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Written by Mean Lean on Wednesday, 02 November 2011 18:37
Last night's game was a bit of an anti climax after the joys and jubilations of the weekend. Just as was the case in France, the two teams were well organised and contested in a typical important Champions League tie instead of an all guns blazing Premier League game.
I expected Arsene to rotate the squad but I expected different players to be rotated. As Robin has recently had a domestic breather, I thought we would see our number ten leading the line but clearly Arsene is handling Robin with some care as his importance to the team increases by the week.
Ju Park had the chance to stake his claim in a stronger team around him but as was the case against Shrewsbury, he struggled to adapt to the pace of the game. The game was fast and Park wanted an extra second on the ball, an extra second to make the pass but that extra time was just not there as Marseille defended very well.
Marseille were sharper and more positive than the Marseille we saw a few weeks back. They took the game to us from the start and probed around our penalty box, the reason why they were not able to test Szczesny properly was mainly because of the quality of our center backs. Thomas Vermaelen has been receiving all the praise today and he did a very good job but I thought his partner Per Mertesacker was the stand out of the two. He was calm, clean and efficient in his tackling and distributed the ball well from the back.
I am interested to know if Laurent Koscielny was being rested or if Arsene Wenger has found his first choice central defensive partnership. He has often gone with experience over youth in the past even if the younger player was playing on top of his game at the time. I remember when Johan Djourou came in for the ill Kolo Toure and he had played fantastically well but when Toure was ready to return, he walked straight back into the side, even if he wasn't at his best.
As good as the Mertesacker/Vermaelen combination looked last night, I would be extremely surprised and somewhat disappointed if Koscielny was not reinstated at the weekend. I thought it was interesting to note that Arsene Wenger did not field one Frenchman in his starting eleven, that has got to be a first for some time.
Arsenal weathered Marseille's early storm and then took the game to the visitors. Ramsey should have scored but delayed his shot which was blocked. Walcott also had a low drive that was palmed around the corner by the keeper after a good run and pass from Gervinho.
Gervinho is such an interesting player. His impact on the ball is almost 50/50. You can flip a coin when he gets the ball and either he will give an over weighted pass or dribble into traffic or he will nip between two players and make a perfect cut back. Unfortunately for Arsenal his coin landed on heads one too many times last night. Yet you always want Gervinho to get the ball because he has the beating of any fullback at some point in the game.
Aaron Ramsey, like the Arsenal team lacked the spark and sharpness that was produced at Stamford Bridge but still showed encouraging signs as he looked to create chances for the home side.
Our passing was just off and you could see that by our build up play, passes going a fraction ahead or behind a team mate which meant that we were never really able to stretch Marseille quick enough.
The Arsenal in crisis stories are being replaced with Arsenal cannot defend which is pretty funny. Arsenal defence has had more attention in the last two games than Chelsea who have conceded twice as many as us in that time frame. Andre Santos has been the main focus and the Brazilian is being written off by all and sundry. He has been somewhat of our left back version of Gervinho, brilliant one moment and suspect the next but the detractors should remember that he is a player still adjusting and settling into a new country, league and team.
I remember raising my eye brows at the ineptitude of Patrice Evra when he moved from Monaco to Manchester United. After his adaptation he has been regarded as one of the best left backs in Europe. While Santos excites me going forward and at times worries me defensively, I will reserve judgement until four months or so.
At least Santos' Brazilian magic is rubbing off on his team mates with Szczesny twisting and turning away from an attacker at a point in the first half. He got away with it again but if he continues to do that, he will be punished. Great to see when it comes off but a disaster if punished and we do not win the game.
Robin van Persie came off the bench in the second half for Park who will have better games and he had a chance to win the game. Substitute Tomas Rosicky played a great through pass to van Persie to run onto with the goalkeeper advancing off his line, Robin did not get the purchase needed to lift the ball over the goalkeeper and into the unguarded net, instead landing comfortably in the keeper's hands. I think it was the correct choice of finish from that position but just the wrong execution.
