Arsenal Have Effort Rather Than Style To Thank For The Points
Oct 17th, 2009 by 'holic
How many times in the Arsene Wenger era have we returned from an international break and produced a performance that bears no relation to the stuff we were producing before the squad disappeared to the four corners of the globe? Did I hear someone say ‘no change there then?’ I beg to disagree.
A couple of weeks back we celebrated the culmination of a string of outstanding performances by an Arsenal side inspired by Fabregas, Rosicky, and Arshavin. The fact that today we owed more to Song and Diaby tells you something about the game. It also tells you, as if you wanted to be reminded, that this side can dig out performances as well as results, and that really is good news.
On a day when Chelsea and Liverpool both crashed, the Gunners were more workmanlike than usual, and won comfortably enough, although for a half they were more nervous than they needed to be after Mannone failed to deal with a lofted ball into the box, and Bowyer halved the arrears the visitors were in following two goals in two minutes for van Persie and Diaby.
Theo Walcott returned to action for just half an hour, although he was virtually a passenger after falling victim to a heavy ‘man and ball’ challenge from Ridgewell early on. Birmingham would not have been comforted at the sight of Arshavin as his replacement. The little Russian flitted in and out of the contest before securing the points with a superb side-foot finish with five minutes remaining.
By that time Mannone had made amends for his part in the Blues goal with a fine save as the visitors made a rare attempt to level matters. Did he do enough to hold off the challenge of the fit-again Almunia on the bench? We will find out in Alkmaar on Tuesday night, but I suspect that the Spaniard will now have had time to reflect on his extended break, and could return with an entirely different motivation.
So we can enjoy the weekend beers, comfortable in the knowledge we are handily positioned four points off the pace with a game in hand over a United side that are far from unbeatable. Comfortable in the knowledge that on a day when our brightest lights fail to shine we still have the quality to run in three goals against a massed Premiership defence.
In March we will travel to St Andrews twenty-five months since our last serious title challenge floundered on the same ground. The Birmingham side we face may bear no relation to the toothless one that rolled up at the Grove today if their new owner’s money is enough to persuade some decent players to ply their trade in the second city. There is no doubt in my mind though, that we will be very much in the hunt again. That could be a significant day indeed.
24 Responses to “Arsenal Have Effort Rather Than Style To Thank For The Points”
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Good win after all the international exertions.
I was impressed with the defensive shift which Diaby put in. Song and Diaby and Cesc in a midfield… Its starting to look like something.
The ref was poor.. That guy Ridgeweel almost cut Theo in two and he did not even get a yellow..Yes he went for the ball, but if you go for the ball and cut the opponent in two, there must be a foul right? Eboue was held and carried off the ball by his opponent in the first half and that clumsy jerk forgot to blow..Things like these can derail our title charge.
Personally I don’t think this is something worth writing about since they haven’t beaten us since 1957. It was supposed to be routine but we made hard work of it. I remember hearing Jeff Stirling saying they have a long day after they were 2 nil down. Arsene has to think long and hard about Walcott’s abilities.
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Significant indeed, ‘holic. I thought Song was immense today mopping up almost everything that came within reach and Diaby was much more composed when on the ball in the defensive third. Song’s distribution and ability to gain a yard and a half on those players immediately around him beggars belief. Is this really the same player who made a hapless and nervy debut a couple of seasons ago?
I just hope we don’t miss him too much if he goes to the ACN in January.
Still, I’m thinking only of the next game :-), so make mine a quart of Wild Turkey with some mescal on the side.
Cheers.
I can’t remember a day when Cesc’s passing failed to reach it’s man so often, but he worked as hard as anyone on the pitch. Likewise not everything came off for van Persie but he never gave up and kept battling up front. Walcott’s injury made a huge difference today as it meant they could defend 40 yards from goal.
I agree with your write up Holic. Just got in from the game and at times it all seemed a bit flat today. Almost as if we expected a lack lustre display.
I am neither Song’s or Diaby’s biggest fan but agree with all of those who thought they were both fantastic today. Also thought that Rosicky in patches showed yet again what we missed last year. Also a word for Eboue. Thought he played well again, and had boundless energy when others were ambling about.
3 points is 3 points I guess, but how many more goals are we going to give away with very basic errors before it costs us dearly?
Let’s hope Theo is not seriously hurt. He needs games to get back some sharpness and we are going to need his qualities this season.
St Andrews in March? I’ll get me coat.
A nice drop of Pedigree tonight I think, to toast 3 points.
