Norwich City 1 – 0 Arsenal: Supermodel teaches Arsene and co a lesson
October 21, 2012
‘Why did the supermodel stare at the carton of orange juice?’
I can’t get that stupid joke out of my head. And I’m blaming Arsene Wenger. Who had this to say following yesterday’s abject defeat against struggling Norwich City:
You can always find excuses when you lose a game but, overall, you have to stand up and say Norwich wanted it more than us.
I wouldn’t use the international break as an excuse for our defeat. I felt that we were not in the game at the start concentration-wise and started to get into it when we were 1-0 down.
I’d half agree with that. I felt that we weren’t in the game at the start concentration-wise. But then I felt that we weren’t in the game concentration-wise at 1-0 down either. Which does beg the question – if even a carton of orange juice can tell a supermodel to concentrate, why can’t a team of coaches tell the Arsenal players?
I could see from my living room in London that we weren’t up for that game right from the very off. We looked lazy, underprepared, sloppy in possession and completely lacking in any sort of zip. It looked to me like we completely underestimated the Norwich threat and expected to turn up and walk it. So why when that was so abundantly obvious wasn’t something done about it?
It’s all very well accepting the fact after the event and promising that we’ll do better next time but we needed three points yesterday. Why wasn’t someone lighting a rocket under the players’ arses from five minutes in? If the team isn’t concentrating then I’m pretty sure you can put that right there and then. Yet every time ESPN’s cameras cut to the Arsenal bench our various coaches and assistant coaches and trainers and kitmen were just sitting there like they’d been forced to watch another episode of Downton Abbey by their girlfriends and were just waiting for the butler to find His Lordship’s missing buttons so they could get on with their lives.
The fact is, and this is no disrespect to Norwich CIty who nobody could argue didn’t deserve that win, we are man for man a much better team than they are. I see tweeters and bloggers bemoaning our transfer policy this morning but the transfer policy has nothing to do with anything. If we’d put in anywhere near the required levels of effort and concentration yesterday we would have won that game and we’d be clear in fourth and chasing the leading pack rather than a frankly embarrassing 9th.
Arsene said:
There is a big difference between the amount of possession we had and the amount of chances we created. That is down to the fact that Norwich defended well and we did not create a lot.
That is understating it. We hardly forced a save. In ninety minutes of plodding sideways football. Podolski and Gervinho on the wings were extremely disappointing. I lost count of the amount of times they bottled the idea of taking on the full backs only to stop, come back and play the ball in-field again.
We were clearly lacking ideas and yet as ever we were unable to make a change until at least 60 minutes had elapsed. In Oxlade-Chamberlain’s very first foray down the right wing he had more intent and threat than the rest of the team put together. Alas he also got a kick on his thigh which forced him straight back off again and will see him miss Wednesday at least.
None of us can have been particularly optimistic to see Arshavin brought on as his replacement but he too showed a fair amount of hustle and desire. But as a mate pointed out on the phone to me during an extensive and cathartic post-match rant, when Andrei Arshavin is putting the rest of the team to shame with his effort levels you know you’re in trouble.
The less said about their goal the better. The amount of space we allowed in the midfield for Tettey to get his initial shot away was reminiscent of seasons past. Mannone should still have done better though than to parry the shot back across his own penalty box and gift Holt one of the easier goals he’ll ever score.
In his press conference last night Arsene went on to say:
They played well, were completely committed and they deserved the win. Maybe we underrated the difficulty we would face. But the Premier League is the Premier League. If you are not ready for the fight then you will always have bad surprises.
How many times have we heard that? How many times have we said it ourselves? Only yesterday in my preview I wrote that our biggest enemy would be complacency. I almost didn’t bother mentioning it because it just seemed so blindingly obvious but apparently it’s the lesson we refuse to learn. If Le Boss is right and we underestimated the opposition then he should take every single post-match interview he’s done in the last few years where he’s said exactly the same thing and have them playing on a continuous loop in the dressing room before every game.
Either that or just place a carton of orange juice on the bench in front of every player’s kit. One word. CONCENTRATE!
