A bright start gave way to increased fear and questions on the direction of our great club as Sunderland earned a much deserved victory against our fading, ageing and uninspiring Gunners.
Lesson from last season
As we all know, the Arsenal ended last season in appalling fashion, earning just 3 wins from 16 games after the crushing low that was the Carling Cup Final defeat. In part, this may have been influenced by certain players being uncommitted to the club and going through the motions.
If we look at our subs bench from last night, how many players will be at the club next season? It seems certain that Squillaci, Arshavin, Benayoun and Chamakh will leave in the summer. Rosicky is out of contract (and having not scored in over 2 seasons, he can go), and there must be serious questions marks over Walcott’s future.
Arsene and his staf have a tough job over the next week picking the team up and getting them motivated for the rest of the season, with a MASSIVE game coming up against Spurs. Are these unmotivated players going to achieve this, or should
Arsene be promoting some of our promising youngsters - Aneke, Afobe etc - players who may show some spirit in the manner of Oxlade Chamberlain?
Captain Dejected
It was disappointing to see RVP walking of the pitch after the match without giving a consolatory arm to Oxlade Chamberlain, who looked very upset after the final whistle. His manner over the past two games does not point toward good news for fans this summer...
A bright start...
Arsenal started purposefully, with Arsene’s rollicking clearly having a desired effect, with both Gervinho and Oxlade Chamberlain looking effective on the flanks, and the midfield 3 of Song, Ramsey and Arteta looking to distribute the ball quickly. However...
....Ended by another full back injury
Arsenal do not seem to cope with set backs. Do we not employ a sports psychologist? As soon as the impressive Coquelin went of (and we won’t see him again this season) all fluidity was lost. Vermaelen was forced to left back, with the rarely seen Squillaci making his first appearance since the third round, partnering Djourou in the centre of defence.
Sunderland did very well to capitalise on the confusion (more on this below) caused by the reshuffle, with magnificent pressing from every player and a tremendous work ethic in the mould of their manager.
The confusion caused by the injury was more apparent during the first goal. A sloppy free kick caused by a clumsy foul from Djourou was poorly dealt with by Arsenal, with the defending team not being sure who was meant to be marking who, or standing where. Sagna was too slow in getting to the second ball and Richardson exploited.
There seemed to be yet more confusion regarding the substitutions early in the second half, with Rosicky and Song unsure of their position. Rosicky seemed to spend at least five minutes talking with the Arsenal bench about his position.
Surely this should have been discussed before he came on?
The Midfield 3
The post match thoughts from the league game at the Stadium of Light praised Arteta and his contribution this season, highlighting his passing completion rate (90.6%!) and average passes per game (80).
However, last night I was really disappointed in his performance, and really feel that Arsenal bought the wrong Everton midfielder on that frantic August day (Fellaini would have made more of a creative impact I feel).
Too often last night Arteta was taking the easy option, playing a very Michael Carrick type role, and was often caught in possession or delivered passes which put pressure on other players. I do not recall a great deal of clever, incisive passes yesterday which led to any real chances. With only 4 goals and 1 assist this season, more was expected from him upon his arrival.
His team mates have fared marginally better in the chance creation stakes - Ramsey has four assists, Song five, with Rosicky and Benayoun creating one goal each.
Wide players too wide
After his chance in the 28th minute, did Gervinho really do anything else during the game? Marooned on the left wing, he was isolated and did not seek to come inside looking for the ball, or make too many runs into dangerous positions.
Lessons from the game
Did we learn anything from last night that we did not know before the game? I would say not. We all know that this is a very poor Arsenal team, with too many players going through the motions. We all know that the coaching structure needs reorganising. We all know that the team needs investment.
We all know that the team needs our support now, more than ever. The next few months will be the most challenging of Wenger’s career.
Latest:
