Southampton vs Arsenal - 1/1/2013 17:30 Sky Sports 1

[evoh_1]

It wouldn't be a month in the football season without the obligatory utterly impotent dog sh't performance from arsenal.

No one got off the bus apart from the goalie which is *, you would hope that if you haven't got the quality to do well as we just couldn't pass properly then you can work your socks off and just go high tempo and compete for everything. We didn't do anything and everytime we end up dropping points again and again then we will be looking at a situation where there aren't anymore chances left to reach the minimum goal of 4th.

Need to address why we can't hold it together for longer than 3 games in a row, our opponents have played more games over xmas yet we are the ones who can't turn up after a game 72 hours before.

 

[dbig]

We were bad yesterday, but Southampton are a pretty good team on their day. Thought they deserved points against United, City, and Sp**s earlier this season after creating tonnes of chances (more than they did against us).

Doesn't deflect from the point that we need more quality in the first team and options off the bench as well.

 

[evoh_1]

The team needs to be better at attacking space. There was plenty of this kind of situation in the first half where Sagna passes it to Chamberlain and stops. The space is there no one makes the run(Cazorla is coming short whilst Walcott is planted between the CBs)



There's another one a minute earlier. Chamberlain(circled) wants the ball played into space but Sagna elects to pass it short and out of play. We really need a FB who could contribute more in attack

You have pointed out the issue that I thought about with the exact photos of the situations that I remember from the game showing our failure.

Have to attack the space in both of the pics just in between the fullback and centrebacks yet these top top players can't seem to keep doing what is working and have to go back into their shells.

Wish we would get back into moving and passing into space as the come short pass to feet thing is just bollocks and is the soft option, especially when players are going to move off the ball ot create space and we take an age to pass.

 

[evoh_1]

We were bad yesterday, but Southampton are a pretty good team on their day. Thought they deserved points against United, City, and Sp**s earlier this season after creating tonnes of chances (more than they did against us).

Doesn't deflect from the point that we need more quality in the first team and options off the bench as well.

Southampton were Ok but we did nothing to make them work for their performance and for that I'm not going to hold up their play and say it was so good what could we do. Same with the swansea game, we didn't turn up and made it easy for them to have a good game by playing like a team.

 

[mo50]

There are just too many games where we don't create a single opening. I can't think of one decent chance we had all game, which is quite worrying considering this Southampton side has just been promoted and we had our strongest side out there with minimal injuries throughout the side.

I yearn for the days where we'd miss half a dozen clear cut chances and end up losing. It gave you a sense of belief that if we did one or two things we'd be on to a winner.

IMO our attack will improve when these players have all settled and had at least 1 season under their belt. The lack of continuity throughout the side is really hurting us. Only Theo has been part of our attack for 3+ seasons. We change a component of our forward line every year, we play around with our midfield every year and our defense is finally starting to settle (although we still leak goals).

 

[scytheavatar]

The team needs to be better at attacking space. There was plenty of this kind of situation in the first half where Sagna passes it to Chamberlain and stops. The space is there no one makes the run(Cazorla is coming short whilst Walcott is planted between the CBs)



There's another one a minute earlier. Chamberlain(circled) wants the ball played into space but Sagna elects to pass it short and out of play. We really need a FB who could contribute more in attack

Does anyone else sort of feel that Bould should be blamed for our players not running into space? It feels like the positional discipline he's drilling into our players is stiffing our play without actually improving us defensively.

 

[Rain Dance]

Nah.. last season was equally bad

 

[a_fourteen]

sagna is a conservative full back. that's not a criticism but an observation. He doesnt come in when the forward goes wide to pressure on the opposing CB/FB.

 

[Vela]

Vermaelen - "Wojciech had to make a few saves, I think our overall defending as a team can always be better. I think the space between the defence and our strikers was too big so they could have play their game if they wanted. We have to work on that, it has to be better."

<a class="postlink" href="http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archive/vermaelen-let-s-keep-spirit-and-confidence" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.arsenal.com/news/news-archiv ... confidence</a>

 

[infineon]

The team needs to be better at attacking space. There was plenty of this kind of situation in the first half where Sagna passes it to Chamberlain and stops. The space is there no one makes the run(Cazorla is coming short whilst Walcott is planted between the CBs)



There's another one a minute earlier. Chamberlain(circled) wants the ball played into space but Sagna elects to pass it short and out of play. We really need a FB who could contribute more in attack

Realistically, if Sagna had played the ball between the CB and FB, would Ox really have managed to get to the ball before someone intercepted? Similarly does Sagna have the pace to play it to Ox and then run on to get the return ball???

I mean, it is easy to say "play it into space and run on to it" when you're not the guy who actually has to do the running!

