During the PSV game, I was shaking my head in disbelief as Lauren & Patrick were sent off. I was utterly frustrated at that time. After the game, I sat down and with a cool head ran the game again in my brain and suddenly realized that I can?t remember when was the last time I had so much under-dog excitement watching the PSV game. In recent years when Arsenal play, it?s the opposition which is hanging on a thread and you curse and swear whenever their goal keeper blocks a goal bound shot or when their defender makes a goal line clearance. But in this game the roles were reversed and though I have to admit that PSV did not really push us hard in spite of the numerical advantage, it was a heart breaking last 16 minutes. But to see 9-men Arsenal showing tremendous fighting spirit to defend, I felt it was a great victory (okay.. not a great victory but a great performance). I saw Freddie huffing & puffing standing at the goal post organizing things and Sol shouting and leading the way to defend the corners. If only we had this kind of commitment when we were a goal or 2 goals up, I would have never had the chance to see such a great performance. I remember during the game, at one point Lehmann got a hand to a cross and the ball kinda died in the centre of the 6 yard box, waiting for some PSV player to thump it inside the net. I died 10 times in that second and lived again when I saw Lehman making a dive and grabbing the ball.
Things actually were not bad when Lauren was shown red. As some editor remarked that Arsenal were the masters of playing with 10 men as that used to be the case some 2 years ago. In fact we played quite well in that period and I was pretty confident that we will nick this one. But with 9 men it was a cliffhanger for about 16 minutes.
On a more serious note, I wish I don?t have this kind of fun for the remainder the season, as it is something that we are all not used to. So let?s look for a better game against Liverpool and get back to the less-adventurous winning ways. And by the way, unhappy with AW sticking with Reyes, which in a way I feel is part of the reason why Van Persie got injured because he wanted to impress and went hard into the tackle. But Reyes needs to be benched so that he can get a bit of rest and also learn that hefty price tags alone don’t guarantee places.
16 Responses to “The Reversed Role”
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November 25th, 2004 at 1:06 pm
9 vs 11 men is certainly a tough one for the Gunners to handle but I was very relieved that they held on to fight another day. A loss would have been a very harsh result considering the boys did take the game to PSV even with 10 men. So much for the lack of ‘warrior mentality’ in this current squad.
It was great to have Campbell back to marshall the defence, despite letting in a goal from a setpiece. I agree that Reyes should not have started as he did not appear to have overcome his current form loss. Starting van Persie to partner Henry would have made more sense.
With the fixture pileup coming up, more injuries and Wenger’s unwillingness to start new blood, it is going to be an interesting few weeks until the Jan transfer window. If Henry is not available for the Pool game, it would be good to see van Persie partner Bergkamp upfront.
November 25th, 2004 at 1:18 pm
Extremely proud of the way the lads soldiered on. “Year of the Set Piece” has seen us severely wounded, but not finished.
What burns my a** is when I read a glowing article about Mourinho’s brilliant “rotational policy”, accompanied by a picture of him looking pensive. Just how many hours did he have to lie sleepless before he came up with the masterstroke to buy two teams with the blank checks he is given? So he’s “sticking” to his policy, huh? What resolve.
Nothing I would love more than taking them out somewhere along the line. We’ve got Flamini and Cesc to marshall our engine. And it will be good enough to do the job because we are battered and bloody and refusing to let it stop us. Chelsea’s robots will have to come up with a way to deal with that.
Pool is going to be facing a very different Arsenal at the weekend. Not our best, not our strongest, but one that may have just found their hearts again.
November 25th, 2004 at 2:02 pm
Well said, Green Gunner. Strange thing is - we looked more dangerous and created more chances when we were down by ten men.
I have no sympathy towards Lauren’s sent off. He got booked by waving a card signal trying to get a PSV player booked, he always did that, and it’s UGLY. I don’t mind our players get sending off due to over-aggressive play, but I hate it when they are trying to cheat or commit unsportsmanship behaviour like this. I hope at least now Lauren will have learned his lesson.
The 9-man Arsenal played with a lot of heart, something really made me proud of to be a Gonner again.
November 25th, 2004 at 3:15 pm
Wemger can rotate if he wants to, its just not his way. We have many brilliant kids, who could be broken in slowly. Sir Alex does it all the time. Tell me do you think we are that weaker for having Pennant in the team? And what about Persie, surely he can’t be worse than the highly inconsistent Reyes. If it wasn’t for price tag, if Reyes was a youth teamer, do you think he’d be playing?
Hopefully now these injuries will force his hand.
