Well I guess that settles one argument. Picking a strong side does not guarantee a result.
This game also proved Arshavin’s First Law of Football – If you do not score, you’ll concede!
But for large parts this was a tale of a woefully disjointed performance by Arsenal and some determined textbook defending by the hosts. That was interspersed with some long balls by Ipswich and decent defending by Koscielny and Djourou. I’d have thought a boring 0-0 draw would have been a fair result but the hosts nicked it with what appeared to be an off-side goal.
The ref and his assistant were generous to both sides as can be expected in such a tie and the hosts took full advantage of it by breaking play down with intelligent fouls. That cannot be used as an excuse for the performance by the Gunners and Wenger will have to take a serious look at his squad with too many players out of form or underperforming for various reasons.
Arsenal did start brightly and with purpose getting into the Ipswich box on two or three occasions within the opening couple of minutes. On each occasion the final ball was not good enough and the hosts survived.
As the game went on Ipswich grew in confidence and defended resolutely. The Gunners saw a lot of the ball but couldn’t really threaten the Ipswich goal. Once again the runs in the final third were missing or poor while the players on the ball didn’t really show any incisiveness. The passing was pedestrian in terms of quality and speed.
At the other end the hosts’ strategy was clear. Knock it long to the lone forward and hope for a mistake. For half an hour or so Koscielny was outstanding against Priskin. Around the 30 minute mark Djourou made a mistake that resulted in a corner. From the resulting corner Szczesny came for the ball but got nowhere near. Thankfully for the Pole, McAuley couldn’t keep his header on target.
There was no meaningful action for the rest of the half. Ipswich had all the space in the Arsenal half but didn’t really have any quality to threaten the goal. In contrast, the hosts had a lot of quality in terms of defensive discipline and organization that denied a lacklustre Arsenal side time and again.
The second half started almost in the same was as the first ended. As the game went on the hosts grew stronger and the visitors desperate.
Just after the hour mark Priskin did race on to a ball over the top and was on-side. He couldn’t do much with the bouncing ball even with Szczesny in a no man’s land. Djourou got back to knock it out for a corner almost conceding an own goal in the process. By this time it was clear a mistake at the back by the defenders, Keeper, or the ref’s assistant was going to cost Arsenal.
Wenger brought on Chamakh and Song for Bendtner and Wilshere with just over twenty minutes to go. This improved the technical quality of the team and Arsenal showed a bit more purpose after that.
Cesc sent Walcott through in the 70th minute but the angle was tight and the Keeper made a decent save.
At the other end a nervous Szczesny was lucky he didn’t pick up a caution and concede a free-kick when he caught a ball outside his box.
Arsenal’s best chance came in the 76th minute. Fabregas was free to tap in from four yards after a wonderful cross by Gibbs but couldn’t decide whether to head it or kick it. Ultimately, the ball hit him on the thigh and went out off his body.
Arshavin’s Law was proven within a minute or two. Denilson wasn’t able to control an aerial ball in midfield and an Ipswich player put in a hopeful pass. The linesman kept his flag down and Priskin got a run at goal. The striker passed the ball into the net in a rare moment of quality from the Ipswich attackers but I’m not convinced he was on-side. I also thought Szczesny should have closed the angle down better but he had been nervous and dallying for large periods of the game.
Vela came on for Arshavin soon after but it was too late. The only real chance came in the 85th minute when Cesc put Walcott through. Again the angle was too tight and Fulop did well.
It was a good result for the struggling Championship side but a painful one for Arsenal. All is not lost as the second leg is still to come but this loss means that Arsene will have to play a strong team in that game.
My feeling at the end of the game was that this performance showed Denilson and Eboue at their worst and that was compounded by an out of form Arshavin, a stinker from Wilshere, and a frustrated Fabregas. Walcott didn’t offer much but Ipswich never gave him space. Bendtner never got any meaningful service in or around the box but his runs or touch were not very good. In such a game it’s difficult to point the finger at one or two players but Arsenal will have to produce much better in the coming weeks if they have a genuine interesting in winning any kind of Silverware.
Individual Performances
Szczesny: I’m happy the youngster had a relatively poor game in such a fixture. He has a lot to learn and is good enough to realize that after this game. He didn’t make any major blunders but there were enough iffy moments. Made a big save late in the game to keep the game at 1-0.
Eboue: Extremely poor in all aspects. Looked like he was not interested in being on the pitch.
