Out Arsenal-ed

In recent years, this Arsenal team have been outplayed before; most notably by Barcelona at the Nou Camp a couple of times. However I can’t remember being completely outplayed by a newly promoted team. We weren’t just outplayed in terms of the score line, but we were outplayed at our own style of football.

Swansea deserved to win the game and must be given an immense amount of credit for the way they played, however from an Arsenal perspective, the defeat was seriously avoidable again. The team seemed incapable of keeping the ball for a sustained period of time to build pressure on the hosts, with some individuals frustrating a lot of fans.

Injuries have taken their toll, but Arsenal should still have had enough quality to get three points. We all know that when fit, our best starting XI is capable of beating anyone, but the hallmark of a great team is being able to pick up points when key players are missing. It seemed that some of the players on the pitch were about as useful as some of those who were absent from injury.

Like at Fulham, we started the match really well. Robin van Persie, unsurprisingly, scored. I thought his initial touch was too heavy, but I shouldn’t have doubted the captain.

Having scored so early, we should have won the match comfortably. What is most frustrating about the last few weeks is that the team have been in the same situation on three occasions, and not won any of the games. Against Wolves, Fulham and Swansea, we got the early goal but allowed the opposition back into the match. If it happened once, you’d mark it down as careless, but the lesson would have been learnt and dealt with. However there is a clear issue that hasn’t been addressed properly. To throw away three leads, two of them leading to defeats, is beyond careless. We’ve been in a situation since August where any dropped points where going to be felt more than usual because of our start, so to be in winning positions and throw them away is infuriating.

Whilst we didn’t properly kick on after the goal, we were unfortunate to concede the penalty. Whether it’s not getting a penalty awarded to us, or conceding soft penalties, I’m fed up of important decisions going against us. I can understand why referee Michael Oliver gave the penalty, however he was in a brilliant position and should have seen that Ramsey didn’t trip Nathan Dyer or attempt to bring him down. Dyer turned in the box and if anything he catches Ramsey. It isn’t an excuse for the larger problems in the team, but it would be nice to have an important decision be right and go in our favour. Sunday against Manchester United would be a good start for that, although our recent win record with Mike Dean officiating is terrible.

Having been pegged back at 1-1, we still couldn’t control the game. Swansea deservedly took the lead as we overplayed the ball out of defence. We had the chance to spray the ball out wide and move away from our goal, however we went back to where Swansea were able to pressure us into losing the ball and giving them the space to score. Swansea had played their way out of similar position impressively, whether we were trying to prove that we could do it as well I don’t know, but it would have made sense at that moment to be able to read the situation and be more direct to get the ball away with the game so finely poised.

Bringing the game back to 2-2 proved that Swansea were just as vulnerable at the back as we were, the final pass just had to be right. So often it wasn’t, yet it only took a simple through ball from Djourou to put Walcott in on goal. The simplicity of both of our goals made the fact we couldn’t carve out other clear chances very frustrating. Walcott’s finish was excellent, but he did nothing for the rest of the game.

The way we conceded straight from the kick off was ludicrous. The players weren’t focussed and we were deservedly punished. Even when the ball was played through to Danny Graham, we shouldn’t have conceded. Koscielny had enough pace to force Graham wide, but Szczesny was in no man’s land, giving Graham the chance to find the far corner. Had Szczesny stayed in goal, Swansea probably wouldn’t have scored. I think Wojciech Szczesny is good enough to be our long term number one, however he’s shown his inexperience and naivety in the last two league games, and it’s cost us points. There are no other fit or competent goalkeepers to replace or advise Szczesny if he goes through a bad run of form, so he could become complacent about his place in the team. There’s a lot of pressure on him to show maturity, but his age is getting the better of him at some key points in games.

As much as we were slightly open in defence, I don’t think that was the biggest problem at the weekend. Laurent Koscielny had another superb game, both in terms of quality and effort. Per Mertesacker hadn’t trained all week after being unwell so deserves credit for starting at all, plus he did make some key interceptions and clearances. We need full backs. Ignasi Miquel looked like an inexperienced centre back playing out of position, however he couldn’t be faulted for effort. Hopefully Thomas Vermaelen will return next week, otherwise the decision to not sign a full back looks increasingly baffling. There aren’t many good left backs available on the market for loan, but surely signing one of them on for a short term fix would have been a better option than putting pressure on a young centre back to play out of position.

The biggest problem on Sunday was the midfield. Aaron Ramsey ran his socks into the ground, but is clearly in need of a break. It’s the first time he’s played regularly for such a long period of time in the Premier League, and its showing. He also seemed slightly confused as to where in midfield he was playing against Swansea. With Benayoun there, it wasn’t clear whether Ramsey was the man meant to be getting close to Robin van Persie. We missed Mikel Arteta so badly. He would have given us the control in midfield that would have enabled us to keep the ball better. He’d also have allowed Song to express himself more with the ball and possibly create some chances, something he’s improved on this season.

Going forward, as mentioned, Walcott didn’t have a good game. Robin van Persie barely had anything to feed off and Andrey Arshavin picked up a good assist, but otherwise slowed our attacks down and lost the ball too often. Gervinho has his critics, but he runs with the ball well and injects pace into our game.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain looked a lot livelier than Arshavin when he came on, making me think it’s really time to unleash the Ox. With Gervinho at the African Cup of Nations, Oxlade-Chamberlain is the closest like-for-like replacement we’ve got. We could start Henry on the left wing, but I think that would be a waste of his finishing ability.

There was a lot of anger flying around from some Arsenal fans after the match, particularly on twitter, and a lot of it was understandable, but it shouldn’t be directed at players who clearly gave 100%. Some of the tweets sent to Aaron Ramsey were needless and hideous, and Ramsey was one of the players who didn’t stop running all game. He’s not in great form, but is giving everything for Arsenal Football Club. As fans, we can’t ask for anymore from those wearing the shirt. We can ask for reinforcements to be brought in, but we can’t fault players individually if they’ve given everything they’ve got.

As for the fan who reportedly confronted Thierry Henry, we don’t need in-fighting with supporters and probably the best player to wear the cannon. Things weren’t good on Sunday, but we saw at the end of last season how negativity amongst fans will only bring the team down. The last days of last season weren’t enjoyable for anyone, so let’s all get behind the team against Manchester United. We’re in January, there’s still time to make the top four plus we’re still in the Champions League and the FA Cup. There is still time to address the problems and get players back from injury, we just need that sooner rather than later, or else our top four hopes will fade.

We’re in a position now where we go into the Manchester United match with no expectations. Anything that isn’t a defeat will probably be considered a bonus. The pressure is off, so the players need to show the sort of confidence that Swansea did against us. Hopefully we’ll see the much needed returns of Thomas Vermaelen and Mikel Arteta, and possibly someone other than Andrey Arshavin on the wing. We always have a chance with Robin van Persie up front.

Trying to look positively, on the same weekend in January 2007, we welcomed Manchester United to the Emirates. We won 2-1 with an injury time winner from Thierry Henry. Can the script writer pick up his pen?

Source: Sam Limbert, ESPN Soccernet on 17 Jan 12

Can we go back to 2011?

2011 might not have been great, but the start to 2012 has been dismal. Whilst most people see the New Year as a fresh start, Arsenal began the year looking fatigued and tired, and in serious need of refreshment.

Hopefully that refreshment will come in the form of a couple of new players, and some enthusiasm and encouraging performances from players in the FA Cup. Despite playing well in the first half against Fulham, the busy Christmas period took its’ toll on the team and they lost all control on the game.

Some of the fundamental mistakes that we hadn’t been making in recent weeks returned at Craven Cottage. The injuries and the red card didn’t help the situation at the back, but both goals that we conceded were avoidable, and came from individual errors. What also made the match immensely frustrating was that the last results of 2011 had all gone in our favour, and a win at Fulham would have put some pressure on those above us, and kept us in the top four. 2011 ended so well, and now at the start 2012, that feels wasted.

The first half at Fulham was good, and we restricted the hosts’ opportunities well. Had we shown more confidence in front of goal, the match could and should have been out of sight for Fulham at half time. Gervinho was a main culprit, but we still should have had a penalty when Senderos tripped him. In a traditionally difficult period of the season when results really are everything, we haven’t been helped by the lack of penalty decisions going our way. In the last five league games, we arguably should have had five penalties that weren’t given. Obviously there are no guarantees that the penalties would have been scored, but they’d have given us a much better chance of winning the games that we dropped points in. It seems that all of our bad luck with refereeing for the season has come at the same time, and at a bad time. Hopefully it’ll balance out later in the season.

Before a match, looking at who the referee is can generally give you a good or bad feeling about the upcoming game, and when seeing Lee Probert was officiating the Fulham match, I didn’t think we’d suffer from dodgy decisions. However there were minor and major ones during the whole game. How Riise swinging himself round Djourou’s legs, and pushing Walcott into the advertising boards aren’t fouls I’m not quite sure. Robin van Persie was also subjected to some strong challenges, and you couldn’t help but feel Neil Warnock’s comments about him at the weekend were in the back of the referee’s mind. Djourou’s first yellow card was justified as he was late and caught Dembele, however Murphy committed a similar, if not worse, foul on Djourou in the second half that didn’t earn a caution. All fans just want consistency. That made the second yellow that Djourou received very frustrating as there was minimal contact with Zamora, and nowhere near enough to pull him down. Djourou wasn’t completely innocent though as he should have been aware that Zamora might fall and should have made sure he didn’t leave himself vulnerable to a situation where the referee could send him off.

