Sunderland 1 Arsenal 1: Match Report & Player Ratings
Saturday, 04 October 08, 06:31 PM
Roy Keane demonstrated signs of having a very bright managerial future as his Sunderland team followed his instructions to the letter this afternoon and completely
nullified Arsenal's attacking threat in a 1-1 draw at the Stadium of Light.
The home side lined up in a 4-5-1 formation, with Djibril Cisse playing the lone striker role, as The Black Cats fought and harried Arsenal from the first minute to the last – as expected, in a
mostly successful attempt at disrupting Arsenal’s passing game.
For Arsenal, Wenger’s 4-5-1 formation, although perhaps understandable, did not make their task any easier. As usual, Van Persie was completely ineffective in the left winger role – he might be
more effective on the right where he could at least cut in onto his left foot – and with the unpredictable Emmanuel Adebayor playing the solitary striker role, scoring a goal was never likely
to come easy for either player.
As Arsenal fans have seen on rather too many occasions in recent years, it was a case of plenty of sideways passing and failed through balls through congested areas paving the way for a
frustrating afternoon's football. Width was at a premium, with Walcott too often coming inside instead of using his pace to stretch the Sunderland defence; instead Bacary Sagna overlapped, but
his crosses are often blindly flung in rather than aimed, and besides, there was never more than two Arsenal players in the box, usually surrounded by five or six Sunderland
defenders.
In the first half, excitement was limited and so were the chances, although in the fifteenth minute, Walcott perked up the home supporters by playing a horrendous back pass straight into the
path of Cisse, whose shot was thankfully blocked by Almunia’s trailing left leg.
Little would change in the second half, other than Arsenal hogging even more of the possession and Sunderland reverting to a virtual 1-9-1 formation in order to protect
the status quo. On 59, Adebayor managed to get a strike on target; easily collected by Craig Gordon in the Sunderland goal. This preceded the most controversial
moment of the match, when Walcott reached the byline and hooked the ball onto the area for the incoming Van Persie to smash into the net. However, the goal was disallowed as Walcott was deemed
to have taken the ball over the white line. Replays show that decision to have been questionable at best, but the linesman’s decision was partially understandable.
Bendtner replaced Walcott with 20 minutes to go, denying Arsenal any possible width, with the formation remained an unyielding 4-5-1, although on 82 Arsenal’s best clear cut chance occurred
when Bendtner strode through the centre of the Sunderland defence and floated a beautiful chipped ball into Van Persie’s path. Alas the Dutchman caught it almost too sweetly, as Gordon rushed
out of goal and blocked the strike from fairly close range.
Then on 84, completely against the run of play, Arsenal's nightmare scenario struck in predictable fashion when Sunderland's Grant Leadbetter stumbled into a striking position under pressure
from Alexandre Song, but still managed to get a fabulous 20-yard shot on target that struck the inside of the bar and bounced down and over the line beating Almunia all ends
up.
Wenger quickly ushered Carlos Vela onto the pitch for the last 5 minutes, to join Nasri, Adebayor, Bendtner and Van Persie, but it was Fabregas the unlikely hero, salvaging a point in the 93rd
minute by converting Van Persie's corner with an unlikely attacking header.
A Sunderland victory would have been a fortuitous result for them considering their lack of ambition and the disallowed goal, but a draw was probably a fair one. Post-match Wenger hit a
frustrated broadside at Keane’s defensive tactics, yet should probably look closer to home, specifically the wisdom of fielding a 4-5-1 formation - for practically the entire game - against a
team so clearly intent on 0-0. This doubtless lead to Arsenal’s scarcity of clear cut chances.
For the first time this season it seemed clear to me that Arsenal are feeling the absence of the departed Diarra, allied to Hleb's switch-play and Flamini's
direct passing and boundless work rate. Their replacements, Denilson, Song and Walcott try hard but don't have enough games under their belt to replicate that consistency. The team also needs
Rosicky, Eduardo and Diaby fit healthy and playing regularly- otherwise from here to Christmas could be the most dismal few months of Arsene Wenger's reign.
Almunia (7)
Didn’t have much to do, but when called upon made an important save from Cisse in the first half.
