Swansea have in recent times evolved their Arsenal as all good football teams aspire. Never mind the boring boring media narratives of attractive vs. boring football which ignore all context and understanding of Football (or most revealingly funding) the sort of understanding that allows a seven year old to copy the skills of the best players in the world whilst talentless hacks praise the empty husks who best reflect themselves.
Swansea like Southampton show up the overspending cloggers up and down the league. Simply a good team who don’t over dive or hack too much.
Like other good teams in the league they also have a Big Lump option in the squad. First Bony now Gomis, Gomis scoring at the same end as Bony last season.
What were the main differences to the previous Hull game and how did Gomis do it again?
Well:
Swansea didn’t have A.Durham’s England nomination M.Dawson at the back. Don’t grow up to be a shock jock kids, it’s not a good look.
The Arsenal unwisely used up their recent allowance of Luck with their two deflected goals last week. No generous ricochet at the end there.
I could attempt to go on about tactics but that would be a waste of all our time so here’s Passenal from the previous thread:
“The few half-chances we created were either snatched at or directed straight at Fabianski who as expected fulfilled the law of the game in coming back to haunt us. Swansea executed their defensive game plan well and were fortunate enough to take their best chance at a good time in the match when there was very little time for Arsenal to come back into it. Ospina had a solid game and was very unlucky not to make that save before enough of the ball had crossed the line. But sadly you can’t win them all as much as you would love to. Let’s see how the players react to this set back. It will tell us a lot about how ready they are for a real title challenge next season.”
For Gomis, I blame my friend who was heckling the hapless striker as he failed to contest for anything after coming on, save for that single late header. Never advisable to heckle the player who scored a recent late winner against when they’ve just come on as a sub, late on in the game, even if they are having a stinker *shakes head*
I haven’t watched the long replay of their goal, don’t think I will, so I can’t help you there.
Overall Arsenal weren’t slow but it’s also fair to say they were not playing the one touch famous Arsenal football that , say, Özil mentioned in his first interview for the club. That doesn’t mean they have try it all the time but you all know what I mean. Variations in the tempo. Some but not enough runs to the byline , especially the right side which made it easier for them to block the left/center. Welbeck or Chambo as right sided options if Walcott’s not inked in to start at the moment would make a difference, I felt like Giroud needed a rest at CF and wanted to see Welbeck get a game.
Before Walcott’s injury Arsenal used to often overload the right in games. Sagna locking down the entire wing becasue he could and Walcott playing essentially as a second striker who’d drop back into midfield when out of possession. Have we simply seen a swap with the forward now on the left and a midfielder type on the right? I don’t see this as an inversion. Walcott can lurk on the last line of the defenders pushing them back. This means that whilst he has less touches then others in a game he’s still forcing the opponents to alter their shape. Sanchez plays like a dervish in constant motion and it’s fair to say he has a different style. I like to think an Alexis-Giroud/Welbeck-Walcott type line up would be fun to see, Chambo too once he is fit.
I’d also like to think that once he’s fully recovered that Walcott will be in contention (please refer to Falcao – similar injury at the same time, and the manager’s recent comments on fitness for Gibbs, Walcott and others). If he wants to evolve as a CF he should start to copy Giroud’s runs to the near post. Two/three times he missed a chance to make a run to the post towards the end last night but he is very rusty and it takes several games, sometimes months to get back to those levels.
That’s how my untutored eyes saw the game on first viewing.
Some other thoughts:
Can someone please find the evil witch doctor who put a curse on Cazorla scoring from open play this season, and ask them to take the pins out the doll?
No one would not want to have the French International RB available all season long. He won that spot in the national team following Sagna’s double break, but has been out himself following uncalled fouls (a fair few of those and yes you will pick an injury, like Sagna, like Walcott, like Debuchy, brittle or bruised bones and all) after moving to the Arsenal. Reviews of the officials including our hapless and slightly portly bungler from last night can be found where the officials themselves read the reviews, you know where!
There was a spell where Bellerin and Chambers rotated a little bit before Debuchy’s return (before he went out again with an unsurprising post return niggle ), so Bellerin was in better condition then fellow teenager Chambers for the away game in Swansea.
I enjoyed the contest between Montero and Bellerin only at the death was the young RB beaten, just. If he was an inch taller he’d have cleared the cross in the build up to their goal. But it’s ok. He’s still a baller.
A blip, or a rick, one was due before the end of the season. I’d prefer to lose to the Swans then the Evil Mancs or in the Cup Final.
Positively Arsenal 
A good post after a depressing night. The defence played well as a whole but a couple of mistakes whithin one Swansea move proved enough for our opponents. The fact is was enough was down to the forward players we created enough but the goals did not come. Fab done well but to be honest everything was down his throat or past the post, even the low crosses at the near post had no one going a cross him ( yeah I know most of them came in the period after Giroud went off) withthe quality we have. Iam surprised we didn’t finish better but sometimes that’s how it goes. I would have liked to have seen Chuba on the bench for some extra power in the final third and at this moment in Tim Theo on the wing might have been a better option. Once again Alexis frustrated me as in all games where the clock is ticking against us his frequentcy in losing the ball is infuriating, yes I know he is an immense talent but he cannot produce something brilliant every game and leaving him on is sometimes the wrong option for the team.
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Fins my apologies for the hospital pass
Saw the result last night – pig sick but maybe a timely reminder that every damn game is a battle
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Mike Sanz @mikesanz19 · 4h 4 hours ago
First Premier League home loss of 2015, team boo’d off the pitch.
Cesc the snake leaves the Emirates pitch & gets applauded.
Arsenal fans
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Thanks Fins. As you say, a game of small margins:sometimes the inches are with you, sometimes they are not. There will be those that say the more you practise the luckier you get, and they are right – but only up to a point. And that is the fun and frustration of it, although it doesn’t feel like it at the time. Far from it, in fact, with goals conceded experienced like a spiritual wounding.
