Arsenal Need To Raise The Standard Against Liege
Nov 23rd, 2009 by 'holic
Ever since I saw someone point out what a strange word ‘irked’ is, it has fascinated me. If English is not your first language and you are unsure of what it means, just have a look at Arsene Wenger’s last couple of press conferences. Here is a man who is displaying a great deal of irk, and it would appear his players were the cause of said irking.
He left nobody in any doubt up at Sunderland that he felt that some of his charges had not put in a full shift. That is something he has almost always hidden from the public gaze until now. His mood appears little improved after a couple of nights to sleep on that performance.
As he fielded questions ahead of the Champions League fixture with Standard Liege, Arsene turned on someone who suggested that this was a big year for Theo Walcott because of the World Cup. “We do not pay the players to play in the World Cup, we pay the players to do well for Arsenal football club. The first pride of a man is to do well for the guy who pays you in life, not to go to the World Cup.”
That he feels it necessary to share with the world at large what he must be drumming into the squad at Shenley is interesting. Normally after an unexpected defeat he puts a public and protective arm around his team, but perhaps he feels he needs to attempt something new to get his message across. Whatever the reason, the events of the weekend have clearly proved irksome in the extreme.
The squad for the game on Tuesday is the same as for the game at Sunderland, plus Kieran Gibbs, the manager said. It will be interesting to see how he juggles that squad five days before the visit of Chelsea. Does he rest defenders after a tough week? Can he start with the same front five who caused him such angst at the weekend?
With victory assuring top spot in the group I don’t think he is likely to rotate too many positions. Having said that he may consider that William Gallas and Bacary Sagna had a tough last seven days and decide to give them a breather.
Whatever eleven starts I would expect to see us looking to play at a higher tempo than was evident at the Stadium of Light. Hopefully a greater number of chances will be created and we can convert enough of them to secure the points.
Those going to the ground could take advantage of the fact that Ladbrokes are the only firm offering odds against Eduardo finding the net at any time. 11/10 doesn’t provide enough value for the ‘holic pound, however. I’m liking the look of the 11/1 they offer on a 3-1 home win, also the best price in the market from what I can see.
Let’s hope I am right to be positive. We need the sort of performance that will lead to a great deal of irklessness in the post-match press conference.
Cheers, ‘holics.
25 Responses to “Arsenal Need To Raise The Standard Against Liege”
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First? Apologies to the regular posters if I am!
Nice sensible approach ‘holic. Going to pop down to the local Cervecaria here in Barcelona to see what I can find…..
Unlucky Russell, and welcome. Have some chorizo for me would you?
Darn twitter! Foiled again.
Got to go easy on the chorizo – plays havoc with the insides! Maybe a nice light Catalan Penedes white….
I have a feeling we will bounce back. Eboue will certainly start at RB, and I’d like to see Senderos in Gallas’ place. Not for any reason form-wise, I just think they deserve a rest. I’d also like to see us continue with the same forward 5, with maybe Deni for Song (another needing a rest.) They will need to adapt sooner rather than later and this is actually a game we can afford to lose points on before Chelsea. Not that I think we will; I think the frustrations of Sunderland will spur us on to a roaring victory. Then maybe give Arsh, Theo or Vela a go in the last 20 minutes.
A nice bitter please ‘holic, and another fine article.
*irks*
I think you mean ‘lurks’, nelly 😉
Shirks may be more apt for some.
A glass of your lightest please barman.
Good post ‘Holic, I did not know Arsene said we would play the same team. Granted the week-end was frustrating but that does not mean a win is the most important consideration. At this point we can ill afford new injuries and I hope this is going to be Arsene’s top priority in his team selection.
I think Vela has made a very good case for himself Saturday so I hope we will see him starting if he’s fit enough. And totally concur with Samuel, it’s about time to give Senderos a run. It’s a given that either Vermy or Gallas will be injured at some point so we need our 3rd choice defender to be ready. And I have a feeling Senderos would complement really well either defender.
