Midseason Review, Part I: What’s Happened?

So here we are, nearly halfway through the 2011-12 season. Arsenal have play 17 league matches with Wolves coming up next on Tuesday. It was originally scheduled for Monday on Boxing Day, but due to the London Tub Strike, it has been rescheduled. The halfway mark of the season has QPR coming to the Emirates and but this time we hope to have completed the mid-season review.

June

Homey, JG, Brenton and I took over from the great writing of Martin and Sairax at the end of June when they ceased writing for this site. It was a sad time, as no one wanted the two of them to stop their wonderful work here and providing us with great information daily and is still missed sorely. But it was exciting for us and we still attempt to hold up the high standards they set. It was also when there was immense speculation with the transfer window not yet open internationally and Homey made our debut with his want of Nasri to stay at Arsenal, while asking for Eden Hazard. JG gave us a great report on possible transfer targets and departures. Brenton gave us his valuation of Cesc leaving at 68% and figured Wenger would sell him for 51 million, which looking back at now would have been a very nice figure eh? My first post was on whether or not Arsenal should revert to a 4-4-2 formation, an argument that was very much debated during the summer.

July

July came with the announcement of the departure of Gael Clichy to OilCity. This was a move that was completely expect at the time, and was met with mutual wants from most fans and the player. Clichy will always be remembered fondly by me, despite the warts in his game. You could never claim Gael did not give 100% every time he stepped out on the pitch for the Arsenal, and was the consummate professional during his time with us, during the speculation of his departure, and has maintained his class since then, as he is just a classy guy.

Shortly after, Arsenal gave official announcement of the Asian Tour, and then Gervinho was signed by the club for 11 million. The Asian Tour was by all accounts a roaring success commercially, and really opened the eyes of the Arsenal as to how great their fan-base truly is across the world. The fans in Malaysia are now envied by everyone, and Arsenal are preparing plans for their next pre-season tour as we speak. The preseason continued with a win in Cologne despite an freakish own goal by Carl Jenkinson. Homey ran a poll on who fans would prefer Arsene Wenger to sign, Lukaku or Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. The result will probably surprise you with 62% preferring the now-Chelsea man Lukaku.

August

The beginning of August began with the annual Emirates Cup. Fans had been expecting the transfer sagas to be resolved by this point, but they were all still very much continuing. Gervinho and Jenkinson were the only confirmed new players at this point, with no departures confirmed. The Emirates Cup ended with Jack Wilshere limping off the field (and hasn’t been seen since) and Thierry Henry’s New York Red Bulls as champions. Arsenal failed to impress in both their matches prompting fans to voice their frustrations, despicably booing their own club during preseason. Booing your own team is something I personally frown upon at the best of times, but to do so during preseason is bringing it to an all-time low, regardless of your reasons.

Homey then came out asking whether Arsenal benefit from a separate General Manager. It was a thorough and extremely well written piece with another poll that provided an interesting result:

I think it’s safe to say there was quite a bit of doubt whether or not Wenger was the man to lead Arsenal at this point. The final pre-season match was a loss to Benfica, which thanks to the Champions League resultss, doesn’t look so horrible now. Brenton summed up the pre-season nicely:

1) It was a pre-season friendly. League results do not relate directly to pre-season results.
2) Our first team has scored and been winning every game it has played. I think.
3) We seriously lack depth. Maybe other teams do as well.
4) Squillaci is not cut out for this.
5) Wenger is on thin ice with the fans.
6) Homey actually does think he would build a better squad than Wenger. For real.
7) Darren just wishes we could all get along.
JG is a bit of a big girl.

#1-4 I think was very accurate, and we still lack depth in the striker department. While Wenger is not on thin ice any longer, Homey likely still believes he could build the squad better than him. JG might be a big girl, but he just killed his SATs so we can forgive him for that.

Alex Oxlade Chamberlain signed from Southampton, and  just as the new season was about to begin, Homey dropped his big bomb that he wanted Arsene Wenger fired. It actually wasn’t a surprise as he had been hinting at this all summer long, but I was never on board for the sheer fact that firing a manager just before you start your new season is just absolute madness. The case was compelling however, and produced a massive debate in the comment section.

Away to Newcastle was supposed to be about exorcising the demons of the 4-4 draw the season past, but instead it became about Joey Barton. Alex Song stupidly stamped on his leg and when after Barton grabbed Gervinho after being tripped, the Arsenal man ’slapped’ Barton. The end result was a drab 0-0 draw and costing Arsenal the services of Song and Gervinho.

Cesc Fabregas was finally sold for a paltry 30 million to Barcelona, which was a pathetic amount to receive for one of the World’s best central midfielders, but by this time most Gooners were just thankful to be done with the saga.

