Blackburn Rovers Preview: Get The Winning Habit

Arsenal travel to Ewood Park this afternoon looking for a repeat of the 2-1 victory the last time these teams met on this date in 1946. This time around, Arsenal seek to continue the fledgling run being put together. The problem for Arsenal was succinctly highlighted by the manager on Thursday,

We must win. We live in an environment that questions us when we don’t win. We do not criticise that and have to live with that. We have to show performances, consistency and attitude quality, that makes us respected. It is as simple as that. That is why it is as important that we do not talk too much and play as well as we can

There is relish amongst the media that Arsenal have reverted to fill the club in crisis story. There has to be one and from their attitude towards him, a number of reporters will be only truly happy when Wenger is removed from his job. The difference in attitude was highlighted in the midweek results and their subsequent coverage. Arsenal lucky to draw, United and City unlucky despite both conceding chances which would have resulted in defeat. Luck in equal measure you would have thought.

Wenger though knows why, understands and reluctantly accepts this as being the world we live in,

For me [standing still is not an option] and in the modern society a cycle takes zero days. But I will judge myself by giving the best of my intelligence, experience and commitment to the Club and after I let other people judge what I do. At the end of the day and at the end of the season you know yourself whether you took the maximum out of the team and the team’s potential or not. I want our fans just to be happy and you make your fans happy if you win things and if you win games. That I think is that.

Except that is not enough. When Arsenal grind out a win, the result is not greeted as part and parcel of the game, a good team out of sorts but still winning. It is a failure, a betrayal of football. Wenger has turned matters on their head and now Arsenal must win with style and panache. Gone are the days when 1 – 0 is an acceptable scoreline. Yet at the moment, everyone would take such performances and results as the squad binds into partnerships and understandings, recovers the poise and swagger that return with confidence. That quality was brutally destroyed, slowly the building blocks are put in place to allow it back into the squad psyche.

Wenger received backing this morning from Gervinho. The Ivorian displayed humility when talking of his upbringing, revealing the source of his determination to play for Arsenal. Crucially, he wants to be here, not seeing it as a stepping stone for somewhere else and the manager was key to this in his view,

It’s Arsene’s job to choose his players and I believe in his vision. Whatever player Arsene picks to play for Arsenal, I respect that and so should the fans…I’d still have signed for Arsenal if [Nasri and Cesc] had been sold before I arrived — there are still great players at this club.

As usual there are those who would disagree but Gervinho’s loyalty is to be commended, even if it is expected from a new signing. He has not had the easiest of starts, wrongly accused of diving at Newcastle, rightly sent off under the Laws of the Game but he will recover and thrive. At least that’s the theory anyway. A goal or two will speed that process along, as much for his confidence as anyone else’s.

His place in the side brings a directness to the attack, as well as the ability to meander into a dead end or two, similar to Theo Walcott yet different enough to warrant both’s inclusion. Whether that will happen this afternoon remains to be seen with Walcott the more likely to make way for Gervinho.

Arshavin was, I thought, unlucky not to be included from the start in Dortmund, Walcott was unable to evade the German’s tactic of mass defending when he was in possession. This afternoon it strikes me that the Russian ought to be included, adding guile to the attack. Walcott as a late(r) substitute would take advantage of any tiredness in the Rovers defence.

Blackburn have problems, Steve Kean under pressure with a protest being mooted beforehand. A turbulent summer for Arsenal did not descend into quite the farcical depths of that endured by Blackburn where the owners talked loudly about signing ageing stars, none arriving nor seemingly interested in doing so. The Lancastrians highlight the problems of having a Sugar Daddy, or more starkly, when that individual is no longer around. A fall from grace that was not supposed to happen fifteen years ago, a title win that must seem a lifetime away and an eternity from ever being replicated.

This is a match even an out of sorts Arsenal ought to win. Rovers are bottom and although they showed indications of winning earlier in the week, they have yet to do so in the Premier League. Three points takes Arsenal (temporarily) into eighth, highlighting the over-reaction to the poor start in terms of points. The gap to United and Chelsea will not grow any wider with a win, closing on at least one of them this weekend. Getting the win is crucial.

