Crisis At The Emirates?

Match Review: Arsenal 1 Manchester United 2 - Premier League - 22.11.14

Often talk of a crisis and the sight of broken cannons in the newspapers can been laughed off and dismissed as media hyperbole. However, following a quite maddening home defeat to one of the worst United sides ever to visit London, I think a crisis might well be in full swing at our club. Having amassed just seventeen points from twelve games, we find ourselves out of the title race and already well off the pace in the fight for Champions League qualification.

We’ve been eliminated from the Capital One Cup and we’ve made a mess of getting through our Champions League group. Quite simply, our start to the season has been appalling and has seen the elation of the FA Cup victory turn to mass anger and discontent, to the point where Arsene Wenger’s position at the club is being questioned as seriously as it has ever been.

I’m afraid I’m also questioning Wenger as much as I’ve ever questioned him. The defeat against Swansea before the internationals included some defending that would have been received with incredulity in a pub game, let alone an important Premier League fixture. Despite that, Wenger named the same back line. Now, the back four was not completely responsible for the latest defeat, but Arsene’s dogged persistence with it, despite its painfully obvious weaknesses is quite infuriating. Having stated that Chambers is a centre back and that Bellerin is ‘ready’ for the first team, it makes no sense that the former is being played out of position and the latter isn’t being used. Wenger clearly does not believe that Bellerin is ready, which then begs the question, why was Jenkinson loaned out? The right back has not only enjoyed a very good season so far with West Ham, but he can provide cover at centre back. Even as a last resort, some of you might remember that Arsenal beat Real Madrid away in 2006 and in that game, Flamini played at full back. I know fan opinion of Flamini is not exactly at an all time high right now, but at full back he would have less scope to commit damaging errors and it would probably give us a bit more defensive stability. Chambers would be able to play in the middle and Monreal would not be subjected to weekly torture.

However, despite our defensive woes, we started the game brilliantly. We pressed with intensity, we attacked with pace and purpose and we had Man Utd’s inexperienced, make-shift defence looking very uneasy. We created numerous opportunities, but the one standout chance fell to Wilshere and he fluffed it. Sent through one on one, with Alexis available for a tap in, Jack shot weakly at De Gea when it seemed difficult to not score. It’s the sort of chance you simply cannot afford to miss in any game, never mind a high profile clash like this, but for all our possession and opportunities, we went in at half time level.

Of course, when Arsenal dominate a game, it is a sure fire sign that they’re going to do something stupid and make things difficult for themselves. As ever, we were caught on the break, Chamberlain failed to support Chambers, who allowed Young to cross. Fellaini pushed Gibbs into Szczesny causing an injury to the keeper and Valencia then dragged a shot, that was heading out for a throw, into Gibbs and the ball ricocheted into the net. You’ve got to appreciate the splendid farce of it all. A perfect mix of defensive cock ups, sprinkled with refereeing incompetence. The goal came after Paddy McNair had got away with an appalling challenge which saw Wilshere subbed through injury and Fellaini’s shithousery then saw Szczesny limp off to be replaced by Martinez.

Inevitably, we threw players forward immediately, despite there being a fair amount of time left in the game, plus a decent chunk of stoppage time due to injuries. As such, we hammered at the United defence, before getting caught on the break again, this time with Di Maria and Rooney ganging up on poor old Monreal. Di Maria gave the ball to Rooney and the horrible troll lifted it over Martinez to seal the United victory. The stands emptied and the away fans lapped up the smash and grab winner. United only had two shots on target in the game, only one of them produced a goal and they still managed to score two.

Despite that, there was still time for Olivier Giroud to score an absolute stinker, smashing a half volley into the top left hand corner, but it was all too late. United saw out the victory and the boos rained down from the stands. To be honest, although I don’t boo, I found it hard to disagree with those who were.

I am so tired of us being the also rans and the butt of the jokes - we don’t need to be - yet season after season we are. The FA Cup success and the advent of new commercial money was supposed to usher in a new era of competition at the club. Instead, despite signing the sensational Alexis Sanchez, we look a worse team. Our defence is weak and threadbare, players have been sold and loaned without replacements being signed and we are stuck that way until January. We needed a holding midfielder and nothing materialised. We signed a goalkeeper with an injury, who’s now out for the long term, we have three centre backs, one of whom has chronic tendonitis, another out of form and the last one a nineteen year old, who’s having to play right back. This sort of make do approach is simply not acceptable and the only person to blame is the manager. Couple that with the fact our tactical set up has yielded dull and unproductive football and you begin to wonder whether things need a serious shake up. The more this cycle of mediocrity continues, the more it feels like Arsenal is a stale club in need of an overhaul.

Teams

Arsenal (4-3-3)
Szczesny (Martinez 59’), Chambers, Mertesacker, Monreal, Gibbs, Arteta, Ramsey (Giroud 77’ (Y)), Wilshere (Cazorla 55’ (Y)), Chamberlain, Alexis, Welbeck
Subs
Martinez, Bellerin, Cazorla, Rosicky, Giroud, Flamini, Podolski

Man Utd (3-4-1-2)
De Gea, McNair, Smalling, Blackett, Valencia, Shaw (Young 16’ (Fletcher 89’)), Fellaini, Carrick, Di Maria, Rooney, Van Persie (Wilson 75’ (Y))
Subs
Lindergaard, Herrera, Young, Fletcher, Wilson, Januzaj, Mata

Player Ratings

Szczesny - 6/10 - Had nothing to do before he was taken out and we conceded
Chambers - 7/10 - Put in a good performance and was left exposed for their first
Mertesacker - 6/10 - Caught out hopelessly for their breakaway second
Monreal - 7/10 - I think he’s giving his absolute best, despite not being a centre back
Gibbs - 6/10 - Great going forward, solid defensively, but his positioning needs work
Arteta - 8/10 - Our best player for me, battled like a Spartan and held things together in midfield
Ramsey - 6/10 - An improved performance, but still not what he was last season
Wilshere - 6/10 - Looked busy and creative, but missed a crucial clear cut chance
Chamberlain - 6/10 - Very exciting going forward, but switched off defensively again
Alexis - 7/10 - Worked ridiculously hard for little reward
Welbeck - 6/10 - Tried too hard and the occasion seemed to cloud his judgement
Subs
Cazorla - 6/10 - Struggled to get involved and looks well out of form
Martinez - 6/10 - Couldn’t do much for the Rooney goal
Giroud - 7/10 - Scored an absolute scorcher and put himself about with purpose

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