Well, we got a win. It was ugly but a much needed win. However our performance was far from good. We looked extremely nervous defensively at the end of the game. Thank god Sagna made some crucial tackles and saved us from conceding. Koscielny had a decent game for his standards but in critical situations he panics and lacks that calm and confidence needed to be a solid center back. I remember a situation towards the end of the game when Gibbs went in front of him to try to stop a player, and Koscielny was just standing there instead of immediately switching positions and covering on the left. He looked afraid to make a decision and adapt to the situation. I like Ignasi Miquel much more than him and I wish Wenger had the balls to play Miquel with Mertesacker and let Koscielny and Djourou play for the Carling Cup or some other shitty tournament. Gibbs had a solid game but his problem has always been his durability not his skills. I think Mertesacker looked really good and solid. Nothing flashy, but you can see he has confidence and EXPERIENCE. He might not be the fastest guy out there but if we had him and Vermaelen the last few seasons, we could have actually won something. Szczechny made a great save in the beginning of the game and looked solid throughout until the last 10 min when I guess the whole defense decided to be shaky at the same time. We got really lucky when Szczechny tried to punch the ball and missed it and then Graham couldn’t put in the back of the net. So defensively we need to improve a lot but I like Mertesacker’s first game.
In midfield and attack it was the same old story. “1001 nights” passing (those of you who read this blog know what that means: shit load of passes with no end product), with very few good chances and not a lot of creativity. Walcott looks lost on the right, he just runs out of ideas there. It’s almost like watching Bendtner when Wenger used to play him on the right but with more pace. Walcott will be much more effective on top of the attack and Van Persie on the left or behind him. Arshavin had a bit better game than his usual shitty form, but the goal was pure luck, I still give him props for not missing it. Especially since it was the only goal we managed to score. Arteta was pretty good, definitely lacks pace but he controls the ball very well and was moving it around. With a few more games under his belt he will hopefully create more chances for us. Frimpong was not as impressive as he was in the Liverpool game but he had some important tackles and I love his desire and passion. Ramsey tried hard all game but also didn’t produce much. I think he should be playing in a bit more attacking midfield position, this game he played more like a defensive midfielder. Van Persie had a decent game and did hit the bar, but we got used to much more from him last season. Even though he didn’t play much, I like Benayoun, he has good movement and always looks a threat. To be honest, I prefer that he plays instead of Arshavin and we use the Russian as a sub.
To sum it up, this team needs games to improve. The fact is that we don’t look that impressive defensively or offensively. The problem is that we need to keep winning and improve at the same time. That might be tough to do but Wenger brought it on himself by not doing his business early in the summer. The thing that I like is that we again have some depth. When Gervihno, Diaby, Vermaelen and Wilshere are available the squad is starting to look pretty solid and we are going to need it to compete on all fronts.
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