We’ve improved but we still need to do something this season
I WAS out of the country for Saturday’s game and the Goodplaya correspondent who had volunteered to report instead found himself in the office on a Sunday and snowed under with work. Hence the lack of a West Brom report.
I’ve seen the goals and there were nice elements to all of them. Ramsey’s passing has been tasty of late; Fabregassian almost. That created the first. The second showed off how much Vermaelen was missed last season, not just for his defending but for what he offers going forward.
And the third was really refreshing because of the speed at which we moved the ball and it was good to see Arteta slot it away so cooly. For me he has taken some undue flack for some restrained performances of late. Undue because he automatically gets compared to Nasri in his purple patch rather than the Nasri of the rest of the time. And also undue because Ramsey has been getting forward a lot of late and so for me it is the sign of a responsible midfielder to hang back a little if that is the case. Lest we forget how much of last season we spent bemoaning how unbalanced our midfield looked.
So what is my overall impression as we head into another fortnight’s break? Well, the horrible start to the season feels a long time ago. And yet it still casts an almighty shadow over our fortunes: we’re chasing the chasing pack, which is not where we would want to be. At all.
What is obvious is that the complete chaos of the early season has gone. By complete chaos I’m talking about the scenario where we had lost no fewer than five experienced players and brought in just the one. That, understandably, shattered confidence in the stands and on the pitch and while Arsene may joke about being able to write a book about the summer, he’d do well to ensure there is never a sequel.
You can find some explanation for our improvement, frankly, in the fact that we’ve had a run of relatively straightforward home games (at times it has felt like driving cross country and passing unremarkable town after unremarkable town). Little of the five home league games just gone will linger too long in the memory. And the other part of that is that we seem to have just stopped playing away from home. We’re currently in a run of 11 home games out of 15 in all competitions.
Of course, such a reading negates the victories in Chelsea and Marseille, but I think few in number are the Gooners who think that away from home we’re as yet entirely sorted.
Player wise, we obviously miss Cesc and Nasri and with Wilshere out, our midfield can at times look a little ordinary. But there are improvements on last season as well. I really think the most understated thing is the clearing out of the guys who used to drive the fans mad: Almunia, Eboue, Denilson and Bendtner. As luck, perhaps, would have it, Abou Diaby has been on the treatment table all season long too.
I’m not saying their absence has bought Wenger any great goodwill but it has I think starved off a fair bit of ill will. There are no glaringly obvious lightening conductors for fan frustration in the squad and I think that in these sometimes testing times, that is no bad thing.
In the centre of defence, personnel wise it is miles better than last season really. Vermaelen, Mertersacker and Koscielny are actually giving the manager a selection headache and while I’m not trying to have a go at Djourou, I do like the idea of a guy who wasn’t exactly setting the world on fire last season finding himself out of the team.
At left-back we have been fortunate that the opposition of late has not exploited Andre Santos’ defensive shortcomings too greatly. But he does, undoubtedly, offer an attacking threat that Gael Clichy could only ever dream of. Whatever your take on Cech’s keeping for Santos’ goal at the bridge, one thing is almost for certain: Clichy wouldn’t have got that on target.
And at right-back, for me Jenkinson is a great improvement on Eboue in the Sagna understudy stakes.
So my overall point here is that there is cause for optimism: we largely speaking have the personnel to make a decent defence.
Midfield is improving, even if, at the moment the trio pretty much pick themselves. We could do with more from the wings though: Gervinho is doing OK, but neither Walcott, Arshavin or any of our other odds or sods are delivering consistently.
And up front, we’re obviously hugely dependent on RVP. I don’t think the dependency is not unhealthy in the context of the whole team: others are chipping in with goals fairly regularly and while he is going great guns, he is delivering in the context of the lone striker in a team that will create chances. It is not as if he is conjuring goals from nothing week in or week out. But the fear is whether we have anyone else in the squad capable of playing that striker role.
In terms of aims for the season, for me we either have to properly challenge for the title or win a cup. Anything else would be failure. Having a good last 30 league games to the season but never being in touching distance of the leaders, would, for me, simply not be sufficient without a cup to show as well.
Think you sum things up very well but find the Diaby comment in pretty poor taste.
I think everyone now understands why we have only ever seen flashes of him reaching his full potential. I feel hugely sorry for him.
Anything beyond 4th and last QF’s of the Champions League – bearing in mind the start we had – would be brilliant, i think. i’d love us to win the Carling/FA Cup, but really the League and Europe are where it’s at. If we can keep improving and add one blue-chip player in january….who knows what might happen. Certainly only City have looked consistently strong & impressive.
i cant believe what u have just said about Diaby. He was very unfortunate with the injury that happened so early in his promising career. He is a very talented footballer and i believe if the operation is a success he can go on to be as big as RVP who also suffered because of injuries. For an Arsenal supporter to utter such drivel shows insensitivity of the worst kind. My opinion of you has totally changed.
