Sorry for the late post. Between the Arsenal win and the Seahawks win (I live near Seattle) things were a bit celebratory in the 7amhouse. I actually finished the post yesterday and woke up this morning and added to it. So you get bonus stats.
Gunners today celebrate the first victory over City since Arteta got the winner in a tight 1-0 game back in April 2012. Arsenal’s overall record against top four teams has been poor since the Abramovich era, no doubt, though it’s often funny to hear the way that some announcers stretch out the “stats” in order to make that point.
Personally, I think there’s no “top four” in the Premier League and hasn’t been one since Man City won their first title. There is a top two, a middle four, and then the rest of the League. I like to compare the “top six” or even the “top seven” (if you include Liverpool who spend like a top team despite their mid-table results).
There is a great tool for comparing results among any group of teams over at statto.com and they have results all the way back to when teams like Stoke used to play football. Looking at this season’s “top six” record, Arsenal have been poor (again) but are actually above Southampton in terms of points per game.
It’s a tight table and the difference between the bottom 4 and the top 2 is less than it seems. Though, the fact that Arsenal beat City, away, considering that they are head and shoulders the best team in this “mini-league” makes the result that much sweeter.
Last season, Arsenal averaged just 1.2 points per game against the top six and if they can get just one win in their last three games against these teams they will equal that record.
Statto also provides a neat little matrix when you do these comparisons which shows games remaining home and away:
Arsenal have Man U and Tottenham away and Chelsea at home. In the race for top four, Southampton have Chelsea and City away and Spurs at home. Spurs have Southampton and Man U away, Man City and Arsenal at home. And Man U have Chelsea away, Man City, Arsenal, and Spurs at home. I have to say that Man U have the easiest run-in of the top six.
Match Stars
I’ve heard several pundits already say that Man City were just off their game but for me this was a great example of Arsenal playing a fantastic team game. Wenger set out to try to get the early goal, like each of the last three big away games, but instead of being permissive at the back, Arsenal looked fairly solid and organized. After Mike Dean awarded the penalty, the first Premier League penalty Dean has awarded to Arsenal since 13 September 2008 (4-0 away to Blackburn), Arsenal were able to drop deep and defend the lead.
City seemed aware of the fact that Arsenal have been susceptible to crosses this season and attempted an amazing 42 crosses (they average 21 per game), completing just 6 (they average 4.6). Though there were many crosses that were put into a dangerous area that probably could have been goals had an Arsenal man not intercepted. Cazorla (this is going to be a theme, so grab a cerveza and drink any time I mention his name) led Arsenal with 3 blocked crosses.
With Arsenal sitting deep and conceding passes to City, the Gunners also had a number of players with huge interception numbers: Monreal (7), Coquelin (6), and Koscielny (5), along with Belllerin (4). Cazorla (take a sip of the cerveza) also had 3 interceptions. This is to be expected when one team dominates possession (passing) the way that City did against Arsenal (65%-35%).
I can’t gush over Cazorla’s (drink) performance enough today. In a counter attacking team, facing two center mids who are the envy of many teams, Cazorla (drink) completed 54/59 passes. Four of his five incomplete passes were entry passes in the City final third. He also made an absurd 10/14 dribbles. I have nothing funny to say about that because it isn’t funny! He also led Arsenal with 10 ball recoveries, scored the penalty, provided the assist, and created a new dance craze.
Cazorla (DRINK) and Sanchez have scored or assisted on 10 of Arsenal’s last 11 goals (all competitions). Now, you go ahead and figure out how Özil fits in to this team.
Special Shout Out to Coquelin
I will not make a Coq joke. I promise.
In this kind of defense-first game Coquelin found a great rhythm. He completed 33/38 passes, just one of them putting his team in trouble. He made 10 ball recoveries (tied with… Cazorla (drink)). He had the 6 interceptions. Led all players with 11 clearances (6 of which were headed clearances!). And won 7/8 aerial duels, including several which took real balls to challenge for. And you know what? He didn’t commit a single foul.
The Coq was huge today.
@7amkickoff
Bonus – how Arsenal compared against City to their season average
AHHHH, so that’s why you’re called 7amkickoff!
I had the same epiphany! Now 7am, surely that means you’re a fellow Sounders fan?
PS, that final stat table is quite nice.
Best atmosphere of any match I’ve ever seen is at a Sounders match.
With the Seahawks come from behind magic and the 0-2 at City, that must have been quite a weekend.
