It's been a while since my last post and unfortunately i won't be posting as regularly as I used to, but i will do my best whenever i have the chance. A lot has happened since my last post and most of it has been positive news surrounding AFC! We are still on top of the league, we just eliminated the annoying Spurs clowns from the FA Cup and we are still in the Champions League even if we have the tough task to play against Bayern Munich.
We had a little hick up in the league after drawing with Everton and losing to Man City pretty badly, but i think the 0-0 draw with Chelsea at home was very important for us, even though it was an ugly and not very entertaining game. Psychologically, if we can stay ahead of Chelsea and Man City until our direct games against them it will give us the confidence that we need to believe that we can win the title. That's why the wins at West Ham and Newcastle away and home against Cardiff in the last few weeks were so important for us.
The one thing that continues to worry me is the fact that Wenger still has a tough time rotating the squad and at times he can't find the right formation for us to be most effective. What do i mean by that? For example against West Ham on Dec 26th when we won 1-3, we needed an injury to Aaron Ramsey to force him to change the formation and turn the game around. Prior to Ramsey getting injured, Cazorla was playing on the left, Walcott on the right with Ozil and Ramsey in the middle and Arteta behind them. Santi Cazorla's favorite and most effective position is playing through the middle where he can influence the game with his control and passing of the ball. At the time we were down 1-0, Cazorla was struggling to make an impact on the left and i honestly felt that we will have a tough time winning this must win game. I was also cursing and wondering how long will it take for Wenger to make a change? The injury to Ramsey forced his hand and he put Podolski on the left and moved Cazorla to the middle. Obviously Podolski had a huge impact on the game, but i also feel that having Cazorla back to the middle of the pitch helped us turn that game around. Was Wenger going to make the same substitution if Ramsey didn't get injured? And if he was, when was he going to do it?
The situation with Thomas Vermaelen is similar. I understand that Koscielny and Mertesacker are playing well together, but if you want to have a balanced and dependable squad you have to make rotations and let other players get games so they can stay match sharp. Had Koscielny not gotten injured against Man City on Dec 14th i don't think Vermaelen would have smelled the pitch until a FA Cup game. That's not right. Vermaelen is a great player who had a shitty season last year, but he is a top class defender. You have to be able to keep him involved by giving him starts either for the Champions League or for the Premier League. Wenger does neither until someone gets injured. For comparison Chelsea have only one certain starter from their central defenders in the Premier League - John Terry. The other two: Cahil and Luiz are being rotated almost every other game. This allows each one of them to be match sharp when they are needed. Jose Mourinho has been annoying the fuck out of me all season and i would love nothing more than us rubbing a Premier League title in his face, but i have to admit that Wenger can only learn from his rotation policies and the effective substitutions that he makes.
Anyway, i am glad that things are going well for us and i only mention the rotation and formations issues because i feel that we are really close to winning the title this year and i feel the aforementioned things might turn out to be very important down the line in the title race.
As far as our performances, we have been playing some very good football at times, but more importantly, we have been able to win games even when we haven't played so well. Ozil is one of the players that needs to step it up. At times he is too casual with the ball and his effort level is very questionable. He is still a special player who will be very important for us, but he needs to realize that English football is physical and he needs improve his effort on the pitch. Ramsey has started to slow down a bit. Even before his injury his level had started to drop which is understandable - he was on fire for quite a long time! I do feel though, that he needs to steer away from the bad giveaways he is prone to make. I understand he can't play phenomenally all the time, but when he is not playing well, at least he should learn to not be sloppy with the ball. One guy that will be very important for us down the stretch is Podolski. He is top class and can give us some much needed goals and finishing. I definitely hope he stays injury free so he can contribute. Gnarby is a guy that i am very impressed with. Every time he has been asked to step in and play, he has been outstanding! He is only 18 yrs old, but he plays with maturity beyond his years, he is a great alternative to Theo on the right wing. Wilshere is also someone that we will need to continue to play well. He has to stay out of trouble and control his temperament but he is ability is unquestionable. I expect more from Cazorla, i know he has seen less game time than what he is used to, but in many games now he is not as sharp as he needs to be, the FA Cup game against Tottenham was a step in the right direction for him.
The Tottenham game yesterday was a good illustration that if we play our football while being solid at the back, we can be a very effective team. We completely outplayed a Spurs team that was under somewhat of a "resurgence" without giving away too much at the back (the Eriksen miss being our only hiccup at the back). Unlike our performance against Man City where we created a lot going forward, but we were awful defensively. Against the big teams like Chelsea and Man City we have to make sure we stay solid at the back and go from there, not just blindly attack the whole game.
And lastly, if we can get a good striker in the transfer window, that would be a big boost for us and it will take a lot of pressure off Giroud. We will have 2 make or break months in February and March! February we have games against Liverpool, Man U and Bayern Munich back to back. And in March we have Bayern, Tottenham, Chelsea, Man City and Everton in a row. If we can be healthy and play smart those 2 months we have a good shot at winning the Premier League which is the ultimate goal. There is a lot of time left this season, but this team looks ready and hungry for success. I hope we can pull it off! C'mon You Gunners!!!
