Arsenal v Chelsea; Match Preview
It’s Chelsea. Since Roman Abramovich took over the once faltering blues, there has been no team that has truly stood in stark contrast to Arsenal, than Chelsea. And in that era, beginning with the appointment of Jose Mourinho as manager, the current European Champions, have had the better of the engagements – until recently.
And that’s where we take off from. Since the 2010/2011 season there has been a slow gradual shift in the fortunes of Arsenal when it has played Chelsea. It was capped off with the amazingly frenetic 5-3 win by the Gunners at Stamford Bridge.
With Chelsea coming to Arsenal for their first match up of the season, it marks the second big test for the Gunners and the first big opposition presented to the Blues.
Chelsea come in at the top of the table winning 4 and drawing 1. But their wins for the most part have yet to convince anyone that Chelsea are real title contenders.
Roman Abramovich approaches his Chelsea team a lot different then Arsenal. They are his living, fantasy football team, where money is not an object when it comes to signing players. And with little regard for finances, he has begun a rapid transition from the strong powerful Drogba-led Blues to a more finesse driven squad with the likes of Oscar, Juan Mata, and Eden Hazard driving the big blue bus.
This new style of play hasn’t fully taken hold at Chelsea and there are frailties and a lack of creativity at times (due to incessant line-up tinkering) that could be advantageous to the Gunners.
It still holds true that if Arsenal are given the time and space to play their game, they will carve any opposition apart. Manchester City were very fortunate last week that Gervinho had resorted back to his former self. Had he been the Gervinho of the opening few weeks, it is quite possible that Arsenal could’ve walked out of the Etihad with more than a point.
The point is that Arsenal are always going to be good when you give them the time and space. And this is where Chelsea are having problems. With Merieles and Essien gone so has some of the steal in the middle of the pitch for Chelsea. Mikel is admirable but he is hardly effective and in most games it is pretty evident that the back four remain unprotected.
The Chelsea attack is supported by the fullbacks with very little width from players up front. This support from the back leaves additional space in the back, and based on how Arsenal have been moving the ball forward, it’s just an additional avenue the Gunners can exploit
But still, these matches have been hard fought affairs. However, the biggest bruiser of them all is no longer there. Didier Drogba was enough to break Phillipe Senderos’ spirit. He was good. But he was especially good against the Gunners. In 33 EPL match ups between the two sides, Chelsea have fared much better with Drogba in the side then with out (With: W7 D3 L1 – Without: W0 D9 L13).
In this early season, his presence has been largely missed, especially since his replacement, Fernando Torres hasn’t filled the gap. Without the scoring touch up front, the creativity from the middle is suffering.
This match holds so much interest not just for the fact that it will be interesting to see Chelsea play in a style most Arsenal fans know from their own side but have never seen from the Blues. But it will be interesting to see if either of these teams early success is for real.
As we’ve been saying all along though, it’s just another step. For Arsenal, it will show us whether they really are moving in the right direction. Doubt still remains. I’ve heard plenty of pundits and even some Arsenal fans doubt that the improvement we’ve seen is for real.
True enough. The real acid test and analysis should begin when the club have played 10-15 games. Then we can really get a sense of whether or not this club is for real. However, the Chelsea tie still affords us a chance to look hard and see if the defense improvement continues to be stellar.
Manchester City’s midfield and attack were very good. Chelsea sans the misfiring Torres are just as good. It will be another knotch on the belt of Arsenal if they can go out yet again and put on a solid performance against quality opposition.
And in the end while the result means little at this point, it can have a further solidifying effect on Arsenal’s continued upward trajectory
How the match should play out.
I really don’t expect to see the big blue bus pull up on to the Emirates pitch this weekend. I fully expect this new-look Chelsea to come in and have a proper go at it. Arsenal for their part need to come out and immediately get the home crowd involved. They’ll already be baying for blood with John Terry and all his foibles in the line up, but get them riled up against the cross-town rivals and it will make for a long day in North London for the visitors. This really has the makings of a really good match. The chess match in the midfield will likely be where the action is. Look for Arsenal to attack Mikel who is less then formidable in the DM role. With both teams evolving from previous incarnations, I think Arsenal have more than enough to cause the back four and less impressive Petr Cech problems.
Players to Watch:
Arsenal. Carl Jenkinson. The boyhood Arsenal fan who catapulted from Charlton to RB at his favorite club will likely have his hands full on Saturday having to deal with Eden Hazard. How he handles Hazard might go a long way to determining whether or not Bacary Sagna slots back in immediately after his return.
Chelsea. Eden Hazard. It was once thought that the Belgian wunder-kind would be bound to one or two places Arsenal or Real Madrid. And while you can never count out his making a move to Spain he won’t be coming here any time soon. Instead he his plying his trade in Blue and has settled in nicely in the Premier League and at Chelsea. His skill, footwork and ability will provide Carl Jenkinson with his toughest test of the season so far.
