When Arsenal lost to Aston
Villa in the opening fixture of the new season, few could have foretold what
would follow. Not only have they not lost since, but have won games through
grit, determination and even several comeback wins after ceding the equalizing
goal. On Wednesday, Wenger put out a squad of youngsters in the Capital One Cup
and almost lost a match that went the full 120 minutes tied at 1, but then the
neophytes pulled off a surprise come from behind victory in the penalty
shootout – which will serve all of them well as they continue to develop. And then
on Saturday we faced an inform Swansea in one of the tougher venues beyond the
top 6 in the EPL. And yet Arsenal held tough through a tepid first half, scored
twice and then held on after giving one back to Swansea (actually losing the
possession battle by a sizable margin).
And so Arsenal now sit in
first place after winning five on the bounce in the league, a champion’s league
away match at Marseille, two qualifiers beforehand and their first match in the
Capital One cup. Tuesday Napoli comes to the Emirates for maybe our toughest
test of the young season and then we travel to the world beater West Brom, who
just scalped a stuttering Manchester United at Old Trafford. If we can win
these two games going into the next International Break, this will have been
the best start to a season in many years. And it comes amidst a strange weekend
of upsets that included the aforementioned Man U loss and another by Man City
to Aston Villa (2-3), with Chelsea only able to secure a draw at Tottenham
(meaning we picked up two points on both rivals).
The question that emerges is
whether Arsenal is ready to offer a real, sustained title chase this season.
And based on the level of performance and consistency since March of last year,
one has to believe the answer is a yes (with some serious caveats). Man U is in
trouble, Man City is inconsistent and Chelsea appears to still be struggling to
find their best 11 starters. Tottenham is playing strong, but it’s hard to see
them maintain their form coming in, something they haven’t been able to do in
many eons. So Arsenal has a real shot at ending the eight-year duck and
claiming not only a trophy, but maybe the second most coveted in England
(besides the Champions League). What will they need to accomplish this daunting
feat. Let’s consider a few things …
1. Striker
Consistency: this is the weakness that has the greatest possibility to unwind
our title push, as Giroud has come down a little from his blistering start and
continues to show some troubling tendencies that he really needs to work on.
One is his movement off the ball, making cuts that our sublime creators can
take advantage of. A second, more pressing problem, in my mind is his inability
to hold up the ball with any consistency. He has a tendency to go for the low
probability pass (usually header) rather than stopping the ball at his feet and
waiting for the wingers or CAM to get open. This is amplified by an average
first touch but I just can’t understand why the coaches aren’t working with him
on this, as I believe he could really improve in this important facet of his
game. It was instrumental on Wednesday to see Bendtner do much better with this
essential task, and he also provided the pass for the Eisfeld goal. Maybe the
troubled Dane can actually make a worthy contribution this season after all!
But it does seem imperative that Giroud stays fit and that we grab a striker in
the winter window, even if only to backup the Frenchman.
2. Wilshere Has to
Improve: one reason Arsenal are winning so many close games is the incredible
run that Aaron Ramsey is on. But it can’t last forever, can it? That would mean
over 30 goals for the season, and that seems highly unlikely. He will be one of
our most important players throughout the season, I believe, but we need to
find other places to find goals. Giroud should continue to score, but he alone
cannot carry the load. That means we need some others to step up and contribute
and one of those players is Wilshere, who has seemed to take several steps
backward in recent weeks – but has never been terribly good in front of goal.
If Wilshere isn’t going to score, he needs to create more chances and be
smarter with his play. Two tendencies he has at present that are both quite
troubling are to fall down far too often at even the hint of a challenge and to
try to dribble through rather than pass through or over defenders (as I’ve
mentioned in several previous posts). Wilshere has a great eye for the clever
pass, flick or long ball, but seems to think he is one of the best dribblers in
the world as well. Simply put, he’s not and better figure it out soon.
3. Defensive
Troubles: our defense has held up when it needed to since the Villa defeat, but
we are shipping goals with far too great a frequency and would have dropped several
points but for some outstanding goalkeeping by a resurgent Szczesny. But one
hopes we can restore the defensive record of the second half of last season,
keeping more clean sheets going forward. I believe Flamini’s great form has
helped, but we must stop giving the ball up in dangerous positions (Wilshere a
major offender in this regard), make sure Koscienly keeps his positional
discipline, as he gets caught off up the field far too frequently, and get our
less defensively-minded midfielders like Walcott, Wilshere and Ozil to track
back and press up more than they have been in the last several games.
4. Results Against
Major Competitors: the win over Tottenham was the key result so far this
season, but we still have to play Chelsea, City, United and Liverpool twice and
the Spurs at White Hart Lane. How we do in those fixtures will go a long way to
deciding our ultimate fate. Last season we were poor against the top five clubs
around us and that is why we only snuck into the fourth spot by a single point
(aided by another Spurs collapse). We must do substantially better this time
around, taking advantage of the upheaval that continues to occur at these
clubs.
5. Consistency
Against the Rest: this is where Arsenal have blown title chases ever since the
end of the Invincible's run. Too often, we blow leads, lose games against bottom
dwellers or settle for tepid draws when victory was an askew tap in away. So
far, we have done just that this season, but we must continue that form if we
are to have any shot at drinking out of the jug in May.
Luck will also play a part,
of course, but Arsenal have gone on this run with a number of key injuries,
some terrible calls going against us and coming back after ceding early leads.
Those are good signs for the long race ahead. Looking around the league, Man
City seemed to be back on track and the preliminary favorite for the title
after dismantling United last weekend, but then had another baffling result,
blowing a game they seemed to dominate throughout. And Chelsea are clearly still figuring out their identity, and best starting 11. But the biggest questions
clearly revolve around the new crisis emerging at Old Trafford as David Moyes
learns how hard it is to try to fit Fergie-size shoes. He has just registered
the worst start for United in 24 years and they currently sit in 12th
place, already 8 points off the pace after a mere six games (and having already
lost three matches). While it is largely the same team as last year, the
absence of Scholes and reduced role of the ageless Giggs appear to have hurt
the squad, together with the failure to really strengthen in midfield and Moyes’
overly conservative approach. Beyond those rather obvious issues, however, is a
team that just seems to be playing uninspired football, and one wonders why –
as Everton were always among the most spirited teams in the league. Some are
already predicting a December sacking if the team drop two more games, but I
wonder if Moyes won’t be given at least two seasons to get things right. In any
case, the race is more wide open than it’s been in years, with Arsenal, City, United,
Liverpool, Chelsea and Tottenham all with a realistic chance. Result over the
next two months should whittle that list down … let’s hope with the Gunners
still at the fore!
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