A guest post by Kelly Woods @kmwoods02
Aaron Ramsey had his worst game in 12 months against Everton. He tried too hard. He forced things. Yes, he scored a goal, but don’t miss the fact that his performance was poor. And speaking of goals, I’m worried that he’s publicly admitted that he set himself a target of 20 goals this season. Whoa, there, son. Remember, it’s not about you. I know you want to start taking games by the scruff of the neck, but remember to just play your game.
These are all things that have come across my Twitter timeline since Saturday’s game. And I follow positive, considered people, who really do support our players. I know they do. And I respect and value all of them and their opinions – at least I do since I cleaned up who I follow. I cannot imagine what the rest of Twitter is saying, and I really don’t want to try. But if you will, let me articulate how I disagree with almost everything in that first paragraph. And to ask that we consider what it is that we really want from players.
First let me get this out of the way – Aaron was not at his effervescent best against Everton. I support, but I’m not blind. The whole team was out of sorts, and most of what he tried didn’t come off. Also true of other players as well. But let me point out a few things, courtesy of the stats-tastic 7amKickoff and his By the Numbers column for Arseblog:
Out of 69 passes attempted (the most for the team), 12 were misplaced. All but 2 of those misplaced were attacking passes, trying to create a chance. 5 of them were in prime areas, where goal conversion rates are high. One of the aforementioned 2 was just horrible – it went straight to an Everton player and almost gave me a heart attack. Only 4 tackles attempted, 2 of which were successful, and no dribbles. And no chances created. Also, there was that goal.
Ok, so what do stats show? Not the whole story, I’m well aware of that. Aaron’s defensive game was a bit weak and his attacking game was ineffectual on the whole. I think that had a lot to do with not having Arteta next to him, and trying to compete with Jack and Alex for space in the middle. But the question remains – what was he supposed to be doing in this game, and did he do it?
I think we should all come to grips with this fact: Aaron is a flair player. He will always try the Hollywood pass. Some seem to think that he’s changed somehow, that he doesn’t do that anymore. And they see yesterday’s performance as a reversion to a previous flawed way of playing. Nonsense. He has always been this player. By all accounts it’s been so since he was 8 years old. Stories of him demanding the ball from older teammates abound. “Let me do it” has always been his way. His off-pitch personality belies this fact, perhaps, as some don’t expect shy, quiet, introverts to behave this way. But it’s been said of him forever that he “expresses himself on the pitch”.
But, Kelly, I hear you say. Arsene said he told him to simplify his game. To go back to basics. True. But Aaron said this in an interview when asked about that:
“It was a difficult period for me where things weren’t happening the way I would like them to, and he called me in and just told me to simplify my game and get my confidence back that way…I did that for a few games, and then obviously you get more confident as every game goes on, and, yeah, I’m thankful for that.” (emphasis added)
That says to me that simplifying his game was not intended to be a permanent change. At least he didn’t interpret it that way. And Arsene had this to say Saturday:
“He has the engine and he gambles on getting in the box a lot and he has that timing to get where you need to be. He got rewarded like these kind of players do.”
“Gambles.” He gambles. He takes risks. He gets rewarded. He has a “can’t win if you don’t enter” mentality. He has said that he wants to improve his ability to take big games by the scruff of the neck and change them. He has goal targets that he has set for himself. But somehow, all that is now being seen as a potential liability, some sort of indication that he is putting himself above the team. Don’t we want a player that is ambitious? That tries to change games? That wants to score? What do we want, if not that? One of the biggest complaints I hear in games like yesterday is “Somebody DO something! Move, or something!” Yet Aaron tries to do just that, and he has a “poor” game, because it doesn’t come off.
