Warning Shots

A visibly pumped up Jack Wilshere celebrates his stylish equaliser against City

The tables were turned on Arsenal this weekend as the Gunners conceded a late goal to deny them victory against Manchester City in a thrilling 2-2 draw at the Emirates

A second win for the Gunners was snatched away in the 83rd minute of a highly entertaining encounter when City defender Demichelis found himself unmarked at a corner, powering a late header into the net.

Arsenal showed fantastic resolve to battle back from 1-0 down in what will surely be one of the most high-paced, all-action matches of the season.

Arsenal lined up as follows: Szczesny, Mertesacker, Debuchy, Monreal, Koscielny, Flamini, Sánchez, Özil, Ramsey, Wilshere, Welbeck 

A debut for new boy Danny Welbeck (or 'Dat guy Welbz' as the players and social media has taken to calling the striker) and an impressive one at that. Welbeck played the no.9 position beautifully winning headers when required and making incisive runs in behind.

Welbz hit the post in an early effort after some superb pressure from the midfield forced an error. A poor back pass played the striker clean through where he showed composure to deftly flick a lob over an onrushing shampoo model turned goalkeeper Joe Hart, but had to watch as the ball turned off the inside of the post and back into the arms of the England No.1

Welbeck and 60,000 Arsenal fans share a moment of disbelief as the Arsenal striker's chipped effort hits the post

The Gunners were made to a pay for a host of missed chances when in the 28th minute City launched a blistering counter-attack, neatly finished by their talismanic striker Sergio Aguero, who looks to be over the injury problems that plagued his world cup and early season form

The sides went into halftime with the score still at 0-1 to last season's champions, however Arsenal looked the more likely to score throughout the half, the City goal coming against the run of play.

Not to be disheartened by the blow, Arsenal pressed on in the second half picking up where they left off, pressuring the City defense with plenty of neat one-touch possession in the final third.

Jack Wilshere and Alexis Sanchez both had their best games in an Arsenal shirt doing everything right. They chased back possession, broke through tackles and looked hungry for a victory. The physicality they brought to the match is something we haven't seen for a long time; check out this from Wilshere on Samir Nasri.

The equaliser eventually came in the 63rd minute when Wilshere was released on the edge of the box, beating a defender with a feigned shot and drag on his left foot leaving him face-to-face with Hart on the near post. Cue one of the finishes of the season so far in a chip that left the City keeper bamboozled, flapping his arms like a toddler trying to catch a ball.

After that the pendulum had definitely swung in the reds favour and Arsenal had attack after attack, whilst defending well. Nasri replaced Lampard at halftime who looked for all the world like a spent force, his major contribution in his 45 minutes on the pitch was receiving a yellow card for a tactical foul on Ramsey.

Lampard struggled to match the pace of the game in his debut for City

Sanchez got the goal to take Arsenal into the lead on 74 minutes, Arsenal's second of the afternoon and the Chilean's third in as many games for his new club. Wilshere got the assist with a speculative header back into the box which looped over the City defense finding Alexis unmarked at the back post. His first time side-footed volley was a thing of beauty, powering past Hart and into the roof of the net.

For all their effort to get back into the match, Arsenal's intensity dropped off after taking the lead. As is so often the case with Arsenal sides there is a resolve to fight back but worryingly the same defensive frailties which have cost us league titles in the past are creeping back in.

City fought to get back into the game. After winning a corner with 10 minutes to go, a good cross found Demichelis completely unmarked on the penalty spot, the Argentine taking the chance well, guiding the ball into the top right corner. It looked as though Szczesny and Flamini got in each other's way a bit and perhaps the Frenchman may have been able to head the ball off the line had the keeper not got a hand to it.

I thought Arsenal had shaken the tag of poor defensive side after last years dominant display by Koscielny, Mertesacker and Szczesny where the Gunners kept the most clean sheets in the league. Four matches played and Arsenal have already conceded 6 goals, scoring 7.

Chambers came on as a late substitution after Debuchy had to be stretchered off. The Frenchman appeared to over stretch himself chasing a ball and landed awkwardly, rolling his ankle. Debuchy injury reports vary between 2 to 3 months out, but knowing our luck don't hold out for a speedy recovery. This means that Chambers will start right-back with Bellerin promoted to the bench, leaving us with no outright cover at centre back.

