Gibbs makes quiet, consistent improvement

In the summer of 2010 Arsenal and Real Madrid were at an advanced stage of negotiation over the transfer of Gael Clichy to the Spanish giants.

In the end the transfer didn't happen, with some suggestion that the arrival of Jose Mourinho, and Arsene Wenger's complicated relationship with him, put paid to the deal. But the reason the Arsenal manager was willing to let Clichy go, even at that stage, was Kieran Gibbs.

As it turned out, Gibbs recurring injury problems meant it was probably the right thing for the club to hold on to Clichy, and even last season, after the Frenchman's departure, the young Englishman couldn't take advantage because of an ongoing stomach muscle problem. He shared duties with new signing Andre Santos and it was hard to see quite where either stood in the pecking order.

This season Arsene Wenger plumped for the Englishman ahead of the more cavalier Brazilian from the start and has been rewarded for it. While plaudits are rightly given to Carl Jenkinson for his improvement, and the spotlight shines on the creativity of Santi Cazorla and others at the top end of the pitch, Gibbs contribution has gone more or less unheralded.

There were concerns that he wasn't developing defensively as quickly as he should. A quite brilliant last-ditch tackle in injury time at West Brom on the final day of the season more or less assured Arsenal's Champions League qualification, but perhaps better positional sense might have rendered the challenge less desperate.

He has been aided, obviously, by a run of games and until he went off against West Ham with a thigh strain, had played every minute of every league game this season. It might be counter-intuitive to talk about his fitness in light of that, but he appears more physically robust, something Arsene Wenger recently noted.

"Gael Clichy had the same problem. He went through a long period of injury and after that he stabilised physically. That's what Kieran is doing at the moment. I am very happy with his performances because in every game he gets stronger."

It's not exactly rocket science to suggest a run of games will increase a player's confidence and performance level, but Gibbs appears to have become more disciplined in his defensive work. Although he's been given a licence to get forward and attack, he's rarely caught out of position the way he was previously.

In his seven league games (bearing in mind he came off early against West Ham), he has made an impressive 22 interceptions, hinting at a greater understanding of his position and is a testament to his quickness of the mark and reading of the game. He's also successfully made 21 tackles out of 27 attempted, quite an improvement for a player who has struggled with direct opponents at times.

We can, of course, chalk some of this down to experience. It's natural for players to improve as they get older and play more, but Gibbs has gone about it with a minimum of fuss and little or no fanfare. His England call up was well deserved and with Ashley Cole (31) hardly one for the future he can set his sights on plenty of England caps as well as a good scrap with Leighton Baines for the left-back position.

Arsene Wenger's faith in his footballing ability has been rewarded, and if his fitness continues to improve in the same way he should cement his position as first choice at Arsenal for seasons to come.

Source: Andrew Mangan, ESPN Soccernet on 10 Oct 12

Mikel Arteta: The artful grafter

As another tedious international break begins, a significant number of the Arsenal squad are jetting off around the world for friendlies and qualifiers. Most are important first-teamers, and injury to them could be damaging to Arsenal's season. However, there is one key man who will be able to take a well-deserved break after an impressive and vital start to the season.

Mikel Arteta has become the holding midfielder that Arsenal fans have craved for since the summer of 2008 when Mathieu Flamini and Gilberto Silva left the club. Denilson and Alex Song have had stints in the role with varying success, but Arteta has comfortably eclipsed both of them.

Many were worried that the sale of Alex Song in the summer would damage the team more than the loss of Robin van Persie but, although Song was a good player, he wasn't overly disciplined as the holding midfielder, often leaving the Arsenal back four exposed. He did provide some spectacular assists, but his overall game wasn't as strong as Arteta's has been this season. A glance at some statistics backs this up.

The primary role of the holding midfielder is to break up opposition attacks to protect the defence and, last season in the Premier League, Alex Song averaged 1.6 interceptions and 2.9 tackles a match whereas Arteta has averaged 2.4 interceptions and 4.6 tackles a match this season. Considering that Song made less tackles, he still conceded the same number of fouls per game as Arteta. Too many of Song's challenges were bad enough to get booked, with the Cameroonian getting roughly one yellow card in every three games last season, but Arteta only has one in seven this season.

Arteta's impressive defensive statistics stem from actually being in position to make the tackles and interceptions. All Arsenal fans like the fact Arsene Wenger gives youngsters a chance, but Song was still learning his trade and couldn't read the game as well. The more experienced Mikel Arteta is a master at it. He was signed as an attacking midfielder who was known for his flair, but it seems Wenger signed a determined ball-winner who doesn't shy away from the less glamorous defensive side of the game.

