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

Arsène Wenger hails Arsenal's unbroken run in the Champions League

Maybe Arsène Wenger does know after all. An unbalanced, transitional, sometimes lightweight Arsenal team produced one of the most see-sawingly unlikely third‑place finishes in recent Premier League history with a victory at The Hawthorns that, but for Kieron Gibbs's late tackle, might have been a calamitous 3-3 draw. In the process they ensured the fiscal grail of Champions League qualification continued: shaken, stirred but as yet uninterrupted. At the end Wenger appeared both calm and commendably magnanimous after a season that had also brought occasional animosity from a vocal minority of the club's support.

"I'm very proud of this season," Wenger said. "We were tested not just on the pitch but off, for our unity and solidity in the club. We didn't show weakness and we stayed united. It's a good lesson for everyone.

"If you look at the season as a whole we only lost two in the last 16 games, we had a fantastic run and finished with a respectable 70 points and qualified for the 15th year in a row for the Champions League and we are proud of that. Only three clubs in the whole of Europe have done that. It shows it's not as easy as it looks."

Wenger conceded it had been a close run thing during a match that seemed to pulse along at its own frenzied tempo. "I felt when we were 1-0 up we looked nervous and shaky. At 2-1 down we got back to our game and we defended crosses with resilience. I'm still thinking of suing the referee for the five minutes of added time, because my heart suffered too much."

Gibbs received particular praise after a late appearance at left-back from the bench that steadied an initially harum-scarum back four. "He came on very well," Wenger said. "We suffered on that flank in the first half. He won headers and tackles and he deserves huge credit for that tackle."

Of Robin van Persie's decision after the other players had left the pitch to walk across, defying the attentions of stewards, and enjoy a protracted communion with the travelling support, Wenger remained wryly noncommittal. "You can make of that what you want. If he didn't celebrate, you would say he's already gone. If he does, you can say he's saying goodbye. I would see it as a positive." Talks are planned before Van Persie leaves to join the Dutch camp for Euro 2012. His fate is perhaps undecided right now but it was a moment no doubt designed to save the Dutchman from feeling he never got the chance to say goodbye.

As for Roy Hodgson, in some ways this was an ideal final Premier League workout for England's new manager. Charged with deploying his team of energetic middleweights to stifle apparently superior cosmopolitan opponents, Hodgson drew another well-drilled and even expansive performance from his players, sending his final West Bromwich Albion team out in an adventurous 4‑4‑1‑1 formation.

Hodgson also maintained his commendably low-key persona so far by dodging the post-match press conference, sending instead his No2 Keith Downing, who paid generous tribute to his departing boss. "Roy has given the club a stability, a structure, improving the standard every day. He's making players, even when they're 30 years of age better in their game," Downing said.

"There are a lot of players in the dressing room disappointed to see him go. People talk about senior players [with England] but senior players can learn. Roy will give honesty and integrity, a shape and a system that players will understand. He's got all the attributes to do a decent job at national level."

Source: Barney Ronay, The Guardian on 13 May 12

Out but proud

Ultimately, having pride doesn’t bring you trophies. The fact of the matter is that despite playing superbly against AC Milan at home, we’re still out of the Champions League. Whenever a game has gone badly, I’m keen to look at the bigger picture. It should also be considered when we’ve played well.

The bigger picture is that it is now definite that we won’t win a trophy this year, and that we’re still struggling for consistency at the highest level. We have so many regrets from the tie with AC Milan, mainly for the non-performance of the majority of the team in the San Siro. However as an individual match, the home leg at the Emirates showed the fans and the team, that Arsenal do belong at Europe’s top table. Not many teams will beat AC Milan 3-0 this season.

Now isn’t the time in the season for negativity. The fans know, the players know and the whole club knows that the performances in Milan and Sunderland in the cup were abysmal. On a long term basis, those poor performances in key cup games need to be addressed. In the short term, performances have definitely been addressed and sorted out. If after those games, someone said to me that we’ll beat Tottenham, Liverpool and Milan, score 10 goals and concede three, I’d have dismissed them as crazy.

I expected nothing from the match at the Emirates, but this team are playing with a sudden new found confidence. In a way, it didn’t feel like we went out, because it felt like that happened three weeks ago. It was just a thoroughly enjoyable and committed performance from everyone in red and white, and we came close to pulling off a genuine miracle. Against a team that we previously struggled to muster some half chances against, we absolute over-ran them and bossed them all over the pitch. Even though we went out, the players and the fans showed real pride in the red and white shirt and that hasn’t been the case for some of this season. The match might not have salvaged our Champions League season from a position of nothing, but it has helped the increasingly rapid healing of the relationship between the team and the fans.

It would have been easy for the team to just accept they weren’t going to make it through, but they didn’t. There does seem to be belief in this squad that hasn’t been evident in the last few seasons. Obviously we need to cut out the set-backs, but we’re undoubtedly better at recovering from them. We couldn’t fully recover from being 4-0 down, but the team understandably ran out of energy. Some of them almost had to be dragged off the pitch after the game. Whatever the result, when you see players like that after a match, you can’t help but be full of admiration and know that they’ve given absolutely everything for Arsenal Football Club. You can’t ask for more than that. Including the international friendlies, a number of those players have played four games in a week and a half. It would have been almost impossible to keep playing at the same intensity for the whole match.

The first half was probably the best half we’ll see from Arsenal this season. The whole team pressured Milan, forced mistakes, and cut through a defence that is renowned for being stubborn. There were so many individuals that performed brilliantly, but that contributed to the whole ethic and game plan of the team. Arsene Wenger got the tactics right, and although his team selection was limited due to injuries, playing Oxlade-Chamberlain as a deeper lying central midfielder was brilliant.

On seeing the Ox in the starting line-up, I expected him to play behind Robin van Persie, with Tomas Rosicky dropping back. However with the form Rosicky has been in for the last few games, he deserved to stay in the influential advanced role. He has typified the recovery of this team, and the responsibility being taken by some players that have lived in the shadow of others in recent years. He ran the midfield, harried the opposition, was always looking to move forward at pace, and scored a deserved goal with an excellent finish. He is definitely a player that deserves a contract renewal.

Ordinarily, playing an 18 year old winger as a central midfield against a quality team like AC Milan, would be risky. However Oxlade-Chamberlain isn’t an ordinary 18 year old winger. He combined well with those around him, and added lightning pace from the middle of the pitch. Had we been patient in our build up, Milan would have got players back and would have been difficult to break down. Instead, the presence of Oxlade-Chamberlain allowed us to stretch the Italians. His direct running for the penalty was excellent, and showed his confidence. He saw the gap, he went for it, knowing he had the pace meaning that he’d have to be fouled to be stopped. Eventually, he ran out of steam, but he covered so much of the pitch for an 18 year old who had flu the day before.

Robin van Persie’s penalty, following the gamesmanship of Mark van Bommel, was brilliantly dispatched. There will be regrets about his second half miss, but the goalkeeper deserves credit for being in front of our captain. It’s quite difficult to criticise van Persie after the season he’s had.

If any of our wild dreams about winning 5-0 were going to come to fruition, we weren’t just reliant on attacking well, we needed to keep a clean sheet against a team that easily put four past us three weeks ago. We did that, mainly because Laurent Koscielny and Thomas Vermaelen were awesome. Koscielny showed set-backs don’t affect him anymore. An own goal on Saturday, was followed by a goal at the right end after five minutes of the next match. Defensively, he bossed things. Robinho and Ibrahimovic got nothing out of him. Vermaelen looked sharp again, and as always, played with his heart. With our attacking approach, Milan could have been dangerous on the break, but the pace and determination of Koscielny and Vermaelen stopped that from happening.

Milan improved in the second half, and we were reliant on the starting XI doing the majority of the work as injuries meant our bench wasn’t filled with good options. Had we made it to extra time, we’d probably have gone out given how knackered our players were.

The brutal reality is that pride and unity doesn’t win you trophies, but it undoubtedly helps and makes fans enjoy supporting their team. We’ve been drastically short of at times this season. It’s fluxed from one its lowest points in recent seasons, to one of its highest within a couple of weeks. The atmosphere at the Emirates on Tuesday was positive, loud and proud. We’re out of Europe, but we’re feeling good as fans again and believe that we can get back into the Champions League next season. Cynics who think it would be a good thing to miss out on the tournament next season should have been inside the ground against Milan. We took on an excellent side and tore them apart, and the atmosphere was epic.

I’m not usually a big fan of football on a Monday night, but given the state of some of our players at the end of the game on Tuesday, the extra time will be needed to prepare for the Newcastle match.

Hopefully the team won’t feel too disappointed from the aggregate defeat, but take heart from the result on the night. We’ve shown that the team can be competitive in the Champions League, they just need to ensure that they’re there next season.

