Arsenal 0-0 Sunderland: Second would have been progress. Third is not.

Match Report | Match highlights | Wenger's thoughts

I do not understand why people do not understand the difference between second and third.

"Footballistically", as Arsene Wenger would put it, there isn't any. Neither Manchester City nor us would have to go through the sadomasochism of the Champions League qualifiers that Manchester United will experience. I imagine the gulf in monetary rewards by Barclays will not be mammoth. And, considering the difference in points between us and the Citizens, anyone could argue that it could have been us at second.

And that is what does not rub with me. The fact that we could not usurp second whilst Manchester were dealing with their baggage under little pressure is worrying. It won't be nearly as easy next season. City will look to bounce back with a new manager and a new goal. United have already started on their summer business, nabbing Gundogan and Depay. Chelsea will strengthen to push on for Champions League glory.

I have accepted that Wenger will stay at Arsenal until 2017, but I hoped (perhaps foolishly) that we would at least compete for something worthwhile under him. That, other teams' incompetence and our general impressive individual qualities would overshadow Arsene's tactical limitations and his man-management flaws. I was wrong - to overtake a Jose Mourinho team or the Bayerns and Barcas of the Champions League, you need a modern, competent manager who can cover that percentile difference.

Second would have been huge for Arsenal. It's been, what, nine years since we finished runners-up? As mentioned above, it would not have made much difference on paper, but the psychological implications would have been huge. The media would have portrayed us as Chelsea's biggest foe. Potentially great players in the team would have been more recognized. We would have had the edge on most games simply because of the fear factor associated to being a title contender.

More than that, the players would have belief. Confidence in an Arsene Wenger side is key. It's what makes them play zippy football and score slinky goals. I'm not saying it would guarantee us Premier League 2015/16, but at least it would have provided the "big club" illusion which would keep world class like Ozil and Sanchez at Arsenal until Wenger leaves for a better manager.

But, no. Third and FA Cup is hardly huge progress from fourth and FA Cup (one could argue that Liverpool's decline is what pushed us up to third, too). Baby steps such as these aren't going to convince the quality players we do have that this is the place to be. I'd imagine that if Arsenal don't compete in the Premier League or the Champions League next season, Mesut Ozil would well call it a day.

And you wouldn't blame him. Say what you will about Sterling's agents having a greedy hand for wrecking his PR Image, but I'll be damned if Raheem's actions are 100% dictated by his advisers. All top players are winners. Sterling's willingness to leave Liverpool is as much propelled by the lucre of major honours as it is of making big bucks.

Arsenal can buy top players because we have the money, but we sure as hell won't keep them if we keep stalling as we are. It's been pretty clear that Arsene Wenger cannot and will not get us past the 3rd-4th threshold into elitism. If Ivan Gazidis and the board do not take action on the managerial situation soon, Wenger's last memories of managing Arsenal would be overseeing a mass exodus of players who were meant to be the bedrock of our future. It's up to the board to ensure that they do their job.

Or three years from now, we'll be looking back at this time and thinking "Why didn't we nab Jurgen Klopp when we had the chance?"

-Santi [Follow me on Twitter @ArsenalBlogz ]

Arsenal 0-1 Swansea: One of those?

Match Report | Match highlights | Wenger's thoughts

The lineup...
The argument around the Arsenal (Twitter) camp stirred when there was no Jack Wilshere, no Theo Walcott or at a stretch, no Tomas Rosicky given a start. Retorts followed: "Why would anyone change a winning team?"

After yesterday's first half performance it became clear why. I fully understand that this is a team in form and probably merit their starting berths, but rotating players is not all to do with bringing squad players inside after injuries or suspensions. Sometimes, even the best players need a rest, or need to lay back and reanalyze their game.

The same tactics and personnel won't work against every team on Earth. I agree that playing Ramsey on the right flank worked well against Liverpool and Hull City, but that does not mean shunting him there against every opposition. Back against Liverpool, we were dazzling. Today, we were narrow.

Selecting a starting eleven depends on the traits of the opposition as much as it depends on the traits of ours. Team selection is a subjective concept, not an objective one. However, Wenger's refusal to change a winning team will not only cost us in the short term, it will also cost us in the long term when the likes of Wilshere, Walcott and Rosicky will leave for lack of game time.

Rotation is important for morale as well as for keeping players physically fresh. I've been pointing this flaw out throughout our winning streak simply because it's so avoidable. Today, the game needed the flair of Wilshere and Rosicky, and the pace of Walcott.

We aren't getting injuries because there's a huge gap between matches having little importance. This won't happen between August-February though, which is why learning the practice of rotation is imperative. 

The tactical approach...
Toward the end of the first half, Mesut Ozil proved his true wizardry when he himself seemed to be forming a tactical gameplan of his own. Realizing that Giroud was getting crowded by Swansea and Arsenal attacks were breaking down when they got to him, he decided to drop deep and spray balls from there. It worked to great effect because Giroud is always prone to pinballing passes when he gets them from afar, which resulted in some quick passing and, invariably, chances.

Was this masterminded by Wenger? Unlikely, because any manager looking to deploy their most creative midfielder at the center of the pitch would not opt to remove the defensive support (aka Francis Coquelin) from there.

Also, Mesut Ozil's general tendency to drift toward pockets of space (here, the middle of the park because Swansea had no proper striker to hound the defenders and the midfielders), and Wenger's track record of his general one-dimensional tactical approach also speaks against him.

The impression I got from the manager was that he sensed a goal was coming, so he stuck with his plan. It's not a foolish idea - it seemed to be working in the second half and we were creating chances. My concern, however, lied when he withdrew Coquelin. The move reeked of "Losing/chasing? Bring off Coquelin for a forward. Doesn't matter how we're playing or what the other team are doing, just do it."

The pre-plannedness of this Wenger move worried me, as it did everyone. 

David Ospina...
He should have saved that - it's ridiculous to even debate it. He's been augmented by a very good defensive unit in recent times and has been on a good run himself, but using that argument to support the fact that he flapped a straightforward parry is baffling. For the Indian audience, it's almost like justifying Salman Khan's crimes because of the Being Human that followed.

I've always felt Szczesny was the superior keeper despite his supposedly arrogant personality, and I hope to see him more often after yesterday. Obviously I'd be more than welcoming should Wenger decide otherwise and buy a goalkeeper, but considering the dearth in the market and Wenger's general tendency to put faith in his players (Ospina's a newbie, too), it seems unlikely.

It could be worse. Juggling between Szczesny and Ospina is better than juggling between Almunia and Fabianski.

In conclusion...
We weren't poor by any stretch, and should have won this game regardless of Wenger's choices of hoofing Coquelin and playing Walcott as a center forward, so I'm tempted to coin the unlucky term on this game. However, seeing the entire team with no structure nor organization ever since Francis left the pitch was very worrying, and reminiscent of Anderlecht, Monaco, Manchester United and indeed, Swansea away. I understand the manager's ineptness, but surely the players ought to have had the nous to leave more players than Koscielny and Ospina behind the halfway line?

P.S. Apologies for the dysfunctionalism of this post - but I've been a bit busy over the times. Hopefully that should change soon. Until then.