After winning the ball, the other main function of a top quality holding midfielder is to distribute the ball well and keep the team ticking over without conceding possession. It's here that Mikel Arteta's statistics look really impressive.

This season, the Spaniard has averaged 94 passes a match (the best in the league), completing 93.8% of those (second best in the league). In 2011-12, Alex Song averaged 66.1 passes in a game with 84.3% finding a team mate.

It's important to note that Arteta played alongside Song for a lot of last season. This often meant Song wasn't expected to be the lynchpin that Arteta has become, but he was still the primary holding midfielder and neglected some of the associated roles. In comparison to the rest of the league from last season, Song's facts and figures are impressive, showing Arteta isn't just an improvement on Song but the best in the league at what he does.

We all know that there is more to football than the raw statistics. For a relatively short destructive midfielder (especially when lined up next to Per Mertesacker), Arteta has a commanding presence in the Arsenal squad to go with his impressive numbers. He was deservedly named vice-captain in the summer, and justifies this with the amount of midfield responsibility he takes on when playing.

The international break throws up another intriguing side to Arteta. The Spaniard must be the best player in the Premier League never to have represented his country at a senior level. This is something that bemuses fellow players and fans alike. It's unfortunate for Arteta that he's been at his peak at the same time as the likes of Xavi, Iniesta, Fabregas, Cazorla and others, but given how vital he is for Arsenal, it's hard to complain at not having our midfield pivot also being at risk of injury in the coming weeks.

Arteta isn't a traditional defensive midfielder. He looks like he should be on a painting, he has hair that is seemingly impossible to ruffle or displace, he used to only be known as an attacker and he doesn't look built to be a midfielder destroyer. However, Arteta is the perfect experienced midfield lynchpin who can pick a pass, keep possession and disrupt the opposition. When Arsene Wenger sold Alex Song, I was concerned that Arsenal wouldn't sign a proper holding midfielder; Wenger knew that he already had the perfect man in the squad. Arteta does the hard midfield graft to win the ball, but also typifies the Wenger philosophy of beautiful football when in possession.

Source: Sam Limbert, ESPN Soccernet on 10 Oct 12

Arsenal's Theo Walcott and Santi Cazorla party late at West Ham

It was a bold old statement of Arsène Wenger's to suggest that it will do Arsenal good to compensate for Robin van Persie's goals by sharing the load around his newly assembled front line. His team rose to the challenge at the Boleyn Ground, with a first Premier League goal for Olivier Giroud and fine strikes from Theo Walcott and Santi Cazorla crowning a valuable away win.

Having suffered a setback last weekend with a performance against Chelsea that left Wenger complaining about a lack of personality, Arsenal responded with character. Confronted by an old nemesis in the shape of a Sam Allardyce team that backed them into an awkward corner by opening the scoring, the Gunners struck the right combination of force and finesse. They remain unbeaten away and continue to play some compelling football on the road.

For all the talk of the damage a direct approach could inflict on an Arsenal team that have crumbled at set pieces lately, West Ham struggled to load too much pressure on a side benefitting from the reintroduction of the assured Per Mertesacker. Although Andy Carroll was an imposing presence, the home team were unable to mount a sustained offensive. "You can never control him for 90 minutes, but we fought with him," Wenger said.

The selection of his own big target man – and it was Giroud's first league start for more than a month – ensured West Ham also had plenty to concern themselves with. The former Montpellier striker's all round contribution was impressive. Several attempts on target, a goal and an assist is no bad return for an evening's work.

With Arsenal even looking dangerous from the set piece, West Ham duly took the lead with some virtuoso skill. So much for stereotypes. In the 21st minute, George McCartney fed the ball to Mohamed Diamé, who powered into the box, leaving Aaron Ramsey in his wake, and bent the ball ferociously into the far corner of the net. It was a marvellously executed finish from the huge Senegalese, who celebrated his first goal for the club with such relish he was cautioned after throwing himself into the crowd. He can count himself lucky as, shortly afterwards, he recklessly careered late into Mikel Arteta, but the referee, Phil Dowd, elected not to reach for another card.

The goal knocked Arsenal out of their stride and it was the man who had been struggling most obviously for confidence who grabbed Arsenal by the scruff of the neck to get them back into the game. Giroud gathered the ball in midfield, arced a pass out to Lukas Podolski and sprinted in front of his marker to lash the return ball past Jussi Jaaskelainen. West Ham had opportunities to retake the advantage, with Kevin Nolan twice in shooting range and Carroll outjumping Vito Mannone, but neither player could quite find their range.

