Evening everyone.
Tonight we play Swansea in what is, effectively, our game in hand and three points are as vital as it gets. I know I've said that quite a few times this season, but with the Saturday loss we've reached our all-time low, which means a win is the only acceptable result today.
Prior to our Stamford humiliation Arsenal was beaten to a pulp twice and in both cases a 0-0 ensued. It was all right then, given the fact these draws were obtained against Chelsea and United, but now we face Swansea, who are struggling for form. Four losses in five games can hardly be labelled a success and this makes our win still more urgent.
After a defeaning silence in mass media, both Arteta and Wenger took to press, the former to analyse the situation and apologise:
"We have to take [on board] some of the things we have done wrong. You cannot only just move on, you have to analyse what you've done and react. I'm expecting a big reaction on Tuesday because we have to and Saturday was not good enough for this football club.
The pressure we put on ourselves by losing games like that is massive and there's no need for it. We just disrupted the good season we were having. I don't know what else to say apart from sorry to everyone at the club, the fans, and we promise that we will try hard to put that right".
And the latter to describe the situation as a freakish occurrence:
"An accident has happened, that doesn't mean that you're not a good driver.
It just means that we have played about 40 games this season and it's not what happened on Saturday that reflects the quality of this team. We have 62 points that we earned hard with quality games and that's what we want to focus on".
While both statements were obviously preplanned and there is nothing unusual in it, both surprised me, though in a different way.
Arteta was brutally honest in admitting the level of performance was unacceptable and that we really should have done better, while Arsene's words is a completely different story. An accident may happen once, twice maybe, but definitely not three times inside one season. When it happens this often, it's blindingly obvious something is wrong, so I hope it's just pep talk from the manager, while there's a fully-fledged investigation going on behind the scenes.
In terms of team news, both Gibbs and Oxlade will be available, after the FA committee ruled the former was a case of mistaken identity, while the latter's foul wasn't found harsh enough to show him a red card. There is still the small matter of Marriner's incompetence, but it seems we'll have to make do with what we have. The ref was appointed for a Premier League game this weekend, so I don't think he'll be punished in any way.
However, Koscielny has damaged his calf (among other things) on Saturday and will miss at least two weeks. It means a place for Vermaelen in the starting eleven and I'm fine with that. Our skipper has done well the last time he was called upon and deserves his chance to re-establish himself as a first team member.
Koscielny's injury also means we are a defender short, so Hector Bellerin, whose loan was cut short recently, will fill the void on the bench. Let's hope we won't see the young right-back in action, cause that will mean our defensively thin ice have suffered yet another crack.
Apart from these, I think changes need to be made in order to shake things up. Flamini should be reintroduced alongside Arteta, for one. In fact, he should have been playing there for the last two games, taken into account, how poor the Ox looked. Well, it's still the case of better late, than never.
Oxlade, meanwhile has to be pushed out wide, where he's (for now, at least) more effective and offers better end product.
Rosicky is another sub that can make a difference. Playing him under the striker seems the most obvious choice, while Cazorla will cover the left flank, replacing an ineffectual Podolski. The German can be helpful, no doubt about it, but right not he looks more of a hindrance.
I also would not be surprised to see Sanogo and/or Gnabry start. The latter came in handy during the last encounter between the two sides. Serge is also an unknown quantity and can become a dangerous outlet as such. His style of play is similar to that of Oxlade-Chamberlain, so it'll be a like-for-like sub.
Sanogo is yet another possibility and an option for the manager to consider. I don't know, how bad Giroud was against Chelsea (but, as I've seen suggestions of playing a tree in our next game, I guess he was bad enough). The younger of the Frenchman should, at least, provide Giroud with some R&R ahead of the City encounter.
So, we are all set for a nervous night, but there is one more thing I failed to mention, namely: the clean sheet. I've mentioned how we've focused on keeping our goal under lock and key after two horrible defeats and today should be no different. It's psychologically very important not to concede because of what happened three days ago. Our attacking display may suffer, but I'd gladly take a 1-0 over a 3-1 even now.
So, come on you reds, show that our season was no accident, return to winning ways.
And I'll get back to you later with a review.
