Month: November 2015

10th November 2015: Wenger named Manager of the Month + Cech on winning ‘every game’

Posted on by TremendArse

Evening all. I wish there was more to talk about, discuss and dissect, but seeing as we’re at the start of the 14th international break of the season (seems like 14 to me), Arsenal news, as you can imagine, is like Riyad Mahrez. A bit on the thin side.

Thank God then, that Arsene Wenger was today named the Barclays Manager of the Month for October, after guiding us to four Premier League wins out of four. To be honest, I think the boss deserves an extra special prize considering the circumstances surrounding, and manner of, those wins.

We blew Manchester United away within the opening 20 minutes, beating them 3-0 at Emirates stadium whilst playing some of the best football these shores have ever seen, and then won 3-0 at Watford, who boasted a mean defensive record at Vicarage Road until we turned up, took it easy in the first half just to lull them into a false sense of security, before casually putting three past them in the second.

Next up it was Everton, just a few days after we’d played a hugely draining game against Bayern Munich and lost Aaron Ramsey to a hamstring strain in the process, and we produced a very professional performance despite tired limbs and a depleted side to secure a 2-1 success.

We then ended October by heading west to Wales and Swansea, where despite being forced to field our seventh choice option on the right-hand side of our attack in Joel Campbell, we produced yet another 3-0 win.

So it seems inappropriate that Arsene should be presented with just the bog standard MOTM trophy, Barclays could at least have pushed the boat out a bit and super-sized it or something. The funny thing about the boss collecting that accolade though, is that it was just last week I think, when he reiterated his long-held dislike of individual recognition in the game when discussing the Ballon d’Or.

Moving on and Petr Cech has been speaking to Arsenal Player about our season so far, highlighting the squad’s work ethic as being key to our fine recent form. He said:

We started very well in the Community Shield, our first competitive game after we had a very good pre-season. Then the first league game came and we lost 2-0 at home. That’s possibly the worst start we can imagine, but we recovered from it and learnt from it. Since then we’ve been picking up points and as a team we’ve settled into the way we want to play. I think everybody understands their role within the team. People try to do their best every day to make sure we are ready to compete, and so far it’s been bringing the success. It’s [down to] the work ethic of the team. You never win things without going for it, without being focused, without being right in the training ground. So far, I have to say that the team are focused on what we are doing every day and I have to say that this is the key. You prepare every day and if you are really focused in what you are doing every day, then you give yourselves chances to win games. I believe that this team has that ability to be focused and ready to achieve. We are giving ourselves the chance to win every game.

I think our mindset in Premier League games so far this season is notable for the how focused it’s been, not just on winning games, but what we need to do to in each one to take all three points.

We’ve had fast starts and games won early, we’ve been patient and secured them late, we’ve dug in and been more direct when our passing was off or we were a little jaded physically, and in our last match, we managed to get something from a game we were struggling to stay in for long periods, with a patched-up side at the end of a marathon run of fixtures.

The word I’d use to describe us this season would be ‘mature’. For the most part anyway. Cech’s obviously been a critical component in our mental development this term, as many suggested he would be when we signed him in the summer, and it augurs very well indeed in terms of our chances of silverware this season if we can just keep it up and avoid more injuries.

See you on Wednesday.

9th November 2015: Gibbs on goals + Mertesacker on mentality

Posted on by TremendArse

Welcome back. So international football is upon us again and as much as I usually hate the interruption of the club game, this particular break is very timely indeed for Arsenal, in that it allows some of our injured players time to recover before we next play.

As yesterday’s draw with Tottenham highlighted, our squad was stretched to it’s limit in certain areas recently, and our available players running on empty, after playing every three days for the last three weeks.

But when we travel to West Brom a week on Saturday for our next game, we could have the likes of Hector Bellerin, Aaron Ramsey and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain fit and available again, which means not only should our starting XI be strengthened but we’ll also have a far stronger bench for Arsene Wenger to utilise if a game needs changing.

Speaking of substitutes, the man who unexpectedly picked up Olivier Giroud’s goal-scoring slack to secure us a valuable point yesterday, Kieran Gibbs, spoke to the press after the game about his goalscoring, the squad’s disappointment in not capitalizing on dropped points by Manchester City, our recent injury worries and more. He said:

The last time I scored was against Anderlecht away last season but in the Premier League it was a few years ago. We are disappointed obviously, with Manchester City dropping points we had a good oppourunity. It was important not to lose this game but now the international break, we can recover for a few players and they can come back fit and we can push on after. It has been difficult for the boss with options so in the last few games I have been coming on and I knew, looking across the bench that, probably, even though I’m a defender I’m one of the more offensive players on the bench. I was happy to come on in a big game like that and get a goal. The boss has been struggling with options especially in midfield and up front, so I think a few of the boys were tired having played last weekend, midweek and today. It was a chance for me to bring on some fresh legs and do everything I can to try and help the boys. In these types of games you can’t give up when you know what it means to everyone in the club and the fans. I think they were great for us today and spurred us on. You have to come on in those games and give everything you can to try and get the boys going. It feels like we are not disappointed because we didn’t lose, even though Manchester City dropped points so it was a good opportunity for us to get ahead of them. But we are going away in the international break and will come back raring to go again as we have a long way to go.

