ESPN Soccernet - Correspondents - Arsenal

Posted by David Young on 01/13/2011

If Leeds gave fair warning about the dangers of complacency and dropping your level of application when playing lower league teams in the Cup, it was not one that was heeded by the Gunners.

On Saturday, Arsenal had a let-off. Last night they were deservedly punished by Ipswich in the first leg of the Carling Cup semi-final.

Yes, believe it or not, it was a semi-final. One step away from Wembley and the chance to, you know, actually win something. You might have thought that this would have negated the need for any sort of team-talk. The players, professionals that they are, would rise to the occasion and dispatch Ipswich in the same ruthless manner that Chelsea did at the weekend in the FA Cup. What we actually got was one of the most flaccid, toothless and woeful performances of the season - and there have been quite a few similarly lame displays to compare it to.

Tamas Priskin Celebrates His Winning Goal Last Night©PA Photos

Credit must be given to Ipswich. After a 7-0 drubbing by Chelsea at the weekend, they bounced back in the best way possible. Though Arsenal made them look better than they were, they defended doggedly, created more chances than their visitors and took their opportunity when it came along. They thoroughly deserved their victory and fair play to them for that.

Arsenal on the other hand were pathetic. They held the majority of possession and yet failed to turn it into much in the way of goalscoring efforts. There were too many misplaced passes and too many players looking completely off the boil. There was no cutting edge up front and the defence was slack and disorganised.

It would be charitable to call it “an off-night” - which it what Arsene Wenger tried to claim it was. More honestly, it was a lazy and complacent display for which there is very little defence. They players seemed to have the mentality that they only had to turn up to win. How wrong they were.

As infuriating as last night’s performance was, at least there is a chance for the team to make amends in the second leg. Even trailing by one goal, they really have no excuses not to get the job done and get themselves to the final. The real worry is how often they seem to let themselves down this way. Two weeks ago they were beating Chelsea in one of their finest and most determined displays of the year so far and now they are a goal down at the halfway-stage in the Carling Cup semi-final and, on Saturday, were clinging by their fingernails to a place in the FA Cup - both to lower division opposition.

It almost defies analysis as to how the team can be so good some weeks and so truly awful the next. Pundits, commentators, bloggers and messageboard posters can waste a million words on trying to work it out but the people who really have to get to the bottom of it is Arsene Wenger and the players. They are supposed to be professionals. Well, this season, it is now long overdue that they starting acting like professionals and sorted themselves out.

There is still much to play for, but unless Arsenal can remedy their extreme levels of inconsistency, they will finish empty-handed in May - again.

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Comments

Posted by Kav on 01/13/2011

Perfectly put David. During the first five minuites, it looked as though it was going to be a walk in the park, but as you mentioned...lazy and toothless performance for the 85 remaining minuites....pathetic indeed...pick yourselves up Arsenal...

Posted by chris on 01/13/2011

makes our 1-1 draw against you guys at the weekend look like a bad result! you need to get rid of bendtner and arshavin. both last night and at the weekend, they were terrible! not sure whether it's just a form thing with them but they would have looked out of place in the championship!

Posted by Dave on 01/13/2011

Few key words of frustration that I want to air out about this Arsenal Team :-

- Wasteful !
- Lazy !
- Too many unnecessary passing, everywhere, not just in front of the goal.

- Some players are just not up to it :- Denilson, Bentner, Eboure.

I think it is Arsene's responsibility to come up with a solution to motivate the team to close down on opponents. Otherwise, we will be repeating with the same problem again and again !!!

Posted by Aidan on 01/13/2011

Watching this game,it is great to see our team going out playing attacking nice passing football, we felt disapointing to say the least;Arsenal played like a disjointed elbow. Nobody seam to take responsibilty; Changing the game was needed to suit the way Ipswich was playing defencing behind the ball and hitting us on the counter attack which worked for them,the problem is there seamed no heart and the players were not playing for each other or themselves they must prove that next time the real Arsenal team will turn up and work for each other and stop kicking the ball sky high over the goal post its not rugby and passing must improve too

Posted by billboy on 01/13/2011

Nothing will be done. We will get these performances over and over again because they just don't care. They are a disgrace, not just to the Arsenal but to their profession. AW seems like an indulgent father letting his kids do what they want. He will not admit his mistakes and effect real changes in playing staff and tactics and so the debacles will continue. Gazidis and the Board appear afraid to ask Wenger awkward questions.

Posted by segun on 01/13/2011

the real problem with arsenal is we have no defensive mid field cover and we are over indulgent with players who are just not performing, Bendtnerm Arshavin, denilson. Those 3 on the pitch means stray passing, collapsed midfield and not punch upfront. Oh yeah cover for Sagna as well!

