Nine Jimmy Rimmers – Arsenal and Football

What else could go wrong?  How about Sagna and Vermaelen out as well, that’s what.

So Arsenal started with: Szczesny, Jenkinson, Djourou, Koscielny, Traore, Coquelin, Ramsey, Rosicky, Walcott, Van Persie and Arshavin.

If you include our quest to sign Gary Cahill, that means that not one of the back four would be our first choice to start.  For twenty minutes the pretence was maintained, but the pressure was all one way. Bravely, or foolishly, Arsenal tried to play the way they always play; trying to move the ball forward and keeping a high line.  But the Manchester United players knew that it was for show and kept pumping in the attacks.

Jenkinson and Traore were getting outnumbered and outplayed.  Walcott and Arshavin don’t provide much cover at the best of times.  These were the very worst of times.  To be fair to Jenkinson, he never hid, never shrank from the task, but he still got beat again and again.

Arshavin, when he did tackle, seemed determined to get sent off.  He got a yellow for a tackle that could easily have got a red.  Later he made a similar tackle and Howard Webb had mercy on him, no other explanation for him staying on.  Coquelin – what a game to have to make your Premiership debut.  I thought he did OK in the circumstances, better than I hoped, but he couldn’t do much to stem the tide either.

The first goal when it came was soft.  Anderson, I think, chipped the ball over the retreating centre backs, they let it bounce, never recovered position and Danny Welbeck headed in.

Just for a moment there seemed to be a reprieve.  Evra pulled Walcott back in the area and we got a penalty.  Could Van Persie make it one-all?  No.  Terrible penalty and Manchester United started surging forward again.

The second goal required a better finish but came from a poor headed clearance from Traore directed straight into the middle.  Szczesny had no chance from Young’s shot.

The third was a clinical freekick from Wayne Rooney.  Szczesny did well to get his fingers to it, but couldn’t keep it out.  Then, in the dying moments of the first half, Rosicky (our best player today?) combined with Walcott and he nutmegged De Gea.  Three-One.  We weren’t out of sight but it was as close as we got to respectability.

The second half was all one-way traffic.  I wasn’t surprised when Oxlade-Chamberlain came on, but I thought he would replace Arshavin.  In fact it was Coquelin who trudged off.  Didn’t understand that at all.  Anyway, Man Utd got another five, you all know that and I can’t be arsed to describe them.  We got another consolation goal through the determination of Jenkinson and Van Persie but we are not consoled.

I guess we all knew it was going to be bad, but this was a humiliating rout.

Szczesny: didn’t deserve to concede eight, there were a couple where he might of made a better decision, but he made loads of saves too, so he shouldn’t be hard on himself.

Back Four: Dire. But not through lack of effort. Jenkinson played his heart out and will be distraught.  He got a second red in the end, to add to our troubles. Koscielny was probably the best. But as a unit they were hopelessly outclassed. Djourou conceded more freekicks than I could count.  After Jenkinson’s red, Walcott found himself at right back and conceded a penalty, so he was replaced by Lansbury. He knows how to tackle, but it was late in the game by then to be of any relevance.

DM: The pressure on Coquelin must have been immense, and I he didn’t deserve to be part of this humiliation on his debut.  When he was taken off, we didn’t really have a holding player. I guess the idea was we could get back into the game with more attacking pace, but the next goal was United’s.

AM: Ramsey and Rosicky didn’t do too badly when they got the chance.  In fact Rosicky seems a man transformed this season. He seems to have more energy and more purpose. He tackle, holds the ball passes. But he was on to  a loser today. OxLade-Chamberlain didn’t get a touch for ages.  He had one good run, but like Coquelin, this was the debut from hell.

Wings: Walcott worked hard, he earned a penalty and got a goal.  Arshavin was lucky to stay on. lost the balled and often left Traore facing two incoming red shirts. Yes he created the odd chance, but not enough.

Forwards: Van Persie will be seeing that soft penalty kick for a long time. It was the chance to equalise and it was given up easily. Yes he scored, but by then United were six-one up. Chamakh was sent on at seven-two. Just to share the pain I guess.

It was painful to watch.  I’m not sure when we were last beaten so comprehensively, though I’m sure some statto will tell us *.  On the telly Merson was laying into Wenger, saying we should have set out to play differently.  More defensively.  Looking at the bench I don’t think we had many real options anyway. We could have played Lansbury from the start I suppose, but it would still have been a desperately inexperienced set-up.

