Arsenal v. West Bromwich

Arsenal v West Bromwich

Nov. 5, 2011

Arsenal still comes in with a near must win situation. This will continue for probably all league games for a while. They are still a good 6 points behind 4th place Newcastle. There is only a quarter of the season gone, but the way Newcastle is playing 6 points could get to 9 or 12 points real quickly if Arsenal doesn’t win these early games. There is absolutely no chance of contending with the league title and that is after Arsenal has won the last 4 league games. Manchester City looks gross and Man United is there normal consistent self. Even at this point, the only target is 4th place. 

Wenger proves this by sporting a topnotch starting eleven. Mertesacker is the only regular who has been given a break, but it is arguable whether he has deserved to be in the best 11 anyway. Jenkinson will also be starting as right back, but with Sagna done, Djourou, who sucks, is the only other real right back, so starting the young Dane is not unexpected. Van Persie will be starting up front, centering Walcott on the right and Gervinho on the left, so their lineup is a the true starting 11. 

At this point, a bona fide starting eleven for Arsenal should mean a win over someone like West Brom and the Gunners showed off this confidence from the get go. W.B.A. could foil Arsenal drives, but they could only take possession for about 5 seconds before the Gunners retook the ball. The first real chance for Arsenal came at the 22 minute mark, but it came with a goal. Ramsey made a great feed to a streaking Walcott, who had broken away from the defense. The shot was hit right at the keeper, but it was forceful enough to create a rebound that was gobbled up by Van Persie. The casual nature of the goal would highlight the disparity between the two teams. In the first half Szczesny only touched the ball to catch weak crosses or long balls that had gone too long. The greatest threat mustered by West Brom was in the 35th minute when a forward got possession of the ball and looked to be pulling back to shoot, but Vermaelen muscled him off the ball. Vermaelen then showed his worth on the offensive end in the 38th minute. Song sent a feed to the area of Van Persie. Van Persie, realizing that he could not get a shot off, sent the ball back into the danger zone, 20 feet in front of the center of the goal, and Vermaelen instinctively pushed up to slam the open shot in the net. 2-0 Arsenal. I for one am absolutely pumped Vermaelen is back and this goal is a major example of what a leader he is on the pitch. He has been dominant as usual in the back, but he has an uncanny sense of when to become aggressive on the offensive end. During this play Van Persie knew that someone should be in position in front of the net to eat up any rebounds or crosses, but Vermaelen had noticed from his sweeper position as the last man back, that no one was in that spot so he pushed up. Every defenseman for Arsenal, with the exemption of Mertesacker, is able to push up and add to the attack, this is part of the Arsenal way of play. However, many like Jenkinson, Santos, or Koscielny, often join the attack, but negate their defensive responsibilities in the process. In contrast, Vermaelen never seems to attack without knowing he is covered on the back end. He pushes up when he knows he can create a legitimate chance and he often can. Many defenders are defenders because they don’t have the skill or the feel to be on the attack all the time. Mertesacker is a perfect example of this. He is too tall and clumsy to be a feasible attacker, but not Vermaelen. Vermaelen is an exceptional defender and that, by itself, is the sole reason he is a defender. He has the skill, the speed and the wherewithal to be a striker, he is just better at defending. This shows up every time he comes forward, he just seems confident for the last man back. 

The second half was Arsenal controlled, but one could tell they had stepped off the gas pedal. Outside of a few 5 minute spurts, the Gunners were content to just hold on to the ball. In all they had only 3 really good chances, but West Brom had one curving shot that hit the crossbar, but other than that they didn’t even get into the 18 meter box. Ramsey, who had a solid game throughout, had a great shot that went just wide to the right. The youngster showed great class in positioning himself in order to receive and make space for the open shot, but he really should have hit the target. In the 65th minute, after making a good push for at least 5 minutes, Song took a strike from 20 yards that was just a bit strong, as it sailed right over the crossbar. 

Both chances showed great poise from the young players, but not the finishing touch of a more experienced player. In the 75th minute, we got to see such a finishing touch as the 29 year old Spaniard confidently stroked in the third and final goal of the game. Arteta had taken a feed from Van Persie that was very similar to the one he gave to Vermaelen for goal. He pushed the ball up the right side, but didn’t have an angle for a shot, so he kicked it back in front of the net, hoping for someone to be there. This time Arteta was waiting and one touched a beautiful shot into the lower left hand corner. It was a shot smooth and calm. There are others that would have messed up but Arteta put it right where the keeper couldn’t get it. 