-Santi [Follow me on Twitter @ArsenalBlogz ]

Arsenal 0-0 Chelsea: Answering the post-game FAQs

Match Report | Match highlights | Wenger's thoughts

I was about to embark on my usual way of reviewing this game by reporting events and squeezing my thoughts in between them, but the variety of arguments and subplots meant that I was better off attacking issues individually, than to conjure jumbled up dysfunctional garble in one post.

Yesterday was odd for many reasons - many people did not know what to feel about Thierry Henry, Cesc Fabregas, Chelsea's approach and Arsenal's result. And look, such is football. There are things that dazzle and things that bemuse, and yesterday had perhaps more of the latter. What I provide below are not the answers, but just my own views on yesterday's events. It's called having a blog.

So if you wish to clear your mind or want the open mindedness to hear the other side of the debate, feel free to hunt for your query below!

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1. Did Arsenal deserve to win the game?
If not anything, this game at least demonstrated that Arsenal had progressed just an inch further. I had said in the preview that Chelsea parking the bus right from the off must not be taken as a given, and that we shouldn't look to bombard men forward from the word go.

Wenger heard my concerns - he seemed to have put a more focused team out there. Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez were the only players who had the goal of moving forward in their minds. Aaron Ramsey and Santi Cazorla expressed caution, but rightly threw that to the winds once Chelsea retreated in their shell late on. It didn't hurt to see Coquelin and Alexis sticking their foot in and roughhousing Chelsea. We need more of that.

I firmly believe that a final scoreline is always deserved, barring referee interventions. This game certainly had their share of contentious decisions by a referee who refuses to penalize Arsenal. The first one was - in my opinion - definitely not a penalty, the second was stonewall (Szczesny did something similar against Bayern and was sent off), but the Fabregas one tends to divide opinion.

In my opinion, it is a penalty. This is modern football - in the penalty box, if a player goes to snatch the ball but mistimes it, it is always a penalty regardless of the force exerted on the fouled player. I don't like it, but this is what modern football has come to.

The Gary Cahill handball was, in my opinion, a penalty too, but had the referee given all the above decisions, Arsenal were potentially 2-1 down. Basic mathematics dictates that Arsenal actually benefited from the referee's incompetence.

The fact that Arsenal had more of the ball but couldn't win the game is down to our incompetence. You can't excuse Ozil and Cazorla missing chances under the pretext of "Arsenal had more of the ball". Possession doesn't win matches - goals do. We had a shade of fortune with respect to the refereeing but otherwise deserved what we got.

It matters little if Ozil had snuck in the late chance. The way I see it, Wenger knew the way Mourinho was going to set up. He was armed with an entire week of preparation and with in-form players to work a way around an uninspiring Chelsea (at home), but still failed.

Let's face it - we're firmly second best.

2. Should Arsenal be more like Mourinho's boring Chelsea?
Look, I have absolutely no problem with negation football. It's what Arsenal did in the George Graham years and what Chelsea are doing now. I honestly feel that style of play matters little when it comes to trophies. Winning is all that matters in football. I don't remember too many people complaining when Arsenal parked the bus against Manchester City and triumphed. If you place style of play over major honours, you have little reason to moan over Arsenal's trophy drought.

Different situations require different styles of play - it just needs a manager and players who can work that system effectively.

Jose Mourinho, always criticized for grinding wins in any time of the season, actually found the right balance between beautiful football and parking the bus this season. He played the most attractive football in the country for the initial two-thirds of the season, and became pragmatic when it was time to hold nerves. Let's not forget that Jose only truly parked the bus against Arsenal after the 65th minute, when it really mattered.

The greatest criticism that comes toward Jose Mourinho is why he chooses such a boring, almost cowardly approach to games when he has all the billions to spend in the world. You could definitely weigh that argument against him in his Inter Milan and Real Madrid days, but certainly not his second-spell Chelsea ones. While this season his balance between attractive football and ruthless pragmatism was not perfect, it was close enough. And hey, it won him a league title.

Chelsea's final step toward unofficially sealing the league was making sure Arsenal dropped points (which we did), so I see no problem in Chelsea celebrating as if they won the league because yesterday, to be honest, they practically did. And don't kid yourself, you wouldn't be embarrassed of Arsenal if this time next season Per Mertesacker was bouncing around Stamford Bridge after Arsenal played out a 0-0 draw which practically sealed Arsenal as champions.

The least we can do is not be hypocrites, act classy and congratulate Chelsea on winning the league through gritted teeth. Know when you're beaten. We should have done better this league season, but there's still plenty of honour in being runners-up.

3. Was I right in booing/applauding Cesc Fabregas?
Many people have different reasons to hate Cesc Fabregas. For some, he's a mercenary. For some, he's a gold digger. For some, he backstabbed Arsenal when they needed him. Personally I don't care much for Fabregas, but I do want to add another dynamic to this debate.

Take your mind back to summer 2010 and remember the situation when Barcelona had an interest for Fabregas. Wenger told him to stay and give his Project Youth one more chance, didn't he? Fabregas obliged, but after the post-Birmingham collapse he understandably had had enough. Fabregas wanted a club who could satiate his ambitions, and Barcelona provided that.

However, Wenger wasn't willing to hold up his end of the bargain in 2011 because Nasri had allegedly said "if Cesc goes, I go" (or something like that).

Anyway, an angered Fabregas felt betrayed by Wenger went on strike and probably sulked around for precisely this reason. When Wenger realized he couldn't keep Fabregas around, he had accept the lower rate from Barca. And look, many players would have gone on strike if they had a deal and the manager did not hold his end. The days of Tony Adams signing a contract with his eyes closed are long gone. If you want your best players to stay, you lucre them with money and trophies. That's modern football for you.

Even if you want to believe that Fabregas would have backstabbed Arsenal regardless of promises and circumstances, try this. Arsene Wenger rejected Fabregas when he wanted to leave Barcelona. Just as Fabregas apparently rejected Arsenal when we needed him the most, Wenger rejected Fabregas when he needed us the most. Again, that's modern football for you.

I understand that you would want to hate Fabregas because he was once an Arsenal player and is now at Chelsea, but using the 'he forced his way out' angle to justify it probably isn't right. To suit your conscience, a better reason would be his quotes after he signed for Chelsea, clearly saying he CHOSE them after having "considered all the other offers very carefully", which means that he did not have Arsenal in his mind at all after he realized that Wenger did not want him back.

Boo him for choosing an Arsenal rival despite many options, or stay mute because your thoughts are fixated on Ozil and Cazorla. However, in all honesty, I don't believe for a second that when Fabregas was celebrating his goal at San Siro, or Arshavin's against Barcelona, the first thought in his mind was "Stage One: Gaining the trust of the Arsenal faithful to betray them in the future, check!"

4. How many of Thierry Henry's comments were senseless?
Right, time to take this one at a time.

*Henry on Giroud: "I think Giroud is doing extremely well. But can you win the league with him? I wouldn't think so. He does a job, and he does it ever so well, but you can't win the league [with him as striker]."

While others have interpreted this as Thierry not knowing much about Giroud's current form or being hypocritical by swaying along with the mood of the club (he just massively praised Giroud last week), I think differently.

