One step forward, two steps back, the dichotomy of a weekend with Arsenal
Well, I certainly didn’t see this coming. Not utter capitulation on this scale. But when you look at the seocnd half of yesterday’s match that is what happened. We absolutely folded under a lesser team. And because we lost the gains we made on Saturday were quickly eradicated. One step forward two steps back is unfortunately becoming the Arsenal way in my opinion.
Before I go on any further though, I want to address what everyone else is addressing, the performance of one Lee Probert. And in this brief moment I will absolutely defend Wenger’s frustration over the calls that were levied in the game. Probert was out right SHIT. Let’s assume the second yellow on Djourou was warranted. Wouldn’t be the first time one of our lads was stupid enough to get themselves a second yellow and thus get sent off. But if Djourou knocking over, pulling down or whatever he did to Bobby Zamora was a foul, then Phllipe Seneros’ tug of Van Persie in the box was a stone cold penalty. They were nearly identical in purpose. The only difference I guess is that Bobby Zamora and Fulham were better at getting Probert to make the call.
The problem I have and it was evident in these two calls was consistency of calls. You simply can’t call the same essentially the same foul two different ways. If you are going to call it one way you have to call it the other. It’s quite simple really. Except Probert who is known to “let ’em play” got it entirely wrong. Forget the Gervinho non-call. It was a penalty but let’s be honest Gerv embellished the fall and it calls into question whether it was seen or not as a foul. There were other issues, tugging of shirts, pushes from behind things that weren’t called that a more seasoned, less naive ref would’ve called (yes I used naive like Wenger did).
But let me now be clear, Lee Probert’s influence was not the only reason why we failed to secure points from this match.
No, that honor belongs to the boys who took the pitch in the second half. To say they were shit would be an understatement. They were worse than that. They absolutely positively looked overwhelmed. They couldn’t get out of their own way or their own end for that matter. Whether it was a win or draw for Fulham you just knew that the home team would score the way that second half developed.
People are begging for another striker, that we are devoid of other scorers. I get it but it’s not the case. The players we have are showing themselves to be able to get the chances. Hell, our chances per game are steadily up. What’s not happening is burying those chances. Whether it’s Gervinho’s wiffs, Walcott’s crappy attempts, or Ramsey’s Row Z attempts we simply are shooting for the sake of shooting. And while that is an improvement over past years, making the keeper work and taking quality shots is necessary. This match should’ve been put to bed in the first half. Hell, all three matches we played over the holidays should’ve been over before the second half ever started but no. We just couldn’t finish.
What we need is someone up front who like Van Persie who goes into each situation with the ball knowing he is going to score. He doesn’t always but he goes at with that mentality. Sure, Henry coming back will bring someone with a similar mentality but that is a short term solution. I also believe that in time Gervinho will come good. The big question is Theo Walcott.
Was it me or did that lad look like had inherited Arshavin’s “i can’t be arsed” attitude. His runs down the side where half-spirited. Every cross was either low into the defenders or too far for anyone to matter. At one point in the game it looked like his teammates wanted nothing to do with him. Now, there was a rumour that Walcott’s contract sessions had stalled and he was looking for £85k week. Whether this is true or not it was that kind of disharmony in the locker room that caused us issues last season with Samir and Cesc.
The bigger problem with the team besides the lack of a striker is that we have no real fullbacks and it is why I surmise both Theo and Gervinho have struggled lately. Both were on fire with the likes of Sagna, Jenkinson, and Santos playing. Now without any proper fullbacks they are not getting the support they need. It’s no fauly of the fill ins mind you. Their natural tendancy is to stay back and defender. Not maurauder forward. Djourou looks almost comical when he finally decides to take the ball into the middle of the pitch. Its not their natural tendancy to do. The reason Coquelin looks better at LB than Vermaelen is as a midfielder going forward is part of his game he is comfortable on the ball that way.
We simply must make getting at least one full back be it on loan or through transfer our priority and it must happen before the Swansea game. Until we get proper fullbacks playing we will not have the support that our wingers need. Until then I expect more comments from me and others talking about Theo’s shit games. Before he lost support I was talking about how much Theo had come along in his development.
Until then we will likely be sitting on a lot more 1-0 matches. Which means many more opportunities for teams to get something against us. Which is worrisome. I still believe that top 4 even third is a possibility. Chelsea are shit and even buying may not cure them of their ills. United finally look pedestrian and Liverpool are going to struggle to secure points at home. And Spurs finally look to be slowing down. Basically what it means is that its all up for grabs
Finally I noticed some criticisms of the subs. At first blush I get why Wenger made those moves. Benayoun and Rosicky are more defensive minded than Theo and Gerv. We weren’t getting many opportunities in the second half. The best thing he could do is batten down the hatches and work something on the counter. But the real story is how devoid of real quality are bench is. Right now, I would only rate Benayoun as our only impact sub.
I just probably upset the “Ox must play now” brigade. But as good as Alex Oxlade Chamberlain is going to be – he is not there yet. The biggest issue I see with Ox is that he gives the ball away too many teams in our own end. It something that is going to take time to develop. Yes, he needs more chances but better he build that up in the reserves than do it on the pitch and cost us in a game. He is going to come good. It is just going to take time. The last thing we want with Ox is to turn him into the next Theo Walcott.
The big question is this – do Wenger and the board now feel that a top four spot is in jeopardy? If they do like they did in 09 when they brought in Arshavin, they will make moves. A LB will likely come in on loan. Whether or not a forward comes in is still up in the air. The Lukas Podolski saga is picking up speed as one day he wants to come and the next he doesn’t. Which only means it will likely last until 31 January. Which only means we’ll be biting our nails, saying our prayers and doing whatever vodoo magic we can until we have a back up to Robin Van Persie.
Until then at least we have 5 or so days until the return of the King.
Stay Goonerish people!!!