Bit of an over-reaction about Diaby from a couple of people here. Everyone gets that he’s been hugely unfortunate with injuries because of that cretin at Sunderland. That doesn’t excuse him ambling through games like can’t really be arsed though.
Funnily enough, I reckon we might see some good performances when he does return because he’ll have to fight to get in the team; even more so when Wilshere is fit again.
A good piece, lots of insightful points there.
I have to say I agree about Diaby though you do put it a bit clumsily.
It wasn’t Dan Smith’s assault on the Arsenal midfielder that got Diaby stupidly sent off at Newcastle last season, precipitating the 4-goal collapse. It was his own petulant indiscipline, spectacularly contrasting his usual half-hearted and casual playing style.
He hasn’t been missed. What folly to keep renewing his contract and neglect Van Persie’s and Nasri’s.
Total over-reaction to some fair Diaby comments. He has been unlucky with injuries but he’s just not good enough. Quite simply – not enough brains & not enough heart. The very fact that no-one (bar Arsene) talks about how we’re missing Diaby tells you that comparing him to RvP is madness….
For his sake, would love to see him get fit. (as I find it very sad any player being forced into retirement early) That doesn’t mean I want him to stay though. Get him fit & get whatever fee we can for him asap.
We’ve got some very winnable games coming up.Have to keep the momentum up. A minimum of 10 points needed from 4 games before City.
Goodplaya, I get your point re: Arteta but one thing he does deserve criticism for is his set-pieces. They’ve been very poor.I really thought he was going to bring much-needed improvement.
Totally agree on Jenkinson. Some rough (very rough) edges but boy does that boy try. He will get better & better because you can tell he wants it so badly……
Agree – players like Jenkinson offer more substance than the Eboues and Denilsons of the world. Eboue wasn’t lacking in talent, but his propenstiy for diving and whining was annoying. Jenkinson seems to have plenty of heart, energy…and can defend too. Plenty to learn still of course. PD – I certainly don’t put Diaby in the RVP class, but nor do see him as a Denilson, Eboue or Bendner. 2 seasons ago, I thought he did quite well when he had an injury-free run. Yes – he will always be slightly frustrating, but i think he can be a good squad player. RVP was very injury prone at the same age and is now playing great stuff. Not saying Diaby will do the same, but I don’t think we should write him off. Saw in the loanee notes that Denilson can’t even get his game for Sao Paolo. of the three: Denilson. Diaby, Song, he may have promised the most in his 1st year, but is now bottom of the pile by a long way in my book.
Wenger spends more time with these players and i believe when he says someone is good we should try and listen. How many times have we been proven wrong by the man.Just a few weeks ago almost everyone was throwing everything, including the kitchen sink, at him. Granted, the media had a lot to do with it but a lot of The Gooners lack the faith in a man who has done so much and whose intelligence is beyond questioning. To suggest a player lacks intelligence when one has never, even for a day spent time with player defies logic. Football is a very emotional game and taken in context Diaby’s (over)reaction in the Newcastle game was understandable. The referees do nothing to protect our players. A lot of people overeact including RVP who even Arsene admits was a hot head in his early days. In my opinion Diaby is a great footballer and if he manages to overcome his injury i promise u a lot of people will be singing his praises ala RVP! if you want someone to blame for a half hearted approach you can look no further than Arshavin!
I would argue that Dibay’s reaction to the challenge at Newcastle was a direct result of Dan Smith. Not saying he was right in what he did but it was the reaction of somebody whose career has been decimated by a crude late challenge.
wiz, I’m talking about football intelligence only. You don’t need to spend time with someone to know whether they have that or not. Diaby could be Einstein off the pitch for all I know. On it, he just does not read the game well at all. After almost 6 years, it’s perfectly logical for me to comment on whether he has the brains; it’s hardly a rash judgement at this stage. If you have watched him all this time & think he is an intelligent footballer, that to me defies logic !
Oh, and his reaction at Newcastle has got nothing to do with my impressions re: his lack of intelligence.
slc, I think you’re missing my point a bit. I’m not denying RvP’s injuries weren’t frustrating but when he did play, you could tell he had class.And when he was injured, he was missed. I don’t see that with Diaby. RvP is 3 years older – is anyone seriously suggesting Diaby now has anywhere near as big an impact (when fit) as RvP was making (when fit) 3 years ago ??? Not a chance.
From a non-Arsenal fans perspective it seems that knowing you have three central defenders with good ability has been key. Getting Vermaelen back, and now keeping him fit, is so important. Mertesacker has added presence and Koscielny is a good back-up if he cannot displace the German.
Obviously it helps to have Robin van Persie in the form of his life, but he has always threatened this kind of run if his fitness allowed it.