What is Pearce's problem?

How can The Corporal not be in U21 squad?

It has long been obvious to me that Stuart Pearce has a problem with Arsenal and with Arsene Wenger. This has manifested itself in the awful way Pearce has treated Arsenal players involved with his England Under 21 side. Theo Walcott was the first victim and it has worked its way through Jack Wilshere, Kieran Gibbs, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and now on to Carl Jenkinson. I find it amazing that Fabio Capello and Roy Hodgson have allowed some of their brightest prospects to be humiliated by someone as intellectually incapable as Stuart Pearce.
Going back a few years Pearce forced Theo Walcott to attend the Summer tournament for which his side had qualified. Theo could clearly have benefited from resting his young body after a season in which he had suffered an array of injuries and played a fair deal in the Arsenal team. Having been made to schlep out to a tournament nobody cares about Pearce decided he would drop Theo. He then publicly criticised him. Ultimately he had to bring him back in order to progress in the competition. A few months later Walcott would score his hat-trick in Croatia for England, but my abiding memory of watching that match was hearing Pearce constantly bellowing at the Arsenal man from the bench. Setanta's pitchside microphones were clearly close to the England dugout that night and it remains a mystery as to why Pearce was berating a young lad in the process of scoring three goals.
Jack Wilshere, you may recall, made his England debut immediately following his loan spell at Bolton. Capello fielded an experimentally young side in a Wembley friendly and Gibbs also made his international bow that night. A month later Wilshere was back with the Under 21 squad but Pearce made it his business to publicly embarrass him. Jack was left out of the starting XI for the childrens side, just a few weeks after playing for the full England team. When questioned about it Pearce told the media that Wilshere had "taken his eye off the ball." In other words Pearce decided that it was his job to bring Jack down to Earth. Just who did Pearce think he was? If Wilshere had lost some focus then it was Arsene Wenger that would be responsible for pulling him up a bit lively. In the following game, with qualification for the latest insignificant championship in the balance, Wilshere was brought on as a substitute to save Pearce's bacon and set up a couple of goals to ensure England got through. Jack returned to the full squad but Pearce wanted to insist on him going to the Summer tournament as he had with Theo Walcott. Fabio Capello stopped that from happening, and Jack was then out injured for more than a year with stress injuries. Pearce has been making noises about Wilshere having to go with the under 21s this year, but Roy Hodgson has stepped in and made it clear that he will not be playing kids football again for England. Kieran Gibbs was also used only sporadically by Pearce, even excusing his injury problems, as a succession on mickey-mouse players from lower division clubs were used in his stead.
The latest person to suffer from Pearce's anti-Arsenal, anti-Wenger, attitude is Carl Jenkinson. The Corporal made his England debut in November, but was not included in the latest squad - he has not played too often for Arsenal since then with Bacary Sagna back in the side following his injuries. However, that does not explain his absence from Pearce's side. Even following injuries Jenkinson was not called up. I am amazed that Hodgson has not stepped in to bring Pearce in to line. How can a player that was good enough for full international honours just two months ago be considered surplus to requirements for the under 21s? Would not the other young players in the squad benefit from the presence of a man with Champions League experience? It is utterly ridiculous, but sadly indicative of the attitude the cretinous Stuart Pearce displays towards Arsenal players. I am amazed Pearce survived the cull at the end of the Capello era, and I just hope Hodgson soon realises he should get rid of this clown as he provides nothing of benefit to England whatsoever. At least Jenkinson doesn't have to spend a week with Pearce, I suppose, but it's unfortunate for him to miss out on recognition of his ability.

Before I sign off I'll just link to yesterday's post as it may well have been missed by many. Sadly I published at just the same time as Arsenal re-launched the official website. In doing so they re-published everything from the last two weeks and saturated the NewsNow feed at the expense of sites like this. The new website looks cheap and nasty and is difficult to navigate, which is sadly illustrative of the malaise of Arsenal FC right now. Nevertheless, you can get yesterday's post by clicking this link - it's worth it just for the idiot Stoke fan in the comments section.

