A TALE OF TACTICS FOR WENGER

Another week passes with another poor defensive showing from our Arsenal team. We score 3 goals but quite alarmingly, we also concede 3 goals. Arguably 3 extremely sloppy goals, the type of goals a defence with 4 fully-established International defenders should not be conceding at home regardless of who the opposition is.

This is becoming a theme for us over recent years and it has to be said, it doesn't seem to take much for us to slip into old, bad habits. In seasons gone by we generally start the season with all the improvements we hope to see from our team, we get all optimistic and then we get a couple of injuries and it seems like the players forget all of the key defensive improvements we have made at the beginning of the season.

We have all seen the importance of  pressing the ball when trying to get it (Barcelona have implemented this brilliantly over past seasons), yet we seem to have begun to stand off the opponent and allow them to play again. This is all good if the team wants to go away, sit deep and hit a team on the counter-attack (Liverpool away). We were extremely resolute against Stoke which did hinder us as an attacking threat but we looked organised, drilled, confident and disciplined.

FRAGILE

VERMAELEN: LOW ON CONFIDENCE

A few weeks down the line and we look "fragile", a word being bandied around a lot at the moment and even in the most unfortunate circumstances this word should not be affiliated with the calibre of players we have. Our captain, Vermaelen is arguably the most fragile of all, contributing to a lot of poor goals being conceded and clearly not being an advocate of paying attention to key details. He has started hoofing the ball quite regularly and been shunted out to left-back - telling signs that his confidence has been badly shattered. Wenger has confirmed that Vermaelens confidence is low, ‘I think what has happened to him in recent weeks has affected his confidence.'


Even more alarming is, this is during a season where we are expected to improve defensively as we have now acquired a defensive connoisseur in the shape of Steve Bould. He has been brought in to address these lingering issues that have halted our progress for many years. I would expect Bould to be mentoring our centre-backs but the only 1 to have excelled is Mertesacker, who has been a rock for us. Is this down to Bould having a better understanding of Mertesackers style? Or maybe the fact the defender is simply already a proven international defender with the composure and a better understanding of what is needed to succeed at Arsenal?

ARSENE WENGER

TACTICS

Arsene Wenger is an attack-minded coach. Nobody has ever had the privilege of calling him a negative manager but what he is seemingly lacking is the tactical nous needed to shuffle the team around and get us playing in order to get the 3 points and move on to the next game. 2-0 up vs Schalke and then Fulham should be followed by a comfortable performance where we totally take the sting out of the game by using our experience. Instead, we need more of a cushion to keep us from throwing the points away, which of course, we did.

Wenger has in the past, suggested his teams will win as long as they play to their strengths. Unfortunately this is not the case anymore as the quality is not the same. We are lacking the similar quality to absolutely dominate games, pass teams off the park and wear them down.

However, in Wengers defence, the team is a very new team and still adapting to each other as well as the Premier League and its robust demands. After being out for 524 days, Wilshere explained, “we still have a lot of new players. I have only played with them three times and we feel we are getting better and better as a team, and that we are bonding. Hopefully things will just get better from here."

BALANCE

Our team is lacking the physical balance needed in midfield, we have a particularly small midfield which is not the strongest. The man held responsible for restoring any balance in our midfield is Diaby and its not a coincidence that since his injury we have performed poorly. I'm of the opinion that the Wilshere-Arteta-Cazorla will not work how we would all love it to as it is too small and our biggest hope of it working is that the players find a much-required cohesion to dominate the ball and retain it under pressure. Our tallest midfielder, in what many would class as our best midfield, is Mikel Arteta at 5ft 9 ins. This is causing us to not retain the ball well under pressure and is allowing us to be overpowered in midfield. This is where the "fragile" problem stems from.

Wenger has put all of his eggs in one basket with Diaby and clearly it has backfired. His physicality occupies players from other teams and enables Cazorla to find space. Cazorla is the man we need to get on the ball and make things happen. For this purpose in itself, Diaby is key. When he doesn't play, the balance needed for a defensive game where teams get stuck into us or want to play a game of football against us is gone. Where is the protector or midfield general we need? Where is the runner in midfield? The legs of the midfield? It sounds like an out-dated requirement but it isn't (ask Barcelona, who bought our midfield hard-man).