Arsenal's injury misfortune has followed them into the 2014/15 campaign despite appointment of new fitness coach Shad Forsythe

There were moments in Saturday's premier league clash with City where I thought this side could be the best Wenger has put together in over half a decade.

The team had pace, power and skill throughout and although a relatively small signing, Danny Welbeck already looks like the missing piece in a handsome jigsaw puzzle of awesomeness.

There were, however, also moments where I thought this team is still missing something to make us true championship contenders, particularly in defense.

A very interesting and worrying statistic is that Arsenal have conceded a headed goal in all four of their matches so far this season. I think this is because of the changes to our fullbacks, compared to last year.

In my opinion Debuchy offers so much more going forward than Bacary Sagna. We saw on the weekend how the Frenchman drew a foul after he skipped past Milner with a clever dummy. That is something Sagna would never do, always looking to cut back inside, slowing the attack down.

However on the flip side Sagna is a better backs-to-the-wall defender than Debuchy, with a greater aerial athleticism that meant he was more adept at dealing with high balls late in the game, even scoring a couple of headed chances last season.

On the other flank Monreal is by no means the quality of Kieran Gibbs, who really has followed in a proud tradition of Arsenal left-backs, a position Wenger unquestionably knows how to scout for.

Although Monreal is of a high pedigree, having been plucked during the mass clearance sale at Malaga along with Cazorla, he always looks a little out of sorts and frantic and was definitely targeted by City.

Combine this with a license for the full backs to get forward and Arsenal have been left exposed countless times already this season. A moment's carelessness in possession, a misplaced pass when we are committed to attacking and the opposing team only have to beat three players en route to the Arsenal goal.

To leave you on a positive note, Arsenal have now scored 5 goals in two matches against City (3 in the Community Shield) suggesting that as an attacking force we are right up there capable of dissecting one of the best defences in the league.

Let's hope we can balance the side a little more and rack up those clean sheets, starting with Dortmund tonight and Villa on the weekend.

Thanks for reading!

Leicester v Arsenal Review

Even the Welsh Jesus couldn't find the winning goal against Leicester

Arsenal lacked bite upfront in a disappointing 1-1 draw against Leicester at the King Power Stadium.

Arsenal missed an opportunity to go into third place by giving away a 1- 0 lead after Alexis Sanchez found the net midway through the first half.

The Chilean scored his first premier league goal for the Gunners, making it two goals in as many games having already scored in Arsenal's 1-0 win against Besiktas in the Champions League qualifiers.

Arsenal lined up as follows: Szczesny, Monreal, Koscielny, Mertesacker, Debuchy, Flamini, Ramsey, Ozil, Cazorla, Sanchez and Sanogo

A surprise inclusion for Yaya after many, myself included, predicted Wenger would go for the same side that played against Besiktas.

Instead Wilshere and Oxlade-chamberlain dropped to the bench and Cazorla and Sanogo started.

The game began brightly for both sides and the game slipped comfortably into an end-to-end affair we are used to seeing when Arsenal are involved.

As we predicted Leicester stuck to the approach that saw them earn a draw against Everton and give Chelsea a tough time at Stamford Bridge.

The crucial moment in the game came when Koscielny and Schlupp were involved in a clash of heads towards the far touchline.

Both players stayed down for some time, however Koscielny looked the more injured and returned to the field wearing what looked like a swimming cap.

The Frenchman appeared to have overcome the incident however he would later find that he hadn't much to Arsenal's cost.

The Gunners took the lead not long after the clash of heads through a great bit of link up play. Santi Cazorla played a crisp lofted through-ball to Sanogo who made a smart, well-timed run finding himself through on goal with only Casper Schmeichel to beat.

Yaya's effort was soft but caught Schmeichel by surprise as he was expecting a lob, the Dane only able to parry the ball across his own goal where Sanchez pounced to slot the ball home.

Arsenal were only in the lead for two minutes however as Leicester immediately struck back.

Arsenal's defence looked sluggish and out-of position when Leicester broke on the counter attack. Leicetser's Ulloa was tracked by Koscielny who then completely lost his man and misread the flight of the ball allowing the Argentine a clear header which, although not the best placed had enough power to go past Szczesny.

Koscielny immediately signalled his intention to leave the pitch, clearly still suffering and even in the minutes leading up to both goals had looked unassured in 50/50 challenges where he would usually clean up.

Although both sides had good chances (the majority of Leicester's coming through Mahrez who looks sharp) Arsenal could have snatched a late goal, as they so often have this season.

