Song the Wolfman calms things down: player ratings against Wolves
Arsenal overcame a feisty spell of Wolves pressure in the first half to eventually sail through this fixture, with the game cruelly killed off at half time.
Wolves threw everything at Arsenal for the first 20 minutes, and were quick to crowd out an Arsenal midfield that could not click.
Alex Song was surprisingly rested by Arsene Wenger in favour of Welsh tyro Aaron Ramsey, but the triangle of Ramsey-Cesc-Diaby had major communication issues.
Wolves pounced on this, making Diaby look very bad as he got crowded out and lost the ball under pressure. Wolves had the majority of chances in this period, until Diaby tweaked a muscle in his leg and was taken off for Song.
The substitution meant Ramsey could sit up with Fabregas and it worked a treat for Arsenal, who immediately forced a corner, then scored from the set piece.
Fabregas’ corner was floated well, and pressure from Eduardo forced an own goal off of Zubar’s hip. Not pretty, but it stung like hell for a Wolves side that had done well up to that point.
Arsenal were now a different team, as Ramsey broke on 35 minutes to feed Eduardo on the overlap, who lobbed the ball over the keeper beautifully for 2-0. Replays showed Craddock got a touch on the ball that looked off target, which made it an own-goal double salvo.
Then Fabregas killed the game off on the stroke of half-time. Robin van Persie chested Sagna’s cross in the box before laying the ball well for the captain to finish a fantastic flowing move.
The second half was all Arsenal. Our danger from the set piece was summed up when Hennessey punched another Fabregas corner away, only to find Arshavin on the box. The little Russian volleyed first time to make it 4-0. Arsenal conceded late on from a corner as Jody Craddock scored at the right end this time to bring a goal back in front of a raucous home crowd.
Almunia – 7: Not many saves to make but cleared his lines well. You can tell by the way the centrebacks pass back to him that there’s more confidence in Arsenal’s most experienced keeper.
Sagna – 7.5: A fine job in attack today and is actually becoming a probing threat when we have throw-ins high up the field – it feels like a good cross might just be around the corner. Generally, did his job in defence.
Gallas – 8: Authoritative at the back, adventurous when going forward. Has developed a good consistency alongside his new partner and today was more of the good stuff.
Vermaelen – 7: Some tough tackling on display as the Belgian was mostly untroubled for much of the match. Unfortunately, did a headless chicken act when Craddock headed home at the end.
Gibbs – 8: Is a bundle of energy with pace. Won’t stop running, tough in the tackle, this kid continues to impress. Dealt with the Wolves attacks under a lot of pressure from a partisan crowd.
Diaby – 5: Not given even the slightest chance to settle as the Wolves midfield targetted the Frenchman. His injury allowed Alex Song to come on which, sadly, was his biggest contribution to the game.
Fabregas – 8: Once the match settled in Arsenal’s favour, Captain Cesc was running the show. His corners are improving and his array of passing today was its usual sky-high standard.
Ramsey – 7.5: Uncomfortable as a defensive midfielder alongside Diaby, he was a different man when Song was on the pitch. Industrious, looking for the pass and helped out the team all over the park in the second half. Showed good pace for the second goal.
Arshavin – 8: A lurking menace. His goal was taken with aplomb and he worked very hard on the right flank today. A solid performance.
Eduardo – 8: RVP was good enough to relegate Eduardo to a place on the wing as the Dutchman claimed the centre forward spot. Not to worry, Eduardo has claimed the left forward spot with some incisive performances. A shame he was denied a beautiful lobbed goal by Craddock’s deflection.
van Persie – 7: Didn’t go his way in the first half until that beautiful link up with Cesc for the third goal. Worked his way into the game in the second until he looked dangerous on every opportunity.
SUBS: Song – 8.5: Man of the match, for me. Would Arsenal have whethered the Wolves storm were it not for him? Adds real stability and backbone to the midfield and he was a real invisible wall today.
Rosicky – 6.5: Added flair and verve to the midfield later into the second half. Had a difficult shot that should have made it 5-0, but blasted it over the bar.
Nasri – 6: Some neat touches and link up, but didn’t have enough time to make a real impact.