Source: Sam Limbert, ESPN Soccernet on 8 Mar 12

Brave Gunners bow out

Arsenal bowed out of the Champions League after a spirited 3-0 second-leg victory over AC Milan saw them fall just short of a remarkable comeback.

Trailing 4-0 after a nightmare performance at the San Siro a fortnight ago, Gunners boss Arsene Wenger knew his side faced a tall order to rewrite history and become the first team to recover from such a deficit in the competition.

For an hour or so at Emirates Stadium tonight it appeared as the record books would be torn up, as the Gunners reduced the deficit with first-half goals from Laurent Koscielny, the impressive Tomas Rosicky and Robin van Persie's penalty.

However, the second-half onslaught never came as Milan - who had somehow managed to go out to Deportivo La Coruna in the 2003-04 quarter-finals, losing the second leg in Spain 4-0 having won 4-1 at home - regrouped and were not really troubled during the closing stages.

Despite all their courageous endeavour, Arsenal must now concentrate all of their energy on retaining a place in the top four of the Barclays Premier League to make sure such engaging European nights return next season.

Arsenal needed an early breakthrough, which came after just seven minutes when Koscielny - who had scored an own goal at Liverpool on Saturday - headed in a corner from Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.

After Van Persie had seen his near-post effort from a tight angle saved, there was a moment of panic in the Gunners defence when Kieran Gibbs was booked after hacking down Stephan El Shaarawy, the 19-year-old making his Champions League debut, following a poor clearance by goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny.

Arsenal were soon back on the offensive, when after 18 minutes Van Persie's curling 20-yard effort was acrobatically beaten away by Christian Abbiati.

The shaky Milan rearguard was breached again in the 25th minute. Theo Walcott surged down the right, and when his cross was half-cleared by Thiago Silva, the ball dropped to Rosicky who planted it back inside the near post.

The Emirates Stadium faithful, so seething in their criticism of Wenger and his side this season, were now in full voice as the unlikeliest of comebacks was very much now on.

Rosicky, the 31-year-old Czech, was running the midfield, more than making up for injured colleagues Aaron Ramsey and Mikel Arteta.

As half-time approached, Arsenal continued to press.

Oxlade-Chamberlain powered into the right side of the Milan penalty area, when he was sandwiched by Antonio Nocerino and Djamel Mesbah.

It seemed an age before Slovak referee Damir Skomina pointed to the spot and after another delay for the ball to be relaid, Van Persie kept his cool to smash home his 32nd goal of the season.

Despite their dominance, one break for Milan would have changed the whole dynamic of the tie.

The Italians' big chance came just before half-time when El Shaarawy was played into acres of space on the right, but as the goal opened up, the teenager shot wide.

Arsenal started the second half on the offensive, but Milan had now regrouped and were closing down quickly, with Alex Song, the Gunners midfield enforcer, booked after 57 minutes for clattering into Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

Another goal hovered closer when Gervinho went clear on the left side of the Milan box, but his deflected shot hit the legs of the keeper, with Van Persie's follow-up hit straight at a relieved Abbiati.

A careless pass from Szczesny almost proved costly as Ibrahimovic wrestled the loose ball from Song, but shot wide from 25 yards past the backtracking, and embarrassed, Arsenal number one.

Oxlade-Chamberlain was replaced by Morocco striker Marouane Chamakh as Wenger injected a new dimension to the frontline.

Nocerino should have put the result beyond any doubt when he arrived at the back post onto Alberto Aquilani's low cross, but stabbed a tame effort straight at Szczesny.

Walcott, who looked to have picked up a knock, was replaced for the final six minutes by Korean forward Park Ju-young, who has seen little action since his summer move from Monaco - but Arsenal were unable to get a late chance and Milan went through to the quarter-finals.

Source: ESPN Soccernet on 6 Mar 12

Arsène Wenger praises 'faultless' Arsenal's brave effort against Milan

Arsène Wenger felt a mixture of pride and regret after his Arsenal team came within a fingertip of a historic Champions League comeback on Tuesday night. Having lost the first leg 4-0 in Milan, Arsenal's chances were written off. No side had ever overturned a four-goal deficit in Europe's elite competition. But three first-half goals put the home team on the brink of greatness, only for Milan to hold on for an aggregate win.

"We are disappointed because we touched qualification," Wenger said. "We had the chances. We didn't do it but we were very close. The players put in a faultless performance, with fantastic spirit, and you can only congratulate the whole team. It is a night when the players can be proud to play for this club. They put absolutely every effort in."

Having soared into a 3-0 lead, the search for the crucial fourth goal proved fruitless and Milan were indebted to their goalkeeper, Christian Abbiati, whose fingertip save from Robin van Persie in the second half proved decisive.

"What can I say?" Wenger mused. "The one you would want the chance to go to is Van Persie. But he wanted to chip the goalkeeper. You have to give credit to Abbiati; he came up very quickly."

Fatigue caught up with Arsenal, as well as a lack of options on the bench. Part of that is self-inflicted considering the attacking substitutes – Marouane Chamakh and Park Chu-young – are not seemingly made for the grandstand finish, though Wenger's frustration was that he could not bolster his midfield.

"I felt we suffered a bit in the second half physically because we had given a lot at Liverpool," he said. "Overall I felt we did not have many opportunities on the bench in midfield. In the second half we had more problems to keep the ball than the first half. The regret I have is there. We missed a player like [Mikel] Arteta, who had concussion."

The midfield impetus fell to Tomas Rosicky and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, both of whom drew praise from Arsenal's manager. He described Rosicky's contribution as "outstanding" and praised the Czech's influential contribution to the recent recovery that has seen Arsenal beat Tottenham, Liverpool and Milan in quick succession, scoring 10 goals in the process.

A generally positive night had a sour ending as Wenger became embroiled in an altercation with the referee, the Slovenian Damir Skomina, in the tunnel. Wenger was upset with a performance in which he believed the official gave too many fouls in Milan's favour. Arsenal conceded 21 fouls to Milan's eight. "I was not happy with the referee because he gave them many free-kicks in the centre of the park.

"Every single free-kick every time they went down it was for them. They sensed that very quickly on the pitch the players and they used it very well," he said. Skomina may include details of their exchange of views in his referee's report, which could land Wenger in some familiar hot water with Uefa.

It had echoes of the row with officialdom as Arsenal were knocked out of the Champions League last season at Barcelona. On that occasion Wenger was furious that Van Persie had been sent off by the Swiss referee Massimo Busacca, who gave the Arsenal striker a second booking for shooting when play had stopped even though Van Persie claimed he had not heard the whistle. Wenger received a touchline ban for that episode.

His bad feeling about the tie extended to another complaint about the pitch at San Siro, so if Uefa feels inclined to reprimand Wenger he would be inclined to say the feeling is mutual: "It's maybe an easy excuse but I feel Uefa has a lot to answer for because when you arrive at 7.46 you get fined but you can play on a bad pitch and they don't say a word. I just feel it is part of the respect for people who pay their money and go to a football game to at least put the game in conditions where people can play football. That's what we try to do here. It's unacceptable from Uefa that they accept pitches like we had in Milan."

At the end of it all, Arsenal's players looked shattered - physically and emotionally - and Wenger conceded it will be a tough job to pick them back up. "It will be difficult because it is a big disappointment for the players. The team has grown together and hopefully we can finish the season in a strong way because there is no room for disappointment in the league. For us every point is a battle; that is what is in front of us."

Source: Amy Lawrence, The Guardian on 7 Mar 12

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain embodies Arséne Wenger's faith in spirit

The Arsenal teenager's performance against Milan would have thrilled whoever is going to be the next England coach

Arsenal's exhausted players left the pitch bathed in warm applause from supporters who sometimes turn their backs on the sight of adversity but this time stayed on after the final whistle, setting aside their disappointment to salute something that felt like a rebirth.

"Everybody fought together and helped his team-mate," Laurent Koscielny said, summing up the virtues of a performance that seemed more significant than the result. They had gone out the Champions League but the manner of their departure seemed to lift their hopes of hanging on to fourth place in the Premier League and securing qualification for next season's competition.

This was a tie of four halves. Arsenal lost the first one 2-0 and the second by the same score in Italy, won the third 3-0 at home and drew the fourth after Milan's players finally pulled themselves together. No doubt Massimiliano Allegri had used his half-time address to remind them of the humiliation suffered by their predecessors at Liverpool's hands seven years ago – although none of the Italian club's players on the pitch in Istanbul was involved on Tuesday night.

As Arsène Wenger's players fought their way back to the brink of redemption, they gave substance to the Frenchman's frequent expressions of faith in their spirit – a quality long obscured, perhaps, but unearthed as they put the seven-times European champions on the rack. With those three unanswered first-half goals, they took a further giant step in the restoration of their battered pride, making the outcome of the tie seem less significant than the effect of their resilience on the club's morale.

