Liverpool off to a winning start

Simon Mingolet could not have asked for a better start to life at Liverpool; his 87th minute save gave Liverpool all but three points to start the season. A feat not achieved on opening day by the legendary King Kenny or English Manager Roy Hodgson; the last time Liverpool won on opening day Fernando Torres scored in the 83rd minute to give a victory over Sunderland in 2008. That was the season Liverpool went on to finish second in the league. 

On a rainy day at Anfield Liverpool started brightly by forcing impressive saves from Asmir Begovic (Man of the match); both teams hit the goal post but Liverpool looked the stronger side with Coutinho pulling the strings from midfield. Iago Asapas looked bright in the opening minutes and had a few shots on goal while Toure put in a solid performance at center back. Stoke looked lost and struggled to transition from their long ball playing style to Mark Hughes' more preferred passing style. As the season goes on it will be interesting to see how Hughes transitions his midfield players into playmakers, and  gets his center backs to pass the ball instead of launching it forward to Crouch and Walters. 

For Liverpool the victory against Stoke on opening day might just be the boost they need to break defensive teams at home.  Over the years Liverpool have been guilty of dominating games against "smaller" teams without squeezing out a result; this result might just be the inspiration Rodgers' men needed. 

Arsenal vs. Aston Villa - Preview

The Premier League is back, and promises to provide more excitement than it did the last time around. Almost all of teams in the league have strengthened, while we have been doing a lot of bloodletting. We’ve let 9 first-teamers leave, and a host of kids from the second string.  The only addition to the squad so far is Yaya Sanogo. None of the Arsenal support is enthused about this situation, which manifested itself in boos at the Emirates Cup.

Boos. At a friendly tournament. Not cool.

It’s not all the fault of the support though. We were made to understand that Arsenal were going to “compete for the best” in the summer, and our “exertions” so far in the transfer market have yielded a rookie striker half-ready for the trials of the Premier League.

However, the first match of the season is upon us, and now is not the time to crib about what-could-have-beens. Aston Villa have bought well and will more than give us a game this evening. We’ve lost none of our core players from last season, which is a good sign, so we conceivably have enough in the tank to take 3 points from today’s game.

I’m writing this preview in a real hurry because I was too lazy to do it earlier in the day—and my honesty wins me brownie points.

Aston Villa will play with Benteke upfront flanked by fast wingers, and with three in midfield. We can expect Aston Villa to sit back and let Arsenal have the ball in the middle of the park. Villa will keep their shape while defending but the midfield three will look to press tenaciously in the their own half and get the ball to their wingers quickly on the counterattack. Arteta’s ability to keep and distribute the ball under pressure and his astute positional sense will be sorely missed. Hopefully Ramsey, who will be deputizing for him today, picked up a few tips from him during the pre-season. Cazorla’s mesmerizing ball skills in the final third could hurt Villa if their pressing is unorganized—despite this being the opening game of the season, it wouldn’t be a surprise if we get a 5 goal thriller today. From Arsenal’s perspective, the Mertecielny axis—as the Gunners have come to call them—could be crucial in nullifying Villa’s attacking intentions. Walcott could be in for a tough day if Villa stay organized at the back. However, their left back Antonio Luna is new to English football, and his duel with Walcott will be interesting. In a nutshell, here are the two duels that could conceivably decide the game: Mertecielny vs. Benteke, Cazorla vs. Villa midfield.

Have fun wherever you’re watching the game. COYG! 

Everton do a job on Arsenal: Arsenal 0 - 0 Everton

David Moyes said after the game that they weren’t “going to come to the Emirates and let Arsenal stroke around 600 passes.” They definitely didn’t, as they elbowed and kneed their way to a drab draw. The referee was lenient, to say the least, with Everton tackling: Jack Wilshere bearing the brunt of the fouling. It was a bit rich to see Sir Alex Ferguson in the stands taking notes, seeing how Manchester United employed similar tactics to end The Invincibles’ unbeaten run in 2004. Arsenal found it very hard to get any kind of rhythm going in the first half, however, were much better after the substitutions in the second: Podolski and Oxlade-Chamberlain on for Wilshere and Walcott. Ross Barkley shone for The Toffees while Anichebe was marshaled rather well by Mertesacker. Giroud was ineffective too for Arsenal, and the only goal threats in the game were Cazorla and Baines, with his set pieces—honorable mention for Mirallas.

