Football

5th September 2015: Theo bags brace as Cloid continues

Posted on by TremendArse

Welcome back. I was going to watch England’s game in San Marino today, but then I remembered I’d rather go to a back-street dentist for some molar extractions, before settling down to watch the Chelsea season-review DVD dressed in a Spurs kit, so I gave it a miss and vacuumed my car instead.

England’s consistent selection of James Milner in midfield and a Wayne Rooney who’s about as mobile as a mountain as a lone front man irks me enough, but to then see them send balls straight out for a throw with their ‘first touch’, whilst playing amateurish opposition on a Sunday league-level pitch is just too much for the footballing purist in me to put up with I’m afraid.

One day, I hope there will be an England manager who picks a side based on which players are compatible with others to create a coherent ‘team’, rather than select ‘names’ because of their profile, but until then, actual tournament football remains the only time I’m inclined to give the Three Lions a watch.

Anyway, a quick check online tells me Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain started on the right of the England attack and Theo Walcott bagged a brace as a second-half substitute. The goals will obviously be a boost for Theo’s confidence, even if they did come against the traditional whipping boys of the European game, and hopefully he can add to his England tally against Switzerland next week before returning to Arsenal reinvigorated in front of goal and primed to put four past Jack Butland when we host Stoke.

And speaking of Premier League football, Nacho Monreal, who overcame a slightly indifferent start to his career in north London after moving from Malaga to establish himself as first pick at left-back ahead of Kieran Gibbs, has been speaking to the official site about the English top-flight differing from La Liga and also how he’s changed as a player as a result. He said:

I’ve always said that it’s a different type of football here. In Spain there is more of a focus on tactics, technique and positioning, whereas in England it is more physical. The fans like seeing box-to-box play and lots of direct runs, so I think on a physical level I’ve improved because you have to get used to English football. I’ve certainly got better in that regard. The Premier League is one of the most popular leagues in the world and in Spain virtually everyone follows the Premier League as it’s very entertaining for the viewer. There are lots of staff working for the Spanish national team who watch lots of English matches and come here to watch us, so I don’t think it has much of an effect on my chances of being selected.

Nothing to argue with from Monreal there because everything he says is true; the Spanish game is more cultured and calculated whereas the Premier League is your go-to division for break-neck speed football, well, most of the time anyway.

And he’s certainly improved his physicality in the challenge. Initially, he seemed a bit stand-offish when it came to attacking the ball but ever since he was forced into a stint at centre half last season, I think the Spaniard has improved his overall defensive game immeasurably, whilst maintaining his naturally composed distribution at both ends of the pitch.

I suppose my only gripes with his game would be his crossing could be more consistent and he could get on the scoresheet a little more often, as he showed he’s quite capable of doing at Old Trafford in the Cup last season, but other than that, he’s probably the best left back we’ve had since a certain turncoat nearly crashed his car and defected to the dark side.

And I have to say, I like the fact both our current first-choice fullbacks are so comfortable in possession because I think it has a massive effect on our overall ball-dominating desires. I mean, for all of Bacary Sagna’s defensive solidity at right back and Gibbs’ lung-bursting efforts on the opposite side for instance, neither of them are in the same class with the ball at their feet.

Of course Sagna’s departed the club but I think the same deficiencies hamper Carl Jenkinson and Calum Chambers if i’m honest, and given the amount of possession our fullbacks often enjoy because of the way we build from the back, having two players like Monreal and Bellerin (or Debuchy) aids our particular style of play TremendArsely.

Til tomorrow.

4th September 2015: Cumbersome ‘Cloids’ and rating Renaissance Coquelin

Posted on by TremendArse

A warm welcome back. I’m glad it’s Friday but sort of wish it was next Friday in a way. Not wanting to wish my life away or anything you understand, but I wouldn’t mind being able to ⇒⇒ fast forward past this annoying void of club football; the likes of which shall now be known as Cloid ©®™, as in, ‘another f*cking Cloid’s coming up next week dammit, just as Joel had nabbed his 8th goal in three games and was hitting some form as well…’.

And there are plenty of Arsenal players in action over the course of this current Cloid, but to be honest, I haven’t really been keeping up with who’s playing where and all that stuff, so if you’re someone who prides yourself on knowing exactly how many minutes Hector Bellerin was or wasn’t afforded on his first call-up for Spain, then there’s always International Watch on the official site for a comprehensive round-up of Arsenal involvement.

My engagement with Cloid over the next week or so will be restricted to random moments when I’m switching channels and stumble across a game in which players who interest me are playing at half pace, trying to avoid injury and get this this sh*t over with as quickly and carefully as possible. Like earlier this evening in fact, as I discovered Mesut Ozil was in action for Germany as they hosted Poland.

