By 1970’s Gooner
Fabiansky
Kept Asrsenal in the game with a string of fine saves and looked to be redeeming himself as a result. He was however at fault for Liverpool’s second goal as he was way behind the goal line to stop their second goal. He could also have parried Torres’s shot to the side but instead his outstretched hand wasn’t strong enough to do that. 5.5
Sagna
Brought back sound defending on the right hand side. Was not adventurous enough going forward. 6
Gibbs
Had a difficult game. Couldn’t keep up with the pressure Liverpool were putting on his side of the pitch. 5
Silvestre
Was found wanting on Liverpool’s two of the goals and generally, as against Drogba, did not have the pace again to deal with Torres and co. 4
Toure
Was culpable for Liverpool’s last minute equaliser as he along with Silvestre panicked and run into each other. Up to then had a decent game. 6
Song
He was immense again. He did his job very well, managing to block the opponents and actually make telling and forward passes. He is growing into a permanent feature in this team. 8
Denilson
Once again a below par performance. He did not deserve to start tonight as his showing against Chelsea was simply not good enough. Not good enough tonight either. 4
Fabregas
Provided the assist for Arshavin’s first goal by showing maturity beyond his age when he looked up to spot the little Russian demon. He was not forward minded enough for me tonight (as also against Chelsea). 6.5
Nasri
Was back to form tonight. He was purposeful and provided a lot of nous on his side of the pitch. He cleverly dispossessed the Liverpool defender to create the first goal by first waiting and then nudging the ball to Fabregas who run into the position behind Liverpool’s defence to receive it. 7
Bendtner
Was isolated tonight like Adebayor was against Chelsea. But also like Adebayor he did not hold the ball at all well up front nor did he bring any of his team mates into the game. Was largely ineffective. 4
Arshavin
I call him the little Russian demon and that is what indeed he was tonight. He unleashed all that energy he had to save from last Saturday onto poor Liverpool. What a performance, what a feast of goal scoring and what a lesson as to how to take chances he gave tonight. Absolutely immense. I can only give him a perfect 10!
There is no reason to put up a poll for the man of the match tonight is there?
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Monday, April 20, 2009
The reasons behind Saturday’s team selection
By 1970’s Gooner
A lot of commentators have been postulating that Wenger rested players against Chelsea so that they would be fresh to face not Liverpool but Manchester United in the now all important Champions League semi final games.
The reason is that Arsenal are already seven points ahead of their closest rivals, Aston Villa, for the fourth spot in the League anyway (with a game in hand).
But the only players rested against Chelsea among those fit and available were Song and Nasri while Arshavin is not eligible to play against Manchester United in the Champions League anyway.
The fact that Nasri was not in the first eleven may have something to do with his form rather than needing a rest. Nasri has been off form recently and already had a rest due to his absence from the first team due to illness.
No, to my mind, it appears that Wenger made a decision to try and win the FA Cup semi final by matching up to Chelsea’s formation (and resting Song in the process).
It all back fired.
The overriding error is that he showed Chelsea too much respect. In other words he tried to stop them from playing rather than encouraging his own team to play their own game.
But when a team tries to match up the opponent’s formation it has to have players in the key positions that are at least equally good as the opponents.
And Arsenal’s central midfield in Fabregas, Denilson and Diaby certainly wasn’t a match for Essien, Ballack and Lampard. Offensively on the left Van Persie was not up it and Adebayor was too isolated up front.
The 4 3 3 formation meant that Fabregas or Diaby should have been playing further up front in order to support Adebayor (we are still not sure who was supposed to play behind Adebayor- maybe no one?).
This did not happen and Adebayor was left isolated and thus rendered ineffective.
Van Persie’s deployment as a left winger was a disaster.
Some say that he was played there to help young Gibbs out but the downside was that Van Persie did not offer anything going forward and Gibbs had a fine game anyway, both defensively and attacking wise.
But the perplexing decision here is the omission of Arshavin who is cup tied anyway for the Champions League.
He would have not only offered defensive cover for Gibbs (Arshavin has shown defensive responsibility in his games for Arsenal so far) but would also have been more offensively minded than Van Persie was from that position.
The ironic thing is that if Wenger really wanted to rest players for the Man U games then he would have started with Arshavin instead and gave Van Persie a break (by the way Van Persie is now carrying a groin injury).
