One of reasons for not taking those points that has been heavily focussed on by some fans in the immediate aftermath of the game, was the substitution of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and the introduction of Andrey Arshavin. Before talking more about that, it's worth giving the Ox his due praise.
We need to be realistic about Oxlade-Chamberlain as he's still only 18 and won't produce performances like that every game, but he was superb against Manchester United. He played without fear, he ran with the ball, he ran hard for the team and picked up a great assist. There were moments when his inexperienced showed, but his enthusiasm, direct dribbling and skill on the ball more than made up for up. I was sceptical about Wenger spending a substantial chunk of money on the Ox in the summer as I wasn't sure if he was needed. I can now see why he was signed and it just makes you wonder why he wasn't unleashed earlier.
So with the Ox flying, the full backs not looking comfortable against him and the momentum with us after equalising, why take him off? I can understand that Oxlade-Chamberlain could have been tiring given how much he put into the game, although there didn’t seem to be signs of him seriously suffering. Surely we could have given him at least another five minutes to run on adrenalin and the atmosphere created from the goal.
I realise that we have to protect our young players to a certain extent to avoid them getting injured, but he was a brilliant outlet for us with the game becoming stretched. I have always been, and will probably always be, a defender of Arsene Wenger, but he should have been able to see that the Ox was our most dangerous player. If he wanted to bring Arshavin on, why not take off the knackered Ramsey or the less dangerous Walcott? If Oxlade-Chamberlain then did seriously tire, Benayoun and Park were still options off the bench.
I think the fact Arshavin came on only added to the anger from some fans at the substitution. The Ox was full of energy, pace and direct running, something we haven’t seen from Arshavin for ages, if ever. To replace him with someone who is nicknamed ‘The Lazy Russian’ was only going to provoke a reaction. I think the booing of Arshavin when he came on was harsh, he didn’t choose who he came on for, but it was an outpouring of the frustrations at the current state of the club. Arshavin shouldn’t be made a scapegoat for losing the game, but his introduction to the action didn’t help.
I personally thought the booing was over the top as we were in a situation in the match where we should have been pushing on for a win and we needed positivity from the stands, but I think the switch just sparked a moment for Arsenal fans’ recent frustrations to reach the surface, and it wasn’t pretty. I’m not going to call for Wenger to be sacked over one substitution, I’d just like him to show some more flexibility and adapt to a situation. The Ox was playing well, Arshavin’s form has been poor; you can do the maths.
Arshavin wasn’t the reason we lost the game. I think the biggest reason for it was not really turning up in the first half. As a team, we didn’t keep the ball well enough and didn’t close United down. As the half went on, we invited pressure. Whether the players had the 8-2, or recent form, in their heads I don’t know, but they looked slightly scared. Djourou was horribly exposed at right back as he didn’t close down Nani, or anyone who went to his area of the pitch wearing blue. Had he closed down Giggs, the first goal would have been easily avoided. I’ve said on this blog before that Djourou is not a full back and still hasn’t adapted despite playing there regularly in recent weeks. He is a shadow of the man who was arguably our best centre back at this time last season.
We deserved to be losing at half time, but the team, and Wenger, do deserve credit for the reaction in the second half. I think Djourou went off with an injury problem as he was limping slightly near the end of the first half, but I was very impressed by Nico Yennaris. There was a lot of pressure on him and he coped well. We shouldn’t be in a position where we’re throwing youngsters like Yennaris into big games like this, but the young guys that have been forced to play have given absolutely everything, and we can’t ask for more. It was just good to have someone at right back who had a good understanding of positioning as a full back, both defensively and going forward.
Along with the Ox and Yennaris, the other stand-out performers were Koscielny and Rosicky. Koscielny hasn’t just improved technically, his stamina, commitment and determination is what all players in the squad should aspire to. His tackle to start the move for our goal was perfect. Whilst Wenger rightly has critics for some recent events, despite it taking a year, the signing of Koscielny is also looking like a good decision. Tomas Rosicky battled very hard in midfield. His pass to Oxlade-Chamberlain in the build-up to the goal shouldn’t be underestimated. If Arteta comes back next week, hopefully Rosicky will retain his place to give Ramsey a much needed rest.
