A New Hope Or Papering Over The Cracks?

What a week it has been for Arsenal Football Club. After the humiliating defeats against AC Milan and Sunderland most fans were fearing the worst before the North London Derby. After 35 minutes I’m sure many were just hoping to keep the scoreline respectable. I for one did not foresee such an emphatic comeback. Add to that the recent news that Arsenal’s profits have risen to £49.5m pounds for the six months leading up to November. Is this this beginning of a new era at Arsenal or has this week only served to paper over the cracks at the club?

The North London Derby was undoubtedly the best moment for Arsenal this season. After no league victory since 2009 against Spurs, and a 10 point deficit in the league, and Britain’s new second team doing so well, it was essential not to lose this game. When Spurs carved open Arsenal’s defence after 4 minutes a feeling of ‘not again’ grew around the red half of North London. Thomas Vermaelen was again caught out of position for Bale to run through and win Spurs’ penalty. While most people thought it was a dive, it took me about 7 or 8 replays to see where they were coming from, so we shouldn’t blame Mike Dean.

After the first 15-20 minutes Arsenal completely dominated the match, with Song, Arteta and the outstanding Rosicky making a huge impact and completely outplaying Spurs’ midfield. Despite the Arsenal fans getting on their teams’ backs, particularly Theo Walcott, who had a shocking first half, Arsenal rose their performance level and got the team back on side. This was achieved primarily through high pressure and work rate. As I have said on countless occasions, these tactics are the way forward for Arsenal. It’s what the best teams in the world, i.e. Real and Barca do, and led to our best performances this season: the second halves at Chelsea and at home to Villa. Seeing Walcott, Rosicky, Benayoun and Arteta pressuring the Spurs players into giving away the ball was very impressive.

However it may be that the emotion of the derby is what led to this performance, as we have not performed like that on a regular basis. Indeed the previous two games were disastrous, seeing us crash out of the FA Cup and almost certainly the Champions League against opposition who were more up for it on the night. If Arsenal perform with the same desire and commitment that they showed on Sunday against every team, then the fans would be happy, even if we don’t win every time.

Some good news regarding the financial status of the club emerged on Monday morning, that Arsenal’s profits had risen to £49.5m in the 6 months leading up to November 2011. Mainly due to the departures of Nasri and Fabregas, this shows we have the capacity to spend this summer. Whether we will or not is of course another question. It is clear that we need to spend significantly to even get close to 2nd place, let alone to winning the league. Too many players have been performing well below an acceptable level this season, players I have named previously, and need to be replaced. Furthermore, as we have been saying for years, 2 or 3 big name signing must be made. Recent reports from Germany suggest that Lukas Podolski has agreed terms with Arsenal, with only a fee between Arsenal and Koln having yet to be negotiated. A quick, winger/striker with 95 caps and 43 goals for Germany at the age of 26 would be a fantastic signing, and with him nearing the end of his contract, he would not cost that much. Add to that a creative midfielder, possibly from Germany, with Mario Goetze, Marco Reus and Lewis Holtby all impressing, and perhaps a centre-back and a left-back, there may yet be hope for the future.

After recently suggesting that it may be time for Wenger to leave, I am now undecided. I realise this may be seen as a knee-jerk reaction to this weekend’s events, but the reality is that we probably wont know until the end of the season. If we go on a good run and close the gap on Spurs and qualify for the Champions League, then, provided Wenger spends in the summer, I would be happy for him to stay on at Arsenal for at least another year. Alternatively, should Chelsea or Liverpool, or both, overtake us and we revert back to the lethargic performances of recent weeks, then I believe it will be time for Wenger to step down after this campaign.

 

 

 

Wenger Out?

It’s been another traumatic month at Arsenal. Since my last post, anger and despair have been the overriding emotions whilst watching the Arsenal, in some cases even boredom. Despite a heavy victory against Blackburn and an emotional farewell to Thierry Henry in a 2-1 victory at the Stadium of Light, this month has been a resounding failure, and we’re yet to play Tottenham.

After 7 much publicised years, it is time a trophy became the priority at Arsenal. The performances against Milan and Sunderland in the cup, where we were truly awful, shows where Wenger’s priorities lie. Furthermore Wenger’s comment, that fourth place is a trophy, was a sad day in my opinion for this proud football club.

So what’s been going wrong on the pitch recently? Firstly, of course, the injuries. As per usual, Arsenal’s season has been severely undermined by a ridiculous amount of injuries, with every defender in the squad being injured at least once so far this season. The sooner Laurent Koscielny, our one success at the back, comes back the better.

In midfield the problems are different. While on the whole our midfielders have stayed fit, they are struggling to create chances and control matches as they used to. The trio of Song, Arteta and Ramsey often plays too deep, mostly in Arteta’s case, and doesn’t get stuck in to oppositions’ midfields. This was clearly evident against Milan and Sunderland, where players like Nocerino and Cattermole completely dominated the games.