Few changes to midweek should expected, Arshavin for Walcott would be my main one. Consideration might be given to Santos for Gibbs, the youngster is enhancing the attacking options on that provided by Clichy; a pity he is a defender. Age will bring the experience required and Gibbs has the potential, growing quietly in the shadows may make more sense in terms of confidence when he comes into the side.

Ramsey or Frimpong in the midfield might add more bite in what may be a physical contest, ‘Blackeye’ a hard moniker for the hosts to shake off. My line-up would be:

Szczesny; Sagna, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Santos; Ramsey (Frimpong), Arteta, Song; Arshavin, van Persie, Gervinho

Which won’t be the one Arsene chooses but so long as a win happens, at the moment that is all. Winning without the substance of performance is not a long term aim but with confidence growing, the substance can be added.

Enjoy the match wherever you are watching it. ’til Tomorrow.

 

 

 

One Of Us Speaks: This Baby Might Take A While To Get Going

Big Al’s investigating his Arsenal DNA; it’s more durable than it’s Catalan cousins…

There’s no way we’d normally want this many new faces in the side. Really, at least two wouldn’t be there at the moment if we could only have a little luck with injuries. That’s not to say that I’m suspicious of the recent arrivals, just that it might have been better if we could have afforded to let them trickle into the team rather than flood our engine.

It’s going to take a while to get this baby going.

What we’re witnessing on the pitch at the moment is the football equivalent of a Trust Fall. You may have done it, or seen it in films. Well, we’re doing the hardcore version; over a coffin-shaped hole full of angry venomous snakes, itching to bite the backside of anyone who slips through the catchers’ fingers. And if the catchers don’t do their jobs? They just get castrated – and then thrown to the snakes.

It looks like we still intend to play one and two-touch football, but this is a style that cannot function without familiarity. If we want to press then our players are going to have to get to know each other first, otherwise the whole exercise will be exhausting and detrimental to the performance of the team.

You can’t expect the Arsenal of old – it’s just not going to happen until these new players get to know the group as a whole, their teammates on an individual level and understand what the manager expects from them. It’s the kind of integration that begins on the training ground, but only in competitive situations are any real strides made. I say this now – it would have been helpful to bring these guys in earlier, but that’s not how it worked out, and it wouldn’t have made that much difference to our current situation.

What you can expect are some moments of individual skill; fleeting hints of brighter months ahead.

So it was encouraging then to see Benayoun wriggle free of challenges and release van Persie so astutely, albeit on the second attempt, for that chance in the first half against Dortmund. And then there’s Gervinho, who was born to bamboozle and confuse everyone and everything in his path. Sadly, even the ones he loves.

How reassuring to see Mertesacker form a bond with the ever-improving Koscielny, and time his own challenges and interceptions so comfortably. The scrutiny on his debut was absurd. Defenders absolutely need time to adapt and become part of a unit. Just thinking back to the early Premier League careers of some of the competition’s best centre-backs in recent years; I remember seeing Darren Huckerby humiliate World Cup winner Marcel Desailly on Match of the Day in 1998, and Vidic looked horribly slow and gauche in his early days at ManU. Our new recruit had all of two training sessions to settle in, and did OK.

Meanwhile Arteta’s one of the most Arsenal-ready players I can recall, firing laser-guided passes to feet and getting into space. But even he needs some time to start adding a little more subtlety to his distribution, putting detailed, bespoke information on the ball for his teammates.

This isn’t a team in its infancy – it’s a teenage side. One that goes down to Camden market to buy tie-dye t-shirts, then returns home to listen to Sex Pistols and Ramones records; full of contradiction and still to find its identity. I mean, what do you guys want to do? Keep your shape and counter, or play a pressing game? Oh OK; some of you want to do one thing and the rest want to do the other.

Oh dear, I’m starting to sound like a low-rent Stewart Robson. Anyway, as I suggested above, time should iron out this kind of wrinkle.

And in the face of all these difficulties things are starting to turn. After the few weeks we’ve had, it’s great that we’re disappointed with a draw against the Bundesliga Champions. And if you get past the chaotic opening 15 minutes Szczesny was hardly troubled. We went out to protect our lead and faced wave after wave of attacks, but they broke against our imperious Franco-German seawall, until that Danny Rose-style volley at the end.