Of course, the concern whenever our players disperse from London Colney to link up with their respective national sides is that they return in good shape and ready to play but all we can do on that front is hope and pray they come back unscathed.

One man who won’t be going away on international duty is Per Mertesacker of course, who retired after winning the World Cup last year and the big German has been speaking about Arsenal’s title challenge, the draw with Spurs and our squad’s mental maturity, saying:

We want to be involved throughout the season, competing at the top until the last second. We promised ourselves to do better than last season, not to drop a lot of points too early. It’s an interesting position but we still have room for improvement. When you look at the first half we need to manage to play a lot better. We lost our creativity and our way to play a bit, but how we came back shows that we have got a good mentality and level of character in the squad. That’s important for the Christmas period coming up. Santi felt unwell in the first half and that was a bit of a disappointment for us, that he couldn’t continue, but what Mathieu and Kieran gave us when they came on is what we need. It’s really important that, even if we suffer sometimes, we can come back. We showed mental strength. The energy and creativity those players who come on give sets the tone and gives us goals. That’s massively important. Hopefully in the next couple of weeks we’ll get more energy because it’s important while having injured players.

It must be said Mertesacker hasn’t been quite at the top of his game recently and in my opinion he was poor in the away games against Sheffield Wednesday and Bayern Munich in particular.

But maybe that’s down to mental and physical fatigue so a fortnight without competitive action might be just what he needs to get back to his best.

Til Tuesday.

8th November 2015: Gibbs’ goal salvages point to keep us level with Man City at the top

Posted on by TremendArse

Evening all. It’s not often I’m happy with a draw, but after watching an injury-ravaged and understandably fatigued Arsenal side come from a goal down to salvage a draw against Spurs earlier, today is one such occasion.

This fixture last year left me frustrated, disappointed and a bit annoyed despite the end result being identical, but today’s 1-1 result has me feeling proud more than anything else. Proud and encouraged. Proud that we found the resources to haul ourselves back into a game we were being dominated in, and encouraged because in years gone by, we’d have folded in similar circumstances.

With half our squad side-lined through injury, and in our seventh game in just 21 days, we were forced to rely on the same set of players we’ve used for most of the season, against a young, energetic opponent who came into the game undefeated in the league since the opening weekend of the campaign.

Yet after Arsenal fan Harry Kane had capitalized on Laurent Koscielny’s poor decision to step up and catch him offside by giving them the lead, and after they’d bossed a first half in which we, in effect, played with ten men, we somehow managed to keep the game alive, conjured an equaliser through the most unlikely of sources in substitute Kieran Gibbs and created enough chances for Olivier Giroud to be ruing not scoring a hat-trick by full-time.

Gary Neville, commentating on Sky, said Santi Cazorla was being ‘harassed’ by the Tottenham midfield which was why, in his opinion, the Spaniard was performing so badly in the first half. Yet any observers who don’t have a fetish for Nemanja Matic’s height and build, would have told you Cazorla was either carrying an injury or feeling unwell, because his participation in the opening period amounted to him being present on the pitch.

Other than that he was a spectator and not, contrary to what Neville said, because he was being dominated by Dele Alli (the new Jermaine Jenas, not the new Lionel Messi, so calm down Graeme Souness). As it turns out, Santi was feeling dizzy and subsequently removed at half-time to be replaced by Mathieu Flamini.

But it was another substitute who scored our equaliser, from yet another assist by Mesut Ozil. The German produced a pin-point pass from the right to the far post, where Gibbs gleefully bundled the ball past Hugo Lloris.

Afterwards, Arsene Wenger gave his take on the game:

It was a very intense game with complete commitment from both sides. We suffered in the first half because Cazorla was at 30 per cent of his potential, he was dizzy. I was sitting there thinking do I take him off or not? You never know, maybe it will get better. At half-time I took him off, and in the second half we had a bit better balance. The team have shown great mental resources, we refused to give up. Tottenham had a good moment at 1-0 in the second half, where they had one or two good chances in the game. In the end, it is a fair point for both sides.

A ‘fair point’ perhaps, especially when you consider Spurs’ superiority in the first half, but if Giroud didn’t produce a horror show in terms of his finishing, we would actually have won this match by a distance.

