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Sunday, January 06, 2008

Player analysis and ratings Vs Burnley. Eduardo can win the Cup for Arsenal


By 1970’s Gooner

It was a scrappy game. There was no rhythm or flow from Arsenal as the players found it difficult to play the passing game as we have come to know it under Arsene Wenger. It was probably due to a combination of attitude and the state of the pitch.

Attitude, because the Arsenal players looked as though they underestimated the opponent and on many occasions were not playing as a collective or cohesive unit.

Indicative of this was the huddle of all the players just before the kick off…..the Burnley players. I didn’t see the Arsenal players going in a huddle unless the TV ignored it. If you were there can you please let us know.

The state of the pitch did not help Arsenal’s passing game and this may have affected the way the players approached the game choosing on occasion to play the long ball to Bendtner and Eduardo.

It was from such a high ball from steady Kolo that Eduardo run on to from deep to find himself in front of Kiraly, the Hungarian ex Crystal Palace goalkeeper.

Eduardo seems to be able to bend the laws of nature by appearing to elongate time.

There is no other explanation for it. He just waited for the ball to drop at a more convenient height as it bobbled in front of him with a defender on his shoulder putting pressure and then, as he did for his goal at Seville which was very similar in execution, passed it into the net.

This boy is very clinical..I would have said a killer but he did miss a similar chance in the second half when Bendtner laid it on a plate for him with only the goalkeeper to beat. He rolled it just the wrong side of the post. He can be human after all.

But this is the type of player that Arsenal needed for a very long time. A player who when the rest of the team are not playing well, when the game is scrappy and fifty fifty, he can get the goal that will make the difference.

This is more important to Arsenal due to the passing style of football that Arsene Wenger’s teams play which can sometimes go off the boil either because the players are tired or having a bad day at the office. Just as it was for the defeat at Middlesbrough.

That’s when you need to score the scrappy, opportunistic goals. The goals that come out of nothing or against the run of play. Goals that will not necessarily win the Goal of the Month competition.

Eduardo was playing at Boro but had not come to terms with the English game by then. He is finding his feet now alright. And as Wenger continues to field variations of the B team for Arsenal in the Cup competitions the more important Eduardo will become.

He will be important in the race for the title too don't get me wrong....

Lehmann

Did not have much to do. 7

Traore

One of his worst games for Arsenal. Often out of position and hesitant in his clearances. A lot of Burnley’s offensive play came from that side of the pitch. It wasn’t a surprise that Wenger substituted him for Hoyte in the middle of the second half who brought more experience to bear. 4

Sagna

He hasn’t been at his best recently and the rest that Wenger gave him recently did not appear to have helped enough. He was steady and without mistakes don’t get me wrong but he wasn’t at his best. 6

Toure

Did not put a foot wrong and gave the assist for the goal. He was a real leader and with the experience he has now he is one of the best if not the best central defender in the league. 9

Senderos

I wish I could but I can’t say the same for Philip. He had one of those games where he displayed his deficiencies in lack of positional awareness and pace. He came more into his own in the second half where he had a good game because Burnley went more direct with more high balls which suits his style of play. 6

Diaby

He is getting better and better. Opponents find it difficult to get the ball off him (like it was with Vieira). When he beefs himself up a bit more he will be a real tough cookie. Maybe Wenger is waiting for that before he gives him more starts in his natural position in the centre of the field but maybe he will do so when he unloads Gilberto? Faded a little bit in the second half. 7

Denilson

Had a good game with lots of movement and usually accurate passing. If he continues improving like he has he will be a natural successor to Fabregas. 8

Gilberto

Again looked rusty and unfit to me. Performed the basics well but no more than that. He is probably out of the door either in this window or the next. 6

Eboue

After a good game last time out against West ham he reverted to his usual game of being active but without substance or end result. Careless in his passing and frivolous in possession. 5

Bendtner

Won most of the headers but was not able to hold the ball as he has shown he can. His control usually let him down and his passing also suffered. He did however combine well with Eduardo to score the second killer goal which he took well going round the keeper and slotting it home. 6

Eduardo

In addition to what I have written above he was also more in the game holding up the ball and connecting with his fellow players well. He also provided the assist for Bendtner’s goal. 9

Man of the Match: Eduardo


Match Statistics

Burnley , Arsenal

0, goals, 2
0, 1st half goals, 1
2, Shots on Target, 6
6, shots off target, 8
3, Blocked Shots, 1
5, Corners, 4
11, Fouls,18
7, Offsides, 0
1, Yellow Cards, 0
1, Red Cards, 0
42.3%, Possession, 57.7%




32 comments:

Anonymous said...

How you can give Diaby a seven is beyond me. The boy is useless. Can't pass, won't tackle, and very lazy. And people want him to be played though the middle! LOL. We would get rinsed with him there.

Josh H said...

is match showed us that diaby cannot make it at this level. it also raised doubts for me about denilson (i've no idea how you gave him an 8) and traore who was minced. Eboue was indeed completely useless, probably our worst player but he is much improved overall this season. senderos cannot be relied upon.

Anonymous said...