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eduardo, I don’t get that Twitter comment – I was in the Clock End and did not hear any booing. The crowd left quietly as they were no doubt disappointed, but that was it as far as I could tell.
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I was in the NE area, didn’t hear any boos
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No boos near me either.
Twitter eh? Mostly turdbuckets imo.
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I was making a guest appearance upstairs on the halfway line last night,no booing up there either,that Mike Sanz is a twitter number chaser,plenty of em around. As for the game,Fins saw it as I saw it. If we beat the red mancs,third is guarenteed,this particular Arsenal team has a habit of bouncing back,I think we will on Sunday.
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I would have been surprised if there had been booing. It wasn’t as if the team didn’t look up for it, and they certainly raised the tempo in the second half. I think the result will have done everyone a lot of good one way and another. It has certainly reminded me that time spent on Twitter is not the most productive way to spend a life.
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passenal booing could be heard on the TV coverage, so unless the added sound effects of booing, then some gooners booed at the end of the game
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I’d assumed the broadcasters had this sound effect on tap for every Arsenal match in the hope that we might draw (unlikely) or lose (even less likely).
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I tell you something else that could be heard on TV, one fan constantly having a go at Ramsey throughout the game, every pass that did not find its intended target, or shot that did not go in, or tackle lost, there he was shouting abuse, yes you could hear him moan and complain when others failed, but oddly enough he did no name them in his abuse, but it was “Ramsey you cunt”, “what the fuck Ramsey”, “for fucks sake Ramsey”, it really does amaze me how our main goal scoring midfielder is not rated by so many Gooners and gets so much abuse.
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Finally had a chance to see the game on tape last night. How the hell did we end up losing that match? We peppered Fabianski with chance after chance in the 2nd half and they score with one looped opportunity. The only criticism I could make is that our shots were much too close to Fabianski but on another day this would be one of those hard fought wins by the Gunners. But this is football.
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Good piece Fins.
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well from my point of view ..the test point of view….imagine this was a title run -in and you need the point or points in the game in hand …and you lost it….youd be going mental… we’d all be…wenger would suffer a brainstroke on the touchline …..
dont know if anyone watched the intensity of the cl semis and last night’s game…. would you want to see tevez and messi and neymar and ronaldo running at mertesaker? i certainly wouldnt….even lolo would have a tough time and coquelin….
loving the players is differnet to recognising that the status and experience of those playing at bayern barca madrid juve etc would make ours look like kittens…it is in that respect that henry and others call for the world class players who lift you to another level.
the arsenal of 1998-2004 was blessed with such players…top1-3 in their positions in the world… dont you think you need same/equal/similar to replicate that sort of success? dont forget we are already 10 years behind due to our stadium and so far we have done magnifcently. if we keep adding a world class player or two every season we will have more of a claim to beat the big clubs for the big trophies
i reckon we need 3-4 sanchezes to win the epl and about 7-8 sanchezes for the cl. and that might still need one or two final efforts before getting it right/winning it…just like i had predicted that the first crop after highbury era could get burnt by the pressureand weight of expectation ..which happened….
lets enjoy what we have , keep our heads down and just hope for the best …i wont be making any strong claims for titles or europe until i see serious players..players who get the job done first time asked…players who refuse to lose from scrtls, gomis, berbatovs, kanes, the sotons the stokes the monacos etc etc ..players who finish in the bottom conrer and instead of celebrating go and grab theball cause they want to score a second. players who at the end of th egame an dhaving 3 points secured keep their heads down thinking of the next one..no high fives, no selfies..no hugs no kisses..those can wait till the nights you lift things
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We can see the value of the AAAA ally and troll piers Morgan at work today.
Not good for English cricket but it’s hard not to laugh. Seeks to latch onto the KP story as another vehicle for self publicity, pieterson obliges of course his ego and vanity and possibly stupidity being slightly greater then those at AFTV.
So the PR genius (at self publicity) advises KP to return to county cricket. Unfortunately for KP if he wanted to have a hope of winning over the MCC skull and bones crew he needed to make that return a year or so earlier. He timed his return to coincide with the elevation of his arch nememisis and future head of the MCC (probably!). Oh dear.
Couldn’t have been more humiliating for KP, his ego must be confused, hence the hilarious press statement.
Piers Morgan at work: total disaster.
No wonder he’s the AAAA podcastateers guest of choice. It’s more embarrassing for themselves more then it is for the club.
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Hunter
The BFG retired from international football after a PED fueled Algeria almost ran their way into the latter stages.
But he’s undeniably been the best German CB of his gen. As the record shows.
Arsenal bought two CBs this year, both of them are quite good.
Chambers’ competitive debut opposite my previous fantasy signing*
was so good even Gazprom fans were raving about the new Terry, one who can run, and pass even better then the sluggish Gazprom player
*from a previous era snaffled up by a petro in out of our reach but I bet that you are all glad that I didn’t spend years pining on blogs for a player like Aguero when the club didn’t have the cash for. Eh? I just moved on to Sanchez! Thought we’d lost him to Barca but then they decided to trade five years of a sanche for two years of Suarez and a hefty bung, which suits the younger arsenal squad just fine.
hunter. There appears to be some evidence that the club have A Plan.
*taps the nose that knows*
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well yeah nothing to blame him for ..its just that the intensity of those games would expose per unfo and would not be nice for him or us … chambers ok and gabriel i think but chambers is still quite young ..
even lewadowski..big lad..can move around …mascherano took his wallet, passport, driving licence, library card… so painful… i also shed a tear for schweinsteiger’s efforts…
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New post is up.Its me so you lot better start talking.
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