Overall, Djourou didn’t have a great match, as it’s clear he isn’t comfortable at full back. However he’s played there enough in recent weeks to be able to do a better job. His positioning might not have always been perfect, but Francis Coquelin put in a fantastic amount of effort as a make shift left back, and someone with the same energy would have been helpful on the right. When Djourou had gone off, I’m still wondering why Sebastien Squillaci came on. He’s out of form and has barely kicked a ball this season, so why not bring on Ignasi Miquel who would have been slightly more tuned in to the pace of the game. Miquel could have gone to the left and the quicker Coquelin could have gone to the right to deal with the dangerous Karim Frei.

Squillaci’s header for Fulham’s winning goal was bizarre to say the least. Surely the basics of defending say head the ball away from your goal, or out of play, and not across the goal. Squillaci chose to head it straight across the goal to claim a good assist for Zamora. It’s very easy to blame him because frankly he hasn’t been very good since we signed him, but in fairness to the Frenchman, he was thrust into a pressured situation for his first league appearance of the season, and had to play in an unfamiliar position. Although when we’re in a serious need of points to get into the top four, there isn’t time to be sympathetic.

The Fulham equaliser also came from an individual error. Wojciech Szczesny has generally been excellent this season, and has put a firm end to all questions about Arsenal needing a new goalkeeper, however he showed he’s still young and learning his trade when he was caught out from a corner. Had that been Almunia, Fabianski or Mannone, fans might have been calling for an immediate replacement, however there is a sense with Szczesny that the mistake was an isolated incident. The Pole hasn’t made the number of mistakes that the other three have, and has the confidence to get over it. While one mistake leads to another for other players, we’ve seen that Szczesny improves following them. You only have to look at his form since the Carling Cup final to know that. Hopefully the same will happen again. In the context of the Fulham match though, his eagerness to come out of goal cost us.

As much as individual errors and refereeing mistakes contributed to the defeat, the bigger problem was how the team, and particularly the midfield, faded massively in the second half. Fulham did improve after the break, but we allowed them the possession to do so, and couldn’t keep it ourselves when Fulham attacks did break down. Arteta and Ramsey both looked knackered, and when they did have the ball, they weren’t able to ping it forward into space for the quicker players to run onto, as they weren’t making themselves available for that type of pass. It would have released pressure and made us dangerous on the counter attack.

Of the quicker players, Walcott in particular had a poor game. He missed the Wolves game because of a virus, and he could still have been feeling the effects in the QPR and Fulham games. If he was struggling, why was he risked in both games when Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is waiting in reserve? Rosicky would have been more effective coming on in the centre to replace the tiring players in there, and bringing Oxlade-Chamberlain on would have meant we’d have had the option of pace on the counter attack.

I thought Laurent Kosicelny and Per Mertesacker both played well, and both did their best to hold the lead that Koscielny gave to us. Even though both looked fatigued, they dealt with Fulham’s forwards well. The only time Zamora was given any real space in the box was when he scored at the end, although that was when he was in an area that the inexperienced full-back Coquelin should have been covering, and he only received the ball from Squillaci’s poor header.

The defeat means we haven’t come out of the Christmas period as well as it looked like we would do at the end of 2011. If this is what the rest of 2012 is going to be like, is it too late to go back to 2011?

There is cause for optimism though. The players will have had a full week without a game before we face Leeds in the FA Cup on Monday, and then don’t play for another six days before Swansea, so hopefully they’ll regain some fitness. There will inevitably be some changes for the Leeds match as well, meaning we should be refreshed for Swansea.

The team selection for Leeds will be interesting as there is scope for changes in most areas of the pitch, and it’ll be anyone’s guess as to who lines up at full back. With Sagna supposedly nearing a return, I doubt Arsene Wenger will make a big signing at full back, so we’ll probably see two from Yennaris, Coquelin and Miquel filling those berths against Leeds. Hopefully it’ll be a chance for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain to show he’s worth trusting in the Premier League. Yossi Benayoun, Tomas Rosicky and Andrey Arshavin should also all be in contention for starts.

Whilst there is a need for changes, we must take the match seriously. The replay against Leeds in the third round last year added to the fixture congestion, and as we play Manchester United in January, we need the tie dealt with, and our name in the fourth round.

This post has mostly been doom and gloom, but there is one name that makes me want to stay in 2012, and should get all Arsenal fans excited for the first two months of the year, even if not in terms of his current footballing ability, but just as an icon who we want to see in red and white again. Thierry Henry. Enough said. Bring on the next two months Gooners!

Source: Sam Limbert, ESPN Soccernet on 5 Jan 12

Bobby Zamora and Steve Sidwell strike late as Fulham beat Arsenal

Bobby Zamora does not score enough goals for a centre-forward at Premier League level, let alone one with pretensions of making the England squad for the Euro 2012 finals. It is a source of no little frustration to Martin Jol, the Fulham manager. The pair have endured a slightly fractious relationship and Zamora's future at Craven Cottage remains unclear.

But it is amazing what a 90th-minute winner can do to promote harmony, however temporary, particularly when it sinks Arsenal and provides Jol with his first success against Arsène Wenger. Jol has previous with the Frenchman from his time in charge of Tottenham Hotspur; he once went chin-to-chin with him on the Highbury touchline before uttering the memorable post-match line: "He obviously hasn't seen the size of my fists."

He had not tasted victory over Wenger in eight previous attempts and the history made Zamora's goal feel even sweeter. At full-time, as Wenger stalked to the dressing room, having allowed perceived injustice to overwhelm him, Jol beamed his big smile and bear-hugged Zamora. "I love my players, especially when they score goals," he said.

It was an outrageous finale. Fulham had dominated the second half and Arsenal were already clinging to their first-half lead, given to them by Laurent Koscielny's first goal of the season, when the referee, Lee Probert, reduced them to 10 men in the 78th minute. Johan Djourou, rightly booked for a bad tackle on Moussa Dembélé, was caught the wrong side of Zamora and he leaned into him. To Wenger's fury, Probert brandished a second yellow card.

Fulham turned the screw yet further but, with cutting edge up front a persistent problem, nobody could have envisaged the denouement. The equaliser represented a one-two punch from two of Arsenal's less heralded old boys, Philippe Senderos heading a corner back for Steve Sidwell to nod home, but Zamora's goal was a giddy moment for the home crowd.

Steven Kelly's cross was contested by Sidwell but headed square by the Arsenal substitute Sébastien Squillaci and there was Zamora, watching the volley down on to his left boot, to ram it low into the near corner. His sixth goal of the season, on his return to the team, felt golden, particularly to Jol.
"It's almost an insult to say it's the first time I've beaten Wenger but you are right," Jol said. "I had a couple of draws, even away from home but I didn't manage to beat them so to do it with Fulham is a great feeling."

The one certainty about Fulham under Jol has been that there is no certainty. His team can look a match for the very best – witness their positive results against Manchester City and Liverpool at home; Arsenal and Chelsea away – yet they have also plumbed the depths. This was their first home fixture since the 5-0 defeat against Manchester United, which featured one of the most dismal first-half displays in memory.

They mixed the encouraging with the erratic in the early running alone. Their wide men had been sent out to target Arsenal's make-shift full-backs – Francis Coquelin, the midfielder, doubles as the club's fourth-choice left-back these days – and there was an intensity about Fulham's pressing.

Yet one shocking aberration served to condemn them to chase the game. After Mikel Arteta's shot had been blocked, Gervinho fed Aaron Ramsey and, when his cross flicked off Kelly, Fulham's defenders were not so much wrong-footed as frozen. Koscielny, of all people, wandered in, set his feet and planted a header past the exposed David Stockdale.

Jol remarked that it had been "so easy for Arsenal in the first 25 minutes that they probably became complacent" and the visitors would have been further in front were it not for a wonderful triple stop by Stockdale, who repelled Ramsey, a miscue from Sidwell and Gervinho in short order.

Arsenal had earlier claimed a penalty after Senderos' nibble at Gervinho; the Ivorian made the most of the contact, which possibly counted against him. The same might have been true of Fulham's penalty shout in the 34th minute, when Bryan Ruiz went down under Alex Song's challenge. Wenger would be as angry about the non-award for Gervinho as he was about the sending-off.

Fulham, who had flickered in the first half, were magnificent after the interval. Dembélé and Ruiz were persistent dangers and, as they pressed Arsenal back in what amounted to a siege, the chances came. Danny Murphy's free-kick caught Wojciech Szczesny in no man's land and Senderos headed wide. Ruiz crossed and Clint Dempsey, climbing above Per Mertesacker, directed his effort past the post and, most tantalisingly, Ruiz tricked through but Szczesny stood tall to block.

Wenger feared the worst when Djourou was dismissed and not only because he had to bring on Squillaci. His defence, battered and bruised, took on an even more patched-up feel. Arsenal were holding for the final bell, like the punch-drunk boxer, when Sidwell, who had also returned to Fulham's starting XI, headed home from close-range. Zamora, though, brought the house down. Despite Wenger's arguments the home win was deserved.

