Chelsea vs Arsenal, 2-0: Full time analysis and player ratings
The Game
Ten goals conceded in four games against Manchester United and Chelsea, make that fourteen if we are to count the Manchester City defeat as well and we are officially out of the title race. Only a second gift from both United and Chelsea would see us get back in the title race but based on the last two games, we don’t deserve to be gifted a second chance.
To put it in simple terms, we will maybe never learn from past mistakes: plenty of possession but simply not good enough to infiltrate the Chelsea defense and when we did, we didn’t shoot. Also, it’s time for Wenger to question the decisions of some of his players because what happened in that first goal, with Clichy walking along the goalline letting Drogba score with ease, believe me, is very serious.
All-in-all, this one hurts more than last week because the players showed the right determination and fighting spirit right from the start but seriously, when you make the mistakes we made at the back and go out there with no pure striker, it’s impossible to get away with it.
Instead, we are yet again left bemoaning the fact that we are so bloody close to be a force in the English Premiership if not for two or three small tweaks which Wenger, I’m afraid, doesn’t want to address.
Match Video Highlights
Match video highlights are available in the Videos section of our website. If not there yet, rest assured they will be up in a matter of hours.
Player Ratings
Almunia: 5 – Made no saves, but still made sure to miskick a couple of balls just to put the back four under some pressure.
Gallas: 5 – Not comfortable in marking Drogba.
Vermaelen: 5 – Completely lost Drogba who went on to score the second goal though he did recover well after that.
Clichy: 2 – Again, can someone please help me understand why he left the post he was defending, walking towards the other end, leaving Drogba all alone in the corner which led to the first goal?
Sagna: 5,5 – Not good enough when going forward, he has to understand that crosses are a fundamental part of his game, which he has to improve.
Diaby: 6,5 – Back from injury and one of the best players on the field. Having him back is one of the few positives of the games
Fabregas: 6 – His midfield distribution was very good and did well in finding spaces in the Chelsea half but struggled when delivering the final ball or shooting from range.
Song: 4 – Uncharacteristic poor game from the Cameroon man who started brightly but lost his concentration and head as the game progressed.
Walcott: 3 – Same old Theo, I’m afraid.
Nasri: 4 – Very predictable with his touches and no end product. I don’t think he ever beat his man and had a glorious opportunity to give us some hope in the second half but wasted it.
Arshavin: 5 – A similar game to last week’s for the Russian who worked hard up front to make things happen but unfortunately, failed to make an impact.
(Subs)
Eboue: 6,5 – Brilliant game, caused all sorts of trouble when pushing forward and if he can keep this up, then he has to play in place of Sagna against Liverpool.
Bendtner: 5,5 – Came on and started like a train, winning balls in the air and an important free-kick, clearly showing what we’ve missed during his injury. He faded a little towards the last part of the game though.
Rosicky: 6 – Not much on the field for Tomas but did well with the first touch and bringing the ball forward.
![[Video] Hull City vs Arsenal: Match Video Highlights, including Nicklas’ last-minute winner!](http://www.thegunninghawk.com/wp-content/themes/arthemia-premium/scripts/timthumb.php?src=/wp-content/uploads/video.jpg&w=80&h=80&zc=1)
In context we realy aren’t having a bad season. The critics & many Arsenal fans after the departure of Toure and Adebayour believed we would finish outside the top four. Many of our players have missed games frequently which has damaged not only their individual performances but the performance of the whole team. We are not able to keep a similar eleven from week to week. Not to mention the young midfield we posses of twenty two year olds and under. Without Van Persie and a very unfit Bendtner ( who I have been impressed with) breaking down top top teams is always going to be difficult.
I myself would be satisfied with a top three finish and could see this season as a strong building block for the next. I know we get sick of hearing the same excuses and the injury list but they are viable. Arsenal are a team of potential which i just being realised. Even if we were top we would still be looking forward to the future because the players are young and can only get better.
These players need games and performed much better tonight. Many of the players haven’t had the joy of a long run of games and we are still so critical of them. When these players are fit and playing regular football we will be much much better.
It looks like we will pick up Chamahk on a free transfer in the summer. Possible Eboue, Silvestre & Senderos will leave which leaves room and cash for strong replacments. Van Persies will be back and we will have our players fit & ready. If you ask me next year will be a very very good year.
your comments explain u r an ediot thinking of next season when we can still try and win something this season U MUPPET!
I am realy just high lighting a bright future and I have not given up on this season at all. Why do you have to attack people on this forum just because they don’t agree with you? I at no stage said this season is over. I don’t know what your problem is but go sort your self out and come back with something positive and constructive to say.
Agree with Cameron. I think all these whinny ‘abusive’ so-called gooners should stop taking defeat so personally.
I think we were great, and played well at a place that’s traditionally difficult to get a result. I, for one, will be looking forward to the next few weeks after watching the display. And yes, we will bounce back.
