Robin’s Batman To Theo’s Robin

The fixtures are coming thick and fast at the moment although a lull looms with the international break kicking in after the visit of West Brom to The Emirates. It is a headache for Arsène when those encounters will not include a Carling Cup tie, a match where he will automatically rest most, if not all, of the starting line-up from the previous Saturday. Arsenal have traditionally always played on a Tuesday for their midweek fixtures so the scenario is not new or unusual.

For the manager, the question is complicated by one of the more injury-prone players in the past displaying talismanic properties at the moment. van Persie’s absence in previous seasons is made more galling by the form shown now. The term ‘world class‘ is attached to any Johnny Come Lately in this media-defined era; van Persie has hardly burst onto the scene, more of a slow burner.

Like others before him, the Dutchman typifies Arsène’s reputation for buying cheaply and enhancing a player’s value. van Persie’s cost now must surely be a ten-fold increase on his £3m price tag six years ago. To think that he joined Arsenal six months later than originally intended because the club had a cashflow shortage due to the new stadium project.

That price tag was fuelled by ill-discipline, something he has worked hard on at the club latterly successful in this area. The stunning ignorance of those who inhabit the internet was highlighted with claims of a ‘Nazi salute’ at the weekend.

Any semblance of knowledge about the Dutchman’s personal life would have rendered the idea too contradictory to be believed; such is the desire of some to find scandal in any situation, this gained traction to the extent that the player had to issue a denial via his Twitter account. It is the negatives of this information age, where malicious lies and truths told with evil intent permeate via the electronic garden fence.

van Persie is still the subject of speculation over his future, you suspect that as he enters the peak years of his career such tribulations over his future will always continue. Like many, I take the view that even without the pressures that currently beset the club, van Persie should just be paid what he wants. More than his predecessors, I do believe he wants statements of intent from the club. The former captain wanted a flight home whilst his midfield compadre just wanted a bigger salary. No signings could change their minds. The Dutchman you feel – rightly or wrongly – is content at Arsenal, driven  by a winning mentality.

The perception of Arsenal as football club will do nothing to relieve these pressures, especially with Arsène joining those of us who doubt that Uefa’s FFP regulations have either the substance or substantial backing, to make them succeed. There are simply too many get out clauses and as Wenger pointed out, if Sion a small albeit wealthy, Swiss club has the will to fight the governing body through the courts, their bigger cousins will have no compunction in taking the same route.

All of this on a weekend when the soaring emotions of being an Arsenal fan came through. Such is the rollercoaster that at times you can be mistaken for an entrepreneurial Charon, refusing to take an empty boat back to the shores of the Acheron, filling it instead with the souls of disbelieving Arsenal fans ferrying them back to some semblance of belief.

Elsewhere, Theo Walcott is receiving some overdue praise. I have been critical of some performances and his shortcomings, Saturday proved that he has the talent and ability to overcome them. Having made Ashley Cole look distinctly ordinary, the expectations are there that Walcott will play that way every week. Unrealistic perhaps but he can play to some semblance of that level surely? That is not too great a level of expectation.

More than his actual performance, I was impressed by his intelligence. Stained by the ill-informed contempt of Chris Waddle, Theo cannot do right for doing wrong in some eyes. That is harsh; his goal showed an awareness that many never see, playing to the whistle whilst defenders stopped.

He wants to play centrally; it won’t happen in the foreseeable future at Arsenal and to some extent, performances such as the one at Stamford Bridge hold the key. Able to cut in from the wing, he can finish and create. Like van Persie some believe that he should not play centrally as the lead striker, feeding instead off a taller target man. Arsenal are not likely to play that way consistently and with his strength being pace, a wide position seems his immediate future.

As for Gervinho, well, Big Al did as much a job of making his Superman as anyone.

’til Tomorrow.

