The Weight Of Expectation: Playing Again At Arsenal

After consolidating third place on Saturday, Arsenal now look forward to the short journey to their London neighbours at Loftus Road. On current form, the game cannot come quickly enough.

There is some concern however, with no update forthcoming on Laurent Koscielny’s injury. If the Frenchman has to be sidelined, Johan Djourou is the most likely candidate to fill his somewhat large boots. The Swiss defender put in a decent performance against Aston Villa, but he was not severly tested; Emile Heskey and Gabriel Agbonlahor are hardly in the same class as Edin Dzeko and Sergio Aguero.

We are blazing a trail though, and this team believes every game is winnable. The clean sheet against Villa would have added to the confidence in defense. So Laurent may not be missed yet, not for QPR at least.

Due to our horrendous start to the season, we’ve had to constantly deal with dire predictions from the media, football pundits, rival supporters and a few of our own fans. The possibility of relegation was mooted, the manager was said to be outdated in his methods and his philosophy, the medical staff were no better than average vets and the players just not good enough for this level. Even as late as 25th February, we had only managed to graduate from being a complete shambles to a one-man team.

While all this unwanted hyperbole was disruptive, I think it also helped the players focus on the task at hand. Each game had to be contested, each point was to be fought for, nothing was guaranteed. Even when we won games, we’d started so far back in the table that Champions League qualification seemed always to be tantalisingly away from our grasp.

All this has changed dramatically in the last month.

We are now firmly in third place, looking down at the joke club from up the Seven Sisters Road. Roman’s golden oldies are a further five behind them. It seems highly probable now that Arsenal will once again compete in Europe’s elite competition next season.

And what has emerged from these last six games is not only the accumulation of points. It’s also the rediscovering of our fluid passing game. It’s also the never-beaten attitude shown in the storming comeback against the enemy. It’s also the resilience and character displayed at Everton.

It’s the re-emergence of the Arsenal we know and love.

For although we did go on unbeaten for a period between October and December, our football wasn’t always spectacular then. We got the job done and worked hard as a team, but we didn’t go into every game expecting to win.

Now we do. Now there’s the pressure of being favorites to win football matches again. The weight of expectation.

It showed a little against Aston Villa on Saturday. Not so much from the players as from the fans. Watching the game on television, the atmosphere seemed to dampen considerably after the second goal. A large section of the crowd seemed to fall silent, awaiting inspiration from an external source to find their voices again. We expected to thrash the visitors; in the end, even a comfortable 3-0 win did not seem to satisfy us fully.

And it was not only the fans in the stands. There was disappointment on Twitter as well, some
supporters feeling we should have taken Villa to the cleaners and run up a bigger score. The world is a small place now, smaller than it’s ever been, and our opinions are constantly being communicated to the players through social media.

I write this because I feel strongly that our reactions have a bigger impact on players that we might think.

It did affect the players on Saturday, the tempo dropped and errors started creeping in. On another day, and against better opposition, we may have paid the price for switching off and conceded a goal or two. It only takes one moment of magic from an opposition player (Crouch’s goal against City), or a refereeing blunder (Suarez penalty) or an unfortunate slip (Mertesacker’s injury against Sunderland) to let the opposition in.

As supporters, we have to ensure this heightened expectation is not transferred on to the players. They’ve done well to get us to third and we, the fans, have done well by egging them on to this point.

With 8 games left, let’s be mindful of this. Let’s show the same commitment to the team that we demand of the players. Let’s cheer them on for the full 90 minutes and beyond. Because our support to them is as important at 2-0 up as it is as 1-0 down.

Until tomorrow.

Villans Shot Down, Park Rangers Next

Premier League 2011-2012 / Game 30 / Emirates Stadium

Arsenal	3	(Gibbs 16, Walcott 25, Arteta 90)
Aston Villa	0

Arsenal continued their winning run with a commanding performance to comprehensively beat Aston Villa at the Emirates Stadium yesterday.

