Saturday was a great match in the eyes of neutrals and football lovers but for me and many other supporters it was a nightmare and was a relief just to get through without having a heart attack. It looks like we are starting to get our touch back in front of goal but it is our defensive mishaps which are a cause for concern. Mourinho has said it, George Graham has said it, Tony Adams has said it, heck even the most important person whose love for attack can’t be questioned has said it; Arsène Wenger.
This is one of the main reasons we sit 2 points behind Chelsea in the title race. When the attack is off form, as was the case recently it is up to the defense to ensure that a 1 goal lead is sufficient. What I wouldn’t give to be able to go back to the days of “1-0 to the Arsenal” when our attack is misfiring. I’d rather that than score lines of 1-1 or 0-0.
Once again our team is starting to concede a lot of goals, but I feel Cygan is being targeted as a scapegoat by many. We just have to get back to basics and learn how to defend as a team once more. I feel the blame lies with the team defensively as a whole, not one individual, but the whole team from the keeper up to the strikers. The have a job to provide cover for the line of defense directly behind them, like the defenders cover the goalkeeper, the midfield cover the defenders and so on.
Recently I feel we have stopped defending as a team, and largely because of this we have started to see results not go in the way we want. At set pieces we seem to be all over the place. This zonal marking thing is not working and needs to be addressed ASAP. Teams know this is our weakness now and just try to win freekicks and pressurise us in the air. And so far they are succeeding.
Reason for this could be our teams over reliance to attack. We need to understand that there needs to be a balance between defense and attack. There is a bad mentality of "We will score more than you" that will get us killed against the big teams with better defenses and in Europe. This attitude strikes alarming resemblances to that of 2003 and we all know what happened back then.
Another reason could be the injury to Sol Campbell which has more than one effect:
First of all our team revolves around him as our lynchpin defensively and without him we lose a great influence at the back. Cygan may be good but we all know what a presence Campbell has, but even then the blame should not be placed on Cygan as he does not make that many more mistakes than other defenders during this bad period. Cygan is a backup and plays good enough to be our backup when called upon. But when we lose Campbell we are losing world class. Cygan unfortunately is not world class. But then again who is better than or at least as good as Campbell AND is willing to sit on the bench until he is needed? Not any I can think of. I mean anyone that big has international aspirations and needs games in order to fulfill them. Even of there was I don’t think we could find one who is available at a price we can afford.
Another effect of this is the influence it has on Kolo Toure. He is a great player and showed the world what he is capable of last season but I feel he is not performing to the high standards of last season. A reason for this is that Toure needs a leader figure next to him and Cygan is not one. But then again a player of his calibre should be looking to cement his place amongst the up and coming group of world class youngsters at the moment and prove that he is one the finest Centre Backs to emerge in recent times.
Another bad think about Toure this season seems to be his lack of form compared to that of last season. Another reason apart from the Campbell one is that he lacks that quality backup he needs. Someone to seriously challenge for his spot in the same way he did to Keown. He seems to be playing within himself and is not reaching the heights he reached last year. It seems this is what he needs and in a few months time we could see someone bought for this purpose or Senderos getting ready for his assault on the first team. Last season was his first team season and he had to prove himself but in a way now that he is there and has no one to seriously challenge him he looks to be playing within himself.
Gilberto is another reason we are playing badly. I think people are starting to notice how important he is to us after having him in our team for more than two seasons now. The way he shield the team is admirable and it helps a lot. When out midfield and fullbacks start to attack it is he who keeps the defense in order and most of the time stops the attack before it even reaches the heart of our defense. His is what many have dubbed the "Invisible Wall" of our team. His is also the best header of the ball on our team so we have missed him greatly on set pieces as well.
Another thing has to be confidence. Recently we have been dealt a big confidence blow with regard to our defense and in my view it is starting to show. Take note that our team is almost unchanged from that which was the best in the land last season bar the departure of Martin Keown.
Look at the number of goals we concede from freekicks compared to that from open play. A very big difference I think. A reason for this seems hard to fathom, but once you stop to think about it is not such a hard thing to come to terms though is it?
Have you noticed how poor we are when it comes to attacking freekicks? I would like to know how many we score in an average season.
