The headline pretty much sums it up… as headlines are wont to do. Another 4 goals for the Arsenal, another late consolation goal for our poor victims. Wanderers came out into the amped up atmosphere of Molineux and really took it to us for the first 25 minutes. Until a Arsenal went ahead, completely against the run of play on a Zubar own-goal, that is. By the time the dust had settled on the first half, Arsenal had a 3-nil lead and were as good as second in the league.

As distressing as the opening spell of the match may have been at the time, it is emblematic of a change in the Premier League over the last season or two. What we are seeing is lower-table sides resolving themselves to come out and try to play attacking football and this has favored the Arsenal so far this season. Of course, we still occasionally see a side just completely park the bus, but it is becoming a bit less common than in years past and Arsenal are taking advantage.

Of course, Wolves may have taken that a bit far in pushing for their first goal after going behind 1-nil because Arsenal’s next two goals came from lightning-quick counterattacks. I have long said that the biggest difference between the Invincibles and the current team was their desire and ability in the counterattack. There has never been a more devastating team on the break than the Arsenal side of 2002-05. Previous incarnations of the current side were so committed to an intricate passing game that they routinely passed on opportunities to counterattack, especially the 2007-08 side.

However, with Arshavin and Walcott, when healthy, this team has shown themselves much more inclined to hit teams quickly on the break. When these lesser sides have come out and tried to throw some men forward, Arsenal have been more than happy to hit back with quick and efficient counterattacks and that is a welcome change over the last few seasons.

There is no team in Europe playing more enjoyable football than Arsenal at the moment, and, even more satisfyingly, results are reflecting that. Also, Arsenal themselves play their most enjoyable football after they’ve gotten the lead. When this team goes up 2 or 3-nil, they play without so much as glancing at the handbrake with a complete freedom that is just breathtaking to behold. Even United fans are beginning to admit that Arsenal could pose a major threat to them and Chelsea, as are the pundits.

Those in the media who wrote us off after the twin defeats in Manchester are now having to reconsider. Arsenal have faced two hurdles this season, the trips to Manchester and the consecutive draws in which they lost the lead late, and have come out of both seemingly even stronger. As a side, the club seems to have matured greatly. Sure we still have a ton of youngsters but, no matter what Ronald Koeman says, this team is not inexperienced. A majority of the players have played in a Champions League and FA Cup semifinal, some have played in Champions League and Carling Cup finals, and a fair amount have been involved in run-ins for the League.

Aaron Ramsey and Kieran Gibbs both started and turned in solid performances. Fabregas continued his campaign to be considered the best player in the Premier League and van Persie also continued the type of form that has Holland ready to switch him to the kind of central role he now plays at Arsenal rather than out on the right wing, where he has regularly plied his international trade.

The depth of the team can no longer be questioned when we are walking over teams with the likes of Walcott, Vela, Bendtner, Wilshere, and Clichy out; not to mention, Denilson and Johann Djourou. When a team can be destroying numerous other Premier League sides and while being able to bring Tomas Rosicky, Alex Song, and Samir Nasri on as substitutes, the latter for the club’s number four striker, that shows a depth that cannot be matched by any other Premier League side and it has been achieved not by buying “experienced players” but simply by letting the players we had mature. Arsene was right all along… who would’ve guessed it?

The other issue from Saturday is the consolation goal. Surely, the anti-Arsenal media crowd will focus on the fact that Arsenal failed to keep a clean sheet again and talk about how we won’t win against the “big teams” by conceding goals like that. Though I have to tell you, I could care less about conceding a late goal when we’re up 3 or 4-nil. Yes, it’s nice to have a clean sheet, but the team defended well when they needed to. I would hardly expect the same concentration level from the defense when we’re 4-nil up on Wolves than when we’re even or 1-nil up on Chelsea or United.

Arsenal have now scored 2 or more goals in 9 of 11 league matches, 16 of 19 overall. We’ve scored 3 or more in 7 of 11 in the league and 10 of 19 overall. 55 goals in 19 matches, 36 in 11 league matches. These are impressive numbers. On the other hand, it is a bit worrying that we have conceded more goals than either Stoke, Fulham, or Birmingham City, but I believe our defending will get stronger as the season goes on, considering that the Gallas-Vermaelen pairing is still brand new.