MAROUANE FELLAINI

There are not many players who can give us the blend that Diaby does. The only other 2 players in that mould are Yaya Toure and Marouane Fellaini. A signing in this mould wouldn't solve all of our problems. Chelsea have shown you can have a strong holder (Mikel) and then a box-to-box midfielder who will run constantly (Ramires), which gives the team a good base to attack and allows Mata, Hazard and Oscar to concentrate on attacking matters. We have used this model ourselves in our most successful team in history, Vieira and Gilberto.


The blend in the team is not quite there in a number of positions. I actually feel our defence is the most complete part of the pitch for us although there is clearly a problem with defending in our team, but its exactly that - the team. I wouldn't put the blame on the players, they don't buy themselves' or pick themselves'. Wenger has to address the balance and wisen up tactically.

ROBIN VAN PODOLSKI

With all remaining Arsenal players no longer participating in the Euros, we now look forward to the hectic transfer window speculation which promises to be filled with minute-by-minute updates on who Arsenal are "making moves" for, blah, blah, blah... As we all know, Arsenal have already snapped up two of Europes most proflific strikers last season and we are not even in July.

Welcome Olivier Giroud. More so, welcome to Lukas Podolski, whose future position in the Arsenal team is inexplicably linked to whether Van Persie signs a new deal at Arsenal. The parallel between the two is there for us to see.

Even if you compare the comments made by Wenger upon signing both players, he hails the comparable qualities of both players'. When Wenger signed Robin van Persie in 2004, he said, "He can play on the left side of midfield, as a creative player behind the main strikers or as a target man." Sound familiar?

Robin van Persie with his PFA Award

Fast forward to 2012 and the season where Robin van Persie had finally delivered on the managers' belief that he would play as a centre forward. He smashed in 37 goals, while being captain, winning various personal accolades and firing Arsenal to 3rd in a turbulent season for the club. The bad side of this is, his fantastic form coincides with his contract being up in a year and being available for a free transfer.



Many Arsenal fans are becoming used to players having 1 or 2 great seasons and then leaving after years of waiting for them to deliver. However, once a player leaves we always have an internal solution who is ready to step up but quite honestly, in the case of RvP, we have Bendtner, Vela, Chamakh and Park Chu-Young who are not capable of scoring the amount of goals Arsenal require from their strikers.

You can call me sceptical but this does have me wonder why Wenger moved so sharply for Lukas Podolski, 27, who is left footed, similar in style to our own Robin van Persie, 28, and has even been playing in the same false number 9 role for FC Koln while wearing the number 10 shirt. When players are brought into the team it is normally to give you a different option in that department.

Not only this but Arsenal took the decision to wrap up this deal and announce it in May BEFORE the season had even finished. As Arsenal announced the signing of Podolski, Wenger said, “He is a versatile striker - he can play through the middle, behind the striker, up front, on the left and on the right." This highlights the almost identical similarities when comparing the two players.


Lukas Podolski

Announcing a deal so early is far from a typical Arsenal scenario. Was this Wenger ensuring we had a striker already in, incase van Persie decides to leave? Or was this Wenger genuinely adding to our armoury in order to provide cover/options to our ONLY top class striker.

Wenger has spoken of the desperate need to help van Persie with goals coming from different parts of the pitch and this has to be undoubtedly his WORST collection of strikers in his 16 year tenure. However, with the 25 man squad rule, your players MUST be capable of covering different positons and our current bunch of strikers, except van Persie, are not versatile enough.

We also have a vacant left wing slot and regardless of whether we love Oxlade-Chamberlain or not not, Podolski is not coming to play second fiddle to him or Gervinho. With Arshavin looking likely to move back to Zenit and Benayoun not being signed permanently, Podolski will give us a totally different option on the left hand side as a left-sided, left footed attacker.

The similarities run deep in the pair; They both had a poor Euro 2012 tournament, in comparison to the standards they have set, with both of their solitary goals even coming with their weaker right foot!

I honestly hope Podolski is coming to be his own man and not simply fill the boots of a departing van Persie.

SLIPPING STANDARDS

Losing becomes a habit. And as we are seeing at Arsenal it is becoming a familiar story. Arsenal have already lost 8 games this season and have a goal difference of +6 which is "un-Arsenal-like" to say the least.  A far cry from The Invincible's team who remained unbeaten for 49 games.

