Kevin Whitcher
The Arsenal line-up that started the game last weekend against Manchester City and played very well at Wembley took the field at home to Palace yesterday and looked a very different animal. Ponderous, at times lethargic, unthreatening.
The difference was basically that Palace set up differently, nine men deeply entrenched for most of the game. One of the question marks about Arsène Wenger is whether he is able to adapt his team and tactics to contend with different types of opposition. Some would argue that Arsenal’s lack of success in Europe under Wenger (in terms of actually winning anything) is a consequence of this perceived flaw. What was required yesterday to get through Palace was more taking players on in and around the penalty areas rather than the attempts to work triangles round their thicket of players. And better use of width.
Still, although they left it late, eventually the game was won. Points are more important than performance, although if Arsenal prove this lackadaisical against every team that comes to the Grove to shut up shop, they will drop a fair number of points over the course of the season. Credit to the players for their keeping going right to the end. Many home points have been won over the years for sheer persistence, and so it proved against Palace.
Arsenal’s task was made doubly difficult by the concession of the first goal. Palace, content with a point, were not going to change tactics just because Arsenal equalized. What concerns about Hangeland’s goalbound header was that the two pre-season matches the side lost were both 1-0 defeats from which the goals were conceded from set pieces. This is an area that teams are always going to exploit, and the hope can only be that the return of Mertesacker will solve the problem. In the respect of height, Sagna is also a big loss. Debuchy is not as physically imposing in the air. Giroud not being on the field also weakens the Gunners in such situations.
On that note, I sat next to Gooner contributor Ian Henry and his guest Neil. The latter pointed out to me at half time that Sanogo spent much of the first half running into space where Alexis would have been expected to go, effectively foiling the Chilean’s game. It is going to take a while for understanding to develop, and Arsenal did look better as an attacking unit when Giroud replaced Sanogo. We are all aware that the manager has faith in the latter to come good, but on yesterday’s performance, this observer is going to take some convincing. The story a few weeks back about Milan offering Balotelli for Joel Campbell plus £8 million may not have had much truth in it, but if I am wrong, it is definitely something that should be looked at, as it appears Campbell is unlikely to play much of a role this season, going by the Community Shield. Arsenal need better quality options up front than Yaya Sanogo. I would be amazed if Giroud did not start in Turkey, and perhaps, the decision to start him on the bench was taking physical considerations into account, the belief being Palace could be overcome without him.
Calum Chambers played well, but in fairness, the defence was not seriously tested a great deal. The teenager is quickly becoming a crowd favourite for his commitment, meaning his mistakes are forgiven. Even though the home team enjoyed 75% of the possession, they were still sloppy and slovenly in possession. The ball was given away far too easily and passes often went astray. Mentally, there may have been a sense of complacency after last weekend.
The first goal was the result of a delightful free kick from Alexis which showed real quality, Koscielny getting on the end of his cross in typical fashion. The winner was a consequence of sheer pressure, perhaps aided a little by the red card only moments earlier that left Palace a man light. It was a moment that the dice fell for Arsenal and Ramsey was the man in the right place at the right time, intelligent enough to have remained onside during the build up although the first thing I did as the goal went in was look at the linesman.
If you are going to play badly, then winning on such days is a fantastic habit. I am delighted with the three points, but that should not ignore the fact that there are areas that need to be worked on. Apparently, the German returnees will not be played until next weekend, although it was interesting to see Ron Vlaar (whose World Cup only finished 24 hours earlier than the World Cup winners) have a good 90 minutes at Stoke. He seems to have formed a decent bond with Philippe Senderos, who might just resurrect his career at Villa.
Elsewhere, Manchester United’s defeat was a surprise that demonstrates how misleading pre-season warm up games can be. Giving debuts to two youngsters showed how Louis Van Gaal will take zero notice of reputation, but it appears it will take time for him to get things right. The lack of European involvement (and presumably a couple more significant signings) will give him the opportunity to do that. I wouldn’t write them off just yet.
Tottenham under Pocchetino achieved a credible result at Upton Park. You have to wonder whether this is due to improvement under the new manager or a reflection of how poor West Ham are at the moment. I think it is a bit of both, although I will be watching Spurs with interest for a while, as my feeling is they might have finally got a manager who can make the team more consistent, and get results. Whether that is enough to break into the top four, time will tell, but he managed it for a while with Southampton last season.
We still have to see Manchester City, Chelsea and Liverpool begin their campaigns, but going on yesterday’s performances, all three will feel confident they can retain their positions in the top three. But opening days are notoriously misleading. Remember last year? The timing of Arsenal’s goals yesterday avoided the prospect of booing, which is the last thing we want to hear at Gunners matches this season. The next two fixtures will tell us a lot more about the kind of season we can realistically expect than yesterday’s slightly fortuitous win.
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Further Reading
A sequel to Arsènal – The Making of a Modern Superclub and entitled Arsène and Arsenal The Quest to Rediscover Past Glories has been written by myself and co-author Alex Fynn. It takes up the story of the club from the last update of the previous book, and can be bought online here.
