Written by Mean Lean on Thursday, 02 December 2010 00:41

Sickness has taken over my household and prevented me from writing my thoughts on the game, that along with a rather unwatchable stream meant that putting it off for a later date was the best thing to do.

After finding out the result of the semi final draw and then a rewatch of the game via Arsenal TV online, I feel more equipped to have a good old fashioned ramble about the game against Wigan Athletic.

Arsenal will now be favourites to win the trophy, a trophy that has eluded Arsene Wenger so far in his Arsenal career but a two legged tie against Championship Ipswich Town. Without wanting to disrespect our opposition, you would expect Arsenal to get through in two matches if the attitude is correct and in the semi final of any competition you would expect the attitude to be spot on.

On a cold and snowy Tuesday evening Arsene sent out a strong side to face Wigan but it was a team full of rusty talent. As we know footballers rarely produce without games. I expected that we would have too much for Wigan, especially at the Emirates (regardless of our previous form at home) but I was not expecting the fluidity of Aston Villa a few days previous.

Johan Djourou, Laurent Koscielny, Jack Wilshere and perhaps Denilson were the only players who would have gone into that game with the right match sharpness. Seven other players were attempting to dust off the rust before the busy December period.

There were still some good individual performances throughout the side. Robin Van Persie may not have been at his explosive best but even carrying the inevitable rust, he still showed the watching public what we have missed.

His quality deserves that special number 10 shirt that another Dutch striker once wore at Arsenal. the awareness of players around him and his ability to kill a ball played at him almost any height and at any speed makes him head and shoulders the most talented striker at the club.

I found it very interesting to see his position on the night. I expected him to be pushed right at the top end of the pitch, continuing from his great work in that position when fit last season. He was instrumental in our fantastic start to the 2009/2010 season. But with Nicklas Bendtner in the side, Arsene decided to play Van Persie almost in the Bergkamp role, floating around in between the half way line and the center forward position.

With Cesc Fabregas out of action for a few weeks, is Arsene Wenger reshaping his template? Is Wenger altering the side to accommodate Van Persie and Chamakh in central areas?

Without looking at the chalkboard stats, it did seem as if Van Persie did not quite come as deep as Cesc does to pick up the ball but he was certainly deeper than he has been in an Arsenal shirt for some time. Our first chances were due to Van Persie's quality.

One whipped free kick that Bendtner misjudged with only minutes gone on the clock.

We have already had a taste of Van Persie from dead balls and Marouane Chamakh getting on the end of it against Blackpool at the Emirates when Chamakh rose to head in a deserved goal and I expect plenty from that combination. We waste so many dead balls when Van Persie is not in the starting line up and if we can improve that count then it will be highly beneficial for us when we are struggling to break down teams or kill teams off. That is certainly something I will be keeping my eye on when our two strikers are paired together.

The best chance of the game came when Wilshere played a ball around the corner to Van Persie back to goal, he produced an instant back heal into the path of Vela who had drifted in from the left. The idea was correct, lifting the ball over the advancing keeper but instead of dropping into the empty net, his effort curled wide of the post.

I have read plenty of mixed views of Carlos Vela and he doesn't appear to be everyone's favourite cup of tea, I personally think he is a great talent who perhaps is being expected to produce world class performances when he simply has not been able to show his best. The question you have to ask, is what is the most amount of games Carlos Vela has played for Arsenal in a row? Has he played three games back to back? Has he even played two in a row at the top level for our club?

Yet we expect a 21 year old Mexican to come on against top players and change games. Robin Van Persie is top class yet on his few substitute appearances he hasn't been able to impose himself on the game.

Judge Carlos Vela when he has played 10 games on the trot and has found his rhythm and momentum. Even if Vela was not at his sharpest in front of goal I thought his overall game was very good, especially in a disjointed Arsenal team.

The own goal was largely down to Theo's delivery, curled in with pace into the right area. It looks like he has been working on his delivery and shooting from set pieces over the summer as he has taken a few this season.

Other stand out performances came from the left foot of Kieran Gibbs, Johan Djourou continues to stand in Arsene's face and scream pick me with yet another accomplished display.

