Thank You Arsene, For Bringing On The Big Guns When Needed
Jan 3rd, 2010 by 'holic
Let’s be honest now. For three-quarters of this game we were wondering where the spark was coming from. It happens that way sometimes. The team was not entirely as expected beforehand. Arsenal showed some intent by keeping the central defensive partnership of Gallas and Vermaelen intact. That surprised me. As did the absence of Arshavin from the bench. Mixed signals, or fine judgement?
I had expected both sides to cancel each other out in the opening half, and yet we were, to my rose-tinteds, very much in the ascendancy without creating too much in the way of scoring opportunities. West Ham were hard-working and well organised but I was at a loss to work out why they deserved the goal that sunk the ‘holic pound as the half drew to a close, despite Jim Beglin’s assertion to the contrary.
The goal was something of a tragedy for Mikael Silvestre. The skipper for the day had not put a foot wrong up to this point, but if he wonders why people haven’t fully taken to him in an Arsenal shirt he has only to look at the momentary misjudgement that allowed Diamanti an opportunity to slip through to score.
So the half-time break was spent working out the best prices for recovering my money. West Ham wouldn’t win today, I was convinced. The shock had come at Old Trafford. On the hour we had not improved and I was scrambling around to find the best bet on the draw in order to cover the stake of my win bet during the interval. I remained certain we would not lose.
The turning point arrived midway through the second-half when finally we saw Nasri and Diaby on for Merida and Wilshere. Both lads have had outstanding performances in the Carling Cup, but frankly struggled today. Their time will come though, of that I have no doubt. The senior pair transformed the contest.
Instead of having just the lions share of possession, we now had a degree of urgency and creativity. Surely it was just a matter of time before the equaliser arrived? So it proved, and the goal was typical Arsenal. Ten passes took the ball from one end to the other and Ramsey was involved in both halves of the field before applying the finishing touch to Vela’s pass.
Five minutes later Vela was provider again, supplying a perfect cross from which Eduardo outsmarted Upson to power home the killer blow with his head. Although seven minutes plus added time remained you just knew that was it, and indeed the only mystery in the time that remained was how did Arsenal not turn the win into a rout.
One other question vexes me, and as we have won the game it cannot be regarded as the rant of a beaten man. Since when has a six stud challenge on the shoulder and neck of an upright opponent been worthy of no more than a free-kick? Not a red card, oh no. Not even a yellow. Something for the referees assessor to look at there, I think.
Seriously Clattenburg, you myopic, fake-haired, plum, how is that not worth some sort of action?
The draw that followed gave us a trip to Stoke. Deep joy. Once again Le Boss will have to judge just how big a hammer is required to crack the nut. Mind you, by then we may have another couple of options available to him, hopefully!
I can’t let the piece end without a word for the away support, yet again! It isn’t that long since such vocal support for the visitors to Upton Park was necessarily a rarity. You were magnificent again, Gooners. Fair play to each and every one of you.
And yes, like Clattenburg’s hair, my betting fund has grown miraculously. Cheers Paddy!
Thanks again, Arsenalist, for the clips.
60 Responses to “Thank You Arsene, For Bringing On The Big Guns When Needed”
A scotch + ginger wine thanks Holic.
Ramsey has really developed this season.
Hopefully Eddy will gain some much needed confidence from that goal. Whilst his form is poor, his positional remains quite good and that is encouraging.
Hi there ‘Holic,
Spot on about the support mate. Top, top class.
People say we are quiet, well I reckon that we have the best away support in the league by far.
The Gooners should be proud.
Whilst his form is poor, his positional remains quite good and that is encouraging.
All about service, when he was switched to the middle and Vela went wide and ran at their defence, the crosses came in thick and fast. That’s all he needs , a place in the 18 yard box and something to get on the end of.
With Manure going out the cup has opened up and if we commit ourselfes we could win it.
Whilst I agree that the game changed when Diaby and Nasri came on, the biggest effect was that it freed up Ramsey. He was the best player (in the second half) and the change of personnel allowed him to play his natural, driving game.
Is it me or does anyone else reckon that Carlos Vela is a much bigger threat on the left wing instead of in the middle at this stage of his career.