This “Deflate-gate” thing looks bizarro. But its the NFL itself investigating….stay tuned.
Seahawks for two in a row…
I live in AZ but I was lucky enough to see 3 matches at the CLink while my parents lived in WA for a couple years. The atmosphere for regular season matches blew away what I experienced at the MLS Cup Final in LA ’11.
While I’m at it, fuck the Galaxy and fuck Robbie Keane
For the past few weeks Santi has been playing box-to-box and playing it really well. The style we play is going to dictate his partner – Ramsey for defensive minded games (yesterday) and Ozil for more attacking games.
You see Özil in CM behind Cazorla?
Sorry, no – I guess I forgot to mention Coq slotting in behind.
I see Santi staying where I see he’s been playing (box-to-box – he really has been like Ramsey last year) Ozil at #10 & coq as defensive when we are pushing attack. Ramsey coming in like yesterday with two all-action box-to-box players who get up and down intelligently and covering for each other.
Either Cazorla and Ramsey can bring the ball out of the back, but the form Santi’s in and the way he’s been playing (Everywhere) I think he’s pushing Ramsey out, not Ozil.
Actually I can see Wenger trying Ozil out at CM like he’s done with Cazorla. So it’d be a straight swap, Ozil for either Cazorla or Ramsey. When you add Ox and Rosicky into the mix (with Wilshere back in Feb), that’s a lot of options for the 2 CM places :). We have plenty games for everyone though, especially if we play like that in the FA cup and Champions League
Wilshire is not accomplished enough, not versus Santi or Ozil, they are in a different league…imo
But what about our little Mozart? 🙁
I think it could work against some oppositions, that is Coq-Santi-Özil together in midfield. Against the big teams you might want to see a sturdier midfielder like Ramsey in there, possibly pushing Özil (or Santi) out into either wing. At least this will be a fun little conundrum for Wenger to figure out, how to fit those two magicians into the team.
cazorla I wanna fondly fondle you
Damn, i love good numbers
Victoria Concordia Crescit, we showed that today. The entire performance was like an orchestra, everyone did what they had to do with perfect timing and discipline whilst santi(DRINK) pulled the strings and put his own brand of magic for show. It truly was like watching a well oiled machine work in perfect motion, long may it continue. This wasn’t an ordinary arsenal showing, this was a throwback to the days of the invincibles, santi turning in and out of tackles with the ball as he danced around like a leprechaun at the end of his rainbow with his pot of… Read more »
I love that motto.
gulp!
1- Pelle, not grinning
Do Ozil, Wilshere, Walcott get back into the side when fit. Does Arteta come back from Coquelin? Rosicky has been excellent, is it fair to drop him? Does Bellerin stay in ahead of Chambers? These are good questions. I like this competition, I won’t trouble myself over who plays, as long as whoever plays, plays well.
In my opinion: – Bellerin has to stay after his recent performances, dropping him would be absurd – Özil will play, the question is just how to best accommodate him and Santi in the same team, one of them will probably have to play on the wing. – Walcott has to get into proper shape before becoming a starter, but I think he should start against Brighton. Since we are always going to play Sanches plus Giroud/Welbeck, the fight for the third striking role will be fierce: Walcott, Chamberlain, Welbeck, Özil/Santi, Rosicky, Campbell – I don’t see Wilshere getting into… Read more »
With the way Santi has been playing, it’s going to take a performance of Zidane proportions to take his spot on the starting 11 right now
As much as I like the Coq, (he did have a spectacular game on Saturday) I feel that he needs to bring something more to his game. So far he definitely fulfils the role of the DM, but I think thats all he has. If he improves his vision and passing AND sticks to his DM role then potentially he would be an amazing DM and better than Song. Considering we are Arsenal FC we do need to find the best plays that bring the most out of the team and contribute just that little more. But so far well… Read more »
This is what annoys me with some ‘fans’. He is doing a great job and yet you want more. A great DM is someone who breaks up other teams play, makes vital tackles/interceptions and lays it off nice and simple to players who have better vision and creativity to take the team forward and attack ie cazorla,rambo, ozil etc. He is just what we need.
