Arsenal in crisis? Not even slightly.

It's been a while since I wrote a post. And a lot has happened since then. To sum it up, Podolski, Giroud and Cazorla have come in, and mainly Robin and Song have left us. There hardly seems any point in discussing that, plenty of posts have done so! There are majorly two "crisis" Arsenal seem to be in 1. Not scoring goals and 2. Not buying enough players. I shall call them Crisis-1 and Crisis-2, respectively.
Moving on to the start of our season. Two games, two goal less draws. Not great, but not too bad either, considering the fact that one of the games was against Stoke, a team that has always bullied Arsenal physically. But something that seems to be worrying Arsenal fans is the lack of goals. Or no goals at all. Honestly, that does not worry me one bit. Losing Robin is a big loss, but I don't think that will lead to Arsenal not scoring goals. And here is why - In 2011-12 Arsenal scored 74 goals, third highest in the league, in 2010-11 Arsenal scored 72 goals, second highest in the league, in 2009-10 Arsenal scored 83 goals, third highest in the league and in 2008-09 Arsenal scored 68 goals, second highest in the league. Now, if you look at these past few years and think about the number of strikers, attacking midfielders and attacking formations Arsenal have played, it's a huge huge number. But Arsenal have always managed to score a huge number of goals. This shows, that apart from maybe last year, Arsenal have not been reliant on one player to score over a long time. We have changed players, but have always scored goals! The answer is, the way Arsenal play, the philosophy with which we play, leads to goals. Arsenal's silky attacking playing style is responsible for the goals. This is helped by having an able striker up front. But, are Giroud and Podolski not able? Yes they are! And that will ensure that Arsenal will score in coming games. That should be the least of our worries. Rather I think we have had a strong start to the season, with our defense looking absolutely brilliant, that too without Szczesny, Sagna and Koscielny. The key to Arsenal doing well this season will be to concede fewer goals, have a stronger defense, and I think we are well on track there. So,  Crisis-1 not so much a crisis.
Moving on to address Crisis-2, Robin and Song left us. Let's say, for the sake of convenience, that together they helped us score 30 goals last season. Just Robin and Song together. Are not Podolski, Giroud and Cazorla capable of scoring those many together? Again, yes they are! I think more than 30 goals. This year we may not have one super goal scorer, but combined together I think Arsenal can score more. If you are going to say that we cannot be sure that they will score those many, then let me ask you, before last season did you ever think Song and Robin would combine to score the goals they did? Or that Robin would play every game? No. No one did. That's how football is. If we look at the midfielder in Song that we have lost, we have gained Diaby and Wilshere. Arn't those two enough to replace Song? They are. If you say that they are injury prone, wasn't Robin also? Hence, I can safely say, Crisis-2, is laughable.
I would have loved Arsenal to add to the current team too, but not doing so, is far from a crisis. We have successfully replaced all our outgoing players and are in a really good shape. I have said this before, amongst the madness in the football world right now, Arsene seems to be the only sane one. Trust him to do a good job, as he always has. Any team, player or fan thinking Arsenal are weaker this season is kidding himself. Keep the faith.
Liverpool tomorrow then! Expect goals. 

The goals are coming.

What is Tomáš Rosicky doing?

So Arsenal are on the best run in a couple of years, 'big' teams have been brushed aside and I can't think of a team in Europe that won't hesitate before taking on Arsenal right now. We are a handful when we get going aren't we? Oh yes. We are on a roll!
In the game against Aston Villa last week, I could not take my eyes off Rosicky. No, it was not because of his perfectly silky hair. It was because of some seriously slick football the man was playing. It just made me realize how much Arsenal have missed him. Injuries have played spoil sport again here. Anyways, long spells on the sidelines had pushed Rosicky into a cherished memory. We all knew he was class, technically absolutely amazing. But he wasn't on the pitch. Many an Arsenal fan deemed him 'deadwood'. So, the game last week got me thinking about Rosicky's role in the team, what he has been doing. Rosicky has been crucial in some of the large victories lately. Think spurs. Here's my take on it.
I happened to watch great videos on Rosicky's performance in the last few weeks. Have a look at his performance against Aston Villa here. His role in the team is essential to say the least. Rosicky is the reason Walcott has found his pace again. We all know that Walcott needs a good full back and Sagna does more than enough justice to that. We have seen how Walcott's performances have improved after Sagna has come back. But it's not just Sagna who has helped Walcott, it's Rosicky as well.
Rosicky plays a little higher up the pitch, behind the two wingers and our striker. When the ball is played to Rosicky, he makes a small run with it, he retains possession, and releases the ball when our wingers have gotten into runs in the right positions. Rosicky's biggest quality is his timing of releasing the ball. His understanding of the game. His run with the ball and clever twisting and turning, gives Walcott enough time to find comfortable space. And then Rosicky plays the ball to him. Walcott is a good player, but he needs good players around him still to get the best out of him. In the last few weeks Walcott and Rosicky have been amongst our best players. Rosicky has found his game again, and he has helped Walcott find his. It's great to see how the players are complimenting each other. This may seem like a simple enough thing, but it has played a key role in our recent run of wins. Rosicky is getting the best out of Walcott. And when Walcott gets the ball in a good position with space, few defenders can stop him. Arsene has found a lethal combo here. And it's working like beer and pizza for us. Good times.
However, this revival of Rosicky seems to have turned quite a few fans against Ramsey. Yes, there have been no fireworks there. But this is his first full season, he's a talented youngster who has done well enough to come back from a horrific injury. Let's give him some time, I still think he's going to be one of the best in a few years time!
That seems to be it. QPR tomorrow then, let's look forward to another great game! As always keep the faith. 
Oh and thanks to great videos on Rosicky by Alex A Carpenter (@CarpenterAAA11) on his YouTube page.