Arsene Wenger was forced into a late change in defence, Laurent Koscielny unable to play due to a tendinitis problem in his knee. Johan Djourou came in instead to partner Thomas Vermaelen in the centre of defence. The other change was in midfield, with the manager choosing to go with a more attacking front three of Gervinho, Walcott and van Persie, Aaron Ramsey making way for the Ivorian.

Our recent success has been in no small measure due to our ability to play first choice defenders. The Emirates Stadium crowd was well aware of this, and there were audible groans when Djourou’s name was announced in the playing eleven. I believe this was an indication not of a lack of trust in Johan, but more an acknowledgement of how massive Koscielny’s been for us this season.

However, Djourou is prone to the odd mistake, especially in dealing with simple high balls against strong central strikers, and Alex McLeish immediately changed the formation, pushing Emile Heskey up front to try and cause problems.

In the end, the Swiss performed more than adequately, considering he’s not played in his favored centre-back position for quite some time now. To be honest, Villa were extremely poor and did not test him enough, except in the first few minutes when Heskey clattered into him on a couple of occasions. A clean sheet will do his confidence no harm, and we may need it if Koscielny’s injury is serious enough to see him sidelined for a while.

Up front, Arsenal started brightly once again, although we nearly paid for this exuberance in the 7th minute, with Marc Albrighton finding acres of space on the left as Gibbs was caught up field. The 3 on 3 situation looked promising but Albrighton preferred to shoot and blazed well over.

There were a couple of times when similar situations developed on the left, but Villa’s lack of quality, excellent anticipation by Vermaelen and some good tracking back by Gervinho meant that no threat was posed to Szczesny’s goal. In fact, that Albrighton effort was Aston Villa’s only shot of the entire game.

At the other end, Arsenal were exerting pressure with a Walcott shot saved by Given and Vermaelen heading over from a corner. The inevitable goal came in the 16th minute, from an unlikely source, after good work by Gervinho saw Gibbs through, who coolly slotted home under Shay Given.

The advantage was doubled when Alex Song found Theo Walcott with his now trademark chipped ball into the box, and the Englishman’s wonderful first touch allowed him to finish calmly to Given’s left.

Arsenal took the foot off the pedal after the second, and for a while, it looked like Aston Villa might find their way back in after some sloppy giveaways by the home team. However, the game meandered along with Villa not threatening and Arsenal unable to maintain the high tempo and quality they’ve displayed in recent matches.

The match would have ended at the same scoreline except for a belter of a free kick by Mikel Arteta. Instead of curling it around the wall, he chose to blast past it and the ball sailed into the top corner. It was a wonderful way to cap an assured performance, and a deserved goal for the hard working Spaniard.

The match statistics indicate Arsenal bossed it. With nearly 72% possession, an 88% pass completion rate and 15 corners, the home team certainly dominated the visitors. Fact is, it was not our best performance. Yet, we won comfortably and that augurs well for the near future.

Arsene Wenger praised the team for a dynamic performance in the first half and a controlled one in the second. On the second half, he said:

Our fatigue came in a bit because we gave a lot at Everton on Wednesday night to win the game. Overall I am very happy, very pleased because we managed to score goals and not concede any. We have consistency at the moment, so let’s go home and wait for the next game.

With Spurs drawing at Chelsea earlier in the day, we are now clear of the wannabes by 3 points. While they have an easier run in, the momentum is with us.

Up until now, we have been playing catch up in the league table. Now that we’re sitting in the 3rd place driving seat, the weight of expectation is firmly back on our shoulders. This presents a different challenge, but more on that tomorrow.

Until then, smile.

Arsenal Seek Seventh Heaven As Villans Come To Town

After returning from another fruitful trip to Liverpool on Wednesday, the Gunners host Aston Villa at the Emirates Stadium today.

The team will try to keep the winning momentum going, with another good performance and three points. Six wins out of the last six puts us at the top of the Premier League form table, and confidence is running high at the moment. A win today would make it seven in a row, the first time since October 2007 when we last experienced such a hot streak.

In the early kickoff, our closest rivals for the Champions League spots go head to head at Stamford Bridge. Points will be dropped by one or both teams. Although a Chelsea win would be desirable too, with the Spuds having a slightly easier run in.

