By Walter Broeckx
Sometimes you think in a game after some 40 seconds: this is going to be a walk in the park. A Queens Park even. And then some 90 minutes later you give a big sigh in relieve and are glad you got the 3 points.
It is the difficult time of the season. The time of the season where only one things matter: take 3 points. When Manchester United does this they are applauded for it and people say: this is the mark of champions. I bet the usual suspects will come and say how lucky we were and how shit we are and how… oh well you know the usual stuff.
We had a rather decent start to the game one could say. Theo opening the score in the first seconds of the game. As Tony predicted in his double anniversary game. 20 goals in total and 200 PL games.
We then dominated the game with ease. QPR came nowhere close in the first half hour. We didn’t create much either but just controlled the game and dominated the proceedings. Theo had the best chance to put us 2-0 up. He would have done it if it wasn’t for the goal post who didn’t want to co-operate this time. QPR hardly came in the neighbourhood and tried to launch a few long distance missiles but they were well off target.
More of that in the second half was the general thought. I wanted us to score that second goal. But in the second half QPR came out and wanted to have a go. And the first 20 minutes we let them have a go. We defended well but we gave away the ball too much to my likings. We couldn’t keep the ball as we did in the first half. I noticed the ref being as the other refs in the last games. Good in the first half but gradually leaning over to the other side in the second half.
And that didn’t help our game at all. Slightest contacts were given against us but the other way round not. You could see Wenger getting more and more agitated about the way we played. But the good news is that our back four was solid and gave not much away. And even when there was something dangerous we had Sczcesny who stopped the few attempts from QPR. We just played too slow and not with enough precision.
I suddenly saw Wenger and Bould both furiously shouting in their technical area and after that the team more or less won back their composure. But a 1-0 lead is a risky thing. You only need one deflection or one mistake and you lose the lead. But the defenders didn’t make any mistakes. Or not fatal mistakes. Per and Kos, whom we might call KosPer from now on were much in control.
After some 70 minutes we took the control back and that resulted in a few chances with again Theo the most dangerous man up front. But this time the keeper could push his shot in corner.
Of course in the last minutes QPR tried to threw all they had left to us but it wasn’t really enough to trouble us. But still very much a nervous end to the game as it usually is when you only lead 1-0.
The bad things are things I leave for the usual suspects. If focus on the good things. Another clean sheet. And in a way it reminds me of the 1-0 to the Arsenal era. Are we going back to this? With some more goals if possible from our side but you have to admit it even if you think we don’t do defending and our defenders are shit: we do have found a nice defensive balance these last weeks.
And that is something to build on for the next 2 games that will be very difficult as both teams (Wigan and Newcastle) are in a battle to avoid the drop to the championship. But if we can do what we did today and get two 1-0 wins I would take it right here and now. Of course would like us to beat them well with us scoring a lot of goals. But at this time of the season goals don’t come on demand.
And I also would like to ask those Gooner-pretenders if they are still happy with the 3 match ban of Giroud. I do think we miss him as he is more used to that central forward role and his aerial power is better than what Podolski can offer. And when defending corners he also is very useful.
At the end of the day 3 important points against a team only playing for pride in front of their home crowd. Two more games to go for Arsenal. Chelsea still have to go to MU tomorrow and I just hope that the traitor does us a favour tomorrow.
And then in midweek we will have to clash between Chelsea and the spuds. And after that we can see how they do next weekend while we sit and wait for Wigan to come to the Emirates. But whatever the results will be I think it will go to the final day with 3 teams fighting for 2 CL spots.
Great result, well done the (crap)defence again. Don’t know about you guys but my nerves are taking a battering.
Our rubbish defence has only conceded 36 goals, the same as Manure, does that mean their defence is rubbish as well?
A very sound analysis. What wenger and bould changing things from the touch line? But I thought wenger did not do that and that bould has no voice in the club? A chap called Stewart robson told us that anyway.
Walter, I’m sorry I cannot agree.. With this KosPer bit.. Everyone knows it is Merscielny.
For the rest..brilliant read as always 😀
Yes, Wenger seemed more agitated and annoyed with the team than usual. But it’s all easier to mull over and try to remedy after a win rather than a draw/loss.
Hopefully we’ll see Chelsea lose tomorrow, but I wouldn’t count on the Mancs doing us a favour. The referee I believe is Howard Webb, which normally would be an indicator of ManU winning, but I worry that tomorrow will be the perfect scenario for Webb and the PGMOL to ‘prove’ that he isn’t Fergie’s rent boy.
