Stoke 3-2 Arsenal: Not remotely unexpected, but not remotely disappointing either

Match Report | Match highlights | Wenger's thoughts

The circumstances of the loss weren't foreseeable by any means, but if you told me we'd walk away from the Britannia pointless, I wouldn't have batted an eye. Synonymous to Manchester United, Stoke City have become a team we invariably fall prey to, regardless of the players they have. We're scared of the name.

What can you expect when you play a defence as (no other word for it) funny as ours? I've been long crying for Bellerin to start, but playing him at Stoke by force is no show of faith. It's a last resort and even he knows that. That, coupled with a horrific defensive show won't exactly do wonders for his morale.

We should be counting our lucky stars Gibbs didn't pick up a hammy or an impact injury. Needless to say, he wasn't at his best either. One could understand Bellerin's pangs to make adventurous forward forays because he's a kid, but legislating for Gibbs isn't an option anymore. With Bellerin high up the pitch, shouldn't Gibbs have the sense to be pragmatic and stand behind? He's experienced enough to realize that. He didn't, and all balance was ruptured. With only Mertesacker, Chambers and an experienced Flamini providing emergency cover, we looked a banterous back three. All of the goals we conceded came from our left channel.

Or perhaps it's not Kieran's fault. Maybe Arsene Wenger tells him to stay high up the pitch and press the ball. Flamini said something of the sort weeks ago. Maybe it's not the players at fault, but of the manager handing them the instructions panel. We kept it simple in the last three games, but reverted to gung-ho as soon as Crouch scored. As I said - back to basics is always a short-term Wenger solution. Admittedly though, even I didn't think it'd be this short-term.

Chambers and Mertesacker had mares. I don't entirely buy into the theory that Mertesacker's dip in form is 100% down to Laurent Koscielny's absence (even if it is, Wenger's at fault for overplaying him). I think Mertesacker is a fine defender who, despite his pace, was one of the world's best centre backs at one point. Back then, it didn't seem like he was reliant on other players to sort out the spoils. The fact that he's tanking may be down to issues pertaining to rocky defences, lopsided formations and confidence issues. Or maybe he's just past it and getting found out.

Chambers was at fault for the first goal, but let's give him a break. We forget that he's 19 and was bound to make costly errors. It's part of a defender's game. And yes, while I agree Calum needs to work on his tackling in general, none of his two yellows were remotely justiciable.

Which brings me to the referee. I thought (and let's face it, even a roadside vendor would concur) he was absolutely atrocious throughout. I don't think he's a biased referee, but he's certainly a bad one. He stopped play when Giroud was clean through. He disallowed a legitimate Bojan goal. He (and let's be honest here) gave us a soft penalty. He didn't award Welbeck plenty of deserved fouls in dangerous areas. And boy, that Charlie Adam fiasco. I remember tweeting along the lines of "Stoke and Taylor should be sent to a concentration camp" at that time.

As insane as the ref was, once again he's a handy distraction from the way we approached the game. Another referee would not have given Arsenal their penalty. Another referee would not have disallowed Bojan's goal, which - it's fair to say - would have meant 4-0 and confidence torn to ribbons. Agreed, a fair ref wouldn't have stopped play when Giroud was clean through in the first half, but based on the sitter the Frenchman missed earlier, would I have placed good money on him to score? Probably not.

Even if Giroud had nodded in that chance, it would have been papering-over-the-cracks and happy-accident stuff. We weren't nearly at the races. The Charlie Adam stranglehold on Alexis Sanchez was a neat symbolism of the game - an undoubtedly talented individual or team jostled away by a more physical and solid one. The only time we really looked convincing was  the last five minutes, which isn't a lot based on the total duration of the game. Personally, I didn't feel especially pissed off or have "oh-my-day-is-ruined" emotions. I was actually laughing like Walter White in Breaking Bad when I thought Bojan scored the fourth. Come to think of it, the last time I felt genuinely anguished after an Arsenal performance was Swansea away. Even losing to United didn't bring the levels of disappointments that I had planned to anticipate. It was more of tepid disapproval than raw, animalistic angst.