Sagna (7)
Usual solid defensive performance, crossing improved but Adebayor was frequently the only target – and a static one at that.
Toure (6)
Made one particularly important defensive tackle, but wasn’t placed under the sort of pressure he has been of late.
Gallas (6)
Again, was rarely bothered by Sunderland playing one up front.
Clichy (6)
Picked up another booking, perhaps undeserved - the ref seemed to spend the whole afternoon making decisions on behest of the crowd.
Denilson (5)
Very average, asked to play in a more defensive capacity, he didn’t impress at either end + guilty of too many sloppy passes.
Song (7)
Played fairly well in the defensive midfielder role, should keep it in the absence of a viable alternative.
Fabregas (7) STAR MAN
If only because he scored the equaliser, otherwise neat and tidy but struggled to break through Sunderland’s mass of defensive-minded players.
Walcott (6)
Never really frightened the Sunderland defence with his pace. Put in a few half-decent crosses, otherwise his contribution was zilch, other than a howler of a back pass that nearly gave
Sunderland the lead.
Van Persie (6)
Completely wasted playing left-midfield; tried to get into the game but failed. Having said that, came up with a goal when it matter most, only to see it disallowed.
Adebayor (5)
Isolated up front, and therefore didn’t see enough of the ball. Could have worked a bit harder though, used to put in twice as much effort as he does now.
SUBSTITUTES
Bendtner (6)
A delicious lobbed ball to Van Persie would have made a fantastic assist if converted.
Nasri (5)
Played through the middle when he came on for Denilson. Had a tepid attempt on goal in the last 10 minutes but achieved little else.
Vela (5)
Only had 5 minutes, and consequently only touched the ball once. Would like to have seen him come on a lot earlier, his trickery could have created a breakthrough. Wenger appears to be making
substitutions due to pecking order rather than what's required on the pitch.
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How deep do Arsenal's flaws run?
Friday, 03 October 08, 03:46 PM
Sitting on the bench against FC Porto in the Champions League on Tuesday, laughing his head off as his Arsenal side tried to waltz their way through Porto's haphazard defence, it would be easy to come to the conclusion that Wenger is utterly oblivious to the weaknesses plaguing his current team. I would have expected him to be a lot more focused - as much as he expects of his players at least - to the defensive malaise, and particularly at how virtually every Porto counter-attack resulted in a strike on Manuel Almunia's goal. It was exactly the same at Hull last Saturday, for all Arsenal's dominance - read the stats - Arsenal 4 strikes on target, Hull 5.
I always look for these details during a football match - no matter what stage of the game, and usually long after my fellow Arsenal supporters have mentally switched-off. Arsenal could be 6-0 up, and an incredulous and repetitive mistake, for example by Gael Clichy, will still rankle me, because I know that that mistake will ensnare the team several weeks later when not everything is going Arsenal's way.
What sort of problems will Sunderland represent Arsenal tomorrow? Well that very much depends on how their novice manager Roy Keane is able to identify and exploit Arsenal's weaknesses, and much his players are able to tactically adapt themselves to carrying out his instructions. A manager might well know exactly how to exploit a team, but their players can often leave them looking foolish.
Sunderland have played three home games this season, two ending in defeat at the hands of Liverpool and Manchester City, and one victory against the most unpredictable team in the league, Middlesbrough.
Sunderland hint at a side that struggle to resist an instinct to attack in front of their expectant home supporters, but don't have the firepower to score regularly and neither the defensive prowess to keep a clean sheet. The Black Cats have two obvious danger men, forwards Djibril Cisse and El-Hadj Diouf - and both prefer to play the ball on the ground, in-keeping with the philosophies of their manager. Although, on their day, both can be a handful, that will still play to the strengths of Arsenal's speed-merchant defenders.
If Keane wants a result, he will have to change his tactics to focus on set-pieces and/or win by fire and brimstone. Either way, Sunderland will have to be as supremely well organised as Hull City were at the Emirates last week, and either way, Arsenal will have to be at their best. This current Wenger team is so attacking, and its defence so vulnerable that there is simply no room for non-performance. This is not just because the centre-backs panic under pressure and are dreadful at defending aerial balls, allied to the fact that Gael Clichy is experiencing a very poor run of form, but also because there is no adequate defensive midfielder in the squad, whilst Nasri and Walcott do not quite have the muscle to sufficiently protect their full backs.
