Tag Archives: Bayern Munich

Wenger Needs to Rest Players in the Champions League

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With the loss at Stoke on Saturday the league campaign is once again slipping away. I cant see us maintaining a challenge to finish top. Chelsea seem to be bang in form and with City winning the C1C it’ll give them added momentum to move through the gears and start putting the pressure on to Chelsea. It will be a 2 horse race IMO.

We gave a huge effort against Bayern Munich in the first leg and with 11 players on the pitch the game could have taken a different turn. Had we deservedly gone 1-0 up in the first 10 minutes we would have been confident enough to get the win but it didn’t happen like that and now we have the prospect of going out to Munich 3 days after a massive quarter final against Everton in a competition we have a real chance of winning.

Off target: Mesut Ozil missed from the spot in Arsenal's 2-0 defeat against Bayern Munich on Wednesday night

We need to be selective over the game we choose to be more important and ultimately play a weaker side in the game we deem to be less important. Last season Wenger played a weaker than usual side against Blackburn on a Saturday in the FA Cup, as we were due to play Munich at home on the Tuesday after. This ended in disaster with us losing to Blackburn and then going out against Munich. We should have chosen the more important game and gone all out to win it rather than to try and win both, which was beyond us.
Don’t get me wrong, the team we put out against Blackburn should have won comfortably but they didn’t and so you look at the changes made as the reason why. Squad players that came in were Coquelin, Ox, Diaby and Rosicky I think, and Wenger made a total of 7 changes to the team from the previous game.

If we look at the current situation we need to choose the FA Cup game as the one to win and we need to play a strong side which means playing squad players out in Munich. We are fading in the league, top 4 should still be a formality but a title challenge is becoming more and more distant. Being 2-0 down to Munich is a hard result to overturn especially in their own back yard, yes we did beat them last season 2-0 but I can’t see us doing that again. We have Everton in the FA Cup quarter final in a game we can possibly win. If we get through we have a Semi Final at Wembley with a shot at the final. This has to be the game we target.

It raises the question of the fans. Fans that have paid good money to go out to Munich to follow them and support them, if they saw a weakened side they wouldn’t be happy which is understandable. My Step Dad is one of those fans going out there and he has stated the opposite, he would happily go and support the squad players so long as we play full strength in the cup against Everton. I’m not sure if this opinion is across the board with fans going out to Munich, maybe you could let me know your thoughts.

We have a chance of a trophy and we need to do everything we can to get to that final to win it. Id be disappointed if on Saturday we see changes and players rested for the Munich game. Our squad is not the deepest and its too much to ask to be at full strength for both games.
I truly hope Wenger sees it this way and does the right thing!

Cheers for reading

Norby

Munich defeat, Referees, Mesut Ozil, Silver Lining, Yaya Sanogo, Coefficients

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Munich Defeat

Ok, we lost. 2-0 at home. On the face of it, we should be disappointed. Out of the Champions League 1st knock out stages once again before the second leg has been played. However, where as last year and against AC Milan, we had every right to be annoyed and ashamed, this morning Arsenal fans can hold their heads up high.

Before we went down to 10 men, we showed how good we were, matching Bayern Munich all over the pitch. This Bayern Munich side who are favourites for the Champions League. Who beat Barcelona 7-0 last year. Had Mesut Ozil (more on this later) scored his penalty, had the referee (more on this later) been more consistent, it might have been a different result. Unfortunately, that’s football.

Down to 10 men against a world class side is always going to be an uphill struggle. And we did ourselves proud. You only have to look at ‘distance covered’ by all players to see everyone gave 100%.

Lazy Ozil?

We can hold our head’s up high, and go into our next 3 games confident that we are not just one of the best teams in England, but one of the best in Europe. Hopefully this defeat leads to a similar negative spiral as we had last year (hi AVB!)

Referees

Before I start my rant, Sczcesny was right to be sent off. He bought down his opponent denying him a goal scoring chance. For those saying the rule is wrong, is unfair, if you changed it, you would simply see an increase in keepers run out, charging into the man, knowing that the worst that can happen is giving away a penalty. With the rule as it is, it means that keepers at least have to be controlled and make a valid attempt at getting the ball.

