Kevin Whitcher
Whatever you say about Arsène Wenger, the man has the courage of his convictions. The crowd-pleasing option last night would have been to start Alexis Sanchez up front and draft Lukas Podolski or Joel Campbell into the starting eleven. But Yaya Sanogo started, to the dismay of many. The player found the net within two minutes of the kick off with a well-taken finish from the angle. There were problems on the tubes which resulted in many of the crowd arriving too late to see the goal. Unfortunately for them, Sanogo did very little else for his remaining time on the pitch, but hey, no-one can knock the guy for finally breaking his scoring duck. His goal, set up by the Ox, meant Arsenal could play a controlled match and wait for further opportunities rather than feel the need to force the pace.
And it was a far more disciplined display than we have seen lately, demonstrating that the team are capable of focusing on all aspects of a football match. Last season, aside from the aberration against Villa on the opening day, the players built on the experience of the culmination of 2012/13 and ensured leads remained leads, and at times played a waiting game. It augured well until old habits returned and they were punished severely by the top sides on the road. Ever since then, we have been waiting for signs that they can play more of the result football that at times proved necessary in the last couple of seasons.
One swallow certainly does not make a summer, but if the team play with similar focus, they should get results against West Brom and Southampton, which would go some way to quelling the current mood demanding change.
Dortmund are a shadow of the side they have been in recent seasons. Lewandowski has left, Reus, Hummels and Blaszczykowski are injured, and their poor showing in their domestic league is a clear sign the players that have come in are not of the same standard. Lewandowski left on a free transfer, so funds to replace like with like were not there. Even so, they did create a couple of very decent chances, but never looked likely to over-run Arsenal with their slick pass and move game as they had done in previous encounters. Ultimately, the Gunners’ finishing was simply better. Alexis’ goal another example of why the club desperately need to supplement the squad with quality to take advantage of the matches he can win for them by scoring and creating goals. In that sense, this season feels like an opportunity lost.
Dortmund should have enough about them to defeat Anderlecht in the final group game, which means Arsenal will face a group winner and hope that they are fortunate enough to avoid the likes of Barca, Real, Bayern and Atletico.
Short term, of more concern is the loss of Mikel Arteta, who joined Jack Wilshere on the sidelines. Flamini will come in to partner Ramsey, but whether or not that duo have the required solidity to help out the back four is very questionable. The lack of genuine defensive midfield options available to the manager means it is a case of make do and mend. So, it’s back to the usual wing and a prayer stuff, although at least the sight of Laurent Koscielny warming up on the touchline should give cause for optimism, although how many games he will be able to play between now and the end of the season is another one for speculation. Frankly, Arsenal are beginning to look a bit threadbare, a wholly avoidable situation. Abou Diaby, anyone? Oh, what’s that you say? He’s injured again? Surely not? If Wenger gives him another contract he’ll be due a testimonial next season…
I am now on Twitter@KevinWhitcher01.
The current issue of The Gooner can be bought online here. The issue will be on sale outside the stadium at West Brom away this weekend. A new issue with the 2015 calendar will be out for the Southampton home game.
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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.