Pulis smokescreen can't disguise the thuggery

Cretin

I think Stoke City are finally being found out. Even the press are just starting to realise that they represent everything that is mediocre about the English game. In the past they were seen as some kind of heroic force for the way they could "upset" the bigger Clubs - particularly Arsenal. Tony Pulis was apparently a tactical genius as his re-hashing of Wimbledon's modus operandi circa 1988 was put to decent effect (though not quite as successfully or with as much good humour as Wimbledon used to imbue). I get the feeling, however, that the tide is about to turn on Pulis. After all, if Stoke can't kick Arsenal off the pitch any more, and can't damage us with an aerial bombardment, then where does Pulis go next? His middle-aged chav look is as dated as his football ethos and the English media might just be realising that success for England will only come by slating tactics from the Dark Ages.
As Gooners we are naturally pre-disposed to dislike Stoke as we were the Club that largely fell victim to their "physical" style. Stoke, of course, are naturally pre-disposed to dislike Arsenal because they were beaten in consecutive FA Cup semi-finals in the early 70s. However, this does not constitute a "rivalry" between the Clubs. I am convinced that, like Allardyce and Pardew, Pulis considers himself a rival of Arsene Wenger. Whatever the faults may be with Arsene he need not concern himself by spending sleepless nights worrying about that kind of "competition". Sending your players out to kick as many opponents as you can (after all, these foreign/southern nancies don't like a tackle, you know?) does not constitute a rivalry. Stoke City will never be "rivals" of Arsenal Football Cllub. All the time they remain in the Premier League they remain a necessary distraction twice a season, but definitely nothing more.
Saturday saw the usual behaviour from Stoke on the pitch, and from Pulis on the touchline. Theo Walcott is bearing the facial scars of his day out against the zoo animals. It's to Theo's credit, and a sign of his growing ability, that he was not intimidated by the ever-kicking, and sharp elbowing, Andy Wilkinson. Then there is Ryan Shawcross. We have been told time and again that Ryan Shawcross is "not that sort of player" as he delivers yet another studs first foul on an opponent. Don't forget, he also loves his Mum. I would contend that Shawcross most definitely is that sort of player. Francis Jeffers and Aaron Ramsey have both had their legs broken by him. Emmanuel Adebayor and Laurent Koscielny have been fortunate not to join them (and that's just the players with Arsenal connections). Shawcross does not belong on a football pitch. He should be firmly and permanently ensconced in the gorilla enclosure at Regents Park.
However, the reaction of Michael Owen to being tackled (not fouled, just tackled, albeit firmly) perhaps should show us that it's not all the fault of Shawcross himself. I never thought I would see Michael Owen aiming fists at anyone. The fact that it was a pretty awful attempt at a punch should not have seen Owen let off by the FA. I believe Mr Foy has said he saw the incident, in which case he should be suspended as well (when you consider he only saw fit to book Shawcross you have to question his ability as a referee still further). But what led to Michael Owen's unexpected change of character? Owen has been around since 1997 and has never been involved in such nonsense. I can only conclude that it is entirely down to Pulis and what he tells his players before sending them out on to the pitch. And it's not just against Arsenal, and it's not just Shawcross - Robert Huth is equally adept at the over the top challenge. It strikes me that Pulis pumps his players up to a degree that leads them to being out of control in the tackle. They must surely be getting instructed to leave scars on the opposition as not all their players could naturally be labelled as a thug - especially not Michael Owen. If you watch the way Pulis bounces about on the touchline in his baseball cap and shell suit it's easier to understand why Stoke's players are close to pure evil at times on the football pitch.
Having been beaten by Arsenal on Saturday Pulis knew he had to dive for cover. His one "tactic" for beating Arsenal had been comfortably rebuffed by The Gunners players. With the physically strong Giroud up front, Arteta and Wilshere not taking any crap in midfield (especially Wilshere) and Sagna backing up a more manned-up Walcott there was nothing for Pulis to do but start putting up a smokescreen. So what did he do? He accused the Arsenal players of influencing the referee. Pulis may be an idiot, but he's not stupid. He knows how to play the press game. He realised that his comments would grab the headlines and deflect attention away from the over physical behaviour of his players. The fact is that the Arsenal players influenced nothing other than the right decision being made (again, questions should be asked of the linesman who tried to disallow the goal - in light of the revelations yesterday I hope there are one or two officials shifting uneasily in their seats as their corruption is a step closer to being uncovered). 
While Pulis might have conned the press in to ignoring the fouling and nastiness, there is a growing discontent with Stoke among football supporters. More and more people have had enough of their thuggery, and no amount of carping from Pulis is going to hide it. They are no longer the plucky underdogs but simply a bunch of neanderthals being sent on to the football pitch by Tulisa's style guru. The last thing to mention is the fact that Pulis brushed past Arsene Wenger at the final whistle without a proper handshake - just imagine the reaction of the press and Pulis himself had it been the other way round. One-nil to the football team.

