Match reaction Vs West Brom

[milla]

I am furious with Wumger. Why did we push the best box midfield in the league to right wing? Jack on the wing is pointless. More importantly how come Arteta just walk back to CM? He was OK but if anyone deserve a start it would be Gnabry not Arteta. We desperately need pace on wide areas instead of adding it we slow down our centre of the park as well. Wumger :wwf:

On the brighter note, it is total meltdown at Glory glory

http://s21.postimg.org/bcezu3grr/06_10_2013_18_10_17.jpg

:haha:

[Letters]

:lol: We won a gabillion (uhuh) games in a row and you're furious about the first draw?

Poor performance but you're not going to win every single game. Bit lucky to get a point really but I'll take it.


Spurs :haha:

[Xhaka Can’t]

Poor performance by both us and the referee. I had a feeling we'd come a cropper. We have mailed in a plethora of performances like this over the months and somehow emerged with a win - not this time.

[AFC Leveller]

Wanted a in but a draw is fair i think and we are stil to of the league so good weekend overall.

as someone else said we cannot win every game and West brom are on a decent run so a drwa aint that bad.

Spurs though, :lol:

[milla]

:lol: We won a gabillion (uhuh) games in a row and you're furious about the first draw?

Poor performance but you're not going to win every single game. Bit lucky to get a point really but I'll take it.


Spurs :haha:

Of course I am pissed off, the man is on £7 million a year but his team selection stinks all over. Too many favourite bastard kids on the pitch, dirty ol' French voyeur. :coffee:

[McNamara That Ghost...]

It's tough to win two away games a row in the league but we hardly helped ourselves.

We're top of the league though so I'll withold too much criticism, even if we're there by virtue of a goal from Palace. :lol:

[Xhaka Can’t]

Milla, have a word with yourself.

Seriously.

[Ollie the Optimist]

Of course I am pissed off, the man is on £7 million a year but his team selection stinks all over. Too many favourite bastard kids on the pitch, dirty ol' French voyeur. :coffee:

who are these favourite bastard kids? the ones who have been instrumental in us winning the last ten games? first draw of the season. would have been a win had it not been for the wanker of a ref

[Power n Glory]

I won't blame Wenger for the team selection. Ozil and Ramsey tore Napoli apart midweek and Ramsey was playing down the right for that game but the movement of the team was lot more fluid and the passing was better.

Wilshere had a terrible game despite the goal and I'd say he played a huge factor in us conceding. West Brom just kept hitting us on the break every time he lost the ball and pushed us back to win a corner. Then the goal came and we just lost it a little.

Wilshere can't play on the flanks and just isn't smart enough to find space in the centre the same way Rosicky did midweek.

Giroud had some really silky moments but just lacks that class for half chances. We'll need to tweak the team and Wenger will need to avoid playing that same team again.

[Letters]

Of course I am pissed off, the man is on £7 million a year but his team selection stinks all over. Too many favourite bastard kids on the pitch, dirty ol' French voyeur. :coffee:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/tables

:coffee:

[Ollie the Optimist]

who would have thought after the villa game, that going into the october international break, we would be top of the league and have Mesut Ozil?

[Master Splinter]

Not necessarily a bad result, but the the team selection and approach from Wenger just felt off from the beginning.

A five-man midfield works in certain situations and with certain players and it definitely did not today. Wilshere being generally useless and Ramsey being off-colour obviously didn't help, but just having Gnabry or Rosicky to offer a turn of speed and directness could have made a big difference.

It was an even match (apart from another incompetent ref seemingly giving everything in West Brom's favour) on the whole and we didn't play too badly, but there's a sense of a missed opportunity to keep the winning momentum going. Wenger's late Bendtner for Giroud sub summed up his strangely unambitious mindset for the day.

Good performances from Szczesny and Giroud again, although Bif probably should have scored one.

I suppose a couple of maulings of our next two PL opponents would make up for today.

[Dennis Bendtner]

A draw was a fair result although we finished the stronger. Leaving the goal aside, I was surprised at the stick that Wilshere got in the match thread. He had a bad first half, but the referee seemed to allow West Brom to get the ball off him by any means. To use a Wengerism, like the team he grew stronger in the second half. Well apart from Jenkinson who was crap all day. But all said and done not a terrible result because they weren't at it like against Napoli.

[Transplanted Gooner]

Disappointed.
We've had the easiest opening schedule in forever. We took 7 wins from the corresponding fixtures last season. Despite having such an easy schedule, we've shipped too many goals against inferior opposition.

Jack had a stinker, masked by the goal.
Giroud looked to do everything right in buildup play, but failed when it came to the money.

[milla]

Milla, have a word with yourself.

Seriously.

Sorry, I don't seriously said Wenger has bastard kids, but his favouritism with his team selection is baffling.

Why did he shuffle Ramsey-Flamini-Ozil midfield trio? Ramsey is never my hero but he is currently the best box midfielder in the country with highest tackles and goals ratio but why he is suddenly on the wing? What have Arteta done to automatically deserved a starting place? Would it be better for the team to have one player who can take on the full backs instead of Arteta?

Bad team selection, the manager could have done better. :coffee:

[Özim]

Disappointed with the draw, winnable game but we were poor 1st half. Missed opportunity.

[Xhaka Can’t]

Sorry, I don't seriously said Wenger has bastard kids, but his favouritism with his team selection is baffling.

Why did he shuffle Ramsey-Flamini-Ozil midfield trio? Ramsey is never my hero but he is currently the best box midfielder in the country with highest tackles and goals ratio but why he is suddenly on the wing? What have Arteta done to automatically deserved a starting place? Would it be better for the team to have one player who can take on the full backs instead of Arteta?

Bad team selection, the manager could have done better. :coffee:

Fair enough.

[Dr Singh]

Pretty irate about our team selection. Didn't like it mid week either but I accept it would have been a risk starting Gnabry in a European game.

We had a winning formula, and now our manager has changed it. He shifted the best box to box midfielder in the league on the right wing.

Gnabry should have started, with Arteta on the bench. Just because he's fit doesn't mean he can walk straight back into the team.

Why waste the top playmaker in world football in a team with absolutely no pace to exploit?

I'm a big fan of Giroud's but he has two chances to us the match today and bottled them both. He's good but he hasn't convinced me he's title winning good.

[Özim]

Sorry, I don't seriously said Wenger has bastard kids, but his favouritism with his team selection is baffling.

Why did he shuffle Ramsey-Flamini-Ozil midfield trio? Ramsey is never my hero but he is currently the best box midfielder in the country with highest tackles and goals ratio but why he is suddenly on the wing? What have Arteta done to automatically deserved a starting place? Would it be better for the team to have one player who can take on the full backs instead of Arteta?

Bad team selection, the manager could have done better. :coffee:

He looks like a vampire?