One of Arsenal's biggest problems is focus. yet worryingly they were ultra-focused at home to Porto last Tuesday but still a mess at the back. That makes it very difficult to predict what will happen tomorrow. One thing's for sure, If I was a betting man Arsenal would not find their way onto my coupon at the moment, nor a lot of other punters I'm sure, after millions saw their bets wrecked by Hull City last week.
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Racism & homophobia alive and kicking – at Tottenham
Thursday, 02 October 08, 12:32 PM
From top to bottom, Tottenham Hotspur has never been a football club with much class, and after reading about the vile abuse directed at ex-Tottenham and Arsenal defender
Sol Campbell whilst playing for Portsmouth on Sunday, that opinion can only been strengthened.
As an Arsenal supporter that has been to hundreds upon hundreds of matches over the years, I can honestly say that apart from the odd ignoramus in the crowd, violence and racist/homophobic
chanting on mass is pretty much a non-existant or at most long-forgotten relic these days. As society has become more tolerant, so have the Arsenal supporters, further led by the long-standing
sophistication, traditions and respect embedded in their psyche by the club’s hierarchy.
Personally, I always found the anti-Tottenham chants relating to their large section of Jewish supporters distinctly embarrassing – even as a 13-year-old. Maybe I was brought up better or just
mature, but around a decade ago I also noticed a commitment from my fellow supporters to no longer tolerate such fascist chanting.
On one such occasion, I remember attending one of the big screen games at Highbury on a Saturday morning, relaying the Tottenham vs Arsenal clash several miles away in
North London. Behind me were a couple of oafish early-twenty-something Arsenal supporters, both singing in unison about gassing the Tottenham jews. As always, I
cringed in the knowledge that they happened to support the same football team as me, never mind the juvenile ignorance of it all. To me they were little more than a pair of knuckle-dragging
cavemen. Several years before that no doubt a few hundred of the Arsenal North Bank stand would heartily join in with the chanting – although those mantras in particular were always confined to
a very small section of the crowd. On this day, however, my discomfort was lifted by the many Arsenal supporters located around me turning round and actually telling this moronic duo to either
shut up or leave. Within 5 minutes, two policeman arrived on the scene, and politely reaffirmed the crowd’s general consensus. It was genuinely good to see supporters grassing up their own;
conformation that whatever your allegiance, this sort of behaviour should never be tolerated.
What then of Tottenham Hotspur supporters' persistent and savage chanting against Sol Campbell on Sunday? And in such huge numbers! I am not privy to the exact chants, but they may well have
been the very same as were chanted at White Hart Lane several years ago when Campbell last paid his old team a visit, running along the lines of.
"Sol, Sol, wherever you may be/You're on the verge of lunacy/And we don't give a f*ck if you're hanging from a tree/You Judas c*nt with HIV."
"He's big/He's black/He takes it up the crack/Sol Campbell, Sol Campbell."
Although I wasn't wholly comfortable with an ex-Spurs player coming to Arsenal, I recognised that Sol Campbell had actually done a very good job at Tottenham, helping to make the club
moderately successful without actually winning anything of note. Likewise George Graham did a fantastic job at Arsenal before becoming manager of Tottenham Hotspur, although I don’t remember
Arsenal supporters murmuring a word of abuse in George’s direction. We appreciated everything he had done for the club whilst he was a Highbury servant; we respected him, and accepted the
choice he had made as a free-thinking individual.
Tottenham fans, however, just can’t let it go, despite the fact that Campbell’s departure to Arsenal was SEVEN years ago, and therefore wholly irrelevant now – particularly as he’s been playing
for Portsmouth for almost half of that duration. So why on earth after all this time can so many Tottenham supporters still be enraged at Sol Campbell? Well, the fact is, they’re not enraged at
Sol Campbell, they’re simply venting their ugly frustrations following yet another year of on and off-the-field failure, then directing it at the very easiest of targets. A target that has
shown immense character and class by refusing to comment on the abuse directed at him for all of this time.
