Can the cat bounce?

By Boris Mellor
November 25 2010

Arsene Wenger made it clear he was preparing for the bounce back against Braga. He stated that the team should mainly focus on the technical side of their play and not on the expected result.

He went on to say: 
“The result is a consequence of your focus on what you want to achieve and how you want to achieve it.
 
If you look too much at the result, of course, you become tense. You have to release the tension and you do it by focusing as much on the technical side.
 
It’s a bit like a Formula One driver. When he goes into the curve and thinks I want to cross the line at the end he goes into the wall but if he focuses on how he wants to take his curve he has a chance to get out of it. It’s a bit the same in our game.”

After the game Wenger said:

“We could play ten matches like that and win eight or nine times but tonight was the one we didn't [win]. Football is like that sometimes when a team focuses not to play and looks to use breaks or set-pieces.”

I am not sure if that’s true as Arsenal have played six matches in November and lost three, i.e. 50% of all games played this month have ended in defeat, that’s not the 80 to 90% success rate referred to in the quote above.

On the turning point

“It is difficult to understand how we did not get a penalty. That shows that the five referees is not an answer to the problem. The turning point was the penalty - I still cannot understand how Carlos Vela got a yellow card. It remains a complete mystery for me.”

I absolutely agree it was a penalty, and the yellow card for Vela was a disgrace. The referee should be disciplined, it’s just not good enough, and what a waste of money these extra officials are. I have not seen one of them, in Arsenal games, contribute to a decision of any merit.

Was it the turning point? Well a goal would have changed the game, but it wasn’t awarded and referees are not a factor that managers have any control over. However, wasn’t the fact that Arsenal only had one shot on target against such poor opposition just as important to the outcome? The Braga keeper maintained pristine white gloves for the duration of the whole game.

 The only player who terrorised the Braga defence was Eboue. Walcott and Bendtner made no impact at all.

Wenger needs to be more proactive and create his own turning points. He should have taken both of them off far earlier, and given Chamakh and Vela more time to settle in, instead the failure to get a goal early enough meant that a late goal by Braga snuffed the life out of the team.

 Here is a tip for Deckchair, if you are going to foul someone on a clear run to goal do it properly, don’t fall over yourself and leave them free to score a goal. Meanwhile 10 man Arsenal were camped in Braga’s half paying no attention to a breakaway by Matheus for the second goal.

Maybe it’s just a feeling of Déjà vu, but I am sure I have seen Arsenal concede a goal like that before. Meanwhile qualification has been deferred until mid December. I expect the team to qualify, but with Chelsea, Man U and Spurs all qualified it’s like having an extra fixture.

Good news

It’s not all bad news though after the match Djourou said:

“It has been a difficult week, we have had two straight defeats but now we have to bounce back. And what better place than Villa? We have the quality to do it. Now it is how much we want it. We are big enough to stand up for ourselves and be ready for Villa. The lucky thing in football is that you can always do better in the next game.”