[Ollie the Optimist]

west brom finished 8th last year. they beat united at old trafford last week. they are a decent side. should have won, we would have won if the ref hadnt been an arse and denied us two stonewall penalties or just let west brom kick jack out of the game. top of the league at the international break. after villa, we are in dreamland.

[McNamara That Ghost...]

Disappointed.
We've had the easiest opening schedule in forever. We took 7 wins from the corresponding fixtures last season. Despite having such an easy schedule, we've shipped too many goals against inferior opposition.

Jack had a stinker, masked by the goal.
Giroud looked to do everything right in buildup play, but failed when it came to the money.

I don't see it as that much of an indicator, teams are more inclined to make sure they don't give space away this early on in to a season in comparison to later on in a season, especially in say Swansea's case when they had won the League Cup and it's possible their motivation wasn't as great as it might be if it was scheduled earlier.

[milla]

Pretty irate about our team selection. Didn't like it mid week either but I accept it would have been a risk starting Gnabry in a European game.

We had a winning formula, and now our manager has changed it. He shifted the best box to box midfielder in the league on the right wing.

Gnabry should have started, with Arteta on the bench. Just because he's fit doesn't mean he can walk straight back into the team.

Why waste the top playmaker in world football in a team with absolutely no pace to exploit?

I'm a big fan of Giroud's but he has two chances to us the match today and bottled them both. He's good but he hasn't convinced me he's title winning good.

Tis :gp:

[Dennis Bendtner]

The challenge on Wilshere was a penalty wasn't it? I thought the defender went through him.

MS is probably right about us needing speed and directness today. Wenger did say after the Napoli game he picked Flamini with Arteta to shut Hamsik down. Today perhaps didn't require that even though it looks like a good set-up to play away. Then again West Brom are quite good going forward and the narrow midfield annihilated Napoli - with Rosicky the one player who didn't play that well - so continuity seemed fair enough.

[Harland]

why did our CBs look like they were getting bullied everytime there was a long ball to their CF?

meh game, can't win them all but lack of width was very telling in this game.

Not Walcott's biggest fan but by god, did we miss him today

[The Ogg Monster]

Our winning run had to end at some point but it was a hard away game which we didn't lose and we're still top of the pl.

hopefully we will bounce back immediately with cazorla and theo.

Im sure the doom and gloomers will spoute their blile and those sensible of us will ignore them.

This is football. We dont win them all. We will bounce back immediately

We need to remain top 4 until xmas and strengthen in jan window.

.I love AW and Arsenal. I trust AW to bring us the pl.

[Japan Shaking All Over]

Of course I am pissed off, the man is on £7 million a year but his team selection stinks all over. Too many favourite bastard kids on the pitch, dirty ol' French voyeur. :coffee:

You're pissed off? - I had Us to win and Scum to win for 350 quid! down in flames!

I take a draw away to a WBA team that have a bit of a buzz after their win at OT!

[Ollie the Optimist]

for the next game against norwich. we should have santi back and theo i htink. podolski and sagna not far off. This team will jsut get stronger. its the first game we havnt won since villa. we wont win them all.

however

WE ARE TOP OF THE LEAGUE, SAY WE ARE TOP OF THE LEAGUE

[Harland]

Our winning run had to end at some point but it was a hard away game which we didn't lose and we're still top of the pl.

hopefully we will bounce back immediately with cazorla and theo.

Im sure the doom and gloomers will spoute their blile and those sensible of us will ignore them.

This is football. We dont win them all. We will bounce back immediately

We need to remain top 4 until xmas and strengthen in jan window.

.I love AW and Arsenal. I trust AW to bring us the pl.

Very good point alluded to. More telling than the dropping of 2 points is how we come back and not let our heads drop.

Still excited to see how Cazorla and Ozil play together!

[milla]

You're pissed off? - I had Us to win and Scum to win for 350 quid! down in flames!

I take a draw away to a WBA team that have a bit of a buzz after their win at OT!

Fanx to Fat Sam, he play 4-6-0 and won 3-0 at WHL :good:

Next time just hand me £350 I could use few quids for my new suit.

[milla]

for the next game against norwich. we should have santi back and theo i htink. podolski and sagna not far off. This team will jsut get stronger. its the first game we havnt won since villa. we wont win them all.

however

WE ARE TOP OF THE LEAGUE, SAY WE ARE TOP OF THE LEAGUE

For the next games, I hope Wenger use his midfield players (we have many different players for various type of oppositions) better. Play them on merit not seniority or favouritism crap.

[Xhaka Can’t]

Fanx to Fat Sam, he play 4-6-0 and won 3-0 at WHL :good:

Next time just hand me £350 I could use few quids for my new suit. :coffee:

It's a longshot, but I'm guessing his stake was not £350.

[Herbert_Chapman's_Zombie]

If you look at the line up there was a bit of a lack of attacking pace and flair in terms of width, on one hand i can understand not playing Gnabry as with Sagna out you don't want to leave Jenkinson too exposed on the right side of defence, but could have started with Rosicky on the left hand side and don't really understand on what basis Arteta is starting games for us.

Mertesacker was poor today, too exposed for pace..Ramsey looked anonymous....and Wilshere was probably our best player in the second half.

Arguably could have won the game but a draw is a fair result and i think 16 points from 21 is a creditable start to the season. I said when the fixtures were published in June that we had no excuse not to be up there or there abouts by October time and for me after the Villa game we have met expectations.

[Munchies]

If you look at the line up there was a bit of a lack of attacking pace and flair in terms of width, on one hand i can understand not playing Gnabry as with Sagna out you don't want to leave Jenkinson too exposed on the right side of defence, but could have started with Rosicky on the left hand side and don't really understand on what basis Arteta is starting games for us.

Mertesacker was poor today, too exposed for pace..Ramsey looked anonymous....and Wilshere was probably our best player in the second half.

Arguably could have won the game but a draw is a fair result and i think 16 points from 21 is a creditable start to the season. I said when the fixtures were published in June that we had no excuse not to be up there or there abouts by October time and for me after the Villa game we have met expectations.

You're back :bow:

Thoughts on Ramsey overall this season?

[Marc Overmars]

Not a bad point really. I'm sure West Brom will take points off our rivals as well this season.

A bit of a tired performance, couldn't really string too much together.

Thought Jenkinson was a bit shit, Sagan is several levels up from him.

[Penguin]

It's disappointing since it feels like an opportunity wasted. Credit to West Brom for getting a deserved point, they worked hard and look like a dangerous counter-attacking team. But we kind of played into their hands with an odd team selection. It's all well and good blaming the ref but we made a hard job more difficult for ourselves IMO.

I have no idea what Wenger is thinking with Wilshere and Ramsey on the wings. If you're going to play a CM on the wing make sure it's a dynamic midfielder that knows how to adapt his game to the position, which Wilshere and Ramsey clearly don't. I've said it before, we're wasting Ozil like that because there aren't any runs or movement behind the opponent's defence or in threatening areas.