This is despite having the top goalscorer in the Premier League, Robin van Persie, who has scored an astonishing 19 league goals already. This is also despite Arsenal, at the same point last season, being in 3rd place challenging for top spot, having a goal difference of +22 and a healthy points total of 43.

The standard has been raised by the two Manchester clubs but had Arsenal maintained a similar standard to last season, Arsenal would be 4th at least and within touching distance of Spurs.

But how can Mr. Wenger expect to keep us within touching distance of the elite Clubs in England by selling our top players and not quite replacing them with the household names we crave or we believe the Club has funds for? Players like Hazard, Mata, Goetze, M'Vila were all linked with us over the Summer and we ended up with a loan deal for Benayoun and Park Chu-Young. 

"Imagine the worst situation, that we lose Fábregas and Nasri; you cannot convince people that you are ambitious after that." These were the words of our own manager who allowed the worst case scenario to become reality. The trust had now been broken as Wenger endured his worst Summer ever at Arsenal as he failed to replace our star player, Cesc Fabregas, with a player of top calibre.

The substitution that confused home fans

He has shown he still has an eye for young talent and will spend money on a long-term investment i.e Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, who made his full league debut against Manchester United and sparkled. He instantly showed what a handful he can be. A lot of fans were having a go at Wenger for spending £15m on Oxlade-Chamberlain during the Summer and it is quite ironic that his decision to take Oxlade-Chamberlain off during the game was met with jeers from the home fans.

After the game, Wenger seemed to be caught in two minds as to whether to accept he made a mistake and Arshavin let him down or whether to insist we stick together and don't question him. He said, "Arshavin is captain of the Russia national team. I have to justify [substituting] a guy of 18 who's playing his second or third game? Let's be serious...We win and lose together. You want me to blame one player? I will not do that. If I've made a mistake, I'm sorry..". In the initial SkySports post match interview when asked "could Arshavin of done better for the goal?" Wenger replied, "You should ask him." This contradicts Wengers argument of Arshavin being Russia captain and is actually on the verge of hanging Arshavin out to dry.

As John Cross also said we prefer "raw enthusiasm over lazy talent". I agree with this totally and I actually question why so many senior players at Arsenal seem to play with such a lack of enthusiasm at Arsenal. The Chamakh's, the Arshavin's, the Squillaci's, the Almunia's? Why are they still at the club? Why does nobody want them? They are deadwood and are hindering young players' prospects while collecting big wages and draining club resources as they totally under perform.

Then the young players out on loan such as Bendtner, Vela and Denilson were on the verge of breakdown if they had to spend another season at our Club. These players are not even remotely interested in playing for Arsenal or under Wenger, and while they were heralded as future superstars and deemed good enough for Wenger to waste up to 5 years on, not one of them seems likely to attract a big bid from any top European sides.

Perhaps this is one of the key reasons why Wenger is yet to spend, the fact players have not been moved on promptly and kick out of the door has also managed to keep Wenger from spending to improve the team.

Wilshere (right) yet to feature this season

There are also 11 injured players who are awaiting a return from injury such as Wilshere, Sagna, Gibbs etc who will undoubtedly improve us on our current wretched run but these are familiar problems we face and complain about on a season to season basis.

Inevitably our standards, ambition and expectation have all become based at a mediocre level. Our league position represents that and Mr.Wenger has yet to replenish the situation. The fact Wenger begged Pat Rice to stay when Rice was hellbent on retiring also suggests that Wenger is not open to change, new ideas, refreshing the backroom staff or promoting from within.

Steve Bould linked with Assistant role

Steve Bould and Dennis Bergkamp were names mooted as possible replacements for Pat Rice but Wenger was never interested and actually convinced Pat Rice that the right decision would be to stay on. This has undoubtedly contributed to the stale factor that is lingering at the Club.

The players, staff and fans have hung on his every word and this is why the unrest, frustration and nervousness are common place at The Emirates. He has always been trusted to deliver in the face of adversity but currently he appears secluded.

"You don't know what you're doing" is a chant that has reared its ugly head all to frequently at The Emirates recently but what is important is to remember that Wenger has a huge passion for the Club, has a long term vision that nobody can imagine at the moment and that Arsenal is still our Club. 

Support it and love it regardless.