Perhaps it's because the failures have become too repetitive to give a toss about. Perhaps it's because the only unexpected variable is "how exactly will Arsenal disappoint me tonight", either through a freak own goal or a capitulation in the dying minutes. Finding genuine positives from a game has become a treasure hunt. We pounce on rare positives like Martinez or Chambers and understandably hype them, only to be brought down to harsh reality. Or maybe the reason Arsenal have become so ennui is because we know that rehashing the same old flaws will not change the way the manager and the board operates, not by one iota. Why would the club take our suggestions? Wenger doesn't give value to Paul Scholes' and Paul Merson's input - why would he care a jack's squat about ours?

The reason I stick it out and try to convince more and more of Wenger's incompetence is simple - loyalty. Supporting any other club for me, and for many more, is not an option. However, even though I cling on to Arsenal like a husband does to a dying wife (that's a terrible analogy), it won't dissuade me from the fact that being a Gooner is not fun right now. I went to see Mumbai City FC play Atletico de Kolkata in the stadium yesterday in a crunch Indian Super League encounter (which is why this blog post is late), and despite the team I support - Mumbai - being bottom of the table, I supported the shit out of them. Honestly though, if I ever get the opportunity to visit the Emirates as of this moment, I'm uncertain if I'll recreate the same passion.

The difference between the two teams is obvious - hope. With Mumbai, even if they're last in the league, at least there's some semblance of hope and possibility of unpredictability. At least I know that if things aren't going well, the club will do all they can to make things better and aim for the winner's spot eventually.

None at Arsenal, though. Being fiercely loyal to the red and white doesn't mean I'll ignore that the club are currently in limbo. That under Arsene Wenger, hoping for anything more than Champions League qualification and genuine competing for major honours is fanciful at the least. I can't ignore that until most of the fanbase realize Wenger was long past it, he and his repetitive errors will stay. All I can do is try to speed up that process by convincing more people, which is one of the prime reasons I started this blog in the first place. But since I don't think justice to the fallen legend is around the corner, all I can do is bide my time until it does come.

Till then, as Le Grove said, I'll sit back, buckle up and watch Wenger's illustrious reign fall apart, trying not to fall asleep on the way.

-Santi [Follow me on Twitter @ArsenalBlogz ]

Stoke 1-0 Arsenal: Proof that the title is lost

A loss at the Britannia wasn't far from inconceivable. We, along with many top teams were always susceptible to defeat, even though one wouldn't be completely wrong to suggest that it was one of those games that could go either way. However, it was the manner of the defeat that shocked me.

Facts: We registered 2 shots on target against a team fighting against relegation. We were outclassed in possession and tactics by Mark Hughes. A team with Walters and Crouch defeated a team with Cazorla, Podolski, Ozil and Rosicky. And it wasn't a one-off; anyone watching the game knows that. The loss was deserved.

Just let that sink in.

I refuse to believe that we lost because the players weren't and aren't committed to the club. Apart from Arteta (arguably), every other player has earned their corn in the first half of the season by giving their heart and soul for the club. They've somehow got a fairly decent side to the top of the table, and I applaud them for that. So why the lifeless performance?

They ran out of steam, it's as simple as that. What we're set to witness in the coming league fixtures won't be a collapse, let me tell you. A collapse was when the club chickened out after Eduardo's injury, or our W3 D6 L5 record after losing the Carling Cup Final. This isn't a collapse - it's the result of tired legs who are demoralized after not getting the resources that they wanted in January.

I wrote the following back in December, and I think that it still holds true:

"While I do agree that we have the strongest Arsenal side in years, I'm still not certain that it is strong enough to be there with the best. Yes, we have many players who are performing above their expectations, but I genuinely doubt whether they'll be able to match that form throughout the course of the campaign. I think that I've mentioned earlier that while we do have a bunch of currently overperforming players, the bitter truth is that they won't be able to maintain the same world class form that they're in so far."