So trying to match up with Chelsea by using inferior players on the day was Arsenal’s undoing.
Now, if in the 4 3 3 formation Song was deployed in central midfield instead of say Diaby (or Denilson) and Arshavin on the left instead of Van Persie I believe things could have been a lot different.
Fabregas for a start could have been more offensively minded as Song would have been far stronger in midfield than either Denilson or Diaby thus providing the platform for Fabregas to go forward.
I am assuming of course that Fabregas would have been given the go ahead to roam forward….
Adebayor would have got the needed support up front and Arshavin would have created 1000% more than Van Persie managed.
In other words Arsenal would have been far more offensively minded.
But is this what Wenger wanted?
A lot of commentators have been postulating that Wenger rested players against Chelsea so that they would be fresh to face not Liverpool but Manchester United in the now all important Champions League semi final games.
The reason is that Arsenal are already seven points ahead of their closest rivals, Aston Villa, for the fourth spot in the League anyway (with a game in hand).
But the only players rested against Chelsea among those fit and available were Song and Nasri while Arshavin is not eligible to play against Manchester United in the Champions League anyway.
The fact that Nasri was not in the first eleven may have something to do with his form rather than needing a rest. Nasri has been off form recently and already had a rest due to his absence from the first team due to illness.
No, to my mind, it appears that Wenger made a decision to try and win the FA Cup semi final by matching up to Chelsea’s formation (and resting Song in the process).
It all back fired.
The overriding error is that he showed Chelsea too much respect. In other words he tried to stop them from playing rather than encouraging his own team to play their own game.
But when a team tries to match up the opponent’s formation it has to have players in the key positions that are at least equally good as the opponents.
And Arsenal’s central midfield in Fabregas, Denilson and Diaby certainly wasn’t a match for Essien, Ballack and Lampard. Offensively on the left Van Persie was not up it and Adebayor was too isolated up front.
The 4 3 3 formation meant that Fabregas or Diaby should have been playing further up front in order to support Adebayor (we are still not sure who was supposed to play behind Adebayor- maybe no one?).
This did not happen and Adebayor was left isolated and thus rendered ineffective.
Van Persie’s deployment as a left winger was a disaster.
Some say that he was played there to help young Gibbs out but the downside was that Van Persie did not offer anything going forward and Gibbs had a fine game anyway, both defensively and attacking wise.
But the perplexing decision here is the omission of Arshavin who is cup tied anyway for the Champions League.
He would have not only offered defensive cover for Gibbs (Arshavin has shown defensive responsibility in his games for Arsenal so far) but would also have been more offensively minded than Van Persie was from that position.
The ironic thing is that if Wenger really wanted to rest players for the Man U games then he would have started with Arshavin instead and gave Van Persie a break (by the way Van Persie is now carrying a groin injury).
So trying to match up with Chelsea by using inferior players on the day was Arsenal’s undoing.
Now, if in the 4 3 3 formation Song was deployed in central midfield instead of say Diaby (or Denilson) and Arshavin on the left instead of Van Persie I believe things could have been a lot different.
Fabregas for a start could have been more offensively minded as Song would have been far stronger in midfield than either Denilson or Diaby thus providing the platform for Fabregas to go forward.
I am assuming of course that Fabregas would have been given the go ahead to roam forward….
Adebayor would have got the needed support up front and Arshavin would have created 1000% more than Van Persie managed.
In other words Arsenal would have been far more offensively minded.
But is this what Wenger wanted?
Sunday, April 19, 2009
Fan demands public apology from Arsene Wenger
This is one of the many rants that were posted on the site right after the defeat to Chelsea in the FA Cup semi final. The main point the commenter is making is that Arsene Wenger gave Chelsea too much respect.
By Anonymous
If we had lost with our two best players on the pitch then we would have no complaints. To lose with the Ash and Naz on the bench is hard to take.
I do not blame the goalkeeper. The blame lies with the all knowing Mr Wenger who gave the chavs too much respect.
He failed the team today with his selection. He undid all the good work of the past months with his cowardly team selection.
The chavs were there for the taking and we bottled it because of Mr Wenger and his cowardly team selection. I hope he rediscovers his balls in the coming weeks or we shall have to chop them off because he is not using them when picking his team.
