Gallas spares Wenger's blushes

Results

Date	Time	C	Opponent	F	A	R	S
03 Nov	12:45 PM	P	Manchester United (H)	2	2	Draw

Twice in the last week I've begged through my articles for Arsène Wenger not to play 4-5-1 against Man United. His mistakes in using that system, and then later in taking off Eboue for Walcott, in my eyes, gave Man Utd a 2-0 lead.

Luckily, captain fantastic William Gallas saved the day with a sublime finish at the death. I was very much in favour of his being made captain at the start of the season whilst others dispaired, but he has been integral to our new-found never-say-die attitude, and it was fitting that he epitomised that so well today by finding himself in that position late on and keeping cool to finish like a certain former Arsenal number 10 would have been proud of.

That goal will give us a huge lift, yet again. Draws are weird results, because whilst the scoreline is level, the feelings of the two teams are very different, depending on who ends the game on a high.

Against Liverpool and Man United, Arsenal have stared defeat in the face, but clawed it back late on, and shown everyone that they are up to the test. United, on the other hand, will be left quite devastated conceding late on and taking only a point, having lead twice.

Whilst this draw almost feels like a win, I must stress again that it really could have been a win if Wenger had got it right upfront. Adebayor wasn't as disasterous today as he was against Liverpool last week, but it's glaringly obvious that he needs a partner. The mere presence of van Persie in September gave Adebayor the freedom to do his stuff when he was on form, but in this system, he gets isolated because he is the obvious one for opposition defenders to mark, so he drops deep to get involved a bit more, and as a result we have no one in the box for our countless midfield playmakers to aim their passes at.

Obviously Wenger has been unlucky to lose van Persie. I'm sure if the Dutchman had been fit for these two games there would not have been any change to the system, and we could easily have been looking at 6 points, rather than 2, from 6. Arsenal have been flying recently and were well set up to win both of these games, and were indeed the better team in both, but looked better more in the way that they looked better last season; having tons of possesion in their opponents' halves and lacking a clinical edge.

Thankfully, Fabregas can't stop scoring this season and he has done it in the big games, so the options are there despite having no one in the box. He showed fantastic composure to place his shot into the only part of the goal that was available.

Wenger's second mistake was highlighted by Andy Gray on Sky Sports: Eboue for Walcott was a risky choice, and it didn't pay off. Eboue had a decent game and protected Sagna well. He has obviously played as a right-back before, so he is reasonably disciplined and has a good awareness of how to stop attacks. Walcott, as Wenger has stressed, is a striker, but was once again played on the right wing when Arsenal desperately needed two upfront, and he let Patrice Evra run right past him to set up Ronaldo's goal.

Another suggestion for Wenger would be to reconsider sticking with Almunia between the posts. In my opinion, the Spaniard could have done a lot better on both of the goals today. Rooney's shot might have taken a deflection or two, but it dribbled in at the near post, which should not be happening. He also did not need to run out quite so far for their second goal as Evra was not in a position to shoot, but with Almunia racing out leaving the goal unmarked, the United defender had the simple task of picking out Ronaldo, and we're behind with less than ten minutes to play.

There have been a lot of comparisons between United's French left-back Evra and our French left-back Clichy, but I think Evra is more like Ashley Cole, in that his attacking work is more off the ball than on. Watch the ground he covers to get into the box today, and also for their first goal against us last season. Cole was excellent at that, making runs off the ball to make more space for Píres and Henry. Clichy is different. He is an excellent dribbler and far better on the ball than both Cole and Evra, which he showed right at the death today, racing past two players, keeping the ball in play and whipping in a very dangerous cross, which ultimately found its way in via Gallas.

Looking back on these two big games of the last week, I'm obviously disappointed that our approach has slowed us down in terms of winning these two games, but as a result of that we could well have lost both, so ending both games on a high will be crucial. We've got some difficult games out of the way, we're still top of the league and we have a game in hand. All things considered, it's looking good.

