What I took from the Spurs match

A disappointing 2-1 loss Spurs culminated in us finishing the game 7 points from them. Here are the things I took away from the match:

Szczęsny is struggling - His performance was poor today. Watching a quality keeper in Hugo Lloris at the other end definitely highlighted his issue. Now there is no denying that our defence was to blame for both goals but there is a point where you look at Tottenham’s one-on-ones, there wasn’t a single time where it was thanks to Szczęsny that we didn’t concede. When Bale scored Szczęsny had the opportunity to sweep up the loose ball but was too slow to react. For the Lennon goal you see that he clearly committed himself too early. In comparison Lloris swept up all the loose balls that passed his defensive line and on many occasions prevented our strikers from getting away a shot as a result. This was one of the clear differences between our team as we both play high lines and both have one slow CB. Now I’m not saying Szczęsny is a poor keeper –For his age he is actually one of the best in the world - but the fact of the matter is that age is no excuse and – due to no adequate back-up - he is currently undroppable. You’ll hear all the pundits say it time and time again but it holds truth that if a keeper has several poor games in a row and has no fear of being dropped it can prevent growth.

Tottenham are not unbeatable – Despite their current run of form I actually think they looked like a fairly average team. A recurring theme this season has been that we have switched off for a few minutes and quickly conceded. Tottenham quickly took advantage of this, but for the first 30 minutes we were by far the better team. After we conceded two goals in quick succession, it was almost plain sailing for them as they could sit back and counter. That said, if they play the way they did today against Chelsea and Man City they will almost definitely lose.

The Jenkinson substitution was a huge mistake – Walcott disappeared for large portions of the game and Jenkinson was the only player on our team that was able to provide any kind of attacking threat down the right hand side. I think the idea was to create an attacking threat by throwing on another midfielder, but unfortunately what kept happening was that Spurs forced the ball down their left (Our right), running down the clock as nobody was effectively protecting that side.  Furthermore Rosicky had a quiet game and our threat down the right hand side was effectively finished as a result of the substitution. Jenkinson was one of the few players in our defence that actually impressed me today and as a result I am beginning to see him being able to become a quality player in our team.

As the game finished I was extremely disappointed and actually put off writing this post to stop myself from slating our attacking options too much. Giroud is clearly in a slump of form and needs to rediscover his shooting boots to show himself as a great striker, his ability to get into positions is still very good but without a final product he will continue to look mediocre. Vermaelen actually looked very impressive at the start of the match making a number of good tackles, but once again a couple of lapses in concentration cost us, and severely marred his performance.  I could continue to give a critical appraisal of our team but unfortunately it doesn’t mean too much. After a result like this it’s easy to get down in the dumps and forget that it is just one game. It does sting, but you have to take the good with the bad.

Henry, Spurs and Do we need a Striker?

News reports recently seem to suggest that Arsenal legend Thierry Henry is looking to return to the club in a coaching role at the end of his contract at New York Red Bulls. Is this a good thing for Arsenal? Simply put YES! When Henry joined the club on loan last season he certainly made an impact - on the pitch and off it. Walcott in particular has spoken of the positive impact that Henry had on his game last season, and also was key in the contract talks. Being able to talk to a player who has seen and done it all will definitely have a positive impact on the youngsters in our team. And who knows, maybe he could even have a word with Gervinho. Call me a romantic but seeing Henry come home and link up with  Wenger would really add to the family feel that the club has created between the players and staff - one of the things I love about this mighty club.

In other news - Spurs are playing West Ham  tonight - a game I will be intently watching. More for the result than as a scouting mission though. The Hammers play nothing like the Gunners, but, Spurs' approach will be interesting. Will they risk Bale given the virtual 6-pointer on sunday? He is clearly their best player and quite frankly their only real source of goals in recent weeks. Even if Bale does play it'll be interesting to see if Tottenham are able to break down a West Ham team, who despite having an average season, are no fools defensively. Despite them being clear favourites I can see the spuds dropping points tonight and hopefully allow us to overtake them this weekend.