I see nothing wrong with looking forward to the next season, but i know we’ll only go down after a decent fight…
We do need to correct the defensive loop before the CL next week
iF YOU THINK WE ARE/WERE GREAT YOU OBVIOUSLY DONT REMEMBER WHEN WE WERE. THE SAME PERFORMANCES, SUB-STANDARD PLAYERS AND MANGERS EXCUSES FOR THE LAST 5 YEARS…WAKE-UP
do u fellow gunnners ever learn?tell me, wat stopped wenger from buying in january?non-availability of players?no 1 gud enough??do u believe all that crap??it was so obvious as far back as november that we needed fresh legs, esp a striker and a keeper and despite wenger’s hint at buying 1 or 2, he didnt cuz we were top scorers in the league(which we hv lost)…he didnt hv 2 buy worldbeaters. a decent 10million pound striker e.g nilmar, llorente, evn huntelaar on loan wuldnt hurt our title hopes..if wenger was clever, yes, clever, coupled with past experiences, he should hv known that players like v.persie, eduardo cannot last a whole season!!!where did he want goals frm?? a dimunitive arshavin, who isnt a striker playing against terry and carvalho? brown, vidic,evans etc???truth is, wenger hs lost it and many fans dnt believe in him anymore…..i am 1 of them!!!!
the season is over take off the wool its over
Messi, stop calling people names or your comments will go under moderation. This type of behaviour was never welcome here, and never will.
1. DOES ANYONE AGREE THAT ALMUNIA IS BULLSHYTE? I CANT STAND ANYTHING ABOUT HIM– HIS FACE, HIS HAIRSTYLE, HIS DISCOMPOSURE, HIS TERRIBLE GOALKEEPING!!!!!! We need a first class goalkeeper because Manuel Almunia is very, very incompetent. There are many examples of his incompetence, but I ll leave you to choose which hurts you the most.
2. Denilson is really not a defensive midfielder. He is lethargic and very low on work rate; thus he cannot play as holding midfielder.
3. Song and Diaby have tremendously improved. Diaby adds some creativity and rigidity in the midfield
4. Bacary Sagna needs to improve his delivery of crosses. He is fantastic defensively, but he needs to work on his attackiing ability– and maybe 2-3 feet addition to his height will be fantastic for us. EBOUE SHOULD TOTALLY START AS RB AGAINST LIVERPOOL!!!!
5. Arsene Wenger promised us a striker, but he brought us SOL CAMPBELL. (I will leave the thoughts to you guys)
6. I seriously think Thomas Vermelean (TV5) should be employed as a striker. He has an eye for goal, physical strength, shooting capabilities,decent pace, and aerial abilities. What more do you need?
7. Gael Clichy is erratic. He is a good player, but his decision making is really poor.
8. Gallas should abandon his dreams of becoming a striker. He should try staying at the back more often than staying forward.I would suggest that Arsene Wenger changes Gallas’ shirt number from 10 to 5– that could be the motivating factor.
9. Arsene Wenger should consider solidifying the defensive tactics such that when we go forward, there are players positioned to snuff out counter attacks
10. We need Theo Walcott to mature already!!! When is he going to improve his final delivery?
Chelsea was better than us in defence. & we need to sign chamakh in attack in june.
its simple there was an extra man in the box at the front so clichy was undecisive
but still decidede to go there which is not too bad of an idea therefore
we really need a leader at t he back
Chris, I am sorry for posting this comment all over again, parts of the other comments did not display,so please delete the other comments.
Well Chris, I really have to tell you this. I love this blog, and read almost every comment made on this blog. Actually, its the home page on my laptop, but you are getting it wrong.
Fabregas is at a very important stage in his career and wants to win trophies, his patience will not last forever. After the world cup, I am sure he will demand “OUT” and Wenger will sell him for 45 millions, Chamakh will surely signs for free and if he does, the share holders will be very happy, its good business.
Do you know what AW will tell us? the same thing he has been telling us for the past 5 seasons”… we have Ramsey, Eastmond, Merida, Wilshire,denilson, walcot, Bendtner, Fabianski, etc… all coming up, not forgetting RVP, Djourou, Gibbs who will be back from injury, and so we don’t need any new players.” (WE ALWAYS HAVE PROSPECTS)
We are going to play even better at the beginning of next season, we are going to be the most entertaining team in the league, and when the injuries start coming, we are going to see how hollow the team is. Even Barca had to Buy Deco, Eto’o, Dinho and Guily before they could bring out the best from Xavi, Iniesta, Valdez, etc and today they rule Europe.
Fellow gunners, I am not calling for wenger’s head no!!!!!! but we have to be realistic, this team is not good enough. A good team is not all about 11 PLAYERS, its about the players on the bench. Every player faces difficult times, Denilson, Walcot, Clichy, Sagna and co are very good players, but are not in the best shape at this moment and this is when the players on the bench should come in.
somebody has got to talk some sense into AW’s old french brain.
Wenger is the most SUCCESSFUL manager in our history, but he has gradually changed us from winners to looser and do you know what baffles me the most? Most gunners seem to be very comfortable with that. We need to start winning, not beating Portsmouth 5-0 NO!!!, but winning TROPHIES, and to win trophies, we need to start beating Cheski, Manure, Dubai FC … I heard somebody saying we are the new Spurs,and I fear YES.
