We controlled the game yesterday with 65 percent possession. The opponents didn’t create much and had only one shot on target. But they took three points and we got zilch! And that’s the most important number. Nothing else matters at the end of the season.

Now there are many different ways of looking at this result. Some people see this as bad luck on the night, others see it as lack of steel, and some like me, as an attitude problem and a lack of desire. Opinion about our title hopes is as divided as ever and every loss brings out the negative voices just as each good run strengthens the believers.

I thought it might make sense to take the student of the game approach rather than an expert of the game one. This article attempts to look at some statistics from yesterday’s game and see if there are any insights. I am not claiming that these stats are 100 per cent accurate.  Various reputed websites have differing stats but they do provide a decent picture.

For instance, according to the telegraphs stats, Ramsey made 56 passes in an hour’s play with 84 per cent accuracy. If you have seen my earlier statistical analysis during the interlull, you will see that these are great statistics. Similarly Cesc had 82 with 87 per cent accuracy. Passes don’t tell the complete story but they show that players are mobile and available to receive the ball and pass it quickly. It is clear that the two creative midfielders were going about their job.

Compare those numbers with Rosicky (38 – 76%), Eduardo (18 – 89%) and Nasri (69 – 84%). First two played only for 71 minutes but they have clearly done less than Nasri and the midfielders. A striker will always have less number of passes than the rest and that is understandable, but should it be so few?

Let’s look at the front three in terms of their movement. I have created the following image from the Guardian Chalkboard.

(c) DesiGunner

It is clear that Nasri was far more involved in the play than Rosicky. It also shows that Rosicky came inside far too often. Nasri shifted to the middle for the last twenty minutes so he is more involved in central areas. But if you look closely, neither of them was really involved in the final third and that is where the problem lies.

Now let’s compare the movement of Eduardo with that of RvP. I have taken Van Persie’s performance against Wolves for this comparison but it is similar in other games as well

(c) DesiGunner

Van Persie had better movement and involvement than Eduardo. It’s no secret that the Crozilian doesn’t have the same physical presence or pace that Robin has. So, it’s very important for him to have better movement if he has to contribute in a tough physical league.

The movement of the front three also shows why the midfield couldn’t create too many chances. If the front players don’t make the right runs, the midfield is forced to pass sideways. That is not the fault of the central players like Ramsey, Song or Cesc.

If we have to be successful and cope with the loss of our flying Dutchman, the front three really need to step up. I think Arsene knows the problem and here is what he said after the game

I believe that going forward especially we lacked sharpness and desire to go behind the defenders. We had chosen the easy part of the game, that is always come to the ball and not to be exposed then with our pace in behind. In football, if you want to score goals, you have to go behind the defenders.

The question is, what will it take to develop a ruthless streak in these players?

: : : : : : : : : : :

My disappointment has morphed into confusion.  We now have to contemplate how we lost at the stadium of light when we are so clearly a better team, with a deeper squad.  All I can manage to say with any certainty is that we sucked.

There were positive performances.  First, Traore played very well for a 20 year old.   It’s true that he was in part responsible for not properly marking Bent when the Sunderland striker poached the only game of the goal, but he impressed nonetheless.  Second, Song was fantastic: strong on the ball and imposing on defense, he showed more quality than the entire team combined.

However, there were many negative performances.  First, Eduardo.  I don’t want to berate the striker because I think he is a poacher and he was forced to play out of position, but his failure to create anything from the top of the box did not go unnoticed.  He might have penned a long term contract, but I’m not so sure he’s worth the money.  At least, he’s not the answer to our immediate problem.  Second, Ramsey was terrible.  I, like so many other gunners, had high hopes for him after strong showings at both Wolves and with Wales.  But, strong showings asides, he missed an opportunity to steal a spot in the starting XI.  I could similarly comment on Rosicky and Sagna, but what’s the point.  We lost when we needed to win.

Next week we host Chelsea.  I watched them demolish the Wolves this weekend and I felt a sense of dread.  I know we play beautiful football and I know we can score incredible goals.  But that’s not enough.  If we want to step up this season we have to win away games against mid-tier teams.  There’s no excuse.

Here’s my line-up for Chelsea:

alumnia

sagna, gallas, verm., gibbs

eboue, fab, song

rosicky/vela, eduardo, arshavin

Arshavin, although he appears lazy right now, lights up opponents in big games.  Rosicky hasn’t stepped up recently, but vela rarely ever shows up–pick your flavor.  As for Eboue, I believe he is more consistent than nasri in that he gets back on d and he’s got crazy pace.  Also, I’m starting to think that eboue might be the man, until january, to fall in line and link up song with fab.  He has the balance of physicality and quality of Song, but he’s got more pace to close down on our third on defense and run the counter attack.  Suggestions are welcome.

With Chelsea, Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool all looking light up front – an unusual suspect may well ease the pain.

Stefan Kiessling may be at the centre of a bidding war come January

Bayer Leverkusen’s Stefan Kiessling is a time bomb waiting to explode.

Kiessling, 25, is the German league leaders’ top goalscorer. Tall, athletic, calm and blessed with an industrious work ethic, the German international has got the lot. He’s so far managed 9 league goals, with the latest coming against Bayern Munich in his side’s 1-1 draw earlier today.

According to those in Germany, this guy has had it for a while now without ever really producing the desired goods. Back in his hometown of Nuremberg, many footballing wise guys felt Kiessling – a teenager back then – was the hottest prospect in Germany, a player who could go as far as he so pleased.

There’s added pressure this time around for Kiessling, however, as Leverkusen are without another German international, the influential Patrick Helmes, who is out injured until the new year. Early signs are good, as Kiessling continues to thrive under the extra responsibility, regularly providing as well as scoring, which has propelled his club to the top of the Bundesliga.

The target man has more than meets the eye. His goldie locks fail to show his exemplary determination, trickery and strength. It quickly becomes apparent just how good Kiessling can become once you see him in action for a full 90 minutes.

With or without the ball, he continues to willing run anywhere his legs can take him. His intelligence and self awareness allows those runs to be used to maximum potential. If you watch a game for long enough you’ll soon wonder why Kiessling always seems to gain possession in acres of space.

Finishing isn’t a problem either. Aerially, left foot or right, nothing is too daunting for a player who confesses to enjoying celebrating a goal he’s scored more than anything else.

So, come January, with Drogba and Kalou away for Chelsea, Van Persie just returning from a lengthy absence for Arsenal, and United and Liverpool still looking light in the final third, all four may well be keeping a close eye on the availability of a certain Stefan Kiessling.