However, Arsene Wenger has warned his players not to be distracted by results elsewhere. He’s urging them to maintain focus, warning them that ‘easing off’ is not an option if they want to finish in third.

As soon as you ease off, things change quickly. We have tricky fixtures and how well we finish depends on our attitude. If we keep our attitude, we have a chance.

In team news, everybody is fit from the mid-week game. Abou Diaby played an hour for the Reserves on Tuesday, scored a goal and predictably, had an injury scare. Luckily, it was just a knock but he is not in contention for a first team place yet. The squad remains exactly the same as the one that travelled to Goodison Park.

It’s a welcome relief, considering the injury crisis we faced around the New Year. Our performances have certainly been lifted since the return of Sagna and Gibbs, and Vermaelen and Koscielny seem to have developed a good understanding once more, having got a run of games together. Kos has been the boss for a while now, but the Verminator looks commanding once more, now that he’s playing in his preferred central role.

The visitors are without Darren Bent, Richard Dunne and Fabian Delph through long term injuries. In addition, Charles N’Zogbia faces a fitness test on his knee today in order to be eligible.

Arsenal play an attacking game at most times, and on current form, we’ll be looking to put the opponents on the back foot right from the start. If the opening 20 minutes at Everton was anything to go by, it should make for an enjoyable game for Gunners fans.

Villa are certainly not in the best of form, winning just one of their last six games. That win came last week at home against Fulham, where Andreas Weimann came on as a substitute to bundle home a winner in the last minute of injury time. Aston Villa fans haven’t quite taken to Alex McLeish, and there’s growing discontent in the stands, although the latest result will have eased some pressure.

On paper, Arsenal should dominate the game and secure the three points. But complacency can set in, especially when you are facing the 15th placed team in the league, at home. This season has proved, more than any other, that there no easy games and no guaranteed victories.  The players will need to be fully focused, mentally and physically – especially as the game is being refereed by Phil Dowd! 

Bacary Sagna is mindful of this and wants the Gunners to impose themselves on the opposition.  

After all, the Villans have provided a stiff test to the Gunners in two meetings this season already. Our 2-1 win in December at Villa Park came in a closely contested game, the winning goal somewhat of an oddity, coming off the head of Yossi Benayoun as it did.

Aston Villa also visited the Emirates in the FA Cup at the end of January, when they took a 2-0 lead at half time through goals by Richard Dunne and Darren Bent. Arsenal came blazing back in the second half, with a scintillating 15 minutes which saw us overturn the deficit. Importantly for Arsenal, both of Villa’s goalscorers are absent this time around. Robbie Keane has also long since returned to LA after his loan spell, and Villa are seriously short of creativity in attack.

Arsene Wenger will surely revert to the more attacking 4-2-1-3 formation at home. The back four should retain their places after the solid performance at Everton, although Wenger may be tempted to rest Gibbs with all the injury troubles he’d had and give a run out to the returning Santos. Unlike previous seasons though, we have reached third place in the table the hard way and I suspect the manager will not want to tinker too much, especially at the back.

However, I do expect Rosicky to drop to the bench and Ramsey to move to the centre. This has nothing to do with the Czech’s form of course, which has been brilliant lately. But Tomas did play 85 minutes at Everton, and the manager may choose to use him judiciously from now until the end of the season. Although he is far from the finished article yet, Ramsey did put in a good performance in mid-week and should be able to pull the strings in midfield.

I expect Gervinho to come into the team ahead of Oxlade-Chamberlain. The Ivorian hasn’t really got going since returning from the African Cup of Nations, and Wenger will want the tricky forward to discover some form ahead of crucial matches against City and Chelsea in April. The Ox will be itching to play as well though, and Arsene may prefer to unleash his energy on our opponents right from the start.

Probable starting XI:

Szczesny
Sagna – Koscielny – Vermaelen – Gibbs
Song – Arteta
Ramsey
Walcott – RvP – Gervinho

In terms of tactics, Arsenal will endeavor to move the ball quickly, as they did at the start against Everton. The midfield will once again try to dominate possession and dictate play. Walcott’s pace and Gervinho’s direct approach should cause problems for the Villa full backs and the Gunners will try to pin them back in their own halves for most of the game. Chances will surely be created, but we must make the possession stats count by putting the ball in the net.