Our passing game, particularly once our distributor-in-chief, Cazorla, had been removed, was never going to be at it’s best and so we went more direct, sending in crosses, free-kicks and corners which Tottenham struggled to deal with. As a result, Giroud was presented with at least a couple of glorious openings but fluffed his lines like it was Monaco in the last 16 of the Champions League all over again.

The thing is though, were he not in the side, we don’t really have anyone else, even with everybody fit, who can cause anywhere near the same panic in opposition defences as Giroud does through his frame and physicality, and nobody who’d be in those positions to miss in the first place.

So he’s still a great option if we want to be more direct in my opinion, it’s just he’s prone to having days like today when he can’t finish to save his life and it’s unbelievably frustrating.

Here’s what the boss said of his striker after the match:

He (Giroud) is very angry. When you see players happy to miss chances you can worry. He is a real goalscorer, he did try. In the last two games, against Bayern and today he worked extremely hard and maybe he wanted too much to score in the end, and especially the opportunity he had in the six-yard box, but that can happen.

None of which you can argue with really. Anyway, we now have two weeks without a game, after which hopefully we’ll see some of injured players return to give us fresh impetus as we build up to the hectic Christmas period.

Of course there are important players like Francis Coquelin and Per Mertesacker who won’t be going away with their national sides so they should get a well-deserved and much-needed breather.

Back Monday.

7th November 2015: Premier League Preview – We should have too much for Tottenham

Posted on by TremendArse

Greetings Gooners. After our obliteration at the hands of Bayern Munich in midweek, we have the chance to prove we haven’t been deterred from our domestic title challenge when we host Tottenham tomorrow.

We’ll be seeking to secure our sixth consecutive Premier League victory by beating Spurs, so cup woes aside, we’re in great form. Our neighbours aren’t in bad nick themselves of course, sitting five points and four places adrift of us in sixth, and unbeaten in their last ten games in the league. So we’re in for a tough game, made all the more testing by our injury troubles at the moment.

I’m expecting Laurent Koscielny to be passed fit given Arsene Wenger gave him such a high percentage chance of doing so yesterday, as well as the fact he was part of full training earlier this morning if these pictures are anything to go by. Whether he comes in to replace Per Mertesacker or Gabriel is anybody’s guess, seeing as neither of them covered themselves in glory with their performances in Germany.

Elsewhere in the team, I think we’ll be unchanged purely because of the lack of options presently available to the boss. That would mean another start for Joel Campbell – his first-ever Premier League one at Emirates stadium – and hopefully he can perform more like he did at Swansea than he managed to against Bayern.

That goes for most of the team though, and against a Spurs side who have the youngest average age in the league at present, we’ll need to match their work-rate first and foremost, which should lead to our undeniably superior quality shining through.

The fixture itself needs no hyping of course, partly because Sky have been doing that for about a month now, but mainly because the two clubs and sets of fans like each other as much as Wayne Rooney does sticking to an athlete’s diet, which ensures the matches are always atmospheric and keenly contested.

The boss has obviously overseen his fair share of them over the years and has been discussing the north London derby with Arsenal Player, saying:

It’s a special game because it’s always special between the two north London clubs. It’s a game with a big importance in the table and psychologically it has a big meaning. It is always a special game and a game where you want to come out on top. I agree about the power, energy and electricity around the game. It’s more the feeling [that stays with you]. I remember when we won the championship there, and our last game in the League Cup was a frenetic game. But the energy, the intensity, the commitment, the happiness when you’re [winning] – that’s what remains with you.

Just very quickly, if I was to name a few of stand-out derby moments they would, in no particular order, be the title-winning game at White Hart Lane in 2004 and the two sublime goals we scored that day, Kanu’s flick and finish in what I think was a 3-1 midweek win in 1999, Thierry’s run from his own half at Highbury, Ian Wright twisting one way then the other, before crossing from the right to Dennis Bergkamp on the left, who took a glorious touch inside his marker before smashing it home, and of course, Tony Adams’ volley in the same game. (Get well soon Tony!)

To be honest, I, like I’m sure you, could go on all day so I’ll leave it there. Alright one more, Emmanuel Adebayor’s flick up and volley at the Lane – WHAT a goal that was, untainted by his subsequent career path, for me anyway. There’s soooo many to choose from dammit. Maybe I’ll dedicate a post to special moments against Spurs before the next derby when I have more time.

Right, hopefully that little trip down memory lane has got you up for the game, not that I’m sure you needed it, and we can add another Gunners victory over our shadow-dwellers to our memories at full-time tomorrow.

Back post-match.

COME ON YOU ARSENAL! 

