Arsenal's Gervinho enjoys the joy of six against lowly Southampton

When the fixtures tumbled out of the computer for the start of a newly promoted season, Nigel Adkins must have wondered whether he had unknowingly broken any mirrors while walking under a ladder. Hot on the heels of a tough introduction to both Manchester clubs, a rampant Arsenal lacerated Southampton.

It was as comfortable an afternoon as Arsène Wenger could have wished for in a situation that can be tricky in between internationals and the upcoming Champions League. The Frenchman was even able to experiment with his forward line. The most notable aspect was not so much the absence of Olivier Giroud, who Wenger felt needed a break from the pressure, but the identity of his replacement as the team's spearhead: Gervinho.

The Ivorian is a player with such a liking for improvisation it does not usually look like he has any more idea than anyone else what he is going to do next, so it was an interesting choice. As it turned out, it was a masterstroke. The striker was full of running, played with a more direct shoot-on-sight approach than normal and finished with two goals and an assist.

"We transform all wingers into strikers," Wenger said with a sparkle in his eye. The seed had been planted on the pre-season tour of Asia. "I decided to try it. He's such a great mover, so quick, and once he's ahead of the last defender it is difficult to catch him. I hesitated about whether to play him or [Lukas] Podolski, who gives us balance on the left and I didn't want to destroy that."

With good reason. In the 11th minute the German won possession in midfield and teed up the galloping Kieran Gibbs, whose angled shot was pushed by Kelvin Davies straight into the retreating Jos Hooiveld. The Dutchman could not avoid poking the ball over his own goalline.

Arsenal's dominance was reflected in a flurry of goals before half-time – three in six minutes: first, Podolski turned the screw with a peach of a free-kick; then Gervinho accelerated on to Mikel Arteta's beautifully crafted pass and beat Davis at his near post with conviction; and finally Southampton's defence unspooled completely when Gervinho broke to release Gibbs, whose return ball cannoned off Nathaniel Clyne for Southampton's second own goal of a sobering afternoon. Adkins looked shell-shocked in his dugout. "They were ruthless," he said later.

In the spirit of gifts, Wojciech Szczesny provided a glimmer for Southampton with a sloppy claw at Jason Puncheon's cross, allowing Daniel Fox to break Arsenal's run of clean sheets. Asked if Szczesny was disappointed with himself, Wenger's expression spoke volumes.

While there was hardly an air of panic, a collective intake of breath was heard when Rickie Lambert glimpsed the opportunity to take aim; Southampton's hitman drilled wide. The visitors were a little more bullish in the second half and welcomed Gastón Ramírez, although they lacked the guile to fashion many clear-cut chances.

Adkins was pleased with his debutants even though they came on in difficult circumstances. It was particularly challenging for the Japanese defender Maya Yoshida, who replaced the injured Hooiveld early on. "Maya was in at the deep end," the Southampton manager said. "He only had one training session with us and he grew into the game. And you can see what a quality footballer Gastón Ramírez is going to be for this football club. You find out about people when you are up against the wall. James Ward-Prowse was outstanding as he kept going and kept trying to play."

It helped that Arsenal eased off slightly, if not entirely. The fifth came when Santi Cazorla – exceptional again as the team's conductor – released Aaron Ramsey, who carved out an opening with clever footwork. His dinked effort drifted on to the post and that man Gervinho was in the right place to nudge the rebound over the line. The former Saint Theo Walcott curled in the sixth after Thomas Vermaelen stormed upfield to test Davis.

When they were finally put out of their misery, Walcott and the other kid nurtured at St Mary's, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, made a point of going to salute the visiting supporters. Bottom of the table and on the end of a pummelling, the nostalgic gesture was well received but a minor consolation. "When the fixtures came out people thought we'd get a right good chasing," Adkins said. "We have had a conversation in the dressing room. We've got the belief we can play in this division. We will have a great week's training and I'm sure St Mary's will be bouncing next weekend."

As for the home crowd, the mood contrasted sharply with the last time they were here – a sluggish goalless draw against Sunderland on the first day of the season. Improvements since then have bred optimism, but Arsenal will have a much greater idea of how they are shaping up next weekend when they travel to Manchester City. "We are a team with a big positive energy but we have two interesting weeks, with Montpellier, City and then Chelsea," Wenger said.

