Nine Jimmy Rimmers – Arsenal and Football

So off we go to Milan in search of an away goal.  Arsene Wenger says we will be positive and go for that advantage.  Quite right, an away goal puts you in charge and stretches your opponents more – which plays into hands of a pacey team that can pass the ball.  But first we need to get that goal.

We are travelling in slightly better shape than we were in a month ago thanks to our last two wins, but we had to dig deep for the last one and we’ve picked up another defensive injury.  It’s not exactly clear yet how long Per Mertesacker will be out, but it’s not looking good at the moment.

What does this mean for the Arsenal back four tomorrow night?  It all depends on how match fit Kieran Gibbs is now really.  In Sunderland on Saturday he made the bench but not the pitch.  Is he ready for a start now?  If he is, then Vermaelen goes back to the day job partnering Koscielny.  If not I guess we will see the Belgium stay put at left back and Djourou in the middle.

In midfield Song and Arteta will be dead certs, with the choice being over Ramsey or Rosicky.  Tomas Rosicky had started the last two and done really well.  He won our man of the match poll. But will he start three in a row?  My hunch is that we will see Ramsey this time.  He’s had some critics recently but I’m not one of them other than to say he looked knackered before he was given a break.  I think the stats show that he makes a positive contribution.

Up front I don’t see any question over Walcott and Van Persie.  Walcott has his critics too, but his record bears scrutiny as well.  By next Saturday, Gervinho will be back in the equation and then it might get more testing for Theo.  Two from Walcott, AOC and Arshavin isn’t as challenging to Walcott as two from Walcott, Gervinho, AOC and Arshavin.  This is a good problem to have.

But who will start on the left?  Chamberlain had started the last two.  Is he there until he falters, or will he be rationed out a bit?  He will no doubt say he has no nerves about playing at the San Siro and his fearless displays to date support that view.

But this might be an occasion where Arsene Wenger opts for experience, despite his talk of being audacious in the away leg.  On the other hand, I think pace can the key to unsettling Italian sides.  Tricky decision.  I hope for a gamble on AOC, but suspect a start for Arshavin.

If that is the decision them I hope we’ll see the level of industry he’s shown more recently combined with the skill that saw him set up Thierry Henry’s winner through beating two defenders to make an inch-perfect cross.

Whichever one starts I expect we will see Thierry Henry one last time at some stage in the game.

There will be an update from Arsene Wenger later today I guess, but at the moment it’s looking like:
_______ Szczesny ______
Sagna _ Kos _ Verm _ Gibbs
________ Song ________
____ Arteta _ Ramsey ___
Walcott __ RVP _ Arshavin

Apart from Thierry’s winner against Leeds United, January has been a thoroughly crap month. Let’s hope we can end it with a win against Villa tomorrow. I know the league is our main focus nut when you’re in a losing rut you just need any kind of win.

A big part of our problem has been injuries of course and the news there is good and bad. Arteta, Henry and Coquelin are likely to be available and Sagna could make the bench.

The news that Jack Wilshere has suffered a set-back this week is depressing. He’s said to be gifted and I’m sure he is. It’s frustrating for us as fans, must be so much worse for him.

Of the potential returnees, I think it’s Arteta we’ve missed the most. We’ve definitely lacked composure and possession whilst he’s been out so if just one of them is ready I hope it’s him. If there’s any doubt about Coquelin, I wouldn’t be disappointed to see Yennaris at fullback. He’s looked alright and it’s his position.

Last time we played Villa we won with a late Benayoun header. Since then they’ve added Keane on loan. He may not be quite the player he was, but he’s still a big threat. I think it could be a tough game.

Will Oxlade-Chamberlain get a start? I think he might just, although Arsene Wenger was on bit of a mission to fix Arshavin’s confidence yesterday. But form is the thing and managers earn their corn by being ruthless when required. So it would be good to see AOC, even if he doesn’t have the stamina for ninety minutes yet.

Course, if he can’t do ninety minutes, Arsene Wenger won’t relish repeating THAT substitution! But if Henry is fit he can be spared that option.

Maybe he’ll start them both and leave Theo sitting on the bench pondering where to pitch his contract bid.

