Diamond Cutters At The Ready - Why Arsenal CAN Beat Chelsea
Saturday, 28 November 09, 02:10 AM · Comments(15)
Listening to Fans Forum last night (I didn't bother entering the competition this week as A. I couldn't afford the flights to the match if I'd won the pair of tickets to the Chelsea match and B. I didn't think they'd let me win two weeks in a row, though I did briefly consider entering under a false name until I remembered A.) when a very good point was made which gave me added hope for Sunday. In fact, by the time I had finished this blog, it had given me faith, a starting point to see a way through the machine that has become Chelsea.
I shall get to that in a minute. First, I'll let you into my thinking as to how the game was going to go prior to hearing it so you can see why I needed something, anything to sway the
balance.
When I thought about what the final result on Sunday would be, I just didn't know. I genuinely didn't have a clue. There was a teeny tiny part of me that dared to hope, kept shouting 3-1 3-1
3-1. It dared to dream that we could do again what we did at Stamford Bridge last season. But the bigger part of me remembered, painfully, what they did to us at the Emirates. We haven't lost
at home, in fact, we've won every match, that has to be a good sign right? But then those sort of runs have to come to end at sometime. I was basically being schitzophrenic about the whole
thing.
So much depends on the back four, will Gallas play? Who'll play left-back? Eduardo, Vela or Theo through the middle? Will Almunia remember he's playing a competitive match or think he was out
for a stroll with his pink dog again? Will Drogba do to our centre-backs what he normally does or will the Verm keep him in his pocket for the 90, only occassionaly punching him behind the
ref's back? What about Anelka, you know he likes to score against us, if the Verm has Drogba and Gallas isn't playing, will he be left to Butternut? Will Arshavin steal the show like he did
when he first arrived or will he be quiet as he has been for much of the season? Which Arsenal will turn up? Can our defense hold more than theirs? Will 4-3-3 blunt the diamond or will they
simply cut through our heart?
So many questions. And I just didn't have any answers. The only thing I knew was that it wouldn't be dull.
Then I heard the fan on Arsenal TV. I wish I could remember his name and give him the credit for one of the smartest things I've heard in a long time (I apologise if someone has already raised
this point and I missed it).
Cheslea, as we all know, have adopted a diamond formation this season. The diamond, as we also know, is a European formation and not one you are likely to see deployed in England unless it's by
a visiting European team. So, it's no surprise then, that they are blowing teams away, afterall, these teams, for the majority, have never faced such a contraption as the diamond. How on earth
do they cope? But hang on you say, what about Villa and Wigan? They beat Chelsea, and Man U should have. What do those three teams have that the others didn't? Experience in Europe. That's what
(Wigan may not as a club, but their manager most certainly does). You might be thinking they dispatched Liverpool with aplomb and Liverpool have heaps of European experience, but seriously, who
isn't beating Liverpool these days? And especially in a 'European' setting.
With this thought, my belief that we could get a result increased 10-fold. And off my mind went.
Chelsea might be 'blowing teams away' but quite a few results have also come by the skin of their diamond-studded teeth. Both their losses came away from home, and, as Wenger has pointed out
more than once, we have played two more away games than they have, with a game in hand to boot.
We don't have RVP or Super NIk to torture Chelsea's centrebacks, and that might actually turn out to be to our advantage. Terry & Co. like a big man to mark, they'd prefer power over pace
and movement given that they themselves move like tractors.
In Vermaelen and Gallas we have a centre-back pairing that can handle anyone when they are on top of their game. No Gallas? Then we have a natural leader in the Verminator who will hopefully
haul his counterpart into line. Perhaps we'd see Song in there beside the Verm, what a pairing that could be. TV5 can take Anelka and his pace and Song can just stick to Drogaba so tight that
he has no need to get off the ground and win an aerial ball. Denilson can sit and protect and then use his small ankles to splay that ball around the park to set us on our way. Nasri, who has
become quite the tackler, in the middle beside Cesc, Arshavin on one side, Rosicky on the other, and Eduardo/Vela/Theo through the middle.
Almost makes you drool doesn't it? Suddenly the fear is leaving me but no doubt it'll be back between now and the end of the match.
