Sat 13th March 2010 17:30, KC Stadium
Archive for Match Previews
Gunners Look To Slay The Dragon Of Porto At The Emirates
Posted by: | CommentsOn a week that much has been made about Nicklas Bendtner’s inability to hit a cow’s arse with a banjo, the usual suspects are trying their level best to create a crisis. The suggestion is of course that Arsenal’s profligacy over the weekend will surface again.
This coupled with the over-sensational focus of the absence of Captain Fabulous and his predecessor William Gallas through injury surely makes for a ’crisis’ headline.
My sense is that a lot of talk before tonight’s game fails to give respect to the remaining members of the squad – who on any given day, are formidable opponents for anyone who would dare cross the white line.
In truth, it was two moments of madness that cost Arsenal the first tie at the Estadio do Dragão 3 weeks ago. I would suggest that such a freak occurrence is a once in a blue moon freak show and it’s not likely to happen again.
Arsenal need to give one of them ”over my dead body” performances and put this game even beyond the reach of any referee or match official, let alone the Porto team.
Porto don’t travel well, especially to the British Isles where they’ve suffered 12 out of 14 defeats, with the remaining 2 being draws. A brace each from Van Persie and Adebayor ensured that their last visit to the Emirates was very uncomfortable.
Hopefully, our boys will remind them that this level of discomfort is a common occurrence for any footballing side that cares to venture into North London. The task is straight forward – keep a clean sheet and score, and Plan B if our defences are breached is to score more than Porto – at least 2 goals more.
Tactically, Porto will try the much bandied about blueprint for beating Arsenal. They will hope that we slip up in possession high up the pitch and they can then use their pace to counter attack.
Any chance of them getting a goal at the Emirates will increase the ’squeaky-bum-o-meter’, and they would hope to use this to destabilize the Gunners.
With Song and Campbell back in the team, the options Wenger has are kinder than they would have otherwise been. My first instinct was to hope that if Campbell wasn’t available, then Wenger should move Song back into central defence and play Denilson in the defensive midfield role.
My take is that Wenger might go with a starting line-up of:
Almunia
Sagna, Campbell, Vermaelen, Clichy
Song, Diaby, Nasri
Rosicky, Bendtner, Arshavin
At some point in the game, you would expect to see Eduardo, Walcott, Eboue or Denilson
Despite the loss in the first leg, the Arsenal team showed enough industry and creativity to suggest that they were the better team then and are likely to be the better team tonight.
Interestingly, the much maligned Denilson was statistically the best player in that first game at the Estadio do Dragão. If you take into account factors like pass completion, tackles and interceptions, fouls committed (or not) etc – the young Brazilian had a game of his life, this despite scaring the living daylights out of Sol Campbell in the first few minutes.
With Alex Song now back as the midfield general, and Abou Diaby also available for selection, it is hard to know who Wenger will go for, though Nasri’s man of the match performance on Saturday gives Wenger a very big headache.
I’m quietly confident that Arsenal will see the tie through but if ever there was a case of a need to show zero complacency, then this is one of them. As much as Porto don’t travel well, they’re not mugs and they won’t just turn up to make up the numbers.
Nicklas Bendtner for sure has some redemption to seek at the Emirates for his transgressions over the weekend – but in the same vein, the young Dane has squeezed Arsenal out of some very tight spots and has shown his value.
His goals against CSKA Moscow and Standard Liege in the last two years in the Champions league suggests that Bendtner is a key part of tonight’s equation.
However, Sol Campbell, Andrey Arshavin and Tomas Rosicky will have to stand up and be counted as the senior and most experienced members of this squad. They’re also the three likely to be on the field who are capable of grabbing the game by the scruff of the neck if need be.
Arsenal: Finances, Prospects And Burnley
Posted by: | CommentsArsenal’s half-year results, released last week, make for comforting reading for the simple reason that despite a recessionary environment the club has largely managed to stick to plan as regards property sales and debt management.
The plan was that The debt incurred to build the new stadium would steadily be paid down with proceeds from the sale of property developed at Highbury. Wenger has also had to keep transfer expenses under check and, over most of the duration at least, ensuring Champions’ League revenues to build a healthy cash flow. Increased revenue from the new stadium, would also contribute to maintaining these healthy cash levels.
That Arsenal managed to pull the lot off in the midst of a global recession is praise worthy, especially considering Pompey’s travails, the fan revolt underway at Manchester United, and the debt to equity conversions by the Abramovich’s of the world.
Given that we still are in the title race, this could be the season where the whole project comes to fruition.
Ryan Shawcross, responsible for two broken legs so early in his career, bravely says “I won’t change my style despite Aaron Ramsey’s injury”.
