The grass is always greener at Emirates Stadium, but we still have to play against the cunts, on their “patch” at Stamford Bridge.
The seats are all set, Abramovich has managed to sell out Stamford Bridge for once, and footballing purists will be treated to a clash of two teams with very different philosophies. Arsenal with a philosophy of budget-wise nurturing of an expansive, league changing, attacking style of play. And Chelsea who simply looked across the river at what Arsenal were doing and threw money at every problem until they finally managed to win as many FA Cups for their club as Arsenal’s latest manager has in his trophy case alone.
Chelsea’s current temporary “manager,” who has surprisingly managed to keep his job despite Chelsea losing focus at nearly every turn, is confident ahead of the match. With his eyebrow arching at every accent in each word he bragged:
In the last game against Arsenal, it was very good for us. We played the right way and did a very good defence and counter-attack. That’s the right way to play against Arsenal on Sunday. We are looking to repeat the same result. Also, Arsenal want to change the game, want to change their performance. Tactically we did very well in that match. Arsenal have fantastic midfield players with strong quality – Fabregas, Arshavin and Nasri – but we didn’t give them the possibility to play easily. It’s all important to put pressure on them with our midfield, and not leave the space to play.
In a certain sense he’s right. Arsenal have been predictable at times this season. Tending their high line, slick passing, pretty game and creating loads of chances but at times failing to find the back of the net.
Arsene is aware that Arsenal have become a bit stagnant in the last few games and has promised to shake things up a bit in the Chelsea game:
I cannot say I got it right when you lose 3-0 [against Chelsea] and 3-1 [against Man United], I have to say I got it wrong. But in terms of team selection, I’m not sure. I don’t feel we have been overrun, I feel we have put ourselves in the position where we are open to counter-attacks. We lacked a little bit of patience as well. Even when we came out at 2-0 at half-time, we were in a rush to go forwards. Let’s get back to 2-1 and then we see. Even at 3-1, we could have equalised in the last ten minutes.
And he’s right about team selection, with all the injuries, and the fact that they couldn’t buy a player despite working up to the last minute, there isn’t much choice in the team selection. Arshavin, who likes to play centrally but hates being a center forward, has really been asked to shoulder a lot of burden up front and since he took over the center forward role has only managed 3 goals and 1 assist.
What I’m not so sure about is le Boss’ assertion that we just need to be more patient. That’s part of the problem, not the solution. Arsenal are plenty patient when teams give them time and space, but Chelsea aren’t going to afford that luxury.
Instead, I’d suggest that Arsenal are going to have to be patient in the build-up and pesky bees when we do turn the ball over. Hard work is going to be crucial in this game, we need to win the ball back and pressure them when they have the ball to keep their long-ball-counter-attack tactics to a minimum.
I’d also like to see Wenger include some width and force Chelsea’s full backs to sit back a bit and by width I don’t mean “have Arsenal’s full backs bomb down the sidelines at every opportunity to put in crosses that Arsenal’s diminutive forwards will never get a head on.” By width I mean, “Theo Walcott play wide and show some of the spark that his early career promised.” I know it’s a lot to ask the rusty, oft injured, forward but the Arsenal are up against it now and big players show up in big games. Similarly, I’d love to see Arshavin play wide left in this scheme. He would provide a real threat down that side.
The problem is that Arsenal don’t have anyone to play in the center forward role. Arsene complained that Bendtner may be in the team tomorrow but he’s still 1-2 weeks away from full fitness and that means a start for him is very unlikely. Meanwhile, Eduardo is not fit, Vela has a mystery injury, van Persie is out and Walcott’s not ready to play center forward. So, no matter what Wenger chooses, he’s taking a big chance; start Bendtner and risk his fitness, start Arshavin and risk playing same old, same old. I’d like to see Wenger take a chance and start Bendter, then, put Diaby in there after 60 minutes. I know the Diaby suggestion will cause some mirth but Diaby has good touch, he’s tall, and if you’re going to put a midfielder in there (Arshavin) why not mix it up with a tall midfielder?
