Let me begin by giving my two cents on a question I first heard (or read, rather) being discussed on Arseblog (and just in case Mr. Blogs or James or Tim Stillman somehow get to read this, I am a HUGE fan): “Was the 2014/2015 season better than the 2013/2014 season for Arsenal?” Well on the one hand we did finish the season with a lower points tally and a greater points difference between ourselves and the league winners. But on the other hand, we finished one place higher on the table, and we retained the FA Cup. And there’s the small matter of the acquisition of the Chilean dynamite that is Alexis Sanchez. I mean, Danny Welbeck, David Ospina, Gabriel Paulista-good job, you did great, but Sanchez! Then there was the unprecedented rise of Hector Bellerin and Francis Coquelin. From the obscurity of Charlton Athletic to being voted Arsenal’s second-best player over the past season, it’s been quite a story for the young Frenchman. Bellerin, meanwhile, took the league by speed, sorry storm, with the added bonus of becoming Arsenal’s fastest ever player.
We also owned Manchester this season! Well we beat City 2-0 at the Etihad and beat United 2-1 at Old Trafford on our way to retaining the Cup; and we generally avoided the heavy defeats that punctuated last season (5-1, 6-0, 6-3, 3-0). This was essential, not only for the immense psychological boost but for two other reasons. First, it represented a mental barrier, a hurdle that I feel it was critical for us to overcome. For a long time we lost the games against the big boys even before it started, and the naivety of “boys against men” was evident with every bad result. Before this win at Old Trafford, we last won there in 2007. Secondly, the manner in which these results were acquired was very much against the grain and not the “Arsenal way”. The 2-0 win over City for instance was the first occasion where many accepted that Coquelin was genuinely brilliant as a defensive juggernaut, and Cazorla put in a man-of-the-match performance in that deeper central role, displaying great dexterity and creativity when on the ball and proper positional discipline without it. We were defensively compact, disciplined and cautious when going forward, which nullified City’s attacking riches entirely. And that was one of the most beautiful performances I have ever watched Arsenal put in, even with about 32% of the possession. It is that sort of maturity that I wasn’t sure we were capable of having, and the tactical flexibility and mastery which we all thought Wenger was too stubborn to consider.
Another thing, I remember earlier in the season telling a good friend that for Arsenal to mount any title challenge we needed to go on a good run. And we did exactly that, winning seven matches in a row between March and April and going nine unbeaten before the 1-0 loss to Swansea. And they weren’t all pretty wins either; we beat Newcastle, QPR and Burnley by the odd goal for instance. Therefore, while I’m painfully cognizant of the fact that out title challenge fell away badly even before the turn of the year, all these factors put us in pretty good stead to get into the title picture next season don’t you think? A better squad, Alexis Sanchez, tactical flexibility, maturity, and consistency give me greater hope for what lies ahead. I don’t think we have ever been better placed to challenge for the title, and for this reason I say the 2014/2015 season was indeed better than the 2013/2014 season was.
OF INTEREST THIS WEEK…
Is that we are apparently this close to signing Petr Cech from that club in West London with the most annoying football personality of all time as their manager. According to this, the announcement should be forthcoming any time now. Rather than go on and on about how good Cech is, I’d prefer commenting on this article by Tim Stillman where he discusses the prospects of losing either Wojciech Szczesny or David Ospina. It does appear as this is one battle which the Colombian is set to lose, with his agent reportedly talking up links with Fenerbahce, but I have mixed feelings on this. On the one hand, Ospina has been solid if not truly outstanding, and has done little to vindicate us moving him on after one season. This is the point where I would normally pull up stats comparing the two, but this won’t be a fair reflection considering Ospina became our first choice after our New Year’s defeat at Southampton…about the same time Francis Coquelin became a the fabled DM we had been searching for all these years and played a huge role in our much-improved form in 2015. Coquelin came in, Cazorla sat deeper, we grew better both offensively and defensively, and Ospina essentially faced less goal attempts and had fewer “big chances” to save. I do, however, feel that Szczesny is (or will be) the better keeper of the duo even though I can’t really back this up with hard facts. What Szczesny showed over the course of the 2013/2014 season demonstrates the potential he has, and my decision on this matter is not influenced by this Facebook update in any way whatsoever. I am also trying to overlook the fact that Ospina is only 6 feet tall, which would be great for an outfield player but below average for a goalkeeper. How tall is Szczesny? Four inches taller. Bottom line is, if Messi or Ronaldo was made available to your team then you have to make space for the guy, so long as it improves the squad. This is the line of thought I feel Arsene Wenger is taking by acquiring Petr Cech, who is definitely world-class.
(UPDATE: Since writing this, I along with Arsenal fans from all over the world except South America woke up to rave reviews on Ospina’s performance against Argentina in last night’s Copa America quarter-final against Colombia. I’m still not changing my mind though).
Right, that’s it for this week. Next week we’ll get more tactical and technical as I look at exactly how impressed I was by Arsene Wenger last season, I certainly hope to catch your attention with that.
