of Arsenal's predictability

To every Arsenal fan, the last 572 minutes of competitive football against who-else-but Chelsea have been outright humiliating. The stats say it all – 0 matches won, 0 goals scored against. And the defeats were not just as simple as losing three points; but how the games were lost. Who would forget the 6-0 thrashing at Stamford Bridge? Over the recent years, Drogba was the sole tormentor-in-chief but I’ll give it to him – he was simply unstoppable when at his best. Arsenal fans must have felt relief when Drogba aged and left the club. But up stepped D. Costa who wiped the grins off their faces not once, not twice mind you. In 2014/2015 season, he scored. In Sunday’s game, Costa theatrically rolled over the ground and led to Mertersacker’s red card. To add salt to injury, his goal was the match winner. In the reverse fixture in Sep 2015, Costa successfully psyched Gabriel Paulista into conceding a silly technical foul, earning the latter a straight red.

Arsenal have a ‘self-correction tendency’ i.e. when they are in a bad run of results and desperately need a good win to turn their season around, they are able to find magic in their game and win convincingly e.g. wins against Bayern Munich (champs league qualifying) and Man U (FA Cup 2015); on the other hand, just when a win can put them 3 points at the top of the domestic league, they stumble and open a floodgate of damning questions of their title credentials e.g. draws against Norwich and Bournemouth. But what’s my point here?

During Sunday’s game, several players were not befitting of a title-winning squad:

1) I can’t think of any other current EPL DM who can’t perform better than Flamini as the DM – how many times have you seen him actually winning tackles or making timely interceptions? A DM must have authority and physicality, of which Flamini has neither. He just makes up the numbers for the lack of a alternative.

2) Ramsey committed a few unforced errors in the first half (I slept after half-time). Receiving a simple pass from Ozil in centre of the park, he let the ball trickle out of play under NO PRESSURE. Later, Ramsey was driving the ball forward with Ozil and Walcott in good positions. He tried passing to Walcott who was 10m away, but he under hit it and conceded possession. Ramsey is still young and has played many games for Arsenal. He should really be playing in a more matured way.

3) I understand Ozil needs players around him to make play happen. When there is no Giroud or Carzola to support his play, Ozil is unable to assert himself and this was evident in Sunday’s defeat. It was also the way how Ozil lost possession that made his contribution (or lack of) look damning. Despite beefing up a considerable mass, Ozil lost a shoulder charge against Oscar (who has one of the slightest frames) and ROLLED TO THE GROUND. What? After 3 years playing in EPL, he hasn’t stepped up his physicality?

4) Arsenal’s captain, tall and respectable. Even before that professional foul against Costa that eventually got him sent off, it was evident that Costa’s strategy was to play around and when there is a chance, to run behind Mertersacker. Costa knows he is not Koscielny’s challenge. Mertersacker is slower and less physical. That’s simple. I don’t have to be Costa to realise that Mertersacker is a slighter opponent and I will stick closer to him and let him mark me instead of the faster and more agile Koscielny. Mertersacker is over 30 yo, captain of the team, and possesses a wealth of top-flight experience including winning the World Cup in 2014. How he decided to commit the last-man foul in the first half when the teams were evenly-matched was a STUPID DECISION. You do it when the game is 80 minutes. Not at 18 minutes. You do it when you take one for the team. I don’t know what Mertersacker was thinking. His damning error led to his team’s downfall.

In order to win the title, every individual needs to step up! Arsenal must not allow too much room for error in Ramsey’s unforced errors, Ozil’s tendency to lose possession, Flamini’s lack of threat nor Mertersacker’s silly defensive mistakes. Any one can potentially lead to a costly goal and eventual three points. The reason why Wenger hasn’t won the title after 11 years is because he has allowed his players too much time and given them too much trust. Pascal Cygan, Djourou, Denilson, Senderos, to name a few who were undoubtedly not at that calibre of a serious title challenger. Errors must not be condoned – see what neighbours Mourinho assertively did with star players Hazard and Costa when they could not perform up to par. Yes, playing more games builds confidence ‘practice makes perfect’ but I believe an acceptable level of punishment (i.e. benched and forced to watch from sidelines) helps to ingrain a winner’s mentality. Wenger brazenly trusts his ill-performing players to do the job and win the title. After 11 years, his ideal has to evolve.