Kevin Whitcher
Ed’s note – My thanks to Charlie Ashmore for covering for me and writing up the editorial on yesterday’s game at Manchester United
If a week is a long time in politics, you could be forgiven for thinking 9 months in football is no time at all. On a superficial analysis, then as now we went to Old Trafford in better health than our hosts. Then, as now, we simply failed to impose our game on them and came away without the long-awaited victory we had all hoped for.
When the editor asked me to fill in for this one my response was that I hoped we would not be feeling as depressed as I was when after last February’s game I wrote an open letter to Arsene Wenger suggesting his tenure had run its course. And to be fair, as I left Old Trafford yesterday I wasn’t. So that in itself is surely a plus? The problem is that as the 89th minute ticked around, my feeling to utter dejection was indeed in place. Should I let a last minute equaliser override that underlying feeling is I suppose the real question for me coming out of the game.
Let’s start with team selection. There were three issues for me and arguably they are interlinked. Selection is not easy and many factors go into it. The absence of Cazorla, the oil that makes our engine purr is the biggest challenge. If I were Wenger, my absolute priority would be to scour the world to find the next Cazorla because without him we struggle to build with our preferred tactical option which is to play through the middle from the back, Cazorla unique skills enabling him both to carry the ball with confidence and to unload it with skill and crucially in a way that tends to instigate attacks. Without him our play from the back is immeasurably more passive which inevitably has an impact on what happens when the ball reaches the crucial final third. In midfield Elneny was selected ahead of Xhaka, which effectively meant that we were going for solidity and reliability rather than bringing in the passing ability of Xhaka who, much as I like Elneny as a player, has a range and vision which brings another dimension to the midfield play. But, he currently brings with him a significant risk and Wenger clearly did not want that exposed to a team managed by Mourinho which would inevitably have preyed on Xhaka’s tendency for a wild tackle or two.
The next selection issue was what to do with Sanchez, with his strapped thigh and late return from his endeavours with Chile. Play him up front, rest him or bring in Giroud and push him wide. He went for the former option which given his form this season was a perfectly legitimate choice though in my view (and I say this only with the benefit of hindsight) it proved to be central to our undoing. That meant we needed someone on the flanks opposite Walcott. Iwobi? The Ox? Ramsey? All are flawed but Wenger went with the safe option of Ramsey. This I did take issue with ahead of the game. Ramsey is a problem for us. He is a fabulous footballer as he showed for Wales in the summer. But we simply do not make the best of him and since Ozil’s arrival his form for Arsenal has been underwhelming. But that is because he is a square peg in a round hole. My own view is better to play round pegs in round holes and the choice of either of the other options would have amounted to a statement of intent – it would have shown United that we believed ourselves to be in better form and capable of taking the game to them which with their defence was something we really had to do if we were to end the tales of misery that Old Trafford and Jose Mourinho (together for the first time) had been for us.
And so to kick off – and straight away we were on the back foot and had to stem the tide that was flooding towards us. And although there were moments when it felt we had succeeded the reality was this match was largely one way traffic. We were lethargic, we lacked purpose, our passing was poor and on too many occasions we were guilty of overplaying with too many close passes in areas where we really should have been unloading the ball. But part of the problem was that we simply had no outball. Sanchez, having missed a gilt-edged chance early on heading wide when he was found 6 yards out with only the keeper to beat spent most of the game in midfield foraging for the ball which meant we had no outlet up front. Walcott, of whom I have not been the biggest fan in recent times (that’s called understatement for effect!), but who in fairness has seemed a different player this year, was ineffectual in a game where he could have been one of our outlets had he stayed wide and been prepared to use his pace to good effect. Ramsey is simply not a wide player and wasted. And so we kept disappearing in to the midfield area where we were frankly overrun.
Yes there was some questionable refereeing not least the failure to give Darmian what unquestionably should have been a second yellow. But then United could have had a penalty – it would have been soft in my view but I have seen them given. The balance of the decision making felt as if it was favouring the home team but I was watching through yellow tinted glasses and in any event I cannot pretend it was a major factor.
The real frustration was that despite the fact that we were going nowhere fast there was no sign of a willingness to make a change. The game was crying out for Giroud long before we came on if nothing else to give us a striker to play the game towards, Sanchexz having retreated so much that at one point he was going backwards as Coquelin came running forward towards the box. Ramsey was as ineffective as he often is out wide and when Xhaka came on for Elneny, the obvious question was why we were simply doing like for like with a modest enhancement rather than making a more dynamic change.
The period leading up to their goal was chaotic – shortly before they won the throw in that was to lead to their goal I commented that we appeared collectively to have switched off. As the fateful throw in was awarded, it was painfully obvious that we were hopelessly out of shape. We had 5 men marking 2, which it does not take a mathematical genius to note means that there is too much space for at least three other players elsewhere. And so it proved us they carved us open. That Mata was allowed a completely free run into the box to slide it home was frankly pathetic and repeat viewing confirms that both Coquelin and Walcott were in ideal positions to go with him but didn’t.
At last the changes came and the Ox and Giroud came on and in the 89th minute, our second penetrating attack of the game (the first in about the 5th minute leading to Sanchez’ miss) saw the Ox take on and beat his man and deliver a perfect cross for Giroud timing his run and leap to perfection to bullet home an unstoppable header.
Late equalisers feel like wins and knowing how upset Mourinho was can only bring a smile to the face.
But the overwhelming feeling is one of frustration. Yet again we had gone into a big game in good form and on papers at least arguably favourites and yet again we had simply failed to deliver. Yes, the team selection may have been flawed but equally the performance of pretty much every player were also flawed. I should of course say every outfield player because without Cech who made two excellent saves in the first half, we would have sunk without trace.
Yes you could say we showed character to get that late goal. But it was character of a familiar sort – responding well to self-created adversity. The sort of character I want to see is one that imposes its will on big games and I am afraid that quality of character remains largely elusive for us.