6th November 2015: Koscielny faces fitness test but Bellerin ruled out of NLD

Posted on by TremendArse

Evening all. As we prepare to bring a marathon run of seven games in 21 days to a close by hosting Tottenham on Sunday, Arsene Wenger has revealed the latest team news at his pre-match press conference earlier today.

According to the boss, Laurent Koscielny has an 80 percent chance of recovering from the hip injury that kept him out of our defeat at Bayern Munich on Wednesday, and along with Mikel Arteta, faces a fitness test ahead of the game.

But Hector Bellerin has been ruled out until after the upcoming international break. Mathieu Debuchy will therefore play in what, I think, will be his first Premier League start of the season, and Arsene says his French right-back is nearing peak match-fitness:

Mathieu needed a little competition. Game after game he has basic fitness and now with another game he should be better.

Let’s hope so. I mean, if we could see the Mathieu Debuchy of early last season, the one with the mohican hair-cut, determined attitude and high levels of self-confidence, as opposed to the sluggish, distant and defensively suspect version we’ve seen this, then that would obviously help our cause no end against Spurs and their youthful, high-energy side.

And perhaps we will, finally. As the boss says, Mathieu is improving physically game by game and now nearing his best shape. I do wonder if all he actually needs is just a trip to the barbers though …

Of course every Premier League game is a ‘big’ one for us at the moment as we try to match Manchester City stride for stride at the top of the table, but being the north London derby obviously gives this fixture added significance, even more so as we look to put our midweek mauling in the Champions League behind us.

Arsene was asked about the rivalry between the two north London clubs and whether ‘the gap’ between them had narrowed but he remained modest and insisted:

They have been a threat every year since I’ve been here. In the last 20 years, they always had very strong teams and let’s not forget that some periods we were eight or nine points behind them in April, so they have had very strong teams. This year they are younger, they work very hard and they will be a tough opponent again – they are every year. I enjoy [the derby] because I believe that what you want in football is to play games that are important and where there is an excitement in the preparation, games that have meaning for everybody. Football can give special emotions to people and you want to be part of that.

As much as I respect Arsene for being typically polite and professional, I’d have loved for him to have just shrugged and said:

Spurs? Well, they’re a bit shit, they’ve always been a bit shit, and they’ll always be a bit on the shit side – the gap’s more a colossal chasm.

But I suppose we have Jack Wilshere to tell it like it is when it comes to that lot, so we shouldn’t complain. Anyway, moving away from the derby for now and the boss has been fulsome in his praise for summer signing Petr Cech.

Calling him one of the greatest ‘keepers to ever play on these shores, Arsene suggested the former Chelsea man could play on for a good four or five years yet, despite being 33 already, and said he wasn’t surprised Cech was closing in on David James’ record of 169 Premier League clean sheets, saying:

I believe that there is no coincidence. What is repeated is not coincidence, it is just class. As well, not only class but dedication and consistency of quality. Knowing him well now after a few months, I’m not surprised by this kind of achievement because he is absolutely dedicated to his job, he analyses absolutely everything and is gifted as well. He is a super talent. He is certainly one of the greatest goalkeepers we have ever seen here in this country. He plays in a position where age is less of a restriction than in any other job. Until 37 or 38 I consider that a goalkeeper can be completely able to play at this level.

To add a bit of context, Cech has managed 167 clean sheets so far from just 337 games, whereas it took James 567 to set his record.

But it’s not just in England Cech’s eyeing top spot for shut-outs, he’s currently third in the Champions League list with 45, behind only Edwin van de Sar who has 50, and Iker Casillas who’s managed 51. Again though, Cech has achieved his haul in far fewer games, having played 107 compared to Casillas’ 153.

There will be those who try to taint Cech’s achievements by pointing out he was massively aided by Chelsea being the most defensive-minded club side in history, over this past decade or so, but that would be unfair.

Yes the Blues have parked the bus most weeks since 2004, but behind that bus they’ve undoubtedly had one of the finest goalkeepers of the modern era. I’m just glad we can now call him ours and that he’ll set those records as a Gunner.

Back with a Spurs-preview on Saturday.

Have a good one.

5th November 2015: Brutal beating by Bayern must be proven a blip

Posted on by TremendArse

Welcome back. So I thought we ought to brace ourselves for a Bayern Munich onslaught in yesterday’s pre-game post, but not for a second did I think the Germans would beat us 5-1.

Yet that was before we knew Laurent Koscielny would join Hector Bellerin in missing the match through injury, and although I was still pretty confident with our starting defensive line-up, with Gabriel coming in to partner Per Mertesacker in the middle, in the end, Koscielny proved one first-choice absentee too far.

Our win over Bayern at Emirates stadium a fortnight ago was built on a highly-organised and determined defensive display, but last night, we lacked both organisation and determination I felt.