Yes we need a DM, yes he does his job well so the other players can do their thing, but to play in a world class team (or aspiring) you need to add something more than what is required. The reason why people were criticising Wilshere was because he wasn’t scoring enough goal. People criticise Ozil because he can’t tackle. Most people would have rated Ozil over Carzola when he was at RM, but now Ozil can’t get into the squad because Carzola is doing a hell of a lot more than being a playmaker. Yesterday’s game Carzola was magnificent,… Read more »
I wouldn’t jump to conclusions about Ozil. He’s 1/2 a match back from a long injury. No assumptions can be wisely made about him at this point.
And Coquelin vs Song, well, Song can occasionally play a Hollywood pass, but he lost his positioning discipline far too often, something Coquelin nailed at Man City.
1 – i guess you forgot the over the top Song-esque pass Coq played to Walcott. So he has that in him.
2 – FFS, Santi is not Gianfranco Zola’s car. He is Cazorla. Get it right.
Craig Pires, perfectly put.These sort of comments piss me off too. This is the sort of shit that makes Arsenal fans look pretty bad. Me Coq is performing the job as it needs to be, you say he should ‘add vision’, that’s absurd because you want him to then take santis role of distributer.
I think Aryan has a point. It is not unreasonable to expect something more from a DM at this level. Look at Matic, Busquets, Schweinsteiger and Lahm. All great on the ball. Coq sometimes took risk and got away with it. Lost the ball once which brought us in danger. Wouldn’t be to proud of that. One mistake can decide a game. It didnt and that is why he deserves a good rating. Not saying played bad, but you should always look for improvement. For now he is the right guy. If he wants to be that permanently he needs… Read more »
Song is a good player but he is not a dm and he would never have put in the type of performance that Coquelin put on against City.
And Coquelin is comfortable on the ball and does have decent vision. I dont buy the “he is a poor passer” theory.
I agree. While I would not -yet- put him in try Arteta clockwork-passer category, he has a lot more composure on the ball than he did in past seasons, and really plays a neat, simple game on the ball.
We should all keep in mind that only one turnover pass in a dangerous area against Man City’s expensive and usually effective squad is really quite good.
You’ll either get a deep lying DM (like Arteta, Pirlo, etc…) who are good at recycling the ball and getting attacks started or a Ball-winning DM (like Coquelin, Matic, etc…) who break up play and lay it off to more technically sound players. I don’t actually think this dream player that you seem to want, who manages to be World Class at all of it, exists anywhere in football. We have, potentially, a very good ball-winning DM who will use his playmakers to initate attacks.
I just. I wonder did you listen to Arsecast Extra last Monday? Because what you mentioned was exactly that dream player Arseblog made up.
so for a new drinking game just watch an Arsenal game and drink every time Santi makes a dribble, completes a pass, scores a goal/assist, makes an interception/tackle.
2 drinks if he wins a header
3 drinks and his little dance if he gets a hat trick
Whoaf.
If I played that game I’d be doing the Santi dance the full second half hat trick or no the way he’s been playing!
I think I’ll give it a go.
There is nothing different or surprising with the tactics we played with apart from the fact we executed it with better maturity. I have been mentioning that we have been conceding goals from wide areas since start of season. Conveniently no statistics have been provided to reflect this because it did not suit the narrative that we needed a new physically imposing DM for our mythical ‘soft centre”. Yesterday we played one up which was usual. Giroud put in a fantastic shift. We played 3 mobile again usual with Ramsey as link player adding a fourth. However Santi crucially dropped… Read more »
When the 4-1-4-1 was used early in the season that was considered idiotic, and Wenger ruining what was a working team. Now suddenly he got his tactics spot on. I’m with you. The judgment comes too quickly for both players and the team, with no consideration for evolution and growth. Players coming back from injuries, a less hectic schedule whereby you get a full week to coach the players for the next game, and players becoming more familiar with each other and their roles, all contribute to a better performance. It’s not just that ‘the penny finally dropped’ as so… Read more »
Agreed, Bellerin’s improvement is nothing short of magical. His bursting runs (on and off the ball) can become a real weapon once the team gets more accustomed to them. I think he is just about as dangerous going forward as any full back we have had since Ashley Cole, and he will only get better. If he can avoid becoming another Rafael da Silva, then I feel we have a real gem on our hands.
Agreed fellas. It’s almost ruined the victory having to read sports journos vomiting this party line about Arsenal or Wenger “discovering new tactics” when the truth is far more complex than that and linked to performances, first goal in games and other factors. Granted there’s been many occasions when we should have played more conservatively and lost, but we also successfully adapted to a more conservative system during RVP’s last season and after the period when Koscielny came into the team after Vermaelen’s downturn in form. One thing to hear Gooners criticise the club, and another entirely reading or listening… Read more »
Side note, I loved it when Bellerin teakettled Clichy on that aerial duel near the center line.