Source: David Hytner, The Guardian on 3 Jan 12

Wenger's reaction to the Fulham 2-1 Arsenal match

on the key decisions...
I think it was 100 per cent a penalty on Gervinho from Senderos in the first half. The referee had a massive influence on the game like that. We have played many games recently where if it had gone our way we would not have been in trouble and would have stayed with 11 on the pitch.

You want the right decisions in a game of that importance. But I do not want to speak about that anymore. We had the chances to kill the game off before that and to win. I think it's very unlucky for us to lose the game with 10 men. When you see the game today that we finished with 10 men, it's very difficult to take. That makes a massive difference when you have played 48 hours before. It's too difficult.

on losing another defender…
I think we have done well being short. We have lost three left backs, two right backs. What can you do? You cannot buy 10 full backs to make sure you have one in case of injury.

on trying to climb the table…
There was too much at stake in the game today, we needed absolutely everything to go for us, to be right. We are guilty because we still gave two goals away, I felt, in a stupid way and we didn't take our chances. Nothing went for us from the referee today, nothing at all. We cannot change that and we have to live with it unfortunately.

on the lack of penalty decisions in their favour…
We [should have] had a clear penalty in the last game against QPR with a clear handball, a penalty at Man City and we had a penalty at Villa Park. You should not ask me, I don't know.

Source: Arsenal.com on 2 Jan 12

2 January 2012: Fulham 2-1 Arsenal, Craven Cottage

Bobby Zamora grabbed a stoppage-time winner as Arsenal began 2012 with a London derby defeat.

Laurent Koscielny appeared to have earned all three points for the visitors when he scored his first goal of the season with a close-range header in the first half.

Arsenal were well in charge at that point but they were denied a penalty when Philippe Senderos tripped Gervinho and then lost Johan Djourou to a red card 13 minutes from time.

That tipped the scales in Fulham's favour and Steve Sidwell - a former Gunner no less - soared to nod in the equaliser six minutes from time. Then Zamora struck the killer blow with seconds remaining.

Arsenal deserved some reward for a commanding first-half display but the exertions of four games in 12 days appeared to take their toll after the break at Craven Cottage.

But on the face of it, seven points from four festive fixtures is not a terrible return - especially when you consider how some of Arsenal's top-four rivals have struggled in recent days.
The New Year will surely get better.

A second London derby in a little over 48 hours made the pre-match 'guess the team' exercise tougher than usual. Rotation was expected but, in the event, Wenger opted to make just two changes from the side that lined up against Queens Park Rangers.

One of those was enforced - Francis Coquelin stepping in for the injured Thomas Vermaelen in that troublesome left-back spot. One was not - Gervinho replacing Andrey Arshavin. Robin van Persie started his fourth game in 12 days. But any prospect of Thierry Henry making an appearance was snuffed out with his loan deal still awaiting completion.

It was just over five weeks since Fulham had left Emirates Stadium with a deserved point. You never quite know what you'll get with Martin Jol's team at Craven Cottage - they held Manchester City but shipped five to Manchester United - but few teams have stifled Arsenal as well as they did in November.

It was a different story here - at least in the first half.

Arsenal flew out of the traps and had carved out two half-chances inside three minutes with Gervinho firing over and Ramsey testing David Stockdale with a toe-poke. Gervinho had another sight of goal in the ninth minute, peeling away to the back post as Van Persie curled in a corner before meeting the ball with a wayward volley. And the Ivorian reminded us of the void he will leave when he departs for the Africa Cup of Nations with a dazzling run that was ended illegally by former Gunner Senderos. Not that the referee noticed.

It wasn't all one-way traffic. Brede Hangeland should have done better with a towering header from Danny Murphy's free kick and Fulham did their best to capitalise on Coquelin's callowness at left-back with Bryan Ruiz prominent. But it was hardly a major surprise that the first goal went Arsenal's way.

The identity of the scorer was more of a shock. Aaron Ramsey, having a barnstorming game in midfield, sent in a dinked cross that flicked off a defender and picked out Koscielny - of all people - six yards from goal. Unmarked, the Frenchman gleefully guided his header beyond Stockdale.

Two minutes later, it should have been two.

Once again Ramsey was involved, meeting a low cross from Theo Walcott with an equally low drive. Stockdale parried and then produced an even better save to deny Sidwell as his team-mate's attempt at a clearance so nearly ended with an own goal. Stockdale tipped the ball onto his post and the danger was eventually cleared.

Ruiz slammed a shot two yards wide on a rare Fulham foray but the visitors continued to make most of the running. Coquelin got past his man on the left and drove in a cross that Van Persie instinctively diverted goalwards. Stockdale was once again equal to it.

You had to admire Arsenal's tempo given their exertions two days earlier, while Fulham seemed to be feeling the effects of their own New Year's Eve encounter. But perhaps the hosts were just pacing themselves, because they came on strong in the second half.

There was no discernible change of tactics from Fulham but Arsenal's physical level dropped markedly and suddenly there was a storm to weather.

Ruiz, very much the dangerman, forced a save from Wojciech Szczesny with a volley in the opening seconds of the half and Coquelin came to Arsenal's rescue with a brave challenge to stop Sidwell getting his header on target.

These were worrying times for the visitors. Sidwell fired a shot inches over on the hour mark, Ruiz forced a point-blank save from Szczesny and Senderos powered a header just wide from another Murphy free kick.

That was awarded for a foul from Djourou and the Swiss defender was dismissed with 13 minutes left for another bookable offence - this time an apparent push on Zamora.

By now Wenger had freshened up his midfield with Tomas Rosicky and he shored up his defence with Sebastien Squillaci after Djourou's dismissal. The ten men would face a siege in the final ten minutes.

They would not hold out.

Six minutes remained when Ruiz's corner was parried away by Szczesny and headed back across goal by Senderos for Sidwell to apply the finishing touch.
And only seconds were left on the clock when Zamora volleyed into the bottom corner to send Arsenal home with nothing.

Source: Chris Harris, Arsenal.com on 2 Jan 12

Thomas Vermaelen spares Arsenal's blushes against Fulham – and his own

Somehow this managed to constitute two points dropped and a point gained all in the same 90 minutes. Arsenal created enough chances to win, but found such obdurate and willing opponents in Fulham that the north Londoners were on the verge of losing in a manner they could hardly believe.

Thomas Vermaelen was particularly dumbstruck. It had been his boot that had inadvertently given Fulham a surprising lead with a hash of an own goal. However, the Belgian defender's determination came to his team's rescue when he burst upfield to equalise eight minutes from full time.

Fulham can take considerable heart from the manner in which they halted Arsenal's recent winning streak. Top marks for organisation, resourcefulness and for picking their moments to counterattack and ensure that this was not an easy home ride. Even in the tense finale, as Arsenal flooded forward in search of a winner and Fulham looked to have run out of steam, Martin Jol's team maintained their resilience to guard their point. It made for a compelling encounter that could have gone any which way until the end.

Fulham retreated with a big sense of satisfaction. "[Arsenal] have been almost unbeatable, but I said to the boys before the game that I thought we could do something today," Jol said. "It's a pleasing point for us."

It would be easy for Arsenal to blame fatigue after their European exploits in the week. Wenger pointedly said that tiredness was an explanation rather than an excuse: "We had not recovered completely from the Champions League game. It happens sometimes. We want to be in the Champions League, so you cannot cry. The challenge is to win when you are tired."

Tired they were, though. Aaron Ramsey's touch was off beam and Robin van Persie was more peripheral than he has been in ages – although there were still a couple of moments for Jol to fear the worst when his compatriot was on the ball. Andrey Arshavin had been given a rare start in place of Gervinho and, although he had no reason to feel weary, his display was fitful. But even if their passing was not at its crispest, Arsenal showed no lack of desire. Evidence? Theo Walcott even did an impersonation of the formidable Gennaro Gattuso as he hunted down and dispossessed Clint Dempsey with a firm tackle.

Ramsey had the most of Arsenal's early chances, taking aim three times in the opening 25 minutes. The Fulham goalkeeper, Mark Schwarzer, tipped over the first, and the others went astray.

Fulham were able to build sufficiently to make inroads themselves, with three good first-half opportunities. Bobby Zamora left Vermaelen behind with a smart turn, only to lift his shot over the bar. Then the excellent Moussa Dembélé saw one shot deflected by Vermaelen and another palmed away at the near post by Wojciech Szczesny.

Fulham were entitled to feel pleased with their efforts, and they carried on defending stoutly after the break. The former Arsenal player Philippe Senderos had, according to Jol, injured his groin in training on the eve of the match but was "brave" to play alongside Brede Hangeland. The defenders used all their defensive charms to block and frustrate.

Even when three of the back four were taken out the game by a jink from Van Persie, who then unleashed a fizzing shot that had Schwarzer well beaten, Chris Baird was stationed on the line to get himself in the way. It might have been by hook or crook, but it was effective.

Wouldn't you just know it. While Fulham were busy defending with as much resourcefulness as they could muster, Vermaelen got hold of a Fulham half-chance, after Riise had chested down Danny Murphy's excellent pass, without really getting it under control, and swept the ball past Szczesny into his own net.

"We would have lost this game early in the season," Wenger said, as he paid credit to the character of his team and the names on the team-sheet in particular. Vermaelen's moment of catharsis came when Walcott produced a tantalising cross, and for once the Fulham rearguard appeared to lose concentration as the centre-half appeared, with nobody tracking his run, to knock a downward header past Schwarzer.

