Arsenal

17th October 2015: Arsenal wear down Watford to secure 3-0 win

Posted on by TremendArse

As much as Arsenal’s pass-and-move penchant allows us to dominate possession and create a catalogue of goalscoring opportunities in most matches, it also, if we’re at the top of our game, causes our opponents to run themselves to a standstill as they chase after Santi Cazorla-shaped shadows all over the pitch.

That was certainly the case this afternoon as three goals in 12 minutes after an hour of valiant, but ultimately futile, effort by hosts Watford, secured us three more points, saw us reclaim second spot in the table having been dislodged for a few hours following Manchester United’s win at Everton, and ensured we picked up where we left off before the international break, just as we’d all hoped we would before kick-off.

The one change to our starting line-up from our win over United a fortnight ago was the return of Laurent Koscielny in place of Gabriel who missed out on the match-day squad entirely. There were conflicting reports about the Brazilian’s absence with illness and a ‘small operation’ both cited as explanations but thankfully, Arsene Wenger expects the defender to be fit for Tuesday’s game against Bayern Munich whatever the issue really was.

The large Vicarage Road pitch seemed smooth but could certainly have done with some sprinkler action because although the ball ran pretty smoothly, it was a little slow and looked far more physically draining than most others in the league. The fact the ball would hold up when hit long also facilitated the hosts’ deliberate game-plan of defending in numbers and then going route one at every opportunity.

That tactic tested our defence on a number of occasions in the first half and Koscielny vitally cut out a Troy Deeney cross from the left at one point, with Odion Ighalo lurking in the middle unmarked. Ighalo then raced clear on the right but carefully placed a glorious opportunity as wide as Frank Lampard’s waist.

At the other end, Theo Walcott glanced a header wide from a pin-point, right-wing cross by Aaron Ramsey, Alexis Sanchez tested their ‘keeper with what’s becoming a trademark 25-yard screamer and Ramsey himself replicated his miss for 4-0 against United by guiding the ball over the bar from close range following a Sanchez cross from the left.

I’ll be honest, at half-time I thought there was no way Watford could keep up their level of effort for long in the second period and not just because Deeney was blowing out of his arse after about 25 minutes. The pitch and our passing meant I was confident they would ease off, leaving us more space and then it would just be a case of can we take our chances when they inevitably arrive?

The answer, with Sanchez in such sizzling goalscoring form, was provided after 62 minutes. Tottenham reject Etienne Capoue tried to buy a penalty by falling over thin air and Francis Coquelin wasted no time in berating his fellow Frenchman in both English and then, when he realised who the diver was, in their common mother tongue. A bilingual bollocking.

Meanwhile, the referee waved away appeals, Arsenal countered, Mesut Ozil played a one-two with Cazorla taking the German one-on-one with their ‘keeper who duly brought him down. A clear penalty then, had Sanchez not instantly and nonchalantly stroked the loose ball off the near post and into the net to give us the lead.

That made it seven goals in four club games for the Chilean and heralded a bit of an onslaught for the hosts as substitute Olivier Giroud guided an Ozil cut-back from the right into the roof of the net and Ramsey found the net via a deflection, following what can only be described as a barnstorming run by Hector Bellerin on the right. Bang, bang, bang. Game over.

After the game, Wenger described our attacking as relentless from the moment we took the lead and he wasn’t wrong. He said:

I like that we continued to attack relentlessly until the end and to finish with it was a convincing win. We scored five at Leicester, we scored three against Watford today, who had only conceded one [at home], so that tells you we can score goals and we can be dangerous against anybody. We faced a team that was very well organised, very strong in their challenges and very direct as well. It took us a while to adjust to that level of commitment and when we did it in the second half we dominated the game and after the first goal you could see that mentally and physically they got the blow. Sometimes the first goal changes the game. When they had to come out it was much easier for us. We know once we are in full power, we are quick in transition and we can kill teams off with our pace and that is what happened.

So another three goals, another clean sheet and another three points keep us just two points behind Manchester City in the title race. Now to recover and go again when we entertain the mighty Munich in a few days’ time.

Back Sunday.

16th October 2015: Premier League Preview – Watford the first of 7 games in 21 days

Posted on by TremendArse

Happy Friday folks. After a tedious two-week break, club football returns when we travel to Watford tomorrow evening to kick-start a relentless run of fixtures for Arsenal over the next month or so.