Djourou: was strong and efficient for large parts but had some shaky moments mainly due to poor decision making. Expected more from the Keeper than he should have which put some pressure on Szczesny.
Koscielny: Probably the best Arsenal player on the pitch. Completely dominated Priskin, won his headers and tackles, excellent composure under pressure. Had one or two moments when he looked vulnerable but that would happen to any defender when he has to deal with long balls for 90 minutes.
Gibbs: did his bit on the left. One excellent cross. Should have done more in the attacking areas but the ball to him wasn’t always a good one.
I thought the central defenders did a good job in this game but the quality of the striker against them wasn’t earth shattering. It was a torture watching Eboue. Szczesny will have gained some pointers on what he needs to improve.
Denilson: Slowed the tempo down tremendously, no real contribution in attack, moved the ball around and won some tackles but that just wasn’t enough.
Cesc: Pathetic by his standards but the best player on the pitch by a country mile. If I were Cesc I’d hate to play in such games but he is a professional and should have done better. Everything Arsenal created involved Fabregas but it wasn’t enough. Gave the ball away uncharacteristically but it could have resulted from frustration with the way the team was playing. Kept trying till the end and deserves a great deal of credit for that.
Wilshere: very poor game even for a youngster. Gave the ball away with loose passes, poor touch on occasions, no penetrative passes or runs. In some ways he played like Denilson and that can’t be a compliment!
Given the amount of time and space they had, the midfield was woeful in this game. The passing was slow and off the ball movement was predictable. Their misery was worsened by some poor play by the wide players and Eboue.
Walcott: Can’t fault him for trying but he was always going to struggle if he didn’t get space. Arsenal didn’t use his strengths in an intelligent manner and the slow, predictable passing made it easy for Ipswich to get numbers around Theo. Walcott for his part should have done better with his runs and crossing.
Bendtner: He’s not a guy who can offer much with his back to goal and hardly got any service in or around the box. His best moment was in the second minute when he robbed a defender but chose the wrong pass subsequently. I don’t think any striker could have done much given the way the midfield and the wingers played but Bendtner has to work on his touch and movement. RvP is the perfect model for him in this regard.
Arshavin: Completely out of form and continues to struggle. Made some good runs and tried some shots on goal but it isn’t working for the Russian. Did look like he was making an effort to help in defending at times and that can be the only positive for him from this game.
The attack struggled to make any impact on the hosts who looked solid through basic marking and tracking of runs.
This game on a dodgy stream has given me a terrible headache. Need to take a break from the internet for a few hours. See you later.
Update: Just thought I’ll put this image up for discussion as the broadcasters didn’t do it justice. To me it looks like off-side but the angle is not a good one. Not saying it takes anything away from Ipswich or is an excuse for Arsenal, just a discussion point.
Prisking Off-Side?
It’s not a case of ‘underperforming’ or being ‘out of form’ for some players. This is their level, this is who they are. We have some players who are bad; not average but actually bad – they have a malign influence on our performances and results.
I’m amazed you think Kos and Djourou were ‘decent’. The defending was a total shambles, even by this team’s standards.
They are so, so easy to counteract by any team that is organised and tries hard enough. Ipswich’s caretaker manager tactically outwitted Wenger tonight. A new low.
I would like to see how any two CBs will perform when they are so isolated from midfield. Djourour and Kos coped really well but the gap between the midfield and defenders grew bigger as Arsenal ventured forward. One ball over the midfield was enough to put their forward through. Cannot expect more from them.
Also, all of our players are of good quality but for some reason they are not performing either played out of position or lack of understanding with team mates.The buck stops with the manager.
good point about the CB’s being isolated. Where on earth were Denilson, Wilshere and Song? It looked as if they felt they were in a training session. Most of them looked uninterested.
Agree@Jekyl nobody should be blamed cause It simple these is level of some players. I think I have to accept many players in these team are below average and sooner you notice that better cause do not expect to much and less hassle. Wenger has kept faith with them and it only he knows what we cannot see, But in my book nothing.
Totally agree this performance was a disgrace. NO Silverware again this year, money needs to be spent on defense and a striker VERY URGENTLY. I fear when we play Barcelona, living in Spain I think I will go to the South Pole when they play, I’m sorry normally a very positive supporter for 40+ years but tonight has left me wondering !!!! Arsen thank you for the great football over the last decade and more but your time is up, move upstairs, please for the sake of my club.
We are becoming a joke with Arsene’s constant excuses and claims that this will be the year for this ‘young’ squad.
