...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

Pain in the Ukraine

Shakhtar 2  Arsenal 1

Prior to this game I was hopeful that a lineup of new faces, or at the very least relatively old faces at new positions, might lead to a spirited performance. As the final scoreline indicates the only spirit displayed was perhaps the ghost of past away Champions League displays by Arsenal.

The early goal by Theo was lovely but disguised the fact that the team was struggling to establish their game. A combination of Arsenal miscues and Shakhtar determination dictated play and denied the Gunners their usual display of flowing football.

At home, Shakhtar were energized by their boisterous supporters and obviously anxious to redress public opinion following the previous meeting at the Emirates. Errors in judgement by Arsenal were at the root of both Shakhtar goals but it would be disingenuous to deny that skill and tenacity put the ball in the net. They tested Fabianski several more times and were unlucky not to register a third.

Arsenal looked disorganized. Wilshere had a mixed game, with good play interrupted by the occasional poor pass. His shot on goal in the second half seemed to sum up his evening. A great opportunity to equalize undone by a slip in quality.

Eastmond was disappointing. He seemed to be out of his element and the close up of he and Squillaci just before the start of the second half was telling. Squillaci appearing frustrated, almost desperate, instructing a non-responsive Eastmond.

Eboue had nothing to offer. Usually I am a fan, happy with his bursts up the field to open things up for others around him, or his ability to defend in place of Sagna. But tonight he provided neither and gave the ball away when forward and out of position when retreating.

Overall a real disappointment, and perhaps most troubling in that the performance clouds the issues regarding squad depth and positional strengths rather than clarify.

Focus on the League becomes a priority now and confidence must be regained.

Victoria Concordia Crescit