The Arsenal Report

Last week’s performance by our back line was adequate at best. The combination of Eboue, Toure, an unfit Gallas, and an out-of-position Hoyte provided some scary moments. Not only did the four seem to lazily ball-watch on the first goal, but they conceded what looked like a clear penalty and failed to mark Hasselbaink for a wide-open header, both of which would have been equalizers.

One major contributor to our sub-par performance was Gallas’ fitness. He clearly had not fully recovered from the hamstring injury he suffered against Sheffield the week before and was forced to play—as the idea of Song playing center-back is terrifying. He was neither as quick nor as confident as the William Gallas we’ve grown accustomed to. His hand-ball in the box appeared to be just a lack of concentration—I doubt it will happen again.

The other contributor was Justin Hoyte. Justin Hoyte is not a left back. When Hoyte plays Arsenal are not able to attack on the left side. Opponents, on the other hand, keep pushing and pushing attacks down our left. Charlton’s best opportunities to score came down our left. City’s winner in Manchester came from a penalty by Hoyte on the left. Hoyte is the weak link. He should not be playing. If was acting in the best interests of the team he would just tell Wenger what the rest of England knows: he is not anywhere close to comfortable at left back, just like Flamini claims to be.

Flamini, not Hoyte, is the temporary solution at left back. He proved himself last year to be five times the player Hoyte is. I know he told Wenger that he isn’t comfortable at the position, but he is a utility player: he plays where he is needed. He needs to buck up and play where he is needed. Right now Flamini’s whining and Hoyte’s lack of quality are hurting the team, and they need to clear it up relatively quickly. Clichy, our first-choice left back, has major questions with fitness. Who knows if he’ll ever be able to keep healthy? If Gallas and Toure are supposed to be our permanent partnership in the center, we definitely need to add (or convert) a left back.

Gallas and Toure give us a partnership of two of the best defenders in the world, but neither of them is strong in the air. Djourou proved in the early weeks that he is a very strong defender, both on the ground and in the air, but his lack of experience is discomforting. Phillipe Senderos seems to be the forgotten man. He was easily the best defender for Switzerland in the World Cup, the only team to not concede a goal. Senderos was a force, anchoring the defense and attacking set pieces, and his consistent play was mouth-watering for Arsenal fans. Once he regains fitness, Senderos will give us an experienced 21-year-old central defender that wins aerial challenges and threatens defenses on set pieces. There is a reason we gave Senderos Tony Adams’ number.

This may be seen as heresy from other Arsenal fans, but perhaps Toure and Gallas in the center might not be the best use of our defenders. Toure and Senderos, with Gallas on the left—where he is still very effective (see goal against Sheffield), might be a better combination. This would help us become stronger in the air and competent on the left. I know Gallas is not a true left back, he is one of the best center backs in the world, but he is versatile enough that it would not be a problem. Many people say he left Chelsea because he had to play left back, but that seems to be not his major reason for leaving, as money and Mourinho most of all seemed to piss Gallas off the most. I do have faith in Clichy’s talent, but not yet in his health or experience, so I think it would be making the best of Arsenal’s options to play Toure and Senderos in the center—the same partnership that have produced so many Champions League clean sheets and dominated towards the end of last season—and Gallas on the left, where he does produce and defend well.

To put it in simpler terms, Senderos is a better, more proven player than Clichy. His inclusion in the squad would add experience and a big body to win headers. The advantage Senderos presents is worth moving Gallas to the outside, as long as he is willing to. Obviously if Gallas does not want to play on the left than he will play ahead of Senderos, he and Senderos aren’t even worth comparing, but being that Gallas is still a danger and a defensive stalwart at left back, why not play him there? This is not to say that Gallas should have been playing on the left against Charlton, we needed him in the center, but in the future I think he might suit the squad better fixing what seems to be our only weakness.

Just one more point to add: where is Lauren going to play. Eboue is the most dynamic right back I have seen this year. His play since Lauren’s injury has been fantastic, and although I normally do not approve of a first team player losing their spot through injury, Eboue needs to play every day for Arsenal. He is too good not to. I do not know what this means for Lauren, I hope it is not his end with the Gunners. He is a great defender. In the end, I don’t know what will happen to him, but I do wish him the best.

