Kevin Whitcher
“We have in front a very important season. We have already lost some ground against the top teams but we think we can come back. I am here to tell you that I believe we can do well and that I’m willing to fight harder than ever to come out of this season, and hopefully face you next season, being right. We are united. We are determined. And we are ready for the fight. Of course, that’s easy to say. It’s down there [on the pitch] that we show that and we start on Saturday” – Arsene Wenger, Arsenal AGM, 16th October 2014.
Words. Empty rhetoric. Arsenal’s method of attack, largely devoid of width and pace, played right into Hull’s hands and despite territorial and possession dominance, all too rarely actually troubled either of Hull’s keepers.
Here’s another quote. “"I loathe all that passing for the sake of it, all that tiki-taka. It's so much rubbish and has no purpose. You have to pass the ball with a clear intention, with the aim of making it into the opposition's goal. It's not about passing for the sake of it… Barça didn't do tiki-taka! It's completely made up! Don't believe a word of it! In all team sports, the secret is to overload one side of the pitch so that the opponent must tilt its own defence to cope. You overload on one side and draw them in so that they leave the other side weak. And when we've done all that, we attack and score from the other side. That's why you have to pass the ball, but only if you're doing it with a clear intention. It's only to overload the opponent, to draw them in and then to hit them with the sucker punch. That's what our game needs to be. Nothing to do with tiki-taka." This was Pep Guardiola speaking after a Munich derby against Nurnberg last season.
Arsenal are still trying to weave the ball through the middle of massed ranks. It has happened a lot at home this season, and it feels like it has been going on for a number of years. The tension is whether they will break down the walls and convert, and they managed this twice yesterday, due to the abilities of Alexis Sanchez but it wasn’t enough to prevent the loss of two points.
After the glorified friendly that was the Community Shield filled fans with early optimism, the reality is that Arsenal have only performed convincingly on two occasions this season, in 13 matches. In 2013/14, matches against this type of opposition were being won. In recent weeks, we have seen draws with Leicester and Spurs. However, it would be wrong to simply focus on Arsenal’s generally predictable method of attack, as the goals to win these matches have been, eventually, converted. The main problem lies at the other end. The team are not defending well in the games against the lesser lights. And that is down to a mixture of poor defensive organisation/discipline and personnel. Unfortunately, the responsibility for that lies in only one place.
A friend emailed me this morning to give the view that, “Even if we were not historically plagued by injuries it was criminal to start the season with only two recognized defenders. Koscielny and Mertesacker are not good enough to win us the title even at their very best. They need at the very least adequate back-up to keep them on their toes and have pressure for their first team status. Even if they are out of form they are automatic starters. That's not healthy. Furthermore, all it took was one injury for us to have to start Monreal at centre back. This situation is criminal and so predictable. I'm not surprised. The only surprise is that it happened so quickly. Ivan Gazidis should have Wenger in his office giving him a right old telling off. If Wenger wants full control on the playing side these errors are his and his alone. The problem for Gazidis is that he has a board and owner who don't give him the necessary backing to apply the proper pressure on the manager. Peter Lawwell turned down the job of Arsenal CEO because he didn’t want to become the first CEO in the history of football to have to answer to a manager. There is no excuse for the current problems. Alas, I can't say I'm at all surprised.”
As was made clear in Thursday’s AGM, Stan Kroenke loves Arsene Wenger, and the reason is that he delivers what Kroenke wants from the business. Profit and asset value growth. Chairman Sir Chips Keswick summed up the board’s involvement with the football side beautifully. “If Arsene has a plan we back it. If Arsene does not have a plan we keep quiet.” Enough said. Football strategy at director level, anyone? What happens if the manager is run over by a bus? (More likely than being sacked, naturally)
The concern, after witnessing many of the performances so far this season, is that the team seems to be in decline, that last season was actually a peak rather than a springboard to greater success. As good as it gets under Wenger since the stadium move. Flatter to deceive in the league, before being undone by injuries and lack of knowhow in the big matches (2008, 2010, 2014), but at least win a domestic cup (finally, after a nine year wait, last May).
The match against Hull was supposed to be the beginning of a run of winnable fixtures that would propel the Gunners back into contention, keep them within at least shouting distance of the leaders. Instead, amongst those above the team in the table are Southampton and West Ham. Arsenal have failed to win six of their opening eight league matches.
Whether or not they will be without Jack Wilshere for a while remains to be seen, but the challenge that led to his injury demonstrated a lack of maturity that really should have been coached out of him by now. Talented footballer yes, but his hot-headed nature will mean he never fulfils the promise he showed when he was a teenager. Elsewhere, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain had a stinker. Only Alexis and substitute Joel Campbell – who tried to do something different and proved difficult to handle – came out with any real credit from this fixture.
Sure, the referee should have blown for a foul on Hull’s first goal. But to solely blame this performance on the official does little to explain the visitors’ second goal at the start of the second half, which was simply an example of atrocious defending. Worryingly, Per Mertesacker is beginning to look like a busted flush, although the cross that exposed him should never have been allowed in the first place. It was a litany of errors.
Arsenal huffed and puffed in search of an equaliser in a game that should have been comfortable after Alexis’ fantastic opening goal (an example of what can happen when a player beats his man and then does something decisive rather than look for a tika-taka pass). When Welbeck finally pulled Arsenal level during injury time there was brief hope they could nab a winner in the remaining minutes. Certainly Hull wasted time, but the referee added it on, and the Gunners have to ensure that the opposition at the Grove have no reason to delay the taking of goal kicks or using the tactic of getting the physio on to disrupt momentum.
Arsenal may be eleven points off the leaders, but they are somehow in sixth place in spite of only winning two matches. It means the holy grail of Champions League qualification is still very much on the agenda, but as far as another 30 Premier League matches are concerned, this observer can’t get particularly excited about that. It already feels like it is going to be a long season, which really shouldn’t be the case in mid-October. There will be no title challenge this time around, and the main reason for that is that Arsenal are not good enough defensively. And you don’t need to have worked half a day in football to know whose responsibility that is. Another two and a half years of this. Roll on 2017, and please God, not another contract for the man from Alsace. Or is purgatory an infinite state of affairs?
I am now on Twitter@KevinWhitcher01.
The current issue of The Gooner will be on sale outside the stadium at next weekend’s away match at Sunderland. It can be bought online here.
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.
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. Use the promo code ‘Gooner’ to get 10% off the publisher’s price of £8.99.