User Comments

gunner always and forever

Posted on 4 Nov, 2007 at 08:39 PM - Reply

If 4-5-1 didn't wprk against Liverpool how would it work against Man U? We were lucky to come away with a draw yesterday no matter what anyone says. Taking off Eboue for Walcott was a big risk, and one that didn't pay off. Eboue was using his defensive mind set to track back Evra but when Walcott came on he didn't track back at all which led to Ronaldo's goal. Not going to make it out to be Walcott's fault as he's still only 18 and still has a lot to learn. But Wenger picked the wrong squad yesterday. Man U had the better chances in the game than us, Ferguson was disapointed with the draw but Wenger was happy? Does he forget we were playing at home? We were lucky yesterday. 4-5-1 bad, very bad decision.

Ayo Onashile

Posted on 4 Nov, 2007 at 06:06 PM - Reply

I totally agree neither Lehmann or Almunia will do us good, we surely need January transfer priority for a world class keeper

Darren,Gooner 4 life

Posted on 4 Nov, 2007 at 04:30 PM - Reply

Personally,I don`t the 4-5-1 system meself,but Wenger must of thought how well d system worked up at Old Trafford last season when Adebayor scored the winner and Arsenal had played United off d park.This also suggests that Wenger does not seem to trust Walcott and for that matter Eduardo enough to throw either 1 of them up top with Adebayor,cause if Van Persie had of been fit there is no doubt it would of been 4-4-2 with Adebayor and van persie.

darazo ng

Posted on 4 Nov, 2007 at 02:51 PM - Reply

I think for arsenal to go all the way, Wenger needs to think about a new striking option. i mean getting a new striker; a potent striker. May be Dmitir Berbatov from spurs? what do you think?

Amr

Posted on 4 Nov, 2007 at 02:37 PM - Reply

i think that we could've won both games. i will make it short and clear, ADEBAYOR IS TOTALLY USELESS. i bet that if we had a good striker up front we would've won both games. Look at our scoring sheet! all the goals we scored in the recent games are from defenders and midfielders. a big question mark on Adebayor. he lacks stability, finishing, and pace. I hope that wenger reconsider his decision to play Adebayor from the start. I think having Bendtner and eduardo along together would be great. I'm sure those two lads can put the ball in the back of the net easily.

Damian...

Posted on 4 Nov, 2007 at 01:09 PM - Reply

Maybe AW was wrong to use a 4-5-1 yesterday but i think playing 4-5-1 at anfield was a good decision, liverpool are pretty average some games then spectacular the next so he was not entierly sure what to expect. So i think a cautios 4-5-1 was a good decision, not to mention that we were unlucky not to win the game at anfield playing 4-5-1. Theo was a mistake as was not starting gilberto!

iob

Posted on 4 Nov, 2007 at 12:19 PM - Reply

Almunia is learning and so we should not be over critical of the chappie, lets not forget his great saves in our match against liverpool. Lehman no, i feel alot more confident with him between the post. Even the arsenal players admit this. We controlled the game yesterday but did not create enough dangerous chances. Substituting eboue yesterday was the error made and it gave evra the chance to run and make the pass, the pass from saha was fantastic i have to say. Two difficult games gone and now we can continue on our winning ways. GOONERS come on when will we be satisfied.

