Howard Webb?
Admit it, the second you saw that Howard Webb was going to be in charge at Anfield you felt an inescapable doom creep over you. This is the same Howard Webb who awarded Nigel de Jong a yellow card for a karate kick on Xabi in the World Cup final. The same Howard Webb who saw nothing wrong with Rio Ferdinand’s karate kick on Sagna two years ago. The same Howard Webb who refereed Arsenal’s Carling Cup final and sent off Adebayor for something that Eboue did. The same Howard Webb… you know what I’m saying.
This is also Anfield and last time Arsenal was at Anfield, they kicked and punched Arsenal until Arteta had to be stretchered off with a concussion after a cheap shot by Jordan Henderson. And they got tetchy in this match too. At the end, Gerrard flew into a tackle on Vermaelen so hard that it scared the daylights out of the Scousers in the stands.
This is also Arsenal we are talking about here and the reason that Webb and ‘Pool bother us so much is that Arsenal are supposedly a team of technically gifted footballing aesthetes who don’t like “it up em” whatever “it” is.*
But after 90 minutes against Liverpool yesterday our carefully constructed narrative about Webb and Liverpool was crossed out and quickly scribbled over with the word “MEATY” in all caps, underlined. Arsenal got stuck in on the tackles, from all over the pitch. Mertesacker made a goal-saving toe poke which predictably had Luis Suarez crying foul. Vermaelen flew into aerial challenges with abandon, reminding me of his first year at the club. Even the forwards got in to the swing of things: Podolski tracked back and won his share of challenges whenever Glen Johnson got forward, which he did 30 times — the most of any player on the field. And Giroud was used on every Liverpool set piece as big body to keep them from winning too many headers.
Howard Webb? Hardly even noticed him. I was too busy watching a meaty performance from the Arsenal boys.
Goldy Poldi Pudding Pie
Kissed the ball and made it cry.
You know what I love about Podolski? That he started and finished the attack for Arsenal’s first goal, just like he did in pre-season. He’s a cool character and a smart finisher. If he and Cazorla can get that whole telepathy thing going they will be an efficient little duo.
Three clean sheets against toothless lions
Sunderland don’t ever venture forward at the Grove. Stoke upon Offal were content with a bit of target practice and only managed 4 shots or something. And Liverpool are “the most profligate team in the history of man” so their 19 shots against Arsenal don’t really count. Those are the arguments I have heard for why we shouldn’t be too excited by Arsenal’s record three clean sheets to start the Premier League.
The counter argument is “well you can only play the teams in front of you” and “it’s only three games.” Frankly, I’m tired of all these arguments.
People who are quick to point out that it’s only three games or that the opposition has been poor have no problem presuming to know how poorly Arsenal were going to fare before a single ball had even been kicked. So, me saying that I think this team look confident and organized in defense means “over the three games we have seen them play, against the toothless cowards they have played against… the team looks confident and organized in defense.”
There’s nothing wrong with making that observation. It doesn’t make me wrong if (knock on wood) the wheels come off the bus later. We have seen Arsenal playing a zonal defense on set plays where they line up perfectly across the 6 yard line. We have seen Arsenal playing two banks of four and trying to hit Liverpool on the counter (since you won’t believe me, I’m linking to Michael Cox). They are winning more headers, they are getting stuck into more tackles, and when they were up 1-0 they sat back and soaked up pressure.
It’s been refreshing.
Pat Rice?
Remember last year when everyone was calling Wenger a dictator and stubborn old fool? I do, because I wrote a piece comparing him to Ozymandias. Remember those other people who defended him and Pat Rice against folks calling for someone like Adams, Keown, or Bould to come in and inject some fresh ideas into Arsenal’s defensive scheme? I do because I was one of them too!
But it’s ok, because I was wrong, as were the people who said Wenger couldn’t work with Bouldy because the former Arsenal defender was too strong-willed. Given the changes in shape defensively, given the work that Bould has put in on set pieces, and given the fact that Wenger did change his mind and brought Steve Bould in, I’d say that the old boy still has a trick or two up his sleeve.
