Arsenal
Milan and Birmingham threw shadow over game
Super Nick
By Boris Mellor
March 2 2008
Villa are a good team, they are physically strong and fast on the break. They are not a team you can play with ten men, and several players off colour. Why ten men? Because Diaby need not have showed up for all the good he did. Yes, it was his first game back after injury, but if he is not fit do not play him.
That is what is meant by the shadow of Milan, no doubt Wenger wanted to get Diaby match fit in case he is needed on Tuesday, or perhaps to rest another player. Thus, the impending Milan game meant that Arsenal played with one hand tied behind their back for 60 minutes. Arsene rarely subs as early as 60 minutes, thank goodness he did, with the hapless Diaby off, and Bendtner on the team finally found some tempo.
The first half was dreadful, Arsenal were leaden, and it seemed only a matter of time before Villa would score. Senderos was unlucky to be the provider of their goal on 27 minutes, for the whole defence and midfield were at sixes and sevens. An own goal was another cruel blow, in what has been one of the cruellest weeks in Arsenal history.
I felt the team was still hung over from Birmingham; particularly Fabregas who could not stop giving the ball away. To make sure he did not forget Villa fans sang a vile song about Eduardo. Hleb was the only member of midfield playing well, but he could not achieve much as there was no one to link up with. Not very much got through to the strikers, though Walcott had a couple of half-decent shots. Indeed Villa were probably good value for their lead at half time, even if they couldn't score for themselves.
In the second half Wenger put Walcott out on the right and Hleb in the middle, but the slight improvement was not enough with still only 10 men. Once Bendtner came on, and Diaby went off, the eleven began to improve.
Even so, with more and more attacking moves much of it was predictable, and broke down on Villa's defence. When Wenger put on Denilson and Gilberto, for Senderos and Flamini, I had my doubts. However, it worked and Denilson livened up the midfield; and just when the faithful had almost given up hope a last seconds cross came in from Clichy, Adebayor nodded it down to Bendtner who stabbed it in the net, the stadium erupted "we are top of the league," they chanted.
It felt like a win. Sure, it wasn't but it was a morale lifter that will help the healing process. Football is more than a balance sheet of points, wins and losses, it is about confidence, and much of it is played in the head. No doubt, Birmingham felt like victors with their last second cheated penalty equaliser, and the Gunners felt like losers, ask Gallas.
This time it was Gallas and the boys who left the pitch looking like winners. Yes, a point at home is not the desired result, but a loss would have been even less desirable. The team showed it refuses to be beaten, that it has only lost one game in the league up to the first of March.
Who would have predicted that on the 12th of August? Who predicted that the Gunners would be top of the league by one point and only lost one game back then? Was it Lawrenson, Hansen, or even anyone here, or any other Arsenal fanzine? Who would have turned that down on 12th of August?
With ten games to go that last second goal means it is still all to play for, defeat would have meant it was all over. Soon the cavalry arrives, RvP, Rosicky et al, and the fixture list thins out, no time for raising the white flag.
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StumbleuponSpuds 5-1 whupping as our minds on FAC, CL Cup & permeirship;
ManLeeds 4-0 thrashing as our minds were on Milan.
Villa 1-1 draw as team can't get over BRUM and with Milan on their minds.
How do you explained that after that 5-1 whupping, we came back immediately to beat CITEH 3-1?
True, it is understandable that BRUM is still on their minds, but there is no call for such a dreadful display where virtually, the whole team did not turned up to play - clueless, toothless and no fire in the belly.
Hleb-Fabregas-Flamini, a pale shadow of themselves.
What next?
After a shameful exit from San Siro, who is to be blamed?
I was expecting the opposition effect:
A fired-up Arsenal team, galvanised by Eduardo's injury, angered by all those negative press reports, will explode out ofo the starting block,pouring out their angst, anger, frustrationg, a siege mentality, by tearing up Aston Villa and ruthlesly put to the swords.
Are those pundits read Arsene Wenger correctly that those youngsters ar mentality fragile and crash easily at the first obstacle in a long and gruelling physically exhausting season?
I expect to see a positive reaction, a galvanised and angry side at Milan to prove thsoe pundits wrong [again] and not those wimps wearing Arsenal shirts on 01-March-08.
"With Diaby playng it was equivalent of ten men" True or False? The balance of midfield was shot. I criticise the decision to play him is that an apology? It is an explanation of some of the poor play.
Do you think the team showed no hangover at all from Eduardo? Its a allowed a teeny bit of an hangover? Its allowed to be uspset as long as it doesnt affect the score?
You exaggerate how bad they were, my report doesnt say they played great, but they are not as bad as you say either. If they were so gutless and lacking fire how come they equalised?
How come they had more possession and more shots than Villa.
Do you really dispute that Wenger allowed Milan to affect his choice of 11? I dont care what the result is in the San Siro as long as they give their best.