On a serious note, however, one has to ask, where is the FA in all this? Aren’t they supposed to support and protect their own players? Shouldn’t this utterly impotent organisation be writing
to Tottenham Hotspur Football Club and telling them to put their house in order and eject huge sections of the crowd who make such revolting and vociferous statements – that if were uttered in
the street in the vicinity of a policeman would no doubt find them arrested?
Worst of all, is the fact that there are young children sitting in the crowd who should surely be protected from having to listen to these degrading insults; where on earth is the
responsibility of the adults who are shouting this drivel in earshot of not only their own children - beggars belief - but other supporter's children? And where is the responsibility of other
children's parents, should they not subsequently complain to the club or the police? And most of all, where is the responsibility of Tottenham Hotspur Football Club's seemingly toothless board,
who to my knowledge have never even entertained the idea of coming out and admonishing their own supporters for such chanting, let alone threatened to remove their season tickets.
It’s hard to believe a club could sink much further than their placing in the Premier League, but it appears they have, and it leads to the conclusion that this is
a small club, with no ethics, no class, and whose own supporters have no values.
Of course I am not naive enough to suppose that Arsenal or any other club has a clean bill of health, but it's just a pity that we should again be reminded so starkly that football has a long
way to go before banishing its most ill-educated of misfits, and that football's club Chairman and authorities do not even bother to speak up against it, let alone take some much-required
action, is quite despicable.
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Arsenal 4 FC Porto 0: Match Report & Player Ratings
Wednesday, 01 October 08, 10:34 AM
Strangely, the scoreline of 4-0 flattered both Arsenal and Porto, as the end result could have easily been 7-3 such was the woeful level of defending displayed by both parties.
For Arsenal, the game started very much in the same vein as the Hull City debacle ended on Saturday evening, with Arsenal having all the possession and creating numerous half chances, but looking exceedingly vulnerable at the back to the counter-attacks and set pieces.
Theo Walcott was the brightest player on the pitch, constantly dribbling through the Porto midfield and creating space by taking players with him, although the quality of his final ball still tends to elude. That will come with time and experience, but I love his confidence at the moment.
Despite Arsenal controlling the majority of possession, it was Porto who had the first chance. Tomas Costa drifting into Gael Clichy’s vacant position and delivering a cross to Cristian Rodriguez whose header bounced off the Emirates turf and deflected off the top of the crossbar. A lucky escape.
Half-chances continued to arrive for Arsenal, but on the counter-attack Porto remained dangerous, Lisandro Lopez picking up on a weak clearance to strike a curling shot that Almunia did well to tip behind. From the ensuing corner, Arsenal were once again all over the place; a goalmouth scramble saw Clichy clearing off the line to prevent the visitors going one up. Arsenal were in a frightful mess at the back, the relationship between Clichy, Toure and Gallas appears completely unsalvageable. This isn’t a lack of commitment, rather a complete lack of competence.
On 27, Gallas ran upfield like a rampant rabbit, and with Samir Nasri misplacing the return pass it left Arsenal completely exposed at the back. The Porto counter-attack lead to a shot on goal that required a save from Almunia.
Then it was Porto’s turn to fall asleep, when out of nowhere Arsenal scored. A raking diagonal pass from Fabregas found Adebayor out wide, cutting back for the incoming Van Persie to arrive late and slot home. So dismayed by Arsenal's abysmal defending, I've never celebrated a goal less.
Following the goal, a buoyed Fabregas started to pull the strings in midfield as Arsenal slowly began to dominate possession. On 39, Arsenal extended the lead when a Van Persie corner was effortlessly headed in by Adebayor, who only had to jump from a standing position to gain advantage. It was Arsenal-like set-piece defending from Porto, but a vital goal for Adebayor’s confidence.