CHECKPOINT FOR ARSENAL

We are fast approaching a feast of football which is appropriately labelled as "Super Sunday" and like it or not, Arsenal fans across the country will be worried. 

Arsenal could of gone into Sundays clash, at The Emirates with Manchester United, in 7th place. However, they should be buoyed by the way Saturdays games have panned out with Newcastle losing, Liverpool losing and Chelsea only managing a draw. These results leave Arsenal 5 points behind 4th placed Chelsea with a game in hand - versus the team that spanked them 8 - 2 in August.

After the 8 - 2 mauling at the hands of Manchester United, Wenger said "You feel humiliated when you concede eight goals." I would agree. It was an abject performance to say the least. There were factors which left our hands tied as we were mercilessly ripped apart at Old Trafford. Wenger also says, "It was a terrible day for us, it was a combination of an under-strength team and weakness. We collapsed physically in the second half." 

We had players like Traore on the pitch, who were not even bothered as they knew they were about to leave. We had a bad injury/suspension list with the likes Vermaelen, Sagna, Wilshere, Song and Gervinho all missing. We had out of form players like Djourou, Koscielny, Ramsey and Arshavin getting the runaround while rookies such as Jenkinson (who was also sent off) and Coquelin were exposed to the ruthless reality of playing against Premier League champions. Not forgetting the loss of Fabregas and Nasri coupled with the signings who had yet to be made part of the new Arsenal such as Arteta, Mertesacker and Santos.

At that point Arsenal were written off with no regard for the problems at the Club. Ex-Arsenal player Paul Merson questioned Arsene Wenger; “Don’t put those kinds of players on the pitch and make them like lambs to the slaughter – it’s not good enough. You have got to start looking at the manager now and asking questions."

At that point, Arsenal were 17th in the league with 1 point on the board and a goal difference of - 8. The long and desperate road to recovery began at Arsenal and since then Arsenal climbed the league table, sitting in 5th place while negotiating 1st place qualification in a Champions League group containing Marseille and Bundesliga champions Borussia Dortmund. The dark clouds over Arsenal seemed to have finally cleared and pride as well as confidence appeared to have been rediscovered.

However, in the build up to this game the murmurings seem to have begun again; with Arsenal losing 3 out of the last 6 league games, Wenger's position being questioned and van Persie yet to sign a new deal. As always is the case, Arsenal seem to have severe injury problems, with arguably more injuries than in the last encounter. The lack of full backs available is a serious concern and there is a possibility of there being as many as 8 of the same players who played in the game at Old Trafford remaining in the line up for the return fixture.

Arsenal fans will be desperate to see Vermaelen playing in any capacity, even if it is left back, and if Arteta is not fit, will be a huge blow to Arsenals plans.

The thought of Nani and Valencia running at Djourou and Miquel is a daunting prospect and I believe thats where the game will be won or lost. Manchester Uniteds wing play is extremely important to their style of play and Arsenals full back positions are particularly weak so its inevitable Manchester United will consistently play through the wings. Paul Scholes will play in Manchester Uniteds midfield and hit the wings instantly with his classy range of passing and he will be key to Manchester Uniteds game plan. Arsenal will need to get stuck into Scholes instantly and not give him any time on the ball. This will be important if Arsenal are to stop Man. United from dominating that spacious Emirates pitch.

It will be a hard game tomorrow but the importance of the game is massive. If we win tomorrow it can totally change the prospects of our season;give us huge confidence and squeeze the gap between us and the teams ahead of us. If we lose it will consign us to the expected barrage from the "I told ya so" brigade. Lets hope its the former results that we are celebrating tomorrow night.

ANDRE SANTOS: A GIFT AND A CURSE

Welcoming Andre Santos; A flamboyant wing-back originating from Brazil.

He has emerged into the first-team eleven with a swagger and presence only to be expected from the brilliant Brazilian school of wing-backs.

He arrived at Arsenal Football club on transfer deadline day, with the usual stigma attached to Brazilian defenders; very good going forward but poor in defence. A general idea of his instincts were to be confirmed when he chose the No.11 jersey commonly used for wingers. This signalled the intent of the wing -back, who at the age of 28, would be classed as experienced cover for Kieran Gibbs.