Chris, I am sure AW reads this blog, so start telling him the truth. FANS ARE NOT HAPPY. no compromising
Long time reader, first time poster.
What happened to clichy? i remember 2 seasons ago when he was genuinely challenging evra for the starting spot on the french team but now hes a liability. I understand he’s still recovering from an injury, but he was irratic last season and before his injury this year he was the same. His decision making has been poor to say the least, and this is the second week in a row that a player has absoloutley skinned him 1 on 1 in our own half. This is a sad development because i love clichy as a character guy in the squad.
That being said, i still have belief in this team. Call me crazy, but i never felt that the game was out of reach this week or last week, which is a stark contrast to last season’s champions league disgrace to man u. After ronaldos free kick, i knew we were done, but even 3-0 down i felt confident that we could get through.
Much has also been said about the selfishness of arshavin last week, but i dont think thats a bad thing at all. If more of our players were selfish and shot first time rather than pass to a player thats in a “better” position, only to have the ball intercepted, we could possibly be in a better situation. For example, if nasri would have gotten a shot away earlier, we could have pulled a goal back in this game and the whole dynamic would have changed.
Keep the faith, Wenger is our manager, and it’s my hope that he stays here for a long time. Money won’t buy you success or trophies, just ask man city how that’s going and as i recall, since chelsea bought ballack, malouda, a. cole, schevchenko(great bit of business there) the only trophy of note that they have won is the FA Cup. We have the talent, maybe a new keeper and a striker, but ill take a healthy RVP any day. The players need our support, COME ON YOU GOONERS!
Thanks Luke, now that’s what i call a gooner. Taking positives from a very disappointing result.
I said it before, Arshavin was judged harshly last week for ’selfishness’, and that has cost us i believe. Arshavin shoots to score from unimaginable positions, and scores sometimes; that’s really his appeal. He’s done in time and again (if he hadn’t scored against Liverpool with that fantastic shot, people would’ve complained that he should have passed to someone in a ‘better position’. Why are we forcing him to make assists. I personally think we lost because we were not selfics rather than the reverse.
If we win against Liverpool, its game on, because the other teams have at least 2 big matches left. I know it’s very difficult now, but hey, what are fans for! To rally behind the team……..
And whoever said Chamakh is the messiah! I say we focus on getting Bendtner in shape, setting him up to a more upfront role (like Denmark does), and i believe he’ll achieve what Drogba has (who is incidentally almost a decade older than Nicklas).
You raised some valid points Karl.
At one stage during the game, yesterday, I did in fact realise that maybe Arshavin SHOULD be selfish up front but then again, against Manchester United there was only one logical conclusion to his moves and that was to pass. Anything other than that would have mean getting blocked, the way he in fact was.
As for the positives, I again agree, but the problem here is not that there was nothing positive to take from the game, the problem is the same, old mistakes which have been haunting us for months, for years. It doesn’t make any sense to spend time and effort in maintaining a beautiful apple tree, see one rotten apple ruin the rest and do nothing.
Seriously, what is being done to address our problems?
youre crazy
i thought diaby nasri and rosicky all played well too bad no 1 to play with
maybe if we had a fwd we could have done better
arshavin doesnt play for the team and gets tired after 60 minutes
we need adebayor back
the past is the past. selling ade only became a mistake when aw failed to replace him. bad move in my mind
if asharvin wasnt such a crap shot lately
-if clichy remembered hes a left back
things may have been different
A fix
I think at the moment we should deploy a striker from widen arsenal up to the age limit a sensation how about Wilson who is there who is hungry? How old was roony?
We have to get the ball moving faster we need to use long passes and quick into position to shoot or pass for a shot at target if not retain position what is the problem
Who has passé? Who can make long accurate passes? Who can make runs to receive them? Who can hit the target?
I am fed up with discussions of our players’ poor performance. Arsene !@#$ up again. I expect he moves to another team this summer, while Cesc goes to Barsa.
Go Gooners! Let’s watch how Liver poo humiliates us.
Song deserves a higher rating against Chelsea, he played well.
ok, it is time for negative remarks.
I have never rated Clichy as a top player, his decision making is naive at times and couldn’t focus in 90mins.
We do not have a top class keeper.
Walcott is overrated becasue he is English.
Diaby is still inconsistant and he loves dribbling too much, which lead to losing in possession which is very dangerous if he is doing it in our own half.
Nasir and Rosicky are very average.
Sagna needs to improve his crosses.
I do not want to feel sick talking about Denilson.
We need to change both our full backs against Liverpool.
————————Manno————————–
Eboue —– Gallas —– Sol ——Vermaelen
————————Song—————————-
Nasir——–Fab———Rosicky———Arsvin
———————-Bentner—————————
like this formation. I clearly see Vermalen there. He is an all-round player.
I would like to see us change our formation a little bit for the Liverpool game.
………………..Fabianski………………….
Sagna…..Gallas…..Vermaelen…Clichy
………………….Song……………………..
…Rosicky….Fabregas…..Diaby……….
……………………….Arshavin……………
……………..Bendtner…………………….
If Arshavin & Fabregas can create, Diaby & Rosicky make runs into the box and drop back to defend and Bendtner can bring others into play and get on the end of crosses I think we would do very well.
