Better From Arsenal But Do Injuries Threaten To Frostbite Budding Revival?

Match Review: Arsenal 2 Dortmund 0 - Premier League 26.11.14

Wednesday night saw the meeting of two teams struggling for domestic form. Dortmund are in the relegation zone in the Bundesliga and suffered a run of five straight defeats plus draws against the likes of newly promoted Paderborn. Meanwhile Arsenal have endured their worst start to a season since the eighties, having drawn five and lost three of twelve premier league games. But unlike Dortmund, Arsenal have been struggling in the Champions League too, having been beaten in Dortmund and struggled to an away win and home draw with Anderlecht. So, with Dortmund already through and almost certain to top the group, it was perhaps more important that Arsenal got the win and thankfully we did.

As is our luck at Arsenal, just as the injury crisis seemed to be abating, the weekend defeat to Man Utd yielded a raft of new problems. Szczesny missed out following the injury he sustained during United’s first goal, while Danny Welbeck has worryingly picked up a knee injury. But the biggest blow was delivered on Thursday as it was revealed that Jack Wilshere’s ankle injury, inflicted by a reckless tackle by Paddy McNair, had required surgery and he will be missing until February at the earliest. It’s a bitter blow for both Jack and the club, with the midfielder starting to hit some really good form and with Özil also out until the new year, we’re suddenly looking short on creative talent in midfield. I hate to say it, but the decision to pass on Cesc Fabregas is looking more and more like a glaring error.

Still, injuries bring opportunities for other players, as Emiliano Martinez, Yaya Sanogo and Santi Cazorla all came into the starting XI. Within seventy seconds, two of them had linked up to give Arsenal the lead. Sanogo held up the ball well from a throw in and laid the ball of to Cazorla. Cazorla then played a lovely reverse pass back to Sanogo, who finally put the threw the goalscoring monkey from his back, poking the ball under Weidenfeller. Not only was it exactly what we needed to settle, but it also will give Sanogo a much needed confidence boost, having waited so long for his first competitive goal. There were suggestions of offside, but it was tight and Sanogo got the bit of luck he deserved.

It was clear Dortmund were a shadow of the team that pulled our pants down in the away tie, but that was in part down to the excellent work rate and discipline we displayed. Kieran Gibbs in particular impressed, fulfilling his defensive duties magnificently and also driving forward with pace and purpose. Sanogo also got another good chance, but hesitated at the vital moment and it got away from him. At the other end, Dortmund struggled to create, but when they did Martinez produced an excellent save with his feet to deny Mkhitaryan. It was a pleasingly efficient first half performance, especially after the frustration of the weekend.

Dortmund gave a limited response at the beginning of the second half, showing a little more intent, but they were still off their famous electric pressing pace. They’re simply not as intense as they have been and Arsenal found it relatively easy to contain their lacklustre attacks. After we’d settled into the second half, we delivered the killing blow in spectacular fashion and knocked the stuffing out of the already struggling Dortmund side.

Alexis Sanchez has had a blistering start to the season despite the team’s struggles and while almost all of his team mates have been up and down, Alexis has been consistently brilliant. Not long after Chamberlain had hit the bar with a stunning half volley, Cazorla found Alexis on the left side of the box and from 25 yards, Alexis moved the ball onto his right foot and curled an absolute peach into the bottom corner. The Chilean now has 13 goals in 20 games and is proving to be more than worth his hefty transfer fee.

Surprisingly, Arsenal actually took care of the lead at 2-0, sitting back in a structured 4-2-3-1 and committing minimal men forward. Despite that, we suffered a big blow as Mikel Arteta limped off with yet another calf injury. Reports seem to suggest he’ll miss quite a few games and we’re now looking seriously short in midfield, with only Flamini and Ramsey available as natural players for the centre mid position. Apart from that set back though, we saw out the game comfortably with Martinez only forced into one meaningful save.

It was a strangely routine win for us, having struggled so badly to find consistency and stability, but things really came together for us. What struck me was how disciplined we were, we never overcommitted, we just played things sensible. Our return to a 4-2-3-1 also seemed to help us, it gives us more short pass options and I think it really helps us keep possession. After the weekend’s loss, I suggested we might be in the midst of a crisis. It seems I was a little premature in my assertion, although this result does not mean everything’s rosy either. We’ve picked up some potentially very disruptive injuries and Dortmund didn’t do a huge amount to test our defence. But the result is potentially the sign of some green shoots and we now have to continue the recovery at West Brom on Saturday.

Teams

Arsenal (4-2-3-1)
Martinez, Chambers, Mertesacker, Monreal, Gibbs, Arteta (Y) (Flamini 67’), Ramsey, Alexis, Cazorla, Chamberlain (Campbell 90’), Sanogo (Podolski 79’)
Subs
Huddart, Bellerin, Rosicky, Podolski, Campbell, Flamini, Koscielny

Borussia Dortmund (4-4-2)
Weidenfeller, Piszczek (Y), Subotic (Y), Ginter, Schmelzer, Bender, Mkhitaryan, Großkreutz (Jojic 78’), Gündogan, Aubameyang (Ramos 61’), Immobile (Kagawa 61’)
Subs
Hornschuh, Kehl, Kagawa, Jojic, Ramos, Langerak, Durm

Player Ratings

Martinez - 7/10 - Made a couple of really important saves and earned his clean sheet
Chambers - 7/10 - A really solid performance from the youngster
Mertesacker - 7/10 - A much more sensible and disciplined showing
Monreal - 8/10 - Had a brilliant game, was the stand out centre back
Gibbs - 8/10 - A really top performance, bouncing back from his own goal against United
Arteta - 8/10 - Had an exceptional game before being struck with injury
Ramsey - 7/10 - A much better performance, didn’t over complicate things
Alexis - 8/10 - Scored a stunner and gave some Dortmund defenders nightmares
Cazorla - 7/10 - Finally found a good performance after a mediocre season so far
Chamberlain - 8/10 - Offensively sensational as usual, but less defensive lapses
Sanogo - 7/10 - Showed why Wenger has persisted, held up play and scored the opener
Subs
Flamini - 6/10 - Didn’t have much cause to get involved in the game
Podolski - N/A
Campbell - N/A

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