Our team just cannot take set pieces. Corners and freekicks are not our specialty but to be so poor at them is a disgrace. When we take one I watch not expecting a goal or anything resembling one. We seem to either hit so high that it misses everyone and goes out for a throw in and once again we are on the backfoot. Or we kick it so low and hard that the slightest touch of the first defenders toe would put it back near to our own half.
Just thinking of who our main set piece takers are makes you wonder why we are so poor at them. Henry is a magnificent player, and one of the fore runners for the World Player of the Year award, but he can’t take a corner to save his life. Pires who seems to always pick out the right pass seems dumbfounded when asked to put a ball into the box. Even Bergkamp for all his vision looks lost when taking a flighted freekick.
Sam Allardyce once said in an interview after his team beat Newcastle 2-1: "No matter who you are, set pieces decide games. You're in deep trouble if you concede from them and you're going great if you can score from them."
Now this is a great quote and one many Arsenal fans will agree to. One only needs to look back at the Panathinaikos game ion Greece and Southampton a few weeks back to understand why. Games revolve around freekicks and when we get one it should be an advantage for us, which unfortunately at present it is not. It is only a burden which is keeping us from scoring vital goals, and at the same time making sure we concede from them. It is as if set pieces are making life as hard as possible for the players.
It seems all is not lost though as for the few minutes that Robin van Persie is on the pitch he takes responsibility for all corners and many of our freekicks. On the occasions I’ve seen him, he seems to be a breath of fresh air and actually seems to know what he is doing. He has a left foot to die for and when at his old club Feyenoord he used to have set piece competitions with one of the greatest set piece experts in Pierre van Hoijdonk. And he used to even win on some occasions.
Now go to training where Arsène Wenger says that it is a simple task to improve ourselves defensively on set pieces. Truth is if we practice will it make a big difference? Especially when we can't even put them in well enough or attack them as an attacking unit, so what do the defenders have to learn when our strikers aren't giving them a stern test?
I feel there is a lot to do in order to get back to how we were last season, but our cause will be furthered immensely with a run of a few good defensive displays, coupled with the returns of Campbell and Gilberto. Then we will hopefully be ready defensively for the most crucial time of the season where we need to grind out results; the Title Race.
There is still a lot of time left to rectify this but in any case Arsène needs to address this situation sooner rather than later thus making sure we have as great an advantage possible when it comes to what Alex Fergeson famously described as "Butt squeaking time".
This is one of the main reasons we sit 2 points behind Chelsea in the title race. When the attack is off form, as was the case recently it is up to the defense to ensure that a 1 goal lead is sufficient. What I wouldn’t give to be able to go back to the days of “1-0 to the Arsenal” when our attack is misfiring. I’d rather that than score lines of 1-1 or 0-0.
Once again our team is starting to concede a lot of goals, but I feel Cygan is being targeted as a scapegoat by many. We just have to get back to basics and learn how to defend as a team once more. I feel the blame lies with the team defensively as a whole, not one individual, but the whole team from the keeper up to the strikers. The have a job to provide cover for the line of defense directly behind them, like the defenders cover the goalkeeper, the midfield cover the defenders and so on.
Recently I feel we have stopped defending as a team, and largely because of this we have started to see results not go in the way we want. At set pieces we seem to be all over the place. This zonal marking thing is not working and needs to be addressed ASAP. Teams know this is our weakness now and just try to win freekicks and pressurise us in the air. And so far they are succeeding.
Reason for this could be our teams over reliance to attack. We need to understand that there needs to be a balance between defense and attack. There is a bad mentality of "We will score more than you" that will get us killed against the big teams with better defenses and in Europe. This attitude strikes alarming resemblances to that of 2003 and we all know what happened back then.
Another reason could be the injury to Sol Campbell which has more than one effect:
First of all our team revolves around him as our lynchpin defensively and without him we lose a great influence at the back. Cygan may be good but we all know what a presence Campbell has, but even then the blame should not be placed on Cygan as he does not make that many more mistakes than other defenders during this bad period. Cygan is a backup and plays good enough to be our backup when called upon. But when we lose Campbell we are losing world class. Cygan unfortunately is not world class. But then again who is better than or at least as good as Campbell AND is willing to sit on the bench until he is needed? Not any I can think of. I mean anyone that big has international aspirations and needs games in order to fulfill them. Even of there was I don’t think we could find one who is available at a price we can afford.