There is good news from this game, I guess if for once we ignore scoreline, This was a great game from our lads and if only they had played that well against Manchester United, they would have won as Manchester United defenders were not that good like Chelsea were.
From evidence wew have all seen throughout this league, We may be in a better position than everybody else especially knowing we are almost done with all the big boys.
Mancester United and Chelsea will drop points, we will too but how many?, I guess we are better placed to loose the fewest points. Chelsea have to loose more than us and that’s not a good thing but i look at it like this – They play Liverpool at Anfield, we play them at the Emirates, They play Manchester United, Aston Villa & Everton and those are some of the teams they don’t want to meet, We are already done with those. Our problems are solvable from now on, All fixtures from are very favourable except Liverpool’s game which is coming too soon after this. Despite the fact that we don’t want to be where we are, we are in a great position
Arsenal put enough balls into Chelsea’s box, they gave them a few scares and except for Vermaelen & Clichy falling asleep for both goals, Arsenal’s defence had a meaning yesterday,
If they play exactly like that against the other clubs left which are not necessarily Chelsea or Man U like, then RVP & Eduardo comes back next month, We will be Winners.
Yesterday & against Manchester United, Arsenal needed Eduardo, Call him all you want, Call him weak, say he is not fully recovered and so on & so forth, He has those little backheels, Those little runs and that Wonderful positioning that Neither Nasri, Walcott or Rosicky can match.
Arsenal’s problem is not size and shape of the players as many of them are better than quite a number of players in Manchester United or Chelsea, The problem is the believe, If Nasri had the slightest believe yesterday, He would have scored, I also saw Walcott receive the ball Far inside Chelsea’s box and Instead of focusing to the goal, he didn’t even look at it, He looked back for support, with a believe, that would have easily been rushed and shot into goal.
PROFESSOR ARSENE WENGER, PLEASE TELL YOUR PLAYERS THEY ARE GOOD ENOUGH TO SCORE, THEY GET CHANCES BUT THEY ARE ALWAYS SCARED TO SCORE – WHAT DO YOU TEACH THEM???????????????.
I agree with you Freddy and very well said.
Ohh Mine, we always say this “…we had a good game” We no longer need good games, we need to win. Wait and see Fabregas leave in July, then u will understand what i mean.
Great comment Freddie, real gooners!
I think the response, and sustained pressure was fantastic. Chelsea have the meanest defense (practically the whole team defende); against any other team, we would’ve got s…th.
I don’t want to see clichy plays against Liverpool. He is rubbish and still rubbish yesterday. Clichy is the person who needs to damn blame for both goals. The second goal, don’t understand why he ran back to the centre of defensive area and left drogba ran his ass alone at the place he should be. He made the defence torrid at all, with vermaelen had to run to the flank that this s*** left but it’s very late as drogba has reached the right post. Clichy ran back earlier than vermaelen but his stupid brain choose to ran to Vermaelen area and left his marker again.
Well. honestly people, did anyone actually believe arsenal would win the PL this year? Did you start out this season thinking oh we will win? No you did not, this thing about being in the contest so long is a huge bonus for us.
You should be happy about that cos as you all correctly point out we are not yet good enough to win. So why are you so angry and suprised? You knew this before the season. It was not rocket science, however we will get one more year(as in next) in Champions league and we will continue to see great football at the emirates. Clashing with the Superpowers of Eurpoean football. That is more than Villa will ever do, its probably more than the Spuds will ever do to as its highly likely Liverpool will regain the 4th spot.
Chelsea has to win either PL or CL this year to win any trophies, if manu wins the carling cup they will still have a trophy if they do not win PL, els they to will have to win CL or PL to win any trophies this year. We will have to win CL to get any trophies this year.
I must say i am delighted that my team New Orleans Saints won superbowl tonight. Woohoooo!
did anyone actually believe arsenal would win the PL this year?, —— I SITLL THINK WE CAN!!! & I don’t see why not if they restart doing the right things we have seen them doing so many times. It’s not as hard as it looks, Chelsea needs to be beaten by Everton, Manchester United, Aston Villa & Liverpool(for some reason they are always powerful against Chelsea), Manchester United needs to be beaten by Liverpool & Manchester City and we need to beat Liverpool, Tottenham and Manchester City as everyone else is easily beatable but with one question mark, Is Arsenal ready for the downhill task starting this weekend (After Liverpool)????.
Mentally?, no. Physical power?.no, otherwise, Arsenal is a better team than the rest, All they need to do is shoot man, shoot!!!!!!!, The chances are always glaring and in numbers, and we rarely even miss, its that we don’t shoot. Walking the ball to the net will cost this great players all the honours they otherwise deserve!!!!!!!.