I don't think Henry managed to convey this very well, but I think his point was that Giroud is a fairly decent player but Arsenal need an undoubted world class player as striker to win the league. Look, Giroud is important to Arsenal's attacking approach and is currently playing very well, but you always feel that he's punching above his weight, and will fall to something along the mean in the near future.

It's a crude example, but look at Southampton. Mathematically they were in it for fourth most of this season, but many people perceived that as a team merely on a purple patch, who will go back to their level once their honeymoon period is over. It's the same with Giroud. What Henry was trying to say (I believe) is that while Giroud has done a good impression of a world-class player these past few weeks, in reality he is not one. Arsenal need the real deal, not an aspirant.

*Henry on Arsenal's transfer needs: "I think they need to buy four players - they need that spine. They need a goalkeeper, they still need a centre back, they still need a holding midfielder and, I'm afraid, they need a top, top quality striker to win this league again."

Here's where Henry sounds a bit like a 12 year old kid who just started watching football saying "Get me Messi, Ronaldo and Neuer and we'll win everything." I think he fails to take into account the players that Arsenal do have at present.

Buying a striker is easier said than done - Arsenal have recently bought Welbeck and are unlikely to let him go after one season, especially since Wenger seems to rate him. Maybe Wenger could sell Walcott, push Danny to the wings and make way for a striker, but even so, the market does not seem to be awfully buzzing with forwards.

Defensive midfield and goalkeeper are understandable concerns, but centre back is probably not. Per Mertesacker is an excellent defender in a system not including the offside trap. Laurent Koscielny is almost always reliable. Gabriel Paulista is capable of doing the dirty work and Calum Chambers is a promising lad.

It's easy to admire Thierry's ambition, but he really should have put some thought in what he said.

*Henry on Fabregas and Ozil: "I would have benched Ozil for Fabregas [if the Spaniard had been brought back to Arsenal]. I will single out Mesut Ozil. It was his eight game today against a top four side, he has zero goals and two assists. That is not enough, overall since he’s been at Arsenal he has 14 assists.  Now if you take Cesc Fabregas, he did that in one season with 16 assists."

This is impossible to defend because it seems like Mister Henry has climbed onto the "Ozil is amateur" bandwagon as well. It's a real shame because he's an Arsenal fan and seems to be a person who really understands football, but has passed a hugely uninformed opinion. Loads of Chelsea fans will look back at Henry's comment and use that against Arsenal fans which is unfair, because his comment is truly irrational.

Such criticism on Ozil would have made sense back in October, but it doesn't now. Ozil has been pulling the strings and carrying Arsenal's creative burden for some time now. Even the manner of the criticism does not make sense, for he has taken Ozil's assist record against three teams and compared it to Cesc's assist record in the entire season.

The only reason Wenger should have bought Fabregas in the summer was so that a club like Chelsea could not have gotten their hands on him (again, that's modern football for you), but I'm still relatively happy with how things turned out. Mesut has been at Real Madrid proportions since January. Fabregas has the edge over him in defensive workrate and versatility, but Ozil is creatively superior.

Either this was nostalgia with Cesc getting the better of Henry or he was paid to say this, but either way, it was hugely flawed and I'd love to hear a follow up from anyone in the near future.

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Right, that's that. Just as a footnote, I'd like to mention that if you have any feedback about my thoughts I'd prefer them in the Comments section than in a personal email. I'm sure others are interested in your views too :)


-Santi [Follow me on Twitter @ArsenalBlogz ]

Reading 1-2 Arsenal (aet): World class makes the difference

Match Report | Match highlights | Wenger's thoughts

I didn't mind the rotation...
I don't see the virtue in having the likes of Wilshere, Walcott, Welbeck and the lot if they aren't going to get a chance to play at least once every three or four games. I get that all of the players who were rotated in did not play well at all (except perhaps Theo), but I more than understand the logic of giving them game time against Reading. If Danny Welbeck doesn't play well against a Championship side, that's his prerogative, unless there was something hugely amiss in the tactical setup.

Personally, however, I would have given the likes of Kieran Gibbs, Mathieu Debuchy, Danny Welbeck (or maybe even Szczesny) a game against Burnley, rather than Reading. In hindsight, it doesn't take a genius to note that yesterday had higher stakes than last week.

Arsene Wenger teams don't thrive under pressure...
Accept it, it's fact. It's not even a particularly monumental one. Parts of yesterday were frustrating and worrying, yes, but they weren't nerve-racking because I was subconsciously aware that Arsenal make a hash out of big occasions. Knowing that Wenger is probably here to stay for two years, it's best if we buckle up and set expectations as per. 

I still don't understand playing Ramsey on the right...
I'd love some clarification for this. All throughout the game Ramsey was drifting way too centrally, crowding the box and not providing an outlet on the right. You can't blame him, it's not in his DNA, so to say.

The result was that we had an in-form player slowly sapped out of confidence, looking bewildered at times. The Ramsey of last year would have taken the two chances he had with a shrug. This one didn't - and the reason why is apparent. Confidence.

Wojciech Szczesny is a confidence player too...
It's funny, I thought Szczesny would wipe his game up when he was given the chance to prove his worth. Now, he didn't have an entirely terrible Southampton-esque game at all, but was still worrying.

Szczesny, to me, seems to have lost his mojo. He's no longer seems like the likeable cheeky prat with the Bendtner levels of ego to shield his self-doubt. True, Reading's equalizer was more down to Gibbs' incompetence than the Polish goalkeeper's, but that doesn't entirely absolve him of blame. He didn't show enough urgency to prevent the ball going over the line, and parried a simple shot all over the place previously.

Ospina thoroughly merits his place above Szczesny, but I wonder if this signals the end of Szczesny at Arsenal. I would hope not, for he's been an Arsenal through-and-through, but if his attitude continues till the end of the season, he may force the manager's hand.

Sanchez wasn't playing well but he made the difference...
...and that's what matters. Alexis sprayed his passes all over the place, buffered in front of goal too often and gave the ball away, yet he popped up when it was necessary - to put away two Ozil passes, even though he had a bit of luck with the second one. In a way, he was the perfect symbolism of how Arsenal played yesterday. 

Mesut Ozil carried the team...
Although I don't think I've said it too many times, I am guilty of having the opinion of Ozil being a fair-weathered footballer. To me, he always felt like the player who would put the icing on many cakes and only work his magic when the conditions suited him. In addition, I didn't think him to be a player having the bottle to carry Arsenal from a hidey hole.

Yesterday was different. Arsenal were sluggish and way too cautious, but Mesut was the only one willing to pull the strings. A person looking at the glass half-empty would say "Well it's only Reading", but be mindful that this was the FA Cup semi finals as well. Ozil didn't slouch under the occasion, especially when his teammates seemed to. It's a vast improvement on last season.

Would it be too much to consider him as Arsenal's second best player of the season?

Theo Walcott was livelier...
I know that Walcott has his limitations and is a bit one-dimensional, but we still need him. I for one don't believe we're elite enough to consider him surplus to requirements. Sure, he may find himself to be below the pecking order when a more dynamic Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain shows his face, but until then Wenger should be giving him way more game time, especially when Ramsey on the right doesn't seem to be working out.

