Good morning Positive Arsenal,
A third straight win despite a number of changes in the starting line up, tiredness among the players and dogged opponents hell bent on leaving with a point. Perhaps the most striking point of the evening was Leicester’s approach. League champions last season, their trophy deserved, and dangerous opponents on their last visit to the Ems. This season an entirely negative, nine men at the back all evening, barely willing to move the ball over the half way line. Even Vardy seemed half hearted. Just one serious effort on goal (and an excellent save from Cech required). Was this mob really standing toe to toe with Athletico Madrid in the QF on the Champions League last week ? Entirely fitting that they should be undone by an own goal.
With regard to the Arsenal starting line-up it raised a few eyebrows, mine included. As I said yesterday we have a strong squad so changing players in itself was not unexpected after the hard afternoon at Wembley but Nacho as a third centre back, Gibbs as a wingback, Theo in from the cold, and no start for Danny or Larry ? I admit those selections puzzled me.
I heard someone say that maybe Arsene was using the game to assess those players whose future at the club after the Summer is in doubt. Speculative given the importance of the game to our final PL position but not entirely implausible.
Of the game itself we played “alright” in the first half. We had a lot of possession, stood up to the Foxes’ aggression, and moved the ball well to the edge of the visitors’ box. Beyond that point we seemed to seize up. Our attackers seemed reluctant to run at opponents into their penalty area with the ball. The ball was passed sideways and backwards across the final third. Corner came and went. We rarely had more than one player actually in the box to inflect any damage from open play. Sanchez dropped deeper and deeper to evade the Leicester centre backs. Theo flickered in and out to no obvious effect. It was only in the final 10 minutes of the first half that Mesut came to life. We never seemed to pull Leicester apart and we did not look like scoring.
As is our usual approach second half we stepped up our efforts after half time but it was not until the full complement of substitutes were on after 75 minutes that Arsenal began to crack the Leicester shell. Huth and Benalouane, having enjoyed an easy night swatting Sanchez away like an annoying bluebottle all night, suddenly faced the muscle of Giroud. Sanchez and Danny concentrated on the wings, and Aaron played further forward than le Coq. When Kosc went down writhing I had a bad moment but, much to everyone’s surprise, he was back up and playing within a couple of minutes. We became urgent in our efforts. The volume in the ground went up.
The pressure built, the Leicester defending became more ragged, for the first time all evening their defenders were being drawn out of position and gaps were opening. The goal when it came was scruffy, two deflections and no chance for the keeper.
After that decisive goal a strange few minutes. The referee and Sanchez both seemed to lose their heads for no obvious reason. What had been a fairly mild contest degenerated into a fracas with Cech and Schmeichel both leaving their goals to get involved in a row. Cech, to his credit, was telling Sanchez to control himself. Fuchs was already on a card and an idiot for slinging the ball at Alexis. The Austrian should have been off. Alexis, sore lip or not, should not have flung himself down. More concerning immediately after that incident Sanchez crashed into another Leicester player (Drinkwater ? ) in front of Arsene’s technical area and went down clutching his face again, for no obvious reason. If Jones has seen what I had seen then we would have been one Chilean short on Sunday for the NLD. The man had lost it. We all like a bit of passion and fight but even so …….I shall put it down to his exhaustion after two testing games in four days.
Very much a difficult job completed successfully. Three points nearer the opposition and the Manchester derby tonight to add a little more incentive to our chase. Fingers cross for the Ox and for Kosc this weekend and that they are both fit.
Enjoy Thursday.
Positively Arsenal 
And oddly enough it came from a knock down from a Fuchs thrown in I think ( banned mad eyes)
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As for criticism of Sanchez I have no problem about his passing accuracy, and even less about him winding the opposition up and meeting Leicester’s cheating with a little of his own.
He pushed it too far though – he went from clever to crazy – another night and a referee less easy going than Jones would have seen him sent off.
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Cech save;
http://arsenalist.com/f/2016-17/arsenal-vs-leicester/big-petr-cech-save.html
And they want rid of him ??
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I still don’t see what Sanchez did that was so bad to warrant the level of hand-wringing and criticism? I will never understand the mentality that thinks a player should get sent off for a little theatrical falling to the floor (the ball did hit him in the face) yet Fuchs who threw the ball at someone without any regard for his well being, gets no criticism or punishment and the other Leicester thug who saw fit to jump on Giroud’s back with both feet gets off without comment or a well deserved red card. I cannot join in the media vilification of our player when there is worse out there on a weekly basis, never mind about what went on in the same game. The whole incident was a nothing and I remain disappointed that our own supporters are helping to make a mountain out of a very small molehill
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Andy, I don’t see how you, or anyone, can’t have a problem with his passing. It causes all sort of problems, as does his tendency to not pass at all.