Keep the faith.
good win
crap refs as usual – there is a rule for taking out a player after the ball – bias against us – how many tackles go unpunished against us
but will be the much sweeter when we win a trophy as we won’t have had the help of refs and the FA
I only saw the second half but I agree that Diaby and Song were immense. Let’s hope Cesc gets his family problems sorted; one- because we love him and want him to be happy, two-because his mind seemed elsewhere today. Of course his mind being elsewhere still equates to 1 assist instead of 4!
Theo’s situation is an awkward one. He is forever going to get clattered like this as stupid defenders think ‘one to let him know you are there’ might influence his thinking and stop him running at their backline. Henry had the physical strength and fuck ’em mentality to deal with similar at Theo’s age so it is a shame to see his body have trouble coping. These are the times he should be learning how to really devistate the opposition consistantly, not being sat around recovering and watching others do it. If it means more gametime for Chippy Vela though, I’ll still be happy as watching that guy on form equates to a big ol’ smile on my face.
Overall a good result. Kind of wish we battered ’em, for Eduardo. I still wouldn’t doubt a Dudu hatrick at St. Andrews though. 3 points is all you can ask for when amassing the total that will win us the league.
An orange juice for me ‘holic, got a headache.
Isn’t it ironic that Wenger finally plays an Englishman in Walcott, and it’s the English style of play that forces him back off the pitch…
Obviously pleased with the result ‘holic. One or two dicey moments in defence plus a clumsy mistake by Don Vito (leading to the goal) could have cost us more dearly than it did. So, all in all, I’m very thankful and relieved come the end result. I prefer the conclusion that we managed to get a 3-1 win despite (or because of – take your pick) a bad day at the office. There was a time when that just wouldn’t happen! That said, and speaking frankly……we should have slaughtered them!!!!!
I agree with others that Song and Diaby were our star performers, as was Eboue.
As regards Walcott, I think he is growing up. Baring his being chopped in two by Ridgewell (who has form for being a dirty dirty piece of work), I personally thought he played very well. Had literally ANY top class player been on the end of that challenge, they’d’ve had major problems shaking it off. Walcott is top class!
A Talisker with a couple of ice cubes please barman 🙂
Erichero? Not Cantonese are you?
It is ironic though, whatever your red leanings.
Guyz what u dont realize is the important part arshavin played in todays game.he showed why we need experienced player in the pitch.i mean we were heading into a draw.he killed the gme 4 us.thanx andrei!
@Wenger.
How were we heading for a draw? We were 2 – 1 up and they did not look like scoring. We had 61% of the play and had 20 shots to there 3???????????????
We were lack lustre but never in danger of not taking all 3 points. Not unless we pressed the self destruct button.
An excellent game today, exactly the kind of shift we need from the players. We’re not going to get everyone motivated 110% for every game and much less so when it’s against a team who no one remembers when they won against us last time. But in the last few seasons we would have been soft and got ourselves in danger of a draw. Not this time, from the whistle on there was no question we would win. If we keep this spirit we will win the league.
I would add RVP to the list of in-form players with 5 goals in 5 games, he’s found his marks in his new position. And of course Song and Diaby were really dominating midfield.
And the only thing that could have made that day better was if United had drawn instead of carrying their luck. They will be exposed in time. But the Chelski and Pool defeats were very enjoyable. More of this please! Now which team would you prefer clinch the last CL spot? Pool, Citeh, Villa, Spurs, Sunderland?
I got myself a bottle of this fancy unknown Bourbon and you’d never expect something at 48 degrees to be so smooth and delicate. Although after all these wee glasses, it’s unsure I’ll be of the same opinion tomorrow 😉
One thing puzzles me though, with the break and the injuries I thought this game was a good opportunity to have more younger players on the field. Because when Nasri and Denilson will be back that will not leave much room for Rambo, Wilshere and co.
Still Gibbs did very well.
Its ironic that one reason why international travel fatigue did not fell Arsenal as it did others was the major presence of our strong African internationals — the bugaboo of many small anti-Wenger minds. Song and Eboue only had one game this break, which gave them time to get home and rested…and it showed.
All in all, a great day — closing two points on the lead, watching two rivals lose, being the only team today to score more than two, having a defense that, though not challenged much, did allow the opposition only 3 shots, period, and only 2 on goal — compared with Chelsea (9 opposition shots, 3 on goal), Liverpool (15 opposition shots, 3 on goal), or United (19 opposition shots, 6 ob goal.) All four had 60+% possession, but only Arsenal showed the benefit — less offense from the opponent.