I'm not saying that Walcott should be the first on the team sheet or that he's the best forward we have, but I honestly think he's better than Danny Welbeck. If you gave me a choice between a forward who doesn't score goals but is more "involved" and a forward who actually scores goals, I'd gladly pick the latter. I was among the hordes who foolishly joined the Welbeck bandwagon, but I still have the sense to see that the £16m we shelled isn't looking too pretty.

I hope we get Liverpool...
I know they'll be way more difficult to get past than Aston Villa, but I believe they have the tendency to crumble in big games like we do. Besides, I badly want Arsenal to be the reason Gerrard does not get a proper farewell.

Gerrard lost my respect when he called Arsenal a lesser club and blocked the Suarez move. I know he's been a largely classy player and an iconic Premier League figure of a club I happen to like, but I still feel he should get his comeuppance. He's been largely juvenile for a long time now, and I would relish us to have a crack at setting him straight.

If you excuse me, I think I need a psychologist now.

-Santi [Follow me on Twitter @ArsenalBlogz ]

Burnley 0-1 Arsenal: That'll do

Match Report | Match highlights | Wenger's thoughts

I'd be lying if I said I hadn't hoped for something more stylish, but then again, a good, solid 1-0 win in an away Premier League is not the worst thing in the world. It means we stay ahead of pace of the two Manchester clubs and keep Chelsea on their toes. Or one toe, at least.

I won't sugarcoat it when I say the team sheet disappointed me. While I agree that the likes of Ospina, Ozil, Giroud or even the Mertescielny axis at a stretch needed to be there to keep the spine of the team (and most of them were in undroppable form), this really should have been a game where we rested our big guns.

As I said in the preview, while it's apparent that someone like Theo Walcott is not rated by the manager (and for valid reasons), I refuse to believe that he would have produced a substandard performance against a team like Burnley. Surely, going into the second half, his pace would have been an asset?

Strength in depth is not only to make the bench look pretty, it's also to act as backup while the main men are out getting massages. With all respect to Sean Dyche's men (who put up a good fight), it's against inferior oppositions like these where a manager can afford to play squad players. This is a problem Wenger has been guilty of for ages, and also a contributing factor in why our star players tend to get injured more frequently. If you make the same players play all the games, the probability of them getting crocked gets higher, that's basic mathematics.

I know it sounds petty, but it's an important issue nonetheless. The matter has been swept under the rug because we've gotten away unscathed, but imagine if one of our players had turned victim to one of oh-so-many Burnley fouls. The effects it would have had on an upcoming FA Cup semi final could perhaps have been decisive.

Right, anyway. The football.

As expected we dominated the hold of the ball and created a couple of early chances. Heaton made an elementary save to a Sanchez free kick, minutes after which the Chilean could have gotten an early goal but instead blazed it over. The two chances were sandwiched with a decent save from Ospina after a Vokes shot, where Mertesacker's lack of pace was apparent.

Aaron Ramsey got the opener after what seemed like a trillion of deflections. It started when Alexis decided to take matters in his own hands. His shot was deflected onto Ozil, Mesut forced a good save from Heaton, but Aaron pounced on the parry to strike a fine one in the roof of the net.

Amidst all the shower of praises over Ozil, Coquelin, Giroud and the lot, it's easy for Ramsey's resurrection to go under the radar. I reckon that'd suit him, though. He seems like a confidence player - I wouldn't want to burden him with expectations.

Having said that, though, I found Wenger's decision to play him on the right a bit curious. On that, the Welshman said:

"I’m doing a job out there. I like to be involved in the game a lot more in the middle but I’ve had to do a job there. I’ve had a couple of assists and a goal in the last couple of games, so I’m having an impact out there, but I’d like to be more involved in the game!"

Clearly the last few matches would suggest that it hasn't diminished his output, but it's still intriguing why Wenger has shunted him there. It's not as if there's a severe dearth of options  - Walcott and Danny Welbeck can both do "a job" there. Heck, to me, Tomas Rosicky seems a better fit to that role than Ramsey!

I always presumed in the last couple of games that Mesut Ozil would play on the left flank with Alexis on the right, but the manager's apparent alternative is odd. It appears that Coquelin and Cazorla are playing deeper with Ozil in the center and Ramsey on the right. I know that Wenger had played Ramsey on the right flank back in 2012 in an attempt to resurrect his form, but I feel it's unnecessary to stick him out there now. Is this just a mishmash of fitting the most in-form players in eleven slots, or are there bigger tactical balls at play here?

Ramsey's obviously doing a good job out there, but I can't help but feel that we could bring more out of him by playing him in a more favourable position.

Anyway, the rest of the first half trudged on through rare highlights involving an Ospina save from a Trippier free kick and a Cazorla free kick whizzing past the post. Was I the only one to feel that Mike Dean blowing his whistle on a load of fouls disrupted the momentum of the game? Perhaps the game would have been more eventful had he been more ruthless.

Ozil was probably the only highlight of the second half as he lit up Turf Moor with two brilliant pieces of play. The first - a backheel to Sanchez - forced a good save, while the second was a lob to Ramsey who couldn't get his shot away due to a truly brilliant block. If there's one microcosm of how hard Burnley toiled around the pitch, that was it.

Danny Ings tried to create trouble when he hit a cycle kick - again, terrific save from Ospina there - and Mee put in a delicious cross at the death to which no one got their heads to, but other than that I don't remember a moment where Burnley genuinely threatened to equalize.

Indeed, it was us who could have doubled our tally during a four minute spell. Ozil could have played a better pass to Welbeck on 85, four minutes after which a cross from Bellerin was too loopy for Sanchez to get much power on.

Wenger's late substitutions merely compounded the aforementioned lack-of-rotation problem, but apart from that we had enough stomach to see them through. Every point in the Premier League is important, so it's great to see us nabbing all of them. It also makes the Manchester derby a lot more relaxing to watch.

There was the usual post-match gaffle from Wenger and the players about the fighting spirit, but what caught my eye was a show of sense from Per, when he said:

"It [the title] is not in our hands anymore. They [Chelsea, who else?] have a decent lead so it’s very difficult for us. At the moment, we’re just focusing on ourselves and that has made us very strong in recent weeks."

He, and every other rational person, is spot on. I agree that second wasn't the objective at the start of the season, but it's still a goal that deserves merit. It could have been much worse back in January, so while I'm not at all suggesting that second should remain the be-all and end-all of our ambitions, it's nice to see an Arsenal trying for something higher than the absolute minimum i.e. fourth.

What's realistic and gains greater credence than 2nd starts next week. The FA Cup may not be a major trophy in itself, but coupling that with a runners-up finish in the Premier League amounts to progress most clubs would kill for. It shouldn't be where our aspirations halt (although I fear it is) but it's a good starting point.

Saturday would go a long way into satiating that.

-Santi [Follow me on Twitter @ArsenalBlogz ]

Arsenal 4-1 Liverpool: An uncharacteristic ruthless dismantling

Match Report | Match highlights | Wenger's thoughts

I'll gleefully hold my hands up in guilt for overestimating Liverpool and underestimating ourselves after us absolutely tearing them to shreds. The goals were all audacious and spectacular, yes, but it was the manner of exuberance and ego we showed on the pitch that was far more encouraging.