Projected Starting XI:
Injuries and Suspensions:
Arsenal: Chamakh (illness), Fabiansky (shoulder), Wilshere (match fitness), Rosicky (calf), Szczesny (ankle), Sagna (leg)
Chelsea: Sturridge (hamstring)
Leading Scorers:
Arsenal: Podolski 2, Gervinho 2
Chelsea: Ivanovic 2, Torres 2, Lampard 2
Assists Leaders:
Arsenal: Cazorla 2
Chelsea: Hazard 4
Last Meeting (EPL):
Arsenal: 0
Chelsea: 0
Goals For:
Arsenal (home): 3
Chelsea (away): 1
Goals Against:
Arsenal (home): 0.5
Chelsea: (away): 0
Last Five:
Arsenal: DDWWD
Chelsea: WWWDW
Goal Difference:
Arsenal: 7
Chelsea: 7
Match Official:
Referee: Martin Atkinson. Matches: 4, R0 Y16.
Broadcast Information:
US: ESPN2 (ESPN3.com) 0745 AM EST
UK: Sky Sports 2 1245 BST
GAMEDAY CHAT: It’s Open!!!!!!
www.youaremyarsenal.com/gamedaychat
YAMA Prediction:
Arsenal: 2
Chelsea: 1
Closing Thoughts:
I have no issue with players yapping to the press. But I would always caution players about what they say when speaking to journalists. It’s one thing to be confident but its quite another to be arrogant and provide “locker-room” ammunition for your opposition.
In one broad statement, Chelsea’s new German player Marko Marin went after Arsenal AND Manchester City (without actually mentioning City by name).
“I am not sure that Arsenal have played against a good team like us.
Fair enough Marko, but I’d wager the current title holders would have something to say about that and frankly so do Arsenal.
He went on, in my opinion to make matters worse. It’s clear by his comments there is some sort of issue between him and Arsenal LW Lukas Podolski. And when asked about him and his possible influence on the match he said this:
“And it will be more hard for Lukas. Will he be a threat? I think we have a very good defence. Our right-back, Branislav, he will do very well. It will be very hard for Lukas to play against him.”
There is more, but you get the point. Marin is a talented player. In pre-season he actually looked like a much better purchase than Eden Hazard. But he has yet to have any impact for Chelsea after picking up an injury and he happens to also slot behind Eden Hazard on the depth chart.
Marin has every right to up his team I would as I do my players, offer caution before you speak and possibly disrespect your opposition. In the end it is more times than not that players pay for those remarks.
That’s all for now. See you after the jump.
Stay Goonerish!
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Swiss Ramble has done a disection of the current Arsenal financial report for the 2011/2012 season (since you are all talking about finances).
It’s here: http://swissramble.blogspot.ch/2012/10/arsenal-song-remains-same.html
Some of it is damning. One thing that concerns me – if not for player sales we would be operating at a loss – even with CL monies.
The other thing that gets in my crawl – in 2007 we were only £14 million behind United in terms of commercial revenue. In 5 years their commerical revenue grew to £118 million and ours grew only £56 million. Now you can argue that the commercial deals needed to stablize the move to the Emirates has locked us into those deals but for the most part even the “improved deals” aren’t doing much.
Indeed, very fine to hear from Mazza….Glad you enjoyed my “twist ending” and even published it for the folks who cannot wade through the other stuff….
While (whilst?) I’m loathe to indulge the relentless sarcasm and dumbing down of the basic argument that Arsenal are nothing but a business, with Arsene trying to make his mark as “manager” of said business, all signs points to its truth. I guess as I get closer to London again (our plan is to be there for the festive period….) it hits closer to home and the feeling of being patently uncompetitive during this period of (massive) opportunity at the top of English football hurts. Even spending the 3 Euros per pint in Paddy’s Pub here in Granada wound me (just a little)….When that’s about the value of our current “#1” keeper AND you can get a can(y)a and a tapa for 1,20 without leaving the Albaycin…..
It also hurts watching silly spending Totts and Liverpool and their more personally driven managers taking the piss out of the great ego of SAF, while ours sells him a goal machine. (Rooney the rug to RVP for the 2nd last night was sublime, even if it made me through up in my mouth a little….) Yes, we probably did “enough” in early summer to replace RVP and we look maybe put together enough to nip Spurs for 4th and maybe even try some domestic cup runs if we’re lucky. Who knows, maybe young Jack and Manny Frimpong can wipe away the tears from the CC loss to Birmingham…. And maybe two years hence Miquel and Martinez will do better than Koscielny and either Sneezy (with the late long ball in the CC) or Don Vito (Chelsea’s 2nd)…..
But being truly competitive for the bigger trophies? Arsene, just gif it to me straight…. Even Peter Hill-Wood isn’t that sort these days….