Gabriel goofed by stupidly stepping up to allow Robert Lewandowski to glance home a headed opener after just ten minutes, and the writing was very much on the wall, even at that early stage of proceedings.

Next up to cock-up was Mertesacker, who repeated his inexplicable ‘defending’ from a week ago against Sheffield Wednesday, by refusing to attempt what appeared an easy block on an opposition shot, allowing Thomas Muller to make it 2-0 from from inside our box just before the half-hour mark.

Then Santi Cazorla was too easily dispossessed some 25 yards from our goal, David Alaba robbing him of the ball before shooting unchallenged, albeit quite brilliantly, beyond Petr Cech’s grasp. Three nil, with the third conceded right on half-time.

The irony was that when we did attack during that first period, we looked dangerous and our hosts vulnerable. Perhaps that was due to the slightly surprising exclusion of Arturo Vidal from his starting team by Pep Guardiola.

The Catalan coach, who revealed during his time as Barcelona boss, that he would lock himself away before a big game to devise a tailored tactical plan to win the match, must have done something similar before last night’s.

At Emirates stadium, he played with a trio in the middle of the park in Xabi Alonso, Thiago Alcantara and Vidal, with Douglas Costa wide left, and Muller wide right of Lewandowski. But yesterday, he dropped Vidal to the bench, stationed Kingsley Coman very wide on the left flank, Costa very wide on the right one, and played Muller as a support striker off of Lewandowski.

That meant they had one less body in the middle of the park but an extra one in our box and it was too much for our patched up back four to cope with. Their two wide-men also caused our defending to become far more stretched, which in turn allowed them more space centrally.

The fact their full-backs essentially played as auxiliary midfielders, and at times their centre-backs too (!), meant they were susceptible defensively at times, but more importantly, ensured we were pinned back and forced to defend very deep for most of the match.

Anyway, tactical nuances aside, they went four nil up 10 minutes into the second half as Arjen Robben sauntered onto the pitch as a substitute for Coman and casually stroked the ball home at the near post with his first touch of the game. Not one Arsenal defender had, evidently, paid the slightest bit of attention to the fact one of the world’s best players had just entered the action against them.

Our only highlight of the night came in the 69th minute when Alexis Sanchez found Olivier Giroud with a nice pass and the Frenchman acrobatically dispatched the ball past Manuel Neuer with some aplomb. Then just before the final whistle, Costa went through the gears and through the middle of our midfield unchallenged, teed up Muller, and he guided the ball home at the near post with clinical precision.

Afterwards, Arsene Wenger was far from pleased with his side’s defending but praised Bayern, saying:

You have to give credit to Bayern first for their quality and on top of that we made things quite easy for them. It was a bad defensive performance and we were extremely poor defensively. We were not at the races. The funny thing is that when we went forward we created good chances. We had a chance to score early but with a defensive performance like that, you go nowhere.

To defend our defending for a moment though, this was our sixth game of seven in just 21 days and playing against a side like Bayern requires a lot of concentration if you want to stand a chance to getting a good result. Last night, I thought we were a little fatigued physically, but also mentally, which given our grueling run of games perhaps shouldn’t be surprising.

When you consider we’ve lost Mikel Arteta, Theo Walcott, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Aaron Ramsey, Bellerin and Koscielny during that period, having to play every three days surely has to be seen as a big contributory factor to their injuries.

Regardless of injury worries however, we can’t allow this loss to affect our promising Premier League form so far this season – a win over Tottenham on Sunday would show we haven’t.

Back Friday.

4th November 2015: Champions League Preview – Braced for Bayern, the brilliant ball hogs

Posted on by TremendArse

Welcome to Wednesday on TremendArse. So it’s Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena tonight, as Arsenal aim to repeat our feat from a fortnight ago by beating the Bavarians.

Brace yourselves Gooners. Because it’s unlikely to be easy viewing later, what with Pep Guardiola’s penchant for creating football teams that hog a football like Frank Lampard does all-you-can-eat buffets.

If Pep’s Barcelona were the epitome of efficiency in possession, he’s fashioned a Bayern side that exhibits similar levels of exhilarating economy, through quick-witted and rapid-fire ball circulation, with a breathtaking killer instinct to top off their domination of the ball.

Frankly, as an opponent, it must be hellish at times trying to stay focused, composed and motivated amidst a blur of opposition ball retention. A bit like those drills you see in training when four or five players form a circle and pass it around, as one poor sod is tasked with trying to intercept from the middle.

If you’ve ever been the piggy in middle in a situation like that, you’d no doubt admit that after a while of having the ball zipped marginally beyond your reach, it’s hard to fight the urge to simply slide in with abandon and clatter into one of your tormentors.