The second half started badly for the Portuguese, as on 47 Van Persie robbed Bruno Alves in the box and stabbed the ball wide of Helton in goal for 3-0. Credit to Van Persie for his determination, but absolutely shocking defending it has to be said. Arsenal chances soon began piling up as Porto gave up the ghost. On 52, Walcott missed an open goal from 5 yards, Nasri missed an equally good chance on 56, then Eboue and Bendtner came on, the latter winning a penalty following a needless foul in the box by Guarin. Adebayor sent the keeper the wrong way for 4-0.
Porto came forward in search of a goal to salvage some self-respect – creating more uneasy moments for Arsenal’s chaotic backline, particularly Clichy who seemed utterly clueless – constantly vacating his position and leaving unmarked attackers in his left-wing berth. Luckily Arsenal weren't punished. However, Porto's attacking also gave Arsenal the opportunity to counter, with Walcott’s pace and Bendtner’s intelligent through balls causing havoc for Porto's equally shambolic defence. Unfortunately, the brainless Adebayor ruined most of Arsenal's attacks by being blown offside – I counted 3 in about 5 minutes. He fluffed a great chance on 86 when slid through by Bendtner, then got in Eboue’s way on 88 as the ball pinballed around the Porto box.
All-in-all, Arsenal’s home advantage and superior technical ability, allied to the pace of Walcott and passing of Fabregas, won the game comfortably for the Gunners. But defensively, Porto were utterly abysmal at times, and Arsenal only marginally better in that department. Neither will win the Champions League, and closer to home it's clear that despite the convincing scoreline, Arsenal have massive problems at the back that seem only to be getting worse as the players' confidence visibly drains game by game.
If Arsenal fans are happy to sit back and watch some great entertaining football, and last night was unquestionably that, then they’ll certainly get their reward this season – unfortunately, the reward will not extend to medals and trophies.
Almunia (7)
Made a good save from Lopez in the first half, and even came out to punch a cross at one point.
Sagna (7)
Steady defensively, put some good crosses in tonight as well.
Toure (5)
Pretty awful at the back. Positionally all over the place and only wins 1 in 4 headers.
Gallas (5)
Gallas is falling apart. Shows no leadership qualities, never mind the much-required organisational skills of a captain.
Clichy (5)
Lost count of the amount of times he was drawn infield next to Gallas leaving his left-back slot completely exposed. Booked for a reckless and unnecessary tackle in the second-half, seems to be
losing the plot.
Walcott (8) STAR MAN
A constant threat all night with his amazing pace and dribbling skills. The end product is still lacking but Walcott is a frighteningly good prospect.
Denilson (6)
Had a decent game despite his lack of defensive ability – he’s clearly not up to that specific job so no point blaming him for it.
Fabregas (8)
Much better today from the Spaniard, excellent range of passing – held the midfield together.
Nasri (7)
Wasn’t at his best having just come back from injury, but clearly offers so much more than Eboue with his ball retention, creativity and passing attributes.
Van Persie (8)
Much better from Van Persie, who upped his work ethic and finished off some moves – although it has to be said Porto’s defenders bore innumerable gifts.
Adebayor (7)
Responded well to his poor exhibition on Saturday. Scored an easy header – but at least he was there. Missed some good chances as usual, but despatched the penalty calmly.
SUBSTITUTES
Eboue (6)
Disappointed to see him come on, seemed pointless - but did OK.
Bendtner (7)
Looks a tad slimmer and therefore quicker this season, and is mentally alert to everything around him.
Vela (7)
Didn’t see the ball enough unfortunately, but did one amazing dribble to get into the box. Increasingly like the look of him every time I see him.
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Arsenal, 
UEFA Champions League 2008 So what if Arsenal put 6 past Porto?
Tuesday, 30 September 08, 01:54 PM
FC Porto have won the Champions League twice, in 1987 and 2004. Considering they play in a Portuguese league of which most people would struggle to name more than four teams, that makes them a confident, dangerous team, and to a certain extent an unquantifiable proposition.
They haven't won a Champions League game on UK soil in their last 10, but they're playing Arsenal tonight so they have a fighting chance of breaking that lame duck.