In other words it’s not so difficult to watch Arsenal football and see the metaphors for globalism, smart (small) business decisions in the face of unfettered Gazillionaire spending and bemoan a certain sort of loss, when all I have to do is go back to bed or have another coffee or go for a ski after (for example) the latest (school ground) miscommunication at set pieces. It’s getting tougher, however, as I get closer to bearing the brunt of a trudge from the pub or even the stadium with varying sized holes in my pocket. For all the elevation (increased popularity) of Football (Soccer) and the increased “value” of the top English clubs, where is the return in the product? We showed spirit against a very uninspiring Man City team in outplaying them and eking out a draw, a bit less in gifting 3 points to Chelsea in an open but (in truth, I thought) pretty poor game. Should I start trying to watch the MLS?…..
Champions league tonight. Do we have a ghost of a chance of getting past the round of 8? Who knows, a lucky draw, hitting the right teams at the right time, even worse refs? Hope is not a plan, I’m told, and it’s the process not the result I should be engaged in…. If the latter is true than maybe I can find some “human drama” Vito’s chance at redeeming himself vs Olympiakos. Perhaps his time at Hull City taught him that yes, you can use you hands again once you’re back in the box…..
As such, I’d urge the DAG to not fret about the match preview though I really hope the site is up so I can access the GDC, if in fact I can get a stream or I end up near the pub at the end of our Alhambra visit this evening. I have to say, I’m not at all clear about the priorities of the site these days. (Obviously) I like having a place to “download” the difficulties (and occasional joys….) of being addicted to the Arsenal. I get the sense, however, that you have bigger fish (or more “followers”) to fry and that hosting a site for the few (indulgent) Arsenal America refugees who still bother isn’t the main priority. (We provide “content” of a sort at least, don’t we?) Hopefully we find out more with the new host AND my comment gets posted….(Winky face, eh)….
As Mazza rightly said, Wenger always contrives to have obvious “holes” in the squad on a yearly basis, just different holes.
Since the “Invincibles” we have never had a complete squad with depth which would convince AFC fans or other teams that Arsenal are true title contenders. Yes, some years we have contended, but the holes always seem to rear their heads and we fall a tad short.
Thus, I logically come up with a few explanations:
1. We don’t have enough money to plug the gaps (definitely untrue).
2. Arsene leaves these holes so he has an excuse if we fail to win titles.
3. He can’t see the holes, which means he has totally lost basic football principles.
If #1 is untrue and either 2 or 3 fits the bill, he should be banished back to Monaco or Grandpus 8.
@Caribkid, yes, well… you obviously don’t get it!
we have the money, but the goal is not winning anything, other than a fictitious trophy that Wenger created, called CL Qualification.
CL Qualification = lots of money for the club = the real goal.
As long as he keeps delivering the massive suitcase of ca$h to the powers at the club in profits, NOTHING else matters at the Ar$enal Football Club, INC. LLC.
That is why our star players keep leaving over and over and over again.
When they ask the key questions about WINNING and WANTING TO WIN, Wenger and the Club give them some bullshit answers over and over… and they realize they have to leave.
of course, there is a large contingent of fans that keep lapping up the secrets and lies of the AFC,
and the stars that are sold off are greedy evil bastard Judas’… and the club are to be consoled, after all they have done
for the players and fans, this is how they are paid back!!
please.
go by a kit.
and then the club will be hopefully be able to buy that “one special player” that will get us over the top!
and you wonder why folks like Mazza and Fred don’t bother commenting about the same season happening over and over again?
It’s called APATHY.
and its created by the club itself.
Lovely to see you both Mazza and Vibe. We have been the lesser for your clever and witty comments. Serendipitous indeed, I started to write yesterday about how we missed your comments and then pressed the wrong button on my computer and lost it all, and then… whacko you appear!
You may be right Maz, this may be another false dawn. And yes, the danger is extreme that the new experienced crew get exhausted by the EPL marathon and having to carry the crocks (ironic that the vaunted midfield depth so quickly becomes what it is – illusional – Diaby, Wilshere, Rosicky, Frimpong all ‘unavailable’ and so we’re left with Ramsey and Le Coq).
Wenger plays a high-risk game every season. We badly need so many things to ‘go our way’. At least there is interest in new players and the exit of the dead(ened)wood.
Hi Vibe (am I really thick or is there no reply button?)
Yep, still alive, and still pop in from time to time to read. Kiwi, HTS, et al still admirably churn out original, interesting stuff. There was a comment of yours a while ago that hit the spot as well.
Probably a tad harsh below. There are more likeable elements to the side and slowly the players I despised over the years (Song, Walcott, Diaby) are lessening in number and influence. Still though, Wenger has left too many holes as usual and that will eventually sap all the good energy and intentions that are evident at the moment. Then new and dynamic players that are currently giving us a leg-up will become the jaded ones and the cycle repeats….
“As people know, I usually support the manager and the club’s policies….However, NONE of the teams in the ENTIRE league is playing this sort of economic hardball,on a relative basis, of course, let alone the top 6, with their equal or far better coffers– and all on the back of tickets (Saturday’s at least) which cost 62-122 pounds. But I guess that’s why the Ox plays after Diaby goes off, instead of Le Coq who must’ve been a better choice than Ramsey in the center of the park….For a change I’m inclined to think that economics are taking precedence over on-pitch priorities….”
