Cesc’s Comments Unhelpful Following Abject Display By Gunners

By: Sairax | January 13th, 2011

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I hope everyone’s rage has died down a little. Mine was slowly subsiding as I looked ahead to the West Ham game on the weekend and today’s MLS SuperDraft. However, my anger began to bubble up again after hearing the latest comments from our captain:

“I don’t know if it is long ball or it is a rugby kick but it worked for them.

“In England, a lot of teams play like that and it works for them, they create chances like that and it is their football. We just have to put the ball on the floor and try to play football.

“Credit to them because they played well but Arsenal played the football, the other team refused to play football, they were lucky to score with a long ball.

“Still, we played well. We were good enough but just did not put the ball in the back of the net. I can remember only two opportunities for them but it was from a long, long ball because when they were playing football they could not really get in behind us.

“It is a disappointing because we were the much better team but it was one of those nights.”

No, Cesc. No. There is so much wrong in these comments, I don’t know where to begin. First of all, I don’t agree at all with his comments on Ipswich. Yes, they played some long balls over the top, but that doesn’t mean they didn’t play the game. They worked hard as a team, defended well, and had a few good chances, one of which they took and converted into a goal. That seems like a lot more than whatever the hell Arsenal was doing last night. It’s not even like they were kicking us off the pitch. This isn’t even mentioning the fact that Ipswich made seven changes last night from their first team. That’s right, it wasn’t their strongest lineup, and yet they saw their chance at getting to a final and they decided they were going to try and take it. They have the advantage now and it was well deserved.

Secondly, “Arsenal played well”? According to whom? What I saw last night was an abject display from a team that thought they were too good for the game they were playing. Misplaced passes, bad first touches, no communication or organization, terrible set pieces, and a general lack of effort and enthusiasm from our most senior players. That includes our captain, Cesc Fabregas. He looked so disinterested at times and he had the chance to score himself a couple of times, including a sitter from 3 yards out. It’s not the attitude of a captain and I was really disappointed to see that in him last night, let alone in the rest of our players. If there was one team that wasn’t playing football last night, it was Arsenal.

I don’t know what our team was expecting when they showed up for this match, but if Ipswich played a defensive game or a long ball game, it shouldn’t have been a complete surprise. Maybe it’s not the type of football we play or what we enjoy watching, but it is what they did to stay in the tie. If we played anywhere near our best, we could have gotten a positive result. Just the fact that he brought up the other team and their tactics is what bothers me. Perhaps he was just deflecting attention off of our players, but he should have just held his hands up and said we sucked and not gone on about Ipswich not coming to play.

When I watched some of the players, it amazes me the lack of effort shown at times. Someone like Bendtner has the chance to step up and show that he can be Wenger’s first choice striker ahead of the others, but instead he looks even less driven. It’s not just him. Denilson, Arshavin, and Eboue are all players that had a chance to step up and show us their worth. You would think that having competition would be good, but it seems to be having the opposite effect at the moment. I get the impression that some of these players have a sense of entitlement, that they deserve to be on the first team and that Arsenal should just walk into any game expecting to win. It’s a horrible attitude to have. The team we put out against Chelsea and Birmingham had the right attitude. If we make changes to that side, then the players that come in need to have the same hunger and put in the same effort. Otherwise we will always be “the pretenders” that everyone says we are. Wenger needs to get this through to the players that are not walking the walk. After all, he is the manager and it is him that needs to motivate the team. Cesc as our captain needs to be the first one to hold up his hands when he has a bad game, not be the first to point fingers elsewhere. The team has a chance to make things right in the second leg, but they will have to start playing like they are in a semifinal, not like they don’t even want to be in the competition.

In injury news, it looks like Vermaelen will be undergoing surgery for his Achilles problem. They are saying he could be back within 4 to 6 weeks, but to be honest, this could see him out for the rest of the season. At this point, I’m just hoping that this isn’t some awful career-threatening injury and that he will be able to recover from this. Also, it seems Fabianski has inflammation in his shoulder making him 50/50 for this weekend. If he isn’t fit enough, then Szczesny has another chance to impress against West Ham. He still has room to improve, and even though he thinks he’s good enough to be a starter, he still has to prove that on the pitch with his overall performance.

Wellington Silva has been loaned out to La Liga side Levante for the rest of the season. You’ll remember that he was not granted a work permit to come to England, so it will be a while before we see him in red and white. It’s a big step up for him to go from a bit player in the Brazilian league to a La Liga club, but hopefully he will gain some experience and do well. Our newest young signing, Ryo Miyaichi, is also expected to be going on loan soon, though it hasn’t been decided yet where he will be playing.

If you need something to make you smile a bit today, have a look at Samir Nasri getting his French Football award from a young Marseille fan. It’s very cute and includes an Arsene Wenger cameo. Translation can be found here.

Samir Nasri receives his French Footballer of the Year
Uploaded by dreamfight3r. – Basketball, baseball, pro wrestling and more sports videos.