Fortunately for Arsenal, Porto are not a team heavily reliant on set pieces, they are a technical team who like to keep the ball on the deck. However, any sane manager would instruct his players to attempt to exploit Arsenal's bare naked weaknesses. The manager is Jesualdo Ferreira, and he will tell his big players to run off Kolo Toure and William Gallas at corners, and during open play just hold 10 yards off them and get ready to strike any loose balls headed feebly into their path by the pairing.
Group G is a real toughie for the Gunners, although Porto's dismissal of Fenerbahce made me think twice for a minute. Dynamo Kiev are awful, and Arsenal should batter them at the Emirates, but then so will Porto and Fenerbahce - assuming the latter get their act together. That makes group G a three horse race, which means it's especially important to win your home games.
Arsenal should win tonight, but after Saturday everything's up in the air. You just can't trust this team anymore. For how many years have Van Persie, Gallas, Toure etc. being coming out in the press saying "we can win this", "we can win that"? It's starting to get embarrassing. Arsenal players should suspend making any major claims until they can make a decent fist of playing against the likes of Fulham or Hull City.
Assuming Arsenal raise their game tonight, and play Porto off the park, does that really mean anything anymore? The defeat at Hull City was so damaging for the supporters' morale. It tells us that a big victory tonight and still everything is not alright - there's no such thing as "back on track" with this Arsenal team. Arsenal could go October unbeaten then lose away to Stoke 2-1. A slip-up is always just around the corner when you have a half a team full of arrogant stars who think they only have to turn up to win. Wenger has to change that psyche fast, and permanently, and players who are incapable of complying should be shown the door, not continually mollycoddled.
The next two months will be incredibly illuminating - there's some real tough matches in there, and by the end of them we will know whether Arsenal are good for nothing or good for something.
But tonight it's FC Porto in the Champions League and Arsenal need to do more than win, they need to show a lot of desire and boundless effort. If they go 1-0 up, they need to raise the tempo, not lower it. The result at Hull City was bad news for Porto that's for sure - Arsenal will be a lot more fired up after Saturday's events.
But whatever the result and the performance, I am worried by the fragile mentality of this Arsenal team. It's hard to be a long-term optimist when dismal performances are becoming so frequent. I am sure Arsene Wenger is equally frustrated, but he's hardly blameless.
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Arsenal, 
Premier League Wenger's Unmagnificent 5
Monday, 29 September 08, 12:43 PM
Wenger replied, “My team slips away from me each year. Even in the best seasons, I sometimes get the impression that I don’t have any influence on them.”
An astonishing revelation – but a revelation it is. I honestly believe that people do not realise how difficult it is to be a football manager. One of the most difficult and yet crucial components is trying to consistently manipulate and control what is ordinarily impossible in everyday life, a person's psyche. In the case of the footballer’s psyche, it’s not just any old psyche, but one fed by preposterous media praise on an almost weekly basis along with a usually completely inappropriate-sized pay packet that only serves to sustain the players' sense of infallibility.
You can improve players technical ability and get them in the gym to see tangible results, but trying to get a material response from a player who has it in his head that he doesn’t need to turn up that day because he’s better than he thinks he is, or perhaps sub-consciously would rather admire his own skills and let his team mates do all the groundwork, is surely one of the most difficult aspects of football management.
For Arsene Wenger to have, by and large, achieved this and the success that has come with it for the last 12 years proves that coaches of his calibre are very few and far between.
More than ever, we live in a world of super-hype, where even the most average of players’ egos can run rampant via the sheer adulation heaped upon them - most of it undeserved. Football is probably the only industry in the world where an employee can be consistently dismal at his job and fail to achieve anything other than reaching a professional standard and yet be paid £25k a week and become financially secure for life.
It's becoming ever-increasingly clear that Arsene Wenger’s players are guilty of reading too many tabloid newspapers and believing their sensationalist headlines. Some of them honestly think they’re world class when they haven’t even won a Carling Cup trophy. Others have won major medals and perhaps don’t have the hunger for more; a few merely bask in the praise served upon them by supporters and management that don’t believe a word of it but are merely trying to get the best out of them. Unfortunately, the effect of such praise is not payback or enhanced commitment, rather that we should be grateful for them getting out of bed in the morning.