However, Santos had other ideas which have seen him become something of a cult figure at The Emirates. He has scored 2 goals in 7 starts including a key goal in the 5-3 victory against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

He makes marauding runs which display the typical traits of a Brazilian wing-back. Years of studying Roberto Carlos and Cafu prove the mentality ingrained into a Brazilian wing-back is "attack is the best form of defence".

The entertainment factor Santos provides is top class and there is no denying that his forays into the final third leave us exposed at the back but he brings a new dimension to the Arsenal attack, which hasn't been so productive since the days of Ashley Cole.

The Brazilian flair which Arsenal have been crying out for, has been a welcome addition as far as I'm concerned. The fact that Santos can already boast the same amount of goals that Clichy scored in his entire Arsenal career shows the cutting edge he will bring to the Arsenal team in attack.

As Wenger has said, “I feel it’s an important part of winning – having a full-back who creates.” I agree.

"NEW DYNAMIC AT ARSENAL"

After the mass exodus, the Old Trafford destruction, the last-minute scurrying around in the transfer-window and the International lull, Arsenal now have an opportunity to settle down and start their season, albeit a month after the start of the league.

Arsenal seem to have shifted a whole lot of players (wages) and now seem to be on the way to rebuilding the squad. Players potentially scarred by failure i.e Eboue, Clichy, Denilson etc have been removed and replaced with young, hungry and English talent in the form of Carl Jenkinson who was signed from Charlton for a mere £1m, Kieran Gibbs and Emmanuel Frimpong who came through courtesy of Arsenals academy.

He has also invested in Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, 18, one of the brightest prospects at under-21 level, as demonstrated against Israel in midweek with a 45 minute cameo including 3 assists and a won penalty. Add this to Theo Walcott, Jack Wilshere and Aaron Ramsey who are already first team regulars. This wave of British talent at Arsenal seems to be a conscious effort by Mr. Wenger, who has already expressed his frustration at developing young players to then see them move on. This problem won't be the same with British talent. With British talent there is a premium but the price you pay is the peace of mind knowing that they are less likely to move on to your rivals or simply back home i.e Nasri, Fabregas and Clichy. In other words, you pay for loyalty.

Couple this with getting rid of players who no longer wish to be at Arsenal, you now have a much tighter unit, money in the bank and less wages are being given to players who hearts' are not in it. The players who couldn't find new clubs like Almunia and Squillaci have been removed from first team duty with Wenger adopting a strategy which requires the correct desire.

All that is left to do is get in more experienced players to complement the batch of young players who are already on the cusp of the first team. Mertesacker, Santos, Arteta, Gervinho, Benayoun (loan), Chu-Young all represent that; Experience. I'm quite sure Wengers business is not over and he definitely will not be content with his squad but one thing is certain, they will be able to benefit the squad.

Mertesacker has 60+ caps for Germany, Santos (28) was Brazils left back at this Summers Copa America, Arteta spent 6 years as a regular starter for Everton, Gervinho just done the Double for French Champions Lille and Chu-Young is South Korea's captain so I expect guidance from these players for the new, hungry and fresh batch at Arsenal.

This Saturday's game vs Swansea will be as huge as the demolishing by Manchester United. It's a chance to get the first win of the season and will certainly be the type of game we need after a drastic overhaul of the squad. One thing is for sure, we now have players eager to prove a point and hungry to seize the opportunity.

NEW STYLE JOURNALISM MATCH REPORT

Charlton Community Beaten By Bridon

South East London, Charlton, Meridian Park to be exact has seen many a football match. On a moody Saturday afternoon where the weather was symptomatic of our year so far – predictably unpredictable; what was to be expected today? Well, in terms of the weather there could be no guarantees whatsoever but as the football match dawned closer, if one aspect of today’s weather were to be infused in the tension of the game it was the black clouds that lingered over both teams’ title aspirations. This was to be no ordinary game.

As the bumpy grass of a typical amateur football pitch looks up in the direction of the sky, 22 men with victory on their mind trampled across the open arena with a sole objective – to win. “I hope it rains” was the wish of Karlton Lynch and the Bridon Ropes team who were ready for the war. They were praying for carnage and destruction on the battlefield that they simply called “Meridian” or “home”.