More tomorrow.

We clearly have the complete squad

Top, top quality

Anyone who was at the game on Wednesday will be hard pressed to disagree with Arsene Wenger when he says how good this squad of players are. After all it's not every group of defenders that can provide the sort of entertainment we got the other night. The trouble is that the job of those players is actually to play football effectively, not to have them rolling in the aisles like Del Boy might have done. For Liverpool's first goal there were more prat falls than you used to get in a Norman Wisdom sketch. The second was no better as Arsenal's players decided Jordan Henderson is so crap that there is no need to try and tackle him. I heard that Gary Neville said after the game it had nothing to do with coaching or quality as these are just individual errors. However, is it not the case that top players make less errors than poorer players? Given the frequency of the "individual errors" this Arsenal side makes in its own penalty area I would suggest there is a fundamental dearth in quality.
We all knew what Arsenal needed going in to the transfer window. Before it started we were assured by Wenger that he would be "busy" in the transfer market. That really should have been the first point at which we smelled a rat. As January got going he flitted between his standard soundbites during transfer periods. We had everything from "we work very hard" to "it's difficult to find the players to improve your squad" and on it went. The fact is that we are actually weaker than we were in December. More players left than came in at Arsenal. Moreover, had it not been for Kieran Gibbs getting injured (sadly he is another player who is incapable of playing more than six weeks without pulling up lame) Wenger would not have entered the transfer market at all. As it is, we have failed to add to the squad in the areas of most need.
I noticed on the Arsenal website yesterday they had a feature on Olivier Giroud and his recent goalscoring form. There can be no doubt that Giroud has done quite well recently. He has scored a nice few goals and that is encouraging. However, he has also missed a great number of important chances. At Chelsea he missed the goal completely when one on one with the goalkeeper. Against Liverpool he got us back in the game with a good header, but missed chances to win the game after that (one from six yards out in front of an open goal). He should have had a hat-trick at Brighton. I like Giroud. I think we are beginning to maybe play more to his strengths. He works particularly hard to get on the ball and is exceptional at winning headers. However, he is just short of being a genuinely top class striker. He would be a very good back-up option and, maybe, we could get even more out of him with a change in formation (don't get me started on that again). But when it comes to it Giroud is more of a Sylvain Wiltord than a Thierry Henry or, perhaps a fairer comparison, more Niall Quinn than Alan Smith. I don't wish to pick on Giroud as I think he is doing just fine for a player of his ability, but I want to illustrate that Wenger speaks nonsense about his players. He tells us we can't improve the "squad" yet we went in to yet another game the other night with no centre-forward among our seven substitutes. That is not acceptable at Arsenal Football Club. The bloke we did have up front is good, but not great. And yet Wenger can't improve that by making a signing or two? Really?

Hopefully I'll be in a position to write something late on Sunday. I am going to be at the game tomorrow afternoon, but I have to leave before the end (yes, I'll be one of those annoying idiots) as I have to go to work tomorrow night. I don't know if we'll see anything of our new left-back Nacho Monreal tomorrow against Stoke, but I very much doubt we'll see Andre Santos starting the game either. I expect to see Thomas Vermaelen move to left-back with Koscielny coming in to the centre of defence. We know what Stoke will do because we know what they're like. I just hope Jack Wilshere has got himself a pair of steel shin pads for the afternoon. I will be very surprised if Jack and Theo Walcott are not targeted for what the media might call Stoke's "physical approach" to the game. Beware the Neanderthals.

