EPL – QPR vs Arsenal – 3:00pm – 31/03/12

[GG8]

It didn't make sense playing Ramsey out wide, he drifted in central a lot of the time which meant Gibbs was more exposed.

He nearly got in Rosicky's way for the goal because he drifted inside. Ran straight across his path as Tomas was pushing forward.

I agreed with AW playing Aaron in the LW role in the Everton game as I felt he would provide the energy required and also could drop into the middle to help combat the five man midfield that Moyes would be employing. But at QPR who are languishing near the bottom of the table is was really weak tactically.

As qs said, we had 2 fit players who are suited to that position sitting on the bench. The smartmove would have been to start with either of them and hit them hard early on. Could have brought Ramsey on in the second half to tighten things up if need be.

 

[Vela]

Chamberlain hasn't really started any Premiership away games has he? Earlier in the season when Arsenal played QPR at the Emirates, Barton started for QPR and Gervinho started on the bench for Arsenal. They both were involved in that incident in the opening game of the season between Arsenal and Newcastle, I expect everyone remembers it. Anyone noticed this could be because Barton started for QPR or is it complete rubbish? It might be.

 

[celestis]

I think playing a wide/inside midfielder instead of a winger on the left makes so much sense. It means we can flood the midfield area and it creates space for Gibbs. The problem isnt doing that, the problem is the player who is inconsistent and has technical deficiencies. I dont think AOC is in great form right now but I dont understand though why Benayoun hasnt been used again .

Yup I completely agree , it did make sense ,except Aaron then positioned himself next to and at times behind Song depriving our midfield of forward passing options . He should have been playing much further forward .

 

[AshburtonGhost]

Would probably have been better off with Rosicky wide and Ramsey in the middle IMO.

 

[celestis]

In all honesty we would have kept the ball better with AOC playing . He is the winger/midfielder hybrid we have .

 

[AshburtonGhost]

Yep, Chambo would've been the best choice, for sure.

 

[AnthonyG]

We might have won 1-0, too, if Djourou had played in place of Vermaelen.

 

[outlaw_member]

I think playing a wide/inside midfielder instead of a winger on the left makes so much sense. It means we can flood the midfield area and it creates space for Gibbs. The problem isnt doing that, the problem is the player who is inconsistent and has technical deficiencies. I dont think AOC is in great form right now but I dont understand though why Benayoun hasnt been used again .

I don't think it does, to be honest. It makes sense in a 4-4-2 where a midfield pairing could be overrun, so an inside midfielder like a Parlour or Park is deployed on the flank for the purpose of providing support. However, it makes little sense in doing so when you have three central midfielders, as you end up -like you said- flooding the midfield with 4 players all attempting to do the same thing, which simply is overkill. It would certainly work better when you have a marauding fullback, but I'd have banked on it functioning better with Santos, because he has his offensive game in check. Gibbs is still learning the ropes.

Nevertheless, it is only worth it when the LB is of a top class offensive calibre, otherwise your attack becomes completely lopsided in that there is only one outlet in the team(RFW), and you are relying on him and the CF to provide the main threat. This is made all the more difficult to successfully achieve when you have someone as inconsistent as Walcott to rely on. This is partly why I think we always need a dual wide threat, because when Walcott is having a poor game, which is often, we end up having no penetrative threat on both flanks, and cease to offer any sort of danger to the opposition.

 

[Glovegun]

These games will happen at this point of the season. QPR are in a world of difficulty if they go down, hence the spending spree in January and the appointment of Hughes. I'd much rather face one of the teams in mid-table than QPR, Wigan, Bolton or Blackburn right now - they're fighting for their lives and every game is going to be a real fight. It's a London derby, a relegation scrap and Hughes seemed to get his players more up for the match than Wenger did for our lot.

Sp**s drawing level is a reminder not to switch off and never to stop working for a result. Song and Arteta did that for Diakite's goal.

 

[fabo]

If you consider we have Jack coming in at AM thats one of those attacking positions and Podolski is another then I think you're right, we still need one absolute top class attacking player. It could be in any position in the front 4 but we need just an extra touch of brilliance. And I mean brilliance because we are solid pretty much every where.

I'd probably bring Jack back in to compete with Arteta and buy an AM tbh(if we are hell-bent on Jack as the AM, then buy a deeper midfielder). As it is we can barely rest Song or Arteta against garbage sides at home. Podolski would be another good addition and I also think we need another CF who can lead the line(no kids).

Defence is set numbers-wise but remains to be seen whether they'll actually form a solid unit and perform. Nothing seems to change even when we play our best defenders.

 

[outlaw_member]

RVP does look a little jaded but that's the price you pay for relying on him every week. It cannot continue next season with the Euro's this Summer, Podolski is a start but can he lead the line? I'm not sure. We could probably use a back-up CF aswell as we are still relying on the greasy haired **** coming off the bench. I'd prefer a PL-tested player in that role, like Ba for example(unlikely).