November 25th, 2004 at 3:36 pm
Wenger is not going to throw 18-20 year olds into the fray… thats NOT his way… unless he thinks they can deal with it. Reyes coped at first and did well… and now? Cesc started well… don’t want to see him get burned out either.
Its a bit different to rotate in seasoned veterans and players who would star on alot of other teams. Thats Chelsea… they have a huge bankroll… and a bunch of players on the bench that would probably rather be PLAYING somewhere else. Thats a luxury, we don’t have that much money.
You don’t throw young kids into the fire unless you HAVE to. Pennant has been INJURED. Van Persie should get more playing time, I agree… but there aren’t too many KIDS, and thats what they are… that I’d send straight into the fray.
Wenger knows what he is doing. He has a bit more football experience and knowledge than all of us put together…. and a few doubles as well. Arsene knows.
November 25th, 2004 at 3:41 pm
Liverpool is also decimated with injuries… so that makes it more of an even match!
GREAT to see Sol back out there… in Henry needs to sit… so be it…. Reyes, Bergy, VanPersie, Lupoli, Quincy OA… surely someone can step up for 1 game or 2…
Gotta build on this great effort v. PSV…
need the win at home v. Rosenborg…. thats the BIG one now… so save Henry for that one.
IF we manage to qualify for the knockout phase of the CL… there are only a few teams I’d hope to avoid in the next phase AC Milan, Juventus, and Barcelona…
I’d LOVE to play Chelsea in the next round… thats my wish… but I am not sure if they seek to keep 2 Brit teams apart?
November 25th, 2004 at 4:09 pm
I was really proud of them - Henry’s stunningly classy goal and then the great fighting spirit when we were down to 9. My heart sank when I saw Hoyte coming on, but actually he did pretty well.
I’m not sure about Rosenborg (assuming we’ve enough players uninjured/unsuspended even to play them). Rosenborg are lousy but didn’t raise my hopes. There was a good article in The Times a few days ago which argued that we do poorly in Europe because very few European sides play a conventional 4-4-2 (which is what we shine against in the premiership). Faced with a different formation, we lack the space to play our usual slick game. There’s a lot in this, I think, and it explains our recent troubles in the premiership too. Even the tiddlers are hard to beat these days as they’re putting 5 in midfield. Very unsporting of them, I call it.
Stag, we can’t play Chelsea before the quarter finals. If you look at the possible permutations, the odds are it will be an Italian side. Not that it makes much difference anyway, alas; not unless Wenger performs a miracle both in the transfer market and on the tactical front.
November 25th, 2004 at 5:21 pm
Liverpool? Yes, they’re as badly hit by injuries as we are: in particular, they don’t have a striker but they’ll score anyway, I predict. From set pieces, of course. Hypia probably.
Our injuries? van P is pretty definitely out - his injury (knee?) looked bad, so he’ll be unavailable for some time, I’d guess; Thierry? Reyes? Pires? Dennis? Flamini? Question marks over the fitness of all them. And Sol isn’t match fit, and Cesc and Ashley are knackered. Is Clichy anywhere near returning?
Poor Cygan. His already shattered confidence will have taken a further battering in the last couple of weeks. I hope for his sake he leaves in January and finds a club where he can do well.
Maybe it’s time to promote Lupoli et al., not this week as there’s the Carling to consider, but for the Birmingham game, so the front and midfield have a break before Rosenborg.
November 25th, 2004 at 7:41 pm
Arsene knows far more than we do, agreed, but that doesn’t mean he’s always right or deny us the right to comment.
The jury is still out on Reyes, and I think the only reason he is in the team is his price tag. No doubting his brilliance, but he’s too inconsistent and easily intimidated.
Nobody knows how 18-20 year olds will perform. Football is practice, not principle. Ashley Cole as you may recall only got his chance through injury, and so did Clichy. How can we depend on the fickle hand of fate for youngsters who have already showed such immense promise to get a shout? When they have played, they do well. Rotate the team and keep it fresh for the long haul. Maurinho does it because its his policy, Wenger doesn’t because it isn’t, not because he hasn’t the resources.
November 25th, 2004 at 7:49 pm
I think we may do well to take any money we’ve been saving for a defender in January and buy the world’s greatest physio. And a witch doctor, faith healer, biophysicist, Dr. Frankenstein…whatever. With a list of injuries like that you’d think we were hit by a bus! Just really, really bad luck is all that is.
