Arsenal just got enough result to secure the third place with the 3-2 win against West Brom on The Hawthorns. Arsenal finished the Campaign with 70 points, a point ahead North London rival, Tottenham Hotspurs, who beat Fulham 2-0 on the same day. Robin van Persie also sealed the top-scorer spot, despite not scoring any in this match.
Arsenal made three changes prior to the match agaisnt Norwich City. Jenkinson replaced broken-leg Bacary Sagna, while Andre Santos replaced Kieran Gibbs on the left back. Francis Coquelin replaced Aaron Ramsey to allow Alex Song plays in the more advanced role.
Arsenal took lead when West Brom keeper Marten Fulop hesitantly took the backpass, and Yossi Benayoun stole the ball and put the ball into the empty net. Despite getting the lead first, poor display by Arsenal defenders let West Brom equalized via Shane Long - despite being in offside position before receiving the ball - , and they even turn the game after Glen Dorrans smashed the ball to the bottom corner of Szczesny's goal. That goal woke Arsenal's side, and they began to dominate the game, passing the ball around, despite lacking of final ball. Gervinho made some good runs into the penalty area, but his delivery was ineffective. Benayoun had one great chance in front of the goal, but West Brom defender could made a terrific block just outside the six yard box. West Brom, in other hand, always looked dangerous on counter attack, and Arsenal looked very vulnerable, especially via right back slot who occupied by Carl Jenkinson, as well as from set pieces. On 30th minutes, Arsenal finally equalized after Andre Santos smashed the ball to Marten Fulop's goal. The first half ended 2-2
On the second half, Arsene Wenger introduced Theo Walcott to take place of Tomas Rosicky, thus Yossi Benayoun moved to the central of the park to take the playmaker role. Arsenal continued to control the game, but it was not open play how Arsenal scored goal. Robin van Persie curled corner, and Marten Fulop - without any pressure from Arsenal's player - mispunched the ball, giving it to Laurent Koscielny, who flick it to the net. 3-2 for Arsenal's lead. After that, Arsenal looked complacent and hesitant to launch the attack as they only have three pronged attack upfront without any support. West Brom took this chance to dominate the game, and they got some good chances, forcing Wojciech Szczesny to made some smart save. This time, it was Arsenal who got some decent position to lauch counter-attack. However, their final ball was inaccurate. Benayoun's through pass was just too quick for Gervinho, while Robin van Persie smashed the ball over. Arsenal almost conceded the third, after the pass find Billy Jones and he was ready to net the ball to the gaol, but Kieran Gibbs, who replaced Gervinho, made an excellent tackle to block it. After 5 minutes of injury time, West Brom failed to find a goal, and the match ended with 2-3 scoreline, visitor Arsenal stole the three points.
It was not the most convincing performance by the Gunners. Their defense was shaky, especially early in the first half, there were no protection from the midfield, and West Brom easily penetrated to Arsenal's territory, mostly from counter-attacks and set pieces. On the second half, however, they played a deeper line, and were generally solid, despite still uncomfortable from attack from the both flanks. Francis Coquelin is yet to be ready to be the anchor man, but he is more like a mobile midfielder, who could be a box-to-box midfielder. The attacks also were quite ineffective, Gervinho, with his pace and technique, got some great position to score goal, however, his composure and finishing weren't there. If it's not because of the blunder from Marten Fulop, Arsenal might be not able to win this game. Had to be said, two of Arsenal's goal were gift from the West Brom keeper.
In the other hand, Arsenal showed great character, turning the 2-1 deficit into a 3-2 victory, and didn't make the same mistake by giving away the lead in the last minutes, like they did in the previous match. Their defense on the second half were solid, especially in the middle. Only from the flank, West Brom created a lot of chances. Carl Jenkinson is yet to be ready - defensively - to play in the highest level, but he has the potential.
It was the 'perfect' result for Arsenal get the ticket to the next season Champions League, 16 years in a row, and celebrate Saint Totteringham's Day - the day where Arsenal couldn't be caught by Tottenham - for 17 years in row.
Monday, May 14, 2012
Thursday, May 3, 2012
UCL spots competition is getting more and more interesting, and unpredictable
Tottenham and Newcastle closed the gap between third placed Arsenal, after winning the last match, 4-1 against Bolton and 2-0 against Chelsea respectively, both away games.
Few predicted Newcastle would came back from Stamford Bridge with a victory. First, Chelsea had been superb recently, beating Barcelona in the Champions League and trashing Tottenham on the FA Cup. Newcastle just lost 0-4 on Wigan's home last week, while Chelsea enjoyed 6-1 home victory against QPR, where Fernando Torres scored his first hattrick. Well, football is not mathematics, so as we know, Newcastle beat the host by two magnificent - and rather unbelievable - Pappis Cisse's brace.