aabbs7

Posted on 4 Nov, 2007 at 10:19 AM - Reply

I agree, I dont like the 4-5-1 formation,its not only the formation, its the defnsive mentality aswell which I dont like, speacilly in the 1st half. theres been times when the balls been bobbing around in the area and all its needed is an Arsenal player just to toe poke it and it would be a goal, but only there was only 1 Arsenal shirt in the box it happened against Liverpool, and it happened against Man U, no Arsenal players in the box, apart from when we were a goal down. Man U obviously tried to kick us, intimidate and muscle us out, they were up to their usual tricks again, diving, intimidating the ref, and Anderson is a fuckin cheat, I dont like swearing, but he deserves it. But ultimately I think if we were getting players in the box, we would have won it, no doubt that we are the better football side. Im not sure about Eboue, he played well, I was surprised Hleb was taken off, I thought he was outstanding. I personally thought he was going to swap Flamini for Gilberto, then maybe put Eduardo on for Eboue/Rosicky when we were 2-1 down. Anyways all in all, 2-2 is not bad, but knowing we could have won it, its disappointing. We still top of the league, and we got Van Persie coming back, lets just hope we can sustain it through the November/December period.
You lot are talking about goalkeeprs, i was reding in last saturdays Guardian that since Almunia has come in, according to their points scoring system, Almunias been the best keeper in the premiership, he scored 84%, But the way he came off his line for no reason yesterday, not once, but 3 times, maybe cost us a win, he done it against Spurs aswell, but Toure saved him, Lehmann is a nutcase, Almunia is dodgy, every league winning side MUST have a big presence in goal, thats definately the weak link for us I think. Its a shame we didnt get Buffon from Juve when they got relegated 2 years ago, January transfer priority has to be a world class keeper.

Kajubi

Posted on 4 Nov, 2007 at 09:37 AM - Reply

We have to appreciate what Almunia is doing in Goal , no more suprise 30 Yard Shots making their way into our net. Lehman was always out of position when it came to this. And about yesterday's Game , I believe AW made a mistake to take out Hleb as he was keeping the Man U defence Busy.If you noticed they started playing some football there after.

rajz_ManUtd

Posted on 4 Nov, 2007 at 08:55 AM - Reply

clichy is better than evra ??? you gotta be kidding me....

mayanja richard

Posted on 4 Nov, 2007 at 08:49 AM - Reply

i think the system is in use coz van persie is not available. to me i think it was not right for wenger not to play lehman. he has the experience and a professional touch on big days. alumunia was poor on both goals. i also think it is a grave error not to play Gilberto earlier coz we need his experience to tame bigger opponents.

Powerhouse

Posted on 4 Nov, 2007 at 03:26 AM - Reply

Yes, there is some truth in your argument and Arsene should not have opted for 4-5-1 formation given the talented squad at his disposal. But did you sit back and think twice how Arsenal controled and gained territorial advantage in the middle of the park? With Fabregas, Hleb, Rosicky and co. outplaying the man utd in midfield was a joy to watch.

Powerhouse

Posted on 4 Nov, 2007 at 03:08 AM - Reply

Yes, there is some truth in your argument and Arsene should not have opted for 4-5-1 formation given the talented squad at his disposal. But did you sit back and think twice how Arsenal controled and gained territorial advantage in the middle of the park? With Fabregas, Hleb, Rosicky and co. outplaying the man utd in midfield was a joy to watch.

goonerman

Posted on 3 Nov, 2007 at 10:20 PM - Reply

I really think we were average today. Tactis are strong but is it just me or do other readers sense that Arsenal are a bunch of twats?

bob

Posted on 3 Nov, 2007 at 10:03 PM - Reply

to be honest i dont rate almunia or lehman, just hoping the new lad can be our new david seaman, but i guess he wont get a real chance till next season.

bob

Posted on 3 Nov, 2007 at 10:02 PM - Reply

to be honest i dont rate almunia or lehman, just hoping the new lad can be our new david seaman, but i guess he wont get a real chance till next season.

Ayo Onashile

Posted on 3 Nov, 2007 at 09:35 PM - Reply

May be if Robin is fit, then Wenger wouldn't have played the 4-5-1. But while we are praying for robin to get well, what about Obafemi Martins for January window. I think He'll fit in 4-4-2 squad for arsenal.

Steven

Posted on 3 Nov, 2007 at 09:29 PM - Reply

If you ask me i think with Alumnia gives our defence allot more conifdence than Lehmann does and instead of putting Lehmann in goal i would keep Alumnia in goal untill January then buy a decent italian keeper or even shay given from newcastle in the january transfer window.

Steven

Posted on 3 Nov, 2007 at 09:28 PM - Reply

If you ask me i think with Alumnia gives our defence allot more conifdence than Lehmann does and instead of putting Lehmann in goal i would keep Alumnia in goal untill January then buy a decent italian keeper or even shay given from newcastle in the january transfer window.

