It’s been about a week since I did an article saying the present set of fixtures offers the perfect opportunity to build some momentum. That one blew up in my face. Arsenal have found momentum but in the wrong direction.
Now there are two ways of looking at this. One way would be to say it’s going downhill and will continue to do so. We have plenty of fans who specialize in that so I’ll leave it to them. The other way is to think that the whole season is laced with good games interspersed with poor performances. And a team like Arsenal rarely has more than two bad games in a row. So we have got that bad phase out of the way and should have another good run in the coming weeks.
We’ll know how it turns out soon enough starting with the visit to Upton Park or Upson Parker, so to speak.
At the moment it is easy to visualize Arsenal winning this game comfortably if they play like they did against Chelsea or Birmingham. In direct contrast, we’ve just seen how the Gunners can shoot themselves in the foot so it’s not difficult to imagine points being dropped.
Silly logic says that a visit to the bottom club in the League table should be an easy game. Practical understanding of the game tells us there is no such thing. Nevertheless, title hopefuls have to win the difficult games so Arsenal have to go into this game for three points and anything less will be a bad result.
A lot will also depend on the mentality of the hosts. Will they come out to play or will they be happy with a draw? Ideally in a home game one would expect more from West Ham but given their present situation the manager can be forgiven for picking a more conservative strategy.
Tactically I don’t expect this game to be much different from the home game against the Hammers or the last two fixtures against the lower division sides. But if Carlton Cole plays it will be defensively tougher for Arsenal. Once again the centre backs will need constant and consistent support from the midfield in order to win the second ball.
In any case, Arsenal will have to show the right amount of urgency, win the 50-50 balls and key individual battles, and be clinical in front of goal.
The movement up front will have to be much better than what we’ve seen in the last two games and the midfield will have to move the ball in a faster and incisive manner.
Recently, I’ve been disappointed with the final ball on occasions and by a lack of bodies in the box, especially when the ball does go wide. Hopefully in this game both these issues will be sorted out.
West Ham have some pace up front but nothing extraordinary. Defensively most of the threat will come from balls over the top and set-pieces. Focus and organization are a must for the duration of the game.
I’m eager to see if the Hammers will press Arsenal higher up the pitch or will they allow Arsenal to bring the ball out. Some teams have troubled the Gunners by pressing higher up the pitch, mainly at home. In some away games, Arsenal have allowed teams like Everton and Wolves the opportunity to come out of their half. This has invited some pressure on the Arsenal goal but has given the Gunners more room in the opposition half. I believe Arsenal’s excellent away record is a direct consequence of this so I’m hoping this tactical approach will continue and the Grant’s side will take the bait.
Arsenal should have a very strong starting eleven for this game.
At the back I expect Clichy to come in for Gibbs but the rest of the back five will remain the same due to injuries to Fabianski and Squillaci, and suspension for Sagna.
In midfield, I expect to see Cesc in front of Song and Wilshere. That has been Arsene’s first choice midfield this season and I don’t see any reason for changing it.
Up front I expect RvP to be flanked by Nasri and Theo. If the team invites pressure, having the pace of Walcott, along with the skills of the Frenchman and the guile and movement of the Dutchman, will give Arsenal enough firepower to gun down the hosts.
Preferred starting line-up,
Szczesny – Eboue, Djourou, Koscielny, Gibbs – Song, Cesc, Wilshere – Walcott, RvP, Nasri.
With that starting line-up, Arsenal will be somewhat weaker on the right side of the defence and that will put extra responsibility on Song. The Cameroonian will have to ensure he isn’t caught out of position on a break.
There is also a possibility that Carlton Cole will dominate the aerial battle against Koscielny, even though the Frenchman has done well recently, so Wilshere and Nasri will have to be alert to the second ball and the runners.
I’m fairly confident about this game but I won’t say it as the DesiGunner Jinx is beginning to dominate all my predictions.
Before ending, I wanted to link to the next instalment of that excellent series on Arsespeak. Do check it out in case you haven’t seen it already, it’s well worth the time.
I’m gonna be positive for this one… We should do the business against a poor hammers side.
Cmon u gunners!
… And chak de India!
if we don’t play denilson, arshavin or chamakh, we will win
On the contrary I could see Chamakh dominating in this game and I hope to see Arshavin get some minutes so he can shove your words up your *ss.