Enter Bridon Ropes who are 2nd in the Kent County League, Division One West on 38 points, played a game less than the top team and on their own “patch”. Sounds strong until you hear of the arsenal in the armoury of the awaiting opposition. Enter Charlton Athletic Community. They are the top scorers in the league with 61 goals in 20 league games, at the top of the league with 39 points and the top scorer in the league, Kelvin Williams, who boasts a ratio of a goal a game. With pride at stake and in an immeasurable form of importance; the incentive of a place at the top of the league, this game would no longer be called such a thing as the two teams step across the white chalk line.

The two teams take their positions and wait in anticipation of the referee who will be the trigger to begin the rat race. As the game starts the tension and anxiety erupts into a flurry of frenetic, fast-paced, fantasy football not for the feint hearted. As the ball bounces around the pitch at the speed of a pinball it’s hard to imagine the players continuing to buzz around the pitch at such a frantic speed. There just seems to be no letting up by either side as the predicted profusion of passion is present from both sets of players.

As the pattern of the game begins to take shape, Bridon Ropes begin to take charge of the situation. They start creating chances at an alarming rate and the catalogue of attempts at the goal of Charlton Athletic Community is comparable to a whirlwind which comes in waves at 100mph. There is a determined defiance about the final defender of the goal, Sennington. He protects the goal by gliding through the air and palming away a shot in miraculous fashion as he appeared to be beaten and also smothering the rebound shot. This was the pick of the bunch as Bridon Ropes laid siege to the goal of Charlton Community. Before this opportunity Bridon had four attempts at goal, all saved by what could prove to be a match winning performance by Sennington. As the door seemed to be opening for Bridon, Sennington was slamming it in their faces.

Could this persistent badgering of the goal lead to an opening? The tide didn’t seem to be coming down and Bridons waves continued to come until a corner fizzed into the 6 yard box by Dawson was met with the predatory instinct of Gyamfi who nodded the ball past Sennington in a cool fashion but this was to be met with a chorus of “Come on Bridon!”

The deadlock had finally been broken and Bridon could smell blood. Straight from the kick off Bridon pursued more goals. For all their creativity there was no final product from Bridon and the game remained tightly poised at 1 – 0. Charlton Community were lucky to still be in the game and they seemed to pour forward just before half time in search of an undeserved equaliser.

They hit back with a response at the right time albeit down to a goalkeeping error and they crept back into the game with the killer instinct suited to such an important game. They get a free kick and it’s hammered in at the goalkeeper from 25 yards by Wilcox. Cross saves it but the rebound drops straight in front of the goal and the fox in the box, Williams, pounces at the first time of asking and pulls the game back to 1 -1. Charlton Community celebrate in a relieved fashion as they equalize just before half time. Perfect timing.

Bridon are disappointed to concede that goal but they are almost irked by the cheek of the opposition in doing so. They know half time is drawing. They come out with all guns blazing again.

In search of the lead Bridon are met by Sennington who stops a shot from Doherty curling into his bottom left corner. The sustained pressure continues and Bridon breakthrough again. Gyamfi was again at the peak of his poaching powers. He diverted a shot from Farrar goal ward bound. 2 -1 just in the nick of half time which is the least Bridon deserve.

As half time whizzes by the game starts in the same robust fashion. It’s not long before the game flies past such is the excitement. 15 minutes left and it begins to get edgy. A Beckham-esque cross from Farrar is nodded back across Sennington by Doherty and it loops into the back of the net. Perfect header, 3 -1, the game surely should be over.

That isn’t the idea of Charlton Community who are like a boxer that stays in the bout till the end. They score again within a matter of minutes to set up what will be a nervy finale. Paterson beats Cross with a placed shot. 3 -2.

5 minutes are left for Charlton Athletic to score but the resolute defending of West leaves Williams and Co frustrated as they can’t seem to get the crucial goal. In a matter of time Bridon deliver the fatal knock out blow which totally kills of the game and Charlton Communitys attempt to claw back themselves back into the contest and maintain their top-of-the-table status deteriorates. Gyamfi completes his hat trick with yet another header after expert delivery from Boyer and this sends the team into raptures as they sense victory is on the horizon.

With the lack of time and the stone-faced determined defence of Bridon, at a minimum and a maximum respectively, it was a matter of time before the referee drew an end to a slug fest of football which puts Bridon Ropes top of the league. This was definitely a game for the cool heads.

Reported by Floyd Francis May 1st 2010