And so it’s on to the international break. We’ve done all we can do and anything but a Chelsea win tomorrow means we are essentially level with the two sides, expecting that we will get a result at home to Bolton in our game-in-hand, which has been temporarily postponed due to the Carling Cup Quarterfinal with Money City at the Middle Eastlands. Even if Chelsea secure maximum points, we trail them by 5 with the game in hand and will hold second place over United with the game in hand on them as well. All we can do now is pray… for a draw tomorrow and a healthy return for all our boys from international duty.

Arsene Wenger Post-Match Press Conference

Posted in Highlights, Match Reflections ]]> http://arsenalstation.wordpress.com/2009/11/08/the-train-keeps-a-rollin/feed/ 1 ArsenalStation Eduardo Arsene Wenger http://arsenalstation.wordpress.com/2009/11/06/the-diaby-debate/ http://arsenalstation.wordpress.com/2009/11/06/the-diaby-debate/#comments Fri, 06 Nov 2009 12:11:05 +0000 ArsenalStation http://arsenalstation.wordpress.com/?p=1918 ]]>

Today, ArsenalStation and, regular guest contributor, Ted Harwood, discuss the merits, deficiencies, and perceptions of Abou Diaby. You are welcome to comment on your take on Abou Diaby.

ARSENALSTATION SAYS: I’ve had this debate about Diaby for 2 years now. While some feel that he has improved this season, others continue to find fault with him. Let me try to briefly point out what I think his problems on the pitch have been, while Ted will talk more about the perception of Diaby by the fans. Diaby simply has not looked an Arsenal-type player. Yes, he has the technical ability which Arsene insists on, but it is the other intangible qualities that he has lacked.

First, his vision is limited. How many times can you remember Diaby making a killer pass to set up a goal? Second, he has been selfish on the ball and this has been biggest downfall. The club’s style is built on passing and movement. However, when Diaby has been on the ball this breaks down often. He has insisted on taking on multiple defenders only to lose the ball and gives the ball away cheaply.

For me, it is not a case of Diaby not helping the team; rather, I believe that when he has been on the pitch, he’s hurt the team. He disrupted our style of play and kept us from developing the kind of rhythm we need on the pitch to be at our most threatening.When Diaby was in the match, it has always looked like it was Arsenal + Abou Diaby. He never looked a part of the midfield, but rather like he had been thrown into the midfield. Like a new player in a pickup game, almost.

Another problem Diaby has had, and this might be the one which has hurt him the most over his entire career, is that he is not versatile enough. This is another quality we’ve come to expect from Arsenal players. However, he struggled when played wide, and yet, for years, he did not learn to defend or tackle properly. Worse yet, he seemed not to have much desire to do either. Had he worked on these glaring deficiencies over the last two years, he would’ve been in a position to challenge Song for the holding midfielder role.

Despite being played out wide on the left for long stretches of time in the last two years, he also couldn’t be bothered to learn to put in a decent cross. This, I believe, came from a certain hubris on his part. The same hubris which manifested itself every time he tried to dribble through multiple defenders. We all know that most Premier League players were head and shoulders above the competition when they were youths, and that they were the player who was so much better than the others that they could dribble around five defenders and score 5 goals in a match.

Diaby has seemed to still think he is in that kind of situation. It’s why he doesn’t work hard enough on the deficiencies in his game and also why he continues, for some reason, to think he can beat two or three Premier League defenders. Diaby is useful to have as a squad player, but I fear he will never be anything more for the Arsenal and, in a year or so, we may be forced to sell him while his “potential” will still be included in his transfer fee. But, even I must admit that over the last few weeks, Diaby has looked much improved over last season, but, it seems that according to many readers, it will take more than a month or two for him to overcome the characterization built up over years which I have described above.

TED HARWOOD SAYS: Perhaps no Arsenal player has quite so divided opinion over the past year or so than has Abou Diaby.  Some may say that Denilson causes similar debate, but he has mostly won everyone over at this point.  A couple of years ago, Phil Senderos was the subject of alternating scorn and praise, but his Italian adventure and his subsequent de facto demotion have mostly silenced the discussions.  For a long time, though this year in particular, Diaby has been mystifying to many Gooners, myself included.  It is at times almost as if he doesn’t exist; no matter how he tries, no matter the goals he scores, he is still the forgotten Arsenal player.

