New season, same old Arsenal. Despite Arsene Wenger going on the rampage in the transfer market, watching Arsenal play can still make you very sweaty indeed, even against a managerless Crystal Palace.
The game saw debuts for marquee signing Alexis Sanchez and defenders Mathieu Debuchy and Calum Chambers, bringing much optimism amongst Gooners - especially after seeing off the champions, Manchester City, with some style at Wembley just six days prior - with a similar-looking squad.
Yet the performance was not one to remember, and while the most important thing in getting the three points was achieved, it left me wondering the last time Arsenal played that bad, particularly at home. Perhaps it was Aston Villa at the start of last season?
It was just one of those days when the trademark, fluid passing and movement was virtually non-existent from The Gunners' game, and threatened to deal a huge blow to team morale this early in the season - so soon after the jubilations of the Community Shield victory and so close to a vital Champions League qualifier away to Besiktas.
Many of the team came in for criticism, and rightly so. You had Wojciech Szczesny playing dangerously risky passes to the opposition (a habit I thought he had kicked out), Jack Wilshere, and even debutant Alexis losing the ball far too often. Meanwhile, Santi Cazorla probably had his worst game in an Arsenal shirt - and I can't believe I'm criticising him, because he is awesome. But that's how bad we were.
And against a hard-working Palace side set up to counter, we could have shot ourselves in the foot multiple times on Saturday.
I did not understand Sky's - well, Jamie Redknapp's - reason to target Jack in particular to bear the brunt of the criticism. None of the midfielders had a good game, yet it seems to me that Wilshere's nationality - amongst anything else - is making him the easiest of targets when Arsenal aren't 100% on the ball.
I have far too much to say about Jack Wilshere and I have quite strong feelings about his actual development - which has disappointed me on the whole - and also where his future lies both internationally and also positionally. One thing I will point out is that he doesn't exactly help himself - he says he wants to score more yet I believe his future lies at DM - when it's not the DM's job to score goals. Now I feel like he is trying too hard.
You can put the below-par showings down to pre-match nerves, or the pressure to start well after four Premier League openings without a win - but for a club like us, we need to hit the ground running without fail, each year. Every point is vital.
You think of how we dropped three points against Aston Villa, a couple at St. Mary's and another triple at Goodison - these are points that cost us the title. It would have been near-disastrous for The Eagles to nick a draw - even if we'd have been more better off than last year.
But thankfully, our poor display did not translate fully onto the scoreboard - though only after 90 minutes-plus.
I think we underestimated the importance of Aaron Ramsey being Welsh. Having no World Cup to get knocked out early from, and Rambo being as fit as a fiddle, he has picked up where he left off from last year, and boy, are we grateful for that.
Okay, granted, he did not have the best of games himself, but an Aaron Ramsey two or three weeks off the pace may not have had the energy in the dying minutes to be in the right place, at the right moment, and bundle home in added time (sound familiar?).
Strictly speaking, I thought Calum Chambers was our standout player. He looked more at home than Laurent Koscielny did, which is probably the biggest compliment I can give him - 'Lolo' is no slouch, but was arguably at fault for their goal - just after almost giving away a penalty moments beforehand.
On Tuesday lies our first massive test. And while the performance won't do much to inspire the squad ahead of the trip to Turkey, the manner of the victory will do.
I don't think Besiktas will be as easy to roll over as their rivals, Fenerbahce were a year ago. Fenerbahce were under investigation for match-fixing at the time, and considering the threat they posed before the tie last year, when all they could manage was to kick Koscielny in the face rather than the ball in the net, perhaps they were accepting their own fate before they were eventually officially kicked out - essentially a dead-rubber.
And with Demba Ba now in their ranks, Besiktas possess a threat that Arsenal will be familiar with - but whether that will work to our advantage, we'll have to wait and see. And with the USA's impressive Jermaine Jones alongside him (although linked with a move away), they have players that can cause harm - though with less impressive teammates surrounding them two in particular, than normal.
That said, whilst not undermining the quality of Besiktas, I do believe that the greatest challenge tomorrow will be for the fans back home getting through another two hours of Chiles, Townsend and co. on ITV - and after their torturous coverage of the World Cup, we really cannot get through this tie quickly enough, as on Saturday, we have a trip to Everton, who despite only taking a point home from Leicester, will be fit and raring to go for their first massive game in front of their own fans.
All in all, this is the start we ultimately wanted, and the timely fashion of it should give a little bit of a kick up the backside ahead of what is a tricky, but crucial week. Qualification for the Champions League could be the difference between signing that title-winning player, while three points at Goodison will put team morale through the roof.
The way this Arsenal side is shaping up is as promising as it has been for some time. One game down, and we had to get out of jail. The new players are slowly setting in well and will come good in time. We're not into our stride just yet, but I've got a feeling that we're just getting started. Time to turn it up a notch.