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Amidst that chaotic passing is the man who can change a game single handed, who can suddenly thread a ball through the eye of a camel, or jab a winner in from six feet out. The goals, the assists, the unquenchable energy. Against that his passing statistics, or lack of them, are a mere statistic.
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Stop picking on my favourite ball hog!
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Yes he is all that, but………………… he fucks Wengerball up like no player I’ve ever seen.
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if man utd get top 4 and win europa league does 5th place team get in cl
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I’m sure they tried something else alongside the bungee cord in training to try to get Alexis to calm down.
“Look, Sanchez I don’t want you to keep your eyes on the football. See this bone, I’m going to throw it after the forward. I want you to chase the bone. Forwards. Whilst not dribbling backwards. Ok? Go! Run boy, run!”
But to be fair if five years of playing alongside the genius of Di Natale did not increase his pass and move consistency, and temper his overdribbling S.American street football roots, nothing will.
Great player!
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I wonder if the key to, well, tolerating, Alexis’ maverick tendencies is down to how it plays in the dressing room. Do his teammates feel “yeah we have to cover his crazy ass but he works his socks off to try and win us the game”? Or is it “he goes off on his own and doesn’t pay any attention to or care about what the rest of us are trying to do”? It seems to me that it matters not what we think of it. His teammates are either buoyed by it, or pissed off about it. I’d bet players will put up with a lot of hot dogging if the underlying motivation is team centric. And I wonder perhaps if this was the “difficult time” AW spoke of in the dressing room…perhaps trying to shift the mood away from “he/I” back to “we”. Some recent player body language changes might suggest such. And that’s my amateur psychology done for the day.
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Mesut cares for the ball like a mother with a newly born infant. Never lets it out of his sight, cuddles, caresses the little Round beauty, and lurve
Alexis just regards the ball as a tool
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Tricky this as I loathe Jose so much
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Waiting for the End @theiconic14
The Times thought Coquelin was better than Xhaka and Alexis was better than Ozil
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HT Manchester City 0 – 0 Manchester United
if there is to be a winner its better for AFC if its City, a draw not a bad result, a utd win would be the worst result for us.
a city win or a draw would put top 4 place back in our own hands
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Well done for another great write up Andy,
Sanchez is an amazing footballer and yes he can change the game in the blink of an eye, however he plays his best through balls when he has time, unfortunately he needs to learn to play one touch football when he is surrounded by four defenders or crossing it first time rather than turning back in inside every time.
Many players have been accused of this in the past but have then gone on to slightly change their game to mix it up a bit and be less predictable it is then they become world class.
Only time will show us whether Alexis can change this part of his game and fit Wengerball and prove Barca wrong, the signs were definitely there against city so who knows.
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I am afraid I will disappoint my fans at PA but I am at the end of my rope with Alexis. The cost of his individualistic brilliance is much too high for the efficiency and precision required by Wengerball. No wonder Nacho Monreal is playing like a new signing. How can you thrive as a fullback when your winger/wideplayer constantly turns over the ball. Wenger says he wants him to stay but don’t be surprised that the sly old fox is simply talking up an asset to be rid of. Arsene has form on this.
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The other gentle point I would raise in defence of our mercurial South American is continuity. He and Mesut have been almost ever present this season and their quality, goals and assists make both effectively undroppable.
Even the very best players benefit playing with the same players around them regularly though – game after game and week after week. Play regularly and you get a better grip on where the ball is and needs to go.
There is no continuity in our midfield game to game and our recent three at the back revelation is a further shake to whatever system was in place. As for any regular participation in our strike force this season I have no idea at all who will be picked, and if picked who players where. Danny ? Larry ? Alexis ? Even Theo ? I would have liked to see more Perez – but don’t tell me the striker merrygoround helps any of them.
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http://www.derryjournal.com/sport/football/derry-city/arsenal-youth-jordan-mceneff-dedicates-ni-schools-cup-win-to-his-big-brother-1-7937123
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James ‘Raul’ Stökes @JamesRaulStokes
Be interesting to see if Aguero’s play acting is met with the same outage as Alexis’ was…
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FT: Manchester City 0 – 0 Manchester United
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Put your head on an opponent in full view of the referee and it is goodnight Marouane – what a shocker of a game.