This game was lost before today.  We need that other central defender.  Traore isn’t great cover for Gibbs.  Not sure Gibbs is that great anyway.  Rosicky is trying the rise to the challenge of senior attacking midfielder with more passion and skill than any of us would expect.  But it was never going to be enough at Old Trafford.

For me, the people who represented Arsenal best today were the away fans.  They kept singing and chanting long after the club deserved it.  Collectively, they were my Man of the Match.

Never has an international break been more welcome for the club.  But the real key is the next three days.  Let’s seal the deal with Cahill and get the most creative midfielder we can lay our hands on.  In and ideal world, another left back too.  But today, it doesn’t look like an ideal world.

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* 5th November 1960. West Ham 6:0 Arsenal, so worst result for nearly 51 years!

In recent years I’ve been finding international football a bit dull and uninspiring.  So yesterday afternoon I almost didn’t bother.

But in the end I was sucked back in to see how Jack, Theo and Johann got on.  Plus there was that Scott Parker who many suppose could supply some diligence and maturity to Arsenal’s midfield.  Then there were a couple of lost boys too: Ashley ‘never been the same since…etc’ Cole and Phillippe Ponderous, sorry Senderos.

England started with ten minutes of quite spirited stuff, looking quite promising, but then lost there pace and purpose.  Inler and Behrami established Swiss control over the midfield and England were on the back foot.

Then those England boys seemed to come up with the tactic of confusing the hell out of the Swiss with a startling different way of defending free-kicks.  Rather than the zone method they adopted the ozone method, as in les make big holes in it.  The Swiss will be so confused they won’t understand what they’re up against!

Two direct free-kicks later the Swiss are so confused they’re two goals up.  Two free-kicks in which no-one, attacker or defender, touched the ball on its journey over the line.  The first came from a slightly high ball into the the middle of box that neither Terry nor Ferdinand judged right.  Hart decided not to come for it, which was not necessarily the wrong decision, and was left stranded as it crept inside the far post.  Even if he had managed to reach it and parry, the two nearest players were both Swiss.

The second was from a tighter angle.  Hart set a two-man wall of Walcott and Milner to guard the near post and crouched ready.  This time the free-kick was hit low and at the wall with a Swiss player making a late run into the box.

Milner obviously decided that this was the threat and started to move, despite the fact that the ball was heading straight for the wall.  It was a bit like a snooker player concentrating so hard on where the cue ball is going to end up that they miss the pot.  So the ball sails past Walcott, who had stayed put, through the space where Milner had been positioned by Hart and in the goal at the near post.

So, two-nil down and it’s looking a bit desperate.  At this point England woke up and went back to playing football.  Jack Wilshere won the ball and went on a determined run into the box where his club team-mate Djourou obligingly brought him down for a penalty.  Frank Lampard almost messed up with poor placement but had enough pace on the shot to score. So England ended the first-half still in the game.

Much of the pre-match debate had been about how knackered Jack Wilshere must be by now, but actually it was Lampard who looked most short of pace and form.  So it wasn’t a massive surprise to see him replaced at half-time.  In the end it was a draw, after a good goal from Young. But for a lot of the time the Swiss were the better side and if they’d taken three points you wouldn’t have called them lucky.

So what of the Arsenal boys, old and new?

Jack Wilshere is looking a bit worn round the edges now and needs time on the beach, but he was one of the better England players yesterday with determination, good running and intelligent passing.

Theo didn’t get in the game as much, but did okay.  He made some good runs but didn’t get a lot of support.  He also did his bit defensively making some good covering moves when Johnson got overlapped.

Djourou had a bit of a ‘mare.  He made some strange choices positionally and could have conceded a second penalty.  Senderos was the same as ever – committed, direct, reasonable positioning but little finesse and no pace.  Ashley Cole wasn’t too bad, but not stunning.  Someone landed on his instep early on which left him limping.  For some reason Capello waited an age to replace him with Baines, so he spent half his time on the pitch looking rather half-hearted.

So what of Scott Parker?  He certainly is diligent and mature, again yesterday as ever, and there are times when Arsenal need that.  But he doesn’t have have massive skill on the ball.  For a good price he would be a good option to have, but I hope we can do better.