Match Report | Match highlights | Wenger’s thoughts | Credits: The Telegraph
Right, let’s get this match report out of the way before Arsenal concede and I have to edit it again.
We might as well have played The Rains of Castamere along with that lineup… On paper, it was very, very difficult to understand the thinking behind the starting XI Arsenal announced. With David Ospina in goal with no seeming injury to Petr Cech, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain on the flanks, Granit Xhaka on the bench and a tried-and-tested Alexis Sanchez as the frontman, you could bet the reception would not be positive. Some of the selections justified themselves (more on that anon), but for obvious and predictable reasons, some of them didn’t.
Even by Arsene Wenger standards, it feels odd that he would underestimate a PSG team at Parc des Princes. Despite being shorn of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, David Luiz and all that, they’re certainly still a quality side with some big names. Come to think of it, this match was the toughest one we were to face in the group stages. To field a considerably weakened side for no discernible reason not only lessened out chances of getting anything out of the match, it also now provides intriguing insight into how Wenger prioritizes his ambitions.
The defence had a torrid time… Make no mistake – on another day, we would have conceded three or four. Edinson Cavani, Angel di Maria and Blase Matuidi were having a field day, and PSG’s midfielders were getting huge joy by ‘knocking the ball long’, for lack of a better phrase. Cavani in particular was hilariously wasteful (still can’t argue he’d be an exciting addition to our striking options), and I think he was most of the reason we felt we kind of got out of jail.
Most of our reliable defensive units, let’s face it, failed themselves. I don’t buy into the analysis that Laurent Koscielny or Shkodran Mustafi were in any way dominant. Both of them were left scampering after leaving too much space behind them which PSG exploited through textbook lobs. Nacho Monreal was rinsed by di Maria and co. Serge Aurier couldn’t believe his luck, and neither could Francis Coquelin, albeit for very different reasons. It didn’t help that Alexis found his chances to track back and help his teammates severely curtailed owing to his center forward position. Arsenal have lost 4-3 to Liverpool hardly a month ago, but this felt like the worse defensive showing.
Ospina and Iwobi showed their mettle… Personally, I was surprised nobody was surprised by Arsene giving the nod to Iwobi over options like Lucas Perez and Olivier Giroud (and moving Sanchez wide). 2016 has seen the Nigerian become somewhat of a fan favourite, but I still felt a Champions League game in France may be a little too intimidating for him. I didn’t find his selection contentious, but something to privately mildly fret over.
Turns out there was no internal debate needed. On a day when even Mesut Ozil looked bereft of ideas, it was Iwobi who was pivotal in playing keep ball. When you factor in the fact that he’s only 20 years old, the workrate and intelligence he showed throughout the game was rather promising.
Ospina though, oof. Answering your critics is something any and every footballer loves to do, but to do it in that fashion must have been particularly sweet for him. Aside from an admittedly daft decision to charge out of his line and nearly gift Cavani a tap in (we know how that ended hahahaha), Ospina was topnotch. His saves and gathers prevented at least three goalbound efforts, which was a huge step in reclaiming the faith of the fans, many of whom were up in arms at his inclusion.
I daresay I was one of the people caught on the Why-start-Ospina bandwagon, and for obvious reasons, I’m happy to be proven wrong. Indeed, as a matter of fact, with Cech showing a few chinks in his armor, it wouldn’t even be the worst choice by Wenger to let Ospina capitalize on the situation.
Having said that, not all controversial choices paid off… After Arsenal’s 2-1 win against Southampton, I leisurely scrolled Le Grove for an opinion piece and found what appeared to be a hugely misguided rant on Coquelin. There were a lot of accusations on his positional play and him being a focal reason why Arsenal could not build an attack fluidly from the backline anymore. The article also said to “watch Coquelin in a game for 90 minutes.” Despite thoroughly disagreeing with the sentiment I decided to humour the advise, and guess what, it proved massively illuminating.
Reams of theses can be written on the correlation between Coquelin’s positioning and the dismantling of Wengerball. Simply put, the guy does not make himself available at the right places and the right times. Santi Cazorla is forced to carry much of the burden while all Coquelin does expertly is plunge into opponents with Hollywood tackles (which he must engage in because he wasn’t standing in the right place anyway).
Now, I like Coquelin because of his tenacity and the extra edge he gives this Arsenal side. I believe him to be an adept backup to Xhaka, yet how he was given the nod over the latter in such an important match baffles me. It’s safe to say that Coquelin was not at all at the races and needs a bit of a tactical awakening.
Oxlade-Chamberlain, on the other hand, badly needs a sport psychologist. It’s not like he doesn’t have the ability or the resources, but his head just isn’t in the game anymore! Misplacing simple passes and attempting ridiculous dribbles are clear symptoms of a complete lack of focus, which will start costing him playing time in due course. I hold a soft spot for him because I feel the injury problems he has faced are not really taken into consideration, but that’s little sympathy for a man who’s form has flushed down the toilet over the past year.
In my mind, the Ox needs to do what Aaron Ramsey did in 2013 – play the basics, keep it simple and gradually build confidence. The new football season has just started and Lord knows Arsenal don’t have the wingers to deal with it. Chamberlain will get games; he needs to use each and every one of them and go from strength to strength, instead of hoping he pulls a Zidane in every match.
What about the Olivier Giroud incident? His customary substitution gave Arsenal a certain amount of structure and confidence, shortly after which we equalized. Despite not being in the buildup, it feels warranted to relate him coming on and Arsenal gaining a foothold in the game. However, Giroud also brought with structure a certain kind of passion that may have been instructed from the touchline. It was clear that he was rather charged up and wanted to bully the center backs into submission. It may have succeeded to an extent, but also resulted in his sending off.
Since it was so late in the day and there were few replays to the incident, I found it unclear what panned out between Marco Verratti and him. However – and I say this with full knowledge that Giroud’s stupidity means he will miss Matchday 2 – I liked what I saw. It felt a welcome change to see Giroud not whimpering on the ground like some traumatized model and actually throw his weight around a little bit. He should play the bastard role more often, it suits him.
Overall… A disappointing performance in a line of disappointing performances, but not necessarily a disappointing result. Many would have taken a point at Paris before kickoff (and certainly 41 seconds after it) and I guess we should be happy with that. As far as winning the group is concerned, this seems like a valuable point and could be the difference when it boils down to it.
Of course, knowing us, this point is going to be the difference between second place and Europa League.
-Santi [Follow me on Twitter @ArsenalBlogz ]
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