I know I am really preaching to the choir here. This is a supporting group of people, many of whom told me yesterday not to worry, that he just had an off day. But here’s the thing. I’m not worried about him. I’m worried about us. This is exactly what I was afraid would happen. His miraculous exploits last season were a joy to watch. But they won’t continue – at least not like that. He is a marked man now. Teams have found out he is good, he will be given much less room to operate. And he is, by his own admission, still trying to improve his game. I’m confident he will continue scoring us goals. But all this means mistakes will happen. Do we really want to start down the road about how badly he’s played, how he’s struggling for form? Why do we do this? “Uh oh, the old Ramsey is rearing his head. Hope this doesn’t mean last season was a fluke.” It’s like we are always waiting for the other shoe to drop, for the bad thing to happen to us. Optimism reigns, until it doesn’t.
Here’s my fear. Suppose it doesn’t change? Suppose the next game is the same as Everton – he does a few things brilliantly, but at the same time lots of things don’t come off? What will we say then? Because the haters and naysayers will start in – they’ve already started I would imagine. Despair that we thought we had a “world-class” player, but of course we can’t have nice things, so look, he’s being shit again. I’m steeling myself for that, and I’m ready to defend him. I hope you are, too.
Positively Arsenal 
officials and opposition are irrelevant.. wenger will have them totally focused to secure what is highly important for the club finances, players development and brand name stature. whoever fucks up tonight his contract will be torn in front of his very eyes inside the dressing room and immediately released from club. they lost 3rd and have brought this to their manager and fans…so the players need to fix it. Bould to bully them !
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Fins. also mate the dog ate my homework.
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George
If you haven’t got someone to post a match preview, you could re-blog mine… will keep a discussion going.
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It’s a bloody big deal tonight.
We need a clean sheet firstly as we should score. Surely we have too much quality going forward to not get something. I would field Mertersacker and Koscielny myself. Try and get a stable back-line. No harsh judgement on Chambers but we need the most solid and cohesive back-line.
The players will no doubt be up for it. Not only on professional and sporting reasons but financial too. Supposedly they are given the ECL qualifying bonus upon entry to the group stages.
From midfield we still have ample talent despite the steadying influence of Arteta and the class of Ramsey being missing. For me I would chance Diaby. He’s fit and he’s got plenty of training under his belt. It’s harsh but he is as likely to injure himself in training as in a match, so why not make the most of his fantastic talents. Play him behind the 4 other mids. I’d love to see Rosicky with some surging runs in place of Ramsey.
The forward line that is being majorly flapped about on twitter is another thing. I personally don’t think we need a signing. A long term solution for a short term problem for me. Let Sanogo bomb around and cause mayhem and hopefully the likes of Alexis, Podolski, Campbell, Ox can play off him to score goals.
Anyway, no matter what you think it’s never a dull thing being an Arsenal fan. Another ‘cup final’ to play in the biggest club tournament in world football. I’m sure we’ll do it. I don’t want to jinx it but I think we’ll be almost comfortable and it’ll be the turning point.
Perhaps we’ve had a much slower start to the season than what we all thought, certainly slower than what Arsene thought. I imagine by now he’d have had us looking pretty with the fans behind us. The signing of Alexis and general strengthening of the team overall (not just through bloody signings) should have been enough to appease and Wenger would have been able to concentrate on the ECL qualification tie. Then perhaps another body for defensive duties. No such luck though. All we can hope for is that the general feeling of Twitter and reactionary media questioning doesn’t seep into the day to day life too much at the club.
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you could re-blog mine
haha… them egos huh…… turn the disc…..pass it over…..free for all
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Talking of egos VD13 ?
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Thanks els
It’s a massive game. I don’t think it’s as critical to the long term health of the club as the games against Udinese or Fenerbache were, lose those games and the club was crippled before the new TV and sponsorship deals came into effect. But it is still important, more so after losing OG to injury.
I also can’t see the wrist slitting requirement for another striker. It’d be nice, but it’s not essential. I mention no names *AKPOM*. Two confident and assured finishes from Afobe last night, I hope that inspired his teammates playing in tonight’s game.
As for the online support. They are beyond hope. LVG states the obvious, rebuilding the ramshackle squad left over by the Don will take years regardless of whether it’s Moysie or LVGs mini-me in charge of the club. We know. Or rather, we knew looking at Slurgus’s last swindle, sorry title, that the squad were piss poor once you took Riley & Webb out of the team. Not. A . Surprise. Especially now the two CB veterens have moved on. First they had no midfield, now they have no midfield and no defence.