Predicting a team line-up is difficult when so many players are on the cusp of match fitness, but how about something like this -

______ Szczesny ______
Yen _ Merte _ Kos _ Verm
_______ Song ________
__ Arteta ___ Ramsey __
Walcott __ RVP ___ AOC

Well that was depressing.  Some Arsenal fans have gone quite ballistic on blogs and twitter.  Understandable although surely losing to Fulham and Swansea were worse?

That substitution!
Anyway, let’s start with what everyone’s talking about – the substitution of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain with Andrey Arshavin.  Arsene Wenger says he had to come off as he was beginning to fatigue and suffer cramp.  Well this was his first Premier League start and he hasn’t played a whole lot of competitive football so maybe that’s right.  Plausible enough.  What I don’t get, and neither does anyone else, is why he was replaced with Andrey Arshavin.

OK so he didn’t have a lot of options on the bench, it was a choice between Arshavin, Benayoun or Park.  We’d just got a goal back, but we were still under pressure from a team that never gives up or they wouldn’t dare go back into the dressing room.  Neither Arshavin nor Benayoun are great defenders, they are both attacking midfielders, but the key difference is that Benayoun makes the effort.  He really looks like he cares what happens.  Admittedly Arshavin has upped his work rate over the last couple of games, but he’s never really put much in defensively and his form this season has been poor.

It was also very poor for a player to come on to booing by his club’s own supporters.  I’ve blogged elsewhere about it and those who’ve commented don’t agree, but I still think it was a crap thing to do.

So was the defeat all Arshavin’s fault?  No it wasn’t.  But he was hopeless in the lead up to Man United’s second goal and we definitely lost momentum.

The Ox has arrived
But in picking apart the decision to substitute him, let’s not lose sight of Chamberlain’s performance.  The guy was an absolute star.  OK so he may get caught out of position a bit, but this was his his first league start and he’s only eighteen.  And he was playing Manchester United.  He’s got pace and strength.  He is determined not to get muscled off the ball and he has a clear idea of what he’s going to do with it.  There’s plenty of end product along with all the effort.

It’s natural to compare him with Walcott, so everyone doing that today.  Pity for Theo that he had such an ineffectual time yesterday.  They are not identical.  AOC doesn’t have the same pace that Walcott has, but he is plenty fast enough and accelerates well.  He has more muscle and bulk than Walcott.  It took a couple of seasons for Theo to stop getting bounced off the ball by featherlite challenges.  AOC already has that resilience now and more.  If Theo wasn’t already looking over his shoulder, he should be now.  The Ox has arrived and yesterday made a convincing case for starting more often.

Three typical goals
The three goals could all be described as typical.  United’s first came with us being beaten out in the right fullback position.  It went on for most of the game, mainly with Nani beating Djourou, but this time it was Giggs eluding the covering Walcott.  In went the cross and on the far side Valencia beat Vermaelen to the ball and headed in from close range.

Our goal was a typical classy counterattack.  Koscielny calmly played the ball out of defence, Rosicky combined with AOC, who slipped the ball to Van Persie.  You didn’t fancy RVP’s chances where he was and the players in the way, but he scored, reversing the ball through a defender’s legs and across the the keeper.  It crept into the corner and Arsenal had crept back into the game.  Van Persie didn’t actually have the best of games, missing a bit of a sitter earlier.  But the goal showed why he is such an asset.  You couldn’t imagine anyone else in the squad, apart from Henry resting in the stand, who would have scored from there.

Man Utd’s winner was also sadly typical with Arshavin first tentative, then typically casual and then finally off the pace when Valencia made his run into the box to create the opportunity for Welbeck.

Temporary fullbacks and Nico Yennaris
The lack of proper fullbacks is hurting us.  Not every game, but in every game where we come up against pace.  Central defenders are not built for speed and you have to do a lot of running out wide.  Against Swansea’s Sinclair and Dyer, United’s Nani and Valencia, Djourou, Vermaelen and Miquel are struggling.  By halftime yesterday, Djourou was knackered and getting beaten time and again.  He isn’t a bad player, worth his place in the squad, but he isn’t a genuine fullback and Nani is a genuine winger.  At halftime, Arsene Wenger ended his pain by bring on Nico Yennaris.  A longstanding debate. Which is the better option, experience out of position vs youth?  Last night the answer was clear.  Yennaris didn’t shut out United completely but he was clearly the better option.  He isn’t Bacary Sagna yet, but he looks a very decent player.

