Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain comes to Arsenal's rescue against Shrewsbury

Shrewsbury Town did not join Liverpool, Manchester United and Blackburn Rovers on the roll call of names that have ruined Arsène Wenger's and Arsenal's early season but they came close enough for him to lose another large dose of sleep.

"Sacked in the morning! You're getting sacked in the morning" had been the delirious chant from the visiting support to Wenger after he watched his side go behind during an often shambolic first‑half performance.

Losing his job might not have happened if League Two Town had pulled off arguably the greatest embarrassment of Wenger's tenure. But the inquisition into what precisely his strategy is at the club might have gone off the scale before Bolton Wanderers' visit here on Saturday.

Instead, class eventually showed, a valiant Shrewsbury went down as expected, and Wenger could say of the result: "It was a bit nervy because we played against a good side. They were direct but had good technique. They had a few dangerous positions even after they scored. But we took over in the second half."

If this sounds like a rather generous assessment of Town's qualities it is because Wenger is a man eyeing the visit of Bolton from a position of fourth‑bottom. His team have a goal difference of minus eight, having shipped a barely credible 14 goals in their five league outings. Building morale while denying obvious confidence‑sapping truths is his main game, despite how difficult those numbers make the task.

After the sides had emerged for the second half all-square, a 25-yard shot from Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain after 58 minutes that slipped under Ben Smith, and a cool late finish from Yossi Benayoun, sent the Arsenal fans home relieved.

They finished as they had started, in the ascendancy. The tie's opening flurry featured Marouane Chamakh, who twice threatened to score. But from this apparently comfortable juncture, Arsenal proceeded to crumble during a hardly credible middle section of the opening half: their inability to deal with the high ball, which has plagued their season, was again the big weakness.

Under an aerial free-kick, Johan Djourou and Chamakh each jumped but somehow missed the ball and it bounced dangerously in the area, though Lukasz Fabianski could gather.

Emboldened, Shrewsbury pressed forward again. This time, Marvin Morgan's pass released Mark Wright. His shot trickled past Fabianksi and hit the post before the keeper recovered to save the follow‑up. From the corner Jenkinson allowed Wright a free header at the far post, which he could not direct.

Arsenal's disarray was about to reach a low point. From a throw in on the right Morgan swung in a diagonal that Djourou merely watched, and to which James Collins rose unchallenged, the striker easily slotting the headed finish past Fabianski.

After 16 minutes Wenger's band had lost the plot. A further catalogue of near-disasters followed. Collins was inches from finishing beyond Fabianski again, and Arsenal's rearguard (a loose term) gazed at another corner, which left the keeper stranded and Reuben Hazell a free header he should have converted.

Kieran Gibbs may have equalised with a 33rd‑minute header from a Jenkinson cross, and Emmanuel Frimpong's later free-kick might have drawn a neat save from Smith, but as the sides walked off for the break the impression was of the Wenger project continuing to list. And list badly.

Earlier in the day Ivan Gazidis, the chief executive, scoffed at any assertion that Wenger was out of touch. Yet the evidence of the opening half suggested that he had been protesting too much with the Frenchman making one unfathomable decision in not selecting a strong bench in case of a scare.

After warning before kick-off that "our season depends on how well we respond to the disappointment", Wenger then gambled with his players' drained spirit by naming Ryo Miyaichi, Chuks Aneke, Daniel Boateng, Oguzhan Ozyakup, Sanchez Watt, Nico Yennaris and Damian Martinez as the go-to options for a starting XI from which one or more of Gibbs, Benayoun, Djourou, Chamakh, and Frimpong might have been held back as insurance.

In Djourou, the captain for the night, Wenger was let down badly, unable to rely on one of his established men to set the correct path for his more junior team-mates. In what should have been the easiest outing of his campaign so far the Swiss floundered to cause Wenger one more concern in a tally that continues to rise.

Source: Jamie Jackson, The Guardian on 20 Sep 11

Wenger's reaction to the Arsenal 3-1 Shrewsbury match

on getting the win against a decent side…
It was a bit nervy because we played against a good side. I said before the game that the lower divisions have improved in the last five years and you could see that. They were direct but not without technique. They had a direct game but they played it with intelligence and efficiency. They had a few dangerous situations in the first half, even after they scored. So 1-1 was not too bad for us at half time and in the second half we took over, they dropped physically and we played in one half after that.

on whether he was calm at half time…
Yes, I was very calm at half time because panic doesn’t help. I felt that if we maintained the pace in the game we had a good chance to win the game.

on whether Shrewsbury ‘dominated’ the first half…
I’m not sure they dominated the first half, if you look at the numbers again you will see they didn’t dominate the game. They created dangerous situations. It’s always difficult to beat a football team, no matter what division they play in. They knocked Swansea and Derby out and you can see why. They are top of their league.

on whether some of his players are playing with fear…
We played a young team with a mixture of young players and experienced players. We took a gamble and it worked because you could see some players, who we haven’t seen so much of like Oxlade-Chamberlain and Coquelin, have done extremely well and that is positive for the future.

on how to get belief back in the squad…
In the last four games, we have had three good results and the one game we didn’t was Blackburn and that, for me, was a miracle. Look at the numbers; we had 62 per cent of the possession and had 16 shots on goal and we lost 4-3.

on Oxlade-Chamberlain and Coquelin’s performances…
Oxlade-Chamberlain grew through the game and became stronger and stronger. In the first half he was a bit timid and suddenly he grew in stature in the second half. It was unbelievable. What came out, you didn’t expect it after the first half. He became stronger and stronger.

on whether he has staked a claim for a place in the first team…
You could see that he will be a first-team player here, that is for sure. He still has things to work on but, very quickly, he will be knocking on the door.

on Djourou’s performance…
He was very good in the second half. In the first half, he was surprised on the goal. In the second half, he had a good performance.

on whether he will bring in a defensive coach…
I just completed 32 years of coaching. I do not want to answer these types of questions.