Don’t tell me – don’t even hint – that we cannot take that rubbish apart on 7/5
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win all our remaining 6 league games and the worst we position we will be in is top 4 place coming down to goal difference
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Can you believe it; we could still make top-4!
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And there is the problem, Alexis is individually brilliant.
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reports today that highlighted transfer details of Arsenal’s signings of Reine-Adelaide and Fortune from Lens.
the report basically said Arsenal agreeing to sign the two lads saved Lens from bankruptcy, by agreeing to pay a first option fee on both players outside of the transfer window so Lens could pay off some debt. That this was totally within the rules.
Oddly enough the report said that UEFA and FIFA should change the rules as it was not right for Arsenal to sign two of Lens best young players.
Never mind that they actually helped save the entire club. Maybe the rules should be changed, and then any club that gets into the trouble Lens were in could actually go bankrupt and the likes of Arsenal could have snapped up their players for nothing after they went bust.
Media, Arsenal, Agenda.
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Media. Arsenal. Agenda.
Much of the press and talk radio spent much of this morning talking about the Alexis incident.
Not a word about the assault on Girouds back. Didn’t hear anything about how Tottenham were lucky to keep Wanyama on the pitch. Nothing about players in the England team past and present who are serial divers and feigners.
All about Alexis.
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Mandy remember it was Robert Pires who introduced diving to the English game, and Arsenal should have been thrown out of the CL cos Eduardo won a penalty v celtic. Fellani has got one straight red and four yellows in his last 9 utd games, but its Xhaka who is a liability, and worst signing of the season, Pogba who cost £50M more needs time to adjust to the English game, but a £35M midfielder has no excuses.
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My reading of it is that things came to a head following the Bayern Munich encounter(s); Ozil already on record as saying that was the low (or one of the lowest) point(s) of his ENTIRE career. Sanchez spotted on more than one occasion finding things hysterically funny much to the evident discomfort of Cech and Gabriel marooned on the bench with him during those games. Only on one of those occasions was a streaker involved.
My 100% guess is that an accommodation has been reached that has brought relative peace to the dressing room; how temporary or permanent that is remains to be seen.
We can still get top four. We ARE in the Final.
I’d suggest AW would like to have seen us do a little better and it again remains to be seen whether he feels his own minimum standards have been achieved to justify re-signing.
And for the record, I’d rather see him leave than sign for two speculation-filled years – my argument all day long would be for a minimum of 3 years, preferably 4.
And it’s by no means a given that either of Ozil or Sanchez WILL leave although I imagine the whole squad + AW tears their hair out at how much harder Sanchez makes the entire team work, often needlessly. Yes, he scores some brilliant goals – many very important ones – but the perpetual sense of panic in the side when a move breaks down on him is palpable and he is making the whole side look far worst than it is, in my opinion.
Either AW accommodates him (builds his team around him – the last time AW did that, it didn’t end well, did it, Cesc?), or AS works out how to become a fully-fledged team player. Or some other side takes a punt on this mercurial genius and AFC move on, otherwise intact.
Whatever happens, a repeat of this season’s meltdown remains unplanned.
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The chances of Alexis Sanchez changing ? Zero
The chance that Arsene Wenger expects Alexis Sanchez to change ? Zero
I vaguely remember Cesc was such an important player because quality wise, and injury wise, we had no other player any where near his contribution. EXACTLY like Sanchez Fabregas had the ability to get a game by the scruff of the neck and win it. Nasri was the replacement but he fucked off at the same time. Pity we lost them really.
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Passenal, @ 6:51 p.m.
—- “I still don’t see what Sanchez did that was so bad to warrant the level of hand-wringing and criticism? I will never understand the mentality that thinks a player should get sent off for a little theatrical falling to the floor (the ball did hit him in the face) yet Fuchs who threw the ball at someone without any regard for his well being, gets no criticism or punishment”
Totally agree — it’s a question of perspective.
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Sanchez is going thru a slightly maddening phase – he dribbles and loses the ball too much; he passes carelessly to the opposition; he is a wonderful goalscorer.
Who is the manager to help him thru the over-dribbling and loose passing hiatus – and encourage his goal scoring? Need I say — oh, alright then — it’s our own Arsene Wenger.
