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Drawing a line under a difficult period
Arsenal squad is inconclusive. This is undoubtedly a much more talented and hardworking side than we’ve had for a few years, capable of playing scintillating football on good days whilst grinding out results on off days. Whilst I will not pay much attention to the Chelsea
Manchester United (a) – Arsenal’s box badly missing the points / Pedro would be great
I do have an issue with our team though. I have had this issue for a while now. When you look at this team, it is built to play in front of opponents. We are designed to play football outside of the penalty box. Even more so when you remove Theo Walcott from the team. Giroud is a striker who faces his midfielders, he is one of the best at bringing midfielders into play but when given the ball to feet with no support, he is virtually neutralised. He doesn't have a burst to escape a defender and his top speed is slow. Unless he plays it off in two touches, he tends to take too many and get dispossessed. Giroud has had a fantastic season so far, he is one of the best at what he does, he just cannot do everything
Manchester United (a) – Misfiring Gunns, Verm Warfare & More – Iron Man's Match Thoughts
Robin van Persie has now scored three in three since leaving us for them. With each passing game, the decision to allow him to leave for Old Trafford looks like an increasingly daft move on part of the Arsenal board/management. This may be well trodden ground but the point becomes pertinent once again in light of yesterday's result. When a guy scores 30 plus goals for you in a season, the absolute last thing you do is let him go to a potential rival – even if he expresses a desire to leave. It's easy to throw around terms like 'traitor' and 'judas' but when all was said and done, the ones who had the final say on the transfer was Arsenal Football Club who thought £24m was more valuable than keeping the best player in the team. As we have seen with the likes of Suarez and Rooney,
Manchester United (a) Match Thoughts As They Happened
Manchester United (a) Thoughts & Line Up – Don’t fall into the trap
Manchester United were given free licence to kick Arsenal players without punishment, Jose Reyes was given special attention on the day. I am almost certain that Manchester United will have a similar approach this afternoon. They will be aggressive and look to deny us time and space which is the way to disrupt our game. If they go out to match us on the ball then they know that they will struggle so Manchester United will play to spoil. If they do have that approach then it is a great compliment to our squad. What I am unsure about is how we will approach the game. Will we go there not to lose as we did in Dortmund? I hope so. If we go to Old Trafford and take the game to them then we could be walking into their trap. Their trap of disruption, frustration and counter attacking. Alex Ferguson had done that to us so many times in the past but we are a far more experienced squad
Borussia Dortmund (a) – Dor-mats, Rambushed & More – Iron Man's Match Thoughts
The boys are now 15 games unbeaten (winning 14) on the road since last season. Two years ago, the boss remarked that he didn't think that there was any difference as to whether a team is playing at home or away. A point I'm pretty sure he's contradicted more than once, including his suggestion just a fortnight ago about possibly having a pitch installed at Colney with longer grass to practice for said away games. Allowing for artistic licence, I'll ignore these latter comments. Regarding the idea about there being no distinction, this seems to be a philosophy the players have taken on board too. Given that this run includes wins over two of the sides widely considered to be among the best on the continent at the moment, this current Arsenal side might finally possess that
Borussia Dortmund (a) – Wenger’s Game plan executed to perfection
Arsenal had no shots on target at half time and that was not a surprise. It is easier to create chances against a top side when they have run out of batteries. In the 59th minute Tomas Rosicky got lucky with a misplaced pass that found it's way back to him, his second attempted pass was much sharper and into Özil's feet on the right edge of the box. Özil picked out Giroud in the box and the big Frenchman's awareness was so good that in a crowded penalty box he managed to fight for an aerial
Borussia Dortmund (a) Thoughts & Line Up: Camp Nou 2011 without the madness perhaps?
Now the game plan would have been sound if it weren't for Cesc Fabregas backheeling into the path of Iniesta on the edge of our box and also big game Bendtner failing to control a Jack Wilshere pass in the dying minutes. Oh and not to forget van Persie being sent off for shooting at goal a second after the referee had blown his whistle. Only Arsenal