I have to say that I agree with the first comment, Diaby was absalutly usless I thought Eboue was very bad and so was Trarore but he is only 18 and will only learn from this. As for Sanderos if he is going to deputise for Toure then we are in trouble, he is simply not good enough. Eduardo did well and I thought Benthner was good to. all in all not bad for a understrength Arsenal team in a cup game against a spirited burnley which was in no way helped by a poor ref which showed a red card when a yellow would have been enough.

Anonymous said...

diaby is a good player. opponents find it difficult to get the ball off him and when wenger plays him in his preffered position you will see how good he can be.

Josh H said...

i agree he's a good player, but not good enough for arsenal. he is premiership class no doubt but doesn't cut the mustard at the very highest level. i could be wrong, but apart from his sunderland goal i've never been impressed with him and apart from being lanky i see no similaarities between him and the legend PV4

Anonymous said...

Does Diarra's exclusion mean he's soon out the door?

Anonymous said...

Diarra could be rested because of the Carling Cup...hopefully.

Does anyone agree with me that Gilberto playing may have been one of the reasons that we failed to compete in the title race last season? His inability to pass and his soft defending are what made us soft last season and his slow tempo made us unable to break down teams.

Whereas, now, we have Flamini who tackles high up the pitch and passes with a higher speed.

Anonymous said...

gilberto was our best player last season, which is saying something about how bad the rest of the team were considering that he is actually quite a limited player. but wihtout him - and especially his goals - we wouldn't have made the champions league, and wihtout the champions league, who knows who might have left?

Anonymous said...

Diarra should have played instead of Gilberto or even Diaby coz really Diarra is the bter player. And Eboue need to play at right back he is the best when it comes to defending one on one but attacking rrally useless. If we play like that against Spurs on Wednesday then we will loose surely

Anonymous said...

Eboue shouldn't even be in the team, yet alone be considered as the next right back after Sagna.

I'd sell if not give Eboue away, and take Bentley back for the right midfield slot immediately.

Bentley could then alternate/compete with Hleb for that position.

Traore trys to play football in and around his own penalty area...he needs to learn that at such moments, he just needs to get the ball as far away from our goal as possible, preferably by finding another colleague upfield somewhere.

Diaby is Arsenal class, although he faded in & out of the game today, but then several players did the same too.

Our passing game was off, and we were giving the ball away cheaply.

But we won, so well done lads!

Anonymous said...

diaby's play lacked 'purpose' despite his ball skills - either he made short first time passes backward (even that's not done well) or he ran into dead ends - so what he's doing on the pitch is beyond me...

denilson appeared to getting worse; some may say he's not having a run of games - may be,or may be not - it's just that his passing and movement aren't smart enough at all, or in other words, lacking football brain (which cesc had even at 15!) and that's could be his failing in the end

another one without much brain (football sense at least) was eboue; good ball skills etc but seldom made good decisions and choices - sort of a stupid bull

all in all, our mid field kind of disappeared which i feel contributed to Burnley apparent surge in the game

i feel arsene could not be happy, though they did the job -after all, it shows why some aren't first choice

arsenalviper said...

Diaby - truly awful. so very poor. Denilson better then Diaby. Traore? As bad as diaby. Toure? A rock.
Eduardo? He has a very short manadate - and he does it perfectly.
Eboue should be let go. And maybe take Diaby with him? the rest are better then this

Anonymous said...

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Anonymous said...

Goofie, I agree about Gilberto, the most over-rated Arsenal player in the last decade. Just because he scored a couple of penalties last season shouldn't disguise his inept passing that constantly puts the defence under pressure.
I can't wait to see the back of him and get Diarra a proper run in the team alongside Cesc. Diarra's ball control, vision and passing accuracy should ensure that defensive midfield berth is his for years to come.

Anonymous said...

score one. assist one.
who will beat him man of the match..
dudu great
Feel free visit:The-Gunners-1886 Get your Match-Even here
All the best...Gunners...thanks

Wrighty7 said...

I think we played in 1st gear for most of the game, and felt if we wanted too, we could have stepped it up at anytime. Burnley were spirited throughout and made it a decent match so credit to them for that. Im glad Eduardo scored again, he's finding his feet at Arsenal now. Can u imagine how good he'll be next season!!!!!!!

Anonymous said...

denilson 8? what game were you watching. he was rubbish and he can't tackle properly, its always two footed. gilberto showed hes still got something to offer. eduardo got no service

Anonymous said...

Diaby "the next Viera," Denilson "heir apparent to Cesc" - how about adding something that hasn't been said 513 times already.
This match did nothing to alter my view that neither Eboue or Diaby has a future at Arsenal.

Anonymous said...

Does nobody remember the pass from Diaby that sent Eduardo through on goal? Cause I do, and it wasn't useless.

Anonymous said...

Why is everyone having a go at Diaby? He was fine overall even the Telegraph gave him a 7 and so did the Sun!

Anonymous said...

Diaby was worse than eboue!!