Arsenal did not look dominant over the clearly inferior West Brom, but they did what they had to do to win. They made sure that they were solid in the backend so as to not have to catch up to an opponent that will surely just bring back all 11 players to defense if given a lead. They knew that a mediocre attack would get the job done and it did. They put consistent pressure, albeit weak pressure, but eventually they broke through. This is not to give too much credit to Arsenal for beating an inferior opponent, but this was not the case at the beginning of the season. It shows that their defense and poise have much improved from the first month.

Marseille at Arsenal

Marseille at Arsenal

Nov. 1, 2011

Champions League Match

Having beaten Marseille in the last Champions League match, Arsenal has found themselves ahead in their group needing only a win and they will be off to the next round. Wenger has shown some more confidence in this outcome, and obviously with the new acquisition of South Korean Captain Park Ju-Young, because he is starting at striker instead of Van Persie. My guess is again, if he is required, he will be put in. Van Persie also has international duties sandwiched in with Arsenal games. It may be the hope again that he will not be needed. 

The first half started with Marseille pushing the pace. Arsenal had a few more chances later, but  for the first 10 minutes Marseille had two shots that went just wide off the left post. The first with only a minute or two gone, was the closest either team would come to a goal all game. Having lost to Arsenal in the last Champions match Marseille needed this win much more than Arsenal. Although a win for the Gunners would push them through to the next round, it was clear that the Gunners focus was on the defense. Their best chances were on counters. Several times it seemed as though it was really just to stump significant Marseille pressure, instead of actually mounting an attack to score a goal. 

Ramsey had two chances that really should have been goals. On one he hesitated on a shot and it was too late by the time he shot. On another, both he and Gervinho had chances to pass to a wide open Walcott in the right flank, but Gervinho  passed to Ramsey and Ramsey again hesitated on a shot that was blocked by the keeper. That ended being the closest Arsenal ever got to a goal. Gervinho had a great game. He pressured several times, but never had a good receiver. Walcott only got open for a few feeds from Gervinho, but his play was down. Park, looked like what he is, a recent aquisition who has yet to gel with the club. He knew what to do, just not when to do it. He was waiting for Ramsey to shoot, he got into position to receive a rebound off his shot, but he passed to Park who was no longer there. Gervinho had a similar situation in the second half. 

Even with Van Persie coming in in the 65th minute, and Arshavin in the 75th, Arsenal could still not push through. However, the Marseille attack befitted a team who needed to win. Arsenal was up to the task. Vermaelen showed little signs of the injury that has kept him out for months. He was a rock in defense. He stunted several crosses with authority, smashing the ball out of bounds and forcing a reset. Mertesacker actually looked great. He seemed to really gel with Vermaelen. The German Mertesacker used his size to flush out several high crosses with a header. With the Belgian behind him, when the German got beat there was always someone in the right place to cover. Santos looked like he always does. He was somewhat erratic in the defensive end, but he was always an offensive threat He was aggressive at times and this created counterattacks for Arsenal as well as chances off his blunders for Marseille. Jenkinson on the other side was in much the same mold. He would streak up the field on counters, create space and chances, but when his charges didn’t work, he had to hustle back into position. 

Sciezcny was solid in net. He was not challenged often, but was up to the task when he was. He was incredibly daring for a 19 year old keeper. On two occasions he raced out of the box to kill a charge. On one he headed the ball away like a charging bull, as a Marseille forward tried to kick it in the air. He punched several corners and crosses away before they became anything really dangerous. He just had a great game.

Going forward, this 0-0 tie keeps Arsenal in first place in their Champions League Group. They do not need to win anymore games, but they still need a tie to assure themselves a spot in the knockout stage of the Champions. They looked much better defensively against Marseille and that more than anything, more than beating Chelsea, might be an indication that Arsenal is ready to place themselves back into the elite in the Premier League. They are now only 4 points out of a Champions League birth in the Premier League standings. As always, it would be great if they could pick up a striker to aid them in a charge up the standings, but with Vermaelen back, Sagna coming back in January, and hopefully Wilshere joining them at some point, Arsenal will certainly look better going past the New Year than they did after their 8-2 loss to Manchester United. As constituted now, they will still not threaten the likes of Barcelona for the Champions League title, but they could if they get healthy. 

