Hands Up

Hands up all those who thought last nights Champions League qualification against Italian tiddlers Udinese was going to be easy. Not many I suspect. More so in the stadium I suspect, something about being there gives you an entirely unwarranted optimism.

The stadium looked maybe about two thirds full, empty seats abounding, and watching from home my feelings of disgust rose as either fans with tickets didn’t turn up, didn’t make their tickets available on ticket exchange, or… (and this worries me as a very real possibility).. the club were unable to organise themselves sufficiently to sell all the tickets.

Image by wonker via Flickr

So, the line up was a little different to that we have been used to. No Van Persie (ban), No Wilshere (injury), No Clichy (sold), No Fabregas (sold), No Nasri (about to be sold), No Diaby (injured, as usual). On the positive side – Ramsey in, Vermaelen back in at last, Koscielny in instead of Squillaci (bringing sighs of relief from some quarters). Most importantly perhaps – no Wenger (touchline ban).

Wenger sat in the stands with Boro Primorac (his no.2) and that was okay. Until it became apparent that Wenger was getting some messages down to Pat Rice on the touchline. It was no more obvious than Jose Morinho’s message passing the last time he was banned. Yet Sky decided to focus more attention on what they imagined than it warranted – meaning that any UEFA person watching the footage would be forced to take action, or appear to be made fools of. Thanks Sky. Not untypical of them though, as any regular watcher will know.

But enough of things outside the actual playing of the match – how did it go?

Uplifting

An increasingly young Arsenal team came out of the blocks like a shot – in 3 minutes Arsenal had simply taken control, when Ramsey fired a through ball for Walcott to poke home at close range. Nice.

Depressing

Udinese however, tightened up at the back, and started firing a few balls over the hole in our midfield. By 15 minutes in, it was anybodys game. Real end-to-end stuff, each side seeming to take turns attacking.

As the game settled down the pattern it settled into was one of Arsenal scrabbling the ball out of defense, running it forward, then giving it away really cheaply and scrabbling back to defend as Udinese launched penetrating attacks. That’s not the whole game right there of course, and Arsenal did have one or two good chances, but to be fair, the level of nerves rose higher and higher until people were literally sitting silently on their hands!

Some bright points – Vermaelen looked imperious at the back, cutting out crosses, blocking people and generally bossing the defense. Szczesny was given a couple of shaky moments by his defense, but in all, was up to the task pretty well. He was only really seriously tested about twice in the whole match, producing at least one fantastic stretching save.

Gibbs had a bit of a shocker though, culminating in him going off with a hamstring injury, being replaced by Vermaelen as Djourou came on into the centre. Five minutes later, Djourou was himself going off injured, giving Carl Jenkinson his first taste of Champions League football, at Left Back (as Vermaelen went back into the centre).

Clearly this dearth of defenders, particularly with experience, caused a furore during and after the game, from those who feel Arsene has not spent well during the transfer window. I felt Jenkinson did reasonably, but he got skinned a couple of times, and his lack of high level experience was obvious. Arsenal are now down to zero left backs (with Traore and Gibbs now injured), and three centre backs (with Djourou out again). With Song facing a Premier League ban of three games (so unable to come back into a CB position), the Arsenal defense as a whole is looking very vulnerable.

On the other hand, as some are pointing out… they still kept a clean sheet, albeit at a cost.

The 2nd half was much of the same, but with Udinese looking stronger and stronger as the game went on, and with Arsenal looking in some disarray with all the enforced changes, and Pat Rice looking bemusedly up at Arsene in the stands as if praying for help from on high.

I have very high regard for Ramsey, but he was largely anonymous throughout the game, as was Rosicky. As for Chamakh… well he gave the ball away far too much and had many calling for his head before the game had ended. The confidence with which he started last season seems beyond his ability to recapture at the moment, and nobody seems to know what he’s in the team for. Despite this, Bendtner still couldn’t get a game, and that probably tells you all you need to know about his future at the club.

With Vela off on loan, Van Persie injured, Bendtner off, and Gervinho on a 3 match EPL ban, our attacking options are looking very limited in future games.

Walcott was a bright spot in the team, yet his famed inability to stand up in a tackle, and his finishing, both let him down. On the Arsenal breaks (yes there were some despite some of my seeming negativity), Walcott could have had two more had his finishing been up to scratch (to be fair he also drew a great save from the Udinese keeper).

With 12 minutes left Frimpong came on, and somehow revitalised the team. The disarray coalesced and suddenly Arsenal were attacking again. It seemed to me he played out on the left, but he gave an energy and focus back that had drained out of the team during the match. He was key in some great moves, none of which were able to be finished by our waning attackers however.

Apart from Vermaelen, who was massive in defense, I’d have to make Frimpong my Man Of The Match for the difference he made in the team.

Arsenal didn’t exactly finish on a high, but they didn’t finish hanging on, as it seemed they would for much of the game.

Conclusion and Impressions

A win is a win, and taking a 1-0 lead to Udinese for the 2nd leg is far preferable to a draw or loss. We’ve seen the team in a real competitive match and some come through it well, whilst some have demonstrated they have a lot to prove.

A win, but an unconvincing one, and a game that left the crowd relieved more than happy. A game that left many Arsenal fans frustrated, although thankfully without booing or negative chanting. Some simple player reviews:

• Positives: Szczesny, Vermaelen, Jenkinson, Frimpong, Sagna
• Some positives, some negatives: Walcott, Gervinho, Koscielny, Song
• Anonymous: Ramsey, Rosicky
• Negatives: Gibbs, Djourou, Chamakh

I would say there’s enough to build on, but there needs to be strengthening in some places. Some very good youngsters coming through, but they’re not providing solid experience when it’s needed – and it is needed sometimes. Doesn’t have to be Premiership Experience in my opinion – but it does need to be experience of serious high profile high pressure situations.

As Roy Hodgson (the only member of the Sky commentary team who made any sense last night) said – it’s hard to believe Arsene doesn’t have plans in place for replacements, he’s just not making them public until they happen.

What worries me is that seeing Arsenal start the season in the way they have and knowing our (presumed) desperation, is going to make teams increase the prices they want to charge for our targets.

So….

Hands Up who’s given up on the season already following that performance? Some have, that was obvious from their twittering last night. I’m not ready to give up yet, though I’m not exactly brimming with confidence. It’s clearly going to be a long tough season.