Source: Amy Lawrence, The Guardian on 15 Sep 12

We were worried we couldn't score

Remember the days earlier in the season when we thought we couldn't score? They seem a long time ago. The confidence gained from the victory at Liverpool could have been lost during the international break, but you could easily have been mistaken for thinking that the players got off the bus after the journey back from Anfield, and went straight onto the pitch against Southampton. The confidence was flowing through the team, and suddenly things are looking up.

I was surprised to see Gervinho play as the central striker, but he made clever runs and scored two deserved goals. He played the poacher role well, and made space for others. I don't think playing Gervinho up front would work against a team that sits back or one that looks to physically dominate us, but in a more open match, it's a good option for the manager to have.

The Ivorian's first goal came from a great through ball from Arteta, who again performed well alongside the more defensive Francis Coquelin. His second came from good work from Aaron Ramsey. The Welshman continued to be slightly random with some of his touches, but the run and build up to Gervinho's goal showed why he's worth persisting with as a player.

Along with Gervinho, it was good to see other attackers get on the scoresheet. Lukas Podolski was excellent again on the left, and his link up play with Cazorla is continuing to look sumptuous. I didn't expect Podolski to take the free-kick with Cazorla or Arteta eyeing it up, however the German's strike was excellent. Even though Robin van Persie was a good free-kick taker, it was his way or no way at dead ball situations last season. Now we have numerous dangerous options.

Theo Walcott's goal was straightforward given the confusion in the Southampton defence, but it's good for his confidence to find the net. He's struggled this season with being in and out of the team, and has the contract issue hanging over him, so a goal can only help improve his general mood in the team.

As well as not taking chances earlier in the season, we weren't creating guilt-edged ones. That changed against Southampton, with Cazorla and others bringing in the full-backs and helping to create chances for those in the middle. That led to the own goals, and whilst they were fortunate, they came from good moves forward. Kieran Gibbs has quietly had a very good start to the season, and his balls into the box for the own goals were both dangerous.

Having run Manchester United and Manchester City close, I was pleased to see Southampton try to play attacking football as it played into our hands. The back four didn't sit on the edge of their box, and our quicker players ran riot into the space behind them. Southampton will win plenty of friends trying to play football that's good to watch, but unfortunately for them, they'll concede plenty of goals by doing that. Ahead of our difficult period of games, it was the sort of match we needed to make the new signings feel as if they're part of a successful team, and to get the forwards used to hitting the back of the net.

Of course, the one forward who didn't do that was Olivier Giroud. It's hard to criticise the team selection when you win 6-1, but I thought it would have been a good game for Giroud to start in because of the number of chances we were likely to create. Hopefully he'll be able to feed off the growing confidence of the others around him, and then he'll be able to do well in the familiar surroundings of Montpellier on Tuesday.

The only concern from the game was the goal we conceded. Obviously, I'm buzzing that we scored six goals, but there's a large part of me that is furious that we let a goal in. If it had been a screamer, I'd have accepted it, but it was a goalkeeping howler. Wojciech Szczesny has no defence for the way he dropped the ball straight to Danny Fox. I'm sure Steve Bould will give him a suitable dressing down. Szczesny is still young and prone to a mistake, but it was a reminder to him that his number one shirt isn't safe with Vito Mannone suddenly back in the frame. Apart from the howler, we looked solid again, and one goal conceded in four games is still miles better than the start we'd imagined the team would make.

Overall it was a thoroughly enjoyable afternoon, with Arsene Wenger once again reminding us that he can still construct a team that plays stunning football. We still have to take one small step at the time with this team because of the turnover of players, but now things are clicking, the days of worrying where the next goal will come from could be behind us.

Source: Sam Limbert, ESPN Soccernet on 15 Sep 12

Wenger's work makes progress

Quality, then, but not without a few caveats. Although Arsenal may be high in the table as well as high in the general excellence of their display, we still don't truly know where they are as a team.

The uncertainty is more to do with the opposition they have encountered rather than Arsenal themselves, who are coming along nicely. In the first two games, the fact they played two of the deepest-lying teams in the Premier League painted an unfair picture of their attack as well as a flattering one of their defence, with that only followed by a Liverpool side who have problems at both ends.