From the little I saw, Ozil was his usual silky self, roaming around playing little passes that seem far from flamboyant, but are devastatingly effective in helping his team control possession and create goal-scoring chances. He was sorely missed at Newcastle despite us managing to win the game I thought, so I’m glad he’s back fit and look forward to seeing him return to our line-up when we face Stoke at Emirates Stadium a week tomorrow.

Elsewhere, Arsene Wenger has been speaking about one of his favourite subjects – mental strength. The boss was obviously responding to pretty scathing criticism of his squad’s supposed psychological shortfalls by Gary Neville on Sky a couple of weeks ago, and suggested not only do pundits need other pundits to provide punditry of their punditry, but that back-to-back FA Cups are proof that there is no inherent mental weakness in the Arsenal dressing room. Speaking to beIN Sports (and transcribed by Arseblog News), he said:

Opinions for me have to be documented. We won the cup last year. You don’t win the (FA) cup unless you are mentally strong, believe me. That’s why I don’t agree with that. You have to respect everybody’s opinion. Pundits are just people who are filmed by a camera and give their opinion and you have to accept that but if a pundit gives an opinion and is not right in six months, nobody will come back and say: ‘well, why did you say that six months ago? You were completely wrong.’ It’s just an assessment and an opinion you have to respect. The modern world, people are informed. People are informed and have opinions but at the end of the day someone had to make decisions. People who make decisions have to be responsible and stand up for their decisions and that’s not exactly the same for the opinion. That’s part of our job, to be confronted with different opinions and to accept that sometimes people are wrong and sometimes people are right. That’s part of it. I disagree of course.

Which is fair enough, particularly when you consider a large portion of what was said by Neville revolved around his belief that Arsenal could not win a title with Francis Coquelin as the defensive midfielder, which ignores the fact that the renaissance of Francis as an Arsenal player was arguably the single most important factor in our superb second half of last season.

Plus the fact that the Frenchman is statistically one of – if not the – best defensive midfielders in Europe this calendar year. The guy’s played out of his skin and barely put a foot wrong. Ironically, Neville made his comments on the night of our game against Liverpool, in which Coquelin’s crucial first-half ball recoveries epitomised what he brings to our team; superb reading of opposition through balls and attacks, pace in chasing back, tackling and tenacity. What he admittedly lacked in that particular game was poise and precision in his passing, but then that could have been said for our entire team that night.

Generally, his passing, both long and short, is brilliant. It was his pin-point, cross-field pass which led to our opening goal in May’s FA Cup Final for instance. And for someone who’s not blessed with gigantic height, his ‘heart’ and ‘desire’ (two qualities presumably adored by England’s assistant manager Neville) more than make up for that. Plus he’s actually very good in the air regardless.

I think when insisting you need two, ten-foot tall, imposing, no-nonsense animals in the middle of the park to win the Premier League, Neville’s forgetting his beloved Man Utd enjoyed the vast majority of their success with Paul Scholes and Roy Keane as a midfield duo – neither of whom were built like Nemanja Matic or Morgan Schneiderlin height-wise.

For me, Coquelin’s fast developing into our own version of Claude Makelele (only with more pace), because the thing that set Makelele apart, was his reading of, and efficient reaction to, danger. Coquelin has shown similar signs of game intelligence and if he can keep it up over the course of a season and beyond, ‘the Makelele role’ may well have to make way for ‘the Coquelin character’, in footballing parlance.

See you on Saturday.

3rd September 2015: With Welbeck out, can Campbell be this season’s Coquelin?

Posted on by TremendArse

The rapid returns from injury of Danny Welbeck and Jack Wilshere now obviously take on added importance  – hopefully both aren’t far from full fitness.

This time yesterday, I, like all Arsenal fans, was blissfully unaware that Danny Welbeck had already undergone surgery on the knee injury he suffered in April and would be unavailable for ‘a period of months’.

The last update on his fitness had suggested the former Man Utd striker would return to the first-team fold shortly after the current international break, so today’s news combined with our failure to recruit a new striker before Tuesday’s transfer deadline, now leaves us worryingly short of central striking options.

After Olivier Giroud and Theo Walcott, if you discount Alexis Sanchez – who in his few cameos in the position last term was far from convincing – we’re now left with Joel Campbell as the most natural option at the tip of the attack. I’m almost speechless at how quickly the air of pre-season optimism engulfing the club has been blown away and replaced by clouds of impending doom.

I can understand it of course. A lot of Arsenal supporters when we unveiled Petr Cech at the end of June, were assessing a squad that had finished the previous campaign third in the league and having secured a second successive FA Cup with a convincing win at Wembley and expecting us to mount a serious challenge for the title. Perhaps even manage a sustained run in Europe.

There was also the added anticipation of further ‘Gunner Galactico’ signings to follow in the footsteps of Cech, Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil to Emirates stadium. After all, the new TV deals had armed the league with obscene money to strengthen squads and players all around Europe were expected to be easy prey. We were looking like a million bucks with the promise of a further lorryload of dough. Then came a perfect pre-saseon, including Arsene Wenger’s first-ever win over Chelsea to secure the Community Shield and hope had turned into expectation. Requests into demands.