Make no mistake, although Liverpool were average, we took ruthless advantage of that. It's no exaggeration to say we strangled them to submission right from the off. Were it not for some below-par initial finishing from Santi Cazorla and Aaron Ramsey, we could have sealed the game in the opening 5 minutes.

Our recent winning streak may have been exaggerated to a degree, but it brought along with it a factor that ultimately proved pivotal in Liverpool's dismantling - confidence. We didn't show Liverpool the respect we showed Tottenham or even Monaco earlier this season, pressing them and hardly letting their back three (especially Kolo Toure) build from the back.

Brendan Rodgers wasn't to be outdone yet, though. I noticed he was penciling notes around the 16th minute, after which he seemed to get his plan across. Having weathered the early storm, Liverpool were confidently playing on the counterattack and growing into the game, taking advantage of Arsene Wenger adopting a high line. It almost worked when Coutinho released Markovic but the Russian (heh) couldn't find Sterling with his pass.

I couldn't have been the only one worried then. Per Mertesacker was drifting toward the wing, Mesut Ozil was losing focus with his touches, Francis Coquelin was forced into making too many last-ditch sliding tackles and Bellerin seemed to be taking too many risks with the ball. With each passing minute, the early Ramsey miss was beginning to feel more and more synonymous to Jack Wilshere's against Manchester United.

I realize the irony when I say that all of those worries were put to rest with a Bellerin risk. Ozil found Ramsey who was drifting to the right for most of the half, Aaron played it on to Bellerin, and for me, he just seemed to have that "Screw this scrappiness, I'm taking the law into my own hands here" moment when he went past Moreno and curled in an absolute beaut with his weaker foot. As much as it is easy to notice Liverpool ineptitude in defence there, it is easier to, well, not give a shit.

With Liverpool rocking, Arsenal took full advantage and found a second. Mesut Ozil won a free kick barely two minutes later and launched a technically sound curler into the far post. Mignolet, who was having a great game until that point, really should have done better because the shot wasn't fiercely struck, but again, who really cares apart from Liverpool?

With Arsenal, 2-0 up is hardly game over but Liverpool didn't seem to think so, as they absolutely lost the plot and failed to keep any sort of structure. After Giroud headed over an Ozil corner, Bellerin (was it?) initiated some world-class football by playing it on to Ramsey. Aaron's turn was sublime, his pass was perfect, and Sanchez gave the perfect cream to ice the cake. Taking the ball on the bounce and getting away from an appalling Kolo Toure challenge, he rifled in one of the fastest and most Podolski-esque shots you would see this season. You can't really fault the goalkeeper for that. I'm surprised he even saw it.

Rodgers tried to save face in the second half by bringing on Daniel Sturridge and employing a 4-1-4-1 with Sterling on the left, but really, even by Arsenal standards this game was done and dusted. Whatever Liverpool were looking to throw at us was so easy to the defence it was almost enjoyable. Indeed, we could have got a fourth in the 54th minute when Mignolet tipped over a Giroud header, but aside from that it was strolling in the garden stuff, with the only minor cause of frustration being Alexis giving the ball away on the counterattack.

They did get a faint lifeline when Sterling was felled in the box and a penalty awarded, which Henderson barely converted. There's a fair case to say that Bellerin should have gotten a second yellow (and I'd agree), but well, he didn't, and today's not a day to focus on what could have been when what actually happened was a 4-1 thumping. Having said that, Bellerin's gamble which failed (but not punished enough) was another reminder that he's merely 20 and will make mistakes. We mustn't look to Harry Kane him for a fall from grace.

After Emre Can was shown the door and Santi hit the post, Giroud made sure Arsenal ended on a high by scoring a pearler from an Alexis pass, ending Liverpool's misery. A terrific performance against an in-form team and some star performers to thank for.

Mesut Ozil, after getting the second goal oozed class. He's a confidence player like Giroud, which is why it was great to see those little flicks and movements when Arsenal in general were cruising. Perhaps what was more heartening to see was Wenger subbing him around the 73rd minute for Danny Welbeck, when the game was over and Ozil needn't be overplayed.

I know it's far from the father of the thought, but Welbeck continues to worry me. I've never expressed on this blog enough my discontent at his sheer lack of end product. Yes, he's a good squad player who puts himself about, but that's about it. Goals are what we need from a forward, which is why I'd prefer Theo Walcott to him.

While Alexis Sanchez won the official MOTM award, I've got to hand it to Francis Coquelin. The man's playing like an absolute beast. He revels in the art of defending and being the lone sweeper, and is currently a prime reason why our 4-1-4-1 is ticking. He'll definitely do a job till the end of the season, but I still feel that we need one more specialist in that position to be absolutely secure. It's an unnecessary risk to be overly reliant on him, and competition on all fronts should be the bedrock of an elite team. Mikel Arteta may be a model professional and all that, but he hardly offers competition for Coquelin.

All in all a fantastic job done by the players and the fans. Many had expected Arsenal to win this game (I confess I wasn't one of them), but the manner in which we made it possible bodes well for what's left of this season. A title challenge is a crazy assumption, but looking to overhaul Manchester City is very much possible, and whichever way you look at it, that's progress.

The psychological impetus of beating a potential FA Cup finalist must also be noted. Liverpool are the only team left in the competition capable of ruining the party for us, but having that edge and relinquishing the 5-1 loss last season would go miles into calming nerves for the big day, should it arrives.

All that's left of this season is a potential second place fight and an FA Cup win, but make no mistake, that's more than most clubs in England. With players returning from injury and the squad looking to have some serious depth, if we keep this up, we could make 2014/15 a very memorable one indeed.

Go on Arsenal.

-Santi [Follow me on Twitter @ArsenalBlogz ]

Monaco 0-2 Arsenal: Lather, rinse, repeat

Match Report | Match highlights | Wenger's thoughts

It's hard to feel any regret today. Yeah, you read that right.

On earlier occasions I would have been downright furious at the referee for not awarding Alexis Sanchez a penalty. Or towards Giroud, for his intervention towards the end meant the Chilean could not head the ball in the net. Or, predictability, towards Arsene Wenger and his suicidal tactics which led to the 3-1 deficit in the first place.

Not today. Familiarity may breed contempt for some, but it tends to make me bored. I didn't feel enough anticipation or excitement last night because, well, we've already seen this before haven't we? At Munich, against Milan and against Barcelona. We know the spoilers. We know how it ends.

Last night was a commendable performance, but it still doesn't do anything for the progress of the team. It's not turning a corner and it's not a significant morale-booster. Much as we'd hate to admit it, this season was yet another wasted one.

Yes, we can win the FA Cup and we can finish higher than fourth and I'd love it if we do. But is that what we should come to expect of Arsenal FC? When last season ended I immediately expressed my expectation of wanting to see Arsenal challenge for major honours next season. I refuse to believe I was alone in that line of thinking.

Look at the fourth prediction (heh) I had given last season about this season.

"4. Arsenal will not win the EPL, nor will they come close to winning the Champions League. We might win the FA Cup or the Capital One, but we won't win trophies a club of Arsenal's stature should win."

