Kevin Whitcher
Arsene Wenger, obviously with an eye on Saturday’s lunchtime kick off against Chelsea, rotated his side for the visit to Dynamo Zagreb, and the gamble did not pay off. Whether Olivier Giroud remaining on the pitch would have made any difference, we will never know, but his sending off sort of summed up Arsenal’s night. Indisciplined and careless. Of course, Dynamo were one up by that time.
In fairness, early on, Giroud did create problems. A goalbound header from a corner was well saved, and he, perhaps fortuitously, hit the post from a subsequent header he probably didn’t know too much about. He protested to the referee about being pushed, and ended up with a yellow card. The way I saw the sending off was that the ref brandished a straight red, although I stand to be corrected there. Either way, at that point, the draw was the best his remaining colleagues could hope for.
However, Arsenal’s play was perhaps a little reminiscent of the West Ham match in that they did not seem to have much in the way of real drive about them. It was lacklustre stuff, in spite of enjoying most of the possession. Dynamo simply looked more dangerous, and crucially determined in the challenge. Their Champions League record is pretty woeful, and perhaps Arsene Wenger’s team selection underestimated their threat. Was there an arrogance about the Gunners last night? A notion that they just had to turn up to win. It’s not the first time Wenger has rotated in Europe and failed to get the expected result. He has got away with it before, in that his team have qualified from the group stage, but at times, it has cost him first place. With Bayern’s win in Greece, there seems little doubt they will finish first in this group. Arsenal can still finish second, but will be relying on Bayern to beat everyone else out of sight.
Mikel Arteta, Mathieu Debuchy and Kieran Gibbs have not seen much first team action so far this season. All were culpable in the Dynamo goals. The corner that made it 2-0 was especially shocking. Kieran Gibbs ducked out of the header, hardly got off the ground. This isn’t defending, it’s abdication. The lad has shown moments of defensive brilliance, but really and truly, he’s not up to it, presumably converted from an attacking player early in his career. He does not have the ‘thou shall not pass’ attitude one wants to see from an Arsenal defender. Laurent Koscielny has proved suspect physically more than once in the past. Fine on the floor, but in the air he is bullied far too easily. Let’s call a spade a spade here. Arsenal need defenders who can handle the likes of a Didier Drogba at his peak. How many have they had since Sol Campbell left the club in 2006? This is Arsenal. A club whose reputation was initially built on a strong defence. The Battle of Highbury anyone? The current mob would be cowering in the dressing room. If players are frightened of the ball touching their head, then wear a protective helmet or something. They are paid enough to take the odd whack.
Zagreb was supposed to be an intimidating venue. All I saw on the box was a half empty stadium with an athletics track putting a massive distance between the stands and the pitch.
Arsenal, with their six changes, played like half a team, all possession with no real purpose. There was a bit of a reaction in the second half, some actual goal threat, but it was 2-0 by that point. This was supposed to be the easiest away trip in the group, yet the visitors were far too casual. Simply not tight enough at the back. Arsene Wenger has managed more games in the Champions League than most of the teams taking part in it have played, the commentators told us. One might be justified in asking what exactly he’s learnt in that time.
Interesting comment from Ian Wright in the studio when discussing Arsenal’s summer in the transfer market. Speaking about the post David Dein era, “a lot of deals have not happened because of the stalling and the dithering,” a reference to Arsene Wenger’s inability to seal a deal. Perhaps, with a different individual having the final say in transfer negotiations, the club might have a better squad, able to cope with rotation. But at Arsenal these days, no-one seems to take responsibility, which kind of sums up the two Dynamo goals last night.
A triple substitution saw the Ox, Arteta and Gibbs removed for Walcott, Coquelin and Joel Campbell and Arsenal made a bit of a fist of things for the last 20 minutes. A well-taken Walcott goal was the consequence, but it was too high a mountain to climb. That can’t be said of the group itself, but Arsenal will need to beat Olympiacos and Dynamo at home, and hope to take something from the two matches with Bayern. Otherwise, they may find themselves relying on avoiding defeat in the December match in Greece.
However, one thing that last night demonstrated is that the club are in this competition for its financial rewards, rather than its glory. They are nowhere near credible contenders to be in Milan next May. Looking to the future, a change in manager and recruitment policy will be necessary for the club to ever win this particular trophy. Ivan Gazidis suggested the club can match Bayern Munich in a couple of years back in 2013. Hmmmm…..
Chelsea away, Tottenham away, Leicester away. Things might get worse before they get better. Tin hats at the ready.
I am now on Twitter@KevinWhitcher01.
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