The obvious problem up front is that no one can score except van Persie. Gervinho and Walcott have not been providing enough support, and particularly in Theo’s case, have performed woefully on too many occasions.

So who is at fault? The players or the manager? Of course it looked like the players were not trying in the past two matches, and injuries are certainly no one’s fault, but on the whole I believe Arsene Wenger is to blame. He is the man who assembled this squad, and seems to have only one tactic. That is, play 4-5-1, pass it around and see what happens. Our best performance this season was arguably the second half against Aston Villa in the FA Cup, where high pressing put so much pressure on Villa that they were unable to keep hold of the ball. This is a tactic that has helped Real Madrid and Barcelona in recent times, so why not employ it more often here? Nothing irks me more than seeing our players sitting back and allowing the opposition to pile pressure on our incapable defence.

Secondly Wenger should also be blamed for assembling such a weak squad. Will a team with players like Fabianski, Jenkinson, Squillaci, Djourou, Gibbs, Santos, Rosicky, Benayoun, Park, Chamakh, Arshavin and possibly Arteta, Walcott, Ramsey, Gervinho and Song, yes I do mean Song, ever win anything? I think not. How we’ve got ourselves into a position where around 9 or 10 players need to be signed beggars belief.

Finally, back to Wenger’s belief that fourth place is a trophy. This makes me really feel like he’s lost the plot. Firstly, qualifying for the Champions League has never led to a trophy, and is even more unlikely to now, with the gulf increasing between us and Europe’s elite. Secondly, when has a team ever gone down in history for finishing fourth regularly? Can you remember the team who finished fourth in 2000? What about the team who won the FA Cup? Chelsea will surely remember that final forever. I’m sure it hasn’t gone down in Liverpool supporter’s memories about their wonderful 4th place finish. Now, I realise the money gained from Champions League qualification is important, but if it leads to a lack of ambition in other cup competitions, then what’s the point? I agree with Steven Gerrard who recently said:

“Listen, I totally understand there is a balance for the club financially. I understand the top four is massive and at the beginning of the season it is probably the main aim, but as a player I don’t want to be saying I finished in the top four four or five times. I want to look back and say I won the Carling Cup three times. Or four, or five.”

I know there are plenty of Arsenal fans out there who completely disagree, but a trophy for me is what’s needed now.

So should Wenger go? The problem for me is who could replace him? And also how much are our problems down to the board or to him? If the unconfirmed rumours are true, that the board blocked a move for Mario Goetze and didn’t offer enough money for Juan Mata or Santi Cozorla, then perhaps they are to blame? However I believe Wenger is widely responsible for bringing such a large amount of dross to the club, as well as employing such one dimensional tactics. It will be a sad day when Wenger leaves this club, as he has brought us so many magnificent memories, but everything must come to an end, and perhaps it’s time for a change at this historic club.

Read More http://www.liverpooldailypost.co.uk/sport/liverpool-fc/liverpool-fc-news/2012/01/25/steven-gerrard-discusses-which-is-more-important-for-liverpool-fc-winning-the-carling-cup-or-securing-champions-league-qualification-99623-30192822/#ixzz1n6lIdYlR

Is It Time For A Change?

It has been a hard month at the Emirates Stadium. Poor performances and have seen us lose three in a row for only the third time in Wenger’s tenure. On top of this the club has not performed well since losing to Manchester City on the 18th of December. A run of 7 points from 6 games is as bad as our form at the beginning of the season.

So has Arsene Wenger taken the club as far as he can? This is by no means a knee-jerk reaction. What Wenger has done for this club, including his trophies, the new stadium and the style of football played has made us one of the biggest and most respected clubs in the world. I will look at a few reason why it  could be time for Wenger to step down.

Recent results, and most importantly performances, have been unacceptable. I don’t just mean in the past 6 weeks, but over the whole season. Of course we had an unbeaten run between the beginning of October and the end of December however even in this period performances were not up to the standard expected at Arsenal. Victories over this period often came when not performing well (2-1 v Sunderland, 2-1 v Norwich for example) and were over-reliant on van Persie. The famous 5-3 victory at Chelsea was a brilliant attacking display, yet at times our defence was woeful, as it has been often this season, with only Laurent Koscielny providing any consistency. Conceding 33 goals in 22 games is a long way from being adequate. After Christmas, performances have deteriorated to the point where teams like Fulham and Swansea have outplayed us. The displays against Wolves, QPR and Leeds were poor despite not losing.

The consistent poor performances no doubt come from the lack of a decent squad since the Champions League final squad in 2006. Players like Robert Pires, Freddie Ljungberg, Dennis Bergkamp, Patrick Vieira, Gilberto Silva, Ashley Cole etc. have never been replaced with players of similar quality. Too many average players have been bought at often big prices. No one can argue that Arshavin has been worth £15 million. He looks completely out of sorts and his effort levels are close to zero. There are too many players who are not good enough for a top Premiership team: Rosicky, Squillaci, Fabianski, Denilson, Park, Bendtner and one of the worst players I’ve seen wear the red and white shirt, Chamakh. Now I understand that some of these players have had decent spells at the club, but their persistent poor play has not been dealt with by Wenger, who has full control at the club and continues to field these players.