He looked mustard there when he switched wide. Hugged the line and seemed very at ease.
We don’t have many natural wingers in the squad, if any, and I believe he could create and score so many goals from there.
Both Wilshire and Merida worked very hard, but their inexperience created an imbalance, so in first half the front six didn’t work as a team. Good effort by them, though. It even made both Song and Ramsey look poor. I thought Song had a very poor first half – his worst performance of the season. Also early in second half we look so disinterested. We couldn’t keep the ball. It was so poor. But when Diaby was introduced everyone looked assured on the ball. West Ham could’ve tired a bit by then, but we had to take an advantage of it, which we did.
Bejaysus said Paddy….
nice one ‘holic!
Cheers!
No more drink for me today :s
Good point today, Wrighty, but he has had opportunities there before and not made such an impression. Once we have a full pack to shuffle would you play him on the left ahead of Arshavin and Rosicky? My mind is not fixed, but I think he is likelier to claim a regular starting berth up front if he starts finishing the way we know he can.
Well said Sniff.
Ramsey was brilliant! If it wasn’t for him we wouldn’t have won.
Also Holic I don’t agree with your assessment on wilshere. Apart from one or two mistakes I thought he was pretty decent. Merida was awful though. He has to play better than that if he stands any chance of making it at arsenal.
The oft-asked question “Why don’t we see more of Wilshere, Merida and Vela” was answered pretty squarely today. Simply, they’re not quite ready for prime time. Vela did best of the three. But even against a badly weakened Hammers mid-field, Fran and Neutron Jack just weren’t at the races. Indeed, for a few minutes, it looked like Wilshere was already on loan, as he did his utmost to put the home side one up.
Arsenal were the better side in the first half but scoring opportunities were elusive. When, just before the break, Gallas dithered and Diamante, rough in the diamond, beat Arsenal’s off-side trap, the possibility of an upset loomed large (and with it, the prospect of roasting manure “associates” waned – thankfully, temporarily).
When the inevitable “pull” arrived and Diaby and Nasri appeared, there was an almost immediate change in the Gunners disposition. Control of the mid-field was achieved and a platform for attack was established. The bubble blowers’ bubble was burst shortly after the change when the excellent Ramsey scored a peach. When Eddie the Eagle soared high above Upson to head home the second, it was effectively all over. Although, the Eagle had a great chance of a second from his eyrie, only moments later, but nodded just over.
Very good outcome. A difficult visit to Stoke as the prize. Time for Wilshere to go out and get a sustained period of first team football. Time for Vela to get that upper body strength built up and practice kicking, ever so occasionally, with his right foot.
‘manure is out so we can win it’
i recall it was chelski that took us out last seasn nt manure,and they are still in it,make no mistake about it they are the team to beat as the defendin champs bt of course we have a good chance.Congratulations to all the true gooners’
Great come back by the boys…i think vela is more suited to the wide role…he was more comfy there crossing balls naturally, we need a natural winger in the mould of reyes and i think vela can do that!! i hope eduardo regains the confidence he desperately needs at this time of the season which will be good for us!!
BtM, are you married?
Ramsey was simply brilliant
I think there were several fouls which merited at least a yellow card.The west Ham player’s foot on Diaby’s shoulder
deserved at least a yellow if not red card. I am 180% sure it would have been a red if it were a cl match.Imo the west ham guy was out to injure/intimidate Diaby who was playing a blinder. Diaby is at last fufilling his potential.
As for Clttenburg the assessor shd review his performance. There shd have been more yellow cards for the hammers players.Fortunately Diaby was not seriously injured. You never know. The thugs’ mistimed tackles/lunges are disguised to injure the players.I feel referees shd clamp down on the these thugs.
The game against Bolton could be similar to the hammers game. The trotters are struggling and could resort to violent tackles to stop the gunners.
wrighty good to see ur ass here.. you are right about vela, he isnt a striker, but a winger. and eduardo isnt a winger but a striker, AW should take note of that. I,ve been posting this question in almost every blog now.
WHAT SHALL WE DO WITHOUT OUR SONG.