The issue with the referee was inconsistency. Last night (and the Manchester City game) perhaps showed that, despite claims otherwise, European referees are no better than their Premier League counterparts. Why was Boateng not sent for giving away the penalty? He denied a goal scoring opportunity. He then later committed a couple more tackles worthy of a yellow card. Dante seemed untouchable, committing fouls at will, yet no booking. Lets look at some stats:

Arsenal: 8 fouls, 2 yellow cards, 1 red card
Bayern Munich: 16 fouls, 2 yellow cards

To quote Manuel Pellegrini, “The referee decided the game. He was on Barcelona’s Munich’s side from the beginning until the end. He was not impartial”.

Mesut Ozil

Firstly the criticism. What was that penalty about? For the second time this season, he has taken a lazy penalty and missed. It is now the 3rd penalty in a row he has missed. I do not know his overall record, but 3 in a row is enough for me. Surely we take penalties in training? Surely we can see who the best penalty taker is? Surely that person should be on penalties? The only rational thinking is Ozil scores everyone in training, or (and more likely) he has it in his contract that he should be taking penalties. Yes, Arteta & Giroud were not on the pitch, but after yet another miss, it is time for someone else to step up.

On the other side, he has once again got a lot of criticism for his performance, which is once more very unfair. People called him ‘lazy’ yet he covered the 3rd most amount of ground in the side. His season statistics show he has been one of the best midfielder’s in the Premier League this season. In my opinion, he could do with a bit of a rest.

With Sunderland at home this weekend, the time for a rest is now. With Rosicky, Cazorla, Podolski, Oxlade-Chamberlain & Wilshere all fit and raring to go, lets give Ozil a rest. I would line up:

Flamini Wilshere
Ox Cazorla Podolski

With our next game against Stoke 9 days off, it will give Ozil a chance to re-charge his batteries.

Silver Lining

Losing could be good. There could be a silver lining. As I explained yesterday, I would have thrown the Champions League and chucked in the kids from day one. Now we have lost 2-0, we should seriously consider putting out a ‘b’ team in Germany – yes, if you are going, I feel for you, maybe the club should refund all tickets, so you at least get your ticket for free. We have a chance of winning the FA Cup & League. Let’s put our eggs into those baskets and concentrate on those competitions.

Looking at the upcoming fixture’s list, it looks a lot lighter without Champions League football – especially if you ‘remove’ the Munich game from the minds of the 1st team:

Arsenal v Sunderland Sat 22 Feb
Stoke v Arsenal Sat 1 Mar
Arsenal v Everton Sat 8 Mar
Arsenal P-P Swansea
Tottenham v Arsenal Sun 16 Mar
Chelsea v Arsenal Sat 22 Mar
Arsenal v Man City Sat 29 Mar
Everton v Arsenal Sat 5 Apr
Arsenal v West Ham Sat 12 Apr
Hull v Arsenal Sat 19 Apr
Arsenal v Newcastle Sat 26 Apr
Arsenal v West Brom Sat 3 May
Norwich v Arsenal Sun 11 May

Yes, the Spurs, Chelsea, Man City, Everton run of games is difficult, but we can now face them without having the distraction of mid-week football. With the Swansea game required to be re-arranged (plus if we beat Everton, West Ham will be arranged), we will only have 2 mid week games between now and the end of the season. Tiredness should not become an excuse. Losing last night means our focus can fully shift to domestic competitions.

Yaya Sanogo

Another solid performance in the fledging career of Sanogo. Yes, he might not have scored (better players have taken longer to score their first goal), but he once more did not look out of place playing up against International class players. Would I play him against Sunderland? No. If Giroud’s head is back in the game, he should be straight back in. But in Sanogo, we have a talented player who’s style could be a useful change coming off the bench. Next season, if we buy a striker, I will be more than happy with the enw striker as first choice, Giroud as second, and Sanogo as 3rd. And with his natural ability, he would be pushing Giroud hard.

Coefficients

For those worried that yet another 1st knock out round defeat is going to dame our coefficient rankings, do not worry, it will not, we will still be seeded for next year. To be top 8, you need, on average, 100,000 coefficient point’s. You usually accrue around 20,000 if you make the knock out stages.

