All good points and jwaldman11 I take your point about blooding players for difficult matches. I would absolutely have wanted to see both Cesc and RVP involved, but not from the start! DB10 did nothing when he came on, but, be fair, what was he coming on to? Our problem against Bolton was not really the back 4, every defrence has weaknesses that can be exposed when the opposition rips through the middle of the park, like there there pulling TP off a roll! It was totally down to midfield, this is where we lost the game! They gave no protection to the back 4 and created little to nothing for the front two; you can talk about the different styles of the two teams, but, if the 4 players at the heart of the team don't turn up it's all over, no matter who you're playing? Cygan was caught out of position a fair bit, because he was trying to help make things happen, for the front two, ala regular Arsenal football. Pires was creating nothing in front of him and maybe he should get some credit for at least having a go? Now if the object was to get a 0-0 out of the Reebok, then he never should've crossed half way?
I don't think you can expect Cygan to play like Ashley Cole, or Gael Clichy for that matter. If Wenger is going to persist in plpaying him there then he should at least have the sense to tell him to stay back and do his primary job, which is to keep goals out. If it makes us slightly less offensive because we have no overlapping full-back on that side, especially in tough away games like this one, then that's fine. As well as saying the midfield were below par, which they were, I think a fair bit of criticism has to be levelled at our back four and goalkeeper too. When you look at what happened when corners, free-kicks and long throws are put into our box, it ranges from confusion to complete panic. The keeper flaps a lot and there are very few people willing to battle for the ball in the air. I'm not saying we're going to clear every single one, but the central defenders should be clearing their fair share decisively (that's not straight up in the air or to the edge of the box, but completely away from danger). For me, it points to a lack of organisation while defending set-pieces. Indeed, when you look at our set-pieces, both offensively and defensively you see the same lack of organisation which can only mean we don't practice them enough, if at all. And Bolton just go to show how much of a weapon they can be if you do them right.
The relatively young lineup for the CL match vs. Ajax will be interesting. I'm curious to see who Le Boss will start, especially in the back, and considering how scattershot the back was vs. Bolton.
I refereed in that same ice/snow for City Tournament, at 9 am, on virtually no sleep, as I was busy watching a travesty of a match at home that morning. What pub? Don't say Ezell's
Very good point Michaec and absolutely spot on. However, I think the guilt for this has to be aimed at management. Our arrogance has always been, not worrying about what the other team will do, and focusing on being better? This is fine and dandy when things are going well! Set pieces did for us last year and we clearly still haven't learned the lesson! On top of this, we are woefully profligate with our own set pieces? If it isn't a beautifully driven, virtually no backlift strike from TH14, we don't seem to want to know. We clearly have no strategy for throw-ins, no-one can do a decent long one, and when Titi is out you can seeing them trying to decide who gets to step up to the plate? For a few games, when Titi was out with his groin, DB10 took free kicks and it looked like the lads had actually figured out a system for set pieces! We actually saw goals from Cygan and Campbell, but, as soon as Titi came back that source dried up? The most damming thing strategically, is the tactical nievety we showed against Bolton. I remember thinking, how can we be so stupid, being suckered into giving away so many dead balls in dangerous areas against a team like Bolton. I said to myself, 'they have to score soon' and within 30 seconds Faye had put it away? With Kevin Nolan and Garry Speed able to do a throw-in as far as a goal kick what were we thinking? No team could've survived that aerial bombardment from free kicks, corners and throw-ins without conseeding, and with our lack of organisation, you could've put money on it!
George and Dragon's! It was vacant when 'Pool was playing against Wigan, but around noon Arsenal and Bolton supporters came rushing in.
I was there... It wasn't that empty for pool v wigan, I was surprised how many bolton fans were there for our match... and how few Chelsea fans showed up on the other side of the bar.
Not sure if somebody posted this yet. Wenger comments Here is the part that worries me: If this means that the Cygan at LB experiment will continue than I know exactly how many points will get off of Chelsea and ManU over the next month or so. Hint: Japanese fighter in WWII.
Yeah, I agree, Wenger has to take the blame for this. Set-pieces are a big part of the game and our organisation at both ends of the pitch leaves a lot to be desired. It's not just teams like Bolton who are good at them, Chelsea are excellent too. Direct shots aside, Henry shouldn't be anywhere near a corner or free-kick. When he takes them he tries to drive them in a la Beckham and most of the time hits the first defender. If you do it right then I think it's the hardest type of ball in to defend, but if you can't do it then stop it! The manager should sack Henry from corners and free-kicks where he's not shooting for goal. I don't think it was a system as such, more that the ball actually arrived in the area for someone to attack. If you put it in there enough, eventually someone will get a header at goal on it.
Heh, maybe I exaggerated just a little But, I didn't notice the Chelsea game was going on the other side...lol I'm going to miss the game against Newcastle this week unless I can find someone to cover my shift