A proper Cup tie as the squad gets smaller

It looks right in Arsenal's ribbons

Anyone in any doubt as to the sort of side Arsenal will put out tomorrow should take a brief look at the available players. The fact is that Arsenal have only 19 players at their disposal from what might be termed the first team squad (i.e. the original list at the start of this season, before the League Cup). I can see the likes of Nico Yennaris and Ignasi Miquel being drafted in to the 18 tomorrow at Brighton simply because there is just about nobody else.
I do not rate Emmanuel Frimpong as a player. I can never fault the effort of the boy, but he is simply not Arsenal quality. However, he has been on the bench in the last two fixtures. I was utterly amazed therefore when he Tweeted this afternoon that he was "on the move". Lo and behold he has tonight joined Fulham for the rest of the season on loan. I fail to see how he can be required to possibly play (and he was certainly doing some stretching during the second half against West Ham and Chelsea) earlier in the week, and yet is now so surplus to requirements that he has been allowed to leave the Club.
Arsenal went in to January with a weak squad. I don't think anybody would argue that a number of the players might as well not be at Arsenal as Arsene Wenger had no real intention of playing them if he could help it. We've since seen Djourou, Chamakh and now Frimpong depart on loan. They could easily have been (and might still be) joined by Fabianski, Mannone, Squillaci and Arshavin. However, the fact that these guys didn't get a game doesn't mean that we can afford to not replace them. We have been over reliant on the players that have been in the side all season because the Manager refused to use those in reserve. The fact that many of the players actually getting a game should not be regulars in a side aspiring to be successful speaks volumes for the lack of quality in this squad of players.
The inertia of the Manager in the transfer market is really quite baffling. We know he's stubborn, but is he really that stupid to believe that he can definitely achieve his coveted top four position with the players currently at his disposal? Olivier Giroud may be no Robin Van Persie on the goalscoring front, but take him out of this team with a lengthy injury lay-off and we have no centre-forward in the entire squad. Take Jack Wilshere out (knowing that Abou Diaby will do well to be involved in more than half of the remaining fixtures) and we have no midfield either. We already have no defence. If you're an Arsenal fan and that does not scare you then I want to get myself some of what you're having, because it must be one hell of a happy pill. Wenger has six days to bring in at least three quality players or you can just about forget the rest of the season in the Premier League.

As for the game tomorrow it sees Arsenal travelling to Brighton for what might be considered a "traditional" FA Cup tie. For a start it's a Saturday game kicking off at 3 o'clock. It's the age-old lower division side welcoming the top tier giant for a blood and thunder match in front of a capacity crowd. Living where I do Brighton falls in to this area for our local BBC news and they have been full of it ever since we beat Swansea. There is a massive buzz it seems being created around Brighton for the visit of The Arsenal.
With traditional cup-ties of course come fears of giant-killings. Brighton are a club that evoke the very romance that makes the FA Cup so special. Not so long ago Brighton And Hove Albion Football Club was nearly extinct. That they have turned themselves around to play in a lovely looking stadium is a wonderful football story. It's the sort of story that deserves to be book-ended by a win against a major Premier League side in the FA Cup. Hopefully they'll have to wait until next season for that to happen but with this Arsenal team anything is possible.
Thomas Vermaelen is injured tomorrow, as is Mikel Arteta (those three weeks may yet become Diaby-esque). There is plenty of call for Jack Wilshere to be rested but I can't see how Wenger can afford to do that. The fact is that Jack should have come off after an hour on Wednesday night when we were 5-1 up. Arsene has spoken of the need to rest Wilshere at some point, but then wasted the chance to do so with a win sewn up early on. As it is I think Jack has to play tomorrow. If he does then he will surely lead the side as Captain. If that happens he will, I believe, become the youngest player to formally skipper an Arsenal team (Cesc Fabregas took the armband aged just 19 in the 2007 Carling Cup Final after Kolo Toure was sent off late on, thus being the youngest to actually wear it).
I don't honestly have a clue what Wenger will do tomorrow. There is a case for resting a number of players with a game against Liverpool in midweek. However, there is a greater need to win the FA Cup in my view. If Arsene left out four or five players tomorrow, and Arsenal lost, he would be utterly crucified for "sacrificing" the FA Cup. I just don't think he can afford to rest too many players. That being the case I wouldn't be surprised to see this kind of line-up:

Szczesny, Jenkinson, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Santos, Ramsey, Wilshere, Cazorla, Chamberlain, Walcott, Podolski.

I want to see Arsenal going all out to win The FA Cup. When I was a kid it was what you dreamt of winning. The TV companies show the competition less respect than even the Clubs or The FA these days (5 o'clock kick-off for the Final? Disgrace) but it still has a place in the hearts of people above a certain age. I remember the media claiming it was an anti-climax for Arsenal fans when we won "only" The FA Cup in 2003. I can tell you it didn't feel like it for those of us in Cardiff that day. If we are celebrating a trophy for the first time in 8 years come May by parading that beautiful piece of silverware around Wembley it certainly won't feel like an anti-climax. First we have to negotiate a tough away tie at Brighton and, frankly, I'd take a replay now given the chance.