How do you put Chamakh in that list? I understand Denlison, Arshavin and Nicklas being on that list, but Chamakh doesnt belong. He has been great for us since the beginning of the season. I think the slight dip in his form recently is due to the sudden lack of games hes playing. Chamakh will come through for us, dont worry about that.
desi do you think in the last few games we suffered from lack of width because Eboue and Gibbs play very narrow.I think this contributed significantly to our lack of potency in attack.
I felt Eboue and Gibbs were not sure when to go forward and when to stay back, the players didn’t fully know what to expect from them, and their decision making, especially Eboue, once in the attacking areas was poor.
A lot of this comes from playing regularly. We just have to see how long it’s taken Clichy to adapt to having someone like Arshavin ahead of him. Even now he doesn’t always get it right.
I guess changing full backs will always take something away from the game until the players get to play together a lot.
I heard earlier that Denilson may be injured. Lets all pray that he is.
Lansbury and Ramsay are allready better, if only they had a brazillian sounding name they would get regular games at arsenal.
AM – I SUPPOSE IT IS A LITTLE LIKE ANYONE THAT IS ENGLISH ( WALCOTT & WILSHIRE ) SHOULD START!
That’s just nasty, I don’t want him to play either but I’d never ever pray that he was injured…
ANYONE THAT PUTS WALCOTT IN OUR STARTING 11 IS A FUCKING IDIOT!!
You wanna start with arshavin you muppet?
ashley cole would disagree
Fool!!!
I love Gunners
Nasri is less effective coming from the left than he is from the right isn’t it true? problem is Theo one would say, but I always wondered and have not seen much discussed ever why is Theo not ever used invertedly on the left cutting inside and striking with his stronger right foot? his speed running along the box while trusting his right for quick shot should lead to dangerous situations he is not able to manufacture from the right wing with his weak leg; I rarely see Walcott making the sort of cuts one sees Messi or Robben do and the main reason is that he does not trust his left foot so much, in fact his patented touch angle goals from the right with his right foot are quite amazing considering that limitation.
MOVE THEO TO THE LEFT!
I think moving Theo to the left is a good idea but a benifit of having him on the right is that it is easier to defend on your preferred foot side of the pitch. That is why for instance you dont see many right footed players at left back (unless the team has no left footed fullbacks of course)
Yes, but he is not a left back,but should be a left channel attacker, not like GBale who is more of a winger, but like David Villa deployed for Barca , Arsh dd that well when was in form, and above all and so often our great Titi#14…
check this which shows the still young Theo exploit from the left side.. devastating
In theory I agree it’s worth a try. However, I’ve a feeling this has been tried in training and doesn’t work as well. Part of the reason could be that defenders will just show Theo the outside and will always cover the run in. Given his left foot, if he is forced wide it would be a waste. Messi and Robben are at a different level than Walcott in terms of close control so it could be that Walcott won’t be that effective.
Nasri always seems better when he gets in or around the box either on the left or the right. I think he won’t take long to become just as useful on the left.
why am I moderated? in my attempt to discuss substance? no issues of vile talk of any kind or language were ever involved in my responses, only disagreement(s) on issues in the past ( and may I remind you that I was in the first cycle of regular readers/contributors to your blog. ) be is as it may this disappointing unreflective and surely anti democratic way you chose, of the small minded blogs, I assure you that I will not bother again and I am sure in the long run this attitude will drive away many of the more intelligent and non partisan contributors, no doubt about
I don’t moderate based on individuals. There are some limitations to the wordpress system and I’m trying to deal with it the best way that I can.
So far have you had any experience of your comment being deleted or modified? Yes it gets held up at times and trust me I regret doing that to anyone. But the point is not censorship, it’s just an honest attempt to keep one or two idiots out.
I’m surprised that you’re jumping to conclusions and using big words like anti-democratic when none of your posts have been modified or deleted. Delayed perhaps but is that such a big crime? A little maturity will help?
I don’t think you know enough to comment about my attitude so I’ll leave that aside. Whether you want to read or reply is up to you.
Desi Gunner – I like your blogs you have the burgeoning hope of a spring daffodil. Alas Im a weather beaten cactus and have seen all this before.
West Ham are one of the form teams in the Prem and are actually quite enterprising in the middle of the park. Noble & Parker will put the lads under alot of pressure no doubt.
Theres no harm in dreaming I suppose but one day you’ve got to come back to earth.
