Match Reaction - Arsenal 0-2 West Ham

[Dein-machine]

Question for all the tactics people(cause i know about that stuff)

Over the past 4 seasons, we have a team, that posess the ball a lot. But struggles to create chances.

Why is this?

The question is 100% valid.
The answer should be simple to a top quality manager who is paid £8 mill a year but our manager can't seem to find the answer.
Why is this?

[Power n Glory]

Question for all the tactics people(cause i know about that stuff)

Over the past 4 seasons, we have a team, that posess the ball a lot. But struggles to create chances.

Why is this?

It's the balance of the squad and Wenger's philosophy on keeping possession, staying patient and trying to create 2 on 1 situations where space opens up. A well organised team only has to stay narrow and compact to deal with us and it's been like that for the past 10 years not just 4 seasons. Any team that 'parks the bus' we have no answer for.

It certainly doesn't help when we have 4 central midfielders crammed into the team along with a striker that can't create space for himself or take on a player to create shooting opportunities for himself. In a crowed box you'll never see Giroud shift the ball to evade a blocking defender to buy himself more time for shot. He hasn't got it in him.

Ozil has all the ability in the world but doesn't do the above even though he's capable. He'll make the perfect ball to feet pass from a tight angle but what use is that if the ball is only going to travel a few years to a player standing close by? And if the receiver happens to be someone like Ramsey, one of the rare few on the pitch unafraid of shooting, his poor touch or slow decision making will kill the move or he's not in the right position to do anything useful with the ball anyway.

We really need Sanchez on the pitch. One of the few players that will take on his man and fathom out a chance for himself to shoot. We also need Walcott because his off the ball movement can't be ignored by the opposition.

[Kano]

I think we'll challenge for the title. I'm not going to overreact after one game, that's the media's job.

By all accounts (on here at least) Chelsea were pretty rubbish and could have lost, they got lucky with a deflected goal. Utd were rubbish too and only won because of an own goal. We were actually pretty decent, we had 'one of those days' in front of goal (and, of course, their 'keeper was excellent - how often does that happen against us?) and West Ham only had 2 shots on target all day and scored both (again, how often does that happen against us?)

We can't afford too many days like that but playing like we did yesterday we're not going to lose many games. We're one game in, let's see where we are by Christmas. We have to properly challenge this year, we're good enough to.

We had six shots on target, while West Ham had four. Hardly one of those days. Once in the past 24 years has a team lost the first game and gone onto win the title and that was under Fergie. So the first game is a key indicator of where things go from there. We're good enough to challenge but the manager is not good enough to pull it all together anymore.

[Power n Glory]

Question for all the tactics people(cause i know about that stuff)

Over the past 4 seasons, we have a team, that posess the ball a lot. But struggles to create chances.

Why is this?

Posted this up a while back but just in case this was missed.

It really sums up where we're going wrong. The philosophy is so out of date. Players are fitter and won't tire as easily with our possession play. Also that first paragraph sums up why we're so soft. The philosophy is flawed and we approach most of our games this way.

http://performance.fourfourtwo.com/t...s-off-the-park

Don’t join the battle

“Take the game where you want. If you get drawn into the battle you will suffer. If you start making fouls and giving away throw-ins and corners then you lose your momentum, which is hard to get back. Stick to your passing game and keep the ball in their half. If you start forcing the play and giving the ball away you give them the opportunity to hit you on the counter attack. Arsene Wenger is so calm. He tells us to keep playing our football until the last minute of the game, and that has paid off.”

Tire out the opposition

“Make the opposition run for 10, 20, 30, 40 minutes – they will struggle to maintain their work rate for the entire game. Once they get tired, they start to make mistakes and you can draw them into two versus one or three versus two situations. This is your opportunity to find the spare man. If you keep the ball then the opposition will get tense and want to get aggressive. This will force them to break out of their positions and this is when you expose the space. Patience – that’s the difference between a good player and a top player.”

