Not A Good Day At The Office
Wanker’s Doom is guesting around these parts, and watched the game at Emirates with interest.
If you possess an objective footballing bone in your body, you noted two significant facts about Sunday’s marvelous Arsenal/Man U match up.
The first was that these two teams really do bring out the best in one another. It was a positive and free flowing contest – a paean to the game that we all love so much. The second salient point is that Arsenal’s not good enough to win the EPL. Even more painfully for Gunner fans, they don’t look ready to win anything.Now, I hate being wrong. You’d think as a man who has been married to a Jewish woman for 22+ years that I’d be used to the errors of my ways, but I’m not broken yet. Before this season began, I went against the conventional wisdom, and on these very UF pages, proudly predicted that this was the year of that the other London club, Arsenal, would take home the EPL trophy.
Today I know I was in error.
Arsenal played hard. They ran the pitch, showing as much courage as a team of Euro flair can manage, and still it wasn’t really close. And that’s not exactly news at the Emirates. The other leading contender for the throne, Chelsea, played with Arsenal like they were a U16 team playing in a men’s league, in Chelsea’s 3-0 utterly comprehensive away victory.
Arsenal at home versus Chelsea and Man U this season? No wins, 2 losses and a combined score of 1-6 (the one came on a deflection).
Arsenal’s combined away record against the Manchesters? No wins, 3 losses and a combined score of 3-9.
Clearly, Arsenal is a better away side against the top clubs so that’s something to hang the Gunner hat on for next weekend, but back to the match. What should give every Arsenal fan pause is that their team really, really tried. That was Arsenal’s A game. Arshavin was a menace all over the pitch. Vermaelen and Song were inspirational. Even Gallas turned back the clock and was as sprightly as he ever gets.
And it wasn’t close.
Last year, Arsenal came 4th in seemingly everything. Semis in the FA, Carling and Champions League trophy chases and 4th in the Premiereship. This year, one could argue that a team that is a year older with Arshavin firmly in the mix and Fabregas on the brink of super-stardom, has regressed. Early exits from both domestic cups, and fading EPL hopes.
Every great team has more than talent. It possesses an ineffable sense of timing and guts. More than pace; greater than 14-touch sublime goals against the Boltons of the world; a fire in the belly; a compulsion to vanquish the other side. Man U gets it from Sir Alex, a man so much larger than life, that he drives what is fundamentally a good-but-not-a-great Manchester United onwards and upwards. Arsene, on the other hand, is the world’s greatest judge of young footballing talent. He is the Lord of the Cerebellum but his game management is weak and his team is lacking in the intangibles.
For a team as spectacular as is Arsenal, it should be an affront to every true Arsenal fan that, for the sixth consecutive campaign, the Children o’ Wenger will likely win nought.
I can’t agree with this article, simply because I don’t believe the team tried…..at least, Denilson didn’t try on Rooney’s goal, and Arsene did try (hard enough) to sign someone…..
This is getting very, very old.
“A game?” You’ve got to be kidding. 3 out of 11 playing well is not an “A game.” The rest of the team was outright terrible. Fabregas was invisible, the pixie was a selfish little sh*t the entire game (but he ran hard!), Denilson should be shipped back to Brazil immediately. For substitutes we had two guys that have been mostly broken for four months and it showed. No confidence, no touch and no impact. And don’t even get me started on the f*cking goaltending.
Yesterday was a f*cking mess through and through and cannot be considered an “A game” under any circumstance.
No, we won’t win anything this year, and no we aren’t any better than last year. But at least our Captain isn’t John Terry. Thank everything holy for that.
That title charge was solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.
That doesn’t really have anything to do with anything, I just felt like working in “brutish” because you knobs use it to describe teams you can’t beat.
What I can’t believe is that when this team is arguably closer to being able to win something than they have been in a hot bit, Arsene doesn’t strengthen in the transfer window, when they have injury issues. I mean there is time left, but when broke ass Rafa makes a bigger move in a window than you, you’re doing something wrong. Stop investing in puffy jackets and buy a goddamn striker retard.