We won’t know what trick Wenger has up his sleeve but hopefully he has something.
On the other side, it’s always been a source of pride for Chelsea, not to mention a source of beneficial calls from the referees, that their team’s captain was also the captain of the national side. Watching yesterday’s press conference where Capello stripped Terry of his armband it was plain to see the England captain was hurt. He’s such a horrible person that more than how he cheated on his teammate and friend, he is devastated that the public now know what a despicable scumbag he really is.
Only time will tell what kind of knock-on effect this latest scandal will have on the team. They have been through a lot together and so that can cause people to overlook personal flaws. But then again, they went through all that while Terry was their leader and when a man shows the poor judgment that Terry did, it can cause the whole side to question his leadership and their past.
They did barely manage a draw at Hull on Wednesday but some credit has to go to Hull in that. They aren’t the shambles of a side they were earlier in the year as evidenced by their fiery 2-1 win over Manchester City on Saturday. As much as I’d like to see Chelsea crumble to Arsenal on Sunday and start sniping and infighting, I think we’ll have to wait until the end of the season to see what kind of effect John Terry’s wandering cock will have on them.
Finally, I’m really sick to death of hearing “you know if Arsenal lose on Sunday their season is over.” After the last 3-0 defeat to Chelsea Arsenal came back from an 11 point deficit and so a 9 point lead would look bad but it’s not the end of the season. Now, lose to the Chavs on Sunday and then at home to a resurgent Liverpiddle and you would have to say that Arsenal look very much out of the Premier League race. But that’s all the way on Wednesday and I’m not even starting to think about that.
All I’m thinking about is for Arsenal to have a good game. Win, lose, or draw I don’t care as long as they put in a full 90 minute shift, no slacking, and take the game to the Chavs.
The match is live on Fox Soccer Channel at 8am (PST) in the States and usually that means a liveblog, but I’m not going to do it. Instead, I’m going to sit back and hopefully enjoy a good game. If not? You’ll hear all about it on Monday.
Until then… UP THE ARSE!
Arsenal News 24/7
Why not put Theo at the center up front today? Sure Bendy would have better chances at headers, but Theo’s feet and touch, while still lacking, are better than Bendtner’s. Arsene needs a wrinkle today, and something as simple as Arshavin not playing central striker is a start. Let’s hope for an inspired effort today. Even a draw keeps us 6 points from the top, not a disaster. Up the Arse! To le pub.
i like the idea of diaby up front. if he is fit, he gives a nominal aerial threat, and has the strength and pace to get on the end of some of our great midfield service. there have been times this season when he’s looked like a real central striker holding people off and then finishing with aplomb. not to say that he’ll be great it, but i think it is a wrinkle that could help. the idea of he and bendtner splitting time up front today sounds like a good one. also i hope denilson sits this one out in favor of ramsey.
I agree, Diaby and/or Bendtner up front is a good idea. Apart from skill and physical attributes issues they both have confidence which is necessary in a big game like this one. We just need players who are convinced they’re among the best ones in the world. That’s why I would also like to see Eboue included in some way, too.
February 7th, 2010 at 6:55 am
Do you guys think Diaby’s mean enough to be scrapping up front? Regardless, aren’t both Diaby and Bendtner not fully fit? Anyway, it’ll be interesting, but at this point I don’t think it’d hurt to have Theo and his pace to try and draw a penalty for us in the box. Feeling optimistic about the squad this morning.
Hoping for a draw, praying for a win, but I don’t agree that a loss doesn’t mean our season is over. If we find ourselves 9 points behind Chelsea and Manooney, I don’t think they will let this advantage slip again. Besides, usually this is the period of the year when Ferguson’s altar boys usually rediscover their confidence and their 98th minutes goals, so a loss today would go a long way towards damaging our belief and denting our titles hopes. Besides, whoever said that our the remainder of our games is the easiest by far is taking us for a piss. The game with Liverpool is far from a win at this point, and away games to White Hart Lane, Birmingham and Stoke aren’t exactly nine points in the bag. So, i spite of all this, I hope we do the same as last year and stick it up their money-grabbing, wife-cheating, hypocritical, arrogant asses and show them that we are not fucking boys anymore.
walcott and diaby in, denilson, rosicky out from last week’s team
Let’s go to a 4-1-3-1-1 with Bendtner up front, Arshavin playing behind him, Eboue, Fab and Rosicky/Nasri across the middle and Song holding. The back 4 picks itself and Moonhead removed in favor of Fabianski.