Why did he persevere with Pat Rice? I dunno? Loyalty? Bouldy hadn’t completed his Jedi training yet and didn’t learn the mind trick until last spring?
Does it matter?
Ugh… yes, it’s only three games in. We get it, you will never be happy.
Jack Burton
Is it me or does Olivier Giroud remind you of Jack Burton? Jack Burton, the cocksure scamp from Big Trouble in Little China who bravely barges into a situation filled with Chinese mysticism and alchemean magic but never really understands what he’s doing or what’s even going on. The Jack Burton who says this:
When some wild-eyed, eight-foot-tall maniac grabs your neck, taps the back of your favorite head up against the barroom wall, and he looks you crooked in the eye and he asks you if ya paid your dues, you just stare that big sucker right back in the eye, and you remember what ol’ Jack Burton always says at a time like that: “Have ya paid your dues, Jack?” “Yessir, the check is in the mail.”
That quote sums up what it takes to make the move to the Premier League: eight-foot-tall maniacs demanding dues. It also sums up Giroud’s attitude so far. He will pay, you’ll see, the check is in the mail.
Cazorla shoots too much
Santi Cazorla is second in the League in total shots taken and has scored just one goal off 14 shots. Profligate!
Santi Cazorla is second in the League in key passes per game and has also provided Arsenal’s only assist. Provident!
Hey but it’s only three games in, let’s not rush to judge either goodly or badly!
Hey also note the opposition he faced!
I blame Pat Rice!
I love Pat Rice!
HA HA!
That made me laugh like a motherfucker.
*I don’t like “it” up me either. In fact, I’ve spent most of my adult life actively keeping “it” from being up me.
Liverpool 0-2 Arsenal: who do we blame for this mess?
In the following order, most culpable first, I squarely lay blame on the following:
1. Diaby, who had the temerity to show up up LIKE A (fantastic) NEW SIGNING and dazzle his way through the Anfield pitch like Iniesta.
2. Cazorla, a total jagoff who’s got so much game, he scored on his own rebound.
3. Podolski, the idiot! He showed such class and touch on his goal it made Robin van Persie score a hat trick (and it still wasn’t enough to show him up)
4. Steve Bould, who stole away with our defence’s psychology in the night and replaced it with something akin to confidence and poise.
5. The clueless Arsene Wenger who predicted the Eurozone crisis long before some economic pundits and politicians and built one of Europe’s greatest footballing venues, all while keeping us in the Champion’s League, and consistently bringing in top players.
Now let’s have Sagna and Wilshere back. I’m sure they’ll have more than their share of blame as well.
I couldn’t agree more on Diaby as a LANS. I never particularly like the way LANS is portrayed because my perception is every player that come back from injury is a LANS. It makes me see those player that is coming back as “Oh, what took you so long”. But when i see Diaby in that match, i see someone who is actually a new signing (Yes, i know he play on the last two previous match). A player that wasn’t there last season (although he did play a part). I’m pretty sure i might feel content if at the end of the transfer window our incoming players for the transfer window read “In: Podolski, Giroud, Cazorla, Diaby, Wilshere; Out: RvP, Song, etc”.
First!!! Great read Tim… 3 games only it may be, but you still have to defend well… It’s not too difficult to recall the very same fixtures last season and realize how vulnerable we were at the back… To see the back 4 bein so dominant is such a relief… The Southampton couldn’t come soon enough!!!
Last but not least, some part of the blame must lay (as it always does) on Luis Suarez because well, he’s Luis Suarez. ‘Nuff said.
Jazz hands had me laughing out loud.
We’ve rebuilt the team (for the umpteenth time) and with Bould in place we’ve now redone our defensive posture. What gets my goat is that some blog about the changes needed but they seem to come through happenstance (player and coaching departures). At least Wenger is smart enough to take advantage of the strength in what he has (players available in the market and coaches available on staff) goes with it.
In seasons gone by, we would have been watching player late game misadventures threaten our points. Not now.
I was disappointed that their were no Poldolski-Sahin fireworks.
