Kevin Whitcher
The notion that Arsenal are somewhat disorganized defensively is nothing new in recent seasons. When exactly the rot set in is debatable, although it was ventured to me by Gooner contributor Ian Henry last night, as we were watching the game together, that the 4-4 home draw with Spurs in autumn 2008 was probably it.
I remember asking Arsène Wenger at the AGM a year later what he intended to do to reinstate Arsenal’s reputation for defensive solidity as it had certainly gone south. He informed me that you can’t buy centre halves off a supermarket shelf and that ‘we are working very hard’ on the issue. I’ve not seen a great deal of evidence of that claim since.
I have not even bothered looking at Newsnow this morning. Reputedly, the club are still active in the transfer market trying to finalise deals for Diame from West Ham, Gourcoff from Lyon and (hallelujah!) a defender - Fernando Amorebieta from Atletico Bilbao. I do not know if the latter will be able to take control of his colleagues and run the backline on strings, but there is certainly no-one at the club currently doing that. Frankly it’s a shambles, as the two Liverpool goals demonstrated last night. And they could have easily had more, thanks to the Keystone Cops defending the assembled crowd witnessed.
The attack got them out of jail with two well taken second half goals, Walcott’s strike and the build-up to it especially tasty. Arsenal dominated the second half, but were still vulnerable to the counter attack. A draw was probably a fair result on the chances created. However, Liverpool aren’t that good a side, and the idea that Jordan Henderson is able to dribble through the entire defence should be raising questions at London Colney. As for the goalkeeper’s attempted Johan Cruyff impression, words fail me. There is a place for fancy tricks. But it isn’t in your own half let alone penalty area. The idea of sometimes taking the safe option instead of obsessing about possession needs to be re-introduced if the defence is ever to improve.
There is no doubt that Arsenal would be well served by buying some players that are better than a number of the current crop. But additionally, some hard work needs to happen in coaching to hone this side of the team. Steve Bould is handsomely rewarded to sit next to Wenger on matchdays and carry out the manager’s drills in training, but no-one watching the Gunners these days can believe he is being allowed to do credible work on the backline. Wenger wants technical players who are good on the ball. But sometimes their self-belief in this department gets the team into trouble. How many goals conceded this season are a consequence of individual errors, the ball being lost in areas where it simply should not be? Too many risks taken in the name of possession football.
I do not see any solution. Arsène wants to do it his way. That way may not be good enough for a top four place anymore, unless Spurs, Everton and Liverpool have worse run-ins. There is an argument that Arsenal have got most of their difficult fixtures out of the way. Only Spurs at the Lane and Man United at home are regarded as games they should not be able to win. But on current form, no-one is taking this weekend’s visit of Stoke as a given, especially if Andre Santos continues at left back.
One final thought. Grade A game, Liverpool fans paying £62 for lower tier corner tickets. It looked to these eyes as if they took up their entire allocation for a midweek January game that was live on television.
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