Villa will look to be organised in defense and try to catch Arsenal on the counter with pace on the wings. Petrov, Ireland and Herd will harry the midfield, with Albrighton and N’Zogbia dropping deeper to help out as well. Agbonlahor should start as the sole striker and will be expected to hold the ball up and get the team up the pitch. As long as it’s goalless though, I cannot see Alex McLeish’s side being too positive, they will not fancy their chances in an open game against us on current form.

Overall, as the manager would say, if we show our quality, mental strength, resilience and ‘relentless dynamism’, we should put Villa to the sword.

My prediction is 3-0 to the Arsenal. Enjoy the game. And mind the gap!

Enjoying Arsenal’s Good Run And Seeking Common Sense

After an important  result at Goodison Park on Wednesday, it’s time to look forward to Aston Villa tomorrow.

Although if you read some Arsenal fan blogs, you might be forgiven for questioning if we’d beaten Everton at all. While a few are rightly urging caution in assuming third place is ours to keep, there are others that actually seem a little distraught that we are now on this wonderful run.

Maybe it’s do with the fact that earlier in the season, these ‘fans’ had so convinced themselves that they knew more about how to run Arsenal Football Club than the professionals who actually do, that they now feel the need to dampen the joy of our current form in order to justify their previous vitriol.

Of course, every supporter wants their club to do well and everyone is entitled to have an opinion. Sure, it’s a lot of fun to play Football Manager before games. The pride when the manager puts out the same team that you’ve got down, is one of life’s little joys.

However, it’s also not the end of the world if your tactics and the gaffer’s don’t match up. While you may want to make a point of it in case of an adverse result, it’s ridiculous to suggest this one piece of prediction makes you somehow fully competent to manage the football club.

An example of this is the team that played against Everton on Wednesday. It was exactly the same team that Arsene Wenger put out against AC Milan at the San Siro in the first leg. Playing away from home, it’s easy to see now what the manager wanted to do. He wanted to add solidity to the midfield while keeping the formation fluid.

It did not come off against Milan.

But the result had a lot to do with the players’ performance on the night, Milan’s clinical finishing and the state of the pitch. And very little to do with tactics.

At Everton, it worked perfectly. Ramsey was running into good areas in and around the box in the first 30 minutes and creating space for Gibbs on the left wing. In the second half, when Everton were pushing for an equaliser, the extra man in midfield helped us defend more solidly.

I am not suggesting one shouldn’t have a different point of view, or not be upset when we lose. But the delivery and forcefulness of your argument needs to be tempered with some common sense. Let’s support the team regardless and remain positive in adversity, instead of obsessing over what could and should happen.

The manager’s also been talking about not obsessing. He wants the team to focus on their own performance, and not results elsewhere.

What I want us to continue is our run and not be in a position where you have to look at the other results. That is why I believe that the main focus is on us, not to be obsessed by other results and to just keep going.

Arsene also feels we have gained a lot of brownie points recently, and the team should continue to build on this and maintain momentum.

Elsewhere, Arsenal.com reports that Reserves’ players Chuks Aneke and Benik Afobe have sealed loan deals until the end of the season. Midfielder Aneke moves to 13th placed League One side Preston North End, while Afobe will be heading to Championship contenders Reading.

Afobe is returning from a long injury lay off, but the manager has suggested he is likely to challenge for a first team spot in the future and the loan spell will help him develop. Robin van Persie, no less, has high regard for the forward’s ability. Let’s hope the youngster gets his opportunities at Reading, although you feel another loan spell next year will be necessary before he can crash through that first team door.

Aston Villa preview will be up tomorrow. Until then, lighten up.

Everton Dispatched: Mental Strength, Character And All That Jazz

For the second time in two and a half weeks, we returned from Liverpool last night, with 3 points firmly in the bag. And 3rd place to boot, with the tiny tots of Tottenham tottering timidly towards total disintegration.