Newsflash – they are not young anymore (experience counts for more than age – fabregas is not young!)
There are also players amoung them like Denilson, Diaby and Eboue who have shown that they will never be any better than they are now after consistently mediocre performances for years. Its time to move on the dead wood, bring in hungry players with the potential to develop and willingness to challenge for places, take the presure off of Cesc and an 18 year old in his first real season at the club.
And sign a decent defender with a future and a good level of ability and experience to partner Vermaelen withn fit, not a frenchman with 1 season of top flight football ,or another frenchman who is past it, not up to the required standard.
They may be french but they are not good enough. Henry was french and he cared and tried and was good enough, Pires was french, he tried, he cared and he was good enough. That’s why we clap them as fans now!
What did I say about loving to screw up again ? Where is the effort ? Where is the desire ? Where is the fighting ? No urgency whatsoever.Only after we concede.How long will these players continue to disappoint Wenger until he sells them ? We are happy to pass the ball in midfield without trying to score like we are leading by 3 goals.I like Bendtner but he is slow so I will have to probably accept that he has to leave the club.
too fuking long ur article,anyway who wanna read ur fuking thoughts?
we all know arsenal perform like shit, that enough.
So why bother posting a comment if you are not interested in the author’s thoughts? Why come here in the first place? Why so angry?
Those are important questions you should ask yourself before you sleep tonight.
what a confused person. “i dont wanna read articles but i’m gonna go online and click on them to leave comments about how i dont want to read articles”. proper idiotic behaviour
deleted the comment. Hateful and abusive while making no attempt to discuss the game.
Based on the response it seems many were annoyed by this guy.
-desi
Desi, for all our sakes could you please delete this idiots comments?
What a moron
seems like only nasri and van p are the only one’s with the type of style of play that can break down a ‘parked bus’. on the bright side of things, barca are weakening. they only managed 5 goals today.
shouldnt smoke crack. especially on a wednesday night. madafaka!
Whether the goal was offside or not, Ipswich were good value for their win. We simply did not show up until we went behind. I’m usually a glass half-full kind of guy, but the only positive I can take out of tonight is that at least we have 90 more minutes to turn it around. Too often we point the finger of complacency at the players for a poor performance – but tonight that’s exactly what it looked like.
Poor. Very poor.
http://thearmchairsportsfan.com/2011/01/12/shades-of-78-as-sleepy-arsenal-have-a-nightmare-at-ipswich/
Once again, I wasn’t so surprised about today’s performance and result. It is so Arsenal-like nowadays; screw up when you least expect them to.
Eboue was really terrible today, I’m beginning to value Sagna more and more!
I don’t think Wilshere was that bad; he was actually my bast player in the midfield trio (and I think my stream was good enuf.
Hopefully, we’ll put this behind us and get on with the real business this weekend; I believe we can still make it to Wembley for the league cup final…but it will take 10 times more than what we saw today for that.
We can only stay positive (from afar).
I am impressed by the industry that you have displayed in writing this post. I must say that I am foremost a football person and after that an Arsenal supporter. I am neither pro nor anti-Wenger but pro Arsenal which is considered the same nowadays, unfortunately.
Carling Cup is the only thing that Arsenal can still win this year. No, they can’t win the EPL, or the FA Cup and will certainly be embarrassed by Barcelona soon. Previously Wenger would keep the Carling Cup for his colney creche toddlers but how Arsenal have gone back! This is the only thing he can still win and yet can Arsenal do it?
There are question marks as always in central defense, and RVP and Bendtner are not 20 goal strikers. RVP is made of glass, Bendtner thinks he is as good as Messi and Wenger is untouchable. A manager who is employed to balance books is surely not a footballing manager? Ipswich won tonight even though they are manager-less. Incredible? But true. A fact.
This Arshavin bashing on Arsenal blogs is laughable. Alongwith Fabregas, he is playing with dunces. Why should he suffer? He saved Wenger from his blushes two seasons ago? He scored 4 goals at Anfield and yet, Wenger conceded 4. Fact?
I would be delighted if you could focus on match analysis instead of rating players, instead of blatant bias in favour of Arsenal. Be objective. Try saying: this manager will not sign good players ever, he balances books, the ownership of this club is not interested in trophies. Arsenal my Arsenal, you are going backwards!!!
Agree with you about the Arshavin-bashing. He’s having a bad season but he still has more assists than anyone else.
Wengers policy of trying to polish turds is really being shown up now.
