingers. 5.5
v Everton (2-0)
Jens: Very little to do. Did it all right. 7
Lauren: Occasionally seemed to imagine he had more pace than he does, which was quite amusing as he tried to take people on. Solid as usual. 7
Cole: As someone who gave him a good bashing over the summer it would suit by agenda to say he is playing poorly. But that would be a lie. Whatever the reasons for it, he has started the season well and in attack in particular is offering a lot. 7.5
Toure: Nothing to do at the back and seemed to enjoy getting in on this whole new set-piece malarkey. 7
Campbell: Two excellent headers, especially the second one which was a real hammer. Not at full speed yet but looked good, organised the defence well, shouted at people and seemed to realise he was our most senior player on the pitch. 8
Pires: Hadn’t done all that much in the brief period he was on the pitch before Gary Neville’s shit younger brother’s tackle forced him off. 6.5
Cesc: One friend said to me he is looking lightweight and giving the ball away too much. Maybe. But I think he does a lot of good stuff and his presence in the opponent’s penalty box is valuable. 7
Gilberto: Solid game, got through a fair amount and gave us a couple of those rare Gilberto moments where for a few seconds he stops looking like he is suspended in perpetual slow motion and instead provides us with raw Brazilian skill. 7
Ljungberg: Started slowly but furrowed hard as ever. Seemed to make a real determination to either stick wide out on the wing or else very deliberately come inside as opposed to just being narrow. I think it worked. Unlucky to hit bar in second half. 7
Van Persie: Hit the post with a nice effort (right footed!) and had some decent moments but was otherwise a bit subdued. Has been a fairly rough few weeks and is probably still feeling his way back in to things. 6.5
Reyes: Loses the ball now and then but that is only because he constantly seems to have it. Boundless energy at the moment, great creativity and fantastic balls into the box. Really was amazing how much of the ball he had tonight. 8
Subs:
Hleb (for Pires first half some time): Played pretty well, looked pretty creative and linked up well with Cole. Playing better than Pires. 7
Dennis (for Van Persie 80ish): Did alright. Created a bit of stuff. Didn’t do anything of note. 6.5
Alex Song (for Reyes 87ish): Made a couple of sloppy passes but it was harsh and exaggerated for Alan Smith to say he hadn’t found a man. 6
v Thun (2-1)
Almunia: Probably not to blame on the goal and handling was ok even though he still catches very strangely.6
Lauren: Did the usual Lauren stuff. Fairly well. 6.5
Cole: Thought he was good today. Clean at the back and contributed well going forward. Perhaps he enjoyed having Pires back in front of him. 7
Toure: Seemed ok. Can’t remember too much else.6.5
Sol: Looking a little chunky but it must be good to have him back.6.5
Cesc: Not his most spectacular game but made a couple of decent runs forward and made one particularly delicious pass in the second half.6.5
Gilberto: Very well taken goal and was more involved tonight than normally. An experienced head 7.5
Pires: By no means at his best but infinitely better than the past few games. Got in an early curler that almost flew in and was generally far more involved. Even tried to tackle twice. Neither attempt worked.. 7
Ljungberg. Svavanged without achieving much.6.5
RVP: Had been easing himself back into first team action when the dick head referee struck. 6.5
Reyes: Excellent, his boundless enthusiasm drove the team on and he looked really dangerous at times and caused Thun more problems than anyone else. 8
Subs:
Dennis (for Cesc 70 odd): Is that his first goal as a sub? Took it well. 7
Hleb (for Reyes 80 odd): Didn’t really find his touch in the ten minutes he had.6
Quincy (for Ljungberg 80 odd): Offered a new threat.6.5
v Fulham (4-1)
Lehman: Looking very solid at the moment. You can tell it by the fact he is not making kicking mistakes at the moment. At tricky moments, his handling from corners was excellent.7
Lauren: Missed a penalty, but that was bound to happen one day and at least it didn’t matter. Otherwise, he played well and looked particularly committed (mostly in the right sense) in the tackle. 7
Cole: His best attacking display for a while and linked up promisingly with Reyes. 7.5
Cygan: I’ve made no secret of the fact that his presence in the team pleases me not. Defending was ok tonight, though a couple of times Fulham forwards worryingly escaped him when crosses were slung in. Took his goals very well. Could it be that unlike the rest of the side Cygan does not feel obligated to score the perfect goal and concentrates on just sticking it in the net?7.5
Kolo: Poor clearance for the Fulham goal but on the whole had a decent game. The defensive issues we have at the moment seem more a collective than individual problem. 7
Cesc: Gets a wee bit overrun occasionally but on the whole is playing really well and in particular offers a genuine attacking threat in the way that perhaps Vieira sometime failed to. 7
Gilberto: Did what Gilberto does. Still sometimes resembles one of those video graphic created dinosaurs in the way he moves. 7
Hleb: Good first half, creating a fair deal and generally looking like a cross between Pires and Ljungberg (in the best sense). 7
Reyes: A very good game in my opinion, full of running, full of trickery and very direct. In particular, he linked up very well with Cole and Henry, which was very pleasing. His ball for Henry’s first goal was majestic and pleasingly the two seemed on the same wavelength tonight. 8
Dennis: Besides his idiotic yellow card he had a great game and was at the heart of Fulham’s dissection. Kept going strong right to the end. 8
Henry: Took his two goals, which both came at crucial times, very well. Just one more to equal Wright’s record. 7.5
Subs:
Flamini (for Reyes 75 odd): Set up Henry for the killer third goal. 7
Clichy (for Hleb 85 odd): Ran around like mad, as Clichy does. 7
v Liverpool (3-1)
Lehman: Two really good saves – the first from Riise and the second from Gerard’s piledriver. Flapped at one cross but all it served to do was to remind us how much he has improved. 7.5
Lauren: Did very well, almost scoring from Pires’ cross in the first half and setting up the third goal with some nice play. Is doing well at the moment, perhaps spurred on by Wenger not mentioning right back when saying which areas he doesn’t need to strengthen over the summer! 7.5
Cole: A mixed game. Good going forward and times and obviously an excellent second half block from Garcia. But also occasionally sloppy, messing up things we know him well capable of doing. 6.5
Senderos: A big presence at the heart of the defence he had one of his sternest tests in an Arsenal shirt when Liverpool got at us in the second half. Did pretty well on the whole though, especially as protection from midfield was not always forthcoming. 7
Kolo: A good solid outing and the same goes for him as for Senderos. 7
Vieira: Did some stuff really well and was very influential in our first half attacking play. But I felt he allowed the midfield to be too easily swamped after the break and was not always applying the pressure to Liverpool that he might have done. 7
Gilberto: It goes without saying that evaluating a Gilberto performance is very, very difficult. That said, I felt that like Vieira he could have offered a bit more bite in midfield to help out the defence in the second half. 6.5
Pires: Really was at the heart of some of our best stuff in the first half. Crossed brilliantly for Lauren to almost score, shot just wide and then scored with a magnificent free-kick. Faded later on. 7.5
Cesc: Absolutely outstanding. He set the move in motion for Reyes’ offside goal, fired just wide from 20 yards, scored his own offside goal and then added a very neat third for us in stoppage time. In between this he ran the game, tackling, running with the ball, passing brilliantly and generally looking the best player on the park. Outstanding. 9
Reyes: Not perfect, but he notched up another well taken goal, scored an offside one and ran his heart out for the cause in the second half. 7.5
Van Persie: Not as involved as he has been but got involved and put over one excellent early cross for Robert Pires. Generally looking a much better player than previously. 7
Subs:
Edu (for Pires 70 odd): Came on and did ok. 6.5
Bergkamp (for Van Persie 70 odd): Set up Fabregas for the third with a fantastic flick but was otherwise pretty poor. When he did try and press Liverpool he gave away a few free-kicks and the rest of the time he just didn’t seem to chase them at a time when we really needed players to get stuck in. I know he is still capable of the odd piece of magic but we probably have enough to our attacking armoury that magic alone should not prompt a new contract. We have shown we are capable of winning without Dennis and should probably now look to the future. 6
Aliadiere (for Reyes 85): As ever he came on and got stuck in, chasing everything and hassling the Liverpool defenders. Has a really good attitude and probably deserves more than five minutes at some point. 6.5
v West Brom (2-0)
Lehman: The defence clearly trusts him again and he is reciprocating that with improved handling, kicking and decision making. 7
Lauren: Worked reasonably hard and got forward on a few occasions. 7
Cole: Looked a little lethargic at times but kept going and finished the game strongly, setting us on a number of attacks. 6.5
Senderos: A couple of passes went astray but took a no nonsence defence to defending. Far be it for me to argue with his current record of not conceding a goal for absolutely yonks. 7.5
Gilberto: Covered well at set pieces, but with Arsenal in 2nd gear he seemed only to happy to make sure Gilberto was in 2nd gear too. Not much drive. 6.5
Vieira: Committed silly fouls early on and was not finding his passes. Got better as the game went on and provided more drive. Symbolic of our night. 7
Pires: Did ok initially but like the rest of them lacked the necessary drive. Got better with the team. 7
Cesc: Probably not his best game. Came looking for the ball a lot and should be credited for it but looked a little fatigued when challenged. 6.5
Van Persie: Did ok initially but was not really receiving a lot of support from the midfield. Took his goal magnificently. 7
Reyes: Ran hard but once again looked incredibly left footed. But gave an excellent assist for the opening goal and kept on trying right til the end, providing useful relief for the defence. 7
Subs:
Dennis (for Van Persie 75ish): Did little except provide a measured set-up for Edu's clincher. 6.5
Edu (for Cesc 75ish): Got involved a bit and finished well to clinch it. 7
v Spurs (1-0)
Lehman: Is playing very well and his handling looks as assured as ever, his throws good and his kicking far better than earlier in the season. I think it no great secret that he needs to control his temper. 7
Lauren: Has looked solid in recent weeks and looked more lively going forward. Alan Curbishley put him in his team of the season on the basis that few wingers get much change out of him. And he is probably right. Really does need to watch stray elbows though, intentional or not. 7
Toure: Was given a little trouble by Defoe but it was less trouble than Adi Akenbai gave him in the FA Cup in January. And Defoe is clearly a far better player than the Stoke man. Will soon score a very, very memorable free-kick I sense. 7
Senderos: It is hard to argue with his defensive record since he came into the side. We have simply stopped conceding goals. That said, what are the odds that back when we were conceding at will, Robbie Keane would have buried that chance. Could have got first goal for club with header. 7
Cole: Linked up well as ever with Pires down our left hand side and seemed really up for the fight. Had the slightly awkward penalty shout against him at the end but otherwise did well. 7
Vieira: With the ball he was excellent on the whole, spreading play at pace and helping support those ahead of him. Looks much more comfortable with Gilberto next to him. Though that said they both looked half a step off the pace at times against a Spurs side full of running. 7
Gilberto: Did what Gilberto does well. Though probably not as much of a shield as against Chelsea. 7
Cesc: Tired a little in the second half but was his usual youthful magnificence until then. Spread the ball with ease, got stuck in, helped out the attack and set up our goal. Nice. 7.5
Pires: Not the force he was against Chelsea but is playing well at the moment, linking up well with Cole down the left and generally providing an experienced head in an otherwise youthful attack. 7
Van Persie: Set Reyes up for the first minute chance, fired a decent effort wide and generally played quite a mature game without hitting great heights. 7
Reyes: Did very well to come back after the first minute miss. Goal was excellent and attitude looked good. Seemed to find an extra gear for second half run that set up Dennis. 7.5
Subs:
Dennis (for Van Persie 70 odd): Curled one wide and generally looked quite good against a tiring Spurs defence. There was the odd occasion when I felt he let the player pass him to quickly but that was probably just my last minute nerves. 7
Edu (for Cesc 70 odd): Hit the post with a curling effort and slotted in very, very neatly on the left. Will be a great shame to lose him if he does eventually go. 7
Aliadiere (for Van Persie 87 odd): Only had a few minutes but looked really keen to impress. Had a couple of good touches, got stuck in and made tired Spurs legs panic, buying us valuable time. 7
v Chelsea (0-0)
Lehman: Has looked much better recently and besides the odd dodgy kick, looked very solid against Chelsea and made one excellent save early on from Drogba. His positioning seemed good on through balls. 7
Lauren: He really didn’t put a foot wrong and kept Damien Duff and probably had his best game for the club against a very, very tricky opponent. Was ferocious and fair in the tackle. 8
Cole: After a slightly tentative start he threw himself at everything Chelsea chucked at us. Whatever people’s feelings about his current situation, there can be no complaints about his performance. 7
Senderos: Excellent as usual. This guy likes clean sheets. 7
Toure: Really did well in what could have been a tricky night. Got weight on his clearances and never panicked. 7
Vieira: It really doesn’t take a genius to figure out how much he seems to be enjoying having Gilberto back in the side. Really led the side again with fine interventions and set us on the path to attack – such as when Pires hit the bar. 7.5
Gilberto: Suffered a couple of inevitable nosebleeds when he got into decent positions going forward but otherwise did a fine job of snaffling out what Chelsea threw at us and generally making the team a slick unit. Showed one or two fine turns as well. 7
Cesc: This kid really does defy logic. At a time when his brittle bones should be feeling the effects of a long, hard season he is looking stronger than ever. Magnificently composed on the ball, he worked furiously in defence, midfield and attack. 8
Pires: His early volley that hit the bar reminded me of when I stood in the Holte End last year for Villa v Arsenal and he hit an even better effort that was turned just over. Even the anti-French bigots around me were shut well and truly up.
There is a wonderful magnificence about watching Robert Pires on song. He caresses the ball delightfully and when it’s time to move it on he does it with the utmost precision. A joy to watch and unlucky not to score twice. 9
Reyes: The story of his last 6 months – no problem with effort but he just lacks the confidence to make things really happen. The annoying thing is that he’s making errors on things that a confident Reyes could do with his eyes shut. Let’s hope his effort is rewarded soon. 6
Bergkamp: Like Reyes he worked hard and did his bit to keep Chelsea at bay. But also like Reyes he found himself struggling up front. The curtain appears to be falling on his magnificent career. Hopefully an announcement will be made soon and both we and Dennis can enjoy his final games. 6
Subs:
Van Persie (for Dennis 80 odd): Struggled to get into the game but had a few decent chances and ran hard for the side.
Aliadiere (for Cesc 85 odd): Did alright but by the time he came on it didn’t look like either side were really going to score.
v Boro (1-0)
Lehman: Flapped at one cross in the first half and then came ridiculously far out of his goal before eventually winning the ball. Yes, he’s kept a fair few clean sheets recently and yes, it’s even true we could win the league again with him in goal, but no, we won’t win in Europe with Jens and no, he’s not the answer. 6
Lauren: His early challenge, whilst not worthy of a red card as suggested on Match of the Day, was sheer stupidity. He did alright and he’s plodding along but not really getting any better. 6
Cole: Attacked decently at times but wasn’t helped by a very, very ineffectual Robert Pires. 6.5
Senderos: Now looks like he should be partnering Sol Campbell when the two are fit. Authoritative, big and commanding, his presence has coincided with a string of clean sheets. Still has rough edges, but these are being shaved all the time. 7
Kolo: Did reasonably well and made a couple of important blocks, but I’m not convinced his future lies in the heart of the defence. Together, he and Lauren sometimes seem to bring out the worst in each other and we just don’t look solid, clean sheets or no clean sheets. Would like to see him at right back. 6.5
Gilberto: I looked out especially for incidences of him filling gaps and yes, I can confirm it happens and he does his job well. Still looks very nervous in attacking positions, but his presence is welcome. 6
Vieira: I thought he did reasonably well, though like the rest of the players he seemed to have trouble bringing any great coherency to our play. 6
Cesc: I plumped for Cesc on the right a while ago and I like seeing him there. He got well forward and was always involved. Looks tired, but it’s been a long old season and he’s still, only 17. 6.5
Pires: I thought him absolute rubbish up until he scored really. His inability to tackle has been documented many times before, but on Saturday he seemed to be playing the whole game at walking pace. But then who better is there at converting the one chance he gets to secure a 1-0 lead. 6
Reyes: Things still aren’t all coming off for him but I sense things are getting better and his work rate and willingness to track back really can’t be faulted. We know for a fact that the boy has the talent to succeed, so while he may not be showing what he’s really capable of right now, we should applaud his recent application. Had a couple of really mazy runs and set up Henry excellently for a shot he scuffed. 7
Henry: Had one of those games where he seemed to stand almost still on the edge of the box, conserving his energy and waiting to pounce. It didn’t really work, though he did have a glorious chip fly just wide and certainly scared the Boro fans every time he got the ball. He was also up against an obdurate Boro. 6.5
Subs:
Dennis (Reyes 46): Did alright without really changing the game at all. It seems the curtain may be falling on his illustrious career and reluctantly, I think it right. We know he can still play brilliantly in patches but the truth is that it’s becoming less often and it’s hampering us in European away games. We need someone to step forward and become Henry’s partner. Sometimes the bullet needs to be bitten. And now is that time. 6
v Palace (5-1)
Jens: It’s tempting to say that the early back pass cock-up could just as easily have happened to Petr Cech but in truth that would be a lie. He’s simply too cocky and over confident with his kicking – it’s why so many balls get sliced wildly and why we almost conceded a shambolic own goal tonight. Otherwise, he actually did quite well. 6.5
Lauren: Is definitely becoming a better player going forward but was as culpable as anyone for our defensive malaise. 6
Cygan: Didn’t have an awful game but on too many occasions simple long balls forward by Palace became much more serious than they needed to be. 6
Kolo: Got skinned more often than he would have liked and was caught out at times from crosses. But still, we only conceded one. 6.5
Clichy: Did well getting forward, causing a constant menace. Defending was largely competent but seemed to be infected by the general defensive tendency to give the ball away. 6.5
Vieira: Another tricky game to rate from the captain. At times he was sluggish and easily caught in possession. At others, he took a grip on the game and drove the team forward impressively. Got well forward for his goal. 7
Edu: Didn’t have the sudden impact he enjoyed at Villa last week but did well enough and certainly gave us a fair bit of solidity. Good ball to Reyes for the opener. 7
Pires: Seemed to be rewriting the dictionary definition of anonymous for the first 20 or so minutes. Then got more into the game without coming close to hitting top gear. Was unlucky to hit the post in the 2nd half after good work from Reyes. 7
Reyes: His best game in yonks. He looked fearless again, running constantly at the Palace defence and causing a lot of trouble. Good assist for the first, great finish for the second, an assist for the third and a fantastic pass to Dennis to set up the fifth. Great to see him back again. 8.5
Dennis: As ever, he oiled, moulded and sculpted our performance. He also took his goal very well, like he did against Newcastle and United too. And set up Henry for the fifth. 7.5
Henry: Really played very, very well and channelled any frustration about constant offside decisions in exactly the right way. Had seemingly boundless energy to chase back lost causes and put us back on the attack. 8.5
Subs:
Flamini (for Edu 60odd): Solid and composed as ever. 7
Van Persie (for Dennis 80odd): Linked up reasonably well as the game entered its final stages. 7
Fabregas (for Pires 80odd): Settled in comfortably on the right. 7
v Wolves (2-0)
Jens: Whilst a clean sheet is a clean sheet, he had very little to do and looked no more reassuring than previously with his kicking. To be fair, he was also played a high number of over hit back passes today and was not at fault for the one from Flamini that took a wicked bobble off the Highbury surface (which appeared unusually cut-up).6.5
Eboue: Got forward well, hit the bar with a deflected shot and could have had a penalty. Nice work. 8
Clichy: Decent game without being exceptional.7
Sol: Not a lot to do. 7
Cygan: Better than usual. 8
Paddy: Mediocre for much of it truth be told. Got better later on and scored the penalty but for too long his mind didn’t seem in the right place. Sure, Wolves made it difficult by crowding midfield but too often he seemed semi asleep at throw ins and the like. Still, he kept going. 6.5
Flamini: Didn’t show the deftness of touch of the Newcastle game but retained all his normal solidity. And great as Ray Parlour was, watching Boro at the moment suggests that we’ve got an as good, if not better, replacement. 7
Reyes: A couple of good runs, some moments of anonymity and denied a stonewall penalty. Still getting back to form but it definitely seems better than a few weeks ago. 6.5
Freddie: Usual energetic performance without any stand out moments, save his well taken goal. That’s ten for the season now and we’re still in January. Good work Sir. 7
Van Persie: Not his most inspiring game and clearly doesn’t yet have the positional ability of Dennis (who does?) but is improving. 6.5
Henry: Gallic. Went into one of his moods after Riley ruled out his cheeky first half effort. Strutted around for a while, went in for a couple of silly tackles and became frankly self indulgently petulant when a foul was given against him. It’s alright for us to loathe Riley endlessly but our top striker shouldn’t let him affect his game. And the fact is he did. But recovered his composure, was unlucky not to score and set up Freddie in superb fashion. 8
Subs:
Cesc (for Van Persie): Settled in comfortably on the right. 7
Pires (for Reyes): Nice work for the clinching goal. 7
Quincy (for Fred): No time to make an impression.
v Charlton (3-1)
Alumnia: No chance with the goal and didn’t do too much wrong besides one poor fumble from a cross. Still not convinced by his catching techniques. No difficult saves to make6.5
Hoyte: Made the odd error but did well to make sure his old youth team buddy Jerome Thomas had his quietest game in weeks. Managed to get forward a bit more in the second half.7.5
Cole: Still not looking at his best and on a couple of occasions was embarrassed by Rommedahl. But in fairness he wasn’t as sloppy as recently and did get forward well later on. 6.5
Sol: With the exception of one wildly sliced clearance in the first half that Almunia had to save he looked pretty solid and kept Charlton’s clear chances to a minimum. Let’s hope his ankle isn’t too bad. 7
Kolo: Given a bit of grief by Bartlett in the air but stuck to his task well and like Campbell, restricted the number of clear cut chances. 7
Vieira: Watching the game live, I was unconvinced by his first half performance. But having just seen the highlights it seems he got through a lot of work and did what he had to do neatly and efficiently. Set up Fred well for the goal and kept up a good level of performance all the way through.7
Cesc: Lost the odd ball but was generally very sound. Passing was clean and crisp as ever and his touch for the second goal was exquisite by any standards.7.5
Freddie: Took his two goals brilliantly, worked hard and always looked a threat. In good form. 8
Clichy: Seemed to lose the ball cheaply a bit too often but worked hard down the left helping Cole out with nullifying the threat of Rohmedahl and getting forward well. Has tremendous energy which comes in handy at the end of games when opposition players tire.6.5
Henry: Not at his best today but more worrying than the actual performance was the fact that his normal fitness wasn’t there. Had a lovely free-kick cleared off the line.6.5
Van Persie: Still has a tendency to twist and turn once too often. But also holds the ball up brilliantly, moves it well and finished superbly for the third. Should probably be given a real run up front next to Henry. Took his goal like a striker, which is disconcerting coming from an Arsenal player.7.5
Subs:
Pires (for Van Persie 72ish): With the game won he wisely didn’t over exert himself ahead of Man City on Tuesday night. 6.5
Senderos (for Campbell 82ish): Slotted in well on his Premiership debut.7
Pennant (for Fred 86): Didn’t have time to get into the game. 7
v Newcastle (1-0)
Almunia: Our star man tonight. A smart early save from Ameobi (even if it was probably going wide) and excellent handling all night gave us one less worry. Four clean sheets in five and he also kicks a fair bit better than Jens.7
Lauren: Though Lauren Robert didn’t reach anything like his best, I’m not sure whether too much credit should go to Lauren. His positioning often seemed weak, his passing and tackling little better and he offered almost nothing in attack. Mr Average was distinctly poor. 5.5
Cole: Whilst there’s no shame in being given a tough time of things by Craig Bellamy, Cole’s performance was noticeably worse than just a torrid time. He made stupid, unnecessary fouls, got caught out when he should normally have had enough pace and looked very, very shaky. He may have been pushed a touch for the penalty incident, but a defender with his mind fully on the job wouldn’t have allowed the ball to hit him as blatantly as it did. In mitigation he did improve and unlike Lauren provided some attacking threat. 5.5
Kolo: Did alright but like the others his decision making didn’t always seem to be the best informed. That said, it’s a little harsh to chastise a central defender who has kept four clean sheets in five. 6.5
Sol: Urgh. After some very sound recent performances he seemed far too troubled by what looked like some relatively simple long balls. One such error allowed Ameobi in for his early chance and his lack of authority always made the long ball route look like a wise one for Newcastle to take. 6
Flamini: Not his best game for Arsenal but he still got through a lot of work, kept things simple and had a hand in setting up Vieira for the goal. 6.5
Vieira: Named man of the match by SKY and praised in a couple of papers, but I’m going to be honest and say that up until he scored I thought he was pretty useless, being caught in possession too often. That said in the second half he got through a fair bit of work as we ground out victory. 6.5
Fred: Beavered away, had some good moments and kept on trying. Was going to commend him for his work on a couple of occasions in particular but can’t now remember what they were. 7
Pires: Even by his standards, his tackling was poor today. Truth be told, I can’t fathom how he’s allowed to defend with his body constantly side on to the play. As a left winger he has defensive responsibilities and simply has to make a better fist of it. On the attacking front he was probably our most creative player, moving the ball smartly and at pace. 6
Van Persie: Still very, very raw. Unlucky not to score in the opening minutes and had a couple more decent efforts but all too frequently ran into trouble and lost the ball on what was admittedly an awful surface completely unsuited to his quick twists and turns. Corners weren’t bad. Needs time. 6.5
Henry: His touch was not quite at its magical best, but again this was probably due to the state of the pitch. Had a couple of good runs that resulted in decent shots on Shay Given’s goal. 6.5
Subs:
Clichy (for Van Persie 80 mins approx): Seemed as happy as anyone in the post match huddle but for the second game in succession he seemed a little out of sorts when called upon. 6
v Fulham (2-0)
Almunia: Looks better by the game and made a crucial save when he rushed out at speed to palm away a Fulham chance at 1-0. Made no notable mistakes. 7
Clichy: Had a good first half – getting forward well as usual and strong on the defensive stuff. Then in the second half he seemed to lose his confidence went, either as a result of or because of Fulham consistently probing down our left. Like any small full-back, aerial strength is a weakness.6
Lauren: Average as usual. Looked solid against a Fulham attack lacking any real penetration. 6.5
Sol: At times we were troubled in the air – but Sol is leading a defence that is no longer allowing attackers completely free headers at corners. Looks fit and healthy and, along with the rest of the defence, now has three clean sheets in four league games. 7
Freddie: A fine game on his return from migraine troubles. Played in Henry for the first and set-up Pires for the second. 7.5
Cesc: Gets caught on the ball occasionally but is still doing the vast majority of things with real fluency. Gives us real creativity in the middle. 7
Vieira: Showed a few soft shoe shuffles to bam boozle defenders in a way we haven’t really seen this season. Also got stuck into his tackles and generally seemed to be on the ball. 7
Pires: There was this surreal moment in the first half. He got the ball on the left wing and took a heavy touch. As if that wasn’t enough he then went flying into the tackle with the Fulham defender and actually won the ball. And it wasn’t the only time – I saw him snuff out a few Fulham attacks and even win a header.
Of course, the attacking side of his play was superb as well – he would have scored from a Dennis chest down but for a good save by Van De Saar. He linked up well, particularly with Henry, and inevitably took his goal with typical aplomb. Now has 19 in 2004, which is good. 7.5
Dennis: A fair few poor touches and bad decision making in general play. In mitigation, he dummied the ball well for the second goal and put Pires in with an excellent chest down. 6.5
Henry: Sure, the flicks didn’t always come off but at times he led Fulham a merry dance like he has almost every other defence this season. His goal was a trade mark finish and he was desperately unlucky when his side footer from the edge of the box crashed back off a post. 7
Subs:
Flamini (for Freddie 74ish): Some might say Arsene was making a point by not replacing Freddie with Pennant. Others will call it a sensible way of seeing out the game. 6.5
Van Persie (for Dennis 78ish): Provided his usual array of tricks but didn’t get a real chance to score. 6.5
v Portsmouth (1-0)
Almunia: Had a really good game. Caught when he needed to catch, punched when he wasn't sure and kicked immaculately. Also made a couple of really good saves. His run of impressive performances may only stretch to two but for now there seems no reason to bring back Jens. 8
Lauren: Did nothing too wrong but didn't offer as much in attack as he might have and at times appeared troubled by Pomey's pace. I think he's ok, but I'm becoming less and less convinced he should be our right back at all - more on that tomorrow. 6.5
Cole: A tough one to call. For a while looked rattled by Pompey's pace and agression down the left. Misplaced a couple of balls and though his tackles were mostly coming off they had a slightly concerning aggressiveness about them which made me think he was letting his own frustration get the better of him a little. But stuck to the task well and in the end kept a dangerous Pompey out. 7
Kolo: Got sucked in a couple of times, but on the whole he was part of a defence that looked pretty solid and much improved at set pieces. 7
Sol: Looked fitter than recently I thought - turning smoothly on a couple of occasions when faced with danger. He also made countless important headers at corners and won us the game with the kind of head down sheer determinism many fans would like to see a little more often. 8
Flamini: Ran hard, tackled hard and never gave up. Doesn't offer as much going forward as Fabregas, but doesn't claim to either. Unlucky with a header from Henry's free-kick. 7
Vieira: Industrious, but was also sloppy on occasion, getting caught in posession and losing the ball. Still doesn't seem 100% back to his best and didn't make the most of a couple of shooting opportunities. 6.5
Clichy: Fought well and offered Cole valuable protection down the left hand side. Showed initial attacking promise early on but faded as Pompey grew in stature. Nonetheless, was full of running at the end and nearly capitalised on tired Pompey legs. 7
Pires: His every touch was met with a chorus of boos as Bob faced Pompey for the first time since 'that dive' last season. There was even one moment when he slipped and the ball rolled out of play. Which probably made a certain journalist very, very warm inside. Otherwise, was neat enough but pretty ineffectual, seemingly afraid of injury in the rough house atmosphere. Had a couple of lovely runs late on and set Dennis up for a chance he really should have taken. 6.5
Henry: Worked hard and created much of our best work, but often found himself crowded out by the hoardes of Pompey defenders. Nearly scored after a flowing first half move and set up Dennis' other chance late on, which again he really should have taken. 7
Van Persie: Started really well, showing fantastic feet and trickery and generally leading Pompey a merry dance. He swivels at such speed he'll probably need a hip replacement aged 30. Faded somewhat after his impressive start, finding himself crowded out by the packed defence. Could pass a little earlier at times but nonetheless a decent first start in a difficult game and he staked a fair claim for inclusion against Fulham on Boxing Day. 6.5
Subs:
Bergkamp (for Van Persie 68ish): Should have scored late on following good set up play. His performance did little to silence the voices calling for this year to be his last. I'm undecided on that, but what I am sure about is that I won't miss the needless little kicks and elbows aimed at his opponents when frustration sets in. Simply put: the sly digs are ugly and Van Nistelrooy like and do nothing for us. 6
v Chelsea (2-2)
Almunia: Faultless for both their goals, he made good stops from Lampard and Gudjohnsen in the first half. And made a vital save when Robben wriggled his way through after the break. But nobody noticed it. Caught when a catch was a good idea, punched when a punch was wiser and set us on the attack with some good throws. 7.5
Lauren: Didn't see much of him, but when you're up against Duff and Robben, this can only be to a defender's credit. Thought he did really well to keep them in check, and the one time Robben did really threaten in the second half, the danger came down the other side. 7.5
Cole: The one player who I thought struggled today. As has been the case of late, he lacked confidence in his touch and stuggled defensively. Perhaps should have come out to Robben before the winger got into the box for his 2nd half chance, and was easily beaten in the air by Drogba for Cheslea's 2nd equaliser. 6
Kolo: Looked solid overall and helped limit Chelsea to only a few chances asides from set pieces. 7
Sol: A mixed bag. Made some really important defensive headers and looked in command at times at the back. But was a little caught out for their opening goal and sometimes seemed a little gung ho in his marking. Made important late tackle on Drogba.7
Reyes: Was quiet, but this was a tough game. Nodded down to Henry for the opener, worked hard and went on a few mazy runs without much success. Still, I thought he gave them something to worry about.6.5
Fabregas: Another excellent performance. He and Flamini were overwhelmed initially when up against Tiago, Lampard and Makalele but never gave up and fought their way back into the game admirably. Nice goal to set up Henry for the opener, he was instrumental in setting up the Frenchman's near winner and also set up RVP for his chance. Uses the ball so intelligently and showed that despite his size, he's not afraid to get stuck in. Was up against the very best in the business today and succeeded in limiting Lampard to a largely peripheral role.8
Flamini: £1 million? First league start? A snip if you ask me. He run's tirelessly, he harries, he puts his foot in and he uses the ball simply when he wins it. A real water carrier but absolutely essential today and worked tirelessly. Well done Sir. 8
Pires: We wanted a big performance and boy did we get one. Seemed almost impossible to shake off the ball, tackled back, linked up well with Lauren, Flamini, Cesc and Henry and drove the team forward in his own idiosyncratic waddle. When in his pomp, he is still a wonderful, wonderful footballer to watch. Set up Henry for the near winner, realised his responsibility as the senior partner in midfield, and shouldered the responsibility admirably.7.5
Dennis: Didn't get involved in too much of note, but I can't help feeling he just gives us a cetain sophistication and shape when he's in the side. Gordon Strachan pointed out on Match of the Day how hard he'd worked to stop Makalele getting the ball and in hindsight I think it probably a fair call.6.5
Henry: Forget the late miss - it can happen to anyone. Otherwise he was outstanding, scoring a brilliant first (which included winning a high ball!), netting an impudent second and generally running the show. Scared Chelsea shitless every time he picked it up and was responsible for a hell of a lot of good work. Also destroyed the concept he doesn't turn it on in big games. That's 15 in 17 league games now by the way.9
Subs:
Clichy (for Reyes 82): Ran around like mad for 10 minutes and forced mistakes out of tired legs. Really good footballer and good enough to start for probably every Premiership side and perhaps should be more often for us. 7.5
RVP: Is maturing very nicely indeed. Nearly netted a silky winner when he latched onto Cesc's pass and gave the Chelsea players a lot to think about. Would be really interesting to see him start. 7
v Rosenberg (5-1)
Almunia: Made a really, really good low save early on and kicked largely well. But looked dodgy more than once on crosses and for the second time in a week cost us a goal, which is a real worry. Eventually realised there's nothing wrong with giving a ball a good double handed punch. 6
Hoyte: Was up against a poor opposition but defended diligently and rarely looked rushed. Used the ball well, linked up well with his team mates and should be well pleased with his first European start. 7
Cole: Looked solid, with a couple of important defensive headers, but still not yet back to his marauding best I sense. Shouldn't have let the ball drop over his head for Harald Brattbakk to fire at Alumnia after 17 minutes. Withdrawn with quarter of an hour left. 6.5
Sol: Ditto for above, though did once later on look somewhat sluggish again on the turn. Perhaps I'm just paranoid about the impending arrival of Duff and Robben at Highbury.6.5
Kolo: A very easy night for the big man and he even found time for a classic Kolo dance into the opposition penalty area towards the end. 7
Flamini: Very, very good full debut. Set up the second goal, ran tirelessly, got tackles in and seemed to work well with Cesc in midfield. Looks comfortable tracking back and going forward and also seems to have a strange affinity for joining in attacks right around the right edge of the penalty area and particularly when we attack the North Bank. A young, thinking man's Gilles Grimandi, he ain't at all bad for a fifth choice midfielder. 7.5
Cesc: Absolute star. Has already played 20 games this season (twice as many as Edu, Gilberto and Vieira), yet still had the strength to turn in one of his best performances for the club. Fantastically alert, his use of the ball was excellent. He also scored a very impressive, very difficult goal and was involved in the build up for the fifth. Not just our most frequent performer in midfield this season, but also our best. 8
Jose: Took his goal really well and gave us a flying start. Had another deflected shot well saved and looked much more like the sun kid of the beginning of the season. Had a delightful late chip that bamboozled three very stupid looking Rosenberg players before landing on the roof of the net. 7
Pires: Looked much, much better and was even spotted making a tackle late in the second half. Kept going and linked up well late on with Jose and RVP before being withdrawn for Quincy with two minutes left. His penalty was so brilliantly placed it went into the side netting. Again I marvel at his ability to put a football exactly where he wants it to go. 7
Bergkamp: A nice return for the Ice Man who got involved well in the game, set up the opener and had a couple of openings himself. Might have done better when in front of goal, but eased himself back into the side well. 7
Henry: I actually thought that poor as the defending was for his goal, it was still a pretty decent finish. Worked hard all night, linked up well with the kids around him and seemed to be feeling particularly tolerant. 7
Subs:
Clichy (for Dennis 72ish): Spent a few mins in midfield before dropping back to left back when RVP replaced Ashley. As ever looked sound in the defending and assured going forward.
7
RVP (for Cole 75): Resuscitated the game with some silky skills, wayward finishing and then eventually a very well taken goal. Rawer than an uncooked vegetable, but with massive potential. 7.5
Quincy (for Bob 88): Should have had longer. Don't think he got a touch.
v Birmingham (3-0)
Alumnia: Looks like Lehman, kicks slightly better than Lehman, fumbles the odd ball like Lehman and jumps a couple of inches less high in the air than Lehman. Did ok, but would have been ill advised to let Morrison’s second half effort creep under him and over the line.6.5
Lauren: Seemed really quiet yesterday. Means he was doing his defensive job well which at the moment is the priority. Better? Seeing as we kept a clean sheet, probably a tad. 6.5
Cole: It's not been picked up much by the press, but I’ve thought Ash to be one of the players whose form has most obviously dipped in the recent spell. He’s still looked a top left back, but the subtlety of touch that allowed him and Bob to link so well still seems to be absent. Better? Not noticeably, but again should take credit for a clean sheet. 7
Sol: I’m of the opinion he’s still carrying a little bit of weight. Played well enough, but on a couple of occasions he looked sluggish and immobile on the turn, which is obviously a concern with Duff and Robben coming to town next week. Better? Probably not. 6.5
Kolo: Probably fair to say he’s not been our worst performer in the recent period, but I think on occasion he has allowed our recent jitters to affect his decision making a little. Kept Heskey quiet, but also seemed to time his jumps wrongly on a couple of occasions. Better? Ditto above. 7
Vieira: Did some good stuff but on other occasions his decision making and concentration again seemed lacking a little. He’s a hard one to judge at the moment. Better? Probably a bit.7
Cesc: I’m glad to see he escaped censure for his recent performances because I think a lot of the recent mutterings about how he’s no Gilberto have been unfair. Admittedly, the Brazilian’s best work is done off the ball, SKY’s stats show how we tend to win with him in the side, but I still think the young Spaniard is doing pretty well. He’s a young boy whose probably played too many games in a struggling team in a big league. But he’s still there, still getting stuck in and still doing his stuff. Tired in the latter stages yesterday and was replaced by Flamini, which was a wise, common sense, decision. Better? No, but only because he was doing well in the first place. 7
Freddie: Scavenged, burrowed, furrowed, ducked and dived. Fred’s doing them all at the moment and its working as the perfect complement to the continued attempts at perfection that come from the rest of the team. Is also being very productive. Should have had a penalty yesterday, set up the third goal and generally ran the show. Better? No, but only because he’s been great. 7.5
Pires: Mark my words. One of these days the opposition are going to get a free kick on the edge of our area. Their player will hit it, the ball will fly off Robert Pires and zip past Lehman. And we’ll all put it down as a fluke, like we did for Graveson’s effort that flew off Pennant in the Carling Cup game against Everton. Except it won’t be a fluke because Pires, like Pennant, will have jumped with his back to the ball, meaning that when it hits him he’ll have no way of giving it any direction.
My point is that Pires simply has to go into tackles. Maybe he’s worried about getting hurt, but he’s ducking out of the most basic challenges and its meaning we’re losing the battle in midfield at places like Old Trafford and Anfield.
Obviously, as I was making a note of this, Bob went and scored a classic Bob goal. Basically a really, really good one. He is a fantastic playa, probably the purest footballer we have in our team and quite possibly the best finisher. Yesterday was his 50th goal for the club and almost without exception (Bolton at home this season) they’ve been aesthetically perfect and a joy to watch.
But he must pull his weight for the team, which funnily enough I’ve seen him do really well on a number of occasions. Better? A little bit later on in the second half. 6.5
Reyes: You have to feel for him - seemingly everything he tries seems to go askew these days. Inches away from a Henry cross in the first half, he got into the game a bit more going towards half time, but then tired before being withdrawn. As I said above, he could do with a 25 minute run against tired defences to get his confidence back. Better? Not really, but not for want of effort. 6.5
Henry: Whether it be through injury or lack of confidence, he spent much of the game getting into decent positions but then making the wrong decision. Then ten minutes from time he took off past Melchiot, through the Birmingham defence and then a cool low finish hit whilst he was running at incredible speed. Six minutes later, he bought a ticket for Freddie Ljungberg’s cross and got lucky.
May not be at his best. But the level of criticism he of all people has taken is ridiculous. Has scored 13 league goals this season (four more than anyone else and 9 more than Ruud), scoring in 11 of the 16 games. And it’s not even like he’s bound to get the goals because nobody else does. He hasn’t even scored a third of our goals, and with the exception of Old Trafford (when nobody scored) and Selhurst Park, at least one other Arsenal player has scored in all of our other games.
Better? Yes. Despite earlier failures, his determination to keep going for the all important second goal was admirable. 7.5
Subs:
Clichy (for Jose): I love this guy. He’s like Wenger’s little foot soldier and seems capable of doing everything. Slotted in expertly in left midfield. He covers, chases back, tackles, retains the ball, gets forward, dribbles and causes havoc in the opposition defence. He may be more defensive than Reyes, but sometimes being slightly more defensive can give you the shape to attack more. May not be suited to central midfield, but should be considered a serious option for a place in left midfield on tough away games. 7.5
Flamini: Seems to do everything neatly enough without being spectacular. Will be interesting to see how he works with Cesc over the next two games.7
v Man United (0-1)
Alumnia: Crap on their goal, barely put a foot wrong otherwise. Plays and looks like a slightly smaller Jens, but can kick. 6
Hoyte: OK and defended well on occasion, but I’d still like to see him get forward more. That said, I think he’s a player who would look much better surrounded by seasoned pros. 6.5
Clichy: Really, really good as usual. Slipped on their excuse of a pitch for the early goal, but didn’t let it affect him and worked tirelessly defending and attacking all game. 7.5
Senderos: The lumbering giant of Everton had been replaced by a very, very accomplished looking centre half. One dodgy back header that fell short but otherwise cut out everything that was asked of him and looked a real first team option. 8
Djorou: Took eye off ball and then slipped for the goal which wasn’t good. Never quite looked the same player as against Everton, but worked his way back into the game. 6.5
Flamini: Looks like we can breathe a little more easily in the midfield department after watching a very assured display. Would like to see him trialled as a sub for Freddie in games where we’ve got a dodgy one goal lead. 7
Larsson: Some like him but I’m not so sure. What he did was decent enough but I thought he struggled to have an effect on the game. 6.5
Quincy: Maybe it was the pitch, maybe it was United doubling up on him. Either way the hero of the last round never really got into last night’s affair. 6
Pennant: Worked hard, tried to take the initiative and overall did quite well. Still not sure if he’ll quite make it at Highbury though. 7
Lupoli: Is a striker and when strikers get no service they don’t look much kop. 6.5
Van Persie: Battled hard all night and willingly came deep to win possession. But probably came a bit too deep and battled a bit too hard. Yes, he could have been sent off for the incident with Richardson. Reminds me a bit of a young Freddie, not in playing style but in the way that the potential is clearly there but the skills are still very, very raw. 6.5
Subs:
Smith (for Lupoli): Did OK but still looks wary of going in for challenges and taking men on following his long term injury.
Cregg: Alright
Karbassiyoon: Alright
But watching the Everton game, it struck me that we have to acknowledge the difference between the opposition taking a physical approach and sheer, deliberate, uninhibited outright kicking. Before I move on to Everton’s sins, I should say I missed the first half-hour and so missed Lauren’s horror tackle. It would not surprise me if it were bad – he often makes shockers (eg on Ronaldo) and gets off with a yellow at worst.
But on to Everton. Beattie simply scythed down Pires on the half-hour. This was not legitimate bullying – it was sheer thuggery. A yellow card. After the break, Nuno Valente felt Reyes had pulled him back as the pair chased a ball down by the corner flag. When no foul was given, out of frustration he launched himself nowhere near the ball and straight at Reyes. Again, sheer deliberate thuggery. Again a yellow.
Then on 90 minutes we had Fabregas sent-off for pushing Cahill around the neck. By the book it was the correct decision and it was a stupid thing for the kid. But looking at the replay you saw Cahill had tried (and failed) to scythe Henry down so cynically that it reminded me of watching Diego Maradona being set-upon by mere mortals as his skill and pace tormented them.
Had I been Fabregas, I’d have been irate too. Three times they just simply tried to kick us like rag dolls. And every time you know that the worst the law will offer is a yellow card. Five years ago, what Fabregas did was far more common. But then video evidence was used against players when the referee missed their raised arm and a three-game ban was the result. We know that even if Fabregas’ fairly harmless shove to Cahill’s neck had been missed by the ref, he’d be up before the FA in an instant.
So now, the new currency is the cynical foul. The advantages are huge: You can be violent enough to do some real damage and let out all your frustration but rarely will a red card result. And you know you will never be labelled as a cynical cheat. Which if we’re honest, is actually what a deliberate attempt to simply take out the man is. So, much as we are currently way to under physical in how we compete for tackles, we should at least acknowledge where Wenger's frustration is legitimate.
But all that said, I was angry to hear Arsene say: "And I expect it to be the same next week at Bolton in the Cup, I invite you all to come and see a re-run of this game." It reeks of resignation before we’ve even set-off. Thuggery we are powerless against. But not physicality. If we get stuck in like we're actually well capable of then can then we can leave Bolton looking like the ones with no plan B. Sadly, I'm not betting on it happening.
...
220106
Arsenal lose away: Insert away day template
Arsenal lost <==insert opposition score==>1 -0<==not a variable==> at <==insert team here==>Everton, their <==insert number here==>6th away defeat of the season.
They went down to a <==insert name of third rate opposition goalscorer==>James Beattie goal which was <==variable a) a once in a lifetime strike b) a defensive cock-up==>a defensive cock-up<==if option =a, end paragraph here, if option =b, continue==>from<==insert names of 6ft plus defenders who were outmuscled==>Sol Campbell and Phillipe Senderos<=/>. Arsenal created a couple of chances after the goal but they were spurned by Ljungberg<==not variable==>and<--insert name of other guilty party==>Fabregas.<=/>
<==Following paragraph must always be included and can not be altered in any way==>From then on we enjoyed large spells of possession but were guilty of faffing around on the edge of the box rather than getting men into it. Henry looked frustrated and moody up front, Pires was peripheral, Ljungberg below his best, Reyes more willing than most, Fabregas willing too but outmuscled and Gilberto too passive, let down by poor passing, poor tackling, too passive, not going into challenges hard enough and too passive. We brought on Alex Hleb but he only offered the same and it certainly wasn't width. If we're honest for all our possession we didn't create enough chances and can't really argue too much with the result. What we need is a new midfielder and new players who will offer us goals up front.<==end of static paragraph==>
Manually inserted extra points:
<==insert manual point one here==>We had so many players out in defence that our right back played left back, our reserve centre back played, our injured centre back played and debutant Kerrea Gilbert got a game too. And did very well in my opinion.<=/>
<==insert manual point two here==>The bit about new players in the static paragraph needs to be changed. We have signed three and saw one of them (Abou Diaby) for the last ten minutes. He's tall. Other than that it was hard to judge, though he looks more like a stone that needs smoothening rather than an already polished diamond. He also had a shot. From outside the box. First time. Which in this team, is worth noting.<=/>
<==insert manual point three here==>In a nod to the past we also saw the return of the frustrated Arsenal player earning themselves a red card for nothing very worth getting a red card for at all. It was Fabregas today who shoved Cahill over (which is yellow) but made the fatal mistake of placing his hand at or above Cahill's shoulder. (red)
Under the rules it was a red card, a stupid thing to do and was something I had been predicting for a while. On December 26th I wrote: "He (Fabregas) sometimes gets involved where it is not needed and is one of those ‘first on the scene’ players. I just wonder if it could come back to bite him at some point." If you saw today's game you'll agree I was fairly prophetic.
As I said, a stupid red card, but in defence of the player I think all his bravado is more a misplaced attempt to show he won't be intimidated on the pitch. He's still a teenager and though his football sometimes belies it, his hormonally driven determination to ‘ave sum is an apt reminder of his precociousness. A few crunching tackles would be far more useful than getting involved in silly stuff. But then again, teenagers learn from their elders and Gilberto is hardly setting an example on the crunching tackle front.
I'd also say that while I accept raising your hand will get you an automatic red card, I don't think it's unfair to ask: "Why?" Fabregas' gentle push could never, ever have caused injury to Cahill. Yet we offer no benefit of the doubt, contrary to incidents like the awful tackle on Reyes today down by the corner flag or even when Lauren sent Ronaldo into orbit three weeks ago (I missed the start of today's game but understand he had another tasty one). Surely they are more of a concern than a petulant shove to the face.
To be fair to the boy he has now apologised. And if you disagree with my analysis about the degrees of punishment, consider that he will serve a three game ban, while Essien got two for his assault on Didi Hamann. I sometimes wish the people who run football would just do something else. A long, long way away.
But I digress. There is far too much wrong with football's rules to go into it now. And the point is we were very, very poor. Wigan on Tuesday. I wonder which Arsenal we'll get.
<==end of template==>
...
160106
Freddy Sheppard should make Sven Newcastle manager
Arsenal stuff will appear later.
Sven: “I have spoken with the players concerned today and I have been very pleased with their reaction and am confident my relationship with them has not been damaged in any way.”
Freddy Sheppard: “We have spoken with the player and he has confirmed he is happy at Newcastle United.”
How absurd Sven should reassure us, the fans, that his comments weren’t a problem because Owen and Beckham had said they were cool about it. As if they were ever going to turn round and say: “Stuff you, stuff my chance of playing in the World Cup and stuff the £300,000 bonus if I win it.” I think not. The fact is that whatever Sven has spouted about Beckham and Owen in particular, both know his presence is the sure fire way will always get in the team.
Of course, it is possible that Sven invented the stuff about Beckham and Owen in a bid to impress the fake Arabs who were so fervently stroking his whopping great financial ego. In which case one would expect Becks and Owen to be livid with their boss for lying, as opposed to just breaking confidences.
But irrespective of what the players really think, the reality is that Sven’s comments about what Owen said were probably true. In which case they were extraordinary. To believe that Newcastle are so overpaying Owen that even his jaw is dropping in astonishment exposes just how naïve and incompetent Sheppard (and Souness) are. I should declare an interest here: I can’t stand either, as I said in my piece on the Owen signing back in August.
My theory is that the one plus side to the top players becoming so rich so quickly is that before long they are so wealthy that for most an extra £10,000 a week just no longer holds the same appeal. With money no great issue, before signing a contract they must then contemplate factors that will sit far more comfortably with the fans who pay them. These include factors such as the quality of the manager and the running of the club. Call me naïve, but loyalty to the supporters could even play a part.
Put it this way: Dennis Bergkamp has been offered vastly reduced contracts by Arsenal for the past three years but has singed them in spite of there probably being somebody somewhere who would offer him far more than the approximately £14,000 he currently earns weekly. In his head, Dennis knows Arsenal is a good club.
Owen is probably not yet as rich as Dennis. But he’s probably still rich enough that an extra £10,000 a week (£500,000 a year) would be worth sacrificing if it meant being happy in the job. Yet Newcaslte are paying him sooooooooooo much and offering sooooooooooo many benefits that Owen (who earned a fortune in his previous jobs) sees it as mitigation for the fact he is at a club he has never really wanted to play for.
After all, the tale that a trio of Sheppard, Souness and Shearer had persuaded Owen St James’ was the footballing place to be always seemed somewhat fanciful. Owen had not wanted to come to the North East initially and his subsequent body language and words with Sven suggest very little changed after he signed. So really, all Sheppard had done was stun an incredibly rich footballer into financial submission.
As one commentator said last week, Sheppard attempted to steal the limelight from Shearer equalling Jackie Milburn’s goal record by hailing him as Newcastle’s greatest ever signing. It was a not so subtle suggestion that Geordies should raise a glass to Freddy for signing the cheque.
And here lies the problem: an obsession with money and ego. Sven and Sheppard would get on famously.
...
1430106
Wenger fills important gaps
Everybody has known for weeks that we needed a new, powerful midfielder. Many hoped he’d be experienced too but I think any gripes about that are dwarfed by the fact Arsene Wenger has splashed the cash.
Emmanuel Adebayor may seem like a less obvious signing but I think Arsene has been quick to plug a widening hole. Of course, we’ve known for years that we’ve had a plethora of forwards but no strikers. But only recently has it started to matter. It used to take three years for us to notch up five premiership blanks but we’ve managed it five times in seven games now.
He’s being compared to Kanu and has been given the number 25 shirt. Crucially, what Kanu gave us in his good years was something completely different from the excellent but generic offerings one would expect from the rest of the well-drilled Wenger players. For a while, Arsene’s signings were seemingly becoming more and more in the image of how he would create his perfect player.
For example, Alex Hleb (in his good early season form rather than his recent post injury struggles) looked like the result of cross breeding Robert Pires and Freddie Ljungberg. He had the perception and ability to glide past players reminiscent of an on form Pires and all the scurrying qualities of Ljungberg. It was as though a salesman had knocked on Wenger’s door and rather than offering something completely new he was offering the two for the price of one Pirberg.
As I said, I like Hleb and think he has a lot to offer. But the point I’m making is that players have been getting more and more similar. Yet Adebayor appears to break that mould and therefore we should be grateful.
The other big news is that it seems Theo Walcott could follow Diaby and Adebayor. Both Arsenal and Southampton are denying anything has been concluded, but looking at Wenger in the press conference today he had the air of the cat that got the cream. And certainly he is talking far more openly about Walcott than one would expect were a possible deal a long way off.
The word is Arsenal is his preferred destination because of the opportunity to work alongside his idol Thierry Henry. Which is perhaps the first pay-off of Henry’s pledge of loyalty last week. It could also be that we have Henry’s wobble to thank for giving Arsene a little jolt to wake him from the perceived transfer lethargy many fans have lamented. Arsene also deserves credit for apparently beating Mourinho in the battle to sign Diaby. A small victory, but one worth taking.
Finally, the signings keep faith with Arsene’s seeming determination to build the league’s youngest side. Of our top 25 players (the accepted size of a squad), 12 are 22 or under with four of them making up 80 per cent of our midfield. We have now gone three and a half years since we signed an outfield player over 24. But these signings are good news - though we shouldn't be disapointed if they aren't instant hits in the way Vieira and Kanu did.
It’s Boro today and I’m at work during the game. So there will be no update after it.
Update: The Sun report the following Wenger quote, which could be real and intended, real but not intended or a slip by the paper: “We have signed three exciting prospects at very reasonable prices." They have also dropped an absolute clanger in their analysis of Arsene's signing of young players. They said: "Niccolo Galli, Guy Demel and William Huck were unknown when they arrived and remained anonymous until they left." Galli died in a motorbike crash in February 2001.
...
100106
Striker anybody?
I'm just coming to the end of watching a tape of tonight's game with the rubbish bits fast forwarded (ie most of it). What strikes me is that we simply have to play a striker. I don't give a stuff if Reyes and Quincy are more senior than Lupoli and Bentender. We badly needed someone to hold the ball up but there was nobody there. It's stubborness from Wenger. We also seem to lack committment in the tackle sometimes, which is hard to accept. The results is not a good one: we failed to score an away goal, which means that if they do, we'll require three. It's gonna be tough.
...
080106
Spurs aren’t on their way to Wembley
Childish, mindless, moronic baiting is not my thing. And baiting Spurs over the years has been like taking candy from a baby. So I don’t think Arsenal fans should be laughing about their defeat at Leicester. But, frankly, I’m going to anyway. Ha, ha, ha, ha. That feels good.
It was at 2-0 to Spurs after 40 minutes and with the away fans singing their famous cup final song I admit I thought I was watching a new Tottenham. They were calm and in control and for once making a first division side look just that. Oh well.
Anyway, our weekend was rather better. I’m working Saturdays ‘til the end of the season so missed the Cardiff game. But by all accounts it was your standard Arsenal v lower league side game at Highbury in that we made heavy weather of what should have been a relatively simple task before eventually going through.
Henry was the other big news. A few people have tried to put a spin on his words but to me they simply that so long as we offer him a decent contract and invest in a few decent new players, he will stay. Which must be a massive, massive relief and is, if we’re honest, a real coup for the club. Let’s hope he didn’t feel rushed into his decision by the speculation about phone calls to Barcelona. And let’s hope the investment we all crave arrives. Of course it is worrying when you see Chelsea, United and Liverpool all making moves before us. But we should remember that Reyes only arrived in late January so there is still time. Another question about Henry (as a friend pointed out) is whether the club will be prepared to break their one year at a time rule for over 30s and so only offer him a deal ‘til he’s 31. Let’s just pray Arsene is having none of those thoughts.
I’d also like to nail on the head the absurd, lazy assumption made by some journalists that Thierry Henry has somehow been a disappointment this season. In the Daily Mail, Matt Lawton cited Henry as Arsenal’s biggest disappointment (with Van Persie the major plus). Elsewhere, recent performances have seen his shrugs, scowls, flailing of the arms and lack of willing to enter some attacks put down as evidence of his anxiety. What tosh. It’s what he’s always done and is just how he is.
And for the record, he has scored 10 goals in 14 league games and 13 in 19 in total. It is proportionately almost identical to RVN’s 15 in 20 or 17 in 28. And while the stats say he has hit just one double in seven league games, he also hit the post twice against Bolton, again against Chelsea and again against Charlton. So a little perspective is called for.
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040106
Arsenal 0 United 0: Report from Highbury
I’ve seen a few match reports this morning and many seem to have subtly rolled every great moment from Arsenal v United over the past eight years into one game and then compared it favourably to what was on offer last night. I actually thought this was probably as high a quality a Arsenal v United contest Highbury has seen for quite a while. Whisper it in hushed tones, but the 2-2 draw in 03 and the 1-1 in 04 were poor affairs. And our performance last night was generally improved on last year.
This was the first time I had seen United at Highbury since the last 0-0 draw in 1995 and you easily forget what a brilliant arena Highbury is for the big night games. The atmosphere crackled behind the goals, stretching so far from both ends that even the West Upper seemed alive. Occasionally. Down on the touchline, the East Lower rose furiously at every United indiscretion. It might be Highbury’s last night like that. One to savour.
Surprisingly, it was the attackers who were found lacking. United couldn’t put away their second half chances and we could neither take ours nor commit the men forward like we should have nor get the obligatory penalty that we are always denied in games like these. It is now five blanks in seven for us, enough to make the ghosts of seasons past spin in their graves.
We were of course thwarted by the absence of Van Persie, a real goal threat. With Freddie also missing, it was the back five you would expect, Cesc, Gilberto, Hleb, Reyes and Henry. Individual performances were quite revealing. Henry, irrespective of Gallic pouts and refusal to get into the box, is clearly injured at the moment but is playing anyway. Hleb did ok but has lost confidence he had in the first few games that let him beat men and feed in really interesting balls.
For all the talk of the absence of Vieira, Gilberto had a good game – his positional sense in front of the back four was largely spot-on and barring a couple of errors, he was neat and tidy in the tackle. Next to him Fabregas was superb. That he tired later can easily be excused in an 18 year-old near present in central midfield this season.
On the right, Robert Pires improved in the second half. But sadly, he is a relic of a bygone era, a time when Arsenal were so good that wingers like Pires could shirk all their defensive duties because others would cover for them. Chelsea have raised the bar. The wingers are constantly tackling, closing down and working for the team when the ball is lost. Pires does not do that and is therefore a luxury. Perhaps the way he shirks anything defensive it is due to a legitimate fear of reinvoking past injuries, perhaps it is just laziness. But either way, a title winning team in 2005 can’t afford passengers like that.
The contrast with Jose Reyes could hardly be starker. Like Fabregas, Reyes plays as though it is the purple blood that pumps through his fragile frame. In the first half in particular, he was outstanding, his commitment no less than anything Keane or Vieira showed at their peak. It wasn’t just the fact that he gave Gary Neville a torrid time. It was the way he chased everything, panicked United and so, so crucially covered for Pascal Cygan. Top man.
Talking of Cygan, he played to the best of his abilities. He is no Baresi. But equally he is no slacker either. He even went to take a short corner with Henry. The others at the back did well and even though we could have conceded, it is a fourth clean sheet on the trot.
I was at Highbury and the atmosphere was fantastic and the game thrilling. Those who say otherwise have probably been spoilt by seeing too many games of this ilk in person. A draw was fair – United shaded the chances but both sides could have scored and didn’t. For me, the tackle on Fabregas was a penalty because though Neville got a toe to the ball, it was still in Fabregas’ possession when he scythed him down.
Let’s face it, we are a team in transition. We had eight fantastic years where we punched miles above our weight. But now a lack of spending (and a misjudgement in the transfer market) are catching up with us. Getting us back on top will not be easy. And a number of older players will fall by the wayside. Last night represented another failure to beat a top team. But the major positive we should take is that it was our two youngsters, in who Wenger has invested so much faith, who were Arsenal’s best players last night.
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020106
Arsenal v United: 2nd preview
So Gilberto is fit but Ljungberg and Van Persie are out. The latter is a big, big blow. It leaves us with just Henry and Reyes as the only players available to have netted more than twice in the league this season. And given our lack of goals that is a worry.
I suspect Gilberto will return. And if he does, let’s hope 2006 starts better than 2005 ended. He is not the world’s greatest midfielder but he is a far better player than his recent form and good enough to face United.
I wonder whether Van Persie and Ljungberg missing could prompt a change of plan from Wenger. Could we see Gilberto, Fabregas and Flamini all play? And could Henry then play as a loan striker, supported by Reyes on the left and either Hleb or preferably Pires (as long as he really tries) on the right? It would be a fairly radical departure from what we have seen this season but I just wonder whether it might be a good way of not being forced to play Bergkamp due to Van Persie’s absence.
It is also possible that Cesc could play on the right, Flamini and Gilberto in the middle and Reyes left, with Dennis and Henry up front. But to me it doesn’t sound so good. Of course, we could stick rigidly to our normal formation and play Dennis and Henry with Reyes and say Pires supporting. It has worked well in the past. The question would be whether it leaves us too open in the midfield.
Irrespective of our current predicament, the game will be one of the last great occasions at Highbury and the atmosphere should crackle suitably. The game is sure to be a fiery one and Fergie has already stoked the fire with his myopic review of United’s behaviour over the years. We need to make sure we keep our heads (here’s looking at you Cesc (and Jens obviously)), not just to save ourselves embarrassment but also so we stay focused.
Speaking following the first battle of Old Trafford on the 1991 end of season video, George Graham told his side: “You still gotta tackle, still got to close down. But lads, you must watch your behaviour.” How apt.
Whatever happens, what we mustn’t be left with at the end of the night is regrets. That means ensuring there are no stupid individual errors that cost goals. That means ensuring that if we get chances that we take them. And that means hoping the referee does his job and calls the big decisions correctly. And of course we need to think about how we contain the United threat and Rooney and Ronaldo in particular. But that is something that comes after the basics and too often this season it has been the basics that have let us down. Come on you Gunners!
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010106
Arsenal v United preview: who to play?
I was only able to see the second half against Villa so I’m in no position to say too much about the performance. However most accounts have been pretty negative. From what I saw, we were clearly conceding too much possession to Villa but at the same time I felt the individual errors so evident in the defeats at Bolton and Newcastle were not so evident.
However you look at it, the draw was hardly great preparation for the final league visit of Man United to Highbury on Tuesday night, particularly given them beating fat Sam’s lot 4-1. The game is a funny one because for seemingly the first time in yonks it is the attack who pose the greatest worry at the moment. We may have hit four against Pompey but December saw us fail to find the net in four out of six league games. A big worry.
For me, the well-documented problems in midfield are at least in part to blame. Drive from the midfield in Wenger’s Arsenal has always been essential. After all, how could it not be in a team that so deliberately shunned the long ball from defence straight through to attack? But we lack that drive, power, speed and athleticism we once had. The problem seems exacerbated whenever Hleb and Ljungberg get the nod on the wings because essentially, they are the slightly more attacking shadows of what is in the middle. Played with Fabregas and Flamini, we have a midfield of four physically unimposing players, none of whom have the blistering pace and drive Wenger’s sides are famed for.
Given that, I would definitely play Reyes against United. There is the risk he will be intimidated out of the game. But at the very least he should offer us some variety. On the right it is a tough call. I suspect Hleb will sit on the bench. Then it becomes a question of the gritty but limited Ljungberg or the big occasion but inconsistent Pires. Who knows.
I can see why some would plump for Dennis next to Henry because of the greater fluidity his presence tends to give us. But I would go for Van Persie. I sometimes think it goes unnoticed how capable Van Persie is of fashioning a goal from nothing. And that can be vital. Certainly, when he was taken off after 68 minutes at Villa it was as though we had lost one of our few goalscoring aces. Dennis may give you the odd goal but he is no longer able to conjure a goal all on his own like Van Persie can.
Other than that we need commitment all over the pitch and concentration. With Cygan suspended I wonder whether Arsene could throw in a surprise and play Eboue at left-back or perhaps Eboue right-back and Lauren left-back. Either way, I suspect he might be anxious to avoid what happened against Chelsea where the full-backs were both out of position and the central defence not the number one pairing.
Put mildly, we have been rubbish against big teams recently and it is true that we have not really beaten anybody that tough this season (though victory in Amsterdam was cool). You can be sure Fergie will have pinpointed our weaknesses and will look to exploit our flimsy midfield in particular. Another defeat would be a sickener and the task then really would be to scrape fourth place. Victory could be a great, short-term shot in the arm and a timely reminder that we can still do it.
On a level playing field, it will be tough. What we have to hope for is that the playing field is level and that the curse of bad refereeing decisions that have plagued some of our recent big games does not rear it’s ugly head again.
P.S.: Have just read Fergie's comments about us not being a big club and just remembered how much I hate United. And as for his claim that tickets to Highbury cost £72, Fergie is either lying or else his pal had presumably frequented a tout, given that the highest price for a single ticket is £54. The only other option is corporate hospitality, something United would never dream of indulging in. Indeed, everything I hate about them is now flooding back. For pride's sake, we have to win.
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281205
Arsenal 4 Portsmouth 0: Lovely stuff
My first visit of the season to Highbury. And some memorable goals to go with it. Granted, we weren’t brilliant throughout by any means and the midfiled (and Gilberto in particular) and Pascal Cygan are serious worries at the moment.
But the four goals were sweet. It is rare that you hear a commentator sounding genuinely excited by what he has seen, but listening to what Steve Wilson said on Match of the Day tonight it was clear he relished our return to the scoring of Arsenal goals like we did. The first was a peach – Flamini hustling and winning the ball in midfield. He sprayed it wide to Reyes, who completely slipped his man and fired in a great low ball that Dennis simply had to take first time. He did and he finished perfectly to put us 1-0 up.
The second was a fine ball from Toure down the right into Henry. He controlled well before feeding the onrushing Reyes who hit an absolute stonker of a left footed shot first time into the roof of the net. It was a tough effort – he had to come across the ball and had little of the net to aim for.
Then just as we were slowing-up, Flamini released Henry who rounded the keeper, took the ball pretty wide and then clipped in from a tight angle for his first in five games. His celebration was interesting. We’ve all heard the strong rumours about him leaving. But as he celebrated in front of the East lower he looked like a man perfectly at home in his surroundings.
Then when Pires got played in he slid the ball in for Reyes, who was flying in at full pelter. There was the most mininal of touches from the defender but the referee’s decision to give a penalty was the right one. Such was Reyes’ pace, only the slightest nudge was enough to deprive him of his clear goalscoring chance. Thankfully, the referee didn’t send the offender off – though technically he should have. Henry converted and we slowed up afterwards, preserving energy ahead of Villa away on Saturday.
Overall, it was a very positive night. The combination of Henry, Bergkamp, Pires and Reyes would be a disaster in away games. But against weaker opposition at Highbury they are potent – such as when we beat Villa 3-1 last season. Against Pompey, Bergkamp and Pires could do their things and looked good. Henry did his stuff and while to Arsenal fans he probably only had an average games, it’s worth remembering that to neutrals he is persistently sublime.
And Reyes followed up his good performance at Charlton with another excellent show. He scored one and set-up two and generally caused trouble. On form, he is a fine, fine player and to me he is one of those players who just want to see do well. Tonight’s goal was another example of his goalscoring versatility.
Credit too to Arsene. He is sometimes criticised for his team selections and substitutions. But in the past two games he has got things spot on, resting people who need resting and so far keeping the squad fresh looking in a tough period. Elsewhere, Kanu hit a superb brace to sink Spurs. Lovely stuff.
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261205
Charlton 0 Arsenal 1: Reyes has rocket put up him
A rocket up ‘im is a tired and usually ill used football analogy but perfectly apt for today’s game. Even by his own standards, Jsoe Reyes was peripheral in the first half (barring one flowing move that Freddie really should have scored). Indeed he was so bad that he was almost as bad as Pascal Cygan. And in the first half, that really was bad.
Then when Reyes emerged after the break it was as though the rocket we all know he has in him had been ignited. It was crazy stuff. He played like a winger, all wide and running like apparently that was wingers are supposed to do. It was like what happens in other teams. It was a joy to see and suddenly our attacking threat was almost doubled, with not everything having to go through Thierry Henry.
Of course, it was not just Reyes who got better. The whole performance was far improved and we dominated the game. Our reward came when Ljungberg played in Henry. His first effort was blocked and his second low shot hit the keeper and looped into the air.
The ball dropped on Reyes’ right foot just a couple of yards from goal. He volleyed home and we had our first league goal in a month. Lovely stuff. We continued to dominate, could have scored more and never looked like letting things slip after Danny Murphy was sent-off - his second yellow for throwing the ball down in frustration after a Bennett call. Stupid decision and one I hate to see – even when it benefits us.
On a side note, Cesc got a bit involved in that incident and was also guilty of a slightly dangerous (yellow card worthy) challenge that went unchecked. I love watching Fabregas and am only too happy to see him get stuck in. But he sometimes gets involved where it is not needed and is one of those ‘first on the scene’ players. I just wonder if it could come back to bite him at some point.
But back to the performance: we were much better in the second half but there was still a lot wrong. We lack suredness, Cygan is still at left-back and Cesc and Gilberto had their usual flaws exposed. I’d give the young Spaniard a well earned break for the Portsmouth game.
The bright spots in the game were the result, a far improved Sol Campbell performance and Reyes second half effort. It was great to see him at full pelter and a reminder of the massive potential he has. If I’m honest I’d half forgotten how good he can be. Seeing him tuck the ball home from two yards also offered a extra useful reminder to yours truly.
I stick by my assertion that Reyes is not a striker. But I forgot that on form, he can still be a goalscoring winger. And more to the point, we are talking about a player who can score every single kind of goal, which to me suggests real potentially as a 15 goal a season winger. Cast your mind back over the goals he has given us and you will see there is no trademark. Left footed, right footed, headed, spectacular, bundled in, tapped-in, first time, lengthy runs, one-on-ones, volleyed. They are all there. And in this generally gloomy time for the club, that is a pleasing thought.
Portsmouth on Wednesday. I’d rather not see Cygan at centre-back, would replace Fabregas with Flamini, make sure Reyes gets another chance to try to build some confidence and probably give Pires a run-out in place of Freddie too.
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21/12/05
Insane Blatter wants to make things even easier for Chelsea
The Chelsea match review is below this quick post. Sepp Blatter has said: "If a club can only have five foreigners among their starting 11, then they will have to build on their own youth system. If Chelsea were forced to have five foreigners then Roman Abramovich could not go on buying the best players across the world for exorbitant fees. Chelsea is the example of what should not happen."
The man is a lunatic. The problem at the moment is that Chelsea are snapping up the cream of English players for sums only Man United can even think about, irrespective of whether the player is of any use to them (Lampard) or not. (Wright-Philips).
Were this rule to come in, Chelsea would simply further dominate the English market, pushing up prices and further decimating those without money. Not only would we be forced to fill our team with six English also rans, we would also no longer be able to compensate for the vast gulf in finances as we currently do, by scouring the world for affordable top players.
Develop their youth system? Err, no. They would just spend more money. I am not having a go at Chelsea, but the fact is they would be most happy with these plans. As Arsenal fans, these insane ideas should worry us.
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19/12/05
Arsenal 0 Chelsea 2: It ain’t the end of the world.
So, league defeat at home to Chelsea for the first time in yonks. Painful? Disappointing? Frustrating? YES, YES, YES. But surprising? NO. In short, we learnt very, very little that we didn’t already know.
If we were to win, we had to be clinical with what chances we created and make sure we scored the first goal. Chelsea began well but for me the first two real opportunities were Arsenal ones and we did little wrong with them. Henry hit the post and then Van Persie swept home beautifully only to see the offside flag raised in error.
Not offside
It was a massive, massive decision. 1-0 to Arsenal and we would have had a completely different game. It was a wretched decision and I’m getting sick of wretched decisions in big games. Don’t get me wrong, at home against smaller sides the refs favour us. But in big games we seem to get little luck. At crucial times in both United league games last year and now against Chelsea. I’m not talking about flukes of performance – like when we beat United in the Cup Final or when Drogba scored against us earlier this season. I’m on about the crucial refereeing decisions, which, for whatever reason, seem to keep going against us in the big games.
Six minutes before half-time and Robben was as onside as Van Persie was and he too put the ball in the net smartly. This time the goal stood. While you languish in footballing depression mulling over this defeat, just consider how different things might have been had our goal stood and theirs not.
Red cards:
As for the non sending-offs: yes, Senderos probably should have gone (as Wenger acknowledged). But so too should Essien, who is anything but a marked man as Mourinho claims. I thought his elbow was probably correctly called a yellow. But it was just crass inconsistency that let him get away with a later foul on Van Persie that was identical to one Henry had been booked for about two minutes earlier. So on that front, honours even. (ps, question for UEFA: when did going in studs first near someone’s knee become a two rather than a three game ban?)
I thought we actually played quite well after we went behind. Chelsea 1-0 up are a nightmare to play against. Though we could have created a few more chances, we still fashioned some decent openings. They were dangerous on the break but that was always going to be so with us chasing the game. Cole took their second excellently after one of Lauren’s worst ever mistakes for the club. But to bash him is ridiculous. He is a first class foot soldier who is having a good season and hardly ever puts a foot wrong.
The Midfield:
The problem for us was very obviously in midfield. Aware that we would be outmuscled, we frequently tried to pass long straight from defence to attack. It was an unfamiliar approach that met with limited success. I’ve heard mutterings of disappointment about Cesc’s performance, but I’d point to what I said on Saturday about him being asked to do the wrong job. But the problem is not just a lack of muscle in central midfield. While we could once slot Edu in left and Parlour right, Freddie is now our most physically strong wide player, which says it all. And the pace that once characterised our middle line only lives on in the injured and inconsistent Jose Reyes.
This is, clearly, a very difficult time for the team. Our standards have slipped and for the first time we are staring into the abyss of finishing outside of the top two. But let us not get carried away. We went three barren years without any trophy between Wenger’s first and second titles. Things change and evolve. Of course we need reinforcements and the prospect of Henry leaving is daunting. But things are not all bad.
Hleb is having a far better first year than Pires did, Sol Campbell (in my opinion) will rise again and while they are not yet world beaters, there is genuine promise in our young players. Things change and evolve and for anyone who is feeling at all disillusioned with Arsene, just imagine how much worse every other manager would do with our resources. For one thing, I think if Mourinho took over at Highbury tomorrow, he’d struggle big time. But take Wenger to Stamford Bridge and I’d expect him to win Chelsea titles, which less we forget, is all Mourinho has managed for them so far.
Chelsea?
So, finally, what of Chelsea? Have they raised the bar? Incrementally at most. That they are so far ahead is in part because of their own consistency but more due to United and Arsenal’s recent decline. Are they any better than us in 2004 or United in their pomp? I’d say no way. So the challenge is for us to get back to what we have achieved before and then catching Chelsea will take care of itself.
The most well resourced squad ever in British football was very fortunately injury free enough to be able to choose their first choice eleven against us. We were missing three left-backs, a winger and had a midfielder harshly suspended. C’est la vie. What a sign of the times that of the eleven players fielded by Mourinho, ten cost £6 million plus, while John Terry was a shooting star long before the special one had even heard of him. Our side contained just three players bought for more than £3.5 million.
Overhauling them will be very tough, but is doable. And if there is one manager you’d choose for a club like ours – in transition and relatively cash strapped – you’d plump for Arsene Wenger over Jose Mourinho or anyone else any day of the week. Which is handy really.
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17/12/05
Arsenal v Chelsea preview: How good would Cesc look in Chelsea’s midfield?
A year and a week after his first start in an Arsenal shirt, Mathieu Flamini is likely to again come into the Arsenal side next to Cesc Fabregas for the visit of Chelsea. The prospect has left many fearful, but they did ok last year and I think they can do ok on Sunday. In a way, the prospect of having Fabregas and Flamini snapping like whippets around Essien and Lampard is preferable to having Gilberto in there. In his current poor form, we might risk the Brazilian just providing poor man’s version of what Makalele does so well for Chelsea.
The game is obviously going to be very tough and despite our impressive home form, Chelsea must be favourites. At Highbury the league results have been immaculate but the teams we have beaten have been nothing special and our performances only impressive in short, sporadic bursts. Still, I think we have the players who, on their game, can stop Chelsea from scoring. And I think we are capable of creating chances against them at Highbury. So, we are not without hope.
If we are to win, a likely key player will also be our youngest – Cesc Fabregas. Usually in hushed voices, some Arsenal followers have questioned whether he has the strength for the Premiership. They say both Vieira and Gilberto have struggled next to him. I refute that. As far as Vieira goes, he acknowledges openly in his book that he played much of last season with a very dodgy ankle.
And as for his partnership with Gilberto, I see the problem being that Fabregas has been unfairly forced to play the role of tough tackling midfielder. While the Brazilian may provide a positional wall, it is Cesc who on the whole is required to throw his still slender frame into the tough tackling.
For me, he has actually done it ok, but the point is that expecting him to excel as the enforcer is as preposterous as expecting Dennis Bergkamp to score 30 goals a season. It is not what either do. But imagine Cesc sat on the Chelsea bench for a game and replaced one of Essien, Makalele or Lampard at half-time. Whoever he came in for, I’d expect him to flourish, revelling in being able to concentrate on doing what he’s great at. He could also offer Chelsea the midfield subtlety and creativity they have occasionally lacked - such as in four scoreless encounters against Liverpool in the Champions League.
So if you see Cesc being out muscled on Sunday, take a look around and remember what he is being asked to do. However well he does it, here’s to the midfield beast/animal/enforcer we all pray Arsene will buy in the January sales.
Ps: there was a really good piece on Football365 this week pointing out that in quite a number of these games where Arsenal supposedly allow themselves to be bullied to defeat the more truthful explanation is that very poor refereeing has instead allowed teams to get away with what is simply illegal.
It pointed out the United game last season and more recently the Bolton game (where the referee just ignored Lehman being elbowed in the stomach and another guy who was already booked punching the ball in to the net all in one move) and Newcastle, where the fact is Alan Shearer got away with stuff that was far more plain illegal than any ‘on the edge’ bullying.
I’m not saying we don’t sometimes go soft (I think we do), but it does add some rationality to the whole debate.
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12/12/05
Newcastle 1 Arsenal 0: Same problems, same lack of solutions
A week ago I penned a massive post Bolton post mortem. (Computer problems mean it has only just gone online - see below). Almost everything I said then applied to today’s match so I’m not going to go over the same ground in massive depth after today. For me there are a few points for why we lost:
1) We left our shooting boots at home. I’m hardly in a position to tell Thierry Henry how to score. He had the chances in the first half and didn’t take them. It was one of those things, as was Van Persie mis-kicking later.
2) We are still hideously under strength in the centre. Gilberto is playing crap, yet we have no other option. We need an animal in there (Gilberto, Cesc, Hleb and Freddie is hardly physically intimidating.) Yet we have no animal to bring in.
3) Dermot Gallagher was a total wanker today. (And yes, I know we get the run of the mill sometimes and did so against Newcastle on the first day of the season). That not withstanding, on a technicality sending-off Gilberto was justifiable. But as I remember they were the only free-kicks he gave away all day. And neither were dangerous tackles. They were the tackles of a player who is out of form and off the pace. Were they so bad he needed to be excluded from the pitch? Definitely not.
Compare the approach to Gilberto to how Gallagher treated Shearer and other Newcastle players. Shearer was given a free reign to elbow, foul (including one shocker in front of the referee), knowingly kick so high that knew he would hit Lauren, kick the ball away and delay kick-offs by standing in our half. It took 89 minutes for him to get booked. All this matters because while Newcastle (as is their right) adopted a very physical approach they were able to do so because Gallagher was being so lenient. Once a player has been booked they have to temper their approach, knowing that one more significant error will be the end for them. Gallagher patently failed on that part. Apparently this is his final year. On this showing, good riddance.
But overall there is no escaping the fact we have big problems away from home. The defence could do with some better drilling but overall they did fairly well today. And though the goal came from our left, Lauren looks infinitely better at left-back than Cygan. And up front I think we look fairly strong. We have drawn three blanks on the run but prior to then had looked dangerous. With a bit of luck, Henry could have had two at Bolton and Van Persie one. And the same can be said today.
The problem for me is midfield. In the middle we are enormously weak. It would be nice if we could give 18 year-old Cesc a break but there’s fat chance of that at the moment. And though Hleb helps, we lack defensively able players on the wings: Freddie is either a bit injured or out of form at the moment. Yet still he plays 90 minutes every game.
The thing is that Chelsea probably have as many midfielders and forwards out of form as we do. Crespo, Duff, Robben, Wright-Philips and arguably Drogba and Gudjohnsen are hardly setting the world on fire at the moment. Of course, we can hardly hope to have their strength in depth. But equally, we can expect far more of our current resources in the middle.
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04/12/05
Just what is Arsene playing at?
I spoke to a season ticket holding friend last night who for some weeks has said his confidence in the boss is waning. I don’t necessarily agree, but what follows are some of his concerns and some I have too. What do you think?
Arsene can moan about player commitment but to us Bolton yesterday was simply the epitome of what we feared at the beginning of the season, the inevitable result of Arsenal’s very own corporate restructuring. So as the squad has been trimmed and thinned out, those that are left are more comfortable than ever in their positions and what would normally be the responsibility of experienced team members is being carried out by talented, but as yet unproven, upstarts.
At Bolton Henry and Van Persie were the right choice. But even Tony Adams (who generally seems to not know that much about tactics) has been pointing out for years that Ljungberg and Pires won’t work at places like Bolton. Admittedly, Alex Hleb is injured.
But in central midfield Wenger is guilty of discarding our two most aggressive midfielders as if we have somehow had too many of them. It is blatantly clear that neither Fabregas, Gilberto nor Flamini have the animal instincts that seem to be present in the heart of every top side. It is also true that talented as the first two are, Gilberto is not and Cesc is not yet good enough that their places in the starting line-up should be completely unquestioned and unthreatened. How Arsene could go out at the start of this season and rightly deciding he needs a fourth central midfielder plump for a 17 year old (Alex Song) to complement his 18 and 21 year-olds is beyond me. Principles and only buying the right player is admirable, but not when it means no player.
And if the case in midfield is one of transfer bloody mindedness then the case at left-back is one of tactical bloody mindedness. With no personal insult intended to the man, I can’t remember a single player in Arsene Wenger’s reign enjoy a run in the side and look more out of his depth when doing so than Pascal Cygan at left-back. Even when he does something right, 90% of the time it means he hasn’t cocked it up. His abilities are simply so limited there, it was no wonder Bolton almost encouraged Jens to throw him the ball. Leaving aside the defending, you would have to say he offers nothing to the attack either. It is as though we have become numb down part of our left side.
For Arsene to come out last week and say he brought on Lauren at left-back for the last half hour in Thun to see if he could play there just encapsulates the problem. As you and I well know, Lauren would be miles better playing there, as would Toure, as would Eboue, as might Senderos and as might even Flamini.
They say there is no point buying for the sake of it, but there is also no point not buying for the sake of it. And Alex Hleb is the ONLY outfield and vaguely proven player over 21 who has arrived at Highbury in nearly three and a half years! That is extraordinary! We all know (and largely admire) Arsene’s determination to challenge Chelsea’s exorbitant spending by unearthing and polishing gems, but it is almost as if what Chelsea do is dictating what we do. By this I mean the more they spend the less we seem to spend. And yet the fact is that any title win would count as a great overcoming of the odds, even if we spent £20 million a year.
On that note, there is nothing wrong with stripping out a few luxuries (eg Kanu and Wiltord) to give younger players a chance. But you can’t start getting rid of the bare essentials. And at the moment you can argue we have no competition in goal, where Wenger’s signings there are slowly becoming more bizarre and obscure (witness Shabaan, Warmuz, Almunia and now Poom). We have two good centre backs (one of whom is off his game), a still very young pretender (Senderos) and another who ain’t up to it. Four years ago we had an (admittedly aging) Adams, Keown, Campbell, Upson, Grimandi (better than Cygan) and Oleg Lhuzny (probably better than Cygan).
I hardly need to go into central midfield. A comparison with last year simply says it all. On the wings, as I suggested earlier, there is fair attacking cover. The problem though is that when we want to plump for someone more defensive on the right we end up having to move Fabregas, where as two years ago we would have simply slotted Edu in, leaving Vieira and Gilberto intact in the centre.
And at up front, it seems to have taken ages to a) figure out Reyes is a winger and b) develop a successor to Dennis. Discounting Reyes, we have just three forwards – a footballing god, a youngster still making his mark and a man who is rapidly going over the hill. Think back to 1999 and look at the perfect balance we enjoyed: an in form Kanu, Dennis around his prime, a raw (but still 25 goal) Thierry Henry and Davor Suker, who was used as and when it pleased. Sadly, our current paucity of forwards meant that after 70 minutes we were calling for Dennis yesterday, even though all and sundry could surely see it was not the time or place for his services. And quite why on earth Robin Van Persie was withdrawn I don’t know. Simple maths says Van Persie’s goal threat is far higher than Dennis or Reyes.
All in all, there seems to be a great sense of bafflement. We expect managers to be a little mad, but more and more often we seem to be shrugging our shoulders and explain something away as Arsene just being Arsene. But it doesn’t add up. We might not like seeing Chelsea above us but always knew their spending would make it probable. But it’s hard to accept when we seem to be shooting ourselves in the foot so readily. Even Spurs have about seven midfielders better than our fourth choice.
And what is so galling is that actually we are not very far at all from being bloody good. With the exception of Cygan, every player in our squad is Arsenal quality and very many are worthy week in week out starters too. But they need reinforcements. With these reinforcements, we wouldn’t have to shunt Freddie back into the side when he doesn’t look ready. We would be able to pick the players who are physically at their peak and rest others when they tire a little. Which is what Mourinho does and explains why Cole, Duff, Robben and Wright-Philips always look so chirpy.
So what do we need? A hungry, improving goalkeeper who will in a few years succeed Jens. A half decent centre back who is solid if nothing else. An established beast in central midfield. Perhaps a young, as yet unproven beast, for when the big beast is suspended. A Davor Suker like signing – someone who will offer goals when they play but whose presence will not hold Van Persie back. And as the Dutchman becomes established, someone to fill Van Persie’s current role of young pretender – Arturo Lupoli would seem the obvious choice.
That is five signings. But only two (the beast and the goal scorer) would initially be pivotal ones. Those five, combined with our ever improving youngsters, could make a real squad. At the moment it is not just that Chelsea are so far ahead in the table, it is that we are in with the likes of Spurs, Bolton and Wigan. Squad wise, we will never be as big or strong at Chelsea. But at a certain point it starts to matter less and less until it becomes almost immaterial. We need to plug the holes so we can get to that point.
And finally, what are the rewards? We already have a really good crop of players. Arsenal may not be ahead of the chasing pack but it is still true that the vast majority of our current crop would walk into any Premiership team other than Chelsea and Man U in some cases. With the right moves in the transfer market we could perhaps hope to persuade not just the brilliant Ashley Cole to stay at Highbury but also Thierry Henry, one of the great players of this generation. Whether he stays or goes could tell us so much about where Arsenal are headed.
I may be wrong, but I struggle to believe Henry (settled in London with a wife and new born) would have any inclination to leave a flourishing Arsenal in a new stadium who have the tools to seriously fight Chelsea for the league and to capture the Champions League. I suspect he fears the same things we fear and he needs the same reassurances.
He is 28 and I suspect he knows he has half a chance not to just be known as a great of his time, but to etch his name as one of the great players of any generation. To become that great he probably still needs a mix of international success at his prime (he was not yet a great player in 1998 or 2000) and success with a club in Europe.
On the international stage, Henry’s options are obviously limited because he can’t change countries. On the club stage, whether he feels able to achieve it at Highbury may well depend on just what Arsene is playing at.
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27/11/05
Arsenal 3 Blackburn 0: Attack good, defence not so good
I only saw the BBC highlights of yesterday’s game, so it would be wrong to go into too much depth. But three things were quite obvious from watching it:
Our defence is making too many Premiership standard strike forces look like world beaters. And with all due respect to the man, it is my belief that rightly or wrongly, the presence of Pascal Cygan is a massive factor.
A couple of reports I have read suggested he was not personally so bad yesterday, but the problem goes beyond his individual performances. It is the effect he has on the team.
Exactly a year and a week ago I wrote: “Pascal Cygan is no Baresi, but he’s not an awful player either. But at the moment his presence is having a devastating effect on our play. The rest of the team doesn’t trust neither him nor Jens Lehman and the effect is reverberating through our side.” A week later Jens played his last league game until February and has not looked back since his recall. I added at the end of the article: “Cygan has to be dropped for the sake of the team.”
And the same must happen now. Arseblogger was entirely correct yesterday to point to Wenger’s apparent blind spot over Cygan. Far be it for faceless internet bloggers to tell him how to manage Arsenal, but the clamour from fans appears so universal that surely these feelings need articulating.
2) The second point is that we are obviously playing some very nice attacking stuff at the moment. Not all the time, but we are cranking up the pressure when it matters. Much as Blackburn perhaps deserved a goal or even two, the fact is we created three perfectly executed ones and could have had more.
3 ) Some players have such outrageous talent that you can forgive them being idiots on occasion. Robbie Savage is not one such player. Arseblogger aptly summed him up as a “cheating, conman, fairy, nancy, fraud, flimflammer, obnoxious wanky cunt.”
I would add one word to that description: twerp, defined in the dictionary as a person regarded as not just contemptible but insignificant too.
Just before I finish I’d like to pre-empt a couple of things that will happen this week. The first is that a certain journalist will twist the Savage incident to bring up every misdemeanour ever committed by an Arsenal player. The second is that we are going to have to listen to unrivalled levels of crap spout from the mouth of Sam Allardyce this week ahead of our visit to the Reebok next Saturday. If they beat Fulham today they will be level with us going into the game.
On that note, there was an interesting (and unmalicious) remark made about George Best this week. It was said that Best frequently mentioned how Pele had called him the world’s greatest, yet Pele never needed to do the opposite. Sam Allardyce loves to tell us how brilliantly he has done at Bolton on such limited resources, yet Arsene Wenger...
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I didn't see the Thun game, I'm flying during the Blackburn game and the Reading game is not on TV. But I'll probably post one or two more general updates before the Bolton game.
20/11/05
Wigan 2 Arsenal 3: Should the new midfielder be a partner for Cesc rather than Silva?
In a nutshell: We took control through goals from Van Persie (good turn, run, fierce shot, bad goalkeeping) and Henry (lovely slid finish from Cesc pass at end of flowing move). They pulled one back through shambolic defending. Henry netted a scorcher of a free kick. They pulled another back through shambolice defending. We won despite defending shockingly.
Analysis: It was very easy last season to say how much we were missing the Gilberto "wall" during his absence. And perhaps it was true. But on recent performances, Berlin's got a stronger wall than the one our Brazilian offers. Against Wigan he was, to put it mildly, shite. He didn't go forward, he didn't pass well, he dallied on the ball, he made absurd attempts to intercept that only put us in deeper trouble and he failed to get off the ground for headers. (Witness first goal). In short, he was oh so passive.
Next to him, Cesc Fabregas was a model pro. He ran tirelessly, he won tackles, he broke up play, he positioned himself well and he supported the attack right up until the last minute. Sure, not everything came off, but the way I see it this new midfielder we all agree we need should more likely be a partner for Cesc than for Gilberto.
Behind the pair, things were just totally terrible. Credit to Wigan, honest team, hard working, deceptively skillful for a rugby league town all those other cliches. But the fact is Sol Campbell offered justification for Sven picking Rio ahead of him (yes he was that bad), Jens' kicking was crap, Lauren's general defending was poor and Toure's little better.
To their left was Pascal Cygan. The nicest thing I can say is that words fail me to describe his performance.
I'm not one for having a go at individuals just for the sake of it and it is true that in the end, we got a very welcome three points. But a spoon should be called a spoon and today our defending was chaotic.
Up front, it seems Van Persie may possibly have finally got the nod over Dennis, at long last. He played well, the returning Freddie worked hard but was not at full throttle, Pires put in a committed performance which didn't once involve me screaming at him for ducking a tackle and Henry once again made everything look too easy.
One final thought, much as I can't stand his self righteous, self important, status as a "real" player, and much as there is between no chance and 0% chance of Arsene going for him, you kinda have to admit Roy Keane could fill a gap.
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15/11/05
Arsenal playing before Chelsea form, European form and Vieira book form
A few brief thoughts as we wait for the Premiership to restart.
The first is that the fixture list is currently conspiring quite often to let us play our weekend game before Chelsea. I pointed out last season that while our results are largely unaffected by whether we play before, at the same time or after Chelsea, their's suffered last season when they played after us. And based purely on very anecdotal evidence, the same has been true this season. So we need to take advantage at Wigan on Saturday.
Secondly, this whole assumption that because Liverpool won the Champions League while being crap in the league, the same will happen to us seems bizarre. Last season was largely an anomoly. What nobody seems to have mentioned is that since defeat in Moscow over two years ago, we have a healthy European record that reads: P19 W12 D5 L2.
Finally, there is a piece in today's Times that takes 600 odd words to correctly say: Patrick Vieira hypocritically forgets his own diving when he lambasts Wayne Rooney and Ruud Van Nistelrooy as cheats.
But that is not all the piece says. In fact it reads strangely like a diktat handed down from Old Trafford to a friendly journalist much in the way United employed the same policy with the same friendly journalists after the battle of the buffet.
There was no way Vieira was going to ignore either Rooney or RVN in his book. And the fact is that Rooney DID cheat exactly as described and Van Nistelrooy WAS guilty of consistent violence that went unpunished against Arsenal. Whatever, Vieira's personal myopia, to suggest that the two United players are somehow worthy of apologies for what is correcly identified as shabby behaviour when Vieira does it, is just absurd.
And while I appreciate accuracy matters little when there is an axe there to be ground, the description of the Nicky Butt incident is just patently wrong. Contrary to what is written, it was a straight red card and not a second yellow. Secondly, there was never the slightest suggestion Vieira had dived. Thirdly, the decision to send Butt off was one based purely on the positioning of the incident near to the goal and not on the severity of the tackle or Vieira's reaction to it (there was no doubt it was a foul). Fourthly, all Alex Ferguson and anyone else was moaning about was the referee's decision to treat the incident as a goal scoring chance and thus issue red.
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10/11/05
International week update
My apologies for the lack of recent updates. The laptop appears to have died and enjoyable as this site is, staying late at work to update it is just not that appetising.
Anyway, things have gone pretty well since the Spurs game. There is not a lot to say about Sparta and Sunderland. We needed victories and we got victories. We didn't over exert ourselves but then we didn't need to. I'm still of the theory that we look far better when playas play in their natural positions and I think that was fairly obvious watching the Sunderland game. In midfield the mix was good, with the wall-like Gilberto and the more enterprising Fabregas, Reyes and Pires both looked comfortable out on the wings and up front we had a good mix of a forward/striker (what can you call Henry?) and a striker.
I don't think Chelsea were unlucky at Old Trafford because ultimately they didn't do enough. But I do think United can count themselves fortunate. Some of their defensive play was wretched - incredibly nervous and very deep. But they got away with it. People are asking whether they will collapse like we did. I don't think they will but nor do I think that the issue really. If someone does catch them I expect it to be by a process of small erosion rather than one big wave. So, for example, if they have a tricky away game that they draw others might take advantage with easy home wins. And of course if we win our game in hand and manage to beat the Blues at Highbury then the gap is only five points anyway. I'm not saying we will do it, just saying how I think they could be caught.
As Myles Palmer pointed out on ANR, the four league games before Chelsea are vital. Contrary to what he said, they actually read: Wigan (A), Blackburn (H), Bolton (A), Newcastle (A). We need to be looking for a minimum of ten points from the four of them and ideally twelve.
Not much else to say, except that I'm away for two weeks from Saturday, so there is a fair chance I won't update after the Wigan, Thun and Blackburn games (the last of which I will definitely miss as I will be in the air for it).
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01/11/05
Players in position works at Spurs
Arsene's decision to shore up the side with an extra midfielder was well intentioned and a welcome departure from the gung-ho approach that cost us so badly at Munich last season. But injuries and lack of squad depth meant that to do it we had Freddie playing out of position on the left, Cesc out of position on the right and our first choice central midfielders not in place. Add the fact we were playing with two forwards but no strikers, and it is obvious why we struggled. When Pires came on, suddenly we had him, Freddie and Cesc all where they should be. And when Van Persie came on, Reyes was on the left wing (which for me is his best spot), Pires was on the right (in a position he has played and done well in) and we had a good balance of a forward and a striker up front.
But I also wonder whether perhaps Arsene imagined the first half going as it did, while obviously hoping we would not concede. Spurs, confidence bolstered by their own good form and our lack of it, were always going to come out on fire. I wonder whether it was Arsene's plan to draw to try to draw their sting (keeping it at 0-0) and then introduce Pires and pounce on them as they tired. In the event, the problems of the first half called for Pires earlier than expected, but I expect it was probably always the plan that he would play a key role.
I don't think there can be any doubt we deserved the draw. Granted, Spurs dominated the first half (even if I only remember Jens having to save from his near namesake Jenas). But we dominated the second right from the off in my opinion. Sure, chances did not immediately come, but we did a good job of grinding them down and tiring them out and in the end Van Persie had about three good chances, Reyes had one, Pires had one and Pires scored. So for me, while our equaliser doesn't suit the grand theories of the pundits, it was well deserved. And to come back from behind against the likes of Spurs away never has been and is certainly not now something to be snorted at.
A couple of things have struck me. The first is that the idea of us being a one man (Henry) team is absurd. But it is true that we still haven't yet brought in someone who we can say is a sufficiently good deputy for him. Don't get me wrong, they don't need to be the same type of player, just a good enough alternative. Hopefully Van Persie can be. I'm also intruiged to see who replaces Dennis in the summer (or before?)
The second point is that the cover issue is not one of Chelsea's being excellent and ours adequate. In fact, our's is inadequate. Midfield reinforcements are a must (so that when we switch things around everyone is not pulled out of position like against Spurs) and so too are a buy each in defence and attack I guess. Bringing in those three players will not give us as excellently backed-up a squad as Chelsea's but I question whether their level of protection is really necessary. While they will always have all 11 positions perfectly filled, if we only have 9 or 10 it probably won't all that much difference in the end. It is when your side is so inbalanced (like against Spurs) that I think it becomes a big problem.
Thought for the day: When was Jens' last mistake?
Updating is a bit fraught at the moment due to a comatose laptop, so sorry for that. In the meantime we have Sparta and Sunderland at home. The latter of which is a must, must, must win game because either Chelsea, United or both will drop points next weekend.
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24/10/05
What story lies behind 'that' penalty?
This is a long post; it’s been that kind of weekend.
I’m now on my third school of thought about what happened and more confused than I was to start with. At first I simply wondered how they could be so stupid at such a crucial point in such a crucial match. Did they realise how agonising it was for the fans? Then I wondered whether these two great artists who have brought us both silverware and exquisite football had endured one of those once in a career cock-ups, the like of which every great band have had with that one appalling single and every great director has had with one shocking film. Should we simply forgive and forget and laugh it off as one bizarre and fortunately uncostly cock-up?
But now I wonder: was it symptomatic of a greater malaise? Could it be that whilst we as fans still yearn desperately to win the European Cup and to catch Chelsea, Pires and Henry see the first as impossible and the second as highly improbable and in any case offering only a reward that would emulate, rather than surpass previous achievements? Do they still have the same drive to succeed for Arsenal? Would Frank Lampard even consider doing anything other than burying the ball from the spot, irrespective of the score? And if the three points were as vital for them as they were for us, how could they contemplate even trying that penalty?
I realise the above paragraph could easily be interpreted as me saying they don’t care. I am definitely not saying that. For a start I am saying the above insinuations are true and in any case, if there has been any loss of drive, I would suggest it has been almost entirely subconscious and in no way deliberate. But whichever way you look at it, I think the above are fair questions that should be asked if we are to understand why such a monumental fuck-up occurred.
And just sticking with penalties for a moment, I’m delighted to see that Thierry Henry says he will be taking them all from now on. It had become absolutely farcical. Not only did we have our top marksman refusing to take penalties he had won for absolutely no obvious reason whatsoever. We also had Dennis refusing to take them following his miss against United over six years ago! Fear of flying is one thing, but a phobia of penalties is another and you get the feeling that in any other walk of life Dennis would have been told to pull himself together and just do it. And to think that yesterday it had got to the stage where we were passing them to each other. Incredible.
Which is also what can be said for getting two penalties off Mike Riley. I haven’t seen any replays of the second one, while the first one could have gone either way. But I will just say that analysing these things in super slow motion is pointless because football is not played in super slow motion. Slowing the play down will always make it look like the attacker has deliberately let himself be fouled. It distorts reality.
At last, the game. Firstly, City were very well organised and are a genuinely decent side. So a win is good. But we’re struggling. A fair part of the problem can be summarised in six words: Flamini, Gilberto, Cesc, Lampard, Essien, Makalele. Our players are good, but we lack a monster in there like Chelsea have and it tells. Eight other words also explain a lot: Van Persie, Senderos, Quincy, Eboue, Robben, Crespo, Gudjohnsen, Ferreira. Arsene didn’t make a single sub. Mourinho introduced first Gudjohnsen, then Robben and then Crespo, all about ten minutes apart. Of course, they didn’t win. But the contrast could not have been bigger.
Arsene is not an idiot: his public buoyancy and confidence in the strength of the squad is surely just a charade that he is obliged to show in an effort to maintain moral. But at heart it must be obvious to him just how blatantly we need to splash the cash.
I’ll finish by saying that Pires and Henry were right to apologise. And that Spurs away is the perfect time to make-up for things by putting in a committed, impassioned performance. And it’s vital they do, because if we’re as slack at White Hart Lane this time as we have been recently, then this time we will lose. And nobody wants that.
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20/10/05
Why Henry's goal at Upton Park was his greatest ever
In the world of footballing top tens, there surely can’t be a more enjoyable experience than picking Thierry Henry’s best goals. I can’t honestly claim to have seen enough of Pele and Maradona to properly judge them. But my suspicion is that if a montage of Thierry Henry goals were shown next to montages of the Brazilian and Argentinian’s best strikes, Henry would not look out of place.
So, at 10…
Chelsea (h) 12/04. At kick-off people said their defence was the immovable object and Thierry Henry didn’t score in big games. Thirty seconds later he had pinged in an unstoppable shot from the edge of the box, leaving Cech rooted to the spot.
at 9…
Bayern Munich (h) 03/05. A strange choice for some perhaps, but for me another brilliant goal against an immovable object. Bayern may have been a defensive shambles in the next round at Chelsea but against us they were tighter than something incredibly tight. After 70 odd minutes, Henry controlled a long ball on the left from Cole, brought it down and hit it instantly across Oliver Khan with complete precision. It was a perfectly executed goal. And it had to be.
At 8…
Manchester City (h) 01/04. This one is also representing the swerver against United later that season. Against City, I was in the North Bank and saw just how much his shot seemed to swerve and yet keep completely straight like an arrow. David James didn’t have a prayer.
At 7…
Sparta Prague (a) 10/05. A very late entrant but very deserving of it’s place. On for six minutes, he controlled the ball on the outside of his foot, swung his whole body through 360 degrees and then fired in a bending shot that beat the goalkeeper in the only part of the net it could have. Almost arrogantly brilliant.
At 6…
Inter Milan (a) 11/03. Broke out from defence, looked to be going nowhere and then made Javier Zanetti look amateurish before slamming home with the left foot. A brilliant goal and the crucial third in a 5-1 win.
At 5…
Spurs (h) 11/02. Very, very special run. He took them all on, cut inside and finished brilliantly. Then he celebrated in serious style in front of the west stand. Magnificent.
At 4…
Charlton (h) 10/04. So good it completely bamboozled the cameraman. I watched this game in a pub in London with one of those dodgy satellites. The commentary was in a foreign language, music was playing in the bar and a lot of people were only half watching. The camera was focused in on Henry as he held the ball with his back to goal about six yards out. Then he backheeled the ball and suddenly wheeled away in delight. The pub was genuinely stunned. Those of us who realised what must have happened looked on in disbelief. When they showed a replay from another angle the reaction from the rest of the pub was one of sheer incredulity. And the more they showed it the more disbelieving the reactions. It didn’t really matter what happened in the rest of the game.
At 3…
Liverpool (h) 04/04. No doubt you’ve heard people say how important this goal was in us winning the title. It was. I was at Highbury that day and 2-1 down at half time there was some serious cigarette smoking going on in the north bank. Within a minute we had equalised thanks to Freddie Ljungberg. But after equalising once and then going behind again, a fair few people feared things were turning against us and we would do it again.
Then Henry picked the ball up on the left. He jinked in, took on a couple of defenders and simply by his presence created sheer panic in the Liverpool defence. So much so that Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher knocked in to each other and fell to the ground comically. Suddenly Henry was through and he finished coolly. The north bank erupted. People who had not lost it since Ray Parlour scored against Valencia found themselves jumping out of their seats. A massive, massive goal and sheer brilliance bore in part out of the complete panic his presence can induce.
At 2…
Manchester United (h) 10/00. Unreal goal. Fed by Grimandi miles out, he chipped it up, spun Gary Neville and in one fired in a volley that dipped and swerved over Barthez into the far corner. Watching at home, all I saw was the ball leave his foot. I thought it was going miles over. Then the Clock End went mad. I had lost the ball in the air. Eventually, I was persuaded it had gone in but was convinced it could only have had it taken the most massive of deflections. Then I saw the replay. One of the goals of goals.
At 1…
West Ham (a) 08/02. You may think this a weird choice. I say the beauty of it has never fully been recognised. Now, don’t get me wrong: were this goal being judged purely on Henry controlling the ball on his knee and hitting an absolute bullet past David James from 30 yards, it would not be anywhere near number one, however great a finish it was. It is the first touch that does it and it is a touch which in my opinion defies the physics of football.
He receives the ball on the right edge of the penalty area from a Vieira pass. He has his back to goal. It is played firmly in to his left foot. Then he takes the crucial touch, which I will come back to in a minute. When he next touches it he has spun 180 degrees so that he is now facing diagonally to goal. His defender has been left bamboozled. The ball lands on what is now Henry’s right knee. Think about what he did with that touch: he took a ball that was coming into his feet and with one touch he looped it up in to the air with his foot. When it fell it was still, incredibly, travelling in the original direction. But he didn’t just lob it into the air, which would have been hard enough.
Instead, he met the ball purposefully with the right hand side of his left boot and somehow spun (not hooked as would have been the case had he used the left hand side of the boot) the ball up in to the air up and over his defender’s head. Had Brazil done it in 1970 I genuinely believe it would be replayed continuously now. Do whatever you can to get a copy of the video and watch that touch because 250 words of mine have failed to do it justice.
And it is for that reason that West Ham away was Thierry Henry’s best Arsenal goal and potentially the greatest I have ever seen.
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19/10/05
Sparta 0 Arsenal 2: Match report, playa ratings and Henry worshipping
The formalities first, then the Henry stuff: Cygan replaced Senderos who had replaced Campbell and Cygan continued in place of the injured Cole. Gilberto returned in midfield in place of Cesc who replaced the injured Ljungberg. The returning Van Persie replaced Bergkamp (something to do with a fear of flying).
We started well, with Cesc having a shot and some promising attacks. Then Reyes went off injured and Arsene went for the brave option of risking Thierry Henry for 70 minutes. Within two minutes he had chested the ball down on the edge of the box and fired what looked like a beaut of a volley that was deflected wide. Then he brought down a through ball from Kolo, spun on the edge of the box and hit the most belle of bending shots with the outside of his right foot. Great goal.
We didn’t do much else for the rest of the half and started the second somewhat sluggishly. Then on 65 we started playing again and within five minutes Pires? had played Henry in with a beautiful ball. He controlled it and still had a fair bit to do to knock it home. 2-0 it finished. A decent enough performance and a great result. Playa ratings to the right.
The goals take Theirry Henry past Ian Wright’s all time Arsenal goal scoring record. We have been fantastically privileged to see him rack up 186 not out and even luckier that so many have been done in such incredible style.
As I walked to work yesterday morning (Tuesday), I went with a bounce in my step. Sometimes you don’t realise what you have til it’s gone and I for one could not wait to see his magnificence return to the pitch.
Of course, there will be those Arsenal fans who will bemoan his unwillingness to commit to the club in his post match interview. That kind of reaction is absolute bollocks in my view. It is quite obvious he is not going to come out and commit to the club just like that because the fact is he is considering leaving. He is 28, has achieved a massive amount, probably fears somewhat about the destination we are headed towards and feels he may want to try and conquer Spain before he retires. People ask for him to be honest. He is. By saying what he is saying he is making it perfectly clear things are up in the air.
Do people want him to say he wants to go? What good would that do? The fact is that when he says he is focused on his football at the moment, that is the truth and that is what he showed us tonight. What is wrong with him kissing the badge if he puts in great performances? Kissing the badge is a sign that your heart is in to what you are doing. And who could argue that his heart wasn’t in tonight’s performance?
Of course we don’t want him to leave on a Bosman. But if he leaves, he leaves. We have been absurdly lucky to have not only one of the best, but one of the most consistent players in the world between the ages of 22 and 28 in his career. If he wants to move then so be it. I would wish him all the best.
Of course, I desperately want him to sign a new contract. But let us be grown up about this. He is doing nothing wrong. The best we can do is get behind him (the fans were great tonight), get behind the team at Highbury (we can do a lot better) and hope Arsene can bring in the players and the team achieve the success that will allow Thierry Henry to stay.
I have no inside knowledge on the issue of his contract, but my hunch would be that things are not a lot more complicated than Thierry fearing (quite justifiably) that the standard of the squad is slipping and that we look less likely to achieve the success (particularly in Europe) that he so craves.
We shall see what happens, but in the meantime let’s celebrate his achievement and leave the worrying for another time. I have written enough now, so won’t reveal my favourite Henry goal now, but you can reveal yours below.
ps: he seemed pretty happy to me when he broke the record.
...
16/10/05
West Brom 2 Arsenal 1: Report + playa ratings. Grim.
Arsene Wenger has never suffered the indignity of losing to a lower division team as Arsenal manager, but it is hard to believe that the disappointment could be any greater than that experienced after today’s loss at West Brom.
In 45 minutes, our emotions went from genuine hope that things could be turning our way (we were winning and Chelsea were losing) to the sheer grimness of seeing us somehow lose and them come back to win 5-1.
In short, we took an early lead when Senderos hooked home a deep Reyes corner. We were completely dominant, they were crap. We sat back. They equalised after a feeble Pires attempt to block a cross, a poor header from Senderos and terrible marking of Kanu. Of all people, the man renowned for taking 10 touches when two will do, had time to control the ball, compose himself and then fire off an (impressive) shot past the helpless Lehman. It was a shocker of a goal.
In the 2nd half we eventually rallied around the hour mark and though we had a couple of chances (Toure, Reyes, Bergkamp) things were in no way urgent enough. We probably should have had a penalty for a foul on Reyes, but he wasn’t in a scoring position so I’m not going to complain. It would, however, be nice to see referees decide whether a foul should be given not based on where the incident happens on the pitch but on the incident itself. And if this means the law needs to be reformed so that minor fouls in non-threatening positions in the area do not warrant a spot-kick then so be it. We need consistency.
Anyway, they then scored a cracker out of absolutely nothing. We huffed but got nowhere. Immensely disappointing and all the more so when you are watching the game in the corner of a bar while in other corners Chelsea, United, Liverpool and Spurs fans are all celebrating goals going in. The upshot of all this is that the table does not look good. In fact I don’t even want to see it. All I know is we’re 14 points behind Chelsea having dropped 11 to their none.
But the main discussion must be about the performance. We started with a very youthful team containing Senderos, Clichy, Reyes, Flamini, Cesc and for much of the game Eboue too after Fred went off. We were without Cole, Campbell, Gilberto, Van Persie, Henry, Hleb and then Ljungberg. That would be a big miss to any squad, all the more so to ours.
So perhaps that excuses things. Or perhaps it doesn’t. The Everton and Man City sides that a far less experienced Arsenal dispatched from last season’s League Cup were miles better than the carthorses West Brom served up today. We could and should have easily won this game.
The problem is that the fact we are not at our most fluent at the moment should mean every playa is giving 120% so that effort alone can get us through. But that is not the case. We were leaden footed and lethargic today. Really, I would say that excluding the hard to appraise Lehman, only Reyes and perhaps Senderos and Toure did themselves justice out there today. Not everything may be coming off for Reyes, but he keeps plugging away and chasing everything.
The same is not true for the others. Pires is the worst culprit. His effort at times is frankly lamentable. I can just about excuse him pulling out of tackles because he is worried about his knee but he has no excuse for not doing everything humanly possible to block crosses.
We are clearly lacking really good cover right through the spine of the team (a defender, midfielder and striker are all needed). But we also have to roll our sleeves up and not commit the immortal sin of taking our foot off the pedal just because our opponents are crap.
It is going to take a miraculous recovery for us to challenge for the league now. We need our genuinely rotten luck with injuries to turn, new playas and better performances.
One final point about today’s referee and the one minute 55 seconds of injury time he added on. Now don’t get me wrong, I loathe it when managers squabble over every few seconds. My theory is normally if you don’t score in 90 then you probably won’t score in 94. But today was just some kind of complete joke. We had an injury a minute from time that lasted about one minute 40 seconds, we had four second half subs, three of which were incredibly slow West Brom ones, we had one of the longest and deliberately stalling goal celebrations ever and we had them wasting time every time they got a free-kick or goal kick, even when it was 1-1.
By adding on just two minutes the referee has completely indulged that negativity (which I accept Arsenal have been guilty of in the past). It was a complete joke.
...
09/10/05
Football returns next week
Do you get very bored of England games after 60 minutes? Do you have to tell yourself to try to be happy when England score? And does part of you secretly will the opposition to knock one past ‘us’?
Answer: Yes, yes and yes.
My conclusion is that Sven would get double the amount of stick if the thought of writing about England wasn’t so boring. In fact, I’ve had enough. I’m so bored I can’t be stuffed to write any more about England.
But I will say a few words about my good friends at FIFA. Presumably David Beckham’s red card will stand, despite his 2nd booking being a blatant dive.
It will stand because under FIFA’s own half witted rules, appeals are only allowed in cases of mistaken identity. I don’t give a stuff about Beckham, but I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: this is the most inept rule I have ever seen.
England have been wrongly deprived of a playa for 30 minutes because of an opposition player’s connivance. And then to compound the problem, they will ban him for no other reason than that they have invented a stupid rule that says he must be banned.
For some reason, this rule pisses me off big time. It is the height of bullshit in a game overflowing with the stuff. The only bans being handed out should be for the half wits who invented this rule and are now pressuring the Premiership to take it up.
The only saving grace is that these things have a way of hitting people back in the face. How I will laugh if the brilliant Ronaldinho is sent-off in next year’s World Cup semi-final for handling on the line when the ball clearly hit his chest. Of course, my scorn will not be directed at the unfortunate Brazilian. Instead it will be at the FIFA bigwigs who will have seen their showpiece player miss their showpiece game because of their own arrogant, farcical rules.
Football returns next week.
...
021005
Arsenal 1 Birmingham 0 - half a report
Well, I only saw the second half (hence no playa ratings). From the sounds of it we created a fair bit in the first half and as well as missing a penalty we could have had a hatful.
The second half seemed a very flat affair. Maik Taylor made great saves early on from Pires and Ljungberg and then we seemed to lose any great degree of urgency. In the end, Van Persie’s not brilliantly hit shot deflected off a defender and beat the excellent Taylor. We held on, though not with any great style.
We looked lethargic in the latter stages. From what I saw Campbell, Toure and Cole looked good enough. Reyes is playing with brilliant enthusiasm and desire. The rest of them don’t look lazy by any means but if you compare us with Chelsea at the moment, is the same unswerving desire there? I’m not so sure.
It needs to be.
And the crowd can play their part too. Apologies if the SKY sound system did Highbury a disservice, but the ground sounded embarrassingly silent today. The players are human beings like the rest of us and they thrive on the support of the crowd like you and I would. So, if you’re lucky enough to be at Highbury, sing.
Chelsea won 4-1 this afternoon and looked good, albeit against what is a pretty poor Liverpool league side. The Kop were singing louder in the 89th minute than anything Highbury managed today.
On site news, I’ve gone back to the old design but with the new logo following a public outcry. Not sure about what should go in the space on the left though, as the Latest Updates column was pointless and time consuming to update.
Finally, a question for any readers who live in Dublin or anywhere else in the Republic of Ireland. I need to get internet access at my new flat for 3 months. Are there any broadband companies who don’t insist on you signing up for 12 months? And what is the best dial-up?
...
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Archives: July 2005, June 2005, May 2005, April 2005,March 2005, February 2005, January 2005, December 2004 and the embryonic goodplaya.
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Playa ratings:
v West Ham (2-3) - NEW
Lehman: An absolute idiot for stupidly getting involved with Harewood late on. Not only was it nasty, but he could have been sent-off and he also put us out of our stride. A minute later West Ham made it 3-1. He’s a very good goalkeeper but an arrogant, nasty character and an embarrassment when he behaves like that. 4
Gilbert: Looked to be doing fine until the Arsenal full-back curse struck. 6
Djorou: Individually did well, but understandably hasn’t been able to strike up any kind of partnership with Campbell yet. 6
Campbell: What can you say? Two massive errors that were punished to the max. Things just aren’t going his way at all. 4
Senderos: Obviously doesn’t offer the attacking prowess of Cole or Clichy but he looked solid and his distribution to Pires was fairly impressive. Did fine at centre-back in the second half but should have whacked it out instead of passing to Larsson for the mistake that led to the third goal. 5
Gilberto: He’s not great at the moment. Far too passive for my liking. 5
Diaby: Still raw, but I like him. And he is so like Vieira: even his mistakes remind me of Vieira’s shortcomings. Not sure why he was taken off. 7
Ljungberg: You have to laugh at the way he somehow managed to deflect Henry’s shot wide. Is trying really hard and not actually playing badly at all. But nothing is going his way. 7
Pires: I do feel we need players with greater bite than Pires at the moment. But in fairness, he was involved, scored one, set-up the other one for Henry and saw Hislop deny him with a great save. 6
Henry: Hard to judge. Seemed to have a decent enough game on TV but reports from the game were critical. 6
Van Persie: Unlucky. Offered a lot but nothing went his way. 7
Subs:
Flamini: Brought on as an emergency right-back but did pretty well all things considered. Say what you like about Flamini but he’s a fighter who unlike some of his team-mates will never be found lacking for effort. 7
Larsson: Yes, he made the cock-up for the third goal. But it was typical of our rough justice. Other than that he was excellent: committed in the tackle, full of running in attack and crucially he understands the value of hitting long-balls diagonally, as opposed to completely straight. Which is something some of his team-mates could do with taking note of. 7
Dennis: Not normally much of a substitute, but he found himself a good niche on the right of midfield and offered us extra creativity. Well hit volley to set up Pires’ goal. 6
v Sparta Prague (0-2)
Lehmann: Solid enough game. He’s doing well at the moment. 7
Clichy: Bit of a nightmare really, though to be fair their right winger was their best playa. 5
Cygan: Surprisingly assured. 7
Kolo: Looked fairly good most of the time. 7
Lauren: The odd moment of strangeness. 6.5
Flamini: Was hard to judge the midfielders tonight. Seemed to do the normal without being mega effective. 6.5
Gilberto: One of those Gilberto games where you don’t really know how he has played. 6.5
Fabregas: Got fairly involved and offered threat down the right. 7
Pires: Not his best game by any means but still one of his better ones this season. Magnificent ball for the second goal. 7
Van Persie: Seems to get carded in Europe for the most ridiculous things. Did alright without having much effect. 6.5
Reyes: Full of running til he got injured and wasn’t running at all. 6.5
Subs:
Henry (for Reyes 17ish): Emperor-like as he beat Wrighty’s record. Magnificent playa who, had he not scored, would have been accused of going missing in another big game. But because he did score, it won’t count as a big game. 8.5
Eboue (for Van Persie 70ish): Looking ok at the moment. 6.5
Quincy (for Cesc 85ish): Full of running. 6.5
v West Brom (2-1)
Lehmann: Blameless for goals. 6
Lauren: Not particularly composed. 5.5
Clichy: Has had far better games. 5.5
Senderos: Good goal, messy header for theirs. 6
Toure: Ok but ridiculously offside at one free kick. 5.5
Flamini: Ok but uninspiring. 5.5
Cesc: Decent. Kept trying. 6
Pires: Crap. 4.5
Ljungberg: Ok while he was on. 5.5
Reyes: Still running his heart out. 7
Bergkamp: A moany kind of day. 5.5
Subs:
Eboue (for Ljungberg 35ish): Not great. 5.5
Quincy (for Flamini 80ish): Bizarrely decided what Arsenal lack is left-wingers. 5.5
v Everton (2-0)
Jens: Very little to do. Did it all right. 7
Lauren: Occasionally seemed to imagine he had more pace than he does, which was quite amusing as he tried to take people on. Solid as usual. 7
Cole: As someone who gave him a good bashing over the summer it would suit by agenda to say he is playing poorly. But that would be a lie. Whatever the reasons for it, he has started the season well and in attack in particular is offering a lot. 7.5
Toure: Nothing to do at the back and seemed to enjoy getting in on this whole new set-piece malarkey. 7
Campbell: Two excellent headers, especially the second one which was a real hammer. Not at full speed yet but looked good, organised the defence well, shouted at people and seemed to realise he was our most senior player on the pitch. 8
Pires: Hadn’t done all that much in the brief period he was on the pitch before Gary Neville’s shit younger brother’s tackle forced him off. 6.5
Cesc: One friend said to me he is looking lightweight and giving the ball away too much. Maybe. But I think he does a lot of good stuff and his presence in the opponent’s penalty box is valuable. 7
Gilberto: Solid game, got through a fair amount and gave us a couple of those rare Gilberto moments where for a few seconds he stops looking like he is suspended in perpetual slow motion and instead provides us with raw Brazilian skill. 7
Ljungberg: Started slowly but furrowed hard as ever. Seemed to make a real determination to either stick wide out on the wing or else very deliberately come inside as opposed to just being narrow. I think it worked. Unlucky to hit bar in second half. 7
Van Persie: Hit the post with a nice effort (right footed!) and had some decent moments but was otherwise a bit subdued. Has been a fairly rough few weeks and is probably still feeling his way back in to things. 6.5
Reyes: Loses the ball now and then but that is only because he constantly seems to have it. Boundless energy at the moment, great creativity and fantastic balls into the box. Really was amazing how much of the ball he had tonight. 8
Subs:
Hleb (for Pires first half some time): Played pretty well, looked pretty creative and linked up well with Cole. Playing better than Pires. 7
Dennis (for Van Persie 80ish): Did alright. Created a bit of stuff. Didn’t do anything of note. 6.5
Alex Song (for Reyes 87ish): Made a couple of sloppy passes but it was harsh and exaggerated for Alan Smith to say he hadn’t found a man. 6
v Thun (2-1)
Almunia: Probably not to blame on the goal and handling was ok even though he still catches very strangely.6
Lauren: Did the usual Lauren stuff. Fairly well. 6.5
Cole: Thought he was good today. Clean at the back and contributed well going forward. Perhaps he enjoyed having Pires back in front of him. 7
Toure: Seemed ok. Can’t remember too much else.6.5
Sol: Looking a little chunky but it must be good to have him back.6.5
Cesc: Not his most spectacular game but made a couple of decent runs forward and made one particularly delicious pass in the second half.6.5
Gilberto: Very well taken goal and was more involved tonight than normally. An experienced head 7.5
Pires: By no means at his best but infinitely better than the past few games. Got in an early curler that almost flew in and was generally far more involved. Even tried to tackle twice. Neither attempt worked.. 7
Ljungberg. Svavanged without achieving much.6.5
RVP: Had been easing himself back into first team action when the dick head referee struck. 6.5
Reyes: Excellent, his boundless enthusiasm drove the team on and he looked really dangerous at times and caused Thun more problems than anyone else. 8
Subs:
Dennis (for Cesc 70 odd): Is that his first goal as a sub? Took it well. 7
Hleb (for Reyes 80 odd): Didn’t really find his touch in the ten minutes he had.6
Quincy (for Ljungberg 80 odd): Offered a new threat.6.5
v Fulham (4-1)
Lehman: Looking very solid at the moment. You can tell it by the fact he is not making kicking mistakes at the moment. At tricky moments, his handling from corners was excellent.7
Lauren: Missed a penalty, but that was bound to happen one day and at least it didn’t matter. Otherwise, he played well and looked particularly committed (mostly in the right sense) in the tackle. 7
Cole: His best attacking display for a while and linked up promisingly with Reyes. 7.5
Cygan: I’ve made no secret of the fact that his presence in the team pleases me not. Defending was ok tonight, though a couple of times Fulham forwards worryingly escaped him when crosses were slung in. Took his goals very well. Could it be that unlike the rest of the side Cygan does not feel obligated to score the perfect goal and concentrates on just sticking it in the net?7.5
Kolo: Poor clearance for the Fulham goal but on the whole had a decent game. The defensive issues we have at the moment seem more a collective than individual problem. 7
Cesc: Gets a wee bit overrun occasionally but on the whole is playing really well and in particular offers a genuine attacking threat in the way that perhaps Vieira sometime failed to. 7
Gilberto: Did what Gilberto does. Still sometimes resembles one of those video graphic created dinosaurs in the way he moves. 7
Hleb: Good first half, creating a fair deal and generally looking like a cross between Pires and Ljungberg (in the best sense). 7
Reyes: A very good game in my opinion, full of running, full of trickery and very direct. In particular, he linked up very well with Cole and Henry, which was very pleasing. His ball for Henry’s first goal was majestic and pleasingly the two seemed on the same wavelength tonight. 8
Dennis: Besides his idiotic yellow card he had a great game and was at the heart of Fulham’s dissection. Kept going strong right to the end. 8
Henry: Took his two goals, which both came at crucial times, very well. Just one more to equal Wright’s record. 7.5
Subs:
Flamini (for Reyes 75 odd): Set up Henry for the killer third goal. 7
Clichy (for Hleb 85 odd): Ran around like mad, as Clichy does. 7
v Liverpool (3-1)
Lehman: Two really good saves – the first from Riise and the second from Gerard’s piledriver. Flapped at one cross but all it served to do was to remind us how much he has improved. 7.5
Lauren: Did very well, almost scoring from Pires’ cross in the first half and setting up the third goal with some nice play. Is doing well at the moment, perhaps spurred on by Wenger not mentioning right back when saying which areas he doesn’t need to strengthen over the summer! 7.5
Cole: A mixed game. Good going forward and times and obviously an excellent second half block from Garcia. But also occasionally sloppy, messing up things we know him well capable of doing. 6.5
Senderos: A big presence at the heart of the defence he had one of his sternest tests in an Arsenal shirt when Liverpool got at us in the second half. Did pretty well on the whole though, especially as protection from midfield was not always forthcoming. 7
Kolo: A good solid outing and the same goes for him as for Senderos. 7
Vieira: Did some stuff really well and was very influential in our first half attacking play. But I felt he allowed the midfield to be too easily swamped after the break and was not always applying the pressure to Liverpool that he might have done. 7
Gilberto: It goes without saying that evaluating a Gilberto performance is very, very difficult. That said, I felt that like Vieira he could have offered a bit more bite in midfield to help out the defence in the second half. 6.5
Pires: Really was at the heart of some of our best stuff in the first half. Crossed brilliantly for Lauren to almost score, shot just wide and then scored with a magnificent free-kick. Faded later on. 7.5
Cesc: Absolutely outstanding. He set the move in motion for Reyes’ offside goal, fired just wide from 20 yards, scored his own offside goal and then added a very neat third for us in stoppage time. In between this he ran the game, tackling, running with the ball, passing brilliantly and generally looking the best player on the park. Outstanding. 9
Reyes: Not perfect, but he notched up another well taken goal, scored an offside one and ran his heart out for the cause in the second half. 7.5
Van Persie: Not as involved as he has been but got involved and put over one excellent early cross for Robert Pires. Generally looking a much better player than previously. 7
Subs:
Edu (for Pires 70 odd): Came on and did ok. 6.5
Bergkamp (for Van Persie 70 odd): Set up Fabregas for the third with a fantastic flick but was otherwise pretty poor. When he did try and press Liverpool he gave away a few free-kicks and the rest of the time he just didn’t seem to chase them at a time when we really needed players to get stuck in. I know he is still capable of the odd piece of magic but we probably have enough to our attacking armoury that magic alone should not prompt a new contract. We have shown we are capable of winning without Dennis and should probably now look to the future. 6
Aliadiere (for Reyes 85): As ever he came on and got stuck in, chasing everything and hassling the Liverpool defenders. Has a really good attitude and probably deserves more than five minutes at some point. 6.5
v West Brom (2-0)
Lehman: The defence clearly trusts him again and he is reciprocating that with improved handling, kicking and decision making. 7
Lauren: Worked reasonably hard and got forward on a few occasions. 7
Cole: Looked a little lethargic at times but kept going and finished the game strongly, setting us on a number of attacks. 6.5
Senderos: A couple of passes went astray but took a no nonsence defence to defending. Far be it for me to argue with his current record of not conceding a goal for absolutely yonks. 7.5
Gilberto: Covered well at set pieces, but with Arsenal in 2nd gear he seemed only to happy to make sure Gilberto was in 2nd gear too. Not much drive. 6.5
Vieira: Committed silly fouls early on and was not finding his passes. Got better as the game went on and provided more drive. Symbolic of our night. 7
Pires: Did ok initially but like the rest of them lacked the necessary drive. Got better with the team. 7
Cesc: Probably not his best game. Came looking for the ball a lot and should be credited for it but looked a little fatigued when challenged. 6.5
Van Persie: Did ok initially but was not really receiving a lot of support from the midfield. Took his goal magnificently. 7
Reyes: Ran hard but once again looked incredibly left footed. But gave an excellent assist for the opening goal and kept on trying right til the end, providing useful relief for the defence. 7
Subs:
Dennis (for Van Persie 75ish): Did little except provide a measured set-up for Edu's clincher. 6.5
Edu (for Cesc 75ish): Got involved a bit and finished well to clinch it. 7
v Spurs (1-0)
Lehman: Is playing very well and his handling looks as assured as ever, his throws good and his kicking far better than earlier in the season. I think it no great secret that he needs to control his temper. 7
Lauren: Has looked solid in recent weeks and looked more lively going forward. Alan Curbishley put him in his team of the season on the basis that few wingers get much change out of him. And he is probably right. Really does need to watch stray elbows though, intentional or not. 7
Toure: Was given a little trouble by Defoe but it was less trouble than Adi Akenbai gave him in the FA Cup in January. And Defoe is clearly a far better player than the Stoke man. Will soon score a very, very memorable free-kick I sense. 7
Senderos: It is hard to argue with his defensive record since he came into the side. We have simply stopped conceding goals. That said, what are the odds that back when we were conceding at will, Robbie Keane would have buried that chance. Could have got first goal for club with header. 7
Cole: Linked up well as ever with Pires down our left hand side and seemed really up for the fight. Had the slightly awkward penalty shout against him at the end but otherwise did well. 7
Vieira: With the ball he was excellent on the whole, spreading play at pace and helping support those ahead of him. Looks much more comfortable with Gilberto next to him. Though that said they both looked half a step off the pace at times against a Spurs side full of running. 7
Gilberto: Did what Gilberto does well. Though probably not as much of a shield as against Chelsea. 7
Cesc: Tired a little in the second half but was his usual youthful magnificence until then. Spread the ball with ease, got stuck in, helped out the attack and set up our goal. Nice. 7.5
Pires: Not the force he was against Chelsea but is playing well at the moment, linking up well with Cole down the left and generally providing an experienced head in an otherwise youthful attack. 7
Van Persie: Set Reyes up for the first minute chance, fired a decent effort wide and generally played quite a mature game without hitting great heights. 7
Reyes: Did very well to come back after the first minute miss. Goal was excellent and attitude looked good. Seemed to find an extra gear for second half run that set up Dennis. 7.5
Subs:
Dennis (for Van Persie 70 odd): Curled one wide and generally looked quite good against a tiring Spurs defence. There was the odd occasion when I felt he let the player pass him to quickly but that was probably just my last minute nerves. 7
Edu (for Cesc 70 odd): Hit the post with a curling effort and slotted in very, very neatly on the left. Will be a great shame to lose him if he does eventually go. 7
Aliadiere (for Van Persie 87 odd): Only had a few minutes but looked really keen to impress. Had a couple of good touches, got stuck in and made tired Spurs legs panic, buying us valuable time. 7
v Chelsea (0-0)
Lehman: Has looked much better recently and besides the odd dodgy kick, looked very solid against Chelsea and made one excellent save early on from Drogba. His positioning seemed good on through balls. 7
Lauren: He really didn’t put a foot wrong and kept Damien Duff and probably had his best game for the club against a very, very tricky opponent. Was ferocious and fair in the tackle. 8
Cole: After a slightly tentative start he threw himself at everything Chelsea chucked at us. Whatever people’s feelings about his current situation, there can be no complaints about his performance. 7
Senderos: Excellent as usual. This guy likes clean sheets. 7
Toure: Really did well in what could have been a tricky night. Got weight on his clearances and never panicked. 7
Vieira: It really doesn’t take a genius to figure out how much he seems to be enjoying having Gilberto back in the side. Really led the side again with fine interventions and set us on the path to attack – such as when Pires hit the bar. 7.5
Gilberto: Suffered a couple of inevitable nosebleeds when he got into decent positions going forward but otherwise did a fine job of snaffling out what Chelsea threw at us and generally making the team a slick unit. Showed one or two fine turns as well. 7
Cesc: This kid really does defy logic. At a time when his brittle bones should be feeling the effects of a long, hard season he is looking stronger than ever. Magnificently composed on the ball, he worked furiously in defence, midfield and attack. 8
Pires: His early volley that hit the bar reminded me of when I stood in the Holte End last year for Villa v Arsenal and he hit an even better effort that was turned just over. Even the anti-French bigots around me were shut well and truly up.
There is a wonderful magnificence about watching Robert Pires on song. He caresses the ball delightfully and when it’s time to move it on he does it with the utmost precision. A joy to watch and unlucky not to score twice. 9
Reyes: The story of his last 6 months – no problem with effort but he just lacks the confidence to make things really happen. The annoying thing is that he’s making errors on things that a confident Reyes could do with his eyes shut. Let’s hope his effort is rewarded soon. 6
Bergkamp: Like Reyes he worked hard and did his bit to keep Chelsea at bay. But also like Reyes he found himself struggling up front. The curtain appears to be falling on his magnificent career. Hopefully an announcement will be made soon and both we and Dennis can enjoy his final games. 6
Subs:
Van Persie (for Dennis 80 odd): Struggled to get into the game but had a few decent chances and ran hard for the side.
Aliadiere (for Cesc 85 odd): Did alright but by the time he came on it didn’t look like either side were really going to score.
v Boro (1-0)
Lehman: Flapped at one cross in the first half and then came ridiculously far out of his goal before eventually winning the ball. Yes, he’s kept a fair few clean sheets recently and yes, it’s even true we could win the league again with him in goal, but no, we won’t win in Europe with Jens and no, he’s not the answer. 6
Lauren: His early challenge, whilst not worthy of a red card as suggested on Match of the Day, was sheer stupidity. He did alright and he’s plodding along but not really getting any better. 6
Cole: Attacked decently at times but wasn’t helped by a very, very ineffectual Robert Pires. 6.5
Senderos: Now looks like he should be partnering Sol Campbell when the two are fit. Authoritative, big and commanding, his presence has coincided with a string of clean sheets. Still has rough edges, but these are being shaved all the time. 7
Kolo: Did reasonably well and made a couple of important blocks, but I’m not convinced his future lies in the heart of the defence. Together, he and Lauren sometimes seem to bring out the worst in each other and we just don’t look solid, clean sheets or no clean sheets. Would like to see him at right back. 6.5
Gilberto: I looked out especially for incidences of him filling gaps and yes, I can confirm it happens and he does his job well. Still looks very nervous in attacking positions, but his presence is welcome. 6
Vieira: I thought he did reasonably well, though like the rest of the players he seemed to have trouble bringing any great coherency to our play. 6
Cesc: I plumped for Cesc on the right a while ago and I like seeing him there. He got well forward and was always involved. Looks tired, but it’s been a long old season and he’s still, only 17. 6.5
Pires: I thought him absolute rubbish up until he scored really. His inability to tackle has been documented many times before, but on Saturday he seemed to be playing the whole game at walking pace. But then who better is there at converting the one chance he gets to secure a 1-0 lead. 6
Reyes: Things still aren’t all coming off for him but I sense things are getting better and his work rate and willingness to track back really can’t be faulted. We know for a fact that the boy has the talent to succeed, so while he may not be showing what he’s really capable of right now, we should applaud his recent application. Had a couple of really mazy runs and set up Henry excellently for a shot he scuffed. 7
Henry: Had one of those games where he seemed to stand almost still on the edge of the box, conserving his energy and waiting to pounce. It didn’t really work, though he did have a glorious chip fly just wide and certainly scared the Boro fans every time he got the ball. He was also up against an obdurate Boro. 6.5
Subs:
Dennis (Reyes 46): Did alright without really changing the game at all. It seems the curtain may be falling on his illustrious career and reluctantly, I think it right. We know he can still play brilliantly in patches but the truth is that it’s becoming less often and it’s hampering us in European away games. We need someone to step forward and become Henry’s partner. Sometimes the bullet needs to be bitten. And now is that time. 6
v Palace (5-1)
Jens: It’s tempting to say that the early back pass cock-up could just as easily have happened to Petr Cech but in truth that would be a lie. He’s simply too cocky and over confident with his kicking – it’s why so many balls get sliced wildly and why we almost conceded a shambolic own goal tonight. Otherwise, he actually did quite well. 6.5
Lauren: Is definitely becoming a better player going forward but was as culpable as anyone for our defensive malaise. 6
Cygan: Didn’t have an awful game but on too many occasions simple long balls forward by Palace became much more serious than they needed to be. 6
Kolo: Got skinned more often than he would have liked and was caught out at times from crosses. But still, we only conceded one. 6.5
Clichy: Did well getting forward, causing a constant menace. Defending was largely competent but seemed to be infected by the general defensive tendency to give the ball away. 6.5
Vieira: Another tricky game to rate from the captain. At times he was sluggish and easily caught in possession. At others, he took a grip on the game and drove the team forward impressively. Got well forward for his goal. 7
Edu: Didn’t have the sudden impact he enjoyed at Villa last week but did well enough and certainly gave us a fair bit of solidity. Good ball to Reyes for the opener. 7
Pires: Seemed to be rewriting the dictionary definition of anonymous for the first 20 or so minutes. Then got more into the game without coming close to hitting top gear. Was unlucky to hit the post in the 2nd half after good work from Reyes. 7
Reyes: His best game in yonks. He looked fearless again, running constantly at the Palace defence and causing a lot of trouble. Good assist for the first, great finish for the second, an assist for the third and a fantastic pass to Dennis to set up the fifth. Great to see him back again. 8.5
Dennis: As ever, he oiled, moulded and sculpted our performance. He also took his goal very well, like he did against Newcastle and United too. And set up Henry for the fifth. 7.5
Henry: Really played very, very well and channelled any frustration about constant offside decisions in exactly the right way. Had seemingly boundless energy to chase back lost causes and put us back on the attack. 8.5
Subs:
Flamini (for Edu 60odd): Solid and composed as ever. 7
Van Persie (for Dennis 80odd): Linked up reasonably well as the game entered its final stages. 7
Fabregas (for Pires 80odd): Settled in comfortably on the right. 7
v Wolves (2-0)
Jens: Whilst a clean sheet is a clean sheet, he had very little to do and looked no more reassuring than previously with his kicking. To be fair, he was also played a high number of over hit back passes today and was not at fault for the one from Flamini that took a wicked bobble off the Highbury surface (which appeared unusually cut-up).6.5
Eboue: Got forward well, hit the bar with a deflected shot and could have had a penalty. Nice work. 8
Clichy: Decent game without being exceptional.7
Sol: Not a lot to do. 7
Cygan: Better than usual. 8
Paddy: Mediocre for much of it truth be told. Got better later on and scored the penalty but for too long his mind didn’t seem in the right place. Sure, Wolves made it difficult by crowding midfield but too often he seemed semi asleep at throw ins and the like. Still, he kept going. 6.5
Flamini: Didn’t show the deftness of touch of the Newcastle game but retained all his normal solidity. And great as Ray Parlour was, watching Boro at the moment suggests that we’ve got an as good, if not better, replacement. 7
Reyes: A couple of good runs, some moments of anonymity and denied a stonewall penalty. Still getting back to form but it definitely seems better than a few weeks ago. 6.5
Freddie: Usual energetic performance without any stand out moments, save his well taken goal. That’s ten for the season now and we’re still in January. Good work Sir. 7
Van Persie: Not his most inspiring game and clearly doesn’t yet have the positional ability of Dennis (who does?) but is improving. 6.5
Henry: Gallic. Went into one of his moods after Riley ruled out his cheeky first half effort. Strutted around for a while, went in for a couple of silly tackles and became frankly self indulgently petulant when a foul was given against him. It’s alright for us to loathe Riley endlessly but our top striker shouldn’t let him affect his game. And the fact is he did. But recovered his composure, was unlucky not to score and set up Freddie in superb fashion. 8
Subs:
Cesc (for Van Persie): Settled in comfortably on the right. 7
Pires (for Reyes): Nice work for the clinching goal. 7
Quincy (for Fred): No time to make an impression.
v Charlton (3-1)
Alumnia: No chance with the goal and didn’t do too much wrong besides one poor fumble from a cross. Still not convinced by his catching techniques. No difficult saves to make6.5
Hoyte: Made the odd error but did well to make sure his old youth team buddy Jerome Thomas had his quietest game in weeks. Managed to get forward a bit more in the second half.7.5
Cole: Still not looking at his best and on a couple of occasions was embarrassed by Rommedahl. But in fairness he wasn’t as sloppy as recently and did get forward well later on. 6.5
Sol: With the exception of one wildly sliced clearance in the first half that Almunia had to save he looked pretty solid and kept Charlton’s clear chances to a minimum. Let’s hope his ankle isn’t too bad. 7
Kolo: Given a bit of grief by Bartlett in the air but stuck to his task well and like Campbell, restricted the number of clear cut chances. 7
Vieira: Watching the game live, I was unconvinced by his first half performance. But having just seen the highlights it seems he got through a lot of work and did what he had to do neatly and efficiently. Set up Fred well for the goal and kept up a good level of performance all the way through.7
Cesc: Lost the odd ball but was generally very sound. Passing was clean and crisp as ever and his touch for the second goal was exquisite by any standards.7.5
Freddie: Took his two goals brilliantly, worked hard and always looked a threat. In good form. 8
Clichy: Seemed to lose the ball cheaply a bit too often but worked hard down the left helping Cole out with nullifying the threat of Rohmedahl and getting forward well. Has tremendous energy which comes in handy at the end of games when opposition players tire.6.5
Henry: Not at his best today but more worrying than the actual performance was the fact that his normal fitness wasn’t there. Had a lovely free-kick cleared off the line.6.5
Van Persie: Still has a tendency to twist and turn once too often. But also holds the ball up brilliantly, moves it well and finished superbly for the third. Should probably be given a real run up front next to Henry. Took his goal like a striker, which is disconcerting coming from an Arsenal player.7.5
Subs:
Pires (for Van Persie 72ish): With the game won he wisely didn’t over exert himself ahead of Man City on Tuesday night. 6.5
Senderos (for Campbell 82ish): Slotted in well on his Premiership debut.7
Pennant (for Fred 86): Didn’t have time to get into the game. 7
v Newcastle (1-0)
Almunia: Our star man tonight. A smart early save from Ameobi (even if it was probably going wide) and excellent handling all night gave us one less worry. Four clean sheets in five and he also kicks a fair bit better than Jens.7
Lauren: Though Lauren Robert didn’t reach anything like his best, I’m not sure whether too much credit should go to Lauren. His positioning often seemed weak, his passing and tackling little better and he offered almost nothing in attack. Mr Average was distinctly poor. 5.5
Cole: Whilst there’s no shame in being given a tough time of things by Craig Bellamy, Cole’s performance was noticeably worse than just a torrid time. He made stupid, unnecessary fouls, got caught out when he should normally have had enough pace and looked very, very shaky. He may have been pushed a touch for the penalty incident, but a defender with his mind fully on the job wouldn’t have allowed the ball to hit him as blatantly as it did. In mitigation he did improve and unlike Lauren provided some attacking threat. 5.5
Kolo: Did alright but like the others his decision making didn’t always seem to be the best informed. That said, it’s a little harsh to chastise a central defender who has kept four clean sheets in five. 6.5
Sol: Urgh. After some very sound recent performances he seemed far too troubled by what looked like some relatively simple long balls. One such error allowed Ameobi in for his early chance and his lack of authority always made the long ball route look like a wise one for Newcastle to take. 6
Flamini: Not his best game for Arsenal but he still got through a lot of work, kept things simple and had a hand in setting up Vieira for the goal. 6.5
Vieira: Named man of the match by SKY and praised in a couple of papers, but I’m going to be honest and say that up until he scored I thought he was pretty useless, being caught in possession too often. That said in the second half he got through a fair bit of work as we ground out victory. 6.5
Fred: Beavered away, had some good moments and kept on trying. Was going to commend him for his work on a couple of occasions in particular but can’t now remember what they were. 7
Pires: Even by his standards, his tackling was poor today. Truth be told, I can’t fathom how he’s allowed to defend with his body constantly side on to the play. As a left winger he has defensive responsibilities and simply has to make a better fist of it. On the attacking front he was probably our most creative player, moving the ball smartly and at pace. 6
Van Persie: Still very, very raw. Unlucky not to score in the opening minutes and had a couple more decent efforts but all too frequently ran into trouble and lost the ball on what was admittedly an awful surface completely unsuited to his quick twists and turns. Corners weren’t bad. Needs time. 6.5
Henry: His touch was not quite at its magical best, but again this was probably due to the state of the pitch. Had a couple of good runs that resulted in decent shots on Shay Given’s goal. 6.5
Subs:
Clichy (for Van Persie 80 mins approx): Seemed as happy as anyone in the post match huddle but for the second game in succession he seemed a little out of sorts when called upon. 6
v Fulham (2-0)
Almunia: Looks better by the game and made a crucial save when he rushed out at speed to palm away a Fulham chance at 1-0. Made no notable mistakes. 7
Clichy: Had a good first half – getting forward well as usual and strong on the defensive stuff. Then in the second half he seemed to lose his confidence went, either as a result of or because of Fulham consistently probing down our left. Like any small full-back, aerial strength is a weakness.6
Lauren: Average as usual. Looked solid against a Fulham attack lacking any real penetration. 6.5
Sol: At times we were troubled in the air – but Sol is leading a defence that is no longer allowing attackers completely free headers at corners. Looks fit and healthy and, along with the rest of the defence, now has three clean sheets in four league games. 7
Freddie: A fine game on his return from migraine troubles. Played in Henry for the first and set-up Pires for the second. 7.5
Cesc: Gets caught on the ball occasionally but is still doing the vast majority of things with real fluency. Gives us real creativity in the middle. 7
Vieira: Showed a few soft shoe shuffles to bam boozle defenders in a way we haven’t really seen this season. Also got stuck into his tackles and generally seemed to be on the ball. 7
Pires: There was this surreal moment in the first half. He got the ball on the left wing and took a heavy touch. As if that wasn’t enough he then went flying into the tackle with the Fulham defender and actually won the ball. And it wasn’t the only time – I saw him snuff out a few Fulham attacks and even win a header.
Of course, the attacking side of his play was superb as well – he would have scored from a Dennis chest down but for a good save by Van De Saar. He linked up well, particularly with Henry, and inevitably took his goal with typical aplomb. Now has 19 in 2004, which is good. 7.5
Dennis: A fair few poor touches and bad decision making in general play. In mitigation, he dummied the ball well for the second goal and put Pires in with an excellent chest down. 6.5
Henry: Sure, the flicks didn’t always come off but at times he led Fulham a merry dance like he has almost every other defence this season. His goal was a trade mark finish and he was desperately unlucky when his side footer from the edge of the box crashed back off a post. 7
Subs:
Flamini (for Freddie 74ish): Some might say Arsene was making a point by not replacing Freddie with Pennant. Others will call it a sensible way of seeing out the game. 6.5
Van Persie (for Dennis 78ish): Provided his usual array of tricks but didn’t get a real chance to score. 6.5
v Portsmouth (1-0)
Almunia: Had a really good game. Caught when he needed to catch, punched when he wasn't sure and kicked immaculately. Also made a couple of really good saves. His run of impressive performances may only stretch to two but for now there seems no reason to bring back Jens. 8
Lauren: Did nothing too wrong but didn't offer as much in attack as he might have and at times appeared troubled by Pomey's pace. I think he's ok, but I'm becoming less and less convinced he should be our right back at all - more on that tomorrow. 6.5
Cole: A tough one to call. For a while looked rattled by Pompey's pace and agression down the left. Misplaced a couple of balls and though his tackles were mostly coming off they had a slightly concerning aggressiveness about them which made me think he was letting his own frustration get the better of him a little. But stuck to the task well and in the end kept a dangerous Pompey out. 7
Kolo: Got sucked in a couple of times, but on the whole he was part of a defence that looked pretty solid and much improved at set pieces. 7
Sol: Looked fitter than recently I thought - turning smoothly on a couple of occasions when faced with danger. He also made countless important headers at corners and won us the game with the kind of head down sheer determinism many fans would like to see a little more often. 8
Flamini: Ran hard, tackled hard and never gave up. Doesn't offer as much going forward as Fabregas, but doesn't claim to either. Unlucky with a header from Henry's free-kick. 7
Vieira: Industrious, but was also sloppy on occasion, getting caught in posession and losing the ball. Still doesn't seem 100% back to his best and didn't make the most of a couple of shooting opportunities. 6.5
Clichy: Fought well and offered Cole valuable protection down the left hand side. Showed initial attacking promise early on but faded as Pompey grew in stature. Nonetheless, was full of running at the end and nearly capitalised on tired Pompey legs. 7
Pires: His every touch was met with a chorus of boos as Bob faced Pompey for the first time since 'that dive' last season. There was even one moment when he slipped and the ball rolled out of play. Which probably made a certain journalist very, very warm inside. Otherwise, was neat enough but pretty ineffectual, seemingly afraid of injury in the rough house atmosphere. Had a couple of lovely runs late on and set Dennis up for a chance he really should have taken. 6.5
Henry: Worked hard and created much of our best work, but often found himself crowded out by the hoardes of Pompey defenders. Nearly scored after a flowing first half move and set up Dennis' other chance late on, which again he really should have taken. 7
Van Persie: Started really well, showing fantastic feet and trickery and generally leading Pompey a merry dance. He swivels at such speed he'll probably need a hip replacement aged 30. Faded somewhat after his impressive start, finding himself crowded out by the packed defence. Could pass a little earlier at times but nonetheless a decent first start in a difficult game and he staked a fair claim for inclusion against Fulham on Boxing Day. 6.5
Subs:
Bergkamp (for Van Persie 68ish): Should have scored late on following good set up play. His performance did little to silence the voices calling for this year to be his last. I'm undecided on that, but what I am sure about is that I won't miss the needless little kicks and elbows aimed at his opponents when frustration sets in. Simply put: the sly digs are ugly and Van Nistelrooy like and do nothing for us. 6
v Chelsea (2-2)
Almunia: Faultless for both their goals, he made good stops from Lampard and Gudjohnsen in the first half. And made a vital save when Robben wriggled his way through after the break. But nobody noticed it. Caught when a catch was a good idea, punched when a punch was wiser and set us on the attack with some good throws. 7.5
Lauren: Didn't see much of him, but when you're up against Duff and Robben, this can only be to a defender's credit. Thought he did really well to keep them in check, and the one time Robben did really threaten in the second half, the danger came down the other side. 7.5
Cole: The one player who I thought struggled today. As has been the case of late, he lacked confidence in his touch and stuggled defensively. Perhaps should have come out to Robben before the winger got into the box for his 2nd half chance, and was easily beaten in the air by Drogba for Cheslea's 2nd equaliser. 6
Kolo: Looked solid overall and helped limit Chelsea to only a few chances asides from set pieces. 7
Sol: A mixed bag. Made some really important defensive headers and looked in command at times at the back. But was a little caught out for their opening goal and sometimes seemed a little gung ho in his marking. Made important late tackle on Drogba.7
Reyes: Was quiet, but this was a tough game. Nodded down to Henry for the opener, worked hard and went on a few mazy runs without much success. Still, I thought he gave them something to worry about.6.5
Fabregas: Another excellent performance. He and Flamini were overwhelmed initially when up against Tiago, Lampard and Makalele but never gave up and fought their way back into the game admirably. Nice goal to set up Henry for the opener, he was instrumental in setting up the Frenchman's near winner and also set up RVP for his chance. Uses the ball so intelligently and showed that despite his size, he's not afraid to get stuck in. Was up against the very best in the business today and succeeded in limiting Lampard to a largely peripheral role.8
Flamini: £1 million? First league start? A snip if you ask me. He run's tirelessly, he harries, he puts his foot in and he uses the ball simply when he wins it. A real water carrier but absolutely essential today and worked tirelessly. Well done Sir. 8
Pires: We wanted a big performance and boy did we get one. Seemed almost impossible to shake off the ball, tackled back, linked up well with Lauren, Flamini, Cesc and Henry and drove the team forward in his own idiosyncratic waddle. When in his pomp, he is still a wonderful, wonderful footballer to watch. Set up Henry for the near winner, realised his responsibility as the senior partner in midfield, and shouldered the responsibility admirably.7.5
Dennis: Didn't get involved in too much of note, but I can't help feeling he just gives us a cetain sophistication and shape when he's in the side. Gordon Strachan pointed out on Match of the Day how hard he'd worked to stop Makalele getting the ball and in hindsight I think it probably a fair call.6.5
Henry: Forget the late miss - it can happen to anyone. Otherwise he was outstanding, scoring a brilliant first (which included winning a high ball!), netting an impudent second and generally running the show. Scared Chelsea shitless every time he picked it up and was responsible for a hell of a lot of good work. Also destroyed the concept he doesn't turn it on in big games. That's 15 in 17 league games now by the way.9
Subs:
Clichy (for Reyes 82): Ran around like mad for 10 minutes and forced mistakes out of tired legs. Really good footballer and good enough to start for probably every Premiership side and perhaps should be more often for us. 7.5
RVP: Is maturing very nicely indeed. Nearly netted a silky winner when he latched onto Cesc's pass and gave the Chelsea players a lot to think about. Would be really interesting to see him start. 7
v Rosenberg (5-1)
Almunia: Made a really, really good low save early on and kicked largely well. But looked dodgy more than once on crosses and for the second time in a week cost us a goal, which is a real worry. Eventually realised there's nothing wrong with giving a ball a good double handed punch. 6
Hoyte: Was up against a poor opposition but defended diligently and rarely looked rushed. Used the ball well, linked up well with his team mates and should be well pleased with his first European start. 7
Cole: Looked solid, with a couple of important defensive headers, but still not yet back to his marauding best I sense. Shouldn't have let the ball drop over his head for Harald Brattbakk to fire at Alumnia after 17 minutes. Withdrawn with quarter of an hour left. 6.5
Sol: Ditto for above, though did once later on look somewhat sluggish again on the turn. Perhaps I'm just paranoid about the impending arrival of Duff and Robben at Highbury.6.5
Kolo: A very easy night for the big man and he even found time for a classic Kolo dance into the opposition penalty area towards the end. 7
Flamini: Very, very good full debut. Set up the second goal, ran tirelessly, got tackles in and seemed to work well with Cesc in midfield. Looks comfortable tracking back and going forward and also seems to have a strange affinity for joining in attacks right around the right edge of the penalty area and particularly when we attack the North Bank. A young, thinking man's Gilles Grimandi, he ain't at all bad for a fifth choice midfielder. 7.5
Cesc: Absolute star. Has already played 20 games this season (twice as many as Edu, Gilberto and Vieira), yet still had the strength to turn in one of his best performances for the club. Fantastically alert, his use of the ball was excellent. He also scored a very impressive, very difficult goal and was involved in the build up for the fifth. Not just our most frequent performer in midfield this season, but also our best. 8
Jose: Took his goal really well and gave us a flying start. Had another deflected shot well saved and looked much more like the sun kid of the beginning of the season. Had a delightful late chip that bamboozled three very stupid looking Rosenberg players before landing on the roof of the net. 7
Pires: Looked much, much better and was even spotted making a tackle late in the second half. Kept going and linked up well late on with Jose and RVP before being withdrawn for Quincy with two minutes left. His penalty was so brilliantly placed it went into the side netting. Again I marvel at his ability to put a football exactly where he wants it to go. 7
Bergkamp: A nice return for the Ice Man who got involved well in the game, set up the opener and had a couple of openings himself. Might have done better when in front of goal, but eased himself back into the side well. 7
Henry: I actually thought that poor as the defending was for his goal, it was still a pretty decent finish. Worked hard all night, linked up well with the kids around him and seemed to be feeling particularly tolerant. 7
Subs:
Clichy (for Dennis 72ish): Spent a few mins in midfield before dropping back to left back when RVP replaced Ashley. As ever looked sound in the defending and assured going forward.
7
RVP (for Cole 75): Resuscitated the game with some silky skills, wayward finishing and then eventually a very well taken goal. Rawer than an uncooked vegetable, but with massive potential. 7.5
Quincy (for Bob 88): Should have had longer. Don't think he got a touch.
v Birmingham (3-0)
Alumnia: Looks like Lehman, kicks slightly better than Lehman, fumbles the odd ball like Lehman and jumps a couple of inches less high in the air than Lehman. Did ok, but would have been ill advised to let Morrison’s second half effort creep under him and over the line.6.5
Lauren: Seemed really quiet yesterday. Means he was doing his defensive job well which at the moment is the priority. Better? Seeing as we kept a clean sheet, probably a tad. 6.5
Cole: It's not been picked up much by the press, but I’ve thought Ash to be one of the players whose form has most obviously dipped in the recent spell. He’s still looked a top left back, but the subtlety of touch that allowed him and Bob to link so well still seems to be absent. Better? Not noticeably, but again should take credit for a clean sheet. 7
Sol: I’m of the opinion he’s still carrying a little bit of weight. Played well enough, but on a couple of occasions he looked sluggish and immobile on the turn, which is obviously a concern with Duff and Robben coming to town next week. Better? Probably not. 6.5
Kolo: Probably fair to say he’s not been our worst performer in the recent period, but I think on occasion he has allowed our recent jitters to affect his decision making a little. Kept Heskey quiet, but also seemed to time his jumps wrongly on a couple of occasions. Better? Ditto above. 7
Vieira: Did some good stuff but on other occasions his decision making and concentration again seemed lacking a little. He’s a hard one to judge at the moment. Better? Probably a bit.7
Cesc: I’m glad to see he escaped censure for his recent performances because I think a lot of the recent mutterings about how he’s no Gilberto have been unfair. Admittedly, the Brazilian’s best work is done off the ball, SKY’s stats show how we tend to win with him in the side, but I still think the young Spaniard is doing pretty well. He’s a young boy whose probably played too many games in a struggling team in a big league. But he’s still there, still getting stuck in and still doing his stuff. Tired in the latter stages yesterday and was replaced by Flamini, which was a wise, common sense, decision. Better? No, but only because he was doing well in the first place. 7
Freddie: Scavenged, burrowed, furrowed, ducked and dived. Fred’s doing them all at the moment and its working as the perfect complement to the continued attempts at perfection that come from the rest of the team. Is also being very productive. Should have had a penalty yesterday, set up the third goal and generally ran the show. Better? No, but only because he’s been great. 7.5
Pires: Mark my words. One of these days the opposition are going to get a free kick on the edge of our area. Their player will hit it, the ball will fly off Robert Pires and zip past Lehman. And we’ll all put it down as a fluke, like we did for Graveson’s effort that flew off Pennant in the Carling Cup game against Everton. Except it won’t be a fluke because Pires, like Pennant, will have jumped with his back to the ball, meaning that when it hits him he’ll have no way of giving it any direction.
My point is that Pires simply has to go into tackles. Maybe he’s worried about getting hurt, but he’s ducking out of the most basic challenges and its meaning we’re losing the battle in midfield at places like Old Trafford and Anfield.
Obviously, as I was making a note of this, Bob went and scored a classic Bob goal. Basically a really, really good one. He is a fantastic playa, probably the purest footballer we have in our team and quite possibly the best finisher. Yesterday was his 50th goal for the club and almost without exception (Bolton at home this season) they’ve been aesthetically perfect and a joy to watch.