Arsenal were by now emboldened by three attacking substitutes – Marouane Chamakh, Abou Diaby and Gervinho – but could not summon a winner.

Source: Amy Lawrence, The Guardian on 26 Nov 11

Wenger's reaction to the Arsenal 1-1 Fulham match

on the result…
The positive again is that we have shown exceptional spirit, desire and refusal to lose the game. Many players were on the fringe today and we had not completely digested the Champions League game on Wednesday night. We needed to dig deep.

The circumstances went against us on top of that because when Fulham scored I didn't see them crossing the halfway line too much in the second half. It was very unfortunate to be 1-0 down but we refused to lose the game can came back to 1-1. It's disappointing because we dropped two points but at least it keeps our unbeaten run going.

on the late penalty shout…
Honestly I didn't see it, I will have to look at it again. I felt the referee was in a good position, I don't know.

on converting just the one chance…
Maybe [it was down to] the sharpness of the mind, mental fatigue and a bit of physical fatigue as well. We haven't recovered completely from the Champions League game - that happens sometimes. But we still had the potential to win 1-0 and if not 2-0 because early on in the game we could have scored. Maybe once or twice we were offside when we should not have been. We also lacked a bit of accuracy in our passing.

on Thomas Vermaelen's eventful afternoon…
I believe he scored unfortunately [at his own end] - left-footed players many times refuse to play with their right foot. But he has shown enough character to come back and score a great goal. On crosses he is very good, he reads the ball well. Overall he had a very good game.

It's unfortunate to drop two points today because overall I thought we did enough to win it.

on circumstances in the game…
It was the type of game where you didn't want to be 1-0 down. We scored an own goal at 0-0 at a moment where it was all us. If we went into the final 20 minutes at 0-0 we had more chance to win the game than lose it. You feel that scoring two would have been difficult today.

on Fulham's performance…
I don't blame Fulham. They are in a position where they need points and you can understand that. You have to accept that football is played by human beings and even if you prepare well you can be a bit less sharp. You can drop points against anybody in the League. If you look at the team sheet of Fulham, they are all international players in there, good players. It's not a shame that you can concede a goal against them.

Overall if you look back at where we came from we have a long unbeaten run and of course we are disappointed because we dropped two points. But I feel we are in a way of improvement and hopefully we can show that again Tuesday night.

On the problem of fatigue...
It is a punctual problem because we gave a lot on Wednesday night. It is the shortest time you can get Wednesday night to Saturday afternoon. But it is not an excuse. It is an explanation. We want to be in the Champions League so we cannot cry when we are tired. Our challenge is to win these kinds of games even when we are tired.

On changing the side for Tuesday...
I will have to. Some players are on the fringe muscle-wise.

On taking off Mertesacker...
I wanted one more midfielder to play out from the back and create the difference. It was an offensive-minded decision.

On the character they showed...
We could have lost this game earlier in the season. You have to give credit to Fulham, they defended well and their goalkeeper played well. They saved the ball on the line. It happens only to us that the defenders play behind the goalkeepers. It happened at Norwich and against Fulham. But you have to give them credit for that.
 
Source: Arsenal.com on 26 Nov 11

26 November 2011: Arsenal 1-1 Fulham, The Emirates

Thomas Vermaelen scored at both ends as Arsenal drew 1-1 with Fulham at Emirates Stadium on Saturday.
The Belgian defender nodded home an equaliser past Mark Schwarzer eight minutes from time to give Arsène Wenger’s side a point they deserved.

The strike atoned for a 65th minute own goal that had handed Fulham a surprise lead.

The result ended a run of five successive Premier League wins for Wenger’s men but due credit must be given to Martin Jol’s side, who were organised and diligent throughout.

Yes, they were happy to play for a point in the final minutes but they were more ambitious than that early on.

This was two points dropped by Arsenal and, in that sense, certainly a blow. However, it might well have been worse and, by recovering to gain a point, Wenger’s side maintained some of their upward momentum.

They must just dust themselves down and move on.

Arsenal are pretty much two-games-per-week until Christmas now so it was unsurprising that the manager rotated a little before kick-off.

Gervinho and Laurent Koscielny dropped out this evening - Andrey Arshavin and Johan Djourou were their respective replacements.

It was the first time in six years that Wenger had not included a Frenchman in his starting line-up.

Fulham came into the game just two places above the dropzone but, if recent seasons were any indication, they were much better than that.

The visitors would spend the first half demonstrating the point. Arsenal’s attitude and application were right but they struggled to dominate as they had at Norwich a week earlier.

In the opening minutes, Robin van Persie sent Arshavin clear, who finished with aplomb. However, replays proved he was rightly flagged for offside. Fulham saw Dempsey’s shot blocked and, midway through the half, Zamora muscled past his marker before cracking an effort over the bar.

Although Van Persie’s dribble set up the onrushing Ramsey to fire over, Arsenal were not fluent.

The first quarter of the game did not appear to be a match-up of the Premier League’s red-hot side and lukewarm strugglers.

Fulham were successfully stifling their hosts in a midfield morass. Arsenal had to break the shackles.

Walcott seemed the most likely escapologist. He raced down the right and fired low at Schwarzer. It heralded a flurry of Arsenal pressure but no chances of note.

In fact, Fulham came closer when Moussa Dembele’s deflected effort drifted just wide.

Five minutes from half-time Szczesny had to save full-length from the Belgian at the near post and, from the corner, Brede Hangeland headed over.

By now the visitors had expanded their horizons. The game was not about stopping Arsenal, it was about creating chances themselves.

As the whistle blew, Mertesacker nodded wide from Arteta’s free-kick. However, the home side needed to offer much, much more in the second half.

In fairness, Arsenal went on the offensive after the restart. But, yet again, they struggled to breakdown Fulham and, yet again, the visitors had their own successes going forward. In the 55th minute, Clint Dempsey missed Danny Murphy’s cross at the far post when the merest touch would have seen the American convert.

Van Persie had been relatively quiet thus far but, on the hour, he found space and consequently nearly broke the deadlock. After swivelling a position on the right of the area his cross beat Schwarzer but was smuggled off the line by Chris Baird.

The game had changed. Neither midfield had much control anymore, it was end-to-end stuff and you sensed a goal was on the cards.

Unfortunately, it went Fulham’s way. After a quick Danny Murphy free-kick, John Arne Riise's run into the area caused consternation in the Arsenal area and Vermaelen’s attempted clearance trickled into the far corner. A sickener for the home side.

Wenger immediately made changes. Mertesacker and Ramsey came off, Abou Diaby and Gervinho entered the fray. As a result, Song moved to centre-back and Arshavin went in to the middle as support for Van Persie.

It was ‘action stations’ for Arsenal.

Only the excellent Schwarzer stopped them equalising 16 minutes from time. Djourou met Van Persie’s corner with a powerful header from point-blank range but the Australian pawed the ball down and Zamora hacked it clear before the Swiss defender could follow up.

It seemed like a massive moment; one that prompted Wenger to introduce Marouane Chamakh.

Gervinho and Santos combined to find Van Persie in the 80th minute. The Dutchman’s control was exquisite, his hack over the bar was not.

It seemed like the first sign of desperation but, in fact, it precipitated the equaliser. Walcott curled over cross from the right and Vermaelen timed his run to the far post with precision before guiding a header past Schwarzer.

After celebrating the leveller, Arsenal went for the winner.

The final stages saw the home side camp in the Fulham half. They had a half-shout for a penalty when an effort from Santos hit Dempsey.

Van Persie went close in the final seconds but there would be no ‘killer’ chance, no fairytale comeback.

Arsenal had to make do with a point.

Source: Richard Clarke, Arsenal.com on 26 Nov 11

Season finishes with an unsurprising whimper

After I called for the players to regain some pride in Arsenal and remind the fans why they follow the club, once again it was only a select few that rose to the challenge. It was the same few that have been putting in 100% in recent weeks when others around them haven’t looked interested.

Like the Aston Villa match last week, the Arsenal fans again were chanting for Arsene Wenger to spend some money. It was hard to blame the travelling supporters for voicing their opinion as they were watching a team that lacked urgency in trying to get back into the game.

Even though Manchester City’s win at Bolton made it irrelevant, at the start of play there was still a chance to finish 3rd and avoid the Champions League qualifier. However, you wouldn’t have known it the way some players were looking to just coast through the game and go off on holiday.

When Fulham went 1-0 up, it was all too predictable and reminiscent of recent weeks. A simple through ball released Bobby Zamora in miles of space on the right and he had ages to set up Steve Sidwell, whose effort managed to go through Johan Djourou and Wojciech Szczesny. Kieran Gibbs had been sucked in-field, making it easy for the hosts to score.

As I suspect most fans did, I immediately wrote the game off, expecting Arsenal to concede a few more stupid goals and give nothing going forward. However, the one man to emerge from the rubble of the end of season collapse with an improved reputation again spared Arsenal from utter humiliation. Robin van Persie’s burst and finish into the box was out of character for the rest of the team, and extended his record of scoring in consecutive away games to nine. It also meant he finished with 18 Premier League goals, two goals away from the winners of the golden boot; a sensational return from a striker who only scored his first league goal of the season on 1st January.

