And can someone explain me how this is not a red card for Barton?
Anyway, enough about this stupid clown. The game itself wasn't that great. Very few good chances for either team. At least defensively we didn't look horrible. I am not saying we looked great but we weren't as shaky as we were many times last season. Having Vermaelen back makes such a huge difference it's scary. He had a great game, made some really crucial interceptions. Always looks composed and under control. You can't see him panic and that rubs off to the rest of our defense.That's why we need another center back of his quality so we don't hold our breath every time he goes down. Sagna played at his usual level, covering a lot of ground and flying all over the place. The only negative is that he is starting to act like Eboue every time he goes down. He did get fouled a few times but he was rolling around like they broke his leg or something. I thought Gibbs had a really good game, was solid in the back and made some good runs on the left.
We had a lot of possession throughout the game, but we were lacking that final pass. Too many missed passes in the final phase of the attack, not enough shooting when we get an opportunity to shoot. Basically there is a lot more that we need to do offensively. Pretty much every team in EPL plays us the same way Newcastle played us, they get back and wait for their chance to counter. Unless we get more creative in the final third it will be a looong season for all Arsenal fans. Heck, there was a point today when Sagna, making his usual run on the right, didn't even look to see if there is anyone in the penalty area, crossed the ball (surprisingly well) and there was not even one Arsenal player in the area! Not even one. So why the fuck are we crossing the ball then?
Van Persie wasn't as sharp as we are used to seeing him but to be fair he didn't get many good opportunities. I wasn't very impressed with Gervinho. Nothing to do with the red card, he just didn't look very threatening or creative. I am not criticizing him at all because it's his first season in England and it will take time for him to get used to the game they play here. I just think he wasn't very effective but so were most of our attacking players. Arshavin was the Arshavin we saw for most of last season: absolutely horrible defensively. He just drives me nuts when he is jogging close to our penalty area and letting players run past him, it almost looks like he has no clue how to defend properly or just doesn't care enough about defending. Not to mention he didn't do anything memorable offensively either.
Song had a really good game and a really bad game at the same time: he gives us that toughness, and does so much work in winning the ball back and controlling the defensive midfield. I think him and Vermaelen are almost irreplaceable for us. But he has to tendency to make some bad tackles and some of them are just stupid. He managed to foul 2 different players in the span of 45 seconds and get a silly booking. And then he stomped on Barton which should have been a red card, and i guarantee you the FA will punish him by video evidence. He is too important for us to make bad decisions like that. Rosicky had a solid game and was trying hard. Ramsey had a tougher time but i really like his desire and effort. He lost a few balls and you saw him immediately chase the player down trying to win the ball back unlike other players (cough, Arshavin, cough).
So overall, getting a point at Newcastle is not ideal but it's not bad. Not conceding a goal and not allowing too many chances is actually encouraging. The only problem is that when i look at our team right now i don't see the depth that we need to compete in all competitions. Offensively we don't look threatening/creative enough. We don't have a good back up for Gibbs on the left. Up front if Van Persie gets injured we have only Chamakh as a striker (that's assuming Bendtner is leaving). Eboue is set to be sold to Galatasaray. We have many players leaving and we have bought another 18 year old player. Doesn't look too impressive, does it?
Yesterday Arsene gave his usual lines about buying players: "We are not scared to spend money if we find the right player. But spending money is not the right target in itself. We want to find the right player and whether it is for £2 million or £20 million we will do it." Well guess what, if we want to stay in the top 4 ( i am not even talking about winning the title) Wenger better find the right players fast and we better spend some money!
p.s.Today was announced that Fabregas was sold to Farca and i am kind of relieved that the whole saga is over but i hope The Professor won't be a stubborn idiot and will buy more than 1 or 2 players in the next few weeks. Otherwise get ready for a lot of grumpy blog entries coming your way.
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