Right Back Where We Started: Arsenal v Everton, Match Preview
Can recent history repeat itself
When these two teams last met, it was match day 1 of the 2009/2010 season. Now at the start of the second half of the season, Arsenal and Everton meet again with both teams at opposite ends of the the table. Based on recent form Everton haved moved away from relegation danger and are squarley in the middle of the table while Arsenal are providing upward pressure on the league leading Chelsea.
Everton are hoping to continue their current form, unbeaten in their last 5 matches and collecting 7 points. They come to the Emirates having beaten Carlisle in the FA Cup and are looking to exact an amount of revenge on the Gunners. In order to do that though, David Moyes’ side will need to overcome their own injury problems. Everton currently have 9 players sitting out, one of which is Louis Saha. He is a match time decision and could either start at striker or sit out completely. Either way the merserysiders will need all the help they can muster to take on the in form Arsenal side.
We don’t need to rehash where the squad were a month ago. We all know and felt deeply wounded by the 3-0 loss against Chelsea. But here we are a month and half later only 4 points off the lead. Had we managed to play and beat Bolton in the midweek makeup match Arsenal could be looking at a chance of going ahead (since Chelsea’s match against Hull has been cancelled). And while Arsene is bemoaning the back log of games to come, the side cannot lose its forward momentum.
In order to keep their pressure on United and Chelsea, Arsenal need to take over where they left off against Everton. At the start of the season, Arsenal emphatically stated their intent by drubbing the blues 6-1. Louis’ Saha’s loan goal came when the match was all but over in the 90th minute. The match was a display of the fire power Arsenal had and featured a debutant goal by lynchpin Thomas Vermaelen. When signed he was noted as being “whodat?” but now all Gooners know who is and is part of the current Arsenal resurgence.
Since that match in August, Arsenal have gone on an impressive run. Yes, they have had their stumbles but overall they are lately the more consistent of the contending clubs. Additionally, they really look like the only top club right now who can string together wins of 8 or more. The other sides all have issues that could prevent them from doing it. And if Arsenal are able to maintain a model of consistency they have a better than average chance of nipping the trophy and breaking the duopoly established by Chelsea and Manchester United over the last 5 years
The team still leads the league in scoring, even with a large portion of its attack resting their heels int he trainers room. At home they have only lost one time and have to draw. Their last 3 home mathches have been cleansheets and they continue to score on average 3 goals per match. Even with the injuries there hasn’t been a let up in the club’s overall efficiency. And while the injuries may lead people to moan about the squad’s injuries no other squad has done as well this season with so many gone. Arsenal have managed to continue their scoring pace, they’ve been the more consistent team out of the conenders of late and should the weather permit, they have a favorable run of matches leading into the end of January – where they the once again play the likes of United, Chelsea and Pool.
Of course injuries and the Africa Cup of Nations leave the team a little threadbare and you wonder how long this success can continue. Alex Song and Emmanuel Eboue are away on ACoN duty. Song’s absence could be the hardest felt. Simply put the 22 midfielder has quietly gone about his duty and been a solid and steadfast member of the swuad. He has played the holding midfielder role with all the professionalism and skill of some of the more seasoned players in the league. The kind of consistency he has given the team will be hard to replace but either Denilson or Diaby will be deputized to do so.
Diaby in the meantime has steadily improved from game to game. He is a scoring threat and when he is allowed to play an up and down game he is a threat to push defences back onto their heels. He is constantly improving his play and is showing some keen skill in retaining the ball and passing it to his on feild partners. Additionally it looks like his teammates are growing in confidence to bring him into the game whereas in the past that would’ve been unlikely. Diaby is one of a few players that will need to step up big in order for Arsenal’s run to continue.
Still, the squad is beset with injuries, Cesc Fabregas, and Walcott are still out and won’t return. Depending on which tabloid you believe, Nicholas Bendtner is either two weeks from returning or in need of more surgery. Gael Clichy is supposedly back for training with the possibility of featuring in next week’s matches.
Today’s match is a big “if” as of right now. Like the Bolton fixture and many of the fixtures around the league, it is being threatened by the continuing snow that is gripping Britain. Arseneal will hope to keep this match scheduled as they want to keep their momementum up. Considering the Chelsea match has already been cancelled it is quite possible that this game if played will become the defacto “Game in hand” that Bolton was supposed to be.