Come On You Reds!
The game saw debuts for marquee signing Alexis Sanchez and defenders Mathieu Debuchy and Calum Chambers, bringing much optimism amongst Gooners - especially after seeing off the champions, Manchester City, with some style at Wembley just six days prior - with a similar-looking squad.
Yet the performance was not one to remember, and while the most important thing in getting the three points was achieved, it left me wondering the last time Arsenal played that bad, particularly at home. Perhaps it was Aston Villa at the start of last season?
It was just one of those days when the trademark, fluid passing and movement was virtually non-existent from The Gunners' game, and threatened to deal a huge blow to team morale this early in the season - so soon after the jubilations of the Community Shield victory and so close to a vital Champions League qualifier away to Besiktas.
Many of the team came in for criticism, and rightly so. You had Wojciech Szczesny playing dangerously risky passes to the opposition (a habit I thought he had kicked out), Jack Wilshere, and even debutant Alexis losing the ball far too often. Meanwhile, Santi Cazorla probably had his worst game in an Arsenal shirt - and I can't believe I'm criticising him, because he is awesome. But that's how bad we were.
And against a hard-working Palace side set up to counter, we could have shot ourselves in the foot multiple times on Saturday.
I did not understand Sky's - well, Jamie Redknapp's - reason to target Jack in particular to bear the brunt of the criticism. None of the midfielders had a good game, yet it seems to me that Wilshere's nationality - amongst anything else - is making him the easiest of targets when Arsenal aren't 100% on the ball.
I have far too much to say about Jack Wilshere and I have quite strong feelings about his actual development - which has disappointed me on the whole - and also where his future lies both internationally and also positionally. One thing I will point out is that he doesn't exactly help himself - he says he wants to score more yet I believe his future lies at DM - when it's not the DM's job to score goals. Now I feel like he is trying too hard.
You can put the below-par showings down to pre-match nerves, or the pressure to start well after four Premier League openings without a win - but for a club like us, we need to hit the ground running without fail, each year. Every point is vital.
You think of how we dropped three points against Aston Villa, a couple at St. Mary's and another triple at Goodison - these are points that cost us the title. It would have been near-disastrous for The Eagles to nick a draw - even if we'd have been more better off than last year.
But thankfully, our poor display did not translate fully onto the scoreboard - though only after 90 minutes-plus.
I think we underestimated the importance of Aaron Ramsey being Welsh. Having no World Cup to get knocked out early from, and Rambo being as fit as a fiddle, he has picked up where he left off from last year, and boy, are we grateful for that.
Okay, granted, he did not have the best of games himself, but an Aaron Ramsey two or three weeks off the pace may not have had the energy in the dying minutes to be in the right place, at the right moment, and bundle home in added time (sound familiar?).
Strictly speaking, I thought Calum Chambers was our standout player. He looked more at home than Laurent Koscielny did, which is probably the biggest compliment I can give him - 'Lolo' is no slouch, but was arguably at fault for their goal - just after almost giving away a penalty moments beforehand.
On Tuesday lies our first massive test. And while the performance won't do much to inspire the squad ahead of the trip to Turkey, the manner of the victory will do.
I don't think Besiktas will be as easy to roll over as their rivals, Fenerbahce were a year ago. Fenerbahce were under investigation for match-fixing at the time, and considering the threat they posed before the tie last year, when all they could manage was to kick Koscielny in the face rather than the ball in the net, perhaps they were accepting their own fate before they were eventually officially kicked out - essentially a dead-rubber.
And with Demba Ba now in their ranks, Besiktas possess a threat that Arsenal will be familiar with - but whether that will work to our advantage, we'll have to wait and see. And with the USA's impressive Jermaine Jones alongside him (although linked with a move away), they have players that can cause harm - though with less impressive teammates surrounding them two in particular, than normal.
That said, whilst not undermining the quality of Besiktas, I do believe that the greatest challenge tomorrow will be for the fans back home getting through another two hours of Chiles, Townsend and co. on ITV - and after their torturous coverage of the World Cup, we really cannot get through this tie quickly enough, as on Saturday, we have a trip to Everton, who despite only taking a point home from Leicester, will be fit and raring to go for their first massive game in front of their own fans.
All in all, this is the start we ultimately wanted, and the timely fashion of it should give a little bit of a kick up the backside ahead of what is a tricky, but crucial week. Qualification for the Champions League could be the difference between signing that title-winning player, while three points at Goodison will put team morale through the roof.
The way this Arsenal side is shaping up is as promising as it has been for some time. One game down, and we had to get out of jail. The new players are slowly setting in well and will come good in time. We're not into our stride just yet, but I've got a feeling that we're just getting started. Time to turn it up a notch.
Come On You Reds!
Comments
Post a Comment