He has ruined everyone's weekend and we demand a public apology from Mr Wenger for leaving two of our best players sitting on the bench and for filling our hearts with hope only to break them with his cowardly team choice for such an important game.
I don't want Mr Wenger out. I want him to stay true to his beliefs and send out Arsenal teams to play our attacking football and to not worry about the opposition.
Come on Mr Wenger, grow some fu*king balls for fu*ks sake!
By Anonymous
If we had lost with our two best players on the pitch then we would have no complaints. To lose with the Ash and Naz on the bench is hard to take.
I do not blame the goalkeeper. The blame lies with the all knowing Mr Wenger who gave the chavs too much respect.
He failed the team today with his selection. He undid all the good work of the past months with his cowardly team selection.
The chavs were there for the taking and we bottled it because of Mr Wenger and his cowardly team selection. I hope he rediscovers his balls in the coming weeks or we shall have to chop them off because he is not using them when picking his team.
He has ruined everyone's weekend and we demand a public apology from Mr Wenger for leaving two of our best players sitting on the bench and for filling our hearts with hope only to break them with his cowardly team choice for such an important game.
I don't want Mr Wenger out. I want him to stay true to his beliefs and send out Arsenal teams to play our attacking football and to not worry about the opposition.
Come on Mr Wenger, grow some fu*king balls for fu*ks sake!
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Player analysis and ratings Vs Chelsea
By 1970's Gooner
Fabiansky
Nervous and shaky. Made three errors out of which two goals were scored! He has to get his act together if we are going to win anything this season. 3
Gibbs
The shining light of the day. Did not put a foot wrong. Very good defensively and equally good going forward. Supplied the cross for Walcott’s goal. 9
Eboue
Has been surprisingly good in his last two games as a right back. Defended well and thrust forward with intend. 7
Toure
Had Drogba in his pocket for nearly all the game. It was in fact Silvestre who was found wanting when Drogba out paced him for his match winning goal. Toure though had a very good game continuing on his good form as of late. 8
Silvestre
He brings experience in defence especially with the young Gibbs in the back four. He lacks pace though and Drogba took advantage of that. 5
Denilson
Had one of his worse games for Arsenal. Kept giving the ball away, often failing to block Chelsea’s midfield. When he lost the ball he invariably gave dangerous free kicks away. A mystery why he was picked by Wenger because he has been out of form recently and Song had been excellent in that position. 2
Diaby
Had a good first half but faded away in the second. Crowded Fabreags out in the midfield areas and was not really offering any support to Adebayor who was left isolated. 4
Fabregas
Was not creative enough today. He did not make any penetrative passes nor did he dictate play as he usually does. Maybe Diaby had something to do with it. 5
Van Persie
Can’t really blame him as he was played out of position but he never got past his man once! Often came inside but was largely ineffective. 4
Walcott
Along with Gibbs, Walcott was the bright spark of a miserable afternoon. Often had the better of Cole and scored Arsenal’s goal because he was at the right position to score it even if it went in off two Chelsea defenders. He has to improve his crosses though as they often got way beyond our attackers. 7
Adebayor
Can’t blame him for his ineffective performance for once. He was isolated up front and never got the supply he deserved. 6
Arsenal’s Man of the Match: Kieren Gibbs
Fabiansky
Nervous and shaky. Made three errors out of which two goals were scored! He has to get his act together if we are going to win anything this season. 3
Gibbs
The shining light of the day. Did not put a foot wrong. Very good defensively and equally good going forward. Supplied the cross for Walcott’s goal. 9
Eboue
Has been surprisingly good in his last two games as a right back. Defended well and thrust forward with intend. 7
Toure
Had Drogba in his pocket for nearly all the game. It was in fact Silvestre who was found wanting when Drogba out paced him for his match winning goal. Toure though had a very good game continuing on his good form as of late. 8
Silvestre
He brings experience in defence especially with the young Gibbs in the back four. He lacks pace though and Drogba took advantage of that. 5
Denilson
Had one of his worse games for Arsenal. Kept giving the ball away, often failing to block Chelsea’s midfield. When he lost the ball he invariably gave dangerous free kicks away. A mystery why he was picked by Wenger because he has been out of form recently and Song had been excellent in that position. 2
Diaby
Had a good first half but faded away in the second. Crowded Fabreags out in the midfield areas and was not really offering any support to Adebayor who was left isolated. 4
Fabregas
Was not creative enough today. He did not make any penetrative passes nor did he dictate play as he usually does. Maybe Diaby had something to do with it. 5
Van Persie
Can’t really blame him as he was played out of position but he never got past his man once! Often came inside but was largely ineffective. 4
Walcott
Along with Gibbs, Walcott was the bright spark of a miserable afternoon. Often had the better of Cole and scored Arsenal’s goal because he was at the right position to score it even if it went in off two Chelsea defenders. He has to improve his crosses though as they often got way beyond our attackers. 7
Adebayor
Can’t blame him for his ineffective performance for once. He was isolated up front and never got the supply he deserved. 6
Arsenal’s Man of the Match: Kieren Gibbs
Wenger picked the wrong team
By 1970's Gooner
I have to call them as I see them. And what I saw during this pulsating FA Cup semi final was a team put out by Wenger which was starved of its midfield tenacity and its forward minded players.