I won’t repeat it all but check my last entry on yesterday’s blog on the journey of Diaby. I will repeat that based on yesterdays MOTM performance that he is not the 2nd coming of Viera but can be our Yaya Toure going forward (for only 60k/wk until we let his contract run down).
The only intelligent thing that Stewart Robson said about Arsenal yesterday was that Arsenal were not playing their high line in the back. We will have to see if that changes when Koscienly comes in for Mertesacker.
C. Ronaldo goes “boo-hoo” and right away the Man U hoards have him on the plane back to OT. The Glazers need to write that open letter to their fans that his fee has been spent on caviar, lobster, Kobe beef, trophy wives and interest debt.
Contrary to what some may think, I think we are a top 3 contender for the league title and we are still just getting our act together. I need to see if we can win like a Man U when we are having a bad day at the office, with ref in our corner and and 5″ of Fergie time added (oops, Fergie started pointing at his watch in normal time).
Just how f**ked up is the Pool situation rigtht now. Your plan A strikers are Mutt and Jeff, plan B is on loan at WHU, and plan C went to Sp**s for less than your bid. Now the owner has to write a public apology about the transfer screw ups.
Robson is a complete and utter tool. In similar circumstances, when Arsenal have dominated possession and outshot their opponent but managed to lose, he would eviscerate the team by saying that the only important thing was scoring goals and winning the possession battle and outshooting your opponent was worthless. Yet he was full of praise for Liverpool being the better team because of their superior possession and outshooting us. No criticism for Liverpool because they were profligate or lacked a cutting edge or even grudging praise for Arsenal being more “clinical.” The depth of his bias against Arsenal is astounding.
I like the shape, experience, stability and creativity of our starting 11 especially when Sagna returns. The 2 question signs in my estimation is Giroud and especially Gibbs.
Giroud does everything right except scoring and hopefully the goals will come in time. Gibbs, IMO is just not tactically aware and was bailed out on numerous occasions by Arteta, Poldi and TV. Still think Santos would be a better fit at this moment in time.
The problem is that we have no quality replacements for Arteta at DM, Carzola at AM and Giroud at striker. There is a big drop off if we lose any of those 3 to injury or suspension.
Coquelin is decent but is a big drop off at DM, Ox and Ramsey are decent but no match for what Carzola brings to the table and Chamakh is well, we all know what he brings to the table. Walcott playing as a striker may be a way better fit up front.
Let’s all keep our fingers crossed that those 3 boys stay healthy all season.
Am i the only one who thinks Gibbs did a very good job for the last three match? He seems to win every challenge and has a great ability to tackle. What win it for me is compare to Santos, i trust Gibbs more to come back more quickly to defend when caught out of possession.
I feel the same way and more than anything, i fear for Arteta. Although i don’t feel like Arteta is a DM and more like a deep laying playmaker, just as ZM said at his report, but his defensive ability do really impressed me.
I thought that this season really make me realize what Wenger said about the important of the coming back of Diaby and Wilshere, and especially on the trophies that need to be winning is PL and CL. This team i believe can have a good chance on every competition that is in. But this team can not compete to win in every competition. I believe that to have a big chance to win the PL and CL or even one of them, we need to sacrifice other competition.
I was one of the people who wanted Arsenal to have a real go at Carling and FA cup and although i like it when Arsenal field a young team in Carling, i was excited when more of the first team players field in the Carling Cup. Now, for this season at least, i wish that Arsenal strictly field a young team on Carling Cup and second to third string in the FA Cup. I even wouldn’t be to frustrated if we get KO on CL at the early rounds because that will make our chance to win PL higher.
Last season Man Utd and City get KO on the groups stage in CL and went on to just a difference in goal to win the PL. Chelsea sacrifice the PL to win CL. When Arsenal went to the final of CL, we almost didn’t get the 4th position. Focusing on one of the major trophies is key to winning them, IMO, and expecting them to win in every competition (which, for me, lies the frustration on squad depth) is only going to make it more frustrating when we didn’t win the competition or at least almost win it.
