I kid, I kid.
I wanted to say something about the Chelsea match but if you want a rundown of the in-game and post-match madness check out my twitter feed for 11/29. I'm not gonna concede on my stance - I'm sorry but Arsenal was not 'dominated' and it wasn't 'men versus boys' I've watched the match a few times now (glutton for punishment?) and it's clear that the goals scored come from very minor, but fatal mistakes.
First goal comes down to a great cross by Cashley, and even better finish from Drogba. Could it have been prevented? Yes. Exhibit A
shows that "Capi" aka Gallas has a tendency to lose the man he needs to mark up on, and instead of having the man in front of him (while seeing the ball), or even within touching distance he roams freely. It almost looks like he is delegating marking responsibility to the rest of the team but does not mind his own advice. Exhibit A results in nothing but is a tell for Exhibit B. Note: None of the Arsenal players really look like they have their man in front of them, most look like the other Arsenal player is supposed to pick up the roaming man/men.Clearly, Cashley makes separation from Sagna. When I first saw the play at game speed I had assumed that Sagna was well beaten but at the moment of the cross Sagna is right in there. Exhibit B
shows that Gallas is caught out as he has lost Drogba. It's not surprising as it is very hard to see someone who is behind you :/ CBs sometimes get sucked out of the center to support a beaten Right or Left Back but in this instance all he had to do is stay with Drogba, keep him in front of him and then challenge upon delivery. Very simple error of positioning with a horrible consequence.And, of course, the own goal is very much more of the same. Nasri was playing defense (surprise!) but his movement back and on the ball caused hesitation on Sagna's coverage of Mr. 10-men-went-to-bed w/ Ashley. Gallas lunges at a cross, misses and it hits Verminator just up near his cock and bam, down 0-2. It' so lucky that even Drogba is in awe of Chelsea's fortune. He actually is grabbing his head, not sure what to make of it all! Sick, isn't it?
On a side note, have you noticed that when Gallas does go down to slide tackle he often uses the outside foot (nearest) instead of his instep? It's natural to go down with the strong leg leading (mostly right foot) most of the time but not for him. No wonder he is prone to deflections towards goal instead of away...Moving right along I've heard the arguments that Arsenal lost cuz there isn't enough experience/maturity, we don't have a striker with RVP out, blah blah. Truth of the matter is that Arsenal maintained loads of possession and did fuck all with it. A 4-3-3 is not the ideal formation vs Chelsea as they boss the middle of the park with Essien/Mikel. I don't think any team in the league, maybe in the world can call on such metal. Perhaps if Wenger had deployed a 4-4-2 and given more width of play the two could have been split apart; space behind the CBs could have been exposes, too. Now, if Arsenal had wanted a draw it was there for the taking. Due to the attacking, take-it-at-'em style of play we have Chelsea absorbed pressure, let us pass, and then counter-attacked. Not surprising. Again, if Wenger wanted a draw he could have had the team pass the ball around the entire 90 as Chelsea had no intention of moving forward and attacking themselves. At the end of the day, if you live by the sword, you die by the sword. We went forward, they countered and with two unfortunate events that was the end of the match.
All it took was 4 minutes for Arsenal to be done, toasted. I can't help but think the 2 goals scored this past weekend were lucky and unfortunate. Worth mentioning is that a similar exploit occurred last term, Arsenal v IOU at Emirates, Champions League Semi-Final. In less than 4 minutes, Gibbs slipped and Cunaldo scored past an out-of-position Almunia. Down 0-2 at halftime with fans moaning and players giving up. I can't help but think that this letdown was on the minds of the team and a sort of PTSD response occurred. It's really hard to go down 2 goals but to go down in such a manner and so quickly is so disheartening, shocking. For those who experienced the letdown a year previous, fans included, it was really hard to get on with the second half and hold on to that sliver of hope for the comeback. We hurt as fans so those on the pitch likely felt the same emotion. On the weekend, many fans threw the team under the bus, many stated the campaign was over, some even wanted Wenger axed! All fair responses to such trauma. I often feel there is much more to these matches and results that meets the eye; I feel that the 2 goals before half and the remembrance of a similar occurrence could have broken the team's spirit and the second half was doomed before it started.
To wrap this up I feel the team is good. I feel the team, on it's day including some fortune is the best in the world. I may be blind, stubborn or just mad but I won't concede and say that Chelsea is the best in the league, and certainly not by the scoreline produced but they are definite title contenders. It will take some luck for Arsenal to get back into it but with 25 more matches to go it's 'up for grabs' and we can only worry about our football.
Some immediate and simple solution to much of our error can be some coaching on set piece and defensive positioning. It's not that hard to implement, and after a few training sessions and reinforcement the team should be able to deliver. I always enjoyed the 'point your guns' methodology, which included being able to put out one hand towards the ball and the opposite towards the man you are to mark. If you can see both and track both with your hands then you are in the right position. Easy, right? You can put down your hands now, I'm done.
Take care, and Up the Arsenal...everyday.
ArsenaLOS
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