Remember this has been going on all season. We’ve been beaten at home by two newly promoted teams – Newcastle & West Brom. Against Leeds we were brutal, and we were even worse today
It’s time to face facts.
Our system of playing 3 creative players behind one central striker is slow and easy to defend against. Teams defend deep and try to hit us on the break. Teams know we’ll have 60% possession in a game, but they dont care. Possession doesn’t win games.
Playing one striker on his own can work if that striker is strong and can hold the ball up. Van Persie, Bendter & Chamakh cannot hold the ball up and none of these strikers will ever get us 20 goals a season.
We have NO wingers so we have very little width to our game. We try to use our full backs to overlap but neither Sagna or Clichy are good crossers of the ball and when they surge forward they leave us vulnerable at the back. Teams know to try and hit us on the break at these times. It’s so obvious it’s painful.
We NEVER score from corners and free kicks (teams that win the League always get around double figures from these set pieces).
We CANT kill off games (even against a poor ten man Wigan).
Wengers subs are ALWAYS made too late.
All of this is the reason why we’re not even averaging 2 points per game in the league; is the reason why Championship sides have made a show of us; is the reason why we’ll remain trophyless this year.
Man Utd & Chelsea figured Wengers system out a long time ago and now all other teams are sussing it out too.
Soon we’ll be playing Barcelona and I really fear for what they’ll do to us.
Wengers frugality is killing our club. But hes being penny wise pound foolish. In 6 years we’ve spent over £500m on wages – where’s the return for that? And I’ve no doubt under Wenger and his vanity project (of trying to polish turds) we’ll never win another trophy again.
We’ve less than three weeks to find a central defender, a holding midfielder as cover for Song, and a striker.
Probably Wenger will try to find a central defender now Vermaelen’s had the expected relapse, but he may have left it too late with prices soaring and clubs knowing that we’re desperate. I don’t think he’ll even try to look for a striker, despite the fact that history suggests Van P will get injured again, and Chamakh has already begun to run out of steam. Denilson as cover for Song? I don’t dislike him but never in a million years. He gives the ball away constantly and, unlike Gilberto who also did that, he doesn’t bother to try to win it back. So that leaves Ramsey, an unknown quantity still and not really a holding midfielder, or Eastmond who isn’t that good and who’s reputed to have a laziness problem.
Would JET (another one with a reputation for not always trying his hardest) be any sort of solution? God knows, but with Vela leaving – arseblog says the the 10 clubs can only be nightclubs – and Bendtner so useless, maybe we’d be crazy to send him on loan.
Kos and DJ did their job well and were strong but the full backs let them down on more than one occasion. I watched them intently throughout the game and they were clever in their ways of dealing with problems.
Unfortunately a big ball over the back was the difference, if it was on Kos’s side (the slightly faster of the two from what I’ve noticed) then maybe it’d be a different scoreline.
We didn’t play well though and there are few, if any, positives to take from this game.
Song is coming on great is one thing I noticed, the tempo picked up as soon as he was on and the midfield became slightly more cutting.
I’m hoping Chamakh or Van Persie start ahead of Bendtner in the return game though, we need goals and he can’t provide them at the moment it seems.
Fair comments.
I feel Bendtner is in a catch 22 because unless he plays some games he won’t get the form and unless he is in form everyone will say he shouldn’t play.
Song certainly brought more urgency and with Song in the side I think others are more confident defensively.
What a terrible performance… Agree Denilson and Eboue have gotta go, but the whole team underperformed as a unit.
The low point had gotta be when the Ipswich fans starting the ‘boring boring arsenal’ one.
I find it too difficult to watch arsenal these days.
Bendtner isnt a footballer.absolutely useless.
lets just put our hands up and say we have be exposed for what we are. a ordinary side with no 20 goal strikers and a weak defence. and why because we won’t buy so as to protect moderate so called talent.denilson,eboue(sorry maybe i shouldn’t name him he might get upset)Jacks not ready yet but a least has time on his side.Bender is a joke with a big mouth that will never be good enough just lucky he has been at a top club.centres halfs not good enough and made of glass.
good luck to ipswich they deserved it on the night its a shame Wenger couldn’t see or say that.still think with a full team we will get through
It is apparent that at least half of the first team squad is not good enough for a top team like Arsenal but Wenger refuses to have a clear out and buy decent replacements. Eboue,Denilson( would he get into any other premiership side??),Dialby,Bendtner,Cliche,Arshavin(absolutely terrible now),Almunia,Fabiansky and Squilleri are not good enough. Walcott needs some coaching about his decision making regarding when to cross,etc. Rvp is always injury prone – maybe it is time to release him for a decent offer. Nobody apart from Wilshere from the reserves looks any good so Wenger must now use our so-called wonderful scouting system and buy some experienced players otherwise Arsenal will never win the big prizes!!