Dennis Bergkamp once said that he often chose the lob because if executed correctly, it is unsaveable and we witnessed many unsaveable finishes from Dennis over the years.
While we lacked a little bit sharpness (as Arsene would say) we had some good points to look back on. Carl Jenkinson did himself proud at right back after injury and the partnership of Vermaelen and Mertesacker passed the first test with flying colours. Andre Santos is a great attacking weapon and will be useful against so many sides who visit the Emirates with their bus as part of their game plan.
A victory would have kept the momentum running smoothly but it was not to be. Four points from the two Marseille games was Wenger's target before the game in France and that is what we achieved. The game against Dortmund is now massive and defeat is not an option. Dortmund have to go for a win and I expect a quick aggressive approach from the visitors so that should be interesting.
For now the team need to recharge batteries and keep the confidence high. Next up West Brom.
Man of the match: Per Mertesacker
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02-Nov-2011 19:11 | | TheDeathbatAFC - Excellent BlogAgree 100% with this. Gervinho was good in spells but like Theo Walcott, he is inconsistent far too much. I would've liked to have seen Benayoun especially considering he wasn't available at the weekend, and also Theo and Gervinho were most probably knackered from there efforts against Chelsea. Jenkinson continues to impress but I expect Koscielny to start at RB with Per and Vermaelen CB's. Mertesacker's best game for Arsenal, also my MOTM. Keep up the good work.
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02-Nov-2011 19:14 | | george - GevinhoSadly the guy has a terrible first touch in front of goal much as Bendtner and Adebayor before him.
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02-Nov-2011 19:53 | | Dino Abby - FatigueIt was obvious that fatigue crept in especially in the second half. I really have no complain and I'm very confident we'll have no problem disposing Dortmund later. Our game against Chelsea was taxing though very entertaining and it took a toll on the players. But still, we can see the spirit was excellent despite fatigue. Go gunners..
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02-Nov-2011 21:11 | | dkgooner - Adrenalin lowThis often happens after a huge win like the one against Chelsea. That was a game the players put heart and soul into winning and the effort, and consequent adrenalin shortfall, was bound to be reflected in a match coming so soon after. As richie said on yesterday's blog, 0-0 is not the end of the world. We still have the home match against Dortmund to keep us in pole position.
So a nice win against the Baggies and then two weeks to recharge those batteries (yes, I know some will be involved in internationals, but mostly friendlies without the same commitment).
I also think the CB pairing will be interesting. It's an opportunity to rotate or use Kos at right back occasionally (or even TV at left back). I don't think we need worry about that any longer as long as all of them stay fit. Our next 5 PL matches are less challenging, but that doesn't mean they can lower their commitment. There seems to be a collective spirit in the squad at the moment which was lacking at the end of last season. Who knows what was going on behind the scenes then, but right now the "backs to the wall" feeling after the Man U and Spurs defeats seems to have brought the squad together in a new way, which was clearly shown by the way they shared their joy at Stamford Bridge with the fans. Could it be something to do with our new captain too? Is he more of a uniting force in the dressing room and on the training ground than the last one?
Have to ask those flies on the wall.
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02-Nov-2011 22:32 | | NorthbanksyGood appraisal of the game. I know Santos has come in for some stick defensively, but given his newness to the club & PL I'm impressed with his over all game. Given a choice of Clichy,Gibbs or Santos, the Brazilian gets my vote. Being a wing back is a tough role. His attacking side of the game has been outstanding...2 goals in 8 weeks at the club,
& defensively he's getting stronger each game he plays.
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02-Nov-2011 22:44 | | MeanLean
I'm with you Northbanksy. I think his one on one defending has been pretty good for the most part. I think his one issue is his fitness. If he had the recovery pace and engine of Clichy then there would be no issues. Hopefully the more he plays, the better he will become and the same will be the case for Mertesacker.
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