At the heart of their performance was a display by a teenager who will certainly have lodged a few thoughts in the mind of whichever coach is destined to take England to the finals of the European Championship this summer. Injuries to Mikel Arteta, Aaron Ramsey, Abou Diaby, Yossi Benayoun and Francis Coquelin, not to mention the long-term absence of Jack Wilshere, gave Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain a chance to start the match in the centre of midfield, alongside Alex Song and in front of the back four. Not quite the position just behind the front line that he says is the one best suited to his talents, but closer to it than the role on the wing in which he has been nurtured in his early days as a first-team player.

Theo Walcott is still waiting for a similar opportunity to come in from the touchline, where he has been stationed since his arrival six years ago – like Oxlade-Chamberlain, a teenaged prodigy from Southampton. Walcott always believed himself to be better suited to a striker's role, and his goalscoring record with his original club and with England's Under-21s supported his contention, as did his brace of goals in the dramatic 5-2 win in the recent north London derby. He must have been envying the apparent ease with which the 18-year-old Oxlade-Chamberlain, five years his junior, has impressed Wenger with his precocious football intelligence.

Oxlade-Chamberlain took hardly any time at all to make his mark against Milan. Only five minutes had gone when he moved out of his withdrawn starting position and turned up on the left wing, measuring a cross which was turned behind for a corner. He took it himself, whipping it in with his right foot and seeing it cleared for a second corner on the same side.

Once again he delivered a telling effort which snaked in to meet the head of Koscielny, the centre-back's lateral run towards the near post conspicuously unhindered by the presence of defenders who stood and watched him score with the most straightforward of headers. But it was the quality of the corner that had made it possible, although Oxlade-Chamberlain could not quite manage to recreate the same damaging effect when offered two further opportunities from the same quadrant a dozen minutes later.

Three minutes before the interval, with Arsenal now two goals up, came his most influential contribution to an extraordinary first half. Charging at an angle into the right-hand corner of the Milan penalty area, showing the kind of bullocking power and directness associated with Barcelona's Alexis Sánchez, he aimed his run towards the rapidly closing gap between Antonio Nocerino and Djamel Mesbah before sprawling to the ground under the Algerian left back's challenge. Robin van Persie hammered the penalty kick past Christian Abbiati with a force that redoubled the intensity of the message to his team-mates: they were right back in this contest with the chance of a reversal that would make the obliteration of Tottenham's 2-0 lead look like a rehearsal.

Before his withdrawal with 15 minutes left, Oxlade-Chamberlain came close to producing an equaliser that would have sealed the miracle when he bore in from the left to strike a confident 20-yarder that curled past the angle of crossbar and far post. But he had already played his part in a display that surely put Arsenal back in credit with their followers, even the most sceptical of them given a glimpse of a brighter future.

Source: Richard Williams, The Guardian on 7 Mar 12

Christian Abbiati stops Arsenal completing great escape against Milan

It was one comeback too far. Arsenal's performance touched on the exquisite in the first half yet the agonising failure tasted the same. No team in Champions League history have overturned a four-goal first-leg deficit and that remains the case. Arsène Wenger's braves, though, gave it one hell of a roll.

This team have refused to bow in recent weeks. In each of their previous three Premier League matches they came from behind to win, most memorably in the derby against Tottenham Hotspur. And when they hurled off the shackles that had inhibited them in the first leg of this last-16 collision to take a three-goal half-time lead, the platform was in place for an I-was-there evening.

Arsenal emerged with European pride restored and then some; together with the continuation of recent progress, which ought to set them fair for a return to this competition next season. Players covered themselves in glory, particularly Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, in an unfamiliar deep-lying central midfield role, and Tomas Rosicky, who has emerged from what has felt like a hibernation.

But in the second half they ran out of steam against a Milan side who belatedly recovered their composure and showed their experience. Robin van Persie had the best chance to square things up on aggregate in the 59th minute but, at close quarters, his attempted chip was read by Christian Abbiati. Milan have been scarred from seemingly unassailable positions in the past. Think Deportivo La Coruña 2004 and Liverpool 2005. Arsenal 2012 so nearly checked into their hall of shame.

Wenger raged at the Slovenian referee Damir Skomina, who did endure erratic moments, but the manager's frustration would have been better directed at his lack of credible options in reserve. As his players tired he had little on the substitutes' bench, particularly in midfield, where injuries had bitten. Arsenal were left to lament their shocking performance in the first leg, on a pudding of a pitch at San Siro, and the plaudits here could not mask the pain.

At least, though, they could have few regrets on the night. They had prepared diligently, especially on the psychological side, with Wenger in almost ludicrously bullish pre-match form. There was, he had said, a "real possibility" that his team could prove the impossible was possible; if Milan could score four at home, so could they.

His players took their cue and mustered every last ounce of effort from the first whistle. Wenger and his side are nothing if not hopeless romantics and they fired the dreams of the home support with the early goal. Mark van Bommel had already been booked for a foul on Rosicky that means he will be suspended for the first leg of the next tie when he failed to track the outstanding Laurent Koscielny from Oxlade-Chamberlain's viciously inswinging corner. Van Bommel was not helped by his team-mate Philippe Mexès, who lost his bearings and blocked him off. Koscielny profited from close range.

The crowd was energised; ditto those in red shirts. Van Persie twice worked Abbiati before the occasion was ignited by the second goal. Again the defending was dire; battle-hardened Serie A teams are simply not supposed to concede like this. Theo Walcott's low cross from the right looked harmless but Thiago Silva's clearance was directed weakly at Rosicky, who was hovering just inside the area. The Czech measured a cool side-foot finish inside the near corner and the passion of the celebrations reflected the feeling that Milan could be taken. The visitors were prisoners in their shells.

Hope turned to conviction upon the third. Oxlade-Chamberlain's burst into the area was checked illegally by the dismal Djamel Mesbah and Van Persie did what he does from the spot. The longer that he was forced to delay his kick by Van Bommel, his Holland team-mate, the more of a certainty it became that he would score his 32nd goal of a remarkable season.

Wenger did not want the first half to end. The TV cameras picked out a banner with the phrase "It's up for grabs now", and the sense that it could be Arsenal's night hardened when Stephan El Shaarawy, the Milan prodigy with the rock star's haircut, fluffed a gilt-edged chance in the 45th minute.

The fear, though, was that Arsenal could not maintain their intensity in the second half and Milan, having regrouped at the interval, emerged in more compact fashion. Then again, it would have been difficult for them to be any more inept. Zlatan Ibrahimovic came to life and Milan made inroads into Arsenal territory.

It felt as though the next goal would win it and Arsenal went dramatically close. Rosicky led a break and when Gervinho's shot deflected off Mexès, Abbiati needed to change direction smartly to save. The ball broke to Van Persie; the Emirates held its breath. Abbiati, though, thrust up a hand to paw the effort away. The move was Arsenal's only clear opportunity of the second period.

As they chased glory, Wenger's team diced with death. Wojciech Szczesny's dreadful clearance gave Ibrahimovic a sighting and the striker's shot fizzed just wide. Then Antonio Nocerino somehow diverted a poke from point-blank range back at the goalkeeper, when half of the net was empty. Milan, however, dragged themselves over the line.

Source: David Hytner, The Guardian on 6 Mar 12

Arsenal v Milan in the Champions League: five talking points

Arsenal restored their pride with a committed display even if the Gunners' bench lacked real quality

Dignity more than regained
As ashamed as they felt to be so thoroughly outclassed in Italy, Arsenal earned the right to feel proud of themselves by making the impossible seem eminently possible. This is not the best XI Arsène Wenger has ever put together by any stretch of the imagination but they proved themselves capable of something memorable for the third time in as many games. Again they showed courage, and discipline, to try to haul themselves out of a difficult situation. Even making this tie interesting was an achievement. As Wenger pointed out before the game, they somehow had to strike the right balance between attacking and defending. The only pity was that they did not have the attacking reinforcements from the bench to really crank it up. The out-of-favour Marouane Chamakh and Park Chu-young were the best they could do.

Italians stuck in first gear
One of the oddest consequences of being in such command from the first leg is the difficulty for a team to psych themselves up for the task. That does not excuse Milan's extraordinary sluggishness. If Arsenal, as Kieran Gibbs suggested, were guilty of not "turning up" at San Siro, the same accusation could be thrown at Milan here. Their defensive lapses were extremely poor for all the goals that gave Arsenal a 3-0 half-time lead. Inept marking from a corner, uncharacteristic sloppiness from Thiago Silva, and a clumsy Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain sandwich put Milan in a position of anxiety they could barely have imagined having doled out that hammering three weeks ago. Van Bommel's early booking was another advantage for Arsenal, as he could ill afford any more reckless tackles. The question of whether this Milan team could be a contender and trouble the Spanish favourites got a pretty resounding answer here: not this time.