At worse,this will force Chelsea to adjust on the fly as they will not be prepared for this formation. It would also be a better team defensively and although we might not like it, an away draw at the scum would not be the end of the world.
I fear we will be totally smothered if we stick to our rigid and predictable 4-3-3 with Arshavin leading the pack. The first goal will decide this fixture. If we score first it will be a battle royal, but if they score first it could be a rout and techically an end to our season.
Fuck it.
Almunia needs to be subbed, he’ll give up two more today if not
Fuck it. Fuck it. This is unbelievable.
Who’s Vermoolen?
Do you guys honestly think that Wenger urges Sagna and Clichy to continue to aimlessly boot crosses into the box? That would seem a bit discouraging to me if he were supportive of this practice….
February 7th, 2010 at 8:50 am
@Kevin, Well, I don’t see why not. After all, we have the combined height of 2.4 meters in our three giant strikers, and all the crosses are unbelievably precise. What else would they do?
Arsene Wenger – the only man who gets more naive as he gets older.
Why play 4-3-3 against the big teams when 4-4-2 is much more balanced and offers better defensive spread.
I am eagerly awaiting Tim or other commentors with their rose-coloured glasses to explain this one. I’ve said my part over and over again about Wenger being stingy and needing some brute force to balance out his elegance but hey I was wrong according to many but Chelsea and the Mancs have been proving me right.
The only reason I’m not calling for Wenger’s head is because there’s no one else to replace him right now. If a man like Rikjaard becomes available again then Wenger can go ride gracefully into the sunset.
February 7th, 2010 at 9:07 am
WC, the only “supporter” who loves it when Arsenal lose so that he can be proven right.
February 7th, 2010 at 10:01 am
@Tim, Oh Tim that’s just sour grapes on your part that the little paradise you’ve created in your head is unravelling.
I told you a long time ago and time and time again about the shortcomings and then you break out weak anecdotal evidence to say otherwise but 1 point from 3 games so far.
We don’t need a striker huh? Shot down all of my suggestions. HA!
We don’t need a ugly tough defender huh? HA!
February 7th, 2010 at 10:12 am
@WC, And yes Tim there are days when I am happy Arsenal loses because I grew up on old school corporal punishment and I know some times it takes a nice belt buckle to the head to teach you a lesson and Arsene is getting a healthy beating. Maybe he’ll learn one day.
These bullcrap timeouts and groundings you Americans live by has only bred one of the most crowded prison systems in the modern world.
I think Drogba is just offside on the pass leading up to the second goal, but of course we’ll never get that call
February 7th, 2010 at 11:54 am
No point in making excuses, the simple fact is that we are not good enough, 50% of the Arsenal fans know that we need a decent front man, the other 50% are fools! With a drogba we would potentially be fighting for the league, now we will be figting for fourth, and those who say that’s being negative, I say FUCK OFF and get a sense of reality!
February 7th, 2010 at 7:13 pm
@Bull, I understand the fact that we need a decent frontman (with RVP injured, mind you), but I was just attempting to liveblog my thoughts on the play, not my thoughts that we were deserving of mercy. We deserved to be scored against on that play, but to my eye, I thought the one replay they showed had him a split offside, but the fact we’re away at Stamford Bridge and it’s Didier Drogba with the ball doesn’t help the referee’s case to call it as such.
We are simply getting KILLED by that man Drogba.
The first goal, Song loses him in the box and he drifts to the back post 1-0. 2nd goal, Clichy is too narrow and trailing the play and Vermaelen gets caught trying to do his job and Clchy’s.
We are too clever in attack and have limited options (left side attack and can only play to feet). Walcott is doing doodley squat on the right and somebody should ‘introduce’ him to Sagna. Walcott also needs to STAY on the fucking (R) touch line instead of drifting inside.