Yet that’s exactly what we have to make sure we do – avoid losing our heads and stay defensively controlled, as Arsene Wenger highlighted at his pre-game press conference last night. And the boss listed this need to stay mentally robust, as part of a three-point plan if we’re to be successful this evening, telling Arsenal Player:

Firstly we need to convince ourselves that we can do it and after that find a strong defensive performance without diminishing our offensive potential. It’s in three steps – the first hurdle is psychological, the second is to be at the right level defensively as a team and the third is try every time we can to attack.

Watching that interview, and remembering Arsene’s comments after the game between the sides at Emirates stadium last month, you get the impression we didn’t expect Bayern to dominate the ball to the extent they did before the game.

Yet once the match kicked-off and it became apparent we’d enjoy a lot less possession than we’re used to, the boss dropped Mesut Ozil deeper and decided to adopt a full-blown counter-attacking set-up during the course of the first-half.

He also attributed the success of our more direct attacking once Olivier Giroud had replaced Theo Walcott up front, to the latter’s contribution in stretching the Bayern defence earlier in the game.

The inference being that not only had Theo tired their back-line by the time Giroud entered the action, but perhaps having to face a very different type of threat in the brute physicality of Giroud later in the game was too much for them to cope with.

In fact, I remember Rio Ferdinand, speaking after the game on BT Sport and from considerable experience of course, saying how hard it would be for a centre-back to have to adapt late in a game from facing the threat of blistering pace to sheer strength and an aerial battle.

Unfortunately, unless say, we unexpectedly start with Joel Campbell at the tip of our attack and leave Giroud in reserve for the later stages again, we don’t have the personnel to do the same tonight.

But perhaps it can work in reverse. Giroud can soften their defence up a little with aggressive hold-up play, before a more pacey, nimble option comes on to run at drained legs. Although the only options we’d be able to call on would be the raw duo of Alex Iwobi and Jeff Reine-Adelaide, Campbell if he doesn’t start, or a defender like Kirean Gibbs.

Time will tell of course but it’s worth remembering that on our two games against Bayern in Germany over the last couple of years, we’ve won one and drawn one despite fielding, for me at least, two inferior starting XI’s to the one we’re likely to boast tonight.

Encouragingly, our midfield terrier Francis Coquelin, seemed in bullish mood when he spoke alongside Wenger at the pre-game press conference, declaring:

We’re up for it and the team is ready.

Let’s hope so.

COME ON ARSENAL!

3rd November 2015: Bellerin blow ahead of Bayern test

Posted on by TremendArse

Hello and welcome back. We’ve suffered yet another injury ahead of tomorrow evening’s Champions League game at Bayern Munich, after Arsene Wenger revealed Hector Bellerin has sustained a groin strain.

I suppose if there is one department we can cope with losing a player in at the moment, it’s defence, but the Bellerin news is still a blow considering how well he’s been performing at both ends of the pitch recently. Thankfully, the boss thinks the right-back only has a ‘small problem’ so hopefully, he’ll be back zooming up and down our right flank in no time at all.

Arsene confirmed Mathieu Debuchy will replace Bellerin for the game at the Allianz Arena, and says he’s confident his fellow Frenchman has the necessary match-fitness to come into the side, having played in the Capital One Cup a week ago. Speaking at his pre-match press conference earlier this evening, he said:

Debuchy will play and I’m confident. I trust Debuchy, he is a 100 per cent educated player in the box and in training. Fortunately he played a full game against Sheffield Wednesday and physically he should be well.

I’m not quite sure what Arsene means by saying ‘educated player in the box’ there, but I’m assuming he means Debuchy knows how to defend, which at times last season, especially during a couple of stints at centre-back, he showed he can be very good at.

Unfortunately for the former Newcastle man, injuries ruined his first campaign with Arsenal and he’s had to sit back upon his return and watch Bellerin play like a cross between Lillian Thuram, Roberto Carlos and Pele.

It can’t be easy as a seasoned, international pro, to watch a player as young and previously inexperienced as Bellerin keep you out of the team, but now he has a chance to come in for a huge game and if he plays well enough, perhaps stay in.

To win back his place longer term however, he’d probably have to help us keep a clean sheet, make five assists and score a hat-trick, because Bellerin has been quite simply sensational. But Debuchy must at least show desire and determination to give Arsene something to think about when he and Bellerin are next both fit.

I mention ‘desire’ and ‘determination’ because on the rare occasions Debuchy has played this season, he hasn’t seemed completely committed, shall we say. A bit sulky even, at the fact he’s now considered a back-up. Perhaps that’s harsh and he was just rusty given his lack of game-time. We’ll see.