Despite all the game statistics being in our favour bar one (the important one) we did not carry a genuine goal threat. Their goals highlighted our defending at it’s worst, for the first Terry has an uncontested header with Diaby nearest but Vermaelen is in the area as well, neither of our players ever leave the ground, the ball is taken it the top of it’s flight by Terry and is helped on to the far post, Song sees Carvalho coming unmarked towards the secondary ball but ignores his own man Drogba as he thinks he has drifted onto the man on the post, unfortunately there is no man on the post because Clichy left his post before the corner was taken for no discernable reason and never gets back into position. We have plenty of players back but none that are involved in the action do their job. Their second, a counter-attack where Song has gone on but Diaby does not hold is a perfect example of the lack of communication between our defenders, we have enough men back but at one point three converge on Anelka leaving Drogba free.
When we were chasing the game Song seemed to play further forward than Diaby quite a lot and was actually involved in some of our best work including the assist for Nasri which he should have buried but it’s hard to atone for his part in the opener, he is the first player we have used at set pieces to mark Drogba who has not been out-muscled, shame he switched off to ruin it.
I have been reading the comments, and I find it amazing that people think Bendtner (he is our laughing stock,we’d sell this guy ASAP), Nasri(Holds the ball too long,not first class), and Almunia are good enough to pose a threat against teams like chelsea and man city, football-wise man utd, liverpool, villa and tottenham should not beat Arsenal, chelsea have Cole, Anelka, Drogba(I hate this guy, but he is a very strong player!) and Deco. man city have Adebayor, Tevez, Toure, and Barry (do you see the quality?). What do we have? Vermaelen(lots of potential) Song, Diaby, Fabregas and Arshavin (do you see any strikers here?). We are not going to win against these teams without a quality striker, period! This is how I saw the game;
Almunia 3
Sagna 6 / Eboue 6
Galla 5.5
Vermaelen 5.5
Song 6.5
Diaby 8 / Rosicky 6.5
Fabregas 7.5
Arshavin 6
Walcott 5 / Bendtner 4
Clichy 3
Nasri 4
I can see our team picking up form from here on…. starting with Liverpool… many valid points were raised in this string… but at the same time I disagree with many… I don’t think the season is over for Arsenal… and that includes the PL.. I totally disagree with the ratings and I do think we played MUCH MUCH better than we did against Manchester when it looks like we didn’t play at all… I cannot see Manchester or Chelsea going without defeats all the way…
Bendtner should have come on earlier… he was creating good presence up front… Rosicky should have started ahead of Walcott. Clichy is unreliable even though I thought he was slightly better than the game against Manchester…
Not happy about the defeat of course… but I haven’t thrown the towel for the title yet cuz I’ve seen what kind of season this is…. the fight is still on.. it’ll be a real close one in the end.
The lineup needed Rosicky to start, Arsene Wenger may have had a moment of madness to start with Walcott but, Ask Petr Cech who has fooled him before in our whole uninjured squad —- Theo Walcott, Walcott has scored against lovely goals against Chelsea before and the only other player to have scored against them among the players available is Sagna & Bendtner, Wenger must have been hoping that Walcott continues, but football seems to have become a very complicated sport to Theo Walcott this days, oh God how I miss his form!!!!.
Bendtner, I am not so sure but, If we risked Cesc Fabregas in that Aston Villa game, I don’t see why not Bendtner..
Manuel Almunia & Lukasz Fabianski can guard the goal for Arsenal but not when Vito Mannone is fit, Mannone is by far a better goalkeeper than those 2 and that is a decision Wenger has to make. It will make it even better as he will feel he has to keep his place and so he will perform not to mention the courage and pride he would have to have Leap frogged this 2.
Against Liverpool
………………………….Mannone
Sagna…….Gallas……………Vermaelen…..Clichy.
………………………….Song
… …..Fabregas……………..Diaby
. ..Rosicky/Nasri…………………………..Arshavin
………………….. …..Bendtner
We will need a 12 player for sure, And we have one, Phillippe Senderos is still legally our player and we will need him to prove his is not Didier Drogba’s girlfriend so that he can play lovely games with him, he will need to stop the guy for us so that by weekend we are looking at a 6 point gap.
@ Z KWT Gunner, come on , are you saying Bendtner is a quality striker? I have to throw my towel if that’s the case. He is one of the worse strikers I have seen so far, off the pitch the talks a lot about how good he is, on the pitch a different matter all together.
Let’s be seriuos here, we are not man city (they see themselves getting a trophy), Arsenal is a big club, no player or manager should be bigger than the club, it’s been 5 years now, no trophy. We are not used to this, I am not used to this, being the 2nd best is not good enough, we can’t be the best if we can’t beat chelsea, man utd, man city, liverpool at least one in a season. We are going to lose respect from these big teams.
Wenger made a big issue when wolves played man utd, he did the same with stoke, now we are out of FA, for what? So the players could have time to prepare against the next 4 big games, Villa -Draw, Man Utd – Lost, Chelsea – Lost, Liverpool – ?, Wenger has lost the plot this time, and it’s about time someone tells him, we can’t keep going like this, 3 games, 1 point not acceptable for any Arsenal fan.
totally agree, the rot has set in from the top downwards. constant bad judgement and decisions and never admits the players are not good enough. every year is like deja vu and we really need a new manager who knows when a player is not good enough at the top level….not someone who keeps making excuses. the trophy cabinet does not lie.
We don’t need a new manager and we all know that, We just need to observe our attitude.
