Everton 3-0 Arsenal: fundamentally wrong

When I was a kid, I liked reading and re-reading Mark Twain's Adventures of Tom Sawyer. Light reading that was, a kind of fairytale with a happy ending and not much meaning, but there was one passage that I remember even now. Here's a slightly changed version of it: "Hope makes a show of reviving - not with any reason to back it, but only because it is its nature to revive when the spring has not been taken out of it by age and familiarity with failure". This sums up perfectly well how I feel (and have felt down the years) about Arsenal.

Because life without hope would be extremely hard (unbearable, maybe) for any human being, it is in human's nature to hope for the better, when there's nothing to back it up with.

I hoped, a couple of resounding failures in these two months will ensure the players and the manager do their best to avoid another heavy defeat in a match of vital importance (important for other reasons, but important nonetheless). They did not.

We were condemned to watch an atrocious first half, which saw Everton take the lead and the worst thing about it, was that they completely deserved to be 2-0 up at the break. A listless, disinterested Arsenal side had more of the ball, but never looked like they could do anything with it. Everton executed their plan flawlessly, by sitting deep and exploding on counters.

We looked toothless in attack, only getting as close as Everton would let us and pathetic defensively, allowing the Toffees to cut us open through the middle with simple passes.

All goals were disgusting, if you think of it. For the first, Baines split our defense with a simple through ball. Sagna wasn't quick enough to close Baines down, Arteta just stood and stared as the ball rolled past him, Mertesacker did the same, counting on Vermaelen to cover him up and the captain himself was late to return from his latest charge up the pitch. The situation wasn't beyond repair even then, thanks to Szczesny pulling off a brilliant save, but Naithsmith was allowed all the time in the world to put the ball into the empty net.

For the second, Lukaku received the ball on the right and had at least Monreal and Vermaelen in front of him. Lukaku drifted inside as if these two just weren't there and then fired an unstoppable shot between Mertesacker and Vermaelen.

The third one came as a result of another through ball, which Szczesny got down to well, but the Pole's effort was in vain, as Arteta failed to track back Mirallas and then further compounded the misery by sending the ball into his own net in a last-ditch effort to stop the Belgian. To be fair to Mikel, Mirallas would have scored anyway, but the fact that it was our vice-captain who allowed Mirallas in that position in the first place is atrocious.

Up front, things didn't look better and, to my immense surprise, Wenger was reluctant to change this until the game was beyond salvation. Podolski, who was taken off in favour of the Ox, was our best bet to nick a goal right up to 60th minute and that's saying a lot. A guy who, with everyone fit, only makes the bench and is inconsistent in his performances to say the least, was the best chance we had to score.

Giroud was, frankly, shit. Suggestions that even an actual tree up front would fare better don't seem that funny anymore. Hell, Sanogo did better when thrown on. The Frenchman would have actually scored a goal, had he not been wrongly flagged offside.

The only bright spots of this game were Ramsey and the Ox. The latter had hit the bar and saw another goalbound effort blocked, while the former pulled off clever passes left and right, threw himself about and was, all in all, a very positive influence. Why these two weren't thrown on at half-time will remain the greatest mystery to me.

I had last had such emptiness back in August, after our first game of the season. It didn't come on a back of a bad stretch of form, rather on a poor decision-making from Arsene, who failed to bring in reinforcements we so desperately (and painful obviously) needed. We have a good squad, but, as the commentator rightly noticed yesterday, our style of play will always result in quite a few injures and it's about having as many players as possible to avoid a downfall in both the form and the results.

This group of players was pushed to the limit in January, but managed to stay top. It's easy to see how, with a new striker and a centre-half, we would still be top. As it is, we now have to fight for the Champions League football and even this is not in our hands anymore.

Until later

Everton preview: the return of the king

Good evening to you.

Tomorrow we play Everton in a "six-pointer" and it's hard not to regret our current position. Less than a month ago we were fighting for the title and now we tread an all-too-familiar territory of staying in the top four.

Everton has done extremely well this season and their Europa League place is all but secured. It's hard to envisage a hit-and-miss Tottenham or a faltering United side beating the Toffees to fifth place.