The stars have not always been kind to Diaby during his time at Arsenal.  He had only been featuring for the first team for five months when Dan Smith of Sunderland came in hard for a tackle and broke Diaby’s ankle.  After Diaby regained fitness, he struggled to find a place in the side, with Fabregas, Hleb, Flamini, and Julio Baptista holding down midfield places over the next year.

His fortunes didn’t regain their form any faster.  Arsenal faced Chelsea in the 2008 Carling Cup final, and on a corner kick, Diaby tried to clear the ball.  His boot instead squarely met the chin of the diving John Terry.  Only some quick thinking from Arsenal physio Gary Lewin and good luck saved Terry’s life, but for a while, things did not look good, and Diaby was visibly and understandably shaken by the accident.

Nonetheless, he battled on.  A solid if unspectacular 2008-09 campaign saw him feature on the left or in the center for a total of 36 games in all competitions, notching four goals and two assists.  Diaby developed a reputation for being a hard worker and a hard tackler and seemed destined to become the physical, lanky midfielder that many thought Arsenal had missed since the sale of Vieira in 2005.  No matter how he tried, though, Diaby seemed only to grudgingly win the support of fans.

Why is this?  Why does a man who, if we are to believe Arsène Wenger, looks poised to be an anchor in the Arsenal midfield for a long time, a man who has a good shot with both feet, why does he come in for such reluctant praise and such abundant scorn?  These questions are not meant as a rhetorical defense of the player.  I ask because Abou Diaby simply mystifies me.

This may have something to do with his style of play.  Diaby is not a flair player; this fact contributes to his invisibility.  He is asked to hang back and make the unspectacular pass much of the time.  He looks slow on the field, but in reality is probably quite fast, due to his long strides.  He does not complain when things don’t go his way; instead, he looks very much like the shy boy in fourth grade who just smiles when teachers call on him or when his friends talk about him.

This season in particular acts as a microcosm for Diaby.  He has featured in almost all of Arsenal’s matches save for the Carling Cup ties and the opener against Everton.  His stats paint a picture of a good, solid Premier League-quality midfielder: he has completed a very good 85.2% of his passes, has passed more than almost anyone on the team, has created more chances for the team than anyone except for van Persie and Cesc, and has won more tackles than anyone except for Alex Song.  He has won 13 fouls.  He has conceded 16 fouls, though, which is also second only to Song.  He has scored three times, but in a pretty, well, unspectacular fashion.

The problem with Diaby, and the main reason he struggles for understanding and/or acceptance from Gooners, is that he is simply in the wrong place at the wrong time, and when he finds himself there, he almost always does the wrong thing.  I don’t think I need to go into detail about Old Trafford this summer, but the look on Diaby’s face after his massive mistake was about the same as it always is; a blank, sort of bewildered stare.

It was the same when he kicked John Terry in the face; he was torn up inside, but looked almost as if he was used to the heavens frowning upon him.  He simply walked back to his starting position as Robin shouted encouragement in his ear.  There was no stamping, no hands on the head, no pained expression.  There was simply Abou, slowly trudging upfield as 75,000 Mancunians screamed derision.  I half expected the music from the Charlie Brown specials to begin playing on the Old Trafford tannoy.

Last weekend at Upton Park was another example.  Diaby tackled young Hines in a position merely yards outside of the box at a time when Arsenal were under only moderate pressure.  Of course, this does not excuse Mannone’s error on the ensuing kick, but Diaby once again found himself in the thick of Arsenal’s troubles.

It is hard to understand why Diaby’s errors loom larger than others’.  It is hard to understand why he does not get the plaudits when he scores.  He seems to move through the game like a shadow, clumsy and forlorn.  He wears the expression of a man who cannot quite understand what is happening.

On the other hand, though, it is easy to understand.  His mistakes loom large because they play out against a murky grey background.  All of the good things Diaby does are largely invisible on the television.  His positioning isn’t terrible or anything; his passing, as noted above, is great.  His tackling is decent enough.  But he does very little that is immediately positive (although those chances he creates aren’t being converted, either; he has zero assists this year, and only two last year).

As one can tell, Diaby causes dithering.  I cannot decide if he is solid or poor.  The problem is that he can’t be a holding midfielder because Arsenal cannot afford to have someone who makes the types of mistakes that Diaby does.  This suggests that he may be more suited for an attacking role, where his mistakes are neutralized, but he simply does not offer the inspiration that Arshavin, Nasri, or Rosicky can.