It's about time we stop easily forgiving failure. It's about time we call a spade for a spade and realize that while Arsene Wenger has done excellently in building a base for the club, he is not the one to reap its rewards. We cannot afford to be mucking about when it comes to the success of Arsenal FC.

I trust that many would agree when I say that Arsene Wenger is not bigger than Arsenal, but I'm unsure they understand the significance of that statement. It means that we should keep sentiment to the side and look at options who offer progress. While Arsene has assembled a very good team, he looks incapable of making them realize their potency. And make no mistake, if we give Wenger yet another opportunity to make things right "the next time around" and he fails, the players won't be as forgiving.

Cesc Fabregas' transfer to Chelsea proved that footballers do not think about loyalty, gratitude or repayment anymore. All they want, understandably, is money and success. The brilliance of Ivan Gazidis has brought the big bucks to North London, but Arsenal are yet to witness any major trophies since 2004. Gems like Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez will not wait around for Wenger to resign to witness a rejuvenated Arsenal. They don't have the same levels of loyalty and patience towards the club as we do did.

The exodus in 2011 and 2012 wasn't entirely down to lack of funds. It was because players had lost faith in Wenger ambition and were hungry for footballistic success, not monetary ones. The warning signs were there back in the mid-2000s, when Thierry Henry and Patrick Vieira left because they felt the team was losing ambition.

We took a huge fall in 2011. We lost Cesc, Nasri, van Persie, Clichy and Alex Song because they no longer believed in Arsene Wenger. Upon reminiscing, you may be reminded that it was a long and painful journey back to restoring their enormous voids and having a relatively stable platform again. It took a lot of time, money and patience to get back to the threshold of the elite again. However, Arsenal may be setting ourselves up for failure once again if we aren't proactive enough.

And by we, I mean Ivan Gazidis. Blaming Arsene Wenger and trying to expose his flaws is almost becoming a moot point. I know he's incompetent, I know he's not the final key to Arsenal's success, and I trust that there are others who know the truth as well. I know that under Arsene Wenger, Champions League scraps and elite purgatory is something of a given.

However, the onus is on Gazidis to ensure that we don't fall into the same manhole twice. Yesterday was a reminder of how far Arsenal are away from Champions League and Premier League success, but it was also a reminder of how we can get there. In terms of players, we almost have the real deal. All Gazidis needs is a manager who can make them flourish, and he needs him fast.

I'd love to say that the reason I haven't been blogging for the past two months was because of work commitments, which is partly true. However, although I have had my pockets of opportunities to vent my thoughts on Arsenal, I've chosen not to take them. I love Arsenal and I love the supporters and the players, but seeing Wenger waste yet another season (and, crucially, not seeing the board do anything about it) has bored me. I haven't written because Arsenal, to an extent, have begun to bore me.

I want the CEO of one of the world's biggest organizations to grow a pair. I want a manger past his sell date to depart. I want unpredictability. I want competitiveness. Is that too much to ask from a football club as big as Arsenal? 

-Santi [Follow me on Twitter @ArsenalBlogz ]

West Ham 1-2 Arsenal: Signs of progress

Match Report | Match highlights | Wenger's thoughts

I'm not one for unnecessarily bringing hopes up by overrating the positives. I don't think, for instance, that defending that lead till the death is a huge step or a turning point. West Ham were impressive until we sucker-punched ourselves into the lead - that doesn't mean we were assured as such. The impressive defending that spanned across the calendar year of 2013 looks to me like a one-off, not something we've taken heart from and progressed.

Francis Coquelin was impressive. I for one always rated him whenever I saw him on the pitch, but I assumed he might have regressed since he barely got games in for Freiburg and Charlton. However, I don't really think this might be some sort of career landmark moment for him. He was an emergency player and performed admirably as one. I would like to give him a run of games, for he certainly seems calmer than Mathieu Flamini, but asking Wenger to give someone a chance has become foolish thought nowadays. The man hardly ever rotates.

However, the only positive that I found was about our attack starting to click. I know that many were fans of the Welbeck-Alexis-Giroud trio, but I personally prefer Oxlade-Chamberlain into the mix. The forward trio we had out there, sandwiched with Santi Cazorla in the middle produced one of the finest attacking displays this season.

West Ham at home, particularly this season, are not to be undermined. Manchester City faced them and couldn't find a goal because the likes of Cresswell and Song were so influential. For this jaded Arsenal side to find three valuable points and legitimately claim that we could have won by more is not to be scoffed at. With the defence yet to settle down, I have a feeling our attack may have to carry us for the games to follow.

On a final point to this alarmingly microscopic match report - don't for one second bear any illusions of Arsenal stumbling into the title race. From an Arsenal perspective Chelsea are impossible to overtake, while although Manchester City are not different class as such, we still have a lot to work to do and a lot of fine margins to reach before thinking about them. Imagining Arsene Wenger remedying the minutiae is laughed at for a reason.

Speaking of Arsene Wenger, here's a superb Arsenal Truth piece that goes miles into describing him.

Until then, Happy New Year!

-Santi [Follow me on Twitter @ArsenalBlogz ]

Arsenal 2-1 QPR: Super Sanchez seals nervy points

Match Report | Match highlights | Wenger's thoughts

We've had so many unconvincing wins this season that yesterday seemed almost routine. The pattern was almost familiar - a possession-dominated Arsenal side failed to impress in front of goal, only to be bailed out by the magnificent Sanchez, yet almost found a way to Arsenal it all up. I guess Jesus was on our side for this one, because despite not getting some of the decisions our way, we were fortunate to not concede a penalty which many referees would have given.

The lineup hit me as a bit of a surprise, but on second thoughts, I realized there didn't seem to be much choice for Wenger than to bring Tomas Rosicky for the injured Oxlade-Chamberlain. Apart from that the only other change was Nacho Monreal for Calum Chambers. While I appreciate the rotation, on a personal level I would have tried to being Podolski into the fold, for either Sanchez or Welbeck.

I know that Podolski isn't rated highly by the manager, but it's not exactly a monumental task to trust him to deliver the goods against one of the worst teams in the league at home. He does have his faults in terms of his defensive contribution and his workrate, but he also has utility to the team. He wasn't and isn't a German international by fluke.

Wenger spoke about rotation in the Christmas period, coming out against it with some pretty ludicrous quotes:

“The difficulty is finding the right balance between rotation and the balance of the team without destabilising it. Therefore you sometimes have to limit the numbers of rotation.”

To me it seems like a poorly thought out way to window dress his man management skills throughout the years and promote inaction. Anyone who plays football - it doesn't even have to be Premier League standard - knows that their body is a temple. Carefully managing the team throughout the season (which include the training sessions as much as the Matchday fixtures) is very important. The answer to winning all games isn't playing all the best players by default, especially when you take into consideration that most of the players Arsene has assembled are relatively brittle and are playing football week in, week out since a tender age.

It's amazing how readily people dismiss and downplay the consequences of overplaying a footballer to defend their manager. Any football authority worth their salt will tell you its of huge importance, none more so than Shad Forsythe. However, in the end, Shad doesn't pick our starting XI, Arsene Wenger does. And it is this overplaying that increases the casualty list after almost every match.