Arsenal players were made bad by fans booing them and so on and after all, We are not that far.
Bendtner score 15 goals last season and he was the 3rd Choice striker, Didier Drogba scored 14.—— I guess you forget fast.
Fernando Torres scored 17, Carlos Tevez scored 15.
Are we getting somewhere now.
Last season, Bendtner hit one against Chelsea, A magnificent header, This season, he hit a wonderful strike against Liverpool.
Are we getting somewhere now.
Maybe not because you have already decided but statistics show he is good enough, if he can hit them goals and he has never really been in the starting line-up, What would happen if he gets used to playing??.
I’d love to hate him because he is quite immature but, Qualitiwise, he has all of it, BUT HE IS MUCH BETTER SUITED IN PRAGMATIC SIDES LIKE CHELSEA, ARSENAL NEEDS THE SWIFT ONES.
Arsene knows……..squat!!!!
Think it’s time Walcott went back to Southampton and stayed there. Forget any England dreams mate, you won’t even cut it in Division 1!!!
We are always going to be a 4th rate team at best. We can no longer (or will no longer more like!!) compete with Chelsea, Man City and Man United in the transfer market, so are left with 4th rate players basically, players these teams don’t want!!!
I’ll tell you exactly why Cleech left his post prior to the first goal, Chris.
If you look at the replay from behind and above the goal you’ll see three players (Cleech on the back post, Diaby and a third one) pointing to Carvalho, who, at the point of the corner kick’s execution, is the only player in a blue shirt situated in the far end of the box. Now, I’m pretty sure the three of them agreed on letting whoever’s supposed to mark Carvalho do so and not ‘waste’ further manpower on a somewhat lesser threat than nessecary. As the corner kick commenced, Carvalho sort of drifted off with his marker, which in turn allowed Drogba to wriggle free of his marking by Song and move into the space left by Cleech. Bonkers as he may seem and appear at first sight, I really don’t believe Cleech is entirely culpable for the cock-up.
What does concern me, however, is the missing synergy between Vermaelen and Clichy. Whereas Sagna and Billy seem to have developed an effective mutual understandig (Billy’s mental, gung-ho surges to the front line notwithstanding), it seems Tommy and Gaël are still very far from agreed on how to distribute matters and tasks between them. Understandable as they haven’t played particularly much next to each other. But we MUST question AW’s judgement in playing Clichy at LB in these last two important games, when Armand, however inexperienced, would go together with Tommy quite better at this time. Drogba’s second goal exposed just how crucial the lack of mutual understanding between the defenders can be, as Clichy inexplicably opted to chase the ball down the congested middle leaving Toomy in the dilemma of sticking to his position (as all the textbooks will have it) or seek out wide to cover the full-back’s area. In the end he sat down between the chairs and, well, we all know what followed.
Nasri’s development as a player seems tom have come to a complete stop. He no longer challenges anyone and his dribbling repetoire, which used to be flamboyant and cheeky as fuck, has now been reduced to simple van Persieesque stop-(turn)-and-go moves. And let’s face it; he won’t fool anymore than a couple of lower-rank defenders with those elementary turns. I much prefer Rosicky with his immaculate passing and occasional explosiveness.
Thanks mate, minor details can easily be missed indeed.
Didn’t you use to write for us? We would be glad to have you back
In case anyone else is interested, here’s a link to the first goal. You might want to hit pause at around 0:08 to see the three players pointing at Carvalho.
But be warned: seeing as it is a replay of a conceded Chelski-goal, the footage featured in the clip is not for the faint of heart.
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xc55v6_43ignnfch10_people
No probs, Chris.
That’s true. But over the last year or so I’ve found myself disagreeing with pretty much every reader and commenter on this site so ofthen, that I believe it would just be agitative/deconstructive to turn in my thoughts : )
I understand mate.
Well you know our policy, as long as it’s clean and not offensive to anyone, articles and comments are more than welcome.
“We may disagree with each other, but no need to throw insults” has always been our “motto”
This team has great potential. If bloody Wenger does add few players in this squad this team will become better than invincible. Following players should get kicks on their ass holes :
1) Almunia
2) Walcott (worst of the lot)
3) Denilson
4) Clichy
My team for next game is :
Mannone
Bacary Sagna Gallas Sol Campbell Vermealan
Eboue Fabregas Song Diaby Arshabin
Bendtner
well….i guess this will happen http://ro.soccerway.com/news/2010/February/08/fabregas-rejects-new-arsenal-deal-eyes-barca-move/
It is time for AW to stop giving excuses (possession and youth).We lost because of lack of quality and tactical nous.Chelsea let us have more possession because they knew we couldn’t break their positioning thanks to our one dimensional- will never change policy.what youth are we talking about here.Theo, denilson have got decent experience and arenot good enough to play for any of the top 6-7 teams in the division.Samir nasri was bought for 12m and all he does is jog into a corner, cut back and pass it square.gallas sagna vermaelen and clichy are very experienced and so is arshavin. Cesc, song and diaby are the ones who have grown well and done justice to the faith put on them.But all in all we have a team that has got used to losing and that means cutting some of them loose and getting rid of them.They never themselves believed they could win the title so how could the manager put his faith on them
I totally agree with your assessment guy!