After 2 weeks wait our team failed us, what went wrong?  I don’t really know, a slight attitude problem I would guess. We need more desire to win.  We need to believe..

If we still need to find a scapegoat  we cannot for a change point the finger at our favourite villains Diaby, Eboue or Bendtner.
If we were the darling buds of  the media we could blame it on our massive injury list.. But only Liverpool have top players out.. Instead we are just bottlers in their eyes.

I think the finger of blame should go to, well at least to some extent to Mr Wenger OBE, it wasn’t fair on Eduardo to be leading a line with Nasri and Rosicky as his strike partners. Now I love all three of these players but to expect them to lead the line was asking too much.
All three are still trying to recover their pre injury form.

Also with Dudu he is not a traditional no 9 type striker and to have him up top on his own is never his natural position, as I said when he was starting to comeback from his leg break, don’t expect too much from him, he wasn’t a world beater before the injury, but we made him up to be the greatest player on earth because we all wanted him to make a full recovery, but perhaps he became better than he really was in our eyes. Or could the media reaction to his definate penalty against Celtic affected him? He was shaping up okay until then..  I would have liked to have seen AA start even if he was a bit tired, just to take some of the scoring burden away from Dudu’s shoulders.

The other disappointment for me was Aaron Ramsey, we all saw the highlights of him playing for Wales against Scotland last week, he ran the game, but we never see him do the same for Arsenal, wouldn’t it be easier to fit into Arsenal’s sleek system rather than the longer ball way of Wales?  Is it that the Premiership is of a far higher level than the international scene or is he overwhelmed by playing next to such quality players?.. Who knows..

One thing is for sure we cannot keep losing games like this.. This is a squad of players that come around every four or five years and we have to make the most of it before they start an exodus one by one, leaving us to rebuild again like we had to when Hleb and Flamini left a few years ago.

But in fairness we were in such control in the first 30 minutes we should have put a chance or two away, the best one going to Eduardo but the ball was too far underneath him and he could not get a clean strike on the bit. But as usual we allowed the opposition to gain confidence and Sunderland were a half decent side in the second half.
Have we heard that before?

Almunia.. 6.. Never had much to do in reality, perhaps he could have come for the corner that lead to the goal, but I doubt if he would have got to it as it was curling away.

Sagna.. 7.. Was our main attacking threat from the flanks, I just wish he would cut inside now and again and do a give and go, his crossing is too predictable.

Gallas 7.5 Our best defender yesterday and he also has the winning mentality, it’s a pity some of our attackers don’t have the same desire.

Vermaelen 6.. A pretty average performance from him for a change, at fault for the goal. He lost a header to Darren Bent then failed to recover when the ball came back in the box.

Traore. 6.5 .. Without knowing it I think he may of put in a transfer request yesterday (Saturday) he isn’t as good as either Clichy or Gibbs so he is probably third in the pecking order unless either of the other two go. He wasn’t terrible (better than Silvestre) but he made some terrible cross field passes in front of our penalty area.

Song.. 7.5.. Played pretty well, The ref didn’t like his style of defending unless the boot was on the other foot and a Sunderland player did the same thing.  Done well not to be booked..

Fabregas.. 7.. Tried to play the captains role but frustratingly started to settle for long-range shots at goal…

Nasri.. 6.5 Tidy, but never really got into the game. He should have been fresh as a daisy after a rest, and with a few matches behind him, looked a little lethargic.

Rosicky.. 6.5.. Same as Nasri.. Never really got into the game as well as he can.

Ramsey. 6.. Forgot he was playing in some parts of the game, it was obvious he was going to be the one coming off first.

Eduardo.. 6. As I said earlier, I don’t think the role suits him leading the line as the sole striker.

Subs..

Arshavin 6.5.. Never really looked too interested after he got dumped on his arse a couple of times, surely it isn’t too cold for him..

Walcott.. 6.5.. Looked lively, but just went through the motions, did a very good ball across the six yard box that no one latched on to.

Vela. 6.. Didn’t really look any different from Eduardo, left footed and a bit lightweight. Sky never managed to show a replay of the penalty shout mmmm.

So all in all a bit of a piss off, I just  hope normal service will be resumed next week.

“The shock of the day came at the Stadium of Light where Sunderland were the first team to stop Arsenal scoring this season and Darren Bent netted the winner to fire the Black Cats up to 8th in the Premier League. Despite missing Robin van Persie for the first team this season the Gunners were the better side early on stretching the Sunderland backline with Eduardo missing the first chance. Steed Malbranque missed two decent chances but the scores were goalless at half-time. After a solid display it was Bent who struck the only goal of the game, slotting home the rebound from his own header to end Arsenal’s 14-match unbeaten run.”

(dikutip dari 4thegame.com)

Aduuuuhhh… Arsenal selalu bikin deg-deg-an. Minggu lalu sudah naik ke peringkat dua ini kok mulai memble lagi

Well firstly I would like to apologise, due to work, alcohol and quiz based commitments I have not had a chance to post this week.  Not that it really matters however as nothing of note has really happened in the world of Chelsea, yes Ballack, Drogba, Lampard and a litany of others are injured but there has been little activity in the world of Chelsea.

The football news has been dominated by the Ireland/France play off in which France scored a goal with the aid of the hand of Henry, to be honest the Irish reaction has been farcical and whilst I never thought I would agree with Roy Keane the referee did not spot the infringement SO GET OVER IT!

The protests and politicians, celebrities and every man and his dog taking time to comment has been hilariously unnecessary (yes i am aware of the irony) so I am going to swiftly move on and discuss more important matters such as today’s game versus Wolves.

Chelsea returned to business in style today romping to victory against a Wolves team that would struggle to compete even if Chelsea had double the number of top players missing in a comfortable victory which temporarily allays fears at the impact of our placenta ridden injury list. Although I am sure that you know that comparing Wolves and Arsenal (our next opponents), is like comparing a Lada (Slow lumbering and prone to leaks) to an Alfa Romeo (fast elegant but notriously unreliable).

The most interesting part of the game however was the introduction of Gael Kakuta the player at the heart of the recent transfer ban saga. I am delighted that Ancelotti has taken to fielding the player not only does it aid his develop and stick two fingers up at FIFA, but it will do the young man’s confidence no end which can only be a positive for his future. As is standard when one of your own is under attack you get behind them and Gael Kakuta got a rousing ovation from the fans when replacing Anelka to make his debut.

Another Liverpool draw  (comedy value only) coupled with an Arsenal defeat mean that all in all Chelsea have had a fantastic day of Premier League business.