People might discuss what we may or may not be lacking up front, the doubts might be looming large over left-back and the potential centre-back pairing, but for me, our biggest concern is Almunia. Will Chelsea have noticed that he hasn't a clue and if you shoot, generally, he'll dive too early or too late? Can we stop them getting near him? Don't be stupid, off course we can't. But that's ok. We need to learn to accept our defensive frailties, embrace them, make them our own and then they cannot hurt us. Acknowledge where we are weak but know that where we are strong can more than compensate. It's all very new-agey, but it saves heart attacks.
Embrace the fact that we will only keep one clean sheet in 10, but only if you embrace the fact that we are scoring more goals than anyone else ever has in Premier League (short) history. Did we care that Henry couldn't head a ball for shit and therefore could not be seen as a 'complete' centre forward? Did we fuck, we knew what he could do with his feet more than covered for what he couldn't do with his head and we loved him for it, hell, we usually had a laugh when he tried a header. This is what I propose we do with our defence. I don't know why we suck at the back, Almunia aside, the individual components of our defense are exceptional. So perhaps all the balme does lie with the keeper. I don't know, but what I do know is that we can't do anything about it so why worry?
At the start of the season I said we'd have to score more than we let in, and I keep bringing it up because I don't often get things so spot on. Our season, as we have seen, is about scoring
more than we concede and we have no reason to think that will change on Sunday. Or for the rest of the season. For that reason, we have to do what we do best, and that is all out attack - try
and get as many as we can before our defence cracks. And let's remember, no team keeps the ball better than us, and there's fuck all their diamond can do if it hasn't got the ball.
I also now fancy us to break our duck when it comes to not scoring in the first 15 minutes of a match this season.
I read on Jamrockrovers blog that Wilshere is a doubt for Man City due to an ankle injury (I was watching the match and it was a shocking tackle) and Merida
will be banned (given that the match was being filmed by one man with him camera-phone Arsenal TV didn't really capture the incident but the commentators seemed very firm in their belief that
not only had Delph been the instigator he had also grabbed Merida by the throat in a much more threatening manner than what Fran was being sent off for, even though they didn't say what that
was, just for reacting) it gives Le Boss the perfect excuse to slip in two more experienced midfielders. I really hope he does. While I absolutely love seeing the kids in the Carling Cup, Man
City will be fielding a top side and I simply don't want to see them humiliated. But more on that after we get Chelsea sorted out. Bit of a tangent I know, but the tackle on Wilshere just
popped into my head as I was running through all the players and options we have for Sunday.
Back to that.
Sky and the Redtops will tell you that Sunday is do or die for Arsenal. Many will even try and tell you that even should Arsenal beat Chelsea all that will do is open the door for Man U and let
then slip through as we eventually fade. Don't let them fool you.
Our title challenge does not depend on the result against Chelsea, though a win would be fantastic, and no loss is ideal, it would be far from the end of us in this league campaign. Wenger will
have a fair idea how many points will be needed to win the league, and he will revise that figure as every week passes and teams lose unexpectedly. It doesn't matter where we get those points,
just that we get them.
Wenger has also stated, quite categorically, that this team's time has come. There can be no more hiding behind youth and inexperience. He isn't asking us to wait any more. He believes, and he
is promising, that this team WILL deliver this season.
We've trusted and believed in him this far, why should we do any different now?
Arsene knows, and he says we can beat Chelsea.
That's good enough for me.
And that's your lot for today, all that remains today then is to remind you of the competition which will be running until midnight after the Chelsea game. You can win a large 'Let's Talk About Cesc' Tshirt (click on the link to have a look at it in more detail). Not exactly an Arseblog-style pair of tickets to the Chelsea match, but hey, it's free...
So far, there's only been a few entries (I'm choosing to believe that everyone is taking their time over their entries rather than no-one's interested/reading) so you have great odds of winning....
Unlike most competitions though, this one will require a tiny bit of skill.
So, to win (and you can enter as many times as you like), simply send your ideas for what would make the perfect Arsenal Tshirt to info@ladyarse.com. It would help if you could put 'TSHIRT COMPETITION' in the subject line (or click the email address above and that'll do it for you).
It can be about Arsenal club, players past and/or present, or slagging off any other player or team in the league, the topic is open. Basically, it only has to be a TShirt an Arsenal fan would
love to wear.
The winner will be announced in the first blog after the Chelsea game, and please note that by entering you're giving me permission to use your ideas to make a TShirt/TShirt
transfer...well...you didn't think I was doing it TOTALLY free did you?
