Kevin Whitcher
In mitigation for Arsene Wenger, his entire midfield had to be substituted over the course of yesterday’s derby, and it really is head scratching time with regards to why the injuries keep coming. The appointment of Shad Forsythe in the summer seemed to be a nod towards rectifying this, but the injuries to Arteta and Ramsey look particularly alarming. Like it or not, both are key players not easily replaced from the current options. Flamini, in contrast to this fixture a year ago, came on and did not galvanise the team. How long before we see Francis Coquelin in there? It’s not the stuff of champions, but most realistic fans can see that the side is not playing as well as it did last season, and next weekend’s trip to Stamford Bridge is going to be a hide behind the sofa job for those unwilling to lay out close to £60 to watch the Gunners lose their first league game for a while.
My understanding of the starting line-up against Villa last weekend was that Alexis was in the team an hour before kick off, and then, presumably withdrawn because of a fear he might aggravate a tweak he felt. Or maybe it was my imagination when I heard the team announced on the radio at 2pm. Whatever the truth, the Chilean played on Tuesday against Southampton, but was on the bench against Spurs, although Wilshere had began the League Cup game and started yesterday. It is of course good for the manager to have options, but given Alexis’ fairly good scoring run, it was quite a surprise he did not start this match. Perhaps the manager is protecting him for fear of post World Cup burnout, who knows? Might Arsenal have created better opportunities with the number 17 on the field instead of Wilshere? As it was, the Gunners were largely restricted to efforts from distance for the first 45 minutes.
Tottenham were understandably unambitious for the most part. No surprise given their recent run of results, especially managed by an organizer like Pocchetino. They allowed less space behind their defence than Villa did last weekend, and the home side were largely frustrated. They spent the first half banging on the door, but a really gilt-edged chance did not come. Hugo Lloris was not going to be beaten by the type of efforts Arsenal mustered.
Ozil was on the left side of attack position at kick off, but spent most of the game drifting around the territory he would have been in were he playing in the hole, Wilshere often out on the left side. But it was a very fluid system. Fortunately, Spurs’ tactics meant that their right back Naughton did not push up too far too often, so the defensive frailty that occurs with all this floating around was not exposed. One suspects Branislav Ivanovic might make hay next weekend though, especially if Kieran Gibbs pushes high up the field as he is evidently instructed to.
When Spurs’ goal did come it was down to defensive carelessness. Mertesacker played the ball to Flamini who was too ponderous dealing with it, and a goal resulted. It was poor play from Arsenal. Too often, goals against have resulted from possession lost cheaply. So it was yesterday. The obsession with keeping the ball, even in the most dangerous areas, can be like Russian roulette, especially if the opponents are up the field in numbers. The idea of a quick break is laudable, but Flamini isn’t the man to set one up with a searching pass. After largely dominating, it was a cheap goal to concede.
Predictably, the Gunners rallied. Alexis came on for Wilshere and initially added something to the attacking play, and eventually pressure told with Oxlade-Chamberlain’s thumped strike into the top of the net (although briefly, one feared he might have skied it). The momentum was with Arsenal and there only looked like one winner, but the visitors cleverly disrupted the flow of events with some timewasting injuries, and the Gunners never really got close again.
Tottenham played with the quality of a lot of teams that visit Arsenal. Not impressive in terms of possession or territory, but an ambition fulfilled in getting something. There is work to do there, but on yesterday’s evidence, it does appear that Pocchetino is capable of building a solid foundation. They frustrated their opponents fairly well.
As for Arsenal, avoidable errors led to the concession of a goal, and they were only good enough to score once against a defensive opponent. Granted, there were good efforts by Mertesacker and an excellent chance for Ozil, but they needed to do better against Lloris in terms of finishing.
Wenger’s team are not playing as well as they were a year ago, in spite of the additions of some decent signings. Granted, they are still unbeaten after six matches, but few would predict that run will last past next Sunday. Two wins and four draws is good enough for fourth place, and in truth that does look to be the limit of what this side are going to be capable of. I think Van Gaal will turn United’s form around enough to gain third place, so it is a battle with Liverpool for fourth, based on the evidence of the season so far. Whether the World Cup is the reason the Gunners look less effective is one for debate, although Chelsea had enough of their men in Brazil and do not seem to have been aversely affected.