Finally, Arsenal want to play because their form since the Chelsea loss has been amazing. With 7 game played since then they have 6 wins and 1 draw. They’ve managed to tighten things up further and they been able to keep a few clean sheets. Players are starting to get rolling again, most notable Eduardo, who has 3 goals in his last four matches and coming intot his match they are playing a team whom when they play at home they completely own – Arsenal are an astounding 12 W 1D in their last 13 matches against Everton at the Emirates and Highbury.
How the Match Should Play Out:
If it’s played out, I find it hard to see Everton muster the necesssary skill to beat Arsenal. While the Blues have been on a good run of form late, they still lake a solid defence and only TIm Howard has managed to make it look respectable, David Moyes knows Arsenal can carve that defence up. Additionally, Everton have too many major contributors out or questionable for this fixture. They had a lot of those players available when they last played. To have them come to the Emirates without those players places a lot of pressure on the squad. Arsenal for their part will look to take Everton out of the game early. As always, expect them to won possession and try and find a way to open up the game. Trarore and Sagna have been doing a yeoman’s job down the wing and will be essential to bringing the ball deep into the Everton side of th pitch. Look for the usual creative play and a solid match that will result in Arsenal’s closing down the gap further on Chelsea.
Players to Watch:
Arsenal: Aaron Ramsey. Because he was the player to watch at Bolton and since we didn’t play that match he is again. Yeah I know its an easy way out but all the reasons still hold true – he is coming on of late, he is doing a stand up job filling in for Fabregas and when he has the ball the around the net you know he is likely to score most of the time.
Everton: Landon Donovon. It really should be Louis Saha (if he plays) but the American forward makes his EPL and Everton debut and is likely to feature onthe bench. I am going to take particular interest in watching him play as I do whenever a known American player plays against my favourite team. If Landon can have a good match against Arsenal – immediately it has imapct for Everton but for the USMNT it could mean more.
Probable Starting XI’s:
No SNOW!!!
Injuries/Unavailable:
Arsenal: Bendtner (groin), Clichy (back), Djourou (knee), Fabregas (Hamstring), Wilshere (hamstring), Gibbs (foot), Van Persie (ankle), Walcott (side), Eboue & Song (ACoN)
Everton: Anichebe (knee), Arteta (knee), Distin, (hamstring) Gosling (knee), Jagielka (knee) Rodwell ( hamstring), Jo (club suspension), Yakubu & Yobo (ACoN)
Match Officials:
Referee: Peter Walton
Assistant Referees: Nigel Bannister & Simon Beck
Fourth Official: Andy D’Urso
Recent League Form
Arsenal: WWWDW
Everton: WDDDD
Television Schedules:
US: Setanta/Setanta-i 10:00AM
UK: (Still looking – anyone know??)
Online Feed Sources:
YouAreMyArsenal.com is not responsible for the content on any of these sites.
Gameday Chat: Will Be Open www.youaremyarsenal.com/gamedaychat
YAMA Prediction:
Arsenal: 3
Everton: 1
62 comments
Leave a reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Moving my post to the new thread….
The positives from the game.
Gallas and TV5 are looking pretty solid despite the # of goals we are conceding. We seemed to be playing a pretty high line and were caught out quite a few times. In the last 10 minutes, I could remember at least 3 last ditch tackles from Gallas and TV5 that saved our ass.
Nasri seemed play a lot better when moved infield into the Ramsey/Cesc role. I have always felt that he is a better player in that position and envisaged a midfield combo of Song, Cesc and Nasri (with Cesc deeper than Nasri) as the ideal one. With Song away and Deni out, Nasri will get more chances and I hope he can steady the midfield.
The second goal was nice. We were all over Everton in the last 10 min or so. I don’t know if it was a case of us finally waking up or Everton simply tiring out. But it is good to come back twice in the game. On GDC, I was pretty confident that we would win 3-1 even after going a goal down. But it was not to be.
Glad to hear that Deni could walk normally after the game.
http://www.clubcall.com/arsenal/denilson-worry-gunners-1004322.html
But the injury is still a mystery. Hmm…
A few thought for the game:
(1) When we were down 1-2 with 10 minutes go, I bet lot of fans already given up. Luckily the players didn’t. And it always feel great seeing the team fought back with a late equalizer. Most importantly, from a patient build up. A very cool and clam collective team move.
(2) We scored two deflected goals, headlines the next day “Lucky Arsenal”. But wait.. didn’t they accuse us for trying to PASS OUR WAY into the goal? You do wonder what the media want sometimes? Lucky? Tell that to Frank Lampard.
(3) Traore got found out a bit at LB.
(4) We do need a strong targetman up front. Too many sideway passes? WHY? Cos no one up front be able to HOLD the damn ball up. Nor had the pace to try working the channel. So if not passing sideway, where to pass?
