Tag Archives: Champions League

What 1 word best describes Arsenal’s Champions League campaign?

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1 word

Answer: All of the above.

Last night was a disaster. It was a shocking defeat. One which has left us hanging on to our Champions League future by the thinnest of threads. And it is simply not good enough.

Every team will lose a game. It is the nature of football. No one can go through a season unbeaten in all competitions. However it is the manner in which you lose a game that is important.

Lose when you have been on top, the opponents have defended with 11 men behind the ball, and scored a goal from a corner, a snatch and grab victory, then wasted time and scrapped through, it happens. However, conceding 3 goals at home in a defeat, well that is not unlucky, that is just deservedly losing.

The concern in defeats like yesterday are not a one off. Already this season we have been humiliated in the Champions League by Dinamo Zagreb, and destroyed at home by West Ham. And it is not a new thing.

Last season we conceded 3 at home to both Monaco and Anderlecht in the Champions League. That is 9 goals conceded, at home, to fairly average sides. Add in 3 conceded away to Stoke, 2 against Southampton, and you are starting to get the picture. I could go through the results of the last 10 years and it will be littered with huge defeats at home and in Europe. City, Liverpool, Chelsea, Munich, Man United, Swansea, Hull and more, they have all done us. Comfortably.

We put so much on Champions League qualification. The club boasts about 16 or 17 years in the Champions League. Qualifying from the group stages for god knows how many years. But then when it comes to the competition itself, we always fall short.

Yes, we have had some tricky 2nd round draws over recent years. Barcelona, Munich, AC Milan, but we always seem to shoot ourselves in the foot. Whether it be a heavy defeat in the 1st leg at home, or a poor group stage which see’s us fall to second.

And then when we do get a favourable draw, such as Monaco or, many years ago, PSV Eindhoven (this one still hurts), we capitulate.

What is the point of being in the Champions League if you are not going to put in a good effort and win it? You can count on 3 fingers how many times Arsenal have been competitive in the competition;

  1. The Quarter Final defeat in 2004 when the invincible lost to Chelsea, a year we really should have won the competition
  2. The 2006 Final appearance
  3. The Semi Final loss to Manchester United in 2009 when Cristiano Ronaldo ripped us a new one

It is simply not good enough.

And then we come to last night. Considering how much we praise we are supposed to give the side for finishing in the top 4, we then rest our only summer signing. Now some say he was injured, but for me, if you are fit enough for the bench, you are fit enough to start. Cech should have started.

Not playing your strongest 11 makes me wonder what are we doing with the Champions League? Are we taking it seriously, or do we now realise we can not win the competition so are playing weakened sides to rest players for weekend games (we could go top this weekend).

If that is the case, then there is only one motivation for qualifying for the Champions League. Money.

Just qualifying for the group stages earns the club around £30m in ‘prize’ money and TV revenue. Add in gate receipts (this year Munich being a Cat A) and that figure is touching £40m. You can see the clubs motivation from qualifying. Of course, in theory, it is important to qualify. That additional £40m could get you an additional £25m signing on £125k a week. But this of course is Arsenal.

As for the players, in their contracts they will have Champions League bonus payments. In recent accounts, Manchester United’s wage bill dropped £12m. The likely reason for this is that they failed to qualify for the Champions League. £12m disturbed to players for finishing top 4. No wonder a few years back we celebrated finishing 4th at Newcastle like we had won the league. The players were due to get a £400-500k bonus each. Clearly after earning this, their motivation to win the thing drops.

With Munich still to be played at home and away – we could be on 0 points after 4 games – qualification is unlikely, not matter, how Arsene Wenger tries to big it up. The only question then is do we want to finish 3rd of 4th?

The Europa League is a winnable competition. Chelsea showed that a few years ago. Were we to drop down a level and take it seriously, a trip to Switzerland in May for the Final could be a highlight of the season. For an away fan, it could also threw up a few cheeky away trips to Norway, Denmark & Austria, places we do not often get a chance to go.

On the flip side, it would mean playing on Sunday. Whilst I do not buy into the ‘playing in a Thursday & Sunday disadvantage’ as in the Champions League you often play on a Wednesday and a Saturday, it would be a nightmare for travelling fans as it would mean pretty much every game in the New Year would be moved to the Sunday, by the time the TV companies ruin the rest of the fixtures.

No one can justify last night defeat, although I am sure some will.

Keenos

Galatasaray victory gives Wenger selection headaches

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A selection head ache is always something good to have. And last nights victory over Galatasaray would have given Arsene Wenger just that.

For a long time, many a fan have been calling for Lukas Podolski to get a start. Arguably the best finisher at the club, the German did not get 121 caps by being an average footballer.

Last night would have reminded the quality in the German’s left foot. 2 cracking goals. The first a hammer of a shot, the second more cute and placed. He also hit the bar.

There will now be calls for him to start against Newcastle this weekend, and this is where the selection headache begins.