I can see your point about playing Vela over Rosicky, Arshavin or even Nasri on the left ‘Holic but I think all those players are natural play-makers and not natural wingers.
I think that Vela feels at ease on the left of a front 3. If I played him up-front I reckon he would be better in a 4-4-2 and not as the main man in the middle.
By the way, I wouldn’t pick Vela over Arshavin but I think him as a winger gives us a different option.
Maybe if we varied it a little and swapped the front 3 about. Bit like Barca?
@BOOZY,
Sign Vieira on a short-term mate! Thats how we replace Song. 😉
Thought Gallas was man of the match today. Gallas, Vermaelen and Song were our best players by miles. Thought Merida and Eduardo were awful today when we needed them to stand up and be counted. Jack was poor after getting targeted and clattered early and i thought Ramsey was completely annonymous in the first half as he and the rest were dominated by bigger, stronger players, Beharami was particularly impressive. When the match got back onto level terms Eduardo improved and scored. Vela was poor, kept being given the opportunity to skin his man and coming back inside but without the confidence to shoot or drive inside he was just used for gradual teritorial advancement until he set up Eduardo’s goal.
However at the end of the day winning when you dont play well is something that should be applauded, we had a lot of good players who had off days today so hopefully the result will give them confidence as we need the whole squad at the minute.
I hope Wenger has a good plan for replacing Song.
The thing about Vela being a winger etc – I wonder why he doesn’t run at defenders more directly and more often.
He is supposedly the second fastest player at the club over 40 metres and there was one occassion in the second half where he knocked the ball past the defender, collected it and ran into the area. More of that type of play would be very helpful.
Hi ´holic.
As promised, here I am propping up the bar. ;p
Is the Hoodoo finally broken? We’ve beaten West Ham, in the F.A cup no less, an extreamly joyful result fot those of us that can remember our last encounter in said competition.
Admitedly at half time I was a little nervous, but luckily I remembered that the one thing that West Ham were good at this season was the ability to throw away a lead. I agree that we didn´t really deserve to be behind, but to be honest we didn´t deserve to be in front either.
As the second half wore on you could see that our class was starting to shine through and WHU were starting to tire, that said it was indeed, as you said, hard to see where the breakthrough was going to come.
At the perfect time Mr Wenger made an inspired double subsitution bringing on the fresh Nasri and in form Diaby (Damn I love saying that.) This was the catalyst to our victory and I think that AW deserves the plaudits.
Bring on Stoke in the next round, but first things first, starting with Bolton on Wednesday. Win that and we´re up to the dizzy heights of second, only apoint behind the Chavs. It´s good to be a gooner!!
A pint of Lager for me tonight please barman.
Cheers.
[…] Goonerholic: Eat, Sleep, Breathe, Drink, Arsenal goonerholic.com/?p=2030 – view page – cached Goonerholic: Comment and review from a lifelong fan […]
We have beaten them since, H2H. Ask John Hartson!
Damn right about Bolton though. Time to concentrate on Tuesday now..
Second, eh. And United out of the FA Cup. That could be the start of the slippery slide for them. Problem is I have said all along that this season is about us and the Chavs. What is happening now is just strengthening that belief.
a strange time indeed when you hope diaby comes on as a game breaker – when the hell did this happen?
i thought both merida and jack (the former more than the latter) did relatively ok, but everyone seemed to be looking for someone a little more senior to take the neck.
step on, aforementioned diaby and nasri. both of which added urgency, and a fair bit of cock to the fucking.
jack and fran will come right, though fran i suspect may be counting the days – but today was not it.
Arsenal always struggle on smaller grounds like upton park and craven cottage, am i right in saying west ham’s pitch is the smallest in the premier league. There was no space for Wilshere and Merida to run into, it was congested in the middle. Smaller pitches suit physical teams.
Keep in mind that Vela looks more comfortable on the left because that where he’s been played on loan, and where Wenger has played him a lot to ease his transition to striker. He’s good on the left, yes. But he’s got moves, close control, and a banging shot. When he grows into the central role we’ll all be very happy. The pattern makes perfect sense for Wenger, who is gradually giving Vela more time in the middle for exactly that purpose.