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Category: Arsenal News, Arsene Wenger, Carling Cup, Cesc Fabregas, Injury Report, Lukasz Fabianski, Samir Nasri, Thomas Vermaelen, Video

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MikeSA

I think too many of us are still speaking from our hearts instead of our heads.

Nothing Cesc said is incorrect or wildly illusional or any other such thing.

Too many are being sucked in by the headlines in the rags, which (as usual), ignore what he actually said and attempt to sensationalize it.

He acknowledged that they played well.

He stated that this is a common tactic in England and that Arsenal need to learn to deal with it.

He expressed the personal opinion that this particular tactic he doesn't really consider to be good football.

He also expressed the opinion that he thought we were the better team.

Several points on the reactions to this.

NONE of what he said is particularly arrogant or illusional.

Some of what he stated was factual, some was his personal opinion, which, funnily enough, he's entitled to.

As far as some of the comments go, apparently someone "thinks he remembers Denilson giving the ball away for the goal".

Apparently we should conclude that this "thinks he remembers" is a fact and therefore Cesc is incorrect in his claim the goal was from a long ball.

Personally I would need to go back and take look, I can't say either are wrong or right, but what I do take exception to is that Denilson will now be the scape goat, whether he had anything to do with it or not.

We've seen this way too often with Denilson and several other players, whoever happens to be the punch bag of the day.

For example, I saw Wilshere get pushed off the ball in this game, and, as in many other games, make some very sloppy passes. Not to mention a large number of sideways and backwards passes.

Am I expecting to see any comment about that from any of the usual suspects in the peanut gallery?

No, but what I do see is Denilson getting slated yet again for a bad performance in this game when in fact he was one of our best players on the pitch.

I saw several penetrating passes, several occasions where he pushed forward past a man to make space, a particular occasion where he ran back after losing the ball and won it back, etc. etc.

I'm not trying to have a go at Wilshere, I'm just pointing out the rank hipocrisy and, let's be blunt, sheeplike stupidity of a significant minority in the Gooner ranks.

Yes, we're all disappointed, it was NOT an acceptable performance by any stretch of the imagination, but let's get a grip on reality and stop the frankly idiotic knee-jerk reactions.

The fact is we defended well apart from the goal and one or two other instances - this happens with ANY team (including Barca).

It's not some tragic exception that only happens to Arsenal.

Our shortcomings in this game was in our attacking, where we were simply toothless.

By the time they scored, based on our dominance in possession, we should have had at least 2 or 3 already, but in truth we hadn't even had that many chances on goal at that point.

I recall the 4-2 defeat to Charlton after which we went on to win the title that year.

We had 28 shots on goal, but only scored 2.

They had 4 shots on goal, and scored 4.

Over the last few seasons our number of attempts on goal in matches has been declining alarmingly.

I know we're the 2nd highest scorers in the league, but there is something fundamentally wrong that needs to be addressed in that particular area.

It's not about the popular punch bags, it's about some fundamental tactics in training AND on the pitch that need to be addressed.

Whining about this or that player (especially given how often this type of moaning has been shown up to be wrong in the long run, over and over) is not helpful.

We DO have substantial problems, there is no doubt.

However, ONE of those problems is the "support" itself.

When some bottom-feeder like pulis tries to climb in on the act and get a dig on on Wenger, then Gooners really should take a long hard look in the mirror.
J___V

I didn't state denilson gave ball away. It wasn't a criticism of him and I certainly won't make him a scapegoat that honour goes to the attitude of our players(with exception to the cb's)as a whole. I stated that I thought he was dispossessed. Having now seen a replay that is exactly what happened. Ipswich player won the ball which carried behind our back line.
Orion

dude, summarise . good comment/article though ;)
Peevish

I'm just left wondering if there is a football team out there who's supporters experience the dramatic ups and downs that we seem to week in week out? Its like going clothes shopping with a premenstrual woman on acid.
Darren_V

Um. Have you done this?
Peevish

Did you not wonder where my fragile mental state and senseless ramblings originate from?
Darren_V

I always assumed it was the Irish in you... I think you're Irish atleast....?
Jekyll

Cesc should just be honest. He is surrounded by mediocre, if not outright bad, players, who just want to pick up their £50k a week that 'economist' Wenger pays them (rather than spending that money on decent players) and are lazy and demotivated, and he can't get wait to get away. Cesc is just waiting for the summer, and who can blame him. Wenger's complacent Colney creche - they're all millionaires, why the hell should they care?
Darren_V

Hey Sairax, I would post that link about Messi and Barca thing we were talknig about yesterday.. but stupid Disqus wont let me
Sairax

I'm not seeing the comment in moderation (though that might be a disqus thing bleh)

Before the http:// put a * or a \ before it. It should let you post then
Darren_V

That's because I didn't bother trying yet.
*http://timhi.wordpress.com/201...
Wolffy

cesc is the man what he says goes don't disagree with him
Georgedb1

Mighty Arsenal... bested by a farm team... disgusting display
Orion

You got the cheap part right ;) . Nah, just kidding mate. But we seem to be the only two people on this website to have stayed positive over the last two days.. just sayin' . I think it's all part of a master plan, that will divert the attention from the players, and let them destroy Ipswich, and we will go on to win the Cup, the League, and the tie over Barcelona.

wishful thinking. *sigh* .. or is it?
Gigi_man

Man that little dude was charming, reminded me of Gigi Jr haha, very touching.