I know that you'd call me an "I told you so" kind of guy, and you'd probably be right. However, my point of bringing this extract about wasn't to prove that I was accurate all along, it was to point out that the flaws were apparent in the squad back in DECEMBER, before the transfer window. A vast majority of supporters already knew that we needed reinforcements in January; a striker and a center back for good measure. We didn't get one, despite Wenger having £35m REMAINING from his £80m summer warchest.

It's apparent that I'm not blaming the players. I am blaming Arsene Wenger.

For heavens sake, he bought a Ligue 2 striker on a free when the world knew that we needed world-class talent. Giroud is tired, he clearly does not fit into Arsenal's attack and he's drying up Ozil's assists as well. Once it was obvious that Stoke had caught up with our one-dimensional tactics, players like Cazorla, Rosicky and Podolski could only do so much to counter it.

Wenger did nothing to rectify it. He had no other tactical plan, no other method to unlock their defence. He only threw on Yaya Sanogo (who does not deserve blame) and a center back into the attack in the vacant hope of forcing an equalizer. Talk about beautiful football, right?

It's bordering on madness now, seeing Wenger try the same thing over and over expecting different results. There are so many flaws in the person that I'm astounded people haven't noticed it. After the match, in context to our title race Wenger said:

"It is not slightly worrying, it's a big worry for us to lose a game like that."

And on lifting his side after the defeat:

"In a game like that we didn't produce the performance that we wanted, but I am not worried."

He contradicts himself within five minutes of the post-match conference, and a majority of fans lap it up. It's insanity, that's what it is. Wenger has completely lost all touch with reality and is inept in man management, tactics, transfer dealings and clearly does not have the motivation to win anymore.

Ivan Gazidis has given £100m+ for Wenger to spend in the coming summer, around the same amount that Manchester City spent last summer. Yet I'm confident that he won't spend it until the last days of the window, that's just how complacent and cheap Wenger has become. He's destroying the careers of Ozil, Podolski and Giroud by heaping pressure on them and overplaying them, just like he did to Vermaelen and Arshavin. The club is in a downward spiral, and Wenger is almost completely responsible for it, the facts support that.

But I still have faith. Not in Arsene Wenger of course; I lost total faith in him last year and him winning the FA Cup won't change that. However, I still believe that the players we have in this team can somehow achieve something this season. We still have the FA Cup to fight for - the next match is the FA Cup quarterfinals itself. The day I saw an Arsenal substitute team defeat Liverpool was the day I realized that the players do want Arsenal to win, and that they see the FA Cup as a realistic chance for a trophy.

Wenger has lost the plot, but the players clearly haven't. They're eager to give the fans something to cheer about at the end of the season, and I'm sure that they'll try to do just that against Everton. In my opinion, the potential FA Cup ties carry a lot more significance than the Manchester City, Chelsea and Tottenham matches.

Our Premier League season was over on February 1st when our only signing was Kim Kallstrom. Beating Bayern Munich was a long shot even if we had Luis Suarez in our team, that's how good they are. However, winning the FA Cup is realistic, and is something that we're capable of pulling off. It's time to face facts, play for pride in every league game and treat every cup game like a... er... cup final.

I have long since known that Arsene Wenger will not be leaving Arsenal until he decides to, which will probably be 10 more years down the line. I also know that under him, we will always struggle for trophies, irrespective of whether we win them or not. I have made my peace with this fact, yet I support this club purely because I can't let it go. Arsenal is my life, and even though I know that stopping to watch football and Arsenal entirely would save me torrents of pain, I love Arsenal too much to make that rash a decision.

Arsenal under Wenger will always be a 'top four' club, unless something fundamentally changes in the man (unlikely). If I know already that Wenger is certain to stay at the club for at least a decade more, is it wrong to hope that the club can win a trophy despite him? God knows that everyone connected to Arsenal (except Wenger and partly Gazidis) want the players to win a trophy, even more so this season.