He certainly won’t unless harsh penalties are exacted for mindlessness. Knowing that you’ll miss a lengthy stretch of games, for starters, and that your manager will kick your head in for inviting such a fate on yourself, your certainly going to change your style Mr. Shawcross.
And is “style” the apt word at all for Shawcross’s exploits? Whatever you wish to call it “style” doesn’t ring true
Arsenal Face Another Battle Of Britannia
Posted by: | CommentsFor the 4th time in 20 years, the Gunners face the drama at the Britannia stadium. It’s the sort of fixture that gets hacks and pundits all mouthy about the other side of football that focuses on physicality and set pieces.
In fairness, it is a clash between two very different schools of football styles. Wengerball on the one hand seeks to use technique, pace and movement as the primary approach to the game. Stoke City on the other hand will do what they do – get physical.
Much has been made about the legend of the Rory Delap throw. However, focussing on this strategy that Stoke employ and forgetting the football that they play is folly.
Stoke will try and mix it – and to their credit, will focus on what strengths they have. The potters have scored 15 of their 26 goals this season from set pieces, 14 of these at home. In this respect, it won’t be at all surprising if they try all manner of tactics in the dead ball situations.
Arsenal Need To Exorcise Hoodoo On Bruce’s Black Cats
Posted by: | CommentsSunderland’s visit to the Emirates this afternoon provides a welcome distraction from the drama of the midweek European tie in Portugal. The Gunners need to set aside the disappointment of the referee assisted robbery at the Estadio do Dragão and focus on the task at hand against the Black Cats.
With Chelsea and United playing away from home, it’s paramount that the Gunners keep focus and do a professional job to collect the 3 points. There’s absolutely no point going on about a favourable fixture list in comparison to Arsenal’s title contenders if we’re not going to do what is required of us.
The reverse fixture at the Stadium of light on Nov 21st 2009 was the first game without our talisman Robin Van Persie. He had just picked up the horrific injury that has ruled him out for the season while on duty with Holland a week earlier.
Some have suggested that the team was affected by what happened to Van Persie against Italy. A more realistic explanation is that Arsenal have form in producing indifferent performances on away games after lengthy international breaks.
Is It 3rd Time Lucky for Arsenal’s ‘Wookash’ Fabianski?
Posted by: | CommentsApril 18th 2009 and January 24th 2010 are two days ‘Wookash’ Fabianski dreads to recall, even though the former date is the Pole’s birthday.
It has something to do with the fact that on those two days, Arsenal were shown the exit sign and asked to unceremoniously leave the FA Cup. They were days that the young goal keeper had ’howlers’ that any professional sportsman would want to forget very quickly.
A mad rush of blood to the head from Wookash gifted an empty net to Drogba last April, and at the Britannia a few weeks ago – he wisened up to the folly of waiting for a Rory Delap throw to come to him.
Let’s face it – keeping goal is a thankless job. More often than not, the keeper spends long periods doing nothing constructive and requires constant discipline and focus to keep up with the game around them.
The problem for goalies is that mistakes they make or momentary lapses of judgement almost certainly end up with them picking the ball from the back of the net. Also, in this media savvy age where cameras cover every nook and cranny on the pitch, the actions or inactions of the goal keeper are easily amplified.
If Bob Wilson was keeping goal for Arsenal today and he had the howler that led to the goal at his near post in the 1971 cup final, Wilson would have had to go into exile, for the Sky cameras would have made is life a misery.
Goal keeping seems to be a subject that divides many observers when it comes to the Arsenal. I don’t recall it being that much of an issue in the past times of Lehmann, Seaman (who was the goalie that I most identified with), Jennings or Wilson.
There’s a cliché often used to say that a good goal keeper can save you at least 12 points a season, and Almunia doesn’t seem to jump out of the page for some when it comes to Arsenal goal keepers. Off the top of my head, I can think of 3 points saving interventions that Almunia made in 2010 – when Denilson collapsed and Everton had a one on one with him; saving Agbonlahor’s shot across goal at the match against Villa on 27th of Jan; and his fingertip save of Ryan Babel’s shot last week against Liverpool.
All of those saves prevented Arsenal from losing or drawing a match and gained us points in that respect. Even so, it’s more than likely that Almunia’s transgressions will be the more amplified for it’s those mistakes that end up with us conceding goals.
Fabianski has had his high profile moments to impress and he has shown signs of a great goal keeper, and signs of poor judgement on occasion. This is not uncommon for a 24 year old goal keeper, and I think it’s important to acknowledge that some things will only come with experience. Good judgement is one of those aspects that will only develop with time and mileage on the pitch.