Sun is back around here, a glass of rose for me bartender!
Here’s hoping that Wenger can iron out all the quirks that have “irked” him.
A cold Duvel* which I’ll quickly knock down for me please ‘holic.
Cheers.
*Duvel is a Belgian beer
Same squad Matt, plus Gibbs, but not necessarily the same team…
Diaby has relapsed so not an option to add height to the side. My only concern is the shortness of stature of our front five. They will need to be extremely fleet of foot to make up.
Hi ‘Holic, long time no see.
Arsene’s totally f-irk-ing right.
The performance at the Stadium of Blight was probably the worst of this season’s post “Interlulls” but every time we’ve come back with some rather lethargic performances of the “been on our hols, met some old mates, had a few beers and a kick about, etc” type.
Acceptable perhaps for your average worker but not for a bunch of overpaid, spoilt brats (few of whom have any realistic chance of winning the World Cup but just wanna be there for the beanfest) whose wages we’re paying whilst they indulge their fantasies whilst getting injured and f-irk-ing up our season.
A bit harsh on our players perhaps, most of whom do seem genuinely excited at playing for their countries – as opposed to most of the engerland squad with both eyes on image rights – but that should not be their priority.
A wake up call for the players then; and can the clubs please put pressure on FIFA/UEFA to stop all these meaningless friendlies and, er, international football as a whole? Please; the whole concept really is very irksome?
‘International football as a whole’? – got a better idea for World Cup/European Championship qualifying then aside from maybe not having games against the likes of Andorra and San Marino? And I find the big international tournaments anything but irksome.
A few less friendlies would be nice though.
Great to see you back, G. Hope all is well with you and yours.
Strange one Saturday. Goes with the trips to Fulham, Alkmaar, and West Ham, as our four ‘must do better’ games. I was encouraged by the fact we hadn’t lost the previous three, let alone the fact we nicked a win at the Cottage.
I’ll allow them that one before I get a little more irked myself.
Nice post ‘holic, a few things struck me.
i) yep the tempo was somewhat lacking certainly and it never looked likely that anyone wanted to grab the game and take the initiative. yes okay it’s after an international and all that but I don’t want that to become the norm which it has.
ii) sameness, missing Van Persie, Bendtner and Diaby left Arsenal with many small nimble technical players. The mix wasn’t really there.
iii) until Sunderland we enjoyed a run of the same team more or less. suddenly Diaby, Gibbs, Arshavin and Van Persie are all missing and that’s a lot of changes to accommodate.
iv) on the front 5 I would say Eduardo, Rosicky and Nasri are short of match sharpness having all come back from injury and not played too much of late.
So lack of practice for the forwards, lack of height/speed/power everywhere in addition to a poor shift were the drawbacks that cost us something.
At the end of the day though if the team hasn’t put in a shift you cannot really sight those other factors really can you? Better needed against Standard. I think we’ll need to play the front five again because they need game time, Vela, Walcott, Rosicky, Nasri and Eduardo need it badly. Eduardo needs a goal too.
Fair points, Darren. What about Ramsey? Dump after two games, or persist? I think it would be harsh to discard him after his first anonymous performance, but can we afford to persist with him when so much is at stake?
A lovely piece of writing Mr ‘holic. Excellent work.
For me tomorrow’s game is simple: if Rosicky and Nasri pull their finger out and play with the tempo and movement that we all know they can then it will make a world of difference. Eduardo will get into the game, Cesc will get space and we will create chances.
I was SO disappointed with Rosicky and Nasri on the weekend, as disappointed as I have been with any Arsenal players for a long time. They should be ashamed of their lacklustre efforts after not even having a difficult week of international duty. Sagna and Gallas’ efforts put them to shame.
Come on Arsenal.
Rare to hear AW have a go in public so he must have been more than irked. Need a convincing performance today, just to put everything back on track. I think it will be vital to get more minutes into the likes of Theo, Rosicky, Nasri and Eduardo. They need games. As does Vela. I think the lack of matches was as big a factor as any at the weekend.