Arsenal at Chelsea

Arsenal at Chelsea

Oct. 29, 2011

Premier League Match

This is an enormous game for Arsenal. They have won 7 of their last 8, but that was against the likes of Stoke City and Bolton. Chelsea has come in to some adversity at this point in the season after a few bad loses, but they are still one of the elite. Of course this is also a Derby match, or a rivalry between the two major London clubs. 

Coming in, Arsenal will not have to face the dynamic striker Drogba, who has been suspended for one game. However, the young Spaniard Fernando Torres is only slightly worse than Drogba. 

Arsenal lined up with Van Persie as striker, between Gervinho and Walcott. Arteta and Ramsey were the midfielders. This lineup was great on the attack all game. Even in the first 10 minutes there were several chances. The only problem was that there were good chances for both teams. Arsenal seemed to have one in the books in the 13th minute as Walcott broke away from his defender, who was playing high up, 15 yards off the circle. Walcott streaked down and gave a great cross right to Gervinho’s foot, but he muffed the kick wide. Should have been the first goal. It looked as if it might have defined the Arsenal performance, as a few moments later, Chelsea scored on a header from Lampard. 1-0 Chelsea. Even at that moment it was hard to see that being the only goal of the game. Both defenses were showing significant weaknesses. Gervinho and Walcott were able to skate past defenders on the wings for the entire game. When they were marked Arsenal was able to swing defenders, unmarked into the attacking areas. For Arsenal, Koscielny again was strong. He was clearly the Gunners swiftest defender. He marked Torres for most of the game and it showed, as Torres could never get open, except for one chance off a Koscielny turnover. In the first half Santos and Djourou were having some real trouble keeping with their men and of course, Mertesacker looked as he is big and slow. While he was able to get to headers that no one else could, he also had moments where he got deeked off the ball, or beat by his man on spot kicks. Needless to say the game would not stay 1-0. 

In the 36th minute, after putting good pressure on Chelsea for a good 5 minutes, Arsenal finally scored. Gervinho walked right through two defenders and received a feed from Walcott. 6 yards out and right in front of the keeper, Gervinho had only to chip the ball to Van Persie to his left, who putted home the open shot. This began a mostly Arsenal dominated 10 minutes, but it ended with Chelsea again scoring on a header, this time it was Terry off a Lampard feed. It really hurt, but there were the evident lapses on defense. Santos was getting blown past by every one on the left side. Mertesacker got beat again, this time by misjudging the Lampard feed and wiffing on his header. However, Arsenal still held even in possession and in the 1st half they had several chances that could have turned into goals. The back and forth pace was telling of more fireworks to come. 

From the first 5 minutes of the 2nd half, it was clear which team had made the proper defensive adjustments, and which side had not. Chelsea had chances in the 2nd half. They did break away from Arsenal at points, even scoring a goal in the 79th minute. However, Arsenal tightened up in the second half. The goal Mata scored was a wonder goal from 25 yards out. It curved left towards the post, then like a baseball splitter, it cut down right before it got to the keeper, who had no chance. Arsenal, however, was able to continue their attack with ease. From the opening moment of the second half Arsenal was explosive. In the first minute, Van Persie broke through with a chance, then Ramsey had a chance from a open Gervinho feed. Then in the 48th minute, Santos drove unmarked for 20 yards before receiving a feed from midfield. He was then able to sprint unheeded for another 15 yards for a scoring strike that was blasted over the flailing right foot of Cech. This defensive failure, in particular was disgusting. Santos made the proper changes defensively in the 2nd half, because he was no longer beaten at will, but he didn’t turn into a faster player. The fact that he was able to prance down entire half of a soccer field is just amazing in its defensive inadequacy. A similar scenario happened for Arsenal’s 3rd goal. Walcott took the ball from 40 yards out, while attempting to go through two defenders he fell down, was able to get up retake the ball, and sprint towards net. He then rifled a kick over Cech’s nearside shoulder. To be fair, Cech should have held stronger to his nearside, but it was the defending that allowed for such a thought.