For the record, I think Fabianski is a very good keeper and will become one of the best keepers in the world. You can see this when he has a good game – the way he commands the box and the way he marauds around like he owns that piece of real estate within the box; the way he comes for crosses and the way he sweeps behind his defensive high line; and his general presence in the box.
What has eluded him so far is the consistency in good decision making. His individual skill and agility is not in question. The only way we’re going to find out if Wookash is really the answer to Arsenal’s goal keeping dilemma is to let him get on with it.
Some may argue that he’s not yet there and needs some more experience, but short of farming him out on loan at the risk of not having a 2nd choice keeper – Wenger seems to be convinced that the Pole is a good enough understudy to Almunia.
The manager has certainly gone out of his way to pump up Wookash by waxing lyrical about his ability to hold the fort. Definitely good people management and confidence building skills on the part of the manager.
My sense is that if the team defends properly as a unit and each person takes their responsibility seriously, it will make the life of a goal keeper a hell of a lot easier. There will be times during the game that the keeper is called upon to do something extra-ordinary and it’s on those occasions that Wookash can stand up to be counted.
Maybe tonight is a chance to prove that it’s 3rd time lucky for him and he can help propel Arsenal to a good position before the return leg against Porto in 3 weeks time.
Arsenal’s European Adventure Resumes At The Dragon’s Den
Posted by: | CommentsArsenal reacquaint themselves with European action tomorrow when they visit the Estádio do Dragão for the 3rd time in 4 seasons. The Dragon’s den in Porto hasn’t been a good hunting ground for the Gunners, having only previously managed a scrappy goalless draw in the 2006-2007 campaign, and a 2 nil defeat last season.
Jesualdo Ferreira’s Porto’s side are in fine form with a 12 game unbeaten run and having scored 12 goals with only 3 in reply in their last 5 games. If Arsenal’s last 5 games are anything to go by, you then realise that whoever suggested that the Gunners are favourites needs to go a bit easy on the cool aid.
Arsenal will have been buoyed by the win against Liverpool having come back from a mauling by both their closest rivals. Both the players and supporters will have taken a lot of encouragement from the collective team effort and the defensive display shown against Liverpool.
In tomorrow’s game, that defensive discipline will be the key. Consistency has been elusive for this team at critical times and this has been a source of frustration for many supporters. However, the spirit and sheer determination shown by the team in the game against Liverpool was very encouraging.
Arsenal has left itself vulnerable in the last couple of losses because of over-committing when chasing the game. You always feel that at 0-0, the Gunners are comfortable and can play a patient game. Our Achilles heel has been the loss of our shape when defending counter attacks against us as a result of the over-commitment in chasing the game.
Against Liverpool, the team showed that they had the maturity to remain compact and hold the game, while being patient for their chance on goal. The same approach will have to be taken against Porto who are in better scoring form than Arsenal are in.
From Wenger’s point of view, the minimum requirement is not to lose the game against Porto, though he will be more happy with Arsenal keeping a clean sheet.
From a tactical point of view, Porto will have watched Arsenal’s recent defeats to Chelsea and Man United and believe that they have the definitive blue print to beat Arsenal. They will look to crowd the midfield and push forward at every available opportunity using the strength of their star man, the Hulk.
I’m not exactly sure why, but I believe Hulk has been suspended from the rest of the domestic season – but he should be eligible to play in the champions league, and probably gagging for the chance to scratch the itch that Arsenal will represent.
From Arsenal’s point of view, Alex Song and Andrey Arshavin’s absence will be a huge miss, though it’s encouraging that they’ll probably be back for the return leg at the Emirates.
My sense is that Arsenal will go with a starting line-up of:
Almunia
Sagna, Gallas, Vermaelen, Clichy
Denilson, Diaby, Fabregas
Eboue, Bendtner, Nasri
At some point in the game, Rosicky, Walcott and Eduardo may feature.
I feel that Wenger will go for Eboue because of his penetrative attributes and ability to run at defences to open spaces. Eboue’s presence also provides solidity and strength in the middle of the park.
For Walcott, whatever time he gets will be valuable especially since he is away from home and there’s less pressure from the crowd and from the media. Hopefully, if he gets pitch time, he can enjoy himself and play with a smile.
Denilson will also get a chance to improve his recent form after his return from injury. He’s become scapegoat du jour in recent weeks and he can’t do any worse than get on the pitch and do what he’s good at.
Arsenal have a good chance of getting past Porto to the next round, but it’s not going to be a straight forward task by any measure. The fact that Porto have won the European title twice and the fact that they’ve been in the competition for 12 years running suggests that you should write them off at your own peril.
Zero complacency from Arsenal is paramount.