How the teams lined up


Arsenal lined up in their usual 4-2-3-1 with Wilshere as the most advanced midfielder and Cazorla on the left. Everton was arrayed in 4-5-1 with Barkley and Pienaar given license to move forward, and Fellaini given a license to do anything he damn well wanted.


How play shaped up

The referee allowed Everton to get away with too many “physical” tackles. Wilshere was fouled often and hard and Gibson was lucky to stay on the field after cynically blocking Walcott while on a yellow. Arsenal’s passing game was well neutralized by Everton’s hassling and tackling game in the first half. However, there was a price to be paid as Everton tired towards the end of the half, and Arsenal began to string some passes together and created a couple of chances. Everton had a few chances too in the half; Pienaar was sent through on goal by a beautiful Barkley through ball. For Arsenal, Giroud shot wide at full stretch with an open goal. Wilshere was definitely off-colour, not aided by Everton’s targeting of him, while Ramsey worked hard and earned a few brownie points for himself. Cazorla had a fairly quiet half, and wasn’t able to influence the game much from the left.
Arsenal started the second half strongly. Giroud almost opened the scoring with a left footed curler while Walcott, who was largely anonymous, skinned Distin. Wilshere was probably guilty of trying too much and was crowded out by Everton often. The substitutes Oxlade-Chamberlain and Podolski weren’t able to influence proceedings much too even though they willing ran at the Everton defence. Podolski’s first touch let him down after he got himself into a promising area, though he did start off a passage of play with a terrific pass that almost led to a goal. Cazorla was able to influence the game a lot more in the middle after Wilshere went off, but was unable to snare 3 points for his side.

Final thoughts

It wasn’t a great match by any standards, a throwback to the ear of staunch defending and counterattacking football. Arsenal looked really tired by the end, with Gibbs being substituted for Monreal for the last few minutes. Giroud had a mediocre game; he was marshaled well by Fellaini while trying to win flick-ons and screwed three chances wide. Last season, we had Szczesny kick the ball long to Sagna, who excelled at winning flick-ons for Walcott to run onto. Arsenal seem to have abandoned this strategy, for some reason. This wasn’t a bad result by any standard but Arsenal would have aimed for 3 points at home before the match. Only time will tell if this was a point gained or 2 points dropped.

Arsenal ratings


Wojciech Szczesny: 7/10
Bacary Sagna: 7/10
Kieran Gibbs: 7/10
Per Mertesacker: 7/10
Laurent Koscielny: 7/10
Jack Wilshere: 5.5/10
Santi Cazorla: 7.5/10
Aaron Ramsey: 7.5/10
Mikel Arteta: 7/10
Theo Walcott: 4/10
Olivier Giroud: 5/10

Substitutes
Lukas Podolski: 6.5/10
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain: 6.5/10
Nacho Monreal: N/A

Not Exactly David and Goliath: Arsenal vs West Brom Albion

Gone are the days when a trip to WBA was considered a vacation. A young team of promise, WBA epitomizes the strong “middle of the table” EPL brags about. On paper, Arsenal were dramatically weakened by the spree of injuries to Walcott, Wilshire (who should be back in reckoning in the starting line-up soon), and the long-term injury to the talented yet ever-injured Diaby. For all us Gunners fans, a trip to the Hawthorns left that inkling of teeth clattering nervousness; and for good reason.

Steve Clark made some puzzling changes from the West Ham game with Lukaku on the bench and Jerome in the starting lineup. Arsenal stuck to team that won against Reading, though I expect the Norwich game to feature Walcott and Wilshire, but possibly on the bench.