With the likes of Fran Merida, Craig Eastmond, Aaron Ramsey, and Jack Wilshere threatening for playing time, Diaby should be concerned.  He simply doesn’t inspire confidence right now.  As Gooners, we must support all of our players, and I for one  hope that Diaby finds a way to put it together and have a great year, because it will only help the side.  I want to see Diaby excel, because he is a Gunner.  I want to see him smile.  But for now, there goes Charlie Brown, head bowed, wondering why the ball keeps getting pulled away.

It was just one of those nights. Kind of like the home wins over Sevilla or Slavia Prague match in 2007. Arsenal came off 3-nil win over Spurs at the weekend, in which they had never really hit 3rd gear, and rode that 3rd gear for much of the Champions League match with AZ Alkmaar on Wednesday evening.

It was a thorough victory for the club, which even Ronald Koeman could only admire. Even if he did try to claim that a team that has been to the Champions League semifinal and has 23 out of 25 senior internationals at any given time is inexperienced. That criticism just doesn’t wash anymore. At least not in the Champions League.

Cesc Fabregas continues to show why, following Ronaldo’s departure, he is the Premier League’s top midfielder. What Cesc has done so far this season has been nothing short of amazing. Unlike when he was first named captain, Cesc now looks like the captain on the pitch rather than just a guy wearing an armband.

I also have to single out Diaby for special praise. No one has been more down on Diaby in the last two years than me. I just always felt that he didn’t work hard enough on the weaker spots of his game, that he wasn’t versatile enough, and he just didn’t look like an Arsenal player. When he was on the pitch, it always seemed like Arsenal + Diaby, as his passing and movement somehow seemed out of sync with the rest of the side.

But so far this season, and especially in the last month, Diaby looks a completely different player. I’m not ashamed to admit I was wrong; in fact, I am happy about it. Diaby has fit into his slightly recessed midfield role extremely well and he looks like another player who has benefited greatly from the new formation. He is working hard when he doesn’t have the ball, putting in far less ill-timed, clumsy challenges than we’ve come to expect from him and just looks a part of the side now in a way he hasn’t before.

Clichy’s injury is somewhat frustrating but I feel confident about Gibbs and we will have Traore back soon. The commentators on Sky were raving about Arsenal’s depth during the match noting that they had Eduardo and Rosicky come off the bench and still had Walcott, Vela, Bendtner, and Clichy out. Not to mention Wilshere, Denilson, and Djourou.

Having only essentially swapped Toure out for Vermaelen, and sold the cancer, the side all of a sudden looks deeper than any other Premier League side. And it is solely due to maturity. This is what we’ve been waiting for. When one considers that we have 7 first-teamers out injured at the moment, including two forwards, and yet we still have extreme competition for places in both midfield and attack. We’ve improved our depth significantly by just getting older. This is what Arsene knew, and we hoped, would happen, and it is why he refused to buy.

Posted in Highlights, Match Reflections ]]> http://arsenalstation.wordpress.com/2009/11/06/arsenal-on-cruise-control/feed/ 7 ArsenalStation Cesc Fabregas Thomas Vermaelen http://arsenalstation.wordpress.com/2009/11/04/fran-stan-and-harry/ http://arsenalstation.wordpress.com/2009/11/04/fran-stan-and-harry/#comments Wed, 04 Nov 2009 13:39:06 +0000 ArsenalStation http://arsenalstation.wordpress.com/?p=1964 ]]>

With our Champions League match against AZ Alkmaar looming, I am just going to use today to briefly talk about a few issues facing the club this week, including the Fran Merida situation, the impending, or not, takeover bid, and a look back at the delusion that is Spurs’, and Harry Redknapp’s, view of their side.

We all know the deal with Merida by now. He is out of contract and so, come January, he is free to discuss terms with any club he wants. Of course, there is one club that is already making noise and that is Atletico Madrid, the player’s boyhood club. The other party making noise is, not surprisingly, Merida’s agent, Joseba Diaz:

We only have an offer from Arsenal but Fran Merida has an illness, for want of a better word, and that is Atletico Madrid and you can’t do anything about that. It started in 1996 when Atletico won the league and the Copa del Rey. He slept on red and white sheets, he followed Atletico whenever he had the chance. Even when he was with his family he wore a gold ring with the Atletico badge stuck on it.