4 -0 to the mighty Gunners and the headlines for all the right reasons again….
Keep the faith.
He would probably call it “irqued”, but there was little doubting the extent to which AW appeared let down by performances of several on Saturday. First time I’ve seen him avoid protecting the team lest it damage their collective confidence.
Actually, I didn’t think we played particularly badly at Sunderland. Some of the play was the stuff of beauty. The only problem was they scored a goal and we didn’t and that’s never a good outcome.
I didn’t think that there was enough width on Saturday. The tendency of all of the front three, and Cesc, Song, Ramsey and even Traore to play through the middle played to Sunderland’s strength in depth. Sagna tries to go wide, but 90% of his cross attempts end up as throw ins off a defenders arse.
Whoever plays on Tuesday, I hope they’re asked to play wide and get to byline. That implies that we’ll have numbers in the box and the cross won’t be more than 5 feet 4 plus a two foot leap and a hop when and if it comes.
For the record, we’ll thump Liege tomorrow irrespective of who plays. I’d stick with Ramsey and Traore and give them the experience. Yep, add Senderos to the pot and give Willy G a break.
Saturday will be a sterner challenge by FAR. I’d start with the recognised core with Theo, Vela and AA up front. Song and Cesc are automatic picks and then it’s one from Ramsey, Nasri, Rosicky or Eboue as the third midfield man
Enjoy tomorrow, ‘Holics. Late night sauvignon blanc please, barman.
Totally agree with you BtM but for one thing: Denilson should get some game time if he’s fit. Even more than Senderos he will be a pillar of our success this season so the sooner he regains match firtess and positional awareness the better for us. I’m not blaming Rambo, the kid is really good but I thought it was too much to ask of him to start him in a tough away game.
Against Chelski if neither of Diaby or Denilson is fit I fear the worst as no one else comes close to their defensive efficiency. 5 attacking players plus Song won’t do it against Essien and co, we will loose the midfield battle.
Matt, we’re singing from the same sheet as far as Denilson is concerned. He’s the kidddie! He, Cesc and Song can become one of the great Arsenal midfields given a couple of injury free seasons together. I didn’t think he was fit though?
When the great Dundee team of the sixties became the first British team to qualify for the European Cup they played the old 1-2-3-5 formation. Maybe AW should line them up as:
………………………..Almunia……………………
………Sagna………………………………Traore..
…Song………………….Gallas………………………..Vermaelen
Walcott…..Nasri……….Vela……….Fabregas……………Arshavin
A blast from the past and total football. Old Bob Shankly would be spinning neath the daisies. Big load on the inside right and left positions though. Cesc could cut it in the Gilzean role. Nasri?
Come on the little lads. “They’re 5 foot 4 and they cant score, what’s the solution, bring back Adebayor”. How much would you give to see him run out against Chelsea on Saturday?
Denilson has been a big loss for me. I have said it several times before on here that he gives the team the right shape and balance. He also does all the scruffy stuff that goes so unnoticed.
I also agree re lack of width. Something else I have moaned about before. All of our wide players with the possible exception of Theo were bought as central players. My opinion has always been that we play too narrow. If we played with more width then we would tear teams apart and create a lot more space all over the pitch.
Still confident about tonight though.
Keep the faith.
Keiran Gibbs ? Ooooh.
I know they don’t exist anymore, but if you had any Dogbolter left, I would celebrate the now-deceased Firkin brewery.
Best wishes to all in the ‘holic household, ‘holic. Can I have a Lucozade please. Ill, not sport.
Arsenal team: Almunia; Eboue, Gallas, Vermaelen, Gibbs; Song, Fabregas, Denilson; Nasri, Vela, Arshavin. Subs: Mannone, Sagna, Rosicky, Eduardo, Walcott, Silvestre, Traore
Changes look sensible. Changes in attack needed, Densilon coming back is positive and notably Ramsey not involved at all. Eduardo dropped which is fair enough we know where he is I think you can over play people when form is poor.