Arsenal bring back the memories

Like watching this lot

For ten minutes last night Arsenal played with searing pace, firing accurate passes through midfield and beyond the West Ham defence. There was simply no answer to such speed and precision football. The way Arsenal broke down the left and created goals for those in the middle was reminiscent of Wenger's greatest sides. You could have been forgiven for thinking that we were actually seeing Vieira, Pires, Henry, Bergkamp and Ljungberg (I couldn't find a photo of just the five of them) back in harness as the attacking five. There have been occasions, sadly all too rare, where this group has played quickly. Every time it's happened they have hammered the opposition. The obvious question would have to be why they don't play like this all the time. Far too often we sit through ninety minutes of Arsenal going sideways across a packed back line, lacking the movement or the imagination to create space and opportunities. We're not talking rocket science here, but simply playing to the various strengths of the players we have. No defence likes facing players running at speed with the ball. And once you get a player with the range of passing that Jack Wilshere possesses (and Santi Cazorla when the mood takes him) you can thrash your opponent. Some of Wilshere's passes beyond the full-back last night were astounding. I imagine the watching Roy Hodgson will have been smiling ahead of England's next game.
It strikes me that when Cazorla and Podolski play well (when they want to play well) Arsenal invariably are too good for the their opponents. I have stopped short of criticising Podolski when perhaps he actually merited it. His goalscoring has regularly masked a tendency to not get involved enough. However, last night the German put in the complete performance. He is obviously an amazing player as his record for Germany, at such a young age, would tell you. With his power and strength he should be perfectly suited to English football and, when he puts his mind to it, he covers the ground very quickly indeed. If last night was an indication that he has fully come to grips with the Premier League then he has an exciting Arsenal future to look forward to. I hope it was not a false dawn.
I have to single out Aaron Ramsey for some praise last night. Ramsey has had a bad time of it for a while now, with the poor displays far outnumbering anything good. Last night he played deep in midfield and used the ball very well indeed. His clearance off the line showed a hunger and determination that has too often been lacking from him. Given the opportunity to stake a claim in the absence of Arteta and Coquelin, and playing in a role to which he is eminently more suited, he showed he still has some ability. Maybe he has been lacking confidence, and such a performance might help Rambo back to the level we all hoped he would get to before his leg was shattered.
It looks like Thomas Vermaelen might well miss the game at Brighton on Saturday. Ironically he was injured by Ramsey as the boyo got back to make his goal line clearance. When Vermaelen went off in the second half it was notable that the armband passed to the people's champ Jack Wilshere. In a team that contained Szczesny, Sagna, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Gibbs and Walcott I thought it spoke volumes for Wilshere's qualities and standing in this group of players that he was the chosen one. In his post-match interviews this season he has displayed a high level of maturity and has said all the things you want to hear from your skipper. With Mikel Arteta out, and Vermaelen doubtful, it looks as though we will get Captain Jack at the Amex this weekend. You just know it won't be the last time we see it.
All in all it was great to get a win, any win, last night. To do so playing such a sublime brand of football was gratifying in the extreme. To thrash a team run by Allardyce adds a certain cherry to the top of the already well iced cake. There is something rather nice about seeing the fat walrus faced cretin chewing harder and harder on his gum as Arsenal banged in the goals last night. My fear would be that such results and performances will see Wenger feeling vindicated and failing to spend money before next week. Signings of necessary quality already look remote. I just hope Wenger isn't stupid enough to think he has a squad of adequate strength and quality to finish the season well, and possibly end the trophy drought.