Podolski can not play as a long striker, he has always thrived playing to the left of a big man (Klose for Germany, Giroud for Arsenal), and this is where the problem is created, Alexis Sanchez is currently our current first choice on the left hand side.

This creates the selection headache. Do you put Podolski in, shifting Sanchez into the middle or to the right, where he is less effective, or do you say to Podolski “Well played last night, but you’re back on the bench.”

The problem Lukas Podolski has is his all round game is not as good as others. In and around the box, he is lethal, but he contributes little else. The stats from last night highlight the issues that have surrounded his entire Arsenal career:

Shots: 4 (1st of all Arsenal players)
Pass Accuracy: 90.6% (7th)
Crosses Attempted: 0
Dribbles: 1 (5th)
Through Balls Attempted: 0
Tackles: 1
Interceptions: 0

Brilliant in the box, but for a wide player to not put in a cross and only attempt 1 dribble is not good enough. But then we have his 2 goals. And what 2 great goals they were. And this is where the selection head ache comes in.

The most likely option would be to put Podolski on the left and move Sanchez on the right, but this is not a long term solution.

Once Theo Walcott is back fit, he will return to the right hand side. Walcott, remember, has 5 goals in his last 8 games, and before his year out, had scored 21 goals in the 2012/13 season. Him on the right, Sanchez on the left has been what we have all been waiting for. So with Theo back, where does it leave Podolski? Back on the bench.

You also need to throw Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain into the mix. He was arguably our best player last night, running the game from the centre of midfield. In Walcott’s absence, he has been playing wide right, and doing a decent job.

Were you to move Sanchez to the right to accommodate Podolski on the left, you would then have a selection head ache of what to do with Chamberlain?

Does he get dropped? Or do you move him into the middle? Or perhaps you play Sanchez in the number 10 role, with Chamberlain and Podolski either side of him. Gosh things are starting to get complicated.

And now let’s add Mesut Ozil into the mix. Whilst a 3 of Podolski Chamberlain Sanchez could work in the short term, it certainly doesn’t in the long term. Ozil will return, and be put straight back in to his number 10 position. So where does Oxlade-Chamberlain play then? And lets not forget Theo!!!

5 in to 3 does not go. 2 will have to miss out. That two will most likely be, despite their performances last night, Oxlade-Chamberlain and Podolski.

Unless Wenger decides to play either Walcott or Sanchez upfront?

And to add to further selection problems, you then have Jack Wilshere and Aaron Ramsey. They are quickly becoming our answer to Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard.

Individually brilliant, but they can not play together.

Last night Ramsey played like a free man. Like the man of 2013/14. Able to get forward at will, knowing that the man behind him (Flamini) would not be bombing forward.  Ramsey is at his best in the final third of the field, it is where he comes alive.

Jack Wilshere is also at his best in the final third. Whilst the England experiment of playing at the bottom of the diamond had been successful, it has to be remembered this has been against minnows of world football such as San Marino and Scotland.

I still wonder whether he has the defensive game, discipline and power to perform a defensive role against a top side.

Ramsey and Wilshere seem to restrict each other. They both enjoy the license to get forward. When they play together, it does not work.

Every top midfield duo needs an Alpha and a Beta. For Scholes, read Keane, for Vieira, Petit, for Pirlo, Gatusso, for Yaya Toure, Fernandinho, for Lampard, Makelele.

They need to know that when they drive forward, that their defensive partner is more disciplined and inclined to sit deep, sacrificing his own game at the expense of the other.

Ramsey and Wilshere, like Gerrard and Lampard, are both Alpha’s. They can not play together.

Obviously Wilshere is injured at the moment, and that kind of solves the problem. And is also the most likely solution to this selection head ache.

Both men have missed so much football over the last 5 years, that you could easily accommodate them both knowing that the chances of them being fit at the same time is unlikely. It would also allow rotation, when one or the other gets into the dreaded ‘red zone’.

Of course, a lot of our selection problem’s could be solved by playing 4141:

Wilshere
Walcott Ramsey Ozil Podolski
Sanchez

But we started the season playing 4141, with Sanchez upfront, and it did not work. I am sure this was the plan Wenger had at the beginning of the season (with slightly different personnel – Ozil playing left, Wilshere Ramsey in the middle with Arteta behind). It did not work and resulted with too many players getting in each other’s way.

And the above team does not even include Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain!

The problem again, comes from too many players wanting to play in the middle. Ramsey and Wilshere like pushing up, Sanchez and Chamberlain drop inside too much and Ozil then gets crowded out by his team mates. It is why Walcott is so important, as he will get chalk on his boots.

There are 2 players I have also yet to consider. Santi Cazorla and Tomas Rosicky.

Starting with the later, for me Tomas Rosicky’s Arsenal career is over. This is a guy who I was so excited about when we signed him in 2006. I felt at the time that he was the 2nd best attacking midfielder in the world after Kaka. But injuries have hampered him.