Rosicky vs Spuds

    

Silent. Calm. Poised. Arsenal's engine - Mikel Arteta

Arsenal has taken to not just winning, but doing so from spectacular situations. In the last four premier league games, Arsenal have come back from losing positions to win the game. I'm told that is a record, and I'll believe that. Against Sunderland, Tottenham, Liverpool and Newcastle, Arsenal have conceded first and then gone on to win the game. And these teams are not pushovers, three of them are challenging for fourth spot and Sunderland were reborn from ashes after Martin O'Neill took charge. Amazing performances. Amazing results. If there was anything in this world that could stop Wenger's 'mental strength' speeches, well, this is it. These performances show enough mental strength.
On monday night again, we fell behind to a well taken goal by Ben Arfa and responded immediately by Van Persie scoring. Theo Walcott has really stepped up and is delivering world class performances, and he did so on monday as well. Arsenal dominated the game, and looked stronger everywhere and finally were rewarded in the 94th minute when Vermaelen charged in and put the ball in the net. Kudos to him for running 80 yards for the goal, he really is a winner, the kind of player who will score the winning goal in a cup final. 
In this game, Newcastle rarely looked threatening. Arsenal seemed to hold on to possession very easily and run the game at a good pace for the entire 90 minutes. This is what brings me to Mikel Arteta. Arteta comes from a country with midfielders like Xavi, Iniesta and Fabregas, so maybe he does not get due credit for how good he actually is. On monday night, what he does so well was on display clearly. Arteta sat right in front of Vermaelen and Koscielny, took the ball from them and distributed it all over the field. He had the most passes in the game and had 20 more than the second highest number of passes. Arteta rarely looks for that killer final through ball that splits defenses, he calmly switches wings, he brings players into the game who weren't being utilized in that move. Arteta runs the game for Arsenal.
Arsenal have the highest average possession this season at 58.5%, most credit goes to Arteta for this. When the defenders win the ball, all they have to do is give the ball to Arteta, who then picks out the right pass to the right player, he frees the defenders from the burden of picking the right pass. Should any player lose the ball then, our center backs are prepared and in position to meet the oppositions attack. Arteta's clever distribution has helped Arsenal keep possession and hence concede fewer goals. His clever distribution keeps the opponents chasing the ball, it doesn't let them settle into positions and make it difficult for Arsenal to find the gaps in defenses. His quick distribution ensures that players like Rosicky and Song pick out the gaps. Gaps that Arteta creates by keeping the ball moving. And this helps the attack. In Arteta, Arsenal have their very own midfield magician. Most cameras are never aimed at Arteta, he's never the most exciting player from the neutral point of view. He's silent, calm and his passing technique is second to none. He sits behind the scenes and directs Arsenal's every move. At the beginning of every attack stands Arteta. The world seems to think he's Cesc's replacement, he's not. He plays another role, a role as important. A role the press will never concentrate on. Arteta might not be as good as Xavi, but he's not too far behind either. Let's give him due credit. He has an amazing impact on the game, and I don't think he'll be the one on the bench when Jack is back. The Newcastle game was a testament to how good Arteta is.
 Apart from that, I loved the fiery Van Persie we saw on the pitch. It's something we often saw in Viera and this passion is something you want to see from your captain. I've gone on and on about this teams team spirit, and Vermaelen shielding Van Persie in the tunnel was just that. You don't mess with out captain. Wasn't that what Jack tweeted? It's great to see how much respect Van Persie has earned from the squad. 
Lastly, I think I should stop saying 'Keep the faith', because clearly everyone does now. Have a happy week gooners. Everyone reading this while at work, don't worry, next midweek will be here soon, and we'll watch Arsenal again. Cheer up. Till then, stay happy, keep others happy.

'I can pass it there'