Through Red Color Glasses: Arsenal v Chelsea, Post Match Review

Its the day after the emphatic Chelsea 3-0 win at the Emirates. If you read the blogsphere, news, and twitter like I do you know there is a wealth of doom merchants out there. Heck, I am sure a lot of you reading this are doom merchants. 4 1/2 years without any silverware will do that to you. But maybe I saw a different match yesterday then everyone else. But then again, maybe I am just pig headed and stupid and refuse to give up hope. If you don’t know I live in the Philadelphia area where until last year we hadn’t had a Championship team in 25 years. So 4 1/2 years is short – unsatisfying but short.

Down but not out. Yet.

Anyway, like everyone I am gutted by the loss. Yes, I hate Chelsea. But they are without a doubt the best team in the EPL right now. If they can maintain it through May still remains to be seen. They are older than most teams and they lose key players in January for possibly 10 matches. Yes, 10. FIFA rules stipulate that national teams can call players up to 2 weeks prior to the first match in any tournament. So there is a possibility that some of Chelsea’s players could be gone before the end of this month. So, we’ll see what effect that has on them. True, Roman can buy in January but who remains to be seen. I still think Chelsea have some falter in them – remember 2005 they had an 18 point lead (I think that number is right) in December, then went on a poor run of form that whitled their lead down to 7. Thats an 11 point drop. 11 points are what we are behind. 8 if you consider we will win our game in hand.

However, I would like to go over some of things I saw yesterday, as did some other people. (Thanks to twitter follower Warren Czapa for the idea and framework).

1. Our defencive problems are more a case of philosophy than talent. Vermaelen, Gallas, Sagna, Clichy/Gibbs/Traore are as good as any tandem out there. They just need a ‘keeper they can have confidence in.
2. Gallas really is a world class defender. He has refound his form with his current central partner. TV5.
3. Theo Walcott, while he has a way to go, is becoming a solid option.  He and Vela both changed the game yesterday and in the 2nd half created more chances. Yes, he is pacy, but he also has the ability to outplay defenders. What he really needs is more time, and a lot more muscle.
4. Eduardo has improved his link up play, but looks tenative around the box. He is more suited for a winger role where he can take advantage of someone feeding him rather than he being the feeder. In lower level games this is sufficient enough but against top teams he has only been effective on the wing.
5. Bendtner is likely to overtake Eduardo in the pecking order when he comes back. But Nicky B isn’t the “B” all end all. We need to have another striker on the team. He needs to come in by January.  Van Nistleroy? Gignac?
6. Vela is good, but also has a long way to go. Every game he has come on to, he has changed the dynamics of the play on the pitch. He needs more time playing and not in the trainer’s room.
7. Song can really dominate the midfield. He is a vast improvement over the last few seasons. With time – I believe he can be as good as Vierra.
8. Arshavin is desperate to win something. And he dishes it out when the other side get nasty. Absolutely loved his getting in the face of Cech, winning the ball numerous times. He was up for the game. Oh, and that goal was a goal. And yes, it would’ve changed things. And no I don’t drink the cool aid.
9. This team was not bullied yesterday. They did not get man handled as was written throughout the press. I know am one of the very few who thought this team showed up yesterday to play. Not just pass the ball around mind you.  They pressed the midfield and shut out Essien, Lampard, Deco and Joe Cole. They also gave some as good as they got. Vermaelen nearly cut Drogba’s legs off at the beginning of the 2^nd half. There were also moments throughout the game that other players were being as physical with Chelsea as they have been with us.
10. If the penalty Drogba got that led to his 3rd goal – why wasn’t the pull down on Vela a foul on the edge of the box (if not an outright PK)? If you watch the replay Vela is dragged down by an arm over his shoulder. No, I don’t think Dudu should’ve had one. He slipped in the rain. Vela was hauled down.
11. This team now plays a full 90 minutes. In the past you could argue that the team or players, when down, just gave up on the pitch. They went from 100% to 65%. This team does not do this. Even when down 2-0 they controlled the play and had the better of it.  Unfortunately a bad penalty (whether it was bad call is open for debate) in front of the box and Drogba vs Almunia – well it wasn’t going to be.
12. Chelsea played the game exactly as I thought they would. Like the top managers in Serie A, Ancelotti does not necessarily play to win against top opposition. He would rather grind out a draw rather than open up a game to possible counter-attacking football. Chelsea played wait and when and if the opportunity presented itself they went for it. Other than that they were content to sit back.
13. Drogba is the most opportunistic player in the league. He can go long spats without a mention and then suddenly pop up and score. He not only does it to Arsenal, but pretty much everyone else. Oh and that free kick – ouch what a scorcher.  And Arsene, I disagree he had a lot to do with yesterday – so did the cross bar. But Drogba and Cole were the only attack Chelsea had all day. Not that they needed anything else mind you. The manager shares my thoughts on Drogba: “Drogba is a good player. It’s funny because he doesn’t do a lot, but he’s efficient in what he does. You would be surprised by the number of balls he touched on Sunday. But Drogba is a great player, nobody can deny that. He’s very efficient. I think as well, at the moment he’s in a period where he kicks the ball and it goes in. On the first goal, at the moment he has complete confidence and he doesn’t wonder ‘will I score or not?’. He just goes for it and he did very well. It’s a great goal, the first one, but it’s a goal of a striker in complete confidence.” – from the manager’s official email
    
14. Maybe booing Cashley isn’t the best idea. It feeds into his ego and he seems to get better for it. I say let him come on quietly and don’t pay him any mind.
15. Finally, why I have not given up hope (and maybe you shouldn’t either)? Manchester United won the league last year with a 1W 3L 2D against the big four.  The key is the lesser teams. With the exception of Sunderland we are doing the work that needs to be done there.

Look I know some of these make light of the issues and I am not so blind as to see there still remain some fundamental issues with the team. However, I also am not going to jump off the band wagon when things don’t go right. It is a fundamental flaw with me that I have so much emotion invested in my team that I refuse to give up hope. When will I admit we lose the season? When mathmatically we are out of it. Until then I believe that anything can happen in this league.

Okay guys let me have it!