Kevin Whitcher
Maybe it was all just a bad dream. Maybe Aston Villa didn’t really happen. Maybe all’s well with the world of Arsenal and people are getting excited about nothing. Maybe the Gunners will launch an assault on the title and overthrow the big three (remember when we were one of the big four?). Maybe Arsène Wenger will enhance his options with £80 million worth of talent in the next ten days.
Certainly, Arsenal, as they proved at Fulham, are capable of beating most teams in the division home and away, if injuries and suspensions allow them to field a strong enough line-up. That’s a big if though. I admit to being concerned about Tomas Rosicky needing to play as one of the two deeper midfielders, although up against the likes of Scott Parker and Stephen Sidwell, they had the measure of Martin Jol’s side. Santi Cazorla had a cracking game and the introduction of Lukas Podolski from the start meant that poor finishing was less of an issue than it has been at times, not least in that nightmare against Villa last weekend.
As on Wednesday night, what aided Arsenal was that Fulham were not particularly physical, did not really upset the Gunners’ rhythm with cynical tactics. Martin Jol’s team tried to play football and this allowed Arsenal to build their moves and create openings. Podolski’s first goal was a thing of beauty in the build up, even if, closer to their own goal, some of Arsenal’s passing is like Russian Roulette. Olivier Giroud has now scored three goals in three games. A ratio we can all delight in. Let’s hope he stays fit!
The next few weeks are going to be rather strange on two levels. The matches are going to be broken up by international fixtures, and whoever is eventually purchased (and given the numbers available, there is no question at least three more bodies are required) will be trying to gel with new team-mates. It is hardly conducive to establishing any kind of rhythm (even if the club knew this would be the case over September/October long ago) so at present the hope must be that those players fit for duty now remain so. It’s a gamble.
Three games into the campaign is way too early to make any conclusion other than that the head count is too low and there is no way the club can get away without adding to it. The bench today was Wilshere (rested), Monreal (good back-up option for left full-back, but what would have happened today if a centre back was injured?), Fabianski (hmmmm), Frimpong (hardly played pre-season), Sanogo, Gnabry and Zelalem. We are getting down to the bare bones.
I will be intrigued to see who takes the field on Tuesday evening. It should have been an opportunity to rest a few players, but currently the options available due to the size of the squad mean that most of the players that turned out today will probably start.
Still, after the way the season began, let’s be grateful for small mercies. The trip to Craven Cottage is normally far more difficult than this. Arsenal need to pick up points against these types of teams habitually if they are to give us reason for cheer this season. In recent campaigns, inconsistency has been a real problem. To overcome this, more resources are needed. By the time the team face Spurs next weekend, Arsenal will surely have strengthened their hand…
This season’s first issue of The Gooner (with exclusive material unavailable elsewhere) can be bought outside the stadium before the matches against Fenerbahce and Spurs. It can also be mailed to you if you wish to buy it online.
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