 

On Saturday came a Southampton team who descended into a rabble, as illustrated by the two own goals that gave Arsenal such a pleasing platform from which to express themselves.

As such, it's been extreme to extreme for Arsene Wenger's side. It can't be denied that they admirably exploited the latest one to the fullest degree. Indeed, it was a day when almost everything went right.

The sheer incisiveness of the team recalled the movement of the Invincibles; Lukas Podolski kept up his scoring form with an exceptional free-kick; the midfield seemed better balanced than ever; and, most illustrative of the kind of afternoon it was, Gervinho looked a genuinely top-level attacker for the first time since signing.

The only negatives were Olivier Giroud failing to open his account and the Wojciech Szczesny error that led to the end of that perfect defensive record.

Otherwise it was hard for anyone at the club to complain. Wenger certainly didn't, even if, when talking about Podolski's integration, he acknowledged it's still hard to get a proper sense of where they actually stand.

"With the right quality of pass, it's easier to adapt," Wenger said. "So, when the team plays as well as it did today, adaptation is easier. But, when you have to fight and are exposed to the real English game, it's more difficult. The first 45 minutes were played at a very high level. A good combination of pace, speed in our passing, quick combinations. The movement was excellent."

Notably, there were the rampaging runs of the impressive Kieran Gibbs, which led to the own goals from Jos Hooiveld, in particularly calamitous fashion, and Nathaniel Clyne. "We were a bit lucky because they conceded two own goals," Wenger said, "but, overall, there was a level of continuity between [the Liverpool match] and today."

Not just continuity but construction. Arsenal built on that Anfield performance in a number of ways, not least the innovative use of Gervinho.

It's fair to say that the forward was a huge disappointment in his debut season and, without doubt, this was the first time he received a standing ovation at the Emirates. The Ivorian was deployed through the centre and absolutely revelled, generally looking threatening and finishing superbly twice.

As Gervinho so easily and excellently turned Maya Yoshida to set up the opportunity for his first, he might have felt a twinge of sympathy for the Japanese defender. An emergency substitute for the injured Hooiveld, Yoshida looked like the wide-eyed stranger to the Premier League that Gervinho was in his own first campaign. Here, though, the forward was the master.

Indeed, his display put Wenger in such a good mood that the Arsenal manager was willing to joke about it: "Don't you know? We transform all wingers into central strikers and strikers into wingers."

 

More seriously, though, he shed light on the genesis of the switch: "In fact, I decided during our tour of Asia when I played him against Manchester City in that position. I liked what he did and it was in my mind. He is so quick and, once he gets ahead of that central defender..."

Of course, Gervinho's performance was facilitated by the perfect passing behind him. Although still very early in the season, Arsenal's midfield is already looking one of the best and most balanced in the league.

Steadying things, there is the intelligence of Mikel Arteta. Francis Coquelin caught the eye in particular with one exceptional pass for Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. Indeed, although it may well have been a bit of revisionism after the fact, Wenger insisted the club never signed a replacement for Alex Song precisely because of Coquelin's qualities.

"Yes, we didn't go into the market because of him, as well as [Emmanuel] Frimpong, [Jack] Wilshere coming back. Wilshere is not far away now. Frimpong is joining on Monday; [Abou] Diaby as well," Wenger added. "In fact, we have no real defensive midfielder because we all go forward when we have the ball."

Wenger praised the impact of the supreme Santo Cazorla: "He is a player who is just a pleasure to watch. We want him to have the ball and I think he typifies what Spain is today in midfield: technically perfect, great vision, great team attitude."

Arsenal further illustrated their options when Aaron Ramsey came on to provide his most complete performance in some time. At one point, he crushed a Southampton attack at source with a crunching tackle. At another, he further crushed the confidence of their defence by working the ball past Clyne to hit the post and Gervinho made it five.

It was testament to Arsenal's impressive array of attacking angles that the scorer of the last goal, Theo Walcott, felt like something of an afterthought. That was in stark contrast to the summer when the winger's contract situation threatened to further darken the transfer window for Wenger's side.