Yes Kaius, good to hear a true fan with a thoughtful refection and analysis, rather than the knee jerk reaction from certain ‘fans’ on this site.
Talking of which, they have gone deathly silent….. wonderful
Santori, I’ve been watching Arsenal’s defense all season and as I point out in the article above the Gunners do seem susceptible to crosses. But as I watch more and more games across several leagues it looks to me like there are a lot of teams conceding goals from passes originating in wide areas. This makes me wonder if Arsenal are really any worse at defending those passes than any other team. Sadly, I don’t have time to look at every game and analyze goals conceded from passes originating in wide areas. Perhaps you do? I suspect you could start… Read more »
Plus its top 4 because those teams qualify for CL which makes a difference bringing in players.
There’s no Top 2. until Fergusson left. United were every bit competitive till then.
He plays on the left…
He plays on the right…
Ooooh…Santi Cazorla…makes City look shite!
oh oh oh Oh
oh oh oh Oh
OOOOH…SANTI CAZORLA…MAKES CITY LOOK SHITE!
http://arsenalist.com/f/2014-15/man-city-vs-arsenal/cazorla-takes-on-everyone.html
Oooooh, Santi Carzolaaaaa
Santi (drink!) ….Alexis (drink!)……le coq (drink!)…..Giroud (drink!)….the ox (drink!)…and i could go on and on right round the team, drinking to their individual performances, except ill end up getting too bombed out to know who is doing what!
isnt life just sweet when your team plays well?
Coquelin didn’t give away a single foul? His 7/8 heading of the ball in the midfield area (granted he was good in our box too) was so eye-catching, I missed the amazing zero-foul stat. For years we have been APPALLING at contesting headers and second balls in midfield and our success in this area yesterday was one of the reasons many fans were able to light up a cigar and watch the last 10 minutes tick down with improbable calm. Uncanny performance from Francis Coquelin. (Decided to halt the use of his honorary 3-letter Gooner handle and will now type… Read more »
Cazorla was just tremendous….I hope Jack Wilshere learnt a lot. THATS how you play centre midfield….
And with a smile on his face, instead of the “I’m always pissed off” on his face 🙂
There is still top 4 in England; they play in the Champions League the following season.
The point is that SKY and their commentators still class Arsenal, Man United, Man City and Chelsea as the top 4 big clubs due to their consistency (since two of those were bank rolled by billionaires) with the others making up the numbers. In reality, as shown with United finishing 7th (was it?) last season, their are 2 big clubs (those same billionaire owed clubs) with 4-6 smaller clubs that can’t throw endless money at a team and the rest make up the league.
What a day! Not only a momentous win from the Gunners, but a very unlikely win from the Seahawks. It’s taken me until now to recover.
This is hilarious IMO. Must see if you haven’t! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TfUXJQbxLhE
Just to say that I too am a follower of the Gooners AND the Seahawks so we certainhly did have a great weekend. Head is still hurting now 🙂
Santi’s game has been an example of what it means to give your heart for your club. This was by far Santi’s best performance for our great club, maybe not goalwise but god damn. I mean, god damn! I want to see every one of our magnificent bastards use this game by Santi as an example! Again – god damn! (Yes, I’m getting sober now…)
Nice coq le Profeseur, didn’t see that one cuming…………cant wait for AW to show it to moucuntiho!!!
draw the 3 so called top 4 teams and win the remaining 13 matches, we could still exceed last season’s point haul and end the season with 81 points, i’ll take that for this season as it shows signs of gradual improvement, plus, we are slowly reaching a point where we have 2 “peak performing” players at all positions which will be perfect for a quadruple next season, COYG!
i’m trying to understand some logic being commented out recently… When we were asking for a tough tackling, positional discipline, good break play, we moan that Arteta and Flamini are not that player. Then came along our own Francis Coquelin, who actually ticks many boxes that we want in a DM role, and then people said wait until we play big teams then only we can judge him. Then, when he has shown his capacity against City, some fans judge him is not world class enough for not having additional skills like vision etc. Fuck me. My brain just couldn’t… Read more »
You’re being generous to call it logic.
Well played arsenal fc team plus nice to see a clean sheet class