Chelsea Bark Loudly, Arsenal Bite Decisively

Chelsea 3 – 5 Arsenal

1 – 0 Lampard (14)
1 – 1 van Persie (36)
2 – 1 Terry (45)
2 – 2 Santos (48)
2 – 3 Walcott (55)
3 – 3 Mata (80)
3 – 4 van Persie (85)
3 – 5 van Persie (90)

As if being drawn to the surface by a corkscrew, the season is twisting out of the bottle to unleash its vintage. The encounters between the Great and the Good are producing an exhilarating mix of superb counter-attacking with equally poor defending. All it missed was a red card and Szczesny tried his damndest to fulfil that part of the deal, Koscielny’s form putting enough doubt in the referee’s mind. A close call, one that went Arsenal’s way for a change.

Yesterday provided no respite from this heady cocktail and so long as Arsenal emerge victorious, I don’t want it to stop.

It was an astonishing victory, quite astonishing for so many reasons. Not that it makes the win any more or less emotionally satisfying, just the fact that it was on so many levels, a delicious serving of revenge. It does not wipe the pain of Old Trafford but it helps. It does not erase the memory of Cardiff, Wembley or any number of Premier League defeats where Didier Drogba has bullied, swatted and utterly mastered an Arsenal defence. But it helps.

And until the return meeting in April, it is the result that will stay longest in the mind between the two sides.

Those of us of a certain ‘maturity’ well remember what dour and ugly affairs these matches were in the 70s and 80s. Stamford Bridge and its surrounds were inhospitable, the pitches no better with sand dunes where grass once laid. It is a far cry from the Premier League era. Indeed this match is a distant cousin to many encounters through the years with an openess rarely seen from Chelsea allowing Arsenal to express their intentions to put the recent past behind them.

The opening minutes gave clear indication of the spirit in which this match was being played. Chelsea had opportunities; Cole, Sturridge and Torres were denied by a combination of poor choices, bad finishing and outstanding defending, Per Mertesacker blocking the Spaniard’s attacking run with an outstanding header. At the other end, Gervinho missed the opportunity of the match so far by missing the target with the goal gaping; van Persie was no more accurate moments later.

The cup-tie spirit continued unabated and by the quarter hour mark, the threatened goal had materialised. That Chelsea scored provided a bitter but not entirely surprising moment. Santos was struggling to adapt to the ferocity of the attacking and Mata sprang another surprise on the Brazilian by crossing early, Lampard had found space and subsequently the net. 1 – 0 to the hosts and uncomfortable parallels were drawn with previous visits to the scene of the crime.

Early punches traded, the sides probed and ceded possession too readily to create a threat of note although Sturridge was guilty of another miss, not as glaring as before perhaps. It proved costly as van Persie turned home a fantastic equaliser. Aaron Ramsey found Gervinho and the Ivorian had timed his run to perfection, tearing the Chelsea defence asunder; van Persie followed and the Ivorian served notice that he intends to create more than 15 of  van Persie’s next Arsenal century.

Parity was almost short-lived with Sturridge’s effort rightly ruled out for offside. Relief did not last long as perma-victim John Terry gave Chelsea the lead with a scruffy but almost typically conceded goal on the stroke of half-time. There is a joke in there somewhere about the Arsenal defence being an accident blackspot…

The lead gave the hosts a glimmer of three points. It was the closest they were to come to that total; within ten minutes of the restart they were chasing the game. Andre Santos is having his weight questioned but having been given a bit of a torrid introduction, he settled and crashed home the equaliser as the Chelsea defence went AWOL. It got worse for The Blues when Theo Walcott showed some good old John Bull qualities, strength, bundling his way through the midfield and then the presence of mind to pick himself up when fouled, instead of emulating the slack-jaw mental aptitude of the hosts, he slotted past Cech to give Arsenal a lead for the first time.

Chelsea probed but fumbled like a teenager on a first date, for the next twenty five minutes. They knew where they wanted to be but lacked the guile to unlock the defence. When they did equalise, foul play was afoot with Lukaku interfering. It is harsh to pay much attention to this, Mata’s finish was simply outstanding.

