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| effin’ Berbatov… |
I’m not going to draw any lazy comparisons between this side and the others we’ve faced in previous seasons. AS Monaco may not rise to the level of Bayern or AC Milan (of 2011-12), but they’re no mugs. I’m certainly not going to suggest that the gap in quality alone will allow us to waltz into this second leg and conjure victory from the ashes of defeat. This is, after all, a squad that has held high-flyin’ Lyon to three goals in as many matches and PSG to one in their only clash to date. It seems our lads read the headlines but not the fine print.
The headlines, of course, focused on how inept Monaco’s offense was. They offer so little going forward, as the conventional wisdom suggested, that all there is to do is to score a goal and let the rest work itself out. For long, long stretches, it seemed as if that was our game-plan—well, at least the latter part. We seemed content to just let the match sort itself out. We were hardly blindsided or blitzed as we had been by AC Milan or Bayern; it seemed as if we had simply offered our opponents a chance, and they took it.
Let’s admit that the first goal came through a stroke of luck—but the harder one works, the luckier one gets. Kondogbia’s shot was a bit ambitious, coming as it did some 50 yards from goal, but the deflection it took off of Per (who shied away rather than squaring his body) was apparently just enough to leave Ospina flat-footed, and from there, the prevailing narrative took over. No longer were we looking for a winning goal against a stubborn side, we were desperately chasing an equaliser. Coming out after halftime down 0-1, surely, Arsène left little doubt as to our needs against his former club. Something must have been lost in translation because, shortly after halftime, we found ourselves in a woefully familiar situation: eight men committed to attack with only Kos and Per in our half. As a Monaco attack developed, Mertesacker inexplicably left his man to go in for a tackle, leaving Kos horribly exposed. Sure enough, Mertesacker’s gambit failed, and his man—Anthony Martial—calmly collected the pass and found Berbatov with only Ospina to beat, and beat him he did.
By this point, it was all but over. Yes, Ox found a goal through a bit of individual skill, but once you concede two goals at home at this stage, you can pick up the prayer-books. That Monaco added a third, thanks in large part to Ox himself getting dispossessed, is almost irrelevant. We’ll now have to go in to the Stade Louis II with an urgent mission: win by at least three goals or we’re done. On its face, it might have been better to face off against the likes of Real Madrid, Bayern, or Barcelona, against whom we could at least say, “well, what can you do against such a squad?” Monaco are a quality outfit, albeit of a grittier, less-glitzier type, and so the embarrassment of succumbing to them—at home, no less—cuts just a little bit deeper.
Then again, there’s a silver lining to be grasped. Against those far-more illustrious, indomitable sides, we mounted comebacks just as famous as the occasion demanded. Lose the first leg at San Siro 4-0? Get a stirring 3-0 result in the second leg. Lose another one, this time at home—1-3, for those with an eye for parallels—and go into Allianz Arena and peg them back 0-2 for another almost-famous comeback. True, last season’s was a bit less momentous but still merits a mention. Then again, for as famous as each of those second legs were, they each came up just short. Long story short: we haven’t good enough to dig out of these holes in the past, but I still believe we can dig out of this one.
So we lost, thanks in large part to an unlucky first goal and to our own wastefulness and bad luck. With a bit of better finishing from Giroud, Welbeck, or Walcott, we’d have a very different narrative. Instead, we have a very unlucky goal conceded, followed by some horrific defending on the other two, leading to an infamous result. None of this means that we’re done—not by a long shot (pun, perhaps, intended). Yes, we do have our work cut out for us. That’s nothing new. If recent history is any guide, we’ve done quite well at carving out chances for ourselves. For as strangely diffident and disinterested as our XI seemed in this first leg, I fully expect those who represent us in the second leg to summon the memories of those other second legs and go one better.
It’s high-time we stop settling for Champions League qualification as a goal or destiny in and of itself. Despite Wednesday’s result, we still have a chance to advance. Dammit, we very nearly overcame deficits just as large and larger against mightier opponents. Who’s to say we can’t take the next step?