If one analyses the bench against Manchester United last weekend, you’d see Almunia, Squillaci, Yennaris, Benayoun, Arshavin, Park and Miquel. Now I have nothing against Yennaris and Miquel, both are talented young players with potential. However is a bench like this going to challenge for trophies?

Arsene’s record in buying defenders is atrocious. A history of his purchases at centre-back reads Stepanovs, Cygan, Senderos, Squillaci. None of these players were anywhere near good enough. Furthermore at the moment we  arguably only have 3 good defenders: Sagna, Vermaelen and Koscielny. Whilst Mertesacker, Santos, Gibbs and Jenkinson could turn out well for this club, they could equally go down the same route as Djourou and Squillaci. Leaving Jenkinson, who clearly is not ready, as the only cover for Sagna, was a serious error by Wenger. Esepcially considering how poor Djourou has been at right-back. Some would say signings like Toure, Vermaelen and Koscielny were good moves by Wenger, these players are the minority, and in any case I think Wenger was lucky with the signing of Toure, not realising he would be such a good centre back.

Another failure of this club is the mental attitude of the players. On two or three occasions over the last few years we have been in with a shout of glory, if not top of the league, only to see an end of season collapse, often brought about by a failure to overcome mistakes or incidents, such as Eduardo’s broken leg or Szczesny and Koscielny’s cock up in the League Cup. This, as well as the lack of discipline, e.g. Djourou’s red card v Fulham or the penalty conceded by Eboue against Liverpool last season leads many fans to believe we will never win another trophy under Wenger.

Some fans would point to a lack of transfer activity. Whilst this is certainly a factor. It is difficult to comment without knowing the true financial situation of the club. Newspapers have continually reported that we have £40m + to spend, indeed CEO Ivan Gazidis and Chairman Peter Hill-Wood have both said we have the funds, however it defies belief that we would have spent so little if we had the money. If so then Wenger really must look at himself.

Finally, Wenger seems to be tactically inept. Now this may seem too far to some fans, however there are two big examples. Firstly, Wenger’s substitutions. For a long time now Wenger’s substitions have been poor. He uses  them more to replace tired players with like-minded players rather than to really change the game. This means we generally play the same way throughout a game, becoming more predictable as the game goes on. This was highlighted on Sunday when Arshavin was brought on for the excellent Oxlade-Chamberlain, to a chorus of boos from the Arsenal fans. Secondly, the 451 formations ( or 433, 4231 ) whilst having it’s pros, means we rely on real quality on the wings. Something which Walcott and Gervinho haven’t been able to provide, although I still think both could be good players. Furthermore, when was the last time Wenger used a different formation, or changed halfway through a game? I can’t remember. This tactical stubbornness is another reason why we may not win more trophies under Wenger.

This has been a hard post to write. I love Wenger for everything he has brought to this club. Indeed, being a 20 year old, I can’t remember another manager. The memories his teams gave me will long live on. I would never protest against him as he means too much to this club. I understand that it has been difficult to compete against Chelsea’s spending power, arguably the best manager in British football history, and now Manchester City. We have done well to finish at least 4th every season since he joined.  However, is this success for a club like Arsenal? Not for me. So, with a heavy heart I feel that perhaps this should be Wenger’s last contract. I’d love him to prove me wrong.

Review of 2011

2011 was a strange year for Arsenal Football Club. It was, one could say, yet another year of transition. There were a few highs, the home leg against Barcelona for example, and plenty of lows, Birmingham, Liverpool at home, United etc. I will take a chronological look at the past year’s highlights in this article.

January 2011 was a predictably quiet transfer window for Arsenal. The biggest deal was the signing of Japanese school boy Ryo Miyaichi, who immediately went out on loan to Feyenoord. The month started well, with impressive wins against West Ham and Wigan and van Persie on fire. By the beginning of February Arsenal were second in the league and looking comfortable. Despite Wenger winning Manager of the Month in February for the first time since 2007, one particular game symbolised the failure of Arsene’s ‘project’ since c.2005. The game against Newcastle, which saw Arsenal let a 4-0 lead slip highlighted the talent, ability, fragility, defensive instability and indiscipline of the past 5 years. The Carling Cup Final defeat where a last minute blunder by two players who now look a lot better, Koscielny and Szczesny cost Arsenal their first trophy since 2005. It was also the catalyst for the collapse at the end of the season. The weeks after the final saw Arsenal’s form worsen dramatically with several draws and defeats, most memorably a last minute penalty conceded against Liverpool. The torrid end to the season ended in the announcement of a 6% increase of ticket prices. The resulting fans protests in the final few games of the season added to the sour feeling at the end of the season. A long summer away from football was needed by all Arsenal fans.