This is Mohammed Ali in his prime against Jerry Cooney and we are Cooney.
February 7th, 2010 at 2:20 pm
I think you mean larry Holes and not Ali. Cooney never had the pleasure of fighting the “Great One” (lol)
February 8th, 2010 at 10:30 am
@CaribKid69, Right.
This is the like bringing a knife to a gun fight. Our personnel are limiting the level of our play. We have nice players that can compete against the rest of the league and in the CL but we have no ‘hammers’ who can batter Chelsea.
this is worse than the last time. We lost a goal at Chelsea’s first attack. then lost a second via their counter attack. Chelsea has learnt from ManUnited–it is easy to play Arsenal now. Just put 8 players around the penalty box, and Arsenal cannot get behind the defence; then try to get corners, foul kicks, or quick counter attack…
I wonder if we can beat Liverpool on Wednesday
Some of the players are out of form or confidence, like Walcott. Even Gallas miskicks a few times. Cesc’s head is lowered; he got bumped by J Terry. Instead of urging his players on and showing some anger, Fab seems a bit disinterested….
I hope to see a better second half; or else our season will definitely be over. Not because we lost this game; but because the team cannot recover from such consecutive defeats and humbling…
Wenger seems to be at his wits’ end…
Is there any point in us winning all those corners and then have 2 players over the kick. The balls into the box ‘float’ into a ‘sea of blue’.
Our latest attack has Arshavin and 4 Chelsea back liners. This ain’t going to happen unless we get more players forward.
Chelsea players are just powering through our feeble attempts at fouling.
Can someone tell me what the fuck Walcott is doing out there?
nasri non existent, needs subbed
I still don’t understand how come Wenger doesn’t think that we need to change something. 30 minutes to go, two goals down, he haven’t subbed anyone and we are still embarrassingly impotent. I just don’t understand this. Oh, it’s because we didn’t need to buy a striker because we had Nick, now I remember. Just great.
For all the negatives, I have still have hope.
ALMUNIA???? YOU STILL ALIVE BACK THERE?!?!?
Could you please show Matt Damon one more time?? That would be awesome
Bendtner’s first header won in the box comes in minute 96….need I say more
“good refereeing”- i heard that several times. what a joke.
February 7th, 2010 at 7:14 pm
@mark.sd, agreed, you can’t hold the card in your pocket for eighty minutes, and then pull it out at will with every little touch late on
It’s 1 goal scored and 10 goals conceded in games against the top two this season.
Well, I guess that’s it. I think we need to stop kidding ourselves and realize we are nothing more but EPL’s version of Valencia.
February 7th, 2010 at 7:16 pm
@Teampossible, A bit harsh perhaps, seeing as we’ve had such great consistency in the tables. I think our main problem is that nobody fears us. They know how we play, it’s predictable, and obviously simple (not always easy) to beat.
Once again Arsenal has to rely on other teams to drop points rather than being in control of their own destiny.
In a matter of weeks we’ve come closer to 4th place than first.
It’s been 5 years Arsene, how can you not solve the Dorgba puzzle yet?
February 7th, 2010 at 1:21 pm
@WC, He did. He will wait until he ages out of the game.
Defensive mental errors in the first half. Not good enough offensively throughout. Technically still in it. Realistically not. What can’t be argued at this point is that this team’s probably not good enough, particularly without RvP. Hopefully we can rebound with a big home win over the scouse. Anything to take our minds off the summer when we could very well lose Fabregas and start over with another youth project. Wenger needs to come out right now and say that BIG changes will be made this offseason and scare these youngsters who’ve taken advantage of Arsene’s belief and have misinterpreted it as coddling. For now, just really saddened at some players, particularly Clichy, not evolving the way I’d anticipated. Anyway, I’d plead with everyone that over the next few days as we spout, just be civil with each other.
February 7th, 2010 at 11:10 am
@ArseChicago, Like I’ve been saying, Clichy is no longer our 1st choice LB IMO. Also we need Rosicky to step up and give us the brains that Walcott lacks and the scoring that Eboue doesn’t have.
