It’s 1.33am. I can’t sleep. No, not Temple Run (highest score is now 9.4m), but football. I need to write, right now, while the wounds are fresh. Not even tonight’s episode of TOWIE can take my mind off The Arsenal. 4-0. Emphatic. Arsene Wenger called it ‘a disaster’ and ‘shocking’, labelling it as ‘our worst night ever in Europe’. Tough to disagree. What went wrong?
As soon as our starting line-up was released on Twitter (@fkhanage), I turned to Yeamilson and expressed my dissatisfaction. The selection of Ramsey, Arteta, Song and Rosicky was surprising particularly as we have played with two offensive wingers supporting RVP all season. I wondered if this would have a detrimental impact on the team’s balance resulting in a more cautious approach and with hindsight, I think he got it wrong.
Four years ago, Arsenal became the first English side to beat AC Milan at the San Siro courtesy of a 2-0 second-leg victory that eliminated the then holders from the last 16 of the Champions League. It was a virtuoso performance of defensive efficiency and ruthless counter-attacking football. It was cool, classy and confident. Such is our decline from those hopeful heights of 2008, and such is our mental fragility following the inconsistencies of this season, that even despite a relatively assured opening 15 minutes, the moment we fell behind we fell apart. What followed was one-way traffic as defenders dithered and were dragged about with ease while possession-starved forwards looked on forlornly. Make no mistake. We got what we deserved.
Whilst Arsene may have made a mistake with his starting eleven, there is nothing he can do once the players cross that white line. The players have responsibilities; to fight, to give 100% effort and commitment and to demonstrate why they deserve to wear the shirt. But there was nothing. Outperformed in every position it came down to damage limitation and we were left feeling sorry for ourselves.
You could probably analyse and make reasonable excuses for each goal; extraordinary finish for the first, off-side for the second, an unfortunate slip by Vermaelen for the third and an incredibly harsh penalty decision for the last but bottom line, we got spanked 4-0. After the game Arsene said, ‘we need to be realistic, we don’t play in dream world.. you have to say, we are out of the competition.’
However, I’m not convinced that this tie is over. Sounds mad, right? Just hear me out:
§ It is perfectly possible to score four goals at the Emirates;
§ We’ve beaten Champions League opponents by 4,5 and 6 in recent years; and
§ The team has NOTHING to lose which will relax us and perhaps even suit our play.
If there is any chance of turning this tie around, we need an Arsenal-of-old style performance. Remember the days at Highbury when we used to fly out of the blocks and take a 1 or 2-0 lead within the first quarter of an hour? The Emirates pitch will allow us to play our natural game and the quick tempo of our play may see Milan come unstuck. Needless to say, tactically, we must be spot on. My personal preference of formation would be:
We have to be bold and Arsene needs to be willing to make brave decisions e.g. dropping Walcott and starting The Ox. You may be surprised with my selection of Andrei Arshavin. Don’t be. This is a guy who’s best position is in the hole, behind the lead striker. Zenit built their team around AA23 and he was incredibly influential in the No.10 position. It is no surprise to me that his best performances in the famous red shirt have been when he’s been deployed in a central position providing numerous assists.
If we get off to a flying start and if decisions go for us on the night, then you just never know. What’s all the fuss about? We’ll do them 5-4!
Finally, we have a massive game in the FA Cup at Sunderland this Saturday and to make things worse, we’ve lost the impeccable Larry Koscielny to a knee injury. It’s too early to say how long he’ll be out for and it’s a devastating blow following Per Mertesacker’s tragic ankle injury. The players need to forget the result against Milan and concentrate fully on beating Sunderland for second time in a week. It’ll be a tough game and I fully expect Arsene to make changes with next weekend’s clash against Spurs in mind (eek!).
Much love Gooners, keep the faith.