Both teams jostled for position after the break. West Ham had to readjust around the hour mark when Ricardo Vaz Tê dislocated a shoulder as he rashly challenged Mannone. Allardyce's initial assessment was an absence of between six to 12 weeks. Kieran Gibbs was another injury concern after suffering a thigh problem and is very doubtful for the England squad.

Walcott, who started on the bench yet again but came on to provide another example of why he yearns for a striking role, played a critical part in the comeback. Giroud's deft assist set the fleet-footed attacker bearing down on goal. The finish was instinctive and ruthless, as Walcott passed the ball beyond Jaaskelainen. Message received and understood? We'll see.

Allardyce was left frustrated. "The second goal was a killer because we were in a fantastic position to score at that stage. Because we picked up the wrong pass, we've opened ourselves up and they've severely punished us on the break," he conceded.

The clincher came from a player who has become integral to Arsenal. When Walcott found Cazorla with a flick, the Spaniard arrowed a brilliant, precision third from 25 yards out. Since the beginning of last season no player from Europe's top leagues has scored more often from outside the box than Cazorla. "He's taken the Premier League by storm," Walcott said. "He's fantastic to play with every day. He's our conductor. I don't even know what foot is his best to be honest." Either, or both, are proving to be a considerable weapon.

Source: Amy Lawrence, The Guardian on 6 Oct 12

Arsenal's Aaron Ramsey adds gloss to victory over Olympiakos

Arsenal made a couple of late substitutions in this match, but that was no minor courtesy to the players introduced. It brought a welcome pause for the hosts as they held on to a 2-1 lead. A more luxurious moment came in stoppage time when the substitute Aaron Ramsey added a further goal with a very neat shot.

Arsène Wenger, serving a touchline ban, sat in the stands, leaving his assistant manager, Steve Bould, in charge. The latter saw a reaction to defeat by Chelsea last weekend. "It was tough, they made it tough for us. Without being fantastic," he said, "we got back on track before the weekend, which will be a tough game [at West Ham]."

There is something incongruous about thinking that a Champions League game could be some sort of warm-up for the Premier League. But, given their record, English clubs do have some cause to expect that a berth in the knockout phase is all but inevitable. Arsenal are more at ease in this competition than in domestic fixtures Victory was deserved here.

Olympiakos had shown endeavour but have now been beaten in both group games. Arsenal's concerns are marginal by comparison but they have failed to keep a clean sheet in any of their past six matches.

Arsenal's command, to put it kindly, fluctuated against Olympiakos. They took the lead in the 42nd minute with a low drive by the dynamic Gervinho from the edge of the penalty area after a tackle by Mikel Arteta had brought the opportunity. Just before the interval, Olympiakos equalised when Kostas Mitroglou got free of Laurent Koscielny to head home a delivery from Leandro.

Although there has been a partial overhaul of the team, Arsenal sometimes look as if the European scene is the setting in which they are more likely to flourish, even if Olympiakos did check them in the opening 45 minutes.

Thomas Vermaelen, the Arsenal captain, was disappointed by his side's performance before half-time. "The second half was better – in the first half we were sloppy sometimes with the passing, we lost a lot of balls," the centre-back said. "We started well but the first half was not great."

It is unlikely that Wenger could have altered this contest immediately if he had been allowed his place in the technical area. His judgment, all the same, was felt to a degree. In the alterations to the lineup following the defeat here by Chelsea, there was no place for the centre-half Per Mertesacker. Bould, though, explained that the player has been unwell.

No one should suppose Wenger is a detached intellectual rather than an intensely engaged manager. It must have been agonising when there were no instructions to be given. The Frenchman would have yearned to communicate when the visitors might have scored in the 35th minute. Paul Machado was in position to connect with a cross from José Holebas, but merely lifted it over the bar.

Arsenal were busy enough but Olympiakos, already beaten in the group by visiting Schalke, were ready to take the risk of committing men into attack. The hosts had to deal with that increased purpose if this occasion was not to introduce anxiety to Arsenal's expectation of a simple advance to the knockout stage.

There can have been few neutrals among the onlookers but this match could have been regarded as a pleasure by anyone who cared for excitement and unpredictability. The home supporters, however, took a more intense satisfaction as a more forceful side claimed a 2-1 lead.

There was a mixture of insistence and quality when Gervinho linked with Santi Cazorla before the latter's cross was blocked and the ball ran back for him to set up Lukas Podolski for a goal. The real trial for Arsenal, then, had been the spasmodic nature of their work. Compliments were due to Olympiakos for their commitment. Excuses could be made for the fact that Arsenal continue to be a work in progress after some recasting of the squad in a summer that included Robin van Persie leaving for Old Trafford.