Oh, last season also resulting in a league winner of Montpellier, Dortmund, and Juventus (which goes an unbeaten season). Three of them i think on par or slightly lower on quality than us. What i’m saying is we definitely have a really big chance to win the PL at least, but we have to focus on it and it might have to do with sacrificing other trophies. Well, all this thing is based on just three games though and might have to look again at the end of September if we can survive a CL schedule and big games coming up.
Gibbsy actually had a great match yesterday
The same Howard Webb that Chelsea offered Man U £18m for in the transfer window.
Now that was clever.
To answer your question, Tim, the traditional reference for “it” is a 12-inch* steel bayonet and to be honest, I never quite understood why not wanting such a thing “up you” was always offered as a slur on one’s manhood instead of an affirmation of sanity. Using the same logic, it always irritates me when media, pundits, bloggers etc. question our players’ commitment because we seem less than eager to take on teams that have clearly been given instructions to kick us off the pitch. In most countries finesse and skill are the most prized qualities in football but the strange British psyche places a higher value on a player who can graciously accept a broken leg and 12+ months injury lay-off. Go figure.
*(length may vary)
p.s. Did you notice when Ramsey came on against Stoke, they referred to him having “broken his leg” there, as though it was his fault…
I remember it well. Corporal Jones and one of his many catch phrases. “Gerry don’t like it up ‘em”
Tim – I am a long time admirer of your writings on this blog. You are not afraid of the contradictions that face a supporter, note I did not say a fan. Much of the same faces a manager. Hence I love how you solve the dialectic of Rice vs Bouldy, continuity vs change, stubbornness vs flexibility. You wrote:
Remember last year when everyone was calling Wenger a dictator and stubborn old fool? I do, because I wrote a piece comparing him to Ozymandias. Remember those other people who defended him and Pat Rice against folks calling for someone like Adams, Keown, or Bould to come in and inject some fresh ideas into Arsenal’s defensive scheme? I do because I was one of them too!
But it’s ok, because I was wrong, as were the people who said Wenger couldn’t work with Bouldy because the former Arsenal defender was too strong-willed. Given the changes in shape defensively, given the work that Bould has put in on set pieces, and given the fact that Wenger did change his mind and brought Steve Bould in, I’d say that the old boy still has a trick or two up his sleeve.
What makes you brave is you are willing to say “I was wrong”. Too many of egotists writing Arsenal blogs believe that pecking away at keyboards make them eligible to trash Wenger because he doesn’t make expedient, popular decisions in the face of many other time honored principles such as putting the long term interests of the club above all else. He is never right all the time but most often he is, as evident in the the course of time. Thanks for pointing this out to your readers.
Keep up the good work.
Thanks for the massive compliments.
I suppose as an Arsenal fan me saying I like this team won’t surprise too many people. But I really LIKE this team and despite the departures, both expected and unexpected, this year’s edition has some real quality. In fact, I can see an unlikely title challenge IF some things go our way for once.
First, our most important first team addition, Steve Bould, and Arsene continue to build upon the defensive solidity of these first games. Say what you will about the quality of the opponents but last year Sunderland scored at the Emirates, Stoke scored against us at the Britannia, and Liverpool put two past us at Anfield. This year, same games and three clean sheets and a point more in the league. We need to get our goals against total below 35 to compete for the title.
Second, the new signings must adapt to the league and integrate into the team quickly. I’d say we need a minimum of 40, perhaps even 45 goals from Giroud, Podolski, and Cazorla.
Third, the LANS must integrate into the team and perform well. It’s interesting that I’ve opined to friends and on discussion boards for the past couple of seasons that Song was becoming the player we hoped to have in Diaby. Well yesterday, Diaby gave us all a glimpse of the player that Arsene hopes he gets for the entirety of this season. Will he finally deliver on his unfulfilled promise? Will Sagna, Wilshere, and Rosicky come back and perform at the high levels they’ve previously obtained?