Steven

Posted on 3 Nov, 2007 at 09:25 PM - Reply

If you ask me i think with Alumnia gives our defence allot more conifdence than Lehmann does and instead of putting Lehmann in goal i would keep Alumnia in goal untill January then buy a decent italian keeper or even shay given from newcastle in the january transfer window.

zi

Posted on 3 Nov, 2007 at 08:54 PM - Reply

well i certainly think the 4-5-1 formation was not a bad idea from the manager because arsenal managed to close down ronaldo quite well. i think the problem came when he substituted eboue for theo because that certainly made man u attack us on that wing. ade is looking good for me and thinks are looking good for arsenal and all that is needed is discipline to win the league

seanoc

Posted on 3 Nov, 2007 at 08:04 PM - Reply

I have been saying exactly what has been said in this article - that Adebayor is no good on his own up front and that he needs some help . Ever since VP was ruled out injured he has stuggled up front . Please pleeeeese Mr Wenger , play Walcott as a striker to take some of the heat off Adebayor and give us some more options in front of goal .

Thierryunreal

Posted on 3 Nov, 2007 at 07:34 PM - Reply

Oh! back up the bread basket there brother!!! but seriously! you want to drop almunia! come off it! for lehmann! same lehmann who rushes out of his goal at every opportunity, who hates corner kicks and tiny centre forwards(defoe), who gets a record number of yellow cards, you gat 2 be kiddind me!!!

jamesg

Posted on 3 Nov, 2007 at 07:08 PM - Reply

Man utd were soo lucky today, rooney fluffed his shot and it deflected into goal. They were lucky at other times today. About 451, theres no way you know better than arsene wenger. Thats a defensive formation and you saw how attacking man utd were. O looks like ppl want old butter fingers back in goal coz almunia let 2 in.

Goons_with_Guns

Posted on 3 Nov, 2007 at 06:19 PM - Reply

Alumnia to the bench, Lehmann back. not that the first goal was his fault, but his rush out to Evra, again shows that he has a lot to learn on his timing. Nontheless, we're getting good results even when we don't play our game (like today).

Wandera.Charles in Uganda!

Posted on 3 Nov, 2007 at 06:13 PM - Reply

True!You are an excellent analyser.Wish wenger could read your articles!Substitutions cost us!But rèf.Was also a little biased to Man.U!We had a penalty disallowed frm.A handball and there first goal had clichy fouled!But also cant adebayor try it out with Eduardo?

andy b

Posted on 3 Nov, 2007 at 06:10 PM - Reply

Quality player gallas. but united will win the league. arsenal need to watch chelski to make sure they get their runners up medals this year.

Nickolas

Posted on 3 Nov, 2007 at 05:44 PM - Reply

About the 4-5-1 formation...i thought the 1 lone striker is used to support the 5 midfields. in my opinion, Ade is more suited for passing the ball to the middies like Tomas, Hleb, Cesc...etc. the mids could press on and Ade could just give them the ball and let them shoot. And about the goal keeper thingy, i think that Jens deserve a second chance. Almunia isnt a keeper i would trust now, nor is he the one i would trust in the future. 4-5-1 is a formidable formation to use for Arsenal, given our midfield. i think i would trust the 4-5-1 more than the 4-4-2. well...that's just my opinion.

janus

Posted on 3 Nov, 2007 at 05:39 PM - Reply

very good article if we have a half decent centre forward we would have won both games cf's are judged on goals or at least working the goalie in the last three games our cf has not worked the goalie including the 7-0 win agree about wengers substitutions should have been earlier and also should have bought on eduardo i wonder if adebayor will be like henry inasmuch he will never subbed even if he's having a stinker like today yet i sit at the emirates and hear those behind the goal shouting his name i ask can he head a ball can he shoot has he got a good first shout is he a striker

davio

Posted on 3 Nov, 2007 at 05:37 PM - Reply

I think it is about time Diarrs is given a go to play front of Sagna he will cover when he goes forward and even cover Kolo

User Comments

• Got something to say?
• Read comments

Vs chelsea