(5) Credit to the ground crew to keep the pitch in good condition under a horrible weather. The fact that our team were still be able to play short passing game under such a condition had a lot to thank the groundmen for.
(6) A great game for Everton. In fairness, they deserved their point. They are always my favourite site outside of Arsenal. Hardworking, technically solid, combative.
(7) Not surprised Denilson once again got blamed for everything, except for the snow storm. Personally, I think he’s one of the better performer in our midfield in this match. Read the game well, and tidy with his passing.
(8) Diaby has the potential to be a great player, but he seriously needs to work on his passing. He was one player who could gain us a foothold up front with his power and dribbling ability. But it was frustrating to see him working his way into the opening after shaking away one or two markers, only to give the ball away cheaply with his poor pass.
Credit to him though, he did make a crucial pass that set up our equalizer.
With Song away, and Cesc’s out, he’s definitely our key in midfield during January.
I actually thought Denilson was okay as well, and nobody was terrible, which in some ways is more concerning, because as a collective we clearly weren’t good enough or at least good enough to satisfy Wenger.
So, nobody was explicity shocking, apart from Traore I suppose, and we still looked little boys against Everton in the first half. That’s a big problem right there. It most likely means we have alot of players are just quite not good enough, but good enough to make that realisation hard to discern to the vast majority.
As for the passing sideways comment, there are multiple ways to play higher up the pitch. A target man is one way, but another way is the midfielders moving their unambitiousness asses up the pitch, and COLLECTING the ball, with close control, high up the pitch. Remember Fabregas against Villa, how he got his free kick? He positioned himself in front of their back four, called for the ball, and got a free kick. Having the ball in such a sensitive area makes the other team do rash things. That had nothing to do with a target man.
Nasri, Denilson, Diaby, Rosicky(these days), none of these players have good off the ball movement and none of them call for the ball in dangerous areas. They all flaff about on the flanks waiting to recieve the ball in areas the opposition are very happy to let them recieve the ball, because they can’t hurt them.
Arshavin does have the balls to receive the ball there, but surprisingly to some, he doesn’t have the close control or strength to receive the ball under such pressure without losing it.
The problem is, without players making direct off the ball runs, are style of play becomes very impotent, and we would be better off getting a battering ram striker and play long balls all day.
Arsenal.com explains Mooney’s keeping –
“The Spaniard has just ‘set’ himself when Pienaar made his move. The midfielder lifted his effort over the crouching keeper and into the net. An exquisite finish.”
Have to agree with Stag on the Peinaar goal. Where was the defence? It wasn’t like it was the 94th min and we were 2-1 down. It was exactly this sort of Kamikaze defending that Man City butchered in the league. Thankfully, Everton were not that good in attack.
After last night’s game, even Spurs have conceded less than us. :(
Usually, its the DM and one of the full backs that are to cover the CBs who go forward for the setpiece.
Since it was a right sided set piece, Sagna was up. So it was Traore and Denilson who should have stayed back.
Both Traore and Denilson had HORRIBLE games.
http://www.arsenality.com/2010/01/arsenal-2-everton-2-post-match-team.html
Hilarious!
Nicely done :D
Our defence was all over the place yesterday. How did that happen with Gallas, TV5 and Sagna playing? Well, Almunia was at his clownish best. Traore got torn a new one, despite being the second (or third) fastest player at Arsenal. Song was terribly missed as Deni provided very little protection to the defence.
I was absolutely shocked the way Deni went to ground in the second half. No professional player would ever do that. However hurt you are, you can kick the ball into touch. Everton almost scored from that play and it would have been curtains for Arsenal at 3-1.
However hard I try to like Deni, it is just not possible. Mazza is dead right about him. He is fine for 70% of the games against Wolves, Pompey, the likes. The moment there is a strong midfield and the pressure is up, he is found out. In the first five min, he lost the ball thrice. Not misplaced passes, but Everton players just taking the ball away from his feet. Sorry, but that is not something that should happen to a DM.
How I do say this, the oft used expression – Deni is just not the kind of player you would go to war with. In times of peace, he is excellent. In times of war, he is nowhere to be seen. And you can sure that the upcoming run of fixtures will be battle hard.
Listen.. I haven’t seen the damn replay but its quite silly to take the high ground about “professionalism”. I’d like to see what happens when a spinal cord collapses or whatever his problem is and how a “professional” reacts – I’d like to see what is uppermost in his mind – him not being able to stand a second more or “kicking the ball away”. IMHO absolutely ridiculous. If that had been any of the favorites here there is no way that line would be trotted out so easily and you would be saying exactly what I am saying here. The rest about 70% etc is your opinion and I don’t counter that but the “professionalism” of a person in terrible physical discomfort being questioned is a little rich.. while sitting in the comfort of a warm home.