What the two pictures really show is that Soton were nicely set up to defend against an attack. Nice bank of four and covering midfielders.

 

[pikey2000]

Those are good examples of not exploiting space and how our full backs aren't providing the right service but we have Wilshere, Arteta and Cazorla in midfield who are all excellent passer's of the ball.

For me Sagna and Gibbs should be looking to do one thing offensively - overlap the winger and get a cross in the danger area of the box - they shouldn't get caught up trying to lay through balls on as they don't have the ability.

The entire midfield 3 has that ability in abundance and I would edge my bets that if they aren't providing this its because the runs aren't being made often enough.

A couple of times I saw Wilshere wave his hands in desperation of the lack of movement coming from the players in front of him.

One of the other things those two snippets show me is that we aren't exactly flooding forward in numbers, obviously this is related to the concern that if we push on we are easily hit on the break - its a vicious mental circle that our players have fallen into.

 

[redanddread]

One of several games this season, where the team chemistry was just awful. Allied to what looked like a lack of effort all over the park and we have another stinker. I couldn't quite believe how awful Sagna was as I'm used to seeing him be one of our better players on a regular basis.

Southampton smelt blood and in the end we were fortunate to come away with a point.

Can't quite understand why the team would suffer from complacency in a match like this as our results and position in the league this would seem to warrant anything but.

It's hard to comprehend how a side that can score 7 one day can't even get a shot on target until the 75th min the next.

Anyway, unto the next game and hoping we can do the business against Swansea.

 

[eye4goal]

Realistically, if Sagna had played the ball between the CB and FB, would Ox really have managed to get to the ball before someone intercepted? Similarly does Sagna have the pace to play it to Ox and then run on to get the return ball???

On the first instance Chamberlain was in, but Sagna passed it out of play and they had a little argument. I have to say Chamberlain is starting to show some intelligence in his play even though his ball control is still abit hit and miss. On the second one, maybe not, but we need to start utilising these areas somehow. You see United players busting a gut to get into those positions. We could do with an offensive minded FB or else 4-3-3 can become useless as you rely on them for width. I read a stat that our conversion ratio is up there with Utd, but we're 7th when it comes to chance creation. The formation is a failure

 

[evoh_1]

when you are going to leave a 25- 30 meter gap behind the fullbacks a team like arsenal with pace should be getting into those spaces, at least make them defend the run and get out of position. We made it easy for them to keep a shape by never making those runs and it shows as we didn't have a shot on until deep into the game.

passing was terrible in their half as well but these sort of impotent performances jsut crop up again and again with arsenal and make it so hard when our competition for the hallowed 4th place are doing very well and turning up every week.

 

[infineon]

I think the more recent problems are not to do with finding pockets of space (although that is an issue and has been for a long time especially when Walcott doesn't play -- he is probably our only natural off-the-ball runner). I think the disturbing issue is that we simply cannot carry the ball out of defence and into the opposition third with any sort of consistency??? It wasn't that long ago when teams like Southampton (with all due respect) stick 11 men behind the ball and defend their 18 yard area with everything they got because they couldn't get the ball off us in midfield. Now, they are coming on to us, taking us on in midfield (and often winning!) and pushing up to defend a high line that, in the recent past, was practically suicidal against now but is now totally feasible.

 

[SomGooner]

You'd swear that Sagna was a kid masking his debut, he was a nervous wreck.

 

[evoh_1]

sagna looked done for in the legs in the second half of the newcastle gaem, he would come up and storll back at walking / slow jog pace, not a great sign for the next game. i thought jenkinson would start but isn't he injured or something?

 

[MaestroCesc]

Frimpong would have been eligible to play as hes back from loan except that he is ill now.

 

[fabo]

Frimpong is arguably bottom of the midfield pecking order at the club, behind the 3 starters, Diaby, Rosicky, Ramsey and Coquelin. He flopped at Charlton, has had a couple of serious injuries. We must add one more to that batch if we want to improve/balance the position, and I hope we will either this month or in the Summer.

Not looking too promising for Frimpong you'd have to say. Less of the dench bollocks is needed and more performances on the field.

 

[MaestroCesc]

Frimpong is arguably bottom of the midfield pecking order at the club, behind the 3 starters, Diaby, Rosicky, Ramsey and Coquelin. He flopped at Charlton, has had a couple of serious injuries. We must add one more to that batch if we want to improve/balance the position, and I hope we will either this month or in the Summer.

Not looking too promising for Frimpong you'd have to say. Less of the dench bollocks is needed and more performances on the field.

You cant look too much into the Charlton loan, as he was lacking match fitness and hadnt played many matches.

Ye it isnt look too promising, i doubt he will get a chance at Arsenal in the near future so he will probably go on loan again and will have to put in some consistently good performances to have a chance