Another thing I noticed was that Arteta was our deepest midfielder and Flamini played like a box-to-box midfielder. But Arteta was nowhere near as effective as Flamini has been in protecting the back four, and Flamini is not Ramsey. I would have thought the back four would be safer with both of them in CM but West Brom got a lot of joy against us on the counter. I have to say the Flamini-Ramsey CM looks more sound defensively as well as in attack.


The challenge on Wilshere was a penalty wasn't it? I thought the defender went through him.

MS is probably right about us needing speed and directness today. Wenger did say after the Napoli game he picked Flamini with Arteta to shut Hamsik down. Today perhaps didn't require that even though it looks like a good set-up to play away. Then again West Brom are quite good going forward and the narrow midfield annihilated Napoli - with Rosicky the one player who didn't play that well - so continuity seemed fair enough.

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-hLIxdpFrn-o/UlGSj2TBIdI/AAAAAAAAApY/StMAsT3SkmM/w506-h281/howpenalty.gif
Definite penalty. From the first camera angle it looks like the defender might have got the ball first, but the second angle shows he clearly went through Jack to get to the ball. The ref had a perfect view of it too.

[Marc Overmars]

Another thing I noticed was that Arteta was our deepest midfielder and Flamini played like a box-to-box midfielder. But Arteta was nowhere near as effective as Flamini has been in protecting the back four, and Flamini is not Ramsey. I would have thought the back four would be safer with both of them in CM but West Brom got a lot of joy against us on the counter. I have to say the Flamini-Ramsey CM looks more sound defensively as well as in attack.


Agreed.

I think Wenget is a big fan of Arteta but now has a decision to make over his role in the midfield. IMO it should be one or the other between him and Flamini as I don't really see the need for them both.

[Özil's Panoramic View]

Decent result away against a WBA team that are on a fair run.

Won't be too harsh, but Wenger messed up the midfield a bit today.


Still, TopaDALeague..... say we"re TopaDaLeague. :scarf:


0h, and the scum. :haha:

'Ammers. :bow:

[Gooner23]

Dissapointing performance and result. No one had a particularly good game, except perhaps Chezzny. Ozil showed glimpses but was a bit on the periphery. After we got the equaliser we could have gone for it by taking off Arteta or Flamini and bringing on Gnabbers.

Dont think it had a bearing on the result, but thought the ref was really poor. He let the oppo players get away with a lot of niggly fouls, yet everytime their players threw themselves to the floor he blew his whistle.

The winning run was bound to end at some point, at least we picked up a point. If we bounce back and win our next 2 games I'll be well chuffed with the overall start we've made.

[Özil's Panoramic View]

It's disappointing since it feels like an opportunity wasted. Credit to West Brom for getting a deserved point, they worked hard and look like a dangerous counter-attacking team. But we kind of played into their hands with an odd team selection. It's all well and good blaming the ref but we made a hard job more difficult for ourselves IMO.

I have no idea what Wenger is thinking with Wilshere and Ramsey on the wings. If you're going to play a CM on the wing make sure it's a dynamic midfielder that knows how to adapt his game to the position, which Wilshere and Ramsey clearly don't. I've said it before, we're wasting Ozil like that because there aren't any runs or movement behind the opponent's defence or in threatening areas.

Another thing I noticed was that Arteta was our deepest midfielder and Flamini played like a box-to-box midfielder. But Arteta was nowhere near as effective as Flamini has been in protecting the back four, and Flamini is not Ramsey. I would have thought the back four would be safer with both of them in CM but West Brom got a lot of joy against us on the counter. I have to say the Flamini-Ramsey CM looks more sound defensively as well as in attack.



https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-hLIxdpFrn-o/UlGSj2TBIdI/AAAAAAAAApY/StMAsT3SkmM/w506-h281/howpenalty.gif
Definite penalty. From the first camera angle it looks like the defender might have got the ball first, but the second angle shows he clearly went through Jack to get to the ball. The ref had a perfect view of it too.

It's as clear as any penalty has been or will ever be.

The ref had a shocker.

When will they start reprimanding these shit refs?

[Ollie the Optimist]

It's as clear as any penalty has been or will ever be.

The ref had a shocker.

When will they start reprimanding these shit refs?


never. they dont give a shit how bad their refs are. whenever a manager moans about a ref, they never look to see if he has a point, they just take action against the manager. its pathetic. the standard of refereeing is getting worse and worse.

[I am invisible]

Disappointed not to get 3 points today, but it's not the end of the world - we're still top (just), and have had a little reminder not to take any 3 points for granted without the lesson being too sharp.

To be honest, I think we're just suffering from lack of choice up front more than anything else? No group of players is ever going to be a perfect fit for every game, but with Cazorla, Walcott and Podolski still out (three quarters of our first choice front 4 from last season), we just haven't got much to mix things up with right now. Hopefully that won't be an issue for too much longer though...

[Bumble]

Disappointed not to get 3 points today, but it's not the end of the world - we're still top (just), and have had a little reminder not to take any 3 points for granted without the lesson being too sharp.

To be honest, I think we're just suffering from lack of choice up front more than anything else? No group of players is ever going to be a perfect fit for every game, but with Cazorla, Walcott and Podolski still out (three quarters of our first choice front 4 from last season), we just haven't got much to mix things up with right now. Hopefully that won't be an issue for too much longer though...nah just another problem will replace this one. Draw fair result as we could easily have lost. Lucky with the goal as it was lamparded but you don't shoot you don't score.

[Munchies]

Anyone know when Cazorla/Walcott/Pods are coming back ?

Hopefully after this break right ?

[BOBN]

Thought Jenkinson was a bit shit, Sagan is several levels up from him.
Championship player at best. Im not upset with him,its just what it is.

And without runners and pace we're making Ozil looks poor player. Instead of pinning them back and giving a real outlet they were able to step up and chase Ozil out of the hole. We need Walcott and this guy needs to buy, as Remy joins the list of woulda-shouldas....

[Munchies]

Ozil didn't play that bad, he had a few great balls , and if a goal was made out of, he'd be the MOTM. Not his fault that they can't take them really.

He done that pass to Gibbs, which Gibbs should of pegged back into the box rather than blasting it over.
And that scoop pass he gave to Giroud which he dragged horribly wide.

[JonasTC]

Decent result, i dont think we were that bad, considering all our wingers are injured.

Giroud is amazing in the build-up play, probably one of the best strikers in the world at that, but he seems to only score when he gets the ball in a good position for his left foot, needs to improve on all the half-chances he gets (had 2-3 today).

Schocking ref again :banghead: Could've blown for pen 3 times and he allowed WBA to play Rugby at times :s

Still top of the league :bow:

[Xhaka Can’t]

Championship player at best. Im not upset with him,its just what it is.