The real Rosicky stands up
Wenger confessed before the game that he did not know what he would do if the Czech midfielder Tomas Rosicky did not recover from an injury niggle to make the team. A player who promised so much when he signed from Borussia Dortmund in 2006, his Arsenal career has stuttered, mainly due to some horrendous injury problems. In the past couple of weeks he has shone, regaining the momentum to play with great personality, drive and guile in midfield. Having scored his first Premier League goal in two years to crown an action-packed display against Tottenham, he carried that form over with another performance full of purpose. His opportunist strike, for Arsenal's second goal, was deserved. A word, too, for Alex Song, whose exemplary display anchoring the Arsenal midfield underlines why his contract extension must be priority after Van Persie.

'The Ox' is the future
Although he was selected in a more central role than anticipated, contrary to some of the pre-match speculation the teenager Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was deployed in a defensive midfield role, rather than as a playmaker. It had echoes of the education Wenger wanted Jack Wilshere to experience when he broke through, but was all the same a giant call to make in a game such as this against Mark van Bommel and Antonio Nocerino. Oxlade-Chamberlain was sensible in his positioning, tidy in possession, and able to demonstrate his technique with the beautifully whipped in cross for Laurent Koscielny to head in Arsenal's first goal. But it was hard to escape the feeling he was being reigned in, that he could make more of a difference. Then came the moment when he escaped the leash with a searing run into the box to win the penalty for Robin van Persie to make the score 3-0. The former Southampton player has come a long, long way since making his debut as a substitute 62 minutes into that infamous 8-2 thumping at Old Trafford.

Abbiati battered
The Italian keeper Christian Abbiati had been watching from the bench the night Milan surrendered a 4-1 lead at Deportivo La Coruña to suffer the consequences of the most dramatic turnaround in Champions League history. He, above all, deserves a pat on the back from his team-mates. A couple of important saves (added to the two fine efforts to ensure Van Persie did not score an away goal at San Siro) were vital. Milan were surprisingly open. For an Italian team to go away from home and play with an attacking trident hardly known for their capacity to track back in Zlatan Ibrahimovic flanked by Robinho and the youngster Stephan El Shaarawy was brave in a way. But it turned out to be a bad move, as a more conservative approach might have been more frustrating to Arsenal. As it was, there was not much of a barrier. The midfield area – where Wenger's team had no option but to experiment – was afforded far too much time and space to dictate the game. By all accounts the Milan coach was cross that it finished only 4-0 in the opener at San Siro. Now we know why.

Source: Amy Lawrence, The Guardian on 6 Mar 12

Wenger's reaction to the Arsenal 3-0 AC Milan match

on the performance…
We gave a good performance tonight and we are disappointed because we touched qualification. We had the chances and we didn't do it, but we were very close. I felt that we suffered a bit in the second half physically because we gave a lot at Liverpool. Overall I feel we didn't have many options on the bench in midfield and in the second half we had more problems keeping the ball than in the first half. When we tired in midfield we had no options on the bench and the regret I have is there. The players put in a faultless performance, with fantastic spirit and you can only congratulate the whole team.

on the first leg…
We have played so many games away in the Champions League and we have never lost 4-0 anywhere. We have played at Real Madrid, at Barcelona and we have played against better teams than Milan so it was very disappointing because our performance was poor.

on feeling proud...
I don't know if it is one of my proudest nights but it is a night when players can be proud to play for this Club because they put every effort in. If you win 3-0 at home you can only say well done to the players. You know that if you play 180 minutes and you miss 90, it is difficult at this level. We were very close.

on whether the players need to be lifted…
We are on a good run in the league and we know it will be difficult [to lift the players] because it is a big disappointment, but the team have grown together. Hopefully from here we can finish the season in a strong way because we know there is no room for disappointment in the league. For us every point is a battle and until the end of the season that is what is in front of us.

on the referee…
I was not happy with the referee tonight because I felt he gave many free kicks in the middle of the park. Every time [Milan's players] went down a free kick was given to them, and they sensed that very quickly and used it very well.

on Van Persie's second-half chance…
What can I say? The one you would want the chance to go to was Van Persie. He tried to chip the goalkeeper, and you have to give credit to Abbiati. It is a fraction where the players have to make a decision, but credit to the keeper.

on Oxlade-Chamberlain...
For a guy who has never played at the top level in central midfield, he started in a Champions League game and he did well. He tired a bit in the second half after his injury, and he got less of the ball than he did in the first half. When he got the ball, you always think something could happen. He can play all of the places across the pitch, in midfield to wide. You could see he has suffered physically, but also that he has the class to be in there.

on the team's recent good performances...
I have to give credit to Tomas Rosicky for that. He was again outstanding here. In all of these games, he was one of the most influential players, and he does not always get the credit he deserves, so I would like to take this opportunity to give him credit.

on the defensive display...
I felt defensively we were not at the [right] level in Milan. Tonight our defenders were outstanding and the back four did very well. We had a very offensive team and to keep Milan from scoring, we needed an outstanding performance at the back and we did that very well.

Source: Arsenal.com on 6 Mar 12

Gunners exit, but show their mettle

In the end a brave and spirited Arsenal fell just short against AC Milan, but in their 3-0 win against the Italian champions a manifesto for a brighter future at Emirates Stadium could be found.

Arsene Wenger's young team were slaughtered 4-0 at the San Siro three weeks' ago, but on Tuesday night they were unrecognisable from the naive, limp force who capitulated so spectacularly in Italy. This was the Arsenal that Wenger has always envisioned - bursting with vigour and imagination and, at their best, a match for any team in Europe. They were more than a match for Milan.

Wenger was good to his word and sent out an Arsenal line-up that screamed attacking adventure. Tomas Rosicky, Robin van Persie, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Theo Walcott and Gervinho all started, and for all intents and purposes left Alex Song to perform an entire midfield's defensive duties on his own.

The home fans came in hope rather than expectation, but they were soon whipped into a frenzy by an irresistible first-half performance from Arsenal that cast Milan as the dour, spent force they were before the Massimiliano Allegri renaissance gave them life again. Given ample encouragement, the Gunners and their fans dared to dream. Who could blame them?

It all started on seven minutes, when Oxlade-Chamberlain's fizzing corner was met by Laurent Koscielny and the defender powered a header past Christian Abbiati. It was simple goal and in its making could be found an early sign that Milan were not focused mentally. The marking was less than attentive, and any time you concede from a corner at this level it has to go down as a defensive lapse.

From there on it was all Arsenal. Rosicky in particular was imperious in midfield, drifting past tackles and flicking telling passes all over the place. Oxlade-Chamberlain, Walcott and Gervinho were hungry for possession and making the most of it with strong runs and neat, intelligent touches. Meanwhile Song and the defence behind him were given little to worry about by the pairing of Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Robinho, who destroyed them at the San Siro and did the same to Palermo at the weekend.

Inevitably it wasn't long before a chance came the way of Van Persie. When it did, the prolific Dutchman shifted the ball in front of him and curled a shot towards the top corner from 20 yards as if it was the most natural thing in the world. Abbiati dived high to his right to deny him, but with barely 20 minutes on the clock Arsenal had already had enough encouragement to suggest they were playing for more than pride.

Soon enough they had the second they deserved, scored by the man who most deserved it. When Walcott's cross was weakly cleared by Thiago Silva, Rosicky was in place to slot home from close range and send the already excited home support into a state of delirium. Arsenal were halfway there, with only a quarter of the game gone. Anything was possible now.

There was still more to come before half-time; when the rampaging Oxlade-Chamberlain set about dissecting Djamel Mesbah and Antonio Nocerino, the Milan pair came together to halt his progress. Penalty to Arsenal; time for Van Persie to do what he can't stop doing. Milan indulged in a bout of gamesmanship before the kick could be taken, but the captain was unmoved and smashed a shot into the top right to make it 3-0.

"He scores when he wants," they bellowed from all but one corner of the stadium. "Robin van Persie, he scores when he wants."

But no sooner had Gunners fans glimpsed the Promised Land, then Milan cut through them as easily as they had four times in the first leg. Stephan El Shaarawy had the goal at his mercy, but Wojciech Szczesny spread himself well and the forward shot wide. It had taken the Italian champions the entire half, but finally they had seen the flaw in Arsenal's plan.

"Stand up if you still believe," the buoyant Arsenal fans sang to meet the start of the second half. The attendance stood at just under 60,000, but this was a night to herald an atmosphere as good as any you'll find in the Champions League this season. So much for the Emirates being soulless, it was positively heaving with emotion and spirit.

Sadly for Gunners fans the second half didn't live up to the first, but how could it? Milan came out fighting for their Champions League lives and, no doubt propelled by some choice words from their manager, began to push for a goal themselves.

It fell on Szczesny to dive bravely at the feet of Ibrahimovic to deny him on 54 minutes, and the Pole would thwart him again 20 minutes later. Nocerino was also refused a route to the goal by the goalkeeper, who was Arsenal's star performer against Liverpool and once again proved himself a man for the big occasion.