But once again our main problem is Wengers tactics. With 4-5-1 (its not, never has been and never will be 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1) we set out a negative mentality of trying to dominate possession and you know, some day, yawn, some one will score….I know its an open goal but sure I’ll pass it once more just to be sure…
The best football I’ve ever seen in my life is Arsenal of 6, 7, 8 years ago. it was 4-4-2 full of leaders, wiinners, heroes and skill. We are nothing but a shadow of our former selves.
For those that think I don’t support Arsenal, couldn’t be more wrong. I just hate the direction we’re going in and the belligerence of Wenger.
For anyone to say we’ve got no money is wrong. We sold our last stadium as a huge development, financed the present stadium long term and take in more money every match day than Man Utd, Real Madrid or Barcelona.
Until we return to 4-4-2, with real men who want to win football matches, with a British spine to the team we can forget about winning the league.
I don’t like comparing the present team with the ones from the past. In those days the competition was extremely limited and that made it relatively easy.
Moreover, those teams with all the leadership, winners, 4-4-2, etc were quite ordinary in Europe. That again tells me the story would have been different if there had been more competition in the Premiership. Not saying those teams were not good, just that it doesn’t make sense to compare the two and proclaim one to be far superior than the other.
In business we have something called a ‘competitive advantage’ and then a thing called ‘sustainable competitive advantage’. In those days Wenger had a CA that he could get some really good players for decent value. But that was not sustainable because others could learn and copy, as they’ve done.
These days one gets the likes of Ramires, Carrick, Anderson, etc for 18M! And even ordinary donkey workers like Milner go for crazy amounts.
Arsenal have money but not in that league. That’s the reason Arsene has had to move to a different model of recruiting.
And don’t forget some of the money has only come in after 2009. During the economic and real estate crisis a lot of the development was stuck and the returns were uncertain.
Anyway this money issue is a separate and major discussion. I can’t get into it right now.
people regularly forget we’re still paying for our stadium. once its paid it will be interesting to see what we do with our ridiculous turnover. but for now we need to fully appeciate how we’ve managed on a limited budget. out of all the big teams we are unique. they say people dont remember teams that win no silverware, but in 20 years time the only thing we’ll remember about chelsea’s trophy success is their ownership……hold on wow just heard a.grant getting sacked today, even if they beat us 10-0. o’neill in.
Tiarnan, you’ve got the tactics completely wrong. Today the 4-3-3 doesn’t really exist. The original 4-3-3 played by Brazil was a modified 4-2-4. The wingers were out and out forwards who didn’t track back. Today’s 4-3-3 system, like the 4-1-4-1 or a 4-2-3-1 is just a type of 4-5-1. The wingers in a modern 4-3-3 are not exactly forwards because they do help defensively.
But that is what we play, a 4-3-3. Or a 4-2-3-1 or even a 4-2-1-3 if that’s what you want to call it.
The proper 4-4-2 is becoming obsolete. In fact even when we played it it wasn’t a pure 4-4-2. It would some times resemble a 4-3-3 with the movement of the players. The world cup proved that the 4-4-2 just doesn’t work anymore. The reason is that you have a numerical advantage in midfield and you have players slipping between the lines of the 4-4-2.
And what you’ve got really completely wrong is our style of play. Our main focus is never to keep possession. We don’t play like Barcelona or Spain. We don’t pass it around in the back just to keep the ball. We get it forward as quickly as possible and try to score goals from the beginning to the end of matches. In fact in some matches we don’t even keep the majority of the ball.
We have the most shots and the most goals in the league this season.
Real men and a strong British spine. Oh you’re so right. Whenever I see the England team marching on to the pitch I know I’m going to witness a really balsy, winning display. You can keep your wimpish foreigners who don’t know how to defend, especially the shrinking-violet Spaniards and South Americans like Puyol and Pique, Lucio and Maicon. Guts are what Arsenal are needing, and only a red-blooded Englishman with his never-say-die bulldog spirit can give us those guts. Why has Wenger still not grasped this obvious truth?
Is this post for real?
Is this post for real?
Yes. Mockery sometimes being the only appropriate response. England against Algeria – or indeed against virtually anyone: there’s nothing to beat a strong British spine.
I’m looking forward to this match. Nasri has been fully rested and I expect big things from him in this game. The same goes for Van Persie who has now had some games under his belt and will surely start getting his match sharpness back soon. West Ham will be up for this game as their managers job is on the line over this game and there next against Everton.
