When Arsenal sealed their victory over Chelsea at Wembley just a week before the latest instalment of the Barclays Premier League began, the hopes and aspirations of Gunners fans the world over were sky high, with many bloggers tipping them to win the title. And unsurprisingly so, for they had just beaten the best team in the land on a mammoth stage. Seven days on from that fateful day, morale amongst Arsenal fans could not be any lower.
Who would have thought that Arsenal were going to lose their first game of the season, a home tie against West Ham? I certainly expected much better from them after keeping a close eye on the impressive pre-season that they had. In contrast, West Ham had a poor pre-season, crashing out of the Europa League and losing friendly matches, often to the amusement of opposing supporters. But then again, who would have expected Petr Cech to play the way that he did?
It’s always tough when you are a goalkeeper. All the other players can make mistakes and probably get away with it. But a goalkeeper’s error usually leads to a goal. But before we point the finger at one of the finest goalies of our generation, let’s ask ourselves this. Is he the only reason why Arsenal lost to the Hammers?
The answer in my eyes would be a no. Cech may have been at fault for the first goal after failing to claim the ball he came out for, but in case of the second goal, why on Earth was Mauro Zarate given so much time to line up a drive into the bottom corner? Surely the Arsenal defence could have charged at him to not just unnerve him, but also block any potential shot.
In fact, I’d like to contradict a point that I just made. I feel that the Gunners defence could have done a much better job at marking Cheikhou Kouyate for the first goal. I still fail to understand why Nacho Monreal was entrusted with marking someone as physical as Kouyate. But then again, how did the Arsenal left-back manage to end up so far away from the guy he was supposed to be marking? I mean, the West Ham number eight had a free header near the penalty spot in the Arsenal box. That is surely unacceptable for any team even playing in the top flight, forget about a team having title winning aspirations.
“We can only blame ourselves for Sunday’s game” said Per Mertesacker on their defeat against West Ham, and even the most ardent of Arsenal fans will have to admit that he got it spot on here. If the Arsenal defence looked shambolic, then their attack was no better. Superstars Mesut Ozil and Santi Cazorla were nullified by a 16 year old making his top flight debut while Olivier Giroud had a game to forget after missing two great chances in the first half that could have given the Gunners the lead.
After all this and after the disastrous performance that Arsene Wenger’s side put in, a lot of difficult questions still remain unanswered. Are the Gunners actually capable of lifting the Premier League title for the first time in more than a generation? From what we saw from their game against West Ham, the answer would be a no. But can the problems that they have, be fixed with some smart signings over the remainder of the transfer window? We’ll soon find out. When Arsenal sealed their victory over Chelsea at Wembley just a week before the latest instalment of the Barclays Premier League began, the hopes and aspirations of Gunners fans the world over were sky high, with many bloggers tipping them to win the title. And unsurprisingly so, for they had just beaten the best team in the land on a mammoth stage. Seven days on from that fateful day, morale amongst Arsenal fans could not be any lower.
Who would have thought that Arsenal were going to lose their first game of the season, a home tie against West Ham? I certainly expected much better from them after keeping a close eye on the impressive pre-season that they had. In contrast, West Ham had a poor pre-season, crashing out of the Europa League and losing friendly matches, often to the amusement of opposing supporters. But then again, who would have expected Petr Cech to play the way that he did?
It’s always tough when you are a goalkeeper. All the other players can make mistakes and probably get away with it. But a goalkeeper’s error usually leads to a goal. But before we point the finger at one of the finest goalies of our generation, let’s ask ourselves this. Is he the only reason why Arsenal lost to the Hammers?
The answer in my eyes would be a no. Cech may have been at fault for the first goal after failing to claim the ball he came out for, but in case of the second goal, why on Earth was Mauro Zarate given so much time to line up a drive into the bottom corner? Surely the Arsenal defence could have charged at him to not just unnerve him, but also block any potential shot.
In fact, I’d like to contradict a point that I just made. I feel that the Gunners defence could have done a much better job at marking Cheikhou Kouyate for the first goal. I still fail to understand why Nacho Monreal was entrusted with marking someone as physical as Kouyate. But then again, how did the Arsenal left-back manage to end up so far away from the guy he was supposed to be marking? I mean, the West Ham number eight had a free header near the penalty spot in the Arsenal box. That is surely unacceptable for any team even playing in the top flight, forget about a team having title winning aspirations.
“We can only blame ourselves for Sunday’s game” said Per Mertesacker on their defeat against West Ham, and even the most ardent of Arsenal fans will have to admit that he got it spot on here. If the Arsenal defence looked shambolic, then their attack was no better. Superstars Mesut Ozil and Santi Cazorla were nullified by a 16 year old making his top flight debut while Olivier Giroud had a game to forget after missing two great chances in the first half that could have given the Gunners the lead.
After all this and after the disastrous performance that Arsene Wenger’s side put in, a lot of difficult questions still remain unanswered. Are the Gunners actually capable of lifting the Premier League title for the first time in more than a generation? From what we saw from their game against West Ham, the answer would be a no. But can the problems that they have, be fixed with some smart signings over the remainder of the transfer window? We’ll soon find out.
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