Kevin Whitcher
Arsene Wenger said in the build up to this game that Arsenal’s results have not matched their performances this season. If you believe that, then it was a case of the trend continuing with a fortunate away win v Anderlecht last night.
Time for a carbon dated, but oh so relevant gag from Doktor Schneide… “Belgian police are currently looking for 22 volunteers to take part in a Crimewatch reconstruction”.
And indeed, it was daylight robbery, but looked at in isolation, who’s complaining? Manchester United stunk the place out and won a particular European game in May 1999 and it is celebrated as one of the club’s most glorious moments. Results matter more than performances.
Arsene Wenger would have approved of Anderlecht’s very young side and their style of football. Their game as a whole reminded me of Arsenal between 2007-08 and 2010-11. Young side, establish winning position, lose it through an inability to kill off a game and inexperience. Few could argue they should have sewn the match up once Arsenal started taking chances and left gaps at the back. But the Gunners rode their luck, and enjoyed the spaces that appeared at the other end as the home side tired. Finally, some decent combination play led to the two late goals, and credit to the players for the composure shown at those key moments, especially the two goalscorers and Alexis Sanchez.
Anderlecht were a side with nothing to lose, fully cognizant that only a win in this game would realistically give them a chance of progressing from the group. They more than matched Arsenal and nullified their threat for most of the game. They deserved a win, but ended up with a lesson.
That Arsenal struggled to break down such a team raises valid questions, and it was suggested on Twitter after the game that Arsenal play badly when Jack Wilshere starts matches. I’d have to take a closer look at which games he has played in to concur, but it was an interesting observation which may have a grain of truth. However, few in an Arsenal shirt played that well in Brussels. In attack, they lacked sharpness, quickness of thought and precision at the vital moments in first half and for much of the second. Attacks were thwarted too often by interceptions, loss of possession where players were too ponderous and too much running into tackles.
Arsene Wenger reminded us at last week’s AGM that the team had kept 17 clean sheets last season in the Premier League. There is unlikely to be such a boast at the 2015 event. And the reason is obvious. At times, the team are a shambles at the back and it is difficult to see any quick solutions. The January transfer window looks a long way off and what’s the betting that even then, the manager dilly dallies until 31st January to save a month’s wages and try to haggle a few hundred grand off the fee?
Fair play to Arsenal for rallying and rescuing the game, but this was Anderlecht. One win at home in the Champions League in the last eleven years and defeats in their last five home CL fixtures. Better sides would have taken the Gunners apart based on this performance.
A win’s a win, but there is still a lot of work to do. Interesting to read a William Gallas interview from the Observer in 2007 in the week he has announced his retirement from the game. 'I don't like zonal (marking). Maybe it's a good system when you have the right players. When Arsenal had a lot of tall, strong players a few years ago - Sol Campbell, Martin Keown, Patrick Vieira - it can work. But this season (2006-07) is different. We don't have a lot of tall, strong players. Zonal is difficult for us. If you mark one v one that means that is your man and when your man scores it is your fault. It is your responsibility to mark him. With zonal when you concede a goal everyone looks at everybody else. The problem is we concede too many goals like that so we have to change.’
Granted, Anderlecht’s goal did not come from a set piece, but quite a few have this season. Some things never change? Arsenal’s general defensive game was questionable in Brussels, but at the key moments, their superior finishing got them out of jail. A win in the return fixture in a fortnight will see them through to the last 16, but they will need to beat Dortmund and win the group to give themselves any chance of getting further than that.
As a sidenote, I was interviewed for a Russian Arsenal podcast on Tuesday this week. For those that wish to hear it, the link is here. You can also download it from that page.
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. There will be a new issue on sale at the home match v Burnley.
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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. Use the promo code ‘Gooner’ to get 10% off the publisher’s price of £8.99.