We follow up our trip to Vicarage Road by hosting Bayern Munich on Tuesday and Everton next Saturday, before traveling to Sheffield Wednesday, then Swansea, all before the end of the month. After that it’s Bayern in Germany on November 4th before the north London derby at Emirates stadium four days later, taking us up to the next international break.

That’s seven games in 21 days across three different competitions, which will not only have a huge say on whether we really are set to challenge for the league this season, but also shape our campaign in terms of Europe.

Will we pull off a minor miracle and leave ourselves with a realistic chance of progressing from our Champions League group? Or will it be a Europa League debut or maybe even complete elimination from continental competition? The next three weeks will give us a much better idea and needless to say, savvy squad rotation will be key to our chances of success.

Bayern are clearly the stronger of our next two opponents yet Arsene Wenger suggested at his press conference yesterday that he’ll pick his first-choice team against Watford. When asked if his selection would be influenced by our critical encounter with the German champions on Tuesday evening, he said:

Not at all. For me the most important game is Watford because the Premier League is the most important competition, with the Champions League. I would say the Premier League is the most important competition for us.

You can understand what Arsene means here. We obviously start every season with winning the Premier League and Champions League as our two main targets but given our start in Europe, perhaps there’s an acceptance that a first success in Europe’s premier competition will have to wait for at least another year, so there’s little point in jeopardizing a win at Watford by resting players for midweek.

Then again, if you’re more of an optimist, you’ll point out that four group games remain to be played, so qualification is still in our hands and we should do everything we can to make it happen. I guess it depends on your outlook. It’s certainly a bit of a dilemma for the boss but then that’s what he’s paid for so let’s hope he gets his selection right in both games and we can secure two wins.

Team news is that everyone is reportedly in contention bar the three long-termers Danny Welbeck, Jack Wilshere and Tomas Rosicky, although Laurent Koscielny faces a late test on his hamstring and Arsene was due to assess others returning from national team duty a little further before deciding his 11.

In terms of our history against tomorrow’s hosts, despite the first fixture between the two teams taking place as long ago as February 1906 (a 3-0 FA Cup win for us), we’ve only met on a further 20 occasions over the proceeding 109 years or so, with Arsenal winning 10, drawing one and losing nine. But we have won each of our last five games against Watford, stretching back to a 1-0 Premier League success at Highbury in September 1999, when a solitary goal from Nwankwo Kanu gave us all three points.

The game against The Hornets that sticks out for me though, came a year later in April 2000, when a brace from Thierry Henry and one from Ray Parlour put us three up by half time. One of Henry’s strikes in that game saw him weave past a couple of defenders before curling one into the far corner and wheeling away, I think, with his top pulled over his head Fabrizio Ravenelli-style. Thinking back, it was one of the first times it dawned on me that we may have a special player on our hands.

Who knows, maybe Theo will do something similar tomorrow and show he’s got more in common with Thierry than just blistering pace and the number 14. Considering our record goalscorer is likely to be on duty for Sky for the match, I’m guessing we might just get a reminder of that game and his his goals in the build-up to kick-off.

Back post-match.

COYG!

15th October: Wenger hopes the squad pick up where they left off

Posted on by TremendArse

Evening Gooners. The club’s AGM took place at Emirates stadium today and for a comprehensive report of proceedings, including Arsene Wenger’s speech in full, head over to Arseblog News here.

On a busy day for the boss, he also held his pre-Watford press conference at the ground, saving everyone a trip to London Colney tomorrow  – now that’s efficiency right there.

In terms of team news there’s not a lot to add from yesterday’s update; Arsene says Jack Wilshere and Danny Welbeck are ‘progressing well’, with the latter due back no earlier than the start of January.

He also spoke about the squad’s need to ‘reconnect’ quickly after dispersing for the international break having just produced unarguably our performance of the season in beating Manchester United, saying:

We separated on a positive vibe. After, the task is to reconnect quickly because everybody goes to their national teams and has different worries. The target now is to refocus on what we want to achieve. We play against Watford who have conceded only one goal at home and defend very well. They are a very difficult team to play against so we have to focus to get a positive result on Saturday. The level of champions and people who want to fight at the top is urgency. Urgency is something that keeps you alert and we know what will be expected of us. We have to be conscious that it will be a different game but the level of urgency is a big part of success and that is what we work on.

I love that he used the phrase ‘level of champions’ there, because it suggests within the dressing room and in the manager’s mind, we are in a title fight for real this season. In previous years, the hope may have been there but I’m not sure the belief necessarily was for players, fans or indeed manager, considering the profile of our squads then, and the level of the opposition.