Meanwhile Arsenal struggled to create as freely as they had in the first half. Milan played tighter and with more concentration, and it didn't help the Gunners' attacking cause when Walcott went off injured on 75 minutes and Oxlade-Chamberlain followed him soon after. Time drifted by and Milan's stifling tactics proved effective. Suddenly it was the visitors who looked the more likely to score and what had seemed inevitable at kick-off seemed inevitable once more. The home side were going out.

Arsenal's best, and perhaps only real chance to send the match into extra-time fell to that man Van Persie, but for once the club's saviour was found wanting. He chipped straight at Abbiati from six yards out on the hour-mark when perhaps he should have hammered it, but few would criticise the Dutchman on current form. Although, with that miss went the miracle of the Emirates.

But Arsenal's defeat could do nothing to subdue the mood of optimism. When the final whistle came, Wenger's men were rightly lauded by the supporters who have seen them beat Tottenham, Liverpool and now Milan in succession, and done so with a level of application and confidence that can only bode well for their chances of qualifying for the Champions League next season.

Wenger still has to buy in the summer to mount a realistic challenge for silverware next season, but if he can harness the collective spirit his players have demonstrated in their last three games, his Arsenal vision is still very much one to believe in. Against Milan, the Gunners finally showed their mettle.

Source: Will Tidey, ESPN Soccernet on 6 Mar 12

6 March 2012: Arsenal 3-0 AC Milan, Emirates Stadium

Arsenal went out of the Champions League at Emirates Stadium on Tuesday night - but they went out on their shield.

A storming 3-0 win confirmed their recent revival but was not enough to overturn the lead Milan had established in the last-16 first leg at the San Siro three weeks ago.

Laurent Koscielny ignited the spark with a seventh-minute header and Tomas Rosicky sent smoke rising from Emirates midway through the half. When Robin van Persie fired home a penalty three minutes from the break the stadium was alight.

Unfortunately, Arsenal could not maintain the same heat in the second half. Gervinho and Van Persie both had opportunities for the equaliser but Milan were more robust with Antonio Nocerino twice testing Wojciech Szczesny.

But, remember, a four-goal comeback had been achieved only three times before in the history of European competition.

Arsenal easily won the game. It would have been something truly extraordinary if they had won the tie.

Yet, in defeat, they had more than proved their mettle.

Eleven weary bodies in 11 red-and-white shirts hauled themselves dejectedly from the pitch at full time.

On the strength of this incredible night, they will be back – and stronger for the experience. Arsenal may have lost the tie – but they were far from defeated.

The extent of that 4-0 first leg defeat in Milan made for an unusual feeling before kick-off.

Arsenal had recovered from that first-leg defeat with superb comebacks against Tottenham and Liverpool. But this was a different matter.

A raft of absences hardly helped. Mikel Arteta (head), Yossi Benayoun (sickness) and Abou Diaby (hamstring) had joined the list following the weekend win at Anfield. Wenger admitted that if Tomas Rosicky had not passed a fitness test then he would have switched formation. As it was the Czech international was joined by Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain in the centre. It was the youngster’s first start inside. Gervinho also came into the team.

Milan’s teamsheet caused a little ripple pre-match as Massimiliano Allegri named two keepers on the bench. The coach was attempting to bolt the back door on this tie.

But the home side proved to be excellent locksmiths at the beginning of the first half.

Within seven minutes they were ahead. Oxlade-Chamberlain fired over a corner from the left and Koscielny wriggled free of his marker to nod home his second goal of the season.

The perfect start.

Soon after, Walcott roared down the right and fed Van Persie. The angle was acute and shot was kicked away by Christian Abbiati. It was a regulation save but it was met with rapture by the home support.

Recent results – and that early goal – had given them every reason to believe.

The first 10 minutes belonged to Arsenal. Van Persie’s pass was inches behind an unmarked Rosicky on the left of the area. Then the Dutchman forced a flying save from Abbiati at his near post.

Milan were menacing on the counter but they could sustain nothing going forward. This game was all about Arsenal at this point.

And the second goal made the dream much more real.

In the 26th minute, Walcott stormed forward and his cutback was lazily cleared to Rosicky by Thiago Silva. The 31-year-old has been rolling back the years in recent weeks and his goal was a case in point.

A less experienced player would have snatched at it. A less technical player would have blasted.

Rosicky passed the ball into the net with composure. It was an understated and yet quality strike - typical of the man.

Emirates Stadium now sensed something special. Arsenal continued to pour forward. The Milan defence creaked under the pressure but did not serve up an opportunity.

They also looked a little more ambitious themselves.

However Arsenal were now fancying their task and, three minutes from half time it got a little easier when Oxlade-Chamberlain was blocked off by Daniel Mesbah as he stormed through and Van Persie slammed home from the spot.

Stunning, stirring stuff.

However there was nearly a sting. In injury time, a sweeping Milan move eventually saw Stephan El Shaarawy pop up on the right of the area unmarked. He fired a shot wide when he should have scored.

Milan had to change something as, that last chance apart, they been toothless. At this rate, Arsenal would pick them off.

The visitors certainly showed endeavour at the start of the second half. If anything Arsenal were now playing on the counter and just before the hour mark they nearly drew level in the tie via that route.

Gervinho deflected shot was kicked away by Abbiati and then the keeper reacted well to clutch Van Persie’s follow-up from point-blank range.

It was massive moment. Especially as Arsenal were starting to come under real pressure.

In the 63rd minute, Wojciech Szczesny tried to find Song with a low clearance into midfield. Ibrahimovic nipped in and fired just wide with the keeper helpless.

The game was in the balance as we reached the midway point of the second half. In itself that was a massive achievement. But Milan had shown much more since the break.

It was understandable. The visitors are leading Serie A right now and Arsenal had played at a leg-sapping tempo in the first half.

With 16 minutes to go, Wenger brought on Marouane Chamakh for Oxlade-Chamberlain. The time had come to gamble.

But in truth, Arsenal were tiring.

Nocerino cut in from the left and Szczesny batted away his near-post drive. From the resulting throw in, Alberto Aquilani cut inside and sent low ball across goal. It was perfect for Nocerino. But his shot was stopped by the foot of Szczesny and the rebound fell into his hands.

A fortunate moment.

In the final few minutes, Walcott limped off and Ju Young Park came on. The formation was now officially 4-2-4 but it seemed to be 4-0-6 at times.

Arsenal tried to rouse themselves for one more assault but the comeback has drained their energy.

The European adventure may be now over but Wenger’s men are back on track.

Source: Richard Clarke, Arsenal.com on 6 Mar 12

Comeback kings Arsenal hope to do same to Milan in Champions League

Arsenal are the new comeback kings after spectacular second-half recoveries against Tottenham and, on Saturday, Liverpool. Robin van Persie scored both the visitors' goals – the second in added time – to snatch a 2-1 win at Anfield after a game in which they had been outplayed for long periods.

The result leaves Arsène Wenger in better heart than he would ever have expected for Tuesday night's mission impossible: overturning a four-goal, first-leg deficit against Milan in the Champions League. "Our job now is to make the impossible possible on Tuesday," the Arsenal manager said. "Maybe we were a bit lucky in beating Liverpool, but we will take results where we can and we have significantly improved our position in the last week. This result gets us away from Liverpool in a substantial way and we have shown in the last two games that we have the quality to produce something special when we need to win matches."

The something special at Anfield was a sensational 92nd-minute winner from Van Persie, a goal of such sublime elegance that it only emphasised Liverpool's deficiencies in the finishing department.

Wenger and Van Persie accepted that Liverpool dominated the game, yet even though Arsenal produced fewer goal attempts, more of them were on target. "We could have been two or three goals down at half-time," Wenger said. "The second half was more level, but we were lucky not to have been killed off by then. Liverpool are a very good side and it just shows how difficult this league is, how hard it is to even claim fourth place, but when you have a quality striker like Robin van Persie in your side you always have a chance. He is up there with the best players in the world at the moment and I am very proud of the way he has become the leader of the team."

Wenger knows he cannot talk in such a manner without being asked questions about Arsenal's ability to keep hold of a player whose contract runs out next season and who is now admired by all the leading teams in Europe, so he was ready with the standard reply. "You can never afford to lose a player of that quality," he said, diplomatically. "Of course we will do anything possible to keep him, I have said that many times already."

The Arsenal manager said his goalkeeper also made the difference against Liverpool, Wojciech Szczesny saving a first-half penalty, and both players echoed Wenger's view that the visitors had ridden their luck.

"We were getting killed in the first half," Szczesny said. "We enjoyed the second half a lot more." Van Persie was even more self-deprecating. "I don't think we deserved it to be honest," he said. "Liverpool played better than we did but we nicked it at the end."