So Debuchy will form one part of our back four and Arsene says we’ll need to be disciplined in our defending against the German champions, ensuring we don’t commit too many fouls. He said:

Defensively discipline will be vital tomorrow, of course, but I think we have players with experience at the back and what is important for us is that we show that discipline. We don’t want to get stupid yellow cards and we don’t want to commit undue fouls. We need to manage a good balance between being committed and not giving fouls away.

If there were any doubts as to how tomorrow’s game will play out, Arsene addresses them here. Bayern will dominate possession and no doubt create numerous chances. We’ll defend deep and in numbers and look to make the most of any attacking forays we can muster.

As in the game between the sides at Emirates stadium a couple of weeks ago, we’ll need a little luck and a lot of endeavour to get another positive result against Pep Guardiola’s side, but when you have players of the calibre of Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez in your team, you always have a chance of creating chances and and scoring goals, against any opposition and at any ground.

Of course we’ve won at the Allianz Arena in the recent past, which is something Arsene highlighted when discussing his side’s ‘togetherness’ and how Arsenal will approach the game:

We are in a period where we are doing well and that should convince the players that they’re doing something right. We have a good togetherness and I believe we really are a team who stick together when things don’t go well. We will certainly have some uncomfortable moments during the game tomorrow night but that will be a good opportunity to show our togetherness. In good periods of the game, we want to attack. What we want is to play to win. When you’re Arsenal and have won everywhere in Europe, even here, it means we will try to win the game. Are Bayern a great team? Yes, but it’s a good challenge for us as well to show that we have the quality to compete with them.

To be fair, we’ve already shown we can do more than simply ‘compete’ with Bayern, by beating them a coupe of weeks ago but I know what Arsene means.

It’s a shame we’re deprived of the options of players like Theo Walcott, Danny Welbeck and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain for the game, because their pace is obviously ideally suited to the counter attacking game-plan we’ll adopt. That said, Sanchez and Joel Campbell are pretty quick themselves.

Yet whether the latter will play has come under some doubt today. There have been reports that we may play Kieran Gibbs on the left of midfield, switch Sanchez to the right and ‘rest’ Campbell, which I don’t understand at all really.

I mean, Gibbs is quick but is he that much more so than Campbell? Plus Campbell has shown in his last two games just how defensively conscientious he is, something which as already discussed, will be vital tomorrow evening.

Back tomorrow with a preview before the big game.

See you then.

2nd November 2015: Arsenal should make a bid for Eden Hazard in January

Posted on by TremendArse

Evening all. It may technically still be autumn but wintry weather is beginning to take hold, so if you’re feeling a little blue, due to the increasing chill in the air, the shortened days and dark, dreary mornings of this time of year and need cheering up, just take a moment to ponder the predicament of poor old Jose Mourinho. Then laugh out loud.

Because despite lifting the Premier League trophy just a few short months ago, he’s allegedly managed to alienate significant sections of his squad, turn champions into relegation candidates and leave himself perilously close to being sacked according to widespread reports.

Judging by Saturday’s pitiful performance in the loss to Liverpool, some players are purposely doing their utmost to hasten his departure, by flagrantly refusing to play to their potential. The inertia in their defensive line for Liverpool’s third goal for instance, was particularly telling in terms of how little the players cared I thought.

In fact, a well-respected BBC journalist claims he’s been told one Chelsea player ‘would rather lose, than win for Mourinho’. It takes a special kind of manager to be able to achieve such an about-turn in fortunes in such a short period of time. So hats off to Jose.

The hilarious happenings over at Stamford Bridge did make me wonder though. Should Arsenal make a bid for Eden Hazard in January? On the face it, that seems a preposterous suggestion. Why would Chelsea sell? Why would the player want to move and where would Arsenal play him given they have Alexis Sanchez performing so majestically in Hazard’s usual left-sided position?

All very good questions, so let’s take a little look. Well, Chelsea may not want to sell him, particularly to a Premier League rival, but no objective observer could deny relations seem a little strained between Hazard and his manager at present.

So far this season, Mourinho has publicly criticized the reigning player of the year for not contributing enough defensively, just as he did two seasons ago. He’s dropped him to the bench for a couple of games and against Liverpool, substituted Hazard very early in the second period as Chelsea chased a much-needed victory, only to replace him with an inexperienced teenager in the Brazilian Kenedy.

Yet Mourinho continues to hang on in there as Chelsea boss. If they decide to break from tradition by showing faith in the manager and stick with him at least until the end of the season, it raises the possibility that certain players will leave the club instead, whether they’re forced to, or insist upon it.

In such a scenario, Hazard would be high up the list of potential departures given the above, and if he’s the one to instigate a move, he’ll obviously have the ultimate say on where he ends up, as players always do. The prospect of playing alongside the likes of Santi Cazorla, Sanchez and Mesut Ozil, and working under a world-class manager with attacking ideals like Arsene Wenger, would no doubt be extremely appealing.