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Andrew – agree, in terms of Arsene’s expectations, but we’ll see.
Cesc was important for many reasons, not least his extreme youth and the opportunity to build a side long term around him. But whilst still developing, he was nonetheless an integral part of wengerball; in other words, the squad did not have to change it’s whole way of playing to accommodate Fabregas.
Sanchez is not Fabregas.
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Alexis messes up Wengerball? Precision? As I understand it, Wengerball has never been one style of playing and not about precision. We played a different style with Henry and Vieira, than we did with Cesc and Van Persie. Both were Wengerball. As is this, and Alexis forms a big part of it.
Wengerball relies on the players that are there. Wenger’s only basic tenet is verticality, and Alexis is almost always trying to do that. His passing statistics don’t matter. He is in the side because his trial and error method, combined with his dribbling and eye for goal, make a huge difference. If this means Monreal has to carry an extra load, so be it? Nobody minded when Koscielny and Per had to carry and extra load because the midfield and full backs pushed up to attack more. Why? Because they, in the main, dealt well with the extra load, while the likes of Djourou, Senderos and Squillachi wilted.
The key is not to see Alexis as messing up the team’s game, but whether it is worth the negatives. After last season where we struggled to score, I’d say it is. If we can find a player who is less wasteful while being as effective at the other end in the summer, replace him by all means if you must. I’d still want to keep him though. There are other players that are less effective than him in the squad.
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Eddy,
re your request for clarification over the possible impact on Premier League teams qualifying for the Champions League next season, if Manure win the Europa League.
a) — [Top 4 PL all qualify [3 to group stages + 1 to knock out round] as a minimum.]
b) — If Manure win the 2016/17 EL — and they are also in the top 4, then all 4 go straight thru to the group stages. [4 PL teams]
c) — If Manure win the 2016/17 EL but are not in the Top 4 — the top 3 go thru to the group stages, and so do Manure — and the 4th placed team in the PL go into the qualifying round, as in a) above. [Possible 5 PL teams]
There are ifs/ands affecting last years CL winners if they do not qualify this year in their own league – and also whether or not Manure win the EL, but do or do not finish in the Top 4 affects could affect who gets into the EL next season — but basically a) or b) or c) above are the numbers of PL teams needing to go into the qualifying rounds, or who go direct into the group stages.
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Crystal Henry, crystal;
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Morning Shard,
Try as I might I could not disagree with your comment on Sanchez – altho you are pretty much saying the same thing as I did in a third of the words, or that Anicoll said in half my words.
Plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose – the more things change ………..
I have missed your prose! lol
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Oi, Anicoll, that is not a very flattering portrait of Shard!! lol
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I saw that DT from AFTV stating that ” it wasnt Wenger’s team selection, but luck that won the game”
Can you imagine the twinkle in my eye as I read that ? LOL!
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However, I will say that if Alexis really wants to win, he has to know he cannot do it alone. I’ll take a basketball analogy where the best players sacrifice some of their personal glory and effort and allow the attacking load to be shared.
A qualifier though, is that he needs to have high quality teammates around him. Michael Jordan needed Scottie Pippen before he won a title. Kobe and Shaq needed each other. LeBron needed Wade and Bosh.
I don’t think Alexis is not a team player, nor that he thinks too little of his teammates. But objectively, we seem to rely a lot on his goals for now and for his individual brilliance to spark them. There’s Ozil, but without a reliably profound goalscorer in attack, and without Ramsey contributing goals because he’s been out for most of the year (and needing to stay back , until the 3 man defense) he feels (and I don’t disagree) that the responsibility is his.
Add another ‘top class’ forward and if the system can cover for a box to box goalscoring MF like Ramsey or the Ox, then I think Alexis will not be the outlier that he seems right now.
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Always better to be missed than to be had enough of, though I suspect you are cheekily saying the latter.
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We try to play a progressive possession based game. short sharp passing is the ideal. That is not possible when Sanchez is dropping into MF demanding the ball, and giving it to the opposition on a regular basis. The whole team moves up the pitch together , because we are in possession, and all of a sudden everyone is on the back foot. I don’t care how many goals and assists he gets, the team play is paramount.
Players like Ozil and Ramsey find space and he ignores them , Its ridiculous that he can’t make the right pass on a regular basis.
I don’t mind his extravagant attempts in and around their box, but its madness anywhere else on the pitch.
I can only conclude that he is fucking stupid.