Yet after two wins, a draw and a defeat from our opening four league games, in which we looked a shadow of the team who sailed merrily through pre-season, and the lack off any additions at all before the transfer window closed on Tuesday, familiar grievances about the manager’s work and the squad’s quality have come hurtling back like Francis Coquelin closing down an opposition attack.

It goes without saying that collectively we must improve to keep pace with a far stronger Man City squad to last year’s, but has any other team suggested as title-winners improved? It’s too early to know definitively of course but given the start of the league season, and looking at their transfer business with the window now closed, I’s say no.

In a very particular order; Tottenham have no chance, Liverpool have lost their influential – if past it – captain, as well as their brightest star in Raheem Sterling, Man United have certainly added a number of players but discarded at least just as many, with those arriving far from certain to be of a higher calibre, whilst Chelsea have lost Didier Drogba and Cech from their dressing room, and only really added the, admittedly undoubted, quality of Pedro to their first-choice selection. Plus the Blues have a manager who’s as likely to cause mayhem at a club, as he is to win a trophy. So comparatively speaking, when you consider all that, we’re not badly positioned at all from my perspective.

But to go back to the beginning of this this post, whilst cover for Coquelin was my personal, primary reinforcement priority, our striking situation with Welbeck out for ‘months’ means another player will now have an opportunity he’d otherwise not have been afforded to provide the ‘internal solution’ Arsene often trumpets.

I have to admit too, that as a fan, I get as much joy from seeing an academy player, or a young unestablished hopeful, go on to make a lasting impact on our first-team, as I do from seeing a world class new signing sprinkle our play with stardust. More so maybe. But I appreciate that’s just me and if you were to ask me my preference exactly as we’re struggling to score a consolation against Dinamo Zagreb, who lead five nil at Emirates stadium in added time, I’d almost certainly have a different opinion.

But until then, I’m genuinely excited at the possibility of Campbell rediscovering his Man Utd-slaying form, his World Cup scoring skills, and proving himslef a left-footed, Samuel Eto’o-style striking sensation for us. This year’s Coquelin-esque, late-comer to the fans’ conscience as a first-team starter, who’ll save us millions in the next summer market and negate the need to sign Robert Lewandowski. 

Seriously though, I still haven’t seen nearly enough of our Costa Rican to form an opinion on him either way, but it’s having the chance to do so that I’m relishing, when the real stuff returns after this international break.

Finally, good luck to Welbeck on what will hopefully be the speediest recovery from such an injury anyone’s ever seen. Just make sure you’re back in time for the Champions League semis Welbz!

Back on Friday.

2nd September 2015: Window verdict? We should have widened the hunt

Posted on by TremendArse

So, after the transfer deadline passed yesterday without so much as a Kim Kallstrom-style scrap to provide supporters craving new signings with something to chew on, Arsene Wenger has confirmed the suspicion among many, that our lack of movement was due to a perceived shortage of squad-enhancing talent available in the market.

Speaking exclusively to beIN Sports, the boss highlighted Man United’s extravagant outlay on Monaco’s 19 year old prospect Anthony Martial, as the perfect illustration of demand exceeding supply like Frank Lampard shopping for cake. He said:

What happened last night with Monaco, who sold Martial to Manchester United for €80m, I’ve heard … Martial scored 11 goals in the French championship – that sums it up well. That means it’s not the money that’s missing at the moment, it’s not the desire of investment that is missing, it’s the number of players available who can strengthen the big clubs.

Which I suppose is true to an extent. Ask any number of football fans to name the world’s top set of true number 9s for instance, and you’re likely to hear the same names over and again; Luis Suarez, Robert Lewandowski, Gonzalo Higuain, Karim Benzema, Edinson Cavani and Sergio Aguero. Yet how many were ever likely to be sold this summer? Certainly not the first two or the last on the list, but maybe, at a stretch, the three names in the middle may have been attainable.

There were rumours of Real Madrid’s willingness to part with Benzema providing they could secure Marco Reus as his replacement and perhaps that’s what led us to believe we could tempt the Frenchman from the Spanish capital. But while we seemingly put our eggs in that one Bernabeu-based basket, accomplished finishers a level or two down, like, say, Carlos Bacca, Luiz Adriano and Jackson Martinez, were being enticed elsewhere. These forwards may not be seen as starry as Benzema and co, yet many would consider them an improvement on our current options up front.

So you could say the Arsenal Supporters’ Trust have a point in suggesting the club would benefit from a review into it’s strategy for identifying and securing new recruits for the first-team squad:

This isn’t an issue that affects just one transfer window and seems to indicate a wider structural issue. In recent years Arsenal have overhauled both their Academy and their medical set-up. We urge the board to now open a full review into its arrangements for scouting and purchasing players.