Szczesny saved us 2 points today with a couple of saves/interceptions to deny Remy.
One, when he got his fingers on to a cross, and then the wonderful save when Remy curled in the shot towards the far post on around 84 minutes.
great result, even better knowing the shit stain at talkshite tower’s team (posh) was relegated ealier today, the ginger tosser couldn’t. contain his hatred spouting rubbish how we aren’t worthy for cl spot. hahahahaha that ginger slag can suck it tonight;)
@walter it was funny arsene and bould shouting. “thats three f**king times” i heard bould say
Shard,
I was hoping that if we would put them on the team sheet before kickoff as KosPer we might slip in another player 😉 But I also like MerScielny.
This team has settled. I’m getting excited about next season already, the future is bright:)
Was Durham going on about us in his anger dan? Most amusing wonder what he will concoct for next weeks daily arsenals?
it is a very nice article. as you said it, if it was manure, they will say it is how a champion do it. But, since it is arsenal, they will write as unconvincing or words that has simillar meaning. For the performance, i thought the foundation for next year and the years after next year, has already layed and arsenal needs only some additions. It is a nice result and arteta was superb as well. He is a leader.
@AL, that’s the beauty about being an Arsenal fan, there is always hope and excitement.
Lets see who we can get hold of this summer to compliment what were building.
Monday or Tuesday we should find out we have Mike Dean for the Wigan game. Please let me be wrong, please let me be wrong, please let me be wrong.
Mike dean is from that area we should protest in strong terms if we get him for wigan
Off-topic so apologies to Walter/author of this article.
Just looking at the relegation battle and I really cannot see Southampton or Norwich picking up any more points, have a feeling one of the is for the PGMOL chop. Monday will tell us more if Sunderland pick up 3 points, which judging by who is officiating looks quite likely.
Wigan as predicted just keep on picking up the points they need to avoid the drop. Wigan Vs Swansea is massive for them and us, as it will dictate the importance of our match with them.
Something tells me only southern clubs will be relegated this season.
Mike Dean is from Wirral..The Wirral Weasel I always thought of him as.. I just don’t know where Wirral is 🙂 Apparently somewhere near Liverpool?? Am I right?
Yes Shard, although Wigan is actually classed as Greater Manchester these days, it’s about 15km outside of Liverpool, where senior Dean hails from also known as the Wirral.
The problem I have with Dean is; Foy is also from the same area as Dean but doesn’t do Wigan games, something in his background (someone said Foy trains at Wigan so doesn’t do their games) stops him from officiating them, what it is I don’t know.
Wigan’s win ratio under Mike Dean goes through the roof, so I just don’t trust the Bastards. Why can Dean do Wigan games when Foy, from the same area as Dean, cannot?
Dean weasels his way in 🙂
What? It’s a better explanation than you’re likely to ever get from the pgmol.
As for dean just hope Ivan is using his status for fairness
Missed the first thirty minutes and after that what I saw was a sloppy Arsenal, ponderous and totally witless when they got close to QPR’s goal. I’d put it down to complacency after that early goal.
The first part of the second half QPR dominated but they were also poor at finishing but at least they had some urgency. Then we woke up and started to exert some pressure but there was no imagination when it came to outwitting QPR’s defence. The game tailed off with neither side sparkling.
The defence did a good job but if we’re as lacklustre against Wigan or Newcastle we might get nothing.
A flat performance, maybe we’re saving our best for the last two games.
In my local I was surrounded by QPR fans (well about three) who were impressed with their team’s performance. Didn’t think it was that good.
For some reason it was shown on German Sky so I can’t say whether the commentary was biased or not.
Was not a great performance rupert but the result is all that matters. I echo some of Walters points we missed giroud today he causes problems that help our other attacking players do what they do
@Mandy,Agree, 3 pts is what matters but I really hope we up our game in the next two games.
And Podolski was virtually invisible. Gervinho, much as I have doubts over him, would have probably offered more.
We really need to improve our attack.
Maybe we can get this guy Bale from next door.
Yes we need a bit more attacking maybe risk the vermaelen high line defending helping the attack but wenger would be crucified if he did that and got it wrong. As for bale we missed our chance on him few years back but impressed with his medics
Agree with some comments regarding our attack. We seem to run out of ideas when in possession around the opponents 18 yard line.