Or a proper defensive mid.
While Arsenal brought out the best in Man U, I don’t think the reverse was applicable. Arsenal looked out of soughts and a mess, largely due to the fact that they sat back and had no outlet up front. Pretty unlike the Arsenal seen this season. Too many packed bodies in midfield trying to bring the ball forward with no one to do the running deep or allow the midfield players to come into the game around the box. man U were the opposite, Rooney just continues to amaze. Lets hope he doesn’t screw Rio’s bird anytime soon.
I have to say that my admiration of Rooney is very very high at the moment.
@Hadley. He will be named Worlds best player by 25. Just hope he stays fit ahead of the WC. England won’t make the final without him he does so much.
Rooney is absolutely fantastic to watch. I really hope that come June his metatarsals have the tensile strength of a candycane.
I was sincerely pulling for Arsenal yesterday, but once the 1st goal went in it became abundantly clear that the game was lost. That midfield really needs someone who can be bothered to trudge back when one of their stellar attacks breaks down at the other end.
Meanwhile, what has happened to Gael Clichy? Shaun Wright-Phillips, then Ashley Young, and now Nani have wrecked him in recent weeks. I guess we know what Chelsea will do on Sunday, pending some tactical shift.
@Wac, Berg
I was fully ready to disagree, too, but then I took a step back and realized there wasn’t really too much out of the ordinary yesterday.
-Almunia was cack. Yesterday, I said early on that Almunia would cost Arsenal this match. Should we have expected anything else? No.
-Clichy was skinned all game. This has been happening the entire season (when he’s played) and has become enough of a trend to be unsurprising.
-Arsenal were hit on a counter (Park) because Gallas made a misguided charge forward, leaving only Clichy at the back. Certainly not the first time he’s done that.
-Sagna didn’t really have to do much defensively but offered little in attack. Expected.
-Song was decent but not as good as he had been prior to ACN. Still, his performance is hardly the reason for the thrashing.
-Cesc was unable to do much once SAF put Fletcher(?) on him. For all of Cesc’s brilliance, he can be taken out of the game when a defense doesn’t have to worry about marking at least two other attackers (in this case, Denilson and Rosicky, and arguably Nasri.)
-Perhaps my apathy for Nasri clouds my judgment but he performed like he usually does: anonymously. Just like for most of the games in which he has appeared this season, I frequently forgot Nasri was on the pitch.
-Rosicky and Nasri are nothing more than role players who can easily be taken out of a match by physical and aggressive teams. When Rosicky has time and space to create he can be a joy to watch, but that was never going to be the case against a strong side like United.
-The Magic Pixie certainly did not have his finest match. He looked to shoot when he could have passed and was caught in possession on the corner which lead to Rooney’s goal. I absolutely expected better from him despite his playing out of position.
-And then there’s Denilson. He is worthless and played exactly the way I thought he would: f**king terribly.
So, as much as it hurts, did anyone truly play well below expectations/capabilities? I argue only Arshavin (should we have expected significantly more from Cesc once SAF got wise and took Scholes off him? I say no) and therefore what we witnessed on the pitch yesterday is hardly surprising. Sure, Arsenal can dispatch the lesser clubs like SFB and Spurs (unfunny yet obligatory. sorry.) with ease but they absolutely do not have the talent or testicular fortitude to seriously challenge for a trophy.
@ Georger
Hobbes described the Gunners’ title chase to a T.
Denilson deserved to get booed off the pitch as much as or more than Eboue did last year. Eboue just had a stretch of bad games riddled with mistakes but at least he appeared to be giving some effort.
I think I’ve now witnessed everything. Highbury Library is a cogent, articulate Arsenal fan who can love his team whilst still maintaining objectivity.
I think I hear the 7th seal cracking