This year feels different though. We’ve won back-to-back FA Cups, have a squad with talent and experience, and no team in the Premier League looks nailed on for the title, as perhaps Chelsea, Manchester City or Manchester United have done in years gone by.

One big reason for us to believe we can go all the way is the mercurial Alexis Sanchez. Sure we’ve had good, great and even world class players in between but the Chilean, to me at least, is the best attacker we’ve had since Thierry Henry left and Arsene says the former Barcelona man is even better now than he was in his debut campaign:

He has a bit of a difficult start because he came back late [from the Copa America] and you could see that but now he is back to his level and even better than before. His overall game and finishing, contributing and assists is excellent. He works hard for the team and he finishes. His enthusiasm is contagious. He always gives you hope that he is going to do something and he always gets defenders on the back foot, provokes and that is top class.

Of course, Sanchez is very ably assisted by Mesut Ozil in the Arsenal attack and Arsene says the German schemer’s goal-scoring performance against United just before the international break has set the standard he must now regularly aim to reach:

You want Mesut to score as well in a big game and he did that against Man United. When you are an offensive player that is an important part of it. I believe there are goals in him and in that game he has shown it. I think it can increase the belief and the hunger of the team. On the other hand you have to show that you can come into every game with that focus.

And that’s the key – “focus”. We turned up and turned it on in a big game against a traditional rival on home turf, but we now need to reproduce the same mentality and performance against newly-promoted Watford at Vicarage Road to keep the pressure up on leaders City.

A bit brief but that’s all for today.

See you on Friday.

14th October 2015: Early Watford team news + Wenger on playing away

Posted on by TremendArse

Welcome back. So the internationals are finally over, after lasting for what seemed like an eternity, and as we look forward to Saturday’s trip to Watford, Arsene Wenger has revealed some early team news to the official site.

Mathieu Flamini and Mikel Arteta are back in full training, Laurent Koscielny has a test to see if he’s ready after the hamstring strain that kept him out of our win over Manchester United, and Alexis Sanchez, who was substituted late in that game with a groin strain, yet still went on to play both games and score three times for Chile, has texted Arsene to say he’s fine.

Speaking of our south American superstar, reports have emerged recently that Real Madrid would like to tempt him back to Spain. Firstly, can I just ask Madrid to kindly f*ck the f*ck off – all due respect. We’re readying a new contract for Alexis, and as he said in his press conference after Chile’s last game, he’s very happy in north London.

Secondly, I hear there’s a decent player who plays in the same position over in west London. According to many (Chelsea fans), he’s the best player in England. Go take a look Florentino. Thirdly, remember Karim Benzema and how we waited all summer to sign him and you happily strung us along before refusing to sell? So do we.

I have to say, the mere thought of us selling Sanchez fills me with more dread than I ever felt when the likes of Fabregas, Van Persie or Nasri were about to leave, mainly because the Chilean’s a better player, harder worker and all-round superior human being than that trio of turncoats.

Moving on and Arsene has followed up on talk of scientific studies into home advantage by speaking a little about away form. Interestingly, the boss revealed he asks his scouts for reports on how any potential new signing plays on his travels before making up his mind. He told Arsenal Player:

You could say it’s linked more to bravery – your character is more tested away from home. At home you feel the players are a bit more protected. But what I say to my scouts is, ‘Watch this player for me, but watch him in an away game.’ You want to know how he behaves away from home because usually at home you will be all right. If a scout comes to me and says he has found a good player, I ask where he saw him. If it was at home, I tell them to go and watch them away as well because it’s a better test of their character, their bravery and their desire. Once a player is good away from home, you can say you will consider him.

As I said, interesting. But you’d hope that if Lionel Messi ever becomes attainable for Arsenal, the fact he’s performed far better at the Nou Camp against English teams than away, wouldn’t prevent us from making a bid. Because that would be stupid. Messi’s almost as good as Alexis. Almost.

