UEFA introduces yet another major change, but is it a fair one?

Hello.

I'll start with the bit that has everyone's attention right now: UEFA is about to introduce a change to the existing seeding system. Namely: the champions of seven highest-ranking countries will go straight into the first pot, along with the defending champions. It is yet unclear what will happen if one of the domestic champions also wins the Champions League. I suspect the eight's country's champion will be seeded in the first pot, but it's pure guesswork. This is the statement:

“It will be ratified later on by the executive committee but it’s a clear recommendation of the club competition’s committee that the seeding system changes in this respect as from next season.

People had difficulties in understanding how the champion of a country is in a lower pot than the third-ranked in that country.

This will give another dynamic with the draw and in the way the groups are composed. It will be approved with the regulations at the start of next year.

The club committee felt that there should be somehow an additional award given to the winners of the different national competitions."

What is also unclear, is how other pots will shape up. Seeding vice-champions in the second, third-place teams in the third and so on could potentially lead to very strong teams being left out of the elite. Which means we'll get several groups of death each year. Which, in its turn, can devalue the competition. But again, I don't know, whether it'll be the case.

Is it a fair system UEFA is trying to organise? Is it better than the one we already have in place?

Remember how a couple of years back the European's Football governing body introduced a path for the champions and a path for the non-champions (I still haven't got used to it)? They argued that very few small-country champions are represented during the group stages, which is not exactly fair.

This overhaul gifted us a couple of surprises, like APOEL and BATE going through to the knock-out stages, but, overall, I think the tournament got less entertaining. It doesn't really matter when the small clubs get knocked out, during the third qualifier or during the group stages. However, you could sort of see what UEFA's goal was. To give the chance to others.

And history repeats itself. You can understand what prompted this current change to the seeding system. You can say it's strange to see the reigning champion in the third pot with a potential chance to land themselves in a tough group, Borussia were even seeded in the fourth pot following 2010-2011 campaign, as they had a low rating. This injustice of sorts greatly hampered the Germans' chances to go through.

However, the current set-up is far from dysfunctional. It takes a historical aspect into consideration. For example, this year only three champions (Benfica, Atletico, Bayern) + the defending champions Real made it into the top pot. But the reasons why Arsenal, Chelsea, Porto and Barcelona made it are fairly obvious: their countries and the teams themselves perform to a very high standard in European competitions on a regular basis. Porto and Benfica are very successful in the Europa League for several years now, Barcelona and Chelsea are very consistent in the Champions League (they often get to the semi-finals), while Arsenal, well, gets into the group stages for 17 consecutive years and gets out of the group for 14-15 years running. Is it fair they go into the first pot for their consistency? I think so.

It may also prompt a change in our approach to the BPL. Which is exactly what we need. If we don't win, we'll find ourselves in a tough group once more. Do we want to have Barca or Bayern in our group? So this change can also be for the better. It can finally lead us to realise just how important winning the championship is.

Finally for today, all our international players seem to have come through the first round of internationals unscathed, which is certainly good news, considering five our of them featured for England alone. Even more, Wilshere got MoM for his performance, while Welbeck scored one of the goals from a Chamberlain assist. Chambers and Gibbs both completed 90 minutes and have impressed, for all I know. The most important thing they are all healthy, of course.

That's it for today. Back with fresh news in a couple of days.

Until then

Follow me on Twitter (@AlexBaguzin)

Injury situation worsens as Ozil becomes the latest fallen

I originally intended to get back a bit earlier, but nothing worth mentioning happened. Now, unfortunately, we do have something to talk about. I wish we didn't.

Yesterday news of Ozil's injury emerged and Arsenal's fan base erupted. With Ramsey and Arteta already out, it stretches our midfield situation to almost breaking point. What is much more important, however, is that we've lost our most valuable player, a man around whom the whole team can be built.

Remember how everyone said we're playing better without Ozil and then collectively bemoaned his absence at the start of the season? Back in August we were far from a cohesive unit and the German's return sparked us into life. Twice Ozil was deployed centrally after his come-back and on both occasions we've delivered stellar performances (3-0 against Villa and 4-1 against Gala). The German was less noticeable on the flank, but I've already stated, despite Mesut not buzzing around like Sanchez, he's no less influential. Even during the last game against Chelsea (when our number 10 was clearly nursing an injury), he fared better, statistically-wise, than Fabregas. We don't have a direct replacement for Ozil and I'm certain we're going to miss Mesut thoroughly.

