When Arsenal lost 1-3 to Aston Villa in the opening match of
the 2013/2014 Premier League season at the Emirates despite the fact that
Arsenal scored first through Oxlade-Chamberlain, there was mass hysteria from
sections of the fan base as the fans called on Arsene Wenger to dip into the
transfer market to strengthen the squad with just Yaya Sanogo on a fee transfer
as the only signing Arsenal had made at that moment.
But for all the outburst and reaction that followed that
defeat three years ago, a situation that was heightened by the club’s lack of
transfer activity at the time, that performance was still better than what Arsenal
served up on Sunday August 9, 2015. The defeat against Aston Villa three years
ago was littered with midfield and defensive issues as an axis of Jack Wilshere
and Aaron Ramsey could not provide adequate defensive cover for the back four,
and the sending off of Laurent Koscielny exacerbated the situation on the day.
Yet that team showed some fighting spirit, and they had moments in that match. They
took the lead on the day before they lost their way.
However, what happened on Sunday was a complete contrast of
what transpired three years ago, there was absolutely no moment to speak off in
the entire match, as unforced errors littered most of the match, players went
about giving the ball away throughout the match. The performance was lethargic
and at times even the basic act of passing to a teammate became an issue.
The tone for the match was set in the make up of the
midfield where Aaron Ramsey started alongside Francis Coquelin in central
midfield. And Arsenal struggled throughout to keep possession on that side of
the pitch. It is difficult to decipher why Arsene Wenger decided to ditch a
tried and trusted central midfield formation of Santi-Coquelin which was the
foundation on which Arsenal’s renaissance was built on in the second half of
last season? With the Spaniard absent alongside Coquelin before he was
substituted, he struggled in possession as his simplicity of passing it short
to Cazorla was absent as the decision to go long on several occasions led to
passes going astray. It was not a
surprise that the midfield was largely dysfunctional for most of the match, as
it was essentially a new partnership, as Cazorla was deployed on the left side
of midfield.
The same situation played out last season when Arsene Wenger
tried to play a 4-1-4-1 formation with Jack Wilshere in the middle, and Mesut
Ozil shifted to the left side of midfield, it was a formation Arsenal struggled
with in the opening part of last season.
The opponent on the day West Ham could not have been accused
of parking the bus, as they played an expansive game as much they could. Arsenal
gave the East Londoners a free reign to transit from their half of the pitch
with the freedom of the Emirates without putting pressure on the ball or
pressing their opponent. Whether the players thought they only needed to turn
up to win on the day nobody knows as the performance was lacking in conviction
and zest on all grounds without an ounce of urgency on the day.
Yet for all the lethargy that was on display on the day. It
still does not legislate for why the defensive performance that was put up by the
back four to be error strewn as if the players were trying to outdo Senderos in
the act of how not to defend. The marking for the free-kick was poor to say the
least, as Kouyate had virtually no player close to him as he had what was
practically a free header,
Arsenal’s right side of defence was never convincing on the day.
Mathieu Debuchy was still rusty and he showed why Hector Bellerin has kept him
out of the side. The French international was largely off the pace and his
crosses were not better either, He also gave the ball away on several
occasions. And Per Mertesacker seem to struggle with Debuchy by his side as
they have not played together in a competitive fixture for months, the last
being the FA cup semi final against Reading. The former Magpie showed he was
still not match fit with his poor display on the day.
While the last man of the defence, Petr Cech had a debut to
forget as he was at fault for the first goal. He could have caught that ball if
he had stayed on the line or at least punched it to safety, but rushing out
meant there was no chance once he missed it.
Arsene Wenger described the result as an accident and stated
his players were nervous. For all the talk of it being an accident, that was
not an excuse for the team to lack creativity on the day, as the West Ham
goalkeeper was practically on holiday for most of the match. The team could not
build up any pressure as they were just disjointed.
The display of the team was typified by a passage of play
that happened before the 85 minute mark after a West Ham attack had come to an
end. Per Mertesacker brought the ball forward, and there was no midfielder that
made himself available to pick the ball, and the groans from the crowd was
audible as a result, Mesut Ozil eventually came to take the ball off
Mertesacker, as just like the theme of the entire match, the long pass ended up
with a West Ham player.
There has been talk of the team’s ability to bounce back
from the opening day defeat, with reference made to what happened in 2013 after
the opening day defeat to Aston Villa was followed with a succession of wins
which eventually saw Arsenal at the summit for months. Yet the Premier league
is different from three seasons ago, as there is little room for error as last
season showed. The defeat was term as an accident by Arsene Wenger, who is to
legislate that such an accident will not occur again?
The squad now have one week to interface and study the
horror show that was the match against West Ham, before the visit to Selhurst Park
where Crystal Palace is expected to give Arsenal a
stern examination. The team has thrown its fan base back to cautious optimism
after Sunday’s performance, and the oscillating blade of unpredictability and
not knowing what to expect seem to have descended on the horizon once again as
the clouds are now hazy, it would only become clear after what Selhurst Park
will serve up this weekend.
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