Kevin Whitcher
Point of interest. Dimechelis played for Manchester City on Sunday. Schurrle played for Chelsea on Monday. Mertesacker and Ozil watched Arsenal on TV on Tuesday. All were on duty at the World Cup Final. It will be interesting to see whether the former pair are lost to injury in the autumn through being ‘rushed back’.
Still, Arsenal got away with it without their World Cup winners, not conceding against Besiktas in the Ataturk Stadium, although the home side had two excellent opportunities to score when Koscielny was faced with one on ones he was unable to deal with. Add to that the freakish attempt from kick off by Demba Ba which brought about a great save from Szczesny, who did himself a power of good in this game with an excellent performance.
It was an open, exciting game, belying the scoreline, with less of the caution normally associated with these ties. Besiktas went for the win and Arsenal were determined to score. That neither succeeded might make for a tense evening and a markedly different type of match next week, when one imagines the Slaven Bilic’s side might adopt tactics similar to those of Palace last weekend. Perhaps the return of Mesut Ozil might give the Gunners more possibilities.
Olivier Giroud tried manfully, but ultimately, you felt that a better striker would have made more of the opportunities he had. For Alexis, it’s a bit of a comedown after supplying Lionel Messi with the ammunition for the last three years, although he has sacrificed that to be the star man. What did impress was the Chilean’s pace, and in matches that are more open like this one, he could do a lot of damage, akin to Theo Walcott but with greater composure in the danger areas.
Jack Wilshere came in for some criticism on Saturday, but I felt he had a decent enough match last night. Arsenal’s midfield certainly did not boss the game, but they were not over-run either. Two yellow cards for Ramsey saw him dismissed, but there was no requirement for him to commit the foul for the first, and the second card might have been a bit harsh, but away from home in Europe, hardly a surprise. It was an even game with both sides showing quality. Arsenal are still getting into their stride, but on last night’s evidence, there is reason for optimism going forward.
In defence, they were certainly tested, and as previously stated, a little fortunate. In spite of that, aside from the error which led to Demba Ba shooting wide, Calum Chambers had an imperious match, and reminds me a little of the young Bobby Moore. His reading of the game and timing in the tackle is a wonder. Credit to Arsène Wenger for gambling a phenomenal sum of money on an inexperienced teenager and picking up a diamond. One has the sense this player will be the bedrock of the club for many years to come, which is incredible after only a handful of appearances. Will he be dropped against Everton for Mertesacker? Or moved into Arteta’s position if the captain is not fit. Debuchy also had a cracking game, so there is no way he is going to be demoted to accommodate Chambers if the manager is reluctant to drop the teenager on current form.
The pitch looked very poor, and for me, shows the benefits of the team training on it the evening before the game, which is something Arsenal never do.
The run of 12 consecutive wins in Arsenal’s qualifying matches for the Champions League was an incredible feat which had to end sometime. Sure a 1-1 would have been better than a 0-0, but the team simply have to make sure they win in the return match. They should be capable of that, but no harm in practicing penalties in case of a stalemate.
Besiktas wore their black away kit in tribute to their departed honorary president which meant that Arsenal’s blue cup kit did not get any exposure. This is a kit that might only get worn a handful of times, which for this observer, is a blessing. I think it looks repulsive.
Alexis took the corners instead of Cazorla and the improvement in delivery was marked. At times, Arsenal were light on numbers in the penalty box at times, although given this was a first leg away European tie, there was no need to go gung ho. The team has been slaughtered before for doing that, so I can live with it in a first leg on foreign soil.
When the Ox’s late shot was tipped onto the post, you just knew it was going to be one of those nights. However, the result is half the job achieved. Sure it could have been better, but it certainly could have been a lot worse. Wenger’s men have every chance of going through as long as they are composed, patient and on their game next Wednesday evening.
The current issue of The Gooner will be on sale at Everton away and the home game v Besiktas. It can be bought online here.
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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.