The first chance of the game came for WBA with a Yacob header cleared off from the goal line by the eventual MOM Rosicky. After a couple of semi useful runs by WBA, Gervinho took over and with Rosicky and Cazorla ran the West Brom defense right into their box. It took 20 minutes for Gervinho to dance around a couple of defenders and crack the ball, which Rosicky darted into the goal. The only possible save for that would have been an accidental one. Though Arsenal had greater control of the game, WBA were more than a handful in the midfield. The Hawthorns challenged every possession and made moving forward seem tougher than the gunners like. The 42^nd minute saw Ramsey shoot himself in the foot with a near impossible miss made possible. Some slick work by Cazorla and Giroud saw Ramsey in an extremely favorable position with only the keeper to beat but alas, as most stories including him end, the ball went wide. The evident despair and pain wasn’t enough to abate the missed open goal. However, Ramsey did make some amends when he threaded the ball through to Rosicky who made a play which epitomizes why I love football. Here’s the commentary from Goal.com:

It was nice to see Arsenal not letting up and continue moving into the final third. Even after Lukaku was brought on in the 56^th minute, WBA were far from creating any proper chances. Gervinho was especially effective in this as he was making long runs thereby pulling as many as four players at time and leaving gaps all over the field for other players to take advantage off. I really hope Wenger sees the missed opportunities for through balls. West Brom’s efforts going forward were mostly wasteful with Shane Long and Lukaku hitting a wall marshaled ably by Koscielny. The defensive backs were strong and had no slip ups. And like every entertaining story, Morrison and Long figured the weak spot in the Arsenal defense. Initially by intercepting a suicidal back-pass by Mertesacker to Koscielny and then by using the long ball against Mertesacker. Long pushed Per’s tolerance enough to make him commit a more than acceptable red card foul, leading to Morrison sinking the spot kick through a diving Fabianksi’s legs.

From then on WBA played brilliantly, pushing the ball forward, creating chances, bringing the 10 players back for defense and justifying the initial nervousness the Gooner felt. Vermaelen’s entrance into the attack brought some solidarity to the back four, but the Hawthorns were relentless. Tons of missed half chances, poorl headers and some gritty defending from Arsenal saw them see off the final barrage of attacks from West Brom. All in all, an entertaining game, missed chances and a shift in the top four of the premier league. Not a bad day at all. The only complaint was with the referees as some unjust and soft yellows were shelled out.

At the end of the weekend, Arsenal moved back to fifth, with a game in hand over the Spurs. West Brom have lost two in a row with their last victory coming four games back and sit comfortably on 9^th spot. Arsenal still need a stronger finisher and a Robben-esque figure who can create clear chances within the box. West Brom really needs someone to score more goals. Even Southampton has scored more goals than them.

Arsenal next faces Norwich City at Home, which will be viewed at as a chance for retribution for the away loss and West Ham travel to the dreaded Etihad stadium where their face Man City who were just buoyed by their big win over Man United.

Can’t wait for next week!

Reeling in the Spurs: Swansea 0 - 2 Arsenal

Arsenal grabbed 3 points in a way they could have easily lost 3 points at the beginning of the season; lots of fluff and no stuff while the opposition gets one goal to deflate the fans and another one in injury time to set off boos. Thankfully the opposite happened, and with Spurs suffering from a post yay-we-beat-Arsenal hangover, the gap is down to 4 points with a game in hand against relegation-threatened Reading.

How the teams lined up
Both Swansea and Arsenal lined up in 4-2-3-1 and mostly cancelled each other out, man for man. Both teams are also very comfortable on the ball and very tactically aware, so it was going to come down to which team was going to want the game more or moments of individual brilliance, or egregious stupidity.