Despite all this one real highlight was the home game against Barcelona. A dramatic comeback gave the Emirates its best ever atmosphere and gave the fans something to smile about. Nevertheless, the season epitomised Arsene’s project and underlined its failures. The squad built and nurtured by Wenger, with players such as Almunia, Djourou, Clichy, Rosicky, Denilson, Diaby, and previously Hleb and Flamini clearly had plenty of talent, but its mental fragility meant that a title push was never going to materialise.

The summer was yet another frustrating period for most Arsenal fans. The will-he wont-he sagas of Fabregas and Nasri were always going to end in the players leaving and should have been settled much sooner. Although most Arsenal fans understood why they left, and were happy with the reported £60 million received for the pair, a few things left us frustrated. Firstly while we were selling our best players at the age of 24, whereas previously we sold them after their peaks (Vieira, Henry etc). Frustratingly,  players like Rosicky, Almunia, Arshavin and Squillaci were still at the club. I firmly believe that the poor transfer window is what caused Arsenal’s catastrophic start to the season, with early defeats against Liverpool, Blackburn and particularly United meaning Arsenal had 4 points from 5 games.

The 31st of August rescued our season, and saw Arsene change his transfer policy. The signing of players like Mertesacker, Santos and most impressive of all, Arteta (all over 26 and experienced) have helped get us back to 4th/5th spot. Whilst the signings have seen Arsenal’s solidity return, they are not good enough to get us on the same level as United and City. What they did was provide with a good basis of a squad upon which to build.

Between September and now there haven’t been any real lows. But there has been one major high point. The pulsating 5-3 victory at Stamford Bridge will live long in the memory of all Arsenal fans, and symbolised the togetherness of the new Arsenal team.

There could be one final high point. The return of the king: Henry is back. Whether or not it is a success, it will undoubtedly be emotional to see him pull on the red and white shirt once more.

Overall 2011 has not been a vintage year for Arsenal, in fact quite the opposite. Most of the high points were one-off games rather than trophies. However there is hope for the future. As I have mentioned we have a solid spine to the team now, with Szczesny, Vermaelen, Song, Arteta and van Persie. What we need to build on is squad depth. An area where, worryingly, Arsene thinks we are fine. Whilst we do have quantity, we do not have quantity together with quality. In the near future we MUST sell players like Arshavin, Rosicky, Squillaci, Chamakh, Fabianski and Mannone and replace them with players who are hungry to win.

Let’s hope 2012 is a better year.

 

Man City and Villa Matches highlight Arsenal’s need to buy

The two recent matches against Manchester City and Aston Villa were highly contrasting performances and results. A strong, passionate performance against City was followed up by a tough grind against Villa. One thing that became obvious from both games was that Arsenal need to strengthen in January to make the top four.

First was the big game on Sunday, and what a fantastic game it was. Two teams playing with quality and intensity, everything that is good about the Premiership. It could have gone either way, and indeed arguably the two best players on the pitch were Wojciech Szczesny and Joe Hart, two young keepers who could dominate the best goalkeeper awards for the next 10-15 years. Arsenal were however undone in the end by a failure to play with natural full-backs. As good as Johann Djourou and Laurent Koscielny have been at right-back, it was clearly the latter who was at fault for the only goal of the game, being way out of position to allow Mario Balotelli acres of space.

This game highlighted one of the positions in which we need to strengthen, if only on loan. A left-back could be essential to our push for a top four finish, and Wenger has said as much “possibly, yes” was his answer on Arsenal.com. The possibility  refers to whether Kieran Gibbs returns on time or not. I have seen links to Wayne Bridge, who is out of favour at Manchester City. By no means a world-class left-back, he would nevertheless bring experience to the back four, thus allowing Thomas Vermaelen to return to where he really excels.

The second game of the busy Christmas period was against Aston Villa. The 2-1 result did not reflect the performance in my opinion. A shaky performance throughout the whole team, excluding perhaps Szczesny and  Mikel Arteta, went unpunished as Yossi Benayoun crept ahead of about 15 players taller than him to head home in the 87th minute. This game, and the second half against City, underlined the second position: attacking midfielders.

With Abou Diaby and Jack Wilshere set to return, and Aaron Ramsey and Arteta on good form, we’re fine for central midfielders. However we seem devoid of options further up the field when Gervinho, Theo Walcott or Robin van Persie are not playing well. Against City Andrei Arshavin hit the final nail into the coffin that is becoming his Arsenal career. A non-event to end all non-events was how best to describe his ‘turnout’. Marouane Chamakh wasn’t much better. Against Villa Arshavin and Thomas Rosicky, who hasn’t done much for three or four years now, offered nothing, especially compared with Benayoun, who showed some promising skills and touches before his vital goal. Van Persie, Theo and Gervinho are in need of a rest, but worryingly I’d be fearful of resting any of them against Wolves at home on the 27th.