Finally for today, Petr Cech has been speaking about his favourite save in an Arsenal shirt, which came against Liverpool at Emirates stadium, telling Arsenal Player:

[My favourite was] probably the first one against Benteke because Gabriel tried to intercept the ball when he ran across the goal, and until the last fraction of a second I didn’t know whether he was going to touch it or not. I had to wait and I also knew that Benteke was already there. I thought, ‘OK I have to wait to see if he deflects it towards his own goal or whether it will go anywhere else’, and then I knew that I would have to go fast to the other side. I was lucky that I had perfect timing to get there. Taking information before the situation happens helps. I knew he was running there so I knew that the moment Gabriel missed the ball I had to get there as fast as possible. It’s the awareness that I had two options; to wait and then as soon as the ball went past him, knowing that I had to get there. I was ready for that so as soon as I saw that he would not touch the ball I had already gone. Maybe it’s a bit of experience, but I would say it’s taking the information prior to the situation. That was the key in this moment.

It’s been said before but Cech comes across as a very smart cookie indeed and after a shaky start against West Ham on the opening day of the season, he’s starting to show his true class, making vital saves, like from Martial in our last game.

To be honest, I still can’t believe we signed him, or rather, Chelsea let him leave. Our ‘only’ buy this summer could still prove to be the best bit of business done by any club in the last window.

Til Thursday.

13th October 2015: Welbeck on return, Man Utd battering and more

Posted on by TremendArse

Evening all. With Theo Walcott currently performing like a cross between Thierry Henry and Pele, people don’t seem to be missing the injured Danny Welbeck as much as they might have done.

That said, a dip in form for Theo or an injury to his current back-up Olivier Giroud would leave us with a worrying lack of options up front, so it was great to hear Welbeck say his recovery from knee surgery was going well and that he’s hoping to be back in action around the turn of the year.

Speaking from Dubai, where the former Manchester United striker was visiting the Arsenal Soccer School, he discussed a range of topics including his rehabilitation and our stunning, recent win over his former club. He said:

It’s difficult to put an exact date on it (his return from injury), around the New Year. After I had the operation, I was in a leg brace for about four weeks – which wasn’t easy. I had to do a lot of machine work, about six hours a day. Sleeping in a leg brace isn’t good. At night it’s not comfortable, it’s the first time I’ve slept on my back in years. It’s good to finally be out of the brace now and walking. It feels like I’m getting that little bit closer to getting back out on the pitch. The way we started the game (against United) was obviously crucial for the result, in the end. It was a great team performance, I thought the mentality was spot on with the way we started the match and went about things.

Welbeck also revealed his frustration at not being able to play at the moment, said the squad must continually strive to improve, and outlined the importance of consistency in a very competitive Premier League if Arsenal are to be champions:

It’s frustrating being on the sidelines and watching in – you feel kind of helpless. But you just have to keep motivated. The appetite’s there, you just want to get back out on the pitch and show what you can do. So it’s difficult but you’ve got to see the positive side of things at times. Obviously there’s some days when you just want to be back out there playing, but it’s a process and something that I’ve learnt to deal with in time. But it’s hard. The most important thing, obviously, as a team and as a squad, we want to keep on improving. The way we’ve started the league we’ve had a few good results, but there’s also results where we could have done a bit better in certain situations. The most important thing is we improve on what we’ve got to set a standard. We’ve just got to keep on improving as a squad mentally going into games, making sure we’re right for every single match and not just on selected games. In the Premier League there’s teams in the lower half of the table beating teams in the top half and that just shows you the level of competition throughout the whole league. There’s not one game where you can take your foot off the gas and we’ve got to be prepared mentally, physically and tactically for every single match we go into to. It’s the same for every single team. It doesn’t give one side a better opportunity to win the league. Every three points is going to be vital. And if you get those wins and keep racking them up that’s going to be the most important thing come May.

Nothing at all to argue with in that and the bit about the squad improving mentally going into games is the standout-out comment in my opinion. As much as we marveled at our display against United, just a few day earlier we produced a very different performance against Olympiakos.

The players were mostly the same and their physical condition presumably not an issue, so the logical explanation for the defeat would be a lack of focus. But as Danny alludes to above, we need to ensure we’re tuned in for every game, big or small, if we want to lift the biggest prizes at the end of the season.

Anyway, the sooner Welbeck and our other two long-termers, Tomas Rosicky and Jack Wilshere, are back to bolster the squad the better, because when we emerge from a hectic festive period, we’ll no doubt be in desperate need of freshening things up.

Til tomorrow.

12th October 2015: Wenger gets scientific and William Carvalho loves Arsenal

Posted on by TremendArse

Greetings Gooners. The US space agency NASA has revealed ambitious plans to establish a human colony on Mars by 2030. Can I just be the first to recommend they recruit Diego Costa for the ‘Earth Reliant‘ phase of the mission? Grant a favour for the entire human race and fire the cheat into space.