Yet Arsene can point to great purchases in the last few windows to counter that claim and as it happens, he did just that:

Am I happy with the investment I make? Yes, every time. I bought Sánchez, I bought Özil, I bought Cech, I bought Gabriel last year. But when you have to invest you have to find the players to invest in. The problem at the moment is finding the players that guarantee you are a better team afterwards.

Personally, I’m guessing we may have done things differently this summer given the chance again. Of course I can’t be sure, just as every other fan, reporter or pundit can’t unless any are privy to inside information, but it feels as though there was real desire on both the manager and the club’s part to improve the squad. Like we’ve gambled on first-choice targets being secured and sacrificed second and third-choice options in doing so.

If for example we’d known Benzema was a complete no-go from the get-go, a player like Adriano – the second top-scorer in last season’s Champions League with nine, and just one shy of the number managed by the freakish talents of Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Neymar – who moved from Ukraine to Italy for a paltry fee of 8 millions euros, would, on paper, have been the perfect addition. A relatively cheap roll of the dice for a player in his prime at 28, and proven at the highest level in European competition. What’s the down side?

In fact, to quote Arsene himself, he once said something along the lines of ‘the only guarantee with an expensive purchase is expensive wages’, so why the sudden complete about turn? Why cant we take calculataed risks with all sorts of players if we think they’ll improve our squad over any length of term? If a 30-something player can be brought in to improve the squad for a season or two, a Davor Suker-esque signing if you will, why not?

Then of course we have the issue with our lack of like-for-like, specialist defensive-midfield cover/competition for Francis Coquelin. Geoffrey Kondogbia – who I thought was outstanding against us twice at Emirates stadium last season (once in pre-season and again when it mattered more in the Champions League) – admittedly commanded a hefty fee when he moved to Inter Milan but had talent, time – and hence resale value – going for him.

Then there’s Grzegorz Krychowiak, rated by many regular La Liga spectators as the best out-and-out defensive midfielder in Spain – bar possibly Javier Mascherano, who plays most of his football further back these days anyway. The fast, imposing Pole had a widely reported, affordable release clause and many respected reporters were suggesting Arsenal interest was very real this summer. But a bit like Benzema, he took to social media towards the end of the window to declare he was staying with his present employers. Now perhaps they were both just responding to completely fabricated reports of Arsenal interest, or maybe, negotiations came to an irreparable impasse.

And even if none of the players I’ve mentioned above were ever true targets these last couple of months, surely there are others out there who could have added something to our squad? Bayern Munich bought Douglas Costa and he looks incredible so far this season. Arturo Vidal also moved to Bavaria – would he not have been a better option than Mikel Arteta or Mikel Flamini to challenge Coquelin? How about Steven N’Zonzi as a deputy for Coquelin? And with now relaxed work permit rules, I’ll stick my neck out and suggest there might just be a a few south American stars playing in their domestic leagues and primed to make waves across the ocean in Europe.

At the same time, I don’t for a second doubt the intentions or efforts of the boss and his staff. I think they tried but in the end got it wrong, when with a little more luck they may have been far more successful this summer. Arsene will be the first to admit everyone can always improve and the AST urging the club to evaluate their strategy this summer can only be a good thing. I would suggest scouting should be a key concern if we genuinely didn’t think there were enough players out there who could strengthen our side. Just as with Olivier Giroud and Theo Walcott in front of goal recently, perhaps we need more conviction next time, along with increased awareness of opportunity.

On the bright side, with one glaring oversight in defensive midfield, I still think we have a very talented, exciting set of players at an average age where improvement is almost guaranteed. The rapid returns from injury of Danny Welbeck and Jack Wilshere now obviously take on added importance  – hopefully both aren’t far from full fitness. And this piece on the official site evaluates Arsene’s options brilliantly I think.

Til tomorrow.

1st September 2015: World class words

Posted on by TremendArse

I’d like to assure you I’ve been working very hard day and night to find the world class words that could enhance this blog. Sadly, I have to confess I couldn’t secure any available ones better than I already have.

However, I’m certain I can improve my overall writing with practice, making it more cohesive and fluent, and will re-assess the situation in January. By then, new words may have been added to the dictionary and previously overlooked or disregarded ones may have been brought to my attention or become more attractive.

And I’m still confident this blog can be successful because sometimes, you can have too many words and certain words just aren’t worth the hassle. They can be too old, too incompatible with others and generally of little use in a vocabulary.

On the other hand, the right balance and depth of words is vital and so, over time, I may find I’m actually a little short of options to fulfill my blogging ambitions. I guess I’ll have to wait and see.

Finally, I think it’s worth remembering it could be worse. I may have found the perfect word to do a job for me, only to see it rendered incomprehensible due to an eleventh-hour typo. In that unfortunate scenario, I’d be forced into a follow-up statement detailing why, how and when the balls-up had occurred.

