Kevin Whitcher
It was turgid fare for much of yesterday’s victory against Burnley. With the visitors offering very little by way of attacking play, the onus was on Arsenal to score the first goal. We’ve seen many matches of this nature over the years as the pace in Arsenal’s game has gradually eroded since the days of Thierry Henry. Ten years ago, visitors of the quality of Burnley would be dispatched in the first 20 minutes, before a slippers on, pass the game out 70 minutes would ensue.
Now, it is the other way round. 70 minutes of training ground possession with little meaningful penetration, followed by 20 in which the game is finally won. Arsenal did fathom a few meaningful attempts before scoring – with the amount of possession and territorial dominance, that is a given. Anyone who only saw the Match of the Day highlights will wonder what I am talking about, but higlights did not give the flavor of the game in between the chances. At the stadium, the crowd became frustrated at what seemed a lackadaisical display. Is it significant that only recent arrivals Alexis, Welbeck and Chambers seemed to display most of the energy amongst the home side? It’s almost as if the spirit of players is sucked out of others the longer they play under Wenger.
There was pace in the side – the aforementioned Alexis and Welbeck, alongside the Ox. But a 4-4-2 formation in which Arteta and Flamini were the central midfield lacked drive. Flamini did try to get forward but with little tangible effect. Cazorla had a poor game and the Ox seems to have lost something we saw in the younger version that excited fans in his first few months in the first team. Quite why, against Burnley at home, such a defensive midfield was required is one only the manager can answer. The visitors had yet to register a win in their opening nine league fixtures. They did eventually fashion a couple of dangerous breaks, let down by the final pass, but for the most part, were content to put up the barricades and hope for a point. The onus was on Wenger’s team to put that gameplan to bed sharpish, but their lack of ability to convert the chances they did fathom made for a long afternoon.
The bench featured Lukas Podolski, who has contributed well when called upon as a substitute so far this season. There was an argument to shake things up a little and play him in this game, in place of Cazorla, whose form has been disappointing recently. Overall, new boys apart, I sensed a lack of motivation amongst the players. Just an impression, but the hunger to win the match only really took hold after Arteta was replaced by Aaron Ramsey. One wonders if the players, knowing the title is a long ask against a Chelsea side improved significantly since last season, are as bored as the crowd by the perennial challenge for a top four place. Last season’s league campaign, even if it ended in failure, was far more interesting for the first two thirds of the season because Arsenal were credibly competing for something above the norm.
Still, a win’s a win, even if it was almost a one-man affair with Alexis saving the day once again. And despite not playing well, Arsenal have won their last three matches. They are now fourth, although the nine point gap to Chelsea looks like a chasm. The visit of Manchester United in three weeks is a game that should tell us whether or not there is justification for optimism, and it is certainly important that Laurent Koscielny is back for that one. Two more winnable games before then. However, performance-wise, the Gunners need to up their game, and stop making such hard work of overcoming relegation candidates.
If all the players matched the desire and work rate of Alexis, I think we’d see a different Arsenal. However, one man cannot carry a team, even if at the moment, it looks like that is exactly what is happening.
I am now on Twitter@KevinWhitcher01.
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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.
