Arsenal finished Premier League game week nine with a scoreless draw against Middlesbrough at the Emirates.
Before kick off it was generally assumed that whilst Middlesbrough would put up a fight, the Gunners had on paper far too much quality to override their best efforts. Given the form Arsenal have been in, unbeaten in their last six Premier League games, it seemed that anything besides a win against today’s opponents would come as a surprise. Unfortunately for us however, even with a late goal in extra time ruled offside, the win streak of six matches finally came to an end.
When I saw that the match was being refereed by Mike Dean, it did bring on thoughts that we may struggle in this game. Arsenal are rather notorious at failing to win under the watchful eye of Mr Dean and in fact for many fans it has become a persistent frustration to see his name down on the official’s list.
For once I think that on this occasion, we can’t really blame the official as a reason behind our failed attempts. It was a performance where Arsenal really lacked creativity and drive. Pair Arsenal’s attempts with a fantastic defensive display from Middlesbrough and you get the result of a scoreless draw between these two sides at opposite ends of the table.
So what was the reasoning behind the result, after a match that had plenty of end to end action? Arsenal quite simply looked uninspired, didn’t create the amount of chances we usually do and the team lacked the drive to press and move forward with the ball.
In the opening 15-30 minutes of the first half, Arsenal pressed high up the pitch with in fact most of the team playing a high line against the opposition. However as the game went on, especially in the latter stages, you could see fitness levels drop and frustrations kick in.
We struggled to keep focus and didn’t create the opportunities they needed to in order to have a chance in front of goal. Instead the poor performance opened up more opportunities for the opposition than we would’ve liked and on more than one occasion Petr Cech was left vulnerable by the Arsenal defence. A Petr Cech masterclass really saved us today, because without him in goal, there were various scenarios that would’ve seen the visitors come away with a win.
The most frustrating factor of the match is that the side once again looked like they lacked knowledge of a Plan B. We’ve said it time and time again when Arsenal have dropped points, that if a team works out how to stop our waves of attacks, then the opposition can often hold out for 90 minutes. This is because we lack an understanding of what Plan B is, when Arsene Wenger’s forefront tactics aren’t working.
Arsenal struggled to break Middlesborough down today, with the men from the Riverside often having all 11 players behind the ball. This game really could have done with a change in style of play, notably an Olivier Giroud up top to add some physical presence to Arsenal’s game. Of course Giroud was not available today, but we surely could’ve changed the tactics in some capacity or another, which may have seen the Gunners come away with all three points.
Do we have a plan B? Or is there simply a failure to implement it?
By AH
warning signs for over optimistic fans.
The team needs to keep focus even when on a good run of form.
I will keep my judgement till march.
games like these raises questions whether we are serious about the title.
Are we seeing just moments of false dawns like we are used to seeing?.
Has something changed at arsenal?
This so called “Plan B” talk is just nonsense sometimes, especially when it is used to explain every loss or draw.
So what, every team (excellent or not) losses or draw games sometimes. That don’t mean they don’t have a “Plan B”!
Name me one title winner in the last decade from the top European leagues that has gone through the whole season unbeaten or without a single draw or loss. Even The Invincibles drew games!
In a nutshell, it is too too early to conclude that this team don’t have a plan B, just because it ended it’s run of 6 wins with a draw.
The lads were obviously tired and really were not at their best today. Ozil’s exertions midweek affected his creativity and Walcott couldn’t make incisive runs behind defenders. Unfortunately neither Giroud nor Ramsey were available for selection. I am surprised though that Wenger did not observe how tired the boys were in the first half, he really should have brought on Perez and oxlade at the beginning of the first half and not waited till the half was far gone. Wenger should suit his tactics to the situation on the ground and not always wait till the 60th – 70th minute to make changes. Elneny though worries me and must up his game to maintain the standard expected of an arsenal player. All said, fatigue played a major role in our insipid performance today.
with Cazorla we could have won today, but we still need plan B which is Outside the Box shot plus Aerial balls/ crossing game.
(Xhaka,Ramsey) – (Giroud,Welbz) respectively
Spot on
I don’t understand the reason for this Article,did Arsenal lost the game,obviously not. We are still in October and we are yet to play about four major big teams,we don’t need to loose when we can’t get a win.