But he must pull his weight for the team, which funnily enough I’ve seen him do really well on a number of occasions. Better? A little bit later on in the second half. 6.5
Reyes: You have to feel for him - seemingly everything he tries seems to go askew these days. Inches away from a Henry cross in the first half, he got into the game a bit more going towards half time, but then tired before being withdrawn. As I said above, he could do with a 25 minute run against tired defences to get his confidence back. Better? Not really, but not for want of effort. 6.5
Henry: Whether it be through injury or lack of confidence, he spent much of the game getting into decent positions but then making the wrong decision. Then ten minutes from time he took off past Melchiot, through the Birmingham defence and then a cool low finish hit whilst he was running at incredible speed. Six minutes later, he bought a ticket for Freddie Ljungberg’s cross and got lucky.
May not be at his best. But the level of criticism he of all people has taken is ridiculous. Has scored 13 league goals this season (four more than anyone else and 9 more than Ruud), scoring in 11 of the 16 games. And it’s not even like he’s bound to get the goals because nobody else does. He hasn’t even scored a third of our goals, and with the exception of Old Trafford (when nobody scored) and Selhurst Park, at least one other Arsenal player has scored in all of our other games.
Better? Yes. Despite earlier failures, his determination to keep going for the all important second goal was admirable. 7.5
Subs:
Clichy (for Jose): I love this guy. He’s like Wenger’s little foot soldier and seems capable of doing everything. Slotted in expertly in left midfield. He covers, chases back, tackles, retains the ball, gets forward, dribbles and causes havoc in the opposition defence. He may be more defensive than Reyes, but sometimes being slightly more defensive can give you the shape to attack more. May not be suited to central midfield, but should be considered a serious option for a place in left midfield on tough away games. 7.5
Flamini: Seems to do everything neatly enough without being spectacular. Will be interesting to see how he works with Cesc over the next two games.7
v Man United (0-1)
Alumnia: Crap on their goal, barely put a foot wrong otherwise. Plays and looks like a slightly smaller Jens, but can kick. 6
Hoyte: OK and defended well on occasion, but I’d still like to see him get forward more. That said, I think he’s a player who would look much better surrounded by seasoned pros. 6.5
Clichy: Really, really good as usual. Slipped on their excuse of a pitch for the early goal, but didn’t let it affect him and worked tirelessly defending and attacking all game. 7.5
Senderos: The lumbering giant of Everton had been replaced by a very, very accomplished looking centre half. One dodgy back header that fell short but otherwise cut out everything that was asked of him and looked a real first team option. 8
Djorou: Took eye off ball and then slipped for the goal which wasn’t good. Never quite looked the same player as against Everton, but worked his way back into the game. 6.5
Flamini: Looks like we can breathe a little more easily in the midfield department after watching a very assured display. Would like to see him trialled as a sub for Freddie in games where we’ve got a dodgy one goal lead. 7
Larsson: Some like him but I’m not so sure. What he did was decent enough but I thought he struggled to have an effect on the game. 6.5
Quincy: Maybe it was the pitch, maybe it was United doubling up on him. Either way the hero of the last round never really got into last night’s affair. 6
Pennant: Worked hard, tried to take the initiative and overall did quite well. Still not sure if he’ll quite make it at Highbury though. 7
Lupoli: Is a striker and when strikers get no service they don’t look much kop. 6.5
Van Persie: Battled hard all night and willingly came deep to win possession. But probably came a bit too deep and battled a bit too hard. Yes, he could have been sent off for the incident with Richardson. Reminds me a bit of a young Freddie, not in playing style but in the way that the potential is clearly there but the skills are still very, very raw. 6.5
Subs:
Smith (for Lupoli): Did OK but still looks wary of going in for challenges and taking men on following his long term injury.
Cregg: Alright
Karbassiyoon: Alright
Sven: “I have spoken with the players concerned today and I have been very pleased with their reaction and am confident my relationship with them has not been damaged in any way.” Freddy Sheppard: “We have spoken with the player and he has confirmed he is happy at Newcastle United.”
How absurd Sven should reassure us, the fans, that his comments weren’t a problem because Owen and Beckham had said they were cool about it. As if they were ever going to turn round and say: “Stuff you, stuff my chance of playing in the World Cup and stuff the £300,000 bonus if I win it.” I think not. The fact is that whatever Sven has spouted about Beckham and Owen in particular, both know his presence is the sure fire way will always get in the team.
Of course, it is possible that Sven invented the stuff about Beckham and Owen in a bid to impress the fake Arabs who were so fervently stroking his whopping great financial ego. In which case one would expect Becks and Owen to be livid with their boss for lying, as opposed to just breaking confidences.
But irrespective of what the players really think, the reality is that Sven’s comments about what Owen said were probably true. In which case they were extraordinary. To believe that Newcastle are so overpaying Owen that even his jaw is dropping in astonishment exposes just how naïve and incompetent Sheppard (and Souness) are. I should declare an interest here: I can’t stand either, as I said in my piece on the Owen signing back in August.
My theory is that the one plus side to the top players becoming so rich so quickly is that before long they are so wealthy that for most an extra £10,000 a week just no longer holds the same appeal. With money no great issue, before signing a contract they must then contemplate factors that will sit far more comfortably with the fans who pay them. These include factors such as the quality of the manager and the running of the club. Call me naïve, but loyalty to the supporters could even play a part.
Put it this way: Dennis Bergkamp has been offered vastly reduced contracts by Arsenal for the past three years but has singed them in spite of there probably being somebody somewhere who would offer him far more than the approximately £14,000 he currently earns weekly. In his head, Dennis knows Arsenal is a good club.
Owen is probably not yet as rich as Dennis. But he’s probably still rich enough that an extra £10,000 a week (£500,000 a year) would be worth sacrificing if it meant being happy in the job. Yet Newcaslte are paying him sooooooooooo much and offering sooooooooooo many benefits that Owen (who earned a fortune in his previous jobs) sees it as mitigation for the fact he is at a club he has never really wanted to play for.
After all, the tale that a trio of Sheppard, Souness and Shearer had persuaded Owen St James’ was the footballing place to be always seemed somewhat fanciful. Owen had not wanted to come to the North East initially and his subsequent body language and words with Sven suggest very little changed after he signed. So really, all Sheppard had done was stun an incredibly rich footballer into financial submission.
As one commentator said last week, Sheppard attempted to steal the limelight from Shearer equalling Jackie Milburn’s goal record by hailing him as Newcastle’s greatest ever signing. It was a not so subtle suggestion that Geordies should raise a glass to Freddy for signing the cheque.
And here lies the problem: an obsession with money and ego. Sven and Sheppard would get on famously.
...
1430106
Wenger fills important gaps
Everybody has known for weeks that we needed a new, powerful midfielder. Many hoped he’d be experienced too but I think any gripes about that are dwarfed by the fact Arsene Wenger has splashed the cash.
Emmanuel Adebayor may seem like a less obvious signing but I think Arsene has been quick to plug a widening hole. Of course, we’ve known for years that we’ve had a plethora of forwards but no strikers. But only recently has it started to matter. It used to take three years for us to notch up five premiership blanks but we’ve managed it five times in seven games now.
He’s being compared to Kanu and has been given the number 25 shirt. Crucially, what Kanu gave us in his good years was something completely different from the excellent but generic offerings one would expect from the rest of the well-drilled Wenger players. For a while, Arsene’s signings were seemingly becoming more and more in the image of how he would create his perfect player.
For example, Alex Hleb (in his good early season form rather than his recent post injury struggles) looked like the result of cross breeding Robert Pires and Freddie Ljungberg. He had the perception and ability to glide past players reminiscent of an on form Pires and all the scurrying qualities of Ljungberg. It was as though a salesman had knocked on Wenger’s door and rather than offering something completely new he was offering the two for the price of one Pirberg.
As I said, I like Hleb and think he has a lot to offer. But the point I’m making is that players have been getting more and more similar. Yet Adebayor appears to break that mould and therefore we should be grateful.
The other big news is that it seems Theo Walcott could follow Diaby and Adebayor. Both Arsenal and Southampton are denying anything has been concluded, but looking at Wenger in the press conference today he had the air of the cat that got the cream. And certainly he is talking far more openly about Walcott than one would expect were a possible deal a long way off.
The word is Arsenal is his preferred destination because of the opportunity to work alongside his idol Thierry Henry. Which is perhaps the first pay-off of Henry’s pledge of loyalty last week. It could also be that we have Henry’s wobble to thank for giving Arsene a little jolt to wake him from the perceived transfer lethargy many fans have lamented. Arsene also deserves credit for apparently beating Mourinho in the battle to sign Diaby. A small victory, but one worth taking.
Finally, the signings keep faith with Arsene’s seeming determination to build the league’s youngest side. Of our top 25 players (the accepted size of a squad), 12 are 22 or under with four of them making up 80 per cent of our midfield. We have now gone three and a half years since we signed an outfield player over 24. But these signings are good news - though we shouldn't be disapointed if they aren't instant hits in the way Vieira and Kanu did.
It’s Boro today and I’m at work during the game. So there will be no update after it.
Update: The Sun report the following Wenger quote, which could be real and intended, real but not intended or a slip by the paper: “We have signed three exciting prospects at very reasonable prices." They have also dropped an absolute clanger in their analysis of Arsene's signing of young players. They said: "Niccolo Galli, Guy Demel and William Huck were unknown when they arrived and remained anonymous until they left." Galli died in a motorbike crash in February 2001.
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100106
Striker anybody?
I'm just coming to the end of watching a tape of tonight's game with the rubbish bits fast forwarded (ie most of it). What strikes me is that we simply have to play a striker. I don't give a stuff if Reyes and Quincy are more senior than Lupoli and Bentender. We badly needed someone to hold the ball up but there was nobody there. It's stubborness from Wenger. We also seem to lack committment in the tackle sometimes, which is hard to accept. The results is not a good one: we failed to score an away goal, which means that if they do, we'll require three. It's gonna be tough.
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080106
Spurs aren’t on their way to Wembley
Childish, mindless, moronic baiting is not my thing. And baiting Spurs over the years has been like taking candy from a baby. So I don’t think Arsenal fans should be laughing about their defeat at Leicester. But, frankly, I’m going to anyway. Ha, ha, ha, ha. That feels good.
It was at 2-0 to Spurs after 40 minutes and with the away fans singing their famous cup final song I admit I thought I was watching a new Tottenham. They were calm and in control and for once making a first division side look just that. Oh well.
Anyway, our weekend was rather better. I’m working Saturdays ‘til the end of the season so missed the Cardiff game. But by all accounts it was your standard Arsenal v lower league side game at Highbury in that we made heavy weather of what should have been a relatively simple task before eventually going through.
Henry was the other big news. A few people have tried to put a spin on his words but to me they simply that so long as we offer him a decent contract and invest in a few decent new players, he will stay. Which must be a massive, massive relief and is, if we’re honest, a real coup for the club. Let’s hope he didn’t feel rushed into his decision by the speculation about phone calls to Barcelona. And let’s hope the investment we all crave arrives. Of course it is worrying when you see Chelsea, United and Liverpool all making moves before us. But we should remember that Reyes only arrived in late January so there is still time. Another question about Henry (as a friend pointed out) is whether the club will be prepared to break their one year at a time rule for over 30s and so only offer him a deal ‘til he’s 31. Let’s just pray Arsene is having none of those thoughts.
I’d also like to nail on the head the absurd, lazy assumption made by some journalists that Thierry Henry has somehow been a disappointment this season. In the Daily Mail, Matt Lawton cited Henry as Arsenal’s biggest disappointment (with Van Persie the major plus). Elsewhere, recent performances have seen his shrugs, scowls, flailing of the arms and lack of willing to enter some attacks put down as evidence of his anxiety. What tosh. It’s what he’s always done and is just how he is.
And for the record, he has scored 10 goals in 14 league games and 13 in 19 in total. It is proportionately almost identical to RVN’s 15 in 20 or 17 in 28. And while the stats say he has hit just one double in seven league games, he also hit the post twice against Bolton, again against Chelsea and again against Charlton. So a little perspective is called for.
...
040106
Arsenal 0 United 0: Report from Highbury
I’ve seen a few match reports this morning and many seem to have subtly rolled every great moment from Arsenal v United over the past eight years into one game and then compared it favourably to what was on offer last night. I actually thought this was probably as high a quality a Arsenal v United contest Highbury has seen for quite a while. Whisper it in hushed tones, but the 2-2 draw in 03 and the 1-1 in 04 were poor affairs. And our performance last night was generally improved on last year.
This was the first time I had seen United at Highbury since the last 0-0 draw in 1995 and you easily forget what a brilliant arena Highbury is for the big night games. The atmosphere crackled behind the goals, stretching so far from both ends that even the West Upper seemed alive. Occasionally. Down on the touchline, the East Lower rose furiously at every United indiscretion. It might be Highbury’s last night like that. One to savour.
Surprisingly, it was the attackers who were found lacking. United couldn’t put away their second half chances and we could neither take ours nor commit the men forward like we should have nor get the obligatory penalty that we are always denied in games like these. It is now five blanks in seven for us, enough to make the ghosts of seasons past spin in their graves.
We were of course thwarted by the absence of Van Persie, a real goal threat. With Freddie also missing, it was the back five you would expect, Cesc, Gilberto, Hleb, Reyes and Henry. Individual performances were quite revealing. Henry, irrespective of Gallic pouts and refusal to get into the box, is clearly injured at the moment but is playing anyway. Hleb did ok but has lost confidence he had in the first few games that let him beat men and feed in really interesting balls.
For all the talk of the absence of Vieira, Gilberto had a good game – his positional sense in front of the back four was largely spot-on and barring a couple of errors, he was neat and tidy in the tackle. Next to him Fabregas was superb. That he tired later can easily be excused in an 18 year-old near present in central midfield this season.
On the right, Robert Pires improved in the second half. But sadly, he is a relic of a bygone era, a time when Arsenal were so good that wingers like Pires could shirk all their defensive duties because others would cover for them. Chelsea have raised the bar. The wingers are constantly tackling, closing down and working for the team when the ball is lost. Pires does not do that and is therefore a luxury. Perhaps the way he shirks anything defensive it is due to a legitimate fear of reinvoking past injuries, perhaps it is just laziness. But either way, a title winning team in 2005 can’t afford passengers like that.
The contrast with Jose Reyes could hardly be starker. Like Fabregas, Reyes plays as though it is the purple blood that pumps through his fragile frame. In the first half in particular, he was outstanding, his commitment no less than anything Keane or Vieira showed at their peak. It wasn’t just the fact that he gave Gary Neville a torrid time. It was the way he chased everything, panicked United and so, so crucially covered for Pascal Cygan. Top man.
Talking of Cygan, he played to the best of his abilities. He is no Baresi. But equally he is no slacker either. He even went to take a short corner with Henry. The others at the back did well and even though we could have conceded, it is a fourth clean sheet on the trot.
I was at Highbury and the atmosphere was fantastic and the game thrilling. Those who say otherwise have probably been spoilt by seeing too many games of this ilk in person. A draw was fair – United shaded the chances but both sides could have scored and didn’t. For me, the tackle on Fabregas was a penalty because though Neville got a toe to the ball, it was still in Fabregas’ possession when he scythed him down.
Let’s face it, we are a team in transition. We had eight fantastic years where we punched miles above our weight. But now a lack of spending (and a misjudgement in the transfer market) are catching up with us. Getting us back on top will not be easy. And a number of older players will fall by the wayside. Last night represented another failure to beat a top team. But the major positive we should take is that it was our two youngsters, in who Wenger has invested so much faith, who were Arsenal’s best players last night.
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020106
Arsenal v United: 2nd preview
So Gilberto is fit but Ljungberg and Van Persie are out. The latter is a big, big blow. It leaves us with just Henry and Reyes as the only players available to have netted more than twice in the league this season. And given our lack of goals that is a worry.
I suspect Gilberto will return. And if he does, let’s hope 2006 starts better than 2005 ended. He is not the world’s greatest midfielder but he is a far better player than his recent form and good enough to face United.
I wonder whether Van Persie and Ljungberg missing could prompt a change of plan from Wenger. Could we see Gilberto, Fabregas and Flamini all play? And could Henry then play as a loan striker, supported by Reyes on the left and either Hleb or preferably Pires (as long as he really tries) on the right? It would be a fairly radical departure from what we have seen this season but I just wonder whether it might be a good way of not being forced to play Bergkamp due to Van Persie’s absence.
It is also possible that Cesc could play on the right, Flamini and Gilberto in the middle and Reyes left, with Dennis and Henry up front. But to me it doesn’t sound so good. Of course, we could stick rigidly to our normal formation and play Dennis and Henry with Reyes and say Pires supporting. It has worked well in the past. The question would be whether it leaves us too open in the midfield.
Irrespective of our current predicament, the game will be one of the last great occasions at Highbury and the atmosphere should crackle suitably. The game is sure to be a fiery one and Fergie has already stoked the fire with his myopic review of United’s behaviour over the years. We need to make sure we keep our heads (here’s looking at you Cesc (and Jens obviously)), not just to save ourselves embarrassment but also so we stay focused.
Speaking following the first battle of Old Trafford on the 1991 end of season video, George Graham told his side: “You still gotta tackle, still got to close down. But lads, you must watch your behaviour.” How apt.
Whatever happens, what we mustn’t be left with at the end of the night is regrets. That means ensuring there are no stupid individual errors that cost goals. That means ensuring that if we get chances that we take them. And that means hoping the referee does his job and calls the big decisions correctly. And of course we need to think about how we contain the United threat and Rooney and Ronaldo in particular. But that is something that comes after the basics and too often this season it has been the basics that have let us down. Come on you Gunners!
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010106
Arsenal v United preview: who to play?
I was only able to see the second half against Villa so I’m in no position to say too much about the performance. However most accounts have been pretty negative. From what I saw, we were clearly conceding too much possession to Villa but at the same time I felt the individual errors so evident in the defeats at Bolton and Newcastle were not so evident.
However you look at it, the draw was hardly great preparation for the final league visit of Man United to Highbury on Tuesday night, particularly given them beating fat Sam’s lot 4-1. The game is a funny one because for seemingly the first time in yonks it is the attack who pose the greatest worry at the moment. We may have hit four against Pompey but December saw us fail to find the net in four out of six league games. A big worry.
For me, the well-documented problems in midfield are at least in part to blame. Drive from the midfield in Wenger’s Arsenal has always been essential. After all, how could it not be in a team that so deliberately shunned the long ball from defence straight through to attack? But we lack that drive, power, speed and athleticism we once had. The problem seems exacerbated whenever Hleb and Ljungberg get the nod on the wings because essentially, they are the slightly more attacking shadows of what is in the middle. Played with Fabregas and Flamini, we have a midfield of four physically unimposing players, none of whom have the blistering pace and drive Wenger’s sides are famed for.
Given that, I would definitely play Reyes against United. There is the risk he will be intimidated out of the game. But at the very least he should offer us some variety. On the right it is a tough call. I suspect Hleb will sit on the bench. Then it becomes a question of the gritty but limited Ljungberg or the big occasion but inconsistent Pires. Who knows.
I can see why some would plump for Dennis next to Henry because of the greater fluidity his presence tends to give us. But I would go for Van Persie. I sometimes think it goes unnoticed how capable Van Persie is of fashioning a goal from nothing. And that can be vital. Certainly, when he was taken off after 68 minutes at Villa it was as though we had lost one of our few goalscoring aces. Dennis may give you the odd goal but he is no longer able to conjure a goal all on his own like Van Persie can.
Other than that we need commitment all over the pitch and concentration. With Cygan suspended I wonder whether Arsene could throw in a surprise and play Eboue at left-back or perhaps Eboue right-back and Lauren left-back. Either way, I suspect he might be anxious to avoid what happened against Chelsea where the full-backs were both out of position and the central defence not the number one pairing.
Put mildly, we have been rubbish against big teams recently and it is true that we have not really beaten anybody that tough this season (though victory in Amsterdam was cool). You can be sure Fergie will have pinpointed our weaknesses and will look to exploit our flimsy midfield in particular. Another defeat would be a sickener and the task then really would be to scrape fourth place. Victory could be a great, short-term shot in the arm and a timely reminder that we can still do it.
On a level playing field, it will be tough. What we have to hope for is that the playing field is level and that the curse of bad refereeing decisions that have plagued some of our recent big games does not rear it’s ugly head again.
P.S.: Have just read Fergie's comments about us not being a big club and just remembered how much I hate United. And as for his claim that tickets to Highbury cost £72, Fergie is either lying or else his pal had presumably frequented a tout, given that the highest price for a single ticket is £54. The only other option is corporate hospitality, something United would never dream of indulging in. Indeed, everything I hate about them is now flooding back. For pride's sake, we have to win.
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281205
Arsenal 4 Portsmouth 0: Lovely stuff
My first visit of the season to Highbury. And some memorable goals to go with it. Granted, we weren’t brilliant throughout by any means and the midfiled (and Gilberto in particular) and Pascal Cygan are serious worries at the moment.
But the four goals were sweet. It is rare that you hear a commentator sounding genuinely excited by what he has seen, but listening to what Steve Wilson said on Match of the Day tonight it was clear he relished our return to the scoring of Arsenal goals like we did. The first was a peach – Flamini hustling and winning the ball in midfield. He sprayed it wide to Reyes, who completely slipped his man and fired in a great low ball that Dennis simply had to take first time. He did and he finished perfectly to put us 1-0 up.
The second was a fine ball from Toure down the right into Henry. He controlled well before feeding the onrushing Reyes who hit an absolute stonker of a left footed shot first time into the roof of the net. It was a tough effort – he had to come across the ball and had little of the net to aim for.
Then just as we were slowing-up, Flamini released Henry who rounded the keeper, took the ball pretty wide and then clipped in from a tight angle for his first in five games. His celebration was interesting. We’ve all heard the strong rumours about him leaving. But as he celebrated in front of the East lower he looked like a man perfectly at home in his surroundings.
Then when Pires got played in he slid the ball in for Reyes, who was flying in at full pelter. There was the most mininal of touches from the defender but the referee’s decision to give a penalty was the right one. Such was Reyes’ pace, only the slightest nudge was enough to deprive him of his clear goalscoring chance. Thankfully, the referee didn’t send the offender off – though technically he should have. Henry converted and we slowed up afterwards, preserving energy ahead of Villa away on Saturday.
Overall, it was a very positive night. The combination of Henry, Bergkamp, Pires and Reyes would be a disaster in away games. But against weaker opposition at Highbury they are potent – such as when we beat Villa 3-1 last season. Against Pompey, Bergkamp and Pires could do their things and looked good. Henry did his stuff and while to Arsenal fans he probably only had an average games, it’s worth remembering that to neutrals he is persistently sublime.
And Reyes followed up his good performance at Charlton with another excellent show. He scored one and set-up two and generally caused trouble. On form, he is a fine, fine player and to me he is one of those players who just want to see do well. Tonight’s goal was another example of his goalscoring versatility.
Credit too to Arsene. He is sometimes criticised for his team selections and substitutions. But in the past two games he has got things spot on, resting people who need resting and so far keeping the squad fresh looking in a tough period. Elsewhere, Kanu hit a superb brace to sink Spurs. Lovely stuff.
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261205
Charlton 0 Arsenal 1: Reyes has rocket put up him
A rocket up ‘im is a tired and usually ill used football analogy but perfectly apt for today’s game. Even by his own standards, Jsoe Reyes was peripheral in the first half (barring one flowing move that Freddie really should have scored). Indeed he was so bad that he was almost as bad as Pascal Cygan. And in the first half, that really was bad.
Then when Reyes emerged after the break it was as though the rocket we all know he has in him had been ignited. It was crazy stuff. He played like a winger, all wide and running like apparently that was wingers are supposed to do. It was like what happens in other teams. It was a joy to see and suddenly our attacking threat was almost doubled, with not everything having to go through Thierry Henry.
Of course, it was not just Reyes who got better. The whole performance was far improved and we dominated the game. Our reward came when Ljungberg played in Henry. His first effort was blocked and his second low shot hit the keeper and looped into the air.
The ball dropped on Reyes’ right foot just a couple of yards from goal. He volleyed home and we had our first league goal in a month. Lovely stuff. We continued to dominate, could have scored more and never looked like letting things slip after Danny Murphy was sent-off - his second yellow for throwing the ball down in frustration after a Bennett call. Stupid decision and one I hate to see – even when it benefits us.
On a side note, Cesc got a bit involved in that incident and was also guilty of a slightly dangerous (yellow card worthy) challenge that went unchecked. I love watching Fabregas and am only too happy to see him get stuck in. But he sometimes gets involved where it is not needed and is one of those ‘first on the scene’ players. I just wonder if it could come back to bite him at some point.
But back to the performance: we were much better in the second half but there was still a lot wrong. We lack suredness, Cygan is still at left-back and Cesc and Gilberto had their usual flaws exposed. I’d give the young Spaniard a well earned break for the Portsmouth game.
The bright spots in the game were the result, a far improved Sol Campbell performance and Reyes second half effort. It was great to see him at full pelter and a reminder of the massive potential he has. If I’m honest I’d half forgotten how good he can be. Seeing him tuck the ball home from two yards also offered a extra useful reminder to yours truly.
I stick by my assertion that Reyes is not a striker. But I forgot that on form, he can still be a goalscoring winger. And more to the point, we are talking about a player who can score every single kind of goal, which to me suggests real potentially as a 15 goal a season winger. Cast your mind back over the goals he has given us and you will see there is no trademark. Left footed, right footed, headed, spectacular, bundled in, tapped-in, first time, lengthy runs, one-on-ones, volleyed. They are all there. And in this generally gloomy time for the club, that is a pleasing thought.
Portsmouth on Wednesday. I’d rather not see Cygan at centre-back, would replace Fabregas with Flamini, make sure Reyes gets another chance to try to build some confidence and probably give Pires a run-out in place of Freddie too.
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21/12/05
Insane Blatter wants to make things even easier for Chelsea
The Chelsea match review is below this quick post. Sepp Blatter has said: "If a club can only have five foreigners among their starting 11, then they will have to build on their own youth system. If Chelsea were forced to have five foreigners then Roman Abramovich could not go on buying the best players across the world for exorbitant fees. Chelsea is the example of what should not happen."
The man is a lunatic. The problem at the moment is that Chelsea are snapping up the cream of English players for sums only Man United can even think about, irrespective of whether the player is of any use to them (Lampard) or not. (Wright-Philips).
Were this rule to come in, Chelsea would simply further dominate the English market, pushing up prices and further decimating those without money. Not only would we be forced to fill our team with six English also rans, we would also no longer be able to compensate for the vast gulf in finances as we currently do, by scouring the world for affordable top players.
Develop their youth system? Err, no. They would just spend more money. I am not having a go at Chelsea, but the fact is they would be most happy with these plans. As Arsenal fans, these insane ideas should worry us.
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19/12/05
Arsenal 0 Chelsea 2: It ain’t the end of the world.
So, league defeat at home to Chelsea for the first time in yonks. Painful? Disappointing? Frustrating? YES, YES, YES. But surprising? NO. In short, we learnt very, very little that we didn’t already know.
If we were to win, we had to be clinical with what chances we created and make sure we scored the first goal. Chelsea began well but for me the first two real opportunities were Arsenal ones and we did little wrong with them. Henry hit the post and then Van Persie swept home beautifully only to see the offside flag raised in error.
Not offside
It was a massive, massive decision. 1-0 to Arsenal and we would have had a completely different game. It was a wretched decision and I’m getting sick of wretched decisions in big games. Don’t get me wrong, at home against smaller sides the refs favour us. But in big games we seem to get little luck. At crucial times in both United league games last year and now against Chelsea. I’m not talking about flukes of performance – like when we beat United in the Cup Final or when Drogba scored against us earlier this season. I’m on about the crucial refereeing decisions, which, for whatever reason, seem to keep going against us in the big games.
Six minutes before half-time and Robben was as onside as Van Persie was and he too put the ball in the net smartly. This time the goal stood. While you languish in footballing depression mulling over this defeat, just consider how different things might have been had our goal stood and theirs not.
Red cards:
As for the non sending-offs: yes, Senderos probably should have gone (as Wenger acknowledged). But so too should Essien, who is anything but a marked man as Mourinho claims. I thought his elbow was probably correctly called a yellow. But it was just crass inconsistency that let him get away with a later foul on Van Persie that was identical to one Henry had been booked for about two minutes earlier. So on that front, honours even. (ps, question for UEFA: when did going in studs first near someone’s knee become a two rather than a three game ban?)
I thought we actually played quite well after we went behind. Chelsea 1-0 up are a nightmare to play against. Though we could have created a few more chances, we still fashioned some decent openings. They were dangerous on the break but that was always going to be so with us chasing the game. Cole took their second excellently after one of Lauren’s worst ever mistakes for the club. But to bash him is ridiculous. He is a first class foot soldier who is having a good season and hardly ever puts a foot wrong.
The Midfield:
The problem for us was very obviously in midfield. Aware that we would be outmuscled, we frequently tried to pass long straight from defence to attack. It was an unfamiliar approach that met with limited success. I’ve heard mutterings of disappointment about Cesc’s performance, but I’d point to what I said on Saturday about him being asked to do the wrong job. But the problem is not just a lack of muscle in central midfield. While we could once slot Edu in left and Parlour right, Freddie is now our most physically strong wide player, which says it all. And the pace that once characterised our middle line only lives on in the injured and inconsistent Jose Reyes.
This is, clearly, a very difficult time for the team. Our standards have slipped and for the first time we are staring into the abyss of finishing outside of the top two. But let us not get carried away. We went three barren years without any trophy between Wenger’s first and second titles. Things change and evolve. Of course we need reinforcements and the prospect of Henry leaving is daunting. But things are not all bad.
Hleb is having a far better first year than Pires did, Sol Campbell (in my opinion) will rise again and while they are not yet world beaters, there is genuine promise in our young players. Things change and evolve and for anyone who is feeling at all disillusioned with Arsene, just imagine how much worse every other manager would do with our resources. For one thing, I think if Mourinho took over at Highbury tomorrow, he’d struggle big time. But take Wenger to Stamford Bridge and I’d expect him to win Chelsea titles, which less we forget, is all Mourinho has managed for them so far.
Chelsea?
So, finally, what of Chelsea? Have they raised the bar? Incrementally at most. That they are so far ahead is in part because of their own consistency but more due to United and Arsenal’s recent decline. Are they any better than us in 2004 or United in their pomp? I’d say no way. So the challenge is for us to get back to what we have achieved before and then catching Chelsea will take care of itself.
The most well resourced squad ever in British football was very fortunately injury free enough to be able to choose their first choice eleven against us. We were missing three left-backs, a winger and had a midfielder harshly suspended. C’est la vie. What a sign of the times that of the eleven players fielded by Mourinho, ten cost £6 million plus, while John Terry was a shooting star long before the special one had even heard of him. Our side contained just three players bought for more than £3.5 million.
Overhauling them will be very tough, but is doable. And if there is one manager you’d choose for a club like ours – in transition and relatively cash strapped – you’d plump for Arsene Wenger over Jose Mourinho or anyone else any day of the week. Which is handy really.
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17/12/05
Arsenal v Chelsea preview: How good would Cesc look in Chelsea’s midfield?
A year and a week after his first start in an Arsenal shirt, Mathieu Flamini is likely to again come into the Arsenal side next to Cesc Fabregas for the visit of Chelsea. The prospect has left many fearful, but they did ok last year and I think they can do ok on Sunday. In a way, the prospect of having Fabregas and Flamini snapping like whippets around Essien and Lampard is preferable to having Gilberto in there. In his current poor form, we might risk the Brazilian just providing poor man’s version of what Makalele does so well for Chelsea.
The game is obviously going to be very tough and despite our impressive home form, Chelsea must be favourites. At Highbury the league results have been immaculate but the teams we have beaten have been nothing special and our performances only impressive in short, sporadic bursts. Still, I think we have the players who, on their game, can stop Chelsea from scoring. And I think we are capable of creating chances against them at Highbury. So, we are not without hope.
If we are to win, a likely key player will also be our youngest – Cesc Fabregas. Usually in hushed voices, some Arsenal followers have questioned whether he has the strength for the Premiership. They say both Vieira and Gilberto have struggled next to him. I refute that. As far as Vieira goes, he acknowledges openly in his book that he played much of last season with a very dodgy ankle.
And as for his partnership with Gilberto, I see the problem being that Fabregas has been unfairly forced to play the role of tough tackling midfielder. While the Brazilian may provide a positional wall, it is Cesc who on the whole is required to throw his still slender frame into the tough tackling.
For me, he has actually done it ok, but the point is that expecting him to excel as the enforcer is as preposterous as expecting Dennis Bergkamp to score 30 goals a season. It is not what either do. But imagine Cesc sat on the Chelsea bench for a game and replaced one of Essien, Makalele or Lampard at half-time. Whoever he came in for, I’d expect him to flourish, revelling in being able to concentrate on doing what he’s great at. He could also offer Chelsea the midfield subtlety and creativity they have occasionally lacked - such as in four scoreless encounters against Liverpool in the Champions League.
So if you see Cesc being out muscled on Sunday, take a look around and remember what he is being asked to do. However well he does it, here’s to the midfield beast/animal/enforcer we all pray Arsene will buy in the January sales.
Ps: there was a really good piece on Football365 this week pointing out that in quite a number of these games where Arsenal supposedly allow themselves to be bullied to defeat the more truthful explanation is that very poor refereeing has instead allowed teams to get away with what is simply illegal.
It pointed out the United game last season and more recently the Bolton game (where the referee just ignored Lehman being elbowed in the stomach and another guy who was already booked punching the ball in to the net all in one move) and Newcastle, where the fact is Alan Shearer got away with stuff that was far more plain illegal than any ‘on the edge’ bullying.
I’m not saying we don’t sometimes go soft (I think we do), but it does add some rationality to the whole debate.
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12/12/05
Newcastle 1 Arsenal 0: Same problems, same lack of solutions
A week ago I penned a massive post Bolton post mortem. (Computer problems mean it has only just gone online - see below). Almost everything I said then applied to today’s match so I’m not going to go over the same ground in massive depth after today. For me there are a few points for why we lost:
1) We left our shooting boots at home. I’m hardly in a position to tell Thierry Henry how to score. He had the chances in the first half and didn’t take them. It was one of those things, as was Van Persie mis-kicking later.
2) We are still hideously under strength in the centre. Gilberto is playing crap, yet we have no other option. We need an animal in there (Gilberto, Cesc, Hleb and Freddie is hardly physically intimidating.) Yet we have no animal to bring in.
3) Dermot Gallagher was a total wanker today. (And yes, I know we get the run of the mill sometimes and did so against Newcastle on the first day of the season). That not withstanding, on a technicality sending-off Gilberto was justifiable. But as I remember they were the only free-kicks he gave away all day. And neither were dangerous tackles. They were the tackles of a player who is out of form and off the pace. Were they so bad he needed to be excluded from the pitch? Definitely not.
Compare the approach to Gilberto to how Gallagher treated Shearer and other Newcastle players. Shearer was given a free reign to elbow, foul (including one shocker in front of the referee), knowingly kick so high that knew he would hit Lauren, kick the ball away and delay kick-offs by standing in our half. It took 89 minutes for him to get booked. All this matters because while Newcastle (as is their right) adopted a very physical approach they were able to do so because Gallagher was being so lenient. Once a player has been booked they have to temper their approach, knowing that one more significant error will be the end for them. Gallagher patently failed on that part. Apparently this is his final year. On this showing, good riddance.
But overall there is no escaping the fact we have big problems away from home. The defence could do with some better drilling but overall they did fairly well today. And though the goal came from our left, Lauren looks infinitely better at left-back than Cygan. And up front I think we look fairly strong. We have drawn three blanks on the run but prior to then had looked dangerous. With a bit of luck, Henry could have had two at Bolton and Van Persie one. And the same can be said today.
The problem for me is midfield. In the middle we are enormously weak. It would be nice if we could give 18 year-old Cesc a break but there’s fat chance of that at the moment. And though Hleb helps, we lack defensively able players on the wings: Freddie is either a bit injured or out of form at the moment. Yet still he plays 90 minutes every game.
The thing is that Chelsea probably have as many midfielders and forwards out of form as we do. Crespo, Duff, Robben, Wright-Philips and arguably Drogba and Gudjohnsen are hardly setting the world on fire at the moment. Of course, we can hardly hope to have their strength in depth. But equally, we can expect far more of our current resources in the middle.
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04/12/05
Just what is Arsene playing at?
I spoke to a season ticket holding friend last night who for some weeks has said his confidence in the boss is waning. I don’t necessarily agree, but what follows are some of his concerns and some I have too. What do you think?
Arsene can moan about player commitment but to us Bolton yesterday was simply the epitome of what we feared at the beginning of the season, the inevitable result of Arsenal’s very own corporate restructuring. So as the squad has been trimmed and thinned out, those that are left are more comfortable than ever in their positions and what would normally be the responsibility of experienced team members is being carried out by talented, but as yet unproven, upstarts.
At Bolton Henry and Van Persie were the right choice. But even Tony Adams (who generally seems to not know that much about tactics) has been pointing out for years that Ljungberg and Pires won’t work at places like Bolton. Admittedly, Alex Hleb is injured.
But in central midfield Wenger is guilty of discarding our two most aggressive midfielders as if we have somehow had too many of them. It is blatantly clear that neither Fabregas, Gilberto nor Flamini have the animal instincts that seem to be present in the heart of every top side. It is also true that talented as the first two are, Gilberto is not and Cesc is not yet good enough that their places in the starting line-up should be completely unquestioned and unthreatened. How Arsene could go out at the start of this season and rightly deciding he needs a fourth central midfielder plump for a 17 year old (Alex Song) to complement his 18 and 21 year-olds is beyond me. Principles and only buying the right player is admirable, but not when it means no player.
And if the case in midfield is one of transfer bloody mindedness then the case at left-back is one of tactical bloody mindedness. With no personal insult intended to the man, I can’t remember a single player in Arsene Wenger’s reign enjoy a run in the side and look more out of his depth when doing so than Pascal Cygan at left-back. Even when he does something right, 90% of the time it means he hasn’t cocked it up. His abilities are simply so limited there, it was no wonder Bolton almost encouraged Jens to throw him the ball. Leaving aside the defending, you would have to say he offers nothing to the attack either. It is as though we have become numb down part of our left side.
For Arsene to come out last week and say he brought on Lauren at left-back for the last half hour in Thun to see if he could play there just encapsulates the problem. As you and I well know, Lauren would be miles better playing there, as would Toure, as would Eboue, as might Senderos and as might even Flamini.
They say there is no point buying for the sake of it, but there is also no point not buying for the sake of it. And Alex Hleb is the ONLY outfield and vaguely proven player over 21 who has arrived at Highbury in nearly three and a half years! That is extraordinary! We all know (and largely admire) Arsene’s determination to challenge Chelsea’s exorbitant spending by unearthing and polishing gems, but it is almost as if what Chelsea do is dictating what we do. By this I mean the more they spend the less we seem to spend. And yet the fact is that any title win would count as a great overcoming of the odds, even if we spent £20 million a year.
On that note, there is nothing wrong with stripping out a few luxuries (eg Kanu and Wiltord) to give younger players a chance. But you can’t start getting rid of the bare essentials. And at the moment you can argue we have no competition in goal, where Wenger’s signings there are slowly becoming more bizarre and obscure (witness Shabaan, Warmuz, Almunia and now Poom). We have two good centre backs (one of whom is off his game), a still very young pretender (Senderos) and another who ain’t up to it. Four years ago we had an (admittedly aging) Adams, Keown, Campbell, Upson, Grimandi (better than Cygan) and Oleg Lhuzny (probably better than Cygan).
I hardly need to go into central midfield. A comparison with last year simply says it all. On the wings, as I suggested earlier, there is fair attacking cover. The problem though is that when we want to plump for someone more defensive on the right we end up having to move Fabregas, where as two years ago we would have simply slotted Edu in, leaving Vieira and Gilberto intact in the centre.
And at up front, it seems to have taken ages to a) figure out Reyes is a winger and b) develop a successor to Dennis. Discounting Reyes, we have just three forwards – a footballing god, a youngster still making his mark and a man who is rapidly going over the hill. Think back to 1999 and look at the perfect balance we enjoyed: an in form Kanu, Dennis around his prime, a raw (but still 25 goal) Thierry Henry and Davor Suker, who was used as and when it pleased. Sadly, our current paucity of forwards meant that after 70 minutes we were calling for Dennis yesterday, even though all and sundry could surely see it was not the time or place for his services. And quite why on earth Robin Van Persie was withdrawn I don’t know. Simple maths says Van Persie’s goal threat is far higher than Dennis or Reyes.
All in all, there seems to be a great sense of bafflement. We expect managers to be a little mad, but more and more often we seem to be shrugging our shoulders and explain something away as Arsene just being Arsene. But it doesn’t add up. We might not like seeing Chelsea above us but always knew their spending would make it probable. But it’s hard to accept when we seem to be shooting ourselves in the foot so readily. Even Spurs have about seven midfielders better than our fourth choice.
And what is so galling is that actually we are not very far at all from being bloody good. With the exception of Cygan, every player in our squad is Arsenal quality and very many are worthy week in week out starters too. But they need reinforcements. With these reinforcements, we wouldn’t have to shunt Freddie back into the side when he doesn’t look ready. We would be able to pick the players who are physically at their peak and rest others when they tire a little. Which is what Mourinho does and explains why Cole, Duff, Robben and Wright-Philips always look so chirpy.
So what do we need? A hungry, improving goalkeeper who will in a few years succeed Jens. A half decent centre back who is solid if nothing else. An established beast in central midfield. Perhaps a young, as yet unproven beast, for when the big beast is suspended. A Davor Suker like signing – someone who will offer goals when they play but whose presence will not hold Van Persie back. And as the Dutchman becomes established, someone to fill Van Persie’s current role of young pretender – Arturo Lupoli would seem the obvious choice.
That is five signings. But only two (the beast and the goal scorer) would initially be pivotal ones. Those five, combined with our ever improving youngsters, could make a real squad. At the moment it is not just that Chelsea are so far ahead in the table, it is that we are in with the likes of Spurs, Bolton and Wigan. Squad wise, we will never be as big or strong at Chelsea. But at a certain point it starts to matter less and less until it becomes almost immaterial. We need to plug the holes so we can get to that point.
And finally, what are the rewards? We already have a really good crop of players. Arsenal may not be ahead of the chasing pack but it is still true that the vast majority of our current crop would walk into any Premiership team other than Chelsea and Man U in some cases. With the right moves in the transfer market we could perhaps hope to persuade not just the brilliant Ashley Cole to stay at Highbury but also Thierry Henry, one of the great players of this generation. Whether he stays or goes could tell us so much about where Arsenal are headed.
I may be wrong, but I struggle to believe Henry (settled in London with a wife and new born) would have any inclination to leave a flourishing Arsenal in a new stadium who have the tools to seriously fight Chelsea for the league and to capture the Champions League. I suspect he fears the same things we fear and he needs the same reassurances.
He is 28 and I suspect he knows he has half a chance not to just be known as a great of his time, but to etch his name as one of the great players of any generation. To become that great he probably still needs a mix of international success at his prime (he was not yet a great player in 1998 or 2000) and success with a club in Europe.
On the international stage, Henry’s options are obviously limited because he can’t change countries. On the club stage, whether he feels able to achieve it at Highbury may well depend on just what Arsene is playing at.
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27/11/05
Arsenal 3 Blackburn 0: Attack good, defence not so good
I only saw the BBC highlights of yesterday’s game, so it would be wrong to go into too much depth. But three things were quite obvious from watching it:
Our defence is making too many Premiership standard strike forces look like world beaters. And with all due respect to the man, it is my belief that rightly or wrongly, the presence of Pascal Cygan is a massive factor.
A couple of reports I have read suggested he was not personally so bad yesterday, but the problem goes beyond his individual performances. It is the effect he has on the team.
Exactly a year and a week ago I wrote: “Pascal Cygan is no Baresi, but he’s not an awful player either. But at the moment his presence is having a devastating effect on our play. The rest of the team doesn’t trust neither him nor Jens Lehman and the effect is reverberating through our side.” A week later Jens played his last league game until February and has not looked back since his recall. I added at the end of the article: “Cygan has to be dropped for the sake of the team.”
And the same must happen now. Arseblogger was entirely correct yesterday to point to Wenger’s apparent blind spot over Cygan. Far be it for faceless internet bloggers to tell him how to manage Arsenal, but the clamour from fans appears so universal that surely these feelings need articulating.
2) The second point is that we are obviously playing some very nice attacking stuff at the moment. Not all the time, but we are cranking up the pressure when it matters. Much as Blackburn perhaps deserved a goal or even two, the fact is we created three perfectly executed ones and could have had more.
3 ) Some players have such outrageous talent that you can forgive them being idiots on occasion. Robbie Savage is not one such player. Arseblogger aptly summed him up as a “cheating, conman, fairy, nancy, fraud, flimflammer, obnoxious wanky cunt.”
I would add one word to that description: twerp, defined in the dictionary as a person regarded as not just contemptible but insignificant too.
Just before I finish I’d like to pre-empt a couple of things that will happen this week. The first is that a certain journalist will twist the Savage incident to bring up every misdemeanour ever committed by an Arsenal player. The second is that we are going to have to listen to unrivalled levels of crap spout from the mouth of Sam Allardyce this week ahead of our visit to the Reebok next Saturday. If they beat Fulham today they will be level with us going into the game.
On that note, there was an interesting (and unmalicious) remark made about George Best this week. It was said that Best frequently mentioned how Pele had called him the world’s greatest, yet Pele never needed to do the opposite. Sam Allardyce loves to tell us how brilliantly he has done at Bolton on such limited resources, yet Arsene Wenger...
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I didn't see the Thun game, I'm flying during the Blackburn game and the Reading game is not on TV. But I'll probably post one or two more general updates before the Bolton game.
20/11/05
Wigan 2 Arsenal 3: Should the new midfielder be a partner for Cesc rather than Silva?
In a nutshell: We took control through goals from Van Persie (good turn, run, fierce shot, bad goalkeeping) and Henry (lovely slid finish from Cesc pass at end of flowing move). They pulled one back through shambolic defending. Henry netted a scorcher of a free kick. They pulled another back through shambolice defending. We won despite defending shockingly.
Analysis: It was very easy last season to say how much we were missing the Gilberto "wall" during his absence. And perhaps it was true. But on recent performances, Berlin's got a stronger wall than the one our Brazilian offers. Against Wigan he was, to put it mildly, shite. He didn't go forward, he didn't pass well, he dallied on the ball, he made absurd attempts to intercept that only put us in deeper trouble and he failed to get off the ground for headers. (Witness first goal). In short, he was oh so passive.
Next to him, Cesc Fabregas was a model pro. He ran tirelessly, he won tackles, he broke up play, he positioned himself well and he supported the attack right up until the last minute. Sure, not everything came off, but the way I see it this new midfielder we all agree we need should more likely be a partner for Cesc than for Gilberto.
Behind the pair, things were just totally terrible. Credit to Wigan, honest team, hard working, deceptively skillful for a rugby league town all those other cliches. But the fact is Sol Campbell offered justification for Sven picking Rio ahead of him (yes he was that bad), Jens' kicking was crap, Lauren's general defending was poor and Toure's little better.
To their left was Pascal Cygan. The nicest thing I can say is that words fail me to describe his performance.
I'm not one for having a go at individuals just for the sake of it and it is true that in the end, we got a very welcome three points. But a spoon should be called a spoon and today our defending was chaotic.
Up front, it seems Van Persie may possibly have finally got the nod over Dennis, at long last. He played well, the returning Freddie worked hard but was not at full throttle, Pires put in a committed performance which didn't once involve me screaming at him for ducking a tackle and Henry once again made everything look too easy.
One final thought, much as I can't stand his self righteous, self important, status as a "real" player, and much as there is between no chance and 0% chance of Arsene going for him, you kinda have to admit Roy Keane could fill a gap.
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15/11/05
Arsenal playing before Chelsea form, European form and Vieira book form
A few brief thoughts as we wait for the Premiership to restart.
The first is that the fixture list is currently conspiring quite often to let us play our weekend game before Chelsea. I pointed out last season that while our results are largely unaffected by whether we play before, at the same time or after Chelsea, their's suffered last season when they played after us. And based purely on very anecdotal evidence, the same has been true this season. So we need to take advantage at Wigan on Saturday.
Secondly, this whole assumption that because Liverpool won the Champions League while being crap in the league, the same will happen to us seems bizarre. Last season was largely an anomoly. What nobody seems to have mentioned is that since defeat in Moscow over two years ago, we have a healthy European record that reads: P19 W12 D5 L2.
Finally, there is a piece in today's Times that takes 600 odd words to correctly say: Patrick Vieira hypocritically forgets his own diving when he lambasts Wayne Rooney and Ruud Van Nistelrooy as cheats.
But that is not all the piece says. In fact it reads strangely like a diktat handed down from Old Trafford to a friendly journalist much in the way United employed the same policy with the same friendly journalists after the battle of the buffet.
There was no way Vieira was going to ignore either Rooney or RVN in his book. And the fact is that Rooney DID cheat exactly as described and Van Nistelrooy WAS guilty of consistent violence that went unpunished against Arsenal. Whatever, Vieira's personal myopia, to suggest that the two United players are somehow worthy of apologies for what is correcly identified as shabby behaviour when Vieira does it, is just absurd.
And while I appreciate accuracy matters little when there is an axe there to be ground, the description of the Nicky Butt incident is just patently wrong. Contrary to what is written, it was a straight red card and not a second yellow. Secondly, there was never the slightest suggestion Vieira had dived. Thirdly, the decision to send Butt off was one based purely on the positioning of the incident near to the goal and not on the severity of the tackle or Vieira's reaction to it (there was no doubt it was a foul). Fourthly, all Alex Ferguson and anyone else was moaning about was the referee's decision to treat the incident as a goal scoring chance and thus issue red.
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10/11/05
International week update
My apologies for the lack of recent updates. The laptop appears to have died and enjoyable as this site is, staying late at work to update it is just not that appetising.
Anyway, things have gone pretty well since the Spurs game. There is not a lot to say about Sparta and Sunderland. We needed victories and we got victories. We didn't over exert ourselves but then we didn't need to. I'm still of the theory that we look far better when playas play in their natural positions and I think that was fairly obvious watching the Sunderland game. In midfield the mix was good, with the wall-like Gilberto and the more enterprising Fabregas, Reyes and Pires both looked comfortable out on the wings and up front we had a good mix of a forward/striker (what can you call Henry?) and a striker.
I don't think Chelsea were unlucky at Old Trafford because ultimately they didn't do enough. But I do think United can count themselves fortunate. Some of their defensive play was wretched - incredibly nervous and very deep. But they got away with it. People are asking whether they will collapse like we did. I don't think they will but nor do I think that the issue really. If someone does catch them I expect it to be by a process of small erosion rather than one big wave. So, for example, if they have a tricky away game that they draw others might take advantage with easy home wins. And of course if we win our game in hand and manage to beat the Blues at Highbury then the gap is only five points anyway. I'm not saying we will do it, just saying how I think they could be caught.
As Myles Palmer pointed out on ANR, the four league games before Chelsea are vital. Contrary to what he said, they actually read: Wigan (A), Blackburn (H), Bolton (A), Newcastle (A). We need to be looking for a minimum of ten points from the four of them and ideally twelve.
Not much else to say, except that I'm away for two weeks from Saturday, so there is a fair chance I won't update after the Wigan, Thun and Blackburn games (the last of which I will definitely miss as I will be in the air for it).
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01/11/05
Players in position works at Spurs
Arsene's decision to shore up the side with an extra midfielder was well intentioned and a welcome departure from the gung-ho approach that cost us so badly at Munich last season. But injuries and lack of squad depth meant that to do it we had Freddie playing out of position on the left, Cesc out of position on the right and our first choice central midfielders not in place. Add the fact we were playing with two forwards but no strikers, and it is obvious why we struggled. When Pires came on, suddenly we had him, Freddie and Cesc all where they should be. And when Van Persie came on, Reyes was on the left wing (which for me is his best spot), Pires was on the right (in a position he has played and done well in) and we had a good balance of a forward and a striker up front.
But I also wonder whether perhaps Arsene imagined the first half going as it did, while obviously hoping we would not concede. Spurs, confidence bolstered by their own good form and our lack of it, were always going to come out on fire. I wonder whether it was Arsene's plan to draw to try to draw their sting (keeping it at 0-0) and then introduce Pires and pounce on them as they tired. In the event, the problems of the first half called for Pires earlier than expected, but I expect it was probably always the plan that he would play a key role.
I don't think there can be any doubt we deserved the draw. Granted, Spurs dominated the first half (even if I only remember Jens having to save from his near namesake Jenas). But we dominated the second right from the off in my opinion. Sure, chances did not immediately come, but we did a good job of grinding them down and tiring them out and in the end Van Persie had about three good chances, Reyes had one, Pires had one and Pires scored. So for me, while our equaliser doesn't suit the grand theories of the pundits, it was well deserved. And to come back from behind against the likes of Spurs away never has been and is certainly not now something to be snorted at.
A couple of things have struck me. The first is that the idea of us being a one man (Henry) team is absurd. But it is true that we still haven't yet brought in someone who we can say is a sufficiently good deputy for him. Don't get me wrong, they don't need to be the same type of player, just a good enough alternative. Hopefully Van Persie can be. I'm also intruiged to see who replaces Dennis in the summer (or before?)
The second point is that the cover issue is not one of Chelsea's being excellent and ours adequate. In fact, our's is inadequate. Midfield reinforcements are a must (so that when we switch things around everyone is not pulled out of position like against Spurs) and so too are a buy each in defence and attack I guess. Bringing in those three players will not give us as excellently backed-up a squad as Chelsea's but I question whether their level of protection is really necessary. While they will always have all 11 positions perfectly filled, if we only have 9 or 10 it probably won't all that much difference in the end. It is when your side is so inbalanced (like against Spurs) that I think it becomes a big problem.
Thought for the day: When was Jens' last mistake?
Updating is a bit fraught at the moment due to a comatose laptop, so sorry for that. In the meantime we have Sparta and Sunderland at home. The latter of which is a must, must, must win game because either Chelsea, United or both will drop points next weekend.
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24/10/05
What story lies behind 'that' penalty?
This is a long post; it’s been that kind of weekend.
I’m now on my third school of thought about what happened and more confused than I was to start with. At first I simply wondered how they could be so stupid at such a crucial point in such a crucial match. Did they realise how agonising it was for the fans? Then I wondered whether these two great artists who have brought us both silverware and exquisite football had endured one of those once in a career cock-ups, the like of which every great band have had with that one appalling single and every great director has had with one shocking film. Should we simply forgive and forget and laugh it off as one bizarre and fortunately uncostly cock-up?
But now I wonder: was it symptomatic of a greater malaise? Could it be that whilst we as fans still yearn desperately to win the European Cup and to catch Chelsea, Pires and Henry see the first as impossible and the second as highly improbable and in any case offering only a reward that would emulate, rather than surpass previous achievements? Do they still have the same drive to succeed for Arsenal? Would Frank Lampard even consider doing anything other than burying the ball from the spot, irrespective of the score? And if the three points were as vital for them as they were for us, how could they contemplate even trying that penalty?
I realise the above paragraph could easily be interpreted as me saying they don’t care. I am definitely not saying that. For a start I am saying the above insinuations are true and in any case, if there has been any loss of drive, I would suggest it has been almost entirely subconscious and in no way deliberate. But whichever way you look at it, I think the above are fair questions that should be asked if we are to understand why such a monumental fuck-up occurred.
And just sticking with penalties for a moment, I’m delighted to see that Thierry Henry says he will be taking them all from now on. It had become absolutely farcical. Not only did we have our top marksman refusing to take penalties he had won for absolutely no obvious reason whatsoever. We also had Dennis refusing to take them following his miss against United over six years ago! Fear of flying is one thing, but a phobia of penalties is another and you get the feeling that in any other walk of life Dennis would have been told to pull himself together and just do it. And to think that yesterday it had got to the stage where we were passing them to each other. Incredible.
Which is also what can be said for getting two penalties off Mike Riley. I haven’t seen any replays of the second one, while the first one could have gone either way. But I will just say that analysing these things in super slow motion is pointless because football is not played in super slow motion. Slowing the play down will always make it look like the attacker has deliberately let himself be fouled. It distorts reality.
At last, the game. Firstly, City were very well organised and are a genuinely decent side. So a win is good. But we’re struggling. A fair part of the problem can be summarised in six words: Flamini, Gilberto, Cesc, Lampard, Essien, Makalele. Our players are good, but we lack a monster in there like Chelsea have and it tells. Eight other words also explain a lot: Van Persie, Senderos, Quincy, Eboue, Robben, Crespo, Gudjohnsen, Ferreira. Arsene didn’t make a single sub. Mourinho introduced first Gudjohnsen, then Robben and then Crespo, all about ten minutes apart. Of course, they didn’t win. But the contrast could not have been bigger.
Arsene is not an idiot: his public buoyancy and confidence in the strength of the squad is surely just a charade that he is obliged to show in an effort to maintain moral. But at heart it must be obvious to him just how blatantly we need to splash the cash.
I’ll finish by saying that Pires and Henry were right to apologise. And that Spurs away is the perfect time to make-up for things by putting in a committed, impassioned performance. And it’s vital they do, because if we’re as slack at White Hart Lane this time as we have been recently, then this time we will lose. And nobody wants that.
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20/10/05
Why Henry's goal at Upton Park was his greatest ever
In the world of footballing top tens, there surely can’t be a more enjoyable experience than picking Thierry Henry’s best goals. I can’t honestly claim to have seen enough of Pele and Maradona to properly judge them. But my suspicion is that if a montage of Thierry Henry goals were shown next to montages of the Brazilian and Argentinian’s best strikes, Henry would not look out of place.
So, at 10…
Chelsea (h) 12/04. At kick-off people said their defence was the immovable object and Thierry Henry didn’t score in big games. Thirty seconds later he had pinged in an unstoppable shot from the edge of the box, leaving Cech rooted to the spot.
at 9…
Bayern Munich (h) 03/05. A strange choice for some perhaps, but for me another brilliant goal against an immovable object. Bayern may have been a defensive shambles in the next round at Chelsea but against us they were tighter than something incredibly tight. After 70 odd minutes, Henry controlled a long ball on the left from Cole, brought it down and hit it instantly across Oliver Khan with complete precision. It was a perfectly executed goal. And it had to be.
At 8…
Manchester City (h) 01/04. This one is also representing the swerver against United later that season. Against City, I was in the North Bank and saw just how much his shot seemed to swerve and yet keep completely straight like an arrow. David James didn’t have a prayer.
At 7…
Sparta Prague (a) 10/05. A very late entrant but very deserving of it’s place. On for six minutes, he controlled the ball on the outside of his foot, swung his whole body through 360 degrees and then fired in a bending shot that beat the goalkeeper in the only part of the net it could have. Almost arrogantly brilliant.
At 6…
Inter Milan (a) 11/03. Broke out from defence, looked to be going nowhere and then made Javier Zanetti look amateurish before slamming home with the left foot. A brilliant goal and the crucial third in a 5-1 win.
At 5…
Spurs (h) 11/02. Very, very special run. He took them all on, cut inside and finished brilliantly. Then he celebrated in serious style in front of the west stand. Magnificent.
At 4…
Charlton (h) 10/04. So good it completely bamboozled the cameraman. I watched this game in a pub in London with one of those dodgy satellites. The commentary was in a foreign language, music was playing in the bar and a lot of people were only half watching. The camera was focused in on Henry as he held the ball with his back to goal about six yards out. Then he backheeled the ball and suddenly wheeled away in delight. The pub was genuinely stunned. Those of us who realised what must have happened looked on in disbelief. When they showed a replay from another angle the reaction from the rest of the pub was one of sheer incredulity. And the more they showed it the more disbelieving the reactions. It didn’t really matter what happened in the rest of the game.
At 3…
Liverpool (h) 04/04. No doubt you’ve heard people say how important this goal was in us winning the title. It was. I was at Highbury that day and 2-1 down at half time there was some serious cigarette smoking going on in the north bank. Within a minute we had equalised thanks to Freddie Ljungberg. But after equalising once and then going behind again, a fair few people feared things were turning against us and we would do it again.
Then Henry picked the ball up on the left. He jinked in, took on a couple of defenders and simply by his presence created sheer panic in the Liverpool defence. So much so that Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher knocked in to each other and fell to the ground comically. Suddenly Henry was through and he finished coolly. The north bank erupted. People who had not lost it since Ray Parlour scored against Valencia found themselves jumping out of their seats. A massive, massive goal and sheer brilliance bore in part out of the complete panic his presence can induce.
At 2…
Manchester United (h) 10/00. Unreal goal. Fed by Grimandi miles out, he chipped it up, spun Gary Neville and in one fired in a volley that dipped and swerved over Barthez into the far corner. Watching at home, all I saw was the ball leave his foot. I thought it was going miles over. Then the Clock End went mad. I had lost the ball in the air. Eventually, I was persuaded it had gone in but was convinced it could only have had it taken the most massive of deflections. Then I saw the replay. One of the goals of goals.
At 1…
West Ham (a) 08/02. You may think this a weird choice. I say the beauty of it has never fully been recognised. Now, don’t get me wrong: were this goal being judged purely on Henry controlling the ball on his knee and hitting an absolute bullet past David James from 30 yards, it would not be anywhere near number one, however great a finish it was. It is the first touch that does it and it is a touch which in my opinion defies the physics of football.
He receives the ball on the right edge of the penalty area from a Vieira pass. He has his back to goal. It is played firmly in to his left foot. Then he takes the crucial touch, which I will come back to in a minute. When he next touches it he has spun 180 degrees so that he is now facing diagonally to goal. His defender has been left bamboozled. The ball lands on what is now Henry’s right knee. Think about what he did with that touch: he took a ball that was coming into his feet and with one touch he looped it up in to the air with his foot. When it fell it was still, incredibly, travelling in the original direction. But he didn’t just lob it into the air, which would have been hard enough.
Instead, he met the ball purposefully with the right hand side of his left boot and somehow spun (not hooked as would have been the case had he used the left hand side of the boot) the ball up in to the air up and over his defender’s head. Had Brazil done it in 1970 I genuinely believe it would be replayed continuously now. Do whatever you can to get a copy of the video and watch that touch because 250 words of mine have failed to do it justice.
And it is for that reason that West Ham away was Thierry Henry’s best Arsenal goal and potentially the greatest I have ever seen.
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19/10/05
Sparta 0 Arsenal 2: Match report, playa ratings and Henry worshipping
The formalities first, then the Henry stuff: Cygan replaced Senderos who had replaced Campbell and Cygan continued in place of the injured Cole. Gilberto returned in midfield in place of Cesc who replaced the injured Ljungberg. The returning Van Persie replaced Bergkamp (something to do with a fear of flying).
We started well, with Cesc having a shot and some promising attacks. Then Reyes went off injured and Arsene went for the brave option of risking Thierry Henry for 70 minutes. Within two minutes he had chested the ball down on the edge of the box and fired what looked like a beaut of a volley that was deflected wide. Then he brought down a through ball from Kolo, spun on the edge of the box and hit the most belle of bending shots with the outside of his right foot. Great goal.
We didn’t do much else for the rest of the half and started the second somewhat sluggishly. Then on 65 we started playing again and within five minutes Pires? had played Henry in with a beautiful ball. He controlled it and still had a fair bit to do to knock it home. 2-0 it finished. A decent enough performance and a great result. Playa ratings to the right.
The goals take Theirry Henry past Ian Wright’s all time Arsenal goal scoring record. We have been fantastically privileged to see him rack up 186 not out and even luckier that so many have been done in such incredible style.
As I walked to work yesterday morning (Tuesday), I went with a bounce in my step. Sometimes you don’t realise what you have til it’s gone and I for one could not wait to see his magnificence return to the pitch.
Of course, there will be those Arsenal fans who will bemoan his unwillingness to commit to the club in his post match interview. That kind of reaction is absolute bollocks in my view. It is quite obvious he is not going to come out and commit to the club just like that because the fact is he is considering leaving. He is 28, has achieved a massive amount, probably fears somewhat about the destination we are headed towards and feels he may want to try and conquer Spain before he retires. People ask for him to be honest. He is. By saying what he is saying he is making it perfectly clear things are up in the air.
Do people want him to say he wants to go? What good would that do? The fact is that when he says he is focused on his football at the moment, that is the truth and that is what he showed us tonight. What is wrong with him kissing the badge if he puts in great performances? Kissing the badge is a sign that your heart is in to what you are doing. And who could argue that his heart wasn’t in tonight’s performance?
Of course we don’t want him to leave on a Bosman. But if he leaves, he leaves. We have been absurdly lucky to have not only one of the best, but one of the most consistent players in the world between the ages of 22 and 28 in his career. If he wants to move then so be it. I would wish him all the best.
Of course, I desperately want him to sign a new contract. But let us be grown up about this. He is doing nothing wrong. The best we can do is get behind him (the fans were great tonight), get behind the team at Highbury (we can do a lot better) and hope Arsene can bring in the players and the team achieve the success that will allow Thierry Henry to stay.
I have no inside knowledge on the issue of his contract, but my hunch would be that things are not a lot more complicated than Thierry fearing (quite justifiably) that the standard of the squad is slipping and that we look less likely to achieve the success (particularly in Europe) that he so craves.
We shall see what happens, but in the meantime let’s celebrate his achievement and leave the worrying for another time. I have written enough now, so won’t reveal my favourite Henry goal now, but you can reveal yours below.
ps: he seemed pretty happy to me when he broke the record.
...
16/10/05
West Brom 2 Arsenal 1: Report + playa ratings. Grim.
Arsene Wenger has never suffered the indignity of losing to a lower division team as Arsenal manager, but it is hard to believe that the disappointment could be any greater than that experienced after today’s loss at West Brom.
In 45 minutes, our emotions went from genuine hope that things could be turning our way (we were winning and Chelsea were losing) to the sheer grimness of seeing us somehow lose and them come back to win 5-1.
In short, we took an early lead when Senderos hooked home a deep Reyes corner. We were completely dominant, they were crap. We sat back. They equalised after a feeble Pires attempt to block a cross, a poor header from Senderos and terrible marking of Kanu. Of all people, the man renowned for taking 10 touches when two will do, had time to control the ball, compose himself and then fire off an (impressive) shot past the helpless Lehman. It was a shocker of a goal.
In the 2nd half we eventually rallied around the hour mark and though we had a couple of chances (Toure, Reyes, Bergkamp) things were in no way urgent enough. We probably should have had a penalty for a foul on Reyes, but he wasn’t in a scoring position so I’m not going to complain. It would, however, be nice to see referees decide whether a foul should be given not based on where the incident happens on the pitch but on the incident itself. And if this means the law needs to be reformed so that minor fouls in non-threatening positions in the area do not warrant a spot-kick then so be it. We need consistency.
Anyway, they then scored a cracker out of absolutely nothing. We huffed but got nowhere. Immensely disappointing and all the more so when you are watching the game in the corner of a bar while in other corners Chelsea, United, Liverpool and Spurs fans are all celebrating goals going in. The upshot of all this is that the table does not look good. In fact I don’t even want to see it. All I know is we’re 14 points behind Chelsea having dropped 11 to their none.
But the main discussion must be about the performance. We started with a very youthful team containing Senderos, Clichy, Reyes, Flamini, Cesc and for much of the game Eboue too after Fred went off. We were without Cole, Campbell, Gilberto, Van Persie, Henry, Hleb and then Ljungberg. That would be a big miss to any squad, all the more so to ours.
So perhaps that excuses things. Or perhaps it doesn’t. The Everton and Man City sides that a far less experienced Arsenal dispatched from last season’s League Cup were miles better than the carthorses West Brom served up today. We could and should have easily won this game.
The problem is that the fact we are not at our most fluent at the moment should mean every playa is giving 120% so that effort alone can get us through. But that is not the case. We were leaden footed and lethargic today. Really, I would say that excluding the hard to appraise Lehman, only Reyes and perhaps Senderos and Toure did themselves justice out there today. Not everything may be coming off for Reyes, but he keeps plugging away and chasing everything.
The same is not true for the others. Pires is the worst culprit. His effort at times is frankly lamentable. I can just about excuse him pulling out of tackles because he is worried about his knee but he has no excuse for not doing everything humanly possible to block crosses.
We are clearly lacking really good cover right through the spine of the team (a defender, midfielder and striker are all needed). But we also have to roll our sleeves up and not commit the immortal sin of taking our foot off the pedal just because our opponents are crap.
It is going to take a miraculous recovery for us to challenge for the league now. We need our genuinely rotten luck with injuries to turn, new playas and better performances.
One final point about today’s referee and the one minute 55 seconds of injury time he added on. Now don’t get me wrong, I loathe it when managers squabble over every few seconds. My theory is normally if you don’t score in 90 then you probably won’t score in 94. But today was just some kind of complete joke. We had an injury a minute from time that lasted about one minute 40 seconds, we had four second half subs, three of which were incredibly slow West Brom ones, we had one of the longest and deliberately stalling goal celebrations ever and we had them wasting time every time they got a free-kick or goal kick, even when it was 1-1.
By adding on just two minutes the referee has completely indulged that negativity (which I accept Arsenal have been guilty of in the past). It was a complete joke.
...
09/10/05
Football returns next week
Do you get very bored of England games after 60 minutes? Do you have to tell yourself to try to be happy when England score? And does part of you secretly will the opposition to knock one past ‘us’?
Answer: Yes, yes and yes.
My conclusion is that Sven would get double the amount of stick if the thought of writing about England wasn’t so boring. In fact, I’ve had enough. I’m so bored I can’t be stuffed to write any more about England.
But I will say a few words about my good friends at FIFA. Presumably David Beckham’s red card will stand, despite his 2nd booking being a blatant dive.
It will stand because under FIFA’s own half witted rules, appeals are only allowed in cases of mistaken identity. I don’t give a stuff about Beckham, but I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: this is the most inept rule I have ever seen.
England have been wrongly deprived of a playa for 30 minutes because of an opposition player’s connivance. And then to compound the problem, they will ban him for no other reason than that they have invented a stupid rule that says he must be banned.
For some reason, this rule pisses me off big time. It is the height of bullshit in a game overflowing with the stuff. The only bans being handed out should be for the half wits who invented this rule and are now pressuring the Premiership to take it up.
The only saving grace is that these things have a way of hitting people back in the face. How I will laugh if the brilliant Ronaldinho is sent-off in next year’s World Cup semi-final for handling on the line when the ball clearly hit his chest. Of course, my scorn will not be directed at the unfortunate Brazilian. Instead it will be at the FIFA bigwigs who will have seen their showpiece player miss their showpiece game because of their own arrogant, farcical rules.
Football returns next week.
...
021005
Arsenal 1 Birmingham 0 - half a report
Well, I only saw the second half (hence no playa ratings). From the sounds of it we created a fair bit in the first half and as well as missing a penalty we could have had a hatful.
The second half seemed a very flat affair. Maik Taylor made great saves early on from Pires and Ljungberg and then we seemed to lose any great degree of urgency. In the end, Van Persie’s not brilliantly hit shot deflected off a defender and beat the excellent Taylor. We held on, though not with any great style.
We looked lethargic in the latter stages. From what I saw Campbell, Toure and Cole looked good enough. Reyes is playing with brilliant enthusiasm and desire. The rest of them don’t look lazy by any means but if you compare us with Chelsea at the moment, is the same unswerving desire there? I’m not so sure.
It needs to be.
And the crowd can play their part too. Apologies if the SKY sound system did Highbury a disservice, but the ground sounded embarrassingly silent today. The players are human beings like the rest of us and they thrive on the support of the crowd like you and I would. So, if you’re lucky enough to be at Highbury, sing.
Chelsea won 4-1 this afternoon and looked good, albeit against what is a pretty poor Liverpool league side. The Kop were singing louder in the 89th minute than anything Highbury managed today.
On site news, I’ve gone back to the old design but with the new logo following a public outcry. Not sure about what should go in the space on the left though, as the Latest Updates column was pointless and time consuming to update.
Finally, a question for any readers who live in Dublin or anywhere else in the Republic of Ireland. I need to get internet access at my new flat for 3 months. Are there any broadband companies who don’t insist on you signing up for 12 months? And what is the best dial-up?
...
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Archives: July 2005, June 2005, May 2005, April 2005,March 2005, February 2005, January 2005, December 2004 and the embryonic goodplaya.
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Playa ratings:
v West Ham (2-3) - NEW
Lehman: An absolute idiot for stupidly getting involved with Harewood late on. Not only was it nasty, but he could have been sent-off and he also put us out of our stride. A minute later West Ham made it 3-1. He’s a very good goalkeeper but an arrogant, nasty character and an embarrassment when he behaves like that. 4
Gilbert: Looked to be doing fine until the Arsenal full-back curse struck. 6
Djorou: Individually did well, but understandably hasn’t been able to strike up any kind of partnership with Campbell yet. 6
Campbell: What can you say? Two massive errors that were punished to the max. Things just aren’t going his way at all. 4
Senderos: Obviously doesn’t offer the attacking prowess of Cole or Clichy but he looked solid and his distribution to Pires was fairly impressive. Did fine at centre-back in the second half but should have whacked it out instead of passing to Larsson for the mistake that led to the third goal. 5
Gilberto: He’s not great at the moment. Far too passive for my liking. 5
Diaby: Still raw, but I like him. And he is so like Vieira: even his mistakes remind me of Vieira’s shortcomings. Not sure why he was taken off. 7
Ljungberg: You have to laugh at the way he somehow managed to deflect Henry’s shot wide. Is trying really hard and not actually playing badly at all. But nothing is going his way. 7
Pires: I do feel we need players with greater bite than Pires at the moment. But in fairness, he was involved, scored one, set-up the other one for Henry and saw Hislop deny him with a great save. 6
Henry: Hard to judge. Seemed to have a decent enough game on TV but reports from the game were critical. 6
Van Persie: Unlucky. Offered a lot but nothing went his way. 7
Subs:
Flamini: Brought on as an emergency right-back but did pretty well all things considered. Say what you like about Flamini but he’s a fighter who unlike some of his team-mates will never be found lacking for effort. 7
Larsson: Yes, he made the cock-up for the third goal. But it was typical of our rough justice. Other than that he was excellent: committed in the tackle, full of running in attack and crucially he understands the value of hitting long-balls diagonally, as opposed to completely straight. Which is something some of his team-mates could do with taking note of. 7
Dennis: Not normally much of a substitute, but he found himself a good niche on the right of midfield and offered us extra creativity. Well hit volley to set up Pires’ goal. 6
v Sparta Prague (0-2)
Lehmann: Solid enough game. He’s doing well at the moment. 7
Clichy: Bit of a nightmare really, though to be fair their right winger was their best playa. 5
Cygan: Surprisingly assured. 7
Kolo: Looked fairly good most of the time. 7
Lauren: The odd moment of strangeness. 6.5
Flamini: Was hard to judge the midfielders tonight. Seemed to do the normal without being mega effective. 6.5
Gilberto: One of those Gilberto games where you don’t really know how he has played. 6.5
Fabregas: Got fairly involved and offered threat down the right. 7
Pires: Not his best game by any means but still one of his better ones this season. Magnificent ball for the second goal. 7
Van Persie: Seems to get carded in Europe for the most ridiculous things. Did alright without having much effect. 6.5
Reyes: Full of running til he got injured and wasn’t running at all. 6.5
Subs:
Henry (for Reyes 17ish): Emperor-like as he beat Wrighty’s record. Magnificent playa who, had he not scored, would have been accused of going missing in another big game. But because he did score, it won’t count as a big game. 8.5
Eboue (for Van Persie 70ish): Looking ok at the moment. 6.5
Quincy (for Cesc 85ish): Full of running. 6.5
v West Brom (2-1)
Lehmann: Blameless for goals. 6
Lauren: Not particularly composed. 5.5
Clichy: Has had far better games. 5.5
Senderos: Good goal, messy header for theirs. 6
Toure: Ok but ridiculously offside at one free kick. 5.5
Flamini: Ok but uninspiring. 5.5
Cesc: Decent. Kept trying. 6
Pires: Crap. 4.5
Ljungberg: Ok while he was on. 5.5
Reyes: Still running his heart out. 7
Bergkamp: A moany kind of day. 5.5
Subs:
Eboue (for Ljungberg 35ish): Not great. 5.5
Quincy (for Flamini 80ish): Bizarrely decided what Arsenal lack is left-wingers. 5.5
v Everton (2-0)
Jens: Very little to do. Did it all right. 7
Lauren: Occasionally seemed to imagine he had more pace than he does, which was quite amusing as he tried to take people on. Solid as usual. 7
Cole: As someone who gave him a good bashing over the summer it would suit by agenda to say he is playing poorly. But that would be a lie. Whatever the reasons for it, he has started the season well and in attack in particular is offering a lot. 7.5
Toure: Nothing to do at the back and seemed to enjoy getting in on this whole new set-piece malarkey. 7
Campbell: Two excellent headers, especially the second one which was a real hammer. Not at full speed yet but looked good, organised the defence well, shouted at people and seemed to realise he was our most senior player on the pitch. 8
Pires: Hadn’t done all that much in the brief period he was on the pitch before Gary Neville’s shit younger brother’s tackle forced him off. 6.5
Cesc: One friend said to me he is looking lightweight and giving the ball away too much. Maybe. But I think he does a lot of good stuff and his presence in the opponent’s penalty box is valuable. 7
Gilberto: Solid game, got through a fair amount and gave us a couple of those rare Gilberto moments where for a few seconds he stops looking like he is suspended in perpetual slow motion and instead provides us with raw Brazilian skill. 7
Ljungberg: Started slowly but furrowed hard as ever. Seemed to make a real determination to either stick wide out on the wing or else very deliberately come inside as opposed to just being narrow. I think it worked. Unlucky to hit bar in second half. 7
Van Persie: Hit the post with a nice effort (right footed!) and had some decent moments but was otherwise a bit subdued. Has been a fairly rough few weeks and is probably still feeling his way back in to things. 6.5
Reyes: Loses the ball now and then but that is only because he constantly seems to have it. Boundless energy at the moment, great creativity and fantastic balls into the box. Really was amazing how much of the ball he had tonight. 8
Subs:
Hleb (for Pires first half some time): Played pretty well, looked pretty creative and linked up well with Cole. Playing better than Pires. 7
Dennis (for Van Persie 80ish): Did alright. Created a bit of stuff. Didn’t do anything of note. 6.5
Alex Song (for Reyes 87ish): Made a couple of sloppy passes but it was harsh and exaggerated for Alan Smith to say he hadn’t found a man. 6
v Thun (2-1)
Almunia: Probably not to blame on the goal and handling was ok even though he still catches very strangely.6
Lauren: Did the usual Lauren stuff. Fairly well. 6.5
Cole: Thought he was good today. Clean at the back and contributed well going forward. Perhaps he enjoyed having Pires back in front of him. 7
Toure: Seemed ok. Can’t remember too much else.6.5
Sol: Looking a little chunky but it must be good to have him back.6.5
Cesc: Not his most spectacular game but made a couple of decent runs forward and made one particularly delicious pass in the second half.6.5
Gilberto: Very well taken goal and was more involved tonight than normally. An experienced head 7.5
Pires: By no means at his best but infinitely better than the past few games. Got in an early curler that almost flew in and was generally far more involved. Even tried to tackle twice. Neither attempt worked.. 7
Ljungberg. Svavanged without achieving much.6.5
RVP: Had been easing himself back into first team action when the dick head referee struck. 6.5
Reyes: Excellent, his boundless enthusiasm drove the team on and he looked really dangerous at times and caused Thun more problems than anyone else. 8
Subs:
Dennis (for Cesc 70 odd): Is that his first goal as a sub? Took it well. 7
Hleb (for Reyes 80 odd): Didn’t really find his touch in the ten minutes he had.6
Quincy (for Ljungberg 80 odd): Offered a new threat.6.5
v Fulham (4-1)
Lehman: Looking very solid at the moment. You can tell it by the fact he is not making kicking mistakes at the moment. At tricky moments, his handling from corners was excellent.7
Lauren: Missed a penalty, but that was bound to happen one day and at least it didn’t matter. Otherwise, he played well and looked particularly committed (mostly in the right sense) in the tackle. 7
Cole: His best attacking display for a while and linked up promisingly with Reyes. 7.5
Cygan: I’ve made no secret of the fact that his presence in the team pleases me not. Defending was ok tonight, though a couple of times Fulham forwards worryingly escaped him when crosses were slung in. Took his goals very well. Could it be that unlike the rest of the side Cygan does not feel obligated to score the perfect goal and concentrates on just sticking it in the net?7.5
Kolo: Poor clearance for the Fulham goal but on the whole had a decent game. The defensive issues we have at the moment seem more a collective than individual problem. 7
Cesc: Gets a wee bit overrun occasionally but on the whole is playing really well and in particular offers a genuine attacking threat in the way that perhaps Vieira sometime failed to. 7
Gilberto: Did what Gilberto does. Still sometimes resembles one of those video graphic created dinosaurs in the way he moves. 7
Hleb: Good first half, creating a fair deal and generally looking like a cross between Pires and Ljungberg (in the best sense). 7
Reyes: A very good game in my opinion, full of running, full of trickery and very direct. In particular, he linked up very well with Cole and Henry, which was very pleasing. His ball for Henry’s first goal was majestic and pleasingly the two seemed on the same wavelength tonight. 8
Dennis: Besides his idiotic yellow card he had a great game and was at the heart of Fulham’s dissection. Kept going strong right to the end. 8
Henry: Took his two goals, which both came at crucial times, very well. Just one more to equal Wright’s record. 7.5
Subs:
Flamini (for Reyes 75 odd): Set up Henry for the killer third goal. 7
Clichy (for Hleb 85 odd): Ran around like mad, as Clichy does. 7
v Liverpool (3-1)
Lehman: Two really good saves – the first from Riise and the second from Gerard’s piledriver. Flapped at one cross but all it served to do was to remind us how much he has improved. 7.5
Lauren: Did very well, almost scoring from Pires’ cross in the first half and setting up the third goal with some nice play. Is doing well at the moment, perhaps spurred on by Wenger not mentioning right back when saying which areas he doesn’t need to strengthen over the summer! 7.5
Cole: A mixed game. Good going forward and times and obviously an excellent second half block from Garcia. But also occasionally sloppy, messing up things we know him well capable of doing. 6.5
Senderos: A big presence at the heart of the defence he had one of his sternest tests in an Arsenal shirt when Liverpool got at us in the second half. Did pretty well on the whole though, especially as protection from midfield was not always forthcoming. 7
Kolo: A good solid outing and the same goes for him as for Senderos. 7
Vieira: Did some stuff really well and was very influential in our first half attacking play. But I felt he allowed the midfield to be too easily swamped after the break and was not always applying the pressure to Liverpool that he might have done. 7
Gilberto: It goes without saying that evaluating a Gilberto performance is very, very difficult. That said, I felt that like Vieira he could have offered a bit more bite in midfield to help out the defence in the second half. 6.5
Pires: Really was at the heart of some of our best stuff in the first half. Crossed brilliantly for Lauren to almost score, shot just wide and then scored with a magnificent free-kick. Faded later on. 7.5
Cesc: Absolutely outstanding. He set the move in motion for Reyes’ offside goal, fired just wide from 20 yards, scored his own offside goal and then added a very neat third for us in stoppage time. In between this he ran the game, tackling, running with the ball, passing brilliantly and generally looking the best player on the park. Outstanding. 9
Reyes: Not perfect, but he notched up another well taken goal, scored an offside one and ran his heart out for the cause in the second half. 7.5
Van Persie: Not as involved as he has been but got involved and put over one excellent early cross for Robert Pires. Generally looking a much better player than previously. 7
Subs:
Edu (for Pires 70 odd): Came on and did ok. 6.5
Bergkamp (for Van Persie 70 odd): Set up Fabregas for the third with a fantastic flick but was otherwise pretty poor. When he did try and press Liverpool he gave away a few free-kicks and the rest of the time he just didn’t seem to chase them at a time when we really needed players to get stuck in. I know he is still capable of the odd piece of magic but we probably have enough to our attacking armoury that magic alone should not prompt a new contract. We have shown we are capable of winning without Dennis and should probably now look to the future. 6
Aliadiere (for Reyes 85): As ever he came on and got stuck in, chasing everything and hassling the Liverpool defenders. Has a really good attitude and probably deserves more than five minutes at some point. 6.5
v West Brom (2-0)
Lehman: The defence clearly trusts him again and he is reciprocating that with improved handling, kicking and decision making. 7
Lauren: Worked reasonably hard and got forward on a few occasions. 7
Cole: Looked a little lethargic at times but kept going and finished the game strongly, setting us on a number of attacks. 6.5
Senderos: A couple of passes went astray but took a no nonsence defence to defending. Far be it for me to argue with his current record of not conceding a goal for absolutely yonks. 7.5
Gilberto: Covered well at set pieces, but with Arsenal in 2nd gear he seemed only to happy to make sure Gilberto was in 2nd gear too. Not much drive. 6.5
Vieira: Committed silly fouls early on and was not finding his passes. Got better as the game went on and provided more drive. Symbolic of our night. 7
Pires: Did ok initially but like the rest of them lacked the necessary drive. Got better with the team. 7
Cesc: Probably not his best game. Came looking for the ball a lot and should be credited for it but looked a little fatigued when challenged. 6.5
Van Persie: Did ok initially but was not really receiving a lot of support from the midfield. Took his goal magnificently. 7
Reyes: Ran hard but once again looked incredibly left footed. But gave an excellent assist for the opening goal and kept on trying right til the end, providing useful relief for the defence. 7
Subs:
Dennis (for Van Persie 75ish): Did little except provide a measured set-up for Edu's clincher. 6.5
Edu (for Cesc 75ish): Got involved a bit and finished well to clinch it. 7
v Spurs (1-0)
Lehman: Is playing very well and his handling looks as assured as ever, his throws good and his kicking far better than earlier in the season. I think it no great secret that he needs to control his temper. 7
Lauren: Has looked solid in recent weeks and looked more lively going forward. Alan Curbishley put him in his team of the season on the basis that few wingers get much change out of him. And he is probably right. Really does need to watch stray elbows though, intentional or not. 7
Toure: Was given a little trouble by Defoe but it was less trouble than Adi Akenbai gave him in the FA Cup in January. And Defoe is clearly a far better player than the Stoke man. Will soon score a very, very memorable free-kick I sense. 7
Senderos: It is hard to argue with his defensive record since he came into the side. We have simply stopped conceding goals. That said, what are the odds that back when we were conceding at will, Robbie Keane would have buried that chance. Could have got first goal for club with header. 7
Cole: Linked up well as ever with Pires down our left hand side and seemed really up for the fight. Had the slightly awkward penalty shout against him at the end but otherwise did well. 7
Vieira: With the ball he was excellent on the whole, spreading play at pace and helping support those ahead of him. Looks much more comfortable with Gilberto next to him. Though that said they both looked half a step off the pace at times against a Spurs side full of running. 7
Gilberto: Did what Gilberto does well. Though probably not as much of a shield as against Chelsea. 7
Cesc: Tired a little in the second half but was his usual youthful magnificence until then. Spread the ball with ease, got stuck in, helped out the attack and set up our goal. Nice. 7.5
Pires: Not the force he was against Chelsea but is playing well at the moment, linking up well with Cole down the left and generally providing an experienced head in an otherwise youthful attack. 7
Van Persie: Set Reyes up for the first minute chance, fired a decent effort wide and generally played quite a mature game without hitting great heights. 7
Reyes: Did very well to come back after the first minute miss. Goal was excellent and attitude looked good. Seemed to find an extra gear for second half run that set up Dennis. 7.5
Subs:
Dennis (for Van Persie 70 odd): Curled one wide and generally looked quite good against a tiring Spurs defence. There was the odd occasion when I felt he let the player pass him to quickly but that was probably just my last minute nerves. 7
Edu (for Cesc 70 odd): Hit the post with a curling effort and slotted in very, very neatly on the left. Will be a great shame to lose him if he does eventually go. 7
Aliadiere (for Van Persie 87 odd): Only had a few minutes but looked really keen to impress. Had a couple of good touches, got stuck in and made tired Spurs legs panic, buying us valuable time. 7
v Chelsea (0-0)
Lehman: Has looked much better recently and besides the odd dodgy kick, looked very solid against Chelsea and made one excellent save early on from Drogba. His positioning seemed good on through balls. 7
Lauren: He really didn’t put a foot wrong and kept Damien Duff and probably had his best game for the club against a very, very tricky opponent. Was ferocious and fair in the tackle. 8
Cole: After a slightly tentative start he threw himself at everything Chelsea chucked at us. Whatever people’s feelings about his current situation, there can be no complaints about his performance. 7
Senderos: Excellent as usual. This guy likes clean sheets. 7
Toure: Really did well in what could have been a tricky night. Got weight on his clearances and never panicked. 7
Vieira: It really doesn’t take a genius to figure out how much he seems to be enjoying having Gilberto back in the side. Really led the side again with fine interventions and set us on the path to attack – such as when Pires hit the bar. 7.5
Gilberto: Suffered a couple of inevitable nosebleeds when he got into decent positions going forward but otherwise did a fine job of snaffling out what Chelsea threw at us and generally making the team a slick unit. Showed one or two fine turns as well. 7
Cesc: This kid really does defy logic. At a time when his brittle bones should be feeling the effects of a long, hard season he is looking stronger than ever. Magnificently composed on the ball, he worked furiously in defence, midfield and attack. 8
Pires: His early volley that hit the bar reminded me of when I stood in the Holte End last year for Villa v Arsenal and he hit an even better effort that was turned just over. Even the anti-French bigots around me were shut well and truly up.
There is a wonderful magnificence about watching Robert Pires on song. He caresses the ball delightfully and when it’s time to move it on he does it with the utmost precision. A joy to watch and unlucky not to score twice. 9
Reyes: The story of his last 6 months – no problem with effort but he just lacks the confidence to make things really happen. The annoying thing is that he’s making errors on things that a confident Reyes could do with his eyes shut. Let’s hope his effort is rewarded soon. 6
Bergkamp: Like Reyes he worked hard and did his bit to keep Chelsea at bay. But also like Reyes he found himself struggling up front. The curtain appears to be falling on his magnificent career. Hopefully an announcement will be made soon and both we and Dennis can enjoy his final games. 6
Subs:
Van Persie (for Dennis 80 odd): Struggled to get into the game but had a few decent chances and ran hard for the side.
Aliadiere (for Cesc 85 odd): Did alright but by the time he came on it didn’t look like either side were really going to score.
v Boro (1-0)
Lehman: Flapped at one cross in the first half and then came ridiculously far out of his goal before eventually winning the ball. Yes, he’s kept a fair few clean sheets recently and yes, it’s even true we could win the league again with him in goal, but no, we won’t win in Europe with Jens and no, he’s not the answer. 6
Lauren: His early challenge, whilst not worthy of a red card as suggested on Match of the Day, was sheer stupidity. He did alright and he’s plodding along but not really getting any better. 6
Cole: Attacked decently at times but wasn’t helped by a very, very ineffectual Robert Pires. 6.5
Senderos: Now looks like he should be partnering Sol Campbell when the two are fit. Authoritative, big and commanding, his presence has coincided with a string of clean sheets. Still has rough edges, but these are being shaved all the time. 7
Kolo: Did reasonably well and made a couple of important blocks, but I’m not convinced his future lies in the heart of the defence. Together, he and Lauren sometimes seem to bring out the worst in each other and we just don’t look solid, clean sheets or no clean sheets. Would like to see him at right back. 6.5
Gilberto: I looked out especially for incidences of him filling gaps and yes, I can confirm it happens and he does his job well. Still looks very nervous in attacking positions, but his presence is welcome. 6
Vieira: I thought he did reasonably well, though like the rest of the players he seemed to have trouble bringing any great coherency to our play. 6
Cesc: I plumped for Cesc on the right a while ago and I like seeing him there. He got well forward and was always involved. Looks tired, but it’s been a long old season and he’s still, only 17. 6.5
Pires: I thought him absolute rubbish up until he scored really. His inability to tackle has been documented many times before, but on Saturday he seemed to be playing the whole game at walking pace. But then who better is there at converting the one chance he gets to secure a 1-0 lead. 6
Reyes: Things still aren’t all coming off for him but I sense things are getting better and his work rate and willingness to track back really can’t be faulted. We know for a fact that the boy has the talent to succeed, so while he may not be showing what he’s really capable of right now, we should applaud his recent application. Had a couple of really mazy runs and set up Henry excellently for a shot he scuffed. 7
Henry: Had one of those games where he seemed to stand almost still on the edge of the box, conserving his energy and waiting to pounce. It didn’t really work, though he did have a glorious chip fly just wide and certainly scared the Boro fans every time he got the ball. He was also up against an obdurate Boro. 6.5
Subs:
Dennis (Reyes 46): Did alright without really changing the game at all. It seems the curtain may be falling on his illustrious career and reluctantly, I think it right. We know he can still play brilliantly in patches but the truth is that it’s becoming less often and it’s hampering us in European away games. We need someone to step forward and become Henry’s partner. Sometimes the bullet needs to be bitten. And now is that time. 6
v Palace (5-1)
Jens: It’s tempting to say that the early back pass cock-up could just as easily have happened to Petr Cech but in truth that would be a lie. He’s simply too cocky and over confident with his kicking – it’s why so many balls get sliced wildly and why we almost conceded a shambolic own goal tonight. Otherwise, he actually did quite well. 6.5
Lauren: Is definitely becoming a better player going forward but was as culpable as anyone for our defensive malaise. 6
Cygan: Didn’t have an awful game but on too many occasions simple long balls forward by Palace became much more serious than they needed to be. 6
Kolo: Got skinned more often than he would have liked and was caught out at times from crosses. But still, we only conceded one. 6.5
Clichy: Did well getting forward, causing a constant menace. Defending was largely competent but seemed to be infected by the general defensive tendency to give the ball away. 6.5
Vieira: Another tricky game to rate from the captain. At times he was sluggish and easily caught in possession. At others, he took a grip on the game and drove the team forward impressively. Got well forward for his goal. 7
Edu: Didn’t have the sudden impact he enjoyed at Villa last week but did well enough and certainly gave us a fair bit of solidity. Good ball to Reyes for the opener. 7
Pires: Seemed to be rewriting the dictionary definition of anonymous for the first 20 or so minutes. Then got more into the game without coming close to hitting top gear. Was unlucky to hit the post in the 2nd half after good work from Reyes. 7
Reyes: His best game in yonks. He looked fearless again, running constantly at the Palace defence and causing a lot of trouble. Good assist for the first, great finish for the second, an assist for the third and a fantastic pass to Dennis to set up the fifth. Great to see him back again. 8.5
Dennis: As ever, he oiled, moulded and sculpted our performance. He also took his goal very well, like he did against Newcastle and United too. And set up Henry for the fifth. 7.5
Henry: Really played very, very well and channelled any frustration about constant offside decisions in exactly the right way. Had seemingly boundless energy to chase back lost causes and put us back on the attack. 8.5
Subs:
Flamini (for Edu 60odd): Solid and composed as ever. 7
Van Persie (for Dennis 80odd): Linked up reasonably well as the game entered its final stages. 7
Fabregas (for Pires 80odd): Settled in comfortably on the right. 7
v Wolves (2-0)
Jens: Whilst a clean sheet is a clean sheet, he had very little to do and looked no more reassuring than previously with his kicking. To be fair, he was also played a high number of over hit back passes today and was not at fault for the one from Flamini that took a wicked bobble off the Highbury surface (which appeared unusually cut-up).6.5
Eboue: Got forward well, hit the bar with a deflected shot and could have had a penalty. Nice work. 8
Clichy: Decent game without being exceptional.7
Sol: Not a lot to do. 7
Cygan: Better than usual. 8
Paddy: Mediocre for much of it truth be told. Got better later on and scored the penalty but for too long his mind didn’t seem in the right place. Sure, Wolves made it difficult by crowding midfield but too often he seemed semi asleep at throw ins and the like. Still, he kept going. 6.5
Flamini: Didn’t show the deftness of touch of the Newcastle game but retained all his normal solidity. And great as Ray Parlour was, watching Boro at the moment suggests that we’ve got an as good, if not better, replacement. 7
Reyes: A couple of good runs, some moments of anonymity and denied a stonewall penalty. Still getting back to form but it definitely seems better than a few weeks ago. 6.5
Freddie: Usual energetic performance without any stand out moments, save his well taken goal. That’s ten for the season now and we’re still in January. Good work Sir. 7
Van Persie: Not his most inspiring game and clearly doesn’t yet have the positional ability of Dennis (who does?) but is improving. 6.5
Henry: Gallic. Went into one of his moods after Riley ruled out his cheeky first half effort. Strutted around for a while, went in for a couple of silly tackles and became frankly self indulgently petulant when a foul was given against him. It’s alright for us to loathe Riley endlessly but our top striker shouldn’t let him affect his game. And the fact is he did. But recovered his composure, was unlucky not to score and set up Freddie in superb fashion. 8
Subs:
Cesc (for Van Persie): Settled in comfortably on the right. 7
Pires (for Reyes): Nice work for the clinching goal. 7
Quincy (for Fred): No time to make an impression.
v Charlton (3-1)
Alumnia: No chance with the goal and didn’t do too much wrong besides one poor fumble from a cross. Still not convinced by his catching techniques. No difficult saves to make6.5
Hoyte: Made the odd error but did well to make sure his old youth team buddy Jerome Thomas had his quietest game in weeks. Managed to get forward a bit more in the second half.7.5
Cole: Still not looking at his best and on a couple of occasions was embarrassed by Rommedahl. But in fairness he wasn’t as sloppy as recently and did get forward well later on. 6.5
Sol: With the exception of one wildly sliced clearance in the first half that Almunia had to save he looked pretty solid and kept Charlton’s clear chances to a minimum. Let’s hope his ankle isn’t too bad. 7
Kolo: Given a bit of grief by Bartlett in the air but stuck to his task well and like Campbell, restricted the number of clear cut chances. 7
Vieira: Watching the game live, I was unconvinced by his first half performance. But having just seen the highlights it seems he got through a lot of work and did what he had to do neatly and efficiently. Set up Fred well for the goal and kept up a good level of performance all the way through.7
Cesc: Lost the odd ball but was generally very sound. Passing was clean and crisp as ever and his touch for the second goal was exquisite by any standards.7.5
Freddie: Took his two goals brilliantly, worked hard and always looked a threat. In good form. 8
Clichy: Seemed to lose the ball cheaply a bit too often but worked hard down the left helping Cole out with nullifying the threat of Rohmedahl and getting forward well. Has tremendous energy which comes in handy at the end of games when opposition players tire.6.5
Henry: Not at his best today but more worrying than the actual performance was the fact that his normal fitness wasn’t there. Had a lovely free-kick cleared off the line.6.5
Van Persie: Still has a tendency to twist and turn once too often. But also holds the ball up brilliantly, moves it well and finished superbly for the third. Should probably be given a real run up front next to Henry. Took his goal like a striker, which is disconcerting coming from an Arsenal player.7.5
Subs:
Pires (for Van Persie 72ish): With the game won he wisely didn’t over exert himself ahead of Man City on Tuesday night. 6.5
Senderos (for Campbell 82ish): Slotted in well on his Premiership debut.7
Pennant (for Fred 86): Didn’t have time to get into the game. 7
v Newcastle (1-0)
Almunia: Our star man tonight. A smart early save from Ameobi (even if it was probably going wide) and excellent handling all night gave us one less worry. Four clean sheets in five and he also kicks a fair bit better than Jens.7
Lauren: Though Lauren Robert didn’t reach anything like his best, I’m not sure whether too much credit should go to Lauren. His positioning often seemed weak, his passing and tackling little better and he offered almost nothing in attack. Mr Average was distinctly poor. 5.5
Cole: Whilst there’s no shame in being given a tough time of things by Craig Bellamy, Cole’s performance was noticeably worse than just a torrid time. He made stupid, unnecessary fouls, got caught out when he should normally have had enough pace and looked very, very shaky. He may have been pushed a touch for the penalty incident, but a defender with his mind fully on the job wouldn’t have allowed the ball to hit him as blatantly as it did. In mitigation he did improve and unlike Lauren provided some attacking threat. 5.5
Kolo: Did alright but like the others his decision making didn’t always seem to be the best informed. That said, it’s a little harsh to chastise a central defender who has kept four clean sheets in five. 6.5
Sol: Urgh. After some very sound recent performances he seemed far too troubled by what looked like some relatively simple long balls. One such error allowed Ameobi in for his early chance and his lack of authority always made the long ball route look like a wise one for Newcastle to take. 6
Flamini: Not his best game for Arsenal but he still got through a lot of work, kept things simple and had a hand in setting up Vieira for the goal. 6.5
Vieira: Named man of the match by SKY and praised in a couple of papers, but I’m going to be honest and say that up until he scored I thought he was pretty useless, being caught in possession too often. That said in the second half he got through a fair bit of work as we ground out victory. 6.5
Fred: Beavered away, had some good moments and kept on trying. Was going to commend him for his work on a couple of occasions in particular but can’t now remember what they were. 7
Pires: Even by his standards, his tackling was poor today. Truth be told, I can’t fathom how he’s allowed to defend with his body constantly side on to the play. As a left winger he has defensive responsibilities and simply has to make a better fist of it. On the attacking front he was probably our most creative player, moving the ball smartly and at pace. 6
Van Persie: Still very, very raw. Unlucky not to score in the opening minutes and had a couple more decent efforts but all too frequently ran into trouble and lost the ball on what was admittedly an awful surface completely unsuited to his quick twists and turns. Corners weren’t bad. Needs time. 6.5
Henry: His touch was not quite at its magical best, but again this was probably due to the state of the pitch. Had a couple of good runs that resulted in decent shots on Shay Given’s goal. 6.5
Subs:
Clichy (for Van Persie 80 mins approx): Seemed as happy as anyone in the post match huddle but for the second game in succession he seemed a little out of sorts when called upon. 6
v Fulham (2-0)
Almunia: Looks better by the game and made a crucial save when he rushed out at speed to palm away a Fulham chance at 1-0. Made no notable mistakes. 7
Clichy: Had a good first half – getting forward well as usual and strong on the defensive stuff. Then in the second half he seemed to lose his confidence went, either as a result of or because of Fulham consistently probing down our left. Like any small full-back, aerial strength is a weakness.6
Lauren: Average as usual. Looked solid against a Fulham attack lacking any real penetration. 6.5
Sol: At times we were troubled in the air – but Sol is leading a defence that is no longer allowing attackers completely free headers at corners. Looks fit and healthy and, along with the rest of the defence, now has three clean sheets in four league games. 7
Freddie: A fine game on his return from migraine troubles. Played in Henry for the first and set-up Pires for the second. 7.5
Cesc: Gets caught on the ball occasionally but is still doing the vast majority of things with real fluency. Gives us real creativity in the middle. 7
Vieira: Showed a few soft shoe shuffles to bam boozle defenders in a way we haven’t really seen this season. Also got stuck into his tackles and generally seemed to be on the ball. 7
Pires: There was this surreal moment in the first half. He got the ball on the left wing and took a heavy touch. As if that wasn’t enough he then went flying into the tackle with the Fulham defender and actually won the ball. And it wasn’t the only time – I saw him snuff out a few Fulham attacks and even win a header.
Of course, the attacking side of his play was superb as well – he would have scored from a Dennis chest down but for a good save by Van De Saar. He linked up well, particularly with Henry, and inevitably took his goal with typical aplomb. Now has 19 in 2004, which is good. 7.5
Dennis: A fair few poor touches and bad decision making in general play. In mitigation, he dummied the ball well for the second goal and put Pires in with an excellent chest down. 6.5
Henry: Sure, the flicks didn’t always come off but at times he led Fulham a merry dance like he has almost every other defence this season. His goal was a trade mark finish and he was desperately unlucky when his side footer from the edge of the box crashed back off a post. 7
Subs:
Flamini (for Freddie 74ish): Some might say Arsene was making a point by not replacing Freddie with Pennant. Others will call it a sensible way of seeing out the game. 6.5
Van Persie (for Dennis 78ish): Provided his usual array of tricks but didn’t get a real chance to score. 6.5
v Portsmouth (1-0)
Almunia: Had a really good game. Caught when he needed to catch, punched when he wasn't sure and kicked immaculately. Also made a couple of really good saves. His run of impressive performances may only stretch to two but for now there seems no reason to bring back Jens. 8
Lauren: Did nothing too wrong but didn't offer as much in attack as he might have and at times appeared troubled by Pomey's pace. I think he's ok, but I'm becoming less and less convinced he should be our right back at all - more on that tomorrow. 6.5
Cole: A tough one to call. For a while looked rattled by Pompey's pace and agression down the left. Misplaced a couple of balls and though his tackles were mostly coming off they had a slightly concerning aggressiveness about them which made me think he was letting his own frustration get the better of him a little. But stuck to the task well and in the end kept a dangerous Pompey out. 7
Kolo: Got sucked in a couple of times, but on the whole he was part of a defence that looked pretty solid and much improved at set pieces. 7
Sol: Looked fitter than recently I thought - turning smoothly on a couple of occasions when faced with danger. He also made countless important headers at corners and won us the game with the kind of head down sheer determinism many fans would like to see a little more often. 8
Flamini: Ran hard, tackled hard and never gave up. Doesn't offer as much going forward as Fabregas, but doesn't claim to either. Unlucky with a header from Henry's free-kick. 7
Vieira: Industrious, but was also sloppy on occasion, getting caught in posession and losing the ball. Still doesn't seem 100% back to his best and didn't make the most of a couple of shooting opportunities. 6.5
Clichy: Fought well and offered Cole valuable protection down the left hand side. Showed initial attacking promise early on but faded as Pompey grew in stature. Nonetheless, was full of running at the end and nearly capitalised on tired Pompey legs. 7
Pires: His every touch was met with a chorus of boos as Bob faced Pompey for the first time since 'that dive' last season. There was even one moment when he slipped and the ball rolled out of play. Which probably made a certain journalist very, very warm inside. Otherwise, was neat enough but pretty ineffectual, seemingly afraid of injury in the rough house atmosphere. Had a couple of lovely runs late on and set Dennis up for a chance he really should have taken. 6.5
Henry: Worked hard and created much of our best work, but often found himself crowded out by the hoardes of Pompey defenders. Nearly scored after a flowing first half move and set up Dennis' other chance late on, which again he really should have taken. 7
Van Persie: Started really well, showing fantastic feet and trickery and generally leading Pompey a merry dance. He swivels at such speed he'll probably need a hip replacement aged 30. Faded somewhat after his impressive start, finding himself crowded out by the packed defence. Could pass a little earlier at times but nonetheless a decent first start in a difficult game and he staked a fair claim for inclusion against Fulham on Boxing Day. 6.5
Subs:
Bergkamp (for Van Persie 68ish): Should have scored late on following good set up play. His performance did little to silence the voices calling for this year to be his last. I'm undecided on that, but what I am sure about is that I won't miss the needless little kicks and elbows aimed at his opponents when frustration sets in. Simply put: the sly digs are ugly and Van Nistelrooy like and do nothing for us. 6
v Chelsea (2-2)
Almunia: Faultless for both their goals, he made good stops from Lampard and Gudjohnsen in the first half. And made a vital save when Robben wriggled his way through after the break. But nobody noticed it. Caught when a catch was a good idea, punched when a punch was wiser and set us on the attack with some good throws. 7.5
Lauren: Didn't see much of him, but when you're up against Duff and Robben, this can only be to a defender's credit. Thought he did really well to keep them in check, and the one time Robben did really threaten in the second half, the danger came down the other side. 7.5
Cole: The one player who I thought struggled today. As has been the case of late, he lacked confidence in his touch and stuggled defensively. Perhaps should have come out to Robben before the winger got into the box for his 2nd half chance, and was easily beaten in the air by Drogba for Cheslea's 2nd equaliser. 6
Kolo: Looked solid overall and helped limit Chelsea to only a few chances asides from set pieces. 7
Sol: A mixed bag. Made some really important defensive headers and looked in command at times at the back. But was a little caught out for their opening goal and sometimes seemed a little gung ho in his marking. Made important late tackle on Drogba.7
Reyes: Was quiet, but this was a tough game. Nodded down to Henry for the opener, worked hard and went on a few mazy runs without much success. Still, I thought he gave them something to worry about.6.5
Fabregas: Another excellent performance. He and Flamini were overwhelmed initially when up against Tiago, Lampard and Makalele but never gave up and fought their way back into the game admirably. Nice goal to set up Henry for the opener, he was instrumental in setting up the Frenchman's near winner and also set up RVP for his chance. Uses the ball so intelligently and showed that despite his size, he's not afraid to get stuck in. Was up against the very best in the business today and succeeded in limiting Lampard to a largely peripheral role.8
Flamini: £1 million? First league start? A snip if you ask me. He run's tirelessly, he harries, he puts his foot in and he uses the ball simply when he wins it. A real water carrier but absolutely essential today and worked tirelessly. Well done Sir. 8
Pires: We wanted a big performance and boy did we get one. Seemed almost impossible to shake off the ball, tackled back, linked up well with Lauren, Flamini, Cesc and Henry and drove the team forward in his own idiosyncratic waddle. When in his pomp, he is still a wonderful, wonderful footballer to watch. Set up Henry for the near winner, realised his responsibility as the senior partner in midfield, and shouldered the responsibility admirably.7.5
Dennis: Didn't get involved in too much of note, but I can't help feeling he just gives us a cetain sophistication and shape when he's in the side. Gordon Strachan pointed out on Match of the Day how hard he'd worked to stop Makalele getting the ball and in hindsight I think it probably a fair call.6.5
Henry: Forget the late miss - it can happen to anyone. Otherwise he was outstanding, scoring a brilliant first (which included winning a high ball!), netting an impudent second and generally running the show. Scared Chelsea shitless every time he picked it up and was responsible for a hell of a lot of good work. Also destroyed the concept he doesn't turn it on in big games. That's 15 in 17 league games now by the way.9
Subs:
Clichy (for Reyes 82): Ran around like mad for 10 minutes and forced mistakes out of tired legs. Really good footballer and good enough to start for probably every Premiership side and perhaps should be more often for us. 7.5
RVP: Is maturing very nicely indeed. Nearly netted a silky winner when he latched onto Cesc's pass and gave the Chelsea players a lot to think about. Would be really interesting to see him start. 7
v Rosenberg (5-1)
Almunia: Made a really, really good low save early on and kicked largely well. But looked dodgy more than once on crosses and for the second time in a week cost us a goal, which is a real worry. Eventually realised there's nothing wrong with giving a ball a good double handed punch. 6
Hoyte: Was up against a poor opposition but defended diligently and rarely looked rushed. Used the ball well, linked up well with his team mates and should be well pleased with his first European start. 7
Cole: Looked solid, with a couple of important defensive headers, but still not yet back to his marauding best I sense. Shouldn't have let the ball drop over his head for Harald Brattbakk to fire at Alumnia after 17 minutes. Withdrawn with quarter of an hour left. 6.5
Sol: Ditto for above, though did once later on look somewhat sluggish again on the turn. Perhaps I'm just paranoid about the impending arrival of Duff and Robben at Highbury.6.5
Kolo: A very easy night for the big man and he even found time for a classic Kolo dance into the opposition penalty area towards the end. 7
Flamini: Very, very good full debut. Set up the second goal, ran tirelessly, got tackles in and seemed to work well with Cesc in midfield. Looks comfortable tracking back and going forward and also seems to have a strange affinity for joining in attacks right around the right edge of the penalty area and particularly when we attack the North Bank. A young, thinking man's Gilles Grimandi, he ain't at all bad for a fifth choice midfielder. 7.5
Cesc: Absolute star. Has already played 20 games this season (twice as many as Edu, Gilberto and Vieira), yet still had the strength to turn in one of his best performances for the club. Fantastically alert, his use of the ball was excellent. He also scored a very impressive, very difficult goal and was involved in the build up for the fifth. Not just our most frequent performer in midfield this season, but also our best. 8
Jose: Took his goal really well and gave us a flying start. Had another deflected shot well saved and looked much more like the sun kid of the beginning of the season. Had a delightful late chip that bamboozled three very stupid looking Rosenberg players before landing on the roof of the net. 7
Pires: Looked much, much better and was even spotted making a tackle late in the second half. Kept going and linked up well late on with Jose and RVP before being withdrawn for Quincy with two minutes left. His penalty was so brilliantly placed it went into the side netting. Again I marvel at his ability to put a football exactly where he wants it to go. 7
Bergkamp: A nice return for the Ice Man who got involved well in the game, set up the opener and had a couple of openings himself. Might have done better when in front of goal, but eased himself back into the side well. 7
Henry: I actually thought that poor as the defending was for his goal, it was still a pretty decent finish. Worked hard all night, linked up well with the kids around him and seemed to be feeling particularly tolerant. 7
Subs:
Clichy (for Dennis 72ish): Spent a few mins in midfield before dropping back to left back when RVP replaced Ashley. As ever looked sound in the defending and assured going forward.
7
RVP (for Cole 75): Resuscitated the game with some silky skills, wayward finishing and then eventually a very well taken goal. Rawer than an uncooked vegetable, but with massive potential. 7.5
Quincy (for Bob 88): Should have had longer. Don't think he got a touch.
v Birmingham (3-0)
Alumnia: Looks like Lehman, kicks slightly better than Lehman, fumbles the odd ball like Lehman and jumps a couple of inches less high in the air than Lehman. Did ok, but would have been ill advised to let Morrison’s second half effort creep under him and over the line.6.5
Lauren: Seemed really quiet yesterday. Means he was doing his defensive job well which at the moment is the priority. Better? Seeing as we kept a clean sheet, probably a tad. 6.5
Cole: It's not been picked up much by the press, but I’ve thought Ash to be one of the players whose form has most obviously dipped in the recent spell. He’s still looked a top left back, but the subtlety of touch that allowed him and Bob to link so well still seems to be absent. Better? Not noticeably, but again should take credit for a clean sheet. 7
Sol: I’m of the opinion he’s still carrying a little bit of weight. Played well enough, but on a couple of occasions he looked sluggish and immobile on the turn, which is obviously a concern with Duff and Robben coming to town next week. Better? Probably not. 6.5
Kolo: Probably fair to say he’s not been our worst performer in the recent period, but I think on occasion he has allowed our recent jitters to affect his decision making a little. Kept Heskey quiet, but also seemed to time his jumps wrongly on a couple of occasions. Better? Ditto above. 7
Vieira: Did some good stuff but on other occasions his decision making and concentration again seemed lacking a little. He’s a hard one to judge at the moment. Better? Probably a bit.7
Cesc: I’m glad to see he escaped censure for his recent performances because I think a lot of the recent mutterings about how he’s no Gilberto have been unfair. Admittedly, the Brazilian’s best work is done off the ball, SKY’s stats show how we tend to win with him in the side, but I still think the young Spaniard is doing pretty well. He’s a young boy whose probably played too many games in a struggling team in a big league. But he’s still there, still getting stuck in and still doing his stuff. Tired in the latter stages yesterday and was replaced by Flamini, which was a wise, common sense, decision. Better? No, but only because he was doing well in the first place. 7
Freddie: Scavenged, burrowed, furrowed, ducked and dived. Fred’s doing them all at the moment and its working as the perfect complement to the continued attempts at perfection that come from the rest of the team. Is also being very productive. Should have had a penalty yesterday, set up the third goal and generally ran the show. Better? No, but only because he’s been great. 7.5
Pires: Mark my words. One of these days the opposition are going to get a free kick on the edge of our area. Their player will hit it, the ball will fly off Robert Pires and zip past Lehman. And we’ll all put it down as a fluke, like we did for Graveson’s effort that flew off Pennant in the Carling Cup game against Everton. Except it won’t be a fluke because Pires, like Pennant, will have jumped with his back to the ball, meaning that when it hits him he’ll have no way of giving it any direction.
My point is that Pires simply has to go into tackles. Maybe he’s worried about getting hurt, but he’s ducking out of the most basic challenges and its meaning we’re losing the battle in midfield at places like Old Trafford and Anfield.
Obviously, as I was making a note of this, Bob went and scored a classic Bob goal. Basically a really, really good one. He is a fantastic playa, probably the purest footballer we have in our team and quite possibly the best finisher. Yesterday was his 50th goal for the club and almost without exception (Bolton at home this season) they’ve been aesthetically perfect and a joy to watch.
But he must pull his weight for the team, which funnily enough I’ve seen him do really well on a number of occasions. Better? A little bit later on in the second half. 6.5
Reyes: You have to feel for him - seemingly everything he tries seems to go askew these days. Inches away from a Henry cross in the first half, he got into the game a bit more going towards half time, but then tired before being withdrawn. As I said above, he could do with a 25 minute run against tired defences to get his confidence back. Better? Not really, but not for want of effort. 6.5
Henry: Whether it be through injury or lack of confidence, he spent much of the game getting into decent positions but then making the wrong decision. Then ten minutes from time he took off past Melchiot, through the Birmingham defence and then a cool low finish hit whilst he was running at incredible speed. Six minutes later, he bought a ticket for Freddie Ljungberg’s cross and got lucky.
May not be at his best. But the level of criticism he of all people has taken is ridiculous. Has scored 13 league goals this season (four more than anyone else and 9 more than Ruud), scoring in 11 of the 16 games. And it’s not even like he’s bound to get the goals because nobody else does. He hasn’t even scored a third of our goals, and with the exception of Old Trafford (when nobody scored) and Selhurst Park, at least one other Arsenal player has scored in all of our other games.
Better? Yes. Despite earlier failures, his determination to keep going for the all important second goal was admirable. 7.5
Subs:
Clichy (for Jose): I love this guy. He’s like Wenger’s little foot soldier and seems capable of doing everything. Slotted in expertly in left midfield. He covers, chases back, tackles, retains the ball, gets forward, dribbles and causes havoc in the opposition defence. He may be more defensive than Reyes, but sometimes being slightly more defensive can give you the shape to attack more. May not be suited to central midfield, but should be considered a serious option for a place in left midfield on tough away games. 7.5
Flamini: Seems to do everything neatly enough without being spectacular. Will be interesting to see how he works with Cesc over the next two games.7
v Man United (0-1)
Alumnia: Crap on their goal, barely put a foot wrong otherwise. Plays and looks like a slightly smaller Jens, but can kick. 6
Hoyte: OK and defended well on occasion, but I’d still like to see him get forward more. That said, I think he’s a player who would look much better surrounded by seasoned pros. 6.5
Clichy: Really, really good as usual. Slipped on their excuse of a pitch for the early goal, but didn’t let it affect him and worked tirelessly defending and attacking all game. 7.5
Senderos: The lumbering giant of Everton had been replaced by a very, very accomplished looking centre half. One dodgy back header that fell short but otherwise cut out everything that was asked of him and looked a real first team option. 8
Djorou: Took eye off ball and then slipped for the goal which wasn’t good. Never quite looked the same player as against Everton, but worked his way back into the game. 6.5
Flamini: Looks like we can breathe a little more easily in the midfield department after watching a very assured display. Would like to see him trialled as a sub for Freddie in games where we’ve got a dodgy one goal lead. 7
Larsson: Some like him but I’m not so sure. What he did was decent enough but I thought he struggled to have an effect on the game. 6.5
Quincy: Maybe it was the pitch, maybe it was United doubling up on him. Either way the hero of the last round never really got into last night’s affair. 6
Pennant: Worked hard, tried to take the initiative and overall did quite well. Still not sure if he’ll quite make it at Highbury though. 7
Lupoli: Is a striker and when strikers get no service they don’t look much kop. 6.5
Van Persie: Battled hard all night and willingly came deep to win possession. But probably came a bit too deep and battled a bit too hard. Yes, he could have been sent off for the incident with Richardson. Reminds me a bit of a young Freddie, not in playing style but in the way that the potential is clearly there but the skills are still very, very raw. 6.5
Subs:
Smith (for Lupoli): Did OK but still looks wary of going in for challenges and taking men on following his long term injury.
Cregg: Alright
Karbassiyoon: Alright
...
080106
Spurs aren’t on their way to Wembley
Childish, mindless, moronic baiting is not my thing. And baiting Spurs over the years has been like taking candy from a baby. So I don’t think Arsenal fans should be laughing about their defeat at Leicester. But, frankly, I’m going to anyway. Ha, ha, ha, ha. That feels good.
It was at 2-0 to Spurs after 40 minutes and with the away fans singing their famous cup final song I admit I thought I was watching a new Tottenham. They were calm and in control and for once making a first division side look just that. Oh well.
Anyway, our weekend was rather better. I’m working Saturdays ‘til the end of the season so missed the Cardiff game. But by all accounts it was your standard Arsenal v lower league side game at Highbury in that we made heavy weather of what should have been a relatively simple task before eventually going through.
Henry was the other big news. A few people have tried to put a spin on his words but to me they simply that so long as we offer him a decent contract and invest in a few decent new players, he will stay. Which must be a massive, massive relief and is, if we’re honest, a real coup for the club. Let’s hope he didn’t feel rushed into his decision by the speculation about phone calls to Barcelona. And let’s hope the investment we all crave arrives. Of course it is worrying when you see Chelsea, United and Liverpool all making moves before us. But we should remember that Reyes only arrived in late January so there is still time. Another question about Henry (as a friend pointed out) is whether the club will be prepared to break their one year at a time rule for over 30s and so only offer him a deal ‘til he’s 31. Let’s just pray Arsene is having none of those thoughts.
I’d also like to nail on the head the absurd, lazy assumption made by some journalists that Thierry Henry has somehow been a disappointment this season. In the Daily Mail, Matt Lawton cited Henry as Arsenal’s biggest disappointment (with Van Persie the major plus). Elsewhere, recent performances have seen his shrugs, scowls, flailing of the arms and lack of willing to enter some attacks put down as evidence of his anxiety. What tosh. It’s what he’s always done and is just how he is.
And for the record, he has scored 10 goals in 14 league games and 13 in 19 in total. It is proportionately almost identical to RVN’s 15 in 20 or 17 in 28. And while the stats say he has hit just one double in seven league games, he also hit the post twice against Bolton, again against Chelsea and again against Charlton. So a little perspective is called for.
...
040106
Arsenal 0 United 0: Report from Highbury
I’ve seen a few match reports this morning and many seem to have subtly rolled every great moment from Arsenal v United over the past eight years into one game and then compared it favourably to what was on offer last night. I actually thought this was probably as high a quality a Arsenal v United contest Highbury has seen for quite a while. Whisper it in hushed tones, but the 2-2 draw in 03 and the 1-1 in 04 were poor affairs. And our performance last night was generally improved on last year.
This was the first time I had seen United at Highbury since the last 0-0 draw in 1995 and you easily forget what a brilliant arena Highbury is for the big night games. The atmosphere crackled behind the goals, stretching so far from both ends that even the West Upper seemed alive. Occasionally. Down on the touchline, the East Lower rose furiously at every United indiscretion. It might be Highbury’s last night like that. One to savour.
Surprisingly, it was the attackers who were found lacking. United couldn’t put away their second half chances and we could neither take ours nor commit the men forward like we should have nor get the obligatory penalty that we are always denied in games like these. It is now five blanks in seven for us, enough to make the ghosts of seasons past spin in their graves.
We were of course thwarted by the absence of Van Persie, a real goal threat. With Freddie also missing, it was the back five you would expect, Cesc, Gilberto, Hleb, Reyes and Henry. Individual performances were quite revealing. Henry, irrespective of Gallic pouts and refusal to get into the box, is clearly injured at the moment but is playing anyway. Hleb did ok but has lost confidence he had in the first few games that let him beat men and feed in really interesting balls.
For all the talk of the absence of Vieira, Gilberto had a good game – his positional sense in front of the back four was largely spot-on and barring a couple of errors, he was neat and tidy in the tackle. Next to him Fabregas was superb. That he tired later can easily be excused in an 18 year-old near present in central midfield this season.
On the right, Robert Pires improved in the second half. But sadly, he is a relic of a bygone era, a time when Arsenal were so good that wingers like Pires could shirk all their defensive duties because others would cover for them. Chelsea have raised the bar. The wingers are constantly tackling, closing down and working for the team when the ball is lost. Pires does not do that and is therefore a luxury. Perhaps the way he shirks anything defensive it is due to a legitimate fear of reinvoking past injuries, perhaps it is just laziness. But either way, a title winning team in 2005 can’t afford passengers like that.
The contrast with Jose Reyes could hardly be starker. Like Fabregas, Reyes plays as though it is the purple blood that pumps through his fragile frame. In the first half in particular, he was outstanding, his commitment no less than anything Keane or Vieira showed at their peak. It wasn’t just the fact that he gave Gary Neville a torrid time. It was the way he chased everything, panicked United and so, so crucially covered for Pascal Cygan. Top man.
Talking of Cygan, he played to the best of his abilities. He is no Baresi. But equally he is no slacker either. He even went to take a short corner with Henry. The others at the back did well and even though we could have conceded, it is a fourth clean sheet on the trot.
I was at Highbury and the atmosphere was fantastic and the game thrilling. Those who say otherwise have probably been spoilt by seeing too many games of this ilk in person. A draw was fair – United shaded the chances but both sides could have scored and didn’t. For me, the tackle on Fabregas was a penalty because though Neville got a toe to the ball, it was still in Fabregas’ possession when he scythed him down.
Let’s face it, we are a team in transition. We had eight fantastic years where we punched miles above our weight. But now a lack of spending (and a misjudgement in the transfer market) are catching up with us. Getting us back on top will not be easy. And a number of older players will fall by the wayside. Last night represented another failure to beat a top team. But the major positive we should take is that it was our two youngsters, in who Wenger has invested so much faith, who were Arsenal’s best players last night.
...
020106
Arsenal v United: 2nd preview
So Gilberto is fit but Ljungberg and Van Persie are out. The latter is a big, big blow. It leaves us with just Henry and Reyes as the only players available to have netted more than twice in the league this season. And given our lack of goals that is a worry.
I suspect Gilberto will return. And if he does, let’s hope 2006 starts better than 2005 ended. He is not the world’s greatest midfielder but he is a far better player than his recent form and good enough to face United.
I wonder whether Van Persie and Ljungberg missing could prompt a change of plan from Wenger. Could we see Gilberto, Fabregas and Flamini all play? And could Henry then play as a loan striker, supported by Reyes on the left and either Hleb or preferably Pires (as long as he really tries) on the right? It would be a fairly radical departure from what we have seen this season but I just wonder whether it might be a good way of not being forced to play Bergkamp due to Van Persie’s absence.
It is also possible that Cesc could play on the right, Flamini and Gilberto in the middle and Reyes left, with Dennis and Henry up front. But to me it doesn’t sound so good. Of course, we could stick rigidly to our normal formation and play Dennis and Henry with Reyes and say Pires supporting. It has worked well in the past. The question would be whether it leaves us too open in the midfield.
Irrespective of our current predicament, the game will be one of the last great occasions at Highbury and the atmosphere should crackle suitably. The game is sure to be a fiery one and Fergie has already stoked the fire with his myopic review of United’s behaviour over the years. We need to make sure we keep our heads (here’s looking at you Cesc (and Jens obviously)), not just to save ourselves embarrassment but also so we stay focused.
Speaking following the first battle of Old Trafford on the 1991 end of season video, George Graham told his side: “You still gotta tackle, still got to close down. But lads, you must watch your behaviour.” How apt.
Whatever happens, what we mustn’t be left with at the end of the night is regrets. That means ensuring there are no stupid individual errors that cost goals. That means ensuring that if we get chances that we take them. And that means hoping the referee does his job and calls the big decisions correctly. And of course we need to think about how we contain the United threat and Rooney and Ronaldo in particular. But that is something that comes after the basics and too often this season it has been the basics that have let us down. Come on you Gunners!
...
010106
Arsenal v United preview: who to play?
I was only able to see the second half against Villa so I’m in no position to say too much about the performance. However most accounts have been pretty negative. From what I saw, we were clearly conceding too much possession to Villa but at the same time I felt the individual errors so evident in the defeats at Bolton and Newcastle were not so evident.
However you look at it, the draw was hardly great preparation for the final league visit of Man United to Highbury on Tuesday night, particularly given them beating fat Sam’s lot 4-1. The game is a funny one because for seemingly the first time in yonks it is the attack who pose the greatest worry at the moment. We may have hit four against Pompey but December saw us fail to find the net in four out of six league games. A big worry.
For me, the well-documented problems in midfield are at least in part to blame. Drive from the midfield in Wenger’s Arsenal has always been essential. After all, how could it not be in a team that so deliberately shunned the long ball from defence straight through to attack? But we lack that drive, power, speed and athleticism we once had. The problem seems exacerbated whenever Hleb and Ljungberg get the nod on the wings because essentially, they are the slightly more attacking shadows of what is in the middle. Played with Fabregas and Flamini, we have a midfield of four physically unimposing players, none of whom have the blistering pace and drive Wenger’s sides are famed for.
Given that, I would definitely play Reyes against United. There is the risk he will be intimidated out of the game. But at the very least he should offer us some variety. On the right it is a tough call. I suspect Hleb will sit on the bench. Then it becomes a question of the gritty but limited Ljungberg or the big occasion but inconsistent Pires. Who knows.
I can see why some would plump for Dennis next to Henry because of the greater fluidity his presence tends to give us. But I would go for Van Persie. I sometimes think it goes unnoticed how capable Van Persie is of fashioning a goal from nothing. And that can be vital. Certainly, when he was taken off after 68 minutes at Villa it was as though we had lost one of our few goalscoring aces. Dennis may give you the odd goal but he is no longer able to conjure a goal all on his own like Van Persie can.
Other than that we need commitment all over the pitch and concentration. With Cygan suspended I wonder whether Arsene could throw in a surprise and play Eboue at left-back or perhaps Eboue right-back and Lauren left-back. Either way, I suspect he might be anxious to avoid what happened against Chelsea where the full-backs were both out of position and the central defence not the number one pairing.
Put mildly, we have been rubbish against big teams recently and it is true that we have not really beaten anybody that tough this season (though victory in Amsterdam was cool). You can be sure Fergie will have pinpointed our weaknesses and will look to exploit our flimsy midfield in particular. Another defeat would be a sickener and the task then really would be to scrape fourth place. Victory could be a great, short-term shot in the arm and a timely reminder that we can still do it.
On a level playing field, it will be tough. What we have to hope for is that the playing field is level and that the curse of bad refereeing decisions that have plagued some of our recent big games does not rear it’s ugly head again.
P.S.: Have just read Fergie's comments about us not being a big club and just remembered how much I hate United. And as for his claim that tickets to Highbury cost £72, Fergie is either lying or else his pal had presumably frequented a tout, given that the highest price for a single ticket is £54. The only other option is corporate hospitality, something United would never dream of indulging in. Indeed, everything I hate about them is now flooding back. For pride's sake, we have to win.
...
281205
Arsenal 4 Portsmouth 0: Lovely stuff
My first visit of the season to Highbury. And some memorable goals to go with it. Granted, we weren’t brilliant throughout by any means and the midfiled (and Gilberto in particular) and Pascal Cygan are serious worries at the moment.
But the four goals were sweet. It is rare that you hear a commentator sounding genuinely excited by what he has seen, but listening to what Steve Wilson said on Match of the Day tonight it was clear he relished our return to the scoring of Arsenal goals like we did. The first was a peach – Flamini hustling and winning the ball in midfield. He sprayed it wide to Reyes, who completely slipped his man and fired in a great low ball that Dennis simply had to take first time. He did and he finished perfectly to put us 1-0 up.
The second was a fine ball from Toure down the right into Henry. He controlled well before feeding the onrushing Reyes who hit an absolute stonker of a left footed shot first time into the roof of the net. It was a tough effort – he had to come across the ball and had little of the net to aim for.
Then just as we were slowing-up, Flamini released Henry who rounded the keeper, took the ball pretty wide and then clipped in from a tight angle for his first in five games. His celebration was interesting. We’ve all heard the strong rumours about him leaving. But as he celebrated in front of the East lower he looked like a man perfectly at home in his surroundings.
Then when Pires got played in he slid the ball in for Reyes, who was flying in at full pelter. There was the most mininal of touches from the defender but the referee’s decision to give a penalty was the right one. Such was Reyes’ pace, only the slightest nudge was enough to deprive him of his clear goalscoring chance. Thankfully, the referee didn’t send the offender off – though technically he should have. Henry converted and we slowed up afterwards, preserving energy ahead of Villa away on Saturday.
Overall, it was a very positive night. The combination of Henry, Bergkamp, Pires and Reyes would be a disaster in away games. But against weaker opposition at Highbury they are potent – such as when we beat Villa 3-1 last season. Against Pompey, Bergkamp and Pires could do their things and looked good. Henry did his stuff and while to Arsenal fans he probably only had an average games, it’s worth remembering that to neutrals he is persistently sublime.
And Reyes followed up his good performance at Charlton with another excellent show. He scored one and set-up two and generally caused trouble. On form, he is a fine, fine player and to me he is one of those players who just want to see do well. Tonight’s goal was another example of his goalscoring versatility.
Credit too to Arsene. He is sometimes criticised for his team selections and substitutions. But in the past two games he has got things spot on, resting people who need resting and so far keeping the squad fresh looking in a tough period. Elsewhere, Kanu hit a superb brace to sink Spurs. Lovely stuff.
...
261205
Charlton 0 Arsenal 1: Reyes has rocket put up him
A rocket up ‘im is a tired and usually ill used football analogy but perfectly apt for today’s game. Even by his own standards, Jsoe Reyes was peripheral in the first half (barring one flowing move that Freddie really should have scored). Indeed he was so bad that he was almost as bad as Pascal Cygan. And in the first half, that really was bad.
Then when Reyes emerged after the break it was as though the rocket we all know he has in him had been ignited. It was crazy stuff. He played like a winger, all wide and running like apparently that was wingers are supposed to do. It was like what happens in other teams. It was a joy to see and suddenly our attacking threat was almost doubled, with not everything having to go through Thierry Henry.
Of course, it was not just Reyes who got better. The whole performance was far improved and we dominated the game. Our reward came when Ljungberg played in Henry. His first effort was blocked and his second low shot hit the keeper and looped into the air.
The ball dropped on Reyes’ right foot just a couple of yards from goal. He volleyed home and we had our first league goal in a month. Lovely stuff. We continued to dominate, could have scored more and never looked like letting things slip after Danny Murphy was sent-off - his second yellow for throwing the ball down in frustration after a Bennett call. Stupid decision and one I hate to see – even when it benefits us.
On a side note, Cesc got a bit involved in that incident and was also guilty of a slightly dangerous (yellow card worthy) challenge that went unchecked. I love watching Fabregas and am only too happy to see him get stuck in. But he sometimes gets involved where it is not needed and is one of those ‘first on the scene’ players. I just wonder if it could come back to bite him at some point.
But back to the performance: we were much better in the second half but there was still a lot wrong. We lack suredness, Cygan is still at left-back and Cesc and Gilberto had their usual flaws exposed. I’d give the young Spaniard a well earned break for the Portsmouth game.
The bright spots in the game were the result, a far improved Sol Campbell performance and Reyes second half effort. It was great to see him at full pelter and a reminder of the massive potential he has. If I’m honest I’d half forgotten how good he can be. Seeing him tuck the ball home from two yards also offered a extra useful reminder to yours truly.
I stick by my assertion that Reyes is not a striker. But I forgot that on form, he can still be a goalscoring winger. And more to the point, we are talking about a player who can score every single kind of goal, which to me suggests real potentially as a 15 goal a season winger. Cast your mind back over the goals he has given us and you will see there is no trademark. Left footed, right footed, headed, spectacular, bundled in, tapped-in, first time, lengthy runs, one-on-ones, volleyed. They are all there. And in this generally gloomy time for the club, that is a pleasing thought.
Portsmouth on Wednesday. I’d rather not see Cygan at centre-back, would replace Fabregas with Flamini, make sure Reyes gets another chance to try to build some confidence and probably give Pires a run-out in place of Freddie too.
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21/12/05
Insane Blatter wants to make things even easier for Chelsea
The Chelsea match review is below this quick post. Sepp Blatter has said: "If a club can only have five foreigners among their starting 11, then they will have to build on their own youth system. If Chelsea were forced to have five foreigners then Roman Abramovich could not go on buying the best players across the world for exorbitant fees. Chelsea is the example of what should not happen."
The man is a lunatic. The problem at the moment is that Chelsea are snapping up the cream of English players for sums only Man United can even think about, irrespective of whether the player is of any use to them (Lampard) or not. (Wright-Philips).
Were this rule to come in, Chelsea would simply further dominate the English market, pushing up prices and further decimating those without money. Not only would we be forced to fill our team with six English also rans, we would also no longer be able to compensate for the vast gulf in finances as we currently do, by scouring the world for affordable top players.
Develop their youth system? Err, no. They would just spend more money. I am not having a go at Chelsea, but the fact is they would be most happy with these plans. As Arsenal fans, these insane ideas should worry us.
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19/12/05
Arsenal 0 Chelsea 2: It ain’t the end of the world.
So, league defeat at home to Chelsea for the first time in yonks. Painful? Disappointing? Frustrating? YES, YES, YES. But surprising? NO. In short, we learnt very, very little that we didn’t already know.
If we were to win, we had to be clinical with what chances we created and make sure we scored the first goal. Chelsea began well but for me the first two real opportunities were Arsenal ones and we did little wrong with them. Henry hit the post and then Van Persie swept home beautifully only to see the offside flag raised in error.
Not offside
It was a massive, massive decision. 1-0 to Arsenal and we would have had a completely different game. It was a wretched decision and I’m getting sick of wretched decisions in big games. Don’t get me wrong, at home against smaller sides the refs favour us. But in big games we seem to get little luck. At crucial times in both United league games last year and now against Chelsea. I’m not talking about flukes of performance – like when we beat United in the Cup Final or when Drogba scored against us earlier this season. I’m on about the crucial refereeing decisions, which, for whatever reason, seem to keep going against us in the big games.
Six minutes before half-time and Robben was as onside as Van Persie was and he too put the ball in the net smartly. This time the goal stood. While you languish in footballing depression mulling over this defeat, just consider how different things might have been had our goal stood and theirs not.
Red cards:
As for the non sending-offs: yes, Senderos probably should have gone (as Wenger acknowledged). But so too should Essien, who is anything but a marked man as Mourinho claims. I thought his elbow was probably correctly called a yellow. But it was just crass inconsistency that let him get away with a later foul on Van Persie that was identical to one Henry had been booked for about two minutes earlier. So on that front, honours even. (ps, question for UEFA: when did going in studs first near someone’s knee become a two rather than a three game ban?)
I thought we actually played quite well after we went behind. Chelsea 1-0 up are a nightmare to play against. Though we could have created a few more chances, we still fashioned some decent openings. They were dangerous on the break but that was always going to be so with us chasing the game. Cole took their second excellently after one of Lauren’s worst ever mistakes for the club. But to bash him is ridiculous. He is a first class foot soldier who is having a good season and hardly ever puts a foot wrong.
The Midfield:
The problem for us was very obviously in midfield. Aware that we would be outmuscled, we frequently tried to pass long straight from defence to attack. It was an unfamiliar approach that met with limited success. I’ve heard mutterings of disappointment about Cesc’s performance, but I’d point to what I said on Saturday about him being asked to do the wrong job. But the problem is not just a lack of muscle in central midfield. While we could once slot Edu in left and Parlour right, Freddie is now our most physically strong wide player, which says it all. And the pace that once characterised our middle line only lives on in the injured and inconsistent Jose Reyes.
This is, clearly, a very difficult time for the team. Our standards have slipped and for the first time we are staring into the abyss of finishing outside of the top two. But let us not get carried away. We went three barren years without any trophy between Wenger’s first and second titles. Things change and evolve. Of course we need reinforcements and the prospect of Henry leaving is daunting. But things are not all bad.
Hleb is having a far better first year than Pires did, Sol Campbell (in my opinion) will rise again and while they are not yet world beaters, there is genuine promise in our young players. Things change and evolve and for anyone who is feeling at all disillusioned with Arsene, just imagine how much worse every other manager would do with our resources. For one thing, I think if Mourinho took over at Highbury tomorrow, he’d struggle big time. But take Wenger to Stamford Bridge and I’d expect him to win Chelsea titles, which less we forget, is all Mourinho has managed for them so far.
Chelsea?
So, finally, what of Chelsea? Have they raised the bar? Incrementally at most. That they are so far ahead is in part because of their own consistency but more due to United and Arsenal’s recent decline. Are they any better than us in 2004 or United in their pomp? I’d say no way. So the challenge is for us to get back to what we have achieved before and then catching Chelsea will take care of itself.
The most well resourced squad ever in British football was very fortunately injury free enough to be able to choose their first choice eleven against us. We were missing three left-backs, a winger and had a midfielder harshly suspended. C’est la vie. What a sign of the times that of the eleven players fielded by Mourinho, ten cost £6 million plus, while John Terry was a shooting star long before the special one had even heard of him. Our side contained just three players bought for more than £3.5 million.
Overhauling them will be very tough, but is doable. And if there is one manager you’d choose for a club like ours – in transition and relatively cash strapped – you’d plump for Arsene Wenger over Jose Mourinho or anyone else any day of the week. Which is handy really.
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17/12/05
Arsenal v Chelsea preview: How good would Cesc look in Chelsea’s midfield?
A year and a week after his first start in an Arsenal shirt, Mathieu Flamini is likely to again come into the Arsenal side next to Cesc Fabregas for the visit of Chelsea. The prospect has left many fearful, but they did ok last year and I think they can do ok on Sunday. In a way, the prospect of having Fabregas and Flamini snapping like whippets around Essien and Lampard is preferable to having Gilberto in there. In his current poor form, we might risk the Brazilian just providing poor man’s version of what Makalele does so well for Chelsea.
The game is obviously going to be very tough and despite our impressive home form, Chelsea must be favourites. At Highbury the league results have been immaculate but the teams we have beaten have been nothing special and our performances only impressive in short, sporadic bursts. Still, I think we have the players who, on their game, can stop Chelsea from scoring. And I think we are capable of creating chances against them at Highbury. So, we are not without hope.
If we are to win, a likely key player will also be our youngest – Cesc Fabregas. Usually in hushed voices, some Arsenal followers have questioned whether he has the strength for the Premiership. They say both Vieira and Gilberto have struggled next to him. I refute that. As far as Vieira goes, he acknowledges openly in his book that he played much of last season with a very dodgy ankle.
And as for his partnership with Gilberto, I see the problem being that Fabregas has been unfairly forced to play the role of tough tackling midfielder. While the Brazilian may provide a positional wall, it is Cesc who on the whole is required to throw his still slender frame into the tough tackling.
For me, he has actually done it ok, but the point is that expecting him to excel as the enforcer is as preposterous as expecting Dennis Bergkamp to score 30 goals a season. It is not what either do. But imagine Cesc sat on the Chelsea bench for a game and replaced one of Essien, Makalele or Lampard at half-time. Whoever he came in for, I’d expect him to flourish, revelling in being able to concentrate on doing what he’s great at. He could also offer Chelsea the midfield subtlety and creativity they have occasionally lacked - such as in four scoreless encounters against Liverpool in the Champions League.
So if you see Cesc being out muscled on Sunday, take a look around and remember what he is being asked to do. However well he does it, here’s to the midfield beast/animal/enforcer we all pray Arsene will buy in the January sales.
Ps: there was a really good piece on Football365 this week pointing out that in quite a number of these games where Arsenal supposedly allow themselves to be bullied to defeat the more truthful explanation is that very poor refereeing has instead allowed teams to get away with what is simply illegal.
It pointed out the United game last season and more recently the Bolton game (where the referee just ignored Lehman being elbowed in the stomach and another guy who was already booked punching the ball in to the net all in one move) and Newcastle, where the fact is Alan Shearer got away with stuff that was far more plain illegal than any ‘on the edge’ bullying.
I’m not saying we don’t sometimes go soft (I think we do), but it does add some rationality to the whole debate.
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12/12/05
Newcastle 1 Arsenal 0: Same problems, same lack of solutions
A week ago I penned a massive post Bolton post mortem. (Computer problems mean it has only just gone online - see below). Almost everything I said then applied to today’s match so I’m not going to go over the same ground in massive depth after today. For me there are a few points for why we lost:
1) We left our shooting boots at home. I’m hardly in a position to tell Thierry Henry how to score. He had the chances in the first half and didn’t take them. It was one of those things, as was Van Persie mis-kicking later.
2) We are still hideously under strength in the centre. Gilberto is playing crap, yet we have no other option. We need an animal in there (Gilberto, Cesc, Hleb and Freddie is hardly physically intimidating.) Yet we have no animal to bring in.
3) Dermot Gallagher was a total wanker today. (And yes, I know we get the run of the mill sometimes and did so against Newcastle on the first day of the season). That not withstanding, on a technicality sending-off Gilberto was justifiable. But as I remember they were the only free-kicks he gave away all day. And neither were dangerous tackles. They were the tackles of a player who is out of form and off the pace. Were they so bad he needed to be excluded from the pitch? Definitely not.
Compare the approach to Gilberto to how Gallagher treated Shearer and other Newcastle players. Shearer was given a free reign to elbow, foul (including one shocker in front of the referee), knowingly kick so high that knew he would hit Lauren, kick the ball away and delay kick-offs by standing in our half. It took 89 minutes for him to get booked. All this matters because while Newcastle (as is their right) adopted a very physical approach they were able to do so because Gallagher was being so lenient. Once a player has been booked they have to temper their approach, knowing that one more significant error will be the end for them. Gallagher patently failed on that part. Apparently this is his final year. On this showing, good riddance.
But overall there is no escaping the fact we have big problems away from home. The defence could do with some better drilling but overall they did fairly well today. And though the goal came from our left, Lauren looks infinitely better at left-back than Cygan. And up front I think we look fairly strong. We have drawn three blanks on the run but prior to then had looked dangerous. With a bit of luck, Henry could have had two at Bolton and Van Persie one. And the same can be said today.
The problem for me is midfield. In the middle we are enormously weak. It would be nice if we could give 18 year-old Cesc a break but there’s fat chance of that at the moment. And though Hleb helps, we lack defensively able players on the wings: Freddie is either a bit injured or out of form at the moment. Yet still he plays 90 minutes every game.
The thing is that Chelsea probably have as many midfielders and forwards out of form as we do. Crespo, Duff, Robben, Wright-Philips and arguably Drogba and Gudjohnsen are hardly setting the world on fire at the moment. Of course, we can hardly hope to have their strength in depth. But equally, we can expect far more of our current resources in the middle.
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04/12/05
Just what is Arsene playing at?
I spoke to a season ticket holding friend last night who for some weeks has said his confidence in the boss is waning. I don’t necessarily agree, but what follows are some of his concerns and some I have too. What do you think?
Arsene can moan about player commitment but to us Bolton yesterday was simply the epitome of what we feared at the beginning of the season, the inevitable result of Arsenal’s very own corporate restructuring. So as the squad has been trimmed and thinned out, those that are left are more comfortable than ever in their positions and what would normally be the responsibility of experienced team members is being carried out by talented, but as yet unproven, upstarts.
At Bolton Henry and Van Persie were the right choice. But even Tony Adams (who generally seems to not know that much about tactics) has been pointing out for years that Ljungberg and Pires won’t work at places like Bolton. Admittedly, Alex Hleb is injured.
But in central midfield Wenger is guilty of discarding our two most aggressive midfielders as if we have somehow had too many of them. It is blatantly clear that neither Fabregas, Gilberto nor Flamini have the animal instincts that seem to be present in the heart of every top side. It is also true that talented as the first two are, Gilberto is not and Cesc is not yet good enough that their places in the starting line-up should be completely unquestioned and unthreatened. How Arsene could go out at the start of this season and rightly deciding he needs a fourth central midfielder plump for a 17 year old (Alex Song) to complement his 18 and 21 year-olds is beyond me. Principles and only buying the right player is admirable, but not when it means no player.
And if the case in midfield is one of transfer bloody mindedness then the case at left-back is one of tactical bloody mindedness. With no personal insult intended to the man, I can’t remember a single player in Arsene Wenger’s reign enjoy a run in the side and look more out of his depth when doing so than Pascal Cygan at left-back. Even when he does something right, 90% of the time it means he hasn’t cocked it up. His abilities are simply so limited there, it was no wonder Bolton almost encouraged Jens to throw him the ball. Leaving aside the defending, you would have to say he offers nothing to the attack either. It is as though we have become numb down part of our left side.
For Arsene to come out last week and say he brought on Lauren at left-back for the last half hour in Thun to see if he could play there just encapsulates the problem. As you and I well know, Lauren would be miles better playing there, as would Toure, as would Eboue, as might Senderos and as might even Flamini.
They say there is no point buying for the sake of it, but there is also no point not buying for the sake of it. And Alex Hleb is the ONLY outfield and vaguely proven player over 21 who has arrived at Highbury in nearly three and a half years! That is extraordinary! We all know (and largely admire) Arsene’s determination to challenge Chelsea’s exorbitant spending by unearthing and polishing gems, but it is almost as if what Chelsea do is dictating what we do. By this I mean the more they spend the less we seem to spend. And yet the fact is that any title win would count as a great overcoming of the odds, even if we spent £20 million a year.
On that note, there is nothing wrong with stripping out a few luxuries (eg Kanu and Wiltord) to give younger players a chance. But you can’t start getting rid of the bare essentials. And at the moment you can argue we have no competition in goal, where Wenger’s signings there are slowly becoming more bizarre and obscure (witness Shabaan, Warmuz, Almunia and now Poom). We have two good centre backs (one of whom is off his game), a still very young pretender (Senderos) and another who ain’t up to it. Four years ago we had an (admittedly aging) Adams, Keown, Campbell, Upson, Grimandi (better than Cygan) and Oleg Lhuzny (probably better than Cygan).
I hardly need to go into central midfield. A comparison with last year simply says it all. On the wings, as I suggested earlier, there is fair attacking cover. The problem though is that when we want to plump for someone more defensive on the right we end up having to move Fabregas, where as two years ago we would have simply slotted Edu in, leaving Vieira and Gilberto intact in the centre.
And at up front, it seems to have taken ages to a) figure out Reyes is a winger and b) develop a successor to Dennis. Discounting Reyes, we have just three forwards – a footballing god, a youngster still making his mark and a man who is rapidly going over the hill. Think back to 1999 and look at the perfect balance we enjoyed: an in form Kanu, Dennis around his prime, a raw (but still 25 goal) Thierry Henry and Davor Suker, who was used as and when it pleased. Sadly, our current paucity of forwards meant that after 70 minutes we were calling for Dennis yesterday, even though all and sundry could surely see it was not the time or place for his services. And quite why on earth Robin Van Persie was withdrawn I don’t know. Simple maths says Van Persie’s goal threat is far higher than Dennis or Reyes.
All in all, there seems to be a great sense of bafflement. We expect managers to be a little mad, but more and more often we seem to be shrugging our shoulders and explain something away as Arsene just being Arsene. But it doesn’t add up. We might not like seeing Chelsea above us but always knew their spending would make it probable. But it’s hard to accept when we seem to be shooting ourselves in the foot so readily. Even Spurs have about seven midfielders better than our fourth choice.
And what is so galling is that actually we are not very far at all from being bloody good. With the exception of Cygan, every player in our squad is Arsenal quality and very many are worthy week in week out starters too. But they need reinforcements. With these reinforcements, we wouldn’t have to shunt Freddie back into the side when he doesn’t look ready. We would be able to pick the players who are physically at their peak and rest others when they tire a little. Which is what Mourinho does and explains why Cole, Duff, Robben and Wright-Philips always look so chirpy.
So what do we need? A hungry, improving goalkeeper who will in a few years succeed Jens. A half decent centre back who is solid if nothing else. An established beast in central midfield. Perhaps a young, as yet unproven beast, for when the big beast is suspended. A Davor Suker like signing – someone who will offer goals when they play but whose presence will not hold Van Persie back. And as the Dutchman becomes established, someone to fill Van Persie’s current role of young pretender – Arturo Lupoli would seem the obvious choice.
That is five signings. But only two (the beast and the goal scorer) would initially be pivotal ones. Those five, combined with our ever improving youngsters, could make a real squad. At the moment it is not just that Chelsea are so far ahead in the table, it is that we are in with the likes of Spurs, Bolton and Wigan. Squad wise, we will never be as big or strong at Chelsea. But at a certain point it starts to matter less and less until it becomes almost immaterial. We need to plug the holes so we can get to that point.
And finally, what are the rewards? We already have a really good crop of players. Arsenal may not be ahead of the chasing pack but it is still true that the vast majority of our current crop would walk into any Premiership team other than Chelsea and Man U in some cases. With the right moves in the transfer market we could perhaps hope to persuade not just the brilliant Ashley Cole to stay at Highbury but also Thierry Henry, one of the great players of this generation. Whether he stays or goes could tell us so much about where Arsenal are headed.
I may be wrong, but I struggle to believe Henry (settled in London with a wife and new born) would have any inclination to leave a flourishing Arsenal in a new stadium who have the tools to seriously fight Chelsea for the league and to capture the Champions League. I suspect he fears the same things we fear and he needs the same reassurances.
He is 28 and I suspect he knows he has half a chance not to just be known as a great of his time, but to etch his name as one of the great players of any generation. To become that great he probably still needs a mix of international success at his prime (he was not yet a great player in 1998 or 2000) and success with a club in Europe.
On the international stage, Henry’s options are obviously limited because he can’t change countries. On the club stage, whether he feels able to achieve it at Highbury may well depend on just what Arsene is playing at.
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27/11/05
Arsenal 3 Blackburn 0: Attack good, defence not so good
I only saw the BBC highlights of yesterday’s game, so it would be wrong to go into too much depth. But three things were quite obvious from watching it:
Our defence is making too many Premiership standard strike forces look like world beaters. And with all due respect to the man, it is my belief that rightly or wrongly, the presence of Pascal Cygan is a massive factor.
A couple of reports I have read suggested he was not personally so bad yesterday, but the problem goes beyond his individual performances. It is the effect he has on the team.
Exactly a year and a week ago I wrote: “Pascal Cygan is no Baresi, but he’s not an awful player either. But at the moment his presence is having a devastating effect on our play. The rest of the team doesn’t trust neither him nor Jens Lehman and the effect is reverberating through our side.” A week later Jens played his last league game until February and has not looked back since his recall. I added at the end of the article: “Cygan has to be dropped for the sake of the team.”
And the same must happen now. Arseblogger was entirely correct yesterday to point to Wenger’s apparent blind spot over Cygan. Far be it for faceless internet bloggers to tell him how to manage Arsenal, but the clamour from fans appears so universal that surely these feelings need articulating.
2) The second point is that we are obviously playing some very nice attacking stuff at the moment. Not all the time, but we are cranking up the pressure when it matters. Much as Blackburn perhaps deserved a goal or even two, the fact is we created three perfectly executed ones and could have had more.
3 ) Some players have such outrageous talent that you can forgive them being idiots on occasion. Robbie Savage is not one such player. Arseblogger aptly summed him up as a “cheating, conman, fairy, nancy, fraud, flimflammer, obnoxious wanky cunt.”
I would add one word to that description: twerp, defined in the dictionary as a person regarded as not just contemptible but insignificant too.
Just before I finish I’d like to pre-empt a couple of things that will happen this week. The first is that a certain journalist will twist the Savage incident to bring up every misdemeanour ever committed by an Arsenal player. The second is that we are going to have to listen to unrivalled levels of crap spout from the mouth of Sam Allardyce this week ahead of our visit to the Reebok next Saturday. If they beat Fulham today they will be level with us going into the game.
On that note, there was an interesting (and unmalicious) remark made about George Best this week. It was said that Best frequently mentioned how Pele had called him the world’s greatest, yet Pele never needed to do the opposite. Sam Allardyce loves to tell us how brilliantly he has done at Bolton on such limited resources, yet Arsene Wenger...
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I didn't see the Thun game, I'm flying during the Blackburn game and the Reading game is not on TV. But I'll probably post one or two more general updates before the Bolton game.
20/11/05
Wigan 2 Arsenal 3: Should the new midfielder be a partner for Cesc rather than Silva?
In a nutshell: We took control through goals from Van Persie (good turn, run, fierce shot, bad goalkeeping) and Henry (lovely slid finish from Cesc pass at end of flowing move). They pulled one back through shambolic defending. Henry netted a scorcher of a free kick. They pulled another back through shambolice defending. We won despite defending shockingly.
Analysis: It was very easy last season to say how much we were missing the Gilberto "wall" during his absence. And perhaps it was true. But on recent performances, Berlin's got a stronger wall than the one our Brazilian offers. Against Wigan he was, to put it mildly, shite. He didn't go forward, he didn't pass well, he dallied on the ball, he made absurd attempts to intercept that only put us in deeper trouble and he failed to get off the ground for headers. (Witness first goal). In short, he was oh so passive.
Next to him, Cesc Fabregas was a model pro. He ran tirelessly, he won tackles, he broke up play, he positioned himself well and he supported the attack right up until the last minute. Sure, not everything came off, but the way I see it this new midfielder we all agree we need should more likely be a partner for Cesc than for Gilberto.
Behind the pair, things were just totally terrible. Credit to Wigan, honest team, hard working, deceptively skillful for a rugby league town all those other cliches. But the fact is Sol Campbell offered justification for Sven picking Rio ahead of him (yes he was that bad), Jens' kicking was crap, Lauren's general defending was poor and Toure's little better.
To their left was Pascal Cygan. The nicest thing I can say is that words fail me to describe his performance.
I'm not one for having a go at individuals just for the sake of it and it is true that in the end, we got a very welcome three points. But a spoon should be called a spoon and today our defending was chaotic.
Up front, it seems Van Persie may possibly have finally got the nod over Dennis, at long last. He played well, the returning Freddie worked hard but was not at full throttle, Pires put in a committed performance which didn't once involve me screaming at him for ducking a tackle and Henry once again made everything look too easy.
One final thought, much as I can't stand his self righteous, self important, status as a "real" player, and much as there is between no chance and 0% chance of Arsene going for him, you kinda have to admit Roy Keane could fill a gap.
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15/11/05
Arsenal playing before Chelsea form, European form and Vieira book form
A few brief thoughts as we wait for the Premiership to restart.
The first is that the fixture list is currently conspiring quite often to let us play our weekend game before Chelsea. I pointed out last season that while our results are largely unaffected by whether we play before, at the same time or after Chelsea, their's suffered last season when they played after us. And based purely on very anecdotal evidence, the same has been true this season. So we need to take advantage at Wigan on Saturday.
Secondly, this whole assumption that because Liverpool won the Champions League while being crap in the league, the same will happen to us seems bizarre. Last season was largely an anomoly. What nobody seems to have mentioned is that since defeat in Moscow over two years ago, we have a healthy European record that reads: P19 W12 D5 L2.
Finally, there is a piece in today's Times that takes 600 odd words to correctly say: Patrick Vieira hypocritically forgets his own diving when he lambasts Wayne Rooney and Ruud Van Nistelrooy as cheats.
But that is not all the piece says. In fact it reads strangely like a diktat handed down from Old Trafford to a friendly journalist much in the way United employed the same policy with the same friendly journalists after the battle of the buffet.
There was no way Vieira was going to ignore either Rooney or RVN in his book. And the fact is that Rooney DID cheat exactly as described and Van Nistelrooy WAS guilty of consistent violence that went unpunished against Arsenal. Whatever, Vieira's personal myopia, to suggest that the two United players are somehow worthy of apologies for what is correcly identified as shabby behaviour when Vieira does it, is just absurd.
And while I appreciate accuracy matters little when there is an axe there to be ground, the description of the Nicky Butt incident is just patently wrong. Contrary to what is written, it was a straight red card and not a second yellow. Secondly, there was never the slightest suggestion Vieira had dived. Thirdly, the decision to send Butt off was one based purely on the positioning of the incident near to the goal and not on the severity of the tackle or Vieira's reaction to it (there was no doubt it was a foul). Fourthly, all Alex Ferguson and anyone else was moaning about was the referee's decision to treat the incident as a goal scoring chance and thus issue red.
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10/11/05
International week update
My apologies for the lack of recent updates. The laptop appears to have died and enjoyable as this site is, staying late at work to update it is just not that appetising.
Anyway, things have gone pretty well since the Spurs game. There is not a lot to say about Sparta and Sunderland. We needed victories and we got victories. We didn't over exert ourselves but then we didn't need to. I'm still of the theory that we look far better when playas play in their natural positions and I think that was fairly obvious watching the Sunderland game. In midfield the mix was good, with the wall-like Gilberto and the more enterprising Fabregas, Reyes and Pires both looked comfortable out on the wings and up front we had a good mix of a forward/striker (what can you call Henry?) and a striker.
I don't think Chelsea were unlucky at Old Trafford because ultimately they didn't do enough. But I do think United can count themselves fortunate. Some of their defensive play was wretched - incredibly nervous and very deep. But they got away with it. People are asking whether they will collapse like we did. I don't think they will but nor do I think that the issue really. If someone does catch them I expect it to be by a process of small erosion rather than one big wave. So, for example, if they have a tricky away game that they draw others might take advantage with easy home wins. And of course if we win our game in hand and manage to beat the Blues at Highbury then the gap is only five points anyway. I'm not saying we will do it, just saying how I think they could be caught.
As Myles Palmer pointed out on ANR, the four league games before Chelsea are vital. Contrary to what he said, they actually read: Wigan (A), Blackburn (H), Bolton (A), Newcastle (A). We need to be looking for a minimum of ten points from the four of them and ideally twelve.
Not much else to say, except that I'm away for two weeks from Saturday, so there is a fair chance I won't update after the Wigan, Thun and Blackburn games (the last of which I will definitely miss as I will be in the air for it).
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01/11/05
Players in position works at Spurs
Arsene's decision to shore up the side with an extra midfielder was well intentioned and a welcome departure from the gung-ho approach that cost us so badly at Munich last season. But injuries and lack of squad depth meant that to do it we had Freddie playing out of position on the left, Cesc out of position on the right and our first choice central midfielders not in place. Add the fact we were playing with two forwards but no strikers, and it is obvious why we struggled. When Pires came on, suddenly we had him, Freddie and Cesc all where they should be. And when Van Persie came on, Reyes was on the left wing (which for me is his best spot), Pires was on the right (in a position he has played and done well in) and we had a good balance of a forward and a striker up front.