That proved irrelevant. As Chelsea pushed forward, they left gaps which were ruthlessly exposed by Arsenal, Robin van Persie completing a hat-trick with two late counter-strikes. john Terry’s slip made it clear that this afternoon at least, the status of top dog would be returning north of the River. Who cares how the winning goals come in the build-up, the Dutchman’s finishes were indisputable.

van Persie is garnering the headlines and why not, a hat-trick at a close rival is nothing to be sniffed at. Yet I feel more compelled by the performance of others. Chief of which is Theo Walcott. I freely admit that Walcott infuriates, talented beyond the ability of many and today was one of the better in an Arsenal shirt, humiliating Ashley Cole with a maturity in his attacking display that belies his years.

Defensively, Laurent Koscielny is being inspired by the prospect of competition from Thomas Vermaelen for a place in the centre of defence. The Frenchman controlled Torres, subdued his threat and with Mertesacker just marshalled the Chelsea attack into less threatening positions. When they did pursue the route to the back of the net, formidable barriers were put in their way.

Paolo di Canio is far from being anyone’s cup of tea but he recently said of his Swindon players,

With some players, if he has a chihuahua character I can’t make a chihuahua into a rottweiler. He could be a proud chihuahua but he remains a chihuahua. So many of the players at the moment are chihuahuas away from home

Arsenal found yesterday that they don’t have any chihuahua’s.

’til Tomorrow.

Chelsea Preview & Curbing The Media Yobs Will Be A Start

Arsenal travel to Stamford Bridge this lunchtime for a test of their credentials. Quite what they are is unclear, mixed messages coming from the interpretations of Arsène’s Churchillian AGM speech and other ramblings from directors. Len Shackleton is still right after all these years. According to the masses, the club has a target of a top four finish. The manager disagreed at his pre-match press conference, questioning those who would ‘write off the title after nine matches’. His claimed intention was to stress that, at the moment, we are out of contention.

Whether we will get back into contention depends as much on days such as today as it does in winning our other matches. This season, you suspect that the winner of the top six mini-league may well emerge at the top of the pile. The media favourites change every minute. United have played three of their five at home already, switching emphasis to their away form. Arsenal have only played one, such is the disparity in the fixture list.

Crucially much of the recent revival has taken place in home games. The win in Marseille was the only success away from The Emirates; today will test the depth of the revival. For once there are relatively few injury worries. It seems that the partnership of Laurent Koscielny and Per Mertesacker will not be broken up just yet, this match too soon for Thomas Vermaelen according to the manager. The player disagreed earlier in the week when he proclaimed after the Stoke match that he was impervious to pain and loss of form so he could play straight away following injury.

One man not coming back tomorrow is Abou Diaby. This list is just simply astonishing. His absence ought to give the midfield a settled look with Arteta, Song and Ramsey remaining in place. There is a case for bringing in Coquelin or Frimpong but for me, it is too big a game. That formation might give the midfield a compact look, defensively better to cope with the wider players of Chelsea, all of whom seem to like to drift inside. I just cannot see that happening.

The only other choice is whether Arshavin plays instead of Walcott. My own feeling is that the youngster will give Ashley Cole more to think about, offers a quicker escape route over the top of a Chelsea defence that is displaying a certain naivety when faced with pacey forwards. That and Robin van Persie has made no bones about the fact that Walcott is a good strike partner, creating 15 of the Dutchman’s century of goals. Not bad for someone who apparently does not lift his head when running with the ball.

The team I expect Wenger to go with is:

Szczesny; Djourou, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Santos; Ramsey, Song, Arteta; Walcott, van Persie, Gervinho

Matters were spiced up nicely with Bruce Buck’s frustration at not being able to get his paymaster’s own way over buying Stamford Bridge back from the fans, manifested itself in claiming that it was now time for the heathen hordes to unite and ‘beat the crap’ out of Arsenal. With leadership like this, it is little wonder that the players have the morals of an alley cat.