So let me finish by saying great result, great to see Kakuta, great day! OH AND F*%K YOU FIFA!

LONDON, Nov 21, 2009 (AFP) – Chelsea strengthened their position at the top of the Premier League by cruising to a 4-0 win over struggling Wolves on Saturday.

Manchester United remained five points adrift of the leaders after beating Everton 3-0 at Old Trafford but Arsenal stumbled significantly ahead of their meeting with Chelsea on Sunday, November 29.

The Gunners failed to score for the first time this season as they went down to a 1-0 defeat at Sunderland, with England striker Darren Bent notching the winner in the 71st minute.

Chelsea’s win was their 12th on the trot at Stamford Bridge, a new club record.

Chelsea’s Joe Cole (C) kicks the ball during their English Premier League football match against Wolverhampton Wanderers at Stamford Bridge on November 21, 2009. AFP PHOTO

Florent Malouda opened the scoring with a 25-yard drive and a Michael Essien double ended the contest before half-time.

Joe Cole’s first goal of the season, 11 minutes into the second half, rounded off a satisfying afternoon for Blues boss Carlo Ancelotti.

“It was an easy game because we played very well,” said the Italian, who was without Didier Drogba, Frank Lampard and Michael Ballack.

“It shows we have a very good squad.”

After losing to Chelsea on their last outing, Manchester United returned to winning ways with the help of a stunning opener from Darren Fletcher, who lashed a bouncing ball into the top corner of the net ten minutes before half-time.

Second-half strikes from Michael Carrick and Antonio Valencia completed what manager Sir Alex Ferguson described as a “controlled performance”.

Ferguson underlined the importance of staying in touch with Chelsea.

“If we get to the new year within a point or level at the top of the league we have a big chance in the second half of the season,” the Scot said.

Arsenal’s failure to score underlined the significance of the injury which will keep top scorer Robin van Persie out for up to six weeks.

“We can only blame ourselves because we didn’t score,” admitted Arsene Wenger, the Arsenal boss. “That’s worrying because going forward we lacked sharpness and the desire to get behind defenders.”

Liverpool and Manchester City’s hopes of challenging for the title were left looking remote after they settled for a 2-2 draw at Anfield.

Liverpool, who have won only once in 10 matches in all competitions, are now 12 points adrift of Chelsea while City trail the leaders by 11 points after drawing their last six league matches.

Martin Skrtel volleyed Liverpool into the lead five minutes into the second half. Emmanuel Adebayor headed City back on level terms and Stephen Ireland gave the visitors the lead only for substitute Yossi Benayoun to equalise barely a minute later.

Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez remainded upbeat.

“The positive thing is we showed great character when we went behind,” the Spaniard said.

“I think we won six games in a row not so long ago and we have to think positive. When we have all our players coming back I am confident we will start winning games in a row.”

Aston Villa climbed into the top four at the expense of Tottenham — who entertain Wigan on Sunday — after coming from behind to earn a 1-1 draw at Burnley.

Scotland international Steven Caldwell’s ninth-minute strike had put Burnley on track for another win at Turf Moor but Emile Heskey salvaged a point for Villa with four minutes left.

Birmingham’s recent improvement continued with a 1-0 win over Fulham that extends their unbeaten run to four matches. Midfielder Lee Bowyer beat Fulham’s offside trap to score the winner after 16 minutes.

The relegation battle between Hull and West Ham ended in a thrilling 3-3 draw.

Headers from Guillermo Franco and Jack Collison put the Hammers 2-0 up after only 11 minutes but Hull were ahead by the interval after an own goal by Carlton Cole, a superb strike by Kamil Zayatte and a Jimmy Bullard penalty.

The home side were reduced to ten men early in the second half when Bernard Mendy was sent off for a professional foul on Scott Parker and Manuel Da Costa equalised as the visitors finished strongly.

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Manchester United terus membututi Chelsea di puncak  klasemen sementara Premier League. Menjamu Everton di Old Trafford , Minggu (22/11/2009), The Red Devils bermain apik dan  meraih kemenangan telak 3-0 tanpa balas.

Pada pertandingan tersebut trio gelandang Fletcher, Carrick dan Valencia bermain cantik dan ngotot. Melalui umpan satu dua dan solo run MU beberapa kali merepotkan pertahanan Everton. Hasilnya pada menit ke-35, Darren Fletcher memanfaatkan bola dari sebuah umpan silang Patrick Evra yang dipantulkan dengan sundulan oleh Valencia.  Dengan tendangan voli yang manis pemain Skotlandia tersebut merobek jala Everton. 1-0 untuk MU.

Pada babak kedua Michael Carrick mencetak gol kedua melalui tendangan dari luar kotak penalti setelah menyambut umpan Ryan Gigs mengubah kedudukan menjadi 2-0. Valencia menyempurnakan kemenangan United menjadi 3-0 pada menit ke-76. Pemain Ekuador itu lolos dari jebakan off-side dan membuat Howard harus pasrah melihat gawangnya kebobolan untuk ketiga kalinya.

Dengan kemenangan 3-0 ini United menggeser Aesebnal dari posisi kedua klasemen  sementara Premier League dengana mengantongi 28 poin. Arsenal sendiri secara tak terduga tumbang di tangan tuan rumah Sunderland 1-0, melalui gol tunggal dari Darren Bent pada menit ke-71.

Pada pertandingan lain di Anfield, Liverpool tertahan di tangan Manchester City dengan skor 2-2. Yossi Benayoun menjadi  penyelamat The Reds melalui gol pada menut ke-77. Anggota The Big Four lainnya, Chelsea sukses menggasak Wolvwrhampton dengan skor 4-0. Kemenangan tersebut membuat Pelatih mereka Carlo Ancelotti mengaku bangga dan yakin anak-anak asuhnya sedang dalam tingkat percaya diri yang sangat tinggi.

We looked a bit flat, not sure that the international break caused that but the team did not look as together as it has previously. Having just viewed the highlights on MOTD we cannot argue we didn’t have the chances, early in the game there were a couple there. What cannot be said is Sunderland are a poor team, they are well organised by Steve Bruce and can fully expect to be pushing for a Europa League spot come the end of the season.

There are claims of fatigue affecting players, but in all honesty a league and european campaign could have seen the whole squad play Saturday and Wednesday so I don’t fully buy that. Perhaps the travel has an impact, but we need to see players committed and full of energy from the off until the final whistle.

Arsène dismissed claims we missed van Persie, I have to agree from what I saw, there is quality in our attack to cover for him. Vela, Walcott, Eduardo are all there to take that front place. Perhaps being together over the next few days in training will see the team gel again.