Song, Diaby, and Fabregas really do role up their sleeves at get stuck in for the big ones!!!
No doubt about it.
One dimensional strategy says it all, Wenger is so defiant!!!! I cannot believe that after the home match with Chelsea he could not see how Arsenal were beaten tactically that day. So how does he respond? he responds by using the same strategy again? Surprise Surprise, the result is almost the same, and would have been identical only for the crossbar!!!!
Maybe this week he will impress on Monsieur Clichy that gong across and having a ‘chat’ with Nasri on the goal line when defending a Chelsea corner is not in the ‘basic defending’ coaching manuals. Even I know that and all I have ever been good enough for was amteur Sunday morning leagues!!!!!
Wenger reminds me of General Melchett in the old Black Adder comedy
‘ Doing what we have done the last 18 times is exactly the last thing they will expect us to do this time’.
Arsene if you do not know how to take these guys to the next level, then surely someone else does. Ask this question! How would Ferguson react if Evra strolled off for a chat with his ‘friend’ when a Chelsea corner is coming over?
Same old story really
Arsenal give a hard working performance with Fabregas and a few others putting in an excellent shift out there, but no reward at the end of it.
Wenger is totally one dimensional, he still thinks that his ‘purist’ style will win the day at some point!!!! He would make a terrific politician, ’sounds great on paper but try to put it into practice’!!!
Strategically Arsenal were out played by a rival, just like last week. What is so frustrating for us fans is that he has had plenty of hard lesson examples to learn from since last seasons CL Semi! Has he learnt? No, No, and No! Will he? No, No, and No!!!!!!
I cannot believe that only Rosicky and Denilson were demoted to the bench after last week, with them should have been Almunia, Clichy, and Nasri! A manager cannot generate a ‘hard work and winning’ culture inside the squad if players are not demoted after below par performances!!! Clichy has had a string of defensive Pig’s ear over the last 2 years, and each time it happens, he marches back into a starting spot the very next week???
When is Wenger going to learn that Arshavin is a ‘flank player’ not a CF?????. If he is a CF how many goals has scored since moving in there???? He likes space to run at defenders, its too crowded in the middle for him. Chelsea just love to crowd the middle. Why? because Terry and Company just stand in there and mow down anyone that comes in there with the ball
Thanks a lot Arsene, we appreciate the past and I am sincere with that, we really do. But now is the time to move on! Wenger has done his job, a good team has been built! Now it is time to make them into a ‘winning’ team.
AW, stop playing several of your beloved French players as soon as possible!! Only Gallas and Diaby should remain in the starting line up. Can someone tell me why Sagna has only cross, cross and cross in his gold dreadlocks head when he move forward?… Did he think his cross is so accurate?? Clichy, enough! Sloppy against Lee Chung Yong of Bolton, Ashley Young, Nani and Drogba, i believe your present against Liverpool will only add more s***s from your recent s***s. Nasri, i don’t know why AW always sacrifices Rosicky instead of this clown. How many times do you want to hold the ball, makes simple pass and runs the ball to byline without any intention to create something better?? Put Vermaelen at the left side, Eboue on the right and play Sol too, we need damn strength and attacking flair, not by throwing all French bodies that you have in order to keep their world cup dream alive!!!!
i really cry when we lost and most of all with teams with no history first of all i dont know if u are watching the same game as i watch but first the subs have to be nasri that clearly miss 2 goals that for me are made and arshavin that miss 2 but for arshavin seems like he dont have a notion of the game bad pases bad decision and clearly i dont think he fight absolutly nothing by the end theo didnt deserve to be changed because he was playing better than arshavin for me the sub are arshavin for nicklas and nasri for rosicky for cesc hope he didnt go cause it seems like its a game of chelsea vs cesc, vermaelen that for fight for every ball and theo it seems like we need a striker and a left back please or we must change of manager we are a winner club not a third place table!!!!
Arsenal fan From Guatemala!!!!!!
im proud of arsenal and we deserve more!!!!
shumë keq
I’ve read a majority of the comments, I hate to say this but so many people have lost faith…=(
Its true we do seem to be in need of a striker, AW is right in saying we have scored alot recently so there is some justification for our lack of activity , plus VP will be back and Bentner is almost back to match fitness. While on the issue, i woulda like to see Arsenal lash out a good 45/50mil for a Benzema,Higuain,Pato. Why not? we had the money. I’m pretty sure it could only do us some good, all young and shoot to score.
Bentner came on and the first significant thing he did was shrug off Cavalio and force Terry to concede the free-kick where we was just plain unlucky (more on that later) proving that a little physical presence was enough to destabilise the Chelsea back four who were under some serious pressure at times, sure we may not have “looked like scoring” to quote a Chelsea fan, but if you’re the one on the pitch trust me you’re at least a little stressed.
Stopping hitting out at Samir, the birds eye view of the play shows that Wally is screaming for the ball. Samir just got caught in two minds, the Zidane mind (perfect pass) and the Henry mind (Shoot). I for one can’t stand it when someone calls for the pass when I just decided to shoot, if you hesitate at any level you get punished. Trust me AW will talk to him about that, it the kind of thing that he’s paid to notice.