And without runners and pace we're making Ozil looks poor player. Instead of pinning them back and giving a real outlet they were able to step up and chase Ozil out of the hole. We need Walcott and this guy needs to buy, as Remy joins the list of woulda-shouldas....

https://fbcdn-sphotos-g-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/1374901_10151888691853334_200897894_n.jpg

[GP]

*you're

[Xhaka Can’t]

*you're

I respect you almost as much as WMUG.

[cricketsi]

Disappointing not to win with the run we've been on, but at least we were resilient enough to come back from behind. Gets a bit tiresome playing against 12 men all the time though, add Lee Mason to the list of incompetent fuckwits. Although Jack brings unnecessary physicality upon himself, you have to feel sorry for him when the man in black just declares open season on kicking him. It seemed actually impossible for a foul to be called for any challenge on Wilshere.

[cricketsi]

I respect you almost as much as WMUG.

I respect the creator of that image almost as much as Cripps.

[IBK]

Baggies played well with the help of the ref.

We looked well off our Napoli form - I hope that this is not a sign of the complacent Arsenal team we have seen so much of in recent years.

Ramsey looked tired, Wilshere trying too hard. I worry that his deflected goal might hide a player who needs to mature to hack it in the big time.

Giroud's a difficult one. Amazing at holding/laying off a ball but not a natural finisher.

Ozil's brilliance wasn't rewarded today. Rosicky demonstrated how lacking in movement we were before he came on.

A point was welcome at the end of the day, but let's face it - we are all wondering what's going to happen to our season when we meet the top teams.

[cricketsi]

Baggies played well with the help of the ref.

We looked well off our Napoli form - I hope that this is not a sign of the complacent Arsenal team we have seen so much of in recent years.

Ramsey looked tired, Wilshere trying too hard. I worry that his deflected goal might hide a player who needs to mature to hack it in the big time.

Giroud's a difficult one. Amazing at holding/laying off a ball but not a natural finisher.

Ozil's brilliance wasn't rewarded today. Rosicky demonstrated how lacking in movement we were before he came on.

A point was welcome at the end of the day, but let's face it - we are all wondering what's going to happen to our season when we meet the top teams.

Would be interesting to see how Giroud would fare if he did have a more clinical strike partner playing off him.

[She Wore A Yellow Ribbon]

Good result

But I thought Arteta was very limited today. Done nothing of note and contributed to 3-4 yard passes all game. He's taking up a needless spot in the team when we can have someone way more effective there. We basically shifted everyone to make room for him and he wasn't even that good.

Jack was excellent in the second half. Complete turnaround from the 1st.

Chezza brilliant

Ozil in his own league

Giroud good

Flamini okay

We were due a drop in performance and it's happened, the ref was absolute wank so it didn't help. But a point there is a decent result.

If you would have said to me we'd be top of the league going into the international break I'd have bitten your right arm off. Well here we are. Feels fucking good.

[Blink 1nce Quince 2wice]

Pretty irate about our team selection. Didn't like it mid week either but I accept it would have been a risk starting Gnabry in a European game.

We had a winning formula, and now our manager has changed it. He shifted the best box to box midfielder in the league on the right wing.

Gnabry should have started, with Arteta on the bench. Just because he's fit doesn't mean he can walk straight back into the team.

Why waste the top playmaker in world football in a team with absolutely no pace to exploit?

I'm a big fan of Giroud's but he has two chances to us the match today and bottled them both. He's good but he hasn't convinced me he's title winning good.

Pretty much summed up mate. I was bitterly bitterly disappointed watching the final 30 minutes. I yelled in despair when I saw Bendtner about to come on. We really should have better back up than some ignoramus who vowed never to play for the club again. I know we ultimately had to drop points eventually but so what? When champions play a game and both team deserve a point each, they often snatch all 3 because their quality tells in the end. It doesn't matter that we only deserve a point. If we're going to win the league it will take snatching 3 points at times when we only deserve one because of our deeper quality.

I'd have played Gnabry too. We had far too many player with similar qualities on the field at the same time. It works with some opposition but not all. Unless the several players you have of simillar qualities have no weaknesses, then playing them all at the same time is counter productive most of the time. I've never been a total believer of the 'play your last team if they won'. Each opponent is different. Napoli are obviously a better team than WBA but WBA are far more used to playing us, played us JUST the other day and give all the big teams a good game anyway....not least of all us.

I mentioned it before today but I envisage few leagues games in which is it necessary for Flamini and Arteta to both start.

[GP]

Giroud isn't 'a difficult one', he's actually awesome.

[She Wore A Yellow Ribbon]

Caught up with MOTD.

Wilshere analysis surprisingly good. Couldn't believe my eyes.

[She Wore A Yellow Ribbon]

Pretty much summed up mate. I was bitterly bitterly disappointed watching the final 30 minutes. I yelled in despair when I saw Bendtner about to come on. We really should have better back up than some ignoramus who vowed never to play for the club again. I know we ultimately had to drop points eventually but so what? When champions play a game and both team deserve a point each, they often snatch all 3 because their quality tells in the end. It doesn't matter that we only deserve a point. If we're going to win the league it will take snatching 3 points at times when we only deserve one because of our deeper quality.

I'd have played Gnabry too. We had far too many player with similar qualities on the field at the same time. It works with some opposition but not all. Unless the several players you have of simillar qualities have no weaknesses, then playing them all at the same time is counter productive most of the time. I've never been a total believer of the 'play your last team if they won'. Each opponent is different. Napoli are obviously a better team than WBA but WBA are far more used to playing us, played us JUST the other day and give all the big teams a good game anyway....not least of all us.

I mentioned it before today but I envisage few leagues games in which is it necessary for Flamini and Arteta to both start.

Stop moaning.

We are top of the league at the international break. This is beyond our wildest dreams.

Save the moaning for when we have the inevitable fuck up near April. For now enjoy.

[-Xs-]

Wenger out tbh :coffee:

[fakeyank]

Flamini was shit today.. didnt offer much protection to the back 4

[LDG]

We would have lost that a year or two ago.

We didn't play well, but credit also to West Brom, who I thought gave us little space or time. Small pitches really fuck us up.

I also have to concede that Seesssssigggnnnnon caused us no end of problems. Little diving cunt.

A point is a decent result here though, and we were due to drop points at some time. Hopefully Rambo is sidelined for the internationals.....

[JonasTC]

Flamini was shit today.. didnt offer much protection to the back 4

Thats because he didnt play DM today, Wenger chose Arteta to play that role. Flamini was the box2box :)

[Power n Glory]

That's the sort of thing that's going to mess us up. Not sure if it's instruction from the manager or just the way the team decide to play but Flamini should have sat deep.

Too many options to rotate and tinker may be our undoing.

[LDG]

That's the sort of thing that's going to mess us up. Not sure if it's instruction from the manager or just the way the team decide to play but Flamini should have sat deep.