How play shaped up
Swansea began the better of the two teams. Arsenal was slow to get on the ball and had few ideas after they did get on it. Swansea meanwhile pressed intelligently and fashioned a couple of good chances that they ended up spurning. A particular pleasing pattern of passes in midfield sent the right back Rangel racing onto Ki’s through ball; he sliced the shot wide under pressure from Koscielny who was aware of the danger and busted a gut to get back. Likewise, Dyer made a right nuisance of himself down the right, his lack of end product letting him down. Britton or Ki often dropped deep to pick up the ball since Cazorla and Giroud were pressing the center backs but disjoined pressing from the Arsenal midfield allowed the two Swansea midfielders to pick out percentage passes, and Swansea were able to build decent attacks as a result. However, Michu frequently dropped into midfield and robbed Swansea of a focal point upfront which is so important in a 4-2-3-1. Arsenal built few attacks and was dependent on individuals creating chances during the first half. Oxlade-Chamberlain beat his man on the left and crashed his shot against the crossbar, and did it again about 30 yards out in the center after a Cazorla dribble.
Arsenal was a little more purposeful in the second half, and this writer thought the pressing was more in tandem and intelligent than the first half. Swansea seemed to sit back for some reason which gave Arteta and Diaby leeway to attempt more adventurous passes forward into Cazorla and the wings. Arsenal recorded the majority of their shots in the second half, and both their goals too. The first goal was down to a Cazorla dribble that drew 3 or 4 defenders to him leaving space for Giroud (to mess up his first touch) that gave the ball away to Monreal to slot it in. A few minutes ago though, Wenger had yanked Diably and Oxlade-Chamberlain and sent on Ramsey and Gervinho. Diaby had had a ordinary game while The Ox had exerted himself much, and the introduction of fresh legs gave Arsenal attacks much needed impetus. Ramsey was energetic in midfield and Gervinho made things happen on his flank and kept Swansea occupied with defense. The substitutes contributed directly to the second goal, Ramsey providing and Gervinho finished with atypical composure past Vorm.

Final thoughts
Swansea made more passes than Arsenal, 651 to 492, yet lacked finishing efficiency and passing penetration on the day, and were also unlucky that Michu fired wide twice. Arsenal’s play in the second half was more purposeful; they attacked and pressed as a unit, and also had players who could create moments of difference. Cazorla’s breathtaking control and dribbling, Jenkinson’s energy and composure (save one wonky pass), Koscielny’s last ditch tackling, and also to mention Wenger’s correct substitutions were crucial on the day.Michu was definitely off colour, dropped too deep, and Swansea were unable to fashion any crucial chances; Fabianski didn’t have a save to make. Interestingly, there was a moment when Giroud dropped into midfield and Arteta screamed at him to get back up front--emphasizing the importance of the focal point upfront in the 4-2-3-1. Diaby was outplayed by Ki initially in the battle of the “ball carriers”, but came back stronger in the second half. Arsenal's purposeful pressing and passing, combined with the quality of Cazorla, made the difference in the end.

Ratings

Fabianski: Made a smart save from an offside Michu effort. 7/10
Jenkinson: Save one silly moment, was solid and willingly got up and down the flank. 8/10
Mertesacker: Much more calm and composed than recent games. 7/10
Koscielny: Made a few important blocks and interceptions, and looked very confident. 7/10
Monreal: Thank you for the goal, senor. 8/10
Arteta: Was back to his usual metronomic self, good communication on the day. 7/10
Diaby: Started badly, made a couple of fancy dribbles, but a day to forget overall. 6/10
Oxlade-Chamberlain: Energetic display, and unlucky to have not scored. 7/10
Cazorla: Made all the plays and proved to be the difference in the end. 9/10
Walcott: Not much of an attacking threat, brownie points for defensive effort. 6/10
Giroud: Put himself about and won fair share of aerial duels. 6/10


Substitutes:
Gervinho: First goal since October and injected much needed pace at crucial point in the game. 7/10
Ramsey: Willing as always and looked confident on the ball during time on the pitch. 7/10
Gibbs: Not enough time to get on the ball

Post Spurs: A humbling lesson in Smash & Grab

A few days ago Brendan Rodgers outlined his vision for the summer transfer window and how he plans to reinforce the defensive lineup post Carragher’s retirement from the game. His assessment of Liverpool’s defensive frailties could not have come at a better time for the Saints who convincingly beat the Red 3 -1 at St. Mary’s.  The game started off with an energetic Southampton side capitalizing on a sluggish Martin Skrtel whose lack of match practice was more than evident.

