Slipperduke
The Camden Cad
There is a feeling among the journalists who cover Arsenal regularly that, in the event of a calamitous keyboard malfunction, they could probably file their latest match report using a hastily-assembled hybrid of old ones. A quick rummage through 'My Documents', they claim, would deliver all the lines they need. Let's see if it works...
After an arduous night against Fenerbahce, Arsenal were 'left counting the cost of a series of missed opportunities'. Uh-huh, I've certainly got a few versions of that line clogging up my hard drive. They also 'enjoyed the lion's share of possession' and indeed they 'passed the ball about beautifully at times'. This is easy, isn't it? However, the Gunners 'lacked the penetration to break down their opponents' and 'failed to convert their exquisite build-up play into out-and-out chances' This is great! I never need work again!
Worryingly though, perhaps even more worrying than the thought of my bosses reading all of that and deciding that they never need pay me again, is that Arsene Wenger doesn't seem to be doing anything about it. Other managers might have taken action in the summer, adapting the style of play to allow for a more direct approach. Maybe Wenger could have signed Roque Santa Cruz and then pushed for better crosses and set-pieces. Maybe he could have recruited the battering ram that is Marseille's Mamadou Niang, to assist Emmanuel Adebayor. Instead, he chose to do nothing, except to sign Samir Nasri, a small, but very skilful attacking midfielder. As if he doesn't have enough of them already.
This 'all topping and no pizza' approach to life is starting to grate on the Arsenal fan's nerves, especially when it's abundantly clear to most that Denilson is no replacement for Mathieu Flamini in the centre. The one player last season who fought like a dog for possession and stopped other teams in their tracks is gone and he's been replaced by an anonymous Fabregas-lite.The supporters are looking at Chelsea and Manchester United, they're seeing entertaining football, backed by grit, determination and physical strength and they're starting to ask, 'Why can't we do that?'
Wenger might very well defend himself by pointing to Robin van Persie and his four missed first-half chances as proof that nothing is wrong with the system. He may even produce the injury list that contains the names of half of his first team as an excuse for this wobbly patch of form. After all, how could any team expect consistent success in the absence of Adebayor, William Gallas, Theo Walcott, Mikael Silvestre, Tomas Rosicky and Eduardo?
But the time is fast approaching when he will have to accept that teams have learnt how to combat their football. Fenerbahce's deep-lying defenders just stood back and allowed Arsenal to play because they knew that if they gave them enough room, they would run out of ideas and start stroking the ball around the edge of the penalty area in an impotent rage. Yes, they will be much improved when those injured players return and they may even have a touch of that penetration that eluded them here against the Turks, but until they learn how to take chances and make them count, the doughty men and women of the press pack are going to stuck writing the same old story, again and again and again. And it's getting boring now.
After an arduous night against Fenerbahce, Arsenal were 'left counting the cost of a series of missed opportunities'. Uh-huh, I've certainly got a few versions of that line clogging up my hard drive. They also 'enjoyed the lion's share of possession' and indeed they 'passed the ball about beautifully at times'. This is easy, isn't it? However, the Gunners 'lacked the penetration to break down their opponents' and 'failed to convert their exquisite build-up play into out-and-out chances' This is great! I never need work again!
Worryingly though, perhaps even more worrying than the thought of my bosses reading all of that and deciding that they never need pay me again, is that Arsene Wenger doesn't seem to be doing anything about it. Other managers might have taken action in the summer, adapting the style of play to allow for a more direct approach. Maybe Wenger could have signed Roque Santa Cruz and then pushed for better crosses and set-pieces. Maybe he could have recruited the battering ram that is Marseille's Mamadou Niang, to assist Emmanuel Adebayor. Instead, he chose to do nothing, except to sign Samir Nasri, a small, but very skilful attacking midfielder. As if he doesn't have enough of them already.
This 'all topping and no pizza' approach to life is starting to grate on the Arsenal fan's nerves, especially when it's abundantly clear to most that Denilson is no replacement for Mathieu Flamini in the centre. The one player last season who fought like a dog for possession and stopped other teams in their tracks is gone and he's been replaced by an anonymous Fabregas-lite.The supporters are looking at Chelsea and Manchester United, they're seeing entertaining football, backed by grit, determination and physical strength and they're starting to ask, 'Why can't we do that?'
Wenger might very well defend himself by pointing to Robin van Persie and his four missed first-half chances as proof that nothing is wrong with the system. He may even produce the injury list that contains the names of half of his first team as an excuse for this wobbly patch of form. After all, how could any team expect consistent success in the absence of Adebayor, William Gallas, Theo Walcott, Mikael Silvestre, Tomas Rosicky and Eduardo?
But the time is fast approaching when he will have to accept that teams have learnt how to combat their football. Fenerbahce's deep-lying defenders just stood back and allowed Arsenal to play because they knew that if they gave them enough room, they would run out of ideas and start stroking the ball around the edge of the penalty area in an impotent rage. Yes, they will be much improved when those injured players return and they may even have a touch of that penetration that eluded them here against the Turks, but until they learn how to take chances and make them count, the doughty men and women of the press pack are going to stuck writing the same old story, again and again and again. And it's getting boring now.