Joel Martin 

With all these terrible international games on, Arsenal news seems to trickle down to a minimum.

Hleb who had a great game this weekend is benefiting from the new away formation according to Arsene. I have to admit I’m quite confused as to what away formation we are playing now. Is it a 4-5-1 or a 4-3-3 that Cesc was talking about. A lot of my friends say that Van Persie played as a winger against Charlton, I just don't see how.

AW is also confident that we can now beat Chelsea to the title. As much as I would love to agree with the boss, I’m still quite sceptical. If we can stay consistent till the 20 match mark, then I think we have a really good chance. Our next two premiership games are against Watford and Reading and we need all six points.

That’s about it for this one. Till tomorrow

Player Ratings: Charlton Vs Arsenal

Jens: Had a decent game. Flapped at a couple of corners but made a brilliant save to deny Reid. 7

Hoyte: Does not look comfortable at the left back position. Why won’t Wenger play Flamini ? 6

Kolo: Once again a tower of strength at the back. Was troubled by Hasselbaink though. 6

Gallas: Definitely not 100% fitness wise. Looked off the pace. Hopefully he can shake it off in the next two weeks. 6

Eboue: Another impressive game at the back for the Ivorian. His cross to Van Persie made it 3 assists in 3 games. Good Stuff ! 7

Ljungberg: Another disappointing game for the Swede. Worked his socks off as usual with no real end product. 6

Cesc: Not his best game for the club but he looked lively. Should have scored off Henry’s lob. Needs a rest. 7

Gilberto: Did what he always does and kept it neat and tidy, shielding the back four. Looks to be developing an understanding with Cesc 7

Hleb: Great game, ran his socks off. Had a say in both goals. Has looked very impressive this season. Is starting to look like the player we bought from Stuttgart. 8

Henry: Had a quiet game by his standards. Always look dangerous with the ball, brilliant nutmeg to get Hleb the ball, who made the assist for RvP. 7

Van Persie: 2 goals, including an absolute peach. Missed an easy opportunity later in the second half. 8

Man of the Match: Hleb

Finally he showed up.

Arsenal 2, Charlton 1 at the Valley this afternoon, thanks in large part to the heroics of Robin van Persie. His miraculous volley was spectacular enough to see us move up to 6th place in the table with 11 points. It was our 5th consecutive win. We did not play well as a team, however. Kolo and Gallas looked uncomfortable when dealing with long balls. Gallas especially looked of the pace. He is definitely not a 100% yet. Hoyte again failed to impress and could be blamed for the first goal. He lost Hasselbaink completely and when he did finally manage to catch up was shrugged off too easily for my liking. The sooner he doesn’t have to play the better. Jens had a decent game and had one outstanding save, diving low to his left. He has looked impressive this season—no World Cup hangover.

That being said, the 2-1 scoreline is quite deceptive. When we had the ball, we looked quick to counter and difficult to stop. This game could have well finished 6-3. Henry and Cesc were denied by good saves by Carson. Van Persie missed a sitter. Charlton had a poor first half but played well in the second. They were denied a clear penalty off Gallas’ hand, and Hasselbaink flashed a header just wide of the post. This was one of the most entertaining games we have played this season. Charlton, unlike most teams, were not afraid to attack us.

Hleb’s contribution today will be overshadowed by van Persie. He played a large part in both goals, stupefying 3 Charlton defenders before passing across the box to RvP for the first goal and threading a brilliantly-paced through ball to Eboue who set up the second. Hleb is an integral part of the squad, he proved that again today.

A short bit on the man of the match before I wrap this post up. Over the last couple of months a lot of Arsenal fans have questioned his future at the club. Some people (even some who write for this site) say he cannot play alongside Henry in front. The game today proved that his talent is worth the frustration he fuels when he misses tap-ins like the one today that would have completed his hat-trick. In the long run, today’s goals (especially the second one) will give him a huge lift and hopefully this will translate into goals. Gooners need to be patient—he can be a 20 goal a season striker. He is NOT a winger. With patience from the fans, he will be a legend at this club.