Cesc Fabregas had said before the game that ‘only our best would do’ against Wolves. That wasn’t quite the case today, but regardless, we’ve got a fantastic rhythm happening in this team that we can score four goals in third gear.
It is patently obvious, if it wasn’t before the match, that we are not quite the same team without Song in midfield. While the media now start glorifying us as title challengers, many Arsenal fans are wisely concerning themselves with what on earth we will be doing during the African Nations Cup.
Clearly, Wenger’s trying something out as well, though it wasn’t clear exactly what last night. Diaby and Ramsey seemed to be in tandem in the defensive role but it left Fabregas on his own, on the apex of a midfield triangle. So while Diaby was quickly swamped out by Wolves, Ramsey was not helping matters too much himself. It remains to be seen whether Denilson can fill the role proper, or if Wenger will buy to fill the position. I would prefer the latter, but I remain open to Denilson impressing.
The lack of a clean sheet is again frustrating, but I will share my thoughts on that after the Chelsea-Man United game. However, the goal we conceded was a testament to the amazing support Wolves got from the terraces today, as the 12th man literally sucked their consolation goal into the back of the net despite being 4-0 down.
Pompey and Liverpool are usually the media’s darlings when it comes to fan-support, but last night was a real eye-opener as to what crowd noise is. Top stuff from the Old Gold – it brought about no end of respect from this blogger.
However, credit as well to the Arsenal away supporters, who continue to maintain their reputation as one of the league’s best travellers. At times, the Arsenal chants were all that could be heard at Molineux. Excellence as always.
And finally, plaudits to our attacking dynamos Arshavin, Fabregas and van Persie. Arshavin is such a menace when he looks quiet, as you just know he could pop up any moment and wreck havoc on a defence. He did the latter bit today and to his credit, was everywhere tonight, helping the team’s cause. Fabregas’ exceptional form continues and he really is playing like one of the world’s best players at the moment. Robin van Persie plugged away and grew more into the game as time wore on. The lone striker in this formation will have quite a few matches like that, and the work he has to do to feed in other players will go unnoticed sometimes.
That’s it from me. It was a really enjoyable match throughout (at least for us), and I’m sure both sides have a new-found respect for the other.
Be sure to log in tomorrow when I look into why the ‘goals against’ figure is not too much to worry about just yet.
Until then – be sure to leave your comment and thoughts on the game, and who you reckon should replace Alex Song later in the season.
Filed under: Arsenal, English Premier League, Match Reports
Nice report, Jammathon.
I like your comment about Arshavin looking like a menace when he’s quiet. Spot on.
I’m not sure about the Song stuff though. I love the guy and certainly think we’re a better side with him in it, but i don’t think we can draw any conclusions about Ramsey or Diaby from the game today. Wolves’ pressure all over the park was immense and it took a fortunate own goal to knock the stuffing out of them. I’m not sure Song had much to do with that and I suspect that had Diaby stayed on and we went 1-0 up, there’s every chance we would have won comfortably anyway.
I think we are over playing the song issue…Denilson, Diaby and Cesc or Denilson, Ramsey or Cesc will be good enough…I also think the only other option would be to offer Viera a short term contract…Wenger will be reluctant because he wants the team to believe they can do it themselves…He brings Pat back and we win the title the headlines at the end of the season will read that after four years he returns and Arsenal win a trophy…Wenger will not buy as anyone else will stop the others from growing as song has…At one time they voted him the worst buy Wenger has ever made! I think it will be the same for Diaby!!!
Number10, I bloody well hope we’re overplaying the issue. I guess overstating it or mentioning it a lot comes from the fact one player is doing so damn well that he gives the impression of being impossible to replace. Let’s see what happens, and cheers for the comment!
@Andy, you know I’m not a Diaby basher, I only try to keep the ratings as objective as I possibly can, and his low rating was exaggerated by the amount of minutes played. Perhaps you have a point in arguing it may be coincidental when Song came on that things settled, but Song *can* match a physical team with his strength and his passing has been very good this season. Ingredients to add to the mix of the coincidence debate. I wouldn’t want to get too distracted by a pretty needless argument, though.