February 7th, 2010 at 11:26 am
@ctpa, Rosicky has been doing the best he can if you ask me. Comparing him to his Dortmund career is going to be difficult because he didn’t play out wide often in Germany but rather was playing through the middle and pouncing on balls knocked down by Koller.
We don’t exactly have that kind of setup at Arsenal. He does however retain the ball well, dribbles well and brings others into the game. That’s really all I can ask of Little Mozart. The onus is on Arsene to bring in a player who can feed off the chances created and hold up the ball. Ade was very good at that. Shielding the ball, waiting for support and forcing defenders to make decisions. Our current crop doesn’t have the same thing. Cross coming in? No problem, no Arsenal player is going to win it so that’s one less thing to think about. Ball on the edge of the box? No problem, they’re going to try to walk it in so let’s just wait for them to try to dribble through the wall of defenders.
We’re a one-dimensional team and predictable to smart players. the Mancs and Chavs have seen through it and are very comfortable with giving Arsenal the ball and letting them create their own disasters.
Wenger can never solve the Drogba or Rooney puzzle–these two always scores against the Arsenal by their power play. He is lucky to inherit Tony Adams, Bould, Keown, and he bought Sol Campbell…that is all! Even TV5 cannot stop those power players.
nothing new to say really. the result is exactly what we expected – whatever secret hope any of us had hidden in a dark corner of our hearts was gone within half hour from kick off. once again our defensive deficiencies cost us. we have all known for a long time that we dont defend well against set pieces and yet we have done nothing to address that issue. not having a man in the far post during a corner is a very basic and amateur error in modern football. if you thought the first goal was an example of bad defending, you obviously had underestimated our defense. clichy’s “challenge” on drogba for the 2nd goal was so poor that i could only shake my head and laugh. and was it me or did almunia give out a little gulp as soon as drogba got the ball? the ball was hit with power but almunia looked like a deer caught in headlights. it definitely didn’t look unstoppable in replay. im not going to even going to into our one dimensional attack… i feel like its all been said hundreds of times before on this blog alone.
i dont even feel bad after this loss. after the united loss, i felt sick to stomach. I had a overbearing sense of emptiness the whole week. I was sad, angry and i think finally after i came to terms with the mediocrity of our team, all I could feel was numbness. this loss only adds another layer to that numbness.
so where to we go from here? we could again delude ourselves by saying that we could go win the CL, but we won’t. chances are we will have go through either utd or chelsea and lets face it, we are not going to win against them over two legs. heck im not even too confident about our chances going past porto who are in excellent form at the moment. and let’s not forget that they are a team that has actually won the CL. so the only thing we are going to be doing over the next few weeks is fighting for a top four finish. sounds familiar doesn’t it? that’s all us arsenal fans have been reduced to in the past five years. this is unacceptable and any fan who gives the excuse of “oh you should have seen us before the wenger days” is clearly living in the past. we need some shakedowns and it has to start at the top. stanley kroenke, im looking at you.
February 7th, 2010 at 12:41 pm
I agree. Last week’s thrashing took the edge off all week leading up to this match. Still at the beginning I found the heart racing the same as every match. I’m confident that if you watch Drogba’s free kicks, he loves kicking it to the top right corner. He’s deadly kicking it off the right side of the boot so that it’d tail up and towards the right corner of goal. Today, while it didn’t tail the same, it was heading to the right corner again. Just as it did when they beat us at home earlier this year. Why Almunia was surprised by that is beyond me. For whatever reason, Song left Drogba uncovered for that first goal. Again, mental errors. When we all come on here and lament the lack of experience, the lack of age, this is the specific stuff we’re thinking about when spouting off. And yeah Clichy didn’t even try to hit the brakes to just stay in front of Drogba. Seemed like all he wanted to do was force Drogba back left. That would’ve been fine if someone else were there on defense, but there wasn’t. Clichy’s game has completely evaporated since coming back from his injury. He looks slow and he’s not playing smartly. Disconcerting that our shopping list has now grown beyond new striker and depth at centre back.