With this result, Tottenham stands in fourth place, and Newcastle in the 5th place, just with goal difference between them. Both of them are just one point away from Arsenal, who sits on the third place. Chelsea are four points away from the fourth place, but would be able to qualify to the Champions League, should they beat Bayern Munich in the Champions League final, leaving the fourth placed team in Premier League advanced to Europa League instead of Champions League. Arsenal is still on the driving seat with one point advantage, but should they complacent and dropped more points, they will ended outside big four and means no Champions League football next season.
Remaining fixture for 4 competing teams for the Champions League Spots
ARSENAL
vs Norwich (h)
vs West Brom (a)
TOTTENHAM
vs Aston Villa (a)
vs Fulham (h)
NEWCASTLE
vs Man City (h)
vs Everton (a)
CHELSEA
vs Liverpool (a)
vs Blackburn (h)
Looking for the remaining fixtures, Arsenal and Tottenham get the opponent that mathematically they are able to beat. Arsenal welcomes Norwich this weekend, before traveling to the Hawhtorns, West Bromwich to face WBA, while Tottenham have Aston Villa and Fulham for their final two opponents. Newcastle have the toughest fixtures, welcoming league leader Manchester City in their stadium and an away games to in-form Everton in the final day, who comfortably sits in 7th place. Chelsea would have one tough game against two-faced Liverpool on Anfield, and closed the season with the home game against relegation threatened team, Blackburn.
However, Premier League has been really unpredictable, adding some exciting reason to follow it. Some of unpredictable wins and defeats occured. Wigan knocked Arsenal in Emirates 2-1 and trashing Newcastle 4-0, after losing controversially against Chelsea and overplayed Man. United. Fulham beating Wigan on Craven Cottage, and Liverpool on Anfield, Norwich beating Tottenham in Hart Lane, and on-fire Chelsea just lost against Newcastle. No one would be sure how the Premier League would ended, anything still could happen.
The race for the Champions League spots is likely to be tight and tense, until the very last moment of it, unlike the previous season, where the teams qualifying to Champions League already settled in this phase of competition. No teams could afford to drop more points if they want to play in the highest competition in Europe. Even if Arsenal winning plus Tottenham and Newcastle drop the point in gameweek 37, the later two names would still have to battle for the fourth place. Even if one of them already got the fourth place, they still could lose the place, should Chelsea win the Champions League. Any fourth placed team in EPL - except if Chelsea somehow manage to climb to 4th place, surely will pray so Chelsea won't win the Champions League.
Few predicted Newcastle would came back from Stamford Bridge with a victory. First, Chelsea had been superb recently, beating Barcelona in the Champions League and trashing Tottenham on the FA Cup. Newcastle just lost 0-4 on Wigan's home last week, while Chelsea enjoyed 6-1 home victory against QPR, where Fernando Torres scored his first hattrick. Well, football is not mathematics, so as we know, Newcastle beat the host by two magnificent - and rather unbelievable - Pappis Cisse's brace.
With this result, Tottenham stands in fourth place, and Newcastle in the 5th place, just with goal difference between them. Both of them are just one point away from Arsenal, who sits on the third place. Chelsea are four points away from the fourth place, but would be able to qualify to the Champions League, should they beat Bayern Munich in the Champions League final, leaving the fourth placed team in Premier League advanced to Europa League instead of Champions League. Arsenal is still on the driving seat with one point advantage, but should they complacent and dropped more points, they will ended outside big four and means no Champions League football next season.
How the Standing looks like
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| (table from goal.com) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Remaining fixture for 4 competing teams for the Champions League Spots
ARSENAL
vs Norwich (h)
vs West Brom (a)
TOTTENHAM
vs Aston Villa (a)
vs Fulham (h)
NEWCASTLE
vs Man City (h)
vs Everton (a)
CHELSEA
vs Liverpool (a)
vs Blackburn (h)
Looking for the remaining fixtures, Arsenal and Tottenham get the opponent that mathematically they are able to beat. Arsenal welcomes Norwich this weekend, before traveling to the Hawhtorns, West Bromwich to face WBA, while Tottenham have Aston Villa and Fulham for their final two opponents. Newcastle have the toughest fixtures, welcoming league leader Manchester City in their stadium and an away games to in-form Everton in the final day, who comfortably sits in 7th place. Chelsea would have one tough game against two-faced Liverpool on Anfield, and closed the season with the home game against relegation threatened team, Blackburn.