Speaking of science, Arsene Wenger has been discussing studies into the link between scoring the first goal in a Champions League game and winning the match, as well as which one factor gives a side playing at home the biggest advantage over their visitors. Talking with Arsenal Player, Professor Arsene said:

When you look at the history of all these games, most are decided by the first goal. A new scientific study within the Champions League last year found that, more than ever, the team who scores first wins. Why? Because it puts the team in a very strong position to be able to counter-attack, and that is the easiest way to attack without opening yourself up. Having said that, I think on a longer distance the current numbers about away games will be reversed. I recently read a scientific study that covered all types of sport and what came out was that home teams are still favourites to win games, and not because of the motivational factor of the players but purely because of the support of the crowd. In a variety of sports, they came to the scientific conclusion that the biggest advantage of the team that plays at home is the support of the crowd. That’s not my impression; it’s the result of a scientific study. They eliminated all the other factors that could come in. It was a simple conclusion – it’s the home support that gives the advantage of the team. This home support can also turn against the home team if you don’t start well and if you are 1-0 down, but it also shows that influence is very strong.

Nothing ground-breaking there to be honest, so I’m not sure they needed to bother with a ‘scientific study’ because most football followers would have given you those conclusions if you’d have simply asked them.

Anyway, now we know it’s scientifically proven beyond any shadow of a doubt so we can all rest at ease; positive home support really is like having a 12th man and if we want to beat Bayern Munich next Tuesday, we just need to draw first blood. Simple.

I’m not sure about you, but I’d have preferred a study into why Arsenal win an abnormally low percentage of games when certain referees (Mike Dean) are in charge. The conclusions from that study would have been much more interesting as far as I’m concerned and nowhere near as predictable.

I mean, it could be pure coincidence, it could be that he’s a closet Tottenham fan, or maybe, because he’s just a sh*t ref – but at least we’d know and could rationalize the newest ridiculous decision he gives against the Gunners, which statistically, is certain to be the next time he’s in charge of a game involving us.

Meanwhile, Sporting Lisbon’s defensive midfielder William Carvalho, linked with a move to north London about a billion times over the last few years, has been speaking about his admiration of Arsenal in an interview with Portuguese newspaper A Bola. He said:

I am where I want to be right now, which is Sporting, but if I ever do leave then it’s a sign that my work here was well done. I dream of winning the Primeira Liga here. I prefer not to say too much, but there is a club with which I’ve always been fond of: Arsenal. Because of Thierry Henry, a player with whom I have always enjoyed watching. Maybe this is why I look with so much affection to the Premier League.

I’ve not seen Carvalho play more than a couple of times but according to many observers, he’s a smart, efficient, powerhouse of a performer in the middle of the park, boasting strength, size, decent passing but above all, a reassuringly robust presence in front of a defence.

He was named player of the tournament at last summer’s under 21 European Championships and we were rumoured to be lining up a bid before he was sidelined for a few month through injury, ruling out any chance of a transfer materializing.

I’d guess he’s just one of a number of players in that position we’ve scouted and considered so time will tell if Arsene and his staff rate Carvalho as highly as he rates us.

Back tomorrow.

11th October 2015: Side-lined strikers refuse to sulk

Posted on by TremendArse

Sunday salutations. Man, do I hate club-football-free weekends. The internationals just don’t cut it. Bad teams, bad pitches and disjointed football for the most part. Anyway, the worst of it’s over now and by the middle of the week we’ll be able to turn our attentions back to the return of the real stuff.

In the meantime though, Olivier Giroud has been reflecting on losing his status as Arsenal’s first-choice front-man and showing just what a team player he really is, by admitting Theo Walcott deserves to start ahead of him given the England man’s fine recent form. Speaking to L’Equip, the Frenchman said:

It is something new for me. Whether it was at Tours, Montpellier or Arsenal, I have never experienced a situation like this, I have often played from the start. I need to take positives and to harden myself mentally. I cannot simply take refuge in work. At Arsenal, I am in competition with Theo [Walcott] for the striker position. But he is doing well at the moment, so there is no reason to change. I was in his place in previous seasons at Arsenal. I imagine what he must have been thinking. But I feel that the coach believes in me. It has been for several matches now that I have played less, that is for sure, but I do not need to be worried. I need a bit more game time but also to believe more in my abilities.