Bingo!
I haven’t really been that interested or taken in this season by all this new found togetherness/solid bond etc. It all sounds very 09/10 to me. I still remember the observations around the time of 1-6 Everton match and the ground out win at Celtic Park in the CL Qualifier. “Denilson has bulked up”….. “Diaby looks like he means business” and there were several other remarks about a certain new stream-lined element to the team; a purpose and direction that was missing in 08/09.
I didn’t buy it then and I don’t now. As I said about five years ago, Wenger keeps adding new ingredients to the soup to make it somewhat palatable and this often leads to(or seemingly leads to) renewed vigour and a shedding of mental baggage, but it’s still the same old stale soup that’s been lying there too long, and the Chef responsible (still) needs firing.
@Mazza,
Hi Mazza! Glad you’re not dead!
@vibe4arsenal, glad you’re both not dead!! And Mr 3 Sheds.
QUICK NOTE FROM YOUR FRIENDLY ADMIN:
There may not be a match preview for the CL this week. I am in the process of moving the site to a new hosting company.
If I keep adding articles, I have to continually reinstall the DB. Which is a tedious process.
Also be forewarned that some comments may be lost when the site goes live on the new server. So please, don’t think I am deleting messages.
First off, it sucks to lose, at home, to Chelsea when they’re clearly not that good, deeply in transition etc. 2nd, For me (at least) the site was down during the match, so no GDC and Paddy’s pub was pretty empty as well (or at least no Gooners to chat with). At least my kid was there with me, but he doesn’t approve of all my swearing…. Long post coming, but at least there’s a surprise twist at the end….
Good comments all the way around, even if Stag’s identification of culprits seems off base, as per usual. How is Mannone not at fault for claiming the shot (for the 2nd) from that distance? There wasn’t a Chelsea player nearby so Kos’ late touch seemed (to me, at least) like a very surprised effort to knock the ball across goal when he realized that Mannone wasn’t going to move–it was clearly going in all the way…. But people see things differently based on their pre-judgements. I think we missed Per AND Sneezy (or, say, Ali Al Habsi….) as both seem to point and yell and clarify assignments. John Terry and Petr Cech were maybe the veteran differences that tilted the match their way. Certainly they dealt just fine with our set pieces….
Neither team did much with the ball in MF and both have trouble finishing, Torres simple touch while embracing Kos (not being blinded by David Luis’ hair….) and Gervinho’s miracle finish not at all what I’d expect from them normally. Torres failing to finish 1 on 1 vs Mannone was more like it and worse than Giroud blowing his late chance, though, of course, Stag would’ve given him the pen…. Note how Chelsea never really challenged our shooters in the box, (risking pens….), instead counting on them to miss on their own….
Like josh says, Ramsey crowds his mates (as does Gerv further forward, when played centrally). Santi did OK I thought (his late shot notwithstanding) but Poldoski was often left with just a sliver of space. Like I’ve said over and over, Ramsey is a runner (who can’t run) and his strong motor will make him a MF general at a much lower level. Our only hope with him (I think) is for Wilshere to straighten him out by yelling at him while matching all the running. Clearly, the more veteran players are perplexed by all the purposeless activity, why run when you can fill space in easier ways?…..
The sad thing is that Chelsea really weren’t much better with Hazard and Oscar both very unpredictable and playing on their own while clogging the works for Mata and Ramires as they tried to find Torres. Frankly, despite their good start, I think they will struggle this season against the better clubs, buying more talent in January or next summer as it becomes apparent.
We won’t, of course, and again we’ll compete with bailing wire and duct tape plus a big measure of hope and “collective belief”. We’ve dropped plenty of points (in the league) already as we hope nobody gets hurt and our new players bed in. We didn’t sign anybody in MF thinking (surely) that at least one or two of Rosciky, Wilshere or Diaby could contribute. Gervinho’s doing better this year; But we cannot afford Poldoski and Giroud to similarly waste their first seasons. We need to shake things up quickly and I think the Gerv through the middle experiment now needs to become plan B. West Ham might be a good chance for a battle of the beasts (Giroud vs Andy Carroll). In that one, however I’ll take Jussi Jaaskelainen over Don Vito…..
So, when you add in injuries AND contract issues AND our (newly) dented confidence, we simply are not that deep–Sorry Arthur, though I like our draw in the Milk Cup…. Burnt once by a deadline day signing who now carries the club-high salary and can only play if no defense is required (Arshavin), AW didn’t like the options at the end of August. That’s fine, but maybe he should’ve worked harder at the Euros to fill the glaring holes…. And it’s not like he didn’t know what RVP and Theo were doing, while it sounds like the manager himself pulled the plug on Alex Song.