The first and foremost glaring team selection by Wenger was to keep Song out of the team and play Denilson in his place.
The result was a weak Denilson often failing to block Chelsea’s midfield but above all passing the ball to them and putting our defence under unnecessary pressure.
When he lost the ball he invariably gave dangerous free kicks away. If Song had played I am sure the game would have had a different outcome.
And if Song had an injury then Diaby and Fabregas should have been the pairing in midfield with Diaby instructed to keep back.
The second of what I call “self induced weakness” was to drop Arshavin on the bench and play Van Persie as a left winger.
Not only did Arsenal lose Arshavin’s thrust and penetration the player chosen to replace him was playing out of position and thus the poor man rendered largely ineffective.
The third which arose as a result of playing Van Persie out of position was playing Diaby as the man behind Adebayor. Or was it Fabregas who was supposed to play there.
You see what I mean? Diaby was more often than not in the Fabregas territory crowding the little maestro out thus depriving Arsenal of its creativity.
Or was it Fabregas that was crowding Diaby out? Take your pick because it was not clear who was supporting Adebayor at all. This also meant that Adebayor was starved of any support.
Fair enough you cannot legislate for two goal keeping errors and if Fabiansky had not come out to try and block Drogba then you never know we might have got away with a 90 minute draw and then it would have been anybody’s game.
I also feel that if we had played with a full strength team we would have out played Chelsea to the ground. This leaves me feeling very optimistic for the remaining games and for next season.
But only if Wenger stops messing about with the formation and the selection of players.
I have to call them as I see them. And what I saw during this pulsating FA Cup semi final was a team put out by Wenger which was starved of its midfield tenacity and its forward minded players.
The first and foremost glaring team selection by Wenger was to keep Song out of the team and play Denilson in his place.
The result was a weak Denilson often failing to block Chelsea’s midfield but above all passing the ball to them and putting our defence under unnecessary pressure.
When he lost the ball he invariably gave dangerous free kicks away. If Song had played I am sure the game would have had a different outcome.
And if Song had an injury then Diaby and Fabregas should have been the pairing in midfield with Diaby instructed to keep back.
The second of what I call “self induced weakness” was to drop Arshavin on the bench and play Van Persie as a left winger.
Not only did Arsenal lose Arshavin’s thrust and penetration the player chosen to replace him was playing out of position and thus the poor man rendered largely ineffective.
The third which arose as a result of playing Van Persie out of position was playing Diaby as the man behind Adebayor. Or was it Fabregas who was supposed to play there.
You see what I mean? Diaby was more often than not in the Fabregas territory crowding the little maestro out thus depriving Arsenal of its creativity.
Or was it Fabregas that was crowding Diaby out? Take your pick because it was not clear who was supporting Adebayor at all. This also meant that Adebayor was starved of any support.
Fair enough you cannot legislate for two goal keeping errors and if Fabiansky had not come out to try and block Drogba then you never know we might have got away with a 90 minute draw and then it would have been anybody’s game.
I also feel that if we had played with a full strength team we would have out played Chelsea to the ground. This leaves me feeling very optimistic for the remaining games and for next season.
But only if Wenger stops messing about with the formation and the selection of players.
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