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15 Responses to “Norwich City 1 – 0 Arsenal: Supermodel teaches Arsene and co a lesson”
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I get the feeling that Wenger coaches his sides to loes. I cannot explain that display. To say that they didn’t apply themselves doesn’t make sense when they are superstars on millions of pounds. Being an Arsenal player must be the best job in the world. Forget about Squillaci who just goes to traiing to pick up 50K a week. The last few years we have seen this over and over again. No effort, no character, no courage. So it has to be that Wenger wants his team to lose. You know that would explain alot. In that way we don’t have to win every week and coming fourth is fine because he has disarmed us all of ever thinking we can win the League. The same goes for the CL. Just get throught the rounds to the money end of teh competition. Then lose heroically in the round of 16 or quarters. if the millionaire stars do not try to win because it is AW’s master plan then why should I care about Gervinho, Walcott, AA23, Ramsay, Mannone, Giroud and the others. You might say this is an exercise in reverse psychology to anaesthatise myself from disappoinment but go back over the last few years and prove to me that AW does not purposefully lose silly games.
i feel same, and was corect every word you mensioned her,!!!
We missed walcot yesterday. He might not be able to dribble past defender like Gervinho and OX but he’s a a forward playing player. Unlike Gervinho when given through ball, will slow it down and allow opposition defenders to regroup. Very poor performance. Wenger should have removed Santos in the second halve as he couldn’t just do anytin yesterday and he should have switched to 3-5-3. Giroud was totally isolated through out the match, and we can blame him.
Mr. Wenger u already made an excuse. But smtng u dont see can sm1 to see it sir pls u hav to hear evry body then u get somethng from each. Last night z poorest player on z pitch was rambo and jervy, zey cant touch z ball, cant pass properly, we havnt had proper through ball from zem… But u change podo who have an excellent combination with santos n santi. Excellent defence with santos on left flank. Look at jervy n rambo even they wake up when zey get pass what z hell is zat gues???
Arsene wenger should just take the blames for our lackluster performance bcos he doesnt have plan b. Why is he the coach ? He should have do something when he sees dat the going is getting wrong .
@TJ
Theres no such formation as a 3-5-3.. /:
Anyways horrible performance by the gunners, I am speechless at how bad we played .
“Yet every time ESPN’s cameras cut to the Arsenal bench our various coaches and assistant coaches and trainers and kitmen were just sitting there like they’d been forced to watch another episode of Downton Abbey by their girlfriends and were just waiting for the butler to find His Lordship’s missing buttons so they could get on with their lives.”
Yes, that’s definitely what happened. But personally, I don’t accept the claim that other manager would have made the “necessary changes” earlier, or demand more concentration outright, or finally (So sad’s argument) that Wenger teaches his players to lose (funny you should say that, Arsenal are famous sore losers).
We know Wenger well enough to know where he comes from. He NEVER makes changes before the 60th minute, unless he’s forced to. That’s his style. He always reminds me of one Bruno Metsu, a French coach who brought Senegal their first World Cup qualification, and who often didn’t change anyone at all during key games. Today you’d say it’s sick or wrong, but it helped him keep the team mentally strong (even El-Hadji Diouf looked like he meant business under his management). What Wenger does repeatedly is to postpone the necessary changes as much as possible, and I daresay the reasons for this may be pretty similar.
(Another example – though I can’t pin down the name of the manager right now – was a guy who typically kept his entire starting XI on the pitch particularly when they weren’t playing well – to teach them a lesson. Now, that’s pretty crazy, but it also shows what sticking to your team selection might mean for the manager.)
The problem with our team yesterday was that he chose a front three composed of players who were involved in the international break, while hardly stealing the show. And that’s what I think caused our problems yesterday. The lapses in concentration are unacceptable, but they don’t come entirely at random. Sadly, Wenger seems incapable of dealing with them at all times. For some, that’s enough to cry “Wenger out!,” for others, it’s just a part of what this team stands for.
“No character”? So sad, you’re getting ahead of yourself. We heard this song before, didn’t we – last season everyone was talking of Arsenal the sissies, Arsenal who give away games for free. And Arsenal repeatedly proved them otherwise. Sure, Wenger isn’t Fergie, he doesn’t teach obedience to a bunch of decent players and several greedy, silky-skilled s.o.b.’s; he teaches self-respect and mutual respect to a group of talented men. Sometimes, it means giving a game away – when he can’t get across the self-respect to invoke the mutual respect. Accidents happen.
As for the game, it was frustrating, period. We started with full control at the back and lack of ideas at the front, and we soon lost composure at the back as well, it was spreading like a rash. But we weren’t hopeless at no time. Unconvincing, yes; hopeless, no. I, for one, feel this game should have ended in draw, but sadly, our strikers seemed to have always made the wrong choices.
