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| Podolski celebrating his goal after and emphatic finish |
First of all, I would like to say sorry for not posting recently. School work and daily duties gave me no time to discuss and review Arsenal's latest news.
But..
A mixed performance mid-week, against a mediocre side in Olympiakos is worth a chat.
It was the first game for me, Arsene Wagner, to watch at the Emirates this season and I was expecting a game which showed no mercy to the Greek side. Was it a game that showed no mercy? NO. However we did get the 3 points and end up topping Group B of the Champions League, which is the most important thing.
Despite this, I have to break down and analyse the team's performance to show where we stand this season and what the future looks like for Arsenal. There is no better way to start than in Defence. With the return of our Skipper Vermaelen, on paper, our defence looks as solid as it could possibly be with injuries in mind. Nevertheless, at the start of the season Mertesacker showed signs of class. A sudden switch of player is no way to coordinate a football team. If a player is having a good run of form there should be no doubt that he should start every game until his form dips. This is the case with Mertesacker. A title winning defence is one that has a two solid center halves that play every week consistently and by mixing and matching players certainly will not do the team any favours.
The performance on Wednesday showed the young talent we have flowing through the side. One of the most important factors to a good footballing team these days, is to have young players within the team. At the start of their career's they want to make a good first impression on the Manager and the fans. This desire to prove everyone that they have what it takes to be the best players in the squad. The young players learn off the more experienced players and take advice from them. We see this from Chamberlain, Jenkinson, Gibbs and Coquelin.
The young full backs in Jenkinson and Gibbs have been a huge boost to us this season. Wednesday's performance showed us that they are more than capable of running up and down the touch line supporting our wingers in order to get balls into the box. The stamina, pace and skill are all impressive but what seems to be their weak point is the delivery in the final third. Both players get themselves into the correct positions but lack that killer ball into the box for one of our front men to get a head to. That has been their only down point this season. But as the season progresses I see enough talent for both players to cross balls in like Cole and Dixon once did for us.
The midfield looked promising at stages throughout the match. The Ox and Coquelin both looked composed on the ball. The fact that Centre Mid is not Chamberlain's natural position proved to us that he is very versatile and a useful squad member. He got forward, supported the full backs, covered in defence when needed to and created chances. Overall a performance that most would be happy about. Coquelin sat and held his position for the majority of the match. He played the role of Makelele or Parker, but for him to improve and compete for a starting role he will need to get forward more. Diaby has done it a few times this season and for him to prove he can compete for a place in the starting 11 against players in the likes of Wilshere, Diaby, Arteta and Cazorla he will have to get forward more and prove he can create.
Lastly, our men up front impressed. They showed that they can put the ball in the net from difficult angles ans positions which most players find most difficult. The composure and skill from Ramsey, touch and power from Podolski and pace and clinical finishing from Gervinho looks like a strong force up top. What I dont see is any of the three players scoring 20 goals a season but what I do see is all of them scoring at least 7 or more. For this form to continue, the players will need to stay injury free and as fit as possible. If this were to happen, the future will look bright.
Keep the Faith
Arsene Wagner
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