But I also wonder whether perhaps Arsene imagined the first half going as it did, while obviously hoping we would not concede. Spurs, confidence bolstered by their own good form and our lack of it, were always going to come out on fire. I wonder whether it was Arsene's plan to draw to try to draw their sting (keeping it at 0-0) and then introduce Pires and pounce on them as they tired. In the event, the problems of the first half called for Pires earlier than expected, but I expect it was probably always the plan that he would play a key role.
I don't think there can be any doubt we deserved the draw. Granted, Spurs dominated the first half (even if I only remember Jens having to save from his near namesake Jenas). But we dominated the second right from the off in my opinion. Sure, chances did not immediately come, but we did a good job of grinding them down and tiring them out and in the end Van Persie had about three good chances, Reyes had one, Pires had one and Pires scored. So for me, while our equaliser doesn't suit the grand theories of the pundits, it was well deserved. And to come back from behind against the likes of Spurs away never has been and is certainly not now something to be snorted at.
A couple of things have struck me. The first is that the idea of us being a one man (Henry) team is absurd. But it is true that we still haven't yet brought in someone who we can say is a sufficiently good deputy for him. Don't get me wrong, they don't need to be the same type of player, just a good enough alternative. Hopefully Van Persie can be. I'm also intruiged to see who replaces Dennis in the summer (or before?)
The second point is that the cover issue is not one of Chelsea's being excellent and ours adequate. In fact, our's is inadequate. Midfield reinforcements are a must (so that when we switch things around everyone is not pulled out of position like against Spurs) and so too are a buy each in defence and attack I guess. Bringing in those three players will not give us as excellently backed-up a squad as Chelsea's but I question whether their level of protection is really necessary. While they will always have all 11 positions perfectly filled, if we only have 9 or 10 it probably won't all that much difference in the end. It is when your side is so inbalanced (like against Spurs) that I think it becomes a big problem.
Thought for the day: When was Jens' last mistake?
Updating is a bit fraught at the moment due to a comatose laptop, so sorry for that. In the meantime we have Sparta and Sunderland at home. The latter of which is a must, must, must win game because either Chelsea, United or both will drop points next weekend.
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24/10/05
What story lies behind 'that' penalty?
This is a long post; it’s been that kind of weekend.
I’m now on my third school of thought about what happened and more confused than I was to start with. At first I simply wondered how they could be so stupid at such a crucial point in such a crucial match. Did they realise how agonising it was for the fans? Then I wondered whether these two great artists who have brought us both silverware and exquisite football had endured one of those once in a career cock-ups, the like of which every great band have had with that one appalling single and every great director has had with one shocking film. Should we simply forgive and forget and laugh it off as one bizarre and fortunately uncostly cock-up?
But now I wonder: was it symptomatic of a greater malaise? Could it be that whilst we as fans still yearn desperately to win the European Cup and to catch Chelsea, Pires and Henry see the first as impossible and the second as highly improbable and in any case offering only a reward that would emulate, rather than surpass previous achievements? Do they still have the same drive to succeed for Arsenal? Would Frank Lampard even consider doing anything other than burying the ball from the spot, irrespective of the score? And if the three points were as vital for them as they were for us, how could they contemplate even trying that penalty?
I realise the above paragraph could easily be interpreted as me saying they don’t care. I am definitely not saying that. For a start I am saying the above insinuations are true and in any case, if there has been any loss of drive, I would suggest it has been almost entirely subconscious and in no way deliberate. But whichever way you look at it, I think the above are fair questions that should be asked if we are to understand why such a monumental fuck-up occurred.
And just sticking with penalties for a moment, I’m delighted to see that Thierry Henry says he will be taking them all from now on. It had become absolutely farcical. Not only did we have our top marksman refusing to take penalties he had won for absolutely no obvious reason whatsoever. We also had Dennis refusing to take them following his miss against United over six years ago! Fear of flying is one thing, but a phobia of penalties is another and you get the feeling that in any other walk of life Dennis would have been told to pull himself together and just do it. And to think that yesterday it had got to the stage where we were passing them to each other. Incredible.
Which is also what can be said for getting two penalties off Mike Riley. I haven’t seen any replays of the second one, while the first one could have gone either way. But I will just say that analysing these things in super slow motion is pointless because football is not played in super slow motion. Slowing the play down will always make it look like the attacker has deliberately let himself be fouled. It distorts reality.
At last, the game. Firstly, City were very well organised and are a genuinely decent side. So a win is good. But we’re struggling. A fair part of the problem can be summarised in six words: Flamini, Gilberto, Cesc, Lampard, Essien, Makalele. Our players are good, but we lack a monster in there like Chelsea have and it tells. Eight other words also explain a lot: Van Persie, Senderos, Quincy, Eboue, Robben, Crespo, Gudjohnsen, Ferreira. Arsene didn’t make a single sub. Mourinho introduced first Gudjohnsen, then Robben and then Crespo, all about ten minutes apart. Of course, they didn’t win. But the contrast could not have been bigger.
Arsene is not an idiot: his public buoyancy and confidence in the strength of the squad is surely just a charade that he is obliged to show in an effort to maintain moral. But at heart it must be obvious to him just how blatantly we need to splash the cash.
I’ll finish by saying that Pires and Henry were right to apologise. And that Spurs away is the perfect time to make-up for things by putting in a committed, impassioned performance. And it’s vital they do, because if we’re as slack at White Hart Lane this time as we have been recently, then this time we will lose. And nobody wants that.
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20/10/05
Why Henry's goal at Upton Park was his greatest ever
In the world of footballing top tens, there surely can’t be a more enjoyable experience than picking Thierry Henry’s best goals. I can’t honestly claim to have seen enough of Pele and Maradona to properly judge them. But my suspicion is that if a montage of Thierry Henry goals were shown next to montages of the Brazilian and Argentinian’s best strikes, Henry would not look out of place.
So, at 10…
Chelsea (h) 12/04. At kick-off people said their defence was the immovable object and Thierry Henry didn’t score in big games. Thirty seconds later he had pinged in an unstoppable shot from the edge of the box, leaving Cech rooted to the spot.
at 9…
Bayern Munich (h) 03/05. A strange choice for some perhaps, but for me another brilliant goal against an immovable object. Bayern may have been a defensive shambles in the next round at Chelsea but against us they were tighter than something incredibly tight. After 70 odd minutes, Henry controlled a long ball on the left from Cole, brought it down and hit it instantly across Oliver Khan with complete precision. It was a perfectly executed goal. And it had to be.
At 8…
Manchester City (h) 01/04. This one is also representing the swerver against United later that season. Against City, I was in the North Bank and saw just how much his shot seemed to swerve and yet keep completely straight like an arrow. David James didn’t have a prayer.
At 7…
Sparta Prague (a) 10/05. A very late entrant but very deserving of it’s place. On for six minutes, he controlled the ball on the outside of his foot, swung his whole body through 360 degrees and then fired in a bending shot that beat the goalkeeper in the only part of the net it could have. Almost arrogantly brilliant.
At 6…
Inter Milan (a) 11/03. Broke out from defence, looked to be going nowhere and then made Javier Zanetti look amateurish before slamming home with the left foot. A brilliant goal and the crucial third in a 5-1 win.
At 5…
Spurs (h) 11/02. Very, very special run. He took them all on, cut inside and finished brilliantly. Then he celebrated in serious style in front of the west stand. Magnificent.
At 4…
Charlton (h) 10/04. So good it completely bamboozled the cameraman. I watched this game in a pub in London with one of those dodgy satellites. The commentary was in a foreign language, music was playing in the bar and a lot of people were only half watching. The camera was focused in on Henry as he held the ball with his back to goal about six yards out. Then he backheeled the ball and suddenly wheeled away in delight. The pub was genuinely stunned. Those of us who realised what must have happened looked on in disbelief. When they showed a replay from another angle the reaction from the rest of the pub was one of sheer incredulity. And the more they showed it the more disbelieving the reactions. It didn’t really matter what happened in the rest of the game.
At 3…
Liverpool (h) 04/04. No doubt you’ve heard people say how important this goal was in us winning the title. It was. I was at Highbury that day and 2-1 down at half time there was some serious cigarette smoking going on in the north bank. Within a minute we had equalised thanks to Freddie Ljungberg. But after equalising once and then going behind again, a fair few people feared things were turning against us and we would do it again.
Then Henry picked the ball up on the left. He jinked in, took on a couple of defenders and simply by his presence created sheer panic in the Liverpool defence. So much so that Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher knocked in to each other and fell to the ground comically. Suddenly Henry was through and he finished coolly. The north bank erupted. People who had not lost it since Ray Parlour scored against Valencia found themselves jumping out of their seats. A massive, massive goal and sheer brilliance bore in part out of the complete panic his presence can induce.
At 2…
Manchester United (h) 10/00. Unreal goal. Fed by Grimandi miles out, he chipped it up, spun Gary Neville and in one fired in a volley that dipped and swerved over Barthez into the far corner. Watching at home, all I saw was the ball leave his foot. I thought it was going miles over. Then the Clock End went mad. I had lost the ball in the air. Eventually, I was persuaded it had gone in but was convinced it could only have had it taken the most massive of deflections. Then I saw the replay. One of the goals of goals.
At 1…
West Ham (a) 08/02. You may think this a weird choice. I say the beauty of it has never fully been recognised. Now, don’t get me wrong: were this goal being judged purely on Henry controlling the ball on his knee and hitting an absolute bullet past David James from 30 yards, it would not be anywhere near number one, however great a finish it was. It is the first touch that does it and it is a touch which in my opinion defies the physics of football.
He receives the ball on the right edge of the penalty area from a Vieira pass. He has his back to goal. It is played firmly in to his left foot. Then he takes the crucial touch, which I will come back to in a minute. When he next touches it he has spun 180 degrees so that he is now facing diagonally to goal. His defender has been left bamboozled. The ball lands on what is now Henry’s right knee. Think about what he did with that touch: he took a ball that was coming into his feet and with one touch he looped it up in to the air with his foot. When it fell it was still, incredibly, travelling in the original direction. But he didn’t just lob it into the air, which would have been hard enough.
Instead, he met the ball purposefully with the right hand side of his left boot and somehow spun (not hooked as would have been the case had he used the left hand side of the boot) the ball up in to the air up and over his defender’s head. Had Brazil done it in 1970 I genuinely believe it would be replayed continuously now. Do whatever you can to get a copy of the video and watch that touch because 250 words of mine have failed to do it justice.
And it is for that reason that West Ham away was Thierry Henry’s best Arsenal goal and potentially the greatest I have ever seen.
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19/10/05
Sparta 0 Arsenal 2: Match report, playa ratings and Henry worshipping
The formalities first, then the Henry stuff: Cygan replaced Senderos who had replaced Campbell and Cygan continued in place of the injured Cole. Gilberto returned in midfield in place of Cesc who replaced the injured Ljungberg. The returning Van Persie replaced Bergkamp (something to do with a fear of flying).
We started well, with Cesc having a shot and some promising attacks. Then Reyes went off injured and Arsene went for the brave option of risking Thierry Henry for 70 minutes. Within two minutes he had chested the ball down on the edge of the box and fired what looked like a beaut of a volley that was deflected wide. Then he brought down a through ball from Kolo, spun on the edge of the box and hit the most belle of bending shots with the outside of his right foot. Great goal.
We didn’t do much else for the rest of the half and started the second somewhat sluggishly. Then on 65 we started playing again and within five minutes Pires? had played Henry in with a beautiful ball. He controlled it and still had a fair bit to do to knock it home. 2-0 it finished. A decent enough performance and a great result. Playa ratings to the right.
The goals take Theirry Henry past Ian Wright’s all time Arsenal goal scoring record. We have been fantastically privileged to see him rack up 186 not out and even luckier that so many have been done in such incredible style.
As I walked to work yesterday morning (Tuesday), I went with a bounce in my step. Sometimes you don’t realise what you have til it’s gone and I for one could not wait to see his magnificence return to the pitch.
Of course, there will be those Arsenal fans who will bemoan his unwillingness to commit to the club in his post match interview. That kind of reaction is absolute bollocks in my view. It is quite obvious he is not going to come out and commit to the club just like that because the fact is he is considering leaving. He is 28, has achieved a massive amount, probably fears somewhat about the destination we are headed towards and feels he may want to try and conquer Spain before he retires. People ask for him to be honest. He is. By saying what he is saying he is making it perfectly clear things are up in the air.
Do people want him to say he wants to go? What good would that do? The fact is that when he says he is focused on his football at the moment, that is the truth and that is what he showed us tonight. What is wrong with him kissing the badge if he puts in great performances? Kissing the badge is a sign that your heart is in to what you are doing. And who could argue that his heart wasn’t in tonight’s performance?
Of course we don’t want him to leave on a Bosman. But if he leaves, he leaves. We have been absurdly lucky to have not only one of the best, but one of the most consistent players in the world between the ages of 22 and 28 in his career. If he wants to move then so be it. I would wish him all the best.
Of course, I desperately want him to sign a new contract. But let us be grown up about this. He is doing nothing wrong. The best we can do is get behind him (the fans were great tonight), get behind the team at Highbury (we can do a lot better) and hope Arsene can bring in the players and the team achieve the success that will allow Thierry Henry to stay.
I have no inside knowledge on the issue of his contract, but my hunch would be that things are not a lot more complicated than Thierry fearing (quite justifiably) that the standard of the squad is slipping and that we look less likely to achieve the success (particularly in Europe) that he so craves.
We shall see what happens, but in the meantime let’s celebrate his achievement and leave the worrying for another time. I have written enough now, so won’t reveal my favourite Henry goal now, but you can reveal yours below.
ps: he seemed pretty happy to me when he broke the record.
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16/10/05
West Brom 2 Arsenal 1: Report + playa ratings. Grim.
Arsene Wenger has never suffered the indignity of losing to a lower division team as Arsenal manager, but it is hard to believe that the disappointment could be any greater than that experienced after today’s loss at West Brom.
In 45 minutes, our emotions went from genuine hope that things could be turning our way (we were winning and Chelsea were losing) to the sheer grimness of seeing us somehow lose and them come back to win 5-1.
In short, we took an early lead when Senderos hooked home a deep Reyes corner. We were completely dominant, they were crap. We sat back. They equalised after a feeble Pires attempt to block a cross, a poor header from Senderos and terrible marking of Kanu. Of all people, the man renowned for taking 10 touches when two will do, had time to control the ball, compose himself and then fire off an (impressive) shot past the helpless Lehman. It was a shocker of a goal.
In the 2nd half we eventually rallied around the hour mark and though we had a couple of chances (Toure, Reyes, Bergkamp) things were in no way urgent enough. We probably should have had a penalty for a foul on Reyes, but he wasn’t in a scoring position so I’m not going to complain. It would, however, be nice to see referees decide whether a foul should be given not based on where the incident happens on the pitch but on the incident itself. And if this means the law needs to be reformed so that minor fouls in non-threatening positions in the area do not warrant a spot-kick then so be it. We need consistency.
Anyway, they then scored a cracker out of absolutely nothing. We huffed but got nowhere. Immensely disappointing and all the more so when you are watching the game in the corner of a bar while in other corners Chelsea, United, Liverpool and Spurs fans are all celebrating goals going in. The upshot of all this is that the table does not look good. In fact I don’t even want to see it. All I know is we’re 14 points behind Chelsea having dropped 11 to their none.
But the main discussion must be about the performance. We started with a very youthful team containing Senderos, Clichy, Reyes, Flamini, Cesc and for much of the game Eboue too after Fred went off. We were without Cole, Campbell, Gilberto, Van Persie, Henry, Hleb and then Ljungberg. That would be a big miss to any squad, all the more so to ours.
So perhaps that excuses things. Or perhaps it doesn’t. The Everton and Man City sides that a far less experienced Arsenal dispatched from last season’s League Cup were miles better than the carthorses West Brom served up today. We could and should have easily won this game.
The problem is that the fact we are not at our most fluent at the moment should mean every playa is giving 120% so that effort alone can get us through. But that is not the case. We were leaden footed and lethargic today. Really, I would say that excluding the hard to appraise Lehman, only Reyes and perhaps Senderos and Toure did themselves justice out there today. Not everything may be coming off for Reyes, but he keeps plugging away and chasing everything.
The same is not true for the others. Pires is the worst culprit. His effort at times is frankly lamentable. I can just about excuse him pulling out of tackles because he is worried about his knee but he has no excuse for not doing everything humanly possible to block crosses.
We are clearly lacking really good cover right through the spine of the team (a defender, midfielder and striker are all needed). But we also have to roll our sleeves up and not commit the immortal sin of taking our foot off the pedal just because our opponents are crap.
It is going to take a miraculous recovery for us to challenge for the league now. We need our genuinely rotten luck with injuries to turn, new playas and better performances.
One final point about today’s referee and the one minute 55 seconds of injury time he added on. Now don’t get me wrong, I loathe it when managers squabble over every few seconds. My theory is normally if you don’t score in 90 then you probably won’t score in 94. But today was just some kind of complete joke. We had an injury a minute from time that lasted about one minute 40 seconds, we had four second half subs, three of which were incredibly slow West Brom ones, we had one of the longest and deliberately stalling goal celebrations ever and we had them wasting time every time they got a free-kick or goal kick, even when it was 1-1.
By adding on just two minutes the referee has completely indulged that negativity (which I accept Arsenal have been guilty of in the past). It was a complete joke.
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09/10/05
Football returns next week
Do you get very bored of England games after 60 minutes? Do you have to tell yourself to try to be happy when England score? And does part of you secretly will the opposition to knock one past ‘us’?
Answer: Yes, yes and yes.
My conclusion is that Sven would get double the amount of stick if the thought of writing about England wasn’t so boring. In fact, I’ve had enough. I’m so bored I can’t be stuffed to write any more about England.
But I will say a few words about my good friends at FIFA. Presumably David Beckham’s red card will stand, despite his 2nd booking being a blatant dive.
It will stand because under FIFA’s own half witted rules, appeals are only allowed in cases of mistaken identity. I don’t give a stuff about Beckham, but I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: this is the most inept rule I have ever seen.
England have been wrongly deprived of a playa for 30 minutes because of an opposition player’s connivance. And then to compound the problem, they will ban him for no other reason than that they have invented a stupid rule that says he must be banned.
For some reason, this rule pisses me off big time. It is the height of bullshit in a game overflowing with the stuff. The only bans being handed out should be for the half wits who invented this rule and are now pressuring the Premiership to take it up.
The only saving grace is that these things have a way of hitting people back in the face. How I will laugh if the brilliant Ronaldinho is sent-off in next year’s World Cup semi-final for handling on the line when the ball clearly hit his chest. Of course, my scorn will not be directed at the unfortunate Brazilian. Instead it will be at the FIFA bigwigs who will have seen their showpiece player miss their showpiece game because of their own arrogant, farcical rules.
Football returns next week.
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021005
Arsenal 1 Birmingham 0 - half a report
Well, I only saw the second half (hence no playa ratings). From the sounds of it we created a fair bit in the first half and as well as missing a penalty we could have had a hatful.
The second half seemed a very flat affair. Maik Taylor made great saves early on from Pires and Ljungberg and then we seemed to lose any great degree of urgency. In the end, Van Persie’s not brilliantly hit shot deflected off a defender and beat the excellent Taylor. We held on, though not with any great style.
We looked lethargic in the latter stages. From what I saw Campbell, Toure and Cole looked good enough. Reyes is playing with brilliant enthusiasm and desire. The rest of them don’t look lazy by any means but if you compare us with Chelsea at the moment, is the same unswerving desire there? I’m not so sure.
It needs to be.
And the crowd can play their part too. Apologies if the SKY sound system did Highbury a disservice, but the ground sounded embarrassingly silent today. The players are human beings like the rest of us and they thrive on the support of the crowd like you and I would. So, if you’re lucky enough to be at Highbury, sing.
Chelsea won 4-1 this afternoon and looked good, albeit against what is a pretty poor Liverpool league side. The Kop were singing louder in the 89th minute than anything Highbury managed today.
On site news, I’ve gone back to the old design but with the new logo following a public outcry. Not sure about what should go in the space on the left though, as the Latest Updates column was pointless and time consuming to update.
Finally, a question for any readers who live in Dublin or anywhere else in the Republic of Ireland. I need to get internet access at my new flat for 3 months. Are there any broadband companies who don’t insist on you signing up for 12 months? And what is the best dial-up?
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Archives: July 2005, June 2005, May 2005, April 2005,March 2005, February 2005, January 2005, December 2004 and the embryonic goodplaya.
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Playa ratings:
v West Ham (2-3) - NEW
Lehman: An absolute idiot for stupidly getting involved with Harewood late on. Not only was it nasty, but he could have been sent-off and he also put us out of our stride. A minute later West Ham made it 3-1. He’s a very good goalkeeper but an arrogant, nasty character and an embarrassment when he behaves like that. 4
Gilbert: Looked to be doing fine until the Arsenal full-back curse struck. 6
Djorou: Individually did well, but understandably hasn’t been able to strike up any kind of partnership with Campbell yet. 6
Campbell: What can you say? Two massive errors that were punished to the max. Things just aren’t going his way at all. 4
Senderos: Obviously doesn’t offer the attacking prowess of Cole or Clichy but he looked solid and his distribution to Pires was fairly impressive. Did fine at centre-back in the second half but should have whacked it out instead of passing to Larsson for the mistake that led to the third goal. 5
Gilberto: He’s not great at the moment. Far too passive for my liking. 5
Diaby: Still raw, but I like him. And he is so like Vieira: even his mistakes remind me of Vieira’s shortcomings. Not sure why he was taken off. 7
Ljungberg: You have to laugh at the way he somehow managed to deflect Henry’s shot wide. Is trying really hard and not actually playing badly at all. But nothing is going his way. 7
Pires: I do feel we need players with greater bite than Pires at the moment. But in fairness, he was involved, scored one, set-up the other one for Henry and saw Hislop deny him with a great save. 6
Henry: Hard to judge. Seemed to have a decent enough game on TV but reports from the game were critical. 6
Van Persie: Unlucky. Offered a lot but nothing went his way. 7
Subs:
Flamini: Brought on as an emergency right-back but did pretty well all things considered. Say what you like about Flamini but he’s a fighter who unlike some of his team-mates will never be found lacking for effort. 7
Larsson: Yes, he made the cock-up for the third goal. But it was typical of our rough justice. Other than that he was excellent: committed in the tackle, full of running in attack and crucially he understands the value of hitting long-balls diagonally, as opposed to completely straight. Which is something some of his team-mates could do with taking note of. 7
Dennis: Not normally much of a substitute, but he found himself a good niche on the right of midfield and offered us extra creativity. Well hit volley to set up Pires’ goal. 6
v Sparta Prague (0-2)
Lehmann: Solid enough game. He’s doing well at the moment. 7
Clichy: Bit of a nightmare really, though to be fair their right winger was their best playa. 5
Cygan: Surprisingly assured. 7
Kolo: Looked fairly good most of the time. 7
Lauren: The odd moment of strangeness. 6.5
Flamini: Was hard to judge the midfielders tonight. Seemed to do the normal without being mega effective. 6.5
Gilberto: One of those Gilberto games where you don’t really know how he has played. 6.5
Fabregas: Got fairly involved and offered threat down the right. 7
Pires: Not his best game by any means but still one of his better ones this season. Magnificent ball for the second goal. 7
Van Persie: Seems to get carded in Europe for the most ridiculous things. Did alright without having much effect. 6.5
Reyes: Full of running til he got injured and wasn’t running at all. 6.5
Subs:
Henry (for Reyes 17ish): Emperor-like as he beat Wrighty’s record. Magnificent playa who, had he not scored, would have been accused of going missing in another big game. But because he did score, it won’t count as a big game. 8.5
Eboue (for Van Persie 70ish): Looking ok at the moment. 6.5
Quincy (for Cesc 85ish): Full of running. 6.5
v West Brom (2-1)
Lehmann: Blameless for goals. 6
Lauren: Not particularly composed. 5.5
Clichy: Has had far better games. 5.5
Senderos: Good goal, messy header for theirs. 6
Toure: Ok but ridiculously offside at one free kick. 5.5
Flamini: Ok but uninspiring. 5.5
Cesc: Decent. Kept trying. 6
Pires: Crap. 4.5
Ljungberg: Ok while he was on. 5.5
Reyes: Still running his heart out. 7
Bergkamp: A moany kind of day. 5.5
Subs:
Eboue (for Ljungberg 35ish): Not great. 5.5
Quincy (for Flamini 80ish): Bizarrely decided what Arsenal lack is left-wingers. 5.5
v Everton (2-0)
Jens: Very little to do. Did it all right. 7
Lauren: Occasionally seemed to imagine he had more pace than he does, which was quite amusing as he tried to take people on. Solid as usual. 7
Cole: As someone who gave him a good bashing over the summer it would suit by agenda to say he is playing poorly. But that would be a lie. Whatever the reasons for it, he has started the season well and in attack in particular is offering a lot. 7.5
Toure: Nothing to do at the back and seemed to enjoy getting in on this whole new set-piece malarkey. 7
Campbell: Two excellent headers, especially the second one which was a real hammer. Not at full speed yet but looked good, organised the defence well, shouted at people and seemed to realise he was our most senior player on the pitch. 8
Pires: Hadn’t done all that much in the brief period he was on the pitch before Gary Neville’s shit younger brother’s tackle forced him off. 6.5
Cesc: One friend said to me he is looking lightweight and giving the ball away too much. Maybe. But I think he does a lot of good stuff and his presence in the opponent’s penalty box is valuable. 7
Gilberto: Solid game, got through a fair amount and gave us a couple of those rare Gilberto moments where for a few seconds he stops looking like he is suspended in perpetual slow motion and instead provides us with raw Brazilian skill. 7
Ljungberg: Started slowly but furrowed hard as ever. Seemed to make a real determination to either stick wide out on the wing or else very deliberately come inside as opposed to just being narrow. I think it worked. Unlucky to hit bar in second half. 7
Van Persie: Hit the post with a nice effort (right footed!) and had some decent moments but was otherwise a bit subdued. Has been a fairly rough few weeks and is probably still feeling his way back in to things. 6.5
Reyes: Loses the ball now and then but that is only because he constantly seems to have it. Boundless energy at the moment, great creativity and fantastic balls into the box. Really was amazing how much of the ball he had tonight. 8
Subs:
Hleb (for Pires first half some time): Played pretty well, looked pretty creative and linked up well with Cole. Playing better than Pires. 7
Dennis (for Van Persie 80ish): Did alright. Created a bit of stuff. Didn’t do anything of note. 6.5
Alex Song (for Reyes 87ish): Made a couple of sloppy passes but it was harsh and exaggerated for Alan Smith to say he hadn’t found a man. 6
v Thun (2-1)
Almunia: Probably not to blame on the goal and handling was ok even though he still catches very strangely.6
Lauren: Did the usual Lauren stuff. Fairly well. 6.5
Cole: Thought he was good today. Clean at the back and contributed well going forward. Perhaps he enjoyed having Pires back in front of him. 7
Toure: Seemed ok. Can’t remember too much else.6.5
Sol: Looking a little chunky but it must be good to have him back.6.5
Cesc: Not his most spectacular game but made a couple of decent runs forward and made one particularly delicious pass in the second half.6.5
Gilberto: Very well taken goal and was more involved tonight than normally. An experienced head 7.5
Pires: By no means at his best but infinitely better than the past few games. Got in an early curler that almost flew in and was generally far more involved. Even tried to tackle twice. Neither attempt worked.. 7
Ljungberg. Svavanged without achieving much.6.5
RVP: Had been easing himself back into first team action when the dick head referee struck. 6.5
Reyes: Excellent, his boundless enthusiasm drove the team on and he looked really dangerous at times and caused Thun more problems than anyone else. 8
Subs:
Dennis (for Cesc 70 odd): Is that his first goal as a sub? Took it well. 7
Hleb (for Reyes 80 odd): Didn’t really find his touch in the ten minutes he had.6
Quincy (for Ljungberg 80 odd): Offered a new threat.6.5
v Fulham (4-1)
Lehman: Looking very solid at the moment. You can tell it by the fact he is not making kicking mistakes at the moment. At tricky moments, his handling from corners was excellent.7
Lauren: Missed a penalty, but that was bound to happen one day and at least it didn’t matter. Otherwise, he played well and looked particularly committed (mostly in the right sense) in the tackle. 7
Cole: His best attacking display for a while and linked up promisingly with Reyes. 7.5
Cygan: I’ve made no secret of the fact that his presence in the team pleases me not. Defending was ok tonight, though a couple of times Fulham forwards worryingly escaped him when crosses were slung in. Took his goals very well. Could it be that unlike the rest of the side Cygan does not feel obligated to score the perfect goal and concentrates on just sticking it in the net?7.5
Kolo: Poor clearance for the Fulham goal but on the whole had a decent game. The defensive issues we have at the moment seem more a collective than individual problem. 7
Cesc: Gets a wee bit overrun occasionally but on the whole is playing really well and in particular offers a genuine attacking threat in the way that perhaps Vieira sometime failed to. 7
Gilberto: Did what Gilberto does. Still sometimes resembles one of those video graphic created dinosaurs in the way he moves. 7
Hleb: Good first half, creating a fair deal and generally looking like a cross between Pires and Ljungberg (in the best sense). 7
Reyes: A very good game in my opinion, full of running, full of trickery and very direct. In particular, he linked up very well with Cole and Henry, which was very pleasing. His ball for Henry’s first goal was majestic and pleasingly the two seemed on the same wavelength tonight. 8
Dennis: Besides his idiotic yellow card he had a great game and was at the heart of Fulham’s dissection. Kept going strong right to the end. 8
Henry: Took his two goals, which both came at crucial times, very well. Just one more to equal Wright’s record. 7.5
Subs:
Flamini (for Reyes 75 odd): Set up Henry for the killer third goal. 7
Clichy (for Hleb 85 odd): Ran around like mad, as Clichy does. 7
v Liverpool (3-1)
Lehman: Two really good saves – the first from Riise and the second from Gerard’s piledriver. Flapped at one cross but all it served to do was to remind us how much he has improved. 7.5
Lauren: Did very well, almost scoring from Pires’ cross in the first half and setting up the third goal with some nice play. Is doing well at the moment, perhaps spurred on by Wenger not mentioning right back when saying which areas he doesn’t need to strengthen over the summer! 7.5
Cole: A mixed game. Good going forward and times and obviously an excellent second half block from Garcia. But also occasionally sloppy, messing up things we know him well capable of doing. 6.5
Senderos: A big presence at the heart of the defence he had one of his sternest tests in an Arsenal shirt when Liverpool got at us in the second half. Did pretty well on the whole though, especially as protection from midfield was not always forthcoming. 7
Kolo: A good solid outing and the same goes for him as for Senderos. 7
Vieira: Did some stuff really well and was very influential in our first half attacking play. But I felt he allowed the midfield to be too easily swamped after the break and was not always applying the pressure to Liverpool that he might have done. 7
Gilberto: It goes without saying that evaluating a Gilberto performance is very, very difficult. That said, I felt that like Vieira he could have offered a bit more bite in midfield to help out the defence in the second half. 6.5
Pires: Really was at the heart of some of our best stuff in the first half. Crossed brilliantly for Lauren to almost score, shot just wide and then scored with a magnificent free-kick. Faded later on. 7.5
Cesc: Absolutely outstanding. He set the move in motion for Reyes’ offside goal, fired just wide from 20 yards, scored his own offside goal and then added a very neat third for us in stoppage time. In between this he ran the game, tackling, running with the ball, passing brilliantly and generally looking the best player on the park. Outstanding. 9
Reyes: Not perfect, but he notched up another well taken goal, scored an offside one and ran his heart out for the cause in the second half. 7.5
Van Persie: Not as involved as he has been but got involved and put over one excellent early cross for Robert Pires. Generally looking a much better player than previously. 7
Subs:
Edu (for Pires 70 odd): Came on and did ok. 6.5
Bergkamp (for Van Persie 70 odd): Set up Fabregas for the third with a fantastic flick but was otherwise pretty poor. When he did try and press Liverpool he gave away a few free-kicks and the rest of the time he just didn’t seem to chase them at a time when we really needed players to get stuck in. I know he is still capable of the odd piece of magic but we probably have enough to our attacking armoury that magic alone should not prompt a new contract. We have shown we are capable of winning without Dennis and should probably now look to the future. 6
Aliadiere (for Reyes 85): As ever he came on and got stuck in, chasing everything and hassling the Liverpool defenders. Has a really good attitude and probably deserves more than five minutes at some point. 6.5
v West Brom (2-0)
Lehman: The defence clearly trusts him again and he is reciprocating that with improved handling, kicking and decision making. 7
Lauren: Worked reasonably hard and got forward on a few occasions. 7
Cole: Looked a little lethargic at times but kept going and finished the game strongly, setting us on a number of attacks. 6.5
Senderos: A couple of passes went astray but took a no nonsence defence to defending. Far be it for me to argue with his current record of not conceding a goal for absolutely yonks. 7.5
Gilberto: Covered well at set pieces, but with Arsenal in 2nd gear he seemed only to happy to make sure Gilberto was in 2nd gear too. Not much drive. 6.5
Vieira: Committed silly fouls early on and was not finding his passes. Got better as the game went on and provided more drive. Symbolic of our night. 7
Pires: Did ok initially but like the rest of them lacked the necessary drive. Got better with the team. 7
Cesc: Probably not his best game. Came looking for the ball a lot and should be credited for it but looked a little fatigued when challenged. 6.5
Van Persie: Did ok initially but was not really receiving a lot of support from the midfield. Took his goal magnificently. 7
Reyes: Ran hard but once again looked incredibly left footed. But gave an excellent assist for the opening goal and kept on trying right til the end, providing useful relief for the defence. 7
Subs:
Dennis (for Van Persie 75ish): Did little except provide a measured set-up for Edu's clincher. 6.5
Edu (for Cesc 75ish): Got involved a bit and finished well to clinch it. 7
v Spurs (1-0)
Lehman: Is playing very well and his handling looks as assured as ever, his throws good and his kicking far better than earlier in the season. I think it no great secret that he needs to control his temper. 7
Lauren: Has looked solid in recent weeks and looked more lively going forward. Alan Curbishley put him in his team of the season on the basis that few wingers get much change out of him. And he is probably right. Really does need to watch stray elbows though, intentional or not. 7
Toure: Was given a little trouble by Defoe but it was less trouble than Adi Akenbai gave him in the FA Cup in January. And Defoe is clearly a far better player than the Stoke man. Will soon score a very, very memorable free-kick I sense. 7
Senderos: It is hard to argue with his defensive record since he came into the side. We have simply stopped conceding goals. That said, what are the odds that back when we were conceding at will, Robbie Keane would have buried that chance. Could have got first goal for club with header. 7
Cole: Linked up well as ever with Pires down our left hand side and seemed really up for the fight. Had the slightly awkward penalty shout against him at the end but otherwise did well. 7
Vieira: With the ball he was excellent on the whole, spreading play at pace and helping support those ahead of him. Looks much more comfortable with Gilberto next to him. Though that said they both looked half a step off the pace at times against a Spurs side full of running. 7
Gilberto: Did what Gilberto does well. Though probably not as much of a shield as against Chelsea. 7
Cesc: Tired a little in the second half but was his usual youthful magnificence until then. Spread the ball with ease, got stuck in, helped out the attack and set up our goal. Nice. 7.5
Pires: Not the force he was against Chelsea but is playing well at the moment, linking up well with Cole down the left and generally providing an experienced head in an otherwise youthful attack. 7
Van Persie: Set Reyes up for the first minute chance, fired a decent effort wide and generally played quite a mature game without hitting great heights. 7
Reyes: Did very well to come back after the first minute miss. Goal was excellent and attitude looked good. Seemed to find an extra gear for second half run that set up Dennis. 7.5
Subs:
Dennis (for Van Persie 70 odd): Curled one wide and generally looked quite good against a tiring Spurs defence. There was the odd occasion when I felt he let the player pass him to quickly but that was probably just my last minute nerves. 7
Edu (for Cesc 70 odd): Hit the post with a curling effort and slotted in very, very neatly on the left. Will be a great shame to lose him if he does eventually go. 7
Aliadiere (for Van Persie 87 odd): Only had a few minutes but looked really keen to impress. Had a couple of good touches, got stuck in and made tired Spurs legs panic, buying us valuable time. 7
v Chelsea (0-0)
Lehman: Has looked much better recently and besides the odd dodgy kick, looked very solid against Chelsea and made one excellent save early on from Drogba. His positioning seemed good on through balls. 7
Lauren: He really didn’t put a foot wrong and kept Damien Duff and probably had his best game for the club against a very, very tricky opponent. Was ferocious and fair in the tackle. 8
Cole: After a slightly tentative start he threw himself at everything Chelsea chucked at us. Whatever people’s feelings about his current situation, there can be no complaints about his performance. 7
Senderos: Excellent as usual. This guy likes clean sheets. 7
Toure: Really did well in what could have been a tricky night. Got weight on his clearances and never panicked. 7
Vieira: It really doesn’t take a genius to figure out how much he seems to be enjoying having Gilberto back in the side. Really led the side again with fine interventions and set us on the path to attack – such as when Pires hit the bar. 7.5
Gilberto: Suffered a couple of inevitable nosebleeds when he got into decent positions going forward but otherwise did a fine job of snaffling out what Chelsea threw at us and generally making the team a slick unit. Showed one or two fine turns as well. 7
Cesc: This kid really does defy logic. At a time when his brittle bones should be feeling the effects of a long, hard season he is looking stronger than ever. Magnificently composed on the ball, he worked furiously in defence, midfield and attack. 8
Pires: His early volley that hit the bar reminded me of when I stood in the Holte End last year for Villa v Arsenal and he hit an even better effort that was turned just over. Even the anti-French bigots around me were shut well and truly up.
There is a wonderful magnificence about watching Robert Pires on song. He caresses the ball delightfully and when it’s time to move it on he does it with the utmost precision. A joy to watch and unlucky not to score twice. 9
Reyes: The story of his last 6 months – no problem with effort but he just lacks the confidence to make things really happen. The annoying thing is that he’s making errors on things that a confident Reyes could do with his eyes shut. Let’s hope his effort is rewarded soon. 6
Bergkamp: Like Reyes he worked hard and did his bit to keep Chelsea at bay. But also like Reyes he found himself struggling up front. The curtain appears to be falling on his magnificent career. Hopefully an announcement will be made soon and both we and Dennis can enjoy his final games. 6
Subs:
Van Persie (for Dennis 80 odd): Struggled to get into the game but had a few decent chances and ran hard for the side.
Aliadiere (for Cesc 85 odd): Did alright but by the time he came on it didn’t look like either side were really going to score.
v Boro (1-0)
Lehman: Flapped at one cross in the first half and then came ridiculously far out of his goal before eventually winning the ball. Yes, he’s kept a fair few clean sheets recently and yes, it’s even true we could win the league again with him in goal, but no, we won’t win in Europe with Jens and no, he’s not the answer. 6
Lauren: His early challenge, whilst not worthy of a red card as suggested on Match of the Day, was sheer stupidity. He did alright and he’s plodding along but not really getting any better. 6
Cole: Attacked decently at times but wasn’t helped by a very, very ineffectual Robert Pires. 6.5
Senderos: Now looks like he should be partnering Sol Campbell when the two are fit. Authoritative, big and commanding, his presence has coincided with a string of clean sheets. Still has rough edges, but these are being shaved all the time. 7
Kolo: Did reasonably well and made a couple of important blocks, but I’m not convinced his future lies in the heart of the defence. Together, he and Lauren sometimes seem to bring out the worst in each other and we just don’t look solid, clean sheets or no clean sheets. Would like to see him at right back. 6.5
Gilberto: I looked out especially for incidences of him filling gaps and yes, I can confirm it happens and he does his job well. Still looks very nervous in attacking positions, but his presence is welcome. 6
Vieira: I thought he did reasonably well, though like the rest of the players he seemed to have trouble bringing any great coherency to our play. 6
Cesc: I plumped for Cesc on the right a while ago and I like seeing him there. He got well forward and was always involved. Looks tired, but it’s been a long old season and he’s still, only 17. 6.5
Pires: I thought him absolute rubbish up until he scored really. His inability to tackle has been documented many times before, but on Saturday he seemed to be playing the whole game at walking pace. But then who better is there at converting the one chance he gets to secure a 1-0 lead. 6
Reyes: Things still aren’t all coming off for him but I sense things are getting better and his work rate and willingness to track back really can’t be faulted. We know for a fact that the boy has the talent to succeed, so while he may not be showing what he’s really capable of right now, we should applaud his recent application. Had a couple of really mazy runs and set up Henry excellently for a shot he scuffed. 7
Henry: Had one of those games where he seemed to stand almost still on the edge of the box, conserving his energy and waiting to pounce. It didn’t really work, though he did have a glorious chip fly just wide and certainly scared the Boro fans every time he got the ball. He was also up against an obdurate Boro. 6.5
Subs:
Dennis (Reyes 46): Did alright without really changing the game at all. It seems the curtain may be falling on his illustrious career and reluctantly, I think it right. We know he can still play brilliantly in patches but the truth is that it’s becoming less often and it’s hampering us in European away games. We need someone to step forward and become Henry’s partner. Sometimes the bullet needs to be bitten. And now is that time. 6
v Palace (5-1)
Jens: It’s tempting to say that the early back pass cock-up could just as easily have happened to Petr Cech but in truth that would be a lie. He’s simply too cocky and over confident with his kicking – it’s why so many balls get sliced wildly and why we almost conceded a shambolic own goal tonight. Otherwise, he actually did quite well. 6.5
Lauren: Is definitely becoming a better player going forward but was as culpable as anyone for our defensive malaise. 6
Cygan: Didn’t have an awful game but on too many occasions simple long balls forward by Palace became much more serious than they needed to be. 6
Kolo: Got skinned more often than he would have liked and was caught out at times from crosses. But still, we only conceded one. 6.5
Clichy: Did well getting forward, causing a constant menace. Defending was largely competent but seemed to be infected by the general defensive tendency to give the ball away. 6.5
Vieira: Another tricky game to rate from the captain. At times he was sluggish and easily caught in possession. At others, he took a grip on the game and drove the team forward impressively. Got well forward for his goal. 7
Edu: Didn’t have the sudden impact he enjoyed at Villa last week but did well enough and certainly gave us a fair bit of solidity. Good ball to Reyes for the opener. 7
Pires: Seemed to be rewriting the dictionary definition of anonymous for the first 20 or so minutes. Then got more into the game without coming close to hitting top gear. Was unlucky to hit the post in the 2nd half after good work from Reyes. 7
Reyes: His best game in yonks. He looked fearless again, running constantly at the Palace defence and causing a lot of trouble. Good assist for the first, great finish for the second, an assist for the third and a fantastic pass to Dennis to set up the fifth. Great to see him back again. 8.5
Dennis: As ever, he oiled, moulded and sculpted our performance. He also took his goal very well, like he did against Newcastle and United too. And set up Henry for the fifth. 7.5
Henry: Really played very, very well and channelled any frustration about constant offside decisions in exactly the right way. Had seemingly boundless energy to chase back lost causes and put us back on the attack. 8.5
Subs:
Flamini (for Edu 60odd): Solid and composed as ever. 7
Van Persie (for Dennis 80odd): Linked up reasonably well as the game entered its final stages. 7
Fabregas (for Pires 80odd): Settled in comfortably on the right. 7
v Wolves (2-0)
Jens: Whilst a clean sheet is a clean sheet, he had very little to do and looked no more reassuring than previously with his kicking. To be fair, he was also played a high number of over hit back passes today and was not at fault for the one from Flamini that took a wicked bobble off the Highbury surface (which appeared unusually cut-up).6.5
Eboue: Got forward well, hit the bar with a deflected shot and could have had a penalty. Nice work. 8
Clichy: Decent game without being exceptional.7
Sol: Not a lot to do. 7
Cygan: Better than usual. 8
Paddy: Mediocre for much of it truth be told. Got better later on and scored the penalty but for too long his mind didn’t seem in the right place. Sure, Wolves made it difficult by crowding midfield but too often he seemed semi asleep at throw ins and the like. Still, he kept going. 6.5
Flamini: Didn’t show the deftness of touch of the Newcastle game but retained all his normal solidity. And great as Ray Parlour was, watching Boro at the moment suggests that we’ve got an as good, if not better, replacement. 7
Reyes: A couple of good runs, some moments of anonymity and denied a stonewall penalty. Still getting back to form but it definitely seems better than a few weeks ago. 6.5
Freddie: Usual energetic performance without any stand out moments, save his well taken goal. That’s ten for the season now and we’re still in January. Good work Sir. 7
Van Persie: Not his most inspiring game and clearly doesn’t yet have the positional ability of Dennis (who does?) but is improving. 6.5
Henry: Gallic. Went into one of his moods after Riley ruled out his cheeky first half effort. Strutted around for a while, went in for a couple of silly tackles and became frankly self indulgently petulant when a foul was given against him. It’s alright for us to loathe Riley endlessly but our top striker shouldn’t let him affect his game. And the fact is he did. But recovered his composure, was unlucky not to score and set up Freddie in superb fashion. 8
Subs:
Cesc (for Van Persie): Settled in comfortably on the right. 7
Pires (for Reyes): Nice work for the clinching goal. 7
Quincy (for Fred): No time to make an impression.
v Charlton (3-1)
Alumnia: No chance with the goal and didn’t do too much wrong besides one poor fumble from a cross. Still not convinced by his catching techniques. No difficult saves to make6.5
Hoyte: Made the odd error but did well to make sure his old youth team buddy Jerome Thomas had his quietest game in weeks. Managed to get forward a bit more in the second half.7.5
Cole: Still not looking at his best and on a couple of occasions was embarrassed by Rommedahl. But in fairness he wasn’t as sloppy as recently and did get forward well later on. 6.5
Sol: With the exception of one wildly sliced clearance in the first half that Almunia had to save he looked pretty solid and kept Charlton’s clear chances to a minimum. Let’s hope his ankle isn’t too bad. 7
Kolo: Given a bit of grief by Bartlett in the air but stuck to his task well and like Campbell, restricted the number of clear cut chances. 7
Vieira: Watching the game live, I was unconvinced by his first half performance. But having just seen the highlights it seems he got through a lot of work and did what he had to do neatly and efficiently. Set up Fred well for the goal and kept up a good level of performance all the way through.7
Cesc: Lost the odd ball but was generally very sound. Passing was clean and crisp as ever and his touch for the second goal was exquisite by any standards.7.5
Freddie: Took his two goals brilliantly, worked hard and always looked a threat. In good form. 8
Clichy: Seemed to lose the ball cheaply a bit too often but worked hard down the left helping Cole out with nullifying the threat of Rohmedahl and getting forward well. Has tremendous energy which comes in handy at the end of games when opposition players tire.6.5
Henry: Not at his best today but more worrying than the actual performance was the fact that his normal fitness wasn’t there. Had a lovely free-kick cleared off the line.6.5
Van Persie: Still has a tendency to twist and turn once too often. But also holds the ball up brilliantly, moves it well and finished superbly for the third. Should probably be given a real run up front next to Henry. Took his goal like a striker, which is disconcerting coming from an Arsenal player.7.5
Subs:
Pires (for Van Persie 72ish): With the game won he wisely didn’t over exert himself ahead of Man City on Tuesday night. 6.5
Senderos (for Campbell 82ish): Slotted in well on his Premiership debut.7
Pennant (for Fred 86): Didn’t have time to get into the game. 7
v Newcastle (1-0)
Almunia: Our star man tonight. A smart early save from Ameobi (even if it was probably going wide) and excellent handling all night gave us one less worry. Four clean sheets in five and he also kicks a fair bit better than Jens.7
Lauren: Though Lauren Robert didn’t reach anything like his best, I’m not sure whether too much credit should go to Lauren. His positioning often seemed weak, his passing and tackling little better and he offered almost nothing in attack. Mr Average was distinctly poor. 5.5
Cole: Whilst there’s no shame in being given a tough time of things by Craig Bellamy, Cole’s performance was noticeably worse than just a torrid time. He made stupid, unnecessary fouls, got caught out when he should normally have had enough pace and looked very, very shaky. He may have been pushed a touch for the penalty incident, but a defender with his mind fully on the job wouldn’t have allowed the ball to hit him as blatantly as it did. In mitigation he did improve and unlike Lauren provided some attacking threat. 5.5
Kolo: Did alright but like the others his decision making didn’t always seem to be the best informed. That said, it’s a little harsh to chastise a central defender who has kept four clean sheets in five. 6.5
Sol: Urgh. After some very sound recent performances he seemed far too troubled by what looked like some relatively simple long balls. One such error allowed Ameobi in for his early chance and his lack of authority always made the long ball route look like a wise one for Newcastle to take. 6
Flamini: Not his best game for Arsenal but he still got through a lot of work, kept things simple and had a hand in setting up Vieira for the goal. 6.5
Vieira: Named man of the match by SKY and praised in a couple of papers, but I’m going to be honest and say that up until he scored I thought he was pretty useless, being caught in possession too often. That said in the second half he got through a fair bit of work as we ground out victory. 6.5
Fred: Beavered away, had some good moments and kept on trying. Was going to commend him for his work on a couple of occasions in particular but can’t now remember what they were. 7
Pires: Even by his standards, his tackling was poor today. Truth be told, I can’t fathom how he’s allowed to defend with his body constantly side on to the play. As a left winger he has defensive responsibilities and simply has to make a better fist of it. On the attacking front he was probably our most creative player, moving the ball smartly and at pace. 6
Van Persie: Still very, very raw. Unlucky not to score in the opening minutes and had a couple more decent efforts but all too frequently ran into trouble and lost the ball on what was admittedly an awful surface completely unsuited to his quick twists and turns. Corners weren’t bad. Needs time. 6.5
Henry: His touch was not quite at its magical best, but again this was probably due to the state of the pitch. Had a couple of good runs that resulted in decent shots on Shay Given’s goal. 6.5
Subs:
Clichy (for Van Persie 80 mins approx): Seemed as happy as anyone in the post match huddle but for the second game in succession he seemed a little out of sorts when called upon. 6
v Fulham (2-0)
Almunia: Looks better by the game and made a crucial save when he rushed out at speed to palm away a Fulham chance at 1-0. Made no notable mistakes. 7
Clichy: Had a good first half – getting forward well as usual and strong on the defensive stuff. Then in the second half he seemed to lose his confidence went, either as a result of or because of Fulham consistently probing down our left. Like any small full-back, aerial strength is a weakness.6
Lauren: Average as usual. Looked solid against a Fulham attack lacking any real penetration. 6.5
Sol: At times we were troubled in the air – but Sol is leading a defence that is no longer allowing attackers completely free headers at corners. Looks fit and healthy and, along with the rest of the defence, now has three clean sheets in four league games. 7
Freddie: A fine game on his return from migraine troubles. Played in Henry for the first and set-up Pires for the second. 7.5
Cesc: Gets caught on the ball occasionally but is still doing the vast majority of things with real fluency. Gives us real creativity in the middle. 7
Vieira: Showed a few soft shoe shuffles to bam boozle defenders in a way we haven’t really seen this season. Also got stuck into his tackles and generally seemed to be on the ball. 7
Pires: There was this surreal moment in the first half. He got the ball on the left wing and took a heavy touch. As if that wasn’t enough he then went flying into the tackle with the Fulham defender and actually won the ball. And it wasn’t the only time – I saw him snuff out a few Fulham attacks and even win a header.
Of course, the attacking side of his play was superb as well – he would have scored from a Dennis chest down but for a good save by Van De Saar. He linked up well, particularly with Henry, and inevitably took his goal with typical aplomb. Now has 19 in 2004, which is good. 7.5
Dennis: A fair few poor touches and bad decision making in general play. In mitigation, he dummied the ball well for the second goal and put Pires in with an excellent chest down. 6.5
Henry: Sure, the flicks didn’t always come off but at times he led Fulham a merry dance like he has almost every other defence this season. His goal was a trade mark finish and he was desperately unlucky when his side footer from the edge of the box crashed back off a post. 7
Subs:
Flamini (for Freddie 74ish): Some might say Arsene was making a point by not replacing Freddie with Pennant. Others will call it a sensible way of seeing out the game. 6.5
Van Persie (for Dennis 78ish): Provided his usual array of tricks but didn’t get a real chance to score. 6.5
v Portsmouth (1-0)
Almunia: Had a really good game. Caught when he needed to catch, punched when he wasn't sure and kicked immaculately. Also made a couple of really good saves. His run of impressive performances may only stretch to two but for now there seems no reason to bring back Jens. 8
Lauren: Did nothing too wrong but didn't offer as much in attack as he might have and at times appeared troubled by Pomey's pace. I think he's ok, but I'm becoming less and less convinced he should be our right back at all - more on that tomorrow. 6.5
Cole: A tough one to call. For a while looked rattled by Pompey's pace and agression down the left. Misplaced a couple of balls and though his tackles were mostly coming off they had a slightly concerning aggressiveness about them which made me think he was letting his own frustration get the better of him a little. But stuck to the task well and in the end kept a dangerous Pompey out. 7
Kolo: Got sucked in a couple of times, but on the whole he was part of a defence that looked pretty solid and much improved at set pieces. 7
Sol: Looked fitter than recently I thought - turning smoothly on a couple of occasions when faced with danger. He also made countless important headers at corners and won us the game with the kind of head down sheer determinism many fans would like to see a little more often. 8
Flamini: Ran hard, tackled hard and never gave up. Doesn't offer as much going forward as Fabregas, but doesn't claim to either. Unlucky with a header from Henry's free-kick. 7
Vieira: Industrious, but was also sloppy on occasion, getting caught in posession and losing the ball. Still doesn't seem 100% back to his best and didn't make the most of a couple of shooting opportunities. 6.5
Clichy: Fought well and offered Cole valuable protection down the left hand side. Showed initial attacking promise early on but faded as Pompey grew in stature. Nonetheless, was full of running at the end and nearly capitalised on tired Pompey legs. 7
Pires: His every touch was met with a chorus of boos as Bob faced Pompey for the first time since 'that dive' last season. There was even one moment when he slipped and the ball rolled out of play. Which probably made a certain journalist very, very warm inside. Otherwise, was neat enough but pretty ineffectual, seemingly afraid of injury in the rough house atmosphere. Had a couple of lovely runs late on and set Dennis up for a chance he really should have taken. 6.5
Henry: Worked hard and created much of our best work, but often found himself crowded out by the hoardes of Pompey defenders. Nearly scored after a flowing first half move and set up Dennis' other chance late on, which again he really should have taken. 7
Van Persie: Started really well, showing fantastic feet and trickery and generally leading Pompey a merry dance. He swivels at such speed he'll probably need a hip replacement aged 30. Faded somewhat after his impressive start, finding himself crowded out by the packed defence. Could pass a little earlier at times but nonetheless a decent first start in a difficult game and he staked a fair claim for inclusion against Fulham on Boxing Day. 6.5
Subs:
Bergkamp (for Van Persie 68ish): Should have scored late on following good set up play. His performance did little to silence the voices calling for this year to be his last. I'm undecided on that, but what I am sure about is that I won't miss the needless little kicks and elbows aimed at his opponents when frustration sets in. Simply put: the sly digs are ugly and Van Nistelrooy like and do nothing for us. 6
v Chelsea (2-2)
Almunia: Faultless for both their goals, he made good stops from Lampard and Gudjohnsen in the first half. And made a vital save when Robben wriggled his way through after the break. But nobody noticed it. Caught when a catch was a good idea, punched when a punch was wiser and set us on the attack with some good throws. 7.5
Lauren: Didn't see much of him, but when you're up against Duff and Robben, this can only be to a defender's credit. Thought he did really well to keep them in check, and the one time Robben did really threaten in the second half, the danger came down the other side. 7.5
Cole: The one player who I thought struggled today. As has been the case of late, he lacked confidence in his touch and stuggled defensively. Perhaps should have come out to Robben before the winger got into the box for his 2nd half chance, and was easily beaten in the air by Drogba for Cheslea's 2nd equaliser. 6
Kolo: Looked solid overall and helped limit Chelsea to only a few chances asides from set pieces. 7
Sol: A mixed bag. Made some really important defensive headers and looked in command at times at the back. But was a little caught out for their opening goal and sometimes seemed a little gung ho in his marking. Made important late tackle on Drogba.7
Reyes: Was quiet, but this was a tough game. Nodded down to Henry for the opener, worked hard and went on a few mazy runs without much success. Still, I thought he gave them something to worry about.6.5
Fabregas: Another excellent performance. He and Flamini were overwhelmed initially when up against Tiago, Lampard and Makalele but never gave up and fought their way back into the game admirably. Nice goal to set up Henry for the opener, he was instrumental in setting up the Frenchman's near winner and also set up RVP for his chance. Uses the ball so intelligently and showed that despite his size, he's not afraid to get stuck in. Was up against the very best in the business today and succeeded in limiting Lampard to a largely peripheral role.8
Flamini: £1 million? First league start? A snip if you ask me. He run's tirelessly, he harries, he puts his foot in and he uses the ball simply when he wins it. A real water carrier but absolutely essential today and worked tirelessly. Well done Sir. 8
Pires: We wanted a big performance and boy did we get one. Seemed almost impossible to shake off the ball, tackled back, linked up well with Lauren, Flamini, Cesc and Henry and drove the team forward in his own idiosyncratic waddle. When in his pomp, he is still a wonderful, wonderful footballer to watch. Set up Henry for the near winner, realised his responsibility as the senior partner in midfield, and shouldered the responsibility admirably.7.5
Dennis: Didn't get involved in too much of note, but I can't help feeling he just gives us a cetain sophistication and shape when he's in the side. Gordon Strachan pointed out on Match of the Day how hard he'd worked to stop Makalele getting the ball and in hindsight I think it probably a fair call.6.5
Henry: Forget the late miss - it can happen to anyone. Otherwise he was outstanding, scoring a brilliant first (which included winning a high ball!), netting an impudent second and generally running the show. Scared Chelsea shitless every time he picked it up and was responsible for a hell of a lot of good work. Also destroyed the concept he doesn't turn it on in big games. That's 15 in 17 league games now by the way.9
Subs:
Clichy (for Reyes 82): Ran around like mad for 10 minutes and forced mistakes out of tired legs. Really good footballer and good enough to start for probably every Premiership side and perhaps should be more often for us. 7.5
RVP: Is maturing very nicely indeed. Nearly netted a silky winner when he latched onto Cesc's pass and gave the Chelsea players a lot to think about. Would be really interesting to see him start. 7
v Rosenberg (5-1)
Almunia: Made a really, really good low save early on and kicked largely well. But looked dodgy more than once on crosses and for the second time in a week cost us a goal, which is a real worry. Eventually realised there's nothing wrong with giving a ball a good double handed punch. 6
Hoyte: Was up against a poor opposition but defended diligently and rarely looked rushed. Used the ball well, linked up well with his team mates and should be well pleased with his first European start. 7
Cole: Looked solid, with a couple of important defensive headers, but still not yet back to his marauding best I sense. Shouldn't have let the ball drop over his head for Harald Brattbakk to fire at Alumnia after 17 minutes. Withdrawn with quarter of an hour left. 6.5
Sol: Ditto for above, though did once later on look somewhat sluggish again on the turn. Perhaps I'm just paranoid about the impending arrival of Duff and Robben at Highbury.6.5
Kolo: A very easy night for the big man and he even found time for a classic Kolo dance into the opposition penalty area towards the end. 7
Flamini: Very, very good full debut. Set up the second goal, ran tirelessly, got tackles in and seemed to work well with Cesc in midfield. Looks comfortable tracking back and going forward and also seems to have a strange affinity for joining in attacks right around the right edge of the penalty area and particularly when we attack the North Bank. A young, thinking man's Gilles Grimandi, he ain't at all bad for a fifth choice midfielder. 7.5
Cesc: Absolute star. Has already played 20 games this season (twice as many as Edu, Gilberto and Vieira), yet still had the strength to turn in one of his best performances for the club. Fantastically alert, his use of the ball was excellent. He also scored a very impressive, very difficult goal and was involved in the build up for the fifth. Not just our most frequent performer in midfield this season, but also our best. 8
Jose: Took his goal really well and gave us a flying start. Had another deflected shot well saved and looked much more like the sun kid of the beginning of the season. Had a delightful late chip that bamboozled three very stupid looking Rosenberg players before landing on the roof of the net. 7
Pires: Looked much, much better and was even spotted making a tackle late in the second half. Kept going and linked up well late on with Jose and RVP before being withdrawn for Quincy with two minutes left. His penalty was so brilliantly placed it went into the side netting. Again I marvel at his ability to put a football exactly where he wants it to go. 7
Bergkamp: A nice return for the Ice Man who got involved well in the game, set up the opener and had a couple of openings himself. Might have done better when in front of goal, but eased himself back into the side well. 7
Henry: I actually thought that poor as the defending was for his goal, it was still a pretty decent finish. Worked hard all night, linked up well with the kids around him and seemed to be feeling particularly tolerant. 7
Subs:
Clichy (for Dennis 72ish): Spent a few mins in midfield before dropping back to left back when RVP replaced Ashley. As ever looked sound in the defending and assured going forward.
7
RVP (for Cole 75): Resuscitated the game with some silky skills, wayward finishing and then eventually a very well taken goal. Rawer than an uncooked vegetable, but with massive potential. 7.5
Quincy (for Bob 88): Should have had longer. Don't think he got a touch.
v Birmingham (3-0)
Alumnia: Looks like Lehman, kicks slightly better than Lehman, fumbles the odd ball like Lehman and jumps a couple of inches less high in the air than Lehman. Did ok, but would have been ill advised to let Morrison’s second half effort creep under him and over the line.6.5
Lauren: Seemed really quiet yesterday. Means he was doing his defensive job well which at the moment is the priority. Better? Seeing as we kept a clean sheet, probably a tad. 6.5
Cole: It's not been picked up much by the press, but I’ve thought Ash to be one of the players whose form has most obviously dipped in the recent spell. He’s still looked a top left back, but the subtlety of touch that allowed him and Bob to link so well still seems to be absent. Better? Not noticeably, but again should take credit for a clean sheet. 7
Sol: I’m of the opinion he’s still carrying a little bit of weight. Played well enough, but on a couple of occasions he looked sluggish and immobile on the turn, which is obviously a concern with Duff and Robben coming to town next week. Better? Probably not. 6.5
Kolo: Probably fair to say he’s not been our worst performer in the recent period, but I think on occasion he has allowed our recent jitters to affect his decision making a little. Kept Heskey quiet, but also seemed to time his jumps wrongly on a couple of occasions. Better? Ditto above. 7
Vieira: Did some good stuff but on other occasions his decision making and concentration again seemed lacking a little. He’s a hard one to judge at the moment. Better? Probably a bit.7
Cesc: I’m glad to see he escaped censure for his recent performances because I think a lot of the recent mutterings about how he’s no Gilberto have been unfair. Admittedly, the Brazilian’s best work is done off the ball, SKY’s stats show how we tend to win with him in the side, but I still think the young Spaniard is doing pretty well. He’s a young boy whose probably played too many games in a struggling team in a big league. But he’s still there, still getting stuck in and still doing his stuff. Tired in the latter stages yesterday and was replaced by Flamini, which was a wise, common sense, decision. Better? No, but only because he was doing well in the first place. 7
Freddie: Scavenged, burrowed, furrowed, ducked and dived. Fred’s doing them all at the moment and its working as the perfect complement to the continued attempts at perfection that come from the rest of the team. Is also being very productive. Should have had a penalty yesterday, set up the third goal and generally ran the show. Better? No, but only because he’s been great. 7.5
Pires: Mark my words. One of these days the opposition are going to get a free kick on the edge of our area. Their player will hit it, the ball will fly off Robert Pires and zip past Lehman. And we’ll all put it down as a fluke, like we did for Graveson’s effort that flew off Pennant in the Carling Cup game against Everton. Except it won’t be a fluke because Pires, like Pennant, will have jumped with his back to the ball, meaning that when it hits him he’ll have no way of giving it any direction.
My point is that Pires simply has to go into tackles. Maybe he’s worried about getting hurt, but he’s ducking out of the most basic challenges and its meaning we’re losing the battle in midfield at places like Old Trafford and Anfield.
Obviously, as I was making a note of this, Bob went and scored a classic Bob goal. Basically a really, really good one. He is a fantastic playa, probably the purest footballer we have in our team and quite possibly the best finisher. Yesterday was his 50th goal for the club and almost without exception (Bolton at home this season) they’ve been aesthetically perfect and a joy to watch.
But he must pull his weight for the team, which funnily enough I’ve seen him do really well on a number of occasions. Better? A little bit later on in the second half. 6.5
Reyes: You have to feel for him - seemingly everything he tries seems to go askew these days. Inches away from a Henry cross in the first half, he got into the game a bit more going towards half time, but then tired before being withdrawn. As I said above, he could do with a 25 minute run against tired defences to get his confidence back. Better? Not really, but not for want of effort. 6.5
Henry: Whether it be through injury or lack of confidence, he spent much of the game getting into decent positions but then making the wrong decision. Then ten minutes from time he took off past Melchiot, through the Birmingham defence and then a cool low finish hit whilst he was running at incredible speed. Six minutes later, he bought a ticket for Freddie Ljungberg’s cross and got lucky.
May not be at his best. But the level of criticism he of all people has taken is ridiculous. Has scored 13 league goals this season (four more than anyone else and 9 more than Ruud), scoring in 11 of the 16 games. And it’s not even like he’s bound to get the goals because nobody else does. He hasn’t even scored a third of our goals, and with the exception of Old Trafford (when nobody scored) and Selhurst Park, at least one other Arsenal player has scored in all of our other games.
Better? Yes. Despite earlier failures, his determination to keep going for the all important second goal was admirable. 7.5
Subs:
Clichy (for Jose): I love this guy. He’s like Wenger’s little foot soldier and seems capable of doing everything. Slotted in expertly in left midfield. He covers, chases back, tackles, retains the ball, gets forward, dribbles and causes havoc in the opposition defence. He may be more defensive than Reyes, but sometimes being slightly more defensive can give you the shape to attack more. May not be suited to central midfield, but should be considered a serious option for a place in left midfield on tough away games. 7.5
Flamini: Seems to do everything neatly enough without being spectacular. Will be interesting to see how he works with Cesc over the next two games.7
v Man United (0-1)
Alumnia: Crap on their goal, barely put a foot wrong otherwise. Plays and looks like a slightly smaller Jens, but can kick. 6
Hoyte: OK and defended well on occasion, but I’d still like to see him get forward more. That said, I think he’s a player who would look much better surrounded by seasoned pros. 6.5
Clichy: Really, really good as usual. Slipped on their excuse of a pitch for the early goal, but didn’t let it affect him and worked tirelessly defending and attacking all game. 7.5
Senderos: The lumbering giant of Everton had been replaced by a very, very accomplished looking centre half. One dodgy back header that fell short but otherwise cut out everything that was asked of him and looked a real first team option. 8
Djorou: Took eye off ball and then slipped for the goal which wasn’t good. Never quite looked the same player as against Everton, but worked his way back into the game. 6.5
Flamini: Looks like we can breathe a little more easily in the midfield department after watching a very assured display. Would like to see him trialled as a sub for Freddie in games where we’ve got a dodgy one goal lead. 7
Larsson: Some like him but I’m not so sure. What he did was decent enough but I thought he struggled to have an effect on the game. 6.5
Quincy: Maybe it was the pitch, maybe it was United doubling up on him. Either way the hero of the last round never really got into last night’s affair. 6
Pennant: Worked hard, tried to take the initiative and overall did quite well. Still not sure if he’ll quite make it at Highbury though. 7
Lupoli: Is a striker and when strikers get no service they don’t look much kop. 6.5
Van Persie: Battled hard all night and willingly came deep to win possession. But probably came a bit too deep and battled a bit too hard. Yes, he could have been sent off for the incident with Richardson. Reminds me a bit of a young Freddie, not in playing style but in the way that the potential is clearly there but the skills are still very, very raw. 6.5
Subs:
Smith (for Lupoli): Did OK but still looks wary of going in for challenges and taking men on following his long term injury.
Cregg: Alright
Karbassiyoon: Alright
This was the first time I had seen United at Highbury since the last 0-0 draw in 1995 and you easily forget what a brilliant arena Highbury is for the big night games. The atmosphere crackled behind the goals, stretching so far from both ends that even the West Upper seemed alive. Occasionally. Down on the touchline, the East Lower rose furiously at every United indiscretion. It might be Highbury’s last night like that. One to savour.
Surprisingly, it was the attackers who were found lacking. United couldn’t put away their second half chances and we could neither take ours nor commit the men forward like we should have nor get the obligatory penalty that we are always denied in games like these. It is now five blanks in seven for us, enough to make the ghosts of seasons past spin in their graves.
We were of course thwarted by the absence of Van Persie, a real goal threat. With Freddie also missing, it was the back five you would expect, Cesc, Gilberto, Hleb, Reyes and Henry. Individual performances were quite revealing. Henry, irrespective of Gallic pouts and refusal to get into the box, is clearly injured at the moment but is playing anyway. Hleb did ok but has lost confidence he had in the first few games that let him beat men and feed in really interesting balls.
For all the talk of the absence of Vieira, Gilberto had a good game – his positional sense in front of the back four was largely spot-on and barring a couple of errors, he was neat and tidy in the tackle. Next to him Fabregas was superb. That he tired later can easily be excused in an 18 year-old near present in central midfield this season.
On the right, Robert Pires improved in the second half. But sadly, he is a relic of a bygone era, a time when Arsenal were so good that wingers like Pires could shirk all their defensive duties because others would cover for them. Chelsea have raised the bar. The wingers are constantly tackling, closing down and working for the team when the ball is lost. Pires does not do that and is therefore a luxury. Perhaps the way he shirks anything defensive it is due to a legitimate fear of reinvoking past injuries, perhaps it is just laziness. But either way, a title winning team in 2005 can’t afford passengers like that.
The contrast with Jose Reyes could hardly be starker. Like Fabregas, Reyes plays as though it is the purple blood that pumps through his fragile frame. In the first half in particular, he was outstanding, his commitment no less than anything Keane or Vieira showed at their peak. It wasn’t just the fact that he gave Gary Neville a torrid time. It was the way he chased everything, panicked United and so, so crucially covered for Pascal Cygan. Top man.
Talking of Cygan, he played to the best of his abilities. He is no Baresi. But equally he is no slacker either. He even went to take a short corner with Henry. The others at the back did well and even though we could have conceded, it is a fourth clean sheet on the trot.
I was at Highbury and the atmosphere was fantastic and the game thrilling. Those who say otherwise have probably been spoilt by seeing too many games of this ilk in person. A draw was fair – United shaded the chances but both sides could have scored and didn’t. For me, the tackle on Fabregas was a penalty because though Neville got a toe to the ball, it was still in Fabregas’ possession when he scythed him down.
Let’s face it, we are a team in transition. We had eight fantastic years where we punched miles above our weight. But now a lack of spending (and a misjudgement in the transfer market) are catching up with us. Getting us back on top will not be easy. And a number of older players will fall by the wayside. Last night represented another failure to beat a top team. But the major positive we should take is that it was our two youngsters, in who Wenger has invested so much faith, who were Arsenal’s best players last night.
...
020106
Arsenal v United: 2nd preview
So Gilberto is fit but Ljungberg and Van Persie are out. The latter is a big, big blow. It leaves us with just Henry and Reyes as the only players available to have netted more than twice in the league this season. And given our lack of goals that is a worry.
I suspect Gilberto will return. And if he does, let’s hope 2006 starts better than 2005 ended. He is not the world’s greatest midfielder but he is a far better player than his recent form and good enough to face United.
I wonder whether Van Persie and Ljungberg missing could prompt a change of plan from Wenger. Could we see Gilberto, Fabregas and Flamini all play? And could Henry then play as a loan striker, supported by Reyes on the left and either Hleb or preferably Pires (as long as he really tries) on the right? It would be a fairly radical departure from what we have seen this season but I just wonder whether it might be a good way of not being forced to play Bergkamp due to Van Persie’s absence.
It is also possible that Cesc could play on the right, Flamini and Gilberto in the middle and Reyes left, with Dennis and Henry up front. But to me it doesn’t sound so good. Of course, we could stick rigidly to our normal formation and play Dennis and Henry with Reyes and say Pires supporting. It has worked well in the past. The question would be whether it leaves us too open in the midfield.
Irrespective of our current predicament, the game will be one of the last great occasions at Highbury and the atmosphere should crackle suitably. The game is sure to be a fiery one and Fergie has already stoked the fire with his myopic review of United’s behaviour over the years. We need to make sure we keep our heads (here’s looking at you Cesc (and Jens obviously)), not just to save ourselves embarrassment but also so we stay focused.
Speaking following the first battle of Old Trafford on the 1991 end of season video, George Graham told his side: “You still gotta tackle, still got to close down. But lads, you must watch your behaviour.” How apt.
Whatever happens, what we mustn’t be left with at the end of the night is regrets. That means ensuring there are no stupid individual errors that cost goals. That means ensuring that if we get chances that we take them. And that means hoping the referee does his job and calls the big decisions correctly. And of course we need to think about how we contain the United threat and Rooney and Ronaldo in particular. But that is something that comes after the basics and too often this season it has been the basics that have let us down. Come on you Gunners!
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010106
Arsenal v United preview: who to play?
I was only able to see the second half against Villa so I’m in no position to say too much about the performance. However most accounts have been pretty negative. From what I saw, we were clearly conceding too much possession to Villa but at the same time I felt the individual errors so evident in the defeats at Bolton and Newcastle were not so evident.
However you look at it, the draw was hardly great preparation for the final league visit of Man United to Highbury on Tuesday night, particularly given them beating fat Sam’s lot 4-1. The game is a funny one because for seemingly the first time in yonks it is the attack who pose the greatest worry at the moment. We may have hit four against Pompey but December saw us fail to find the net in four out of six league games. A big worry.
For me, the well-documented problems in midfield are at least in part to blame. Drive from the midfield in Wenger’s Arsenal has always been essential. After all, how could it not be in a team that so deliberately shunned the long ball from defence straight through to attack? But we lack that drive, power, speed and athleticism we once had. The problem seems exacerbated whenever Hleb and Ljungberg get the nod on the wings because essentially, they are the slightly more attacking shadows of what is in the middle. Played with Fabregas and Flamini, we have a midfield of four physically unimposing players, none of whom have the blistering pace and drive Wenger’s sides are famed for.
Given that, I would definitely play Reyes against United. There is the risk he will be intimidated out of the game. But at the very least he should offer us some variety. On the right it is a tough call. I suspect Hleb will sit on the bench. Then it becomes a question of the gritty but limited Ljungberg or the big occasion but inconsistent Pires. Who knows.
I can see why some would plump for Dennis next to Henry because of the greater fluidity his presence tends to give us. But I would go for Van Persie. I sometimes think it goes unnoticed how capable Van Persie is of fashioning a goal from nothing. And that can be vital. Certainly, when he was taken off after 68 minutes at Villa it was as though we had lost one of our few goalscoring aces. Dennis may give you the odd goal but he is no longer able to conjure a goal all on his own like Van Persie can.
Other than that we need commitment all over the pitch and concentration. With Cygan suspended I wonder whether Arsene could throw in a surprise and play Eboue at left-back or perhaps Eboue right-back and Lauren left-back. Either way, I suspect he might be anxious to avoid what happened against Chelsea where the full-backs were both out of position and the central defence not the number one pairing.
Put mildly, we have been rubbish against big teams recently and it is true that we have not really beaten anybody that tough this season (though victory in Amsterdam was cool). You can be sure Fergie will have pinpointed our weaknesses and will look to exploit our flimsy midfield in particular. Another defeat would be a sickener and the task then really would be to scrape fourth place. Victory could be a great, short-term shot in the arm and a timely reminder that we can still do it.
On a level playing field, it will be tough. What we have to hope for is that the playing field is level and that the curse of bad refereeing decisions that have plagued some of our recent big games does not rear it’s ugly head again.
P.S.: Have just read Fergie's comments about us not being a big club and just remembered how much I hate United. And as for his claim that tickets to Highbury cost £72, Fergie is either lying or else his pal had presumably frequented a tout, given that the highest price for a single ticket is £54. The only other option is corporate hospitality, something United would never dream of indulging in. Indeed, everything I hate about them is now flooding back. For pride's sake, we have to win.
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281205
Arsenal 4 Portsmouth 0: Lovely stuff
My first visit of the season to Highbury. And some memorable goals to go with it. Granted, we weren’t brilliant throughout by any means and the midfiled (and Gilberto in particular) and Pascal Cygan are serious worries at the moment.
But the four goals were sweet. It is rare that you hear a commentator sounding genuinely excited by what he has seen, but listening to what Steve Wilson said on Match of the Day tonight it was clear he relished our return to the scoring of Arsenal goals like we did. The first was a peach – Flamini hustling and winning the ball in midfield. He sprayed it wide to Reyes, who completely slipped his man and fired in a great low ball that Dennis simply had to take first time. He did and he finished perfectly to put us 1-0 up.
The second was a fine ball from Toure down the right into Henry. He controlled well before feeding the onrushing Reyes who hit an absolute stonker of a left footed shot first time into the roof of the net. It was a tough effort – he had to come across the ball and had little of the net to aim for.
Then just as we were slowing-up, Flamini released Henry who rounded the keeper, took the ball pretty wide and then clipped in from a tight angle for his first in five games. His celebration was interesting. We’ve all heard the strong rumours about him leaving. But as he celebrated in front of the East lower he looked like a man perfectly at home in his surroundings.
Then when Pires got played in he slid the ball in for Reyes, who was flying in at full pelter. There was the most mininal of touches from the defender but the referee’s decision to give a penalty was the right one. Such was Reyes’ pace, only the slightest nudge was enough to deprive him of his clear goalscoring chance. Thankfully, the referee didn’t send the offender off – though technically he should have. Henry converted and we slowed up afterwards, preserving energy ahead of Villa away on Saturday.
Overall, it was a very positive night. The combination of Henry, Bergkamp, Pires and Reyes would be a disaster in away games. But against weaker opposition at Highbury they are potent – such as when we beat Villa 3-1 last season. Against Pompey, Bergkamp and Pires could do their things and looked good. Henry did his stuff and while to Arsenal fans he probably only had an average games, it’s worth remembering that to neutrals he is persistently sublime.
And Reyes followed up his good performance at Charlton with another excellent show. He scored one and set-up two and generally caused trouble. On form, he is a fine, fine player and to me he is one of those players who just want to see do well. Tonight’s goal was another example of his goalscoring versatility.
Credit too to Arsene. He is sometimes criticised for his team selections and substitutions. But in the past two games he has got things spot on, resting people who need resting and so far keeping the squad fresh looking in a tough period. Elsewhere, Kanu hit a superb brace to sink Spurs. Lovely stuff.
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261205
Charlton 0 Arsenal 1: Reyes has rocket put up him
A rocket up ‘im is a tired and usually ill used football analogy but perfectly apt for today’s game. Even by his own standards, Jsoe Reyes was peripheral in the first half (barring one flowing move that Freddie really should have scored). Indeed he was so bad that he was almost as bad as Pascal Cygan. And in the first half, that really was bad.
Then when Reyes emerged after the break it was as though the rocket we all know he has in him had been ignited. It was crazy stuff. He played like a winger, all wide and running like apparently that was wingers are supposed to do. It was like what happens in other teams. It was a joy to see and suddenly our attacking threat was almost doubled, with not everything having to go through Thierry Henry.
Of course, it was not just Reyes who got better. The whole performance was far improved and we dominated the game. Our reward came when Ljungberg played in Henry. His first effort was blocked and his second low shot hit the keeper and looped into the air.
The ball dropped on Reyes’ right foot just a couple of yards from goal. He volleyed home and we had our first league goal in a month. Lovely stuff. We continued to dominate, could have scored more and never looked like letting things slip after Danny Murphy was sent-off - his second yellow for throwing the ball down in frustration after a Bennett call. Stupid decision and one I hate to see – even when it benefits us.
On a side note, Cesc got a bit involved in that incident and was also guilty of a slightly dangerous (yellow card worthy) challenge that went unchecked. I love watching Fabregas and am only too happy to see him get stuck in. But he sometimes gets involved where it is not needed and is one of those ‘first on the scene’ players. I just wonder if it could come back to bite him at some point.
But back to the performance: we were much better in the second half but there was still a lot wrong. We lack suredness, Cygan is still at left-back and Cesc and Gilberto had their usual flaws exposed. I’d give the young Spaniard a well earned break for the Portsmouth game.
The bright spots in the game were the result, a far improved Sol Campbell performance and Reyes second half effort. It was great to see him at full pelter and a reminder of the massive potential he has. If I’m honest I’d half forgotten how good he can be. Seeing him tuck the ball home from two yards also offered a extra useful reminder to yours truly.
I stick by my assertion that Reyes is not a striker. But I forgot that on form, he can still be a goalscoring winger. And more to the point, we are talking about a player who can score every single kind of goal, which to me suggests real potentially as a 15 goal a season winger. Cast your mind back over the goals he has given us and you will see there is no trademark. Left footed, right footed, headed, spectacular, bundled in, tapped-in, first time, lengthy runs, one-on-ones, volleyed. They are all there. And in this generally gloomy time for the club, that is a pleasing thought.
Portsmouth on Wednesday. I’d rather not see Cygan at centre-back, would replace Fabregas with Flamini, make sure Reyes gets another chance to try to build some confidence and probably give Pires a run-out in place of Freddie too.
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21/12/05
Insane Blatter wants to make things even easier for Chelsea
The Chelsea match review is below this quick post. Sepp Blatter has said: "If a club can only have five foreigners among their starting 11, then they will have to build on their own youth system. If Chelsea were forced to have five foreigners then Roman Abramovich could not go on buying the best players across the world for exorbitant fees. Chelsea is the example of what should not happen."
The man is a lunatic. The problem at the moment is that Chelsea are snapping up the cream of English players for sums only Man United can even think about, irrespective of whether the player is of any use to them (Lampard) or not. (Wright-Philips).
Were this rule to come in, Chelsea would simply further dominate the English market, pushing up prices and further decimating those without money. Not only would we be forced to fill our team with six English also rans, we would also no longer be able to compensate for the vast gulf in finances as we currently do, by scouring the world for affordable top players.
Develop their youth system? Err, no. They would just spend more money. I am not having a go at Chelsea, but the fact is they would be most happy with these plans. As Arsenal fans, these insane ideas should worry us.
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19/12/05
Arsenal 0 Chelsea 2: It ain’t the end of the world.
So, league defeat at home to Chelsea for the first time in yonks. Painful? Disappointing? Frustrating? YES, YES, YES. But surprising? NO. In short, we learnt very, very little that we didn’t already know.
If we were to win, we had to be clinical with what chances we created and make sure we scored the first goal. Chelsea began well but for me the first two real opportunities were Arsenal ones and we did little wrong with them. Henry hit the post and then Van Persie swept home beautifully only to see the offside flag raised in error.
Not offside
It was a massive, massive decision. 1-0 to Arsenal and we would have had a completely different game. It was a wretched decision and I’m getting sick of wretched decisions in big games. Don’t get me wrong, at home against smaller sides the refs favour us. But in big games we seem to get little luck. At crucial times in both United league games last year and now against Chelsea. I’m not talking about flukes of performance – like when we beat United in the Cup Final or when Drogba scored against us earlier this season. I’m on about the crucial refereeing decisions, which, for whatever reason, seem to keep going against us in the big games.
Six minutes before half-time and Robben was as onside as Van Persie was and he too put the ball in the net smartly. This time the goal stood. While you languish in footballing depression mulling over this defeat, just consider how different things might have been had our goal stood and theirs not.
Red cards:
As for the non sending-offs: yes, Senderos probably should have gone (as Wenger acknowledged). But so too should Essien, who is anything but a marked man as Mourinho claims. I thought his elbow was probably correctly called a yellow. But it was just crass inconsistency that let him get away with a later foul on Van Persie that was identical to one Henry had been booked for about two minutes earlier. So on that front, honours even. (ps, question for UEFA: when did going in studs first near someone’s knee become a two rather than a three game ban?)
I thought we actually played quite well after we went behind. Chelsea 1-0 up are a nightmare to play against. Though we could have created a few more chances, we still fashioned some decent openings. They were dangerous on the break but that was always going to be so with us chasing the game. Cole took their second excellently after one of Lauren’s worst ever mistakes for the club. But to bash him is ridiculous. He is a first class foot soldier who is having a good season and hardly ever puts a foot wrong.
The Midfield:
The problem for us was very obviously in midfield. Aware that we would be outmuscled, we frequently tried to pass long straight from defence to attack. It was an unfamiliar approach that met with limited success. I’ve heard mutterings of disappointment about Cesc’s performance, but I’d point to what I said on Saturday about him being asked to do the wrong job. But the problem is not just a lack of muscle in central midfield. While we could once slot Edu in left and Parlour right, Freddie is now our most physically strong wide player, which says it all. And the pace that once characterised our middle line only lives on in the injured and inconsistent Jose Reyes.
This is, clearly, a very difficult time for the team. Our standards have slipped and for the first time we are staring into the abyss of finishing outside of the top two. But let us not get carried away. We went three barren years without any trophy between Wenger’s first and second titles. Things change and evolve. Of course we need reinforcements and the prospect of Henry leaving is daunting. But things are not all bad.
Hleb is having a far better first year than Pires did, Sol Campbell (in my opinion) will rise again and while they are not yet world beaters, there is genuine promise in our young players. Things change and evolve and for anyone who is feeling at all disillusioned with Arsene, just imagine how much worse every other manager would do with our resources. For one thing, I think if Mourinho took over at Highbury tomorrow, he’d struggle big time. But take Wenger to Stamford Bridge and I’d expect him to win Chelsea titles, which less we forget, is all Mourinho has managed for them so far.
Chelsea?
So, finally, what of Chelsea? Have they raised the bar? Incrementally at most. That they are so far ahead is in part because of their own consistency but more due to United and Arsenal’s recent decline. Are they any better than us in 2004 or United in their pomp? I’d say no way. So the challenge is for us to get back to what we have achieved before and then catching Chelsea will take care of itself.
The most well resourced squad ever in British football was very fortunately injury free enough to be able to choose their first choice eleven against us. We were missing three left-backs, a winger and had a midfielder harshly suspended. C’est la vie. What a sign of the times that of the eleven players fielded by Mourinho, ten cost £6 million plus, while John Terry was a shooting star long before the special one had even heard of him. Our side contained just three players bought for more than £3.5 million.
Overhauling them will be very tough, but is doable. And if there is one manager you’d choose for a club like ours – in transition and relatively cash strapped – you’d plump for Arsene Wenger over Jose Mourinho or anyone else any day of the week. Which is handy really.
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17/12/05
Arsenal v Chelsea preview: How good would Cesc look in Chelsea’s midfield?
A year and a week after his first start in an Arsenal shirt, Mathieu Flamini is likely to again come into the Arsenal side next to Cesc Fabregas for the visit of Chelsea. The prospect has left many fearful, but they did ok last year and I think they can do ok on Sunday. In a way, the prospect of having Fabregas and Flamini snapping like whippets around Essien and Lampard is preferable to having Gilberto in there. In his current poor form, we might risk the Brazilian just providing poor man’s version of what Makalele does so well for Chelsea.
The game is obviously going to be very tough and despite our impressive home form, Chelsea must be favourites. At Highbury the league results have been immaculate but the teams we have beaten have been nothing special and our performances only impressive in short, sporadic bursts. Still, I think we have the players who, on their game, can stop Chelsea from scoring. And I think we are capable of creating chances against them at Highbury. So, we are not without hope.
If we are to win, a likely key player will also be our youngest – Cesc Fabregas. Usually in hushed voices, some Arsenal followers have questioned whether he has the strength for the Premiership. They say both Vieira and Gilberto have struggled next to him. I refute that. As far as Vieira goes, he acknowledges openly in his book that he played much of last season with a very dodgy ankle.
And as for his partnership with Gilberto, I see the problem being that Fabregas has been unfairly forced to play the role of tough tackling midfielder. While the Brazilian may provide a positional wall, it is Cesc who on the whole is required to throw his still slender frame into the tough tackling.
For me, he has actually done it ok, but the point is that expecting him to excel as the enforcer is as preposterous as expecting Dennis Bergkamp to score 30 goals a season. It is not what either do. But imagine Cesc sat on the Chelsea bench for a game and replaced one of Essien, Makalele or Lampard at half-time. Whoever he came in for, I’d expect him to flourish, revelling in being able to concentrate on doing what he’s great at. He could also offer Chelsea the midfield subtlety and creativity they have occasionally lacked - such as in four scoreless encounters against Liverpool in the Champions League.
So if you see Cesc being out muscled on Sunday, take a look around and remember what he is being asked to do. However well he does it, here’s to the midfield beast/animal/enforcer we all pray Arsene will buy in the January sales.
Ps: there was a really good piece on Football365 this week pointing out that in quite a number of these games where Arsenal supposedly allow themselves to be bullied to defeat the more truthful explanation is that very poor refereeing has instead allowed teams to get away with what is simply illegal.
It pointed out the United game last season and more recently the Bolton game (where the referee just ignored Lehman being elbowed in the stomach and another guy who was already booked punching the ball in to the net all in one move) and Newcastle, where the fact is Alan Shearer got away with stuff that was far more plain illegal than any ‘on the edge’ bullying.
I’m not saying we don’t sometimes go soft (I think we do), but it does add some rationality to the whole debate.
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12/12/05
Newcastle 1 Arsenal 0: Same problems, same lack of solutions
A week ago I penned a massive post Bolton post mortem. (Computer problems mean it has only just gone online - see below). Almost everything I said then applied to today’s match so I’m not going to go over the same ground in massive depth after today. For me there are a few points for why we lost:
1) We left our shooting boots at home. I’m hardly in a position to tell Thierry Henry how to score. He had the chances in the first half and didn’t take them. It was one of those things, as was Van Persie mis-kicking later.
2) We are still hideously under strength in the centre. Gilberto is playing crap, yet we have no other option. We need an animal in there (Gilberto, Cesc, Hleb and Freddie is hardly physically intimidating.) Yet we have no animal to bring in.
3) Dermot Gallagher was a total wanker today. (And yes, I know we get the run of the mill sometimes and did so against Newcastle on the first day of the season). That not withstanding, on a technicality sending-off Gilberto was justifiable. But as I remember they were the only free-kicks he gave away all day. And neither were dangerous tackles. They were the tackles of a player who is out of form and off the pace. Were they so bad he needed to be excluded from the pitch? Definitely not.
Compare the approach to Gilberto to how Gallagher treated Shearer and other Newcastle players. Shearer was given a free reign to elbow, foul (including one shocker in front of the referee), knowingly kick so high that knew he would hit Lauren, kick the ball away and delay kick-offs by standing in our half. It took 89 minutes for him to get booked. All this matters because while Newcastle (as is their right) adopted a very physical approach they were able to do so because Gallagher was being so lenient. Once a player has been booked they have to temper their approach, knowing that one more significant error will be the end for them. Gallagher patently failed on that part. Apparently this is his final year. On this showing, good riddance.
But overall there is no escaping the fact we have big problems away from home. The defence could do with some better drilling but overall they did fairly well today. And though the goal came from our left, Lauren looks infinitely better at left-back than Cygan. And up front I think we look fairly strong. We have drawn three blanks on the run but prior to then had looked dangerous. With a bit of luck, Henry could have had two at Bolton and Van Persie one. And the same can be said today.
The problem for me is midfield. In the middle we are enormously weak. It would be nice if we could give 18 year-old Cesc a break but there’s fat chance of that at the moment. And though Hleb helps, we lack defensively able players on the wings: Freddie is either a bit injured or out of form at the moment. Yet still he plays 90 minutes every game.
The thing is that Chelsea probably have as many midfielders and forwards out of form as we do. Crespo, Duff, Robben, Wright-Philips and arguably Drogba and Gudjohnsen are hardly setting the world on fire at the moment. Of course, we can hardly hope to have their strength in depth. But equally, we can expect far more of our current resources in the middle.
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04/12/05
Just what is Arsene playing at?
I spoke to a season ticket holding friend last night who for some weeks has said his confidence in the boss is waning. I don’t necessarily agree, but what follows are some of his concerns and some I have too. What do you think?
Arsene can moan about player commitment but to us Bolton yesterday was simply the epitome of what we feared at the beginning of the season, the inevitable result of Arsenal’s very own corporate restructuring. So as the squad has been trimmed and thinned out, those that are left are more comfortable than ever in their positions and what would normally be the responsibility of experienced team members is being carried out by talented, but as yet unproven, upstarts.
At Bolton Henry and Van Persie were the right choice. But even Tony Adams (who generally seems to not know that much about tactics) has been pointing out for years that Ljungberg and Pires won’t work at places like Bolton. Admittedly, Alex Hleb is injured.
But in central midfield Wenger is guilty of discarding our two most aggressive midfielders as if we have somehow had too many of them. It is blatantly clear that neither Fabregas, Gilberto nor Flamini have the animal instincts that seem to be present in the heart of every top side. It is also true that talented as the first two are, Gilberto is not and Cesc is not yet good enough that their places in the starting line-up should be completely unquestioned and unthreatened. How Arsene could go out at the start of this season and rightly deciding he needs a fourth central midfielder plump for a 17 year old (Alex Song) to complement his 18 and 21 year-olds is beyond me. Principles and only buying the right player is admirable, but not when it means no player.
And if the case in midfield is one of transfer bloody mindedness then the case at left-back is one of tactical bloody mindedness. With no personal insult intended to the man, I can’t remember a single player in Arsene Wenger’s reign enjoy a run in the side and look more out of his depth when doing so than Pascal Cygan at left-back. Even when he does something right, 90% of the time it means he hasn’t cocked it up. His abilities are simply so limited there, it was no wonder Bolton almost encouraged Jens to throw him the ball. Leaving aside the defending, you would have to say he offers nothing to the attack either. It is as though we have become numb down part of our left side.
For Arsene to come out last week and say he brought on Lauren at left-back for the last half hour in Thun to see if he could play there just encapsulates the problem. As you and I well know, Lauren would be miles better playing there, as would Toure, as would Eboue, as might Senderos and as might even Flamini.
They say there is no point buying for the sake of it, but there is also no point not buying for the sake of it. And Alex Hleb is the ONLY outfield and vaguely proven player over 21 who has arrived at Highbury in nearly three and a half years! That is extraordinary! We all know (and largely admire) Arsene’s determination to challenge Chelsea’s exorbitant spending by unearthing and polishing gems, but it is almost as if what Chelsea do is dictating what we do. By this I mean the more they spend the less we seem to spend. And yet the fact is that any title win would count as a great overcoming of the odds, even if we spent £20 million a year.
On that note, there is nothing wrong with stripping out a few luxuries (eg Kanu and Wiltord) to give younger players a chance. But you can’t start getting rid of the bare essentials. And at the moment you can argue we have no competition in goal, where Wenger’s signings there are slowly becoming more bizarre and obscure (witness Shabaan, Warmuz, Almunia and now Poom). We have two good centre backs (one of whom is off his game), a still very young pretender (Senderos) and another who ain’t up to it. Four years ago we had an (admittedly aging) Adams, Keown, Campbell, Upson, Grimandi (better than Cygan) and Oleg Lhuzny (probably better than Cygan).
I hardly need to go into central midfield. A comparison with last year simply says it all. On the wings, as I suggested earlier, there is fair attacking cover. The problem though is that when we want to plump for someone more defensive on the right we end up having to move Fabregas, where as two years ago we would have simply slotted Edu in, leaving Vieira and Gilberto intact in the centre.
And at up front, it seems to have taken ages to a) figure out Reyes is a winger and b) develop a successor to Dennis. Discounting Reyes, we have just three forwards – a footballing god, a youngster still making his mark and a man who is rapidly going over the hill. Think back to 1999 and look at the perfect balance we enjoyed: an in form Kanu, Dennis around his prime, a raw (but still 25 goal) Thierry Henry and Davor Suker, who was used as and when it pleased. Sadly, our current paucity of forwards meant that after 70 minutes we were calling for Dennis yesterday, even though all and sundry could surely see it was not the time or place for his services. And quite why on earth Robin Van Persie was withdrawn I don’t know. Simple maths says Van Persie’s goal threat is far higher than Dennis or Reyes.
All in all, there seems to be a great sense of bafflement. We expect managers to be a little mad, but more and more often we seem to be shrugging our shoulders and explain something away as Arsene just being Arsene. But it doesn’t add up. We might not like seeing Chelsea above us but always knew their spending would make it probable. But it’s hard to accept when we seem to be shooting ourselves in the foot so readily. Even Spurs have about seven midfielders better than our fourth choice.
And what is so galling is that actually we are not very far at all from being bloody good. With the exception of Cygan, every player in our squad is Arsenal quality and very many are worthy week in week out starters too. But they need reinforcements. With these reinforcements, we wouldn’t have to shunt Freddie back into the side when he doesn’t look ready. We would be able to pick the players who are physically at their peak and rest others when they tire a little. Which is what Mourinho does and explains why Cole, Duff, Robben and Wright-Philips always look so chirpy.
So what do we need? A hungry, improving goalkeeper who will in a few years succeed Jens. A half decent centre back who is solid if nothing else. An established beast in central midfield. Perhaps a young, as yet unproven beast, for when the big beast is suspended. A Davor Suker like signing – someone who will offer goals when they play but whose presence will not hold Van Persie back. And as the Dutchman becomes established, someone to fill Van Persie’s current role of young pretender – Arturo Lupoli would seem the obvious choice.
That is five signings. But only two (the beast and the goal scorer) would initially be pivotal ones. Those five, combined with our ever improving youngsters, could make a real squad. At the moment it is not just that Chelsea are so far ahead in the table, it is that we are in with the likes of Spurs, Bolton and Wigan. Squad wise, we will never be as big or strong at Chelsea. But at a certain point it starts to matter less and less until it becomes almost immaterial. We need to plug the holes so we can get to that point.
And finally, what are the rewards? We already have a really good crop of players. Arsenal may not be ahead of the chasing pack but it is still true that the vast majority of our current crop would walk into any Premiership team other than Chelsea and Man U in some cases. With the right moves in the transfer market we could perhaps hope to persuade not just the brilliant Ashley Cole to stay at Highbury but also Thierry Henry, one of the great players of this generation. Whether he stays or goes could tell us so much about where Arsenal are headed.
I may be wrong, but I struggle to believe Henry (settled in London with a wife and new born) would have any inclination to leave a flourishing Arsenal in a new stadium who have the tools to seriously fight Chelsea for the league and to capture the Champions League. I suspect he fears the same things we fear and he needs the same reassurances.
He is 28 and I suspect he knows he has half a chance not to just be known as a great of his time, but to etch his name as one of the great players of any generation. To become that great he probably still needs a mix of international success at his prime (he was not yet a great player in 1998 or 2000) and success with a club in Europe.
On the international stage, Henry’s options are obviously limited because he can’t change countries. On the club stage, whether he feels able to achieve it at Highbury may well depend on just what Arsene is playing at.
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27/11/05
Arsenal 3 Blackburn 0: Attack good, defence not so good
I only saw the BBC highlights of yesterday’s game, so it would be wrong to go into too much depth. But three things were quite obvious from watching it:
Our defence is making too many Premiership standard strike forces look like world beaters. And with all due respect to the man, it is my belief that rightly or wrongly, the presence of Pascal Cygan is a massive factor.
A couple of reports I have read suggested he was not personally so bad yesterday, but the problem goes beyond his individual performances. It is the effect he has on the team.
Exactly a year and a week ago I wrote: “Pascal Cygan is no Baresi, but he’s not an awful player either. But at the moment his presence is having a devastating effect on our play. The rest of the team doesn’t trust neither him nor Jens Lehman and the effect is reverberating through our side.” A week later Jens played his last league game until February and has not looked back since his recall. I added at the end of the article: “Cygan has to be dropped for the sake of the team.”
And the same must happen now. Arseblogger was entirely correct yesterday to point to Wenger’s apparent blind spot over Cygan. Far be it for faceless internet bloggers to tell him how to manage Arsenal, but the clamour from fans appears so universal that surely these feelings need articulating.
2) The second point is that we are obviously playing some very nice attacking stuff at the moment. Not all the time, but we are cranking up the pressure when it matters. Much as Blackburn perhaps deserved a goal or even two, the fact is we created three perfectly executed ones and could have had more.
3 ) Some players have such outrageous talent that you can forgive them being idiots on occasion. Robbie Savage is not one such player. Arseblogger aptly summed him up as a “cheating, conman, fairy, nancy, fraud, flimflammer, obnoxious wanky cunt.”
I would add one word to that description: twerp, defined in the dictionary as a person regarded as not just contemptible but insignificant too.
Just before I finish I’d like to pre-empt a couple of things that will happen this week. The first is that a certain journalist will twist the Savage incident to bring up every misdemeanour ever committed by an Arsenal player. The second is that we are going to have to listen to unrivalled levels of crap spout from the mouth of Sam Allardyce this week ahead of our visit to the Reebok next Saturday. If they beat Fulham today they will be level with us going into the game.
On that note, there was an interesting (and unmalicious) remark made about George Best this week. It was said that Best frequently mentioned how Pele had called him the world’s greatest, yet Pele never needed to do the opposite. Sam Allardyce loves to tell us how brilliantly he has done at Bolton on such limited resources, yet Arsene Wenger...
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I didn't see the Thun game, I'm flying during the Blackburn game and the Reading game is not on TV. But I'll probably post one or two more general updates before the Bolton game.
20/11/05
Wigan 2 Arsenal 3: Should the new midfielder be a partner for Cesc rather than Silva?
In a nutshell: We took control through goals from Van Persie (good turn, run, fierce shot, bad goalkeeping) and Henry (lovely slid finish from Cesc pass at end of flowing move). They pulled one back through shambolic defending. Henry netted a scorcher of a free kick. They pulled another back through shambolice defending. We won despite defending shockingly.
Analysis: It was very easy last season to say how much we were missing the Gilberto "wall" during his absence. And perhaps it was true. But on recent performances, Berlin's got a stronger wall than the one our Brazilian offers. Against Wigan he was, to put it mildly, shite. He didn't go forward, he didn't pass well, he dallied on the ball, he made absurd attempts to intercept that only put us in deeper trouble and he failed to get off the ground for headers. (Witness first goal). In short, he was oh so passive.
Next to him, Cesc Fabregas was a model pro. He ran tirelessly, he won tackles, he broke up play, he positioned himself well and he supported the attack right up until the last minute. Sure, not everything came off, but the way I see it this new midfielder we all agree we need should more likely be a partner for Cesc than for Gilberto.
Behind the pair, things were just totally terrible. Credit to Wigan, honest team, hard working, deceptively skillful for a rugby league town all those other cliches. But the fact is Sol Campbell offered justification for Sven picking Rio ahead of him (yes he was that bad), Jens' kicking was crap, Lauren's general defending was poor and Toure's little better.
To their left was Pascal Cygan. The nicest thing I can say is that words fail me to describe his performance.
I'm not one for having a go at individuals just for the sake of it and it is true that in the end, we got a very welcome three points. But a spoon should be called a spoon and today our defending was chaotic.
Up front, it seems Van Persie may possibly have finally got the nod over Dennis, at long last. He played well, the returning Freddie worked hard but was not at full throttle, Pires put in a committed performance which didn't once involve me screaming at him for ducking a tackle and Henry once again made everything look too easy.
One final thought, much as I can't stand his self righteous, self important, status as a "real" player, and much as there is between no chance and 0% chance of Arsene going for him, you kinda have to admit Roy Keane could fill a gap.
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15/11/05
Arsenal playing before Chelsea form, European form and Vieira book form
A few brief thoughts as we wait for the Premiership to restart.
The first is that the fixture list is currently conspiring quite often to let us play our weekend game before Chelsea. I pointed out last season that while our results are largely unaffected by whether we play before, at the same time or after Chelsea, their's suffered last season when they played after us. And based purely on very anecdotal evidence, the same has been true this season. So we need to take advantage at Wigan on Saturday.
Secondly, this whole assumption that because Liverpool won the Champions League while being crap in the league, the same will happen to us seems bizarre. Last season was largely an anomoly. What nobody seems to have mentioned is that since defeat in Moscow over two years ago, we have a healthy European record that reads: P19 W12 D5 L2.
Finally, there is a piece in today's Times that takes 600 odd words to correctly say: Patrick Vieira hypocritically forgets his own diving when he lambasts Wayne Rooney and Ruud Van Nistelrooy as cheats.
But that is not all the piece says. In fact it reads strangely like a diktat handed down from Old Trafford to a friendly journalist much in the way United employed the same policy with the same friendly journalists after the battle of the buffet.
There was no way Vieira was going to ignore either Rooney or RVN in his book. And the fact is that Rooney DID cheat exactly as described and Van Nistelrooy WAS guilty of consistent violence that went unpunished against Arsenal. Whatever, Vieira's personal myopia, to suggest that the two United players are somehow worthy of apologies for what is correcly identified as shabby behaviour when Vieira does it, is just absurd.
And while I appreciate accuracy matters little when there is an axe there to be ground, the description of the Nicky Butt incident is just patently wrong. Contrary to what is written, it was a straight red card and not a second yellow. Secondly, there was never the slightest suggestion Vieira had dived. Thirdly, the decision to send Butt off was one based purely on the positioning of the incident near to the goal and not on the severity of the tackle or Vieira's reaction to it (there was no doubt it was a foul). Fourthly, all Alex Ferguson and anyone else was moaning about was the referee's decision to treat the incident as a goal scoring chance and thus issue red.
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10/11/05
International week update
My apologies for the lack of recent updates. The laptop appears to have died and enjoyable as this site is, staying late at work to update it is just not that appetising.
Anyway, things have gone pretty well since the Spurs game. There is not a lot to say about Sparta and Sunderland. We needed victories and we got victories. We didn't over exert ourselves but then we didn't need to. I'm still of the theory that we look far better when playas play in their natural positions and I think that was fairly obvious watching the Sunderland game. In midfield the mix was good, with the wall-like Gilberto and the more enterprising Fabregas, Reyes and Pires both looked comfortable out on the wings and up front we had a good mix of a forward/striker (what can you call Henry?) and a striker.
I don't think Chelsea were unlucky at Old Trafford because ultimately they didn't do enough. But I do think United can count themselves fortunate. Some of their defensive play was wretched - incredibly nervous and very deep. But they got away with it. People are asking whether they will collapse like we did. I don't think they will but nor do I think that the issue really. If someone does catch them I expect it to be by a process of small erosion rather than one big wave. So, for example, if they have a tricky away game that they draw others might take advantage with easy home wins. And of course if we win our game in hand and manage to beat the Blues at Highbury then the gap is only five points anyway. I'm not saying we will do it, just saying how I think they could be caught.
As Myles Palmer pointed out on ANR, the four league games before Chelsea are vital. Contrary to what he said, they actually read: Wigan (A), Blackburn (H), Bolton (A), Newcastle (A). We need to be looking for a minimum of ten points from the four of them and ideally twelve.
Not much else to say, except that I'm away for two weeks from Saturday, so there is a fair chance I won't update after the Wigan, Thun and Blackburn games (the last of which I will definitely miss as I will be in the air for it).
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01/11/05
Players in position works at Spurs
Arsene's decision to shore up the side with an extra midfielder was well intentioned and a welcome departure from the gung-ho approach that cost us so badly at Munich last season. But injuries and lack of squad depth meant that to do it we had Freddie playing out of position on the left, Cesc out of position on the right and our first choice central midfielders not in place. Add the fact we were playing with two forwards but no strikers, and it is obvious why we struggled. When Pires came on, suddenly we had him, Freddie and Cesc all where they should be. And when Van Persie came on, Reyes was on the left wing (which for me is his best spot), Pires was on the right (in a position he has played and done well in) and we had a good balance of a forward and a striker up front.
But I also wonder whether perhaps Arsene imagined the first half going as it did, while obviously hoping we would not concede. Spurs, confidence bolstered by their own good form and our lack of it, were always going to come out on fire. I wonder whether it was Arsene's plan to draw to try to draw their sting (keeping it at 0-0) and then introduce Pires and pounce on them as they tired. In the event, the problems of the first half called for Pires earlier than expected, but I expect it was probably always the plan that he would play a key role.
I don't think there can be any doubt we deserved the draw. Granted, Spurs dominated the first half (even if I only remember Jens having to save from his near namesake Jenas). But we dominated the second right from the off in my opinion. Sure, chances did not immediately come, but we did a good job of grinding them down and tiring them out and in the end Van Persie had about three good chances, Reyes had one, Pires had one and Pires scored. So for me, while our equaliser doesn't suit the grand theories of the pundits, it was well deserved. And to come back from behind against the likes of Spurs away never has been and is certainly not now something to be snorted at.
A couple of things have struck me. The first is that the idea of us being a one man (Henry) team is absurd. But it is true that we still haven't yet brought in someone who we can say is a sufficiently good deputy for him. Don't get me wrong, they don't need to be the same type of player, just a good enough alternative. Hopefully Van Persie can be. I'm also intruiged to see who replaces Dennis in the summer (or before?)
The second point is that the cover issue is not one of Chelsea's being excellent and ours adequate. In fact, our's is inadequate. Midfield reinforcements are a must (so that when we switch things around everyone is not pulled out of position like against Spurs) and so too are a buy each in defence and attack I guess. Bringing in those three players will not give us as excellently backed-up a squad as Chelsea's but I question whether their level of protection is really necessary. While they will always have all 11 positions perfectly filled, if we only have 9 or 10 it probably won't all that much difference in the end. It is when your side is so inbalanced (like against Spurs) that I think it becomes a big problem.
Thought for the day: When was Jens' last mistake?
Updating is a bit fraught at the moment due to a comatose laptop, so sorry for that. In the meantime we have Sparta and Sunderland at home. The latter of which is a must, must, must win game because either Chelsea, United or both will drop points next weekend.
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24/10/05
What story lies behind 'that' penalty?
This is a long post; it’s been that kind of weekend.
I’m now on my third school of thought about what happened and more confused than I was to start with. At first I simply wondered how they could be so stupid at such a crucial point in such a crucial match. Did they realise how agonising it was for the fans? Then I wondered whether these two great artists who have brought us both silverware and exquisite football had endured one of those once in a career cock-ups, the like of which every great band have had with that one appalling single and every great director has had with one shocking film. Should we simply forgive and forget and laugh it off as one bizarre and fortunately uncostly cock-up?
But now I wonder: was it symptomatic of a greater malaise? Could it be that whilst we as fans still yearn desperately to win the European Cup and to catch Chelsea, Pires and Henry see the first as impossible and the second as highly improbable and in any case offering only a reward that would emulate, rather than surpass previous achievements? Do they still have the same drive to succeed for Arsenal? Would Frank Lampard even consider doing anything other than burying the ball from the spot, irrespective of the score? And if the three points were as vital for them as they were for us, how could they contemplate even trying that penalty?
I realise the above paragraph could easily be interpreted as me saying they don’t care. I am definitely not saying that. For a start I am saying the above insinuations are true and in any case, if there has been any loss of drive, I would suggest it has been almost entirely subconscious and in no way deliberate. But whichever way you look at it, I think the above are fair questions that should be asked if we are to understand why such a monumental fuck-up occurred.
And just sticking with penalties for a moment, I’m delighted to see that Thierry Henry says he will be taking them all from now on. It had become absolutely farcical. Not only did we have our top marksman refusing to take penalties he had won for absolutely no obvious reason whatsoever. We also had Dennis refusing to take them following his miss against United over six years ago! Fear of flying is one thing, but a phobia of penalties is another and you get the feeling that in any other walk of life Dennis would have been told to pull himself together and just do it. And to think that yesterday it had got to the stage where we were passing them to each other. Incredible.
Which is also what can be said for getting two penalties off Mike Riley. I haven’t seen any replays of the second one, while the first one could have gone either way. But I will just say that analysing these things in super slow motion is pointless because football is not played in super slow motion. Slowing the play down will always make it look like the attacker has deliberately let himself be fouled. It distorts reality.
At last, the game. Firstly, City were very well organised and are a genuinely decent side. So a win is good. But we’re struggling. A fair part of the problem can be summarised in six words: Flamini, Gilberto, Cesc, Lampard, Essien, Makalele. Our players are good, but we lack a monster in there like Chelsea have and it tells. Eight other words also explain a lot: Van Persie, Senderos, Quincy, Eboue, Robben, Crespo, Gudjohnsen, Ferreira. Arsene didn’t make a single sub. Mourinho introduced first Gudjohnsen, then Robben and then Crespo, all about ten minutes apart. Of course, they didn’t win. But the contrast could not have been bigger.
Arsene is not an idiot: his public buoyancy and confidence in the strength of the squad is surely just a charade that he is obliged to show in an effort to maintain moral. But at heart it must be obvious to him just how blatantly we need to splash the cash.
I’ll finish by saying that Pires and Henry were right to apologise. And that Spurs away is the perfect time to make-up for things by putting in a committed, impassioned performance. And it’s vital they do, because if we’re as slack at White Hart Lane this time as we have been recently, then this time we will lose. And nobody wants that.
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20/10/05
Why Henry's goal at Upton Park was his greatest ever
In the world of footballing top tens, there surely can’t be a more enjoyable experience than picking Thierry Henry’s best goals. I can’t honestly claim to have seen enough of Pele and Maradona to properly judge them. But my suspicion is that if a montage of Thierry Henry goals were shown next to montages of the Brazilian and Argentinian’s best strikes, Henry would not look out of place.
So, at 10…
Chelsea (h) 12/04. At kick-off people said their defence was the immovable object and Thierry Henry didn’t score in big games. Thirty seconds later he had pinged in an unstoppable shot from the edge of the box, leaving Cech rooted to the spot.
at 9…
Bayern Munich (h) 03/05. A strange choice for some perhaps, but for me another brilliant goal against an immovable object. Bayern may have been a defensive shambles in the next round at Chelsea but against us they were tighter than something incredibly tight. After 70 odd minutes, Henry controlled a long ball on the left from Cole, brought it down and hit it instantly across Oliver Khan with complete precision. It was a perfectly executed goal. And it had to be.
At 8…
Manchester City (h) 01/04. This one is also representing the swerver against United later that season. Against City, I was in the North Bank and saw just how much his shot seemed to swerve and yet keep completely straight like an arrow. David James didn’t have a prayer.
At 7…
Sparta Prague (a) 10/05. A very late entrant but very deserving of it’s place. On for six minutes, he controlled the ball on the outside of his foot, swung his whole body through 360 degrees and then fired in a bending shot that beat the goalkeeper in the only part of the net it could have. Almost arrogantly brilliant.
At 6…
Inter Milan (a) 11/03. Broke out from defence, looked to be going nowhere and then made Javier Zanetti look amateurish before slamming home with the left foot. A brilliant goal and the crucial third in a 5-1 win.
At 5…
Spurs (h) 11/02. Very, very special run. He took them all on, cut inside and finished brilliantly. Then he celebrated in serious style in front of the west stand. Magnificent.
At 4…
Charlton (h) 10/04. So good it completely bamboozled the cameraman. I watched this game in a pub in London with one of those dodgy satellites. The commentary was in a foreign language, music was playing in the bar and a lot of people were only half watching. The camera was focused in on Henry as he held the ball with his back to goal about six yards out. Then he backheeled the ball and suddenly wheeled away in delight. The pub was genuinely stunned. Those of us who realised what must have happened looked on in disbelief. When they showed a replay from another angle the reaction from the rest of the pub was one of sheer incredulity. And the more they showed it the more disbelieving the reactions. It didn’t really matter what happened in the rest of the game.
At 3…
Liverpool (h) 04/04. No doubt you’ve heard people say how important this goal was in us winning the title. It was. I was at Highbury that day and 2-1 down at half time there was some serious cigarette smoking going on in the north bank. Within a minute we had equalised thanks to Freddie Ljungberg. But after equalising once and then going behind again, a fair few people feared things were turning against us and we would do it again.
Then Henry picked the ball up on the left. He jinked in, took on a couple of defenders and simply by his presence created sheer panic in the Liverpool defence. So much so that Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher knocked in to each other and fell to the ground comically. Suddenly Henry was through and he finished coolly. The north bank erupted. People who had not lost it since Ray Parlour scored against Valencia found themselves jumping out of their seats. A massive, massive goal and sheer brilliance bore in part out of the complete panic his presence can induce.
At 2…
Manchester United (h) 10/00. Unreal goal. Fed by Grimandi miles out, he chipped it up, spun Gary Neville and in one fired in a volley that dipped and swerved over Barthez into the far corner. Watching at home, all I saw was the ball leave his foot. I thought it was going miles over. Then the Clock End went mad. I had lost the ball in the air. Eventually, I was persuaded it had gone in but was convinced it could only have had it taken the most massive of deflections. Then I saw the replay. One of the goals of goals.
At 1…
West Ham (a) 08/02. You may think this a weird choice. I say the beauty of it has never fully been recognised. Now, don’t get me wrong: were this goal being judged purely on Henry controlling the ball on his knee and hitting an absolute bullet past David James from 30 yards, it would not be anywhere near number one, however great a finish it was. It is the first touch that does it and it is a touch which in my opinion defies the physics of football.
He receives the ball on the right edge of the penalty area from a Vieira pass. He has his back to goal. It is played firmly in to his left foot. Then he takes the crucial touch, which I will come back to in a minute. When he next touches it he has spun 180 degrees so that he is now facing diagonally to goal. His defender has been left bamboozled. The ball lands on what is now Henry’s right knee. Think about what he did with that touch: he took a ball that was coming into his feet and with one touch he looped it up in to the air with his foot. When it fell it was still, incredibly, travelling in the original direction. But he didn’t just lob it into the air, which would have been hard enough.
Instead, he met the ball purposefully with the right hand side of his left boot and somehow spun (not hooked as would have been the case had he used the left hand side of the boot) the ball up in to the air up and over his defender’s head. Had Brazil done it in 1970 I genuinely believe it would be replayed continuously now. Do whatever you can to get a copy of the video and watch that touch because 250 words of mine have failed to do it justice.
And it is for that reason that West Ham away was Thierry Henry’s best Arsenal goal and potentially the greatest I have ever seen.
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19/10/05
Sparta 0 Arsenal 2: Match report, playa ratings and Henry worshipping
The formalities first, then the Henry stuff: Cygan replaced Senderos who had replaced Campbell and Cygan continued in place of the injured Cole. Gilberto returned in midfield in place of Cesc who replaced the injured Ljungberg. The returning Van Persie replaced Bergkamp (something to do with a fear of flying).
We started well, with Cesc having a shot and some promising attacks. Then Reyes went off injured and Arsene went for the brave option of risking Thierry Henry for 70 minutes. Within two minutes he had chested the ball down on the edge of the box and fired what looked like a beaut of a volley that was deflected wide. Then he brought down a through ball from Kolo, spun on the edge of the box and hit the most belle of bending shots with the outside of his right foot. Great goal.
We didn’t do much else for the rest of the half and started the second somewhat sluggishly. Then on 65 we started playing again and within five minutes Pires? had played Henry in with a beautiful ball. He controlled it and still had a fair bit to do to knock it home. 2-0 it finished. A decent enough performance and a great result. Playa ratings to the right.
The goals take Theirry Henry past Ian Wright’s all time Arsenal goal scoring record. We have been fantastically privileged to see him rack up 186 not out and even luckier that so many have been done in such incredible style.
As I walked to work yesterday morning (Tuesday), I went with a bounce in my step. Sometimes you don’t realise what you have til it’s gone and I for one could not wait to see his magnificence return to the pitch.
Of course, there will be those Arsenal fans who will bemoan his unwillingness to commit to the club in his post match interview. That kind of reaction is absolute bollocks in my view. It is quite obvious he is not going to come out and commit to the club just like that because the fact is he is considering leaving. He is 28, has achieved a massive amount, probably fears somewhat about the destination we are headed towards and feels he may want to try and conquer Spain before he retires. People ask for him to be honest. He is. By saying what he is saying he is making it perfectly clear things are up in the air.
Do people want him to say he wants to go? What good would that do? The fact is that when he says he is focused on his football at the moment, that is the truth and that is what he showed us tonight. What is wrong with him kissing the badge if he puts in great performances? Kissing the badge is a sign that your heart is in to what you are doing. And who could argue that his heart wasn’t in tonight’s performance?
Of course we don’t want him to leave on a Bosman. But if he leaves, he leaves. We have been absurdly lucky to have not only one of the best, but one of the most consistent players in the world between the ages of 22 and 28 in his career. If he wants to move then so be it. I would wish him all the best.
Of course, I desperately want him to sign a new contract. But let us be grown up about this. He is doing nothing wrong. The best we can do is get behind him (the fans were great tonight), get behind the team at Highbury (we can do a lot better) and hope Arsene can bring in the players and the team achieve the success that will allow Thierry Henry to stay.
I have no inside knowledge on the issue of his contract, but my hunch would be that things are not a lot more complicated than Thierry fearing (quite justifiably) that the standard of the squad is slipping and that we look less likely to achieve the success (particularly in Europe) that he so craves.
We shall see what happens, but in the meantime let’s celebrate his achievement and leave the worrying for another time. I have written enough now, so won’t reveal my favourite Henry goal now, but you can reveal yours below.
ps: he seemed pretty happy to me when he broke the record.
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16/10/05
West Brom 2 Arsenal 1: Report + playa ratings. Grim.
Arsene Wenger has never suffered the indignity of losing to a lower division team as Arsenal manager, but it is hard to believe that the disappointment could be any greater than that experienced after today’s loss at West Brom.
In 45 minutes, our emotions went from genuine hope that things could be turning our way (we were winning and Chelsea were losing) to the sheer grimness of seeing us somehow lose and them come back to win 5-1.
In short, we took an early lead when Senderos hooked home a deep Reyes corner. We were completely dominant, they were crap. We sat back. They equalised after a feeble Pires attempt to block a cross, a poor header from Senderos and terrible marking of Kanu. Of all people, the man renowned for taking 10 touches when two will do, had time to control the ball, compose himself and then fire off an (impressive) shot past the helpless Lehman. It was a shocker of a goal.
In the 2nd half we eventually rallied around the hour mark and though we had a couple of chances (Toure, Reyes, Bergkamp) things were in no way urgent enough. We probably should have had a penalty for a foul on Reyes, but he wasn’t in a scoring position so I’m not going to complain. It would, however, be nice to see referees decide whether a foul should be given not based on where the incident happens on the pitch but on the incident itself. And if this means the law needs to be reformed so that minor fouls in non-threatening positions in the area do not warrant a spot-kick then so be it. We need consistency.
Anyway, they then scored a cracker out of absolutely nothing. We huffed but got nowhere. Immensely disappointing and all the more so when you are watching the game in the corner of a bar while in other corners Chelsea, United, Liverpool and Spurs fans are all celebrating goals going in. The upshot of all this is that the table does not look good. In fact I don’t even want to see it. All I know is we’re 14 points behind Chelsea having dropped 11 to their none.
But the main discussion must be about the performance. We started with a very youthful team containing Senderos, Clichy, Reyes, Flamini, Cesc and for much of the game Eboue too after Fred went off. We were without Cole, Campbell, Gilberto, Van Persie, Henry, Hleb and then Ljungberg. That would be a big miss to any squad, all the more so to ours.
So perhaps that excuses things. Or perhaps it doesn’t. The Everton and Man City sides that a far less experienced Arsenal dispatched from last season’s League Cup were miles better than the carthorses West Brom served up today. We could and should have easily won this game.
The problem is that the fact we are not at our most fluent at the moment should mean every playa is giving 120% so that effort alone can get us through. But that is not the case. We were leaden footed and lethargic today. Really, I would say that excluding the hard to appraise Lehman, only Reyes and perhaps Senderos and Toure did themselves justice out there today. Not everything may be coming off for Reyes, but he keeps plugging away and chasing everything.
The same is not true for the others. Pires is the worst culprit. His effort at times is frankly lamentable. I can just about excuse him pulling out of tackles because he is worried about his knee but he has no excuse for not doing everything humanly possible to block crosses.
We are clearly lacking really good cover right through the spine of the team (a defender, midfielder and striker are all needed). But we also have to roll our sleeves up and not commit the immortal sin of taking our foot off the pedal just because our opponents are crap.
It is going to take a miraculous recovery for us to challenge for the league now. We need our genuinely rotten luck with injuries to turn, new playas and better performances.
One final point about today’s referee and the one minute 55 seconds of injury time he added on. Now don’t get me wrong, I loathe it when managers squabble over every few seconds. My theory is normally if you don’t score in 90 then you probably won’t score in 94. But today was just some kind of complete joke. We had an injury a minute from time that lasted about one minute 40 seconds, we had four second half subs, three of which were incredibly slow West Brom ones, we had one of the longest and deliberately stalling goal celebrations ever and we had them wasting time every time they got a free-kick or goal kick, even when it was 1-1.
By adding on just two minutes the referee has completely indulged that negativity (which I accept Arsenal have been guilty of in the past). It was a complete joke.
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09/10/05
Football returns next week
Do you get very bored of England games after 60 minutes? Do you have to tell yourself to try to be happy when England score? And does part of you secretly will the opposition to knock one past ‘us’?
Answer: Yes, yes and yes.
My conclusion is that Sven would get double the amount of stick if the thought of writing about England wasn’t so boring. In fact, I’ve had enough. I’m so bored I can’t be stuffed to write any more about England.
But I will say a few words about my good friends at FIFA. Presumably David Beckham’s red card will stand, despite his 2nd booking being a blatant dive.
It will stand because under FIFA’s own half witted rules, appeals are only allowed in cases of mistaken identity. I don’t give a stuff about Beckham, but I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: this is the most inept rule I have ever seen.
England have been wrongly deprived of a playa for 30 minutes because of an opposition player’s connivance. And then to compound the problem, they will ban him for no other reason than that they have invented a stupid rule that says he must be banned.
For some reason, this rule pisses me off big time. It is the height of bullshit in a game overflowing with the stuff. The only bans being handed out should be for the half wits who invented this rule and are now pressuring the Premiership to take it up.
The only saving grace is that these things have a way of hitting people back in the face. How I will laugh if the brilliant Ronaldinho is sent-off in next year’s World Cup semi-final for handling on the line when the ball clearly hit his chest. Of course, my scorn will not be directed at the unfortunate Brazilian. Instead it will be at the FIFA bigwigs who will have seen their showpiece player miss their showpiece game because of their own arrogant, farcical rules.
Football returns next week.
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021005
Arsenal 1 Birmingham 0 - half a report
Well, I only saw the second half (hence no playa ratings). From the sounds of it we created a fair bit in the first half and as well as missing a penalty we could have had a hatful.
The second half seemed a very flat affair. Maik Taylor made great saves early on from Pires and Ljungberg and then we seemed to lose any great degree of urgency. In the end, Van Persie’s not brilliantly hit shot deflected off a defender and beat the excellent Taylor. We held on, though not with any great style.
We looked lethargic in the latter stages. From what I saw Campbell, Toure and Cole looked good enough. Reyes is playing with brilliant enthusiasm and desire. The rest of them don’t look lazy by any means but if you compare us with Chelsea at the moment, is the same unswerving desire there? I’m not so sure.
It needs to be.
And the crowd can play their part too. Apologies if the SKY sound system did Highbury a disservice, but the ground sounded embarrassingly silent today. The players are human beings like the rest of us and they thrive on the support of the crowd like you and I would. So, if you’re lucky enough to be at Highbury, sing.
Chelsea won 4-1 this afternoon and looked good, albeit against what is a pretty poor Liverpool league side. The Kop were singing louder in the 89th minute than anything Highbury managed today.
On site news, I’ve gone back to the old design but with the new logo following a public outcry. Not sure about what should go in the space on the left though, as the Latest Updates column was pointless and time consuming to update.
Finally, a question for any readers who live in Dublin or anywhere else in the Republic of Ireland. I need to get internet access at my new flat for 3 months. Are there any broadband companies who don’t insist on you signing up for 12 months? And what is the best dial-up?
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Archives: July 2005, June 2005, May 2005, April 2005,March 2005, February 2005, January 2005, December 2004 and the embryonic goodplaya.
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Playa ratings:
v West Ham (2-3) - NEW
Lehman: An absolute idiot for stupidly getting involved with Harewood late on. Not only was it nasty, but he could have been sent-off and he also put us out of our stride. A minute later West Ham made it 3-1. He’s a very good goalkeeper but an arrogant, nasty character and an embarrassment when he behaves like that. 4
Gilbert: Looked to be doing fine until the Arsenal full-back curse struck. 6
Djorou: Individually did well, but understandably hasn’t been able to strike up any kind of partnership with Campbell yet. 6
Campbell: What can you say? Two massive errors that were punished to the max. Things just aren’t going his way at all. 4
Senderos: Obviously doesn’t offer the attacking prowess of Cole or Clichy but he looked solid and his distribution to Pires was fairly impressive. Did fine at centre-back in the second half but should have whacked it out instead of passing to Larsson for the mistake that led to the third goal. 5
Gilberto: He’s not great at the moment. Far too passive for my liking. 5
Diaby: Still raw, but I like him. And he is so like Vieira: even his mistakes remind me of Vieira’s shortcomings. Not sure why he was taken off. 7
Ljungberg: You have to laugh at the way he somehow managed to deflect Henry’s shot wide. Is trying really hard and not actually playing badly at all. But nothing is going his way. 7
Pires: I do feel we need players with greater bite than Pires at the moment. But in fairness, he was involved, scored one, set-up the other one for Henry and saw Hislop deny him with a great save. 6
Henry: Hard to judge. Seemed to have a decent enough game on TV but reports from the game were critical. 6
Van Persie: Unlucky. Offered a lot but nothing went his way. 7
Subs:
Flamini: Brought on as an emergency right-back but did pretty well all things considered. Say what you like about Flamini but he’s a fighter who unlike some of his team-mates will never be found lacking for effort. 7
Larsson: Yes, he made the cock-up for the third goal. But it was typical of our rough justice. Other than that he was excellent: committed in the tackle, full of running in attack and crucially he understands the value of hitting long-balls diagonally, as opposed to completely straight. Which is something some of his team-mates could do with taking note of. 7
Dennis: Not normally much of a substitute, but he found himself a good niche on the right of midfield and offered us extra creativity. Well hit volley to set up Pires’ goal. 6
v Sparta Prague (0-2)
Lehmann: Solid enough game. He’s doing well at the moment. 7
Clichy: Bit of a nightmare really, though to be fair their right winger was their best playa. 5
Cygan: Surprisingly assured. 7
Kolo: Looked fairly good most of the time. 7
Lauren: The odd moment of strangeness. 6.5
Flamini: Was hard to judge the midfielders tonight. Seemed to do the normal without being mega effective. 6.5
Gilberto: One of those Gilberto games where you don’t really know how he has played. 6.5
Fabregas: Got fairly involved and offered threat down the right. 7
Pires: Not his best game by any means but still one of his better ones this season. Magnificent ball for the second goal. 7
Van Persie: Seems to get carded in Europe for the most ridiculous things. Did alright without having much effect. 6.5
Reyes: Full of running til he got injured and wasn’t running at all. 6.5
Subs:
Henry (for Reyes 17ish): Emperor-like as he beat Wrighty’s record. Magnificent playa who, had he not scored, would have been accused of going missing in another big game. But because he did score, it won’t count as a big game. 8.5
Eboue (for Van Persie 70ish): Looking ok at the moment. 6.5
Quincy (for Cesc 85ish): Full of running. 6.5
v West Brom (2-1)
Lehmann: Blameless for goals. 6
Lauren: Not particularly composed. 5.5
Clichy: Has had far better games. 5.5
Senderos: Good goal, messy header for theirs. 6
Toure: Ok but ridiculously offside at one free kick. 5.5
Flamini: Ok but uninspiring. 5.5
Cesc: Decent. Kept trying. 6
Pires: Crap. 4.5
Ljungberg: Ok while he was on. 5.5
Reyes: Still running his heart out. 7
Bergkamp: A moany kind of day. 5.5
Subs:
Eboue (for Ljungberg 35ish): Not great. 5.5
Quincy (for Flamini 80ish): Bizarrely decided what Arsenal lack is left-wingers. 5.5
v Everton (2-0)
Jens: Very little to do. Did it all right. 7
Lauren: Occasionally seemed to imagine he had more pace than he does, which was quite amusing as he tried to take people on. Solid as usual. 7
Cole: As someone who gave him a good bashing over the summer it would suit by agenda to say he is playing poorly. But that would be a lie. Whatever the reasons for it, he has started the season well and in attack in particular is offering a lot. 7.5
Toure: Nothing to do at the back and seemed to enjoy getting in on this whole new set-piece malarkey. 7
Campbell: Two excellent headers, especially the second one which was a real hammer. Not at full speed yet but looked good, organised the defence well, shouted at people and seemed to realise he was our most senior player on the pitch. 8
Pires: Hadn’t done all that much in the brief period he was on the pitch before Gary Neville’s shit younger brother’s tackle forced him off. 6.5
Cesc: One friend said to me he is looking lightweight and giving the ball away too much. Maybe. But I think he does a lot of good stuff and his presence in the opponent’s penalty box is valuable. 7
Gilberto: Solid game, got through a fair amount and gave us a couple of those rare Gilberto moments where for a few seconds he stops looking like he is suspended in perpetual slow motion and instead provides us with raw Brazilian skill. 7
Ljungberg: Started slowly but furrowed hard as ever. Seemed to make a real determination to either stick wide out on the wing or else very deliberately come inside as opposed to just being narrow. I think it worked. Unlucky to hit bar in second half. 7
Van Persie: Hit the post with a nice effort (right footed!) and had some decent moments but was otherwise a bit subdued. Has been a fairly rough few weeks and is probably still feeling his way back in to things. 6.5
Reyes: Loses the ball now and then but that is only because he constantly seems to have it. Boundless energy at the moment, great creativity and fantastic balls into the box. Really was amazing how much of the ball he had tonight. 8
Subs:
Hleb (for Pires first half some time): Played pretty well, looked pretty creative and linked up well with Cole. Playing better than Pires. 7
Dennis (for Van Persie 80ish): Did alright. Created a bit of stuff. Didn’t do anything of note. 6.5
Alex Song (for Reyes 87ish): Made a couple of sloppy passes but it was harsh and exaggerated for Alan Smith to say he hadn’t found a man. 6
v Thun (2-1)
Almunia: Probably not to blame on the goal and handling was ok even though he still catches very strangely.6
Lauren: Did the usual Lauren stuff. Fairly well. 6.5
Cole: Thought he was good today. Clean at the back and contributed well going forward. Perhaps he enjoyed having Pires back in front of him. 7
Toure: Seemed ok. Can’t remember too much else.6.5
Sol: Looking a little chunky but it must be good to have him back.6.5
Cesc: Not his most spectacular game but made a couple of decent runs forward and made one particularly delicious pass in the second half.6.5
Gilberto: Very well taken goal and was more involved tonight than normally. An experienced head 7.5
Pires: By no means at his best but infinitely better than the past few games. Got in an early curler that almost flew in and was generally far more involved. Even tried to tackle twice. Neither attempt worked.. 7
Ljungberg. Svavanged without achieving much.6.5
RVP: Had been easing himself back into first team action when the dick head referee struck. 6.5
Reyes: Excellent, his boundless enthusiasm drove the team on and he looked really dangerous at times and caused Thun more problems than anyone else. 8
Subs:
Dennis (for Cesc 70 odd): Is that his first goal as a sub? Took it well. 7
Hleb (for Reyes 80 odd): Didn’t really find his touch in the ten minutes he had.6
Quincy (for Ljungberg 80 odd): Offered a new threat.6.5
v Fulham (4-1)
Lehman: Looking very solid at the moment. You can tell it by the fact he is not making kicking mistakes at the moment. At tricky moments, his handling from corners was excellent.7
Lauren: Missed a penalty, but that was bound to happen one day and at least it didn’t matter. Otherwise, he played well and looked particularly committed (mostly in the right sense) in the tackle. 7
Cole: His best attacking display for a while and linked up promisingly with Reyes. 7.5
Cygan: I’ve made no secret of the fact that his presence in the team pleases me not. Defending was ok tonight, though a couple of times Fulham forwards worryingly escaped him when crosses were slung in. Took his goals very well. Could it be that unlike the rest of the side Cygan does not feel obligated to score the perfect goal and concentrates on just sticking it in the net?7.5
Kolo: Poor clearance for the Fulham goal but on the whole had a decent game. The defensive issues we have at the moment seem more a collective than individual problem. 7
Cesc: Gets a wee bit overrun occasionally but on the whole is playing really well and in particular offers a genuine attacking threat in the way that perhaps Vieira sometime failed to. 7
Gilberto: Did what Gilberto does. Still sometimes resembles one of those video graphic created dinosaurs in the way he moves. 7
Hleb: Good first half, creating a fair deal and generally looking like a cross between Pires and Ljungberg (in the best sense). 7
Reyes: A very good game in my opinion, full of running, full of trickery and very direct. In particular, he linked up very well with Cole and Henry, which was very pleasing. His ball for Henry’s first goal was majestic and pleasingly the two seemed on the same wavelength tonight. 8
Dennis: Besides his idiotic yellow card he had a great game and was at the heart of Fulham’s dissection. Kept going strong right to the end. 8
Henry: Took his two goals, which both came at crucial times, very well. Just one more to equal Wright’s record. 7.5
Subs:
Flamini (for Reyes 75 odd): Set up Henry for the killer third goal. 7
Clichy (for Hleb 85 odd): Ran around like mad, as Clichy does. 7
v Liverpool (3-1)
Lehman: Two really good saves – the first from Riise and the second from Gerard’s piledriver. Flapped at one cross but all it served to do was to remind us how much he has improved. 7.5
Lauren: Did very well, almost scoring from Pires’ cross in the first half and setting up the third goal with some nice play. Is doing well at the moment, perhaps spurred on by Wenger not mentioning right back when saying which areas he doesn’t need to strengthen over the summer! 7.5
Cole: A mixed game. Good going forward and times and obviously an excellent second half block from Garcia. But also occasionally sloppy, messing up things we know him well capable of doing. 6.5
Senderos: A big presence at the heart of the defence he had one of his sternest tests in an Arsenal shirt when Liverpool got at us in the second half. Did pretty well on the whole though, especially as protection from midfield was not always forthcoming. 7
Kolo: A good solid outing and the same goes for him as for Senderos. 7
Vieira: Did some stuff really well and was very influential in our first half attacking play. But I felt he allowed the midfield to be too easily swamped after the break and was not always applying the pressure to Liverpool that he might have done. 7
Gilberto: It goes without saying that evaluating a Gilberto performance is very, very difficult. That said, I felt that like Vieira he could have offered a bit more bite in midfield to help out the defence in the second half. 6.5
Pires: Really was at the heart of some of our best stuff in the first half. Crossed brilliantly for Lauren to almost score, shot just wide and then scored with a magnificent free-kick. Faded later on. 7.5
Cesc: Absolutely outstanding. He set the move in motion for Reyes’ offside goal, fired just wide from 20 yards, scored his own offside goal and then added a very neat third for us in stoppage time. In between this he ran the game, tackling, running with the ball, passing brilliantly and generally looking the best player on the park. Outstanding. 9
Reyes: Not perfect, but he notched up another well taken goal, scored an offside one and ran his heart out for the cause in the second half. 7.5
Van Persie: Not as involved as he has been but got involved and put over one excellent early cross for Robert Pires. Generally looking a much better player than previously. 7
Subs:
Edu (for Pires 70 odd): Came on and did ok. 6.5
Bergkamp (for Van Persie 70 odd): Set up Fabregas for the third with a fantastic flick but was otherwise pretty poor. When he did try and press Liverpool he gave away a few free-kicks and the rest of the time he just didn’t seem to chase them at a time when we really needed players to get stuck in. I know he is still capable of the odd piece of magic but we probably have enough to our attacking armoury that magic alone should not prompt a new contract. We have shown we are capable of winning without Dennis and should probably now look to the future. 6
Aliadiere (for Reyes 85): As ever he came on and got stuck in, chasing everything and hassling the Liverpool defenders. Has a really good attitude and probably deserves more than five minutes at some point. 6.5
v West Brom (2-0)
Lehman: The defence clearly trusts him again and he is reciprocating that with improved handling, kicking and decision making. 7
Lauren: Worked reasonably hard and got forward on a few occasions. 7
Cole: Looked a little lethargic at times but kept going and finished the game strongly, setting us on a number of attacks. 6.5
Senderos: A couple of passes went astray but took a no nonsence defence to defending. Far be it for me to argue with his current record of not conceding a goal for absolutely yonks. 7.5
Gilberto: Covered well at set pieces, but with Arsenal in 2nd gear he seemed only to happy to make sure Gilberto was in 2nd gear too. Not much drive. 6.5
Vieira: Committed silly fouls early on and was not finding his passes. Got better as the game went on and provided more drive. Symbolic of our night. 7
Pires: Did ok initially but like the rest of them lacked the necessary drive. Got better with the team. 7
Cesc: Probably not his best game. Came looking for the ball a lot and should be credited for it but looked a little fatigued when challenged. 6.5
Van Persie: Did ok initially but was not really receiving a lot of support from the midfield. Took his goal magnificently. 7
Reyes: Ran hard but once again looked incredibly left footed. But gave an excellent assist for the opening goal and kept on trying right til the end, providing useful relief for the defence. 7
Subs:
Dennis (for Van Persie 75ish): Did little except provide a measured set-up for Edu's clincher. 6.5
Edu (for Cesc 75ish): Got involved a bit and finished well to clinch it. 7
v Spurs (1-0)
Lehman: Is playing very well and his handling looks as assured as ever, his throws good and his kicking far better than earlier in the season. I think it no great secret that he needs to control his temper. 7
Lauren: Has looked solid in recent weeks and looked more lively going forward. Alan Curbishley put him in his team of the season on the basis that few wingers get much change out of him. And he is probably right. Really does need to watch stray elbows though, intentional or not. 7
Toure: Was given a little trouble by Defoe but it was less trouble than Adi Akenbai gave him in the FA Cup in January. And Defoe is clearly a far better player than the Stoke man. Will soon score a very, very memorable free-kick I sense. 7
Senderos: It is hard to argue with his defensive record since he came into the side. We have simply stopped conceding goals. That said, what are the odds that back when we were conceding at will, Robbie Keane would have buried that chance. Could have got first goal for club with header. 7
Cole: Linked up well as ever with Pires down our left hand side and seemed really up for the fight. Had the slightly awkward penalty shout against him at the end but otherwise did well. 7
Vieira: With the ball he was excellent on the whole, spreading play at pace and helping support those ahead of him. Looks much more comfortable with Gilberto next to him. Though that said they both looked half a step off the pace at times against a Spurs side full of running. 7
Gilberto: Did what Gilberto does well. Though probably not as much of a shield as against Chelsea. 7
Cesc: Tired a little in the second half but was his usual youthful magnificence until then. Spread the ball with ease, got stuck in, helped out the attack and set up our goal. Nice. 7.5
Pires: Not the force he was against Chelsea but is playing well at the moment, linking up well with Cole down the left and generally providing an experienced head in an otherwise youthful attack. 7
Van Persie: Set Reyes up for the first minute chance, fired a decent effort wide and generally played quite a mature game without hitting great heights. 7
Reyes: Did very well to come back after the first minute miss. Goal was excellent and attitude looked good. Seemed to find an extra gear for second half run that set up Dennis. 7.5
Subs:
Dennis (for Van Persie 70 odd): Curled one wide and generally looked quite good against a tiring Spurs defence. There was the odd occasion when I felt he let the player pass him to quickly but that was probably just my last minute nerves. 7
Edu (for Cesc 70 odd): Hit the post with a curling effort and slotted in very, very neatly on the left. Will be a great shame to lose him if he does eventually go. 7
Aliadiere (for Van Persie 87 odd): Only had a few minutes but looked really keen to impress. Had a couple of good touches, got stuck in and made tired Spurs legs panic, buying us valuable time. 7
v Chelsea (0-0)
Lehman: Has looked much better recently and besides the odd dodgy kick, looked very solid against Chelsea and made one excellent save early on from Drogba. His positioning seemed good on through balls. 7
Lauren: He really didn’t put a foot wrong and kept Damien Duff and probably had his best game for the club against a very, very tricky opponent. Was ferocious and fair in the tackle. 8
Cole: After a slightly tentative start he threw himself at everything Chelsea chucked at us. Whatever people’s feelings about his current situation, there can be no complaints about his performance. 7
Senderos: Excellent as usual. This guy likes clean sheets. 7
Toure: Really did well in what could have been a tricky night. Got weight on his clearances and never panicked. 7
Vieira: It really doesn’t take a genius to figure out how much he seems to be enjoying having Gilberto back in the side. Really led the side again with fine interventions and set us on the path to attack – such as when Pires hit the bar. 7.5
Gilberto: Suffered a couple of inevitable nosebleeds when he got into decent positions going forward but otherwise did a fine job of snaffling out what Chelsea threw at us and generally making the team a slick unit. Showed one or two fine turns as well. 7
Cesc: This kid really does defy logic. At a time when his brittle bones should be feeling the effects of a long, hard season he is looking stronger than ever. Magnificently composed on the ball, he worked furiously in defence, midfield and attack. 8
Pires: His early volley that hit the bar reminded me of when I stood in the Holte End last year for Villa v Arsenal and he hit an even better effort that was turned just over. Even the anti-French bigots around me were shut well and truly up.
There is a wonderful magnificence about watching Robert Pires on song. He caresses the ball delightfully and when it’s time to move it on he does it with the utmost precision. A joy to watch and unlucky not to score twice. 9
Reyes: The story of his last 6 months – no problem with effort but he just lacks the confidence to make things really happen. The annoying thing is that he’s making errors on things that a confident Reyes could do with his eyes shut. Let’s hope his effort is rewarded soon. 6
Bergkamp: Like Reyes he worked hard and did his bit to keep Chelsea at bay. But also like Reyes he found himself struggling up front. The curtain appears to be falling on his magnificent career. Hopefully an announcement will be made soon and both we and Dennis can enjoy his final games. 6
Subs:
Van Persie (for Dennis 80 odd): Struggled to get into the game but had a few decent chances and ran hard for the side.
Aliadiere (for Cesc 85 odd): Did alright but by the time he came on it didn’t look like either side were really going to score.
v Boro (1-0)
Lehman: Flapped at one cross in the first half and then came ridiculously far out of his goal before eventually winning the ball. Yes, he’s kept a fair few clean sheets recently and yes, it’s even true we could win the league again with him in goal, but no, we won’t win in Europe with Jens and no, he’s not the answer. 6
Lauren: His early challenge, whilst not worthy of a red card as suggested on Match of the Day, was sheer stupidity. He did alright and he’s plodding along but not really getting any better. 6
Cole: Attacked decently at times but wasn’t helped by a very, very ineffectual Robert Pires. 6.5
Senderos: Now looks like he should be partnering Sol Campbell when the two are fit. Authoritative, big and commanding, his presence has coincided with a string of clean sheets. Still has rough edges, but these are being shaved all the time. 7
Kolo: Did reasonably well and made a couple of important blocks, but I’m not convinced his future lies in the heart of the defence. Together, he and Lauren sometimes seem to bring out the worst in each other and we just don’t look solid, clean sheets or no clean sheets. Would like to see him at right back. 6.5
Gilberto: I looked out especially for incidences of him filling gaps and yes, I can confirm it happens and he does his job well. Still looks very nervous in attacking positions, but his presence is welcome. 6
Vieira: I thought he did reasonably well, though like the rest of the players he seemed to have trouble bringing any great coherency to our play. 6
Cesc: I plumped for Cesc on the right a while ago and I like seeing him there. He got well forward and was always involved. Looks tired, but it’s been a long old season and he’s still, only 17. 6.5
Pires: I thought him absolute rubbish up until he scored really. His inability to tackle has been documented many times before, but on Saturday he seemed to be playing the whole game at walking pace. But then who better is there at converting the one chance he gets to secure a 1-0 lead. 6
Reyes: Things still aren’t all coming off for him but I sense things are getting better and his work rate and willingness to track back really can’t be faulted. We know for a fact that the boy has the talent to succeed, so while he may not be showing what he’s really capable of right now, we should applaud his recent application. Had a couple of really mazy runs and set up Henry excellently for a shot he scuffed. 7
Henry: Had one of those games where he seemed to stand almost still on the edge of the box, conserving his energy and waiting to pounce. It didn’t really work, though he did have a glorious chip fly just wide and certainly scared the Boro fans every time he got the ball. He was also up against an obdurate Boro. 6.5
Subs:
Dennis (Reyes 46): Did alright without really changing the game at all. It seems the curtain may be falling on his illustrious career and reluctantly, I think it right. We know he can still play brilliantly in patches but the truth is that it’s becoming less often and it’s hampering us in European away games. We need someone to step forward and become Henry’s partner. Sometimes the bullet needs to be bitten. And now is that time. 6
v Palace (5-1)
Jens: It’s tempting to say that the early back pass cock-up could just as easily have happened to Petr Cech but in truth that would be a lie. He’s simply too cocky and over confident with his kicking – it’s why so many balls get sliced wildly and why we almost conceded a shambolic own goal tonight. Otherwise, he actually did quite well. 6.5
Lauren: Is definitely becoming a better player going forward but was as culpable as anyone for our defensive malaise. 6
Cygan: Didn’t have an awful game but on too many occasions simple long balls forward by Palace became much more serious than they needed to be. 6
Kolo: Got skinned more often than he would have liked and was caught out at times from crosses. But still, we only conceded one. 6.5
Clichy: Did well getting forward, causing a constant menace. Defending was largely competent but seemed to be infected by the general defensive tendency to give the ball away. 6.5
Vieira: Another tricky game to rate from the captain. At times he was sluggish and easily caught in possession. At others, he took a grip on the game and drove the team forward impressively. Got well forward for his goal. 7
Edu: Didn’t have the sudden impact he enjoyed at Villa last week but did well enough and certainly gave us a fair bit of solidity. Good ball to Reyes for the opener. 7
Pires: Seemed to be rewriting the dictionary definition of anonymous for the first 20 or so minutes. Then got more into the game without coming close to hitting top gear. Was unlucky to hit the post in the 2nd half after good work from Reyes. 7
Reyes: His best game in yonks. He looked fearless again, running constantly at the Palace defence and causing a lot of trouble. Good assist for the first, great finish for the second, an assist for the third and a fantastic pass to Dennis to set up the fifth. Great to see him back again. 8.5
Dennis: As ever, he oiled, moulded and sculpted our performance. He also took his goal very well, like he did against Newcastle and United too. And set up Henry for the fifth. 7.5
Henry: Really played very, very well and channelled any frustration about constant offside decisions in exactly the right way. Had seemingly boundless energy to chase back lost causes and put us back on the attack. 8.5
Subs:
Flamini (for Edu 60odd): Solid and composed as ever. 7
Van Persie (for Dennis 80odd): Linked up reasonably well as the game entered its final stages. 7
Fabregas (for Pires 80odd): Settled in comfortably on the right. 7
v Wolves (2-0)
Jens: Whilst a clean sheet is a clean sheet, he had very little to do and looked no more reassuring than previously with his kicking. To be fair, he was also played a high number of over hit back passes today and was not at fault for the one from Flamini that took a wicked bobble off the Highbury surface (which appeared unusually cut-up).6.5
Eboue: Got forward well, hit the bar with a deflected shot and could have had a penalty. Nice work. 8
Clichy: Decent game without being exceptional.7
Sol: Not a lot to do. 7
Cygan: Better than usual. 8
Paddy: Mediocre for much of it truth be told. Got better later on and scored the penalty but for too long his mind didn’t seem in the right place. Sure, Wolves made it difficult by crowding midfield but too often he seemed semi asleep at throw ins and the like. Still, he kept going. 6.5
Flamini: Didn’t show the deftness of touch of the Newcastle game but retained all his normal solidity. And great as Ray Parlour was, watching Boro at the moment suggests that we’ve got an as good, if not better, replacement. 7
Reyes: A couple of good runs, some moments of anonymity and denied a stonewall penalty. Still getting back to form but it definitely seems better than a few weeks ago. 6.5
Freddie: Usual energetic performance without any stand out moments, save his well taken goal. That’s ten for the season now and we’re still in January. Good work Sir. 7
Van Persie: Not his most inspiring game and clearly doesn’t yet have the positional ability of Dennis (who does?) but is improving. 6.5
Henry: Gallic. Went into one of his moods after Riley ruled out his cheeky first half effort. Strutted around for a while, went in for a couple of silly tackles and became frankly self indulgently petulant when a foul was given against him. It’s alright for us to loathe Riley endlessly but our top striker shouldn’t let him affect his game. And the fact is he did. But recovered his composure, was unlucky not to score and set up Freddie in superb fashion. 8
Subs:
Cesc (for Van Persie): Settled in comfortably on the right. 7
Pires (for Reyes): Nice work for the clinching goal. 7
Quincy (for Fred): No time to make an impression.
v Charlton (3-1)
Alumnia: No chance with the goal and didn’t do too much wrong besides one poor fumble from a cross. Still not convinced by his catching techniques. No difficult saves to make6.5
Hoyte: Made the odd error but did well to make sure his old youth team buddy Jerome Thomas had his quietest game in weeks. Managed to get forward a bit more in the second half.7.5
Cole: Still not looking at his best and on a couple of occasions was embarrassed by Rommedahl. But in fairness he wasn’t as sloppy as recently and did get forward well later on. 6.5
Sol: With the exception of one wildly sliced clearance in the first half that Almunia had to save he looked pretty solid and kept Charlton’s clear chances to a minimum. Let’s hope his ankle isn’t too bad. 7
Kolo: Given a bit of grief by Bartlett in the air but stuck to his task well and like Campbell, restricted the number of clear cut chances. 7
Vieira: Watching the game live, I was unconvinced by his first half performance. But having just seen the highlights it seems he got through a lot of work and did what he had to do neatly and efficiently. Set up Fred well for the goal and kept up a good level of performance all the way through.7
Cesc: Lost the odd ball but was generally very sound. Passing was clean and crisp as ever and his touch for the second goal was exquisite by any standards.7.5
Freddie: Took his two goals brilliantly, worked hard and always looked a threat. In good form. 8
Clichy: Seemed to lose the ball cheaply a bit too often but worked hard down the left helping Cole out with nullifying the threat of Rohmedahl and getting forward well. Has tremendous energy which comes in handy at the end of games when opposition players tire.6.5
Henry: Not at his best today but more worrying than the actual performance was the fact that his normal fitness wasn’t there. Had a lovely free-kick cleared off the line.6.5
Van Persie: Still has a tendency to twist and turn once too often. But also holds the ball up brilliantly, moves it well and finished superbly for the third. Should probably be given a real run up front next to Henry. Took his goal like a striker, which is disconcerting coming from an Arsenal player.7.5
Subs:
Pires (for Van Persie 72ish): With the game won he wisely didn’t over exert himself ahead of Man City on Tuesday night. 6.5
Senderos (for Campbell 82ish): Slotted in well on his Premiership debut.7
Pennant (for Fred 86): Didn’t have time to get into the game. 7
v Newcastle (1-0)
Almunia: Our star man tonight. A smart early save from Ameobi (even if it was probably going wide) and excellent handling all night gave us one less worry. Four clean sheets in five and he also kicks a fair bit better than Jens.7
Lauren: Though Lauren Robert didn’t reach anything like his best, I’m not sure whether too much credit should go to Lauren. His positioning often seemed weak, his passing and tackling little better and he offered almost nothing in attack. Mr Average was distinctly poor. 5.5
Cole: Whilst there’s no shame in being given a tough time of things by Craig Bellamy, Cole’s performance was noticeably worse than just a torrid time. He made stupid, unnecessary fouls, got caught out when he should normally have had enough pace and looked very, very shaky. He may have been pushed a touch for the penalty incident, but a defender with his mind fully on the job wouldn’t have allowed the ball to hit him as blatantly as it did. In mitigation he did improve and unlike Lauren provided some attacking threat. 5.5
Kolo: Did alright but like the others his decision making didn’t always seem to be the best informed. That said, it’s a little harsh to chastise a central defender who has kept four clean sheets in five. 6.5
Sol: Urgh. After some very sound recent performances he seemed far too troubled by what looked like some relatively simple long balls. One such error allowed Ameobi in for his early chance and his lack of authority always made the long ball route look like a wise one for Newcastle to take. 6
Flamini: Not his best game for Arsenal but he still got through a lot of work, kept things simple and had a hand in setting up Vieira for the goal. 6.5
Vieira: Named man of the match by SKY and praised in a couple of papers, but I’m going to be honest and say that up until he scored I thought he was pretty useless, being caught in possession too often. That said in the second half he got through a fair bit of work as we ground out victory. 6.5
Fred: Beavered away, had some good moments and kept on trying. Was going to commend him for his work on a couple of occasions in particular but can’t now remember what they were. 7
Pires: Even by his standards, his tackling was poor today. Truth be told, I can’t fathom how he’s allowed to defend with his body constantly side on to the play. As a left winger he has defensive responsibilities and simply has to make a better fist of it. On the attacking front he was probably our most creative player, moving the ball smartly and at pace. 6
Van Persie: Still very, very raw. Unlucky not to score in the opening minutes and had a couple more decent efforts but all too frequently ran into trouble and lost the ball on what was admittedly an awful surface completely unsuited to his quick twists and turns. Corners weren’t bad. Needs time. 6.5
Henry: His touch was not quite at its magical best, but again this was probably due to the state of the pitch. Had a couple of good runs that resulted in decent shots on Shay Given’s goal. 6.5
Subs:
Clichy (for Van Persie 80 mins approx): Seemed as happy as anyone in the post match huddle but for the second game in succession he seemed a little out of sorts when called upon. 6
v Fulham (2-0)
Almunia: Looks better by the game and made a crucial save when he rushed out at speed to palm away a Fulham chance at 1-0. Made no notable mistakes. 7
Clichy: Had a good first half – getting forward well as usual and strong on the defensive stuff. Then in the second half he seemed to lose his confidence went, either as a result of or because of Fulham consistently probing down our left. Like any small full-back, aerial strength is a weakness.6
Lauren: Average as usual. Looked solid against a Fulham attack lacking any real penetration. 6.5
Sol: At times we were troubled in the air – but Sol is leading a defence that is no longer allowing attackers completely free headers at corners. Looks fit and healthy and, along with the rest of the defence, now has three clean sheets in four league games. 7
Freddie: A fine game on his return from migraine troubles. Played in Henry for the first and set-up Pires for the second. 7.5
Cesc: Gets caught on the ball occasionally but is still doing the vast majority of things with real fluency. Gives us real creativity in the middle. 7
Vieira: Showed a few soft shoe shuffles to bam boozle defenders in a way we haven’t really seen this season. Also got stuck into his tackles and generally seemed to be on the ball. 7
Pires: There was this surreal moment in the first half. He got the ball on the left wing and took a heavy touch. As if that wasn’t enough he then went flying into the tackle with the Fulham defender and actually won the ball. And it wasn’t the only time – I saw him snuff out a few Fulham attacks and even win a header.