Another effect of this is the influence it has on Kolo Toure. He is a great player and showed the world what he is capable of last season but I feel he is not performing to the high standards of last season. A reason for this is that Toure needs a leader figure next to him and Cygan is not one. But then again a player of his calibre should be looking to cement his place amongst the up and coming group of world class youngsters at the moment and prove that he is one the finest Centre Backs to emerge in recent times.
Another bad think about Toure this season seems to be his lack of form compared to that of last season. Another reason apart from the Campbell one is that he lacks that quality backup he needs. Someone to seriously challenge for his spot in the same way he did to Keown. He seems to be playing within himself and is not reaching the heights he reached last year. It seems this is what he needs and in a few months time we could see someone bought for this purpose or Senderos getting ready for his assault on the first team. Last season was his first team season and he had to prove himself but in a way now that he is there and has no one to seriously challenge him he looks to be playing within himself.
Gilberto is another reason we are playing badly. I think people are starting to notice how important he is to us after having him in our team for more than two seasons now. The way he shield the team is admirable and it helps a lot. When out midfield and fullbacks start to attack it is he who keeps the defense in order and most of the time stops the attack before it even reaches the heart of our defense. His is what many have dubbed the "Invisible Wall" of our team. His is also the best header of the ball on our team so we have missed him greatly on set pieces as well.
Another thing has to be confidence. Recently we have been dealt a big confidence blow with regard to our defense and in my view it is starting to show. Take note that our team is almost unchanged from that which was the best in the land last season bar the departure of Martin Keown.
Look at the number of goals we concede from freekicks compared to that from open play. A very big difference I think. A reason for this seems hard to fathom, but once you stop to think about it is not such a hard thing to come to terms though is it?
Have you noticed how poor we are when it comes to attacking freekicks? I would like to know how many we score in an average season.
Our team just cannot take set pieces. Corners and freekicks are not our specialty but to be so poor at them is a disgrace. When we take one I watch not expecting a goal or anything resembling one. We seem to either hit so high that it misses everyone and goes out for a throw in and once again we are on the backfoot. Or we kick it so low and hard that the slightest touch of the first defenders toe would put it back near to our own half.
Just thinking of who our main set piece takers are makes you wonder why we are so poor at them. Henry is a magnificent player, and one of the fore runners for the World Player of the Year award, but he can’t take a corner to save his life. Pires who seems to always pick out the right pass seems dumbfounded when asked to put a ball into the box. Even Bergkamp for all his vision looks lost when taking a flighted freekick.
Sam Allardyce once said in an interview after his team beat Newcastle 2-1: "No matter who you are, set pieces decide games. You're in deep trouble if you concede from them and you're going great if you can score from them."
Now this is a great quote and one many Arsenal fans will agree to. One only needs to look back at the Panathinaikos game ion Greece and Southampton a few weeks back to understand why. Games revolve around freekicks and when we get one it should be an advantage for us, which unfortunately at present it is not. It is only a burden which is keeping us from scoring vital goals, and at the same time making sure we concede from them. It is as if set pieces are making life as hard as possible for the players.
It seems all is not lost though as for the few minutes that Robin van Persie is on the pitch he takes responsibility for all corners and many of our freekicks. On the occasions I’ve seen him, he seems to be a breath of fresh air and actually seems to know what he is doing. He has a left foot to die for and when at his old club Feyenoord he used to have set piece competitions with one of the greatest set piece experts in Pierre van Hoijdonk. And he used to even win on some occasions.
Now go to training where Arsène Wenger says that it is a simple task to improve ourselves defensively on set pieces. Truth is if we practice will it make a big difference? Especially when we can't even put them in well enough or attack them as an attacking unit, so what do the defenders have to learn when our strikers aren't giving them a stern test?
I feel there is a lot to do in order to get back to how we were last season, but our cause will be furthered immensely with a run of a few good defensive displays, coupled with the returns of Campbell and Gilberto. Then we will hopefully be ready defensively for the most crucial time of the season where we need to grind out results; the Title Race.
There is still a lot of time left to rectify this but in any case Arsène needs to address this situation sooner rather than later thus making sure we have as great an advantage possible when it comes to what Alex Fergeson famously described as "Butt squeaking time".
