Arsenal line-up: Martinez; Chambers, Mertesacker, Monreal, Gibbs; Flamini; Alexis, Ramsey, Wilshere, Cazorla; Welbeck
This game was in contrast to both of the last two games against Hull and Chelsea. This was the worst performance of the three, and yet the best outcome, putting us in a strong position to at least qualify for the next round of the Champions League. Wenger considers it important to win your home games, and then pick up one or two results away from home too. So far we are on track to do this, although at the moment it's impossible to see us getting a result against Dortmund, even at home.
Alexis was again our best player, always giving 100%, chasing lost causes and fighting to win the ball back. After the Chelsea game, Mourinho suggested that you often need a bit of magic from your best players to make the difference in tight games, but in that game it was Chelsea's Hazard that provided it, followed up by Fabregas and Costa. I thought we played quite well, but the difference was that the necessary magic from our best players, Özil and Alexis, remained elusive. In contrast to this, the magic from Alexis was very prominent in the game against Hull, without which we would have taken nothing from the game. Not since Overmars, or arguably Arshavin, have we had a player capable of running directly at defenders with the same combination of pace and close control, and it is a welcome addition to the skill-set of our squad from last season.
Aside from Alexis, pretty much everyone else this evening was below par. We looked jaded from the weekend but, more disappointingly, it seemed as though the players thought they just had to turn up to get a result against this Anderlecht team. Even after they scored, there was no response from us; we weren't able to find the energy to raise our game. Sky Sports seemed intent on informing us how bad this Anderlecht team were, with such a poor history in the Champions' League, but I thought they actually played quite well, which we weren't expecting. They had some good young players; athletic, physical and well organised, with pace to threaten on the break. We, on the other hand, had plenty of possession, but with no cutting edge, and very little understanding going forward.
Defensively, it is getting harder and harder to defend the decision not to bring in an extra defender over the Summer. Wenger suggested at the recent AGM that a defender will be signed in January, but he also stated over the Summer that a replacement for Vermaelen would be signed, should he be sold. We are in such obvious need of a defender that any teams we buy from will be able to charge way over the odds, knowing that we can't afford not to sign someone. What we really need is a defender that really wants to play for us, but the only way that is going to happen is if we can offer them first-team football. Mertesacker organises the defence well and is good in the air, but his lack of pace means I think that we could improve on him in the position alongside Koscielny. We can only hope!
Bizarrely, the poor results against Chelsea and Hull couldn't really be blamed on us being short of defenders, as it was elsewhere that the team was lacking. Today, when our defending was shambolic on several occasions, we were incredibly lucky to take all three points. It feels quite strange to be on the right side of a great escape, smash and grab result, when so often it is us that lose due to a lack of concentration, or get caught on the counter-attack having had the lion's share of possession. I feel that it was quite telling to see Alexis shaking his head at the final whistle, reluctant to celebrate after such a poor performance. He recognises that our performances need to improve quickly but, to take a positive from this game, it is often said that getting results when you perform poorly is a required quality of a great team, and that is exactly what we did this evening.
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