27 August 2014

Predicted starting eleven against Besiktas, with thoughts on Sanogo and Alexis

#AFCvBES #COYG


 So, right on cue for our most important game of the season so far, Giroud breaks his foot and won't play again until the New Year. Alexis started as the central striker in our last game against Everton but was replaced at half-time by Giroud, with the latter proving to be much more effective in the role. It has been clear for well over a year now that we need backup for Giroud in the squad, but it's still unclear what Wenger's plans are. In such a high stakes game, we will see what Wenger considers to be his strongest available eleven, and therefore gain insight into what his plans have been for this eventuality.


25 August 2014

Everton 2 - 2 Arsenal: Match thoughts and a defence of @_OlivierGiroud_

#EFCvAFC


 I went into this game hoping for more than a draw, as this was our first real chance to demonstrate that we've improved from last season, away from home against a top-five team. Having watched the match, however, I feel that this is a point gained rather than two points lost. I'm not sure that our performance demonstrated much improvement, but in the same fixture last season we got thoroughly beaten. We certainly demonstrated some heart and desire to get anything from this game, and I'm left wondering whether we had one eye on the more important Besiktas fixture on Wednesday.

Starting line-up: Szczesny; Debuchy, Chambers, Mertesacker, Monreal; Flamini; Oxlade-Chamberlain, Ramsey, Wilshere, Ozil; Alexis


16 August 2014

New signings provide positives in tough game against Palace. 3 points gained

#AFCvCPFC


 A 2-1 win at home to Crystal Palace means that we are now 3 points better off than we were at the same stage last season. We had plenty of possession throughout, but made really hard work of forcing a win. Going forward we really struggled to create any clear chances, partly due to Crystal Palace's organisation, but also because we lack match sharpness.

Team line-up: Szczesny; Debuchy, Chambers, Koscielny, Gibbs; Arteta; Sanchez, Ramsey, Wilshere, Cazorla; Sanogo


13 August 2014

Prospect of centre-half pairing of Chambers & Monreal giving me nightmares

#VermaelenFCB


 Firstly, let me wish our former captain, Thomas Vermaelen, the very best of luck for his future at Barcelona. It's very hard to hold anything against him when he gave 100% in every game, took lower wages to avoid going to a rival Premier League club, and didn't involve himself in any media speculation. He really is a true professional; he has shown the utmost respect to Arsenal and will be remembered fondly. While causing us some problems in defensive cover, the deal also represents good value for Arsenal. In comparison to our £30m spend on a 25 year old Alexis Sanchez, receiving £15m for a 28 year old Thomas Vermaelen, with just 1 year remaining on his contract and unable to get into our first team, seems remarkable.


12 August 2014

Change to 4-1-4-1 offers new solidity in Man City victory

#CommunityShield #AFCvMCFC


 How good does it feel to come away with a 3-0 win against a top Premier League team?! The main thing that we need to improve from last season is our results against the top teams, having been on the wrong end of some severe drubbings last season. On that front, this latest result is undoubtedly a step in the right direction and that, for me, is more important than the fact that we picked up our second piece of silverware in 3 months.

While beating any Man City team is no mean feat, there is no doubt that they were missing several top players, including Aguero, Kompany and Fernandinho, among others. What had a bigger impact though, was that Man City didn't look at all interested! It's difficult to tell if this was due to Toure and Fernando being overrun in the middle of the park (us playing well), or City not being ready.


6 August 2014

First our hopes are raised. Quickly followed by questions!

#EmiratesCup #Sanogoal


So it's difficult to read too much into friendly games, but it's always nice to get a taster of how the new players might fit into the team, and how existing players might change their roles for the season ahead. It's also our first chance to see us against first-class opposition.

On seeing the team-sheet for the Benfica game, I was excited about seeing how the new players would perform - Chambers, Campbell, but also Sanogo, Bellerin and, to a lesser extent, Martinez in goal. However, the main things that struck me were that Monreal was playing centre back, we were lined up in 4141, without the double-pivot of 4231, and that Oxlade-Chamberlain was positioned on the left. It seems to me that in our first 11, Ozil will start in the CAM role, with either Giroud or Sanchez up front, and the right will be taken by Walcott or Sanchez. Our left-sided forward position is up for grabs with neither Podolski or Cazorla entirely convincing in the role last season. So the main question for me, going into this game, was whether the Ox could make this position his own.