Posted by JoeUSA on 01/13/2011

It is surprising that when the squad players get their chance, rather than being hungry to show their worth, they look uninspired. I guess it just shows that the lack of confidence that keeps them out of the team is more important than the will to perform.

It seems like the brand of football Arsenal play is so intricate that it requires everyone to be sharp to create chances, and clearly a number of players (Bendtner, Denilson, and Arshavin on current form) aren't up to the task. It just underlines how crucial the form of Nasri has been to provide that cutting edge and get them results this season.

Posted by M.Wylie on 01/13/2011

Arsenal looked so bored and jaded against Ipswich. We played as if we expected Ipswich to capitulate in the face of our "ball-possession mastery". Instead Ipswich laughed (and Gunner fans cried tears of frustration) as Arsenal pinged the ball ineffectually between the half-way stripe and their 18yd box. We did not manufacture shots on goal! And Ipswich punt the ball downfield, find a guy 2yds offside which Eboue does not much seem interested in covering, and they score. Aarrgh! Just like the Wigan game, fans are making up their minds about who is going to help this team and who isn't. And I for one am ready to name names: Bendtner, Vela, Rosicky, Diaby, Denilson, Eboue, Clichy - squad players at best, not "super-subs" or game changers. So who on this squad will light the blue touch paper? When pressed by a friend over Xmas, I predicted that Arsenal's fortunes would rise or fall in 2011 on the performances of Arshavin and Walcott. A chilling thought, based on recent evidence ...

Posted by kenny on 01/13/2011

please what is mr wenger still wating for before he signs samba from blckburn,and suarez from ajax,or deos he wants to finish the season again empty?.i dont know where he get those 2french defenders from.

Posted by Alistair on 01/13/2011

Is embarrassed at Arsenals performance tonite no passion no comitment team didnt give a stuff tonite fact well done ipswich, wenger half the team need a rocket up their backside because we was quite simply woeful and at this moment in time is ashamed to call myself a supporter and over paid ive seen my gran play better than Arshavin and bendtner wenger get them gone :( :( :( rant over grrrrrrrrrrr

Posted by Dave Pack on 01/13/2011

The words pathetic and toothless are the exact words I used to describe the match myself. It was a bloody waste of time to watch. I pity the poor Gooners who travelled to Ipswich to witness the debacle in person. Not only were the usual suspects (Denilson, Eboue, Bendtner, and Arshavin) poor last night, Captain Fabregas was well below par. Though it was good to see Walcott get a well-deserved start, we never, NEVER took advantage of his speed via a long diagonal ball from the fullbacks. Walcott had proven he was easily capable of getting past Ipswich's fullbacks, but we never exposed them to Walcott's ability on the quick counter-attack. I don't recall seeing any crosses into the box that weren't off a corner -- and those are what Bendtner and Chamakh are best at attacking. Gawd. I never thought the Arsenal would have been shut out three matches in a row -- two to Championship sides (if not for the fortunate penalty Leeds gifted us), but we certainly have. It is d ultimatembarrassment

Posted by David on 01/13/2011

Another year and Arsenal is losing steam again. They do not have the mental toughness to maintain a high level of play for an entire season. Typicaly I love the game they play but this was a team taking its opponent lightly again. This is our best chance for a trophy and we need a better performance.

Posted by Fritz Alfred on 01/13/2011

We gave two players a chance to show their worth against so called "lesser" teams and they performed(Arhavin and Bendtner)the way they have all season. Bendtner gets a pass because he is 22 and just came back from injury. Arshavin has looked disinterested all year and plays like these cup games are beneath him??!! This is further evidence that they need to sell him and get what they can for him because he has been unhappy since the tax rate when up to 50% and he claims that he can't make it on 50K a week. He makes too many bad passes and he adds NOTHING on the defensive side when he gives away posession. Can we get Suarez for him on an even swap??Kudos to Ipswich for hopefully waking the boys up and realizing that here are NO FREE PASSES in this league. The losses at home to Albion and Newcastle should have been proof enough!!

Posted by steve on 01/14/2011

1978 was bad enough against Ipswich.
History does repeat itself:
we played in yellow and defended like kids

Posted by Paul Robinson on 01/14/2011

i have never questioned or lost faith in our team but this group is pushing me to the edge. Wenger seems to now have a little Fergie or Mourinho in him, he seems to always put a spin on the woeful performances, which i believe, just adds to the complacency.He needs to show them that he is not pleased call them out in public and stop covering their mess with "Baby powder" excuses. No trophies since invincible's and you tell me that they turn up to the match with no sense of urgency to end the cup drought, sigh. Last month i told a friend, who happens to be a Man U fan, that Arsenal could take Barcelona, if playing at their best, but i now wonder if i was just making a ass of myself as he laughed his head off. I really have to wonder what lies next. Wenger seems more senile than ever with his glorious predictions that we will lift trophies. That we will not do unless we find some inspiration and for god's sake ruthlessness.

