Hello everyone.
As it usually happens after a game, Arsene's press conference took place yesterday. He has basically confirmed what everyone else (including me) was thinking about the defeat. That the game was not about the result, it was about getting players back into shape.
That's what Arsene said about the players form:
Well, it was obvious we looked inferior to Monaco, but, then again, the French Ligue 1 kicks off in a week, unlike the BPL. They should be at a further stage of preparation at this point in time. We also have to keep in mind that our squad is chock full of international players, who have a World Cup behind them. Like, for example, Giroud:
Explains why the Frenchman was taken off at half-time. He didn't look ready to me either, though he had a couple of nice touches. However, Giroud's fitness is a concern. We have Community Shield coming up and only Sanchez to play that lone striker role. Walcott is out, Podolski isn't back from holiday and Giroud is in no shape.
However, the manager later stated that, despite Sanchez joining the team rather late, the Chilean is in pretty good form:
Sanchez has showed glimpses of his talent and that's encouraging. Despite people viewing Community Shield as just part of the pre-season (something I don't get. The trophy is very real indeed), I'm not sure I want to see Campbell or Sanogo plough their trade as a lone striker against City. Fortunately, City has the same fitness issues we do, so it all evens out.
Wenger also touched on Calum Chambers:
The boss drops an interesting hint here. Originally everyone expected Chambers to be back-up to Debuchy, so much so that Jenks was shipped out on loan. (By the way, he seems to have pulled his hamstring during one of the friendlies. Poor chap. Hopefully, he'll recover from that blow.)
Now we've seen how well Bellerin has performed at right-back, while Chambers had two amazing games at centre-back. And now Wenger hints Calum can play holding midfielder. Interesting.
However, it's not something Jack seems to be able to do:
If you look at our line-up from yesterday's game, this bit becomes clear:
Either way, both Wilshere and Ramsey were involved in defensive work and Wilshere didn't impress. It was his reckless challenge that led to the freekick, from which Falcao converted and way too often Wilshere charged forward, leaving empty spaces for Monaco to exploit behind him. It tells us that Wilshere is not, at this point in time, disciplined enough to even help a true DM out. Something I've written about earlier.
However, it may also be that Wilshere isn't played in his strongest position. He's not a DM and it will require quite some effort to make him into one. If Jack wants to really have an impact this campaign, he needs playing time in a position that best suits him. Shunting him all over the pitch to plug holes won't help his development.
On a side note, I wanted to say a few words about Alexis Sanchez or, rather, the fans reaction to his mere presence. On Saturday, when the Chilean started warming up, the section of fans, in whose direction he ran burst out in applause. It was easily the loudest cheer we've heard in two days, something Sanchez acknowledged in a pic above. And also here:
It was a really nice moment. In that respect, Arsenal fans resembled kids a little bit: a shiny new present can't be bad, is it? Sanchez hasn't done anything yet (though I'm sure he will have a feasible impact on the proceedings this year), but he was greeted like a hero.
That's it for today. Back with fresh banter as soon as it surfaces.
Until then
P.S. By the way, I've finally figured out how to subscribe using RSS. Just download an RSS reader of your choice, enter arsefanblog.blogspot.ru (.com may not work) and you are good to go.
As it usually happens after a game, Arsene's press conference took place yesterday. He has basically confirmed what everyone else (including me) was thinking about the defeat. That the game was not about the result, it was about getting players back into shape.
That's what Arsene said about the players form:
"I’m not especially concerned. It’s part of the pre-season and it just is a good warning for us that we are not completely ready physically. The positives are that we had to dig deep for some players to play and that we got no injuries".
Well, it was obvious we looked inferior to Monaco, but, then again, the French Ligue 1 kicks off in a week, unlike the BPL. They should be at a further stage of preparation at this point in time. We also have to keep in mind that our squad is chock full of international players, who have a World Cup behind them. Like, for example, Giroud:
"Today he was not ready at all. He had only three weeks rest, it was not an eternity and he had to come back quickly. But sometimes when you come back late you want to work hard and in a game you are not as sharp. It’s nothing about him. He’s not put weight on, he’s not out of shape, he’s worked very hard this week and not recovered from the work he has done".
Explains why the Frenchman was taken off at half-time. He didn't look ready to me either, though he had a couple of nice touches. However, Giroud's fitness is a concern. We have Community Shield coming up and only Sanchez to play that lone striker role. Walcott is out, Podolski isn't back from holiday and Giroud is in no shape.
However, the manager later stated that, despite Sanchez joining the team rather late, the Chilean is in pretty good form:
"Alexis was quite sharp - one of the sharpest because he was mobile and he made some good runs. We didn't have too many balls to feed him, he lacks a bit of sharpness to make the complete difference and he had a chance as well. Overall, I'm happy with his start."
Sanchez has showed glimpses of his talent and that's encouraging. Despite people viewing Community Shield as just part of the pre-season (something I don't get. The trophy is very real indeed), I'm not sure I want to see Campbell or Sanogo plough their trade as a lone striker against City. Fortunately, City has the same fitness issues we do, so it all evens out.
Wenger also touched on Calum Chambers:
"He can play as well central midfield because he’s got good technique, good mobility and is a great distance runner. At the moment it’s where I can have a look at him. But I think he can also play central midfield".
The boss drops an interesting hint here. Originally everyone expected Chambers to be back-up to Debuchy, so much so that Jenks was shipped out on loan. (By the way, he seems to have pulled his hamstring during one of the friendlies. Poor chap. Hopefully, he'll recover from that blow.)
Now we've seen how well Bellerin has performed at right-back, while Chambers had two amazing games at centre-back. And now Wenger hints Calum can play holding midfielder. Interesting.
However, it's not something Jack seems to be able to do:
"We played only with one holding midfielder here and Wilshere and Ramsey pushing on. He has made his claim - we have seen that again".
If you look at our line-up from yesterday's game, this bit becomes clear:
Either way, both Wilshere and Ramsey were involved in defensive work and Wilshere didn't impress. It was his reckless challenge that led to the freekick, from which Falcao converted and way too often Wilshere charged forward, leaving empty spaces for Monaco to exploit behind him. It tells us that Wilshere is not, at this point in time, disciplined enough to even help a true DM out. Something I've written about earlier.
However, it may also be that Wilshere isn't played in his strongest position. He's not a DM and it will require quite some effort to make him into one. If Jack wants to really have an impact this campaign, he needs playing time in a position that best suits him. Shunting him all over the pitch to plug holes won't help his development.
On a side note, I wanted to say a few words about Alexis Sanchez or, rather, the fans reaction to his mere presence. On Saturday, when the Chilean started warming up, the section of fans, in whose direction he ran burst out in applause. It was easily the loudest cheer we've heard in two days, something Sanchez acknowledged in a pic above. And also here:
"Of course I loved it [the reception from the fans], I am extremely thankful to all of them. I am extremely happy and I hope I can make them very happy as well."
It was a really nice moment. In that respect, Arsenal fans resembled kids a little bit: a shiny new present can't be bad, is it? Sanchez hasn't done anything yet (though I'm sure he will have a feasible impact on the proceedings this year), but he was greeted like a hero.
That's it for today. Back with fresh banter as soon as it surfaces.
Until then
P.S. By the way, I've finally figured out how to subscribe using RSS. Just download an RSS reader of your choice, enter arsefanblog.blogspot.ru (.com may not work) and you are good to go.
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