Rosicky and Koscielny
This isn’t meant to be a blow by blow account, but these two have to have mention.  Tomas Rosicky had a great game.  You wouldn’t start him ahead of a fit Arteta, but he is clever, passes well, holds the ball and he cares about the result.  Koscielny also played a blinder.  To think how we scorned him in his first season!  He has great skill, reads the game well and supplies a great deal of the team’s backbone now.

Fifth
So there we are, emotionally drained, still fifth, but slightly further off the golden top four slots.  The only glimmers of the weekend were Spurs and the two rivals immediately behind losing.  We’re still in the hunt and we have players to come back.  But it got harder again this weekend.  Last night wasn’t our worst performance in January, not even our second worst.  But it still hurts in the morning.

Let’s be clear before any muppet dives straight in, I am not in any way happy about the result this evening.
1) A five point gap to fourth place is going to make life very difficult (but losing to Swansea & Fulham were the real slip-ups)
2) If Chamberlain had to come off, I just don’t get replacing him with Arshavin.

BUT, booing a player on to the pitch as Arsenal fans people in the stadium did this evening is just crap, crap, crap.

Why are we such a magnificant crowd away and so pathetic at home?

More on the game itself later.  Meanwhile, AOC and Kos lead our match poll.

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Nervous? Yeah well, maybe a bit. But hopefully the team will go into tomorrow’s game with a positive attitude. Yes, Manchester United are well ahead of us, but they have shown a vulnerable side too this season so there is everything to play for.

And we do have to go for it. We’re four points behind Chelsea now and share the same points total as Newcastle. Lose further momentum now and we risk getting cut off from the top four.

Squad news is not encouraging. We are still without any proper fullbacks and Arteta. Henry and Vermaelen are both doubtful, but may have fitness tests today.

So I guess were looking at a similar line up to the Swansea game only with Rosicky starting instead of Benayoun. I’m guessing that Rosicky didn’t start the Swansea game because he was still recovering from illness. Once he did come on we recovered a bit of midfield composure as hum can hold the ball better than Benayoun and passes well. Benayoun isn’t a bad player but he isn’t as versatile across the while midfield role.

My guess is that we will line up like this:
_____ Szczesny _____
DJ _ Merte _ Kos _ Miq
_______ Song _______
__ Rosicky _ Ramsey __
Walcott _ RVP _ Arshavin

Hopefully the improved work rate that Arshavin has shown in the last two games will lead to some better form.

Meanwhile we have a passing interest in some of today’s games. All our immediate rivals are away today. Chelsea go to Norwich at lunchtime, Newcastle to Fulham at 3pm and Liverpool go to Bolton this evening. All of these have potential for upset so let’s hope we can have a lucky Saturday to buoy everyone up for tomorrow.

A lot of talk this week about what it would mean for Arsenal to finish outside the top four with an apparent rift between Manager and Chairman. Peter Hill-Wood is a long way from understanding public relations and how to avoid creating the wrong media story, but I think that he was essentially talking about club finances when he said it wouldn’t be a disaster.

When Arsenal were raising the finance to build the new stadium they produced financial models to show that they could survive a situation where they were outside the Champions League. When you are borrowing millions you have to show lenders that you have looked into all the potential risks and show that even in the worst case scenario the debt can be repaid. So there wasn’t really anything new there, just Peter Hill-Wood putting his foot in it. Again, nothing really new there.

As Arsene Wenger said later in the week though, it would be a disaster in footballing terms. Robin Van Persie would surely be tempted away from Europa League football and it would handicap the quest for quality new players. The football Arsenal play over the next three months is going to be the most critical stuff for some time.

Come on you Gunners!

Well that was a depressing end to the weekend!  It started so well too, with an excellent opener from Robin Van Persie after just a few minutes.  A well timed run to stay onside and a perfectly weighted pass slid in by Theo Walcott.  For a second it looked like RVP would run out of room, but he slipped it past Vorm to score.