Too many options to rotate and tinker may be our undoing.

Possibly, but I just thought we were jaded yesterday. The service from Rambo and Jack specifically was poor in the first half, and marginally better in the second half. Rosicky lifted us a bit, but Ozil and Giroud were starved of quick ball all day....though credit to West Brom for suffocating us.

We actually needed Walcott yesterday, as he would have given some width and pace, meaning a bit more room to work in.

[selassie]

I thought we were really poor yesterday, totally disjointed and 2nd to a lot of balls. It was most definitely a point gained, they caused us a lot of problems and hassled and harried us off the ball.

It aint a bad result though, they geniunely are a pretty decent team.

[Nayan]

Baggies played well with the help of the ref.

We looked well off our Napoli form - I hope that this is not a sign of the complacent Arsenal team we have seen so much of in recent years.

Ramsey looked tired, Wilshere trying too hard. I worry that his deflected goal might hide a player who needs to mature to hack it in the big time.

Giroud's a difficult one. Amazing at holding/laying off a ball but not a natural finisher.

Ozil's brilliance wasn't rewarded today. Rosicky demonstrated how lacking in movement we were before he came on.

A point was welcome at the end of the day, but let's face it - we are all wondering what's going to happen to our season when we meet the top teams.

ref missed a clear penalty kosielny gifted them at the end

[Blink 1nce Quince 2wice]

Stop moaning.

We are top of the league at the international break. This is beyond our wildest dreams.

Save the moaning for when we have the inevitable fuck up near April. For now enjoy.
My first paragraph detailed what I felt as the game played out and then I went on to give my view on how I felt after it had finished.

It is far from '...beyond my wildest dreams' because I didn't sit there and think before the season started 'we will never have 16 points after seven games.....ever'.

I'm simply giving my view, which you're perfectly entitled to disagree with or ignore.

[GP]

ref missed a clear dive in the box at the end

Thankfully.

[She Wore A Yellow Ribbon]

My first paragraph detailed what I felt as the game played out and then I went on to give my view on how I felt after it had finished.

It is far from '...beyond my wildest dreams' because I didn't sit there and think before the season started 'we will never have 16 points after seven games.....ever'.

I'm simply giving my view, which you're perfectly entitled to disagree with or ignore.

Stop moaning.

We are top of the league at the international break. This is beyond our wildest dreams.

Save the moaning for when we have the inevitable fuck up near April. For now enjoy.

[Blink 1nce Quince 2wice]

:wacko:

[She Wore A Yellow Ribbon]

http://i52.tinypic.com/mc7nz7.jpg

[Power n Glory]

Possibly, but I just thought we were jaded yesterday. The service from Rambo and Jack specifically was poor in the first half, and marginally better in the second half. Rosicky lifted us a bit, but Ozil and Giroud were starved of quick ball all day....though credit to West Brom for suffocating us.

We actually needed Walcott yesterday, as he would have given some width and pace, meaning a bit more room to work in.

I wouldn't say jaded. I think it's just the wrong combination of players. I hope Wenger doesn't spend too long trying to figure out his best line up. The midfield looked disjointed once again and once Theo and Cazorla come back we'll have even more cards to play with. He's really trying to keep Ramsey and Wilshere in the first team even if it means pushing them out wide. I think Rosicky is key to the middle but his fitness is such an issue. But we really should be playing him because he's the closest we have to a CM that just conducts play like a Xavi or Cesc.

[Nayan]

good point from hansen on MOtd2 - wilshere doesnt back himself to skin someone outside and whip in a cross so he cuts in. However this would work much better if he were on the right, so he can either shoot or find more of the pitch to aim for with a pass.
Back in the day the same thing was true with aleksandr Hleb.

[Power n Glory]

http://i52.tinypic.com/mc7nz7.jpg

:lol:

[Power n Glory]

good point from hansen on MOtd2 - wilshere doesnt back himself to skin someone outside and whip in a cross so he cuts in. However this would work much better if he were on the right, so he can either shoot or find more of the pitch to aim for with a pass.
Back in the day the same thing was true with aleksandr Hleb.

Do you know how many times I've said this about Walcott? We should be playing inverted wingers like how Real Madrid and Munich play Di Maria, Ronaldo, Ribery and Robben. Walcott could score way more goals if cutting in from the opposite flank on set up on his preferred foot to shoot. It's the same for Podolski.

Wenger makes odd decisions. He never once tried Vela down the right wing so he'd always be coming in on his left and that's where Vela currently plays now for Socidad. Would have made life so much easier for the kid. He introduced the concept of inverted wingers with Overmars and Pires so I have no idea why he goes against it with certain players.

[milla]

Do you know how many times I've said this about Walcott? We should be playing inverted wingers like how Real Madrid and Munich play Di Maria, Ronaldo, Ribery and Robben. Walcott could score way more goals if cutting in from the opposite flank on set up on his preferred foot to shoot. It's the same for Podolski.

Wenger makes odd decisions. He never once tried Vela down the right wing so he'd always be coming in on his left and that's where Vela currently plays now for Socidad. Would have made life so much easier for the kid. He introduced the concept of inverted wingers with Overmars and Pires so I have no idea why he goes against it with certain players.

I thought about that but not sure if it would work with Walcott, cutting inside the pitch is not easy especially if dribbling is not your forte. However this role would suit perfectly for Ganbry or Miyaichi, both players are comfortable dribbler whilst Feo will most likely nutmeg himself in process.

[Power n Glory]

I thought about that but not sure if it would work with Walcott, cutting inside the pitch is not easy especially if dribbling is not your forte. However this role would suit perfectly for Ganbry or Miyaichi, both players are comfortable dribbler whilst Feo will most likely nutmeg himself in process.

Forget Ryo after his last performance and Gnarby will have to do more to keep Theo out of the team once he's back fit.

On the left, he'd have more space to work with and making those runs behind defenders will set him up perfectly to slot one in. If defenders keep Theo close to the byline and usher him towards the flag, he's easy to defend against. He's reluctant to cut in from the right because he can't use his left foot and it's harder to protect the ball. I'm surprised he's been able to score so many from that side of the field. He's always approaching the goal from a tight angle.

[hobson's choice]

Do you know how many times I've said this about Walcott? We should be playing inverted wingers like how Real Madrid and Munich play Di Maria, Ronaldo, Ribery and Robben. Walcott could score way more goals if cutting in from the opposite flank on set up on his preferred foot to shoot. It's the same for Podolski.

Wenger makes odd decisions. He never once tried Vela down the right wing so he'd always be coming in on his left and that's where Vela currently plays now for Socidad. Would have made life so much easier for the kid. He introduced the concept of inverted wingers with Overmars and Pires so I have no idea why he goes against it with certain players.

The few occasions Theo played on the left, he did look promising, with Vela I just think he just came at the wrong time, and he was just never able to real establish himself.