Whilst van Persie was giving his all up front, despite lacking match fitness, Thomas Vermaelen was excelling at the back. Although he was beaten in the air for the second Fulham goal, Zamora had peeled off Djourou too easily, leaving the Belgian exposed. Had it not been for Vermaelen, Arsenal would have easily lost the game. His tackling in all areas of the pitch was superb, however none of them quite compared to his challenge on the goal line to deny Danny Murphy. It showed a determination and a commitment that the other centre backs have been lacking for most of the season. Risking a certain red card if he got it wrong, Vermaelen’s timing was perfect as he somehow hooked the ball away from Murphy and the goal. Obviously Arsenal need to sign another centre back, but getting a full season out of the Belgian will be vital to success next season.

After conceding the second goal, Arsene Wenger made some good attacking substitutions, however they weren’t used well enough. Fulham’s defence looked vulnerable when players were running at them, however all too often Arsenal were passing the ball sideways across midfield, and at a fairly pedestrian pace. Even when Zoltan Gera was sent off for a daft tackle, especially considering Fulham were hoping for a fair play place in Europe, there was little urgency from Arsenal to level the match.

It took a more direct pass from Vermaelen to get Theo Walcott running at their defence. With the left back unable to catch him, Walcott’s finish was assured as he completed his best season in terms of goals and assists. Even though the team has gone backwards, Walcott is a player where the improvement is noticeable.

There was a real sense of relief amongst the Arsenal fans after the match; relief that the tortuous end to the season was over, relief that they hadn’t suffered another defeat and relief that Birmingham City won’t be in the Premier League next season. It almost goes without saying that the Carling Cup final had a hugely damaging effect on the team, but at least the side that beat Arsenal that day have been similarly poor since the match and have been relegated.

There have been varying quotes from Arsene Wenger after the match, but the general theme of them is that signings will be made, which will be reassuring to fans. However it remains to be seen if those signings are the quality, experienced players the supporters are hoping for. Departures also seem on the agenda with Nicklas Bendtner joining Denilson on the list of players looking to leave.

As always with Arsenal, the transfer rumours have begun as soon as the season has finished. Due to changes being more likely this summer, it seems the club are being linked with even more players than usual. As much as some fans would like to see Arsene Wenger go, there is virtually no chance of the Frenchman leaving this summer, so I think it’s best to let him get on with trying to improve the squad. There is no way he won’t have heard what the fans want during the last two games, everyone is just left to wait and see if Wenger is ready to sacrifice his youth project and actually bring in some experience. My suspicion is that there will be quite a few comings and goings this summer, but that some fans still won’t be satisfied with some of the additions when everything kicks off again on 13th August.

Over the next few weeks, I’ll be looking back at the season, assessing the current squad and giving my view on their futures at the Arsenal.

Source: Sam Limbert, ESPN Soccernet on 24 May 11

Arsenal finish in fourth place despite Theo Walcott leveller at Fulham

Cesc Fábregas probably knew what he was missing. The Arsenal captain raised questions about his leadership qualities by choosing to go to watch the Spanish Grand Prix rather than his team's final match of the season. In doing so he spared himself from witnessing a low-key affair in which familiar failings were again exposed.

The sedateness of the game suggested that Arsenal did not truly believe they had a chance of overtaking Manchester City and regaining third place in the table and a shortcut to next season's Champions League group stages and their defensive frailty reminded them why their ambitions for the season were not achieved. Though this match at times felt like a bout of end-of-season sparring, Arsenal's centre-backs, Thomas Vermaelen and Johan Djourou, were often tormented by the power of Bobby Zamora and the pace of Andy Johnson.

Zamora was instrumental in Fulham's first goal in the 26th minute. After Clint Dempsey set him running free down the right, the striker ,cut the ball back to Steve Sidwell, who slotted it under Wojciech Szczesny from eight yards. Arsenal equalised almost immediately thanks to a move involving three players who had done nothing up to that point and would do little after it. Abou Diaby exchanged a snappy one-two with Marouane Chamakh before sliding the ball through for Robin van Persie, who fired low and hard into the net from 16 yards.

When Jonathan Greening shuffled into the box from the left in the 56th minute Zamora drifted cleverly between the inattentive Djourou and Vermaelen and to meet his team-mate's dainty cross. Arsène Wenger's side were given a boost when Fulham were reduced to 10 men following a reckless two-footed tackle by Zoltan Gera on Vermaelen - they must wait for the Football Association to assess all referee reports before finding out if that red card makes them drop down Uefa's fair play league and, therefore, give England's extra Europa League spot to Blackpool.

"We've been told we have to wait until Friday to find out," said the Fulham manager, Mark Hughes. "It would be nice to get there because qualifying for Europe on top of finishing eighth in the league would cap an excellent season for us." Although Theo Walcott came off the bench to strike a fine 89th-minute equaliser for Arsenal, Wenger did not pretend that it had been an excellent season for his team.

"Three weeks ago we were in a position to win the league so we are hugely disappointed with fourth place," he said.

"We have to rectify things in some areas next season. If we can find the right players we will spend money."

Source: Paul Doyle, The Guardian on 22 May 11

Walcott's late leveller

Arsenal's season of frustration ended with a 2-2 draw at 10-man Fulham, which will leave the Gunners having to qualify for the Champions League.

Steve Sidwell had swept the hosts in front in the 26th minute, only for Robin van Persie to quickly equalise.

Bobby Zamora nodded the Cottagers back into the lead just before the hour with substitute Zoltan Gera shown a straight red card two minutes after coming on - but a late goal from Theo Walcott earned Arsenal a point as they finished fourth in the Premier League behind FA Cup winners Manchester City.

The Gunners had won just twice in their previous 10 league matches as a campaign which promised so much quickly fell apart after defeat in the Carling Cup final against Birmingham at Wembley.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger left the field to chants of "spend some money'' from the travelling support, who will expect much better next time around.

Fulham saw most of the ball during the opening exchanges at a blustery Craven Cottage.

When Jack Wilshere - the centre of a club-versus-country row over his proposed inclusion in the Under-21s European Championship squad - did pick out Samir Nasri with a chip into the Fulham box in the 10th minute the Frenchman, just back from a hamstring injury, could only loop a tame header goalwards.

Arsenal's defence, so often their Achilles heel this season, played a very high line and were almost caught out when Andrew Johnson scampered clear, but was called back by a tight offside flag.

The visitors almost snatched the lead when Bacary Sagna whipped over a deep cross to the far post, where fellow full-back Kieran Gibbs' downward header was clawed away by Mark Schwarzer, who came close to joining the Gunners in the summer.

Fulham took the lead in the 26th minute when Arsenal defender Johan Djourou played Zamora onside as the England striker scampered away down the right before cutting the ball back to Sidwell, who drilled home from six yards.

The lead, though, did not last long.

Abou Diaby, so often an under-performer this season, won the ball in midfield, before playing a neat one-two with Marouane Chamakh to release Van Persie on the edge of the Fulham area.

The in-form Dutchman needed no second invitation, killing the pass with his first touch before dispatching a low strike into the bottom left corner to level on 29 minutes and take his tally to nine in consecutive away games.

Arsenal were, however, soon back on the defensive.

Thomas Vermaelen produced a brilliant goal-line tackle after Danny Murphy had barged into the six-yard box and stabbed the ball past Wojciech Szczesny.

At the start of the second half, Van Persie was booked for protesting after referee Martin Atkinson failed to award a foul when he was checked by Brede Hangeland.

Schwarzer denied Arsenal again with another fine save, this time turning Nasri's goalbound free-kick over the crossbar.

Fulham were back in the lead after 57 minutes when Jonathan Greening darted into the left side of the Arsenal box, before chipping the ball across goal where Zamora nodded in at the near post.

Szczesny was off his line quickly to deny Zamora the chance to poke home a third as Arsenal were on the back foot.

There was a let-off for Fulham, though, when Schwarzer spilled Van Persie's right-wing cross, but Chamakh could only stab the loose ball wide.

Arsenal made a triple substitution on 64 minutes, replacing Aaron Ramsey with Walcott, Diaby with Andrey Arshavin and Gibbs with Emmanuel Eboue.

With news filtering through of Manchester City taking a 2-0 lead at Bolton, Arsenal looked certain to finish fourth.

Arshavin almost released Wilshere with a neat pass, but the ball just ran away from the England youngster.

With 20 minutes left, Zamora, appearing to be carrying an injury, was replaced by Gera, who looks set to leave at the end of his contract this summer.

The Hungarian was soon walking off again however after his lunging two-foot challenge on Vermaelen was punished with a straight red card on 74 minutes.

With Fulham hoping to stay high in the Fair Play League table, and earn a chance at European football again in the summer, it could yet prove a costly dismissal.

Arshavin flashed a low drive just wide, before Walcott levelled in the final minute when his shot went in off the far post.

