View From The North Bank: AC Milan 4 Arsenal 0
After Saturday’s late winner at Sunderland an air of reserved optimism crept in amongst Arsenal fans. I think it’s safe to say last night’s hammering in Milan has banished any positivity we’d rebuilt.
Before the game, many of us felt that we would at least score. The more confident amongst us looked to Milan’s narrow formation and injury hit midfield as a suggestion that our pace going forward could stretch them to breaking point. This wasn’t a fantasy, there was good reason to suggest we could threaten Milan and come away with something to build on at home.
But, whilst you can predict formations and tactics all you like the one thing that can scupper all that is the application of the players on the night. Whilst Milan looked organised for a top level European game, Arsenal looked ponderous and jaded. The first 15 minutes felt like a testimonial. As the game went on we looked like we were wading through treacle whereas they made the best of the terrible playing surface.
It’s customary for Arsenal fans and assorted press commentators to reflect on an Arsenal defeat as the result of an unwillingness to act decisively in the transfer market or to stretch ourselves financially to keep any of the stars who’ve left us in recent seasons. Of course, better players would have, well, played better but that doesn’t account for the terrible performances by so many of the players we would usually rely on.
If we were given access to Usmanov’s enormous wealth I imagine most Gooner’s would still want to retain Vermaelen, Sagna, Song and Arteta. Last night, they were the experienced players who let us down.
The lazy post-match consensus that we weren’t good enough all along is wide of the mark also. The truth is that whilst we aren’t good enough to win the Champions League we’re still better than this performance would suggest.
Our defence was criminally exposed last night. Koscielny seemed to be battling on his own until he was predictably removed owing to injury. Vermaelen looked more like a left back playing in the middle than the accomplished central defender we know he is. The usually professional Sagna fell asleep for the second goal, even though it was shown to be offside.
Our midfield went absent without leave in the first half. Alex Song, usually hunting down opponents and making important tackles, was anonymous; Aaron Ramsey barely saw the ball and wasted it when he had it whilst Arteta was as poor in possession as I can ever remember seeing him.
Our plan going forward looked to be to get Walcott one on one with Antonini or for Rosicky to thread balls to Van Persie. The typically Italian organisation of the Milan side when they didn’t have the ball meant that we looked toothless going forward. The state of the flanks won’t have helped Walcott but that doesn’t excuse the number of times we wasted the ball in the final third.
Arsene Wenger can be blamed for many things but the failure of the senior players in the team to muster any sort of resistance is hardly his fault. We as fans feel let down by such inept performances so don’t think for a second that a man who has persevered through difficult times when so many others would have jumped shipped won’t feel hugely let down too.
We’ve played poorly many times this season and we’ve already lost far too many games but this was the first time since the death throes of the United drubbing where we’ve looked short of any fight whatsoever. Had we gone toe to toe with Milan and been beaten I’d be happy to put my hands up and admit they were just a better team than us. Maybe they are better than us but last night’s no-show doesn’t really give the best picture of what we can do when Vermaelen, Song, Arteta and co look hungry and demonstrate a will to win.
Knowing that we’re capable of better actually feels worse than just putting this down as a bad night at the office. It’s hard not to feel let down by the total failure to even put up a challenge last night.
The only thing that makes me feel slightly better is that we were never going to win this competition this season. The FA Cup is winnable and a place in the top four is achievable so I’d much rather progression on Sunday and improvement in the league than a win last night. Sadly the Footballing Gods don’t work like that, you can’t trade one humiliation for a couple of good results down the line. These players are going to have to show the desire that was woefully lacking last night to stop this season from ending the same as our Champions League campaign inevitably will.
At last someone has posted a common sense rather than knee jerk set of thoughts about AW, the Board and their collective failure last Summer in the absence of DD and has heroic skills in the transfer market….
i’m very disappointed…….and when you compare the side to the one ion 2008 that won, it is even more of a concern..If that side was close to technically perfect, i must be losing it…..Almunia, cliché, galls, senders, sagna, eboue, diary, flamini, cesc, hleb, adebayor
not sure many would replace last nights starting 11……….
Had the same thoughts from last night. Was my first European away trip- i think i could have chosen a better one. But my primary thought on the night was the performances of our senior players being well below what they should have been. Wenger cannot be blamed for this.
To try and find some sort of positive from this, success in the Champions League was never really on. Hopefully we can put it behind us and focus on the FA Cup and more importantly being back in the Champions League next season.
If only more Gooners shared you logic thinking! I’m afraid there is a growing number who feel enough is enough. They want a Mourinho figure and an Oligarch to come in and splash money on the ‘World’s best players’… Building a team rarely works like that – aside from maybe Chelsea in Mourinho’s first season, but even then Ranieri had bought in the majority of those players. Been saying all season, the time to judge is at the end of the season, until then they need our support – even when they put in woeful performances like last night.
so who should be blamed? the players we had were either past their prime eg Rosicky,Henry,Arteta,or inexperienced like Chamberlain,Walcott and
Ramsey.last night was Wengers fault who had no answer to the long ball tactic Milan were playing,and this is not the first time we are facing a team with long ball tactics
long ball tactics? That’s a disservice to Milan’s performance. Think we were watching a different game pal. More alarming was that we were counter attacked at will – a lot of that was because the front three weren’t pressing as instructed to when losing possession. And Walcott, inexperienced? Arteta past his prime? He’s 30!
Please,for once,just stop making excuses…
Sorry Dan but I don’t see how saying that the players were inept and that the players we should be able to rely on were anonymous is making excuses.
I don’t think Wednesday was good enough but I just don’t think that dragging up all our past failures etc has much to do with this result. Regardless of what’s gone before, who we have or haven’t bought and sold, this team played ridiculously badly on Wednesday night and the people to blame for that are the players themselves.
Another thing,if we can’t even beat birmingham city in the final of the carling cup,what makes u think we can win the fa cup
So you’re saying that becasue we lost to Birmingham a year ago we aren’t able to beat a team the same as or better than them ever again?
By that logic Blackburn are better than United because they beat them a few weeks back.
Actually, we beat Barca a year ago so does that make us better than them?