If Champions League qualification was Arsenal grasping the final branch before the abyss, then the last two matches have seen us clawing our way up the cliff-face, scratching into the rock for every bloody point. It’s probably not a good idea to look up or down at this moment; just keep clambering for God’s sake.

Anyway, as our senior side was battling in the awesome arena that is the Westfalenstadion, our reserves were earning a point against Bolton in the equally imposing Lancashire County Ground. Not bad for such a young team, playing against a mix of journeymen and established Premier League talents like Robbie Blake, David Wheater, Stuart Holden, Tuncay and David Ngog.

It’s definitely a result that should be recognised. And this is something that’s important to me; I believe that there’s nothing wrong with drawing attention to the achievements of our younger players. If anything it should help prepare them for the exposure they might have to face every week as footballers in the future.

What I’d like is a more mature attitude towards youth football. That’s to say, we should be able to congratulate individuals for lower level achievement, without trying to extrapolate too much, or make wild predictions about career trajectory. I get the feeling some fans have swung too far the other way; to the point of weary disenchantment with young talent. – perhaps a response to the premature hype that accompanied some of our prospects a few years back.

The average age of our first team squad is probably higher than it’s been for years, but our academy will continue to produce players of immense promise. Now’s as good a time as any to re-evaluate how we relate to youth and reserve level, especially if you’re in need of a feel-good Arsenal story, because you never have to wait long for one when our young guns are involved – as long as you keep it in context.

’til Tomorrow

Experience Is Key According To New Boys

This morning’s media continue their love-in with both Mancunian clubs. As City rampaged through the Napoli defence and United tore a strip out of Benfica…no, wait, hold on, they both drew 1 – 1, each as fortuitous as it was unlucky. In other words, they could have lost as equally as they could have won but in fact did neither. Rather like Arsenal. Which makes you wonder why the coverage was so different. It is not individual either; there is a collective will to the coverage.

Perhaps they are scared of Ferguson because he really put the fear up everyone with the rudeness displayed to King Kenny’s daughter last night. Maybe her father was the reason for the ill-manners in response to a stupid question…

Anyways, no point in worrying about such matters, paranoia is surely the only outcome and essentially, you are not going to change anything so entrenched is the view that Arsenal are this season’s club in crisis. Any silverware will be greeted with a plethora of articles questioning, “Are Arsenal the worst Premier League champions / Champions League, FA or Carling Cup winners” (delete as appropriate).

Ahead of last weekend’s victory over Swansea, Wenger spoke of his new signings, particularly effusive in his praise of Mikel Arteta and Yossi Benayoun. As well as being technically proficient and experienced, they were intelligent players according to the manager. In Issue One of The Blizzard, there is an interview with Juanma Lillo, Pep Guadiola’s mentor. It is revealing in the similarities to Wenger’s philosophy about football and well worth reading, if not for that then certainly the interview with Dennis Bergkamp.

Both Arteta and Benayoun have played for big clubs before, the expectations not lost on the Spaniard,

With a club like Arsenal, you are going to be under pressure and you need to handle it and try your best. At every club I have been at, I have had pressure and this is not going to be different. But being under pressure is good because it means people expect something from you. The challenge here is to win trophies and at Everton I didn’t have the chance to do that. Hopefully we are going to have it here and we can make it.

It is this experience that will benefit the team. His medal haul may not be huge by comparison to some but Arteta knows how to handle pressure on the pitch, something which was sorely missing at the end of last season. Indeed, the duo and Per Mertesacker have some damage repair to do since the experienced pro’s were the ones who failed Arsenal so abysmally post-Wembley. Those now departed were amongst those who showed woeful leadership, not just in wearing an armband, but in providing younger players with an example of how to overcome disappointment.

Losing hurts, Wenger has been subjected to envious criticism by his peers, particularly Jose Mourinho who is utterly unable to comprehend how the Frenchman is still employed. Perhaps Lillo has the answer, “Someone who sells results, sells smoke” (the Spanish equivalent of being a charlatan – no, not a member of the outstanding popular beat combo, a, well you know what I meant). In other words, without the method of getting there, to merely be concerned of results is to use smoke and mirrors when talking of football.