In all it was a great result. We lost the lead, subsequently equalized and then fired in the winner just after half-time. Even though we did not play our best, we came out with all 3 points on the road. It was a typical result for a Champion.

    This weekends trip to Charlton, looks like 3 easy points. Our new found confidence should see us through, comfortably. Since losing Curbishely, Charlton have lost what in my opinion made them a decent premiership team, dicipline and compactness. A side that used its available talent to the maximum and worked hard. Under Iain Dowie however they look like a bunch of misfits. Their summer acquisitions include scum reject Andy Reid, Liverpool reject Djimi Traore and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink who in my opinion is past it. They will be involved in a relegation dog fight that I can almost  guarantee.

    Arsenal on the other hand are looking good. The win at Old Trafford has done wonders. Rosicky has hit the ground running, Gallas has been phenomenal, Djourou looks world class and Henry has finally found his form. As is stands Gallas stands a very small chance of playing a part in saturdays fixture, as does Djourou who is still nursing a foot injury. To the horror of most Arsenal fans (I assume) there is a chance that Gilberto or Song may have to play in the center of defense. The thought of Gilberto playing center back makes me shudder. I remember him having to the take up the role a few years ago (3?) after Keown went off injured. Needless to say we lost 2-0 and that effectively ruined all title hopes. Song, ah well he's just not good enough. This is how I assume we will line up, hopefully Djourou will regain fitness. Gallas is almost definately out.

                                         

   

   Other possible alternatives could include Ljungberg for either Hleb or Rosicky, especially since he was rested mid-week. Hoyte is one of the few players that has not impressed me this season. This is his make or break season, given our quality at right and center back. My prediction, 3-0 to the Arsenal. Henry (2) and Kolo with a thunderbolt from 35 yards out.

    Lastly just a small mention about how we plan on moving to theArsenalreport.com.The Change should happen in a few weeks.

blinkrebelsarsenalthierryhenyfrddyljungbergrobinvanpersie.blogspirit.com simply did not cut it.

    From now a simple theArsenalreport.com in your favourite browser should get you here. Please feel free to leave comments. We cater to your needs.

Cheers!

blinkrebel 

Just a short one to review our win over Porto today. A good performance on the whole, Henry, Hleb and Eboue looked very good. Hoyte came in for Djourou after the swiss defender hurt his foot during the warm up. We dominated most of the first half and 38 minutes in good work from Eboue and a crisp header from Henry, gave us a well deserved lead. It was almost a carbon-copy of his goal against Sheffield last saturday.

The second half was dominated by the Arsenal, and Henry's clever pass to Hleb made it two nil to Arsenal. A late injury to Gallas was the only downer to a game that was fantastic on all other fronts.

Arsene too was very impressed with what he called a "great team performance"

 

Unfortunately he also rules out Gallas for saturday's game.

"Gallas has a hamstring problem, it looked to me very serious, we hope it's not too bad, but for Saturday certainly he'll be short and then I don’t know, will he be available for the French national team or not."

In other news Cashley Cole's agent has been fined and license suspended.

So, all in all its been a great day for Arsenal. Next up Charlton and what should be an easy 3 points.

If it isn’t obvious to you yet it really should be.

Arsenal is a more successful squad using a 4-5-1. We deserved our win at Old Trafford and we deserved our run to the Champions League Final last year. The 4-4-2 Arsenal we have seen lose at Manchester City and draw with Middlesbrough at home would not have accomplished these feats, and Thierry Henry is the reason why.

Henry does not pair well with any of the strikers we have. Walcott suits us better as a winger and Bendtner does not have enough class, not yet anyway. Baptista might be the answer, but he may take too long to gel with Henry and is a great player to have on a bench, due to his versatility. Van Persie, our most talented option, seems lost alongside Henry. When Van Persie plays our 4-4-2 turns into a 4-4-1. Adebayor fares a little better, but the Henry-Adebayor partnership is not exactly lethal. 

Rosicky and Fabregas, however, is a lethal combination. They both proved themselves at the World Cup to be two of the best playmakers in the world from the central midfield position. The two of them dominated against Man U and would dominate against any four-man midfield in the world. By giving the two of them a free role to roam and play through balls, Arsenal in fact becomes a more attacking side, because it does not restrict either of them with defensive responsibility.  