Edit: What about Antonio Puerta(was it?) of Sevilla who collapsed on a football field an died? Was that unprofessional too? He should have maybe died off field.
I agree LDE. That “lack of professionalism” claim was absolutely ridiculous.
When a player went down without anyone tackling him or around him, that means he must be suffering a seriously pain. Denilson wasn’t the first, and will not be the last player who went down like that.
It’s easy for people to SIT THERE and ride on the high horse and talk about lack of professionalism, especially when today people will easily call for sick leave while having a minor fever or flu or something at their own profession.
You guys are right. I certainly don’t wish him any injury. I hope he is fine.
From what I saw, the way he gave the ball away looked very stupid. But I guess we should wait till we hear about his injury first.
The other part of my comment still holds. ;)
Hardly post a lot Stag irrespective of the result these days , but hey here you go.Didn’t watch the game provider decided that ESPN wasn’t important and cut transmission. Followed it online. Still I’ll sum up what I think overall.
a) I think we’ve done reasonably well considering the fact that the number of injuries keep going upward or atleast stay consistent. It seems we lose a new player every week. We’re still what 3 or 4 behind the lead in early Jan which is about ok and just 1 game to make up. Doable..specially since everyone will slip up as well. You really think ManU would have not killed Birmingham today..in the past? After we slipped up. No. The league’s ..lets say become a ton more competitive, more belief driven rather than actual ability improving. That can’t happen in a year since 17 out of 20 sides are the same. Since big 4 are losing.. everybody now believe.. thats all.
b) Do we need new players? 2 ? 3? 4?? Ideally I’d love 1 in each position. Gonna happen? Hell no…so I’d rather remain in reality and not curse AW. Backup CB yeah need one now and one in the summer when Gallas and Silvestre both go. Despite what you may believe it isn’t easy to get “stopgap” solutions and fit it into the EPL. Yeah thats AW’s job but it isn’t that easy, there aren’t that many around who will gurantee you stuff. And either way with signing players I’ll say “Arsene knows” everytime I post here.. he usually gets things right on that. I’d love a new goalie though..seriously ;). Ah well..
c) DM? Not gonna happen . If Denilson’s out Nasri will play there and if he’s out Diaby and so on. There is no real defense in our game anyway, Song also ran happily forward many a time when he was there. And while he has been great this season there’s been plenty of times he too has made missed passes and dangerous fouls.. his other play has sort of compensated though. Which is how it is going to have to be with anyone who steps in there.
d) We’re gonna play crap multiple times during the season. Get that straight. We managed to grab an equalizer despite that in 94″ – so as the old cliche goes , its a point gained for me. We dumped Everton 6-1 at home on the first day ffs. Anyone who thinks they were going to be here and we roll them over is wrong really. And Everton best of times are a gritty fighting side. So why are people so shocked? Last year we’d have dropped this 100%. If ManU had pulled that off they’d be people queueing up to drool about what “mental strength” they had. Just like what David Moyes actually meant about Titi n Bergy’s in the PAST comment. Obviously there is no one like that now – since when is it an insult to compare your current player with a former great? That is ALL Moyes was doing , not disparaging the current Arsenal side. Ofcourse if you want to put a spin on it..its easy..
Will we be champions come May?? Maybe .. maybe not. Its feasible though, we’re still in the mix. I think we need 1 defender now.. that’s it. You cannot buy a striker for 3 weeks when you have resigned so many for 5 years etc.. that’s common sense. Unless its a 6 month loan deal.. in which case it isn’t easy to find top top quality. Lets see. Its an exciting season ahead.
Nasri play in DM???
You do realize he has not even played in midfield ONCE this season right?
You realize he has never played or practised DM right??
Yeah, lets use Nasri as our DM as we go into the Villa, Man U, Chelsea, Liverpool stretch!
Wenger might be an S&M enthusiast but he needs to realize most fans arent.
Meh. I didnt advocate it but he might well play there if it comes to a pinch, he did play there a while end of last season. Hopefully Denilson is ok and it doesn’t come to that.
And…
I love it when the Arsenal are Wonderful Brigade say… when we win, nobody comes on here…
as if it doesn’t work both ways? where are the “Brigade” today?
You can’t paper over how SHIT we were today, and how it clearly emphasized the issues the supporters have been worried about all season.
