Matchday 1

ARSENAL VS SUNDERLAND

SATURDAY, 18/08/2012

Life after RvP and Song not off to the best of starts huh? So we did not win on Saturday, Podolski and Giroud didn’t score and we did not get off to a flying start like most of us thought we would. Look at the bright side though…RvP’s ambitions are not looking too good either! This was a winnable fixture, don’t get me wrong, but it was not the worst outing ever. Like a certain former rival that happened to lose 3-0 and had a man sent off. Or the other team somewhere in North London that lost 2-1. Or yet another of our rivals losing 1-0. Another positive is that it actually wasn’t one of those drab, uninspiring 0-0 stalemates, we dominated possession, created more chances, and we were generally on top from the offset (save for a few scares here and there).

I took some time out to pen a few lessons I picked up from this…ummm…humbling experience:

I.                    PATIENCE PAYS:

This is not a new concept to us, seeing as we have waited for seven years for silverware anyway. It’s a new season, it’s a new-look Arsenal and it’s only the first game of the Premier League. We should not have expected our new “Holy Trinity” (Podolski, Giroud, and Cazorla) to work miracles on their first outing. And in the same breath we should not be quick to vent our frustration at them and criticize them for not delivering at the first time of asking. It’s a marathon not a sprint (pardon the cliché) and our beloved team will deliver. We just have to keep the faith.

II.                  GIROUD MUST START:

Not to question your wisdom and vast years of experience Mr. Wenger, but using Olivier Giroud off the bench was not one of your brightest ideas. Giroud, in my humble opinion, is not an impact sub but a starter. I understand maybe Le Prof wanted to implement a “plan B” by introducing Giroud and pumping more crosses into the box, but he has the quality to figure productively in both plans, that is the usual Arsenal way of carving open defenses with the simplest of through balls, and the “long-ball, Stoke way” of doing things. His movement and link-up play are exquisite, and he is good in the air as well. Giroud should therefore start our next game and let Podolski attack from the left wing. This worked almost to perfection during our pre-season game against FC Cologne, why not try it again?

III.                TONE DOWN EXPECTATIONS:

So Le Prof deviates slightly from his norm of signing relatively unknown, young players who “have potential” and he actually goes out and signs players with PROVEN potential at the “big stage”… Lukas Podolski (100 caps for Germany), Olivier Giroud (top-scorer in French Ligue 1 last season) and Santi Cazorla (Euro 2008 and Euro 2012 winner with Spain). Add these to the already immensely talented squad we had and, understandably, expectations are high at the Emirates. So much so that you could feel the negative energy of disappointment flowing through the stadium once the final whistle went against Sunderland. Is this really the environment we want and expect our players to thrive under for the rest of the season? I mean, the team is already under enough pressure from the media and us expecting too much too soon from them just isn’t right. Our beloved team has been known to buckle under pressure, so let’s try not to add to that shall we?

IV.               GIVE CREDIT WHERE ITS DUE:

From the local joint where I was watching the game (and all over Twitter I imagine) a lot of vitriol was being sent the way of Diaby and Gervinho. People claim that Gervinho is too selfish, yet when he takes players on and beats them they are quick to praise him. How then do you expect him to beat players if he isn’t a little “selfish” at times? You want him to pass the ball more, yet when he does pass it you then lambast him for not taking the ball on himself. It’s a winger’s job to take risks and try to beat defenders one-on-one (and we all know Gervinho is good at that) so why don’t we let the man do his job? As for Diaby, the mistake most of us are making is trying to compare him to Alex Song. The thing is, no two players are alike. Diaby is no Song, just as Arteta is no Fabregas. Instead of focusing on his shortcomings as compared to Song then, why not praise him for what he’s good at? Like the way he can carry the ball forward better as compared to Song? Or the way he gets forward more often? Or the way he scores more? And besides, criticizing him or any other member of the team for that matter won’t help anyway.

V. A CHANGE OF FORMATION PERHAPS, MR. WENGER?

There is something that Jon Champion kept mentioning during our game, and that was that Santi was playing a little too far behind the game. I agree. For most periods of the match, Santi was playing too far behind to properly influence the game from an attacking point of view. As a result, Podolski was isolated up front and had to drop deep for the ball, or couldn’t get the ball at all. The fact that Walcott had an off-day didn’t help matters either. And in any case, lots of people drew comparisons between Cazorla and players of the same ilk as David Silva and Juan Mata, who play in more advanced roles for their clubs, so why not use him in the same way?

In order to improve things then, might I suggest a change of formation? A 4-2-3-1 perhaps? With Diaby and Arteta playing as the defensive midfield duo, Podolski and Walcott playing on the left and right respectively and Cazorla playing in the hole behind Giroud? We have used this before last season so it isn’t anything new, plus it plays to everyone’s strengths as well. Diaby and Arteta can complement each other both going forward and defending, and Cazorla can act as a pivot in attack. This means that he will be able to not only link the defensive duo to Giroud, but to Walcott and Podolski as well. It also means that Giroud won’t have to drop deep for the ball like Podolski had to.

I do hope that the team picks up its performances though, and especially for Giroud whom I think has the most to prove. The earlier he proves the doubters wrong and calms the fans’ nerves down the better I think.

Till next week then!