Set aside your provincial squabbles—Wenger in, Wenger out, vatever—and get behind the club. Is this the first time it’s been knocked down on its arse? No. Will it be the last. Again, no. Again, though, will this be the first or last ime that the club has risen up against expectations to achieve something memorably? Again, no.
This ain’t over. Monaco, you’ve won this round. Something in me suggest that you haven’t won the war.
The mentality shown last night has been ingrained in the collective psyche of the team and I don't think it's going to change under Wenger because previous arsenal teams never dominated Europe. And whenever this kind of performance happens, the common line is 'we were naive'. If professional footballers of this level prepare for a champions league knockout game and then tell you they were naive makes me wonder what they trained for. It's happen too often. I'm still feeling numb
I thought I posted a comment yesterday at about the 70 minute mark that seems not to have made it but, ironically my opinion never was altered even after Ox scored, because shortly thereafter in his frantic efforts to do more he managed to cause even more damage to what the entire squad had already accomplished.If the Arsene Must Go crowd had been quiet lately this match might be a demonstration of why he should be packing his bags now. First of all I doubt that Arsenal will come back and win 3-0 and then in overtime or a shootout, let alone 4-0. The lame efforts by Giroud (at least 2), the messy stuff by Walcott and Welbeck, etc. ruined chances for a draw or better and demonstrated that this is not a mentally strong team, let alone a well-coached team.If we start with players: Per, Danny, etc. were embarrassing and I have doubts about others including Ozil, Walcott and others that were in the back or middle. Time to reassess them all and not carry players in the vain hope that Arsene might still salvage some silverware before he exits.Rather than assess each player, which I have seen average a rating of 5 on most sites only because poor Alexis gets a 7 or better for never quitting, let us consider the manager who, once more, threw his players under the bus after the match and never, seemingly, took, as usual, any personal responsibility. Pathetic on his part given that, aside from supposedly preparing the team in advance, made no adjustments at half-time or as the match went on. Is Arsene capable of formulating a game plan? If he sees his players drifting toward the center (assuming he wanted them wide) is he incapable of telling or yelling not to do so, let alone making that point at the break?While I accept that these are professionals, they may still need to have been prepared and trained not to all come forward to the extent that the most pathetic counter-attack is successful including one where Per was auditioning for a part as a matador in lieu of trying to block the shot. It would seem that other managers study their opponents and try to exploit their weaknesses. The Monaco manager indicated they studied game films and recognized how much weaker, among other frailties, Arsenal is in the second half. Why could he see it and not Arsene? Why did Arsene not see that his rear guard was not passing well, not reacting well and still moving up too much at the risk of exposing a listless pair of rear guardsmen (neither on distinguished themselves yesterday)? Despite a problem with English, why did Gabriel not play yesterday, no one else was communicating anyway? Why was Welbeck playing and, given his stats (virtually no shots or completed passes, I believe), why was he allowed back on at half-time? and now…….. Given this abysmal display of play, let alone management, how many Gooners can remain positive about getting past MU in the FA Cup (no matter how inconsistent they might be) or finishing 3rd or 4th (Note: I have written off the CL)? Let me also add another few questions: What are the odds that Arsene will be manager for 2015-16 and what are the odds for 2016-17? Which players will depart or be dumped prior to next season? Which players will be brought in? Which players will reject an offer if Arsenal does not reach the CL for next year? Finally, was the “evil chosen one” Jose M correct when he characterized Arsene as a “specialist in failure”?
Numb is an understatement. They were unprepared mentally more than physically. There was never any sense do desperation. Arsene spoke of it being a 180 minute match and that implied they should not have panicked or tried to get it all back at once. I never saw any coherent play, any organization and little understanding of either a game plan or their roles in a plan. Chickens without heads and a manager scowling but never making a move to adjust or alter the situation. He starts every match with the same or similar plan or a fixed strategy and never adjusts no matter what.