I watched the games here in sunny Spain over last weekend with a bunch of mags who live locally. It was interesting to watch a full mag game without the partisanship of the derby and as it was the first game of the season I can´t say how indicative it was of things to come. But the impression I got was of a team on the cusp of something bad. I´m not just having a pop at the mags, as I´m not really into that, but I really do think they have problems.
To start with, their attack is unimpressive at best. TBH, I kept confusing Ba and Amoebi, as they were equally inept and neither showed anything to frighten the promoted teams, let alone well-established Prem teams.
Their midfield functioned pretty well, and while Tiote ran his socks off disrupting things in the middle of the park, Barton was hopeless if you ask me. Wayward passes, disappeared at times, mediocre delivery... He´s too good to stay like that, but I think it was more a case of trying too hard than playing a natural game and that cannot be good. The new French lad Cabaye was OK without standing out. Passed the ball well enough for a "satisfactory" mark on his first proper outing, but jury still out.
At the back they were OK, but Arsenal didn´t ask too many difficult questions. Collocini seems to have decided he´ll play right at the back in the middle and he was very solid. The others were OK, but looked fragile at times and if Arsenal had bothered to commit players forward they looked like they could have filled their boots.
Overall, it was a pretty dull game and the mags coped with an unambitious Arsenal reasonably well, but I got the feeling that a serious side would have posed a lot more problems and some that they would not have had answers for. Now that Enrique´s gone and Barton is treading water it does not look good in the long term.
A derby two weeks into the season could go wither way, irrespective of how well the teams are playing, but I can see big problems for them up the road in a month or two, particularly if the French lads struggle to adjust.
To start with, their attack is unimpressive at best. TBH, I kept confusing Ba and Amoebi, as they were equally inept and neither showed anything to frighten the promoted teams, let alone well-established Prem teams.
Their midfield functioned pretty well, and while Tiote ran his socks off disrupting things in the middle of the park, Barton was hopeless if you ask me. Wayward passes, disappeared at times, mediocre delivery... He´s too good to stay like that, but I think it was more a case of trying too hard than playing a natural game and that cannot be good. The new French lad Cabaye was OK without standing out. Passed the ball well enough for a "satisfactory" mark on his first proper outing, but jury still out.
At the back they were OK, but Arsenal didn´t ask too many difficult questions. Collocini seems to have decided he´ll play right at the back in the middle and he was very solid. The others were OK, but looked fragile at times and if Arsenal had bothered to commit players forward they looked like they could have filled their boots.
Overall, it was a pretty dull game and the mags coped with an unambitious Arsenal reasonably well, but I got the feeling that a serious side would have posed a lot more problems and some that they would not have had answers for. Now that Enrique´s gone and Barton is treading water it does not look good in the long term.
A derby two weeks into the season could go wither way, irrespective of how well the teams are playing, but I can see big problems for them up the road in a month or two, particularly if the French lads struggle to adjust.