Eboue, Walcott and Bendtner were all behind their usual standards but like I said earlier in the piece, it is no surprise that none of those players have had regular football in recent weeks.

Our second and final goal of the game was a lovely passage of play and it resulted in another good cross from Vela, first time left foot cross from the left in between goalkeeper and defence and perfectly to the sliding foot of Nicklas Bendtner to bundle in from close range. Vela had already played a few good crosses throughout the game and it is the type of ball you want Theo Walcott to find more often.

The game was over at 2-0 and we really should have gone on to score more but like plenty of our games of late we were profligate in front of goal.

Vela, Walcott on a number of occasions and Nasri all missed chances. Nasri who came on for the last twenty minutes had his third rounding of the goalkeeper on his left side in three domestic games had his shot saved on the line.

Not the most fluent of games but plenty of players got much needed game time, we have a great chance to win the trophy as Manchester United's weakened squad were crushed by West Ham at Upton Park after making a similar amount of changes to their weekend team as we did which should tell you the amount of quality we have at this club.

Now that November is over and done with, it would be great if this squad now goes from strength to strength, starting at the weekend with Fulham.

Szczesny (7)
Eboue (5.5)
Koscielny (7)
Djourou (7.5)
Gibbs (7.5)
Denilson (6.5)
Wilshere (7)
Van Persie (7.5)
Walcott (6)
Bendtner (6)
Vela (7)

Please note that ratings are only my interpretations of the game and that others will have differing opinions

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Comments (13)

• 02-Dec-2010 10:22 | | Anonymous
  

  

• 02-Dec-2010 10:29 | | Anonymous
  

  wenger alone is responsible for the stalling of vela and denilsons careers. he has been baby sitting them when a loan deal would have toughened them and helped them learn to fight for a place

• 02-Dec-2010 10:48 | | MeanLean
  

  What exactly do you mean? Denilson has had an important role to play in our squad for the last few years. If we sent all our players on loan and then got hit by injury then how would that help us?
  
  I don't understand where you are coming from.

• 02-Dec-2010 11:21 | | Mike
  

  Bit generous to Denilson & Vela but otherwise I agree. It's time to get rid of Vela - he has actually had a lot of chances & simply failed to take them. I'm sure he's got talent but it's not working at Arsenal. Move him on & give JET game time instead...

• 02-Dec-2010 11:26 | | DJ Dragonfly
  

  @ ML
  
  Kieran Gibbs was our best player on Tues night. His attacking play has always been very good, but he has really improved in his defensive game. It's only a matter of time before he takes Clichy's place in the first team.
  
  Wenger has to find a way to slot Van Persie back into the first team line-up alongside Chamakh. Chamakh is such a key player now, the team's dynamics would suffer if he is left out.
  
  This would be my solution if I was in charge:
  
  Fabianski
  
  Sagna Squillaci Vermaelen Gibbs
  
  Song Fabregas
  
  Nasri Van Persie Arshavin
  
  Chamakh
  
  The sad point about the above selection is that Wilshire would be left out, but it won't be for long when Fabregas (sadly) departs to Barcelona next season.

• 02-Dec-2010 11:28 | | richie  - likewise!
  

  Anonymous, "Obviously" we are not all on the same page as you.
  Vela as a fully paid up member of the Arsenal squad needs to bide his time as an understudy to the first choice strike partnerships. Vela is a talent!
  I watched him while he was "on loan" in Spain and he impressed.
  If he gets his chance he's gotta take it! But I certainly have to agree his chance isn't a game once in a blue moon nor one or two cameo's from the 70th min. It will only be fair to judge him after he properly plays for us for a while.
  Remember one thing AW isn't shy. He's sold many players against the current. He sold Eduardo, and kept Carlos therefore he has faith in him and rates him at least for the future, sadly in a way more than Eddy.

• 02-Dec-2010 11:48 | | richie  - Guarding against complacency
  

  We must guard against the complacency that we've show recently.
  Roy Keane's tracker boys will be physical I'm sure. Why? Well against us they won't really have any other way to play. We need to be fully prepared for the threats that this encounter will present. (you see Sapman I'm minded of injuries) At their's we must expect them to plough their field, so we can't easily play on the ground, therefore I expect high balls to be the order of the day. I also expect them to attempt to draw fouls as soon as they are in our half of the pitch, so they can pump in those same high balls on set pieces. They'll want to test our defense "a la Carol" and Fabski's ability to come and claim.

