Arsenal: Match Report

I had to watch the game intermittently while teaching today and then caught the highlights at home, so I've gone back and watched the game. Arsenal started brightly with the early goal, but then played a pretty sloppy rest of the half, with a number of bad passes. Bayern started the second half on the ascendancy, but were not able to break through. Arsenal had some chances in the last 20 minutes and Koscienly did put us within one with a few minutes left but Arsenal failed to create the chance to win it. So, to player ratings:

Ref (C-): the referee and linesman seemed to be the 12th man for Bayern in the this game with a number of questionable calls, a very close offsides call in the 55th minute that otherwise would have seen Walcott in on goal and one bizarre foul call after another. Bayern bullied Arsenal throughout, but only about half of the fouls were called while Arsenal was penalized every time a Bayern player went down. There were two missed corners as well and how there could only be 3 minutes of added time after a goal and constant time wasting by Bayern is beyond me. While none of the decisions directly affected the outcome, it was a poor, one-sided showing from my perspective. Just to provide a telling stat: Arsenal were called for 25 fouls versus 13 for Bayern, while I thought Bayern were the slightly more physical side (also 6 corners to 1, with at least two questionable ones --> one given to Bayern and one not given to Arsenal). 

Fabianski (8): a nice return to action for our other Pole goalkeeper. Had a number of fine saves, positioning was good and he was charging up the defense by shouting at his teammates throughout. The one complaint was his distribution, which was quite poor at times.

Jenkinson (7.5): Jenkinson was great defensively, often coming across to challenge when Gibbs or Kos got caught off. His long run to challenge Robbin when he was in on goal in the second half probably disrupted him just enough (though the Fabianski save was great.

Mertesacker (7): a decent game for the German international, with a number of key tackles and defensive headers, though he is so slow passing the ball forward, it allowed Bayern to press up. While he rarely gives the ball away, he rarely gets the attack going either. I'd like to see someone brought in to challenge him for the starting role this summer. Positionally sound, most of the time, but just not quick enough for England or some teams in Europe.

Kosielny (9): scored the second goal that increased hope for Arsenal and was brilliant defensively throughout. Hopefully this game will spur him forward to finish the season as he did last year, after a sub par one so far.

Gibbs (7): maybe a little high, but Gibbs had a solid game upon returning to the starting lineup after over a month out. He lined up against the ever-dangerous Robbin and although he was beat on occasion, he kept Mueller and Robbin in check for most of the game. Wasn't as impressive going forward, but our midfielders were giving the ball up way to much and rarely attacked from the left until Gervinho came in.

Arteta (5): I think this is a game to forget for the usually reliable Arteta. While he made some important tackles defensively, a couple of fouls in stoppage time, after a wasted free kick, pretty much sealed the game for Bayern. Arteta was uncharacteristically sloppy with the ball and rarely got the Gunners going on the counter.

Ramsey (4): Ramsey gave the ball away with bad passes or simply by being tackled more times than I could count. He allowed Bayern to bully the game in the middle for much of the game and while he contributed defensively, he killed far too many Arsenal attacks. A real step backwards for a player who has seemingly improved in recent games. 

Rosicky (4): besides his contribution to the first goal, this is the worst game I've ever seen Rosicky play. He missed pass after pass, had the ball taken from him regularly and committed a number of silly fouls. His effort level was high, but was particularly guilty of letting Bayern take control back in the first half with his sloppy play. Arsenal seemed to be playing on the counter, but Rosicky failed to get the ball out to the wings or through effectively. To be fair, his pass to Walcott looked onsides, and might have provided the second goal before Kos's header.

Cazorla (7): Cazorla set up the first and provided the corner for the second. He was the most lively presence on the pitch but was unfortunately isolated as the Gunners tried to attack from the right far too often. Also thought Bayern got away with a few tackles on him that should have been called.

Walcott (5): Walcott provided the cross that opened the scoring in the 6th minute, and sent another cross through before the break that Giroud might have latched onto if he were a bit quicker to react, but was otherwise innoculated by a tough Bayern defense. Walcott was not bad, but he is largely useless defensively and has taken several steps backward in form since signing the new contract. Theo has to start scoring some goals again. 

Giroud (6): but for the first goal,  this score would be much lower. Giroud was great at the onset finishing from a brisk Walcott cross, but then just didn't seem to provide the right touch or distribute the ball effectively after the first ten minutes or so. He really needs to learn positioning and when to jump on headers, as he is often on the way back down or sideways when the ball arrives. Also needs to work on his first touch as it let him down on several occasions after the first 10 minutes. He has now scored 15 goals this season and provided a number of assists, but he needs to improve overall if he is to continue leading the line next year. Certainly not world class and has to work on his decision-making.

Subs

Ox (NR): Ox did force a corner, but was otherwise largely invisible during his stint on the field. This has truly been a disappointing second season for the emerging star and one hopes the summer off gets him back in the right state of mind.

Gervinho (6): Gervinho was lively upon entering the game and a lovely turn gave him a chance on goal, though watching it again did convince me that I was a little harsh in the last post. Still needs to improve dramatically if he is going to stay with the Gunners.

So I thought it was an incredibly impressive defensive effort by the Gunners, who were really tough in the box and pressed up the field well, but might have really suffered from the absence of Wilshere, who probably could have possibly broken down the Bayern defense better than Arteta, Ramsey or Rosicky. On the offensive side, Arsenal needed to move the ball more quickly than they did, and after the first goal, should have been sending the ball into the box more often. They only had five shots the entire game and only two on goal (both went in). This has been the problem far too often this year, with the team not creating enough chances. Don't get me wrong, Bayern has probably been the most impressive defensive team in Europe this year and this was an impressive victory, but we did fall short and were probably luck Bayern were shooting from distance and barely missing throughout (23 shots but only 5 on goal). Possession was close (54% for Bayern), but they seemed nervous and better passing from Arsenal might have allowed us to squeak by. 

One other point not directly related to the game: rumors have surfaced that Arsenal are fielding offers for Podolski. I think this would be a huge mistake as playing on the left side, and rarely for more than 70 minutes, the German has scored 8 goals and provided 9 assists in the league and 14/11 overall in 35 appearances. Those are pretty impressive numbers for a guy playing as a winger and they might be better if he played through the middle more often. While some announcers have called him a disappointment, I totally disagree. If he were playing today (out injured), I wonder if we would have won). My guess is he will only improve with time and that his defensive work rate will go up as well as he gets used to the pace and physicality of the Premiership. 

The great hope is this performance will push us to a good last 9 games in the EPL, with all but the Manchester United game winnable. We shall see if the momentum carries forward on Saturday.