So let's be having your ideas then...info@ladyarse.com and it would be appreciated if they could be in English as I'm an
ignorant fool
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LadyArse
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Arsenal and the world of football from a woman's perspective
15 Comments · Add yours
nice blog..agree with most of the things.Even with Chelsea's fraility against teams like VIlla and Wigan,i think we can fancy ourselves winning any game at emirates this season.
Bad news!!RVP is out for four to five months
Reply to akshat17:
I know...I just saw that. Wrote the blog late last night so hadn't seen that news...WTF sounds like the Dutch FF didn't deal with the injury properly at first at that's cost us VP for the rest of the season
Reply to LadyArse:
Sounds more like Robin ignored proper medical advice to me. Arsene voiced his scepticism about this quack right from day one and he was right.
Placenta on a ruptured ankle? Fucking clown shoe clubfoot waiting to happen. He only returned to the club Nov 22nd. He's just a few months into a new contract and now he's fucked for this season.
I think I'm going to change my name again.
Clownshoe van Clubfoot.
Reply to ClownshoeVanClubfoot:
Is that you EII???? Great new name... Ancelotti was asked yesterday if he thought Lampard's placenta treatment was the reason he was back and fit earlier than he expected, he said "I don't know, he was with her for one hour and the club doctors for 80, so who knows" or something like that LMAO
I'd say the placenta did no good or damage, it would have been the fact that Arsenal are saying
"“Upon his return, the Arsenal medical team conducted a thorough review of his scans, his early injury management and the treatment he had received. Having scrutinised these in detail and assessed the response of his ankle, the Club’s medical team concluded that further investigation and opinion was required.
“Advice was sought from the leading ankle specialist Mr Niek van Dijk, who confirmed that more extensive damage had been suffered than was first diagnosed.”
Which is basically club speak for 'The Dutch FA fucked up and got the diagnosis wrong'
Reply to LadyArse:
It took van Clownshoe 8 days to get back to the club for a proper assessment. He could have had a scan and an op within a couple of days. The club specialists know his anatomy and his injury and treatment history better than anyone.
Instead it's been over a fortnight, in which time he's been allowed to pursue baseless pseudo-scientific treatment from a fraudulant quack - and on what? A whim and the recommendation of a former team mate... WTF?!! I mean WTFF is that about?!!
Whatever the f**k it is, it's certainly not professional. He's probably done his injury no end of damage and put his recovery back a couple of months.
The club should have intervened. He's their investment and they should have protected his interests. I have no sympathy for the player and I have no time for pointing the finger at the Dutch FA. The club should have been preemptive instead of endulging his stupidity and placing faith in people with no financial interest in him.
Reply to ClownshoeVanClubfoot:
Bad mood much?
It's your own fault for thinking van Persie could make it through more than 5% of a season without somethin falling off...your expectations are just waaaay to high
Only messin, I totally get your points, I thought VP would have been back at the club before going to Serbia, that just seems like the logical thing to have happened so that's what I assumed - he came back, club had a look, then off he went to Serbia...
That is concerning if it was allowed to happen the way you said it did
I think the club believed the analysis of the Dutch FA's medics but that was obviously wrong in hindsight. I wonder if the damage was worsened by not getting the right treatment to start with. I would imagine that we are due plenty of compensation from the Dutch.
Reply to LadyArse:
If you read the 'I felt nobody could stop me' piece on the club site it outlines it all.
He says he's been in contact with club staff but he's almost certainly not been assessesd by them or he wouldn't have gone for the placenta treatment - and he's only just had his leg set yesterday. Pure farce.
I do sound angry don't I? Really, I'm not. If we were sitting face to face it wouldn't sound vitriolic at all. I just think more should have been done sooner and I think now the club are doing a face-saving excercise.
Reply to ClownshoeVanClubfoot:
Your new name is hilarious BTW
I can't stop laughing everytime I read it
Reply to LadyArse:
Cheers, LA.
I got it from Jay and Silent Bob, where a kid leaves 'Jay and Silent Bob are fucking clown's shoes' on a forum.
Reply to LadyArse:
It is a very good name and it's about time he had a new one.
Reply to JamrockRover:
I had to change my Eduardo in his santa hat pic though.
I thought people might assume I was Eduardo hating... with the clubfoot reference.
Reply to ClownshoeVanClubfoot:
you put waaaaaaay too much thought in to these things lol
Reply to LadyArse:
I probably do...