Movement in behind the defence seems to be lacking, but even when we got behind QPR today there were no clear options. Is that down to good defensive positioning or a lack of movement or both?
I’m surprised to keep reading the opinion that we need to improve our performances. I personally think the we are playing the game perfectly. Lets compare Arsenal to an F1 team…
We’re into the final few races of what has been another extremely gruelling season. We’re in very good condition at the moment, nearly all parts working well, but no doubt at breaking point. We’re up against inferior opponents today so have put in a couple of extremely fast first laps to put distance between us and then have maintained that distance throughout the race. There was no need to keep trying to get a fastest lap, the race was run in the first few laps. Trying too hard could have meant parts breaking, mistakes being made, basically crashing out and getting nothing. And for what? No reason at all.
We are doing what is absolutely necessary in order to win the remaining games of the season in order to secure Champions League football. The reward this brings may not be in the form of a shiny trophy, but it makes Arsenal one of only 4 teams in the league to be able to offer proper European football. In addition to our new sponsorship deals, we will have the finances to attract the required new players to the club in order to compete for honours again.
The transition the club has been through over the past 8 years has been extraordinary, and to have remained at the top table of European football during this time is a magnificent achievement. Not to mention having to do so with minimum funds and having your best players poached season after season forcing a squad rebuild season after season. Those who don’t understand or recognise that really are lacking in basic common sense. And those who claim the club has been mismanaged during this period are, in my opinion, lacking in basic intelligence.
Steve,
to keep on the footballing side, it would have been nice to put the game to bed with a second and third goal, which was not beyond reach.
Agree with the rest of your comment though. We do seem more stable as a team, yet, I would like, actually, I want, more of a cutting edge. I want us to be more ruthless. But also appreciate the 3 points today.
I did hope with Podolski upfront we would have had that, but it doesn’t seem to work out. Maybe he needs more games upfront.
Maybe Thierry Henry has spoiled me for life? who knows.
I take it your an F1 fan?
Hey Adam
Yeah, I agree, and Theo almost got a 2nd but for a very good palm onto the post. We really are missing Giroud at the moment, which in turn really highlights the fact we need an additional striker in the summer (and not to lose any of our current strike force).
Not sure what’s going on with with Podolski at the moment, he’s not playing at all well though. Hopefully it’s just a lack of form or fitness, he’s been an excellent addition to the squad this season, his delivery from the left has been fantastic and he has an evil shot. Maybe he just needs a break? The epl is considered the toughest in the world…
You know, even with Thierry, Pires, Bergkamp and Ljungberg playing, we still scrapped 1-0’s 😉
I like most sports to be honest, at the moment I’m loving the snooker. F1’s not what it used to be, the drivers are so bland, it’s lacking a bit of character these days. Give me Senna v Prost over Vettal v A N Other any day 🙂
Still think podoski is carrying something as is jack and tommy v but no point in the club putting such things in the open…..
Some sewer rat claimed not to have watched our match v utd last week but then spent hours and hours laying into our team’s performance on here, posting more comments than people who actually watched the match. Strange that, coming from someone who never watched the game. Couldn’t help noticing the same rat claiming they missed a big chunk of the first half v qpr where we did everything including scoring the fastest goal this season, and only watched the game from when we supposedly became a little ‘sloppy’. This confirms two things; either they somehow conveniently manage to miss the games/portions of the match where we do rather well, or they just tell lies to back up their unjustified criticism. Either way, it also confirms we should not waste our valuable time on such an object(or is troll the correct word? Can’t decide)
He’s a troll, Al! I bet he lives under a bridge, and ambushes passersby, demanding a troll toll.
Back to the off-topic piece about Wigan and refs.
West Brom had 2 very reasonable penalty appeals turned down yesterday. Also, have you noticed how many crucial goals have been scored by McManaman, the player who did not receive any punishment for a potential leg-breaking foul against Newcastle?
Back to our game. What about the awful foul on Arteta just after Theo’s goal? Not even a yellow card! Comparing it to the red given to Giroud, it suggests that we have more to contend with than just Dean, so far as PGMOL is concerned.
Mandy,
Although it wasn’t up there with our best performances, yesterday was a good one in my opinion as we controlled the game for most parts. Unfortunately our finishing infront of goal was not as good as we tried to make it but we did shoot from range, an often found criticism but just because our shooting wasn’t great & frequent, doesn’t mean the teams performance should be dragged down (however I do think we needed Giroud as he is not shy at having a go). If this was another team, shots wouldn’t have mattered because we’d all be calling it a solid performance maintaining an important one goal lead
I think in the last dive games Rupert, you have criticised the team after the game having seen only sixty minutes of play (and that was from yesterdays game). Sorry, but I can’t really take you seriously.
