Can Arsenal turn it around?

Arsenal have always had a consistent approach to the way they play their football. They have never differed from their footballing philosophy but consistency is something that hardly goes in conjunction with Arsenal FC nowadays. Results and performances such as the wins against Manchester United and Chelsea and matching Liverpool brilliantly after being a man down would have every football fan believe that they are having a great season. But a quick look at the points table reveals the other half of the story when you see them fighting for the fourth place with Aston Villa.
Arsene Wenger, Arsenal’s talismanic manager and probably the manager with the least pressure to perform in this world of pressure cooker sports has always maintained that his side is good enough to mount a serious title challenge and his belief in his team was almost justified last season. Arsenal might be tempted to cite the recurrent injuries to their team as a reason for their derailed campaign but it is no secret that champion teams are not made by the starting eleven alone but by having an excellent squad. Wenger doesn’t have to look beyond his team to justify that cliché. Arsenal led the table in the premier league last season until the last third of the season and it was their trophy to lose from there. Injuries, lack of form, lack of a leader allowed Manchester United and Chelsea to cruise past them in the last third of the season. Wenger surely should have brought in a couple of more players in the summer, even more so, considering the departure of two his best players last season, Flamini and Hleb.

Arsenal had a great chance on the Boxing Day to remind Villa that they still have a long way to go before considering themselves as a potential team in the Champions league. But as we have come to know them this season, they squandered a two goal lead and have instead given Villa a huge boost. There was a sense of purpose from both the teams
as the match started but only one team had actually issued a statement of intent. Aston Villa had to show the world that they are no mere flash in the pan and are actually capable of achieving a top four finish. They could have finished the match within the first half an hour when they were denied thrice by the woodwork. But like any other good team, Arsenal, stayed in the match, displayed their mental fortitude and took the lead against the run of play. Diaby added to the first one within ten minutes of the second half and that surely should have wrapped up three points for them.

Amidst the amazing come back by Aston Villa, people have forgotten the generosity displayed by Arsenal after they bagged the two goals. With the kind of experience they have at the back, they surely, more than anyone else on the pitch, should have known how to defend the two goal lead. Mind you, none of the goals scored by the Villains belonged to the bracket of outstanding or to the level of unstoppable football. Both the goals were conceded largely due to the lax and callous defending by Arsenal. Arsenal on that day had most of their experienced players, Almunia, Gallas, Toure and Silvestre playing in the defence yet they would have conceded many more goals if not for the heroics of the outstanding Sagna. Lee Dixon, Arsenal’s former defender and great had been reiterating all week the need to defend deep when a team does not have the required personnel in the mid-field to pressurize the opposition. Arsenal, clearly, should have defended deep that day especially when they were up against Agbonlahor, the quickest in the league. As a manager one can only work out the tactics and the game plan but what goes on in a players mind on the pitch is widely out of a manager’s control. Gallas, should have learnt from his mistakes from the game against Liverpool when they conceded a goal to Robbie Keane from a similar set of play. They allowed him to run behind the defence, collect the long ball and dispatch it home. Gallas should have definitely had that in mind as he was up against a player who is quicker and in better form than Keane. Such naivety from an experienced defender led to a desperate plunge which in turn into a goal and a ray of hope for Villa.
If the first goal was a mistake in the game plan of the defence, the blunder committed for the second was even more elementary. Aston Villa gave their all, pulled all stops to get the equalizer and they had four players in the box, rightly so, when Zat Knight received the ball. To everyone’s amazement there were only three Arsenal defenders defending against those four Villa players and this was in the final few minutes of the match when they were sucking in the Villa attack. One is tempted to ask where the other defenders were when the ball was being whipped into the box. Arsenal had five established defenders at that point of time and along with Denilson and Diaby they had enough numbers to deal with any sort of threat. If only they had a clear game plan and answers for these questions.

Villa have certainly showed us this season that they are good enough to be in the top four one day. It might not happen this season, as I, for one, believe Arsenal have too much quality to let that happen. Neither are good teams made in a fortnight nor the good ones become bad overnight and Arsenal certainly is a good team.