The current ‘live’ update of points puts Arsenal in 6th place. With Manchester United unlikely to qualify, that puts us in 5th. The winners of the competition usually get 35,000. That means only sides who are within 15,000 points of us can finish above us.Champions League

Only Porto (knocked out), AC Milan (9th in Serie A), Valencia (not in CL) and Atletico Madrid are within 15,000 points. So realistically, only Madrid can beat us, and they need to win the thing to do so – which is unlikely. Yes, our place could be under pressure in the future with the rise of Dortmund, PSG and Manchester City, but they are at least another season from being near us, and with Manchester United likely to drop out, our place in the top 8 will remain secure, as long as we keep making the knock out stages.

Out of the Champions League, but in with a chance of 2 domestic honours. Back the team. Up the Arsenal.

Keenos

Liverpool is in the past, time to move on to Bayern Munich

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One of the best things about football at this time of year is how games come at you thick and fast (unless you are a Spurs fan). No sooner have you recovered from one game, you have to start getting yourself up for the next. And for Arsenal this year, it is not just that games have come thick and fast, but they have been big games too.

Liverpool, Manchester United, Liverpool and Bayern Munich. In the space of just 11 days. Whilst Liverpool fans will spend this week still cryarsing over a defeat which was never their fault, or attentions are fully on the next game. The Champions League tie against Munich.

Personally, I have quite negative thoughts about this upcoming game. Not due to side itself, but just towards my current feelings towards Arsenal and the Champions League.

Firstly, I am one of the many who have opted out of the game. I did this with a heavy heart. I love The Arsenal and would walk over hot coals to see then play. But with a 3% ticket rise already for next season, going to Bayern Munich at home would have added £100 to my season ticket price next season. Whilst that is affordable, I had to look towards the future.

Were we to beat Liverpool (we did) and then draw an FA Cup quarter final home tie (we did), my season ticket would then go up an additional £50 (approx). That takes my ticket to £150 more than this season. And that what if we beat Bayern Munich? And then beat whoever we draw next? That would mean an additional £300 on top of this seasons price – and also makes the 3% even more unjustified.

I am unable to justify a potential £300 increase so have had to make sacrifices. And that sacrifice is Munich. Will I be going to Everton? Yes. I prefer the FA Cup (more on my issues with the Champions League later). I am just more comfortable missing 1 game – such as Munich – to enable myself to go to further games later in the season. Especially if we get a sexy tie again; an away European trip will be on the cards. I wish I was there, but sadly ticket prices means this fan can’t go.

I am not a massive fan of the Champions League anyway. I find the group games often boring, predictable and laborious. For the group stages, you turn up, on a cold winter night, to watch us beat some Eastern European side 2-0, in a boring game where the result is not in doubt and Arsenal are just going through phases. It is not the excitement that TV makes it out to be.

The knock out stages do add a bit more excitement. Obviously going away is a different kettle of fish. But at home, they have also become stale. The same names, playing each other, knocking each other out. Where as 15 years ago, it was exciting playing Barcelona (albeit at Wembley), it has now become predictable. We would have now played Bayern Munich twice in 2 years. And if we were to get through, there is a high chance we could face Manchester City, Chelsea or Manchester United. Exciting.

The Champions League is about money. Not success. It is geared towards TV companies getting enough high profile games that they’ll pay through the nose to be the preferred broadcaster. This money then filters through to the clubs.

Arsenal would have already earnt around £30-£40m from the Champions League. Unless we win it, that figure will not rise dramatically. I am of the opinion that we should ‘take the money and run.’ We have more chance of winning the Premier League and FA Cup. Let’s go and put out the kids in both ties against Munich, get knocked out, but leave the first teamers fresh the domestic battles.

With games coming thick and fast, you need to shuffle your squad. You need to prioritise. For me, the Champions League is the least important this season. Let’s throw the game. Stick out the youth team, say to UEFA “thanks for the money, but we’re out” and concentrate on winning the double – which is most certainly on.

I am sure when we beat Munich 3-0 at home, my opinion will change. I will regret not going. Until then, I will be happy enough that we have something to look forward to this week, whilst fans of other clubs are still harping on about the weekend’s games (or whenever Spurs last played).

Up The Arsenal.

Keenos