It’s been noted by many already but between them, Giroud and Walcott tick almost every box of attributes you’d want from a striker. The only ‘ability’ neither of them possess is perhaps being able to fashion a goal by themselves out of nowhere. Although if Theo gains more and more confidence from maintaining his current form, I actually think that’s something he’s capable of.

Beating a few men before slotting one away, or lashing one in from distance – I don’t think that’s beyond him. I’m sure Arsene Wenger, as he does all his players, will be urging Theo to ‘try things’ in the final third and I wouldn’t bet against him surprising people with what he’s capable of just as he has done by making a success of the striker’s role.

Funnily enough, one of the criticisms leveled at Walcott – not being aggressive enough – by many observers including myself, also applies to Giroud, despite him being built to bully defenders. He’s shown he can link the play and possesses fine close control at times, as well as decent finishing, but he needs to use his physicality far more. Hopefully a new found focus from losing his starting spot will bring that out but he needs to make sure it’s channeled correctly and not like it was in Croatia against Dinamo Zagreb.

Meanwhile, another Arsenal forward, Joel Campbell, has been speaking about his best traits as a player and insists despite not enjoying the best of times in terms of minutes played and getting on the score-sheet, he’s ‘always thinking about scoring’. The Costa Rican said:

I think I’m both (a creator and a goalscorer). I know it’s been many games with scoring, but this doesn’t put pressure on me, although obviously I’m always thinking about scoring. Although I’m not in my best form, I always give 100% on the pitch. I always try to give assists, to help my teammates and to fight for every ball.

I have to say I’ve far from made up my mind on Joel. I’ve really liked what I’ve seen from him in terms of effort, ability on the ball, pace etc and can’t really remember him doing a lot wrong. That said, he’s clearly not quite ready to make an impact on the team and such is our position in terms of striving to challenge for the top honours, we can’t really afford to allow a player to develop in the team at the moment.

It’s certainly a far different situation to just a few years ago when we had several young, unpolished players populating our first team, but times have changed, and I think if Jack Wilshere and Danny Welbeck return to full fitness by January, the best option for the player may be a loan spell away. He’s definitely one I’d like us to keep hold of however, because I think he has it in him to improve an awful lot given regular games in the right team.

See you next week.

10th October 2015: In-form forwards and flowers

Posted on by TremendArse

Evening all. So Theo Walcott continued his fine goalscoring form this season by grabbing England’s opener in the 2-0 win over Estonia at Wembley last night, despite playing from the right of the attack to accommodate Arsenal fan and Freddie Ljungberg wannabe, Harry Kane, as the central striker.

After the game, Theo spoke about wanting to help the Three Lions complete qualification with a tenth straight win against Lithuania on Monday night, the harder tests that lie in wait for the national team and scoring for his country. He said:

We have to be proud of ourselves. Having nine wins after the disappointment from the World Cup and bouncing back the way the players have done – the backroom staff have changed things and things are working for us. This team is definitely hungry and eager to do well. We want to make it 10 on Monday night. It is a nice little thing to have – we want to win every game but we will be more tested in these friendlies coming up [against France and Spain next month] and everyone wants to win competitions and make this country proud. There are some young, eager faces in that dressing room who are keen to do well but we are only going to be judged when it comes to tournament football. It’s a dream come true to score for your country. I’d like to score more goals, but the most important thing I want to play for this team and for us to do well.

I only saw the first half of the game last night and Theo looked every bit as ‘buzzing’ as he’d declared himself at his pre-match press conference. Unfortunately, Adam Lallana, who played just behind him on the right of a three-man midfield, wasn’t really on the same wavelength as Theo, which to be fair, is far from surprising given they’ve only had a few days to train together.

But what that meant was some of Theo’s intelligent runs were wasted, as he hovered on the shoulder of the visitors’ back-line waiting to be released on goal. England’s other midfield playmaker on the night however, Ross Barkley, did eventually reward one of Walcott’s dangerous darts on the stroke of half time, threading a nut-megged through ball into the path of the Arsenal striker as he made a superb run from wide right to the far post, before taking two cool, clinical touches in opening himself up and placing the ball into the net.

People will say it was only Estonia, and it was, but it was still fine movement and top-class finishing from a man at the very top of his game. He’s certainly enjoying a very consistent patch at the moment. Now if he can turn ‘patch’ into ‘season’, who knows how far Theo’s goals can carry Arsenal and England between now and the end of the Euros next summer.