See you tomorrow.

31st August 2015: Gabriel Barbosa allegedly linked as Griezmann teases on Twitter

Posted on by TremendArse

So, the eagerly anticipated final stages of this summer’s transfer window haven’t quite created the crescendo of noise many were waiting for, as markets ring the closing bell all around Europe.

After 11pm tonight, most clubs in the major leagues across the continent won’t be able to sign any new players, but crucially, can still sell to English teams with our deadline for registering new recruits not until 6pm tomorrow.

So far, the biggest deals of the day both involve Manchester United, with David de Gea reportedly set to swap places with Real Madrid ‘keeper Keylor Navas, and Antony Martial poised to sign for United from Monaco for a fee as scandalously high as Diego Maradona at USA 94.

Meanwhile, Arsenal stories this rain-soaked Bank Holiday have been limited to a potential outgoing, with Joel Campbell rumoured to be on the way to France with Rennes. I can’t say I’m surprised or disappointed or anything really, because the window hasn’t shut yet. But if we haven’t brought anyone in by this time tomorrow, I’m guessing my overwhelming feeling would be one of confusion.

Anyway, we’ll deal with that if and when it comes to it but for a glimpse into the Twitter-powered torpedo of Arsenal-related transfer rumours out there today, here’s some of the names to have cropped up on my timeline:

  1. Alexandre Pato – because somebody noticed the former AC Milan forward follows Arsenal on Twitter.
  2. Antoine Griezmann – he cryptically tweeted that he’ll find his ‘match’ tomorrow and advised followers to ‘stay tuned’, which did make me wonder if he was referring to a new club, or a new wag. Both are equally possible at this stage.
  3. Gabriel Barbosa – apparently reports from Turkey, a country he allegedly declined to move to recently, suggest Arsenal are in for the latest teenage Santos striker to be dubbed ‘the new Neymar’.
  4. Edinson Cavani – Arsene Wenger’s been snapped on a flight to Paris which must mean he’s negotiating for a PSG player. Plus Match of the Day and the BBC seem to think it’s a possibility. I don’t see it.
  5. Adrien Rabiot – see above.
  6. Nacho Monreal – he started following Athletic Bilbao on Twitter today and has been repeatedly linked to the Basque club in recent times. It’d be a strange one, although Napoli’s left back Faouzi Ghoulam was strongly linked with a move to Arsenal earlier this summer. Could 2 plus 2 make 4 for once? Probably not now, as Spain’s deadline passes in about half an hour as I type.

And I’ll stop there because it’s rather pointless and also a little depressing. On the one hand I’m always confident in our players, particularly our current collection and also implicitly trust Arsene’s ability to improve them on the training pitch. Yet on the other I can’t get my head around the possibility of Petr Cech being our only addition this summer, particularly when we’re so awash with disposable income for player investment.

Moving away from transfer talk and the boss has been talking to the official site about David Ospina’s reaction to being demoted to reserve keeper and how he expects the Columbian to challenge Cech for a starting place. He said:

He’s responded very well. David Ospina is a very strong man and a fantastic goalkeeper. He’s ready for the fight and will give Petr Cech a hard time. There will be enough room for him to play games as well, maybe sometimes to come in during the season. Why shouldn’t he be able to win his No 1 shirt back? That’s the target for him and I’m convinced he will fight for that.

I think it’s safe to suspect that barring any injury or suspension for Cech, Ospina’s best-case scenario would see him start all our domestic cup games this season but personally I’m glad we have genuine quality in reserve should he be needed in the two main competitions. Now if we could just add the same depth to the defensive midfield and central striker positions …

Back tomorrow when, with a little luck, I’ll have a new signing or two to talk about.

See you next month.

30th August 2015: Can we compete with City splashing obscene cash?

Posted on by TremendArse

A warm Sunday welcome to you. Man United lost at Swansea this afternoon, joining Liverpool and Chelsea as title hopefuls to drop all three points over the weekend, which considering our own slow start to the season, is very handy indeed as we enter the international break.

Unfortunately, the early-season pace-setters Man City won again yesterday, to continue their perfect start to the season of four wins out of four, with 10 goals scored and none conceded. And just to take the p*ss out of both rivals and fair play regulations a little more, they’ve today confirmed the capture of Kevin de Bruyne for over £50 million to take their spend this summer higher than the GDP of Germany, and leave their first-choice line-up looking a little like this:

Potential Manchester City starting XI

Graphic courtesy of BBC, in case you were wondering

The first thing to say looking at the eleven above as an Arsenal fan is, uh oh. The second is to suggest that just as a fourth placed finish is often dubbed a trophy, ending runners up to the seemingly infinite financial resources of Arabian Oil FC, ought perhaps to be awarded with the tag of ‘default champions’. In fact, make that a merit for third place behind Spartak West London, in which case thinking about it, we’re reigning champions.

