Thomas Vermaelen... the Belgian's late header kept the unbeaten streak alive
The week that was - November 2011
November 30, 2011
Arsenal's unbeaten run in the Premier League continued this week albeit not exactly in the way we would have hoped - a draw against Fulham. Still, securing a late draw always feels better than conceding a late equalizer and 10 matches without defeat is never anything to gloss over.
Thomas Vermaelen was the hero. His 82nd minute header saved the point and made up for his own goal earlier in the half. At the end of the game, Robin van Persie came close to nabbing the go-ahead goal, but instead finished goalless for just the second time in seven games.
Despite Arsenal's record over those seven games, Wojciech Szczesny insists we are not a one-man team. "The whole team stuck together when we went 1-0 down against Fulham, we stuck together well," he said. "I don't think we are a one-man team - we are a great all-round team."
Even though we haven't even reached the mid-way point of the season, Arsène Wenger pointed out that each and every available point has become a very valuable currency. "I believe we have recovered but we have come from a position where we cannot afford to drop points," he said. "We came from so deep that every two points becomes not very mathematically good for us."
That being said, Szczesny made a very good point after the draw: The fact that we did retrieve that point late in the game is a huge improvement over last year. "We were frustrated in the dressing room because we want to win every game," the goalkeeper noted. "But when we calm down a bit we will realise we played really well and looked like the only team that would win."
Coming from behind has been a recurring theme this season and really shows a big difference from last year. In 2010/11 we dropped 10 points from goals conceded in the final ten minutes of a game. This season? Not a one.
All due respect to the Cottagers, but fatigue was clearly a major factor in the game. Kick-off against Fulham was less than 72 hours after the final whistle blew against Dortmund on Wednesday and the Boss mentioned as much in his post-match press conference. "It is not an excuse. It is an explanation," he said. "We want to be in the Champions League so we cannot cry when we are tired. Our challenge is to win these kinds of games even when we are tired."
And the fixture congestion wouldn't get much better. Almost exactly 72 hours after the Fulham game we kicked off against Manchester City in the Carling Cup. But this being Arsenal and the Carling Cup, the squad on Tuesday night was extremely different from the weekend. The youngsters -- including five under the age of 21 -- and some of the lesser used players got their opportunity against the league leaders, who lined up with many of their regulars - including Samir Nasri.
We finished the game on the wrong end of a 1-0 scoreline, which left Wenger disappointed. "What is frustrating that we lost a game at the moment that we looked the winner," he said. "It is frustrating because we put a lot of effort in and we were not rewarded."
But he then added, "On the other hand I feel that considering the youth of our midfield we have battled really well and have shown some fantastic quality."
Maybe that's why it's surprisingly easy to not be despondent about the loss. We played more than admirably. The young midfield duo of Emmanuel Frimpong and Francis Coquelin played with great confidence and control. And Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain had a remarkable game. His man-of-the-match performance showed how much he has learned in his short time at the Club and seemed to indicate that he could be ready to take on a larger role.
Looking ahead, Arsenal will try to start another unbeaten run at Wigan on Saturday. The Latics are languishing near the bottom of the table having only won twice in the league all season. However, their most recent win came in their most recent game, so they will be looking to build some momentum at the DW Stadium where we have had a rather tough time in recent years. A glance at the weekend's other fixtures would suggest that a win will be key to keeping pace with the other teams in the top six. So three points would do nicely, thank you.
Come on you Gunners!
- Kevin Mooney
November 24, 2011
What do we have to be thankful for? After yesterday, quite a bit. First and foremost, the win against Borussia Dortmund combined with Olympiacos' win over Marseille means that Arsenal not only sealed a trip to the Champions League knockout stage for the 12th consecutive season, but also clinched the top spot in the group with one game to go. It also continued an impressive streak: Arsenal have not lost at home in the Group Stage since 2003.
How important is that? It means we don't need a win when we go to Athens on December 6th. As Mikel Arteta said after the win, "There's no such thing as an easy game in the Champions League. We know that, we haven't beaten any team 3-0 or 4-0." So now, we can rest our key players, give some youngsters some European experience and then wait and see who we get in the next round.