So our third defeat of the season sees Chelsea edge 8 points clear of us. Next Saturday remains as important as it did before yesterday’s games, there cannot be an increase in require or desire to win that game based on what happened at The Stadium of Light. If people are to argue the reverse you have to question their outlook on our team and our league challenge, we have to want to win every game. Had we been 8 points ahead of Chelsea it would still be a must win next weekend. If anyone thinks Chelsea are going into next Sunday thinking it’s ok we have a decent cushion on Arsenal they have clearly been on what Phil Brown is on!

Midweek sees us face Standard Liege at home, our chance to put qualifying for the group stage to bed and get back to winning ways. More on that in the next few days.

Sunderland 1 – 0 Arsenal

1 – 0 Bent (71)

A title challenge is built over 38 games, lost not in a poor November defeat but in the failure to attain consistency over the course of the season. One result as winter beckons is no determinant of what a nine-month outcome will be.

Arsene recently bemoaned the injuries sustained, citing them as a reason why his teams tend to stutter in this particular month. Before the trip to the Stadium of Light, he observed that the changes in the footballing calendar might help him to prepare his teams for the fixtures immediately after an international break. An extra day may indeed assist him but judging by this below par performance, he would be better served if there were an additional three days, the returning fixture being not in the Premier League but a European one instead.

Yet Wenger cannot point just to injuries for the defeat. History counted against them, 60% of away fixtures under Wenger following the November international break have been lost. For the most part at venues where victory would be expected. That does not matter as it was the performance yesterday which mattered. Not one player was exceptional; not one player was outstanding. One – Fabregas – had a good game whilst Song, Gallas and Vermaelen put in decent efforts. The remainder were simply average. On any other Saturday, that might be good enough to get the required result; yesterday it was not.

Changes were forced upon Arsene through injury. He made others through choice from the victory at Molineux. Traore replaced the injured Clichy and Gibbs; Eduardo shifted to the centre for van Persie’s absence. Ramsey retained his place with Diaby out, Rosicky replaced Arshavin and Nasri filled the gap left by Eduardo moving centrally. The number of changes proved too much of an impact on the attacking sextet’s fluidity, a point acknowledged by Arsene afterwards:

It is more worrying that we did not score. Going forward we lacked sharpness and desire to go beyond the defenders. We didn’t expose them with our pace.

The opening minutes did not give any indication of the flaccidity of performance that was to follow. Sagna hung a deep cross into the area that Fabregas did phenomenally well to not just keep in play but to execute a deft pass into the path of the onrushing Rosicky. The Czech international struck the ball well, avoiding Mensah’s charge but Fulop parried the ball well to safety. Before the quarter hour mark had passed, Traore cut inside and shot, the blocked effort fell invitingly to his captain but Fabregas failed to keep the ball down, clearing the Sunderland bar by a foot.

Whilst Arsenal dominated proceedings, Sunderland edged back into the game. Malbranque twice fired high and wide when he should have done better from the right side of the area. Yet Arsenal probed, outmanned in midfield but occasionally finding the route through. Perhaps the best chance fell to Eduardo. Song burst from midfield and the duo exchanged a sublime pair of one-two’s, the Croat shifted the ball inside his marker, evaded a challenge and lofted the ball over Fulop. Agonisingly, it dropped wide of the post and Song, whose run carried him towards the ball’s trajectory. That he was probably offside was a moot point as the effort was too strong for him to catch.

Before the interval, Ramsey and Fabregas wasted shooting opportunity through weakness of effort or accuracy. It was the Welshman’s last contribution as he made way for the disappointed Arshavin as the hour approached. The stalemate needed something sublime to break it; instead, Keystone Cop defending prevailed. Reid hoisted a deep corner that Bent could merely misguide to Campbell at the far post. The ball ricoheted back across the six yard area and Bent beat Almunia to the ball to bury the ball. Rosicky was half asleep at the far post, slow to react to the ball reaching Campbell, indicative of his natural attacking game, a defender perhaps would have been more alive to the chance. Yet the central danger point in the area should not have left unguarded, reaction times low to apparent danger.

Arshavin came close to restoring parity, smuggling the ball wide having chased Song’s cross to close to goal. Vermaelen could not capitalise from his captain’s cross prior to that whilst a couple of instances of pace saw cross flash across the Sunderland area with no-one in a position to capitalise. Vela was felled in the area by Campbell but surprisingly little was made of the incident by Arsenal. Playing to the whistle, they chased back before Traore intervened with a late challenge in the centre circle. Equally the Sunderland players did not over-react to that, perhaps aware of the youngster’s penchant for carrying a duster.

Comments this morning attributed to Andrey Arshavin have a familiar ring to them, old ones regurgitated perhaps. Wenger is apparently not going to rush into the January window for a striker, preferring to give Vela and Eduardo a run at proving their places worthwhile whilst his Dutch talisman is out. That will no doubt be seized upon by critics of Arsenal, re-iterating the belief that the squad needs serious strengthening. One performance cannot decide that. Wenger has observed that he is confident that ongoing talks with Gallas, Rosicky and Merida will result in new contracts being signed, these three taking more of his thoughts than new players.

Standard Liege offers the opportunity to put the train back on track before next weekend. ’til Tomorrow.

Darren Bent secured a shock win over Arsenal who lacked the dynamism to open up the Black Cats’ defence.
______________________________________________________________________________

Was this the realisation of the importance of Robin van Persie or were Arsenal just missing a certain amount of cutting edge in the starting line-up? Certainly there was a case for both sides of the coin as the Gunners fell to their third defeat of the season at the Stadium of Light.

As ever Arsenal showed their frailties from set-pieces, the goal resembling a game of hot-potato as Frazier Campbell found himself unmarked at the back post to inadvertently knock the ball back across goal for Darren Bent to poke home. Before that Arsenal enjoyed a glut of possession particularly in the first half but were only able to fashion two clear-cut chances in that period. Rosicky’s volley from an acrobatic Cesc Fabregas knock on was saved by the body of Fulop while Eduardo linked up well with Alex Song before his shot went inches wide.

The ghosts of seasons past were certainly out as while Arsenal stroked the ball about with relative comfort, Sunderland were able to stifle their approach play by remaining compact and organised. The key to Arsenal’s style this season has been the angles created in support with the central forward but in this instance their was little interchange between the front men. The half-wingers in the 4-3-3, (or closer to a 4-1-4-1 and not just in a temporary attacking/defensive phase) played deeper than the Gunners have been accustomed to this season and as a result the side missed the dynamism to get behind the defences. “ I believe that going forward especially we lacked sharpness and desire to go behind the defenders,” rued Arsene Wenger. “We had chosen the easy part of the game, that is always come to the ball and not to be exposed then with our pace in behind. In football, if you want to score goals, you have to go behind the defenders.”