Breaking it down further…. Failing to sign an experienced keeper, not taking (paltry) money for Theo (in the wake of RVP hate…) AND opting to not bring in a decent (non-scoring) midfielder (who maybe scores–see Sahin at Pool) was short term thinking at its worst. Yes, Pool is probably doing the opposite (again, see their silly loan for Sahin and Rodgers desperately trying to offload King Kenny’s mistakes) so they couldn’t “afford” Theo (nor Dempsey) while City took Scott Sinclair instead–which kinda says all you need to know about Theo….. Lloris (and French MFs like M’Vila and Cabaye) were overpriced but now Theo leaves on a free while we play a keeper just because Hull wouldn’t pay 2 million to make his loan permanent? Hopefully Sneezy is less of a perpetual injury (and a better keeper) than his fellow Pole (Fabianski) and I guess, if goals are still hard to come by, we can always recall Bendtner or Park, if they do anything out on loan….Can we do it in January, given that Arsh and Theo will likely be going out and we’ve still got a chance to be in the cups at that juncture?….
As people know, I usually support the manager and the club’s policies….However, NONE of the teams in the ENTIRE league is playing this sort of economic hardball,on a relative basis, of course, let alone the top 6, with their equal or far better coffers– and all on the back of tickets (Saturday’s at least) which cost 62-122 pounds. But I guess that’s why the Ox plays after Diaby goes off, instead of Le Coq who must’ve been a better choice than Ramsey in the center of the park….For a change I’m inclined to think that economics are taking precedence over on-pitch priorities….
So, hope it is and maybe some (ersatz) squad depth with Arsh and Theo shopping themselves in the CL match in midweek. Olympiacos will fancy their chances when they see Mannone in our goal, or maybe we should try Martinez?…. Then maybe some luck and 3 points in the East End and not being outthunk by Fat Sam….. Int’l break can’t come soon enough, IMO, I hate to say….
interesting game yesterday. at the back, arsenal seemed spastic; not sure if spastic is a real word but it best describes how they defended. i always expect that from vermaelen as he tends to fixate and is very determined, but koscielny is typically a bit more composed. for some reason, laurent didn’t attack the ball on the first chelsea goal and i don’t know what he was trying to do on the second goal. cheap vermaelen fouls lead to cheap free kicks. jenkinson and gibbs played very well. i can’t remember a better performance from gibbs.
in midfield, people have noticed cazorla’s diminished effect on the game. got two words to explain that: aaron ramsey. kiwi says he’s not technically as good as diaby. true, but that’s not his biggest problem. it’s his tactical awareness or lack of awareness.
my major gripe with ramsey is his movement off the ball. guys in the gdc have listened to me piss and moan about this since week 1 last season. arsenal’s philosophical approach allow the midfielders alot of freedom to move around the pitch as they feel best helps the game. ramsey tends to move with little to no resepct for what the other midfielders are doing. he often makes the same run as another player or tends to occupy bad space; bad space meaning a position similar to where someone else has already moved to. the other midfield players move based on what their colleagues are doing and not just on where the ball is. ramsey only sees the ball.
ramsey also makes a lot of passes to someone who’s about to get kicked. he doesn’t seem to realize that just because you can complete a pass to someone doesn’t make it a good idea to pass them the ball. you’ve got to see what happens next. many of our plays break down because of ramsey’s ill-advised passing or poor off the ball movement. in fact, think of every bad performance arsenal had last season and i guarantee that ramsey started those games.
example, around the 48th minute, chamberlain recieved the ball in money space at the top of the box. then ramsey makes a lateral run about one meter directly between alex and the goal right when alex was about to shoot. alex had to alter his shot to avoid hitting a teammate who ran across his path. i just laughed when it happened but he does that sort of thing all the time. i’m tired of that kid.
@joshuad, So much for Mazzas golden boy, the saviour of Arsenal. But I still hope the boy will come good as Wenger seems determined to play him ahead of LeCoq and Frimpong.
@arteta3sheds,
Where is Mazza? Almost forgot about him completely… Fred slowly fading from memory as well..
@OziKenyan, I am sure Fred at least will make an appearance if things start to go wrong, I should be surprised that he hasn’t commented on this defeat, I suppose he is waiting for a string of poor performances before having a good old monger. Mazza is extremely irregular these days. I think the last time I saw a comment from him was when RvP departed or some other catastrophic event prior to that.
I cannot understand why some people are saying our squad lacks depth. I think we have a bid squad with a lot of quality. There are probably only 2-4 teams in the league with a stronger squad that ours.
Our squad is so strong Arshavin sometimes doesn’t make the bench. We have about 3 quaility experienced options on either wing, CMs galore with the return of Rosicky and Wilshere. We have Chamankh, Poldo, Giroud, Vinho supposedly Theo and possibly OX who can play up front. We have three fantastic CBs and with theimprovement of Gibbs and JEnks we have pretty good cover for full back.
I think our biggest problem in the GK options I do not think we have a world class GK amongst them.
@arteta3sheds,
The squad is short on quality in 3 positions.
1. GK as you said
2. DM, as Arteta is the only class player there
3. Striker, we only have one,Giroud, and he is misfiring.
If we had kept RVP and Song, and brought in Lloris we would have covered all our bases. Would definitely have been contenders in all competitions.
