Tag Archives: Arsenal

Where has Krystian Bielik gone?

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He was signed with a bit of a fan fare, many people quoting a single new paper article stating that we had signed the new Patrick Vieira. The hype became so great that a day after his signing, many Arsenal fans were calling for him to start in the FA Cup match against Brighton.

But since his signing, what has happened to Krystian Bielik?

The hype when we signed him was vastly unjustified. This was a barely 17 year old Polish midfielder who had only played a handful of senior games. Many people had built their views on the numerous papers and blogs which called him a ‘wonderkid’ and labelled him as the new Patrick Vieira.

Bielik

‘The new Patrick Vieira’ label had come from a single newspaper report, which every other newspaper then picked up on and quoted. This was then picked up by various blogs, and then it became a self fulfilling prophecy. Fans were getting excited, despite having never heard of him before December last year, and having never seen him play. The original article only labelled him as the new Patrick Vieira because he was tall and a teenager. I doubt they have ever seen him play.

The signing of Bielik seemed to be hit by delays and more delays. It should have been an easy deal to complete, but it took weeks of drawn out negotiations, resulting in us issuing a ‘Missing Persons’ Poster. It seems that Bielik is now making a habit of disappearing.

Despite all the hype, he has pretty much not been heard of since he joined. After the 1st week of people clamouring for him to start (although this was probably more due to our issues in the middle of the park than his talent), the hype seems to have quietened down (again, maybe this is due to Coquelin stepping up). So nearly 2 months after he signed, where has the New Patrick Vieira got to?

The youngster made his debut for the Under 18’s at the end of February, playing 60 minutes in a 3-1 defeat to Norwich – watched by Arsene Wenger – and then 75 minutes against Leicester a few days later.

He then went on to play the full 90 minutes for the under 21’s in a 1-0 defeat against Derby where he had a header cleared off the line. His performance was described as “quiet but tidy.”

Bielik did not play in the next U18’s match against Norwich (another defeat), nor in the 0-0 draw with Blackburn of the U21’s. It is clear that Arsenal are taking his progress slow.

It was unreasonable to expect him to go into the first team straight away. Arsenal are doing the right thing with him. There is no need to rush. 6 months training with the first team, and breaking through and performing with the youth sides will be good for his development. Do not expect to see Bielik near the first team soon. This is a talented young lad who Arsene Wenger has said will not play this season.

Keenos

 

Monaco, Sanchez, Ozil & Walcott

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Monaco

Last night Arsenal were not glorious defeat. Arsenal were not unlucky. It was not a result to be proud of. Ultimately, Arsenal were dumped out at the 2nd round of the Champions League once again. And we were victims of our own downfall.

Yes, 2-0 away at a side who had not conceded a home goal since November is a good result, and as a single game, it was an excellent performance, one of our best of the season, but the Champions League is over 2 legs, and having conceded 3 at home in the 1st leg, we did not deserve to go through.

We showed how average this Monaco team was last night and, infact, had finishing been better, both last night and at home, we could have scored 5 or 6. We should have scored 5 or 6. A 2-0 win away at Monaco should have been expected. It should have been building on a comfortable home victory. But we bottled it at home. That last second goal at the Emirates putting the nail in the coffin.

We are out and deserve to be so.

Spurs fans however need a reality check. For some time, we have known that there footballing lives is dictated by our failures, rather than their success, and their boasting about us being out, and them having made more quarter finals in recent years shows how small time they are. They got knocked out of the Europa League, are 7th in the league, lost in the League Cup Final, and are out of the FA Cup. Their season is over.

As things stand, Spurs will need need Arsenal to win the FA Cup for them to get into Europe next season. There is a sensible Spurs fan out there:

Alexis Sanchez

Alexis Sanchez is a brilliant player. He plays the game the way everyone should. Realising you have a talent, working hard at it, and playing with a smile on your face. You know his life is football. You get the sense he is more interested in kicking a ball about than the money in the bank.