Olympiakos would have reckoned that a consecutive loss in the group would be irreparable, but not many visiting teams would have challenged Arsenal with such vigour on this ground.

Wenger's men, at times, were still striving just to make sure that Olympiakos were kept at bay. Instead of calming a match that Arsenal must have expected to win with some ease, there was a need to marshall forces and protect the advantage.

On this night, negotiating the stretch of the path towards the last 16 was full of jeopardy and, indeed, fascination.

Source: Kevin McCarra, The Guardian on 3 Oct 12

Chelsea profit after defensive errors add to familiar Arsenal flaws

It is surely no consolation to Arsenal that their first defeat of the season showed a certain togetherness, as blame for it could be shared throughout the side. There were deficiencies in defence, deficiencies in midfield and deficiencies up front.

Arsène Wenger expressed familiar lamentations about his team's mentality. And supporters were left venting familiar grievances about a club they fear will remain prone to such performances for as long as they spend each new season integrating fresh arrivals to replace departed stalwarts and make do with a squad that never quite looks complete.

Before this match Arsenal announced pre-tax profits of £36.6m for the year ending 31 May, and they are in rude health financially. But the fans' mood is still locked in a debilitating cycle of boom and bust. After the upswing triggered by the impressive win over Liverpool and draw at Manchester City, the sorry loss to Chelsea caused a plunge back towards pessimism. Chelsea did not have to excel to triumph.

"This was a game where everybody said 'OK, this is a real test of how we are doing' and we did well, so that is pleasing." That was the assessment of the Chelsea goalkeeper, Petr Cech: the flip side applies to Arsenal.

The home side's most obvious flaw was not necessarily the most worrying for the campaign ahead. Chelsea's goals came from set-pieces that were badly defended, notably by Laurent Koscielny, who lost his bearings as Fernando Torres guided in the first one in the 20th minute and then, in the 53rd, failed to cut out Juan Mata's free-kick and instead helped it into the net.

"We knew before the game we were playing against a team that was more mobile, more based on movement and played more on the ground and that's why I decided to play him," said Wenger by way of explanation for his decision to deploy Koscielny instead of Per Mertesacker, who had enjoyed a fine start to the season.

In fairness to Wenger, his logic was sound. But Koscielny suffered an off-day. That can happen to anyone but what was more alarming was that his mistakes were aggravated by a lack of communication – Wenger suggested Koscielny's troubles at the first goal were caused partially by the team's failure to reassign marking responsibilities after Abou Diaby was forced off injured three minutes earlier.

Such a laissez-aller approach pervaded this Arsenal performance and that, unlike Koscielny's bungling, is a frequent complaint. "We needed more personality, we were too passive," regretted Wenger. "We needed to attack the ball." That charge could be aimed at the whole team, not just a defence that, until the visit of Chelsea, had shown clear signs of progress since the summer appointment of Steve Bould as Wenger's assistant.

The meekness was perhaps most evident in midfield. Diaby was twice caught dozing on the ball before departing in the 17th minute and, while Santi Cazorla and Mikel Arteta toiled without finding much inspiration, Aaron Ramsey seemed too content to be a passenger. The Wales captain seldom exerts an influence commensurate with the faith placed in him. Up front, there can be no denying that Gervinho exerts an influence. However, even though he struck his fourth goal of the season with a splendid swivel and shot just before half-time, it is by no means clear that the Ivorian's influence is more positive than negative. Against Chelsea, as on countless previous occasions, his decision-making and execution were frequently exasperating, causing chances to disappear in groans.

Theo Walcott, who began on the bench, is accused of lacking a football brain but even he seems to have more reliable instincts than Gervinho. For the season ahead, the forwards on whom Arsenal could find themselves counting the most are Lukas Podolski, who was peripheral to proceedings here, even if one late header did bring a smart save from Cech, and Olivier Giroud.

Not for the first time this season, Giroud perpetrated a miss late in this game that Wenger admitted was "difficult to explain", slashing into the side netting after rounding Cech. That miss means he has scored just one goal in eight appearances since his £13m move from Montpellier.

However, unflattering comparisons with Marouane Chamakh could yet prove unwarranted. Giroud's movement, strength and build-up play suggest he has the skills to be an effective fulcrum and that his barren spell is as unsustainable as Gervinho's prolific one. If he rediscovers his knack for finishing, Giroud could solve one Arsenal problem. But the big Arsenal problem is that the team remains beset by too many 'ifs'.

Man of match: Juan Mata (Chelsea)

Source: Paul Doyle, The Guardian on 30 Sep 12