So who should we go for in January? In the full-back positions I’d advocate signing a left-back on loan and a right-back on a permanent deal. At left-back Wayne Bridge would be the obvious choice, though he doesn’t inspire much confidence. Leighton Baines would be a fantastic purchase but I can’t see us buying. At right-back, someone in their early thirties would be a good deal, seeing as I think Carl Jenkinson could be good eventually but is not close to ready yet. Someone like Anthony Reveillere from Lyon could be a good deal. Can’t see it happening though.

In the attacking positions I believe two players are needed. A striker as back up for van Persie. There’s talk of Hugo Rodallega from Wigan or Peter Odemwingie from West Brom. I feel a world-class, or close to, player is needed. Valencia’s Roberto Soldado, Athletic Bilbao’s Fernando Llorente or Cologne’s Lukas Podolski would be fantastic options, especially as all can play as a lone striker. Soldado or Llorente wouldn’t come cheap, but Podolski, a 26-year old with close to 80 caps for Germany, could cost as little as £10m and has been advised to seek a big move by German national manager Joachim Low.

Finally an attacking midfielder would be a good position in which to strength. Plenty of young ones are available. Here’s a few that I’d like to sign: Mario Goetze or Eden Hazard who would both cost over £30m so perhaps not options for us. Between £20-30m I believe Marco Reus and Xherdan Shaqiri would be great buys. For under £20m players like Esteban Granero could be bought.

Personally, I’d be happy to see Reveillere, Bridge, Reus and Podolski come in. But we’ll see. In the mean time, we have to make sure we keep winning.

1-0 to the Arsenal

Saturday was a big day for Arsenal Football Club; the 125th anniversary gave the day a festive atmosphere which almost denied Arsenal victory against Everton.

The victory against Everton was a highly significant one for Arsenal’s season. It was important to keep the unbeaten run going, which now sees Arsenal unbeaten since the first weekend of October. Furthermore it was a slightly subdued performance, giving the 1-0 scoreline even more significance. Many pundits, journalists and indeed Arsenal players have concluded that it was not a great performance by Arsenal, with Wojciech Szczesny stating that Arsenal “won ugly”. However I take a slightly different view of the game. Especially in the first half, I thought Arsenal were excellent from ‘tee to green’. We took advantage of Everton’s high line and Aaron Ramsey and Mikel Arteta played Gervinho and Theo Walcott in behind various times. It was more a case of fine margins; a 1/2 yard offside or a final pass which was just overhit. We could, maybe should have been 2 up in the first 20 minutes.

I thought we were solid defensively, I can’t remember Szczesny having a save to make. Per Mertesacker and Laurent Koscielny looked solid together for the first time. Johann Djourou was brilliant against Leighton Baines and Diniyar Bilyanetdinov after his woeful showing against Olympiakos. However above all Thomas Vermaelen showed that he could be a left-back for his whole career at a top club if he wanted. Playing with four centre-backs gives extra stability to the team (ala Stoke) however it does take away slightly from the attacking potential of the team. Obviously against Everton there was no choice, and I’m saddened to see André Santos out for three months. He was just beginning to settle and look comfortable in English football. With Santos and Kieran Gibbs looking like missing the next few months, should Arsene look at bringing in a left-back in January, at least on loan? As I’ve said before Vermaelen looks a natural, however in the big games his presence could be essential in the centre. Yes, it took a moment of genius by van Persie to break the deadlock at a moment where we were starting to look like drawing the game, but all in all it was a good performance, if not spectacular. Most significantly, we made it back, at least temporarily, to the top four, a fine achievement after the first 2 months of the season. On our birthday, there could only ever have been one scoreline. One nil to the Arsenal.

The matches against Olympiakos and Wigan were a totally contrasting affairs. I will not dwell for too long on either. However I have a few thoughts, particularly on the match in Athens. There seem to be two overriding views on this game: a) the view that it didn’t mean anything and doesn’t matter that we lost , and b) that we have to try to win every game and it was an awful performance etc.

I personally agree with more with a, however I can see the arguments for b. Firstly stating the obvious, we had already qualified in first place. I would have fielded an even weaker team than Wenger. As soon as I saw Santos and Vermaelen on the team sheet I was surprised. I must say I had a feeling that one would get injured, I thought it would be Vermaelen. In the end it was Santos who got the injury (incidentally Ignasi Miquel was our best player when he came on). Yes, it was a terrible performance. But it was a great experience for four players who could have a huge future at Arsenal: Miquel, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Emmanuel Frimpong and Frances Coquelin. These four players were actually our strongest performers. As I have already mentioned, Djourou had a poor game. However so did Lukasz Fabianski and Vito Mannone. Moreover it has become clear that Sebastien Squillaci and Marouane Chamakh are nowhere near good enough for this team. Both should go in January. However Wenger has already said he will not be buying a centre-back or midfielder (he has not denied being in the market for a striker).