We were on a roll.  What was that you said about Swansea’s home form?

Well, as they demonstrated next, their home reputation is well deserved and it shows why they’ve been clear of the drop-zone so far this season.  Once they got over the shock of our early goal they got their shape back and played some good fast attacking football down both sides.  Ignasi Miquel may be a good prospect as a central defender, but as a stand-in fullback he was soon struggling with Nathan Dyer.  On the other side, Djourou was coping slightly better with Sinclair but still not keeping him out.

Swansea were lucky with the penalty for the equaliser though.  Aaron Ramsey did make contact with Sinclair’s heal but only after Sinclair had crashed into his calf studs first.  It should have been a freekick to Arsenal and maybe a card for Sinclair, but that’s not how the referee saw it and so Swansea were back in the game with their tails up.

Szczesny went the right way for the penalty, but Dyer put it hard and low into the corner and scored.  Szczesny actually had a good game for a keeper conceding three.

But by then we weren’t having a good game elsewhere on the pitch and the combination of injury, sickness and the African Cup showed how shallow the squad is as Swansea completely dominated possession.

Djourou and Miquel are two players worth their place in the squad as alternate central defenders, but they are not proper fullbacks and against pacey traditional wingers it showed.  Walcott and Arshavin are not always that helpful to Sagna and Santos and the need for assistance was even greater yesterday.  Against Leeds and Swansea, Arshavin demonstrated that he has rediscovered energy, but sadly he hasn’t rediscovered form.

Benayoun ran himself ragged trying to fill midfield gaps but that has never really been his game and he wasn’t making much impact standing on for Arteta who was out with the same bug that hit Mertesacker and Rosicky earlier in the week.  Presumably Rosicky wasn’t feeling 100% as you would expect him to cover for Arteta – much better likeness than Benayoun who has a different sort of talent.  Whether Arteta’s presence would have changed the result, who knows.  There was only a goal in it.  But we were definitely missing him in the middle.

Swansea got the lead when Joe Allen dispossessed Ramsey and passed to Dyer.  Miquel was stranded well out of position and Dyer finished superbly.  After about an hour, Arsene Wenger replaced Arshavin and Benayoun with Henry and Rosicky.  For a while it looked to do the trick, more so because of Rosicky than Henry.  Straight away we were holding on to the ball longer and looking more organised.  Calm and order seemed to be restored and we got the equaliser.  Walcott surged forward and scored with a the sort of calm finish which, if he could do it consistently, would transform him into a top, top class player.

At that moment, any result was possible: win, loss or draw.  But we fell asleep at the restart and the ball was fed between Koscielny and Miquel to put Danny Graham one on one with Szczesny.  The game had been rescued and thrown again inside a minute.  After that we tried to pressurise, swapping Oxlade-Chamberlain for Mertesacker, but Swansea weren’t going to throw it away and held out to the end.

So we’ve dropped points, giving Chelsea a whole game’s cushion ahead of us.  Hard yards ahead.  We have shown that we can compete at the top, but with some key absentees we’re very vulnerable.  Get well soon Arteta, Sagna, Wilshere and Santos!  Hurry home Gervinho.

He may not be as fast as before and we will have to see what he’s got in the tank. But in twenty minutes he showed that he still has a level of movement off the ball, composure, skill and commitment that can change a game.

Thierry Henry, did I need to say who, was the inevitable winner of our match poll. He probably would have been so just for stepping onto the pitch, but scoring the winner made it a no contest. It changed the game too of course.

Arsenal dominated possession and created chances. Arshavin worked like never before. Arteta, Ramsey, Chamakh and Chamberlain attacked and attacked. But it was almost as if they were trying too hard. The final ball often faltered rather than found the target. By half-time we must have had about a dozen chances and only tested the Leeds keeper on a couple.

We never looked in danger but the longer it stayed goaless you began to worry about us losing to a sole Leeds strike on goal. To add to the anxiety we suffered another defensive injury. Sprinting down the right to overlap with Chamberlain, Coquelin pulled up and fell to the ground clutching his hamstring. I’m guessing that’s the last we’ll see of him for a few weeks and it adds impetus to the search for some loaned reinforcement at the back.

