Fabregas: He raised his game above recent levels today and one just felt he would have shone much brighter if the team around him had brought on their attacking game. His distribution was good. He got involved in the retail side of the game

Match Thoughts – On Boro’d time

As I start to write this, the ghosts of Shite Hart Lane have just annulled Man Yoo’s hopes of capitalising on Liverpool’s slip up earlier today. Liverpool had fallen to a two-goal deficit before some spirited attacking play brought them back level. We, the mighty Arsenal, could have and should have beaten Middlesboro at the Riverside in the early kick-off. As it turns out, our lucky early goal was matched by Jeremy Aliadiere’s own fluky goal.

Here are some quick thoughts on the game:

WHO PLAYED WELL:

Almunia: Our number one was close to being number one on the pitch today. He basically did everything right except for once when he failed to claim the ball from a high corner. He had a couple of good saves and his passion was clearly in display.

Fabregas: He raised his game above recent levels today and one just felt he would have shone much brighter if the team around him had brought on their attacking game. His distribution was good. He got involved in the retail side of the game, tackling, going on runs with the ball at his feet, and doing all the other usual cescy things.

Sagna: Did nothing fantastic and on another day might be criticised for that. However, in this current Arsenal team, not doing anything disastrous would merit you some honourable mention.

Djourou: Did nothing fantastic as well, but was steady and won headers. Made almost no mistakes, and seemed much calmer and more accomplished than Gallas who’s dropped back to his Fulham form.

Bendtner: With the pink boots presumably at the bottom of the Thames now, he came on for 10 minutes and actually had an impact. He didn’t do anything special but you want your substitute striker to come on and have an impact and he had one.

WHO WAS PANTS

Song: This boy has fast become another of the hate targets in the squad, one whose booing might come. That is quite unfair as he’s had many more good games than bad games. Today was one of his worst. While he did win headers and bring height into our defending, he often seemed to be playing the game in slow motion. He did nothing intelligent. Nothing creative. He gave the ball away for the afforementioned reasons and just disappointed himself.

Wide men: This isn’t criticism of the individual players. Denilson buzzed around as usual and has enough technical ability to fill a position on the wings. He just didn’t bring much to attack though he fought hard, contributed to defensive stability and did enough to help the team. Diaby did contribute to attack. He had a couple of decent efforts on goal and he contributed useful height to defensive situations.

The problem with our wide men is that they weren’t wide men and they just didn’t have enough trickery or pace to bolster our attacking game.

Monsieur Gallas: When Jeremy Aliadiere gets in front of you and heads in from 6 yards you’ll go home knowing you haven’t done a good job. But beyond this flashpoint he really wasn’t particularly solid, even though fairness would dictate that he gets credit for the cool efficient way he dealt with Aliadiere’s pace and any threats thereof.

CRITICAL INCIDENTS

1. First 10 minutes: Arsenal didn’t get a foothold in this game until something like the 14th minute. That’s a problem which might really indicate a weak midfield. I suspect the problem is application. The team just has to find a way to grab the game by the balls sometimes.

Once we didn’t take control immediately, then the Boro players start believing in their plan of harrying on the ball.

2: Penalty appeal: The Sky commentators thought it was a penalty. I thought it could have been given but that’d have been harsh. That penalty call could have seen us behind, and who knows what could have happened?

3: Van Persie misses two sitters: The first one saw Adebayor set off by Fabregas after Boro bungled an offside tactic. Adebayor squares but Van Persie, despite having time, completely fails to set the ball goalwards. The second time, Diaby plays him in on the left. Robin controls well and when through doesn’t get the ball on target with his favoured left foot.

TACTICAL NOTES

!. I’ll give Wenger credit for trying to use Boro’s pressing game against them. The goal was to allow Boro do that for 60 minutes and then come out in full force for the last 30 minutes. This is a template for dealing with teams like these who try to play the harrying game as very few can actually sustain it for 90 minutes. With a more effective attack we could have hammered them in the last 30 minutes in which it was clear they had dropped.

2. Wenger shouldn’t get credit for the team’s shape though. Our shape is still wrong. We still don’t get enough men involved in attacks. Yes, I know that’s a function of low team confidence given our defensive history. However, 7-10 great runs per game from our midfielders will make us much more dangerous.

3. Back-4. Stability in the centre back pairing is becoming a worrying issue. Whatever might be our defensive problems as a team, lack of stability itself brings on new problems.

BOTTOMLINE

We dropped out of the Top 4 despite the United and Liverpool draws. Chelsea now have to beat West Ham at home to go top and to extend their lead over us to 9 points. They might or might not do it, but this title race is not over as the media have pronounced.

To put it better; this race is over if we don’t get better or are incapable of becoming better.

The real issue is our form, especially our attacking form. Something has been shaken in the squad, and as we know, or shouldn’t forget, bad form is had to get out of. Especially when it coincides with a period of many injury-induced absences and an unstable back 4.

Here’s what will have to happen; By hook or by crook, form has to come back. Wenger has to gamble on bringing back the attacking game with full backs bombing forward. If that happens, and Arsenal extend this ongoing run of decent results (not losing), just still being close to the chase would have a huge galvanising effect on the squad.

In the end the result today wasn’t so bad. The team has improved, albeit much less than having Adebayor and Van Persie back after their absence in the Villa and Citeh losses would have led one to believe.