Finally a quick mention of the fantastic away win at Wigan Athletic. It was good to see four different players scoring. I was beginning to worry that we were becoming overly reliant on van Persie. We were never truly troubled, despite an early sitter missed by Wigan.

This Sunday sees another huge test for the Gunners, Man City away. A point would be a good result, although I believe we could sneak it. Having said that City are certainly favourites. Lets just hope they beat Chelsea to keep us fourth.

Two Steps Forward, One Step Back

The past week has been a case of two steps forward, one step back at the Emirates Stadium. Three home games in the past 7 days have brought contrasting results. First a victory, against Dortmund, a draw, against Fulham, then a defeat against Manchester City. There are many postives to take from these games. The defence has looked solid for example. However we are becoming over reliant on van Persie to score the goals.

Last Wednesday’s 2-1 victory against Borussia Dortmund was a huge victory, bringing the all important first place in the Champions League group stage. After a poor first half, the game burst into life with a fantastic dribble and cross by the impeccable Alex Song. Of course van Persie was on hand to convert the header. His tap in near the end guaranteed the result, despite a late consolation by the impressive Kagawa. The goal came from arguably the only moment of weakness in an otherwise defensively sound night.  Johann Djourou and Song’s, who otherwise did not put a foot wrong in the game, mix up spoilt the chance of a well-deserved clean sheet. We will need to concentrate more to avoid these moments in the future.

After such an impressive victory over a vibrant, youthful Dortmund team, Arsenal fans felt as though the game against Fulham on Saturday was a big chance to push on and gain even more momentum. We had previously won 5 in a row in the Premier League. Despite what many pundits called a poor performance, I thought, particularly in the second half, we played well enough to win the game. The defence again looked good, Mertesacker having one of his better games and Vermaelen outstanding. The own-goal was a freak incident which looked to have been dealt with. Regardless, a top team has to win these games if it is to succeed. Vermaelen proved that van Persie is not the only talisman at the club, coming up with the goods to equalise. A particular highlight of mine was the performance of Theo Walcott. I’ve been saying this for a month or so, since the Chelsea game, but he has improved so much recently. He was a constant nuisance to the Fulham defence and provided a perfect cross for Vermaelen to head home. Nevertheless it was still two very important points dropped.

On Tuesday Manchester City were the visitors to the Emirates in the League Cup. Both teams predictably made ten changes, though Man City could still call upon Kolo Toure, De Jong, Hargreaves, Johnson, Nasri, Kolarov, Dzeko and the early substitute Aguero. Nevertheless I thought Arsenal were by far the better team, with 7 shots on target to City’s 2. The standout performer was undoubtedly Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. What a prospect he is. The ball seemed glued to his feet and his shooting was always accurate and powerful. A first half left-footed effort from 30 yards needed the outstretched 6ft8 figure of the excellent Pantilimon to keep it out. It was touching to see Chamberlain applauded by the Man City fans as he left the field in the last 10 minutes. Another standout performer was Laurent Koscielny, who has been fantastic at centre-back and right-back this season, arguably the most underrated player in the Premier League. He kept Dzeko and Aguero quiet all evening. A further mention must go to Emmanuel Frimpong and Francis Coquelin who performed admirably and kept Samir Nasri quiet. It was a shame not to win the game, but the performance gives me confidence for the future.

There were a couple of disappointments last night, and over the week. It is becoming clearer and clearer that Marouane Chamakh is not good enough. He tries hard but it’s not enough. He spends more time on the wings and deep than on the last defender, which is where I believe he is needed. If the rumours of a £10 million move to PSG in January are true, I’d personally drive him there. Secondly I have lost all patience in Andrei Arshavin. I gave him as long as I could to make a judgement, but the guy doesn’t even try and barely creates anything. There have been whispers of a move back to Russia. As for driving him there…

What we need in January is a striker, a good striker, who can replace Chamakh and put pressure , or alleviate the pressure on van Persie, such as Lukas Podolski or Fernando Llorente, and an attacking midfielder ala Hazard or Goetze, but more realistically someone like Esteban Granero, who could play in various positions across the midfield and help Gervinho and Walcott with the assisting.

Finally we have to get back to winning ways against one of the worst teams in Wigan that I’ve seen in a long time.

A fine victory at Carrow Road

It was another impressive victory for Arsenal on the weekend. Against a strong and determined Norwich City team. There were many positives and a few negatives to draw from the game.

Lets start with the negatives from this game. The biggest of course was Per Mertesacker’s terrible mistake for the opening goal. He had three options available to him: smack it out with his right for a corner, kick the ball out with his left for a throw or attempt a risky back pass to Wojciech Szczesny. Instead he made a ridiculous attempt to shepherd the ball and was easily outmuscled by Morrison. After his disappointing display against Chelsea, this is exactly what he didn’t need. He will need to improve to gain a first team place, as Koscielny is slowly becoming a very good defender. Another negative from this game was Gervinho’s finishing. I’ve been waxing lyrical about Gervinho over the last few weeks, and don’t get me wrong I still think he’s a great signing, but there is still work to be done. His poor finishes when through on goal on the left, and after going round the keeper in the second half, should have been converted.