It was a marked contrast to Wenger‘s own words, an oration that called on the media and society to eradicate intolerance, prejudice and outright racism,

I have worked for 15 years in England and I have been abused how many times? And that doesn’t shock anybody. And the media has a part to play as well. It is not only about racism – any abuse is wrong. Nothing is done [about some forms of abuse]. I would like to see people sitting on the [bench] for one day and hear what people chant. And you know it’s completely wrong – it’s the same as racism.

You have to punish people and you will see if the rest will do it again. This is an important subject, racism, but it’s not the only one. Any kind of violence, or abuse, you have to fight against.

Expecting the media to help is naive since they thrive on the controvesy; no news is good news, bad news is even better. And they feed the atmosphere as well, ably assisted by the crass comments of Buck and his ilk. The deterioration in journalistic standards is often lamented and it, the incitment, does not apply across the board. Unfortunately, the populist papers are the ones who sell the most copy, a vicious circle continues.

The atmosphere in the stadia may have improved in terms of the pall of violence but abusive behaviour? I don’t see any lessening just different types. Will that change? All-seater stadia sanitised football but did not eradicate the verbal aggression. There’s a thin line between abuse and trying to wind up an opposition player or taunting their fans. It is crossed on a regular basis and dealt with very rarely. Football is a microcosm of society and behaviour in its broadest sense does not change in a football ground from outside, it is an outlet. In that sense, Wenger is right to highlight the issue. And from small efforts can bigger things change.

But I don’t hold out much hope of any tangible gains being made soon.

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

One Of Us Speaks: It’s The Wide, Wide World Of Gervinho

“And if I just would like to achieve one thing today it is: trust us, this team has qualities, this team will fight. And if you help us to do that I think we will have a successful season” – Arsène Wenger at yesterday’s AGM.

Late in the game against Stoke, Gervinho carried the ball deep into their half on the right. 3-1 up with no need to hurry the play, he slowed to walking pace before stopping. Stoke had closed down this area all match. This time, one of the interchangeable members of Stoke’s backline – I don’t know or care which – kept his distance and loitered.

Anthropologists contend this is an overt display of submission in Stoke, one step before curling into a ball. Because by then those boys had learned their lesson; Gervinho had subjected them to abject humiliation all afternoon.

He’s done it quite a few times this season, finding room in impossibly tight positions on the byline; the crucial first goal away in Udinese, the numerous wasted opportunities against Blackburn and Newcastle. Here we have a player who shines when teams like Stoke usher us into those high, wide positions, where they think they want us.

Whereas Nasri would turn back or look for a pass inside, Gervinho takes people on and very often works himself free. If he can develop his relationship with his teammates, anticipate their movement in the box then the weakest aspect of our attacking game may emerge as one of the strongest.

He doesn’t appear to have a great deal of finesse but he’s more slippery than a brylcreemed eel. He’s not the kind of player we’re accustomed to but he’s just what the 4-3-3 needed. And you won’t know you’re in trouble until he gets you one-on-one at the outer limits of the pitch, dragging you into his crazy world.

His opener last weekend summed up the other way he’ll help the side. He makes razor-sharp runs off the ball, all the more dangerous thanks to his ferocious pace over the first few yards. Seconds into his first match in an Arsenal shirt he got on the end of a Wilshere through pass and clip it over FC Köln’s keeper. This is going to make our midfielders’ lives easier, as they in turn start to spot Gervinho’s runs. Ramsey and Song have already done so this season with self-belief regained.

After the game Pulis laid into his defence (without using his fists this time), admonishing them for letting us “in behind” for all three goals. We certainly didn’t manage it many times at home against them last season, creating little more than a set-piece goal but on Sunday Gervinho did it for fun, both on and off the ball.