The injuries to Arteta and Ramsey will presumably discount them from the visit to the Bridge, and Wilshere is presumably a doubt. Step up Abou Diaby? Things aren’t looking good.
A couple of off-field matters that need raising. The police operation before and after the game to control the Spurs fans seemed to have been done differently this year, and led to a lot of problems in Drayton Park. What happened to the idea of (especially post game) shepherding them up Aubert Park? Pre-match, some thought needs to be given to taking the large group of them the police allowed to build up by a different route to the stadium, perhaps down Highbury Hill. The operation was far from successful, as there was some fighting after the game, and it was touch and go before.
Now, Stan Kroenke’s withdrawal of £3million from the club last season for “strategic and advisory services”. Let’s get this clear. The only reason Kroenke has not taken dividends out of the club is because he needs Alisher Usmanov’s ok to do so. So he is going to start drip-feeding profit in any way he thinks he can get away with. The man did not buy the shares he has in Arsenal because he gives a damn about football. He bought it as a business investment and that is how he will treat it. Hence the unnecessary raise in ticket prices last summer (and expect a similar one next year). Kroenke actually wanted to make bigger increases but was talked out of it by his fellow directors. That the club have so much money in the bank indicates that prices did not go up because they needed to, but because the club knew that there was extra money enough fans would be prepared to pay.
Unfortunately, for a good number of season ticket holders, Arsenal matches are like an addictive drug. They will pay whatever they are asked. Until enough of us ditch the habit and refuse to pay the prices, they will continue to rise. Are you going to give up your season ticket? Some have, whilst some simply rent theirs out waiting for the return of better days (although the prices won’t be coming down as long as they continue to buy them).
Sadly, football supporters are an apathetic bunch for the most part, and the supporters organisations at Arsenal have had difficulty organising direct meaningful action, either through an unwillingness to do so, or a lack of a genuine strategy in terms of what supporters can meaningfully do to protest, such as boycotting a particular match or chanting in unison throughout the stadium. I think the only likely source of genuine organised protest is likely to come from the BSM in tandem with the Arsenal Supporters Trust, the two most disaffected organisations. The club have withdrawn their supports for the Trust’s fanshare movement, which will mean it has to fold. That is a clear indication that Stan Kroenke wants to cut out other shareholders rather than encourage fan ownership. AISA do not want to rock the boat and are reluctant to criticize the club whilst REDaction’s agenda is getting behind the team in the stadium rather than creating a poisonous atmosphere, which is probably what needs to happen, although they are sympathetic to moves that will keep prices at an affordable level. Let’s see what the supporters groups can come up with in terms of a strategy to influence the club not to raise prices again for 2015/16.
Onto more trivial matters, and I am awaiting the names of winners of Layth Yousif’s book on Arsène Wenger’s Fifty Defining Fixtures. I will update this paragraph by the end of the day to announce them. (Mike – if you’re reading this, send them over!)
Next up, my co-author Alex Fynn has asked me to plug a talk he is giving tomorrow evening starting 6pm at Birkbeck College on Arsenal, the Premier League, and the Phenomenon of the Big Club. Although organised for students of the university’s Sport Business Centre courses, the talk is free and open to members of the public. Alex will doubtless be selling copies of the book we have co-written at the conclusion of the talk (see ‘Further Reading’ below) and I am going to try and get along so we can both sign copies. Details of the location are on the Birkbeck website – there is a link to a map and you want the building labelled number 1 on that – the main Birkbeck building entered via Torrington Square. It’s in lecture theatre B20 within. Just ask the security guy on the door if you are having trouble finding it. Plug over, maybe see some of you there.
I am now on Twitter@KevinWhitcher01.
The new issue of The Gooner will be on sale outside the stadium for Wednesday’s game v Galatasaray. It can be bought online here.
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