EPL Talk » Cesc Fabregas

Arsenal Beat Celtic 2-0 at Celtic Park, All But Assure Champions League Qualification

tyduffy — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 22:03:21 +0000

Arsenal beat Celtic 2-0 at Celtic Park, all but assuring their qualification for the Champions League group stages, with two away goals. It was not the presiding effort of their 6-1 away win at Everton, but the two deflected goals – from Gallas and Gary Caldwell’s foot – fulfilled the requirement in what was arguably the most important match of the season.

Celtic obviously came into match with an inferior squad. The Scottish Premier League nowhere near equates the English one. Celtic’s biggest signing was £4m Scott Brown. As was mentioned in the telecast, new Celtic manager Tony Mowbray did have experience against Arsene Wenger from his time at West Brom. Unfortunately, said experience was losing to Arsenal with an inferior squad.

The tactics came as no shock. Celtic pressed early to disrupt Arsenal’s passing, with moderate success. When the club tired, they kicked Cesc Fabregas constantly, resulting in two yellow cards and accomplishing nothing but placing him at risk for injury. Fabregas is too savvy to be addled by wanton lunges. Even if the tactic had hampered his effectiveness, Arsenal have four or five players who can create adequately with the increased space from diminished attention.

Wenger again opted for the 4-3-3, using the exact lineup that played against Everton. This time, however, players shifted positions more frequently and both Gallas and Vermaelen attempted runs from the back. This suggests we may be seeing some true total football at the Emirates this year.

Arsenal’s back four, fronted by Song were solid again. Though, they benefitted from Arsenal breaking up plays high up the pitch in both matches. The trio of Alumnia, Vermaelen and Gallas appear confident now. Will this change when they face a team that can down the wings and challenge aerially with crosses?

The weak point for Arsenal was Nicklas Bendtner. He shone with the ball at times against Everton, but against Celtic he was woeful. Whether playing down the right or in the middle, his poor off the ball positioning placed him consistently two steps behind his proper place. He has the technical ability, but does he have the football intelligence?

Theo Walcott should take Bendtner’s place when he returns from injury. Though, if Bendtner remains the fall back plan for the slender shouldered one, that should influence Wenger’s to buy. Could Wenger take Rafael Van Der Vaart off their hands for £6m?

For those tracking other transfers as we approach the deadline, Emmanuel Eboue was not in Arsenal’s squad, leaving that reported £9m move to Fiorentina an option.

Arsene Wenger Faces His Most Important Preseason Yet

Paul Bestall — Mon, 11 May 2009 20:35:34 +0000

When the final whistle went after Sunday’s match, Arsene Wenger could possibly view the previous 7 days as one of his worst weeks since he began his 13 year tenure in charge of Arsenal. In two massive matches, Wenger has seen his side start fantastically well in both games, get caught by a sucker punch and then collapse, his players heads dropping with a collective “Here we go again”.

There’s no doubting that this has been Wengers toughest season, with probably more criticism than he’s ever received since he came to North London back in1996. His signings have been questioned constantly, his buying policy questioned at every turn, having his tactics poured scorn upon week in, week out, even his future has begun to become a point of speculation. Yet, his response to a question about fans leaving early for the second home game in a week was unusual to say the least, “Everybody is free to leave the stadium when he wants, I don’t believe we put in a bad performance today”

I hope he’s trying to deflect criticism from his players, but he’s got strikers that can’t score, defenders that hate each other, a captain that leaves young players to try and get their own head together after making a mistake and midfield that all want to play through the middle. Of course, there’s not too much wrong with Arsenal, but Wenger really needs to bring a little bit more steel into the side and more togetherness. This is a side that seems to be pulling away from each other, rather than together.

Once Arshavin settles in and Eduardo gets a full preseason under his belt, the options upfront seem a whole lot better. The loss of Clichy and Gallas has been a big blow recently but they’ve still done well in the league, until Chelsea picked them to pieces on Sunday, Liverpool ripped them apart at will but met two players on a mission to keep Arsenal in the game. Walcott will keep improving but needs more games and to get through this injury hampered spell, Fabregas will always give you quality in the middle.

The key question is if any of his stars actually try and leave or even if one of the suitors finally comes in to take Fabregas/Adebayor/Toure away from the Emirates, what will Wenger do? Will he get the money to reinvest in more rough talent that simply needs a couple of years of polish or will he go for real top quality? Or as some are beginning to speculate, Wenger has gone as far as he can at Arsenal and the lure of AC Milan, Real Madrid or Bayern Munich will finally be too much for him to ignore as he comes up to his 60th birthday?