On Ryo’s performance…
He did well when he came on. My regret tonight is that he didn’t play long enough to show what he is capable of doing. He will get more opportunities.

on speculation regarding his future…
Whether I work here for the next 10 years or the next day here, I will give my maximum for the Club. I will let other people assess the situation. I focus on doing well for this club, that is all. I am not bothered at all by all this speculation.

I am completely focused on doing well. I can understand that people are unhappy and criticise but people are very quick to go overboard. I accept critics and I don’t say it doesn’t matter. I prefer it if people say I am good but I cannot complain when we lose a game and you are criticised. When we do well, we take all the plaudits so we have to take the blame when it doesn’t go well. But we have, on both sides, to take a little bit of distance.

Source: Arsenal.com on 20 Sep 11

20 September 2011: Arsenal 3-1 Shrewsbury, Emirates Stadium

Arsenal secured a safe passage to the Fourth Round of the Carling Cup with a hard-fought 3-1 victory over Shrewsbury Town at Emirates Stadium on Tuesday night.

A shock seemed possible for a period in the first half when James Collins nodded the visitors in front after only 17 minutes. However, Arsenal were level just after the half-hour when Kieran Gibbs headed home the first goal of his career and they took control after the break.

The outstanding Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain crashed home the first goal of his Arsenal career from long range just before the hour and Yossi Benayoun completed the scoring 12 minutes from time.

Shrewsbury did themselves proud but Arsène Wenger’s side cruised home in the end.

They are in the hat for Saturday’s draw.

As ever, Wenger ran the changes for the Carling Cup. He handed full debuts to Ju Young Park and Oxlade-Chamberlain. The likes of Francis Coquelin, Ignasi Miquel, Lukasz Fabianski and Marouane Chamakh also got a run-out. Ryo was left on the bench along with a host of talented youngsters.

All that was expected; perhaps the bigger surprise was the formation. Park and Chamakh seemed to be dual front men with Oxlade-Chamberlain, Emmanuel Frimpong, Coquelin and Benayoun stretched across midfield. This was 4-4-2 once more.

Emirates Stadium was not full this evening – a rarity in itself. But, as usual, this fixture was not included in the season tickets and the Club had priced seats modestly. Of course, the Shrewsbury end was packed. The Shropshire side were riding high in League Two and had nothing to lose. And the visitors would give them something to shout about during the first half.

That said, they could have been 2-0 down inside five minutes – and both chances fell to Chamakh.

First Gibbs sent over a high, hanging cross from the left and the striker’s towering header was expertly tipped over by keeper Ben Smith.

The corner eventually found Coquelin on the far side. He burst to the byline and his cut-back found the Moroccan once again. This time Chamakh chose placement but his sidefoot shot was saved by Smith once again.

It was a confident start but Shrewsbury would respond and then go ahead.

In the 13th minute, Mark Wright darted through and rolled a shot past Fabianski but against the post. The sliding Collins put the rebound into the sidenetting.

Two minutes later they would steal the lead. Marvin Morgan fired over a cross from the right and the unmarked Collins plundered a simple header.

Suddenly the confidence drained from Arsenal while Shrewsbury began to break with speed and intelligence. One such move saw Wright’s cross-shot deflect off Johan Djourou and fly past the diving Fabianski then the far post. Just past the half-hour only an excellent interception from Carl Jenkinson prevented Morgan profiting at the far post.

Coquelin did test Smith from distance but, when the equaliser arrived, Shrewsbury looked as lively as they had all evening.

In the 34th minute, there seemed little on as Jenkinson sent a fizzing, flat cross in to the area and touched on to Gibbs. His header was instant and powerful enough to see Smith fumble the ball into the net at the near post. It was the Englishman’s first goal for Arsenal in his 57th game for the Club.

The goal lifted Arsenal, of course, but it did not dent Shrewsbury too much. Lionel Ainsworth flashed a low pass across the face of goal and the sliding Collins could only deflect the ball just wide.

But a tough half ended with Arsenal on top. Park controlled Coquelin’s 50–yard pass and crashed a shot beyond the far post then Frimpong stung the hands of Smith with a free-kick.

However, the home side went into the break with work to do.

In fairness, their reply was emphatic. In the opening stages of the second half, Frimpong tested Smith once more and Oxlade-Chamberlain’s clipped cross just failed to find Chamakh.

The former Southampton midfielder, just 18, was fast-becoming the stand-out star of the evening. Just before the hour, he pretty much sealed the award.

With little on 25 yards out, Oxlade-Chamberlain let fly with a low shot. Smith allowed it to squirm underneath him and find the net. Like Gibbs, it was his first goal for the Club.

Ten minutes later, Oxlade-Chamberlain tried his luck from an angle. The shot was so powerful it simply bounced off Smith at the near post.

Arsenal had now assumed control though Shrewsbury were still looking for an equaliser on the break.

Wenger replaced Park with Ryo for the final quarter of the game. The Japanese youngster took up his regular role on the left wing and Benayoun moved into a central role.

However, it would be another substitute, Oguzhan Ozyakup, who set up the third for Benayoun. The Isreali stabbed home from the Dutchman’s cut-back.

That finally put paid it Shrewsbury’s challenge. They had performed admirably this evening but Arsenal’s youngsters showed their class in the end.

Source: Richard Clarke, Arsenal.com on 20 Sep 11