Kevin Whitcher
I am having to come up with new ways of describing the worse side of the inconsistent Arsenal of 2012-13. Vapid was the word that came to me after watching the away game at Southampton. The definition of that word is ‘Offering nothing that is stimulating or challenging’ and its synonyms are listed as ‘insipid - flat - tasteless – dull’. Which I feel is a fair summary of what I witnessed yesterday evening. A sequence of six very winnable Premier League fixtures, beginning with the visit of Swansea has seen four wins, a draw and a defeat. 13 points out of 18. A chance to push on and limit the damage from a poor first half of the season had ended up mirroring a lot of what we had seen previously. And of course the Bradford debacle sits in the middle of that run.
I think there was only one shot that the Southampton keeper actually had to save during the course of the 90 minutes, and not many more that sailed high or wide. The moment a double substitution of Ramsey and Gervinho was made, you knew the game was up, and at that stage, it was damage limitation for fans that have given up on that particular pair. Let’s get out of this with a point. Tomas Rosicky was on the bench. One wonders whether he might have made more of an impact than Ramsey in replacing Cazorla.
Fatigue can’t have been the reason for the lack of quality we witnessed. Southampton were honest, and committed, but not really that good. Arsenal were afforded plenty of space at times, but did little with it. Theo Walcott registered the one shot on target, and it was his free kick that was deflected into the goal. But aside from that he seemed pretty ineffectual. Olivier Giroud put himself about a bit when he came on, but with limited impact. The January transfer window is open and the club need a number of new signings. There isn’t a single department in the team that would not benefit from improvement. With the funds available some intelligent spending could address some of the problems, but many do not trust the manager to spend wisely anymore.
Of last summer’s purchases the only unanimous agreement is that Cazorla was a good buy. The jury’s out on Giroud (if he was that good, surely he would not be on the bench) and Podolski has largely flattered to deceive. These players would have strengthened the squad had Van Persie and Song been retained, but the need to achieve profit (why? – every other club loses money) means the team seems to be in a constant state of transition. For curiosity, I looked back two years to New Year’s Day 2011 to see the starting eleven. Arsenal won 3-0 at Birmingham. Of the side, five have left the club (Clichy, Fabregas, Nasri, Song and Van Persie), and only four of the players started at Southampton (Sagna, Koscielny, Wilshere and Walcott). Sagna and Walcott are unlikely to be around after the summer. For the record, the other two were Fabianski and Djourou.
So the side stumbles into the new year with the knowledge that they will win enough matches to retain an interest in the race for a top four place, but that they will also drop points because they will sometimes put in a pig of a performance like this one. The goal conceded at St Mary’s was a horrorshow reminiscent of too many we have seen in recent months, with the ball played into a danger area and lost. Podolski was the initial villain, his error compounded by Sagna’s non-clearance. Suicide football. We all know how this can be addressed, but we all know it isn’t going to happen. It requires a change of philosophy by the manager in which the end result is a bigger factor than the method by which it is achieved. We go back to Gael Clichy at Birmingham in 2008 and the failure to put the ball into the stand when required. Sometimes, safety is a better option that possession.
But Arsène wants to do it his way. Beautiful football without spending more money in the transfer market than he is bringing in. The owner is happy as long as the balance sheets look good. For Kroenke, the trophy is the value of the asset. Arsène desperately wants to win, of that I have no doubt. But he wants to do it on his terms. And he is prepared to see Arsenal become also-rans to prove his point. The goalposts have changed over the years. Originally, the stadium move was to ensure Arsenal could continue to compete for the title. And the manager kept telling us the squad was good enough to do it – the best group he had ever worked with. Now, targets have changed. Third place is an incredible achievement because of the petro-dollars. However, ask yourself this. Manchester United are not backed by oil money. Arsenal used to compete with the Old Trafford club. Why are they no longer competing with Manchester United? The answer is simple. Sir Alex Ferguson will not settle for second or third best and claim it as a triumph. When something is not working he will make changes. Players are on very good wages, but there is authority and leadership. And no room for complacency.
I will end with an email from a regular correspondent Adrian Wagenaar, because I told him I would bring his thoughts to a wider audience…
“Whilst watching my new team Colchester vs Sheff Utd in August this year, their then player, Stephen Quinn ran the show, so much so that I wrote twice to Arsenal to recommend they sign him. I had the normal courteous reply but not having spent “half a day in football” I suppose the powers that be sniggered and deleted my e-mail. Anyway I have seen him since he moved to Hull City and he is not out of place in the Championship. He would make a great squad player and is already in my opinion a safer bet than Ramsey. I think someone will grab him this January, although I have heard he is a bit temperamental. He is one of those players who I think would give great support to our midfield trio – do try to catch him when you get a chance.”
Job done. Here’s hoping 2013 brings whatever you would wish for.
The current issue of The Gooner will be available at Swansea next weekend and the home games against Manchester City and West Ham. It can be bought online here. There is also an e-version of the issue available to read on your ipad/tablet/iphone/android. The app is free and you can download the first few pages of each issue as a taster before deciding whether or not to purchase the whole thing.
