A GREAT STAR TO A NEW YEAR.
Arsenal went into the Burnley game in the FA Cup 3rd round proper on a high, after the Everton and West Ham victories, with a typical ‘Cup XI’ starting at Turf Moor.
A decent goal buy Eduardo put the gloss over a half-decent first half, but the second half left a lot to be desired. Arsenal looked jaded, with Abou Diaby in particular having a poor game. Nicklas Bendtner and Eduardo, for this writer, looked like a modern-day Ian Wright and Kevin Campbell partnership; good movement and good understanding, but utterly reliant on some midfield creativity happening behind them, for the hope of receiving the decent passes their runs off the ball demanded. Without Cesc Fabregas, Alex Hleb and Tomas Rosicky, such occurances were few and far between. Yet, whilst Bendtner dropped deep to little effect, once Eduardo went off in search of the ball, the Burnley defence went walk about. A perfect pass into Bendtner’s run allowed the Dane to round the comical Kiraly to make it 0-2 and complete the wallpapering over a rather insepid display.
On this evidence, yes, Arsenal can play well without key players - something the team must get used to with Kolo Toure leaving for a month (Toure, the captain today, was superb) - and still win against determined opponents. Manu Eboue was, for me, very slack with his final ball and may not be too missed. Calls for Luka Modric et al won’t disappear off the Arsenal forums for a while on this showing.
Some questions that for me need to be answered though;
1 - Where was Lassana Diarra? Was he left out in order to keep him elligable in the cup for other (lesser) teams?2 - Was that Jens Lehmann’s last game for Arsenal? Will Wenger sign a 3rd choice ‘keeper in this window?3 - How long will Wenger persist to play without a left-winger? Abou Diaby had a shocker and there isn’t a lot of choices for that flank.
4 - Is Manu Eboue ‘Arsenal Quality?’ His performance was poor on the right flank and his decision making was pub-league. I know he is a popular choice for a scape-goat, but surely Walcott would have put in a better shift?!
5 - Can Arsenal cope without Kolo Toure? He put in a game winning performance, but can Phil Senderos keep his level of performance up, as he was very good today too.
6 - Will Wenger dip into the finances? With Luke Freeman being touted as Wenger’s latest young signing, will he bow to the media speculation and sign some experience - especially on the flanks?
2008 has started well, let’s hope Arsenal can perform on all four fronts for as long as possible.
2008 has started well, let’s hope Arsenal can perform on all four fronts for as long as possible.Happy New Year Folks.