I am not a psychologist, but looking around the squad it’s fairly easy for even a novice like me to see which players are guiltiest of believing the hype the most – Adebayor, Van Persie, Denilson, Gallas, Clichy.
Let’s call them the “Unmagnificent 5” – or perhaps more appropriately “The soon to be dropped 5”.
It’s becoming clear that Adebayor is fairly mentally unstable – his continual problems playing for the Togo international squad, his bust ups with Nicklas Bendtner, his immediate disloyalty to Arsenal the minute big(ger) money was waved in front of his nose, his lack of intelligence on the football pitch which sees him blown offside up to 10 times per match. Here is a perfect example of a fairly dopey player for whom the manager’s wise words will have least effect when he steps out on the football pitch. If ever a player lived in his own egotistical vista, it’s Sheyi Emmanuel Adebayor.
Robin Van Persie is another. A supremely gifted player, but also one who goes out on the pitch believing it’s up to others to do the spade work whilst he waits for his opportunity to display his unquestionable talent. The result is a striker who disappears from games, makes selfish choices, and fails to integrate himself completely into the team. His professed loyalty to the club is a cloak for his self-centered conviction than when fit he is completely undroppable. How long would Van Persie last at Real Madrid or Barcelona? 5 minutes. He is in luxury at Arsenal and needs a wake-up call – being dropped would be a start.
Denilson – I don’t want to be too harsh on the lad, because he’s only young and has a lot to learn. But one of his weaknesses is his industry – or lack of it. Playing in a defensive midfield position, Denilson shows no appetite to pursue the work ethic required to fulfil that role. Having said that, Denilson plays like a Brazilian and thinks like a Brazilian – Brazilian’s are not known for churning out defensive midfielders. Song would be a better replacement right now; perhaps Denilson could salvage himself in place of the god-awful Eboue.
Another player whose ego resides on Mars is the Arsenal captain, William Gallas. He is a political captain, just as Thierry Henry was - neither are any good at it. Wenger’s big problem is that Gallas would almost definitely react badly to being stripped of his captaincy. It's easy to say, sell him, but that would probably ruin Arsenal's season - so Wenger has to be sensible and there aren't many alternatives. Fabregas is the obvious choice, but why burden him with more responsibility - he's already facing burn-out. Toure has no composure and flaps at everything – you can’t give it to him. If by consistency a good captain makes, then Bacary Sagna is doubtless Arsenal’s most consistent performer.
Gael Clichy. Everyone thought Clichy would be a natural successor to Ashley Cole, and for a while it looked like he would be. But if anything, this season and towards the end of last he has gone backwards. Despite his enthusiasm and incredible athleticism, Clichy is a player who rarely learns from his mistakes. He is far from the finished article defensively, and doesn’t always show the necessary commitment to, for example, cutting out crosses. Too assured of his place, you just get the feeling that a certain arrogance is hiding under Clichy’s bonnet – and it wouldn’t do any harm to drop him and let him know that he is not irreplaceable.
Will Wenger drop the Unmanificent 5? It’s clear to see that Wenger is struggling to control the mindset of some of his players, who are obviously falling for the headlines every time they play great football and win. They even fall for the headlines when the youth team wins in the Carling Cup, which is ironically having a detrimental effect on the first team.
Quite often, Arsenal seem to think they only have to turn up to win; that is the not the mentality of a winner, it’s the mentality of a loser!
In reality, Wenger doesn’t have many options when it comes to dropping players, as the squad is too young, but he could certainly replace Adebayor and Van Perise with Vela and Bendtner, and if Silvestre is fit he could replace Clichy, or preferably Gallas, who could then play left back and give Arsenal a more experienced back 5. Meanwhile, Song could come in for Denilson.
These are certainly the changes I would like to see made for the Porto game tomorrow night, although personally I think Wenger will cave in and stick with the same side and hope for a response or maybe revert to 4-5-1. Unfortunately, that formation remains risky business as Adebayor is lacking confidence at the moment and is not prolific enough to play the lone striker role, whilst no system will prevent Arsenal’s biggest weaknesses, letting in bad goals at set pieces.
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Premier League, Arsenal