I don't, for that reason, understand the reaction of some Arsenal "fans", who say Ozil was nicking a living anyway and there are better players on our team. There aren't. But what strikes me as the most stupid thing about such "fans" behavior, is how they say we should have signed Cesc. They've been repeating this since the start of the season, though their reasoning is, let's say, adaptable. They just take a jab when a merest opportunity presents itself. Disgusting.

Who could have foreseen an injury to the German? Or the downturn in Ramsey's form? We really do have a wealth of attacking players and re-signing Cesc was a risk, which the manager didn't take. Let's not forget the simple fact, that the Spaniard only plays in central midfield at Chelsea because he has Matic alongside him to do all the dirty work. We couldn't have played Cesc there, cause we don't have a powerful holding DM. Both Arteta and Flamini require help and they wouldn't have got much from Fabregas. While using Cesc as a 10 would have meant sacrificing Ozil. And, despite all the critic coming his way, I still think the German is the better player.

In an even worse twist, Koscielny seems to have been withdrawn from France's national team due to an achilles injury. We've known for some time now the Frenchman was carrying one, but we just couldn't allow to rest him. It all comes down to lack of proper cover, again. Had Debuchy been alright, we could have tried playing a central pairing of Mertesacker and Chambers, but Debuchy is out till new year. Moreover, this duo didn't seem to work properly on the only occasion we've seen it: against Everton.

All of this means Koscielny had to play and now we are at the crossroads. We all know how an injury to the achilles deteriorates over time. You can play with it for a while, but the longer you play, the more you aggravate it. And so the treatment would also take longer. Right now Kos does seem to be in a passable condition, so the decision to keep him wrapped in cotton wool is more of a precaution, but the Frenchman will require a lengthy treatment at some point. I only hope he holds out till January, when we'll have the chance to furiously search the transfer market for at least one centre-back. Two is better.

This grim news diverts our attention from the real problem: we're in the middle of yet another injury crisis and it's not even the middle of October. Debuchy and Giroud will be sidelined till at least early December and Ozil will be out longer still. And that's not to mention short-termers (Arteta, Ramsey), newly-returned Theo and Gnabry and a brittle French duo of Sanogo and Diaby. We have, at the very least, five injured players, none of whom will take part in our next game, and a suspended Chambers, of course. How can we possibly fight for anything with half the team out?!

What interests me most, is how exactly we manage to gather so many injures every year. It's been ongoing, yet no one can solve it. We've brought in Shad Forsythe and, while the new man will need some time, the situation definitely hasn't improved. We've conducted countless investigations into any possible reasons behind these injures and haven't found out anything.

What is it we are doing wrong? Is it the pitch at the Emirates, is it training methods? Players carrying on despite nursing knocks, like Ozil and before him, Wilshere? Perhaps short recovery periods after games? Is it down to our style of football or maybe we've just assembled the world's most brittle collaction of players? A combination of all these factors? I wish I knew.

I cannot express how tired I am to experience this Groundhog Day year after year after year. We've failed to challenge for trophies more than once because of our walking wounded and I fear this situation is still not behind us. It's sad really. All the good work in the transfer market undone and it's still early days. So much work to get the Club out of the financial hole and to work us into a position when we can genuinely compete, only for the injures to dent our hopes.

Alright, I think it's enough for today. Back in a couple of days, when I'll (hopefully) have better news.

Until then

Cheslea 2-0 Arsenal: a dignified loss

Morning everyone.

Our curse of not being able to overpower Jose Mourinho's Chelsea continued yesterday, as we suffered the first loss this year. Little actual football happened during the ninety minutes, so instead of describing how each half went (as I usually do), I'll just present to you other points of interest.

Our squad and set-up

There was only one change compared to our midweek game: Wilshere for Oxlade-Chamberlain. We also reverted to 4-1-4-1, but, surprisingly, not Cazorla was asked to play on the flank. Instead, Ozil did, and the question of whether the German would have performed better under the striker is an open one. However, thanks to 7amkickoff, we know that, statistically-wise, Ozil fared better than Cesc. The fact that Ozil doesn't run around as Sanchez does, doesn't mean he's contributed less.

