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Written by Mean Lean on Saturday, 18 February 2012 14:16
This situation feels all a little too familiar, a little too raw for me not to notice it. The highs of our late comeback followed by a crushing non show defeat and then days later we find our self in a knock out cup competition, our last available trophy to play for.
The last few months of the season used to be our strongest, in recent times it has been quite the opposite, especially last season which was particularly bad and I still believe that had we held onto third in the league then this summer's poor show may have been prevented but that is old news. Let us hope that it remains old news and that this new remodelled Arsenal team do not follow the same path of self destruction.
There is no time for self pity, no time for fear. The players have to simply roll their sleeves up and fight for the badge, they didn't do that in Italy and they will not be allowed to do the same again this afternoon. I wonder how the team will deal with tiredness both physical and mental. This time round Sunderland will have the rested legs so I wonder if that will change the pattern of the game compared to our last fixture against the black cats.
Gervinho is back in the squad which is good news, hopefully he can put his penalty kick miss behind him and bounce back in style this afternoon. I am expecting a few changes from Arsene, some enforced and some rotation. Arsene has said previously that he doesn't like to play the same players three times in a week although he did do just that over the Christmas schedule.
Hopefully Oxlade-Chamberlain will be restored to the left which would give the side two quick dribblers either side of the center forward and that would be very interesting to see how that would pan out. That said, Arsene could give Andrey Arshavin another chance after it was his actions that brought all three points back to north London last weekend.
If Arsene ever wants to rest Robin van Persie then it has to be today, if not then I just do not see how or when he would do so. Chamakh could start the game with the choice of bringing van Persie off the bench if need be.
Kieran Gibbs did not travel with the team as Arsene does not want to push the youngster too much after his long term injury. He did the same with Bacary Sagna against Blackburn Rovers although the Frenchman was on the bench. I am guessing that Francis Coquelin will come back into the team and probably play at left back.
It is likely to be a very scrappy game of football, hopefully Sunderland will be more positive than they were recently but I guess that also depends on which wide men we have in the team.
I can see the game finishing 1-0 to either side but I must say I am concerned about how much the Milan game would have taken from our players. It might just have to be adrenaline that takes us over the line but whatever it is, let us hope we get what we need this afternoon.
Mean Lean's Predicted Line Up
Come on you Gunners
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18-Feb-2012 14:48 | | ManasPut anyone except except the shit Walcott. I am sick and tired of that runner in Arsenal jersey. Love to see Arshavin.
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18-Feb-2012 14:56 | | Matt---------------------Szczesny--------------------------
Sagna------ Song------- Vermaelen---- Miquel
--------------------Coquelin---------------------------
--------------Arteta------ Ramsey--------------------
AOC-----------------Park------------------Gervinho
Whats the point in buying park if hes never gonna get played?
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18-Feb-2012 15:03 | | gutale - i hope arsenal will winn if they play this formatialmunia
sagna song varmælen Coquelin
Oxlade-Chamberlain arteta rosisky gervinho
chamakh park
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18-Feb-2012 15:23 | | AnonymousPlay park instead of chamark pls n ashavin should play ahead of ramsey
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18-Feb-2012 15:32 | | JB212 - Sunderland Line Up !Best possible line up for this afternoon:
---------------------Szczesny--------------------------
Sagna----Djourou----Vermaelen----Coquelin
The Ox------Song--------Arteta---------Gervinho
-----------------------Arshavin-------------------------
----------------------Chamakh------------------------
Subs: Fabianski, Gibbs, Miquel, Rosicky, Walcott, van Persie, Park
This same line up could still be used with 4-3-3 formation but I'd be ecstatic to see us return to a 4-4-1-1 / 4-4-2.
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18-Feb-2012 15:54 | | Daniel Wong - Arsenal defenceDon't be surprised the gunners lose through defensive lapses.Way back in 2005,remember they were three goals down against Boro. . Final score 5-4. Same scoreline for the Spurs game.Over the years the gunners had a dodgy defence and gk.
This boils down to Wenger's no defence drill.A call for a defensive coach was brusquely brushed aside. This from a manger of a top team.I won't be surprised the gunners are beaten by Sunderland and finsih 6th. Wenger would probably leave on his own.