Looking back would have given Wenger his needs in terms of character for the future. Both Arteta and Benayoun spoke of the quality in the squad,

I want to improve my understanding with the team because but I think there’s plenty of quality in this team so we’ll quickly understand each other and be better.

It is this which needs to happen but will take time. In the interim, Arsenal will be quite happy to grind out results. Returning players such as Gervinho and Song will bring about a settled look to the core of the side, aiding the understanding. When Wilshere and Vermaelen are truly recovered, the starting XI will take shape at its heart, the peripheries will underline the strength in depth which is there.

Until that happens, let’s sell more smoke…

’til Tomorrow.

Arsenal Fight For A Point In Dortmund

Borussia Dortmund 1 – 1 Arsenal

0 – 1 van Persie (42)
1 – 1 Perisic (88)

Arsenal’s Champions League campaign was denied the perfect start with a late equaliser in the Ruhr Valley. It was a bits and pieces performance by the visitors; bits of it were outstanding whilst occasionally they went to pieces, particularly early on as they took time to settle. It was entirely in keeping with the way that the season has gone so far.

The sign of a good side is the ability to grind out results from performances when you are under par. This Arsenal XI is still missing key players and is learning together, understandings and partnerships being built. It showed early on with the defence breached on several occasions in the opening twenty minutes.

Whereas Mertesacker and Koscielny improved as the night wore on, Gibbs is still awkward in his defensive duties, like a number of his colleagues further up the pitch surrendering possession too cheaply. With Andre Santos presumably returning to something close to match fitness, Gibbs will need to perform consistently well otherwise his starting place is under question, if it is not already.

Bacary Sagna though has vast experience in the Champions League for Arsenal, and along with Szczesny, was consistently outstanding throughout the evening. When the young Pole was beaten, Dortmund found Sagna in their way as Gotze found early on with the French defender clearing off the line. It was the third or fourth chance that the hosts spurned in the opening quarter of the match, profligacy that would cost them dear.

There was little wonder that Arsenal tried to sign Gotze during the last transfer window, such is the Dortmund playing style he would have slotted into the Arsenal midfield almost seamlessly. Watching the Germans must be like seeing Arsenal in full flow in seasons past, such was their comfort and ease with moving the ball around. They had done their homework and Arsenal’s defensive line was highlighted as a weakness, time and again the ball over the top exposed the back four.

Crucially they pressed collectively to win the ball back. Arsenal cannot do this at the moment for whatever reason, be it organisational, personnel or commitment problems. If they are to ram home their technical advantage over teams, they need to put this into their tactical plan. With a high defensive line, this is the element that is missing from them controlling matches.

For their deficiencies, Arsenal’s back four make up with tenacity of tackle and covering play. There was substance to their covering work, tenacity in defending the lead established with the first half nearly over. The equaliser, or the timing of it, was a blow. Was it cruel? No, Dortmund deserved something from the match and ultimately it came, although as Andre Santos said afterwards, Perisic will not hit the ball as sweetly again.

There had been warnings with Szczesny is great form. The young Pole made it abundantly clear that he owned the night beforehand, proving that his confidence has not been shattered by the eight goals conceded at Old Trafford. Had that been as a result of his poor performance, I doubt he would be so bullish. Thankfully, he remains belligerent when faced with determined opponents. Last night he proved once more that his potential is being realised as games pass.

For all of their pressure, Dortmund fell to a classic sucker punch. Earlier Benayoun had given Robin van Persie an opening, the Dutchman’s shot turned away. Ten minutes later, van Persie picked up the ball following sloppy defensive play, combined with Walcott and buried his chance. At this level, a forward might get one or two chances in a match; the Arsenal captain has the form and confidence to take at least one of them.

It was one of the few things that Theo Walcott got right last night. His form is wavering at the moment and he badly needs a run of good games to bring back self-belief. Like Gervinho, too often he was forced into dead ends or hustled out of possession by packs of Dortmund hunters. Like a rabbit in the headlights, the ball was surrendered with no fight.

Retention of the ball in these matches is crucial; it blocks momentum from the home side and gives time for a defence under pressure, to regroup. Arsenal will recover that skill when confidence returns. Last night ought to bring some of that back; the point was well-earned, endeavour and luck combining to bring a favourable outcome.