Of course, the attacking side of his play was superb as well – he would have scored from a Dennis chest down but for a good save by Van De Saar. He linked up well, particularly with Henry, and inevitably took his goal with typical aplomb. Now has 19 in 2004, which is good. 7.5
Dennis: A fair few poor touches and bad decision making in general play. In mitigation, he dummied the ball well for the second goal and put Pires in with an excellent chest down. 6.5
Henry: Sure, the flicks didn’t always come off but at times he led Fulham a merry dance like he has almost every other defence this season. His goal was a trade mark finish and he was desperately unlucky when his side footer from the edge of the box crashed back off a post. 7
Subs:
Flamini (for Freddie 74ish): Some might say Arsene was making a point by not replacing Freddie with Pennant. Others will call it a sensible way of seeing out the game. 6.5
Van Persie (for Dennis 78ish): Provided his usual array of tricks but didn’t get a real chance to score. 6.5
v Portsmouth (1-0)
Almunia: Had a really good game. Caught when he needed to catch, punched when he wasn't sure and kicked immaculately. Also made a couple of really good saves. His run of impressive performances may only stretch to two but for now there seems no reason to bring back Jens. 8
Lauren: Did nothing too wrong but didn't offer as much in attack as he might have and at times appeared troubled by Pomey's pace. I think he's ok, but I'm becoming less and less convinced he should be our right back at all - more on that tomorrow. 6.5
Cole: A tough one to call. For a while looked rattled by Pompey's pace and agression down the left. Misplaced a couple of balls and though his tackles were mostly coming off they had a slightly concerning aggressiveness about them which made me think he was letting his own frustration get the better of him a little. But stuck to the task well and in the end kept a dangerous Pompey out. 7
Kolo: Got sucked in a couple of times, but on the whole he was part of a defence that looked pretty solid and much improved at set pieces. 7
Sol: Looked fitter than recently I thought - turning smoothly on a couple of occasions when faced with danger. He also made countless important headers at corners and won us the game with the kind of head down sheer determinism many fans would like to see a little more often. 8
Flamini: Ran hard, tackled hard and never gave up. Doesn't offer as much going forward as Fabregas, but doesn't claim to either. Unlucky with a header from Henry's free-kick. 7
Vieira: Industrious, but was also sloppy on occasion, getting caught in posession and losing the ball. Still doesn't seem 100% back to his best and didn't make the most of a couple of shooting opportunities. 6.5
Clichy: Fought well and offered Cole valuable protection down the left hand side. Showed initial attacking promise early on but faded as Pompey grew in stature. Nonetheless, was full of running at the end and nearly capitalised on tired Pompey legs. 7
Pires: His every touch was met with a chorus of boos as Bob faced Pompey for the first time since 'that dive' last season. There was even one moment when he slipped and the ball rolled out of play. Which probably made a certain journalist very, very warm inside. Otherwise, was neat enough but pretty ineffectual, seemingly afraid of injury in the rough house atmosphere. Had a couple of lovely runs late on and set Dennis up for a chance he really should have taken. 6.5
Henry: Worked hard and created much of our best work, but often found himself crowded out by the hoardes of Pompey defenders. Nearly scored after a flowing first half move and set up Dennis' other chance late on, which again he really should have taken. 7
Van Persie: Started really well, showing fantastic feet and trickery and generally leading Pompey a merry dance. He swivels at such speed he'll probably need a hip replacement aged 30. Faded somewhat after his impressive start, finding himself crowded out by the packed defence. Could pass a little earlier at times but nonetheless a decent first start in a difficult game and he staked a fair claim for inclusion against Fulham on Boxing Day. 6.5
Subs:
Bergkamp (for Van Persie 68ish): Should have scored late on following good set up play. His performance did little to silence the voices calling for this year to be his last. I'm undecided on that, but what I am sure about is that I won't miss the needless little kicks and elbows aimed at his opponents when frustration sets in. Simply put: the sly digs are ugly and Van Nistelrooy like and do nothing for us. 6
v Chelsea (2-2)
Almunia: Faultless for both their goals, he made good stops from Lampard and Gudjohnsen in the first half. And made a vital save when Robben wriggled his way through after the break. But nobody noticed it. Caught when a catch was a good idea, punched when a punch was wiser and set us on the attack with some good throws. 7.5
Lauren: Didn't see much of him, but when you're up against Duff and Robben, this can only be to a defender's credit. Thought he did really well to keep them in check, and the one time Robben did really threaten in the second half, the danger came down the other side. 7.5
Cole: The one player who I thought struggled today. As has been the case of late, he lacked confidence in his touch and stuggled defensively. Perhaps should have come out to Robben before the winger got into the box for his 2nd half chance, and was easily beaten in the air by Drogba for Cheslea's 2nd equaliser. 6
Kolo: Looked solid overall and helped limit Chelsea to only a few chances asides from set pieces. 7
Sol: A mixed bag. Made some really important defensive headers and looked in command at times at the back. But was a little caught out for their opening goal and sometimes seemed a little gung ho in his marking. Made important late tackle on Drogba.7
Reyes: Was quiet, but this was a tough game. Nodded down to Henry for the opener, worked hard and went on a few mazy runs without much success. Still, I thought he gave them something to worry about.6.5
Fabregas: Another excellent performance. He and Flamini were overwhelmed initially when up against Tiago, Lampard and Makalele but never gave up and fought their way back into the game admirably. Nice goal to set up Henry for the opener, he was instrumental in setting up the Frenchman's near winner and also set up RVP for his chance. Uses the ball so intelligently and showed that despite his size, he's not afraid to get stuck in. Was up against the very best in the business today and succeeded in limiting Lampard to a largely peripheral role.8
Flamini: £1 million? First league start? A snip if you ask me. He run's tirelessly, he harries, he puts his foot in and he uses the ball simply when he wins it. A real water carrier but absolutely essential today and worked tirelessly. Well done Sir. 8
Pires: We wanted a big performance and boy did we get one. Seemed almost impossible to shake off the ball, tackled back, linked up well with Lauren, Flamini, Cesc and Henry and drove the team forward in his own idiosyncratic waddle. When in his pomp, he is still a wonderful, wonderful footballer to watch. Set up Henry for the near winner, realised his responsibility as the senior partner in midfield, and shouldered the responsibility admirably.7.5
Dennis: Didn't get involved in too much of note, but I can't help feeling he just gives us a cetain sophistication and shape when he's in the side. Gordon Strachan pointed out on Match of the Day how hard he'd worked to stop Makalele getting the ball and in hindsight I think it probably a fair call.6.5
Henry: Forget the late miss - it can happen to anyone. Otherwise he was outstanding, scoring a brilliant first (which included winning a high ball!), netting an impudent second and generally running the show. Scared Chelsea shitless every time he picked it up and was responsible for a hell of a lot of good work. Also destroyed the concept he doesn't turn it on in big games. That's 15 in 17 league games now by the way.9
Subs:
Clichy (for Reyes 82): Ran around like mad for 10 minutes and forced mistakes out of tired legs. Really good footballer and good enough to start for probably every Premiership side and perhaps should be more often for us. 7.5
RVP: Is maturing very nicely indeed. Nearly netted a silky winner when he latched onto Cesc's pass and gave the Chelsea players a lot to think about. Would be really interesting to see him start. 7
v Rosenberg (5-1)
Almunia: Made a really, really good low save early on and kicked largely well. But looked dodgy more than once on crosses and for the second time in a week cost us a goal, which is a real worry. Eventually realised there's nothing wrong with giving a ball a good double handed punch. 6
Hoyte: Was up against a poor opposition but defended diligently and rarely looked rushed. Used the ball well, linked up well with his team mates and should be well pleased with his first European start. 7
Cole: Looked solid, with a couple of important defensive headers, but still not yet back to his marauding best I sense. Shouldn't have let the ball drop over his head for Harald Brattbakk to fire at Alumnia after 17 minutes. Withdrawn with quarter of an hour left. 6.5
Sol: Ditto for above, though did once later on look somewhat sluggish again on the turn. Perhaps I'm just paranoid about the impending arrival of Duff and Robben at Highbury.6.5
Kolo: A very easy night for the big man and he even found time for a classic Kolo dance into the opposition penalty area towards the end. 7
Flamini: Very, very good full debut. Set up the second goal, ran tirelessly, got tackles in and seemed to work well with Cesc in midfield. Looks comfortable tracking back and going forward and also seems to have a strange affinity for joining in attacks right around the right edge of the penalty area and particularly when we attack the North Bank. A young, thinking man's Gilles Grimandi, he ain't at all bad for a fifth choice midfielder. 7.5
Cesc: Absolute star. Has already played 20 games this season (twice as many as Edu, Gilberto and Vieira), yet still had the strength to turn in one of his best performances for the club. Fantastically alert, his use of the ball was excellent. He also scored a very impressive, very difficult goal and was involved in the build up for the fifth. Not just our most frequent performer in midfield this season, but also our best. 8
Jose: Took his goal really well and gave us a flying start. Had another deflected shot well saved and looked much more like the sun kid of the beginning of the season. Had a delightful late chip that bamboozled three very stupid looking Rosenberg players before landing on the roof of the net. 7
Pires: Looked much, much better and was even spotted making a tackle late in the second half. Kept going and linked up well late on with Jose and RVP before being withdrawn for Quincy with two minutes left. His penalty was so brilliantly placed it went into the side netting. Again I marvel at his ability to put a football exactly where he wants it to go. 7
Bergkamp: A nice return for the Ice Man who got involved well in the game, set up the opener and had a couple of openings himself. Might have done better when in front of goal, but eased himself back into the side well. 7
Henry: I actually thought that poor as the defending was for his goal, it was still a pretty decent finish. Worked hard all night, linked up well with the kids around him and seemed to be feeling particularly tolerant. 7
Subs:
Clichy (for Dennis 72ish): Spent a few mins in midfield before dropping back to left back when RVP replaced Ashley. As ever looked sound in the defending and assured going forward.
7
RVP (for Cole 75): Resuscitated the game with some silky skills, wayward finishing and then eventually a very well taken goal. Rawer than an uncooked vegetable, but with massive potential. 7.5
Quincy (for Bob 88): Should have had longer. Don't think he got a touch.
v Birmingham (3-0)
Alumnia: Looks like Lehman, kicks slightly better than Lehman, fumbles the odd ball like Lehman and jumps a couple of inches less high in the air than Lehman. Did ok, but would have been ill advised to let Morrison’s second half effort creep under him and over the line.6.5
Lauren: Seemed really quiet yesterday. Means he was doing his defensive job well which at the moment is the priority. Better? Seeing as we kept a clean sheet, probably a tad. 6.5
Cole: It's not been picked up much by the press, but I’ve thought Ash to be one of the players whose form has most obviously dipped in the recent spell. He’s still looked a top left back, but the subtlety of touch that allowed him and Bob to link so well still seems to be absent. Better? Not noticeably, but again should take credit for a clean sheet. 7
Sol: I’m of the opinion he’s still carrying a little bit of weight. Played well enough, but on a couple of occasions he looked sluggish and immobile on the turn, which is obviously a concern with Duff and Robben coming to town next week. Better? Probably not. 6.5
Kolo: Probably fair to say he’s not been our worst performer in the recent period, but I think on occasion he has allowed our recent jitters to affect his decision making a little. Kept Heskey quiet, but also seemed to time his jumps wrongly on a couple of occasions. Better? Ditto above. 7
Vieira: Did some good stuff but on other occasions his decision making and concentration again seemed lacking a little. He’s a hard one to judge at the moment. Better? Probably a bit.7
Cesc: I’m glad to see he escaped censure for his recent performances because I think a lot of the recent mutterings about how he’s no Gilberto have been unfair. Admittedly, the Brazilian’s best work is done off the ball, SKY’s stats show how we tend to win with him in the side, but I still think the young Spaniard is doing pretty well. He’s a young boy whose probably played too many games in a struggling team in a big league. But he’s still there, still getting stuck in and still doing his stuff. Tired in the latter stages yesterday and was replaced by Flamini, which was a wise, common sense, decision. Better? No, but only because he was doing well in the first place. 7
Freddie: Scavenged, burrowed, furrowed, ducked and dived. Fred’s doing them all at the moment and its working as the perfect complement to the continued attempts at perfection that come from the rest of the team. Is also being very productive. Should have had a penalty yesterday, set up the third goal and generally ran the show. Better? No, but only because he’s been great. 7.5
Pires: Mark my words. One of these days the opposition are going to get a free kick on the edge of our area. Their player will hit it, the ball will fly off Robert Pires and zip past Lehman. And we’ll all put it down as a fluke, like we did for Graveson’s effort that flew off Pennant in the Carling Cup game against Everton. Except it won’t be a fluke because Pires, like Pennant, will have jumped with his back to the ball, meaning that when it hits him he’ll have no way of giving it any direction.
My point is that Pires simply has to go into tackles. Maybe he’s worried about getting hurt, but he’s ducking out of the most basic challenges and its meaning we’re losing the battle in midfield at places like Old Trafford and Anfield.
Obviously, as I was making a note of this, Bob went and scored a classic Bob goal. Basically a really, really good one. He is a fantastic playa, probably the purest footballer we have in our team and quite possibly the best finisher. Yesterday was his 50th goal for the club and almost without exception (Bolton at home this season) they’ve been aesthetically perfect and a joy to watch.
But he must pull his weight for the team, which funnily enough I’ve seen him do really well on a number of occasions. Better? A little bit later on in the second half. 6.5
Reyes: You have to feel for him - seemingly everything he tries seems to go askew these days. Inches away from a Henry cross in the first half, he got into the game a bit more going towards half time, but then tired before being withdrawn. As I said above, he could do with a 25 minute run against tired defences to get his confidence back. Better? Not really, but not for want of effort. 6.5
Henry: Whether it be through injury or lack of confidence, he spent much of the game getting into decent positions but then making the wrong decision. Then ten minutes from time he took off past Melchiot, through the Birmingham defence and then a cool low finish hit whilst he was running at incredible speed. Six minutes later, he bought a ticket for Freddie Ljungberg’s cross and got lucky.
May not be at his best. But the level of criticism he of all people has taken is ridiculous. Has scored 13 league goals this season (four more than anyone else and 9 more than Ruud), scoring in 11 of the 16 games. And it’s not even like he’s bound to get the goals because nobody else does. He hasn’t even scored a third of our goals, and with the exception of Old Trafford (when nobody scored) and Selhurst Park, at least one other Arsenal player has scored in all of our other games.
Better? Yes. Despite earlier failures, his determination to keep going for the all important second goal was admirable. 7.5
Subs:
Clichy (for Jose): I love this guy. He’s like Wenger’s little foot soldier and seems capable of doing everything. Slotted in expertly in left midfield. He covers, chases back, tackles, retains the ball, gets forward, dribbles and causes havoc in the opposition defence. He may be more defensive than Reyes, but sometimes being slightly more defensive can give you the shape to attack more. May not be suited to central midfield, but should be considered a serious option for a place in left midfield on tough away games. 7.5
Flamini: Seems to do everything neatly enough without being spectacular. Will be interesting to see how he works with Cesc over the next two games.7
v Man United (0-1)
Alumnia: Crap on their goal, barely put a foot wrong otherwise. Plays and looks like a slightly smaller Jens, but can kick. 6
Hoyte: OK and defended well on occasion, but I’d still like to see him get forward more. That said, I think he’s a player who would look much better surrounded by seasoned pros. 6.5
Clichy: Really, really good as usual. Slipped on their excuse of a pitch for the early goal, but didn’t let it affect him and worked tirelessly defending and attacking all game. 7.5
Senderos: The lumbering giant of Everton had been replaced by a very, very accomplished looking centre half. One dodgy back header that fell short but otherwise cut out everything that was asked of him and looked a real first team option. 8
Djorou: Took eye off ball and then slipped for the goal which wasn’t good. Never quite looked the same player as against Everton, but worked his way back into the game. 6.5
Flamini: Looks like we can breathe a little more easily in the midfield department after watching a very assured display. Would like to see him trialled as a sub for Freddie in games where we’ve got a dodgy one goal lead. 7
Larsson: Some like him but I’m not so sure. What he did was decent enough but I thought he struggled to have an effect on the game. 6.5
Quincy: Maybe it was the pitch, maybe it was United doubling up on him. Either way the hero of the last round never really got into last night’s affair. 6
Pennant: Worked hard, tried to take the initiative and overall did quite well. Still not sure if he’ll quite make it at Highbury though. 7
Lupoli: Is a striker and when strikers get no service they don’t look much kop. 6.5
Van Persie: Battled hard all night and willingly came deep to win possession. But probably came a bit too deep and battled a bit too hard. Yes, he could have been sent off for the incident with Richardson. Reminds me a bit of a young Freddie, not in playing style but in the way that the potential is clearly there but the skills are still very, very raw. 6.5
Subs:
Smith (for Lupoli): Did OK but still looks wary of going in for challenges and taking men on following his long term injury.
Cregg: Alright
Karbassiyoon: Alright
However you look at it, the draw was hardly great preparation for the final league visit of Man United to Highbury on Tuesday night, particularly given them beating fat Sam’s lot 4-1. The game is a funny one because for seemingly the first time in yonks it is the attack who pose the greatest worry at the moment. We may have hit four against Pompey but December saw us fail to find the net in four out of six league games. A big worry.
For me, the well-documented problems in midfield are at least in part to blame. Drive from the midfield in Wenger’s Arsenal has always been essential. After all, how could it not be in a team that so deliberately shunned the long ball from defence straight through to attack? But we lack that drive, power, speed and athleticism we once had. The problem seems exacerbated whenever Hleb and Ljungberg get the nod on the wings because essentially, they are the slightly more attacking shadows of what is in the middle. Played with Fabregas and Flamini, we have a midfield of four physically unimposing players, none of whom have the blistering pace and drive Wenger’s sides are famed for.
Given that, I would definitely play Reyes against United. There is the risk he will be intimidated out of the game. But at the very least he should offer us some variety. On the right it is a tough call. I suspect Hleb will sit on the bench. Then it becomes a question of the gritty but limited Ljungberg or the big occasion but inconsistent Pires. Who knows.
I can see why some would plump for Dennis next to Henry because of the greater fluidity his presence tends to give us. But I would go for Van Persie. I sometimes think it goes unnoticed how capable Van Persie is of fashioning a goal from nothing. And that can be vital. Certainly, when he was taken off after 68 minutes at Villa it was as though we had lost one of our few goalscoring aces. Dennis may give you the odd goal but he is no longer able to conjure a goal all on his own like Van Persie can.
Other than that we need commitment all over the pitch and concentration. With Cygan suspended I wonder whether Arsene could throw in a surprise and play Eboue at left-back or perhaps Eboue right-back and Lauren left-back. Either way, I suspect he might be anxious to avoid what happened against Chelsea where the full-backs were both out of position and the central defence not the number one pairing.
Put mildly, we have been rubbish against big teams recently and it is true that we have not really beaten anybody that tough this season (though victory in Amsterdam was cool). You can be sure Fergie will have pinpointed our weaknesses and will look to exploit our flimsy midfield in particular. Another defeat would be a sickener and the task then really would be to scrape fourth place. Victory could be a great, short-term shot in the arm and a timely reminder that we can still do it.
On a level playing field, it will be tough. What we have to hope for is that the playing field is level and that the curse of bad refereeing decisions that have plagued some of our recent big games does not rear it’s ugly head again.
P.S.: Have just read Fergie's comments about us not being a big club and just remembered how much I hate United. And as for his claim that tickets to Highbury cost £72, Fergie is either lying or else his pal had presumably frequented a tout, given that the highest price for a single ticket is £54. The only other option is corporate hospitality, something United would never dream of indulging in. Indeed, everything I hate about them is now flooding back. For pride's sake, we have to win.
...
281205
Arsenal 4 Portsmouth 0: Lovely stuff
My first visit of the season to Highbury. And some memorable goals to go with it. Granted, we weren’t brilliant throughout by any means and the midfiled (and Gilberto in particular) and Pascal Cygan are serious worries at the moment.
But the four goals were sweet. It is rare that you hear a commentator sounding genuinely excited by what he has seen, but listening to what Steve Wilson said on Match of the Day tonight it was clear he relished our return to the scoring of Arsenal goals like we did. The first was a peach – Flamini hustling and winning the ball in midfield. He sprayed it wide to Reyes, who completely slipped his man and fired in a great low ball that Dennis simply had to take first time. He did and he finished perfectly to put us 1-0 up.
The second was a fine ball from Toure down the right into Henry. He controlled well before feeding the onrushing Reyes who hit an absolute stonker of a left footed shot first time into the roof of the net. It was a tough effort – he had to come across the ball and had little of the net to aim for.
Then just as we were slowing-up, Flamini released Henry who rounded the keeper, took the ball pretty wide and then clipped in from a tight angle for his first in five games. His celebration was interesting. We’ve all heard the strong rumours about him leaving. But as he celebrated in front of the East lower he looked like a man perfectly at home in his surroundings.
Then when Pires got played in he slid the ball in for Reyes, who was flying in at full pelter. There was the most mininal of touches from the defender but the referee’s decision to give a penalty was the right one. Such was Reyes’ pace, only the slightest nudge was enough to deprive him of his clear goalscoring chance. Thankfully, the referee didn’t send the offender off – though technically he should have. Henry converted and we slowed up afterwards, preserving energy ahead of Villa away on Saturday.
Overall, it was a very positive night. The combination of Henry, Bergkamp, Pires and Reyes would be a disaster in away games. But against weaker opposition at Highbury they are potent – such as when we beat Villa 3-1 last season. Against Pompey, Bergkamp and Pires could do their things and looked good. Henry did his stuff and while to Arsenal fans he probably only had an average games, it’s worth remembering that to neutrals he is persistently sublime.
And Reyes followed up his good performance at Charlton with another excellent show. He scored one and set-up two and generally caused trouble. On form, he is a fine, fine player and to me he is one of those players who just want to see do well. Tonight’s goal was another example of his goalscoring versatility.
Credit too to Arsene. He is sometimes criticised for his team selections and substitutions. But in the past two games he has got things spot on, resting people who need resting and so far keeping the squad fresh looking in a tough period. Elsewhere, Kanu hit a superb brace to sink Spurs. Lovely stuff.
...
261205
Charlton 0 Arsenal 1: Reyes has rocket put up him
A rocket up ‘im is a tired and usually ill used football analogy but perfectly apt for today’s game. Even by his own standards, Jsoe Reyes was peripheral in the first half (barring one flowing move that Freddie really should have scored). Indeed he was so bad that he was almost as bad as Pascal Cygan. And in the first half, that really was bad.
Then when Reyes emerged after the break it was as though the rocket we all know he has in him had been ignited. It was crazy stuff. He played like a winger, all wide and running like apparently that was wingers are supposed to do. It was like what happens in other teams. It was a joy to see and suddenly our attacking threat was almost doubled, with not everything having to go through Thierry Henry.
Of course, it was not just Reyes who got better. The whole performance was far improved and we dominated the game. Our reward came when Ljungberg played in Henry. His first effort was blocked and his second low shot hit the keeper and looped into the air.
The ball dropped on Reyes’ right foot just a couple of yards from goal. He volleyed home and we had our first league goal in a month. Lovely stuff. We continued to dominate, could have scored more and never looked like letting things slip after Danny Murphy was sent-off - his second yellow for throwing the ball down in frustration after a Bennett call. Stupid decision and one I hate to see – even when it benefits us.
On a side note, Cesc got a bit involved in that incident and was also guilty of a slightly dangerous (yellow card worthy) challenge that went unchecked. I love watching Fabregas and am only too happy to see him get stuck in. But he sometimes gets involved where it is not needed and is one of those ‘first on the scene’ players. I just wonder if it could come back to bite him at some point.
But back to the performance: we were much better in the second half but there was still a lot wrong. We lack suredness, Cygan is still at left-back and Cesc and Gilberto had their usual flaws exposed. I’d give the young Spaniard a well earned break for the Portsmouth game.
The bright spots in the game were the result, a far improved Sol Campbell performance and Reyes second half effort. It was great to see him at full pelter and a reminder of the massive potential he has. If I’m honest I’d half forgotten how good he can be. Seeing him tuck the ball home from two yards also offered a extra useful reminder to yours truly.
I stick by my assertion that Reyes is not a striker. But I forgot that on form, he can still be a goalscoring winger. And more to the point, we are talking about a player who can score every single kind of goal, which to me suggests real potentially as a 15 goal a season winger. Cast your mind back over the goals he has given us and you will see there is no trademark. Left footed, right footed, headed, spectacular, bundled in, tapped-in, first time, lengthy runs, one-on-ones, volleyed. They are all there. And in this generally gloomy time for the club, that is a pleasing thought.
Portsmouth on Wednesday. I’d rather not see Cygan at centre-back, would replace Fabregas with Flamini, make sure Reyes gets another chance to try to build some confidence and probably give Pires a run-out in place of Freddie too.
...
21/12/05
Insane Blatter wants to make things even easier for Chelsea
The Chelsea match review is below this quick post. Sepp Blatter has said: "If a club can only have five foreigners among their starting 11, then they will have to build on their own youth system. If Chelsea were forced to have five foreigners then Roman Abramovich could not go on buying the best players across the world for exorbitant fees. Chelsea is the example of what should not happen."
The man is a lunatic. The problem at the moment is that Chelsea are snapping up the cream of English players for sums only Man United can even think about, irrespective of whether the player is of any use to them (Lampard) or not. (Wright-Philips).
Were this rule to come in, Chelsea would simply further dominate the English market, pushing up prices and further decimating those without money. Not only would we be forced to fill our team with six English also rans, we would also no longer be able to compensate for the vast gulf in finances as we currently do, by scouring the world for affordable top players.
Develop their youth system? Err, no. They would just spend more money. I am not having a go at Chelsea, but the fact is they would be most happy with these plans. As Arsenal fans, these insane ideas should worry us.
...
19/12/05
Arsenal 0 Chelsea 2: It ain’t the end of the world.
So, league defeat at home to Chelsea for the first time in yonks. Painful? Disappointing? Frustrating? YES, YES, YES. But surprising? NO. In short, we learnt very, very little that we didn’t already know.
If we were to win, we had to be clinical with what chances we created and make sure we scored the first goal. Chelsea began well but for me the first two real opportunities were Arsenal ones and we did little wrong with them. Henry hit the post and then Van Persie swept home beautifully only to see the offside flag raised in error.
Not offside
It was a massive, massive decision. 1-0 to Arsenal and we would have had a completely different game. It was a wretched decision and I’m getting sick of wretched decisions in big games. Don’t get me wrong, at home against smaller sides the refs favour us. But in big games we seem to get little luck. At crucial times in both United league games last year and now against Chelsea. I’m not talking about flukes of performance – like when we beat United in the Cup Final or when Drogba scored against us earlier this season. I’m on about the crucial refereeing decisions, which, for whatever reason, seem to keep going against us in the big games.
Six minutes before half-time and Robben was as onside as Van Persie was and he too put the ball in the net smartly. This time the goal stood. While you languish in footballing depression mulling over this defeat, just consider how different things might have been had our goal stood and theirs not.
Red cards:
As for the non sending-offs: yes, Senderos probably should have gone (as Wenger acknowledged). But so too should Essien, who is anything but a marked man as Mourinho claims. I thought his elbow was probably correctly called a yellow. But it was just crass inconsistency that let him get away with a later foul on Van Persie that was identical to one Henry had been booked for about two minutes earlier. So on that front, honours even. (ps, question for UEFA: when did going in studs first near someone’s knee become a two rather than a three game ban?)
I thought we actually played quite well after we went behind. Chelsea 1-0 up are a nightmare to play against. Though we could have created a few more chances, we still fashioned some decent openings. They were dangerous on the break but that was always going to be so with us chasing the game. Cole took their second excellently after one of Lauren’s worst ever mistakes for the club. But to bash him is ridiculous. He is a first class foot soldier who is having a good season and hardly ever puts a foot wrong.
The Midfield:
The problem for us was very obviously in midfield. Aware that we would be outmuscled, we frequently tried to pass long straight from defence to attack. It was an unfamiliar approach that met with limited success. I’ve heard mutterings of disappointment about Cesc’s performance, but I’d point to what I said on Saturday about him being asked to do the wrong job. But the problem is not just a lack of muscle in central midfield. While we could once slot Edu in left and Parlour right, Freddie is now our most physically strong wide player, which says it all. And the pace that once characterised our middle line only lives on in the injured and inconsistent Jose Reyes.
This is, clearly, a very difficult time for the team. Our standards have slipped and for the first time we are staring into the abyss of finishing outside of the top two. But let us not get carried away. We went three barren years without any trophy between Wenger’s first and second titles. Things change and evolve. Of course we need reinforcements and the prospect of Henry leaving is daunting. But things are not all bad.
Hleb is having a far better first year than Pires did, Sol Campbell (in my opinion) will rise again and while they are not yet world beaters, there is genuine promise in our young players. Things change and evolve and for anyone who is feeling at all disillusioned with Arsene, just imagine how much worse every other manager would do with our resources. For one thing, I think if Mourinho took over at Highbury tomorrow, he’d struggle big time. But take Wenger to Stamford Bridge and I’d expect him to win Chelsea titles, which less we forget, is all Mourinho has managed for them so far.
Chelsea?
So, finally, what of Chelsea? Have they raised the bar? Incrementally at most. That they are so far ahead is in part because of their own consistency but more due to United and Arsenal’s recent decline. Are they any better than us in 2004 or United in their pomp? I’d say no way. So the challenge is for us to get back to what we have achieved before and then catching Chelsea will take care of itself.
The most well resourced squad ever in British football was very fortunately injury free enough to be able to choose their first choice eleven against us. We were missing three left-backs, a winger and had a midfielder harshly suspended. C’est la vie. What a sign of the times that of the eleven players fielded by Mourinho, ten cost £6 million plus, while John Terry was a shooting star long before the special one had even heard of him. Our side contained just three players bought for more than £3.5 million.
Overhauling them will be very tough, but is doable. And if there is one manager you’d choose for a club like ours – in transition and relatively cash strapped – you’d plump for Arsene Wenger over Jose Mourinho or anyone else any day of the week. Which is handy really.
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17/12/05
Arsenal v Chelsea preview: How good would Cesc look in Chelsea’s midfield?
A year and a week after his first start in an Arsenal shirt, Mathieu Flamini is likely to again come into the Arsenal side next to Cesc Fabregas for the visit of Chelsea. The prospect has left many fearful, but they did ok last year and I think they can do ok on Sunday. In a way, the prospect of having Fabregas and Flamini snapping like whippets around Essien and Lampard is preferable to having Gilberto in there. In his current poor form, we might risk the Brazilian just providing poor man’s version of what Makalele does so well for Chelsea.
The game is obviously going to be very tough and despite our impressive home form, Chelsea must be favourites. At Highbury the league results have been immaculate but the teams we have beaten have been nothing special and our performances only impressive in short, sporadic bursts. Still, I think we have the players who, on their game, can stop Chelsea from scoring. And I think we are capable of creating chances against them at Highbury. So, we are not without hope.
If we are to win, a likely key player will also be our youngest – Cesc Fabregas. Usually in hushed voices, some Arsenal followers have questioned whether he has the strength for the Premiership. They say both Vieira and Gilberto have struggled next to him. I refute that. As far as Vieira goes, he acknowledges openly in his book that he played much of last season with a very dodgy ankle.
And as for his partnership with Gilberto, I see the problem being that Fabregas has been unfairly forced to play the role of tough tackling midfielder. While the Brazilian may provide a positional wall, it is Cesc who on the whole is required to throw his still slender frame into the tough tackling.
For me, he has actually done it ok, but the point is that expecting him to excel as the enforcer is as preposterous as expecting Dennis Bergkamp to score 30 goals a season. It is not what either do. But imagine Cesc sat on the Chelsea bench for a game and replaced one of Essien, Makalele or Lampard at half-time. Whoever he came in for, I’d expect him to flourish, revelling in being able to concentrate on doing what he’s great at. He could also offer Chelsea the midfield subtlety and creativity they have occasionally lacked - such as in four scoreless encounters against Liverpool in the Champions League.
So if you see Cesc being out muscled on Sunday, take a look around and remember what he is being asked to do. However well he does it, here’s to the midfield beast/animal/enforcer we all pray Arsene will buy in the January sales.
Ps: there was a really good piece on Football365 this week pointing out that in quite a number of these games where Arsenal supposedly allow themselves to be bullied to defeat the more truthful explanation is that very poor refereeing has instead allowed teams to get away with what is simply illegal.
It pointed out the United game last season and more recently the Bolton game (where the referee just ignored Lehman being elbowed in the stomach and another guy who was already booked punching the ball in to the net all in one move) and Newcastle, where the fact is Alan Shearer got away with stuff that was far more plain illegal than any ‘on the edge’ bullying.
I’m not saying we don’t sometimes go soft (I think we do), but it does add some rationality to the whole debate.
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12/12/05
Newcastle 1 Arsenal 0: Same problems, same lack of solutions
A week ago I penned a massive post Bolton post mortem. (Computer problems mean it has only just gone online - see below). Almost everything I said then applied to today’s match so I’m not going to go over the same ground in massive depth after today. For me there are a few points for why we lost:
1) We left our shooting boots at home. I’m hardly in a position to tell Thierry Henry how to score. He had the chances in the first half and didn’t take them. It was one of those things, as was Van Persie mis-kicking later.
2) We are still hideously under strength in the centre. Gilberto is playing crap, yet we have no other option. We need an animal in there (Gilberto, Cesc, Hleb and Freddie is hardly physically intimidating.) Yet we have no animal to bring in.
3) Dermot Gallagher was a total wanker today. (And yes, I know we get the run of the mill sometimes and did so against Newcastle on the first day of the season). That not withstanding, on a technicality sending-off Gilberto was justifiable. But as I remember they were the only free-kicks he gave away all day. And neither were dangerous tackles. They were the tackles of a player who is out of form and off the pace. Were they so bad he needed to be excluded from the pitch? Definitely not.
Compare the approach to Gilberto to how Gallagher treated Shearer and other Newcastle players. Shearer was given a free reign to elbow, foul (including one shocker in front of the referee), knowingly kick so high that knew he would hit Lauren, kick the ball away and delay kick-offs by standing in our half. It took 89 minutes for him to get booked. All this matters because while Newcastle (as is their right) adopted a very physical approach they were able to do so because Gallagher was being so lenient. Once a player has been booked they have to temper their approach, knowing that one more significant error will be the end for them. Gallagher patently failed on that part. Apparently this is his final year. On this showing, good riddance.
But overall there is no escaping the fact we have big problems away from home. The defence could do with some better drilling but overall they did fairly well today. And though the goal came from our left, Lauren looks infinitely better at left-back than Cygan. And up front I think we look fairly strong. We have drawn three blanks on the run but prior to then had looked dangerous. With a bit of luck, Henry could have had two at Bolton and Van Persie one. And the same can be said today.
The problem for me is midfield. In the middle we are enormously weak. It would be nice if we could give 18 year-old Cesc a break but there’s fat chance of that at the moment. And though Hleb helps, we lack defensively able players on the wings: Freddie is either a bit injured or out of form at the moment. Yet still he plays 90 minutes every game.
The thing is that Chelsea probably have as many midfielders and forwards out of form as we do. Crespo, Duff, Robben, Wright-Philips and arguably Drogba and Gudjohnsen are hardly setting the world on fire at the moment. Of course, we can hardly hope to have their strength in depth. But equally, we can expect far more of our current resources in the middle.
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04/12/05
Just what is Arsene playing at?
I spoke to a season ticket holding friend last night who for some weeks has said his confidence in the boss is waning. I don’t necessarily agree, but what follows are some of his concerns and some I have too. What do you think?
Arsene can moan about player commitment but to us Bolton yesterday was simply the epitome of what we feared at the beginning of the season, the inevitable result of Arsenal’s very own corporate restructuring. So as the squad has been trimmed and thinned out, those that are left are more comfortable than ever in their positions and what would normally be the responsibility of experienced team members is being carried out by talented, but as yet unproven, upstarts.
At Bolton Henry and Van Persie were the right choice. But even Tony Adams (who generally seems to not know that much about tactics) has been pointing out for years that Ljungberg and Pires won’t work at places like Bolton. Admittedly, Alex Hleb is injured.
But in central midfield Wenger is guilty of discarding our two most aggressive midfielders as if we have somehow had too many of them. It is blatantly clear that neither Fabregas, Gilberto nor Flamini have the animal instincts that seem to be present in the heart of every top side. It is also true that talented as the first two are, Gilberto is not and Cesc is not yet good enough that their places in the starting line-up should be completely unquestioned and unthreatened. How Arsene could go out at the start of this season and rightly deciding he needs a fourth central midfielder plump for a 17 year old (Alex Song) to complement his 18 and 21 year-olds is beyond me. Principles and only buying the right player is admirable, but not when it means no player.
And if the case in midfield is one of transfer bloody mindedness then the case at left-back is one of tactical bloody mindedness. With no personal insult intended to the man, I can’t remember a single player in Arsene Wenger’s reign enjoy a run in the side and look more out of his depth when doing so than Pascal Cygan at left-back. Even when he does something right, 90% of the time it means he hasn’t cocked it up. His abilities are simply so limited there, it was no wonder Bolton almost encouraged Jens to throw him the ball. Leaving aside the defending, you would have to say he offers nothing to the attack either. It is as though we have become numb down part of our left side.
For Arsene to come out last week and say he brought on Lauren at left-back for the last half hour in Thun to see if he could play there just encapsulates the problem. As you and I well know, Lauren would be miles better playing there, as would Toure, as would Eboue, as might Senderos and as might even Flamini.
They say there is no point buying for the sake of it, but there is also no point not buying for the sake of it. And Alex Hleb is the ONLY outfield and vaguely proven player over 21 who has arrived at Highbury in nearly three and a half years! That is extraordinary! We all know (and largely admire) Arsene’s determination to challenge Chelsea’s exorbitant spending by unearthing and polishing gems, but it is almost as if what Chelsea do is dictating what we do. By this I mean the more they spend the less we seem to spend. And yet the fact is that any title win would count as a great overcoming of the odds, even if we spent £20 million a year.
On that note, there is nothing wrong with stripping out a few luxuries (eg Kanu and Wiltord) to give younger players a chance. But you can’t start getting rid of the bare essentials. And at the moment you can argue we have no competition in goal, where Wenger’s signings there are slowly becoming more bizarre and obscure (witness Shabaan, Warmuz, Almunia and now Poom). We have two good centre backs (one of whom is off his game), a still very young pretender (Senderos) and another who ain’t up to it. Four years ago we had an (admittedly aging) Adams, Keown, Campbell, Upson, Grimandi (better than Cygan) and Oleg Lhuzny (probably better than Cygan).
I hardly need to go into central midfield. A comparison with last year simply says it all. On the wings, as I suggested earlier, there is fair attacking cover. The problem though is that when we want to plump for someone more defensive on the right we end up having to move Fabregas, where as two years ago we would have simply slotted Edu in, leaving Vieira and Gilberto intact in the centre.
And at up front, it seems to have taken ages to a) figure out Reyes is a winger and b) develop a successor to Dennis. Discounting Reyes, we have just three forwards – a footballing god, a youngster still making his mark and a man who is rapidly going over the hill. Think back to 1999 and look at the perfect balance we enjoyed: an in form Kanu, Dennis around his prime, a raw (but still 25 goal) Thierry Henry and Davor Suker, who was used as and when it pleased. Sadly, our current paucity of forwards meant that after 70 minutes we were calling for Dennis yesterday, even though all and sundry could surely see it was not the time or place for his services. And quite why on earth Robin Van Persie was withdrawn I don’t know. Simple maths says Van Persie’s goal threat is far higher than Dennis or Reyes.
All in all, there seems to be a great sense of bafflement. We expect managers to be a little mad, but more and more often we seem to be shrugging our shoulders and explain something away as Arsene just being Arsene. But it doesn’t add up. We might not like seeing Chelsea above us but always knew their spending would make it probable. But it’s hard to accept when we seem to be shooting ourselves in the foot so readily. Even Spurs have about seven midfielders better than our fourth choice.
And what is so galling is that actually we are not very far at all from being bloody good. With the exception of Cygan, every player in our squad is Arsenal quality and very many are worthy week in week out starters too. But they need reinforcements. With these reinforcements, we wouldn’t have to shunt Freddie back into the side when he doesn’t look ready. We would be able to pick the players who are physically at their peak and rest others when they tire a little. Which is what Mourinho does and explains why Cole, Duff, Robben and Wright-Philips always look so chirpy.
So what do we need? A hungry, improving goalkeeper who will in a few years succeed Jens. A half decent centre back who is solid if nothing else. An established beast in central midfield. Perhaps a young, as yet unproven beast, for when the big beast is suspended. A Davor Suker like signing – someone who will offer goals when they play but whose presence will not hold Van Persie back. And as the Dutchman becomes established, someone to fill Van Persie’s current role of young pretender – Arturo Lupoli would seem the obvious choice.
That is five signings. But only two (the beast and the goal scorer) would initially be pivotal ones. Those five, combined with our ever improving youngsters, could make a real squad. At the moment it is not just that Chelsea are so far ahead in the table, it is that we are in with the likes of Spurs, Bolton and Wigan. Squad wise, we will never be as big or strong at Chelsea. But at a certain point it starts to matter less and less until it becomes almost immaterial. We need to plug the holes so we can get to that point.
And finally, what are the rewards? We already have a really good crop of players. Arsenal may not be ahead of the chasing pack but it is still true that the vast majority of our current crop would walk into any Premiership team other than Chelsea and Man U in some cases. With the right moves in the transfer market we could perhaps hope to persuade not just the brilliant Ashley Cole to stay at Highbury but also Thierry Henry, one of the great players of this generation. Whether he stays or goes could tell us so much about where Arsenal are headed.
I may be wrong, but I struggle to believe Henry (settled in London with a wife and new born) would have any inclination to leave a flourishing Arsenal in a new stadium who have the tools to seriously fight Chelsea for the league and to capture the Champions League. I suspect he fears the same things we fear and he needs the same reassurances.
He is 28 and I suspect he knows he has half a chance not to just be known as a great of his time, but to etch his name as one of the great players of any generation. To become that great he probably still needs a mix of international success at his prime (he was not yet a great player in 1998 or 2000) and success with a club in Europe.
On the international stage, Henry’s options are obviously limited because he can’t change countries. On the club stage, whether he feels able to achieve it at Highbury may well depend on just what Arsene is playing at.
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27/11/05
Arsenal 3 Blackburn 0: Attack good, defence not so good
I only saw the BBC highlights of yesterday’s game, so it would be wrong to go into too much depth. But three things were quite obvious from watching it:
Our defence is making too many Premiership standard strike forces look like world beaters. And with all due respect to the man, it is my belief that rightly or wrongly, the presence of Pascal Cygan is a massive factor.
A couple of reports I have read suggested he was not personally so bad yesterday, but the problem goes beyond his individual performances. It is the effect he has on the team.
Exactly a year and a week ago I wrote: “Pascal Cygan is no Baresi, but he’s not an awful player either. But at the moment his presence is having a devastating effect on our play. The rest of the team doesn’t trust neither him nor Jens Lehman and the effect is reverberating through our side.” A week later Jens played his last league game until February and has not looked back since his recall. I added at the end of the article: “Cygan has to be dropped for the sake of the team.”
And the same must happen now. Arseblogger was entirely correct yesterday to point to Wenger’s apparent blind spot over Cygan. Far be it for faceless internet bloggers to tell him how to manage Arsenal, but the clamour from fans appears so universal that surely these feelings need articulating.
2) The second point is that we are obviously playing some very nice attacking stuff at the moment. Not all the time, but we are cranking up the pressure when it matters. Much as Blackburn perhaps deserved a goal or even two, the fact is we created three perfectly executed ones and could have had more.
3 ) Some players have such outrageous talent that you can forgive them being idiots on occasion. Robbie Savage is not one such player. Arseblogger aptly summed him up as a “cheating, conman, fairy, nancy, fraud, flimflammer, obnoxious wanky cunt.”
I would add one word to that description: twerp, defined in the dictionary as a person regarded as not just contemptible but insignificant too.
Just before I finish I’d like to pre-empt a couple of things that will happen this week. The first is that a certain journalist will twist the Savage incident to bring up every misdemeanour ever committed by an Arsenal player. The second is that we are going to have to listen to unrivalled levels of crap spout from the mouth of Sam Allardyce this week ahead of our visit to the Reebok next Saturday. If they beat Fulham today they will be level with us going into the game.
On that note, there was an interesting (and unmalicious) remark made about George Best this week. It was said that Best frequently mentioned how Pele had called him the world’s greatest, yet Pele never needed to do the opposite. Sam Allardyce loves to tell us how brilliantly he has done at Bolton on such limited resources, yet Arsene Wenger...
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I didn't see the Thun game, I'm flying during the Blackburn game and the Reading game is not on TV. But I'll probably post one or two more general updates before the Bolton game.
20/11/05
Wigan 2 Arsenal 3: Should the new midfielder be a partner for Cesc rather than Silva?
In a nutshell: We took control through goals from Van Persie (good turn, run, fierce shot, bad goalkeeping) and Henry (lovely slid finish from Cesc pass at end of flowing move). They pulled one back through shambolic defending. Henry netted a scorcher of a free kick. They pulled another back through shambolice defending. We won despite defending shockingly.
Analysis: It was very easy last season to say how much we were missing the Gilberto "wall" during his absence. And perhaps it was true. But on recent performances, Berlin's got a stronger wall than the one our Brazilian offers. Against Wigan he was, to put it mildly, shite. He didn't go forward, he didn't pass well, he dallied on the ball, he made absurd attempts to intercept that only put us in deeper trouble and he failed to get off the ground for headers. (Witness first goal). In short, he was oh so passive.
Next to him, Cesc Fabregas was a model pro. He ran tirelessly, he won tackles, he broke up play, he positioned himself well and he supported the attack right up until the last minute. Sure, not everything came off, but the way I see it this new midfielder we all agree we need should more likely be a partner for Cesc than for Gilberto.
Behind the pair, things were just totally terrible. Credit to Wigan, honest team, hard working, deceptively skillful for a rugby league town all those other cliches. But the fact is Sol Campbell offered justification for Sven picking Rio ahead of him (yes he was that bad), Jens' kicking was crap, Lauren's general defending was poor and Toure's little better.
To their left was Pascal Cygan. The nicest thing I can say is that words fail me to describe his performance.
I'm not one for having a go at individuals just for the sake of it and it is true that in the end, we got a very welcome three points. But a spoon should be called a spoon and today our defending was chaotic.
Up front, it seems Van Persie may possibly have finally got the nod over Dennis, at long last. He played well, the returning Freddie worked hard but was not at full throttle, Pires put in a committed performance which didn't once involve me screaming at him for ducking a tackle and Henry once again made everything look too easy.
One final thought, much as I can't stand his self righteous, self important, status as a "real" player, and much as there is between no chance and 0% chance of Arsene going for him, you kinda have to admit Roy Keane could fill a gap.
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15/11/05
Arsenal playing before Chelsea form, European form and Vieira book form
A few brief thoughts as we wait for the Premiership to restart.
The first is that the fixture list is currently conspiring quite often to let us play our weekend game before Chelsea. I pointed out last season that while our results are largely unaffected by whether we play before, at the same time or after Chelsea, their's suffered last season when they played after us. And based purely on very anecdotal evidence, the same has been true this season. So we need to take advantage at Wigan on Saturday.
Secondly, this whole assumption that because Liverpool won the Champions League while being crap in the league, the same will happen to us seems bizarre. Last season was largely an anomoly. What nobody seems to have mentioned is that since defeat in Moscow over two years ago, we have a healthy European record that reads: P19 W12 D5 L2.
Finally, there is a piece in today's Times that takes 600 odd words to correctly say: Patrick Vieira hypocritically forgets his own diving when he lambasts Wayne Rooney and Ruud Van Nistelrooy as cheats.
But that is not all the piece says. In fact it reads strangely like a diktat handed down from Old Trafford to a friendly journalist much in the way United employed the same policy with the same friendly journalists after the battle of the buffet.
There was no way Vieira was going to ignore either Rooney or RVN in his book. And the fact is that Rooney DID cheat exactly as described and Van Nistelrooy WAS guilty of consistent violence that went unpunished against Arsenal. Whatever, Vieira's personal myopia, to suggest that the two United players are somehow worthy of apologies for what is correcly identified as shabby behaviour when Vieira does it, is just absurd.
And while I appreciate accuracy matters little when there is an axe there to be ground, the description of the Nicky Butt incident is just patently wrong. Contrary to what is written, it was a straight red card and not a second yellow. Secondly, there was never the slightest suggestion Vieira had dived. Thirdly, the decision to send Butt off was one based purely on the positioning of the incident near to the goal and not on the severity of the tackle or Vieira's reaction to it (there was no doubt it was a foul). Fourthly, all Alex Ferguson and anyone else was moaning about was the referee's decision to treat the incident as a goal scoring chance and thus issue red.
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10/11/05
International week update
My apologies for the lack of recent updates. The laptop appears to have died and enjoyable as this site is, staying late at work to update it is just not that appetising.
Anyway, things have gone pretty well since the Spurs game. There is not a lot to say about Sparta and Sunderland. We needed victories and we got victories. We didn't over exert ourselves but then we didn't need to. I'm still of the theory that we look far better when playas play in their natural positions and I think that was fairly obvious watching the Sunderland game. In midfield the mix was good, with the wall-like Gilberto and the more enterprising Fabregas, Reyes and Pires both looked comfortable out on the wings and up front we had a good mix of a forward/striker (what can you call Henry?) and a striker.
I don't think Chelsea were unlucky at Old Trafford because ultimately they didn't do enough. But I do think United can count themselves fortunate. Some of their defensive play was wretched - incredibly nervous and very deep. But they got away with it. People are asking whether they will collapse like we did. I don't think they will but nor do I think that the issue really. If someone does catch them I expect it to be by a process of small erosion rather than one big wave. So, for example, if they have a tricky away game that they draw others might take advantage with easy home wins. And of course if we win our game in hand and manage to beat the Blues at Highbury then the gap is only five points anyway. I'm not saying we will do it, just saying how I think they could be caught.
As Myles Palmer pointed out on ANR, the four league games before Chelsea are vital. Contrary to what he said, they actually read: Wigan (A), Blackburn (H), Bolton (A), Newcastle (A). We need to be looking for a minimum of ten points from the four of them and ideally twelve.
Not much else to say, except that I'm away for two weeks from Saturday, so there is a fair chance I won't update after the Wigan, Thun and Blackburn games (the last of which I will definitely miss as I will be in the air for it).
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01/11/05
Players in position works at Spurs
Arsene's decision to shore up the side with an extra midfielder was well intentioned and a welcome departure from the gung-ho approach that cost us so badly at Munich last season. But injuries and lack of squad depth meant that to do it we had Freddie playing out of position on the left, Cesc out of position on the right and our first choice central midfielders not in place. Add the fact we were playing with two forwards but no strikers, and it is obvious why we struggled. When Pires came on, suddenly we had him, Freddie and Cesc all where they should be. And when Van Persie came on, Reyes was on the left wing (which for me is his best spot), Pires was on the right (in a position he has played and done well in) and we had a good balance of a forward and a striker up front.
But I also wonder whether perhaps Arsene imagined the first half going as it did, while obviously hoping we would not concede. Spurs, confidence bolstered by their own good form and our lack of it, were always going to come out on fire. I wonder whether it was Arsene's plan to draw to try to draw their sting (keeping it at 0-0) and then introduce Pires and pounce on them as they tired. In the event, the problems of the first half called for Pires earlier than expected, but I expect it was probably always the plan that he would play a key role.
I don't think there can be any doubt we deserved the draw. Granted, Spurs dominated the first half (even if I only remember Jens having to save from his near namesake Jenas). But we dominated the second right from the off in my opinion. Sure, chances did not immediately come, but we did a good job of grinding them down and tiring them out and in the end Van Persie had about three good chances, Reyes had one, Pires had one and Pires scored. So for me, while our equaliser doesn't suit the grand theories of the pundits, it was well deserved. And to come back from behind against the likes of Spurs away never has been and is certainly not now something to be snorted at.
A couple of things have struck me. The first is that the idea of us being a one man (Henry) team is absurd. But it is true that we still haven't yet brought in someone who we can say is a sufficiently good deputy for him. Don't get me wrong, they don't need to be the same type of player, just a good enough alternative. Hopefully Van Persie can be. I'm also intruiged to see who replaces Dennis in the summer (or before?)
The second point is that the cover issue is not one of Chelsea's being excellent and ours adequate. In fact, our's is inadequate. Midfield reinforcements are a must (so that when we switch things around everyone is not pulled out of position like against Spurs) and so too are a buy each in defence and attack I guess. Bringing in those three players will not give us as excellently backed-up a squad as Chelsea's but I question whether their level of protection is really necessary. While they will always have all 11 positions perfectly filled, if we only have 9 or 10 it probably won't all that much difference in the end. It is when your side is so inbalanced (like against Spurs) that I think it becomes a big problem.
Thought for the day: When was Jens' last mistake?
Updating is a bit fraught at the moment due to a comatose laptop, so sorry for that. In the meantime we have Sparta and Sunderland at home. The latter of which is a must, must, must win game because either Chelsea, United or both will drop points next weekend.
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24/10/05
What story lies behind 'that' penalty?
This is a long post; it’s been that kind of weekend.
I’m now on my third school of thought about what happened and more confused than I was to start with. At first I simply wondered how they could be so stupid at such a crucial point in such a crucial match. Did they realise how agonising it was for the fans? Then I wondered whether these two great artists who have brought us both silverware and exquisite football had endured one of those once in a career cock-ups, the like of which every great band have had with that one appalling single and every great director has had with one shocking film. Should we simply forgive and forget and laugh it off as one bizarre and fortunately uncostly cock-up?
But now I wonder: was it symptomatic of a greater malaise? Could it be that whilst we as fans still yearn desperately to win the European Cup and to catch Chelsea, Pires and Henry see the first as impossible and the second as highly improbable and in any case offering only a reward that would emulate, rather than surpass previous achievements? Do they still have the same drive to succeed for Arsenal? Would Frank Lampard even consider doing anything other than burying the ball from the spot, irrespective of the score? And if the three points were as vital for them as they were for us, how could they contemplate even trying that penalty?
I realise the above paragraph could easily be interpreted as me saying they don’t care. I am definitely not saying that. For a start I am saying the above insinuations are true and in any case, if there has been any loss of drive, I would suggest it has been almost entirely subconscious and in no way deliberate. But whichever way you look at it, I think the above are fair questions that should be asked if we are to understand why such a monumental fuck-up occurred.
And just sticking with penalties for a moment, I’m delighted to see that Thierry Henry says he will be taking them all from now on. It had become absolutely farcical. Not only did we have our top marksman refusing to take penalties he had won for absolutely no obvious reason whatsoever. We also had Dennis refusing to take them following his miss against United over six years ago! Fear of flying is one thing, but a phobia of penalties is another and you get the feeling that in any other walk of life Dennis would have been told to pull himself together and just do it. And to think that yesterday it had got to the stage where we were passing them to each other. Incredible.
Which is also what can be said for getting two penalties off Mike Riley. I haven’t seen any replays of the second one, while the first one could have gone either way. But I will just say that analysing these things in super slow motion is pointless because football is not played in super slow motion. Slowing the play down will always make it look like the attacker has deliberately let himself be fouled. It distorts reality.
At last, the game. Firstly, City were very well organised and are a genuinely decent side. So a win is good. But we’re struggling. A fair part of the problem can be summarised in six words: Flamini, Gilberto, Cesc, Lampard, Essien, Makalele. Our players are good, but we lack a monster in there like Chelsea have and it tells. Eight other words also explain a lot: Van Persie, Senderos, Quincy, Eboue, Robben, Crespo, Gudjohnsen, Ferreira. Arsene didn’t make a single sub. Mourinho introduced first Gudjohnsen, then Robben and then Crespo, all about ten minutes apart. Of course, they didn’t win. But the contrast could not have been bigger.
Arsene is not an idiot: his public buoyancy and confidence in the strength of the squad is surely just a charade that he is obliged to show in an effort to maintain moral. But at heart it must be obvious to him just how blatantly we need to splash the cash.
I’ll finish by saying that Pires and Henry were right to apologise. And that Spurs away is the perfect time to make-up for things by putting in a committed, impassioned performance. And it’s vital they do, because if we’re as slack at White Hart Lane this time as we have been recently, then this time we will lose. And nobody wants that.
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20/10/05
Why Henry's goal at Upton Park was his greatest ever
In the world of footballing top tens, there surely can’t be a more enjoyable experience than picking Thierry Henry’s best goals. I can’t honestly claim to have seen enough of Pele and Maradona to properly judge them. But my suspicion is that if a montage of Thierry Henry goals were shown next to montages of the Brazilian and Argentinian’s best strikes, Henry would not look out of place.
So, at 10…
Chelsea (h) 12/04. At kick-off people said their defence was the immovable object and Thierry Henry didn’t score in big games. Thirty seconds later he had pinged in an unstoppable shot from the edge of the box, leaving Cech rooted to the spot.
at 9…
Bayern Munich (h) 03/05. A strange choice for some perhaps, but for me another brilliant goal against an immovable object. Bayern may have been a defensive shambles in the next round at Chelsea but against us they were tighter than something incredibly tight. After 70 odd minutes, Henry controlled a long ball on the left from Cole, brought it down and hit it instantly across Oliver Khan with complete precision. It was a perfectly executed goal. And it had to be.
At 8…
Manchester City (h) 01/04. This one is also representing the swerver against United later that season. Against City, I was in the North Bank and saw just how much his shot seemed to swerve and yet keep completely straight like an arrow. David James didn’t have a prayer.
At 7…
Sparta Prague (a) 10/05. A very late entrant but very deserving of it’s place. On for six minutes, he controlled the ball on the outside of his foot, swung his whole body through 360 degrees and then fired in a bending shot that beat the goalkeeper in the only part of the net it could have. Almost arrogantly brilliant.
At 6…
Inter Milan (a) 11/03. Broke out from defence, looked to be going nowhere and then made Javier Zanetti look amateurish before slamming home with the left foot. A brilliant goal and the crucial third in a 5-1 win.
At 5…
Spurs (h) 11/02. Very, very special run. He took them all on, cut inside and finished brilliantly. Then he celebrated in serious style in front of the west stand. Magnificent.
At 4…
Charlton (h) 10/04. So good it completely bamboozled the cameraman. I watched this game in a pub in London with one of those dodgy satellites. The commentary was in a foreign language, music was playing in the bar and a lot of people were only half watching. The camera was focused in on Henry as he held the ball with his back to goal about six yards out. Then he backheeled the ball and suddenly wheeled away in delight. The pub was genuinely stunned. Those of us who realised what must have happened looked on in disbelief. When they showed a replay from another angle the reaction from the rest of the pub was one of sheer incredulity. And the more they showed it the more disbelieving the reactions. It didn’t really matter what happened in the rest of the game.
At 3…
Liverpool (h) 04/04. No doubt you’ve heard people say how important this goal was in us winning the title. It was. I was at Highbury that day and 2-1 down at half time there was some serious cigarette smoking going on in the north bank. Within a minute we had equalised thanks to Freddie Ljungberg. But after equalising once and then going behind again, a fair few people feared things were turning against us and we would do it again.
Then Henry picked the ball up on the left. He jinked in, took on a couple of defenders and simply by his presence created sheer panic in the Liverpool defence. So much so that Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher knocked in to each other and fell to the ground comically. Suddenly Henry was through and he finished coolly. The north bank erupted. People who had not lost it since Ray Parlour scored against Valencia found themselves jumping out of their seats. A massive, massive goal and sheer brilliance bore in part out of the complete panic his presence can induce.
At 2…
Manchester United (h) 10/00. Unreal goal. Fed by Grimandi miles out, he chipped it up, spun Gary Neville and in one fired in a volley that dipped and swerved over Barthez into the far corner. Watching at home, all I saw was the ball leave his foot. I thought it was going miles over. Then the Clock End went mad. I had lost the ball in the air. Eventually, I was persuaded it had gone in but was convinced it could only have had it taken the most massive of deflections. Then I saw the replay. One of the goals of goals.
At 1…
West Ham (a) 08/02. You may think this a weird choice. I say the beauty of it has never fully been recognised. Now, don’t get me wrong: were this goal being judged purely on Henry controlling the ball on his knee and hitting an absolute bullet past David James from 30 yards, it would not be anywhere near number one, however great a finish it was. It is the first touch that does it and it is a touch which in my opinion defies the physics of football.
He receives the ball on the right edge of the penalty area from a Vieira pass. He has his back to goal. It is played firmly in to his left foot. Then he takes the crucial touch, which I will come back to in a minute. When he next touches it he has spun 180 degrees so that he is now facing diagonally to goal. His defender has been left bamboozled. The ball lands on what is now Henry’s right knee. Think about what he did with that touch: he took a ball that was coming into his feet and with one touch he looped it up in to the air with his foot. When it fell it was still, incredibly, travelling in the original direction. But he didn’t just lob it into the air, which would have been hard enough.
Instead, he met the ball purposefully with the right hand side of his left boot and somehow spun (not hooked as would have been the case had he used the left hand side of the boot) the ball up in to the air up and over his defender’s head. Had Brazil done it in 1970 I genuinely believe it would be replayed continuously now. Do whatever you can to get a copy of the video and watch that touch because 250 words of mine have failed to do it justice.
And it is for that reason that West Ham away was Thierry Henry’s best Arsenal goal and potentially the greatest I have ever seen.
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19/10/05
Sparta 0 Arsenal 2: Match report, playa ratings and Henry worshipping
The formalities first, then the Henry stuff: Cygan replaced Senderos who had replaced Campbell and Cygan continued in place of the injured Cole. Gilberto returned in midfield in place of Cesc who replaced the injured Ljungberg. The returning Van Persie replaced Bergkamp (something to do with a fear of flying).
We started well, with Cesc having a shot and some promising attacks. Then Reyes went off injured and Arsene went for the brave option of risking Thierry Henry for 70 minutes. Within two minutes he had chested the ball down on the edge of the box and fired what looked like a beaut of a volley that was deflected wide. Then he brought down a through ball from Kolo, spun on the edge of the box and hit the most belle of bending shots with the outside of his right foot. Great goal.
We didn’t do much else for the rest of the half and started the second somewhat sluggishly. Then on 65 we started playing again and within five minutes Pires? had played Henry in with a beautiful ball. He controlled it and still had a fair bit to do to knock it home. 2-0 it finished. A decent enough performance and a great result. Playa ratings to the right.
The goals take Theirry Henry past Ian Wright’s all time Arsenal goal scoring record. We have been fantastically privileged to see him rack up 186 not out and even luckier that so many have been done in such incredible style.
As I walked to work yesterday morning (Tuesday), I went with a bounce in my step. Sometimes you don’t realise what you have til it’s gone and I for one could not wait to see his magnificence return to the pitch.
Of course, there will be those Arsenal fans who will bemoan his unwillingness to commit to the club in his post match interview. That kind of reaction is absolute bollocks in my view. It is quite obvious he is not going to come out and commit to the club just like that because the fact is he is considering leaving. He is 28, has achieved a massive amount, probably fears somewhat about the destination we are headed towards and feels he may want to try and conquer Spain before he retires. People ask for him to be honest. He is. By saying what he is saying he is making it perfectly clear things are up in the air.
Do people want him to say he wants to go? What good would that do? The fact is that when he says he is focused on his football at the moment, that is the truth and that is what he showed us tonight. What is wrong with him kissing the badge if he puts in great performances? Kissing the badge is a sign that your heart is in to what you are doing. And who could argue that his heart wasn’t in tonight’s performance?
Of course we don’t want him to leave on a Bosman. But if he leaves, he leaves. We have been absurdly lucky to have not only one of the best, but one of the most consistent players in the world between the ages of 22 and 28 in his career. If he wants to move then so be it. I would wish him all the best.
Of course, I desperately want him to sign a new contract. But let us be grown up about this. He is doing nothing wrong. The best we can do is get behind him (the fans were great tonight), get behind the team at Highbury (we can do a lot better) and hope Arsene can bring in the players and the team achieve the success that will allow Thierry Henry to stay.
I have no inside knowledge on the issue of his contract, but my hunch would be that things are not a lot more complicated than Thierry fearing (quite justifiably) that the standard of the squad is slipping and that we look less likely to achieve the success (particularly in Europe) that he so craves.
We shall see what happens, but in the meantime let’s celebrate his achievement and leave the worrying for another time. I have written enough now, so won’t reveal my favourite Henry goal now, but you can reveal yours below.
ps: he seemed pretty happy to me when he broke the record.
...
16/10/05
West Brom 2 Arsenal 1: Report + playa ratings. Grim.
Arsene Wenger has never suffered the indignity of losing to a lower division team as Arsenal manager, but it is hard to believe that the disappointment could be any greater than that experienced after today’s loss at West Brom.
In 45 minutes, our emotions went from genuine hope that things could be turning our way (we were winning and Chelsea were losing) to the sheer grimness of seeing us somehow lose and them come back to win 5-1.
In short, we took an early lead when Senderos hooked home a deep Reyes corner. We were completely dominant, they were crap. We sat back. They equalised after a feeble Pires attempt to block a cross, a poor header from Senderos and terrible marking of Kanu. Of all people, the man renowned for taking 10 touches when two will do, had time to control the ball, compose himself and then fire off an (impressive) shot past the helpless Lehman. It was a shocker of a goal.
In the 2nd half we eventually rallied around the hour mark and though we had a couple of chances (Toure, Reyes, Bergkamp) things were in no way urgent enough. We probably should have had a penalty for a foul on Reyes, but he wasn’t in a scoring position so I’m not going to complain. It would, however, be nice to see referees decide whether a foul should be given not based on where the incident happens on the pitch but on the incident itself. And if this means the law needs to be reformed so that minor fouls in non-threatening positions in the area do not warrant a spot-kick then so be it. We need consistency.
Anyway, they then scored a cracker out of absolutely nothing. We huffed but got nowhere. Immensely disappointing and all the more so when you are watching the game in the corner of a bar while in other corners Chelsea, United, Liverpool and Spurs fans are all celebrating goals going in. The upshot of all this is that the table does not look good. In fact I don’t even want to see it. All I know is we’re 14 points behind Chelsea having dropped 11 to their none.
But the main discussion must be about the performance. We started with a very youthful team containing Senderos, Clichy, Reyes, Flamini, Cesc and for much of the game Eboue too after Fred went off. We were without Cole, Campbell, Gilberto, Van Persie, Henry, Hleb and then Ljungberg. That would be a big miss to any squad, all the more so to ours.
So perhaps that excuses things. Or perhaps it doesn’t. The Everton and Man City sides that a far less experienced Arsenal dispatched from last season’s League Cup were miles better than the carthorses West Brom served up today. We could and should have easily won this game.
The problem is that the fact we are not at our most fluent at the moment should mean every playa is giving 120% so that effort alone can get us through. But that is not the case. We were leaden footed and lethargic today. Really, I would say that excluding the hard to appraise Lehman, only Reyes and perhaps Senderos and Toure did themselves justice out there today. Not everything may be coming off for Reyes, but he keeps plugging away and chasing everything.
The same is not true for the others. Pires is the worst culprit. His effort at times is frankly lamentable. I can just about excuse him pulling out of tackles because he is worried about his knee but he has no excuse for not doing everything humanly possible to block crosses.
We are clearly lacking really good cover right through the spine of the team (a defender, midfielder and striker are all needed). But we also have to roll our sleeves up and not commit the immortal sin of taking our foot off the pedal just because our opponents are crap.
It is going to take a miraculous recovery for us to challenge for the league now. We need our genuinely rotten luck with injuries to turn, new playas and better performances.
One final point about today’s referee and the one minute 55 seconds of injury time he added on. Now don’t get me wrong, I loathe it when managers squabble over every few seconds. My theory is normally if you don’t score in 90 then you probably won’t score in 94. But today was just some kind of complete joke. We had an injury a minute from time that lasted about one minute 40 seconds, we had four second half subs, three of which were incredibly slow West Brom ones, we had one of the longest and deliberately stalling goal celebrations ever and we had them wasting time every time they got a free-kick or goal kick, even when it was 1-1.
By adding on just two minutes the referee has completely indulged that negativity (which I accept Arsenal have been guilty of in the past). It was a complete joke.
...
09/10/05
Football returns next week
Do you get very bored of England games after 60 minutes? Do you have to tell yourself to try to be happy when England score? And does part of you secretly will the opposition to knock one past ‘us’?
Answer: Yes, yes and yes.
My conclusion is that Sven would get double the amount of stick if the thought of writing about England wasn’t so boring. In fact, I’ve had enough. I’m so bored I can’t be stuffed to write any more about England.
But I will say a few words about my good friends at FIFA. Presumably David Beckham’s red card will stand, despite his 2nd booking being a blatant dive.
It will stand because under FIFA’s own half witted rules, appeals are only allowed in cases of mistaken identity. I don’t give a stuff about Beckham, but I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: this is the most inept rule I have ever seen.
England have been wrongly deprived of a playa for 30 minutes because of an opposition player’s connivance. And then to compound the problem, they will ban him for no other reason than that they have invented a stupid rule that says he must be banned.
For some reason, this rule pisses me off big time. It is the height of bullshit in a game overflowing with the stuff. The only bans being handed out should be for the half wits who invented this rule and are now pressuring the Premiership to take it up.
The only saving grace is that these things have a way of hitting people back in the face. How I will laugh if the brilliant Ronaldinho is sent-off in next year’s World Cup semi-final for handling on the line when the ball clearly hit his chest. Of course, my scorn will not be directed at the unfortunate Brazilian. Instead it will be at the FIFA bigwigs who will have seen their showpiece player miss their showpiece game because of their own arrogant, farcical rules.
Football returns next week.
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021005
Arsenal 1 Birmingham 0 - half a report
Well, I only saw the second half (hence no playa ratings). From the sounds of it we created a fair bit in the first half and as well as missing a penalty we could have had a hatful.
The second half seemed a very flat affair. Maik Taylor made great saves early on from Pires and Ljungberg and then we seemed to lose any great degree of urgency. In the end, Van Persie’s not brilliantly hit shot deflected off a defender and beat the excellent Taylor. We held on, though not with any great style.
We looked lethargic in the latter stages. From what I saw Campbell, Toure and Cole looked good enough. Reyes is playing with brilliant enthusiasm and desire. The rest of them don’t look lazy by any means but if you compare us with Chelsea at the moment, is the same unswerving desire there? I’m not so sure.
It needs to be.
And the crowd can play their part too. Apologies if the SKY sound system did Highbury a disservice, but the ground sounded embarrassingly silent today. The players are human beings like the rest of us and they thrive on the support of the crowd like you and I would. So, if you’re lucky enough to be at Highbury, sing.
Chelsea won 4-1 this afternoon and looked good, albeit against what is a pretty poor Liverpool league side. The Kop were singing louder in the 89th minute than anything Highbury managed today.
On site news, I’ve gone back to the old design but with the new logo following a public outcry. Not sure about what should go in the space on the left though, as the Latest Updates column was pointless and time consuming to update.
Finally, a question for any readers who live in Dublin or anywhere else in the Republic of Ireland. I need to get internet access at my new flat for 3 months. Are there any broadband companies who don’t insist on you signing up for 12 months? And what is the best dial-up?
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Archives: July 2005, June 2005, May 2005, April 2005,March 2005, February 2005, January 2005, December 2004 and the embryonic goodplaya.
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Playa ratings:
v West Ham (2-3) - NEW
Lehman: An absolute idiot for stupidly getting involved with Harewood late on. Not only was it nasty, but he could have been sent-off and he also put us out of our stride. A minute later West Ham made it 3-1. He’s a very good goalkeeper but an arrogant, nasty character and an embarrassment when he behaves like that. 4
Gilbert: Looked to be doing fine until the Arsenal full-back curse struck. 6
Djorou: Individually did well, but understandably hasn’t been able to strike up any kind of partnership with Campbell yet. 6
Campbell: What can you say? Two massive errors that were punished to the max. Things just aren’t going his way at all. 4
Senderos: Obviously doesn’t offer the attacking prowess of Cole or Clichy but he looked solid and his distribution to Pires was fairly impressive. Did fine at centre-back in the second half but should have whacked it out instead of passing to Larsson for the mistake that led to the third goal. 5
Gilberto: He’s not great at the moment. Far too passive for my liking. 5
Diaby: Still raw, but I like him. And he is so like Vieira: even his mistakes remind me of Vieira’s shortcomings. Not sure why he was taken off. 7
Ljungberg: You have to laugh at the way he somehow managed to deflect Henry’s shot wide. Is trying really hard and not actually playing badly at all. But nothing is going his way. 7
Pires: I do feel we need players with greater bite than Pires at the moment. But in fairness, he was involved, scored one, set-up the other one for Henry and saw Hislop deny him with a great save. 6
Henry: Hard to judge. Seemed to have a decent enough game on TV but reports from the game were critical. 6
Van Persie: Unlucky. Offered a lot but nothing went his way. 7
Subs:
Flamini: Brought on as an emergency right-back but did pretty well all things considered. Say what you like about Flamini but he’s a fighter who unlike some of his team-mates will never be found lacking for effort. 7
Larsson: Yes, he made the cock-up for the third goal. But it was typical of our rough justice. Other than that he was excellent: committed in the tackle, full of running in attack and crucially he understands the value of hitting long-balls diagonally, as opposed to completely straight. Which is something some of his team-mates could do with taking note of. 7
Dennis: Not normally much of a substitute, but he found himself a good niche on the right of midfield and offered us extra creativity. Well hit volley to set up Pires’ goal. 6
v Sparta Prague (0-2)
Lehmann: Solid enough game. He’s doing well at the moment. 7
Clichy: Bit of a nightmare really, though to be fair their right winger was their best playa. 5
Cygan: Surprisingly assured. 7
Kolo: Looked fairly good most of the time. 7
Lauren: The odd moment of strangeness. 6.5
Flamini: Was hard to judge the midfielders tonight. Seemed to do the normal without being mega effective. 6.5
Gilberto: One of those Gilberto games where you don’t really know how he has played. 6.5
Fabregas: Got fairly involved and offered threat down the right. 7
Pires: Not his best game by any means but still one of his better ones this season. Magnificent ball for the second goal. 7
Van Persie: Seems to get carded in Europe for the most ridiculous things. Did alright without having much effect. 6.5
Reyes: Full of running til he got injured and wasn’t running at all. 6.5
Subs:
Henry (for Reyes 17ish): Emperor-like as he beat Wrighty’s record. Magnificent playa who, had he not scored, would have been accused of going missing in another big game. But because he did score, it won’t count as a big game. 8.5
Eboue (for Van Persie 70ish): Looking ok at the moment. 6.5
Quincy (for Cesc 85ish): Full of running. 6.5
v West Brom (2-1)
Lehmann: Blameless for goals. 6
Lauren: Not particularly composed. 5.5
Clichy: Has had far better games. 5.5
Senderos: Good goal, messy header for theirs. 6
Toure: Ok but ridiculously offside at one free kick. 5.5
Flamini: Ok but uninspiring. 5.5
Cesc: Decent. Kept trying. 6
Pires: Crap. 4.5
Ljungberg: Ok while he was on. 5.5
Reyes: Still running his heart out. 7
Bergkamp: A moany kind of day. 5.5
Subs:
Eboue (for Ljungberg 35ish): Not great. 5.5
Quincy (for Flamini 80ish): Bizarrely decided what Arsenal lack is left-wingers. 5.5
v Everton (2-0)
Jens: Very little to do. Did it all right. 7
Lauren: Occasionally seemed to imagine he had more pace than he does, which was quite amusing as he tried to take people on. Solid as usual. 7
Cole: As someone who gave him a good bashing over the summer it would suit by agenda to say he is playing poorly. But that would be a lie. Whatever the reasons for it, he has started the season well and in attack in particular is offering a lot. 7.5
Toure: Nothing to do at the back and seemed to enjoy getting in on this whole new set-piece malarkey. 7
Campbell: Two excellent headers, especially the second one which was a real hammer. Not at full speed yet but looked good, organised the defence well, shouted at people and seemed to realise he was our most senior player on the pitch. 8
Pires: Hadn’t done all that much in the brief period he was on the pitch before Gary Neville’s shit younger brother’s tackle forced him off. 6.5
Cesc: One friend said to me he is looking lightweight and giving the ball away too much. Maybe. But I think he does a lot of good stuff and his presence in the opponent’s penalty box is valuable. 7
Gilberto: Solid game, got through a fair amount and gave us a couple of those rare Gilberto moments where for a few seconds he stops looking like he is suspended in perpetual slow motion and instead provides us with raw Brazilian skill. 7
Ljungberg: Started slowly but furrowed hard as ever. Seemed to make a real determination to either stick wide out on the wing or else very deliberately come inside as opposed to just being narrow. I think it worked. Unlucky to hit bar in second half. 7
Van Persie: Hit the post with a nice effort (right footed!) and had some decent moments but was otherwise a bit subdued. Has been a fairly rough few weeks and is probably still feeling his way back in to things. 6.5
Reyes: Loses the ball now and then but that is only because he constantly seems to have it. Boundless energy at the moment, great creativity and fantastic balls into the box. Really was amazing how much of the ball he had tonight. 8
Subs:
Hleb (for Pires first half some time): Played pretty well, looked pretty creative and linked up well with Cole. Playing better than Pires. 7
Dennis (for Van Persie 80ish): Did alright. Created a bit of stuff. Didn’t do anything of note. 6.5
Alex Song (for Reyes 87ish): Made a couple of sloppy passes but it was harsh and exaggerated for Alan Smith to say he hadn’t found a man. 6
v Thun (2-1)
Almunia: Probably not to blame on the goal and handling was ok even though he still catches very strangely.6
Lauren: Did the usual Lauren stuff. Fairly well. 6.5
Cole: Thought he was good today. Clean at the back and contributed well going forward. Perhaps he enjoyed having Pires back in front of him. 7
Toure: Seemed ok. Can’t remember too much else.6.5
Sol: Looking a little chunky but it must be good to have him back.6.5
Cesc: Not his most spectacular game but made a couple of decent runs forward and made one particularly delicious pass in the second half.6.5
Gilberto: Very well taken goal and was more involved tonight than normally. An experienced head 7.5
Pires: By no means at his best but infinitely better than the past few games. Got in an early curler that almost flew in and was generally far more involved. Even tried to tackle twice. Neither attempt worked.. 7
Ljungberg. Svavanged without achieving much.6.5
RVP: Had been easing himself back into first team action when the dick head referee struck. 6.5
Reyes: Excellent, his boundless enthusiasm drove the team on and he looked really dangerous at times and caused Thun more problems than anyone else. 8
Subs:
Dennis (for Cesc 70 odd): Is that his first goal as a sub? Took it well. 7
Hleb (for Reyes 80 odd): Didn’t really find his touch in the ten minutes he had.6
Quincy (for Ljungberg 80 odd): Offered a new threat.6.5
v Fulham (4-1)
Lehman: Looking very solid at the moment. You can tell it by the fact he is not making kicking mistakes at the moment. At tricky moments, his handling from corners was excellent.7
Lauren: Missed a penalty, but that was bound to happen one day and at least it didn’t matter. Otherwise, he played well and looked particularly committed (mostly in the right sense) in the tackle. 7
Cole: His best attacking display for a while and linked up promisingly with Reyes. 7.5
Cygan: I’ve made no secret of the fact that his presence in the team pleases me not. Defending was ok tonight, though a couple of times Fulham forwards worryingly escaped him when crosses were slung in. Took his goals very well. Could it be that unlike the rest of the side Cygan does not feel obligated to score the perfect goal and concentrates on just sticking it in the net?7.5
Kolo: Poor clearance for the Fulham goal but on the whole had a decent game. The defensive issues we have at the moment seem more a collective than individual problem. 7
Cesc: Gets a wee bit overrun occasionally but on the whole is playing really well and in particular offers a genuine attacking threat in the way that perhaps Vieira sometime failed to. 7
Gilberto: Did what Gilberto does. Still sometimes resembles one of those video graphic created dinosaurs in the way he moves. 7
Hleb: Good first half, creating a fair deal and generally looking like a cross between Pires and Ljungberg (in the best sense). 7
Reyes: A very good game in my opinion, full of running, full of trickery and very direct. In particular, he linked up very well with Cole and Henry, which was very pleasing. His ball for Henry’s first goal was majestic and pleasingly the two seemed on the same wavelength tonight. 8
Dennis: Besides his idiotic yellow card he had a great game and was at the heart of Fulham’s dissection. Kept going strong right to the end. 8
Henry: Took his two goals, which both came at crucial times, very well. Just one more to equal Wright’s record. 7.5
Subs:
Flamini (for Reyes 75 odd): Set up Henry for the killer third goal. 7
Clichy (for Hleb 85 odd): Ran around like mad, as Clichy does. 7
v Liverpool (3-1)
Lehman: Two really good saves – the first from Riise and the second from Gerard’s piledriver. Flapped at one cross but all it served to do was to remind us how much he has improved. 7.5
Lauren: Did very well, almost scoring from Pires’ cross in the first half and setting up the third goal with some nice play. Is doing well at the moment, perhaps spurred on by Wenger not mentioning right back when saying which areas he doesn’t need to strengthen over the summer! 7.5
Cole: A mixed game. Good going forward and times and obviously an excellent second half block from Garcia. But also occasionally sloppy, messing up things we know him well capable of doing. 6.5
Senderos: A big presence at the heart of the defence he had one of his sternest tests in an Arsenal shirt when Liverpool got at us in the second half. Did pretty well on the whole though, especially as protection from midfield was not always forthcoming. 7
Kolo: A good solid outing and the same goes for him as for Senderos. 7
Vieira: Did some stuff really well and was very influential in our first half attacking play. But I felt he allowed the midfield to be too easily swamped after the break and was not always applying the pressure to Liverpool that he might have done. 7
Gilberto: It goes without saying that evaluating a Gilberto performance is very, very difficult. That said, I felt that like Vieira he could have offered a bit more bite in midfield to help out the defence in the second half. 6.5
Pires: Really was at the heart of some of our best stuff in the first half. Crossed brilliantly for Lauren to almost score, shot just wide and then scored with a magnificent free-kick. Faded later on. 7.5
Cesc: Absolutely outstanding. He set the move in motion for Reyes’ offside goal, fired just wide from 20 yards, scored his own offside goal and then added a very neat third for us in stoppage time. In between this he ran the game, tackling, running with the ball, passing brilliantly and generally looking the best player on the park. Outstanding. 9
Reyes: Not perfect, but he notched up another well taken goal, scored an offside one and ran his heart out for the cause in the second half. 7.5
Van Persie: Not as involved as he has been but got involved and put over one excellent early cross for Robert Pires. Generally looking a much better player than previously. 7
Subs:
Edu (for Pires 70 odd): Came on and did ok. 6.5
Bergkamp (for Van Persie 70 odd): Set up Fabregas for the third with a fantastic flick but was otherwise pretty poor. When he did try and press Liverpool he gave away a few free-kicks and the rest of the time he just didn’t seem to chase them at a time when we really needed players to get stuck in. I know he is still capable of the odd piece of magic but we probably have enough to our attacking armoury that magic alone should not prompt a new contract. We have shown we are capable of winning without Dennis and should probably now look to the future. 6
Aliadiere (for Reyes 85): As ever he came on and got stuck in, chasing everything and hassling the Liverpool defenders. Has a really good attitude and probably deserves more than five minutes at some point. 6.5
v West Brom (2-0)
Lehman: The defence clearly trusts him again and he is reciprocating that with improved handling, kicking and decision making. 7
Lauren: Worked reasonably hard and got forward on a few occasions. 7
Cole: Looked a little lethargic at times but kept going and finished the game strongly, setting us on a number of attacks. 6.5
Senderos: A couple of passes went astray but took a no nonsence defence to defending. Far be it for me to argue with his current record of not conceding a goal for absolutely yonks. 7.5
Gilberto: Covered well at set pieces, but with Arsenal in 2nd gear he seemed only to happy to make sure Gilberto was in 2nd gear too. Not much drive. 6.5
Vieira: Committed silly fouls early on and was not finding his passes. Got better as the game went on and provided more drive. Symbolic of our night. 7
Pires: Did ok initially but like the rest of them lacked the necessary drive. Got better with the team. 7
Cesc: Probably not his best game. Came looking for the ball a lot and should be credited for it but looked a little fatigued when challenged. 6.5
Van Persie: Did ok initially but was not really receiving a lot of support from the midfield. Took his goal magnificently. 7
Reyes: Ran hard but once again looked incredibly left footed. But gave an excellent assist for the opening goal and kept on trying right til the end, providing useful relief for the defence. 7
Subs:
Dennis (for Van Persie 75ish): Did little except provide a measured set-up for Edu's clincher. 6.5
Edu (for Cesc 75ish): Got involved a bit and finished well to clinch it. 7
v Spurs (1-0)
Lehman: Is playing very well and his handling looks as assured as ever, his throws good and his kicking far better than earlier in the season. I think it no great secret that he needs to control his temper. 7
Lauren: Has looked solid in recent weeks and looked more lively going forward. Alan Curbishley put him in his team of the season on the basis that few wingers get much change out of him. And he is probably right. Really does need to watch stray elbows though, intentional or not. 7
Toure: Was given a little trouble by Defoe but it was less trouble than Adi Akenbai gave him in the FA Cup in January. And Defoe is clearly a far better player than the Stoke man. Will soon score a very, very memorable free-kick I sense. 7
Senderos: It is hard to argue with his defensive record since he came into the side. We have simply stopped conceding goals. That said, what are the odds that back when we were conceding at will, Robbie Keane would have buried that chance. Could have got first goal for club with header. 7
Cole: Linked up well as ever with Pires down our left hand side and seemed really up for the fight. Had the slightly awkward penalty shout against him at the end but otherwise did well. 7
Vieira: With the ball he was excellent on the whole, spreading play at pace and helping support those ahead of him. Looks much more comfortable with Gilberto next to him. Though that said they both looked half a step off the pace at times against a Spurs side full of running. 7
Gilberto: Did what Gilberto does well. Though probably not as much of a shield as against Chelsea. 7
Cesc: Tired a little in the second half but was his usual youthful magnificence until then. Spread the ball with ease, got stuck in, helped out the attack and set up our goal. Nice. 7.5
Pires: Not the force he was against Chelsea but is playing well at the moment, linking up well with Cole down the left and generally providing an experienced head in an otherwise youthful attack. 7
Van Persie: Set Reyes up for the first minute chance, fired a decent effort wide and generally played quite a mature game without hitting great heights. 7
Reyes: Did very well to come back after the first minute miss. Goal was excellent and attitude looked good. Seemed to find an extra gear for second half run that set up Dennis. 7.5
Subs:
Dennis (for Van Persie 70 odd): Curled one wide and generally looked quite good against a tiring Spurs defence. There was the odd occasion when I felt he let the player pass him to quickly but that was probably just my last minute nerves. 7
Edu (for Cesc 70 odd): Hit the post with a curling effort and slotted in very, very neatly on the left. Will be a great shame to lose him if he does eventually go. 7
Aliadiere (for Van Persie 87 odd): Only had a few minutes but looked really keen to impress. Had a couple of good touches, got stuck in and made tired Spurs legs panic, buying us valuable time. 7
v Chelsea (0-0)
Lehman: Has looked much better recently and besides the odd dodgy kick, looked very solid against Chelsea and made one excellent save early on from Drogba. His positioning seemed good on through balls. 7
Lauren: He really didn’t put a foot wrong and kept Damien Duff and probably had his best game for the club against a very, very tricky opponent. Was ferocious and fair in the tackle. 8
Cole: After a slightly tentative start he threw himself at everything Chelsea chucked at us. Whatever people’s feelings about his current situation, there can be no complaints about his performance. 7
Senderos: Excellent as usual. This guy likes clean sheets. 7
Toure: Really did well in what could have been a tricky night. Got weight on his clearances and never panicked. 7
Vieira: It really doesn’t take a genius to figure out how much he seems to be enjoying having Gilberto back in the side. Really led the side again with fine interventions and set us on the path to attack – such as when Pires hit the bar. 7.5
Gilberto: Suffered a couple of inevitable nosebleeds when he got into decent positions going forward but otherwise did a fine job of snaffling out what Chelsea threw at us and generally making the team a slick unit. Showed one or two fine turns as well. 7
Cesc: This kid really does defy logic. At a time when his brittle bones should be feeling the effects of a long, hard season he is looking stronger than ever. Magnificently composed on the ball, he worked furiously in defence, midfield and attack. 8
Pires: His early volley that hit the bar reminded me of when I stood in the Holte End last year for Villa v Arsenal and he hit an even better effort that was turned just over. Even the anti-French bigots around me were shut well and truly up.
There is a wonderful magnificence about watching Robert Pires on song. He caresses the ball delightfully and when it’s time to move it on he does it with the utmost precision. A joy to watch and unlucky not to score twice. 9
Reyes: The story of his last 6 months – no problem with effort but he just lacks the confidence to make things really happen. The annoying thing is that he’s making errors on things that a confident Reyes could do with his eyes shut. Let’s hope his effort is rewarded soon. 6
Bergkamp: Like Reyes he worked hard and did his bit to keep Chelsea at bay. But also like Reyes he found himself struggling up front. The curtain appears to be falling on his magnificent career. Hopefully an announcement will be made soon and both we and Dennis can enjoy his final games. 6
Subs:
Van Persie (for Dennis 80 odd): Struggled to get into the game but had a few decent chances and ran hard for the side.
Aliadiere (for Cesc 85 odd): Did alright but by the time he came on it didn’t look like either side were really going to score.
v Boro (1-0)
Lehman: Flapped at one cross in the first half and then came ridiculously far out of his goal before eventually winning the ball. Yes, he’s kept a fair few clean sheets recently and yes, it’s even true we could win the league again with him in goal, but no, we won’t win in Europe with Jens and no, he’s not the answer. 6
Lauren: His early challenge, whilst not worthy of a red card as suggested on Match of the Day, was sheer stupidity. He did alright and he’s plodding along but not really getting any better. 6
Cole: Attacked decently at times but wasn’t helped by a very, very ineffectual Robert Pires. 6.5
Senderos: Now looks like he should be partnering Sol Campbell when the two are fit. Authoritative, big and commanding, his presence has coincided with a string of clean sheets. Still has rough edges, but these are being shaved all the time. 7
Kolo: Did reasonably well and made a couple of important blocks, but I’m not convinced his future lies in the heart of the defence. Together, he and Lauren sometimes seem to bring out the worst in each other and we just don’t look solid, clean sheets or no clean sheets. Would like to see him at right back. 6.5
Gilberto: I looked out especially for incidences of him filling gaps and yes, I can confirm it happens and he does his job well. Still looks very nervous in attacking positions, but his presence is welcome. 6
Vieira: I thought he did reasonably well, though like the rest of the players he seemed to have trouble bringing any great coherency to our play. 6
Cesc: I plumped for Cesc on the right a while ago and I like seeing him there. He got well forward and was always involved. Looks tired, but it’s been a long old season and he’s still, only 17. 6.5
Pires: I thought him absolute rubbish up until he scored really. His inability to tackle has been documented many times before, but on Saturday he seemed to be playing the whole game at walking pace. But then who better is there at converting the one chance he gets to secure a 1-0 lead. 6
Reyes: Things still aren’t all coming off for him but I sense things are getting better and his work rate and willingness to track back really can’t be faulted. We know for a fact that the boy has the talent to succeed, so while he may not be showing what he’s really capable of right now, we should applaud his recent application. Had a couple of really mazy runs and set up Henry excellently for a shot he scuffed. 7
Henry: Had one of those games where he seemed to stand almost still on the edge of the box, conserving his energy and waiting to pounce. It didn’t really work, though he did have a glorious chip fly just wide and certainly scared the Boro fans every time he got the ball. He was also up against an obdurate Boro. 6.5
Subs:
Dennis (Reyes 46): Did alright without really changing the game at all. It seems the curtain may be falling on his illustrious career and reluctantly, I think it right. We know he can still play brilliantly in patches but the truth is that it’s becoming less often and it’s hampering us in European away games. We need someone to step forward and become Henry’s partner. Sometimes the bullet needs to be bitten. And now is that time. 6
v Palace (5-1)
Jens: It’s tempting to say that the early back pass cock-up could just as easily have happened to Petr Cech but in truth that would be a lie. He’s simply too cocky and over confident with his kicking – it’s why so many balls get sliced wildly and why we almost conceded a shambolic own goal tonight. Otherwise, he actually did quite well. 6.5
Lauren: Is definitely becoming a better player going forward but was as culpable as anyone for our defensive malaise. 6
Cygan: Didn’t have an awful game but on too many occasions simple long balls forward by Palace became much more serious than they needed to be. 6
Kolo: Got skinned more often than he would have liked and was caught out at times from crosses. But still, we only conceded one. 6.5
Clichy: Did well getting forward, causing a constant menace. Defending was largely competent but seemed to be infected by the general defensive tendency to give the ball away. 6.5
Vieira: Another tricky game to rate from the captain. At times he was sluggish and easily caught in possession. At others, he took a grip on the game and drove the team forward impressively. Got well forward for his goal. 7
Edu: Didn’t have the sudden impact he enjoyed at Villa last week but did well enough and certainly gave us a fair bit of solidity. Good ball to Reyes for the opener. 7
Pires: Seemed to be rewriting the dictionary definition of anonymous for the first 20 or so minutes. Then got more into the game without coming close to hitting top gear. Was unlucky to hit the post in the 2nd half after good work from Reyes. 7
Reyes: His best game in yonks. He looked fearless again, running constantly at the Palace defence and causing a lot of trouble. Good assist for the first, great finish for the second, an assist for the third and a fantastic pass to Dennis to set up the fifth. Great to see him back again. 8.5
Dennis: As ever, he oiled, moulded and sculpted our performance. He also took his goal very well, like he did against Newcastle and United too. And set up Henry for the fifth. 7.5
Henry: Really played very, very well and channelled any frustration about constant offside decisions in exactly the right way. Had seemingly boundless energy to chase back lost causes and put us back on the attack. 8.5
Subs:
Flamini (for Edu 60odd): Solid and composed as ever. 7
Van Persie (for Dennis 80odd): Linked up reasonably well as the game entered its final stages. 7
Fabregas (for Pires 80odd): Settled in comfortably on the right. 7
v Wolves (2-0)
Jens: Whilst a clean sheet is a clean sheet, he had very little to do and looked no more reassuring than previously with his kicking. To be fair, he was also played a high number of over hit back passes today and was not at fault for the one from Flamini that took a wicked bobble off the Highbury surface (which appeared unusually cut-up).6.5
Eboue: Got forward well, hit the bar with a deflected shot and could have had a penalty. Nice work. 8
Clichy: Decent game without being exceptional.7
Sol: Not a lot to do. 7
Cygan: Better than usual. 8
Paddy: Mediocre for much of it truth be told. Got better later on and scored the penalty but for too long his mind didn’t seem in the right place. Sure, Wolves made it difficult by crowding midfield but too often he seemed semi asleep at throw ins and the like. Still, he kept going. 6.5
Flamini: Didn’t show the deftness of touch of the Newcastle game but retained all his normal solidity. And great as Ray Parlour was, watching Boro at the moment suggests that we’ve got an as good, if not better, replacement. 7
Reyes: A couple of good runs, some moments of anonymity and denied a stonewall penalty. Still getting back to form but it definitely seems better than a few weeks ago. 6.5
Freddie: Usual energetic performance without any stand out moments, save his well taken goal. That’s ten for the season now and we’re still in January. Good work Sir. 7
Van Persie: Not his most inspiring game and clearly doesn’t yet have the positional ability of Dennis (who does?) but is improving. 6.5
Henry: Gallic. Went into one of his moods after Riley ruled out his cheeky first half effort. Strutted around for a while, went in for a couple of silly tackles and became frankly self indulgently petulant when a foul was given against him. It’s alright for us to loathe Riley endlessly but our top striker shouldn’t let him affect his game. And the fact is he did. But recovered his composure, was unlucky not to score and set up Freddie in superb fashion. 8
Subs:
Cesc (for Van Persie): Settled in comfortably on the right. 7
Pires (for Reyes): Nice work for the clinching goal. 7
Quincy (for Fred): No time to make an impression.
v Charlton (3-1)
Alumnia: No chance with the goal and didn’t do too much wrong besides one poor fumble from a cross. Still not convinced by his catching techniques. No difficult saves to make6.5
Hoyte: Made the odd error but did well to make sure his old youth team buddy Jerome Thomas had his quietest game in weeks. Managed to get forward a bit more in the second half.7.5
Cole: Still not looking at his best and on a couple of occasions was embarrassed by Rommedahl. But in fairness he wasn’t as sloppy as recently and did get forward well later on. 6.5
Sol: With the exception of one wildly sliced clearance in the first half that Almunia had to save he looked pretty solid and kept Charlton’s clear chances to a minimum. Let’s hope his ankle isn’t too bad. 7
Kolo: Given a bit of grief by Bartlett in the air but stuck to his task well and like Campbell, restricted the number of clear cut chances. 7
Vieira: Watching the game live, I was unconvinced by his first half performance. But having just seen the highlights it seems he got through a lot of work and did what he had to do neatly and efficiently. Set up Fred well for the goal and kept up a good level of performance all the way through.7
Cesc: Lost the odd ball but was generally very sound. Passing was clean and crisp as ever and his touch for the second goal was exquisite by any standards.7.5
Freddie: Took his two goals brilliantly, worked hard and always looked a threat. In good form. 8
Clichy: Seemed to lose the ball cheaply a bit too often but worked hard down the left helping Cole out with nullifying the threat of Rohmedahl and getting forward well. Has tremendous energy which comes in handy at the end of games when opposition players tire.6.5
Henry: Not at his best today but more worrying than the actual performance was the fact that his normal fitness wasn’t there. Had a lovely free-kick cleared off the line.6.5
Van Persie: Still has a tendency to twist and turn once too often. But also holds the ball up brilliantly, moves it well and finished superbly for the third. Should probably be given a real run up front next to Henry. Took his goal like a striker, which is disconcerting coming from an Arsenal player.7.5
Subs:
Pires (for Van Persie 72ish): With the game won he wisely didn’t over exert himself ahead of Man City on Tuesday night. 6.5
Senderos (for Campbell 82ish): Slotted in well on his Premiership debut.7
Pennant (for Fred 86): Didn’t have time to get into the game. 7
v Newcastle (1-0)
Almunia: Our star man tonight. A smart early save from Ameobi (even if it was probably going wide) and excellent handling all night gave us one less worry. Four clean sheets in five and he also kicks a fair bit better than Jens.7
Lauren: Though Lauren Robert didn’t reach anything like his best, I’m not sure whether too much credit should go to Lauren. His positioning often seemed weak, his passing and tackling little better and he offered almost nothing in attack. Mr Average was distinctly poor. 5.5
Cole: Whilst there’s no shame in being given a tough time of things by Craig Bellamy, Cole’s performance was noticeably worse than just a torrid time. He made stupid, unnecessary fouls, got caught out when he should normally have had enough pace and looked very, very shaky. He may have been pushed a touch for the penalty incident, but a defender with his mind fully on the job wouldn’t have allowed the ball to hit him as blatantly as it did. In mitigation he did improve and unlike Lauren provided some attacking threat. 5.5
Kolo: Did alright but like the others his decision making didn’t always seem to be the best informed. That said, it’s a little harsh to chastise a central defender who has kept four clean sheets in five. 6.5
Sol: Urgh. After some very sound recent performances he seemed far too troubled by what looked like some relatively simple long balls. One such error allowed Ameobi in for his early chance and his lack of authority always made the long ball route look like a wise one for Newcastle to take. 6
Flamini: Not his best game for Arsenal but he still got through a lot of work, kept things simple and had a hand in setting up Vieira for the goal. 6.5
Vieira: Named man of the match by SKY and praised in a couple of papers, but I’m going to be honest and say that up until he scored I thought he was pretty useless, being caught in possession too often. That said in the second half he got through a fair bit of work as we ground out victory. 6.5
Fred: Beavered away, had some good moments and kept on trying. Was going to commend him for his work on a couple of occasions in particular but can’t now remember what they were. 7
Pires: Even by his standards, his tackling was poor today. Truth be told, I can’t fathom how he’s allowed to defend with his body constantly side on to the play. As a left winger he has defensive responsibilities and simply has to make a better fist of it. On the attacking front he was probably our most creative player, moving the ball smartly and at pace. 6
Van Persie: Still very, very raw. Unlucky not to score in the opening minutes and had a couple more decent efforts but all too frequently ran into trouble and lost the ball on what was admittedly an awful surface completely unsuited to his quick twists and turns. Corners weren’t bad. Needs time. 6.5
Henry: His touch was not quite at its magical best, but again this was probably due to the state of the pitch. Had a couple of good runs that resulted in decent shots on Shay Given’s goal. 6.5
Subs:
Clichy (for Van Persie 80 mins approx): Seemed as happy as anyone in the post match huddle but for the second game in succession he seemed a little out of sorts when called upon. 6
v Fulham (2-0)
Almunia: Looks better by the game and made a crucial save when he rushed out at speed to palm away a Fulham chance at 1-0. Made no notable mistakes. 7
Clichy: Had a good first half – getting forward well as usual and strong on the defensive stuff. Then in the second half he seemed to lose his confidence went, either as a result of or because of Fulham consistently probing down our left. Like any small full-back, aerial strength is a weakness.6
Lauren: Average as usual. Looked solid against a Fulham attack lacking any real penetration. 6.5
Sol: At times we were troubled in the air – but Sol is leading a defence that is no longer allowing attackers completely free headers at corners. Looks fit and healthy and, along with the rest of the defence, now has three clean sheets in four league games. 7
Freddie: A fine game on his return from migraine troubles. Played in Henry for the first and set-up Pires for the second. 7.5
Cesc: Gets caught on the ball occasionally but is still doing the vast majority of things with real fluency. Gives us real creativity in the middle. 7
Vieira: Showed a few soft shoe shuffles to bam boozle defenders in a way we haven’t really seen this season. Also got stuck into his tackles and generally seemed to be on the ball. 7
Pires: There was this surreal moment in the first half. He got the ball on the left wing and took a heavy touch. As if that wasn’t enough he then went flying into the tackle with the Fulham defender and actually won the ball. And it wasn’t the only time – I saw him snuff out a few Fulham attacks and even win a header.
Of course, the attacking side of his play was superb as well – he would have scored from a Dennis chest down but for a good save by Van De Saar. He linked up well, particularly with Henry, and inevitably took his goal with typical aplomb. Now has 19 in 2004, which is good. 7.5
Dennis: A fair few poor touches and bad decision making in general play. In mitigation, he dummied the ball well for the second goal and put Pires in with an excellent chest down. 6.5
Henry: Sure, the flicks didn’t always come off but at times he led Fulham a merry dance like he has almost every other defence this season. His goal was a trade mark finish and he was desperately unlucky when his side footer from the edge of the box crashed back off a post. 7
Subs:
Flamini (for Freddie 74ish): Some might say Arsene was making a point by not replacing Freddie with Pennant. Others will call it a sensible way of seeing out the game. 6.5
Van Persie (for Dennis 78ish): Provided his usual array of tricks but didn’t get a real chance to score. 6.5
v Portsmouth (1-0)
Almunia: Had a really good game. Caught when he needed to catch, punched when he wasn't sure and kicked immaculately. Also made a couple of really good saves. His run of impressive performances may only stretch to two but for now there seems no reason to bring back Jens. 8
Lauren: Did nothing too wrong but didn't offer as much in attack as he might have and at times appeared troubled by Pomey's pace. I think he's ok, but I'm becoming less and less convinced he should be our right back at all - more on that tomorrow. 6.5
Cole: A tough one to call. For a while looked rattled by Pompey's pace and agression down the left. Misplaced a couple of balls and though his tackles were mostly coming off they had a slightly concerning aggressiveness about them which made me think he was letting his own frustration get the better of him a little. But stuck to the task well and in the end kept a dangerous Pompey out. 7
Kolo: Got sucked in a couple of times, but on the whole he was part of a defence that looked pretty solid and much improved at set pieces. 7
Sol: Looked fitter than recently I thought - turning smoothly on a couple of occasions when faced with danger. He also made countless important headers at corners and won us the game with the kind of head down sheer determinism many fans would like to see a little more often. 8
Flamini: Ran hard, tackled hard and never gave up. Doesn't offer as much going forward as Fabregas, but doesn't claim to either. Unlucky with a header from Henry's free-kick. 7
Vieira: Industrious, but was also sloppy on occasion, getting caught in posession and losing the ball. Still doesn't seem 100% back to his best and didn't make the most of a couple of shooting opportunities. 6.5
Clichy: Fought well and offered Cole valuable protection down the left hand side. Showed initial attacking promise early on but faded as Pompey grew in stature. Nonetheless, was full of running at the end and nearly capitalised on tired Pompey legs. 7
Pires: His every touch was met with a chorus of boos as Bob faced Pompey for the first time since 'that dive' last season. There was even one moment when he slipped and the ball rolled out of play. Which probably made a certain journalist very, very warm inside. Otherwise, was neat enough but pretty ineffectual, seemingly afraid of injury in the rough house atmosphere. Had a couple of lovely runs late on and set Dennis up for a chance he really should have taken. 6.5
Henry: Worked hard and created much of our best work, but often found himself crowded out by the hoardes of Pompey defenders. Nearly scored after a flowing first half move and set up Dennis' other chance late on, which again he really should have taken. 7
Van Persie: Started really well, showing fantastic feet and trickery and generally leading Pompey a merry dance. He swivels at such speed he'll probably need a hip replacement aged 30. Faded somewhat after his impressive start, finding himself crowded out by the packed defence. Could pass a little earlier at times but nonetheless a decent first start in a difficult game and he staked a fair claim for inclusion against Fulham on Boxing Day. 6.5
Subs:
Bergkamp (for Van Persie 68ish): Should have scored late on following good set up play. His performance did little to silence the voices calling for this year to be his last. I'm undecided on that, but what I am sure about is that I won't miss the needless little kicks and elbows aimed at his opponents when frustration sets in. Simply put: the sly digs are ugly and Van Nistelrooy like and do nothing for us. 6
v Chelsea (2-2)
Almunia: Faultless for both their goals, he made good stops from Lampard and Gudjohnsen in the first half. And made a vital save when Robben wriggled his way through after the break. But nobody noticed it. Caught when a catch was a good idea, punched when a punch was wiser and set us on the attack with some good throws. 7.5
Lauren: Didn't see much of him, but when you're up against Duff and Robben, this can only be to a defender's credit. Thought he did really well to keep them in check, and the one time Robben did really threaten in the second half, the danger came down the other side. 7.5
Cole: The one player who I thought struggled today. As has been the case of late, he lacked confidence in his touch and stuggled defensively. Perhaps should have come out to Robben before the winger got into the box for his 2nd half chance, and was easily beaten in the air by Drogba for Cheslea's 2nd equaliser. 6
Kolo: Looked solid overall and helped limit Chelsea to only a few chances asides from set pieces. 7
Sol: A mixed bag. Made some really important defensive headers and looked in command at times at the back. But was a little caught out for their opening goal and sometimes seemed a little gung ho in his marking. Made important late tackle on Drogba.7
Reyes: Was quiet, but this was a tough game. Nodded down to Henry for the opener, worked hard and went on a few mazy runs without much success. Still, I thought he gave them something to worry about.6.5
Fabregas: Another excellent performance. He and Flamini were overwhelmed initially when up against Tiago, Lampard and Makalele but never gave up and fought their way back into the game admirably. Nice goal to set up Henry for the opener, he was instrumental in setting up the Frenchman's near winner and also set up RVP for his chance. Uses the ball so intelligently and showed that despite his size, he's not afraid to get stuck in. Was up against the very best in the business today and succeeded in limiting Lampard to a largely peripheral role.8
Flamini: £1 million? First league start? A snip if you ask me. He run's tirelessly, he harries, he puts his foot in and he uses the ball simply when he wins it. A real water carrier but absolutely essential today and worked tirelessly. Well done Sir. 8
Pires: We wanted a big performance and boy did we get one. Seemed almost impossible to shake off the ball, tackled back, linked up well with Lauren, Flamini, Cesc and Henry and drove the team forward in his own idiosyncratic waddle. When in his pomp, he is still a wonderful, wonderful footballer to watch. Set up Henry for the near winner, realised his responsibility as the senior partner in midfield, and shouldered the responsibility admirably.7.5
Dennis: Didn't get involved in too much of note, but I can't help feeling he just gives us a cetain sophistication and shape when he's in the side. Gordon Strachan pointed out on Match of the Day how hard he'd worked to stop Makalele getting the ball and in hindsight I think it probably a fair call.6.5
Henry: Forget the late miss - it can happen to anyone. Otherwise he was outstanding, scoring a brilliant first (which included winning a high ball!), netting an impudent second and generally running the show. Scared Chelsea shitless every time he picked it up and was responsible for a hell of a lot of good work. Also destroyed the concept he doesn't turn it on in big games. That's 15 in 17 league games now by the way.9
Subs:
Clichy (for Reyes 82): Ran around like mad for 10 minutes and forced mistakes out of tired legs. Really good footballer and good enough to start for probably every Premiership side and perhaps should be more often for us. 7.5
RVP: Is maturing very nicely indeed. Nearly netted a silky winner when he latched onto Cesc's pass and gave the Chelsea players a lot to think about. Would be really interesting to see him start. 7
v Rosenberg (5-1)
Almunia: Made a really, really good low save early on and kicked largely well. But looked dodgy more than once on crosses and for the second time in a week cost us a goal, which is a real worry. Eventually realised there's nothing wrong with giving a ball a good double handed punch. 6
Hoyte: Was up against a poor opposition but defended diligently and rarely looked rushed. Used the ball well, linked up well with his team mates and should be well pleased with his first European start. 7
Cole: Looked solid, with a couple of important defensive headers, but still not yet back to his marauding best I sense. Shouldn't have let the ball drop over his head for Harald Brattbakk to fire at Alumnia after 17 minutes. Withdrawn with quarter of an hour left. 6.5
Sol: Ditto for above, though did once later on look somewhat sluggish again on the turn. Perhaps I'm just paranoid about the impending arrival of Duff and Robben at Highbury.6.5
Kolo: A very easy night for the big man and he even found time for a classic Kolo dance into the opposition penalty area towards the end. 7
Flamini: Very, very good full debut. Set up the second goal, ran tirelessly, got tackles in and seemed to work well with Cesc in midfield. Looks comfortable tracking back and going forward and also seems to have a strange affinity for joining in attacks right around the right edge of the penalty area and particularly when we attack the North Bank. A young, thinking man's Gilles Grimandi, he ain't at all bad for a fifth choice midfielder. 7.5
Cesc: Absolute star. Has already played 20 games this season (twice as many as Edu, Gilberto and Vieira), yet still had the strength to turn in one of his best performances for the club. Fantastically alert, his use of the ball was excellent. He also scored a very impressive, very difficult goal and was involved in the build up for the fifth. Not just our most frequent performer in midfield this season, but also our best. 8
Jose: Took his goal really well and gave us a flying start. Had another deflected shot well saved and looked much more like the sun kid of the beginning of the season. Had a delightful late chip that bamboozled three very stupid looking Rosenberg players before landing on the roof of the net. 7
Pires: Looked much, much better and was even spotted making a tackle late in the second half. Kept going and linked up well late on with Jose and RVP before being withdrawn for Quincy with two minutes left. His penalty was so brilliantly placed it went into the side netting. Again I marvel at his ability to put a football exactly where he wants it to go. 7
Bergkamp: A nice return for the Ice Man who got involved well in the game, set up the opener and had a couple of openings himself. Might have done better when in front of goal, but eased himself back into the side well. 7
Henry: I actually thought that poor as the defending was for his goal, it was still a pretty decent finish. Worked hard all night, linked up well with the kids around him and seemed to be feeling particularly tolerant. 7
Subs:
Clichy (for Dennis 72ish): Spent a few mins in midfield before dropping back to left back when RVP replaced Ashley. As ever looked sound in the defending and assured going forward.
7
RVP (for Cole 75): Resuscitated the game with some silky skills, wayward finishing and then eventually a very well taken goal. Rawer than an uncooked vegetable, but with massive potential. 7.5
Quincy (for Bob 88): Should have had longer. Don't think he got a touch.
v Birmingham (3-0)
Alumnia: Looks like Lehman, kicks slightly better than Lehman, fumbles the odd ball like Lehman and jumps a couple of inches less high in the air than Lehman. Did ok, but would have been ill advised to let Morrison’s second half effort creep under him and over the line.6.5
Lauren: Seemed really quiet yesterday. Means he was doing his defensive job well which at the moment is the priority. Better? Seeing as we kept a clean sheet, probably a tad. 6.5
Cole: It's not been picked up much by the press, but I’ve thought Ash to be one of the players whose form has most obviously dipped in the recent spell. He’s still looked a top left back, but the subtlety of touch that allowed him and Bob to link so well still seems to be absent. Better? Not noticeably, but again should take credit for a clean sheet. 7
Sol: I’m of the opinion he’s still carrying a little bit of weight. Played well enough, but on a couple of occasions he looked sluggish and immobile on the turn, which is obviously a concern with Duff and Robben coming to town next week. Better? Probably not. 6.5
Kolo: Probably fair to say he’s not been our worst performer in the recent period, but I think on occasion he has allowed our recent jitters to affect his decision making a little. Kept Heskey quiet, but also seemed to time his jumps wrongly on a couple of occasions. Better? Ditto above. 7
Vieira: Did some good stuff but on other occasions his decision making and concentration again seemed lacking a little. He’s a hard one to judge at the moment. Better? Probably a bit.7
Cesc: I’m glad to see he escaped censure for his recent performances because I think a lot of the recent mutterings about how he’s no Gilberto have been unfair. Admittedly, the Brazilian’s best work is done off the ball, SKY’s stats show how we tend to win with him in the side, but I still think the young Spaniard is doing pretty well. He’s a young boy whose probably played too many games in a struggling team in a big league. But he’s still there, still getting stuck in and still doing his stuff. Tired in the latter stages yesterday and was replaced by Flamini, which was a wise, common sense, decision. Better? No, but only because he was doing well in the first place. 7
Freddie: Scavenged, burrowed, furrowed, ducked and dived. Fred’s doing them all at the moment and its working as the perfect complement to the continued attempts at perfection that come from the rest of the team. Is also being very productive. Should have had a penalty yesterday, set up the third goal and generally ran the show. Better? No, but only because he’s been great. 7.5
Pires: Mark my words. One of these days the opposition are going to get a free kick on the edge of our area. Their player will hit it, the ball will fly off Robert Pires and zip past Lehman. And we’ll all put it down as a fluke, like we did for Graveson’s effort that flew off Pennant in the Carling Cup game against Everton. Except it won’t be a fluke because Pires, like Pennant, will have jumped with his back to the ball, meaning that when it hits him he’ll have no way of giving it any direction.
My point is that Pires simply has to go into tackles. Maybe he’s worried about getting hurt, but he’s ducking out of the most basic challenges and its meaning we’re losing the battle in midfield at places like Old Trafford and Anfield.
Obviously, as I was making a note of this, Bob went and scored a classic Bob goal. Basically a really, really good one. He is a fantastic playa, probably the purest footballer we have in our team and quite possibly the best finisher. Yesterday was his 50th goal for the club and almost without exception (Bolton at home this season) they’ve been aesthetically perfect and a joy to watch.
But he must pull his weight for the team, which funnily enough I’ve seen him do really well on a number of occasions. Better? A little bit later on in the second half. 6.5
Reyes: You have to feel for him - seemingly everything he tries seems to go askew these days. Inches away from a Henry cross in the first half, he got into the game a bit more going towards half time, but then tired before being withdrawn. As I said above, he could do with a 25 minute run against tired defences to get his confidence back. Better? Not really, but not for want of effort. 6.5
Henry: Whether it be through injury or lack of confidence, he spent much of the game getting into decent positions but then making the wrong decision. Then ten minutes from time he took off past Melchiot, through the Birmingham defence and then a cool low finish hit whilst he was running at incredible speed. Six minutes later, he bought a ticket for Freddie Ljungberg’s cross and got lucky.
May not be at his best. But the level of criticism he of all people has taken is ridiculous. Has scored 13 league goals this season (four more than anyone else and 9 more than Ruud), scoring in 11 of the 16 games. And it’s not even like he’s bound to get the goals because nobody else does. He hasn’t even scored a third of our goals, and with the exception of Old Trafford (when nobody scored) and Selhurst Park, at least one other Arsenal player has scored in all of our other games.
Better? Yes. Despite earlier failures, his determination to keep going for the all important second goal was admirable. 7.5
Subs:
Clichy (for Jose): I love this guy. He’s like Wenger’s little foot soldier and seems capable of doing everything. Slotted in expertly in left midfield. He covers, chases back, tackles, retains the ball, gets forward, dribbles and causes havoc in the opposition defence. He may be more defensive than Reyes, but sometimes being slightly more defensive can give you the shape to attack more. May not be suited to central midfield, but should be considered a serious option for a place in left midfield on tough away games. 7.5
Flamini: Seems to do everything neatly enough without being spectacular. Will be interesting to see how he works with Cesc over the next two games.7
v Man United (0-1)
Alumnia: Crap on their goal, barely put a foot wrong otherwise. Plays and looks like a slightly smaller Jens, but can kick. 6
Hoyte: OK and defended well on occasion, but I’d still like to see him get forward more. That said, I think he’s a player who would look much better surrounded by seasoned pros. 6.5
Clichy: Really, really good as usual. Slipped on their excuse of a pitch for the early goal, but didn’t let it affect him and worked tirelessly defending and attacking all game. 7.5
Senderos: The lumbering giant of Everton had been replaced by a very, very accomplished looking centre half. One dodgy back header that fell short but otherwise cut out everything that was asked of him and looked a real first team option. 8
Djorou: Took eye off ball and then slipped for the goal which wasn’t good. Never quite looked the same player as against Everton, but worked his way back into the game. 6.5
Flamini: Looks like we can breathe a little more easily in the midfield department after watching a very assured display. Would like to see him trialled as a sub for Freddie in games where we’ve got a dodgy one goal lead. 7
Larsson: Some like him but I’m not so sure. What he did was decent enough but I thought he struggled to have an effect on the game. 6.5
Quincy: Maybe it was the pitch, maybe it was United doubling up on him. Either way the hero of the last round never really got into last night’s affair. 6
Pennant: Worked hard, tried to take the initiative and overall did quite well. Still not sure if he’ll quite make it at Highbury though. 7
Lupoli: Is a striker and when strikers get no service they don’t look much kop. 6.5
Van Persie: Battled hard all night and willingly came deep to win possession. But probably came a bit too deep and battled a bit too hard. Yes, he could have been sent off for the incident with Richardson. Reminds me a bit of a young Freddie, not in playing style but in the way that the potential is clearly there but the skills are still very, very raw. 6.5
Subs:
Smith (for Lupoli): Did OK but still looks wary of going in for challenges and taking men on following his long term injury.
Cregg: Alright
Karbassiyoon: Alright
Then when Reyes emerged after the break it was as though the rocket we all know he has in him had been ignited. It was crazy stuff. He played like a winger, all wide and running like apparently that was wingers are supposed to do. It was like what happens in other teams. It was a joy to see and suddenly our attacking threat was almost doubled, with not everything having to go through Thierry Henry.
Of course, it was not just Reyes who got better. The whole performance was far improved and we dominated the game. Our reward came when Ljungberg played in Henry. His first effort was blocked and his second low shot hit the keeper and looped into the air.
The ball dropped on Reyes’ right foot just a couple of yards from goal. He volleyed home and we had our first league goal in a month. Lovely stuff. We continued to dominate, could have scored more and never looked like letting things slip after Danny Murphy was sent-off - his second yellow for throwing the ball down in frustration after a Bennett call. Stupid decision and one I hate to see – even when it benefits us.
On a side note, Cesc got a bit involved in that incident and was also guilty of a slightly dangerous (yellow card worthy) challenge that went unchecked. I love watching Fabregas and am only too happy to see him get stuck in. But he sometimes gets involved where it is not needed and is one of those ‘first on the scene’ players. I just wonder if it could come back to bite him at some point.
But back to the performance: we were much better in the second half but there was still a lot wrong. We lack suredness, Cygan is still at left-back and Cesc and Gilberto had their usual flaws exposed. I’d give the young Spaniard a well earned break for the Portsmouth game.
The bright spots in the game were the result, a far improved Sol Campbell performance and Reyes second half effort. It was great to see him at full pelter and a reminder of the massive potential he has. If I’m honest I’d half forgotten how good he can be. Seeing him tuck the ball home from two yards also offered a extra useful reminder to yours truly.
I stick by my assertion that Reyes is not a striker. But I forgot that on form, he can still be a goalscoring winger. And more to the point, we are talking about a player who can score every single kind of goal, which to me suggests real potentially as a 15 goal a season winger. Cast your mind back over the goals he has given us and you will see there is no trademark. Left footed, right footed, headed, spectacular, bundled in, tapped-in, first time, lengthy runs, one-on-ones, volleyed. They are all there. And in this generally gloomy time for the club, that is a pleasing thought.
Portsmouth on Wednesday. I’d rather not see Cygan at centre-back, would replace Fabregas with Flamini, make sure Reyes gets another chance to try to build some confidence and probably give Pires a run-out in place of Freddie too.
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21/12/05
Insane Blatter wants to make things even easier for Chelsea
The Chelsea match review is below this quick post. Sepp Blatter has said: "If a club can only have five foreigners among their starting 11, then they will have to build on their own youth system. If Chelsea were forced to have five foreigners then Roman Abramovich could not go on buying the best players across the world for exorbitant fees. Chelsea is the example of what should not happen."
The man is a lunatic. The problem at the moment is that Chelsea are snapping up the cream of English players for sums only Man United can even think about, irrespective of whether the player is of any use to them (Lampard) or not. (Wright-Philips).
Were this rule to come in, Chelsea would simply further dominate the English market, pushing up prices and further decimating those without money. Not only would we be forced to fill our team with six English also rans, we would also no longer be able to compensate for the vast gulf in finances as we currently do, by scouring the world for affordable top players.
Develop their youth system? Err, no. They would just spend more money. I am not having a go at Chelsea, but the fact is they would be most happy with these plans. As Arsenal fans, these insane ideas should worry us.
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19/12/05
Arsenal 0 Chelsea 2: It ain’t the end of the world.
So, league defeat at home to Chelsea for the first time in yonks. Painful? Disappointing? Frustrating? YES, YES, YES. But surprising? NO. In short, we learnt very, very little that we didn’t already know.
If we were to win, we had to be clinical with what chances we created and make sure we scored the first goal. Chelsea began well but for me the first two real opportunities were Arsenal ones and we did little wrong with them. Henry hit the post and then Van Persie swept home beautifully only to see the offside flag raised in error.
Not offside
It was a massive, massive decision. 1-0 to Arsenal and we would have had a completely different game. It was a wretched decision and I’m getting sick of wretched decisions in big games. Don’t get me wrong, at home against smaller sides the refs favour us. But in big games we seem to get little luck. At crucial times in both United league games last year and now against Chelsea. I’m not talking about flukes of performance – like when we beat United in the Cup Final or when Drogba scored against us earlier this season. I’m on about the crucial refereeing decisions, which, for whatever reason, seem to keep going against us in the big games.
Six minutes before half-time and Robben was as onside as Van Persie was and he too put the ball in the net smartly. This time the goal stood. While you languish in footballing depression mulling over this defeat, just consider how different things might have been had our goal stood and theirs not.
Red cards:
As for the non sending-offs: yes, Senderos probably should have gone (as Wenger acknowledged). But so too should Essien, who is anything but a marked man as Mourinho claims. I thought his elbow was probably correctly called a yellow. But it was just crass inconsistency that let him get away with a later foul on Van Persie that was identical to one Henry had been booked for about two minutes earlier. So on that front, honours even. (ps, question for UEFA: when did going in studs first near someone’s knee become a two rather than a three game ban?)
I thought we actually played quite well after we went behind. Chelsea 1-0 up are a nightmare to play against. Though we could have created a few more chances, we still fashioned some decent openings. They were dangerous on the break but that was always going to be so with us chasing the game. Cole took their second excellently after one of Lauren’s worst ever mistakes for the club. But to bash him is ridiculous. He is a first class foot soldier who is having a good season and hardly ever puts a foot wrong.
The Midfield:
The problem for us was very obviously in midfield. Aware that we would be outmuscled, we frequently tried to pass long straight from defence to attack. It was an unfamiliar approach that met with limited success. I’ve heard mutterings of disappointment about Cesc’s performance, but I’d point to what I said on Saturday about him being asked to do the wrong job. But the problem is not just a lack of muscle in central midfield. While we could once slot Edu in left and Parlour right, Freddie is now our most physically strong wide player, which says it all. And the pace that once characterised our middle line only lives on in the injured and inconsistent Jose Reyes.
This is, clearly, a very difficult time for the team. Our standards have slipped and for the first time we are staring into the abyss of finishing outside of the top two. But let us not get carried away. We went three barren years without any trophy between Wenger’s first and second titles. Things change and evolve. Of course we need reinforcements and the prospect of Henry leaving is daunting. But things are not all bad.
Hleb is having a far better first year than Pires did, Sol Campbell (in my opinion) will rise again and while they are not yet world beaters, there is genuine promise in our young players. Things change and evolve and for anyone who is feeling at all disillusioned with Arsene, just imagine how much worse every other manager would do with our resources. For one thing, I think if Mourinho took over at Highbury tomorrow, he’d struggle big time. But take Wenger to Stamford Bridge and I’d expect him to win Chelsea titles, which less we forget, is all Mourinho has managed for them so far.
Chelsea?
So, finally, what of Chelsea? Have they raised the bar? Incrementally at most. That they are so far ahead is in part because of their own consistency but more due to United and Arsenal’s recent decline. Are they any better than us in 2004 or United in their pomp? I’d say no way. So the challenge is for us to get back to what we have achieved before and then catching Chelsea will take care of itself.
The most well resourced squad ever in British football was very fortunately injury free enough to be able to choose their first choice eleven against us. We were missing three left-backs, a winger and had a midfielder harshly suspended. C’est la vie. What a sign of the times that of the eleven players fielded by Mourinho, ten cost £6 million plus, while John Terry was a shooting star long before the special one had even heard of him. Our side contained just three players bought for more than £3.5 million.
Overhauling them will be very tough, but is doable. And if there is one manager you’d choose for a club like ours – in transition and relatively cash strapped – you’d plump for Arsene Wenger over Jose Mourinho or anyone else any day of the week. Which is handy really.
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17/12/05
Arsenal v Chelsea preview: How good would Cesc look in Chelsea’s midfield?
A year and a week after his first start in an Arsenal shirt, Mathieu Flamini is likely to again come into the Arsenal side next to Cesc Fabregas for the visit of Chelsea. The prospect has left many fearful, but they did ok last year and I think they can do ok on Sunday. In a way, the prospect of having Fabregas and Flamini snapping like whippets around Essien and Lampard is preferable to having Gilberto in there. In his current poor form, we might risk the Brazilian just providing poor man’s version of what Makalele does so well for Chelsea.
The game is obviously going to be very tough and despite our impressive home form, Chelsea must be favourites. At Highbury the league results have been immaculate but the teams we have beaten have been nothing special and our performances only impressive in short, sporadic bursts. Still, I think we have the players who, on their game, can stop Chelsea from scoring. And I think we are capable of creating chances against them at Highbury. So, we are not without hope.
If we are to win, a likely key player will also be our youngest – Cesc Fabregas. Usually in hushed voices, some Arsenal followers have questioned whether he has the strength for the Premiership. They say both Vieira and Gilberto have struggled next to him. I refute that. As far as Vieira goes, he acknowledges openly in his book that he played much of last season with a very dodgy ankle.
And as for his partnership with Gilberto, I see the problem being that Fabregas has been unfairly forced to play the role of tough tackling midfielder. While the Brazilian may provide a positional wall, it is Cesc who on the whole is required to throw his still slender frame into the tough tackling.
For me, he has actually done it ok, but the point is that expecting him to excel as the enforcer is as preposterous as expecting Dennis Bergkamp to score 30 goals a season. It is not what either do. But imagine Cesc sat on the Chelsea bench for a game and replaced one of Essien, Makalele or Lampard at half-time. Whoever he came in for, I’d expect him to flourish, revelling in being able to concentrate on doing what he’s great at. He could also offer Chelsea the midfield subtlety and creativity they have occasionally lacked - such as in four scoreless encounters against Liverpool in the Champions League.
So if you see Cesc being out muscled on Sunday, take a look around and remember what he is being asked to do. However well he does it, here’s to the midfield beast/animal/enforcer we all pray Arsene will buy in the January sales.
Ps: there was a really good piece on Football365 this week pointing out that in quite a number of these games where Arsenal supposedly allow themselves to be bullied to defeat the more truthful explanation is that very poor refereeing has instead allowed teams to get away with what is simply illegal.
It pointed out the United game last season and more recently the Bolton game (where the referee just ignored Lehman being elbowed in the stomach and another guy who was already booked punching the ball in to the net all in one move) and Newcastle, where the fact is Alan Shearer got away with stuff that was far more plain illegal than any ‘on the edge’ bullying.
I’m not saying we don’t sometimes go soft (I think we do), but it does add some rationality to the whole debate.
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12/12/05
Newcastle 1 Arsenal 0: Same problems, same lack of solutions
A week ago I penned a massive post Bolton post mortem. (Computer problems mean it has only just gone online - see below). Almost everything I said then applied to today’s match so I’m not going to go over the same ground in massive depth after today. For me there are a few points for why we lost:
1) We left our shooting boots at home. I’m hardly in a position to tell Thierry Henry how to score. He had the chances in the first half and didn’t take them. It was one of those things, as was Van Persie mis-kicking later.
2) We are still hideously under strength in the centre. Gilberto is playing crap, yet we have no other option. We need an animal in there (Gilberto, Cesc, Hleb and Freddie is hardly physically intimidating.) Yet we have no animal to bring in.
3) Dermot Gallagher was a total wanker today. (And yes, I know we get the run of the mill sometimes and did so against Newcastle on the first day of the season). That not withstanding, on a technicality sending-off Gilberto was justifiable. But as I remember they were the only free-kicks he gave away all day. And neither were dangerous tackles. They were the tackles of a player who is out of form and off the pace. Were they so bad he needed to be excluded from the pitch? Definitely not.
Compare the approach to Gilberto to how Gallagher treated Shearer and other Newcastle players. Shearer was given a free reign to elbow, foul (including one shocker in front of the referee), knowingly kick so high that knew he would hit Lauren, kick the ball away and delay kick-offs by standing in our half. It took 89 minutes for him to get booked. All this matters because while Newcastle (as is their right) adopted a very physical approach they were able to do so because Gallagher was being so lenient. Once a player has been booked they have to temper their approach, knowing that one more significant error will be the end for them. Gallagher patently failed on that part. Apparently this is his final year. On this showing, good riddance.
But overall there is no escaping the fact we have big problems away from home. The defence could do with some better drilling but overall they did fairly well today. And though the goal came from our left, Lauren looks infinitely better at left-back than Cygan. And up front I think we look fairly strong. We have drawn three blanks on the run but prior to then had looked dangerous. With a bit of luck, Henry could have had two at Bolton and Van Persie one. And the same can be said today.
The problem for me is midfield. In the middle we are enormously weak. It would be nice if we could give 18 year-old Cesc a break but there’s fat chance of that at the moment. And though Hleb helps, we lack defensively able players on the wings: Freddie is either a bit injured or out of form at the moment. Yet still he plays 90 minutes every game.
The thing is that Chelsea probably have as many midfielders and forwards out of form as we do. Crespo, Duff, Robben, Wright-Philips and arguably Drogba and Gudjohnsen are hardly setting the world on fire at the moment. Of course, we can hardly hope to have their strength in depth. But equally, we can expect far more of our current resources in the middle.
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04/12/05
Just what is Arsene playing at?
I spoke to a season ticket holding friend last night who for some weeks has said his confidence in the boss is waning. I don’t necessarily agree, but what follows are some of his concerns and some I have too. What do you think?
Arsene can moan about player commitment but to us Bolton yesterday was simply the epitome of what we feared at the beginning of the season, the inevitable result of Arsenal’s very own corporate restructuring. So as the squad has been trimmed and thinned out, those that are left are more comfortable than ever in their positions and what would normally be the responsibility of experienced team members is being carried out by talented, but as yet unproven, upstarts.
At Bolton Henry and Van Persie were the right choice. But even Tony Adams (who generally seems to not know that much about tactics) has been pointing out for years that Ljungberg and Pires won’t work at places like Bolton. Admittedly, Alex Hleb is injured.
But in central midfield Wenger is guilty of discarding our two most aggressive midfielders as if we have somehow had too many of them. It is blatantly clear that neither Fabregas, Gilberto nor Flamini have the animal instincts that seem to be present in the heart of every top side. It is also true that talented as the first two are, Gilberto is not and Cesc is not yet good enough that their places in the starting line-up should be completely unquestioned and unthreatened. How Arsene could go out at the start of this season and rightly deciding he needs a fourth central midfielder plump for a 17 year old (Alex Song) to complement his 18 and 21 year-olds is beyond me. Principles and only buying the right player is admirable, but not when it means no player.
And if the case in midfield is one of transfer bloody mindedness then the case at left-back is one of tactical bloody mindedness. With no personal insult intended to the man, I can’t remember a single player in Arsene Wenger’s reign enjoy a run in the side and look more out of his depth when doing so than Pascal Cygan at left-back. Even when he does something right, 90% of the time it means he hasn’t cocked it up. His abilities are simply so limited there, it was no wonder Bolton almost encouraged Jens to throw him the ball. Leaving aside the defending, you would have to say he offers nothing to the attack either. It is as though we have become numb down part of our left side.
For Arsene to come out last week and say he brought on Lauren at left-back for the last half hour in Thun to see if he could play there just encapsulates the problem. As you and I well know, Lauren would be miles better playing there, as would Toure, as would Eboue, as might Senderos and as might even Flamini.
They say there is no point buying for the sake of it, but there is also no point not buying for the sake of it. And Alex Hleb is the ONLY outfield and vaguely proven player over 21 who has arrived at Highbury in nearly three and a half years! That is extraordinary! We all know (and largely admire) Arsene’s determination to challenge Chelsea’s exorbitant spending by unearthing and polishing gems, but it is almost as if what Chelsea do is dictating what we do. By this I mean the more they spend the less we seem to spend. And yet the fact is that any title win would count as a great overcoming of the odds, even if we spent £20 million a year.
On that note, there is nothing wrong with stripping out a few luxuries (eg Kanu and Wiltord) to give younger players a chance. But you can’t start getting rid of the bare essentials. And at the moment you can argue we have no competition in goal, where Wenger’s signings there are slowly becoming more bizarre and obscure (witness Shabaan, Warmuz, Almunia and now Poom). We have two good centre backs (one of whom is off his game), a still very young pretender (Senderos) and another who ain’t up to it. Four years ago we had an (admittedly aging) Adams, Keown, Campbell, Upson, Grimandi (better than Cygan) and Oleg Lhuzny (probably better than Cygan).
I hardly need to go into central midfield. A comparison with last year simply says it all. On the wings, as I suggested earlier, there is fair attacking cover. The problem though is that when we want to plump for someone more defensive on the right we end up having to move Fabregas, where as two years ago we would have simply slotted Edu in, leaving Vieira and Gilberto intact in the centre.
And at up front, it seems to have taken ages to a) figure out Reyes is a winger and b) develop a successor to Dennis. Discounting Reyes, we have just three forwards – a footballing god, a youngster still making his mark and a man who is rapidly going over the hill. Think back to 1999 and look at the perfect balance we enjoyed: an in form Kanu, Dennis around his prime, a raw (but still 25 goal) Thierry Henry and Davor Suker, who was used as and when it pleased. Sadly, our current paucity of forwards meant that after 70 minutes we were calling for Dennis yesterday, even though all and sundry could surely see it was not the time or place for his services. And quite why on earth Robin Van Persie was withdrawn I don’t know. Simple maths says Van Persie’s goal threat is far higher than Dennis or Reyes.
All in all, there seems to be a great sense of bafflement. We expect managers to be a little mad, but more and more often we seem to be shrugging our shoulders and explain something away as Arsene just being Arsene. But it doesn’t add up. We might not like seeing Chelsea above us but always knew their spending would make it probable. But it’s hard to accept when we seem to be shooting ourselves in the foot so readily. Even Spurs have about seven midfielders better than our fourth choice.
And what is so galling is that actually we are not very far at all from being bloody good. With the exception of Cygan, every player in our squad is Arsenal quality and very many are worthy week in week out starters too. But they need reinforcements. With these reinforcements, we wouldn’t have to shunt Freddie back into the side when he doesn’t look ready. We would be able to pick the players who are physically at their peak and rest others when they tire a little. Which is what Mourinho does and explains why Cole, Duff, Robben and Wright-Philips always look so chirpy.
So what do we need? A hungry, improving goalkeeper who will in a few years succeed Jens. A half decent centre back who is solid if nothing else. An established beast in central midfield. Perhaps a young, as yet unproven beast, for when the big beast is suspended. A Davor Suker like signing – someone who will offer goals when they play but whose presence will not hold Van Persie back. And as the Dutchman becomes established, someone to fill Van Persie’s current role of young pretender – Arturo Lupoli would seem the obvious choice.
That is five signings. But only two (the beast and the goal scorer) would initially be pivotal ones. Those five, combined with our ever improving youngsters, could make a real squad. At the moment it is not just that Chelsea are so far ahead in the table, it is that we are in with the likes of Spurs, Bolton and Wigan. Squad wise, we will never be as big or strong at Chelsea. But at a certain point it starts to matter less and less until it becomes almost immaterial. We need to plug the holes so we can get to that point.
And finally, what are the rewards? We already have a really good crop of players. Arsenal may not be ahead of the chasing pack but it is still true that the vast majority of our current crop would walk into any Premiership team other than Chelsea and Man U in some cases. With the right moves in the transfer market we could perhaps hope to persuade not just the brilliant Ashley Cole to stay at Highbury but also Thierry Henry, one of the great players of this generation. Whether he stays or goes could tell us so much about where Arsenal are headed.
I may be wrong, but I struggle to believe Henry (settled in London with a wife and new born) would have any inclination to leave a flourishing Arsenal in a new stadium who have the tools to seriously fight Chelsea for the league and to capture the Champions League. I suspect he fears the same things we fear and he needs the same reassurances.
He is 28 and I suspect he knows he has half a chance not to just be known as a great of his time, but to etch his name as one of the great players of any generation. To become that great he probably still needs a mix of international success at his prime (he was not yet a great player in 1998 or 2000) and success with a club in Europe.
On the international stage, Henry’s options are obviously limited because he can’t change countries. On the club stage, whether he feels able to achieve it at Highbury may well depend on just what Arsene is playing at.
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27/11/05
Arsenal 3 Blackburn 0: Attack good, defence not so good
I only saw the BBC highlights of yesterday’s game, so it would be wrong to go into too much depth. But three things were quite obvious from watching it:
Our defence is making too many Premiership standard strike forces look like world beaters. And with all due respect to the man, it is my belief that rightly or wrongly, the presence of Pascal Cygan is a massive factor.
A couple of reports I have read suggested he was not personally so bad yesterday, but the problem goes beyond his individual performances. It is the effect he has on the team.
Exactly a year and a week ago I wrote: “Pascal Cygan is no Baresi, but he’s not an awful player either. But at the moment his presence is having a devastating effect on our play. The rest of the team doesn’t trust neither him nor Jens Lehman and the effect is reverberating through our side.” A week later Jens played his last league game until February and has not looked back since his recall. I added at the end of the article: “Cygan has to be dropped for the sake of the team.”
And the same must happen now. Arseblogger was entirely correct yesterday to point to Wenger’s apparent blind spot over Cygan. Far be it for faceless internet bloggers to tell him how to manage Arsenal, but the clamour from fans appears so universal that surely these feelings need articulating.
2) The second point is that we are obviously playing some very nice attacking stuff at the moment. Not all the time, but we are cranking up the pressure when it matters. Much as Blackburn perhaps deserved a goal or even two, the fact is we created three perfectly executed ones and could have had more.
3 ) Some players have such outrageous talent that you can forgive them being idiots on occasion. Robbie Savage is not one such player. Arseblogger aptly summed him up as a “cheating, conman, fairy, nancy, fraud, flimflammer, obnoxious wanky cunt.”
I would add one word to that description: twerp, defined in the dictionary as a person regarded as not just contemptible but insignificant too.
Just before I finish I’d like to pre-empt a couple of things that will happen this week. The first is that a certain journalist will twist the Savage incident to bring up every misdemeanour ever committed by an Arsenal player. The second is that we are going to have to listen to unrivalled levels of crap spout from the mouth of Sam Allardyce this week ahead of our visit to the Reebok next Saturday. If they beat Fulham today they will be level with us going into the game.
On that note, there was an interesting (and unmalicious) remark made about George Best this week. It was said that Best frequently mentioned how Pele had called him the world’s greatest, yet Pele never needed to do the opposite. Sam Allardyce loves to tell us how brilliantly he has done at Bolton on such limited resources, yet Arsene Wenger...
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I didn't see the Thun game, I'm flying during the Blackburn game and the Reading game is not on TV. But I'll probably post one or two more general updates before the Bolton game.
20/11/05
Wigan 2 Arsenal 3: Should the new midfielder be a partner for Cesc rather than Silva?
In a nutshell: We took control through goals from Van Persie (good turn, run, fierce shot, bad goalkeeping) and Henry (lovely slid finish from Cesc pass at end of flowing move). They pulled one back through shambolic defending. Henry netted a scorcher of a free kick. They pulled another back through shambolice defending. We won despite defending shockingly.
Analysis: It was very easy last season to say how much we were missing the Gilberto "wall" during his absence. And perhaps it was true. But on recent performances, Berlin's got a stronger wall than the one our Brazilian offers. Against Wigan he was, to put it mildly, shite. He didn't go forward, he didn't pass well, he dallied on the ball, he made absurd attempts to intercept that only put us in deeper trouble and he failed to get off the ground for headers. (Witness first goal). In short, he was oh so passive.
Next to him, Cesc Fabregas was a model pro. He ran tirelessly, he won tackles, he broke up play, he positioned himself well and he supported the attack right up until the last minute. Sure, not everything came off, but the way I see it this new midfielder we all agree we need should more likely be a partner for Cesc than for Gilberto.
Behind the pair, things were just totally terrible. Credit to Wigan, honest team, hard working, deceptively skillful for a rugby league town all those other cliches. But the fact is Sol Campbell offered justification for Sven picking Rio ahead of him (yes he was that bad), Jens' kicking was crap, Lauren's general defending was poor and Toure's little better.
To their left was Pascal Cygan. The nicest thing I can say is that words fail me to describe his performance.
I'm not one for having a go at individuals just for the sake of it and it is true that in the end, we got a very welcome three points. But a spoon should be called a spoon and today our defending was chaotic.
Up front, it seems Van Persie may possibly have finally got the nod over Dennis, at long last. He played well, the returning Freddie worked hard but was not at full throttle, Pires put in a committed performance which didn't once involve me screaming at him for ducking a tackle and Henry once again made everything look too easy.
One final thought, much as I can't stand his self righteous, self important, status as a "real" player, and much as there is between no chance and 0% chance of Arsene going for him, you kinda have to admit Roy Keane could fill a gap.
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15/11/05
Arsenal playing before Chelsea form, European form and Vieira book form
A few brief thoughts as we wait for the Premiership to restart.
The first is that the fixture list is currently conspiring quite often to let us play our weekend game before Chelsea. I pointed out last season that while our results are largely unaffected by whether we play before, at the same time or after Chelsea, their's suffered last season when they played after us. And based purely on very anecdotal evidence, the same has been true this season. So we need to take advantage at Wigan on Saturday.
Secondly, this whole assumption that because Liverpool won the Champions League while being crap in the league, the same will happen to us seems bizarre. Last season was largely an anomoly. What nobody seems to have mentioned is that since defeat in Moscow over two years ago, we have a healthy European record that reads: P19 W12 D5 L2.
Finally, there is a piece in today's Times that takes 600 odd words to correctly say: Patrick Vieira hypocritically forgets his own diving when he lambasts Wayne Rooney and Ruud Van Nistelrooy as cheats.
But that is not all the piece says. In fact it reads strangely like a diktat handed down from Old Trafford to a friendly journalist much in the way United employed the same policy with the same friendly journalists after the battle of the buffet.
There was no way Vieira was going to ignore either Rooney or RVN in his book. And the fact is that Rooney DID cheat exactly as described and Van Nistelrooy WAS guilty of consistent violence that went unpunished against Arsenal. Whatever, Vieira's personal myopia, to suggest that the two United players are somehow worthy of apologies for what is correcly identified as shabby behaviour when Vieira does it, is just absurd.
And while I appreciate accuracy matters little when there is an axe there to be ground, the description of the Nicky Butt incident is just patently wrong. Contrary to what is written, it was a straight red card and not a second yellow. Secondly, there was never the slightest suggestion Vieira had dived. Thirdly, the decision to send Butt off was one based purely on the positioning of the incident near to the goal and not on the severity of the tackle or Vieira's reaction to it (there was no doubt it was a foul). Fourthly, all Alex Ferguson and anyone else was moaning about was the referee's decision to treat the incident as a goal scoring chance and thus issue red.
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10/11/05
International week update
My apologies for the lack of recent updates. The laptop appears to have died and enjoyable as this site is, staying late at work to update it is just not that appetising.
Anyway, things have gone pretty well since the Spurs game. There is not a lot to say about Sparta and Sunderland. We needed victories and we got victories. We didn't over exert ourselves but then we didn't need to. I'm still of the theory that we look far better when playas play in their natural positions and I think that was fairly obvious watching the Sunderland game. In midfield the mix was good, with the wall-like Gilberto and the more enterprising Fabregas, Reyes and Pires both looked comfortable out on the wings and up front we had a good mix of a forward/striker (what can you call Henry?) and a striker.
I don't think Chelsea were unlucky at Old Trafford because ultimately they didn't do enough. But I do think United can count themselves fortunate. Some of their defensive play was wretched - incredibly nervous and very deep. But they got away with it. People are asking whether they will collapse like we did. I don't think they will but nor do I think that the issue really. If someone does catch them I expect it to be by a process of small erosion rather than one big wave. So, for example, if they have a tricky away game that they draw others might take advantage with easy home wins. And of course if we win our game in hand and manage to beat the Blues at Highbury then the gap is only five points anyway. I'm not saying we will do it, just saying how I think they could be caught.
As Myles Palmer pointed out on ANR, the four league games before Chelsea are vital. Contrary to what he said, they actually read: Wigan (A), Blackburn (H), Bolton (A), Newcastle (A). We need to be looking for a minimum of ten points from the four of them and ideally twelve.
Not much else to say, except that I'm away for two weeks from Saturday, so there is a fair chance I won't update after the Wigan, Thun and Blackburn games (the last of which I will definitely miss as I will be in the air for it).
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01/11/05
Players in position works at Spurs
Arsene's decision to shore up the side with an extra midfielder was well intentioned and a welcome departure from the gung-ho approach that cost us so badly at Munich last season. But injuries and lack of squad depth meant that to do it we had Freddie playing out of position on the left, Cesc out of position on the right and our first choice central midfielders not in place. Add the fact we were playing with two forwards but no strikers, and it is obvious why we struggled. When Pires came on, suddenly we had him, Freddie and Cesc all where they should be. And when Van Persie came on, Reyes was on the left wing (which for me is his best spot), Pires was on the right (in a position he has played and done well in) and we had a good balance of a forward and a striker up front.
But I also wonder whether perhaps Arsene imagined the first half going as it did, while obviously hoping we would not concede. Spurs, confidence bolstered by their own good form and our lack of it, were always going to come out on fire. I wonder whether it was Arsene's plan to draw to try to draw their sting (keeping it at 0-0) and then introduce Pires and pounce on them as they tired. In the event, the problems of the first half called for Pires earlier than expected, but I expect it was probably always the plan that he would play a key role.
I don't think there can be any doubt we deserved the draw. Granted, Spurs dominated the first half (even if I only remember Jens having to save from his near namesake Jenas). But we dominated the second right from the off in my opinion. Sure, chances did not immediately come, but we did a good job of grinding them down and tiring them out and in the end Van Persie had about three good chances, Reyes had one, Pires had one and Pires scored. So for me, while our equaliser doesn't suit the grand theories of the pundits, it was well deserved. And to come back from behind against the likes of Spurs away never has been and is certainly not now something to be snorted at.
A couple of things have struck me. The first is that the idea of us being a one man (Henry) team is absurd. But it is true that we still haven't yet brought in someone who we can say is a sufficiently good deputy for him. Don't get me wrong, they don't need to be the same type of player, just a good enough alternative. Hopefully Van Persie can be. I'm also intruiged to see who replaces Dennis in the summer (or before?)
The second point is that the cover issue is not one of Chelsea's being excellent and ours adequate. In fact, our's is inadequate. Midfield reinforcements are a must (so that when we switch things around everyone is not pulled out of position like against Spurs) and so too are a buy each in defence and attack I guess. Bringing in those three players will not give us as excellently backed-up a squad as Chelsea's but I question whether their level of protection is really necessary. While they will always have all 11 positions perfectly filled, if we only have 9 or 10 it probably won't all that much difference in the end. It is when your side is so inbalanced (like against Spurs) that I think it becomes a big problem.
Thought for the day: When was Jens' last mistake?
Updating is a bit fraught at the moment due to a comatose laptop, so sorry for that. In the meantime we have Sparta and Sunderland at home. The latter of which is a must, must, must win game because either Chelsea, United or both will drop points next weekend.
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24/10/05
What story lies behind 'that' penalty?
This is a long post; it’s been that kind of weekend.
I’m now on my third school of thought about what happened and more confused than I was to start with. At first I simply wondered how they could be so stupid at such a crucial point in such a crucial match. Did they realise how agonising it was for the fans? Then I wondered whether these two great artists who have brought us both silverware and exquisite football had endured one of those once in a career cock-ups, the like of which every great band have had with that one appalling single and every great director has had with one shocking film. Should we simply forgive and forget and laugh it off as one bizarre and fortunately uncostly cock-up?
But now I wonder: was it symptomatic of a greater malaise? Could it be that whilst we as fans still yearn desperately to win the European Cup and to catch Chelsea, Pires and Henry see the first as impossible and the second as highly improbable and in any case offering only a reward that would emulate, rather than surpass previous achievements? Do they still have the same drive to succeed for Arsenal? Would Frank Lampard even consider doing anything other than burying the ball from the spot, irrespective of the score? And if the three points were as vital for them as they were for us, how could they contemplate even trying that penalty?
I realise the above paragraph could easily be interpreted as me saying they don’t care. I am definitely not saying that. For a start I am saying the above insinuations are true and in any case, if there has been any loss of drive, I would suggest it has been almost entirely subconscious and in no way deliberate. But whichever way you look at it, I think the above are fair questions that should be asked if we are to understand why such a monumental fuck-up occurred.
And just sticking with penalties for a moment, I’m delighted to see that Thierry Henry says he will be taking them all from now on. It had become absolutely farcical. Not only did we have our top marksman refusing to take penalties he had won for absolutely no obvious reason whatsoever. We also had Dennis refusing to take them following his miss against United over six years ago! Fear of flying is one thing, but a phobia of penalties is another and you get the feeling that in any other walk of life Dennis would have been told to pull himself together and just do it. And to think that yesterday it had got to the stage where we were passing them to each other. Incredible.
Which is also what can be said for getting two penalties off Mike Riley. I haven’t seen any replays of the second one, while the first one could have gone either way. But I will just say that analysing these things in super slow motion is pointless because football is not played in super slow motion. Slowing the play down will always make it look like the attacker has deliberately let himself be fouled. It distorts reality.
At last, the game. Firstly, City were very well organised and are a genuinely decent side. So a win is good. But we’re struggling. A fair part of the problem can be summarised in six words: Flamini, Gilberto, Cesc, Lampard, Essien, Makalele. Our players are good, but we lack a monster in there like Chelsea have and it tells. Eight other words also explain a lot: Van Persie, Senderos, Quincy, Eboue, Robben, Crespo, Gudjohnsen, Ferreira. Arsene didn’t make a single sub. Mourinho introduced first Gudjohnsen, then Robben and then Crespo, all about ten minutes apart. Of course, they didn’t win. But the contrast could not have been bigger.
Arsene is not an idiot: his public buoyancy and confidence in the strength of the squad is surely just a charade that he is obliged to show in an effort to maintain moral. But at heart it must be obvious to him just how blatantly we need to splash the cash.
I’ll finish by saying that Pires and Henry were right to apologise. And that Spurs away is the perfect time to make-up for things by putting in a committed, impassioned performance. And it’s vital they do, because if we’re as slack at White Hart Lane this time as we have been recently, then this time we will lose. And nobody wants that.
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20/10/05
Why Henry's goal at Upton Park was his greatest ever
In the world of footballing top tens, there surely can’t be a more enjoyable experience than picking Thierry Henry’s best goals. I can’t honestly claim to have seen enough of Pele and Maradona to properly judge them. But my suspicion is that if a montage of Thierry Henry goals were shown next to montages of the Brazilian and Argentinian’s best strikes, Henry would not look out of place.
So, at 10…
Chelsea (h) 12/04. At kick-off people said their defence was the immovable object and Thierry Henry didn’t score in big games. Thirty seconds later he had pinged in an unstoppable shot from the edge of the box, leaving Cech rooted to the spot.
at 9…
Bayern Munich (h) 03/05. A strange choice for some perhaps, but for me another brilliant goal against an immovable object. Bayern may have been a defensive shambles in the next round at Chelsea but against us they were tighter than something incredibly tight. After 70 odd minutes, Henry controlled a long ball on the left from Cole, brought it down and hit it instantly across Oliver Khan with complete precision. It was a perfectly executed goal. And it had to be.
At 8…
Manchester City (h) 01/04. This one is also representing the swerver against United later that season. Against City, I was in the North Bank and saw just how much his shot seemed to swerve and yet keep completely straight like an arrow. David James didn’t have a prayer.
At 7…
Sparta Prague (a) 10/05. A very late entrant but very deserving of it’s place. On for six minutes, he controlled the ball on the outside of his foot, swung his whole body through 360 degrees and then fired in a bending shot that beat the goalkeeper in the only part of the net it could have. Almost arrogantly brilliant.
At 6…
Inter Milan (a) 11/03. Broke out from defence, looked to be going nowhere and then made Javier Zanetti look amateurish before slamming home with the left foot. A brilliant goal and the crucial third in a 5-1 win.
At 5…
Spurs (h) 11/02. Very, very special run. He took them all on, cut inside and finished brilliantly. Then he celebrated in serious style in front of the west stand. Magnificent.
At 4…
Charlton (h) 10/04. So good it completely bamboozled the cameraman. I watched this game in a pub in London with one of those dodgy satellites. The commentary was in a foreign language, music was playing in the bar and a lot of people were only half watching. The camera was focused in on Henry as he held the ball with his back to goal about six yards out. Then he backheeled the ball and suddenly wheeled away in delight. The pub was genuinely stunned. Those of us who realised what must have happened looked on in disbelief. When they showed a replay from another angle the reaction from the rest of the pub was one of sheer incredulity. And the more they showed it the more disbelieving the reactions. It didn’t really matter what happened in the rest of the game.
At 3…
Liverpool (h) 04/04. No doubt you’ve heard people say how important this goal was in us winning the title. It was. I was at Highbury that day and 2-1 down at half time there was some serious cigarette smoking going on in the north bank. Within a minute we had equalised thanks to Freddie Ljungberg. But after equalising once and then going behind again, a fair few people feared things were turning against us and we would do it again.
Then Henry picked the ball up on the left. He jinked in, took on a couple of defenders and simply by his presence created sheer panic in the Liverpool defence. So much so that Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher knocked in to each other and fell to the ground comically. Suddenly Henry was through and he finished coolly. The north bank erupted. People who had not lost it since Ray Parlour scored against Valencia found themselves jumping out of their seats. A massive, massive goal and sheer brilliance bore in part out of the complete panic his presence can induce.
At 2…
Manchester United (h) 10/00. Unreal goal. Fed by Grimandi miles out, he chipped it up, spun Gary Neville and in one fired in a volley that dipped and swerved over Barthez into the far corner. Watching at home, all I saw was the ball leave his foot. I thought it was going miles over. Then the Clock End went mad. I had lost the ball in the air. Eventually, I was persuaded it had gone in but was convinced it could only have had it taken the most massive of deflections. Then I saw the replay. One of the goals of goals.
At 1…
West Ham (a) 08/02. You may think this a weird choice. I say the beauty of it has never fully been recognised. Now, don’t get me wrong: were this goal being judged purely on Henry controlling the ball on his knee and hitting an absolute bullet past David James from 30 yards, it would not be anywhere near number one, however great a finish it was. It is the first touch that does it and it is a touch which in my opinion defies the physics of football.
He receives the ball on the right edge of the penalty area from a Vieira pass. He has his back to goal. It is played firmly in to his left foot. Then he takes the crucial touch, which I will come back to in a minute. When he next touches it he has spun 180 degrees so that he is now facing diagonally to goal. His defender has been left bamboozled. The ball lands on what is now Henry’s right knee. Think about what he did with that touch: he took a ball that was coming into his feet and with one touch he looped it up in to the air with his foot. When it fell it was still, incredibly, travelling in the original direction. But he didn’t just lob it into the air, which would have been hard enough.
Instead, he met the ball purposefully with the right hand side of his left boot and somehow spun (not hooked as would have been the case had he used the left hand side of the boot) the ball up in to the air up and over his defender’s head. Had Brazil done it in 1970 I genuinely believe it would be replayed continuously now. Do whatever you can to get a copy of the video and watch that touch because 250 words of mine have failed to do it justice.
And it is for that reason that West Ham away was Thierry Henry’s best Arsenal goal and potentially the greatest I have ever seen.
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19/10/05
Sparta 0 Arsenal 2: Match report, playa ratings and Henry worshipping
The formalities first, then the Henry stuff: Cygan replaced Senderos who had replaced Campbell and Cygan continued in place of the injured Cole. Gilberto returned in midfield in place of Cesc who replaced the injured Ljungberg. The returning Van Persie replaced Bergkamp (something to do with a fear of flying).
We started well, with Cesc having a shot and some promising attacks. Then Reyes went off injured and Arsene went for the brave option of risking Thierry Henry for 70 minutes. Within two minutes he had chested the ball down on the edge of the box and fired what looked like a beaut of a volley that was deflected wide. Then he brought down a through ball from Kolo, spun on the edge of the box and hit the most belle of bending shots with the outside of his right foot. Great goal.
We didn’t do much else for the rest of the half and started the second somewhat sluggishly. Then on 65 we started playing again and within five minutes Pires? had played Henry in with a beautiful ball. He controlled it and still had a fair bit to do to knock it home. 2-0 it finished. A decent enough performance and a great result. Playa ratings to the right.
The goals take Theirry Henry past Ian Wright’s all time Arsenal goal scoring record. We have been fantastically privileged to see him rack up 186 not out and even luckier that so many have been done in such incredible style.
As I walked to work yesterday morning (Tuesday), I went with a bounce in my step. Sometimes you don’t realise what you have til it’s gone and I for one could not wait to see his magnificence return to the pitch.
Of course, there will be those Arsenal fans who will bemoan his unwillingness to commit to the club in his post match interview. That kind of reaction is absolute bollocks in my view. It is quite obvious he is not going to come out and commit to the club just like that because the fact is he is considering leaving. He is 28, has achieved a massive amount, probably fears somewhat about the destination we are headed towards and feels he may want to try and conquer Spain before he retires. People ask for him to be honest. He is. By saying what he is saying he is making it perfectly clear things are up in the air.
Do people want him to say he wants to go? What good would that do? The fact is that when he says he is focused on his football at the moment, that is the truth and that is what he showed us tonight. What is wrong with him kissing the badge if he puts in great performances? Kissing the badge is a sign that your heart is in to what you are doing. And who could argue that his heart wasn’t in tonight’s performance?
Of course we don’t want him to leave on a Bosman. But if he leaves, he leaves. We have been absurdly lucky to have not only one of the best, but one of the most consistent players in the world between the ages of 22 and 28 in his career. If he wants to move then so be it. I would wish him all the best.
Of course, I desperately want him to sign a new contract. But let us be grown up about this. He is doing nothing wrong. The best we can do is get behind him (the fans were great tonight), get behind the team at Highbury (we can do a lot better) and hope Arsene can bring in the players and the team achieve the success that will allow Thierry Henry to stay.
I have no inside knowledge on the issue of his contract, but my hunch would be that things are not a lot more complicated than Thierry fearing (quite justifiably) that the standard of the squad is slipping and that we look less likely to achieve the success (particularly in Europe) that he so craves.
We shall see what happens, but in the meantime let’s celebrate his achievement and leave the worrying for another time. I have written enough now, so won’t reveal my favourite Henry goal now, but you can reveal yours below.
ps: he seemed pretty happy to me when he broke the record.
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16/10/05
West Brom 2 Arsenal 1: Report + playa ratings. Grim.
Arsene Wenger has never suffered the indignity of losing to a lower division team as Arsenal manager, but it is hard to believe that the disappointment could be any greater than that experienced after today’s loss at West Brom.
In 45 minutes, our emotions went from genuine hope that things could be turning our way (we were winning and Chelsea were losing) to the sheer grimness of seeing us somehow lose and them come back to win 5-1.
In short, we took an early lead when Senderos hooked home a deep Reyes corner. We were completely dominant, they were crap. We sat back. They equalised after a feeble Pires attempt to block a cross, a poor header from Senderos and terrible marking of Kanu. Of all people, the man renowned for taking 10 touches when two will do, had time to control the ball, compose himself and then fire off an (impressive) shot past the helpless Lehman. It was a shocker of a goal.
In the 2nd half we eventually rallied around the hour mark and though we had a couple of chances (Toure, Reyes, Bergkamp) things were in no way urgent enough. We probably should have had a penalty for a foul on Reyes, but he wasn’t in a scoring position so I’m not going to complain. It would, however, be nice to see referees decide whether a foul should be given not based on where the incident happens on the pitch but on the incident itself. And if this means the law needs to be reformed so that minor fouls in non-threatening positions in the area do not warrant a spot-kick then so be it. We need consistency.
Anyway, they then scored a cracker out of absolutely nothing. We huffed but got nowhere. Immensely disappointing and all the more so when you are watching the game in the corner of a bar while in other corners Chelsea, United, Liverpool and Spurs fans are all celebrating goals going in. The upshot of all this is that the table does not look good. In fact I don’t even want to see it. All I know is we’re 14 points behind Chelsea having dropped 11 to their none.
But the main discussion must be about the performance. We started with a very youthful team containing Senderos, Clichy, Reyes, Flamini, Cesc and for much of the game Eboue too after Fred went off. We were without Cole, Campbell, Gilberto, Van Persie, Henry, Hleb and then Ljungberg. That would be a big miss to any squad, all the more so to ours.
So perhaps that excuses things. Or perhaps it doesn’t. The Everton and Man City sides that a far less experienced Arsenal dispatched from last season’s League Cup were miles better than the carthorses West Brom served up today. We could and should have easily won this game.
The problem is that the fact we are not at our most fluent at the moment should mean every playa is giving 120% so that effort alone can get us through. But that is not the case. We were leaden footed and lethargic today. Really, I would say that excluding the hard to appraise Lehman, only Reyes and perhaps Senderos and Toure did themselves justice out there today. Not everything may be coming off for Reyes, but he keeps plugging away and chasing everything.
The same is not true for the others. Pires is the worst culprit. His effort at times is frankly lamentable. I can just about excuse him pulling out of tackles because he is worried about his knee but he has no excuse for not doing everything humanly possible to block crosses.
We are clearly lacking really good cover right through the spine of the team (a defender, midfielder and striker are all needed). But we also have to roll our sleeves up and not commit the immortal sin of taking our foot off the pedal just because our opponents are crap.
It is going to take a miraculous recovery for us to challenge for the league now. We need our genuinely rotten luck with injuries to turn, new playas and better performances.
One final point about today’s referee and the one minute 55 seconds of injury time he added on. Now don’t get me wrong, I loathe it when managers squabble over every few seconds. My theory is normally if you don’t score in 90 then you probably won’t score in 94. But today was just some kind of complete joke. We had an injury a minute from time that lasted about one minute 40 seconds, we had four second half subs, three of which were incredibly slow West Brom ones, we had one of the longest and deliberately stalling goal celebrations ever and we had them wasting time every time they got a free-kick or goal kick, even when it was 1-1.
By adding on just two minutes the referee has completely indulged that negativity (which I accept Arsenal have been guilty of in the past). It was a complete joke.
...
09/10/05
Football returns next week
Do you get very bored of England games after 60 minutes? Do you have to tell yourself to try to be happy when England score? And does part of you secretly will the opposition to knock one past ‘us’?
Answer: Yes, yes and yes.
My conclusion is that Sven would get double the amount of stick if the thought of writing about England wasn’t so boring. In fact, I’ve had enough. I’m so bored I can’t be stuffed to write any more about England.
But I will say a few words about my good friends at FIFA. Presumably David Beckham’s red card will stand, despite his 2nd booking being a blatant dive.
It will stand because under FIFA’s own half witted rules, appeals are only allowed in cases of mistaken identity. I don’t give a stuff about Beckham, but I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: this is the most inept rule I have ever seen.