Ospina's injury was down to poor management (he's fit now though, bless him). Koscielny, Ozil, Arteta and Ramsey were definitely exerted. It isn't unfair to suggest that at this going rate, the likes of Mertesacker, Flamini, Cazorla, Alexis and Welbeck could pick up an injury pertaining to muscle strains. Even playing them too much too quickly increases the balance of probability in them picking up an impact injury.

Should Mertesacker, for instance, get injured, it will be hard to blame the medical staff. The reason for his injury will be down to him being physically and mentally strained, which goes back to the transfer market. However, Wenger still has control over the Cazorla, Alexis and Welbeck situation. He has players like Rosicky, Podolski and Campbell who can do a job for a few games. He needs to stop using the same group of players and trust other portions of his teams too.

On any manager's level, though, it's easy to understand the temptation to play Sanchez regularly. Even (or especially) when he makes an error in Arsenal proceedings, he hustles and harries to make amends.

After some steady pressure, Traore showed exactly why Wenger let him go when he foolishly felled Sanchez in the box. The Chilean's penalty was admittedly up to the standard of Traore's challenge. I don't know if he was overly confident or what, but he shanked that. Wenger hinted in the post-match presser that Cazorla was supposed to take the spot-kick. And while that speaks of Sanchez's selfishness, it also spoke of his determination.

At that point, I felt that we were going to give the game away. Never mind it was QPR and Harry Redknapp, Arsenal remain Arsenal. I couldn't trust this team to beat Arsenal Ladies anymore. It did seem for a while that things were starting to go haywire. Mertesacker was mispositioning himself into the final third. Around the 32nd minute Sanchez chose not to cross to Giroud, seemingly out of lack of concentration. Even a classy player like Rosicky was only starting to get into the game. A better team than QPR might have punished us.

Thankfully, we punished them for their lack of opportunism. Welbeck picked up the ball around the centre of the park and fed Santi on the edge of the box. Cazorla, with his back to goal, rolled in Gibbs, who crossed towards the far post. Armand Traore's positional sense was shot to pieces when he realized he left Sanchez in so much space I thought he was offside. Green didn't help by leaving his goal open either, and Sanchez took the gift with both hands. Or his head. You know what I mean.

Stephen Caulker almost negated the lead within a minute, but missed his header. No matter, as Arsenal took advantage of QPR's meh-ism and bossed the ball. Around half-time I remember possession stats reading 71% in Arsenal's favour. I always love that when we're winning.

Of course, all those feelings of "thank God we're finally getting it together" we're squished early into the second half when Giroud got himself needlessly sent off. And look, I know that I get some stick for being a Giroud supporter (people who support Giroud but not Arsene Wenger live in a lonely world, believe me!) and I'm not at all advocating his head-to-head stupidity. However, I really think had Onouha not done his bit of theatrics and instead rivaled with Giroud's head, the both of them would have been on yellows. It's happened a lot of times in the league where two players have had a coming together, gone on each other's faces but stayed on the field. Maybe it's just my opinion, but I feel that Onouha contributed decisively to Giroud's sending off as much as Olivier did.

Another point to consider - why wasn't Rio Ferdinand shown a second yellow when he physically manhandled Giroud? Needless to say it's another joke on the FA when they choose to ban him for three games for abusing an internet troller but won't lay a finger when he catches the back of someone's neck on the pitch. I know it's a bit off-topic, but something has to be done.

Leaving aside the mitigations of the situation, the red for Giroud was expected and once again invited a mentally frail Arsenal to make hot water of an easy task. Wenger went with a weird ten-men formation which had Welbeck on the left flank, Sanchez as striker, Rosicky as a right attacking midfielder, Cazorla in left central midfield and Flamini playing defensive midfield. Picture that in your mind if you can. Of course, employing such a "formation" left only Debuchy guarding the right side. Harry Redknapp tried to exploit that by taking off Traore for Hoilett.

It started to work, but not before Sanchez took the team on his stocky shoulders again. Picking the ball dead center, he went past two Rangers defenders before finding Rosicky in space. The Czech showed his rustiness with an uncertain strike, but a kind deflection and an even kinder goalkeeper helped the ball into the net. Regardless, you could see what that goal meant to him. He wasn't different class on the pitch, so to say, but he did make himself known when he was given the time. Hopefully (ha!) Wenger gives him an extended run.

QPR brought on Zamora for Jordan Mutch. It was supposed to seem that they had nothing to lose, but on the pitch it seemed like Arsenal were 2-0 down! What particularly struck me as baffling was when Mertesacker and Debuchy went ahead for a corner around the 76th minute. It's one thing to go 10 men down and leave only Debuchy to guard the right hand side, but it's very much another for even the Frenchman to abandon his much-needed post.

Of course the corner came to nothing and QPR broke. They waltzed forward into the final third - where Rosicky was playing left back - and Hoilett found himself with space on Arsenal's right side. A retreating Debuchy stuck out a nervous foot at Hoilett, he went to ground and the ref pointed to the spot. The decision was debatable, but was partly the consequence of our own actions. Leaving a 10 men side that exposed is criminal.

Charlie Austin converted the penalty and then it was back to the walls stuff for Arsenal. We aren't very good at it in all honesty, and legs were also starting to tire. Wenger made his first change at - I kid you not - 83 minutes when he took off Rosicky for Chambers and later Welbeck for Coquelin. If you don't count Bellerin as a first-team defender, we had all of our fit defenders on the pitch at that moment.

They had a late Zamora penalty shout, which I felt should have been given. Obviously I was chuffed that it wasn't, but it was just another example of how panicky we tend to get under pressure. It isn't a personal thing for Gibbs by any means - it happens to almost every Arsenal player during the crunch time. Last season we kept our heads very well, but we seem to have regressed massively on that front this time around. It's cost us a lot of points already, and almost did yesterday.

Arsene Wenger has his own opinion of why Kieran sort of lost it, saying:

"The last five minutes were a bit edgy because we conceded a late goal last week and you could feel that was a bit in our mind. But overall I think we were in control for big parts of the game and in the end we have shown resilience and fortunately got the three points."

I always love me some Boxing Day points, but today was another example of how at Arsenal mistakes aren't rectified and minds aren't set straight. Today we were bailed out by a quite remarkable Chilean and an unconvincing opposition, but West Ham tomorrow won't be as polite.

There's a reason why they are above us in the table. We have to start exhibiting some of those, too.

Extra reading | Arsenal 2-1 QPR : Rangers fail to take man advantage [Crazy About EPL]

-Santi [Follow me on Twitter @ArsenalBlogz ]

Liverpool 2-2 Arsenal: Getting difficult to rephrase the same old

Match Report | Match highlights | Wenger's thoughts

Familiarity breeds contempt. It also breeds difficulty in blogging.

Let's be honest - much of what happened yesterday weren't anomalies. We knew that we are injury ravaged, yet we don't do the minimum rotation we can. I know it's an increasingly redundant debate and definitely not the father of the thought, but why isn't Lukas Podolski getting a game in? Danny Welbeck and Alexis Sanchez have to be in crimson zones, forget red. Such overplaying and elementary errors seek to compound already complex injury situations.

