The lack of natural width proved a problem in the first half. Aside from Wilshere’s troubles, Aaron Ramsey was virtually anonymous before picking up a knock that eventually forced him off. Rosicky came on in his place but his advancing years and diminishing pace mean that he can not ‘stretch’ the game in the same way a more traditional wide player would be expected to. The goal we conceded came in part from poor marking but also allowing Amanfiltano more time than was necessary to find Yacub with a ball into the box. It would be harsh to blame Ramsey for not getting tighter to stop the cross but I don’t think it’s at all unfair to think a more naturally inclined wide player would have shut that down better.
Haw-thorns in their side
Much has been made about Arsenal’s newfound resilience. West Brom was always going to be a difficult game to maintain our winning run, particularly when you imagine how confident they would be after that huge win at Old Trafford last week. The signs were there in the cup game two weeks back, albeit with different personnel, so we knew we would need to match their hard work and organisation if we were to take anything from the Hawthorns. It was also interesting to see how the team would react to going behind for the first time in months, especially away from home. In the end, it proved to be a deserved, hard fought draw that was certainly a point well-earned rather than two dropped.
Where there’s a Wil…
As with every other review you would have read up until this point, this game was all about Jack Wilshere who put in the kind of abysmal first half showing that would have seen a lesser player instantly withdrawn at the interval. Nobody would have been disappointed to have seen him hooked after a string of misplaced passes, surprisingly poor decision making and falling over his own feet like someone who spends too much time at nightclubs… He also picked up a yellow card for the kind of tackle that was borne entirely out of the frustration he and the supporters would have been feeling at his efforts. Undaunted, Jack came back out for the second 45 and rewarded his manager’s trust in him by scoring what proved to the decisive equaliser. He also arguably could have won at least one penalty and nearly created a winning goal for Giroud with a sumptuous through ball late on.
So, having gone from worst player on the pitch to almost being the match-winner, Jack reminded us that class quite often shines through. I don’t need to waste words talking about how talented Jack Wilshere is. However, there are times when it is reasonable to call his application into question. On another day, he doesn’t redeem himself after a poor start so ultimately, we have to hope these poor starts are fewer and further between. Does his second half improvement and a rare goal excuse his poor first half? It really shouldn’t but it’s difficult to say no as he was ultimately responsible for salvaging us the point we needed in the end. One of the positives about a player like Wilshere is that he won’t rest on his laurels and will know more than anyone that he has far better displays in him.
Left-leaning
Much like the Swansea game last week, Wilshere’s struggles were mainly down to the fact he was forced to start the game in the still unfamiliar wide left position (yet again, his improvement came when he came infield in the second half). I’m not going to go so far as to suggest that this area is a blind sport for the manager but his continued insistence on ‘experimenting’ with players here can be baffling. One could argue we haven’t had a success in this position since Pires. Over the years, pushing someone out here has proven to ‘break’ rather than ‘make’ a player.
Noughts from Crosses
The lack of natural width proved a problem in the first half. Aside from Wilshere’s troubles, Aaron Ramsey was virtually anonymous before picking up a knock that eventually forced him off. Rosicky came on in his place but his advancing years and diminishing pace mean that he can not ‘stretch’ the game in the same way a more traditional wide player would be expected to. The goal we conceded came in part from poor marking but also allowing Amanfiltano more time than was necessary to find Yacub with a ball into the box. It would be harsh to blame Ramsey for not getting tighter to stop the cross but I don’t think it’s at all unfair to think a more naturally inclined wide player would have shut that down better.
The disappointing play of the flanks was further highlighted by some very poor crossing. Watching the game, I was amazed by the number of times our players would just speculatively put the ball into the box – hoping for the best for rather than actually try and pick out a man. The stats showed that I wasn’t going crazy as we only succeeded with 2 from 22 cross attempts. For a team that passes the ball so accurately and brilliantly everywhere else on the pitch it boggles the mind how much it just becomes a case of ‘hit-and-hope’ when out wide.
Middle grind
I praised the Arteta-Flamini axis on Tuesday as they were able to completely stifle the threat posed by Napoli. On Sunday, while neither player actually performed at all badly, and actually did relatively well in central areas against an equally committed opposition, they struggled to provide any real forward thrust from their deeper-lying positions and often left Özil isolated playing ahead of them. The German struggled to get the better of Yacob and Mulumbu who did a fine job containing him but this could be attributed to the fact he received an obvious lack of support from his two central counterparts.
I like the Flarteta combo and I think it will work more often than not. But on occasions such as this, as the game wore on and we started to control the possession, I would have liked to see one of the two sacrificed for someone more adventurous to try and link the play going forward. I guess Ramsey’s injury played its part in the manager’s decision to keep playing this way.
Break Point
So the winning run is at an end. It would have been nice to keep the gap going into the international break but as we are still heading the table by virtue of a single goal, it’s difficult to have much in the way of complaint. Dropping our first points since the opening game is hardly a disaster but a timely reminder of the challenges we face in this long old campaign. Hopefully the manager can use the two week break as a time to reflect, welcome players back from injury and plan our assault going forward. COYG.
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