Arsenal went into Sunderland
expecting a win and left with one after a much harder contest than many
expected. The Gunners started early, with new signing Ozil cushioning a long
ball from Gibbs with his left foot and then charging forward before a lovely
pass to Giroud who finished strongly. From there the Gunners dominated
possession and created a number of chances, though they went to half-time only
up 1 – after Theo Walcott missed four, yes four, chances to put the game beyond
reach. Many came from the golden foot and eagle-like eyes of Ozil, who lived up
to his billing – though he largely disappeared from the action in the second
half (potentially as a result of growing tired as he was sick, or maybe as
Sunderland surrounded him whenever he touched the ball).
Arsenal looked set to pay for
all those missed opportunities, as Koscielny was again adjudged to have committed a foul in the box, leading to
an equalizing penalty early in the second half. I again believe that the referee
was harsh, as replays showed that Kos had gotten the ball before the man, but
he needs to stop with the rash challenges from behind in the box as they
penalties are becoming the main source of goals for our opponents in the young
season so far. The hero was again Ramsey, who scored the second with a powerful
volley off a nice pass from Jenkinson, then slotted in to seal the victory
after a great pass from the edge of the box by Giroud. Ramsey now has five
goals in all competitions this season, and really is the player of the moment,
finally realizing the promise so viscously derailed by Ryan Shawcroft a few
seasons ago. The second half was not without its controversy though, as
American Jozy Altidore appeared to equalize for Sunderland after outmuscling
Sagna, playing centre half for the ailing Mertesacker, and slipping the ball
past Szczesny. Martin Atkinson, however, one of the worst refs in the league
when it comes to Arsenal – made a bizarre call not allowing play to continue
and the goal was thus disallowed. While Sunderland boss Di Canio was left fuming,
I thought it was just in the end, given the soft penalty awarded earlier in the
half.
So the Gunners have now won five
on the bounce since the disappointing opening loss to Aston Villa and sit in
first place, at least until Liverpool play Swansea City on Monday. They have a
key Champions League tie against Marseille this week, and will have to play
without Cazorla, who is injured and out until October, Podolski (on a long term
injury) and maybe Giroud, who hurt his knee reaching back for a cross behind
him in the closing moments. But watching other games in England and Spain this
weekend, I must say the Gunners are playing some of the prettiest football in
Europe at the moment. It was an action-packed weekend of football across the
leagues today. Man United won an important game, again based on a questionable
penalty call that seemed to involve a foul outside the box (on Ashley Young,
who is continuing his diving ways). Everton pulled off an impressive upset over
Chelsea, who outplayed the Toffees for large sections of the game but created
few scoring chances and appear to be suffering from the lack of an inform
striker at the moment. Tottenham won 2-0, with two goals from Sigurdsson, and
Erickson was apparently quite impressive in his debut. And Man City again found
no joy at Stoke, suffering through a tepid nil-nil draw. In Spain, Barcelona
gave up a lead in stoppage time to Valencia only to score at the death and take
the win 3-2, while Real were lucky to secure a 2-2 draw with Villareal after
being outplayed through much of the match – though Gareth Bale did score in his
debut. Some thoughts on Arsenal and the weekend in general …
1.
Wilshere/Ramsey/Ozil: even without the creative flair and genius
of Cazorla, the Arsenal midfield was impressive through much of the game,
except for two short periods of sustained Sunderland pressure. Wilshere had a
quality game, sliding passes through and lofting them over the defense, though
he still seems too rash in his challenges and too quick to tumble over in a challenge.
Ozil had an impressive first 45 minutes, gathering his first assist, creating
at least three other chances and looking like he was worth the over 65 million
dollars we paid for him. And Ramsey continues to be a spectacle to watch, now
adding the goals many always thought were in him. His confidence seems to grow
from week to week, with great passing, improved dribbling skills, defensive
tackles and interceptions at key moments, the recent goal haul and a calming
effect on the team. As these three and Cazorla, Theo and Arteta/Flamini get
more time together, they really might become the best midfield in the EPL. Most
people still give the nod to Chelsea, and on talent alone they are better, but
as a cohesive whole, Arsenal are more aesthetically pleasing and, to my mind,
more effective at actually creating good opportunities.
2.
Giroud/Walcott: Giroud continued his impressive early season form,
with another early goal that gave the Gunners the lead, and a late assist that
all but wrapped things up. His game has improved dramatically with smarter
runs, better distribution off of goal kicks and some very clever passes around
the box. Walcott, on the other hand, again seems to have lost that finishing
touch he discovered last season. He seems too lackadaisical on the ball at
times and has become predictable coming from the right and always shooting
across the goalkeeper. If I notice this, I’m sure coaches and professional
goalees do as well, and each of those attempts has been saved this season. He
also had a great opportunity to score on a header, but sent it wide when he
clearly should have gone back across goal that time. Walcott’s game has matured
even more this year, to me, with better touches and decisionmaking, but he
still needs to work on his finishing.
3.
