Arsenal past their first test

First test down.

First test passed.

We’ve been told that we’d know more about this Arsenal squad after matches against Manchester City and Chelsea.  Well, with the first test down, Arsenal should, if the performance against City a gauge, be considered in the mix for title conversations.

I had two experiences with this match. I had to listen to it live and track the conversation via twitter since I was away doing that age old tradition of tailgating in the US.  When I listened to the match and the commentary and saw some of the comments, you’d have thought the game presented two very different halves.

When I watched it, the description painted via the pundits, etc, was in my opinion wrong. The real picture was a rampant Arsenal in the first half totally controlling the flow and tempo of the game and definitely looking the more dangerous of the two sides.

In the second half, Mancini made a smart move and pulled Sinclair who looked out of his depth. He brought in Jack Rodwell who helped compact the City midfield and made game a little tighter. For certain, City had the better of the chances but Arsenal still managed to control play. Overall, I’d say the overall performance was more indicative of the improvement in Arsenal than a decline at City.

Sure, City are having defensive issues reminiscent of Arsenal. They simply can’t shut down opponents.  And by not closing out Arsenal when they had the lead and as good as Arsenal looked, you felt the Gunners were going to come away with something.

But there still are issues that are cropping up. The first of which is that Gervinho seems to have found his form  – from last season. He had two gilt edged chances to put City away and in each case was found wanting. I am still perplexed why Wenger kept him on rather than swap him for Chamberlain or Theo (rather than Theo replacing Podolski). I heard one commentator say – City looked the more threatening whenever Gervinho had the ball. How right they were.

Gervinho is entitled to bad days. But this was horrendous.  One on one with a keeper. About 20 yards between you both and you’re lead foot first touch kills and absolute gem of opportunity set up by Aaron Ramsey. Then in the waning moments of the game, beating the defender at the top of the 18 yard box with an opportunity to put the match to bed, you absolutely scuff the shot. You simply have to bury those shots. Not finishing the first, allowed City to take a lead going into the half. Lucky for Gervinho there was very little time left to the game. If you don’t bury your chances the chances of being buried by your opposition only increase.

But like I said he is entitled to his bad days and for the most part the Ivorian has been stellar for Arsenal.

The other concern for Arsenal is goal keeper. Szczesny is out and while Mannone is proving a worthy sub, you still wonder if there is a big gaff waiting to happen. He’s  good. Better than I think he gets credit for. But is he inspiring? I’m not sure. Yes, he left his line and attacked the ball leading to the goal by Lescott. The thing is, where that goal was placed, even had he been on his line, it was going in. The play does show however, that there is still some positional work that needs to be done to his game. You worry about the next time – and whether or not his poor positional play leads to a gaff that costs the team. Still, praise where praise is due. He has barely put a foot out of place this season.

The other surprising thing about this match was the battle that didn’t materialize  – the one in the midfield. In Yaya Toure City boast one of the most influential players in the game today. However, with the exception of one or two real noticeable opportunities he wasn’t the big presence I thought he’d be. That probably is due to the fact that it looked like Mancini had him back more than forward.

Additionally, Abou Diaby was relatively quiet with the exception of one or two moments. The thing about both of these players, is that even though they were quiet, it doesn’t mean they were essentially poor, it just means that their presence wasn’t felt. And this was a battle I thought would really dictate the outcome of the game.  Needless to say it didn’t.

No, the true boss of the game to me was Aaron Ramsey. Ramsey was so strong through the game, with good footwork, target passing and speed that caused City no end of problems. His sublime pass on the first Gervinho chance was weighted so perfectly that anyone without lead foot first touch would’ve latched on it in stride and likely buried it.  Ramsey through his substitute appearances and starts is beginning to show quite possibly why both Arsenal and United were so keen to sign the promising youngster from Cardiff. Now with the ability to rotate players, Ramsey isn’t needed to play every game and he can develop over time and not run himself out of steam like last season. And if he has managed to get rid of those bad backpasses he loved so much, more’s the better.

Ramsey put in a MOTM performance yesterday and was in my opinion the reason we looked the better midfield unit (and the fact that David Silva looks intensely bored and disinterested). But he did not and does not get MOTM. That is reserved for a player I was worried about heading into this match. Per Mertesacker. BIG EFFIN GERMAN does him no justice in how big he has been. He has been a positional colossus.

I was worried that had Mancini opted to start Tevez and Aguero together, that their skill, speed and 1v1 ability would’ve made life difficult for the German. However, even when they were paired together late in the game, the German international snuffed out pass after pass after pass.  He was immense. His ability to read the game, put him into position to snuff out nearly every attack that came his way.

I’ve always been a big fan of his. I did worry for a bit that the speed of the England game might even negate his playing reading ability but as the season went on and on, he improved.  Before turning his ankle last season, he was having the game of his fledgling Arsenal career. Now, he is healthy he seems to see the English game better now and his integral to the improvement we are witnessing.

Many of us are gaining in confidence with every game. But there are still more hurdles and twists and turns to come.  The next one is when the current league leaders Chelsea come calling to the Emirates.  It will surely be an interesting matchup. In the end like the Manchester City match, it is just another step forward.

Giroud Watch:
No goals. But man he outmuscled Vincent Kompany on 3 different occasions that I saw. That’s no small feat.

Player Ratings
Mannone: 6
Jenkinson: 8
Mertesacker: 9 MOTM
Koscileny: 8
Gibbs: 7
Arteta: 7
Cazorla: 8
Diaby: 6
Podolski: 6
Ramsey: 9
Gervinho: 5

Subs:
Walcott N/A
Giroud N/A
Coquelin N/A

And in closing – 

“I think Arsenal is coming again. I like this Arsenal team” he said “I know they’ve lost some players but I like the way Arsene is building this team and I think they can be a positive surprise (in the title race)”

“I like this team more than the one from previous seasons despite losing a very good player like Van Persie” – Jose Mourinho