The only minor annoyance was that Dortmund scored a last second consolation goal to wipe out Wojciech Szczesny's clean sheet. The Polish keeper said as much, but didn't dwell on it. Instead he spoke of the confidence boost to the team. "It gives us a lot of confidence to win the group," he said. "We were always confident we could get out of the group but to have actually qualified with one game to go gives us even more confidence."
Once again, the goals came from Robin van Persie, but arguably, the star of the show was Alex Song. He set up Van Persie's first goal and played fantastic defense throughout the game. Arsène Wenger described Song's play as "exceptional" and said of Van Persie, "He is in a period where he doesn't have to look for goals - they just come naturally for him."
Really naturally. It was the second straight game Van Persie scored a brace and he has now scored 39 goals in 2011. Against Norwich on Saturday, the Dutchman's second capped a comeback win that marked Arsenal's fifth straight Premier League win.
But Van Persie was quick to praise his main set-up man this season Theo Walcott. "My first goal against Norwich was 90 per cent Theo's - a fantastic first touch, great pace, good cross and bang, I tap it in," he said. "OK, it goes in my name, but that's a tiny part of the story."
Walcott pointed out that the on-field chemistry the two have shown this season was long overdue. "Over the past few years I have had my injuries and he has had his so we have not been able to sustain a run of games together. But this year you can see signs that we just know where each other is going to be on the pitch."
This win was another example of how this Arsenal squad has the never-say-die kind of attitude that many pundits suggested we lacked over the past few season. As Wenger said after the game, "The team is growing from game to game, getting stronger and you feel there is some mental strength inside there."
Two big reasons for that? The defense has conceded just eight goals in the last nine matches in all competitions. And the backline has the kind of height advantage we really haven't seen since the ‘famous four' days.
Speaking of big former players, the biggest of them all is back in London. Thierry Henry is linking up with Arsenal again for some off-season training. As with every other time Titi has been back in London, the question that arises is, will he PLAY for Arsenal again. According to the Boss, that's a big no. But Wenger did say that Henry can add something to Arsenal even if he isn't playing. "He brings confidence, experience and advice," he said. "He's a very intelligent man and that's always good to have in a dressing room."
Looking ahead, Fulham make the cross town trek to Emirates Stadium on Saturday. The Cottagers have had a very mixed season thus far. The sit 16th in the league, but with dangerous players like Clint Demspey, Bobby Zamora and a revitalized Andrew Johnson, that position in the table is deceptive. Midweek is a biggie: Man City comes to town for the Carling Cup. As their European ambitions require a win the following week against Bayern Munich, you could understand if they and their fans are looking beyond this match.
But something tells me we won't be.
Come on you Gunners!
- Kevin Mooney
November 16, 2011
The latest international break has come to an end and unlike many previous incarnations, it's a case of so far, so good. As of now it looks like all the Arsenal players on duty with their national teams will return to the Club unscathed. A few of them even managed to get a few extra days off.
Key examples: All of our central defenders - Thomas Vermaelen, Per Mertesacker, Laurent Koscielny and Johan Djourou - played only one of two possible games for their countries. Theo Walcott was not required to sprint for a full 90 minutes in both of England's matches. And most importantly, Robin van Persie returned to London for some well-deserved rest after just one game with the Netherlands.
Some of the standout performances from the break: Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain picked up man-of-the-match honors for the England U-21s against Iceland, Ju-Young Park scored yet again for South Korea in their win over UAE and Aaron Ramsey put in a great shift as captain as Wales recorded an impressive win over Norway.
One Gunner who did not go out on international duty - but probably will before too long - is Carl Jenkinson. He sat down with Chris Harris last week and discussed his jump from League One to the Premiership, his Finland versus England dilemma and the team's improvement since the start of the season.
That improvement looks to have come hand-in-hand with the behind-the-scenes dynamic brought by the five deadline-day signees. Arsène Wenger praised the quality of Mikel Arteta, Per Mertesacker, Yossi Benayoun, Ju-Young Park and Andre Santos as players as well as their quality as people. "They all have ambition and you could see that straight away after two or three days when the whole dynamic changed."