Fourth, the incumbent wide players and midfielders must contribute more goals. Last year, Theo, Gervinho, and Arshavin combined for 13 goals. We’re counting on Poldi for more goals from the wide left position but those three will play significant minutes and must contribute. Likewise, our two attacking midfielders from last year, Ramsey and Rosicky, scored three. Again, Cazorla is being counted on to provide more goals from midfield but we have to a greater contribution from Aaron and Tomas since they will play important minutes. Even acknowledging that all of their minutes are going to be reduced I’d still say we need five more goals out of that collective.
Fifth, our promising youngsters must step up and play well. Coq is really our only true DM and between rotation and injury, he will play in important games. Similarly, the Ox will play important minutes in both midfield and wide. Will their inclusions weaken the team or will they step in seamlessly or even make significant game winning contributions?
Finally, for me the team seems one or two players short. Can we avoid the injury jinx, both in terms of suffering long term injuries to one or two key players and having multiple players injured at one position, that we’ve suffered seemingly every season recently?
Having all those things actually happen is probably a little far fetched so I still think a title is unlikely. But last year, I never thought Montpellier would win a title so I’m willing to hope. At least I’m not a Cubs fan.
http://www.metro.co.uk/sport/football/910653-abou-diaby-i-can-be-arsenals-yaya-toure
I am glad that this article quotes Diaby wanting to be like Y. Toure because if it hadn’t I’d have been on this reporter for theft of my idea like a rash. Maybe Diaby read it here, you think?
hey tim. are you coming to the spurs game? if so see you there. the most glaringly obvious thing for me is we have replaced overpaid, overhyped,petulant spoilt brats. players we took at a young age,paid too much, who had an air of expectation and entitlement and not much heart or desire,whiny bitches,(nasri,cesc,bendtner,denilson) and brought in players in their mid to late 20`s with hunger and desire. players who feel they were overlooked who didn`t sign purely for money. they have the chance to shine on the biggest stage now and prove to themselves and their doubters they are the real deal. we are still 2 players short for mine but a different team from seasons past. lets hope abou can be our RVP this season and stay fit and play the role we as fans have waited so long for.
Please dont include cesc in that list…!
screw him and his phantom hamstring he gave up on us! we should of sold him after the world cup and got the extra 10 mill we got mugged for. i`ll never forgive him unless he returns in jan. which is a possibility at present. looks lost since guardiola left and now he has the overated song as a team mate. i can only hope song`s imaginary friend who he used to pass the ball to once a game,at least, has gone to barca also. cesc is a star but he aint no warrior.
What a mug Sahin must feel now.
“Eh Jose, you tell me Liverpol isda bomd and this Arsenal is no good and this Wener doesn’t know what he is doing. Where’s my champions league?”
Diaby absolutely bossed it. He has improved over the last year albeit through sporadic appearances. In particular, his defensive work has improved. Going back to the Newcastle game where we drew 4-4, he kept it solid for us until he lost his head with Barton and then it all went south for us very quickly (not helped with the loss of Djourou)
I think he’s laso matured for us a lot not least thanks to an earful from the then Kapiten Van Pursestrings.
Still worried about durability issues but I suppose we will likely see a combination of Diaby, Arteta, Coquelin and possibly Jack covering in the deeper roles leaving the more advance berth to the likes of Santi, Rosicky and Ramsey.
Diaby-Arteta
Diaby -Jack
Arteta-Jack
Arteta- Coquelin
Diaby- Coquelin
Jack-Coquelin
Each has its attributes. Coquelin in particular will get a massive opportunity to step up. It could be a breakout year for him.
Early days yet but signs are encouraging. Best signing this summer is definately Steve Bould.
Still some shaky moments in the game so no time to be complacent but a massive improvement from start of last summer.
Glad to see Santi-Cazorla striking a fantastic partnership out left. I only wished we got rid of Walcott early and brought in Affelay to bolster the right wing too.
Girroud is still firing blanks but looks intelligent with his movement and should start putting them away. He has 7-8 games to get his zeroing right (when you conside that was how long it took Bergkamp and Henry to break their respective ducks)
Big games coming up shortly so lets hope we continue to build on this.
I was wondering how long it would take for someone to comment on the people in the front row when Vermaelen went flying.