However, Premier League has been really unpredictable, adding some exciting reason to follow it. Some of unpredictable wins and defeats occured. Wigan knocked Arsenal in Emirates 2-1 and trashing Newcastle 4-0, after losing controversially against Chelsea and overplayed Man. United. Fulham beating Wigan on Craven Cottage, and Liverpool on Anfield, Norwich beating Tottenham in Hart Lane, and on-fire Chelsea just lost against Newcastle. No one would be sure how the Premier League would ended, anything still could happen.
The race for the Champions League spots is likely to be tight and tense, until the very last moment of it, unlike the previous season, where the teams qualifying to Champions League already settled in this phase of competition. No teams could afford to drop more points if they want to play in the highest competition in Europe. Even if Arsenal winning plus Tottenham and Newcastle drop the point in gameweek 37, the later two names would still have to battle for the fourth place. Even if one of them already got the fourth place, they still could lose the place, should Chelsea win the Champions League. Any fourth placed team in EPL - except if Chelsea somehow manage to climb to 4th place, surely will pray so Chelsea won't win the Champions League.
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Lukas Podolski, tactical review and possibility on Arsenal
Arsenal confirmed the signing of FC Cologne's striker Lukas Podolski on an undisclosed fee in their official website. Podolski was Arsenal's first signing for next season and he will join Arsenal after the Euro 2012.
“He is a top-class
player, a very good finisher and a proven performer at club and
international level. He is a very strong player and will provide us with
good attacking options.", Wenger on Podolski, via Arsenal.com
Lukas Podolski would add some reinforcement for Arsenal's attacking firepower, where they were too dependent on their captain, Robin van Persie. Gervinho, one of the biggest signings on the summer to help van Persie upfront is yet to show his maximum capabilities, with some awful finishing in front of goal, despite showing some glimpse of technique.
The signing of German striker, who is also capable of playing on the left wing, could persuade Robin van Persie to stay in Arsenal, following his statement requesting signing of world class players for the club. Lukas Podolski, internationally, is an excellent playerThe ex-Bayern Munich striker has already collected 95 caps and 43 goals for German National Team, just in age of 26. However, in club level, he didn't fulfil his potential in Bayern Munich during his spell in 2006-2009, with just 17 goals on 55 appearances. However, he did display some excellent performances with FC Cologne, with 18 goals from 30 games.
However, where will Podolski fit on Arsenal FC next season?
There would be several probabilities on how Wenger put Podolski on Arsenal's first team. But there would be two most likely option Wenger would take.
1. Left Wing in 4-2-3-1
Arsenal has been using this formation (and it derivatives 4-3-3) for the last three season. This formation would allow only one player playing on the central forward, and should van Persie stay in Arsenal, the captain would be guaranteed one position on the central forward, and Lukas Podolski would play on the left wing, like what he did in German National Team for recent years. He could be like Robert Pires or Freddie Ljungberg, winger with a high goalscoring rate, and with tendency to drive trough opposition's defence, instead of crossing. Podolski is also known for this cannon left-footed shot. With the introduction of Lukas Podolski on the right wing, Gervinho would sit on the bench, or switched to the right flank with Theo Walcott not included in the starting eleven.
PROS :
1. Familiar formation on the last three years. The players already used to play in this formation.
2. This formation gives more rooms for midfielder, as Arsenal have a lot of central midfielder, as well as defensive midfielder. At least 9 midfielder Arsenal have, assuming Wenger is not selling anyone (Song, Coquelin, Frimpong, Arteta, Wilshere, Diaby, Denilson, Ramsey, Rosicky).
CONS :
1. van Persie might be dropping deep to the middle and no one playing on the opposition penalty's area
2. This formation has tendency to be leakable through the wing, as the winger plays too advanced.
2. Striker in 4-4-2
Arsene Wenger is familiar with this formation, with using this formation since his arrival in Arsenal, with all his trophies won during his era were all during the 4-4-2 formation era. The famous invincibles Arsenal were using 4-4-2, and so does the double winning - and the Old Trafford conquerer - squad in 2002. Podolski could move upfront with Robin van Persie, with both of them capable of playing deeper, particularly Robin van Persie.
PROS :
1. van Persie would be able to drop deeper, and plays in the Berkamp's role, or Podolski would drop deeper to play behind van Persie. Both of them capable of playing in the second striker
2. van Persie and Podolski wouldn't be too isolated upfront.
CONS :
1. Podolski is not a real no 9, so does RvP, despite all the goals he scored, both of them are more like a second striker, instead of real no 9.