At times this season, he has single handedly won games for Arsenal. But in his last 11 games, he has gone off the boil, with just 1 goal and 1 assist in that time.

It is natural for players to have peaks and troughs throughout their career. Even more usual is foreign players to have an average 1st season. The fact Sanchez started so brilliantly just further highlights his current dip of form.

The worry for me is Sanchez’s response to this dip in form. Rather than keeping it simple, playing himself back into form, Sanchez seems to be burying his head in and complicating his game. Last night was a perfect example.

Sanchez continually gave the ball away, continually ran into blind alleyways. Yes, he was fouled a lot, and wrongly booked for diving, but it was certainly his worst game in an Arsenal shirt so far.

At 74%, his pass completion was only better than Olivier Giroud, of our starting 11 – Cazorla, Ramsey & Ozil were all over 84%, Coquelin 94.6%. Yes, I know that passing is not his game, but 74% is very low, that is dribbling.

He only successfully completed 1 dribble, and was disposed more than any other player 0 bar Giroud, and with just 1 shot, which  was off target, he contributed little.

You could see last night why he does not suit Barcelona and why they were happy to sell him. He is not a team player. It reminds me of when you play FIFA online in the mode where you play as a single player. There is always someone in your team who every time they pick up the ball, they attempt to run it the length of the field and score. They usually mess up. Sanchez is that sort of player.

He needs to learn to get his head up, to notice his team mates, to play the simple pass. He does not need to try and win the game single handedly every time.

Despite the criticism, he is a quality player and will continue to get better.

Mesut Ozil

Whilst Alexis Sanchez seems to be immune to criticism, Mesut Ozil seems to be able to do nothing right in the eyes of most journalists and some Arsenal fans. Since he has returned from his injury, he has been in sensational form, and last night was no different.

The reports from last night would make you think Ozil had a stinker. Bet lets look at things:

Successful dribbles – 6 (Match high)
Passes – 101 (Only Cazorla completed more)
Pass completion – 84.2%
Kay passes – 2 (Match high)
Touches – 126 (Only Cazorla had more)
Crosses – 8 (Match high)

Yes, he might not do the defensive work load some demand, but that is not his game. Complaining that Ozil does not put in enough tackles is the same as moaning that Mertesacker does not put in enough crosses, our Bellerin does not make enough saves. It is not his game.

As for the shirt swap. Some people were up in arms over this, but in my opinion, if you are the one being asked to be swapped with, it is actually a good thing, as it shows your opponent believes himself to be inferior to you. Kondogbia asking Ozil to swap was very different to Santos asking van Persie to swap.

Theo Walcott

What to do with Theo Walcott. Since he returned from nearly a year out, he has struggled. Struggled to make the starting 11, struggled to make an impact when he come’s on.

The chances he has missed since returning from his injury are into double figures. Against West Ham he could have had a hat trick, last night he should have scored – hitting the post.

The problem is he plays on the edge of the game. Bar hitting the post last night, he did little else. In 25 minutes of football, he touched the ball just 4 times. In comparison, Gibbs was on the field for half the time yet had 21 touches.

I have long been a fan of Walcott, and 2 years ago he was one of the best players in the Premier League and had finally looked to have become a man, then he got injured.

He is now 26, and as examples of Michael Owen and Fernando Torres show, players start to slow down in their mid-late twenties, and if you have not developed other aspects to your game (as Giggs & Henry did) you will struggle. Walcott is now in that boat.

With one year left on his contract, Arsenal have a decision to make. Do they offer him the deal he wants, which, with his recent injury record and dip in form could be a waste of money in a year or so, or do Arsenal cash in this summer.

I feel it will be the later. I would not be too surprised to see Walcott moved on and Arsenal sign Raheem Sterling, who also has 1 year left on his contract. Or even a shock move for Gareth Bale.

The fact is, our right hand side is the weakest part of our attack. Walcott can be improved on. I think he will be improved on.

Keenos

 

MEDIA REACTION TO PITCH INVASION IS WHAT REALLY RUINS FOOTBALL.

