Written by Mean Lean on Tuesday, 03 January 2012 12:24
2011 has been a pretty painful year on the whole for Arsenal so it has been nice to finally close the door on that year but starting 2012 with a defeat is very difficult to take.
I was gobsmacked at our starting eleven. Very surprised to see Mikel Arteta playing yet another game, shocked to see Robin van Persie back on the pitch. Many of the players had played just 48 hours previous and in the case of Mikel Arteta had played in every single league game since joining the club.
I was actually amazed that we were able to put in so much energy in the first half, in particular Aaron Ramsey who I thought was fantastic defensively and won so many tackles in the early exchanges. I thought that Fulham's tactic of closing down the Arsenal player who was set to receive a pass caused us a few problems in patches but we passed the ball pretty well from the start.
Gervinho is a player who I like a lot, he doesn't hide and he always puts us on the front foot. Quick, nimble and athletic but his lack of belief and conviction in the final third is hurting us. There never seems to be certainty in his final ball and especially his finishing. He finds himself in great positions in almost every game but his conversion rate is poor if he alone can benefit from Thierry Henry's short stay then the loan would have been a success.
Laurent Koscielny scored the opener after a deliciously curled pass from Aaron Ramsey, the Fulham defence was absent and Koscielny applied the simple finish with his head. It was nothing less than we deserved but as is often the case, we dominated and that second goal did not come when it should have done. Stockdale in the Fulham goal deserves some credit for this also as he made a double save to stop Aaron Ramsey and Alex Song from close range.
While Gervinho was wasteful with his finishing, Theo Walcott was equally wasteful with his final pass. Many times van Persie in the center and Gervinho at the far post were screaming with their arms outstretched ahead of them but Theo's low crosses often fell to the feet of the defender at the near post.
Although Walcott has improved that side of his game for the most part, that is not his strength. Arriving into goalscoring positions and finishing is but we do not see that very often from him and I wonder why. If Gervinho's repeated chances had fell to Walcott over the last few months then I am sure we would have scored plenty more goals until now, instead he hugs the touchline and a big part of his game is negated.
Full credit must go to Fulham for their approach in the second half, they had little choice but to go forward and they took advantage of some very heavy legs. We dropped all the way back and could not get out of our half long enough to take the pressure from our back four.
Szczesny had come for plenty and had caught most but the warning signs were there when he was beaten by Senderos in the air but his header drifted just wide. Szczesny's second error was costly as he came out again and was beaten, former Gunner Steve Sidwell headed in from close range. Fulham turned the screw and in stoppage time Bobby Zamora volleyed in substitute Squillaci's header back into the danger area. Why he headed the ball across his goal rather than back outside the area, only he will know.
The display from the referee was ridiculous and Arsene Wenger is correct to be fuming about his performance. We have had yet another two penalties ignored. The trip on Gervinho was obvious and was easy to spot in real time. Johan Djourou's second yellow was hardly a foul let alone a bookable offence. If the referee had done his job then we would not have lost the game but as Arsene says, we can only control what is in our hands.
We have to become ruthless but we have been saying this for a while now. Secondly I do not understand why Arsene who is so careful when it comes to fatigue has not used the squad. Why are players like Arteta and van Persie made to play every single game? Especially over the Christmas period when there are so many games to play.
It is little wonder that the team had totally run out of steam in the second half. Tomas Rosicky is a class act who is totally fresh. Chamakh is fresh and at least he battles for the team. If we needed a second half goal then we could have introduced van Persie and Arteta.
Obviously I am not best placed to judge the fitness and energy levels of our squad members but it is striking how much Arsene Wenger does not trust his current squad right now even when the games come thick and fast.
I blame the defeat on three factors. Fatigue, lack of finishing and awful refereeing.
I do want to praise Francis Coquelin who not only was out of position at full back but on the wrong side of the pitch. I have no doubt that he can make it at Arsenal if he can show patience. His determination, attitude and commitment is always spot on and technically he is good enough to make a big impact at Arsenal if he continues to improve.
Offensively I thought he aided our team better than Thomas Vermaelen at left back. He had to cut back inside but it gave Gervinho more space on the left. He deserves to play in the middle against Leeds United in the cup but that depends on the availability of defenders.
The defeat is a blow but at least the players now have a chance for a much needed breather and we can also expect to see some injured players returning shortly.
This has been a Christmas period that all the big sides will be kicking themselves over.
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perpetrated against one of our players the whole of the media and establishment collectively close ranks against us, and they all begin singing from the same hymn sheet. Remember the views from Managers, pundits, ex players, journo's and the like that Arsenal don't like it when you get stuck into them. i.e. if you can't beat them playing football violence works. Following that we had nothing but potencial career ending tackles against our players. Dark forces indeed!
that the first generation ran the risk of getting burnt from weight of expectations and pressure was always on the cards.... and congratulations to media and our fans for allowing it to happen ...
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