Finally, my main topic of discussion today; I hear a lot of Arsenal fans complaining about our need for a better striker to replace Van Persie. After Saturday's match against Aston Villa there was a lot of criticism of Giroud's performance - and rightly so; he squandered chance after chance and was nowhere to be seen after numerous Walcott crosses. With that said if I was Wenger a new striker would be bottom of my shopping list. Giroud is clearly a good finisher; say what you want about Ligue 1 but no striker could be it's top goalscorer without being able to finish. He has been at Arsenal for around half a season now, and we can often be quick to dismiss players as poor - understandable though, given our history with signing strikers. As a target man Giroud's play depends on his understanding with other attackers in our team. He has been with the team for 6 months. If great understanding was built in 6 months Real Madrid would have won everything season after season for several years now. We should also finally be able to play Joel Campbell who has struggled to gain a work permit, but has looked fairly impressive for Real Betis this season. Chuba Akpom has also made huge strides in the U18s this season; unnecessarily signing a striker like Falcao ( Not that I think he'd join us) would almost definitely end their potential for the first team.

So there you have it folks, feel free to leave a comment on your views.
Lets hope the spuds blow it tonight.

Captain Jack?

With Jack Wilshere being Arsenal's outstanding performer thus far this season and Vermaelen struggling for form Jack the Lad looks set to become Arsenal's next captain. At such a tender age and still developing, the question arises 'Why is Wilshere being made captain?'

Marketability - Wilshere has returned since his injury to quickly become Arsenal's messiah. In a team that at times looks without purpose, fans see him as a shining light driving the team forward. Add to that the fact that he's a product of the youth academy and it's no surprise why he has endeared himself so well to gooners. In recent years Arsenal FC have shown themselves to be very shrewd when it comes to money matters and giving Wilshere the captaincy creates a huge potential for commercial deals involving him and the club.
This is something that Mr. Wenger and the Arsenal board are all to aware of, and I wouldn't be surprised if one the main factors influencing the captaincy is Wilshere's marketability.

Vermaelen - One of Arsenal's most reliable defenders in the 2011/12 season, unfortunately since receiving the captaincy at the end of last season he has looked a shadow of his former self - notably giving away a goal to a certain ex-arsenal skipper at Old Trafford. Contrary to what most people will tell you the Arsenal defence has actually performed well this season, conceding the second fewest goals in the league. This is probably due to Vermaelen's (and Steve Bould's) influence. Unfortunately the captaincy seems to be having a detrimental effect on his individual performances and realistically a poorly performing player cannot expect to retain the captaincy.

Team effect - Wilshere would become an extremely young captain, following in Fabregas' footsteps, and although he seems to be well-liked among the players, it would be naive to dismiss the possibility that some older arsenal players may not take him seriously enough when making decisions. This should only be a minor factor to take into account given that our squad -if nothing else - are extremely professional. On the flip side it may spur older, experienced players to step up as leaders across the pitch - helping Jack in his new role. One place that this would be incredibly useful is up front as often the issue ,this season, has been that our attacks have lacked direction. In my opinion the reason for this is Podolski and Giroud - as they have come in they have needed time to settle in. As most people can attest to it can often be difficult when settling in to become a leader. The change in captaincy would certainly give these two players an opportunity to really step up for Arsenal to aid Jack's transition.

Wilshere himself - The gamble being taken on Wilshere's captaincy in my view is most dependent on this factor. Given that the more experienced Vermaelen has struggled to cope with the responsibilty of captaincy it is very possible that captaincy will have a similar effect on young Jack. That said, Wilshere  has already asserted himself as one of our leaders on and off the pitch this season. At his age the requirement to organise the players will very likely teach him a lot tactically, though I admit there may be teething issues at first.

Other options:
Arteta - Reliable, well respected I would be equally happy with him with the armband.
Mertesacker - Clearly intelligent enough tactically, unfortunately seems too mild mannered at times.
Sagna - Hasn't had the greatest of seasons this time round and looks set to leave. Sadly, a year ago, before the leg break I would have had him down second only to Vermaelen.

Given the positive possibilities I genuinely believe that Wilshere will make the cut as Arsenal captain.Given the nature of the role however, I would like to see how he fares before making the final decision and I would not be surprised if Wenger tested it out in pre-season before making a final decision.