If that verdict does not do justice to the excellence of Arsenal's winning goal, Van Persie was at least willing to pay tribute to the team-mate who supplied the pass. Alex Song had been the provider for Van Persie's previous goal of the season contender against Everton, and the Holland striker said the midfielder's vision was at least as good as his finish. "It was another unbelievable pass from Alex," Van Persie said. "He's a really good player. He can see it and he can do it as well."

Source: Paul Wilson, The Guardian on 3 Mar 12

Champions League or bust

It’s been one of those weeks; one of those weeks that we’ve had too many times as Arsenal fans in recent seasons. In terms of winning a trophy, the season is over. As much as I like to dream that it might happen, it’s serious unlikely that we’ll win 5-0 at home to AC Milan. Even if we were 5-0 up at home to AC Milan, we’d probably find a way to concede a goal and go out on away goals.

Anyway, there can be no miracle in the FA Cup. With the other teams that had gone out, it looked to be a great chance to win some silverware. However once again we followed a bad defeat with another one. It has become a worrying trait of Arsenal in general, not just this in this season, that we lose two keys games in a row. Plus they haven’t just been tight games that we’ve narrowly lost, we haven’t really looked like winning either of them.

Now we’re out of the FA Cup and effectively out of the Champions League, all we have left is the league, and the fight for the top four. People laughed when Arsene Wenger said that finishing fourth is like a trophy. Obviously it isn’t the same, however given the way modern football is, financially it is as important, if not more so, to finish in the top four. I don’t particularly like that it is, but it’s the way the current game is, so we have to make sure we finish there. Even if we do make the Champions League, it will be hard for any Arsenal fan to justify this season as being a success. However it wouldn’t be a complete failure. Missing out on Champions League football would be.

The past week has raised a large number of questions from fans, mainly towards the manager, about the state of the club and about a change of policy. Everyone is entitled to an opinion and has an idea about what the club should do to move forward, as we’ve clearly been going backwards, but there’s not much we can do about it mid-season. Clearly the club have made mistakes in the last few transfer windows, but if we want to see the club move forward, we need to be in the Champions League next season.

Without it, we won’t be able to attract better quality players and compete with others financially. There is money there from previous sales that we should use, but the extra Champions League windfall will help with wages, not just with transfer fees. Whoever is the manager in the summer will need to sort out the playing squad, because as much as those in the positions of power at Arsenal might want to say we’re in a good situation, without a successful team on the pitch, a football club is not successful.

They’ll also need the lure of the Champions League to help with that revolution of the playing squad.

I will never call for Arsene Wenger to be sacked. It might just be me being sentimental as he’s the only Arsenal manager I’ve really experienced in charge of the club, or me being scared of what Arsenal might be like without him, but I can’t bring myself to join the growing numbers who want a different manager. However I do want our manager to change his ways. As far as I’m concerned, his youth project has failed. However he should be the first to be given the chance to turn our fortunes around and to overhaul the squad in the summer. Before that, he has to galvanize those in the squad at the moment to make the top four. If we don’t finish there in May, I think it might be time for a change.

When the day comes that Wenger leaves, and if that is soon, I’m beginning to think that the most tragic, but best, way for him to go will be for him to go of his own accord. It would be a sad if it reached the point that managing the club became too much for him to deal with, but with some of the animosity around from some, I wouldn’t blame him for walking away. I’m desperate for Wenger to turn it around as if any manager is going to improve this Arsenal team, I want it to be Arsene Wenger.

As with Wednesday’s mauling in Milan, the defeat at Sunderland wasn’t entirely Wenger’s fault. We have had some cruel luck in the last week, with three centre backs, one central midfielder and a midfielder/makeshift left back all getting injured. The pitches at the Stadium of Light and the San Siro were bad, but we should still have been able to deal with them. The first Sunderland goal was deflected, and the second was a horrible piece of luck for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, who had at least show commitment to chase back when Sunderland counter attacked. However ultimately, the problem once again was that we couldn’t break down an organised defence and create chances.

It is all very well singling out individual players and saying they aren’t good enough, but collectively the team has not been good enough in the last two games. They fought well to win at Sunderland last week, but haven’t done so since then. Players have to take responsibility and not have to be relying on others.

Our recent failures are made more frustrating because we know the team are capable of playing well and showing character. That’s one of the key problems, we’ve only seen it in fleeting glances. Saturday’s defeat was horribly predictable, as we now don’t expect the players to be able to deal with tough situations. Those in the squad for the rest of the season have to mature quickly and fight for the club, and fight for their futures as Arsenal players.

The reality is that Arsenal aren’t a club in crisis; we’re a club that aren’t moving forward, aren’t keeping up with modern football, and are nowhere near as good as we used to be on the pitch. It is immensely painful that we won’t win a trophy this season, but we are currently in the top four. Finishing in that position, the one where we need to be to enable us to make the necessary changes in the summer, is in our hands.

After the week we’ve hand, we could do with the next match being one where three points could come more easily. However it’s the North London derby. It will be a really difficult match, because as much as it pains me to admit it, Spurs are playing very well this season and deserve to be where they are in the league. However if the Arsenal players can’t get themselves pumped up and be prepared to do everything to win this game, frankly they don’t deserve to wear the Arsenal shirt again. If we win, Wenger will be afforded time by some supporters as there is no greater pressure reliever for an Arsenal manager or team, than a win against Tottenham. If we lose, the howls against Wenger will only get louder, and we’ll also lose ground in the race for the top four.

We’re not in a crisis, however losing to Tottenham will make it feel like we are.

Source: Sam Limbert, ESPN Soccernet on 19 Feb 12

Will English clubs' Champions League failure be a passing phase?

Chelsea and Arsenal's expected failure to reach the Champions League last eight could mark a low ebb in English football

The vultures are beginning to circle over the stumbling, disorganised remnants of Premier League participation in Europe's major club competition, waiting for the moment when life can be pronounced extinct and the bones of a once thriving enterprise can be picked clean, probably prior to being danced over.

In case you haven't heard, should Arsenal and Chelsea fail to overcome their first-leg deficits against Italian opponents when the Champions League resumes next month, English football will not have a side in the last eight for the first time since its formation 1996. Sixteen years is a long time, especially when English clubs have reached the final on no fewer than eight occasions in that period, and even if the actual success rate (three European Cups) was slightly disappointing the rest of Europe seems totally delighted now that the Premier League is in danger of losing its superior smirk.

Never mind that Chelsea and Arsenal still have microscopically small chances of making progress. The rest of Europe has just seen Chelsea and Arsenal in action, and judgment need not wait until elimination becomes a mathematical certainty. By Champions League standards, indeed by the standards of previous English attempts on Europe's summit, these are two poor sides. One can only imagine a certain amount of confusion exists in continental Europe as to how Chelsea and Arsenal ended up as the last two English representatives. If the last two are that bad, does it follow that Manchester City and Manchester United are even worse?

Not necessarily. City in particular were both inexperienced and unlucky enough to find themselves in a highly competitive group, not to mention handicapped by recalcitrant substitutes. But City were never going to win the Champions League this year, even Roberto Mancini would tell you that. They never had the same amount of wind in their sails that Tottenham Hotspur had last season, and though they would have liked to make it out of their qualification group, they would inevitably have found the going tough in the latter stages at a time when all their concentration needs to be on their bid to secure a first domestic title in 44 years.

A fact much harder to face is that United were never going to win the Champions League this year either. Reaching two of the last three finals counts for nothing when you have been so thoroughly outplayed by the same team in each, and though all at Old Trafford would strenuously deny it, the possibility exists that confidence, perhaps at some subconscious level, was irreparably damaged by the two crushing Barcelona defeats. It is hard to think of other reasons why a team of United's experience and pedigree should come up short against the likes of Basel and Benfica, and a number of supporters are consoling themselves with the thought that as long as Barcelona are still at large there is little point in fighting all the way to the final anyway. That is an understandable reaction, though a somewhat flattering one. Barcelona are far from the only team in Europe who now look quite uncatchable to English sides. Real Madrid, Milan and Bayern Munich, if not a few others, all look capable of beating United at the moment, and by extension anyone else from the Premier League.

So English football, or at least the product produced by mostly foreign players and managers from the English Premier League, is not as strong as it used to be. The evidence is clear. We appear to be a footballing nation in decline, except that one year may not be representative of the overall situation. There was an English team in the final last season after all, and two more reached the last eight. The question now is how strong Premier League teams are going to be in the Champions League next year. Maybe Chelsea or Arsenal or even both will miss out, and on recent evidence that may be no bad thing. But who will replace them? Spurs are in prime position, though it is difficult to say who will be managing Spurs next season.