A most excellent review, jammathon. Smooth and silky, like Cesc.
I just finished watching my recording of the match. One thing I am really happy to see is that when things are slightly off and we’re up against it, as in the first 15-20 minutes or so, there’s still no panicking and no pointing of fingers. They get on with the job and continue to play Arsenal football. It will continue to be the death knell for teams that wish to come forward against us as our counter attack is simply brutal and we’re developing a real clinical finish on the counter.
One thing I’d like to point out is that Cesc is really starting to grow into being The Captain. Last year, due to the circumstances, I don’t think he was yet in a position to step up and make the team his own. Of course, shortly after he got the arm band he went out with injury for an extended period and that didn’t help matters any. But I feel now he really is the leader of the club. You can see it in his interactions with the other players, his communication and his statements to the media. While we came away with full points, Cesc was not too happy with the performance and said so. I get the feeling he’s pulling everyone to a higher level this year and not just with his play on the pitch. It can only be a good thing.
Having said all that and agreeing with everyone on the planet that everything starts with Cesc in our offense, I also agree with you that it’s getting to the point where everything on defense begins with Alex Song. Or, rather, it begins with our attacking players picking up the defense higher up the pitch to start and then is closed down brilliantly by Song once the opposition attack has been slowed. How many times have we seen teams hoof it against us already this term? That’s not only to get out ahead of our attackers picking up things before they cross midfield, but also to nullify the effects of Song. Teams are now having to tactically account for Song when in possession, and that frees up our back four to close down quickly as the ball comes forward. Song’s impact goes well beyond when he’s 1-on-1 with an attacker to actually bringing our back four more comfortably into contact with the possession. Absolutely the most improved player this season.
The Verminator did go a bit wobbly on that last goal. I had to laugh a bit because as I watched it live I had to rewind it to make sure it was him who’d lost his man. haha But that’s OK. It happens to everyone. Just don’t let it happen against Drogba when it’s 1-1 in the 89th minute!!
Ramsey did well once Diaby went off, you’re 100% correct on that. I’m not certain what the problem was between Cesc, Diaby and Ramsey. Perhaps it was lack of communication in who, exactly, was supposed to be Alex Song among that trio? I think maybe Diaby really doesn’t relish that defensive role so much. Certainly we saw the best of him the other night against AZ, but that was in an attacking role where he was not counted on to be THE defensive mid. I think that role weirds him out.
Lastly, the link-up goal between Sagna, RVP and Cesc was like watching a car wreck. But in a good way. The whole thing seemed to move in slow motion. I was sitting here watching it unfold and I actually said out loud…”There’s a goal coming right now”. The release pass to Sagna, Sagna’s ball to van Persie, his most excellent control of the ball and seamless pass to Cesc for a truly walk-in-the-park finish. No need to jump up and down. No need for chest thumping. No need for big, histrionic displays of goal scoring wackiness. Just simply Arsenal football and the lads doing what they’re supposed to do. Cesc immediately turning after the goal to point out RVP & Sagna for the credit they deserved and taking little for himself. That’s what leaders do, and that’s how Arsenal football is played.
SKAGooner, I now definitely owe you a pint, but for different reasons to what we first discussed. You get the “Comment longer than the actual blog” award, heh. I absolutely love your analogies of a car wreck, though it’s more than a bit counter-intuitive.
Interestingly enough, what I observed against Alkmaar (and you can read this in my match report of that match) is that Diaby was sitting level with Song for much of that match, like two defensive players. I think he still remains an attacking midfielder, and sitting back was more to help him get to tackling his man rather than backtracking. What do I know, eh?
Denilson wil be a 75% replacement 4 song n the rest of the lads have to chip in
Hey…it’s 2:30am here. The car wreck analogy was the best I could do.
I agree with your assessment from the Alkmaar match that Diaby was in a sort of hybrid role of holding even with Song for much of the match, releasing into the attack when it was available. In that role, he seems quite comfortable, and as we all know…when you’re comfortable you play better. When Diaby is the lone DM or primary DM, I think he feels the weight of having to stop the attack by himself instead of just slowing it down and allowing the rest of our defensive set to assist in his efforts. I may be reading him wrong in this, but at the moment he seems to take on too much as a primary DM and winds up thinking too much.