Meanwhile, another summer signing - the aforementioned Chamberlain - has also been making waves and plenty took notice of his eye catching performances for the England U-21s. So the inevitable question arises: will Chamberlain be in the senior England squad for Euro 2012? A sensitive one for Arsenal considering the tug-of-war and back and forth we've witnessed with Theo and Jack Wilshere regarding which national team they line up for. For his part, Theo thinks Alex can make the step up to the senior squad and maybe even deserves the call-up more than he did in 2006.
If he does get the call, it would mean 14 Arsenal players could compete in next summer's tournament. And who knows, maybe even more. To Wenger, that is both good and bad. "Good because it shows we have many quality players who are present at the big international games," he said. "But at the same time it's bad because the next season they suffer as they can never get enough rest during the summer."
And with the Olympics are also on tap for next summer even more Arsenal players could be in for a rather short off season. But that's something to worry about later.
From an American perspective, one of the most interesting bits of information to come out during the break is that Brek Shea, a 21-year-old midfielder for Dallas FC and a finalist for MLS Most Valuable Player, will link up with Arsenal for a month for a training period. Shea may even get a run out with the Reserves if the rules allow it. The 21-year-old midfielder is a product of what Wenger calls one of the emerging talent pools of football. The manager believes that the US and several Asian countries will start producing more and more top players in the very near future. And with recent signings like Park and Ryo Miyaichi, Wenger is already ahead of the game.
Looking forward, the Premier League gets back underway on Saturday as Arsenal travel to Norwich. It will be out first look at the newly-promoted side, but just a quick glance at the table shows right away they are no pushovers. And a quick look at this weekend's fixture list shows that it is going to be very interesting weekend indeed. There are a number of top-of-the-table matchups and if the results go our way we could find ourselves tied on points for fourth in the league. And I would happily take that.
Three points please.
Come on you Gunners!
- Kevin Mooney
November 9, 2011
The last time Arsenal entered an international break it was on the heels of a hugely disappointing loss to Spurs away. Despite the fact that we had a decent run of form in the few games ahead of that match, the extremely bitter taste of that loss lingered for the full two weeks.
This time, it's quite different. The Gunners are unbeaten since the North London derby and have won six of seven, including five straight in the Premier League. The recent run was capped with a dominating 3-0 win over West Brom on Saturday.
Robin van Persie was once again in incredible form - scoring the opener and setting up strikes by Thomas Vermaelen and Mikel Arteta. It was the Dutchman's 13th goal of the season and his eighth in the last seven games. For Vermaelen, it was his first goal for the Club since February 2010 and for Arteta, his first at Emirates Stadium.
Arsène Wenger was very pleased with the result - and his team's attitude. "The team wants to improve, to work hard and get better and better. That is the most satisfying thing today, he said in the post-match press conference. "In the dressing room at half time you feel that they don't switch off at 2-0. That was not always the case."
Also worth noting is that prior to the game, Wenger said his side still needed to improve their defensive record. The fact that the game also was Arsenal's second straight clean sheet and there is more reason to be positive.
A big reason for that is the Vermaelen's return to fitness gave Wenger a bit of a selection headache. Although based on Arsenal's injury record at that position over the last several years, it is surely a headache the Boss won't mind.
He said as much earlier in the week when commenting on "the balance" of his center back pairings. "All three can play with each other. Koscielny and Vermaelen can play together and Mertesacker can play with Vermaelen and Koscielny. It gives us a bit of an opportunity to rotate a bit when needed and people are tired." He added that with Johan Djourou and Sebastien Squillaci available as well, he has more cover in that position than he's had in years. And Vermaelen feels that it doesn't matter who is playing, just as long as they can perform well together.
Also key to the team's performance has been the play of Mikel Arteta. The Spaniard has started every Premier League game since his move from Everton, and boss raved about his quality. "He is an important player for our team," he said. "He is really a player between Song and Ramsey or Rosicky and that gives us continuity."
Wenger also discussed the topic of striker. Van Persie has been getting virtually all of the work this season, but Ju Young Park showed what he could do against Bolton in the Carling Cup. Park says he is adjusting to the English game and Wenger said the player will prove himself soon. With the additional options of Marouane Chamakh and Theo Walcott and Gervinho, and Wenger said he is perfectly happy with his options up front. It is important to remember, however, that both Chamakh and Gervinho will likely head out in January for the Africa Cup of Nations.