Next season Aston Villa, Tottenham, Everton and Manchester City will all be more consistent, all will have more experience and will look to fill the gaps in each side over the summer. The three sides above them will all strengthen with top level reinforcements and Wenger will have it all to do keeping Arsenal competitive in the 3 big competitions next season along side the other Premiership big boys. A bad draw in the Champions League qualifiers could see Arsenal dumped out before August and crucially, before the transfer window shuts.

Beautiful football is all well and good, but if it keeps leaving nothing in the trophy cabinet, what price a bit of blood and thunder if it brings home some silverware? This Summer will be Wengers most important since he joined Arsenal, let’s hope he manages it.

Andrei Arshavin: Arsenal’s Added Cutting Edge

Rory Tevlin — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 20:35:12 +0000

Football fans are not the most patient of breeds and short memories are part and parcel of the game. As Arsenal hit top form and sit comfortably within the coveted Champions League places, few Gunners will recall that spell between January and February when their attack floundered haplessly.

Shorn of their captain Cesc Fabregas, Arsenal stumbled to three consecutive goalless draws in the league at the Emirates and left Arsene Wenger’s side desperate for extra attacking impetus. Since the beginning of March Arsenal have scored 22 goals in just seven games in the Premier League and are repaying their manager’s abundant faith in their ability.

Attacking abandon has returned to North London and is encapsulated in the form of Russian wizard Andrei Arshavin. Arsene Wenger’s theory of a six-month bedding in period for foreign players arriving in the Premier League has been thoroughly tested by a player who has provided six goals and six assists since his big money transfer from Zenit St. Petersburg in January.

Wenger’s distaste for the January transfer window is well known but this season he cast those prejudices aside and spent big. That confidence is now being rewarded in spades by a player who looks to the manor born in the hectic pace of the Premier League.

From his stunning strike against Blackburn to his four goal spree at Anfield, the diminutive Russian has added an extra dimension to Arsenal’s attacking play. Arshavin’s blend of vision, pace and technique has spurred the Gunners on and dovetailed superbly with the return to the team of captain and totem, Fabregas.

Against Middelsbrough on Sunday the Spaniard and Arshavin once again hinted at a creative partnership that could be the envy of the league next season. With Fabregas deployed in a more attacking role the pair linked up fabulously throughout the match, Arshavin displaying a sublime range of passing. There may have been a couple of comical efforts on goal thrown in but once again Arshavin was bright and industrious. Arsenal followers must wince at his omission from the starting line-up for the FA Cup semi-final against Chelsea.

Arshavin’s signing has been hugely important on the pitch as his arrival has re-ignited Arsenal’s season and seemingly put to bed the challenge of Aston Villa for the last Champions League spot. Equally significant though has been the symbolic effect his transfer has had at the North London club. After losing established players like Flamini and Hleb last summer many in the media have been labeling Arsenal a ’selling club’ that fails to hold on to their big players.

This perception may be off the mark but there certainly seemed to be an unease emanating from the dressing room over Arsenal’s transfer policy. At different times this season both Fabregas and Robin Van Persie have commented publicly on Arsenal’s need to show a little more ambition in the transfer market. By signing Arshavin Arsenal have certainly done that and shown that when the player is right Wenger is not afraid to loosen the purse strings. Arshavin has adapted to Arsenal’s distinct style almost immediately and is clearly revered by his teammates.

Arsenal fans may have to sit through another summer of transfer speculation over Cesc Fabregas but this signing should go a long way to convincing those at the club that Arsenal mean business. It is amazing the difference a couple of months and an infusion of Russian class can make.

Fabregas and Horton Prepare For Round Two

Paul Bestall — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 23:57:56 +0000

So, the FA have finally come out and asked Arsenal to respond within 7 days to Hull City and their Assistant Manger, Brian Horton’s, accusations that Cesc Fabregas spat at him in the tunnel. I’m amazed on several fronts, firstly the FA have managed to start an enquiry in the same month an actual incident happened, the fact that a little club ( as viewed by Soho Square) are actually going to get a chance to state their case to the FA and that we already have a lawyer already involved on Hull City’s side. Advice has been sought so now it’s in the FA’s hands.