That window, of course, was dominated and supposedly defined by Robin van Persie. Naturally, though, this win added a further thread to that narrative.

As genuinely world-class as Van Persie is and will continue to be for Manchester United, there was a feeling during the summer that his departure may not have been the most damaging for Arsenal because it meant the club aren't quite so dependent on one player, allowing them to bring in a trio of other attackers. That was certainly on show against Southampton. And, although it's unknown whether Wenger was referring to his former captain, he did make a point of noting the sense of collective about the side now.

"There is a positive energy in this team, a desire to play together, real team play. It's very exciting," he added.

For Southampton it was only excruciating. Their own start to the season has been somewhat skewed too since, in four games, they have already played all of the 2011-12 top three. But, unlike the displays against the two Manchester clubs, here they were embarrassingly turned over with rumours starting to swirl about Nigel Adkins's future.

"We just played a very good team," Adkins said. "Players of this standard are going to punish you. They were ruthless weren't they?"

The big question, though, is whether Arsenal can be as ruthless when the level is raised. "We have a big week coming up because on Tuesday we go to Montpellier, then we have Manchester City and then Chelsea," Wenger said. "We will know much more about the team then."

At the least, everything we do know so far is hardly negative.

Source: Miguel Delaney, ESPN Soccernet on 15 Sep 12

Wenger's reaction to the Arsenal 6-1 Southampton match

on the performance...
Especially in the first 45 minutes we had a high level. We had a good combination of pace, speed in our passing, quick combinations, and the movement was excellent. We were a bit lucky as well because they conceded two own goals, but overall I think it was a level of continuity with what we have shown at Liverpool and today. The game was very interesting to watch. In the second half we lost a bit of urgency, that is human, but we controlled the game and remained serious.

on a big month ahead…
We have a big week coming up because we go on Tuesday now to Montpellier. On Sunday we play at Man City and we have two interesting weeks coming up because we play Chelsea as well. We will know more about our team then but there is a positive energy in this team, a desire to play well together, and real team play. It is very exciting.

on Gervinho playing through the middle…
You know we transform all wingers into central strikers and all the strikers into wingers! I decided that during our tour of Asia when I tried to play Gervinho there against Man City in that position. I liked what he did and it was in the back of my mind. It is interesting because he is such a great mover and he is so quick so when he is central, once he gets ahead of the central defender it is difficult to catch him back.

on Santi Cazorla…
Cazorla is a player who is just a pleasure to watch. You want him to have the ball. He typifies what Spain's midfielders are today - he is technically perfect, he has great vision and a great team attitude. We did fight with Malaga at the time [to get him last summer] and they were in Spain, they were quick to do the deal. But we remained on the ball, we were quite advanced with him last season.

on Lukas Podolski…
First of all Lukas has 101 caps for Germany. In our job, once you get the ball every time at the right moment, when you want it, with the right quality of the pass, it is easier to adapt. So when a team plays as well as it did today, the adaptation is easy. When you have to fight, and then you are exposed to the real English game, it is much more difficult. He is physically strong and he is a fantastic finisher. I had a little hesitation today to play him at centre forward because I had played him only once there. He gives us a balance on the left and I didn't want to destroy that because he did well at Liverpool.

on Francis Coquelin…
I didn't go on the [transfer] market because of him, because of Frimpong, because of Wilshere coming back - he is not far away now. Frimpong is joining in now on Monday in full training. Diaby as well, he plays in this position. We have no real defensive midfielder because we all go forward when we have the ball.

on leaving Giroud on the bench…
I felt that he is under much pressure at the moment and sometimes to get a little breather is good. What I will do on Tuesday I honestly don't know. I just felt that the time has come for him to not be under too much pressure.

on Walcott through the centre…
Walcott can play up front as well. We work on it with him. He was sick the whole week, he only had one training session.

on Diaby's fitness…
Diaby should be fit for Montpellier. He could even have played today, he had a good training session but we didn't want to take a risk.

on Szczesny's error for Southampton's goal…
I think he was disappointed. That's the negative of the day, that we conceded a goal, but we can swallow that. You have to concede at some stage but it happened like it happened.

