Not thrilled at a home goalless draw, but it is first game of the season with players still to fully gel against an ULTRA negative team. PLUSES * Cazorlla was excellent...he had a slight dip about 15 mins from half time probably due to fatigue with his mid week trip but definetly got a 2nd wind after the break. He's mobile, great blanance and passing but also gets stuck in * Arteta was very solid, again people underestimate his importance...he wasn't the flashiest out there but kept the game moving, barley put a foot wrong and made some excellent interceptions * Gervinho..not 100% convincing but definitely had flashes of brilliance and against a very stubborn team regular got in behind them..his final choisce is still questionable PATIENCE NEEDED * Podolski didn't do much but we have to be patient..he's obvious quality...I was suprised he took up such deep postions * Giroud...made some great runs and yes it was a bad miss but first game coming on with 20 mins...we can't be too hard on the guy QUESTIONS REMAIN * Mertasaker had some typically shaky moments with not much to defend and a few sloppy passes * TV bombed forward alot but still has it in his locker to make a few slips..he's captain now so needs to become our rock..no more mistakes * Gibbs was caught out in the first half but had a more solid 2nd...he can't cross to save his life though * Jenkinson aint good enough...come on if we want success how can this guy be in our team?? * Not sure why Arshavin is still here but as per usual he mixes his brilliance with his incompetence and it could have hurt us * Ramsey had a decent Olympics but he was poor today...some sloppy passing, randome shots from distance...looks to be the same player from last year * Diaby did ok but again not good enough for what we need...presume he's just filling the gap for 1-2 new midfielders to be signed before the end of the window
Meh. I thought Podolski held up the play really well. Jenkinson was solid, as was Ramsey and Diaby and TV. Mert was shaky at first but regained his composure as the game went on (same as Gibbs). Giroud should have scored but he looked lively. Tbh we played well and just got shut out by a resolute S'Land defense (fair play to them)
It was always going to be a bit of a struggle at first without RVP and of course it will take time to gel, but from what I saw of the match they seemed to lack urgency and didn't do enough with the ball when going forward. Having said that, Sunderland's defense played out of its skin. Bodies blocking shots, last ditch tackles, that sort of stuff. The Black Cats definitely played for the draw. And in the end deserved it.
Frustrating game, but there were no obvious wrongs in it. Sunderland just turtled the **** out of it. We need 3 points against Stoke though. We've got Liverpool, City and Chelsea in September.
Easier said than done... this is a really really hard start to the season. We do also have a game against Southhampton which should be "easier".
Cazorla impressed me but I just can't have Jenkinson at this level, I hope he gets better because I really want him to succeed. Walcott today was as poor as I've ever seen him, but of course the Giroud miss is what we'll all remember, had he buried that no-one would be talking about RVP or how poor Walcott/Jenk was, we'd be saying 3 points job done, but sadly we're not...
People talk as if we won every game RVP played in. My biggest problem with today's performance was the slow build up in attack, and also the movement of our player off the ball. I am sure as the season progress we'll improve, but right now I am not concern about the absence of RVP and Song.
Some Positives, Some Negatives, overall it was a tough game considering the pre-season we've had and the relatively disruptive transfer window. Cazorla-Arteta-Diaby seemed to have clicked together right away, but it seems that Giroud might not be fully up to the pace of the Premiership, although he did make some tidy runs. Likewise, Podolski did hold up the ball well, but seemed to be closed out of the game due to the style of defence that he encountered, hopefully having him play off Giroud on the left will counteract that somewhat. Gervinho was very impressive, I was extremely pleased by the way he tracked back, obviously he's got a bit of fire in his belly. Arshavin also seemed to do well when he came on, but I wasn't impressed at all with Walcott, and tbh if the rumours of him going are true, I don't think we'll be missing him much. Defence looked solid, with the BFG and Verm looking good, having said that, I still think Merts and Kos is our best partnership, maybe if Vermaelen good get used to lb he could take gibb's spot but he still bombs forward too much for my liking. Looking at the other results, especially Spurs and L'pool, might not have been such a bad result after all.
For a first game not bad, sunderland defended very deep and thats very difficult to play against, maybe it would have been an idea to start with giroud and use the wings a bit more. But i think your being a bit harsh on diaby he is still finding his feet after a while on the sidelines and i thought he did really well yesterday and he will only get better, you see i think he did just aswel as arteta and he got the ball further forward in more dangerous positions whereas arteta did tend to just pass the ball along the backline yesterday. But i think both players will be vital this season. But i honestly can't understand why jenkinson is in the team ahead of yennaris i just don't see what is so promising about him. We do have a very difficult start and it will be interesting to see how we fair against stoke, and there is still a major opportunity to bring players in before the window closes.
Just as an outsider looking in lads - and I was there yesterday - we all picked Diaby out as looking like a young Patrick Vieira. We thought he had a great game and controlled a lot of the play. Cazorla will be a terrific player in time and Jenkinson did well against McCLean who was bombing last season. Downside is that Podolski isn't an out and out striker and will struggle to score 12 goals from the positions he took up yesterday. He wanted to be the link player not the striker. I know you don't want to hear it but if RVP had been playing I think he would have taken that Giroud chance and you'd have 3 points tonight. We came with injuries to defence, Sessegnon hasn't kicked a ball in the close season and none of our striking targets were even in place yet, so our manager set us up to defend and be disciplined, which I thought we did very well. A point at the Emirates is a good point for anyone imo and I think we earned it. Good luck with the rest of the season lads and for my first visit to the Emirates I have to say a great arena great day. Far better than WHL. Lol Oh btw, a message for The Zlatan? Martin O'Neill a cockroach is he? Go **** yourself arsehole.
Interesting facts pulled off the interweb from Sporting Preview.com. "...the top goalscorer in three of the last five Premier League seasons was also involved in a goalless draw on the opening day. Most notably, Robin Van Persie took an age to get going last season for Arsenal, having only managed one Premier League goal by September 24th."