I'd be highly surprised if van Persie is half as prolific next season after this years gruelling campaign. He's likely to clock up almost 50 games this season, which he has performed under heavy strain and pressure. Then he's likely to go far with the Dutch in the Euro's so it would be very unwise to expect a similar output next season, and for us to rely on him as heavily again. It is so incredibly imperative that we add another 2 attackers to our front line, including a prolific backup striker, if we are to achieve any of our real targets. Wishful thinking, of course.

You just have to look back at Dennis Bergkamp who after leading us to the Double and performing in the WC of 98, saw a drastic decline in performance for the following campaign. We needed Kanu to produce arguably the best season of his career to compensate. Similarly, Henry performed under similar pressure when he carried us to the CL final, and then took part in the 2006 World Cup. We all saw how shot he was in the following season. I have to admit that Wenger and the squad have surprised me with our recovery(even though there is still time for it to fall to bits), but we simply cannot continue gambling every season, because it will eventually bite us in the arse.

 

[fabo]

Yep we need another CF this Summer. I've heard people say that Podolski in + Park/Chamakh out is good enough but I really don't think it is. Far from it actually.

 

[dysphoria]

knowing wenger, he'll probably ship park + chamankh out for a profit over podolski's transfer fee and then bring back joel campbell to be 3rd forward. Hell, we might even see the return of bendtner.

 

[eye4goal]

I think playing a wide/inside midfielder instead of a winger on the left makes so much sense. It means we can flood the midfield area and it creates space for Gibbs. The problem isnt doing that, the problem is the player who is inconsistent and has technical deficiencies. I dont think AOC is in great form right now but I dont understand though why Benayoun hasnt been used again .

I don't think it does, to be honest. It makes sense in a 4-4-2 where a midfield pairing could be overrun, so an inside midfielder like a Parlour or Park is deployed on the flank for the purpose of providing support. However, it makes little sense in doing so when you have three central midfielders, as you end up -like you said- flooding the midfield with 4 players all attempting to do the same thing, which simply is overkill.

Yeah flooding the midfield against a team that has already surrendered it to you and sat back is pointless. I like a creative winger against the better teams and maybe in the CL but against most teams in the PL it does not work. I'd like to see the amount of time Ramsey received the ball wide and came inside creating space for Gibbs to come forward. To me it looks like him and Rosicky were getting in the way of each other all game and we failed to get either of our full-backs forward as a result

 

[fabo]

knowing wenger, he'll probably ship park + chamankh out for a profit over podolski's transfer fee and then bring back joel campbell to be 3rd forward. Hell, we might even see the return of bendtner.

Doubt Bendtner wants to come back but yeah, I'd much prefer him to Afobe or Campbell who are not PL-tested or anyway ready for such a role.

If we are intent on penny-pinching, we should just buy a decent PL striker like Odemwingie or Rodallega who would be content with a squad role at a big club and could get us 10 goals over a season(at least I think they would).

 

[outlaw_member]

I would take Bendtner back. Yes, I am desperate.

 

[WengerFaithful]

Good to see Wenger calling it exactly how it was in his Weekly Email ...

Wenger: 'We know how to respond'

Dear Arsenal supporter,

We have to accept that our performance at QPR on Saturday was not good enough to win the game.

It was very frustrating because they allowed us to have possession and then waited for us to make mistakes. We had the ball but did not do enough with it and when we slipped up they took advantage. Ultimately, that made the difference.

QPR had the edge on us at specific moments, they had that extra special commitment that you need. We have to give them credit for that but we are unhappy with our own performance. What you produce on the day is what matters and what we produced was not good enough.

I was asked after the game if the pitch made a difference but I don't think we can use that to explain our performance. We simply did not create enough to win a football game.

Subconsciously something was missing and, in the Premier League, if you miss something on the commitment front you are beaten. That is what happened.

We played against a QPR team that plays for survival. We prepared properly but we were too open when we had the ball and we were punished.

Hopefully it can be a wake-up call - the defeat can shock us to go back to what has been our strength recently. We know how to respond because we have been exposed to this situation this season.

We face Manchester City next and we know we have a good opportunity against them so let's make sure we deliver the right performance next Sunday.



Thanks for your support.

 

[Spork]

Wait, what?

 

[eye4goal]

There was another previous Hughes v Arsenal battle that sprung to mind – Manchester City's 4-2 win over Arsenal early in 2009-10, the game that featured Adebayor's infamous celebration in front of the Arsenal fans. Following that game, a couple of photos of the whiteboard from Hughes's pre-match team talk were leaked on the internet, and in addition to some fairly basic instructions were a couple of tasks aimed at hurting Arsenal. The first was general – "Expose them in the channels quickly when we regain possession." The second was more specific. "Draw No5 Vermaelen out of the back four, and get behind him."

Tactical Analysis from Zonal Marking via The Guardian

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/blog/2012/apr/02/qpr-tactics-arsenal-mark-hughes

 

[DJ_Markstar]

I would take Bendtner back. Yes, I am desperate.

Yes yes but what has your love life got to do with Bendtner?

No, just kidding.

But seriously.