Late substitutions for Arsenal saw Oxlade-Chamberlain and Podolski take to the field with about 15 minutes remaining.

This looked to be too little too late as both players struggled to get up to match speed with such little time remaining.

So far this season Wenger has been quick to make substitutions and those he does make go on to have an impact. Perhaps Wilshere needed a rest but I would have brought on the young Englishman in place of Sanogo and moved Sanchez up top and replaced Ozil with either Campbell or the Ox.

The match ended 1-1 but the sense was that this was another game which Arsenal wasted opportunities in front of goal, a clear sign that Wenger must bring in a marquee striker. Let's hope for some assured activity on deadline day!

5 More Things We've Learnt So Far

1. Sanchez still needs plenty of time to adjust

Some players just land with their feet running. Look at Torres for Liverpool, Ba for Newcastle, Tevez for West Ham. I don't think Sanchez is one of those players but strongly believe that when he adjusts to the league's brutal pace and improves his fitness he'll be devastating to the opposition.

2. Trophy success last season has already had an effect on the mentality of the players

The boys in red are winners, with two trophies in quick succession they now know how to get over the line. The way Arsenal fought back from a 2-0 deficit in the FA Cup final showed amazing resolve and I believe this same attitude is already carrying through to their league performances after Ramsey's last minute winner against Palace and the amazing comeback against Everton.

3. Carl Jenkinson looks likely to have another frustrating season on the periphery of the club

Poor Carl. A gunner through and through it looks as though this could be another season without the breakthrough he sorely craves. Loaned out to the Hammers, Carl suffered an injury setback meaning that he will struggle to get much playing time and make the improvements Wenger was looking to see. Debuchy's outstanding performances so far, combined with the promise of Chambers and Bellerin could spell the end of Jenkisnon's time at his boyhood club.

4. Jack Wilshere is in for another tough season from the press

The latest golden child of the England national team, Jack has always been billed as the next Gazza, Wazza, and every other 'azza' going. His bad luck with injury has kept Jack from fulfilling his potential and the media has jumped on every chance to picture the young man out with a cigarette or drinking a beer. If he doesn't put in some dazzling performances this season expect greater emphasis to be placed on his personal life.

5. Giroud has to start. 

Two games now Arsenal have struggled without the talismanic Frenchman leading the line. Not only does he bring goals but he also creates space for others to run in behind as he occupies two defenders at a time. It also looks as though he's added some more technique and close control to his game and after 2 seasons in the premier league this could be season where he shines.

Thanks to Giacomo Detomaso for help with this one! Italian Gunners and fans of Serie A, NBA & NFL follow Giacomo's brilliant blog

ildetonatore.wordpress.com

Twitter: @gdetomaso

Fazed Out

At the official announcement of Mathieu Debuchy's signing Arsene Wenger spent a good proportion of the afternoon defending Carl Jenkinson's position in the Arsenal squad. It seems as though there is concern, at least from outside the club, that Debuchy's signing and interest in Atletico's Javier Manquillo could mean that another season passes by without any decent first team action for the young Englishman. 

However it's not just Jenkinson that we should be concerned for.

I’m all for the fantastic signings Arsene Wenger has made already this transfer window. Alexis Sanchez and Mathieu Debuchy are exactly the types of players required, experienced, international players who have played at top sides throughout their careers. 

However it was little over a year ago when Arsene Wenger gave a press conference defending his decision to field a young side that featured a large proportion of players from the UK.

At one point our match day squad included Gibbs, Jenkinson, Wilshere, Ramsey, Walcott and Oxlade-Chamberlain. The promise at the time was that Arsenal would provide the England squad with its ‘spine’, inferring that the way these players were progressing and likely to regularly feature in Arsenal’s starting 11 they would become integral cogs in the national side.

Looking at the recent world cup it is painfully apparent that Wenger has been proved wrong in this prediction. Gibbs and Jenkinson weren’t even taken to Brazil, which in Gibbs’ case is a travesty and would have likely prevented the mauling England’s left flank received against Italy. Jenkinson perhaps isn’t quite there yet, but with the arrival of Debuchy and our links with Manquilla it would appear that Wenger doesn’t think the young Englishman is ready either.

