Golden Wonder Boy

By Boris Mellor
November 19 2011

What a game, it was like a cup final, end to end. When I heard that Norwich only know how to play by attacking I thought will they really come out against Wenger’s Arsenal? All credit to them, far better teams have refused to attack the Gunners, and for awhile it might have even paid off as they went into a one nil lead on 16 minutes.

Mind you the fact that they went into a 1 nil lead was down to dozy Arsenal, not just the defence, but the fact that RvP and Gervinho were alternately spurning good chance after good chance. No doubt they were waiting for the perfect chance. Indeed it finally came along for RvP on 26 minutes courtesy of Gervinho. But there was to be no quid pro quo, Gervinho would remain goalless.

End to end stuff

The game started off at breakneck speed and it was mainly Arsenal, but as I have said Arsenal wasted chance after chance, so the Iron Law took over, waste your chances and the opposition will score. Arsenal must have had five chances before the first and only chance went in the net for Norwich. Why is it we have 10 chances on target and score 2 and the opposition have only two chances on target and score 1. Is it really that Norwich are 50% efficient to Arsenal’s 20%?

I do think we do deliver a lot of powder puff shots, yes they are on target but a 10 year old could save some of them. True the keeper did make one or two first class saves. Its no use moaning at the press Arsenal are too dependent on RvP for goals. I dread to think what happens when he takes his annual half term leave. Gervinho and Walcott will have to sharpen up, or maybe Yossi can do it?

Now poor defending had a lot to do with the early Norwich goal, Mertesacker was mugged, I say mugged because it wasn’t a foul. Some supporters tell me it’s a foul – really? Well be consistent and let’s take Bergkamp’s wonder goal off him at Newcastle, he did just as much to Dabizas, even a hint of elbow. . Mertesacker didn’t claim a foul, he will learn the lesson.

Grinding it out?

Was this winning dirty, or grinding it out?  I think not, how could two glorious RvP goals be grinding it out? In how many games have you seen a goal as good as his second? That is 31 goals in 30 games, 31 goals in a calendar year for the out of position Dutchman. Gosh, how many would he score from the right place? Only Shearer and St Henry have a better record. (Correction I understand from MOTD it was 29 games. Even better)

 No it was end to end stuff, Arsenal were pinned back at times, but the defence played well, apart from the one major lapse, to restrict Norwich to two shots on goal, meanwhile the midfield created at least 20 chances, that’s not grinding out a result. Arsenal had 62% possession, but that counts for nothing if you don’t score.

Considering Arsenal had so much of the game it was slightly ridiculous that in the last five minutes they had to play keep the ball up their end possession tactics. But I am glad they did, your Arteta’s and Yossi’s cynical old pro ism pays off, unlike some of Wenger’s now departed perennially wet behind their ears adolescents. Many times last season we ending up drawing or losing games in last few minutes.

Indeed there is a more direct approach by this team, they adapted themselves to Norwich’s early attempt to overwhelm them. When they went a goal down they didn’t panic, or get sent off, they kept going. In some ways this is the team Wenger didn’t want, he wanted his home grown produced from birth in the Colney incubator players. He was breeding  a team of superbeings, instead he got the Village of the Dammed. The off the peg knarled old pros he now has, (yes I know they all aren’t) are not what he wanted, it would be ironic if they turned out to be better warriors than the golden wonder boys.

Congratulations to Norwich for their part in this game, they would have beaten lesser teams.

Final score 2-1

That's how football should be played - ground out a win?

Discussion started by Arsenal Times , 19/11/2011 18:47

Arsenal Times
19/11/2011 18:47

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Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2011:11:24:04:27:08 by Padre Pio.

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eduardo
19/11/2011 18:57

what had gervinho got to do with making the first goal for RVP other than missing a silly looking backheal attempt to score it himself, Theo Walcott set it up

*Signing Ozil is a signing Bergkamp type moment for Arsenal. It changes things utterly.*

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Padre Pio
19/11/2011 19:08

Well you could say it was an accidental dummy, if Gervinho had hit it in, then RvP wouldnt have had the first goal.
Its called irony Eddy.
I wasnt that impressed with Gervinho

"When we had to suffer the team is a lion because they suffer together." 4 July 2020 at Wolverhampton Wanderers
Arteta on his team's first away victory at a club above them in the Premiership since September 2015 at Leicester.

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eduardo
19/11/2011 19:13

sorry padre, did not realise the point you were trying to make, just with no mention of Theo's role in the goal it looked like you had mistaken fiveheads for theo

*Signing Ozil is a signing Bergkamp type moment for Arsenal. It changes things utterly.*

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Padre Pio
19/11/2011 19:19

Fiveheads

"When we had to suffer the team is a lion because they suffer together." 4 July 2020 at Wolverhampton Wanderers
Arteta on his team's first away victory at a club above them in the Premiership since September 2015 at Leicester.

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De Times
19/11/2011 20:21

At the pace we play our games, its extremely difficult not to make mistakes time and again. Thats one of the major reason we waste so many chances.

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eduardo
19/11/2011 23:13

just realised that both RVP goals today were with his right foot

*Signing Ozil is a signing Bergkamp type moment for Arsenal. It changes things utterly.*

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Padre Pio
19/11/2011 23:22

Yes you are right Eddy. Just watched replay its an amazing second goal dinked in with his right. He actually changes from left to right to get an advantage over the keeper.

"When we had to suffer the team is a lion because they suffer together." 4 July 2020 at Wolverhampton Wanderers
Arteta on his team's first away victory at a club above them in the Premiership since September 2015 at Leicester.

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RadioFreeArsenal
20/11/2011 04:09

Great result today - just had to have the three points there and just grateful we got them.

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weedz
21/11/2011 07:32

Fiveheads?

Since the end of WW1, 1919, when the FA restarted its 4 tier football league, with Arsenal fc in the 1st div, there’s only ever been one club to have never been relegated from Div 1/ EPL.

Arsenal fc

Let’s keep making history

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Rockstaar
21/11/2011 17:37

Quote:

At the pace we play our games, its extremely difficult not to make mistakes time and again. Thats one of the major reason we waste so many chances.

what? how do you come to conclusions like this?

what did the pace of the game have to do with Gervinho missing 3 fantastic opportunities or RVP for that matter


[arsenalsigs.blogspot.com]

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eduardo
21/11/2011 20:22

Quote:

weedz
Fiveheads?

yeah as in thats not a forehead its a fivehead

*Signing Ozil is a signing Bergkamp type moment for Arsenal. It changes things utterly.*

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Merlion96
22/11/2011 02:22

Notice for the last games that Walcott had started to cut in from flank to centre more and more; and crossing less and less.
I think Theo did only ONE cross from the byline in Norwich game.

Meaning..a sign of maturity and had learnt what Wenegr expected from him at right flank to cut into centre like Pires or Freddy..with a more efficient "push-and-run"s tyle of Reyes and Freddy.

Next stage of his development:
How to do "Freddy blindside" running to ghost in behind defenders to snap-up all those thru-balls delivered by Arteta, Ramsey, Song and Van Persie.

Yes, play the ball on the ground like French Spine and Reyes.

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Padre Pio
22/11/2011 09:03

Not likely he can play Frddy blindside role, freddy how more wandering role, but more important he had Bergkamp.
But nontheless he is doing well, the criticism did him no harm

"When we had to suffer the team is a lion because they suffer together." 4 July 2020 at Wolverhampton Wanderers
Arteta on his team's first away victory at a club above them in the Premiership since September 2015 at Leicester.

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