Read, react and trust your teammates. Breathe deep. Have fun. Maybe hypnosis would help before matches when he’s got that role? haha
@TheSKAGooner. Aye. Aye.
On Diaby. Dunno how much it actually influenced the final result. But I did feel more comfortable once Song came on. He just exudes confidence, something Diaby will grow towards.
Very good match review & spot on match ratings, yes Diaby’s injury was a blessing in disguise. It’s also clear Ramsey has tons of potential but not there yet since he’s still not solid enough in possession & his passing hasn’t reached Cesc’s standards. All those who’ve accused Arshavin for not working hard must have been encouraged by his tenacious effort. Big up to the Wolves support, they sang till the final whistle, something that would not happen at the Emirates!
Hypnosis? SKAGooner, you need to go to bed. :p
Xabier, I’m glad to see you’re not just bashing Diaby willy nilly. I was a bit strict on the marking tonight, but generally I’m an admirer of his potential.
AfriX, I was glad too to see Arshavin’s endeavour. I’m fully aware that he is dangerous even without doing much in a match, but a bit of effort is always pleasing to see.
I’ve been thinking about this for some time, so I’ll just toss it out there for consideration…
I’ve watched all our matches this season and have most of them recorded so have watched them more than once to study our play after watching the match live.
Some folks have had questions about Arshavin and his demeanor on the pitch. Not that it’s been poor, mind you, but that he sometimes looks bored or just out of the play of things. My theory on Shava’s season goes something like this…
When Andrey arrived last winter, we were in a real funk. Sure, we’d already begun our 21 match unbeaten streak, but we were not playing top Arsenal football. The cold weather draws were upon us and we were struggling to get above Sp*rs and Everton for that last Champions League spot. Along with that, Cesc was out, Theo was out, Ade was out at that time and both Eduardo and Rosicky were still some ways off from seeing the pitch (Rosicky especially since he didn’t actually see the pitch in an Arsenal kit til this past summer).
So, given these factors, when Shava arrived and donned the Red & White, we were seriously lacking attacking options (remember van Persie either scored or assisted on EVERY Arsenal goal in the month of February). We were also running the 4-4-2 or 4-5-1, depending on the opposition. In both of those formations it was much easier for Shava to play centrally, which is his preferred and natural position (either as a second striker or attacking mid). Once Shava got onto the pitch, he brought a real freshness to the attack and was given the freedom to roam from a central position to accentuate his skills in both passing and scoring.
Now we come to the present season. We’ve moved to the 4-3-3 (or 4-1-4-1 as Arsene says it is). Cesc is back. RVP is the man up front. Eduardo is back. Bendtner has another year of maturity to him. Rosicky is back. Goals are coming from all over the pitch. Our attacking shape has been completely reformed. But in doing so, Shava will most often be found on the left in the formation, switching to the right when Eduardo gets the start. He must play out wide. Our attack though, is geared towards a central movement normally, or to the right to take advantage of Sagna’s forays from the back. The ball is simply not moving towards Arshavin as much when we set up or build up the attack and his scoring opportunities are decreasing a bit because we have so many options that were not present last season or did not exist in the formation we were running.
The good thing in all this though is that so many of our attacking players have both the freedom and the skill to rotate within the 4-3-3. We see Shava & Bendtner switch sides frequently. We see Shava and Eduardo move centrally in support of the attack as it presents itself. However, while there were some questions after our early season matches with the goals coming from midfield, Gallas’s noggin (or leg, or butt) and Vermaelen’s thunderous left foot…and not from our attacking 3, the goals have started to come from up front finally. But I believe that while it took some time for van Persie to adapt to the front striker position and the goals are coming to him now, it’s taken quite a but more time and effort from Arshavin to come comfortable out on the left. It’s not his natural position, and although he does come centrally at times, the combination of other scoring options and the change in formation have required tremendous discipline from Shava. Yes, there may be times when he appears bored or not connected to the attack, but I believe he’s showing tremendous professionalism and commitment to the squad by taking his chances when he gets them and using his creativity in the attack to provide assists as he did the other night against AZ Alkmaar.