Bendtner needs to hang up his boots and join a brass band cos hes great a blowing his own trumpet
Did you noticed how good we pass the ball in midfield ? We are the best at it in the premier league !
Cause teams we play don’t bother to run after us they know if the park the bus arsenal wont do us any harm and they just wait for us to lose the ball and counterattack .
desi.. yes we tired and hurt about this game…
so how about this..
(Best World Football Manager of Decade)
1. Arsène Wenger (FRA) 156 points
2. Alex Ferguson (ESC) 148
3. José Mourinho (POR) 135
4. Fabio Capello (ITA) 120
5. Guus Hiddink (NED) 112
6. Carlo Ancelotti (ITA) 108
7. Luiz Felipe Scolari (BRA) 101
8. Marcelo Bielsa (ARG) 101
9. Rafael Benitez (ESP) 97
10. Marcello Lippi (ITA) 88
11. Vicente del Bosque (ESP) 85
12. Frank Rijkaard (NED) 80
13. Sven-Goran Eriksson (SWE) 79
14. Karel Brückner (CZE) 76
15. Carlos Alberto Parreira (BRA) 65
That’s one of the positives from the week. I’d certainly like to know more about how they arrived at those numbers.
pathetic display by the team….
Ipswich just wanted it more. I know that the Kiddie Cup is the least prestigious of all the competitions…..but still, they’re professionals and their job is to play well every time
Cesc’s miss was a shocker, as was the non-call on the goal…but those are just excuses; they need to play better.
And for the 2143458th time, Arsenal were the clear favorite….but couldn’t get it done
I thought they had finally learned…..
this plus the FA Cup game vs. Leeds means that Arsenal should have lost to two Championship teams in a row
The next game is vs West Ham (who could be in the Championship next yr), Leeds again, and Ipswich again
How are we going to win the Premiership if we can’t beat Championship sides?!?!?!?
(and Ipswich isn’t even a good Championship team!!!)
….I don’t get it…..,
United lost 4-0 to West Ham who are bottom of the league so as bad as a Championship side? These things happen. And Arsenal haven’t lost two in a row, they’ve drawn one.
We didn’t lose to Leeds… Although there’s no excuse for a premier league title contender to lose even 1 match against a Championship side!
Love Arsenal. Hate Arsenal fans.
In saying that, its time for Denilson to go, both Wilshere and Ramsey are better than him at a younger age. They need the playing time and I haven’t seen much if any improvement from Denilson over the last year or more. He is also unable to transition to defensive midfield as he has no defensive desire at all. I remember thinking that we should loan Blackpool Denilson instead of Ramsey when I read the rumor. In my opinion Diaby should be converted to a defensive midfielder or at least given minutes in the role so he is a capable replacement for Song. It was far too obvious we lacked a defensive midfielder today. Wenger should have bought Vertonghen and is now paying for it. Today Fabregas was getting frustrated from quite early in the second half and I thought to myself he needs a player to walk over to him and have a quite word with him to channel that frustration into goals. Arshavin should have been that person but he isn’t so we need another leader in the team. Vertonghen or Vermaelen could have been that player tonight.
Agree with some of your observations. I’m not sure it’s about selling Denilson but Arsenal do need a midfielder and Ramsey, Diaby, or Frimpong are not reliable options at the moment.
Also agree about the need for a player who can have a word with Cesc just to calm him down. I thought Fabregas was irritated because of different reasons. One was that Ipwich players were barging into him off the ball at every opportunity.
Hi Desi, thanks for the analysis.
Arsenal are lucky that there is a second leg to redeem themselves in, and that it’s at the Emirates. The problem is that heading there with a 1-0 win means Ipswich have no reason to push out.
Regarding the goal tonight, I thought it looked offside at first, and there were several occasions on which the linesman was slow to raise the flag. In any case it was given. The team had not taken the game on, and without scoring Arsenal are always vulnerable to concede goals like that, where the line is pushed up very high.
Cheers for the link to my Wenger post yesterday Desi, very kind of you. The next installment of Wenger history is on Friday morning, hope you will enjoy that too.
Thanks for that article. It was a brilliant piece. Look forward to the others in that series.