What is more, Everton are on a good run, having won five league games in a row and losing just one home fixture in an entire campaign. The acquisitions of Lukaku and Deulofeu, coupled with emergence of Barkley as a potent force make Everton a hard opponent for anyone. We've had a chance to see that for ourselves back in December. We've scraped a draw and, mind you, Wilshere, Ozil and Walcott were available back then.

A win tomorrow throws the race for the fourth spot wide open and it's something the players should be well aware of. Luckily, there's been some positive news regarding our injured.

Ramsey and Monreal will be named on the team sheet and both are extremely welcome. Monreal can (if needed) fill the void left by Gibbs, while Ramsey will give us the end product our current midfield lacks.

I know I've mentioned it already, but the amount of players we have out  each year is infuriating. Monreal picked up a knock against Sunderland and haven't played since. Just think of it. A knock that was supposed to keep the Spaniard for a week, maybe two, resulted in a month on the sidelines.

Ramsey injured himself on Boxing Day and should have played against Southampton. Remember that 2-2 draw back in late January? We are into April and the Welshman only just recovered.

That is not the end of the story, though. Gibbs and Gnabry are unlikely to feature tomorrow, the former with a troublesome ankle, the latter with a knackered knee. While Gibbs has played quite a lot this month, it's hard to see, where Gnabry's injury came from. He had hardly made even substitute appearances, so how on Earth did he get himself injured?

Luckily, these knocks have come at a more a less good time. Ramsey will fill in for Gnabry, Monreal will slot in for Gibbs and we carry on. Maybe a few more players will make a comeback against Wigan (I have Koscielny and the aforementioned  duo in mind), but we'll manage for now.

Back to our all-important game tomorrow and I expect Arsene to field basically the same squad. It's either Gibbs or Monreal on the left (depending on whether the Englishman is fit), we may see Kallstrom alongside Arteta (don't think Ramsey is ready or should be risked now) and I'd play Rosicky centrally and move Cazorla to the left. Though the Spaniard did good against City, Podolski looked a weak link. Sure, he got an assist to his name and could have nicked a win for us, but he was still largely ineffective.

The main problem with Podolski is that he's neither a striker, nor a winger. He doesn't impress in both positions, preferring to play in a narrow corridor between a winger and a striker, waiting for a perfect pass to explode into life, but spends the rest of the game in shadows. He's not a willing runner forward, doesn't drift infield to create an overload or to help out teammates and shies away from his defensive duties. Moreover, the German's persistence on using only his left foot effectively limits the number of options available to him.

So, I say drop Poldi, play the Ox on the right, Rosicky in the centre and Cazorla on the left and we should be all right. Such a setup ensures our back four receives proper protection, while also not taking anything from our attacking play away.

The manager will also have a decent bench at his disposal, with players on it being able to contribute at both ends of the pitch.

We are still masters of our destiny when it comes to securing the fourth place and this game is vital. Win, and we are seven points clear with five games remaining. Lose, and Everton may leapfrog us in the very near future.

I think  we have enough to get the three points, though. City game saw us "turn a corner", if I may quote Arsene here, Ramsey and Monreal are back to help out, so we should be ready both psychologically and physically (after a week off). All that remains is to get a win tomorrow, so we can start worrying about the looming semi-final FA Cup against Wigan.

Come on you reds.

Arsenal 1-1 Manchester City: a point gained or two points dropped?

Before this game, despite my positive attitude, I was nervous as hell. City were on a good run, we were losing points left and right and the level of our recent performances left a great deal to be desired. Besides, you are always gonna have a hard time fighting top teams with half your squad out. What I saw on the pitch surprised me.

Arsene made one change to the side, replacing Oxlade-Chamberlain with Podolski. It were the Citizens, however, who dominated the first half. Sabaleta wasted a chance after going clean through, Garcia shot just wide and then Silva scored. He had a bit of luck with the goal, though. Podolski lost the ball upfield, City broke, Dzeko was left all to himself and his shot cannoned off the post. Silva happened to be in the way of the rebound and the ball rolled in.

It was a blow, but hardly a surprise. City were by far the better side and their goal, however much of an accident it looked, came on the back of a dominant opening period.

