 |
| Jack Wilshere and Bakary Sagna celebrating Arsenals first goal. |
So i'm back again after a few months out of blogging. I had suffered from a typing injury. It was suspected that I would only be out for a few weeks but various setbacks held me back from writing more blogs.
I'll stop being an idiot now, however starting my A-Levels and moving schools had unfortunately taken priority yet i'm back and ready for action.
What better place to start than a cold Tuesday night Champions League's match?
First Half
Im going to be honest and say that first half was a tad boring. I love my Arsenal and will always will however, there are times where we must be critical in order to develop as a team. Scoringa few seconds after the first whistle always damages the opposition. It crushes their confidence and single handedly destroys their tactics and plans. Im guessing we all saw the marvellous and comical performance Tottenham showed on sunday and it was the perfect example of a team conceding within the first few seconds and their tactics for the game being shattered.
The first goal was a lovely piece of counter attacking football, combined with woeful defending on Marseilles behalf. Wilshere was played through, in between the Marseille full back and centre back before cutting the ball back on his weaker foot, curling the ball past French international keeper Steve Mandanda and getting his name on the score sheet.
It was a wonderful start and things started to look positive, yet for the next 44 minutes, I sat there watching a thoroughly mediocre performance. Playing a weak Marseille team who have little to play for, you would expect to see a clinical performance but I guess you all agree with me in saying it was pretty dull. Why not go out and put in a dangerous performance that would intimidate all the teams competing in the Champions League as well as the Premier League? Its was the perfect chance to show the world that we are serious title contenders and that we have the ability to finally succeed this season.
Personally, Özil's penalty reflected our first half performance. It had the potential to be powerful, clinical and ruthless, yet was rather tame and halfhearted. After playing such a weak team, you would expect us to take advantage and show all football fans that we have the steel in our squad to compete against teams at the highest level. In a first half like tonight, the Man United of old would have gone into the second half with a 4-0 lead and would have killed the game off, ensuring that the opposition had no way of pulling the game back.
Second Half
You might have thought after a lacklustre first half display, all would change and during the team talk at the break, Wenger would have spurred the team on to turn things up a notch and cause more damage. I don't think that was fully the case and there didn't seem to be that much of a change. But I don't think the game was necessarily all negative and I certainly don't want this blog to slate out performance. So....
There were a variety of positives one could take out of the game. Firstly, the build up to the second goal was perhaps "Typical Arsenal". A wonderful pass from Ramsey, threaded through to Özil who yet again got another assist with a square ball to Wilshere, who scored for the second time this evening.
The game may have not ended with a 5 goal demolition, however we created enough chances to do so and that is always nice to see as a fan.
Looking at individual performances, as a lone striker Giroud's work rate was once again second to none. He ran the channels, pressed their back line and continued to force keepers into errors. (Thanks again Artur aBoruc). Having not had many chances himself during the game, it would have been nice to have seen him take the penalty and get his name on the score sheet.
I felt that the most important player happened to be Flamini. Like Giroud, his work rate was admirable. Nowadays, it is rare to see players want the dirty work and patiently sit and hold you position while the others look for glory. But Flamini did that with no complaint. The majority of Marseille's rare chances were broken down by Flamini who provided the more creative midfielders with freedom to roam forward and pose a threat.
Finally it was a pleasure to see Szczesny so reliable and focused throughout the duration of the match after not having much to deal with. He pulled off a string of wonderful saves and looked as if he really strengthened the defence. Good on him for coming back stronger after the criticism he received last season and hopefully he will be Arsenal's number 1 for years to come.
The most important thing is that we got the three points and that we are within touching distance of topping the group which was the aim from the start.
Man of the Match : Mathieu Flamini
The next month of fixtures are crucial if we want to show the doubters that we are in fact genuine title contenders and have the squad competent enough to challenge the best teams in the world.
Up the Gunners
Keep the Faith
Arsene Wagner
No comments:
Post a Comment