Some say that playing out of position adds to the risk of injury and you wonder how often Coquelin sprints like that in training. He was replaced by number fifty-something Nico Yennaris, who, apart from nervously conceding a couple of corners, did a good job.

But back to the story which is dominating all sports coverage this morning. When Henry came on he showed the difference between good endeavour and class. He got into dangerous positions, he found space where the others got lost in a crowd of Leeds defenders. For extra encouragement he also ran to block and cover when we didn’t have the ball.

The goal when it came was classic Henry. He drifted wide, pulling a defender with him but still getting a yard of space. Looking along the line of defenders, he timed his move to perfection. Song played the ball through the gap and Henry was there to collect it. As he made his first touch I smiled and thought: I know what he does from there. He opens his body up and with his second touch he strokes the ball across the keeper and into the far corner of the goal. Beautiful.

It was a fairy tale script made real. Good job too, because we were struggling to break through a Leeds defence that worked and concentrated hard throughout. They didn’t many chances because they played so deep. But they were keeping us out despite having little possession.

If Thierry Henry hadn’t been there, either Arshavin, Arteta or Ramsey would have been man of the match for their sheer industry. And you don’t get to say that about Arshavin often. But we would probably be facing an unwelcome replay at Elland Road.

Instead the substitutes Walcott and Henry did the trick. Walcott’s pace and Henry’s experience stretched the Leeds defence just a little bit more than it could take and the gaps and the goal came.

One-nil to the Arsenal and the return of the king instead of frustration.

A year ago we played Leeds United in the Third Round of the FA Cup, just as we are today.  We very nearly went out. Arsene Wenger changed half the team and we couldn’t cope with Leeds.  They got a goal and kept us pegged back.  In the end we escaped with a very late penalty and won the replay.

Just like last year we are going to have changes to the team.  Djourou is our with a red card.  Gervinho has departed to join his national team in the African Cup of Nations.  Arsene Wenger has decided that Robin Van Persie must take a break and it’s hard to argue with that.

So that’s three changes.  Then there’s Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. Ahead of the Fulham game, Arsene Wenger said Chamberlsin was very close to a first team start, but he didn’t feature.  Was Arsene Wenger thinking ahead to this game?  Is that four changes?  Then we also have to think about Arteta, who had played just about every game since he joined the club.

So very quickly you can see a case for changing half the team, just like last year.  And as Arsene Wenger says, this is the third most important competition for the club out the three were in.  But we don’t want to lose right?

What that means is no start for Thierry Henry, though I would be surprised to see him on at some stage to get some match time.  I also think that it means Song stays in and Coquelin stays at fullback.  I’ve seen some suggesting that Song could be rested, but I think that would be a change too many.

I reckon there are two big choices.  First is whether to put Squillaci or Miquel in the back four.  I would like to see Miquel.  He is the future, so give him experience.  Second is whether to give all the attacking slots to players with something to prove, or whether to put Arshavin or Benayoun in to add experience.  Whether Arteta needs a rest is something that only Arsene and his team know.

So I hope we won’t see in any more changes than this:

______ Szczesny _______
Kos _ Merte _ Miquel _ Coq
________ Song _________
_ AOC _ Rosicky _ Rambo _
___ Chamakh _ Park _____

But that might still be too many.

Meanwhile, the draw for the next round had already happened and if we sort out Leeds, we are at home to Villa which isn’t the easiest of games but not the hardest either.  Most interesting tie in the draw is Liverpool v Manchester United after the Suarez incident.  Will Evra play. Will he suffer abuse on or off the pitch?

Hopefully this will be a chance for players and fans to step up, but I’m not holding my breath.  I hope Liverpool are going to be proactive about creating the right atmosphere for the game.

The transfer rumour mill spins on, now throwing out entertaining claims that we will pay £100m for Hulk from Porto to replace a departing Van Persie or, alternatively that we will swap RVP for two Real Madrid players.  Well I suppose that’s more exciting than pondering a loan deal for a fullback!

Back later with Arsenal Man of the Match Poll.