I’m worried about Theo. He’s frail. Until he stops being frail, the team needs to find a way to make those who foul him pay — maybe they should all be made to watch the video of what Nasri did with Joey Barton in one of his first games in the EPL — impose a little Marseille street nastiness on his ass.
Good win, sat in my barko-lounger yelling at the tele with sheer joy when Arsh’s shot went in. I agree with the other posts, I too think Walcott is way to frail, he needs some terminator blood injected into him, then maybe he can blow right through thier challenges….
hey
whats giving me a headache is the injurys we relly should get some non injury prone players…yes it was a bad challenge against theo but hes out for the next game….what if that was Barcalona?! 1 game = 1 injury wont you agree??
also im sorry for “preaching” on your site, ive also written a new arsenal with polls and some extra stuff im going to add some point this week. i have no idea where to advertise new blogs as they dont go on goonernews.com right away (id love it to get on that site lol!) but feel free to view as well as this one! and send me some tips to improve my site!! thanks
and goonerholic….lovely site and love reading your posts!! nothing better on a sunday and lap up all the gooner gossip!!!
http://arsenalchat.blogspot.com/ <–my site
A word for Wenger rotating Eboue and Sagna – it’s a terrific idea. Not only does it keep Eboue happy, it keeps them competing to be at their best and when Sagna has to play every game during Eboue’s trip to the ACN, he wouldn’t have been overplayed running up to it. It also offers us versatility depending on the opponents.
Also, yes! ol’ Robin van Injury is on terrific form and should be applauded as such.
Made the long trip from Virginia to The Grove. Just got back. The hardest bit is invariably Tottenham Hale to Highbury and Islington. That leg really drags. Enjoyed the game from a great seat high above the goal we were attacking in the first half. Could very easily have been two up before we scored. I thought Van Persie’s take from Song’s through ball was superb for the first and then when the second goal went in, sat back to enjoy a cricket score, such was the gulf between the teams at that stage. Had that unfolded, I’m sure Wilshere and Ramsey would have made early second half appearances.
Song was the man of the match for me. Theo looked like he was keen to be back and make up for lost time. That tackle would have floored some of the fittest. Great pity, hope the knee isn’t too bad. Eboue had an excellent game too. He still looks lost when he gets to the corner of the box, but his pace and strength going forward are often telling. With Rosicky on the left, Gibbs seemed very reticent to come forward. His contribution was a bit less than usual as a consequence.
Mannone’s error definitely signaled a change in the character of the game and we went from a constant red wave washing toward their goal to a more open contest. Birmingham started closing us down more quickly in the scond half too. I never felt we were in danger of dropping points but there was an edgy moment just before AA scored the third. Overall, an enjoyable game with some great results elsewhere adding some additional shine.
I’d like to see Liverpool do us a favour at Anfield next weekend.
This is really a special year if only because we seem to have most of the other teams results going our way for a change. What were the odds of both Chelski and Pool losing and Citeh drawing this week-end?
The only team which maintains their usual luck is United but with Ferguson banned for 5 games that may change too. And for Pool and Benitez it would be a disaster to lose against United at Anfield so they’ll fight like cornered lions. We’ll be firmly in charge of the league come next Sunday evening, better believe it!
Not a sparkling performance but a good one taking into account all the internationals. A very useful three points. The only big mistake was Mannone’s rather weak attempt to take the ball that led to their goal – but he did make a good save as well during the game.
The “tackle” on Walcott was disgraceful. Tackles of that kind are not good tackles and it is not good defending. It is irrelevant whether or not the tackler took the ball if he also nearly breaks the other player’s leg. The defender was off his feet and sliding in at great speed – actually out of control and with no hope of pulling out of the tackle if it is mistimed. Good tackling is staying on your feet, waiting for the right moment and then taking the ball firmly but cleanly. At the very least Ridgewell should have been booked and there was a case for a red card. Theo being injured is nothing to do with him being frail, it is the direct result of a thoughtless, clumsy and technically poor challenge and the fact that challenges such as this happen all the time is no excuse or justification.
Song and Diaby were excellent as was RVP.
Well done the Arsenal and roll on Tuesday.
A win, of any sort, after a long(ish) international break is always a massive positive. Well done lads.
Nice post ‘holic.
it was great guys n kip up.my boys at kakamega a small town in western kenya think that arsenal certaily deserve something this yea……