Gervinho is someone who can create danger from apparently innocuous situations, something that can’t really be said for Theo Walcott. It’s often the way for our first-team – if you’re not at your best and there’s an exciting young English player vying for your position you best get ready for trouble.

Let’s look at that competition. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain will be a fixture in our first team. It might be this season but I don’t think he’s been given any more or fewer opportunities than his performances have warranted. What we’re talking about are good showings against giants such as Iceland, Azerbaijan and Israel U-21s and a blistering second half at home to Shrewsbury.

All being well, he should be shining in these games but they won’t tell us too much about how he’ll fare in the Premier League. Arsène Wenger thinks he isn’t quite ready and that’s good enough for me. All I can add to that is when I see him taking on League 2 players and junior internationals with his head down, I stroke my beard and think, “You wouldn’t get away with that in the Premiership, sunshine.” Don’t ask me why I say “sunshine”.

Theo looks like he needs something to go his way. My clumsy theory is that he’s a player who performs best when the team is purring. To me, his best talents are his supernatural pace over longer distances, finishing and the timing of his diagonal runs from wide. For these skills to pose a threat he’s pretty much dependent on the group which, though improving, hasn’t quite reached the highs of previous seasons. Sometimes you wonder what his teammates expect of him – I mean, what’s he supposed to do when he gets the ball to feet, double marked, by the touch-line?

But, at the very least, his presence in the team and the threat that he carries should he find room inside, affords space in other areas of the pitch and discourages his counterparts from getting forward. Specious reasoning perhaps but I doubt many left-sided players are instructed to overlap when Theo is in town. He’s also a more rugged customer than any of his competition at Arsenal, tracking back and tackling with ever-increasing diligence.

I think we all know why he tends to hug the touch-line – he’ll naturally take a couple of opposition players with him if he’s there, which is good news for a team that’s predisposed to playing through the middle. On an individual level, Theo might enjoy a little more success against packed defences by occasionally stepping infield, attempting central runs from a little deeper.

This might be a simplistic view but it could be that the very tactics employed against us to nullify Theo’s talents, are the ones that play into the hands of our Ivorian. If the defenders tuck in and force the play wide then they’re playing Gervinho’s game, baby. And who knows, when Premier League defences realise what they’re up against with him and take precautions, it might be Theo’s time to shine once more.

’til Tomorrow.

Transparency Or Board Stupid?

Thomas Vermaelen declared himself fit to face Chelsea following his substitution on Tuesday night, creating  a nice defensive headache for Le Boss ahead of the weekend. Vermaelen would probably have deemed himself fit even if his leg were hanging by a thread, so sick he must be of seeing the Arsenal Medical Team on a daily basis. No matter how nice and fluffy the facilities are, the Belgian has made it clear, he is playing. None of the namby-pamby getting match fitness for him.

The other kind of not-so-nice headache looms in the shape of today’s AGM. I wonder if Stan Kroenke has declared himself fit for today or is it a case of making do with the ersatz Ivan Gazidis? Is Arsène going to take the stand, plead Mea Culpa and offer him up as a sacrificial lamb? That’s what you might be expecting if the online world is anything to go by.

It is a sign of how much football has changed that the AGM is considered newsworthy. Years ago it would not have merited a mention; not so now. The Times is typical of it all, “Arsenal board braced for wrath of fans“. Still, it’s better than John Cross‘ effort on MirrorFootball’s website which was just dross. Even with a heavily choreographed Q&A Session where triviality is encouraged, I hope the questions are better than those posed by the aforementioned gentleman.

Of those dozen Cross questions, five or more will answered by events (Kroenke speaking) or by reading the recent interviews by Jeremy Wilson. We know for example, that he had a facility with Deutsche Bank that enabled the bid to succeed, why he invested and why he won’t be pumping money into the club just by reading those articles. As for the rationale behind ticket price rises, that has been carried by the club and media websites. Cross himself even wrote on the subject.