It's been far too long - let's return with some Jack

Wilshere - THE star of this Arsenal team

I haven't written a blog post since 2nd January. There are a couple of reasons as to why that's the case but, whatever they are, that is far too long. I will admit that I have struggled for the inspiration to write anything. I suppose that's fairly obvious otherwise I would have been posting.
One of the things I was entirely conscious of was that I don't want to keep repeating myself. Regular readers (if you're still there) will know I am very much of the opinion that Arsene Wenger should go. However, if you keep on banging that drum after every defeat or poor performance people very quickly become fed up (incidentally I couldn't believe people were going mad after last Sunday's defeat - if you hammer the Manager for what happened in that game then you lose credibility). Basically there are only so many times I can say or write the same thing before even I get bored with it.
The very basis of this site is that it is the opinion of one man - me. I have always made a lot of the fact that I go to games. I have a season ticket and I believe (rightly or wrongly - it's my opinion) that my views have more credence than those of someone who doesn't attend. Well the fact is that I haven't been to see Arsenal play since before Christmas. Due to family, health and work reasons I have not been able to get to a game. Given what I said above about being an attendee, I would feel like an utter charlatan if I sat here spouting off when I haven't been doing the one thing that I say gives me a better angle than a number of other bloggers (I do find it interesting that a number of the more prominent Arsenal blogs are written by people who see 99% of their Arsenal action on a TV screen). The fact is that, having not been at games for a month it would not be right for me to come on here and pretend to speak with any authority on what I've seen on Sky. I still Tweet about it all the time (@ARSENALDvbrisG) but that's a lot different to writing an "essay" piece on here.
The final reason I've not been writing is that, apart from the matches, nothing has been happening at Arsenal. I have a policy of ignoring transfer gossip on here. Arsenal's inaction in that department would have meant that gossip would have been all there was to talk about. In fairness the press has even given up making up stories where Arsenal are concerned. We all know that signings are needed, and where on the pitch we are weaker. I was annoyed to hear Wenger say that the Club needed to concentrate on signing up Theo Walcott before looking outside. Why? Are they incapable of working on more than one player at a time? Now that Theo has done the deal you would expect, logically, that a couple of players will be arriving. But this is Arsenal so I will not be holding my breath.

I've posted a picture of Jack Wilshere at the top of this piece. Over the last few weeks Jack has shown the sort of form we were getting before his injury. There were times before Christmas where he was not playing very well, though he would always be trying. The game at Bradford was a case in point and it also illustrated my point about being there. Talking to people who watched that game on television they all told me how Wilshere had been the only player worth any credit as he was outstanding. Indeed, one of those prominent internet fans I referred to earlier, told me on Twitter I was talking "complete b******s" for criticising Jack's work on the ball that evening. The fact was that I was on the coach outside Valley Parade having watched the game, while this individual was in his living room listening to Sky's commentary team.
Over this past few weeks Jack has really found his feet. His all-action displays have seen him get back to his very best with the ball too. I can't believe there is a more fouled player in the Premier League than Wilshere, yet so few players are punished for the way they kick him. Somehow Gareth Barry stayed on the field (again) last Sunday despite his continued assaults against Wilshere. Jack just gets up and gets on with trying to destroy the opposition. Of course, the minute he makes a challenge himself you find the muppet referee can't wait to book him. It is a mark of Wilshere that he is strong enough, and tough enough, to take the physical side of the game, especially following his long injury lay-off.
Wilshere has become, without a doubt, the best player in this side. He is the fans favourite, marrying supreme effort with sublime skill. I saw a lot of Wilshere when he was coming through the ranks, thanks to the now defunct Arsenal TV channel. A feature of his game then was his goalscoring from midfield. He wasn't afraid to shoot from any angle. There are times now when he is reluctant to do so, no doubt under instruction from Arsene Wenger to pass the ball first and foremost. His goal on Wednesday showed that he still has that eye for goal. It also showed that he can shoot as well as anybody. I honestly believe that Jack Wilshere is Arsenal's version of Steven Gerrard. He has the talent to be even better than Gerrard. He should be the Arsenal Captain right now as he is the true "leader" in this group. I just hope he spends his career at Arsenal, as Gerrard has at Liverpool, but that he gets a few Premier League Titles (unlike Gerrard).