I feel his time at Arsenal is slowly coming to an end. He no longer has the legs to play on the wing, so the only place he could fit in is behind the striker. But here he is behind Ozil, Cazorla, Sanchez, Chamberlain, Wilsheres & Ramsey. There is just no longer space for him.

As for Cazorla, he is another who time is running out for. You take out the FA Cup Final goal, he has been pretty poor for the last two seasons.

Ozil is head and shoulders ahead of him (literally) and if he is out, there is so much competition.

Personally, after last nights performance, I would like to see Oxlade-Chamberlain get a run out in centre midfield (I felt against Stoke he should have started there, with Welbeck and Sanchez out wide). He is more dynamic than Cazorla and deserves the chance. In the short term, this would obviously then allow us to play Sanchez and Podolski out wide (headache clearing!). With everyone fit, Cazorla is our 3rd choice  number 10. And again, that does not take into account Wilshere or Ramsey playing there.

Alongside Rosicky, it would not surprise me if Cazorla was shown the door this summer.

One person who did not give Wenger a selection headache yesterday was Joel Campbell.

Yes, you should not judge on one game, but the lad had never impressed me, bar a single goal against Manchester United and one good performance in the World Cup. He runs with his head down too much and just does not influence the game enough.

Compare him last night to Oxlade-Chamberlain. One looked class. The other looked like a kid getting his chance. Were Campbell 18/19, I would think stick with him. But he is not. He is 22, a year older than Oxlade Chamberlain. And the gulf in class between them is huge.

On the right, Campbell has to compete with Walcott, Chamberlain and Sanchez.

Then add in Serge Gnabry, who is 3 years Campbell’s junior. In his 9 appearances last season for Arsenal (when still just 18), he showed more than Campbell has in his career. Campbell, remember, is now 22.

Campbell is behind Walcott, Chamberlain, Sanchez and Gnabry for the right sided berth. And last night he did not show any inclination that he would be challenging them any time soon.

So there are a lot of headache’s for Wenger coming up. Currently, a few of these are solved due to injury. Walcott, Wilshere and Ozil being out gives the chance to Chamberlain, Ramsey and Podolski. But when they are fit, who plays?

My perfect team be?

Szczesny
Debuchy Mertesacker Koscielny Gibbs
Arteta Ramsey
Walcott Ozil Sanchez
Giroud

What would yours – and try not to give yourself a headache thinking about it.

Keenos

Arsenal victory did more than just paper over the cracks

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So that’s the cracks papered over then, some might say.

And to some extent, yes it is. Last night we faced the Borussia Dortmund who currently lie 3rd from bottom in the Bundesliga. The Borussia Dortmund who last weekend threw away a 2 goal lead to draw against SC Paderborn 07 (no, me neither). It was not the Borussia Dortmund that, before yesterday, had swept all aside in the Champions League, winning 4 from 4.

But there is no need to put a negative spin on last. It was a good, controlled performance and has ensured that, for the 15th season in a row, we qualify for the Champions League knock out stages.

Yaya Sanogo’s first goal for the club, whilst offside, could give a boost to a man who, whilst talented, has struggled since his move to England. He is still just 21, and I think we he could go from strength to strength – as long as he stays fit. Add this goal to the brace he scored for France u21s last week, his confidence should be soaring.

As for Alexis Sanchez. His finish was Pires-esque. This guy is a class above. Enough has already been written about him in other blogs. He raises the quality of our team. He is what you would expect from a big summer signing. I look forward to when Mesut Ozil and Theo Walcott return, as it will only make Sanchez better. It will be scary.

Of course, there were a couple of negatives. Sanogo limped off with a tight hamstring and, more worryingly, Mikel Arteta’s injury could rule him out for 5 weeks.

And Arteta’s injury really is the story of our season. As Olivier Giroud returns, Jack Wilshere gets ruled out for up to 10 weeks. As Laurent Koscielny returns, Arteta is ruled out for 5 weeks. It really has been one step forward one step back with injuries this season.

Personally, with the lack of central midfielder’s at our disposal, I would not mind us changing formation. Go 442 with Flamini and Ramsey in the middle, Sanchez and Chamberlain out wide, and Welbeck and Giroud up top. But it wont happy, Wenger will remain stubborn to his 4141.

Qualification secured for another season. A run of 3 games without a win ended. Let’s get the positivity and momentum going.

Our next 4 games are winnable. 12 for 12 is not out of the question. It might not put us back in the title race, but would catapult us up the league.

Back the boys on the pitch. Arsenal first.

 

On a side night, as a massive cricket fan, and someone who was out in Melbourne and Sydney for the 2010/11 Ashes series, last nights result pales into insignificance upon hearing the news of Australian cricketer Philip Hughes’ death. Just 25 years old.

The prayers and thoughts of everyone involved in SheWore go out to Philip Hughes friends, family and Sean Abbott.

RIP Philip Hughes.

 

Keenos