2. Might need time to implement 'new but old' formation as most of the players.
3. Midfielder not as strong as 4-2-3-1, plus not giving the midfielder more time to play. As said before, Arsenal have a lot of midfielder, except Wenger want to sell midfielders this season. Rosicky might lost his best again, with playing as playmaker in the central midfielder instead of advanced playmaker role.
Podolski's biography
Full name: Lukas Josef Podolski
Date of birth: 04/06/1985
Place of birth: Gliwice, Poland
Height: 5 ft 11
Previous Club : FC Cologne, Bayern Munich
International Caps (Goals) : 95 (43)
(data from Arsenal.com)
Lukas Podolski would add some reinforcement for Arsenal's attacking firepower, where they were too dependent on their captain, Robin van Persie. Gervinho, one of the biggest signings on the summer to help van Persie upfront is yet to show his maximum capabilities, with some awful finishing in front of goal, despite showing some glimpse of technique.
The signing of German striker, who is also capable of playing on the left wing, could persuade Robin van Persie to stay in Arsenal, following his statement requesting signing of world class players for the club. Lukas Podolski, internationally, is an excellent playerThe ex-Bayern Munich striker has already collected 95 caps and 43 goals for German National Team, just in age of 26. However, in club level, he didn't fulfil his potential in Bayern Munich during his spell in 2006-2009, with just 17 goals on 55 appearances. However, he did display some excellent performances with FC Cologne, with 18 goals from 30 games.
However, where will Podolski fit on Arsenal FC next season?
There would be several probabilities on how Wenger put Podolski on Arsenal's first team. But there would be two most likely option Wenger would take.
1. Left Wing in 4-2-3-1
Arsenal has been using this formation (and it derivatives 4-3-3) for the last three season. This formation would allow only one player playing on the central forward, and should van Persie stay in Arsenal, the captain would be guaranteed one position on the central forward, and Lukas Podolski would play on the left wing, like what he did in German National Team for recent years. He could be like Robert Pires or Freddie Ljungberg, winger with a high goalscoring rate, and with tendency to drive trough opposition's defence, instead of crossing. Podolski is also known for this cannon left-footed shot. With the introduction of Lukas Podolski on the right wing, Gervinho would sit on the bench, or switched to the right flank with Theo Walcott not included in the starting eleven.
PROS :
1. Familiar formation on the last three years. The players already used to play in this formation.
2. This formation gives more rooms for midfielder, as Arsenal have a lot of central midfielder, as well as defensive midfielder. At least 9 midfielder Arsenal have, assuming Wenger is not selling anyone (Song, Coquelin, Frimpong, Arteta, Wilshere, Diaby, Denilson, Ramsey, Rosicky).
CONS :
1. van Persie might be dropping deep to the middle and no one playing on the opposition penalty's area
2. This formation has tendency to be leakable through the wing, as the winger plays too advanced.
How would Arsenal looks like
Szczesny
Sagna - Koscielny - Vermaelen - Gibbs
Arteta - Song
Walcott - Rosicky - PODOLSKI
van Persie
2. Striker in 4-4-2
Arsene Wenger is familiar with this formation, with using this formation since his arrival in Arsenal, with all his trophies won during his era were all during the 4-4-2 formation era. The famous invincibles Arsenal were using 4-4-2, and so does the double winning - and the Old Trafford conquerer - squad in 2002. Podolski could move upfront with Robin van Persie, with both of them capable of playing deeper, particularly Robin van Persie.
PROS :
1. van Persie would be able to drop deeper, and plays in the Berkamp's role, or Podolski would drop deeper to play behind van Persie. Both of them capable of playing in the second striker
2. van Persie and Podolski wouldn't be too isolated upfront.
CONS :
1. Podolski is not a real no 9, so does RvP, despite all the goals he scored, both of them are more like a second striker, instead of real no 9.
2. Might need time to implement 'new but old' formation as most of the players.
3. Midfielder not as strong as 4-2-3-1, plus not giving the midfielder more time to play. As said before, Arsenal have a lot of midfielder, except Wenger want to sell midfielders this season. Rosicky might lost his best again, with playing as playmaker in the central midfielder instead of advanced playmaker role.
How would Arsenal looks like
Szczesny
Sagna - Koscielny - Vermaelen - Gibbs
Walcott - Arteta - Song - Chamberlain
PODOLSKI - van Persie
Conclusion : Both solution looks probable for Wenger, but Wenger is likely to opt for 4-2-3-1, looking for the players Arsenal have, with plenty of midfielder available. The choice of 4-2-3-1 would be more clear if Wenger decided to bring Yann M'Vila, a French defensive midfielder, who Wenger admired a lot, to partner either Mikel Arteta or Alex Song.
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