After a shaky win at home to Udinese, Arsenal welcomed Liverpool to London in a match that Brenton had already labeled as ‘a battle for fourth‘ and Liverpool took 3 points off the Gunners, winning 2-0. This proved to be the last match Nasri played for Arsenal as he was then sold to City for 24 million. Arsenal were now without their three most creative midfielders and staring Champions League qualification in the face in Italy, but  proved their mettle with a 2-1 away win and ensure their 14th consecutive passage to the Champions League group stage.

The next match was that sadly unforgettable match in Manchester, getting drubbed 8-2. The lineup for that match?

Szczesny, Jenkinson, Djourou, Koscielny, Traore, Coquelin, Ramsey, Rosicky, Walcott, Arshavin, van Persie,

Coquelin was named the best of the worst in his Premier League debut, and Chamberlain also received his at this time as well. Yikes. I remember driving across Ontario following this match on my phone with two extremely tired and cranky children in the back seat. I have yet to see a second of this match in any form, and I hope to keep it this way.

Transfer deadline finally arrived, and with it Arsene Wenger finally decided he might need some help in his squad. Chu-Young Park and Andre Santos were signed and the final day of the window saw Per Mertesacker come in. Hours before everything slammed shut Yossi Benayoun was signed on loan and Mikel Arteta was bought from Everton, both with past injury concerns and no medical taken prior to the signings. But players had finally been brought in and the transfer talk could finally be ended. We knew the squad which Wenger had chosen to fight the season with.

September

Homey was happier, but far from satisfied at this point, while I returned from vacation to proclaim the begining of September as the start to the new Season. Winning home to Swansea 1-0 was hardly convincing, thanks to a massive keeping blunder, but it gave Arsenal their first taste of success for the new campaign. An away trip to Dortmund for Match Day 1 in the Champions League was next on the cards, where Arsenal was looking good for the win until a late wonder strike brought the game level. It ended 1-1 which was likely a fair result.

Arsenal would then travel up to Lancashire to face Blackburn Rovers. This match was supposed to be about building consistency and confidence in our game, but ended up turning into everything but. The game started in typical Arsenal fashion with the good guys dominating, but ultimately getting caught by horrendous defensive errors and lost the match 4-3. The same Blackburn who just recently made Bolton look good. Ugh.

The Carling Cup came next and wasn’t televised anywhere, but Arsenal defeated Shrewsbury Town 3-1. I didn’t watch this match so I’m pretending in my head that Arsenal totally dominated. Homey  then went asking whether or not there would be a St. Totteringham’s Day or not, which we can only hope will still come this year. Bolton came to North London next and was met with a 3-0 defeat in which Robin van Persie recorded a double and reached his 100th career goal for the Arsenal. Next up was Champions League football, Greek side Olympiakos coming to London where Chamberlain got the start and scored a terrific goal in a 2-1 win.

October

Three wins on the trot and things were starting to look better for Arsenal. Except the North London Derby took place at Shite Hart Lane and while Arsenal dominated possession, they allowed two completely preventable goals and never looked like equalizing the match after going behind. It was truly dull and tepid, which wasn’t helped having Song required playing centre back. All thoughts of challenging for the League title were completely nullified at this point. This prompted JG to ask ‘What’s up with Park Chu-Young?‘ and calling him to start the next match versus Sunderland.

Park would make the bench, but never played in the match however, Robin van Persie kept up his incredible form, delivering the win with another brace in a 2-1 match. Next up was Champions League play in Marseille where Aaron Ramsey’s very late goal gave Arsenal the 1-0 win and the spot at the top of their group. Rugby club Stoke City came to London next and Wenger chose to rest van Persie, giving Chamakh the start up front, but would be needed to come on and give his club the victory anyways. As guest writer and frequent commentator Gumby wrote:

Oh, sweet, sweet dependency. Let’s see – 24 minutes played, two goals, and at the heart of almost every dangerous attack. His very presence on the pitch seemed to lift the side. I consider myself truly lucky to witness such an extended run of form. As an aside, while he is obviously critical to our success, I have a theory that our dependency is magnified and perhaps exaggerated by the fact that he’s consistently replaced by an out of form Chamakh, who is far from an average PL forward at this point.

Carling Cup play came next, and with no TV feed once more, our old-time friend and favorite blogger came out of retirement to give us his match report of Arsenal’s 2-1 win over Bolton. Yes, we all wish he would stick around to write more as well.

Homey then asked if Theo had Reached a Plateau or not, and urged Wenger to re-sign the English international, which then brought us to the Chelsea match where everything went off in a glorious way for the Arsenal. Goals, questionable defending, Theo falling and scoring, John Terry diving when he realized RvP was going to score. A thoroughly entertaining and satisfying 5-3 win over a club Arsenal had struggled with over the past few years, and some lovely celebrations with the away fans by the players.