@Caribkid, CK I know, you know we cannot have players the quality of Arteta in reserve, just not affordable except by Man city it seems. We have Le Coq and Frimpong , I think that is good quality back up.
As for Giroud, Wenger has put his trust in him that is why he bought him, he has to give the guy time to adjust, he has Chamakh on the bench (not the best but he would make many’s first team). You would not expect us to have Giroud as a 3rd choice striker. Not practicle to do anything but give him time of sell him. I say give him time, he looks like he will be good once he starts scoring.
@arteta3sheds, What do we do if Arteta goes down? who performs in his place?
Do you forget that we only won 1 MATCH all of last season, without Arteta?
Where is the creativity coming from if Cazorla goes down, or plays poorly? We saw that yesterday.
No, we don’t have a star keeper, that we can hang our hat on… and have him save the day at times…
haven’t since Lehmann…
Please, do not mention the likes of Chamakh… who has been TERRIBLE. Arshavin… who has been POOR… and ROSICKY who can not stay on the pitch because of injury, much like Diaby.
These 4 can NOT be counted on to contribute anything… they are taking up space on the roster and they all have BIG SALARIES.
Absolute waste of money on their salaries. You are not going to hit on all your transfers. I don’t have an issue with bringing them in, but after they have failed in one way or another, over and over and over again, to keep them on the roster and expect production is INSANITY.
@stag133, You have a point about the injury prones, but I do not know what their salaries are, but I think Wenger is not tooo bothered about the injuries as he likes to develop the youngsters anyway.
Carzola is irreplaceable anyway, unless you have Cesc or even Song as a back up, expensive back ups anyway, but the hope is Wilshere or Ox will be able to provide some sort of creative cover when he is out. Don’t right off Arshavin you do not lose quality over night… as they say form is temporary…
I agree Chamakh is not that good but I am hoping after a year of settling in he may have improved a lot. I still think we have a pretty strong squad.
I think we had the better chances throughout that game and Chelsea were lucky to win. Two quite fortunate flukey goals, nothing scored from open play. I cannot recall many chances that they made through open play, all I remmeber Mannone doing was picking the ball out of the net on two occasions and once flapping the ball into his own net when Torres was adjudged offside. Mannonne looked suspect again and highlights our need for a new keeper yet again.
Contrary to popular belief Carzola played reasonably well, he was involved and was not shut out the game just did not have as much impact as he had in some games previously. no one should expect him to be able to have stellar performances every week, although Ramires tried hard he could not stop Santi having an influence.
Diaby coming of didn’t help, we looked weaker for it but it got worse when Ox went into the centre MF, I do not think he is good enough defensively for a CM berth as yet.
I can understand why Wenger brought in Kos for Per, but I think it was a mistake because Per had been playing so well, but I could imagine him being done by the pace and guile of the Hazard, Matas and Oscars of this world. Kos is far more mobile but we cannot judge his form at present. I think he played percentages for the first goal and the 90% cover he felt he had on Torres was not good enough. Had we played the zonal system for that set peice Kos would have more likely been looking at the ball instead of Torres and that goal would not have happened. I cannot understand we we seemed to revert to man marking for this game.
The second goal was Mannones fault, as had Kos not touched it would probably have nestled further in the corner of the net away from Mannone, Kos deflected the ball closer to the GK. In Kos’s defence he was the only Arsenal player that anticipated where the pass would end up, the only one that reacted (unfortunatly he gets credited with another OG for his troubles, however Mannone should have been the most alert. That was another lucky Chelsea goal although it was a great delivery from Mata.
I am not worried about that defeat it will be defeats against the lesser lights that will be worrying. If Carzola, Giroud had put their very good chances away we would be discussing a victory.
I am looking forward to doing a reversal at the Bridge. Chelsea may win the league but if they do they will not be that far ahead of us.
@arteta3sheds, LoL.
yes. Chelsea were lucky.
That’s what happened. What did we do to deserve the win?
and Koscielny was not to blame for either goal…
Great stuff.
@stag133, Did I say that he was not at fault for the first goal, I don’t think so.
Did we not have the most clear cut chances, did they not score a flukey second goal? We deserved to beat the money-bags Stag! I know it is too hard for you to believe as it questions the very fabric of your religion, but it is true.
@arteta3sheds, We deserved NOTHING!
we lost the game, and we didn’t finish our chances. We don’t have any finishers, we sold the best one in the league to ManU.
No. we did not “deserve” to win.
Chelsea played a good game, their new midfield outplayed ours. The latest Diaby muscle problem exposed the difference (gulf) between Diaby and the triers like Ramsey who replace him. Our fluent game has been based on the quick nimble interplay in tight spaces between Diaby and Cazorla linking the attack. Today watching Arsenal after Diaby’s exit in the 16th minute was sobering. Ramsey tries, no doubt, but he simply has nowhere near the techincal quality and control of Diaby. As the game wore on, Ramsey got worse. His confidence and the Chelsea harrying of our supply lines sapped Ramsey of his confidence and his passing became awful.