Arsenal Fight Liverpool For Chance To Be Comeback Kings
Posted by: | CommentsThey say it ain’t over until the fat lady sings.
In Arsenal and Liverpool’s case, they’re still undressing the fat lady and figuring out how to chuck her into the bath – let alone getting her out of the dressing room onto the stage. It’s a while yet before she has to sing.
For the two clubs that have been written off as title contenders and preferred more as title pretenders – tonight is a key match. It’s not so much the must win game that the media cheering squad make it out to be. I feel that both teams want a positive result from this game for psychological reasons.
Liverpool have had a season to forget and it’s paramount for them to consolidate their position and mark their territory for the 4th champions league spot for next year. It’s only a couple of months ago when they were totally written off and I must admit, I too expressed my fears of Liverpool dropping to mid-table mediocrity.
Personally, I feel that it’s now going to be hard for Villa, Man City or Spurs to dislodge them off the 4th spot – especially since they’ve now smelt and sat on it for a while. The difference is that Liverpool are experienced campaigners and out of the 4th spot chasers, they have more big game nous than the rest.
Andrey Arshavin (L) celebrates scoring Arsenal's second goal during the Barclays Premier League match between Liverpool and Arsenal at Anfield on December 13, 2009
Arsenal on the other hand will be hoping that Aston Villa and Everton repeat the feats they achieved against Man United and Chelsea respectively in the first leg encounters.
However, it’s absolutely pointless for Arsenal to hope that Chelsea and Man United will drop points – if the Gunners are not able to take advantage by claiming full points. Chelsea and Man United will for sure drop points, least against each other, but Arsenal have to win all the remaining 13 games to have a chance of winning the title.
It’s important though, that before we talk about winning titles, the team gets back to winning ways a game at a time. Arsenal is a confidence team and to be frank, confidence is running pretty low at London Colney right now.
There’s two ways to look at this. The Arsenal team can call last orders and we can all go through the motions and fulfil the remaining fixtures before folding our tents and waiting for next season. I’d much prefer that the team restores their confidence and fights tooth and nail for every minute of every game. There’s a hell of a lot at stake, not least the pride of the players and supporters.
Tactically, I can see Benitez going with his 2 guard dogs of Javier Mascherano and Lucas Leiva marauding around his midfield and trying to stop Arsenal’s flowing game. Their defence is wearing thin especially since their Greek defender Sotirios Kyrgiakos obliged to the legend of the Merseyside derby and collected one of the customary red cards for the privilege of missing tonight’s game.
The flaw with this defensive minded strategy for Benitez has been that Liverpool then don’t have much creativity to take advantage of the balls that the messy defensive midfielders win. They miss the sort of creativity that Xavi Alonso provided as a bridge between defence and attack – and the jury really is still out on Alberto Aquilani who hasn’t really set the Premiership on fire.
Arsenal should be able to contain Liverpool’s passing game, and hopefully, our propensity to attack gung-ho will have been reigned in a little considering the gift of 2 goals that we’ve recently given opponents from counter attacks.
Liverpool must hate the sight of Andrey Arshavin as Arsenal hate the sight of Didier Drogba. The diminutive Russian has been quite vocal off the pitch though you feel that he’d be better placed converting his guilt edged chances and avoiding the media like the plague.
From an Arsenal point of view, Wenger has his preferred midfield of Cesc, Diaby and Song. The 3 haven’t played together for a while now, but it’s time they got into their stride. Eboue looked brighter than Sagna when he came on last Sunday and he may offer a better option on the right flank defensively and offensively.
Up front, Bendtner must be given a chance to start. Like Walcott, he has been away for a while and whilst I sympathize with Walcott’s lack of game time to regain his confidence, I think that Bendtner has a lot more to offer at this point in time.
Walcott will do much better in a game devoid of pressure where he doesn’t feel the stress of having to express himself well. He needs a game that he can play with a smile and not have to worry about impressing the England team camp before this summers World Cup.
Arsenal for now need to forget any title ambitions or any champions league fixtures. They need to use this game to regain a psychological edge. They need to use this game to lift their spirits and lift the spirits of the Gooner nation.
Liverpool won’t come to the Emirates to make up the numbers. We may have beaten them twice already this season, but that counts for absolutely nothing.
The second half of the last game against Chelsea showed good signs of Arsenal’s recognition about what seems to be our Achilles heel. Despite a good attempt to chase the game, Arsenal were solid defensively in the second half and that discipline needs to be maintained.
A top performance more than anything is now due from the Arsenal team. I sincerely hope that the 2 losses against United and Chelsea have given the team enough food for thought about how to approach the next game. One game at a time will do for now.
Enjoy the game wherever you are.
