We sit here today just one point behind sp*rs, ten points above Liverpool and three above Chelsea. If you consider the start we had, at one point sitting over ten points off them down the lane, you realise the character that we have in this team. The mood in the dressing room seems to be better than in previous seasons and its games like those played on Wednesday that highlight the "mental strength", to use Arsene's words, that this team really does have. We played a fantastic game, yet if there was one less minute of injury time we would be sitting here cursing our missed chances. That's just how it goes in football but it would have been nice to have a bit of a cusion of a goal or two rather than relying on a adrenaline-fuelled mad run from our centre-back in the last minute of injury time.
Van Persie, Rosicky and Gervinho all missed fabulous chances. Gervinho in particular, who just seems to panic when the ball is less than a meter away from him in the penalty area. Maybe he just wants to score too much, but in the end its cost the team numerous times this season has so far shown little signs of improvements. Its the kind of thing that can only really be improved through playing and having those chances. He may be a better finisher than RVP in training but unless he shows that in a game then its next to useless.
Other than his miss, Tomas Rosicky had another splendid game. He got back, made tackles, gave one stunning through ball to RVP and kept the the ball moving for the entirity of his time on the pitch. His resurgence has timed perfectly with his signing of a new contract, and I have to say I'm all for it. Yes maybe in the past he hasn't quite shown his best but if he's showing it now, why let him go?
Once again our midfield completely ran the game. Arteta, Song and Rosicky interchanged positions throughout. All have an eye for a good ball and all can tackle, a skill which one Cesc Fabregas didn't have in abundance. Maybe before we were too reliant on Cesc. He is a marvellous player and certainly I would take him back in an instant such is every Arsenal fan's affection for him, but he said himself he was given a free role at Arsenal. He moved where he wanted, he tackled when he wanted. Our midfield, and whole team was based around him, whereas there are now three players who can do hard work, getting back and stopping the other team play. That can only be a good thing.
Theo Walcott was a revalation against Newcastle. He is often critisized for his final ball and to use the words of that smug biased c*nt Alan Hansen, he lacks a "footballing brain". On Monday his final ball was perfect, our wing play was outstanding, throwing cross after cross in the box, a vast change from what we usually see when chasing a game. Take the Wolves game for example. We needed a goal but the ball went round and round in circles, not really posing any threat. Walcott was responsible for a fair share of these crosses and, as we critisize him when he spends a whole game doing the square foot of f*ck all, he has to be praised when he does well. Theo's stats do tell us a lot about him, he's a dangerous player no doubt and not someone who a full-back wants to mark, but he can be frustrating at times, his usual crossing into row Z playing no small part in that.
The back-four seem to be gelling and are relatively injury-free (just watch how we get a season-ender now). The four that played against Newcaslte are probably our first choice and for the most part, we looked solid. Vermaelen made a bit of a mess of his clearence for the first but we looked strong as a unit and tidied each other up well. This defensive solidity feels new and strange. Long may it continue.
Up the Arsenal.
Thanks for reading.
@Arse_Licker
No comments:
Post a Comment