Our last visit to Manchester was forgettable to say the least, and considering the way Manchester City destroyed their neighbours, who had subjected us to the horror of 8-2, fear of a thrashing on Sunday would have been understandable. However the team showed that the horror showing in late August is miles behind them.
Yet us fans were still left frustrated. The performance was very good, although there was a feeling that one, even three, points were there for the taking.
I was worried before the match that I was confident we’d win the game, fearing my confidence could lead to an embarrassing defeat. We definitely weren’t embarrassed, but it seems that all too often in the big games in recent years, we’ve come out of the match with a lot of credit, but no points.
I’ve left it a couple of days to write this as initially after the match I was seriously frustrated and annoyed that we hadn’t got anything from the game. I wasn’t necessarily frustrated at the team, but given how far we’ve come since the start of the season, I thought we deserved to get something from the match. Looking back, there were plenty of positives to take that can give us confidence for the rest of the season, knowing that all the top teams still have to come to the Emirates.
We all know that we’ve had difficulties in defence this season. Part of this has been down to injury. We’ve been unable to consistently select the same players in the same positions as most have been unavailable at different times. Usually, four full backs in a squad should be enough. There’s not much point in moaning at Wenger for not having enough full backs as it’s unprecedented to have all of them out. It came as no surprise that we only conceded when we had to have another defensive reshuffle. Koscielny hadn’t adapted to shifting to right back so was out of position, allowing Balotelli to shoot before Silva subsequently scored. Otherwise, our back line did a good job against the expensive strike force.
Thomas Vermaelen was superb. He could probably play anywhere and have a good game. Plus he was unlucky not to score the equaliser late on. To have a defender with the ability to shoot from distance like that is fantastic. As much as it’s frustrating to have another injury with Djourou out, I’m glad Vermaelen will be back in the middle as he’s able to dominate in the air there and is more dangerous attacking centrally than when he’s at full back. Behind him, Wojciech Szczesny made some excellent saves. Joe Hart grabbed most of the headlines, but some of Szczesny’s stops were just as difficult, yet the Pole made them look like easy and regulation ones. The smothering stop from Balotelli in the first half was particularly impressive.
Mikel Arteta was excellent in midfield. He might not be showing the attacking flare and be playing up behind Robin van Persie as we all expected him to do when he signed, but the work he does for the team has been invaluable. His reading of the game and conducting of the play from deep has been integral to our improvement, and he was definitely unlucky to be on the losing side on Sunday. He just keeps the team ticking over in midfield and never has a bad game.
The other player that impressed me on Sunday was Gervinho. He’s divided some opinions amongst Arsenal fans this season, but he wasn’t afraid to try and take on arguably the best right back this season in the Premier League in Micah Richards. He was a constant threat and has been a big part of our subtle change of style this season. The team have been looking to attack with more pace by utilising Walcott and Gervinho, and but for some of his finishing, I’ve been impressed with how the Ivorian has adapted to the pace of the Premier League. He’ll be a big miss when he’s at the African Cup of Nations.
Obviously to win the big games, along with playing well, you need some luck. We didn’t get it when van Persie was deemed to be offside before chipping the ball over Hart, or when Micah Richards handled in the box. The offside was marginal, and the handball could have been seen as accidental, but on another day both would have gone in our favour.
There were some causes for concern. Theo Walcott wasn’t as effective as he has been in recent weeks as he was doubled up by Zabaleta and Kompany. He also wasn’t helped by not having an attacking full back behind him to support him and runs forward so as not to be isolated. Also, our attacking substitutes that came on didn’t add anything to the team. Chamakh did win a free-kick from Richards, but didn’t look much of a threat in the box, whilst the less said about Andrey Arshavin the better. I’ll be very surprised if both are Arsenal players this time next year. A striker must be a priority in January, whilst Arshavin needs to seriously re-find his mojo for when Gervinho is playing in the African Cup of Nations. Hopefully we’ll see a bit more of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain during the busy next two months.
Despite the result, we have to take the positives from Sunday. It was the first time that Manchester City were really attacked at home this season, and it’s been rare for opposing teams to have more possession than them this season. Despite City naming him as man of the match, Nasri was pretty ordinary, his pass for Balotelli near the end was woeful when he should have given the Italian a tap-in. Whereas the side used to have a number of egos like Nasri, I think the current team are much more together, and will be able to bounce back from the setback.
That’s the challenge for the team now. The Manchester City match was deeply frustrating because we played well, but we have to look forward and make sure our form doesn’t collapse because of it. The busy Christmas period could be just what we need to get the defeat out of the system, but equally, it can be the worst time to hit a poor run of form because the games appear so quickly after each other.
Aston Villa might be going through a rough patch themselves and are playing some indifferent football, however Villa Park is never an easy place to get three points from. A win on Wednesday is vital to set us up for the Christmas period as another poor result could see our form spiral downwards. It would be a massive shame to see the hard work the club have put in this season be undone, and I think this current team are made of sterner stuff. Now they have to prove it on Wednesday. Whilst we held our own on Sunday and could be proud of performance, we need points.
Source: Sam Limbert, ESPN Soccernet on 20 Dec 11
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