Arsenal travelled to Schalke last night for their group stage game against the German outfit. The North London club desperately needed a result from this game, especially considering the poor run of games in their last few games.
With Saturday’s poor showing at Old Trafford against Manchester United still fresh on everyone’s mind, Arsenal would’ve hoped to get the best result possible.
However, Schalke presented the most difficult challenge in the group, and proved what they are capable of last month when the beat Arsenal at their own stadium.
An away trip to the Germans therefore presented a stern challenge. However, after a period of prolonged pressure from the hosts, it was Arsenal who broke the deadlock, against the run of play if I may add.
Having failed to assert their dominance, Arsenal spent most of the opening minutes of the game trying to cope with Schalke’s free-flowing and incisive football.
Olivier Giroud found himself through on goal after a careless header from a Schalke defender, but his indecisiveness got the better of him as he allowed a defender to catch up and tackle him. Luckily for the Frenchman, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Theo-Walcott-c34873 was present to pounce
on the loose ball and give Arsenal the lead.
The Frenchman finally managed to get on the score sheet when http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Lukas-Podolski-c22896’s cross found him unmarked, and he extended his side’s lead through a picturesque diving header.
Schalke managed to find their way back into the game through Klaas Jan-Huntelaar, who finished neatly past http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Thomas-Vermaelen-c35002 and
went into the back of the net.
Other than the goals, Mannone did well to keep Schalke at bay, and Arsenal managed to withstand the hosts for the greater part of the game. There are still questions to be asked, especially from Thomas Vermaelen, who had another poor game. The Belgian still
proves to be a better option at left back than Andre http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Santos-c32532, who was rather poor last weekend against United, but needs to pick up his form and be the captain that Arsenal so badly need him to be.
Up front, Lukas Podolski and Theo Walcott offered strength and pace respectively. Giroud looks to be finally settling in, but Arsenal still need the striker to find his feet and start firing on all cylinders. Though no http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Robin-van-Persie-c31380, he is still a good
striker. After all, you don't become the French League's top scorer for no reason.
My main concern remains the midfield, where Arsenal struggled at times, despite having the likes of http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Mikel-Arteta-c25715 pulling the strings. Arteta was perhaps the only player in the middle who put in a good performance, and had
to work extra hard to cover for Cazorla and Wilshere, who both somewhat failed to make an impact.
Cazorla has already played 14 games for club and country this season, and a week’s rest may do the little Spaniard some good. Wilshere faded in and out of the game, but that is to be expected after such a lengthy spell on the sidelines. The Englishman lost
possession quite a few times, which is highly uncharacteristic of him, but still worked hard to help his side manage a result.
The idea of the three in the middle for Arsenal may prove to be far too tempting for manager Arsene Wenger, but may turn out to be a premature decision. Though in theory the three can form the best midfield in the league, it will take time for them to forge
a better understanding considering the club’s injury record. With the likes of http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Alex-c4752 Oxlade-Chamberlain out injured, Arsenal are not exactly rich when it comes to options in the middle.
Wenger will have to be patient if he wants the three to combine in the middle, which will only come after a few games played together.
Perhaps with time, Arsenal will settle in and adapt to the loss of players who make the team such a massive threat going forward, but there are still issues that Wenger needs to address, especially at the back. Having failed to create chances, http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Arsenal-c38429 may
have finally fixed that problem. This weekend’s game against Fulham will be crucial, and will set the tone for the Gunners ahead of the famous North London derby next week.
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