It was there in full fluorescent color… GLOWING… neon… “FIX ME, HELP ME”.
“David Moyes: “If (Steven Pienaar’s goal) was (Thierry) Henry or (Dennis) Bergkamp, you boys would be writing about it for days.
“It was a terrific finish, and fitting for the place he tried it, because so many Arsenal players in the past would have done that.”
My emphasis.
Wow, thats a big time subliminal diss from Moyes. The use of past tense when referring to great Arsenal players is damning.
What great Arsenal players do we have now that compare to Henry or Bergy?
NONE.
Not on that pitch today, that is for sure.
It was a nice goal by Pienaar, but it wasn’t that special. I can’t figure out how there was no Arsenal player from the half line to Almunia, and Nasri was the only one chasing him.
I don’t think anyone should read too much into that result. Not great, but lot of key players missing, and conditions were atrocious. Just be happy we got the point.
And Denilson falling over was embarrassing – they almost scored! At least kick the ball out before collapsing!
LOL! I dont think he had the presence of mind as he was collapsing!
But at least he should have tried to touch the ball with his hand as he went down.
The medical staff better find out whats wrong with him. We cant afford players randomly collapsing on the pitch.
of course Rocka, don’t read into that match, we sucked, read into those we play well in?!!
READ INTO IT.
We NEED PLAYERS IN JANUARY.
THIS TEAM ISN’T WINNING SHIT… without some help… some additions… so tweaking.
How the hell can you blame Denilson?!
Embarrasing? what was, that he was in so much pain he collapsed?!
“but lot of key players missing, and conditions were atrocious.”
You realize those apply to Everton, as well? Except they were on the road. Playing Arsenal.
Our problem is some of the key players we’re missing aren’t even on the roster.
Hmm. We got a way with a point.
Looking forward we have a heck of a month ahead. Two EPL ties away against Bolton and Villa and then a run that sees us meet ManU, Chelsea and Liverpool in succession. An away FA Cup tie with Stoke is interspersed just to soften us up.
This next month has the potential to sink the season or to see a surprising level of development whereby the team rises to meet the challenge (again). I don’t think I can objectively right them off, they responded post-Chelsea when it would have been easier for them to flump and drop points and consign the season to the rubbish bin. They didn’t, they struck back and found the goals and the fluidity despite the injury list.
All that said, it would be encouraging to see Arsene address some of the deep-seated issues that keep recurring (including injuries and midgit syndrome). He seems to delight in making our task that bit harder by refusing to mitigate injuries which result in a lack of serious options. Let’s see what happens by the end of January – although my expectation is an objective ‘zero’.
Rosicky owes the club a massive debt for the loyalty and remuneration he has received for such a minute return (not to mention a new contract?). I’m hoping his flukey goal is the start of some serious pay-back.
That’s just it. Everyone can see we didn’t perform yesterday, but I’ll reserve overall judgement till after the death stretch. Looking forward to it as well (I hope I can say the same after the first game or 2 of it). We need to beat Bolton to restart the forward momentum,
Not at all surprised by how the game panned out and the result. Actually was surprised we snatched a draw. I was fully expecting Wenger to moan about the weather afterwards. Was surprised he didnt go there.
There was a LARGE, GAPING hole down our center. Something that was never that glaring before. Usually teams go AROUND our midfield, they dont cut us down down the center.
YES, it is Song we are missing. It is that extra solid DM we are missing. Suddenly Gallas/Vermaelen are faced with DIRECT combat with AM runners AND strikers. Meanwhile Denilson was waiting for the opposition runners to “push the ball a bit too far”, so he can nick it away :-D
Very hilarious strategy that Wenger and his blog minions endorse!
Will we get an extra DM to help. HELL NO! Wenger will rather die.
Strikers, anonymous again. Everybody knows Arshavin needs to play beside a big man. But Wenger will wait for Bendtner to come back in two or three weeks. The moment the transfer window closes, Bendtner will be ruled out for the rest of the season! :-D
Defense: My main angst, I wonder if the Wenger Worshippers Club will still say we dont need a new CB or two. Gallas is a SENIOR citizen.
I’ll like to remind the WWC that the team will play at least 5 games per month for the rest of the season, even if we get knocked out in the upcoming CL and FA cup games. And there will be SEVERAL international friendlies in between. And ofcourse fixture congestion will be an issue.
After watching AARP member, Gallas, and Vermaelen struggle today, do you WWC members still stick to your “we dont need no new defensive folks, lets not kill Silvestre” line?
I really hope this result wakes Wenger up. We need a CB, we need a DM. Nothing fancy – low-profile, low cost players really.