Indeed once Vela, Arshavin and Walcott all came on their was an added directness and interchangeability about the play but that could be attributed to the urgency of the situation and freshness of the players. Two cross-shots were flashed across goal with no-one to get to the end of it and of course no Eduardo who at this time, was sacrificed. In the second instance, Carlos Vela made himself available on the left-side to drive past the goal and Wenger would have hoped his main striker had produced the same movements in the earlier periods of the game. Maybe Eduardo’s more orthodox style didn’t compliment the style of the wide-men he started with and would have done so with Arshavin and Walcott either side of him. Indeed, it is maybe Arsenal’s unorthodox style which has seen them not receive a penalty this season since the central forward tends to operate in different areas and when Vela was tripped in the box, referee Alan Wiley was having none of it.

Has Robin van Persie become Arsenal’s most important player or is it the dictating abilities of Fabregas which is still tops? Or even the dynamism and ingenuity of Arshavin? The three Arsenal defeats this season have seen at least one of the key trio missing and the task for the side to breed more cohesion all-round. Slaven Bilic feels the modern game is about “the movement of ten players” while Dunga has stated teams must be more dynamic to open up sides. This balance Robin van Persie gives in conjunction with his supporting cast is already looking more and more important and the ball is in now Eduardo’s court to show that he can do the same – starting with key games with Standard Liege and Chelsea.

Sunderland 1-0 Arsenal: D. Bent, 71.

Sunderland (4-5-1): Fulop, Bardsley, Da Silva, Mensah (Ferdinand 82min), McCartney, Malbranque (Campbell 66min), Cana, Richardson, Henderson, Reid* (Zenden 78min), Bent.
Subs: Carson, Nosworthy, Murphy, Healy.

Arsenal (4-3-3): Almunia (6), Sagna (7), Vermaelen (7), Gallas (7), Traore (6), Song (7), Ramsey (5) (Arshavin 6), Fabregas (7), Rosicky (6) (Walcott 5), Eduardo (6) (Vela 6), Nasri (6).
Subs: Mannone, Denilson, Silvestre, Eboue.

Referee: Alan Wiley (Staffordshire)

I’m not sure if I’m lacking in enthusiasm or my stream was too poor… because I have nothing in the locker for this post.

The team laid out avoided most of the marmite temptations Wenger usually indulges in and I thought it looked like a side more than capable of dishing out a spanking.

How wrong was I?

The game was a cagey affair, with most of it spent in midfield. Sunderland did a brilliant job of nullifying the threat we posed, leaving long shots as the main goal threat. Arsenal never really got any fluency going with their passing and whilst no one had a particularly bad game, too many of our starting 11 stayed firmly in 2nd gear at about 2000rpm (Low revs is what I’m saying guys…).

I thought Song played pretty well, industrious and creative with his passing. He powered through the Sunderland midfield linking up nicely with Eduardo, who scooped wide. Some claimed Song should have finished it, I’d say the man is a holding midfielder and he was never going to finish.

Ramsey didn’t play particularly well. When he comes off the bench he looks like a terrier, when he starts, he sometimes fades into the back ground a little. I must confess, I wasn’t aware he was playing until about 20 minutes in.

Arsenal left themselves exposed on countless occasions and if it wasn’t for the poor finishing of Marlbranque, we could have been a couple down after the first half. Isn’t it odd how pleased we all are with Gallas-Vermaelen, yet we’ve shipped record goals this season?

Sunderland made it to half time and that was a worry.

The second half didn’t see much of an improvement from the Arsenal boys. The Black Cats created chances as did Arsenal, this was going to be decided by one goal and sadly it fell to Sunderland. A corner was whipped in, it fell to the back post where Frazier Campbell went unchallenged by Rosicky, he cut it back and who else was going to be there waiting to bundle it into the net? Darren fucking Bent… jeez…

A real sloppy goal for Arsenal to concede.

We kicked into 3rd gear after the goal but it was too little too late. Arshavin, Vela and Walcott tried to change the game, but they failed to make an impact.

Arsenal stumbled to defeat in the North in a flat, disappointing manner. Once again, the victims of the International Football curse.

I guess the only silver lining I can provide right now is we have an abundance of choice if changes are to be made in the next game. Arshavin, Theo and Vela will all be hungry to impress and if Wenger doesn’t fancy those three, well, we could always put Eboue and Denilson in there to strengthen things up!

I hope this is a lesson in focus. If you want to win the league, you have to be one your game, every game. The Premiership is too strong to take teams lightly. Wenger didn’t do anything wrong today, the players did. They need to dust themselves down, not let this affect them and concentrate on getting back on the victory path.

Keep the faith Grovers, we’ve got an important month come up, by the end, we’ll know what this team is made of.

Player Ratings:

Almunia: Made a couple of good saves and dealt well with the aerial threat. Had a bit of a clown moment towards the end of the half. Wasn’t to blame for the goal. 6

Sagna: Has become pivotal to our attack with his marauding runs. If he could cross it, the guy would be one of the most valuable players in the Premiership! I thought he defended well today, which is what he’s paid for. 7

Vermaelen: It’s a sorry situation when the player trying to get your attack going is your centre back. He tried the most outrageous volley from a most outrageous angle in the second half… what a goal that could have been! He reminds me of John Terry in an attacking sense. 7.5

Gallas: Booed with every touch today by the most retarded of supporters. Why do they care about the Irish? Had a solid game today, I was a bit worried about the hobble. It’s customary for Arsenal to have defensive crisis around this time of the year, so expect the worst. 7

Traore: I was so happy he was granted a start ahead of Silvestre. Too many people want to slate this lad down before he’s even had a chance. Today, I thought he played well. No hairy moments and great big dirty tackle at the end. I was impressed. 7

Song: I powerful performance in the middle of the park and nearly a goal. He doesn’t always come out with the ball, but he does enough to break up the play. His range of passing is improving by the game and his positional sense is gaining maturity. 7.5

Cesc: Plenty of long shots and creative thinking out there today, just a shame the rest of the team didn’t really work for him. 7

Rosicky: Showed some nice moves in the first half, but still a little rusty for my liking. It’s kind of how I remember him. A very good player, but rarely a game changer in my eyes. 6.5

Eduardo: Another of our new signings who failed to shine today. If he’s not scoring goals, generally he’s not doing much. We have to give him the chance to settle into the centralrole and I’m sure the goals will come… I’m just a bit worried about his overall team play. 6