When a team plays badly its easy to blame lack of effort - indeed that is the English way. You have to remember the game is complicated by the presence of 11 opponents, they dont let you play as you want.
Villa was a tough game - we actually stopped them from scoring (yes we scored for them) something few teams have done this year.
Yes in boys comics teams are fired up by adversity - in real life people take time to grieve and heal. To say they were hungover is not an apology it was the reality.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2008:03:02:10:53:25 by Padre Pio.
They are professional enough to overcome their grief at BRUM and should be angered and lift themselves up....TO PLAY FOR EDUARDO!!!
Or are you subconsciously saying they are still youngsters, playing above expectation, and Ferguson is right after all, these youngsters are not ready for the "long haul and will drop points"?
As I said before, O'Neill got his tactics right by closing down all the passing channels, forcing Arsenal to pass sideway and backward, and simply pressurise any Arsneal palyer that got the ball by surrounding him isntantly with 3 players where the choice is simply to pass backward or lose the ball.
But never in my wildest did I expect such a dreadful, clueless and toothless 1st half from both flanks - Diaby & Hleb - and central from Fabregas & Flamini.
That is simply no explanation from the total surrender of Hleb-Fabregas-Flamini Midfield Engine.
Raw youth?
Callow younsgters playing a man game?
Then we can all kiss the title good-bye if the reason for Villa game is that they are "raw youth and callow youngsters" out there as they will enver survive Easter Weekend.
There really can be no excuses in Milan. A positive or negative reaction and result will answer this debate.
The first priority remains the premiership. Remember Man U dropped five points in two games - it can happen, just as have dropped four in two games (at least we have a sort of excuse with the Eduardo injury).
It's still amazing to think we have only lost once all season - and that was our third premiership long-distance away game in 9 days (and fourth away game in 12 days if you count the Champions League game against Sevilla). No other premiership side has had to play three away games in 9 days, to my knowledge. The fact that twice we have fought to the end and got a last minute goal speaks highly of the team's motivation.
The premiership will be decided between 23 March and 26 April during which we play away to Chelsea, Bolton, ManU and home to Liverpool and Reading. And ManU play away to Chelsea in that time too. The games between the top 3 will be decisive. If we dont lose at ManU and Chelsea, and if Chelsea beat ManU......
And keep clean-sheet for the next 10 league games.
I have seen more experienced teams than ours suffer hangovers after poor results.
There is a third factor and that is that the squad is stretched, the African Cup never ended for us, not one of the Africans who went away has managed to play two games in a row yet.
Quote:scorpion_nib1
i dont understand why padre has to explain his arguments to such an extent. if you think rationally, just about every point he made is correct. we can only be patient and have faith in arsene and the boys. if they deliver, all is fine. else, pat them on the back and be hopeful for next season. our support should not fade at this stage.
My expectation for them is that this season is the final transitory phase where they are fighting for the title.
They surpassed all my expectation as I expect Chelski and Liverpol to fight it out for thr title, with us retaining 4th spot as minimum requirement.
Still top of league at begining of march surprised me to no end.
My expectation of them for teh apst 3 years is that we shall ebgin to dominate Europe and premeirship in 2008/09 season as all pieces fall in place ith team Arsenal Mark 4 reaching maturity then.
I must say I get tired of this knee jerk responses at times
CSome even claim we havent played well since second half away at Villa.
I was called an apologist for writing this. Well playing Diaby contributed to losing 2 points, but it also contributed to him playing a better game at Milan.
I criticised Wenger for playing Diaby against Villa, but with the benefit of hindisght how much real choice did Arsene have? Could he have played Denilson there?
It meant that Diaby had some match fitness for the Milan game.
Yes we all wanted 3 points against Villa, but sometimes you dont get what you want. Was Milan such an aberration - or was the spirit that retrieved the Villa game in 93 minutes the same spirit that defeated the Rossoneri? Everything starts from the ground up.
Its worth remembering that Villa had good results against Chelsea and Liverpool
Wenegr noticed that weakness in Diaby, and against Mlan, he took a gamble and modified his tactics.
He ALLOWED Diaby to cut into centre to battle it out and assist Falmini-Fabregas in midfield battle.
And this worked due to high work level of CLichy hugging the touch-line box-to-box, and with Helb in a free role helping out on left flank.
With Eboue-Sagna protecting right-flank, Hleb is able to help out left flank.
Diaby still got a long way to go to devleop as a midfielder as he still tend to look down when dribbling when a quick head-up and a quick pass will be more effective.
Plus Diaby needs to regain that confidence to shoot instead of just side-footig and tentative placement shoot.
Diaby still need to improve tremendously before he can Arsene Wengegr Total Football. let's hope next season he will od a "Flamini" and play to his full potential as a Vieira-like box-to-box midfielder.
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