” One other question vexes me, and as we have won the game it cannot be regarded as the rant of a beaten man. Since when has a six stud challenge on the shoulder and neck of an upright opponent been worthy of no more than a free-kick? Not a red card, oh no. Not even a yellow. Something for the referees assessor to look at there, I think.”
goes down to the general feeling in england that “arsenal are not physical, ‘ if you kick them around, they stop playing’ ”
how often do you hear that said by players, ex players and now the refs believe it and they have it at the back of their minds. how many times do you see a ref reminding an opponent about the 9 times he kicked an arsenal player before he books the opponent for a simple shirt tug? and alex song always gets a card on his first offense for obstruction, damn!
I know your right ´holic and we have beaten them, it´s just that 1980 defeat will always stick with me. (childhood trauma)
But today has gone a long way to making me whole again, Arsewhole if you will 😉
Anyone else see that Eddy seemed to look better after his goal went in. (great header btw) In the last few minutes his confidence grew and he was chasing everything.
“Second, eh. And United out of the FA Cup. That could be the start of the slippery slide for them. Problem is I have said all along that this season is about us and the Chavs. What is happening now is just strengthening that belief.”
i share the same thought as well. ronaldo would have killed leeds today.
Wilshere plays better with experienced players around him, playing Wilshere, Merida and Vela imbalanced the side, it even made Song and Ramsey look bad in the first half.
Just a quick point about the away support. I’m a bit long in the tooth now for many away games but I was at the opposite end in the Dr Martens stand with a couple of West Ham mates. The Gooner support was tremendous. Far bigger than any away noise I’ve heard at the Emirates including FA cup ties. The ‘appy ‘ammers around me sat in silence and moaned at their own players occasionally. I have to say that the away grounds I have been to over the past couple of years with mates (Gooner first, but football fan second), well they are not more passionate than we are. I think the distance from the pitch at THOF makes it a bit less atmospheric, but I think our supposed lack of passion or support is just a myth. I just think it’s just that Highbury conveniently rhymes with Library – no more than that. If you were at the game today you sang them off the park. Made me proud.
Re post 22,
I see I made the cardinal mistake of saying that we are playing Bolton Wednesday when of course it is Tuesday. (Doh)
Thank for going easy on me ´holic (post 24)
No more drinks for me tonight.
The biggest points out of todays win are ramsey continuing in the mould of cesc, eduardo got a much needed goal (from a central position) and vela is a class act on the left wing! Hopefully we can get the likes of cesc, denilson, clichy, walcot, rosiky and bentner back by the end of the month and we should be in a decent position to face tough fixtures that follow. in wenger we trust!!!
Now I´m even more confused, The BBC says it´s on Wednesday.
I give up. Time for bed.
The match is on Wednesday.
Just got back from Upton park and the noise was fantastic. Great atmosphere. Proud to have been there.
Funny reading the comments about Vela. I thought that for the vast majority of the game he was shocking. Uninterested and lacked any drive. Eduardo was also poor. Then there was Vela’s cross and the Eduardo header, and both players seemed to grow.
On to Weds night. 3 poinst are a must.
Keep the faith.
come on Gunners we will definitely get something great this season. I know with God on our side, less injuries, much concentration we can do the double. we have come of age and we are so confident on the ball. Anyway on bahalf of all Arsenal fan world over we wish Alex Song a successful outing in the nations cup. And we pray he will not lose his thunder form to injuries. We love you and we will miss you. Good luck to you guys, good season ahead.
Ferguson out! He’s lost the plot, every fan can see what the problems are and he does nothing to address them. Ooops! wrong board…
But you know that when even Danish Gooner has something positive to say there is something really special going on at Arsenal these days 😉
Another masterclass report `Holic and many excellent comments. Still I thought the assessment of Vela’s performance was too low-key considering he provided two assists today and was the best of the front 3 without a doubt. Vela, Walcott and Bentdner to a lesser extent are where Diaby and Song were 2 years ago and I can’t wait to see them fulfill their potential. Once they mature we will maul any defence in front of us. For the rest of the decade!