Elsewhere, both Santi Cazorla and Alexis scored for their countries last night and several other Gunners are in action over Cloid so, as always, for a comprehensive round-up of minutes played, goals scored etc, head over to the official site here.

In fact, just scrolling down that page I noticed Hector Bellerin was an unused substitute for Spain’s under 21s on Wednesday night which suggests he’s either carrying a knock, was rested, or Spain has even greater strength in depth than I imagined. Because it would take a cross between Cafu, Lillian Thuram and Superman to keep our Cockney Catalan out of any team on current form.

Meanwhile, Arsene Wenger has gone all Swiss Toni, likening team spirit to flowers, saying you have to continually work on fostering it amongst a squad because it is vital for success. Asked about it’s importance, he said:

You can ask the question the other way around: can you be successful without team spirit? If I asked you that question, straight away you would say no. That just shows you how important it is. It’s difficult to put a percentage on it, but you know without it you have no chance. Afterwards, what is interesting is to know how big the team spirit is. You can have different degrees of team spirit, because without it you have no football at all – everybody would just do what he wants. But how far can you go in cultivating and developing that team spirit? That’s our target. We know that to have a chance of being successful, we want to be more of a team than any other side in the Premier League. Therefore, I believe it’s a little bit like a flower. You have to take care of it and look after it every day, or else it will slowly die. But as well, you can make the flower bigger, better and prettier if you care for it. We believe that part of the responsibility of the players and the staff is to take care of team spirit.

Jokes aside, high morale is unarguably a vital ingredient for any successful team endeavour, no matter what the setting, and I think it’s telling that Arsene has been all-too willing to rid the club of players who’ve reportedly been far from the most pleasant of characters, shall we say, in years gone by.

On the other hand though, in top-level professional football, I think I little nastiness can be a good thing. Some of the best players have had dark moods and providing it’s not too destabilizing for a squad, having one or two more temperamental characters can give you the perfect blend. I mean, as much as I love our current squad and rave about their ability, I find myself agreeing sometimes with critics who say we’re ‘too nice’.

Anyway, ever the idealist, Arsene may beg to differ and argue that quality of football can overcome the meanest of opposition mindsets, but the next time we’re left feeling like we’ve been bullied in a big game, perhaps he’ll revisit the subject. Or maybe he won’t.

Right, I’m off. See you in a bit.

9th October 2015: Gabriel gets real as he talks Brazil

Posted on by TremendArse

Welcome back. A very brief one today because I’m as short on time as Jose Mourinho is in class, Chelsea are in history and Tottenham are in titles.

Gabriel, our feisty, no-nonsense, gem of a centre-back find from Brazil, has been speaking to Arsenal Player about his tough upbringing in south America, and a desire to improve his mother’s standard of living, as being the chief motivator behind his rise to stardom. He said:

She lived in a shack in a favela. I talk about it because I am not ashamed of saying it, and today I am proud of being able to help her, to give her a better life, and me as well because I always dreamed about it. Thanks to God, things are coming true. I have seen many things on the outdoor neighbourhood pitches. I have seen death, I have witnessed robberies, I’ve been robbed in Sao Paulo. I’ve seen many things. I practically grew up with this. But thanks to God I took a path in my life because, for all that I have seen, for the bad things I have witnessed, my life could have been very different. But I was strong. I thought about my mother’s story and told myself that my mother couldn’t go through this anymore. She can’t, she must have a better life. So thanks to God I took a different path and am here today. I am fulfilling a dream I had since I was little, and thanks to God things are moving in the right direction.

The former Villarreal defender also spoke of his hope he will be seen as a role model in his home country, where the pitfalls in society are plentiful, but a love of the beautiful game and the dream of becoming a professional offer youngsters a route to a better future:

Everybody knows about the corruption happening, and every day is a surprise. So I think Brazilians don’t like seeing that, but the kids have so many opportunities to play. Every neighbourhood has a football academy for the kids to follow this path, which is something I also want for the neighbourhood where I was born. I want to serve as a mirror to them, for them to see that I have gone through difficult times and managed to do it, and see that they can do it too. It’s not just me. If you work hard and respect the people above us, you can do it.

It’s often been said elsewhere that one of the reasons south America continues to churn out more quality footballers than any other area of the planet is because ‘street football’ is still thriving, unlike in Europe and particularly here in England.

I spoke to Tim Vickery, the Brazil-based football journalist for the BBC, about this subject almost ten years ago now and asked him why, in his opinion, other nations lagged behind Brazil in skill etc. He cited the demise of street football as being a major reason. The other factor of course is the one mentioned by Gabriel above – a burning desire to escape poverty which drives kids to give it all their all on a football pitch and in their dedication to the game.