Right from the get –go Southampton played a high back four and punted the ball towards the big center forward who played Liverpool’s second choice center back pairing admirably.  Joe Allen’s selection in midfield ahead of Lucas was baffling especially considering his troubled shoulder, Southampton exploited Allen’s lack of defensive positional awareness by operating the gap between Liverpool’s defense and midfield.

Not much could be said about Liverpool’s attack as chances seemed limited and mostly rushed, Suarez & Coutinho who have thrived on patient passing and buildup play were hardly given the time to dominate the game.  Sturridge and Coutinho both had chances to reduce the advantage but failed to capitalize as Rodrigrez pulled a Gareth Bale to run through Liverpool’s midfield and defense to seal the deal.

Great teams are characterized by their ability to squeeze results out of bad positions, their ability to find goals in  times of need differentiate them from teams in the middle of the table. Rodger’s men need to find this, the defensive solidity that was characteristic of Steve Clarke’s reign at the back seemed distant as Liverpool continued to concede cheap goals. With Arsenal and Everton registering wins the fight to a Champions League spot almost 

seems over for Rodgers. Liverpool desperately need a central 

midfield player who can break attack as well as pass forward 

with confidence. Lucas unfortunately does one job well while 

tries hard at the other, it is about time Rodgers paid attention 

to the problem. 

Swansea v Arsenal..Ambition v Survival

After Arsenal’s biggest win in a losing cause this season, a fatigued and injured team travels to the dreaded Liberty Stadium. The Welsh side has been more than exemplary this season notching up impressive wins against Arsenal, Chelsea and Newcastle. Though affairs against Swansea tend to be low scoring, the extremely levered structure of their team always makes for smart football. Arsenal should take some pride in their effort at Allianz stadium where they are the first visiting team this season to record a victory. With some renewed confidence in their tired legs, hope spring gushes an evening of fantastic football.

Arsenal played a perceivably weakened side against the mighty Germans and everyone could see they played their hearts out. With the Arsenal captain, the starting keeper, “England’s savior” (as quoted by a few) and the ever injured yet talented Frenchman watching the game from afar, questions have been risen about the worth of the stars on the roster. Gibbs and Jenkinson were solid in defense, though Gibbs will again be missing against Swansea. Jenkinson will be eager to fill in Sagna’s able shoes, especially after the harrowing 20 seconds of defending against Michu last year. The offense came under some flak against BM in their inability to string enough attacking moves during the middle of the game as the Munich midfield were successful in breaking Giroud and co’s rhythm in the final third. No one knows this secret better than Swansea and I’m betting they will fancy their chances in a midfield sans Wilshire and Diaby.

Swansea on the other hand has been in a slight rollercoaster. West Ham loss, QPR win, Liverpool loss (Thrashing), Bradford win (another trashing), Newcastle win and most recently a WBA loss. Looking at Swansea’s form, no one can guess which Swansea will turn up. Leon Britton is set to return from a thigh injury and he should bring some solidarity to the midfield which was found lacking at WBA. Swansea was uncharacteristically tame last game with just 2 shots on goal while keeping 56% of the possession. Michu’s creative prowess has also taken a bit of a slump with a number of missed chances. However, Luke Moore has stepped up and scored in the last two games.

Both sides are bringing their inconsistent form into this game. To attempt to predict the result would be the epitome of foolishness. In such cases, the safer bet is to place the W in the home side’s column. Keeping in mind that the Arsenal side would be tired, and will find it hard to field fresh 11 players of quality, I’d give Swansea the edge to pull off a 2-1. Though, giving ol Arsene’s tactics some credit, one could conceive a Munich-sqe defensive performance and a keeper to be on 10 redbulls to stop anything the Mr. slick guzman or the smart moving offensive line up can muster. 

My final prediction:

60% Swansea 2 – 1 Arsenal

40% Swansea 1 – 1 Arsenal

And now to 8.30, for the first of the ten cup finals for Arsenal.