Did you notice that headbutt by Malouda? not even a yellow!!! He was late and it was dangerous, sure for him too but well he didn’t get there first, plus he put in a few hefty ones here and there.Don’t get me wrong, I really like the guy.
Another example is Terry’s elbow on Fabregas, if the media was having a go at me well I’d be a little angry
Ivanovich’s “accidental” headbutt on Cesc round the 85th?! weird thing is that just the kind of push that puts you off (he headers wide). Then there’s Bentner penalty claim right after our “unlucky” freekick, honestly hard to make a unbiased judgement but I really think that Bentner had control of the ball and was impeded, would be interesting to see which side the linesman was on.
Now to be clear i’m not whining: that’s part of football, and that’s why Chelsea and MU are where they are (yes similar comments can be made for last week). But, I do love the whole fair play idea and well not all of what I described can fall under the category of the “physical game” or an accident, like i said its part of football but its the very reason why i love Arsenal and AW.
I sat infront of the game, and for the entire 90 mins I really thought we’d at least salvage a draw. Winning wasn’t a necessity before losing to MU, we have an “easier” end of season.
Right at the start of the season, I told myself that given the fixture list our season would be over by February. Over in the sense that we’d need to remain within 5 points of the top if not already ontop. Remember 2 wins would have put us 1st/2nd (on GD) and two draws at 3rd (3 from MU and 5 from Chelsea).The important game for me was Aston Villa perfect opportunity to give us a better cushion for the Double Crunch, .
Considering everything, yep we are in a disappointing position 9 points adrift, but KEEP THE FAITH, this is the Premier League and its far from over.
I agree with your assessment of Bendtner’s impact on the match 100%, he was a physical presence on the field. That is why Wenger must again be blamed for not starting him! Bendtner is not the sole solution by any stretch but, he would have given Terry and Carvalho a few elbows in the face of their own to think about. Critically he would have been available to Mark Terry on the corners! It is a known fact that Terry is dangerous on corners!!!!!
Like Bendtner or not he is decent in the air, and he would have been well capable of helping out on the set piece defending. Not his primary role as a striker but in big games like this, conceding a goal after 8 minutes from the first corner is pivotal. Know one can deny that!!!
If anyone looks at Drogba’s overall game one thing you will notice is how effective he is in his own penalty area when Chelsea defend. He is simply excellent at man marking big players and heading the ball clear. That gives Terry and Carvalho much needed help, and adds to the physical presence that Chelsea have.
I am not so sure I agree with the keep the faith message. Wenger is not a good defensive coach and either he gets someone in who is, or else he steps down to make way for a manager who focuses on all 3 departments with equal importance.
As for signings, Arsenal need a left back, A center back, and a driving force in midfield. Strikers! Arsenal’s goals for column is not that bad at all. Like Lee Dixon said, Arsenal have defensive issues, and that is why they are in difficulty against the top teams. I agree with him
People mention the fouling that goes on and yes it is true but to tell you the truth, I would not care too too much if Arsenal had won the game!
True.. had we won we’d be talking alot less =) but we’ve taken more than we’ve given out, its become almost custom for Arsenal to be fouled, to break up the play not hurt them of course… they just can’t deal with the movements, the better the team the better hidden the foul basically, its an art that you learn in time… but one point is certain we’re getting hammered on counters and i think that Alex Ferguson found the flaw and now everyone is going to have a crack at it.
As for the keep the faith bid, go Arsenal… we got game whether we win or lose. I never want to go through a another Chelsea-Barca game (2009 CL Semi’s) I mean yes they were tactically perfect, almost unlucky but the Gods of Football were present that day … I’d rather lose and play the beautiful game than win playing the “football”.
I like your line up Manas…
Hi Gunner stats
If by keeping the faith if you mean remain an Arsenal supporter then that is not even in question. I have been a Gunner for longer than I care to remember, always will be.
If by keeping the faith you mean stick behind Wenger then I am not so sure!
After the 2005 FA Cup win, he quite correctly embarked on his current crusade of building a new team of young players out of necessity. The old team was ‘old’. He opted to sell Vierra and start again. Fast forward to 2010. Its been 5 years and he still has not found the finished article, 5 years is enough, if he has not found it now I just cannot see him doing so in the future.Somehow he has lost the plot.
When he built the the last successful Arsenal team he went out and brought Patrick Vierra. As every Gunner knows, Vierra was a real ‘leader’. He was also a very physical player, an enforcer, and a really powerful presence in midfield. Wenger built the team around that presence. He added Sol Campbell to his already experienced set of defenders, and by then Thierry Henry and Pires were already terrific players.
This time round he has refused to factor in the physical side of things, and the defensive side of it also. He is in the clouds and content to play the ‘beautiful game’ that you have talked about.
Youre spot on, he plays football they purist way. However football is a ‘physical’ game also. To win you must combine both. Wenger has not done that successfully this time round.
Do not get me wrong, I like the guy, and I am in pain at the way that yet another season is beginning to unravel in this manner and I feel bad for him.
Gunner