One thing I find puzzling is the building obsession with fees paid by the club for KSE’s takeover. It is baffling that anyone thinks the club had nothing to do whilst Stan’s Sporting Empire expanded? Given the club issued documents that contained legally binding information, was this expected to be provided for free. Probably. Perhaps the board should have surfed the web in their lunchtimes to find out what was happening?

There are some relevant points in both articles, notably corporate governance and transparency, along with individual broadcast rights. I would suggest that anyone talking on the latter avoid mention of Bevan’s recent intemperate outburst, discredited by his inability to provide any substantive evidence. When Dave Richards ridicules a notion, you know how daft it has to have been.

The Carling Cup ties this season have highlighted the broadcast rights issues. Clubs need to investigate the avenue of streaming the matches themselves. They are losing out with overseas streaming and I am sure most who use the illicit sites would pay for a high quality version on the official website. With television coverage not impacted, there has to be options surely?

I do think Arsenal is missing a trick by not having its own television channel, a proper one not the internet version we have. There is some value in promoting the brand worldwide via this medium, Real Madrid do so for free in this country. I am sure that if you tie it into the membership, a rise in the annual cost would probably be accepted. Or just give us something else to moan about?

Equally, there are corporate governance issues, notably around transfers which I would like to know more on. Specifics are not necessarily required but surely knowing how much the club pays agents is a good start. As for salaries, I am not convinced that we have any right to know what anyone earns. That ought to be for themselves and their bank manager to know.

The argument that we pay the wages holds no more water for Arsenal than it does when you buy a loaf of bread at Tesco. You don’t have the right to know the cashiers who serves you’s wages, why should you know what Thomas Vermaelen earns?

This is before you address the issue of commercial sensitivities surrounding a club protecting its asset, the player, when it comes to predatory advances from rival clubs. That scenario is somewhat undermined when their Mr20% has been leaking the information but that is a different problem.

Some of the governance issues can be resolved by Fifa. As an organisation now promoting itself as being transparent, there is a case for them publishing the definitive guide to transfer fees utilising data in their Transfer Matching System. A simple website puts forward all the detail; if there are concerns raised by the clubs about this weakening their bargaining hand in transfers, make the information available outside of a transfer window.

All of this before commercial deals have been considered. We may know more come the end of today. In fact we will but whether it is deemed enough is an altogether different matter.

I hope that above all else, the meeting is conducted with respect on both sides. Flannel and evasion answers from the board will only irk; observations about players being old might be relevant but not if couched in derogatory terms.

There is a feeling of goodwill building with the current run. Let’s see if it still there by the end of today.

’til Tomorrow.

Park Rides To Arsenal’s Rescue

Carling Cup 4th Round
Arsenal 2 – 1 Bolton Wanderers

0 – 1 Muamba (47)
1 – 1 Arshavin (53)
2 – 1 Park (56)

Two quick-fire goals took Arsenal into the Carling Cup quarter-finals in front of more people than the combined total of the night’s three other ties. It is Arsenal, it must be a crisis if only 56,628 supporters turn up. Never mind that this 93% of The Emirates capacity.

It is a side issue, one that distracts from the win, Arsenal’s eighth in nine games. That, irrespective of the spread throughout different tournaments, is light years away from the received wisdom that Arsenal is a club in trouble. The implosion at the end of last season continued as a poor start to this, was quick to form opinions. Tiresomely, the current run is not as quick to change them.

It is, of course, not as long a run as the downward trend but when does it obtain the necessary stature to reveal that negative spiral is over? Defeat at the weekend against Chelsea is no indicator that there is a poor run still continuing although I have no doubt that it will be perceived as such.

But that is to get ahead of ourselves. Last night is much more of a happier affair to talk of.