Steve e,
Couldn’t have put it better myself. We’ve always had teams we scrap for a goal against, others are Stoke, Bolton, Hull (who are up next year) so it’s nothing to moan about. People need to reposition their expectations.
@Walter, You missed another anniversary….
Theo also got our 100th goal of the season, and guess what, all that with an attack line with a crap striker, an inconsistent winger with 20 goals, an injured striker, an not so world class midfielder, and a brainfreeze.
@Al & Sav
I also have noted the antics of the putrid sewer rat – sometimes he behaves like an AAA/Russian propagandist, on other occasions his comments suggest a mental problem – perhaps he suffers from both.
Yesterday was a tense match, but the team fought well, played some good football and prevented a QPR equalizer. Lets also remember that while the team is now looking a lot more solid than it did earlier in the season, it is still a team in development.
@Stevie E. the mismanagement issue is a matter of opinion, if that opinion differs it’s nothing to do with people lacking the intelligence you seem to reserve as your privilege.
There is a lack of cutting edge in the last few games. But any team can go through a dry patch upfront. We need to be sure it’s just a patch and not a growing stain.
If QPR had scored it would have been fascinating to see if we could have restored our lead, there were signs in the second half after a brief spell of QPR dominance when we looked like we’d get a second.
Our football was average. Some of our passing was woeful. And we went through spells were our keeping possession seemed to be a scientific impossibility. There was little spark but a win is a win. There were plenty of similar performances back in the Graham days.
Rupert
“the mismanagement issue is a matter of opinion, if that opinion differs it’s nothing to do with people lacking the intelligence you seem to reserve as your privilege.”
Firstly, I dont think I’ve ever read a comment from you that doesn’t have some sort of insult in it. Its extremely tiresome. If you don’t agree, why not just put your argument against it forward, why automatically resort comments that are clearly intended to inflame? And please don’t try to act all innocent or hard done by, man up and stand behind your comments.
Anyway, in the interest of debate, I disagree that it’s a matter of opinion, it’s a matter of fact. If the club had of been mismanaged we wouldn’t be in such a strong financial position, with a new stadium and new massive sponsorship deals on the cards. We wouldnt be in the top 4 teams in the league every year. We would be deeply in debt with no solution on the horizon, possibly on the verge of administration. I realise you like to disagree just for the sake of it, but surely you can’t argue that a club in such a fantastic position after such a massive upheaval is in the position because of luck or chance? Clearly the management team have/had a plan which has been executed almost perfectly. That is a sign of good management.
As neither of us know what would have happened if say we invested another 20 million a season on players the argument is totally null and void. Like all those who say nobody else could do what Wenger could have done. It’s not provable either way so why waste time on it.
The club to some has been mismanaged, to others it has not. The lack of on field success supports the latter argument, the healthy bank balance supports the former.
That’s the argument most fans are having. Not the one about new stadium etc. because we know that that was necessary. Without we wouldn’t have been bankrupt but we’d most likely have been in Pool’s position.
I don;t care we win ugly 1-0 next two games.
All we need is 6 points and finish in top four.
Even if we win a game by 6 nil with 95% possession against the opposing team, Rupert will still complain
Another £20m a season on players.
Really? The club actually is making a small loss every season, except on player transfers.
Check your facts out.
Don’t speak of most fans opinions. You only speak for yourself.
Your comments on mismanagement are delibeately disingenuous and you’ve even (mis) managed to mess up your own argument.
@Shard
Are you the same Shard who used to post on Arsenal FC blog? if so i enjoyed your posts. I gave up fighting the Doomers and am looking for a new home. i suspect you did the same
Missed the first 90 seconds, and I was upset.
otherwise, it is very tricky to play “liberated” when you have the result that you need within seconds after starting the game. We are used to more creativity from our midfield and our attackers, more recently with the likes of Bergkamp, Pires, Titi Henry, Cesc, and others.
Jovetic, while not a prolific scorer, could be a great addition; I would also suggest… Miroslav Klose, a serial scorer who is known to have an uncanny understanding with Podolski, for a “plan B” on the offensive side; he is old, but he does score and score and score.