England have been wrongly deprived of a playa for 30 minutes because of an opposition player’s connivance. And then to compound the problem, they will ban him for no other reason than that they have invented a stupid rule that says he must be banned.
For some reason, this rule pisses me off big time. It is the height of bullshit in a game overflowing with the stuff. The only bans being handed out should be for the half wits who invented this rule and are now pressuring the Premiership to take it up.
The only saving grace is that these things have a way of hitting people back in the face. How I will laugh if the brilliant Ronaldinho is sent-off in next year’s World Cup semi-final for handling on the line when the ball clearly hit his chest. Of course, my scorn will not be directed at the unfortunate Brazilian. Instead it will be at the FIFA bigwigs who will have seen their showpiece player miss their showpiece game because of their own arrogant, farcical rules.
Football returns next week.
...
021005
Arsenal 1 Birmingham 0 - half a report
Well, I only saw the second half (hence no playa ratings). From the sounds of it we created a fair bit in the first half and as well as missing a penalty we could have had a hatful.
The second half seemed a very flat affair. Maik Taylor made great saves early on from Pires and Ljungberg and then we seemed to lose any great degree of urgency. In the end, Van Persie’s not brilliantly hit shot deflected off a defender and beat the excellent Taylor. We held on, though not with any great style.
We looked lethargic in the latter stages. From what I saw Campbell, Toure and Cole looked good enough. Reyes is playing with brilliant enthusiasm and desire. The rest of them don’t look lazy by any means but if you compare us with Chelsea at the moment, is the same unswerving desire there? I’m not so sure.
It needs to be.
And the crowd can play their part too. Apologies if the SKY sound system did Highbury a disservice, but the ground sounded embarrassingly silent today. The players are human beings like the rest of us and they thrive on the support of the crowd like you and I would. So, if you’re lucky enough to be at Highbury, sing.
Chelsea won 4-1 this afternoon and looked good, albeit against what is a pretty poor Liverpool league side. The Kop were singing louder in the 89th minute than anything Highbury managed today.
On site news, I’ve gone back to the old design but with the new logo following a public outcry. Not sure about what should go in the space on the left though, as the Latest Updates column was pointless and time consuming to update.
Finally, a question for any readers who live in Dublin or anywhere else in the Republic of Ireland. I need to get internet access at my new flat for 3 months. Are there any broadband companies who don’t insist on you signing up for 12 months? And what is the best dial-up?
...
|fhffg
Archives: July 2005, June 2005, May 2005, April 2005,March 2005, February 2005, January 2005, December 2004 and the embryonic goodplaya.
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Playa ratings:
v West Ham (2-3) - NEW
Lehman: An absolute idiot for stupidly getting involved with Harewood late on. Not only was it nasty, but he could have been sent-off and he also put us out of our stride. A minute later West Ham made it 3-1. He’s a very good goalkeeper but an arrogant, nasty character and an embarrassment when he behaves like that. 4
Gilbert: Looked to be doing fine until the Arsenal full-back curse struck. 6
Djorou: Individually did well, but understandably hasn’t been able to strike up any kind of partnership with Campbell yet. 6
Campbell: What can you say? Two massive errors that were punished to the max. Things just aren’t going his way at all. 4
Senderos: Obviously doesn’t offer the attacking prowess of Cole or Clichy but he looked solid and his distribution to Pires was fairly impressive. Did fine at centre-back in the second half but should have whacked it out instead of passing to Larsson for the mistake that led to the third goal. 5
Gilberto: He’s not great at the moment. Far too passive for my liking. 5
Diaby: Still raw, but I like him. And he is so like Vieira: even his mistakes remind me of Vieira’s shortcomings. Not sure why he was taken off. 7
Ljungberg: You have to laugh at the way he somehow managed to deflect Henry’s shot wide. Is trying really hard and not actually playing badly at all. But nothing is going his way. 7
Pires: I do feel we need players with greater bite than Pires at the moment. But in fairness, he was involved, scored one, set-up the other one for Henry and saw Hislop deny him with a great save. 6
Henry: Hard to judge. Seemed to have a decent enough game on TV but reports from the game were critical. 6
Van Persie: Unlucky. Offered a lot but nothing went his way. 7
Subs:
Flamini: Brought on as an emergency right-back but did pretty well all things considered. Say what you like about Flamini but he’s a fighter who unlike some of his team-mates will never be found lacking for effort. 7
Larsson: Yes, he made the cock-up for the third goal. But it was typical of our rough justice. Other than that he was excellent: committed in the tackle, full of running in attack and crucially he understands the value of hitting long-balls diagonally, as opposed to completely straight. Which is something some of his team-mates could do with taking note of. 7
Dennis: Not normally much of a substitute, but he found himself a good niche on the right of midfield and offered us extra creativity. Well hit volley to set up Pires’ goal. 6
v Sparta Prague (0-2)
Lehmann: Solid enough game. He’s doing well at the moment. 7
Clichy: Bit of a nightmare really, though to be fair their right winger was their best playa. 5
Cygan: Surprisingly assured. 7
Kolo: Looked fairly good most of the time. 7
Lauren: The odd moment of strangeness. 6.5
Flamini: Was hard to judge the midfielders tonight. Seemed to do the normal without being mega effective. 6.5
Gilberto: One of those Gilberto games where you don’t really know how he has played. 6.5
Fabregas: Got fairly involved and offered threat down the right. 7
Pires: Not his best game by any means but still one of his better ones this season. Magnificent ball for the second goal. 7
Van Persie: Seems to get carded in Europe for the most ridiculous things. Did alright without having much effect. 6.5
Reyes: Full of running til he got injured and wasn’t running at all. 6.5
Subs:
Henry (for Reyes 17ish): Emperor-like as he beat Wrighty’s record. Magnificent playa who, had he not scored, would have been accused of going missing in another big game. But because he did score, it won’t count as a big game. 8.5
Eboue (for Van Persie 70ish): Looking ok at the moment. 6.5
Quincy (for Cesc 85ish): Full of running. 6.5
v West Brom (2-1)
Lehmann: Blameless for goals. 6
Lauren: Not particularly composed. 5.5
Clichy: Has had far better games. 5.5
Senderos: Good goal, messy header for theirs. 6
Toure: Ok but ridiculously offside at one free kick. 5.5
Flamini: Ok but uninspiring. 5.5
Cesc: Decent. Kept trying. 6
Pires: Crap. 4.5
Ljungberg: Ok while he was on. 5.5
Reyes: Still running his heart out. 7
Bergkamp: A moany kind of day. 5.5
Subs:
Eboue (for Ljungberg 35ish): Not great. 5.5
Quincy (for Flamini 80ish): Bizarrely decided what Arsenal lack is left-wingers. 5.5
v Everton (2-0)
Jens: Very little to do. Did it all right. 7
Lauren: Occasionally seemed to imagine he had more pace than he does, which was quite amusing as he tried to take people on. Solid as usual. 7
Cole: As someone who gave him a good bashing over the summer it would suit by agenda to say he is playing poorly. But that would be a lie. Whatever the reasons for it, he has started the season well and in attack in particular is offering a lot. 7.5
Toure: Nothing to do at the back and seemed to enjoy getting in on this whole new set-piece malarkey. 7
Campbell: Two excellent headers, especially the second one which was a real hammer. Not at full speed yet but looked good, organised the defence well, shouted at people and seemed to realise he was our most senior player on the pitch. 8
Pires: Hadn’t done all that much in the brief period he was on the pitch before Gary Neville’s shit younger brother’s tackle forced him off. 6.5
Cesc: One friend said to me he is looking lightweight and giving the ball away too much. Maybe. But I think he does a lot of good stuff and his presence in the opponent’s penalty box is valuable. 7
Gilberto: Solid game, got through a fair amount and gave us a couple of those rare Gilberto moments where for a few seconds he stops looking like he is suspended in perpetual slow motion and instead provides us with raw Brazilian skill. 7
Ljungberg: Started slowly but furrowed hard as ever. Seemed to make a real determination to either stick wide out on the wing or else very deliberately come inside as opposed to just being narrow. I think it worked. Unlucky to hit bar in second half. 7
Van Persie: Hit the post with a nice effort (right footed!) and had some decent moments but was otherwise a bit subdued. Has been a fairly rough few weeks and is probably still feeling his way back in to things. 6.5
Reyes: Loses the ball now and then but that is only because he constantly seems to have it. Boundless energy at the moment, great creativity and fantastic balls into the box. Really was amazing how much of the ball he had tonight. 8
Subs:
Hleb (for Pires first half some time): Played pretty well, looked pretty creative and linked up well with Cole. Playing better than Pires. 7
Dennis (for Van Persie 80ish): Did alright. Created a bit of stuff. Didn’t do anything of note. 6.5
Alex Song (for Reyes 87ish): Made a couple of sloppy passes but it was harsh and exaggerated for Alan Smith to say he hadn’t found a man. 6
v Thun (2-1)
Almunia: Probably not to blame on the goal and handling was ok even though he still catches very strangely.6
Lauren: Did the usual Lauren stuff. Fairly well. 6.5
Cole: Thought he was good today. Clean at the back and contributed well going forward. Perhaps he enjoyed having Pires back in front of him. 7
Toure: Seemed ok. Can’t remember too much else.6.5
Sol: Looking a little chunky but it must be good to have him back.6.5
Cesc: Not his most spectacular game but made a couple of decent runs forward and made one particularly delicious pass in the second half.6.5
Gilberto: Very well taken goal and was more involved tonight than normally. An experienced head 7.5
Pires: By no means at his best but infinitely better than the past few games. Got in an early curler that almost flew in and was generally far more involved. Even tried to tackle twice. Neither attempt worked.. 7
Ljungberg. Svavanged without achieving much.6.5
RVP: Had been easing himself back into first team action when the dick head referee struck. 6.5
Reyes: Excellent, his boundless enthusiasm drove the team on and he looked really dangerous at times and caused Thun more problems than anyone else. 8
Subs:
Dennis (for Cesc 70 odd): Is that his first goal as a sub? Took it well. 7
Hleb (for Reyes 80 odd): Didn’t really find his touch in the ten minutes he had.6
Quincy (for Ljungberg 80 odd): Offered a new threat.6.5
v Fulham (4-1)
Lehman: Looking very solid at the moment. You can tell it by the fact he is not making kicking mistakes at the moment. At tricky moments, his handling from corners was excellent.7
Lauren: Missed a penalty, but that was bound to happen one day and at least it didn’t matter. Otherwise, he played well and looked particularly committed (mostly in the right sense) in the tackle. 7
Cole: His best attacking display for a while and linked up promisingly with Reyes. 7.5
Cygan: I’ve made no secret of the fact that his presence in the team pleases me not. Defending was ok tonight, though a couple of times Fulham forwards worryingly escaped him when crosses were slung in. Took his goals very well. Could it be that unlike the rest of the side Cygan does not feel obligated to score the perfect goal and concentrates on just sticking it in the net?7.5
Kolo: Poor clearance for the Fulham goal but on the whole had a decent game. The defensive issues we have at the moment seem more a collective than individual problem. 7
Cesc: Gets a wee bit overrun occasionally but on the whole is playing really well and in particular offers a genuine attacking threat in the way that perhaps Vieira sometime failed to. 7
Gilberto: Did what Gilberto does. Still sometimes resembles one of those video graphic created dinosaurs in the way he moves. 7
Hleb: Good first half, creating a fair deal and generally looking like a cross between Pires and Ljungberg (in the best sense). 7
Reyes: A very good game in my opinion, full of running, full of trickery and very direct. In particular, he linked up very well with Cole and Henry, which was very pleasing. His ball for Henry’s first goal was majestic and pleasingly the two seemed on the same wavelength tonight. 8
Dennis: Besides his idiotic yellow card he had a great game and was at the heart of Fulham’s dissection. Kept going strong right to the end. 8
Henry: Took his two goals, which both came at crucial times, very well. Just one more to equal Wright’s record. 7.5
Subs:
Flamini (for Reyes 75 odd): Set up Henry for the killer third goal. 7
Clichy (for Hleb 85 odd): Ran around like mad, as Clichy does. 7
v Liverpool (3-1)
Lehman: Two really good saves – the first from Riise and the second from Gerard’s piledriver. Flapped at one cross but all it served to do was to remind us how much he has improved. 7.5
Lauren: Did very well, almost scoring from Pires’ cross in the first half and setting up the third goal with some nice play. Is doing well at the moment, perhaps spurred on by Wenger not mentioning right back when saying which areas he doesn’t need to strengthen over the summer! 7.5
Cole: A mixed game. Good going forward and times and obviously an excellent second half block from Garcia. But also occasionally sloppy, messing up things we know him well capable of doing. 6.5
Senderos: A big presence at the heart of the defence he had one of his sternest tests in an Arsenal shirt when Liverpool got at us in the second half. Did pretty well on the whole though, especially as protection from midfield was not always forthcoming. 7
Kolo: A good solid outing and the same goes for him as for Senderos. 7
Vieira: Did some stuff really well and was very influential in our first half attacking play. But I felt he allowed the midfield to be too easily swamped after the break and was not always applying the pressure to Liverpool that he might have done. 7
Gilberto: It goes without saying that evaluating a Gilberto performance is very, very difficult. That said, I felt that like Vieira he could have offered a bit more bite in midfield to help out the defence in the second half. 6.5
Pires: Really was at the heart of some of our best stuff in the first half. Crossed brilliantly for Lauren to almost score, shot just wide and then scored with a magnificent free-kick. Faded later on. 7.5
Cesc: Absolutely outstanding. He set the move in motion for Reyes’ offside goal, fired just wide from 20 yards, scored his own offside goal and then added a very neat third for us in stoppage time. In between this he ran the game, tackling, running with the ball, passing brilliantly and generally looking the best player on the park. Outstanding. 9
Reyes: Not perfect, but he notched up another well taken goal, scored an offside one and ran his heart out for the cause in the second half. 7.5
Van Persie: Not as involved as he has been but got involved and put over one excellent early cross for Robert Pires. Generally looking a much better player than previously. 7
Subs:
Edu (for Pires 70 odd): Came on and did ok. 6.5
Bergkamp (for Van Persie 70 odd): Set up Fabregas for the third with a fantastic flick but was otherwise pretty poor. When he did try and press Liverpool he gave away a few free-kicks and the rest of the time he just didn’t seem to chase them at a time when we really needed players to get stuck in. I know he is still capable of the odd piece of magic but we probably have enough to our attacking armoury that magic alone should not prompt a new contract. We have shown we are capable of winning without Dennis and should probably now look to the future. 6
Aliadiere (for Reyes 85): As ever he came on and got stuck in, chasing everything and hassling the Liverpool defenders. Has a really good attitude and probably deserves more than five minutes at some point. 6.5
v West Brom (2-0)
Lehman: The defence clearly trusts him again and he is reciprocating that with improved handling, kicking and decision making. 7
Lauren: Worked reasonably hard and got forward on a few occasions. 7
Cole: Looked a little lethargic at times but kept going and finished the game strongly, setting us on a number of attacks. 6.5
Senderos: A couple of passes went astray but took a no nonsence defence to defending. Far be it for me to argue with his current record of not conceding a goal for absolutely yonks. 7.5
Gilberto: Covered well at set pieces, but with Arsenal in 2nd gear he seemed only to happy to make sure Gilberto was in 2nd gear too. Not much drive. 6.5
Vieira: Committed silly fouls early on and was not finding his passes. Got better as the game went on and provided more drive. Symbolic of our night. 7
Pires: Did ok initially but like the rest of them lacked the necessary drive. Got better with the team. 7
Cesc: Probably not his best game. Came looking for the ball a lot and should be credited for it but looked a little fatigued when challenged. 6.5
Van Persie: Did ok initially but was not really receiving a lot of support from the midfield. Took his goal magnificently. 7
Reyes: Ran hard but once again looked incredibly left footed. But gave an excellent assist for the opening goal and kept on trying right til the end, providing useful relief for the defence. 7
Subs:
Dennis (for Van Persie 75ish): Did little except provide a measured set-up for Edu's clincher. 6.5
Edu (for Cesc 75ish): Got involved a bit and finished well to clinch it. 7
v Spurs (1-0)
Lehman: Is playing very well and his handling looks as assured as ever, his throws good and his kicking far better than earlier in the season. I think it no great secret that he needs to control his temper. 7
Lauren: Has looked solid in recent weeks and looked more lively going forward. Alan Curbishley put him in his team of the season on the basis that few wingers get much change out of him. And he is probably right. Really does need to watch stray elbows though, intentional or not. 7
Toure: Was given a little trouble by Defoe but it was less trouble than Adi Akenbai gave him in the FA Cup in January. And Defoe is clearly a far better player than the Stoke man. Will soon score a very, very memorable free-kick I sense. 7
Senderos: It is hard to argue with his defensive record since he came into the side. We have simply stopped conceding goals. That said, what are the odds that back when we were conceding at will, Robbie Keane would have buried that chance. Could have got first goal for club with header. 7
Cole: Linked up well as ever with Pires down our left hand side and seemed really up for the fight. Had the slightly awkward penalty shout against him at the end but otherwise did well. 7
Vieira: With the ball he was excellent on the whole, spreading play at pace and helping support those ahead of him. Looks much more comfortable with Gilberto next to him. Though that said they both looked half a step off the pace at times against a Spurs side full of running. 7
Gilberto: Did what Gilberto does well. Though probably not as much of a shield as against Chelsea. 7
Cesc: Tired a little in the second half but was his usual youthful magnificence until then. Spread the ball with ease, got stuck in, helped out the attack and set up our goal. Nice. 7.5
Pires: Not the force he was against Chelsea but is playing well at the moment, linking up well with Cole down the left and generally providing an experienced head in an otherwise youthful attack. 7
Van Persie: Set Reyes up for the first minute chance, fired a decent effort wide and generally played quite a mature game without hitting great heights. 7
Reyes: Did very well to come back after the first minute miss. Goal was excellent and attitude looked good. Seemed to find an extra gear for second half run that set up Dennis. 7.5
Subs:
Dennis (for Van Persie 70 odd): Curled one wide and generally looked quite good against a tiring Spurs defence. There was the odd occasion when I felt he let the player pass him to quickly but that was probably just my last minute nerves. 7
Edu (for Cesc 70 odd): Hit the post with a curling effort and slotted in very, very neatly on the left. Will be a great shame to lose him if he does eventually go. 7
Aliadiere (for Van Persie 87 odd): Only had a few minutes but looked really keen to impress. Had a couple of good touches, got stuck in and made tired Spurs legs panic, buying us valuable time. 7
v Chelsea (0-0)
Lehman: Has looked much better recently and besides the odd dodgy kick, looked very solid against Chelsea and made one excellent save early on from Drogba. His positioning seemed good on through balls. 7
Lauren: He really didn’t put a foot wrong and kept Damien Duff and probably had his best game for the club against a very, very tricky opponent. Was ferocious and fair in the tackle. 8
Cole: After a slightly tentative start he threw himself at everything Chelsea chucked at us. Whatever people’s feelings about his current situation, there can be no complaints about his performance. 7
Senderos: Excellent as usual. This guy likes clean sheets. 7
Toure: Really did well in what could have been a tricky night. Got weight on his clearances and never panicked. 7
Vieira: It really doesn’t take a genius to figure out how much he seems to be enjoying having Gilberto back in the side. Really led the side again with fine interventions and set us on the path to attack – such as when Pires hit the bar. 7.5
Gilberto: Suffered a couple of inevitable nosebleeds when he got into decent positions going forward but otherwise did a fine job of snaffling out what Chelsea threw at us and generally making the team a slick unit. Showed one or two fine turns as well. 7
Cesc: This kid really does defy logic. At a time when his brittle bones should be feeling the effects of a long, hard season he is looking stronger than ever. Magnificently composed on the ball, he worked furiously in defence, midfield and attack. 8
Pires: His early volley that hit the bar reminded me of when I stood in the Holte End last year for Villa v Arsenal and he hit an even better effort that was turned just over. Even the anti-French bigots around me were shut well and truly up.
There is a wonderful magnificence about watching Robert Pires on song. He caresses the ball delightfully and when it’s time to move it on he does it with the utmost precision. A joy to watch and unlucky not to score twice. 9
Reyes: The story of his last 6 months – no problem with effort but he just lacks the confidence to make things really happen. The annoying thing is that he’s making errors on things that a confident Reyes could do with his eyes shut. Let’s hope his effort is rewarded soon. 6
Bergkamp: Like Reyes he worked hard and did his bit to keep Chelsea at bay. But also like Reyes he found himself struggling up front. The curtain appears to be falling on his magnificent career. Hopefully an announcement will be made soon and both we and Dennis can enjoy his final games. 6
Subs:
Van Persie (for Dennis 80 odd): Struggled to get into the game but had a few decent chances and ran hard for the side.
Aliadiere (for Cesc 85 odd): Did alright but by the time he came on it didn’t look like either side were really going to score.
v Boro (1-0)
Lehman: Flapped at one cross in the first half and then came ridiculously far out of his goal before eventually winning the ball. Yes, he’s kept a fair few clean sheets recently and yes, it’s even true we could win the league again with him in goal, but no, we won’t win in Europe with Jens and no, he’s not the answer. 6
Lauren: His early challenge, whilst not worthy of a red card as suggested on Match of the Day, was sheer stupidity. He did alright and he’s plodding along but not really getting any better. 6
Cole: Attacked decently at times but wasn’t helped by a very, very ineffectual Robert Pires. 6.5
Senderos: Now looks like he should be partnering Sol Campbell when the two are fit. Authoritative, big and commanding, his presence has coincided with a string of clean sheets. Still has rough edges, but these are being shaved all the time. 7
Kolo: Did reasonably well and made a couple of important blocks, but I’m not convinced his future lies in the heart of the defence. Together, he and Lauren sometimes seem to bring out the worst in each other and we just don’t look solid, clean sheets or no clean sheets. Would like to see him at right back. 6.5
Gilberto: I looked out especially for incidences of him filling gaps and yes, I can confirm it happens and he does his job well. Still looks very nervous in attacking positions, but his presence is welcome. 6
Vieira: I thought he did reasonably well, though like the rest of the players he seemed to have trouble bringing any great coherency to our play. 6
Cesc: I plumped for Cesc on the right a while ago and I like seeing him there. He got well forward and was always involved. Looks tired, but it’s been a long old season and he’s still, only 17. 6.5
Pires: I thought him absolute rubbish up until he scored really. His inability to tackle has been documented many times before, but on Saturday he seemed to be playing the whole game at walking pace. But then who better is there at converting the one chance he gets to secure a 1-0 lead. 6
Reyes: Things still aren’t all coming off for him but I sense things are getting better and his work rate and willingness to track back really can’t be faulted. We know for a fact that the boy has the talent to succeed, so while he may not be showing what he’s really capable of right now, we should applaud his recent application. Had a couple of really mazy runs and set up Henry excellently for a shot he scuffed. 7
Henry: Had one of those games where he seemed to stand almost still on the edge of the box, conserving his energy and waiting to pounce. It didn’t really work, though he did have a glorious chip fly just wide and certainly scared the Boro fans every time he got the ball. He was also up against an obdurate Boro. 6.5
Subs:
Dennis (Reyes 46): Did alright without really changing the game at all. It seems the curtain may be falling on his illustrious career and reluctantly, I think it right. We know he can still play brilliantly in patches but the truth is that it’s becoming less often and it’s hampering us in European away games. We need someone to step forward and become Henry’s partner. Sometimes the bullet needs to be bitten. And now is that time. 6
v Palace (5-1)
Jens: It’s tempting to say that the early back pass cock-up could just as easily have happened to Petr Cech but in truth that would be a lie. He’s simply too cocky and over confident with his kicking – it’s why so many balls get sliced wildly and why we almost conceded a shambolic own goal tonight. Otherwise, he actually did quite well. 6.5
Lauren: Is definitely becoming a better player going forward but was as culpable as anyone for our defensive malaise. 6
Cygan: Didn’t have an awful game but on too many occasions simple long balls forward by Palace became much more serious than they needed to be. 6
Kolo: Got skinned more often than he would have liked and was caught out at times from crosses. But still, we only conceded one. 6.5
Clichy: Did well getting forward, causing a constant menace. Defending was largely competent but seemed to be infected by the general defensive tendency to give the ball away. 6.5
Vieira: Another tricky game to rate from the captain. At times he was sluggish and easily caught in possession. At others, he took a grip on the game and drove the team forward impressively. Got well forward for his goal. 7
Edu: Didn’t have the sudden impact he enjoyed at Villa last week but did well enough and certainly gave us a fair bit of solidity. Good ball to Reyes for the opener. 7
Pires: Seemed to be rewriting the dictionary definition of anonymous for the first 20 or so minutes. Then got more into the game without coming close to hitting top gear. Was unlucky to hit the post in the 2nd half after good work from Reyes. 7
Reyes: His best game in yonks. He looked fearless again, running constantly at the Palace defence and causing a lot of trouble. Good assist for the first, great finish for the second, an assist for the third and a fantastic pass to Dennis to set up the fifth. Great to see him back again. 8.5
Dennis: As ever, he oiled, moulded and sculpted our performance. He also took his goal very well, like he did against Newcastle and United too. And set up Henry for the fifth. 7.5
Henry: Really played very, very well and channelled any frustration about constant offside decisions in exactly the right way. Had seemingly boundless energy to chase back lost causes and put us back on the attack. 8.5
Subs:
Flamini (for Edu 60odd): Solid and composed as ever. 7
Van Persie (for Dennis 80odd): Linked up reasonably well as the game entered its final stages. 7
Fabregas (for Pires 80odd): Settled in comfortably on the right. 7
v Wolves (2-0)
Jens: Whilst a clean sheet is a clean sheet, he had very little to do and looked no more reassuring than previously with his kicking. To be fair, he was also played a high number of over hit back passes today and was not at fault for the one from Flamini that took a wicked bobble off the Highbury surface (which appeared unusually cut-up).6.5
Eboue: Got forward well, hit the bar with a deflected shot and could have had a penalty. Nice work. 8
Clichy: Decent game without being exceptional.7
Sol: Not a lot to do. 7
Cygan: Better than usual. 8
Paddy: Mediocre for much of it truth be told. Got better later on and scored the penalty but for too long his mind didn’t seem in the right place. Sure, Wolves made it difficult by crowding midfield but too often he seemed semi asleep at throw ins and the like. Still, he kept going. 6.5
Flamini: Didn’t show the deftness of touch of the Newcastle game but retained all his normal solidity. And great as Ray Parlour was, watching Boro at the moment suggests that we’ve got an as good, if not better, replacement. 7
Reyes: A couple of good runs, some moments of anonymity and denied a stonewall penalty. Still getting back to form but it definitely seems better than a few weeks ago. 6.5
Freddie: Usual energetic performance without any stand out moments, save his well taken goal. That’s ten for the season now and we’re still in January. Good work Sir. 7
Van Persie: Not his most inspiring game and clearly doesn’t yet have the positional ability of Dennis (who does?) but is improving. 6.5
Henry: Gallic. Went into one of his moods after Riley ruled out his cheeky first half effort. Strutted around for a while, went in for a couple of silly tackles and became frankly self indulgently petulant when a foul was given against him. It’s alright for us to loathe Riley endlessly but our top striker shouldn’t let him affect his game. And the fact is he did. But recovered his composure, was unlucky not to score and set up Freddie in superb fashion. 8
Subs:
Cesc (for Van Persie): Settled in comfortably on the right. 7
Pires (for Reyes): Nice work for the clinching goal. 7
Quincy (for Fred): No time to make an impression.
v Charlton (3-1)
Alumnia: No chance with the goal and didn’t do too much wrong besides one poor fumble from a cross. Still not convinced by his catching techniques. No difficult saves to make6.5
Hoyte: Made the odd error but did well to make sure his old youth team buddy Jerome Thomas had his quietest game in weeks. Managed to get forward a bit more in the second half.7.5
Cole: Still not looking at his best and on a couple of occasions was embarrassed by Rommedahl. But in fairness he wasn’t as sloppy as recently and did get forward well later on. 6.5
Sol: With the exception of one wildly sliced clearance in the first half that Almunia had to save he looked pretty solid and kept Charlton’s clear chances to a minimum. Let’s hope his ankle isn’t too bad. 7
Kolo: Given a bit of grief by Bartlett in the air but stuck to his task well and like Campbell, restricted the number of clear cut chances. 7
Vieira: Watching the game live, I was unconvinced by his first half performance. But having just seen the highlights it seems he got through a lot of work and did what he had to do neatly and efficiently. Set up Fred well for the goal and kept up a good level of performance all the way through.7
Cesc: Lost the odd ball but was generally very sound. Passing was clean and crisp as ever and his touch for the second goal was exquisite by any standards.7.5
Freddie: Took his two goals brilliantly, worked hard and always looked a threat. In good form. 8
Clichy: Seemed to lose the ball cheaply a bit too often but worked hard down the left helping Cole out with nullifying the threat of Rohmedahl and getting forward well. Has tremendous energy which comes in handy at the end of games when opposition players tire.6.5
Henry: Not at his best today but more worrying than the actual performance was the fact that his normal fitness wasn’t there. Had a lovely free-kick cleared off the line.6.5
Van Persie: Still has a tendency to twist and turn once too often. But also holds the ball up brilliantly, moves it well and finished superbly for the third. Should probably be given a real run up front next to Henry. Took his goal like a striker, which is disconcerting coming from an Arsenal player.7.5
Subs:
Pires (for Van Persie 72ish): With the game won he wisely didn’t over exert himself ahead of Man City on Tuesday night. 6.5
Senderos (for Campbell 82ish): Slotted in well on his Premiership debut.7
Pennant (for Fred 86): Didn’t have time to get into the game. 7
v Newcastle (1-0)
Almunia: Our star man tonight. A smart early save from Ameobi (even if it was probably going wide) and excellent handling all night gave us one less worry. Four clean sheets in five and he also kicks a fair bit better than Jens.7
Lauren: Though Lauren Robert didn’t reach anything like his best, I’m not sure whether too much credit should go to Lauren. His positioning often seemed weak, his passing and tackling little better and he offered almost nothing in attack. Mr Average was distinctly poor. 5.5
Cole: Whilst there’s no shame in being given a tough time of things by Craig Bellamy, Cole’s performance was noticeably worse than just a torrid time. He made stupid, unnecessary fouls, got caught out when he should normally have had enough pace and looked very, very shaky. He may have been pushed a touch for the penalty incident, but a defender with his mind fully on the job wouldn’t have allowed the ball to hit him as blatantly as it did. In mitigation he did improve and unlike Lauren provided some attacking threat. 5.5
Kolo: Did alright but like the others his decision making didn’t always seem to be the best informed. That said, it’s a little harsh to chastise a central defender who has kept four clean sheets in five. 6.5
Sol: Urgh. After some very sound recent performances he seemed far too troubled by what looked like some relatively simple long balls. One such error allowed Ameobi in for his early chance and his lack of authority always made the long ball route look like a wise one for Newcastle to take. 6
Flamini: Not his best game for Arsenal but he still got through a lot of work, kept things simple and had a hand in setting up Vieira for the goal. 6.5
Vieira: Named man of the match by SKY and praised in a couple of papers, but I’m going to be honest and say that up until he scored I thought he was pretty useless, being caught in possession too often. That said in the second half he got through a fair bit of work as we ground out victory. 6.5
Fred: Beavered away, had some good moments and kept on trying. Was going to commend him for his work on a couple of occasions in particular but can’t now remember what they were. 7
Pires: Even by his standards, his tackling was poor today. Truth be told, I can’t fathom how he’s allowed to defend with his body constantly side on to the play. As a left winger he has defensive responsibilities and simply has to make a better fist of it. On the attacking front he was probably our most creative player, moving the ball smartly and at pace. 6
Van Persie: Still very, very raw. Unlucky not to score in the opening minutes and had a couple more decent efforts but all too frequently ran into trouble and lost the ball on what was admittedly an awful surface completely unsuited to his quick twists and turns. Corners weren’t bad. Needs time. 6.5
Henry: His touch was not quite at its magical best, but again this was probably due to the state of the pitch. Had a couple of good runs that resulted in decent shots on Shay Given’s goal. 6.5
Subs:
Clichy (for Van Persie 80 mins approx): Seemed as happy as anyone in the post match huddle but for the second game in succession he seemed a little out of sorts when called upon. 6
v Fulham (2-0)
Almunia: Looks better by the game and made a crucial save when he rushed out at speed to palm away a Fulham chance at 1-0. Made no notable mistakes. 7
Clichy: Had a good first half – getting forward well as usual and strong on the defensive stuff. Then in the second half he seemed to lose his confidence went, either as a result of or because of Fulham consistently probing down our left. Like any small full-back, aerial strength is a weakness.6
Lauren: Average as usual. Looked solid against a Fulham attack lacking any real penetration. 6.5
Sol: At times we were troubled in the air – but Sol is leading a defence that is no longer allowing attackers completely free headers at corners. Looks fit and healthy and, along with the rest of the defence, now has three clean sheets in four league games. 7
Freddie: A fine game on his return from migraine troubles. Played in Henry for the first and set-up Pires for the second. 7.5
Cesc: Gets caught on the ball occasionally but is still doing the vast majority of things with real fluency. Gives us real creativity in the middle. 7
Vieira: Showed a few soft shoe shuffles to bam boozle defenders in a way we haven’t really seen this season. Also got stuck into his tackles and generally seemed to be on the ball. 7
Pires: There was this surreal moment in the first half. He got the ball on the left wing and took a heavy touch. As if that wasn’t enough he then went flying into the tackle with the Fulham defender and actually won the ball. And it wasn’t the only time – I saw him snuff out a few Fulham attacks and even win a header.
Of course, the attacking side of his play was superb as well – he would have scored from a Dennis chest down but for a good save by Van De Saar. He linked up well, particularly with Henry, and inevitably took his goal with typical aplomb. Now has 19 in 2004, which is good. 7.5
Dennis: A fair few poor touches and bad decision making in general play. In mitigation, he dummied the ball well for the second goal and put Pires in with an excellent chest down. 6.5
Henry: Sure, the flicks didn’t always come off but at times he led Fulham a merry dance like he has almost every other defence this season. His goal was a trade mark finish and he was desperately unlucky when his side footer from the edge of the box crashed back off a post. 7
Subs:
Flamini (for Freddie 74ish): Some might say Arsene was making a point by not replacing Freddie with Pennant. Others will call it a sensible way of seeing out the game. 6.5
Van Persie (for Dennis 78ish): Provided his usual array of tricks but didn’t get a real chance to score. 6.5
v Portsmouth (1-0)
Almunia: Had a really good game. Caught when he needed to catch, punched when he wasn't sure and kicked immaculately. Also made a couple of really good saves. His run of impressive performances may only stretch to two but for now there seems no reason to bring back Jens. 8
Lauren: Did nothing too wrong but didn't offer as much in attack as he might have and at times appeared troubled by Pomey's pace. I think he's ok, but I'm becoming less and less convinced he should be our right back at all - more on that tomorrow. 6.5
Cole: A tough one to call. For a while looked rattled by Pompey's pace and agression down the left. Misplaced a couple of balls and though his tackles were mostly coming off they had a slightly concerning aggressiveness about them which made me think he was letting his own frustration get the better of him a little. But stuck to the task well and in the end kept a dangerous Pompey out. 7
Kolo: Got sucked in a couple of times, but on the whole he was part of a defence that looked pretty solid and much improved at set pieces. 7
Sol: Looked fitter than recently I thought - turning smoothly on a couple of occasions when faced with danger. He also made countless important headers at corners and won us the game with the kind of head down sheer determinism many fans would like to see a little more often. 8
Flamini: Ran hard, tackled hard and never gave up. Doesn't offer as much going forward as Fabregas, but doesn't claim to either. Unlucky with a header from Henry's free-kick. 7
Vieira: Industrious, but was also sloppy on occasion, getting caught in posession and losing the ball. Still doesn't seem 100% back to his best and didn't make the most of a couple of shooting opportunities. 6.5
Clichy: Fought well and offered Cole valuable protection down the left hand side. Showed initial attacking promise early on but faded as Pompey grew in stature. Nonetheless, was full of running at the end and nearly capitalised on tired Pompey legs. 7
Pires: His every touch was met with a chorus of boos as Bob faced Pompey for the first time since 'that dive' last season. There was even one moment when he slipped and the ball rolled out of play. Which probably made a certain journalist very, very warm inside. Otherwise, was neat enough but pretty ineffectual, seemingly afraid of injury in the rough house atmosphere. Had a couple of lovely runs late on and set Dennis up for a chance he really should have taken. 6.5
Henry: Worked hard and created much of our best work, but often found himself crowded out by the hoardes of Pompey defenders. Nearly scored after a flowing first half move and set up Dennis' other chance late on, which again he really should have taken. 7
Van Persie: Started really well, showing fantastic feet and trickery and generally leading Pompey a merry dance. He swivels at such speed he'll probably need a hip replacement aged 30. Faded somewhat after his impressive start, finding himself crowded out by the packed defence. Could pass a little earlier at times but nonetheless a decent first start in a difficult game and he staked a fair claim for inclusion against Fulham on Boxing Day. 6.5
Subs:
Bergkamp (for Van Persie 68ish): Should have scored late on following good set up play. His performance did little to silence the voices calling for this year to be his last. I'm undecided on that, but what I am sure about is that I won't miss the needless little kicks and elbows aimed at his opponents when frustration sets in. Simply put: the sly digs are ugly and Van Nistelrooy like and do nothing for us. 6
v Chelsea (2-2)
Almunia: Faultless for both their goals, he made good stops from Lampard and Gudjohnsen in the first half. And made a vital save when Robben wriggled his way through after the break. But nobody noticed it. Caught when a catch was a good idea, punched when a punch was wiser and set us on the attack with some good throws. 7.5
Lauren: Didn't see much of him, but when you're up against Duff and Robben, this can only be to a defender's credit. Thought he did really well to keep them in check, and the one time Robben did really threaten in the second half, the danger came down the other side. 7.5
Cole: The one player who I thought struggled today. As has been the case of late, he lacked confidence in his touch and stuggled defensively. Perhaps should have come out to Robben before the winger got into the box for his 2nd half chance, and was easily beaten in the air by Drogba for Cheslea's 2nd equaliser. 6
Kolo: Looked solid overall and helped limit Chelsea to only a few chances asides from set pieces. 7
Sol: A mixed bag. Made some really important defensive headers and looked in command at times at the back. But was a little caught out for their opening goal and sometimes seemed a little gung ho in his marking. Made important late tackle on Drogba.7
Reyes: Was quiet, but this was a tough game. Nodded down to Henry for the opener, worked hard and went on a few mazy runs without much success. Still, I thought he gave them something to worry about.6.5
Fabregas: Another excellent performance. He and Flamini were overwhelmed initially when up against Tiago, Lampard and Makalele but never gave up and fought their way back into the game admirably. Nice goal to set up Henry for the opener, he was instrumental in setting up the Frenchman's near winner and also set up RVP for his chance. Uses the ball so intelligently and showed that despite his size, he's not afraid to get stuck in. Was up against the very best in the business today and succeeded in limiting Lampard to a largely peripheral role.8
Flamini: £1 million? First league start? A snip if you ask me. He run's tirelessly, he harries, he puts his foot in and he uses the ball simply when he wins it. A real water carrier but absolutely essential today and worked tirelessly. Well done Sir. 8
Pires: We wanted a big performance and boy did we get one. Seemed almost impossible to shake off the ball, tackled back, linked up well with Lauren, Flamini, Cesc and Henry and drove the team forward in his own idiosyncratic waddle. When in his pomp, he is still a wonderful, wonderful footballer to watch. Set up Henry for the near winner, realised his responsibility as the senior partner in midfield, and shouldered the responsibility admirably.7.5
Dennis: Didn't get involved in too much of note, but I can't help feeling he just gives us a cetain sophistication and shape when he's in the side. Gordon Strachan pointed out on Match of the Day how hard he'd worked to stop Makalele getting the ball and in hindsight I think it probably a fair call.6.5
Henry: Forget the late miss - it can happen to anyone. Otherwise he was outstanding, scoring a brilliant first (which included winning a high ball!), netting an impudent second and generally running the show. Scared Chelsea shitless every time he picked it up and was responsible for a hell of a lot of good work. Also destroyed the concept he doesn't turn it on in big games. That's 15 in 17 league games now by the way.9
Subs:
Clichy (for Reyes 82): Ran around like mad for 10 minutes and forced mistakes out of tired legs. Really good footballer and good enough to start for probably every Premiership side and perhaps should be more often for us. 7.5
RVP: Is maturing very nicely indeed. Nearly netted a silky winner when he latched onto Cesc's pass and gave the Chelsea players a lot to think about. Would be really interesting to see him start. 7
v Rosenberg (5-1)
Almunia: Made a really, really good low save early on and kicked largely well. But looked dodgy more than once on crosses and for the second time in a week cost us a goal, which is a real worry. Eventually realised there's nothing wrong with giving a ball a good double handed punch. 6
Hoyte: Was up against a poor opposition but defended diligently and rarely looked rushed. Used the ball well, linked up well with his team mates and should be well pleased with his first European start. 7
Cole: Looked solid, with a couple of important defensive headers, but still not yet back to his marauding best I sense. Shouldn't have let the ball drop over his head for Harald Brattbakk to fire at Alumnia after 17 minutes. Withdrawn with quarter of an hour left. 6.5
Sol: Ditto for above, though did once later on look somewhat sluggish again on the turn. Perhaps I'm just paranoid about the impending arrival of Duff and Robben at Highbury.6.5
Kolo: A very easy night for the big man and he even found time for a classic Kolo dance into the opposition penalty area towards the end. 7
Flamini: Very, very good full debut. Set up the second goal, ran tirelessly, got tackles in and seemed to work well with Cesc in midfield. Looks comfortable tracking back and going forward and also seems to have a strange affinity for joining in attacks right around the right edge of the penalty area and particularly when we attack the North Bank. A young, thinking man's Gilles Grimandi, he ain't at all bad for a fifth choice midfielder. 7.5
Cesc: Absolute star. Has already played 20 games this season (twice as many as Edu, Gilberto and Vieira), yet still had the strength to turn in one of his best performances for the club. Fantastically alert, his use of the ball was excellent. He also scored a very impressive, very difficult goal and was involved in the build up for the fifth. Not just our most frequent performer in midfield this season, but also our best. 8
Jose: Took his goal really well and gave us a flying start. Had another deflected shot well saved and looked much more like the sun kid of the beginning of the season. Had a delightful late chip that bamboozled three very stupid looking Rosenberg players before landing on the roof of the net. 7
Pires: Looked much, much better and was even spotted making a tackle late in the second half. Kept going and linked up well late on with Jose and RVP before being withdrawn for Quincy with two minutes left. His penalty was so brilliantly placed it went into the side netting. Again I marvel at his ability to put a football exactly where he wants it to go. 7
Bergkamp: A nice return for the Ice Man who got involved well in the game, set up the opener and had a couple of openings himself. Might have done better when in front of goal, but eased himself back into the side well. 7
Henry: I actually thought that poor as the defending was for his goal, it was still a pretty decent finish. Worked hard all night, linked up well with the kids around him and seemed to be feeling particularly tolerant. 7
Subs:
Clichy (for Dennis 72ish): Spent a few mins in midfield before dropping back to left back when RVP replaced Ashley. As ever looked sound in the defending and assured going forward.
7
RVP (for Cole 75): Resuscitated the game with some silky skills, wayward finishing and then eventually a very well taken goal. Rawer than an uncooked vegetable, but with massive potential. 7.5
Quincy (for Bob 88): Should have had longer. Don't think he got a touch.
v Birmingham (3-0)
Alumnia: Looks like Lehman, kicks slightly better than Lehman, fumbles the odd ball like Lehman and jumps a couple of inches less high in the air than Lehman. Did ok, but would have been ill advised to let Morrison’s second half effort creep under him and over the line.6.5
Lauren: Seemed really quiet yesterday. Means he was doing his defensive job well which at the moment is the priority. Better? Seeing as we kept a clean sheet, probably a tad. 6.5
Cole: It's not been picked up much by the press, but I’ve thought Ash to be one of the players whose form has most obviously dipped in the recent spell. He’s still looked a top left back, but the subtlety of touch that allowed him and Bob to link so well still seems to be absent. Better? Not noticeably, but again should take credit for a clean sheet. 7
Sol: I’m of the opinion he’s still carrying a little bit of weight. Played well enough, but on a couple of occasions he looked sluggish and immobile on the turn, which is obviously a concern with Duff and Robben coming to town next week. Better? Probably not. 6.5
Kolo: Probably fair to say he’s not been our worst performer in the recent period, but I think on occasion he has allowed our recent jitters to affect his decision making a little. Kept Heskey quiet, but also seemed to time his jumps wrongly on a couple of occasions. Better? Ditto above. 7
Vieira: Did some good stuff but on other occasions his decision making and concentration again seemed lacking a little. He’s a hard one to judge at the moment. Better? Probably a bit.7
Cesc: I’m glad to see he escaped censure for his recent performances because I think a lot of the recent mutterings about how he’s no Gilberto have been unfair. Admittedly, the Brazilian’s best work is done off the ball, SKY’s stats show how we tend to win with him in the side, but I still think the young Spaniard is doing pretty well. He’s a young boy whose probably played too many games in a struggling team in a big league. But he’s still there, still getting stuck in and still doing his stuff. Tired in the latter stages yesterday and was replaced by Flamini, which was a wise, common sense, decision. Better? No, but only because he was doing well in the first place. 7
Freddie: Scavenged, burrowed, furrowed, ducked and dived. Fred’s doing them all at the moment and its working as the perfect complement to the continued attempts at perfection that come from the rest of the team. Is also being very productive. Should have had a penalty yesterday, set up the third goal and generally ran the show. Better? No, but only because he’s been great. 7.5
Pires: Mark my words. One of these days the opposition are going to get a free kick on the edge of our area. Their player will hit it, the ball will fly off Robert Pires and zip past Lehman. And we’ll all put it down as a fluke, like we did for Graveson’s effort that flew off Pennant in the Carling Cup game against Everton. Except it won’t be a fluke because Pires, like Pennant, will have jumped with his back to the ball, meaning that when it hits him he’ll have no way of giving it any direction.
My point is that Pires simply has to go into tackles. Maybe he’s worried about getting hurt, but he’s ducking out of the most basic challenges and its meaning we’re losing the battle in midfield at places like Old Trafford and Anfield.
Obviously, as I was making a note of this, Bob went and scored a classic Bob goal. Basically a really, really good one. He is a fantastic playa, probably the purest footballer we have in our team and quite possibly the best finisher. Yesterday was his 50th goal for the club and almost without exception (Bolton at home this season) they’ve been aesthetically perfect and a joy to watch.
But he must pull his weight for the team, which funnily enough I’ve seen him do really well on a number of occasions. Better? A little bit later on in the second half. 6.5
Reyes: You have to feel for him - seemingly everything he tries seems to go askew these days. Inches away from a Henry cross in the first half, he got into the game a bit more going towards half time, but then tired before being withdrawn. As I said above, he could do with a 25 minute run against tired defences to get his confidence back. Better? Not really, but not for want of effort. 6.5
Henry: Whether it be through injury or lack of confidence, he spent much of the game getting into decent positions but then making the wrong decision. Then ten minutes from time he took off past Melchiot, through the Birmingham defence and then a cool low finish hit whilst he was running at incredible speed. Six minutes later, he bought a ticket for Freddie Ljungberg’s cross and got lucky.
May not be at his best. But the level of criticism he of all people has taken is ridiculous. Has scored 13 league goals this season (four more than anyone else and 9 more than Ruud), scoring in 11 of the 16 games. And it’s not even like he’s bound to get the goals because nobody else does. He hasn’t even scored a third of our goals, and with the exception of Old Trafford (when nobody scored) and Selhurst Park, at least one other Arsenal player has scored in all of our other games.
Better? Yes. Despite earlier failures, his determination to keep going for the all important second goal was admirable. 7.5
Subs:
Clichy (for Jose): I love this guy. He’s like Wenger’s little foot soldier and seems capable of doing everything. Slotted in expertly in left midfield. He covers, chases back, tackles, retains the ball, gets forward, dribbles and causes havoc in the opposition defence. He may be more defensive than Reyes, but sometimes being slightly more defensive can give you the shape to attack more. May not be suited to central midfield, but should be considered a serious option for a place in left midfield on tough away games. 7.5
Flamini: Seems to do everything neatly enough without being spectacular. Will be interesting to see how he works with Cesc over the next two games.7
v Man United (0-1)
Alumnia: Crap on their goal, barely put a foot wrong otherwise. Plays and looks like a slightly smaller Jens, but can kick. 6
Hoyte: OK and defended well on occasion, but I’d still like to see him get forward more. That said, I think he’s a player who would look much better surrounded by seasoned pros. 6.5
Clichy: Really, really good as usual. Slipped on their excuse of a pitch for the early goal, but didn’t let it affect him and worked tirelessly defending and attacking all game. 7.5
Senderos: The lumbering giant of Everton had been replaced by a very, very accomplished looking centre half. One dodgy back header that fell short but otherwise cut out everything that was asked of him and looked a real first team option. 8
Djorou: Took eye off ball and then slipped for the goal which wasn’t good. Never quite looked the same player as against Everton, but worked his way back into the game. 6.5
Flamini: Looks like we can breathe a little more easily in the midfield department after watching a very assured display. Would like to see him trialled as a sub for Freddie in games where we’ve got a dodgy one goal lead. 7
Larsson: Some like him but I’m not so sure. What he did was decent enough but I thought he struggled to have an effect on the game. 6.5
Quincy: Maybe it was the pitch, maybe it was United doubling up on him. Either way the hero of the last round never really got into last night’s affair. 6
Pennant: Worked hard, tried to take the initiative and overall did quite well. Still not sure if he’ll quite make it at Highbury though. 7
Lupoli: Is a striker and when strikers get no service they don’t look much kop. 6.5
Van Persie: Battled hard all night and willingly came deep to win possession. But probably came a bit too deep and battled a bit too hard. Yes, he could have been sent off for the incident with Richardson. Reminds me a bit of a young Freddie, not in playing style but in the way that the potential is clearly there but the skills are still very, very raw. 6.5
Subs:
Smith (for Lupoli): Did OK but still looks wary of going in for challenges and taking men on following his long term injury.
Cregg: Alright
Karbassiyoon: Alright
19/12/05
Arsenal 0 Chelsea 2: It ain’t the end of the world.
So, league defeat at home to Chelsea for the first time in yonks. Painful? Disappointing? Frustrating? YES, YES, YES. But surprising? NO. In short, we learnt very, very little that we didn’t already know.
If we were to win, we had to be clinical with what chances we created and make sure we scored the first goal. Chelsea began well but for me the first two real opportunities were Arsenal ones and we did little wrong with them. Henry hit the post and then Van Persie swept home beautifully only to see the offside flag raised in error.
Not offside
It was a massive, massive decision. 1-0 to Arsenal and we would have had a completely different game. It was a wretched decision and I’m getting sick of wretched decisions in big games. Don’t get me wrong, at home against smaller sides the refs favour us. But in big games we seem to get little luck. At crucial times in both United league games last year and now against Chelsea. I’m not talking about flukes of performance – like when we beat United in the Cup Final or when Drogba scored against us earlier this season. I’m on about the crucial refereeing decisions, which, for whatever reason, seem to keep going against us in the big games.
Six minutes before half-time and Robben was as onside as Van Persie was and he too put the ball in the net smartly. This time the goal stood. While you languish in footballing depression mulling over this defeat, just consider how different things might have been had our goal stood and theirs not.
Red cards:
As for the non sending-offs: yes, Senderos probably should have gone (as Wenger acknowledged). But so too should Essien, who is anything but a marked man as Mourinho claims. I thought his elbow was probably correctly called a yellow. But it was just crass inconsistency that let him get away with a later foul on Van Persie that was identical to one Henry had been booked for about two minutes earlier. So on that front, honours even. (ps, question for UEFA: when did going in studs first near someone’s knee become a two rather than a three game ban?)
I thought we actually played quite well after we went behind. Chelsea 1-0 up are a nightmare to play against. Though we could have created a few more chances, we still fashioned some decent openings. They were dangerous on the break but that was always going to be so with us chasing the game. Cole took their second excellently after one of Lauren’s worst ever mistakes for the club. But to bash him is ridiculous. He is a first class foot soldier who is having a good season and hardly ever puts a foot wrong.
The Midfield:
The problem for us was very obviously in midfield. Aware that we would be outmuscled, we frequently tried to pass long straight from defence to attack. It was an unfamiliar approach that met with limited success. I’ve heard mutterings of disappointment about Cesc’s performance, but I’d point to what I said on Saturday about him being asked to do the wrong job. But the problem is not just a lack of muscle in central midfield. While we could once slot Edu in left and Parlour right, Freddie is now our most physically strong wide player, which says it all. And the pace that once characterised our middle line only lives on in the injured and inconsistent Jose Reyes.
This is, clearly, a very difficult time for the team. Our standards have slipped and for the first time we are staring into the abyss of finishing outside of the top two. But let us not get carried away. We went three barren years without any trophy between Wenger’s first and second titles. Things change and evolve. Of course we need reinforcements and the prospect of Henry leaving is daunting. But things are not all bad.
Hleb is having a far better first year than Pires did, Sol Campbell (in my opinion) will rise again and while they are not yet world beaters, there is genuine promise in our young players. Things change and evolve and for anyone who is feeling at all disillusioned with Arsene, just imagine how much worse every other manager would do with our resources. For one thing, I think if Mourinho took over at Highbury tomorrow, he’d struggle big time. But take Wenger to Stamford Bridge and I’d expect him to win Chelsea titles, which less we forget, is all Mourinho has managed for them so far.
Chelsea?
So, finally, what of Chelsea? Have they raised the bar? Incrementally at most. That they are so far ahead is in part because of their own consistency but more due to United and Arsenal’s recent decline. Are they any better than us in 2004 or United in their pomp? I’d say no way. So the challenge is for us to get back to what we have achieved before and then catching Chelsea will take care of itself.
The most well resourced squad ever in British football was very fortunately injury free enough to be able to choose their first choice eleven against us. We were missing three left-backs, a winger and had a midfielder harshly suspended. C’est la vie. What a sign of the times that of the eleven players fielded by Mourinho, ten cost £6 million plus, while John Terry was a shooting star long before the special one had even heard of him. Our side contained just three players bought for more than £3.5 million.
Overhauling them will be very tough, but is doable. And if there is one manager you’d choose for a club like ours – in transition and relatively cash strapped – you’d plump for Arsene Wenger over Jose Mourinho or anyone else any day of the week. Which is handy really.
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17/12/05
Arsenal v Chelsea preview: How good would Cesc look in Chelsea’s midfield?
A year and a week after his first start in an Arsenal shirt, Mathieu Flamini is likely to again come into the Arsenal side next to Cesc Fabregas for the visit of Chelsea. The prospect has left many fearful, but they did ok last year and I think they can do ok on Sunday. In a way, the prospect of having Fabregas and Flamini snapping like whippets around Essien and Lampard is preferable to having Gilberto in there. In his current poor form, we might risk the Brazilian just providing poor man’s version of what Makalele does so well for Chelsea.
The game is obviously going to be very tough and despite our impressive home form, Chelsea must be favourites. At Highbury the league results have been immaculate but the teams we have beaten have been nothing special and our performances only impressive in short, sporadic bursts. Still, I think we have the players who, on their game, can stop Chelsea from scoring. And I think we are capable of creating chances against them at Highbury. So, we are not without hope.
If we are to win, a likely key player will also be our youngest – Cesc Fabregas. Usually in hushed voices, some Arsenal followers have questioned whether he has the strength for the Premiership. They say both Vieira and Gilberto have struggled next to him. I refute that. As far as Vieira goes, he acknowledges openly in his book that he played much of last season with a very dodgy ankle.
And as for his partnership with Gilberto, I see the problem being that Fabregas has been unfairly forced to play the role of tough tackling midfielder. While the Brazilian may provide a positional wall, it is Cesc who on the whole is required to throw his still slender frame into the tough tackling.
For me, he has actually done it ok, but the point is that expecting him to excel as the enforcer is as preposterous as expecting Dennis Bergkamp to score 30 goals a season. It is not what either do. But imagine Cesc sat on the Chelsea bench for a game and replaced one of Essien, Makalele or Lampard at half-time. Whoever he came in for, I’d expect him to flourish, revelling in being able to concentrate on doing what he’s great at. He could also offer Chelsea the midfield subtlety and creativity they have occasionally lacked - such as in four scoreless encounters against Liverpool in the Champions League.
So if you see Cesc being out muscled on Sunday, take a look around and remember what he is being asked to do. However well he does it, here’s to the midfield beast/animal/enforcer we all pray Arsene will buy in the January sales.
Ps: there was a really good piece on Football365 this week pointing out that in quite a number of these games where Arsenal supposedly allow themselves to be bullied to defeat the more truthful explanation is that very poor refereeing has instead allowed teams to get away with what is simply illegal.
It pointed out the United game last season and more recently the Bolton game (where the referee just ignored Lehman being elbowed in the stomach and another guy who was already booked punching the ball in to the net all in one move) and Newcastle, where the fact is Alan Shearer got away with stuff that was far more plain illegal than any ‘on the edge’ bullying.
I’m not saying we don’t sometimes go soft (I think we do), but it does add some rationality to the whole debate.
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12/12/05
Newcastle 1 Arsenal 0: Same problems, same lack of solutions
A week ago I penned a massive post Bolton post mortem. (Computer problems mean it has only just gone online - see below). Almost everything I said then applied to today’s match so I’m not going to go over the same ground in massive depth after today. For me there are a few points for why we lost:
1) We left our shooting boots at home. I’m hardly in a position to tell Thierry Henry how to score. He had the chances in the first half and didn’t take them. It was one of those things, as was Van Persie mis-kicking later.
2) We are still hideously under strength in the centre. Gilberto is playing crap, yet we have no other option. We need an animal in there (Gilberto, Cesc, Hleb and Freddie is hardly physically intimidating.) Yet we have no animal to bring in.
3) Dermot Gallagher was a total wanker today. (And yes, I know we get the run of the mill sometimes and did so against Newcastle on the first day of the season). That not withstanding, on a technicality sending-off Gilberto was justifiable. But as I remember they were the only free-kicks he gave away all day. And neither were dangerous tackles. They were the tackles of a player who is out of form and off the pace. Were they so bad he needed to be excluded from the pitch? Definitely not.
Compare the approach to Gilberto to how Gallagher treated Shearer and other Newcastle players. Shearer was given a free reign to elbow, foul (including one shocker in front of the referee), knowingly kick so high that knew he would hit Lauren, kick the ball away and delay kick-offs by standing in our half. It took 89 minutes for him to get booked. All this matters because while Newcastle (as is their right) adopted a very physical approach they were able to do so because Gallagher was being so lenient. Once a player has been booked they have to temper their approach, knowing that one more significant error will be the end for them. Gallagher patently failed on that part. Apparently this is his final year. On this showing, good riddance.
But overall there is no escaping the fact we have big problems away from home. The defence could do with some better drilling but overall they did fairly well today. And though the goal came from our left, Lauren looks infinitely better at left-back than Cygan. And up front I think we look fairly strong. We have drawn three blanks on the run but prior to then had looked dangerous. With a bit of luck, Henry could have had two at Bolton and Van Persie one. And the same can be said today.
The problem for me is midfield. In the middle we are enormously weak. It would be nice if we could give 18 year-old Cesc a break but there’s fat chance of that at the moment. And though Hleb helps, we lack defensively able players on the wings: Freddie is either a bit injured or out of form at the moment. Yet still he plays 90 minutes every game.
The thing is that Chelsea probably have as many midfielders and forwards out of form as we do. Crespo, Duff, Robben, Wright-Philips and arguably Drogba and Gudjohnsen are hardly setting the world on fire at the moment. Of course, we can hardly hope to have their strength in depth. But equally, we can expect far more of our current resources in the middle.
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04/12/05
Just what is Arsene playing at?
I spoke to a season ticket holding friend last night who for some weeks has said his confidence in the boss is waning. I don’t necessarily agree, but what follows are some of his concerns and some I have too. What do you think?
Arsene can moan about player commitment but to us Bolton yesterday was simply the epitome of what we feared at the beginning of the season, the inevitable result of Arsenal’s very own corporate restructuring. So as the squad has been trimmed and thinned out, those that are left are more comfortable than ever in their positions and what would normally be the responsibility of experienced team members is being carried out by talented, but as yet unproven, upstarts.
At Bolton Henry and Van Persie were the right choice. But even Tony Adams (who generally seems to not know that much about tactics) has been pointing out for years that Ljungberg and Pires won’t work at places like Bolton. Admittedly, Alex Hleb is injured.
But in central midfield Wenger is guilty of discarding our two most aggressive midfielders as if we have somehow had too many of them. It is blatantly clear that neither Fabregas, Gilberto nor Flamini have the animal instincts that seem to be present in the heart of every top side. It is also true that talented as the first two are, Gilberto is not and Cesc is not yet good enough that their places in the starting line-up should be completely unquestioned and unthreatened. How Arsene could go out at the start of this season and rightly deciding he needs a fourth central midfielder plump for a 17 year old (Alex Song) to complement his 18 and 21 year-olds is beyond me. Principles and only buying the right player is admirable, but not when it means no player.
And if the case in midfield is one of transfer bloody mindedness then the case at left-back is one of tactical bloody mindedness. With no personal insult intended to the man, I can’t remember a single player in Arsene Wenger’s reign enjoy a run in the side and look more out of his depth when doing so than Pascal Cygan at left-back. Even when he does something right, 90% of the time it means he hasn’t cocked it up. His abilities are simply so limited there, it was no wonder Bolton almost encouraged Jens to throw him the ball. Leaving aside the defending, you would have to say he offers nothing to the attack either. It is as though we have become numb down part of our left side.
For Arsene to come out last week and say he brought on Lauren at left-back for the last half hour in Thun to see if he could play there just encapsulates the problem. As you and I well know, Lauren would be miles better playing there, as would Toure, as would Eboue, as might Senderos and as might even Flamini.
They say there is no point buying for the sake of it, but there is also no point not buying for the sake of it. And Alex Hleb is the ONLY outfield and vaguely proven player over 21 who has arrived at Highbury in nearly three and a half years! That is extraordinary! We all know (and largely admire) Arsene’s determination to challenge Chelsea’s exorbitant spending by unearthing and polishing gems, but it is almost as if what Chelsea do is dictating what we do. By this I mean the more they spend the less we seem to spend. And yet the fact is that any title win would count as a great overcoming of the odds, even if we spent £20 million a year.
On that note, there is nothing wrong with stripping out a few luxuries (eg Kanu and Wiltord) to give younger players a chance. But you can’t start getting rid of the bare essentials. And at the moment you can argue we have no competition in goal, where Wenger’s signings there are slowly becoming more bizarre and obscure (witness Shabaan, Warmuz, Almunia and now Poom). We have two good centre backs (one of whom is off his game), a still very young pretender (Senderos) and another who ain’t up to it. Four years ago we had an (admittedly aging) Adams, Keown, Campbell, Upson, Grimandi (better than Cygan) and Oleg Lhuzny (probably better than Cygan).
I hardly need to go into central midfield. A comparison with last year simply says it all. On the wings, as I suggested earlier, there is fair attacking cover. The problem though is that when we want to plump for someone more defensive on the right we end up having to move Fabregas, where as two years ago we would have simply slotted Edu in, leaving Vieira and Gilberto intact in the centre.
And at up front, it seems to have taken ages to a) figure out Reyes is a winger and b) develop a successor to Dennis. Discounting Reyes, we have just three forwards – a footballing god, a youngster still making his mark and a man who is rapidly going over the hill. Think back to 1999 and look at the perfect balance we enjoyed: an in form Kanu, Dennis around his prime, a raw (but still 25 goal) Thierry Henry and Davor Suker, who was used as and when it pleased. Sadly, our current paucity of forwards meant that after 70 minutes we were calling for Dennis yesterday, even though all and sundry could surely see it was not the time or place for his services. And quite why on earth Robin Van Persie was withdrawn I don’t know. Simple maths says Van Persie’s goal threat is far higher than Dennis or Reyes.
All in all, there seems to be a great sense of bafflement. We expect managers to be a little mad, but more and more often we seem to be shrugging our shoulders and explain something away as Arsene just being Arsene. But it doesn’t add up. We might not like seeing Chelsea above us but always knew their spending would make it probable. But it’s hard to accept when we seem to be shooting ourselves in the foot so readily. Even Spurs have about seven midfielders better than our fourth choice.
And what is so galling is that actually we are not very far at all from being bloody good. With the exception of Cygan, every player in our squad is Arsenal quality and very many are worthy week in week out starters too. But they need reinforcements. With these reinforcements, we wouldn’t have to shunt Freddie back into the side when he doesn’t look ready. We would be able to pick the players who are physically at their peak and rest others when they tire a little. Which is what Mourinho does and explains why Cole, Duff, Robben and Wright-Philips always look so chirpy.
So what do we need? A hungry, improving goalkeeper who will in a few years succeed Jens. A half decent centre back who is solid if nothing else. An established beast in central midfield. Perhaps a young, as yet unproven beast, for when the big beast is suspended. A Davor Suker like signing – someone who will offer goals when they play but whose presence will not hold Van Persie back. And as the Dutchman becomes established, someone to fill Van Persie’s current role of young pretender – Arturo Lupoli would seem the obvious choice.
That is five signings. But only two (the beast and the goal scorer) would initially be pivotal ones. Those five, combined with our ever improving youngsters, could make a real squad. At the moment it is not just that Chelsea are so far ahead in the table, it is that we are in with the likes of Spurs, Bolton and Wigan. Squad wise, we will never be as big or strong at Chelsea. But at a certain point it starts to matter less and less until it becomes almost immaterial. We need to plug the holes so we can get to that point.
And finally, what are the rewards? We already have a really good crop of players. Arsenal may not be ahead of the chasing pack but it is still true that the vast majority of our current crop would walk into any Premiership team other than Chelsea and Man U in some cases. With the right moves in the transfer market we could perhaps hope to persuade not just the brilliant Ashley Cole to stay at Highbury but also Thierry Henry, one of the great players of this generation. Whether he stays or goes could tell us so much about where Arsenal are headed.
I may be wrong, but I struggle to believe Henry (settled in London with a wife and new born) would have any inclination to leave a flourishing Arsenal in a new stadium who have the tools to seriously fight Chelsea for the league and to capture the Champions League. I suspect he fears the same things we fear and he needs the same reassurances.
He is 28 and I suspect he knows he has half a chance not to just be known as a great of his time, but to etch his name as one of the great players of any generation. To become that great he probably still needs a mix of international success at his prime (he was not yet a great player in 1998 or 2000) and success with a club in Europe.
On the international stage, Henry’s options are obviously limited because he can’t change countries. On the club stage, whether he feels able to achieve it at Highbury may well depend on just what Arsene is playing at.
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27/11/05
Arsenal 3 Blackburn 0: Attack good, defence not so good
I only saw the BBC highlights of yesterday’s game, so it would be wrong to go into too much depth. But three things were quite obvious from watching it:
Our defence is making too many Premiership standard strike forces look like world beaters. And with all due respect to the man, it is my belief that rightly or wrongly, the presence of Pascal Cygan is a massive factor.
A couple of reports I have read suggested he was not personally so bad yesterday, but the problem goes beyond his individual performances. It is the effect he has on the team.
Exactly a year and a week ago I wrote: “Pascal Cygan is no Baresi, but he’s not an awful player either. But at the moment his presence is having a devastating effect on our play. The rest of the team doesn’t trust neither him nor Jens Lehman and the effect is reverberating through our side.” A week later Jens played his last league game until February and has not looked back since his recall. I added at the end of the article: “Cygan has to be dropped for the sake of the team.”
And the same must happen now. Arseblogger was entirely correct yesterday to point to Wenger’s apparent blind spot over Cygan. Far be it for faceless internet bloggers to tell him how to manage Arsenal, but the clamour from fans appears so universal that surely these feelings need articulating.
2) The second point is that we are obviously playing some very nice attacking stuff at the moment. Not all the time, but we are cranking up the pressure when it matters. Much as Blackburn perhaps deserved a goal or even two, the fact is we created three perfectly executed ones and could have had more.
3 ) Some players have such outrageous talent that you can forgive them being idiots on occasion. Robbie Savage is not one such player. Arseblogger aptly summed him up as a “cheating, conman, fairy, nancy, fraud, flimflammer, obnoxious wanky cunt.”
I would add one word to that description: twerp, defined in the dictionary as a person regarded as not just contemptible but insignificant too.
Just before I finish I’d like to pre-empt a couple of things that will happen this week. The first is that a certain journalist will twist the Savage incident to bring up every misdemeanour ever committed by an Arsenal player. The second is that we are going to have to listen to unrivalled levels of crap spout from the mouth of Sam Allardyce this week ahead of our visit to the Reebok next Saturday. If they beat Fulham today they will be level with us going into the game.
On that note, there was an interesting (and unmalicious) remark made about George Best this week. It was said that Best frequently mentioned how Pele had called him the world’s greatest, yet Pele never needed to do the opposite. Sam Allardyce loves to tell us how brilliantly he has done at Bolton on such limited resources, yet Arsene Wenger...
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I didn't see the Thun game, I'm flying during the Blackburn game and the Reading game is not on TV. But I'll probably post one or two more general updates before the Bolton game.
20/11/05
Wigan 2 Arsenal 3: Should the new midfielder be a partner for Cesc rather than Silva?
In a nutshell: We took control through goals from Van Persie (good turn, run, fierce shot, bad goalkeeping) and Henry (lovely slid finish from Cesc pass at end of flowing move). They pulled one back through shambolic defending. Henry netted a scorcher of a free kick. They pulled another back through shambolice defending. We won despite defending shockingly.
Analysis: It was very easy last season to say how much we were missing the Gilberto "wall" during his absence. And perhaps it was true. But on recent performances, Berlin's got a stronger wall than the one our Brazilian offers. Against Wigan he was, to put it mildly, shite. He didn't go forward, he didn't pass well, he dallied on the ball, he made absurd attempts to intercept that only put us in deeper trouble and he failed to get off the ground for headers. (Witness first goal). In short, he was oh so passive.
Next to him, Cesc Fabregas was a model pro. He ran tirelessly, he won tackles, he broke up play, he positioned himself well and he supported the attack right up until the last minute. Sure, not everything came off, but the way I see it this new midfielder we all agree we need should more likely be a partner for Cesc than for Gilberto.
Behind the pair, things were just totally terrible. Credit to Wigan, honest team, hard working, deceptively skillful for a rugby league town all those other cliches. But the fact is Sol Campbell offered justification for Sven picking Rio ahead of him (yes he was that bad), Jens' kicking was crap, Lauren's general defending was poor and Toure's little better.
To their left was Pascal Cygan. The nicest thing I can say is that words fail me to describe his performance.
I'm not one for having a go at individuals just for the sake of it and it is true that in the end, we got a very welcome three points. But a spoon should be called a spoon and today our defending was chaotic.
Up front, it seems Van Persie may possibly have finally got the nod over Dennis, at long last. He played well, the returning Freddie worked hard but was not at full throttle, Pires put in a committed performance which didn't once involve me screaming at him for ducking a tackle and Henry once again made everything look too easy.
One final thought, much as I can't stand his self righteous, self important, status as a "real" player, and much as there is between no chance and 0% chance of Arsene going for him, you kinda have to admit Roy Keane could fill a gap.
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15/11/05
Arsenal playing before Chelsea form, European form and Vieira book form
A few brief thoughts as we wait for the Premiership to restart.
The first is that the fixture list is currently conspiring quite often to let us play our weekend game before Chelsea. I pointed out last season that while our results are largely unaffected by whether we play before, at the same time or after Chelsea, their's suffered last season when they played after us. And based purely on very anecdotal evidence, the same has been true this season. So we need to take advantage at Wigan on Saturday.
Secondly, this whole assumption that because Liverpool won the Champions League while being crap in the league, the same will happen to us seems bizarre. Last season was largely an anomoly. What nobody seems to have mentioned is that since defeat in Moscow over two years ago, we have a healthy European record that reads: P19 W12 D5 L2.
Finally, there is a piece in today's Times that takes 600 odd words to correctly say: Patrick Vieira hypocritically forgets his own diving when he lambasts Wayne Rooney and Ruud Van Nistelrooy as cheats.
But that is not all the piece says. In fact it reads strangely like a diktat handed down from Old Trafford to a friendly journalist much in the way United employed the same policy with the same friendly journalists after the battle of the buffet.
There was no way Vieira was going to ignore either Rooney or RVN in his book. And the fact is that Rooney DID cheat exactly as described and Van Nistelrooy WAS guilty of consistent violence that went unpunished against Arsenal. Whatever, Vieira's personal myopia, to suggest that the two United players are somehow worthy of apologies for what is correcly identified as shabby behaviour when Vieira does it, is just absurd.
And while I appreciate accuracy matters little when there is an axe there to be ground, the description of the Nicky Butt incident is just patently wrong. Contrary to what is written, it was a straight red card and not a second yellow. Secondly, there was never the slightest suggestion Vieira had dived. Thirdly, the decision to send Butt off was one based purely on the positioning of the incident near to the goal and not on the severity of the tackle or Vieira's reaction to it (there was no doubt it was a foul). Fourthly, all Alex Ferguson and anyone else was moaning about was the referee's decision to treat the incident as a goal scoring chance and thus issue red.
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10/11/05
International week update
My apologies for the lack of recent updates. The laptop appears to have died and enjoyable as this site is, staying late at work to update it is just not that appetising.
Anyway, things have gone pretty well since the Spurs game. There is not a lot to say about Sparta and Sunderland. We needed victories and we got victories. We didn't over exert ourselves but then we didn't need to. I'm still of the theory that we look far better when playas play in their natural positions and I think that was fairly obvious watching the Sunderland game. In midfield the mix was good, with the wall-like Gilberto and the more enterprising Fabregas, Reyes and Pires both looked comfortable out on the wings and up front we had a good mix of a forward/striker (what can you call Henry?) and a striker.
I don't think Chelsea were unlucky at Old Trafford because ultimately they didn't do enough. But I do think United can count themselves fortunate. Some of their defensive play was wretched - incredibly nervous and very deep. But they got away with it. People are asking whether they will collapse like we did. I don't think they will but nor do I think that the issue really. If someone does catch them I expect it to be by a process of small erosion rather than one big wave. So, for example, if they have a tricky away game that they draw others might take advantage with easy home wins. And of course if we win our game in hand and manage to beat the Blues at Highbury then the gap is only five points anyway. I'm not saying we will do it, just saying how I think they could be caught.
As Myles Palmer pointed out on ANR, the four league games before Chelsea are vital. Contrary to what he said, they actually read: Wigan (A), Blackburn (H), Bolton (A), Newcastle (A). We need to be looking for a minimum of ten points from the four of them and ideally twelve.
Not much else to say, except that I'm away for two weeks from Saturday, so there is a fair chance I won't update after the Wigan, Thun and Blackburn games (the last of which I will definitely miss as I will be in the air for it).
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01/11/05
Players in position works at Spurs
Arsene's decision to shore up the side with an extra midfielder was well intentioned and a welcome departure from the gung-ho approach that cost us so badly at Munich last season. But injuries and lack of squad depth meant that to do it we had Freddie playing out of position on the left, Cesc out of position on the right and our first choice central midfielders not in place. Add the fact we were playing with two forwards but no strikers, and it is obvious why we struggled. When Pires came on, suddenly we had him, Freddie and Cesc all where they should be. And when Van Persie came on, Reyes was on the left wing (which for me is his best spot), Pires was on the right (in a position he has played and done well in) and we had a good balance of a forward and a striker up front.
But I also wonder whether perhaps Arsene imagined the first half going as it did, while obviously hoping we would not concede. Spurs, confidence bolstered by their own good form and our lack of it, were always going to come out on fire. I wonder whether it was Arsene's plan to draw to try to draw their sting (keeping it at 0-0) and then introduce Pires and pounce on them as they tired. In the event, the problems of the first half called for Pires earlier than expected, but I expect it was probably always the plan that he would play a key role.
I don't think there can be any doubt we deserved the draw. Granted, Spurs dominated the first half (even if I only remember Jens having to save from his near namesake Jenas). But we dominated the second right from the off in my opinion. Sure, chances did not immediately come, but we did a good job of grinding them down and tiring them out and in the end Van Persie had about three good chances, Reyes had one, Pires had one and Pires scored. So for me, while our equaliser doesn't suit the grand theories of the pundits, it was well deserved. And to come back from behind against the likes of Spurs away never has been and is certainly not now something to be snorted at.
A couple of things have struck me. The first is that the idea of us being a one man (Henry) team is absurd. But it is true that we still haven't yet brought in someone who we can say is a sufficiently good deputy for him. Don't get me wrong, they don't need to be the same type of player, just a good enough alternative. Hopefully Van Persie can be. I'm also intruiged to see who replaces Dennis in the summer (or before?)
The second point is that the cover issue is not one of Chelsea's being excellent and ours adequate. In fact, our's is inadequate. Midfield reinforcements are a must (so that when we switch things around everyone is not pulled out of position like against Spurs) and so too are a buy each in defence and attack I guess. Bringing in those three players will not give us as excellently backed-up a squad as Chelsea's but I question whether their level of protection is really necessary. While they will always have all 11 positions perfectly filled, if we only have 9 or 10 it probably won't all that much difference in the end. It is when your side is so inbalanced (like against Spurs) that I think it becomes a big problem.
Thought for the day: When was Jens' last mistake?
Updating is a bit fraught at the moment due to a comatose laptop, so sorry for that. In the meantime we have Sparta and Sunderland at home. The latter of which is a must, must, must win game because either Chelsea, United or both will drop points next weekend.
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24/10/05
What story lies behind 'that' penalty?
This is a long post; it’s been that kind of weekend.
I’m now on my third school of thought about what happened and more confused than I was to start with. At first I simply wondered how they could be so stupid at such a crucial point in such a crucial match. Did they realise how agonising it was for the fans? Then I wondered whether these two great artists who have brought us both silverware and exquisite football had endured one of those once in a career cock-ups, the like of which every great band have had with that one appalling single and every great director has had with one shocking film. Should we simply forgive and forget and laugh it off as one bizarre and fortunately uncostly cock-up?
But now I wonder: was it symptomatic of a greater malaise? Could it be that whilst we as fans still yearn desperately to win the European Cup and to catch Chelsea, Pires and Henry see the first as impossible and the second as highly improbable and in any case offering only a reward that would emulate, rather than surpass previous achievements? Do they still have the same drive to succeed for Arsenal? Would Frank Lampard even consider doing anything other than burying the ball from the spot, irrespective of the score? And if the three points were as vital for them as they were for us, how could they contemplate even trying that penalty?
I realise the above paragraph could easily be interpreted as me saying they don’t care. I am definitely not saying that. For a start I am saying the above insinuations are true and in any case, if there has been any loss of drive, I would suggest it has been almost entirely subconscious and in no way deliberate. But whichever way you look at it, I think the above are fair questions that should be asked if we are to understand why such a monumental fuck-up occurred.
And just sticking with penalties for a moment, I’m delighted to see that Thierry Henry says he will be taking them all from now on. It had become absolutely farcical. Not only did we have our top marksman refusing to take penalties he had won for absolutely no obvious reason whatsoever. We also had Dennis refusing to take them following his miss against United over six years ago! Fear of flying is one thing, but a phobia of penalties is another and you get the feeling that in any other walk of life Dennis would have been told to pull himself together and just do it. And to think that yesterday it had got to the stage where we were passing them to each other. Incredible.
Which is also what can be said for getting two penalties off Mike Riley. I haven’t seen any replays of the second one, while the first one could have gone either way. But I will just say that analysing these things in super slow motion is pointless because football is not played in super slow motion. Slowing the play down will always make it look like the attacker has deliberately let himself be fouled. It distorts reality.
At last, the game. Firstly, City were very well organised and are a genuinely decent side. So a win is good. But we’re struggling. A fair part of the problem can be summarised in six words: Flamini, Gilberto, Cesc, Lampard, Essien, Makalele. Our players are good, but we lack a monster in there like Chelsea have and it tells. Eight other words also explain a lot: Van Persie, Senderos, Quincy, Eboue, Robben, Crespo, Gudjohnsen, Ferreira. Arsene didn’t make a single sub. Mourinho introduced first Gudjohnsen, then Robben and then Crespo, all about ten minutes apart. Of course, they didn’t win. But the contrast could not have been bigger.
Arsene is not an idiot: his public buoyancy and confidence in the strength of the squad is surely just a charade that he is obliged to show in an effort to maintain moral. But at heart it must be obvious to him just how blatantly we need to splash the cash.
I’ll finish by saying that Pires and Henry were right to apologise. And that Spurs away is the perfect time to make-up for things by putting in a committed, impassioned performance. And it’s vital they do, because if we’re as slack at White Hart Lane this time as we have been recently, then this time we will lose. And nobody wants that.
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20/10/05
Why Henry's goal at Upton Park was his greatest ever
In the world of footballing top tens, there surely can’t be a more enjoyable experience than picking Thierry Henry’s best goals. I can’t honestly claim to have seen enough of Pele and Maradona to properly judge them. But my suspicion is that if a montage of Thierry Henry goals were shown next to montages of the Brazilian and Argentinian’s best strikes, Henry would not look out of place.
So, at 10…
Chelsea (h) 12/04. At kick-off people said their defence was the immovable object and Thierry Henry didn’t score in big games. Thirty seconds later he had pinged in an unstoppable shot from the edge of the box, leaving Cech rooted to the spot.
at 9…
Bayern Munich (h) 03/05. A strange choice for some perhaps, but for me another brilliant goal against an immovable object. Bayern may have been a defensive shambles in the next round at Chelsea but against us they were tighter than something incredibly tight. After 70 odd minutes, Henry controlled a long ball on the left from Cole, brought it down and hit it instantly across Oliver Khan with complete precision. It was a perfectly executed goal. And it had to be.
At 8…
Manchester City (h) 01/04. This one is also representing the swerver against United later that season. Against City, I was in the North Bank and saw just how much his shot seemed to swerve and yet keep completely straight like an arrow. David James didn’t have a prayer.
At 7…
Sparta Prague (a) 10/05. A very late entrant but very deserving of it’s place. On for six minutes, he controlled the ball on the outside of his foot, swung his whole body through 360 degrees and then fired in a bending shot that beat the goalkeeper in the only part of the net it could have. Almost arrogantly brilliant.
At 6…
Inter Milan (a) 11/03. Broke out from defence, looked to be going nowhere and then made Javier Zanetti look amateurish before slamming home with the left foot. A brilliant goal and the crucial third in a 5-1 win.
At 5…
Spurs (h) 11/02. Very, very special run. He took them all on, cut inside and finished brilliantly. Then he celebrated in serious style in front of the west stand. Magnificent.
At 4…
Charlton (h) 10/04. So good it completely bamboozled the cameraman. I watched this game in a pub in London with one of those dodgy satellites. The commentary was in a foreign language, music was playing in the bar and a lot of people were only half watching. The camera was focused in on Henry as he held the ball with his back to goal about six yards out. Then he backheeled the ball and suddenly wheeled away in delight. The pub was genuinely stunned. Those of us who realised what must have happened looked on in disbelief. When they showed a replay from another angle the reaction from the rest of the pub was one of sheer incredulity. And the more they showed it the more disbelieving the reactions. It didn’t really matter what happened in the rest of the game.
At 3…
Liverpool (h) 04/04. No doubt you’ve heard people say how important this goal was in us winning the title. It was. I was at Highbury that day and 2-1 down at half time there was some serious cigarette smoking going on in the north bank. Within a minute we had equalised thanks to Freddie Ljungberg. But after equalising once and then going behind again, a fair few people feared things were turning against us and we would do it again.
Then Henry picked the ball up on the left. He jinked in, took on a couple of defenders and simply by his presence created sheer panic in the Liverpool defence. So much so that Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher knocked in to each other and fell to the ground comically. Suddenly Henry was through and he finished coolly. The north bank erupted. People who had not lost it since Ray Parlour scored against Valencia found themselves jumping out of their seats. A massive, massive goal and sheer brilliance bore in part out of the complete panic his presence can induce.
At 2…
Manchester United (h) 10/00. Unreal goal. Fed by Grimandi miles out, he chipped it up, spun Gary Neville and in one fired in a volley that dipped and swerved over Barthez into the far corner. Watching at home, all I saw was the ball leave his foot. I thought it was going miles over. Then the Clock End went mad. I had lost the ball in the air. Eventually, I was persuaded it had gone in but was convinced it could only have had it taken the most massive of deflections. Then I saw the replay. One of the goals of goals.
At 1…
West Ham (a) 08/02. You may think this a weird choice. I say the beauty of it has never fully been recognised. Now, don’t get me wrong: were this goal being judged purely on Henry controlling the ball on his knee and hitting an absolute bullet past David James from 30 yards, it would not be anywhere near number one, however great a finish it was. It is the first touch that does it and it is a touch which in my opinion defies the physics of football.
He receives the ball on the right edge of the penalty area from a Vieira pass. He has his back to goal. It is played firmly in to his left foot. Then he takes the crucial touch, which I will come back to in a minute. When he next touches it he has spun 180 degrees so that he is now facing diagonally to goal. His defender has been left bamboozled. The ball lands on what is now Henry’s right knee. Think about what he did with that touch: he took a ball that was coming into his feet and with one touch he looped it up in to the air with his foot. When it fell it was still, incredibly, travelling in the original direction. But he didn’t just lob it into the air, which would have been hard enough.
Instead, he met the ball purposefully with the right hand side of his left boot and somehow spun (not hooked as would have been the case had he used the left hand side of the boot) the ball up in to the air up and over his defender’s head. Had Brazil done it in 1970 I genuinely believe it would be replayed continuously now. Do whatever you can to get a copy of the video and watch that touch because 250 words of mine have failed to do it justice.
And it is for that reason that West Ham away was Thierry Henry’s best Arsenal goal and potentially the greatest I have ever seen.
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19/10/05
Sparta 0 Arsenal 2: Match report, playa ratings and Henry worshipping
The formalities first, then the Henry stuff: Cygan replaced Senderos who had replaced Campbell and Cygan continued in place of the injured Cole. Gilberto returned in midfield in place of Cesc who replaced the injured Ljungberg. The returning Van Persie replaced Bergkamp (something to do with a fear of flying).
We started well, with Cesc having a shot and some promising attacks. Then Reyes went off injured and Arsene went for the brave option of risking Thierry Henry for 70 minutes. Within two minutes he had chested the ball down on the edge of the box and fired what looked like a beaut of a volley that was deflected wide. Then he brought down a through ball from Kolo, spun on the edge of the box and hit the most belle of bending shots with the outside of his right foot. Great goal.
We didn’t do much else for the rest of the half and started the second somewhat sluggishly. Then on 65 we started playing again and within five minutes Pires? had played Henry in with a beautiful ball. He controlled it and still had a fair bit to do to knock it home. 2-0 it finished. A decent enough performance and a great result. Playa ratings to the right.
The goals take Theirry Henry past Ian Wright’s all time Arsenal goal scoring record. We have been fantastically privileged to see him rack up 186 not out and even luckier that so many have been done in such incredible style.
As I walked to work yesterday morning (Tuesday), I went with a bounce in my step. Sometimes you don’t realise what you have til it’s gone and I for one could not wait to see his magnificence return to the pitch.
Of course, there will be those Arsenal fans who will bemoan his unwillingness to commit to the club in his post match interview. That kind of reaction is absolute bollocks in my view. It is quite obvious he is not going to come out and commit to the club just like that because the fact is he is considering leaving. He is 28, has achieved a massive amount, probably fears somewhat about the destination we are headed towards and feels he may want to try and conquer Spain before he retires. People ask for him to be honest. He is. By saying what he is saying he is making it perfectly clear things are up in the air.
Do people want him to say he wants to go? What good would that do? The fact is that when he says he is focused on his football at the moment, that is the truth and that is what he showed us tonight. What is wrong with him kissing the badge if he puts in great performances? Kissing the badge is a sign that your heart is in to what you are doing. And who could argue that his heart wasn’t in tonight’s performance?
Of course we don’t want him to leave on a Bosman. But if he leaves, he leaves. We have been absurdly lucky to have not only one of the best, but one of the most consistent players in the world between the ages of 22 and 28 in his career. If he wants to move then so be it. I would wish him all the best.
Of course, I desperately want him to sign a new contract. But let us be grown up about this. He is doing nothing wrong. The best we can do is get behind him (the fans were great tonight), get behind the team at Highbury (we can do a lot better) and hope Arsene can bring in the players and the team achieve the success that will allow Thierry Henry to stay.
I have no inside knowledge on the issue of his contract, but my hunch would be that things are not a lot more complicated than Thierry fearing (quite justifiably) that the standard of the squad is slipping and that we look less likely to achieve the success (particularly in Europe) that he so craves.
We shall see what happens, but in the meantime let’s celebrate his achievement and leave the worrying for another time. I have written enough now, so won’t reveal my favourite Henry goal now, but you can reveal yours below.
ps: he seemed pretty happy to me when he broke the record.
...
16/10/05
West Brom 2 Arsenal 1: Report + playa ratings. Grim.
Arsene Wenger has never suffered the indignity of losing to a lower division team as Arsenal manager, but it is hard to believe that the disappointment could be any greater than that experienced after today’s loss at West Brom.
In 45 minutes, our emotions went from genuine hope that things could be turning our way (we were winning and Chelsea were losing) to the sheer grimness of seeing us somehow lose and them come back to win 5-1.
In short, we took an early lead when Senderos hooked home a deep Reyes corner. We were completely dominant, they were crap. We sat back. They equalised after a feeble Pires attempt to block a cross, a poor header from Senderos and terrible marking of Kanu. Of all people, the man renowned for taking 10 touches when two will do, had time to control the ball, compose himself and then fire off an (impressive) shot past the helpless Lehman. It was a shocker of a goal.
In the 2nd half we eventually rallied around the hour mark and though we had a couple of chances (Toure, Reyes, Bergkamp) things were in no way urgent enough. We probably should have had a penalty for a foul on Reyes, but he wasn’t in a scoring position so I’m not going to complain. It would, however, be nice to see referees decide whether a foul should be given not based on where the incident happens on the pitch but on the incident itself. And if this means the law needs to be reformed so that minor fouls in non-threatening positions in the area do not warrant a spot-kick then so be it. We need consistency.
Anyway, they then scored a cracker out of absolutely nothing. We huffed but got nowhere. Immensely disappointing and all the more so when you are watching the game in the corner of a bar while in other corners Chelsea, United, Liverpool and Spurs fans are all celebrating goals going in. The upshot of all this is that the table does not look good. In fact I don’t even want to see it. All I know is we’re 14 points behind Chelsea having dropped 11 to their none.
But the main discussion must be about the performance. We started with a very youthful team containing Senderos, Clichy, Reyes, Flamini, Cesc and for much of the game Eboue too after Fred went off. We were without Cole, Campbell, Gilberto, Van Persie, Henry, Hleb and then Ljungberg. That would be a big miss to any squad, all the more so to ours.
So perhaps that excuses things. Or perhaps it doesn’t. The Everton and Man City sides that a far less experienced Arsenal dispatched from last season’s League Cup were miles better than the carthorses West Brom served up today. We could and should have easily won this game.
The problem is that the fact we are not at our most fluent at the moment should mean every playa is giving 120% so that effort alone can get us through. But that is not the case. We were leaden footed and lethargic today. Really, I would say that excluding the hard to appraise Lehman, only Reyes and perhaps Senderos and Toure did themselves justice out there today. Not everything may be coming off for Reyes, but he keeps plugging away and chasing everything.
The same is not true for the others. Pires is the worst culprit. His effort at times is frankly lamentable. I can just about excuse him pulling out of tackles because he is worried about his knee but he has no excuse for not doing everything humanly possible to block crosses.
We are clearly lacking really good cover right through the spine of the team (a defender, midfielder and striker are all needed). But we also have to roll our sleeves up and not commit the immortal sin of taking our foot off the pedal just because our opponents are crap.
It is going to take a miraculous recovery for us to challenge for the league now. We need our genuinely rotten luck with injuries to turn, new playas and better performances.
One final point about today’s referee and the one minute 55 seconds of injury time he added on. Now don’t get me wrong, I loathe it when managers squabble over every few seconds. My theory is normally if you don’t score in 90 then you probably won’t score in 94. But today was just some kind of complete joke. We had an injury a minute from time that lasted about one minute 40 seconds, we had four second half subs, three of which were incredibly slow West Brom ones, we had one of the longest and deliberately stalling goal celebrations ever and we had them wasting time every time they got a free-kick or goal kick, even when it was 1-1.
By adding on just two minutes the referee has completely indulged that negativity (which I accept Arsenal have been guilty of in the past). It was a complete joke.
...
09/10/05
Football returns next week
Do you get very bored of England games after 60 minutes? Do you have to tell yourself to try to be happy when England score? And does part of you secretly will the opposition to knock one past ‘us’?
Answer: Yes, yes and yes.
My conclusion is that Sven would get double the amount of stick if the thought of writing about England wasn’t so boring. In fact, I’ve had enough. I’m so bored I can’t be stuffed to write any more about England.
But I will say a few words about my good friends at FIFA. Presumably David Beckham’s red card will stand, despite his 2nd booking being a blatant dive.
It will stand because under FIFA’s own half witted rules, appeals are only allowed in cases of mistaken identity. I don’t give a stuff about Beckham, but I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: this is the most inept rule I have ever seen.
England have been wrongly deprived of a playa for 30 minutes because of an opposition player’s connivance. And then to compound the problem, they will ban him for no other reason than that they have invented a stupid rule that says he must be banned.
For some reason, this rule pisses me off big time. It is the height of bullshit in a game overflowing with the stuff. The only bans being handed out should be for the half wits who invented this rule and are now pressuring the Premiership to take it up.
The only saving grace is that these things have a way of hitting people back in the face. How I will laugh if the brilliant Ronaldinho is sent-off in next year’s World Cup semi-final for handling on the line when the ball clearly hit his chest. Of course, my scorn will not be directed at the unfortunate Brazilian. Instead it will be at the FIFA bigwigs who will have seen their showpiece player miss their showpiece game because of their own arrogant, farcical rules.
Football returns next week.
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021005
Arsenal 1 Birmingham 0 - half a report
Well, I only saw the second half (hence no playa ratings). From the sounds of it we created a fair bit in the first half and as well as missing a penalty we could have had a hatful.
The second half seemed a very flat affair. Maik Taylor made great saves early on from Pires and Ljungberg and then we seemed to lose any great degree of urgency. In the end, Van Persie’s not brilliantly hit shot deflected off a defender and beat the excellent Taylor. We held on, though not with any great style.
We looked lethargic in the latter stages. From what I saw Campbell, Toure and Cole looked good enough. Reyes is playing with brilliant enthusiasm and desire. The rest of them don’t look lazy by any means but if you compare us with Chelsea at the moment, is the same unswerving desire there? I’m not so sure.
It needs to be.
And the crowd can play their part too. Apologies if the SKY sound system did Highbury a disservice, but the ground sounded embarrassingly silent today. The players are human beings like the rest of us and they thrive on the support of the crowd like you and I would. So, if you’re lucky enough to be at Highbury, sing.
Chelsea won 4-1 this afternoon and looked good, albeit against what is a pretty poor Liverpool league side. The Kop were singing louder in the 89th minute than anything Highbury managed today.
On site news, I’ve gone back to the old design but with the new logo following a public outcry. Not sure about what should go in the space on the left though, as the Latest Updates column was pointless and time consuming to update.
Finally, a question for any readers who live in Dublin or anywhere else in the Republic of Ireland. I need to get internet access at my new flat for 3 months. Are there any broadband companies who don’t insist on you signing up for 12 months? And what is the best dial-up?
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Archives: July 2005, June 2005, May 2005, April 2005,March 2005, February 2005, January 2005, December 2004 and the embryonic goodplaya.
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Playa ratings:
v West Ham (2-3) - NEW
Lehman: An absolute idiot for stupidly getting involved with Harewood late on. Not only was it nasty, but he could have been sent-off and he also put us out of our stride. A minute later West Ham made it 3-1. He’s a very good goalkeeper but an arrogant, nasty character and an embarrassment when he behaves like that. 4
Gilbert: Looked to be doing fine until the Arsenal full-back curse struck. 6
Djorou: Individually did well, but understandably hasn’t been able to strike up any kind of partnership with Campbell yet. 6
Campbell: What can you say? Two massive errors that were punished to the max. Things just aren’t going his way at all. 4
Senderos: Obviously doesn’t offer the attacking prowess of Cole or Clichy but he looked solid and his distribution to Pires was fairly impressive. Did fine at centre-back in the second half but should have whacked it out instead of passing to Larsson for the mistake that led to the third goal. 5
Gilberto: He’s not great at the moment. Far too passive for my liking. 5
Diaby: Still raw, but I like him. And he is so like Vieira: even his mistakes remind me of Vieira’s shortcomings. Not sure why he was taken off. 7
Ljungberg: You have to laugh at the way he somehow managed to deflect Henry’s shot wide. Is trying really hard and not actually playing badly at all. But nothing is going his way. 7
Pires: I do feel we need players with greater bite than Pires at the moment. But in fairness, he was involved, scored one, set-up the other one for Henry and saw Hislop deny him with a great save. 6
Henry: Hard to judge. Seemed to have a decent enough game on TV but reports from the game were critical. 6
Van Persie: Unlucky. Offered a lot but nothing went his way. 7
Subs:
Flamini: Brought on as an emergency right-back but did pretty well all things considered. Say what you like about Flamini but he’s a fighter who unlike some of his team-mates will never be found lacking for effort. 7
Larsson: Yes, he made the cock-up for the third goal. But it was typical of our rough justice. Other than that he was excellent: committed in the tackle, full of running in attack and crucially he understands the value of hitting long-balls diagonally, as opposed to completely straight. Which is something some of his team-mates could do with taking note of. 7
Dennis: Not normally much of a substitute, but he found himself a good niche on the right of midfield and offered us extra creativity. Well hit volley to set up Pires’ goal. 6
v Sparta Prague (0-2)
Lehmann: Solid enough game. He’s doing well at the moment. 7
Clichy: Bit of a nightmare really, though to be fair their right winger was their best playa. 5
Cygan: Surprisingly assured. 7
Kolo: Looked fairly good most of the time. 7
Lauren: The odd moment of strangeness. 6.5
Flamini: Was hard to judge the midfielders tonight. Seemed to do the normal without being mega effective. 6.5
Gilberto: One of those Gilberto games where you don’t really know how he has played. 6.5
Fabregas: Got fairly involved and offered threat down the right. 7
Pires: Not his best game by any means but still one of his better ones this season. Magnificent ball for the second goal. 7
Van Persie: Seems to get carded in Europe for the most ridiculous things. Did alright without having much effect. 6.5
Reyes: Full of running til he got injured and wasn’t running at all. 6.5
Subs:
Henry (for Reyes 17ish): Emperor-like as he beat Wrighty’s record. Magnificent playa who, had he not scored, would have been accused of going missing in another big game. But because he did score, it won’t count as a big game. 8.5
Eboue (for Van Persie 70ish): Looking ok at the moment. 6.5
Quincy (for Cesc 85ish): Full of running. 6.5
v West Brom (2-1)
Lehmann: Blameless for goals. 6
Lauren: Not particularly composed. 5.5
Clichy: Has had far better games. 5.5
Senderos: Good goal, messy header for theirs. 6
Toure: Ok but ridiculously offside at one free kick. 5.5
Flamini: Ok but uninspiring. 5.5
Cesc: Decent. Kept trying. 6
Pires: Crap. 4.5
Ljungberg: Ok while he was on. 5.5
Reyes: Still running his heart out. 7
Bergkamp: A moany kind of day. 5.5
Subs:
Eboue (for Ljungberg 35ish): Not great. 5.5
Quincy (for Flamini 80ish): Bizarrely decided what Arsenal lack is left-wingers. 5.5
v Everton (2-0)
Jens: Very little to do. Did it all right. 7
Lauren: Occasionally seemed to imagine he had more pace than he does, which was quite amusing as he tried to take people on. Solid as usual. 7
Cole: As someone who gave him a good bashing over the summer it would suit by agenda to say he is playing poorly. But that would be a lie. Whatever the reasons for it, he has started the season well and in attack in particular is offering a lot. 7.5
Toure: Nothing to do at the back and seemed to enjoy getting in on this whole new set-piece malarkey. 7
Campbell: Two excellent headers, especially the second one which was a real hammer. Not at full speed yet but looked good, organised the defence well, shouted at people and seemed to realise he was our most senior player on the pitch. 8
Pires: Hadn’t done all that much in the brief period he was on the pitch before Gary Neville’s shit younger brother’s tackle forced him off. 6.5
Cesc: One friend said to me he is looking lightweight and giving the ball away too much. Maybe. But I think he does a lot of good stuff and his presence in the opponent’s penalty box is valuable. 7
Gilberto: Solid game, got through a fair amount and gave us a couple of those rare Gilberto moments where for a few seconds he stops looking like he is suspended in perpetual slow motion and instead provides us with raw Brazilian skill. 7
Ljungberg: Started slowly but furrowed hard as ever. Seemed to make a real determination to either stick wide out on the wing or else very deliberately come inside as opposed to just being narrow. I think it worked. Unlucky to hit bar in second half. 7
Van Persie: Hit the post with a nice effort (right footed!) and had some decent moments but was otherwise a bit subdued. Has been a fairly rough few weeks and is probably still feeling his way back in to things. 6.5
Reyes: Loses the ball now and then but that is only because he constantly seems to have it. Boundless energy at the moment, great creativity and fantastic balls into the box. Really was amazing how much of the ball he had tonight. 8
Subs:
Hleb (for Pires first half some time): Played pretty well, looked pretty creative and linked up well with Cole. Playing better than Pires. 7
Dennis (for Van Persie 80ish): Did alright. Created a bit of stuff. Didn’t do anything of note. 6.5
Alex Song (for Reyes 87ish): Made a couple of sloppy passes but it was harsh and exaggerated for Alan Smith to say he hadn’t found a man. 6
v Thun (2-1)
Almunia: Probably not to blame on the goal and handling was ok even though he still catches very strangely.6
Lauren: Did the usual Lauren stuff. Fairly well. 6.5
Cole: Thought he was good today. Clean at the back and contributed well going forward. Perhaps he enjoyed having Pires back in front of him. 7
Toure: Seemed ok. Can’t remember too much else.6.5
Sol: Looking a little chunky but it must be good to have him back.6.5
Cesc: Not his most spectacular game but made a couple of decent runs forward and made one particularly delicious pass in the second half.6.5
Gilberto: Very well taken goal and was more involved tonight than normally. An experienced head 7.5
Pires: By no means at his best but infinitely better than the past few games. Got in an early curler that almost flew in and was generally far more involved. Even tried to tackle twice. Neither attempt worked.. 7
Ljungberg. Svavanged without achieving much.6.5
RVP: Had been easing himself back into first team action when the dick head referee struck. 6.5
Reyes: Excellent, his boundless enthusiasm drove the team on and he looked really dangerous at times and caused Thun more problems than anyone else. 8
Subs:
Dennis (for Cesc 70 odd): Is that his first goal as a sub? Took it well. 7
Hleb (for Reyes 80 odd): Didn’t really find his touch in the ten minutes he had.6
Quincy (for Ljungberg 80 odd): Offered a new threat.6.5
v Fulham (4-1)
Lehman: Looking very solid at the moment. You can tell it by the fact he is not making kicking mistakes at the moment. At tricky moments, his handling from corners was excellent.7
Lauren: Missed a penalty, but that was bound to happen one day and at least it didn’t matter. Otherwise, he played well and looked particularly committed (mostly in the right sense) in the tackle. 7
Cole: His best attacking display for a while and linked up promisingly with Reyes. 7.5
Cygan: I’ve made no secret of the fact that his presence in the team pleases me not. Defending was ok tonight, though a couple of times Fulham forwards worryingly escaped him when crosses were slung in. Took his goals very well. Could it be that unlike the rest of the side Cygan does not feel obligated to score the perfect goal and concentrates on just sticking it in the net?7.5
Kolo: Poor clearance for the Fulham goal but on the whole had a decent game. The defensive issues we have at the moment seem more a collective than individual problem. 7
Cesc: Gets a wee bit overrun occasionally but on the whole is playing really well and in particular offers a genuine attacking threat in the way that perhaps Vieira sometime failed to. 7
Gilberto: Did what Gilberto does. Still sometimes resembles one of those video graphic created dinosaurs in the way he moves. 7
Hleb: Good first half, creating a fair deal and generally looking like a cross between Pires and Ljungberg (in the best sense). 7
Reyes: A very good game in my opinion, full of running, full of trickery and very direct. In particular, he linked up very well with Cole and Henry, which was very pleasing. His ball for Henry’s first goal was majestic and pleasingly the two seemed on the same wavelength tonight. 8
Dennis: Besides his idiotic yellow card he had a great game and was at the heart of Fulham’s dissection. Kept going strong right to the end. 8
Henry: Took his two goals, which both came at crucial times, very well. Just one more to equal Wright’s record. 7.5
Subs:
Flamini (for Reyes 75 odd): Set up Henry for the killer third goal. 7
Clichy (for Hleb 85 odd): Ran around like mad, as Clichy does. 7
v Liverpool (3-1)
Lehman: Two really good saves – the first from Riise and the second from Gerard’s piledriver. Flapped at one cross but all it served to do was to remind us how much he has improved. 7.5
Lauren: Did very well, almost scoring from Pires’ cross in the first half and setting up the third goal with some nice play. Is doing well at the moment, perhaps spurred on by Wenger not mentioning right back when saying which areas he doesn’t need to strengthen over the summer! 7.5
Cole: A mixed game. Good going forward and times and obviously an excellent second half block from Garcia. But also occasionally sloppy, messing up things we know him well capable of doing. 6.5
Senderos: A big presence at the heart of the defence he had one of his sternest tests in an Arsenal shirt when Liverpool got at us in the second half. Did pretty well on the whole though, especially as protection from midfield was not always forthcoming. 7
Kolo: A good solid outing and the same goes for him as for Senderos. 7
Vieira: Did some stuff really well and was very influential in our first half attacking play. But I felt he allowed the midfield to be too easily swamped after the break and was not always applying the pressure to Liverpool that he might have done. 7
Gilberto: It goes without saying that evaluating a Gilberto performance is very, very difficult. That said, I felt that like Vieira he could have offered a bit more bite in midfield to help out the defence in the second half. 6.5
Pires: Really was at the heart of some of our best stuff in the first half. Crossed brilliantly for Lauren to almost score, shot just wide and then scored with a magnificent free-kick. Faded later on. 7.5
Cesc: Absolutely outstanding. He set the move in motion for Reyes’ offside goal, fired just wide from 20 yards, scored his own offside goal and then added a very neat third for us in stoppage time. In between this he ran the game, tackling, running with the ball, passing brilliantly and generally looking the best player on the park. Outstanding. 9
Reyes: Not perfect, but he notched up another well taken goal, scored an offside one and ran his heart out for the cause in the second half. 7.5
Van Persie: Not as involved as he has been but got involved and put over one excellent early cross for Robert Pires. Generally looking a much better player than previously. 7
Subs:
Edu (for Pires 70 odd): Came on and did ok. 6.5
Bergkamp (for Van Persie 70 odd): Set up Fabregas for the third with a fantastic flick but was otherwise pretty poor. When he did try and press Liverpool he gave away a few free-kicks and the rest of the time he just didn’t seem to chase them at a time when we really needed players to get stuck in. I know he is still capable of the odd piece of magic but we probably have enough to our attacking armoury that magic alone should not prompt a new contract. We have shown we are capable of winning without Dennis and should probably now look to the future. 6
Aliadiere (for Reyes 85): As ever he came on and got stuck in, chasing everything and hassling the Liverpool defenders. Has a really good attitude and probably deserves more than five minutes at some point. 6.5
v West Brom (2-0)
Lehman: The defence clearly trusts him again and he is reciprocating that with improved handling, kicking and decision making. 7
Lauren: Worked reasonably hard and got forward on a few occasions. 7
Cole: Looked a little lethargic at times but kept going and finished the game strongly, setting us on a number of attacks. 6.5
Senderos: A couple of passes went astray but took a no nonsence defence to defending. Far be it for me to argue with his current record of not conceding a goal for absolutely yonks. 7.5
Gilberto: Covered well at set pieces, but with Arsenal in 2nd gear he seemed only to happy to make sure Gilberto was in 2nd gear too. Not much drive. 6.5
Vieira: Committed silly fouls early on and was not finding his passes. Got better as the game went on and provided more drive. Symbolic of our night. 7
Pires: Did ok initially but like the rest of them lacked the necessary drive. Got better with the team. 7
Cesc: Probably not his best game. Came looking for the ball a lot and should be credited for it but looked a little fatigued when challenged. 6.5
Van Persie: Did ok initially but was not really receiving a lot of support from the midfield. Took his goal magnificently. 7
Reyes: Ran hard but once again looked incredibly left footed. But gave an excellent assist for the opening goal and kept on trying right til the end, providing useful relief for the defence. 7
Subs:
Dennis (for Van Persie 75ish): Did little except provide a measured set-up for Edu's clincher. 6.5
Edu (for Cesc 75ish): Got involved a bit and finished well to clinch it. 7
v Spurs (1-0)
Lehman: Is playing very well and his handling looks as assured as ever, his throws good and his kicking far better than earlier in the season. I think it no great secret that he needs to control his temper. 7
Lauren: Has looked solid in recent weeks and looked more lively going forward. Alan Curbishley put him in his team of the season on the basis that few wingers get much change out of him. And he is probably right. Really does need to watch stray elbows though, intentional or not. 7
Toure: Was given a little trouble by Defoe but it was less trouble than Adi Akenbai gave him in the FA Cup in January. And Defoe is clearly a far better player than the Stoke man. Will soon score a very, very memorable free-kick I sense. 7
Senderos: It is hard to argue with his defensive record since he came into the side. We have simply stopped conceding goals. That said, what are the odds that back when we were conceding at will, Robbie Keane would have buried that chance. Could have got first goal for club with header. 7
Cole: Linked up well as ever with Pires down our left hand side and seemed really up for the fight. Had the slightly awkward penalty shout against him at the end but otherwise did well. 7
Vieira: With the ball he was excellent on the whole, spreading play at pace and helping support those ahead of him. Looks much more comfortable with Gilberto next to him. Though that said they both looked half a step off the pace at times against a Spurs side full of running. 7
Gilberto: Did what Gilberto does well. Though probably not as much of a shield as against Chelsea. 7
Cesc: Tired a little in the second half but was his usual youthful magnificence until then. Spread the ball with ease, got stuck in, helped out the attack and set up our goal. Nice. 7.5
Pires: Not the force he was against Chelsea but is playing well at the moment, linking up well with Cole down the left and generally providing an experienced head in an otherwise youthful attack. 7
Van Persie: Set Reyes up for the first minute chance, fired a decent effort wide and generally played quite a mature game without hitting great heights. 7
Reyes: Did very well to come back after the first minute miss. Goal was excellent and attitude looked good. Seemed to find an extra gear for second half run that set up Dennis. 7.5
Subs:
Dennis (for Van Persie 70 odd): Curled one wide and generally looked quite good against a tiring Spurs defence. There was the odd occasion when I felt he let the player pass him to quickly but that was probably just my last minute nerves. 7
Edu (for Cesc 70 odd): Hit the post with a curling effort and slotted in very, very neatly on the left. Will be a great shame to lose him if he does eventually go. 7
Aliadiere (for Van Persie 87 odd): Only had a few minutes but looked really keen to impress. Had a couple of good touches, got stuck in and made tired Spurs legs panic, buying us valuable time. 7
v Chelsea (0-0)
Lehman: Has looked much better recently and besides the odd dodgy kick, looked very solid against Chelsea and made one excellent save early on from Drogba. His positioning seemed good on through balls. 7
Lauren: He really didn’t put a foot wrong and kept Damien Duff and probably had his best game for the club against a very, very tricky opponent. Was ferocious and fair in the tackle. 8
Cole: After a slightly tentative start he threw himself at everything Chelsea chucked at us. Whatever people’s feelings about his current situation, there can be no complaints about his performance. 7
Senderos: Excellent as usual. This guy likes clean sheets. 7
Toure: Really did well in what could have been a tricky night. Got weight on his clearances and never panicked. 7
Vieira: It really doesn’t take a genius to figure out how much he seems to be enjoying having Gilberto back in the side. Really led the side again with fine interventions and set us on the path to attack – such as when Pires hit the bar. 7.5
Gilberto: Suffered a couple of inevitable nosebleeds when he got into decent positions going forward but otherwise did a fine job of snaffling out what Chelsea threw at us and generally making the team a slick unit. Showed one or two fine turns as well. 7
Cesc: This kid really does defy logic. At a time when his brittle bones should be feeling the effects of a long, hard season he is looking stronger than ever. Magnificently composed on the ball, he worked furiously in defence, midfield and attack. 8
Pires: His early volley that hit the bar reminded me of when I stood in the Holte End last year for Villa v Arsenal and he hit an even better effort that was turned just over. Even the anti-French bigots around me were shut well and truly up.
There is a wonderful magnificence about watching Robert Pires on song. He caresses the ball delightfully and when it’s time to move it on he does it with the utmost precision. A joy to watch and unlucky not to score twice. 9
Reyes: The story of his last 6 months – no problem with effort but he just lacks the confidence to make things really happen. The annoying thing is that he’s making errors on things that a confident Reyes could do with his eyes shut. Let’s hope his effort is rewarded soon. 6
Bergkamp: Like Reyes he worked hard and did his bit to keep Chelsea at bay. But also like Reyes he found himself struggling up front. The curtain appears to be falling on his magnificent career. Hopefully an announcement will be made soon and both we and Dennis can enjoy his final games. 6
Subs:
Van Persie (for Dennis 80 odd): Struggled to get into the game but had a few decent chances and ran hard for the side.
Aliadiere (for Cesc 85 odd): Did alright but by the time he came on it didn’t look like either side were really going to score.
v Boro (1-0)
Lehman: Flapped at one cross in the first half and then came ridiculously far out of his goal before eventually winning the ball. Yes, he’s kept a fair few clean sheets recently and yes, it’s even true we could win the league again with him in goal, but no, we won’t win in Europe with Jens and no, he’s not the answer. 6
Lauren: His early challenge, whilst not worthy of a red card as suggested on Match of the Day, was sheer stupidity. He did alright and he’s plodding along but not really getting any better. 6
Cole: Attacked decently at times but wasn’t helped by a very, very ineffectual Robert Pires. 6.5
Senderos: Now looks like he should be partnering Sol Campbell when the two are fit. Authoritative, big and commanding, his presence has coincided with a string of clean sheets. Still has rough edges, but these are being shaved all the time. 7
Kolo: Did reasonably well and made a couple of important blocks, but I’m not convinced his future lies in the heart of the defence. Together, he and Lauren sometimes seem to bring out the worst in each other and we just don’t look solid, clean sheets or no clean sheets. Would like to see him at right back. 6.5
Gilberto: I looked out especially for incidences of him filling gaps and yes, I can confirm it happens and he does his job well. Still looks very nervous in attacking positions, but his presence is welcome. 6
Vieira: I thought he did reasonably well, though like the rest of the players he seemed to have trouble bringing any great coherency to our play. 6
Cesc: I plumped for Cesc on the right a while ago and I like seeing him there. He got well forward and was always involved. Looks tired, but it’s been a long old season and he’s still, only 17. 6.5
Pires: I thought him absolute rubbish up until he scored really. His inability to tackle has been documented many times before, but on Saturday he seemed to be playing the whole game at walking pace. But then who better is there at converting the one chance he gets to secure a 1-0 lead. 6
Reyes: Things still aren’t all coming off for him but I sense things are getting better and his work rate and willingness to track back really can’t be faulted. We know for a fact that the boy has the talent to succeed, so while he may not be showing what he’s really capable of right now, we should applaud his recent application. Had a couple of really mazy runs and set up Henry excellently for a shot he scuffed. 7
Henry: Had one of those games where he seemed to stand almost still on the edge of the box, conserving his energy and waiting to pounce. It didn’t really work, though he did have a glorious chip fly just wide and certainly scared the Boro fans every time he got the ball. He was also up against an obdurate Boro. 6.5
Subs:
Dennis (Reyes 46): Did alright without really changing the game at all. It seems the curtain may be falling on his illustrious career and reluctantly, I think it right. We know he can still play brilliantly in patches but the truth is that it’s becoming less often and it’s hampering us in European away games. We need someone to step forward and become Henry’s partner. Sometimes the bullet needs to be bitten. And now is that time. 6
v Palace (5-1)
Jens: It’s tempting to say that the early back pass cock-up could just as easily have happened to Petr Cech but in truth that would be a lie. He’s simply too cocky and over confident with his kicking – it’s why so many balls get sliced wildly and why we almost conceded a shambolic own goal tonight. Otherwise, he actually did quite well. 6.5
Lauren: Is definitely becoming a better player going forward but was as culpable as anyone for our defensive malaise. 6
Cygan: Didn’t have an awful game but on too many occasions simple long balls forward by Palace became much more serious than they needed to be. 6
Kolo: Got skinned more often than he would have liked and was caught out at times from crosses. But still, we only conceded one. 6.5
Clichy: Did well getting forward, causing a constant menace. Defending was largely competent but seemed to be infected by the general defensive tendency to give the ball away. 6.5
Vieira: Another tricky game to rate from the captain. At times he was sluggish and easily caught in possession. At others, he took a grip on the game and drove the team forward impressively. Got well forward for his goal. 7
Edu: Didn’t have the sudden impact he enjoyed at Villa last week but did well enough and certainly gave us a fair bit of solidity. Good ball to Reyes for the opener. 7
Pires: Seemed to be rewriting the dictionary definition of anonymous for the first 20 or so minutes. Then got more into the game without coming close to hitting top gear. Was unlucky to hit the post in the 2nd half after good work from Reyes. 7
Reyes: His best game in yonks. He looked fearless again, running constantly at the Palace defence and causing a lot of trouble. Good assist for the first, great finish for the second, an assist for the third and a fantastic pass to Dennis to set up the fifth. Great to see him back again. 8.5
Dennis: As ever, he oiled, moulded and sculpted our performance. He also took his goal very well, like he did against Newcastle and United too. And set up Henry for the fifth. 7.5
Henry: Really played very, very well and channelled any frustration about constant offside decisions in exactly the right way. Had seemingly boundless energy to chase back lost causes and put us back on the attack. 8.5
Subs:
Flamini (for Edu 60odd): Solid and composed as ever. 7
Van Persie (for Dennis 80odd): Linked up reasonably well as the game entered its final stages. 7
Fabregas (for Pires 80odd): Settled in comfortably on the right. 7
v Wolves (2-0)
Jens: Whilst a clean sheet is a clean sheet, he had very little to do and looked no more reassuring than previously with his kicking. To be fair, he was also played a high number of over hit back passes today and was not at fault for the one from Flamini that took a wicked bobble off the Highbury surface (which appeared unusually cut-up).6.5
Eboue: Got forward well, hit the bar with a deflected shot and could have had a penalty. Nice work. 8
Clichy: Decent game without being exceptional.7
Sol: Not a lot to do. 7
Cygan: Better than usual. 8
Paddy: Mediocre for much of it truth be told. Got better later on and scored the penalty but for too long his mind didn’t seem in the right place. Sure, Wolves made it difficult by crowding midfield but too often he seemed semi asleep at throw ins and the like. Still, he kept going. 6.5
Flamini: Didn’t show the deftness of touch of the Newcastle game but retained all his normal solidity. And great as Ray Parlour was, watching Boro at the moment suggests that we’ve got an as good, if not better, replacement. 7
Reyes: A couple of good runs, some moments of anonymity and denied a stonewall penalty. Still getting back to form but it definitely seems better than a few weeks ago. 6.5
Freddie: Usual energetic performance without any stand out moments, save his well taken goal. That’s ten for the season now and we’re still in January. Good work Sir. 7
Van Persie: Not his most inspiring game and clearly doesn’t yet have the positional ability of Dennis (who does?) but is improving. 6.5
Henry: Gallic. Went into one of his moods after Riley ruled out his cheeky first half effort. Strutted around for a while, went in for a couple of silly tackles and became frankly self indulgently petulant when a foul was given against him. It’s alright for us to loathe Riley endlessly but our top striker shouldn’t let him affect his game. And the fact is he did. But recovered his composure, was unlucky not to score and set up Freddie in superb fashion. 8
Subs:
Cesc (for Van Persie): Settled in comfortably on the right. 7
Pires (for Reyes): Nice work for the clinching goal. 7
Quincy (for Fred): No time to make an impression.
v Charlton (3-1)
Alumnia: No chance with the goal and didn’t do too much wrong besides one poor fumble from a cross. Still not convinced by his catching techniques. No difficult saves to make6.5
Hoyte: Made the odd error but did well to make sure his old youth team buddy Jerome Thomas had his quietest game in weeks. Managed to get forward a bit more in the second half.7.5
Cole: Still not looking at his best and on a couple of occasions was embarrassed by Rommedahl. But in fairness he wasn’t as sloppy as recently and did get forward well later on. 6.5
Sol: With the exception of one wildly sliced clearance in the first half that Almunia had to save he looked pretty solid and kept Charlton’s clear chances to a minimum. Let’s hope his ankle isn’t too bad. 7
Kolo: Given a bit of grief by Bartlett in the air but stuck to his task well and like Campbell, restricted the number of clear cut chances. 7
Vieira: Watching the game live, I was unconvinced by his first half performance. But having just seen the highlights it seems he got through a lot of work and did what he had to do neatly and efficiently. Set up Fred well for the goal and kept up a good level of performance all the way through.7
Cesc: Lost the odd ball but was generally very sound. Passing was clean and crisp as ever and his touch for the second goal was exquisite by any standards.7.5
Freddie: Took his two goals brilliantly, worked hard and always looked a threat. In good form. 8
Clichy: Seemed to lose the ball cheaply a bit too often but worked hard down the left helping Cole out with nullifying the threat of Rohmedahl and getting forward well. Has tremendous energy which comes in handy at the end of games when opposition players tire.6.5
Henry: Not at his best today but more worrying than the actual performance was the fact that his normal fitness wasn’t there. Had a lovely free-kick cleared off the line.6.5
Van Persie: Still has a tendency to twist and turn once too often. But also holds the ball up brilliantly, moves it well and finished superbly for the third. Should probably be given a real run up front next to Henry. Took his goal like a striker, which is disconcerting coming from an Arsenal player.7.5
Subs:
Pires (for Van Persie 72ish): With the game won he wisely didn’t over exert himself ahead of Man City on Tuesday night. 6.5
Senderos (for Campbell 82ish): Slotted in well on his Premiership debut.7
Pennant (for Fred 86): Didn’t have time to get into the game. 7
v Newcastle (1-0)
Almunia: Our star man tonight. A smart early save from Ameobi (even if it was probably going wide) and excellent handling all night gave us one less worry. Four clean sheets in five and he also kicks a fair bit better than Jens.7
Lauren: Though Lauren Robert didn’t reach anything like his best, I’m not sure whether too much credit should go to Lauren. His positioning often seemed weak, his passing and tackling little better and he offered almost nothing in attack. Mr Average was distinctly poor. 5.5
Cole: Whilst there’s no shame in being given a tough time of things by Craig Bellamy, Cole’s performance was noticeably worse than just a torrid time. He made stupid, unnecessary fouls, got caught out when he should normally have had enough pace and looked very, very shaky. He may have been pushed a touch for the penalty incident, but a defender with his mind fully on the job wouldn’t have allowed the ball to hit him as blatantly as it did. In mitigation he did improve and unlike Lauren provided some attacking threat. 5.5
Kolo: Did alright but like the others his decision making didn’t always seem to be the best informed. That said, it’s a little harsh to chastise a central defender who has kept four clean sheets in five. 6.5
Sol: Urgh. After some very sound recent performances he seemed far too troubled by what looked like some relatively simple long balls. One such error allowed Ameobi in for his early chance and his lack of authority always made the long ball route look like a wise one for Newcastle to take. 6
Flamini: Not his best game for Arsenal but he still got through a lot of work, kept things simple and had a hand in setting up Vieira for the goal. 6.5
Vieira: Named man of the match by SKY and praised in a couple of papers, but I’m going to be honest and say that up until he scored I thought he was pretty useless, being caught in possession too often. That said in the second half he got through a fair bit of work as we ground out victory. 6.5
Fred: Beavered away, had some good moments and kept on trying. Was going to commend him for his work on a couple of occasions in particular but can’t now remember what they were. 7
Pires: Even by his standards, his tackling was poor today. Truth be told, I can’t fathom how he’s allowed to defend with his body constantly side on to the play. As a left winger he has defensive responsibilities and simply has to make a better fist of it. On the attacking front he was probably our most creative player, moving the ball smartly and at pace. 6
Van Persie: Still very, very raw. Unlucky not to score in the opening minutes and had a couple more decent efforts but all too frequently ran into trouble and lost the ball on what was admittedly an awful surface completely unsuited to his quick twists and turns. Corners weren’t bad. Needs time. 6.5
Henry: His touch was not quite at its magical best, but again this was probably due to the state of the pitch. Had a couple of good runs that resulted in decent shots on Shay Given’s goal. 6.5
Subs:
Clichy (for Van Persie 80 mins approx): Seemed as happy as anyone in the post match huddle but for the second game in succession he seemed a little out of sorts when called upon. 6
v Fulham (2-0)
Almunia: Looks better by the game and made a crucial save when he rushed out at speed to palm away a Fulham chance at 1-0. Made no notable mistakes. 7
Clichy: Had a good first half – getting forward well as usual and strong on the defensive stuff. Then in the second half he seemed to lose his confidence went, either as a result of or because of Fulham consistently probing down our left. Like any small full-back, aerial strength is a weakness.6
Lauren: Average as usual. Looked solid against a Fulham attack lacking any real penetration. 6.5
Sol: At times we were troubled in the air – but Sol is leading a defence that is no longer allowing attackers completely free headers at corners. Looks fit and healthy and, along with the rest of the defence, now has three clean sheets in four league games. 7
Freddie: A fine game on his return from migraine troubles. Played in Henry for the first and set-up Pires for the second. 7.5
Cesc: Gets caught on the ball occasionally but is still doing the vast majority of things with real fluency. Gives us real creativity in the middle. 7
Vieira: Showed a few soft shoe shuffles to bam boozle defenders in a way we haven’t really seen this season. Also got stuck into his tackles and generally seemed to be on the ball. 7
Pires: There was this surreal moment in the first half. He got the ball on the left wing and took a heavy touch. As if that wasn’t enough he then went flying into the tackle with the Fulham defender and actually won the ball. And it wasn’t the only time – I saw him snuff out a few Fulham attacks and even win a header.
Of course, the attacking side of his play was superb as well – he would have scored from a Dennis chest down but for a good save by Van De Saar. He linked up well, particularly with Henry, and inevitably took his goal with typical aplomb. Now has 19 in 2004, which is good. 7.5
Dennis: A fair few poor touches and bad decision making in general play. In mitigation, he dummied the ball well for the second goal and put Pires in with an excellent chest down. 6.5
Henry: Sure, the flicks didn’t always come off but at times he led Fulham a merry dance like he has almost every other defence this season. His goal was a trade mark finish and he was desperately unlucky when his side footer from the edge of the box crashed back off a post. 7
Subs:
Flamini (for Freddie 74ish): Some might say Arsene was making a point by not replacing Freddie with Pennant. Others will call it a sensible way of seeing out the game. 6.5
Van Persie (for Dennis 78ish): Provided his usual array of tricks but didn’t get a real chance to score. 6.5
v Portsmouth (1-0)
Almunia: Had a really good game. Caught when he needed to catch, punched when he wasn't sure and kicked immaculately. Also made a couple of really good saves. His run of impressive performances may only stretch to two but for now there seems no reason to bring back Jens. 8
Lauren: Did nothing too wrong but didn't offer as much in attack as he might have and at times appeared troubled by Pomey's pace. I think he's ok, but I'm becoming less and less convinced he should be our right back at all - more on that tomorrow. 6.5
Cole: A tough one to call. For a while looked rattled by Pompey's pace and agression down the left. Misplaced a couple of balls and though his tackles were mostly coming off they had a slightly concerning aggressiveness about them which made me think he was letting his own frustration get the better of him a little. But stuck to the task well and in the end kept a dangerous Pompey out. 7
Kolo: Got sucked in a couple of times, but on the whole he was part of a defence that looked pretty solid and much improved at set pieces. 7
Sol: Looked fitter than recently I thought - turning smoothly on a couple of occasions when faced with danger. He also made countless important headers at corners and won us the game with the kind of head down sheer determinism many fans would like to see a little more often. 8
Flamini: Ran hard, tackled hard and never gave up. Doesn't offer as much going forward as Fabregas, but doesn't claim to either. Unlucky with a header from Henry's free-kick. 7
Vieira: Industrious, but was also sloppy on occasion, getting caught in posession and losing the ball. Still doesn't seem 100% back to his best and didn't make the most of a couple of shooting opportunities. 6.5
Clichy: Fought well and offered Cole valuable protection down the left hand side. Showed initial attacking promise early on but faded as Pompey grew in stature. Nonetheless, was full of running at the end and nearly capitalised on tired Pompey legs. 7
Pires: His every touch was met with a chorus of boos as Bob faced Pompey for the first time since 'that dive' last season. There was even one moment when he slipped and the ball rolled out of play. Which probably made a certain journalist very, very warm inside. Otherwise, was neat enough but pretty ineffectual, seemingly afraid of injury in the rough house atmosphere. Had a couple of lovely runs late on and set Dennis up for a chance he really should have taken. 6.5
Henry: Worked hard and created much of our best work, but often found himself crowded out by the hoardes of Pompey defenders. Nearly scored after a flowing first half move and set up Dennis' other chance late on, which again he really should have taken. 7
Van Persie: Started really well, showing fantastic feet and trickery and generally leading Pompey a merry dance. He swivels at such speed he'll probably need a hip replacement aged 30. Faded somewhat after his impressive start, finding himself crowded out by the packed defence. Could pass a little earlier at times but nonetheless a decent first start in a difficult game and he staked a fair claim for inclusion against Fulham on Boxing Day. 6.5
Subs:
Bergkamp (for Van Persie 68ish): Should have scored late on following good set up play. His performance did little to silence the voices calling for this year to be his last. I'm undecided on that, but what I am sure about is that I won't miss the needless little kicks and elbows aimed at his opponents when frustration sets in. Simply put: the sly digs are ugly and Van Nistelrooy like and do nothing for us. 6
v Chelsea (2-2)
Almunia: Faultless for both their goals, he made good stops from Lampard and Gudjohnsen in the first half. And made a vital save when Robben wriggled his way through after the break. But nobody noticed it. Caught when a catch was a good idea, punched when a punch was wiser and set us on the attack with some good throws. 7.5
Lauren: Didn't see much of him, but when you're up against Duff and Robben, this can only be to a defender's credit. Thought he did really well to keep them in check, and the one time Robben did really threaten in the second half, the danger came down the other side. 7.5
Cole: The one player who I thought struggled today. As has been the case of late, he lacked confidence in his touch and stuggled defensively. Perhaps should have come out to Robben before the winger got into the box for his 2nd half chance, and was easily beaten in the air by Drogba for Cheslea's 2nd equaliser. 6
Kolo: Looked solid overall and helped limit Chelsea to only a few chances asides from set pieces. 7
Sol: A mixed bag. Made some really important defensive headers and looked in command at times at the back. But was a little caught out for their opening goal and sometimes seemed a little gung ho in his marking. Made important late tackle on Drogba.7
Reyes: Was quiet, but this was a tough game. Nodded down to Henry for the opener, worked hard and went on a few mazy runs without much success. Still, I thought he gave them something to worry about.6.5
Fabregas: Another excellent performance. He and Flamini were overwhelmed initially when up against Tiago, Lampard and Makalele but never gave up and fought their way back into the game admirably. Nice goal to set up Henry for the opener, he was instrumental in setting up the Frenchman's near winner and also set up RVP for his chance. Uses the ball so intelligently and showed that despite his size, he's not afraid to get stuck in. Was up against the very best in the business today and succeeded in limiting Lampard to a largely peripheral role.8
Flamini: £1 million? First league start? A snip if you ask me. He run's tirelessly, he harries, he puts his foot in and he uses the ball simply when he wins it. A real water carrier but absolutely essential today and worked tirelessly. Well done Sir. 8
Pires: We wanted a big performance and boy did we get one. Seemed almost impossible to shake off the ball, tackled back, linked up well with Lauren, Flamini, Cesc and Henry and drove the team forward in his own idiosyncratic waddle. When in his pomp, he is still a wonderful, wonderful footballer to watch. Set up Henry for the near winner, realised his responsibility as the senior partner in midfield, and shouldered the responsibility admirably.7.5
Dennis: Didn't get involved in too much of note, but I can't help feeling he just gives us a cetain sophistication and shape when he's in the side. Gordon Strachan pointed out on Match of the Day how hard he'd worked to stop Makalele getting the ball and in hindsight I think it probably a fair call.6.5
Henry: Forget the late miss - it can happen to anyone. Otherwise he was outstanding, scoring a brilliant first (which included winning a high ball!), netting an impudent second and generally running the show. Scared Chelsea shitless every time he picked it up and was responsible for a hell of a lot of good work. Also destroyed the concept he doesn't turn it on in big games. That's 15 in 17 league games now by the way.9
Subs:
Clichy (for Reyes 82): Ran around like mad for 10 minutes and forced mistakes out of tired legs. Really good footballer and good enough to start for probably every Premiership side and perhaps should be more often for us. 7.5
RVP: Is maturing very nicely indeed. Nearly netted a silky winner when he latched onto Cesc's pass and gave the Chelsea players a lot to think about. Would be really interesting to see him start. 7
v Rosenberg (5-1)
Almunia: Made a really, really good low save early on and kicked largely well. But looked dodgy more than once on crosses and for the second time in a week cost us a goal, which is a real worry. Eventually realised there's nothing wrong with giving a ball a good double handed punch. 6
Hoyte: Was up against a poor opposition but defended diligently and rarely looked rushed. Used the ball well, linked up well with his team mates and should be well pleased with his first European start. 7
Cole: Looked solid, with a couple of important defensive headers, but still not yet back to his marauding best I sense. Shouldn't have let the ball drop over his head for Harald Brattbakk to fire at Alumnia after 17 minutes. Withdrawn with quarter of an hour left. 6.5
Sol: Ditto for above, though did once later on look somewhat sluggish again on the turn. Perhaps I'm just paranoid about the impending arrival of Duff and Robben at Highbury.6.5
Kolo: A very easy night for the big man and he even found time for a classic Kolo dance into the opposition penalty area towards the end. 7
Flamini: Very, very good full debut. Set up the second goal, ran tirelessly, got tackles in and seemed to work well with Cesc in midfield. Looks comfortable tracking back and going forward and also seems to have a strange affinity for joining in attacks right around the right edge of the penalty area and particularly when we attack the North Bank. A young, thinking man's Gilles Grimandi, he ain't at all bad for a fifth choice midfielder. 7.5
Cesc: Absolute star. Has already played 20 games this season (twice as many as Edu, Gilberto and Vieira), yet still had the strength to turn in one of his best performances for the club. Fantastically alert, his use of the ball was excellent. He also scored a very impressive, very difficult goal and was involved in the build up for the fifth. Not just our most frequent performer in midfield this season, but also our best. 8
Jose: Took his goal really well and gave us a flying start. Had another deflected shot well saved and looked much more like the sun kid of the beginning of the season. Had a delightful late chip that bamboozled three very stupid looking Rosenberg players before landing on the roof of the net. 7
Pires: Looked much, much better and was even spotted making a tackle late in the second half. Kept going and linked up well late on with Jose and RVP before being withdrawn for Quincy with two minutes left. His penalty was so brilliantly placed it went into the side netting. Again I marvel at his ability to put a football exactly where he wants it to go. 7
Bergkamp: A nice return for the Ice Man who got involved well in the game, set up the opener and had a couple of openings himself. Might have done better when in front of goal, but eased himself back into the side well. 7
Henry: I actually thought that poor as the defending was for his goal, it was still a pretty decent finish. Worked hard all night, linked up well with the kids around him and seemed to be feeling particularly tolerant. 7
Subs:
Clichy (for Dennis 72ish): Spent a few mins in midfield before dropping back to left back when RVP replaced Ashley. As ever looked sound in the defending and assured going forward.
7
RVP (for Cole 75): Resuscitated the game with some silky skills, wayward finishing and then eventually a very well taken goal. Rawer than an uncooked vegetable, but with massive potential. 7.5
Quincy (for Bob 88): Should have had longer. Don't think he got a touch.
v Birmingham (3-0)
Alumnia: Looks like Lehman, kicks slightly better than Lehman, fumbles the odd ball like Lehman and jumps a couple of inches less high in the air than Lehman. Did ok, but would have been ill advised to let Morrison’s second half effort creep under him and over the line.6.5
Lauren: Seemed really quiet yesterday. Means he was doing his defensive job well which at the moment is the priority. Better? Seeing as we kept a clean sheet, probably a tad. 6.5
Cole: It's not been picked up much by the press, but I’ve thought Ash to be one of the players whose form has most obviously dipped in the recent spell. He’s still looked a top left back, but the subtlety of touch that allowed him and Bob to link so well still seems to be absent. Better? Not noticeably, but again should take credit for a clean sheet. 7
Sol: I’m of the opinion he’s still carrying a little bit of weight. Played well enough, but on a couple of occasions he looked sluggish and immobile on the turn, which is obviously a concern with Duff and Robben coming to town next week. Better? Probably not. 6.5
Kolo: Probably fair to say he’s not been our worst performer in the recent period, but I think on occasion he has allowed our recent jitters to affect his decision making a little. Kept Heskey quiet, but also seemed to time his jumps wrongly on a couple of occasions. Better? Ditto above. 7
Vieira: Did some good stuff but on other occasions his decision making and concentration again seemed lacking a little. He’s a hard one to judge at the moment. Better? Probably a bit.7
Cesc: I’m glad to see he escaped censure for his recent performances because I think a lot of the recent mutterings about how he’s no Gilberto have been unfair. Admittedly, the Brazilian’s best work is done off the ball, SKY’s stats show how we tend to win with him in the side, but I still think the young Spaniard is doing pretty well. He’s a young boy whose probably played too many games in a struggling team in a big league. But he’s still there, still getting stuck in and still doing his stuff. Tired in the latter stages yesterday and was replaced by Flamini, which was a wise, common sense, decision. Better? No, but only because he was doing well in the first place. 7
Freddie: Scavenged, burrowed, furrowed, ducked and dived. Fred’s doing them all at the moment and its working as the perfect complement to the continued attempts at perfection that come from the rest of the team. Is also being very productive. Should have had a penalty yesterday, set up the third goal and generally ran the show. Better? No, but only because he’s been great. 7.5
Pires: Mark my words. One of these days the opposition are going to get a free kick on the edge of our area. Their player will hit it, the ball will fly off Robert Pires and zip past Lehman. And we’ll all put it down as a fluke, like we did for Graveson’s effort that flew off Pennant in the Carling Cup game against Everton. Except it won’t be a fluke because Pires, like Pennant, will have jumped with his back to the ball, meaning that when it hits him he’ll have no way of giving it any direction.
My point is that Pires simply has to go into tackles. Maybe he’s worried about getting hurt, but he’s ducking out of the most basic challenges and its meaning we’re losing the battle in midfield at places like Old Trafford and Anfield.
Obviously, as I was making a note of this, Bob went and scored a classic Bob goal. Basically a really, really good one. He is a fantastic playa, probably the purest footballer we have in our team and quite possibly the best finisher. Yesterday was his 50th goal for the club and almost without exception (Bolton at home this season) they’ve been aesthetically perfect and a joy to watch.
But he must pull his weight for the team, which funnily enough I’ve seen him do really well on a number of occasions. Better? A little bit later on in the second half. 6.5
Reyes: You have to feel for him - seemingly everything he tries seems to go askew these days. Inches away from a Henry cross in the first half, he got into the game a bit more going towards half time, but then tired before being withdrawn. As I said above, he could do with a 25 minute run against tired defences to get his confidence back. Better? Not really, but not for want of effort. 6.5
Henry: Whether it be through injury or lack of confidence, he spent much of the game getting into decent positions but then making the wrong decision. Then ten minutes from time he took off past Melchiot, through the Birmingham defence and then a cool low finish hit whilst he was running at incredible speed. Six minutes later, he bought a ticket for Freddie Ljungberg’s cross and got lucky.
May not be at his best. But the level of criticism he of all people has taken is ridiculous. Has scored 13 league goals this season (four more than anyone else and 9 more than Ruud), scoring in 11 of the 16 games. And it’s not even like he’s bound to get the goals because nobody else does. He hasn’t even scored a third of our goals, and with the exception of Old Trafford (when nobody scored) and Selhurst Park, at least one other Arsenal player has scored in all of our other games.
Better? Yes. Despite earlier failures, his determination to keep going for the all important second goal was admirable. 7.5
Subs:
Clichy (for Jose): I love this guy. He’s like Wenger’s little foot soldier and seems capable of doing everything. Slotted in expertly in left midfield. He covers, chases back, tackles, retains the ball, gets forward, dribbles and causes havoc in the opposition defence. He may be more defensive than Reyes, but sometimes being slightly more defensive can give you the shape to attack more. May not be suited to central midfield, but should be considered a serious option for a place in left midfield on tough away games. 7.5
Flamini: Seems to do everything neatly enough without being spectacular. Will be interesting to see how he works with Cesc over the next two games.7
v Man United (0-1)
Alumnia: Crap on their goal, barely put a foot wrong otherwise. Plays and looks like a slightly smaller Jens, but can kick. 6
Hoyte: OK and defended well on occasion, but I’d still like to see him get forward more. That said, I think he’s a player who would look much better surrounded by seasoned pros. 6.5
Clichy: Really, really good as usual. Slipped on their excuse of a pitch for the early goal, but didn’t let it affect him and worked tirelessly defending and attacking all game. 7.5
Senderos: The lumbering giant of Everton had been replaced by a very, very accomplished looking centre half. One dodgy back header that fell short but otherwise cut out everything that was asked of him and looked a real first team option. 8
Djorou: Took eye off ball and then slipped for the goal which wasn’t good. Never quite looked the same player as against Everton, but worked his way back into the game. 6.5
Flamini: Looks like we can breathe a little more easily in the midfield department after watching a very assured display. Would like to see him trialled as a sub for Freddie in games where we’ve got a dodgy one goal lead. 7
Larsson: Some like him but I’m not so sure. What he did was decent enough but I thought he struggled to have an effect on the game. 6.5
Quincy: Maybe it was the pitch, maybe it was United doubling up on him. Either way the hero of the last round never really got into last night’s affair. 6
Pennant: Worked hard, tried to take the initiative and overall did quite well. Still not sure if he’ll quite make it at Highbury though. 7
Lupoli: Is a striker and when strikers get no service they don’t look much kop. 6.5
Van Persie: Battled hard all night and willingly came deep to win possession. But probably came a bit too deep and battled a bit too hard. Yes, he could have been sent off for the incident with Richardson. Reminds me a bit of a young Freddie, not in playing style but in the way that the potential is clearly there but the skills are still very, very raw. 6.5
Subs:
Smith (for Lupoli): Did OK but still looks wary of going in for challenges and taking men on following his long term injury.
Cregg: Alright
Karbassiyoon: Alright
The game is obviously going to be very tough and despite our impressive home form, Chelsea must be favourites. At Highbury the league results have been immaculate but the teams we have beaten have been nothing special and our performances only impressive in short, sporadic bursts. Still, I think we have the players who, on their game, can stop Chelsea from scoring. And I think we are capable of creating chances against them at Highbury. So, we are not without hope.
If we are to win, a likely key player will also be our youngest – Cesc Fabregas. Usually in hushed voices, some Arsenal followers have questioned whether he has the strength for the Premiership. They say both Vieira and Gilberto have struggled next to him. I refute that. As far as Vieira goes, he acknowledges openly in his book that he played much of last season with a very dodgy ankle.
And as for his partnership with Gilberto, I see the problem being that Fabregas has been unfairly forced to play the role of tough tackling midfielder. While the Brazilian may provide a positional wall, it is Cesc who on the whole is required to throw his still slender frame into the tough tackling.
For me, he has actually done it ok, but the point is that expecting him to excel as the enforcer is as preposterous as expecting Dennis Bergkamp to score 30 goals a season. It is not what either do. But imagine Cesc sat on the Chelsea bench for a game and replaced one of Essien, Makalele or Lampard at half-time. Whoever he came in for, I’d expect him to flourish, revelling in being able to concentrate on doing what he’s great at. He could also offer Chelsea the midfield subtlety and creativity they have occasionally lacked - such as in four scoreless encounters against Liverpool in the Champions League.
So if you see Cesc being out muscled on Sunday, take a look around and remember what he is being asked to do. However well he does it, here’s to the midfield beast/animal/enforcer we all pray Arsene will buy in the January sales.
Ps: there was a really good piece on Football365 this week pointing out that in quite a number of these games where Arsenal supposedly allow themselves to be bullied to defeat the more truthful explanation is that very poor refereeing has instead allowed teams to get away with what is simply illegal.
It pointed out the United game last season and more recently the Bolton game (where the referee just ignored Lehman being elbowed in the stomach and another guy who was already booked punching the ball in to the net all in one move) and Newcastle, where the fact is Alan Shearer got away with stuff that was far more plain illegal than any ‘on the edge’ bullying.
I’m not saying we don’t sometimes go soft (I think we do), but it does add some rationality to the whole debate.
...
12/12/05
Newcastle 1 Arsenal 0: Same problems, same lack of solutions
A week ago I penned a massive post Bolton post mortem. (Computer problems mean it has only just gone online - see below). Almost everything I said then applied to today’s match so I’m not going to go over the same ground in massive depth after today. For me there are a few points for why we lost:
1) We left our shooting boots at home. I’m hardly in a position to tell Thierry Henry how to score. He had the chances in the first half and didn’t take them. It was one of those things, as was Van Persie mis-kicking later.
2) We are still hideously under strength in the centre. Gilberto is playing crap, yet we have no other option. We need an animal in there (Gilberto, Cesc, Hleb and Freddie is hardly physically intimidating.) Yet we have no animal to bring in.
3) Dermot Gallagher was a total wanker today. (And yes, I know we get the run of the mill sometimes and did so against Newcastle on the first day of the season). That not withstanding, on a technicality sending-off Gilberto was justifiable. But as I remember they were the only free-kicks he gave away all day. And neither were dangerous tackles. They were the tackles of a player who is out of form and off the pace. Were they so bad he needed to be excluded from the pitch? Definitely not.
Compare the approach to Gilberto to how Gallagher treated Shearer and other Newcastle players. Shearer was given a free reign to elbow, foul (including one shocker in front of the referee), knowingly kick so high that knew he would hit Lauren, kick the ball away and delay kick-offs by standing in our half. It took 89 minutes for him to get booked. All this matters because while Newcastle (as is their right) adopted a very physical approach they were able to do so because Gallagher was being so lenient. Once a player has been booked they have to temper their approach, knowing that one more significant error will be the end for them. Gallagher patently failed on that part. Apparently this is his final year. On this showing, good riddance.
But overall there is no escaping the fact we have big problems away from home. The defence could do with some better drilling but overall they did fairly well today. And though the goal came from our left, Lauren looks infinitely better at left-back than Cygan. And up front I think we look fairly strong. We have drawn three blanks on the run but prior to then had looked dangerous. With a bit of luck, Henry could have had two at Bolton and Van Persie one. And the same can be said today.
The problem for me is midfield. In the middle we are enormously weak. It would be nice if we could give 18 year-old Cesc a break but there’s fat chance of that at the moment. And though Hleb helps, we lack defensively able players on the wings: Freddie is either a bit injured or out of form at the moment. Yet still he plays 90 minutes every game.
The thing is that Chelsea probably have as many midfielders and forwards out of form as we do. Crespo, Duff, Robben, Wright-Philips and arguably Drogba and Gudjohnsen are hardly setting the world on fire at the moment. Of course, we can hardly hope to have their strength in depth. But equally, we can expect far more of our current resources in the middle.
...
04/12/05
Just what is Arsene playing at?
I spoke to a season ticket holding friend last night who for some weeks has said his confidence in the boss is waning. I don’t necessarily agree, but what follows are some of his concerns and some I have too. What do you think?
Arsene can moan about player commitment but to us Bolton yesterday was simply the epitome of what we feared at the beginning of the season, the inevitable result of Arsenal’s very own corporate restructuring. So as the squad has been trimmed and thinned out, those that are left are more comfortable than ever in their positions and what would normally be the responsibility of experienced team members is being carried out by talented, but as yet unproven, upstarts.
At Bolton Henry and Van Persie were the right choice. But even Tony Adams (who generally seems to not know that much about tactics) has been pointing out for years that Ljungberg and Pires won’t work at places like Bolton. Admittedly, Alex Hleb is injured.
But in central midfield Wenger is guilty of discarding our two most aggressive midfielders as if we have somehow had too many of them. It is blatantly clear that neither Fabregas, Gilberto nor Flamini have the animal instincts that seem to be present in the heart of every top side. It is also true that talented as the first two are, Gilberto is not and Cesc is not yet good enough that their places in the starting line-up should be completely unquestioned and unthreatened. How Arsene could go out at the start of this season and rightly deciding he needs a fourth central midfielder plump for a 17 year old (Alex Song) to complement his 18 and 21 year-olds is beyond me. Principles and only buying the right player is admirable, but not when it means no player.
And if the case in midfield is one of transfer bloody mindedness then the case at left-back is one of tactical bloody mindedness. With no personal insult intended to the man, I can’t remember a single player in Arsene Wenger’s reign enjoy a run in the side and look more out of his depth when doing so than Pascal Cygan at left-back. Even when he does something right, 90% of the time it means he hasn’t cocked it up. His abilities are simply so limited there, it was no wonder Bolton almost encouraged Jens to throw him the ball. Leaving aside the defending, you would have to say he offers nothing to the attack either. It is as though we have become numb down part of our left side.
For Arsene to come out last week and say he brought on Lauren at left-back for the last half hour in Thun to see if he could play there just encapsulates the problem. As you and I well know, Lauren would be miles better playing there, as would Toure, as would Eboue, as might Senderos and as might even Flamini.
They say there is no point buying for the sake of it, but there is also no point not buying for the sake of it. And Alex Hleb is the ONLY outfield and vaguely proven player over 21 who has arrived at Highbury in nearly three and a half years! That is extraordinary! We all know (and largely admire) Arsene’s determination to challenge Chelsea’s exorbitant spending by unearthing and polishing gems, but it is almost as if what Chelsea do is dictating what we do. By this I mean the more they spend the less we seem to spend. And yet the fact is that any title win would count as a great overcoming of the odds, even if we spent £20 million a year.
On that note, there is nothing wrong with stripping out a few luxuries (eg Kanu and Wiltord) to give younger players a chance. But you can’t start getting rid of the bare essentials. And at the moment you can argue we have no competition in goal, where Wenger’s signings there are slowly becoming more bizarre and obscure (witness Shabaan, Warmuz, Almunia and now Poom). We have two good centre backs (one of whom is off his game), a still very young pretender (Senderos) and another who ain’t up to it. Four years ago we had an (admittedly aging) Adams, Keown, Campbell, Upson, Grimandi (better than Cygan) and Oleg Lhuzny (probably better than Cygan).
I hardly need to go into central midfield. A comparison with last year simply says it all. On the wings, as I suggested earlier, there is fair attacking cover. The problem though is that when we want to plump for someone more defensive on the right we end up having to move Fabregas, where as two years ago we would have simply slotted Edu in, leaving Vieira and Gilberto intact in the centre.
And at up front, it seems to have taken ages to a) figure out Reyes is a winger and b) develop a successor to Dennis. Discounting Reyes, we have just three forwards – a footballing god, a youngster still making his mark and a man who is rapidly going over the hill. Think back to 1999 and look at the perfect balance we enjoyed: an in form Kanu, Dennis around his prime, a raw (but still 25 goal) Thierry Henry and Davor Suker, who was used as and when it pleased. Sadly, our current paucity of forwards meant that after 70 minutes we were calling for Dennis yesterday, even though all and sundry could surely see it was not the time or place for his services. And quite why on earth Robin Van Persie was withdrawn I don’t know. Simple maths says Van Persie’s goal threat is far higher than Dennis or Reyes.
All in all, there seems to be a great sense of bafflement. We expect managers to be a little mad, but more and more often we seem to be shrugging our shoulders and explain something away as Arsene just being Arsene. But it doesn’t add up. We might not like seeing Chelsea above us but always knew their spending would make it probable. But it’s hard to accept when we seem to be shooting ourselves in the foot so readily. Even Spurs have about seven midfielders better than our fourth choice.
And what is so galling is that actually we are not very far at all from being bloody good. With the exception of Cygan, every player in our squad is Arsenal quality and very many are worthy week in week out starters too. But they need reinforcements. With these reinforcements, we wouldn’t have to shunt Freddie back into the side when he doesn’t look ready. We would be able to pick the players who are physically at their peak and rest others when they tire a little. Which is what Mourinho does and explains why Cole, Duff, Robben and Wright-Philips always look so chirpy.
So what do we need? A hungry, improving goalkeeper who will in a few years succeed Jens. A half decent centre back who is solid if nothing else. An established beast in central midfield. Perhaps a young, as yet unproven beast, for when the big beast is suspended. A Davor Suker like signing – someone who will offer goals when they play but whose presence will not hold Van Persie back. And as the Dutchman becomes established, someone to fill Van Persie’s current role of young pretender – Arturo Lupoli would seem the obvious choice.
That is five signings. But only two (the beast and the goal scorer) would initially be pivotal ones. Those five, combined with our ever improving youngsters, could make a real squad. At the moment it is not just that Chelsea are so far ahead in the table, it is that we are in with the likes of Spurs, Bolton and Wigan. Squad wise, we will never be as big or strong at Chelsea. But at a certain point it starts to matter less and less until it becomes almost immaterial. We need to plug the holes so we can get to that point.
And finally, what are the rewards? We already have a really good crop of players. Arsenal may not be ahead of the chasing pack but it is still true that the vast majority of our current crop would walk into any Premiership team other than Chelsea and Man U in some cases. With the right moves in the transfer market we could perhaps hope to persuade not just the brilliant Ashley Cole to stay at Highbury but also Thierry Henry, one of the great players of this generation. Whether he stays or goes could tell us so much about where Arsenal are headed.
I may be wrong, but I struggle to believe Henry (settled in London with a wife and new born) would have any inclination to leave a flourishing Arsenal in a new stadium who have the tools to seriously fight Chelsea for the league and to capture the Champions League. I suspect he fears the same things we fear and he needs the same reassurances.
He is 28 and I suspect he knows he has half a chance not to just be known as a great of his time, but to etch his name as one of the great players of any generation. To become that great he probably still needs a mix of international success at his prime (he was not yet a great player in 1998 or 2000) and success with a club in Europe.
On the international stage, Henry’s options are obviously limited because he can’t change countries. On the club stage, whether he feels able to achieve it at Highbury may well depend on just what Arsene is playing at.
...
27/11/05
Arsenal 3 Blackburn 0: Attack good, defence not so good
I only saw the BBC highlights of yesterday’s game, so it would be wrong to go into too much depth. But three things were quite obvious from watching it:
Our defence is making too many Premiership standard strike forces look like world beaters. And with all due respect to the man, it is my belief that rightly or wrongly, the presence of Pascal Cygan is a massive factor.
A couple of reports I have read suggested he was not personally so bad yesterday, but the problem goes beyond his individual performances. It is the effect he has on the team.
Exactly a year and a week ago I wrote: “Pascal Cygan is no Baresi, but he’s not an awful player either. But at the moment his presence is having a devastating effect on our play. The rest of the team doesn’t trust neither him nor Jens Lehman and the effect is reverberating through our side.” A week later Jens played his last league game until February and has not looked back since his recall. I added at the end of the article: “Cygan has to be dropped for the sake of the team.”
And the same must happen now. Arseblogger was entirely correct yesterday to point to Wenger’s apparent blind spot over Cygan. Far be it for faceless internet bloggers to tell him how to manage Arsenal, but the clamour from fans appears so universal that surely these feelings need articulating.
2) The second point is that we are obviously playing some very nice attacking stuff at the moment. Not all the time, but we are cranking up the pressure when it matters. Much as Blackburn perhaps deserved a goal or even two, the fact is we created three perfectly executed ones and could have had more.
3 ) Some players have such outrageous talent that you can forgive them being idiots on occasion. Robbie Savage is not one such player. Arseblogger aptly summed him up as a “cheating, conman, fairy, nancy, fraud, flimflammer, obnoxious wanky cunt.”
I would add one word to that description: twerp, defined in the dictionary as a person regarded as not just contemptible but insignificant too.
Just before I finish I’d like to pre-empt a couple of things that will happen this week. The first is that a certain journalist will twist the Savage incident to bring up every misdemeanour ever committed by an Arsenal player. The second is that we are going to have to listen to unrivalled levels of crap spout from the mouth of Sam Allardyce this week ahead of our visit to the Reebok next Saturday. If they beat Fulham today they will be level with us going into the game.
On that note, there was an interesting (and unmalicious) remark made about George Best this week. It was said that Best frequently mentioned how Pele had called him the world’s greatest, yet Pele never needed to do the opposite. Sam Allardyce loves to tell us how brilliantly he has done at Bolton on such limited resources, yet Arsene Wenger...
...
I didn't see the Thun game, I'm flying during the Blackburn game and the Reading game is not on TV. But I'll probably post one or two more general updates before the Bolton game.
20/11/05
Wigan 2 Arsenal 3: Should the new midfielder be a partner for Cesc rather than Silva?
In a nutshell: We took control through goals from Van Persie (good turn, run, fierce shot, bad goalkeeping) and Henry (lovely slid finish from Cesc pass at end of flowing move). They pulled one back through shambolic defending. Henry netted a scorcher of a free kick. They pulled another back through shambolice defending. We won despite defending shockingly.
Analysis: It was very easy last season to say how much we were missing the Gilberto "wall" during his absence. And perhaps it was true. But on recent performances, Berlin's got a stronger wall than the one our Brazilian offers. Against Wigan he was, to put it mildly, shite. He didn't go forward, he didn't pass well, he dallied on the ball, he made absurd attempts to intercept that only put us in deeper trouble and he failed to get off the ground for headers. (Witness first goal). In short, he was oh so passive.
Next to him, Cesc Fabregas was a model pro. He ran tirelessly, he won tackles, he broke up play, he positioned himself well and he supported the attack right up until the last minute. Sure, not everything came off, but the way I see it this new midfielder we all agree we need should more likely be a partner for Cesc than for Gilberto.
Behind the pair, things were just totally terrible. Credit to Wigan, honest team, hard working, deceptively skillful for a rugby league town all those other cliches. But the fact is Sol Campbell offered justification for Sven picking Rio ahead of him (yes he was that bad), Jens' kicking was crap, Lauren's general defending was poor and Toure's little better.
To their left was Pascal Cygan. The nicest thing I can say is that words fail me to describe his performance.
I'm not one for having a go at individuals just for the sake of it and it is true that in the end, we got a very welcome three points. But a spoon should be called a spoon and today our defending was chaotic.
Up front, it seems Van Persie may possibly have finally got the nod over Dennis, at long last. He played well, the returning Freddie worked hard but was not at full throttle, Pires put in a committed performance which didn't once involve me screaming at him for ducking a tackle and Henry once again made everything look too easy.
One final thought, much as I can't stand his self righteous, self important, status as a "real" player, and much as there is between no chance and 0% chance of Arsene going for him, you kinda have to admit Roy Keane could fill a gap.
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15/11/05
Arsenal playing before Chelsea form, European form and Vieira book form
A few brief thoughts as we wait for the Premiership to restart.
The first is that the fixture list is currently conspiring quite often to let us play our weekend game before Chelsea. I pointed out last season that while our results are largely unaffected by whether we play before, at the same time or after Chelsea, their's suffered last season when they played after us. And based purely on very anecdotal evidence, the same has been true this season. So we need to take advantage at Wigan on Saturday.
Secondly, this whole assumption that because Liverpool won the Champions League while being crap in the league, the same will happen to us seems bizarre. Last season was largely an anomoly. What nobody seems to have mentioned is that since defeat in Moscow over two years ago, we have a healthy European record that reads: P19 W12 D5 L2.
Finally, there is a piece in today's Times that takes 600 odd words to correctly say: Patrick Vieira hypocritically forgets his own diving when he lambasts Wayne Rooney and Ruud Van Nistelrooy as cheats.
But that is not all the piece says. In fact it reads strangely like a diktat handed down from Old Trafford to a friendly journalist much in the way United employed the same policy with the same friendly journalists after the battle of the buffet.
There was no way Vieira was going to ignore either Rooney or RVN in his book. And the fact is that Rooney DID cheat exactly as described and Van Nistelrooy WAS guilty of consistent violence that went unpunished against Arsenal. Whatever, Vieira's personal myopia, to suggest that the two United players are somehow worthy of apologies for what is correcly identified as shabby behaviour when Vieira does it, is just absurd.
And while I appreciate accuracy matters little when there is an axe there to be ground, the description of the Nicky Butt incident is just patently wrong. Contrary to what is written, it was a straight red card and not a second yellow. Secondly, there was never the slightest suggestion Vieira had dived. Thirdly, the decision to send Butt off was one based purely on the positioning of the incident near to the goal and not on the severity of the tackle or Vieira's reaction to it (there was no doubt it was a foul). Fourthly, all Alex Ferguson and anyone else was moaning about was the referee's decision to treat the incident as a goal scoring chance and thus issue red.
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10/11/05
International week update
My apologies for the lack of recent updates. The laptop appears to have died and enjoyable as this site is, staying late at work to update it is just not that appetising.
Anyway, things have gone pretty well since the Spurs game. There is not a lot to say about Sparta and Sunderland. We needed victories and we got victories. We didn't over exert ourselves but then we didn't need to. I'm still of the theory that we look far better when playas play in their natural positions and I think that was fairly obvious watching the Sunderland game. In midfield the mix was good, with the wall-like Gilberto and the more enterprising Fabregas, Reyes and Pires both looked comfortable out on the wings and up front we had a good mix of a forward/striker (what can you call Henry?) and a striker.