Source: ESPN Soccernet on 22 May 11

Wenger's reaction to the Fulham 2-2 Arsenal match

on his thoughts on the game…
I thought it was an average game. In the end, we felt fourth place was disappointing because, three weeks ago, we were in a position to win the league. We didn’t lose third place today, we lost it last week.

on having to qualify for the Champions League…
It is less reassuring than being in the top three, of course. The most important thing is that we have given ourselves a chance to do it.

on whether he was disappointed with Arsenal’s defending…
Yes. We are frustrated and disappointed but we should not go overboard. We just have to rectify things in the areas that we need to improve.

on the season as a whole…
I think I am responsible for the results and I am very disappointed. The players have had an outstanding attitude. We have accumulated disappointments that have had a big impact on the moral of the team. We have played 58 games. Fabregas has played 22 games, Van Persie 18 or 19 games and Vermaelen has played four or five games. In decisive moments, we have never had the whole team together. We have to rectify some things in our squad and we will try to do it. But it is not easy, even with money.

on Arsenal’s away support…
Our away fans have been outstanding all season and we would like to thank them. They are not happy, I am not happy, and we have to accept that. But we are not to go overboard. Maybe one year you will realise that it is not easy to finish in the top four every time. Even if people say we have to spend money, we have to be realistic. We cannot buy players for £50 million and, even if we try to strengthen our team and spend money if needed, that is fact.

on Jack Wilshere’s situation with the England Under-21s…
I don’t know any more than you about that. I [have] told you my thinking. You could see again today that he has played 49 games. To have a busy summer would be very bad for him. If they do it, they do it. I cannot stop it.

on his plans for the summer…
We will try to do the right thing. I don’t know how much we have spent in recent years. We will try to buy the right players. The amount of money is not always linked with the quality of the player. We will spend the needed money but you first have to find the right players and then turn up with the money. If we find the right players we will spend the money.

on Zoltan Gera’s red card…
It was a rash tackle. Did he deserve a red card? I will have to look at it again but it was not needed.

on Denilson’s pre-match comments…
He wants to play. I have spoken to him already. We will see if he has opportunities or not. We have to face many comments but I have enough experience to know that the Club is in a strong position and we want to be stronger next year. Next year we will have the same opponents who will invest a lot of money. We have to make sure we climb up the table because I felt this year was the best chance for the last five or six years.

Source: Arsenal.com on 22 May 11

22 May 2011: Fulham 2-2 Arsenal, Craven Cottage

Arsenal will finish the 2010/11 Premier League season in fourth place.

Arsène Wenger’s side went into the final day hoping to sneak back above Manchester City but, in the end, only plundered a point thanks to Theo Walcott’s 89th-minute equaliser. And even that was irrelevant as Roberto Mancini’s men won at Bolton.

Steve Sidwell gave the home side the lead midway through the first half only for Robin van Persie to grab an excellent equaliser three minutes later.

Fulham took control after the break and deservedly regained the lead when Bobby Zamora nodded home from close range. However, the game changed when Zoltan Gera was sent off for a reckless foul on Thomas Vermaelen.

It handed the impetus to Arsenal and, just before the whistle, Walcott fired beyond Mark Schwarzer to preserve a point.

The draw was just about fair but it was not enough to bring that Champions League group spot.

However the point of a League competition is that it reflects your standard over the longer term - and

Wenger’s side are where they are. It could have been a lot better, it could have been worse.

But we all hope it will improve next term.

There was an overwhelming end-of-season feel to this game but, in fact, both sides had something at stake.

Arsenal’s target was clear while Fulham needed to win here and see Chelsea beat Everton in order to record their joint highest placing in the top flight.

Johan Djourou was passed fit but Alex Song (knee) and Nicklas Bendtner (hamstring) were missing. Cesc Fabregas (hamstring) had already been ruled out.

It was a blustery day in west London and the swirling wind would affect the first half.

Fulham were lively in the opening stages but their main ploy seemed to involve clipping lofted passes over the Arsenal backline. It troubled the visitors but the tactic was a little 'scattergun' on such a windy day.

The home side had the territorial advantage but did little with it. In fact, despite their pressure, it was Arsenal who created the first clear-cut chance.

In the 18th minute, Bacary Sagna curled a ball to the far post where Kieran Gibbs produced a towering header that forced a fine save out of Schwarzer.

Given their aerial attacks, it was ironic that Fulham went ahead with a slick move on the floor.

In the 26th minute, Zamora escaped on the right and cut the ball back for Sidwell. The Fulham midfielder punished his old side by slotting a simple goal past Wojciech Szczesny.

It was typical of Arsenal in the past couple of months but this afternoon they were level within three minutes.

Abou Diaby won the ball just inside the Arsenal half, slipped past his marker and exchanged passes with Marouane Chamakh before firing a low pass towards Van Persie in the area. The Dutchman’s control was instant and he slipped a shot past Schwarzer.

It was his 18th goal since January 1 in the Premier League season, equaling the record set by Cristiano Ronaldo and Thierry Henry. It was also the ninth consecutive Premier League away game in which he has scored.

Seven minutes from half time, Arsenal had a huge let off. Danny Murphy bundled through and his miskick put off Szczesny sufficiently that the ball went through the keeper and trickled towards the line.

Fortunately Vermaelen rushed back and hooked the bobbling ball just past the far post. It was type of defending Arsenal had missed throughout most of the past season.

Just before half-time, Manchester City went ahead at Bolton. If it stayed that way, they would secure third place no matter what Arsenal achieved at Craven Cottage.

They started well enough when Samir Nasri’s free-kick had to be pawed away by the stretching Schwarzer. However, after that, Fulham built up a head of steam and, in the 57th minute, took the lead once more.

Jonathan Greening drove to the byline and clipped a cross to the near post. Zamora rose above Vermaelen to steer home a header.

You could hardly argue with the goal. Overall Arsenal had started the second half in their shell and had been punished.

They nearly got on level terms immediately when Schwarzer spilled Van Persie’s cross into the path of Chamakh. The Moroccan’s first-time effort went just wide.

However Wenger knew his side needed a shake up. So, in the 64th minute, Gibbs, Diaby and Aaron Ramsey came off. Andrey Arshavin, Emmanuel Eboue and Walcott went on.

Simon Davies prodded the ball past the post after confusion in the Arsenal defence. It seemed that Fulham were going to cruise home.

However, 16 minutes from time, Gera was sent off. The Hungarian had only come off the bench four minutes earlier but, after going in two-footed on Vermaelen, referee Martin Atkinson had no choice to show the red card.

It handed the initiative to Arsenal and they nearly equalised when Arshavin drove past the far post after Fulham failed to clear their lines from a corner. Then, seven minutes from the end, Vermaelen headed over.

The dismissal had changed the game and the visitors were in control. A minute from time, Walcott powered down the right and his shot bounced off the inside of the far post before bobbling into the opposite side of the net.

In the end it meant nothing - Manchester City were in control at Bolton and would win 2-0 - but at least it avoided defeat.

To be honest, Wenger’s side needed the end of the season a few games ago.

Now it has arrived, they have the summer to rebuild.

Source: Richard Clarke, Arsenal.com on 22 May 11

Match Preview: Fulham vs Arsenal

“I feel there is something to play for because Man City still have a difficult game at Bolton,” said Arsène Wenger ahead of the trip to Fulham on Sunday. “We know that through our own experience up there."

“So that means it is down to us to just try and win our game. If they win, they win. The most important thing is that we are responsible and fight for our future.”

In truth that battle will be waged all summer.

Three months ago, the Arsenal fans were hopeful that the game at Craven Cottage would not be the last first-team appearance this season. There was the possibility of a Champions League Final at Wembley next weekend or perhaps a tour around Islington in an open-topped bus clutching something silver.

However, as it stands, Wenger’s side are not even in the bronze medal position in the Premier League. Manchester City pushed them down into fourth by beating Stoke on Tuesday.

It leaves Arsenal needing to better the result of Roberto Mancini’s men this weekend to take third and go directly into the Champions League group stage.

Finishing fourth will leave them contemplating not only another hurdle but a summer filled with what-might-have-beens.

“For me there is a massive difference,” said Wenger. “Fourth is playing a qualifier for the Champions League. That is not Champions League. Third is guaranteeing to be in the Champions League.

“But if fourth is a reality, we will have to face that. I believe in the last three months we had a mixture of disappointments and bad luck.

“We can only act on what we have an influence - and that means improving our quality. But when you see again the game we played against Aston Villa, it is unbelievable – some decisions are unexplainable to me in that game. For me, we won, 100 per cent. But we have to accept it, deal with it and come back even stronger.

“[Failure] is a big name,” the Frenchman went on. “Overall I think we have been consistent. So it is more what I would call a big frustration because we were very close in all the competitions and we missed out on very little.

“We cannot say we are happy but as well we cannot say that it is a disaster. Overall I think that's the closest we have been to winning the title in recent years."

“That's why it's even more frustrating because if you look at the way we lost the games in the decisive moments it's clear that we need to add some maturity to our team. For example the way we lost in the Carling Cup Final, against Liverpool and the way we dropped points against Bolton in the last minute."

“So of course I feel the nerves played a part more than the talent in the fact we did not win the title.”

Samir Nasri (hamstring), Gael Clichy (hamstring) and Abou Diaby (calf) all face late tests ahead of the trip across the capital. Cesc Fabregas (thigh) certainly misses out while Johan Djourou (ankle) is hoping to be back.

If Fulham pip Arsenal and Chelsea beat Everton, then Mark Hughes’ side will finish seventh – equalling their highest ever placing in the top-flight. There is also the possibility of a Europa League place via the Fair Play League.