Merida’s illness is, I think, for want of a better word, Joseba Diaz. Many of us have watched him develop over the last two years while out on loan and also with the Reserves. It would be disappointing for him to leave the club now, just as he begins to look like he could make a claim for a spot in the first-team. However, the most disappointing part of the whole thing is that he will leave for nothing. When the courts found him guilty of violating his pre-contract with Barcelona by signing for Arsenal, the club paid the €3.2m judgment levied against him. When you consider the money invested in training him, for the two most crucial years in a young footballer’s development, along with the judgment, Arsenal will, for once, come out on the losing end as far as a young player is concerned.

Stan Kroenke has increased his holding to 29.6% after purchasing a further 427 shares for £3.6m. A Cultured Left Foot talked today about the ambiguity surrounding the intentions of Mr. Kroenke. I wrote many, many months ago that I also believed that Kroenke was acting, or being used by the board, as a buffer to prevent the possible takeover by Usmanov. However, I am not quite so sure of that statement anymore.

Of course, just because Kroenke reaches the magic number of 29.9%, doesn’t mean that the Board have to sell; only that he must make them an offer. It seems inevitable that Kroenke will takeover the club, at some point, but, even though he is close to the threshold, it still doesn’t seem imminent. Amy Lawrence made some perceptive comments on Kroenke’s aloofness on the Arsecast a few weeks ago, and I would have to agree with her. I think most supporters would like for Kroenke to make some kind of statement to the supporters. It doesn’t have to be a definitive statement of intentions but showing up at the AGM and basically refusing to speak can easily be disconcerting for those concerned over the club’s future.

Even if Kroenke took over the club, I don’t believe we would see any major changes. Above all, he’s a smart businessman and he can see that what Arsenal are doing, as a club, is working. Gazidis has come in and done a wonderful job and the club is now making strides in many aspects from reaching out to the supporters more, securing the financial side of the club, as well as providing Wenger with the assistance he needs to do his job.

Finally, on to Harry and Spurs… Harry’s sour grapes were on display when he complained that of our 3 goals, “There wasn’t a good goal among them.” He then went on to give the BBC interviewer a hard time after the match. But most entertaining was Harry’s delusional nature put on display. Like Keane’s delusional ramblings from the build-up, after the match, Harry said the club hadn’t “hit a blip. We have 19 points.” That’s all well and good, Harry, but the club had only 7 points, 2 wins and a draw, in their last 6 matches going into the match. That puts them at 15th in the league over those six matches. Not hitting a blip? I’d like to see what Harry would consider “a blip.”

Even before the match, Harry was saying how it should be a really good game because both teams were playing well and were playing really good football. I had to laugh because Harry’s obviously still living in September while the rest of us have moved on to November. Spurs haven’t looked a good side, or at least haven’t been able to secure results, in almost two months. So when Harry comes into the match talking about playing good football having secured only seven of a possible 18 points in their last six matches, one can’t help but laugh.

This is the difference between Arsene and Redknapp. Look at the picture above… Arsene is getting that upset despite the side holding a 3-nil lead over Spurs. At the same time, Harry is struggling to convince himself that the team is in good form having gotten 7 from their last 18 points. For Arsene, nothing is ever good enough, while Harry tries to portray a team with 2 wins in their last 6 matches as “in good form.”

As for us, we sit atop of the form table and trail Chelsea by five points. Three of those points could very well come from the game-in-hand against Bolton, now rescheduled from the 2nd of December because of conflict with the Carling Cup quarterfinal tie with Money City, and the other two points were the two dropped at Upton Park. So, essentially, what separates us from the Chelsea side that everyone feels will stroll to the title, is the points that were given away at West Ham.

Listening to the podcasts this week, Arsenal are now, all of sudden, considered right contenders for the title again. The reactionary nature of the English football pundits never ceases to amaze me. I just find it highly amusing the way teams are completely written off in the first two months of a 10-month season because they blew a lead or lost two very tough road matches.

In America, sports writers would never write off the Yankees for a chance at winning the pennant even if they got swept in a four-game series early in the season. The pundits just make themselves look like idiots. Are Arsenal all of a sudden contenders again because they beat Spurs 3-nil? No. We were always contenders. That doesn’t change because of one or two matches. No team’s prospects can be rightly determined by one or two matches.