Because even the best management in the world can’t compete with such outlandish rival spend, no matter how many people say there’s more to winning than money. At this level of investment, I’d wager Barry Fry would walk the league as Manuel Pellegrini is threatening to do now.

Is it merely coincidental that Chelsea and Man City have won six of the last 11 championships with the other five heading to United, who may not have a bottomless-pocketed benefactor bankrolling their buying, but are easily the most resourceful team in the country without one? Money matters in football and should shape any conversation regarding what constitutes success, so should we readjust our expectations for the rest of this season?

I think we probably should, even at this early stage of the campaign and certainly if we fail to bring in one or two ‘top, top, top’ signings before the window shuts on Tuesday evening, because as much as I take the point that improvement can be achieved on the training pitch and through the development of our current set of players, there’s also an intangible ‘lift’ that sweeps up a squad when a quality new team-mate arrives from elsewhere.

And I think we saw that best in recent times with the arrival of Mesut Ozil in 2013 when we recovered from an opening day defeat by Aston Villa to lead the table for half the season. Arsene Wenger as always, was asked about his transfer plans following the win at Newcastle yesterday and came up with a familiar response:

We are open and we are in the transfer market. If we find an exceptional player in any sector, we will do it. At the moment I don’t know if something will happen or not.

A predictable response from the boss there and with less than 48 hours of the market to run and no noises of any incomings at all, let alone game-changing captures, it did make me wonder how costly a strategy waiting for rivals to show their hand might prove. I mean, the widely held belief all summer has been that we’re waiting for the end of the window for an Ozil-like superstar to become available at the last minute and there’s few players out there who could markedly improve our squad otherwise.

But having watched Roma host Juventus earlier today, I felt two strikers were on show who would have significantly improved our current options and who have both changed clubs this summer – Edin Dzeko and Paulo Dybala. That said, Dybala reportedly chose to remain in Italy despite our interest and City may not have done business with us for Dzeko on the basis we’d be competing in the same league.

But still, it reminded me that to think only a handful of players out there could make us a better team is silly. There are plenty, as along as we identity and pursue them. We may, I fear, have become obsessed with the top draw of the transfer chest when there are rubies and diamonds residing in ones beneath, albeit covered and surrounded by counterfeit crap like Danny Ings (this year’s pointless and baffling Liverpool purchase like Rickie Lambert was last).

You don’t have to shop at Harrods to buy a Rolex, or something, although mistaking a Casio for a Cartier, admittedly becomes an increased possibility in what are usually the frenzied last few hours of shopping. So watch out Arsene – we can all do without another Kallstrom, if a Krychowiak really is a no-go.

See you next week.

29th August 2015: One-nil to The Arsenal in snoozefest

Posted on by TremendArse

Welcome back. It was a case of points over performance for Arsenal today, as a deflected second-half strike by Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain secured us three precious points at Newcastle, from what was a pretty forgettable game.

After saying yesterday that I didn’t think Arsene Wenger would drop Olivier Giroud or play both the Ox and Theo Walcott together from the start, of course the boss did just that. Walcott replaced Giroud at the tip of our attack and the Ox came in for an injured Mesut Ozil to play on the right, with Ramsey shifting across to take his place behind the striker. Less surprisingly, Laurent Koscielny had recovered from his back injury and replaced Calum Chambers in what was the third and final change from Monday night.

Right from the off it became apparent the hosts would defend deep and in numbers and struggled to get near the ball as we bossed possession without looking too dangerous in the opening exchanges. Theo Walcott made a couple of decent runs but it was a foray from fullback that drew the first major talking point as Hector Bellerin was fouled inside the penalty area by Florian Thauvin.

It was as clear a penalty as Jose Mourinho is a pr*ck, yet somehow the referee played on. I think to be fair to the official, he didn’t spot the contact but then again, he should have been better positioned to ensure he could. Yet we did take a sort of lead soon afterwards – in terms of the number of players on the pitch

Just after the quarter-hour mark, Newscastle’s new signing Aleksandar Mitrovic mistook Francis Coquelin’s shin for the ball, came in with a stampy ‘challenge’ and received a straight red card from the referee. Cue mass hysteria from a noisy home support but the the decision stood and off sauntered their new ‘star’ striker.

Now with a numerical advantage, we controlled proceedings even more but still couldn’t find a breakthrough as Walcott went AWOL from the game, Ramsey ran around a lot but did nothing of any note, the Ox played like he couldn’t be arsed/had never played football before, and a slow, dry pitch sucked any zip from our passing. Oh, and about 24 Newcastle players got booked as they tried to hack down anyone in sight.

The second half began with more of the same as any remote glimpse of our goal Newcastle had was easily blocked out by our defence, where Gabriel again impressively played with the minimum of fuss and the maximum of focus. Petr Cech was so inactive, he must have been tempted to ring a pal for a catch-up.