[hobson's choice]

Concerning Gnarby, I didn't pay attention to any preseason stuff or much of last season, but from what i've seen, he looks a lot more promising, when he's attacking through the middle.

[Dr Singh]

Pretty much summed up mate. I was bitterly bitterly disappointed watching the final 30 minutes. I yelled in despair when I saw Bendtner about to come on. We really should have better back up than some ignoramus who vowed never to play for the club again. I know we ultimately had to drop points eventually but so what? When champions play a game and both team deserve a point each, they often snatch all 3 because their quality tells in the end. It doesn't matter that we only deserve a point. If we're going to win the league it will take snatching 3 points at times when we only deserve one because of our deeper quality.

I'd have played Gnabry too. We had far too many player with similar qualities on the field at the same time. It works with some opposition but not all. Unless the several players you have of simillar qualities have no weaknesses, then playing them all at the same time is counter productive most of the time. I've never been a total believer of the 'play your last team if they won'. Each opponent is different. Napoli are obviously a better team than WBA but WBA are far more used to playing us, played us JUST the other day and give all the big teams a good game anyway....not least of all us.

I mentioned it before today but I envisage few leagues games in which is it necessary for Flamini and Arteta to both start.

Problem with the current situation is Giroud has all the pressure in the world. He had a good game, but he still squandered 2 big chances that a world class striker would not. I'm not going to single him out mind you because Jack and Gibbs also had decent chances but failed to even test the keeper.

Agree with the rest. Flamini and Arteta should only start together if we are perhaps playing in Europe. I'm really hoping Wenger doesn't plan on making Flamini, Arteta and Ramsey his first choice trio and then run them all into the ground and watch us fizzle out.

The majority of our early success has been based on the midfield trio of Flamini, Ramsey and Ozil. The fact we broke this up to accommodate for Arteta terrifies me. I'd go as far to say that if Wenger repeats this mistake against Norwich - regardless of that result or performance, we won't win anything again this season.

[Dr Singh]

Concerning Gnarby, I didn't pay attention to any preseason stuff or much of last season, but from what i've seen, he looks a lot more promising, when he's attacking through the middle.

He has been effective through the center but it's tragic having a playmaker of Ozil's caliber and then sticking Ramsey and Jack on the wings, essentially crowding him out whilst offering absolutely no width, making us predictable and having no pace.

[Dr Singh]

The problem with Walcott on the left is I don't think he's actually good enough at football to make it work. I could however see Chamberlain making a more seamless transition. Much better dribbler, higher quality technique and better long range shot.

[Power n Glory]

The problem with Walcott on the left is I don't think he's actually good enough at football to make it work. I could however see Chamberlain making a more seamless transition. Much better dribbler, higher quality technique and better long range shot.

You'll have to go a little deeper than that because if that's the case, what Walcott is doing on the right wing is a miracle. For a guy such limited ability, he shouldn't work down the right either. Ox struggled badly playing down the right but I'd agree that he'd cope better on the opposite flank.

[She Wore A Yellow Ribbon]

good point from hansen on MOtd2 - wilshere doesnt back himself to skin someone outside and whip in a cross so he cuts in. However this would work much better if he were on the right, so he can either shoot or find more of the pitch to aim for with a pass.
Back in the day the same thing was true with aleksandr Hleb.

We should just drop Arteta, play Wilshere in his natural position, then have a natural winger like Gnabry there. It isn't genius. Play players in their natural position and drop the average ones.

[Herbert_Chapman's_Zombie]

You're back :bow:

Thoughts on Ramsey overall this season?

I am a bit like Jim White in that i am more prominent during Transfer Window season.....not in the regard that i am grey haired or scottish.


Still does a lot of things that irritate me but my main concern is that if i stop criticising him he will go back to the way he was earlier in the year...i still think if you compare him to Ozil, Cazorla and Wilshere (at his best i mean not the lukewarm performances he's mostly delivered so far) he will come up short but that's not a criticism that's just fact...but his effort has been first rate and he's extremely confident in front of goal (with the possible exception of against Napoli where he was forever trying to get the ball onto his preferred foot before shooting but in fairness Giroud, Arteta, Ramsey and Ozil were all equally culpable in that regard).

A lot of people I know who i have been open on my views about Ramsey seem to think i must be devestated that he's doing so well...which seems a bit ridiculous to me. As long as he's wearing an Arsenal shirt i am exceptionally happy that his performances are markedly improved and he's scoring goals.
With Flamini in the side there is less emphasis on him to sit back and protect the back four which he has never really been able to do that well, i would reiterate that his passing is not at the same level of players as Ozil and Wilshere (I know Jack has hardly been at his best but some of the opportunities he laid on against Stoke were class) but that's no bearing on Ramsey....i think if he keeps a good eye for goal...keeps doing the simple things well and continues to combat his indecisive nature in possession...he will continue to be an asset for us this season. But should he slip back to the player that infuriates me my vitriolic abuse will escalate even more because i've seen what he is truly capable of.

[Blink 1nce Quince 2wice]

Problem with the current situation is Giroud has all the pressure in the world. He had a good game, but he still squandered 2 big chances that a world class striker would not. I'm not going to single him out mind you because Jack and Gibbs also had decent chances but failed to even test the keeper.

Agree with the rest. Flamini and Arteta should only start together if we are perhaps playing in Europe. I'm really hoping Wenger doesn't plan on making Flamini, Arteta and Ramsey his first choice trio and then run them all into the ground and watch us fizzle out.

The majority of our early success has been based on the midfield trio of Flamini, Ramsey and Ozil. The fact we broke this up to accommodate for Arteta terrifies me. I'd go as far to say that if Wenger repeats this mistake against Norwich - regardless of that result or performance, we won't win anything again this season.
That pressure is there because even he knows there is nobody at the club to seriously contend with his position. He knows that if he doesn't score it is likely to have a big impact. His reaction to the possibility of the club signing a world class striker in the summer was interesting and telling. He was practically begging the club to make signings like the rest of them were. I would surmise that even though he likes being the main man, he doesn't want it all to be on his head because you can't play well all the time.

I blame Wenger for the extra bit of pressure on him and nobody can try and pretend that a top forward was not the clubs priority considering our most concerted efforts and bids centred around that position.

The bigger issue in the game was the fact that two central midfielders were playing wide at the same time weren't they? Having one there is bad enough, but having two there is too much for a side like West Brom. I don't think it is impossible to beat a team like this with tactics like this but clearly you want the best tactics and personnel for the given scenario. I was surprised because Wenger showed more faith than I knew he would with Gnabry recently but then held him back in a game in which he might have very well made the difference....even after he has been able to have a little rest after his 3 games in a week.