Yup, you guessed it… Michel Platini, better known as the Antichrist, is once again in the media criticizing Arsenal and Arsene Wenger. It is truly amazing how Platini has turned into a one-man crusade against Arsenal and his fellow countryman. We here at Arsenal Station have not long forgotten his psychologically-disturbed rant last season during which he exhibited the full extent of his obsession and disgust with Arsene Wenger. We hope you have not forgot as well.

Frustrated that UEFA’s new rules regarding club solvency won’t adversely affect Arsenal, but, quite the opposite, will actually help the club, Platini has taken advantage of last month’s furor over “child trafficking” in football by now seeking to keep Arsenal, and other clubs, from buying youth players from outside their own country.

You have talent in England – it’s up to you not to buy always the best 13-14 young players in Europe. I am not in favour of the Arsenal system. The more English youth players you have in your team, the better it is for your football and popularity of your game.

Perhaps, in the future with Fifa rules on the transfer of minors, you have to work with English youth. Why can’t the English play for Arsenal? They have to come to France to play. It’s about identity.

Make no mistake about it. With Platini, it is about his personal vendetta against Arsenal and Arsene, not identity. And it is certainly not about his so-called “passion for English clubs.” So much so, that he has the urge to redirect any conversation into a criticism of Arsenal.

The above interview with the Telegraph had to do with the new financial rules, but once Platini realized that his criticisms did not apply to Arsenal, he then turned the subject to youth player recruitment so as to be able to “indict” Arsenal for something.

The most disturbing part of this whole farcical situation is Platini’s almost laughable ignorance of almost everything he talks about. This is a man who, when asked whether or not he should talk to Richard Scudamore, said, “No. Why should I?” Hello? Perhaps because he’s the chairman of the Premier League. He believes the entire game depends on his “better philosophy,” but I have news for Mr. Platini… You are no philosopher, sir.

Behold the ignorance of the man:

The more English youth players you have in your team, the better it is for your football and popularity of your game.

That statement is ass-backwards. The Premier League’s quality and popularity has increased astronomically since increasing the number of foreigners in the last 10 years. It may have gone too far but the English players, and their agents, are responsible for pricing themselves out of the reach of most clubs. Platini wants English clubs to sign overpriced English players and also wants them to stay out of debt, but, with the ridiculously inflated valuations of mediocre average players (yes, you, Joleon), you can’t have your cake and eat it too.

More ignorance:

Perhaps, in the future with Fifa rules on the transfer of minors, you have to work with English youth. Why can’t the English play for Arsenal? They have to come to France to play. It’s about identity. Manchester United have to develop players of that region.

Platini obviously has no idea what is going on at Arsenal otherwise he’d know that Arsenal are producing the best crop of English youth players in the country. His ignorance is staggering considering the position he holds in European football.

Even more ignorance:

It’s getting worse for England. We have to protect national teams so that at least England play with 11 English players because there could soon be places for those with residential qualifications.

Apparently, he has no problem with Brazilians playing for half of the world’s national teams. Even more hypocritical, he has not problem with Barcelona raiding South American clubs for players even younger than any Arsenal have ever signed from abroad. Lionel Messi was plucked from Newell’s Old Boys and transplanted halfway across the world when he was 13, for fuck’s sake!

In relation to the Spanish clubs, whom Platini is REALLY trying to protect, Arsenal are already at a disadvantage because of domestic rules. The club is not allowed to sign youth players that live more than 90 minutes from the club. We are also not allowed to sign youth players directly from South America or non-EU European countries.

Both of these domestic rules are crippling and will prove even more so should Platini have his way. He is so quick to criticize Arsenal for having bought Fabregas from Barcelona, yet he has nothing to say about Barcelona hovering like wolves over Benik Afobe and Chukwuemeka Aneke.

The small area from which Arsenal are allowed to sign youth players around London is ridiculously small. How many possible world-class players are living within 50 miles of north London? Yet, Platini is determined to have Arsenal, and other English clubs’, recruiting possibilities hemmed in, while Barcelona and the rest of the Spanish and Italian clubs have the rule of the roost from South America, Africa, and Europe.

That is patently unfair… just the way Platini likes it.