Nasri: Workman like performance from a player we’re yet to see the best of. Hey, I know it might sound crazy, but I still don’t understand his role in the team… what does Nasri do that makes him a great player? I’d like to think we’ll have that answer at some point this season, but like Rosicky, he seems like he’s just there to link the play. I want more from my midfielders! 7

Rambo: Quieter than all the Spurs fans in my office at the moment. Didn’t really have much involvement in the first half bar a couple of duff shots. I rate this guy, but he didn’t do much to stake a claim today. 6

Subs:

Arshavin: Not enough time to influence the game. Actually scrap that, 30 minutes is plenty… he didn’t influence the game. 6

Vela: Came on, ran around a bit, was denied a nailed on penalty. I really hate that fat little referee… laughing an joking with the players like he’s their best mate. 6

Theo: Loves a scan this boy… Came on, didn’t hobble off. That’s a good performance in my eyes. 6

Have a great day Grovers! See you in the comments!

Liga Premier

Manchester United goleo 3-0 al Everton

Sunderland 1-0 Arsenal

Chelsea le puso una goliza al Wolverhampton 4 goles a cero.

Liverpool empata a dos goles contra el Manchester City

Hull City 3-3 West Ham United

Tottenham Hotspur MASACRA al Wigan Atlhetic 9 goles a 1

Birmingham City 1-0 Fullham

What can you say after such a performance? I don’t remember the last time we looked so impotent. There were only two shots that hit the target and the second of those was in the 38^th minute. Effectively, we couldn’t hit the target in the final 52 minutes plus added time in each half!

I thought bulk of the blame falls on Rosicky and Eduardo. Both of them had a very poor game. Even Nasri drifted in too often but at least he can’t be faulted for effort.

Arsenal need incisive movement up front and if that fails all our possession is rendered meaningless. Fabregas and Ramsey worked hard and I thought both of them played well without any support from the front players. The midfield ensured that we had enough possession but we just didn’t get into any scoring positions.

After a woeful first half, I expected Arsene to motivate the team and raise the standard in the second. I don’t know what he said to the players but our performance was much worse in the second. Sunderland grew in confidence and it was no surprise to see them grab the lead with a little luck.

Arsenal didn’t have any cohesion going forward and even after the introduction of Vela and Walcott we didn’t get a single shot on target. There were two half chances for Vermaelen and Arshavin that went wide. There were a couple of balls played across the six yard box but didn’t find any attacking player. It almost seemed like our players didn’t have any desire to change the result.

We also failed tactically. Arshavin should have come on in place of Rosicky. Ramsey was having a good game and had an influence on defence as well. The ten minute period after his departure was when Sunderland dominated the most.

Arsene also left it too late to bring on Walcott and Vela. Eduardo was having a very poor game and he should have been substituted around the hour mark. In the few minutes that he had, Vela showed the difference good movement can make. Both these strikers are not the big and strong variety. They really need to use their intelligence and movement if they have to succeed in this league.

We also failed to get our shape right. All top teams would lay siege on the opposition penalty box if they are a goal down in the last quarter of the game. If United or Chelsea were in that position, you would expect crosses fizzing in, people attacking the ball in the box and chances being created every minute. Arsenal, on the other hand, didn’t get bodies into the box and also failed to sustain any pressure.

Too many players starting today had seen very little action in the league. Bulk of it is down to injuries but it also shows the importance of rotation. Eduardo, Traore, Nasri, Ramsey and Rosicky had only six league starts between them before this game. Arsenal rely on players understanding each others movements. When we have too many changes in the starting line up, especially after an interlull which also interrupts training, we struggle to get our game flowing. Tactical decisions are all the more important in such situations.

On the plus side, Traore and Ramsey put in decent performances and it does give some confidence about the depth of the squad in those areas. The Chelsea game has now become a must win game. Can these players get their focus right!?

Where is the marking?

Disappointing would be the best word to summed up tonight’s game. The team lacked cohesion, tenacity and showed no real desire to win the game. One could argue that after almost 2 weeks away from each other and barely had the oppourtunity to train as a team lead to the dispirited display. We were not even short of inventiveness on the pitch but none took it by the scruff of the neck.

We started with Ramsey and Fabregas in midfield with Eduardo being flanked on either side by Rosicky and Nasri. To me, that was 4 players that is capable of being the playmaker but almost everything that they did was forgettable and un-fruitful. Yes, in the opposite side of the pitch, Lorik Cana was really in his element but what I was the drive, or rather the lack of it from the Arsenal team. This is probably one of the advantage that Alex Ferguson holds over Wenger, the ability to get his players in spirit and the right attitude for any game. I cannot imagine a team that is playing for the league title, playing with such lethargy in their game. To lose a game after a giving it your best shot is one thing, to lose without so much of even trying is unacceptable to me.

In truth, we could’ve taken the lead towards the end of the first half but Eduardo had another of his Spurs moment as his chip shot met neither the net or the post. A move that was started just into the Sunderland saw Song basically slalom his way past several players and played a neat 1-2 twice with Eduardo that released the latter in the box.

This was a match that was tight and not many chances for either side. Play generally centered in a midfield battle to show who is better defensively. Cana and Song were the outstanding ones on display. Song might be the only one who can claim any sort of credit from this match. He proved that Wenger’s decision not to invest in Cana was still correct. Even though with all due respect, the one time Arsenal target more than showed why we were interested in the first place.

The deciding goal came from a corner once again. The marking was just horrible. Whoever was marking Darren Bent was nowhere to be seen and allowed the England forward the time and space inside the box to attack the initial delivery. It rebounded off an Arsenal player and right into the onrushing Bent who reacted quicker than Almunia and duly smashed it home. Our awareness and marking during set-pieces is really appalling. This is not something new and can be easily rectified during training but I’m not too sure if Wenger is even focussing on that at the moment. It’s infuriating to see the same mistakes repeating with such a high frequency.

Armand Traore was given a baptism of fire by Wenger, who showed the former faith by starting him ahead of Silvestre. Traore had a reasonable game but spent most of the time in his own half. Perhaps he was just trying to be a bit cautious and focus on his defending in his first start of the season. Fair enough, but it also made Arsenal’s game very 1 dimensional with most of the attack going on the right side through Sagna. That in itself allowed Sunderland the choice to focus defensively only on their left side while attacking through their right side. For all his exploits for the national team, I’m still yet to be convinced by Aaron Ramsey. Too many times tonight his passes went astray or even worse, direct to the opposition players. His decision making is still very raw in my eye.

