Kevin Whitcher
If you needed a visiting team to score a hatful of goals against, Arsenal 2013/14 would make a pretty good choice. However, the 17 goals Norwich needed were a little too much of a stretch, so this was an end of season kickabout which neither side treated with much intensity. The fact that a total of 11 fouls were committed over the 90 minutes kind of says it all. The most dramatic aspect of the afternoon proved to be the weather, which seemed to see all four seasons make an appearance to sign off the campaign.
Still the nature of proceedings suited Arsenal just fine. A light runout ahead of next weekend’s cup final will have done the players no harm, especially the likes of Aaron Ramsey who has not played too many matches since his return from injury. The choice of Lukasz Fabianski in goal was one to debate. Was it perhaps a farewell appearance in a meaningless end of season league commitment or preparation for next weekend? My suspicion is the former, and that Szczesny will start at Wembley. The outfield players that did appear were a mix of back up options and others that would benefit from playing time, although it was still a relatively strong line-up, indicating that in some respects, there is strength in depth for the manager to select from.
It was a surprise to see, for example, Olivier Giroud start, and there was an argument for wrapping the likes of Ramsey and Ozil in cotton wool. But as everyone seemed to come through unscathed, no cause for regret.
Although Aaron Ramsey ended up having a decent match, his early passing was somewhat awry, a reminder of the months after his return from injury when he struggled to convince that he would become a key man in the club’s future, as is now the case. However, some chances were fashioned with Podolski and Giroud both having opportunities to score before the interval.
The second half saw Arsenal score twice, the first a peach of a volley from Ramsey and the second Carl Jenkinson’s debut goal for the club after the ball ran loose to him in the area. Norwich did get forward, but their finishing was generally poor, symbolizing their problems in front of goal all season that has led to their demotion to the Championship. At least towards the end of the game, they gave Fabianski a minor workout when they finally got their act together.
It was encouraging to see Wilshere and Diaby come on, and the appearance of the latter gave the away support plenty of opportunities to concoct some witty ditties, including ‘Diaby: He plays when he wants’. There are signs he may become a cult figure as a successor to Eboue, which in a way is an indication of the joke he has become.
Chants of ‘There’s only one Arsene Wenger’ rang out a couple of times in the second half. And no-one could dispute that. Love him or hate him, he is assuredly unique. On paper, Arsenal have had a better season than 2012/13, although the achievement of fourth place this year was not celebrated in contrast to the scenes of 12 months ago. And the reason is because this time around, Arsenal fell away from first place, whereas a year ago, they rose from below the top four. Football is about hope. When there is no chance of first place, falling well short of it does not hurt so much. But to have been in the position Arsenal were at the beginning of February has led to severe disappointment, not least because of the nature of the team’s capitulation in the matches that derailed their challenge. Liverpool may have also imploded at the key moment, but at least they were not humiliated. Ultimately, they lost the title due to Gerrard’s slip v Chelsea, a consequence of which was the desperation to score a hatful at Selhurst Park that proved led to two dropped points.
Arsenal though, have an opportunity to end the season with cause for celebration by securing the club’s first trophy since 2005. It is important that they win not only to get the no silverware monkey off the back, but to the provide a psychological platform from which they can build on next season. Key purchases in the summer need to be made in the centre forward, defensive midfield and right back positions without any question – of course assuming everyone one accepts that Mikel Arteta is not up to his job as first choice any longer. If Thomas Vermaelen departs, two decent options at centre back are required as Bacary Sagna, who played in the position more than once this season, was the alterative back up to the club captain.
So it has to be a busy summer, and one in which genuine quality is recruited. It looks certain that Arsene Wenger is going to hang around for another couple of seasons, although the faint hope that Monaco’s millions might tempt him lingers. Assuming he does, then the gameplan against the better teams has to change. There is no point trying to give the likes of Chelsea and Liverpool a football lesson on their own turf, and a few relatively pallid home performances against the likes of Chelsea and Manchester United demonstrate Arsenal are well capable of playing that way if instructed so by the manager. It’s a matter of adapting your game to the conditions required, and having enough options to cope with the number of injuries that a Wenger team seems to inevitably suffer.
One other thing we could do without is the clutching of straws next season. Winners of the stamina league? Please. In fact by definition, the team with the best stamina would be Manchester City. Arsenal being top of the tree for a few months was, it proved, a quirk of the fixture list, as one away win in the sequence of six away trips that started with Southampton and ended at Goodison Park proved. The piling up of points against lesser teams was laudable, but as a foundation to a title challenge, proved to be like quicksand. Even in the away win at the Lane, the Gunners played poorly, but were fortunate.
Whether winning the FA Cup will have any impact on Arsenal’s displays against the top teams next season remains to be seen. Perhaps of more importance will be the acquisition of the right type of players in the next 15 weeks (and ideally, the sooner the better). There’s plenty of time, and a heap of cash waiting to ensure that happens. What could possibly go wrong?
The current issue of The Gooner will be on sale at Wembley on Wembley Way on FA Cup Final day. It can also be bought online here. It’s a 64 page special priced at £3 and includes an interview with Sol Campbell and special sections on the 10th anniversary of the Invincibles and Arsenal in the Cup Final.
DIGITAL ISSUES
The Gooner is also available in digital form, through The Gooner App on iPhones and iPads, the Exactly App for Android devices and now Kindle Fire owners can also get their fix by searching the Amazon App Store for The Gooner.
You can also subscribe at www.exacteditions.com and read it through your internet browser as well as receiving a code which will enable you to access issues on all the above devices.
All digital subscriptions include access to our digital back issue library which dates back to August 2010.