I do feel that People do forget that Ramsey playing wide has worked well before (on the odd occasion) as has playing others like Benayoun wide in the past, but it does not work all the time and certainly isn't ideal against most teams. I heard someone speculating that Cazorla is no longer first team the other day but if you ask me, he can't come back quick enough. He is still our best player as far as I'm concerned.

[Nayan]

Do you know how many times I've said this about Walcott? We should be playing inverted wingers like how Real Madrid and Munich play Di Maria, Ronaldo, Ribery and Robben. Walcott could score way more goals if cutting in from the opposite flank on set up on his preferred foot to shoot. It's the same for Podolski.

Wenger makes odd decisions. He never once tried Vela down the right wing so he'd always be coming in on his left and that's where Vela currently plays now for Socidad. Would have made life so much easier for the kid. He introduced the concept of inverted wingers with Overmars and Pires so I have no idea why he goes against it with certain players.

No I dont know how many times.
Walcott has pace, does beat a man on the outside and there is some point hitting a long ball into space over the fullback for him to chase down, in the classic speedy winger sense, or at least as an inside right. Wilshere is nothing like that hence the point about putting him on his 'opposite side.' Walcott could try that from time to time as robben/duff used to but not systematically no.

Leave it with vela though - he didnt get that particular chance because he was utter shit, when presented with a boatload of other chances. NOthing to do with wenger's tactical nous. the boy was pony

[Nayan]

I thought about that but not sure if it would work with Walcott, cutting inside the pitch is not easy especially if dribbling is not your forte. However this role would suit perfectly for Ganbry or Miyaichi, both players are comfortable dribbler whilst Feo will most likely nutmeg himself in process.

exactly. playing close one-twos and working in cramped condiitons is not what walcott offers. making him cut in all the time instead of using the pace everyone screams at him for not using is as daft as asking jack to skin his fullback outside and whip a cross to giroud's eyebrows.

neither of those ideas makes sense.

[Penguin]

That pressure is there because even he knows there is nobody at the club to seriously contend with his position. He knows that if he doesn't score it is likely to have a big impact. His reaction to the possibility of the club signing a world class striker in the summer was interesting and telling. He was practically begging the club to make signings like the rest of them were. I would surmise that even though he likes being the main man, he doesn't want it all to be on his head because you can't play well all the time.

I blame Wenger for the extra bit of pressure on him and nobody can try and pretend that a top forward was not the clubs priority considering our most concerted efforts and bids centred around that position.

The bigger issue in the game was the fact that two central midfielders were playing wide at the same time weren't they? Having one there is bad enough, but having two there is too much for a side like West Brom. I don't think it is impossible to beat a team like this with tactics like this but clearly you want the best tactics and personnel for the given scenario. I was surprised because Wenger showed more faith than I knew he would with Gnabry recently but then held him back in a game in which he might have very well made the difference....even after he has been able to have a little rest after his 3 games in a week.

I do feel that People do forget that Ramsey playing wide has worked well before (on the odd occasion) as has playing others like Benayoun wide in the past, but it does not work all the time and certainly isn't ideal against most teams. I heard someone speculating that Cazorla is no longer first team the other day but if you ask me, he can't come back quick enough. He is still our best player as far as I'm concerned.
Nail on the head on every point there tbh.

I agree about Cazorla being our best player. Ozil is our best creator now but we're short on goalscorers, and Cazorla gives us another dimension with his range of shooting. The way he wriggles around on the ball and shoots with either foot in and around the area is fantastic to watch. We've missed him.

[Blink 1nce Quince 2wice]

I'll happily admit to having a soft spot for him.... he's always smiling and he doesn't spend half the game time rolling around holding his knee like numerous other small technical players. That said, my liking of him is mainly because he doesn't really have any obvious limitation as an attacking threat other than the fact he's probably not going to out jump Englands brave John terry and nod it into the far corner....but I can live with that.

We have seldom seen a more genuinely two footed player over the Arsenal. Hleb was incredible at dribbling with both feet but he would refuse to shoot with either. Cazorla is never restricted in any position on the field. He always see's a way out and that is why even last year before we had Nemo, I accepted the manager playing him wide.

I would agree and despite how well we have done, we have most definitely missed Cazorla.

[BOBN]

The problem with Walcott on the left is I don't think he's actually good enough at football to make it work. I could however see Chamberlain making a more seamless transition. Much better dribbler, higher quality technique and better long range shot.
Meh, you guys overthink this football lark


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9P3eeB5ZR0

[She Wore A Yellow Ribbon]

Hoyte :haha: :haha: :haha:

[Globalgunner]

The midfield problem boils down to the man management skills of Wenger. When Arteta was injured he had his decisions made for him, but now he is fit and being captain, in Wengers mind he has to play, in order to keep Wilshire happy and in a WC year he also plays him. Flaming is indispensable and so he must play again, but why no back up for Flamini? And will he buy one in january.
Reason suggests that in the current situation he would drop both Wilshire and Arteta and play Rosicky and Monreal instead. This would be better for our general play and ensure delivery Giroud. If we are ever to win anything Wenger needs to put the team ahead of individual players. FlaminI cannot play every game so use Aretha and Wilshire in his place for low key games or better still buy a good replacement like Ginter from frieburg in January. Otherwise come end of the season we will be wringing our hands again as usual

[Power n Glory]

[QUOTE=BOBN;334918]Meh, you guys overthink this football lark

:gp:

Just look at the way he opens his body up to finish that off. That's a much harder finish for someone that's left footed. Just thinking of the chances Jack, Gibbs and Giroud had for the West Brom game. If they were right footers they’d have gone for control and finesse instead of trying to power it in. When approaching from similar angles from the right, Theo has done well to hone his finishing. Just look at his most recent goal.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I7wQgggluSA

[Nayan]

people confuse aggression and snarl with quality in midfield.
adding Flamini was a smart move but he completed one tackle and picked up a yello card on Sunday. As opposed to arteta who completed six.

It was arteta's return that helped stabilise the team and launched them into that strong run towards the end of last season too.

Anyway more to the point, arteta and rossicky are the wrong side of 30. If diaby was a horse he'd hae been shot and The only way Frimpong should be in an arsenal shirt if he is paying to sit in block 6.

It wont be long before we dont look as well stocked in the middle as people currently think

[BOBN]

:gp:

Just look at the way he opens his body up to finish that off. That's a much harder finish for someone that's left footed. Just thinking of the chances Jack, Gibbs and Giroud had for the West Brom game. If they were right footers they’d have gone for control and finesse instead of trying to power it in. When approaching from similar angles from the right, Theo has done well to hone his finishing. Just look at his most recent goal.
Its his signature finish, plus hes no great crosser so we wont be losing that. Ive always wondered why he wasnt given a proper go on the left. We could be gaining a serious second striker. But people are worried about dribbing skills whatever that means :doh:

This ones not bad either


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0T04Kgdwzg

[Power n Glory]

That was a splendid finish. Confident enough to hit it early. Wenger used to play him there when he first started but has now just lumped him on the right. I just don’t get the inflexibility.