In the second half, Arsenal held their own. They ceded the ball quickly but for all of the Dortmund possession, few clear openings were created. A lot of the credit for that goes to Song and Koscielny. The midfielder held his position more in defending the lead, more discipline in his defensive duties. The timing of his tackles was excellent, particularly for someone who intercepts the ball so readily.

The performances of the new players, Mertesacker aside, were subdued, not in an overpowered way but more understated. Arteta had to be to a certain extent with hard work required in support of Song and providing a defensive barrier. Benayoun flitted in and out of the game, needing to get more involved.

Is 4-3-3 the correct formation for these away games? Wenger stubbornly refuses to change tactics to suit the opposition but when visiting the German champions, perhaps a more defensively minded midfield might be a better choice.

It was a brave choice to go with an adventurous line-up. In hindsight, the result backs up the choice, the performance, well that is debatable. However, at the moment it is results that count more with the poor sequence of results still not entirely behind the squad. This win will help.

And more importantly, the point at the toughest opponent in the group is more than welcome. ‘til Tomorrow.

Borussia Dortmund Preview: Let’s Get This Show On The Road

Arsenal travel to Dortmund for what is on paper at least, the toughest of the three away fixtures. The Bundesliga champions showed impressive form at home last season, with a particularly miserly defence. Arsène believes that to qualify Arsenal need to take 3 – 5 points on their travels. Taking maximum points this evening will require an improvement in their attacking fortunes, especially as the defence is still in it’s ‘getting to know you’ phase.

It is hard to see Arsenal keeping a clean sheet tonight which leaves Wenger on the horns of a dilemma, whether to shore up the midfield with two essentially defensive players or to put out an in-form attacking line-up. He has identified the dangers of the Dortmund midfield, particularly Gotze and Kagawa, which suggests that a pairing of Song and Frimpong cannot be ruled out. That became more likely with Rosicky and Ramsey both failing to travel to Germany.

His two-match ban makes it crucial for Wenger to get the selection right beforehand. Pat Rice might well be briefed – and give the manager an escape route of being able to “blame someone else” if things go wrong as he jokingly pointed out yesterday – but he will not want to be making substitutions early in the game because the system is not working or the XI is outnumbered and outmaneuvered in midfield. Caution is going to be the name of the game.

To win this group, Arsenal will need to be at their counter-attacking best. Previous experience shows that fifteen out of eighteen points is required to finish first and get a relatively favourable draw in the first knockout phase. Recent seasons have shown how difficult that can be with four points gained on the road since 2005-06, the norm. Last season was worse, only the trip to Belgrade brought any reward and the consequence was a limited and difficult pool of opponents. Wenger will want to avoid a repeat of that scenario.

The last time Arsenal visited Dortmund, Tomas Rosicky scored to give the Germans the win that took them to the top of the group. Jens Lehmann was barely troubled after Thierry Henry gave Arsenal the lead. Arsenal were in a run of four 1 – 2 reverses, including the previous Champions League group encounter at home to Auxerre. It was also a season where distinguished by a dubious blue away kit although Gilberto Silva did set the record for the quickest goal in the tournament in the opening group match in Eindhoven. How welcome a repeat of that 4-1 victory would be, not just for the European campaign but also domestically.

If it were to happen though, even as a result of a blistering performance, the media would be entirely negative about it as that is the mindset of the club at the moment, Ivan Gazidis reportedly told the AST at the weekend. Chill winds are blowing through the UK at the moment, the legacy of Hurricane Katia. One is also about to blow through Europe according to the manager. His words will no doubt come back to haunt him as Arsenal are blamed for any economic slump, “It’s all Wenger’s fault, if he hadn’t mentioned it, this would not have happened“.

It is hard to see the current cartel in England changing as far as the TV rights are concerned, primarily because the rules of the Premier League are such that it would take a majority decision by the clubs to end the collective bargaining. Rather like turkeys voting for Christmas, it just won’t happen and that prevents a situation whereby the league becomes as financially uncompetitive as Spain. That the Premier League champions will come from a small pool of three or four teams does not mean that any gloating is necessary; that is as uncompetitive on the sporting front as Spain’s duopoly.