Let's continue that belief with a win against Everton, where the stakes are so high it's reaching breaking point.

-Santi (Follow me on twitter: @ArsenalBlogz )

Stoke vs Arsenal: Match Preview + Sagna stuff

I hate Stoke City.

I know that Ryan Shawcross has mellowed a lot since that tackle on Aaron Ramsey. I know that the anti-football cap-wearing dimwit Tony Pulis isn't the manager of Stoke City anymore. I know that after Rory Delap retired, Stoke seldom adopt throw-ins as a method to cross the ball into the box.  I also know that under Mark Hughes, they don't employ dirty, rugby long-ball tactics to an extent.

However, I still find their fans (what is the word for...?) evil. And that's not to say I don't have good reason. How dare they plan to boo Ramsey after what their player did to him? I can't believe that a section of supporters could be so deluded, so heartless and so moronic that they plan to abuse a player who did no harm to them, only to find out that he isn't going to be taking any part in the match due to injury.

As an Arsenal supporter, I have almost been taught to hate the Spuds. (I would have anyway, what kind of club do you have to be to spend £100m and fight for fifth place?) However, if I wasn't an Arsenal supporter and watched the EPL as a neutral viewer, I'd have probably hated Chelsea, Manchester City and Stoke City much, much more.

The reasons to hate Chelsea and City are blindingly obvious. Abramovich and Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed al Nahyan have corrupted the finances of the game and won their teams accolades purely because of money. The clubs have leaned on the bottomless pits of cash to be competitive, and shamelessly bragged about that. Most of their supporters are plastic as well; I know very few Manchester City or Chelsea supporters who actually had heard of these clubs before the money rolled in.

However, hating Stoke City is entirely different; it's primarily because I don't know any other side that is so anti-Arsenal. While we play beautiful football, they keep booting the ball to their ex-Spud target man. While we have decent individuals who have a limit to their aggression (bar Flamini!), they are raw apes who thrive on Shawcrossing everyone like it's their privilege to do so.

I'm not saying that playing with aggression in football is wrong. On the contrary it's how the game is supposed to be played, because football is a contact sport. However, Stoke tend to overdo it a lot and set no limits (or indeed, technique) to their sliding challenges. While it's notable that they have cut down on that factor this season, I simply can't stop hating them. Not because of the Aaron Ramsey thing, but because of the reaction from their 'fans' later.

I'm not going to tell this team to win the match for Aaron Ramsey, that's frankly too outdated and cliched. Instead, I'm going to be as level-headed and logical as possible and hope that the team wins, simply because the next games are far from winnable. After Stoke, we face the Spuds, City, Chelsea and Everton in the league (3 away games), all of which are matches where points can and will be dropped. Oh yeah, and a crucial FA Cup tie along with a trip to Munich as well.

I know that going to the Britannia stadium and winning is a difficult task. The last time we won there was when Ramsey broke his leg. However, compared to the gauntlet we're set to go through, this is a game we should win anyhow, seeing that we're title challengers.

In team news, we have a bit of a left back crisis, with Kieran Gibbs definitely out and Nacho Monreal a doubt. If Monreal fails to make it, then Wenger should have some curious options to try out. Should he deploy a match unfit Thomas Vermaelen at left back who's crying out for game time? Or should he field Mathieu Flamini there and partner Jack Wilshere along with Mikel Arteta? Of course, there's also the possibility of Sagna covering left back and Carl Jenkinson going onto the right.

It's a tough call, but I think that Monreal would be fit and will start on the left for this game. In hindsight, it wouldn't be the worst thing. While I understand that he's not the most reliable defender in our back line, pitting Monreal against Robben is very different than against Odemwingie. I'm sure that if he starts today he'll do a good job.

If he can't start then I'd want Vermaelen on the left, mostly because I don't want to disposition Flamini or Sagna for a game in which their aggression and physicality are vital. And before you attempt to remind me that Vermaelen is being mispositioned himself, let me point out that Tommy played as a left-back for Ajax before Arsenal came calling, so that position won't be a mystery to him.