So, why were all those blogging experts in the arsenal cyber sphere so insistent on not using the word “re-build” after the F Word left? Why did they attack the manager when any manager old or new at the club would have had to struggle and rebuild the team? Many lost all credibility for me with their malicious bleating. They are full blown WOBs, and they still bleating away. They are, the AAA.
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POTATOES….. POTATOS … ( the smiley face with one eye shut)
lol….. dont mind me mate … im just a random commentator…
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finsbury
August 27, 2014 at 2:48 pm
“So, why were all those blogging experts in the arsenal cyber sphere so insistent on not using the word “re-build” after the F Word left? Why did they attack the manager when any manager old or new at the club would have had to struggle and rebuild the team?”
because dear fins the average football fan has been brainwashed to believe/expect that managers build teams with MONEY !!!! hehe….. and the average arsenal fan has also been brainwashed to think that arsenal had SHIT LOADS OF MONEY to go and “build” with mata hazard falcao suarez martinez blah blah…..
i read the following somehwere last night ” time for wenger to show he is a great manager and go find the 30-40m striker we need” ….you see my friend…great managers are defined by what they spend….. thats how it is in the minds of the people..ehmm sheep, urangotangs, one-cell organisms. that get their football education from medja…..
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NOTH
Can you DM George on twitter?
I’m sure he’s in a fight with some WOBs somewhere.
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Fins and Voodoo
That’s it isn’t it. They are seen to be spending £200m in 2 seasons. So they must have ambition. Just ask that Dutch prick with floppy arms and a little boy in him. Spending means you’re fixing. Doesn’t matter that they are wasting money on the wrong players at sky high prices. When will Wenger get the credit he deserves for the fees he plays. The answer is never because he doesn’t do business quick enough. Because we get players like Giroud for £10m and Koscielny for £8m(?) they aren’t the players we need.
What angers me most is the fact that Fergie obviously ran that team into the ground without questioning or criticism from tabloids. Not one ounce of thought on the future. He didn’t care about the club. Spunked his last money on the dutch bastard. One last title. A band-aid over an otherwise poor squad.
They should be able to field a decent team. They even have a few players I rate, Kagawa, Mata should be enough to make them standout. Couldn’t happen to a nicer lot.
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Good reminder post Alabama.
Tonight is a night for men. They are going to come at us hard. Big night for Wilshere.
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The hacks have more interest in reporting what the agents have to say then they have in what fans want to hear.
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£45M on two LBs! We all like Di Maria but we also all know he’s worth about the same as Alexis! What a shambles.
People choose to forget that Sah Slurgus handed over £18M to special agent Mendes for Anderson many years ago, Anderson whose attempted clearance just before the second MK Don goal was chested in was the highlight of the game apart from Afobe’s goals.
AWs gambles have come and gone (at no great loss) during the rebuilding period, or at any point during his tenure. No Veron’s on his CV, though I’m sure he’d have had some joy with the player. Somehow AW was smart enough not to but too many new players in one window. Must’ve have used that old black magic trick: common sense.
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gunner_getcha
August 27, 2014 at 3:39 pm
fergie was a bit of a mafia gunner gethca….horses, agency deals. The glazers came after the fall out with magnier and mcmanus for the rock’s stud rights and his sons deals for various players. Lippi and his son do the same in Italy. Many do. The glazers placed the club’s assets ( stadium and training ground) as collateral to banks to get finance for players. Provided united was succesful on the pitch ( somethign fergie’s mafia could guarantee to a large extent) there would be no major problem. Even so, they had to sell ronaldo for 90 million in order to recover operating loses of above 60m in a year where they achieved close to the maximum financial gain in football comps ( epl title + cl final). An epl title win and a run to the cl final and still they had a 60m loss !!! …….
however important to remember that they had other plans and arsenal had completely different plans….united had to maintain their position at the top of the game domestic and abroad and spent/risked accordingly. Arsenal was building from scratch. Arsenal did not have to maintain any position at the top, just stay thereabouts. For united it was a neccessity to spend big , not for us. The fans however are simple creatures and if you look around the world planet the west is in fucking misery. football is the escape. identifying with winning groups make your daily/yearly slave-routine to banks and employers a little bit more bearable…the arsenal fan was denied that because some “crazy french dude” wanted to build the club to last for another century….