Nevertheless there were definitely more positives from this game. Thomas Vermaelen was excellent at the back. His aerial defending adds great stability from set-pieces. There were two moments during the second half, one excellent header from a corner and one when he towered above Grant Holt to head clear that proved what a quality all-round centre-back he is, especially considering his 5″11 frame. The midfield played well, without setting the world alight. Aaron Ramsey and Mikel Arteta kept the ball well, despite one or two misplaced passes, and generally set up the dynamic front 3. The superlatives have run out to describe Robin van Persie. His all-round play was brilliant. He set up various attacks with first-time flicks and helped cover in midfield when Ramsey or Arteta was coming back from an attack. His first goal was well taken but his second was sublime, a Messi-esque flick on his wrong foot over a stranded John Ruddy. 31 goals in 29 league games, 10 in his last 5, one could quote stats for hours, but he really is becoming one of, if not the best, strikers in the world. Despite the obvious Man of the Match award to van Persie, my biggest praise must go to Theo Walcott. After a below par start to the season, Walcott has grown and grown over the last 2 months, adding consistency which he has often lacked. His standout performance against Chelsea was matched at Carrow Road, albeit against a poor Marc Tierney, who he easily rounded to provided a perfect cross for van Persie. He now has 3 assists in the league, expect many more to follow. All in all, where we are now, level on points with Tottenham, Chelsea and Liverpool is a fantastic achievement considering where we were in September. We seem to be playing more as a team than in a long time.

A quick mention for 2 reserve and youth players who have caught my eye recently. The first is Dutchman Oguzhan Ozyakup, a technically gifted central midfielder who has made 2 appearances in the League Cup this season, including an assist for Benayoun against Shrewsbury. The second is Alban Bunjaku, an Anglo-Albanian much to the same build and style as Ozyakup. Both have been excelling in the reserves and under-18s respectively, they could have big futures at Arsenal.

It’s an important week for the club. A win against Dortmund on Wednesday would secure the passage to the second-round of the Champions League and a win at home to Fulham on Saturday would  further announce us as top 4 candidates.

The Reasons For Arsenal’s improvement.

There has been a big change over the last couple of months at Arsenal. The doom and gloom of August and September has given way to a new sense of optimism around the club. Where before many were questioning whether Arsenal could finish in the top 6, now the top 4 is a realistic target. Although finishing  4th shouldn’t be seen as success for a club of Arsenal’s stature, it would be a success considering where Arsenal were at the beginning of September.

There are many reasons for Arsenal’s improvement, not least the endless list of players who have really stepped up over the last 2 months. First on this list has to be Aaron Ramsey. In a crucial position in the Arsenal system, as the creative force, it has been a tough task for the 20 year old Welsh captain. Replacing Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri as the teams provider was always going to be difficult and at the beginning of the season it seemed as though it was all too much. During October however there was a vast improvement in Ramsey. His crucial goal against Marseille and his fantastic assists against Stoke, Chelsea and West Brom show his ability to carve open defences with one pass, reminiscent of Fabregas. These goals and assists have come alongside brilliant performances.

Arsenal’s defence in general has also greatly improved. Koscielny has emerged as a potentially great centre-back. His no nonsense defensive style reminds me of Nemanja Vidic. He’s strong in the air and a great tackler. Questions remain about his positioning and concentration, but there is definite potential. His performance against Marseille and Chelsea in particular were very good. Two players who have caught my eye recently after poor starts to their Arsenal careers are André Santos and Carl Jenkinson. The young right-back was clearly affected by his dream move at the beginning, with many questioning whether he was good enough for Charlton let alone for Arsenal. Yet he has improved greatly recently, with particularly strong performances against Marseille at home and West Brom. His attacking play is excellent, he is perhaps the best crosser at Arsenal. On the other side of the defence Santos has proved he is good enough for Arsenal. Again his attacking play is better than his defending, but it’s going to be a tough battle with Kieran Gibbs for the left-back role.

Further forward Gervinho and Theo Walcott have begun to show there worth. After a slow start, Gervinho has greatly improved his decision making. His direct style of play is exactly what Arsenal needed. When he gets the ball, there more often than not will at least be a half chance. Walcott has also improved for me over the past month. His crossing was brilliant against Chelsea, as was his goal. With 10 assists between them the season, they could be crucial.

These improvements have, along with the return of Thomas Vermaelen and the gradual gelling of the new players, helped take the strain of 3 players who I believe were playing well since the start: Wojciech Szczesny, Alex Song and Robin van Persie. With a solid spine to the team, Arsenal should do well in the coming months.

The fans have played their part as well. At the end of last season there was a general state of depression at the Emirates. With widespread grumblings around the stadium and chants against the board. This has been replaced by a more positive attitude so far. It seems as though the fans are getting behind the players more, with many players speaking of their gratitude to the fans, particularly after the performance agasint Man U, when the Arsenal fans were showing their support well after the game had finished.