Until then
Tonight we play Swansea in what is, effectively, our game in hand and three points are as vital as it gets. I know I've said that quite a few times this season, but with the Saturday loss we've reached our all-time low, which means a win is the only acceptable result today.
Prior to our Stamford humiliation Arsenal was beaten to a pulp twice and in both cases a 0-0 ensued. It was all right then, given the fact these draws were obtained against Chelsea and United, but now we face Swansea, who are struggling for form. Four losses in five games can hardly be labelled a success and this makes our win still more urgent.
After a defeaning silence in mass media, both Arteta and Wenger took to press, the former to analyse the situation and apologise:
"We have to take [on board] some of the things we have done wrong. You cannot only just move on, you have to analyse what you've done and react. I'm expecting a big reaction on Tuesday because we have to and Saturday was not good enough for this football club.
The pressure we put on ourselves by losing games like that is massive and there's no need for it. We just disrupted the good season we were having. I don't know what else to say apart from sorry to everyone at the club, the fans, and we promise that we will try hard to put that right".
And the latter to describe the situation as a freakish occurrence:
"An accident has happened, that doesn't mean that you're not a good driver.
It just means that we have played about 40 games this season and it's not what happened on Saturday that reflects the quality of this team. We have 62 points that we earned hard with quality games and that's what we want to focus on".
While both statements were obviously preplanned and there is nothing unusual in it, both surprised me, though in a different way.
Arteta was brutally honest in admitting the level of performance was unacceptable and that we really should have done better, while Arsene's words is a completely different story. An accident may happen once, twice maybe, but definitely not three times inside one season. When it happens this often, it's blindingly obvious something is wrong, so I hope it's just pep talk from the manager, while there's a fully-fledged investigation going on behind the scenes.
In terms of team news, both Gibbs and Oxlade will be available, after the FA committee ruled the former was a case of mistaken identity, while the latter's foul wasn't found harsh enough to show him a red card. There is still the small matter of Marriner's incompetence, but it seems we'll have to make do with what we have. The ref was appointed for a Premier League game this weekend, so I don't think he'll be punished in any way.
However, Koscielny has damaged his calf (among other things) on Saturday and will miss at least two weeks. It means a place for Vermaelen in the starting eleven and I'm fine with that. Our skipper has done well the last time he was called upon and deserves his chance to re-establish himself as a first team member.
Koscielny's injury also means we are a defender short, so Hector Bellerin, whose loan was cut short recently, will fill the void on the bench. Let's hope we won't see the young right-back in action, cause that will mean our defensively thin ice have suffered yet another crack.
Apart from these, I think changes need to be made in order to shake things up. Flamini should be reintroduced alongside Arteta, for one. In fact, he should have been playing there for the last two games, taken into account, how poor the Ox looked. Well, it's still the case of better late, than never.
Oxlade, meanwhile has to be pushed out wide, where he's (for now, at least) more effective and offers better end product.
Rosicky is another sub that can make a difference. Playing him under the striker seems the most obvious choice, while Cazorla will cover the left flank, replacing an ineffectual Podolski. The German can be helpful, no doubt about it, but right not he looks more of a hindrance.
I also would not be surprised to see Sanogo and/or Gnabry start. The latter came in handy during the last encounter between the two sides. Serge is also an unknown quantity and can become a dangerous outlet as such. His style of play is similar to that of Oxlade-Chamberlain, so it'll be a like-for-like sub.
Sanogo is yet another possibility and an option for the manager to consider. I don't know, how bad Giroud was against Chelsea (but, as I've seen suggestions of playing a tree in our next game, I guess he was bad enough). The younger of the Frenchman should, at least, provide Giroud with some R&R ahead of the City encounter.
So, we are all set for a nervous night, but there is one more thing I failed to mention, namely: the clean sheet. I've mentioned how we've focused on keeping our goal under lock and key after two horrible defeats and today should be no different. It's psychologically very important not to concede because of what happened three days ago. Our attacking display may suffer, but I'd gladly take a 1-0 over a 3-1 even now.
So, come on you reds, show that our season was no accident, return to winning ways.
And I'll get back to you later with a review.
Until then