The rest of the back line picks itself, with Szczesny, Sagna, Koscielny and Mertesacker. A game like Stoke MUST require the services of Flamini, who would presumably partner the equally aggressive Jack Wilshere. A good, aggressive, squad thus far I'd say.

While Giroud seems set to start after the whole model scandal has cooled, the front trio should be a bit of a welcome problem for the manager. The manager has Oxlade-Chamberlain, Gnabry, Ozil, Rosicky, Cazorla and Podolski to choose for three slots, so it'll be interesting to see what lineup he does select.

Personally, I'd go for Chamberlain on the right, Podolski on the left and Rosicky in the center - The Ox and Podolski are players that can match (or come close to matching) Stoke's physical nature, and Rosicky can have a big impact if he replicates his rough housing nature that he earlier performed against Newcastle. I for one wouldn't use this as game for Mesut Ozil's comeback - the physicality at the Britannia might startle him.

However, knowing Wenger, I'd say that Ozil is set to start. With Wenger, I'd predict that Ozil would begin with Chambo and Cazorla on the wings, and Giroud the obvious choice upfront. While I'm not particularly against this decision (Ozil will undoubtedly be raring to shake of criticism), I fear for Ozil's fitness if this does happen.

All in all, we should be having enough to beat Stoke City. With Liverpool facing a tricky away tie to Southampton and Chelsea traveling to Craven Cottage for a London derby (not to mention City not playing at all this weekend), there is a genuine chance of the top four shuffling positions. Let's choose forward today.

--

In other news, interesting quotes from Bacary Sagna have come out, where he oh-so clearly stated that he loves Arsenal and wants to continue his future here. However, he also labeled the trophyless streak as "embarrassing", which just shows me how badly he wants to win at this club. However, if we win nothing, "win at this club" could quickly change to "win anywhere". We've seen it happen with Robin before, let's not continue that trend.

After the 5-2 win against the Spuds back in February 2012, van Persie had said:

“I am a true Gunner. I love this club and that’s no secret. We will soon talk about many things. There’s nothing complicated or sinister - the Club and I have both agreed to speak at the end of the season and see how things stand. The boss, Ivan Gazidis and I are all comfortable with it."

I'm sorry, but I still don't doubt that Robin character was close to the present Sagna's. However, the eventual lure for trophies caught up with him and he left the club in search of glory, just like Nasri. And Fabregas. And Clichy. And Adebayor. And Hleb. And Henry, to a certain extent.

Sagna says:

“I love Arsenal, I love playing for Arsenal, I love my team. Arsenal is the most followed team in France and I remember I used to watch them when I was in France so it was a pleasure to play for them, so why leave?"

If we don't win a trophy, I'm certain that his love for Arsenal will evaporate in a trice. And I don't blame him - ambitious footballers want to be surrounded with players that can win them rewards. I don't think that the contract length is a major issue here, Sagna is refusing to sign a new deal because he still isn't convinced that Arsenal is a club that can give him trophies. Come May, we need to turn that around.

I don't understand the concept of not giving Sagna a long term deal now. It's not like we'd make a hefty loss if the gamble of paying him a long-term deal backfires. Players like Almunia, Mannone, Eboue, Squillaci, Djourou, Santos, Denilson, Arshavin, Gervinho, Chamakh and countless others who clogged up our wage bill are long gone, which means that we can now afford a loss on a player who deserves to retire at the club anyway.

I say give Sagna what he needs, it's about time he's given a substantial pay rise on his paltry £60K salary. He's one of the best right backs in the country and one of the most versatile and loyal players at Arsenal. Not giving him a salary rise just because he's 30 is madness.

Let's hope Wenger realizes that.

P.S. Interesting stuff from Theo Walcott as well, read it if you have the time.
And Santi has signed a new deal, yay!

-Santi (Follow me on twitter: @ArsenalBlogz )