Written by Mean Lean
on
Thursday, 20 October 2011 14:35
Having been penned into our half by a fluid, attacking Dortmund team in week one and then viewing the final score when Marseille beat Dortmund to a pulp by three goals to nil in week two, I must admit, I was nervous about our trip to France.
The German champions had most of the possession against Marseille but where taken apart on the counter attack from the speedy and direct Olympique de Marseille.
Victory breeds confidence for Arsenal, and probably more than victory is our players finding their passing rhythm. A rhythm that was reached in parts of the first half against Sunderland at the weekend. It may well have given the team the belief needed to snatch victory in the Vélodrome stadium.
Arsene Wenger's selection threw me the usual curve ball. Gervinho was left on the bench instead of Walcott who has completed more minutes of late than our new attacker. Andrey Arshavin got the start he deserved after his great cameo on the weekend. Unfortunately for the Russian, he reverted back to giving away possession and not quite managing to make the decisive threaded pass.
The first half was fast paced and quick in tempo without many clear chances being fashioned by either side, mainly thanks to excellent defending from both teams.
Arsene clearly learnt from the German's error but shielding his back four and not allowing his team to be opened up by the counter attack. Alex Song, Mikel Arteta and Tomas Rosicky were Wenger's chosen trio to run the game in the middle of the pitch and instead of flooding forward in search of an opening goal, they hung back and protected their goal first and foremost, leaving the offensive part of the game to our front three.
Arsene Wenger has been criticised for being inflexible but his subtle changes are often overlooked. Wenger was being pragmatic as he knew we were in a good position in the group. There was no need to leave ourselves exposed and concede goals. A point would have been enough in France as long as we could get the victory at the Emirates. So there was no need to push forward and force the issue. It was a tactical battle and our opposition did not make it easy for us.
Didier Deschamps instructed his team to press us high and not let us find our passes, Borussia Dortmund had done this to us and it halted our game. The Marseille manager may have had that in mind when setting up his team. However they were not able to press us as convincingly as Dortmund in week one and we passed our way out of the press as the half went on.
Carl Jenkinson deserves big praise for the way he imposed himself in the first 45 minutes, powering forward and supporting our attacks very well, he looked composed overall and probably produced his most assured game since our away game against Udinese.
He was lucky to escape the attention of the officials when a bouncing ball hit against his hand in the penalty area. It was obviously accidental but we have been on the receiving end of those type of decisions that go against you when you least expect it. Marseille got away with an even more obvious penalty area hand ball following an Arsenal attack.
Andre Santos was not having the same affect as Jenkinson on the other side, he seemed to be playing Brazilian roulette with the referee's whistle. After having already seen the referee's card for a body check, Santos continued to make late tackles and also pushed his luck with a handball. Santos has lovely technique and a good passing range but he is not being utilised enough because he doesn't have the fitness or engine of his predecessor.
If Santos was blessed with Jenkinson's engine then you could imagine plenty of goals and assists coming from his left foot. He almost found himself clean through at one stage but Tomas Rosicky delayed his pass too long and the chance was gone. After a shaky first half, he composed himself well in the second half and put in a good display along with the rest of his defenders.
Defensively we had worked very well as a team and it was pleasing to see but our offensive game left me frustrated. With the midfield dropping so deep, van Persie was often left with only his two wide forwards amongst a sea of Marseille defenders and midfielders. This meant that our plan of attack often resulted in the ball being played out on the right to either Jenkinson or Walcott to fire in a low cross into the first defender. This happened time and time again and often Robin van Persie was the only man in the penalty box so he had very little chance of getting on the end of crosses.
Our game is not about crossing into the penalty area, it is about getting our technical players in tight spaces together so we can combine quickly and carve out chances in the penalty area. I would like to see Theo Walcott drive into the box with the ball at his feet without the temptation to cross the ball into areas that we are unlikely to win it. Taking on the full back on the inside rather than the outside would limit the space between the forwards and allow our players to play one-two's in order to find spaces to get a shot away.
Per Mertesacker started the game well making some very important tackles but it was his partner that stole the show as the game continued. Laurent Koscielny may have trouble shaking off unfair tags but his defensive ability is abundantly clear. The cobra's reading of the game is exceptional and his dominance in the air was fantastic.
Our injury issues continue to chase our every move as Carl Jenkinson had to go off with a knee problem which is just typical of our luck. We haven't suffered an injury to any of our right backs for a long while and now in the space of a few weeks our first and second choice right backs are injured. Johan Djourou replaced Jenkinson and had a very good game. He kept his line with his defenders and did not venture too far forward and that helped him.
Theo Walcott had a side footed effort saved by the feet of the keeper and Walcott's second half replacement Gervinho also slipped in van Persie in a similar area to Walcott, the Dutchman also hit the keeper who did well to rush out and narrow the space.
Chances were few and far between but Szczesny hardly had to make a save. That was largely down to our center backs and our midfield trio, all of which were defensively very strong. Alex Song once again showed just how important he is to us both defensively and with his distribution.
Aaron Ramsey had replaced Andrey Arshavin who worked hard but was hugely ineffective. As the time ticked away Johan Djourou floated a ball into the box which was flicked into the path of Aaron Ramsey who had arrived at the far post, he took a touch steadied himself and fired it past the keeper.
We kept it tight, defended well and took our chance in the last minute, a story line that we are used to but one that is usually told by the opposition.
It was not the most entertaining match that we have ever played in Europe but it was a solid team performance and we got the all important three points. Three points that puts us on top of the group with two home games to come against Marseille and Borussia Dortmund.
Man of the match: Laurent Koscielny
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