Back to this evening, my starting line-up would be:

Szczesny; Sagna, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Gibbs; Song, Arteta, Frimpong; Gervinho, van Persie, Arshavin

Most would include Theo in the starting XI, his pace a formidable weapon but simply, he is not in good form, Arshavin is. He and Gervinho have more subtlety about their play and enough speed to worry the German defence. Crucially, the Ivorian is more direct towards goal and Arsenal can ill-afford two wide men with inconsistent final passes. It is the Russian’s international and club form that wins the day for me. When Arshavin is in this mood and hinting at being in the goals, it is hard to drop him.

Enjoy the match wherever you are watching it. ’til Tomorrow.

Stan Is No Longer Silent. Was It Worth It & More

Stan has been great. He’s been consistent in his approach, very supportive. He’s encouraged us to do what’s necessary to improve the team. And that really helped us get some things done.

The words of Billy Devaney, St Louis Rams VP of football might easily have been spoken by Arsène. As Arsenal look forward to this week’s visit to Borussia Dortmund, the owner of the club has spoken to the media. Yes, Silent will no longer be the moniker applied to Stan Kroenke since he has uttered a paragraph on his ownership of the club. Did I say a paragraph? More of a sentence.

Since taking over the club earlier this year, Kroenke has made no attempt to speak to the support directly. His recent comments about Arsenal were part of a media conference about the NFL season but it begs the question, why the reticence to talk?

As it is, his utterings were platitudes,

There’s a risk of going backwards if you overreact and start throwing money around in an attempt to solve your problems. Unfortunately we saw that with the Rams several years ago. Signing a bunch of free agents wasn’t the answer. It set things back, and it took us a while to dig out of it. Our track record is out there for people to see. If we think there’s good value, we’ll spend

Indeed, perhaps the real question should be, why would Kroenke speak out?

Despite saying all of the right things, Alisher Usmanov is no more popular at the club than he was before. Much of the support he has is based on his platitudes that he will spend the money to allow Arsenal to compete. It is easy to talk but Usmanov would find it difficult to spend as much as he has hinted at, simply because of the FFP rules which come into force in coming seasons. The Uzbek knows this and knows that many choose to ignore the impact that the regulations will have, essentially stopping massive investment in clubs to buy trophies. Or seeking to make that course of action more difficult.

Kroenke’s philosophy is more of the same, no dynamic changes, simply keeping the wheels turning at the club. This summer may have seen more activity in the transfer market but the club will still post a healthy profit on the sale of players. With his ‘rival’ failing to make any inroads into the popular psyche, there is no pressure on him to unveil his plans. Possibly, he assumes, we have already guessed them.

It is a stick with which he is sporadically beaten. Rumours persist of discontent among senior staff, equally unaware of Kroenke’s vision. If that is the case then Ivan Gazidis is not doing his job properly; he ought to be pursuing the vision, ensuring that the plan is being adhered to.

The summer activity did not go as planned. Gazidis and Wenger’s words were not untrue, the club was busy. Unfortunately when both spoke, the inference was that it would be working to bring new players in. They did come. Eventually. Those deals, reading between the lines of what has been spoken since, were straightforward. The others which failed, were not. Even the deals for Gervinho and Campbell were protracted or not easy.

Add into the mix, the poor start to the season and there was a combustible air around the the club. It reflects on the manager on the pitch but if executives are involved in transfers, it reflects on the owner. Hiring and firing at that level will involve him.

Part of Kroenke’s problem stems from poor PR. The club rarely fares well in media terms, some of it avoidable, some not. However, lessons need to be learned for future transfer windows. Anyone expecting swift resolution next summer needs to prepare themselves for more of the same with Euro2012 taking place.

So to Dortmund. Ahead of the clash, Arsène spoke of the useful ‘intelligence’ that can be given by Per Mertesacker. This is the sternest test in the group and let’s not kid ourselves, people are waiting for Arsnal to fail. The club in crisis talk has not gone away, it will not do so either with the current darlings of the media casting all challengers to the wind. Were it United grinding out single goal victories over promoted sides, it would be a case of Champions not firing on all cylinders. The only thing that we can do is wait and see the tangible results from improvements.