What intrigues me and always has done, is the way that spitting in football is so frowned upon. Now, don’t get me wrong here, I’m no fan of spitting, but the ire that incidents like this create for such a minuscule display of immaturity and petulance still surprises me. Spitting just seems to fire so many people up, I could understand it 20-30 years ago, but still it probably attracts such anger from fans, pundits and the people on the receiving end of the projectiles.

Of course, the first real spitting incident I remember was this little gem, Rudi Voller still remains the only player I know to get sent off for being spat on and it was one of the major talking points of Italia 90. Yet, this new little tete a tete between Horton and Fabregas is unusual, now anyone who saw the pictures of Fabregas on the pitch that night can’t deny that he was certainly pumped up at the end of the game, but did he really have the audacity to then try and spit on Horton? Fabregas has denied it and claimed he’s never spat at anyone on a pitch, but something certainly happened between him and Michael Ballack once before. (Check it on Youtube, I’d include a link but the video has a soundtrack with some choice words, so just be careful where you watch it.)

Yet, just because he was pumped up after the match doesn’t make him guilty through pulling strange faces. I’ll be very disappointed either way when the story comes to it’s conclusion, but if he is guilty, what punishment will be given. It would surely be classed as ungentlemanly conduct, which I believe carries a 3 game ban, something Arsenal do not need right now. With a possibility of Arsenal playing in potentially 15 games, including Champions League and FA Cup matches and with him almost back to full fitness, Wenger will be counting on Fabregas to come into the team to give them a boost in the final two months of the season, he does not need him banning at this point of the season. If he did spit at Horton, then Wenger should throw the book at him, I hope he does.

Yet, I can’t see why Horton and Brown would lie about something like this, it’s a pretty concrete accusation to make about someone and the dossier that was sent to the FA is fairly substantial. Something definitely happened in the tunnel, so let’s hope the FA can work through the accusations and allegations and draw a line under the debacle and we can get back to football.

Liverpool and Arsenal Are Flat-Track Bullies; Only In Reverse

The Gaffer — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 10:00:13 +0000

It’s been the same story from Liverpool and Arsenal all season. To become Premier League champions, both teams lack the consistency needed not only in their results, but also in their performances on the pitch.

Saturday was another perfect example as both teams underwhelmed against opposition they should have beaten.

The moment Arsenal stepped into the player’s tunnel at the Riverside, the Gunners didn’t seem mentally prepared for the match. By their body language you could see that the Arsenal players weren’t treating this game or their opponents very seriously. Cesc Fabregas was smiling and laughing, partly to get rid of the pre-match jitters I’m sure, but you couldn’t see that determination in the faces of the young Gunners.

And when Arsenal began playing, Middlesbrough were the ones who created most of the earlier chances until Emmanuel Adebayor slotted in the opening goal against the run of play. Middlesbrough later equalized in a game where they deserved to share the points, never giving up and continually pressuring Arsenal whenever they received the ball. And don’t forget, this was a very makeshift Middlesbrough defense. The advantage was definitely in Arsenal’s favor, but they failed to capitalize on it.

Arsenal’s performance, yet again, was extremely disappointing. They seemed lacklustre. The players weren’t playing the brand of football we’re usually accustomed to watching. And Boro looked the better team during spells of this match.

That’s what is so frustrating about Arsenal. One week they’re beating Chelsea and Manchester United, and another week they’re playing without the passion, enthusiasm and determination that they should be. They’re a flat-track bully, only in reverse.

Liverpool often play with that same type of blase attitude on the pitch. Whether it’s their second half performance against Hull City or in several other matches this season, Liverpool are flat too often. They lack the spark and lack those forceful and persistent volleys of attacks against sides where the opposition simply wilts under the pressure. Instead, you see Liverpool playing nonchalant football on the pitch except for the last five minutes of a game where, all of a sudden, they realize that they need to win it so the speed and tenacity of their play increases. Unfortunately Steven Gerrard can’t bail Liverpool out every week.

Granted, Hull City are a far stronger team that Middlesbrough, and Liverpool had to work harder than Arsenal to get the one point. But if Liverpool has any hopes of winning the Premier League, both their performances and results – especially at home – need to improve significantly.

We’ll get to see whether Arsenal or Liverpool can regain their form when both clubs face each other this Sunday at the Emirates Stadium.

What do you think? And what can Arsene Wenger and Rafa Benitez do to get their teams psychologically motivated to play games against lesser opposition with the same tenacity they do against the Big Four? Click the comments link below and let us know.