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what????? have spurs got fazio? are we serious?????
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Great post voodoo. Certainly illustrates fergies obvious grip on football quite well.
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Don Slurgus
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Arsenal’s last few games:
Secure 4th during the last few games of the season
Late winner after come back in Cup Final
– summer beak –
Super Cup demolition of City – Sanogo had a good half
Late winner against Palace
Late equaliser away to Everton
It’s a dangerous opponent tonight but they’ve got a good record of late when the nerves are out, against adversity etc.
Come on Arsenal!
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Fins: we’re starting slow but we are getting results and accumulating points. This is new, and very much needed. The great thing is, is that we know the great performances will come. Infact our play will only get better with the likes of Alexis, Özil and Ramsey pulling strings.
We’ll look good tonight and shut a few people up! I can’t wait for one!
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We’ll look good tonight
oh yeah!! im off home to get my red shoes….wont go to wenger’ palace without them…..respect…
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Haha. As ever, I’ll be wearing the ‘good luck’ elephant posing pouch Voodoo. I’m sure you’ll agree, it’s a good look indeed.
Come On!!
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Manuel Almunia to retire from football due to a heart condition. I wish him all the best.
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Thanks for all the positive posts. Haven’t felt this anxious for some while now. Just hope we get the ball zipping about quickly on what is sure to be a decent pitch.
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https://vine.co/v/MlpD5Qxv39V Extra police called in to escort Hunter to the Emirates
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Hunter taken into custody
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Anyone here for the match or you all on twitter, at the ground or engaged in some kind of blackout?
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Answers me
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Blimey.
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Fucking hell guys. What a game.
Incredible spirit by us. Each and everyone was fantastic and we played as a team.
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Fuck my old boots. Don’t know about the players but I’m knackered after that. Heroes one and all.
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I cannot cope with games like that! I swore at the TV when the OX failed to bury it….shit I’m still shaking….
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How stupid is Merson? Go and buy a world class striker he says…..WHO? I shout….just pay the money he says….HOW MUCH I scream….why would Monaco or PSG part with Falcao or Cavani? How much would it take to extract them? FUCK OFF YOU stupid pundits….
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Steww
Only you can write out uber reams of wonderment whilst watching a match. Seeing how you didn’t have to reply to the hoards on this board(s), why not slap us out one of those superb pieces where, whilst describing certain moves or fouls, will also include your fantasy/dream of waking up under Mrs Sanga – or summat like that?
Please!?
Well done Arsenal.
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NB
That’s inflammatory stuff….
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Georgaki
I thought it was funny, straight after foreverheady’s comment.
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Anyway, excellent game tonight… fought like Lions.
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was watching on tv which was away from my system…
Phew… That was a battle fought and won… we can only be better as a team for it!!! learning to fight together
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northbank1969 August 27, 2014 at 7:16 pm
gamiesai apo ton kolo axristo mouni tis laspis ………antifa13….
hoho viva arsenal !
😉
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Awesome. I never doubted the boys. I wanted to see Joel Campbell get a run out.
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i will excuse your ignorance dear nb69 …all cool
now lets talk football
SANCHEZ ..what a shift
cazorla…mega
ozil ……. hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm …….
jack …warrior !!!! even if he thought he was maradona at times running with ball 60 yards and then losing it…
great resolve ..great spirit…and what do you know … fans singing and encouraging…fantastico
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Entirely in agreement Northbank.
That was solid from the Arsenal, the 1-0 flattered the Turks,
Lots and lots of positives to take from that match,
Flamini had some discipline.
Jack is creative.
Alexis got off the mark and is a Baller.