Confidence is key

“It doesn’t matter what system you play, or how hard the opposition press, you can find an advantage somewhere on the pitch. You have to pass with speed and precision and believe not only in yourself, but your team-mates, because sometimes you have to put them in trouble with a one-touch pass in a tight area of the pitch. You have to play the ball to their safer side – their stronger foot or where there’s more space for them to turn into. Sometimes just playing the ball into his feet isn’t good enough.”

ARTETA ON PASSING THE ARSENAL WAY

Work your way out of any dead end with this intricate drill, straight from the Gunners training ground

“At Arsenal, we do a lot of exercises where you have to play through the mannequins, but you can use cones.

This is a great drill because it’s real, you’re moving and finding the holes to play the diagonal pass, just like in a match.

The drill starts with player one passing the ball through two mannequins to player two, who with one touch steps through the next two mannequins.

He then passes the ball to player three on the outside. Player three returns the pass and begins his run around the three mannequins, forming a triangle.

Playing one-touch football, player two and three exchange passes between mannequins one, two and three.

Once player three has run past mannequin three he plays the ball back to player two and sprints around mannequins four and five.

Receiving the pass, player two takes one touch through the mannequin gate and plays a diagonal pass to player three as he runs past mannequin five.

The process repeats itself, with each player swapping positions in a clockwise direction. This drill will help you during a game when out to create two versus one situations against a defender.

It’s also great for finding the spare man. Think of player two as a midfielder and player three as a full back or winger on the overlap.”

[Chippy]

I argued with most on here that Cech wasn't the signing that others were making out. He's a good keeper but playing behind the Chelsea defense would have made most keepers look good. The likes of Terry, Ivanovich & Cahill would not allow the free headers in the centre of the box that we often concede, Cech wouldn't have had to come of his line & get caught out. Watch Merts for the second goal, watch his reaction when its blatantly obvious that the lad was going to shoot. Cech isn't used to uncontested shots coming at him from 20 yards.
So 1st lesson Wenger should have seen from Sunday & previous seasons is that Merts is too slow both in pace & in reacting to danger. For a guy his size, he is not dominant enough defending set pieces.
Going forward, he has not learnt from the end of last season. Ozil & Cazorla are nullified when Ramsey's getting in the way & when Giroud is on the pitch. Giroud plus no pace either side means we are so easy to play against. Home games against SUnderland & Swansea at the end of last season were awful, when he tried a bit of pace against West Brom & then Villa in the final - what happened, 8 goals. Great, we think, surely Le Prof has learnt this time but no, lets go back to tippy tappy 40 yards from goal, all trying to play of the statue of Giroud.
I am really not bothered about signing new players - only under a new manager with an ability to change & make the right decisions to win games, rather than selfishly trying to prove a point to all his doubters, will new signings give us a chance of winning the top prizes. Our regular 4th place & 2 cup wins have been won inspite of Wenger not because of him.

I argued ten years ago with the Guy's on here saying that Wenger had lost the plot and needed to go. I got banned.

[fakeyank]

I argued ten years ago with the Guy's on here saying that Wenger had lost the plot and needed to go. I got banned.

You'd still get punched in the face at the stadium if you said Wenger lost the plot. Goes to show how dumb people are..

[Munchies]

I argued ten years ago with the Guy's on here saying that Wenger had lost the plot and needed to go. I got banned.

I got banned from the first GW too

[Static]

Ray Parlour speaks some sense.

"If you look at Man City, you know Sergio Aguero is their main man, for Manchester United it's Wayne Rooney and at Chelsea, it's Diego Costa. Who is it at Arsenal?

http://www.skysports.com/football/ne...ys-ray-parlour

[Dein-machine]

I argued ten years ago with the Guy's on here saying that Wenger had lost the plot and needed to go. I got banned.

10 years ago after the early success the mods obviously thought you were a yid wum. Now, to be banned for criticising the fumbling old git would leave GW with about 4 members. Says it all really.

[Master Splinter]

Rooney is a shell of the player he once was though. And he has not been a consistently great goal-scorer ever. Most United fans seem to agree that he's almost a liability at times these days. The only people keeping the myth alive are the Stepford football pundits and media hype churners.