Hazard, Cahill and Mourinho

We played some very decent football before conceding. Sure, the moments were few and far between, but we looked well-organised and disciplined, with Flamini rocking the midfield. And then, I'd say against the run of play, we conceded. Hazard picked the ball some 30 yards from goal, breezed past Cazorla, rounded off Flamini and then stormed into the box, wrong-footing Koscielny in the process. The Frenchman had little choice, but to foul the Belgian. Eden converted calmly from the spot.

This forced Arsenal to take more decisive action. Wilshere was one-on-one after a good move, but the Englishman's clumsy first touch allowed Cech to claim the ball. Minutes before that, a scuffle on the sidelines broke out and with good reason to back it: Cahill two-footed Sanchez. Arsene demanded red and thus entered into a conflict with Mourinho, pushing the latter. Wenger later stated he didn't regret this decision:

"What is there to regret after that? I wanted to go from A to B and somebody confronted me in between without any sign of welcome."

If Arsene then knocked Mourinho down and stamped on his face I would have said personally said the Frenchman deserves a knighthood. As it is, I can just applause this decision. I don't care what happened, I don't care what Mourinho said or did, the Portuguese is a despicable personality and deserves all the pushes in the world.

Oscar, Cesc and the second goal

Cesc was booed. Simple as that. The three thousand fans supporting Arsenal were heard loud and clear when the Spaniard received the ball. Of our players, only Wilshere (understandable) and Welbeck showed their contempt towards Cesc. Wilshere just turned away when Fabregas wanted to talk to him and Welbeck two-footed the Spaniard late in the game, knowing full-well he won't get the ball. Two knighthoods, please.

However, it didn't stop Cesc from making a decisive contribution. When we lost the ball some fifteen minutes from time, our former skipper clipped an inch-perfect pass over our defense and Costa chipped Szczesny. Game over and we were in damage control mode since that second goal.

On a side note, we should have been given a penalty when Fabregas clearly stopped the ball with his hand, but I think it was already 2-0 at that point.

Oh, and Oscar. Almost as despicable as Mourinho. He committed these nasty fouls when the ref wasn't looking, but only received a yellow very late in the game, when in fairness he could have been sent off for these antics in the first half. Disgusting behaviour. He's a true Chelsea player in that regard.

Thoughts on performance and result

"It was a very intense game. Very tight as well. It was about not making a mistake and not giving the first goal away. After that we were 1-0 down. We had good opportunities in the first half and we have to turn these into dangerous situations and finish them. After that in the second half it was all us and we were a bit unlucky. We made a mistake on the second goal, and the second goal killed the game off."

The result aside, I think we did pretty well. We were well-organised from the first minute to the last, we had some chances (Wilshere, Cazorla) and I'm starting to think this 4-1-4-1 can do us a lot of good against the big teams. We may still be more efficient playing 4-2-3-1 with lesser opposition, but we'll see.

A loss leaves us with ten points after seven games, however, and you really start to lament these dropped points against Tottenham and Leicester. 14 points is a much more respectable number. Let's not forget, though, that United, LIverpool and the likes, who now boast how good they are, still have both City and Chelsea to play. And if they get four points combined from four games, I'd be really surprised.

Now we have a bit of a break before our next game. I don't think the players should beat themselves up because we lost to a probable champion. We had a good, committed performance, and been as organised as it gets. So play for the national sides, return and carry on as usual. It's not pleasant to lose, but we've lost only just and given our everything.

So don't feel too down. Have a good week and I'll be back with you in a couple of days.

Until then

Follow me on Twitter (@AlexBaguzin)

Chelsea preview: the stage is set

Good morning.

Tomorrow Arsenal visits Stamford Bridge and I won't deny I'm a little nervous about this one.

We haven't exactly been at our best last time we went there, while our overall record against the Blues leaves a lot to be desired. We've last beaten Chelsea in 2012, when a hat-trick from a certain Dutch ensured we came out on top 5-3, but it's been no bed of roses since then.

Arsenal's record against Mourinho's Chelsea is worse still, with no wins in eleven games. However, I'm with Wenger on this one (surprise, surprise):

“I don’t deny that history is against us with Chelsea. The thing about top teams is that they make history and they change history.”

Do I think we have what it takes to bring down Chelsea? Absolutely. Yes, we still have 7 players out, 5 of whom would have made the squad, but it was basically the same story in midweek.

With that settled, let's try putting a comprehensive squad together.