Fulham’s strength remains their defence – it is the best outside the top four. Meanwhile it is pertinent for Arsenal that 30 per cent of their goals have come from headers – the highest proportion in the top flight.

“They are a good side,” said Wenger. “They have a good technical level and they have a big squad. They lost at home to Liverpool and after that they won at Birmingham having changed players in the squad."

“We will try to win the game, it’s as simple as that. A draw could be good enough if Man City lose at Bolton. I do not want to have any regrets now and so I just want to win the game.”

During his media work, Wenger was asked if he could ‘guarantee’ a trophy next season. It was a strange suggestion given that the experience of the last few months had demonstrated why that word is simply not present in footballing lexicon.

“I promise Arsenal fans that we will give our best to win trophies,” Wenger replied. “Who can guarantee that they will deliver trophies? We will give our best to do it and that is our main target.

“And what is a trophy? Is to finish tenth and win the Carling Cup a trophy? No.

“What I want to achieve is to keep the consistency in our quality, in our table position and deliver what I call trophies - the Premier League and the Champions League. You can say you will give the maximum to do it but you cannot guarantee that. You can only do that if you are crazy.”

Arsenal’s late demise has driven everyone a little mad to be honest. It has been fist-gnawing fare that only a masochist could enjoy.

However Sunday still has a huge significance. Mistakes and misfortune have been costly this term but finishing fourth impacts on the next campaign as well.

Arsenal have unraveled and the prevailing mood is thunderous. But, whisper it quietly, they just might have been overpunished for their slips. Some final-day fortune may redress the balance somewhat.

Let's be clear, third place is not a trophy. Third place is not what anyone wanted.

But if Arsenal could just squeeze above Manchester City then they might be able to feel a little better about the concluding campaign.

And, of course, next term would be a little easier too.

Source: Richard Clarke, Arsenal.com on 21 May 11

Samir Nasri evokes memories of Best but Arsenal defence is laid bare

Arsenal bolted from the sublime to the ridiculous and back on another helter-skelter afternoon that finished with them on top of the Premier League table for the first time since August.

At the heart of their scintillating moments was Samir Nasri, who even took on Fulham in his socks in the 27th minute to go close to laying on a goal. George Best might have smiled down from the Heavens. The two goals that Nasri put away were of the highest quality and they established him as Arsenal's leading scorer this season with 11 in all competitions.

Yet the notion of Arsenal as champions-in-waiting still felt flimsy. This game should have been over after 30 minutes, by which time the Fulham manager, Mark Hughes, had been forced to substitute the 19-year-old left-back Matthew Briggs, who was a rabbit in Nasri's full-beams. Time and again, Arsenal tore in on that flank and the final straw for Hughes came when Nasri beat Briggs, lost his boot, tip‑toed on, crossed and almost saw the ball scrambled home.

Arsenal, however, would have trailed at half-time had Diomansy Kamara finished his second one-on-one in the same way that he had done his first. It was an extraordinary turnaround and one that shone a harsh light on the Arsenal defence, which is the team's achilles heel, the reason why the club's fans are sometimes jabbering wrecks and the one that most readily undermines their title credentials. "No, it doesn't do much good for the heart-rate," Wenger said of the afternoon. "It takes a few beats away."

Fulham's equaliser took in farce and horror. Sébastien Squillaci challenged for the same aerial ball as Laurent Koscielny only to butt him. Dazed and confused as he tried to play on, Koscielny allowed Kamara in behind him before collapsing to the ground and leaving on a stretcher.

The unfortunate incident was far from the only one in which the lines of defensive communication were blurred. With the two holding midfielders playing high up the pitch, not to mention the full‑backs, Arsenal had a fragile feel. Simple passes in behind threatened to expose them while they were ever vulnerable to the high ball. Hughes played the big centre-half Brede Hangeland as an auxiliary centre-forward in the dying minutes and he said the crowd were longing for the full-time whistle.

Hughes was asked whether he felt that Arsenal had looked like champions. "Not today in fairness," he replied, "but that is credit to us. You have to ask questions and I thought we did that really well. Their centre-backs are not possibly as strong as they have been in recent years and at times, you can expose them because they are an attacking team. They always get their full-backs advanced, leaving spaces to exploit."

"You have to make sure that Arsenal do not get into a rhythm of playing and passing. You have to break it up, making the goalkeepers kick long and then challenging so it becomes a more difficult game for them."

Two of Arsenal's next three Premier League fixtures are against Manchester United and Chelsea, and Hughes ventured that they would not be able to play particularly freely against his former clubs. "It will be more difficult for them. But I thought we've given a template for teams who have to play them. I'm certain they'll look at how we approached the game and take information from it."

Wenger said he wanted Alex Song and Jack Wilshere to hold a high line to push opposing teams back and permit Arsenal the space to build up the play. He admitted that "sometimes it leaves us open in the middle of the park" and that the strategy had its risks. "If we lose the ball in the build up, we are in trouble."

The bottom line for Wenger is that his team "want to improve our defensive record, that is needed", although with the creative talent in their ranks Arsenal always have the capacity to out-gun rivals.

It was Nasri who stepped up here, and the thought occurred that Arsenal might be benefiting from his controversial exclusion from France's World Cup squad last summer. It is no secret that Nasri and France's marquee player, Franck Ribéry, do not get on.

"The manager [Raymond Domenech] made a choice but I do not think it was for football," said Bacary Sagna, Arsenal's France full-back. "Maybe we should ask the manager. Samir has been one of our best players of the season and we won this game because of him."

Source: David Hytner, The Guardian on 6 Dec 10

Nasri Sees Arsenal Home Against Fulham

Two moments of sparkling brilliance from Samir Nasri were just about enough to see off a determined Fulham team at Ashburton Grove and send Arsenal top of the table.

It was hardly a classic performance. In fact, it was another stuttering home display which saw the Gunners look completely on top one moment and nervously under the cosh the next. They started both halves brightly and purposefully but Fulham had their moments. And, in fact, for the larger part of the second half the visitors looked the most likely team to grab a second goal and the more probable winners - that is, until Nasri’s second intervention.

There is not much more to say about Samir Nasri’s form this term that hasn’t already been said. He is head-and-shoulders the player of the season so far. In every match he looks a live threat and the eleven goals he has notched up have made the difference between a player that has "potential" and a player that is actually delivering. His two goals yesterday were moments of wonderful individual skill and composure. He is a man completely on top of his game right now.

The capsule summary of the Gunners’ individual displays yesterday would be: Nasri and Wilshere - excellent. Song and Rosicky - awful. Everyone else - fair to middling. Yet again young Jack Wilshere anchored the midfield beautifully. The accuracy and economy of his passing is something to behold and the only criticism that could be levelled at him is that he is not bolder in committing himself forward - which is something I mentioned last week - though I suppose Wenger has him under instructions to a degree.

Both Tomas Rosicky and Alex Song looked well off the pace. Song, in particular, was a worry as he is supposed to play such an important role in midfield. However, yesterday, he looked lackadaisical. His decision-making was poor and he failed to impose himself on the match at all.

For a man who is looking to break-through in a similar way to Samir Nasri, Tomas Rosicky really is not getting anywhere near close to cutting it at the moment. He has had one or two reasonable games this season but yesterday’s was definitely one to forget. On his current form, it would be hard to justify keeping him in the starting eleven.

So, Arsenal sit on top of the table at the end of the weekend. It is a very satisfying place to be but I don’t think anyone will be getting carried away with things just yet. Yesterday’s win was hardly the most convincing and there are some very hard games coming up over the next couple of months in the Premier League - the first of which is, significantly, the trip to Old Trafford on Monday week. Yesterday’s result and the Gunners hitting the top of the table whilst United had to sit out their game with Blackpool due to a frozen pitch sets what is always a massive match up very nicely indeed.

Away from the Premier League, Arsenal won through to the semi-final of the Carling Cup on Tuesday night by huffing and puffing their way past Wigan Athletic. The Gunners were a long way from their fluent best but, in return, Wigan offered virtually nothing. A two-leg semi-final with Ipswich Town, who are currently languishing in the bottom third of the Championship, awaits and it seems unthinkable that Arsene Wenger’s men won’t prevail over two matches. Failure to reach the Final would be a catastrophe.

Still, we don’t have to concern ourselves with that particular encounter until the New Year. Far more pressing is this week’s Champions League clash with Partizan Belgrade. Describing it as a “must-win game” is, for once, a statement of fact rather than just hyperbole. Though Arsenal can still progress if they fail to beat Partizan as long as Braga don’t better the result in their game against Shakhtar, it really would be far cleaner for the Gunners to just win the game and get themselves through.

Partizan sit at the bottom of the table on zero points but that is no cause for complacency. I am sure they will be out to spoil Arsenal’s night as a parting shot to this year’s tournament. The Gunners must make sure they approach the game professionally and do the job that needs to be done.

Source: David Young, ESPN Soccernet on 6 Dec 10

Samir Nasri sends unconvincing Arsenal to top of Premier League

If Arsenal are top of the table despite another demonstration of defensive ineptitude, the Premier League may well be succumbing to a form of "leadership by the worst".

It is difficult to remember when the title has ever been won by a team with a defence as ramshackle as Arsenal's again showed itself to be, at least in the continued absence of Thomas Vermaelen, but the flip side of that is that if Arsène Wenger's team do triumph this season it will be because of sumptuous forward play, exemplified here by two superb goals from Samir Nasri, who must surely be the Premier League's player of the season so far.