I agree Ipswich won’t have a reason to push out and will repeat the same tactics. Arsenal will just need an early goal in the return leg.
I switched off the TV after half an hour. Even the half an hour I saw I believed had Vela started in place Bendtner it would have made a difference in front of goal . The amount of time Arsenal players were getting near the goal was a joke .They should have destroyed them in the first 10 minutes or so .
Arsenal lost to teams struggling at relegation zone. We lost against Championship teams. Does it mean Championship is where Arsenal should belong?
Was hoping naively to see Vela start. Players look complacent again. We have been handed our arses enough times when we took opponents for granted. Where is Wenger’s baton? This team is notorious for throwing away games we should be winning and it is a chronic condition now. Hope AW settles it for once and for all.
It wasn’t a situation where Denilson ‘couldn’t control the ball’ he could but decided to try a 2ft chest pass in a dangerous area and then walked back on numerous occasions. Cost us the goal against Leeds also. That’s 2 out of 2 Deni…and you’re already my least favorite player
I think, our squad players like Eboue,Gibbs,Bendtner,Denilson and (now) Arshavin made a mockery of the opportunity presented to them.
Cant complain our starters like Cesc,Djorou,Kos…
For me Eboue and Gibbs played like schoolboys but with much much less desire and effort.
Gibbs made one good cross after may be 10 attempts.
And even though I always wanted Denilson at Arsenal as a squad player,I think he offered nothing to our CBs or nothing in the attaking front.
and the hard truth is none our CBs will handle the pressure alone.They badly need support from the DMs and fullbacks.
These are the games were those fringe players should exert more and confirm the faith tht Manager shown on them.And none performed.Except for Szczesney all others lacked real desire too.
Complacent to the core.
A poor result and a huge lessson.
Well the jinx has struck again hasn’t it
I was hoping for a better performance from our forwards but everybody seems to be miserably out of form. It’s really difficult to believe that we did not have a clear shot on goal except for the 2 chips.
The good thing though is that the deficit is only 1 and we would be playing at the Emirates on the return fixture. Moreover i was convinced when i saw the goal that it was offside but one cannot really say that we deserved anything from the game
I just hope the team clicks in for the next game against the hammers.
Fellow gunners please realize that we need all our top guns firing and in the best form if we are to push in 4 competitions from now on
It’s better to lose and have the issues fixed in insignificant games than to have the first team play always and encounter any injuries
I have a strong feeling we will go through to the next stage in both FA and Carling Cup
Sadly it has
I agree Arsenal didn’t deserve anything from the game but the same can be said for Ipswich.
Just another blip eh Desi?
It was a very poor performance by Arsenal. No excuse.
However, the doom sayers need to get a grip of reality. Arsenal have played more than half the games in EPL and are near the summit. That is a fact. We are in the knock-out stage in CL. We are still in both the domestic cups.
Yesterday’s game was, I believe, an example of being overly confident. The difference between an excellent performance and a poor performance is very small. What must be worrying for AW is the number of under par performances against presumably weaker teams. Would a usual CC team playing with their heart have done a better job?
How could the team make so many defensive errors. Ipswich were just ‘hoofing’ the ball up, but basic defending should have cut out these long balls.
Was at the game and the away arsenal fans were great last night. Shame the teams performance couldn’t match the support.
one thing is for sure. barcelona will hammer you. by a bigger scoreline than last season. in both legs.
I thought this site was for arsenal fans
what shame…
but i have to disagree on the ranking of denilson. he was the only player who looked lively in the midfield. no contribution in the attacking…well he was the defensive midfielder and he did what you expect from a holding dm, his distribution wasn’t poor either.
you could blame song too for just looking dumb and not intercepting the pass which lead to the goal (which was offside btw). very disappointing game from cesc, eboue and bendtner!
Did you watch the game. How many times did he give the ball away or make a poor pass? The guys a liability. I know our passing was poor as a team, but denilsons poor consistently.
I was actually disappointed because Denilson has in the past done much better than what he did in this game. He won’t be at the level of Cesc or Nasri but he can still contribute when he is close to his best.