The back five

Although Monreal can be back (which is certainly a boost), I don't expect any changes in defense. Gibbs is blossoming right now, so much so he received a call-up to the national side. Delightfully, he got one at the expense of that ignorant and overrated Man United left-back. But it's just an observation, which, I think, has little to do with Gibbs's participation tomorrow.

However, I strongly believe Arsene should drop Szczesny, or at least consider doing it. I've softened my stance towards the Pole's red and I realise it's unlikely AW will bench Wojciech after just one mistake, but he still should consider it. Ospina had a very good game on Wednesday, answering all the critics who crawled out of their holes after the Saints' match. Moreover, the Colombian will surely need practise before we play Anderlecht. Tomorrow may be the time to provide him with some.

The midfield

Here we have another dilemma. I'm pretty sure Flamini will continue in his holding position after a strong performance on Wednesday, but who starts further up the pitch is another question entirely.

Playing a partnership of Cazorla and Ozil may worked against Gala, but I think we'll have one hell of a hard time breaking up Chelsea's attacks with such a duo. We are going to need someone more sound defensively to not lose the midfield battle.

Shifting Ozil out wide to keep Cazorla in the centre of the park is not an option, as far as I'm concerned. It'll mean inviting Chelsea to attack down that flank and with players like Hazard and Schurrle they may reap the benefits. So Ozil should remain where he was, not the least because his best games came when the German was deployed under the striker.

He'll need someone who'll play closer to defense in this scenario, and with Arteta and Ramsey out, Wilshere remains our only option. Not that it's a bad option, Jack is just no Viera or Gilberto when it comes to defending.

The attack

It's obvious Alexis and Welbeck should start after their brilliant performance, but who'll occupy the other flank? In my opinion, it's a two-horse race between the Ox and Cazorla.

And, once again, I'm not sure Cazorla is an ideal option. The little Spaniard is less of a runner-tracker than Oxlade, while he's also less physical. It's still fiendishly hard to dispossess Santi though, while he's also instrumental at performing the transition from defense to attack, so it's a close call.

The verdict

“Chelsea have always been a good team - no matter which year you go there, they have a good team. It’s not too much about them, it’s about what we will do, how much we are ready to put the work rate, effort and togetherness in to get the result. That’s what will make it.”

That about sums it up. The Blues are strong, they have become stronger still with the addition of Costa, Matic and Cesc, but we've seen before how we can beat anyone if we catch our rhythm.

There is a question, of course, which tactic would be the most beneficial for us? Do we sit back and hit them on the counter or do we seize control of the ball and go all guns-blazing?

The former scenario may have worked a year ago, but I'm not so sure it will now. Without Ramsey and Debuchy we are less sound defensively. Actually, I'm still wrapping my head around this transformation. Surely Chambers and Flamini know how to defend? Why have our clean sheets dried up? Why can't we be as solid now as were a year ago? Is the change of formation to blame? Is is the question of adapting to it? If you feel like it, you can read more on the subject in Tim Stilman's weekly column over on Arseblog.

Anyway, back to how we approach our opposition and I'm inclined to think we'll try to take the game to Chelsea. It's just what we do normally and given the wealth of our attacking talent it may be the most sensible thing to do. It yields the potential danger of exposing ourselves to their counter-attacks, however, so a balance should be found. Just don't use that high pressing line and we may nick the three points.

One last thing: Cesc. How should we treat him? It's hard to say, really. The most sensible suggestion I've seen on Twitter is ignoring our former captain. Cheering a guy who went on strike to leave would be strange, to say the least, but booing someone who has played for eight years is also kind of immature and disrespectful. Unless he scores and celebrates van Persie or Adebayor-style. 

That's it for now. Back Sunday or Monday with a review.

Until then and C'mon. On. You. Gunners.

Follow me on Twitter (@AlexBaguzin)

Arsenal 4-1 Galatasaray: two different sides to one very good Arsenal

Yesterday's game can easily be split in two periods: the first sixty minutes and the last thirty. For the first hour there was only one team on the pitch. We dominated Galatasaray completely and could have been 6 or 7 up (pun absolutely intended) by the 60th minute. The we showed another side to our game: defensive resilience. And it was thrilling to watch. However, let's go step-by-step.