I still expect Wenger to do absolutely nothing.
The match commentator said something about Bendtner being out “LONG TERM”.
I don’t know what happened on Friday with his test… but I thought he said he was OUT.
I know this is a cliched phrase, but it really looked like Denilson got shot … like a sniper literally took him out with a tranquilizer!
And before anybody gets suspicious, I swear I was not in London today! :-D
Besides, if I were the supposed sniper and I had only one tranquilizer dart, I would certainly have gone for the Spanish Clown in between the sticks.
On a more serious note, I really hope Denilson is alright, whenever you go down on your own like that, its always very serious.
Heh.. I hope MadFabs gets a chance now. But the selections the last couple of months does not fill me with confidence.
I’m hoping Denilson collapsed of cramps from the cold. But the silver lining if it is more serious is that Wenger said he may sign a midfielder if anyone else gets injured…
YES!! Arsenal saved again, by a 1-1 draw for Man U and Birmingham. Utd’s goal was an own goal, they’re luckier than us. Also, that’s 12 unbeaten for Brum.
2-2.
EXTREMELY LUCKY to get a point.
Both of our goals were deflections, and quite frankly, until we went down 2-1, we were completely outplayed by Everton.
How can you say it was the pitch? Everton played on the same pitch, and took the game to us.
Where to start…?
Defense. SHAMBOLIC. The back 4 was terrible. Traore was eaten up repeatedly by Landon Donovan. Both Gallas and Vermaelen were sketchy at times. 3 Arsenal defenders were DOWN in the game. Vermaelen Gallas and Sagna all went down… and yet there are people saying we don’t need a back-up CB IMMEDIATELY? They played PISS POOR at the back. Poor against set-pieces… free headers for Everton more than once.
Almunia. AWFUL. As usual, he doesn’t have a clue at times what the hell he is doing, and it shows… and sucks at distributing the ball.
Please someone tell me how there were ZERO defenders back, even at the half way line, on Everton’s second goal… with Nasri the only one chasing Pienaar? is that the plan? Nobody back ??
Midfield. NOT GOOD.
Outplayed by Everton.
If you aren’t winning the battle in the middle, you are in trouble, and double-trouble when your defense is performing a comedy act.
Denilson was actually decent, in my opinion, but he WENT DOWN UNTOUCHED, like someone had shot him… carried off the pitch…
Looked like he was injured from being slammed into earlier, but it looked bad… like he had appendicitis!
No Song, and now Denilson is down. If that is for any length, what are the options again… oh right… unproven kids.
Up front, no service for Arshavin and Eduardo, but Eddie has not been
good in my opinion, I don’t care if he got a few LUCKY goals. No height, and no service and no determination… Arshavin came alive some after it was 2-1… so did the rest of the team, but what happened prior to that? Oh, right… there was snow and cold??!!!
This game HIGHLIGHTED the frail nature of the team… and ALL the weaknesses that need to be addressed… front and center for Arsene Wenger.
You love-in folks … hope you watched closely.
I know … it was the cold, the snow, the pitch… it was a one-off bad match… Everton were lucky… bad calls… ummm what else could it be?
This was one of the worst performances I saw this season by Arsenal. It was a home match, where we could have pulled within ONE point of Chelsea, and we played like absolute SHIT.
All the issues were there… no element of the team played well… and we were SOMEHOW … able to get a point.
An absolute BLESSING to get one point, from a match in which we SUCKED… gave the ball away, didn’t keep possession, were pathetic at the back… had poor goal keeping… nothing went well, and we got a point.
AMEN. Good point to get. Very Lucky… two goals by deflections.
OK. January 9th… Arsene, it is on you.
This team … as Mazza said… aren’t that good, not good enough to be title contenders. Angry, nope, I’m with Mazza… I know what we are, and it is a team that needs help… incoming players to address the issues. We aren’t winning a damned thing with this team, because that is who we are… so, I am… WAITING. Waiting for Wenger.
:)
Happy … really… with one point today.
A point gained, not two dropped, because we didn’t deserve the draw… not with that performance.
Let’s hope Gallas, Vermaelen, Sagna, and Denilson are NOT banged up too much… and let’s hope Clichy is back soon, because Traore was exposed.
Maybe Almunia has the flu again soon as well…
Solid rant…no love-in here….
United draw at Birmingham City is the best news of the day.
If there is more snow again in the future, you need to disguise as an extra snow cleaner, then sneak into the Arsenal dressing room and repeat what you just said to the players before disappearing real fast lest you get caught :)
The effect of Song’s and Fab’s absences on today’s game do not bode well.