• 02-Dec-2010 11:56 | | hazzaboy21
  

  Another great post Meanlean. Agree with pretty much everything as I invariably do. Glad AW tried RVP behind the striker as that's definitely an option that could be used in some games. Actually made it to this game despite the sub zero conditions and saw a better performance than my last game at home vs the barcodes.
  
  One thing I wish we did do with that attacking formation was press a lot more. Maybe it was because Of watching el clasico but I felt we were giving the Wigan defenders too much time in the ball. The few times we did press them we were pretty much through in goal. It's something we see more with Chamakh up top and it definitely sends the right message throughout the team.

• 02-Dec-2010 12:24 | | moo
  

  that's easy. you can call that a 4-5-1/4-4-2 hybrid, which is what we've been playing for the past 4 years.

• 02-Dec-2010 13:00 | | SAPMAN
  

  great post and im also of the opinion that if vela was a bit more serious and clinical in first half ..we wouldnt be talking about rustiness. this kid is villaesqe in his finishing but a little less arrogance would go a long way in helping him secure a position in arsenal;s first team rotation. he is still a kid and you can see that unfortunately he has to grow up a bit. he can also play as left winger which is good whereas walcott seems to never be able to understand what a right winger is supposed to do. in that respect and since both are used as winger/forwards vela is the more versatile. i understand wenger's point of wanting to have pace on the right but that pace must also be able to make correct decissions...i dont remember which half it was but theo squared it for vela with way too much power making it difficult for vela to tap it in from such an angle at the speed it was going.

• 02-Dec-2010 13:32 | | SAPMAN
  

  he he he dragonfly 4-2-3-1 ...thats the formation i use in fm ..with only difference that i bought arturo vidal to play next to cesc instead of song and i have guardado for left wing when i play with wingers. but most of time i keep the 3 all in the amc positions ( nasri arshavin rosicky) instead of putting them on the wing ( guardado - arshavin - nasri) and with van persie up front instead of chamakh ..
  
  i also play strict 442 at home games but i cant understand yet which of van persie /chammkah should be the target man with the technique for link up and who to put as advanced forward/finnisher
  
  and im also practicing the barca 433 with vidal dmf and nasri fabregas as central midfield playmakers arshavin on right guardado left van up front...not very productive yet..and cant find the correct settings for that formation
  
  
  yep richie we must definately guard against complacency..the pressure from media and fans for the team to land the cc will become huge and i hope it dont distract them too much. if its meant to happen ...it will happen
  
  do u think it would be more correct for the cc to go with a team full of english youngsters who will take it more personally to prove that arsenal can win the cc for their fans ?

• 02-Dec-2010 13:51 | | richie  - Intelligent obbs DJD
  

  DJD Gotta second those emotions mate.
  
  1st Gibbs ain't just peeping around Cliches door he's knocking on it with both fists nutting it, elbowing,kneeing,and kicking it two footed.
  
  2nd Chamakh is key! RvP should be slotted back into the 2nd striker role because we play so much better when Ma'wan (Marouane) drags defenders forward with his lead play. Which gives space to our very talented midfield. On top of that RvP's play is intelligent and he can drop a ball in the same way Cesc can i.e defense splitting. RvP ain't up to Bergy's old level in this reguard but then who is?
  
  3rd I support and fully understand AW's impatience in trying to get RvP back because "If " only we can get a fully firing RvP back into our squad permanently then we've suddenly got a world class strike force back. This amazingly should help our the rest of the teams balance, because when other teams are under constant threat surprisingly they don't attack us as much. Which bode's well with us only 2 off the top in November, AW must be thinking along my lines my kingdom for a little unbeaten run!

• 02-Dec-2010 14:31 | | richie  - English youngsters?
  

  I was born in London on the great continent of Europe. Read my last post on My Vision where I miss use a Geordie Gooners 606 post to give my own views on the continental European vs the traditional English style of play. To me its a redundent arguement.

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