During the build-up to this encounter, Arsène proclaimed he had always taken this competition seriously. Nine consecutive quarter-finals offer support to the theory; to question can be perceived as churlish and an opinion saved for another day. As it is, Saturday’s draw will include Arsenal’s name and at the end of the day this is all that matters.

My perception of the match is tainted by my low opinion of Radio 5Live’s commentary team. Oh for the authoratative tones of Peter Jones and Bryon Butler. Google them if you are not old enough to remember. In this era of the cult of personality, the old school of commentating is woefully forgotten.

The first half was even, Bolton fielded a stronger than expected side but Arsenal’s was not the callow XI that is perceived. Park had the opportunity to prove the voluminous criticism of his purchase wrong, finding the linesman’s flag quashing his progress on a number of occasions.

Oxlade-Chamberlain had an early opportunity to enhance his already burgeoning reputation, he did not take it. The chance in front of goal, he is seizing his opportunities at Arsenal which is good to see and of concern in some respects, the weight of expectation must be realistic, not resting heavy on his shoulders. His learning curve is sharp, lessons in final delivery to be learned.

Bolton’s soporific start to proceedings ended when Pratley tested Fabianski in the Arsenal goal. Kakuta subsequently made sure that the hosts knew they were in a contest before Benayoun and Park reminded the visitors that Arsenal were well aware of this.

The second half had barely started when another bite was taken from the hand that used to feed. Patrice Muamba, like Sebastian Larsson before, scored against Arsenal two minutes after the restart, robbing possession before linking with Klasnic to find the roof of the net with a fierce shot.

Any joy or hope for the visitors was short-lived; within ten minutes their lead would be a deficit. Arshavin equalised, seizing the opportunity to run at the Bolton defence as they retreated, his shot finding the bottom corner. It may be an injustice to the Russian but it was a soft goal to concede in both the goalkeeping and central defensive work.

The Arsenal striker was not finished. As the Wanderers defence was forced backwards by his scurrying run, they left Park unattended. The Korean had already curtailed his run once when Arshavin released him on the left edge of the area. The finish was textbook, curled into the side of the net beyond the despairing dive of Bogdan.

The purchase of Park has not been justified, not on the basis of one performance. But the reasons for choosing him are more apparent than before and with Marouane Chamakh struggling for form, having a back-up striker who knows where the net is will do no harm.

Bolton pressed for an equaliser, they found Vermaelen in form and Fabianski proving his place in the squad is justified. Having suffered the misfortune of injury to lose his starting line-up spot, the Pole is seeking to ensure that the manager and team have confidence in him if needed. He pulled off some match-winning saves in the final quarter, a combination of ability and luck that any goalkeeper needs.

The result came at a price. It struck me as ambitious to expect Vermaelen to play the full ninety minutes before the match; his injury has unfortunately proven that to be the case. Wenger hopes that it is not serious, we must to.

It was pleasing for Wenger to be able to make eleven changes from the weekend’s starting line-up and end up with a positive result. The depth that he has in his squad is evident and enough for this competition, en masse. Individually, much of the promise is being slowly turned into reality and that can be no bad thing.

One final observation. Last night’s match was not transmitted anywhere in the UK on a TV. Is it beyond the wit of the Football League and Premier League to negotiate a contract that allows them to put out the games on clubs individual broadcast platforms when television is not showing them?

The quality of the ATVO stream suggests that it is a worthwhile experiment. If the FA, as short-sighted an organisation as you are ever likely to find, can manage to use the internet for an FA Cup tie and an England international and receive credit in the process, surely the clubs can do likewise?

’til Tomorrow.

 

Gervinho & van Persie’s Potent Mix. Oh, And Bolton.

Bolton arrive at The Emirates this evening for a Carling Cup tie that proves that Fifa and Uefa are not the only deliquents when it comes to the fixture list. The impact and influence of television is not limited to these shores; Uefa play Europa League matches on a Thursday because they destroyed their own perfectly brilliant competitions in a rapacious desire to chase revenues. Short term gain merely serves to stave off the inevitable breakaway by the clubs.