After Mata’s tying goal in the 79th minute, it took Arsenal 5 minutes to retake the lead. This time it was another defensive blunder by Chelsea. The last man back, Terry slipped while going after an errant pass. This led to Van Persie and the keeper, and of course Van Persie calmly sidestepped the keeper an slid the ball in. Arsenal would score again, Van Persie completing his hat-trick, in the 92nd. Chelsea was trying to muster what energy they had to try and get a tying goal, but this led them to even more defensive lapses. On a 4 on 2 counterattack, Van Persie got his third on a pass from Arteta. 

Arsenal’s win against Chelsea may have shown that the Gunners are back in the hunt, but it was more telling of Chelsea’s weaknesses. The Gunners had won 7 out of 8 coming in, but this was a real test no doubt. Chelsea’s offensive prowess did pressure Arsenal like they haven’t been in weeks. However, offensively this was no challenge. The Arsenal attack went unheeded for the entire game. I give them credit for taking advantage of so many chances, but nothing more. It was a great win, in terms of confidence, and for standings, but it wasn’t the Rubicon game I thought it might be. They were better than Chelsea and that’s pretty much all we found out. 

Stoke City at Arsenal

Stoke City at Arsenal

Oct. 23, 2011

Premier League Match

Arsenal has another must win game against the weaker Stoke. Win and its another 3 points. Even this early on its hard to think that Arsenal can overtake the 2 Manchesters, however if they start winning the early easy games now it could mean a lot in terms of getting in the top 4 and earning the Champions League seat next season. 

Arsene Wenger has finally given Van Persie a much needed rest, though you can’t fault Wenger for not wanting him to sit as he has exploded in his last 10 games. Deciding to play Chamakh in his stead, it will be interesting to see how he has only played in one game this year. Wenger starts with Chamakh as the striker with Walcott and Gervinho surrounding him in the ever fluid forward position. Arsenal needs a striker like Chamakh, just much much better. He is tall, but unconvincing with many of his headers. He doesn’t seem to have much touch either. He does seem very good as getting offside. With that said, Arsenal still needs a striker in mold of Chamakh. They have also tried with Bendtner, the tall Dane, but like Chamakh, he was never consistent. Van Persie is great, but he is great at so many things that it seems like he should be in more of the forward role with someone at the striker position. 

Chamakh looked off to start. He had a few decent chances, but couldn’t deliver. He had a header in the 12th minute that could have been a goal, but was poorly hit. From ten yards out it weakly bounced to the left of the net. Arsenal didn’t really need him though. From the beginning Arteta and Ramsey did a great job of ball retention as they cycled the ball around from defense to forwards, slowing pushing up, but never giving up real possession. 

After dominating possession and chances in the first 25 minutes, Gervinho finally broke through with a strike from 15 yards out. Gervinho’s strike was not short of confidence, but the best part of the play was the assist that was lofted beautifully over 3 defenders from 5 yards away by Ramsey. After finally breaking through, Arsenal then proceeded to play like they could beat them with one foot. In the 33rd minute Stoke received a controversial penalty kick that they converted. The real injustice was not the call, but the defense that followed. A tough bounce led to a Stoke forward receiving it from 20 yards away, but he was just watched as he pushed the ball to 5 yards off the right post and then crossed unchallenged to the middle of several Stoke players. The ball was bounced around, but Crouch ended nailing it in. The next few chances would also be Stoke’s, but it would turn again. 

Arsenal controlled the last 15 minutes of the game as well, as constant pressure finally led to another Chamakh chance off a nice cross from Gervinho, but again Chamakh seemed to misjudge the ball and missed it. The first half ended with the score tied, but with Arsenal dominating all but 5 minutes. Hopefully going forward they can take advantage of their dominance by striking home a few more goals. It would be nice to rest Van Persie for the game but they would need to get a few more goals before the pressure mounts. 

2ND HALF

Arsenal came out of the first half, again inspired. They held possession. Mostly with Arteta trying to find some rhythm feeding his forwards and other midfielders making runs. Gervinho had a few nice runs, but nothing came to be. Koscielny had a great chance, after several bounces a corner landed in front of him 5 yards from goal, but he was facing away from net and he got fancy and failed a bicycle kick. However, that was by far the closest they came in the next 15 minutes. 