However ther are still somes reasons to be cautious. Many of the reserve players still aren’t good enough, meaning a long-term injury could be disastrous. Johann Djourou, despite playing relatively well at right-back, is not a solid defender. His positioning and concentration will let him down. Andrei Arshavin is a shadow of the player he was 3 years ago. He doesn’t even seem to be trying, which infuriates most Arsenal fans. Both Tomas Rosicky and Marouane Chamakh aren’t good enough for Arsenal.

Furthermore the defence is still quite shaky. The first half against Chelsea was a disaster for Per Mertesacker, who I have been mostly impressed with so far. His inability to get off the ground was a particular worry. It still looks as though Arsenal will concede from every set-piece, as happened when John Terry scored. There needs to be someone on each post as that would have prevented the goal, though Szczesny clearly doesn’t one anyone on his right post.

Overall, the future is relatively bright for Arsenal. The new players have mostly proved the be good signings, particularly Mikel Arteta. Selling Arshavin in January and buying someone like Mario Goetze or Eden Hazard would be a further boost to the whole club. In spite of the probable dominance of Man City, I don’t think Arsenal are too far behind Chelsea and Man United at the moment, although I think 4th is more realistic than 3rd or 2nd for this season.

Another Step In The Right Direction

The last two games have seen Arsenal move further in the right direction, firstly against Chelsea, we have been clinical in front of goal for the first time, with 5 of 8 shots on target going in, and against Marseille we our defence produced a solid performance.

Chelsea v Arsenal was one of the best games I’ve ever seen, an absolutely crazy game. The first half was characterized by our terrible defending, particularly Mertesacker, who was at fault for both goals, and Santos, and poor finishing by Gervinho and van Persie. Mertesacker was caught out of position and failed to get off the ground for both the goals in the first half. Although his positional play is usually very good, these two mistakes could have been much more costly. In the first half the player who I thought really upped their game when we were under pressure was Aaron Ramsey. He’s been pretty poor so far this season, however in the past 2 or 3 weeks he’s really improved. It was always going to be hard to step into Fabregas, Nasri and Wilshere’s boots as the main creator but he’s showing that he’s more than capable.

The second half came as a huge surprise. Santos showed his true colours, he is much more comfortable attacking than in defence. For me Gibbs still should be considered number 1 in the left-back position. Luckily he should be back this weekend. Another great performer in this game was Theo Walcott. There were glimpses in the first half in the way he ran past Ashley Cole, by no means a slow player, and played a perfect ball to Gervinho. The second was his pass to van Persie, which should have been converted. However his goal in the second half to put us 3-2 up was a fantastic piece of play, especially for a player who tends to moan when he doesn’t get a free-kick. This time he got up quickly when all Chelsea’s players fell asleep and his footwork and finish were exemplary.

But there were two players who really stood out for me. In attack, van Persie showed yet again that he is essential to this team. His 2011 record now stands at 28 in 27 in the league. How he isn’t nominated for the Ballon d’Or I do not know. More surprisingly in defence, Koscielny was magnificent in the second half. I’ve been saying this for a few weeks now, but Koscielny could really be a great defender. He should be considered first choice to partner Vermaelen. I hope Wenger’s selection against Marseille of Mertesacker wont be an indication of his first choice. Overall, the game against Chelsea could have gone either way, and when Mata scored, I thought here we go again. We got the luck we needed with Terry’s slip, and now lets build on this confidence.

The Marseille game was a very different match, both to the first leg and the Chelsea game. The first half I thought was pretty entertaining. Marseille could have scored early on, when our defence was a bit shaky, but after 15-20 minutes, we dominated. Walcott, Gervinho and certainly Ramsey each could have scored, while Szczesny only made one save. However it wasn’t to be. The decision to rest van Persie proved a mistake, however unlike the pundits on Sky, I completely understood the reason. We will probably win this group and van Persie cannot play every game, particularly as it’s essential we get back into the top 4 in the league. The game against West Brom on the weekend for me is the priority. Unfortunately Park did not have a great game, however his performance against Bolton shows that there is enough talent in him.

My Man of the Match has to be Ramsey, who was involved in everything until he came off, in a more advanced position. He may have misplaced a couple of passes, but he was trying the hardest I thought. Also a nod to Jenkinson, who had his best game as an Arsenal player so far. A slight downer was Szczesny, who seems a bit shaky, and has done for a couple of weeks. He needs to learn when to come off his line and when to stay.

A quick note on Stan Kroenke. I’m glad to see him becoming more involved. His record in American sports is very good, although Arsenal fans may not like to hear that the Denver Nuggets pay way below the NBA wage limit, which means they lose their star players like Carmelo Anthony. They pay $35m on wages. The limit is $58m. However I feel Kroenke has the best interests of the clubs he owns at heart.

Bring on West Brom on Saturday.