Back from the dizzying heights of Val Thorens where half of The Lovely Reds team hve been sunnying themselves and expressly ignoring anything football related.
In our absence the Gunners have played three matches, Everton away, the FA Cup semi final at Wembley and yesterday's league encounter with West Ham at the Emirates.
The less said about Everton the better, plus I didn't see it as I was too busy trying not to fall off a mountain. Let's just make a collective decision to erase that match from our memory and avoid the embarassment of yet another heavy away defeat to a top premier league side.
Arriving back in the UK via coach (next season's ticket renewal is around the corner) it was was a mad dash to get home in time to make it to Wembley. Having spent all morning the day the tickets were released ringing the box office I wasn't about to let an international bus journey get in the way of witnessing Arsenal history.
As it turns out we made it to the ground with a few minutes to spare, enough time to soak in the prematch atmosphere. Song wise my personal favourite was Pink's 'We all stupid, crazy people' (I think that's what it's called) which boomed over the PA. As the players began to emerge from the tunnels and the music died down the Arsenal and Wigan fans voices soared in unison, a collective ejaculation of noise infused with excitement, tension, fear and hope...but who wants to hear that when you can have a bloke with a pseudo American film trailer voice telling you to get excited for a team you've supported all your life.
Tin-can gravitas aside once the person controlling the PA had taken two to the back of the head the match was underway and the real atmosphere allowed to build and flourish.
2/3 of the allocated seats were filled with Arsenal fans, red outweighing blue in the war of colours and although the Wigan fans were exceptional in their support it really felt from wehere we were sitting ( near the halfway line about 10 rows back) that the Gunners were able to control the atmosphere due to sheer weight of numbers.
It just felt as though the omens were in our favour on Saturday. We must have bumped into about 10 people we knew on the way into the stadium, which helped to ease the nerves, and once inside, its similarities to the Emirates, red seating, bowl shape and weird white scaffolding around the rim just made it feel like our home ground's older brother.
I remember an interview with Petr Cech after the Oil Barons had won the Champions League in which he said that he just felt liike the signs were good, the banners around the stadium were blue, as were the official programmes and merchandise etc. which is how I felt arriving at the ground with red everywhere you looked.
The match began tentatively, neither team wanting to commit too much too early. The pitch is notoriously big and Arsenal have been exposed in the past, whilst Wigan had clearly set up to play a counterattacking style.
Thinking back there wasn't much to shout about as Arsenal have recently resorted to some weird tactic of sidewards passing between Arteta, BFG and Koscielny as if a space is just going to magically appear. Remember (to quote The Tuesday Club) the arc of frustration which saw us pass the ball ineffectually from side to side around the opposition's penalty area? We should have considered ourselves blessed, for now the arc has moved about 20 yards back to our own halfway line, all but eliminating any goal threat we may have once had.
It's a pretty serious issue when team's like Wigan and West Ham can comfortablly deal with 80% of our possession. Ok you can argue that a 3-1 scoreline last night and several top saves from Wigan's keeper suggest that our potency is still intact, but against the better sides we have failed to score in several matches.
Everything is played in front of the opposition and what's more we seem happy to completely relinquish the centre of midfield. This is an area in which players like Viera, Fabregas and more recently Ramsey and Wilshere used to dominate allowing us to keep the opposition penned in.
As Mourinho often says (and as those of you familiar with twiter will know - a retweet is not an endorsement) a team is most vulnerable when they are running back towards their own goal. Arsenal are at their most effective breaking quickly in unison, where their individual technical ability and pace allows them to play intuituve one-touch passing when others can't. Set up in our most recent phlacid formation the opposition is always given ample time to recover and set up a defensive screen.
The most obvious reason for this is that our wide men are not that good in their positions. Podolski, although an exceptional finisher is such a frustrating winger. His lack of pace and obvious reliance on his left foot means that he neither makes incisove runs in behind the full back nor has the ability to cut inside from the left and release the kraken with his right foot. As yesterday's match showed he is most effective when found already in the box where he can have a shot within one or two touches of the ball. The dilema for Wenger is that the experiment playing the German up front clearly failed, so I feel that he is given a chance starting out wide only due to injury and shortcomings elsewhere then its back to the bench with ya.
Similarly Cazorla, whose agility and gracefulness is simply astounding, is by no means a winger. He often cuts inside and you can see him drifting around the edge of the box looking to play one-twos or spray the ball out wide to either Sagna or whoever is playing left-back.
What this means is that our full backs are often left isolated and more importantly our designated central midfielders, like y'know the ones who are actually meant to be there, never have a pass to make over the top. The runs that Walcott, Ox and Rambo love to make just aren't being made and instead everyone is coming short for the ball with their backs to goal. Giroud ffs YOU ARE A STRIKER stay near the opposition's box, make runs that force the centrebacks to think, don't just engage foe after foe in a game of who's got the biggest dick because it's boring and predictable.
So back to the game..... Wigan's goal was poor all -round. A floated long kick from goal headed towards Monreal and whoever he was playing up against, yet the Spaniard was easily outmuscled with a cheeky bit of backing in. Now although at the time I was furious that this obvious bump was not spotted by the ref or the linesman, upon reflection its funny how that sort of thing never happens to Sagna or Gibbs, they always make sure that they dominate the early aerial battles.
Once our left-back was beaten the pitch opened up allowing a penetrating run into our penalty area. From there our defense was under pressure and although the challenge was clumsy it is difficult when backing towards your own goal.
After the penalty was converted we finally started to get into our usual stride, with moments of attacking tenacity and individual determination. The Ox forced a few fine saves from Carson whilst his shot from the edge of the area cannoned off the bar.