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18-Feb-2012 15:55 | | Nas - Rvp injured???Last chance of a trophy and everyone is asking for park/chamakh and arshavin. Ur all mad. They shouldnt be allowed to wear a arsenal shirt again.
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18-Feb-2012 16:12 | | Effort - Best line upFab-v5-dj-sag-coq-song-benayoun-ramsey-ox-ger-park.sub- chamakh.rosicky.theo.arshavin.almunia.arte ta.miquel.yennaris.
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18-Feb-2012 18:07 | | colesy - half time analysisoh no. Plenty of mental strength needed for the second half.
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18-Feb-2012 18:18 | | Gino92 - First Half ThoughtsNot playing very well right now and trailing 1-nil. Hope we can turn things around in the second half. You know it is not an easy feeling when you see both Djourou and Squillaci playing. God help us! I swear, this season it seems like the left back position is cursed!!! Now we've lost Coquelin to what seems like a hamstring injury. One thing I don't understand anymore is why are we now passing the ball backward so much? Especially knowing that we have a very shaky defense lacking confidence right now... Vermaelen put Djourou under pressure and as usual, he panics and commits the foul that led to the goal. I hope we can look forward instead of backward in the second half and press Sunderland better and higher up the pitch.
And please Sagna, next time don't stop closing down the shooter three quarters of the way. That's bad defending. Come on Gunners, let's turn the screws on Sunderland and give them a good beating!
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18-Feb-2012 19:30 | | Colesy - the trend is improving!!!ML - I think you're wrong. Our bond with the club is not what's different. It's with the manager where the difference lies.
Again so one dimensional today. Poor defending all over, no closing down anywhere on the pitch. It's like the plan is to pass (no matter if sideways or backwards), just pass the bloody thing. No-one seemed interested in attacking the Sunderland defence until it was too late and we were 2-0 down and that was probably because the Sunderland team were sitting back a little, protecting their lead.
However, to continue the theme of this week, if you compare the score with the defeat in Italy and draw a line between the two, it will show a positive red line!!!
Of course, I am being facetious to show again what a ridiculous attempt that was with all those graphs etc to try and suggest that we are in anything but decline.
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18-Feb-2012 19:43 | | MeanLean
It is not a criticism Colesy, we all behave differently as supporters. We are losing the game at half time and you can make jokes about mental strength with smiley faces. I am fuming at half time because my team is behind. I suppose when you are so disconnected with the club then it is easy to switch on and off. If that works for you then that is all good, different world for me though.
We were not good at all today, I knew we would suffer after the Milan game. Two games without any positives is pretty tough to deal with. I worry for the health of this team from now until the season end. Massive, massive game coming up against Spurs.
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18-Feb-2012 20:17 | | ColesyI guess then you're probably two years behind the stage I was at. I have gone through the whole rage and smash everything up routine when we lose. I didn't have a good feeling going into this match after Milan and with the injuries in defence plus the poor replacements coming in and the extra few days rest Sunderland had compared to us, it was always going to be tough. I was chatting to a mate in work on Thursday who is also a gooner about the Milan game. He admitted during our chat that he'd given up all hope of any trophy for this season before September because of the lack of quality and he felt there was no likelihood of us resolving the defensive faults made so apparent last season. Something which has proved to be correct.
I would disagree with your comment and state that I do not feel disconnected with the club but the manager and what he continues to do. - yes, I feel disconnected with Wenger. We have Spurs, Liverpool and Newcastle in the next games with a match against Milan sandwiched in the middle. I asked the question a few days back, but I now fear that this WILL be a repeat of twelve months ago and I do not see that we have the squad capable to recover from this phase.
I am a realist not a dreamer. I accept the glory days are in the past. I acknowledge what Wenger has done, just as much as I acknowledge the fact he has since failed to address problems with our club. No defensive coach. Sticking with PR when a change in personnel wouldn't go a miss. Re-looking at the injury history over the past few seasons and finding some credible answers to help determine why we have suffered more soft muscle injuries then probably any other top club.
These are areas that sadly continue to be overlooked. But I am hopeful will be addressed sooner rather than later.