Source: Arsenal.com on 15 Sep 12

15 September 2012: Arsenal 6-1 Southampton, Emirates Stadium

Arsenal stormed to a sensational 6-1 win over Southampton at Emirates Stadium on Saturday.

Before the victory at Liverpool last time out, Arsène Wenger’s side had been accused of being goal-shy having failed to penetrate the defences of Sunderland and Stoke in their opening two games of the campaign.

Today, they laid that particular ghost to rest with a three-goal salvo inside five minutes late in the first half.

Arsenal already led through Jos Hooiveld’s own goal before Lukas Podolski planted an expert free-kick past Kelvin Davis in the 31st minute. That would be followed quickly by Gervinho’s first of the season and another self-inflicted wound, this time from Nathaniel Clyne.

Southampton were stunned but Daniel Fox did fire home after Wojciech Szczesny’s slip just before the break. They rallied somewhat after the restart but Gervinho’s second ended the argument 19 minutes from time and substitute Theo Walcott stroked home a sixth at the death.

This result was as satisfying as the scoreline suggests. Arsenal have looked controlled and efficient all season - only now they are getting the results to match.

In the past few weeks, Southampton had pushed both Manchester clubs all the way but they were no match for Wenger’s men this afternoon.

Arsenal are up to third in the nascent Premier League table and it is starting to look like they will be in that position all season.

Or maybe higher.

Wenger made two changes from the side that had won so handsomely at Anfield a fortnight ago. The manager erred on the safe side with Abou Diaby and omitted him because of a muscular injury. Francis Coquelin replaced his compatriot but in a holding midfield role which allowed Mikel Arteta to push further forward.

The other change was Gervinho for Olivier Giroud and this was a straight swap. Somewhat surprisingly, the Ivorian was used as a central striker so Podolski would once again attack from the left.

Southampton were better than their rock-bottom position suggested. But then Arsenal had not even conceded a goal this season, let alone looked like losing. They had oozed composure and confidence at Liverpool.

The only concern was that the international break would affect their focus.

Very quickly that fear would be allayed. And by the half-hour it was utterly extinguished.

In the opening stages Arsenal were full of intent. Podolski stung the hands of Davis, then Santi Cazorla lifted an effort over the bar from Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s cross.

The two new signings caught the eye once again. Cazorla had been outstanding at Stoke and Liverpool but Podolski was prominent today.

The German’s tenacity was at the heart of the first goal after 11 minutes. He refused to lose the ball in midfield before spreading it wide to Gibbs on the left. The full-back’s low shot was half-saved by Davis at the near post but the ball trickled away from him and Hooiveld nudged it into his own net.

Arsenal were ruling supreme. Their control in this game was a steel fist in a velvet glove. They were sharper, stronger and more fluent than their opponents.

After 20 minutes, Gervinho darted through to win a corner. Kelvin Davis failed to gather Cazorla’s ball in but the keeper recovered quickly to clutch Per Mertesacker’s powerful header after he had been set up by Coquelin’s clever chip.

It was simply all Arsenal. They just needed the goals to reflect their dominance.

And those would arrive quickly and in great number.

The avalanche began in the 31st minute. Steven Davis clipped Coquelin 25 yards out and Podolski curled home a ferocious free-kick.

Two minutes later, Arteta lifted a pass down the right-hand channel for Gervinho to race onto. He slammed his effort past Kelvin Davis at the near post.

After another two minutes, Arsenal got their fourth. Again the supplier was Gibbs, only this time his swinging cross was turned into his own net by Clyne.

The Southampton defence was now on a hat-trick.

However, the visitors would show a little bit more at the other end as half-time approached. Jason Puncheon fired their first real shot of the game just wide in the 39th minute and, on the whistle, he supplied a hanging, far-post cross for them to score.

Szczesny spilled the ball on to the head of Carl Jenkinson and it sat up nicely for Fox to slam into the unguarded net.

It was a disappointing way for Arsenal to concede their first goal in five-and-a-quarter hours of football this term.

Nigel Adkins had made one change during the first half. He made another at half time – debuting big-money signing Gaston Ramirez. Southampton improved and, in the 56th minute, Rickie Lambert had a super chance to pull his side back into the game. But he slid the ball past the far post.

Arsenal were still the better side – Gervinho was still dangerous and Oxlade-Chamberlain bundled an effort wide – however, the gap had now closed.

