I'm Back, But What of Arsenal?

So much good work by Arsenal undone by two horrendous performances in Cup games. The victory over Chelsea, and to a lesser extent the draw with Man City, relegated to "blip" status - short-lived glimmers of hope that this team has arrived ready to challenge for the title.


Arsene must be the most disappointed, having conceded to the demands of fans to pursue any and all trophies available, only to be let down by starting squads clearly superior to the opposition.


Focus must now be on West Ham. They are a team that cannot be taken lightly. With nothing to lose and everything to gain they will provide Arsenal a stiff test and each and every Gunner must play with desire and intensity. Leadership on the field has been sorely lacking, and Cesc must step up and provide the inspiration.


C'mon Gunners, let's get back to our winning ways!




Victoria Concordia Crescit

...Missed

Manchester United  1  -  Arsenal  0


This season has produced several results which left many Arsenal fans questioning the players desire. All sorts of skill but focus and effort lacking. Tonight, the Gunners expended huge amounts of energy but were let down by errant passing and poor touch.

Neither team played particularly well, and though the statistics and many Man U fans may suggest otherwise, the final score was in fact the result of a fortunate deflection. To be fair, Park's header required quick and instinctive reflexes, and it floated up and over the outstretched hand of Sczezny clearing his gloved hand by inches. Nani was going for goal, but as so often this evening, Clichy was there anticipating correctly and getting his foot to the ball. Unfortunately that deflection sent the ball in front of goal and Park reacted quick enough to deflect it again, this time into the upper left corner.


Other notes:


Webb wasn't at his worst, but there were several inconsistencies and the call by the linesman to award Man U the penalty kick clearly a response to the pressure being applied by the home fans.


Wilshere was excellent. He handles the big stage like a seasoned pro.


Cesc and RVP are still rusty.


Sczezny absolutely has what it takes.


Clichy contained Nani, taking the ball away from him in several one-on-one situations. He had the toughest assignment defensively and performed well.


Clichy, like many others, were often let down by their indecision when they had a moment on the ball. "One-touch" became two or three and advantage lost.


Song seemed "out-of-sync". He had one of those games where every attempt to anticipate left him out of position and chasing.


We appeared much too reliant on Nasri to create some magic. 


Ferdinand deserved a yellow for his waist-high-leading-leg-shirt-cutting-superman impersonation.


The general feeling seems to be that despite the final score, there must be some satisfaction in the performance defensively. In addition, we have completed our away fixtures against Chelsea, Man U, Man City and Liverpool, and home wins against all of them a very real possibility.


Tough result, but not the end of the season.




Victoria Cocordia Crescit