The conditions were only troublesome in the second half, the first half was fine. Anyway the conditions had zilch to do with it imo as we managed to play through it pretty well when we were 2-1 down and going for the winner after the equaliser. The problem as usual is too many lateral passers playing with lack of urgency and gusto – which happens every single time we play a decent side with alot at stake.
Nothing comes easy to this team, every game is a struggle it seems. We’re a good side, that will win more games than we lose, but it’s patently clear we’re good way off being a championship winning squad. Two years ago( as a few probably remember ;) ) I would have gone on a profanity rant after a game like this but I can see the struggle, the constant swimming against the tide look we have in trying to play like genuine title-winners, and I can’t feel angry, because I simply don’t see much potential being untapped. 2-2 at home to a team like Everton is about our level.
I’ll rant for you.
Haven’t seen the game so I can’t really talk about it. When teams are determined to do something big and have nothing to lose, they can be hard to beat. After all, these guys are professional footballers. While watching Liverpool play Reading last week, I couldn’t help but notice how competitive teams can be. Reading, as well as Leeds and West Ham, were very good in the FA Cup. I will always respect a team that comes out to play.
In the chat room, people were critical of Almunia, Denilson, and Traore. Were they that bad or were Everton that good? All players have bad games now and then. Wenger’s got to recognize and respect the difference. For me, Almunia’s been poor all season. Maybe Wenger persists because Almunia’s better than Fabianski in training. Who knows?
I typically don’t criticize the boss’ decisions but one I certainly raised hell over was when he dropped Lehmann. Form is temporary and Almunia had a temporary moment of good form that had many fooled but not me. His run was hardly enough to bench a world class keeper. Wenger obviously thought he’d uncoverd another gem. More like fools gold. Time always tells.
Not sure about 2 of the 3 palyers Josh, b/c I only saw the 2nd half. I can say definitively, however, that Almunia was his usual lousy self.
Josh, maybe find a way to watch a replay.
You might change your mind about just how wonderful the team and kids are…
Strange day. Soccer related deaths in Angola and snow wrecking almost the entire EPL weekend fixture. Something felt strange with Arsenal’s start or lack of one. The players felt frozen and even when they equalized, there was not the usual flair. I guess the only thing unchanged today was Almunia’s actions. Be it hot weather, rain or snow, Almunia is his usual awful self.
2-2.. After the first 10 minutes of play i wasn’t too sure whether i like that the game went ahead. On one hand, it reduces fixture congestion towards the end of the season a bit, on the other hand, the conditions destroyed our passing game and bar a few moves here and there we could get nothing going.
All in all, I had hoped not to drop more than 4 points from the time we played Chelsea till the time we started on the death stretch and it looks like thats what it is going to be. If we win at Bolton we’ll have got 17 out of 21. With the fixture fiasco, the season is going to get all the more interesting.
Regarding the game, I’ll take the draw. We aren’t going to win every game, we will drop points, and against a spirited Everton side, in these conditions, with all the injuries we have (though they have their fair share too), I’ll take the point.
Everton handled the conditions just fine, on the road, with injuries, and starting a guy who had never played in the League.
This is EXACTLY the type of game we needed to win to seriously contend. I am mystified by the ‘Oh, well’ response.
(Not intending to be aggressive. Just evidently a lot more frustrated than you.)
on the positive side at least we keep finding ways to pick up points in games where we play…well crap lol
meh 3 points back…hopefully we can get cesc and bendy back for the death stretch after the bolton game…
I see where you’re coming from. But I think its an unfortunate (and frustrating) aspect of the way we play that such conditions are going to have a bigger negative impact on us than most teams. There were other factors as well.
They were happier with the point coming into this game which means the onus is on us to create something which is not easy with the conditions as they were. It was really difficult to pass as exhibited by the lack of flowing passing moves in the game. And you must give credit to them for pressing that aggressively for so long. Moyes is known to be one of the most fitness-pushing managers in the league.
I really really wish Fellaini hadn’t played DM. Or he had been booked early. He has a huge game, stopped their defence from having to intervene so often. This was the exact type of game where defences would struggle. I imagine the ball was really slippery, snow flying everywhere must’ve been visually impairing, communication with your teammates must have been harder- all up, not easy.
I am frustrated Vibe, but you’re right, not as much as you because taking all these things into account (and the fact we scored late), I think I’m just happy we got a point.
