Chelsea review: a bit scary

Before the game, I've said several times, that I couldn't care less about the result. Both managers were supposed to field those with little to no practice and, come on, no one cares for the CoC anyway, right?

Not exactly. While Mourinho stuck to his promise and played Willian, Eto`o, De Bryune and the likes, Arsene Wenger`s side only fell a couple of players short of resembling our usual squad. We didn't see Hayden, Akpom or even Gnabry. The only young and promising face, who fails to make the bench under normal circumstances, was Miyachi. He and Bendtner (and Jenks, as it later turned out) were our only weak links in an otherwise very competitive side. These three guys, however, prevented our entire team from finding our rhythm.

I don't like to point at any specific players as a reason for a loss or a poor performance. I am firmly of the opinion, that football is a team game and you only win or lose matches because of a combined effort of all the players. True, sometimes a moment of brilliance from an individual can save us the points or bag a winner in the dying seconds, but the end result almost always depends on how good the whole team fared for ninety minutes. Almost.

We gave the ball away right from the start for Chelsea to knock it about. They didn't come up with much, but neither did we. We tried hitting them on the break, something that worked extremely well with other teams recently. This time, however, our right flank was basically non-existent, thanks to erratic Jenkinson and out-of-his-depth Miyachi. To be fair to them both, they tried hard and Miyachi was actually quite good at getting himself into dangerous positions, but couldn't, for various reasons, make it count. Bendtner, meanwhile, represented a beta-version of Giroud, unable to pull off passes, that could have opened up the opposition. He was useless, in other words.

It was unsurprising that, when the goal came, Jenkinson was at fault. He tried to pass the ball back to Fabinski, under-hit it and it fell to Azpilicueta. The Spaniard made no mistake.

After the restart, we looked only marginally better. We dominated possession and territory, but were just as ineffective up front.

Chelsea allowed us to take the ball and let us come at them. Cazorla and Ramsey had some half-chances, but not much came out of it. And, just when we seemed in control and on course to equalise, Chelsea scored again.

The throw-in fell to Mata and he produced a quite brilliant shot from outside the penalty box, which ended up in the net.

Wenger, in a surprising move, threw Giroud and Ozil for Bendtner and Miyachi, but it didn't bring about the desirable effect. Our midfield looked exhausted after putting in a lot of effort trying to set up either Bendtner or Miyachi up.

The best chance of the half fell to Giroud, only for his shot to be blocked by Schwarzer. It was soon clear, we won't be able to get back to level terms. Park (!) came in for Ramsey and it meant even Wenger had given up.

So, out of the cup, which didn't mean much anyway, but the manner in which we crashed out, is a bit unnerving. Chelsea didn't exactly played a bunch of kids, but our side wasn't light on experience either. Maybe it's Bendtner, who is to blame, because our midfield worked relentlessly to supply our attack. I think the team on the whole looked legged and exhausted, which is another troublesome thing, given we play Liverpool in two days.

I do hope, this game is really nothing to worry about. That it is another competition and that by no means will this result influence our future performances. However, I can't help but think it's not that simple psychologically-wise. The same players as always played the game and lost it. That must have had an impact on them. Let's just hope, they'll get over it and bounce back quickly.

Until later

Chelsea preview: indifference

I know it's a bit early for a proper preview, but as I'm not sure I'll be be able to post anything tomorrow, this will have to do.

Word is out, Flamini`s groin injury got bad, and the Frenchman is looking at two weeks on the sidelines. This means, he'll miss Liverpool, Borussia and maybe even United. Given how we looked without him in the last two games, I can't help but think we'll be somewhat exposed defensively. Let's hope, the injury isn't so serious after all. We have enough players out and the last thing we want is to find ourselves without Mathieu for any period of time. He has at least a cup game to recover, so fingers crossed he makes it in time for the clash against the Mugmashers.

He seems to be the only one out as a result of our last game (him and Arteta, obviously), but I don't think the manager would use either of them even had they been fully fit. Despite facing a side as strong as Chelsea, we will probably give run-outs for those, who need them. This means starts for Vermaelen, Monreal, Bendtner and others.

And I don't think, there's anything wrong with it. Carling Cup doesn't top our priorities list, and it never did. We give our youngsters a chance to develop, while giving our senior players a chance to properly prepare for their next game.

Even Mourinho said he will rotate, back when the draw pinned two teams against one another. The level of indifference demonstrated by both managers is understandable, given how many important games their sides will have to play in the upcoming weeks.

I always thought it strange, that English teams have two domestic cups instead of one. The best teams are the ones who suffer most, so it's little wonder they reached an unspoken consensus of considering one of these cups expendable. That's just rational.

So I don't expect a thrilling contest tomorrow. I will, of course, watch it, but I'm not particularly happy about it.

In other news, Gnabry had just signed a brand new contract and, given how he played in recent weeks, I'm happy he did. His talent is obvious, he's becoming a real option from the bench already, so he should develop into a great player. With time, but the signs are there. A clinical finish against Swansea, some clever movement in the box in Saturday, and his overall work rate all bode well for the future.