Wenger saw it and changed things. Aaron Ramsey replaced Coquelin and, within 10 minutes, had cleverly set up a fifth for Gervinho to poke home.

It put paid to any chance of a Southampton comeback – and the visitors' second-half display had at least re-introduced the possibility.

Arsenal scented blood once more and Oxlade-Chamberlain lashed a cross-shot at goal. Kelvin Davis just about batted it wide.

In the final minute, the home side did find another. Thomas Vermaelen’s effort was blocked and Walcott thumped home the rebound.

The former Southampton striker barely celebrated the goal and, along with Oxlade-Chamberlain, another ex-Saint, saluted the visiting fans at the full-time whistle.

That pocket of around 3,000 supporters sang their hearts out all game but it was the remaining 57,000 who went home much the happier.

Source: Richard Clarke, Arsenal.com on 15 Sep 12

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain can prove that father knew best at Arsenal

The 17-year-old Southampton winger, who is 'better than Theo Walcott', persuades Arsène Wenger to part with £12m

When Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain's father first taught him to kick a ball in the back garden he made sure his son became almost equally adept with both feet. By the time the boy turned seven, such proficiency had helped create a primary school sensation. Throw in a sprinter's turn of pace, augmented by adhesive control for one so young, and it was no surprise that Southampton academy scouts were drawn to Glenhurst school playing fields in Havant.

Although Mark Chamberlain had played for Portsmouth – where he would later become a coach – he harboured no divided loyalties. The former England winger simply felt Southampton academy's was right for his son, a hunch vindicated not only when Alex made his first-team debut at 16 but on Monday, as he joined Arsenal for £12m.

In recent years Gareth Bale, Wayne Bridge and Theo Walcott have emerged from a Southampton junior hothouse which came to the fore during the not overly popular Rupert Lowe's time in charge of the club. It was Lowe who appointed a French youth coach, Georges Prost, to emphasise technique while working with the juniors and even though Prost is now in Qatar, his technical legacy endures.

Oxlade-Chamberlain's eye-catching play in first central midfield and then on the wing soon ensured he stood out from peers who could merely envy his background. Not only did Alex's dad win eight England caps but his uncle, Neville Chamberlain, played in attack for Port Vale and Stoke City.

Both men have rarely tired of reminding him about the need for "end product". Oxlade-Chamberlain benefits from the rare ability to go outside his full-back and hit the byline before unleashing a centre – the youngster can also finish. He scored 11 goals in 43 appearances for Southampton, most coming last season as they won promotion to the Championship.

Slightly stronger on his right side – his preferred wing – but virtually equally capable with his left foot, Oxlade-Chamberlain further wowed scouts courtesy of an acute positional sense allied to the capacity to play with his "head up".

Signficantly the latter two qualities lead some observers to suspect he may eventually revert to a role in midfield. "I've always liked to play as a central midfielder," Oxlade-Chamberlain has said. "But recently I've been playing out wide and I feel happy there."

Whatever his location, the next step is sizeable; especially as Arsenal fans will crave a new hero to replace the soon to be departed Samir Nasri. Yet with not just Arsène Wenger but Sir Alex Ferguson and Kenny Dalglish among long-standing admirers of a creative player who turns 18 next Monday, a Premier League future has long beckoned.

Indeed earlier this year Mark Chamberlain predicted that his son could eclipse Walcott. "I've said I rate him higher than Walcott and everyone looked at me funny," he said. "But, as an all-round technical player, Alex has more to offer."

Paternal pride is, however, coupled with common sense. "I've told Alex it's nice being pretty on the ball but, if you don't have an end product then it's a waste of time," he added.

As a former professional he knows the game's pitfalls and regularly counsels his son against morphing into a Billy Big Boots.

"I'd hate Alex to become one of these young boys you see earning X pounds and acting like they've made it," Chamberlain has said. "He's fine at the moment but we'll keep an eye on him.

"He likes to read about himself in the papers and watch himself playing on television but he's a level-headed boy. After games he doesn't like fuss. Alex just wants to leave the ground and meet his mates."

Source: Loiuse Taylor, The Guardian on 8 Aug 11