Then finally, our possession and patience paid dividends on 52 minutes when the Ox produced his only piece of play reminiscent of a footballer and drove the ball towards the far corner following two blocked attempts at goal by team-mates. It was actually going wide but the poor man’s Carles Puyol – Fabricio Coloccini – deflected the ball into his own net.

After that, Giroud came on for Where’s Walcott and sliced an effort so wide the ball ended up in Sunderland, and Mikel Arteta entered the ‘action’ for the Ox as the game drifted to a tame conclusion. As you may have guessed by the tone of this post, I didn’t really enjoy the match that much. I’ve seen better, let’s just say. Yet the points more than make up for my lack of entertainment and I’m sure we’ll find our finishing boots and jogo bonito, rat-a-tat rhythm soon after the international break.

Afterwards, Arsene gave his thoughts on the game:

Patience and nerves (were key). I believe that we needed to not rush our game, to wait for our chances and to take one of them. I must say that Newcastle decided from the start to make the game quite physical and we had to keep our nerves and not become a little bit aggressive as well. I thought we did that well. Afterwards it was a strange game. You play away from home, 11 against 10, and you know that they will play 15 yards deeper, you play 10 against nine in the final third, the crowd is behind their team which puts pressure on the referee, and then it’s very difficult. We didn’t find the space. They defended well and they’ve shown why they didn’t concede at Manchester United as well. We are happy to have the three points and to win 1-0.

The boss also touched on Walcott’s performance, suggesting Mitrovic’s dismissal led to Newcastle defending deeper which in turn denied the England international the space Arsene had envisaged him getting:

I expected more space for Theo Walcott. At the start it looked quite promising but after 15 minutes it was a different problem for us. There was no space behind their defenders, the service through their lines was very difficult and they defended very well.

Which is very diplomatic of the boss and obviously has an element of truth but for me, Theo’s problem wasn’t a lack of space, it’s a lack of balls. He’s simply far too timid anywhere he plays on the pitch, and against the uncompromising, oafish centre backs that populate the Premier League, he becomes not so much a passenger in proceedings as a sleepy spectator. He may as well get his video camera out like it’s Germany 2006.

I’m sorry if this sounds harsh but it’s frustrating to see a player who I rate very highly – more so than most – being held back by a lack of fire in his belly and a complete lack of confidence. I think Theo’s finishing, pace, movement is all top notch and he has a better footballing brain and first touch than people give him credit for.

But he needs to ‘man up’ for want of a better phrase. Whether he ever will, I’m starting to doubt but if I could offer him any words of advice as a mere fan from afar, it would be play with more mental freedom Theo, take more risks, back your ability and don’t be afraid to make mistakes because everybody does. As the old adage advises: get stuck in!

Back Sunday.

27th August 2015: Familiar foes in Champions League

Posted on by TremendArse

Evening all. The draw for the group stages of the Champions League was made earlier today and we were pitted against Bayern Munich, Olympiacos and Dinamo Zagreb in Group F, which, looking at Manchester City’s group, I’m not going to complain about too much. Or at all in fact.

Typically, Chelsea and Man United were put in groups their under 9s would top, but ours looks pretty straight forward too, Bayern aside of course. I mean, not to sound complacent or cocky, but if we can’t at least secure second spot in this group then I’d give the entire squad a free transfer because they’d deserve it frankly.

But far from such a shocking scenario occurring, the early-season optimist in me sees no reason why we can’t actually top the group, handing Pep Guardiola’s Bayern a beating or two along the way. I mean, in our four recent meetings with the German champions, we’ve won one and drawn the other of two away games, while our two losses at home had mitigating circumstances.

When they beat us 3-1 at Emirates stadium in February 2013, our team was very different to the one we have now, and by different, I mean much worse. A year later, Wojciech Szczęsny was sent off early on, handing the visitors a numerical advantage for most of the match.

So I don’t think it’s a foregone conclusion at all that Bayern will top the group, no matter how likely Owen Hargreaves thinks it is. Time will tell I guess and of course there’s also the possibility that finishing second can provide a more favourable draw in the next round so there’s always that to consider too.

The only side that truly worries me in Europe is Barcelona, with their three footballing freaks up front and an already perfectly balanced midfield now strengthened by this summer’s capture of Arda Turan. Other than the Catalans though, bring them on I say. Surely it has to be our year some season soon, so why not this?

Speaking of the current European champions, Theo Walcott has been talking to the official Arsenal magazine about his memories of facing Lionel Messi and co in the Champions League quarter finals in 2010, and recalled a pretty amusing anecdote about his visit to Camp Nou, saying:

That [home leg] was a great night and a great performance. I also remember something which happened before the return leg in Spain. I was doing the press conference at the Nou Camp the night before the game and I saw Lionel Messi at the top of the stairs. I was chatting to him, then the boss came up to me afterwards and joked, ‘Theo, why didn’t you push him down the stairs?!’. That has never left me, I thought it was brilliant, really funny from the boss. I think he scored four goals the next day as well. It’s things like that that are great memories, because people don’t see that side of it. That home game against Barcelona was definitely something special though.