That's it for today. Back later with a review. Until then

Crystal Palace review: grinding it out

The dust still hasn't settled following our hard-fought win against Palace, but, whatever the critics may say, it was a win well deserved by the Gunners. Our mental test is behind us, the team has once again showcased their exceptional ability to bounce back and, oh yeah, we are still top of the league.

As expected, Flamini started the game, while Whilsere did not. Rosicky was also benched in favour of Santi Cazorla. The Frenchman didn't last long, however. He was substituted by Gnabry in the 8th minute, apparently having sustained a groin injury. I missed the moment, when he started to limp, but, either way, our game plan was disrupted once more.

Arsenal could have gone ahead in the third minute already, only for Giroud to head over from a Sagna cross. We didn't create anything of note till the 35th minute, despite dominating territory and possession. Palace defended deep and tried to catch us on the break, with Bannan heading over and then curling his effort wide of the far post. Our old pal Chamakh, meanwhile, troubled Szscesny with a low shot.

As the half-time whistle drew near, we created two clear-cut chances. Cazorla mis-hit his low cross/shot and Ramsey's drive was battered away by Speroni. Ozil had a chance of his own, but chose to play the ball to Giroud, thus wasting a good shooting opportunity.

Within 120 seconds after the restart, Arsenal was ahead. Gnabry was mowed down in the box, ref pointed to the spot and Arteta converted. We seemed to have finally found our feet, especially when Giroud spurned a glorious opportunity, but we were once again thrown off course in the 65th minute.

Palace tried to catch us on counter-attack, played a long ball towards Chamakh who was bundled over by Arteta some 40 yards away from goal. Chris Foy didn't hesitate in sending the Spaniard off, but replays showed it was Chamakh, who had his hands all over our skipper, not the other way around. The game turned on a dime.

Whilshere and Monreal soon came on to replace Gnabry and Cazorla respectively. Palace started poking and probing at our defense and could have equalised twice in the upcoming minutes, only to be denied by Szczesny.
He tipped Ward's effort over, after our defense fell prey to a simple one-two and then parried Jedinak's effort away to safety, following a corner.

Surprisingly, Arsenal found their way not long after that. You could sense something was coming, when an unmarked Ozil nearly found the net with a volley. And in the 88th minute our never-say-die attitude paid off.

Our trademark counter-attack ended up with a brilliant cross from Ramsey and, this time, Giroud's header was true. 2-0 and game over.

After the game, the manager has hailed our fantastic attitude, which made it possible for us to win this game in unfavourable circumstances. We kept our shape, defended well and took our chance on the break, following the suspension. A mature performance yet again.

Arsene also confirmed Flamini's groin injury and spoke about the atrocious quality of the pitch at Selhurst Park. I'm no specialist, but the pitch really did look to be in a bad shape. Gosh, is there no standard here? Why the referees don't check the quality of the pitch before the game the way the check the net for holes?

Either way, we did what we needed to, so forget stupid match officials and Chamakh's dreadful haircut. Have yourselves a good weekend

Crystal Palace preview: redemption?

Morning everyone.

Today's game (which will kick off earlier, than usual) is, according to tabloids, a chance for the Gunners to redeem themselves. Our Champions League encounter is something of an embarrassment, if mass media`s point of view has merit. And that's a big «if» in my opinion.

I've already said, I find nothing shameful in a loss to a team as good as yours. Arsene was right about Borussia`s physical condition, when he said that the Germans were a notch above anyone we played this season. You could see it with your own eyes, especially in the first half, how able Jurgen Klopp`s team was. They basically deprived us off possession for prolonged periods of time and their pressing off the ball ensured we could do little with it, when we finally laid our, erm, legs on it.

In the second half, the teams swapped places. We attacked, they defended, both sides had little success (but Arsenal just that little bit less).

We saw two very different sides of Borussia, and both were exceptionally able. Both were also in fine physical form, as good as ours, maybe better.

Fitness issues aside, Jurgen Klopp`s side also has a number of technical players (surprise, surprise) and, even Goetze`s absence wasn't noticeable. They didn't get to the final without reason, so at the moment, it's one of the best European teams we've lost to.

And even after admitting Borussia is as good as we are, I don't think we would have seen to many raised eyebrows, had the game ended in a draw, or had Arsenal grabbed a winner in the second half.

Their win also didn't happen only due to how good they were. Arsenal wasn't exactly at their best, with exhaustion having kicked in and the overconfidence of some players also hampering our chances. Both goals, we have conceded were completely avoidable, had Ramsey not decided to dribble his way out of trouble on the edge of the box, while facing three opponents and had we not tried so desperately to win, throwing everyone forward, thus exposing or own goal.

So any talk of redemption is complete and utter crap. Just knock the steam off some overly enthusiastic individuals and we should be fine.

In terms of availability, Flamini is back, and I expect him to start alongside Arteta. His presence and overall discipline was thoroughly missed on Tuesday and I see no reason to omit him today.