Of the two players that did make the trip to South America, Wilshere played a bit part, whilst Oxlade-Chamberlain ... Hardly stalwarts of the England side. Hodgson chose to go with a lethal combination of Liverpool players who have absolutely no experience of choking on the big stage, absolutely none.. and Manchester United players who, with the exception of Wellbeck didn’t seem to want the pressure. Perhaps this was an apology to Liverpool for his time as manager and an early application to the Old Trafford job before Van Gaal’s appointment.

Either way Arsenal’s representation at the World’s biggest sporting event was poor from an English perspective. Thankfully we have a few Germans knocking around to make up the balance.

In my opinion this goes some way to explaining Wenger’s gushing appraisal of Jenkinson at the official announcement of Debuchy’s signing. The manager was full of positivity regarding Jenkinson’s prospects at making the first team, which could be a way of saying ‘someone make us an offer, he’s honestly not that bad’ or could be a way of defending his previous statement made a year ago.

Should Arsenal sign another central midfielder where will this leave Wilshere and Oxlade-Chamberlain? In my opinion the two have already been demoted to the bench with the arrival of Sanchez. As explained in this article Wenger cannot afford to leave either Ozil, Sanchez or Ramsey out of our starting line-up and once Arteta, Cazorla and Giroud are added I cannot see a way to bring in either of our two English stars. 

Podolski has been Wenger’s go to impact sub and is arguably the right man to bring on when we need a goal as he can score from range. Rosicky, too, despite his age proved invaluable last season even sparking interest from German giants Bayern Munich.

In Wenger's preferred 4-3-3 formation the starting midfield is likely to be: Arteta, Ramsey, Ozil with a forward three of Walcott, Sanchez and Giroud. 

In Walcott's absence for what is likely to be the first two months of the season, you would expect Wenger to go with Cazorla on the left flank where he has deployed the Spaniard countless times last season.

Let's hope that Wilshere, the Ox and co. can get used to playing a supporting role this season and that it doesn't come back to bite us when no doubt several clubs will be sniffing around our homegrown stars.

For more Arsenal news follow us: @thelovelyreds

The Launch

This time last week saw the launch of Arsenal’s new kit, the first designed by Puma at the start of what will hopefully be a successful and fondly remembered period in the club’s history.

Already expectation was high with the news that Sanchez has signed for a fee of £32 million whilst Debuchy is almost a done deal at £10 million.

The Lovely Reds was in attendance at the kit launch on London’s famous Carnaby Street at Puma’s flagship London store.

Several hundred fans, press and bloggers had gathered outside the entrance, the shop adorned in striking shades of blue, red and yellow. 

There was a palpable sense of expectation in the air as the digital clock projected onto the shopfront counted down the minutes.

As the clock struck '0' the music cut off, the London night air still only for a second before chants that usually adorn the stands of the Emirates rang out filling the streets.

Suddenly Arsene Wenger appeared as a projection, striding confidently towards the camera with the look of a man unburdened, liberated from the financial shackles that have bound his writing hand.

Cue a short film about pride, nurturing young talent and ‘doing things the Arsenal way’. 


As the video ended amidst chants of 'One Arsene Wenger' another silence fell as the lights were turned up casting Carnaby street in a fierce white light revealing the silhouettes of three players.

The sheet covering the shopfront fell, the expected crowd let off a cheer and in the shop window stood three incredibly life-like players, Arsenal's Mathieu Flamini, Mikel Arteta and Santi Cazorla. The likeliness was impeccable, the mannequins posed in strong, confident positions, chests puffed arms behind the back.

'Ooooh Santi Cazorla, Ooooh Santi Cazorla' the crowd perked up again which proved too much for the players whose charade as models ended with ear-to ear-ear smiles, arms raised in signs of appreciation to those who had waited patiently, some as long as 2 hours to get a first glimpse at the new kits.

Once the players had left, the doors opened and the first members of the public entered to a guard of honour from the Puma staff who were dressed in custom Arsenal shirts for the occasion. The shop was suddenly full of excitable middle-aged fans, giddy like schoolchildren in a toy store. 

Your truly had a photo taken with the FA Cup trophy which was in attendance on the store's far side and met a young freestyler by the name of Daniel Dennehy (danieldennehy.com) who had been keeping the crowds entertained with dazzling feats of skill only moments before.

A quick purchase of a junior shirt for a little cousin later and we were back out into the crisp night air, the first stop en route to the start of the new season.

For more Arsenal content follow us on Twitter @thelovelyreds thanks for reading!