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I have a message for Mark Lawrenson, Jonathan Pearce and the BBC. Do us a favour: the next time you promote the FA Cup, please stop using those iconic images of 1970s Herford United fans running on to the pitch directly after Ronnie Radford blasted one into the top corner. Every year those special scenes at Herford are repeated, and yet when a similar thing happens at Villa Park in 2015, the media reaction is one of utter disgust and contempt. The revulsion in which BBC’s commentary pair Lawrenson and Pearce carried, was enough for a blind viewer to wonder if the Villa fans were having sex with farmyard animals in full view. ‘This is a disgrace’ ‘appalling scenes here at Villa Park and they’ll all be on CCTV” said Pearce in the shameful hope that these fans would soon face banning orders.

A young kid on the pitch was shown on camera holding up a Villa scarf and he looked overjoyed as Jonathan Pearce spoke of ‘Ugly scenes at Villa Park’.

When listening to such drivel, I feel like I’ve entered some kind of Twilight Zone; an upside down world where people being happy and exuberant are now the bad guys. A few rules were broken – so fucking what. Get over yourself, it’s just a game. Our game – and these establishment guys really don’t like it when the genuine custodians do something spontaneous.

Villa fans have had very little to cheer about in the last two decades, so how can such an outpouring of hope be so misunderstood?

Lawrenson snarled “It’s like a return to the 1980s” Yeah it was, which was why it was so brilliant.

When did a pitch invasion/celebration become a bad thing? I recall in 1988, at the age of ten, witnessing a manic pitch invasion at Highbury. 2,000 happy Gooners ran on the pitch to celebrate Arsenal getting to the League Cup Final. That kind of thing got you addicted to being a football fan. I urge you readers to watch that Highbury clip by going to youtube and typing in pitch invasion at Arsenal v everton.

When watching this video, please note how casual the commentator is compared to the reaction of Lawrenson and Pearce.

Today’s line of outrage is almost exclusive to the modern media. Most people I’ve spoken to, and most comments I have read on social media, emphatically conclude that the Villa fans did nothing wrong.

I coach children’s football and this week I asked them what they thought of the Villa Park incident. These ten year old kids thought it was wonderful. They identified with the excitement and passion and they could not understand why the Villa fans were so heavily condemned. One kid thought it was absurd that anyone would conclude that it would have ruined Tim Sherwood’s day, as suggested by some in the media.

Step forward Des Kelly from the Evening Standard. His outrage of the pitch invasion was enough for him to proclaim ‘Give me the Library (silent atmosphere) any day’. Next to his article were pictures of happy Aston Villa fans alongside the words “Disgraceful scenes at Villa Park”

Des, why so angry when you actually get what you want 99% of the time. In fact you’ve had what you prefer for a couple of decades now; as most games today will carry that dream of yours. Why

are you complaining because of one small incident – you get what you want every week – a boring and static atmosphere!

What was most appalling about Des Kelly’s classist article was that he claimed that the only people who complain about the sanitisation of football were aging white men. This is not true at all and how dare Des Kelly (a former writer for the Daily Mail) claim to know how ethnic minorities feel about the way football should be watched; I can confidently state that most black football fans I speak to long for the days when passionate crowds cheered on their team old school style. In the 1980s clubs such as West Ham, Birmingham, Man City and Spurs had a lot black fans who attended games, arguably more so than now. Just like ‘aging white men’ ethnic minorities do not appreciate being priced out of football and being told how to behave by orange coated kill joys.

I’ve been part of Arsenal fan protest movements where the the actual organizers have names such as Raj and Omar. They don’t like the modern game any more than so called aging white men.

Was there some overt racism in the 1980s – yes of course and aside from a few Chelsea morons on the Paris Metro last month (who exist today but somehow the 1980s got blamed) – nobody is calling for a return to that. However, fans of all races, genders and ages do want a game where supporters have the freedom to show a bit of exuberance – without being labelled as scum or village idiots.

Written by Matthew Bazell

 

 

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