Yeah, so, on second thoughts, I’m not sure Theo should find Messi scoring four against us funny but I think he was talking just about the stairs bit in fairness. But moving away from the draw in Monaco and onto a former Monaco manager, Arsene Wenger held his pre-match press conference today as we prepare to travel to Newcastle for Saturday’s Premier League clash.

I’ll talk more about team news in tomorrow’s blog, as well as the usual answers Arsene provided regarding transfers etc, but I do have his thoughts on our pairing with Spurs in the third round of the Capital One Cup. He said:

It’s an interesting draw and we have had some fierce competition with Tottenham over the years, even in the League Cup. It will be interesting but for us it’s an opportunity to go through and we will take the competition seriously.

Interesting. Anyway, I’m afraid it’s just a short post today because I have stuff to do. And by stuff I mean sleep. Early start in the morning, you know how it is.

Laters.

26th August 2015: Draws galore

Posted on by TremendArse

Welcome back. The draw for the third round of the League Cup was made last night and we got Tottenham away. Nothing much to add really, other than Sky Sports will be showing it live and I’m looking forward to Jeff Reine-Adelaide taking the tournament by storm.

Incidentally, the draw for the group stages of the Champions League is made tomorrow afternoon and looking at this piece on the official site, I’ll take PSV Eindhoven, Olympique Lyonnais and Malmo please. More likely though, is that we’ll get PSG, Sevilla and Wolfsburg, giving our new signings Edinson Cavani, Grzegorz Krychowiak and Kevin de Bruyne the opportunity to return to their former stomping grounds.

In seriousness though, it feels a bit odd seeing the likes of Real Madrid, winners of the competition as recently as 2014, in Pot 2, whilst Pot 1 is populated by teams such as Benfica, Zenit and PSV, but then I guess it is called the Champions League for a reason, so having domestic title winners in the top pot makes sense.

The changes in regulation for how seeds are selected also provides potential for some really big games in the group stages, which perhaps the competition as a whole could do with given the mundane manner of many group stage fixtures in previous years.

And speaking of draws, following ours with Liverpool on Monday night, Mesut Ozil has been speaking to Arsenal Player about his desire to add more goals to his game. Yet the German also pointed out that his signature skillset remains picking out a pass and ensuring he does the right thing for the team is paramount. He said:

I want to score more goals than in the last two seasons and that’s my aim for this season. What’s important firstly is that we are successful as a team. That’s most crucial for us and as I said, for me it’s not just goals and assists that mean everything, what’s more important is that we’re successful as a team. My aim is to help the team and I’ll do all I can to achieve that. In truth I’m more the sort of player who doesn’t really go for goal, I tend to look for my team-mates and think, ‘Can I play this pass?’. I think now and then I need to become a bit more selfish – then I’d definitely score more goals. But I’m a player who thinks for the team first and not for my own needs and that’s why I will carry on to play the way I always do. I think that’s one of my distinguishing characteristics.

Whilst it’s great to hear Mesut making noises about upping his goals output, I hope more of his colleagues are doing the same because Francis Coquelin aside, the other five members of any front six we choose should be regularly contributing to our tally. Particularly while our 70 goal-a-season, universe-class striker remains elusive in the transfer market.

One such player is Santi Cazorla and the perma-grinning, string-puller has also been talking to Arsenal Player about how he loves his role in the middle of the park as he gets lots of touches of the ball and that makes him as happy as Wayne Rooney at Wimpy. The Spaniard said:

I’m always ready to play in any position on the field. Luckily I’ve played in many different places, such as both wings, behind the striker or as a midfielder. Therefore, I am no stranger to this new position. As soon as the manager informed me about my role change, I told him I was ready for it. To be honest I’ve found myself very comfortable in this new position since the very first day. I’m a player who needs to touch the ball as much as possible and for any possible purpose on the pitch, from giving an assist to a short pass. The more I touch the ball, the more confident I get and that’s why I need to have contact with the ball. If I don’t touch it for a period of time I feel uneasy. Thanks to playing in this new position, I’m touching the ball a lot and that makes me happy. I’m loving my new position on the pitch.

And I’m loving you in your new position too Santi, most of the time anyway. I mean, I understand there are certain games where, as Arsene Wenger himself said recently, he prefers the more athletic, physical qualities of Aaron Ramsey alongside Coquelin, but for me, those games are the bigger ones where we may not dominate the ball as much and instead adopt a more counter-attacking style.

For the rest, and certainly at home, I much prefer the ball re-cycling and game-controlling qualities Cazorla offers from the middle. But I’ve said that before. More than once. So I’ll stop now.

See you on Thursday.