Nasri has now struck eight league goals in this campaign and created many more. Whisper it, but he may even be starting to fulfil the "new Zidane" prophesies that proliferated when he was a youngster in Marseille. "He was the difference between the sides," the Fulham manager, Mark Hughes, said after this latest Nasri exhibition at the Emirates.

Nasri did not foil Fulham entirely by himself. Andrey Arshavin was also influential. Arshavin, indeed, could have opened the scoring in the sixth minute but his close-range volley was blocked by Mark Schwarzer. Then in the 12th minute Arshavin darted through midfield and fed Nasri, who poked wide from 15 yards. Two minutes later the Frenchman atoned for that miss. After again being teed up by Arshavin, Nasri sidestepped two Fulham defenders and rammed the ball into the roof of the net from eight yards.

The snow had melted in London but Arsenal were threatening an avalanche of goals. Arshavin and Marouane Chamakh both went close and Nasri was tormenting the left-back Matthew Briggs so much that Hughes withdrew the 19-year-old after 28 minutes. "It was a bit too much for him," Hughes explained. Within three minutes, however, Arsenal showcased their own defensive confusion and allowed Fulham to snatch an equaliser from their first real attack.

Sébastien Squillaci and Laurent Koscielny clashed heads while jumping for the same ball at the edge of the area and while the latter lay injured on the ground, Clint Dempsey clipped a pass through to the suddenly unmarked Diomansy Kamara, who finished well from 14 yards.

This fresh evidence of Arsenal's defensive vulnerability emboldened Fulham and spread familiar jitters through Wenger's team. Moments before half-time Kamara should have put Fulham in front but, after the Arsenal defence was prised apart by a routine ball through the middle, Lukasz Fabianski saved well.

Arsenal began the second half strongly and the trickery and penetrative running of Arshavin and Nasri returned to the fore. In the 57th minute the pair combined anew but, after feints from the Russian left two defenders on their backsides, his low shot was saved by Schwarzer.

Still Arsenal remained ropey at the back, as Dickson Etuhu proved on the hour when he rose unchallenged to meet a corner. Fortunately for the home side his connection was poor. Wenger introduced Robin van Persie for Tomas Rosicky with half an hour to go but the Dutchman's first significant contribution was not in attack – in the 70th minute he had to clear off the line as another Fulham corner sent Arsenal into a panic.

Five minutes later, though, Van Persie was in action at the other end, laying the ball off for Nasri to score his wonderful winner. Nasri collected the ball at the edge of the Fulham box and displayed Zidane-esque balance to glide past two defenders and Schwarzer before swivelling and shooting into the net from an awkward angle.

"His goals were a combination of touch, intelligence, special talent and also calmness because he needed to be patient to finish on both occasions," gushed Wenger, claiming vindication for having signed him for a fee of £11m or more two seasons ago. "Many people questioned me when I took him here but he is showing he is a special talent and I think there is more to come from him."

Although Chamakh came close to a third for Arsenal, the home team's fragility at the back meant Fulham had further chances to equalise, notably in the 78th minute when Etuhu stabbed wide after another scramble in the box. "I agree that at stages we looked a bit vulnerable in the air," said Wenger.

"But every team is struggling for consistency at the moment. We have the desire and spirit to fight for the title – are we good enough? We will find out."

Source: Paul Doyle, The Guardian on 4 Dec 10

Nasri brace sends Gunners top

Two magical goals from Samir Nasri rescued Arsenal as they survived another wasteful performance at the Emirates Stadium to move top of the Premier League.

The France star's jaw-dropping composure was in stark contrast to that of his team-mates, who almost threw away another three points in front of their own fans.

Nasri put them ahead early on but a sickening clash of heads between Laurent Koscielny and Sebastien Squillaci allowed Diomansy Kamara to equalise before Nasri netted a glorious winner.

With Manchester United's match postponed due to the big freeze and Chelsea held by Everton, the victory sent Arsenal a point clear at the summit.

But this was far from a champion performance, more from a side that had lost their last two home league games.

The Gunners announced before the match that their players and directors had agreed to donate their day's wages to Centrepoint.

They had been less than charitable down the years to Fulham, who had never won at Arsenal in more than a century of trying.

That wait looked set to continue when Nasri's spectacular opener put the home side ahead in the 14th minute.

Andrey Arshavin pounced on Aaron Hughes' error before feeding the France star, who sold two sublime dummies before lashing the ball into the top corner.

Nasri was already guilty of a glaring miss after more superb work by the rampant Arshavin, who was running the show two days after helping his native Russia win the right to host the 2018 World Cup.

The first chance of the game had fallen to the striker, his close-range volley blocked by Mark Schwarzer, who had looked certain to join Arsenal in January before signing a new contract with Fulham on Thursday.

Arshavin and Nasri continued to pull the strings - the latter tormenting recalled Fulham youngster Matthew Briggs, who was withdrawn for Chris Baird.

But Marouane Chamakh and Alex Song were both guilty of more profligate play that would come back to haunt the Gunners, whose offside trap was looking particularly suspect.

On the half-hour mark, Squillaci and Koscielny collided going for the same ball and Clint Dempsey took full advantage of the carnage to slide in Kamara, who sidefooted home.

Koscielny was in a bad way and was carried off on a stretcher to be replaced by Johan Djourou.

Both sides should have scored on the stroke of half-time, Chamakh powering a header straight at Schwarzer from Bacary Sagna's brilliant run and cross, and Kamara hitting the legs of Lukasz Fabianski after being played in behind by Dickson Etuhu.

Tomas Rosicky hooked a 52nd-minute volley wide as Arsenal tried to build some momentum after the restart.

Arshavin's dancing feet and near-post drive brought another good stop by Schwarzer but Fulham were refusing to be overawed and saw plenty of the ball themselves.

Etuhu sent a free header wide from Simon Davies' corner before Arsenal withdrew Rosicky for Robin van Persie.

The home fans' frustration grew when Song wasted all his good work outmuscling John Pantsil by blazing over the top.

Fulham were denied a shock lead in the 70th-minute when a corner was deflected to Zoltan Gera, whose header was cleared off the line.

Gera then sent a spectacular overhead kick wide before Kamara was sacrificed for Andy Johnson and Wilshere was withdrawn for Theo Walcott.

Arsenal's change paid off in spectacular fashion with 15 minutes remaining, a brilliant flowing move seeing Van Persie square for Nasri.

The Frenchman still had men to beat but did so with some unbelievable footwork, rounding Schwarzer and pirouetting to net from a tight angle.

The visitors proved they were far from beaten when Etuhu dragged narrowly wide minutes later but Chamakh shoulkd have killed them off when he sent a shot over on the turn.

Nasri looked to be struggling, signalling he wanted to come off, but Arsenal had used all their substitutions and he played on.

Fulham poured forward and the home defence was definitely creaking, with Gera's well-struck volley forcing a fine Fabianski save.

Eddie Johnson came on for Danny Murphy for the closing moments but Arsenal held on.

Arsene Wenger today declared there was even more to come from Samir Nasri after the midfielder's two magical goals sent Arsenal top of the Premier League.

"It was a combination of touch, intelligence, special talent and calmness as well,'' he said. "He needed to be patient to finish on both occasions and he did that very well. I'm happy because he had a game that was, at the start, only based on coming to the ball. But now he has more variation in his game: turns, runs in behind without the ball, and as well coming to the ball and taking it to his feet. So his game is improving and he is, of course, more efficient.''

Nasri has certainly been Arsenal's player of the season and few in the entire Premier League have performed as impressively.

"It's always difficult to compare,'' Wenger added. "But what is important when you are a manager is you want to get the best out of a player and I always was a strong believer in him. Many people questioned me when I took him here but he is showing that he is an exceptional talent and I think there is more to come from him.''

Admitting his defence looked "vulnerable'', Wenger insisted Arsenal were good enough to win the title.

"We are good enough to go on, that is for sure,'' said Wenger, who revealed Laurent Koscielny had suffered concussion in the sickening clash of heads with team-mate Sebastien Squillaci which led to the Fulham goal. "As you see, every single team struggles to be consistent. At the moment, we are where we are despite having lost three games. Today, you could see again every game is a cup final. And if you're not completely up for it, you don't take the three points.

"We have the spirit, we have the quality but we face tough opponents. And it will be down, as I have said already many times here, to consistency. We are far from winning the championship yet. The only thing I can say: we have the desire and the spirit to fight for it. Will it be good enough? We'll have the answer in May.''

"Obviously, the boy Nasri has been playing at the top of his form in recent weeks,'' said Hughes, who revealed young full-back Matthew Briggs was substituted after taking a knock and being given a torrid time by the Frenchman. "I think we probably edged it in terms of chances we created and pressure and momentum that we built during the game.

"But, as most top teams have, they have individuals who can win the game for their team when, possibly, the team isn't functioning as well. Nasri is an excellent footballer, great feet, and once he gets in those positions in the area it's very difficult to stop him.

"From our point of view, we're happy with the performance. I thought we showed real belief in what we were trying to do today, took the game to Arsenal and caused them problems. At the end of the game, the crowd were asking for the final whistle.''

Source: ESPN Soccernet on 4 Dec 10