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18-Feb-2012 21:46 | | TimML, the reason people like Colesy can make jokes about this team at half time is that this team is a f*cking joke. It's not that Colesy is disconnected, it's that he's resigned to the fact that we're going to lose, and can you really blame him? Did the team come out in the second half prepared to win that match? Of course they didn't. That's the team's fault, the manager's fault, the board's fault; anyone's fault but Colesy.
On the whole, as is evidenced by your post to me in the graph thread (which I am about to reply to) AKBs (no offense meant) are seemingly unable to distinguish between giving unconditional support to the team and unconditional support to the project as a whole. Our away support was immense as usual, and when the team does not repay that support and fails miserably as it always does the project deserves every bit of vitriol it receives.
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18-Feb-2012 21:47 | | Gino92 - Another bad day at the Office!Another disappointing performance today. This has become a familiar saying nowadays. I can accept bad results combined with good performances, but it is hard to accept bad results with bad performances. I am not sure what is going on but we are lacking confidence, desire, determination, and passion right now and something needs to change quickly because I am afraid of a similar collapse as last season's. Why do we allow the other teams to press up all over the pitch but we don't do the same to them? I don't understand that.
Arshavin should have come on instead of Walcott, I think. At least he is willing to make a forward pass along with Rosicky. Everybody else was just passing sideways and backwards even though they knew we needed to score. Walcott was so anonymous when came on that I actually forge he was on the pitch until he was whistled offside a couple of times.
Did anybody else noticed Squillaci's demeanor when he was subbed off? He looked really pissed off and headed straight down the tunnel, unless he got injured too, which I doubt. It seems like most teams have figured out how to play against us, so maybe it is time Arsene changes things up a little bit. 4-3-3 was great when we had Fabregas (and even Nasri). We are losing the midfield battle and isolating Van Persie way too often. Maybe we should go back to 4-4-2 and give RVP some help upfront.
Well, at least now we can just focus on staying in 4th place in the league. That is all we have left to play for, realistically. As disappointing as this FA Cup exit is, perhaps it is a blessing in disguise, as long as we avoid performing like we did this week. Maybe Silent Stan is watching us underperforming and is ready to pump a few millions into the team for next season. As much as we need a couple more quality players, we need strong, real fighters with a never-say-die attitude more, in my opinion. The vision of Sessegnon easily brushing off Arteta at full speed to make the pass that led to the second goal is stuck in my memory and fucking unbearable right now... It sucks!
Off topic, did anyone else see Ryo' winning goal for Bolton today? That was awesome. He combined speed and quality down on the left wing. That finish was exquisite. Can't wait to see him, Chamberlain, and Wilshere next season.
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18-Feb-2012 22:09 | | StevieWAnyone else got to the point where they don't care if we win lose or draw? There is something seriously wrong at this club and it's got to the point where the supporters don't know whether it's the manager or the board to blame. If the performance today was anything to go by the players look as if they don't give a damn. I get the feeling that Wenger is too honourable a man to dish the dirt on the financial constraints he has to work within.
The whole situation is farcical. 60,000 crowds every home game should filter through into mega wonga to splash on players. Debt on the stadium is manageable but we're now in a downward vicious spiral. Would you stay if you were RVP and Madrid came knocking? Arsenal are clinging to the idea that the financial fair play rules are going to vindicate our self-sustaining model. Does anyone really think that Eufa are going to ban the giants of european football from their flagship competition?
Time for Arsenal to get real and be honest - are we going to challange the elite of europe which involes flashing the cash or are we going to slip back to the ambitions we were used to pre-Wenger? If we could just have a bit of honesty regarding what the ambitions of the board are maybe we wouldn't get quite so disappointed and frustrated when the performances of the team resemble that of a mid-table non-entity.
I'm beginning to get quite nostalgic for a return to the seventies and the eighties when expectations were limited and any success was to be savoured. We're either a big club or we're not - can the board please make up their collective mind and let us know one way or another?
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18-Feb-2012 23:20 | | ColesyStevie, I couldn't put it better myself. Wenger is either the board's muppet and will not tell the supporters how it really is. Or, he knows that he can carry on with his project youth scheme and keep the board happy because until now, he's been able to deliver CL football and keep the team in the Top 4. However, whilst he's been playing with project youth, the other clubs have moved forward and we are seeing the results unravel before our eyes.
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