Yesterday was quite literally the coldest I have ever felt at a football match, it's very rare you go to a game in London and it snows more or less from the first minute to the last.
As the title suggests, I see this as very much a point gained rather than a point lost and the match brutally exposed our lack of midfield and attacking options. As suspected, the loss of Alex Song is a huge one - the fact is that Denilson is lightweight and as I have always maintained I do not think he has the class or ability to play for a team like Arsenal. I'm not sure what Denilson offers to the team, he can't tackle, gets brushed off the ball too easily and his passing is woeful at times. Diaby didn't really get into the game mainly because he had to defend a lot more to cover up the inadequacies of Denilson. Credit must go to Everton, I thought they played superbly albeit it was helped by Arsenal who probably gave their worst performance of the season. What I find frustrating is that had we played like we did when we went 2-1 down for the previous 88 minutes then we probably would have won the game. I felt we lacked fight yesterday, I know the conditions were terrible but it was the same for both sides and the fact is that the only way to keep warm yesterday was to run about as much as possible!
Although we missed Song, the lack of creativity was was worrying and hopefully we'll have Fabregas back for the Bolton game as we clearly need our talisman as I feel he riases our performance level as a team by 10 or 15%. I don't think anyone played particularly well yesterday, Arshavin is completely wasted as a lone front man and the quicker we get the big Dane back up front the better.
Should Wenger buy in the transfer window?
The answer is a resounding YES! We do need someone big up front even though Bendtner should be back in a few weeks the jury is still out on him and he has been out for a good few months which will mean he will take time to get match fit. If we didn't have so many problems in midfield I would definitely consider playing Diaby up top as he is big, strong and did start out as a striker. The problem is that there just might not be anybody in the mould available, I agree with Wenger when he says that there's no point in buying a player for the sake of it - they have to improve the side. I think we also need another defensive midfielder, we don't know how bad Denilson's injury is and I don't think he's good enough anyway. We also need cover at centre half, if either Gallas or the Verminator get injured then we're in serious trouble. I still think Senderos should be given a chance as he is a much better defender than Silvestre but he is clearly out of favour. I'm really not convinced about re-signing Sol, I just don't think he'll be able to cut it at the top level any longer. I think Wenger's comments about the possibility of signing Sol works 2 ways, firstly it's a favour to Sol to help generate some interest from other clubs and also as a smokescreen for who he really wants to sign - I could be wrong but time will tell. We also need a goalkeeper as a matter of urgency, Almunia's performance yesterday summed up what the guy is, an absolute liability - the worst keeper I have ever seen in an Arsenal shirt and what makes me even more angry is that he's given the arm band when Cesc isn't playing.
So all in all the point gained might be very important come the end of the season, a word to Arsene, the league is a real possibility this season and amazingly we have a chance so please don't be stubborn, sign the players we need that could make this a very special league campaign. The fact is that with the emergence of Manchester City we might never get a chance like this for a very long time.
Player ratings:
Almunia 3 - Can't kick, can't claim crosses and causes panic in the defence - what a terrible goalkeeper.
Sagna 7 - Solid.
Gallas 5 - Thought he had a poor game yesterday.
Vermaelen 7 - Usual solid self and almost scored.
Traore 5 - Just as he was looking comfortable in the team he puts in an awful performance, was run ragged by Landon Donavan all game.
Denilson 4 - lightweight, can't tackle, can't pass.
Diaby 7 - Best of the midfielders but had to compensate for Denilson's poor showing, did well for the equaliser.
Nasri 5 - Forgot he was still on the field in the second half.
Ramsey 5 - There is no doubting his ability but he still lacks consistency, not the finished article yet.
Eduardo 5 - Ineffective
Arshavin 5 - Not a lone frontman and struggled to get in the game.
Subs:
Rosicky 7 - A few miss placed passes but scored the vital equaliser - needs games.
Merida - Wasn't on the field long enough.
Vela 5 - Didn't do much when he came on.
As the title suggests, I see this as very much a point gained rather than a point lost and the match brutally exposed our lack of midfield and attacking options. As suspected, the loss of Alex Song is a huge one - the fact is that Denilson is lightweight and as I have always maintained I do not think he has the class or ability to play for a team like Arsenal. I'm not sure what Denilson offers to the team, he can't tackle, gets brushed off the ball too easily and his passing is woeful at times. Diaby didn't really get into the game mainly because he had to defend a lot more to cover up the inadequacies of Denilson. Credit must go to Everton, I thought they played superbly albeit it was helped by Arsenal who probably gave their worst performance of the season. What I find frustrating is that had we played like we did when we went 2-1 down for the previous 88 minutes then we probably would have won the game. I felt we lacked fight yesterday, I know the conditions were terrible but it was the same for both sides and the fact is that the only way to keep warm yesterday was to run about as much as possible!
Although we missed Song, the lack of creativity was was worrying and hopefully we'll have Fabregas back for the Bolton game as we clearly need our talisman as I feel he riases our performance level as a team by 10 or 15%. I don't think anyone played particularly well yesterday, Arshavin is completely wasted as a lone front man and the quicker we get the big Dane back up front the better.
Should Wenger buy in the transfer window?
The answer is a resounding YES! We do need someone big up front even though Bendtner should be back in a few weeks the jury is still out on him and he has been out for a good few months which will mean he will take time to get match fit. If we didn't have so many problems in midfield I would definitely consider playing Diaby up top as he is big, strong and did start out as a striker. The problem is that there just might not be anybody in the mould available, I agree with Wenger when he says that there's no point in buying a player for the sake of it - they have to improve the side. I think we also need another defensive midfielder, we don't know how bad Denilson's injury is and I don't think he's good enough anyway. We also need cover at centre half, if either Gallas or the Verminator get injured then we're in serious trouble. I still think Senderos should be given a chance as he is a much better defender than Silvestre but he is clearly out of favour. I'm really not convinced about re-signing Sol, I just don't think he'll be able to cut it at the top level any longer. I think Wenger's comments about the possibility of signing Sol works 2 ways, firstly it's a favour to Sol to help generate some interest from other clubs and also as a smokescreen for who he really wants to sign - I could be wrong but time will tell. We also need a goalkeeper as a matter of urgency, Almunia's performance yesterday summed up what the guy is, an absolute liability - the worst keeper I have ever seen in an Arsenal shirt and what makes me even more angry is that he's given the arm band when Cesc isn't playing.
So all in all the point gained might be very important come the end of the season, a word to Arsene, the league is a real possibility this season and amazingly we have a chance so please don't be stubborn, sign the players we need that could make this a very special league campaign. The fact is that with the emergence of Manchester City we might never get a chance like this for a very long time.
Player ratings:
Almunia 3 - Can't kick, can't claim crosses and causes panic in the defence - what a terrible goalkeeper.
Sagna 7 - Solid.
Gallas 5 - Thought he had a poor game yesterday.
Vermaelen 7 - Usual solid self and almost scored.
Traore 5 - Just as he was looking comfortable in the team he puts in an awful performance, was run ragged by Landon Donavan all game.
Denilson 4 - lightweight, can't tackle, can't pass.
Diaby 7 - Best of the midfielders but had to compensate for Denilson's poor showing, did well for the equaliser.
Nasri 5 - Forgot he was still on the field in the second half.
Ramsey 5 - There is no doubting his ability but he still lacks consistency, not the finished article yet.
Eduardo 5 - Ineffective
Arshavin 5 - Not a lone frontman and struggled to get in the game.
Subs:
Rosicky 7 - A few miss placed passes but scored the vital equaliser - needs games.
Merida - Wasn't on the field long enough.
Vela 5 - Didn't do much when he came on.
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