A word too for Per Mertesacker. Whilst some seem to absolutely hate him, I still like him. We know he hasn’t got pace, but he made some important interceptions and clearances in the game. Also, he was hideously out-paced in the second half by Welbeck, but showed great commitment to chase back and hook the ball off the line. He’s another player that is giving everything for the team.
Had we played like we did in the second half for the whole match, I’m confident that we’d have got at least a point from the game. Even though we only really played for 45 minutes, Robin van Persie missed a great chance before he eventually scored, which was a superb finish, so we could have salvaged a point.
Ultimately Manchester United were more efficient and more clinical. Also, maybe we aren’t clever enough and, this could be a back handed compliment to United, they were very good at getting fouls for nothing, and getting away with incidents that could have been fouls. They were only minor things, but added to the dissatisfaction in the ground. Jonny Evans was regularly shoving and holding Robin van Persie, yet a slight push on Rooney at the other end was deemed a foul. United’s time wasting near the end was also top notch. It could just be a coincidence that we’ve not won our last 11 games that Mike Dean has refereed, but he did seem card happy in a match that wasn’t a dirty game. We didn’t have a big decision go against us, the little ones weren’t that significant in the match, and maybe we just have to know how to make a foul look like one, but it was just frustrating.
We’re in a position where we’ve almost undone all of the good work we did in the aftermath of the start of the season. Injuries have played a part in that, but so has Wenger’s reluctance to invest in January. Whatever his views of the January transfer window are, it’s there, so make use of it. If that means paying slightly inflated prices but giving us a better chance of making the Champions League, it could be worth the gamble. Unless we beat Bolton in the next league game, the current slide could continue, and the blame will ultimately have to fall to the manager. It’d be speculation to say if he was restricted by the board or not, but he’s in charge of the team, so if there’s a problem, it ultimately is down to him to solve it. We had a massive problem at the start of the season, he solved it and we climbed up the table and he deserved credit for it. Now he has to do the same, or else the ‘disaster’ of not making the Champions League will become a reality. Then Wenger will have much bigger questions to answer than why he subbed Oxlade-Chamberlain and why we didn’t perform in the first half.
Source: Sam Limbert, ESPN Soccernet on 23 Jan 12
I realise that we have to protect our young players to a certain extent to avoid them getting injured, but he was a brilliant outlet for us with the game becoming stretched. I have always been, and will probably always be, a defender of Arsene Wenger, but he should have been able to see that the Ox was our most dangerous player. If he wanted to bring Arshavin on, why not take off the knackered Ramsey or the less dangerous Walcott? If Oxlade-Chamberlain then did seriously tire, Benayoun and Park were still options off the bench.
I think the fact Arshavin came on only added to the anger from some fans at the substitution. The Ox was full of energy, pace and direct running, something we haven’t seen from Arshavin for ages, if ever. To replace him with someone who is nicknamed ‘The Lazy Russian’ was only going to provoke a reaction. I think the booing of Arshavin when he came on was harsh, he didn’t choose who he came on for, but it was an outpouring of the frustrations at the current state of the club. Arshavin shouldn’t be made a scapegoat for losing the game, but his introduction to the action didn’t help.
I personally thought the booing was over the top as we were in a situation in the match where we should have been pushing on for a win and we needed positivity from the stands, but I think the switch just sparked a moment for Arsenal fans’ recent frustrations to reach the surface, and it wasn’t pretty. I’m not going to call for Wenger to be sacked over one substitution, I’d just like him to show some more flexibility and adapt to a situation. The Ox was playing well, Arshavin’s form has been poor; you can do the maths.