It’s hard to know what happened to the Arsenal of recent weeks. Cazorla a shadow of his majestic self and Podolski was really really quiet, even absent. Was it simply a poorer game for the new boys? Did the midfield fail to supply them with a reasonable service? Whatever the cause the Arsenal game regressed as the 90mins progressed.
FYI…Walcott had 30mins and was woeful.
Gervinho took his instinctive goal really well but… not sure of his fit for this taxing role.
Oxlade-Chamberlain came on for Diaby and seemed to struggle a little to influence things much. Although he did play the money ball for the goal.
Koscielny had a Birmingham game – he was directly at fault for both goals. I like the calm Mertesacker brings. Unfortunately Koscielny is Phrench and ‘mobile’ so we might have to endure this type of nonsence more often. Is it a total coincidence that we looked all at sea defensively today?
The FBs were worked hard, in part because the ball struggled to go through the midfield and to go fast. So we reverted to that slower FB centric play followed-up by lateral passing.
Disappointing performance. How do we respond? I don’t like Wenger playing with the CBs, Wenger is not a tactical manager. He should leave Mertesacker and Vermaelen at CB and wait for injuries, illness and suspensions to force rotation.
@Kiwi,
Spot on as always Kiwi.
Just to reiterate/add to these pts:
-It’s painfully obvious that if you neutralize Cazorla or if he has a bad game, Arsenal end up looking very toothless around goal.
-Mert should have started no question and I expect normal service to be resumed. After today’s show, I won’t even be surprised if what you say does happen and Wenger waits for injury to force his hand.
-Diaby to Ramsey drop off in quality. Very accurate judgement I think. We have 2 games before another international break so hopefully Diaby is back by then plus Wilshere might be ready for a bench role by then (a bit more cover for Diaby’s time-bomb injury).
-As a fan somewhere said, never has Arsenal been so bereft of a world-class/near world-class striker. In this day of the lone forward, that lone forward needs to be immense. Without this quality, you end up drawing a lot of games you should win (Sunderland, Stoke, City) and losing a lot you should draw (Yesterday). 6 games into the league and that’s already a potential 7 points an on form RVP could have potentially won us.
Walcott was invisible today and just going with the point above, him leaving might force Wenger to dip into the transfer market (hopefully for a striker with Gervinho moving back to the wing).
A Tale of One City.
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…
Unfortunately, Arsenal are NOT the best team in London.
Might be 3rd best… according to the standings.
Same old Arsenal. Same old Koscielny.
Same old Diaby.
Yes, I know… he’s brilliant… he’s a revelation… he’s sooo good.
Yeah. So, first goal, Koscielny back to the play, his man scores…
Yeah… he then falls, gets up and nicks Torres’ leg, could have been a penalty, but luckily escapees any call…
Yeah… and finally, AGAIN… he scores in his OWN NET. (he has to do that at least a few times a season)… he wasn’t given an own goal, but it DID go in, off his knee.
Classic Koscielny…
For the most part, a fairly even game…
Cazorla was not all that impressive today… Podolski anonymous…
Again, we had chances … and I have to say, the difference between what we have an RVP, is that he would probably have 5 goals for us this season, if he were in the team… he’d have put some of these chances away…
but alas, we sold him. And NOBODY in our team, is a lethal finisher.
Were we embarrassed?
No. Not by a long shot.
I have to give credit to both JENKINSON and GIBBS. They have both played really well all season long… They have both made a major leap forward… and if that’s down to Bould, I am not sure… but its noticeable and a big plus.
I don’t know that Sagna / Santos should walk back into the team at all.
And… lastly, on the list of “same old Arsenal”….
Diaby goes off injured AGAIN…
just a shame really. Because he does have skills that not many possess, and he makes a difference in the team… but he kicked a ball today, and went off injured.
At some point, you give up on the player (see Rosicky as well)…
I’ll say it again.
It doesn’t really matter in the grand scheme of things, so can’t get too worked up about it. We are NOT competing for the League, so losing a match or a few, is not that disappointing.
I agree with some others… that this team has a bit more grit than recent teams.
They are a bit more likable… watchable… but the fact is we lack the proper depth to compete over a long season.
If we had RVP and Song in THIS TEAM, we would definitely be “contenders”.
I coulda been a contender… (Marlon Brando – On the Waterfront)
A good hard-working performance by the team against quality opposition. Match was evenly balanced and could have tilted either ways. Unfortunately our defensive blunders (Koscielny and Mannone the culprits) cost us.
Great performance by Gibbs, Jenkinson, Arteta (breaking down attacks) Gervinho, Ramsey (1st half) and Ox. Cazorla was sloppy in his passing. Podolski was mostly absent.
The double substitution disturbed our shape.
At the moment it seems like a 4-5 horse race for the title.
@soccerfreak, What did Mannone do?
Koscienly cost us BOTH goals, and almost a 3rd.