As Wenger said at the weekend, confidence has not yet returned. The win over Swansea will no doubt improve that process but a win tomorrow? That would be significant.

’til Tomorrow

A Win Is A Win. Unless You Are Arsenal.

Arsenal 1 – 0 Swansea

1 – 0 Arshavin (40)

When is a Premier League win not a Premier League win? When Arsenal are the recipients of the three points. Unless it is achieved with sparkling passing, stunning finishing and a bragging swagger, there is no point. At least that is what you would believe if you took on board all of the back pages and some of the Arsenal support. Only an Arsenal win can lead to more questions than an 8 – 2 defeat.

Unrealistic expectations beforehand have led to criticism post-match. Swansea could – and perhaps should – have equalised at the end but to highlight that is to ignore chances that Arsenal spurned. If you seek the negatives, you will find them in any performance. And let’s be honest, it is much more financially rewarding copy if they are Arsenal negatives.

Arsenal recorded their first three points of the season, the squad emerging from the gloom of August into September’s autumnal sunshine. Andrey Arshavin capitalised on Lady Luck’s benevolent smile, bringing his international form to the Prmier League playground. There is an argument that her grin in the direction of North London is long overdue this season.

Three weeks ago, the absentees would have provided a formidable barrier. Post transfer window, the squad is improved with experience that minimises the impact. The directness of Gervinho’s running may be similar to Walcott’s, the inconsistency of the final pass the same but somehow the Ivorian carries more threat. For all of the positivity of his words beforehand, the young England international seemed beset by doubts. Confidence is in short supply, not just defensively.

And Walcott was not the only sub-par performer. Gibbs lack of match practice was evident, as much as unfamiliarity with some of his colleagues. Frimpong meanwhile, seemed inhibited by his red card against Liverpool. The balance between the enthusiasm of his previous performance and the conservatism of yesterday will come with experience. Equally, Aaron Ramsey was subdued. The impact of Old Trafford resting heavily on his shoulders. It was not that he played badly, simply well within himself.

And that, collectively, was the problem with the performance. There is much more to come but right now, it was good enough.

Mikel Arteta shone of the new boys, Per Mertesacker was solid enough but caught out a couple of times by the pace of the Premier League. This morning saw the criticism of him stoop to baffling levels, his abilities dismissed because no big clubs came in for him. The Spaniard’s passing provided “technical security” according to the manager and looks a promising basis for a partnership with Wilshere’s guile. That was something that Yossi Benayoun brought when he came on for Arshavin. Wenger will not have been disappointed in any of the debutants performances.

Winning will relieve these burdens and when that becomes the habit, the swagger will return. As it is, the spirit cannot be doubted. Off the back of such a heavy defeat, confidence was inevitably low. That will return – as the manager noted, more slowly than it was lost.

Ramsey spurned an early chance, Walcott unfortunate that a Welsh defender had the pace of the ball measured even if Worm did not. It was not all one way traffic, Swansea counter-attacked and exploited vulnerabilities. When they breached the Arsenal back four, Szczesny was there, a formidable barrier, equally reliant on good technique and wayward finishing. The Pole reportedly was outstanding against Germany in the week, carrying on his good form early on, his cockiness in executing a Cruyff turn counterbalanced by the flap at the end which nearly led to an equaliser.

Graham’s early effort spurred a reaction, van Persie setting up Frimpong. Arshavin took aim and blazed wide before Worm had a moment which, had he been an Arsenal goalkeeper, would have ended his career. His quick throw hit the defender’s heels, Arshavin coolly taking advantage from the tightest of angles.

The second half followed a similar pattern to the first. Arsenal probed, Swansea countered, neither side convincing in front of goal. Sinclair clipped the top of the bar for the visitors as the hosts retreated, content to defend their lead.  van Persie striking the post was probably the closest to an Arsenal goal, although Marouane Chamakh brought a good save from Worm near the end. Despite failing to score, the Moroccan’s cameo was encouraging, a sign perhaps that form is returning.

That and Gibbs failure to finish at the end meant that the margin of victory remained one goal. And, as my youngest son said this morning, “At least they won“. And that is all that matters.

’til Tomorrow.