Posted by wow on 01/14/2011

ok. verdict, that was terrible. Word for the Arsenal front line, HUSTLE, Andrei Arshavin needs to run from end to end, if he did that he would be incredible, but as is he is lazy as stated before, Lets look at who did play well for Arsenal for a moment... ok so definitely an off night for everyone else too, I think this is two parts complacency and one part "way too much" Again to pick on Arshavin, not every pass must be a back heel or a flick on. Sometimes trapping and passing like schoolboys works wonders... Like the 3-1 whooping of Chelsea...enough said

Posted by Trint on 01/14/2011

I agree it was a horrible team display. What I disagree with is the assessments on Arshavin. He still leads the team in assists and would have had a few more if Walcott and Bendtner had capitalized against both Leeds and Ipswich.

With Arshavin you have to expect that his body langauge will look poor but he will have moments of class that set him apart. I think the pain over Arshavin is that you see the potential. Even against Wigan with a goal and an assist the commentary was that he was having a poor game.

With others such as Denilson and Eboue and Koscielny and Vela you don't see the upside or the desire (Vela shows flashes when it doesn't matter).

As an aside, Bendtner has won me over the last two years notably for getting in the right positions (finishing not so great). But his last few starts have been disappointing though.

Posted by adam on 01/14/2011

it's just frustrating at times to be an arsenal fan over the past few years. if you watch the more successful teams in the Premiership like Man U and Chelsea, they were much more pragmatic in their attacking play.

i am afraid Arsenal will not win anything unless they correct their over-elaborateness in front of goal. My coach used to tell us: if you don't shoot, you will never score. Unfortunately, throughout the Arseanl team, their first thought when they get the ball is to pass it regardless whether they are on the pitch.

A second problem this season is the defense, especially the center of the defense. i have never seen an Arsenal team in recent years that has failed to keep so many clean sheets.

fix these 2 things and Arsenal will undoubtedly be successful. Go Gunners!

Posted by John Liew on 01/14/2011

Arsene Wengerplease don't rotate yr squad so ofter as they need time to gel together and understand each other better. Is better to burn out playing for a win in the FA-cup and carling cup than having to play another 2 hard matches, not only your players become tired but they will lose confident. So when they win matches keep the same team so that the momentum will keep going maybe make changes during substitution and when they have the confidence put them in first eleven. My verdict : Arsenal will not win anything if the first eleven not given a chance to play consistently..... Arsene yr rotation system does not work.

Posted by titansgunner12thman on 01/14/2011

For Arsenal fans to sweat this result is ridiculous. It's CC and FA cup, meaningless competitions, meaningless cups. If we win both competitions in my mind we still haven't won anything of note. I want the Champion's League and the EPL. For a big club to accept less means you are not a big club, period. These comps would be good for a faltering Liverpool side, but the 3rd place team in the supposed best football league in the world it's nothing. I didn't watch the game, and while I did want them to win, the result is not important.

Posted by Brandon on 01/14/2011

I hope i am proven wrong but I have a feeling that Arsenal will not make it into the final of the Carling Cup. In the next home game against Ipswich, we will witness Ipswich parking a bus in front of goal and the gunners, being frustrated, will concede another goal through Ipswich's counter attack. The slow and lazy defence will be exposed again by not learning their lesson from the last defeat.

Wenger will again, not blame his defenders but criticise the opponents' negative tactics.
Welcome to the reality Wenger. If you can't break down stubborn defence through ruthlessness. If you can't defend decently against a Championship team, you don't deserve to win anything. Blame it on your stubborness and reluctance to spend that 10-20 million pounds on an established defender.

Posted by CK on 01/15/2011

Usually manager likely be sacked after no win for 2 games against lower division. It is creditability from the past that Wenger still around and all players should take responsibility as chances been given and time and again failed to deliver. Being a highly paid PROFESSIONAL, all have to ask yourselves do you deserve being in the top flight and WHAT WENT WRONG?

Posted by Francis Sim on 01/16/2011

I agree with Dave's observations that Denilson, Bentner, Eboue are the main culprits for the game. Not only are wasteful, they are also 2nd best for most of the game. Not really something I want to see from players trying to get into our first team.

Posted by CK on 01/18/2011

MUST WIN GAMES

Drop point in League games is not so crucial comparatively a defect in Cup games.

So FA Cup game against Leeds and the Carling Cup semi-final game against Ipswich are in must win priority. Anything deviates will pour the cold water on the rising confidence ( and performance)

How?

Field the strongest team with the min of quartet of Song/Nasri/Fabregas/van Persie

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