We has Chambers to bring on.
Oxlaide Chambers was worth the admission fee in his own.
Özil is still getting back to his best.
Onwards!!
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very unfair on debuchy ..that idiot ref….
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Phew! What a match. Excellent work from the team. No one had a bad game. Obvious stand-out for me was Alexis (as we must call him). For some time, I have been hoping for someone to stand up in the tough matches and carry the team on his shoulders. Tonight, he put in that kind of performance. It looks like Alexis’ work ethic is rubbing off on AOC who was, at times, unplayable. Santi and Wilshere were also very good, as were our three fullbacks. Per and Kos reunited – beautiful.
I was just waiting for the dodgy penalty to be given against us at the end, but, miracle of miracles, it didn’t happen. Well done, the lads, and into tomorrow’s lucky dip.
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We got Southampton at home in the league cup.
Reasonable draw, if not the easiest.
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I was just waiting for the dodgy penalty to be given against us at the end
ditto !!!
some other weird thing happened too….our subs were sent to warm up in besiktas area….strange…
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A great team performance but special mention from me for Cazorla, Flamini and our goalscorer Alexis. How the Flame avoided a yellow I’ll never know. Was it his best performance since his return? Not a bad time for it if so, if not he still played well
Wilshere making stronger faster runs. The coaches said he needs the games, and it looks to me like he’s going through the same process all young or even older players have to go through after missing so much football and game time, same as it was with Ramsey?
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cazorla is the best signing in recent years….
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I did post while enroute home, but it seems to be held up in cyber-space?
Anyway, I just realised that I have not missed a CL qualifier at home since the Emirates opened – in fact it was my first live game as I witnessed TH score for us and Eduardo for the opposition! So I’m really glad that I got a ticket off the ticket exchange as I was away when the game went on sale. It turned out to be in the Club Level, so a bit pricey, but worth it in the end (too late to take up the kind offer from V13 as well!).
On the way to the game, people seemed subdued and it was not very busy walking up from the underground. A few hardy souls tried to get a ‘red army’ chant going, but there were not many takers. I was dreading a sparse crowd fearfully hiding at home rather than coming out to support the team, but eventually the place filled up and despite the noise and energy from the Besiktas fans, the Arsenal crowd got into the spirit of things and the majority stayed to the end of the game for a change. I think there must have been quite a few of us interlopers from the cheap seats in Club Level tonight as there was even singing and shouting around me. I tried really hard to hold my tongue as I was seated between 2 kids and didn’t want them to be embarrassed by my language! But that referee was something else! He was way out of his depth, totally inconsistent and tried his best to give the visitors every advantage. Where he got the idea that Debuchy deserved 2 yellow cards from, I do not know. But well done Mathieu Flamini for reigning in your usual ‘enthusiasm’ and not giving him any excuse to card you. Best, most disciplined performance I have seen from him in ages. I hope he can do that more often so that he spends more time on the pitch, especially while Arteta is injured.
I really cannot single out any one player as every man in red and white did a job tonight and I am well proud. I’m very pleased for Alexis that he got his first goal and it proved to be crucial. Hopefully that will lift his confidence and help him with the settling in period. I’ve seen a lot of moaning on Twitter about Ozil being played on the left, but I’m sure that is just tactical and short-term by the man who doesn’t do tactics. When will these armchair critics ever realise? In a team game, sometimes you play where the team needs you to play, rather than where you would prefer to play? I’m sure Ozil gets it. Judging by his Twitter comments he is definitely more of a team player than an egotist.
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From watching on Sky I thought Cazorla superb, Monreal very good, Jack good in parts but lots of positives, Alexis very good once he scored the goal and Flamini excellent. Couldn’t see what was going on off the ball so no real idea about Ozil, but think it might be a little while until we see him at his very best again.
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Foreverheady, I think that is why he is out on the wing, because Arsene is easing him back into things. He did some marvellous things tonight, but also made some extraordinarily bad decisions! Besiktas certainly feared him as they surrounded him everytime he got the ball. He is going to experience a lot of that this season.
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