Arsenal 3 - Burnley 1: Slow but Exciting.

So, Arsenal have drawn blades with the other big knights, Man Utd and Chelsea, and are now equal on points with Chelsea, and 2 points behind Man Utd. I am bittersweet about this result, it is bitter because we took so long to seal the deal and now have Fabregas out, sweet as it increases the pressure on the other teams who know they cannot afford to slip up.


The first goal, it saw Fabregas connect with Nasri, the latter it seemed looked to have dwelt too long and looked indecisive, but Fabregas made a small run and he lofted it over the defence with precision for Fabregas to slide under the keepers legs, really nice stuff.


After that, we were treated to a Bendtner masterclass in how to miss chances, it was trully ridiculous how many chances he missed, headers, tap ins, shots, the lot, he managed to mess them up. is Luciano Moggi of calciopoli his agent, because it is madness to miss so many chances?


Nugent broke the offside trap and again we were treated to an Almunia slow motion save, 1-1, with Burnleys only chance of the game. Almunia and Silvestre were awful, even Vermaelen for that, watch the man and get the line right.


Walcott was playing decently, and he scored the second, cutting in from the right and for a change, using his left foot to guide a shot beyond the keeper, 2-1. Arshavin and Eduardo came on, they never added much urgency, the former scoring the third with a low hard drive in the box.


This game shows some flaws in the team, you cannot spurn so many chances and hope to win a championship. Added the fact they play Porto for CL qualification, the team should have had an easy last 30mins to save up energy, instead they had to play the entire 95mins to secure a result, big shame. Nice to see Nasri centrally, more of the same, Bendtner needs to learn to score, Walcott needs to learn elementary control, some of the lapses of control he showed were a disgrace for a professional footballer.


Player Ratings

Almunia 4: Not much action, but failed to save the Nugent goal, wake up.

Eboue 5: Nice thrusting play from him, he should work on his left foot though.

Vermaelen 5: Decent, at fault for the equaliser though.

Silvestre 4: Attack the player, don't stand off them.

Clichy 4: Not much work, but should add much more in attack.

Denilson 5: Decent passing and squeezing space.

Nasri 6.5: Why isn't he deployed here more often? Not likened to Zidane for nothing you know Wenger!!

Fabregas 5: Injured, but scored a nice goal, big loss for Porto.

Rosicky 5.5: I love this guy, very involved and his intelligence is key to the team.

Walcott 5: Lots of speed, but his crosses need to be more measured and he needs to learn basic control.

Bendtner 2: 1 for being present, 1 for trying, but seriously, no striker for a team looking for titles can spurn so many chances, really ridiculous performance by him.


Wenger 5: Easy game to manage, but why play Silvestre and why not take Bendtner off earlier? Forget being nice, do what is right for results, take Bendtner out earlier, the game may have been over by 60mins and the team will be less fatigued for Porto.

Arsenal Squad Assessment Part 4.

The final part of the Arsenal Squad for 2009-2010, this one focuses on the strikers.

Strikers

9.Eduardo Da Silva. Possibly the best finisher in the Arsenal squad, all Arsenal fans have a special feeling for the Croatian after his horrendous leg break over a year ago against Birmingham City, that had a lasting impression on the squad's mental fragility. He made a brave return in the cup competitions, scoring 3 goals, all special efforts to underlie his immense goal scoring talents, and not forgetting his return to the Croatia team with two assists and a goal. He also had a few injuries after not playing for so long, so we all expect him to be near full fitness this season. His first task is to carve a niche for himself in the team, as it stands, Adebayor and Van Persie are the starting strikers, and the only way he can displace one of them is to be a goal machine. This is a big ask for him, but if he impresses in the pre-season matches, he could be given that lifeline of being the striker the team relies on.

11. Robin van Persie. The player of the season for Arsenal with a career best of 20 goals in all competitions. In the past, his fitness and discipline was a major concern, and to some extent it still could be, he missed 10 matches in the league, but this is a vast improvement over previous seasons where he missed 12-18 games in the league. He has also assumed a more senior role in the team, although he got a petulant red against Stoke, he rose to the big occasions when he could. On the plus side, he now has a right foot as strong as his left which in the past was a major weakness in his game, and he has started to score crucial goals to make the difference. There is still some way to go though, discipline, he chalked up the most cards in the squad, 1 red and 9 yellow, this means he misses more games due to bad discipline than fitness.

12. Carlos Vela. The Mexican striker has become a cult hero thus far, mostly from his exploits in the Carling Cup where his class showed through with some well crafted goals, curled shots and chips. In the league when the team was going through a bad patch, he was deployed on the wide left to use his speed, however his impact was not as great as it is when he is in the penalty box or running into it. For him to have a big impact this year, he must become more mature and try be the one to make the difference in the League and Champions League, The Carling Cup is the place to gain confidence, but that confidence must be fuel in the bigger matches, he must look to displace one of the starting strikers. Tactically, he still has some way to go as well, but that only comes with experience.

25. Emmanuel Adebayor. The man everyone loves to hate, and possibly a player who does not hold some of the fans in the best light as well. The previous season he scored 30 goals to cement himself as a senior striker, only to drop to 16 goals the following one, and this compounded with bad PR from himself in agitating for an increased contract has led to him being fed to the lions. However despite this, he chalked up 1 less goal than Van Persie in the league and was among the top assist makers for the side, so he operated at the same level as his peers at the very worst. To make a bigger impact this year, he must rediscover his work rate that had served him so well in his career before last season, the more pressure he applied high up the field made his job easier to score against a reorganising defence, from a static start, he wouldn't have as much influence. He must also make more darts into the box rather than staying outside and looking for the final pass. More work on his left foot would aid his variety as well.

26. Nicklas Bendtner. Another play who gets heat for under performance, but of all the strikers, he has a genuine big upward curve. He has 2 less goals than Van Persie in the league which shows he has some quality, and he has become more versatile by willingly playing on the flanks when requested. However he needs to work on the same wavelength as his team mates, too often he rushes on his own without being in synch with the others. His finishing technique requires better refinement, something he is improving on. He has a big aura and belief in his qualities, this is a season where he must genuinely look to put one of Adebayor or Van Persie on the bench and stop being the first choice sub or a man for the aerial game as he has good qualities that are more than just heading.

Verdict. The strikers last season accounted for 31 of the 68 goals scored in the league, which is a decent return, but with the chances the team creates, this amount could be better. Arsenal have a wide selection of different strikers with different qualities, and all of them need to make the step up from last season to increase their tallies, a team that concedes goals needs ultra effective strikers to win matches.