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He’s probably not the sharpest tool in the box George. Most footballers aren’t. Most great footballers are single minded in their pursuit. That’s how they make it to the top.
He’s messing up more passes now than at the beginning of the season. Do you think fatigue might be playing a part? Messing up simple passes doesn’t seem like an ability issue, rather an issue of concentration? He’s had two Copa Americas in the summers since he joined us after the World Cup. He’s always up for playing and runs about, but fatigue has more subtle effects.
If that is the case, the key again would be to add better players and reduce reliance on him, which right now, we are. Selling him is only one step. The key then becomes who you replace him with.
As far as I can see, most top class forwards are ball hogs and aren’t the best of passers. Not many guarantee the same all round threat, and yes, even effort, that Alexis does. I think we should add before subtracting him from the equation. Unless money is a limiting factor.
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Oh and I think we’ve moved to a more direct, counter attacking style this season. I don’t remember the stats but I think we’ve scored among the highest counter attacking goals in the league. Also, the addition of Xhaka with his long passes indicates that we’re moving away from the short, possession based passing of the Cesc era, back to the quick advances of the Henry era. (Though that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be able to make short, quick passes of course)
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No way is our ambition to be a counter attacking team. We are an attacking possession team with the ability to counter attack.
Any way you look at it, he is the biggest problem we have, The trouble is he is also the best solution in many cases,I just can’t see how we can control and dominate games with him squandering possession and ignoring the patterns of play .
I honestly thought Arsene could coach him into being a fantastic team player, but like Pep before him, it’s proved to be beyond the greatest of all coaches.
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Sorry Shard, I dont agree about footballers not being too sharp. I think they are, they have a high level of understanding of physics and often are highly intuitive, they also have to employ courage and have to make extreme (and quick) judgements time and time again all whilst trying to evaluate the next moves, and potentially the moves after that, which may or may not play out. All whilst running and trying to control the ball/create space. One of Wengers greatest gifts was Wengerball and giving the players the freedom to explore that.It looks easy, but its so hard.
I think Sanchez is just wrapped up a bit in his own absolutism ( ie me me me), which does mess up Wenger ball, and has messed up much of the team play this season,but also means he (vitally) scores when Danny didnt against City (for example), or scoring the goal in the final v villa, that withered any hope they had.
Question is how long can the team function with a player like that?
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Sorry, Shard, for the tardy reply to your 10:26, I am trying to finish a project on my other computer — I need the cash! lol
No, you have always been a friend, and an argumentative so and so, and long may that be the case!
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And with regards to Xhaka, he is in the Arteta mode, which is pure possession with a long range passing option. Long passing meaning the opposition can’t condense space for fear of it, but it will never be the norm.
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George
I didn’t mean we’re playing like West Brom now. Which is why I brought up the Henry era vs the Cesc era. We always had high possession stats, but to me the Cesc era was where we were a possession based team, and previously our focus was less on that.
Of course we generally dominate possession. (Better players tend to dominate possession anyway) It’s been a weird season though because since we lost Santi we’ve tried a few different things and often our midfield has been vulnerable to a pressing tactic.
But anyway. Some stats
We are Joint 3rd in possession (55%) with ManU and Spurs, behind City (58%) and Liverpool (57%). 2nd in successful passes/game (468) behind City (495) and ahead of Liverpool (466)
Pass accuracy, you have City and ManU at 85%, Arsenal and Chelsea at 84% , Spurs 83%, and Liverpool and Bournemouth at 82%.
Avg pass length is City 17m, Arsenal, ManU, Liverpool 18m. Burnely are are last with 22m with 305 passes at 69% accuracy. Spurs 20m with 510 passes attempted and an 83% accuracy seem to combine the possession and long ball game very well. (Sorry but it stood out)
My point. I don;t think we aim to play like City these days, who are closer to our Cescy days, but rather the likes of Liverpool and Spurs.
Also, that Alexis doesn’t seem to be affecting our overall stats too badly in that regard. He has 65 key passes for the season at an accuracy of 73%.
Only Firmino is better among forwards with 79% pass accuracy for 65 key passes. The next best, Ibra 41 KP @ 74%. Sterling 38 @ 81 % . Arnautovic 39 @ 77% . Lukaku 36 @ 66%. Kane 30 @ 73% Diego Costa 27 @ 75%
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Alexis is 9th in Key Passes (shots created) (63, not 65), joint 4th in assists, and joint 3rd in goals scored, among all players in the league.
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