By minute 65 Arsene Wenger could wait no longer. He began to warm up Van Persie, who came on in the 67 minute and was dynamic from the get go. His first touch he dribbled in front of a defender for 30 seconds before his cross was just missed by a Koscielny header. 

It took less than 5 minutes for Van Persie to score. He received a feed from Gervinho right in front of the keeper, and snuck it in the bottom right corner. It was a nice feed from Gervinho, but it really highlighted the difference between someone like Van Persie and someone like Chamakh. Van Persie called for the ball, immediately went towards Gervinho, cutting in front of a defender. The kick itself was solid, but his positioning was awesome. Another example of this was again in the 82nd minute, as Gervinho again crossed to Van Persie in front. Again Van Persie pushed through defenders, gaining position enough to get that all in important first foot on the ball. 

The fact is Gervinho had a good total game, but a great 2nd half. This was no coincidence. Obviously when Van Persie came in, but also with Arshavin a minute later, Arsenal was just a different team. It was Arshavin’s run down defense and feed that led to Gervinho’s second cross to Van Persie. The little Russian played a very productive 20 minutes. However, Chamakh can just not do what those guys can do. The young Turk has 3 inches and 15 lbs on Van Persie, but it was the Dutchman fighting through defenders at will.

Clearly it is hard to bench Van Persie at any time, until he loses some of his fire.

Arsenal at Marseille

Arsenal at Marseille

Champions League Match

Oct. 19, 2011

I initially liked the lineup of Van Persie centering Arshavin and Walcott. But in the first half, both players showed only an average performance. Walcott showed some flashes by breaking away a few times, but then tossed lame duck crosses that were casually eaten up by the keeper. Arshavin attempted a few darting runs moguling through trees, but he never got past the second tree. In fact Arsenal controlled in much the same way they do when they’re on, but they weren’t on. Meaning Arsenal seamlessly rotated players. All of their centers and midfielders interchanged, and defenders like Santos and Jenkinson would charge up on counters, almost playing wing for a few than jumping back down. The problem is Arsenal made nice runs but then terrible crosses. They made that nice last move to get open, but missed the shot. They just couldn’t break through the Marseille defense to finish. Unfortunately this matter, coupled with the typical Arsenal defensive woos, lead to a heart-stomping experience for the Gunner fan. 

Their was the matter of the handball. As a Arsenal corner kick led to a Marseille player hitting the ball with his hand well inside the zone. It should have been called it wasn’t, but it didn’t really seem like an injustice. The fact was Marseille had chances themselves, they had a nice lofted shot themselves that could have gone in and even though Arsenal held a firm grip on possession and had way more corners, they only had a few more chances. There was a header by Van Persie, of course the handball, and then several Walcott runs that really led to nothing., but that was it. 

The second half started much the same. For the most part they stumped Marseille, then pushed up on counters. Arshavin had a nice break from leftwing, but his cross produced only routine work from the goaltender.  

Past the 60th, Arsenal seemed to be creeping past the Marseille defense. Arshavin successfully moguled through three trees, setting up for Song who made a nice pass to Van Persie, but again Van Persie couldn’t get his best foot on it. Walcott had the best chance all game in the 63rd minute. Positioned in the middle he broke past a defender, who really flubbed his attempt at a tackle; but wound up too close to the goalkeeper to flip one past. Marseille got a few shots on net, but few real chances. Most of their shots were routine for the 20 year old Scieszny. 

If I can give anyone credit in this game, it has to be Koscielny. I have ripped him often, but he had a great game. Playing with Mertesacker in a dual centerback position, it looked as though Koscielny was the experienced one, not the old dog Mertesacker. He was the most aggressive receiver of all of the corners in the 1st half and he played a stout defense. He came to the rescue a few times by holding position in the middle crushing any crosses or players that came through. 