Defense: the addition of Flamini on a free was derided in many
quarters, but he has shown himself to be an adroit resigning by Wenger,
plugging up wholes, covering on the counter attacks, providing a physical presence
in the middle and completing most of his passes. Vermaelen came in late in the
game, but again showed the horrible habit he has developed of sending long
balls over the top that are generally too long – particularly with a two-goal
cushion. He was adequate on defense in his short stint, but one does wonder if
he’ll ever return to his old form. Koscielny was strong as usual, developing a
better sense of the game, as he moves up and intercepts more balls a game than
I remember in the past, but he needs to really think twice about the rash
challenges in the box. Verm used to get away with them, for the most part, but
Kos does not and he needs to adjust that aspect of his game. Sagna was adequate
opposite Koscielny in the game, but I’m still not convinced of his readiness to
play in the center, as it weakens us at right back and he still needs to learn
a lot about positioning and how to cut off strikers and wingers forging
forward.
4.
Wenger’s Revenge? Arsene Wenger announced this week that he will
leave the club if he doesn’t win a trophy this season. It was a bold statement
by a manager who finally finds himself in the good graces of fans for the first
time in a long time. Whether he will stick to his guns remains to be seen, but
Wenger’s philosophy is starting to show the dividends he has spoken of for so
long now. For one, he has created a team atmosphere where the group appears to
be tight-knit and play together. New faces come in and have only strengthened
that feel of a “unit” with Flamini clearly vocal throughout the game, and the
players seemingly embracing the arrival of a superstar in Ozil. He is one of
the few coaches giving consistent time to young English players who could help
save the in-crisis nation’s football future. He bought a player in a position
many argued we didn’t need, but appears to have created a potent attack force
that seems substantially more impressive than Chelsea, Man City and maybe even
United and Tottenham (though the later two did score 2 a piece today). He
signed Flamini on a free, and this might turn out to be great business covering
a hole. He has argued that bringing in too many new faces disrupts the team
chemistry and City, Chelsea (to a lesser extent), Sunderland and Tottenham
(with three wins to counter the argument) have all seemed less than fluid in
the early goings this year. Arsenal may fizzle as the season goes on, but do
stand in first place and have a really shot at silverware this year, no matter
what the pundits say.
5.
The League: right now it is hard to argue who the favorite is to
win the title this season. Many have been putting their money (or at least
reputations) on Chelsea as the clear favorite to win, but questions do remain.
Do they have the necessary defensive steal in midfield to deal with the more
physical teams in the league? Will having too many top players competing for
spots cause discontent and lack of cohesion among the players? And do they have
the strikeforce to score enough goals? Sending Lukaku out on loan might be good
for the youngsters future, but could be a decision that comes back to bite the “special
one.” A final point, worth noting, is a
defensive tendency in Mourinho that might have the Blues dropping too many
points this season, as they have against their two toughest opponents so far
this season. City is also suffering through an early malaise with a draw and
loss to two teams they should arguably beat rather easily, though Stoke has
been giving them trouble on the road for years. City probably has the most talented
and deep team in the league, but will all the new faces gel quickly enough for
them to stay near the top of the table? The first big test of 2013-14 comes
next weekend in the Manchester Derby and we shall know more then. As to the
defending champions, I think there are still a lot of questions to be answered
with this unit and my contention that have been overperforming for the past
three seasons and may suffer a return to the mean under new manager Moyes. As
to Tottenham, Liverpool and Arsenal, I truly do believe that the Gunners are
the best of the three – particularly given the fact we have only allowed two
goals in open play all season (but three penalties already, though two were
clearly questionable). The Gunners do sometimes look susceptible to the counter
attack, but have been good for over a season at keeping clean sheets and
squeaking out victories. We have a potent attack force from the middle forward
now and will only improve when Cazorla, Podolski, Arteta and Ox return to
action in the coming months. Tottenham may have improved overall with the sale
of Bale, but we will have to await their next big games before we can decide on
how good this team is. It should be the most wide open title race in several
years though, and that can only be good for the league.
6.
Barca/Real: just a quick comment on the two top teams in Spain
(though Athletico could make an early claim to be outplaying both at present).
Barca was lucky to secure a late win after giving up an equalizer at the stroke
of 90 minutes to Valencia, but should have been behind but for a terrible call
by the referee who disallowed a second goal from Valencia on a corner for no
apparent reason then allowed Barca to score in the 94th minute,
maybe after the whistle should have been blown. The Catalon team looked suspect
in the back on several occasions, and will have to shore up their defense if
they are not to start dropping points. Real Madrid looked disjointed throughout
their match with the resurgent Villareal who outplayed them for most of the
match, drawing only because Real’s keeper Lopez was in top form. It is bizarre
to think that the best goalkeeper in the world a mere nine months ago is now
watching from the bench, very unlikely to win his starting role back in the foreseeable
future. Bale had an average game before scoring a lovely goal and then almost
putting in a second from outside the box. Ronaldo looked uncomfortable at times
while playing alongside Bale and only scored after the Welshman left the game
in the 60th minute. The talent of Real is unquestionable, but they
really seemed to lack cohesion across the entire pitch. It should be an
interesting race in La Liga this year, with Athletico having an outside (okay,
maybe very outside) shot at unseating the two team Monopoly that have ruled
Spain for so long.
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