November

The new month began with some more Champions League football, Marseille coming to town in what would prove to be a tight and conservative match, ending in a 0-0 draw. South Korean Park started this match in place of van Persie and was giving a lowly 5 for his poor display. Homey gave us a run-down on the November Jinx that seems to fall upon Arsenal each year, but didn’t seem as bad this time around. West Bromwich Albion was the next club to be entertained at the Emirates, a match in which was as comfortable as you could get, Arsenal winning 3-0.

During the Interlull we had frequent commentator Orion give us his guest blog, asking if the Homey Train was still cruising or had it come to a complete Halt? This is likely something that Homey will revisit later on in the year as he allows the season to play out and either prove him right or wrong. We can only hope he will be wrong.

Coming out of the Interlull, Arsenal’s home page released a stat that they had only won 41% of their first Premier League match coming out of international play, but Arsenal were able to overcome a nervy away fixture in Norwich to the tune of a 2-1 win in which JG signified as progress. Champions League then came to London once more, and a 2-1 win over Dortmund ensured that Arsenal would finish top of the group and give Wenger the chance to rest key players in the remaining CL match. Fulham was next to be entertained, but the fans were not as Arsenal merely drew 1-1, Vermaelen scoring both goals of the match. The final match of the month was the Carling Cup tie with Manchester City, where Nasri was booed the entire time with Frimpong and Coquelin shutting him down completely, and only the massive difference in our striker depth decided the match. Arsenal’s Chamahk and Park were anonymous all match and a lightning quick counter attack by Edin Dzeko and Sergio Aguero finished the game 1-0, and Arsenal were dumped out of the Carling Cup.

December

An away match to Wigan started the new month off, and Arsenal came away with a solid, unspectacular 4-0 win. (Interestingly enough, Wigan has since beaten Chelsea and tied Liverpool) The final Champions League match was away in Greece where Arsenal played the most meaningless game ever and lost our only fit fullback to injury while losing 3-1 in deserved fashion.

On Arsenal’s 125th anniversary, Everton was the club to come to the Emirates Stadium. Three new statues were unveiled outside the stadium, and club greats were brought out onto the pitch before the game. The match itself was never going to live up to the festivities of the occasion until Robin van Persie popped up with a stunning strike to deliver the 1-0 win. A poll on van Persie’s fan favorite strike produced this result:

Homey showed us how this squad is likely the most multicultural team on the earth, something that Gooners world-wide can be proud of. Another meeting with Manchester City, this time in the Premier League, was next on the cards. It was a trip to Manchester and Arsenal were looking for redemption in the city from that pasting at the hands of United. The match was extremely entertaining with both clubs producing many chances to score. The keepers on both sides were simply outstanding and Silva’s 2nd half goal proved to be the only difference. Arsenal then had a trip to the midlands, going to Birmingham City to play Aston Villa. It was a match in which Arsenal struggled to command, and in the end substitute Yossi Benayoun saved Arsenal’s blushes, heading home with mere minutes remaining to bring home the 2-1 win.

From the summer long trauma of losing Fabregas and Nasri, followed by the thumping at the hands of United and the transfer deadline day madness, it was a rough start to the season. It took some matches for the new recruits to settle in before Arsenal went on a good long unbeaten streak, aiding by van Persie’s goalscoring exploits and solid defending. Arsenal is now in the midst of a fullback injury crisis and a lack of striker options up top remains a worry which one would expect to be solidified in January. But given the manner in which the summer transfer window was executed, I would strongly advise in not getting your hopes up; we all know too well how painful that is. A quick look at the League Table looks like this:

While Arsenal and Chelsea are the only clubs from England in the Champions League, the race for the top four spots in the Domestic League is going to be a massive dog fight for the rest of the season. Arsenal have done well to come back from their terrible start, but that massive difference in goal differential will play a big part in the final standings. While most Gooners have forgiven Wenger and moved on from the summer, the full consequences have yet to hit the club.

Through 17 matches last year, Arsenal had an identical record of 10W-2D-5L, but had a goal difference of +15, seven better than the +8 this year, showing just how damaging the Manchester United game is proving still. In comparison to last year’s corresponding fixtures to this year, Arsenal went W9-D5-L3 for the same 32 points, but had a goal difference of +11, three better than this year and once again showing the impact of that fateful United match. At the end of December Arsenal was sitting in 3rd place, just two points behind leader Manchester United, which really shows how well the top clubs have fared this year. There is still lots of football to be played, and we can only hope for more positive match reports, a Champions League berth and to see St. Totteringham’s Day soon.

From all us writers at the Arsenal Offside, we wish you all a Merry Christmas. Have a safe and enjoyable holiday!

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For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. – Isaiah 9:6

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