Lastly, I would caution folks against negativity when it comes to Shava’s commitment to supporting the initial stages of defending. There are numerous instances in each match where a deft move slows the advance of the opposition at the outset, thereby allowing our midfielders to recover from the attack and pick up their marks as things come forward. But Arshavin is subtle in his manner with this. No clattering tackles or collisions from him. In this, it’s a sublime realization that taking the less aggressive approach, he opens up the opportunity to be prepared to switch back to the attack immediately should we regain possession. A heavy sliding tackle takes him out of the run of play immediately and closes off an attacking option. Watch closely, if you have replays of the matches available to you, and you’ll see that this part of his game has been present from the beginning of the season. The effort IS there.
Anyway, that’s my take on things Shava related at the moment.
Sorry for the second long comment, jammathon.
Song is really an excellent player. Regardless of whether you believe he changed the macth or not, the fact remains, with hin on the pitch, everything is calm and works well. That is the mark of a good player, affects the game simply through his presence. I’ve always loved Song, even when the fans were unkind to him. Even then, if you saw him play for Cameroon, he exuded class. You could not help but believe that he would eventually be immense for Arsenal. Now he’s proving it.
SKAGooner, no problems with length. Good reads, please keep it up.
LB, I never actually saw him for Cameroon but I did for Charlton, and a lot of said the first seeds of hope were sewn in his performances on loan for Athletic.
However, the goal we conceded was a testament to the amazing support Wolves got from the terraces today, as the 12th man literally sucked their consolation goal into the back of the net despite being 4-0 down.
Nooo, they didn’t do that *literally*…
dont know where the hell you are going giving our keeper a 7! I thought he was poor throughtout and his indecesion in coming/not coming for crosses was on display several times. I’d give him a 5 at best, he is a liability and will cost us the title!
Song is a good player who’s doing well and I’m quite gratified to see him getting accolades having been a villain so long.
Permit me to point out something about Arsenal’s current formation. We play 3 central midfielders; 1 attacking, 1 holding, and 1 providing balance in attack & defence by contributing to both. This player contributes more to attack than the defensive midfielder, and more to defence than the attacking midfielder. One could call him the balancing midfielder.
I always tell people to watch the first few games of the season to understand what the manager aims to do.
In the first games of the season, the balancing midfielder was Denilson. Flashback to the Everton game and note his late runs into the opposition third, while he had to track all the way back to defend.
When he’s been injured Diaby came in, and that’s been Diaby’s role.
Good to see you again, Ole Gunner. I might just say that’s the most spot-on observation I’ve heard in a while. I think I might quote your comment for the basis of a blog post coming soon. Can I have your permission to do so? If you wish to collaborate on such a thing, you can send me a mail via the Contact section.
Again, great observation. Thanks for your regular contributions.
It’s just an observation Jammathon. It’s not an original idea. You need no permission.
the game settled when song came on. he is the one who made the interception for the first goal. he made great interceptions throughout the game and he was also my man of the match. all his haters can now see how important he is to the squad. i think wenger was testing his absence to see how the team would cope with him during the ACN. i think so because we had nasri and rosicky on the bench so the boss would have brought either of them because they play more of attack like Diaby. great game. lets wait and see who drops points. am loving how man shitty are dropping points. cant wait 4 the chavs and the mancs to follow suit.
i think this new formation is really good for ramsey. i really enjoyed how the team was playing with song playing behind ramsey and fabregas, we looked much more creative. obviously song and fabregas are definate starters in the midfield but the 3rd spot is up for grabs i think. denilson,diaby,ramsey and nasri would all play in that postion so it will be interesting to see what happens.
Just have to say, overall, the comments on this blog, regarding both insight and writing quality are perhaps the best I have read on any Arsenal blog to date. hope the standard is kept up and I will certainly be back for more. Particularly enjoyed SKA gonners words
@tom, many thanks, and while this blog doesn’t get the most comments compared to others (let’s just be honest…), I’m glad that the quality is very high. SKAGooner is on a number of blogs, but I’m glad he can somewhat call Third-Gen a home for his wise words, heh. I’d be very glad to hear your thoughts on here for a while to come.
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