Quite why Arsenal must play tonight is beyond reason; little wonder managers have long used ‘alternate’ sides. Wenger has always been criticised for picking such teams and is a little revisionist in the judgement of his performance in the competition. I don’t for one minute doubt that he takes every match seriously but this is a competition that he freely admits to ranking fifth in a four horse race.

It is one that brings bad memories sharply into focus. The defeat at Wembley still rankles as much for on the field matters as it does for the way in which the a high proportion of the Arsenal end deserted the stadium so quickly at the final whistle. Wenger summed it up,

it will hurt me for ever because we never forget disappointments. “That’s part of life at a managerial level, you do not only have successes but disappointments, too.

It is good to know that the ‘managerial level‘ feels the pain as badly as support, despite the accusations to the contrary. Taking defeats to heart has been cited as a reason that the team takes defeats in crucial matches so badly. The end of The Invincibles run caused the team to stutter, an outcome magnified horribly at the end of the last season, one from which we are still recovering.

That was highlighted by Gervinho after the win over Stoke City on Sunday,

We have rediscovered our feeling for our game – the group is starting to gel and each of us are starting to understand our team-mates and find each other on the pitch.

You can have a bad day. That does not make you a bad team. We’ve gone through a bad moment and a team is like a player. Any player can have a bad game. It often happens.

A little too often in the past six to eight months. But the past is the past. Three consecutive wins has changed the mood and certainly more support for the team is becoming apparent. Such is the fickleness of the fan.

Gervinho has been impressive in his nascent Arsenal career. There is a directness to his game that poses more threat to the opposition; he is one of those players that makes you think something will happen. It is this gap that Theo Walcott has to bridge. At the moment, I feel something might happen when he has the ball, a sense of almost but not quite.

It will come, I am sure, and I found reports that the youngster wanted to talk about a new contract reassuring, a sign that the mood within the club is changing to the more positive. There are those who will argue that Walcott should be further ahead than he is but given he is a regular starter for club and country, he must be doing something right. Too often prejudices against a player blind the critic.

Back to Gervinho. He spoke almost gushingly about Robin van Persie and his contribution to the team. Key for me was the mental aspect,

He is good for us, psychologically. He’s among the most experienced players on the pitch and when he enters the game he puts the opposition’s defence under pressure and that helps our game.

He came on and scored two goals [against Stoke]. He’s formidable and the team needs him. You always have to have leaders in the group and he’s one of them, who drags the team forward.

He’s the captain and his role is to galvanise the group and he assumes the responsibility.

Recent Arsenal captains have not been the wisest choice by the manager, Henry and Fabregas both receiving the armband as a sop to keep them happy. That may have been the case with van Persie to some extent but you can see he is more vocal, a national characteristic. It seems that is being taken positively, long may it continue.

His vice-captain, Thomas Vermaelen, is being spoken of in terms of tonight’s team. Given he returned to training this week, it surely too soon to start although  it might be that he makes a twenty minute cameo. Wenger has central defensive options with Sebastian Squillaci returning, that allow him to rest Djourou, Mertesacker and Koscielny ahead of the Chelsea match.

The usual mix of youth and experience will be expected tonight and I suspect the line-up will be along the lines of:

Fabianski; Yennaris, Squillaci, Miquel, Meade; Coquelin, Frimpong, Rosicky; Chamberlain, Park, Benayoun

Park is being written off constantly. Wenger yesterday re-iterated his belief in the player and once more emphasised that his non-appearance so far is purely down to the player settling in. Henry and Pires, the manager noted, took months to settle. Hopefully the change in the atmosphere surrounding the club will help Park to come to terms with a new culture.

A goal or two this evening would be just what Le Professeur ordered.

Lastly, a guest post I have written is to appear on The Arsenal Collective this morning. Click on the link but also check the Memory Bank section for other views.

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