You could make an argument that champions would find a way to win in spite of all this, but you can make that argument every single time that we drop points. That champions wouldn’t have collapsed at united, that champs wouldn’t have got caught out at city, that champs wouldn’t have dropped 2 goals to west ham (they really shouldn’t).. when are champs allowed to drop points?
Oz–
Gotta give credit to Everton, tho. They came out with fire and played aggressively. They looked like they were after more than just a point, and nearly had it.
And doesn’t a top English team need to be able to adapt their game to, umm, English weather? That’s just it. If everything goes just our way, we play beautifully. But we don’t have a Plan B (which mirrors the lack of depth at key positions).
You’re right about Fellanini, though he had a horrid cross right across their penalty area early on.
Finally, I’m not arguing for invincibility. But it’s a lot easier to swallow dropping point against top sides (particularly on the road), versus against middle of the table teams at home (that you already trashed at their place.
(And I know you gave Everton credit. Lost the ‘edit’ button again.)
The conditions have brought the whole country to its knees. They’re not normal. We can cut the players some slack for taking some time to adjust (which they eventually did, in fact another 5-10 minutes of injury time, Utd style, and I could see us going on to win). I am annoyed that they didn’t affect Everton as much as us and that we took too long to adjust, but all in all we played not so great and found a way to get something out of the game. I truly believe that any side in our place (United, Chelsea.. take your pick) would have struggled as well.
I agree that a plan B would have helped. Especially one that didn’t require us to nail a bunch of passes before crafting a scoring chance. Though that said, I think our defence is of a greater concern than an attacking plan B.. But all this has already been said before.
Comparing the Everton team that we faced on opening day to what we faced yesterday, they are completely different. Mentality plays such a big role in football and for that reason you can’t make straight up conclusions on paper.
I personally found the defeats to the Manchester sides much, much harder to swallow. But I concede thats just me. I find that dropping 2 points when we may have dropped 3 easier to take than dominating a side and suffering the injustice of coming away with nothing against one of our top rivals. Almunia’s rush to the head against Shrek still gets my blood boiling more than anything he did yesterday.
All in all, we can be sure that the players know they need to improve and I expect them to make every effort in doing so.
A game in hand is worth …. 1 point. :(
Very very disappointed. On the balance of play, we are lucky to get away with a draw. Everton could have easily won this game.
Glad we snatched the point. (Certainly lucky, as you say.) Also glad that AW was forced to watch this horrible defensive display, and small-time front line, while the window is still open.
Oh, and Almunina is just ridiculous.
Almunia is an ass clown. He is the only Arsenal player I truly dislike.
Some people just get lucky in life.
I wonder where he hides when they watch the match film?
What am I saying? He’s probably on the wrong side of the screen, so he gets to miss all his goals twice.
INteresting to think about where he really does sit when they watch the videos. Not next to Sagna for this one after almost getting him injured.. hmmm
I’d love to hear how he justifies his positioning on 80% of the goals that get by him.
Dreadful
Alright – game on. Almunia is captain…
I predict a lot of our players will be wearing gloves.
Assuming we have no loss of momentum, we should wrap this up by two goals.
Saha and Cahill are more than capable of poaching a goal if we switch off. But if the finally maturing Diaby and precocious Ramsey do their stuff, we can march on.
Being a hardy Russkie, Arshavin should thrive in these ice-cold conditions. I say 3-1 as well.
Come on, Gunners.
I am in GDC
Arsenal Starting XI: Almunia, Gallas, Vermalene, Sagna, Traore, Diaby, Ramsey, Denilson, Nasri, Eduardo, Arshavin
Arsenal Subs: Fabianski, Rosicky, Vela, Eastmond, Merida, Emmanuel-Thomas, Silvestre
Everton Starting XI: Howard, Neville, Neill, Heitinga, Baines, Osman, Cahill, Fellaini, Pienaar, Donovan, Saha
Everton Subs: Nash, Bilyaletdinov, Vaughan, Coleman, Duffy, Baxter, Mustafi
Surprise Surprise Surprise – Donovan gets the start.
If the snow storm doesn’t end anytime soon, the 2nd half of the season things are gonna turn into a chaos. Anyway I’m glad our game is on, get that “game in hand” over with.
ANybody know which games are being played and which arent? I’m reading conflicting reports and its really messing with my fantasy team! lol
As of 0553 AM EST:
Arsenal v Everton (on)
Birmingham v Man U (on)
Hull v Chelsea (PP)
Burnley v Stoke (PP)
Fulham v Portsmouth (PP)
Sunderland v Bolton (PP)
Wigna v Villa (PP)
Sunday:
West Ham v Wolves (on)
Pool v Spurs (PP)
thanks DAG