After a while however the wind began to dissapear from our sails and we relinquished our grip to resort back to the phlacid arc, Mertesacker, Arteta and Koscielny now playing the world's most excruciatingly tedious training exercise.
It took, funnily enough, a series of set pieces to finally get us back into the game. After a succession of dangerous corners, the ball fell to the Ox on a slight bobble who struck the ball back into the ground. The resulting lift took it over the crowded penalty area and towards the back post where the BFG was lurking (surprisingly completely unseen) to head the ball home. Queue scenes of unrestrained delight from the German whose commitment has been outstanding all season.
This equaliser came around the 80th minute so despite a frenzied added 5 minutes, the game ended and we entered extra time. We had chances but again Carson was the diference and as penalties loomed the Wigan goalkeeper looked good.
After the final whistle many players dropped to the ground, Gibbs and the Ox literally lying splayed out as though they were injured. The Arsenal players huddled around the bench, coaches and subs linked together arm in arm probably talking through the order. The Wigan players stayed on the pitch, some players splitting off into different groups, whilst the goalkeeping coach shouted instructions at Carson taking reference from a small sheet of paper.
Things didn't get off to the most promising of starts as Wigan won the toss to take penalties in front of their suporters. Many fans around me took this as a symbol of our season at large, shouting 'nothing ever goes our way'. As far as I was concerned penalties are just as nervewracking regardless of who you take them in front of, besides the players probably zone out and focus on the ball.
Regardless, every Arsenal fan in the stadium made it their personal duty to put off every Wigan player. On the long approach to the spot the Wigan players were accompanied by the sound of 35,000 boo'ing fans, stomping their feet, whistling and hurling abuse so that the collective noise was seriously loud and ominous.
Conversely each player who stepped up for Arsenal had their name sung to the rafters, and for those who don't have their own song e.g. Arteta, we went for the classic 'Arsenal, Arsenal..'
Yet ultimately it was Fabianski, our reserve keeper, who ended up the hero saving the first two Wigan penalties. After we had converted our first two the contest was effectively over and as Cazorla stepped forward, to take what would be the last penalty, a huge weight lifted off the fans and every smartphone in the building turned its lens towards the little Spaniard.
I don't even remember the final penalty, just the noise and delirium after it had gone in. People who didn't even know each other began hugging, linking arms and singing, it really was quite special (and only the semi final!). Perhaps it's our luck in finals of late, but many acted as though the penalty had won us the cup and hey I think Arsenal fans, perhaps over many others, are due a reason to celebrate.
The players took their time leaving the pitch, completing a full lap of honour, many removing their shirts to throw into the crowd, clearly relieved to have made it through a tough encounter against a team who, somewhat ironically, have more experience at this stage of the competition than us in the last couple of years.
Wenger decided to rest Ramsey and the Ox for the home tie against West Ham, as well as reintroduce Koscielny and Rosicky after the pair have been away due to injury. The midfield had a distinctly makeshift feel, with Kallstrom starting alongside Arteta, whilst Podolski and Santi occupied the wings.
Our lack of pace and drive in attacking areas really told in the first half and we were for large spells outplayed by West Ham. Players like Jarvis and Nocerino often broke through the midfield due to our sloppy and tired passing.
The way our defensive and deep lying midfield players pass the ball sideways to each other really leaves us open to counterattack. Its criminal how little we make passes that put the opposition on the back foot. Think about it, if a pass between Arteta and either of our full backs is intercepted then those two players are immediately out of action and the opposing player has a free run at our back two.
Carroll looked up for a scrap but it must be said that Mertesacker and Koscielny bossed it. Even when Carroll's opportunity appeared to come knocking, when he alluded the attention of our centrebacks, Vermaelen appeared at left back to make one of the most important clearances of the season by nipping ahead of the ponytailed cruiseship to clear using his titanium/carbonfibre composite head.
Despite our defensive solidity, we failed to make any real attempts at the opposition's goal and it was the Hammers who struck first through a deft chip that released Nocerino into the full back channel behind Vermaelen. His shot was saved by Szczesny at a tight angle but the Pole had no chance at holding onto the ball which rebounded into the six-yard area for Jarvis to head in, having the jump on a flat-footed Koscielny.
Things looked ominous, but in true Arsenal style (not in a good way) we started playing having had the shock of conceding. Suddenly Podolski and Rosicky started pressing for space higher up the pitch and we began to look dangerous. Podolski who had spent the majority of the first half playing within 10 yards of the halfway line suddenly found himself in space inside the opposition's penalty area and, collecting a neat pass from Santi, had the composure to slot it into the bottom corner. 1-1 halftime.
The second half began in much the same vein as the first with not much penetration. But at least this time West Ham too had forgotten the meaning of the word 'attack' and so it descended into a game of midfield chess (albeit one played between two people who think they're playing checkers).
We eventually found a way through when Giroud fiiiinally did what he's supposed to have been doing all season and made an incisive run between the defenders before trapping the exquisite through ball with his first touch and burying it with the second. For a second it looked as though the Frenchman was going to berate the fans for being so agitated, but I assume the part of his brain that values how much the fans have contributed to his success in England kicked in.
Once Ramsey was introduced our game found a slightly more promising level and the Welshman got his first assist since his long absence through injury. His quality of vision has been sorely missed and this was shown when he cushioned a headed pass to Podolski, completely eliminating two defenders and leaving the German only the goalkeeper to beat.
3-1 and a comfortable final 5 minutes. Like our fixture against the Hammers ealrier in the season we looked second best for most of the first half before coming back to ease to victory.
Hull City next, a preview of the FA Cup final. Time for Wenger to get his tactics sorted and ensure we finally see some silverware.
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