[Özim]

I just realised, Walcott looks a bit like a lion.

[Fist of Lehmann]

gay or straight?

[Letters]

I just realised, Walcott looks a bit like a lion.
"If I only had a (footballing) brain"

[Nayan]

"If I only had a (footballing) brain"

Wasn't that the scarecrow?

[Letters]

Yes <_<

[Penguin]

Theo probably would score more if he plays on the left as he'll have a better shooting angle but we'd lose our only source of width. It doesn't matter if he can cross or not, he still stretches defenses. He has never had a problem scoring from the right anyway. He gets into plenty of goalscoring positions and could have had three or four already this season if he took his chances before he got injured.

I prefer Cazorla on the left too. :shrug:

[Blink 1nce Quince 2wice]

That has been overlooked a little. Theo is not bad as far as cutting in and shooting is concerned. He often goes with his right rather than his left when doing so, but he has done so a number times and quite well.

I also like Cazorla on the left but I have no idea if he would be any better or worse on the right as I have no memory of it.

[Power n Glory]

A good piece from Tim Stillman on Arseblog.

Covers what we're talking about with wingers/creative wingers/inverted wingers.


Sometimes you have to trust coaches to make decisions based on intuition and a certain foresight acquired over managing many matches, rather than any piercing tactical insight. In a sense, that’s what happened at The Hawthorns in Arsenal’s 1-1 draw with West Brom as Jack Wilshere endured a difficult first-half. He was bumped off the ball easily, relinquished possession cheaply and was unable to influence the game with his trademark burst. But Arsene Wenger stuck by him when some fans began to lose patience, and he was vindicated when Wilshere struck a venomous shot which took a deflection to give Arsenal the equaliser.

It was down to a bit of bad luck that the goal came when it did because four minutes earlier, Aaron Ramsey was forced to leave the pitch as he was struggling with injury. On came Tomas Rosicky, moving Wilshere to the right-hand side thus allowing him to cut inside on his favoured left-boot, and sure enough, the two combined to score.

The injury to Ramsey essentially denied Wenger of having to make the big decision at one-nil down of whether to take off Flamini, thus theoretically exposing Arsenal more on the counter-attack. Because ultimately, he had one sub that he had complete faith in – Tomas Rosicky – and as such, Jack Wilshere probably wouldn’t have been replaced anyway despite his struggles.

Wenger’s faith in Wilshere also lay in the fact that he’s one of the few players in the narrow system that Arsenal deployed which could provide something different. The 4-4-1-1 that Arsenal played, without nominal wingers, meant that the type of goal Arsenal were always going to score was through slick interchange through the centre, and taking Wilshere off would have lessened the effectiveness of the strategy. Indeed, despite struggling in the first-half, there were flashes of what Wilshere could bring and it was a case of him just getting the right break to make it work.

He had a great understanding with Kieran Gibbs, especially important as he was reluctant to go on the outside therefore he used the left-back as a decoy at every given opportunity. One good chance where Gibbs flashed a shot over highlighted the burgeoning partnership between the two as without looking, Wilshere let the ball run between his legs from a Mesut Ozil pass to the onrushing Gibbs. He knew Gibbs would always have the space to make that run. Wilshere frequently kept on cutting inside and played some neat one-twos with Ozil, but it was when he was moved to the right in the second-half where he became more effective.

Wilshere’s impact also highlights the growing importance in the modern game of the creative winger. Often these days, squads are built with a surplus of attacking players, so in a bid to fit them all in, coaches are sometimes compelled to play one of them wide. If this strategy seems reluctant (such as with Manchester United using Shinji Kagawa out wide last season or Liverpool with Coutinho), it’s not always the case.

More teams in the Premier League this year are abandoning the flanks, namely the left-hand side, with teams like Man City, Spurs and Arsenal abandoning the left-flank. Here the coaches typically deploy attacking midfielders that like to come inside. They differ from inverted wingers – who start wide but cut inside simply because they’re placed on the flank opposite to their preferred foot (such as Eden Hazard or Arjen Robben) – because they roam inside very early in the build-up and sometimes even neglect the flank it completely.

Creative wingers are important simply because they give teams an extra creative body in the midfield. With teams defending deeper these days, you need to field more men who can unlock doors. By roaming inside, these players can get into pockets “between-the-lines” as a number 10 typically might, but sometimes with the added advantage of being unmarked because full-backs, nor wingers, will ever track them that far inside. That’s why Wenger might have felt implored to start Ramsey wide for the second-game running against WBA. Because he felt that by using Ramsey on the right, the Welshman would be free to roam inside without worrying much about leaving the team exposed behind.
arsenal wba

Despite sending some good crosses, Jenkinson was too scared to push up whenever Ramsey roamed infield as that meant space would be left behind for Sessegnon top exploit.

But that’s also why the tactic didn’t really work on the day; behind him Carl Jenkinson was too concerned about pushing forward without exposing the team to Sessegnon’s pace, so he only got up sparingly. In contrast against Napoli, Bacary Sagna got forward as often as possible and he was key to Arsenal’s win.

Wenger says playing wide “is the hardest job today in the modern game” and that’s why Wilshere deserves more credit than he is getting. The role suits him and the team overall for now. Ideally, Wenger would prefer to have one direct winger on the other side but the wingerless experiment gives Arsenal a compact way of playing which might suit the bigger sides. They can keep the ball better and with the quick interchange expose those teams, as are more likely to push up, behind the defence. It didn’t happen against West Brom, however, because they are inclined to play very deep.

The only option for Arsenal, without natural wide men, was to keep playing, keep looking for one-twos around the defence to be penetrative.

Thankfully, after a difficult start, it was Wilshere who stepped up to the plate with his goal, and nearly provided the winner when he played a sumptuous pass to Oliver Giroud.

[Kyma]

Ozil had a perfect game


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmKtOo2sRwc

[I am invisible]

Theo probably would score more if he plays on the left as he'll have a better shooting angle but we'd lose our only source of width. It doesn't matter if he can cross or not, he still stretches defenses. He has never had a problem scoring from the right anyway. He gets into plenty of goalscoring positions and could have had three or four already this season if he took his chances before he got injured.

I prefer Cazorla on the left too. :shrug:


That has been overlooked a little. Theo is not bad as far as cutting in and shooting is concerned. He often goes with his right rather than his left when doing so, but he has done so a number times and quite well.

I also like Cazorla on the left but I have no idea if he would be any better or worse on the right as I have no memory of it.

With Özil, Cazorla and Walcott, there's really no reason why any off them couldn't move wherever they had to (left, right or centre) at any moment - the only member of our front 4 who (more or less) has to stay where he's put throughout is Giroud, but beyond that I kind think starting positions are more relevant to defensive shape than what happens when we attack...