It will be a pity, from a club point of view, should Harry Redknapp accept the England position, because as Sir Alex Ferguson says, he has put together a very attractive team at White Hart Lane. Without the England distraction Spurs would ordinarily have been looking forward to using the experience gained last season and having a real go at the Champions League, a prospect that seems infinitely preferable to having Redknapp attempt to persuade Paul Scholes out of retirement for a World Cup qualifier in Moldova. It is up to Redknapp to decide what is the grander destiny, but anyone neutral in the matter would not take long to conclude that Spurs have a far greater capacity for attacking, exciting football than England, and there is no guarantee that the next manager will be able to maintain the club's momentum.

In terms of renewing the English challenge in Europe then, there is already a question mark over Spurs. There is a question over Liverpool too, because they may not be able to qualify. There is some doubt over whether Liverpool would cause many problems for the big names of Europe when they keep ceding points to the likes of Fulham, Norwich City and Swansea City, though the recent elimination of the two Manchester clubs from the two domestic cups gave a better indication of what they are capable of when the occasion arises. Liverpool have always shown great stickability in Europe – their 2005 triumph was not just a miracle in Istanbul, they were written off at almost every stage preceding the final – and few English clubs have ever proved more adept at the art of winning over two legs. Yet unless their league form improves they will have to wait another year, and anything can happen in that time period.

The only other breakthrough contenders, unless Martin O'Neill is about to whisk Sunderland all the way into the top four, are Newcastle United. Stranger things have happened, though not many, and with due respect to Alan Pardew's achievements the reality appears to be that the two Manchester clubs and Spurs will take the top three positions, leaving Chelsea and Arsenal to fight over fourth spot. Only in the event of complete collapse from both will anyone else get a look-in, and though Chelsea and Arsenal look as if they may have some more collapsing to do, it will be a surprise if both manage to mess up the rest of the season badly enough to miss out.

That's not a very encouraging picture, is it? United, Chelsea and Arsenal have failed to scare Europe this season and have given little indication that things are going to be much better next time round. City might be all right, depending on how well things go for the rest of this season, but are short of Champions League experience and are beginning to be hampered by the financial fair play rules. Spurs could be just about the best bet, but must be wishing Carlo Ancelotti was still available for a seamless takeover should Redknapp say goodbye.

The bottom line is that it is hard to see Chelsea or Arsenal improving significantly in Europe next season. Both seem to be due a major shakeup. United also seem to be battling on rather than blazing any new trails of glory, and though it could be argued a major shakeup at Old Trafford is long overdue, the owners and long-serving manager seem content with the present conservative policy. United could easily improve on this season's performance in Europe – it is hard to see them doing any worse – but they have not progressed in recent years as much as other top sides in the Champions League. City and Spurs both have plenty of room for improvement, but plenty of scope for all manner of unexpected things to go wrong. While it would be great to predict that English clubs will be back with a bang in Europe next year, the reality is that it could be another whimper.

Source: Paul Wilson, The Guardian on 22 Feb 12

Arsenal standards reach dangerous low

For a split-second the ball was there, and then it was gone. Zlatan Ibrahimovic, perceived big-game choker but undoubted possessor of world-class talent, had tricked his way past Johan Djourou, 25-year-old "youngster" and former Birmingham City loanee. AC Milan were all set to complete their 4-0 Champions League drubbing of Arsenal, and every question mark over the increasingly under-fire Arsene Wenger was soon to be raised.

Other than the most obvious: What was Djourou doing on the pitch in the first place?

Djourou, of course, was not solely to blame for Arsenal's worst defeat in European competition. He was not even on the pitch for Milan's first two goals. Yet he embodies the lowering standard that Wenger has come to accept at Arsenal - and like a stone (Djourou most definitely isn't a rock) hitting water, it is a standard that is rippling through the rest of the squad.

In the context of what happened at the San Siro on Wednesday, Djourou was only on the pitch due to a rash of defensive injuries to Per Mertesacker, Carl Jenkinson and - picked up in the match itself - Laurent Koscielny. But honest Arsenal fans will acknowledge he is one of many who should not be wearing the shirt at all.

Neither, arguably, should the three names mentioned ahead of him.

Djourou is a symbol in this article to represent the many names who are lucky to be playing for one of England's greatest clubs - Carl Jenkinson, Laurent Koscielny, Per Mertesacker, Andre Santos, Theo Walcott, Andrei Arshavin, Marouane Chamakh. An honest head says none of them have consistently shown they are capable of the form expected of past great Arsenal sides.

Wenger, mocked as a nutty-looking professor when he arrived in England, once produced arguably the best footballing side to grace the Premier League - the famous Invincibles. The current crop, by comparison, must be dubbed the Unreliables. His mathematician's mind was once heralded for picking out footballing gems such as Patrick Vieira and Cesc Fabregas at bargain-basement prices, but nowadays most football fans would rather walk to White Hart Lane for Harry Redknapp's street-savvy approach.

The dealings of the past 12 months are evidence enough that Redknapp could currently teach Wenger a thing or two. Scott Parker was so obviously needed at Arsenal that he may as well have been gift-wrapped with a one-way ticket to Holloway Road tube station, yet for a cool £5 million he is currently being hailed as the next England captain whilst in the white of Tottenham. Ryan Nelsen, who did not even cost a penny, is surely another who would walk into the Arsenal line-up.

Wenger, over time, has allowed the standard to drop so low at Arsenal that players who were once derided as liabilities are now championed as their strongest assets. Koscielny is a prime example, a defender capable of solid performances such as the one against Manchester United, but equally prone to a gaffe. The mind only has to rewind to the 3-2 defeat at Swansea in January to recall how he allowed Danny Graham in for the winning goal. When he arrived at Arsenal it was obvious he was not the type of player to stand up and be counted when 1-0 up away at Fulham (another loss for Arsenal), yet Wenger's latest comments on the Frenchman lead one to believe that the Gunners have the next Laurent Blanc.

"[We found him] in France of course, from a smaller team," he said. "You could see that there was something special there. I believe that last year you could already see the potential but he did not have that dominance in the duels that he has found this season. That makes him, I personally believe, one of the top-class central defenders in the Premier League."

Acceptance of mediocrity is the path to exactly that, and it only takes a comparison to the last trophy-winning Arsenal side to prove it. How many of the current XI would have featured in that 2005 FA Cup win against Manchester United?

Is Wojciech Szczesny better than Jens Lehmann? Temperament-wise perhaps. Are Kieran Gibbs or Santos superior to Ashley Cole? Only morally. What about Bacary Sagna - woefully exposed in Italy - compared to Lauren? Or Koscielny in relation to Kolo Toure? All answers, truthfully, are no. Only Vermaelen would step into that back five at the expense of Philippe Senderos.

In midfield, do Alex Song, Aaron Ramsey or Mikel Arteta lace the same boots as Patrick Vieira, Gilberto Silva or Cesc Fabregas? That question is purely rhetorical.

And are Walcott or Arshavin preferable to Jose Antonio Reyes or Robert Pires? Not on the form of the past six months. Only Robin van Persie qualifies for that 2005 team in the midfield or attacking positions, and even he would only make the bench behind Dennis Bergkamp and Thierry Henry (the final was even won without Henry's services). That totals a grand number of two current players good enough for the side Wenger built seven years ago, with Jack Wilshere a promising up-and-comer.

As a result, the likes of Koscielny, Song and Arteta have become recognised as Arsenal's better players, the bar lowered deep enough for such players to raise their heads slightly above the mediocrity around them.

A mathematical mind Wenger does indeed possess, after all, he boasts a degree in economics, yet when it comes to the simple maths of football his sums do not add up. Summer outgoings: Fabregas, Samir Nasri and Gael Clichy. Replacements: Arteta, Yossi Benayoun and Santos. Three top-drawer players replaced by three players significantly less talent. Replace Heinz Tomato Ketchup with a low-budget alternative and what do you expect?

In Wenger's defence, he had no choice with the players he lost, but according to his board and all noises coming out of Arsenal, he most certainly had the money to replace them. "There have been suggestions that we keep stopping him from buying," chairman Peter Hill-Wood stated earlier in the season. "That is not the case."

Player for player, Arsenal have two or three at most who would challenge for a spot in the Manchester United, Manchester City and Tottenham XIs (yes, none of them are currently in the Champions League, but it's a hollow point): Van Persie, Wilshere and Vermaelen (the latter is generous). Simple maths says that statistic must change if Arsenal are to stop their slide from the country's best.

The club, the manager and the fans can defend the likes of Koscielny, Song and Djourou as strongly as they want - the loyalty is to be admired. But how often do these players return the favour by fighting for the reputation of the club? And how long, given current circumstances, until Wenger is heard championing the importance of the Europa League - another lowering of the standards?

Source: Ben Blackmore, ESPN Soccernet on 16 Feb 12

A harrowing night

Before the match with AC Milan in the San Siro, I couldn't decide what I expected from the game. My mind kept switching between thinking we could go there and win, similar to the way we did in 2008, and thinking we'd get walloped. Eventually, I settled on thinking we'd give it a good go but might lose 2-1, and at least give ourselves a chance of getting through in the second leg.