I don't think Chelsea were unlucky at Old Trafford because ultimately they didn't do enough. But I do think United can count themselves fortunate. Some of their defensive play was wretched - incredibly nervous and very deep. But they got away with it. People are asking whether they will collapse like we did. I don't think they will but nor do I think that the issue really. If someone does catch them I expect it to be by a process of small erosion rather than one big wave. So, for example, if they have a tricky away game that they draw others might take advantage with easy home wins. And of course if we win our game in hand and manage to beat the Blues at Highbury then the gap is only five points anyway. I'm not saying we will do it, just saying how I think they could be caught.
As Myles Palmer pointed out on ANR, the four league games before Chelsea are vital. Contrary to what he said, they actually read: Wigan (A), Blackburn (H), Bolton (A), Newcastle (A). We need to be looking for a minimum of ten points from the four of them and ideally twelve.
Not much else to say, except that I'm away for two weeks from Saturday, so there is a fair chance I won't update after the Wigan, Thun and Blackburn games (the last of which I will definitely miss as I will be in the air for it).
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01/11/05
Players in position works at Spurs
Arsene's decision to shore up the side with an extra midfielder was well intentioned and a welcome departure from the gung-ho approach that cost us so badly at Munich last season. But injuries and lack of squad depth meant that to do it we had Freddie playing out of position on the left, Cesc out of position on the right and our first choice central midfielders not in place. Add the fact we were playing with two forwards but no strikers, and it is obvious why we struggled. When Pires came on, suddenly we had him, Freddie and Cesc all where they should be. And when Van Persie came on, Reyes was on the left wing (which for me is his best spot), Pires was on the right (in a position he has played and done well in) and we had a good balance of a forward and a striker up front.
But I also wonder whether perhaps Arsene imagined the first half going as it did, while obviously hoping we would not concede. Spurs, confidence bolstered by their own good form and our lack of it, were always going to come out on fire. I wonder whether it was Arsene's plan to draw to try to draw their sting (keeping it at 0-0) and then introduce Pires and pounce on them as they tired. In the event, the problems of the first half called for Pires earlier than expected, but I expect it was probably always the plan that he would play a key role.
I don't think there can be any doubt we deserved the draw. Granted, Spurs dominated the first half (even if I only remember Jens having to save from his near namesake Jenas). But we dominated the second right from the off in my opinion. Sure, chances did not immediately come, but we did a good job of grinding them down and tiring them out and in the end Van Persie had about three good chances, Reyes had one, Pires had one and Pires scored. So for me, while our equaliser doesn't suit the grand theories of the pundits, it was well deserved. And to come back from behind against the likes of Spurs away never has been and is certainly not now something to be snorted at.
A couple of things have struck me. The first is that the idea of us being a one man (Henry) team is absurd. But it is true that we still haven't yet brought in someone who we can say is a sufficiently good deputy for him. Don't get me wrong, they don't need to be the same type of player, just a good enough alternative. Hopefully Van Persie can be. I'm also intruiged to see who replaces Dennis in the summer (or before?)
The second point is that the cover issue is not one of Chelsea's being excellent and ours adequate. In fact, our's is inadequate. Midfield reinforcements are a must (so that when we switch things around everyone is not pulled out of position like against Spurs) and so too are a buy each in defence and attack I guess. Bringing in those three players will not give us as excellently backed-up a squad as Chelsea's but I question whether their level of protection is really necessary. While they will always have all 11 positions perfectly filled, if we only have 9 or 10 it probably won't all that much difference in the end. It is when your side is so inbalanced (like against Spurs) that I think it becomes a big problem.
Thought for the day: When was Jens' last mistake?
Updating is a bit fraught at the moment due to a comatose laptop, so sorry for that. In the meantime we have Sparta and Sunderland at home. The latter of which is a must, must, must win game because either Chelsea, United or both will drop points next weekend.
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24/10/05
What story lies behind 'that' penalty?
This is a long post; it’s been that kind of weekend.
I’m now on my third school of thought about what happened and more confused than I was to start with. At first I simply wondered how they could be so stupid at such a crucial point in such a crucial match. Did they realise how agonising it was for the fans? Then I wondered whether these two great artists who have brought us both silverware and exquisite football had endured one of those once in a career cock-ups, the like of which every great band have had with that one appalling single and every great director has had with one shocking film. Should we simply forgive and forget and laugh it off as one bizarre and fortunately uncostly cock-up?
But now I wonder: was it symptomatic of a greater malaise? Could it be that whilst we as fans still yearn desperately to win the European Cup and to catch Chelsea, Pires and Henry see the first as impossible and the second as highly improbable and in any case offering only a reward that would emulate, rather than surpass previous achievements? Do they still have the same drive to succeed for Arsenal? Would Frank Lampard even consider doing anything other than burying the ball from the spot, irrespective of the score? And if the three points were as vital for them as they were for us, how could they contemplate even trying that penalty?
I realise the above paragraph could easily be interpreted as me saying they don’t care. I am definitely not saying that. For a start I am saying the above insinuations are true and in any case, if there has been any loss of drive, I would suggest it has been almost entirely subconscious and in no way deliberate. But whichever way you look at it, I think the above are fair questions that should be asked if we are to understand why such a monumental fuck-up occurred.
And just sticking with penalties for a moment, I’m delighted to see that Thierry Henry says he will be taking them all from now on. It had become absolutely farcical. Not only did we have our top marksman refusing to take penalties he had won for absolutely no obvious reason whatsoever. We also had Dennis refusing to take them following his miss against United over six years ago! Fear of flying is one thing, but a phobia of penalties is another and you get the feeling that in any other walk of life Dennis would have been told to pull himself together and just do it. And to think that yesterday it had got to the stage where we were passing them to each other. Incredible.
Which is also what can be said for getting two penalties off Mike Riley. I haven’t seen any replays of the second one, while the first one could have gone either way. But I will just say that analysing these things in super slow motion is pointless because football is not played in super slow motion. Slowing the play down will always make it look like the attacker has deliberately let himself be fouled. It distorts reality.
At last, the game. Firstly, City were very well organised and are a genuinely decent side. So a win is good. But we’re struggling. A fair part of the problem can be summarised in six words: Flamini, Gilberto, Cesc, Lampard, Essien, Makalele. Our players are good, but we lack a monster in there like Chelsea have and it tells. Eight other words also explain a lot: Van Persie, Senderos, Quincy, Eboue, Robben, Crespo, Gudjohnsen, Ferreira. Arsene didn’t make a single sub. Mourinho introduced first Gudjohnsen, then Robben and then Crespo, all about ten minutes apart. Of course, they didn’t win. But the contrast could not have been bigger.
Arsene is not an idiot: his public buoyancy and confidence in the strength of the squad is surely just a charade that he is obliged to show in an effort to maintain moral. But at heart it must be obvious to him just how blatantly we need to splash the cash.
I’ll finish by saying that Pires and Henry were right to apologise. And that Spurs away is the perfect time to make-up for things by putting in a committed, impassioned performance. And it’s vital they do, because if we’re as slack at White Hart Lane this time as we have been recently, then this time we will lose. And nobody wants that.
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20/10/05
Why Henry's goal at Upton Park was his greatest ever
In the world of footballing top tens, there surely can’t be a more enjoyable experience than picking Thierry Henry’s best goals. I can’t honestly claim to have seen enough of Pele and Maradona to properly judge them. But my suspicion is that if a montage of Thierry Henry goals were shown next to montages of the Brazilian and Argentinian’s best strikes, Henry would not look out of place.
So, at 10…
Chelsea (h) 12/04. At kick-off people said their defence was the immovable object and Thierry Henry didn’t score in big games. Thirty seconds later he had pinged in an unstoppable shot from the edge of the box, leaving Cech rooted to the spot.
at 9…
Bayern Munich (h) 03/05. A strange choice for some perhaps, but for me another brilliant goal against an immovable object. Bayern may have been a defensive shambles in the next round at Chelsea but against us they were tighter than something incredibly tight. After 70 odd minutes, Henry controlled a long ball on the left from Cole, brought it down and hit it instantly across Oliver Khan with complete precision. It was a perfectly executed goal. And it had to be.
At 8…
Manchester City (h) 01/04. This one is also representing the swerver against United later that season. Against City, I was in the North Bank and saw just how much his shot seemed to swerve and yet keep completely straight like an arrow. David James didn’t have a prayer.
At 7…
Sparta Prague (a) 10/05. A very late entrant but very deserving of it’s place. On for six minutes, he controlled the ball on the outside of his foot, swung his whole body through 360 degrees and then fired in a bending shot that beat the goalkeeper in the only part of the net it could have. Almost arrogantly brilliant.
At 6…
Inter Milan (a) 11/03. Broke out from defence, looked to be going nowhere and then made Javier Zanetti look amateurish before slamming home with the left foot. A brilliant goal and the crucial third in a 5-1 win.
At 5…
Spurs (h) 11/02. Very, very special run. He took them all on, cut inside and finished brilliantly. Then he celebrated in serious style in front of the west stand. Magnificent.
At 4…
Charlton (h) 10/04. So good it completely bamboozled the cameraman. I watched this game in a pub in London with one of those dodgy satellites. The commentary was in a foreign language, music was playing in the bar and a lot of people were only half watching. The camera was focused in on Henry as he held the ball with his back to goal about six yards out. Then he backheeled the ball and suddenly wheeled away in delight. The pub was genuinely stunned. Those of us who realised what must have happened looked on in disbelief. When they showed a replay from another angle the reaction from the rest of the pub was one of sheer incredulity. And the more they showed it the more disbelieving the reactions. It didn’t really matter what happened in the rest of the game.
At 3…
Liverpool (h) 04/04. No doubt you’ve heard people say how important this goal was in us winning the title. It was. I was at Highbury that day and 2-1 down at half time there was some serious cigarette smoking going on in the north bank. Within a minute we had equalised thanks to Freddie Ljungberg. But after equalising once and then going behind again, a fair few people feared things were turning against us and we would do it again.
Then Henry picked the ball up on the left. He jinked in, took on a couple of defenders and simply by his presence created sheer panic in the Liverpool defence. So much so that Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher knocked in to each other and fell to the ground comically. Suddenly Henry was through and he finished coolly. The north bank erupted. People who had not lost it since Ray Parlour scored against Valencia found themselves jumping out of their seats. A massive, massive goal and sheer brilliance bore in part out of the complete panic his presence can induce.
At 2…
Manchester United (h) 10/00. Unreal goal. Fed by Grimandi miles out, he chipped it up, spun Gary Neville and in one fired in a volley that dipped and swerved over Barthez into the far corner. Watching at home, all I saw was the ball leave his foot. I thought it was going miles over. Then the Clock End went mad. I had lost the ball in the air. Eventually, I was persuaded it had gone in but was convinced it could only have had it taken the most massive of deflections. Then I saw the replay. One of the goals of goals.
At 1…
West Ham (a) 08/02. You may think this a weird choice. I say the beauty of it has never fully been recognised. Now, don’t get me wrong: were this goal being judged purely on Henry controlling the ball on his knee and hitting an absolute bullet past David James from 30 yards, it would not be anywhere near number one, however great a finish it was. It is the first touch that does it and it is a touch which in my opinion defies the physics of football.
He receives the ball on the right edge of the penalty area from a Vieira pass. He has his back to goal. It is played firmly in to his left foot. Then he takes the crucial touch, which I will come back to in a minute. When he next touches it he has spun 180 degrees so that he is now facing diagonally to goal. His defender has been left bamboozled. The ball lands on what is now Henry’s right knee. Think about what he did with that touch: he took a ball that was coming into his feet and with one touch he looped it up in to the air with his foot. When it fell it was still, incredibly, travelling in the original direction. But he didn’t just lob it into the air, which would have been hard enough.
Instead, he met the ball purposefully with the right hand side of his left boot and somehow spun (not hooked as would have been the case had he used the left hand side of the boot) the ball up in to the air up and over his defender’s head. Had Brazil done it in 1970 I genuinely believe it would be replayed continuously now. Do whatever you can to get a copy of the video and watch that touch because 250 words of mine have failed to do it justice.
And it is for that reason that West Ham away was Thierry Henry’s best Arsenal goal and potentially the greatest I have ever seen.
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19/10/05
Sparta 0 Arsenal 2: Match report, playa ratings and Henry worshipping
The formalities first, then the Henry stuff: Cygan replaced Senderos who had replaced Campbell and Cygan continued in place of the injured Cole. Gilberto returned in midfield in place of Cesc who replaced the injured Ljungberg. The returning Van Persie replaced Bergkamp (something to do with a fear of flying).
We started well, with Cesc having a shot and some promising attacks. Then Reyes went off injured and Arsene went for the brave option of risking Thierry Henry for 70 minutes. Within two minutes he had chested the ball down on the edge of the box and fired what looked like a beaut of a volley that was deflected wide. Then he brought down a through ball from Kolo, spun on the edge of the box and hit the most belle of bending shots with the outside of his right foot. Great goal.
We didn’t do much else for the rest of the half and started the second somewhat sluggishly. Then on 65 we started playing again and within five minutes Pires? had played Henry in with a beautiful ball. He controlled it and still had a fair bit to do to knock it home. 2-0 it finished. A decent enough performance and a great result. Playa ratings to the right.
The goals take Theirry Henry past Ian Wright’s all time Arsenal goal scoring record. We have been fantastically privileged to see him rack up 186 not out and even luckier that so many have been done in such incredible style.
As I walked to work yesterday morning (Tuesday), I went with a bounce in my step. Sometimes you don’t realise what you have til it’s gone and I for one could not wait to see his magnificence return to the pitch.
Of course, there will be those Arsenal fans who will bemoan his unwillingness to commit to the club in his post match interview. That kind of reaction is absolute bollocks in my view. It is quite obvious he is not going to come out and commit to the club just like that because the fact is he is considering leaving. He is 28, has achieved a massive amount, probably fears somewhat about the destination we are headed towards and feels he may want to try and conquer Spain before he retires. People ask for him to be honest. He is. By saying what he is saying he is making it perfectly clear things are up in the air.
Do people want him to say he wants to go? What good would that do? The fact is that when he says he is focused on his football at the moment, that is the truth and that is what he showed us tonight. What is wrong with him kissing the badge if he puts in great performances? Kissing the badge is a sign that your heart is in to what you are doing. And who could argue that his heart wasn’t in tonight’s performance?
Of course we don’t want him to leave on a Bosman. But if he leaves, he leaves. We have been absurdly lucky to have not only one of the best, but one of the most consistent players in the world between the ages of 22 and 28 in his career. If he wants to move then so be it. I would wish him all the best.
Of course, I desperately want him to sign a new contract. But let us be grown up about this. He is doing nothing wrong. The best we can do is get behind him (the fans were great tonight), get behind the team at Highbury (we can do a lot better) and hope Arsene can bring in the players and the team achieve the success that will allow Thierry Henry to stay.
I have no inside knowledge on the issue of his contract, but my hunch would be that things are not a lot more complicated than Thierry fearing (quite justifiably) that the standard of the squad is slipping and that we look less likely to achieve the success (particularly in Europe) that he so craves.
We shall see what happens, but in the meantime let’s celebrate his achievement and leave the worrying for another time. I have written enough now, so won’t reveal my favourite Henry goal now, but you can reveal yours below.
ps: he seemed pretty happy to me when he broke the record.
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16/10/05
West Brom 2 Arsenal 1: Report + playa ratings. Grim.
Arsene Wenger has never suffered the indignity of losing to a lower division team as Arsenal manager, but it is hard to believe that the disappointment could be any greater than that experienced after today’s loss at West Brom.
In 45 minutes, our emotions went from genuine hope that things could be turning our way (we were winning and Chelsea were losing) to the sheer grimness of seeing us somehow lose and them come back to win 5-1.
In short, we took an early lead when Senderos hooked home a deep Reyes corner. We were completely dominant, they were crap. We sat back. They equalised after a feeble Pires attempt to block a cross, a poor header from Senderos and terrible marking of Kanu. Of all people, the man renowned for taking 10 touches when two will do, had time to control the ball, compose himself and then fire off an (impressive) shot past the helpless Lehman. It was a shocker of a goal.
In the 2nd half we eventually rallied around the hour mark and though we had a couple of chances (Toure, Reyes, Bergkamp) things were in no way urgent enough. We probably should have had a penalty for a foul on Reyes, but he wasn’t in a scoring position so I’m not going to complain. It would, however, be nice to see referees decide whether a foul should be given not based on where the incident happens on the pitch but on the incident itself. And if this means the law needs to be reformed so that minor fouls in non-threatening positions in the area do not warrant a spot-kick then so be it. We need consistency.
Anyway, they then scored a cracker out of absolutely nothing. We huffed but got nowhere. Immensely disappointing and all the more so when you are watching the game in the corner of a bar while in other corners Chelsea, United, Liverpool and Spurs fans are all celebrating goals going in. The upshot of all this is that the table does not look good. In fact I don’t even want to see it. All I know is we’re 14 points behind Chelsea having dropped 11 to their none.
But the main discussion must be about the performance. We started with a very youthful team containing Senderos, Clichy, Reyes, Flamini, Cesc and for much of the game Eboue too after Fred went off. We were without Cole, Campbell, Gilberto, Van Persie, Henry, Hleb and then Ljungberg. That would be a big miss to any squad, all the more so to ours.
So perhaps that excuses things. Or perhaps it doesn’t. The Everton and Man City sides that a far less experienced Arsenal dispatched from last season’s League Cup were miles better than the carthorses West Brom served up today. We could and should have easily won this game.
The problem is that the fact we are not at our most fluent at the moment should mean every playa is giving 120% so that effort alone can get us through. But that is not the case. We were leaden footed and lethargic today. Really, I would say that excluding the hard to appraise Lehman, only Reyes and perhaps Senderos and Toure did themselves justice out there today. Not everything may be coming off for Reyes, but he keeps plugging away and chasing everything.
The same is not true for the others. Pires is the worst culprit. His effort at times is frankly lamentable. I can just about excuse him pulling out of tackles because he is worried about his knee but he has no excuse for not doing everything humanly possible to block crosses.
We are clearly lacking really good cover right through the spine of the team (a defender, midfielder and striker are all needed). But we also have to roll our sleeves up and not commit the immortal sin of taking our foot off the pedal just because our opponents are crap.
It is going to take a miraculous recovery for us to challenge for the league now. We need our genuinely rotten luck with injuries to turn, new playas and better performances.
One final point about today’s referee and the one minute 55 seconds of injury time he added on. Now don’t get me wrong, I loathe it when managers squabble over every few seconds. My theory is normally if you don’t score in 90 then you probably won’t score in 94. But today was just some kind of complete joke. We had an injury a minute from time that lasted about one minute 40 seconds, we had four second half subs, three of which were incredibly slow West Brom ones, we had one of the longest and deliberately stalling goal celebrations ever and we had them wasting time every time they got a free-kick or goal kick, even when it was 1-1.
By adding on just two minutes the referee has completely indulged that negativity (which I accept Arsenal have been guilty of in the past). It was a complete joke.
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09/10/05
Football returns next week
Do you get very bored of England games after 60 minutes? Do you have to tell yourself to try to be happy when England score? And does part of you secretly will the opposition to knock one past ‘us’?
Answer: Yes, yes and yes.
My conclusion is that Sven would get double the amount of stick if the thought of writing about England wasn’t so boring. In fact, I’ve had enough. I’m so bored I can’t be stuffed to write any more about England.
But I will say a few words about my good friends at FIFA. Presumably David Beckham’s red card will stand, despite his 2nd booking being a blatant dive.
It will stand because under FIFA’s own half witted rules, appeals are only allowed in cases of mistaken identity. I don’t give a stuff about Beckham, but I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: this is the most inept rule I have ever seen.
England have been wrongly deprived of a playa for 30 minutes because of an opposition player’s connivance. And then to compound the problem, they will ban him for no other reason than that they have invented a stupid rule that says he must be banned.
For some reason, this rule pisses me off big time. It is the height of bullshit in a game overflowing with the stuff. The only bans being handed out should be for the half wits who invented this rule and are now pressuring the Premiership to take it up.
The only saving grace is that these things have a way of hitting people back in the face. How I will laugh if the brilliant Ronaldinho is sent-off in next year’s World Cup semi-final for handling on the line when the ball clearly hit his chest. Of course, my scorn will not be directed at the unfortunate Brazilian. Instead it will be at the FIFA bigwigs who will have seen their showpiece player miss their showpiece game because of their own arrogant, farcical rules.
Football returns next week.
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021005
Arsenal 1 Birmingham 0 - half a report
Well, I only saw the second half (hence no playa ratings). From the sounds of it we created a fair bit in the first half and as well as missing a penalty we could have had a hatful.
The second half seemed a very flat affair. Maik Taylor made great saves early on from Pires and Ljungberg and then we seemed to lose any great degree of urgency. In the end, Van Persie’s not brilliantly hit shot deflected off a defender and beat the excellent Taylor. We held on, though not with any great style.
We looked lethargic in the latter stages. From what I saw Campbell, Toure and Cole looked good enough. Reyes is playing with brilliant enthusiasm and desire. The rest of them don’t look lazy by any means but if you compare us with Chelsea at the moment, is the same unswerving desire there? I’m not so sure.
It needs to be.
And the crowd can play their part too. Apologies if the SKY sound system did Highbury a disservice, but the ground sounded embarrassingly silent today. The players are human beings like the rest of us and they thrive on the support of the crowd like you and I would. So, if you’re lucky enough to be at Highbury, sing.
Chelsea won 4-1 this afternoon and looked good, albeit against what is a pretty poor Liverpool league side. The Kop were singing louder in the 89th minute than anything Highbury managed today.
On site news, I’ve gone back to the old design but with the new logo following a public outcry. Not sure about what should go in the space on the left though, as the Latest Updates column was pointless and time consuming to update.
Finally, a question for any readers who live in Dublin or anywhere else in the Republic of Ireland. I need to get internet access at my new flat for 3 months. Are there any broadband companies who don’t insist on you signing up for 12 months? And what is the best dial-up?
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Archives: July 2005, June 2005, May 2005, April 2005,March 2005, February 2005, January 2005, December 2004 and the embryonic goodplaya.
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Playa ratings:
v West Ham (2-3) - NEW
Lehman: An absolute idiot for stupidly getting involved with Harewood late on. Not only was it nasty, but he could have been sent-off and he also put us out of our stride. A minute later West Ham made it 3-1. He’s a very good goalkeeper but an arrogant, nasty character and an embarrassment when he behaves like that. 4
Gilbert: Looked to be doing fine until the Arsenal full-back curse struck. 6
Djorou: Individually did well, but understandably hasn’t been able to strike up any kind of partnership with Campbell yet. 6
Campbell: What can you say? Two massive errors that were punished to the max. Things just aren’t going his way at all. 4
Senderos: Obviously doesn’t offer the attacking prowess of Cole or Clichy but he looked solid and his distribution to Pires was fairly impressive. Did fine at centre-back in the second half but should have whacked it out instead of passing to Larsson for the mistake that led to the third goal. 5
Gilberto: He’s not great at the moment. Far too passive for my liking. 5
Diaby: Still raw, but I like him. And he is so like Vieira: even his mistakes remind me of Vieira’s shortcomings. Not sure why he was taken off. 7
Ljungberg: You have to laugh at the way he somehow managed to deflect Henry’s shot wide. Is trying really hard and not actually playing badly at all. But nothing is going his way. 7
Pires: I do feel we need players with greater bite than Pires at the moment. But in fairness, he was involved, scored one, set-up the other one for Henry and saw Hislop deny him with a great save. 6
Henry: Hard to judge. Seemed to have a decent enough game on TV but reports from the game were critical. 6
Van Persie: Unlucky. Offered a lot but nothing went his way. 7
Subs:
Flamini: Brought on as an emergency right-back but did pretty well all things considered. Say what you like about Flamini but he’s a fighter who unlike some of his team-mates will never be found lacking for effort. 7
Larsson: Yes, he made the cock-up for the third goal. But it was typical of our rough justice. Other than that he was excellent: committed in the tackle, full of running in attack and crucially he understands the value of hitting long-balls diagonally, as opposed to completely straight. Which is something some of his team-mates could do with taking note of. 7
Dennis: Not normally much of a substitute, but he found himself a good niche on the right of midfield and offered us extra creativity. Well hit volley to set up Pires’ goal. 6
v Sparta Prague (0-2)
Lehmann: Solid enough game. He’s doing well at the moment. 7
Clichy: Bit of a nightmare really, though to be fair their right winger was their best playa. 5
Cygan: Surprisingly assured. 7
Kolo: Looked fairly good most of the time. 7
Lauren: The odd moment of strangeness. 6.5
Flamini: Was hard to judge the midfielders tonight. Seemed to do the normal without being mega effective. 6.5
Gilberto: One of those Gilberto games where you don’t really know how he has played. 6.5
Fabregas: Got fairly involved and offered threat down the right. 7
Pires: Not his best game by any means but still one of his better ones this season. Magnificent ball for the second goal. 7
Van Persie: Seems to get carded in Europe for the most ridiculous things. Did alright without having much effect. 6.5
Reyes: Full of running til he got injured and wasn’t running at all. 6.5
Subs:
Henry (for Reyes 17ish): Emperor-like as he beat Wrighty’s record. Magnificent playa who, had he not scored, would have been accused of going missing in another big game. But because he did score, it won’t count as a big game. 8.5
Eboue (for Van Persie 70ish): Looking ok at the moment. 6.5
Quincy (for Cesc 85ish): Full of running. 6.5
v West Brom (2-1)
Lehmann: Blameless for goals. 6
Lauren: Not particularly composed. 5.5
Clichy: Has had far better games. 5.5
Senderos: Good goal, messy header for theirs. 6
Toure: Ok but ridiculously offside at one free kick. 5.5
Flamini: Ok but uninspiring. 5.5
Cesc: Decent. Kept trying. 6
Pires: Crap. 4.5
Ljungberg: Ok while he was on. 5.5
Reyes: Still running his heart out. 7
Bergkamp: A moany kind of day. 5.5
Subs:
Eboue (for Ljungberg 35ish): Not great. 5.5
Quincy (for Flamini 80ish): Bizarrely decided what Arsenal lack is left-wingers. 5.5
v Everton (2-0)
Jens: Very little to do. Did it all right. 7
Lauren: Occasionally seemed to imagine he had more pace than he does, which was quite amusing as he tried to take people on. Solid as usual. 7
Cole: As someone who gave him a good bashing over the summer it would suit by agenda to say he is playing poorly. But that would be a lie. Whatever the reasons for it, he has started the season well and in attack in particular is offering a lot. 7.5
Toure: Nothing to do at the back and seemed to enjoy getting in on this whole new set-piece malarkey. 7
Campbell: Two excellent headers, especially the second one which was a real hammer. Not at full speed yet but looked good, organised the defence well, shouted at people and seemed to realise he was our most senior player on the pitch. 8
Pires: Hadn’t done all that much in the brief period he was on the pitch before Gary Neville’s shit younger brother’s tackle forced him off. 6.5
Cesc: One friend said to me he is looking lightweight and giving the ball away too much. Maybe. But I think he does a lot of good stuff and his presence in the opponent’s penalty box is valuable. 7
Gilberto: Solid game, got through a fair amount and gave us a couple of those rare Gilberto moments where for a few seconds he stops looking like he is suspended in perpetual slow motion and instead provides us with raw Brazilian skill. 7
Ljungberg: Started slowly but furrowed hard as ever. Seemed to make a real determination to either stick wide out on the wing or else very deliberately come inside as opposed to just being narrow. I think it worked. Unlucky to hit bar in second half. 7
Van Persie: Hit the post with a nice effort (right footed!) and had some decent moments but was otherwise a bit subdued. Has been a fairly rough few weeks and is probably still feeling his way back in to things. 6.5
Reyes: Loses the ball now and then but that is only because he constantly seems to have it. Boundless energy at the moment, great creativity and fantastic balls into the box. Really was amazing how much of the ball he had tonight. 8
Subs:
Hleb (for Pires first half some time): Played pretty well, looked pretty creative and linked up well with Cole. Playing better than Pires. 7
Dennis (for Van Persie 80ish): Did alright. Created a bit of stuff. Didn’t do anything of note. 6.5
Alex Song (for Reyes 87ish): Made a couple of sloppy passes but it was harsh and exaggerated for Alan Smith to say he hadn’t found a man. 6
v Thun (2-1)
Almunia: Probably not to blame on the goal and handling was ok even though he still catches very strangely.6
Lauren: Did the usual Lauren stuff. Fairly well. 6.5
Cole: Thought he was good today. Clean at the back and contributed well going forward. Perhaps he enjoyed having Pires back in front of him. 7
Toure: Seemed ok. Can’t remember too much else.6.5
Sol: Looking a little chunky but it must be good to have him back.6.5
Cesc: Not his most spectacular game but made a couple of decent runs forward and made one particularly delicious pass in the second half.6.5
Gilberto: Very well taken goal and was more involved tonight than normally. An experienced head 7.5
Pires: By no means at his best but infinitely better than the past few games. Got in an early curler that almost flew in and was generally far more involved. Even tried to tackle twice. Neither attempt worked.. 7
Ljungberg. Svavanged without achieving much.6.5
RVP: Had been easing himself back into first team action when the dick head referee struck. 6.5
Reyes: Excellent, his boundless enthusiasm drove the team on and he looked really dangerous at times and caused Thun more problems than anyone else. 8
Subs:
Dennis (for Cesc 70 odd): Is that his first goal as a sub? Took it well. 7
Hleb (for Reyes 80 odd): Didn’t really find his touch in the ten minutes he had.6
Quincy (for Ljungberg 80 odd): Offered a new threat.6.5
v Fulham (4-1)
Lehman: Looking very solid at the moment. You can tell it by the fact he is not making kicking mistakes at the moment. At tricky moments, his handling from corners was excellent.7
Lauren: Missed a penalty, but that was bound to happen one day and at least it didn’t matter. Otherwise, he played well and looked particularly committed (mostly in the right sense) in the tackle. 7
Cole: His best attacking display for a while and linked up promisingly with Reyes. 7.5
Cygan: I’ve made no secret of the fact that his presence in the team pleases me not. Defending was ok tonight, though a couple of times Fulham forwards worryingly escaped him when crosses were slung in. Took his goals very well. Could it be that unlike the rest of the side Cygan does not feel obligated to score the perfect goal and concentrates on just sticking it in the net?7.5
Kolo: Poor clearance for the Fulham goal but on the whole had a decent game. The defensive issues we have at the moment seem more a collective than individual problem. 7
Cesc: Gets a wee bit overrun occasionally but on the whole is playing really well and in particular offers a genuine attacking threat in the way that perhaps Vieira sometime failed to. 7
Gilberto: Did what Gilberto does. Still sometimes resembles one of those video graphic created dinosaurs in the way he moves. 7
Hleb: Good first half, creating a fair deal and generally looking like a cross between Pires and Ljungberg (in the best sense). 7
Reyes: A very good game in my opinion, full of running, full of trickery and very direct. In particular, he linked up very well with Cole and Henry, which was very pleasing. His ball for Henry’s first goal was majestic and pleasingly the two seemed on the same wavelength tonight. 8
Dennis: Besides his idiotic yellow card he had a great game and was at the heart of Fulham’s dissection. Kept going strong right to the end. 8
Henry: Took his two goals, which both came at crucial times, very well. Just one more to equal Wright’s record. 7.5
Subs:
Flamini (for Reyes 75 odd): Set up Henry for the killer third goal. 7
Clichy (for Hleb 85 odd): Ran around like mad, as Clichy does. 7
v Liverpool (3-1)
Lehman: Two really good saves – the first from Riise and the second from Gerard’s piledriver. Flapped at one cross but all it served to do was to remind us how much he has improved. 7.5
Lauren: Did very well, almost scoring from Pires’ cross in the first half and setting up the third goal with some nice play. Is doing well at the moment, perhaps spurred on by Wenger not mentioning right back when saying which areas he doesn’t need to strengthen over the summer! 7.5
Cole: A mixed game. Good going forward and times and obviously an excellent second half block from Garcia. But also occasionally sloppy, messing up things we know him well capable of doing. 6.5
Senderos: A big presence at the heart of the defence he had one of his sternest tests in an Arsenal shirt when Liverpool got at us in the second half. Did pretty well on the whole though, especially as protection from midfield was not always forthcoming. 7
Kolo: A good solid outing and the same goes for him as for Senderos. 7
Vieira: Did some stuff really well and was very influential in our first half attacking play. But I felt he allowed the midfield to be too easily swamped after the break and was not always applying the pressure to Liverpool that he might have done. 7
Gilberto: It goes without saying that evaluating a Gilberto performance is very, very difficult. That said, I felt that like Vieira he could have offered a bit more bite in midfield to help out the defence in the second half. 6.5
Pires: Really was at the heart of some of our best stuff in the first half. Crossed brilliantly for Lauren to almost score, shot just wide and then scored with a magnificent free-kick. Faded later on. 7.5
Cesc: Absolutely outstanding. He set the move in motion for Reyes’ offside goal, fired just wide from 20 yards, scored his own offside goal and then added a very neat third for us in stoppage time. In between this he ran the game, tackling, running with the ball, passing brilliantly and generally looking the best player on the park. Outstanding. 9
Reyes: Not perfect, but he notched up another well taken goal, scored an offside one and ran his heart out for the cause in the second half. 7.5
Van Persie: Not as involved as he has been but got involved and put over one excellent early cross for Robert Pires. Generally looking a much better player than previously. 7
Subs:
Edu (for Pires 70 odd): Came on and did ok. 6.5
Bergkamp (for Van Persie 70 odd): Set up Fabregas for the third with a fantastic flick but was otherwise pretty poor. When he did try and press Liverpool he gave away a few free-kicks and the rest of the time he just didn’t seem to chase them at a time when we really needed players to get stuck in. I know he is still capable of the odd piece of magic but we probably have enough to our attacking armoury that magic alone should not prompt a new contract. We have shown we are capable of winning without Dennis and should probably now look to the future. 6
Aliadiere (for Reyes 85): As ever he came on and got stuck in, chasing everything and hassling the Liverpool defenders. Has a really good attitude and probably deserves more than five minutes at some point. 6.5
v West Brom (2-0)
Lehman: The defence clearly trusts him again and he is reciprocating that with improved handling, kicking and decision making. 7
Lauren: Worked reasonably hard and got forward on a few occasions. 7
Cole: Looked a little lethargic at times but kept going and finished the game strongly, setting us on a number of attacks. 6.5
Senderos: A couple of passes went astray but took a no nonsence defence to defending. Far be it for me to argue with his current record of not conceding a goal for absolutely yonks. 7.5
Gilberto: Covered well at set pieces, but with Arsenal in 2nd gear he seemed only to happy to make sure Gilberto was in 2nd gear too. Not much drive. 6.5
Vieira: Committed silly fouls early on and was not finding his passes. Got better as the game went on and provided more drive. Symbolic of our night. 7
Pires: Did ok initially but like the rest of them lacked the necessary drive. Got better with the team. 7
Cesc: Probably not his best game. Came looking for the ball a lot and should be credited for it but looked a little fatigued when challenged. 6.5
Van Persie: Did ok initially but was not really receiving a lot of support from the midfield. Took his goal magnificently. 7
Reyes: Ran hard but once again looked incredibly left footed. But gave an excellent assist for the opening goal and kept on trying right til the end, providing useful relief for the defence. 7
Subs:
Dennis (for Van Persie 75ish): Did little except provide a measured set-up for Edu's clincher. 6.5
Edu (for Cesc 75ish): Got involved a bit and finished well to clinch it. 7
v Spurs (1-0)
Lehman: Is playing very well and his handling looks as assured as ever, his throws good and his kicking far better than earlier in the season. I think it no great secret that he needs to control his temper. 7
Lauren: Has looked solid in recent weeks and looked more lively going forward. Alan Curbishley put him in his team of the season on the basis that few wingers get much change out of him. And he is probably right. Really does need to watch stray elbows though, intentional or not. 7
Toure: Was given a little trouble by Defoe but it was less trouble than Adi Akenbai gave him in the FA Cup in January. And Defoe is clearly a far better player than the Stoke man. Will soon score a very, very memorable free-kick I sense. 7
Senderos: It is hard to argue with his defensive record since he came into the side. We have simply stopped conceding goals. That said, what are the odds that back when we were conceding at will, Robbie Keane would have buried that chance. Could have got first goal for club with header. 7
Cole: Linked up well as ever with Pires down our left hand side and seemed really up for the fight. Had the slightly awkward penalty shout against him at the end but otherwise did well. 7
Vieira: With the ball he was excellent on the whole, spreading play at pace and helping support those ahead of him. Looks much more comfortable with Gilberto next to him. Though that said they both looked half a step off the pace at times against a Spurs side full of running. 7
Gilberto: Did what Gilberto does well. Though probably not as much of a shield as against Chelsea. 7
Cesc: Tired a little in the second half but was his usual youthful magnificence until then. Spread the ball with ease, got stuck in, helped out the attack and set up our goal. Nice. 7.5
Pires: Not the force he was against Chelsea but is playing well at the moment, linking up well with Cole down the left and generally providing an experienced head in an otherwise youthful attack. 7
Van Persie: Set Reyes up for the first minute chance, fired a decent effort wide and generally played quite a mature game without hitting great heights. 7
Reyes: Did very well to come back after the first minute miss. Goal was excellent and attitude looked good. Seemed to find an extra gear for second half run that set up Dennis. 7.5
Subs:
Dennis (for Van Persie 70 odd): Curled one wide and generally looked quite good against a tiring Spurs defence. There was the odd occasion when I felt he let the player pass him to quickly but that was probably just my last minute nerves. 7
Edu (for Cesc 70 odd): Hit the post with a curling effort and slotted in very, very neatly on the left. Will be a great shame to lose him if he does eventually go. 7
Aliadiere (for Van Persie 87 odd): Only had a few minutes but looked really keen to impress. Had a couple of good touches, got stuck in and made tired Spurs legs panic, buying us valuable time. 7
v Chelsea (0-0)
Lehman: Has looked much better recently and besides the odd dodgy kick, looked very solid against Chelsea and made one excellent save early on from Drogba. His positioning seemed good on through balls. 7
Lauren: He really didn’t put a foot wrong and kept Damien Duff and probably had his best game for the club against a very, very tricky opponent. Was ferocious and fair in the tackle. 8
Cole: After a slightly tentative start he threw himself at everything Chelsea chucked at us. Whatever people’s feelings about his current situation, there can be no complaints about his performance. 7
Senderos: Excellent as usual. This guy likes clean sheets. 7
Toure: Really did well in what could have been a tricky night. Got weight on his clearances and never panicked. 7
Vieira: It really doesn’t take a genius to figure out how much he seems to be enjoying having Gilberto back in the side. Really led the side again with fine interventions and set us on the path to attack – such as when Pires hit the bar. 7.5
Gilberto: Suffered a couple of inevitable nosebleeds when he got into decent positions going forward but otherwise did a fine job of snaffling out what Chelsea threw at us and generally making the team a slick unit. Showed one or two fine turns as well. 7
Cesc: This kid really does defy logic. At a time when his brittle bones should be feeling the effects of a long, hard season he is looking stronger than ever. Magnificently composed on the ball, he worked furiously in defence, midfield and attack. 8
Pires: His early volley that hit the bar reminded me of when I stood in the Holte End last year for Villa v Arsenal and he hit an even better effort that was turned just over. Even the anti-French bigots around me were shut well and truly up.
There is a wonderful magnificence about watching Robert Pires on song. He caresses the ball delightfully and when it’s time to move it on he does it with the utmost precision. A joy to watch and unlucky not to score twice. 9
Reyes: The story of his last 6 months – no problem with effort but he just lacks the confidence to make things really happen. The annoying thing is that he’s making errors on things that a confident Reyes could do with his eyes shut. Let’s hope his effort is rewarded soon. 6
Bergkamp: Like Reyes he worked hard and did his bit to keep Chelsea at bay. But also like Reyes he found himself struggling up front. The curtain appears to be falling on his magnificent career. Hopefully an announcement will be made soon and both we and Dennis can enjoy his final games. 6
Subs:
Van Persie (for Dennis 80 odd): Struggled to get into the game but had a few decent chances and ran hard for the side.
Aliadiere (for Cesc 85 odd): Did alright but by the time he came on it didn’t look like either side were really going to score.
v Boro (1-0)
Lehman: Flapped at one cross in the first half and then came ridiculously far out of his goal before eventually winning the ball. Yes, he’s kept a fair few clean sheets recently and yes, it’s even true we could win the league again with him in goal, but no, we won’t win in Europe with Jens and no, he’s not the answer. 6
Lauren: His early challenge, whilst not worthy of a red card as suggested on Match of the Day, was sheer stupidity. He did alright and he’s plodding along but not really getting any better. 6
Cole: Attacked decently at times but wasn’t helped by a very, very ineffectual Robert Pires. 6.5
Senderos: Now looks like he should be partnering Sol Campbell when the two are fit. Authoritative, big and commanding, his presence has coincided with a string of clean sheets. Still has rough edges, but these are being shaved all the time. 7
Kolo: Did reasonably well and made a couple of important blocks, but I’m not convinced his future lies in the heart of the defence. Together, he and Lauren sometimes seem to bring out the worst in each other and we just don’t look solid, clean sheets or no clean sheets. Would like to see him at right back. 6.5
Gilberto: I looked out especially for incidences of him filling gaps and yes, I can confirm it happens and he does his job well. Still looks very nervous in attacking positions, but his presence is welcome. 6
Vieira: I thought he did reasonably well, though like the rest of the players he seemed to have trouble bringing any great coherency to our play. 6
Cesc: I plumped for Cesc on the right a while ago and I like seeing him there. He got well forward and was always involved. Looks tired, but it’s been a long old season and he’s still, only 17. 6.5
Pires: I thought him absolute rubbish up until he scored really. His inability to tackle has been documented many times before, but on Saturday he seemed to be playing the whole game at walking pace. But then who better is there at converting the one chance he gets to secure a 1-0 lead. 6
Reyes: Things still aren’t all coming off for him but I sense things are getting better and his work rate and willingness to track back really can’t be faulted. We know for a fact that the boy has the talent to succeed, so while he may not be showing what he’s really capable of right now, we should applaud his recent application. Had a couple of really mazy runs and set up Henry excellently for a shot he scuffed. 7
Henry: Had one of those games where he seemed to stand almost still on the edge of the box, conserving his energy and waiting to pounce. It didn’t really work, though he did have a glorious chip fly just wide and certainly scared the Boro fans every time he got the ball. He was also up against an obdurate Boro. 6.5
Subs:
Dennis (Reyes 46): Did alright without really changing the game at all. It seems the curtain may be falling on his illustrious career and reluctantly, I think it right. We know he can still play brilliantly in patches but the truth is that it’s becoming less often and it’s hampering us in European away games. We need someone to step forward and become Henry’s partner. Sometimes the bullet needs to be bitten. And now is that time. 6
v Palace (5-1)
Jens: It’s tempting to say that the early back pass cock-up could just as easily have happened to Petr Cech but in truth that would be a lie. He’s simply too cocky and over confident with his kicking – it’s why so many balls get sliced wildly and why we almost conceded a shambolic own goal tonight. Otherwise, he actually did quite well. 6.5
Lauren: Is definitely becoming a better player going forward but was as culpable as anyone for our defensive malaise. 6
Cygan: Didn’t have an awful game but on too many occasions simple long balls forward by Palace became much more serious than they needed to be. 6
Kolo: Got skinned more often than he would have liked and was caught out at times from crosses. But still, we only conceded one. 6.5
Clichy: Did well getting forward, causing a constant menace. Defending was largely competent but seemed to be infected by the general defensive tendency to give the ball away. 6.5
Vieira: Another tricky game to rate from the captain. At times he was sluggish and easily caught in possession. At others, he took a grip on the game and drove the team forward impressively. Got well forward for his goal. 7
Edu: Didn’t have the sudden impact he enjoyed at Villa last week but did well enough and certainly gave us a fair bit of solidity. Good ball to Reyes for the opener. 7
Pires: Seemed to be rewriting the dictionary definition of anonymous for the first 20 or so minutes. Then got more into the game without coming close to hitting top gear. Was unlucky to hit the post in the 2nd half after good work from Reyes. 7
Reyes: His best game in yonks. He looked fearless again, running constantly at the Palace defence and causing a lot of trouble. Good assist for the first, great finish for the second, an assist for the third and a fantastic pass to Dennis to set up the fifth. Great to see him back again. 8.5
Dennis: As ever, he oiled, moulded and sculpted our performance. He also took his goal very well, like he did against Newcastle and United too. And set up Henry for the fifth. 7.5
Henry: Really played very, very well and channelled any frustration about constant offside decisions in exactly the right way. Had seemingly boundless energy to chase back lost causes and put us back on the attack. 8.5
Subs:
Flamini (for Edu 60odd): Solid and composed as ever. 7
Van Persie (for Dennis 80odd): Linked up reasonably well as the game entered its final stages. 7
Fabregas (for Pires 80odd): Settled in comfortably on the right. 7
v Wolves (2-0)
Jens: Whilst a clean sheet is a clean sheet, he had very little to do and looked no more reassuring than previously with his kicking. To be fair, he was also played a high number of over hit back passes today and was not at fault for the one from Flamini that took a wicked bobble off the Highbury surface (which appeared unusually cut-up).6.5
Eboue: Got forward well, hit the bar with a deflected shot and could have had a penalty. Nice work. 8
Clichy: Decent game without being exceptional.7
Sol: Not a lot to do. 7
Cygan: Better than usual. 8
Paddy: Mediocre for much of it truth be told. Got better later on and scored the penalty but for too long his mind didn’t seem in the right place. Sure, Wolves made it difficult by crowding midfield but too often he seemed semi asleep at throw ins and the like. Still, he kept going. 6.5
Flamini: Didn’t show the deftness of touch of the Newcastle game but retained all his normal solidity. And great as Ray Parlour was, watching Boro at the moment suggests that we’ve got an as good, if not better, replacement. 7
Reyes: A couple of good runs, some moments of anonymity and denied a stonewall penalty. Still getting back to form but it definitely seems better than a few weeks ago. 6.5
Freddie: Usual energetic performance without any stand out moments, save his well taken goal. That’s ten for the season now and we’re still in January. Good work Sir. 7
Van Persie: Not his most inspiring game and clearly doesn’t yet have the positional ability of Dennis (who does?) but is improving. 6.5
Henry: Gallic. Went into one of his moods after Riley ruled out his cheeky first half effort. Strutted around for a while, went in for a couple of silly tackles and became frankly self indulgently petulant when a foul was given against him. It’s alright for us to loathe Riley endlessly but our top striker shouldn’t let him affect his game. And the fact is he did. But recovered his composure, was unlucky not to score and set up Freddie in superb fashion. 8
Subs:
Cesc (for Van Persie): Settled in comfortably on the right. 7
Pires (for Reyes): Nice work for the clinching goal. 7
Quincy (for Fred): No time to make an impression.
v Charlton (3-1)
Alumnia: No chance with the goal and didn’t do too much wrong besides one poor fumble from a cross. Still not convinced by his catching techniques. No difficult saves to make6.5
Hoyte: Made the odd error but did well to make sure his old youth team buddy Jerome Thomas had his quietest game in weeks. Managed to get forward a bit more in the second half.7.5
Cole: Still not looking at his best and on a couple of occasions was embarrassed by Rommedahl. But in fairness he wasn’t as sloppy as recently and did get forward well later on. 6.5
Sol: With the exception of one wildly sliced clearance in the first half that Almunia had to save he looked pretty solid and kept Charlton’s clear chances to a minimum. Let’s hope his ankle isn’t too bad. 7
Kolo: Given a bit of grief by Bartlett in the air but stuck to his task well and like Campbell, restricted the number of clear cut chances. 7
Vieira: Watching the game live, I was unconvinced by his first half performance. But having just seen the highlights it seems he got through a lot of work and did what he had to do neatly and efficiently. Set up Fred well for the goal and kept up a good level of performance all the way through.7
Cesc: Lost the odd ball but was generally very sound. Passing was clean and crisp as ever and his touch for the second goal was exquisite by any standards.7.5
Freddie: Took his two goals brilliantly, worked hard and always looked a threat. In good form. 8
Clichy: Seemed to lose the ball cheaply a bit too often but worked hard down the left helping Cole out with nullifying the threat of Rohmedahl and getting forward well. Has tremendous energy which comes in handy at the end of games when opposition players tire.6.5
Henry: Not at his best today but more worrying than the actual performance was the fact that his normal fitness wasn’t there. Had a lovely free-kick cleared off the line.6.5
Van Persie: Still has a tendency to twist and turn once too often. But also holds the ball up brilliantly, moves it well and finished superbly for the third. Should probably be given a real run up front next to Henry. Took his goal like a striker, which is disconcerting coming from an Arsenal player.7.5
Subs:
Pires (for Van Persie 72ish): With the game won he wisely didn’t over exert himself ahead of Man City on Tuesday night. 6.5
Senderos (for Campbell 82ish): Slotted in well on his Premiership debut.7
Pennant (for Fred 86): Didn’t have time to get into the game. 7
v Newcastle (1-0)
Almunia: Our star man tonight. A smart early save from Ameobi (even if it was probably going wide) and excellent handling all night gave us one less worry. Four clean sheets in five and he also kicks a fair bit better than Jens.7
Lauren: Though Lauren Robert didn’t reach anything like his best, I’m not sure whether too much credit should go to Lauren. His positioning often seemed weak, his passing and tackling little better and he offered almost nothing in attack. Mr Average was distinctly poor. 5.5
Cole: Whilst there’s no shame in being given a tough time of things by Craig Bellamy, Cole’s performance was noticeably worse than just a torrid time. He made stupid, unnecessary fouls, got caught out when he should normally have had enough pace and looked very, very shaky. He may have been pushed a touch for the penalty incident, but a defender with his mind fully on the job wouldn’t have allowed the ball to hit him as blatantly as it did. In mitigation he did improve and unlike Lauren provided some attacking threat. 5.5
Kolo: Did alright but like the others his decision making didn’t always seem to be the best informed. That said, it’s a little harsh to chastise a central defender who has kept four clean sheets in five. 6.5
Sol: Urgh. After some very sound recent performances he seemed far too troubled by what looked like some relatively simple long balls. One such error allowed Ameobi in for his early chance and his lack of authority always made the long ball route look like a wise one for Newcastle to take. 6
Flamini: Not his best game for Arsenal but he still got through a lot of work, kept things simple and had a hand in setting up Vieira for the goal. 6.5
Vieira: Named man of the match by SKY and praised in a couple of papers, but I’m going to be honest and say that up until he scored I thought he was pretty useless, being caught in possession too often. That said in the second half he got through a fair bit of work as we ground out victory. 6.5
Fred: Beavered away, had some good moments and kept on trying. Was going to commend him for his work on a couple of occasions in particular but can’t now remember what they were. 7
Pires: Even by his standards, his tackling was poor today. Truth be told, I can’t fathom how he’s allowed to defend with his body constantly side on to the play. As a left winger he has defensive responsibilities and simply has to make a better fist of it. On the attacking front he was probably our most creative player, moving the ball smartly and at pace. 6
Van Persie: Still very, very raw. Unlucky not to score in the opening minutes and had a couple more decent efforts but all too frequently ran into trouble and lost the ball on what was admittedly an awful surface completely unsuited to his quick twists and turns. Corners weren’t bad. Needs time. 6.5
Henry: His touch was not quite at its magical best, but again this was probably due to the state of the pitch. Had a couple of good runs that resulted in decent shots on Shay Given’s goal. 6.5
Subs:
Clichy (for Van Persie 80 mins approx): Seemed as happy as anyone in the post match huddle but for the second game in succession he seemed a little out of sorts when called upon. 6
v Fulham (2-0)
Almunia: Looks better by the game and made a crucial save when he rushed out at speed to palm away a Fulham chance at 1-0. Made no notable mistakes. 7
Clichy: Had a good first half – getting forward well as usual and strong on the defensive stuff. Then in the second half he seemed to lose his confidence went, either as a result of or because of Fulham consistently probing down our left. Like any small full-back, aerial strength is a weakness.6
Lauren: Average as usual. Looked solid against a Fulham attack lacking any real penetration. 6.5
Sol: At times we were troubled in the air – but Sol is leading a defence that is no longer allowing attackers completely free headers at corners. Looks fit and healthy and, along with the rest of the defence, now has three clean sheets in four league games. 7
Freddie: A fine game on his return from migraine troubles. Played in Henry for the first and set-up Pires for the second. 7.5
Cesc: Gets caught on the ball occasionally but is still doing the vast majority of things with real fluency. Gives us real creativity in the middle. 7
Vieira: Showed a few soft shoe shuffles to bam boozle defenders in a way we haven’t really seen this season. Also got stuck into his tackles and generally seemed to be on the ball. 7
Pires: There was this surreal moment in the first half. He got the ball on the left wing and took a heavy touch. As if that wasn’t enough he then went flying into the tackle with the Fulham defender and actually won the ball. And it wasn’t the only time – I saw him snuff out a few Fulham attacks and even win a header.
Of course, the attacking side of his play was superb as well – he would have scored from a Dennis chest down but for a good save by Van De Saar. He linked up well, particularly with Henry, and inevitably took his goal with typical aplomb. Now has 19 in 2004, which is good. 7.5
Dennis: A fair few poor touches and bad decision making in general play. In mitigation, he dummied the ball well for the second goal and put Pires in with an excellent chest down. 6.5
Henry: Sure, the flicks didn’t always come off but at times he led Fulham a merry dance like he has almost every other defence this season. His goal was a trade mark finish and he was desperately unlucky when his side footer from the edge of the box crashed back off a post. 7
Subs:
Flamini (for Freddie 74ish): Some might say Arsene was making a point by not replacing Freddie with Pennant. Others will call it a sensible way of seeing out the game. 6.5
Van Persie (for Dennis 78ish): Provided his usual array of tricks but didn’t get a real chance to score. 6.5
v Portsmouth (1-0)
Almunia: Had a really good game. Caught when he needed to catch, punched when he wasn't sure and kicked immaculately. Also made a couple of really good saves. His run of impressive performances may only stretch to two but for now there seems no reason to bring back Jens. 8
Lauren: Did nothing too wrong but didn't offer as much in attack as he might have and at times appeared troubled by Pomey's pace. I think he's ok, but I'm becoming less and less convinced he should be our right back at all - more on that tomorrow. 6.5
Cole: A tough one to call. For a while looked rattled by Pompey's pace and agression down the left. Misplaced a couple of balls and though his tackles were mostly coming off they had a slightly concerning aggressiveness about them which made me think he was letting his own frustration get the better of him a little. But stuck to the task well and in the end kept a dangerous Pompey out. 7
Kolo: Got sucked in a couple of times, but on the whole he was part of a defence that looked pretty solid and much improved at set pieces. 7
Sol: Looked fitter than recently I thought - turning smoothly on a couple of occasions when faced with danger. He also made countless important headers at corners and won us the game with the kind of head down sheer determinism many fans would like to see a little more often. 8
Flamini: Ran hard, tackled hard and never gave up. Doesn't offer as much going forward as Fabregas, but doesn't claim to either. Unlucky with a header from Henry's free-kick. 7
Vieira: Industrious, but was also sloppy on occasion, getting caught in posession and losing the ball. Still doesn't seem 100% back to his best and didn't make the most of a couple of shooting opportunities. 6.5
Clichy: Fought well and offered Cole valuable protection down the left hand side. Showed initial attacking promise early on but faded as Pompey grew in stature. Nonetheless, was full of running at the end and nearly capitalised on tired Pompey legs. 7
Pires: His every touch was met with a chorus of boos as Bob faced Pompey for the first time since 'that dive' last season. There was even one moment when he slipped and the ball rolled out of play. Which probably made a certain journalist very, very warm inside. Otherwise, was neat enough but pretty ineffectual, seemingly afraid of injury in the rough house atmosphere. Had a couple of lovely runs late on and set Dennis up for a chance he really should have taken. 6.5
Henry: Worked hard and created much of our best work, but often found himself crowded out by the hoardes of Pompey defenders. Nearly scored after a flowing first half move and set up Dennis' other chance late on, which again he really should have taken. 7
Van Persie: Started really well, showing fantastic feet and trickery and generally leading Pompey a merry dance. He swivels at such speed he'll probably need a hip replacement aged 30. Faded somewhat after his impressive start, finding himself crowded out by the packed defence. Could pass a little earlier at times but nonetheless a decent first start in a difficult game and he staked a fair claim for inclusion against Fulham on Boxing Day. 6.5
Subs:
Bergkamp (for Van Persie 68ish): Should have scored late on following good set up play. His performance did little to silence the voices calling for this year to be his last. I'm undecided on that, but what I am sure about is that I won't miss the needless little kicks and elbows aimed at his opponents when frustration sets in. Simply put: the sly digs are ugly and Van Nistelrooy like and do nothing for us. 6
v Chelsea (2-2)
Almunia: Faultless for both their goals, he made good stops from Lampard and Gudjohnsen in the first half. And made a vital save when Robben wriggled his way through after the break. But nobody noticed it. Caught when a catch was a good idea, punched when a punch was wiser and set us on the attack with some good throws. 7.5
Lauren: Didn't see much of him, but when you're up against Duff and Robben, this can only be to a defender's credit. Thought he did really well to keep them in check, and the one time Robben did really threaten in the second half, the danger came down the other side. 7.5
Cole: The one player who I thought struggled today. As has been the case of late, he lacked confidence in his touch and stuggled defensively. Perhaps should have come out to Robben before the winger got into the box for his 2nd half chance, and was easily beaten in the air by Drogba for Cheslea's 2nd equaliser. 6
Kolo: Looked solid overall and helped limit Chelsea to only a few chances asides from set pieces. 7
Sol: A mixed bag. Made some really important defensive headers and looked in command at times at the back. But was a little caught out for their opening goal and sometimes seemed a little gung ho in his marking. Made important late tackle on Drogba.7
Reyes: Was quiet, but this was a tough game. Nodded down to Henry for the opener, worked hard and went on a few mazy runs without much success. Still, I thought he gave them something to worry about.6.5
Fabregas: Another excellent performance. He and Flamini were overwhelmed initially when up against Tiago, Lampard and Makalele but never gave up and fought their way back into the game admirably. Nice goal to set up Henry for the opener, he was instrumental in setting up the Frenchman's near winner and also set up RVP for his chance. Uses the ball so intelligently and showed that despite his size, he's not afraid to get stuck in. Was up against the very best in the business today and succeeded in limiting Lampard to a largely peripheral role.8
Flamini: £1 million? First league start? A snip if you ask me. He run's tirelessly, he harries, he puts his foot in and he uses the ball simply when he wins it. A real water carrier but absolutely essential today and worked tirelessly. Well done Sir. 8
Pires: We wanted a big performance and boy did we get one. Seemed almost impossible to shake off the ball, tackled back, linked up well with Lauren, Flamini, Cesc and Henry and drove the team forward in his own idiosyncratic waddle. When in his pomp, he is still a wonderful, wonderful footballer to watch. Set up Henry for the near winner, realised his responsibility as the senior partner in midfield, and shouldered the responsibility admirably.7.5
Dennis: Didn't get involved in too much of note, but I can't help feeling he just gives us a cetain sophistication and shape when he's in the side. Gordon Strachan pointed out on Match of the Day how hard he'd worked to stop Makalele getting the ball and in hindsight I think it probably a fair call.6.5
Henry: Forget the late miss - it can happen to anyone. Otherwise he was outstanding, scoring a brilliant first (which included winning a high ball!), netting an impudent second and generally running the show. Scared Chelsea shitless every time he picked it up and was responsible for a hell of a lot of good work. Also destroyed the concept he doesn't turn it on in big games. That's 15 in 17 league games now by the way.9
Subs:
Clichy (for Reyes 82): Ran around like mad for 10 minutes and forced mistakes out of tired legs. Really good footballer and good enough to start for probably every Premiership side and perhaps should be more often for us. 7.5
RVP: Is maturing very nicely indeed. Nearly netted a silky winner when he latched onto Cesc's pass and gave the Chelsea players a lot to think about. Would be really interesting to see him start. 7
v Rosenberg (5-1)
Almunia: Made a really, really good low save early on and kicked largely well. But looked dodgy more than once on crosses and for the second time in a week cost us a goal, which is a real worry. Eventually realised there's nothing wrong with giving a ball a good double handed punch. 6
Hoyte: Was up against a poor opposition but defended diligently and rarely looked rushed. Used the ball well, linked up well with his team mates and should be well pleased with his first European start. 7
Cole: Looked solid, with a couple of important defensive headers, but still not yet back to his marauding best I sense. Shouldn't have let the ball drop over his head for Harald Brattbakk to fire at Alumnia after 17 minutes. Withdrawn with quarter of an hour left. 6.5
Sol: Ditto for above, though did once later on look somewhat sluggish again on the turn. Perhaps I'm just paranoid about the impending arrival of Duff and Robben at Highbury.6.5
Kolo: A very easy night for the big man and he even found time for a classic Kolo dance into the opposition penalty area towards the end. 7
Flamini: Very, very good full debut. Set up the second goal, ran tirelessly, got tackles in and seemed to work well with Cesc in midfield. Looks comfortable tracking back and going forward and also seems to have a strange affinity for joining in attacks right around the right edge of the penalty area and particularly when we attack the North Bank. A young, thinking man's Gilles Grimandi, he ain't at all bad for a fifth choice midfielder. 7.5
Cesc: Absolute star. Has already played 20 games this season (twice as many as Edu, Gilberto and Vieira), yet still had the strength to turn in one of his best performances for the club. Fantastically alert, his use of the ball was excellent. He also scored a very impressive, very difficult goal and was involved in the build up for the fifth. Not just our most frequent performer in midfield this season, but also our best. 8
Jose: Took his goal really well and gave us a flying start. Had another deflected shot well saved and looked much more like the sun kid of the beginning of the season. Had a delightful late chip that bamboozled three very stupid looking Rosenberg players before landing on the roof of the net. 7
Pires: Looked much, much better and was even spotted making a tackle late in the second half. Kept going and linked up well late on with Jose and RVP before being withdrawn for Quincy with two minutes left. His penalty was so brilliantly placed it went into the side netting. Again I marvel at his ability to put a football exactly where he wants it to go. 7
Bergkamp: A nice return for the Ice Man who got involved well in the game, set up the opener and had a couple of openings himself. Might have done better when in front of goal, but eased himself back into the side well. 7
Henry: I actually thought that poor as the defending was for his goal, it was still a pretty decent finish. Worked hard all night, linked up well with the kids around him and seemed to be feeling particularly tolerant. 7
Subs:
Clichy (for Dennis 72ish): Spent a few mins in midfield before dropping back to left back when RVP replaced Ashley. As ever looked sound in the defending and assured going forward.
7
RVP (for Cole 75): Resuscitated the game with some silky skills, wayward finishing and then eventually a very well taken goal. Rawer than an uncooked vegetable, but with massive potential. 7.5
Quincy (for Bob 88): Should have had longer. Don't think he got a touch.
v Birmingham (3-0)
Alumnia: Looks like Lehman, kicks slightly better than Lehman, fumbles the odd ball like Lehman and jumps a couple of inches less high in the air than Lehman. Did ok, but would have been ill advised to let Morrison’s second half effort creep under him and over the line.6.5
Lauren: Seemed really quiet yesterday. Means he was doing his defensive job well which at the moment is the priority. Better? Seeing as we kept a clean sheet, probably a tad. 6.5
Cole: It's not been picked up much by the press, but I’ve thought Ash to be one of the players whose form has most obviously dipped in the recent spell. He’s still looked a top left back, but the subtlety of touch that allowed him and Bob to link so well still seems to be absent. Better? Not noticeably, but again should take credit for a clean sheet. 7
Sol: I’m of the opinion he’s still carrying a little bit of weight. Played well enough, but on a couple of occasions he looked sluggish and immobile on the turn, which is obviously a concern with Duff and Robben coming to town next week. Better? Probably not. 6.5
Kolo: Probably fair to say he’s not been our worst performer in the recent period, but I think on occasion he has allowed our recent jitters to affect his decision making a little. Kept Heskey quiet, but also seemed to time his jumps wrongly on a couple of occasions. Better? Ditto above. 7
Vieira: Did some good stuff but on other occasions his decision making and concentration again seemed lacking a little. He’s a hard one to judge at the moment. Better? Probably a bit.7
Cesc: I’m glad to see he escaped censure for his recent performances because I think a lot of the recent mutterings about how he’s no Gilberto have been unfair. Admittedly, the Brazilian’s best work is done off the ball, SKY’s stats show how we tend to win with him in the side, but I still think the young Spaniard is doing pretty well. He’s a young boy whose probably played too many games in a struggling team in a big league. But he’s still there, still getting stuck in and still doing his stuff. Tired in the latter stages yesterday and was replaced by Flamini, which was a wise, common sense, decision. Better? No, but only because he was doing well in the first place. 7
Freddie: Scavenged, burrowed, furrowed, ducked and dived. Fred’s doing them all at the moment and its working as the perfect complement to the continued attempts at perfection that come from the rest of the team. Is also being very productive. Should have had a penalty yesterday, set up the third goal and generally ran the show. Better? No, but only because he’s been great. 7.5
Pires: Mark my words. One of these days the opposition are going to get a free kick on the edge of our area. Their player will hit it, the ball will fly off Robert Pires and zip past Lehman. And we’ll all put it down as a fluke, like we did for Graveson’s effort that flew off Pennant in the Carling Cup game against Everton. Except it won’t be a fluke because Pires, like Pennant, will have jumped with his back to the ball, meaning that when it hits him he’ll have no way of giving it any direction.
My point is that Pires simply has to go into tackles. Maybe he’s worried about getting hurt, but he’s ducking out of the most basic challenges and its meaning we’re losing the battle in midfield at places like Old Trafford and Anfield.
Obviously, as I was making a note of this, Bob went and scored a classic Bob goal. Basically a really, really good one. He is a fantastic playa, probably the purest footballer we have in our team and quite possibly the best finisher. Yesterday was his 50th goal for the club and almost without exception (Bolton at home this season) they’ve been aesthetically perfect and a joy to watch.
But he must pull his weight for the team, which funnily enough I’ve seen him do really well on a number of occasions. Better? A little bit later on in the second half. 6.5
Reyes: You have to feel for him - seemingly everything he tries seems to go askew these days. Inches away from a Henry cross in the first half, he got into the game a bit more going towards half time, but then tired before being withdrawn. As I said above, he could do with a 25 minute run against tired defences to get his confidence back. Better? Not really, but not for want of effort. 6.5
Henry: Whether it be through injury or lack of confidence, he spent much of the game getting into decent positions but then making the wrong decision. Then ten minutes from time he took off past Melchiot, through the Birmingham defence and then a cool low finish hit whilst he was running at incredible speed. Six minutes later, he bought a ticket for Freddie Ljungberg’s cross and got lucky.
May not be at his best. But the level of criticism he of all people has taken is ridiculous. Has scored 13 league goals this season (four more than anyone else and 9 more than Ruud), scoring in 11 of the 16 games. And it’s not even like he’s bound to get the goals because nobody else does. He hasn’t even scored a third of our goals, and with the exception of Old Trafford (when nobody scored) and Selhurst Park, at least one other Arsenal player has scored in all of our other games.
Better? Yes. Despite earlier failures, his determination to keep going for the all important second goal was admirable. 7.5
Subs:
Clichy (for Jose): I love this guy. He’s like Wenger’s little foot soldier and seems capable of doing everything. Slotted in expertly in left midfield. He covers, chases back, tackles, retains the ball, gets forward, dribbles and causes havoc in the opposition defence. He may be more defensive than Reyes, but sometimes being slightly more defensive can give you the shape to attack more. May not be suited to central midfield, but should be considered a serious option for a place in left midfield on tough away games. 7.5
Flamini: Seems to do everything neatly enough without being spectacular. Will be interesting to see how he works with Cesc over the next two games.7
v Man United (0-1)
Alumnia: Crap on their goal, barely put a foot wrong otherwise. Plays and looks like a slightly smaller Jens, but can kick. 6
Hoyte: OK and defended well on occasion, but I’d still like to see him get forward more. That said, I think he’s a player who would look much better surrounded by seasoned pros. 6.5
Clichy: Really, really good as usual. Slipped on their excuse of a pitch for the early goal, but didn’t let it affect him and worked tirelessly defending and attacking all game. 7.5
Senderos: The lumbering giant of Everton had been replaced by a very, very accomplished looking centre half. One dodgy back header that fell short but otherwise cut out everything that was asked of him and looked a real first team option. 8
Djorou: Took eye off ball and then slipped for the goal which wasn’t good. Never quite looked the same player as against Everton, but worked his way back into the game. 6.5
Flamini: Looks like we can breathe a little more easily in the midfield department after watching a very assured display. Would like to see him trialled as a sub for Freddie in games where we’ve got a dodgy one goal lead. 7
Larsson: Some like him but I’m not so sure. What he did was decent enough but I thought he struggled to have an effect on the game. 6.5
Quincy: Maybe it was the pitch, maybe it was United doubling up on him. Either way the hero of the last round never really got into last night’s affair. 6
Pennant: Worked hard, tried to take the initiative and overall did quite well. Still not sure if he’ll quite make it at Highbury though. 7
Lupoli: Is a striker and when strikers get no service they don’t look much kop. 6.5
Van Persie: Battled hard all night and willingly came deep to win possession. But probably came a bit too deep and battled a bit too hard. Yes, he could have been sent off for the incident with Richardson. Reminds me a bit of a young Freddie, not in playing style but in the way that the potential is clearly there but the skills are still very, very raw. 6.5
Subs:
Smith (for Lupoli): Did OK but still looks wary of going in for challenges and taking men on following his long term injury.
Cregg: Alright
Karbassiyoon: Alright
Arsene can moan about player commitment but to us Bolton yesterday was simply the epitome of what we feared at the beginning of the season, the inevitable result of Arsenal’s very own corporate restructuring. So as the squad has been trimmed and thinned out, those that are left are more comfortable than ever in their positions and what would normally be the responsibility of experienced team members is being carried out by talented, but as yet unproven, upstarts.
At Bolton Henry and Van Persie were the right choice. But even Tony Adams (who generally seems to not know that much about tactics) has been pointing out for years that Ljungberg and Pires won’t work at places like Bolton. Admittedly, Alex Hleb is injured.
But in central midfield Wenger is guilty of discarding our two most aggressive midfielders as if we have somehow had too many of them. It is blatantly clear that neither Fabregas, Gilberto nor Flamini have the animal instincts that seem to be present in the heart of every top side. It is also true that talented as the first two are, Gilberto is not and Cesc is not yet good enough that their places in the starting line-up should be completely unquestioned and unthreatened. How Arsene could go out at the start of this season and rightly deciding he needs a fourth central midfielder plump for a 17 year old (Alex Song) to complement his 18 and 21 year-olds is beyond me. Principles and only buying the right player is admirable, but not when it means no player.
And if the case in midfield is one of transfer bloody mindedness then the case at left-back is one of tactical bloody mindedness. With no personal insult intended to the man, I can’t remember a single player in Arsene Wenger’s reign enjoy a run in the side and look more out of his depth when doing so than Pascal Cygan at left-back. Even when he does something right, 90% of the time it means he hasn’t cocked it up. His abilities are simply so limited there, it was no wonder Bolton almost encouraged Jens to throw him the ball. Leaving aside the defending, you would have to say he offers nothing to the attack either. It is as though we have become numb down part of our left side.
For Arsene to come out last week and say he brought on Lauren at left-back for the last half hour in Thun to see if he could play there just encapsulates the problem. As you and I well know, Lauren would be miles better playing there, as would Toure, as would Eboue, as might Senderos and as might even Flamini.
They say there is no point buying for the sake of it, but there is also no point not buying for the sake of it. And Alex Hleb is the ONLY outfield and vaguely proven player over 21 who has arrived at Highbury in nearly three and a half years! That is extraordinary! We all know (and largely admire) Arsene’s determination to challenge Chelsea’s exorbitant spending by unearthing and polishing gems, but it is almost as if what Chelsea do is dictating what we do. By this I mean the more they spend the less we seem to spend. And yet the fact is that any title win would count as a great overcoming of the odds, even if we spent £20 million a year.
On that note, there is nothing wrong with stripping out a few luxuries (eg Kanu and Wiltord) to give younger players a chance. But you can’t start getting rid of the bare essentials. And at the moment you can argue we have no competition in goal, where Wenger’s signings there are slowly becoming more bizarre and obscure (witness Shabaan, Warmuz, Almunia and now Poom). We have two good centre backs (one of whom is off his game), a still very young pretender (Senderos) and another who ain’t up to it. Four years ago we had an (admittedly aging) Adams, Keown, Campbell, Upson, Grimandi (better than Cygan) and Oleg Lhuzny (probably better than Cygan).
I hardly need to go into central midfield. A comparison with last year simply says it all. On the wings, as I suggested earlier, there is fair attacking cover. The problem though is that when we want to plump for someone more defensive on the right we end up having to move Fabregas, where as two years ago we would have simply slotted Edu in, leaving Vieira and Gilberto intact in the centre.
And at up front, it seems to have taken ages to a) figure out Reyes is a winger and b) develop a successor to Dennis. Discounting Reyes, we have just three forwards – a footballing god, a youngster still making his mark and a man who is rapidly going over the hill. Think back to 1999 and look at the perfect balance we enjoyed: an in form Kanu, Dennis around his prime, a raw (but still 25 goal) Thierry Henry and Davor Suker, who was used as and when it pleased. Sadly, our current paucity of forwards meant that after 70 minutes we were calling for Dennis yesterday, even though all and sundry could surely see it was not the time or place for his services. And quite why on earth Robin Van Persie was withdrawn I don’t know. Simple maths says Van Persie’s goal threat is far higher than Dennis or Reyes.
All in all, there seems to be a great sense of bafflement. We expect managers to be a little mad, but more and more often we seem to be shrugging our shoulders and explain something away as Arsene just being Arsene. But it doesn’t add up. We might not like seeing Chelsea above us but always knew their spending would make it probable. But it’s hard to accept when we seem to be shooting ourselves in the foot so readily. Even Spurs have about seven midfielders better than our fourth choice.
And what is so galling is that actually we are not very far at all from being bloody good. With the exception of Cygan, every player in our squad is Arsenal quality and very many are worthy week in week out starters too. But they need reinforcements. With these reinforcements, we wouldn’t have to shunt Freddie back into the side when he doesn’t look ready. We would be able to pick the players who are physically at their peak and rest others when they tire a little. Which is what Mourinho does and explains why Cole, Duff, Robben and Wright-Philips always look so chirpy.
So what do we need? A hungry, improving goalkeeper who will in a few years succeed Jens. A half decent centre back who is solid if nothing else. An established beast in central midfield. Perhaps a young, as yet unproven beast, for when the big beast is suspended. A Davor Suker like signing – someone who will offer goals when they play but whose presence will not hold Van Persie back. And as the Dutchman becomes established, someone to fill Van Persie’s current role of young pretender – Arturo Lupoli would seem the obvious choice.
That is five signings. But only two (the beast and the goal scorer) would initially be pivotal ones. Those five, combined with our ever improving youngsters, could make a real squad. At the moment it is not just that Chelsea are so far ahead in the table, it is that we are in with the likes of Spurs, Bolton and Wigan. Squad wise, we will never be as big or strong at Chelsea. But at a certain point it starts to matter less and less until it becomes almost immaterial. We need to plug the holes so we can get to that point.
And finally, what are the rewards? We already have a really good crop of players. Arsenal may not be ahead of the chasing pack but it is still true that the vast majority of our current crop would walk into any Premiership team other than Chelsea and Man U in some cases. With the right moves in the transfer market we could perhaps hope to persuade not just the brilliant Ashley Cole to stay at Highbury but also Thierry Henry, one of the great players of this generation. Whether he stays or goes could tell us so much about where Arsenal are headed.
I may be wrong, but I struggle to believe Henry (settled in London with a wife and new born) would have any inclination to leave a flourishing Arsenal in a new stadium who have the tools to seriously fight Chelsea for the league and to capture the Champions League. I suspect he fears the same things we fear and he needs the same reassurances.
He is 28 and I suspect he knows he has half a chance not to just be known as a great of his time, but to etch his name as one of the great players of any generation. To become that great he probably still needs a mix of international success at his prime (he was not yet a great player in 1998 or 2000) and success with a club in Europe.
On the international stage, Henry’s options are obviously limited because he can’t change countries. On the club stage, whether he feels able to achieve it at Highbury may well depend on just what Arsene is playing at.
...
27/11/05
Arsenal 3 Blackburn 0: Attack good, defence not so good
I only saw the BBC highlights of yesterday’s game, so it would be wrong to go into too much depth. But three things were quite obvious from watching it:
Our defence is making too many Premiership standard strike forces look like world beaters. And with all due respect to the man, it is my belief that rightly or wrongly, the presence of Pascal Cygan is a massive factor.
A couple of reports I have read suggested he was not personally so bad yesterday, but the problem goes beyond his individual performances. It is the effect he has on the team.
Exactly a year and a week ago I wrote: “Pascal Cygan is no Baresi, but he’s not an awful player either. But at the moment his presence is having a devastating effect on our play. The rest of the team doesn’t trust neither him nor Jens Lehman and the effect is reverberating through our side.” A week later Jens played his last league game until February and has not looked back since his recall. I added at the end of the article: “Cygan has to be dropped for the sake of the team.”
And the same must happen now. Arseblogger was entirely correct yesterday to point to Wenger’s apparent blind spot over Cygan. Far be it for faceless internet bloggers to tell him how to manage Arsenal, but the clamour from fans appears so universal that surely these feelings need articulating.
2) The second point is that we are obviously playing some very nice attacking stuff at the moment. Not all the time, but we are cranking up the pressure when it matters. Much as Blackburn perhaps deserved a goal or even two, the fact is we created three perfectly executed ones and could have had more.
3 ) Some players have such outrageous talent that you can forgive them being idiots on occasion. Robbie Savage is not one such player. Arseblogger aptly summed him up as a “cheating, conman, fairy, nancy, fraud, flimflammer, obnoxious wanky cunt.”
I would add one word to that description: twerp, defined in the dictionary as a person regarded as not just contemptible but insignificant too.
Just before I finish I’d like to pre-empt a couple of things that will happen this week. The first is that a certain journalist will twist the Savage incident to bring up every misdemeanour ever committed by an Arsenal player. The second is that we are going to have to listen to unrivalled levels of crap spout from the mouth of Sam Allardyce this week ahead of our visit to the Reebok next Saturday. If they beat Fulham today they will be level with us going into the game.
On that note, there was an interesting (and unmalicious) remark made about George Best this week. It was said that Best frequently mentioned how Pele had called him the world’s greatest, yet Pele never needed to do the opposite. Sam Allardyce loves to tell us how brilliantly he has done at Bolton on such limited resources, yet Arsene Wenger...
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I didn't see the Thun game, I'm flying during the Blackburn game and the Reading game is not on TV. But I'll probably post one or two more general updates before the Bolton game.
20/11/05
Wigan 2 Arsenal 3: Should the new midfielder be a partner for Cesc rather than Silva?
In a nutshell: We took control through goals from Van Persie (good turn, run, fierce shot, bad goalkeeping) and Henry (lovely slid finish from Cesc pass at end of flowing move). They pulled one back through shambolic defending. Henry netted a scorcher of a free kick. They pulled another back through shambolice defending. We won despite defending shockingly.
Analysis: It was very easy last season to say how much we were missing the Gilberto "wall" during his absence. And perhaps it was true. But on recent performances, Berlin's got a stronger wall than the one our Brazilian offers. Against Wigan he was, to put it mildly, shite. He didn't go forward, he didn't pass well, he dallied on the ball, he made absurd attempts to intercept that only put us in deeper trouble and he failed to get off the ground for headers. (Witness first goal). In short, he was oh so passive.
Next to him, Cesc Fabregas was a model pro. He ran tirelessly, he won tackles, he broke up play, he positioned himself well and he supported the attack right up until the last minute. Sure, not everything came off, but the way I see it this new midfielder we all agree we need should more likely be a partner for Cesc than for Gilberto.
Behind the pair, things were just totally terrible. Credit to Wigan, honest team, hard working, deceptively skillful for a rugby league town all those other cliches. But the fact is Sol Campbell offered justification for Sven picking Rio ahead of him (yes he was that bad), Jens' kicking was crap, Lauren's general defending was poor and Toure's little better.
To their left was Pascal Cygan. The nicest thing I can say is that words fail me to describe his performance.
I'm not one for having a go at individuals just for the sake of it and it is true that in the end, we got a very welcome three points. But a spoon should be called a spoon and today our defending was chaotic.
Up front, it seems Van Persie may possibly have finally got the nod over Dennis, at long last. He played well, the returning Freddie worked hard but was not at full throttle, Pires put in a committed performance which didn't once involve me screaming at him for ducking a tackle and Henry once again made everything look too easy.
One final thought, much as I can't stand his self righteous, self important, status as a "real" player, and much as there is between no chance and 0% chance of Arsene going for him, you kinda have to admit Roy Keane could fill a gap.
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15/11/05
Arsenal playing before Chelsea form, European form and Vieira book form
A few brief thoughts as we wait for the Premiership to restart.
The first is that the fixture list is currently conspiring quite often to let us play our weekend game before Chelsea. I pointed out last season that while our results are largely unaffected by whether we play before, at the same time or after Chelsea, their's suffered last season when they played after us. And based purely on very anecdotal evidence, the same has been true this season. So we need to take advantage at Wigan on Saturday.
Secondly, this whole assumption that because Liverpool won the Champions League while being crap in the league, the same will happen to us seems bizarre. Last season was largely an anomoly. What nobody seems to have mentioned is that since defeat in Moscow over two years ago, we have a healthy European record that reads: P19 W12 D5 L2.
Finally, there is a piece in today's Times that takes 600 odd words to correctly say: Patrick Vieira hypocritically forgets his own diving when he lambasts Wayne Rooney and Ruud Van Nistelrooy as cheats.
But that is not all the piece says. In fact it reads strangely like a diktat handed down from Old Trafford to a friendly journalist much in the way United employed the same policy with the same friendly journalists after the battle of the buffet.
There was no way Vieira was going to ignore either Rooney or RVN in his book. And the fact is that Rooney DID cheat exactly as described and Van Nistelrooy WAS guilty of consistent violence that went unpunished against Arsenal. Whatever, Vieira's personal myopia, to suggest that the two United players are somehow worthy of apologies for what is correcly identified as shabby behaviour when Vieira does it, is just absurd.
And while I appreciate accuracy matters little when there is an axe there to be ground, the description of the Nicky Butt incident is just patently wrong. Contrary to what is written, it was a straight red card and not a second yellow. Secondly, there was never the slightest suggestion Vieira had dived. Thirdly, the decision to send Butt off was one based purely on the positioning of the incident near to the goal and not on the severity of the tackle or Vieira's reaction to it (there was no doubt it was a foul). Fourthly, all Alex Ferguson and anyone else was moaning about was the referee's decision to treat the incident as a goal scoring chance and thus issue red.
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10/11/05
International week update
My apologies for the lack of recent updates. The laptop appears to have died and enjoyable as this site is, staying late at work to update it is just not that appetising.
Anyway, things have gone pretty well since the Spurs game. There is not a lot to say about Sparta and Sunderland. We needed victories and we got victories. We didn't over exert ourselves but then we didn't need to. I'm still of the theory that we look far better when playas play in their natural positions and I think that was fairly obvious watching the Sunderland game. In midfield the mix was good, with the wall-like Gilberto and the more enterprising Fabregas, Reyes and Pires both looked comfortable out on the wings and up front we had a good mix of a forward/striker (what can you call Henry?) and a striker.
I don't think Chelsea were unlucky at Old Trafford because ultimately they didn't do enough. But I do think United can count themselves fortunate. Some of their defensive play was wretched - incredibly nervous and very deep. But they got away with it. People are asking whether they will collapse like we did. I don't think they will but nor do I think that the issue really. If someone does catch them I expect it to be by a process of small erosion rather than one big wave. So, for example, if they have a tricky away game that they draw others might take advantage with easy home wins. And of course if we win our game in hand and manage to beat the Blues at Highbury then the gap is only five points anyway. I'm not saying we will do it, just saying how I think they could be caught.
As Myles Palmer pointed out on ANR, the four league games before Chelsea are vital. Contrary to what he said, they actually read: Wigan (A), Blackburn (H), Bolton (A), Newcastle (A). We need to be looking for a minimum of ten points from the four of them and ideally twelve.
Not much else to say, except that I'm away for two weeks from Saturday, so there is a fair chance I won't update after the Wigan, Thun and Blackburn games (the last of which I will definitely miss as I will be in the air for it).
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01/11/05
Players in position works at Spurs
Arsene's decision to shore up the side with an extra midfielder was well intentioned and a welcome departure from the gung-ho approach that cost us so badly at Munich last season. But injuries and lack of squad depth meant that to do it we had Freddie playing out of position on the left, Cesc out of position on the right and our first choice central midfielders not in place. Add the fact we were playing with two forwards but no strikers, and it is obvious why we struggled. When Pires came on, suddenly we had him, Freddie and Cesc all where they should be. And when Van Persie came on, Reyes was on the left wing (which for me is his best spot), Pires was on the right (in a position he has played and done well in) and we had a good balance of a forward and a striker up front.
But I also wonder whether perhaps Arsene imagined the first half going as it did, while obviously hoping we would not concede. Spurs, confidence bolstered by their own good form and our lack of it, were always going to come out on fire. I wonder whether it was Arsene's plan to draw to try to draw their sting (keeping it at 0-0) and then introduce Pires and pounce on them as they tired. In the event, the problems of the first half called for Pires earlier than expected, but I expect it was probably always the plan that he would play a key role.
I don't think there can be any doubt we deserved the draw. Granted, Spurs dominated the first half (even if I only remember Jens having to save from his near namesake Jenas). But we dominated the second right from the off in my opinion. Sure, chances did not immediately come, but we did a good job of grinding them down and tiring them out and in the end Van Persie had about three good chances, Reyes had one, Pires had one and Pires scored. So for me, while our equaliser doesn't suit the grand theories of the pundits, it was well deserved. And to come back from behind against the likes of Spurs away never has been and is certainly not now something to be snorted at.
A couple of things have struck me. The first is that the idea of us being a one man (Henry) team is absurd. But it is true that we still haven't yet brought in someone who we can say is a sufficiently good deputy for him. Don't get me wrong, they don't need to be the same type of player, just a good enough alternative. Hopefully Van Persie can be. I'm also intruiged to see who replaces Dennis in the summer (or before?)
The second point is that the cover issue is not one of Chelsea's being excellent and ours adequate. In fact, our's is inadequate. Midfield reinforcements are a must (so that when we switch things around everyone is not pulled out of position like against Spurs) and so too are a buy each in defence and attack I guess. Bringing in those three players will not give us as excellently backed-up a squad as Chelsea's but I question whether their level of protection is really necessary. While they will always have all 11 positions perfectly filled, if we only have 9 or 10 it probably won't all that much difference in the end. It is when your side is so inbalanced (like against Spurs) that I think it becomes a big problem.
Thought for the day: When was Jens' last mistake?
Updating is a bit fraught at the moment due to a comatose laptop, so sorry for that. In the meantime we have Sparta and Sunderland at home. The latter of which is a must, must, must win game because either Chelsea, United or both will drop points next weekend.
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24/10/05
What story lies behind 'that' penalty?
This is a long post; it’s been that kind of weekend.
I’m now on my third school of thought about what happened and more confused than I was to start with. At first I simply wondered how they could be so stupid at such a crucial point in such a crucial match. Did they realise how agonising it was for the fans? Then I wondered whether these two great artists who have brought us both silverware and exquisite football had endured one of those once in a career cock-ups, the like of which every great band have had with that one appalling single and every great director has had with one shocking film. Should we simply forgive and forget and laugh it off as one bizarre and fortunately uncostly cock-up?
But now I wonder: was it symptomatic of a greater malaise? Could it be that whilst we as fans still yearn desperately to win the European Cup and to catch Chelsea, Pires and Henry see the first as impossible and the second as highly improbable and in any case offering only a reward that would emulate, rather than surpass previous achievements? Do they still have the same drive to succeed for Arsenal? Would Frank Lampard even consider doing anything other than burying the ball from the spot, irrespective of the score? And if the three points were as vital for them as they were for us, how could they contemplate even trying that penalty?
I realise the above paragraph could easily be interpreted as me saying they don’t care. I am definitely not saying that. For a start I am saying the above insinuations are true and in any case, if there has been any loss of drive, I would suggest it has been almost entirely subconscious and in no way deliberate. But whichever way you look at it, I think the above are fair questions that should be asked if we are to understand why such a monumental fuck-up occurred.
And just sticking with penalties for a moment, I’m delighted to see that Thierry Henry says he will be taking them all from now on. It had become absolutely farcical. Not only did we have our top marksman refusing to take penalties he had won for absolutely no obvious reason whatsoever. We also had Dennis refusing to take them following his miss against United over six years ago! Fear of flying is one thing, but a phobia of penalties is another and you get the feeling that in any other walk of life Dennis would have been told to pull himself together and just do it. And to think that yesterday it had got to the stage where we were passing them to each other. Incredible.
Which is also what can be said for getting two penalties off Mike Riley. I haven’t seen any replays of the second one, while the first one could have gone either way. But I will just say that analysing these things in super slow motion is pointless because football is not played in super slow motion. Slowing the play down will always make it look like the attacker has deliberately let himself be fouled. It distorts reality.
At last, the game. Firstly, City were very well organised and are a genuinely decent side. So a win is good. But we’re struggling. A fair part of the problem can be summarised in six words: Flamini, Gilberto, Cesc, Lampard, Essien, Makalele. Our players are good, but we lack a monster in there like Chelsea have and it tells. Eight other words also explain a lot: Van Persie, Senderos, Quincy, Eboue, Robben, Crespo, Gudjohnsen, Ferreira. Arsene didn’t make a single sub. Mourinho introduced first Gudjohnsen, then Robben and then Crespo, all about ten minutes apart. Of course, they didn’t win. But the contrast could not have been bigger.
Arsene is not an idiot: his public buoyancy and confidence in the strength of the squad is surely just a charade that he is obliged to show in an effort to maintain moral. But at heart it must be obvious to him just how blatantly we need to splash the cash.
I’ll finish by saying that Pires and Henry were right to apologise. And that Spurs away is the perfect time to make-up for things by putting in a committed, impassioned performance. And it’s vital they do, because if we’re as slack at White Hart Lane this time as we have been recently, then this time we will lose. And nobody wants that.
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20/10/05
Why Henry's goal at Upton Park was his greatest ever
In the world of footballing top tens, there surely can’t be a more enjoyable experience than picking Thierry Henry’s best goals. I can’t honestly claim to have seen enough of Pele and Maradona to properly judge them. But my suspicion is that if a montage of Thierry Henry goals were shown next to montages of the Brazilian and Argentinian’s best strikes, Henry would not look out of place.
So, at 10…
Chelsea (h) 12/04. At kick-off people said their defence was the immovable object and Thierry Henry didn’t score in big games. Thirty seconds later he had pinged in an unstoppable shot from the edge of the box, leaving Cech rooted to the spot.
at 9…
Bayern Munich (h) 03/05. A strange choice for some perhaps, but for me another brilliant goal against an immovable object. Bayern may have been a defensive shambles in the next round at Chelsea but against us they were tighter than something incredibly tight. After 70 odd minutes, Henry controlled a long ball on the left from Cole, brought it down and hit it instantly across Oliver Khan with complete precision. It was a perfectly executed goal. And it had to be.
At 8…
Manchester City (h) 01/04. This one is also representing the swerver against United later that season. Against City, I was in the North Bank and saw just how much his shot seemed to swerve and yet keep completely straight like an arrow. David James didn’t have a prayer.
At 7…
Sparta Prague (a) 10/05. A very late entrant but very deserving of it’s place. On for six minutes, he controlled the ball on the outside of his foot, swung his whole body through 360 degrees and then fired in a bending shot that beat the goalkeeper in the only part of the net it could have. Almost arrogantly brilliant.
At 6…
Inter Milan (a) 11/03. Broke out from defence, looked to be going nowhere and then made Javier Zanetti look amateurish before slamming home with the left foot. A brilliant goal and the crucial third in a 5-1 win.
At 5…
Spurs (h) 11/02. Very, very special run. He took them all on, cut inside and finished brilliantly. Then he celebrated in serious style in front of the west stand. Magnificent.
At 4…
Charlton (h) 10/04. So good it completely bamboozled the cameraman. I watched this game in a pub in London with one of those dodgy satellites. The commentary was in a foreign language, music was playing in the bar and a lot of people were only half watching. The camera was focused in on Henry as he held the ball with his back to goal about six yards out. Then he backheeled the ball and suddenly wheeled away in delight. The pub was genuinely stunned. Those of us who realised what must have happened looked on in disbelief. When they showed a replay from another angle the reaction from the rest of the pub was one of sheer incredulity. And the more they showed it the more disbelieving the reactions. It didn’t really matter what happened in the rest of the game.
At 3…
Liverpool (h) 04/04. No doubt you’ve heard people say how important this goal was in us winning the title. It was. I was at Highbury that day and 2-1 down at half time there was some serious cigarette smoking going on in the north bank. Within a minute we had equalised thanks to Freddie Ljungberg. But after equalising once and then going behind again, a fair few people feared things were turning against us and we would do it again.
Then Henry picked the ball up on the left. He jinked in, took on a couple of defenders and simply by his presence created sheer panic in the Liverpool defence. So much so that Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher knocked in to each other and fell to the ground comically. Suddenly Henry was through and he finished coolly. The north bank erupted. People who had not lost it since Ray Parlour scored against Valencia found themselves jumping out of their seats. A massive, massive goal and sheer brilliance bore in part out of the complete panic his presence can induce.
At 2…
Manchester United (h) 10/00. Unreal goal. Fed by Grimandi miles out, he chipped it up, spun Gary Neville and in one fired in a volley that dipped and swerved over Barthez into the far corner. Watching at home, all I saw was the ball leave his foot. I thought it was going miles over. Then the Clock End went mad. I had lost the ball in the air. Eventually, I was persuaded it had gone in but was convinced it could only have had it taken the most massive of deflections. Then I saw the replay. One of the goals of goals.
At 1…
West Ham (a) 08/02. You may think this a weird choice. I say the beauty of it has never fully been recognised. Now, don’t get me wrong: were this goal being judged purely on Henry controlling the ball on his knee and hitting an absolute bullet past David James from 30 yards, it would not be anywhere near number one, however great a finish it was. It is the first touch that does it and it is a touch which in my opinion defies the physics of football.
He receives the ball on the right edge of the penalty area from a Vieira pass. He has his back to goal. It is played firmly in to his left foot. Then he takes the crucial touch, which I will come back to in a minute. When he next touches it he has spun 180 degrees so that he is now facing diagonally to goal. His defender has been left bamboozled. The ball lands on what is now Henry’s right knee. Think about what he did with that touch: he took a ball that was coming into his feet and with one touch he looped it up in to the air with his foot. When it fell it was still, incredibly, travelling in the original direction. But he didn’t just lob it into the air, which would have been hard enough.
Instead, he met the ball purposefully with the right hand side of his left boot and somehow spun (not hooked as would have been the case had he used the left hand side of the boot) the ball up in to the air up and over his defender’s head. Had Brazil done it in 1970 I genuinely believe it would be replayed continuously now. Do whatever you can to get a copy of the video and watch that touch because 250 words of mine have failed to do it justice.
And it is for that reason that West Ham away was Thierry Henry’s best Arsenal goal and potentially the greatest I have ever seen.
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19/10/05
Sparta 0 Arsenal 2: Match report, playa ratings and Henry worshipping
The formalities first, then the Henry stuff: Cygan replaced Senderos who had replaced Campbell and Cygan continued in place of the injured Cole. Gilberto returned in midfield in place of Cesc who replaced the injured Ljungberg. The returning Van Persie replaced Bergkamp (something to do with a fear of flying).
We started well, with Cesc having a shot and some promising attacks. Then Reyes went off injured and Arsene went for the brave option of risking Thierry Henry for 70 minutes. Within two minutes he had chested the ball down on the edge of the box and fired what looked like a beaut of a volley that was deflected wide. Then he brought down a through ball from Kolo, spun on the edge of the box and hit the most belle of bending shots with the outside of his right foot. Great goal.
We didn’t do much else for the rest of the half and started the second somewhat sluggishly. Then on 65 we started playing again and within five minutes Pires? had played Henry in with a beautiful ball. He controlled it and still had a fair bit to do to knock it home. 2-0 it finished. A decent enough performance and a great result. Playa ratings to the right.
The goals take Theirry Henry past Ian Wright’s all time Arsenal goal scoring record. We have been fantastically privileged to see him rack up 186 not out and even luckier that so many have been done in such incredible style.
As I walked to work yesterday morning (Tuesday), I went with a bounce in my step. Sometimes you don’t realise what you have til it’s gone and I for one could not wait to see his magnificence return to the pitch.
Of course, there will be those Arsenal fans who will bemoan his unwillingness to commit to the club in his post match interview. That kind of reaction is absolute bollocks in my view. It is quite obvious he is not going to come out and commit to the club just like that because the fact is he is considering leaving. He is 28, has achieved a massive amount, probably fears somewhat about the destination we are headed towards and feels he may want to try and conquer Spain before he retires. People ask for him to be honest. He is. By saying what he is saying he is making it perfectly clear things are up in the air.
Do people want him to say he wants to go? What good would that do? The fact is that when he says he is focused on his football at the moment, that is the truth and that is what he showed us tonight. What is wrong with him kissing the badge if he puts in great performances? Kissing the badge is a sign that your heart is in to what you are doing. And who could argue that his heart wasn’t in tonight’s performance?
Of course we don’t want him to leave on a Bosman. But if he leaves, he leaves. We have been absurdly lucky to have not only one of the best, but one of the most consistent players in the world between the ages of 22 and 28 in his career. If he wants to move then so be it. I would wish him all the best.
Of course, I desperately want him to sign a new contract. But let us be grown up about this. He is doing nothing wrong. The best we can do is get behind him (the fans were great tonight), get behind the team at Highbury (we can do a lot better) and hope Arsene can bring in the players and the team achieve the success that will allow Thierry Henry to stay.
I have no inside knowledge on the issue of his contract, but my hunch would be that things are not a lot more complicated than Thierry fearing (quite justifiably) that the standard of the squad is slipping and that we look less likely to achieve the success (particularly in Europe) that he so craves.
We shall see what happens, but in the meantime let’s celebrate his achievement and leave the worrying for another time. I have written enough now, so won’t reveal my favourite Henry goal now, but you can reveal yours below.
ps: he seemed pretty happy to me when he broke the record.
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16/10/05
West Brom 2 Arsenal 1: Report + playa ratings. Grim.
Arsene Wenger has never suffered the indignity of losing to a lower division team as Arsenal manager, but it is hard to believe that the disappointment could be any greater than that experienced after today’s loss at West Brom.
In 45 minutes, our emotions went from genuine hope that things could be turning our way (we were winning and Chelsea were losing) to the sheer grimness of seeing us somehow lose and them come back to win 5-1.
In short, we took an early lead when Senderos hooked home a deep Reyes corner. We were completely dominant, they were crap. We sat back. They equalised after a feeble Pires attempt to block a cross, a poor header from Senderos and terrible marking of Kanu. Of all people, the man renowned for taking 10 touches when two will do, had time to control the ball, compose himself and then fire off an (impressive) shot past the helpless Lehman. It was a shocker of a goal.
In the 2nd half we eventually rallied around the hour mark and though we had a couple of chances (Toure, Reyes, Bergkamp) things were in no way urgent enough. We probably should have had a penalty for a foul on Reyes, but he wasn’t in a scoring position so I’m not going to complain. It would, however, be nice to see referees decide whether a foul should be given not based on where the incident happens on the pitch but on the incident itself. And if this means the law needs to be reformed so that minor fouls in non-threatening positions in the area do not warrant a spot-kick then so be it. We need consistency.
Anyway, they then scored a cracker out of absolutely nothing. We huffed but got nowhere. Immensely disappointing and all the more so when you are watching the game in the corner of a bar while in other corners Chelsea, United, Liverpool and Spurs fans are all celebrating goals going in. The upshot of all this is that the table does not look good. In fact I don’t even want to see it. All I know is we’re 14 points behind Chelsea having dropped 11 to their none.
But the main discussion must be about the performance. We started with a very youthful team containing Senderos, Clichy, Reyes, Flamini, Cesc and for much of the game Eboue too after Fred went off. We were without Cole, Campbell, Gilberto, Van Persie, Henry, Hleb and then Ljungberg. That would be a big miss to any squad, all the more so to ours.
So perhaps that excuses things. Or perhaps it doesn’t. The Everton and Man City sides that a far less experienced Arsenal dispatched from last season’s League Cup were miles better than the carthorses West Brom served up today. We could and should have easily won this game.
The problem is that the fact we are not at our most fluent at the moment should mean every playa is giving 120% so that effort alone can get us through. But that is not the case. We were leaden footed and lethargic today. Really, I would say that excluding the hard to appraise Lehman, only Reyes and perhaps Senderos and Toure did themselves justice out there today. Not everything may be coming off for Reyes, but he keeps plugging away and chasing everything.
The same is not true for the others. Pires is the worst culprit. His effort at times is frankly lamentable. I can just about excuse him pulling out of tackles because he is worried about his knee but he has no excuse for not doing everything humanly possible to block crosses.
We are clearly lacking really good cover right through the spine of the team (a defender, midfielder and striker are all needed). But we also have to roll our sleeves up and not commit the immortal sin of taking our foot off the pedal just because our opponents are crap.
It is going to take a miraculous recovery for us to challenge for the league now. We need our genuinely rotten luck with injuries to turn, new playas and better performances.
One final point about today’s referee and the one minute 55 seconds of injury time he added on. Now don’t get me wrong, I loathe it when managers squabble over every few seconds. My theory is normally if you don’t score in 90 then you probably won’t score in 94. But today was just some kind of complete joke. We had an injury a minute from time that lasted about one minute 40 seconds, we had four second half subs, three of which were incredibly slow West Brom ones, we had one of the longest and deliberately stalling goal celebrations ever and we had them wasting time every time they got a free-kick or goal kick, even when it was 1-1.
By adding on just two minutes the referee has completely indulged that negativity (which I accept Arsenal have been guilty of in the past). It was a complete joke.
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09/10/05
Football returns next week
Do you get very bored of England games after 60 minutes? Do you have to tell yourself to try to be happy when England score? And does part of you secretly will the opposition to knock one past ‘us’?
Answer: Yes, yes and yes.
My conclusion is that Sven would get double the amount of stick if the thought of writing about England wasn’t so boring. In fact, I’ve had enough. I’m so bored I can’t be stuffed to write any more about England.
But I will say a few words about my good friends at FIFA. Presumably David Beckham’s red card will stand, despite his 2nd booking being a blatant dive.
It will stand because under FIFA’s own half witted rules, appeals are only allowed in cases of mistaken identity. I don’t give a stuff about Beckham, but I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: this is the most inept rule I have ever seen.
England have been wrongly deprived of a playa for 30 minutes because of an opposition player’s connivance. And then to compound the problem, they will ban him for no other reason than that they have invented a stupid rule that says he must be banned.
For some reason, this rule pisses me off big time. It is the height of bullshit in a game overflowing with the stuff. The only bans being handed out should be for the half wits who invented this rule and are now pressuring the Premiership to take it up.
The only saving grace is that these things have a way of hitting people back in the face. How I will laugh if the brilliant Ronaldinho is sent-off in next year’s World Cup semi-final for handling on the line when the ball clearly hit his chest. Of course, my scorn will not be directed at the unfortunate Brazilian. Instead it will be at the FIFA bigwigs who will have seen their showpiece player miss their showpiece game because of their own arrogant, farcical rules.
Football returns next week.
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021005
Arsenal 1 Birmingham 0 - half a report
Well, I only saw the second half (hence no playa ratings). From the sounds of it we created a fair bit in the first half and as well as missing a penalty we could have had a hatful.
The second half seemed a very flat affair. Maik Taylor made great saves early on from Pires and Ljungberg and then we seemed to lose any great degree of urgency. In the end, Van Persie’s not brilliantly hit shot deflected off a defender and beat the excellent Taylor. We held on, though not with any great style.
We looked lethargic in the latter stages. From what I saw Campbell, Toure and Cole looked good enough. Reyes is playing with brilliant enthusiasm and desire. The rest of them don’t look lazy by any means but if you compare us with Chelsea at the moment, is the same unswerving desire there? I’m not so sure.
It needs to be.
And the crowd can play their part too. Apologies if the SKY sound system did Highbury a disservice, but the ground sounded embarrassingly silent today. The players are human beings like the rest of us and they thrive on the support of the crowd like you and I would. So, if you’re lucky enough to be at Highbury, sing.
Chelsea won 4-1 this afternoon and looked good, albeit against what is a pretty poor Liverpool league side. The Kop were singing louder in the 89th minute than anything Highbury managed today.
On site news, I’ve gone back to the old design but with the new logo following a public outcry. Not sure about what should go in the space on the left though, as the Latest Updates column was pointless and time consuming to update.
Finally, a question for any readers who live in Dublin or anywhere else in the Republic of Ireland. I need to get internet access at my new flat for 3 months. Are there any broadband companies who don’t insist on you signing up for 12 months? And what is the best dial-up?
...
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Archives: July 2005, June 2005, May 2005, April 2005,March 2005, February 2005, January 2005, December 2004 and the embryonic goodplaya.
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Playa ratings:
v West Ham (2-3) - NEW
Lehman: An absolute idiot for stupidly getting involved with Harewood late on. Not only was it nasty, but he could have been sent-off and he also put us out of our stride. A minute later West Ham made it 3-1. He’s a very good goalkeeper but an arrogant, nasty character and an embarrassment when he behaves like that. 4
Gilbert: Looked to be doing fine until the Arsenal full-back curse struck. 6
Djorou: Individually did well, but understandably hasn’t been able to strike up any kind of partnership with Campbell yet. 6
Campbell: What can you say? Two massive errors that were punished to the max. Things just aren’t going his way at all. 4
Senderos: Obviously doesn’t offer the attacking prowess of Cole or Clichy but he looked solid and his distribution to Pires was fairly impressive. Did fine at centre-back in the second half but should have whacked it out instead of passing to Larsson for the mistake that led to the third goal. 5
Gilberto: He’s not great at the moment. Far too passive for my liking. 5
Diaby: Still raw, but I like him. And he is so like Vieira: even his mistakes remind me of Vieira’s shortcomings. Not sure why he was taken off. 7
Ljungberg: You have to laugh at the way he somehow managed to deflect Henry’s shot wide. Is trying really hard and not actually playing badly at all. But nothing is going his way. 7
Pires: I do feel we need players with greater bite than Pires at the moment. But in fairness, he was involved, scored one, set-up the other one for Henry and saw Hislop deny him with a great save. 6
Henry: Hard to judge. Seemed to have a decent enough game on TV but reports from the game were critical. 6
Van Persie: Unlucky. Offered a lot but nothing went his way. 7
Subs:
Flamini: Brought on as an emergency right-back but did pretty well all things considered. Say what you like about Flamini but he’s a fighter who unlike some of his team-mates will never be found lacking for effort. 7
Larsson: Yes, he made the cock-up for the third goal. But it was typical of our rough justice. Other than that he was excellent: committed in the tackle, full of running in attack and crucially he understands the value of hitting long-balls diagonally, as opposed to completely straight. Which is something some of his team-mates could do with taking note of. 7
Dennis: Not normally much of a substitute, but he found himself a good niche on the right of midfield and offered us extra creativity. Well hit volley to set up Pires’ goal. 6
v Sparta Prague (0-2)
Lehmann: Solid enough game. He’s doing well at the moment. 7
Clichy: Bit of a nightmare really, though to be fair their right winger was their best playa. 5
Cygan: Surprisingly assured. 7
Kolo: Looked fairly good most of the time. 7
Lauren: The odd moment of strangeness. 6.5
Flamini: Was hard to judge the midfielders tonight. Seemed to do the normal without being mega effective. 6.5
Gilberto: One of those Gilberto games where you don’t really know how he has played. 6.5
Fabregas: Got fairly involved and offered threat down the right. 7
Pires: Not his best game by any means but still one of his better ones this season. Magnificent ball for the second goal. 7
Van Persie: Seems to get carded in Europe for the most ridiculous things. Did alright without having much effect. 6.5
Reyes: Full of running til he got injured and wasn’t running at all. 6.5
Subs:
Henry (for Reyes 17ish): Emperor-like as he beat Wrighty’s record. Magnificent playa who, had he not scored, would have been accused of going missing in another big game. But because he did score, it won’t count as a big game. 8.5
Eboue (for Van Persie 70ish): Looking ok at the moment. 6.5
Quincy (for Cesc 85ish): Full of running. 6.5
v West Brom (2-1)
Lehmann: Blameless for goals. 6
Lauren: Not particularly composed. 5.5
Clichy: Has had far better games. 5.5
Senderos: Good goal, messy header for theirs. 6
Toure: Ok but ridiculously offside at one free kick. 5.5
Flamini: Ok but uninspiring. 5.5
Cesc: Decent. Kept trying. 6
Pires: Crap. 4.5
Ljungberg: Ok while he was on. 5.5
Reyes: Still running his heart out. 7
Bergkamp: A moany kind of day. 5.5
Subs:
Eboue (for Ljungberg 35ish): Not great. 5.5
Quincy (for Flamini 80ish): Bizarrely decided what Arsenal lack is left-wingers. 5.5
v Everton (2-0)
Jens: Very little to do. Did it all right. 7
Lauren: Occasionally seemed to imagine he had more pace than he does, which was quite amusing as he tried to take people on. Solid as usual. 7
Cole: As someone who gave him a good bashing over the summer it would suit by agenda to say he is playing poorly. But that would be a lie. Whatever the reasons for it, he has started the season well and in attack in particular is offering a lot. 7.5
Toure: Nothing to do at the back and seemed to enjoy getting in on this whole new set-piece malarkey. 7
Campbell: Two excellent headers, especially the second one which was a real hammer. Not at full speed yet but looked good, organised the defence well, shouted at people and seemed to realise he was our most senior player on the pitch. 8
Pires: Hadn’t done all that much in the brief period he was on the pitch before Gary Neville’s shit younger brother’s tackle forced him off. 6.5
Cesc: One friend said to me he is looking lightweight and giving the ball away too much. Maybe. But I think he does a lot of good stuff and his presence in the opponent’s penalty box is valuable. 7
Gilberto: Solid game, got through a fair amount and gave us a couple of those rare Gilberto moments where for a few seconds he stops looking like he is suspended in perpetual slow motion and instead provides us with raw Brazilian skill. 7
Ljungberg: Started slowly but furrowed hard as ever. Seemed to make a real determination to either stick wide out on the wing or else very deliberately come inside as opposed to just being narrow. I think it worked. Unlucky to hit bar in second half. 7
Van Persie: Hit the post with a nice effort (right footed!) and had some decent moments but was otherwise a bit subdued. Has been a fairly rough few weeks and is probably still feeling his way back in to things. 6.5
Reyes: Loses the ball now and then but that is only because he constantly seems to have it. Boundless energy at the moment, great creativity and fantastic balls into the box. Really was amazing how much of the ball he had tonight. 8
Subs:
Hleb (for Pires first half some time): Played pretty well, looked pretty creative and linked up well with Cole. Playing better than Pires. 7
Dennis (for Van Persie 80ish): Did alright. Created a bit of stuff. Didn’t do anything of note. 6.5
Alex Song (for Reyes 87ish): Made a couple of sloppy passes but it was harsh and exaggerated for Alan Smith to say he hadn’t found a man. 6
v Thun (2-1)
Almunia: Probably not to blame on the goal and handling was ok even though he still catches very strangely.6
Lauren: Did the usual Lauren stuff. Fairly well. 6.5
Cole: Thought he was good today. Clean at the back and contributed well going forward. Perhaps he enjoyed having Pires back in front of him. 7
Toure: Seemed ok. Can’t remember too much else.6.5
Sol: Looking a little chunky but it must be good to have him back.6.5
Cesc: Not his most spectacular game but made a couple of decent runs forward and made one particularly delicious pass in the second half.6.5
Gilberto: Very well taken goal and was more involved tonight than normally. An experienced head 7.5
Pires: By no means at his best but infinitely better than the past few games. Got in an early curler that almost flew in and was generally far more involved. Even tried to tackle twice. Neither attempt worked.. 7
Ljungberg. Svavanged without achieving much.6.5
RVP: Had been easing himself back into first team action when the dick head referee struck. 6.5
Reyes: Excellent, his boundless enthusiasm drove the team on and he looked really dangerous at times and caused Thun more problems than anyone else. 8
Subs:
Dennis (for Cesc 70 odd): Is that his first goal as a sub? Took it well. 7
Hleb (for Reyes 80 odd): Didn’t really find his touch in the ten minutes he had.6
Quincy (for Ljungberg 80 odd): Offered a new threat.6.5
v Fulham (4-1)
Lehman: Looking very solid at the moment. You can tell it by the fact he is not making kicking mistakes at the moment. At tricky moments, his handling from corners was excellent.7
Lauren: Missed a penalty, but that was bound to happen one day and at least it didn’t matter. Otherwise, he played well and looked particularly committed (mostly in the right sense) in the tackle. 7
Cole: His best attacking display for a while and linked up promisingly with Reyes. 7.5
Cygan: I’ve made no secret of the fact that his presence in the team pleases me not. Defending was ok tonight, though a couple of times Fulham forwards worryingly escaped him when crosses were slung in. Took his goals very well. Could it be that unlike the rest of the side Cygan does not feel obligated to score the perfect goal and concentrates on just sticking it in the net?7.5
Kolo: Poor clearance for the Fulham goal but on the whole had a decent game. The defensive issues we have at the moment seem more a collective than individual problem. 7
Cesc: Gets a wee bit overrun occasionally but on the whole is playing really well and in particular offers a genuine attacking threat in the way that perhaps Vieira sometime failed to. 7
Gilberto: Did what Gilberto does. Still sometimes resembles one of those video graphic created dinosaurs in the way he moves. 7
Hleb: Good first half, creating a fair deal and generally looking like a cross between Pires and Ljungberg (in the best sense). 7
Reyes: A very good game in my opinion, full of running, full of trickery and very direct. In particular, he linked up very well with Cole and Henry, which was very pleasing. His ball for Henry’s first goal was majestic and pleasingly the two seemed on the same wavelength tonight. 8
Dennis: Besides his idiotic yellow card he had a great game and was at the heart of Fulham’s dissection. Kept going strong right to the end. 8
Henry: Took his two goals, which both came at crucial times, very well. Just one more to equal Wright’s record. 7.5
Subs:
Flamini (for Reyes 75 odd): Set up Henry for the killer third goal. 7
Clichy (for Hleb 85 odd): Ran around like mad, as Clichy does. 7
v Liverpool (3-1)
Lehman: Two really good saves – the first from Riise and the second from Gerard’s piledriver. Flapped at one cross but all it served to do was to remind us how much he has improved. 7.5
Lauren: Did very well, almost scoring from Pires’ cross in the first half and setting up the third goal with some nice play. Is doing well at the moment, perhaps spurred on by Wenger not mentioning right back when saying which areas he doesn’t need to strengthen over the summer! 7.5
Cole: A mixed game. Good going forward and times and obviously an excellent second half block from Garcia. But also occasionally sloppy, messing up things we know him well capable of doing. 6.5
Senderos: A big presence at the heart of the defence he had one of his sternest tests in an Arsenal shirt when Liverpool got at us in the second half. Did pretty well on the whole though, especially as protection from midfield was not always forthcoming. 7
Kolo: A good solid outing and the same goes for him as for Senderos. 7
Vieira: Did some stuff really well and was very influential in our first half attacking play. But I felt he allowed the midfield to be too easily swamped after the break and was not always applying the pressure to Liverpool that he might have done. 7
Gilberto: It goes without saying that evaluating a Gilberto performance is very, very difficult. That said, I felt that like Vieira he could have offered a bit more bite in midfield to help out the defence in the second half. 6.5
Pires: Really was at the heart of some of our best stuff in the first half. Crossed brilliantly for Lauren to almost score, shot just wide and then scored with a magnificent free-kick. Faded later on. 7.5
Cesc: Absolutely outstanding. He set the move in motion for Reyes’ offside goal, fired just wide from 20 yards, scored his own offside goal and then added a very neat third for us in stoppage time. In between this he ran the game, tackling, running with the ball, passing brilliantly and generally looking the best player on the park. Outstanding. 9
Reyes: Not perfect, but he notched up another well taken goal, scored an offside one and ran his heart out for the cause in the second half. 7.5
Van Persie: Not as involved as he has been but got involved and put over one excellent early cross for Robert Pires. Generally looking a much better player than previously. 7
Subs:
Edu (for Pires 70 odd): Came on and did ok. 6.5
Bergkamp (for Van Persie 70 odd): Set up Fabregas for the third with a fantastic flick but was otherwise pretty poor. When he did try and press Liverpool he gave away a few free-kicks and the rest of the time he just didn’t seem to chase them at a time when we really needed players to get stuck in. I know he is still capable of the odd piece of magic but we probably have enough to our attacking armoury that magic alone should not prompt a new contract. We have shown we are capable of winning without Dennis and should probably now look to the future. 6
Aliadiere (for Reyes 85): As ever he came on and got stuck in, chasing everything and hassling the Liverpool defenders. Has a really good attitude and probably deserves more than five minutes at some point. 6.5
v West Brom (2-0)
Lehman: The defence clearly trusts him again and he is reciprocating that with improved handling, kicking and decision making. 7
Lauren: Worked reasonably hard and got forward on a few occasions. 7
Cole: Looked a little lethargic at times but kept going and finished the game strongly, setting us on a number of attacks. 6.5
Senderos: A couple of passes went astray but took a no nonsence defence to defending. Far be it for me to argue with his current record of not conceding a goal for absolutely yonks. 7.5
Gilberto: Covered well at set pieces, but with Arsenal in 2nd gear he seemed only to happy to make sure Gilberto was in 2nd gear too. Not much drive. 6.5
Vieira: Committed silly fouls early on and was not finding his passes. Got better as the game went on and provided more drive. Symbolic of our night. 7
Pires: Did ok initially but like the rest of them lacked the necessary drive. Got better with the team. 7
Cesc: Probably not his best game. Came looking for the ball a lot and should be credited for it but looked a little fatigued when challenged. 6.5
Van Persie: Did ok initially but was not really receiving a lot of support from the midfield. Took his goal magnificently. 7
Reyes: Ran hard but once again looked incredibly left footed. But gave an excellent assist for the opening goal and kept on trying right til the end, providing useful relief for the defence. 7
Subs:
Dennis (for Van Persie 75ish): Did little except provide a measured set-up for Edu's clincher. 6.5
Edu (for Cesc 75ish): Got involved a bit and finished well to clinch it. 7
v Spurs (1-0)
Lehman: Is playing very well and his handling looks as assured as ever, his throws good and his kicking far better than earlier in the season. I think it no great secret that he needs to control his temper. 7
Lauren: Has looked solid in recent weeks and looked more lively going forward. Alan Curbishley put him in his team of the season on the basis that few wingers get much change out of him. And he is probably right. Really does need to watch stray elbows though, intentional or not. 7
Toure: Was given a little trouble by Defoe but it was less trouble than Adi Akenbai gave him in the FA Cup in January. And Defoe is clearly a far better player than the Stoke man. Will soon score a very, very memorable free-kick I sense. 7
Senderos: It is hard to argue with his defensive record since he came into the side. We have simply stopped conceding goals. That said, what are the odds that back when we were conceding at will, Robbie Keane would have buried that chance. Could have got first goal for club with header. 7
Cole: Linked up well as ever with Pires down our left hand side and seemed really up for the fight. Had the slightly awkward penalty shout against him at the end but otherwise did well. 7
Vieira: With the ball he was excellent on the whole, spreading play at pace and helping support those ahead of him. Looks much more comfortable with Gilberto next to him. Though that said they both looked half a step off the pace at times against a Spurs side full of running. 7
Gilberto: Did what Gilberto does well. Though probably not as much of a shield as against Chelsea. 7
Cesc: Tired a little in the second half but was his usual youthful magnificence until then. Spread the ball with ease, got stuck in, helped out the attack and set up our goal. Nice. 7.5
Pires: Not the force he was against Chelsea but is playing well at the moment, linking up well with Cole down the left and generally providing an experienced head in an otherwise youthful attack. 7
Van Persie: Set Reyes up for the first minute chance, fired a decent effort wide and generally played quite a mature game without hitting great heights. 7
Reyes: Did very well to come back after the first minute miss. Goal was excellent and attitude looked good. Seemed to find an extra gear for second half run that set up Dennis. 7.5
Subs:
Dennis (for Van Persie 70 odd): Curled one wide and generally looked quite good against a tiring Spurs defence. There was the odd occasion when I felt he let the player pass him to quickly but that was probably just my last minute nerves. 7
Edu (for Cesc 70 odd): Hit the post with a curling effort and slotted in very, very neatly on the left. Will be a great shame to lose him if he does eventually go. 7
Aliadiere (for Van Persie 87 odd): Only had a few minutes but looked really keen to impress. Had a couple of good touches, got stuck in and made tired Spurs legs panic, buying us valuable time. 7
v Chelsea (0-0)
Lehman: Has looked much better recently and besides the odd dodgy kick, looked very solid against Chelsea and made one excellent save early on from Drogba. His positioning seemed good on through balls. 7
Lauren: He really didn’t put a foot wrong and kept Damien Duff and probably had his best game for the club against a very, very tricky opponent. Was ferocious and fair in the tackle. 8
Cole: After a slightly tentative start he threw himself at everything Chelsea chucked at us. Whatever people’s feelings about his current situation, there can be no complaints about his performance. 7
Senderos: Excellent as usual. This guy likes clean sheets. 7
Toure: Really did well in what could have been a tricky night. Got weight on his clearances and never panicked. 7
Vieira: It really doesn’t take a genius to figure out how much he seems to be enjoying having Gilberto back in the side. Really led the side again with fine interventions and set us on the path to attack – such as when Pires hit the bar. 7.5
Gilberto: Suffered a couple of inevitable nosebleeds when he got into decent positions going forward but otherwise did a fine job of snaffling out what Chelsea threw at us and generally making the team a slick unit. Showed one or two fine turns as well. 7
Cesc: This kid really does defy logic. At a time when his brittle bones should be feeling the effects of a long, hard season he is looking stronger than ever. Magnificently composed on the ball, he worked furiously in defence, midfield and attack. 8
Pires: His early volley that hit the bar reminded me of when I stood in the Holte End last year for Villa v Arsenal and he hit an even better effort that was turned just over. Even the anti-French bigots around me were shut well and truly up.
There is a wonderful magnificence about watching Robert Pires on song. He caresses the ball delightfully and when it’s time to move it on he does it with the utmost precision. A joy to watch and unlucky not to score twice. 9
Reyes: The story of his last 6 months – no problem with effort but he just lacks the confidence to make things really happen. The annoying thing is that he’s making errors on things that a confident Reyes could do with his eyes shut. Let’s hope his effort is rewarded soon. 6
Bergkamp: Like Reyes he worked hard and did his bit to keep Chelsea at bay. But also like Reyes he found himself struggling up front. The curtain appears to be falling on his magnificent career. Hopefully an announcement will be made soon and both we and Dennis can enjoy his final games. 6
Subs:
Van Persie (for Dennis 80 odd): Struggled to get into the game but had a few decent chances and ran hard for the side.
Aliadiere (for Cesc 85 odd): Did alright but by the time he came on it didn’t look like either side were really going to score.
v Boro (1-0)
Lehman: Flapped at one cross in the first half and then came ridiculously far out of his goal before eventually winning the ball. Yes, he’s kept a fair few clean sheets recently and yes, it’s even true we could win the league again with him in goal, but no, we won’t win in Europe with Jens and no, he’s not the answer. 6
Lauren: His early challenge, whilst not worthy of a red card as suggested on Match of the Day, was sheer stupidity. He did alright and he’s plodding along but not really getting any better. 6
Cole: Attacked decently at times but wasn’t helped by a very, very ineffectual Robert Pires. 6.5
Senderos: Now looks like he should be partnering Sol Campbell when the two are fit. Authoritative, big and commanding, his presence has coincided with a string of clean sheets. Still has rough edges, but these are being shaved all the time. 7
Kolo: Did reasonably well and made a couple of important blocks, but I’m not convinced his future lies in the heart of the defence. Together, he and Lauren sometimes seem to bring out the worst in each other and we just don’t look solid, clean sheets or no clean sheets. Would like to see him at right back. 6.5
Gilberto: I looked out especially for incidences of him filling gaps and yes, I can confirm it happens and he does his job well. Still looks very nervous in attacking positions, but his presence is welcome. 6
Vieira: I thought he did reasonably well, though like the rest of the players he seemed to have trouble bringing any great coherency to our play. 6
Cesc: I plumped for Cesc on the right a while ago and I like seeing him there. He got well forward and was always involved. Looks tired, but it’s been a long old season and he’s still, only 17. 6.5
Pires: I thought him absolute rubbish up until he scored really. His inability to tackle has been documented many times before, but on Saturday he seemed to be playing the whole game at walking pace. But then who better is there at converting the one chance he gets to secure a 1-0 lead. 6
Reyes: Things still aren’t all coming off for him but I sense things are getting better and his work rate and willingness to track back really can’t be faulted. We know for a fact that the boy has the talent to succeed, so while he may not be showing what he’s really capable of right now, we should applaud his recent application. Had a couple of really mazy runs and set up Henry excellently for a shot he scuffed. 7
Henry: Had one of those games where he seemed to stand almost still on the edge of the box, conserving his energy and waiting to pounce. It didn’t really work, though he did have a glorious chip fly just wide and certainly scared the Boro fans every time he got the ball. He was also up against an obdurate Boro. 6.5
Subs:
Dennis (Reyes 46): Did alright without really changing the game at all. It seems the curtain may be falling on his illustrious career and reluctantly, I think it right. We know he can still play brilliantly in patches but the truth is that it’s becoming less often and it’s hampering us in European away games. We need someone to step forward and become Henry’s partner. Sometimes the bullet needs to be bitten. And now is that time. 6
v Palace (5-1)
Jens: It’s tempting to say that the early back pass cock-up could just as easily have happened to Petr Cech but in truth that would be a lie. He’s simply too cocky and over confident with his kicking – it’s why so many balls get sliced wildly and why we almost conceded a shambolic own goal tonight. Otherwise, he actually did quite well. 6.5
Lauren: Is definitely becoming a better player going forward but was as culpable as anyone for our defensive malaise. 6
Cygan: Didn’t have an awful game but on too many occasions simple long balls forward by Palace became much more serious than they needed to be. 6
Kolo: Got skinned more often than he would have liked and was caught out at times from crosses. But still, we only conceded one. 6.5
Clichy: Did well getting forward, causing a constant menace. Defending was largely competent but seemed to be infected by the general defensive tendency to give the ball away. 6.5
Vieira: Another tricky game to rate from the captain. At times he was sluggish and easily caught in possession. At others, he took a grip on the game and drove the team forward impressively. Got well forward for his goal. 7
Edu: Didn’t have the sudden impact he enjoyed at Villa last week but did well enough and certainly gave us a fair bit of solidity. Good ball to Reyes for the opener. 7
Pires: Seemed to be rewriting the dictionary definition of anonymous for the first 20 or so minutes. Then got more into the game without coming close to hitting top gear. Was unlucky to hit the post in the 2nd half after good work from Reyes. 7
Reyes: His best game in yonks. He looked fearless again, running constantly at the Palace defence and causing a lot of trouble. Good assist for the first, great finish for the second, an assist for the third and a fantastic pass to Dennis to set up the fifth. Great to see him back again. 8.5
Dennis: As ever, he oiled, moulded and sculpted our performance. He also took his goal very well, like he did against Newcastle and United too. And set up Henry for the fifth. 7.5
Henry: Really played very, very well and channelled any frustration about constant offside decisions in exactly the right way. Had seemingly boundless energy to chase back lost causes and put us back on the attack. 8.5
Subs:
Flamini (for Edu 60odd): Solid and composed as ever. 7
Van Persie (for Dennis 80odd): Linked up reasonably well as the game entered its final stages. 7
Fabregas (for Pires 80odd): Settled in comfortably on the right. 7
v Wolves (2-0)
Jens: Whilst a clean sheet is a clean sheet, he had very little to do and looked no more reassuring than previously with his kicking. To be fair, he was also played a high number of over hit back passes today and was not at fault for the one from Flamini that took a wicked bobble off the Highbury surface (which appeared unusually cut-up).6.5
Eboue: Got forward well, hit the bar with a deflected shot and could have had a penalty. Nice work. 8
Clichy: Decent game without being exceptional.7
Sol: Not a lot to do. 7
Cygan: Better than usual. 8
Paddy: Mediocre for much of it truth be told. Got better later on and scored the penalty but for too long his mind didn’t seem in the right place. Sure, Wolves made it difficult by crowding midfield but too often he seemed semi asleep at throw ins and the like. Still, he kept going. 6.5
Flamini: Didn’t show the deftness of touch of the Newcastle game but retained all his normal solidity. And great as Ray Parlour was, watching Boro at the moment suggests that we’ve got an as good, if not better, replacement. 7
Reyes: A couple of good runs, some moments of anonymity and denied a stonewall penalty. Still getting back to form but it definitely seems better than a few weeks ago. 6.5
Freddie: Usual energetic performance without any stand out moments, save his well taken goal. That’s ten for the season now and we’re still in January. Good work Sir. 7
Van Persie: Not his most inspiring game and clearly doesn’t yet have the positional ability of Dennis (who does?) but is improving. 6.5
Henry: Gallic. Went into one of his moods after Riley ruled out his cheeky first half effort. Strutted around for a while, went in for a couple of silly tackles and became frankly self indulgently petulant when a foul was given against him. It’s alright for us to loathe Riley endlessly but our top striker shouldn’t let him affect his game. And the fact is he did. But recovered his composure, was unlucky not to score and set up Freddie in superb fashion. 8
Subs:
Cesc (for Van Persie): Settled in comfortably on the right. 7
Pires (for Reyes): Nice work for the clinching goal. 7
Quincy (for Fred): No time to make an impression.
v Charlton (3-1)
Alumnia: No chance with the goal and didn’t do too much wrong besides one poor fumble from a cross. Still not convinced by his catching techniques. No difficult saves to make6.5
Hoyte: Made the odd error but did well to make sure his old youth team buddy Jerome Thomas had his quietest game in weeks. Managed to get forward a bit more in the second half.7.5
Cole: Still not looking at his best and on a couple of occasions was embarrassed by Rommedahl. But in fairness he wasn’t as sloppy as recently and did get forward well later on. 6.5
Sol: With the exception of one wildly sliced clearance in the first half that Almunia had to save he looked pretty solid and kept Charlton’s clear chances to a minimum. Let’s hope his ankle isn’t too bad. 7
Kolo: Given a bit of grief by Bartlett in the air but stuck to his task well and like Campbell, restricted the number of clear cut chances. 7
Vieira: Watching the game live, I was unconvinced by his first half performance. But having just seen the highlights it seems he got through a lot of work and did what he had to do neatly and efficiently. Set up Fred well for the goal and kept up a good level of performance all the way through.7
Cesc: Lost the odd ball but was generally very sound. Passing was clean and crisp as ever and his touch for the second goal was exquisite by any standards.7.5
Freddie: Took his two goals brilliantly, worked hard and always looked a threat. In good form. 8
Clichy: Seemed to lose the ball cheaply a bit too often but worked hard down the left helping Cole out with nullifying the threat of Rohmedahl and getting forward well. Has tremendous energy which comes in handy at the end of games when opposition players tire.6.5
Henry: Not at his best today but more worrying than the actual performance was the fact that his normal fitness wasn’t there. Had a lovely free-kick cleared off the line.6.5
Van Persie: Still has a tendency to twist and turn once too often. But also holds the ball up brilliantly, moves it well and finished superbly for the third. Should probably be given a real run up front next to Henry. Took his goal like a striker, which is disconcerting coming from an Arsenal player.7.5
Subs:
Pires (for Van Persie 72ish): With the game won he wisely didn’t over exert himself ahead of Man City on Tuesday night. 6.5
Senderos (for Campbell 82ish): Slotted in well on his Premiership debut.7
Pennant (for Fred 86): Didn’t have time to get into the game. 7
v Newcastle (1-0)
Almunia: Our star man tonight. A smart early save from Ameobi (even if it was probably going wide) and excellent handling all night gave us one less worry. Four clean sheets in five and he also kicks a fair bit better than Jens.7
Lauren: Though Lauren Robert didn’t reach anything like his best, I’m not sure whether too much credit should go to Lauren. His positioning often seemed weak, his passing and tackling little better and he offered almost nothing in attack. Mr Average was distinctly poor. 5.5
Cole: Whilst there’s no shame in being given a tough time of things by Craig Bellamy, Cole’s performance was noticeably worse than just a torrid time. He made stupid, unnecessary fouls, got caught out when he should normally have had enough pace and looked very, very shaky. He may have been pushed a touch for the penalty incident, but a defender with his mind fully on the job wouldn’t have allowed the ball to hit him as blatantly as it did. In mitigation he did improve and unlike Lauren provided some attacking threat. 5.5
Kolo: Did alright but like the others his decision making didn’t always seem to be the best informed. That said, it’s a little harsh to chastise a central defender who has kept four clean sheets in five. 6.5
Sol: Urgh. After some very sound recent performances he seemed far too troubled by what looked like some relatively simple long balls. One such error allowed Ameobi in for his early chance and his lack of authority always made the long ball route look like a wise one for Newcastle to take. 6
Flamini: Not his best game for Arsenal but he still got through a lot of work, kept things simple and had a hand in setting up Vieira for the goal. 6.5
Vieira: Named man of the match by SKY and praised in a couple of papers, but I’m going to be honest and say that up until he scored I thought he was pretty useless, being caught in possession too often. That said in the second half he got through a fair bit of work as we ground out victory. 6.5
Fred: Beavered away, had some good moments and kept on trying. Was going to commend him for his work on a couple of occasions in particular but can’t now remember what they were. 7
Pires: Even by his standards, his tackling was poor today. Truth be told, I can’t fathom how he’s allowed to defend with his body constantly side on to the play. As a left winger he has defensive responsibilities and simply has to make a better fist of it. On the attacking front he was probably our most creative player, moving the ball smartly and at pace. 6
Van Persie: Still very, very raw. Unlucky not to score in the opening minutes and had a couple more decent efforts but all too frequently ran into trouble and lost the ball on what was admittedly an awful surface completely unsuited to his quick twists and turns. Corners weren’t bad. Needs time. 6.5
Henry: His touch was not quite at its magical best, but again this was probably due to the state of the pitch. Had a couple of good runs that resulted in decent shots on Shay Given’s goal. 6.5
Subs:
Clichy (for Van Persie 80 mins approx): Seemed as happy as anyone in the post match huddle but for the second game in succession he seemed a little out of sorts when called upon. 6
v Fulham (2-0)
Almunia: Looks better by the game and made a crucial save when he rushed out at speed to palm away a Fulham chance at 1-0. Made no notable mistakes. 7
Clichy: Had a good first half – getting forward well as usual and strong on the defensive stuff. Then in the second half he seemed to lose his confidence went, either as a result of or because of Fulham consistently probing down our left. Like any small full-back, aerial strength is a weakness.6
Lauren: Average as usual. Looked solid against a Fulham attack lacking any real penetration. 6.5
Sol: At times we were troubled in the air – but Sol is leading a defence that is no longer allowing attackers completely free headers at corners. Looks fit and healthy and, along with the rest of the defence, now has three clean sheets in four league games. 7
Freddie: A fine game on his return from migraine troubles. Played in Henry for the first and set-up Pires for the second. 7.5
Cesc: Gets caught on the ball occasionally but is still doing the vast majority of things with real fluency. Gives us real creativity in the middle. 7
Vieira: Showed a few soft shoe shuffles to bam boozle defenders in a way we haven’t really seen this season. Also got stuck into his tackles and generally seemed to be on the ball. 7
Pires: There was this surreal moment in the first half. He got the ball on the left wing and took a heavy touch. As if that wasn’t enough he then went flying into the tackle with the Fulham defender and actually won the ball. And it wasn’t the only time – I saw him snuff out a few Fulham attacks and even win a header.
Of course, the attacking side of his play was superb as well – he would have scored from a Dennis chest down but for a good save by Van De Saar. He linked up well, particularly with Henry, and inevitably took his goal with typical aplomb. Now has 19 in 2004, which is good. 7.5
Dennis: A fair few poor touches and bad decision making in general play. In mitigation, he dummied the ball well for the second goal and put Pires in with an excellent chest down. 6.5
Henry: Sure, the flicks didn’t always come off but at times he led Fulham a merry dance like he has almost every other defence this season. His goal was a trade mark finish and he was desperately unlucky when his side footer from the edge of the box crashed back off a post. 7
Subs:
Flamini (for Freddie 74ish): Some might say Arsene was making a point by not replacing Freddie with Pennant. Others will call it a sensible way of seeing out the game. 6.5
Van Persie (for Dennis 78ish): Provided his usual array of tricks but didn’t get a real chance to score. 6.5
v Portsmouth (1-0)
Almunia: Had a really good game. Caught when he needed to catch, punched when he wasn't sure and kicked immaculately. Also made a couple of really good saves. His run of impressive performances may only stretch to two but for now there seems no reason to bring back Jens. 8
Lauren: Did nothing too wrong but didn't offer as much in attack as he might have and at times appeared troubled by Pomey's pace. I think he's ok, but I'm becoming less and less convinced he should be our right back at all - more on that tomorrow. 6.5
Cole: A tough one to call. For a while looked rattled by Pompey's pace and agression down the left. Misplaced a couple of balls and though his tackles were mostly coming off they had a slightly concerning aggressiveness about them which made me think he was letting his own frustration get the better of him a little. But stuck to the task well and in the end kept a dangerous Pompey out. 7
Kolo: Got sucked in a couple of times, but on the whole he was part of a defence that looked pretty solid and much improved at set pieces. 7
Sol: Looked fitter than recently I thought - turning smoothly on a couple of occasions when faced with danger. He also made countless important headers at corners and won us the game with the kind of head down sheer determinism many fans would like to see a little more often. 8
Flamini: Ran hard, tackled hard and never gave up. Doesn't offer as much going forward as Fabregas, but doesn't claim to either. Unlucky with a header from Henry's free-kick. 7
Vieira: Industrious, but was also sloppy on occasion, getting caught in posession and losing the ball. Still doesn't seem 100% back to his best and didn't make the most of a couple of shooting opportunities. 6.5
Clichy: Fought well and offered Cole valuable protection down the left hand side. Showed initial attacking promise early on but faded as Pompey grew in stature. Nonetheless, was full of running at the end and nearly capitalised on tired Pompey legs. 7
Pires: His every touch was met with a chorus of boos as Bob faced Pompey for the first time since 'that dive' last season. There was even one moment when he slipped and the ball rolled out of play. Which probably made a certain journalist very, very warm inside. Otherwise, was neat enough but pretty ineffectual, seemingly afraid of injury in the rough house atmosphere. Had a couple of lovely runs late on and set Dennis up for a chance he really should have taken. 6.5
Henry: Worked hard and created much of our best work, but often found himself crowded out by the hoardes of Pompey defenders. Nearly scored after a flowing first half move and set up Dennis' other chance late on, which again he really should have taken. 7
Van Persie: Started really well, showing fantastic feet and trickery and generally leading Pompey a merry dance. He swivels at such speed he'll probably need a hip replacement aged 30. Faded somewhat after his impressive start, finding himself crowded out by the packed defence. Could pass a little earlier at times but nonetheless a decent first start in a difficult game and he staked a fair claim for inclusion against Fulham on Boxing Day. 6.5
Subs:
Bergkamp (for Van Persie 68ish): Should have scored late on following good set up play. His performance did little to silence the voices calling for this year to be his last. I'm undecided on that, but what I am sure about is that I won't miss the needless little kicks and elbows aimed at his opponents when frustration sets in. Simply put: the sly digs are ugly and Van Nistelrooy like and do nothing for us. 6
v Chelsea (2-2)
Almunia: Faultless for both their goals, he made good stops from Lampard and Gudjohnsen in the first half. And made a vital save when Robben wriggled his way through after the break. But nobody noticed it. Caught when a catch was a good idea, punched when a punch was wiser and set us on the attack with some good throws. 7.5
Lauren: Didn't see much of him, but when you're up against Duff and Robben, this can only be to a defender's credit. Thought he did really well to keep them in check, and the one time Robben did really threaten in the second half, the danger came down the other side. 7.5
Cole: The one player who I thought struggled today. As has been the case of late, he lacked confidence in his touch and stuggled defensively. Perhaps should have come out to Robben before the winger got into the box for his 2nd half chance, and was easily beaten in the air by Drogba for Cheslea's 2nd equaliser. 6
Kolo: Looked solid overall and helped limit Chelsea to only a few chances asides from set pieces. 7
Sol: A mixed bag. Made some really important defensive headers and looked in command at times at the back. But was a little caught out for their opening goal and sometimes seemed a little gung ho in his marking. Made important late tackle on Drogba.7
Reyes: Was quiet, but this was a tough game. Nodded down to Henry for the opener, worked hard and went on a few mazy runs without much success. Still, I thought he gave them something to worry about.6.5
Fabregas: Another excellent performance. He and Flamini were overwhelmed initially when up against Tiago, Lampard and Makalele but never gave up and fought their way back into the game admirably. Nice goal to set up Henry for the opener, he was instrumental in setting up the Frenchman's near winner and also set up RVP for his chance. Uses the ball so intelligently and showed that despite his size, he's not afraid to get stuck in. Was up against the very best in the business today and succeeded in limiting Lampard to a largely peripheral role.8
Flamini: £1 million? First league start? A snip if you ask me. He run's tirelessly, he harries, he puts his foot in and he uses the ball simply when he wins it. A real water carrier but absolutely essential today and worked tirelessly. Well done Sir. 8
Pires: We wanted a big performance and boy did we get one. Seemed almost impossible to shake off the ball, tackled back, linked up well with Lauren, Flamini, Cesc and Henry and drove the team forward in his own idiosyncratic waddle. When in his pomp, he is still a wonderful, wonderful footballer to watch. Set up Henry for the near winner, realised his responsibility as the senior partner in midfield, and shouldered the responsibility admirably.7.5
Dennis: Didn't get involved in too much of note, but I can't help feeling he just gives us a cetain sophistication and shape when he's in the side. Gordon Strachan pointed out on Match of the Day how hard he'd worked to stop Makalele getting the ball and in hindsight I think it probably a fair call.6.5
Henry: Forget the late miss - it can happen to anyone. Otherwise he was outstanding, scoring a brilliant first (which included winning a high ball!), netting an impudent second and generally running the show. Scared Chelsea shitless every time he picked it up and was responsible for a hell of a lot of good work. Also destroyed the concept he doesn't turn it on in big games. That's 15 in 17 league games now by the way.9
Subs:
Clichy (for Reyes 82): Ran around like mad for 10 minutes and forced mistakes out of tired legs. Really good footballer and good enough to start for probably every Premiership side and perhaps should be more often for us. 7.5
RVP: Is maturing very nicely indeed. Nearly netted a silky winner when he latched onto Cesc's pass and gave the Chelsea players a lot to think about. Would be really interesting to see him start. 7
v Rosenberg (5-1)
Almunia: Made a really, really good low save early on and kicked largely well. But looked dodgy more than once on crosses and for the second time in a week cost us a goal, which is a real worry. Eventually realised there's nothing wrong with giving a ball a good double handed punch. 6
Hoyte: Was up against a poor opposition but defended diligently and rarely looked rushed. Used the ball well, linked up well with his team mates and should be well pleased with his first European start. 7
Cole: Looked solid, with a couple of important defensive headers, but still not yet back to his marauding best I sense. Shouldn't have let the ball drop over his head for Harald Brattbakk to fire at Alumnia after 17 minutes. Withdrawn with quarter of an hour left. 6.5
Sol: Ditto for above, though did once later on look somewhat sluggish again on the turn. Perhaps I'm just paranoid about the impending arrival of Duff and Robben at Highbury.6.5
Kolo: A very easy night for the big man and he even found time for a classic Kolo dance into the opposition penalty area towards the end. 7
Flamini: Very, very good full debut. Set up the second goal, ran tirelessly, got tackles in and seemed to work well with Cesc in midfield. Looks comfortable tracking back and going forward and also seems to have a strange affinity for joining in attacks right around the right edge of the penalty area and particularly when we attack the North Bank. A young, thinking man's Gilles Grimandi, he ain't at all bad for a fifth choice midfielder. 7.5
Cesc: Absolute star. Has already played 20 games this season (twice as many as Edu, Gilberto and Vieira), yet still had the strength to turn in one of his best performances for the club. Fantastically alert, his use of the ball was excellent. He also scored a very impressive, very difficult goal and was involved in the build up for the fifth. Not just our most frequent performer in midfield this season, but also our best. 8
Jose: Took his goal really well and gave us a flying start. Had another deflected shot well saved and looked much more like the sun kid of the beginning of the season. Had a delightful late chip that bamboozled three very stupid looking Rosenberg players before landing on the roof of the net. 7
Pires: Looked much, much better and was even spotted making a tackle late in the second half. Kept going and linked up well late on with Jose and RVP before being withdrawn for Quincy with two minutes left. His penalty was so brilliantly placed it went into the side netting. Again I marvel at his ability to put a football exactly where he wants it to go. 7
Bergkamp: A nice return for the Ice Man who got involved well in the game, set up the opener and had a couple of openings himself. Might have done better when in front of goal, but eased himself back into the side well. 7
Henry: I actually thought that poor as the defending was for his goal, it was still a pretty decent finish. Worked hard all night, linked up well with the kids around him and seemed to be feeling particularly tolerant. 7
Subs:
Clichy (for Dennis 72ish): Spent a few mins in midfield before dropping back to left back when RVP replaced Ashley. As ever looked sound in the defending and assured going forward.
7
RVP (for Cole 75): Resuscitated the game with some silky skills, wayward finishing and then eventually a very well taken goal. Rawer than an uncooked vegetable, but with massive potential. 7.5
Quincy (for Bob 88): Should have had longer. Don't think he got a touch.
v Birmingham (3-0)
Alumnia: Looks like Lehman, kicks slightly better than Lehman, fumbles the odd ball like Lehman and jumps a couple of inches less high in the air than Lehman. Did ok, but would have been ill advised to let Morrison’s second half effort creep under him and over the line.6.5
Lauren: Seemed really quiet yesterday. Means he was doing his defensive job well which at the moment is the priority. Better? Seeing as we kept a clean sheet, probably a tad. 6.5
Cole: It's not been picked up much by the press, but I’ve thought Ash to be one of the players whose form has most obviously dipped in the recent spell. He’s still looked a top left back, but the subtlety of touch that allowed him and Bob to link so well still seems to be absent. Better? Not noticeably, but again should take credit for a clean sheet. 7
Sol: I’m of the opinion he’s still carrying a little bit of weight. Played well enough, but on a couple of occasions he looked sluggish and immobile on the turn, which is obviously a concern with Duff and Robben coming to town next week. Better? Probably not. 6.5
Kolo: Probably fair to say he’s not been our worst performer in the recent period, but I think on occasion he has allowed our recent jitters to affect his decision making a little. Kept Heskey quiet, but also seemed to time his jumps wrongly on a couple of occasions. Better? Ditto above. 7
Vieira: Did some good stuff but on other occasions his decision making and concentration again seemed lacking a little. He’s a hard one to judge at the moment. Better? Probably a bit.7
Cesc: I’m glad to see he escaped censure for his recent performances because I think a lot of the recent mutterings about how he’s no Gilberto have been unfair. Admittedly, the Brazilian’s best work is done off the ball, SKY’s stats show how we tend to win with him in the side, but I still think the young Spaniard is doing pretty well. He’s a young boy whose probably played too many games in a struggling team in a big league. But he’s still there, still getting stuck in and still doing his stuff. Tired in the latter stages yesterday and was replaced by Flamini, which was a wise, common sense, decision. Better? No, but only because he was doing well in the first place. 7
Freddie: Scavenged, burrowed, furrowed, ducked and dived. Fred’s doing them all at the moment and its working as the perfect complement to the continued attempts at perfection that come from the rest of the team. Is also being very productive. Should have had a penalty yesterday, set up the third goal and generally ran the show. Better? No, but only because he’s been great. 7.5
Pires: Mark my words. One of these days the opposition are going to get a free kick on the edge of our area. Their player will hit it, the ball will fly off Robert Pires and zip past Lehman. And we’ll all put it down as a fluke, like we did for Graveson’s effort that flew off Pennant in the Carling Cup game against Everton. Except it won’t be a fluke because Pires, like Pennant, will have jumped with his back to the ball, meaning that when it hits him he’ll have no way of giving it any direction.
My point is that Pires simply has to go into tackles. Maybe he’s worried about getting hurt, but he’s ducking out of the most basic challenges and its meaning we’re losing the battle in midfield at places like Old Trafford and Anfield.
Obviously, as I was making a note of this, Bob went and scored a classic Bob goal. Basically a really, really good one. He is a fantastic playa, probably the purest footballer we have in our team and quite possibly the best finisher. Yesterday was his 50th goal for the club and almost without exception (Bolton at home this season) they’ve been aesthetically perfect and a joy to watch.
But he must pull his weight for the team, which funnily enough I’ve seen him do really well on a number of occasions. Better? A little bit later on in the second half. 6.5
Reyes: You have to feel for him - seemingly everything he tries seems to go askew these days. Inches away from a Henry cross in the first half, he got into the game a bit more going towards half time, but then tired before being withdrawn. As I said above, he could do with a 25 minute run against tired defences to get his confidence back. Better? Not really, but not for want of effort. 6.5
Henry: Whether it be through injury or lack of confidence, he spent much of the game getting into decent positions but then making the wrong decision. Then ten minutes from time he took off past Melchiot, through the Birmingham defence and then a cool low finish hit whilst he was running at incredible speed. Six minutes later, he bought a ticket for Freddie Ljungberg’s cross and got lucky.
May not be at his best. But the level of criticism he of all people has taken is ridiculous. Has scored 13 league goals this season (four more than anyone else and 9 more than Ruud), scoring in 11 of the 16 games. And it’s not even like he’s bound to get the goals because nobody else does. He hasn’t even scored a third of our goals, and with the exception of Old Trafford (when nobody scored) and Selhurst Park, at least one other Arsenal player has scored in all of our other games.
Better? Yes. Despite earlier failures, his determination to keep going for the all important second goal was admirable. 7.5
Subs:
Clichy (for Jose): I love this guy. He’s like Wenger’s little foot soldier and seems capable of doing everything. Slotted in expertly in left midfield. He covers, chases back, tackles, retains the ball, gets forward, dribbles and causes havoc in the opposition defence. He may be more defensive than Reyes, but sometimes being slightly more defensive can give you the shape to attack more. May not be suited to central midfield, but should be considered a serious option for a place in left midfield on tough away games. 7.5
Flamini: Seems to do everything neatly enough without being spectacular. Will be interesting to see how he works with Cesc over the next two games.7
v Man United (0-1)
Alumnia: Crap on their goal, barely put a foot wrong otherwise. Plays and looks like a slightly smaller Jens, but can kick. 6
Hoyte: OK and defended well on occasion, but I’d still like to see him get forward more. That said, I think he’s a player who would look much better surrounded by seasoned pros. 6.5
Clichy: Really, really good as usual. Slipped on their excuse of a pitch for the early goal, but didn’t let it affect him and worked tirelessly defending and attacking all game. 7.5
Senderos: The lumbering giant of Everton had been replaced by a very, very accomplished looking centre half. One dodgy back header that fell short but otherwise cut out everything that was asked of him and looked a real first team option. 8
Djorou: Took eye off ball and then slipped for the goal which wasn’t good. Never quite looked the same player as against Everton, but worked his way back into the game. 6.5
Flamini: Looks like we can breathe a little more easily in the midfield department after watching a very assured display. Would like to see him trialled as a sub for Freddie in games where we’ve got a dodgy one goal lead. 7
Larsson: Some like him but I’m not so sure. What he did was decent enough but I thought he struggled to have an effect on the game. 6.5
Quincy: Maybe it was the pitch, maybe it was United doubling up on him. Either way the hero of the last round never really got into last night’s affair. 6
Pennant: Worked hard, tried to take the initiative and overall did quite well. Still not sure if he’ll quite make it at Highbury though. 7
Lupoli: Is a striker and when strikers get no service they don’t look much kop. 6.5
Van Persie: Battled hard all night and willingly came deep to win possession. But probably came a bit too deep and battled a bit too hard. Yes, he could have been sent off for the incident with Richardson. Reminds me a bit of a young Freddie, not in playing style but in the way that the potential is clearly there but the skills are still very, very raw. 6.5
Subs:
Smith (for Lupoli): Did OK but still looks wary of going in for challenges and taking men on following his long term injury.
Cregg: Alright
Karbassiyoon: Alright
Analysis: It was very easy last season to say how much we were missing the Gilberto "wall" during his absence. And perhaps it was true. But on recent performances, Berlin's got a stronger wall than the one our Brazilian offers. Against Wigan he was, to put it mildly, shite. He didn't go forward, he didn't pass well, he dallied on the ball, he made absurd attempts to intercept that only put us in deeper trouble and he failed to get off the ground for headers. (Witness first goal). In short, he was oh so passive.
Next to him, Cesc Fabregas was a model pro. He ran tirelessly, he won tackles, he broke up play, he positioned himself well and he supported the attack right up until the last minute. Sure, not everything came off, but the way I see it this new midfielder we all agree we need should more likely be a partner for Cesc than for Gilberto.
Behind the pair, things were just totally terrible. Credit to Wigan, honest team, hard working, deceptively skillful for a rugby league town all those other cliches. But the fact is Sol Campbell offered justification for Sven picking Rio ahead of him (yes he was that bad), Jens' kicking was crap, Lauren's general defending was poor and Toure's little better.
To their left was Pascal Cygan. The nicest thing I can say is that words fail me to describe his performance. I'm not one for having a go at individuals just for the sake of it and it is true that in the end, we got a very welcome three points. But a spoon should be called a spoon and today our defending was chaotic.
Up front, it seems Van Persie may possibly have finally got the nod over Dennis, at long last. He played well, the returning Freddie worked hard but was not at full throttle, Pires put in a committed performance which didn't once involve me screaming at him for ducking a tackle and Henry once again made everything look too easy.
One final thought, much as I can't stand his self righteous, self important, status as a "real" player, and much as there is between no chance and 0% chance of Arsene going for him, you kinda have to admit Roy Keane could fill a gap.
...
15/11/05
Arsenal playing before Chelsea form, European form and Vieira book form
A few brief thoughts as we wait for the Premiership to restart.
The first is that the fixture list is currently conspiring quite often to let us play our weekend game before Chelsea. I pointed out last season that while our results are largely unaffected by whether we play before, at the same time or after Chelsea, their's suffered last season when they played after us. And based purely on very anecdotal evidence, the same has been true this season. So we need to take advantage at Wigan on Saturday.
Secondly, this whole assumption that because Liverpool won the Champions League while being crap in the league, the same will happen to us seems bizarre. Last season was largely an anomoly. What nobody seems to have mentioned is that since defeat in Moscow over two years ago, we have a healthy European record that reads: P19 W12 D5 L2.
Finally, there is a piece in today's Times that takes 600 odd words to correctly say: Patrick Vieira hypocritically forgets his own diving when he lambasts Wayne Rooney and Ruud Van Nistelrooy as cheats.
But that is not all the piece says. In fact it reads strangely like a diktat handed down from Old Trafford to a friendly journalist much in the way United employed the same policy with the same friendly journalists after the battle of the buffet.
There was no way Vieira was going to ignore either Rooney or RVN in his book. And the fact is that Rooney DID cheat exactly as described and Van Nistelrooy WAS guilty of consistent violence that went unpunished against Arsenal. Whatever, Vieira's personal myopia, to suggest that the two United players are somehow worthy of apologies for what is correcly identified as shabby behaviour when Vieira does it, is just absurd.
And while I appreciate accuracy matters little when there is an axe there to be ground, the description of the Nicky Butt incident is just patently wrong. Contrary to what is written, it was a straight red card and not a second yellow. Secondly, there was never the slightest suggestion Vieira had dived. Thirdly, the decision to send Butt off was one based purely on the positioning of the incident near to the goal and not on the severity of the tackle or Vieira's reaction to it (there was no doubt it was a foul). Fourthly, all Alex Ferguson and anyone else was moaning about was the referee's decision to treat the incident as a goal scoring chance and thus issue red.
...
10/11/05
International week update
My apologies for the lack of recent updates. The laptop appears to have died and enjoyable as this site is, staying late at work to update it is just not that appetising.
Anyway, things have gone pretty well since the Spurs game. There is not a lot to say about Sparta and Sunderland. We needed victories and we got victories. We didn't over exert ourselves but then we didn't need to. I'm still of the theory that we look far better when playas play in their natural positions and I think that was fairly obvious watching the Sunderland game. In midfield the mix was good, with the wall-like Gilberto and the more enterprising Fabregas, Reyes and Pires both looked comfortable out on the wings and up front we had a good mix of a forward/striker (what can you call Henry?) and a striker.
I don't think Chelsea were unlucky at Old Trafford because ultimately they didn't do enough. But I do think United can count themselves fortunate. Some of their defensive play was wretched - incredibly nervous and very deep. But they got away with it. People are asking whether they will collapse like we did. I don't think they will but nor do I think that the issue really. If someone does catch them I expect it to be by a process of small erosion rather than one big wave. So, for example, if they have a tricky away game that they draw others might take advantage with easy home wins. And of course if we win our game in hand and manage to beat the Blues at Highbury then the gap is only five points anyway. I'm not saying we will do it, just saying how I think they could be caught.
As Myles Palmer pointed out on ANR, the four league games before Chelsea are vital. Contrary to what he said, they actually read: Wigan (A), Blackburn (H), Bolton (A), Newcastle (A). We need to be looking for a minimum of ten points from the four of them and ideally twelve.
Not much else to say, except that I'm away for two weeks from Saturday, so there is a fair chance I won't update after the Wigan, Thun and Blackburn games (the last of which I will definitely miss as I will be in the air for it).
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01/11/05
Players in position works at Spurs
Arsene's decision to shore up the side with an extra midfielder was well intentioned and a welcome departure from the gung-ho approach that cost us so badly at Munich last season. But injuries and lack of squad depth meant that to do it we had Freddie playing out of position on the left, Cesc out of position on the right and our first choice central midfielders not in place. Add the fact we were playing with two forwards but no strikers, and it is obvious why we struggled. When Pires came on, suddenly we had him, Freddie and Cesc all where they should be. And when Van Persie came on, Reyes was on the left wing (which for me is his best spot), Pires was on the right (in a position he has played and done well in) and we had a good balance of a forward and a striker up front.
But I also wonder whether perhaps Arsene imagined the first half going as it did, while obviously hoping we would not concede. Spurs, confidence bolstered by their own good form and our lack of it, were always going to come out on fire. I wonder whether it was Arsene's plan to draw to try to draw their sting (keeping it at 0-0) and then introduce Pires and pounce on them as they tired. In the event, the problems of the first half called for Pires earlier than expected, but I expect it was probably always the plan that he would play a key role.
I don't think there can be any doubt we deserved the draw. Granted, Spurs dominated the first half (even if I only remember Jens having to save from his near namesake Jenas). But we dominated the second right from the off in my opinion. Sure, chances did not immediately come, but we did a good job of grinding them down and tiring them out and in the end Van Persie had about three good chances, Reyes had one, Pires had one and Pires scored. So for me, while our equaliser doesn't suit the grand theories of the pundits, it was well deserved. And to come back from behind against the likes of Spurs away never has been and is certainly not now something to be snorted at.
A couple of things have struck me. The first is that the idea of us being a one man (Henry) team is absurd. But it is true that we still haven't yet brought in someone who we can say is a sufficiently good deputy for him. Don't get me wrong, they don't need to be the same type of player, just a good enough alternative. Hopefully Van Persie can be. I'm also intruiged to see who replaces Dennis in the summer (or before?)
The second point is that the cover issue is not one of Chelsea's being excellent and ours adequate. In fact, our's is inadequate. Midfield reinforcements are a must (so that when we switch things around everyone is not pulled out of position like against Spurs) and so too are a buy each in defence and attack I guess. Bringing in those three players will not give us as excellently backed-up a squad as Chelsea's but I question whether their level of protection is really necessary. While they will always have all 11 positions perfectly filled, if we only have 9 or 10 it probably won't all that much difference in the end. It is when your side is so inbalanced (like against Spurs) that I think it becomes a big problem.
Thought for the day: When was Jens' last mistake?
Updating is a bit fraught at the moment due to a comatose laptop, so sorry for that. In the meantime we have Sparta and Sunderland at home. The latter of which is a must, must, must win game because either Chelsea, United or both will drop points next weekend.
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24/10/05
What story lies behind 'that' penalty?
This is a long post; it’s been that kind of weekend.
I’m now on my third school of thought about what happened and more confused than I was to start with. At first I simply wondered how they could be so stupid at such a crucial point in such a crucial match. Did they realise how agonising it was for the fans? Then I wondered whether these two great artists who have brought us both silverware and exquisite football had endured one of those once in a career cock-ups, the like of which every great band have had with that one appalling single and every great director has had with one shocking film. Should we simply forgive and forget and laugh it off as one bizarre and fortunately uncostly cock-up?
But now I wonder: was it symptomatic of a greater malaise? Could it be that whilst we as fans still yearn desperately to win the European Cup and to catch Chelsea, Pires and Henry see the first as impossible and the second as highly improbable and in any case offering only a reward that would emulate, rather than surpass previous achievements? Do they still have the same drive to succeed for Arsenal? Would Frank Lampard even consider doing anything other than burying the ball from the spot, irrespective of the score? And if the three points were as vital for them as they were for us, how could they contemplate even trying that penalty?