Coming in late Gervinho also looked lively. He came in for Walcott and made more quality chances in his 15-20 minutes than Walcott made in his 65. He made a great move and pass to an open Van Persie in the 90th minute, but the goalie was in position again and Van Persie couldn’t squeak it past him. Then in the 92nd minute, Arsenal’s consistant pressure in the 2nd half was finally rewarded right before the whistle. Wenger certainly looked like a genius on this one as his three 2nd half substitutions, Djourou, Gervinho, and Ramsey, were the last the last three players to touch the ball on way to goal. It was a Djourou cross from left that was tipped by Gervinho to a wide open Ramsey. The 19 year old then stuck the ball in with an authority and confidence that would not tend to be associated with someone so young.

In the end this was an amazing result for Arsenal. After Olympiakhos upset Borussia Dortmund, Arsenal finds themselves in first place at the half way point of the group stage in Champions. They also have both Marseille and Dortmund at home in the second half with only the weaker Oympihikios to play away in Greece. Also, Arsenal did look decent at defense. There were a few chances by Marseille, but Scziescny never had to make any hard saves. Koscielny helped out on a few dangerous crosses, but the closest Marseille ever came was the lofting shot in the 1st half.

Arsenal knew it needed to get to this point. If they can continue to push on in the Champions League, as the get farther on they should get healthier. Although they could never compete with the likes of Manchester United or Barcelona at this point, if they can get themselves another player or two, Hazard from Lille would definitely fit, they will hopefully get Vermailen and Sagna back in January, and Wilshere about a month after that. That would create a lineup that would still be the underdog against such aforementioned foes, but it would give them a chance. 

Sunderland at Arsenal

Sunderland v. Arsenal 

Oct. 16

Come back off the International break Arsenal has been hit by the injury bug again. This time, by far their best two way defender Sagna, goes down for “astleast the new year.” Hopefully this will not play into this game as Arsenal should still have enough star power to overwhelm the lowely Sunderland. However, in the long run this does not bode well for a team that was already burdened with a weak defense, especially now that arguably their two best defenders, Sagna and Vermailen, will be out together for several months. 

It took seconds for Arsenal to exploit their advantage in talent. Off the opening kickoff Arteta took possession and attempted a pass that was  blocked by a defender. Fortunately for the Gunners, the ricochet made an over zealous Sunderland team jump forward, but the ball landed right back at Arteta’s foot who then nailed a second attempt at a long ball to a streaking Gervinho who stalled the defense, allowing Van Persie to gain position and then an easily converted pass to the Dutchman for goal from 10 yards out. 

Arsenal dominated for the entire first 30 minutes. Van Persie was on fire for several chances in the first 10 minutes alone, yet Arsenal was still only up one when Arteta received a dubious penalty call in a Sunderland push. From 20 meters out, the Swede Sebastian Larson kicked a twisting shot that curved around the right side of the wall, then darted up the left side of the net. It was a beautiful strike that Szcyensy had absolutely no shot saving. 

This shot seemed to act as a shot of adrenaline for Sunderland. For the remaining of the 1st half, Sunderland pushed even in possession, but pushed forward in solid chances. In the 34th minute, Koscielny allowed a drive onside then was caught in no man’s land as Mertesacker got blown off the ball, allowed a pass and open header that, if not for a phenomenal save by Szyciesny, would have certainly gave Sunderland a lead going into the half. 

Arsenal started the 2nd half well. They held possession creating a Walcott chance in the opening few minutes. Two Jenkinson pushes led to chances as well. In fact, Jenkinson did well all afternoon recoiling into counterattacks after any Sunderland charge. Despite Arsenal dominating possession and play for 25 minutes, there was still no change in score. At the 65th minute, Gervinho was subbed in by Andrey Arshavin, this was a good move in my opinion, as Gervinho had really done nothing since coming on like lightning in the first 10 minutes. 

Arshavin came very close to making Wenger look like a genius in the 73th minute. Arshavin single handedly weaved through 4 defenders then took a low shot that just missed the right pocket of the net. Arshavin seemed to push the pace for the remainder of the game. 

Arsenal looked frustrated going into the 80th minute. They had several drives thwarted and continued to try different faces at free kicks. Starting with Arteta, then Walcoot and then in the 80th Van Persie. The 3rd choice was the charm as the left-footed Van Persie curled a kick around the right side post. Arsenal 2-1 Sunderland

That should have quelled all fears of a Arsenal dominated performance ending in a tie, yet the Gunners continued to play sloppy for much of the remaining 10 minutes. Sunderland was able to create several chances, one being a goal called offside. Arsenal didn’t help themselves by losing possession several times carelessly, well in their own zone. 

