Kevin Whitcher
Two substitutions transformed Arsenal against Stoke. Van Persie for Chamakh, and Arshavin for Walcott. With the removed players on the field, Arsenal were playing with a self-imposed handicap. Wenger gambled against Stoke and won. He gambled that the game would not be beyond his team before Van Persie entered the fray, and he gambled that the Dutchman would not need more than 25 minutes to make the difference. He won that bet and Arsenal gained three precious points.
In a sense, you can understand Wenger needing to play Chamakh into form. The Korean number nine is obviously not rated or he would have had more game time by now. Was this player bought purely for the marketing benefits in Seoul and Daegu? With every passing non-substitute appearance, it looks more and more of a strange signing. One assumes he will get another chance in the Carling Cup tomorrow evening. Maybe he’s a slow starter…
As for Chamakh, should RVP succumb to injury in the traditional fashion, the Moroccan will almost certainly get the nod, unless Wenger is finally going to unleash Theo Walcott as the focal point of his attack, which seems unlikely after all this time. So the player needs to find some form from somewhere. He will inevitably start against Bolton as the search for the player of autumn 2010 goes on. But every indication since we entered 2011 suggests that the manager has acquired a pup, albeit on a free transfer.
So the club captain is critical, and it was interesting to note how the rest of the team responded to his movement. Suddenly, there were options. I know Arshavin had a stinker in Marseille, but yesterday was much better, even if it was only from the subs bench. What pleased most was to see Arsenal wide men – Arshavin and Gervinho – taking players on, trying to beat them. We need to see more of this now we do not have Fabregas to spray quarterback style passes to the front players. Gervinho, as well as scoring the opener, set up the last two goals by simply beating his man. It feels weird writing that about an Arsenal attacker since Thierry Henry left.
In all competitions, Arsenal have now won seven out of eight matches, without playing particularly well in any of them. There have been flashes of brilliance, periods of resilience and daft lapses in concentration, such as that for Stoke’s equalizer. Sure the free kick was harsh, but once it’s been given, switch on the do not let players run into dangerous areas unhindered. The Gunners were done up like a kipper by a simple training ground routine.
It is the sign of a good side, so I am told, to win matches when playing badly. Hmmmm. Let’s reflect on this run a little more deeply after we play Chelsea next weekend. That match will tell us a lot about the current players. My fear is that it will be all the bad stuff we already know. But who knows? Football has the ability to throw up surprises, especially in derby games, just ask Andreas Villas- Boas.
The current issue of the Gooner will be on sale outside the stadium on Tuesday evening for the Bolton game. It can also be bought online here
Kevin Whitcher’s newly updated version of the book co-written with Alex Fynn, ‘Arsènal: The Making of a Modern Superclub’ is available in paperback from publishers Vision Sports for a reduced price of £6.99 including postage if you use the promo code ‘Gooner’ on the page that appears after you click ‘buy now’. Click here to order.