We tried to muster a response and, to our credit, I can't say City had clear-cut chances to extend their lead during the first half. We were unable to make it count, as our only opportunities boiled down to a distance effort from Giroud and a penalty shout when Rosicky was tripped in the box. Looked a penalty to me, but Dean had other ideas. Oh, there was also a goal from Flamini, rightly disallowed for offside.

Arsenal stepped the tempo up in the second half and scored almost immediately after the restart. Giroud held the ball up on the left, worked it back into midfield, a short interchange led to a low cross from Podolski and Flamini was on hand to send the ball home. His celebration was even better than the goal itself and it was the least the Frenchman deserved after a hard week.

Spurned on by the equaliser and urged on by the home crowd (I've never heard anything close to such support) Arsenal could have gone ahead just minutes later. Podolski found himself on the end of a great move, but his goalbound effort hit Hart's heel on the way in and deflected for a corner.

Cazorla then went close to putting us ahead, but Hart saved with his legs.

Smelling blood, Arsene threw Oxlade and Sanogo on (for Podolski and Giroud respectively) and these two nearly nicked a winner in the dying moments, only for the Englishman's overhead kick to be blocked by one of the defenders.

For all this effort City only had a good cross and a distance Fernandinho shot to show. In the end, the game ended with teams level, which was probably a fair result. Arsenal looked the better team in the second half, but our inability to conjure up more chances was what made the difference.

This is what Arsene said on the result:

"We were a bit nervy at the start, insecure in our attitude by our last two results. But when even we when we were 1-0 down you could see the team was ready for a fight and we controlled the second half, we controlled the first 20 minutes and overall in the first half maybe they had another chance, in the second half we had a second chance. We could have won it in the second half but overall it was a game of quality between two good teams and the game was played with a great spirit on both sides".

This basically sums it up. Poor in the opening minutes, clawed our way back before the half-time whistle and could have won it in the second half. We didn't, which means our title bid is effectively over, but the main thing about this game was to show our grit and restore our pride and we did just that. Well done everyone, now we get a week to get ready for the clash against Everton and maybe get back some of the walking wounded. We're gonna need them.

Until later

Manchester City preview: more about pride

Hello everyone.

Today we take on Manchester City and it's not going to be easy, both because they are in good form and we are not.

Had we beaten Swansea on Tuesday, I would have been a bit more confident, but as City has torn United to pieces, I'd still be worried as hell.

When your top scorer is injured and second best out of form you think the team would have trouble scoring, but City had none. Djeko came on, scored twice, Toure compounded the misery and, wham, United is on their knees. They've been playing like crap all season, sure, but derby is always special and teams do their best to step it up on these occasions. United, however, were left with no chance.

The other thing, that worries me going into the game is our short bench, coupled with a slew of exhausted players. It's hard to see, where rotation can come in, though. I'd like to see Kallstrom alongside Arteta, but that's more down to Flamini looking knackered, while the Swede is full of energy. He may inject a bit of pace to our midfield and will probably complement Rosicky well. Arsene had recently talked up Swede's qualities, so the later may become that trick up our sleeve.

Other than that, any changes will basically be a gamble. Podolski is effective up front, but he's also inconsistent and shies away from his defensive duties at times, something Wenger cannot overlook, especially after saying our successful defensive performance is the cornerstone on which our whole performance should be built.

More than anything, the game is about professional pride and this is another factor that should motivate the players. While a draw against Swansea was a step-up in terms performance, we really should have done better in the end. Yes, it's hard to fight with six key players out (I'm not counting Diaby in), but Swansea is no Liverpool or Chelsea. The reason we've topped the table for so long is simple: we got the points against lesser teams on a consistent basis. After picking up just two points in games with United, Stoke and Swansea we can no longer claim we demolish teams, that are positioned below us. Had we won these (like we really should have) we would still be top of the mill. Not by much, yes, but top.

As it stands, our title chances are almost gone. I say almost, because in case we beat City today, we will stand a chance. The manager rightly noticed that top teams will play each other and thus drop points, so a win today and we are in the mix again.

So let's try and get a win.

Arsenal 2-2 Swansea: dropped points

I rarely feel bad about a draw. Down the years I've learnt there's only so much separating a draw from a loss, so, almost every time we drew, I waved it aside and concentrated on the following game. Wasn't always easy, but you get the idea.