Arsene was forced into playing half-fit Oxlade-Chamberlain in a relatively unknown position. On second thoughts, "forced" may not suffice appropriate terminology. It's more of driving into a ditch he can see. Mikel Arteta, on his last legs, isn't physically capable of holding it together on one of the most physical positions in the park. Aaron Ramsey played a pointless game against Galatasaray. Mesut Ozil played in every game since he returned from international break, and was instructed to complete 90 minutes against Chelsea despite picking up a serious knee injury. Jack Wilshere is the exception to this norm.

Laurent Koscielny was overplayed. So was Monreal. So are Chambers, Mertesacker, Gibbs, Flamini, the aforementioned Ox, Cazorla, and the front trio. The Theo Walcott and David Ospina situations weren't well-handled. And we wonder why Arsenal pick up injuries?

It's not sheer misfortune, it's appalling man management from the manager. And, for obvious reasons, it's costing us.

I wish I could use the "less said about the game the better" phrase and try to run away from getting into the excruciates, but I don't see the point in keeping this blog, then. Which is why, for the zillionth time, I will trudge on.

To an extent I rate Brendan Rodgers tactical nous (especially in the attacking sense), but to me, it seems like Wenger made him look good. His 3-4-3 was meant to pack the midfield, and clearly it worked. Arsenal couldn't play the way they wanted to, which stung confidence and momentum. What does Wenger do?

Rodgers played Sterling as a false nine striker, but later switched him to the left flank in an attempt to discomfort Chambers. Clearly it worked. On more than one occasion Arsenal were exposed on their right flank. What does Wenger do?

Okay, despite playing abjectly (to say the least), the team managed to take the lead through the only discernible attack I can remember. Okay, there are lack of options on the bench owing to the injury crisis. I still don't see how that justifies removing Giroud for Coquelin. We needed Olivier's hold-up play, set-piece defending and ability to keep ball. Chances were we'd be lumping a lot of balls clear which meant he could have harried those clearances and made a nuisance of himself. Instead, we put a tiring, wishy-washy Welbeck as striker.

I can begin to understand the logic of Coquelin coming on. I like him, unlike others who have formed opinions on him solely on Arsene Wenger's say-so. But by looking at this objectively, won't hooking Flamini (treading lightly on a yellow) or Oxlade-Chamberlain (half-fit, lest we forget) be a better call? Not for Wenger.

Despite Arsenal's phenomenal attempts to throw the game away, Liverpool go a step further. Fabio Borini came on for Kolo Toure and promptly got sent off. At this point, Liverpool were 10 men with no strikers and Sakho and a bandaged Skrtel manning their defence. How could Arsenal possibly screw this one over?

By giving Skrtel a free header, of course. Arsenal probably decided to keep all men in their box to add to the banter than to genuinely try to defend it.

And so ended another innovative Arsenal methodology of Arsenal-ing a game up. As I had said weeks before - Wenger disappointing fans has become routine. The only question is how he does it. Against Stoke it was a fluke-ish half-comeback, which fed hope to Arsenal fans and poisoned their souls. Against United it was dominance followed by sucker-punching. Swansea was just hopeless. Today was more of well we played turd but by some happy accident we're in the lead but it doesn't look like we can keep it at all and oh shit we just gave away a free header and what the fuck and why bother pretending to be pissed when honestly it was pretty much expected and deserved.

I could go on about the management, the injuries, the fourth agenda, the Wenger Out propaganda, the Joel Campbell situation, the transfer window, but instead, I'm just bringing this post to an abrupt end. Because, while I was writing this piece, I just realized that I've ran out of different ways of saying it.

Besides, Wenger will give me plenty of opportunities to look out for them.

-Santi [Follow me on Twitter @ArsenalBlogz ]

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 ]

Arsenal 1-0 Southampton: Giroud sums up Wenger's man managing flaws

Match Report | Match highlights | Wenger's thoughts

I don't know about you, but I enjoyed that. I never really fancied us to win the game in the first place, but the fact that we did despite the circumstances is heartwarming. Obviously it does not lead me into any delusions about my perception of the team and the person managing it, but was nevertheless an important step towards rebuilding some morale.

Make no mistake, despite having an easy start to the season, Southampton are a very, very good side. They're a team in the true essence. Perhaps the fact that they're perched high up at third speaks more of the quality of the league than of themselves, but let's not forget they've given almost every team a hard time.

Of course, we were helped. A lot. Morgan Schneiderlin never made the game on account of one booking too many, and Toby Alderweireld was forced off with around 10 minutes at hand. And while I'm by no means suggesting that I advocate the obvious papering over the cracks, but despite our flush hand it seemed we might fold the hand. The immensely relieving fact that we didn't was a tad unpredictable, but for once on the positive side.

This game highlighted a lot of long-stated facts. Welbeck and Alexis are too jaded to be thrown into the deep end continuously. A Ramsey and Arteta baseline helped the team look secure at the back. Oxlade-Chamberlain will have his off days, which is why there is something called depth in the shape of a German smiley.

I don't get why Arsene Wenger is so averse to rotation. Okay, maybe against a team like Southampton it's preferable to play your best players, but why not ensure they're mentally and physically fit enough to perform? Why play a clearly jaded Alexis, Welbeck and Santi Cazorla for West Brom? There were plenty of occasions earlier this season when a Rosicky or a Podolski could carry the cargo and hand our key men a rest. It serves two things - ensures that the team's vital cogs are well-oiled, and that the fringe options aren't too rusty. Treating Podolski, Rosicky and Campbell the way Wenger is makes them feel undervalued. They feel they're not at the cool party anymore. And unless there's an injury-cum-suspension frenzy, they leave due to lack of game time.

Olivier Giroud faded dramatically in the second half of last season because, surprise, he was run into the ground. Fortunately he's a muscular lad who did well to stay away from injury (until a freak one hit him), but it still had a notable impact on his output. On Wednesday, a fully-fit, rested Giroud came off the bench and created three chances. He held the ball up well and added much-needed potency in the final third. It's not rocket science.

Have an honest mind and think about where Alexis is going. While his goals-assists ratio has remained phenomenally consistent, his workrate and focus is dwindling. You can't blame him, in fairness. His form of late may have led some to forget that he is only human. It'll take superhuman strength, stamina and craving for him to run like a motorbike till the end of the season. The fact that we seem to be asking that of him speaks volumes of Wenger's motivational and man management acumen.

The Christmas schedule doesn't make for pretty reading. It's not the quality of the opposition, but the games-per-days ratio that bothers me. We play around eight games in less than a month, which include Stoke City, West Ham and a trip to Turkey. Based on recent evidence, is it fair to expect Wenger to plan well in the medium-term and increase the frequency of his rotations? I suspect not.

True, we don't have much wiggle room in defence, but despite having our options, it's very hard to see Wenger freshening up the final third. There's a good chance the likes of Sanchez, Cazorla and Oxlade-Chamberlain will start at least seven of the next eight games. And when, not if, their form and energy levels take a turn for the worse, I hope we're too wise to scapegoat them and repeat the Giroud scenario.

In all honesty, I'm too resigned to hope the fans and the manager will see the light.

-Santi [Follow me on Twitter @ArsenalBlogz ]