Arsenal Massacre: Part Deux

As I have told friends in the past, low expectations and high hopes is a good way to avoid the rather constant disappointment that can otherwise color a life at times. With Arsenal this season, that has been an apt aphorism indeed. And the match against AC Milan at the San Siro today certainly reinforced the notion that low expectations will keep Gooners from going insane. This has to go down as one of the worst performances by the club in recent years and the worst performance in Europe that I have ever seen. We were dominated from beginning to end, looked like a second division team at times and got really shoddy performances from many of our best players. The 4-0 defeat not only effectively knocked us out of the Champions League before the quarters for the second year in a row, but showed the extent to which this once top club has fallen. Sure we are sitting in fourth place at present and are still in the FA Cup, but this is just the sort of performance that has become so endemic of our second-half collapses the past few years.

Let's start in the back, where Szczesny had a very average game, including the inability to clear the half way line on clearances that led to the first goal. Vermaelen had one of his worst games as a Gunner after finally find his way back to his preferred centre back position, slipping on the all important third goal but really looking out of sorts all day. Koscielny had a very good first half, but then went off with an injury to be replaced by Djourou who we really need to unload. He is just too prone to mistakes and cost us the fourth goal with a pathetic attempt at defending the hero for Milan (Ibrahimovich) that led to a successful penalty by the Czech star. On the wings, Sagna was adequate and Gibbs average in his return, though he was beat often by Boateng, who launched a scorching volley for the first goal of the massacre. Moving to the midfield, Song played okay before moving back to centre back when Oxlade-Chamberlain came in. Chamberlain looked good again and almost sparked a couple of goals, begging the obvious question of why he didn't start. Arteta played average, completing a lot of passes but few that moved the team forward in threatening positions. And Ramsey was truly terrible yet again. He constantly tries to push the ball through the middle and fails over and over again, hits poor back heals when we are in good positions and has essential  lost the creativity and confidence that had him looking really strong earlier in the campaign. Moving forward, one has to say that Van Persie had an average game by his standards, failing to come out to get the ball as service failed to impress. Walcott was truly terrible and begs serious questions about his role as Gervinho comes back from the ACN. And Rosicky was okay, but lacks the skill he possessed when coming to the squad, with his shots always errant and his passing less than precise. Henry played the entire second half but had a minimal impact in a match that was soon 3-0 and all but out of reach.

Looking at the game overall, one has to ask what Wenger is thinking? Why he decided to play a 4-3-2-1 is beyond me, as it seemed to isolate van Persie even more and he only had a few opportunities the entire match (almost converting one but for a good save). One can also ask why he didn't start Chamberlain who appears to be the second biggest threat on the attack and why Ramsey started, given his form of late. And he just doesn't seem to motivate his teams for these big matches in the ways he did in the past, starting way back in the heartbreaking Champions League final loss to Barcelona and the lackluster Carling Cup final performance last year. Ramsey and Walcott need to spend some time on the bench to contemplate what has happened to their games, we need to find a way to get beyond this loss as big matches lie ahead and we have to find a new formation that poses more of a threat offensively (or just go back to the 4-3-3 with better performances from the attacking troops). The team seemed to play scared and without real belief and it showed. Yes AC Milan played a good game, but we were pathetic in the back, average in the midfield (often retreating rather than pushing forward), too narrow for most of the match and completely without creativity or quality in the final third (besides the Van Persie shot). If this form continues, we will be out of the FA Cup, fall out of fourth place, probably lose Van Persie (who has been a little lackluster of late, except in the Blackburn mauling) and have a hard time signing the top players we need to compete in the future. And on a final note, if we had signed a real striker rather than Park one wonders how the first half of the season would have gone. If we had signed Cahill instead of Mertesacker, could we have avoided the early season and New Year's slump? And if we signed a creative midfielder, might we have scored a few more goals, sitting solidly in fourth place and able to concentrate on the other competitions? All of these questions together add up to the key one I have been asking for months -- which is whether it is time to let Wenger move on to another club? Sometimes you need a scapegoat and change and I just sense that he has lost control of the team, with Van Persie screaming "no" against Man U. and Vermaelen complaining about where he plays. Ultimately, the management has to decide if they will continue telling the fans to f*off and hope they stay true or actually do something to return the Gunners to past glory.