Aaron Ramsey seems to have enough to spare at the moment after yet another goal this season. Following Walcott’s opener, the Welsh Wizard secured the victory with a driving run and shot that took the slightest deflection to zip past Steve Mandanda in the Marseille goal. It’s safe to say that this was not the kind of run the Aaron Ramsey of 12 months ago would have made and his improvement since then has been astonishing. 6 goals (from just seven shots on target this season apparently) from midfield as well as his overall performances suggest he is going from strength to strength and will hopefully only get better. It’s been well documented how poor he has been in the past and while I will argue that a lot of the criticisms of were warranted, the vitriol he received from certain quarters was just bang out of order. Ramsey’s
Dr. Jackal and Mr. Walcott
I think it can be universally agreed that for the best part of an hour, young Theo wasn’t exactly having his best game in Arsenal colours. Following a first half littered with wayward, misplaced passes, poorly timed runs and a first touch that was at times so embarrassingly bad, there would have been a legitimate argument to haul him off and play with ten. However, 20 minutes into the second 45 and with no real sign of the deadlock being broken, Walcott pounced on a calamitous Jeremy Morel mistake in the Marseille defence to strike a stupendous volley into the top corner. A truly magnificent goal to open his account for the season. Of course, the goal shouldn’t disguise an otherwise poor performance but credit to him for his perseverance as it set us on our way for what could prove to be a valuable victory. At the risk of coming across as self-indulgent and quoting myself, here is what wrote of Theo just a few days ago after the Sunderland game.
If there are any positives to take from Theo’s calamity of a first half showing, it’s that he never goes hiding. He may miss a number of chances but he continues to find himself in the position to do so … He needs to find that – albeit infrequent – finishing touch again this campaign.
A case of history repeating itself, only this time his persistence paid off. I’m sure I’m not the only gooner hoping that this goal can help kick start his season. There’s no underestimating what this goal could do for his confidence.
Ram, Bam, thank you, Ma’am.
Speaking of confidence, Aaron Ramsey seems to have enough to spare at the moment after yet another goal this season. Following Walcott’s opener, the Welsh Wizard secured the victory with a driving run and shot that took the slightest deflection to zip past Steve Mandanda in the Marseille goal. It’s safe to say that this was not the kind of run the Aaron Ramsey of 12 months ago would have made and his improvement since then has been astonishing. 6 goals (from just seven shots on target this season apparently) from midfield as well as his overall performances suggest he is going from strength to strength and will hopefully only get better.
It’s been well documented how poor he has been in the past and while I will argue that a lot of the criticisms of were warranted, the vitriol he received from certain quarters was just bang out of order. Ramsey’s ‘redemption’ sees him currently in great form and after last season, it is pleasing to see.
However, just as a lot of the fan criticism just a few months back was over the top, so too is the hype after just a handful of games this time around. Even though I myself am starting to get giddy with excitement, it’s easy for people to get carried away right now. A far more sensible reaction would be to wait for him do it over a longer period of time so we can see if this is just a purple patch or a true reflection of his ability. Remember, even Gervinho had a good start last season and don’t even get me started on Chamakh…
Paying the Penalty
A blot on Ramsey’s performance was the concession of a last minute penalty to give Marseille the chance of a consolation goal. A chance substitute Jordan Ayew took with both hands as his ruthlessly dispatched spot kick made it 2-1. It was a poor touch while facing his own goal that put Ramsey in trouble and as soon as Andre Ayew pounced, you knew there would only be one outcome as our midfielder lunged in. In tennis, they’d call that an unforced error. Of greater concern is the fact that this is the fourth penalty Arsenal have given away in just seven games; an alarming ratio this early in the season. With the defence generally looking more secure, our players can’t afford to keep giving out these freebies to the opposition. Seriously, STOP IT!
L’OM and dry
This was far from a vintage Arsenal performance. Despite the result, the boys certainly laboured to the victory. The passing throughout the team wasn’t as fluid, at times the formation seemed to completely lack any shape and we often found ourselves on the back foot as Marseille probed for openings. It’s early days in the season, but with the squad as thin as it is, and the matches already coming thick and fast, there is a fear that we may well soon here that favoured Wengerism that the players are ‘jaded’.
For Marseille, Mathieu Valbuena and Andre Ayew provided more than a constant threat. Fortunately, the French side lacked the guile to be able to punish us sufficiently. In the first half in particular, it seemed as though we’d have been content to come away with a draw but with tougher tests to come in the group I think we can safely say, in the end, victory was crucial. It will hardly go down as a European Classic but hey, they always say that the best teams win when not at their best don’t they?
Kieran Gibbs his all
One of the few shining lights on the night was Kieran Gibbs who put in an assured display at left back. There seems to be this modern obsession amongst fans to laud a full back for his ability to support attacks and get forward while often ignoring the actual job they are supposed to do. The likes of Dani Alves, Leighton Baines etc are all ‘highly rated’ due to the fact they provide an extra dimension when they bomb on. Gibbs is usually the same but on this occasion, his discipline in defence proved invaluable. Having spent much of the game marshalling and keeping the amusingly named Rod Fanni at bay, Gibbs was also responsible for a vital goal line clearance after a mix up between Per Mertesaker and Szczesny. With the game still in the balance at 0-0, Gibbs’ instinct to get back and prevent what would have been an embarrassing own goal was just as crucial as scoring at the other end in my opinion. Had that gone in, we would have been in for a very troubling evening.
Gunning for Glory
They often say that 10 points are enough to seal qualification. Seeing as Arsenal currently find themselves in the oft discussed ‘Group of Death’, it’s certainly a relief to have secured three of those points in the opening game against Marseille. With the greatest respect to the French side, up next are two tougher tests against Napoli and Dortmund. Both sides have started their respective campaigns in similar good form to us. Rafa Benitez’ teams are never a pushover and with the latter coming so close to winning the competition last season, you’d expect we have to perform far better against these two than we did against Marseilles. However, with both games at home, and hopefully, players returning from injury, we should be just about be favourites for these two matches and if the team are able to take maximum points, Arsenal could be looking good for a place in the last 16 before the clocks go back. Nobody is expecting progress from this group to be easy but a situation like this is exactly what we’re in the Champions League for. A perfect reminder of exactly why we want to continue competing at the highest level and not pissing about with all manner of misfits and nonentities on Thursday nights. COYG.
EXAMPLE OF AD POSITION