Arshavin wasn’t the reason we lost the game. I think the biggest reason for it was not really turning up in the first half. As a team, we didn’t keep the ball well enough and didn’t close United down. As the half went on, we invited pressure. Whether the players had the 8-2, or recent form, in their heads I don’t know, but they looked slightly scared. Djourou was horribly exposed at right back as he didn’t close down Nani, or anyone who went to his area of the pitch wearing blue. Had he closed down Giggs, the first goal would have been easily avoided. I’ve said on this blog before that Djourou is not a full back and still hasn’t adapted despite playing there regularly in recent weeks. He is a shadow of the man who was arguably our best centre back at this time last season.
We deserved to be losing at half time, but the team, and Wenger, do deserve credit for the reaction in the second half. I think Djourou went off with an injury problem as he was limping slightly near the end of the first half, but I was very impressed by Nico Yennaris. There was a lot of pressure on him and he coped well. We shouldn’t be in a position where we’re throwing youngsters like Yennaris into big games like this, but the young guys that have been forced to play have given absolutely everything, and we can’t ask for more. It was just good to have someone at right back who had a good understanding of positioning as a full back, both defensively and going forward.
Along with the Ox and Yennaris, the other stand-out performers were Koscielny and Rosicky. Koscielny hasn’t just improved technically, his stamina, commitment and determination is what all players in the squad should aspire to. His tackle to start the move for our goal was perfect. Whilst Wenger rightly has critics for some recent events, despite it taking a year, the signing of Koscielny is also looking like a good decision. Tomas Rosicky battled very hard in midfield. His pass to Oxlade-Chamberlain in the build-up to the goal shouldn’t be underestimated. If Arteta comes back next week, hopefully Rosicky will retain his place to give Ramsey a much needed rest.
A word too for Per Mertesacker. Whilst some seem to absolutely hate him, I still like him. We know he hasn’t got pace, but he made some important interceptions and clearances in the game. Also, he was hideously out-paced in the second half by Welbeck, but showed great commitment to chase back and hook the ball off the line. He’s another player that is giving everything for the team.
Had we played like we did in the second half for the whole match, I’m confident that we’d have got at least a point from the game. Even though we only really played for 45 minutes, Robin van Persie missed a great chance before he eventually scored, which was a superb finish, so we could have salvaged a point.
Ultimately Manchester United were more efficient and more clinical. Also, maybe we aren’t clever enough and, this could be a back handed compliment to United, they were very good at getting fouls for nothing, and getting away with incidents that could have been fouls. They were only minor things, but added to the dissatisfaction in the ground. Jonny Evans was regularly shoving and holding Robin van Persie, yet a slight push on Rooney at the other end was deemed a foul. United’s time wasting near the end was also top notch. It could just be a coincidence that we’ve not won our last 11 games that Mike Dean has refereed, but he did seem card happy in a match that wasn’t a dirty game. We didn’t have a big decision go against us, the little ones weren’t that significant in the match, and maybe we just have to know how to make a foul look like one, but it was just frustrating.
We’re in a position where we’ve almost undone all of the good work we did in the aftermath of the start of the season. Injuries have played a part in that, but so has Wenger’s reluctance to invest in January. Whatever his views of the January transfer window are, it’s there, so make use of it. If that means paying slightly inflated prices but giving us a better chance of making the Champions League, it could be worth the gamble. Unless we beat Bolton in the next league game, the current slide could continue, and the blame will ultimately have to fall to the manager. It’d be speculation to say if he was restricted by the board or not, but he’s in charge of the team, so if there’s a problem, it ultimately is down to him to solve it. We had a massive problem at the start of the season, he solved it and we climbed up the table and he deserved credit for it. Now he has to do the same, or else the ‘disaster’ of not making the Champions League will become a reality. Then Wenger will have much bigger questions to answer than why he subbed Oxlade-Chamberlain and why we didn’t perform in the first half.
No comments:
Post a Comment