Arsenal v Blackpool, 21/08/10, ATVO, 3PM GMT

[patrick42uk]

intriguing prospect of rvp playing in the hole.

 

[MDGoonah41]

I honestly think Wilshere is going to struggle mightily playing in the middle of midfield against teams that are better defensively. He was very quiet against Liverpool, and he had his moments today, but still didn't really express himself. I suspect that once Cesc and RvP are fit, we're going to see three in the middle with Cesc, Diaby and Song, and then some combo of Arshavin, Walcott, RvP and Chamakh up front. I know that whoever doesn't start will give us an excellent option coming off the bench.

 

[Zinc]

Alan Hansen really couldnt bring himself to praise walcott on today lol, what a joke

 

[dyeruz]

Wow Alan Hansen is a ****..he's actually not a man but a c**k, what a ****ing loser,no objectivity, instead of just praising he has to damn..honestly what a downer!

 

[ricky1985]

Wenger on theo;

"He is more electric than he has been to date because he is sharp. I like today the fact he mixed well the final ball and the finishing. That is always a sign that the player is always more mature. Let's not forget that what he does is at a very high pace so it's not always easy to make the right decision but today I think he got many decisions in the final third right."

I think the bolded part is an important point. Everything he does is at such an incredible speed, any player would struggle to make good decisions moving at thinking as such speed.

He needs to learn to slow down a little, take his time, the thing is Theo is so quick that he could move at 75% speed and still leave defenders standing. Henry became a master at it, moving just enough to create the time and space he needed to decide what he was going to do, gliding in 3rd gear almost. He'll get it eventually, it'll just take a little time.

 

[M+D]

I don't see Wilshere as being tactically that aware at all as a central midfielder.

Even today where we dominated completely there were times where he switches off and either loses the ball cheaply or stops tracking his man. That's a concentration issue but also tactical imo.

Blackpool could easily have scored when he completely lost his man and allowed him all the time in the world to cross (and yes I know it was poor from Clichy to allow the header as well).

He presses well and works very hard and never hides from the ball and given how much time he spends with the ball rarely loses it but he's a lot more effective making runs ahead of the ball, as you can see when he did push forward today he has great awareness of where to go.

 

[ricky1985]

He has great understanding of where to be in my opinion, similar to Fabregas. That doesn't mean he won't occasionally switch off or choose the wrong option, but the vast majority of defensive decision he makes, I think, he gets it right.

 

[russkiegooner]

Good performance and a very good result. We shouldn't be going over board about this one though. Blackpool were really atrocious and in addition we were a bit lucky tonight.

We looked shaky at the back in the first 20 minutes, Clichy got raped in the air again, and it could have gone 1-1. Then, the ref made a mistake (the red was somewhat harsh and it was outside of the box anyway). Clearly, at 0-2 at the Emirates reduced to 10 men Blackpool had absolutely no chance whatsoever. The game was over.

Of course, Theo and Rosicki are two huge satisfactions of the night, but there were also quite a few troubling signs despite the result: Song and Clichy were shaky, Arshavin clearly unfit and very inconsistent, Diaby downright poor in the first half (better in the second), Chamack frustratingly wasteful for a striker, Robin and Cesc not quite there yet...

Don't want to spoil a good night, but I'm still a bit worried.

 

[caldeltatrojan]

Rosicky was awesome. Thought he looked like absolute class today. Theo of course with the hat trick, and three great goals at that. Very happy for him and hope he can bring his "A" game on a regular basis. I don't expect him to score goals like that every game, but he was composed, showed great touch, and made dangerous situations when he had the ball. Looked very much like an intelligent footballer even if you put aside the goals.

I also loved the Arsenalization. The Clock looked awesome. Would love a take on the atmosphere from someone who was in the stands.

 

[MAK 14]

Not too keen on the clock if I'm honest - when I was at the Emirates Cup it just looked stuck on to me.

Just realized that this was our biggest win ever at the Emirates, impressive.

 

[M+D]

I'm sure we beat Slavia Prague 7-0 at the Emirates ^^

 

[MAK 14]

Oh yeah, that's true.

Biggest win at the Emirates in the Premier League, then.

 

[otfgoon]

Such a shame that bit of skill from Vela didn't lead to a goal. He looked good when he came on, glad to see him getting some game time.

 

[russkiegooner]

I'm sure we beat Slavia Prague 7-0 at the Emirates ^^

Some people here predicted Barca to win 9-0 at Camp Nou against Rubin Kazan last year...

 

[outlaw_member]

How do you stop a midfield if it has 3 "playmakers" in it though?

If you get really tight to Cesc, Jack or Rosicky/Nasri will make you suffer. One things for sure, our forwards, whichever 3 we choose, would see much more of the ball in much more threatening positions - and that service, or lack of, has too often been the problem, especially in the big games.

I don't think we'll play with 3 creative midfielders, though. We'll most likely field Song, Diaby and Cesc as first choice. I think Wenger pretty much considers Diaby as a staple of this team, and deploys him whenever possible.

I honestly think Wilshere is going to struggle mightily playing in the middle of midfield against teams that are better defensively. He was very quiet against Liverpool, and he had his moments today, but still didn't really express himself. I suspect that once Cesc and RvP are fit, we're going to see three in the middle with Cesc, Diaby and Song, and then some combo of Arshavin, Walcott, RvP and Chamakh up front. I know that whoever doesn't start will give us an excellent option coming off the bench.

It's really not that possible to express oneself as a deep lying CM. It's a very mechanical role which doesn't allow for much creative freedom, as you're expected to keep things ticking in the middle of the park, and perform plenty of defensive duties.

intriguing prospect of rvp playing in the hole.

I don't think it is, to be honest. van Persie wants to drop into the spaces that are occupied by the offensive midfielders, and it just ends up becoming creative overkill. I mean we have Cesc and either Nasri/Rosicky/Wilshere trying to create infront of the opposition defence, and van Persie wants to do exact the same thing. Too many chiefs and not enough indians.

 

[patrick42uk]

i'm hoping the formation switch means no diaby or denilson in the first 11. rosicky with cesc and song behind.

 

[lagos]

Speaking of Wilshere, am I the only one who has noticed a tendency for lunging in when going for 50/50 balls? It's the second time I've noticed it where he's then gone down in the process and almost injured himself. Has he picked up bad habits from Bolton?

 

[arsmile]

Speaking of Wilshere, am I the only one who has noticed a tendency for lunging in when going for 50/50 balls? It's the second time I've noticed it where he's then gone down in the process and almost injured himself. Has he picked up bad habits from Bolton?

he's always been like that

i remember the emerites cup a few years ago he ran around kicking the **** out of everyone

 

[Anzac]

IMO Diaby's wanting to go forward is what has resulted in Wilshere looking like our deepest CM. Wilshere didn't get near the final 3rd until after Diaby went off v Blackpool.

Was also pleased today that we didn't look to use Chamakh as a target man by trying to play balls in tha air out of defence like we did v LFC.

 

[ricky1985]

How do you stop a midfield if it has 3 "playmakers" in it though?

If you get really tight to Cesc, Jack or Rosicky/Nasri will make you suffer. One things for sure, our forwards, whichever 3 we choose, would see much more of the ball in much more threatening positions - and that service, or lack of, has too often been the problem, especially in the big games.

I don't think we'll play with 3 creative midfielders, though. We'll most likely field Song, Diaby and Cesc as first choice. I think Wenger pretty much considers Diaby as a staple of this team, and deploys him whenever possible.

:cry