Before the match, Arsene had talked about a ‘relentless dynamism’ prevailing in the team. That energy, force and power were evident in the team’s display at Goodison, against a tough-to-beat Everton.  

Arsenal were straight out of the blocks. The first 15 minutes was probably the sharpest, most incisive we’ve played all season. The movement was excellent, the ball was being zipped around with pace and accuracy, leaving the Everton midfield and defense chasing shadows.

Aaron Ramsey missed a fantastic opportunity in the 7th minute, but Arsenal got their just rewards a minute later, Thomas Vermaelen outjumping five Everton players to head in from Robin van Persie’s corner kick.

As the match wore on, Everton came more into their own. The home side worked harder to close Arsenal down, aided by the visitors dropping their tempo after taking the lead. The pressure on the ball told, as the Gunners’ passing became sloppy, resulting in increasing attacks by the Toffees.

Arsenal were fortunate not to have conceded in the 30th minute, as Royston Drenthe was put through on the right hand side. With only Szczesny to beat, the Dutchman slotted in, but the flag was already raised on the far side. Replays suggested Drenthe was clearly onside. The rub of the green going Arsenal’s way this time.

Fair to say, the referee and his assistants did not have the best of games. Besides the Drenthe decision, Marouane Fellaini also had a few close calls going against him. And while Lee Mason’s efforts to keep the game flowing should be commended, there were clear fouls on Rosicky which went unpunished. And that’s not taking into account the legitimate penalty shout the Czech had in the second half.

Arsenal were looking a little nervous as this point, with the 50-50s being won by the home side. Szczesny had a scare as well, his nonchalant pass out of defense hitting Jelavic. As the commentators are fond of saying, that could have gone anywhere. Luckily for the visitors, it went out for a goal kick.

As the first half was drawing to a close, Arsenal reasserted their supremacy, controlling the ball better. Rosicky came close just before the break, his volley well saved by Tim Howard.

After the break, Everton continued to exert pressure but the Gunners back line were impressive throughout. Koscielny and Vermaelen intercepted, blocked or headed away with authority. Sagna was immense once again, winning an incredible 14 out of 17 aerial duels, while Gibbs looked like he’s regained full match fitness with an energetic display.

Robin van Persie had a couple of chances to kill the match off, and as the game got stretched late on with Everton pushing men forward in search of the equalizer, Gervinho was frequently in space on the left hand side. But Arsenal failed to score the second goal, leaving supporters biting their nails in a nervy ending to the game.

The players did not display this nervousness though, and comfortably saw out the game. In terms of the overall match, Arsenal dominated in all aspects, boasting 62% possession and an 80% pass completion rate. Unlike Manchester City, Chelsea and lately Spurs, crucially, the Gunners came away with a deserved win and 3 points.

Arsene Wenger credited victory to the team’s resilience and focus:

We showed a side of us that usually people don’t know. It was the only way to get a result tonight. It was good to know that we can do that as well. We didn’t panic, we did well on crosses which is usually not our strong point. We didn’t panic and that is good for us.

We’ve grown accustomed to hearing about the team’s mental strength and character. In recent seasons, it hasn’t always rung true, as positive results have been invariably, and often quickly, followed by a setback. Now, the results are matching the performance.

The defensive solidity is most welcome. While we are on a fantastic run of six wins out of six, this is our first clean sheet in the league since the nil-nil at Bolton at the beginning of February. No doubt this is due to the first choice defense now forming an understanding with each other.

This result leaves us sitting in 3rd place for the first time this season, a point above stuttering Spurs who managed a last gasp equalizer against Stoke. It’s incredible, considering we were ten points adrift of the wannabes less than a month ago. At this moment, the joy of football is unparalled.

So while the force is definitely with us presently, nothing should be taken for granted. Aston Villa at home in a couple of days may seem an easier task than Everton away, but it’s been a topsy-turvy season so we must not get complacent.

But that’s for Saturday. Right at this moment, I will just enjoy this buzzing sensation from knowing that order has finally been restored in North London.

Ooh ooh ooh to be, ooh to be a ….. Gooner!