I should have chosen to expect us to get walloped. That way at least I'd have been less disappointed and wouldn't feel as let down by the team as I did after the match. I'd have been more accepting of the defeat had the Arsenal shown some fight, some application and some determination to get back into the tie. There's no scapegoat to place the blame with, and the result wasn't the sole responsibility of the manager. No-one was good enough and the team got what they deserved.

The big challenge has to be for this result to not affect the team for the rest of the season. Given how certain matches have led to our seasons falling apart in the last few years, I'm struggling to see how the players will pick themselves up from losing 4-0. If they don't, that defeat in Milan will be our last meaningful away trip in Europe for some time. The fans that travelled to Milan and sang throughout the game deserve better. Even at 4-0 down, the only singing that could be heard through the television were the away fans who were high up in the San Siro.

It would be easy to look at the four goals and say that we were unlucky for some of them, but that would be ignoring the larger issue that the team were dismal. The first goal came from a poor clearance from Szczesny, and then the midfield and defence were slow to react when Milan had the ball. One of the key things to do in the first leg of a knockout tie is to keep things tight at the back. We were hopelessly open and Milan were able to punish us with a chipped pass over the top for Boateng. The finish was good, but Boateng far too much time and space to attempt the volley. Ibrahimovic was offside for the second goal, but the defence didn’t chase back hard enough to put him under pressure and Robinho shouldn’t have been allowed a free header from the edge of the six yard box.

The third goal was probably the most unfortunate one to concede, with Thomas Vermaelen slipping at the key moment when he was about to close Robinho down, however it had been too easy for Milan to get into that position on the edge of the box. The penalty was a bit harsh as Ibrahimovic seemed to move his leg into Djourou, but had that been at the other end, we’d have been gutted had it not been given.

Realistically, the score-line should have been worse given the chances Milan had and how they eased off in the second half. Milan looked up for it, we didn’t. Even when we were able to control periods of the game and keep the ball, we did nothing with it. Robin van Persie was feeding off scraps and couldn’t get in the game in the first half. He had three half chances in the second, however that was the extent of what we could create for him.

Not even bringing on Thierry Henry at half time could salvage anything for us. It would have been unreasonable to expect Henry to be able to drag the team up by himself. The Henry of old might have been able to pick the ball up a long way from goal and make things happen, but as we saw at Sunderland, the current Henry is primarily a finisher in the penalty area. He was given nothing to finish. It appeared to me that some of the players possibly believed the potential for the Henry fairy tale and were just waiting for him to come off the bench and win the match instead of focussing on winning it themselves. It was a sad way for Thierry Henry to end his Arsenal career.

The way we appeared to be relying on Henry by bringing him on at half time seemed symbolic of the current problems with our squad. We had to go back to a club legend, who is nowhere near the player he was, to try and dig us out of a hole. It highlighted that proper investment in the squad is needed this summer. It was needed last summer and arguably in January. We made some good signings last summer, but also some strange ones considering who left the club. We’re relying on quick fixes to get us moving again as a club. Whether we’re in the Champions League or not, or if Arsene Wenger is the manager, this summer we have to have a proper shake up and be willing to spend money. I’m all for responsible spending and not wasting money on over-priced players, but we have to be realistic and be willing to spend those few extra million pounds that will keep us competitive in modern day football.

However we have more immediate things to worry about before the summer. Any spending we do will be dictated by the forthcoming three months. We have to just focus on the players we have at the moment and how they can come back from the horror show at the San Siro, not in the second leg as we’re all but out of the Champions League, but in the Premier League and the FA Cup. Once again we have injury concerns in defence, with centre backs now going down like our full backs were. We can’t expect to see Per Mertesacker back anytime soon, and Laurent Koscielny worryingly limped off in Milan. We really missed the calming influence of the big German at the back on Wednesday, and Koscielny has been our player of the season behind van Persie. Against Milan, Thomas Vermaelen looked like a man who has been playing at full back recently and John Djourou is nowhere near the form he was showing at this time last year.

A lot of people will point the finger at Arsene Wenger for the result. Yes, when you lose 4-0 you can say the manager should have prepared the players better, and some of the investment in the squad issues could be traced back to the boss. However the whole club need to take responsibility for a result like that, those above Wenger at boardroom level, and those below him in the playing squad. Once the players are on the pitch, it’s up to them to fight for the Arsenal and execute any plans. The team that Wenger fielded on Wednesday were good enough to be competitive in the match, to score, and to remain in contention in the tie. The vast majority of them let their manager, their club and their fans down.

Sunderland on Saturday in the FA Cup is absolutely massive for our season. Effectively going out of two competitions in four days could destroy our team spirit and have a substantial knock-on effect on our top four hopes in the league. This team have responded to bad defeats before, and have to do so again. Although we can’t afford to have another bad defeat that we then need to respond to again. The least we should expect as fans is for the players to give everything for the team and look like they want to win. They didn’t do that on Wednesday. It was immensely disappointing as much as it was saddening to see Arsenal take such a deserved beating.

As he’s leaving, I’ll finish with a Thierry Henry quote that the squad he leaves would do well to remember. “If you play hard and respect the shirt, they remember that.”

Source: Sam Limbert, ESPN  Soccernet on 16 Feb 12

Premier League shown in poor light by clubs' Champions League malaise

Arsenal's thrashing by Milan leaves English football potentially facing its worst European Cup performance in 16 years

Perhaps the most damning assessment came from Arrigo Sacchi, the man who created possibly the finest Milan team in history. Sacchi had already used his "Sopra La Panca" column in Wednesday's Gazzetta dello Sport to say this was the worst Arsenal team for a decade but, after seeing them close-up, he wanted to revise his criticisms. "I said 10 years," he told television viewers. "Maybe I was being too generous."

Sacchi, a two-times European Cup winner with the team of Gullit, Van Basten, Rijkaard, Baresi et al, had called it exactly right. Zlatan Ibrahimovic, he predicted, could be "devastating" against a defence this vulnerable.

"Arsenal cannot match Milan for experience, technical quality and individuality. They are not sharp. They do not move as a unit, their defence is slow and not protected by their midfield."

In the past, he said, Arsène Wenger's teams played a "fast and brilliant way". The current team was "not fluid" and "still searching for a convincing system".

It was difficult to argue with a single word of it after a night that Wenger described as "our worst in Europe ever". Arsenal's manager has never been particularly good at hiding his distress after bad defeats and it was difficult to remember the last time he looked quite so mortified. No side has ever turned around a four-goal deficit to win a Champions League knockout tie. Arsenal have played 222 times in Europe and never lost so comprehensively. Wenger could hardly maintain eye contact. He was grey.

Yet Sacchi's observations extended further than the current malaise at Arsenal. "Look at the Premier League," he said. "They are a long way behind the two Manchester clubs, both of whom are already out of the Champions League. This just underlines the decline of English football."

The more popular view, certainly in the self-congratulatory Premier League, is that it is actually Italian football that has been regressing. Sacchi, however, had a point. This is threatening to be the first season since 1996 when English football has not been able to provide a single quarter-finalist.

Arsenal's chances rank somewhere between minimal and nonexistent and, though Chelsea will hope to do better when they take on Napoli at the Stadio San Paolo on Tuesday, the dislocation between André Villas-Boas and his increasingly mutinous group of players hardly inspires confidence.

This could probably be written off as a one-off, nothing too potentially serious or long-lasting, if Manchester United had not already been eliminated from a group featuring Basel, Benfica and a Romanian team, Otelul Galati, that Sir Alex Ferguson admitted he had never heard of when the draw was made. Manchester City did manage 10 points from a challenging group featuring Napoli and Bayern Munich, which would ordinarily be enough to qualify, but it still represents a failure given the enormous spending under the ownership of the Abu Dhabi United Group.

Whether this constitutes a genuine decline is difficult to say. A decline usually means a number of years, rather than one bad campaign, and it is not so long ago English football was slapping itself on the back for having provided three of the four semi-finalists in three successive seasons, from 2007 to 2009. United have reached the final in three of the past five campaigns and Arsenal, United and Tottenham have all knocked Milan out of the last 16 in the same period.

What happens with Chelsea next week will give a clearer picture but, for now, Arsenal's lamentable efforts and the sight of the Premier League's top two clubs grubbing around in the Europa League does raise the question of whether everything in the self-acclaimed best league in the world is as good as it is cracked up to be.

Arsenal's performance had been shocking and yet also predictable. The Manchester clubs did not even make it out of the group stages and that leaves English football relying upon a Chelsea team whose deterioration, much like Arsenal's, is close to the point of being staggering. Napoli have already eliminated City and, if they do the same to Chelsea, it will represent the least distinguished performance from English clubs since Blackburn Rovers had a go 16 years ago and demonstrated exactly how not to do it – David Batty, Graeme Le Saux and all that.

Source: Daniel Taylor, The Guardian on 16 Feb 12