From the dotcom. Arsenal’s post-match interview yielded this gem….
“I am completely happy with our performance and the spirit we have shown. For me, as much as we didn’t turn up against Manchester United, today we had the expected performance. We were still a bit uncertain at the start of the game. When you went into it we were completely dominant.”
Arsene, I love ya, man, but it’s capital ‘D’, delusional, to think we were dominant today. After they were up 2 nil, they coasted. Very concerned if our manager believes what he said post-match.
February 7th, 2010 at 1:11 pm
@ArseChicago, err.. yeah we were dominant for about 4 minutes in the first half and then drobga scored. after that chelsea pretty much let us have the ball and kick it around in front of their penalty box, waiting for an opportunity to counter attack. if this is domination for you arsene, our future is bleak.
As I said once, I’d settle for a 3rd in the League and another Semi at the CL. Anything else at this point will be overreaching.
Oh, and…. FUUUUUUUCKKKKK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”&#)(/%&!”()=#/%#
I do have the utmost respect for Wenger, he’s one of the best managers in recent history, and the man has forgotten more about football than I can ever hope to know. Still, if I ever got to sit next to him on an airplane, I’d love to ask him a few questions.
1.) Exactly how much practice time is spent on defense? What drills and situations are practiced? I hear all the time about how Arsenal work on offensive drills which teach close control, quick passing, working in triangles, etc. This season is not the first in which the Gunners have been vulnerable to set pieces and counter attacks. Do you drill the players on how to defend a breakaway? Knowing of course, I’m sure, that the offensive setup with fullbacks pushing up, midfielders breaking into the penalty area, and even center backs encouraged to join the attack, will make your team vulnerable to counter attacks. What about corners and free kicks? Because however you’re practicing, it doesn’t seem to be sinking in.
2.) How do you adjust your tactics, formation, and personnel based upon opposing teams strengths and weaknesses? Because to my untrained eyes, it seems as if the tactics used for Bolton are not much different than for Chelski or ManIOU. To my uneducated mind it seems that Kevin Davies is a different player than Wayne Rooney or Didier Drogba. I think that Rooney or Drogba are better players than Kevin Davies and more likely to finish gilt edged opportunities on the break. It seems to me that Chelski and ManIOU are better teams than Bolton and that changing your tactics for stronger teams might be prudent. After being badly exposed by ManIOU, I’m sure you adjusted your tactics against Chelski. Or perhaps the the tactical changes you made were too subtle for my unsophisticated understanding. If so, I’d love for you point to how you adjusted your tactics.
3.) Exactly what was the medical evaluation done which gave you the confidence to extend Robin van Persie’s contract and rely on his availability for most of this season? For the previous three seasons, he’s played in 65 out of possible 114 EPL games. Some of those were substitute appearances. I think when he’s healthy, he’s one of the top ten, maybe five forwards in the world but he seems a tad injury prone. I know his current injury was a terrible tackle but it seems to me that trauma which another player shakes off, he’s out for game or two. Injuries which other players heal from in a week, he takes a month, and trauma which might put another player out for a couple of months, end his season. And you were convinced that a forward group consisting of a supremely talented but known to be injury prone RvP, a young, talented but not quite ready for prime time Bendtner, and Eduardo, coming back from year and a half absence from the game, was going to get us through the season?
4.) In general, exactly how badly does a player have to perform to get dropped? Just asking.
There’s probably others, but those were at the top of my head.
We were just tactically naive. Which you expect from the younger players. The older players really need to step up their game, and tell the younger lads to stick to position or fill in at the back when needed. Chelsea weren’t particularly good, they were effective.
Stored in the past many seasons are better memories, and planted for the future there will be more, but the present is mediocre; beat Porto, remain in top 4, those are the realistic goals. This is now a mediocre season. Some of our best players have lost starts due to injuries, so, we need players who don’t get injured as much. That’s what other clubs do, they purchase less injury prone players. This is now a mediocre season, but this Tequila isn’t anything short of miraculous. Cheers