The squad

Did we go back to 4-2-3-1, at least for this game? Frankly, it's not that important. Of much greater interest was the attacking roster of players that started: Flamini, Cazorla, Ozil, Alexis, Oxlade and Welbeck. After all the criticism his way, I must admit I was impressed with Flamini's performance. His positioning may still be a bit suspect at times, but yesterday he has well and truly made up for it with his fighting spirit and his overall contribution.

Our attack looked lethal. Cazorla and Ozil centrally, the Ox and Sanchez out wide and Welbeck up top. All these players functioned like clockwork, interchanging passes and on-pitch positions for a greater effect.

I failed to mention the back four, but you can guess it without too much problem: Chambers, Mert, Kos and Gibbs. All performed brilliantly, nothing more, nothing less.

The first 60 minutes

It took us roughly 20 minutes to really click, but even inside this period we looked much more the part than Gala. Constantly in possession and constantly threatening, but not finishing just yet.

This changed in the 22nd minute. Sanchez (who was bullied every living second) played Welbeck through, the Englishman blocked the defender and poked the ball home between the keeper's legs.

8 minutes later Daniel grabbed a second. A mis-hit pass backwards fell to the Englishman, our centre-forward powered past Melo as if he wasn't there and slotted the ball into the far corner. 2-0.

10 minutes later the game was over as a contest. Sanchez got on the back of a beautiful pass from Ozil, stepped inside the defender and sent the ball into the same corner as Welbeck minutes earlier. We saw the first half out safely, but the show continued in the second.

Oxlade nearly set up Ozil, only for his cut back to be cleared, but it didn't matter, cause seven minutes into the second half Welbeck completed his hat-trick.

The Englishman started on the left, played the ball to Sanchez and the Chilean, in his turn, found Oxlade-Chamberlain. By the time Alex received the pass, Welbeck was ready to pounce. The Ox sliced apart Gala's defense to feed Welbeck and the Englishman's lob made it 4-0. The points were secured, but, suddenly, and quite unexpectedly, we had to work for them.

The last 30 minutes

Some carelessness in midfield saw Burak go one-on-one with Szczesny and the Pole was a fraction of a second late to clear the ball. Instead, he hacked off the Turk and saw red.

In the immediate aftermath of the foul I was furious with Szczesny's behaviour. How could have he been so stupid? Better 4-1 with 11 men, than a penalty (essentially, a goal) with 10 men. However, after watching the replays once more today I realised our keeper didn't hack the Turk down with his outstretched hands. Burak intentionally stumbled into Szczesny to try and get a pen. It was, in essence, a dive.

Ospina came on for Alexis and, though he couldn't save the spot-kick, the Colombian was instrumental in letting in only once. He pulled off at least three marvellous saves in these thirty minutes. Two point-blank (a header and a low shot) and one distance effort from Sneider. Ospina was also very good at claiming crosses.

We could have actually added two more after the sending off, but brilliant Welbeck was robbed at the last possible moment after an outstanding run and Cazorla's dink was too weak, allowing the defender to clear the ball off the line. 4-1 it ended.

The aftermath

After the game Arsene was, expectantly, full of praise for our hat-trick hero:

"He’s a good finisher. I believe that, technically, he’s very sound. That was a surprise that he’s technically clean and that he’s a good passer of the ball. I didn’t know he was so quick. Honestly, I knew he was quick but he can be electric when he starts - he has great pace."

However, the team as a whole deserves the highest of marks. Everyone was great, even the subs which were designed to hold off the Turks. So fair play to everyone involved.

A couple of final notes. First, while Szczesny is not the sole culprit in this episode with the red, the boss may still want to explore the possibility of dropping the Pole. After all, it's not the first time Wojciech did that. Arsene needs to teach our number 1 right from wrong and omitting him against Chelsea may produce the desired effect. It worked in 2013, I see no reason why it shouldn't work now. And even if it doesn't, I'm more than happy with Ospina.

And finally, Turksih fans were disgusting. They've set the pitch on fire and lit something up in the stands. Outrageous behaviour. All of them were isolated after the game, 6 were arrested. It's high time UEFA punished Gala for such a thing. Fine them or, better still, ban their fans to watch the game from the stands in the remaining CL matches, Something definitely needs to be done.

That's it for now. Back soon with a preview of the Chelsea game.

Until then

Follow me on Twitter (@AlexBaguzin)

P.S. Melo's foul on Alexis was no less disgusting than the behaviour of his side's fans. How he got away with only a yellow for such a foul is beyond me.