Predictable in every way

TR7 - Not as good as Gervinho or Ramsey

I gave up believing in this Arsenal team a long time ago. Too many times I've thought that we had won a couple of games and they'd finally got it. Then they'd go out and produce a display with such a lack of commitment and desire as to make you realise they're just not that good. Last night was yet another example. Following on from three good displays against Reading, Wigan and Newcastle we were back in the gutter at Southampton. The Saints might escape relegation, such is the lack of quality in the Premier League, but they will certainly come close. That being the case, the way they held Arsenal so comfortably merely serves to underline that this Arsenal team is just crap. Obviously they have talented footballers who can play some blinding stuff, like they did on Saturday. But having the ability is only half the story. If you don't have the mental capabilities to understand the need to out-work your opponent game in, game out then you might as well not bother. Barcelona don't play their great football just because they can. They play it because their players have the right mentality. They earn the right to have the ball. They never let up in winning it back on the rare occasions that their opponent gains possession. Once they've worked harder than their opponent they show what they're capable of when they have the football. They do it whoever they're playing against, not just when they feel like it. It's not rocket science, it's just a good old fashioned work ethic coupled to fine ability. Now obviously Arsenal don't have players of the same quality as Barcelona (nobody really does) but we do have players (at least in the first choice team) to rival Manchester United. They work hard in a similar way to Barcelona. Okay, their football isn't anything like as breathtaking, but Ferguson would not allow the regular insipid displays that we get at Arsenal.
This is Arsene Wenger's quote from the official website after the game:


"Maybe we were a bit off and lost a bit of concentration and thought 'OK, we scored seven against Newcastle, we'll score again today', but it doesn't work like that. You have to focus completely.”

It strikes me that the Manager is spot on. This group of players seems to think that football becomes easy after they've put in a fine performance. Obviously it's the Manager who picks the players and is responsible for motivating them, but there has to be more than a little blame and responsibility laid at the door of those on the pitch. These are not kids. These players are experienced enough (only Arteta yesterday was not an international) to know what is required to win a game against any Premier League side. I said earlier that the Premier League lacks quality, but it doesn't lack fight. One thing you know is that whomever your opposition (unless it's Arsenal, it seems) you're not going to get an easy ride in a game in England.
In terms of the game yesterday we became sloppy after a bright start. Something that sums up our players is the fact that Artur Boruc dropped the first two balls played in to the area. On neither occasion was there an Arsenal player there to knock in the loose ball. When a third ball came over Boruc finally caught one, yet there was still no Arsenal player anywhere near him to put him under pressure. Are they really that stupid? Do they not think for themselves?
The defending was awful again yesterday, as it usually is when Koscielny and Vermaelen play together. However, the main offender yesterday was Bacary Sagna. He was awful against Newcastle where he made Obertan look a decent player, while yesterday he really might as well have gone and sat in the crowd. His intervention that lead to Southampton's goal was absolutely awful. I wouldn't expect to see a Sunday morning player putting a ball across his own penalty area like that. I hear that Carl Jenkinson is carrying a knock, but I certainly hope the Corporal is fit to play at Swansea on Sunday. Sagna had a whinge about his contract when out injured earlier in the season. Maybe I'm doing him a disservice having come back from two leg breaks, but right now Sagna is performing like a man who wants to be playing for somebody else.
As ever we had no idea about how to do anything different when it became obvious it wasn't working. I called the substitutions at half-time and it was obvious what was going to happen when he sent out his three subs to warm up. The game was crying out for Giroud, but it was also crying out for us to get someone else up front with him. I feel like a scratched record constantly saying that we should play two up front against inferior opponents. I had no problem with Podolski and Cazorla being taken off, but surely Wenger must see that bringing on Ramsey and Gervinho was like an admission that he would take a draw. Ramsey is just so painfully slow that everything stops for Arsenal when he gets the ball. As for Gervinho I just give up. I remember people used to give stick to Glen Helder but he was ten times the player Gervinho is. It summed him up when he pirouetted himself all the way in to the turf shortly after coming on - at no point had he been in control of the ball. If Gervinho is a Premier League footballer then Perry Groves was capable of earning a place in the Brazil 1970 squad.
Does Arsene Wenger genuinely believe that Ramsey and Gervinho were a better bet than Tomas Rosicky yesterday (or any day for that matter)? Surely the extra pace and direct running and passing ability of Rosicky might have created us some much needed space yesterday. If nothing else Rosicky would have been different to what we'd seen all day. Since returning to the squad Rosicky has only really had two proper appearances. The first was at Olympiacos where he ran the game until being replaced at half-time. The second was at Bradford where he came off the bench to provide the spark that got us back in to a game where we'd been comprehensively outplayed. It strikes me that Rosicky is becoming the new Arshavin, such is the way Wenger is using (or failing to use) him. I just don't get it.