Didnt need the translation, I speak french, you hear Arsene? I speak french! Come get me at RB!! Iam cheap!
Jordan

My girlfriend who was watching the video with me asked if Samir was gay, because when Elias asked about being in he love he said something along the lines of: "Why, do you have a man to present?"

I'm not sure if you got that part too, but that is what she had told me.
Gigi_man

Oh God reading my comment I can feel I am up to a hell of a "you are crazy Gigi" or "what the hell is wrong with you" type of replies...ouch!
Gigi_man

I read all the comments and instead of replying to one I think a replay to all is better :)

I think Cesc knows its not true, but hey...love makes you unconditional at times and maybe, just maybe he has fallen deeply in love with the shirt and the canon logo, so hopelessly in love (as Steve Perry would say) that he needs to justify anything the loved one does.

And then scream the hell out of his lungs when they get home: Honeyssssss, we screwed upppp!!!

Or maybe its just me beong overly positive today..?

In any case I hope they get their act together because like said over here, there was no bus nor bullying around...so one team played and the other stood still.
Übermensch

So calm and yet so contraversial. Francesc Fabregas's arrogance and pretentious way to see how football should be played only demonstrates that he believes Arsenal are in all ways superior too this insignifiant Ipwich football club.

This is soo unbaring to see that we actually lost. Anyways, the players must have been uninterested as the honor of such a cup is like belittled when compared to what the Barclay's cup or the Champions leauge can bring as prestige.

Fabregas's vision is something that most Arsenal's fans may not understand as it is the vision of a champion and if you respond negatively to his responds, then he does not deserve to waste anymore time in a club that have little to no ambition...
Andre in Chi

I think, to an extent, Cesc's comments are a result of Wenger's impact on him. In so many ways, I admire Wenger and his commitment to beautiful football, but clearly there is something about this team that makes them susceptible to long-ball and/or negative tactics. I'm not sure if its Wenger's tactics or the players spirit at fault, but it certainly does no good to claim moral victory over opponents that stifle Arsenal's way. That the players have this idea that only Arsenal are playing "football" is troubling. While I much prefer Arsenal's style of play, they need to realize that it is only "their style of football" and, like any tactic, it has its strengths and weaknesses. Three teams have now smothered Arsenal's attack, and while they might be able to say they were unlucky vs Man City and Leeds, at a certain point they need to face facts.

The best way to stop teams from playing such negative tactics is to show that you can beat them, constantly failing against them only invites more of it.
Martin

I don't know which is more worrying -- that Cesc thinks that this is the way to assure the team and fans that everything is okay . . . or whether he actually believes it's true.

Because there's no way we played better than Ipswich. Ipswich were NOT playing like thugs, and they weren't just parking the bus -- I felt like they had more real scoring chances than we did.

For him to say this is so patronizing, disrespectful, and insulting to Ipswich, and it insults the intelligence of fans as well. I don't know why he would say this, as opposed to "they played well, but we weren't anywhere near good enough, and we have to play much better than that if we are to win this competition."
Orion

I actually don't think that Ipswich played well, as most people have been saying. I mean they punched above their weight, and created some chances, but it's more of a case of Arsenal playing really, really, really, badly. And that's an understatement. But I think Cesc knows that the team in general was out of form and out of shape, and maybe is frustrated at this fact. Maybe he wants to protect his colleagues and the club and divert the attention from the fact that we played really badly, since he knows that extra media pressure makes the situation worse? We see this happening time and time again, when Wenger diverts media attention from the players. They know the spotlight on them is a weakness. I don't know, it's just a theory, but if that's the case.. I must say, "well done, cesc."
J___V

That's surely giving cesc credit he doesn't deserve but I do agree that actual Ipswich didn't play very well at all. They played the percentages opting to kick long balls behind and in-between our cb's & fb's. Thet literally didn't make more than 3 passes in a move. That's fine, why should they. Their only business is trying to get through and they've given themselves a good chance but didn't play well. They didn't even win alot of balls. It was mainly given to them. The best thing they done I felt, was to put a block on the ball being played into forward positions down the middle, especially into bendtner.
Bottom line is they had a game plan stuck to it & we didn't bother to turn up. If we put in an average arsenal performance inthe return leg(even the type we've been critising most of the season) and ipwich play the same then we'll probably win by a couple of goals.
J___V

The thing that worries me most about these comments is that he probably believes them. In which case he's hugely in denial or plainly ignorant. Either way there's no acceptance or understanding as to why Ipswich won & we lost so inevitably it'll happen again.
J___V

Also they didn't score from a long ball as such. I'm sure denilson was dispossessed & the ball went behind our back line. It's called 'pressing the ball' high upfield, taking out the need to pass thru 10 players.
J___V

Sorry.....my "rage" meter is still quite high!