Incidentally, I took a peek at Facebook comments under Arsenal.com’s entry about the game. I suggest anyone who wants to criticize Wenger out of Arsenal go there. It’s a fun place to be at, with people already slamming the management for aiming only for the 4th place and buying shit players (i.e. not Falcao). If “boring, boring Arsenal” is still a valid point, it’s valid only with regard to a section of the fandom.
This is the very reason why I get so frustrated with Wenger sometimes. MH rightly pointed that the players wren’t up for it and something needed to be done. As much as I hate to admit it, but if this was a ManU performance, at least the dreaded thought of the “hairdryer” treatment at half time and the actual experience of it would have made the Manu players sit-up and shape up, but unfortunately, our Mr Nice Guy coach has no such effect on our players because he just pampers them way too much. So we end up with performances like this. You may argue its just one game, but none of our competitors would ever play like that for 90mins or stay 1 goal behind for over 70mins in a game without at least making an effort, hitting the bar or forcing fantastic saves in the process. Chelsea at the Lane yesterday is a good case in point. The Spuds were really up for it and were buzzing when they were 2-1 up, but Chelsea just refused to give in and kept coming back each time. I’m sorry, but Arsene doesn’t know…not always at least!
Why is noone pointing the finger at Mr.Wenger?? These kind of games have been prevalent over the last seven seasons,when most required a win we lose.It is mindboggling that a journey man manager like houghton can outsmart what is believed in some circles to be the greatest manager since sliced bread became available.
Jaja,
“pampers” might not be the right word. Wenger is repeatedly compared to Fergie, but he has a totally different approach. Sometimes, it means Arsenal play the beautiful game while ManU simply work. Other times, it means the team’s clueless, and ManU still work. Mind you, ManU aren’t above slipping themselves, remember the final games of last season? Mistake after mistake, culminating in gifting City the title. Despite all the poor performances, Wenger was and is doing a great job.
Danish Gooner,
You weren’t looking. Nearly everyone does point the finger at Mr. Wenger. With you, the “prevalent” is a word to avoid. I don’t think you can back it up with any kind of proof other than your frustration. Which, incidentally, I totally understand. Weaker teams “outsmart” Wenger almost exclusively when they defend deep and with dedication. I think Norwich yesterday played very well and almost avoided any slip-ups. But to say that Hughton outsmarted Wenger is saying too much. If anyone “outsmarted” Wenger, it was Wenger himself.
I’d certainly lay some blame at Wengers door for yesterdays performance – some want to blame only the players but it’s important to ask why Arsene failed to motivate them for the second half, that’s his job after all, isn’t it?
Noting can be more correct than all you have. I wonder why it is always so difficult for wenger to open is mouth and talk to the players, most especially when they are playing that bad. Wenger need to ask himself why it is always difficult for his team to take advantage when other teams ahead of us on the league losses. Spur and west-brom that are ahead of arsenal both slip-up, yet the coach and his player see know reason to show commitment to the fans by winning the match. Man-U,Man-city and Chelsea all have more players on international duty than my team, and also played against stronger oppositions, yet they all won their matches. They know that they can’t afford to give any excuse to their fans or allow any team to take their sport on the table. That is the Spirit and attitude of a coach and players that are serious and respect their fans. The way the team played against a team that is as lowly as Norwich, a team that has not won any match all season shows no respect what so ever to the fans. It’s a shame, I’m so embarrass and so disappointed. I doubt if Wenger has learnt anything in this 7 trophy-less season.
Plan B sent mertesacker upfront. Our defense plus Arteta was good but AS11 made me miss Gibbs. our attack was toothless.
Fantastic way to end the article. I would truly love if the board had the balls to actually put a carton in front of each locker to tell them the pressure they need to feel in order to succeed.
The greatest enemy is often complacency with Arsenal. I would love them to have the fire and heart to grind every second of every match until the full 90. Carling Cup… I say that, but this year has looked more promising than past seasons!! Let’s see some silverware this year.
[...] Call off the search! Phrases like ‘we expected to win’ and ‘an easy game’ are completely at odds with the standard line usually being peddled of ‘no easy games at this level’ and as I mentioned yesterday if we continually refuse to learn that lesson maybe we need to take more drastic action. [...]