Camgooner
I write this twenty four hours after the abject display against Swansea, having just heard the news that we have drawn Swansea out of the hat for the FA Cup third round.
My initial reaction as a fan is that it is a chance for revenge. Surely, given the pain evident on the players’ faces when the second goal went in on Saturday, they know that the performance wasn’t good enough. They will need almost no encouragement to head out and fight for the honour of the Arsenal badge. Somehow, though, I don’t think it is that simple - we were simply outclassed by Swansea.
Early on in the game, I was watching their shape. Defensively, they were organised and moved as if they knew what those around them were doing. They reacted smoothly to us passing the ball around away from their goal, and usually won it back efficiently when we entered the danger area. They pressed and tackled. They weren’t made to work hard to track runs and runners. It was all too easy.
For a spell, at the start of the second half, we did do much better and pulled them out of shape. They definitely got lucky on a couple of occasions. But this only lasted about 15 minutes, and then they managed to regroup and started to look solid again.
During all this, they looked dangerous on the break, and - more worryingly – kept possession in a way that was reminiscent of Arsenal past when they were unable to break. When was the last time an away team came to us and had 56% possession? I would imagine that few teams get above 50% in away games. When they were passing it, the shape of our defensive unit was less coherent, leading to a flat back-five containing Gervinho on several occasions. Credit to him for working here, but what does that tell us about the defence?
Back in April, I wrote a piece following the defeat to Wigan. In it, I argued that we lacked preparation for our games, and we had a culture of complacency. I hoped that Pat Rice's replacement might provide steel. On one level, Bouldy has helped - we are now not dropping behind and having to claw our way back so often, but the deeper malaise remains.
Firstly, our team is simply not drilled in defence. This is unforgivable. The basic errors that lead to goals are unforgivable. The fact that we only won the ball back when Swansea misplayed a pass, rather than because of tackles and pressing, was a huge contrast.
Second, there is a lack of urgency. Except for a fifteen to twenty minute spell, we didn’t manage to move the Swansea defence around and out of its comfort zone. Often, there were no options for defenders or midfielder to pass to. Not enough players looking for space and wanting the ball.
Thirdly, and most unforgivably for a Wenger team, the current squad lacks creativity and variety going forward. We don’t seem to mix it up. There is a lot of passing and no incision. We rarely play long balls over the top (TH and IW both thrived on the odd ball booted long). We leave our lone striker isolated too often.
None of this is a money issue. Swansea gave Arsenal several lessons, but the greatest one is that money isn’t the be-all and end-all of competing in football games. They have a fraction of our resources, but played with composure and commitment. Well done to them. January is going to be a big test.