Had not seen Steve T’s comment with which I totally disagree for once. I thought Wilshere was atrocious today (I can say it, I’m not English) and on his displays this season I see no reason why he is in the first team ahead of lads like Sanchez Watt or JET. Merida was also very disappointing but still showed more composure than Wilshere.
Vela was miles ahead of those 2 and more influential than Eduardo too.
Vela still looks like he’s trying to figure out an m.o. for the hurly burly of FA Cup london derbies; so I see what Steve T is getting at. Comes perhaps from the 2-year loan spell abroad, meaning not enough time on the pitches in England.
Belated New Year’s Greetings ‘holic. Sorry about my general lack of involvement but . . . .
Yesterdays post brought back awful memories of (the prototype rat-faced chav) Taylor in ’75 – horrible day and a horrible season – and other WHU blips like 1980, which was the only time I’ve seen Gooners crying on the steps of Wembley. I always thought that was a totts thing.
Today? Well it was a strange game. 50/50 1st half, neither side deserved the lead and I still think he was offside – the lino over there missed 4 or 5 others so by the law of averages should have called that one.
I did say to Mrs G at half time we would win as West Ham couldn’t keep up the pace for 90 minutes and so it proved to be.
The main debating points are the youngsters. I’m sure he’ll come good, but Wilshire really does need to go out on loan to learn his trade if he’s going to make the sort of double defensive fuck up we saw in the 1st half and his general inability to spot a white shirt.
Overall very poor and the Brady/Rooney comparisons don’t sit easily at the moment. Ditto Merida, who was reasonable against Olympiakos (JW wasn’t) but seemed to struggle today.
Vela had a poor 1st half too but really came on in the 2nd especially after the subs. In part I’m sure this is a reflection of playing with better players – and credit to Diaby again for putting in a decent day’s work at the office – but they all do it in the Carling Cup so what’s the problem?
Hey ho, win the next 2 and we could be top. That would be nice.
p.s. just seen Matt’s comments and couldn’t agree more. Props to Steve T for being there and the generally wonderful away support but with the benefit of TV replays etc . . . .
Not sure about Silvestre being caught out for the first goal, I thought it was Gallas’ mistake.
Was I the only one who felt that after the substitutions were made, Diaby and Song were like two tigers looking to pounce on the opposition at every opportunity.
Also liked the way we pushed forward in numbers and did not switch off after the second went in. Small but valuable improvements.
What is with Clattenburg? First it was Adebayor stamping Van Persie right in front of him and now Jimenez trying to do an aerial version to Diaby. How does he justify being a center referee. That and the blatant push by Diamanti on Vela from behind and the petulant foul earlier by the same backing into Eduardo with no intent to play the ball all without a card. Does Clattenburg go to sleep out in the center at moments like this. Is there no punishment meted out to sub-par refereeing?
Vela was poor. First of all he didn’t do squat in the first half. Second half, he was just standing there on the line.. he didn’t make any noticeable attempts to run at defenders or anything.
Im not saying he will not make it, but with that sort of performance he won’t.
i think everyone just forgot to mention about our goalie fabianzki. he was pretty impressive against the hammers. just wonder if its not his fine save to deny the shot from stanislas, we could be well thrashed by 2-0. even in the first goal he did well to deny the shot from diamanti.
I think the comments that the substitutions made the difference are spot on. Wilshere and Merida looked off the pace, especially with Behrani running around like a crazy man. On that note, I have only see him play twice this season (both times against us), but on each occasion Behrani has been excellent, a real workhorse. I think we could do with this sort of player for certain of our games. Any thoughts?
Wilshere’s performance reminded me of Ramsey’s last season against Cardiff – atrocious. Needs more game time like Ramsey got last season, but not sure if we can afford to give him minutes this season as we’re challenging on many fronts. Hope he can find a good team to go on loan with.
Merida’s passing was poor and he was far too static. He’s probably going off at the end of the season if he doesn’t sign his contract soon. I hope we don’t see him on the pitch again if that’s the case. Hate to see another Flamini scenario.