This is our 3rd defeat of the campaign but it can be forgotten should we triumph against a rampant Chelsea next week. But for today, the desire was not there to be seen. Disappointing is the word.

Inilah hasil liga Inggris atau Barclays Premier League pada laga 21 november 2009.

21 november

jam 19:45 wib

LIVERPOOL vs MANCHESTER CITY
2-2

gol pada laga ini terjadi pada:

>menit ke-50, oleh M. Skrtel (liverpool)
1-0

>menit ke-69, gol oleh Adebayor (Man. City)
1-1

>menit ke-76, oleh S. Ireland (Man. City)
1-2

>menit ke-77, gol oleh Y. Benayoun (Liverpool)
2-2

jam 22:00 wib

BIRMINGHAM CITY vs FULHAM
1-0

BURNLEY vs ASTON VILLA
1-1

CHELSEA vs WOLVERHAMPTON
4-0

HULL CITY vs WEST HAM UNITED
3-3

SUNDERLAND vs ARSENAL
1-0

22 november

jam 00:30 wib

MANCHESTER UNITED vs EVERTON
3-0

International break ….or the ref….NOOO, We looked jaded IMO

The sad fact is that is “Same old Arsenal” Go up north on a cold wet day and didnt turn up.

Were was that fighting sprit that Wenger keeps banging on about? … I saw loads from the player we should have signed in the summer in Cana. He didnt give Cesc and kick. And when i told you that we made a big mistake in not signing him you all said “Who is he? And who are sunderland” Well eat your words.

Its so sad that one injury to RVP has shown how weak we are.Like i said at the start of the season, Just wait till we start picking up a few knocks to key players and watch us fall apart…”SAME OLD ARSENAL”

Well this is what you get for not signing in the summer Mr Wenger.

My Ratings
Almunia ( 5-5 ) Poor,At fault for the goal. Slow off his line and overal crap)
Sagna (6-5) Not his best game
Gallas (7-0) Pretty solid
Vermaelen (6-0) Outjumped by Bent on the cornor for the goal
Traore (6-5) Same as Sagna
Ramsey (6-0) Looked weak
Cesc (6-0) Very poor, Owned by Cana
Song (8-0) Our best player
Nasri (6-5) Didnt look up for the fight
Rosicky (6-5) See above
Eduardo (5-5) Missed our best chance, Didnt even hit the target. He cant play up top in a 4-5-1

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Sejarah Klub
Era 1886-1980

Arsenal didirikan di daerah Woolwich, bagian tenggara kota London pada 1886 dengan nama Dial Square, lalu dengan cepat berganti nama menjadi Royal Arsenal. Tahun 1891 nama mereka diganti menjadi Woolwich Arsenal. Pada tahun 1913, klub ini pindah ke utara, yaitu ke Stadion Highbury, yang menjadi markas mereka hingga Mei 2006. Saat pindah lapangan, nama depan klub mereka, yaitu Woolwich dihapus sehingga hanya nama Arsenal yang tersisa. Selain itu karena dekat dengan markas Tottenham Hotspur, maka tak heran jika pertandingan Arsenal vs Tottenham Hotspur disebut “North London derby“.

Kejayaan Arsenal pertama kali diawali oleh pelatih Herbert Chapman yang melatih pada tahun 1925-1935 dan berhasil menjuarai beberapa kompetisi domestik Inggris (Piala FA, titel Liga Utama, dan Charity Shield) sekaligus mendominasinya. Sedangkan prestasi terbaik Arsenal di Eropa pertama kali terjadi pada musim 1969/70, di ajang Fairs Cup (pendahulu Pala UEFA). Arsenal menjadi juara untuk pertama kalinya dan sekaligus terakhir di ajang Fairs Cup (Fairs Cup diganti Piala UEFA sejak musim 1971/72) setelah berhasil mengalahkan R.S.C. Anderlecht dengan agregat 4-3 yang pada saat itu klub ini dilatih oleh Bertie Mie. Sepanjang tahun 1980an Arsenal berhasil menambah koleksi Arsenal dengan beberapa gelar domestik.

Era 1990-sekarang

Di tahun 1991, Arsenal menjadi juara bersama dengan Tottenham di Community Shield setelah hasil kedudukan imbang. Prestasi Arsenal di Eropa kembali membaik setelah pada tahun 1994, ditangan pelatih George Graham, Arsenal kembali juara di kancah Eropa setelah mengalahkan Parma FC dengan skor 1-0. Arsenal berhasil kembali ke final pada tahun berikutnya, 1995, namun kali ini dikalahkan olehReal Zaragoza dengan skor 2-1.

Kedatangan pelatih Arsene Wenger ke Arsenal pada tahun 1996 berhasil membuat Arsenal kembali berjaya dan berhasil merusak dominasi Manchester United di Liga Utama Inggris saat itu. Arsenal berhasil menjadi runner-up di ajang Piala UEFA pada tahun 2000 setelah melawan Galatasaray lewat adu penalti 4-1. Pada musim 2003-2004 hingga awal musim 2004-2005, Arsenal berhasil mencetak rekor 49 pertandingan tak terkalahkan dan mematahkan rekor milik Nottingham Forest F.C. (42 kali) yang merupakan rekor tak terkalahkan terpanjang di dalam sejarah sepakbola Inggris. Pada musim 2005-2006, Arsenal kembali meraih prestasi di kancah Eropa dengan menjadi finalis Liga Champions setelah dikalahkan FC Barselona 2-1 di Stade de France, Paris. Hiks2…… Padahal dah unggul duluan, tapi salut buat Arsenal bisa mencetak gol duluan lewat sundulan Campbell….. Pokoknya maju terus Arsenal, with your Young Gunners.

Stadion

Sejak berdiri, Arsenal beberapa kali pindah stadion. Mulai dari memakai sebuah lapangan di Woolwich yang bernama Manor Ground, lalu pindah ke London Utara, sekaligus membangun Stadion Highbury dan dipakai pertama kali dipakai pada tahun 1913. Stadion ini dipakai Arsenal hingga musim 2005/06 (atau berusia kurang lebih 93 tahun). Pertandingan terakhir yang digelar di Stadion Highbury adalah Liga Utama Inggris, yaitu Arsenal vs Wigan Athletic yang berhasil dimenangkan oleh Arsenal dengan skor 4-2 dengan tiga gol dari Thierry Henry.

