Halfway Point Reached – Can 2011 Deliver?

Many years ago, these isles were submerged in a newly-privatised company’s slogan, “It’s good to talk“. Arsene echoed that view but was referring to his defence in the aftermath of the Wigan match.

The manager observed,

We need to communicate much better. That’s something we need to rectify. Nobody is taking charge on the organisation side, there is no voice when the focus drops a little bit. You don’t feel that anybody takes charge on alertness and we need to communicate much better than that.

The fingers are pointing at the defence but Wenger was being much more general. At set-pieces, organisation falls not just on the defenders, their colleagues further up the pitch know that they have roles to fulfil as well. What was missing in this instance was a voice, a leader, not as The Sun claimed that the team must learn to speak English.

Disappointingly, the key error came from the most experienced defender. An own goal can happen to anyone but it was a lapse in concentration that put him in the wrong position at the time. Only Squillaci will know why this happened. Even then, the key thing is to learn from the mistake. It has occurred, the cost felt and it was not the only cause of failure in not winning, something that is too readily and willingly forgotten.

A lack of leadership has been a common theme for complaint in recent season. There have been strong personalities on the pitch during this time so the squad and Wenger have to put this right; we must maintain belief that they will do so.

Amid all of this, the halfway point of the season has been reached. Arsenal sit third in the table, two points off the summit, a good position to be in. Were a grade issued at this moment in time, 7/10 would be my verdict.

It has been good so far, with the promise of more to be delivered. Only twice in Wenger’s reign have Arsenal failed to gain the same or more points in the second half of the season. From a position of 36 or more points at this stage of the season, Arsenal have never finished lower than third. Only once with a lower total has the title been delivered.

Can the end of the season see Arsenal crowned Champions? They are as inconsistent as those around them. The poor run of results from November is I would say, guardedly, behind us. Guarded because it is two months since Arsenal last went more than two games without a Premier League defeat. Even then, the best run of the season came at the start with a run of three wins and two draws. Confidence appears to be the key. That should have been gained from the win over Chelsea, not just the result but the performance.

With the form shown by Arsenal, Chelsea and to an extent Manchester City, the major surprise of the season is that an undefeated Manchester United are not clear at the top of the table. From this Arsenal can take hope – a good run put together now increases the pressure on them and those around us. But that run has to be put together, something of which we cannot be certain.

There have been several plus points. Firstly, the return of Cesc and van Persie from injury strengthens the starting line-up. Never mind that they are not both in their best form, absences curtail that. This will change and they will find form. Elsewhere, the performances of Wilshere, Nasri and Chamakh have been possibly better than Wenger expected.

Certainly, Wilshere is clearly the best young English player in the Premier League, evidenced by his inclusion in Fabio Capello’s senior international squads. Nasri, despite protestations from across North London and their media puppets to the contrary, has been the Player of the Season thus far.

Theo Walcott’s improved finishing should also be highlighted. Previous campaigns have seen everyone crying out for him to score more; now he is doing so despite missing a month through injury merely serves to show the folly of his omission from England’s disasterous South African misadventure. Luckily he is not tarred by that brush.

Other significant positives have been the markedly improved form of Lukasz Fabianski, capable of the odd mistake still but proof that Wenger’s belief in him was not misplaced. Had Mark Schwarzer arrived in the summer, we would not be so sure. A steady debut from Woijciech Szczesny was a positive from an otherwise disappointing performance at Old Trafford.

Defensively, Johan Djourou has been the best centre back with Laurent Koscielny showing promise, good performances marred by lapses in concentration. He is not the finished article but has been reliable for the most part. Squillaci has provided a steadying influence for both, his experience useful. Both the newcomers would score a 6 for their contributions so far.

Others need to find more consistency. Arshavin on Wednesday gave a typical performance; brilliant and anonymous in equal measure.

2010 is gone; harsh lessons have been handed out and need to be learned from. Key though is that 2011 arrives with a sense of optimism. The team is better placed than at any time since 2007/08 to launch a title challenge with a deeper squad than many, if not all, of their close rivals.  Here’s to a Happy New Year.

’til Tomorrow.

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