I’m thinking that Quincy and company are starting to look like the answer to fill in over time. You mention B. City, and frankly, I figure it doesn’t matter who it is at this point. The good thing is that Wenger may be forced to play a half dozen at a time, which means they’ll be familiar with one another and can play the game they’ve been playing in the Carling Cup.
By the time the Rosenborg match rolls around, we’ll HAVE to win. First time all year that was the case. I’m convinced that with so much on the line, whomever takes the pitch is going to get it done. Until then…anyone’s guess.
November 25th, 2004 at 7:58 pm
Agree that Wenger flirts with disaster by the way he maintains his first XI, but when they’re healthy, it works. The Arsenal have a system, and it works best when those who do it best are out there. Our resources with his youth policy are just not there in his opinion, but he may have to change that opinion. Surely the success of the reserves in the Carling Cup bodes well.
That article about Entelechy that I offered a few posts back sums up much of what Wenger’s on about. The Arsenal is a process as much as its a brand of exciting football, and currently they are somewhere in the middle of it. Wenger has timed his success over his tenure. He’s planning for the coming years, at the new stadium, and perhaps his lack of a rotational policy works into that.
Not really saying that he’s throwing our unbeaten stars to the wolves, but Wenger has no problem at all with change when its time. He’s loyal, but he also has a career and the loyalty of the administration to protect. They’ve gambled a lot on “his way”.
Curious what he would do if there was no Grove in the picture. How would the squad look then?
November 25th, 2004 at 9:21 pm
If Wenger were to rotate young kids into the squad at this CRUCIAL POINT… and we lost some matches… he would be KILLED for it…
We can have our opinions, nobody is saying don’t speak out! But I am very comfortable with Arsene making the decisions… not the fans.
November 25th, 2004 at 9:27 pm
Arsenal.com says: HENRY is 50/50 for the Liverpool match… but REYES AND VANPERSIE are fit…
so as bad as VanP’s injury looked… our team website says he’s fit.
Thats a plus… perhaps its Reyes and VanPersie up front??? (Bergy is still iffy as to whether he is fit)
I don’t want Cygan going anywhere… he is decent cover… and we don’t have an abundance of that. Everybody is all upset that we didn’t buy defenders… well why would we let Cygan go now? He is COVER for the defense. We have already signed one defender Eboue… perhaps we will get one more… part of me wants Hoyte to get his chance covering for Lauren. He will most likely be playing right back versus Rosenborg.
November 25th, 2004 at 11:17 pm
Agree with Stag on Cygan. We need him and he’s a decent player. It’s only when he’s around somehow the confidence is affected. Maybe it’s the lack of communication and I always had this feeling that language plays an important part too. If all the back 4 are from the same country speaking the same tongue, things would be better, defense wise.
I believe when he plays and if the team keeps a couple of clean sheets, everything will be okay. It will be interesting to see the back 4 for the Rosenburg game. Personally I think Cygan can be partnered with Sol and maybe move Kolo to midfield using Hoyte as right back. Or Flamini to partner Cesc and play Kolo as right back.
Whichever way, I am sure we gonna whack this game.
November 26th, 2004 at 11:21 am
Greengunner
Your comment about the lack of communication and language is spot on. I remember Cole once ‘complained’ that he always receives a mouthful from Campbell whenever he ventures up and did not recover back quickly enough. Thats what Adams would have done as well during his time.
I would prefer to keep the Campbell-Toure pairing in the middle of defence as I believe this will inspire more confidence amongst the other defenders and midfielders. Hoyte’s speed will be needed defending our right wing. Flamini has played quite a few games in UEFA cup for his previous club so I see no reason why he is not ready to start with Fabregas.
But knowing Wenger, he will probably partner Campbell with Cygan, move Toure to partner Fabregas and have Hoyte play right back.
Against Rosenborg, Arsenal *must* score 2 or more goals so as not to put too much pressure on the defence. Other than Henry, the other players have limited success scoring in CL games. Given Reyes current slump, it would be better to start Pires and have van Persie or Bergkamp upfront with Henry. I personally like van Persie to start as he has the height to trouble Rosenborg defenders.
November 27th, 2004 at 11:42 pm
“On a more serious note, I wish I don?t have this kind of fun for the remainder the season, as it is something that we are all not used to. So let?s look for a better game against Liverpool and get back to the less-adventurous winning ways.”
No shit! I’m having too much fun and wouldn’t mind a clean win just to relax a bit. That said the team is still doing well if you consider that not doing well has us in second place in the league and (if we win) just a game out of first place. Man are we having fun or what.
Gerard Pas