Should be a good contest. Much better than the last two games which, if I manage to ignore the frustration, were quite boring.
This is far from clear, look at Theo at 17! , against Germany (U21) 2 phenomenal finishes, that come from the left channel, overpowering speed,and opening his body to hit it superbly with his right foot.what he then showed again in Chelsea in the Carling final. everyone thinks he stalled for 3 years now but Theo walcott is a scorer that should be bursting on the left side cutting in when countering and cutting right along/into the box otherwise, he has a great timing to his right foot shot that confuses even very good keepers, that is the main reason why he scores well with his right foot EVEN though from a tight right wing angle, but it limits him, much easier for him when coming from the left;
Theo is a goal scorer and nothing else, his languishing on the right wing is kill!ng the most potent part of his game,
(Theo U21 germany,
With that kind of space I think he will be devastating on the left, right, or centre. And he is whenever he gets that. Just look at that goal against Shakhtar. That was down the left, and there have been others down the middle or right as well.
But for bulk of the games and large periods of most games Arsenal will be up against 9-11 men in their own half even their defensive third. That’s when he struggles and will struggle even more on the left. But it’s worth trying for a few minutes in each game. Over time I see him making an impact from all three angles i.e. left, right, and centre.
Right on! I want three points and not complacency. Time to get going and more pressure to Manures because they will beat the Spuds. Spuds are elergic to defense and that coming from deep midfield to score Van der Vaart thing won’t work again the red nose defense. Harry the twicher and his European hopes will be dented. Please start rosicky with song and Cecs. Jack needs to come in 60min and make an impact. We need the power shot of Rosicky and experience to open up the Bus that hammers will park. We can also go with Chamakh with Robin upfront and the captain droping back to join the attack of Nasri Robin and Chamakh that will be plenty of shotS power and airial threat. I said too much enjoy this one gunners nation. Back same (Clichy starts) middle Cecs Song Rosicky front three Nasri Chamakh Robin Van Persie. Subs. Theo Jack Vela. 2:0 Gunners. Cheers
the problem with arsenal for like 4 seasons now is the efficiency in front of goal. we dont kill games. check out the tottenham game we wold have killed it if we didnt waste all our chances in the first half. we heed our strikers to be deadly and efficient. we dont have too many good strikers around so we should demand improvements from the ones we have. we need to support players like arshavin walcott and bendtner. i we dont forget easily, arshavin ones shouldered our attacking responsisbilties same with bendtner and walcott has also saved us too. we(wenger) needs to work on our attacks and counter attacks. we are slower now
yeah, people assosiate us with quick passing but alot of the time the passes are not direct enough and it seems that we actually give opponents time to get everyone back behind the ball. its like we’ve got so used to teams sitting back that we’ve come to accept it and whenever we gain possesion players are too relaxed and resort to a load of short passes at almost walking pace. not that i want to see route one football but we need to be able mix it up and take advantage of any space there might be. i hate to bring up the manure but they attack ruthlessly with unpredictable movement and speed. I think with RVP getting back to his best, him and nasri are our key to unlocking the stubborn defences.
Like you said….
It’s rare for a team as good as this to play very poorly in two consecutive matches. This third match will be key, and urgency will be the deciding factor
Song had to save the Gunners with a very late goal In the home fixture, and West Ham recently beat ManUre @ Upton Park
Despite everything, RVP and Nasri didn’t start either of the last 2 games and they will definitely start tomorrow…..both have looked really good recently and I think it’ll be enough for a nice win
I believe that the mental side of the West Ham team can have a big effect. Are they confused about the rumours of O’Neill replacing Grant, or are they much sharper because of that?
The two cup games were great – I shouldn’t use that word I guess – examples of how the mental side of the opponents can affect games.
PS. I wished I hadn’t seen the posts of people saying once again who we shouldn’t play et cetera. Hopefully they will find a blog more appropriate to their “style”.
Sell everyone! PANIIIIC! The players are not up to it, the manager is too stubborn, and I want Highbury back! Barca are going to crush us, we’ve played rubbish games against rubbish cup opposition recently, Tottenham and ManU can get points tomorrow, and we should have beaten West Ham by five. No, six.
This is the end.
bjohnson says:
January 15, 2011 at 12:31 am
One assist, one goal, 4 shots on goal, and a penalty! In your face!!
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