Sejak bulan Juli 2006 sampai sekarang, klub ini menempati markas barunya, Stadion Emirates yang berkapasitas 60.500 kursi dan terletak di Ashburton Grove dan peresmian pemakaian Stadion Emirates sekaligus pertandingan pertama yang digelar adalah dengan diadakannya sebuah pertandingan persahabatan antara Arsenal dengan para pemain legenda Belanda untuk perpisahan Dennisa Bergkamp, seorang mantan penyerang Arsenal. Selamat tinggal Bergkamp. Bergkamp merupakan salah satu legenda buat Arsenal. Bergkamp juga yang membawa perubahan dari cara bermain klub2 inggris yang bermain dengan metode kick and rush….

Prestasi

Selain rekor tak terkalahkannya (49 kali) menjadi yang terpanjang di Inggris, Arsenal juga mempunyai banyak prestasi lainnya, yaitu:

* Liga Inggris: 13

1931, 1933, 1934, 1935, 1938, 1948, 1953, 1971, 1989, 1991, 1998, 2002, 2004

* Piala FA: 10

1930, 1936, 1950, 1971, 1979, 1993, 1998, 2002, 2003, 2005

* Piala Liga/Piala Carling: 2

1987, 1993, menjadi finalis pada tahun 1968, 1969, 1988, 2007

* FA Charity Shield/FA Community Shield:11

1930, 1931, 1933, 1934, 1938, 1948, 1953, 1991 (juara bersama dengan Tottenham), 1998, 1999, 2002, 2004

* Piala Winners: 1

1994, dua kali menjadi finalis pada tahun 1980 dan 1995

* Piala UEFA: 1

1971 (waktu itu masih bernama Fairs Cup, berubah nama menjadi Piala UEFA sejak tahun 1972), sekali menjadi finalis pada tahun 2000

* Liga Champions: 0

menjadi finalis pada tahun 2006

* Piala Emirates: 1

Soccer School Indonesia Arsenal

SSI Arsenal tepatnya ada di selatan kota Jakarta. Mengambil fasilitas ISCI Ciputat, pada November 2007, SSI Arsenal telah menampung sekitar 250 siswa dari lapisan usia U – 8 tahun sampai dengan U – 18 tahun.

Untuk delapan sesi latihan, dimana sekali latihan menghabiskan dua jam, memakang biaya antara Rp. 2,5 juta sampai dengan Rp. 3,5 juta. Itu berarti untuk sekali latihan para siswa minimal merogoh sekitar Rp. 220.000.

SSI Arsenal sendiri muncul lewat gagasan Iman Arif untuk membangun sekolah sepak bola usia dini yang memanfaatkan jaringan Arsenal sebagai salah satu klub terkemuka. Untuk itu pula, SSI Arsenal dalam kerja samanya berada dibawah Community Development Department Arsenal, dan bukan Commercial Department.

Sebagai langkah awal menembus Stadion Emirates, stadion kebanggaan Arsenal, SSI Arsenal akan terlibat dalam invitasi sepak bola yang berlangsung di London, Inggris, Juli 2008. dalam mengikuti invistasi tersebut, SSI Arsenal akan melibatkan para pemain dari berbagai usia. Dalam invitasi Reach Your Goal di Singapura itu, tim U – 12 tahun menempati peringkat ke tiga dari enam tim, dan, antara lain, memukul tim U – 12 tahun Jepang 3 – 2

Tapi sangat disayangkan sekali, lokasi soccear school Indonesia Arsenal posisinya kurang strategis karena berada bukan di daerah yang memiliki talenta-talenta berbakat seperti daerah Medan, Makassar, Jawa Timur, Papua….. Tapi mungkin kedepannya diharapkan ada cabang-cabang dari soccear school Indonesia Arsenal di daerah-daerah tersebut, sehingga intan-intan indonesia yang belum di asah semakin matang dalam memainkan si kulit bundar…. Siapa tau muncul Henry dari Makassar, Beckam dari Medan, Christiano Ronaldo dari Jawa Timur, dan lain-lain lah, siapa tau ada captain Tsubasa juga… hahahaha

nothing seems to be going on well today, DNF 1st, came home and saw sunderland arsenal 0-1. walau.

The art of a natural striker is immensely undervalued these days isn’t it? “Yeah he is okay, but he does nothing else apart from score”. How would we have love to have that player at the Stadium of Light. We did. He went off just after the 71st minute. Shortly after we went 1-0 down.

Frazier Campbell didn’t know what he did with Bent’s header from Reid’s corner. Unluckily for us, Darren Bent did and he reacted quickest to sneak his shot in. As instinctive a goal as you can get. I don’t think you can teach that.

Sometimes the ‘fox in the box’ is just too quick.

When we snatched a draw from the jaws of victory at West Ham, some Gooners wondered whether Wenger reacted too late in making his substitutions. I don’t think the same could be said here. Walcott was due to make his entrance even before that goal went in, but how many times do you see a substitution just before a corner?

Somehow we were 1-0 down from Sunderland’s only shot on target. And then Walcott and Vela make their sub appearances. Rosicky and Eduardo went off. Wait a minute Eduardo? Yes, he didn’t have a stellar game but neither did Bent.

The effect of Eduardo’s departure was profound. Between the 72nd minute and the end of the game, 12 passes (crosses in some instances) from either flanks went into the centre of the box. None of them found the intended target.

Who was the intended target? Vela? Played on the wing largely. Walcott? Ditto. Fabregas? Even he was crossing them in at times.

At present Vela and Walcott simply don’t know what it means to lead the line and based on what I saw, I don’t think they were instructed to play there either.

What puzzled me was that Nasri who I thought had a relatively quiet game was still on the pitch. Surely he could have made way instead of Eduardo? I am certain if that was the case maybe we would have at least equalized and perhaps even sneaked a win.

Did we need some many central-esque midfielders to begin with? Starting with either Vela or Walcott from the first minute would have given us that extra dimension to our attack that we only saw late in the game. Without them, we looked laboured,  the play focused too much on the centre and it felt almost if we were waiting for Sunderland to make a mistake. The Black Cats knew they were rarely get beaten if the ball went behind their defence.

Sunderland on the either hand, were well-organized. They defended deep and manipulated the space on either flanks, particularly the space between Vermaelen and Traore. If Malbranque was as clinical as his other technical attributes would suggest, we could have been punished severely. Even Sagna was exposed at times and Song had to plug the gaps.

The 13 match unbeaten run came to an end but it had to at some point. This defeat won’t be a “massive setback” as Wenger stated. In the immediate future, this result will only prove to be a sort of ‘collateral damage’ in our season. Like United losing to Burnley, like Chelsea losing to Wigan and Villa. Now and then a jolt like this is needed. I’m looking for a positive response.