Moreover, under the circumstances a draw was, probably, the most predictable outcome. An exhausted Arsenal, that only days before was put to the sword, was  unlikely to get three points, especially taken into account how we've played this year in the immediate aftermath of a footballing beating. Yet dropping the points the way we did was frustrating beyond belief.

Arsene made only one change to the side that went down to the Blues, Flamini replacing Podolski. Bellerin appeared  on the bench in place of an injured Koscielny.

Arsenal started the game on the front foot, but, apart from lots of possession and a couple of wayward shots from the Ox, didn't look threatening.

When Swansea scored the opener, it was completely against the run of play, however. A simple cross from the left coupled with a moment of brilliance from Boni and suddenly we were chasing the game.

Lots more of possession ensued, but little came off. Mert's effort hit the side netting, before Cazorla weaved through Swansea's defence only to see his shot well-saved. At half-time we still trailed, unable to break down an organised Swansea defence.

In the second half we looked only marginally better. Around the 60th minute Podolski replaced Oxlade-Chamberlain in an attempt to avoid a sure defeat. Before that, Rosicky's shot in frustration was the only thing we've conjured up.

In the 73rd minute, Arsenal suddenly exploded. Gibbs did brilliantly to get behind the opposition's full-back, cut the ball back and Podolski was there to poke it home.

Less than sixty seconds later the German turned provider. Someone (Rosicky?) won a crunching header in the centre of the park, Podolski raced down the flank and sent in a (perfect) low cross in Giroud's direction. The Frenchman smashed the ball under the bar to put Arsenal ahead.

After that, we dropped back to try and get the points we've been working so hard for. Kallstrom made his debut to shore things up in midfield and Sanogo replaced a knackered Giroud.

However, Arsenal didn't look a fortress we so successfully imitated in the North London derby. Whether it was Koscielny's absence, the overall level of physical and mental exhaustion or a combination of both, our defence never looked rock-solid.

Thus, when a late equaliser came, I wasn't surprised. Frustrated, angry, disappointed, but not surprised. Sure, the goal (an own goal by Flamini) was an accident, pure and simple, but the fact it happened because of a breach in our defence was no accident. The Frenchman was devastated by the slip-up, but, in the end, it was a collective mistake and Mathieu was just unlucky to have been standing where he was.

After the game Arsene said:

"The result is very disappointing but the spirit we put in and the effort we put in was great and we have to take it on the chin. We made the most difficult [part] by coming back to 2-1 and after that you could see that maybe we were too focused to keep the result and maybe too conservative because of confidence level had been affected certainly by Saturday. We just wanted to win the game without pushing anymore forward and a mistake happened unfortunately and it created a result we didn't want. But overall I have to give credit to the fighting spirit and the desire we put into that game".

He then treaded the familiar territory of a top-four finish:

"Everton won, so we have to focus and prepare well for the next game. It will be open until the end but you can still have surprises as well. Man City had a good result tonight, they look a bit unstoppable. They are favourites as they have two games in hand, them and Chelsea are favourites now for the title".

But the most depressing bit came later, when our manager touched on the injured players:

"None of them are close to coming back. Koscielny is out for a while. After that Ozil, I don’t know but at least two or three weeks. Ramsey is perhaps the closest. He is two weeks maybe".

Considering Ramsey was scheduled to return against City (Southampton, originally) we are in a bad spot. We cannot really rotate due to so many players being out, but the group that gave their all in Tuesday seemed dead on their feet. They are still humans, after all, who have their highs and lows, who just fought another battle. There is no telling how long they'll be able to keep going, but I hope we make it all right through the weekend and then we'll have a week to prepare for our clash with Everton and get some R&R.

I hate to say it, but our short bench is taking its toll. True, we have many players out (again, should not we do something about it already?), but it doesn't excuse the manager's choice not to strengthen his team in the summer. This why we are where we are and facing an uphill task to become at least third.

In the light of City and Liverpool's wins, even the third place seems to be slipping out of our reach. We now have to look back, where Everton lurch six points behind and with a game in hand. Arsenal will have to, somehow, restore their confidence and put the maximum effort to get something out of the next two games. And make no mistake, we need to do so.