Looking ahead, Arsenal won't play until November 19th at Norwich, so the focus shifts to international. Sixteen Gunners will be out with their national teams so there will be plenty to pay attention to. Fingers crossed that everyone comes back healthy and hungry.
- Kevin Mooney
November 2, 2011
The scariest day of the year arrived at Arsenal this week. And I'm not referring to Halloween, the arrival of Christmas ads on TV or even the week where we get messed up because England sets its clocks back a week before we do.
No, I am referring to the arrival of... November. (Insert the sound of witch cackles and a wolf howling off in the distance.)
For several seasons, November has been the month where the wheels seem to come off. Or more specifically, the tendons, bones and joints of multiple players get displaced. Arsène Wenger has spoken about his distaste of the month before, and it's hard to dispute the history.
The first sign of a troubling month came with the news that Abou Diaby suffered yet another injury setback. Wenger said he was worried about the setback, but also said that he was more concerned three months ago before successful surgery. Hopefully this just means a few more weeks at the Club's new medical facility at the training ground.
But before the start of November, October gave us one more wonderful day... and we beat Chelsea at Stamford Bridge! And we did it by coming from behind and - aside from one wobbly point where Juan Mata equalized for Chelsea in the 80th minute - completely dominating the second half. Robin van Persie again put on a show, netting a hatrick and pushing himself to the top of the Premier League goalscoring list. The game also featured outstanding performances from Laurent Koscielny and Aaron Ramsey and showed that this is a team that is finally finding their feet after a rough start to the season.
Explaining the turn in fortunes, the manager said, "We had to rebuild a complete unity in the way we want to play football. Every win makes you stronger as well." Along with that, the team is playing much better defensively. The aforementioned Koscielny earned plaudits from Wenger as did Theo Walcott, who the Boss described as a more complete player now.
Still, the manager's praise came with a warning. "We must remember that we have won nothing," he said. "So we must use Saturday's win as a springboard to go further towards our target." He also added that there is "still some room for improvement defensively" citing that "we gave them too much room, too much in midfield, we were exposed on long balls over the top."
But that said, it was our fifth straight win and seventh out of the last eight. Since the loss to Blackburn in mid-September we have climbed from fourth from bottom to seventh - and just three points out of fourth.
As exciting as the win was however, we once again faced a quick turnaround before our next match. Marseille traveled to North London on Tuesday looking for revenge from their last-second loss to us in the Champions League on October 19th. Wenger was quick to warn his players against being complacent. A win would guarantee Arsenal a place in the knockout stages, but a loss would scare up memories of last season.
Neither happened. A 0-0 draw that featured attacking football and a number of decent scoring chances for both teams did put Arsenal a step closer to advancing, but also the door open for disappointment. After the final whistle, Wenger said he had hoped to secure qualification, but "to be fair that we have taken four points against Marseille in our two games. Four points overall is not too bad." A very fair point.
The good news was that Thomas Vermaelen and Carl Jenkinson returned the starting line-up. What that means is a selection headache for the manager with three center backs playing very good football. Mertesacker has started almost every game since joining the Club, and Koscielny is in "the best form of his life." With some actual depth and time to gel, this defense can only improve.
Off the field, the Club held its Annual General Meeting this week. The highlights included long-awaited words from majority owner Stan Kroenke and a stirring speech by Wenger. All the speeches are available on Arsenal player, but to sum up: Chairman Peter Hill-Wood said the Club will continue to invest funds in the squad for in upcoming transfer windows. Kroenke reiterated his long-term commitment to Arsenal and described the Club as having "all the elements you need to have success." CEO Ivan Gazidis said that success on the field is the main objective but the "sound financial platform" the Club has built is key to achieving that success. And lastly, Wenger urged the fans to keep the faith.
We also found out our next opponent in the Carling Cup. The draw on Saturday handed us a home tie against Man City in one of two quarter-final glamour matches, Chelsea v Liverpool being the other.
Looking ahead, West Brom visits the Emirates on Saturday. The Baggies are 13th in the table but have shown a lot of fight this season. A couple of 2-1 losses to both Man United and Chelsea demonstrate that Roy Hodgson's side are no pushovers. But three points could conceivably push us into the top four for the first time this season. Sounds like a plan.
Come on you Gunners!
- Kevin Mooney
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