I realise the above paragraph could easily be interpreted as me saying they don’t care. I am definitely not saying that. For a start I am saying the above insinuations are true and in any case, if there has been any loss of drive, I would suggest it has been almost entirely subconscious and in no way deliberate. But whichever way you look at it, I think the above are fair questions that should be asked if we are to understand why such a monumental fuck-up occurred.
And just sticking with penalties for a moment, I’m delighted to see that Thierry Henry says he will be taking them all from now on. It had become absolutely farcical. Not only did we have our top marksman refusing to take penalties he had won for absolutely no obvious reason whatsoever. We also had Dennis refusing to take them following his miss against United over six years ago! Fear of flying is one thing, but a phobia of penalties is another and you get the feeling that in any other walk of life Dennis would have been told to pull himself together and just do it. And to think that yesterday it had got to the stage where we were passing them to each other. Incredible.
Which is also what can be said for getting two penalties off Mike Riley. I haven’t seen any replays of the second one, while the first one could have gone either way. But I will just say that analysing these things in super slow motion is pointless because football is not played in super slow motion. Slowing the play down will always make it look like the attacker has deliberately let himself be fouled. It distorts reality.
At last, the game. Firstly, City were very well organised and are a genuinely decent side. So a win is good. But we’re struggling. A fair part of the problem can be summarised in six words: Flamini, Gilberto, Cesc, Lampard, Essien, Makalele. Our players are good, but we lack a monster in there like Chelsea have and it tells. Eight other words also explain a lot: Van Persie, Senderos, Quincy, Eboue, Robben, Crespo, Gudjohnsen, Ferreira. Arsene didn’t make a single sub. Mourinho introduced first Gudjohnsen, then Robben and then Crespo, all about ten minutes apart. Of course, they didn’t win. But the contrast could not have been bigger.
Arsene is not an idiot: his public buoyancy and confidence in the strength of the squad is surely just a charade that he is obliged to show in an effort to maintain moral. But at heart it must be obvious to him just how blatantly we need to splash the cash.
I’ll finish by saying that Pires and Henry were right to apologise. And that Spurs away is the perfect time to make-up for things by putting in a committed, impassioned performance. And it’s vital they do, because if we’re as slack at White Hart Lane this time as we have been recently, then this time we will lose. And nobody wants that.
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20/10/05
Why Henry's goal at Upton Park was his greatest ever
In the world of footballing top tens, there surely can’t be a more enjoyable experience than picking Thierry Henry’s best goals. I can’t honestly claim to have seen enough of Pele and Maradona to properly judge them. But my suspicion is that if a montage of Thierry Henry goals were shown next to montages of the Brazilian and Argentinian’s best strikes, Henry would not look out of place.
So, at 10…
Chelsea (h) 12/04. At kick-off people said their defence was the immovable object and Thierry Henry didn’t score in big games. Thirty seconds later he had pinged in an unstoppable shot from the edge of the box, leaving Cech rooted to the spot.
at 9…
Bayern Munich (h) 03/05. A strange choice for some perhaps, but for me another brilliant goal against an immovable object. Bayern may have been a defensive shambles in the next round at Chelsea but against us they were tighter than something incredibly tight. After 70 odd minutes, Henry controlled a long ball on the left from Cole, brought it down and hit it instantly across Oliver Khan with complete precision. It was a perfectly executed goal. And it had to be.
At 8…
Manchester City (h) 01/04. This one is also representing the swerver against United later that season. Against City, I was in the North Bank and saw just how much his shot seemed to swerve and yet keep completely straight like an arrow. David James didn’t have a prayer.
At 7…
Sparta Prague (a) 10/05. A very late entrant but very deserving of it’s place. On for six minutes, he controlled the ball on the outside of his foot, swung his whole body through 360 degrees and then fired in a bending shot that beat the goalkeeper in the only part of the net it could have. Almost arrogantly brilliant.
At 6…
Inter Milan (a) 11/03. Broke out from defence, looked to be going nowhere and then made Javier Zanetti look amateurish before slamming home with the left foot. A brilliant goal and the crucial third in a 5-1 win.
At 5…
Spurs (h) 11/02. Very, very special run. He took them all on, cut inside and finished brilliantly. Then he celebrated in serious style in front of the west stand. Magnificent.
At 4…
Charlton (h) 10/04. So good it completely bamboozled the cameraman. I watched this game in a pub in London with one of those dodgy satellites. The commentary was in a foreign language, music was playing in the bar and a lot of people were only half watching. The camera was focused in on Henry as he held the ball with his back to goal about six yards out. Then he backheeled the ball and suddenly wheeled away in delight. The pub was genuinely stunned. Those of us who realised what must have happened looked on in disbelief. When they showed a replay from another angle the reaction from the rest of the pub was one of sheer incredulity. And the more they showed it the more disbelieving the reactions. It didn’t really matter what happened in the rest of the game.
At 3…
Liverpool (h) 04/04. No doubt you’ve heard people say how important this goal was in us winning the title. It was. I was at Highbury that day and 2-1 down at half time there was some serious cigarette smoking going on in the north bank. Within a minute we had equalised thanks to Freddie Ljungberg. But after equalising once and then going behind again, a fair few people feared things were turning against us and we would do it again.
Then Henry picked the ball up on the left. He jinked in, took on a couple of defenders and simply by his presence created sheer panic in the Liverpool defence. So much so that Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher knocked in to each other and fell to the ground comically. Suddenly Henry was through and he finished coolly. The north bank erupted. People who had not lost it since Ray Parlour scored against Valencia found themselves jumping out of their seats. A massive, massive goal and sheer brilliance bore in part out of the complete panic his presence can induce.
At 2…
Manchester United (h) 10/00. Unreal goal. Fed by Grimandi miles out, he chipped it up, spun Gary Neville and in one fired in a volley that dipped and swerved over Barthez into the far corner. Watching at home, all I saw was the ball leave his foot. I thought it was going miles over. Then the Clock End went mad. I had lost the ball in the air. Eventually, I was persuaded it had gone in but was convinced it could only have had it taken the most massive of deflections. Then I saw the replay. One of the goals of goals.
At 1…
West Ham (a) 08/02. You may think this a weird choice. I say the beauty of it has never fully been recognised. Now, don’t get me wrong: were this goal being judged purely on Henry controlling the ball on his knee and hitting an absolute bullet past David James from 30 yards, it would not be anywhere near number one, however great a finish it was. It is the first touch that does it and it is a touch which in my opinion defies the physics of football.
He receives the ball on the right edge of the penalty area from a Vieira pass. He has his back to goal. It is played firmly in to his left foot. Then he takes the crucial touch, which I will come back to in a minute. When he next touches it he has spun 180 degrees so that he is now facing diagonally to goal. His defender has been left bamboozled. The ball lands on what is now Henry’s right knee. Think about what he did with that touch: he took a ball that was coming into his feet and with one touch he looped it up in to the air with his foot. When it fell it was still, incredibly, travelling in the original direction. But he didn’t just lob it into the air, which would have been hard enough.
Instead, he met the ball purposefully with the right hand side of his left boot and somehow spun (not hooked as would have been the case had he used the left hand side of the boot) the ball up in to the air up and over his defender’s head. Had Brazil done it in 1970 I genuinely believe it would be replayed continuously now. Do whatever you can to get a copy of the video and watch that touch because 250 words of mine have failed to do it justice.
And it is for that reason that West Ham away was Thierry Henry’s best Arsenal goal and potentially the greatest I have ever seen.
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19/10/05
Sparta 0 Arsenal 2: Match report, playa ratings and Henry worshipping
The formalities first, then the Henry stuff: Cygan replaced Senderos who had replaced Campbell and Cygan continued in place of the injured Cole. Gilberto returned in midfield in place of Cesc who replaced the injured Ljungberg. The returning Van Persie replaced Bergkamp (something to do with a fear of flying).
We started well, with Cesc having a shot and some promising attacks. Then Reyes went off injured and Arsene went for the brave option of risking Thierry Henry for 70 minutes. Within two minutes he had chested the ball down on the edge of the box and fired what looked like a beaut of a volley that was deflected wide. Then he brought down a through ball from Kolo, spun on the edge of the box and hit the most belle of bending shots with the outside of his right foot. Great goal.
We didn’t do much else for the rest of the half and started the second somewhat sluggishly. Then on 65 we started playing again and within five minutes Pires? had played Henry in with a beautiful ball. He controlled it and still had a fair bit to do to knock it home. 2-0 it finished. A decent enough performance and a great result. Playa ratings to the right.
The goals take Theirry Henry past Ian Wright’s all time Arsenal goal scoring record. We have been fantastically privileged to see him rack up 186 not out and even luckier that so many have been done in such incredible style.
As I walked to work yesterday morning (Tuesday), I went with a bounce in my step. Sometimes you don’t realise what you have til it’s gone and I for one could not wait to see his magnificence return to the pitch.
Of course, there will be those Arsenal fans who will bemoan his unwillingness to commit to the club in his post match interview. That kind of reaction is absolute bollocks in my view. It is quite obvious he is not going to come out and commit to the club just like that because the fact is he is considering leaving. He is 28, has achieved a massive amount, probably fears somewhat about the destination we are headed towards and feels he may want to try and conquer Spain before he retires. People ask for him to be honest. He is. By saying what he is saying he is making it perfectly clear things are up in the air.
Do people want him to say he wants to go? What good would that do? The fact is that when he says he is focused on his football at the moment, that is the truth and that is what he showed us tonight. What is wrong with him kissing the badge if he puts in great performances? Kissing the badge is a sign that your heart is in to what you are doing. And who could argue that his heart wasn’t in tonight’s performance?
Of course we don’t want him to leave on a Bosman. But if he leaves, he leaves. We have been absurdly lucky to have not only one of the best, but one of the most consistent players in the world between the ages of 22 and 28 in his career. If he wants to move then so be it. I would wish him all the best.
Of course, I desperately want him to sign a new contract. But let us be grown up about this. He is doing nothing wrong. The best we can do is get behind him (the fans were great tonight), get behind the team at Highbury (we can do a lot better) and hope Arsene can bring in the players and the team achieve the success that will allow Thierry Henry to stay.
I have no inside knowledge on the issue of his contract, but my hunch would be that things are not a lot more complicated than Thierry fearing (quite justifiably) that the standard of the squad is slipping and that we look less likely to achieve the success (particularly in Europe) that he so craves.
We shall see what happens, but in the meantime let’s celebrate his achievement and leave the worrying for another time. I have written enough now, so won’t reveal my favourite Henry goal now, but you can reveal yours below.
ps: he seemed pretty happy to me when he broke the record.
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16/10/05
West Brom 2 Arsenal 1: Report + playa ratings. Grim.
Arsene Wenger has never suffered the indignity of losing to a lower division team as Arsenal manager, but it is hard to believe that the disappointment could be any greater than that experienced after today’s loss at West Brom.
In 45 minutes, our emotions went from genuine hope that things could be turning our way (we were winning and Chelsea were losing) to the sheer grimness of seeing us somehow lose and them come back to win 5-1.
In short, we took an early lead when Senderos hooked home a deep Reyes corner. We were completely dominant, they were crap. We sat back. They equalised after a feeble Pires attempt to block a cross, a poor header from Senderos and terrible marking of Kanu. Of all people, the man renowned for taking 10 touches when two will do, had time to control the ball, compose himself and then fire off an (impressive) shot past the helpless Lehman. It was a shocker of a goal.
In the 2nd half we eventually rallied around the hour mark and though we had a couple of chances (Toure, Reyes, Bergkamp) things were in no way urgent enough. We probably should have had a penalty for a foul on Reyes, but he wasn’t in a scoring position so I’m not going to complain. It would, however, be nice to see referees decide whether a foul should be given not based on where the incident happens on the pitch but on the incident itself. And if this means the law needs to be reformed so that minor fouls in non-threatening positions in the area do not warrant a spot-kick then so be it. We need consistency.
Anyway, they then scored a cracker out of absolutely nothing. We huffed but got nowhere. Immensely disappointing and all the more so when you are watching the game in the corner of a bar while in other corners Chelsea, United, Liverpool and Spurs fans are all celebrating goals going in. The upshot of all this is that the table does not look good. In fact I don’t even want to see it. All I know is we’re 14 points behind Chelsea having dropped 11 to their none.
But the main discussion must be about the performance. We started with a very youthful team containing Senderos, Clichy, Reyes, Flamini, Cesc and for much of the game Eboue too after Fred went off. We were without Cole, Campbell, Gilberto, Van Persie, Henry, Hleb and then Ljungberg. That would be a big miss to any squad, all the more so to ours.
So perhaps that excuses things. Or perhaps it doesn’t. The Everton and Man City sides that a far less experienced Arsenal dispatched from last season’s League Cup were miles better than the carthorses West Brom served up today. We could and should have easily won this game.
The problem is that the fact we are not at our most fluent at the moment should mean every playa is giving 120% so that effort alone can get us through. But that is not the case. We were leaden footed and lethargic today. Really, I would say that excluding the hard to appraise Lehman, only Reyes and perhaps Senderos and Toure did themselves justice out there today. Not everything may be coming off for Reyes, but he keeps plugging away and chasing everything.
The same is not true for the others. Pires is the worst culprit. His effort at times is frankly lamentable. I can just about excuse him pulling out of tackles because he is worried about his knee but he has no excuse for not doing everything humanly possible to block crosses.
We are clearly lacking really good cover right through the spine of the team (a defender, midfielder and striker are all needed). But we also have to roll our sleeves up and not commit the immortal sin of taking our foot off the pedal just because our opponents are crap.
It is going to take a miraculous recovery for us to challenge for the league now. We need our genuinely rotten luck with injuries to turn, new playas and better performances.
One final point about today’s referee and the one minute 55 seconds of injury time he added on. Now don’t get me wrong, I loathe it when managers squabble over every few seconds. My theory is normally if you don’t score in 90 then you probably won’t score in 94. But today was just some kind of complete joke. We had an injury a minute from time that lasted about one minute 40 seconds, we had four second half subs, three of which were incredibly slow West Brom ones, we had one of the longest and deliberately stalling goal celebrations ever and we had them wasting time every time they got a free-kick or goal kick, even when it was 1-1.
By adding on just two minutes the referee has completely indulged that negativity (which I accept Arsenal have been guilty of in the past). It was a complete joke.
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09/10/05
Football returns next week
Do you get very bored of England games after 60 minutes? Do you have to tell yourself to try to be happy when England score? And does part of you secretly will the opposition to knock one past ‘us’?
Answer: Yes, yes and yes.
My conclusion is that Sven would get double the amount of stick if the thought of writing about England wasn’t so boring. In fact, I’ve had enough. I’m so bored I can’t be stuffed to write any more about England.
But I will say a few words about my good friends at FIFA. Presumably David Beckham’s red card will stand, despite his 2nd booking being a blatant dive.
It will stand because under FIFA’s own half witted rules, appeals are only allowed in cases of mistaken identity. I don’t give a stuff about Beckham, but I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: this is the most inept rule I have ever seen.
England have been wrongly deprived of a playa for 30 minutes because of an opposition player’s connivance. And then to compound the problem, they will ban him for no other reason than that they have invented a stupid rule that says he must be banned.
For some reason, this rule pisses me off big time. It is the height of bullshit in a game overflowing with the stuff. The only bans being handed out should be for the half wits who invented this rule and are now pressuring the Premiership to take it up.
The only saving grace is that these things have a way of hitting people back in the face. How I will laugh if the brilliant Ronaldinho is sent-off in next year’s World Cup semi-final for handling on the line when the ball clearly hit his chest. Of course, my scorn will not be directed at the unfortunate Brazilian. Instead it will be at the FIFA bigwigs who will have seen their showpiece player miss their showpiece game because of their own arrogant, farcical rules.
Football returns next week.
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021005
Arsenal 1 Birmingham 0 - half a report
Well, I only saw the second half (hence no playa ratings). From the sounds of it we created a fair bit in the first half and as well as missing a penalty we could have had a hatful.
The second half seemed a very flat affair. Maik Taylor made great saves early on from Pires and Ljungberg and then we seemed to lose any great degree of urgency. In the end, Van Persie’s not brilliantly hit shot deflected off a defender and beat the excellent Taylor. We held on, though not with any great style.
We looked lethargic in the latter stages. From what I saw Campbell, Toure and Cole looked good enough. Reyes is playing with brilliant enthusiasm and desire. The rest of them don’t look lazy by any means but if you compare us with Chelsea at the moment, is the same unswerving desire there? I’m not so sure.
It needs to be.
And the crowd can play their part too. Apologies if the SKY sound system did Highbury a disservice, but the ground sounded embarrassingly silent today. The players are human beings like the rest of us and they thrive on the support of the crowd like you and I would. So, if you’re lucky enough to be at Highbury, sing.
Chelsea won 4-1 this afternoon and looked good, albeit against what is a pretty poor Liverpool league side. The Kop were singing louder in the 89th minute than anything Highbury managed today.
On site news, I’ve gone back to the old design but with the new logo following a public outcry. Not sure about what should go in the space on the left though, as the Latest Updates column was pointless and time consuming to update.
Finally, a question for any readers who live in Dublin or anywhere else in the Republic of Ireland. I need to get internet access at my new flat for 3 months. Are there any broadband companies who don’t insist on you signing up for 12 months? And what is the best dial-up?
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Archives: July 2005, June 2005, May 2005, April 2005,March 2005, February 2005, January 2005, December 2004 and the embryonic goodplaya.
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Playa ratings:
v West Ham (2-3) - NEW
Lehman: An absolute idiot for stupidly getting involved with Harewood late on. Not only was it nasty, but he could have been sent-off and he also put us out of our stride. A minute later West Ham made it 3-1. He’s a very good goalkeeper but an arrogant, nasty character and an embarrassment when he behaves like that. 4
Gilbert: Looked to be doing fine until the Arsenal full-back curse struck. 6
Djorou: Individually did well, but understandably hasn’t been able to strike up any kind of partnership with Campbell yet. 6
Campbell: What can you say? Two massive errors that were punished to the max. Things just aren’t going his way at all. 4
Senderos: Obviously doesn’t offer the attacking prowess of Cole or Clichy but he looked solid and his distribution to Pires was fairly impressive. Did fine at centre-back in the second half but should have whacked it out instead of passing to Larsson for the mistake that led to the third goal. 5
Gilberto: He’s not great at the moment. Far too passive for my liking. 5
Diaby: Still raw, but I like him. And he is so like Vieira: even his mistakes remind me of Vieira’s shortcomings. Not sure why he was taken off. 7
Ljungberg: You have to laugh at the way he somehow managed to deflect Henry’s shot wide. Is trying really hard and not actually playing badly at all. But nothing is going his way. 7
Pires: I do feel we need players with greater bite than Pires at the moment. But in fairness, he was involved, scored one, set-up the other one for Henry and saw Hislop deny him with a great save. 6
Henry: Hard to judge. Seemed to have a decent enough game on TV but reports from the game were critical. 6
Van Persie: Unlucky. Offered a lot but nothing went his way. 7
Subs:
Flamini: Brought on as an emergency right-back but did pretty well all things considered. Say what you like about Flamini but he’s a fighter who unlike some of his team-mates will never be found lacking for effort. 7
Larsson: Yes, he made the cock-up for the third goal. But it was typical of our rough justice. Other than that he was excellent: committed in the tackle, full of running in attack and crucially he understands the value of hitting long-balls diagonally, as opposed to completely straight. Which is something some of his team-mates could do with taking note of. 7
Dennis: Not normally much of a substitute, but he found himself a good niche on the right of midfield and offered us extra creativity. Well hit volley to set up Pires’ goal. 6
v Sparta Prague (0-2)
Lehmann: Solid enough game. He’s doing well at the moment. 7
Clichy: Bit of a nightmare really, though to be fair their right winger was their best playa. 5
Cygan: Surprisingly assured. 7
Kolo: Looked fairly good most of the time. 7
Lauren: The odd moment of strangeness. 6.5
Flamini: Was hard to judge the midfielders tonight. Seemed to do the normal without being mega effective. 6.5
Gilberto: One of those Gilberto games where you don’t really know how he has played. 6.5
Fabregas: Got fairly involved and offered threat down the right. 7
Pires: Not his best game by any means but still one of his better ones this season. Magnificent ball for the second goal. 7
Van Persie: Seems to get carded in Europe for the most ridiculous things. Did alright without having much effect. 6.5
Reyes: Full of running til he got injured and wasn’t running at all. 6.5
Subs:
Henry (for Reyes 17ish): Emperor-like as he beat Wrighty’s record. Magnificent playa who, had he not scored, would have been accused of going missing in another big game. But because he did score, it won’t count as a big game. 8.5
Eboue (for Van Persie 70ish): Looking ok at the moment. 6.5
Quincy (for Cesc 85ish): Full of running. 6.5
v West Brom (2-1)
Lehmann: Blameless for goals. 6
Lauren: Not particularly composed. 5.5
Clichy: Has had far better games. 5.5
Senderos: Good goal, messy header for theirs. 6
Toure: Ok but ridiculously offside at one free kick. 5.5
Flamini: Ok but uninspiring. 5.5
Cesc: Decent. Kept trying. 6
Pires: Crap. 4.5
Ljungberg: Ok while he was on. 5.5
Reyes: Still running his heart out. 7
Bergkamp: A moany kind of day. 5.5
Subs:
Eboue (for Ljungberg 35ish): Not great. 5.5
Quincy (for Flamini 80ish): Bizarrely decided what Arsenal lack is left-wingers. 5.5
v Everton (2-0)
Jens: Very little to do. Did it all right. 7
Lauren: Occasionally seemed to imagine he had more pace than he does, which was quite amusing as he tried to take people on. Solid as usual. 7
Cole: As someone who gave him a good bashing over the summer it would suit by agenda to say he is playing poorly. But that would be a lie. Whatever the reasons for it, he has started the season well and in attack in particular is offering a lot. 7.5
Toure: Nothing to do at the back and seemed to enjoy getting in on this whole new set-piece malarkey. 7
Campbell: Two excellent headers, especially the second one which was a real hammer. Not at full speed yet but looked good, organised the defence well, shouted at people and seemed to realise he was our most senior player on the pitch. 8
Pires: Hadn’t done all that much in the brief period he was on the pitch before Gary Neville’s shit younger brother’s tackle forced him off. 6.5
Cesc: One friend said to me he is looking lightweight and giving the ball away too much. Maybe. But I think he does a lot of good stuff and his presence in the opponent’s penalty box is valuable. 7
Gilberto: Solid game, got through a fair amount and gave us a couple of those rare Gilberto moments where for a few seconds he stops looking like he is suspended in perpetual slow motion and instead provides us with raw Brazilian skill. 7
Ljungberg: Started slowly but furrowed hard as ever. Seemed to make a real determination to either stick wide out on the wing or else very deliberately come inside as opposed to just being narrow. I think it worked. Unlucky to hit bar in second half. 7
Van Persie: Hit the post with a nice effort (right footed!) and had some decent moments but was otherwise a bit subdued. Has been a fairly rough few weeks and is probably still feeling his way back in to things. 6.5
Reyes: Loses the ball now and then but that is only because he constantly seems to have it. Boundless energy at the moment, great creativity and fantastic balls into the box. Really was amazing how much of the ball he had tonight. 8
Subs:
Hleb (for Pires first half some time): Played pretty well, looked pretty creative and linked up well with Cole. Playing better than Pires. 7
Dennis (for Van Persie 80ish): Did alright. Created a bit of stuff. Didn’t do anything of note. 6.5
Alex Song (for Reyes 87ish): Made a couple of sloppy passes but it was harsh and exaggerated for Alan Smith to say he hadn’t found a man. 6
v Thun (2-1)
Almunia: Probably not to blame on the goal and handling was ok even though he still catches very strangely.6
Lauren: Did the usual Lauren stuff. Fairly well. 6.5
Cole: Thought he was good today. Clean at the back and contributed well going forward. Perhaps he enjoyed having Pires back in front of him. 7
Toure: Seemed ok. Can’t remember too much else.6.5
Sol: Looking a little chunky but it must be good to have him back.6.5
Cesc: Not his most spectacular game but made a couple of decent runs forward and made one particularly delicious pass in the second half.6.5
Gilberto: Very well taken goal and was more involved tonight than normally. An experienced head 7.5
Pires: By no means at his best but infinitely better than the past few games. Got in an early curler that almost flew in and was generally far more involved. Even tried to tackle twice. Neither attempt worked.. 7
Ljungberg. Svavanged without achieving much.6.5
RVP: Had been easing himself back into first team action when the dick head referee struck. 6.5
Reyes: Excellent, his boundless enthusiasm drove the team on and he looked really dangerous at times and caused Thun more problems than anyone else. 8
Subs:
Dennis (for Cesc 70 odd): Is that his first goal as a sub? Took it well. 7
Hleb (for Reyes 80 odd): Didn’t really find his touch in the ten minutes he had.6
Quincy (for Ljungberg 80 odd): Offered a new threat.6.5
v Fulham (4-1)
Lehman: Looking very solid at the moment. You can tell it by the fact he is not making kicking mistakes at the moment. At tricky moments, his handling from corners was excellent.7
Lauren: Missed a penalty, but that was bound to happen one day and at least it didn’t matter. Otherwise, he played well and looked particularly committed (mostly in the right sense) in the tackle. 7
Cole: His best attacking display for a while and linked up promisingly with Reyes. 7.5
Cygan: I’ve made no secret of the fact that his presence in the team pleases me not. Defending was ok tonight, though a couple of times Fulham forwards worryingly escaped him when crosses were slung in. Took his goals very well. Could it be that unlike the rest of the side Cygan does not feel obligated to score the perfect goal and concentrates on just sticking it in the net?7.5
Kolo: Poor clearance for the Fulham goal but on the whole had a decent game. The defensive issues we have at the moment seem more a collective than individual problem. 7
Cesc: Gets a wee bit overrun occasionally but on the whole is playing really well and in particular offers a genuine attacking threat in the way that perhaps Vieira sometime failed to. 7
Gilberto: Did what Gilberto does. Still sometimes resembles one of those video graphic created dinosaurs in the way he moves. 7
Hleb: Good first half, creating a fair deal and generally looking like a cross between Pires and Ljungberg (in the best sense). 7
Reyes: A very good game in my opinion, full of running, full of trickery and very direct. In particular, he linked up very well with Cole and Henry, which was very pleasing. His ball for Henry’s first goal was majestic and pleasingly the two seemed on the same wavelength tonight. 8
Dennis: Besides his idiotic yellow card he had a great game and was at the heart of Fulham’s dissection. Kept going strong right to the end. 8
Henry: Took his two goals, which both came at crucial times, very well. Just one more to equal Wright’s record. 7.5
Subs:
Flamini (for Reyes 75 odd): Set up Henry for the killer third goal. 7
Clichy (for Hleb 85 odd): Ran around like mad, as Clichy does. 7
v Liverpool (3-1)
Lehman: Two really good saves – the first from Riise and the second from Gerard’s piledriver. Flapped at one cross but all it served to do was to remind us how much he has improved. 7.5
Lauren: Did very well, almost scoring from Pires’ cross in the first half and setting up the third goal with some nice play. Is doing well at the moment, perhaps spurred on by Wenger not mentioning right back when saying which areas he doesn’t need to strengthen over the summer! 7.5
Cole: A mixed game. Good going forward and times and obviously an excellent second half block from Garcia. But also occasionally sloppy, messing up things we know him well capable of doing. 6.5
Senderos: A big presence at the heart of the defence he had one of his sternest tests in an Arsenal shirt when Liverpool got at us in the second half. Did pretty well on the whole though, especially as protection from midfield was not always forthcoming. 7
Kolo: A good solid outing and the same goes for him as for Senderos. 7
Vieira: Did some stuff really well and was very influential in our first half attacking play. But I felt he allowed the midfield to be too easily swamped after the break and was not always applying the pressure to Liverpool that he might have done. 7
Gilberto: It goes without saying that evaluating a Gilberto performance is very, very difficult. That said, I felt that like Vieira he could have offered a bit more bite in midfield to help out the defence in the second half. 6.5
Pires: Really was at the heart of some of our best stuff in the first half. Crossed brilliantly for Lauren to almost score, shot just wide and then scored with a magnificent free-kick. Faded later on. 7.5
Cesc: Absolutely outstanding. He set the move in motion for Reyes’ offside goal, fired just wide from 20 yards, scored his own offside goal and then added a very neat third for us in stoppage time. In between this he ran the game, tackling, running with the ball, passing brilliantly and generally looking the best player on the park. Outstanding. 9
Reyes: Not perfect, but he notched up another well taken goal, scored an offside one and ran his heart out for the cause in the second half. 7.5
Van Persie: Not as involved as he has been but got involved and put over one excellent early cross for Robert Pires. Generally looking a much better player than previously. 7
Subs:
Edu (for Pires 70 odd): Came on and did ok. 6.5
Bergkamp (for Van Persie 70 odd): Set up Fabregas for the third with a fantastic flick but was otherwise pretty poor. When he did try and press Liverpool he gave away a few free-kicks and the rest of the time he just didn’t seem to chase them at a time when we really needed players to get stuck in. I know he is still capable of the odd piece of magic but we probably have enough to our attacking armoury that magic alone should not prompt a new contract. We have shown we are capable of winning without Dennis and should probably now look to the future. 6
Aliadiere (for Reyes 85): As ever he came on and got stuck in, chasing everything and hassling the Liverpool defenders. Has a really good attitude and probably deserves more than five minutes at some point. 6.5
v West Brom (2-0)
Lehman: The defence clearly trusts him again and he is reciprocating that with improved handling, kicking and decision making. 7
Lauren: Worked reasonably hard and got forward on a few occasions. 7
Cole: Looked a little lethargic at times but kept going and finished the game strongly, setting us on a number of attacks. 6.5
Senderos: A couple of passes went astray but took a no nonsence defence to defending. Far be it for me to argue with his current record of not conceding a goal for absolutely yonks. 7.5
Gilberto: Covered well at set pieces, but with Arsenal in 2nd gear he seemed only to happy to make sure Gilberto was in 2nd gear too. Not much drive. 6.5
Vieira: Committed silly fouls early on and was not finding his passes. Got better as the game went on and provided more drive. Symbolic of our night. 7
Pires: Did ok initially but like the rest of them lacked the necessary drive. Got better with the team. 7
Cesc: Probably not his best game. Came looking for the ball a lot and should be credited for it but looked a little fatigued when challenged. 6.5
Van Persie: Did ok initially but was not really receiving a lot of support from the midfield. Took his goal magnificently. 7
Reyes: Ran hard but once again looked incredibly left footed. But gave an excellent assist for the opening goal and kept on trying right til the end, providing useful relief for the defence. 7
Subs:
Dennis (for Van Persie 75ish): Did little except provide a measured set-up for Edu's clincher. 6.5
Edu (for Cesc 75ish): Got involved a bit and finished well to clinch it. 7
v Spurs (1-0)
Lehman: Is playing very well and his handling looks as assured as ever, his throws good and his kicking far better than earlier in the season. I think it no great secret that he needs to control his temper. 7
Lauren: Has looked solid in recent weeks and looked more lively going forward. Alan Curbishley put him in his team of the season on the basis that few wingers get much change out of him. And he is probably right. Really does need to watch stray elbows though, intentional or not. 7
Toure: Was given a little trouble by Defoe but it was less trouble than Adi Akenbai gave him in the FA Cup in January. And Defoe is clearly a far better player than the Stoke man. Will soon score a very, very memorable free-kick I sense. 7
Senderos: It is hard to argue with his defensive record since he came into the side. We have simply stopped conceding goals. That said, what are the odds that back when we were conceding at will, Robbie Keane would have buried that chance. Could have got first goal for club with header. 7
Cole: Linked up well as ever with Pires down our left hand side and seemed really up for the fight. Had the slightly awkward penalty shout against him at the end but otherwise did well. 7
Vieira: With the ball he was excellent on the whole, spreading play at pace and helping support those ahead of him. Looks much more comfortable with Gilberto next to him. Though that said they both looked half a step off the pace at times against a Spurs side full of running. 7
Gilberto: Did what Gilberto does well. Though probably not as much of a shield as against Chelsea. 7
Cesc: Tired a little in the second half but was his usual youthful magnificence until then. Spread the ball with ease, got stuck in, helped out the attack and set up our goal. Nice. 7.5
Pires: Not the force he was against Chelsea but is playing well at the moment, linking up well with Cole down the left and generally providing an experienced head in an otherwise youthful attack. 7
Van Persie: Set Reyes up for the first minute chance, fired a decent effort wide and generally played quite a mature game without hitting great heights. 7
Reyes: Did very well to come back after the first minute miss. Goal was excellent and attitude looked good. Seemed to find an extra gear for second half run that set up Dennis. 7.5
Subs:
Dennis (for Van Persie 70 odd): Curled one wide and generally looked quite good against a tiring Spurs defence. There was the odd occasion when I felt he let the player pass him to quickly but that was probably just my last minute nerves. 7
Edu (for Cesc 70 odd): Hit the post with a curling effort and slotted in very, very neatly on the left. Will be a great shame to lose him if he does eventually go. 7
Aliadiere (for Van Persie 87 odd): Only had a few minutes but looked really keen to impress. Had a couple of good touches, got stuck in and made tired Spurs legs panic, buying us valuable time. 7
v Chelsea (0-0)
Lehman: Has looked much better recently and besides the odd dodgy kick, looked very solid against Chelsea and made one excellent save early on from Drogba. His positioning seemed good on through balls. 7
Lauren: He really didn’t put a foot wrong and kept Damien Duff and probably had his best game for the club against a very, very tricky opponent. Was ferocious and fair in the tackle. 8
Cole: After a slightly tentative start he threw himself at everything Chelsea chucked at us. Whatever people’s feelings about his current situation, there can be no complaints about his performance. 7
Senderos: Excellent as usual. This guy likes clean sheets. 7
Toure: Really did well in what could have been a tricky night. Got weight on his clearances and never panicked. 7
Vieira: It really doesn’t take a genius to figure out how much he seems to be enjoying having Gilberto back in the side. Really led the side again with fine interventions and set us on the path to attack – such as when Pires hit the bar. 7.5
Gilberto: Suffered a couple of inevitable nosebleeds when he got into decent positions going forward but otherwise did a fine job of snaffling out what Chelsea threw at us and generally making the team a slick unit. Showed one or two fine turns as well. 7
Cesc: This kid really does defy logic. At a time when his brittle bones should be feeling the effects of a long, hard season he is looking stronger than ever. Magnificently composed on the ball, he worked furiously in defence, midfield and attack. 8
Pires: His early volley that hit the bar reminded me of when I stood in the Holte End last year for Villa v Arsenal and he hit an even better effort that was turned just over. Even the anti-French bigots around me were shut well and truly up.
There is a wonderful magnificence about watching Robert Pires on song. He caresses the ball delightfully and when it’s time to move it on he does it with the utmost precision. A joy to watch and unlucky not to score twice. 9
Reyes: The story of his last 6 months – no problem with effort but he just lacks the confidence to make things really happen. The annoying thing is that he’s making errors on things that a confident Reyes could do with his eyes shut. Let’s hope his effort is rewarded soon. 6
Bergkamp: Like Reyes he worked hard and did his bit to keep Chelsea at bay. But also like Reyes he found himself struggling up front. The curtain appears to be falling on his magnificent career. Hopefully an announcement will be made soon and both we and Dennis can enjoy his final games. 6
Subs:
Van Persie (for Dennis 80 odd): Struggled to get into the game but had a few decent chances and ran hard for the side.
Aliadiere (for Cesc 85 odd): Did alright but by the time he came on it didn’t look like either side were really going to score.
v Boro (1-0)
Lehman: Flapped at one cross in the first half and then came ridiculously far out of his goal before eventually winning the ball. Yes, he’s kept a fair few clean sheets recently and yes, it’s even true we could win the league again with him in goal, but no, we won’t win in Europe with Jens and no, he’s not the answer. 6
Lauren: His early challenge, whilst not worthy of a red card as suggested on Match of the Day, was sheer stupidity. He did alright and he’s plodding along but not really getting any better. 6
Cole: Attacked decently at times but wasn’t helped by a very, very ineffectual Robert Pires. 6.5
Senderos: Now looks like he should be partnering Sol Campbell when the two are fit. Authoritative, big and commanding, his presence has coincided with a string of clean sheets. Still has rough edges, but these are being shaved all the time. 7
Kolo: Did reasonably well and made a couple of important blocks, but I’m not convinced his future lies in the heart of the defence. Together, he and Lauren sometimes seem to bring out the worst in each other and we just don’t look solid, clean sheets or no clean sheets. Would like to see him at right back. 6.5
Gilberto: I looked out especially for incidences of him filling gaps and yes, I can confirm it happens and he does his job well. Still looks very nervous in attacking positions, but his presence is welcome. 6
Vieira: I thought he did reasonably well, though like the rest of the players he seemed to have trouble bringing any great coherency to our play. 6
Cesc: I plumped for Cesc on the right a while ago and I like seeing him there. He got well forward and was always involved. Looks tired, but it’s been a long old season and he’s still, only 17. 6.5
Pires: I thought him absolute rubbish up until he scored really. His inability to tackle has been documented many times before, but on Saturday he seemed to be playing the whole game at walking pace. But then who better is there at converting the one chance he gets to secure a 1-0 lead. 6
Reyes: Things still aren’t all coming off for him but I sense things are getting better and his work rate and willingness to track back really can’t be faulted. We know for a fact that the boy has the talent to succeed, so while he may not be showing what he’s really capable of right now, we should applaud his recent application. Had a couple of really mazy runs and set up Henry excellently for a shot he scuffed. 7
Henry: Had one of those games where he seemed to stand almost still on the edge of the box, conserving his energy and waiting to pounce. It didn’t really work, though he did have a glorious chip fly just wide and certainly scared the Boro fans every time he got the ball. He was also up against an obdurate Boro. 6.5
Subs:
Dennis (Reyes 46): Did alright without really changing the game at all. It seems the curtain may be falling on his illustrious career and reluctantly, I think it right. We know he can still play brilliantly in patches but the truth is that it’s becoming less often and it’s hampering us in European away games. We need someone to step forward and become Henry’s partner. Sometimes the bullet needs to be bitten. And now is that time. 6
v Palace (5-1)
Jens: It’s tempting to say that the early back pass cock-up could just as easily have happened to Petr Cech but in truth that would be a lie. He’s simply too cocky and over confident with his kicking – it’s why so many balls get sliced wildly and why we almost conceded a shambolic own goal tonight. Otherwise, he actually did quite well. 6.5
Lauren: Is definitely becoming a better player going forward but was as culpable as anyone for our defensive malaise. 6
Cygan: Didn’t have an awful game but on too many occasions simple long balls forward by Palace became much more serious than they needed to be. 6
Kolo: Got skinned more often than he would have liked and was caught out at times from crosses. But still, we only conceded one. 6.5
Clichy: Did well getting forward, causing a constant menace. Defending was largely competent but seemed to be infected by the general defensive tendency to give the ball away. 6.5
Vieira: Another tricky game to rate from the captain. At times he was sluggish and easily caught in possession. At others, he took a grip on the game and drove the team forward impressively. Got well forward for his goal. 7
Edu: Didn’t have the sudden impact he enjoyed at Villa last week but did well enough and certainly gave us a fair bit of solidity. Good ball to Reyes for the opener. 7
Pires: Seemed to be rewriting the dictionary definition of anonymous for the first 20 or so minutes. Then got more into the game without coming close to hitting top gear. Was unlucky to hit the post in the 2nd half after good work from Reyes. 7
Reyes: His best game in yonks. He looked fearless again, running constantly at the Palace defence and causing a lot of trouble. Good assist for the first, great finish for the second, an assist for the third and a fantastic pass to Dennis to set up the fifth. Great to see him back again. 8.5
Dennis: As ever, he oiled, moulded and sculpted our performance. He also took his goal very well, like he did against Newcastle and United too. And set up Henry for the fifth. 7.5
Henry: Really played very, very well and channelled any frustration about constant offside decisions in exactly the right way. Had seemingly boundless energy to chase back lost causes and put us back on the attack. 8.5
Subs:
Flamini (for Edu 60odd): Solid and composed as ever. 7
Van Persie (for Dennis 80odd): Linked up reasonably well as the game entered its final stages. 7
Fabregas (for Pires 80odd): Settled in comfortably on the right. 7
v Wolves (2-0)
Jens: Whilst a clean sheet is a clean sheet, he had very little to do and looked no more reassuring than previously with his kicking. To be fair, he was also played a high number of over hit back passes today and was not at fault for the one from Flamini that took a wicked bobble off the Highbury surface (which appeared unusually cut-up).6.5
Eboue: Got forward well, hit the bar with a deflected shot and could have had a penalty. Nice work. 8
Clichy: Decent game without being exceptional.7
Sol: Not a lot to do. 7
Cygan: Better than usual. 8
Paddy: Mediocre for much of it truth be told. Got better later on and scored the penalty but for too long his mind didn’t seem in the right place. Sure, Wolves made it difficult by crowding midfield but too often he seemed semi asleep at throw ins and the like. Still, he kept going. 6.5
Flamini: Didn’t show the deftness of touch of the Newcastle game but retained all his normal solidity. And great as Ray Parlour was, watching Boro at the moment suggests that we’ve got an as good, if not better, replacement. 7
Reyes: A couple of good runs, some moments of anonymity and denied a stonewall penalty. Still getting back to form but it definitely seems better than a few weeks ago. 6.5
Freddie: Usual energetic performance without any stand out moments, save his well taken goal. That’s ten for the season now and we’re still in January. Good work Sir. 7
Van Persie: Not his most inspiring game and clearly doesn’t yet have the positional ability of Dennis (who does?) but is improving. 6.5
Henry: Gallic. Went into one of his moods after Riley ruled out his cheeky first half effort. Strutted around for a while, went in for a couple of silly tackles and became frankly self indulgently petulant when a foul was given against him. It’s alright for us to loathe Riley endlessly but our top striker shouldn’t let him affect his game. And the fact is he did. But recovered his composure, was unlucky not to score and set up Freddie in superb fashion. 8
Subs:
Cesc (for Van Persie): Settled in comfortably on the right. 7
Pires (for Reyes): Nice work for the clinching goal. 7
Quincy (for Fred): No time to make an impression.
v Charlton (3-1)
Alumnia: No chance with the goal and didn’t do too much wrong besides one poor fumble from a cross. Still not convinced by his catching techniques. No difficult saves to make6.5
Hoyte: Made the odd error but did well to make sure his old youth team buddy Jerome Thomas had his quietest game in weeks. Managed to get forward a bit more in the second half.7.5
Cole: Still not looking at his best and on a couple of occasions was embarrassed by Rommedahl. But in fairness he wasn’t as sloppy as recently and did get forward well later on. 6.5
Sol: With the exception of one wildly sliced clearance in the first half that Almunia had to save he looked pretty solid and kept Charlton’s clear chances to a minimum. Let’s hope his ankle isn’t too bad. 7
Kolo: Given a bit of grief by Bartlett in the air but stuck to his task well and like Campbell, restricted the number of clear cut chances. 7
Vieira: Watching the game live, I was unconvinced by his first half performance. But having just seen the highlights it seems he got through a lot of work and did what he had to do neatly and efficiently. Set up Fred well for the goal and kept up a good level of performance all the way through.7
Cesc: Lost the odd ball but was generally very sound. Passing was clean and crisp as ever and his touch for the second goal was exquisite by any standards.7.5
Freddie: Took his two goals brilliantly, worked hard and always looked a threat. In good form. 8
Clichy: Seemed to lose the ball cheaply a bit too often but worked hard down the left helping Cole out with nullifying the threat of Rohmedahl and getting forward well. Has tremendous energy which comes in handy at the end of games when opposition players tire.6.5
Henry: Not at his best today but more worrying than the actual performance was the fact that his normal fitness wasn’t there. Had a lovely free-kick cleared off the line.6.5
Van Persie: Still has a tendency to twist and turn once too often. But also holds the ball up brilliantly, moves it well and finished superbly for the third. Should probably be given a real run up front next to Henry. Took his goal like a striker, which is disconcerting coming from an Arsenal player.7.5
Subs:
Pires (for Van Persie 72ish): With the game won he wisely didn’t over exert himself ahead of Man City on Tuesday night. 6.5
Senderos (for Campbell 82ish): Slotted in well on his Premiership debut.7
Pennant (for Fred 86): Didn’t have time to get into the game. 7
v Newcastle (1-0)
Almunia: Our star man tonight. A smart early save from Ameobi (even if it was probably going wide) and excellent handling all night gave us one less worry. Four clean sheets in five and he also kicks a fair bit better than Jens.7
Lauren: Though Lauren Robert didn’t reach anything like his best, I’m not sure whether too much credit should go to Lauren. His positioning often seemed weak, his passing and tackling little better and he offered almost nothing in attack. Mr Average was distinctly poor. 5.5
Cole: Whilst there’s no shame in being given a tough time of things by Craig Bellamy, Cole’s performance was noticeably worse than just a torrid time. He made stupid, unnecessary fouls, got caught out when he should normally have had enough pace and looked very, very shaky. He may have been pushed a touch for the penalty incident, but a defender with his mind fully on the job wouldn’t have allowed the ball to hit him as blatantly as it did. In mitigation he did improve and unlike Lauren provided some attacking threat. 5.5
Kolo: Did alright but like the others his decision making didn’t always seem to be the best informed. That said, it’s a little harsh to chastise a central defender who has kept four clean sheets in five. 6.5
Sol: Urgh. After some very sound recent performances he seemed far too troubled by what looked like some relatively simple long balls. One such error allowed Ameobi in for his early chance and his lack of authority always made the long ball route look like a wise one for Newcastle to take. 6
Flamini: Not his best game for Arsenal but he still got through a lot of work, kept things simple and had a hand in setting up Vieira for the goal. 6.5
Vieira: Named man of the match by SKY and praised in a couple of papers, but I’m going to be honest and say that up until he scored I thought he was pretty useless, being caught in possession too often. That said in the second half he got through a fair bit of work as we ground out victory. 6.5
Fred: Beavered away, had some good moments and kept on trying. Was going to commend him for his work on a couple of occasions in particular but can’t now remember what they were. 7
Pires: Even by his standards, his tackling was poor today. Truth be told, I can’t fathom how he’s allowed to defend with his body constantly side on to the play. As a left winger he has defensive responsibilities and simply has to make a better fist of it. On the attacking front he was probably our most creative player, moving the ball smartly and at pace. 6
Van Persie: Still very, very raw. Unlucky not to score in the opening minutes and had a couple more decent efforts but all too frequently ran into trouble and lost the ball on what was admittedly an awful surface completely unsuited to his quick twists and turns. Corners weren’t bad. Needs time. 6.5
Henry: His touch was not quite at its magical best, but again this was probably due to the state of the pitch. Had a couple of good runs that resulted in decent shots on Shay Given’s goal. 6.5
Subs:
Clichy (for Van Persie 80 mins approx): Seemed as happy as anyone in the post match huddle but for the second game in succession he seemed a little out of sorts when called upon. 6
v Fulham (2-0)
Almunia: Looks better by the game and made a crucial save when he rushed out at speed to palm away a Fulham chance at 1-0. Made no notable mistakes. 7
Clichy: Had a good first half – getting forward well as usual and strong on the defensive stuff. Then in the second half he seemed to lose his confidence went, either as a result of or because of Fulham consistently probing down our left. Like any small full-back, aerial strength is a weakness.6
Lauren: Average as usual. Looked solid against a Fulham attack lacking any real penetration. 6.5
Sol: At times we were troubled in the air – but Sol is leading a defence that is no longer allowing attackers completely free headers at corners. Looks fit and healthy and, along with the rest of the defence, now has three clean sheets in four league games. 7
Freddie: A fine game on his return from migraine troubles. Played in Henry for the first and set-up Pires for the second. 7.5
Cesc: Gets caught on the ball occasionally but is still doing the vast majority of things with real fluency. Gives us real creativity in the middle. 7
Vieira: Showed a few soft shoe shuffles to bam boozle defenders in a way we haven’t really seen this season. Also got stuck into his tackles and generally seemed to be on the ball. 7
Pires: There was this surreal moment in the first half. He got the ball on the left wing and took a heavy touch. As if that wasn’t enough he then went flying into the tackle with the Fulham defender and actually won the ball. And it wasn’t the only time – I saw him snuff out a few Fulham attacks and even win a header.
Of course, the attacking side of his play was superb as well – he would have scored from a Dennis chest down but for a good save by Van De Saar. He linked up well, particularly with Henry, and inevitably took his goal with typical aplomb. Now has 19 in 2004, which is good. 7.5
Dennis: A fair few poor touches and bad decision making in general play. In mitigation, he dummied the ball well for the second goal and put Pires in with an excellent chest down. 6.5
Henry: Sure, the flicks didn’t always come off but at times he led Fulham a merry dance like he has almost every other defence this season. His goal was a trade mark finish and he was desperately unlucky when his side footer from the edge of the box crashed back off a post. 7
Subs:
Flamini (for Freddie 74ish): Some might say Arsene was making a point by not replacing Freddie with Pennant. Others will call it a sensible way of seeing out the game. 6.5
Van Persie (for Dennis 78ish): Provided his usual array of tricks but didn’t get a real chance to score. 6.5
v Portsmouth (1-0)
Almunia: Had a really good game. Caught when he needed to catch, punched when he wasn't sure and kicked immaculately. Also made a couple of really good saves. His run of impressive performances may only stretch to two but for now there seems no reason to bring back Jens. 8
Lauren: Did nothing too wrong but didn't offer as much in attack as he might have and at times appeared troubled by Pomey's pace. I think he's ok, but I'm becoming less and less convinced he should be our right back at all - more on that tomorrow. 6.5
Cole: A tough one to call. For a while looked rattled by Pompey's pace and agression down the left. Misplaced a couple of balls and though his tackles were mostly coming off they had a slightly concerning aggressiveness about them which made me think he was letting his own frustration get the better of him a little. But stuck to the task well and in the end kept a dangerous Pompey out. 7
Kolo: Got sucked in a couple of times, but on the whole he was part of a defence that looked pretty solid and much improved at set pieces. 7
Sol: Looked fitter than recently I thought - turning smoothly on a couple of occasions when faced with danger. He also made countless important headers at corners and won us the game with the kind of head down sheer determinism many fans would like to see a little more often. 8
Flamini: Ran hard, tackled hard and never gave up. Doesn't offer as much going forward as Fabregas, but doesn't claim to either. Unlucky with a header from Henry's free-kick. 7
Vieira: Industrious, but was also sloppy on occasion, getting caught in posession and losing the ball. Still doesn't seem 100% back to his best and didn't make the most of a couple of shooting opportunities. 6.5
Clichy: Fought well and offered Cole valuable protection down the left hand side. Showed initial attacking promise early on but faded as Pompey grew in stature. Nonetheless, was full of running at the end and nearly capitalised on tired Pompey legs. 7
Pires: His every touch was met with a chorus of boos as Bob faced Pompey for the first time since 'that dive' last season. There was even one moment when he slipped and the ball rolled out of play. Which probably made a certain journalist very, very warm inside. Otherwise, was neat enough but pretty ineffectual, seemingly afraid of injury in the rough house atmosphere. Had a couple of lovely runs late on and set Dennis up for a chance he really should have taken. 6.5
Henry: Worked hard and created much of our best work, but often found himself crowded out by the hoardes of Pompey defenders. Nearly scored after a flowing first half move and set up Dennis' other chance late on, which again he really should have taken. 7
Van Persie: Started really well, showing fantastic feet and trickery and generally leading Pompey a merry dance. He swivels at such speed he'll probably need a hip replacement aged 30. Faded somewhat after his impressive start, finding himself crowded out by the packed defence. Could pass a little earlier at times but nonetheless a decent first start in a difficult game and he staked a fair claim for inclusion against Fulham on Boxing Day. 6.5
Subs:
Bergkamp (for Van Persie 68ish): Should have scored late on following good set up play. His performance did little to silence the voices calling for this year to be his last. I'm undecided on that, but what I am sure about is that I won't miss the needless little kicks and elbows aimed at his opponents when frustration sets in. Simply put: the sly digs are ugly and Van Nistelrooy like and do nothing for us. 6
v Chelsea (2-2)
Almunia: Faultless for both their goals, he made good stops from Lampard and Gudjohnsen in the first half. And made a vital save when Robben wriggled his way through after the break. But nobody noticed it. Caught when a catch was a good idea, punched when a punch was wiser and set us on the attack with some good throws. 7.5
Lauren: Didn't see much of him, but when you're up against Duff and Robben, this can only be to a defender's credit. Thought he did really well to keep them in check, and the one time Robben did really threaten in the second half, the danger came down the other side. 7.5
Cole: The one player who I thought struggled today. As has been the case of late, he lacked confidence in his touch and stuggled defensively. Perhaps should have come out to Robben before the winger got into the box for his 2nd half chance, and was easily beaten in the air by Drogba for Cheslea's 2nd equaliser. 6
Kolo: Looked solid overall and helped limit Chelsea to only a few chances asides from set pieces. 7
Sol: A mixed bag. Made some really important defensive headers and looked in command at times at the back. But was a little caught out for their opening goal and sometimes seemed a little gung ho in his marking. Made important late tackle on Drogba.7
Reyes: Was quiet, but this was a tough game. Nodded down to Henry for the opener, worked hard and went on a few mazy runs without much success. Still, I thought he gave them something to worry about.6.5
Fabregas: Another excellent performance. He and Flamini were overwhelmed initially when up against Tiago, Lampard and Makalele but never gave up and fought their way back into the game admirably. Nice goal to set up Henry for the opener, he was instrumental in setting up the Frenchman's near winner and also set up RVP for his chance. Uses the ball so intelligently and showed that despite his size, he's not afraid to get stuck in. Was up against the very best in the business today and succeeded in limiting Lampard to a largely peripheral role.8
Flamini: £1 million? First league start? A snip if you ask me. He run's tirelessly, he harries, he puts his foot in and he uses the ball simply when he wins it. A real water carrier but absolutely essential today and worked tirelessly. Well done Sir. 8
Pires: We wanted a big performance and boy did we get one. Seemed almost impossible to shake off the ball, tackled back, linked up well with Lauren, Flamini, Cesc and Henry and drove the team forward in his own idiosyncratic waddle. When in his pomp, he is still a wonderful, wonderful footballer to watch. Set up Henry for the near winner, realised his responsibility as the senior partner in midfield, and shouldered the responsibility admirably.7.5
Dennis: Didn't get involved in too much of note, but I can't help feeling he just gives us a cetain sophistication and shape when he's in the side. Gordon Strachan pointed out on Match of the Day how hard he'd worked to stop Makalele getting the ball and in hindsight I think it probably a fair call.6.5
Henry: Forget the late miss - it can happen to anyone. Otherwise he was outstanding, scoring a brilliant first (which included winning a high ball!), netting an impudent second and generally running the show. Scared Chelsea shitless every time he picked it up and was responsible for a hell of a lot of good work. Also destroyed the concept he doesn't turn it on in big games. That's 15 in 17 league games now by the way.9
Subs:
Clichy (for Reyes 82): Ran around like mad for 10 minutes and forced mistakes out of tired legs. Really good footballer and good enough to start for probably every Premiership side and perhaps should be more often for us. 7.5
RVP: Is maturing very nicely indeed. Nearly netted a silky winner when he latched onto Cesc's pass and gave the Chelsea players a lot to think about. Would be really interesting to see him start. 7
v Rosenberg (5-1)
Almunia: Made a really, really good low save early on and kicked largely well. But looked dodgy more than once on crosses and for the second time in a week cost us a goal, which is a real worry. Eventually realised there's nothing wrong with giving a ball a good double handed punch. 6
Hoyte: Was up against a poor opposition but defended diligently and rarely looked rushed. Used the ball well, linked up well with his team mates and should be well pleased with his first European start. 7
Cole: Looked solid, with a couple of important defensive headers, but still not yet back to his marauding best I sense. Shouldn't have let the ball drop over his head for Harald Brattbakk to fire at Alumnia after 17 minutes. Withdrawn with quarter of an hour left. 6.5
Sol: Ditto for above, though did once later on look somewhat sluggish again on the turn. Perhaps I'm just paranoid about the impending arrival of Duff and Robben at Highbury.6.5
Kolo: A very easy night for the big man and he even found time for a classic Kolo dance into the opposition penalty area towards the end. 7
Flamini: Very, very good full debut. Set up the second goal, ran tirelessly, got tackles in and seemed to work well with Cesc in midfield. Looks comfortable tracking back and going forward and also seems to have a strange affinity for joining in attacks right around the right edge of the penalty area and particularly when we attack the North Bank. A young, thinking man's Gilles Grimandi, he ain't at all bad for a fifth choice midfielder. 7.5
Cesc: Absolute star. Has already played 20 games this season (twice as many as Edu, Gilberto and Vieira), yet still had the strength to turn in one of his best performances for the club. Fantastically alert, his use of the ball was excellent. He also scored a very impressive, very difficult goal and was involved in the build up for the fifth. Not just our most frequent performer in midfield this season, but also our best. 8
Jose: Took his goal really well and gave us a flying start. Had another deflected shot well saved and looked much more like the sun kid of the beginning of the season. Had a delightful late chip that bamboozled three very stupid looking Rosenberg players before landing on the roof of the net. 7
Pires: Looked much, much better and was even spotted making a tackle late in the second half. Kept going and linked up well late on with Jose and RVP before being withdrawn for Quincy with two minutes left. His penalty was so brilliantly placed it went into the side netting. Again I marvel at his ability to put a football exactly where he wants it to go. 7
Bergkamp: A nice return for the Ice Man who got involved well in the game, set up the opener and had a couple of openings himself. Might have done better when in front of goal, but eased himself back into the side well. 7
Henry: I actually thought that poor as the defending was for his goal, it was still a pretty decent finish. Worked hard all night, linked up well with the kids around him and seemed to be feeling particularly tolerant. 7
Subs:
Clichy (for Dennis 72ish): Spent a few mins in midfield before dropping back to left back when RVP replaced Ashley. As ever looked sound in the defending and assured going forward.
7
RVP (for Cole 75): Resuscitated the game with some silky skills, wayward finishing and then eventually a very well taken goal. Rawer than an uncooked vegetable, but with massive potential. 7.5
Quincy (for Bob 88): Should have had longer. Don't think he got a touch.
v Birmingham (3-0)
Alumnia: Looks like Lehman, kicks slightly better than Lehman, fumbles the odd ball like Lehman and jumps a couple of inches less high in the air than Lehman. Did ok, but would have been ill advised to let Morrison’s second half effort creep under him and over the line.6.5
Lauren: Seemed really quiet yesterday. Means he was doing his defensive job well which at the moment is the priority. Better? Seeing as we kept a clean sheet, probably a tad. 6.5
Cole: It's not been picked up much by the press, but I’ve thought Ash to be one of the players whose form has most obviously dipped in the recent spell. He’s still looked a top left back, but the subtlety of touch that allowed him and Bob to link so well still seems to be absent. Better? Not noticeably, but again should take credit for a clean sheet. 7
Sol: I’m of the opinion he’s still carrying a little bit of weight. Played well enough, but on a couple of occasions he looked sluggish and immobile on the turn, which is obviously a concern with Duff and Robben coming to town next week. Better? Probably not. 6.5
Kolo: Probably fair to say he’s not been our worst performer in the recent period, but I think on occasion he has allowed our recent jitters to affect his decision making a little. Kept Heskey quiet, but also seemed to time his jumps wrongly on a couple of occasions. Better? Ditto above. 7
Vieira: Did some good stuff but on other occasions his decision making and concentration again seemed lacking a little. He’s a hard one to judge at the moment. Better? Probably a bit.7
Cesc: I’m glad to see he escaped censure for his recent performances because I think a lot of the recent mutterings about how he’s no Gilberto have been unfair. Admittedly, the Brazilian’s best work is done off the ball, SKY’s stats show how we tend to win with him in the side, but I still think the young Spaniard is doing pretty well. He’s a young boy whose probably played too many games in a struggling team in a big league. But he’s still there, still getting stuck in and still doing his stuff. Tired in the latter stages yesterday and was replaced by Flamini, which was a wise, common sense, decision. Better? No, but only because he was doing well in the first place. 7
Freddie: Scavenged, burrowed, furrowed, ducked and dived. Fred’s doing them all at the moment and its working as the perfect complement to the continued attempts at perfection that come from the rest of the team. Is also being very productive. Should have had a penalty yesterday, set up the third goal and generally ran the show. Better? No, but only because he’s been great. 7.5
Pires: Mark my words. One of these days the opposition are going to get a free kick on the edge of our area. Their player will hit it, the ball will fly off Robert Pires and zip past Lehman. And we’ll all put it down as a fluke, like we did for Graveson’s effort that flew off Pennant in the Carling Cup game against Everton. Except it won’t be a fluke because Pires, like Pennant, will have jumped with his back to the ball, meaning that when it hits him he’ll have no way of giving it any direction.
My point is that Pires simply has to go into tackles. Maybe he’s worried about getting hurt, but he’s ducking out of the most basic challenges and its meaning we’re losing the battle in midfield at places like Old Trafford and Anfield.
Obviously, as I was making a note of this, Bob went and scored a classic Bob goal. Basically a really, really good one. He is a fantastic playa, probably the purest footballer we have in our team and quite possibly the best finisher. Yesterday was his 50th goal for the club and almost without exception (Bolton at home this season) they’ve been aesthetically perfect and a joy to watch.
But he must pull his weight for the team, which funnily enough I’ve seen him do really well on a number of occasions. Better? A little bit later on in the second half. 6.5
Reyes: You have to feel for him - seemingly everything he tries seems to go askew these days. Inches away from a Henry cross in the first half, he got into the game a bit more going towards half time, but then tired before being withdrawn. As I said above, he could do with a 25 minute run against tired defences to get his confidence back. Better? Not really, but not for want of effort. 6.5
Henry: Whether it be through injury or lack of confidence, he spent much of the game getting into decent positions but then making the wrong decision. Then ten minutes from time he took off past Melchiot, through the Birmingham defence and then a cool low finish hit whilst he was running at incredible speed. Six minutes later, he bought a ticket for Freddie Ljungberg’s cross and got lucky.
May not be at his best. But the level of criticism he of all people has taken is ridiculous. Has scored 13 league goals this season (four more than anyone else and 9 more than Ruud), scoring in 11 of the 16 games. And it’s not even like he’s bound to get the goals because nobody else does. He hasn’t even scored a third of our goals, and with the exception of Old Trafford (when nobody scored) and Selhurst Park, at least one other Arsenal player has scored in all of our other games.
Better? Yes. Despite earlier failures, his determination to keep going for the all important second goal was admirable. 7.5
Subs:
Clichy (for Jose): I love this guy. He’s like Wenger’s little foot soldier and seems capable of doing everything. Slotted in expertly in left midfield. He covers, chases back, tackles, retains the ball, gets forward, dribbles and causes havoc in the opposition defence. He may be more defensive than Reyes, but sometimes being slightly more defensive can give you the shape to attack more. May not be suited to central midfield, but should be considered a serious option for a place in left midfield on tough away games. 7.5
Flamini: Seems to do everything neatly enough without being spectacular. Will be interesting to see how he works with Cesc over the next two games.7
v Man United (0-1)
Alumnia: Crap on their goal, barely put a foot wrong otherwise. Plays and looks like a slightly smaller Jens, but can kick. 6
Hoyte: OK and defended well on occasion, but I’d still like to see him get forward more. That said, I think he’s a player who would look much better surrounded by seasoned pros. 6.5
Clichy: Really, really good as usual. Slipped on their excuse of a pitch for the early goal, but didn’t let it affect him and worked tirelessly defending and attacking all game. 7.5
Senderos: The lumbering giant of Everton had been replaced by a very, very accomplished looking centre half. One dodgy back header that fell short but otherwise cut out everything that was asked of him and looked a real first team option. 8
Djorou: Took eye off ball and then slipped for the goal which wasn’t good. Never quite looked the same player as against Everton, but worked his way back into the game. 6.5
Flamini: Looks like we can breathe a little more easily in the midfield department after watching a very assured display. Would like to see him trialled as a sub for Freddie in games where we’ve got a dodgy one goal lead. 7
Larsson: Some like him but I’m not so sure. What he did was decent enough but I thought he struggled to have an effect on the game. 6.5
Quincy: Maybe it was the pitch, maybe it was United doubling up on him. Either way the hero of the last round never really got into last night’s affair. 6
Pennant: Worked hard, tried to take the initiative and overall did quite well. Still not sure if he’ll quite make it at Highbury though. 7
Lupoli: Is a striker and when strikers get no service they don’t look much kop. 6.5
Van Persie: Battled hard all night and willingly came deep to win possession. But probably came a bit too deep and battled a bit too hard. Yes, he could have been sent off for the incident with Richardson. Reminds me a bit of a young Freddie, not in playing style but in the way that the potential is clearly there but the skills are still very, very raw. 6.5
Subs:
Smith (for Lupoli): Did OK but still looks wary of going in for challenges and taking men on following his long term injury.
Cregg: Alright
Karbassiyoon: Alright
I don't think Chelsea were unlucky at Old Trafford because ultimately they didn't do enough. But I do think United can count themselves fortunate. Some of their defensive play was wretched - incredibly nervous and very deep. But they got away with it. People are asking whether they will collapse like we did. I don't think they will but nor do I think that the issue really. If someone does catch them I expect it to be by a process of small erosion rather than one big wave. So, for example, if they have a tricky away game that they draw others might take advantage with easy home wins. And of course if we win our game in hand and manage to beat the Blues at Highbury then the gap is only five points anyway. I'm not saying we will do it, just saying how I think they could be caught.
As Myles Palmer pointed out on ANR, the four league games before Chelsea are vital. Contrary to what he said, they actually read: Wigan (A), Blackburn (H), Bolton (A), Newcastle (A). We need to be looking for a minimum of ten points from the four of them and ideally twelve.
Not much else to say, except that I'm away for two weeks from Saturday, so there is a fair chance I won't update after the Wigan, Thun and Blackburn games (the last of which I will definitely miss as I will be in the air for it).
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01/11/05
Players in position works at Spurs
Arsene's decision to shore up the side with an extra midfielder was well intentioned and a welcome departure from the gung-ho approach that cost us so badly at Munich last season. But injuries and lack of squad depth meant that to do it we had Freddie playing out of position on the left, Cesc out of position on the right and our first choice central midfielders not in place. Add the fact we were playing with two forwards but no strikers, and it is obvious why we struggled. When Pires came on, suddenly we had him, Freddie and Cesc all where they should be. And when Van Persie came on, Reyes was on the left wing (which for me is his best spot), Pires was on the right (in a position he has played and done well in) and we had a good balance of a forward and a striker up front.
But I also wonder whether perhaps Arsene imagined the first half going as it did, while obviously hoping we would not concede. Spurs, confidence bolstered by their own good form and our lack of it, were always going to come out on fire. I wonder whether it was Arsene's plan to draw to try to draw their sting (keeping it at 0-0) and then introduce Pires and pounce on them as they tired. In the event, the problems of the first half called for Pires earlier than expected, but I expect it was probably always the plan that he would play a key role.
I don't think there can be any doubt we deserved the draw. Granted, Spurs dominated the first half (even if I only remember Jens having to save from his near namesake Jenas). But we dominated the second right from the off in my opinion. Sure, chances did not immediately come, but we did a good job of grinding them down and tiring them out and in the end Van Persie had about three good chances, Reyes had one, Pires had one and Pires scored. So for me, while our equaliser doesn't suit the grand theories of the pundits, it was well deserved. And to come back from behind against the likes of Spurs away never has been and is certainly not now something to be snorted at.
A couple of things have struck me. The first is that the idea of us being a one man (Henry) team is absurd. But it is true that we still haven't yet brought in someone who we can say is a sufficiently good deputy for him. Don't get me wrong, they don't need to be the same type of player, just a good enough alternative. Hopefully Van Persie can be. I'm also intruiged to see who replaces Dennis in the summer (or before?)
The second point is that the cover issue is not one of Chelsea's being excellent and ours adequate. In fact, our's is inadequate. Midfield reinforcements are a must (so that when we switch things around everyone is not pulled out of position like against Spurs) and so too are a buy each in defence and attack I guess. Bringing in those three players will not give us as excellently backed-up a squad as Chelsea's but I question whether their level of protection is really necessary. While they will always have all 11 positions perfectly filled, if we only have 9 or 10 it probably won't all that much difference in the end. It is when your side is so inbalanced (like against Spurs) that I think it becomes a big problem.
Thought for the day: When was Jens' last mistake?
Updating is a bit fraught at the moment due to a comatose laptop, so sorry for that. In the meantime we have Sparta and Sunderland at home. The latter of which is a must, must, must win game because either Chelsea, United or both will drop points next weekend.
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24/10/05
What story lies behind 'that' penalty?
This is a long post; it’s been that kind of weekend.
I’m now on my third school of thought about what happened and more confused than I was to start with. At first I simply wondered how they could be so stupid at such a crucial point in such a crucial match. Did they realise how agonising it was for the fans? Then I wondered whether these two great artists who have brought us both silverware and exquisite football had endured one of those once in a career cock-ups, the like of which every great band have had with that one appalling single and every great director has had with one shocking film. Should we simply forgive and forget and laugh it off as one bizarre and fortunately uncostly cock-up?
But now I wonder: was it symptomatic of a greater malaise? Could it be that whilst we as fans still yearn desperately to win the European Cup and to catch Chelsea, Pires and Henry see the first as impossible and the second as highly improbable and in any case offering only a reward that would emulate, rather than surpass previous achievements? Do they still have the same drive to succeed for Arsenal? Would Frank Lampard even consider doing anything other than burying the ball from the spot, irrespective of the score? And if the three points were as vital for them as they were for us, how could they contemplate even trying that penalty?
I realise the above paragraph could easily be interpreted as me saying they don’t care. I am definitely not saying that. For a start I am saying the above insinuations are true and in any case, if there has been any loss of drive, I would suggest it has been almost entirely subconscious and in no way deliberate. But whichever way you look at it, I think the above are fair questions that should be asked if we are to understand why such a monumental fuck-up occurred.
And just sticking with penalties for a moment, I’m delighted to see that Thierry Henry says he will be taking them all from now on. It had become absolutely farcical. Not only did we have our top marksman refusing to take penalties he had won for absolutely no obvious reason whatsoever. We also had Dennis refusing to take them following his miss against United over six years ago! Fear of flying is one thing, but a phobia of penalties is another and you get the feeling that in any other walk of life Dennis would have been told to pull himself together and just do it. And to think that yesterday it had got to the stage where we were passing them to each other. Incredible.
Which is also what can be said for getting two penalties off Mike Riley. I haven’t seen any replays of the second one, while the first one could have gone either way. But I will just say that analysing these things in super slow motion is pointless because football is not played in super slow motion. Slowing the play down will always make it look like the attacker has deliberately let himself be fouled. It distorts reality.
At last, the game. Firstly, City were very well organised and are a genuinely decent side. So a win is good. But we’re struggling. A fair part of the problem can be summarised in six words: Flamini, Gilberto, Cesc, Lampard, Essien, Makalele. Our players are good, but we lack a monster in there like Chelsea have and it tells. Eight other words also explain a lot: Van Persie, Senderos, Quincy, Eboue, Robben, Crespo, Gudjohnsen, Ferreira. Arsene didn’t make a single sub. Mourinho introduced first Gudjohnsen, then Robben and then Crespo, all about ten minutes apart. Of course, they didn’t win. But the contrast could not have been bigger.
Arsene is not an idiot: his public buoyancy and confidence in the strength of the squad is surely just a charade that he is obliged to show in an effort to maintain moral. But at heart it must be obvious to him just how blatantly we need to splash the cash.
I’ll finish by saying that Pires and Henry were right to apologise. And that Spurs away is the perfect time to make-up for things by putting in a committed, impassioned performance. And it’s vital they do, because if we’re as slack at White Hart Lane this time as we have been recently, then this time we will lose. And nobody wants that.
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20/10/05
Why Henry's goal at Upton Park was his greatest ever
In the world of footballing top tens, there surely can’t be a more enjoyable experience than picking Thierry Henry’s best goals. I can’t honestly claim to have seen enough of Pele and Maradona to properly judge them. But my suspicion is that if a montage of Thierry Henry goals were shown next to montages of the Brazilian and Argentinian’s best strikes, Henry would not look out of place.
So, at 10…
Chelsea (h) 12/04. At kick-off people said their defence was the immovable object and Thierry Henry didn’t score in big games. Thirty seconds later he had pinged in an unstoppable shot from the edge of the box, leaving Cech rooted to the spot.
at 9…
Bayern Munich (h) 03/05. A strange choice for some perhaps, but for me another brilliant goal against an immovable object. Bayern may have been a defensive shambles in the next round at Chelsea but against us they were tighter than something incredibly tight. After 70 odd minutes, Henry controlled a long ball on the left from Cole, brought it down and hit it instantly across Oliver Khan with complete precision. It was a perfectly executed goal. And it had to be.
At 8…
Manchester City (h) 01/04. This one is also representing the swerver against United later that season. Against City, I was in the North Bank and saw just how much his shot seemed to swerve and yet keep completely straight like an arrow. David James didn’t have a prayer.
At 7…
Sparta Prague (a) 10/05. A very late entrant but very deserving of it’s place. On for six minutes, he controlled the ball on the outside of his foot, swung his whole body through 360 degrees and then fired in a bending shot that beat the goalkeeper in the only part of the net it could have. Almost arrogantly brilliant.
At 6…
Inter Milan (a) 11/03. Broke out from defence, looked to be going nowhere and then made Javier Zanetti look amateurish before slamming home with the left foot. A brilliant goal and the crucial third in a 5-1 win.
At 5…
Spurs (h) 11/02. Very, very special run. He took them all on, cut inside and finished brilliantly. Then he celebrated in serious style in front of the west stand. Magnificent.
At 4…
Charlton (h) 10/04. So good it completely bamboozled the cameraman. I watched this game in a pub in London with one of those dodgy satellites. The commentary was in a foreign language, music was playing in the bar and a lot of people were only half watching. The camera was focused in on Henry as he held the ball with his back to goal about six yards out. Then he backheeled the ball and suddenly wheeled away in delight. The pub was genuinely stunned. Those of us who realised what must have happened looked on in disbelief. When they showed a replay from another angle the reaction from the rest of the pub was one of sheer incredulity. And the more they showed it the more disbelieving the reactions. It didn’t really matter what happened in the rest of the game.
At 3…
Liverpool (h) 04/04. No doubt you’ve heard people say how important this goal was in us winning the title. It was. I was at Highbury that day and 2-1 down at half time there was some serious cigarette smoking going on in the north bank. Within a minute we had equalised thanks to Freddie Ljungberg. But after equalising once and then going behind again, a fair few people feared things were turning against us and we would do it again.
Then Henry picked the ball up on the left. He jinked in, took on a couple of defenders and simply by his presence created sheer panic in the Liverpool defence. So much so that Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher knocked in to each other and fell to the ground comically. Suddenly Henry was through and he finished coolly. The north bank erupted. People who had not lost it since Ray Parlour scored against Valencia found themselves jumping out of their seats. A massive, massive goal and sheer brilliance bore in part out of the complete panic his presence can induce.
At 2…
Manchester United (h) 10/00. Unreal goal. Fed by Grimandi miles out, he chipped it up, spun Gary Neville and in one fired in a volley that dipped and swerved over Barthez into the far corner. Watching at home, all I saw was the ball leave his foot. I thought it was going miles over. Then the Clock End went mad. I had lost the ball in the air. Eventually, I was persuaded it had gone in but was convinced it could only have had it taken the most massive of deflections. Then I saw the replay. One of the goals of goals.
At 1…
West Ham (a) 08/02. You may think this a weird choice. I say the beauty of it has never fully been recognised. Now, don’t get me wrong: were this goal being judged purely on Henry controlling the ball on his knee and hitting an absolute bullet past David James from 30 yards, it would not be anywhere near number one, however great a finish it was. It is the first touch that does it and it is a touch which in my opinion defies the physics of football.
He receives the ball on the right edge of the penalty area from a Vieira pass. He has his back to goal. It is played firmly in to his left foot. Then he takes the crucial touch, which I will come back to in a minute. When he next touches it he has spun 180 degrees so that he is now facing diagonally to goal. His defender has been left bamboozled. The ball lands on what is now Henry’s right knee. Think about what he did with that touch: he took a ball that was coming into his feet and with one touch he looped it up in to the air with his foot. When it fell it was still, incredibly, travelling in the original direction. But he didn’t just lob it into the air, which would have been hard enough.
Instead, he met the ball purposefully with the right hand side of his left boot and somehow spun (not hooked as would have been the case had he used the left hand side of the boot) the ball up in to the air up and over his defender’s head. Had Brazil done it in 1970 I genuinely believe it would be replayed continuously now. Do whatever you can to get a copy of the video and watch that touch because 250 words of mine have failed to do it justice.
And it is for that reason that West Ham away was Thierry Henry’s best Arsenal goal and potentially the greatest I have ever seen.
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19/10/05
Sparta 0 Arsenal 2: Match report, playa ratings and Henry worshipping
The formalities first, then the Henry stuff: Cygan replaced Senderos who had replaced Campbell and Cygan continued in place of the injured Cole. Gilberto returned in midfield in place of Cesc who replaced the injured Ljungberg. The returning Van Persie replaced Bergkamp (something to do with a fear of flying).
We started well, with Cesc having a shot and some promising attacks. Then Reyes went off injured and Arsene went for the brave option of risking Thierry Henry for 70 minutes. Within two minutes he had chested the ball down on the edge of the box and fired what looked like a beaut of a volley that was deflected wide. Then he brought down a through ball from Kolo, spun on the edge of the box and hit the most belle of bending shots with the outside of his right foot. Great goal.
We didn’t do much else for the rest of the half and started the second somewhat sluggishly. Then on 65 we started playing again and within five minutes Pires? had played Henry in with a beautiful ball. He controlled it and still had a fair bit to do to knock it home. 2-0 it finished. A decent enough performance and a great result. Playa ratings to the right.
The goals take Theirry Henry past Ian Wright’s all time Arsenal goal scoring record. We have been fantastically privileged to see him rack up 186 not out and even luckier that so many have been done in such incredible style.
As I walked to work yesterday morning (Tuesday), I went with a bounce in my step. Sometimes you don’t realise what you have til it’s gone and I for one could not wait to see his magnificence return to the pitch.
Of course, there will be those Arsenal fans who will bemoan his unwillingness to commit to the club in his post match interview. That kind of reaction is absolute bollocks in my view. It is quite obvious he is not going to come out and commit to the club just like that because the fact is he is considering leaving. He is 28, has achieved a massive amount, probably fears somewhat about the destination we are headed towards and feels he may want to try and conquer Spain before he retires. People ask for him to be honest. He is. By saying what he is saying he is making it perfectly clear things are up in the air.
Do people want him to say he wants to go? What good would that do? The fact is that when he says he is focused on his football at the moment, that is the truth and that is what he showed us tonight. What is wrong with him kissing the badge if he puts in great performances? Kissing the badge is a sign that your heart is in to what you are doing. And who could argue that his heart wasn’t in tonight’s performance?
Of course we don’t want him to leave on a Bosman. But if he leaves, he leaves. We have been absurdly lucky to have not only one of the best, but one of the most consistent players in the world between the ages of 22 and 28 in his career. If he wants to move then so be it. I would wish him all the best.
Of course, I desperately want him to sign a new contract. But let us be grown up about this. He is doing nothing wrong. The best we can do is get behind him (the fans were great tonight), get behind the team at Highbury (we can do a lot better) and hope Arsene can bring in the players and the team achieve the success that will allow Thierry Henry to stay.
I have no inside knowledge on the issue of his contract, but my hunch would be that things are not a lot more complicated than Thierry fearing (quite justifiably) that the standard of the squad is slipping and that we look less likely to achieve the success (particularly in Europe) that he so craves.
We shall see what happens, but in the meantime let’s celebrate his achievement and leave the worrying for another time. I have written enough now, so won’t reveal my favourite Henry goal now, but you can reveal yours below.
ps: he seemed pretty happy to me when he broke the record.
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16/10/05
West Brom 2 Arsenal 1: Report + playa ratings. Grim.
Arsene Wenger has never suffered the indignity of losing to a lower division team as Arsenal manager, but it is hard to believe that the disappointment could be any greater than that experienced after today’s loss at West Brom.
In 45 minutes, our emotions went from genuine hope that things could be turning our way (we were winning and Chelsea were losing) to the sheer grimness of seeing us somehow lose and them come back to win 5-1.
In short, we took an early lead when Senderos hooked home a deep Reyes corner. We were completely dominant, they were crap. We sat back. They equalised after a feeble Pires attempt to block a cross, a poor header from Senderos and terrible marking of Kanu. Of all people, the man renowned for taking 10 touches when two will do, had time to control the ball, compose himself and then fire off an (impressive) shot past the helpless Lehman. It was a shocker of a goal.
In the 2nd half we eventually rallied around the hour mark and though we had a couple of chances (Toure, Reyes, Bergkamp) things were in no way urgent enough. We probably should have had a penalty for a foul on Reyes, but he wasn’t in a scoring position so I’m not going to complain. It would, however, be nice to see referees decide whether a foul should be given not based on where the incident happens on the pitch but on the incident itself. And if this means the law needs to be reformed so that minor fouls in non-threatening positions in the area do not warrant a spot-kick then so be it. We need consistency.
Anyway, they then scored a cracker out of absolutely nothing. We huffed but got nowhere. Immensely disappointing and all the more so when you are watching the game in the corner of a bar while in other corners Chelsea, United, Liverpool and Spurs fans are all celebrating goals going in. The upshot of all this is that the table does not look good. In fact I don’t even want to see it. All I know is we’re 14 points behind Chelsea having dropped 11 to their none.
But the main discussion must be about the performance. We started with a very youthful team containing Senderos, Clichy, Reyes, Flamini, Cesc and for much of the game Eboue too after Fred went off. We were without Cole, Campbell, Gilberto, Van Persie, Henry, Hleb and then Ljungberg. That would be a big miss to any squad, all the more so to ours.
So perhaps that excuses things. Or perhaps it doesn’t. The Everton and Man City sides that a far less experienced Arsenal dispatched from last season’s League Cup were miles better than the carthorses West Brom served up today. We could and should have easily won this game.
The problem is that the fact we are not at our most fluent at the moment should mean every playa is giving 120% so that effort alone can get us through. But that is not the case. We were leaden footed and lethargic today. Really, I would say that excluding the hard to appraise Lehman, only Reyes and perhaps Senderos and Toure did themselves justice out there today. Not everything may be coming off for Reyes, but he keeps plugging away and chasing everything.
The same is not true for the others. Pires is the worst culprit. His effort at times is frankly lamentable. I can just about excuse him pulling out of tackles because he is worried about his knee but he has no excuse for not doing everything humanly possible to block crosses.
We are clearly lacking really good cover right through the spine of the team (a defender, midfielder and striker are all needed). But we also have to roll our sleeves up and not commit the immortal sin of taking our foot off the pedal just because our opponents are crap.
It is going to take a miraculous recovery for us to challenge for the league now. We need our genuinely rotten luck with injuries to turn, new playas and better performances.
One final point about today’s referee and the one minute 55 seconds of injury time he added on. Now don’t get me wrong, I loathe it when managers squabble over every few seconds. My theory is normally if you don’t score in 90 then you probably won’t score in 94. But today was just some kind of complete joke. We had an injury a minute from time that lasted about one minute 40 seconds, we had four second half subs, three of which were incredibly slow West Brom ones, we had one of the longest and deliberately stalling goal celebrations ever and we had them wasting time every time they got a free-kick or goal kick, even when it was 1-1.
By adding on just two minutes the referee has completely indulged that negativity (which I accept Arsenal have been guilty of in the past). It was a complete joke.
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09/10/05
Football returns next week
Do you get very bored of England games after 60 minutes? Do you have to tell yourself to try to be happy when England score? And does part of you secretly will the opposition to knock one past ‘us’?
Answer: Yes, yes and yes.
My conclusion is that Sven would get double the amount of stick if the thought of writing about England wasn’t so boring. In fact, I’ve had enough. I’m so bored I can’t be stuffed to write any more about England.
But I will say a few words about my good friends at FIFA. Presumably David Beckham’s red card will stand, despite his 2nd booking being a blatant dive.
It will stand because under FIFA’s own half witted rules, appeals are only allowed in cases of mistaken identity. I don’t give a stuff about Beckham, but I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: this is the most inept rule I have ever seen.
England have been wrongly deprived of a playa for 30 minutes because of an opposition player’s connivance. And then to compound the problem, they will ban him for no other reason than that they have invented a stupid rule that says he must be banned.
For some reason, this rule pisses me off big time. It is the height of bullshit in a game overflowing with the stuff. The only bans being handed out should be for the half wits who invented this rule and are now pressuring the Premiership to take it up.
The only saving grace is that these things have a way of hitting people back in the face. How I will laugh if the brilliant Ronaldinho is sent-off in next year’s World Cup semi-final for handling on the line when the ball clearly hit his chest. Of course, my scorn will not be directed at the unfortunate Brazilian. Instead it will be at the FIFA bigwigs who will have seen their showpiece player miss their showpiece game because of their own arrogant, farcical rules.
Football returns next week.
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021005
Arsenal 1 Birmingham 0 - half a report
Well, I only saw the second half (hence no playa ratings). From the sounds of it we created a fair bit in the first half and as well as missing a penalty we could have had a hatful.
The second half seemed a very flat affair. Maik Taylor made great saves early on from Pires and Ljungberg and then we seemed to lose any great degree of urgency. In the end, Van Persie’s not brilliantly hit shot deflected off a defender and beat the excellent Taylor. We held on, though not with any great style.
We looked lethargic in the latter stages. From what I saw Campbell, Toure and Cole looked good enough. Reyes is playing with brilliant enthusiasm and desire. The rest of them don’t look lazy by any means but if you compare us with Chelsea at the moment, is the same unswerving desire there? I’m not so sure.
It needs to be.
And the crowd can play their part too. Apologies if the SKY sound system did Highbury a disservice, but the ground sounded embarrassingly silent today. The players are human beings like the rest of us and they thrive on the support of the crowd like you and I would. So, if you’re lucky enough to be at Highbury, sing.
Chelsea won 4-1 this afternoon and looked good, albeit against what is a pretty poor Liverpool league side. The Kop were singing louder in the 89th minute than anything Highbury managed today.
On site news, I’ve gone back to the old design but with the new logo following a public outcry. Not sure about what should go in the space on the left though, as the Latest Updates column was pointless and time consuming to update.
Finally, a question for any readers who live in Dublin or anywhere else in the Republic of Ireland. I need to get internet access at my new flat for 3 months. Are there any broadband companies who don’t insist on you signing up for 12 months? And what is the best dial-up?
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Archives: July 2005, June 2005, May 2005, April 2005,March 2005, February 2005, January 2005, December 2004 and the embryonic goodplaya.
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Playa ratings:
v West Ham (2-3) - NEW
Lehman: An absolute idiot for stupidly getting involved with Harewood late on. Not only was it nasty, but he could have been sent-off and he also put us out of our stride. A minute later West Ham made it 3-1. He’s a very good goalkeeper but an arrogant, nasty character and an embarrassment when he behaves like that. 4
Gilbert: Looked to be doing fine until the Arsenal full-back curse struck. 6
Djorou: Individually did well, but understandably hasn’t been able to strike up any kind of partnership with Campbell yet. 6
Campbell: What can you say? Two massive errors that were punished to the max. Things just aren’t going his way at all. 4
Senderos: Obviously doesn’t offer the attacking prowess of Cole or Clichy but he looked solid and his distribution to Pires was fairly impressive. Did fine at centre-back in the second half but should have whacked it out instead of passing to Larsson for the mistake that led to the third goal. 5
Gilberto: He’s not great at the moment. Far too passive for my liking. 5
Diaby: Still raw, but I like him. And he is so like Vieira: even his mistakes remind me of Vieira’s shortcomings. Not sure why he was taken off. 7
Ljungberg: You have to laugh at the way he somehow managed to deflect Henry’s shot wide. Is trying really hard and not actually playing badly at all. But nothing is going his way. 7
Pires: I do feel we need players with greater bite than Pires at the moment. But in fairness, he was involved, scored one, set-up the other one for Henry and saw Hislop deny him with a great save. 6
Henry: Hard to judge. Seemed to have a decent enough game on TV but reports from the game were critical. 6
Van Persie: Unlucky. Offered a lot but nothing went his way. 7
Subs:
Flamini: Brought on as an emergency right-back but did pretty well all things considered. Say what you like about Flamini but he’s a fighter who unlike some of his team-mates will never be found lacking for effort. 7
Larsson: Yes, he made the cock-up for the third goal. But it was typical of our rough justice. Other than that he was excellent: committed in the tackle, full of running in attack and crucially he understands the value of hitting long-balls diagonally, as opposed to completely straight. Which is something some of his team-mates could do with taking note of. 7
Dennis: Not normally much of a substitute, but he found himself a good niche on the right of midfield and offered us extra creativity. Well hit volley to set up Pires’ goal. 6
v Sparta Prague (0-2)
Lehmann: Solid enough game. He’s doing well at the moment. 7
Clichy: Bit of a nightmare really, though to be fair their right winger was their best playa. 5
Cygan: Surprisingly assured. 7
Kolo: Looked fairly good most of the time. 7
Lauren: The odd moment of strangeness. 6.5
Flamini: Was hard to judge the midfielders tonight. Seemed to do the normal without being mega effective. 6.5
Gilberto: One of those Gilberto games where you don’t really know how he has played. 6.5
Fabregas: Got fairly involved and offered threat down the right. 7
Pires: Not his best game by any means but still one of his better ones this season. Magnificent ball for the second goal. 7
Van Persie: Seems to get carded in Europe for the most ridiculous things. Did alright without having much effect. 6.5
Reyes: Full of running til he got injured and wasn’t running at all. 6.5
Subs:
Henry (for Reyes 17ish): Emperor-like as he beat Wrighty’s record. Magnificent playa who, had he not scored, would have been accused of going missing in another big game. But because he did score, it won’t count as a big game. 8.5
Eboue (for Van Persie 70ish): Looking ok at the moment. 6.5
Quincy (for Cesc 85ish): Full of running. 6.5
v West Brom (2-1)
Lehmann: Blameless for goals. 6
Lauren: Not particularly composed. 5.5
Clichy: Has had far better games. 5.5
Senderos: Good goal, messy header for theirs. 6
Toure: Ok but ridiculously offside at one free kick. 5.5
Flamini: Ok but uninspiring. 5.5
Cesc: Decent. Kept trying. 6
Pires: Crap. 4.5
Ljungberg: Ok while he was on. 5.5
Reyes: Still running his heart out. 7
Bergkamp: A moany kind of day. 5.5
Subs:
Eboue (for Ljungberg 35ish): Not great. 5.5
Quincy (for Flamini 80ish): Bizarrely decided what Arsenal lack is left-wingers. 5.5
v Everton (2-0)
Jens: Very little to do. Did it all right. 7
Lauren: Occasionally seemed to imagine he had more pace than he does, which was quite amusing as he tried to take people on. Solid as usual. 7
Cole: As someone who gave him a good bashing over the summer it would suit by agenda to say he is playing poorly. But that would be a lie. Whatever the reasons for it, he has started the season well and in attack in particular is offering a lot. 7.5
Toure: Nothing to do at the back and seemed to enjoy getting in on this whole new set-piece malarkey. 7
Campbell: Two excellent headers, especially the second one which was a real hammer. Not at full speed yet but looked good, organised the defence well, shouted at people and seemed to realise he was our most senior player on the pitch. 8
Pires: Hadn’t done all that much in the brief period he was on the pitch before Gary Neville’s shit younger brother’s tackle forced him off. 6.5
Cesc: One friend said to me he is looking lightweight and giving the ball away too much. Maybe. But I think he does a lot of good stuff and his presence in the opponent’s penalty box is valuable. 7
Gilberto: Solid game, got through a fair amount and gave us a couple of those rare Gilberto moments where for a few seconds he stops looking like he is suspended in perpetual slow motion and instead provides us with raw Brazilian skill. 7
Ljungberg: Started slowly but furrowed hard as ever. Seemed to make a real determination to either stick wide out on the wing or else very deliberately come inside as opposed to just being narrow. I think it worked. Unlucky to hit bar in second half. 7
Van Persie: Hit the post with a nice effort (right footed!) and had some decent moments but was otherwise a bit subdued. Has been a fairly rough few weeks and is probably still feeling his way back in to things. 6.5
Reyes: Loses the ball now and then but that is only because he constantly seems to have it. Boundless energy at the moment, great creativity and fantastic balls into the box. Really was amazing how much of the ball he had tonight. 8
Subs:
Hleb (for Pires first half some time): Played pretty well, looked pretty creative and linked up well with Cole. Playing better than Pires. 7
Dennis (for Van Persie 80ish): Did alright. Created a bit of stuff. Didn’t do anything of note. 6.5
Alex Song (for Reyes 87ish): Made a couple of sloppy passes but it was harsh and exaggerated for Alan Smith to say he hadn’t found a man. 6
v Thun (2-1)
Almunia: Probably not to blame on the goal and handling was ok even though he still catches very strangely.6
Lauren: Did the usual Lauren stuff. Fairly well. 6.5
Cole: Thought he was good today. Clean at the back and contributed well going forward. Perhaps he enjoyed having Pires back in front of him. 7
Toure: Seemed ok. Can’t remember too much else.6.5
Sol: Looking a little chunky but it must be good to have him back.6.5
Cesc: Not his most spectacular game but made a couple of decent runs forward and made one particularly delicious pass in the second half.6.5
Gilberto: Very well taken goal and was more involved tonight than normally. An experienced head 7.5
Pires: By no means at his best but infinitely better than the past few games. Got in an early curler that almost flew in and was generally far more involved. Even tried to tackle twice. Neither attempt worked.. 7
Ljungberg. Svavanged without achieving much.6.5
RVP: Had been easing himself back into first team action when the dick head referee struck. 6.5
Reyes: Excellent, his boundless enthusiasm drove the team on and he looked really dangerous at times and caused Thun more problems than anyone else. 8
Subs:
Dennis (for Cesc 70 odd): Is that his first goal as a sub? Took it well. 7
Hleb (for Reyes 80 odd): Didn’t really find his touch in the ten minutes he had.6
Quincy (for Ljungberg 80 odd): Offered a new threat.6.5
v Fulham (4-1)
Lehman: Looking very solid at the moment. You can tell it by the fact he is not making kicking mistakes at the moment. At tricky moments, his handling from corners was excellent.7
Lauren: Missed a penalty, but that was bound to happen one day and at least it didn’t matter. Otherwise, he played well and looked particularly committed (mostly in the right sense) in the tackle. 7
Cole: His best attacking display for a while and linked up promisingly with Reyes. 7.5
Cygan: I’ve made no secret of the fact that his presence in the team pleases me not. Defending was ok tonight, though a couple of times Fulham forwards worryingly escaped him when crosses were slung in. Took his goals very well. Could it be that unlike the rest of the side Cygan does not feel obligated to score the perfect goal and concentrates on just sticking it in the net?7.5
Kolo: Poor clearance for the Fulham goal but on the whole had a decent game. The defensive issues we have at the moment seem more a collective than individual problem. 7
Cesc: Gets a wee bit overrun occasionally but on the whole is playing really well and in particular offers a genuine attacking threat in the way that perhaps Vieira sometime failed to. 7
Gilberto: Did what Gilberto does. Still sometimes resembles one of those video graphic created dinosaurs in the way he moves. 7
Hleb: Good first half, creating a fair deal and generally looking like a cross between Pires and Ljungberg (in the best sense). 7
Reyes: A very good game in my opinion, full of running, full of trickery and very direct. In particular, he linked up very well with Cole and Henry, which was very pleasing. His ball for Henry’s first goal was majestic and pleasingly the two seemed on the same wavelength tonight. 8
Dennis: Besides his idiotic yellow card he had a great game and was at the heart of Fulham’s dissection. Kept going strong right to the end. 8
Henry: Took his two goals, which both came at crucial times, very well. Just one more to equal Wright’s record. 7.5
Subs:
Flamini (for Reyes 75 odd): Set up Henry for the killer third goal. 7
Clichy (for Hleb 85 odd): Ran around like mad, as Clichy does. 7
v Liverpool (3-1)
Lehman: Two really good saves – the first from Riise and the second from Gerard’s piledriver. Flapped at one cross but all it served to do was to remind us how much he has improved. 7.5
Lauren: Did very well, almost scoring from Pires’ cross in the first half and setting up the third goal with some nice play. Is doing well at the moment, perhaps spurred on by Wenger not mentioning right back when saying which areas he doesn’t need to strengthen over the summer! 7.5
Cole: A mixed game. Good going forward and times and obviously an excellent second half block from Garcia. But also occasionally sloppy, messing up things we know him well capable of doing. 6.5
Senderos: A big presence at the heart of the defence he had one of his sternest tests in an Arsenal shirt when Liverpool got at us in the second half. Did pretty well on the whole though, especially as protection from midfield was not always forthcoming. 7
Kolo: A good solid outing and the same goes for him as for Senderos. 7
Vieira: Did some stuff really well and was very influential in our first half attacking play. But I felt he allowed the midfield to be too easily swamped after the break and was not always applying the pressure to Liverpool that he might have done. 7
Gilberto: It goes without saying that evaluating a Gilberto performance is very, very difficult. That said, I felt that like Vieira he could have offered a bit more bite in midfield to help out the defence in the second half. 6.5
Pires: Really was at the heart of some of our best stuff in the first half. Crossed brilliantly for Lauren to almost score, shot just wide and then scored with a magnificent free-kick. Faded later on. 7.5
Cesc: Absolutely outstanding. He set the move in motion for Reyes’ offside goal, fired just wide from 20 yards, scored his own offside goal and then added a very neat third for us in stoppage time. In between this he ran the game, tackling, running with the ball, passing brilliantly and generally looking the best player on the park. Outstanding. 9
Reyes: Not perfect, but he notched up another well taken goal, scored an offside one and ran his heart out for the cause in the second half. 7.5
Van Persie: Not as involved as he has been but got involved and put over one excellent early cross for Robert Pires. Generally looking a much better player than previously. 7
Subs:
Edu (for Pires 70 odd): Came on and did ok. 6.5
Bergkamp (for Van Persie 70 odd): Set up Fabregas for the third with a fantastic flick but was otherwise pretty poor. When he did try and press Liverpool he gave away a few free-kicks and the rest of the time he just didn’t seem to chase them at a time when we really needed players to get stuck in. I know he is still capable of the odd piece of magic but we probably have enough to our attacking armoury that magic alone should not prompt a new contract. We have shown we are capable of winning without Dennis and should probably now look to the future. 6
Aliadiere (for Reyes 85): As ever he came on and got stuck in, chasing everything and hassling the Liverpool defenders. Has a really good attitude and probably deserves more than five minutes at some point. 6.5
v West Brom (2-0)
Lehman: The defence clearly trusts him again and he is reciprocating that with improved handling, kicking and decision making. 7
Lauren: Worked reasonably hard and got forward on a few occasions. 7
Cole: Looked a little lethargic at times but kept going and finished the game strongly, setting us on a number of attacks. 6.5
Senderos: A couple of passes went astray but took a no nonsence defence to defending. Far be it for me to argue with his current record of not conceding a goal for absolutely yonks. 7.5
Gilberto: Covered well at set pieces, but with Arsenal in 2nd gear he seemed only to happy to make sure Gilberto was in 2nd gear too. Not much drive. 6.5
Vieira: Committed silly fouls early on and was not finding his passes. Got better as the game went on and provided more drive. Symbolic of our night. 7
Pires: Did ok initially but like the rest of them lacked the necessary drive. Got better with the team. 7
Cesc: Probably not his best game. Came looking for the ball a lot and should be credited for it but looked a little fatigued when challenged. 6.5
Van Persie: Did ok initially but was not really receiving a lot of support from the midfield. Took his goal magnificently. 7
Reyes: Ran hard but once again looked incredibly left footed. But gave an excellent assist for the opening goal and kept on trying right til the end, providing useful relief for the defence. 7
Subs:
Dennis (for Van Persie 75ish): Did little except provide a measured set-up for Edu's clincher. 6.5
Edu (for Cesc 75ish): Got involved a bit and finished well to clinch it. 7
v Spurs (1-0)
Lehman: Is playing very well and his handling looks as assured as ever, his throws good and his kicking far better than earlier in the season. I think it no great secret that he needs to control his temper. 7
Lauren: Has looked solid in recent weeks and looked more lively going forward. Alan Curbishley put him in his team of the season on the basis that few wingers get much change out of him. And he is probably right. Really does need to watch stray elbows though, intentional or not. 7
Toure: Was given a little trouble by Defoe but it was less trouble than Adi Akenbai gave him in the FA Cup in January. And Defoe is clearly a far better player than the Stoke man. Will soon score a very, very memorable free-kick I sense. 7
Senderos: It is hard to argue with his defensive record since he came into the side. We have simply stopped conceding goals. That said, what are the odds that back when we were conceding at will, Robbie Keane would have buried that chance. Could have got first goal for club with header. 7
Cole: Linked up well as ever with Pires down our left hand side and seemed really up for the fight. Had the slightly awkward penalty shout against him at the end but otherwise did well. 7
Vieira: With the ball he was excellent on the whole, spreading play at pace and helping support those ahead of him. Looks much more comfortable with Gilberto next to him. Though that said they both looked half a step off the pace at times against a Spurs side full of running. 7
Gilberto: Did what Gilberto does well. Though probably not as much of a shield as against Chelsea. 7
Cesc: Tired a little in the second half but was his usual youthful magnificence until then. Spread the ball with ease, got stuck in, helped out the attack and set up our goal. Nice. 7.5
Pires: Not the force he was against Chelsea but is playing well at the moment, linking up well with Cole down the left and generally providing an experienced head in an otherwise youthful attack. 7
Van Persie: Set Reyes up for the first minute chance, fired a decent effort wide and generally played quite a mature game without hitting great heights. 7
Reyes: Did very well to come back after the first minute miss. Goal was excellent and attitude looked good. Seemed to find an extra gear for second half run that set up Dennis. 7.5
Subs:
Dennis (for Van Persie 70 odd): Curled one wide and generally looked quite good against a tiring Spurs defence. There was the odd occasion when I felt he let the player pass him to quickly but that was probably just my last minute nerves. 7
Edu (for Cesc 70 odd): Hit the post with a curling effort and slotted in very, very neatly on the left. Will be a great shame to lose him if he does eventually go. 7
Aliadiere (for Van Persie 87 odd): Only had a few minutes but looked really keen to impress. Had a couple of good touches, got stuck in and made tired Spurs legs panic, buying us valuable time. 7
v Chelsea (0-0)
Lehman: Has looked much better recently and besides the odd dodgy kick, looked very solid against Chelsea and made one excellent save early on from Drogba. His positioning seemed good on through balls. 7
Lauren: He really didn’t put a foot wrong and kept Damien Duff and probably had his best game for the club against a very, very tricky opponent. Was ferocious and fair in the tackle. 8
Cole: After a slightly tentative start he threw himself at everything Chelsea chucked at us. Whatever people’s feelings about his current situation, there can be no complaints about his performance. 7
Senderos: Excellent as usual. This guy likes clean sheets. 7
Toure: Really did well in what could have been a tricky night. Got weight on his clearances and never panicked. 7
Vieira: It really doesn’t take a genius to figure out how much he seems to be enjoying having Gilberto back in the side. Really led the side again with fine interventions and set us on the path to attack – such as when Pires hit the bar. 7.5
Gilberto: Suffered a couple of inevitable nosebleeds when he got into decent positions going forward but otherwise did a fine job of snaffling out what Chelsea threw at us and generally making the team a slick unit. Showed one or two fine turns as well. 7
Cesc: This kid really does defy logic. At a time when his brittle bones should be feeling the effects of a long, hard season he is looking stronger than ever. Magnificently composed on the ball, he worked furiously in defence, midfield and attack. 8
Pires: His early volley that hit the bar reminded me of when I stood in the Holte End last year for Villa v Arsenal and he hit an even better effort that was turned just over. Even the anti-French bigots around me were shut well and truly up.
There is a wonderful magnificence about watching Robert Pires on song. He caresses the ball delightfully and when it’s time to move it on he does it with the utmost precision. A joy to watch and unlucky not to score twice. 9
Reyes: The story of his last 6 months – no problem with effort but he just lacks the confidence to make things really happen. The annoying thing is that he’s making errors on things that a confident Reyes could do with his eyes shut. Let’s hope his effort is rewarded soon. 6
Bergkamp: Like Reyes he worked hard and did his bit to keep Chelsea at bay. But also like Reyes he found himself struggling up front. The curtain appears to be falling on his magnificent career. Hopefully an announcement will be made soon and both we and Dennis can enjoy his final games. 6
Subs:
Van Persie (for Dennis 80 odd): Struggled to get into the game but had a few decent chances and ran hard for the side.
Aliadiere (for Cesc 85 odd): Did alright but by the time he came on it didn’t look like either side were really going to score.
v Boro (1-0)
Lehman: Flapped at one cross in the first half and then came ridiculously far out of his goal before eventually winning the ball. Yes, he’s kept a fair few clean sheets recently and yes, it’s even true we could win the league again with him in goal, but no, we won’t win in Europe with Jens and no, he’s not the answer. 6
Lauren: His early challenge, whilst not worthy of a red card as suggested on Match of the Day, was sheer stupidity. He did alright and he’s plodding along but not really getting any better. 6
Cole: Attacked decently at times but wasn’t helped by a very, very ineffectual Robert Pires. 6.5
Senderos: Now looks like he should be partnering Sol Campbell when the two are fit. Authoritative, big and commanding, his presence has coincided with a string of clean sheets. Still has rough edges, but these are being shaved all the time. 7
Kolo: Did reasonably well and made a couple of important blocks, but I’m not convinced his future lies in the heart of the defence. Together, he and Lauren sometimes seem to bring out the worst in each other and we just don’t look solid, clean sheets or no clean sheets. Would like to see him at right back. 6.5
Gilberto: I looked out especially for incidences of him filling gaps and yes, I can confirm it happens and he does his job well. Still looks very nervous in attacking positions, but his presence is welcome. 6
Vieira: I thought he did reasonably well, though like the rest of the players he seemed to have trouble bringing any great coherency to our play. 6
Cesc: I plumped for Cesc on the right a while ago and I like seeing him there. He got well forward and was always involved. Looks tired, but it’s been a long old season and he’s still, only 17. 6.5
Pires: I thought him absolute rubbish up until he scored really. His inability to tackle has been documented many times before, but on Saturday he seemed to be playing the whole game at walking pace. But then who better is there at converting the one chance he gets to secure a 1-0 lead. 6
Reyes: Things still aren’t all coming off for him but I sense things are getting better and his work rate and willingness to track back really can’t be faulted. We know for a fact that the boy has the talent to succeed, so while he may not be showing what he’s really capable of right now, we should applaud his recent application. Had a couple of really mazy runs and set up Henry excellently for a shot he scuffed. 7
Henry: Had one of those games where he seemed to stand almost still on the edge of the box, conserving his energy and waiting to pounce. It didn’t really work, though he did have a glorious chip fly just wide and certainly scared the Boro fans every time he got the ball. He was also up against an obdurate Boro. 6.5
Subs:
Dennis (Reyes 46): Did alright without really changing the game at all. It seems the curtain may be falling on his illustrious career and reluctantly, I think it right. We know he can still play brilliantly in patches but the truth is that it’s becoming less often and it’s hampering us in European away games. We need someone to step forward and become Henry’s partner. Sometimes the bullet needs to be bitten. And now is that time. 6
v Palace (5-1)
Jens: It’s tempting to say that the early back pass cock-up could just as easily have happened to Petr Cech but in truth that would be a lie. He’s simply too cocky and over confident with his kicking – it’s why so many balls get sliced wildly and why we almost conceded a shambolic own goal tonight. Otherwise, he actually did quite well. 6.5
Lauren: Is definitely becoming a better player going forward but was as culpable as anyone for our defensive malaise. 6
Cygan: Didn’t have an awful game but on too many occasions simple long balls forward by Palace became much more serious than they needed to be. 6
Kolo: Got skinned more often than he would have liked and was caught out at times from crosses. But still, we only conceded one. 6.5
Clichy: Did well getting forward, causing a constant menace. Defending was largely competent but seemed to be infected by the general defensive tendency to give the ball away. 6.5
Vieira: Another tricky game to rate from the captain. At times he was sluggish and easily caught in possession. At others, he took a grip on the game and drove the team forward impressively. Got well forward for his goal. 7
Edu: Didn’t have the sudden impact he enjoyed at Villa last week but did well enough and certainly gave us a fair bit of solidity. Good ball to Reyes for the opener. 7
Pires: Seemed to be rewriting the dictionary definition of anonymous for the first 20 or so minutes. Then got more into the game without coming close to hitting top gear. Was unlucky to hit the post in the 2nd half after good work from Reyes. 7
Reyes: His best game in yonks. He looked fearless again, running constantly at the Palace defence and causing a lot of trouble. Good assist for the first, great finish for the second, an assist for the third and a fantastic pass to Dennis to set up the fifth. Great to see him back again. 8.5
Dennis: As ever, he oiled, moulded and sculpted our performance. He also took his goal very well, like he did against Newcastle and United too. And set up Henry for the fifth. 7.5
Henry: Really played very, very well and channelled any frustration about constant offside decisions in exactly the right way. Had seemingly boundless energy to chase back lost causes and put us back on the attack. 8.5
Subs:
Flamini (for Edu 60odd): Solid and composed as ever. 7
Van Persie (for Dennis 80odd): Linked up reasonably well as the game entered its final stages. 7
Fabregas (for Pires 80odd): Settled in comfortably on the right. 7
v Wolves (2-0)
Jens: Whilst a clean sheet is a clean sheet, he had very little to do and looked no more reassuring than previously with his kicking. To be fair, he was also played a high number of over hit back passes today and was not at fault for the one from Flamini that took a wicked bobble off the Highbury surface (which appeared unusually cut-up).6.5
Eboue: Got forward well, hit the bar with a deflected shot and could have had a penalty. Nice work. 8
Clichy: Decent game without being exceptional.7
Sol: Not a lot to do. 7
Cygan: Better than usual. 8
Paddy: Mediocre for much of it truth be told. Got better later on and scored the penalty but for too long his mind didn’t seem in the right place. Sure, Wolves made it difficult by crowding midfield but too often he seemed semi asleep at throw ins and the like. Still, he kept going. 6.5
Flamini: Didn’t show the deftness of touch of the Newcastle game but retained all his normal solidity. And great as Ray Parlour was, watching Boro at the moment suggests that we’ve got an as good, if not better, replacement. 7
Reyes: A couple of good runs, some moments of anonymity and denied a stonewall penalty. Still getting back to form but it definitely seems better than a few weeks ago. 6.5
Freddie: Usual energetic performance without any stand out moments, save his well taken goal. That’s ten for the season now and we’re still in January. Good work Sir. 7
Van Persie: Not his most inspiring game and clearly doesn’t yet have the positional ability of Dennis (who does?) but is improving. 6.5
Henry: Gallic. Went into one of his moods after Riley ruled out his cheeky first half effort. Strutted around for a while, went in for a couple of silly tackles and became frankly self indulgently petulant when a foul was given against him. It’s alright for us to loathe Riley endlessly but our top striker shouldn’t let him affect his game. And the fact is he did. But recovered his composure, was unlucky not to score and set up Freddie in superb fashion. 8
Subs:
Cesc (for Van Persie): Settled in comfortably on the right. 7
Pires (for Reyes): Nice work for the clinching goal. 7
Quincy (for Fred): No time to make an impression.
v Charlton (3-1)
Alumnia: No chance with the goal and didn’t do too much wrong besides one poor fumble from a cross. Still not convinced by his catching techniques. No difficult saves to make6.5
Hoyte: Made the odd error but did well to make sure his old youth team buddy Jerome Thomas had his quietest game in weeks. Managed to get forward a bit more in the second half.7.5
Cole: Still not looking at his best and on a couple of occasions was embarrassed by Rommedahl. But in fairness he wasn’t as sloppy as recently and did get forward well later on. 6.5
Sol: With the exception of one wildly sliced clearance in the first half that Almunia had to save he looked pretty solid and kept Charlton’s clear chances to a minimum. Let’s hope his ankle isn’t too bad. 7
Kolo: Given a bit of grief by Bartlett in the air but stuck to his task well and like Campbell, restricted the number of clear cut chances. 7
Vieira: Watching the game live, I was unconvinced by his first half performance. But having just seen the highlights it seems he got through a lot of work and did what he had to do neatly and efficiently. Set up Fred well for the goal and kept up a good level of performance all the way through.7
Cesc: Lost the odd ball but was generally very sound. Passing was clean and crisp as ever and his touch for the second goal was exquisite by any standards.7.5
Freddie: Took his two goals brilliantly, worked hard and always looked a threat. In good form. 8
Clichy: Seemed to lose the ball cheaply a bit too often but worked hard down the left helping Cole out with nullifying the threat of Rohmedahl and getting forward well. Has tremendous energy which comes in handy at the end of games when opposition players tire.6.5
Henry: Not at his best today but more worrying than the actual performance was the fact that his normal fitness wasn’t there. Had a lovely free-kick cleared off the line.6.5
Van Persie: Still has a tendency to twist and turn once too often. But also holds the ball up brilliantly, moves it well and finished superbly for the third. Should probably be given a real run up front next to Henry. Took his goal like a striker, which is disconcerting coming from an Arsenal player.7.5
Subs:
Pires (for Van Persie 72ish): With the game won he wisely didn’t over exert himself ahead of Man City on Tuesday night. 6.5
Senderos (for Campbell 82ish): Slotted in well on his Premiership debut.7
Pennant (for Fred 86): Didn’t have time to get into the game. 7
v Newcastle (1-0)
Almunia: Our star man tonight. A smart early save from Ameobi (even if it was probably going wide) and excellent handling all night gave us one less worry. Four clean sheets in five and he also kicks a fair bit better than Jens.7
Lauren: Though Lauren Robert didn’t reach anything like his best, I’m not sure whether too much credit should go to Lauren. His positioning often seemed weak, his passing and tackling little better and he offered almost nothing in attack. Mr Average was distinctly poor. 5.5
Cole: Whilst there’s no shame in being given a tough time of things by Craig Bellamy, Cole’s performance was noticeably worse than just a torrid time. He made stupid, unnecessary fouls, got caught out when he should normally have had enough pace and looked very, very shaky. He may have been pushed a touch for the penalty incident, but a defender with his mind fully on the job wouldn’t have allowed the ball to hit him as blatantly as it did. In mitigation he did improve and unlike Lauren provided some attacking threat. 5.5
Kolo: Did alright but like the others his decision making didn’t always seem to be the best informed. That said, it’s a little harsh to chastise a central defender who has kept four clean sheets in five. 6.5
Sol: Urgh. After some very sound recent performances he seemed far too troubled by what looked like some relatively simple long balls. One such error allowed Ameobi in for his early chance and his lack of authority always made the long ball route look like a wise one for Newcastle to take. 6
Flamini: Not his best game for Arsenal but he still got through a lot of work, kept things simple and had a hand in setting up Vieira for the goal. 6.5
Vieira: Named man of the match by SKY and praised in a couple of papers, but I’m going to be honest and say that up until he scored I thought he was pretty useless, being caught in possession too often. That said in the second half he got through a fair bit of work as we ground out victory. 6.5
Fred: Beavered away, had some good moments and kept on trying. Was going to commend him for his work on a couple of occasions in particular but can’t now remember what they were. 7
Pires: Even by his standards, his tackling was poor today. Truth be told, I can’t fathom how he’s allowed to defend with his body constantly side on to the play. As a left winger he has defensive responsibilities and simply has to make a better fist of it. On the attacking front he was probably our most creative player, moving the ball smartly and at pace. 6
Van Persie: Still very, very raw. Unlucky not to score in the opening minutes and had a couple more decent efforts but all too frequently ran into trouble and lost the ball on what was admittedly an awful surface completely unsuited to his quick twists and turns. Corners weren’t bad. Needs time. 6.5
Henry: His touch was not quite at its magical best, but again this was probably due to the state of the pitch. Had a couple of good runs that resulted in decent shots on Shay Given’s goal. 6.5
Subs:
Clichy (for Van Persie 80 mins approx): Seemed as happy as anyone in the post match huddle but for the second game in succession he seemed a little out of sorts when called upon. 6
v Fulham (2-0)
Almunia: Looks better by the game and made a crucial save when he rushed out at speed to palm away a Fulham chance at 1-0. Made no notable mistakes. 7
Clichy: Had a good first half – getting forward well as usual and strong on the defensive stuff. Then in the second half he seemed to lose his confidence went, either as a result of or because of Fulham consistently probing down our left. Like any small full-back, aerial strength is a weakness.6
Lauren: Average as usual. Looked solid against a Fulham attack lacking any real penetration. 6.5
Sol: At times we were troubled in the air – but Sol is leading a defence that is no longer allowing attackers completely free headers at corners. Looks fit and healthy and, along with the rest of the defence, now has three clean sheets in four league games. 7
Freddie: A fine game on his return from migraine troubles. Played in Henry for the first and set-up Pires for the second. 7.5
Cesc: Gets caught on the ball occasionally but is still doing the vast majority of things with real fluency. Gives us real creativity in the middle. 7
Vieira: Showed a few soft shoe shuffles to bam boozle defenders in a way we haven’t really seen this season. Also got stuck into his tackles and generally seemed to be on the ball. 7
Pires: There was this surreal moment in the first half. He got the ball on the left wing and took a heavy touch. As if that wasn’t enough he then went flying into the tackle with the Fulham defender and actually won the ball. And it wasn’t the only time – I saw him snuff out a few Fulham attacks and even win a header.
Of course, the attacking side of his play was superb as well – he would have scored from a Dennis chest down but for a good save by Van De Saar. He linked up well, particularly with Henry, and inevitably took his goal with typical aplomb. Now has 19 in 2004, which is good. 7.5
Dennis: A fair few poor touches and bad decision making in general play. In mitigation, he dummied the ball well for the second goal and put Pires in with an excellent chest down. 6.5
Henry: Sure, the flicks didn’t always come off but at times he led Fulham a merry dance like he has almost every other defence this season. His goal was a trade mark finish and he was desperately unlucky when his side footer from the edge of the box crashed back off a post. 7
Subs:
Flamini (for Freddie 74ish): Some might say Arsene was making a point by not replacing Freddie with Pennant. Others will call it a sensible way of seeing out the game. 6.5
Van Persie (for Dennis 78ish): Provided his usual array of tricks but didn’t get a real chance to score. 6.5
v Portsmouth (1-0)
Almunia: Had a really good game. Caught when he needed to catch, punched when he wasn't sure and kicked immaculately. Also made a couple of really good saves. His run of impressive performances may only stretch to two but for now there seems no reason to bring back Jens. 8
Lauren: Did nothing too wrong but didn't offer as much in attack as he might have and at times appeared troubled by Pomey's pace. I think he's ok, but I'm becoming less and less convinced he should be our right back at all - more on that tomorrow. 6.5
Cole: A tough one to call. For a while looked rattled by Pompey's pace and agression down the left. Misplaced a couple of balls and though his tackles were mostly coming off they had a slightly concerning aggressiveness about them which made me think he was letting his own frustration get the better of him a little. But stuck to the task well and in the end kept a dangerous Pompey out. 7
Kolo: Got sucked in a couple of times, but on the whole he was part of a defence that looked pretty solid and much improved at set pieces. 7
Sol: Looked fitter than recently I thought - turning smoothly on a couple of occasions when faced with danger. He also made countless important headers at corners and won us the game with the kind of head down sheer determinism many fans would like to see a little more often. 8
Flamini: Ran hard, tackled hard and never gave up. Doesn't offer as much going forward as Fabregas, but doesn't claim to either. Unlucky with a header from Henry's free-kick. 7
Vieira: Industrious, but was also sloppy on occasion, getting caught in posession and losing the ball. Still doesn't seem 100% back to his best and didn't make the most of a couple of shooting opportunities. 6.5
Clichy: Fought well and offered Cole valuable protection down the left hand side. Showed initial attacking promise early on but faded as Pompey grew in stature. Nonetheless, was full of running at the end and nearly capitalised on tired Pompey legs. 7
Pires: His every touch was met with a chorus of boos as Bob faced Pompey for the first time since 'that dive' last season. There was even one moment when he slipped and the ball rolled out of play. Which probably made a certain journalist very, very warm inside. Otherwise, was neat enough but pretty ineffectual, seemingly afraid of injury in the rough house atmosphere. Had a couple of lovely runs late on and set Dennis up for a chance he really should have taken. 6.5
Henry: Worked hard and created much of our best work, but often found himself crowded out by the hoardes of Pompey defenders. Nearly scored after a flowing first half move and set up Dennis' other chance late on, which again he really should have taken. 7
Van Persie: Started really well, showing fantastic feet and trickery and generally leading Pompey a merry dance. He swivels at such speed he'll probably need a hip replacement aged 30. Faded somewhat after his impressive start, finding himself crowded out by the packed defence. Could pass a little earlier at times but nonetheless a decent first start in a difficult game and he staked a fair claim for inclusion against Fulham on Boxing Day. 6.5
Subs:
Bergkamp (for Van Persie 68ish): Should have scored late on following good set up play. His performance did little to silence the voices calling for this year to be his last. I'm undecided on that, but what I am sure about is that I won't miss the needless little kicks and elbows aimed at his opponents when frustration sets in. Simply put: the sly digs are ugly and Van Nistelrooy like and do nothing for us. 6
v Chelsea (2-2)
Almunia: Faultless for both their goals, he made good stops from Lampard and Gudjohnsen in the first half. And made a vital save when Robben wriggled his way through after the break. But nobody noticed it. Caught when a catch was a good idea, punched when a punch was wiser and set us on the attack with some good throws. 7.5
Lauren: Didn't see much of him, but when you're up against Duff and Robben, this can only be to a defender's credit. Thought he did really well to keep them in check, and the one time Robben did really threaten in the second half, the danger came down the other side. 7.5
Cole: The one player who I thought struggled today. As has been the case of late, he lacked confidence in his touch and stuggled defensively. Perhaps should have come out to Robben before the winger got into the box for his 2nd half chance, and was easily beaten in the air by Drogba for Cheslea's 2nd equaliser. 6
Kolo: Looked solid overall and helped limit Chelsea to only a few chances asides from set pieces. 7
Sol: A mixed bag. Made some really important defensive headers and looked in command at times at the back. But was a little caught out for their opening goal and sometimes seemed a little gung ho in his marking. Made important late tackle on Drogba.7
Reyes: Was quiet, but this was a tough game. Nodded down to Henry for the opener, worked hard and went on a few mazy runs without much success. Still, I thought he gave them something to worry about.6.5
Fabregas: Another excellent performance. He and Flamini were overwhelmed initially when up against Tiago, Lampard and Makalele but never gave up and fought their way back into the game admirably. Nice goal to set up Henry for the opener, he was instrumental in setting up the Frenchman's near winner and also set up RVP for his chance. Uses the ball so intelligently and showed that despite his size, he's not afraid to get stuck in. Was up against the very best in the business today and succeeded in limiting Lampard to a largely peripheral role.8
Flamini: £1 million? First league start? A snip if you ask me. He run's tirelessly, he harries, he puts his foot in and he uses the ball simply when he wins it. A real water carrier but absolutely essential today and worked tirelessly. Well done Sir. 8
Pires: We wanted a big performance and boy did we get one. Seemed almost impossible to shake off the ball, tackled back, linked up well with Lauren, Flamini, Cesc and Henry and drove the team forward in his own idiosyncratic waddle. When in his pomp, he is still a wonderful, wonderful footballer to watch. Set up Henry for the near winner, realised his responsibility as the senior partner in midfield, and shouldered the responsibility admirably.7.5
Dennis: Didn't get involved in too much of note, but I can't help feeling he just gives us a cetain sophistication and shape when he's in the side. Gordon Strachan pointed out on Match of the Day how hard he'd worked to stop Makalele getting the ball and in hindsight I think it probably a fair call.6.5
Henry: Forget the late miss - it can happen to anyone. Otherwise he was outstanding, scoring a brilliant first (which included winning a high ball!), netting an impudent second and generally running the show. Scared Chelsea shitless every time he picked it up and was responsible for a hell of a lot of good work. Also destroyed the concept he doesn't turn it on in big games. That's 15 in 17 league games now by the way.9
Subs:
Clichy (for Reyes 82): Ran around like mad for 10 minutes and forced mistakes out of tired legs. Really good footballer and good enough to start for probably every Premiership side and perhaps should be more often for us. 7.5
RVP: Is maturing very nicely indeed. Nearly netted a silky winner when he latched onto Cesc's pass and gave the Chelsea players a lot to think about. Would be really interesting to see him start. 7
v Rosenberg (5-1)
Almunia: Made a really, really good low save early on and kicked largely well. But looked dodgy more than once on crosses and for the second time in a week cost us a goal, which is a real worry. Eventually realised there's nothing wrong with giving a ball a good double handed punch. 6
Hoyte: Was up against a poor opposition but defended diligently and rarely looked rushed. Used the ball well, linked up well with his team mates and should be well pleased with his first European start. 7
Cole: Looked solid, with a couple of important defensive headers, but still not yet back to his marauding best I sense. Shouldn't have let the ball drop over his head for Harald Brattbakk to fire at Alumnia after 17 minutes. Withdrawn with quarter of an hour left. 6.5
Sol: Ditto for above, though did once later on look somewhat sluggish again on the turn. Perhaps I'm just paranoid about the impending arrival of Duff and Robben at Highbury.6.5
Kolo: A very easy night for the big man and he even found time for a classic Kolo dance into the opposition penalty area towards the end. 7
Flamini: Very, very good full debut. Set up the second goal, ran tirelessly, got tackles in and seemed to work well with Cesc in midfield. Looks comfortable tracking back and going forward and also seems to have a strange affinity for joining in attacks right around the right edge of the penalty area and particularly when we attack the North Bank. A young, thinking man's Gilles Grimandi, he ain't at all bad for a fifth choice midfielder. 7.5
Cesc: Absolute star. Has already played 20 games this season (twice as many as Edu, Gilberto and Vieira), yet still had the strength to turn in one of his best performances for the club. Fantastically alert, his use of the ball was excellent. He also scored a very impressive, very difficult goal and was involved in the build up for the fifth. Not just our most frequent performer in midfield this season, but also our best. 8
Jose: Took his goal really well and gave us a flying start. Had another deflected shot well saved and looked much more like the sun kid of the beginning of the season. Had a delightful late chip that bamboozled three very stupid looking Rosenberg players before landing on the roof of the net. 7
Pires: Looked much, much better and was even spotted making a tackle late in the second half. Kept going and linked up well late on with Jose and RVP before being withdrawn for Quincy with two minutes left. His penalty was so brilliantly placed it went into the side netting. Again I marvel at his ability to put a football exactly where he wants it to go. 7
Bergkamp: A nice return for the Ice Man who got involved well in the game, set up the opener and had a couple of openings himself. Might have done better when in front of goal, but eased himself back into the side well. 7
Henry: I actually thought that poor as the defending was for his goal, it was still a pretty decent finish. Worked hard all night, linked up well with the kids around him and seemed to be feeling particularly tolerant. 7
Subs:
Clichy (for Dennis 72ish): Spent a few mins in midfield before dropping back to left back when RVP replaced Ashley. As ever looked sound in the defending and assured going forward.
7
RVP (for Cole 75): Resuscitated the game with some silky skills, wayward finishing and then eventually a very well taken goal. Rawer than an uncooked vegetable, but with massive potential. 7.5
Quincy (for Bob 88): Should have had longer. Don't think he got a touch.
v Birmingham (3-0)
Alumnia: Looks like Lehman, kicks slightly better than Lehman, fumbles the odd ball like Lehman and jumps a couple of inches less high in the air than Lehman. Did ok, but would have been ill advised to let Morrison’s second half effort creep under him and over the line.6.5
Lauren: Seemed really quiet yesterday. Means he was doing his defensive job well which at the moment is the priority. Better? Seeing as we kept a clean sheet, probably a tad. 6.5
Cole: It's not been picked up much by the press, but I’ve thought Ash to be one of the players whose form has most obviously dipped in the recent spell. He’s still looked a top left back, but the subtlety of touch that allowed him and Bob to link so well still seems to be absent. Better? Not noticeably, but again should take credit for a clean sheet. 7
Sol: I’m of the opinion he’s still carrying a little bit of weight. Played well enough, but on a couple of occasions he looked sluggish and immobile on the turn, which is obviously a concern with Duff and Robben coming to town next week. Better? Probably not. 6.5
Kolo: Probably fair to say he’s not been our worst performer in the recent period, but I think on occasion he has allowed our recent jitters to affect his decision making a little. Kept Heskey quiet, but also seemed to time his jumps wrongly on a couple of occasions. Better? Ditto above. 7
Vieira: Did some good stuff but on other occasions his decision making and concentration again seemed lacking a little. He’s a hard one to judge at the moment. Better? Probably a bit.7
Cesc: I’m glad to see he escaped censure for his recent performances because I think a lot of the recent mutterings about how he’s no Gilberto have been unfair. Admittedly, the Brazilian’s best work is done off the ball, SKY’s stats show how we tend to win with him in the side, but I still think the young Spaniard is doing pretty well. He’s a young boy whose probably played too many games in a struggling team in a big league. But he’s still there, still getting stuck in and still doing his stuff. Tired in the latter stages yesterday and was replaced by Flamini, which was a wise, common sense, decision. Better? No, but only because he was doing well in the first place. 7
Freddie: Scavenged, burrowed, furrowed, ducked and dived. Fred’s doing them all at the moment and its working as the perfect complement to the continued attempts at perfection that come from the rest of the team. Is also being very productive. Should have had a penalty yesterday, set up the third goal and generally ran the show. Better? No, but only because he’s been great. 7.5
Pires: Mark my words. One of these days the opposition are going to get a free kick on the edge of our area. Their player will hit it, the ball will fly off Robert Pires and zip past Lehman. And we’ll all put it down as a fluke, like we did for Graveson’s effort that flew off Pennant in the Carling Cup game against Everton. Except it won’t be a fluke because Pires, like Pennant, will have jumped with his back to the ball, meaning that when it hits him he’ll have no way of giving it any direction.
My point is that Pires simply has to go into tackles. Maybe he’s worried about getting hurt, but he’s ducking out of the most basic challenges and its meaning we’re losing the battle in midfield at places like Old Trafford and Anfield.
Obviously, as I was making a note of this, Bob went and scored a classic Bob goal. Basically a really, really good one. He is a fantastic playa, probably the purest footballer we have in our team and quite possibly the best finisher. Yesterday was his 50th goal for the club and almost without exception (Bolton at home this season) they’ve been aesthetically perfect and a joy to watch.
But he must pull his weight for the team, which funnily enough I’ve seen him do really well on a number of occasions. Better? A little bit later on in the second half. 6.5
Reyes: You have to feel for him - seemingly everything he tries seems to go askew these days. Inches away from a Henry cross in the first half, he got into the game a bit more going towards half time, but then tired before being withdrawn. As I said above, he could do with a 25 minute run against tired defences to get his confidence back. Better? Not really, but not for want of effort. 6.5
Henry: Whether it be through injury or lack of confidence, he spent much of the game getting into decent positions but then making the wrong decision. Then ten minutes from time he took off past Melchiot, through the Birmingham defence and then a cool low finish hit whilst he was running at incredible speed. Six minutes later, he bought a ticket for Freddie Ljungberg’s cross and got lucky.
May not be at his best. But the level of criticism he of all people has taken is ridiculous. Has scored 13 league goals this season (four more than anyone else and 9 more than Ruud), scoring in 11 of the 16 games. And it’s not even like he’s bound to get the goals because nobody else does. He hasn’t even scored a third of our goals, and with the exception of Old Trafford (when nobody scored) and Selhurst Park, at least one other Arsenal player has scored in all of our other games.
Better? Yes. Despite earlier failures, his determination to keep going for the all important second goal was admirable. 7.5
Subs:
Clichy (for Jose): I love this guy. He’s like Wenger’s little foot soldier and seems capable of doing everything. Slotted in expertly in left midfield. He covers, chases back, tackles, retains the ball, gets forward, dribbles and causes havoc in the opposition defence. He may be more defensive than Reyes, but sometimes being slightly more defensive can give you the shape to attack more. May not be suited to central midfield, but should be considered a serious option for a place in left midfield on tough away games. 7.5
Flamini: Seems to do everything neatly enough without being spectacular. Will be interesting to see how he works with Cesc over the next two games.7
v Man United (0-1)
Alumnia: Crap on their goal, barely put a foot wrong otherwise. Plays and looks like a slightly smaller Jens, but can kick. 6
Hoyte: OK and defended well on occasion, but I’d still like to see him get forward more. That said, I think he’s a player who would look much better surrounded by seasoned pros. 6.5
Clichy: Really, really good as usual. Slipped on their excuse of a pitch for the early goal, but didn’t let it affect him and worked tirelessly defending and attacking all game. 7.5
Senderos: The lumbering giant of Everton had been replaced by a very, very accomplished looking centre half. One dodgy back header that fell short but otherwise cut out everything that was asked of him and looked a real first team option. 8
Djorou: Took eye off ball and then slipped for the goal which wasn’t good. Never quite looked the same player as against Everton, but worked his way back into the game. 6.5
Flamini: Looks like we can breathe a little more easily in the midfield department after watching a very assured display. Would like to see him trialled as a sub for Freddie in games where we’ve got a dodgy one goal lead. 7
Larsson: Some like him but I’m not so sure. What he did was decent enough but I thought he struggled to have an effect on the game. 6.5
Quincy: Maybe it was the pitch, maybe it was United doubling up on him. Either way the hero of the last round never really got into last night’s affair. 6
Pennant: Worked hard, tried to take the initiative and overall did quite well. Still not sure if he’ll quite make it at Highbury though. 7
Lupoli: Is a striker and when strikers get no service they don’t look much kop. 6.5
Van Persie: Battled hard all night and willingly came deep to win possession. But probably came a bit too deep and battled a bit too hard. Yes, he could have been sent off for the incident with Richardson. Reminds me a bit of a young Freddie, not in playing style but in the way that the potential is clearly there but the skills are still very, very raw. 6.5
Subs:
Smith (for Lupoli): Did OK but still looks wary of going in for challenges and taking men on following his long term injury.
Cregg: Alright
Karbassiyoon: Alright
I’m now on my third school of thought about what happened and more confused than I was to start with. At first I simply wondered how they could be so stupid at such a crucial point in such a crucial match. Did they realise how agonising it was for the fans? Then I wondered whether these two great artists who have brought us both silverware and exquisite football had endured one of those once in a career cock-ups, the like of which every great band have had with that one appalling single and every great director has had with one shocking film. Should we simply forgive and forget and laugh it off as one bizarre and fortunately uncostly cock-up?
But now I wonder: was it symptomatic of a greater malaise? Could it be that whilst we as fans still yearn desperately to win the European Cup and to catch Chelsea, Pires and Henry see the first as impossible and the second as highly improbable and in any case offering only a reward that would emulate, rather than surpass previous achievements? Do they still have the same drive to succeed for Arsenal? Would Frank Lampard even consider doing anything other than burying the ball from the spot, irrespective of the score? And if the three points were as vital for them as they were for us, how could they contemplate even trying that penalty?
I realise the above paragraph could easily be interpreted as me saying they don’t care. I am definitely not saying that. For a start I am saying the above insinuations are true and in any case, if there has been any loss of drive, I would suggest it has been almost entirely subconscious and in no way deliberate. But whichever way you look at it, I think the above are fair questions that should be asked if we are to understand why such a monumental fuck-up occurred.
And just sticking with penalties for a moment, I’m delighted to see that Thierry Henry says he will be taking them all from now on. It had become absolutely farcical. Not only did we have our top marksman refusing to take penalties he had won for absolutely no obvious reason whatsoever. We also had Dennis refusing to take them following his miss against United over six years ago! Fear of flying is one thing, but a phobia of penalties is another and you get the feeling that in any other walk of life Dennis would have been told to pull himself together and just do it. And to think that yesterday it had got to the stage where we were passing them to each other. Incredible.
Which is also what can be said for getting two penalties off Mike Riley. I haven’t seen any replays of the second one, while the first one could have gone either way. But I will just say that analysing these things in super slow motion is pointless because football is not played in super slow motion. Slowing the play down will always make it look like the attacker has deliberately let himself be fouled. It distorts reality.
At last, the game. Firstly, City were very well organised and are a genuinely decent side. So a win is good. But we’re struggling. A fair part of the problem can be summarised in six words: Flamini, Gilberto, Cesc, Lampard, Essien, Makalele. Our players are good, but we lack a monster in there like Chelsea have and it tells. Eight other words also explain a lot: Van Persie, Senderos, Quincy, Eboue, Robben, Crespo, Gudjohnsen, Ferreira. Arsene didn’t make a single sub. Mourinho introduced first Gudjohnsen, then Robben and then Crespo, all about ten minutes apart. Of course, they didn’t win. But the contrast could not have been bigger.
Arsene is not an idiot: his public buoyancy and confidence in the strength of the squad is surely just a charade that he is obliged to show in an effort to maintain moral. But at heart it must be obvious to him just how blatantly we need to splash the cash.
I’ll finish by saying that Pires and Henry were right to apologise. And that Spurs away is the perfect time to make-up for things by putting in a committed, impassioned performance. And it’s vital they do, because if we’re as slack at White Hart Lane this time as we have been recently, then this time we will lose. And nobody wants that.
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20/10/05
Why Henry's goal at Upton Park was his greatest ever
In the world of footballing top tens, there surely can’t be a more enjoyable experience than picking Thierry Henry’s best goals. I can’t honestly claim to have seen enough of Pele and Maradona to properly judge them. But my suspicion is that if a montage of Thierry Henry goals were shown next to montages of the Brazilian and Argentinian’s best strikes, Henry would not look out of place.
So, at 10…
Chelsea (h) 12/04. At kick-off people said their defence was the immovable object and Thierry Henry didn’t score in big games. Thirty seconds later he had pinged in an unstoppable shot from the edge of the box, leaving Cech rooted to the spot.
at 9…
Bayern Munich (h) 03/05. A strange choice for some perhaps, but for me another brilliant goal against an immovable object. Bayern may have been a defensive shambles in the next round at Chelsea but against us they were tighter than something incredibly tight. After 70 odd minutes, Henry controlled a long ball on the left from Cole, brought it down and hit it instantly across Oliver Khan with complete precision. It was a perfectly executed goal. And it had to be.
At 8…
Manchester City (h) 01/04. This one is also representing the swerver against United later that season. Against City, I was in the North Bank and saw just how much his shot seemed to swerve and yet keep completely straight like an arrow. David James didn’t have a prayer.
At 7…
Sparta Prague (a) 10/05. A very late entrant but very deserving of it’s place. On for six minutes, he controlled the ball on the outside of his foot, swung his whole body through 360 degrees and then fired in a bending shot that beat the goalkeeper in the only part of the net it could have. Almost arrogantly brilliant.
At 6…
Inter Milan (a) 11/03. Broke out from defence, looked to be going nowhere and then made Javier Zanetti look amateurish before slamming home with the left foot. A brilliant goal and the crucial third in a 5-1 win.
At 5…
Spurs (h) 11/02. Very, very special run. He took them all on, cut inside and finished brilliantly. Then he celebrated in serious style in front of the west stand. Magnificent.
At 4…
Charlton (h) 10/04. So good it completely bamboozled the cameraman. I watched this game in a pub in London with one of those dodgy satellites. The commentary was in a foreign language, music was playing in the bar and a lot of people were only half watching. The camera was focused in on Henry as he held the ball with his back to goal about six yards out. Then he backheeled the ball and suddenly wheeled away in delight. The pub was genuinely stunned. Those of us who realised what must have happened looked on in disbelief. When they showed a replay from another angle the reaction from the rest of the pub was one of sheer incredulity. And the more they showed it the more disbelieving the reactions. It didn’t really matter what happened in the rest of the game.
At 3…
Liverpool (h) 04/04. No doubt you’ve heard people say how important this goal was in us winning the title. It was. I was at Highbury that day and 2-1 down at half time there was some serious cigarette smoking going on in the north bank. Within a minute we had equalised thanks to Freddie Ljungberg. But after equalising once and then going behind again, a fair few people feared things were turning against us and we would do it again.
Then Henry picked the ball up on the left. He jinked in, took on a couple of defenders and simply by his presence created sheer panic in the Liverpool defence. So much so that Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher knocked in to each other and fell to the ground comically. Suddenly Henry was through and he finished coolly. The north bank erupted. People who had not lost it since Ray Parlour scored against Valencia found themselves jumping out of their seats. A massive, massive goal and sheer brilliance bore in part out of the complete panic his presence can induce.
At 2…
Manchester United (h) 10/00. Unreal goal. Fed by Grimandi miles out, he chipped it up, spun Gary Neville and in one fired in a volley that dipped and swerved over Barthez into the far corner. Watching at home, all I saw was the ball leave his foot. I thought it was going miles over. Then the Clock End went mad. I had lost the ball in the air. Eventually, I was persuaded it had gone in but was convinced it could only have had it taken the most massive of deflections. Then I saw the replay. One of the goals of goals.
At 1…
West Ham (a) 08/02. You may think this a weird choice. I say the beauty of it has never fully been recognised. Now, don’t get me wrong: were this goal being judged purely on Henry controlling the ball on his knee and hitting an absolute bullet past David James from 30 yards, it would not be anywhere near number one, however great a finish it was. It is the first touch that does it and it is a touch which in my opinion defies the physics of football.
He receives the ball on the right edge of the penalty area from a Vieira pass. He has his back to goal. It is played firmly in to his left foot. Then he takes the crucial touch, which I will come back to in a minute. When he next touches it he has spun 180 degrees so that he is now facing diagonally to goal. His defender has been left bamboozled. The ball lands on what is now Henry’s right knee. Think about what he did with that touch: he took a ball that was coming into his feet and with one touch he looped it up in to the air with his foot. When it fell it was still, incredibly, travelling in the original direction. But he didn’t just lob it into the air, which would have been hard enough.
Instead, he met the ball purposefully with the right hand side of his left boot and somehow spun (not hooked as would have been the case had he used the left hand side of the boot) the ball up in to the air up and over his defender’s head. Had Brazil done it in 1970 I genuinely believe it would be replayed continuously now. Do whatever you can to get a copy of the video and watch that touch because 250 words of mine have failed to do it justice.
And it is for that reason that West Ham away was Thierry Henry’s best Arsenal goal and potentially the greatest I have ever seen.
...
19/10/05
Sparta 0 Arsenal 2: Match report, playa ratings and Henry worshipping
The formalities first, then the Henry stuff: Cygan replaced Senderos who had replaced Campbell and Cygan continued in place of the injured Cole. Gilberto returned in midfield in place of Cesc who replaced the injured Ljungberg. The returning Van Persie replaced Bergkamp (something to do with a fear of flying).
We started well, with Cesc having a shot and some promising attacks. Then Reyes went off injured and Arsene went for the brave option of risking Thierry Henry for 70 minutes. Within two minutes he had chested the ball down on the edge of the box and fired what looked like a beaut of a volley that was deflected wide. Then he brought down a through ball from Kolo, spun on the edge of the box and hit the most belle of bending shots with the outside of his right foot. Great goal.
We didn’t do much else for the rest of the half and started the second somewhat sluggishly. Then on 65 we started playing again and within five minutes Pires? had played Henry in with a beautiful ball. He controlled it and still had a fair bit to do to knock it home. 2-0 it finished. A decent enough performance and a great result. Playa ratings to the right.
The goals take Theirry Henry past Ian Wright’s all time Arsenal goal scoring record. We have been fantastically privileged to see him rack up 186 not out and even luckier that so many have been done in such incredible style.
As I walked to work yesterday morning (Tuesday), I went with a bounce in my step. Sometimes you don’t realise what you have til it’s gone and I for one could not wait to see his magnificence return to the pitch.
Of course, there will be those Arsenal fans who will bemoan his unwillingness to commit to the club in his post match interview. That kind of reaction is absolute bollocks in my view. It is quite obvious he is not going to come out and commit to the club just like that because the fact is he is considering leaving. He is 28, has achieved a massive amount, probably fears somewhat about the destination we are headed towards and feels he may want to try and conquer Spain before he retires. People ask for him to be honest. He is. By saying what he is saying he is making it perfectly clear things are up in the air.
Do people want him to say he wants to go? What good would that do? The fact is that when he says he is focused on his football at the moment, that is the truth and that is what he showed us tonight. What is wrong with him kissing the badge if he puts in great performances? Kissing the badge is a sign that your heart is in to what you are doing. And who could argue that his heart wasn’t in tonight’s performance?
Of course we don’t want him to leave on a Bosman. But if he leaves, he leaves. We have been absurdly lucky to have not only one of the best, but one of the most consistent players in the world between the ages of 22 and 28 in his career. If he wants to move then so be it. I would wish him all the best.
Of course, I desperately want him to sign a new contract. But let us be grown up about this. He is doing nothing wrong. The best we can do is get behind him (the fans were great tonight), get behind the team at Highbury (we can do a lot better) and hope Arsene can bring in the players and the team achieve the success that will allow Thierry Henry to stay.
I have no inside knowledge on the issue of his contract, but my hunch would be that things are not a lot more complicated than Thierry fearing (quite justifiably) that the standard of the squad is slipping and that we look less likely to achieve the success (particularly in Europe) that he so craves.
We shall see what happens, but in the meantime let’s celebrate his achievement and leave the worrying for another time. I have written enough now, so won’t reveal my favourite Henry goal now, but you can reveal yours below.
ps: he seemed pretty happy to me when he broke the record.
...
16/10/05
West Brom 2 Arsenal 1: Report + playa ratings. Grim.
Arsene Wenger has never suffered the indignity of losing to a lower division team as Arsenal manager, but it is hard to believe that the disappointment could be any greater than that experienced after today’s loss at West Brom.
In 45 minutes, our emotions went from genuine hope that things could be turning our way (we were winning and Chelsea were losing) to the sheer grimness of seeing us somehow lose and them come back to win 5-1.
In short, we took an early lead when Senderos hooked home a deep Reyes corner. We were completely dominant, they were crap. We sat back. They equalised after a feeble Pires attempt to block a cross, a poor header from Senderos and terrible marking of Kanu. Of all people, the man renowned for taking 10 touches when two will do, had time to control the ball, compose himself and then fire off an (impressive) shot past the helpless Lehman. It was a shocker of a goal.
In the 2nd half we eventually rallied around the hour mark and though we had a couple of chances (Toure, Reyes, Bergkamp) things were in no way urgent enough. We probably should have had a penalty for a foul on Reyes, but he wasn’t in a scoring position so I’m not going to complain. It would, however, be nice to see referees decide whether a foul should be given not based on where the incident happens on the pitch but on the incident itself. And if this means the law needs to be reformed so that minor fouls in non-threatening positions in the area do not warrant a spot-kick then so be it. We need consistency.
Anyway, they then scored a cracker out of absolutely nothing. We huffed but got nowhere. Immensely disappointing and all the more so when you are watching the game in the corner of a bar while in other corners Chelsea, United, Liverpool and Spurs fans are all celebrating goals going in. The upshot of all this is that the table does not look good. In fact I don’t even want to see it. All I know is we’re 14 points behind Chelsea having dropped 11 to their none.
But the main discussion must be about the performance. We started with a very youthful team containing Senderos, Clichy, Reyes, Flamini, Cesc and for much of the game Eboue too after Fred went off. We were without Cole, Campbell, Gilberto, Van Persie, Henry, Hleb and then Ljungberg. That would be a big miss to any squad, all the more so to ours.
So perhaps that excuses things. Or perhaps it doesn’t. The Everton and Man City sides that a far less experienced Arsenal dispatched from last season’s League Cup were miles better than the carthorses West Brom served up today. We could and should have easily won this game.
The problem is that the fact we are not at our most fluent at the moment should mean every playa is giving 120% so that effort alone can get us through. But that is not the case. We were leaden footed and lethargic today. Really, I would say that excluding the hard to appraise Lehman, only Reyes and perhaps Senderos and Toure did themselves justice out there today. Not everything may be coming off for Reyes, but he keeps plugging away and chasing everything.
The same is not true for the others. Pires is the worst culprit. His effort at times is frankly lamentable. I can just about excuse him pulling out of tackles because he is worried about his knee but he has no excuse for not doing everything humanly possible to block crosses.
We are clearly lacking really good cover right through the spine of the team (a defender, midfielder and striker are all needed). But we also have to roll our sleeves up and not commit the immortal sin of taking our foot off the pedal just because our opponents are crap.
It is going to take a miraculous recovery for us to challenge for the league now. We need our genuinely rotten luck with injuries to turn, new playas and better performances.
One final point about today’s referee and the one minute 55 seconds of injury time he added on. Now don’t get me wrong, I loathe it when managers squabble over every few seconds. My theory is normally if you don’t score in 90 then you probably won’t score in 94. But today was just some kind of complete joke. We had an injury a minute from time that lasted about one minute 40 seconds, we had four second half subs, three of which were incredibly slow West Brom ones, we had one of the longest and deliberately stalling goal celebrations ever and we had them wasting time every time they got a free-kick or goal kick, even when it was 1-1.
By adding on just two minutes the referee has completely indulged that negativity (which I accept Arsenal have been guilty of in the past). It was a complete joke.
...
09/10/05
Football returns next week
Do you get very bored of England games after 60 minutes? Do you have to tell yourself to try to be happy when England score? And does part of you secretly will the opposition to knock one past ‘us’?
Answer: Yes, yes and yes.
My conclusion is that Sven would get double the amount of stick if the thought of writing about England wasn’t so boring. In fact, I’ve had enough. I’m so bored I can’t be stuffed to write any more about England.
But I will say a few words about my good friends at FIFA. Presumably David Beckham’s red card will stand, despite his 2nd booking being a blatant dive.
It will stand because under FIFA’s own half witted rules, appeals are only allowed in cases of mistaken identity. I don’t give a stuff about Beckham, but I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: this is the most inept rule I have ever seen.
England have been wrongly deprived of a playa for 30 minutes because of an opposition player’s connivance. And then to compound the problem, they will ban him for no other reason than that they have invented a stupid rule that says he must be banned.
For some reason, this rule pisses me off big time. It is the height of bullshit in a game overflowing with the stuff. The only bans being handed out should be for the half wits who invented this rule and are now pressuring the Premiership to take it up.
The only saving grace is that these things have a way of hitting people back in the face. How I will laugh if the brilliant Ronaldinho is sent-off in next year’s World Cup semi-final for handling on the line when the ball clearly hit his chest. Of course, my scorn will not be directed at the unfortunate Brazilian. Instead it will be at the FIFA bigwigs who will have seen their showpiece player miss their showpiece game because of their own arrogant, farcical rules.
Football returns next week.
...
021005
Arsenal 1 Birmingham 0 - half a report
Well, I only saw the second half (hence no playa ratings). From the sounds of it we created a fair bit in the first half and as well as missing a penalty we could have had a hatful.
The second half seemed a very flat affair. Maik Taylor made great saves early on from Pires and Ljungberg and then we seemed to lose any great degree of urgency. In the end, Van Persie’s not brilliantly hit shot deflected off a defender and beat the excellent Taylor. We held on, though not with any great style.
We looked lethargic in the latter stages. From what I saw Campbell, Toure and Cole looked good enough. Reyes is playing with brilliant enthusiasm and desire. The rest of them don’t look lazy by any means but if you compare us with Chelsea at the moment, is the same unswerving desire there? I’m not so sure.
It needs to be.
And the crowd can play their part too. Apologies if the SKY sound system did Highbury a disservice, but the ground sounded embarrassingly silent today. The players are human beings like the rest of us and they thrive on the support of the crowd like you and I would. So, if you’re lucky enough to be at Highbury, sing.
Chelsea won 4-1 this afternoon and looked good, albeit against what is a pretty poor Liverpool league side. The Kop were singing louder in the 89th minute than anything Highbury managed today.
On site news, I’ve gone back to the old design but with the new logo following a public outcry. Not sure about what should go in the space on the left though, as the Latest Updates column was pointless and time consuming to update.
Finally, a question for any readers who live in Dublin or anywhere else in the Republic of Ireland. I need to get internet access at my new flat for 3 months. Are there any broadband companies who don’t insist on you signing up for 12 months? And what is the best dial-up?
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|fhffg
Archives: July 2005, June 2005, May 2005, April 2005,March 2005, February 2005, January 2005, December 2004 and the embryonic goodplaya.
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Playa ratings:
v West Ham (2-3) - NEW
Lehman: An absolute idiot for stupidly getting involved with Harewood late on. Not only was it nasty, but he could have been sent-off and he also put us out of our stride. A minute later West Ham made it 3-1. He’s a very good goalkeeper but an arrogant, nasty character and an embarrassment when he behaves like that. 4
Gilbert: Looked to be doing fine until the Arsenal full-back curse struck. 6
Djorou: Individually did well, but understandably hasn’t been able to strike up any kind of partnership with Campbell yet. 6
Campbell: What can you say? Two massive errors that were punished to the max. Things just aren’t going his way at all. 4
Senderos: Obviously doesn’t offer the attacking prowess of Cole or Clichy but he looked solid and his distribution to Pires was fairly impressive. Did fine at centre-back in the second half but should have whacked it out instead of passing to Larsson for the mistake that led to the third goal. 5
Gilberto: He’s not great at the moment. Far too passive for my liking. 5
Diaby: Still raw, but I like him. And he is so like Vieira: even his mistakes remind me of Vieira’s shortcomings. Not sure why he was taken off. 7
Ljungberg: You have to laugh at the way he somehow managed to deflect Henry’s shot wide. Is trying really hard and not actually playing badly at all. But nothing is going his way. 7
Pires: I do feel we need players with greater bite than Pires at the moment. But in fairness, he was involved, scored one, set-up the other one for Henry and saw Hislop deny him with a great save. 6
Henry: Hard to judge. Seemed to have a decent enough game on TV but reports from the game were critical. 6
Van Persie: Unlucky. Offered a lot but nothing went his way. 7
Subs:
Flamini: Brought on as an emergency right-back but did pretty well all things considered. Say what you like about Flamini but he’s a fighter who unlike some of his team-mates will never be found lacking for effort. 7
Larsson: Yes, he made the cock-up for the third goal. But it was typical of our rough justice. Other than that he was excellent: committed in the tackle, full of running in attack and crucially he understands the value of hitting long-balls diagonally, as opposed to completely straight. Which is something some of his team-mates could do with taking note of. 7
Dennis: Not normally much of a substitute, but he found himself a good niche on the right of midfield and offered us extra creativity. Well hit volley to set up Pires’ goal. 6
v Sparta Prague (0-2)
Lehmann: Solid enough game. He’s doing well at the moment. 7
Clichy: Bit of a nightmare really, though to be fair their right winger was their best playa. 5
Cygan: Surprisingly assured. 7
Kolo: Looked fairly good most of the time. 7
Lauren: The odd moment of strangeness. 6.5
Flamini: Was hard to judge the midfielders tonight. Seemed to do the normal without being mega effective. 6.5
Gilberto: One of those Gilberto games where you don’t really know how he has played. 6.5
Fabregas: Got fairly involved and offered threat down the right. 7
Pires: Not his best game by any means but still one of his better ones this season. Magnificent ball for the second goal. 7
Van Persie: Seems to get carded in Europe for the most ridiculous things. Did alright without having much effect. 6.5
Reyes: Full of running til he got injured and wasn’t running at all. 6.5
Subs:
Henry (for Reyes 17ish): Emperor-like as he beat Wrighty’s record. Magnificent playa who, had he not scored, would have been accused of going missing in another big game. But because he did score, it won’t count as a big game. 8.5
Eboue (for Van Persie 70ish): Looking ok at the moment. 6.5
Quincy (for Cesc 85ish): Full of running. 6.5
v West Brom (2-1)
Lehmann: Blameless for goals. 6
Lauren: Not particularly composed. 5.5
Clichy: Has had far better games. 5.5
Senderos: Good goal, messy header for theirs. 6
Toure: Ok but ridiculously offside at one free kick. 5.5
Flamini: Ok but uninspiring. 5.5
Cesc: Decent. Kept trying. 6
Pires: Crap. 4.5
Ljungberg: Ok while he was on. 5.5
Reyes: Still running his heart out. 7
Bergkamp: A moany kind of day. 5.5
Subs:
Eboue (for Ljungberg 35ish): Not great. 5.5
Quincy (for Flamini 80ish): Bizarrely decided what Arsenal lack is left-wingers. 5.5
v Everton (2-0)
Jens: Very little to do. Did it all right. 7
Lauren: Occasionally seemed to imagine he had more pace than he does, which was quite amusing as he tried to take people on. Solid as usual. 7
Cole: As someone who gave him a good bashing over the summer it would suit by agenda to say he is playing poorly. But that would be a lie. Whatever the reasons for it, he has started the season well and in attack in particular is offering a lot. 7.5
Toure: Nothing to do at the back and seemed to enjoy getting in on this whole new set-piece malarkey. 7
Campbell: Two excellent headers, especially the second one which was a real hammer. Not at full speed yet but looked good, organised the defence well, shouted at people and seemed to realise he was our most senior player on the pitch. 8
Pires: Hadn’t done all that much in the brief period he was on the pitch before Gary Neville’s shit younger brother’s tackle forced him off. 6.5
Cesc: One friend said to me he is looking lightweight and giving the ball away too much. Maybe. But I think he does a lot of good stuff and his presence in the opponent’s penalty box is valuable. 7
Gilberto: Solid game, got through a fair amount and gave us a couple of those rare Gilberto moments where for a few seconds he stops looking like he is suspended in perpetual slow motion and instead provides us with raw Brazilian skill. 7
Ljungberg: Started slowly but furrowed hard as ever. Seemed to make a real determination to either stick wide out on the wing or else very deliberately come inside as opposed to just being narrow. I think it worked. Unlucky to hit bar in second half. 7
Van Persie: Hit the post with a nice effort (right footed!) and had some decent moments but was otherwise a bit subdued. Has been a fairly rough few weeks and is probably still feeling his way back in to things. 6.5
Reyes: Loses the ball now and then but that is only because he constantly seems to have it. Boundless energy at the moment, great creativity and fantastic balls into the box. Really was amazing how much of the ball he had tonight. 8
Subs:
Hleb (for Pires first half some time): Played pretty well, looked pretty creative and linked up well with Cole. Playing better than Pires. 7
Dennis (for Van Persie 80ish): Did alright. Created a bit of stuff. Didn’t do anything of note. 6.5
Alex Song (for Reyes 87ish): Made a couple of sloppy passes but it was harsh and exaggerated for Alan Smith to say he hadn’t found a man. 6
v Thun (2-1)
Almunia: Probably not to blame on the goal and handling was ok even though he still catches very strangely.6
Lauren: Did the usual Lauren stuff. Fairly well. 6.5
Cole: Thought he was good today. Clean at the back and contributed well going forward. Perhaps he enjoyed having Pires back in front of him. 7
Toure: Seemed ok. Can’t remember too much else.6.5
Sol: Looking a little chunky but it must be good to have him back.6.5
Cesc: Not his most spectacular game but made a couple of decent runs forward and made one particularly delicious pass in the second half.6.5
Gilberto: Very well taken goal and was more involved tonight than normally. An experienced head 7.5
Pires: By no means at his best but infinitely better than the past few games. Got in an early curler that almost flew in and was generally far more involved. Even tried to tackle twice. Neither attempt worked.. 7
Ljungberg. Svavanged without achieving much.6.5
RVP: Had been easing himself back into first team action when the dick head referee struck. 6.5
Reyes: Excellent, his boundless enthusiasm drove the team on and he looked really dangerous at times and caused Thun more problems than anyone else. 8
Subs:
Dennis (for Cesc 70 odd): Is that his first goal as a sub? Took it well. 7
Hleb (for Reyes 80 odd): Didn’t really find his touch in the ten minutes he had.6
Quincy (for Ljungberg 80 odd): Offered a new threat.6.5
v Fulham (4-1)
Lehman: Looking very solid at the moment. You can tell it by the fact he is not making kicking mistakes at the moment. At tricky moments, his handling from corners was excellent.7
Lauren: Missed a penalty, but that was bound to happen one day and at least it didn’t matter. Otherwise, he played well and looked particularly committed (mostly in the right sense) in the tackle. 7
Cole: His best attacking display for a while and linked up promisingly with Reyes. 7.5
Cygan: I’ve made no secret of the fact that his presence in the team pleases me not. Defending was ok tonight, though a couple of times Fulham forwards worryingly escaped him when crosses were slung in. Took his goals very well. Could it be that unlike the rest of the side Cygan does not feel obligated to score the perfect goal and concentrates on just sticking it in the net?7.5
Kolo: Poor clearance for the Fulham goal but on the whole had a decent game. The defensive issues we have at the moment seem more a collective than individual problem. 7
Cesc: Gets a wee bit overrun occasionally but on the whole is playing really well and in particular offers a genuine attacking threat in the way that perhaps Vieira sometime failed to. 7
Gilberto: Did what Gilberto does. Still sometimes resembles one of those video graphic created dinosaurs in the way he moves. 7
Hleb: Good first half, creating a fair deal and generally looking like a cross between Pires and Ljungberg (in the best sense). 7
Reyes: A very good game in my opinion, full of running, full of trickery and very direct. In particular, he linked up very well with Cole and Henry, which was very pleasing. His ball for Henry’s first goal was majestic and pleasingly the two seemed on the same wavelength tonight. 8
Dennis: Besides his idiotic yellow card he had a great game and was at the heart of Fulham’s dissection. Kept going strong right to the end. 8
Henry: Took his two goals, which both came at crucial times, very well. Just one more to equal Wright’s record. 7.5
Subs:
Flamini (for Reyes 75 odd): Set up Henry for the killer third goal. 7
Clichy (for Hleb 85 odd): Ran around like mad, as Clichy does. 7
v Liverpool (3-1)
Lehman: Two really good saves – the first from Riise and the second from Gerard’s piledriver. Flapped at one cross but all it served to do was to remind us how much he has improved. 7.5
Lauren: Did very well, almost scoring from Pires’ cross in the first half and setting up the third goal with some nice play. Is doing well at the moment, perhaps spurred on by Wenger not mentioning right back when saying which areas he doesn’t need to strengthen over the summer! 7.5
Cole: A mixed game. Good going forward and times and obviously an excellent second half block from Garcia. But also occasionally sloppy, messing up things we know him well capable of doing. 6.5
Senderos: A big presence at the heart of the defence he had one of his sternest tests in an Arsenal shirt when Liverpool got at us in the second half. Did pretty well on the whole though, especially as protection from midfield was not always forthcoming. 7
Kolo: A good solid outing and the same goes for him as for Senderos. 7
Vieira: Did some stuff really well and was very influential in our first half attacking play. But I felt he allowed the midfield to be too easily swamped after the break and was not always applying the pressure to Liverpool that he might have done. 7
Gilberto: It goes without saying that evaluating a Gilberto performance is very, very difficult. That said, I felt that like Vieira he could have offered a bit more bite in midfield to help out the defence in the second half. 6.5
Pires: Really was at the heart of some of our best stuff in the first half. Crossed brilliantly for Lauren to almost score, shot just wide and then scored with a magnificent free-kick. Faded later on. 7.5
Cesc: Absolutely outstanding. He set the move in motion for Reyes’ offside goal, fired just wide from 20 yards, scored his own offside goal and then added a very neat third for us in stoppage time. In between this he ran the game, tackling, running with the ball, passing brilliantly and generally looking the best player on the park. Outstanding. 9
Reyes: Not perfect, but he notched up another well taken goal, scored an offside one and ran his heart out for the cause in the second half. 7.5
Van Persie: Not as involved as he has been but got involved and put over one excellent early cross for Robert Pires. Generally looking a much better player than previously. 7
Subs:
Edu (for Pires 70 odd): Came on and did ok. 6.5
Bergkamp (for Van Persie 70 odd): Set up Fabregas for the third with a fantastic flick but was otherwise pretty poor. When he did try and press Liverpool he gave away a few free-kicks and the rest of the time he just didn’t seem to chase them at a time when we really needed players to get stuck in. I know he is still capable of the odd piece of magic but we probably have enough to our attacking armoury that magic alone should not prompt a new contract. We have shown we are capable of winning without Dennis and should probably now look to the future. 6
Aliadiere (for Reyes 85): As ever he came on and got stuck in, chasing everything and hassling the Liverpool defenders. Has a really good attitude and probably deserves more than five minutes at some point. 6.5
v West Brom (2-0)
Lehman: The defence clearly trusts him again and he is reciprocating that with improved handling, kicking and decision making. 7
Lauren: Worked reasonably hard and got forward on a few occasions. 7
Cole: Looked a little lethargic at times but kept going and finished the game strongly, setting us on a number of attacks. 6.5
Senderos: A couple of passes went astray but took a no nonsence defence to defending. Far be it for me to argue with his current record of not conceding a goal for absolutely yonks. 7.5
Gilberto: Covered well at set pieces, but with Arsenal in 2nd gear he seemed only to happy to make sure Gilberto was in 2nd gear too. Not much drive. 6.5
Vieira: Committed silly fouls early on and was not finding his passes. Got better as the game went on and provided more drive. Symbolic of our night. 7
Pires: Did ok initially but like the rest of them lacked the necessary drive. Got better with the team. 7
Cesc: Probably not his best game. Came looking for the ball a lot and should be credited for it but looked a little fatigued when challenged. 6.5
Van Persie: Did ok initially but was not really receiving a lot of support from the midfield. Took his goal magnificently. 7
Reyes: Ran hard but once again looked incredibly left footed. But gave an excellent assist for the opening goal and kept on trying right til the end, providing useful relief for the defence. 7
Subs:
Dennis (for Van Persie 75ish): Did little except provide a measured set-up for Edu's clincher. 6.5
Edu (for Cesc 75ish): Got involved a bit and finished well to clinch it. 7
v Spurs (1-0)
Lehman: Is playing very well and his handling looks as assured as ever, his throws good and his kicking far better than earlier in the season. I think it no great secret that he needs to control his temper. 7
Lauren: Has looked solid in recent weeks and looked more lively going forward. Alan Curbishley put him in his team of the season on the basis that few wingers get much change out of him. And he is probably right. Really does need to watch stray elbows though, intentional or not. 7
Toure: Was given a little trouble by Defoe but it was less trouble than Adi Akenbai gave him in the FA Cup in January. And Defoe is clearly a far better player than the Stoke man. Will soon score a very, very memorable free-kick I sense. 7
Senderos: It is hard to argue with his defensive record since he came into the side. We have simply stopped conceding goals. That said, what are the odds that back when we were conceding at will, Robbie Keane would have buried that chance. Could have got first goal for club with header. 7
Cole: Linked up well as ever with Pires down our left hand side and seemed really up for the fight. Had the slightly awkward penalty shout against him at the end but otherwise did well. 7
Vieira: With the ball he was excellent on the whole, spreading play at pace and helping support those ahead of him. Looks much more comfortable with Gilberto next to him. Though that said they both looked half a step off the pace at times against a Spurs side full of running. 7
Gilberto: Did what Gilberto does well. Though probably not as much of a shield as against Chelsea. 7
Cesc: Tired a little in the second half but was his usual youthful magnificence until then. Spread the ball with ease, got stuck in, helped out the attack and set up our goal. Nice. 7.5
Pires: Not the force he was against Chelsea but is playing well at the moment, linking up well with Cole down the left and generally providing an experienced head in an otherwise youthful attack. 7
Van Persie: Set Reyes up for the first minute chance, fired a decent effort wide and generally played quite a mature game without hitting great heights. 7
Reyes: Did very well to come back after the first minute miss. Goal was excellent and attitude looked good. Seemed to find an extra gear for second half run that set up Dennis. 7.5
Subs:
Dennis (for Van Persie 70 odd): Curled one wide and generally looked quite good against a tiring Spurs defence. There was the odd occasion when I felt he let the player pass him to quickly but that was probably just my last minute nerves. 7
Edu (for Cesc 70 odd): Hit the post with a curling effort and slotted in very, very neatly on the left. Will be a great shame to lose him if he does eventually go. 7
Aliadiere (for Van Persie 87 odd): Only had a few minutes but looked really keen to impress. Had a couple of good touches, got stuck in and made tired Spurs legs panic, buying us valuable time. 7
v Chelsea (0-0)
Lehman: Has looked much better recently and besides the odd dodgy kick, looked very solid against Chelsea and made one excellent save early on from Drogba. His positioning seemed good on through balls. 7
Lauren: He really didn’t put a foot wrong and kept Damien Duff and probably had his best game for the club against a very, very tricky opponent. Was ferocious and fair in the tackle. 8
Cole: After a slightly tentative start he threw himself at everything Chelsea chucked at us. Whatever people’s feelings about his current situation, there can be no complaints about his performance. 7
Senderos: Excellent as usual. This guy likes clean sheets. 7
Toure: Really did well in what could have been a tricky night. Got weight on his clearances and never panicked. 7
Vieira: It really doesn’t take a genius to figure out how much he seems to be enjoying having Gilberto back in the side. Really led the side again with fine interventions and set us on the path to attack – such as when Pires hit the bar. 7.5
Gilberto: Suffered a couple of inevitable nosebleeds when he got into decent positions going forward but otherwise did a fine job of snaffling out what Chelsea threw at us and generally making the team a slick unit. Showed one or two fine turns as well. 7
Cesc: This kid really does defy logic. At a time when his brittle bones should be feeling the effects of a long, hard season he is looking stronger than ever. Magnificently composed on the ball, he worked furiously in defence, midfield and attack. 8
Pires: His early volley that hit the bar reminded me of when I stood in the Holte End last year for Villa v Arsenal and he hit an even better effort that was turned just over. Even the anti-French bigots around me were shut well and truly up.