Bad passing, bad delivery, bad positioning, bad off the ball movement, bad decision making, bad attitude… BAD PERFORMANCE! When will AW learn??? this second string is plain & utter useless! Denilson, Eboue, Bendtner, Arshavin, Squillaci, & Rosicky are not good enough anymore to wear the cannon on their chest. Ok Arshavin is out of form, when he’s on form he’s magic, but how long can this go on for??! its not like he’s just lost his goal scoring ability, he’s lost everything, his desire & his hunger. B52 will never fulfil his own promises of being a world class striker, Eboue is showing the form that got him hated in the first place. Denilson, well i just dont know when AW is going to realise that he is not Vieira, Gilberto, Song or even Flamini!!! Squillaci makes me cringe everytime i see him being put under pressure & Rosicky is just not the player he used to be (remember how freddy Ljungberg started to diminish?) i am a 23 year old whos supported Arsenal since i started playing football at the age of 10 (i had Anelka on my shirt lol) never in the years of learning football & supporting my team have i questioned whether AW was the right man to manage AFC but last nights performance has left me considering the unspeakable. i started thinking that AW should be given to the end of next season, the players that i mentioned above MUST be sold, along with Almunia & replacements for each of them must be brought in but also they must be able to slot in the first eleven if they are required to.
Hazard for Rosicky
Bothelo/Vela for Arshavin
Cahill for Squillaci
Frimpong for Denilson
Srna(Shaktar Donesk) for Eboue
Break the bank for Suarez, or even a cheeky little bid for Agbonlahor, either of these to replace B52
I know this isnt football manager but im asking for 4players to be brought & three being promoted internally. for the first time we actually have the money to get the players mentioned, Hazard has said he wants to play for us, Srna & Cahill would jump at the chance and the two frontmen, while they may prove costly, im sure they would be better than B52!!
im just tired of hearing the same excuses from AW mouth, im tired of players that are clearly not good enough being given chance after chance to perform & in the end they under-perform. the start of the season was so positive & now the wheels are staring to come off just as were halfway through…. just want to say again that what i said about AW going at the end of next season was a thought i had but not necessarily what i want at this point, i do stress that those players mentioned need to go before the unthinkable happens and spurs & man city overtake us in the big4.
gooner4life
I’d love Suarez but I don’t think there’s a chance. Haven’t Spurs put in a bid for him? If they can’t procure him with their reckless spending, what hope for us when the most we’d offering is 50p?
Desi (and the many others who believe in Bendtner) could you explain what you see in him?
Many years ago, back when he played in the reserves and got loads of goals, I used to write tentative comments saying I didn’t think he was the player for us. I’d dutifully list his virtues – he’s big, his long passes are good – and add that I hoped I’d be proved wrong in a couple of years.
But I haven’t been yet and I’m beginning to fear this disaster will continue for ever. Three years ago, at my most pessimistic, I thought even Wenger’s exemplary patience (or stubbornness) couldn’t last beyond a couple more seasons. But it has. Will it be next year that we’re put out of our misery or is this torture, and games and trophies forfeited, to continue till the end of the world?
Yes, he’s got a few goals, but he’s a striker for God’s sake, playing in a very good team, serviced by almost the best midfield on the planet. A cardboard box under these conditions could get ten goals a season.
His defenders say he’s not at his best with his back to goal. Then they say he’s not at his best on the wing. So where pray do you want him to play? I’m genuinely interested.
Any player can have a bad game, even a bad couple of years, but when has Bendtner ever shown signs of having a unique and dazzling talent (like Arshavin’s, say, or Fabianski’s) that could under the right conditions emerge? I have doubts about both Arshavin and Fabianski but I’ve seen enough flashes of extraordinary brilliance from both of them to understand Wenger’s persistence. I don’t understand it in Bendtner’s case; I’ve never seen him do anything better than an average striker in a Championship side.
Bendtner has an astounding ability to make his first touch of the ball travel 50 yards. Wenger believes he could score from 50 yards out while tring to control the ball. He’s done it in training.
I think Bendnter is very good as a striker. If he played at Villa or Sunderland he would do better than the likes of Agbonlahor or Carew or Bent.
At Arsenal he has to play outside the box a lot and that’s something he still has to develop. As you said, he’s not very good with his back to the goal. I don’t know if he can improve his touch but I think Wenger would know that based on years of experience and watching different players develop.
Bendtner is much better than Chamakh in terms of shooting and has better instincts than the Moroccan. He is better than Chamakh and RvP in terms of taking players on. He’s not perfected that but he’s clearly improving. Watch his strike against Leeds in the 45th minute. The way he went past two defenders, I don’t see RvP or Chamakh doing that. RvP has better movement and much better turns, plus he knows his angles better but a lot of that’s down to experience. He also won the free-kick against Wigan from which Nasri should have won the penalty.