Everyone keeps thinking that that diaby should be in the middle because of his similar build to viera but truth is he is a ballet dancer of a player rather than a battler. If muamba had diaby's skill he would be one hell of a player because he gives everything and doesnt shirk 50/50's. Diaby on the other hand seems to wanna skip and use quick feet rather than raw power and commitment (like viera in his prime). I mean can u see diaby confronting roy keane in midfield like viera used to. Any way i think his days are numbered as clearly wenger does not trust him in the middle and he is not doing much on the wings!!
Eboue at least stuck to his (right) side and tracked back (he still played crap but diaby was far worse).
Also Sendeross had a fine game in fact i would say both centre backs were the 2 best players on the pitch.
Bentdner needs to be more of a handfull up top like ade and then he will be a monster.
At the moment championship defenders still give him trouble like sometimes when he was at brumie!!
I wont mention traore as we're all allowed one of those a season!!
Apart from that a good work out for the lads and a good rest for our frist 11.

P.s if Edu stays long enough he could score as much as T14 as his attempts to goal ration is amazing!!

Anonymous said...

Eduardo had been playing on the left of the 4-5-1 up until the everton game and the carling cupp games and thats why we didnt see the best of him.

Wegner should really stremgthen on the wings.

Anonymous said...

there's no problem with diaby's skill but he just don't know when to pass, or say he just don't want to pass.
diarra also got this problem. for some young player in our b team they all got the same problem. i guess that's because they are eager to be noticed for getting in the team's front pecking order.
as to denilson, my opinion is his movement in dealing with the ball is a bit slow so that might not be that suitable for our flowing play.
eboue just simply don't know what to do about his final touch..
and for Eduardo, assisted one goal and scored one out of three chances, not bad.. i mean no doubt he is our fox in the box!

Anonymous said...

Wow...what a fickle bunch our fans are...no wonder people have a go at our fans

Do you not understand that our players cannot play at 100% all of the time...

We have not been at our best and we are getting results...imagine when our players start hitting form..

Diaby is a talent as is Denilson...we forget how young (19 and 20)they are and how lucky we are to have such great young talent at the club...

they are still learning and will only get better....we put a near second string out and won....there were quite a few upsets and we did well considering giant killing can boost confidence...

if they are not good enough...Wenger would not play them...remember Wenger knows....

if you want to complain about one or 2 players having a bad game you should go and support the other team in North London and see how many of their players are performing....

Come on the Gunners!!!

Anonymous said...

Diaby had a gaood game, it was evident with that pass he had once he was in the middle and he often drifted to the middle as Gilberto covered the flanks, he is an attacking Mid, he is similar to PV as he has the ability to keep the ball well, but PV4 could never play on the wing, he is an attacking Mid who had his ankle broken in two places, its no wonder he is hesitant to tackle had he had a longer run of games he might have passed that mental block. It amazes me that none of you remeber how he bossed chelseas midfield in the carling cup and at the emirates when he played in the middle and we only dint win both games when he went off. His problem is Cesc, they play the same position, Cesc is better for playing as would Diaby be, a midfield of Diaby and Diarra is mouth watering as the potential of those two mates is staggering. Its a shame Diaby played in this match as Diarra is likely to play the spuds game. Together they would rip the spurs midfield apart and to befair Diaby and the boys did what they had to do, they beat what was in front of them only in 1st gear, better opposition and they would have all raised thier games. As your opponent forces you to, its like playing with someone you know your better than, you give half as you know thats all u need, which means your focus is always sharp, but you still know you have enough, Arrogant ... yes, im sure if a mann can boss chelsea, Burnley was just a stroll and he treated it as such.

Anonymous said...

I must say I disagree with most of the comments here. I thought Diaby was not that bad and can get past people as well as anyone.

Yes Eboue, Gilberto and Traore were poor but I also thought Denilson has been getting worse. He could have been booked numerous times.

However, Eboue is also a reserve RB and I think he is better than Hoyte there. Traore is still young and I have no idea what's up with Denilson.
Gilberto will probably be gone by the end of the season and I think Diaby can make it at this level.

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Anonymous said...

Why does everyone keep advertising their sites on here?

Anonymous said...

Armourist i agree with what you say regarding him being an attacking Mid and has good versatility. Maybe i want him to be viera too much.
But i have to say that he has to show his battling qualities even playing out of position as he seems tooo timid for the middle.
When viera was his age he was bullying midfielders. Also wenger trusts 5'10 denilison over 6'3 diaby in the centre of midfeild (not just yesterday, CC final also) which shows wenger knows he is not ready for the middle yet.

I think he is better going forward than viera at the same age but has got none of veira's battling qualities.

Alan smith was flying into 50/50's yesterday (his injury was worse than diaby's) so it is possible to get over that mental block

Anonymous said...

"Eduardo seems to be able to bend the laws of nature by appearing to elongate time."



?

Anonymous said...

Isn't it also rude to post three times?

Anonymous said...

What a bunch of whingers! Diaby's fine, denilson is fine & Eboue is improving. A month ago everyone here was complaining about Eduardo now you all think he's great. You morons have no patience, thank god Wenger is the manager and not you lot. By the way Arsenal had a mediocre game with a weakened team in the FA Cup and we won so enjoy it and stop your bleeting

Anonymous said...

agree 100% with astamaan