No hattrick this time: Spurs 2 - Arsenal 1

 My apologies for the super late report; I am now sufficiently not angry to be trusted with an expensive computer for typing up this post. I was hoping to use the format of my previous as a template for future match reports but just for today—also since I have a lot on my chest that I need to spill out—I am going to deviate a bit.

Don’t blame the high line

Arsenal played a very high line and pressed the Spurs midfield, which led to a very open first half since Spurs played a fairly high line as well. The first half was full of very exciting end-to-end football—the score could have easily been 3-4 according to this writer, in Arsenal’s favour of course. Neither Vermaelen nor Dawson seemed to be in control of their defences, a large part of that down to the frenzied pressing and counterattacking of both teams. Arsenal, in truth, did do better—until the first goal was scored—because of their asymmetrical 4-2-3-1, with Cazorla playing inside on the left. Arsenal’s high tempo pressing got them more possession, and seeing how they dominated the midfield, it seemed that it would only be a matter of time before they scored. It wasn’t to be though; Cazorla and Wilshere played well but not as well as earlier games, and the decisive killer pass failed to materialize despite the team weaving pretty patterns in midfield. Spurs looked dangerous on the break; they were constantly looking to involve Bale and Lennon. Call me whatever but their gameplan seemed to revolve totally around Arsenal playing badly and losing the ball. I kept thinking during the match, “Hah, what a crap plan” until they scored, twice.

Image credit www.eplindex.com

Now there has been a lot of scapegoating over the past week, with Vermaelen and Mertesacker coming in for the most stick. I beg to differ because when the center backs are playing a high line to help the midfield dominate possession and create chances, I wouldn’t blame them unless it was a high scoring game and individual defensive mistakes decided the game. For both goals, Spurs were on a fast counterattack with two of the speediest players in the league, Bale and Lennon. For the first, Adebayor made a brilliant run to take Mertesacker out of the play (he ended up playing Bale onside), Vermaelan let him go and had a microsecond to decide if he had to turn and chase Bale—arguably second fastest player on the pitch—or intercept the ball, which he tried to. Meanwhile, Mikel Arteta, who was tasked with picking up Bale in the Arsenal half, can be seen ambling towards the pass instead of busting a gut to get to Bale. Or Jenkinson, who should have been closing down Sigurdsson, who had ample time to pick out a pass in the absence of any pressure. The second goal too came down Arsenal’s right, Jenkinson who backed off apparently having been terrorized by the sight of Scott Parker ambling at 10 km/hr with a football at his feet. By my observation, Parker had about 7 seconds—7 seconds!—to pick out a pass. Admittedly, Monreal could have done have better with tracking Lennon, or calling for help.

In the end, Spurs gambled on Arsenal playing badly and hit pay dirt, while Arsenal gambled on dominating possession and scoring more than Spurs, which didn’t quite pay off. Wilshere and Cazorla had quiet games while Giroud astounded this writer with his lethargy and sulkiness. Giroud’s lack of pace is obvious but one would expect him to make up for it by thinking harder and anticipating situations better, but when you see him realize half a second late that a through ball is coming his way, the act of an expensive phone being chucked at an expensive TV can be forgiven.

Mertesacker did say after the game that the players had been tired and needed a break, which would explain the midfield losing steam faster than usual. So Arsenal having to have played this weekend is probably a good thing; with a good long break hopefully the players will be fresh and ready for the greater challenges ahead. It seems unlikely that Spurs will mess up again while Chelsea, well, Rafa is definitely staying until the end of season so there’s a fair chance that they might. Lets make things easy for ourselves by winning the Champions League!

Arsenal ratings

Szczesny: 5/10

Jenkinson: 4/10

Mertesacker: 4/10

Vermaelen: 4/10

Monreal: 4/10

Ramsey: 5/10

Arteta: 5/10

Wilshere: 5/10

Cazorla: 6.5/10 (for making a concerted effort to turn the game around in the 2nd half)

Walcott: 4/10

Giroud: 3.5/10 (for acting like a spoilt little princess in the 2nd half)

Substitutes

Rosicky: 6/10

Podolski: 5/10