So that deals with the ‘why would they sell’ and ‘why would he want to move’, so onto the ‘where would we play him?’. My answer would be from the right in a fluid three alongside Ozil and Sanchez. Of course that would have obvious implications on the futures of several of our current players, but nobody could deny Hazard would improve our squad and our first-team. He’s super, super, top, top, quality by anybody’s standards, except evidently, Mourinho’s right now.

We kept our powder dry last summer because no ‘star-quality’ was available in the market, but Arsene is on record as saying he’d sign players for any position providing they improved our line-up. Hazard would certainly do that. His signing would show we’re ruthless and ready to build on what we’ve done in the transfer market in recent summers by snapping up the likes of Ozil, Sanchez and Cech. Hazard would be to us what Luis Figo was to Real Madrid all those years ago in terms of making a statement.

We showed with our pursuit of Luis Suarez in 2013, as well as Cech’s capture a few months ago, that we’re not afraid to approach domestic rivals for their best players when we sense there’s a will to sign on the part of the player. Any move would therefore hinge on the future of Mourinho but if he stays, I’d implore Arsenal to take advantage of the situation and make a concerted effort to lure Hazard from west to north London.

Back tomorrow when I’ll start looking ahead to our game at Bayern Munich on Wednesday.

1st November 2015: Can Campbell play his way into first-choice permanence?

Posted on by TremendArse

Welcome back. So another weekend comes to a close having seen Arsenal pick up all three points to stay firmly in contention for the Premier League title.

Thoughts will start to turn soon to Wednesday’s Champions League trip to Bayern Munich, but not before we reflect back on another fine domestic performance by the Gunners yesterday, and one player in particular.

Going into the game, all the talk revolved around whether Joel Campbell could perform after Arsene Wenger indicated the Costa Rican would be given the nod to start at his press conference on Friday. Well, just like last year with Hector Bellerin and Francis Coquelin, our injury crisis appears to have provided a platform for a new star to rise.

Of course it’s only one game and Campbell will be judged over a far longer stretch of time, but his performance yesterday was more than promising. Both defensively and offensively, I thought Campbell contributed hugely to our win over Swansea at the Liberty Stadium and speaking to Arsenal Player after the game, the forward revealed his joy at being given a first-team chance. He said:

I’m very happy. I had to wait for this moment and now we have to keep working to strengthen our team. I’m very happy but the important thing is the team wins. We had a good game so we have to keep going and prepare for the next game against Bayern Munich. The fans were incredible. They supported us the whole game and it was very important for us.

So not only is Campbell a team player on the pitch, he’s also tuned into the collective cause in his outlook, which bodes very well indeed. One big reason Coquelin has enjoyed such a meteoric rise in both his standing at the club and the level of affection for him from the fans, is his non-stop work-rate. So if Campbell can, at the very least, maintain his levels of effort in both yesterday’s game and last Tuesday’s against Sheffield Wednesday, he’s got a very good chance of emulating Coquelin’s emergence as a permanent first-team fixture.

That may sound ludicrously premature to say, but to me there’s no reason why Campbell can’t aspire to such a lofty achievement. With everyone fit, and assuming the likes of Theo Walcott, Danny Welbeck and Jack Wilshere are viewed as central options, Aaron Ramsey and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain are probably first and second pick respectively, in Arsene’s thinking for the right-sided role.

But seeing as the former freely admits he prefers playing in the middle and the Ox’s struggles for form, it’s not unreasonable to think that Campbell has a genuine chance to make the role his own if he plays well enough over the next few weeks. If Coquelin and Bellerin can usurp experienced players like Mikel Arteta and Mathieu Debuchy in the manager’s estimation, why can’t Campbell do something similar?

Arsene clearly holds Campbell in very high regard already, as he highlighted again after the game yesterday, saying:

He had to wait, to be patient, to get a chance and he was always on the waiting list. He got through a few countries but he is still very young and I never let him go as I feel he is a good player and on top of that he is a team player. Today he scored one but he could have scored more so that is something very interesting. You see when he has good players around him he is a good player.

As his manager mentions at the end there, Campbell appears to be yet another example of how mixing with higher quality team-mates can raise a player’s level. I think that applies whether you’re having a kick-about with mates at the local park, or at a professional level at the top of the game.

All that said however, it’s worth repeating that Joel has it all still to prove. Playing against one of the very best teams in club football, Bayern, on Wednesday, will of course be another big test for him, providing he’s picked of course. But another defensively diligent display which is combined with a genuine threat on the counter like yesterday, and Campbell will have taken another huge step in carving out a long-term future at the club and possibly even a regular slot in our first-choice selection.

Until tomorrow.