Thursday, March 29th, 2012 « Untold Arsenal: Arsenal News. Supporting the Lord Wenger; coach of the decade

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By Walter Broeckx

Seeing the game live has a special appeal but seeing the game again on TV gives the complete picture. And as I am mostly only seeing the game on TV I will add a few thoughts on the things I have noticed in the stadium during my visit for the Villa game.

I have already talked about Szczesny but I have to bring him up because I have noticed that when we get the time we adopt a tactical when he is going to kick the ball. Sagna moves up the right wing close to Theo and then Szczesny punts the ball towards the right back. Sagna is good at timing his jump and then it is important to get the second ball. Theo is close of course and mostly a midfielder or RVP comes close to try to start the attack. Sagna is an immense player for Arsenal and since his come back to really being fit and sharp we have also seen Theo Walcott improving a lot.

The Koscielny injury was a big blow for all of us at first. This just shows you what a wonderful player we have once again discovered thanks to our scouting network. I wonder where the laughers and abuse shouters are from the start of last season when we bought this frail looking Frenck centre back with no PL experience and why we didn’t go for a Cahill or Samba at the double of the price. Well once again they have found that if not Arsène himself but our scouting network sure does know. I recall a certain website someone putting his worst Arsenal XI down and writing the name of Koscielny down 11 times. Well I think he exposed himself there as a real expert.

What more can we say about Vermaelen. Another Koscielny one might say. Does anyone remember the outrage from some part of the fans when we bought him (and not …..). He was too small. Being from Belgium? No experience, no … well how on earth could he be any good. Well by now we know how good he actually is.

Gibbs was quality for me in his attacking game. But still a few things he must keep an eye on and not rushing forward too blindly. But with all the injuries he has had to overcome and not being a natural left back I think he is a great option over there.

I was also lucky to see the come back of  Santos. One moment I even called him Roberto Carlos last Saturday but that was due to tiredness I think.  He was lucky with one of his first touches when he gave the ball away and suddenly Villa looked threatening. But after that moment he just carried on and slotted in at left back without any problem. Running up and down his flank as if he never has been away. And I really do think that Given was expecting Santos to take the free kick in the extra time and thus was surprised by the Arteta kick.

In midfield we have Arteta and the amazing thing is that he is always having some space. No matter where he is on the field he (almost) always turns to a side where he can find more space. I once read that he has the highest successful passing rate of the EPL. He is always very calm but when it is needed he doesn’t hesitate to make a foul to stop the opponents.

If we look at Song I must refer again to a certain blog.  As we noted in the piece on M’Vila for years they have been campaigning about how bad Song was. And how he never would be any good enough at all to even come close to wearing a shirt. He shouoldn’t even be allowed to buy one in the Armoury. That bad he was.  Again I can only come to the conclusion that this person on that website knows somewhat less than zero about football. I would like to think by now he must feel really dumb, but I suspect he just parks his nonsense comments in a part of his brain labelled “forget” and carries on.

Song is not a defensive midfielder as most people look at defensive midfielders. In fact I don’t think we have a defensive midfielder at Arsenal. We have complete midfielders and Song is one of the most complete midfielders we have.

When Rosicky started to play well again a few months ago and then signed a 2 year extension to his contract some fans said that he only played well to earn his new contract and that it would end soon. Well I think our oldest player on the field is running around like a fresh young one for the moment even with this new contract already signed a few weeks ago. You can see the enjoyment he has in his game. His body language is great to see. I really think that he must be a very happy man for the moment. Finally injury free and what a great player we have rediscovered. The sometimes ridiculized  phrase from Wenger “He will be like a new signing” suddenly isn’t that stupid anymore.

Gervinho has said on Arsenal.com that he is getting back to his best. And I think he is right. I think he was really deflated after the African Nations Cup. Missing the fatal penalty for your country can be a big blow. And it can kill your confidence. But with Gervinho contributing to the first goal and maybe even more importantly also doing a great job when tracking back at times is very well. In a way we should be glad he didn’t start like Chamakh did, because Chamakh had a great start and then completely disappeared. Gervinho had a mixed start with great and some not that great games. But I think he will adapt better to the PL than Chamakh.

I’m not going to say anything about RVP. Expect maybe ask him when he will score another goal. A bid of bad luck in the last two games when it came to scoring but his all around game and presence is so important for Arsenal. Another world class player made by Arsène Wenger who cost £2.75 million.

Like I said since the come back from Sagna we have seen a much improved Walcott. This just shows how important it is to have your wing backs fit. You can lose one but you cannot lose them all. Since Sagna is there Theo looks a different player. Okay sometimes Theo can be frustrating. But if you look at his goals and assists he is one of the top players in the whole PL.

If you look at those players, they are good enough to beat any team in the PL. And then we still have Ramsey who will become a great player. When Wenger believes in you like he does in Ramsey he knows what he is doing. Don’t worry, let the master teacher do his job –  and once Ramsey finds the calmness to put the chances away he is getting he will bang in some 10-15 goals every season. He just needs a chance to grow in to his role. Don’t forget the injury he had to overcome and he still is very very young. And for those who still doubt Wenger and his judgement and who think that Ferguson is a far better coach: Utd even announced Ramsey as a new signing only to find out that Wenger snapped him under their nose. He has the talent, the technique, the engine and he will become a massive player for Arsenal.

And then we still have The Ox… what a massive player he will be in the future. And Jack when he will be completely fit next season… what a massive player he was already before his injury.

I really do wonder how things would have gone if only we would have had half of the our full backs available during the season. I really do think we would have been in there with a shout at the title.   But we do get injuries, and then more injuries, so we have to expect them, which is why we need to keep brining new players through.

But even so if only we would have had half of the our full backs available during the season…  And then I even wouldn’t want to mention the referees….

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Ref Reviews: Arsenal v Aston Villa.  Phil Dowd gives a master class;  Liverpool v Everton – he’s ok here too.

This summer’s signings: M’Vila

Next season’s upgrades: Who will come back from loan and play for us?

The history: The trophies, ballroom dancing, left hook and OBE