                                                      

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rosicky must play, he is too good not to, but he is not nearly as effective on the left side, when he has to worry about the opposing right back. Playing Rosicky on the left side is like owning a Jaguar and only driving it in first gear.

This formation change would pose a big question: where and when does Van Persie play? He does not possess the ideal pace to play on the wing, but I think he could handle it. Van Persie basically plays as an attacking right winger for Holland, and I think he could handle playing either left or right wing, as long as Wenger is patient with him and teaches him to track back and play defense.

Other than Van Persie, however, we possess few naturally left-sided players. Pires and Reyes would have filled this gap, but we must move on. Clichy is our only left back, and Ljunberg is the only player who has played a lot on the left wing. Both Hleb and Walcott are right wingers; they can play on the left but would be playing out of position, just like Rosicky was on the left. With Ljunberg slowly losing it with age, however, we would definitely need one solid acquisition. 

 

Franck Ribery would make us the fastest, deepest, and most talented team in the world. His pace is undeniable, his tenacity unmatchable, and his strength, both physical and mental, is unquestionable. He could give us the physical edge we need at Bolton or Everton and at the same time could give provide another creative spark to break down Chelsea’s and Liverpool’s defenses. In my mind, his performance in the World Cup was second only to Zidane, and if Wenger could find a way to buy him—and you know he wants to—Arsenal would rise to the top position once again, both in England and for the first time in Europe.

 

 

Written by Joel Martin (Good friend and fellow Arsenal supporter) 

It has been a while, but we finally managed to win at home. Gallas's goal looks to have broken the levee and all the hoodoo surrounding our inability to win and score at home. The first half was typical Arsenal, lots of pocession with very little to show for it. Adebayor who started the half very lively, dissapeared towards the end. 

65 minutes in and Gallas finally managed to put the ball into the back of the net. You could almost hear the collective sigh  of relief among the Arsenal supporters. Gallas has really impressed me so far. He's a determined player, who always gives 100%. The second goal was a sloppy own goal and really took the wind out of Sheffield. Henry then headed in a third goal, the cross from Eboue was perfect.

Positives from the game:

1) A home win!!

2) Djourou looks class  

3) We have alot of strenght on the bench

4) A home win!! 

Not so positive:

1) Adebayor is too inconsistent

2) Van Persie did not impress 

3) Eboue's positioning is horrible, most teams would have exploited that 

4) Henry is waaaaay short of fitness 

The team is starting to take shape and consistency is the key. Porto is next and they will not be easy to play against. They look good, especially that Anderson kid.

 

 

 

So finally some real controversy today at the World Cup. 3 red cards at the USA - Italy game. One was warranted the other two were two of the worst refereeing decisions I have ever seen. The first one was a def. yellow in my opinion but IN NO WAY was a red card. Granted it was two footed, he was showing his studs but there was absolutely no intent to injure anyone. Pirlo simply played the ball a little two quick, hence messing up the timing of his challenege. The second yellow for Pope was a warning at the most. The referee was just shite, he seemed to be watching a different game.

 

The way I look at the first Red for the US was that the referee was trying to neutralize his earlier red (De Rossi). I don't know if its just me but I often feel that referees give out the second red card to the other team just to balance the two sides again. Maybe they regret the decision.

Other than that the game was fcuking horrible. The US dominated the first 20mins with no real end product. Italy scored because of a stupid mistake by Pope who for some reason seemed to think that Gilardino was offside. The own goal was quite comical, I could not help feeling sorry for him though. 

The result was quite good in the end. The US still have a good chance of going through. Slim but still possible. They will have to beat am impressive Ghana team. A confident Ghana team that will be missing two very important players in Ado and Muntari.  

I hope that US get knocked out, but at the same time I do not want to see Ghana in the next round.

Beofore I finish this piece I just wanted to know if any of you guys like M.A.S.H. I loved the show when I was a kid, and recently started watching it on Hallmark that shows 4 episodes weekdays 4-6pm. Its one of the few shows that is actually funny without being obscece. Hawkeye, Radar and Trapper are fcuking sweet.

Have a good one!

blinkrebel