A Testing Week?

Welcome to the first blog by myarsenalbloggers. Between myself and co-blogger David Forrest, we will bring you a mix of match reports and comment based posts on all things Arsenal, and will appreciate all constructive responses, whether in agreement or not.

This week has certainly told us a lot about Arsenal and our opponents. Against Liverpool, we dominated the game, and certainly deserved all three points. The game arguably told us more about Liverpool than Arsenal. Liverpool are toothless in attack and very slow at the back. Rafa Benitez will never win the premiership, it is as simple as that. He does not know who his starting line-up is, or who his best players are, mainly because many of them are so similarly average. Kuyt, Vornonin, Benayoun, Sissoko, Hyppia, Finnan – this is too long a list of average first team players for a club with aspirations of premiership titles. Benitez doesn’t have the skill to make the most of his young players, or make the most of the limited skills of the average players, over the course of a season. Wenger can do it and still does it. Ferguson has done it, although he relies more on the Glazer chequebook these days. Wenger was disappointed not to win that game, but will be equally pleased not to have lost to an inferior team, which might have happened last season.

Midweek, Arsenal ‘B’ side took on Sheffield United at Bramall Lane. The average age of the team was 20.1, and that included 31-year-old Gilberto. This was a non-game after the first goal. Sheffield United knew they were not going to win, Arsenal knew they were not going to lose. Living in Sheffield, me and Dave went to the game, and had a chance to watch a few players for the first time.

Diarra – looked a different class, one of the best players on the pitch, and that was playing at rightback. I’m looking forward to him replacing Flamini (although I am a big fan of the dynamic centre midfielder) over the next couple of years.

Bendtner – Still got some way to go if he wants to make it at Arsenal, but he is still very young. He is powerful and has a lot of confidence, but his touch lets him down on occasions, which in the premiership would be pounced upon.

Gibbs – Looked very useful from leftback, not his natural position. Did the simple things well, got forward as the game wore on, and it was his through-ball for the second Eduardo goal. Time will tell for Gibbs. There is certainly a lack of left wingers at the club which could mean opportunities over the next few seasons.

Song – He might have heart and fight, but he is seriously lacking in a footballing brain. Loses concentration, and the ball, time after time. He will not last at Arsenal.

Eduardo – Wenger is going to use the Croatian more and more as the season progresses. With Adebayor hitting a bit of a dry patch, I think we will see Eduardo partnered with the Togolese hitman against Slavia Prague. He looked every bit the clinical finisher that his international record suggests – could be a big player this season.

On Saturday, the game against Manchester United told us lots of thing we already knew – Fergie is a bad loser, Arsenal play better football than Man Utd, Clichy is the best left-back in the world. The key thing that emerged from that game was William Gallas as the leader of this young pack. He scored an own-goal early on, which would have riled him. Aside from that, he marshalled his French speaking troops with an absolute command, and played the ultimate captain’s role when scoring the 93rd minute equaliser.

November and December will be tough months, with many games away from home, and barely time to breathe between each match - fringe players will be given chances, and there will be pressure on them to perform.

The beginning of this season hasn’t taught Arsenal fans anything that we didn’t already know. We all knew we could play this sort of football. We all knew we could beat anyone. What we don’t know is whether this team will perform consistently in the cold winter months, when squad rotation kicks in and injuries start to take their toll. We shall see, but the signs so far are pretty good.

Apologies for this lengthy post, but I felt this week needed a brief review. From now on we will post match reaction and topical Arsenal debate.

Hope you enjoy!

Martin Webb