He also has good vision and passing around the box. For the penalty that Walcott won against Leeds it was Bendtner who put a perfectly weighted pass.
Bendtner’s problem is that he’s not been steady in a role for a long time. The last time he played regularly he got 9 goals and 4 assists in 12 games or so. And he’s 22. The guy is insanely talented. Way better than Benzema, Huntelaar, Crouch, Bent, etc.
The only way I see him failing is if he loses his focus or the crowd gets on his back.
Some how I am getting the feeling that Wenger is wrong to have been sucked into this whole end the trophy drought obessession.
Don’t get me wrong, I want trophies just as much as everybody but I do feel that (Spurs game apart) Wenger should have kept the Carling Cup commesurate with its improtance (particularly vis-a-vis youth development.
There were an awful number of first team players yesterday who just seem disinterested and I would have preferred some of our younger fringe players getting a look in.
I noticed Ignasi Miguel on the bench for instance. With out current Cback injury issues, it would have been great to have had him tested in the match (not that either of our Cbacks were bad yesterday)
It’s all well and good to go for all 4 competitions in front of us but with the ridiculous schedule congestion, I wonder if we are not doing more damage to our chances in the primary competitions (namely PL and CL, FA thereafter)
With regards yesterday’s selection, I feel that whilst we have of late settled on our first team choice, we are still as yet not fully at ease with our second.
For starters, all and well giving Bendtner the start (he works hard) but I would have thought Wenger should have played Chamakh to give him match sharpness.
It would seem that RVP has automatically displaced the Morrocan (all and well) but we need Chamakh to get games (and appropriate time) just in case there is an unforseen eventuality of RVP getting a knock.
More importantly, I thought one of the reasons why AA struggled was because Bendtner kept drifting out left. This left the Russin quite often isolated and congested down the middle.
I would have thought AA would have been better played off Chamakh who is better at creating space in the box with his physical presence, for our oncoming midfielders to pick through.
Whilst we can castigate Denilson for being pedestrian with his passing, I would have to agree that Fabregas had a terrible match and Wilshere too.
Being that this was always going to be over two legs, why play both first choice midfielders if they exhibited either signs of fatique or reluctance in going past 2nd gear?
Where was Rosicky for instance?
Again this goes back to our choice of second team in that we need a selection that can play with some familiarity between each other.
Hopefully this game will not impact our league match against West Ham on the weekend.
I really think Wenger should reconsider scaling down our Carling Cup ambition slightly so we can sheperd our resources for the other 3 tournaments (PL, CL and FA)
After all, if we won nothing but a Carling Cup (with close to our first team) at the end of this season, would you honestly be that satisfied that we are making some progress?
Wow, everyone blames Arsene for not playing the regulars and now we also have the reverse criticism. Interesting thought but I’ve to respectfully disagree.
I don’t think we can read too much from this game. The players started well but lost the momentum in between. I don’t think the problem was with regular players. Denilson and Eboue are Carling Cup players based on the current state of the squad but they were seriously under performing.
I’ve only scanned through the replies as it would make life more difficult for me. I don’t mind if you guys don’t read this as well.
But come on everybody, let’s PANIIIIC!!! Let’s stop supporting Arsenal, let’s sell ALL the players, let’s change EVERYTHING. And I want Highbury back. Now.
It truly was a poor result. Now let’s get over it. This is what cups are all about: the underdogs fight for the game of their lives. I was actually happy for the Ipswich players and fans! Maybe only because we aren’t out of it yet…
Even I couldn’t read many of the comments. I guess just like we have to accept poor performances from players on a bad day, we also have to live with half baked arguments when fans are frustrated.
[...] Ipswich Town 1 – 0 Arsenal: Match Thoughts And Individual Analysis Well I guess that settles one argument. Picking a strong side does not guarantee a result. [...]
Wenger, so poor this team,very very disapointed…
I saw the match on a live stream and it was Martin Keown I think who made the point that all these Arsenal players have had this education that the Carling Cup is where kids play – not the first team. So for some, in a sense, it’s beneath them.
This point was made in reference to a comment on Bendtner – that he didn’t even seem to be on the park at all. Hardly got a touch on the ball in the first half & showed poor movement.
I wonder if this applies to the other first team players (like Arshavin, Vela, etc. ). Although it could never be a valid excuse (not sure there is any excuse at all to lose to a championship side in a cup tie) but this might be the reason that the first team benchwarmers struggle to give it their all in these matches.