Whilshere is still a doubt, having jarred his ankle, but even if he is fit, he'd probably be rested. He's pivotal to our success, so the manager won't want to take any chances with him, especially when it can come at a cost in the long run.

Apart from that, I don't think Arsene will field a much changed side. Guys like Gnabry, Bendtner and Vermaelen will get their respective chances midweek, when we play Chelsea in the CoC. The Belgian, by the way, was praised by the manager for his fantastic attitude in training, saying, that when he's called upon, Thomas will be ready. Good to hear. That's what competition does to people.

I don't think, Crystal Palace will be up to scratch, when it comes to providing us with a test, but our test is of another kind. Should we pass it, the now managerless Palace will be demolished. So here's for a win and a good display. Come on you reds.

Not much else going on, so I'll leave it at that. There's this piece from our former skipper, that provides for an interesting read, so check it out.

Back later with a review

Borussia review: all good things come to an end

It's been twelve games and over two months since I've last written about a loss and I'd be happy not to write about in for another two months. This time, however, the situation is markedly different from that Villa game. There is, in my opinion, nothing shameful about losing a game to a team which is as good as yours in a match as tight as this one. But first things first.

Arsene Wenger, fresh from celebrations, made two changes to the side, that demolished Norwich on Saturday. Ramsey started in place of injured Flamini and Rosicky was deployed in a wide position, substituting Cazorla, so the Spaniard could be eased into action cautiously, following his injury.

Ramsey`s and Rosicky`s restless energy did little to influence how the game unfolded, however. From the first minutes Arsenal didn't have much of the ball, chasing ghosts all over the pitch, while Borussia was knocking the ball about. The Germans had a lion's share of possession, but were unable to come up with anything, other than shots from distance, both before and after the 16th minute.

The 16th minute brought a goal which was logical and illogical at the same time. Logical, because Borussia looked the better side. Illogical, cause they had nothing to show for it.

Ramsey tried to dribble his way out of trouble at the edge of the box, lost the ball, Lewandowski laid it off for Mkhitarian who put it beyond Szczesny with a low shot.

This seemed to finally shake the Gunners out of their apathy, though, like Borussia before, we couldn't do anything with the ball we had. We were mounting the pressure and the warning signs for the Germans were there, when Rosicky`s volleyd strike was cleared off the line by Hummels. However, when the goal came, it did so with a touch of good fortune.

The move started in our half. Mertesacker robbed someone of possession, played the ball to Ramsey and the Welshman fed Sagna on the right. The Frenchman crossed the ball, Weidenfeller and Hummels weren't sure, who should claim it, so neither did. Giroud squeezed his way through them and smashed the ball into the net from several feet. 1-1.

In the second half, Arsenal kicked into high gear right from the start (presumably having got a kick up the arse from the manager), but were again unable to create moments of real danger. Borussia were on the back foot, defending deep and snuffing out all the problems. Whilshere came closest to scoring when Rosicky`s lob, meant for the Englishman, was claimed by Weidenfeller. Jack sustained a knock to his ankle in this episode and was soon replaced by Cazorla. After the game, Whilshere said the knock was nothing serious, Arsene`s assessment was a bit more cautious, so it's unclear, whether Jack will have a part to play against Crystal Palace. Given the slew of important games coming our way, I won't be surprised, if he's rested.

Cazorla changed the dynamic of the game, but also came up short, when it came to creating goal threats. He did, however, had the best moment of the half.

Ozil ripped through the right flank, cut the ball back for the Spaniard, but Santi`s first-time shot hit the outside of the crosshair.

After that we continued to pile up the pressure, but to no avail. With eight minutes to go, we paid the price for monetarily switching off defensive-wise.

Grosskreutz teared down our left flank and sent in a low cross to the far post, where Lewandowski had all the space and time in the world to volley the ball home.

And that was it. It was obvious, this was the blow, Arsenal wouldn't recover from. We gave too much, both physically and mentally, to find the winner in the second forty-five minutes, that eventually conceding was the last straw. Wenger threw Bendtner and Gnabry on in the latter stages, but Borussia`s expert time-wasting ensured they left London with all three points.

This is what the manager had to say after the game:

« It was a game of high intensity but very few chances. Dortmund were well organised to stop us from playing, and I must say as well that we were not as good as we can be offensively. Some of our players were not as fresh as they were recently. But we put ourselves on the back foot with the first goal and naive for the second goal. If you look at the number of saves our keeper had to make tonight and you concede two goals, you can say that we can only look at ourselves for not being mature enough in situations like that. If you cannot win the game, you don't lose it. Especially in the second half when we were on top, we made things difficult for ourselves by giving them the second goal».

That pretty much sums it up. It's disappointing to lose a game in such a fashion, but better Borussia, than, erm, Blackburn.

So, what happens now? In terms of qualification, our result, combined with that of Napoli`s, throws the group wide open. Three teams have six points, so anything can happen. Our situation is not ideal, but it's also far from precarious. We now have to get an away result, but I recall a certain German team, that has suffered at our hands on their turf. Don't see, why we can't repeat this feat.

Until later