Arsenal was able to hold on for a win. Albeit with much trepidation for their fans. They dominated enormous chunks of the game, a win was well deserved. However, their play was laxidasical at times. They have still not solidified their defensive woos and it seems that the loss of Sagna will only exacerbate these problems. Jenkinson did look good at times, especially pushing up on counters. Mertesacker looked how he has always looked, his size is an advantage getting headers forcing people off the ball, but it is also a disadvantage as he lost his man a few times and was beaten off the ball a few more times. Gibbs looked good in that he wasn’t that noticeable, but was taken off the pitch for Santos who did look very strong. 

All in all Arsenal dominated possession, but often couldn’t finish. They could have scored several goals in the first 20 minutes and when they didn’t the pressure only grew. Larsson’s goal was unstoppable, but it shouldn’t have led to a tying goal. Even with Van Persie’s brilliance, and he definitely showcased it in this match, they are still in need of a finisher.

Bolton at Arsenal

Bolton at Arsenal

Sept. 24, 2011

Almost the entire team looked incredibly nervous in the first half. There was no fluidity. Everyone looked choppy. Arsenal was able to hold possession, but that resulted in very few chances. The 2nd Half would be a different story. 

Then within the first 3 minutes of the 2nd half Arsenal another forward push by Gervinho led to a nice pass; that would have been a foul had possession not been retained; to a streaking Van Persie. Van Persie then did a one-two with Ramsey, resulting in a powerful, left-footed strike, that pushed through the right under-arm of the goaltender and the left post. Gervinho another rush one minute later 

At the 55th minute mark Song and Ramsey pass up to Walcott, who had made a terrific run, beating the last defender Wheater, the pass looked on target, but Wheater pulled down Walcott, calling for a red card. The kick game right outside the 18m box, and Van Persie curved one around the wall, but into the sliding goaltender’s gut. 

Up a man, Arsenal dominated. Arteta had two nice chances from a feed from Gervinho in the 58th and then from the goaltender’s deflection from a Walcott cross. There was a lapse from Arsenal in the 60th, where a turnover led to a pass to the Bolton striker, Eagles, who had beaten the defense. Gibbs proved to be much faster than the striker, as he caught up quickly to force an errant shot. 

After the shot, there was a light scuffle with Van Persie and several of the Bolton players. Assuming equal blame, I don’t think its becoming of a captain to be messing around with 25 minutes remaining, up one on the scorecard and on the field. However,  Van Persie’s failed header try one minute later certainly was, and then he reminded us, in the 70th, why you can except a captain with a little attitude if he can produce like the Dutchman, as he took another nifty Walcott feed, and deposited it in the net off the side of his calf. 

Down 2-0, Bolton was helpless. They could only hope to hold possession for mere seconds before Arsenal took control and fired off shot after shot. Ramsey, and Walcott had the best chances until Alex Song, coming off a 3 game suspension, made two swift cuts around a defender and then hooked a beautiful shot over the leaping goaltender’s left hand. 

With the massive desperately in talent, it was a wonder why Arsenal was so conservative in the 1st half. Perhaps they were toying with them, or perhaps they were nervous, but they came out in the second half like a gun. Some may want to look at the red card as a turning point, but Van Persie’s first goal came with 11 on a side, so did a nice Gervinho try. The red card was not the turning point, but rather the sand being put in the coffin. While the 2nd and 3rd goals, came with a man up, they had made it clear, within the first 10 minutes of the 1st half that they were going to take over. Unfortunately, Walcott did come up lame in the closing minutes of the game, without being touched. Though the announcer continued the ominous claim that it was a muscle pull, I suspect, and most certainly hope, that it was a leg cramp. If he goes out for an extended period it could mean that this step up; against Bolton; would be negated by a step down. Ignoring the chance of Walcott’s injury, Arsenal flowed like they haven’t in five games, and despite the one letdown, when Eagles snuck in behind the defense. The defense appeared much stronger. Bolton may not be an offensive juggernaut, but they got 2 solid chances, not shots, chances, on Arsenal in the entire game. Both Santos and Mertesacker, looked especially confident on defense, so hopefully the newcomers are finally gelling.