Nasri and Diaby coming on allowed Song to play his game again. Before that, I thought he was trying too hard to conjure up something up front and neglected his defensive duties. He’s not the fastest player, so once he gets caught upfield and having no one to cover for him, our defense was left exposed.
Think we do need to get some players in if we want to challenge on all fronts. Youngsters are still too, well, young. I think many of them will get a chance with the first team in the future, but I don’t expect them to contribute much for at least 2 years time.
For a lot of the game Vela just stood out wide left. It was very frustrating. Do not remember one real burst of pace. His movement was not that good either. He could have offered a lot more in my opinion. Not sure how much of that was picked up on the TV but at times when we were looking for an outlet he just stood about looking like a lost soul. It was only when the changes were made that he improved. Both he and Eduardo will benefit from the goal.
Agree re Jack and Marida. Both struggled.
Only real debate in the pub afterwards was who hates the Spuds more. Quite funny really…….
Merry new year ‘holic!
Who will we sign?!?!?!?
Holic, how absolutelydareyou!
Adam’s comment 31 is a good one.
Ramsey has benefited from playing several games with our best around him. I think that’s one of the reasons he’s come on so well. He didn’t fare so well when he and Song became the “experienced” players around whom Jack, Fran and Carlos were expected to prosper.
I’d be pleased to see Vela or Merida given an extended outing in the “full” team. One at a time, to bring them on. With every game in the league becoming critical though, this is not too likely to happen unless injuries really pile up in the mid-field.
Are we expecting Ramsey, Diaby, Nasri, in MF on Wednesday night, ‘Holic? Diaby holding or attacking? I’m assuming Cesc and Denilson are out, i.e. Not one of the TTT available.
Is the window officially open now?
BtM, 51, What’d I do this time? 🙂
14, ‘Holic.
I assumed “pull” followed immediately by Diaby and Nasri had you questioning my voltage (AC or DC)…….which got me to Catherine Tate’s bald headed gentleman.
Given she’s a Gooner and probably reads your site, I thought you’d know the “how very dare you” phrase.
A belated “Happy New Year!” ‘holic.
Have a good 2010!
Ah, I see BtM. I remember that was to set you up for an equally devastating response of rapier like wit, but on reflection it was perhaps a tad too earthy for this particular blog 😉
Although Vela prefers to play in the middle (just typed `muddle` by mistake), he is better playing there than Eduardo. Neither had an outstanding game, and if we had enough possesion in the first half, we lacked any cutting edge. Leaving the subs `till the final 25 was leaving it late in my view, but bringing on two players of the quality of Diaby and Nasri when the opposition presumably are tiring a little, should be effective and indeed it was. Diaby`s running with the ball introduced another element we lacked, and he is clearly playing with confidence and panache.
Ramsey is simply begging to be a regular starter and scored another cracker. Every time he shows this quality I think `Fergie, just look what you might have had`.
I believe that although merida had a very poor performance IMO in the match that we should not give up on him yet. it seems as if his whole body language was bad from the beginning. you could tell that even on his corner kicks it seems he was simply not connecting with his sweet left as we normally see in the carling cup matches. I believe alot of it had to do with pressure he was putting on himself because after one poor corner in particular merida looked down and then peered over to the bench at arsene and seemed very discheveled mentally which greatly affected his on the ball demeanor as he rushed his passes and gave the ball away alot. Considering all of this I think that Fran is one of the most talented young guns that we have and that we should definitely try to sign him up and send him on loan in an English squad asap.
What I loved was the fighting spirit in the 2nd half which saw us “storming the barn” without abondining the passing football.
We actually passed the ball into the net which the hammers intended to deny us.Second goal was marvelous in that it told them that these Gooners will beat you anyway possible: be it carpet ball or in the air. Pride to be a gooner.
Merida is certainly a good prospect with a good chance to shine at top level, unfortunately it won’t be with us but with Athletico since he’s reported to have signed a contract with them.
I think it’s a good move for him with Ramsey and probably Wilshere ahead of him in the pecking order (and possibly Zezinho next season). The competition is very hard at the club and considering the size of our academy we can expect quite a few players to leave this summer as well.
Good luck to you Fran!