Well we all know about Thierry Henry.  Subject to a deal over injury insurance he will join Arsenal this week until the end of February.  Nobody seems to think that this will be completed by tomorrow night’s game.  I guess it’s not the sort of thing those meerkats sort out.

The next biggest rumour is that we will sign Lukas Podolski from FC Koln.  Plenty of football websites and some mainstream media are reporting that Arsenal are set to offer £10-13million for the German international.  If the story is true it may take a little more to get him. Arsenal can afford this, but is it true?

I think that Arsene Wenger wants a new striker.  Chamakh can’t score in the odd games he gets and he doesn’t like playing out wide so he won’t get a start ahead of Gervinho or Arshavin.  Something’s not right with Park.  Wenger talks about his acclimatisation period but Mertesacker, Koscielny, Santos and plenty others have done all that on the pitch – straight off.

Is Podolski a credible purchase?  Yes.  He’s talked about leaving Koln and about moving outside Germany.  Per Mertesacker has been talking up the possibility.  Definite possibility.

Next issue is leftback.  Until Thomas Vermaelen limped off, Arsene Wenger had been playing down the need for action on this.  He rightly pointed out that we have four good fullbacks, they’re just not fit at present, but will be back.  Now, with no Vermaelen he’s talking about how dumb it would be to drop points because we don’t have a leftback available.  He won’t buy, but a loan is a distinct possibility if he can pull one off.

The two names the media have in the frame are Bridge and Taiwo.  If it has to be one of those I would prefer Taiwo.  But I’ve got a horrible feeling that Bridge us the more likely. Mancini would like to shift him, even if only for half a season.

Now for ages everyone has been talking about Gotze or Hazard.  Personally I don’t see either of these happening this month.  Neither strikes me as an obvious winter deals. In the summer maybe, but why would either player or their clubs go for it now?

Two other names getting an airing are Yann M’vila and Lucas Biglia.  Both are interesting players, but are we really looking for a bother defensive midfielder?  Is Arsene Wenger about to switch tactics and play two holding players?  Not sure I go along with these stories.  I think that they are both agent talk.

So, Podolski – yes please, Bridge – if we must, Henry – I’d even be tempted to buy a shirt!  I’m not expecting anything else this winter.

Arsene Wenger has been talking fullbacks and forwards.  The idea of bringing in Wayne Bridge on loan is still all the rage.  Wenger says no enquiry has been made but didn’t rule it out.

What he did do was make clear that he’s thinking short-term as far as an extra fullback goes.  Arsenal have four decent fullbacks and Vermaelen and Koscielny can provide decent cover.  So when everyone’s fit, no-one else is required – choosing two from six not an issue.

But with four injured fullbacks and Djourou out too, we need help.  Getting in the January window isn’t easy.  Neither is getting the quality you want through a loan.  Great players don’t get loaned, they play or they get cashed in.

That’s why someone like Bridge or Taiwo are the likely candidates.  Hopefully there are other possibilities too.  Because I’m sure about Bridge and I don’t think AC Milan will want to help us out.  Even though he couldn’t play Champions League football, easing our defensive problems still isn’t to their advantage.

Presumably Arsene Wenger has some scouting reports to think about and has had his inbox filled with video clips from agents.  I have this image of the Wenger household tomorrow – Arsene sat to one side just watching video clips on his ipad with a notepad on the arm of the chair.  Hopefully in amongst all that is some decent nugget of a fullback.

Up-front all the talk is of Thierry Henry making a cameo appearance for January and half of February.  Well maybe, but this surely makes less sense.  Arsenal need a longer term answer to who backs up Robin Van Persie.  Arsenal gave have cash to spend but it’s still a tricky problem.  First question from any decent player approached won’t so much be what’s the pay, as how often will I play?

Our current formation only allows for one out and out striker and were not alone in that.  It’s how most of the top clubs are playing.  What the likes of Manchester United have though is a steady supply of goals from the players who spend most of the game out wide.

If that means that they’ve got the right tactical solution then it isn’t so much an out and out striker we need.  Chamakh isn’t scoring less than Berbatov and Owen.  If we’re sticking with this formation then we need to say bye-bye Arshavin and bring in someone who does what Walcott and Gervinho do – only get more goals like Nani.