That point was made about Alexis Sanchez recently and although this is a very interesting topic, it’s also one that deserves far greater time and research so I’ll leave it for another time, but I do still have that interview with Tim somewhere so will dig it up and perhaps post bits of it on here at some point.

I know there were internationals taking place tonight involving Arsenal players, as there were last, but I’m afraid I’ll have to leave discussing them until tomorrow or Sunday.

Whatever you’re doing, have a good one.

Laters.

8th October 2015: Stars align to create our formation

Posted on by TremendArse

Like lots of things in life, the formulation of a football team owes as much to chance and timing as it does to carefully considered construction. None more so than our current first-choice selection in my opinion, which, when you scan through it, is full of near-misses, unlikely success-stories and unforeseen captures.

Take Petr Cech, who would even have dreamed the Chelsea legend would swap Stamford Bridge for Emirates stadium a year ago? Or Hector Bellerin, how many gave him a chance of becoming our undisputed first-choice at right-back in the summer of 2014?

If you replace Gabriel with Laurent Koscienly from Sunday’s starting line-up against Manchester United, you’d be left with most observers’ best Arsenal 11 and you could say every player’s success, or mere presence on the list, is a surprise in one way or the other.

Per Mertesacker? Written off as too slow for the Premier League only to become one half of arguably the best central defensive pairing in the league. Indeed, his usual accomplice in pocketing attackers, Koscielny, was considered a liability at the back a few years ago, yet is now rated as one of the best in the business in his position.

Nacho Monreal was never a good enough left-back people insisted, myself included, yet a spell at centre-back last season brought out a more tenacious side to his game, improved his aerial ability and now you’d struggle to name a better left-sided full-back in the division.

Then there’s Francis Coquelin. Renaissance Coquelin more like, from on-loan at Charlton and a failed left-winger in Germany with Freiburg, to statistically the best defensive midfielder in Europe. Mind-boggling. Alexis Sanchez’s arrival from Barcelona – if you saw that coming, even at the start of summer 2014, you’re either high up the Barcelona hierarchy or a big, fat, liar. Ditto Mesut Ozil. Completely out of the blue.

Aaron Ramsey struggled in his early years, enjoyed a stunningly prolific goal-scoring season in 2013-2014, which was completely unexpected after failing to convince for a number of years, albeit very early ones in his career, was booed by sections of the home support and is now playing very, very well in a new position on the right, providing our side with vital balance.

On to Theo Walcott. In all honesty, I’ve been championing his cause as a striker for years amongst friends, and for the last few months on this blog, yet even I’m slightly surprised at quite how quickly and smoothly he’s taken to the role. I thought it would take him a longer stretch of games to settle up front than it appears to have done.

I’ve left Santi Cazorla until last because not only has his reincarnation as a deep-lying, game-controlling, creative yet defensive, all-action maestro been startling considering his past as either a more advanced number 10 or wide player, but Arsene Wenger has also admitted he was uncertain whether the diminutive Spaniard was physically compatible with a fast, ferocious English top flight. Speaking to Arsenal.com, the boss said:

You could question whether he was physically equipped to play in the tough Premier League. It’s true that I had that doubt, but his quality was so big that I was ready to take that gamble. His technical quality, his right foot, left foot, his availability, his vision and the quality of his passing made me go for it. I thought, ‘If there is a team in the Premier League where he has a chance to make it, it’s with us.’ That’s why I went for it.

Arsene also revealed he’d been aware of Santi’s talents years ago and that Invincible Robert Pires, who played with him at Villarreal, had raved about Cazorla’s quality:

After that Robert Pires moved to Villarreal and played with him. Sometimes I asked Robert, ‘Are there any good players there?’. He said to me straight away, ‘Cazorla is a fantastic player’. So Robert was a scout for me! He at least confirmed the impression I already had about Santi.

Anyway, whether it’s luck, coincidence, cultivation or a concoction of all three, our current selection have a mouth-watering chemistry if Sunday’s showing is anything to go by and I can’t wait to see what they can achieve assuming they stay fit.

Finally for today, the FA have fined and warned both Arsenal and Chelsea following the scandalous clash at the Bridge last month when Diego Costa cheated his side to victory, and some of our fixtures around the Christmas period have been moved around for television.

Back Friday.