There is a wonderful magnificence about watching Robert Pires on song. He caresses the ball delightfully and when it’s time to move it on he does it with the utmost precision. A joy to watch and unlucky not to score twice. 9
Reyes: The story of his last 6 months – no problem with effort but he just lacks the confidence to make things really happen. The annoying thing is that he’s making errors on things that a confident Reyes could do with his eyes shut. Let’s hope his effort is rewarded soon. 6
Bergkamp: Like Reyes he worked hard and did his bit to keep Chelsea at bay. But also like Reyes he found himself struggling up front. The curtain appears to be falling on his magnificent career. Hopefully an announcement will be made soon and both we and Dennis can enjoy his final games. 6
Subs:
Van Persie (for Dennis 80 odd): Struggled to get into the game but had a few decent chances and ran hard for the side.
Aliadiere (for Cesc 85 odd): Did alright but by the time he came on it didn’t look like either side were really going to score.
v Boro (1-0)
Lehman: Flapped at one cross in the first half and then came ridiculously far out of his goal before eventually winning the ball. Yes, he’s kept a fair few clean sheets recently and yes, it’s even true we could win the league again with him in goal, but no, we won’t win in Europe with Jens and no, he’s not the answer. 6
Lauren: His early challenge, whilst not worthy of a red card as suggested on Match of the Day, was sheer stupidity. He did alright and he’s plodding along but not really getting any better. 6
Cole: Attacked decently at times but wasn’t helped by a very, very ineffectual Robert Pires. 6.5
Senderos: Now looks like he should be partnering Sol Campbell when the two are fit. Authoritative, big and commanding, his presence has coincided with a string of clean sheets. Still has rough edges, but these are being shaved all the time. 7
Kolo: Did reasonably well and made a couple of important blocks, but I’m not convinced his future lies in the heart of the defence. Together, he and Lauren sometimes seem to bring out the worst in each other and we just don’t look solid, clean sheets or no clean sheets. Would like to see him at right back. 6.5
Gilberto: I looked out especially for incidences of him filling gaps and yes, I can confirm it happens and he does his job well. Still looks very nervous in attacking positions, but his presence is welcome. 6
Vieira: I thought he did reasonably well, though like the rest of the players he seemed to have trouble bringing any great coherency to our play. 6
Cesc: I plumped for Cesc on the right a while ago and I like seeing him there. He got well forward and was always involved. Looks tired, but it’s been a long old season and he’s still, only 17. 6.5
Pires: I thought him absolute rubbish up until he scored really. His inability to tackle has been documented many times before, but on Saturday he seemed to be playing the whole game at walking pace. But then who better is there at converting the one chance he gets to secure a 1-0 lead. 6
Reyes: Things still aren’t all coming off for him but I sense things are getting better and his work rate and willingness to track back really can’t be faulted. We know for a fact that the boy has the talent to succeed, so while he may not be showing what he’s really capable of right now, we should applaud his recent application. Had a couple of really mazy runs and set up Henry excellently for a shot he scuffed. 7
Henry: Had one of those games where he seemed to stand almost still on the edge of the box, conserving his energy and waiting to pounce. It didn’t really work, though he did have a glorious chip fly just wide and certainly scared the Boro fans every time he got the ball. He was also up against an obdurate Boro. 6.5
Subs:
Dennis (Reyes 46): Did alright without really changing the game at all. It seems the curtain may be falling on his illustrious career and reluctantly, I think it right. We know he can still play brilliantly in patches but the truth is that it’s becoming less often and it’s hampering us in European away games. We need someone to step forward and become Henry’s partner. Sometimes the bullet needs to be bitten. And now is that time. 6
v Palace (5-1)
Jens: It’s tempting to say that the early back pass cock-up could just as easily have happened to Petr Cech but in truth that would be a lie. He’s simply too cocky and over confident with his kicking – it’s why so many balls get sliced wildly and why we almost conceded a shambolic own goal tonight. Otherwise, he actually did quite well. 6.5
Lauren: Is definitely becoming a better player going forward but was as culpable as anyone for our defensive malaise. 6
Cygan: Didn’t have an awful game but on too many occasions simple long balls forward by Palace became much more serious than they needed to be. 6
Kolo: Got skinned more often than he would have liked and was caught out at times from crosses. But still, we only conceded one. 6.5
Clichy: Did well getting forward, causing a constant menace. Defending was largely competent but seemed to be infected by the general defensive tendency to give the ball away. 6.5
Vieira: Another tricky game to rate from the captain. At times he was sluggish and easily caught in possession. At others, he took a grip on the game and drove the team forward impressively. Got well forward for his goal. 7
Edu: Didn’t have the sudden impact he enjoyed at Villa last week but did well enough and certainly gave us a fair bit of solidity. Good ball to Reyes for the opener. 7
Pires: Seemed to be rewriting the dictionary definition of anonymous for the first 20 or so minutes. Then got more into the game without coming close to hitting top gear. Was unlucky to hit the post in the 2nd half after good work from Reyes. 7
Reyes: His best game in yonks. He looked fearless again, running constantly at the Palace defence and causing a lot of trouble. Good assist for the first, great finish for the second, an assist for the third and a fantastic pass to Dennis to set up the fifth. Great to see him back again. 8.5
Dennis: As ever, he oiled, moulded and sculpted our performance. He also took his goal very well, like he did against Newcastle and United too. And set up Henry for the fifth. 7.5
Henry: Really played very, very well and channelled any frustration about constant offside decisions in exactly the right way. Had seemingly boundless energy to chase back lost causes and put us back on the attack. 8.5
Subs:
Flamini (for Edu 60odd): Solid and composed as ever. 7
Van Persie (for Dennis 80odd): Linked up reasonably well as the game entered its final stages. 7
Fabregas (for Pires 80odd): Settled in comfortably on the right. 7
v Wolves (2-0)
Jens: Whilst a clean sheet is a clean sheet, he had very little to do and looked no more reassuring than previously with his kicking. To be fair, he was also played a high number of over hit back passes today and was not at fault for the one from Flamini that took a wicked bobble off the Highbury surface (which appeared unusually cut-up).6.5
Eboue: Got forward well, hit the bar with a deflected shot and could have had a penalty. Nice work. 8
Clichy: Decent game without being exceptional.7
Sol: Not a lot to do. 7
Cygan: Better than usual. 8
Paddy: Mediocre for much of it truth be told. Got better later on and scored the penalty but for too long his mind didn’t seem in the right place. Sure, Wolves made it difficult by crowding midfield but too often he seemed semi asleep at throw ins and the like. Still, he kept going. 6.5
Flamini: Didn’t show the deftness of touch of the Newcastle game but retained all his normal solidity. And great as Ray Parlour was, watching Boro at the moment suggests that we’ve got an as good, if not better, replacement. 7
Reyes: A couple of good runs, some moments of anonymity and denied a stonewall penalty. Still getting back to form but it definitely seems better than a few weeks ago. 6.5
Freddie: Usual energetic performance without any stand out moments, save his well taken goal. That’s ten for the season now and we’re still in January. Good work Sir. 7
Van Persie: Not his most inspiring game and clearly doesn’t yet have the positional ability of Dennis (who does?) but is improving. 6.5
Henry: Gallic. Went into one of his moods after Riley ruled out his cheeky first half effort. Strutted around for a while, went in for a couple of silly tackles and became frankly self indulgently petulant when a foul was given against him. It’s alright for us to loathe Riley endlessly but our top striker shouldn’t let him affect his game. And the fact is he did. But recovered his composure, was unlucky not to score and set up Freddie in superb fashion. 8
Subs:
Cesc (for Van Persie): Settled in comfortably on the right. 7
Pires (for Reyes): Nice work for the clinching goal. 7
Quincy (for Fred): No time to make an impression.
v Charlton (3-1)
Alumnia: No chance with the goal and didn’t do too much wrong besides one poor fumble from a cross. Still not convinced by his catching techniques. No difficult saves to make6.5
Hoyte: Made the odd error but did well to make sure his old youth team buddy Jerome Thomas had his quietest game in weeks. Managed to get forward a bit more in the second half.7.5
Cole: Still not looking at his best and on a couple of occasions was embarrassed by Rommedahl. But in fairness he wasn’t as sloppy as recently and did get forward well later on. 6.5
Sol: With the exception of one wildly sliced clearance in the first half that Almunia had to save he looked pretty solid and kept Charlton’s clear chances to a minimum. Let’s hope his ankle isn’t too bad. 7
Kolo: Given a bit of grief by Bartlett in the air but stuck to his task well and like Campbell, restricted the number of clear cut chances. 7
Vieira: Watching the game live, I was unconvinced by his first half performance. But having just seen the highlights it seems he got through a lot of work and did what he had to do neatly and efficiently. Set up Fred well for the goal and kept up a good level of performance all the way through.7
Cesc: Lost the odd ball but was generally very sound. Passing was clean and crisp as ever and his touch for the second goal was exquisite by any standards.7.5
Freddie: Took his two goals brilliantly, worked hard and always looked a threat. In good form. 8
Clichy: Seemed to lose the ball cheaply a bit too often but worked hard down the left helping Cole out with nullifying the threat of Rohmedahl and getting forward well. Has tremendous energy which comes in handy at the end of games when opposition players tire.6.5
Henry: Not at his best today but more worrying than the actual performance was the fact that his normal fitness wasn’t there. Had a lovely free-kick cleared off the line.6.5
Van Persie: Still has a tendency to twist and turn once too often. But also holds the ball up brilliantly, moves it well and finished superbly for the third. Should probably be given a real run up front next to Henry. Took his goal like a striker, which is disconcerting coming from an Arsenal player.7.5
Subs:
Pires (for Van Persie 72ish): With the game won he wisely didn’t over exert himself ahead of Man City on Tuesday night. 6.5
Senderos (for Campbell 82ish): Slotted in well on his Premiership debut.7
Pennant (for Fred 86): Didn’t have time to get into the game. 7
v Newcastle (1-0)
Almunia: Our star man tonight. A smart early save from Ameobi (even if it was probably going wide) and excellent handling all night gave us one less worry. Four clean sheets in five and he also kicks a fair bit better than Jens.7
Lauren: Though Lauren Robert didn’t reach anything like his best, I’m not sure whether too much credit should go to Lauren. His positioning often seemed weak, his passing and tackling little better and he offered almost nothing in attack. Mr Average was distinctly poor. 5.5
Cole: Whilst there’s no shame in being given a tough time of things by Craig Bellamy, Cole’s performance was noticeably worse than just a torrid time. He made stupid, unnecessary fouls, got caught out when he should normally have had enough pace and looked very, very shaky. He may have been pushed a touch for the penalty incident, but a defender with his mind fully on the job wouldn’t have allowed the ball to hit him as blatantly as it did. In mitigation he did improve and unlike Lauren provided some attacking threat. 5.5
Kolo: Did alright but like the others his decision making didn’t always seem to be the best informed. That said, it’s a little harsh to chastise a central defender who has kept four clean sheets in five. 6.5
Sol: Urgh. After some very sound recent performances he seemed far too troubled by what looked like some relatively simple long balls. One such error allowed Ameobi in for his early chance and his lack of authority always made the long ball route look like a wise one for Newcastle to take. 6
Flamini: Not his best game for Arsenal but he still got through a lot of work, kept things simple and had a hand in setting up Vieira for the goal. 6.5
Vieira: Named man of the match by SKY and praised in a couple of papers, but I’m going to be honest and say that up until he scored I thought he was pretty useless, being caught in possession too often. That said in the second half he got through a fair bit of work as we ground out victory. 6.5
Fred: Beavered away, had some good moments and kept on trying. Was going to commend him for his work on a couple of occasions in particular but can’t now remember what they were. 7
Pires: Even by his standards, his tackling was poor today. Truth be told, I can’t fathom how he’s allowed to defend with his body constantly side on to the play. As a left winger he has defensive responsibilities and simply has to make a better fist of it. On the attacking front he was probably our most creative player, moving the ball smartly and at pace. 6
Van Persie: Still very, very raw. Unlucky not to score in the opening minutes and had a couple more decent efforts but all too frequently ran into trouble and lost the ball on what was admittedly an awful surface completely unsuited to his quick twists and turns. Corners weren’t bad. Needs time. 6.5
Henry: His touch was not quite at its magical best, but again this was probably due to the state of the pitch. Had a couple of good runs that resulted in decent shots on Shay Given’s goal. 6.5
Subs:
Clichy (for Van Persie 80 mins approx): Seemed as happy as anyone in the post match huddle but for the second game in succession he seemed a little out of sorts when called upon. 6
v Fulham (2-0)
Almunia: Looks better by the game and made a crucial save when he rushed out at speed to palm away a Fulham chance at 1-0. Made no notable mistakes. 7
Clichy: Had a good first half – getting forward well as usual and strong on the defensive stuff. Then in the second half he seemed to lose his confidence went, either as a result of or because of Fulham consistently probing down our left. Like any small full-back, aerial strength is a weakness.6
Lauren: Average as usual. Looked solid against a Fulham attack lacking any real penetration. 6.5
Sol: At times we were troubled in the air – but Sol is leading a defence that is no longer allowing attackers completely free headers at corners. Looks fit and healthy and, along with the rest of the defence, now has three clean sheets in four league games. 7
Freddie: A fine game on his return from migraine troubles. Played in Henry for the first and set-up Pires for the second. 7.5
Cesc: Gets caught on the ball occasionally but is still doing the vast majority of things with real fluency. Gives us real creativity in the middle. 7
Vieira: Showed a few soft shoe shuffles to bam boozle defenders in a way we haven’t really seen this season. Also got stuck into his tackles and generally seemed to be on the ball. 7
Pires: There was this surreal moment in the first half. He got the ball on the left wing and took a heavy touch. As if that wasn’t enough he then went flying into the tackle with the Fulham defender and actually won the ball. And it wasn’t the only time – I saw him snuff out a few Fulham attacks and even win a header.
Of course, the attacking side of his play was superb as well – he would have scored from a Dennis chest down but for a good save by Van De Saar. He linked up well, particularly with Henry, and inevitably took his goal with typical aplomb. Now has 19 in 2004, which is good. 7.5
Dennis: A fair few poor touches and bad decision making in general play. In mitigation, he dummied the ball well for the second goal and put Pires in with an excellent chest down. 6.5
Henry: Sure, the flicks didn’t always come off but at times he led Fulham a merry dance like he has almost every other defence this season. His goal was a trade mark finish and he was desperately unlucky when his side footer from the edge of the box crashed back off a post. 7
Subs:
Flamini (for Freddie 74ish): Some might say Arsene was making a point by not replacing Freddie with Pennant. Others will call it a sensible way of seeing out the game. 6.5
Van Persie (for Dennis 78ish): Provided his usual array of tricks but didn’t get a real chance to score. 6.5
v Portsmouth (1-0)
Almunia: Had a really good game. Caught when he needed to catch, punched when he wasn't sure and kicked immaculately. Also made a couple of really good saves. His run of impressive performances may only stretch to two but for now there seems no reason to bring back Jens. 8
Lauren: Did nothing too wrong but didn't offer as much in attack as he might have and at times appeared troubled by Pomey's pace. I think he's ok, but I'm becoming less and less convinced he should be our right back at all - more on that tomorrow. 6.5
Cole: A tough one to call. For a while looked rattled by Pompey's pace and agression down the left. Misplaced a couple of balls and though his tackles were mostly coming off they had a slightly concerning aggressiveness about them which made me think he was letting his own frustration get the better of him a little. But stuck to the task well and in the end kept a dangerous Pompey out. 7
Kolo: Got sucked in a couple of times, but on the whole he was part of a defence that looked pretty solid and much improved at set pieces. 7
Sol: Looked fitter than recently I thought - turning smoothly on a couple of occasions when faced with danger. He also made countless important headers at corners and won us the game with the kind of head down sheer determinism many fans would like to see a little more often. 8
Flamini: Ran hard, tackled hard and never gave up. Doesn't offer as much going forward as Fabregas, but doesn't claim to either. Unlucky with a header from Henry's free-kick. 7
Vieira: Industrious, but was also sloppy on occasion, getting caught in posession and losing the ball. Still doesn't seem 100% back to his best and didn't make the most of a couple of shooting opportunities. 6.5
Clichy: Fought well and offered Cole valuable protection down the left hand side. Showed initial attacking promise early on but faded as Pompey grew in stature. Nonetheless, was full of running at the end and nearly capitalised on tired Pompey legs. 7
Pires: His every touch was met with a chorus of boos as Bob faced Pompey for the first time since 'that dive' last season. There was even one moment when he slipped and the ball rolled out of play. Which probably made a certain journalist very, very warm inside. Otherwise, was neat enough but pretty ineffectual, seemingly afraid of injury in the rough house atmosphere. Had a couple of lovely runs late on and set Dennis up for a chance he really should have taken. 6.5
Henry: Worked hard and created much of our best work, but often found himself crowded out by the hoardes of Pompey defenders. Nearly scored after a flowing first half move and set up Dennis' other chance late on, which again he really should have taken. 7
Van Persie: Started really well, showing fantastic feet and trickery and generally leading Pompey a merry dance. He swivels at such speed he'll probably need a hip replacement aged 30. Faded somewhat after his impressive start, finding himself crowded out by the packed defence. Could pass a little earlier at times but nonetheless a decent first start in a difficult game and he staked a fair claim for inclusion against Fulham on Boxing Day. 6.5
Subs:
Bergkamp (for Van Persie 68ish): Should have scored late on following good set up play. His performance did little to silence the voices calling for this year to be his last. I'm undecided on that, but what I am sure about is that I won't miss the needless little kicks and elbows aimed at his opponents when frustration sets in. Simply put: the sly digs are ugly and Van Nistelrooy like and do nothing for us. 6
v Chelsea (2-2)
Almunia: Faultless for both their goals, he made good stops from Lampard and Gudjohnsen in the first half. And made a vital save when Robben wriggled his way through after the break. But nobody noticed it. Caught when a catch was a good idea, punched when a punch was wiser and set us on the attack with some good throws. 7.5
Lauren: Didn't see much of him, but when you're up against Duff and Robben, this can only be to a defender's credit. Thought he did really well to keep them in check, and the one time Robben did really threaten in the second half, the danger came down the other side. 7.5
Cole: The one player who I thought struggled today. As has been the case of late, he lacked confidence in his touch and stuggled defensively. Perhaps should have come out to Robben before the winger got into the box for his 2nd half chance, and was easily beaten in the air by Drogba for Cheslea's 2nd equaliser. 6
Kolo: Looked solid overall and helped limit Chelsea to only a few chances asides from set pieces. 7
Sol: A mixed bag. Made some really important defensive headers and looked in command at times at the back. But was a little caught out for their opening goal and sometimes seemed a little gung ho in his marking. Made important late tackle on Drogba.7
Reyes: Was quiet, but this was a tough game. Nodded down to Henry for the opener, worked hard and went on a few mazy runs without much success. Still, I thought he gave them something to worry about.6.5
Fabregas: Another excellent performance. He and Flamini were overwhelmed initially when up against Tiago, Lampard and Makalele but never gave up and fought their way back into the game admirably. Nice goal to set up Henry for the opener, he was instrumental in setting up the Frenchman's near winner and also set up RVP for his chance. Uses the ball so intelligently and showed that despite his size, he's not afraid to get stuck in. Was up against the very best in the business today and succeeded in limiting Lampard to a largely peripheral role.8
Flamini: £1 million? First league start? A snip if you ask me. He run's tirelessly, he harries, he puts his foot in and he uses the ball simply when he wins it. A real water carrier but absolutely essential today and worked tirelessly. Well done Sir. 8
Pires: We wanted a big performance and boy did we get one. Seemed almost impossible to shake off the ball, tackled back, linked up well with Lauren, Flamini, Cesc and Henry and drove the team forward in his own idiosyncratic waddle. When in his pomp, he is still a wonderful, wonderful footballer to watch. Set up Henry for the near winner, realised his responsibility as the senior partner in midfield, and shouldered the responsibility admirably.7.5
Dennis: Didn't get involved in too much of note, but I can't help feeling he just gives us a cetain sophistication and shape when he's in the side. Gordon Strachan pointed out on Match of the Day how hard he'd worked to stop Makalele getting the ball and in hindsight I think it probably a fair call.6.5
Henry: Forget the late miss - it can happen to anyone. Otherwise he was outstanding, scoring a brilliant first (which included winning a high ball!), netting an impudent second and generally running the show. Scared Chelsea shitless every time he picked it up and was responsible for a hell of a lot of good work. Also destroyed the concept he doesn't turn it on in big games. That's 15 in 17 league games now by the way.9
Subs:
Clichy (for Reyes 82): Ran around like mad for 10 minutes and forced mistakes out of tired legs. Really good footballer and good enough to start for probably every Premiership side and perhaps should be more often for us. 7.5
RVP: Is maturing very nicely indeed. Nearly netted a silky winner when he latched onto Cesc's pass and gave the Chelsea players a lot to think about. Would be really interesting to see him start. 7
v Rosenberg (5-1)
Almunia: Made a really, really good low save early on and kicked largely well. But looked dodgy more than once on crosses and for the second time in a week cost us a goal, which is a real worry. Eventually realised there's nothing wrong with giving a ball a good double handed punch. 6
Hoyte: Was up against a poor opposition but defended diligently and rarely looked rushed. Used the ball well, linked up well with his team mates and should be well pleased with his first European start. 7
Cole: Looked solid, with a couple of important defensive headers, but still not yet back to his marauding best I sense. Shouldn't have let the ball drop over his head for Harald Brattbakk to fire at Alumnia after 17 minutes. Withdrawn with quarter of an hour left. 6.5
Sol: Ditto for above, though did once later on look somewhat sluggish again on the turn. Perhaps I'm just paranoid about the impending arrival of Duff and Robben at Highbury.6.5
Kolo: A very easy night for the big man and he even found time for a classic Kolo dance into the opposition penalty area towards the end. 7
Flamini: Very, very good full debut. Set up the second goal, ran tirelessly, got tackles in and seemed to work well with Cesc in midfield. Looks comfortable tracking back and going forward and also seems to have a strange affinity for joining in attacks right around the right edge of the penalty area and particularly when we attack the North Bank. A young, thinking man's Gilles Grimandi, he ain't at all bad for a fifth choice midfielder. 7.5
Cesc: Absolute star. Has already played 20 games this season (twice as many as Edu, Gilberto and Vieira), yet still had the strength to turn in one of his best performances for the club. Fantastically alert, his use of the ball was excellent. He also scored a very impressive, very difficult goal and was involved in the build up for the fifth. Not just our most frequent performer in midfield this season, but also our best. 8
Jose: Took his goal really well and gave us a flying start. Had another deflected shot well saved and looked much more like the sun kid of the beginning of the season. Had a delightful late chip that bamboozled three very stupid looking Rosenberg players before landing on the roof of the net. 7
Pires: Looked much, much better and was even spotted making a tackle late in the second half. Kept going and linked up well late on with Jose and RVP before being withdrawn for Quincy with two minutes left. His penalty was so brilliantly placed it went into the side netting. Again I marvel at his ability to put a football exactly where he wants it to go. 7
Bergkamp: A nice return for the Ice Man who got involved well in the game, set up the opener and had a couple of openings himself. Might have done better when in front of goal, but eased himself back into the side well. 7
Henry: I actually thought that poor as the defending was for his goal, it was still a pretty decent finish. Worked hard all night, linked up well with the kids around him and seemed to be feeling particularly tolerant. 7
Subs:
Clichy (for Dennis 72ish): Spent a few mins in midfield before dropping back to left back when RVP replaced Ashley. As ever looked sound in the defending and assured going forward.
7
RVP (for Cole 75): Resuscitated the game with some silky skills, wayward finishing and then eventually a very well taken goal. Rawer than an uncooked vegetable, but with massive potential. 7.5
Quincy (for Bob 88): Should have had longer. Don't think he got a touch.
v Birmingham (3-0)
Alumnia: Looks like Lehman, kicks slightly better than Lehman, fumbles the odd ball like Lehman and jumps a couple of inches less high in the air than Lehman. Did ok, but would have been ill advised to let Morrison’s second half effort creep under him and over the line.6.5
Lauren: Seemed really quiet yesterday. Means he was doing his defensive job well which at the moment is the priority. Better? Seeing as we kept a clean sheet, probably a tad. 6.5
Cole: It's not been picked up much by the press, but I’ve thought Ash to be one of the players whose form has most obviously dipped in the recent spell. He’s still looked a top left back, but the subtlety of touch that allowed him and Bob to link so well still seems to be absent. Better? Not noticeably, but again should take credit for a clean sheet. 7
Sol: I’m of the opinion he’s still carrying a little bit of weight. Played well enough, but on a couple of occasions he looked sluggish and immobile on the turn, which is obviously a concern with Duff and Robben coming to town next week. Better? Probably not. 6.5
Kolo: Probably fair to say he’s not been our worst performer in the recent period, but I think on occasion he has allowed our recent jitters to affect his decision making a little. Kept Heskey quiet, but also seemed to time his jumps wrongly on a couple of occasions. Better? Ditto above. 7
Vieira: Did some good stuff but on other occasions his decision making and concentration again seemed lacking a little. He’s a hard one to judge at the moment. Better? Probably a bit.7
Cesc: I’m glad to see he escaped censure for his recent performances because I think a lot of the recent mutterings about how he’s no Gilberto have been unfair. Admittedly, the Brazilian’s best work is done off the ball, SKY’s stats show how we tend to win with him in the side, but I still think the young Spaniard is doing pretty well. He’s a young boy whose probably played too many games in a struggling team in a big league. But he’s still there, still getting stuck in and still doing his stuff. Tired in the latter stages yesterday and was replaced by Flamini, which was a wise, common sense, decision. Better? No, but only because he was doing well in the first place. 7
Freddie: Scavenged, burrowed, furrowed, ducked and dived. Fred’s doing them all at the moment and its working as the perfect complement to the continued attempts at perfection that come from the rest of the team. Is also being very productive. Should have had a penalty yesterday, set up the third goal and generally ran the show. Better? No, but only because he’s been great. 7.5
Pires: Mark my words. One of these days the opposition are going to get a free kick on the edge of our area. Their player will hit it, the ball will fly off Robert Pires and zip past Lehman. And we’ll all put it down as a fluke, like we did for Graveson’s effort that flew off Pennant in the Carling Cup game against Everton. Except it won’t be a fluke because Pires, like Pennant, will have jumped with his back to the ball, meaning that when it hits him he’ll have no way of giving it any direction.
My point is that Pires simply has to go into tackles. Maybe he’s worried about getting hurt, but he’s ducking out of the most basic challenges and its meaning we’re losing the battle in midfield at places like Old Trafford and Anfield.
Obviously, as I was making a note of this, Bob went and scored a classic Bob goal. Basically a really, really good one. He is a fantastic playa, probably the purest footballer we have in our team and quite possibly the best finisher. Yesterday was his 50th goal for the club and almost without exception (Bolton at home this season) they’ve been aesthetically perfect and a joy to watch.
But he must pull his weight for the team, which funnily enough I’ve seen him do really well on a number of occasions. Better? A little bit later on in the second half. 6.5
Reyes: You have to feel for him - seemingly everything he tries seems to go askew these days. Inches away from a Henry cross in the first half, he got into the game a bit more going towards half time, but then tired before being withdrawn. As I said above, he could do with a 25 minute run against tired defences to get his confidence back. Better? Not really, but not for want of effort. 6.5
Henry: Whether it be through injury or lack of confidence, he spent much of the game getting into decent positions but then making the wrong decision. Then ten minutes from time he took off past Melchiot, through the Birmingham defence and then a cool low finish hit whilst he was running at incredible speed. Six minutes later, he bought a ticket for Freddie Ljungberg’s cross and got lucky.
May not be at his best. But the level of criticism he of all people has taken is ridiculous. Has scored 13 league goals this season (four more than anyone else and 9 more than Ruud), scoring in 11 of the 16 games. And it’s not even like he’s bound to get the goals because nobody else does. He hasn’t even scored a third of our goals, and with the exception of Old Trafford (when nobody scored) and Selhurst Park, at least one other Arsenal player has scored in all of our other games.
Better? Yes. Despite earlier failures, his determination to keep going for the all important second goal was admirable. 7.5
Subs:
Clichy (for Jose): I love this guy. He’s like Wenger’s little foot soldier and seems capable of doing everything. Slotted in expertly in left midfield. He covers, chases back, tackles, retains the ball, gets forward, dribbles and causes havoc in the opposition defence. He may be more defensive than Reyes, but sometimes being slightly more defensive can give you the shape to attack more. May not be suited to central midfield, but should be considered a serious option for a place in left midfield on tough away games. 7.5
Flamini: Seems to do everything neatly enough without being spectacular. Will be interesting to see how he works with Cesc over the next two games.7
v Man United (0-1)
Alumnia: Crap on their goal, barely put a foot wrong otherwise. Plays and looks like a slightly smaller Jens, but can kick. 6
Hoyte: OK and defended well on occasion, but I’d still like to see him get forward more. That said, I think he’s a player who would look much better surrounded by seasoned pros. 6.5
Clichy: Really, really good as usual. Slipped on their excuse of a pitch for the early goal, but didn’t let it affect him and worked tirelessly defending and attacking all game. 7.5
Senderos: The lumbering giant of Everton had been replaced by a very, very accomplished looking centre half. One dodgy back header that fell short but otherwise cut out everything that was asked of him and looked a real first team option. 8
Djorou: Took eye off ball and then slipped for the goal which wasn’t good. Never quite looked the same player as against Everton, but worked his way back into the game. 6.5
Flamini: Looks like we can breathe a little more easily in the midfield department after watching a very assured display. Would like to see him trialled as a sub for Freddie in games where we’ve got a dodgy one goal lead. 7
Larsson: Some like him but I’m not so sure. What he did was decent enough but I thought he struggled to have an effect on the game. 6.5
Quincy: Maybe it was the pitch, maybe it was United doubling up on him. Either way the hero of the last round never really got into last night’s affair. 6
Pennant: Worked hard, tried to take the initiative and overall did quite well. Still not sure if he’ll quite make it at Highbury though. 7
Lupoli: Is a striker and when strikers get no service they don’t look much kop. 6.5
Van Persie: Battled hard all night and willingly came deep to win possession. But probably came a bit too deep and battled a bit too hard. Yes, he could have been sent off for the incident with Richardson. Reminds me a bit of a young Freddie, not in playing style but in the way that the potential is clearly there but the skills are still very, very raw. 6.5
Subs:
Smith (for Lupoli): Did OK but still looks wary of going in for challenges and taking men on following his long term injury.
Cregg: Alright
Karbassiyoon: Alright
We started well, with Cesc having a shot and some promising attacks. Then Reyes went off injured and Arsene went for the brave option of risking Thierry Henry for 70 minutes. Within two minutes he had chested the ball down on the edge of the box and fired what looked like a beaut of a volley that was deflected wide. Then he brought down a through ball from Kolo, spun on the edge of the box and hit the most belle of bending shots with the outside of his right foot. Great goal.
We didn’t do much else for the rest of the half and started the second somewhat sluggishly. Then on 65 we started playing again and within five minutes Pires? had played Henry in with a beautiful ball. He controlled it and still had a fair bit to do to knock it home. 2-0 it finished. A decent enough performance and a great result. Playa ratings to the right. The goals take Theirry Henry past Ian Wright’s all time Arsenal goal scoring record. We have been fantastically privileged to see him rack up 186 not out and even luckier that so many have been done in such incredible style.
As I walked to work yesterday morning (Tuesday), I went with a bounce in my step. Sometimes you don’t realise what you have til it’s gone and I for one could not wait to see his magnificence return to the pitch.
Of course, there will be those Arsenal fans who will bemoan his unwillingness to commit to the club in his post match interview. That kind of reaction is absolute bollocks in my view. It is quite obvious he is not going to come out and commit to the club just like that because the fact is he is considering leaving. He is 28, has achieved a massive amount, probably fears somewhat about the destination we are headed towards and feels he may want to try and conquer Spain before he retires. People ask for him to be honest. He is. By saying what he is saying he is making it perfectly clear things are up in the air.
Do people want him to say he wants to go? What good would that do? The fact is that when he says he is focused on his football at the moment, that is the truth and that is what he showed us tonight. What is wrong with him kissing the badge if he puts in great performances? Kissing the badge is a sign that your heart is in to what you are doing. And who could argue that his heart wasn’t in tonight’s performance?
Of course we don’t want him to leave on a Bosman. But if he leaves, he leaves. We have been absurdly lucky to have not only one of the best, but one of the most consistent players in the world between the ages of 22 and 28 in his career. If he wants to move then so be it. I would wish him all the best.
Of course, I desperately want him to sign a new contract. But let us be grown up about this. He is doing nothing wrong. The best we can do is get behind him (the fans were great tonight), get behind the team at Highbury (we can do a lot better) and hope Arsene can bring in the players and the team achieve the success that will allow Thierry Henry to stay.
I have no inside knowledge on the issue of his contract, but my hunch would be that things are not a lot more complicated than Thierry fearing (quite justifiably) that the standard of the squad is slipping and that we look less likely to achieve the success (particularly in Europe) that he so craves.
We shall see what happens, but in the meantime let’s celebrate his achievement and leave the worrying for another time. I have written enough now, so won’t reveal my favourite Henry goal now, but you can reveal yours below.
ps: he seemed pretty happy to me when he broke the record.
...
16/10/05
West Brom 2 Arsenal 1: Report + playa ratings. Grim.
Arsene Wenger has never suffered the indignity of losing to a lower division team as Arsenal manager, but it is hard to believe that the disappointment could be any greater than that experienced after today’s loss at West Brom.
In 45 minutes, our emotions went from genuine hope that things could be turning our way (we were winning and Chelsea were losing) to the sheer grimness of seeing us somehow lose and them come back to win 5-1.
In short, we took an early lead when Senderos hooked home a deep Reyes corner. We were completely dominant, they were crap. We sat back. They equalised after a feeble Pires attempt to block a cross, a poor header from Senderos and terrible marking of Kanu. Of all people, the man renowned for taking 10 touches when two will do, had time to control the ball, compose himself and then fire off an (impressive) shot past the helpless Lehman. It was a shocker of a goal.
In the 2nd half we eventually rallied around the hour mark and though we had a couple of chances (Toure, Reyes, Bergkamp) things were in no way urgent enough. We probably should have had a penalty for a foul on Reyes, but he wasn’t in a scoring position so I’m not going to complain. It would, however, be nice to see referees decide whether a foul should be given not based on where the incident happens on the pitch but on the incident itself. And if this means the law needs to be reformed so that minor fouls in non-threatening positions in the area do not warrant a spot-kick then so be it. We need consistency.
Anyway, they then scored a cracker out of absolutely nothing. We huffed but got nowhere. Immensely disappointing and all the more so when you are watching the game in the corner of a bar while in other corners Chelsea, United, Liverpool and Spurs fans are all celebrating goals going in. The upshot of all this is that the table does not look good. In fact I don’t even want to see it. All I know is we’re 14 points behind Chelsea having dropped 11 to their none.
But the main discussion must be about the performance. We started with a very youthful team containing Senderos, Clichy, Reyes, Flamini, Cesc and for much of the game Eboue too after Fred went off. We were without Cole, Campbell, Gilberto, Van Persie, Henry, Hleb and then Ljungberg. That would be a big miss to any squad, all the more so to ours.
So perhaps that excuses things. Or perhaps it doesn’t. The Everton and Man City sides that a far less experienced Arsenal dispatched from last season’s League Cup were miles better than the carthorses West Brom served up today. We could and should have easily won this game.
The problem is that the fact we are not at our most fluent at the moment should mean every playa is giving 120% so that effort alone can get us through. But that is not the case. We were leaden footed and lethargic today. Really, I would say that excluding the hard to appraise Lehman, only Reyes and perhaps Senderos and Toure did themselves justice out there today. Not everything may be coming off for Reyes, but he keeps plugging away and chasing everything.
The same is not true for the others. Pires is the worst culprit. His effort at times is frankly lamentable. I can just about excuse him pulling out of tackles because he is worried about his knee but he has no excuse for not doing everything humanly possible to block crosses.
We are clearly lacking really good cover right through the spine of the team (a defender, midfielder and striker are all needed). But we also have to roll our sleeves up and not commit the immortal sin of taking our foot off the pedal just because our opponents are crap.
It is going to take a miraculous recovery for us to challenge for the league now. We need our genuinely rotten luck with injuries to turn, new playas and better performances.
One final point about today’s referee and the one minute 55 seconds of injury time he added on. Now don’t get me wrong, I loathe it when managers squabble over every few seconds. My theory is normally if you don’t score in 90 then you probably won’t score in 94. But today was just some kind of complete joke. We had an injury a minute from time that lasted about one minute 40 seconds, we had four second half subs, three of which were incredibly slow West Brom ones, we had one of the longest and deliberately stalling goal celebrations ever and we had them wasting time every time they got a free-kick or goal kick, even when it was 1-1.
By adding on just two minutes the referee has completely indulged that negativity (which I accept Arsenal have been guilty of in the past). It was a complete joke.
...
09/10/05
Football returns next week
Do you get very bored of England games after 60 minutes? Do you have to tell yourself to try to be happy when England score? And does part of you secretly will the opposition to knock one past ‘us’?
Answer: Yes, yes and yes.
My conclusion is that Sven would get double the amount of stick if the thought of writing about England wasn’t so boring. In fact, I’ve had enough. I’m so bored I can’t be stuffed to write any more about England.
But I will say a few words about my good friends at FIFA. Presumably David Beckham’s red card will stand, despite his 2nd booking being a blatant dive.
It will stand because under FIFA’s own half witted rules, appeals are only allowed in cases of mistaken identity. I don’t give a stuff about Beckham, but I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: this is the most inept rule I have ever seen.
England have been wrongly deprived of a playa for 30 minutes because of an opposition player’s connivance. And then to compound the problem, they will ban him for no other reason than that they have invented a stupid rule that says he must be banned.
For some reason, this rule pisses me off big time. It is the height of bullshit in a game overflowing with the stuff. The only bans being handed out should be for the half wits who invented this rule and are now pressuring the Premiership to take it up.
The only saving grace is that these things have a way of hitting people back in the face. How I will laugh if the brilliant Ronaldinho is sent-off in next year’s World Cup semi-final for handling on the line when the ball clearly hit his chest. Of course, my scorn will not be directed at the unfortunate Brazilian. Instead it will be at the FIFA bigwigs who will have seen their showpiece player miss their showpiece game because of their own arrogant, farcical rules.
Football returns next week.
...
021005
Arsenal 1 Birmingham 0 - half a report
Well, I only saw the second half (hence no playa ratings). From the sounds of it we created a fair bit in the first half and as well as missing a penalty we could have had a hatful.
The second half seemed a very flat affair. Maik Taylor made great saves early on from Pires and Ljungberg and then we seemed to lose any great degree of urgency. In the end, Van Persie’s not brilliantly hit shot deflected off a defender and beat the excellent Taylor. We held on, though not with any great style.
We looked lethargic in the latter stages. From what I saw Campbell, Toure and Cole looked good enough. Reyes is playing with brilliant enthusiasm and desire. The rest of them don’t look lazy by any means but if you compare us with Chelsea at the moment, is the same unswerving desire there? I’m not so sure.
It needs to be.
And the crowd can play their part too. Apologies if the SKY sound system did Highbury a disservice, but the ground sounded embarrassingly silent today. The players are human beings like the rest of us and they thrive on the support of the crowd like you and I would. So, if you’re lucky enough to be at Highbury, sing.
Chelsea won 4-1 this afternoon and looked good, albeit against what is a pretty poor Liverpool league side. The Kop were singing louder in the 89th minute than anything Highbury managed today.
On site news, I’ve gone back to the old design but with the new logo following a public outcry. Not sure about what should go in the space on the left though, as the Latest Updates column was pointless and time consuming to update.
Finally, a question for any readers who live in Dublin or anywhere else in the Republic of Ireland. I need to get internet access at my new flat for 3 months. Are there any broadband companies who don’t insist on you signing up for 12 months? And what is the best dial-up?
...
|fhffg
Archives: July 2005, June 2005, May 2005, April 2005,March 2005, February 2005, January 2005, December 2004 and the embryonic goodplaya.
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Playa ratings:
v West Ham (2-3) - NEW
Lehman: An absolute idiot for stupidly getting involved with Harewood late on. Not only was it nasty, but he could have been sent-off and he also put us out of our stride. A minute later West Ham made it 3-1. He’s a very good goalkeeper but an arrogant, nasty character and an embarrassment when he behaves like that. 4
Gilbert: Looked to be doing fine until the Arsenal full-back curse struck. 6
Djorou: Individually did well, but understandably hasn’t been able to strike up any kind of partnership with Campbell yet. 6
Campbell: What can you say? Two massive errors that were punished to the max. Things just aren’t going his way at all. 4
Senderos: Obviously doesn’t offer the attacking prowess of Cole or Clichy but he looked solid and his distribution to Pires was fairly impressive. Did fine at centre-back in the second half but should have whacked it out instead of passing to Larsson for the mistake that led to the third goal. 5
Gilberto: He’s not great at the moment. Far too passive for my liking. 5
Diaby: Still raw, but I like him. And he is so like Vieira: even his mistakes remind me of Vieira’s shortcomings. Not sure why he was taken off. 7
Ljungberg: You have to laugh at the way he somehow managed to deflect Henry’s shot wide. Is trying really hard and not actually playing badly at all. But nothing is going his way. 7
Pires: I do feel we need players with greater bite than Pires at the moment. But in fairness, he was involved, scored one, set-up the other one for Henry and saw Hislop deny him with a great save. 6
Henry: Hard to judge. Seemed to have a decent enough game on TV but reports from the game were critical. 6
Van Persie: Unlucky. Offered a lot but nothing went his way. 7
Subs:
Flamini: Brought on as an emergency right-back but did pretty well all things considered. Say what you like about Flamini but he’s a fighter who unlike some of his team-mates will never be found lacking for effort. 7
Larsson: Yes, he made the cock-up for the third goal. But it was typical of our rough justice. Other than that he was excellent: committed in the tackle, full of running in attack and crucially he understands the value of hitting long-balls diagonally, as opposed to completely straight. Which is something some of his team-mates could do with taking note of. 7
Dennis: Not normally much of a substitute, but he found himself a good niche on the right of midfield and offered us extra creativity. Well hit volley to set up Pires’ goal. 6
v Sparta Prague (0-2)
Lehmann: Solid enough game. He’s doing well at the moment. 7
Clichy: Bit of a nightmare really, though to be fair their right winger was their best playa. 5
Cygan: Surprisingly assured. 7
Kolo: Looked fairly good most of the time. 7
Lauren: The odd moment of strangeness. 6.5
Flamini: Was hard to judge the midfielders tonight. Seemed to do the normal without being mega effective. 6.5
Gilberto: One of those Gilberto games where you don’t really know how he has played. 6.5
Fabregas: Got fairly involved and offered threat down the right. 7
Pires: Not his best game by any means but still one of his better ones this season. Magnificent ball for the second goal. 7
Van Persie: Seems to get carded in Europe for the most ridiculous things. Did alright without having much effect. 6.5
Reyes: Full of running til he got injured and wasn’t running at all. 6.5
Subs:
Henry (for Reyes 17ish): Emperor-like as he beat Wrighty’s record. Magnificent playa who, had he not scored, would have been accused of going missing in another big game. But because he did score, it won’t count as a big game. 8.5
Eboue (for Van Persie 70ish): Looking ok at the moment. 6.5
Quincy (for Cesc 85ish): Full of running. 6.5
v West Brom (2-1)
Lehmann: Blameless for goals. 6
Lauren: Not particularly composed. 5.5
Clichy: Has had far better games. 5.5
Senderos: Good goal, messy header for theirs. 6
Toure: Ok but ridiculously offside at one free kick. 5.5
Flamini: Ok but uninspiring. 5.5
Cesc: Decent. Kept trying. 6
Pires: Crap. 4.5
Ljungberg: Ok while he was on. 5.5
Reyes: Still running his heart out. 7
Bergkamp: A moany kind of day. 5.5
Subs:
Eboue (for Ljungberg 35ish): Not great. 5.5
Quincy (for Flamini 80ish): Bizarrely decided what Arsenal lack is left-wingers. 5.5
v Everton (2-0)
Jens: Very little to do. Did it all right. 7
Lauren: Occasionally seemed to imagine he had more pace than he does, which was quite amusing as he tried to take people on. Solid as usual. 7
Cole: As someone who gave him a good bashing over the summer it would suit by agenda to say he is playing poorly. But that would be a lie. Whatever the reasons for it, he has started the season well and in attack in particular is offering a lot. 7.5
Toure: Nothing to do at the back and seemed to enjoy getting in on this whole new set-piece malarkey. 7
Campbell: Two excellent headers, especially the second one which was a real hammer. Not at full speed yet but looked good, organised the defence well, shouted at people and seemed to realise he was our most senior player on the pitch. 8
Pires: Hadn’t done all that much in the brief period he was on the pitch before Gary Neville’s shit younger brother’s tackle forced him off. 6.5
Cesc: One friend said to me he is looking lightweight and giving the ball away too much. Maybe. But I think he does a lot of good stuff and his presence in the opponent’s penalty box is valuable. 7
Gilberto: Solid game, got through a fair amount and gave us a couple of those rare Gilberto moments where for a few seconds he stops looking like he is suspended in perpetual slow motion and instead provides us with raw Brazilian skill. 7
Ljungberg: Started slowly but furrowed hard as ever. Seemed to make a real determination to either stick wide out on the wing or else very deliberately come inside as opposed to just being narrow. I think it worked. Unlucky to hit bar in second half. 7
Van Persie: Hit the post with a nice effort (right footed!) and had some decent moments but was otherwise a bit subdued. Has been a fairly rough few weeks and is probably still feeling his way back in to things. 6.5
Reyes: Loses the ball now and then but that is only because he constantly seems to have it. Boundless energy at the moment, great creativity and fantastic balls into the box. Really was amazing how much of the ball he had tonight. 8
Subs:
Hleb (for Pires first half some time): Played pretty well, looked pretty creative and linked up well with Cole. Playing better than Pires. 7
Dennis (for Van Persie 80ish): Did alright. Created a bit of stuff. Didn’t do anything of note. 6.5
Alex Song (for Reyes 87ish): Made a couple of sloppy passes but it was harsh and exaggerated for Alan Smith to say he hadn’t found a man. 6
v Thun (2-1)
Almunia: Probably not to blame on the goal and handling was ok even though he still catches very strangely.6
Lauren: Did the usual Lauren stuff. Fairly well. 6.5
Cole: Thought he was good today. Clean at the back and contributed well going forward. Perhaps he enjoyed having Pires back in front of him. 7
Toure: Seemed ok. Can’t remember too much else.6.5
Sol: Looking a little chunky but it must be good to have him back.6.5
Cesc: Not his most spectacular game but made a couple of decent runs forward and made one particularly delicious pass in the second half.6.5
Gilberto: Very well taken goal and was more involved tonight than normally. An experienced head 7.5
Pires: By no means at his best but infinitely better than the past few games. Got in an early curler that almost flew in and was generally far more involved. Even tried to tackle twice. Neither attempt worked.. 7
Ljungberg. Svavanged without achieving much.6.5
RVP: Had been easing himself back into first team action when the dick head referee struck. 6.5
Reyes: Excellent, his boundless enthusiasm drove the team on and he looked really dangerous at times and caused Thun more problems than anyone else. 8
Subs:
Dennis (for Cesc 70 odd): Is that his first goal as a sub? Took it well. 7
Hleb (for Reyes 80 odd): Didn’t really find his touch in the ten minutes he had.6
Quincy (for Ljungberg 80 odd): Offered a new threat.6.5
v Fulham (4-1)
Lehman: Looking very solid at the moment. You can tell it by the fact he is not making kicking mistakes at the moment. At tricky moments, his handling from corners was excellent.7
Lauren: Missed a penalty, but that was bound to happen one day and at least it didn’t matter. Otherwise, he played well and looked particularly committed (mostly in the right sense) in the tackle. 7
Cole: His best attacking display for a while and linked up promisingly with Reyes. 7.5
Cygan: I’ve made no secret of the fact that his presence in the team pleases me not. Defending was ok tonight, though a couple of times Fulham forwards worryingly escaped him when crosses were slung in. Took his goals very well. Could it be that unlike the rest of the side Cygan does not feel obligated to score the perfect goal and concentrates on just sticking it in the net?7.5
Kolo: Poor clearance for the Fulham goal but on the whole had a decent game. The defensive issues we have at the moment seem more a collective than individual problem. 7
Cesc: Gets a wee bit overrun occasionally but on the whole is playing really well and in particular offers a genuine attacking threat in the way that perhaps Vieira sometime failed to. 7
Gilberto: Did what Gilberto does. Still sometimes resembles one of those video graphic created dinosaurs in the way he moves. 7
Hleb: Good first half, creating a fair deal and generally looking like a cross between Pires and Ljungberg (in the best sense). 7
Reyes: A very good game in my opinion, full of running, full of trickery and very direct. In particular, he linked up very well with Cole and Henry, which was very pleasing. His ball for Henry’s first goal was majestic and pleasingly the two seemed on the same wavelength tonight. 8
Dennis: Besides his idiotic yellow card he had a great game and was at the heart of Fulham’s dissection. Kept going strong right to the end. 8
Henry: Took his two goals, which both came at crucial times, very well. Just one more to equal Wright’s record. 7.5
Subs:
Flamini (for Reyes 75 odd): Set up Henry for the killer third goal. 7
Clichy (for Hleb 85 odd): Ran around like mad, as Clichy does. 7
v Liverpool (3-1)
Lehman: Two really good saves – the first from Riise and the second from Gerard’s piledriver. Flapped at one cross but all it served to do was to remind us how much he has improved. 7.5
Lauren: Did very well, almost scoring from Pires’ cross in the first half and setting up the third goal with some nice play. Is doing well at the moment, perhaps spurred on by Wenger not mentioning right back when saying which areas he doesn’t need to strengthen over the summer! 7.5
Cole: A mixed game. Good going forward and times and obviously an excellent second half block from Garcia. But also occasionally sloppy, messing up things we know him well capable of doing. 6.5
Senderos: A big presence at the heart of the defence he had one of his sternest tests in an Arsenal shirt when Liverpool got at us in the second half. Did pretty well on the whole though, especially as protection from midfield was not always forthcoming. 7
Kolo: A good solid outing and the same goes for him as for Senderos. 7
Vieira: Did some stuff really well and was very influential in our first half attacking play. But I felt he allowed the midfield to be too easily swamped after the break and was not always applying the pressure to Liverpool that he might have done. 7
Gilberto: It goes without saying that evaluating a Gilberto performance is very, very difficult. That said, I felt that like Vieira he could have offered a bit more bite in midfield to help out the defence in the second half. 6.5
Pires: Really was at the heart of some of our best stuff in the first half. Crossed brilliantly for Lauren to almost score, shot just wide and then scored with a magnificent free-kick. Faded later on. 7.5
Cesc: Absolutely outstanding. He set the move in motion for Reyes’ offside goal, fired just wide from 20 yards, scored his own offside goal and then added a very neat third for us in stoppage time. In between this he ran the game, tackling, running with the ball, passing brilliantly and generally looking the best player on the park. Outstanding. 9
Reyes: Not perfect, but he notched up another well taken goal, scored an offside one and ran his heart out for the cause in the second half. 7.5
Van Persie: Not as involved as he has been but got involved and put over one excellent early cross for Robert Pires. Generally looking a much better player than previously. 7
Subs:
Edu (for Pires 70 odd): Came on and did ok. 6.5
Bergkamp (for Van Persie 70 odd): Set up Fabregas for the third with a fantastic flick but was otherwise pretty poor. When he did try and press Liverpool he gave away a few free-kicks and the rest of the time he just didn’t seem to chase them at a time when we really needed players to get stuck in. I know he is still capable of the odd piece of magic but we probably have enough to our attacking armoury that magic alone should not prompt a new contract. We have shown we are capable of winning without Dennis and should probably now look to the future. 6
Aliadiere (for Reyes 85): As ever he came on and got stuck in, chasing everything and hassling the Liverpool defenders. Has a really good attitude and probably deserves more than five minutes at some point. 6.5
v West Brom (2-0)
Lehman: The defence clearly trusts him again and he is reciprocating that with improved handling, kicking and decision making. 7
Lauren: Worked reasonably hard and got forward on a few occasions. 7
Cole: Looked a little lethargic at times but kept going and finished the game strongly, setting us on a number of attacks. 6.5
Senderos: A couple of passes went astray but took a no nonsence defence to defending. Far be it for me to argue with his current record of not conceding a goal for absolutely yonks. 7.5
Gilberto: Covered well at set pieces, but with Arsenal in 2nd gear he seemed only to happy to make sure Gilberto was in 2nd gear too. Not much drive. 6.5
Vieira: Committed silly fouls early on and was not finding his passes. Got better as the game went on and provided more drive. Symbolic of our night. 7
Pires: Did ok initially but like the rest of them lacked the necessary drive. Got better with the team. 7
Cesc: Probably not his best game. Came looking for the ball a lot and should be credited for it but looked a little fatigued when challenged. 6.5
Van Persie: Did ok initially but was not really receiving a lot of support from the midfield. Took his goal magnificently. 7
Reyes: Ran hard but once again looked incredibly left footed. But gave an excellent assist for the opening goal and kept on trying right til the end, providing useful relief for the defence. 7
Subs:
Dennis (for Van Persie 75ish): Did little except provide a measured set-up for Edu's clincher. 6.5
Edu (for Cesc 75ish): Got involved a bit and finished well to clinch it. 7
v Spurs (1-0)
Lehman: Is playing very well and his handling looks as assured as ever, his throws good and his kicking far better than earlier in the season. I think it no great secret that he needs to control his temper. 7
Lauren: Has looked solid in recent weeks and looked more lively going forward. Alan Curbishley put him in his team of the season on the basis that few wingers get much change out of him. And he is probably right. Really does need to watch stray elbows though, intentional or not. 7
Toure: Was given a little trouble by Defoe but it was less trouble than Adi Akenbai gave him in the FA Cup in January. And Defoe is clearly a far better player than the Stoke man. Will soon score a very, very memorable free-kick I sense. 7
Senderos: It is hard to argue with his defensive record since he came into the side. We have simply stopped conceding goals. That said, what are the odds that back when we were conceding at will, Robbie Keane would have buried that chance. Could have got first goal for club with header. 7
Cole: Linked up well as ever with Pires down our left hand side and seemed really up for the fight. Had the slightly awkward penalty shout against him at the end but otherwise did well. 7
Vieira: With the ball he was excellent on the whole, spreading play at pace and helping support those ahead of him. Looks much more comfortable with Gilberto next to him. Though that said they both looked half a step off the pace at times against a Spurs side full of running. 7
Gilberto: Did what Gilberto does well. Though probably not as much of a shield as against Chelsea. 7
Cesc: Tired a little in the second half but was his usual youthful magnificence until then. Spread the ball with ease, got stuck in, helped out the attack and set up our goal. Nice. 7.5
Pires: Not the force he was against Chelsea but is playing well at the moment, linking up well with Cole down the left and generally providing an experienced head in an otherwise youthful attack. 7
Van Persie: Set Reyes up for the first minute chance, fired a decent effort wide and generally played quite a mature game without hitting great heights. 7
Reyes: Did very well to come back after the first minute miss. Goal was excellent and attitude looked good. Seemed to find an extra gear for second half run that set up Dennis. 7.5
Subs:
Dennis (for Van Persie 70 odd): Curled one wide and generally looked quite good against a tiring Spurs defence. There was the odd occasion when I felt he let the player pass him to quickly but that was probably just my last minute nerves. 7
Edu (for Cesc 70 odd): Hit the post with a curling effort and slotted in very, very neatly on the left. Will be a great shame to lose him if he does eventually go. 7
Aliadiere (for Van Persie 87 odd): Only had a few minutes but looked really keen to impress. Had a couple of good touches, got stuck in and made tired Spurs legs panic, buying us valuable time. 7
v Chelsea (0-0)
Lehman: Has looked much better recently and besides the odd dodgy kick, looked very solid against Chelsea and made one excellent save early on from Drogba. His positioning seemed good on through balls. 7
Lauren: He really didn’t put a foot wrong and kept Damien Duff and probably had his best game for the club against a very, very tricky opponent. Was ferocious and fair in the tackle. 8
Cole: After a slightly tentative start he threw himself at everything Chelsea chucked at us. Whatever people’s feelings about his current situation, there can be no complaints about his performance. 7
Senderos: Excellent as usual. This guy likes clean sheets. 7
Toure: Really did well in what could have been a tricky night. Got weight on his clearances and never panicked. 7
Vieira: It really doesn’t take a genius to figure out how much he seems to be enjoying having Gilberto back in the side. Really led the side again with fine interventions and set us on the path to attack – such as when Pires hit the bar. 7.5
Gilberto: Suffered a couple of inevitable nosebleeds when he got into decent positions going forward but otherwise did a fine job of snaffling out what Chelsea threw at us and generally making the team a slick unit. Showed one or two fine turns as well. 7
Cesc: This kid really does defy logic. At a time when his brittle bones should be feeling the effects of a long, hard season he is looking stronger than ever. Magnificently composed on the ball, he worked furiously in defence, midfield and attack. 8
Pires: His early volley that hit the bar reminded me of when I stood in the Holte End last year for Villa v Arsenal and he hit an even better effort that was turned just over. Even the anti-French bigots around me were shut well and truly up.
There is a wonderful magnificence about watching Robert Pires on song. He caresses the ball delightfully and when it’s time to move it on he does it with the utmost precision. A joy to watch and unlucky not to score twice. 9
Reyes: The story of his last 6 months – no problem with effort but he just lacks the confidence to make things really happen. The annoying thing is that he’s making errors on things that a confident Reyes could do with his eyes shut. Let’s hope his effort is rewarded soon. 6
Bergkamp: Like Reyes he worked hard and did his bit to keep Chelsea at bay. But also like Reyes he found himself struggling up front. The curtain appears to be falling on his magnificent career. Hopefully an announcement will be made soon and both we and Dennis can enjoy his final games. 6
Subs:
Van Persie (for Dennis 80 odd): Struggled to get into the game but had a few decent chances and ran hard for the side.
Aliadiere (for Cesc 85 odd): Did alright but by the time he came on it didn’t look like either side were really going to score.
v Boro (1-0)
Lehman: Flapped at one cross in the first half and then came ridiculously far out of his goal before eventually winning the ball. Yes, he’s kept a fair few clean sheets recently and yes, it’s even true we could win the league again with him in goal, but no, we won’t win in Europe with Jens and no, he’s not the answer. 6
Lauren: His early challenge, whilst not worthy of a red card as suggested on Match of the Day, was sheer stupidity. He did alright and he’s plodding along but not really getting any better. 6
Cole: Attacked decently at times but wasn’t helped by a very, very ineffectual Robert Pires. 6.5
Senderos: Now looks like he should be partnering Sol Campbell when the two are fit. Authoritative, big and commanding, his presence has coincided with a string of clean sheets. Still has rough edges, but these are being shaved all the time. 7
Kolo: Did reasonably well and made a couple of important blocks, but I’m not convinced his future lies in the heart of the defence. Together, he and Lauren sometimes seem to bring out the worst in each other and we just don’t look solid, clean sheets or no clean sheets. Would like to see him at right back. 6.5
Gilberto: I looked out especially for incidences of him filling gaps and yes, I can confirm it happens and he does his job well. Still looks very nervous in attacking positions, but his presence is welcome. 6
Vieira: I thought he did reasonably well, though like the rest of the players he seemed to have trouble bringing any great coherency to our play. 6
Cesc: I plumped for Cesc on the right a while ago and I like seeing him there. He got well forward and was always involved. Looks tired, but it’s been a long old season and he’s still, only 17. 6.5
Pires: I thought him absolute rubbish up until he scored really. His inability to tackle has been documented many times before, but on Saturday he seemed to be playing the whole game at walking pace. But then who better is there at converting the one chance he gets to secure a 1-0 lead. 6
Reyes: Things still aren’t all coming off for him but I sense things are getting better and his work rate and willingness to track back really can’t be faulted. We know for a fact that the boy has the talent to succeed, so while he may not be showing what he’s really capable of right now, we should applaud his recent application. Had a couple of really mazy runs and set up Henry excellently for a shot he scuffed. 7
Henry: Had one of those games where he seemed to stand almost still on the edge of the box, conserving his energy and waiting to pounce. It didn’t really work, though he did have a glorious chip fly just wide and certainly scared the Boro fans every time he got the ball. He was also up against an obdurate Boro. 6.5
Subs:
Dennis (Reyes 46): Did alright without really changing the game at all. It seems the curtain may be falling on his illustrious career and reluctantly, I think it right. We know he can still play brilliantly in patches but the truth is that it’s becoming less often and it’s hampering us in European away games. We need someone to step forward and become Henry’s partner. Sometimes the bullet needs to be bitten. And now is that time. 6
v Palace (5-1)
Jens: It’s tempting to say that the early back pass cock-up could just as easily have happened to Petr Cech but in truth that would be a lie. He’s simply too cocky and over confident with his kicking – it’s why so many balls get sliced wildly and why we almost conceded a shambolic own goal tonight. Otherwise, he actually did quite well. 6.5
Lauren: Is definitely becoming a better player going forward but was as culpable as anyone for our defensive malaise. 6
Cygan: Didn’t have an awful game but on too many occasions simple long balls forward by Palace became much more serious than they needed to be. 6
Kolo: Got skinned more often than he would have liked and was caught out at times from crosses. But still, we only conceded one. 6.5
Clichy: Did well getting forward, causing a constant menace. Defending was largely competent but seemed to be infected by the general defensive tendency to give the ball away. 6.5
Vieira: Another tricky game to rate from the captain. At times he was sluggish and easily caught in possession. At others, he took a grip on the game and drove the team forward impressively. Got well forward for his goal. 7
Edu: Didn’t have the sudden impact he enjoyed at Villa last week but did well enough and certainly gave us a fair bit of solidity. Good ball to Reyes for the opener. 7
Pires: Seemed to be rewriting the dictionary definition of anonymous for the first 20 or so minutes. Then got more into the game without coming close to hitting top gear. Was unlucky to hit the post in the 2nd half after good work from Reyes. 7
Reyes: His best game in yonks. He looked fearless again, running constantly at the Palace defence and causing a lot of trouble. Good assist for the first, great finish for the second, an assist for the third and a fantastic pass to Dennis to set up the fifth. Great to see him back again. 8.5
Dennis: As ever, he oiled, moulded and sculpted our performance. He also took his goal very well, like he did against Newcastle and United too. And set up Henry for the fifth. 7.5
Henry: Really played very, very well and channelled any frustration about constant offside decisions in exactly the right way. Had seemingly boundless energy to chase back lost causes and put us back on the attack. 8.5
Subs:
Flamini (for Edu 60odd): Solid and composed as ever. 7
Van Persie (for Dennis 80odd): Linked up reasonably well as the game entered its final stages. 7
Fabregas (for Pires 80odd): Settled in comfortably on the right. 7
v Wolves (2-0)
Jens: Whilst a clean sheet is a clean sheet, he had very little to do and looked no more reassuring than previously with his kicking. To be fair, he was also played a high number of over hit back passes today and was not at fault for the one from Flamini that took a wicked bobble off the Highbury surface (which appeared unusually cut-up).6.5
Eboue: Got forward well, hit the bar with a deflected shot and could have had a penalty. Nice work. 8
Clichy: Decent game without being exceptional.7
Sol: Not a lot to do. 7
Cygan: Better than usual. 8
Paddy: Mediocre for much of it truth be told. Got better later on and scored the penalty but for too long his mind didn’t seem in the right place. Sure, Wolves made it difficult by crowding midfield but too often he seemed semi asleep at throw ins and the like. Still, he kept going. 6.5
Flamini: Didn’t show the deftness of touch of the Newcastle game but retained all his normal solidity. And great as Ray Parlour was, watching Boro at the moment suggests that we’ve got an as good, if not better, replacement. 7
Reyes: A couple of good runs, some moments of anonymity and denied a stonewall penalty. Still getting back to form but it definitely seems better than a few weeks ago. 6.5
Freddie: Usual energetic performance without any stand out moments, save his well taken goal. That’s ten for the season now and we’re still in January. Good work Sir. 7
Van Persie: Not his most inspiring game and clearly doesn’t yet have the positional ability of Dennis (who does?) but is improving. 6.5
Henry: Gallic. Went into one of his moods after Riley ruled out his cheeky first half effort. Strutted around for a while, went in for a couple of silly tackles and became frankly self indulgently petulant when a foul was given against him. It’s alright for us to loathe Riley endlessly but our top striker shouldn’t let him affect his game. And the fact is he did. But recovered his composure, was unlucky not to score and set up Freddie in superb fashion. 8
Subs:
Cesc (for Van Persie): Settled in comfortably on the right. 7
Pires (for Reyes): Nice work for the clinching goal. 7
Quincy (for Fred): No time to make an impression.
v Charlton (3-1)
Alumnia: No chance with the goal and didn’t do too much wrong besides one poor fumble from a cross. Still not convinced by his catching techniques. No difficult saves to make6.5
Hoyte: Made the odd error but did well to make sure his old youth team buddy Jerome Thomas had his quietest game in weeks. Managed to get forward a bit more in the second half.7.5
Cole: Still not looking at his best and on a couple of occasions was embarrassed by Rommedahl. But in fairness he wasn’t as sloppy as recently and did get forward well later on. 6.5
Sol: With the exception of one wildly sliced clearance in the first half that Almunia had to save he looked pretty solid and kept Charlton’s clear chances to a minimum. Let’s hope his ankle isn’t too bad. 7
Kolo: Given a bit of grief by Bartlett in the air but stuck to his task well and like Campbell, restricted the number of clear cut chances. 7
Vieira: Watching the game live, I was unconvinced by his first half performance. But having just seen the highlights it seems he got through a lot of work and did what he had to do neatly and efficiently. Set up Fred well for the goal and kept up a good level of performance all the way through.7
Cesc: Lost the odd ball but was generally very sound. Passing was clean and crisp as ever and his touch for the second goal was exquisite by any standards.7.5
Freddie: Took his two goals brilliantly, worked hard and always looked a threat. In good form. 8
Clichy: Seemed to lose the ball cheaply a bit too often but worked hard down the left helping Cole out with nullifying the threat of Rohmedahl and getting forward well. Has tremendous energy which comes in handy at the end of games when opposition players tire.6.5
Henry: Not at his best today but more worrying than the actual performance was the fact that his normal fitness wasn’t there. Had a lovely free-kick cleared off the line.6.5
Van Persie: Still has a tendency to twist and turn once too often. But also holds the ball up brilliantly, moves it well and finished superbly for the third. Should probably be given a real run up front next to Henry. Took his goal like a striker, which is disconcerting coming from an Arsenal player.7.5
Subs:
Pires (for Van Persie 72ish): With the game won he wisely didn’t over exert himself ahead of Man City on Tuesday night. 6.5
Senderos (for Campbell 82ish): Slotted in well on his Premiership debut.7
Pennant (for Fred 86): Didn’t have time to get into the game. 7
v Newcastle (1-0)
Almunia: Our star man tonight. A smart early save from Ameobi (even if it was probably going wide) and excellent handling all night gave us one less worry. Four clean sheets in five and he also kicks a fair bit better than Jens.7
Lauren: Though Lauren Robert didn’t reach anything like his best, I’m not sure whether too much credit should go to Lauren. His positioning often seemed weak, his passing and tackling little better and he offered almost nothing in attack. Mr Average was distinctly poor. 5.5
Cole: Whilst there’s no shame in being given a tough time of things by Craig Bellamy, Cole’s performance was noticeably worse than just a torrid time. He made stupid, unnecessary fouls, got caught out when he should normally have had enough pace and looked very, very shaky. He may have been pushed a touch for the penalty incident, but a defender with his mind fully on the job wouldn’t have allowed the ball to hit him as blatantly as it did. In mitigation he did improve and unlike Lauren provided some attacking threat. 5.5
Kolo: Did alright but like the others his decision making didn’t always seem to be the best informed. That said, it’s a little harsh to chastise a central defender who has kept four clean sheets in five. 6.5
Sol: Urgh. After some very sound recent performances he seemed far too troubled by what looked like some relatively simple long balls. One such error allowed Ameobi in for his early chance and his lack of authority always made the long ball route look like a wise one for Newcastle to take. 6
Flamini: Not his best game for Arsenal but he still got through a lot of work, kept things simple and had a hand in setting up Vieira for the goal. 6.5
Vieira: Named man of the match by SKY and praised in a couple of papers, but I’m going to be honest and say that up until he scored I thought he was pretty useless, being caught in possession too often. That said in the second half he got through a fair bit of work as we ground out victory. 6.5
Fred: Beavered away, had some good moments and kept on trying. Was going to commend him for his work on a couple of occasions in particular but can’t now remember what they were. 7
Pires: Even by his standards, his tackling was poor today. Truth be told, I can’t fathom how he’s allowed to defend with his body constantly side on to the play. As a left winger he has defensive responsibilities and simply has to make a better fist of it. On the attacking front he was probably our most creative player, moving the ball smartly and at pace. 6
Van Persie: Still very, very raw. Unlucky not to score in the opening minutes and had a couple more decent efforts but all too frequently ran into trouble and lost the ball on what was admittedly an awful surface completely unsuited to his quick twists and turns. Corners weren’t bad. Needs time. 6.5
Henry: His touch was not quite at its magical best, but again this was probably due to the state of the pitch. Had a couple of good runs that resulted in decent shots on Shay Given’s goal. 6.5
Subs:
Clichy (for Van Persie 80 mins approx): Seemed as happy as anyone in the post match huddle but for the second game in succession he seemed a little out of sorts when called upon. 6
v Fulham (2-0)
Almunia: Looks better by the game and made a crucial save when he rushed out at speed to palm away a Fulham chance at 1-0. Made no notable mistakes. 7
Clichy: Had a good first half – getting forward well as usual and strong on the defensive stuff. Then in the second half he seemed to lose his confidence went, either as a result of or because of Fulham consistently probing down our left. Like any small full-back, aerial strength is a weakness.6
Lauren: Average as usual. Looked solid against a Fulham attack lacking any real penetration. 6.5
Sol: At times we were troubled in the air – but Sol is leading a defence that is no longer allowing attackers completely free headers at corners. Looks fit and healthy and, along with the rest of the defence, now has three clean sheets in four league games. 7
Freddie: A fine game on his return from migraine troubles. Played in Henry for the first and set-up Pires for the second. 7.5
Cesc: Gets caught on the ball occasionally but is still doing the vast majority of things with real fluency. Gives us real creativity in the middle. 7
Vieira: Showed a few soft shoe shuffles to bam boozle defenders in a way we haven’t really seen this season. Also got stuck into his tackles and generally seemed to be on the ball. 7
Pires: There was this surreal moment in the first half. He got the ball on the left wing and took a heavy touch. As if that wasn’t enough he then went flying into the tackle with the Fulham defender and actually won the ball. And it wasn’t the only time – I saw him snuff out a few Fulham attacks and even win a header.
Of course, the attacking side of his play was superb as well – he would have scored from a Dennis chest down but for a good save by Van De Saar. He linked up well, particularly with Henry, and inevitably took his goal with typical aplomb. Now has 19 in 2004, which is good. 7.5
Dennis: A fair few poor touches and bad decision making in general play. In mitigation, he dummied the ball well for the second goal and put Pires in with an excellent chest down. 6.5
Henry: Sure, the flicks didn’t always come off but at times he led Fulham a merry dance like he has almost every other defence this season. His goal was a trade mark finish and he was desperately unlucky when his side footer from the edge of the box crashed back off a post. 7
Subs:
Flamini (for Freddie 74ish): Some might say Arsene was making a point by not replacing Freddie with Pennant. Others will call it a sensible way of seeing out the game. 6.5
Van Persie (for Dennis 78ish): Provided his usual array of tricks but didn’t get a real chance to score. 6.5
v Portsmouth (1-0)
Almunia: Had a really good game. Caught when he needed to catch, punched when he wasn't sure and kicked immaculately. Also made a couple of really good saves. His run of impressive performances may only stretch to two but for now there seems no reason to bring back Jens. 8
Lauren: Did nothing too wrong but didn't offer as much in attack as he might have and at times appeared troubled by Pomey's pace. I think he's ok, but I'm becoming less and less convinced he should be our right back at all - more on that tomorrow. 6.5
Cole: A tough one to call. For a while looked rattled by Pompey's pace and agression down the left. Misplaced a couple of balls and though his tackles were mostly coming off they had a slightly concerning aggressiveness about them which made me think he was letting his own frustration get the better of him a little. But stuck to the task well and in the end kept a dangerous Pompey out. 7
Kolo: Got sucked in a couple of times, but on the whole he was part of a defence that looked pretty solid and much improved at set pieces. 7
Sol: Looked fitter than recently I thought - turning smoothly on a couple of occasions when faced with danger. He also made countless important headers at corners and won us the game with the kind of head down sheer determinism many fans would like to see a little more often. 8
Flamini: Ran hard, tackled hard and never gave up. Doesn't offer as much going forward as Fabregas, but doesn't claim to either. Unlucky with a header from Henry's free-kick. 7
Vieira: Industrious, but was also sloppy on occasion, getting caught in posession and losing the ball. Still doesn't seem 100% back to his best and didn't make the most of a couple of shooting opportunities. 6.5
Clichy: Fought well and offered Cole valuable protection down the left hand side. Showed initial attacking promise early on but faded as Pompey grew in stature. Nonetheless, was full of running at the end and nearly capitalised on tired Pompey legs. 7
Pires: His every touch was met with a chorus of boos as Bob faced Pompey for the first time since 'that dive' last season. There was even one moment when he slipped and the ball rolled out of play. Which probably made a certain journalist very, very warm inside. Otherwise, was neat enough but pretty ineffectual, seemingly afraid of injury in the rough house atmosphere. Had a couple of lovely runs late on and set Dennis up for a chance he really should have taken. 6.5
Henry: Worked hard and created much of our best work, but often found himself crowded out by the hoardes of Pompey defenders. Nearly scored after a flowing first half move and set up Dennis' other chance late on, which again he really should have taken. 7
Van Persie: Started really well, showing fantastic feet and trickery and generally leading Pompey a merry dance. He swivels at such speed he'll probably need a hip replacement aged 30. Faded somewhat after his impressive start, finding himself crowded out by the packed defence. Could pass a little earlier at times but nonetheless a decent first start in a difficult game and he staked a fair claim for inclusion against Fulham on Boxing Day. 6.5
Subs:
Bergkamp (for Van Persie 68ish): Should have scored late on following good set up play. His performance did little to silence the voices calling for this year to be his last. I'm undecided on that, but what I am sure about is that I won't miss the needless little kicks and elbows aimed at his opponents when frustration sets in. Simply put: the sly digs are ugly and Van Nistelrooy like and do nothing for us. 6
v Chelsea (2-2)
Almunia: Faultless for both their goals, he made good stops from Lampard and Gudjohnsen in the first half. And made a vital save when Robben wriggled his way through after the break. But nobody noticed it. Caught when a catch was a good idea, punched when a punch was wiser and set us on the attack with some good throws. 7.5
Lauren: Didn't see much of him, but when you're up against Duff and Robben, this can only be to a defender's credit. Thought he did really well to keep them in check, and the one time Robben did really threaten in the second half, the danger came down the other side. 7.5
Cole: The one player who I thought struggled today. As has been the case of late, he lacked confidence in his touch and stuggled defensively. Perhaps should have come out to Robben before the winger got into the box for his 2nd half chance, and was easily beaten in the air by Drogba for Cheslea's 2nd equaliser. 6
Kolo: Looked solid overall and helped limit Chelsea to only a few chances asides from set pieces. 7
Sol: A mixed bag. Made some really important defensive headers and looked in command at times at the back. But was a little caught out for their opening goal and sometimes seemed a little gung ho in his marking. Made important late tackle on Drogba.7
Reyes: Was quiet, but this was a tough game. Nodded down to Henry for the opener, worked hard and went on a few mazy runs without much success. Still, I thought he gave them something to worry about.6.5
Fabregas: Another excellent performance. He and Flamini were overwhelmed initially when up against Tiago, Lampard and Makalele but never gave up and fought their way back into the game admirably. Nice goal to set up Henry for the opener, he was instrumental in setting up the Frenchman's near winner and also set up RVP for his chance. Uses the ball so intelligently and showed that despite his size, he's not afraid to get stuck in. Was up against the very best in the business today and succeeded in limiting Lampard to a largely peripheral role.8
Flamini: £1 million? First league start? A snip if you ask me. He run's tirelessly, he harries, he puts his foot in and he uses the ball simply when he wins it. A real water carrier but absolutely essential today and worked tirelessly. Well done Sir. 8
Pires: We wanted a big performance and boy did we get one. Seemed almost impossible to shake off the ball, tackled back, linked up well with Lauren, Flamini, Cesc and Henry and drove the team forward in his own idiosyncratic waddle. When in his pomp, he is still a wonderful, wonderful footballer to watch. Set up Henry for the near winner, realised his responsibility as the senior partner in midfield, and shouldered the responsibility admirably.7.5
Dennis: Didn't get involved in too much of note, but I can't help feeling he just gives us a cetain sophistication and shape when he's in the side. Gordon Strachan pointed out on Match of the Day how hard he'd worked to stop Makalele getting the ball and in hindsight I think it probably a fair call.6.5
Henry: Forget the late miss - it can happen to anyone. Otherwise he was outstanding, scoring a brilliant first (which included winning a high ball!), netting an impudent second and generally running the show. Scared Chelsea shitless every time he picked it up and was responsible for a hell of a lot of good work. Also destroyed the concept he doesn't turn it on in big games. That's 15 in 17 league games now by the way.9
Subs:
Clichy (for Reyes 82): Ran around like mad for 10 minutes and forced mistakes out of tired legs. Really good footballer and good enough to start for probably every Premiership side and perhaps should be more often for us. 7.5
RVP: Is maturing very nicely indeed. Nearly netted a silky winner when he latched onto Cesc's pass and gave the Chelsea players a lot to think about. Would be really interesting to see him start. 7
v Rosenberg (5-1)
Almunia: Made a really, really good low save early on and kicked largely well. But looked dodgy more than once on crosses and for the second time in a week cost us a goal, which is a real worry. Eventually realised there's nothing wrong with giving a ball a good double handed punch. 6
Hoyte: Was up against a poor opposition but defended diligently and rarely looked rushed. Used the ball well, linked up well with his team mates and should be well pleased with his first European start. 7
Cole: Looked solid, with a couple of important defensive headers, but still not yet back to his marauding best I sense. Shouldn't have let the ball drop over his head for Harald Brattbakk to fire at Alumnia after 17 minutes. Withdrawn with quarter of an hour left. 6.5
Sol: Ditto for above, though did once later on look somewhat sluggish again on the turn. Perhaps I'm just paranoid about the impending arrival of Duff and Robben at Highbury.6.5
Kolo: A very easy night for the big man and he even found time for a classic Kolo dance into the opposition penalty area towards the end. 7
Flamini: Very, very good full debut. Set up the second goal, ran tirelessly, got tackles in and seemed to work well with Cesc in midfield. Looks comfortable tracking back and going forward and also seems to have a strange affinity for joining in attacks right around the right edge of the penalty area and particularly when we attack the North Bank. A young, thinking man's Gilles Grimandi, he ain't at all bad for a fifth choice midfielder. 7.5
Cesc: Absolute star. Has already played 20 games this season (twice as many as Edu, Gilberto and Vieira), yet still had the strength to turn in one of his best performances for the club. Fantastically alert, his use of the ball was excellent. He also scored a very impressive, very difficult goal and was involved in the build up for the fifth. Not just our most frequent performer in midfield this season, but also our best. 8
Jose: Took his goal really well and gave us a flying start. Had another deflected shot well saved and looked much more like the sun kid of the beginning of the season. Had a delightful late chip that bamboozled three very stupid looking Rosenberg players before landing on the roof of the net. 7
Pires: Looked much, much better and was even spotted making a tackle late in the second half. Kept going and linked up well late on with Jose and RVP before being withdrawn for Quincy with two minutes left. His penalty was so brilliantly placed it went into the side netting. Again I marvel at his ability to put a football exactly where he wants it to go. 7
Bergkamp: A nice return for the Ice Man who got involved well in the game, set up the opener and had a couple of openings himself. Might have done better when in front of goal, but eased himself back into the side well. 7
Henry: I actually thought that poor as the defending was for his goal, it was still a pretty decent finish. Worked hard all night, linked up well with the kids around him and seemed to be feeling particularly tolerant. 7
Subs:
Clichy (for Dennis 72ish): Spent a few mins in midfield before dropping back to left back when RVP replaced Ashley. As ever looked sound in the defending and assured going forward.
7
RVP (for Cole 75): Resuscitated the game with some silky skills, wayward finishing and then eventually a very well taken goal. Rawer than an uncooked vegetable, but with massive potential. 7.5
Quincy (for Bob 88): Should have had longer. Don't think he got a touch.
v Birmingham (3-0)
Alumnia: Looks like Lehman, kicks slightly better than Lehman, fumbles the odd ball like Lehman and jumps a couple of inches less high in the air than Lehman. Did ok, but would have been ill advised to let Morrison’s second half effort creep under him and over the line.6.5
Lauren: Seemed really quiet yesterday. Means he was doing his defensive job well which at the moment is the priority. Better? Seeing as we kept a clean sheet, probably a tad. 6.5
Cole: It's not been picked up much by the press, but I’ve thought Ash to be one of the players whose form has most obviously dipped in the recent spell. He’s still looked a top left back, but the subtlety of touch that allowed him and Bob to link so well still seems to be absent. Better? Not noticeably, but again should take credit for a clean sheet. 7
Sol: I’m of the opinion he’s still carrying a little bit of weight. Played well enough, but on a couple of occasions he looked sluggish and immobile on the turn, which is obviously a concern with Duff and Robben coming to town next week. Better? Probably not. 6.5
Kolo: Probably fair to say he’s not been our worst performer in the recent period, but I think on occasion he has allowed our recent jitters to affect his decision making a little. Kept Heskey quiet, but also seemed to time his jumps wrongly on a couple of occasions. Better? Ditto above. 7
Vieira: Did some good stuff but on other occasions his decision making and concentration again seemed lacking a little. He’s a hard one to judge at the moment. Better? Probably a bit.7
Cesc: I’m glad to see he escaped censure for his recent performances because I think a lot of the recent mutterings about how he’s no Gilberto have been unfair. Admittedly, the Brazilian’s best work is done off the ball, SKY’s stats show how we tend to win with him in the side, but I still think the young Spaniard is doing pretty well. He’s a young boy whose probably played too many games in a struggling team in a big league. But he’s still there, still getting stuck in and still doing his stuff. Tired in the latter stages yesterday and was replaced by Flamini, which was a wise, common sense, decision. Better? No, but only because he was doing well in the first place. 7
Freddie: Scavenged, burrowed, furrowed, ducked and dived. Fred’s doing them all at the moment and its working as the perfect complement to the continued attempts at perfection that come from the rest of the team. Is also being very productive. Should have had a penalty yesterday, set up the third goal and generally ran the show. Better? No, but only because he’s been great. 7.5
Pires: Mark my words. One of these days the opposition are going to get a free kick on the edge of our area. Their player will hit it, the ball will fly off Robert Pires and zip past Lehman. And we’ll all put it down as a fluke, like we did for Graveson’s effort that flew off Pennant in the Carling Cup game against Everton. Except it won’t be a fluke because Pires, like Pennant, will have jumped with his back to the ball, meaning that when it hits him he’ll have no way of giving it any direction.
My point is that Pires simply has to go into tackles. Maybe he’s worried about getting hurt, but he’s ducking out of the most basic challenges and its meaning we’re losing the battle in midfield at places like Old Trafford and Anfield.
Obviously, as I was making a note of this, Bob went and scored a classic Bob goal. Basically a really, really good one. He is a fantastic playa, probably the purest footballer we have in our team and quite possibly the best finisher. Yesterday was his 50th goal for the club and almost without exception (Bolton at home this season) they’ve been aesthetically perfect and a joy to watch.
But he must pull his weight for the team, which funnily enough I’ve seen him do really well on a number of occasions. Better? A little bit later on in the second half. 6.5
Reyes: You have to feel for him - seemingly everything he tries seems to go askew these days. Inches away from a Henry cross in the first half, he got into the game a bit more going towards half time, but then tired before being withdrawn. As I said above, he could do with a 25 minute run against tired defences to get his confidence back. Better? Not really, but not for want of effort. 6.5
Henry: Whether it be through injury or lack of confidence, he spent much of the game getting into decent positions but then making the wrong decision. Then ten minutes from time he took off past Melchiot, through the Birmingham defence and then a cool low finish hit whilst he was running at incredible speed. Six minutes later, he bought a ticket for Freddie Ljungberg’s cross and got lucky.
May not be at his best. But the level of criticism he of all people has taken is ridiculous. Has scored 13 league goals this season (four more than anyone else and 9 more than Ruud), scoring in 11 of the 16 games. And it’s not even like he’s bound to get the goals because nobody else does. He hasn’t even scored a third of our goals, and with the exception of Old Trafford (when nobody scored) and Selhurst Park, at least one other Arsenal player has scored in all of our other games.
Better? Yes. Despite earlier failures, his determination to keep going for the all important second goal was admirable. 7.5
Subs:
Clichy (for Jose): I love this guy. He’s like Wenger’s little foot soldier and seems capable of doing everything. Slotted in expertly in left midfield. He covers, chases back, tackles, retains the ball, gets forward, dribbles and causes havoc in the opposition defence. He may be more defensive than Reyes, but sometimes being slightly more defensive can give you the shape to attack more. May not be suited to central midfield, but should be considered a serious option for a place in left midfield on tough away games. 7.5
Flamini: Seems to do everything neatly enough without being spectacular. Will be interesting to see how he works with Cesc over the next two games.7
v Man United (0-1)
Alumnia: Crap on their goal, barely put a foot wrong otherwise. Plays and looks like a slightly smaller Jens, but can kick. 6
Hoyte: OK and defended well on occasion, but I’d still like to see him get forward more. That said, I think he’s a player who would look much better surrounded by seasoned pros. 6.5
Clichy: Really, really good as usual. Slipped on their excuse of a pitch for the early goal, but didn’t let it affect him and worked tirelessly defending and attacking all game. 7.5
Senderos: The lumbering giant of Everton had been replaced by a very, very accomplished looking centre half. One dodgy back header that fell short but otherwise cut out everything that was asked of him and looked a real first team option. 8
Djorou: Took eye off ball and then slipped for the goal which wasn’t good. Never quite looked the same player as against Everton, but worked his way back into the game. 6.5
Flamini: Looks like we can breathe a little more easily in the midfield department after watching a very assured display. Would like to see him trialled as a sub for Freddie in games where we’ve got a dodgy one goal lead. 7
Larsson: Some like him but I’m not so sure. What he did was decent enough but I thought he struggled to have an effect on the game. 6.5
Quincy: Maybe it was the pitch, maybe it was United doubling up on him. Either way the hero of the last round never really got into last night’s affair. 6
Pennant: Worked hard, tried to take the initiative and overall did quite well. Still not sure if he’ll quite make it at Highbury though. 7
Lupoli: Is a striker and when strikers get no service they don’t look much kop. 6.5
Van Persie: Battled hard all night and willingly came deep to win possession. But probably came a bit too deep and battled a bit too hard. Yes, he could have been sent off for the incident with Richardson. Reminds me a bit of a young Freddie, not in playing style but in the way that the potential is clearly there but the skills are still very, very raw. 6.5
Subs:
Smith (for Lupoli): Did OK but still looks wary of going in for challenges and taking men on following his long term injury.
Cregg: Alright
Karbassiyoon: Alright
Answer: Yes, yes and yes.
My conclusion is that Sven would get double the amount of stick if the thought of writing about England wasn’t so boring. In fact, I’ve had enough. I’m so bored I can’t be stuffed to write any more about England.
But I will say a few words about my good friends at FIFA. Presumably David Beckham’s red card will stand, despite his 2nd booking being a blatant dive.
It will stand because under FIFA’s own half witted rules, appeals are only allowed in cases of mistaken identity. I don’t give a stuff about Beckham, but I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: this is the most inept rule I have ever seen.
England have been wrongly deprived of a playa for 30 minutes because of an opposition player’s connivance. And then to compound the problem, they will ban him for no other reason than that they have invented a stupid rule that says he must be banned.
For some reason, this rule pisses me off big time. It is the height of bullshit in a game overflowing with the stuff. The only bans being handed out should be for the half wits who invented this rule and are now pressuring the Premiership to take it up.
The only saving grace is that these things have a way of hitting people back in the face. How I will laugh if the brilliant Ronaldinho is sent-off in next year’s World Cup semi-final for handling on the line when the ball clearly hit his chest. Of course, my scorn will not be directed at the unfortunate Brazilian. Instead it will be at the FIFA bigwigs who will have seen their showpiece player miss their showpiece game because of their own arrogant, farcical rules.
Football returns next week.
...
021005
Arsenal 1 Birmingham 0 - half a report
Well, I only saw the second half (hence no playa ratings). From the sounds of it we created a fair bit in the first half and as well as missing a penalty we could have had a hatful.
The second half seemed a very flat affair. Maik Taylor made great saves early on from Pires and Ljungberg and then we seemed to lose any great degree of urgency. In the end, Van Persie’s not brilliantly hit shot deflected off a defender and beat the excellent Taylor. We held on, though not with any great style.
We looked lethargic in the latter stages. From what I saw Campbell, Toure and Cole looked good enough. Reyes is playing with brilliant enthusiasm and desire. The rest of them don’t look lazy by any means but if you compare us with Chelsea at the moment, is the same unswerving desire there? I’m not so sure.
It needs to be.
And the crowd can play their part too. Apologies if the SKY sound system did Highbury a disservice, but the ground sounded embarrassingly silent today. The players are human beings like the rest of us and they thrive on the support of the crowd like you and I would. So, if you’re lucky enough to be at Highbury, sing.
Chelsea won 4-1 this afternoon and looked good, albeit against what is a pretty poor Liverpool league side. The Kop were singing louder in the 89th minute than anything Highbury managed today.
On site news, I’ve gone back to the old design but with the new logo following a public outcry. Not sure about what should go in the space on the left though, as the Latest Updates column was pointless and time consuming to update.
Finally, a question for any readers who live in Dublin or anywhere else in the Republic of Ireland. I need to get internet access at my new flat for 3 months. Are there any broadband companies who don’t insist on you signing up for 12 months? And what is the best dial-up?
...
|fhffg
Archives: July 2005, June 2005, May 2005, April 2005,March 2005, February 2005, January 2005, December 2004 and the embryonic goodplaya.
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Playa ratings:
v West Ham (2-3) - NEW
Lehman: An absolute idiot for stupidly getting involved with Harewood late on. Not only was it nasty, but he could have been sent-off and he also put us out of our stride. A minute later West Ham made it 3-1. He’s a very good goalkeeper but an arrogant, nasty character and an embarrassment when he behaves like that. 4
Gilbert: Looked to be doing fine until the Arsenal full-back curse struck. 6
Djorou: Individually did well, but understandably hasn’t been able to strike up any kind of partnership with Campbell yet. 6
Campbell: What can you say? Two massive errors that were punished to the max. Things just aren’t going his way at all. 4
Senderos: Obviously doesn’t offer the attacking prowess of Cole or Clichy but he looked solid and his distribution to Pires was fairly impressive. Did fine at centre-back in the second half but should have whacked it out instead of passing to Larsson for the mistake that led to the third goal. 5
Gilberto: He’s not great at the moment. Far too passive for my liking. 5
Diaby: Still raw, but I like him. And he is so like Vieira: even his mistakes remind me of Vieira’s shortcomings. Not sure why he was taken off. 7
Ljungberg: You have to laugh at the way he somehow managed to deflect Henry’s shot wide. Is trying really hard and not actually playing badly at all. But nothing is going his way. 7
Pires: I do feel we need players with greater bite than Pires at the moment. But in fairness, he was involved, scored one, set-up the other one for Henry and saw Hislop deny him with a great save. 6
Henry: Hard to judge. Seemed to have a decent enough game on TV but reports from the game were critical. 6
Van Persie: Unlucky. Offered a lot but nothing went his way. 7
Subs:
Flamini: Brought on as an emergency right-back but did pretty well all things considered. Say what you like about Flamini but he’s a fighter who unlike some of his team-mates will never be found lacking for effort. 7
Larsson: Yes, he made the cock-up for the third goal. But it was typical of our rough justice. Other than that he was excellent: committed in the tackle, full of running in attack and crucially he understands the value of hitting long-balls diagonally, as opposed to completely straight. Which is something some of his team-mates could do with taking note of. 7
Dennis: Not normally much of a substitute, but he found himself a good niche on the right of midfield and offered us extra creativity. Well hit volley to set up Pires’ goal. 6
v Sparta Prague (0-2)
Lehmann: Solid enough game. He’s doing well at the moment. 7
Clichy: Bit of a nightmare really, though to be fair their right winger was their best playa. 5
Cygan: Surprisingly assured. 7
Kolo: Looked fairly good most of the time. 7
Lauren: The odd moment of strangeness. 6.5
Flamini: Was hard to judge the midfielders tonight. Seemed to do the normal without being mega effective. 6.5
Gilberto: One of those Gilberto games where you don’t really know how he has played. 6.5
Fabregas: Got fairly involved and offered threat down the right. 7
Pires: Not his best game by any means but still one of his better ones this season. Magnificent ball for the second goal. 7
Van Persie: Seems to get carded in Europe for the most ridiculous things. Did alright without having much effect. 6.5
Reyes: Full of running til he got injured and wasn’t running at all. 6.5
Subs:
Henry (for Reyes 17ish): Emperor-like as he beat Wrighty’s record. Magnificent playa who, had he not scored, would have been accused of going missing in another big game. But because he did score, it won’t count as a big game. 8.5
Eboue (for Van Persie 70ish): Looking ok at the moment. 6.5
Quincy (for Cesc 85ish): Full of running. 6.5
v West Brom (2-1)
Lehmann: Blameless for goals. 6
Lauren: Not particularly composed. 5.5
Clichy: Has had far better games. 5.5
Senderos: Good goal, messy header for theirs. 6
Toure: Ok but ridiculously offside at one free kick. 5.5
Flamini: Ok but uninspiring. 5.5
Cesc: Decent. Kept trying. 6
Pires: Crap. 4.5
Ljungberg: Ok while he was on. 5.5
Reyes: Still running his heart out. 7
Bergkamp: A moany kind of day. 5.5
Subs:
Eboue (for Ljungberg 35ish): Not great. 5.5
Quincy (for Flamini 80ish): Bizarrely decided what Arsenal lack is left-wingers. 5.5
v Everton (2-0)
Jens: Very little to do. Did it all right. 7
Lauren: Occasionally seemed to imagine he had more pace than he does, which was quite amusing as he tried to take people on. Solid as usual. 7
Cole: As someone who gave him a good bashing over the summer it would suit by agenda to say he is playing poorly. But that would be a lie. Whatever the reasons for it, he has started the season well and in attack in particular is offering a lot. 7.5
Toure: Nothing to do at the back and seemed to enjoy getting in on this whole new set-piece malarkey. 7
Campbell: Two excellent headers, especially the second one which was a real hammer. Not at full speed yet but looked good, organised the defence well, shouted at people and seemed to realise he was our most senior player on the pitch. 8
Pires: Hadn’t done all that much in the brief period he was on the pitch before Gary Neville’s shit younger brother’s tackle forced him off. 6.5
Cesc: One friend said to me he is looking lightweight and giving the ball away too much. Maybe. But I think he does a lot of good stuff and his presence in the opponent’s penalty box is valuable. 7
Gilberto: Solid game, got through a fair amount and gave us a couple of those rare Gilberto moments where for a few seconds he stops looking like he is suspended in perpetual slow motion and instead provides us with raw Brazilian skill. 7
Ljungberg: Started slowly but furrowed hard as ever. Seemed to make a real determination to either stick wide out on the wing or else very deliberately come inside as opposed to just being narrow. I think it worked. Unlucky to hit bar in second half. 7
Van Persie: Hit the post with a nice effort (right footed!) and had some decent moments but was otherwise a bit subdued. Has been a fairly rough few weeks and is probably still feeling his way back in to things. 6.5
Reyes: Loses the ball now and then but that is only because he constantly seems to have it. Boundless energy at the moment, great creativity and fantastic balls into the box. Really was amazing how much of the ball he had tonight. 8
Subs:
Hleb (for Pires first half some time): Played pretty well, looked pretty creative and linked up well with Cole. Playing better than Pires. 7
Dennis (for Van Persie 80ish): Did alright. Created a bit of stuff. Didn’t do anything of note. 6.5
Alex Song (for Reyes 87ish): Made a couple of sloppy passes but it was harsh and exaggerated for Alan Smith to say he hadn’t found a man. 6
v Thun (2-1)
Almunia: Probably not to blame on the goal and handling was ok even though he still catches very strangely.6
Lauren: Did the usual Lauren stuff. Fairly well. 6.5
Cole: Thought he was good today. Clean at the back and contributed well going forward. Perhaps he enjoyed having Pires back in front of him. 7
Toure: Seemed ok. Can’t remember too much else.6.5
Sol: Looking a little chunky but it must be good to have him back.6.5
Cesc: Not his most spectacular game but made a couple of decent runs forward and made one particularly delicious pass in the second half.6.5
Gilberto: Very well taken goal and was more involved tonight than normally. An experienced head 7.5
Pires: By no means at his best but infinitely better than the past few games. Got in an early curler that almost flew in and was generally far more involved. Even tried to tackle twice. Neither attempt worked.. 7
Ljungberg. Svavanged without achieving much.6.5
RVP: Had been easing himself back into first team action when the dick head referee struck. 6.5
Reyes: Excellent, his boundless enthusiasm drove the team on and he looked really dangerous at times and caused Thun more problems than anyone else. 8
Subs:
Dennis (for Cesc 70 odd): Is that his first goal as a sub? Took it well. 7
Hleb (for Reyes 80 odd): Didn’t really find his touch in the ten minutes he had.6
Quincy (for Ljungberg 80 odd): Offered a new threat.6.5
v Fulham (4-1)
Lehman: Looking very solid at the moment. You can tell it by the fact he is not making kicking mistakes at the moment. At tricky moments, his handling from corners was excellent.7
Lauren: Missed a penalty, but that was bound to happen one day and at least it didn’t matter. Otherwise, he played well and looked particularly committed (mostly in the right sense) in the tackle. 7
Cole: His best attacking display for a while and linked up promisingly with Reyes. 7.5
Cygan: I’ve made no secret of the fact that his presence in the team pleases me not. Defending was ok tonight, though a couple of times Fulham forwards worryingly escaped him when crosses were slung in. Took his goals very well. Could it be that unlike the rest of the side Cygan does not feel obligated to score the perfect goal and concentrates on just sticking it in the net?7.5
Kolo: Poor clearance for the Fulham goal but on the whole had a decent game. The defensive issues we have at the moment seem more a collective than individual problem. 7
Cesc: Gets a wee bit overrun occasionally but on the whole is playing really well and in particular offers a genuine attacking threat in the way that perhaps Vieira sometime failed to. 7
Gilberto: Did what Gilberto does. Still sometimes resembles one of those video graphic created dinosaurs in the way he moves. 7
Hleb: Good first half, creating a fair deal and generally looking like a cross between Pires and Ljungberg (in the best sense). 7
Reyes: A very good game in my opinion, full of running, full of trickery and very direct. In particular, he linked up very well with Cole and Henry, which was very pleasing. His ball for Henry’s first goal was majestic and pleasingly the two seemed on the same wavelength tonight. 8
Dennis: Besides his idiotic yellow card he had a great game and was at the heart of Fulham’s dissection. Kept going strong right to the end. 8
Henry: Took his two goals, which both came at crucial times, very well. Just one more to equal Wright’s record. 7.5
Subs:
Flamini (for Reyes 75 odd): Set up Henry for the killer third goal. 7
Clichy (for Hleb 85 odd): Ran around like mad, as Clichy does. 7
v Liverpool (3-1)
Lehman: Two really good saves – the first from Riise and the second from Gerard’s piledriver. Flapped at one cross but all it served to do was to remind us how much he has improved. 7.5
Lauren: Did very well, almost scoring from Pires’ cross in the first half and setting up the third goal with some nice play. Is doing well at the moment, perhaps spurred on by Wenger not mentioning right back when saying which areas he doesn’t need to strengthen over the summer! 7.5
Cole: A mixed game. Good going forward and times and obviously an excellent second half block from Garcia. But also occasionally sloppy, messing up things we know him well capable of doing. 6.5
Senderos: A big presence at the heart of the defence he had one of his sternest tests in an Arsenal shirt when Liverpool got at us in the second half. Did pretty well on the whole though, especially as protection from midfield was not always forthcoming. 7
Kolo: A good solid outing and the same goes for him as for Senderos. 7
Vieira: Did some stuff really well and was very influential in our first half attacking play. But I felt he allowed the midfield to be too easily swamped after the break and was not always applying the pressure to Liverpool that he might have done. 7
Gilberto: It goes without saying that evaluating a Gilberto performance is very, very difficult. That said, I felt that like Vieira he could have offered a bit more bite in midfield to help out the defence in the second half. 6.5
Pires: Really was at the heart of some of our best stuff in the first half. Crossed brilliantly for Lauren to almost score, shot just wide and then scored with a magnificent free-kick. Faded later on. 7.5
Cesc: Absolutely outstanding. He set the move in motion for Reyes’ offside goal, fired just wide from 20 yards, scored his own offside goal and then added a very neat third for us in stoppage time. In between this he ran the game, tackling, running with the ball, passing brilliantly and generally looking the best player on the park. Outstanding. 9
Reyes: Not perfect, but he notched up another well taken goal, scored an offside one and ran his heart out for the cause in the second half. 7.5
Van Persie: Not as involved as he has been but got involved and put over one excellent early cross for Robert Pires. Generally looking a much better player than previously. 7
Subs:
Edu (for Pires 70 odd): Came on and did ok. 6.5
Bergkamp (for Van Persie 70 odd): Set up Fabregas for the third with a fantastic flick but was otherwise pretty poor. When he did try and press Liverpool he gave away a few free-kicks and the rest of the time he just didn’t seem to chase them at a time when we really needed players to get stuck in. I know he is still capable of the odd piece of magic but we probably have enough to our attacking armoury that magic alone should not prompt a new contract. We have shown we are capable of winning without Dennis and should probably now look to the future. 6
Aliadiere (for Reyes 85): As ever he came on and got stuck in, chasing everything and hassling the Liverpool defenders. Has a really good attitude and probably deserves more than five minutes at some point. 6.5
v West Brom (2-0)
Lehman: The defence clearly trusts him again and he is reciprocating that with improved handling, kicking and decision making. 7
Lauren: Worked reasonably hard and got forward on a few occasions. 7
Cole: Looked a little lethargic at times but kept going and finished the game strongly, setting us on a number of attacks. 6.5
Senderos: A couple of passes went astray but took a no nonsence defence to defending. Far be it for me to argue with his current record of not conceding a goal for absolutely yonks. 7.5
Gilberto: Covered well at set pieces, but with Arsenal in 2nd gear he seemed only to happy to make sure Gilberto was in 2nd gear too. Not much drive. 6.5
Vieira: Committed silly fouls early on and was not finding his passes. Got better as the game went on and provided more drive. Symbolic of our night. 7
Pires: Did ok initially but like the rest of them lacked the necessary drive. Got better with the team. 7
Cesc: Probably not his best game. Came looking for the ball a lot and should be credited for it but looked a little fatigued when challenged. 6.5
Van Persie: Did ok initially but was not really receiving a lot of support from the midfield. Took his goal magnificently. 7
Reyes: Ran hard but once again looked incredibly left footed. But gave an excellent assist for the opening goal and kept on trying right til the end, providing useful relief for the defence. 7
Subs:
Dennis (for Van Persie 75ish): Did little except provide a measured set-up for Edu's clincher. 6.5
Edu (for Cesc 75ish): Got involved a bit and finished well to clinch it. 7
v Spurs (1-0)
Lehman: Is playing very well and his handling looks as assured as ever, his throws good and his kicking far better than earlier in the season. I think it no great secret that he needs to control his temper. 7
Lauren: Has looked solid in recent weeks and looked more lively going forward. Alan Curbishley put him in his team of the season on the basis that few wingers get much change out of him. And he is probably right. Really does need to watch stray elbows though, intentional or not. 7
Toure: Was given a little trouble by Defoe but it was less trouble than Adi Akenbai gave him in the FA Cup in January. And Defoe is clearly a far better player than the Stoke man. Will soon score a very, very memorable free-kick I sense. 7
Senderos: It is hard to argue with his defensive record since he came into the side. We have simply stopped conceding goals. That said, what are the odds that back when we were conceding at will, Robbie Keane would have buried that chance. Could have got first goal for club with header. 7
Cole: Linked up well as ever with Pires down our left hand side and seemed really up for the fight. Had the slightly awkward penalty shout against him at the end but otherwise did well. 7
Vieira: With the ball he was excellent on the whole, spreading play at pace and helping support those ahead of him. Looks much more comfortable with Gilberto next to him. Though that said they both looked half a step off the pace at times against a Spurs side full of running. 7
Gilberto: Did what Gilberto does well. Though probably not as much of a shield as against Chelsea. 7
Cesc: Tired a little in the second half but was his usual youthful magnificence until then. Spread the ball with ease, got stuck in, helped out the attack and set up our goal. Nice. 7.5
Pires: Not the force he was against Chelsea but is playing well at the moment, linking up well with Cole down the left and generally providing an experienced head in an otherwise youthful attack. 7
Van Persie: Set Reyes up for the first minute chance, fired a decent effort wide and generally played quite a mature game without hitting great heights. 7
Reyes: Did very well to come back after the first minute miss. Goal was excellent and attitude looked good. Seemed to find an extra gear for second half run that set up Dennis. 7.5
Subs:
Dennis (for Van Persie 70 odd): Curled one wide and generally looked quite good against a tiring Spurs defence. There was the odd occasion when I felt he let the player pass him to quickly but that was probably just my last minute nerves. 7
Edu (for Cesc 70 odd): Hit the post with a curling effort and slotted in very, very neatly on the left. Will be a great shame to lose him if he does eventually go. 7
Aliadiere (for Van Persie 87 odd): Only had a few minutes but looked really keen to impress. Had a couple of good touches, got stuck in and made tired Spurs legs panic, buying us valuable time. 7
Lehman: An absolute idiot for stupidly getting involved with Harewood late on. Not only was it nasty, but he could have been sent-off and he also put us out of our stride. A minute later West Ham made it 3-1. He’s a very good goalkeeper but an arrogant, nasty character and an embarrassment when he behaves like that. 4
Gilbert: Looked to be doing fine until the Arsenal full-back curse struck. 6
Djorou: Individually did well, but understandably hasn’t been able to strike up any kind of partnership with Campbell yet. 6
Campbell: What can you say? Two massive errors that were punished to the max. Things just aren’t going his way at all. 4
Senderos: Obviously doesn’t offer the attacking prowess of Cole or Clichy but he looked solid and his distribution to Pires was fairly impressive. Did fine at centre-back in the second half but should have whacked it out instead of passing to Larsson for the mistake that led to the third goal. 5
Gilberto: He’s not great at the moment. Far too passive for my liking. 5
Diaby: Still raw, but I like him. And he is so like Vieira: even his mistakes remind me of Vieira’s shortcomings. Not sure why he was taken off. 7
Ljungberg: You have to laugh at the way he somehow managed to deflect Henry’s shot wide. Is trying really hard and not actually playing badly at all. But nothing is going his way. 7
Pires: I do feel we need players with greater bite than Pires at the moment. But in fairness, he was involved, scored one, set-up the other one for Henry and saw Hislop deny him with a great save. 6
Henry: Hard to judge. Seemed to have a decent enough game on TV but reports from the game were critical. 6
Van Persie: Unlucky. Offered a lot but nothing went his way. 7
Subs:
Flamini: Brought on as an emergency right-back but did pretty well all things considered. Say what you like about Flamini but he’s a fighter who unlike some of his team-mates will never be found lacking for effort. 7
Larsson: Yes, he made the cock-up for the third goal. But it was typical of our rough justice. Other than that he was excellent: committed in the tackle, full of running in attack and crucially he understands the value of hitting long-balls diagonally, as opposed to completely straight. Which is something some of his team-mates could do with taking note of. 7
Dennis: Not normally much of a substitute, but he found himself a good niche on the right of midfield and offered us extra creativity. Well hit volley to set up Pires’ goal. 6
Lehmann: Solid enough game. He’s doing well at the moment. 7
Clichy: Bit of a nightmare really, though to be fair their right winger was their best playa. 5
Cygan: Surprisingly assured. 7
Kolo: Looked fairly good most of the time. 7
Lauren: The odd moment of strangeness. 6.5
Flamini: Was hard to judge the midfielders tonight. Seemed to do the normal without being mega effective. 6.5
Gilberto: One of those Gilberto games where you don’t really know how he has played. 6.5
Fabregas: Got fairly involved and offered threat down the right. 7
Pires: Not his best game by any means but still one of his better ones this season. Magnificent ball for the second goal. 7
Van Persie: Seems to get carded in Europe for the most ridiculous things. Did alright without having much effect. 6.5
Reyes: Full of running til he got injured and wasn’t running at all. 6.5
Subs:
Henry (for Reyes 17ish): Emperor-like as he beat Wrighty’s record. Magnificent playa who, had he not scored, would have been accused of going missing in another big game. But because he did score, it won’t count as a big game. 8.5
Eboue (for Van Persie 70ish): Looking ok at the moment. 6.5
Quincy (for Cesc 85ish): Full of running. 6.5
Lehmann: Blameless for goals. 6
Lauren: Not particularly composed. 5.5
Clichy: Has had far better games. 5.5
Senderos: Good goal, messy header for theirs. 6
Toure: Ok but ridiculously offside at one free kick. 5.5
Flamini: Ok but uninspiring. 5.5
Cesc: Decent. Kept trying. 6
Pires: Crap. 4.5
Ljungberg: Ok while he was on. 5.5
Reyes: Still running his heart out. 7
Bergkamp: A moany kind of day. 5.5
Subs:
Eboue (for Ljungberg 35ish): Not great. 5.5
Quincy (for Flamini 80ish): Bizarrely decided what Arsenal lack is left-wingers. 5.5
Jens: Very little to do. Did it all right. 7
Lauren: Occasionally seemed to imagine he had more pace than he does, which was quite amusing as he tried to take people on. Solid as usual. 7
Cole: As someone who gave him a good bashing over the summer it would suit by agenda to say he is playing poorly. But that would be a lie. Whatever the reasons for it, he has started the season well and in attack in particular is offering a lot. 7.5
Toure: Nothing to do at the back and seemed to enjoy getting in on this whole new set-piece malarkey. 7
Campbell: Two excellent headers, especially the second one which was a real hammer. Not at full speed yet but looked good, organised the defence well, shouted at people and seemed to realise he was our most senior player on the pitch. 8
Pires: Hadn’t done all that much in the brief period he was on the pitch before Gary Neville’s shit younger brother’s tackle forced him off. 6.5
Cesc: One friend said to me he is looking lightweight and giving the ball away too much. Maybe. But I think he does a lot of good stuff and his presence in the opponent’s penalty box is valuable. 7
Gilberto: Solid game, got through a fair amount and gave us a couple of those rare Gilberto moments where for a few seconds he stops looking like he is suspended in perpetual slow motion and instead provides us with raw Brazilian skill. 7
Ljungberg: Started slowly but furrowed hard as ever. Seemed to make a real determination to either stick wide out on the wing or else very deliberately come inside as opposed to just being narrow. I think it worked. Unlucky to hit bar in second half. 7
Van Persie: Hit the post with a nice effort (right footed!) and had some decent moments but was otherwise a bit subdued. Has been a fairly rough few weeks and is probably still feeling his way back in to things. 6.5
Reyes: Loses the ball now and then but that is only because he constantly seems to have it. Boundless energy at the moment, great creativity and fantastic balls into the box. Really was amazing how much of the ball he had tonight. 8
Subs:
Hleb (for Pires first half some time): Played pretty well, looked pretty creative and linked up well with Cole. Playing better than Pires. 7
Dennis (for Van Persie 80ish): Did alright. Created a bit of stuff. Didn’t do anything of note. 6.5
Alex Song (for Reyes 87ish): Made a couple of sloppy passes but it was harsh and exaggerated for Alan Smith to say he hadn’t found a man. 6
Almunia: Probably not to blame on the goal and handling was ok even though he still catches very strangely.6
Lauren: Did the usual Lauren stuff. Fairly well. 6.5
Cole: Thought he was good today. Clean at the back and contributed well going forward. Perhaps he enjoyed having Pires back in front of him. 7
Toure: Seemed ok. Can’t remember too much else.6.5
Sol: Looking a little chunky but it must be good to have him back.6.5
Cesc: Not his most spectacular game but made a couple of decent runs forward and made one particularly delicious pass in the second half.6.5
Gilberto: Very well taken goal and was more involved tonight than normally. An experienced head 7.5
Pires: By no means at his best but infinitely better than the past few games. Got in an early curler that almost flew in and was generally far more involved. Even tried to tackle twice. Neither attempt worked.. 7
Ljungberg. Svavanged without achieving much.6.5
RVP: Had been easing himself back into first team action when the dick head referee struck. 6.5
Reyes: Excellent, his boundless enthusiasm drove the team on and he looked really dangerous at times and caused Thun more problems than anyone else. 8
Subs:
Dennis (for Cesc 70 odd): Is that his first goal as a sub? Took it well. 7
Hleb (for Reyes 80 odd): Didn’t really find his touch in the ten minutes he had.6
Quincy (for Ljungberg 80 odd): Offered a new threat.6.5
Lehman: Looking very solid at the moment. You can tell it by the fact he is not making kicking mistakes at the moment. At tricky moments, his handling from corners was excellent.7
Lauren: Missed a penalty, but that was bound to happen one day and at least it didn’t matter. Otherwise, he played well and looked particularly committed (mostly in the right sense) in the tackle. 7
Cole: His best attacking display for a while and linked up promisingly with Reyes. 7.5
Cygan: I’ve made no secret of the fact that his presence in the team pleases me not. Defending was ok tonight, though a couple of times Fulham forwards worryingly escaped him when crosses were slung in. Took his goals very well. Could it be that unlike the rest of the side Cygan does not feel obligated to score the perfect goal and concentrates on just sticking it in the net?7.5
Kolo: Poor clearance for the Fulham goal but on the whole had a decent game. The defensive issues we have at the moment seem more a collective than individual problem. 7
Cesc: Gets a wee bit overrun occasionally but on the whole is playing really well and in particular offers a genuine attacking threat in the way that perhaps Vieira sometime failed to. 7
Gilberto: Did what Gilberto does. Still sometimes resembles one of those video graphic created dinosaurs in the way he moves. 7
Hleb: Good first half, creating a fair deal and generally looking like a cross between Pires and Ljungberg (in the best sense). 7
Reyes: A very good game in my opinion, full of running, full of trickery and very direct. In particular, he linked up very well with Cole and Henry, which was very pleasing. His ball for Henry’s first goal was majestic and pleasingly the two seemed on the same wavelength tonight. 8
Dennis: Besides his idiotic yellow card he had a great game and was at the heart of Fulham’s dissection. Kept going strong right to the end. 8
Henry: Took his two goals, which both came at crucial times, very well. Just one more to equal Wright’s record. 7.5
Subs:
Flamini (for Reyes 75 odd): Set up Henry for the killer third goal. 7
Clichy (for Hleb 85 odd): Ran around like mad, as Clichy does. 7
Lehman: Two really good saves – the first from Riise and the second from Gerard’s piledriver. Flapped at one cross but all it served to do was to remind us how much he has improved. 7.5
Lauren: Did very well, almost scoring from Pires’ cross in the first half and setting up the third goal with some nice play. Is doing well at the moment, perhaps spurred on by Wenger not mentioning right back when saying which areas he doesn’t need to strengthen over the summer! 7.5
Cole: A mixed game. Good going forward and times and obviously an excellent second half block from Garcia. But also occasionally sloppy, messing up things we know him well capable of doing. 6.5
Senderos: A big presence at the heart of the defence he had one of his sternest tests in an Arsenal shirt when Liverpool got at us in the second half. Did pretty well on the whole though, especially as protection from midfield was not always forthcoming. 7
Kolo: A good solid outing and the same goes for him as for Senderos. 7
Vieira: Did some stuff really well and was very influential in our first half attacking play. But I felt he allowed the midfield to be too easily swamped after the break and was not always applying the pressure to Liverpool that he might have done. 7
Gilberto: It goes without saying that evaluating a Gilberto performance is very, very difficult. That said, I felt that like Vieira he could have offered a bit more bite in midfield to help out the defence in the second half. 6.5
Pires: Really was at the heart of some of our best stuff in the first half. Crossed brilliantly for Lauren to almost score, shot just wide and then scored with a magnificent free-kick. Faded later on. 7.5
Cesc: Absolutely outstanding. He set the move in motion for Reyes’ offside goal, fired just wide from 20 yards, scored his own offside goal and then added a very neat third for us in stoppage time. In between this he ran the game, tackling, running with the ball, passing brilliantly and generally looking the best player on the park. Outstanding. 9
Reyes: Not perfect, but he notched up another well taken goal, scored an offside one and ran his heart out for the cause in the second half. 7.5
Van Persie: Not as involved as he has been but got involved and put over one excellent early cross for Robert Pires. Generally looking a much better player than previously. 7
Subs:
Edu (for Pires 70 odd): Came on and did ok. 6.5
Bergkamp (for Van Persie 70 odd): Set up Fabregas for the third with a fantastic flick but was otherwise pretty poor. When he did try and press Liverpool he gave away a few free-kicks and the rest of the time he just didn’t seem to chase them at a time when we really needed players to get stuck in. I know he is still capable of the odd piece of magic but we probably have enough to our attacking armoury that magic alone should not prompt a new contract. We have shown we are capable of winning without Dennis and should probably now look to the future. 6
Aliadiere (for Reyes 85): As ever he came on and got stuck in, chasing everything and hassling the Liverpool defenders. Has a really good attitude and probably deserves more than five minutes at some point. 6.5
Lehman: The defence clearly trusts him again and he is reciprocating that with improved handling, kicking and decision making. 7
Lauren: Worked reasonably hard and got forward on a few occasions. 7
Cole: Looked a little lethargic at times but kept going and finished the game strongly, setting us on a number of attacks. 6.5
Senderos: A couple of passes went astray but took a no nonsence defence to defending. Far be it for me to argue with his current record of not conceding a goal for absolutely yonks. 7.5
Gilberto: Covered well at set pieces, but with Arsenal in 2nd gear he seemed only to happy to make sure Gilberto was in 2nd gear too. Not much drive. 6.5
Vieira: Committed silly fouls early on and was not finding his passes. Got better as the game went on and provided more drive. Symbolic of our night. 7
Pires: Did ok initially but like the rest of them lacked the necessary drive. Got better with the team. 7
Cesc: Probably not his best game. Came looking for the ball a lot and should be credited for it but looked a little fatigued when challenged. 6.5
Van Persie: Did ok initially but was not really receiving a lot of support from the midfield. Took his goal magnificently. 7
Reyes: Ran hard but once again looked incredibly left footed. But gave an excellent assist for the opening goal and kept on trying right til the end, providing useful relief for the defence. 7
Subs:
Dennis (for Van Persie 75ish): Did little except provide a measured set-up for Edu's clincher. 6.5
Edu (for Cesc 75ish): Got involved a bit and finished well to clinch it. 7
Lehman: Is playing very well and his handling looks as assured as ever, his throws good and his kicking far better than earlier in the season. I think it no great secret that he needs to control his temper. 7
Lauren: Has looked solid in recent weeks and looked more lively going forward. Alan Curbishley put him in his team of the season on the basis that few wingers get much change out of him. And he is probably right. Really does need to watch stray elbows though, intentional or not. 7
Toure: Was given a little trouble by Defoe but it was less trouble than Adi Akenbai gave him in the FA Cup in January. And Defoe is clearly a far better player than the Stoke man. Will soon score a very, very memorable free-kick I sense. 7
Senderos: It is hard to argue with his defensive record since he came into the side. We have simply stopped conceding goals. That said, what are the odds that back when we were conceding at will, Robbie Keane would have buried that chance. Could have got first goal for club with header. 7
Cole: Linked up well as ever with Pires down our left hand side and seemed really up for the fight. Had the slightly awkward penalty shout against him at the end but otherwise did well. 7
Vieira: With the ball he was excellent on the whole, spreading play at pace and helping support those ahead of him. Looks much more comfortable with Gilberto next to him. Though that said they both looked half a step off the pace at times against a Spurs side full of running. 7
Gilberto: Did what Gilberto does well. Though probably not as much of a shield as against Chelsea. 7
Cesc: Tired a little in the second half but was his usual youthful magnificence until then. Spread the ball with ease, got stuck in, helped out the attack and set up our goal. Nice. 7.5
Pires: Not the force he was against Chelsea but is playing well at the moment, linking up well with Cole down the left and generally providing an experienced head in an otherwise youthful attack. 7
Van Persie: Set Reyes up for the first minute chance, fired a decent effort wide and generally played quite a mature game without hitting great heights. 7
Reyes: Did very well to come back after the first minute miss. Goal was excellent and attitude looked good. Seemed to find an extra gear for second half run that set up Dennis. 7.5
Subs:
Dennis (for Van Persie 70 odd): Curled one wide and generally looked quite good against a tiring Spurs defence. There was the odd occasion when I felt he let the player pass him to quickly but that was probably just my last minute nerves. 7
Edu (for Cesc 70 odd): Hit the post with a curling effort and slotted in very, very neatly on the left. Will be a great shame to lose him if he does eventually go. 7
Aliadiere (for Van Persie 87 odd): Only had a few minutes but looked really keen to impress. Had a couple of good touches, got stuck in and made tired Spurs legs panic, buying us valuable time. 7
v Chelsea (0-0)
Lehman: Has looked much better recently and besides the odd dodgy kick, looked very solid against Chelsea and made one excellent save early on from Drogba. His positioning seemed good on through balls. 7
Lauren: He really didn’t put a foot wrong and kept Damien Duff and probably had his best game for the club against a very, very tricky opponent. Was ferocious and fair in the tackle. 8
Cole: After a slightly tentative start he threw himself at everything Chelsea chucked at us. Whatever people’s feelings about his current situation, there can be no complaints about his performance. 7
Senderos: Excellent as usual. This guy likes clean sheets. 7
Toure: Really did well in what could have been a tricky night. Got weight on his clearances and never panicked. 7
Vieira: It really doesn’t take a genius to figure out how much he seems to be enjoying having Gilberto back in the side. Really led the side again with fine interventions and set us on the path to attack – such as when Pires hit the bar. 7.5
Gilberto: Suffered a couple of inevitable nosebleeds when he got into decent positions going forward but otherwise did a fine job of snaffling out what Chelsea threw at us and generally making the team a slick unit. Showed one or two fine turns as well. 7
Cesc: This kid really does defy logic. At a time when his brittle bones should be feeling the effects of a long, hard season he is looking stronger than ever. Magnificently composed on the ball, he worked furiously in defence, midfield and attack. 8
Pires: His early volley that hit the bar reminded me of when I stood in the Holte End last year for Villa v Arsenal and he hit an even better effort that was turned just over. Even the anti-French bigots around me were shut well and truly up.
There is a wonderful magnificence about watching Robert Pires on song. He caresses the ball delightfully and when it’s time to move it on he does it with the utmost precision. A joy to watch and unlucky not to score twice. 9
Reyes: The story of his last 6 months – no problem with effort but he just lacks the confidence to make things really happen. The annoying thing is that he’s making errors on things that a confident Reyes could do with his eyes shut. Let’s hope his effort is rewarded soon. 6
Bergkamp: Like Reyes he worked hard and did his bit to keep Chelsea at bay. But also like Reyes he found himself struggling up front. The curtain appears to be falling on his magnificent career. Hopefully an announcement will be made soon and both we and Dennis can enjoy his final games. 6
Subs:
Van Persie (for Dennis 80 odd): Struggled to get into the game but had a few decent chances and ran hard for the side.
Aliadiere (for Cesc 85 odd): Did alright but by the time he came on it didn’t look like either side were really going to score.
v Boro (1-0)
Lehman: Flapped at one cross in the first half and then came ridiculously far out of his goal before eventually winning the ball. Yes, he’s kept a fair few clean sheets recently and yes, it’s even true we could win the league again with him in goal, but no, we won’t win in Europe with Jens and no, he’s not the answer. 6
Lauren: His early challenge, whilst not worthy of a red card as suggested on Match of the Day, was sheer stupidity. He did alright and he’s plodding along but not really getting any better. 6
Cole: Attacked decently at times but wasn’t helped by a very, very ineffectual Robert Pires. 6.5
Senderos: Now looks like he should be partnering Sol Campbell when the two are fit. Authoritative, big and commanding, his presence has coincided with a string of clean sheets. Still has rough edges, but these are being shaved all the time. 7
Kolo: Did reasonably well and made a couple of important blocks, but I’m not convinced his future lies in the heart of the defence. Together, he and Lauren sometimes seem to bring out the worst in each other and we just don’t look solid, clean sheets or no clean sheets. Would like to see him at right back. 6.5
Gilberto: I looked out especially for incidences of him filling gaps and yes, I can confirm it happens and he does his job well. Still looks very nervous in attacking positions, but his presence is welcome. 6
Vieira: I thought he did reasonably well, though like the rest of the players he seemed to have trouble bringing any great coherency to our play. 6
Cesc: I plumped for Cesc on the right a while ago and I like seeing him there. He got well forward and was always involved. Looks tired, but it’s been a long old season and he’s still, only 17. 6.5
Pires: I thought him absolute rubbish up until he scored really. His inability to tackle has been documented many times before, but on Saturday he seemed to be playing the whole game at walking pace. But then who better is there at converting the one chance he gets to secure a 1-0 lead. 6
Reyes: Things still aren’t all coming off for him but I sense things are getting better and his work rate and willingness to track back really can’t be faulted. We know for a fact that the boy has the talent to succeed, so while he may not be showing what he’s really capable of right now, we should applaud his recent application. Had a couple of really mazy runs and set up Henry excellently for a shot he scuffed. 7
Henry: Had one of those games where he seemed to stand almost still on the edge of the box, conserving his energy and waiting to pounce. It didn’t really work, though he did have a glorious chip fly just wide and certainly scared the Boro fans every time he got the ball. He was also up against an obdurate Boro. 6.5
Subs:
Dennis (Reyes 46): Did alright without really changing the game at all. It seems the curtain may be falling on his illustrious career and reluctantly, I think it right. We know he can still play brilliantly in patches but the truth is that it’s becoming less often and it’s hampering us in European away games. We need someone to step forward and become Henry’s partner. Sometimes the bullet needs to be bitten. And now is that time. 6
v Palace (5-1)
Jens: It’s tempting to say that the early back pass cock-up could just as easily have happened to Petr Cech but in truth that would be a lie. He’s simply too cocky and over confident with his kicking – it’s why so many balls get sliced wildly and why we almost conceded a shambolic own goal tonight. Otherwise, he actually did quite well. 6.5
Lauren: Is definitely becoming a better player going forward but was as culpable as anyone for our defensive malaise. 6
Cygan: Didn’t have an awful game but on too many occasions simple long balls forward by Palace became much more serious than they needed to be. 6
Kolo: Got skinned more often than he would have liked and was caught out at times from crosses. But still, we only conceded one. 6.5
Clichy: Did well getting forward, causing a constant menace. Defending was largely competent but seemed to be infected by the general defensive tendency to give the ball away. 6.5
Vieira: Another tricky game to rate from the captain. At times he was sluggish and easily caught in possession. At others, he took a grip on the game and drove the team forward impressively. Got well forward for his goal. 7
Edu: Didn’t have the sudden impact he enjoyed at Villa last week but did well enough and certainly gave us a fair bit of solidity. Good ball to Reyes for the opener. 7
Pires: Seemed to be rewriting the dictionary definition of anonymous for the first 20 or so minutes. Then got more into the game without coming close to hitting top gear. Was unlucky to hit the post in the 2nd half after good work from Reyes. 7
Reyes: His best game in yonks. He looked fearless again, running constantly at the Palace defence and causing a lot of trouble. Good assist for the first, great finish for the second, an assist for the third and a fantastic pass to Dennis to set up the fifth. Great to see him back again. 8.5
Dennis: As ever, he oiled, moulded and sculpted our performance. He also took his goal very well, like he did against Newcastle and United too. And set up Henry for the fifth. 7.5
Henry: Really played very, very well and channelled any frustration about constant offside decisions in exactly the right way. Had seemingly boundless energy to chase back lost causes and put us back on the attack. 8.5
Subs:
Flamini (for Edu 60odd): Solid and composed as ever. 7
Van Persie (for Dennis 80odd): Linked up reasonably well as the game entered its final stages. 7
Fabregas (for Pires 80odd): Settled in comfortably on the right. 7
v Wolves (2-0)
Jens: Whilst a clean sheet is a clean sheet, he had very little to do and looked no more reassuring than previously with his kicking. To be fair, he was also played a high number of over hit back passes today and was not at fault for the one from Flamini that took a wicked bobble off the Highbury surface (which appeared unusually cut-up).6.5
Eboue: Got forward well, hit the bar with a deflected shot and could have had a penalty. Nice work. 8
Clichy: Decent game without being exceptional.7
Sol: Not a lot to do. 7
Cygan: Better than usual. 8
Paddy: Mediocre for much of it truth be told. Got better later on and scored the penalty but for too long his mind didn’t seem in the right place. Sure, Wolves made it difficult by crowding midfield but too often he seemed semi asleep at throw ins and the like. Still, he kept going. 6.5
Flamini: Didn’t show the deftness of touch of the Newcastle game but retained all his normal solidity. And great as Ray Parlour was, watching Boro at the moment suggests that we’ve got an as good, if not better, replacement. 7
Reyes: A couple of good runs, some moments of anonymity and denied a stonewall penalty. Still getting back to form but it definitely seems better than a few weeks ago. 6.5
Freddie: Usual energetic performance without any stand out moments, save his well taken goal. That’s ten for the season now and we’re still in January. Good work Sir. 7
Van Persie: Not his most inspiring game and clearly doesn’t yet have the positional ability of Dennis (who does?) but is improving. 6.5
Henry: Gallic. Went into one of his moods after Riley ruled out his cheeky first half effort. Strutted around for a while, went in for a couple of silly tackles and became frankly self indulgently petulant when a foul was given against him. It’s alright for us to loathe Riley endlessly but our top striker shouldn’t let him affect his game. And the fact is he did. But recovered his composure, was unlucky not to score and set up Freddie in superb fashion. 8
Subs:
Cesc (for Van Persie): Settled in comfortably on the right. 7
Pires (for Reyes): Nice work for the clinching goal. 7
Quincy (for Fred): No time to make an impression.
v Charlton (3-1)
Alumnia: No chance with the goal and didn’t do too much wrong besides one poor fumble from a cross. Still not convinced by his catching techniques. No difficult saves to make6.5
Hoyte: Made the odd error but did well to make sure his old youth team buddy Jerome Thomas had his quietest game in weeks. Managed to get forward a bit more in the second half.7.5
Cole: Still not looking at his best and on a couple of occasions was embarrassed by Rommedahl. But in fairness he wasn’t as sloppy as recently and did get forward well later on. 6.5
Sol: With the exception of one wildly sliced clearance in the first half that Almunia had to save he looked pretty solid and kept Charlton’s clear chances to a minimum. Let’s hope his ankle isn’t too bad. 7
Kolo: Given a bit of grief by Bartlett in the air but stuck to his task well and like Campbell, restricted the number of clear cut chances. 7
Vieira: Watching the game live, I was unconvinced by his first half performance. But having just seen the highlights it seems he got through a lot of work and did what he had to do neatly and efficiently. Set up Fred well for the goal and kept up a good level of performance all the way through.7
Cesc: Lost the odd ball but was generally very sound. Passing was clean and crisp as ever and his touch for the second goal was exquisite by any standards.7.5
Freddie: Took his two goals brilliantly, worked hard and always looked a threat. In good form. 8
Clichy: Seemed to lose the ball cheaply a bit too often but worked hard down the left helping Cole out with nullifying the threat of Rohmedahl and getting forward well. Has tremendous energy which comes in handy at the end of games when opposition players tire.6.5
Henry: Not at his best today but more worrying than the actual performance was the fact that his normal fitness wasn’t there. Had a lovely free-kick cleared off the line.6.5
Van Persie: Still has a tendency to twist and turn once too often. But also holds the ball up brilliantly, moves it well and finished superbly for the third. Should probably be given a real run up front next to Henry. Took his goal like a striker, which is disconcerting coming from an Arsenal player.7.5
Subs:
Pires (for Van Persie 72ish): With the game won he wisely didn’t over exert himself ahead of Man City on Tuesday night. 6.5
Senderos (for Campbell 82ish): Slotted in well on his Premiership debut.7
Pennant (for Fred 86): Didn’t have time to get into the game. 7
Senderos (for Campbell 82ish): Slotted in well on his Premiership debut.7
Pennant (for Fred 86): Didn’t have time to get into the game. 7
v Newcastle (1-0)
Almunia: Our star man tonight. A smart early save from Ameobi (even if it was probably going wide) and excellent handling all night gave us one less worry. Four clean sheets in five and he also kicks a fair bit better than Jens.7
Lauren: Though Lauren Robert didn’t reach anything like his best, I’m not sure whether too much credit should go to Lauren. His positioning often seemed weak, his passing and tackling little better and he offered almost nothing in attack. Mr Average was distinctly poor. 5.5
Cole: Whilst there’s no shame in being given a tough time of things by Craig Bellamy, Cole’s performance was noticeably worse than just a torrid time. He made stupid, unnecessary fouls, got caught out when he should normally have had enough pace and looked very, very shaky. He may have been pushed a touch for the penalty incident, but a defender with his mind fully on the job wouldn’t have allowed the ball to hit him as blatantly as it did. In mitigation he did improve and unlike Lauren provided some attacking threat. 5.5
Kolo: Did alright but like the others his decision making didn’t always seem to be the best informed. That said, it’s a little harsh to chastise a central defender who has kept four clean sheets in five. 6.5
Sol: Urgh. After some very sound recent performances he seemed far too troubled by what looked like some relatively simple long balls. One such error allowed Ameobi in for his early chance and his lack of authority always made the long ball route look like a wise one for Newcastle to take. 6
Flamini: Not his best game for Arsenal but he still got through a lot of work, kept things simple and had a hand in setting up Vieira for the goal. 6.5
Vieira: Named man of the match by SKY and praised in a couple of papers, but I’m going to be honest and say that up until he scored I thought he was pretty useless, being caught in possession too often. That said in the second half he got through a fair bit of work as we ground out victory. 6.5
Fred: Beavered away, had some good moments and kept on trying. Was going to commend him for his work on a couple of occasions in particular but can’t now remember what they were. 7
Pires: Even by his standards, his tackling was poor today. Truth be told, I can’t fathom how he’s allowed to defend with his body constantly side on to the play. As a left winger he has defensive responsibilities and simply has to make a better fist of it. On the attacking front he was probably our most creative player, moving the ball smartly and at pace. 6
Van Persie: Still very, very raw. Unlucky not to score in the opening minutes and had a couple more decent efforts but all too frequently ran into trouble and lost the ball on what was admittedly an awful surface completely unsuited to his quick twists and turns. Corners weren’t bad. Needs time. 6.5
Henry: His touch was not quite at its magical best, but again this was probably due to the state of the pitch. Had a couple of good runs that resulted in decent shots on Shay Given’s goal. 6.5
Subs:
Clichy (for Van Persie 80 mins approx): Seemed as happy as anyone in the post match huddle but for the second game in succession he seemed a little out of sorts when called upon. 6
v Fulham (2-0)
Almunia: Looks better by the game and made a crucial save when he rushed out at speed to palm away a Fulham chance at 1-0. Made no notable mistakes. 7
Clichy: Had a good first half – getting forward well as usual and strong on the defensive stuff. Then in the second half he seemed to lose his confidence went, either as a result of or because of Fulham consistently probing down our left. Like any small full-back, aerial strength is a weakness.6
Lauren: Average as usual. Looked solid against a Fulham attack lacking any real penetration. 6.5
Sol: At times we were troubled in the air – but Sol is leading a defence that is no longer allowing attackers completely free headers at corners. Looks fit and healthy and, along with the rest of the defence, now has three clean sheets in four league games. 7
Freddie: A fine game on his return from migraine troubles. Played in Henry for the first and set-up Pires for the second. 7.5
Cesc: Gets caught on the ball occasionally but is still doing the vast majority of things with real fluency. Gives us real creativity in the middle. 7
Vieira: Showed a few soft shoe shuffles to bam boozle defenders in a way we haven’t really seen this season. Also got stuck into his tackles and generally seemed to be on the ball. 7
Pires: There was this surreal moment in the first half. He got the ball on the left wing and took a heavy touch. As if that wasn’t enough he then went flying into the tackle with the Fulham defender and actually won the ball. And it wasn’t the only time – I saw him snuff out a few Fulham attacks and even win a header.
Of course, the attacking side of his play was superb as well – he would have scored from a Dennis chest down but for a good save by Van De Saar. He linked up well, particularly with Henry, and inevitably took his goal with typical aplomb. Now has 19 in 2004, which is good. 7.5
Dennis: A fair few poor touches and bad decision making in general play. In mitigation, he dummied the ball well for the second goal and put Pires in with an excellent chest down. 6.5
Henry: Sure, the flicks didn’t always come off but at times he led Fulham a merry dance like he has almost every other defence this season. His goal was a trade mark finish and he was desperately unlucky when his side footer from the edge of the box crashed back off a post. 7
Subs:
Flamini (for Freddie 74ish): Some might say Arsene was making a point by not replacing Freddie with Pennant. Others will call it a sensible way of seeing out the game. 6.5
Van Persie (for Dennis 78ish): Provided his usual array of tricks but didn’t get a real chance to score. 6.5
v Portsmouth (1-0)
Almunia: Had a really good game. Caught when he needed to catch, punched when he wasn't sure and kicked immaculately. Also made a couple of really good saves. His run of impressive performances may only stretch to two but for now there seems no reason to bring back Jens. 8
Lauren: Did nothing too wrong but didn't offer as much in attack as he might have and at times appeared troubled by Pomey's pace. I think he's ok, but I'm becoming less and less convinced he should be our right back at all - more on that tomorrow. 6.5
Cole: A tough one to call. For a while looked rattled by Pompey's pace and agression down the left. Misplaced a couple of balls and though his tackles were mostly coming off they had a slightly concerning aggressiveness about them which made me think he was letting his own frustration get the better of him a little. But stuck to the task well and in the end kept a dangerous Pompey out. 7
Kolo: Got sucked in a couple of times, but on the whole he was part of a defence that looked pretty solid and much improved at set pieces. 7
Sol: Looked fitter than recently I thought - turning smoothly on a couple of occasions when faced with danger. He also made countless important headers at corners and won us the game with the kind of head down sheer determinism many fans would like to see a little more often. 8
Flamini: Ran hard, tackled hard and never gave up. Doesn't offer as much going forward as Fabregas, but doesn't claim to either. Unlucky with a header from Henry's free-kick. 7
Vieira: Industrious, but was also sloppy on occasion, getting caught in posession and losing the ball. Still doesn't seem 100% back to his best and didn't make the most of a couple of shooting opportunities. 6.5
Clichy: Fought well and offered Cole valuable protection down the left hand side. Showed initial attacking promise early on but faded as Pompey grew in stature. Nonetheless, was full of running at the end and nearly capitalised on tired Pompey legs. 7
Pires: His every touch was met with a chorus of boos as Bob faced Pompey for the first time since 'that dive' last season. There was even one moment when he slipped and the ball rolled out of play. Which probably made a certain journalist very, very warm inside. Otherwise, was neat enough but pretty ineffectual, seemingly afraid of injury in the rough house atmosphere. Had a couple of lovely runs late on and set Dennis up for a chance he really should have taken. 6.5
Henry: Worked hard and created much of our best work, but often found himself crowded out by the hoardes of Pompey defenders. Nearly scored after a flowing first half move and set up Dennis' other chance late on, which again he really should have taken. 7
Van Persie: Started really well, showing fantastic feet and trickery and generally leading Pompey a merry dance. He swivels at such speed he'll probably need a hip replacement aged 30. Faded somewhat after his impressive start, finding himself crowded out by the packed defence. Could pass a little earlier at times but nonetheless a decent first start in a difficult game and he staked a fair claim for inclusion against Fulham on Boxing Day. 6.5
Subs:
Bergkamp (for Van Persie 68ish): Should have scored late on following good set up play. His performance did little to silence the voices calling for this year to be his last. I'm undecided on that, but what I am sure about is that I won't miss the needless little kicks and elbows aimed at his opponents when frustration sets in. Simply put: the sly digs are ugly and Van Nistelrooy like and do nothing for us. 6
v Chelsea (2-2)
Almunia: Faultless for both their goals, he made good stops from Lampard and Gudjohnsen in the first half. And made a vital save when Robben wriggled his way through after the break. But nobody noticed it. Caught when a catch was a good idea, punched when a punch was wiser and set us on the attack with some good throws. 7.5
Lauren: Didn't see much of him, but when you're up against Duff and Robben, this can only be to a defender's credit. Thought he did really well to keep them in check, and the one time Robben did really threaten in the second half, the danger came down the other side. 7.5
Cole: The one player who I thought struggled today. As has been the case of late, he lacked confidence in his touch and stuggled defensively. Perhaps should have come out to Robben before the winger got into the box for his 2nd half chance, and was easily beaten in the air by Drogba for Cheslea's 2nd equaliser. 6
Kolo: Looked solid overall and helped limit Chelsea to only a few chances asides from set pieces. 7
Sol: A mixed bag. Made some really important defensive headers and looked in command at times at the back. But was a little caught out for their opening goal and sometimes seemed a little gung ho in his marking. Made important late tackle on Drogba.7
Reyes: Was quiet, but this was a tough game. Nodded down to Henry for the opener, worked hard and went on a few mazy runs without much success. Still, I thought he gave them something to worry about.6.5
Fabregas: Another excellent performance. He and Flamini were overwhelmed initially when up against Tiago, Lampard and Makalele but never gave up and fought their way back into the game admirably. Nice goal to set up Henry for the opener, he was instrumental in setting up the Frenchman's near winner and also set up RVP for his chance. Uses the ball so intelligently and showed that despite his size, he's not afraid to get stuck in. Was up against the very best in the business today and succeeded in limiting Lampard to a largely peripheral role.8
Flamini: £1 million? First league start? A snip if you ask me. He run's tirelessly, he harries, he puts his foot in and he uses the ball simply when he wins it. A real water carrier but absolutely essential today and worked tirelessly. Well done Sir. 8
Pires: We wanted a big performance and boy did we get one. Seemed almost impossible to shake off the ball, tackled back, linked up well with Lauren, Flamini, Cesc and Henry and drove the team forward in his own idiosyncratic waddle. When in his pomp, he is still a wonderful, wonderful footballer to watch. Set up Henry for the near winner, realised his responsibility as the senior partner in midfield, and shouldered the responsibility admirably.7.5
Dennis: Didn't get involved in too much of note, but I can't help feeling he just gives us a cetain sophistication and shape when he's in the side. Gordon Strachan pointed out on Match of the Day how hard he'd worked to stop Makalele getting the ball and in hindsight I think it probably a fair call.6.5
Henry: Forget the late miss - it can happen to anyone. Otherwise he was outstanding, scoring a brilliant first (which included winning a high ball!), netting an impudent second and generally running the show. Scared Chelsea shitless every time he picked it up and was responsible for a hell of a lot of good work. Also destroyed the concept he doesn't turn it on in big games. That's 15 in 17 league games now by the way.9
Subs:
Clichy (for Reyes 82): Ran around like mad for 10 minutes and forced mistakes out of tired legs. Really good footballer and good enough to start for probably every Premiership side and perhaps should be more often for us. 7.5
RVP: Is maturing very nicely indeed. Nearly netted a silky winner when he latched onto Cesc's pass and gave the Chelsea players a lot to think about. Would be really interesting to see him start. 7
v Rosenberg (5-1)
Almunia: Made a really, really good low save early on and kicked largely well. But looked dodgy more than once on crosses and for the second time in a week cost us a goal, which is a real worry. Eventually realised there's nothing wrong with giving a ball a good double handed punch. 6
Hoyte: Was up against a poor opposition but defended diligently and rarely looked rushed. Used the ball well, linked up well with his team mates and should be well pleased with his first European start. 7
Cole: Looked solid, with a couple of important defensive headers, but still not yet back to his marauding best I sense. Shouldn't have let the ball drop over his head for Harald Brattbakk to fire at Alumnia after 17 minutes. Withdrawn with quarter of an hour left. 6.5
Sol: Ditto for above, though did once later on look somewhat sluggish again on the turn. Perhaps I'm just paranoid about the impending arrival of Duff and Robben at Highbury.6.5
Kolo: A very easy night for the big man and he even found time for a classic Kolo dance into the opposition penalty area towards the end. 7
Flamini: Very, very good full debut. Set up the second goal, ran tirelessly, got tackles in and seemed to work well with Cesc in midfield. Looks comfortable tracking back and going forward and also seems to have a strange affinity for joining in attacks right around the right edge of the penalty area and particularly when we attack the North Bank. A young, thinking man's Gilles Grimandi, he ain't at all bad for a fifth choice midfielder. 7.5
Cesc: Absolute star. Has already played 20 games this season (twice as many as Edu, Gilberto and Vieira), yet still had the strength to turn in one of his best performances for the club. Fantastically alert, his use of the ball was excellent. He also scored a very impressive, very difficult goal and was involved in the build up for the fifth. Not just our most frequent performer in midfield this season, but also our best. 8
Jose: Took his goal really well and gave us a flying start. Had another deflected shot well saved and looked much more like the sun kid of the beginning of the season. Had a delightful late chip that bamboozled three very stupid looking Rosenberg players before landing on the roof of the net. 7
Pires: Looked much, much better and was even spotted making a tackle late in the second half. Kept going and linked up well late on with Jose and RVP before being withdrawn for Quincy with two minutes left. His penalty was so brilliantly placed it went into the side netting. Again I marvel at his ability to put a football exactly where he wants it to go. 7
Bergkamp: A nice return for the Ice Man who got involved well in the game, set up the opener and had a couple of openings himself. Might have done better when in front of goal, but eased himself back into the side well. 7
Henry: I actually thought that poor as the defending was for his goal, it was still a pretty decent finish. Worked hard all night, linked up well with the kids around him and seemed to be feeling particularly tolerant. 7
Subs:
Clichy (for Dennis 72ish): Spent a few mins in midfield before dropping back to left back when RVP replaced Ashley. As ever looked sound in the defending and assured going forward.
7
RVP (for Cole 75): Resuscitated the game with some silky skills, wayward finishing and then eventually a very well taken goal. Rawer than an uncooked vegetable, but with massive potential. 7.5
Quincy (for Bob 88): Should have had longer. Don't think he got a touch.
RVP (for Cole 75): Resuscitated the game with some silky skills, wayward finishing and then eventually a very well taken goal. Rawer than an uncooked vegetable, but with massive potential. 7.5
Quincy (for Bob 88): Should have had longer. Don't think he got a touch.
v Birmingham (3-0)
Alumnia: Looks like Lehman, kicks slightly better than Lehman, fumbles the odd ball like Lehman and jumps a couple of inches less high in the air than Lehman. Did ok, but would have been ill advised to let Morrison’s second half effort creep under him and over the line.6.5
Lauren: Seemed really quiet yesterday. Means he was doing his defensive job well which at the moment is the priority. Better? Seeing as we kept a clean sheet, probably a tad. 6.5
Cole: It's not been picked up much by the press, but I’ve thought Ash to be one of the players whose form has most obviously dipped in the recent spell. He’s still looked a top left back, but the subtlety of touch that allowed him and Bob to link so well still seems to be absent. Better? Not noticeably, but again should take credit for a clean sheet. 7
Sol: I’m of the opinion he’s still carrying a little bit of weight. Played well enough, but on a couple of occasions he looked sluggish and immobile on the turn, which is obviously a concern with Duff and Robben coming to town next week. Better? Probably not. 6.5
Kolo: Probably fair to say he’s not been our worst performer in the recent period, but I think on occasion he has allowed our recent jitters to affect his decision making a little. Kept Heskey quiet, but also seemed to time his jumps wrongly on a couple of occasions. Better? Ditto above. 7
Vieira: Did some good stuff but on other occasions his decision making and concentration again seemed lacking a little. He’s a hard one to judge at the moment. Better? Probably a bit.7
Cesc: I’m glad to see he escaped censure for his recent performances because I think a lot of the recent mutterings about how he’s no Gilberto have been unfair. Admittedly, the Brazilian’s best work is done off the ball, SKY’s stats show how we tend to win with him in the side, but I still think the young Spaniard is doing pretty well. He’s a young boy whose probably played too many games in a struggling team in a big league. But he’s still there, still getting stuck in and still doing his stuff. Tired in the latter stages yesterday and was replaced by Flamini, which was a wise, common sense, decision. Better? No, but only because he was doing well in the first place. 7
Freddie: Scavenged, burrowed, furrowed, ducked and dived. Fred’s doing them all at the moment and its working as the perfect complement to the continued attempts at perfection that come from the rest of the team. Is also being very productive. Should have had a penalty yesterday, set up the third goal and generally ran the show. Better? No, but only because he’s been great. 7.5
Pires: Mark my words. One of these days the opposition are going to get a free kick on the edge of our area. Their player will hit it, the ball will fly off Robert Pires and zip past Lehman. And we’ll all put it down as a fluke, like we did for Graveson’s effort that flew off Pennant in the Carling Cup game against Everton. Except it won’t be a fluke because Pires, like Pennant, will have jumped with his back to the ball, meaning that when it hits him he’ll have no way of giving it any direction.
My point is that Pires simply has to go into tackles. Maybe he’s worried about getting hurt, but he’s ducking out of the most basic challenges and its meaning we’re losing the battle in midfield at places like Old Trafford and Anfield.
Obviously, as I was making a note of this, Bob went and scored a classic Bob goal. Basically a really, really good one. He is a fantastic playa, probably the purest footballer we have in our team and quite possibly the best finisher. Yesterday was his 50th goal for the club and almost without exception (Bolton at home this season) they’ve been aesthetically perfect and a joy to watch.
But he must pull his weight for the team, which funnily enough I’ve seen him do really well on a number of occasions. Better? A little bit later on in the second half. 6.5
Reyes: You have to feel for him - seemingly everything he tries seems to go askew these days. Inches away from a Henry cross in the first half, he got into the game a bit more going towards half time, but then tired before being withdrawn. As I said above, he could do with a 25 minute run against tired defences to get his confidence back. Better? Not really, but not for want of effort. 6.5
Henry: Whether it be through injury or lack of confidence, he spent much of the game getting into decent positions but then making the wrong decision. Then ten minutes from time he took off past Melchiot, through the Birmingham defence and then a cool low finish hit whilst he was running at incredible speed. Six minutes later, he bought a ticket for Freddie Ljungberg’s cross and got lucky.
May not be at his best. But the level of criticism he of all people has taken is ridiculous. Has scored 13 league goals this season (four more than anyone else and 9 more than Ruud), scoring in 11 of the 16 games. And it’s not even like he’s bound to get the goals because nobody else does. He hasn’t even scored a third of our goals, and with the exception of Old Trafford (when nobody scored) and Selhurst Park, at least one other Arsenal player has scored in all of our other games.
Better? Yes. Despite earlier failures, his determination to keep going for the all important second goal was admirable. 7.5
Subs:
Clichy (for Jose): I love this guy. He’s like Wenger’s little foot soldier and seems capable of doing everything. Slotted in expertly in left midfield. He covers, chases back, tackles, retains the ball, gets forward, dribbles and causes havoc in the opposition defence. He may be more defensive than Reyes, but sometimes being slightly more defensive can give you the shape to attack more. May not be suited to central midfield, but should be considered a serious option for a place in left midfield on tough away games. 7.5
Flamini: Seems to do everything neatly enough without being spectacular. Will be interesting to see how he works with Cesc over the next two games.7
Flamini: Seems to do everything neatly enough without being spectacular. Will be interesting to see how he works with Cesc over the next two games.7
v Man United (0-1)
Alumnia: Crap on their goal, barely put a foot wrong otherwise. Plays and looks like a slightly smaller Jens, but can kick. 6
Hoyte: OK and defended well on occasion, but I’d still like to see him get forward more. That said, I think he’s a player who would look much better surrounded by seasoned pros. 6.5
Clichy: Really, really good as usual. Slipped on their excuse of a pitch for the early goal, but didn’t let it affect him and worked tirelessly defending and attacking all game. 7.5
Senderos: The lumbering giant of Everton had been replaced by a very, very accomplished looking centre half. One dodgy back header that fell short but otherwise cut out everything that was asked of him and looked a real first team option. 8
Djorou: Took eye off ball and then slipped for the goal which wasn’t good. Never quite looked the same player as against Everton, but worked his way back into the game. 6.5
Flamini: Looks like we can breathe a little more easily in the midfield department after watching a very assured display. Would like to see him trialled as a sub for Freddie in games where we’ve got a dodgy one goal lead. 7
Larsson: Some like him but I’m not so sure. What he did was decent enough but I thought he struggled to have an effect on the game. 6.5
Quincy: Maybe it was the pitch, maybe it was United doubling up on him. Either way the hero of the last round never really got into last night’s affair. 6
Pennant: Worked hard, tried to take the initiative and overall did quite well. Still not sure if he’ll quite make it at Highbury though. 7
Lupoli: Is a striker and when strikers get no service they don’t look much kop. 6.5
Van Persie: Battled hard all night and willingly came deep to win possession. But probably came a bit too deep and battled a bit too hard. Yes, he could have been sent off for the incident with Richardson. Reminds me a bit of a young Freddie, not in playing style but in the way that the potential is clearly there but the skills are still very, very raw. 6.5
Subs:
Smith (for Lupoli): Did OK but still looks wary of going in for challenges and taking men on following his long term injury.
Cregg: Alright
Karbassiyoon: Alright
Cregg: Alright
Karbassiyoon: Alright