No chance for Mannone on the first goal, Koscienly had his back to the play, clutching and grabbing Torres, who scored a scorers goal…
and the 2nd goal was DIRECTED INTO THE NET OFF KOSCIELNY… It definitely HIT HIS KNEE, and DIVERTED INTO THE GOAL.
Should have been an own goal… not sure it goes in without him changing the direction.
@stag133, Even if it touched Kocielny (and I think it did), it was a very slight touch and directed it closer to Mannone. He should have done much better with that ball. I think we are now seeing why Wenger didn’t see much of a future for Vito at the club.
I can’t tell which is worse, getting up pre-dawn or waiting around until the matches happen….1:45 p.m. start here in rainy Spain, for me….
I’m not so sure about those line-ups DAG….I think we might see TV5-LV6 as the central (“Per-less?”) pair given that Mata and Torres are pretty adept at pulling defenders out of position so that Hazard can get inside. Also, I think Oscar has a good chance of getting the nod over Lampard or maybe Ramires plays central and Victor Moses goes to the wing. As always, WTF do I know?….
Scoring could be the problem for both teams, esp. if the weather is as foul up there as it is here. Hopefully the supporters, with their new, uber-pricy tickets will be comfortable, in the first of the Class A (or whatever the club is calling it) matches. Surprised, in fact, that nobody has mentioned that fact, along with the recently released profits….I guess they’re just waiting for us to get beaten first, or something….
Finally, I’m not sure how you can say Cech is “less impressive” after last season’s CL run and this year’s start. 4 clean sheets out of 5 seems pretty solid…. At 62-100+ pounds per ticket, and given that this could be a (very) tight battle of defenses it seems a very big test for our 3rd choice keeper and an opportunity for fans to wonder why we didn’t bring in some experience at the position. Of course, I’ve got Don Vito as my fantasy keeper, so really I’m just hedging my bets….
Go on…..
I think the major matchup this game is going to be Cazorla vs Mikel.. If our man wins that we have a good shot at a win
@OziKenyan, And likewise our Mikel (Arteta) vs
their Spaniards (Mata in particular, along with Torres, who still has good
movement, if not finishing)….
Interesting the number of (top) English teams leaning (heavily) on Spanish
players these days. Maybe Cesc, who is widely considered a failure these
days by Barca supporters I’ve been meeting, should’ve thought twice…..
as long as we play Theo, we’ll win.
No Theo, No Win.
;)
Absolutely extraordinary for you to round on Marko Marin. Arsenal players Walcott Arteta are all talk prematch and Fbregas , RVP and Wishere have never been short of talking to the press. Who can forget Walcotts excited diatribe about Arsenal replacing the Blues as Londons top team? Since then of course we have become Champions of Europe and FA cup holders. Through spirit,skill,ad certainly not the chequebook…so till tomorrow KTBFFH
The Emirates on Fire!
Yeah…Chelsea bring their top-of-the-table swagger to the Emirates. As early as 12.45pm, the two sides take to the pitch to determine who reigns supreme, albeit temporarily, in the march to 12/13 EPL title.
With Hazard, Oscar, Moses, Marin…Chelsea acquired crafty legs of the beautiful game last summer. AMAZING to see Chelsea fans scream to the roof tops while applauding Oscar’s mastery of the round leather or Hazard’s trickery and evasive skills! Never knew those blokes liked tiki-taka!
It is therefore interesting to look forward to a game between The Blazing Gunners and The Rampant Blues. Whether Chelsea have learnt enough within so short a time to engage the Gunners in a type of game the Emirates landlords are clearly the masters, at least, in English soil, is open to debate. In Mata, Ramires, Luiz, Hazard, Oscar, Moses…they got players who can seamlessly fit into Arsenal’s pattern…Not to mention that Casley Cole was tutored by Le Prof. Mikel doesn’t lack in passing either.
However, in Arteta, Diaby, Carzola, Podolski…I’ve witnessed such intricate passing and mastery this term. Even in highly difficult venues, the Gunners have refused to bow this season. If only Gervinho could more considerate in his finishing! Whatever, tomorrow’s game promises to be a cracker!
Who will win? Today’s Gunners differ significantly from those of past seven years. Expectedly a line-up tomorrow of Mannone – Jenkinson, Mertesacker, Vermelean, Gibbs – Arteta, Diaby, Carzola – Gervinho, Giroud, Podolski…will be the first time Arsenal will line-up a team of just three players short of 26 years against Chelsea in seven years! That important factor termed experience is no longer lacking in the Gunners’ arsenal.
With Chelsea expected to line out Cech – Ivanonic, Cahill, Terry, Cole – Mikel, Lampard, Oscar – Mata, Torres, Hazard…the front four are ball players. If RDM decides to bring in Ramires in place of Lampard then fans are in for a real treat. Any of the two sides is capable of carrying the day. On a good day either can win at any turf.
With a complete squad, Arsenal hardly loses, even to Barcelona…
MAY THE BETTER SIDE WIN…of course the better side is always Arsenal!